Cover letter explain lawyer change careers
Having little luck landing a job and getting interviews. What improvements can I make?
2024.05.28 20:22 Terribl3_Scientist_ Having little luck landing a job and getting interviews. What improvements can I make?
submitted by Terribl3_Scientist_ to resumes [link] [comments]
2024.05.28 20:21 Green_bird_234 Romantic Transference {Help Needed}
Hi Everyone, I firstly want to thank everyone that reads this post and offers their thoughts and advice. I have been wracking my brain endlessly on it for weeks and have no idea what to make of it. I have been through a tumultuous therapy experience and feel completely broken by it.
I am 26F and started therapy with a therapist 32F back in Jan 2024. It went extremely well in the beginning, we both have lived very similar lives, are both the same ethnicity and are both queer women. I also have OCD and CPTSD (maybe BPD - not sure). I never connected with another therapist like her before, it felt easy, natural and comfortable. I never felt so seen, so validated, so supportive ever in my life. And she was my type, so romantic transference was easy to happen for me. I started to think of her all day, ever day, like limerent crush. I also carry my heart on my sleeve and whenever she would mention the concept of romantic relationships, I would blush very obviously and be unable to make eye contact. I found myself stalking her LinkedIn and forgot that LinkedIn can track who has seen their page. The next session, the first thing she did was tell me about her entire career history unprompted, subtly letting me know that she knew that I stalked her page.
I then began to express how I find it difficult to connect with certain people, and she brought up the idea that I am just more compatible with some people and not others. She then said "If you and I were to go on a date. we would be compatible". I remember blushing so hard. In retrospect, that was an insane thing to do on her part. I think she wanted to check if I had a crush on her or not. But still I was just a vulnerable person who never felt seen in the way that a therapist could. We had pretty messy boundaries, to be honest, which I think added to this dichotomy - we spoke about music once and she asked to go through my playlists and told me we "had similar taste". You could literally see hearts in my eyes. I have no idea if she was being honest or not. She did one red flag thing that had good intentions but impacted me very negatively. I was very committed to taking notes and learning because I deeply wanted to heal, but felt I was not progressing. She pointed out to me how much better I was doing than her other clients (then told me about how each of them were not doing well. She also told me about a client that had to be referred out and rolled her eyes once about her. As someone racked with anxiety about how people perceive me, this deeply scared me because it meant that she was absolutely capable of judging me in the way that I expected her to. But honestly, she did help me, there were so many new concepts that really opened my mind and enriched me. She continued to make me feel safe, and heard.
I ended up becoming extremely attached to her, to the point of having erotic transference, which became intrusive and unwelcome. If I had a hard day at work, I would have flashes of being with her, of her holding me. So many times, the desire for her to hold me, and be with me was so overwhelming that I would have to write it down in a journal just to feel relief. It really scares me how depraved I have been, it scares me because I feel I am scared of how I would be in an actual relationship. Going back to the music, she said it would be alright if I sent her music that I had been listening to as long as it had to do with Mental health. I sent her several songs about mental health and sent her an extra song that was romantic in nature. I know I shouldn't have sent that song, I knew it was a mistake to do that. I hate that I did that because I put her in such an uncomfortable position and I crossed a boundary. For this, I take full accountability, I suppose I was trying to tell her in my way that I had romantic feelings for her.
The next session, there was a noticeable difference, she was more distant (less validating) and she changed to a harder - more challenging style (almost devil's advocate-y) which caused my attachment to twist inside me. I have an anxious attachment and I was confused by the change, didn't realize why I was in so much pain and incessant rumination trying to figure out what happened. I began to do what any anxiously attached person does, scan for signs of that I had done something wrong, that I would be abandoned. I would replay clips of sessions in my mind over and over trying to figure out if she cared about me or if she did not, there was evidence for both. I became increasingly attached, with the romantic transference which began to scare me because I knew I did not actually know her as a person, I had no idea if she was a bad person who manipulated me into attaching to her or if this was a healthy attachment. It became so overwhelming, she became my first thought in the morning, and my last thought at night. My heart longed for her in a way that it never longed for anyone in my life and my mind was paranoid and anxious of how this happened, and was distrustful of my therapist. She knew though that I liked her, I know because in a later session she began to discuss romantic relationships, and I bit my lip and looked down and I could hear her say "it must be so painful to not be able tell a friend you like them", and then we moved on to the next topic and the moment was over.
In one of our last sessions, I confronted her about how discussing her other client's "flaws'' caused me so much anxiety. She immediately became defensive and went into explanation mode instead of acknowledging the issue and did not apologize for how her action unintentionally hurt me. This broke so much trust in me, how can I feel comfortable in a space where rupture and repair is handled so badly, I just felt unsafe and hurt. The attachment grew, I think shaming myself for it worsened it, I began to to think of her and the complicated love and hate I had for her. I was never present in my life, I could be out with friends, at a concert, at dinner, and I would just find myself slipping into my mind, replaying, reliving, trying to hunt for clues for an explanation. I blamed myself for sending the song, I hated that I became so attached to someone who made me feel so unsafe, who I had felt tricked me into the attachment. I don't know if she intentionally meant to do it or not, I don't think so, but I cannot be sure. In the meanwhile, my anxiety snowballed out of control, I had never been so dissociative, and socially anxious in my entire life, my mind felt like a prison. It felt like all of my trauma, anxiety, stress, social anxiety was coming to the surface after years of it being underwater. I didn’t feel like myself
In our very last session, I couldn't hold it in any longer, and told her everything, told her how terrified I was because of the attachment. I mustered up the courage to finally tell her about the romantic transference and she freaked out and almost yelled “this is a therapeutic relationship (2X)”. I cried over her saying this so much. I could not believe that in the final moments of a fact she knew, and I knew that she shamed me. I was so distraught about it, every time I thought about it, I cried. And after I told her all the pain I had been in, she said “So you learned nothing in the past few weeks” because I had said how much I worried what she thought of me and we had been trying to work on trying to move away from external validation. I could not again believe she made such a huge generalization, I had learned so much, but my attachment was causing me an insane sense of anxiety, and her actions (also a medication that I was on was also adding to the anxiety). We had then redrawn a new plan for therapy - something that would be more step by step, laying down self-compassion first which would have been more helpful.
I ended up having an argument with my father and started to have racing thoughts of wanting her to protect me, and her holding me. I panicked because of how unnatural it felt to have her in my mind, wanting her to protect me. I wrote her an email withdrawing as a client, thanking her for all the lessons I learned and how much the attachment scared me, and how I had flashing thoughts of her wanting to save me when I was arguing with my dad.
For the week after, I missed her like I had never missed anyone in my life. I had somehow made something like a core attachment to her, and felt like a dying child. I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart literally feeling like it would burst out of my body. I then began to do some very intense inner child work, she was in a horrific amount of pain and really longed for my therapist. After hours of work, over the days, I was able to reconnect with her in a way I was never able to. I reassured her that I was there to protect her and love her, and honestly I had so much distrust in myself that she didn’t believe me, but I did end up creating a bond with her. At least in this horrible experience, I was able to come back to myself. I am still recovering from it, but my anxiety is down and I am so much more aware of my thoughts. I feel very conscious that I am not my thoughts, but just an observer experiencing them, but of course I have good and bad days too.
But still I missed her, we had such a good bond, and honestly she became the one of the most important people in my life for the last 4 months. I could easily say I loved her the way that a client could love a therapist. I was heartbroken for weeks to lose that bond, all of her stories, all of the kindness, all of our jokes, I missed her so much. The thought of healing without out shook me to my core, I truly had built such an intense bond with her. I was in so much pain, crying out of nowhere, and angry for her behavior. Angry that she couldn’t take accountability, and sad that I now felt it was hard to trust her. And just upset that the situation had to spiral this far.
I realized, I had hope still, maybe we could work through it, maybe she apologized, and I could apologize and we could start over and move past this. I ended up sending an email requesting that I come back as a client but honestly told her that I don’t trust her, but felt we could hopefully repair that trust. And requested that she take accountability and that I would too. In response, she terminated me as a client and told me it was because “I was no longer benefitting from the modality that she practices”, and offered me 1 more session to discuss the “transition” to a new therapist. And told me she would send my files and explain my situation to another therapist.
I have been in utter chaos for the last few weeks, feeling every emotion you could think of in its extremes. Words could not describe the anguish I had been in. I feel completely abandoned and lost and confused. I still think about her every minute of every day. I am honestly unsure of how to face this situation. A part of me wants to cry, another wants to yell at her and not hold back on all the ways she hurt me. Another part wants to update her on all the good progress that I’ve made, and yet another part wants to send her a cold professional “thank you” email and put this horrible situation behind me. I feel so numb now, unable to choose what to do, unable to know if meeting her for the last time will give me any closure. Afraid that this therapist's wound will affect my life. And unable to stop thinking about her. I just went in to heal, that's all I wanted. I wanted to heal so that I could have happy, healthy relationships in my adult life unlike my parents before me. And all I feel is hurt, abandoned by the one person I felt safe with for the first time in years. I need help and any advice that you have. Thank you again :)
submitted by Green_bird_234 to TalkTherapy [link] [comments]
I am 26F and started therapy with a therapist 32F back in Jan 2024. It went extremely well in the beginning, we both have lived very similar lives, are both the same ethnicity and are both queer women. I also have OCD and CPTSD (maybe BPD - not sure). I never connected with another therapist like her before, it felt easy, natural and comfortable. I never felt so seen, so validated, so supportive ever in my life. And she was my type, so romantic transference was easy to happen for me. I started to think of her all day, ever day, like limerent crush. I also carry my heart on my sleeve and whenever she would mention the concept of romantic relationships, I would blush very obviously and be unable to make eye contact. I found myself stalking her LinkedIn and forgot that LinkedIn can track who has seen their page. The next session, the first thing she did was tell me about her entire career history unprompted, subtly letting me know that she knew that I stalked her page.
I then began to express how I find it difficult to connect with certain people, and she brought up the idea that I am just more compatible with some people and not others. She then said "If you and I were to go on a date. we would be compatible". I remember blushing so hard. In retrospect, that was an insane thing to do on her part. I think she wanted to check if I had a crush on her or not. But still I was just a vulnerable person who never felt seen in the way that a therapist could. We had pretty messy boundaries, to be honest, which I think added to this dichotomy - we spoke about music once and she asked to go through my playlists and told me we "had similar taste". You could literally see hearts in my eyes. I have no idea if she was being honest or not. She did one red flag thing that had good intentions but impacted me very negatively. I was very committed to taking notes and learning because I deeply wanted to heal, but felt I was not progressing. She pointed out to me how much better I was doing than her other clients (then told me about how each of them were not doing well. She also told me about a client that had to be referred out and rolled her eyes once about her. As someone racked with anxiety about how people perceive me, this deeply scared me because it meant that she was absolutely capable of judging me in the way that I expected her to. But honestly, she did help me, there were so many new concepts that really opened my mind and enriched me. She continued to make me feel safe, and heard.
I ended up becoming extremely attached to her, to the point of having erotic transference, which became intrusive and unwelcome. If I had a hard day at work, I would have flashes of being with her, of her holding me. So many times, the desire for her to hold me, and be with me was so overwhelming that I would have to write it down in a journal just to feel relief. It really scares me how depraved I have been, it scares me because I feel I am scared of how I would be in an actual relationship. Going back to the music, she said it would be alright if I sent her music that I had been listening to as long as it had to do with Mental health. I sent her several songs about mental health and sent her an extra song that was romantic in nature. I know I shouldn't have sent that song, I knew it was a mistake to do that. I hate that I did that because I put her in such an uncomfortable position and I crossed a boundary. For this, I take full accountability, I suppose I was trying to tell her in my way that I had romantic feelings for her.
The next session, there was a noticeable difference, she was more distant (less validating) and she changed to a harder - more challenging style (almost devil's advocate-y) which caused my attachment to twist inside me. I have an anxious attachment and I was confused by the change, didn't realize why I was in so much pain and incessant rumination trying to figure out what happened. I began to do what any anxiously attached person does, scan for signs of that I had done something wrong, that I would be abandoned. I would replay clips of sessions in my mind over and over trying to figure out if she cared about me or if she did not, there was evidence for both. I became increasingly attached, with the romantic transference which began to scare me because I knew I did not actually know her as a person, I had no idea if she was a bad person who manipulated me into attaching to her or if this was a healthy attachment. It became so overwhelming, she became my first thought in the morning, and my last thought at night. My heart longed for her in a way that it never longed for anyone in my life and my mind was paranoid and anxious of how this happened, and was distrustful of my therapist. She knew though that I liked her, I know because in a later session she began to discuss romantic relationships, and I bit my lip and looked down and I could hear her say "it must be so painful to not be able tell a friend you like them", and then we moved on to the next topic and the moment was over.
In one of our last sessions, I confronted her about how discussing her other client's "flaws'' caused me so much anxiety. She immediately became defensive and went into explanation mode instead of acknowledging the issue and did not apologize for how her action unintentionally hurt me. This broke so much trust in me, how can I feel comfortable in a space where rupture and repair is handled so badly, I just felt unsafe and hurt. The attachment grew, I think shaming myself for it worsened it, I began to to think of her and the complicated love and hate I had for her. I was never present in my life, I could be out with friends, at a concert, at dinner, and I would just find myself slipping into my mind, replaying, reliving, trying to hunt for clues for an explanation. I blamed myself for sending the song, I hated that I became so attached to someone who made me feel so unsafe, who I had felt tricked me into the attachment. I don't know if she intentionally meant to do it or not, I don't think so, but I cannot be sure. In the meanwhile, my anxiety snowballed out of control, I had never been so dissociative, and socially anxious in my entire life, my mind felt like a prison. It felt like all of my trauma, anxiety, stress, social anxiety was coming to the surface after years of it being underwater. I didn’t feel like myself
In our very last session, I couldn't hold it in any longer, and told her everything, told her how terrified I was because of the attachment. I mustered up the courage to finally tell her about the romantic transference and she freaked out and almost yelled “this is a therapeutic relationship (2X)”. I cried over her saying this so much. I could not believe that in the final moments of a fact she knew, and I knew that she shamed me. I was so distraught about it, every time I thought about it, I cried. And after I told her all the pain I had been in, she said “So you learned nothing in the past few weeks” because I had said how much I worried what she thought of me and we had been trying to work on trying to move away from external validation. I could not again believe she made such a huge generalization, I had learned so much, but my attachment was causing me an insane sense of anxiety, and her actions (also a medication that I was on was also adding to the anxiety). We had then redrawn a new plan for therapy - something that would be more step by step, laying down self-compassion first which would have been more helpful.
I ended up having an argument with my father and started to have racing thoughts of wanting her to protect me, and her holding me. I panicked because of how unnatural it felt to have her in my mind, wanting her to protect me. I wrote her an email withdrawing as a client, thanking her for all the lessons I learned and how much the attachment scared me, and how I had flashing thoughts of her wanting to save me when I was arguing with my dad.
For the week after, I missed her like I had never missed anyone in my life. I had somehow made something like a core attachment to her, and felt like a dying child. I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart literally feeling like it would burst out of my body. I then began to do some very intense inner child work, she was in a horrific amount of pain and really longed for my therapist. After hours of work, over the days, I was able to reconnect with her in a way I was never able to. I reassured her that I was there to protect her and love her, and honestly I had so much distrust in myself that she didn’t believe me, but I did end up creating a bond with her. At least in this horrible experience, I was able to come back to myself. I am still recovering from it, but my anxiety is down and I am so much more aware of my thoughts. I feel very conscious that I am not my thoughts, but just an observer experiencing them, but of course I have good and bad days too.
But still I missed her, we had such a good bond, and honestly she became the one of the most important people in my life for the last 4 months. I could easily say I loved her the way that a client could love a therapist. I was heartbroken for weeks to lose that bond, all of her stories, all of the kindness, all of our jokes, I missed her so much. The thought of healing without out shook me to my core, I truly had built such an intense bond with her. I was in so much pain, crying out of nowhere, and angry for her behavior. Angry that she couldn’t take accountability, and sad that I now felt it was hard to trust her. And just upset that the situation had to spiral this far.
I realized, I had hope still, maybe we could work through it, maybe she apologized, and I could apologize and we could start over and move past this. I ended up sending an email requesting that I come back as a client but honestly told her that I don’t trust her, but felt we could hopefully repair that trust. And requested that she take accountability and that I would too. In response, she terminated me as a client and told me it was because “I was no longer benefitting from the modality that she practices”, and offered me 1 more session to discuss the “transition” to a new therapist. And told me she would send my files and explain my situation to another therapist.
I have been in utter chaos for the last few weeks, feeling every emotion you could think of in its extremes. Words could not describe the anguish I had been in. I feel completely abandoned and lost and confused. I still think about her every minute of every day. I am honestly unsure of how to face this situation. A part of me wants to cry, another wants to yell at her and not hold back on all the ways she hurt me. Another part wants to update her on all the good progress that I’ve made, and yet another part wants to send her a cold professional “thank you” email and put this horrible situation behind me. I feel so numb now, unable to choose what to do, unable to know if meeting her for the last time will give me any closure. Afraid that this therapist's wound will affect my life. And unable to stop thinking about her. I just went in to heal, that's all I wanted. I wanted to heal so that I could have happy, healthy relationships in my adult life unlike my parents before me. And all I feel is hurt, abandoned by the one person I felt safe with for the first time in years. I need help and any advice that you have. Thank you again :)
2024.05.28 20:09 Grouchy-Barnacle-622 Know your friends
I've been wanting to finish up soon. This thought occured to me as far as why I've had different life experiences that have currently gotten me to this space.
I know I've written about the consequences and the choices we make and still how Gd is so merciful and kind. How despite how many chances we get we will still choose to satisfy ego and miss the point of life entirely.
I'm going to explain a story without highlighting the what or who ... And it's more how I understand that it's all going on at the same time.
So I had this friend... She was kinda my life line in a way. I always looked up to her. There were periods of time I asked her for help, but to no avail I was left in the dark.
Anyway, I remember when I was going through the challenges with JE, I fell into a hard depression. All my dreams were quickly fading. I had asked her for help but at a certain point it was as if she closed the door on me. She no longer wanted to hang out. She became distant. We were suppose to travel together to the same city where I would begin graduate school. She changed her mind. End of story. When I asked for help... She was really the only one who could... And I didn't understand how she could change seemingly overnight. My best friend who was in another state was also perplexed by her behavior.
Life went on and I lost a lot of more of my soul during that time bc my heart was taken (son)... And when I asked her help with that.. the door was closed. You just have to accept it. You know. And I did. I figured I would work even harder.
Then I ended up living in the city she did. It's were i once again met M at. And I started to get really sick. I would tell her about M, but all I heard was your obsessed and you need to stop. A lot of put downs and when I asked for help bc I was at my lowest point she closed the door once again. She later told me it was bc she feared her husband would like me. It made no sense to me bc he was an outstanding guy who wasn't at all like other men. I would never cross that line with her. Ever. I knew from a young age that was such a no no. And I would never give a man the opportunity to ever think there was a possibility. When I told my best friend who was in another state how my condition was getting worse and worse and how even a therapist had said if you don't leave that job you're going to end up dead. I was scared at that point. She asked why isn't my friend helping me. And I said I don't know. She worries about her husband and me. And my best friend thought that was strange and it didn't make any sense to her either because she knew me and my moral character.
At that point my best friend said just pack your stuff up and come here. She said... "Get your ass over here now"... And so I did. She saved me. Bc at that point I didn't have anyone or any help. My PTSD was the highest it ever was. I couldn't function anymore. And when I got there I cried and told her everything that was happening with my job.
She asked two things of me.
And then out of the blue my friends husband ends up being killed as an innocent bystander. And I'm there for her through it all. I was so saddened for her bc she loved him so much. Yet, she would look at me curiously always thought the worse of me when I would say kind words about him to her. Almost like a sorta guilt on her part. I never understood it. Until now.
After he passed within a couple of days I had a dream. The 4K kind. In this dream he's talking to me and he's pissed off at my friend. He's so mad at her. And he shows me the kitchen sink. Like look at how disgusting she is... The sink had nothing but garbage spewing out ... The disposal wasn't working... There were leaks everywhere... It was 🤢 gross ... Then he takes me outside... And I see a man I know. A relative who passed long ago... Leaning against the fence. And he was just looking at me with this smirk on his face. And what I know of him to be is a womanizer and cheater and not a good man in that he degrades woman... The thing about points in time, is you don't fully know what's being said bc you haven't met the person yet. But in your dream it's telling you something more... Pay attention!!! Anyway, it turns out that his name is the same as my ex husbands. And what her deceased husband was telling me is that his wife is disgusting.
In that dream he was just so upset. Mad really that she would do such a thing. At that time I just didn't understand and I wasn't about to tell my friend ... Hey I had a dream and your husband is pissed off at you. A few years later I had another dream with the same dirty sink reference pertaining to her... And that was the start of when she started to have an affair with my ex husband.
In fact, after some time I told her about the dreams. And I didn't mention that her husband was pissed off. I just said, he told me to tell you to fix your dirty sink. This was the time she continued to have an affair.
And so you get warnings. You get many warnings letting you know... Hey stop! What you're doing is wrong. After I got over my friends betrayel I found something else out. It wasn't just with my now ex husband. It was also with my first ex husband. It's why she closed her doors to me when I really needed her help bc I was losing everything and I didn't understand how my first ex husband had the balls to push as hard as he did.
When I talk to my best friend about this she basically says your son was kidnapped and taken to another state. And this is the part where I asked my friend for help. But she was too busy sleeping with him. And all our plans fell through. At the same time JE got a hold of me beforehand and I lost so much of my strength to fight this battle. And after they enroll your kid in school it's like that. And when I went to a lawyer they said I needed a retainer of 10K to fight this battle.
And so it goes ... This was mainly me trying to highlight how every action you think is in the past really isn't. It's all being played out at the same time. And her husband coming to be upset and disgusted was bc he showed me a reference point that was to take place with my own husband. Same name and characteristics... Bc at that time point not having met my husband yet, I'm shown another image of someone similar to him... Like his name and what he was known to be.
And so it goes. This story just highlights how your past, present and future are all One. And in this process you are shown and given warnings to stop. You are shown mercy etc.
If anything I forgive my friend. And I feel like if anything I was freed from these men. At the same time though a true friend would just help you free yourself. They wouldn't commit adultery to free you from them, or deny you help but bc of their involvement in inappropriate relationships they go back on their word and no longer want to help you.
And so I understand why she never wanted to help me the first time and thought I would sleep with her husband. It's bc she felt guilty she slept with my first ex husband. And even after the death of her husband who she loved dearly what would she continue on this track. So you really end up paying the price in the past for your actions in the future... I told her about the dreams. She understood what they meant... And it's like she didn't care. They didn't affect her...
And so it goes... Do you know your friends. I've always had nothing but kind words to say about her and even now I'll still say kind words about her. I offered her forgiveness as well and let it go. I lost a lot bc I couldn't see that just bc someone is nice on the outside and seems humanitarian that they really care about you. Evil comes in different masks... It can appear as light or darkness. One in the same.
submitted by Grouchy-Barnacle-622 to u/Grouchy-Barnacle-622 [link] [comments]
I know I've written about the consequences and the choices we make and still how Gd is so merciful and kind. How despite how many chances we get we will still choose to satisfy ego and miss the point of life entirely.
I'm going to explain a story without highlighting the what or who ... And it's more how I understand that it's all going on at the same time.
So I had this friend... She was kinda my life line in a way. I always looked up to her. There were periods of time I asked her for help, but to no avail I was left in the dark.
Anyway, I remember when I was going through the challenges with JE, I fell into a hard depression. All my dreams were quickly fading. I had asked her for help but at a certain point it was as if she closed the door on me. She no longer wanted to hang out. She became distant. We were suppose to travel together to the same city where I would begin graduate school. She changed her mind. End of story. When I asked for help... She was really the only one who could... And I didn't understand how she could change seemingly overnight. My best friend who was in another state was also perplexed by her behavior.
Life went on and I lost a lot of more of my soul during that time bc my heart was taken (son)... And when I asked her help with that.. the door was closed. You just have to accept it. You know. And I did. I figured I would work even harder.
Then I ended up living in the city she did. It's were i once again met M at. And I started to get really sick. I would tell her about M, but all I heard was your obsessed and you need to stop. A lot of put downs and when I asked for help bc I was at my lowest point she closed the door once again. She later told me it was bc she feared her husband would like me. It made no sense to me bc he was an outstanding guy who wasn't at all like other men. I would never cross that line with her. Ever. I knew from a young age that was such a no no. And I would never give a man the opportunity to ever think there was a possibility. When I told my best friend who was in another state how my condition was getting worse and worse and how even a therapist had said if you don't leave that job you're going to end up dead. I was scared at that point. She asked why isn't my friend helping me. And I said I don't know. She worries about her husband and me. And my best friend thought that was strange and it didn't make any sense to her either because she knew me and my moral character.
At that point my best friend said just pack your stuff up and come here. She said... "Get your ass over here now"... And so I did. She saved me. Bc at that point I didn't have anyone or any help. My PTSD was the highest it ever was. I couldn't function anymore. And when I got there I cried and told her everything that was happening with my job.
She asked two things of me.
- To get better
- Not to worry about bills or food that she just wanted me to get better and not worry about getting a job.
And then out of the blue my friends husband ends up being killed as an innocent bystander. And I'm there for her through it all. I was so saddened for her bc she loved him so much. Yet, she would look at me curiously always thought the worse of me when I would say kind words about him to her. Almost like a sorta guilt on her part. I never understood it. Until now.
After he passed within a couple of days I had a dream. The 4K kind. In this dream he's talking to me and he's pissed off at my friend. He's so mad at her. And he shows me the kitchen sink. Like look at how disgusting she is... The sink had nothing but garbage spewing out ... The disposal wasn't working... There were leaks everywhere... It was 🤢 gross ... Then he takes me outside... And I see a man I know. A relative who passed long ago... Leaning against the fence. And he was just looking at me with this smirk on his face. And what I know of him to be is a womanizer and cheater and not a good man in that he degrades woman... The thing about points in time, is you don't fully know what's being said bc you haven't met the person yet. But in your dream it's telling you something more... Pay attention!!! Anyway, it turns out that his name is the same as my ex husbands. And what her deceased husband was telling me is that his wife is disgusting.
In that dream he was just so upset. Mad really that she would do such a thing. At that time I just didn't understand and I wasn't about to tell my friend ... Hey I had a dream and your husband is pissed off at you. A few years later I had another dream with the same dirty sink reference pertaining to her... And that was the start of when she started to have an affair with my ex husband.
In fact, after some time I told her about the dreams. And I didn't mention that her husband was pissed off. I just said, he told me to tell you to fix your dirty sink. This was the time she continued to have an affair.
And so you get warnings. You get many warnings letting you know... Hey stop! What you're doing is wrong. After I got over my friends betrayel I found something else out. It wasn't just with my now ex husband. It was also with my first ex husband. It's why she closed her doors to me when I really needed her help bc I was losing everything and I didn't understand how my first ex husband had the balls to push as hard as he did.
When I talk to my best friend about this she basically says your son was kidnapped and taken to another state. And this is the part where I asked my friend for help. But she was too busy sleeping with him. And all our plans fell through. At the same time JE got a hold of me beforehand and I lost so much of my strength to fight this battle. And after they enroll your kid in school it's like that. And when I went to a lawyer they said I needed a retainer of 10K to fight this battle.
And so it goes ... This was mainly me trying to highlight how every action you think is in the past really isn't. It's all being played out at the same time. And her husband coming to be upset and disgusted was bc he showed me a reference point that was to take place with my own husband. Same name and characteristics... Bc at that time point not having met my husband yet, I'm shown another image of someone similar to him... Like his name and what he was known to be.
And so it goes. This story just highlights how your past, present and future are all One. And in this process you are shown and given warnings to stop. You are shown mercy etc.
If anything I forgive my friend. And I feel like if anything I was freed from these men. At the same time though a true friend would just help you free yourself. They wouldn't commit adultery to free you from them, or deny you help but bc of their involvement in inappropriate relationships they go back on their word and no longer want to help you.
And so I understand why she never wanted to help me the first time and thought I would sleep with her husband. It's bc she felt guilty she slept with my first ex husband. And even after the death of her husband who she loved dearly what would she continue on this track. So you really end up paying the price in the past for your actions in the future... I told her about the dreams. She understood what they meant... And it's like she didn't care. They didn't affect her...
And so it goes... Do you know your friends. I've always had nothing but kind words to say about her and even now I'll still say kind words about her. I offered her forgiveness as well and let it go. I lost a lot bc I couldn't see that just bc someone is nice on the outside and seems humanitarian that they really care about you. Evil comes in different masks... It can appear as light or darkness. One in the same.
2024.05.28 19:57 Deep_Hospital_3632 Should I (39m) call it off with my long distance fiancée (32f)?
Posting from a throwaway.
I'm (39m) a teacher and I spent several years teaching English as a second language in SE Asia. I was the quintessential LBH. I suddenly found myself in situations where I was considered interesting, not irritating, and after living that and then having to come home, I think I got a microscopic taste of what it's like to go from a celebrity to a has been. It's hard to go from a life where people seek me out to be my friend and come back to a life where the only person who calls me on my birthday is my mom.
Which brings me to the woman (32) in my life, someone I'll call Sharen. (That's a bit of an iykyk joke for anyone who speaks Chinese. For the record, Sharen does not kill people, that I know of.) Sharen is someone I started casually dating while I was living near Shanghai. Long story short, after a string of setbacks I wound up moving back to the USA. As soon as I got here it was back to being a loser. I moved to a city where I only know a couple of people, and I spent a lot of time just endlessly swiping on Tinder or messaging endless people on Grindr. Very few people ever got back to me and 9/10 of them were scammers. After a few months of that, I realized I'd let a good thing go in China and I messaged Sharon on WeChat to see how she felt about coming to the USA.
