I intend to post this in debatereligion, but I wanted to put this here and get the insight of you guys. Fair warning, this is a huge post!
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) gave various prophecies leading up to the dajjal (the antichrist), the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ (AS), and other signs of the the Last Hour.
(Note: I'm gonna label some of these like "Narration 1" so they can be referenced later)
Narration 1 The Last Hour would not come until the Romans would land at al-A'maq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best (soldiers) of the people of the earth at that time will come from Medina (to counteract them). When they will arrange themselves in ranks, the Romans would say: Do not stand between us and those (Muslims) who took prisoners from amongst us. Let us fight with them; and the Muslims would say: Nay, by Allah, we would never get aside from you and from our brethren that you may fight them. They will then fight and a third (part) of the army would run away, whom Allah will never forgive. A third (part of the army) which would be constituted of excellent martyrs in Allah's eye, would be killed and the third who would never be put to trial would win and they would be conquerors of Constantinople. And as they would be busy in distributing the spoils of war (amongst themselves) after hanging their swords by the olive trees, the Satan would cry: The Dajjal has taken your place among your family. They would then come out, but it would be of no avail. And when they would come to Syria, he would come out while they would be still preparing themselves for battle drawing up the ranks. Certainly, the time of prayer shall come and then Jesus (peace be upon him) son of Mary would descend and would lead them. When the enemy of Allah would see him, it would (disappear) just as the salt dissolves itself in water and if he (Jesus) were not to confront them at all, even then it would dissolve completely, but Allah would kill them by his hand and he would show them their blood on his lance (the lance of Jesus Christ). Sahih Muslim 2897 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2897
Narration 2 (Note: it's not definitively Constantinople being referred to here, but it's unlikely that it's referring to somewhere else) Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (may peace he upon him) saying: You have heard about a city, one side of which is on land and the other is in the sea (Constantinople). They said: Allah's Messenger, yes. Thereupon he said: The Last Hour would not come unless seventy thousand persons from Bani lshaq would attack it. When they would land there, they will neither fight with weapons nor would shower arrows but would only say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," and one side of it would fall. Thaur (one of the narrators) said: I think that he said: The part by the side of the ocean. Then they would say for the second time: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest" and the second side would also fall, and they would say: "There is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," and the gates would be opened for them and they would enter therein and, they would be collecting spoils of war and distributing them amongst themselves when a noise would be heard saying: Verily, Dajjal has come. And thus they would leave everything there and go back. Sahih Muslim 2920a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2920a
Narration 3 Once there blew a red storm in Kufah that there came a person who had nothing to say but (these words): Abdullah b. Masud, the Last Hour has come. He (Abdullah b. Masud) was sitting reclining against something, and he said: The Last Hour would not come until shares of inheritance are not distributed and there is no rejoicing over spoils of war. Then he said pointing towards Syria, with the gesture of his hand like this: The enemy shall muster strength against Muslims and the Muslims will muster strength against them (Syrians). I said: You mean Rome? And he said: Yes, and there would be a terrible fight and the Muslims would prepare a detachment (for fighting unto death) which would not return but victorious. They will fight until night will intervene them; both the sides will return without being victorious and both will be wiped out. The Muslims will again prepare a detachment for fighting unto death so that they may not return but victorious. When it would be the fourth day, a new detachment out of the remnant of the Muslims would be prepared and Allah will decree that the enemy should be routed. And they would fight such a fight the like of which would not be seen, so much so that even if a bird were to pass their flanks, it would fall down dead before reaching the end of them. (There would be such a large scale massacre) that when counting would be done, (only) one out of a hundred men related to one another would be found alive. So what can be the joy at the spoils of such war and what inheritance would be divided! They would be in this very state that they would hear of a calamity more horrible than this. And a cry would reach them: The Dajjal has taken your place among your offspring. They will, therefore, throw away what would be in their hands and go forward sending ten horsemen, as a scouting party. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: I know their names and the names of their forefathers and the color of their horses. They will be the best horsemen on the surface of the earth on that day or amongst the best horsemen on the surface of the earth on that day. Sahih Muslim 2899a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2899a
The events throughout the conquest of Constantinople are roughly described like so...
Narration 1: 1. Romans (Byzantines) arrive to al-A'maq 2. Muslim soldiers from Medina meet them, and they have a great battle 3. 1/3 of the Muslims run away, 1/3 are martyred, and 1/3 continue to live on 4. Constantinople is conquered by the 1/3 Muslim victors 5. They distribute spoils among themselves 6. Satan let's out a scream, saying the dajjal is now a threat, but there's no sight of the dajjal 7. Those Muslims leave and go to Syria, and prepare for battle 8. Dajjal shows himself 9. Jesus (AS) descends for the prayer 10. Dajjal is killed by Jesus (AS)
Narration 2: 1. 70,000 from children of Isaac conquer Constantinople without weapons 2. Distribute spoils among themselves 3. Cry of dajjal, they leave everything and go back 4. (One should note, that the land with "one side of which is on land and the other is in the sea" is not definitively Constantinople, but it's quite unlikely it's referring to something else)
Narration 3: 1. Roman (Byzantine) Syrians muster strength against Muslims, and Muslims muster strength against them 2. Great battle, described as a calamity 3. Cry of dajjal, they throw what's in their hands 4. Ten scouts sent out
In 1453, the Muslims conquered Constantinople, but as we know, the dajjal did not emerge, nor did Jesus (AS). They also did not conquer it without weapons. Therefore, this prophecy has failed.
Many recognize this, and create an interpretation that the first conquest wasn't the prophesied one, and there are going to be two conquests of Constantinople, (the second one being without weapons).
That is like I said: an interpretation. No Hadith makes clear, two separate conquests of Constantinople.
And though these 3 narrations have varying levels of details, they do not contradict each other, (which could reflect that they're two seperate conquests).
One might note that narration 1 SEEMS like it says they use weapons to conquer Constantinople, and narration 2 SEEMS to say that they'll only use words (la ilaha illallah Allahu akbar) to conquer Constantinople, but there's actually nothing in narration 1 that explicitly says they'll use weapons to take over Constantinople. They do indeed hang up their swords, but just because they set their gear down, doesn't mean they used it to take the city. Bear in mind, that they had just gotten done with the infamous Great Battle, gone to Constantinople, and probably expected to be met with force, so one would expect they'd take their sheaths and swords off and set them down after all of that.
Also, the cry of the dajjal is a common factor between all of these narrations, forcing them to be one instance. Unless you want to say that there are going to be multiple cries of the dajjal, and some- be false I guess? Like satan cries it out but it's just a trick?