I spoke with an immigration lawyer and was told that the cheapest and easiest way to be with Sharon in the USA would be to marry her. So I went for it and asked Sharon to marry me, and she said yes.
Now here's the tricky part. Sharon is a trans woman. That means that according to Chinese legislation, this would be a same sex marriage, which is not legal in China. I asked the lawyer about a K1 visa and she made it sound like it would be a difficult and expensive process and we would probably be denied. She reccomended we get married in a third country and then apply for a spousal visa. I cross referenced every country you can travel to from China without a visa, with countries that allow same sex marriage, and, more-or-less, the only one that came up was Ecuador.
Ecuador sounds nice. Decent human rights record. Cool wildlife. Sharen was worried. For reasons that I don't fully understand but suspect are related to the social media she consumes, she is convinced Ecuador is deporting and incarcerating a large number of Chinese people who go over there. So she has decided that she'd rather apply for a visa to go to another country. She applied for a visa to go to the UK and was denied because the travel agency she talked to straight up told her to lie and say she had a better job in China. She had to submit her bank records and that was the end of that. So now we're looking at France. She went to the French consulate in Shanghai and they told her she would have to make an appointment, and they were booked out for several months. There's also a consulate in Chengdu, and she could go there without an appointment. We talked about it and we agreed that a flight to and from Chengdu just really didn't make financial sense at a time when we're both trying to save as much as we can. Well, she changed her mind and went to Chengdu. I realize some of you might look at that like her not respecting the relationship or whatever but she can make her own decisions and if she can afford it I don't have a problem with it. So we're waiting to hear back on her visa application at the time that I write this.
Here's the thing. I'm getting cold feet. I really don't think we have that much in common, and I think she's really a catch, but that doesn't mean we are right for each other. A lot of people abroad see the USA through rose colored glasses and think that everyone here is rich and progressive. I mentioned to her about what Project 2025 would mean for GRSM people and she said 'Well, then Donald Trump certainly won't become president.' I've tried to explain to her that USA isn't a bastion of queer acceptance and I don't think she gets it. One thing she is really looking forward to is GAC. She saved for years to get bottom surgery. Her father got access to it and lost it all gambling. She can't access hormones and she takes birth control pills. I don't know how safe that is. It's easy to see how she thinks things will be better in the USA, but I don't think she is going to be able to get GAC as quickly or easily as she thinks.
Besides that, I just think we see the world in different ways and there's a love language barrier, if you will. I think she's being jejune about this whole thing and doesn't fully comprehend how incredibly challenging our marriage is going to be. My Chinese is pretty good but it's still difficult to communicate some of the more messy parts of life. She's going to have to learn to live in a completely different culture where she doesn't speak the language. So many of the things she's depended on in life are going to be difficult or impossible to obtain. And on a personal level, how is she going to feel at a family reunion where people want to be friendly toward her but don't know how? I haven't told my parents she's trans yet. She's asked me to keep it a secret and I respect that, but I can't help but feel like the longer we go without telling them the worse it's going to be when they find out.
And I try to talk to her about these things, but especially with her traveling lately, it seems like she never finds time. I'll try to start a conversation and I won't hear back from her for hours. When I do hear back, she changes the subject. I don't even think she knows she's doing it. She's never introduced me to any of her friends. She rarely tells me about when she has a tough day at work or what she thinks about life or anything. I feel like we haven't had an opportunity to open up to one another in months. I was unemployed until a few weeks ago, and she told me I should try to get a job as a cop. I tried to explain to her that 'Anarchists don't become police officers.' but she didn’t understand what I meant by that. I think she cares more about financial security and I care more about hippie bullshit like trying to make the world a better place. I don't blame her for being that way, but how can we be on the same team if we have such different goals in life?
On the one hand, I am willing to take the risk, as long as my postnup is iron clad. As long as I don't lose everything in a divorce, the worst thing that happens is I help someone get her life together in a country where she can be her authentic self. And I know this is a shitty reason to stay in a relationship, but I'm so tired of being alone, and the prospects of me finding anyone in the USA aren't promising. I’m at an age where going out and meeting people seems impossible. I’ve been in this city for two years now and I’ve made about two friends who I never see. Going from that to finding a perfect match seems so far away and I'm not getting any younger, and there's someone who loves me for who I am and it’s hard to say no to that. What's the worst thing that could happen from just going for it and seeing if we can't make it work?
Another thing that I think bears mentioning is that, at this point, it’s especially shitty to jilt her. She’s gone to the consulate. She’s applied for a visa. She’s making travel plans. She’s thinking about how she’s finally going to get where she wants to go in life. She’s borrowed money so we can make this work.
So what do I do? Do I give it the old college try even though I have giant reservations about it? Do I call it off and let her go back to a life that is unsatisfying and dangerous? I’m leaning toward going for it, but I don’t know that that’s the best idea. Thanks for reading and thanks for offering any advice.
submitted by Deep_Hospital_3632 to Advice [link] [comments]
I'm (39m) a teacher and I spent several years teaching English as a second language in SE Asia. I was the quintessential LBH. I suddenly found myself in situations where I was considered interesting, not irritating, and after living that and then having to come home, I think I got a microscopic taste of what it's like to go from a celebrity to a has been. It's hard to go from a life where people seek me out to be my friend and come back to a life where the only person who calls me on my birthday is my mom.
Which brings me to the woman (32) in my life, someone I'll call Sharen. (That's a bit of an iykyk joke for anyone who speaks Chinese. For the record, Sharen does not kill people, that I know of.) Sharen is someone I started casually dating while I was living near Shanghai. Long story short, after a string of setbacks I wound up moving back to the USA. As soon as I got here it was back to being a loser. I moved to a city where I only know a couple of people, and I spent a lot of time just endlessly swiping on Tinder or messaging endless people on Grindr. Very few people ever got back to me and 9/10 of them were scammers. After a few months of that, I realized I'd let a good thing go in China and I messaged Sharon on WeChat to see how she felt about coming to the USA.
I spoke with an immigration lawyer and was told that the cheapest and easiest way to be with Sharon in the USA would be to marry her. So I went for it and asked Sharon to marry me, and she said yes.
Now here's the tricky part. Sharon is a trans woman. That means that according to Chinese legislation, this would be a same sex marriage, which is not legal in China. I asked the lawyer about a K1 visa and she made it sound like it would be a difficult and expensive process and we would probably be denied. She reccomended we get married in a third country and then apply for a spousal visa. I cross referenced every country you can travel to from China without a visa, with countries that allow same sex marriage, and, more-or-less, the only one that came up was Ecuador.
Ecuador sounds nice. Decent human rights record. Cool wildlife. Sharen was worried. For reasons that I don't fully understand but suspect are related to the social media she consumes, she is convinced Ecuador is deporting and incarcerating a large number of Chinese people who go over there. So she has decided that she'd rather apply for a visa to go to another country. She applied for a visa to go to the UK and was denied because the travel agency she talked to straight up told her to lie and say she had a better job in China. She had to submit her bank records and that was the end of that. So now we're looking at France. She went to the French consulate in Shanghai and they told her she would have to make an appointment, and they were booked out for several months. There's also a consulate in Chengdu, and she could go there without an appointment. We talked about it and we agreed that a flight to and from Chengdu just really didn't make financial sense at a time when we're both trying to save as much as we can. Well, she changed her mind and went to Chengdu. I realize some of you might look at that like her not respecting the relationship or whatever but she can make her own decisions and if she can afford it I don't have a problem with it. So we're waiting to hear back on her visa application at the time that I write this.
Here's the thing. I'm getting cold feet. I really don't think we have that much in common, and I think she's really a catch, but that doesn't mean we are right for each other. A lot of people abroad see the USA through rose colored glasses and think that everyone here is rich and progressive. I mentioned to her about what Project 2025 would mean for GRSM people and she said 'Well, then Donald Trump certainly won't become president.' I've tried to explain to her that USA isn't a bastion of queer acceptance and I don't think she gets it. One thing she is really looking forward to is GAC. She saved for years to get bottom surgery. Her father got access to it and lost it all gambling. She can't access hormones and she takes birth control pills. I don't know how safe that is. It's easy to see how she thinks things will be better in the USA, but I don't think she is going to be able to get GAC as quickly or easily as she thinks.
Besides that, I just think we see the world in different ways and there's a love language barrier, if you will. I think she's being jejune about this whole thing and doesn't fully comprehend how incredibly challenging our marriage is going to be. My Chinese is pretty good but it's still difficult to communicate some of the more messy parts of life. She's going to have to learn to live in a completely different culture where she doesn't speak the language. So many of the things she's depended on in life are going to be difficult or impossible to obtain. And on a personal level, how is she going to feel at a family reunion where people want to be friendly toward her but don't know how? I haven't told my parents she's trans yet. She's asked me to keep it a secret and I respect that, but I can't help but feel like the longer we go without telling them the worse it's going to be when they find out.
And I try to talk to her about these things, but especially with her traveling lately, it seems like she never finds time. I'll try to start a conversation and I won't hear back from her for hours. When I do hear back, she changes the subject. I don't even think she knows she's doing it. She's never introduced me to any of her friends. She rarely tells me about when she has a tough day at work or what she thinks about life or anything. I feel like we haven't had an opportunity to open up to one another in months. I was unemployed until a few weeks ago, and she told me I should try to get a job as a cop. I tried to explain to her that 'Anarchists don't become police officers.' but she didn’t understand what I meant by that. I think she cares more about financial security and I care more about hippie bullshit like trying to make the world a better place. I don't blame her for being that way, but how can we be on the same team if we have such different goals in life?
On the one hand, I am willing to take the risk, as long as my postnup is iron clad. As long as I don't lose everything in a divorce, the worst thing that happens is I help someone get her life together in a country where she can be her authentic self. And I know this is a shitty reason to stay in a relationship, but I'm so tired of being alone, and the prospects of me finding anyone in the USA aren't promising. I’m at an age where going out and meeting people seems impossible. I’ve been in this city for two years now and I’ve made about two friends who I never see. Going from that to finding a perfect match seems so far away and I'm not getting any younger, and there's someone who loves me for who I am and it’s hard to say no to that. What's the worst thing that could happen from just going for it and seeing if we can't make it work?
Another thing that I think bears mentioning is that, at this point, it’s especially shitty to jilt her. She’s gone to the consulate. She’s applied for a visa. She’s making travel plans. She’s thinking about how she’s finally going to get where she wants to go in life. She’s borrowed money so we can make this work.
So what do I do? Do I give it the old college try even though I have giant reservations about it? Do I call it off and let her go back to a life that is unsatisfying and dangerous? I’m leaning toward going for it, but I don’t know that that’s the best idea. Thanks for reading and thanks for offering any advice.
2024.05.28 19:56 ForwardPossession102 The grand conspiracy!--Or, what do Weinstein, Epstein, Jimmy Savile, Diddy and Drake have in common?
See my previous post on how money-laundering works in human trafficking organizations:
https://www.reddit.com/DarkKenny/comments/1d2ckb2/follow_the_money_how_laundering_income_works_in/
#1 What do human trafficking organizations look like?
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/dying-to-leave-business-structures/1420/
"Larger international human trafficking groups are organized like actual businesses. Management and labor responsibilities are distributed to maximize the greatest profit and allow rapid response to change... the make-up of human trafficking organizations can be divided into the following roles:
Arrangers/Investors invest money in and supervise the operation of the entire trafficking enterprise. These individuals remain largely anonymous... so that they cannot be connected to any particular crime perpetrated by one of the organization’s branches.
...
Money Launderers cover up the trail of cash, which may be reinvested in additional criminal activities or legal enterprises or dispersed through a series of hard-to-trace transactions."
#2 "Wherever there is power, greed, and money, there is corruption"
This quote by Ken Poirot has a caveat--if money, power, and greed are present, there is likely to be corruption. But we're talking about human trafficking--how does a human being get from power, money and greed, to that level of corruption?
Research says that the amount of power an individual has determines how they respond to negative feedback:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2985
The more power an individual has, the less feedback matters to them. They find themselves in a positive feedback loop where their actions are justified because they experience no negative consequences. Of course, the feedback of other powerful acquaintances does still matter--there is a balance here.
#3 What do Weinstein, Epstein, Jimmy Savile, Diddy and Drake have in common, though?
They all have power, greed, and money. They are all corrupt people to different degrees.
It would be naive to believe that all people involved in human trafficking in the entertainment industry are part of some grand conspiracy. It is more likely that the psychology of corruption is not unique, and has been allowed to play out because powerful people do no receive negative feedback from other powerful people.
If you put significant events in a timeline, you start to notice a pattern... increasing in frequency.
In 2012, the "scale of sexual allegations reported against Savile was unprecedented," currently the number exceeds 450 victims. Savile passed away in 2011:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile
Despite a long legal battle and years of coercion, Weinstein was first charged with rape and other charges in May 2018:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672
Despite a long history of allegations, in July 2019 Epstein was finally arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges:
https://apnews.com/article/epstein-maxwell-timeline-b9f15710fabb72e8581c71e94acf513e
In the summer of 2023, Vince McMahon received a grand jury subpoena related to sex-trafficking allegations. He is currently under federal investigation:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/vince-mcmahon-former-wwe-exec-federal-investigation-sources/story?id=106897582
In November 2023, lawsuits were filed against both Sean Combs and Jamie Foxx by the same group of lawyers:
https://www.billboard.com/lists/sean-diddy-combs-allegations-timeline/
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diddy-jamie-foxx-steven-tyler-lawsuits-adult-survivors-act-legal-experts-200051096.html
May 18, 2024, DJ Akademiks was sued for sexual assault. The lawyer representing his victim, Tyrone Blackburn, was also trying to prosecute Lucien Grange and UMG as defendants alongside Diddy in another case:
https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/umg-lucian-grainge-response-lawyer-diddy-sex-abuse-lawsuit-1235643407/
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dj-akademiks-sued-rape-defamation-ziya-abashe-1235019646/
It seems Lucien Grange has escaped legal peril for now.
So Drake... how soon do you think until your Embassy is raided? It's only a matter of time...
#4 But is it really human trafficking, or are they just really shitty corrupted people?
Look, I think we should be erring on the side of caution here. I anticipate that as more things come to light, this subreddit is going to explode with activity. I'm not saying that these people are all deeply connected in a massive conspiracy. All I'm saying is that in order to run human sex trafficking organizations, you need financiers and money launderers, and we have seen this happen before.
The frequency with which this is now happening to powerful people to me indicates what many industry insiders are echoing--2024 is the year of truth.
Edit: formatting
submitted by ForwardPossession102 to DarkKenny [link] [comments]
https://www.reddit.com/DarkKenny/comments/1d2ckb2/follow_the_money_how_laundering_income_works_in/
#1 What do human trafficking organizations look like?
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/dying-to-leave-business-structures/1420/
"Larger international human trafficking groups are organized like actual businesses. Management and labor responsibilities are distributed to maximize the greatest profit and allow rapid response to change... the make-up of human trafficking organizations can be divided into the following roles:
Arrangers/Investors invest money in and supervise the operation of the entire trafficking enterprise. These individuals remain largely anonymous... so that they cannot be connected to any particular crime perpetrated by one of the organization’s branches.
...
Money Launderers cover up the trail of cash, which may be reinvested in additional criminal activities or legal enterprises or dispersed through a series of hard-to-trace transactions."
#2 "Wherever there is power, greed, and money, there is corruption"
This quote by Ken Poirot has a caveat--if money, power, and greed are present, there is likely to be corruption. But we're talking about human trafficking--how does a human being get from power, money and greed, to that level of corruption?
Research says that the amount of power an individual has determines how they respond to negative feedback:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejsp.2985
The more power an individual has, the less feedback matters to them. They find themselves in a positive feedback loop where their actions are justified because they experience no negative consequences. Of course, the feedback of other powerful acquaintances does still matter--there is a balance here.
#3 What do Weinstein, Epstein, Jimmy Savile, Diddy and Drake have in common, though?
They all have power, greed, and money. They are all corrupt people to different degrees.
It would be naive to believe that all people involved in human trafficking in the entertainment industry are part of some grand conspiracy. It is more likely that the psychology of corruption is not unique, and has been allowed to play out because powerful people do no receive negative feedback from other powerful people.
If you put significant events in a timeline, you start to notice a pattern... increasing in frequency.
In 2012, the "scale of sexual allegations reported against Savile was unprecedented," currently the number exceeds 450 victims. Savile passed away in 2011:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Savile
Despite a long legal battle and years of coercion, Weinstein was first charged with rape and other charges in May 2018:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-41594672
Despite a long history of allegations, in July 2019 Epstein was finally arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges:
https://apnews.com/article/epstein-maxwell-timeline-b9f15710fabb72e8581c71e94acf513e
In the summer of 2023, Vince McMahon received a grand jury subpoena related to sex-trafficking allegations. He is currently under federal investigation:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/vince-mcmahon-former-wwe-exec-federal-investigation-sources/story?id=106897582
In November 2023, lawsuits were filed against both Sean Combs and Jamie Foxx by the same group of lawyers:
https://www.billboard.com/lists/sean-diddy-combs-allegations-timeline/
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/diddy-jamie-foxx-steven-tyler-lawsuits-adult-survivors-act-legal-experts-200051096.html
May 18, 2024, DJ Akademiks was sued for sexual assault. The lawyer representing his victim, Tyrone Blackburn, was also trying to prosecute Lucien Grange and UMG as defendants alongside Diddy in another case:
https://www.billboard.com/business/legal/umg-lucian-grainge-response-lawyer-diddy-sex-abuse-lawsuit-1235643407/
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/dj-akademiks-sued-rape-defamation-ziya-abashe-1235019646/
It seems Lucien Grange has escaped legal peril for now.
So Drake... how soon do you think until your Embassy is raided? It's only a matter of time...
#4 But is it really human trafficking, or are they just really shitty corrupted people?
Look, I think we should be erring on the side of caution here. I anticipate that as more things come to light, this subreddit is going to explode with activity. I'm not saying that these people are all deeply connected in a massive conspiracy. All I'm saying is that in order to run human sex trafficking organizations, you need financiers and money launderers, and we have seen this happen before.
The frequency with which this is now happening to powerful people to me indicates what many industry insiders are echoing--2024 is the year of truth.
Edit: formatting
2024.05.28 19:53 newyork0120 Violent Criminal Offenders Are Now “Justice Impacted Individuals”
A couple of months ago in March, a 37-year-old man named Crosetti Brand was released on parole in the state of Illinois. He had been locked up on a charge of home invasion and sentenced to more than a decade in prison. But the state’s prisoner review board decided to let him out early with electronic monitoring, and what happened next was predictable. Just a day after he got out of prison, Chicago police say that Crosetti attacked a pregnant woman and her 11-year-old boy, killing the child and critically injuring his mother. According to court documents, the last time he was on parole, Crosetti had threatened the same woman by texts and showed up at her home, but none of Crosetti’s criminal history, including his alleged threats, were enough to keep him in prison. And now authorities say that a child is dead as a result.
Now, this is clearly a massive failure of the judicial system in Illinois, which, particularly post-BLM, has focused more on “rehabilitation” instead of punishment - it’s the kind of episode that you’d hope would spur lawmakers in Illinois to pass new laws to rein in their approach of “restorative justice,” but the Illinois government has opted for a very different response. Instead of doing something to prevent violent criminals from getting out of prison, state lawmakers have decided on a course of action that’s ripped straight from a Babylon Bee article.
A new bill that was just passed by both houses of the Illinois legislature—and which is expected to be signed by the governor—will modify state law so that the term “offender” becomes replaced by the term “justice-impacted individual.” The Department of Corrections and a bunch of other government agencies will be required to use that term from now on. So the plan is not to do anything about the criminals who are getting out of prison. It’s to use a nicer word to describe these criminals. Don’t call them “offenders,” call them “justice-impacted individuals.”
Now, I had to check several times to make sure this wasn’t satire because it is quite literally beyond parody - actually, if the Babylon Bee had come up with this idea, I wouldn’t find it funny because it would be too on the nose. But this is reality now in Illinois. This is their cutting-edge approach to criminal justice.
So they’re not rebranding EVERY criminal as a “justice-impacted individual.” They’re only rebranding SOME of the “high-risk adult felons” who otherwise would be in prison. So if you’re living in Chicago, hopefully you can rest easy tonight with that distinction in mind.
Now, the point of the word game here is the same as always. First, it removes agency from the individual by making terminology as passive as possible - an offender is not an offender anymore because offending is something that a person actively does—it puts the onus on the individual, you have gone out and offended, you have committed an offense—and instead they’re saying, “well, they’re justice impacted.” They were impacted by justice, it’s not their fault. Justice came alone and impacted them. They’re the victims here, if anything. And second, on top of making everything and removing agency, it also helps identify the people in your club, because they’re the ones who know about these lingo changes and follow the rules. So it’s not much different from a child who sets up a pillow fort and won’t let you inside the fort unless you know the password, which changes randomly and on a whim, it’s like that kind of idea.
Now, if you go looking online for the term “justice-impacted individual,” you’ll find that it’s popular among Harvard podcasters, billionaire Left-wing activists, giant Silicon Valley corporations like Google; these are people and organizations that, conveniently enough, have distanced themselves as much as possible from communities where crime is high. So they don’t want anything to do with the “justice-impacted individuals,” but they want YOU to have to live near them and treat them with respect and even refer to them in a way that would not be alienating or otherizing for them.
Of course, nobody in the real world uses terms like “justice-impacted individuals,” which is precisely the point. If you go around saying the words “justice-impacted individual,” then you’re instantly communicating where you stand on the political spectrum. And perhaps more importantly, people who don’t use these new terms are instantly identifiable as outcasts, as racists and terrible people. Every so often, wealthy elites and academics come up with new ways to provide these kinds of signals, and then they inevitably filter down to activists and government bureaucrats, which is what’s happening right now in Illinois. Which is also why, by the way, this may be the first time you’re hearing of “justice impacted individual” - give it like a year, or six months, and you’ll be hearing it everywhere. That’s the way this always goes.
Now, there was an episode during the Canadian trucker convoy a couple of years ago that illustrates how this strategy works in practice: the truckers who gathered in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa were exactly the kind of blue-collar workers that liberals pretend to care about, but in this case, the blue-collar workers were protesting for freedom, so they had to be crushed. It was vitally important for liberals to smear these truckers as racist, and one of the ways the liberals did that was by criticizing the truckers for using the wrong lingo.
This is a clip from a Fox interview that Leftists mocked relentlessly during the convoy, and listen to it and see if you can spot what they considered the problem to be:
Now, logically, there’s no difference whatsoever between saying “I have colored friends” and “I have friends who are people of color”—it’s just a slight grammatical difference that means absolutely nothing, it’s all semantics - if anything, the latter sentence is unnecessarily wordy—otherwise, they’re the same. If a person can be “of color” then it is accurate to say that the person is “colored.” A person of color is a colored person. But your intellectual superiors have decided for reasons that cannot be explained that “people of color” is the only phrase you’re allowed to use. If you say “colored people”—unless you’re the NAACP—you’re a bigot. So they vilified this trucker all over social media, both here and in Canada, and on top of that, too, not only did he use the wrong lingo, but he also tried to disprove accusations of racism by saying he has black friends, and we’re also told by our betters that that doesn’t prove anything. But of course, it absolutely does - like if you have friends of a particular race, it’s a pretty good indication that you’re not racist against that race.
But this is one of the main reasons that cutting-edge P.C. lingo exists - it’s why you’re supposed to say “people experiencing homelessness,” instead of “homeless drug addict.” It’s why you’re supposed to say “minor attracted person” instead of “pedophile.” And it’s why, if at all possible, you’re supposed to employ clever euphemisms to describe criminals who happen to be, really, any race but white.
The New York Post is particularly adept at this last trick to the point that it’s become a running joke online (and presumably, in the Post’s newsroom) - among the euphemisms that the New York Post has come up with to describe black suspects are: “cold-hearted teens,” “knife-wielding sicko,” “misogynistic maniac,” and my personal favorite, “Lunchtime rowdies.”
Now, just in case there was any doubt that the Post is doing this deliberately, here’s a passage from that article on the “lunchtime rowdies.” See if you can count all the euphemisms. Here it is, and this is totally real: “A band of foul-mouthed, toy gun-waving, pot-puffing high school hooligans are keeping residents of West 13th off 6th Avenue hostage in their own tony homes. … For at least a year while school is in session, the roughnecks roam from stoop to stoop every day at lunchtime, rolling blunts, getting high, acting out and taunting anyone who gets in their way.”
Now, with terms like “hooligans,” “roughnecks,” “lunchtime rowdies,” you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is an article from a small town newspaper somewhere out in the wild west in the year 1873 - my only hope is that in the next Post article they can work in the terms “ruffian” and “scoundrel.” But in any case, you read the whole article, and you won’t find any mention in the text about the ethnicity of these “lunchtime rowdies” and “pot-puffing hooligans.” But if a white person is causing problems, the Post will generally put the race in the headline - for example, one recent headline in the Post read, “Video shows black NYC partiers scatter for cover as white neighbor douses them with garden hose.”
Now, there was no euphemism for the white guy. He wasn’t a “hose-toting scoundrel” or anything like that. He was just a “white neighbor.” And for what it’s worth, not all of the people he hit with the water were black - the Post went out of its way to mention the race of the white guy even when it was misleading to do so. Of course.
This isn’t specific to the New York Post, it’s the approach of most major media outlets - as the account DataHazard found, the race of white murderers is made clear in more than 90% of news articles, but with black murderers, race is only mentioned in 30% of the article, and when it does appear, it’s usually much lower down in the text of the article.
So this is obviously a very intentional thing that they’re doing, and journalists do this in part to signal that they’re true believers in principles of “restorative justice.” And in the process, they’re denying the agency of black offenders by holding them to a completely different standard. These criminals get additional protections in the media, even when they commit heinous crimes, solely on the basis of their skin color. And now the state of Illinois is doing the same thing. It’s almost as if they hired the New York Post euphemism guy to write their legislation.
Now, to give the Left some credit, they understand the role of language in shaping policy, and shaping opinions and the views of the public. In order to normalize crime and pedophilia, they first need to change the way people REFER to crime and pedophilia. And that effort is now underway in Illinois, which means many more “justice-impacted individuals” will soon be out on the streets. It also means that many more innocent people—including children and pregnant women—will be impacted by these “justice-impacted individuals.” Because one euphemism at a time, in Democrat-run cities all over the country, it’s pretty clear that that’s the point.
submitted by newyork0120 to Rants [link] [comments]
Now, this is clearly a massive failure of the judicial system in Illinois, which, particularly post-BLM, has focused more on “rehabilitation” instead of punishment - it’s the kind of episode that you’d hope would spur lawmakers in Illinois to pass new laws to rein in their approach of “restorative justice,” but the Illinois government has opted for a very different response. Instead of doing something to prevent violent criminals from getting out of prison, state lawmakers have decided on a course of action that’s ripped straight from a Babylon Bee article.
A new bill that was just passed by both houses of the Illinois legislature—and which is expected to be signed by the governor—will modify state law so that the term “offender” becomes replaced by the term “justice-impacted individual.” The Department of Corrections and a bunch of other government agencies will be required to use that term from now on. So the plan is not to do anything about the criminals who are getting out of prison. It’s to use a nicer word to describe these criminals. Don’t call them “offenders,” call them “justice-impacted individuals.”
Now, I had to check several times to make sure this wasn’t satire because it is quite literally beyond parody - actually, if the Babylon Bee had come up with this idea, I wouldn’t find it funny because it would be too on the nose. But this is reality now in Illinois. This is their cutting-edge approach to criminal justice.
MALE REPORTER: “Lawmakers have passed a bill that, if signed into law by governor Pritzker, will change the term ‘offender’ in state law to ‘justice impacted individual.’”Now, before the fact-checkers jump down my throat, I’ll emphasize one thing, which is that this rebrand doesn’t apply to everyone who commits crimes in the state of Illinois - instead, this new term applies to men and women in the state’s “Adult Redeploy Illinois” program, or ARI as you heard; according to the government of McLean County, Illinois, the ARI program provides for “comprehensive daily supervision” of dozens of “high-risk adult felons as an alternative to costly penitentiary commitment.”
FEMALE REPORTER 1: “WGN’s Jewell Hillary here to explain, Jewel.”
FEMALE REPORTER 2: “Hi, Mike and Brady, so this legislation has passed both the state, house, and senate, and to be very clear, the potential language change would only apply to about 1,800 offenders across the state. [voiceover] On Tuesday, Bill 4409 passed in the state senate 34-20.”
POLITICIAN: “Question is, your house bill 4409 pass, all those in favor, vote ‘I’, oppose, ‘nay’, the voting is open.” [ding]
FEMALE REPORTER 2: “The proposed legislation would remove the term ‘offender’ and replace it with ‘justice impacted individual’ for individuals in the state’s Adult Redeploy Illinois program, commonly referred to as ARI. According to the Illinois Criminal Justice information authority, ARI is an initiative that offenders from prisons to programs to help rehabilitate them to success. Republicans say the language change portrays a lack of empathy for victims and lack of concern for public safety.”
REPUBLICAN: “Change this, change that. The only thing that you don’t want to change is the behavior of criminals.”
So they’re not rebranding EVERY criminal as a “justice-impacted individual.” They’re only rebranding SOME of the “high-risk adult felons” who otherwise would be in prison. So if you’re living in Chicago, hopefully you can rest easy tonight with that distinction in mind.
Now, the point of the word game here is the same as always. First, it removes agency from the individual by making terminology as passive as possible - an offender is not an offender anymore because offending is something that a person actively does—it puts the onus on the individual, you have gone out and offended, you have committed an offense—and instead they’re saying, “well, they’re justice impacted.” They were impacted by justice, it’s not their fault. Justice came alone and impacted them. They’re the victims here, if anything. And second, on top of making everything and removing agency, it also helps identify the people in your club, because they’re the ones who know about these lingo changes and follow the rules. So it’s not much different from a child who sets up a pillow fort and won’t let you inside the fort unless you know the password, which changes randomly and on a whim, it’s like that kind of idea.
Now, if you go looking online for the term “justice-impacted individual,” you’ll find that it’s popular among Harvard podcasters, billionaire Left-wing activists, giant Silicon Valley corporations like Google; these are people and organizations that, conveniently enough, have distanced themselves as much as possible from communities where crime is high. So they don’t want anything to do with the “justice-impacted individuals,” but they want YOU to have to live near them and treat them with respect and even refer to them in a way that would not be alienating or otherizing for them.
Of course, nobody in the real world uses terms like “justice-impacted individuals,” which is precisely the point. If you go around saying the words “justice-impacted individual,” then you’re instantly communicating where you stand on the political spectrum. And perhaps more importantly, people who don’t use these new terms are instantly identifiable as outcasts, as racists and terrible people. Every so often, wealthy elites and academics come up with new ways to provide these kinds of signals, and then they inevitably filter down to activists and government bureaucrats, which is what’s happening right now in Illinois. Which is also why, by the way, this may be the first time you’re hearing of “justice impacted individual” - give it like a year, or six months, and you’ll be hearing it everywhere. That’s the way this always goes.
Now, there was an episode during the Canadian trucker convoy a couple of years ago that illustrates how this strategy works in practice: the truckers who gathered in the Canadian capital city of Ottawa were exactly the kind of blue-collar workers that liberals pretend to care about, but in this case, the blue-collar workers were protesting for freedom, so they had to be crushed. It was vitally important for liberals to smear these truckers as racist, and one of the ways the liberals did that was by criticizing the truckers for using the wrong lingo.
This is a clip from a Fox interview that Leftists mocked relentlessly during the convoy, and listen to it and see if you can spot what they considered the problem to be:
*“It was only one guy, so we are not racists - I have all types of friends: colored friends, Spanish, Chinese, you know? They are great people… there is no racism here.”So this is a Romanian trucker who clearly speaks English as a second language, and he’s explaining on primetime television that he’s not racist because he has a bunch of “colored friends.”
Now, logically, there’s no difference whatsoever between saying “I have colored friends” and “I have friends who are people of color”—it’s just a slight grammatical difference that means absolutely nothing, it’s all semantics - if anything, the latter sentence is unnecessarily wordy—otherwise, they’re the same. If a person can be “of color” then it is accurate to say that the person is “colored.” A person of color is a colored person. But your intellectual superiors have decided for reasons that cannot be explained that “people of color” is the only phrase you’re allowed to use. If you say “colored people”—unless you’re the NAACP—you’re a bigot. So they vilified this trucker all over social media, both here and in Canada, and on top of that, too, not only did he use the wrong lingo, but he also tried to disprove accusations of racism by saying he has black friends, and we’re also told by our betters that that doesn’t prove anything. But of course, it absolutely does - like if you have friends of a particular race, it’s a pretty good indication that you’re not racist against that race.
But this is one of the main reasons that cutting-edge P.C. lingo exists - it’s why you’re supposed to say “people experiencing homelessness,” instead of “homeless drug addict.” It’s why you’re supposed to say “minor attracted person” instead of “pedophile.” And it’s why, if at all possible, you’re supposed to employ clever euphemisms to describe criminals who happen to be, really, any race but white.
The New York Post is particularly adept at this last trick to the point that it’s become a running joke online (and presumably, in the Post’s newsroom) - among the euphemisms that the New York Post has come up with to describe black suspects are: “cold-hearted teens,” “knife-wielding sicko,” “misogynistic maniac,” and my personal favorite, “Lunchtime rowdies.”
Now, just in case there was any doubt that the Post is doing this deliberately, here’s a passage from that article on the “lunchtime rowdies.” See if you can count all the euphemisms. Here it is, and this is totally real: “A band of foul-mouthed, toy gun-waving, pot-puffing high school hooligans are keeping residents of West 13th off 6th Avenue hostage in their own tony homes. … For at least a year while school is in session, the roughnecks roam from stoop to stoop every day at lunchtime, rolling blunts, getting high, acting out and taunting anyone who gets in their way.”
Now, with terms like “hooligans,” “roughnecks,” “lunchtime rowdies,” you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is an article from a small town newspaper somewhere out in the wild west in the year 1873 - my only hope is that in the next Post article they can work in the terms “ruffian” and “scoundrel.” But in any case, you read the whole article, and you won’t find any mention in the text about the ethnicity of these “lunchtime rowdies” and “pot-puffing hooligans.” But if a white person is causing problems, the Post will generally put the race in the headline - for example, one recent headline in the Post read, “Video shows black NYC partiers scatter for cover as white neighbor douses them with garden hose.”
Now, there was no euphemism for the white guy. He wasn’t a “hose-toting scoundrel” or anything like that. He was just a “white neighbor.” And for what it’s worth, not all of the people he hit with the water were black - the Post went out of its way to mention the race of the white guy even when it was misleading to do so. Of course.
This isn’t specific to the New York Post, it’s the approach of most major media outlets - as the account DataHazard found, the race of white murderers is made clear in more than 90% of news articles, but with black murderers, race is only mentioned in 30% of the article, and when it does appear, it’s usually much lower down in the text of the article.
So this is obviously a very intentional thing that they’re doing, and journalists do this in part to signal that they’re true believers in principles of “restorative justice.” And in the process, they’re denying the agency of black offenders by holding them to a completely different standard. These criminals get additional protections in the media, even when they commit heinous crimes, solely on the basis of their skin color. And now the state of Illinois is doing the same thing. It’s almost as if they hired the New York Post euphemism guy to write their legislation.
Now, to give the Left some credit, they understand the role of language in shaping policy, and shaping opinions and the views of the public. In order to normalize crime and pedophilia, they first need to change the way people REFER to crime and pedophilia. And that effort is now underway in Illinois, which means many more “justice-impacted individuals” will soon be out on the streets. It also means that many more innocent people—including children and pregnant women—will be impacted by these “justice-impacted individuals.” Because one euphemism at a time, in Democrat-run cities all over the country, it’s pretty clear that that’s the point.
2024.05.28 19:46 Euro_Trash82 I’m owed $22K - the State is trying to end the order!!
Pennsylvania
pa. R.C.P. 1910.19(f)
When my son turned 18 and graduated High School the outstanding CS balance for his absent father was $22,000 (and some change) this amount included the unpaid monthly order and arrears.
I've never fought the monthly order, but I also never wanted it to be erased no matter what. I showed up for any hearings and did my due diligence. My case was opened in 1 County (where I resided when I initiated the order), years later I moved to another county and was told my order had to stay in the original county due to enforcement reasons... I went with that, driving from my county of residence to a whole different county miles away for occasional hearings, taking time off work, etc. One day, 10 or so years later I got notified via USPS mail that my order was moved to yet a whole different county without me knowing!! 2+ hrs away and over 230 miles round trip - I was told it had to be moved because they found "him" somewhere there...
Let me not get into the struggle of raising a child on my own, no family at all to support me, 1 income, no public assistance - you all know what that is like... so I always stood firm on never erasing the ordering the courts never enforced anything! 18 years and nothing to go after him, when they found him? job search program, I mean what can they do when someone doesn't have or want to get their life together? I get that... but that is why I kept the order standing... there might be a day he does get it together, or win the lottery? an inheritance? buy a $1 scratch-off?
Surprise, surprise... I just got a letter from Domestics that THEY want to terminate the order because he cannot be found, doesn't have a job, no valid phone number, no address they can dig up... they must be kidding me!!! I could care less about all of that, it doesn't matter that my son just turned 21, joined the Navy and making his own money... the order shouldn't be erased if you ask me! No I am not bitter or holding on to anything - I've done a kick a$$ job raising my son, sucks he had to go without at times, and so did I, but to me it's about the principle.
So I am looking for some advice as I sent the order back and clearly marked it with a big X selecting "I do NOT agree with this decision"
(f) Upon notice to the obligee, with a copy to the obligor, explaining the basis for the proposed modification or termination, the court may modify or terminate a charging order for support and remit any arrears, all without prejudice, when it appears to the court that:
(1) the order is no longer able to be enforced under state law; or
(2) the obligor is unable to pay, has no known income or assets and there is no reasonable prospect that the obligor will be able to pay in the foreseeable future.
The notice shall advise the obligee to contact the domestic relations section within 60 days of the date of the mailing of the notice if the obligee wishes to contest the proposed modification or termination. If the obligee objects, the domestic relations section shall schedule a conference to provide the obligee the opportunity to contest the proposed action. If the obligee does not respond to the notice or object to the proposed action, the court shall have the authority to modify or terminate the order and remit any arrears, without prejudice.
submitted by Euro_Trash82 to ChildSupport [link] [comments]
pa. R.C.P. 1910.19(f)
When my son turned 18 and graduated High School the outstanding CS balance for his absent father was $22,000 (and some change) this amount included the unpaid monthly order and arrears.
I've never fought the monthly order, but I also never wanted it to be erased no matter what. I showed up for any hearings and did my due diligence. My case was opened in 1 County (where I resided when I initiated the order), years later I moved to another county and was told my order had to stay in the original county due to enforcement reasons... I went with that, driving from my county of residence to a whole different county miles away for occasional hearings, taking time off work, etc. One day, 10 or so years later I got notified via USPS mail that my order was moved to yet a whole different county without me knowing!! 2+ hrs away and over 230 miles round trip - I was told it had to be moved because they found "him" somewhere there...
Let me not get into the struggle of raising a child on my own, no family at all to support me, 1 income, no public assistance - you all know what that is like... so I always stood firm on never erasing the ordering the courts never enforced anything! 18 years and nothing to go after him, when they found him? job search program, I mean what can they do when someone doesn't have or want to get their life together? I get that... but that is why I kept the order standing... there might be a day he does get it together, or win the lottery? an inheritance? buy a $1 scratch-off?
Surprise, surprise... I just got a letter from Domestics that THEY want to terminate the order because he cannot be found, doesn't have a job, no valid phone number, no address they can dig up... they must be kidding me!!! I could care less about all of that, it doesn't matter that my son just turned 21, joined the Navy and making his own money... the order shouldn't be erased if you ask me! No I am not bitter or holding on to anything - I've done a kick a$$ job raising my son, sucks he had to go without at times, and so did I, but to me it's about the principle.
So I am looking for some advice as I sent the order back and clearly marked it with a big X selecting "I do NOT agree with this decision"
- Has anyone been in this situation before?
- Any and all advice is greatly appreciated - THANK YOU!!!
(f) Upon notice to the obligee, with a copy to the obligor, explaining the basis for the proposed modification or termination, the court may modify or terminate a charging order for support and remit any arrears, all without prejudice, when it appears to the court that:
(1) the order is no longer able to be enforced under state law; or
(2) the obligor is unable to pay, has no known income or assets and there is no reasonable prospect that the obligor will be able to pay in the foreseeable future.
The notice shall advise the obligee to contact the domestic relations section within 60 days of the date of the mailing of the notice if the obligee wishes to contest the proposed modification or termination. If the obligee objects, the domestic relations section shall schedule a conference to provide the obligee the opportunity to contest the proposed action. If the obligee does not respond to the notice or object to the proposed action, the court shall have the authority to modify or terminate the order and remit any arrears, without prejudice.
2024.05.28 19:32 lanman33 Job Offer Accepted
I just wanted to post here to offer some hope and thank everyone for the support over the last few months. I just accepted a job I am incredibly excited about. It is slightly lower salary than my old job, but I am passionate for the mission and responsibilities.
I received a ton of help and support here during my search, so the least I can do is try and give back and share what worked for me. I experimented a lot. Here is what worked for me:
• Continue to update your resume on all your profiles: Indeed, LinkedIn, Zip Recruiter. I only have anecdotal evidence, but every time I did this, I received a noticeable uptick in recruiter outreach. It’s like my resume showed up under a most recent tab for them or something. The changes don’t need to be drastic if you are already confident with your resume
• If you are young worker, put your experience before your education. Anecdotally, I received more interviews and interest once I did this. I think it helps you come across as more mature. I don’t know if this would work for new college grads, but it might even be worth putting your internship experience before your education
• I didn’t notice any big difference with the way I phrased my bullets: Quantifying, action verbs, responsibilities, achievements, etc. None of it seemed to make a big difference for me. I think as long as your bullets are well organized and demonstrate competence, you will generally be okay. Do not over worry about this
• I truly believe this market is a numbers game. It is so easy to apply to jobs nowadays that every job gets a hundred applications in the first week. I have two important notes for this. First, filter jobs by past 24hrs and check every day. Apply to a few you like. Some days there might only be one or none. Use those days to work on projects or keep up your skills. Second, consider applying to jobs that take a bit more work: competency exams, projects, required cover letters, etc. In this market, friction is your best friend, which might be counterintuitive. The friction means fewer people get past those barriers.
All in all, keep at it and don’t get too down. I got really down on myself the first month of my job search. Then I just realized it was a numbers game. There are thousands of people out there and a lot of people are equally qualified. It is next to impossible to differentiate candidates with so much noise. Separate your ego as best as you can and just keep going. The job market doesn’t define you.
My stats: 4 months, 165 apps, 7 interviews, 1 offer
Best of luck to everyone, and thank you again!
submitted by lanman33 to jobsearch [link] [comments]
I received a ton of help and support here during my search, so the least I can do is try and give back and share what worked for me. I experimented a lot. Here is what worked for me:
• Continue to update your resume on all your profiles: Indeed, LinkedIn, Zip Recruiter. I only have anecdotal evidence, but every time I did this, I received a noticeable uptick in recruiter outreach. It’s like my resume showed up under a most recent tab for them or something. The changes don’t need to be drastic if you are already confident with your resume
• If you are young worker, put your experience before your education. Anecdotally, I received more interviews and interest once I did this. I think it helps you come across as more mature. I don’t know if this would work for new college grads, but it might even be worth putting your internship experience before your education
• I didn’t notice any big difference with the way I phrased my bullets: Quantifying, action verbs, responsibilities, achievements, etc. None of it seemed to make a big difference for me. I think as long as your bullets are well organized and demonstrate competence, you will generally be okay. Do not over worry about this
• I truly believe this market is a numbers game. It is so easy to apply to jobs nowadays that every job gets a hundred applications in the first week. I have two important notes for this. First, filter jobs by past 24hrs and check every day. Apply to a few you like. Some days there might only be one or none. Use those days to work on projects or keep up your skills. Second, consider applying to jobs that take a bit more work: competency exams, projects, required cover letters, etc. In this market, friction is your best friend, which might be counterintuitive. The friction means fewer people get past those barriers.
All in all, keep at it and don’t get too down. I got really down on myself the first month of my job search. Then I just realized it was a numbers game. There are thousands of people out there and a lot of people are equally qualified. It is next to impossible to differentiate candidates with so much noise. Separate your ego as best as you can and just keep going. The job market doesn’t define you.
My stats: 4 months, 165 apps, 7 interviews, 1 offer
Best of luck to everyone, and thank you again!
2024.05.28 19:32 bathroom_fire DACA Cover Letter Example
 | I copied this cover letter from my cousin's application as he did it through a lawyer. My sister and I have used this to self-file our applications and I feel like it looks pretty professional. All three of us have no travel outside the US which is why it states that. Just make sure if relfects your application. submitted by bathroom_fire to DACA [link] [comments] I attached an imagine so you can see what the file will look like. I put it up on file bin so if anyone wants a copy the can downlaod. If anyone has another way of sharing longer, I would be open to suggestions. Let me know if you have any questions. EDIT The picture didn't post & neither did the link. https://filebin.net/fc9cqyr2w3sh72md Edit 2 Made some changes, hopefully this is better. We are all in this mess, I hope this helps. https://preview.redd.it/cktvv5p2k73d1.png?width=529&format=png&auto=webp&s=29934aec6529fb98a96f85f4adbb59fef8e76fba |
2024.05.28 19:28 PorchettoDev Resources, data driven architecture u should plan for. (Also for unity Devs)
Little context:
One thing that Unity has, are scriptable objects, they were so good for planning a data driven modular game architecture. Easy scalability and easy debbugging. JUST PURE GOLD.
In Godot we got Resources, which are basically scriptable objects, u can use them for planning a data driven modular game architecture. Easy scalability and easy debbugging. JUST PURE GOLD.
Then where is the problem?
Almost NOBODY talks about them on how to use them for a scalable architecture. There is a good article I found which covers the basics of this way of thinking and explain it really well (I'll leave links below), but it misses a great thing that adds a ton of modularity, Signals, for Unity people Events.
So I tried to convert what is shown in the Unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple) from Unity to Godot, and had success in my madness.
I'll leave the github link to the project with the code so you can look at it and if u find it useful use it in your projects and share the sacred words of modularity in the godot community.
Here I'll try to explain a little bit what I found out. Basically u can do the same thing as it is showed in the unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple), but in Godot u can achieve the same result with much less effort it seems. I Unity and C# u must subscribe methods to events, which is Signal connection in Godot, but u also HAVE to unsubscribe them in code when, for example, u destroy a game object (node) who subscribed to an event. Since the unsubscring part seems not necessary in Godot for what I read here and there (Godot should handle it automagically) we can do much less steps in the process.
How?
Well, Resources can store Signals, u must have a reference to the resource in a script, the u can connect the function u want to the signal through code, then when u need it u call the emit function, and everything that is connected to the Resource signal will execute something.
U'll see the code has also another way to handle the matter, this is because I translated almost 1:1 what is said in the Unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple), first, then I tried with the only signal way.
If you have questions post below, if I can help with them I'll be glad to.
IMPORTANT: if you have deeper knowledge about resources pls share it, it would be very helpful.
Links: https://medium.com/@sfmayke/resource-based-architecture-for-godot-4-25bd4b2d9018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raQ3iHhE_Kk&t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzRZjM9MTGw&t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrtE8P5_rH8 https://github.com/MarcoM-DevelopeResourcesArchitectureForGodotExample
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWIiYhfP-PE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1zJS31tr88&t
submitted by PorchettoDev to godot [link] [comments]
- moving from Unity to Godot
- learning stuff
- bumped in dependency injection problem
- want scriptable objects from Unity in Godot
- found Resources which are basically scriptable objects
- searching tuts on how to make and use them
- not finding anything that points to signal usage
- making a post to shout out why people should use custom resources for a data driven architecture.
One thing that Unity has, are scriptable objects, they were so good for planning a data driven modular game architecture. Easy scalability and easy debbugging. JUST PURE GOLD.
In Godot we got Resources, which are basically scriptable objects, u can use them for planning a data driven modular game architecture. Easy scalability and easy debbugging. JUST PURE GOLD.
Then where is the problem?
Almost NOBODY talks about them on how to use them for a scalable architecture. There is a good article I found which covers the basics of this way of thinking and explain it really well (I'll leave links below), but it misses a great thing that adds a ton of modularity, Signals, for Unity people Events.
So I tried to convert what is shown in the Unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple) from Unity to Godot, and had success in my madness.
I'll leave the github link to the project with the code so you can look at it and if u find it useful use it in your projects and share the sacred words of modularity in the godot community.
Here I'll try to explain a little bit what I found out. Basically u can do the same thing as it is showed in the unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple), but in Godot u can achieve the same result with much less effort it seems. I Unity and C# u must subscribe methods to events, which is Signal connection in Godot, but u also HAVE to unsubscribe them in code when, for example, u destroy a game object (node) who subscribed to an event. Since the unsubscring part seems not necessary in Godot for what I read here and there (Godot should handle it automagically) we can do much less steps in the process.
How?
Well, Resources can store Signals, u must have a reference to the resource in a script, the u can connect the function u want to the signal through code, then when u need it u call the emit function, and everything that is connected to the Resource signal will execute something.
- To put it in simple terms u got UI and the Player entity, these should be separated (why? go see the Unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple)).
- To do so we make a resource that we will call "Increase Player Money Signal", which has a signal inside.
- Both the player and the ui will have a reference to "Increase Player Money Signal" resource.
- In the ui we have a button who increase the player money, and a label to display the money the player has.
- In the player we store the money data and we have function to increase them, which will be connected to the signal inside the resource.
- We will need a node as a child of the button who will have a reference to the resource, a function to emit the signal inside the resource, which will be connected to the pressed signal of the button.
- Now we press the button, signal press emitted, signal isnide resource emitted, the player gets money.
U'll see the code has also another way to handle the matter, this is because I translated almost 1:1 what is said in the Unite 2017 talk (God bless Ryan Hipple), first, then I tried with the only signal way.
If you have questions post below, if I can help with them I'll be glad to.
IMPORTANT: if you have deeper knowledge about resources pls share it, it would be very helpful.
Links: https://medium.com/@sfmayke/resource-based-architecture-for-godot-4-25bd4b2d9018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raQ3iHhE_Kk&t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzRZjM9MTGw&t https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrtE8P5_rH8 https://github.com/MarcoM-DevelopeResourcesArchitectureForGodotExample
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWIiYhfP-PE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1zJS31tr88&t
2024.05.28 19:27 seraleev_viktor How to Generate $3,000 Per Day with Mobile Apps, and Lose Everything in a Flash Thanks to Apple
Four years ago, I decided to launch a startup and began creating my own mobile apps. On September 20 last year, they started bringing in over $3,000 a day (90% of which was on iOS). The very next day, Apple removed all my apps from the App Store and blocked my account.
I sent appeals, showed evidence, screenshots, and even sent a pre-trial claim, but was mostly ignored. Now I've filed a lawsuit against Apple, and for now, the iOS market is a no-go fpr me.
I want to speak out, but I don’t want to complain. Instead, I can share how simple ideas brought me good profits. Maybe someone will be interested and avoid making my mistakes.
First idea
The first app was super simple - you upload two before/after images and get a short video with a slide effect.
First version of the app
My wife, who was a nail tech at the time, suggested the idea because she wanted to create content to attract clients. She couldn't find any apps for creating before/after videos in the App Store. I didn’t believe her, we almost ended up arguing, and I went searching to prove her wrong. Turns out, she was right (as always).
I persuaded a friend to help develop the app. It was 2019, we spent a couple of months developing it, and within a year, it was bringing in $100-200 a month. My friend thought the idea was unworkable, so I bought out his share for a token amount.
This happened on February 26, 2020, right at my 30th birthday party. I sold a stake in a common startup and used part of the money to buy out my partner’s share in the before/after app. I had about $10k in my pocket.
The next day after the party, I sat down to redesign the app and think through new functionality.
First takeoff
I was lucky to quickly find a talented and affordable freelancer. We rebuilt the app almost from scratch in 1.5 months, costing me $2,000.
What we did:
Before this update, the app gained a couple of hundred montly downloads in its first year. But a week after the new version was released, there was a surge in organics.
Around the same time, I hired a marketing specialist for $400/month who launched the first ad. And boy, did it take off. We spent $200-300 on the first campaign, and within a month, I was maxing out my credit card to buy ads. All campaigns paid off. We used only one source, Apple Search Ads.
Search Ads doesn't have extensive targeting options, so we didn't fully understand who our target users were. Then we were contacted by an influencer saying “let’s launch a dog grooming contest.” It wasn’t very clear who would be interested in that, but no problem, let’s do it.
As a prize, we gave away premium access to our app, just three promo codes. The return from the contest was phenomenal. It brought in $2,000 net, and I discovered a whole new world. A huge number of people are willing to invest any amount in their beloved doggos to brag about the results through our app. I was shocked that a simple idea like this one worked SO well.
After the contest, we doubled for three more months in a row, and then reached a stable growth of 20-30% per month.
Screenshot from App Store Connect
I still remember the moment I woke up, picked up my phone, and the app had earned a thousand dollars overnight for the first time. I was psyched, thanking the universe, the users, Apple, and the iPhone itself.
Six months after the redesign, the app was bringing in about 200 times more than the original mark, $34k instead of $100-200 a month. $25k on iOS and $9k on Android (the Android version was made three months after the redesign).
As a result, I started receiving offers to purchase the app. I refused until I heard, “name the price.” I don’t know why, but I said $410k and after five days, I received that amount into my account.
It seemed like an unimaginable amount of money to me; I couldn’t believe what was happening. Only two years later did I realize the real value of the app at that time was at least $1 million. You know how it goes, do as I say, not as I do.
To tell you more, the app’s still alive and it’s making good money without any updates. It paid for itself in 8 months and has been deep in the green ever since.
I planned to continue making apps with this money, thinking I could expand. It’s going to be smooth sailing from here on out, right? Absolutely not.
Landing
In 2021, my family and I moved to Chile, where we still live. We like it here, it's a beautiful country, pur children are growing up here, our daughter was born here, and we want to get Chilean passports. I sold everything back home - a car, an apartment, a plot of land, all my stuff.
I started chasing my dream of making a serious video editing app. I thought, now I have money, I'll start figuring out a "real" app. Life is beautiful and amazing.
I hired new devs and went to work for a year and a half. The first release turned out to be a failure: organic users never came, and the cost of attracting one user never fell below $10. Competing with the free CapCut was impossible.
There were also parallel attempts to make other things. For example, an app for designing your Instagram feed. The first version of the app was growing great, but I thought with new features like collaboration and delayed auto-publishing, I'd find the key to success.
However, reality was harsh. I spent six months just communicating with Facebook to gain access to the API methods I needed, only to find that Facebook kept changing things on the inside, making the app’s features unusable.
In the end, I didn’t even earn $1,000. I spent almost all my money working tirelessly, but nothing ever took off.
Insights and the crash
Crisis makes you think. I realized my strength was in niche apps and decided to return to where I started: small apps covering specific needs without any unnecessary noise.
I made the Boomerang app, regardless of the fact that Instagram already had this feature. But I made a separate app, and it started to grow.
There was also an app filled with beautiful fonts for designing social media posts. An app for creating Reels. Once I realized my strengths, things started to look up again. I returned to the idea of collages. Every app began to make money. Whew!
Screenshot from my company website
Overall, the account had six apps with an above 4.5 stars average App Store rating. On August 21, 2023, I received a notification from Apple that they had removed my app from the App Store and were going to shut down my account if I did not correct the violations within 30 days. Not any specific violations, just “violations.”
I sent Apple evidence, screenshots, and offered access to the source files, but I was either ignored completely pr got an auto-reply. I was sure this was just some kind of mistake and waited for an answer. We continued to make updates and worked on new features. On September 20, the apps earned more than $3,000 in 24 hours for the first time and were removed by Apple the next day.
Payments were suspended, and I had $110,000 left in my account.
I was stunned.
The first appeal was rejected, the reasons for the blocking were unknown, and it was unclear what to do. I immediately submitted a second appeal. Eight weeks of silence and again a refusal.
I lost everything I worked for in a single day..
I started a petition on Change.org and shared my story in a tweet that gained significant traction. Someone from Twitter published my story on Hacker News; it became #1, collecting more than 400 comments. I received hundreds of support messages in my dms, and only then did Apple finally send an explanation.
According to them, my account was frozen “for association with a previously closed fraudulent account.” Of course, I had no connection with fraudulent accounts, otherwise I wouldn’t even be sharing the story in the first place. The only positive reaction to the hype was the return of $110,000.
I started my little investigation. The “fraudulent” account may have turned out to be my old account, which once contained the first app for creating before/after videos. The very same thing that started it all. I continued to pay $99 for this account because it is dear to me, it’s nostalgic and a part of my life.
Just before it was closed, I tried to publish a card game based on the popular game Never Have I Ever on this account. This concept seemed ideal for me to master interface solutions when moving from Swift UIKit to Swift UI.
But recently, other things have come to light. We found a company of former partners with an identical name to mine. Apparently, Apple connected me with this company that I didn't even know existed. But I can’t know for sure because there is no feedback from the corporation. Any letters with any arguments and documents are ignored.
I had to sue, but that’s a whole other big story. Communication with Apple is gfar from being related to development; maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.
What's next and what about other stores
90% of our profits came through Apple. We're now fully focused on Android and have grown 4x in 8 months, but it's still not enough to cover all development costs. I don’t make enough money to continue supporting the team. We're holding out for now because finding developers who understand graphics and video is difficult (by the way, a good niche for devs who are not sure what to try next).
The growth on Android is also related to the market's quirks: the Android audience is many times larger than the number of iPhone users, but not every Android can render a new video from 12 frames.
Back to my story. Next will be a trial, petitions, and pleas. I hope my experience will be useful to someone because I am not the first and, most likely, not the last to find myself in this situation. Corporations don't care about individual developers. Even if they are left with nothing.
It might sound trivial, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The larger the corporation, the less attention it will pay to you. With Apple, after blocking, you lose the opportunity to even talk to support on the phone. Text appeals only.
In fact, I communicated with the answering machine for a whole month until I was blocked. At any moment, you can lose everything you have - your account, apps, users. With the snap of a finger, what you thought belonged to you will disappear.
The only thing I realized is that only public discussion of the problem and the courts can somehow induce them to change their policy towards developers.
In the meantime, I’ll go get ready for the next update.
submitted by seraleev_viktor to Entrepreneur [link] [comments]
I sent appeals, showed evidence, screenshots, and even sent a pre-trial claim, but was mostly ignored. Now I've filed a lawsuit against Apple, and for now, the iOS market is a no-go fpr me.
I want to speak out, but I don’t want to complain. Instead, I can share how simple ideas brought me good profits. Maybe someone will be interested and avoid making my mistakes.
First idea
The first app was super simple - you upload two before/after images and get a short video with a slide effect.