If you're going to lead with the idea that narration 1 refers to a different conquest than narration 2 (1 using weapons, 2 using words), then you're leading with the idea that: 1. There was the conquest of 1453, with no cry of the dajjal 2. There is going to be another conquest with weapons and with a false/deceiving cry of the dajjal 3. Then there's going to be ANOTHER conquest with only words, and that will have the real cry of the dajjal
That seems to me to be a pretty obviously false idea. So yes, these 3 narrations refer to the same instance. There's nowhere in Hadiths that creates a distinction between two different conquests of Constantinople.
And even the Muslims of the time believed that the dajjal was to emerge after Rome's territory was conquered...
(Note: there's more to this narration before this, but it's irrelevant and takes up space) (Allah's Messenger) said: You will attack Arabia and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack Persia and He would make you to conquer it. Then you would attack Rome and Allah will enable you to conquer it, then you would attack the Dajjal and Allah will enable you to conquer him. Nafi' said: Jabir, we thought that the Dajjal would appear after Rome (Syrian territory) would be conquered. Sahih Muslim 2900 https://sunnah.com/muslim:2900
No one had an idea that there were two seperate conquests.
Not only that, but these narrations are also limited to their times, and I'll explain why, but also note the following Hadiths:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The flourishing state of Jerusalem will be when Yathrib is in ruins, the ruined state of Yathrib will be when the great war comes, the outbreak of the great war will be at the conquest of Constantinople and the conquest of Constantinople when the Dajjal (Antichrist) comes forth. He (the Prophet) struck his thigh or his shoulder with his hand and said: This is as true as you are here or as you are sitting (meaning Mu'adh ibn Jabal). (Yathrib is Medina) Sunan Abu Dawud 4294, CLASSED HASAN https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4294
I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: The Last Hour would come (when) the Romans would form a majority amongst people. 'Amr said to him (Mustaurid Qurashi): See what you are saying? He said: I say what I heard from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Thereupon he said: If you say that, it is a fact for they have four qualities. They have the patience to undergo a trial and immediately restore themselves to sanity after trouble and attack again after flight. They (have the quality) of being good to the destitute and the orphans, to the weak and, fifthly, the good quality in them is that they put resistance against the oppression of kings. Sahih Muslim 2898a (and Sahih Muslim 2898b says the exact same thing as the bolded text) https://sunnah.com/muslim:2898a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2898b
"I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah when a man said: 'O Messenger of Allah! The people have lost interest in horses and put down their weapons, and they say there is no Jihad, and that war has ended.' The Messenger of Allah turned to face him and said: 'They are lying, now the fighting is to come. There will always be a group among my Ummah who will fight for the truth, for whom Allah will cause some people to deviate, and grant them provision from them, until the Hour begins and until the promise of Allah comes. Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection. It has been revealed to me that I am going to die and will not stay long, and you will follow me group after group, striking one another's necks. And the place of safety for the believers is Ash-Sham.'" Sunan an-Nasa'i 3561 https://sunnah.com/nasai:3561
These are the reasons why the prophecies are limited to their time:
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says the dajjal emerges after the conquering of Constantinople, and that the Romans would be a majority when the last hour would come.
When was a time when Constantinople was yet to be conquered, and the Romans were a majority? Hundreds of years ago. The dajjal did not come forth.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) describes the conquest of Constantinople involving swords, arrows, and horseback.
For example...
Narration 1 says "after hanging their swords by the olive trees"
Narration 2 says "they will neither fight with weapons nor would shower arrows"
Narration 3 says "They will, therefore, throw away what would be in their hands go forward sending ten horsemen, as a scouting party."
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says (in the context of battles) that "goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the day of resurrection" which further supports the idea that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did not expect the world to advance beyond horses in battle.
If you want to say there are two seperate conquests in time, you're saying: 1. The Romans (Byzantines) will once again become a majority among the people, as the Byzantine empire fell many hundreds of years ago, and that their descendants that are still alive today, will become a majority, and fight the Muslims again. 2. People will revert to swords, bows, and horses. 3. Constantinople will once again fall into the hands of people other than the Muslims.
Another thing I've heard, is that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used words like swords, arrows, and horses, so that people of the time would understand what he's talking about. Because if he mentioned guns, and cars they would think he's crazy and telling lies, or maybe the narrations would've been abandoned long ago for sounding crazy.
I have nothing to irrefutably disprove this, but I would think that the average, unbiased mind would not give this grace. I mean, imagine if Christianity or the LDS church said this. Would you give them such a great benefit?
One thing I can say, is that if he knew there would be a second conquest involving guns and cars, but he didn't want to throw the people off, he could've just avoided those specific details, or used neutral words, like how he uses "weapons" in narration 2. He could say they would send out scouts, and not mention horses. He didn't need to mention swords, the showering of arrows, and horses.
SECOND:
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also gave these prophecies...