First version of the app
My wife, who was a nail tech at the time, suggested the idea because she wanted to create content to attract clients. She couldn't find any apps for creating before/after videos in the App Store. I didn’t believe her, we almost ended up arguing, and I went searching to prove her wrong. Turns out, she was right (as always).
I persuaded a friend to help develop the app. It was 2019, we spent a couple of months developing it, and within a year, it was bringing in $100-200 a month. My friend thought the idea was unworkable, so I bought out his share for a token amount.
This happened on February 26, 2020, right at my 30th birthday party. I sold a stake in a common startup and used part of the money to buy out my partner’s share in the before/after app. I had about $10k in my pocket.
The next day after the party, I sat down to redesign the app and think through new functionality.
First takeoff
I was lucky to quickly find a talented and affordable freelancer. We rebuilt the app almost from scratch in 1.5 months, costing me $2,000.
What we did:
- Redesign
- New transitions, like diagonal ones
- Ability to customize animation speed
- Added effects settings: transition thickness, color, neon, etc.
- Ability to add music
- Ability to add text
- Added support for stickers
- Updated the store page: description, screenshots, icon
- Localized the app for all available languages in the App Store
Before this update, the app gained a couple of hundred montly downloads in its first year. But a week after the new version was released, there was a surge in organics.
Around the same time, I hired a marketing specialist for $400/month who launched the first ad. And boy, did it take off. We spent $200-300 on the first campaign, and within a month, I was maxing out my credit card to buy ads. All campaigns paid off. We used only one source, Apple Search Ads.
Search Ads doesn't have extensive targeting options, so we didn't fully understand who our target users were. Then we were contacted by an influencer saying “let’s launch a dog grooming contest.” It wasn’t very clear who would be interested in that, but no problem, let’s do it.
As a prize, we gave away premium access to our app, just three promo codes. The return from the contest was phenomenal. It brought in $2,000 net, and I discovered a whole new world. A huge number of people are willing to invest any amount in their beloved doggos to brag about the results through our app. I was shocked that a simple idea like this one worked SO well.
After the contest, we doubled for three more months in a row, and then reached a stable growth of 20-30% per month.
Screenshot from App Store Connect
I still remember the moment I woke up, picked up my phone, and the app had earned a thousand dollars overnight for the first time. I was psyched, thanking the universe, the users, Apple, and the iPhone itself.
Six months after the redesign, the app was bringing in about 200 times more than the original mark, $34k instead of $100-200 a month. $25k on iOS and $9k on Android (the Android version was made three months after the redesign).
As a result, I started receiving offers to purchase the app. I refused until I heard, “name the price.” I don’t know why, but I said $410k and after five days, I received that amount into my account.
It seemed like an unimaginable amount of money to me; I couldn’t believe what was happening. Only two years later did I realize the real value of the app at that time was at least $1 million. You know how it goes, do as I say, not as I do.
To tell you more, the app’s still alive and it’s making good money without any updates. It paid for itself in 8 months and has been deep in the green ever since.
I planned to continue making apps with this money, thinking I could expand. It’s going to be smooth sailing from here on out, right? Absolutely not.
Landing
In 2021, my family and I moved to Chile, where we still live. We like it here, it's a beautiful country, pur children are growing up here, our daughter was born here, and we want to get Chilean passports. I sold everything back home - a car, an apartment, a plot of land, all my stuff.
I started chasing my dream of making a serious video editing app. I thought, now I have money, I'll start figuring out a "real" app. Life is beautiful and amazing.
I hired new devs and went to work for a year and a half. The first release turned out to be a failure: organic users never came, and the cost of attracting one user never fell below $10. Competing with the free CapCut was impossible.
There were also parallel attempts to make other things. For example, an app for designing your Instagram feed. The first version of the app was growing great, but I thought with new features like collaboration and delayed auto-publishing, I'd find the key to success.
However, reality was harsh. I spent six months just communicating with Facebook to gain access to the API methods I needed, only to find that Facebook kept changing things on the inside, making the app’s features unusable.
In the end, I didn’t even earn $1,000. I spent almost all my money working tirelessly, but nothing ever took off.
Insights and the crash
Crisis makes you think. I realized my strength was in niche apps and decided to return to where I started: small apps covering specific needs without any unnecessary noise.
I made the Boomerang app, regardless of the fact that Instagram already had this feature. But I made a separate app, and it started to grow.
There was also an app filled with beautiful fonts for designing social media posts. An app for creating Reels. Once I realized my strengths, things started to look up again. I returned to the idea of collages. Every app began to make money. Whew!
Screenshot from my company website
Overall, the account had six apps with an above 4.5 stars average App Store rating. On August 21, 2023, I received a notification from Apple that they had removed my app from the App Store and were going to shut down my account if I did not correct the violations within 30 days. Not any specific violations, just “violations.”
I sent Apple evidence, screenshots, and offered access to the source files, but I was either ignored completely pr got an auto-reply. I was sure this was just some kind of mistake and waited for an answer. We continued to make updates and worked on new features. On September 20, the apps earned more than $3,000 in 24 hours for the first time and were removed by Apple the next day.
Payments were suspended, and I had $110,000 left in my account.
I was stunned.
The first appeal was rejected, the reasons for the blocking were unknown, and it was unclear what to do. I immediately submitted a second appeal. Eight weeks of silence and again a refusal.
I lost everything I worked for in a single day..
I started a petition on Change.org and shared my story in a tweet that gained significant traction. Someone from Twitter published my story on Hacker News; it became #1, collecting more than 400 comments. I received hundreds of support messages in my dms, and only then did Apple finally send an explanation.
According to them, my account was frozen “for association with a previously closed fraudulent account.” Of course, I had no connection with fraudulent accounts, otherwise I wouldn’t even be sharing the story in the first place. The only positive reaction to the hype was the return of $110,000.
I started my little investigation. The “fraudulent” account may have turned out to be my old account, which once contained the first app for creating before/after videos. The very same thing that started it all. I continued to pay $99 for this account because it is dear to me, it’s nostalgic and a part of my life.
Just before it was closed, I tried to publish a card game based on the popular game Never Have I Ever on this account. This concept seemed ideal for me to master interface solutions when moving from Swift UIKit to Swift UI.
But recently, other things have come to light. We found a company of former partners with an identical name to mine. Apparently, Apple connected me with this company that I didn't even know existed. But I can’t know for sure because there is no feedback from the corporation. Any letters with any arguments and documents are ignored.
I had to sue, but that’s a whole other big story. Communication with Apple is gfar from being related to development; maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.
What's next and what about other stores
90% of our profits came through Apple. We're now fully focused on Android and have grown 4x in 8 months, but it's still not enough to cover all development costs. I don’t make enough money to continue supporting the team. We're holding out for now because finding developers who understand graphics and video is difficult (by the way, a good niche for devs who are not sure what to try next).
The growth on Android is also related to the market's quirks: the Android audience is many times larger than the number of iPhone users, but not every Android can render a new video from 12 frames.
Back to my story. Next will be a trial, petitions, and pleas. I hope my experience will be useful to someone because I am not the first and, most likely, not the last to find myself in this situation. Corporations don't care about individual developers. Even if they are left with nothing.
It might sound trivial, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The larger the corporation, the less attention it will pay to you. With Apple, after blocking, you lose the opportunity to even talk to support on the phone. Text appeals only.
In fact, I communicated with the answering machine for a whole month until I was blocked. At any moment, you can lose everything you have - your account, apps, users. With the snap of a finger, what you thought belonged to you will disappear.
The only thing I realized is that only public discussion of the problem and the courts can somehow induce them to change their policy towards developers.
In the meantime, I’ll go get ready for the next update.
2024.05.28 19:21 Silly_Bell_6374 Becoming A Better Servant
I've been a Christian for a few months now, and have gone through a few different "phases" during that time. There was a period where I felt heavily unworthy (and even deceptive!) to call myself a Christian when I so utterly failed to resist old temptations. Posts here helped me through that. In particular, one person commented that I focus less on my sin, and simply more on my relationship with Jesus. That was like a revelation to me, and I followed it. I'm happy to say that by focusing on that path of becoming a better servant for Christ, it's removed my self-condemning feelings and through the miracle of Him, my heart and being continue to change, and old behaviors continue to miraculously decline.
Praise God!
Anyway, that is not the point of this post, but it is my purpose. I'm trying to improve my relationship with Jesus. Simply lurking in this sub, and occasionally replying, has really helped with my walk. And with that in mind, I'm hoping again that all of you may help clear up some things that I've been pondering. I recognize that my current understandings at times do not align with the Bible, and I recognize that likely the error is my own, and pray once again for God to continue His work in me, reshaping who I am. If it appears that I state something as fact, and it is not true, please help me understand my error(s). For perspective, my understanding comes from my own googling, reading the Bible, and from the church I attend. I go to a Calvary Baptist church officially, even though they mostly consider themselves non-denominational.
Moving on to the meat of the post, and the things I've been considering.
#1. It appears that the Bible was not available to early Christians to read for themselves. It was written in languages that everyday people couldn't read. Instead, they relied upon their religious leaders to read the Bible, and then tell them what it said. Because of this, the Church considered itself inerrant. The priests/bishops were the only people capable of reading the Bible, and therefore if someone challenged their interpretation, it was heresy and they were persecuted. I'm talking of Christianity pre-Protestantism. At least I think I am. Was the Protestant revolution the beginning of the Bible being translated into common languages so everyday people could read it for themselves? But being a Christian involves a personal relationship with Jesus, right? And to know Jesus, we must absorb His written Word - the Bible. So how then was this possible before the Bible became available in a language a person could read? I'm told one can't be a Christian if you don't read the Bible. Did this language issue effect the salvation of Christians in the past?
If Sola Scriptura is valid (and I believe it is), then how did the people of the past even know if they were being taught Biblical doctrine if they couldn't read it?
#2. Regardless of which branch of Christianity you adhere to, did you personally compare your branch's doctrine against Scripture to arrive at a decision about which doctrines your church teaches versus what you can determine is indicated in the Bible? If so, are you satisfied 100% that your branch "is the correct branch?" And if you didn't personally test your church's doctrine against Scripture, why do you feel that's not important to your Salvation? Is it important to you, that you lead a Christian life as taught by Jesus?
#3. In a way that is applicable to my life, what does it mean to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him? I think I'm good on the following Him part, but unclear on the rest.
#4. I hear other Christians use phrases that I don't understand. "Nail it to the cross," "Lift up so and so." I know there are others, but those are the only two examples I can think of at the moment. I guess in general, if you can think of any common Christian idioms, can you explain their meaning?
#5. I read things in the Bible that I don't see Christians adhering to, and if Sola Scriptura is of upmost importance, why do today's Christians ignore them? I don't adhere to these things either, but from a Biblical standpoint, should I be?? Why or why not? (I am a man, for context, and in particular my examples relating to women feel misogynistic.)
Those are the things I'm currently thinking about. I know it's a lot. To all of you that take the time to read this monster-length post, and respond intending to assist, I thank you in advance.
submitted by Silly_Bell_6374 to TrueChristian [link] [comments]
Praise God!
Anyway, that is not the point of this post, but it is my purpose. I'm trying to improve my relationship with Jesus. Simply lurking in this sub, and occasionally replying, has really helped with my walk. And with that in mind, I'm hoping again that all of you may help clear up some things that I've been pondering. I recognize that my current understandings at times do not align with the Bible, and I recognize that likely the error is my own, and pray once again for God to continue His work in me, reshaping who I am. If it appears that I state something as fact, and it is not true, please help me understand my error(s). For perspective, my understanding comes from my own googling, reading the Bible, and from the church I attend. I go to a Calvary Baptist church officially, even though they mostly consider themselves non-denominational.
Moving on to the meat of the post, and the things I've been considering.
#1. It appears that the Bible was not available to early Christians to read for themselves. It was written in languages that everyday people couldn't read. Instead, they relied upon their religious leaders to read the Bible, and then tell them what it said. Because of this, the Church considered itself inerrant. The priests/bishops were the only people capable of reading the Bible, and therefore if someone challenged their interpretation, it was heresy and they were persecuted. I'm talking of Christianity pre-Protestantism. At least I think I am. Was the Protestant revolution the beginning of the Bible being translated into common languages so everyday people could read it for themselves? But being a Christian involves a personal relationship with Jesus, right? And to know Jesus, we must absorb His written Word - the Bible. So how then was this possible before the Bible became available in a language a person could read? I'm told one can't be a Christian if you don't read the Bible. Did this language issue effect the salvation of Christians in the past?
If Sola Scriptura is valid (and I believe it is), then how did the people of the past even know if they were being taught Biblical doctrine if they couldn't read it?
#2. Regardless of which branch of Christianity you adhere to, did you personally compare your branch's doctrine against Scripture to arrive at a decision about which doctrines your church teaches versus what you can determine is indicated in the Bible? If so, are you satisfied 100% that your branch "is the correct branch?" And if you didn't personally test your church's doctrine against Scripture, why do you feel that's not important to your Salvation? Is it important to you, that you lead a Christian life as taught by Jesus?
#3. In a way that is applicable to my life, what does it mean to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him? I think I'm good on the following Him part, but unclear on the rest.
#4. I hear other Christians use phrases that I don't understand. "Nail it to the cross," "Lift up so and so." I know there are others, but those are the only two examples I can think of at the moment. I guess in general, if you can think of any common Christian idioms, can you explain their meaning?
#5. I read things in the Bible that I don't see Christians adhering to, and if Sola Scriptura is of upmost importance, why do today's Christians ignore them? I don't adhere to these things either, but from a Biblical standpoint, should I be?? Why or why not? (I am a man, for context, and in particular my examples relating to women feel misogynistic.)
- Examples:
- women must be silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35; 1 Timothy 2:11-12)
- women must wear head coverings (1 Corinthians 11:5-6, 13)
- women shouldn't wear gold or braid their hair (1 Timothy 2:9)
- sell all my stuff and give it to the poor (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22)
- living communally (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-35)
Those are the things I'm currently thinking about. I know it's a lot. To all of you that take the time to read this monster-length post, and respond intending to assist, I thank you in advance.
2024.05.28 19:19 stone_opera Husband Wants to Put Off Having a Baby
My husband and I have been together for just over five years now. I absolutely adore him, he is kind and thoughtful and so empathetic - from the moment we met, we just clicked together. I should mention he was a single father to his daughter when we met, she just turned 14, her and I get along very well and I consider her to be my daughter as well. Him and I married 3 years ago and we all have formed our small happy family.
We had always talked about having another kid, its something he has said he really wants and it's something I want as well - I want to emphasize that this is something that he has expressed a desire for, and has said repeatedly is important to him. I wanted to start trying immediately after we got married, but he wanted us to wait until we had bought a house. I agreed, and I'm glad I did because the process of buying the house and renovating took 2 years. In that time I did get pregnant when we weren't trying and I was on birth control, but I suffered a miscarriage.
Recently I have been thinking that we should start trying again. I'm 34 and he's 40 and I feel like our biological clocks are ticking - I'm also concerned because both of us are neurodivergent, he has Autism and I have ADHD, and I know the age of parents can affect genetic heritability and severity of these neurodivergences. I spoke with my husband about it last week, and he said that he is having doubts. He wants to wait another 6 months to 1 year to start trying again. He is concerned about his salary and he wants to make more money. I do earn much more than him, but a big reason for that is his career had to be put on hold due to being a single parent. I don't mind that I earn more than him, it has never bothered me, especially because he does more than his fair share around the house.
This is where we get to the crux of the issue - he has this idea of a 'perfect' life and family that he has always wanted. He went through a lot with his ex, and then taking on the responsibility of being a single father, he is so adamant that he wants to do everything 'right' this time around. In his mind, part of the 'right' thing is that he needs to earn more money. I honestly don't care what he earns, together we make more than enough to life a comfortable life even with the costs of daycare/ childcare. I should mention that we live in Canada my employer provides 1 year paid leave with 80% of my salary, and he would also be entitled to 3 months at 80% as well.
We have already put this off for 2 years, and I've already had 1 miscarriage - I don't know how long it will take to get pregnant again or if I am able to carry to term. I want to start now so that if we do have issues we still have options in terms of IVF etc. I've explained all this to him, but he is so caught in this black and white thinking that he won't budge. I'm so sad, and I'm so anxious about all of this - I've expressed it to him, and he has apologized but won't change his stance. I don't know what to do, I'm so anxious about this - I feel like this is both of our anxieties coming into conflict, but I also feel completely trapped, I can't have a baby without him.
I need some perspective here from women over 30 - what would you do? How long would you wait? Have you been in this situation?
TLDR: My husband who is 40 wants to put off having a baby for another year, after we already put it off for 2 years at his request. I'm 34 and getting stressed about how we keep putting this off. Can't come to a compromise.
submitted by stone_opera to AskWomenOver30 [link] [comments]
We had always talked about having another kid, its something he has said he really wants and it's something I want as well - I want to emphasize that this is something that he has expressed a desire for, and has said repeatedly is important to him. I wanted to start trying immediately after we got married, but he wanted us to wait until we had bought a house. I agreed, and I'm glad I did because the process of buying the house and renovating took 2 years. In that time I did get pregnant when we weren't trying and I was on birth control, but I suffered a miscarriage.
Recently I have been thinking that we should start trying again. I'm 34 and he's 40 and I feel like our biological clocks are ticking - I'm also concerned because both of us are neurodivergent, he has Autism and I have ADHD, and I know the age of parents can affect genetic heritability and severity of these neurodivergences. I spoke with my husband about it last week, and he said that he is having doubts. He wants to wait another 6 months to 1 year to start trying again. He is concerned about his salary and he wants to make more money. I do earn much more than him, but a big reason for that is his career had to be put on hold due to being a single parent. I don't mind that I earn more than him, it has never bothered me, especially because he does more than his fair share around the house.
This is where we get to the crux of the issue - he has this idea of a 'perfect' life and family that he has always wanted. He went through a lot with his ex, and then taking on the responsibility of being a single father, he is so adamant that he wants to do everything 'right' this time around. In his mind, part of the 'right' thing is that he needs to earn more money. I honestly don't care what he earns, together we make more than enough to life a comfortable life even with the costs of daycare/ childcare. I should mention that we live in Canada my employer provides 1 year paid leave with 80% of my salary, and he would also be entitled to 3 months at 80% as well.
We have already put this off for 2 years, and I've already had 1 miscarriage - I don't know how long it will take to get pregnant again or if I am able to carry to term. I want to start now so that if we do have issues we still have options in terms of IVF etc. I've explained all this to him, but he is so caught in this black and white thinking that he won't budge. I'm so sad, and I'm so anxious about all of this - I've expressed it to him, and he has apologized but won't change his stance. I don't know what to do, I'm so anxious about this - I feel like this is both of our anxieties coming into conflict, but I also feel completely trapped, I can't have a baby without him.
I need some perspective here from women over 30 - what would you do? How long would you wait? Have you been in this situation?
TLDR: My husband who is 40 wants to put off having a baby for another year, after we already put it off for 2 years at his request. I'm 34 and getting stressed about how we keep putting this off. Can't come to a compromise.
2024.05.28 19:18 Living_Piglet_255 [WA] Stepping down
I've been in nursing leadership for years. I'm looking to step down and move to front line case management. I'm OK with the pay difference. I keep getting told I am over qualified. I created a cover letter to explain why I want to walk back but it doesn't seem to be helping. Any ideas or suggestions?
submitted by Living_Piglet_255 to AskHR [link] [comments]
2024.05.28 19:14 Classic-Hand4296 Dealing with a Fine - GO Transit
Good afternoon GO Transit reddit,
I'm a former compliance service coordinator, after a 20+ year at GO Transit through a variety of positions I've entered retirement. For those who are unaware from a compliance coordinator is, we handle the back of house handling of all notice of violations issued for fare evasion. Aswell we coordinate the screenings and hearings for those offences, we also work with Metrolinx's prosecutors and the courts for the adminstration of provincial offences under Metrolinx Bylaw #2.
I wanted to share with some strategies on how to deal with a notice of violation if you've received one, I can understand some may have be fined and struggle on how to explain their situation while others purpoesly evade the system.
I will share some strategies that have worked in reducing or dismissing fines against riders, though I want to note that I do not support fare evasion and believe everyone should pay their fare before boarding and by posting this I don't encourage fare evasion but encourage education about Metrolinx's Bylaws and one's ability to defend themselves without a lawyer or paralegal.
Aswell, it should be noted the offence itself is an "Absolute Liability" offence, while we have dealt with hundreds of appeals based on good faith and other circumstances if you were inspected and did not have a ticket or correct fare, the ticket will likely be upheld.
1 - Financial Aid: Before my departure, a new policy had been implemented pertaining fianancial aid.
If a patron claims they are suffering financially, the screening and hearing officer both have the discrection to reduce or dismiss the fine.
In practice, we were receiving financial aid considerations with no proof. Despite this we are still instructed to dismiss or reduce fines.
Some examples that would qualify for reduction or dismissal:
Before we would ask for some type of proof of what you were claiming, however that practice is now considered discriminatory and we'll have to make a decision on no proof. Repeated usages without evidence may eventually solicit a request for proof of your situation.
You may see a reduction from a 35$ to a 10-15, or dismissal of the fine depending on the severity of your situation.
2 - Officer Error: In Metrolinx's bylaw for a notice of violation to be accepted on it's face the following elements where applicable must be correct.
Giving an address that doesn't exist, or is mispelt will mean the ticket was not adequtely served.
The wrong presto number even by a number is fatal, aswell as the train line and station.
Gender is also fatal, if they put the wrong gender when a Identity Card is shown.
3 - Ticket Service: The only way a notice of offence can be served is personally onto the defendant.
If you don't physically receive the ticket, maybe you run off the train or the inspector leaves and you then receive a notice of non-payment on that ticket in the mail then the ticket was not served correctly.
If an officer has all your information but you take off or they leave before serving the ticket, the officer may just print it which has it's own implications to their intregrity. We wouldn't know any different at the time as the ticket would go unpaid and we'd mail out a notice of due date. If this happens then you were not served and the ticket should be voided for improper service.
4 - Handheld Card Reader not tested/checked:
At the start of every shift every Officer must check their handheld card reader and calibrate it to read Presto Cards. If they don't do this, then there is reasonable doubt the machine worked correctly as the Officer cannot state in court or in a hearing they checked the device for faults.
While in the past older, tenured officers have done this the majority of the department is rather new and not in the practice of this.
If you were fined while using a presto card, you claim you don't believe the officer checked their device.
A supervisor will check their notes, if it's not in their memobook the ticket would be dropped.
One might say they could just forge their books to say this, the presto card eacher officer is assigned has records of when they tapped to test this can be checked in the backend if you do encounter this you can ask for a review of that data.
You may also request an Officer Notes both electronic (on the ticketing system) and their hand written memobook notes for any screening or hearing for your review as it's evidence to be disclosed to you.
5 - Tapping Machine down/Issue with the GO
If you've come into a station and a SFTP (Station Fare Transaction Processor) which is the Green presto tapping pole is glitching, not working or flickering aswell as the TVM (Ticket Vending Machine) take a picture of this. If you are fined and can prove preferably with a picture of the machine not working we will cancel the ticket.
Alternatively we can check the database for error reports, if one comes up for that station we will cancel the ticket but this isn't always reliable.
6 - Officer Conduct
If you believe you were discriminated and targeted in some way during your fare inspection, or you were a victim of abusive behaviour through power, physically or verbally you may make a complaint about your experience.
If the complaint is founded GO Transit will discipline the officer and void the ticket (to settle any liability claims).
However, it should be noted:
CIT stands for Customer Interaction Tracker.
The ticket may also be voided if there are factors to consider, if presented before a court or hearing officer would discredit Metrolinx or their employees.
I hope this guide has been helpful and I wish safe and happy travels to all that take the service.
submitted by Classic-Hand4296 to gotransit [link] [comments]
I'm a former compliance service coordinator, after a 20+ year at GO Transit through a variety of positions I've entered retirement. For those who are unaware from a compliance coordinator is, we handle the back of house handling of all notice of violations issued for fare evasion. Aswell we coordinate the screenings and hearings for those offences, we also work with Metrolinx's prosecutors and the courts for the adminstration of provincial offences under Metrolinx Bylaw #2.
I wanted to share with some strategies on how to deal with a notice of violation if you've received one, I can understand some may have be fined and struggle on how to explain their situation while others purpoesly evade the system.
I will share some strategies that have worked in reducing or dismissing fines against riders, though I want to note that I do not support fare evasion and believe everyone should pay their fare before boarding and by posting this I don't encourage fare evasion but encourage education about Metrolinx's Bylaws and one's ability to defend themselves without a lawyer or paralegal.
Aswell, it should be noted the offence itself is an "Absolute Liability" offence, while we have dealt with hundreds of appeals based on good faith and other circumstances if you were inspected and did not have a ticket or correct fare, the ticket will likely be upheld.
1 - Financial Aid: Before my departure, a new policy had been implemented pertaining fianancial aid.
If a patron claims they are suffering financially, the screening and hearing officer both have the discrection to reduce or dismiss the fine.
In practice, we were receiving financial aid considerations with no proof. Despite this we are still instructed to dismiss or reduce fines.
Some examples that would qualify for reduction or dismissal:
- Claiming to be a student with heavy loans or debt/no income.
- Claiming to be homeless or on ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program)
- Providing end of life support to a relative or caregiver support.
- Claiming to have low income.
- Claiming to struggle from a mental or physical illness
Before we would ask for some type of proof of what you were claiming, however that practice is now considered discriminatory and we'll have to make a decision on no proof. Repeated usages without evidence may eventually solicit a request for proof of your situation.
You may see a reduction from a 35$ to a 10-15, or dismissal of the fine depending on the severity of your situation.
2 - Officer Error: In Metrolinx's bylaw for a notice of violation to be accepted on it's face the following elements where applicable must be correct.
- Full name
- Date of Birth
- Gender
- Address (If no address given the officer is to put 'Refused')
- Presto Card number in full
- Train Line / Nearest Station
- Trip Number
Giving an address that doesn't exist, or is mispelt will mean the ticket was not adequtely served.
The wrong presto number even by a number is fatal, aswell as the train line and station.
Gender is also fatal, if they put the wrong gender when a Identity Card is shown.
3 - Ticket Service: The only way a notice of offence can be served is personally onto the defendant.
If you don't physically receive the ticket, maybe you run off the train or the inspector leaves and you then receive a notice of non-payment on that ticket in the mail then the ticket was not served correctly.
If an officer has all your information but you take off or they leave before serving the ticket, the officer may just print it which has it's own implications to their intregrity. We wouldn't know any different at the time as the ticket would go unpaid and we'd mail out a notice of due date. If this happens then you were not served and the ticket should be voided for improper service.
4 - Handheld Card Reader not tested/checked:
At the start of every shift every Officer must check their handheld card reader and calibrate it to read Presto Cards. If they don't do this, then there is reasonable doubt the machine worked correctly as the Officer cannot state in court or in a hearing they checked the device for faults.
While in the past older, tenured officers have done this the majority of the department is rather new and not in the practice of this.
If you were fined while using a presto card, you claim you don't believe the officer checked their device.
A supervisor will check their notes, if it's not in their memobook the ticket would be dropped.
One might say they could just forge their books to say this, the presto card eacher officer is assigned has records of when they tapped to test this can be checked in the backend if you do encounter this you can ask for a review of that data.
You may also request an Officer Notes both electronic (on the ticketing system) and their hand written memobook notes for any screening or hearing for your review as it's evidence to be disclosed to you.
5 - Tapping Machine down/Issue with the GO
If you've come into a station and a SFTP (Station Fare Transaction Processor) which is the Green presto tapping pole is glitching, not working or flickering aswell as the TVM (Ticket Vending Machine) take a picture of this. If you are fined and can prove preferably with a picture of the machine not working we will cancel the ticket.
Alternatively we can check the database for error reports, if one comes up for that station we will cancel the ticket but this isn't always reliable.
6 - Officer Conduct
If you believe you were discriminated and targeted in some way during your fare inspection, or you were a victim of abusive behaviour through power, physically or verbally you may make a complaint about your experience.
If the complaint is founded GO Transit will discipline the officer and void the ticket (to settle any liability claims).
However, it should be noted:
- Complaints not filed in writing to customer service within 30 days will not be considered.
- GO Transit has a policy to believe all employees are innocent until proven guilty, your word - or witnesses will not sway their decision. Photos or video of the interaction speak more to the conduct then what you may claim.
- The likely hood of a founded complaint without the above present is slim.
- Officers are represented by a Union, and generally if the Officer does not admit to the conduct or there is no evidence to the contrary the complaint is dismissed.
CIT stands for Customer Interaction Tracker.
The ticket may also be voided if there are factors to consider, if presented before a court or hearing officer would discredit Metrolinx or their employees.
I hope this guide has been helpful and I wish safe and happy travels to all that take the service.
2024.05.28 19:06 Douglasjm Magic is Programming B2 Chapter 3: Planning
Synopsis:
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
<< First < Previous Next > (RR) or Next > (Patreon)
Amber jumped up from the dining table and waved for Carlos to follow her. "I left my notes in my room. Come on, let's get them!"
"Do you actually need your notes?" Carlos kept his tone light as he walked behind her. "I think your memory is pretty good, and you thought through all of this very recently."
Amber shrugged without looking back. "Maybe not, but I'd get worried that I might forget a detail without them." She started climbing the private stairs toward the guest suites they were staying in. "I couldn't possibly forget the top priority thing, of course: making sure we don't get abducted and almost soul-killed again."
"Of course."
"In the immediate short term, we've already done everything I could think of about that." Amber rounded the landing of the stairs. "Might be worth revisiting the topic in case we think of anything new. … And bring Purple into the discussion; his unique perspective might see possibilities that we can't."
Carlos nodded, even though she wasn't looking toward him, and smoothly switched to telepathy to include the dungeon core. Purple's attention had focused on them the moment Amber said his name. [Right. So, short-term safety measures for us. To start with, we've already moved into the mayor's mansion, so anyone who considers targeting us now will at least know we have his support.]
[Yeah. And attackers won't be able to bypass the outer wards just by renting a room here, like they did at the inn.]
Carlos shrugged as he reached the top of the stairs. [I'm honestly not sure how much that mattered. They got through the suite-specific wards without a trace, and that's not even the most unbelievable thing they pulled off.]
[True.] Amber opened the door to her suite and went straight to the large hardwood desk against the left wall. [Fortunately for us, we have our own unbelievable thing to counter them. Even if all wards and guards fail, Purple will alert everyone to it immediately.] She sighed and shook her head. [If only we'd introduced him to Mayor Stelras earlier. Those mercenaries would have had every adventurer and city guard in Dramos swarming them before they even reached the walls.]
[Would have been a lot less stressful that way, certainly.] Carlos chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. [On the other hand, the pressure of it pushed us to figure out some incredible things.]
[The pressure may have prompted it, but we could have figured them out anyway without it; it just would have been later.] Amber pulled a notebook out of the desk's top drawer and opened it. [I'd rather avoid the unpleasantness of the experience. Anyway, the rest of the short-term safety measures: We have Esmorana and her party on call, with Purple able to contact them at any time. We have Ressara on call and sometimes standing watch, to check for attention-diversion magic. The Crown gave use two special emergency beacons, separate from the ones built into our guards' armor that got disabled by sabotage, which we have tested and stored in separate locations; one in the city's top security vault, and the other hidden. And finally, we have city guards patrolling and standing watch around the mansion, in addition to Colonel Lorvan and Major Ordens inside the mansion.]
Carlos chewed his lip for a moment. [What about reinforcing the wards here? Or adding more layers of them?]
Amber shook her head. [I considered that, but I don't think we can really trust the Enchanters Guild, and they're the only ones who could do that for us.]
[Hmm.] Carlos leaned against the doorframe and tapped his chin, thinking. [Yeah, that's reasonable. They want our dungeon core, and they're the top suspect for who could have sabotaged royal guard armor. Are they really the only source of enchanting work, though?]
Amber slowly walked over to one of the sofas and sat down, all without more than glancing away from her notebook. [Unless you count items made by dungeon cores, yes. I've heard of people figuring out what runes to write for an enchantment's effect, but the guild is… famously vicious about protecting their monopoly on the secret of how to imbue an item with mana and make the enchantment actually work. And before you suggest visiting a dungeon core, we don't have access to one powerful enough for this.]
Carlos smirked. [Not yet. But helping Purple get that powerful is a long-term thing, so fair point.]
Amber looked over at him, then rolled her eyes and waved at the sofa opposite her. "Come in and take a seat, already! I thought I was the shy one out of the two of us, not you."
Carlos smiled as he complied. "It's your room, and I was taught that entering someone's private area uninvited is rude." He settled into the sofa's soft upholstery and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. [I'm not happy about how much our short-term defense plans rely on rescue after-the-fact, just trying to ensure it comes quickly, rather than preventing abduction from happening in the first place. But…] He sighed. [The only short-term options I can think of for that involve abandoning Dramos, which I expect the Crown would frown on.]
[Yeah, let's not disappoint and displease our greatest protector. So, if you don't have any new short-term ideas either…?] Amber looked at Carlos and he shook his head. [Purple? You've been quiet so far. Any ideas?]
[Not for the short term.] Purple's mental voice felt resigned, yet determined and hopeful for the future. [I will need to gain a great deal more power before I can make barriers of any kind that would be meaningful against the level of our enemies.]
[Then let's move on to the long term.] Amber turned the page in her notebook. [We have several avenues to juggle and prioritize for how to develop our house, and I started with breaking them down into categories and subcategories. At the top level, we have: our own personal development, Purple's development, and staff or resource development.]
Carlos felt something weird from his comprehension aid and took a moment to sort out what it was. Amber had used only a single word for the combination of both staff and resources. I guess the concept of "human resources" got into the Ganler language. [So, essentially the house itself, and then everything else. For personal development, there's learning more and better spells, and making 9 new soul structures, of course.]
[Don't forget absorbing more mana, I mean aether, from the deep Wilds to advance our levels,] Amber chided him. [Our absorption rate being crippled by the 9 empty slots left from our original set merging just means that leveling up will have to come after fixing that, not that it isn't critically important. I think some of those mercenaries, especially their captain, had levels in the 40s. We're only Level 15, and making up for a power gap that large with just spells and clever tricks may not be possible.]
Carlos sighed and lowered his head. [I know. But I'm worried that if we rush that too much, we might handicap ourselves in the long run.] He straightened and took a deep breath. [And whatever capabilities we end up with, we'll need to practice with them. Spar with each other, and with other people, for combat practice. Consider contingencies and make plans. Hone our reflexes. Having enough power and the right spell to save ourselves only matters if we take action to use it correctly and quickly enough.]
Amber nodded and scribbled something in her notebook. [Good point. I missed that. Any other categories for personal improvement?]
Carlos shook his head, and Purple just sent an impression of a shrug.
[Okay. Then for soul structures: while we could brainstorm ideas and principles for what to prioritize, before we can even begin making actual plans we need more information. We need to ask Lorvan and Ordens for every detail they can tell us about how this "second stage" works. How does the merge affect synergy requirements? Can new structures merge into it too? Why was just the first stage enough to qualify us as high nobles?] Amber looked at the open page in her notebook and snorted. [I have more questions listed, but you get the point.]
Carlos nodded. [Right. We can't optimize a plan if we don't know the rules. We shouldn't assume that Lorvan will tell us all of the rules, though. He may not even know all of them. I'd bet that the Crown has a secret or two about this that only the royals themselves know, and there could be possible tricks that no one knows.]
Amber tapped the page. [Yep, I already noted that. I'm kind of expecting that you'll be the one to figure that stuff out, though. I'll try, but you seem to be better at that sort of thing. The other thing we need to know is what capabilities we could use spells for instead. The whole point of being mages, using incantations to cast spells instead of having soul structures produce effects directly, is to have versatility without losing power in exchange. Ideally, every soul structure should either improve our spellcasting, do something that cannot be done with spells, or at least be better in an important way than the closest spell.]
[I've been so absorbed in cataloging effect keywords that I hadn't even thought about that. Hmm…] Carlos cocked his head and considered for several seconds. [That makes sense.] He chuckled. [So it turns out that, by completely putting the soul structures issue out of my mind, I've actually been working on the soul structures issue after all!] He grinned cheekily.
Amber smiled and nodded. [Apparently so. In any case, our action items for this are: ask Lorvan for information; try to figure out extra things beyond what he can tell us; finish cataloging the extent and coverage of incantations versatility; then make a plan using the information we learn. Can you think of anything to add?] As she listed the action items, she quickly wrote several lines on a separate sheet of paper.
[That covers everything I can think of.]
[Okay. Moving on to spells.] Amber turned the page. [Right now, we pretty much just need to do what you're already doing: sort through and catalog all the possibilities. We need the results of that to inform our choices about what to learn and practice with.] She hesitated. [Though with Trinlen here, maybe we should go ahead and start lessons with him before we finish that.]
[Definitely. He'll at least know about all the standard options that the academy teaches, and he can give interactive guidance, assessing and responding to what we need.]
Amber scribbled a few more lines of action items, then paused and inserted one just above the last line. [Just remembered, we still need to decide how much to tell him about your system documentation discovery.] She turned back to her notebook and flipped back to the first page for a moment. [Gaining levels will have to wait on making new soul structures. Practicing combat will have to wait until we have suitable spells and abilities to practice with. That makes the next item Purple's development. How's your current progress going, Purple?]
[I have disassembled the soul structure I made for finding you and replaced it with the originally planned structure. I have additionally made the next 3 planned structures, and I am currently collecting the essence for the final 10th structure.] Purple sent a small burst of surprised confusion. ["Essence?" Ah, I see. A word you learned recently?]
Carlos raised an eyebrow and saw Amber doing the same. [Trinlen taught us about it. Any issues with establishing all the synergies?]
[I will need assistance for the synergies with the bond maker. Those synergies involve and require interaction with someone I have a bond with.]
Carlos nodded. [Of course. After that's done, are you ready to go traveling to absorb higher-level aether? I know that you have to release most of your… mana? Is that the right one, out of aether, mana, and essence?]
[Partially. What anchors me in place, which I must leave behind in order to be moved, is a mix of all three. Regardless, I have far more essence and mana inside me than before, and that will come with me. The loss of what I leave behind will affect me much less and will be more quickly regained. Travel will be necessary to gain the power to protect us. Do not be concerned about my minor discomfort with the process.]
Amber responded first. [I'm glad to hear that. We also need to make plans for what soul structures you should make after your first set merge, but that will have to wait for the same information as our own plans. Is there anything else we can do to help you grow?]
Purple paused, filled with uncertainty. [I don't know.] He hesitated again. [You humans learn how to grow powerful by learning from other humans how they grew powerful. Dungeons do not. Or rather, cannot, because we do not move, meet, and communicate. Find knowledge of how other dungeons became powerful, and that may help me. That is the only idea I have.]
Carlos laughed. [Yet another research project, hmm? Sure, we can add it to the list.]
Amber duly wrote it down, along with a trip into the Wilds for Purple. [Okay. That leaves staff/resources. For improving the staff that we already have, well… I only have one idea for that. We could try helping them improve their soul plans, but doing that without teaching them house secrets could be tricky, and we'd have to convince them to tell us what they already have. The degree of specific details we might need to know in order to help is… enough that even asking would be rude.]
[I see.] Carlos shrugged. [There are ways around that. If we explain the basic idea of the kind of help we might be able to give them, then they can decide whether to share that information without us ever actually asking for it.]
Amber narrowed her eyes at him, then took a note. [Sure. I'll leave that conversation to you.] She glanced back at her notebook and sighed. [And that leaves acquiring new staff/resources. I suppose we could ask Darmelkon to help, but I'm not sure how much we can trust him. Aside from that…] She shook her head helplessly. [I know how to do small jobs and carefully save up, but that's hardly appropriate for us now as nobles.]
Carlos chuckled lightly. [Don't worry about it. I've seen enough of how people in positions of high authority do such things. There's a related saying I learned: "We have people for that." We can delegate it. Eventually, we will have to delegate it, because there will be too many things for us to even conceivably have enough time for all of them. We've kind of already delegated some things anyway: investigating the mercenaries and the illegal "rotation agreement."]
[Yeah. I wonder how those investigations are going.]
___
Far away, in a dimly lit prison cell, a heavily muscled man, sitting cross-legged on the floor, sighed and bowed his head. He wore only plain and loose clothes made of cheap cloth, save for the rune-inlaid steel manacles that bound his wrists together. He looked up again at the regal woman, dressed entirely in the dark orange of orichalcum, who was watching him from just outside the cell bars. "Your Highness, I can only tell you the same thing I told your interrogators: threats cannot change the simple fact that I do not have the knowledge that you seek. I intentionally set up ways for clients to hire my company without ever revealing any hint of their identities. That anonymity was part of what the Black Blades became known for; part of why people would choose to hire us."
The regal woman gazed at him impassively. "I am aware of your reputation, Captain Granlan. I also have a report of your company exacting retribution on a client who hired you under false pretenses and set you up to fail."
Granlan raised an eyebrow. "Does that report mention how long it took us to unwind the layers of cutouts and concealments to identify that particular client?"
The woman nodded. "Two and a half years, during which you were also pursuing other jobs, and you began with no specific suspicions. Imagine that you focus on the task exclusively; that you coordinate with the Crown on it; and that you start with a precise primary suspect in mind. How much faster do you think that could make it?"
Slowly, Granlan's weary frown changed into a grin. "Now we're talking!"
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submitted by Douglasjm to HFY [link] [comments]
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
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Amber jumped up from the dining table and waved for Carlos to follow her. "I left my notes in my room. Come on, let's get them!"
"Do you actually need your notes?" Carlos kept his tone light as he walked behind her. "I think your memory is pretty good, and you thought through all of this very recently."
Amber shrugged without looking back. "Maybe not, but I'd get worried that I might forget a detail without them." She started climbing the private stairs toward the guest suites they were staying in. "I couldn't possibly forget the top priority thing, of course: making sure we don't get abducted and almost soul-killed again."
"Of course."
"In the immediate short term, we've already done everything I could think of about that." Amber rounded the landing of the stairs. "Might be worth revisiting the topic in case we think of anything new. … And bring Purple into the discussion; his unique perspective might see possibilities that we can't."
Carlos nodded, even though she wasn't looking toward him, and smoothly switched to telepathy to include the dungeon core. Purple's attention had focused on them the moment Amber said his name. [Right. So, short-term safety measures for us. To start with, we've already moved into the mayor's mansion, so anyone who considers targeting us now will at least know we have his support.]
[Yeah. And attackers won't be able to bypass the outer wards just by renting a room here, like they did at the inn.]
Carlos shrugged as he reached the top of the stairs. [I'm honestly not sure how much that mattered. They got through the suite-specific wards without a trace, and that's not even the most unbelievable thing they pulled off.]
[True.] Amber opened the door to her suite and went straight to the large hardwood desk against the left wall. [Fortunately for us, we have our own unbelievable thing to counter them. Even if all wards and guards fail, Purple will alert everyone to it immediately.] She sighed and shook her head. [If only we'd introduced him to Mayor Stelras earlier. Those mercenaries would have had every adventurer and city guard in Dramos swarming them before they even reached the walls.]
[Would have been a lot less stressful that way, certainly.] Carlos chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. [On the other hand, the pressure of it pushed us to figure out some incredible things.]
[The pressure may have prompted it, but we could have figured them out anyway without it; it just would have been later.] Amber pulled a notebook out of the desk's top drawer and opened it. [I'd rather avoid the unpleasantness of the experience. Anyway, the rest of the short-term safety measures: We have Esmorana and her party on call, with Purple able to contact them at any time. We have Ressara on call and sometimes standing watch, to check for attention-diversion magic. The Crown gave use two special emergency beacons, separate from the ones built into our guards' armor that got disabled by sabotage, which we have tested and stored in separate locations; one in the city's top security vault, and the other hidden. And finally, we have city guards patrolling and standing watch around the mansion, in addition to Colonel Lorvan and Major Ordens inside the mansion.]
Carlos chewed his lip for a moment. [What about reinforcing the wards here? Or adding more layers of them?]
Amber shook her head. [I considered that, but I don't think we can really trust the Enchanters Guild, and they're the only ones who could do that for us.]
[Hmm.] Carlos leaned against the doorframe and tapped his chin, thinking. [Yeah, that's reasonable. They want our dungeon core, and they're the top suspect for who could have sabotaged royal guard armor. Are they really the only source of enchanting work, though?]
Amber slowly walked over to one of the sofas and sat down, all without more than glancing away from her notebook. [Unless you count items made by dungeon cores, yes. I've heard of people figuring out what runes to write for an enchantment's effect, but the guild is… famously vicious about protecting their monopoly on the secret of how to imbue an item with mana and make the enchantment actually work. And before you suggest visiting a dungeon core, we don't have access to one powerful enough for this.]
Carlos smirked. [Not yet. But helping Purple get that powerful is a long-term thing, so fair point.]
Amber looked over at him, then rolled her eyes and waved at the sofa opposite her. "Come in and take a seat, already! I thought I was the shy one out of the two of us, not you."
Carlos smiled as he complied. "It's your room, and I was taught that entering someone's private area uninvited is rude." He settled into the sofa's soft upholstery and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. [I'm not happy about how much our short-term defense plans rely on rescue after-the-fact, just trying to ensure it comes quickly, rather than preventing abduction from happening in the first place. But…] He sighed. [The only short-term options I can think of for that involve abandoning Dramos, which I expect the Crown would frown on.]
[Yeah, let's not disappoint and displease our greatest protector. So, if you don't have any new short-term ideas either…?] Amber looked at Carlos and he shook his head. [Purple? You've been quiet so far. Any ideas?]
[Not for the short term.] Purple's mental voice felt resigned, yet determined and hopeful for the future. [I will need to gain a great deal more power before I can make barriers of any kind that would be meaningful against the level of our enemies.]
[Then let's move on to the long term.] Amber turned the page in her notebook. [We have several avenues to juggle and prioritize for how to develop our house, and I started with breaking them down into categories and subcategories. At the top level, we have: our own personal development, Purple's development, and staff or resource development.]
Carlos felt something weird from his comprehension aid and took a moment to sort out what it was. Amber had used only a single word for the combination of both staff and resources. I guess the concept of "human resources" got into the Ganler language. [So, essentially the house itself, and then everything else. For personal development, there's learning more and better spells, and making 9 new soul structures, of course.]
[Don't forget absorbing more mana, I mean aether, from the deep Wilds to advance our levels,] Amber chided him. [Our absorption rate being crippled by the 9 empty slots left from our original set merging just means that leveling up will have to come after fixing that, not that it isn't critically important. I think some of those mercenaries, especially their captain, had levels in the 40s. We're only Level 15, and making up for a power gap that large with just spells and clever tricks may not be possible.]
Carlos sighed and lowered his head. [I know. But I'm worried that if we rush that too much, we might handicap ourselves in the long run.] He straightened and took a deep breath. [And whatever capabilities we end up with, we'll need to practice with them. Spar with each other, and with other people, for combat practice. Consider contingencies and make plans. Hone our reflexes. Having enough power and the right spell to save ourselves only matters if we take action to use it correctly and quickly enough.]
Amber nodded and scribbled something in her notebook. [Good point. I missed that. Any other categories for personal improvement?]
Carlos shook his head, and Purple just sent an impression of a shrug.
[Okay. Then for soul structures: while we could brainstorm ideas and principles for what to prioritize, before we can even begin making actual plans we need more information. We need to ask Lorvan and Ordens for every detail they can tell us about how this "second stage" works. How does the merge affect synergy requirements? Can new structures merge into it too? Why was just the first stage enough to qualify us as high nobles?] Amber looked at the open page in her notebook and snorted. [I have more questions listed, but you get the point.]
Carlos nodded. [Right. We can't optimize a plan if we don't know the rules. We shouldn't assume that Lorvan will tell us all of the rules, though. He may not even know all of them. I'd bet that the Crown has a secret or two about this that only the royals themselves know, and there could be possible tricks that no one knows.]
Amber tapped the page. [Yep, I already noted that. I'm kind of expecting that you'll be the one to figure that stuff out, though. I'll try, but you seem to be better at that sort of thing. The other thing we need to know is what capabilities we could use spells for instead. The whole point of being mages, using incantations to cast spells instead of having soul structures produce effects directly, is to have versatility without losing power in exchange. Ideally, every soul structure should either improve our spellcasting, do something that cannot be done with spells, or at least be better in an important way than the closest spell.]
[I've been so absorbed in cataloging effect keywords that I hadn't even thought about that. Hmm…] Carlos cocked his head and considered for several seconds. [That makes sense.] He chuckled. [So it turns out that, by completely putting the soul structures issue out of my mind, I've actually been working on the soul structures issue after all!] He grinned cheekily.
Amber smiled and nodded. [Apparently so. In any case, our action items for this are: ask Lorvan for information; try to figure out extra things beyond what he can tell us; finish cataloging the extent and coverage of incantations versatility; then make a plan using the information we learn. Can you think of anything to add?] As she listed the action items, she quickly wrote several lines on a separate sheet of paper.
[That covers everything I can think of.]
[Okay. Moving on to spells.] Amber turned the page. [Right now, we pretty much just need to do what you're already doing: sort through and catalog all the possibilities. We need the results of that to inform our choices about what to learn and practice with.] She hesitated. [Though with Trinlen here, maybe we should go ahead and start lessons with him before we finish that.]
[Definitely. He'll at least know about all the standard options that the academy teaches, and he can give interactive guidance, assessing and responding to what we need.]
Amber scribbled a few more lines of action items, then paused and inserted one just above the last line. [Just remembered, we still need to decide how much to tell him about your system documentation discovery.] She turned back to her notebook and flipped back to the first page for a moment. [Gaining levels will have to wait on making new soul structures. Practicing combat will have to wait until we have suitable spells and abilities to practice with. That makes the next item Purple's development. How's your current progress going, Purple?]
[I have disassembled the soul structure I made for finding you and replaced it with the originally planned structure. I have additionally made the next 3 planned structures, and I am currently collecting the essence for the final 10th structure.] Purple sent a small burst of surprised confusion. ["Essence?" Ah, I see. A word you learned recently?]
Carlos raised an eyebrow and saw Amber doing the same. [Trinlen taught us about it. Any issues with establishing all the synergies?]
[I will need assistance for the synergies with the bond maker. Those synergies involve and require interaction with someone I have a bond with.]
Carlos nodded. [Of course. After that's done, are you ready to go traveling to absorb higher-level aether? I know that you have to release most of your… mana? Is that the right one, out of aether, mana, and essence?]
[Partially. What anchors me in place, which I must leave behind in order to be moved, is a mix of all three. Regardless, I have far more essence and mana inside me than before, and that will come with me. The loss of what I leave behind will affect me much less and will be more quickly regained. Travel will be necessary to gain the power to protect us. Do not be concerned about my minor discomfort with the process.]
Amber responded first. [I'm glad to hear that. We also need to make plans for what soul structures you should make after your first set merge, but that will have to wait for the same information as our own plans. Is there anything else we can do to help you grow?]
Purple paused, filled with uncertainty. [I don't know.] He hesitated again. [You humans learn how to grow powerful by learning from other humans how they grew powerful. Dungeons do not. Or rather, cannot, because we do not move, meet, and communicate. Find knowledge of how other dungeons became powerful, and that may help me. That is the only idea I have.]
Carlos laughed. [Yet another research project, hmm? Sure, we can add it to the list.]
Amber duly wrote it down, along with a trip into the Wilds for Purple. [Okay. That leaves staff/resources. For improving the staff that we already have, well… I only have one idea for that. We could try helping them improve their soul plans, but doing that without teaching them house secrets could be tricky, and we'd have to convince them to tell us what they already have. The degree of specific details we might need to know in order to help is… enough that even asking would be rude.]
[I see.] Carlos shrugged. [There are ways around that. If we explain the basic idea of the kind of help we might be able to give them, then they can decide whether to share that information without us ever actually asking for it.]
Amber narrowed her eyes at him, then took a note. [Sure. I'll leave that conversation to you.] She glanced back at her notebook and sighed. [And that leaves acquiring new staff/resources. I suppose we could ask Darmelkon to help, but I'm not sure how much we can trust him. Aside from that…] She shook her head helplessly. [I know how to do small jobs and carefully save up, but that's hardly appropriate for us now as nobles.]
Carlos chuckled lightly. [Don't worry about it. I've seen enough of how people in positions of high authority do such things. There's a related saying I learned: "We have people for that." We can delegate it. Eventually, we will have to delegate it, because there will be too many things for us to even conceivably have enough time for all of them. We've kind of already delegated some things anyway: investigating the mercenaries and the illegal "rotation agreement."]
[Yeah. I wonder how those investigations are going.]
___
Far away, in a dimly lit prison cell, a heavily muscled man, sitting cross-legged on the floor, sighed and bowed his head. He wore only plain and loose clothes made of cheap cloth, save for the rune-inlaid steel manacles that bound his wrists together. He looked up again at the regal woman, dressed entirely in the dark orange of orichalcum, who was watching him from just outside the cell bars. "Your Highness, I can only tell you the same thing I told your interrogators: threats cannot change the simple fact that I do not have the knowledge that you seek. I intentionally set up ways for clients to hire my company without ever revealing any hint of their identities. That anonymity was part of what the Black Blades became known for; part of why people would choose to hire us."
The regal woman gazed at him impassively. "I am aware of your reputation, Captain Granlan. I also have a report of your company exacting retribution on a client who hired you under false pretenses and set you up to fail."
Granlan raised an eyebrow. "Does that report mention how long it took us to unwind the layers of cutouts and concealments to identify that particular client?"
The woman nodded. "Two and a half years, during which you were also pursuing other jobs, and you began with no specific suspicions. Imagine that you focus on the task exclusively; that you coordinate with the Crown on it; and that you start with a precise primary suspect in mind. How much faster do you think that could make it?"
Slowly, Granlan's weary frown changed into a grin. "Now we're talking!"
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Please rate the story on Royal Road!
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Patreon has 4+ advance chapters if you want to read more.
2024.05.28 19:05 Phouza Song of the Week #574: In Your Head
Welcome everybody to the fourth and very last SotW of May! We havn't featured a track from 'Revival' in a pretty long time but that changes today, as StrangerAlert112 selected 'the zombie track', 'In Your Head', as this week's featured track.
On 'In Your Head', Em reflects about his regrets throughout his career. In particular, it appears that he’s most frustrated with his Slim Shady persona. His alter-ego, as described by Em, was his evil, yet funny side of him:
Slim Shady is just the evil thoughts that come into my head. Things I shouldn’t be thinking about. Not to be gimmicky, but people should be able to determine when I’m serious and when I’m fuckin around. That’s why a lot of my songs are funny.Because of his persona, he blended real-life problems with his music. The most popular example would be 'Kim', where Em kills his wife out of frustration. He also had no issues with beefing with others. Even at the peak of his career, he’s made it evident that he would say whatever he wanted. On 'Drug Ballad', he rapped:
I just say whatever I want to whoever I wantHis actions finally began to catch up to him on this song, as he’s remorseful for what he’s rapped about.
Whenever I want, wherever I want, however I want
On January 15, 2018, a month after this track was released, Dolores O'Riordan, the singer of the hook, was found dead in her London hotel room. The cause of death was not immediately made public, but an inquest held on the 6th of September ruled that she died as a result of accidental drowning in a bathtub, following sedation by alcohol intoxication.
Every week there will be a new song that gets featured at the top of the subreddit. Users can leave a comment and the song that gets the most votes might be the new Song of the Week. Suggestions for improving the next post are encouraged.
This week's Nominator: StrangerAlert112
The Song: In Your Head - iTunes
In-App link(s) spotify:track:5qykEZTHAcplCLrynoLRnN
Featuring Artist(s): None
Length: 3:02
Recorded: 2016 - 2017
Release: December 15, 2017
Album(s): Revival - iTunes
In-App link(s): spotify:album:0U6ldwLBEMkwgfQRY4V6D2
Sample(s): The Cranberries - Zombie
Media: Album: Cover - Back
Label(s): Shady Records, Aftermath, Interscope
Format: Digital, Disc, Vinyl
Producer(s): Scram Jones
Extra: Lyrics Video: Fan-made Video - Lyric Video Full header image
Live Performances: None
This is an open thread for you to share your thoughts on the current SotW or to nominate a new song. Avoid vague statements of praise or criticism. This is your chance to practice being a critic.