When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit smiling and said: Every worshipper should keep sitting at his place. He then said: Do you know why I had asked you to assemble? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: By Allah. I have not made you assemble for exhortation or for a warning, but I have detained you here, for Tamim Dari, a Christian, who came and accepted Islam, told me something, which agrees with what I was telling, you about the Dajjal. He narrated to me that he had sailed in a ship along with thirty men of Bani Lakhm and Bani Judham and had been tossed by waves in the ocean for a month. Then these (waves) took them (near) the land within the ocean (island) at the time of sunset. They sat in a small side-boat and entered that island. There was a beast with long thick hair (and because of these) they could not distinguish his face from his back. They said: Woe to you, who can you be? Thereupon it said: I am al-Jassasa. They said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: O people, go to this person in the monastery as he is very much eager to know about you. He (the narrator) said: When it named a person for us we were afraid of it lest it should be a devil. Then we hurriedly went on till we came to that monastery and found a well-built person there with his hands tied to his neck and having iron shackles between his two legs up to the ankles. We said: Woe be upon thee, who are you? And he said: You would soon come to know about me. but tell me who are you. We said: We are people from Arabia and we embarked upon a boat but the sea-waves had been driving us for one month and they brought as near this island. We got Into the side-boats and entered this island and here a beast met us with profusely thick hair and because of the thickness of his hair his face could not be distinguished from his back. We said: Woe be to thee, who are you? It said: I am al- Jassasa. We said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: You go to this very person in the monastery for he is eagerly waiting for you to know about you. So we came to you in hot haste fearing that that might be the Devil. He (that chained person) said: Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baisan. We said: About what aspect of theirs do you seek information? He said: I ask you whether these trees bear fruit or not. We said: yes. Thereupon he said: I think these would not bear fruits. He said: Inform me about the lake of Tabariyya? We said: Which aspect of it do you want to know? He said: Is there water in it? They said: There is abundance of water in it. Thereupon he said: I think it would soon become dry. He again said: Inform me about the spring of Zughar. They said: Which aspect of it you want to know? He (the chained person) said: Is there water in it and does it irrigate (the land)? We said to him: Yes, there is abundance of water in it and the inhabitants (of Medina) irrigate (land) with the help of it, He said: Inform me about the unlettered Prophet; what has he done? We said: He has come out from Mecca and has settled In Yathrib (Medina). He said: Do the Arabs fight against him? We said: Yes. He said: How did he deal with them? We informed him that he had overcome those in his neighbourhood and they had submitted themselves before him. Thereupon he said to us: Has it actually happened? We said: Yes. Thereupon he said: If it is so that is better for them that they should show obedience to him. I am going to tell you about myself and I am Dajjal and would be soon permitted to get out and so I shall get out and travel in the land, and will not spare any town where I would not stay for forty nights except Mecca and Medina as these two (places) are prohibited (areas) for me and I would not make an attempt to enter any one of these two. An angel with a sword in his hand would confront me and would bar my way and there would be angels to guard every passage leading to it; then Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) striking the pulpit with the help of the end of his staff said: This implies Taiba meaning Medina. Have I not, told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this? 'The people said: Yes, and this account narrated by Tamim Dari was liked by me for it corroborates the account which I gave to you in regard to him (Dajjal) at Medina and Mecca. Behold he (Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea (Mediterranean) or the Yemen sea (Arabian sea). Nay, on the contrary, he is in the east, he is in the east, he is in the east, and he pointed with his hand towards the east. I (Fatima bint Qais) said: I preserved it in my mind (this narration from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). Sahih Muslim 2942a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2942a
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) seems to agree with this story as truth (at the least doesn't say that Tamim Dari's experience is total bogus), and says that the dajjal is on earth, existing, alive, and in the east.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says "Have I not, told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this?"
The dajjal says he will not spare any town, but Mecca and Medina as angels guard it and prevent him from entering. This is exactly what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said. Sahih Bukhari 1881 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1881
Everything the dajjal says in this agrees with what Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says. The dajjal accurately states everything that was going on in Arabia at the time, so we have good reason to believe the dajjal was being accurate when he reportedly said, "I am dajjal and would be soon permitted to get out"
Here, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says in two narrations that Jesus Christ (AS) will descend from the heavens soon...
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, son of Mary (Jesus) will shortly descend amongst you people (Muslims) as a just ruler and will break the Cross and kill the pig and abolish the Jizya (a tax taken from the non-Muslims, who are in the protection, of the Muslim government). Then there will be abundance of money and nobody will accept charitable gifts. Sahih Bukhari 2222 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:2222
Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." Sahih Bukhari 3448 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3448
And we have Prophet Muhammad (SAW) waking fearfully and telling Zainab (his wife) some news...
That the Prophet (ﷺ) came to her in a state of fear saying, "None has the right to be worshiped but Allah! Woe to the Arabs because of evil that has come near. Today a hole has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog as large as this." pointing with two of his fingers making a circle. Zainab said, "I said, 'O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Shall we be destroyed though amongst us there are pious people? ' He said, 'Yes, if evil increases." Sahih Bukhari 3598 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3598
The Prophet (ﷺ) got up from his sleep with a flushed red face and said, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Woe to the Arabs, from the Great evil that is nearly approaching them. Today a gap has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog like this." (Sufyan illustrated by this forming the number 90 or 100 with his fingers.) It was asked, "Shall we be destroyed though there are righteous people among us?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Yes, if evil increased." Sahih Bukhari 7059 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:7059
Zainab bint Jahsh reported that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) got up from sleep saying: There is no being worthy of worship except Allah; there is a destruction in store for Arabia because of turmoil which is at hand, the barrier of Gog and Magog has opened so much. And Sufyan made a sign of ten with the help of his hand (in order to indicate the width of the gap) and I said: Allah's Messenger, would we be perished in spite of the fact that there would be good people amongst us? Thereupon he said: Of course, but only when the evil predominates. Sahih Muslim 2880a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2880a
Zainab bint Jahsh, the wife of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ), reported that one day Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came out in a state of excitement with his face quite red. And he was saying: There is no god but Allah; there is a destruction in store for Arabia because of the turmoil which is near at hand as the barrier of Gog and Magog has been opened like it, and he (in order to explain it) made a ring with the help of his thumb and forefinger. I said: Allah's Messenger, would we be destroyed despite the fact that there would be pious people amongst us? He said: Yes, when evil would be predominant. Sahih Muslim 2880c https://sunnah.com/muslim:2880c
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says that the evil of Gog and Magog is "near" or "near at hand," and the wall containing their people has opened up a little bit.
Here's another prophecy:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent us on foot to get spoil, but we returned without getting any. When he saw the signs of distress on our faces, he stood up on our faces and said: O Allah, do not put them under my care, for I would be too weak to care for them; do not put them in care of themselves, for they would be incapable of that, and do not put them in the care of men, for they would choose the best things for themselves. He then placed his hand on my head and said: Ibn Hawalah, when you see the caliphate has settled in the holy land, earthquakes, sorrows and serious matters will have drawn near and on that day the Last Hour will be nearer to mankind than this hand of mine is to your head. Abu Dawud said: 'Abd Allah b. Hawalah belongs to Hims. Sunan Abu Dawud 2535 https://sunnah.com/abudawud:2535
The "holy land" refers to the area roughly known as Israel and Palestine. The caliphate settled in Jersualem around the year 638 by Caliph Umar.
And Allah (SWT) in the Quran says... "The Hour has come near, and the moon has split [in two]." Quran 54:1 https://legacy.quran.com/54/1
Now, "soon," "near at hand," "nearer" and "near" are all relative, and Gog and Magog's wall opening up doesn't necessarily demand it would happen quickly, but with the prior Hadiths mentioning swords, horses, and arrows during the emergence of the dajjal; one may begin to understand how "soon" these things really were expected.
When Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says Jesus (AS) will descend shortly, and says the dajjal will emerge when swords, bows, and horseback are being used; one can understand how 'soon' Jesus was expected to descend (and kill the dajjal).