2024.05.28 19:01 seraleev_viktor How to create mobile apps that make $3,000 a day
 | Four years ago, I decided to launch a startup and began creating my own mobile apps. On September 20 last year, they started bringing in over $3,000 a day (90% of which was on iOS). The very next day, Apple removed all my apps from the App Store and blocked my account. submitted by seraleev_viktor to iOSProgramming [link] [comments] I sent appeals, showed evidence, screenshots, and even sent a pre-trial claim, but was mostly ignored. Now I've filed a lawsuit against Apple, and for now, the iOS market is a no-go fpr me. I want to speak out, but I don’t want to complain. Instead, I can share how simple ideas brought me good profits. Maybe someone will be interested and avoid making my mistakes. First idea The first app was super simple - you upload two before/after images and get a short video with a slide effect. First version of the app My wife, who was a nail tech at the time, suggested the idea because she wanted to create content to attract clients. She couldn't find any apps for creating before/after videos in the App Store. I didn’t believe her, we almost ended up arguing, and I went searching to prove her wrong. Turns out, she was right (as always). I persuaded a friend to help develop the app. It was 2019, we spent a couple of months developing it, and within a year, it was bringing in $100-200 a month. My friend thought the idea was unworkable, so I bought out his share for a token amount. This happened on February 26, 2020, right at my 30th birthday party. I sold a stake in a common startup and used part of the money to buy out my partner’s share in the before/after app. I had about $10k in my pocket. The next day after the party, I sat down to redesign the app and think through new functionality. First takeoff I was lucky to quickly find a talented and affordable freelancer. We rebuilt the app almost from scratch in 1.5 months, costing me $2,000. What we did:
Before this update, the app gained a couple of hundred montly downloads in its first year. But a week after the new version was released, there was a surge in organics. Around the same time, I hired a marketing specialist for $400/month who launched the first ad. And boy, did it take off. We spent $200-300 on the first campaign, and within a month, I was maxing out my credit card to buy ads. All campaigns paid off. We used only one source, Apple Search Ads. Search Ads doesn't have extensive targeting options, so we didn't fully understand who our target users were. Then we were contacted by an influencer saying “let’s launch a dog grooming contest.” It wasn’t very clear who would be interested in that, but no problem, let’s do it. As a prize, we gave away premium access to our app, just three promo codes. The return from the contest was phenomenal. It brought in $2,000 net, and I discovered a whole new world. A huge number of people are willing to invest any amount in their beloved doggos to brag about the results through our app. I was shocked that a simple idea like this one worked SO well. After the contest, we doubled for three more months in a row, and then reached a stable growth of 20-30% per month. Screenshot from App Store Connect I still remember the moment I woke up, picked up my phone, and the app had earned a thousand dollars overnight for the first time. I was psyched, thanking the universe, the users, Apple, and the iPhone itself. Six months after the redesign, the app was bringing in about 200 times more than the original mark, $34k instead of $100-200 a month. $25k on iOS and $9k on Android (the Android version was made three months after the redesign). As a result, I started receiving offers to purchase the app. I refused until I heard, “name the price.” I don’t know why, but I said $410k and after five days, I received that amount into my account. It seemed like an unimaginable amount of money to me; I couldn’t believe what was happening. Only two years later did I realize the real value of the app at that time was at least $1 million. You know how it goes, do as I say, not as I do. To tell you more, the app’s still alive and it’s making good money without any updates. It paid for itself in 8 months and has been deep in the green ever since. I planned to continue making apps with this money, thinking I could expand. It’s going to be smooth sailing from here on out, right? Absolutely not. Landing In 2021, my family and I moved to Chile, where we still live. We like it here, it's a beautiful country, pur children are growing up here, our daughter was born here, and we want to get Chilean passports. I sold everything back home - a car, an apartment, a plot of land, all my stuff. I started chasing my dream of making a serious video editing app. I thought, now I have money, I'll start figuring out a "real" app. Life is beautiful and amazing. I hired new devs and went to work for a year and a half. The first release turned out to be a failure: organic users never came, and the cost of attracting one user never fell below $10. Competing with the free CapCut was impossible. There were also parallel attempts to make other things. For example, an app for designing your Instagram feed. The first version of the app was growing great, but I thought with new features like collaboration and delayed auto-publishing, I'd find the key to success. However, reality was harsh. I spent six months just communicating with Facebook to gain access to the API methods I needed, only to find that Facebook kept changing things on the inside, making the app’s features unusable. In the end, I didn’t even earn $1,000. I spent almost all my money working tirelessly, but nothing ever took off. Insights and the crash Crisis makes you think. I realized my strength was in niche apps and decided to return to where I started: small apps covering specific needs without any unnecessary noise. I made the Boomerang app, regardless of the fact that Instagram already had this feature. But I made a separate app, and it started to grow. There was also an app filled with beautiful fonts for designing social media posts. An app for creating Reels. Once I realized my strengths, things started to look up again. I returned to the idea of collages. Every app began to make money. Whew! Screenshot from my company website Overall, the account had six apps with an above 4.5 stars average App Store rating. On August 21, 2023, I received a notification from Apple that they had removed my app from the App Store and were going to shut down my account if I did not correct the violations within 30 days. Not any specific violations, just “violations.” I sent Apple evidence, screenshots, and offered access to the source files, but I was either ignored completely pr got an auto-reply. I was sure this was just some kind of mistake and waited for an answer. We continued to make updates and worked on new features. On September 20, the apps earned more than $3,000 in 24 hours for the first time and were removed by Apple the next day. Payments were suspended, and I had $110,000 left in my account. I was stunned. The first appeal was rejected, the reasons for the blocking were unknown, and it was unclear what to do. I immediately submitted a second appeal. Eight weeks of silence and again a refusal. I lost everything I worked for in a single day.. I started a petition on Change.org and shared my story in a tweet that gained significant traction. Someone from Twitter published my story on Hacker News; it became #1, collecting more than 400 comments. I received hundreds of support messages in my dms, and only then did Apple finally send an explanation. According to them, my account was frozen “for association with a previously closed fraudulent account.” Of course, I had no connection with fraudulent accounts, otherwise I wouldn’t even be sharing the story in the first place. The only positive reaction to the hype was the return of $110,000. I started my little investigation. The “fraudulent” account may have turned out to be my old account, which once contained the first app for creating before/after videos. The very same thing that started it all. I continued to pay $99 for this account because it is dear to me, it’s nostalgic and a part of my life. Just before it was closed, I tried to publish a card game based on the popular game Never Have I Ever on this account. This concept seemed ideal for me to master interface solutions when moving from Swift UIKit to Swift UI. But recently, other things have come to light. We found a company of former partners with an identical name to mine. Apparently, Apple connected me with this company that I didn't even know existed. But I can’t know for sure because there is no feedback from the corporation. Any letters with any arguments and documents are ignored. I had to sue, but that’s a whole other big story. Communication with Apple is gfar from being related to development; maybe I’ll tell you about it someday. What's next and what about other stores 90% of our profits came through Apple. We're now fully focused on Android and have grown 4x in 8 months, but it's still not enough to cover all development costs. I don’t make enough money to continue supporting the team. We're holding out for now because finding developers who understand graphics and video is difficult (by the way, a good niche for devs who are not sure what to try next). The growth on Android is also related to the market's quirks: the Android audience is many times larger than the number of iPhone users, but not every Android can render a new video from 12 frames. Back to my story. Next will be a trial, petitions, and pleas. I hope my experience will be useful to someone because I am not the first and, most likely, not the last to find myself in this situation. Corporations don't care about individual developers. Even if they are left with nothing. It might sound trivial, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The larger the corporation, the less attention it will pay to you. With Apple, after blocking, you lose the opportunity to even talk to support on the phone. Text appeals only. In fact, I communicated with the answering machine for a whole month until I was blocked. At any moment, you can lose everything you have - your account, apps, users. With the snap of a finger, what you thought belonged to you will disappear. The only thing I realized is that only public discussion of the problem and the courts can somehow induce them to change their policy towards developers. In the meantime, I’ll go get ready for the next update. |
2024.05.28 18:45 the_rippy_one Working On some Artifacts, not sure about the ratings
Also, wouldn't mind some opinions XD
*****
Thinking 2 or 3 dots on this one - Single late combat trick, a bit of utility, and a very spotty and random unique extra.
Wooded Silver Ax – Initially made by Jade Claws (gen 0 Lunar exalt) as a friendship gift to a loyal Dragonblood retainer (A craftsman, obviously), this ax improved their ability to gather materials, and make them into auspicious items. While wood is not an inherent magical material, the great care used in crafting this tool seeps into the items it works, possibly lending them additional potency. This artifact is made of green jade and moonsilver. This is a Medium Artifact weapon with the Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short), and Chopping tags (Accuracy +3 Damage+12 Defense+1 Overwhelm 4 Attunment 5).
Woodworker's Friend
Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent
It’s main capacity is to shift its shape – while it is naturally an ax, and reverts to this shape when unattended, it may also take the shape of any wood-working tool, or as a simple bracelet. While disguised, a 3 difficulty perception+Lore check will reveal this ax’s nature. At Melee 5, Essence 3+, you may attempt to “jink” a Parry-based Defense by morphing this ax into a smaller form and then re-manifesting it on the “other side” of the block (this specific use costs 1 mote). This grants the Unblockable trait for this one attack, in return for reducing this attack's Accuracy and Damage by 1 success. You may only do this once per combat round.
Subtle Wood Enchantment: Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent When used to harvest or craft wood, the ST makes a secret roll – on a roll of 0, the user gains 1 additional Silver Resource, and on a roll of 9, one resource gained in harvesting, or 1 item made in crafting, gains a single minor property of green jade. A teacup might improve the quality of the tea served in it, relaxing and soothing the drinker, while an ax handle might lend its wielder a mild resistance to poison. A Perception+Lore or Occult check might determine this subtle charm, but it is a very difficult process, as it is a very minor effect. These items remain “wood,” and will fail as wood does, but can last, when properly cared for, as long as jade, without degradation. Those with a sensitivity or affinity to the wood element will enjoy contact with such items, even if they are uncertain of why. A harvested tree with an effect shares its effect with all resulting items made from it. For example, raw lumber with a regeneration effect was made into a set of practice swords for Gens Nerigus several hundred years ago – they remain in use, even now, because, while they do break, they restore themselves if left alone for a day.
***** Thinking a 3? Maybe 4, though I don't imagine you'll have 0 Resources Merit by the time you are Essence 3, let alone 4, unless you are REALLY trying, and that's a lot of what would unbalance this relic.
Zenigata Gloves The Solar philosopher Zargas came to the understanding that money was an easy exacerbater of greed, and that greed was bad. While this did tragically result in him later destroying all forms of wealth in his area of rule, leading to wide spread local poverty and famine, it also led to this "prank," a very real display of the idea that money is harmful. While mildly defensive (adding +1 to the Defense statistic when worn), this full sleeve silk and orichalcum-thread glove's major power is literally throwing money away. Coins thrown with this glove are treated as Heavy Thrown weapons (Damage 11, Overwhelm 1) and have the Lethal, Special, and Thrown (Long) tags until they hit, at which point they revert to normal coinage. Special: In addition to the normal damage, add 1 damage die for each dot of the Resources Merit the target possesses. This attack also leaves an imprint of the coin on the person's body, which remains for 1 scene per such dot. If the user somehow loses a Resource Merit dot through the use of these attacks (how many coins did you throw?!), you have +3 dice to accuracy and your ammo gain the Thrown(Extreme) tag for the rest of the scene. You may never pick up a coin thrown with this glove during the Scenario you threw it.
Evocation Greed is Bad, m'kay? Cost: 1m, 1w; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple You are able to determine the Resources Merit of everyone within medium distance of you this round - there is no check for this, you simply know the information. This knowledge is remembered after the round, but you will not receive any "updates" after the round you use this feature (so you won't know if someone lost or gained Resources, or the Merit level of anyone that enters Medium range, after the round), unless you use this evocation again. You may spend 1 additional mote to degrade the Defense of one person with the highest Resource Merit within range by 1 for the next scene (if multiple people have the "highest" Resource Merit, you may pick which one loses the point of Defense). Only one degradation of Defense may be active through this evocation - if this aspect of the evocation is used again, the previous use is nullified. The evocation itself may be used as often as the attuner likes, assuming the cost is paid. This effect is detectable by various spells and charms - just using the evocation does not detect as harmful, though the Defense reduction might, but it does create a response to abilities that warn if someone is trying to learn about others. Resonant: If you are a Solar Exalt, and you have fewer Resource Merits than the target of the Defense degradation, you recover the 1 willpower spent on this Evocation.
Mo' Money Mo' Problems Cost 5m, 1w; Mins: Essence 4 Type: Simple
When activated, this Evocation causes everyone (you and your party included) within long range to suffer a -1 die per point of the Resources Merit above yours, for all rolls, until the end of the scene. The attuner may exempt any number of people from this effect by paying 1 additional mote and Willpower per person. Special: If you are a Solar exalt, while under this effect, if you destroy "wealth" in some fashion, such that someone's Resources Merit drops 1 dot, you gain 1 willpower. Please note that "stealing" is not "destroying," you must actually burn/melt/disintegrate the money/mining stockpile/inventory of goods/whatever.
*****
I'm thinking 5, but it's semi-random and very specific, so maybe 4, on this one?
Cards Of Unknown Providence – This standard pack of playing cards are crafted from a small amount of starmetal wire and moderate amounts of moonsilver, though their magic makes them appear to be normal card-stock. Crafted by a first generation Lunar Exalted, Dancing Wind Paws, who felt that fate was too immutable, and fearing the forecasted end of their soulmate (Their Zenith was well aware of the Sidereal plot, and was just too "Achilles in His Tent" at the moment to care), made these weapons in an attempt to alter the unalterable. Needless to say, the Sidereal took exception to this, but the cards can't be held by fated hands, or locked away - these cards find their way into the pocket of any soul willing to take a risk and throw the dice to get what they need.
These cards are treated like Light Chakram Artifacts (Damage +10, overwhelm 3, Attunement 5), with the tags: Lethal, Thrown (Medium), Cutting, Special, Concealable. Special: As soon as a thrown card either misses or strikes its target, it disappears, and reappears in the deck, unless the user's will prevents this. All cards are returned to the deck if at least one card moves more than long range from deck, or if the user becomes incapacitated. If placed in a locked container without an owner, the cards will appear in the pocket of the nearest mortal gambler, and if affected by Fate or Destiny, will immediately flee to a mortal gambler's pocket at least 100 km away, ending the Fated effect. If the cards are still attuned, they will return to their attuner instead, and are immune to Fate or Destiny related effects.
You may use these cards like normal playing cards. If you Stunt with this Artifact outside of combat, gain an extra die. If you try to entertain with them, you may use Thrown in place of Performance.
Evocations Gambler's Loss and Gain Cost: 1m, 1 wp; Mins Essence 2 Type: Simple, Dissonant: Fate-related creatures, including Sidereal and Getimas
When thrown, rather than using a particular Attribute to determine accuracy and damage, roll a d10, with 1 corresponding to Strength, 2, Dexterity, and so on to 9 being Wits – use that Attribute in these rolls. A 0 lets you pick an Attribute, instead.
An attack that successfully lands, besides doing normal damage based on the rolled Attribute, reduces the dots in the target’s same Attribute by 1 for Scene. If a target drops to 0 in an Attribute, they are instantly incapacitated (until the Attribute is restored by the ending of the Scene), unless they roll a Resolve with more successes than the damage they received from that attack. If they do win, they retain 1 dot in that attribute. Dissonant: See Fate's Foil. As might be imagined, a Sidereal trying to use theses cards will end up with a lot of frustration and really nasty paper cuts for their troubles.
Fate's Foil
Type: Permanent
Sidereal and Getimians find these cards immensely troublesome, as do any Fate manipulating gods, demons, Fair Folk, or undead. Firstly, fate-linked creatures have trouble perceiving these cards at all, with -5 successes for any Awareness or Perception checks related to them. Further, it takes at least 3 more successes than normal for them to determine the cards are artifacts, compared to other people, even despite evidence to the contrary (like being hurt by the feature below). Even if they are perceived, unless they are perceived as artifacts, fate-linked creatures will tend to forget about them as "unimportant details" - even if they have been directly harmed by them. Finally, attempting to handle these cards, intentionally or not, will result in 1L of damage each interaction - whether this is done physically, by Charm or Ability (other than Awareness or similar skills - simply looking at or thinking about the cards doesn't hurt), or by magic (so telekinenticly poking a card hurts as much as actually poking it). This damage effect does not occur during direct combat, unless a fate-linked Exalted attempts to physically or magically take the cards from their attuner mid-combat (such as disarming the attuner of it).
(Yes, obviously a Sidereal player will get that the card is bad for them almost instantly, but the character will have an infuriatingly hard time figuring it out. Made worse by the character forgetting the card exists after a brief distraction, unless they've figured out its an artifact.)
Unfated Defense
Cost -; Mins Essence 4 Type: Reflexive, Resonant: Symbiosis In response to an attack being made on a known target within Medium range, you may Throw a card to intercept the attack once per combat round. Roll a d100 and divide the result by 7, round down - any result over 10 is treated as 10. This value replaces the Defense of the attack's target until the start of your next turn. Resonance: If you are a lunar, and successfully thwart an attack on another being with this evocation, you gain +1 to your Defense until the end of this scene. This bonus can stack with itself, but only when defending a new target in this way. This increases to +2 if the defended person is the defended is of the Lunar's Territory, bearing their mark. Special: Mortals may use this power to defend themselves (and only themselves) from Sidereal attacks, regardless of their Essence value.
Sleight of Chance Cost -; Mins Essence 1 Type: Simple The attuner may throw a card at any target (without causing injury) at will, within Medium distance, with unnatural precision. The card thrown cannot be detected, without a successful Perception+Awareness check that surpasses the attuner's Thrown rating, until it comes to rest (though it is semi-obvious to someone observing the attuner that they are doing "something," unless sufficient stealth is involved). After it does, anyone who failed to notice the throw will just assume the card was always there. Sidereal, per Fate's Foil, will generally ignore these dispersed cards. Even after getting maimed by them.
Special: A card may be thrown into an independent card game - this replaces any card, in hand or being dealt, and this substitution is not noticed by anyone involved unless they make the check above (a ST may adjust the difficulty for the person whose hand was altered, as is ST fiat, but this artifact really is just that good at this particular trick). The replaced card will be returned to its deck, and the artifact card will appear to be a card belonging to that deck, of a relative value equivalent to what you threw - a 2 will be a poor card, while a King will be an excellent one, in the context of the game being played. The artifact card returns to your deck after it is no longer being observed.
Note - this artifact has been around a very long time. While a Sidereal will have difficulty handling it directly, a semi-decent lore check, especially if the skill is focused on artifacts or Sidereal conflicts, will put this deck on a short list of answers to the question of "why am I randomly taking 1L of damage and can't find the source?" As one might imagine, removing it as a threat is a relatively high priority for most Sidereal who are aware of it. Most other fate-binding beings, like the Getimians, will not likely have the same institutional knowledge to draw from, making this deck far more dangerous to them. For example, She Who Lives In Her Name has put a bounty on this artifact 7 times...and forgotten its existence more than a dozen times. Most of Her servants have no idea the artifact exists either, due to her direct control over them also erasing their memories of the item, even if they are not Fate-bound themselves.
***** Thinking 3, though if the ST agrees it can affect The Curse, it might be a 5.
The Merciful Goblet of Suffering
"The kind of pain to get good in the end" - as someone once said. This artifact of Solar construction was one woman's attempt to solve the Curse...by repentance through suffering. This orichalcum and soulsteel goblet is mildly off-putting for everyone, but can render valuable service anyways.
Evocations Blood like Wine Type: Permanent It's most obvious function is, when held, it automatically fills with a single draught per Lethal or Aggravated damage dealt to anyone within Long Range. The liquid will not spill, even if the cup is held upside down. The cup can hold 16 draughts, and 1 draught evaporates away each hour it is unused or not added-to. Each draught heals 1 measure of Bashing damage - if consumed by someone with no Bashing damage, it will heal 1 mark of Lethal damage for 2 draughts, and if there is no Lethal or Bashing damage, it will heal Aggravated damage at a rate of 4 to 1. Resonance: (Solars, and certain deities aligned with suffering, or their agents) 4 draughts may also be used to repair a disfigurement (once, per Scenario), if the the cup-bearer takes on a lesser version of the disfigurement - so, restoring someone's hand loses you a finger, for example. You may never use this effect on yourself, though there isn't anything preventing you from passing this cup to another and asking them to heal you in turn, as long as enough "time" has passed.
No Pain, no Gain Type: Simple Its original use - someone may deal Aggravated damage to themselves, in order to reduce the effects of a derangement or other malady afflicting them. A single point of Aggravated damage will reduce the effect of one such malady one level, until the end of the scene. If a malady's effect has been reduced to nothing, 4 aggravated points of damage may be administered, again by the sufferer on the sufferer, to reduce the malady itself by 1 stage. If a malady is fully excised in this fashion, a physical manifestation of it flops out into the cup. ST's call on a) what it is and b) if it's going to try to actively kill you all. This "treatment" does not activate Blood like Wine.
Note: At the ST's discretion, this can, in fact, affect the Curse. To my estimation, you're looking at 25 Aggravated, self-inflicted, damage, at a minimum and in one scene, to even try and fully excise it. It almost certainly is going to try and kill its former host afterwords. Elder God-Thing curses are nasty like that.
***** Almost certainly a 5 dot, might be an N/A
Bandages of Time This "suit of armor" consists of a single roll of "linen" bandages, woven with thread made from the 5 magical materials. Putting it on normally requires an hour and at least 1 assistant to do it properly, while removing it takes 30 minutes (charms simplify the matter immensely). When properly worn, it provides 5 soak, 4 Hardness, and no mobility penalty, like any other suit of Light Artifact armor. However, it does have Attunment 10. The wrap covers the entire body, except the face and fingers. It can be comfortably worn, even in sleep, and while it isn’t entirely weightless, it is immensely light and breathable.
Evocations A Pleasant Day
Type: Permanent Even the hottest days and coldest nights have little bearing on your personal condition, and rain and snow just do not fall on you. This armor prevents unpleasant weather conditions from affecting you, and prevents all bashing, and up to 6L, damage from all environmental effects.
Time is of the essence Type: Permanent Your base initiative is 2 points higher than normal. You gain 1 initiative any time any one takes any action in combat. You gain 2 more any time someone takes an action involving you specifically. Special: You may spend 1 mote to turn this effect off, in return for gaining either +4 soak, +4 hardness, or +2 Defense. This change lasts until your next turn, when this evocation automatically resumes, unless you spend another mote.
Time is Fleeting Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple, Withering All withering attacks you make this round, remove twice the initiative as normal – you still only gain the normal amount from such an attack. If you initiative crash a non-trivial opponent with such an attack, you are healed your right-most box of damage, regardless of type, and inflict that box on the crashed opponent – there is no defense for this transfer of damage.
Timeless Body Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple You stop your personal time for 1 round. You take no further actions this round, and cannot be hurt until your time starts again; your initiative resets, even from crash, and any effects on you are paused (so you do not lose Sorcery Motes, and you also do not advance any poisons or diseases). Special: If you are under continued damage – you are surrounded in lava, there is a never-ending acidic hail storm pelting you, Ungloth the ravening horror is trying to suck the marrow from your bones, etc. – the timeless state will persist until the risk of damage stops. This isn’t always “fine” – you may be encased in stone once the lava cools, for example. The main point is, you never “come to” in a state that may potentially kill you outright. This does save you from Apocalyptic Damage, though, depending on the cause, you may or may not ever “unlock” – you get eternally eaten by the Ebony Dragon, you aren’t hurting, but he is never letting you out, either.
***** Not sure if this is equipment, per say, but this is probably a 4 dot artifact, as well as a 3 dot familiar?
Miser’s Bag Familiar - - - This artificial life form is a dear friend to any adventurer...as long as it is kept fed. While it doesn’t need “food” per say, it has an instinct to consume and devour treasure of all sorts, and a rather severe reticence to return what it has eaten. It is quite capable of moving by itself, up to 100 meters a second, and can freely follow orders issued by its owner, but can also be carried easily, never weighing anything other than 10 pounds – useful if you don’t want to advertise that your bag is alive. Its carrying area is roughly 1,000 cubic feet, and is dry, warm and safe. It will not let you crawl in. Stop asking. No one has ever pinned down exactly who made this enchanted sack, though estimates of “early in the first age” seem likely. Given its nearly continuous career of adventuring, it may be the single most experienced explorer in the whole of existence...or there are several of them. The Bureau of Nature is mildly concerned that the sack might be breeding somehow. The bag has a standard 7 section health bar, a 2 in every Attribute, and a 4 in Larceny, 4 in Athletics, 4 in Brawl, 4 in Resistance, 5 in Dodge, and a 4 in Awareness. It knows no charms, martial arts, or spells (besides its evocations). It has a Soak and Hardness of 4, and a Defense by Evasion of 3. While as smart as any human, it behaves in a very canine fashion in most cases.
Evocations Bigger on the inside Type: Permanent The bag can contain up to 1,000 cubic feet of material, without any increase to its personal weight, with the only limitation being inserted items must fit into the bag’s opening (a roughly half-meter square, though it is a sack opening, and allows for a certain amount of finagling), and it won’t accept living beings inside.
Spit it out Type: Simple The Miser’s Bag is capable of spitting out up to 1,000 coins, 10 small items, 5 medium items, or 1 large item, in a round, and to any location within short range, with perfect accuracy. This can cause no damage – to either the expelled object, or whatever it lands on. Its owner may force the bag to expel an item by spending a mote on the process, as well – a not entirely uncommon occurrence, in regards to expensive or rare treasures.
Not on my watch Cost 2m; Mins Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
If the Miser’s bag is within medium range of you when you are hit, you may spend 2 motes to switch places with it, letting it take damage on your behalf (after its Soak and Hardness, of course).
Larcenous Attacks Cost -;
Type: Simple/Reflexive Whenever the bag attacks or is attacked, it will attempt a decisive Brawl+Dexterity attack against its opponent as a gambit to disarm their opponent. If the attack/counter lands, add its Larceny Ability directly to overcome the Difficulty. If the disarm works, the bag eats the disarmed item – it will start by disarming any weapons, then proceed to steal any artifacts, rings, bangles, shoes – it pretty much starts with the hands and working from out to in, easiest to hardest, unless something in particular is notably more expensive. It cannot steal body armor that is properly worn, though it can take advantage of poorly put on armor to steal pieces. The only time it does not behave like a heedless dirty little thief, is if there’s nothing worth stealing, or its run out of things it can steal. It will then simply put all its efforts into dodging, pushing its Defense to 6.
Treasured Regeneration Type: Permanent If the Miser’s Bag is injured, it will convert Dots of Resources or Artifacts from among its contained treasures to repair itself. Each dot repairs 1 point of bashing, while Lethal damage takes 2 dots, and Aggravated damage takes 3 dots. They must heal in that order. This process takes a number of hours equal to the number of dots being converted, and can be stopped. The bag may choose to not heal, if it would cost its owner something they value...assuming it likes its owner enough. A well loved bag will not consume your mother’s keepsake, despite it being a 1 dot artifact, unless it is truly desperate. A mistreated bag will totally eat your 5 dot armor to heal 1 box of bashing damage, and flip its latch at you while doing so.
Trusted Thief Backstab Type: Permanent If the Miser’s bag decides to abandon you, either due to injury or mistreatment, it may activate this power if it can’t escape in a conventional way. You will be made aware of this, and may spend a mote to prevent it (and ending your turn if you are in combat) for 1 turn – if you do, you may spend a second mote to make the Bag spit out something, per Spit It Out. You can’t move or attack while doing this. The bag, notably, is in no way so limited, and will likely flee. The bag disappears once you stop providing motes to prevent it, and reappear in a random location in Creation, near a new adventurer in need of some help. You are NOT getting back whatever it ran off with any time soon. If it fled due to injury, it may eventually return to give you your stuff back, assuming it liked you enough.
*****
Figuring 3 dots on this one…
Shield of the Mage Storm – this artifact shield was inspired by the stories of the great Earth warrior Feng Wan Shi of House Mnemon, a peerless warrior in the defenses of the Dejis from the Fair Folk. Not...exactly an accurate description, but one that stirred the imagination of one of Mnemon’s most talented smiths, Takashi. The shield itself is utilitarian, and slightly uneven in it’s initial appearance, but close inspection reveals it was forged not by hammer, but by raining innumerable weapons upon it during its forging. “To teach it its enemies,” the smith proclaimed, laughing, but teach it well he had. This shield is a standard medium artifact weapon with the Shield, Bashing, and Melee tags. It is crafted of black jade, in the main, with white jade as an accent, and a small amount of lesser metals as filigree – at least, so Takashi thought. In actuality, a certain amount of gossamer has made it into his work, enhancing the simple jade in unusual ways. Wisely, he claims these anomalies as features.
Evocations Known Enemies Cost: 0m, 1w; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Simple, Withering This shield has suffered in its making, and it rather strongly returns the feeling. When used in a Flurry of Defense with a willpower, each Melee blow is “remembered.” At the start of the next turn, if this shield is used in a Withering strike against an attacker of the previous round, it deals the total Onslaught it suffered last round to its target as unblockable initiative damage. Further, for each different weapon type used against it during the Flurry of Defense, it gains +1 accuracy for this follow-on attack. Finally, if a magic attack is used on this shield during a Flurry of Defense, its defense still applies, even if the spell would normally bypass that step.
Arcane Stronghold Cost - ; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple, Resonance If a spell is cast, such that this shield’s owner is gathering Sorcery Motes, they will gather 1 additional sorcery mote during a Flurry of Defense, and thus not lose any despite not gathering them in a traditional way that round. Further, the attuner will gather 1 additional sorcery mote each attack taken during a Flurry of Defense, and 1 additional sorcery mote for each different weapon that strikes it that turn. Resonance: Sorcerers of at least the Terrestrial circle, and any earth or wind associated Exalted – probably dragonblood – even if they cannot use Sorcery, may use this shield to “cast” the following spell-like effect. By concentrating (declaring the intent to use this Evocation spell), they may gather sorcery motes by simply repeatedly Flurry of Defense (or the Shaped Sorcery action, if they are of a Circle) – if they do, at 15+ sorcery motes, the shield is instinctively slammed down, and 1 willpower is lost. The earth in front of the attuner erupts into a storm of dust and rock, dealing Intelligence bashing damage. Further, everyone caught in the 5 meter wide hemispheric wave of dust is blinded, and must make a Resolve check surpassing the attuner’s intelligence to remain standing. The following round, everyone still inside the area suffers from lightning jumping from loose particulate to loose particulate, dealing anotheadditional Intelligence+Occult Lethal damage that round. The dust settles on the third round. This shield does not teach anyone how to use any Shaped Sorcery action. Note: Taking any action other than Flurry of Defense (or a Shaped Sorcery action, if it’s available) will not gather any sorcery motes, and thus will lose you three sorcery motes, as normal.
submitted by the_rippy_one to exalted [link] [comments]
*****
Thinking 2 or 3 dots on this one - Single late combat trick, a bit of utility, and a very spotty and random unique extra.
Wooded Silver Ax – Initially made by Jade Claws (gen 0 Lunar exalt) as a friendship gift to a loyal Dragonblood retainer (A craftsman, obviously), this ax improved their ability to gather materials, and make them into auspicious items. While wood is not an inherent magical material, the great care used in crafting this tool seeps into the items it works, possibly lending them additional potency. This artifact is made of green jade and moonsilver. This is a Medium Artifact weapon with the Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short), and Chopping tags (Accuracy +3 Damage+12 Defense+1 Overwhelm 4 Attunment 5).
Woodworker's Friend
Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent
It’s main capacity is to shift its shape – while it is naturally an ax, and reverts to this shape when unattended, it may also take the shape of any wood-working tool, or as a simple bracelet. While disguised, a 3 difficulty perception+Lore check will reveal this ax’s nature. At Melee 5, Essence 3+, you may attempt to “jink” a Parry-based Defense by morphing this ax into a smaller form and then re-manifesting it on the “other side” of the block (this specific use costs 1 mote). This grants the Unblockable trait for this one attack, in return for reducing this attack's Accuracy and Damage by 1 success. You may only do this once per combat round.
Subtle Wood Enchantment: Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent When used to harvest or craft wood, the ST makes a secret roll – on a roll of 0, the user gains 1 additional Silver Resource, and on a roll of 9, one resource gained in harvesting, or 1 item made in crafting, gains a single minor property of green jade. A teacup might improve the quality of the tea served in it, relaxing and soothing the drinker, while an ax handle might lend its wielder a mild resistance to poison. A Perception+Lore or Occult check might determine this subtle charm, but it is a very difficult process, as it is a very minor effect. These items remain “wood,” and will fail as wood does, but can last, when properly cared for, as long as jade, without degradation. Those with a sensitivity or affinity to the wood element will enjoy contact with such items, even if they are uncertain of why. A harvested tree with an effect shares its effect with all resulting items made from it. For example, raw lumber with a regeneration effect was made into a set of practice swords for Gens Nerigus several hundred years ago – they remain in use, even now, because, while they do break, they restore themselves if left alone for a day.
***** Thinking a 3? Maybe 4, though I don't imagine you'll have 0 Resources Merit by the time you are Essence 3, let alone 4, unless you are REALLY trying, and that's a lot of what would unbalance this relic.
Zenigata Gloves The Solar philosopher Zargas came to the understanding that money was an easy exacerbater of greed, and that greed was bad. While this did tragically result in him later destroying all forms of wealth in his area of rule, leading to wide spread local poverty and famine, it also led to this "prank," a very real display of the idea that money is harmful. While mildly defensive (adding +1 to the Defense statistic when worn), this full sleeve silk and orichalcum-thread glove's major power is literally throwing money away. Coins thrown with this glove are treated as Heavy Thrown weapons (Damage 11, Overwhelm 1) and have the Lethal, Special, and Thrown (Long) tags until they hit, at which point they revert to normal coinage. Special: In addition to the normal damage, add 1 damage die for each dot of the Resources Merit the target possesses. This attack also leaves an imprint of the coin on the person's body, which remains for 1 scene per such dot. If the user somehow loses a Resource Merit dot through the use of these attacks (how many coins did you throw?!), you have +3 dice to accuracy and your ammo gain the Thrown(Extreme) tag for the rest of the scene. You may never pick up a coin thrown with this glove during the Scenario you threw it.
Evocation Greed is Bad, m'kay? Cost: 1m, 1w; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple You are able to determine the Resources Merit of everyone within medium distance of you this round - there is no check for this, you simply know the information. This knowledge is remembered after the round, but you will not receive any "updates" after the round you use this feature (so you won't know if someone lost or gained Resources, or the Merit level of anyone that enters Medium range, after the round), unless you use this evocation again. You may spend 1 additional mote to degrade the Defense of one person with the highest Resource Merit within range by 1 for the next scene (if multiple people have the "highest" Resource Merit, you may pick which one loses the point of Defense). Only one degradation of Defense may be active through this evocation - if this aspect of the evocation is used again, the previous use is nullified. The evocation itself may be used as often as the attuner likes, assuming the cost is paid. This effect is detectable by various spells and charms - just using the evocation does not detect as harmful, though the Defense reduction might, but it does create a response to abilities that warn if someone is trying to learn about others. Resonant: If you are a Solar Exalt, and you have fewer Resource Merits than the target of the Defense degradation, you recover the 1 willpower spent on this Evocation.
Mo' Money Mo' Problems Cost 5m, 1w; Mins: Essence 4 Type: Simple
When activated, this Evocation causes everyone (you and your party included) within long range to suffer a -1 die per point of the Resources Merit above yours, for all rolls, until the end of the scene. The attuner may exempt any number of people from this effect by paying 1 additional mote and Willpower per person. Special: If you are a Solar exalt, while under this effect, if you destroy "wealth" in some fashion, such that someone's Resources Merit drops 1 dot, you gain 1 willpower. Please note that "stealing" is not "destroying," you must actually burn/melt/disintegrate the money/mining stockpile/inventory of goods/whatever.
*****
I'm thinking 5, but it's semi-random and very specific, so maybe 4, on this one?
Cards Of Unknown Providence – This standard pack of playing cards are crafted from a small amount of starmetal wire and moderate amounts of moonsilver, though their magic makes them appear to be normal card-stock. Crafted by a first generation Lunar Exalted, Dancing Wind Paws, who felt that fate was too immutable, and fearing the forecasted end of their soulmate (Their Zenith was well aware of the Sidereal plot, and was just too "Achilles in His Tent" at the moment to care), made these weapons in an attempt to alter the unalterable. Needless to say, the Sidereal took exception to this, but the cards can't be held by fated hands, or locked away - these cards find their way into the pocket of any soul willing to take a risk and throw the dice to get what they need.
These cards are treated like Light Chakram Artifacts (Damage +10, overwhelm 3, Attunement 5), with the tags: Lethal, Thrown (Medium), Cutting, Special, Concealable. Special: As soon as a thrown card either misses or strikes its target, it disappears, and reappears in the deck, unless the user's will prevents this. All cards are returned to the deck if at least one card moves more than long range from deck, or if the user becomes incapacitated. If placed in a locked container without an owner, the cards will appear in the pocket of the nearest mortal gambler, and if affected by Fate or Destiny, will immediately flee to a mortal gambler's pocket at least 100 km away, ending the Fated effect. If the cards are still attuned, they will return to their attuner instead, and are immune to Fate or Destiny related effects.
You may use these cards like normal playing cards. If you Stunt with this Artifact outside of combat, gain an extra die. If you try to entertain with them, you may use Thrown in place of Performance.
Evocations Gambler's Loss and Gain Cost: 1m, 1 wp; Mins Essence 2 Type: Simple, Dissonant: Fate-related creatures, including Sidereal and Getimas
When thrown, rather than using a particular Attribute to determine accuracy and damage, roll a d10, with 1 corresponding to Strength, 2, Dexterity, and so on to 9 being Wits – use that Attribute in these rolls. A 0 lets you pick an Attribute, instead.
An attack that successfully lands, besides doing normal damage based on the rolled Attribute, reduces the dots in the target’s same Attribute by 1 for Scene. If a target drops to 0 in an Attribute, they are instantly incapacitated (until the Attribute is restored by the ending of the Scene), unless they roll a Resolve with more successes than the damage they received from that attack. If they do win, they retain 1 dot in that attribute. Dissonant: See Fate's Foil. As might be imagined, a Sidereal trying to use theses cards will end up with a lot of frustration and really nasty paper cuts for their troubles.
Fate's Foil
Type: Permanent
Sidereal and Getimians find these cards immensely troublesome, as do any Fate manipulating gods, demons, Fair Folk, or undead. Firstly, fate-linked creatures have trouble perceiving these cards at all, with -5 successes for any Awareness or Perception checks related to them. Further, it takes at least 3 more successes than normal for them to determine the cards are artifacts, compared to other people, even despite evidence to the contrary (like being hurt by the feature below). Even if they are perceived, unless they are perceived as artifacts, fate-linked creatures will tend to forget about them as "unimportant details" - even if they have been directly harmed by them. Finally, attempting to handle these cards, intentionally or not, will result in 1L of damage each interaction - whether this is done physically, by Charm or Ability (other than Awareness or similar skills - simply looking at or thinking about the cards doesn't hurt), or by magic (so telekinenticly poking a card hurts as much as actually poking it). This damage effect does not occur during direct combat, unless a fate-linked Exalted attempts to physically or magically take the cards from their attuner mid-combat (such as disarming the attuner of it).
(Yes, obviously a Sidereal player will get that the card is bad for them almost instantly, but the character will have an infuriatingly hard time figuring it out. Made worse by the character forgetting the card exists after a brief distraction, unless they've figured out its an artifact.)
Unfated Defense
Cost -; Mins Essence 4 Type: Reflexive, Resonant: Symbiosis In response to an attack being made on a known target within Medium range, you may Throw a card to intercept the attack once per combat round. Roll a d100 and divide the result by 7, round down - any result over 10 is treated as 10. This value replaces the Defense of the attack's target until the start of your next turn. Resonance: If you are a lunar, and successfully thwart an attack on another being with this evocation, you gain +1 to your Defense until the end of this scene. This bonus can stack with itself, but only when defending a new target in this way. This increases to +2 if the defended person is the defended is of the Lunar's Territory, bearing their mark. Special: Mortals may use this power to defend themselves (and only themselves) from Sidereal attacks, regardless of their Essence value.
Sleight of Chance Cost -; Mins Essence 1 Type: Simple The attuner may throw a card at any target (without causing injury) at will, within Medium distance, with unnatural precision. The card thrown cannot be detected, without a successful Perception+Awareness check that surpasses the attuner's Thrown rating, until it comes to rest (though it is semi-obvious to someone observing the attuner that they are doing "something," unless sufficient stealth is involved). After it does, anyone who failed to notice the throw will just assume the card was always there. Sidereal, per Fate's Foil, will generally ignore these dispersed cards. Even after getting maimed by them.
Special: A card may be thrown into an independent card game - this replaces any card, in hand or being dealt, and this substitution is not noticed by anyone involved unless they make the check above (a ST may adjust the difficulty for the person whose hand was altered, as is ST fiat, but this artifact really is just that good at this particular trick). The replaced card will be returned to its deck, and the artifact card will appear to be a card belonging to that deck, of a relative value equivalent to what you threw - a 2 will be a poor card, while a King will be an excellent one, in the context of the game being played. The artifact card returns to your deck after it is no longer being observed.
Note - this artifact has been around a very long time. While a Sidereal will have difficulty handling it directly, a semi-decent lore check, especially if the skill is focused on artifacts or Sidereal conflicts, will put this deck on a short list of answers to the question of "why am I randomly taking 1L of damage and can't find the source?" As one might imagine, removing it as a threat is a relatively high priority for most Sidereal who are aware of it. Most other fate-binding beings, like the Getimians, will not likely have the same institutional knowledge to draw from, making this deck far more dangerous to them. For example, She Who Lives In Her Name has put a bounty on this artifact 7 times...and forgotten its existence more than a dozen times. Most of Her servants have no idea the artifact exists either, due to her direct control over them also erasing their memories of the item, even if they are not Fate-bound themselves.
***** Thinking 3, though if the ST agrees it can affect The Curse, it might be a 5.
The Merciful Goblet of Suffering
"The kind of pain to get good in the end" - as someone once said. This artifact of Solar construction was one woman's attempt to solve the Curse...by repentance through suffering. This orichalcum and soulsteel goblet is mildly off-putting for everyone, but can render valuable service anyways.
Evocations Blood like Wine Type: Permanent It's most obvious function is, when held, it automatically fills with a single draught per Lethal or Aggravated damage dealt to anyone within Long Range. The liquid will not spill, even if the cup is held upside down. The cup can hold 16 draughts, and 1 draught evaporates away each hour it is unused or not added-to. Each draught heals 1 measure of Bashing damage - if consumed by someone with no Bashing damage, it will heal 1 mark of Lethal damage for 2 draughts, and if there is no Lethal or Bashing damage, it will heal Aggravated damage at a rate of 4 to 1. Resonance: (Solars, and certain deities aligned with suffering, or their agents) 4 draughts may also be used to repair a disfigurement (once, per Scenario), if the the cup-bearer takes on a lesser version of the disfigurement - so, restoring someone's hand loses you a finger, for example. You may never use this effect on yourself, though there isn't anything preventing you from passing this cup to another and asking them to heal you in turn, as long as enough "time" has passed.
No Pain, no Gain Type: Simple Its original use - someone may deal Aggravated damage to themselves, in order to reduce the effects of a derangement or other malady afflicting them. A single point of Aggravated damage will reduce the effect of one such malady one level, until the end of the scene. If a malady's effect has been reduced to nothing, 4 aggravated points of damage may be administered, again by the sufferer on the sufferer, to reduce the malady itself by 1 stage. If a malady is fully excised in this fashion, a physical manifestation of it flops out into the cup. ST's call on a) what it is and b) if it's going to try to actively kill you all. This "treatment" does not activate Blood like Wine.
Note: At the ST's discretion, this can, in fact, affect the Curse. To my estimation, you're looking at 25 Aggravated, self-inflicted, damage, at a minimum and in one scene, to even try and fully excise it. It almost certainly is going to try and kill its former host afterwords. Elder God-Thing curses are nasty like that.
***** Almost certainly a 5 dot, might be an N/A
Bandages of Time This "suit of armor" consists of a single roll of "linen" bandages, woven with thread made from the 5 magical materials. Putting it on normally requires an hour and at least 1 assistant to do it properly, while removing it takes 30 minutes (charms simplify the matter immensely). When properly worn, it provides 5 soak, 4 Hardness, and no mobility penalty, like any other suit of Light Artifact armor. However, it does have Attunment 10. The wrap covers the entire body, except the face and fingers. It can be comfortably worn, even in sleep, and while it isn’t entirely weightless, it is immensely light and breathable.
Evocations A Pleasant Day
Type: Permanent Even the hottest days and coldest nights have little bearing on your personal condition, and rain and snow just do not fall on you. This armor prevents unpleasant weather conditions from affecting you, and prevents all bashing, and up to 6L, damage from all environmental effects.
Time is of the essence Type: Permanent Your base initiative is 2 points higher than normal. You gain 1 initiative any time any one takes any action in combat. You gain 2 more any time someone takes an action involving you specifically. Special: You may spend 1 mote to turn this effect off, in return for gaining either +4 soak, +4 hardness, or +2 Defense. This change lasts until your next turn, when this evocation automatically resumes, unless you spend another mote.
Time is Fleeting Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple, Withering All withering attacks you make this round, remove twice the initiative as normal – you still only gain the normal amount from such an attack. If you initiative crash a non-trivial opponent with such an attack, you are healed your right-most box of damage, regardless of type, and inflict that box on the crashed opponent – there is no defense for this transfer of damage.
Timeless Body Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple You stop your personal time for 1 round. You take no further actions this round, and cannot be hurt until your time starts again; your initiative resets, even from crash, and any effects on you are paused (so you do not lose Sorcery Motes, and you also do not advance any poisons or diseases). Special: If you are under continued damage – you are surrounded in lava, there is a never-ending acidic hail storm pelting you, Ungloth the ravening horror is trying to suck the marrow from your bones, etc. – the timeless state will persist until the risk of damage stops. This isn’t always “fine” – you may be encased in stone once the lava cools, for example. The main point is, you never “come to” in a state that may potentially kill you outright. This does save you from Apocalyptic Damage, though, depending on the cause, you may or may not ever “unlock” – you get eternally eaten by the Ebony Dragon, you aren’t hurting, but he is never letting you out, either.
***** Not sure if this is equipment, per say, but this is probably a 4 dot artifact, as well as a 3 dot familiar?
Miser’s Bag Familiar - - - This artificial life form is a dear friend to any adventurer...as long as it is kept fed. While it doesn’t need “food” per say, it has an instinct to consume and devour treasure of all sorts, and a rather severe reticence to return what it has eaten. It is quite capable of moving by itself, up to 100 meters a second, and can freely follow orders issued by its owner, but can also be carried easily, never weighing anything other than 10 pounds – useful if you don’t want to advertise that your bag is alive. Its carrying area is roughly 1,000 cubic feet, and is dry, warm and safe. It will not let you crawl in. Stop asking. No one has ever pinned down exactly who made this enchanted sack, though estimates of “early in the first age” seem likely. Given its nearly continuous career of adventuring, it may be the single most experienced explorer in the whole of existence...or there are several of them. The Bureau of Nature is mildly concerned that the sack might be breeding somehow. The bag has a standard 7 section health bar, a 2 in every Attribute, and a 4 in Larceny, 4 in Athletics, 4 in Brawl, 4 in Resistance, 5 in Dodge, and a 4 in Awareness. It knows no charms, martial arts, or spells (besides its evocations). It has a Soak and Hardness of 4, and a Defense by Evasion of 3. While as smart as any human, it behaves in a very canine fashion in most cases.
Evocations Bigger on the inside Type: Permanent The bag can contain up to 1,000 cubic feet of material, without any increase to its personal weight, with the only limitation being inserted items must fit into the bag’s opening (a roughly half-meter square, though it is a sack opening, and allows for a certain amount of finagling), and it won’t accept living beings inside.
Spit it out Type: Simple The Miser’s Bag is capable of spitting out up to 1,000 coins, 10 small items, 5 medium items, or 1 large item, in a round, and to any location within short range, with perfect accuracy. This can cause no damage – to either the expelled object, or whatever it lands on. Its owner may force the bag to expel an item by spending a mote on the process, as well – a not entirely uncommon occurrence, in regards to expensive or rare treasures.
Not on my watch Cost 2m; Mins Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
If the Miser’s bag is within medium range of you when you are hit, you may spend 2 motes to switch places with it, letting it take damage on your behalf (after its Soak and Hardness, of course).
Larcenous Attacks Cost -;
Type: Simple/Reflexive Whenever the bag attacks or is attacked, it will attempt a decisive Brawl+Dexterity attack against its opponent as a gambit to disarm their opponent. If the attack/counter lands, add its Larceny Ability directly to overcome the Difficulty. If the disarm works, the bag eats the disarmed item – it will start by disarming any weapons, then proceed to steal any artifacts, rings, bangles, shoes – it pretty much starts with the hands and working from out to in, easiest to hardest, unless something in particular is notably more expensive. It cannot steal body armor that is properly worn, though it can take advantage of poorly put on armor to steal pieces. The only time it does not behave like a heedless dirty little thief, is if there’s nothing worth stealing, or its run out of things it can steal. It will then simply put all its efforts into dodging, pushing its Defense to 6.
Treasured Regeneration Type: Permanent If the Miser’s Bag is injured, it will convert Dots of Resources or Artifacts from among its contained treasures to repair itself. Each dot repairs 1 point of bashing, while Lethal damage takes 2 dots, and Aggravated damage takes 3 dots. They must heal in that order. This process takes a number of hours equal to the number of dots being converted, and can be stopped. The bag may choose to not heal, if it would cost its owner something they value...assuming it likes its owner enough. A well loved bag will not consume your mother’s keepsake, despite it being a 1 dot artifact, unless it is truly desperate. A mistreated bag will totally eat your 5 dot armor to heal 1 box of bashing damage, and flip its latch at you while doing so.
Trusted Thief Backstab Type: Permanent If the Miser’s bag decides to abandon you, either due to injury or mistreatment, it may activate this power if it can’t escape in a conventional way. You will be made aware of this, and may spend a mote to prevent it (and ending your turn if you are in combat) for 1 turn – if you do, you may spend a second mote to make the Bag spit out something, per Spit It Out. You can’t move or attack while doing this. The bag, notably, is in no way so limited, and will likely flee. The bag disappears once you stop providing motes to prevent it, and reappear in a random location in Creation, near a new adventurer in need of some help. You are NOT getting back whatever it ran off with any time soon. If it fled due to injury, it may eventually return to give you your stuff back, assuming it liked you enough.
*****
Figuring 3 dots on this one…
Shield of the Mage Storm – this artifact shield was inspired by the stories of the great Earth warrior Feng Wan Shi of House Mnemon, a peerless warrior in the defenses of the Dejis from the Fair Folk. Not...exactly an accurate description, but one that stirred the imagination of one of Mnemon’s most talented smiths, Takashi. The shield itself is utilitarian, and slightly uneven in it’s initial appearance, but close inspection reveals it was forged not by hammer, but by raining innumerable weapons upon it during its forging. “To teach it its enemies,” the smith proclaimed, laughing, but teach it well he had. This shield is a standard medium artifact weapon with the Shield, Bashing, and Melee tags. It is crafted of black jade, in the main, with white jade as an accent, and a small amount of lesser metals as filigree – at least, so Takashi thought. In actuality, a certain amount of gossamer has made it into his work, enhancing the simple jade in unusual ways. Wisely, he claims these anomalies as features.
Evocations Known Enemies Cost: 0m, 1w; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Simple, Withering This shield has suffered in its making, and it rather strongly returns the feeling. When used in a Flurry of Defense with a willpower, each Melee blow is “remembered.” At the start of the next turn, if this shield is used in a Withering strike against an attacker of the previous round, it deals the total Onslaught it suffered last round to its target as unblockable initiative damage. Further, for each different weapon type used against it during the Flurry of Defense, it gains +1 accuracy for this follow-on attack. Finally, if a magic attack is used on this shield during a Flurry of Defense, its defense still applies, even if the spell would normally bypass that step.
Arcane Stronghold Cost - ; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple, Resonance If a spell is cast, such that this shield’s owner is gathering Sorcery Motes, they will gather 1 additional sorcery mote during a Flurry of Defense, and thus not lose any despite not gathering them in a traditional way that round. Further, the attuner will gather 1 additional sorcery mote each attack taken during a Flurry of Defense, and 1 additional sorcery mote for each different weapon that strikes it that turn. Resonance: Sorcerers of at least the Terrestrial circle, and any earth or wind associated Exalted – probably dragonblood – even if they cannot use Sorcery, may use this shield to “cast” the following spell-like effect. By concentrating (declaring the intent to use this Evocation spell), they may gather sorcery motes by simply repeatedly Flurry of Defense (or the Shaped Sorcery action, if they are of a Circle) – if they do, at 15+ sorcery motes, the shield is instinctively slammed down, and 1 willpower is lost. The earth in front of the attuner erupts into a storm of dust and rock, dealing Intelligence bashing damage. Further, everyone caught in the 5 meter wide hemispheric wave of dust is blinded, and must make a Resolve check surpassing the attuner’s intelligence to remain standing. The following round, everyone still inside the area suffers from lightning jumping from loose particulate to loose particulate, dealing anotheadditional Intelligence+Occult Lethal damage that round. The dust settles on the third round. This shield does not teach anyone how to use any Shaped Sorcery action. Note: Taking any action other than Flurry of Defense (or a Shaped Sorcery action, if it’s available) will not gather any sorcery motes, and thus will lose you three sorcery motes, as normal.
2024.05.28 18:41 lichatteMaloire Leaving tech corporate
Hi there! Looking to see if someone has felt the same as me, or in a similar situation.
I(F30) have been working as a web developer for the past 5 years for a company, it was acquired 3 years ago and so many changes happened, however it was bearable. Then it began to intensify and the problems became more noticeable, and now for the past 10 months I have been daydreaming every day about leaving this job. At first I wasn't sure (and I still have some concerns with losing the stable income) but honestly I cannot get over the fact that I'm no longer motivated about any of the high-profile projects going on, newcomers are pretty incompetent and expectations are starting to overwhelm me.
I'm 100% sure it's burnout, but I'm at the point of considering leaving the tech industry altogether and start a different career after taking a break. I doubt it will be any different in another company:
For those who have left tech, or any corporate job that's caused them burnout, how are things now? Looking forward to reading your stories ~
submitted by lichatteMaloire to AskWomenOver30 [link] [comments]
I(F30) have been working as a web developer for the past 5 years for a company, it was acquired 3 years ago and so many changes happened, however it was bearable. Then it began to intensify and the problems became more noticeable, and now for the past 10 months I have been daydreaming every day about leaving this job. At first I wasn't sure (and I still have some concerns with losing the stable income) but honestly I cannot get over the fact that I'm no longer motivated about any of the high-profile projects going on, newcomers are pretty incompetent and expectations are starting to overwhelm me.
I'm 100% sure it's burnout, but I'm at the point of considering leaving the tech industry altogether and start a different career after taking a break. I doubt it will be any different in another company:
- Directives are freaking out about not meeting their own set goals and are pressuring us to look for anything that will provide instant income. They have always been greedy but it's getting to the point of daily reminders and pushing away other projects that I used to be passionate about.
- I was kind of pushed into accepting being promoted to a management position, which I said from the beginning I wasn't sure I wanted, but I was willing to try. Already a year in and I asked to be returned to my previous job. My boss keeps grooming me (his words not mine) into staying as a manager, that I have potential, that he sees in me so many skills for the role, but it's simply not what I want to do.
- I've been taking too much on my plate because at first I wanted to help covering some tasks where my team was lacking, but now the team depends too much on me since neither the PM nor the PM junior have learned how to do those themselves (they're absolutely trying but higher ups are rushing everyone and everything, of course they're going to miss a thing or two). As some of the initiatives start to fall apart it stresses me out a lot being in this awkward position of "Am I doing the right thing by not helping more?"
For those who have left tech, or any corporate job that's caused them burnout, how are things now? Looking forward to reading your stories ~
2024.05.28 18:32 spacedebriss Expanding on my Deadpool Theory: Does everything come from the Deadpool?
 | THE DEADPOOL THEORY submitted by spacedebriss to Superstonk [link] [comments] I stayed up way too late last night and got up way too early this morning trying to put this together. I should probably edit it more, but oh well. This is what I have. I need to go do some other stuff now. NONE OF THIS IS FINANCIAL ADVICE. Probably should have waited to post until I toiled some more. I want to add to the deadpool theory. Not take away from it, just add to it. I think the Deadpool and Retail Pool go more hand in hand. I think the Deadpool is the original pool that feeds the retail pool. The key for me has always been how the naked shares are created. Over a year ago I honestly reached a point where the DD was a jumbled mess in my mind. I wanted to start from zero and see what I could find, but not really zero because I had read a lot of DD, thanks to others I knew what to start searching for, so I set out. https://preview.redd.it/tnofbsia273d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=7fbe5d58f385a92f4bbb7c4e305f59c00ea8a329 If you think I’m pulling all of this out of my ass similar to how naked shares are pulled out of asses then please go read my old DD with charts and figures, goes more in depth, and has some strong citations in my opinion. OR better yet go absorb some of those citations, especially these first four: 1. THREE ESSAYS ON NAKED SHORT SELLING AND FAILS-TO-DELIVER by John W. Welborn 2. MARRIED PUTS, REVERSE CONVERSIONS AND ABUSE OF THE OPTIONS MARKET MAKER EXCEPTION ON THE CHICAGO STOCK EXCHANGE by John W Welborn 3. ETF Short Interest and Failures-to-Deliver: Naked Short Selling or Operational Shorting? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq35zrFCAg&t=1655s 4. Exchange-Traded Funds, Fails-to-Deliver, and Market Volatility by Thomas Stratmann and John W. Welborn https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2183251 If you’re going to only read one of these then I’d make it this one. Everybody here should read a little Welborn in my opinion. Dude is the GOAT!
PDF FILES: DISCLAIMER: these links will try to download a PDF from the SEC’s website
I wanted to research that old DD by looking at the rules of naked shorting. When I would look into old DD and theories, I kept ending up at the answer of fraud. They didn’t stand up to the rules, unless lots o’ fraud was involved. Until I got to ETFs…. Now again, if you want more info go read the first four citations up at the top. The first 2 citations are PhD papers covering possible naked shorting and the Options loophole. This is the old way, this Options loophole was closed by the SEC back in 2008. For the new ETF way of naked shorting you can explore citations 3 and 4. These two citations cover how ETFs could be used to still naked short today. This is why I always felt the reactions to my old DD were so strange. I’m basically saying there could be a monstrous naked shorting position out in the market and it could be operating under the rules. No fraud is needed! Why didn’t superstonk respond with more positivity to my old DD a year ago?! I still think that DD did a pretty good job of laying out how naked shorters could be operating under the rules. The rules make it clear to me that: BULLET SWAPS – Can’t be used to make naked shares of a stock. If a naked shorter points to bullet swaps as where they got the shares from then the SEC should laugh in their face. You would need a lot of SEC fraud. Bullet swaps would have other good uses, but not for the actual creation of naked shares. REHYPOTHECATION – The idea here is that the naked shorter borrows shares infinitely. The naked shorter points to the borrow and sure the SEC could let that pass, but it should still count as a borrow. Otherwise, you need more SEC fraud to explain this one. The Market should see the naked short position because it should be tagged as borrowed, and the naked shorter would also need to pay for that borrow. These are both things the naked shorter is trying to avoid – that’s why they create naked shares rather than borrow shares. Alternatively, the naked shorter could have a deal with a broker. The naked shorter does infinite borrows off of the brokers stock, but again you would need fraud from the broker and the broker would likely demand payment on the “borrows”. For rehypothecation to work you need a lot of fraud and naked shorters would likely need to pay borrow fees. Properly creating naked shares within the rules means no borrowing would be done (could be expensive) and means no fraud has to be done. OPTIONS – This is where it gets confusing. Options used to be used to naked short, I wrote a big DD on this about a year ago. It has a lot of pictures and deep dives into a lot of stuff including options. If you want to learn more about the options loophole, don’t read my old DD, scroll back up to the top and read some of Welborn’s Options work (citations 1 and 2). You would need two participants to naked short back in the day and I believe that’s how it’s still done today. One would be a Market Maker and one would typically be a Hedge Fund. The Market Maker had special privileges around options, MMs and only MMs could point to un-exercised options as a locate for shares. They create shares out of thin air and send them to a hedge fund. The hedge fund sells the MM back futures contracts and/or calls. The Market Maker uses the calls as a locates and the Market is none the wiser. Or is just apathetic. But they were technically following the rules as written. These packages of naked shares would have been built with options, futures, and naked shares all packaged together. This Options Market Maker loophole went away in 2008. Options should not be an effective loophole for creating massive amounts of naked shares anymore. Again, you would need lots of SEC fraud. ETFs – I’m not just throwing ETFs out there. There is a fucking fantastic Welborn paper (citation 4) and also a youtube video from a business professor (citation 3) on ETFs and how ETFs could possibly be used to naked short. To use ETFs you would still need a Market Maker and a Hedge Fund (the HF could be another MM or big institution). The Market Maker has special privileges. 1. They can pull shares out of ETFs. 2. They can also set future redemption/creation dates with that same Hedge Fund and not tell anybody. It seems the Options loophole to naked short was replaced with an ETF redemption/creation loophole to naked short. Here’s a footnote in an SEC filing – I think this could be a smoking gun: https://preview.redd.it/bfuyxsab273d1.png?width=593&format=png&auto=webp&s=24c82cbb06e78982a452617dccadfa35495df284 Page 10 from: https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nscc/2020/34-89088.pdf The new ETF loophole:
If the SEC goes back to the Hedge Fund and asks where they got the ETFs from he points to the Market Maker. SEC, “sounds good, can I leave you my resume?” If the SEC goes to the Market Maker and asks where he got the ETFs, the Market Maker would probably say, “Ha! Fuck if I know! I could buy and sell a million of that fucking ETF in a day. You want to look through our ledgers?” SEC, “Oh. I should probably take ‘em, but I’ll just look at porn instead. You guys hiring?”