In conclusion Prophet Muhammad (SAW) says that: 1. The dajjal is on earth, and seems to agree that he will soon emerge. 2. Jesus (AS) will descend soon. 3. Gog and Magog's wall has opened up a bit. Woe to the Arabs for the evil that is nearly approaching them. 4. (Places his hand on companion's head) The last hour will be nearer to the people than his hand is to his head when the caliphate settle in the holy land (which happened in 638). 5. The dajjal will emerge after the conquering of Constantinople. 6. The Romans will be a majority when the last hour comes. 7. They will be using swords, bows, and horses during the conquering of Constantinople and the emergence of the dajjal And Allah (SWT) says the hour has drawn near.
There's no reason to believe that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) expected the world to go on for atleast another 1400 years.
BONUS:
In this Hadith, Utba b. Ghazwan says that the Muslims were given news of the world's ending, and that's it quite early, (atleast I'm like 85% sure that's what means)...
Utba b. Ghazwan delivered us a sermon and he praised Allah and lauded Him, then said: Now coming to the point, verily the world has been given the news of its end and that too quite early. Nothing would be left out of it but only water left in the utensil which its owner leaves, and you are going to shift to an abode which knows no end, and you should shift with the good before you, for we have been told that a stone would be thrown at one side of the Hell and it would go down even for seventy years but would not be able to reach its bottom. By Allah, it would be fully packed. Do you find it something strange, and it has been mentioned that there yawns a distance which one would be able to cover in forty years from one end to another of Paradise, and a day would come when it would be fully packed and you must be knowing that I was the seventh amongst seven who had been with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and we had nothing to eat but the leaves of the tree until the corners of the mouth were injured. (The Hadith goes on, but it doesn't appear relevant and it takes up a lot of space). Sahih Muslim 2967a https://sunnah.com/muslim:2967a
This could support the idea that the Muslims (who knew Prophet Muhammad (SAW) first-hand) did not think the world was going to last terribly long.

FLAGGED FOR INVESTIGATION AND SECURITY RESTRICTED
Account from the squad leader of SH'azz squad on advanced long range assault scout mission in the Tz'urgal system. 3rd moon of the 3rd planet in system. Colony of "Deltamist" pirates.
Race: Inagoor, who are known as separatists. Noted for high crimes to include piracy, kidnapping, smuggling, murders and assassinations.
This is the true, and unredacted, original account.
SEC level set as Black 8 tier 12 restricted.
Account reads:

Journal log entry: T'zk 72:31 G'az 8
2nd leader, Expeditionary Assault Scouts: SH'azz squad.
We landed the stealth assault class (S.A.C) skiff 12 mektreks* from the pirate settlement with the determination to make final approach on claw, and from under cover of night with full stealth masking knowing that the Inagoor would easily spot the mirage haze and light warping of our stealth fields during the day. The gravity of the moon is comparable to ours, if slightly less, so it seemed like it would be an easy trek. I determined that only 2 rest stops would be needed instead of three. Our landing distance assisting in our stealth attempt, and thus adding to our chances of successful surprise attack.
Our intel determined that the pirates had recently raided the Tau shipping lanes, and had taken hostages for the purposes of ransom and slave sales. Our unit was tasked with forward observation and intel gathering of the pirates before termination of their operation, and to report all intel direct to command via secured subspace micro-pulse.
The Flora and Fauna scans determined that this moon was a Class 4 temperate world with no signs of natural life forms rated as sentient.
At our first predetermined rest location we discovered a burn mark cutting a path through the foliage as though a small vessel of some kind had made a controlled emergency landing. Scanners indicated that the craft was emitting power output signals, and was only a short distance from our location. We proceeded to rest and recuperate under the cover of the stealth fields with both live, and drone perimeter guards for security. The rest cycle was extended to insure that the guards could rotate so that all were rested and ready. I had decided that the investigation of the small craft could wait until after our main mission was complete when one of our forward scout drones sent my linkpad some images flagged for immediate review.
The images were of an Inagoor corpse. It was...dismembered. Torn limb from limb and the barrel chested, fur covered torso had chunks ripped out of it. (Images in file listed SET 1) The closeups of the
torso showed that the gaping rents and holes were not impact points of a projectile weapon nor were they of a beam, or energy weapon. No charring of flesh or fur, and no melting or blast marks on their suits armor plating. It simply looked as though an appendage had been grabbed and pulled off. The armor, as well as the flesh underneath, was simply torn off of the main corpse. The dismembered limbs were in the same condition, and save one other notable clue which was that there were obvious "gripping points" where the armor was crushed, and the bone beneath these areas was pulverized. The Inagoor's infra Red pulse rifle was found partially embedded in the trunk of a tree. Its "combat rated" frame had been crushed and wadded up as though it was a piece of waste paper. Its power cell was ruptured and leaking. The scout drone had marked it as a hazard zone out to 30 pace lengths and labeled as "lethal chemical hazard". I informed my second in command, and we reviewed the images together. He was as dumbfounded as I. What native beast could have done this kind of damage to powered assault armor?
(Addendum:)
The Drone was unable to locate the Inagoor's head in the immediate area.
(Addendum ends:)
My second and I resolved to scout this issue as a priority. We did not want to engage our current mission only to have an unknown element interfere and compromise mission success. As per command prerogative, I shared the drones information with the rest of the squad personnel, and reformed mission parameters around this element. Mission AI rated a 92% agreement with my assessment. Well within command parameters. We arrived at the location of the drones discovery in 4 hours. Our visors highlighted the chemical hazard of the leaking power module, and its set perimeter was also highlighted by our personal visor AI, and we all gave it a wide berth. The Inagoor was indeed scattered everywhere as the drones images had relayed with one exception. The smell was horrendous, and sickening. The stench of the Inagoor's "parts" indicated that it had been killed only 2 day/night rotations ago, and already some sort of fungus growth had begun to creep into the strewn dismembered parts and pieces. On every life bearing world, nature always has a cleanup crew. On closer examination of the "parts" we determined that the only explanation of this incident was that some creature had simply grabbed the Inagoor and ripped him apart, flinging the pieces in random directions in the process. The Inagoor's armor was their combat rated class, which is their equivalent to our front line infantry armor, powered of course. It was just torn apart as if it was a Tk'turka wedding veil. Armor that can withstand a pulse from an infra Red rifle at close range, or the puncture of a ballistic needler at point blank range had been torn apart, as if it were made of nothing sturdier than plant filament.
The grip points visible on the appendages did indeed look squeezed/crushed, and the separation points showed signs of literally being "pulled" apart. Not cut. Not chopped, but PULLED apart. The Inagoor are from level 9 temperate worlds and are thus pretty tough, and considered very strong even to a majority of other sentient species. Yet something far, FAR, stronger just pulled them apart. My visor AI showed the majority of my squad running "weapon ready" checks, and a few more scout drones were tossed into the air to begin new stealth patrols.
It wasn't long before another Inagoor corpse was found in the direction of the unidentified craft that
had "seemingly" crash landed.
This Inagoor's corpse was simply pinned to a tree. Its back was against the trunk, and the Inagoor's pulse rifle was pushed through its torso and into the tree trunk thus pinning it a pace off of the ground. Whatever creature did this to the Inagoor, had used the butt of the rifle to penetrate completely through the Inagoor's chest cavity, and further into the tree trunk, thus pinning the Inagoor. My visor AI noted more "Weapons Ready Checks" as well as one of the newer members of the squad using a dose of Stimcalm. My visor AI noted the dose as well within regulation, and I chose to flag it for review for his after mission performance evaluation. (Noted in File marked VA1. attached) I was actually considering using a dose of Stimcalm myself, as my second reoriented the stealth drones to a new scout pattern. Rather than taking the stim I began reviewing database information for "nearest Deathworld locations” from current location, and the AI promptly informed me that none were reachable within a standard week of FTL travel at NOK* 6 speed. I relayed this information to my second, and he reciprocated with a listing of the most dangerous lifeforms on this moon. None were capable of this level of violence by orders of magnitude.
I also noted that there were many burn holes in the vegetation in this area. Obviously the discharge of the pulse rifle was futile in halting the violence that occurred even if the Inagoor had made direct hits. The updated drone orientation revealed a new element to this mystery soon after. The visor alert from the drone was not unexpected, but still caught me off guard. I opened up the video footage, and saw a scene of carnage that staggered my rational mind. Many, MANY Inagoor corpses were strewn about a small clearing in the vegetation. All of them were not merely killed but ripped apart and scattered just like the first corpse we encountered. I am not ashamed to admit that I was so visibly sickened that my second inquired as to my health and mental state. As is my command authority to do so I relayed the drones footage to him. Then I too, took a regulation dosage of Stimcalm. As is noted in the file attached I also ordered my second to share the footage from the drone to the rest, and pre-authorized them to also take a regulation dose of Stimcalm, IF they felt they needed it after reviewing the drones footage.
Upon closer examination of the footage we could see the "fin" of a craft sticking up from the other side of a nearby hill. The site of the visceral carnage was a short distance from the crafts resting position. I, and my second reviewed the footage a few more times, and weighed the pros and cons of sending the drone over the rise, and within full sight of the downed vessel. I came to the conclusion that the possible loss of a stealth drone was far less costly, and far more prudent, than the loss than a squad member, and so I authorized the reroute. What the drone showed us next was intriguing to say the least.
The drone's path was kept slow and close to the foliage line so as not to expose too much of a blur signature, but, as it came into line of sight of our objective we saw that the craft was indeed, of some strange alien design. Its structure and air frame looked almost completely undamaged. Boxy though, and clumsy in appearance it had long airfoils sticking out from its sides and a tall one sticking straight up from its reatail. An enormous alien who was twice our height and bipedal was working on some component in an opened hatch in the side of the craft, and there were other aliens assisting it. A Craxx was handing it a tool of some kind, and a Piryllek was holding some illumination device next to it so that the enormous alien could see what it was doing. A Moorkha, with its brightly colored feathers, was working with a blue-green scaled Sithys. Together, they were making preparations for a meal of some sort. A black furred Glerff suddenly stood on its hind legs and looked straight at the drone. its yellow feather-patterned antennae quivering. We had been spotted!
The aliens that we could name registered in the operational AI as the abductees from the afore mentioned recent raids on the shipping lanes, and when the Glerff alerted the others they all stopped what they were doing, and started chattering wildly at the giant, who then reached for some sort of computational device and began fiddling with it. It did not look as the giant was concerned overly, but, simply curious. The suit it was wearing was scorched in many areas, and the hide that showed through the holes in its clothing was light brown with red splotches. These were definitely wound sites on the unidentified alien. If these were the wounds suffered from the infra Red pulse rifle fire, then they likely only caused this creature some mild irritation and inconvenience. Its face was hairy, as was its head, and the left mandible, hair burned away was swollen and blistered. A pulse rifle shot to his face perhaps? There were obvious signs of it being shot all over it’s limbs and torso, and yet it was still alive and breathing? Impossible! What was this thing?
It was apparent from the drone video that this alien was over twice our height. It stood head and shoulders taller than the Moorkha, and with triple its mass. The Moorkha quieted the others, and began cooing at the giant, making a visible sign to breathe deeply and calmly while stroking the giants fore appendages and digits, as we witnessed this process via the live feed. The fur above one of its ocular organs (it had 2, side by side, and front facing.) rose a bit but it otherwise seemed to relax and looked in the direction of the drone that the Glerff was still pointing at.
Based on this evidence I chose to drop the cloak on the drone and send it slowly to the Glerff as it was the closest. When the drone was within verbal communication distance I sent my voice through the drone to introduce myself.
"I am Ak'kik. Leader of SH'azz squad. We have come to investigate, and rescue you and your fellow abductees. Do you require assistance?", I said with as much authority in my tone as I am capable of. "Most assuredly Ak'kik, though we are no longer in danger thanks to our new friend that rescued us. Although I do not believe that he did so intentionally. The pirates that abducted us attacked it as soon as it’s craft crash landed. The pirates made the mistake of shooting it. That failed to kill it, and only made it angry. When they persistently kept shooting it, it subsequently became enraged." The Glerff shuddered, but seemed to regain control of its emotions quickly.
"The pirates are no more. The pirates that attempted to flee were pursued, and exterminated. The base the pirates held us in was likewise cleansed of the pirates by our rescuer. Our rescuer is very, very fast and very, very strong. Please do NOT shoot it. You would not survive should you do so. Also, it seems to be an omnivore. PLEASE! Do not anger it. I beg you!"
I responded with calm. "Please tell it that we will be there shortly and that we have no intentions of violence. We only wish to rescue the abductees."
"I can't." The Glerff replied quickly. "None of us speak its language and it does not know ours. We have no Data AI's to link to its technology to work out language algorithms. I think the aliens technology is also damaged. It keeps having to go to its’ ships control station to check for power readings.