These naked shares from the Market Maker to the Hedge Fund would be insured through futures and/or LEAPS. I believe they would likely insure them with one another using futures contracts instead of LEAPS, but I’m not positive. Either way, this “insurance” means that if it gets to expiration and the Hedge Fund hasn’t delivered shares, the Market Maker can use those futures contracts to force delivery. But why might we also see naked shorters holding huge amounts of options? The options could be hedging and leveraging with the wider market (not other naked shorters). So, if naked shorters are using futures to insure that they won’t be left holding the bag with one another then they would likely want to use common expiration dates for LEAPS. That lets them grab some “insurance” (Call Options) and extra leverage (Put Options) from non-naked shorters. If the naked shorters position blows up and they owe the other naked shorter shares then they can use their calls to get some shares from the market. Or if they’re position does well then they can make extra profits off of their puts. Here’s a diagram that will hopefully explain some of this better: https://preview.redd.it/hfdjls4e273d1.png?width=768&format=png&auto=webp&s=0389d73d3c2129deda4ed4c5966e2f3026acd4a1 The Hedge Fund is selling the naked shares from the Deadpool through the Market Maker into retail hands. Now the hedge fund like the market maker is going to want some futures or calls to make sure the market maker sells the shares back to him. But they’ll probably do this on a shorter timeline. Maybe they built the dealpool with three year expirations. Now they’ll naked short to retail probably using 1 year expirations. I think retails average is about nine months for holding a stock. A year should be enough time to find a new share to buy in order to close/roll an old naked share. Retail naked shares would likely expire every March, June, September, December. Naked shorters are constantly closing and rolling their naked shorts with retail throughout the year. Or at least that’s the idea, usually retail sells pretty quickly and naked shorters can keep driving the price down. Here’s a diagram to visualize deadpools and retail pools together. The red is the deadpool. The deadpools are the original pools of naked shares that are created with long expirations. It would make sense to have these expire three years out so 1. they last long – don’t have to keep creating naked shares and 2. they can be hedged/leveraged with the wider market using common expiration dates. Then the yellow would be the pools of naked shares that are sold to retail. These would have shorter expirations because ideally the naked shorter would want to churn these in a year or less. The naked shorters create a big deadpool of naked shares that will expire in three years. Then, if they’re using 1 year expirations with retail, they can use those naked shares in the market up to three times. https://preview.redd.it/klzrhfph273d1.png?width=1366&format=png&auto=webp&s=61f058077781d655d9fb4b028fe95c46ecfde0f4 Now look at where expiration dates line up between red pools and yellow pools. January and June. January and June are common expiration dates for LEAPS. Again, if the naked shorters want to hedge/leverage with the wider market then these would be the expiration dates they would want to build their naked shares around. If the naked shares are built in this way then January of 2021 could have been a time where some of the Retail Pool and some of the Deadpool were expiring. Let’s say it’s a big expiration time and there are not enough shares. Maybe some DFV dude and a bunch of other retail investors are buying calls and shares. In this scenario, the Market Maker would try to find shares to close/roll the position. If unable, then the Hedge Fund would need to exercise their “insurance” and demand the shares from the MM. The Market Maker also has “insurance” though because he’s the big boy and he won’t be left holding the bag. The MM throws down his uno reverse card and screams, “No! You!” Alright, let’s say naked shorters are building their positions how I’ve laid out. When naked shorters open the ETFs at the beginning of the deadpool, they are also pulling out naked shares of other companies. They could use those shares for a lot of different things. They could hold them and sell options to make money. Or they could also naked short some of those companies too. Maybe, they open an ETF and pull out naked GME and some naked POPCORN. They could also naked short POPCORN into the market. It would move differently on a shorter timescale to GME because they’re rolling the position with retail a year at a time. It might move more in line with GME on a longer time scale. When the deadpool expires they need to finish buying shares and creating ETFs. That could mean buying a bunch of different stocks at one time. Buy some the remaining GME, POPCORN, HEADPHONES, etc. and close/finish rolling your deadpool position by packaging those shares up into nice little ETFs. This could all explain some of the wild stuff we’ve been seeing lately.
And you NEED 100 shares! The call insures that someone else has to find the shares for $20 each. You spend your $200 on the call option expiring June 22nd. Now you’re guaranteed to get your 100 shares for $20 each even if the price skyrockets. You spent $2200 on 100 shares. Again, no one knows who is buying these calls or why, but this could line up nicely with my theory that a chunk of the deadpool is expiring soon. I don’t want to get anyone excited for MOASS. I’ve made bad predictions in the past. In the past I thought a MOASS would probably happen in March, but that was because I hadn’t connected the deadpool to everything. Don’t get hyped, but if deadpools are built with January and June expirations then it would make sense that MOASS could happen in January or June. It would explain why naked shorters almost got fucked in January 2021. If, they were able to survive and push a huge chunk of their deadpool out three years then June 2024 could be a rough time for them. I’m not going to say it’s a guarantee of a MOASS this June/July. I will say that I really would not want to be a naked shorter trying to roll a bad bet on GME this June. Now this is all conjecture, but what if part of the deadpool needed to be rolled in January of 2021? Meaning the Hedge Fund needed to settle up with the Market Maker so they could finish closing the deadpool and keep the position rolling. Now the Deadpool was the original pool of naked shares. The Market Maker pulled these naked shares out of ETFs and sent them to the Hedge Fund. Naked shorters usually want to keep the train going until the company is bankrupt so they’d usually keep closing and rolling the deadpool until that happens. So, if you’ve followed along then January of 2021 could have been a pretty key date where a Market Maker may have needed to buy to settle a portion of the Retail Pool. These would be shares that the Hedge Fund naked shorted to retail through the Market Maker – insuring with futures and/or LEAPS. Then the Hedge Fund would have also needed to finish settling a portion of the Deadpool back to the Market Maker that’s about to expire. Again, these deadpool naked shares are the original naked shares pulled out of ETFs, probably three years ago. They’ve been using and abusing that naked share with retail for three years, probably a year or so at a time. If the position blew up, say in January of 2021 then some Hedge Funds would have also blown the fuck up. First, the market maker would go to the market and try to buy shares. No shares. The market maker turns to the hedge fund and says, “sorry, no shares.” This is why the Hedge Fund bough “insurance” or hedged with his “buddy”. The Hedge Fund uses his contracts with the Market Maker to say, “here’s the cash, where are the shares?” The Market Maker plays his reverse uno card: The original contracts he made with the Hedge Fund when the naked shares were created and says, “No! You!” Hedge Fund: Fuck! There are no shares! MM: Not my problem. Where are my shares? Market: No shares. The Market Maker has the Hedge Funds other positions liquidated until there’s enough cash to buy shares in the market. In asinine cases where this happens the market might allow the Market Maker to just turn off the buy button to save his sorry ass. This is considered by many to be complete bullshit. The deadpool is closed/rolled. Possibly three years into the future. 2021 to 2024. I think there might always be a Deadpool that then feeds the Retail Pool. My other DD adds to the Deadpool theory and rehashes some of this, but the gist is that if you can create a deadpool with your “buddy” then could you just add a ton to the deadpool three years ago through the market to drive the price down and not add it to the retail pool. In other words, more naked shares that drive the price down, but they end up in your “friends” hands. He also want to drive the price down so you can worry less. Adding to the deadpool in a really desperate time would make sense to me. Now if a bunch of shares were added to the deadpool three years ago and were split by the splividend then how does that all work? I think with a normal split, naked shares that are split in the deadpool could be settled with cash. Does the splividend change that? In other words, if there were a bunch of naked shares shat into the deadpool three years ago. Then they were split, but delivery was delayed until expiration. And now they’re finally expiring. Can they be settled with cash or do real shares need to be bought to fulfill the long overdue splividend? https://preview.redd.it/ms98f80j273d1.png?width=1366&format=png&auto=webp&s=958b2ec20c2b21ca40347d8ee64fdb1b442b653b This just tries to simplify thing. The way the naked share is likely built results in it ending up in a deadpool between the naked shorters. They then pull naked shares from the deadpool and send them out into the market to naked short. Good thing, you have recourse! Believe you’ve been sold a naked share?! Your only way to truly find out if you have a real share or not is by DRSing. Pull your shares into the DRS Pool. Now you can have peace of mind that it’s a real share. If I were a naked shorter facing a potential MOASS, what would I do?
Alright, we don’t know why a MOASS would pop off. It would probably be expiration dates and/or too many DRSd shares. But we still actually do know why: naked shorting, not enough shares, buy button smashed, price goes boom! If it’s built the way I explained here, then MOASS means the Market Maker went to the market to buy some shares and there weren’t enough shares. But they like REALLY NEED SHARES. The price rises. If it gets to expiration of some of the retail naked shares and they haven’t been rolled then the position starts unraveling. MM: No shares. HF: Contract. Shares now! MM: No! You! HF: Fuck. MM: Margin Call HF: I’m dying. Let’s say this is what happened last time. The Hedge Funds blew up, if it happened again, would it now be a Market Maker and a bigger Market Maker stuck in this death loop? MM: I have assumed the position. lol MM: Fuck, you know what I meant. I absorbed the HF’s toxic naked shorts! So, if the Market Maker absorbed the naked short side of the play and is now the one who will be margin called. Who absorbed the Market Maker’s side? The one holding the “No! You!” reverse uno card this time around? If the Market Maker can’t survive like the Hedge Fund? Can the new guy survive like the MM did last time? Some PhD papers by Welborn everyone needs to read like three years ago! Options were used to naked short in the past – Welborn explains how. ETFs likely used now – again, read Welborn. Please! I layout how ETFs are likely pulled apart and shuffled around to create naked shares or what I like to call a deadpool. Dead shares that shouldn’t even exist. Then the deadpool is pulled from to send naked shares into the market. Again, if you want to learn how I got here I have a long DD from a year ago in my history OR preferably go read Welborn’s work. The way this is all done means because of the way the naked shares are sent to market there could be weird price movement around triple-witching dates. March/April, June/July, SeptembeOctober, DecembeJanuary. Triple-witching dates are March, June, September, December, but I push them out a month because Market Makers get a little extra leeway that us common folk don’t get. Again, in my old DD I talk about why they could potentially have an extra month tacked onto their expirations. Then because of the way the shares are originally pulled out of ETFs there could be weird movement around common expirations for LEAPS. January and June. January and June could be extra special times where a batch of naked shares are expiring in the hands of retail and need to finish being rolled. While, also having a batch of naked shares originally created for the deadpool that need to finish being rolled. I know this is all confusing, but basically I believe the rules allow a loophole for naked shorting through ETFs. I believe the way those naked shares are created makes a deadpool parked with naked shorters. When they want to match a buy on the market (retail buys a share) they then pull a naked share out of the deadpool and send it to retail. Naked shares in the deadpool hangout for about three years at a time meaning they need to be closed or rolled within 3 years. Naked shares to retail would likely be done with a 1 year expiration since retail usually churns through shares fast. You’re able to create a naked share and sell it to retail and buy it back and sell it and buy it several times before the naked share needs to be renewed (rolled – a new naked share created and the old one finally closed). Using ETFs could also explain weird movements in other stocks. If you’re already pulling a bunch of different stocks out of the ETF (not just GME) then you could use some of those naked shares to naked short other stocks as well. You’d be selling to retail at different times so the price may not move in tandem around the triple-witching dates, but they could move similarly around deadpool expiration dates. Remember, to close the naked shares from the deadpool you need to buy shares and create the ETFs. January 2021 could be a time where you need to buy a bunch of different stocks to close/roll some of the deadpool. June 2024 could also be a time where naked shorters might need to buy a bunch of different stocks in order to finally create some ETFs. You might see some unrelated stocks suddenly increasing in price at the same time. In my opinion, if a stock is heavily naked shorted, then a MOASS would kick off for 1 of 2 reasons.
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2024.05.28 18:32 spacedebriss Expanding on my Deadpool Theory: Does everything comes from the Deadpool?
| | THE DEADPOOL THEORY submitted by spacedebriss to u/spacedebriss [link] [comments] I stayed up way too late last night and got up way too early this morning trying to put this together. I should probably edit it more, but oh well. This is what I have. I need to go do some other stuff now. NONE OF THIS IS FINANCIAL ADVICE. Probably should have waited to post until I toiled some more. I want to add to the deadpool theory. Not take away from it, just add to it. I think the Deadpool and Retail Pool go more hand in hand. I think the Deadpool is the original pool that feeds the retail pool. The key for me has always been how the naked shares are created. Over a year ago I honestly reached a point where the DD was a jumbled mess in my mind. I wanted to start from zero and see what I could find, but not really zero because I had read a lot of DD, thanks to others I knew what to start searching for, so I set out. https://preview.redd.it/1iagyg39273d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b7b06f16f46956a06e00f5b3de49133e6227c53 If you think I’m pulling all of this out of my ass similar to how naked shares are pulled out of asses then please go read my old DD with charts and figures, goes more in depth, and has some strong citations in my opinion. OR better yet go absorb some of those citations, especially these first four: 1. THREE ESSAYS ON NAKED SHORT SELLING AND FAILS-TO-DELIVER by John W. Welborn 2. MARRIED PUTS, REVERSE CONVERSIONS AND ABUSE OF THE OPTIONS MARKET MAKER EXCEPTION ON THE CHICAGO STOCK EXCHANGE by John W Welborn 3. ETF Short Interest and Failures-to-Deliver: Naked Short Selling or Operational Shorting? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncq35zrFCAg&t=1655s 4. Exchange-Traded Funds, Fails-to-Deliver, and Market Volatility by Thomas Stratmann and John W. Welborn https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2183251 If you’re going to only read one of these then I’d make it this one. Everybody here should read a little Welborn in my opinion. Dude is the GOAT!
PDF FILES: DISCLAIMER: these links will try to download a PDF from the SEC’s website
I wanted to research that old DD by looking at the rules of naked shorting. When I would look into old DD and theories, I kept ending up at the answer of fraud. They didn’t stand up to the rules, unless lots o’ fraud was involved. Until I got to ETFs…. Now again, if you want more info go read the first four citations up at the top. The first 2 citations are PhD papers covering possible naked shorting and the Options loophole. This is the old way, this Options loophole was closed by the SEC back in 2008. For the new ETF way of naked shorting you can explore citations 3 and 4. These two citations cover how ETFs could be used to still naked short today. This is why I always felt the reactions to my old DD were so strange. I’m basically saying there could be a monstrous naked shorting position out in the market and it could be operating under the rules. No fraud is needed! Why didn’t superstonk respond with more positivity to my old DD a year ago?! I still think that DD did a pretty good job of laying out how naked shorters could be operating under the rules. The rules make it clear to me that: BULLET SWAPS – Can’t be used to make naked shares of a stock. If a naked shorter points to bullet swaps as where they got the shares from then the SEC should laugh in their face. You would need a lot of SEC fraud. Bullet swaps would have other good uses, but not for the actual creation of naked shares. REHYPOTHECATION – The idea here is that the naked shorter borrows shares infinitely. The naked shorter points to the borrow and sure the SEC could let that pass, but it should still count as a borrow. Otherwise, you need more SEC fraud to explain this one. The Market should see the naked short position because it should be tagged as borrowed, and the naked shorter would also need to pay for that borrow. These are both things the naked shorter is trying to avoid – that’s why they create naked shares rather than borrow shares. Alternatively, the naked shorter could have a deal with a broker. The naked shorter does infinite borrows off of the brokers stock, but again you would need fraud from the broker and the broker would likely demand payment on the “borrows”. For rehypothecation to work you need a lot of fraud and naked shorters would likely need to pay borrow fees. Properly creating naked shares within the rules means no borrowing would be done (could be expensive) and means no fraud has to be done. OPTIONS – This is where it gets confusing. Options used to be used to naked short, I wrote a big DD on this about a year ago. It has a lot of pictures and deep dives into a lot of stuff including options. If you want to learn more about the options loophole, don’t read my old DD, scroll back up to the top and read some of Welborn’s Options work (citations 1 and 2). You would need two participants to naked short back in the day and I believe that’s how it’s still done today. One would be a Market Maker and one would typically be a Hedge Fund. The Market Maker had special privileges around options, MMs and only MMs could point to un-exercised options as a locate for shares. They create shares out of thin air and send them to a hedge fund. The hedge fund sells the MM back futures contracts and/or calls. The Market Maker uses the calls as a locates and the Market is none the wiser. Or is just apathetic. But they were technically following the rules as written. These packages of naked shares would have been built with options, futures, and naked shares all packaged together. This Options Market Maker loophole went away in 2008. Options should not be an effective loophole for creating massive amounts of naked shares anymore. Again, you would need lots of SEC fraud. ETFs – I’m not just throwing ETFs out there. There is a fucking fantastic Welborn paper (citation 4) and also a youtube video from a business professor (citation 3) on ETFs and how ETFs could possibly be used to naked short. To use ETFs you would still need a Market Maker and a Hedge Fund (the HF could be another MM or big institution). The Market Maker has special privileges. 1. They can pull shares out of ETFs. 2. They can also set future redemption/creation dates with that same Hedge Fund and not tell anybody. It seems the Options loophole to naked short was replaced with an ETF redemption/creation loophole to naked short. Here’s a footnote in an SEC filing – I think this could be a smoking gun: https://preview.redd.it/wl18r6p7273d1.png?width=593&format=png&auto=webp&s=2072c332bad9ba42c108ed477fbb0d27d4e983b8 Page 10 from: https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nscc/2020/34-89088.pdf The new ETF loophole:
If the SEC goes back to the Hedge Fund and asks where they got the ETFs from he points to the Market Maker. SEC, “sounds good, can I leave you my resume?” If the SEC goes to the Market Maker and asks where he got the ETFs, the Market Maker would probably say, “Ha! Fuck if I know! I could buy and sell a million of that fucking ETF in a day. You want to look through our ledgers?” SEC, “Oh. I should probably take ‘em, but I’ll just look at porn instead. You guys hiring?”
These naked shares from the Market Maker to the Hedge Fund would be insured through futures and/or LEAPS. I believe they would likely insure them with one another using futures contracts instead of LEAPS, but I’m not positive. Either way, this “insurance” means that if it gets to expiration and the Hedge Fund hasn’t delivered shares, the Market Maker can use those futures contracts to force delivery. But why might we also see naked shorters holding huge amounts of options? The options could be hedging and leveraging with the wider market (not other naked shorters). So, if naked shorters are using futures to insure that they won’t be left holding the bag with one another then they would likely want to use common expiration dates for LEAPS. That lets them grab some “insurance” (Call Options) and extra leverage (Put Options) from non-naked shorters. If the naked shorters position blows up and they owe the other naked shorter shares then they can use their calls to get some shares from the market. Or if they’re position does well then they can make extra profits off of their puts. Here’s a diagram that will hopefully explain some of this better: https://preview.redd.it/bfupzl3f273d1.png?width=768&format=png&auto=webp&s=6cb63fd2f137a5f0b71d304663d91b16fdcd6ac4 The Hedge Fund is selling the naked shares from the Deadpool through the Market Maker into retail hands. Now the hedge fund like the market maker is going to want some futures or calls to make sure the market maker sells the shares back to him. But they’ll probably do this on a shorter timeline. Maybe they built the dealpool with three year expirations. Now they’ll naked short to retail probably using 1 year expirations. I think retails average is about nine months for holding a stock. A year should be enough time to find a new share to buy in order to close/roll an old naked share. Retail naked shares would likely expire every March, June, September, December. Naked shorters are constantly closing and rolling their naked shorts with retail throughout the year. Or at least that’s the idea, usually retail sells pretty quickly and naked shorters can keep driving the price down. Here’s a diagram to visualize deadpools and retail pools together. The red is the deadpool. The deadpools are the original pools of naked shares that are created with long expirations. It would make sense to have these expire three years out so 1. they last long – don’t have to keep creating naked shares and 2. they can be hedged/leveraged with the wider market using common expiration dates. Then the yellow would be the pools of naked shares that are sold to retail. These would have shorter expirations because ideally the naked shorter would want to churn these in a year or less. The naked shorters create a big deadpool of naked shares that will expire in three years. Then, if they’re using 1 year expirations with retail, they can use those naked shares in the market up to three times. https://preview.redd.it/55ganyyg273d1.png?width=1366&format=png&auto=webp&s=2eff4244c5d67337a077df6025a879b192ad7553 Now look at where expiration dates line up between red pools and yellow pools. January and June. January and June are common expiration dates for LEAPS. Again, if the naked shorters want to hedge/leverage with the wider market then these would be the expiration dates they would want to build their naked shares around. If the naked shares are built in this way then January of 2021 could have been a time where some of the Retail Pool and some of the Deadpool were expiring. Let’s say it’s a big expiration time and there are not enough shares. Maybe some DFV dude and a bunch of other retail investors are buying calls and shares. In this scenario, the Market Maker would try to find shares to close/roll the position. If unable, then the Hedge Fund would need to exercise their “insurance” and demand the shares from the MM. The Market Maker also has “insurance” though because he’s the big boy and he won’t be left holding the bag. The MM throws down his uno reverse card and screams, “No! You!” Alright, let’s say naked shorters are building their positions how I’ve laid out. When naked shorters open the ETFs at the beginning of the deadpool, they are also pulling out naked shares of other companies. They could use those shares for a lot of different things. They could hold them and sell options to make money. Or they could also naked short some of those companies too. Maybe, they open an ETF and pull out naked GME and some naked POPCORN. They could also naked short POPCORN into the market. It would move differently on a shorter timescale to GME because they’re rolling the position with retail a year at a time. It might move more in line with GME on a longer time scale. When the deadpool expires they need to finish buying shares and creating ETFs. That could mean buying a bunch of different stocks at one time. Buy some the remaining GME, POPCORN, HEADPHONES, etc. and close/finish rolling your deadpool position by packaging those shares up into nice little ETFs. This could all explain some of the wild stuff we’ve been seeing lately.
And you NEED 100 shares! The call insures that someone else has to find the shares for $20 each. You spend your $200 on the call option expiring June 22nd. Now you’re guaranteed to get your 100 shares for $20 each even if the price skyrockets. You spent $2200 on 100 shares. Again, no one knows who is buying these calls or why, but this could line up nicely with my theory that a chunk of the deadpool is expiring soon. I don’t want to get anyone excited for MOASS. I’ve made bad predictions in the past. In the past I thought a MOASS would probably happen in March, but that was because I hadn’t connected the deadpool to everything. Don’t get hyped, but if deadpools are built with January and June expirations then it would make sense that MOASS could happen in January or June. It would explain why naked shorters almost got fucked in January 2021. If, they were able to survive and push a huge chunk of their deadpool out three years then June 2024 could be a rough time for them. I’m not going to say it’s a guarantee of a MOASS this June/July. I will say that I really would not want to be a naked shorter trying to roll a bad bet on GME this June. Now this is all conjecture, but what if part of the deadpool needed to be rolled in January of 2021? Meaning the Hedge Fund needed to settle up with the Market Maker so they could finish closing the deadpool and keep the position rolling. Now the Deadpool was the original pool of naked shares. The Market Maker pulled these naked shares out of ETFs and sent them to the Hedge Fund. Naked shorters usually want to keep the train going until the company is bankrupt so they’d usually keep closing and rolling the deadpool until that happens. So, if you’ve followed along then January of 2021 could have been a pretty key date where a Market Maker may have needed to buy to settle a portion of the Retail Pool. These would be shares that the Hedge Fund naked shorted to retail through the Market Maker – insuring with futures and/or LEAPS. Then the Hedge Fund would have also needed to finish settling a portion of the Deadpool back to the Market Maker that’s about to expire. Again, these deadpool naked shares are the original naked shares pulled out of ETFs, probably three years ago. They’ve been using and abusing that naked share with retail for three years, probably a year or so at a time. If the position blew up, say in January of 2021 then some Hedge Funds would have also blown the fuck up. First, the market maker would go to the market and try to buy shares. No shares. The market maker turns to the hedge fund and says, “sorry, no shares.” This is why the Hedge Fund bough “insurance” or hedged with his “buddy”. The Hedge Fund uses his contracts with the Market Maker to say, “here’s the cash, where are the shares?” The Market Maker plays his reverse uno card: The original contracts he made with the Hedge Fund when the naked shares were created and says, “No! You!” Hedge Fund: Fuck! There are no shares! MM: Not my problem. Where are my shares? Market: No shares. The Market Maker has the Hedge Funds other positions liquidated until there’s enough cash to buy shares in the market. In asinine cases where this happens the market might allow the Market Maker to just turn off the buy button to save his sorry ass. This is considered by many to be complete bullshit. The deadpool is closed/rolled. Possibly three years into the future. 2021 to 2024. I think there might always be a Deadpool that then feeds the Retail Pool. My other DD adds to the Deadpool theory and rehashes some of this, but the gist is that if you can create a deadpool with your “buddy” then could you just add a ton to the deadpool three years ago through the market to drive the price down and not add it to the retail pool. In other words, more naked shares that drive the price down, but they end up in your “friends” hands. He also want to drive the price down so you can worry less. Adding to the deadpool in a really desperate time would make sense to me. Now if a bunch of shares were added to the deadpool three years ago and were split by the splividend then how does that all work? I think with a normal split, naked shares that are split in the deadpool could be settled with cash. Does the splividend change that? In other words, if there were a bunch of naked shares shat into the deadpool three years ago. Then they were split, but delivery was delayed until expiration. And now they’re finally expiring. Can they be settled with cash or do real shares need to be bought to fulfill the long overdue splividend? https://preview.redd.it/2yv2husj273d1.png?width=1366&format=png&auto=webp&s=21dd192a3f928710978067ddd41ef445d74b50bc This just tries to simplify thing. The way the naked share is likely built results in it ending up in a deadpool between the naked shorters. They then pull naked shares from the deadpool and send them out into the market to naked short. Good thing, you have recourse! Believe you’ve been sold a naked share?! Your only way to truly find out if you have a real share or not is by DRSing. Pull your shares into the DRS Pool. Now you can have peace of mind that it’s a real share. If I were a naked shorter facing a potential MOASS, what would I do?
Alright, we don’t know why a MOASS would pop off. It would probably be expiration dates and/or too many DRSd shares. But we still actually do know why: naked shorting, not enough shares, buy button smashed, price goes boom! If it’s built the way I explained here, then MOASS means the Market Maker went to the market to buy some shares and there weren’t enough shares. But they like REALLY NEED SHARES. The price rises. If it gets to expiration of some of the retail naked shares and they haven’t been rolled then the position starts unraveling. MM: No shares. HF: Contract. Shares now! MM: No! You! HF: Fuck. MM: Margin Call HF: I’m dying. Let’s say this is what happened last time. The Hedge Funds blew up, if it happened again, would it now be a Market Maker and a bigger Market Maker stuck in this death loop? MM: I have assumed the position. lol MM: Fuck, you know what I meant. I absorbed the HF’s toxic naked shorts! So, if the Market Maker absorbed the naked short side of the play and is now the one who will be margin called. Who absorbed the Market Maker’s side? The one holding the “No! You!” reverse uno card this time around? If the Market Maker can’t survive like the Hedge Fund? Can the new guy survive like the MM did last time? Some PhD papers by Welborn everyone needs to read like three years ago! Options were used to naked short in the past – Welborn explains how. ETFs likely used now – again, read Welborn. Please! I layout how ETFs are likely pulled apart and shuffled around to create naked shares or what I like to call a deadpool. Dead shares that shouldn’t even exist. Then the deadpool is pulled from to send naked shares into the market. Again, if you want to learn how I got here I have a long DD from a year ago in my history OR preferably go read Welborn’s work. The way this is all done means because of the way the naked shares are sent to market there could be weird price movement around triple-witching dates. March/April, June/July, SeptembeOctober, DecembeJanuary. Triple-witching dates are March, June, September, December, but I push them out a month because Market Makers get a little extra leeway that us common folk don’t get. Again, in my old DD I talk about why they could potentially have an extra month tacked onto their expirations. Then because of the way the shares are originally pulled out of ETFs there could be weird movement around common expirations for LEAPS. January and June. January and June could be extra special times where a batch of naked shares are expiring in the hands of retail and need to finish being rolled. While, also having a batch of naked shares originally created for the deadpool that need to finish being rolled. I know this is all confusing, but basically I believe the rules allow a loophole for naked shorting through ETFs. I believe the way those naked shares are created makes a deadpool parked with naked shorters. When they want to match a buy on the market (retail buys a share) they then pull a naked share out of the deadpool and send it to retail. Naked shares in the deadpool hangout for about three years at a time meaning they need to be closed or rolled within 3 years. Naked shares to retail would likely be done with a 1 year expiration since retail usually churns through shares fast. You’re able to create a naked share and sell it to retail and buy it back and sell it and buy it several times before the naked share needs to be renewed (rolled – a new naked share created and the old one finally closed). Using ETFs could also explain weird movements in other stocks. If you’re already pulling a bunch of different stocks out of the ETF (not just GME) then you could use some of those naked shares to naked short other stocks as well. You’d be selling to retail at different times so the price may not move in tandem around the triple-witching dates, but they could move similarly around deadpool expiration dates. Remember, to close the naked shares from the deadpool you need to buy shares and create the ETFs. January 2021 could be a time where you need to buy a bunch of different stocks to close/roll some of the deadpool. June 2024 could also be a time where naked shorters might need to buy a bunch of different stocks in order to finally create some ETFs. You might see some unrelated stocks suddenly increasing in price at the same time. In my opinion, if a stock is heavily naked shorted, then a MOASS would kick off for 1 of 2 reasons.
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