Communicating with it has been a challenge, though oddly pleasant. It is quite patient and amenable, when it is not killing pirates in an excessively psychotic state. As terrified as I am of this creature, I cannot help but be curious about it. I am sure you will find it to be a pleasant, and respectful entity if you approach calmly, and with no hostility."
I thought for a moment. "Please try to keep it calm and we will try to make our approach as calmly, and respectfully as possible. We will endeavor at all costs, not provoke it."
"I should think not!" said the Glerff showing some alarm. “Since the extermination of the pirates I have personally observed it lifting enormous amounts of weight without strain. Seen it consume it’s rations which looked to be a combination of vegetable, AND meat with vigor. Much of which I am confirming was poisonous using an analyzer that once belonged to the pirates. The analyzer shows that some of its’ rations would be considered lethally poisonous to every species that I know of."
He held the analyzer screen to the drone for confirmation, as he continued speaking. "I am not an expert in the field of chemistry, so I would strongly suggest you scan whatever food he offers you before you eat it. Please note that refusing his "gift" of food does not insult him. Just hand it back to him if it is inedible, and then he will eat it himself."
The alien approached the drone that the Glerff was speaking to, and then picked up a silvery pouch from the makeshift table that the Moorkha was working over. It peeled the top off, and it ate the dark brown bar in 3 bites, then nodded to the drone, and went back to it’s repairs.
"What he just ate, by the way..." The Glerff said turning back to the drone. "...the analyzer states contains some alarming chemical chains. Theobromine, Phenylethylamine which look to be nearly lethal stimulants. Massive amounts of caffeine, Taurine, and Niacin as well. Oh dear, uh. By the nesting Gods! Leader Ak'kik, What it just ate could poison a small colony just on the amount of caffeine alone. But the amount of Capsaicin he just ate is even worse, FAR worse. PLEASE, please, refrain from angering it." he was still scanning the data in astonishment. "And, er, and this is most important, your weapons would be useless against it. It is incredibly fast, and can quite literally jump across this glade in a single bound. I think it came from a very high gravity planet. Maybe even a Deathworld. I vehemently recommend caution, and I strongly feel it necessary to reiterate, do NOT anger it, or incur its’ ire! Oh, and by the way, I did use the analyzer on it, it allowed me to do so, actually. the Analyzer data shows that there is probably nothing on this moon that it cannot eat, including us."
I replied, not through the drone this time as I was close enough in my approach that I no longer needed it. "Leader Ak'kik, at your service. Whom am I addressing?"
"Ah, apologies, I am professor Roonoomoo, and this is service master EEG'lix. That one there is Vorvert, and over there is D'rrr, and Higuv is just to the left of the table, and the two who are helping our rescuer are Woosk, and Rakk'n. It is a pleasure to meet you in return Leader Ak'kik."
"So you were saying some of the items on the table surface are actual foods that it eats? This is its’ food that it brought?" I said looking at the multitude of pouches and containers on the table.
“Oh yes. We made eating motions when we were trying to establish communications with it, to ask it for food, and he brought us this trove. He opened a package for us, and offered it, but, Woosk went into near panic when he saw that it was animal meat of some sort. After that he just spread everything out, and made a motion for us to inspect it for ourselves. All of us ate what the analyzer said was safe but that was not much of a variety. It turns out that there were only 2 packages all of us could eat. We saved the empty packages to show the alien what we ate once he is finished working. So that we do not risk angering it, you understand. Woosk and Rakk'n decided to offer what assistance they could after they ate, and have been doing so since then."
"May I be introduced to the alien now? I may have some tech that could help. If you will be so kind as to bring it here to us, as I would not want to trespass on its established area of operations, and be mistaken as hostile. We are obviously carrying weapons, and us approaching it...and its ship seems a questionable choice, at best."
"Very wise, Leader Ak'kik, I will see what I can do. I won't be but a moment. “Uh, er, you might want to hold on to that”, indicating the analyzer “and use it before you decide to touch anything on this table.", he said as he handed me the analyzer.
Professor Roonoomoo went to the alien ,and gently patted the joint in the middle of its lower appendage. The alien looked at professor Roonoomoo, who was pointing at us, and trying to explain us with hand signals and gestures, that we wished an introduction. When the alien looked at us we all, as a squad, showed it out empty hands as our weapons had been placed on the ground by our sides. it simply made a wave of one of its upper appendages, as if to say, “come here”. We approached with our empty hands plainly visible. As we approached it, it knelt. Not in surrender, or in supplication, but rather to level our mutual eye line. I realized that it was making an attempt to be polite.
I SLOWLY patted a stow pouch on my utility harness, and it nodded as though it seemed to understand, and motioned me to proceed. I held out the translator AI slate, "TAIS" and it took it, and then touched it to a device it wore on the wrist of its upper arm. (note that I am assuming proper body anatomy, based off of our own, although there are few similarities.) This alien was not only one of the largest I have seen, but also must be of a quite dense mass. As in its anatomy, and not its mental state, for it shook the ground around it with every step.
After a few moments there was a "chirping" sound from his device, and our coms alerted us to a new language file available. I allowed the exchange through my visor, and we were suddenly speaking to each other. I chose to make introductions first.
"I am Ak'kik. Leader of SH'azz squad. We have come to investigate and rescue these abductees. Do you require assistance?"
It held out it's hand as it spoke. "Bartholomew Wane Hatfield. Friends call me Bart." this aliens voice boomed at us.
"I was mining the asteroid belt in this system, when I caught a rogue asteroid right in the nads. Power plant was having a conniption fit after that so I figured I better set her down where I could patch her up. flying this old girl by wire is a bitch but, we got a thing so…"
This was the literal translation we initially received. As you can imagine, we were all quite confused.
"I beg your pardon unknown alien species, but the translation unit seems to be malfunctioning. We do not quite understand all of your words, we have no equivalent in our language for some, even though we seem to be communicating."
The sides of it’s facial orifice turned upward, revealing a multi-functional set fangs. Some pointed and some chisel shaped. Making it obvious it was an omnivore. Our visor AI stated that it “perceived” it was amused. It spoke into it’s wrist device, and it chirped in response. A second later our visor registered a "receive transmission" request. I allowed it, and this is what the visor AI showed us by way of "corrected translation".
"Bartholomew Wane Hatfield. Friends call me Bart.”
[REQUEST FOR FRIENDSHIP. THE USE OF "BART' ACKNOWLEDGES AND ACCEPTS FRIEND REQUEST]
“I was mining the asteroid belt in this system when I caught a rogue asteroid, right in the nads.”
[ASTEROID DAMAGED CRAFT IN CRITICAL LOCATION]
“Power plant was having a conniption fit after that so I figured I better set her down where I could patch her up.”
[POWER PLANT OPERATING WITH INTERMITTENT FAILURES. IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY REPAIR IS REQUIRED.]
“Flying this old girl by wire is a bitch but, we got a thing so..."
[LANDED SHIP WITHOUT COMPUTER ASSISTANCE OR ASSISTED CONTROLS. I AM EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO SHIP.]
I replied with, "AH, thank you for the subtext. Bart. I can see that your language has a vernacular art to it. I am culturally fascinated by such a language. Polite request. What is your power plant, and what is its power source? We may be able to assist with our spare component sets. Please feel free to not detail your technology to us, if it is security bound. We will not be insulted."
The alien again showed its fangs with a deep resonating, yet pleasant, vocal repetition. [LAUGHTEAMUSED]
"It's old tech stuff, by about 20 generations or so, but it's cheap, and reliable, common knowledge, and easy to repair. It’s a paired enriched uranium atom cracker.”
[DUAL/PAIRED NUCLEAR CORE POWER GENERATOR. EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS.}
"Chasing blinking lights mostly. When the asteroid hit, the core spiked, and caused a number of shorts and jumps."
[POWER SURGE CAUSED MULTIPLE SHORTS AND POSSIBLE INTERMITTENT ARC / SHORT IN SYSTEM.]
I nodded my understanding to the alien Bart. I then asked the engineer of my squad if he would be willing to assist. Corporal Zi'Kict accepted the challenge, though it looked as though anxiety, and fear
of "Bart" might overwhelm his current Stimcalm dose. "This is Corporal Zi'Kict. He is our designated engineer, and he has agreed to assist you. You can decline with no insult incurred."
He flashes us his fangs again. [HAPPY] His species, whatever it was, seemed to be fond of showing their teeth often.
"Hell, I never turn down a helpin' hand. Grab whatever it is y'all use, and let's get to chasin’ sparks."
[ASSISTANCE IS WELCOME]
"Uh, Bart. I must ask, what are your intentions with those that we were designated to rescue? If there is good will between us I would like to ensure that we, my crew and I, be given liberty return them to their families, and respective worlds. Will this be acceptable to you?"
"You go on right ahead, bless yer’ heart."
[ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL WITH WELL WISHES TO YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE.]
“I'll miss these 'uns. Their nice and friendly."
[FONDNESS]
"Not like those other jackhole fecktards."
[REFERING TO PIRATES. INSULT INTENDED TOWARD PIRATES AND PIRACY.
{insult "jackhole" refers to anal orifice. "Fecktards" derogatory reference to mentally damaged or deranged individuals with severely limited mental capacity that act inappropriately.}]
"I understand and concur with your insult of the pirates, and thank you for your understanding, your patience, and your friendship. With your permission I would like to redirect my ship to your encampment so our medtech device can confirm their current health. If it is not offensive, I would like to offer our medtech device to scan you as well, and determine if it is capable of repairing your injuries also. Refusal will not be considered an insult. My squad engineer will will assist you as needed, and our spare components are at your disposal. Friend Bart."
"Well bless yer heart, that would be dandy with me. Much obliged!"
[ACCEPTANCE OF PROPOSAL WITH WELL WISHES TO YOUR CONTINUED EXISTENCE. IMMENSE THANKS]
I bowed to the alien I now called friend Bart, and went to co-ordinate the rescue operation, and sent the AI to bring the ship to my location. Since my priority was the health and safety of the of the abductees I spent the majority of my remaining time with them.
The alien required only a single spool of CronWire, and a span of shielded conduit, a simple enough repair. The abductees were tended to medically, fed, and shown to their racks. We allowed the abductees to contact their loved ones through our secured communications net. The alien allowed our medtech device to repair its burns, but it was unable to regrow the lost hair on its face. Friend Bart removed the rest of the hair around its mandible orifice with a small device, saying that he had to keep the balance. The squad medic timidly requested a full scan of Friend Bart, and Friend Bart was amenable to this.
We left Friend Bart, and watched him take off from orbit a few hours later. My squad medic started pouring over the MedTech device scans of Friend Bart, and quickly went into a fit of panic, and it took a questionable dose of Stimcalm to calm him down. I admit that I glanced at the data, but I am not trained as a medic so I understood nothing. The squad engineer simply handed me a collated list of intel he gathered while working with Friend Bart. They had a lengthy converse, and the engineer had actually formed a bond with Friend Bart. The list is as follows.
Name: Bartholomew Wane Hatfield
Species: Human
Origin: city of Austin in the state of Texas in the country of the United States of the planet Terra of the Sol star system
(system is far past the outer edge of our empire on the frontier side, opposite of coreward.)
Gravity: home normal +4 (4 times greater than our own gravity!)
Planet notes: frequent earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, tornadoes.
Planet has multiple biosphere, and terrain hazards that are lethal.
Plague level viruses, and bacteria, Multiple predators in every biosphere.
(See files freely given by Friend Bart) [FILESTORE- FriendBart01a]
NOTE: great white shark, alligator, saltwater crocodiles, king cobra, wolf, pit bulls, and other canines, polar bears, poison dart frog, hippopotamus, killer whale, rhinoceros, box jellyfish, cone snail, hyena, stone fish, black mamba, grizzly bears, puffer fish, komodo dragon, death stalker scorpion, lions, leopards, brown recluse spider, black widow spider, Brazillian wandering spider, electric eel, etc.
Please note that this list is merely a VERY small fraction of the actual list. My understanding is that the home planet of Friend Bart is at least a level 10-12 Deathworld. He also states that many of the species on this list are kept as pets by his fellow humans.
The squad engineer states he will send in a request for allowance of continued discourse with Friend Bart, but understands if this request is denied. After careful deliberation with the squad medic, we strongly recommend that the details of this mission be put to the SEC level at Black 8 tier 12 restricted, or higher, if there is a level higher than Black 8 tier 12 restricted.
Captain Ak'kik. Leader of SH'azz squad
[END OF REPORT]
mektreks*Aprox. One Terran kilometer equivalent.
NOK* Measurement of warp travel. 1NOK = speed of light

CMM.World & CMMTheology.org
The Great Harvest is here. Christ's Mandate for Missions and CMMTheology build strong, organic relationships globally as we worship, grow and equip together. Like Joshua and Caleb and the Apostle Paul, we see with faith what He sees in each person (to help each reach fullness), group (many streams and backgrounds in unity) and nations (sheep vs. goat nations). Our passion is to love, connect, equip and send with the simplicity, fullness, and power of the Gospel.
The Uncompromising Blissful Extravagance of His Presence! Inbox
By CMM.World CMMTheology.org - November 10, 2022
Dear Mighty One,
I see the Lord's eye upon us we discover by revelation the 'new thing' He is doing in our lives and of those of us who, beyond the present darkness, gaze into His eyes. The 'tuning fork' of Yahweh is orchestrating the sons and daughters of our living God in growing holy remnant unity to withstand as we stand with Him fearlessly in the boldness of the faith of God in this hour. Egypt is behind us, and the covenantal promises and prophetic words we have received (1 Tim. 1:18) empower us by His Holy Spirit to advance in warfare, humbly growing in the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Yesterday as I encouraged some friends, I said, 'stay in the blissful extravagance of His presence.' Today I saw in Psalm 34 His eyes are upon us in vs. 8 & 9 and v:15 about the 'uncompromisingly righteous.' We are to be holy as He is holy. That leaves no room for any more compromise or seeking to please man or the traditions of men, being free of the fear of man, the religious spirit, and any demonic activity. We are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Lord, help us understand by revelation to walk in all the authority we have been given by Jesus Christ.
Psalm 34:8-9 'O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him. O fear the Lord, you His saints [revere and worship Him]! For there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear.'
v. 15 'The eyes of the Lord are toward the [uncompromisingly] righteous and His ears are open to their cry.'
Chuck Pierce shared this amazing word from Penny Jackson that is right on for this season: https://christsmandate.blogspot.com/2022/11/chuck-pierce-shares-powerful-word-from.html
May YOUR November be full of Thanksgiving and Praise for you and yours as YOU enjoy The Uncompromising Blissful Extravagance of His Presence!
Thank you for praying for CMM and all your fellow CMM Global Family worldwide. Pray for all the missionaries, schools, and students in CMM College of Theology in the US, Ecuador, Canada, Cuba, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Thailand.
Pray for the new wells and the living water and safe water recently drilled or soon to be drilled in Tanzania, India, Malawi, and Pakistan.
Pray for our upcoming Christmas gift campaigns to bless children and youth in many nations. Many of them are precious, beautiful children (orphans). As the Lord leads, pray about giving any amount to bless dear CMM children this Christmas. https://cmmworld.kindful.com/
Pray for each other, dear friends. We all know we each need prayers going up to Heaven for all those on the front lines. We each are on the front lines!
Please pray for me as I speak tomorrow online to a crusade with 8,000 expected to attend in Pakistan. In December, I will speak at conferences in Liberia and Kenya with fellow CMM Ordained ministers Robert Bimba (Liberia), Tom Omukhobero, and Daniel and Christine Oyoko (Kenya).
We are working on plans and trips for 2023. If you would like to have some of our awesome CMM family speakers for a conference in your area or would like to join or lead a missions trip, we would love to hook you up with dear friends in many nations.
Please join me in welcoming Dr. Louis Blom of Judea Harvest as Associate Director of Missions at CMM. This strategic alliance multiplies the efforts and impact in building the Kingdom of our God, for His glory. https://youtu.be/HXfP8tCySRc

Many blessings and shalom from us all here at the home office and around the world.
Popular posts from this blog
Honoring and Celebrating the Class of 2022's 196 Graduates of CMM College of Theology Global Schools
By CMM.World CMMTheology.org - June 15, 2022

We are rejoicing! We just celebrated two of our six schools' graduations on June 4th in the US and June 11th in Ecuador and we thank the Lord for all He has done in their lives and will do in this new era. We honor the faith in action of each of the seventy-eight students (in the USA and Ecuador schools this year)of all ages and from different streams and backgrounds. We thank the Lord for the hunger, perseverance and faith to finish strong. Each one encountered the Lord in fresh new ways as their hunger and perseverance in faith reaped eternal change as evidenced in their dissertations and heavenly encounters. In the last few months we have graduated 196 students from our global schools. All glory to the Lord as we enter our 16th year of offering affordable, life changing accredited degrees around the world. Each year our school is led by the Holy Spirit to go higher and deeper in excellence in academic standards and spirit-led equipping in a truly experiential, interactive, a
READ MORE
Prophetic Encouragement for 2022 by Jorge Parrott
By CMM.World CMMTheology.org - January 02, 2022

Prophetic Encouragement for 2022 By Jorge Parrott (all scriptures NKJV) (Graphic art by Nancy G. Daniel) Despite the impending wars, division, chaos, calamity, and deceptive controls we hear the voice of our Lord at times speaking, or roaring, or whispering, and breathing on the sons of God. Are we listening yet? Heaven’s roar is clear to those with an ear to hear what the Spirit of the Living God is saying. This year holds untold opportunities, many answered prayers, and the cries of many hearts if we arise to walk obediently in His fullness, not growing weary in well-doing, nor fainting in the heat of this fiery battle. Deut. 6:4 ‘ The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ Jesus was asked many questions. What should you ask
READ MORE
Highlights Of Our Amazing Trip To The Holy Land With Chris Reed And Bart Peacher
By CMM.World CMMTheology.org - July 19, 2022

Highlights Of Our Amazing Trip To The Holy Land With Chris Reed And Bart Peacher Prov. 16:9 ' A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.' We are continually blessed and in awe of how the Lord breathes and moves in our lives. As we press into the high calling of Jesus Christ and we grow in intimacy and trust by faith, His love, grace, and mercy unfold in surprising ways. I had not been to Israel since 2017. So much has changed in the world since then as we see the tremendous acceleration of the times and seasons. Chaos, control, and corruption are increasing at an alarming rate. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ and His righteousness. Divine Encounters Abound As We Are Led By Holy Spirit And Make Ourselves Available Many churches are led by their pursuit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of the knowledge of the Tree of Life. As we surrender fully to the Holy Spirit, we learn to walk in deep humility and attenti
READ MORE
Powered by Blogger
Theme images by merrymoonmary
Copyright 2021 CMM
CMM Vision and Mission
CMM WORLD
CMM.WORLD CMMTHEOLOGY.ORG
NANCYG
Subscribe by Netvibes below
  Posts
  Comments
Translate
Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianAmharicArabicArmenianAssameseAymaraAzerbaijaniBambaraBasqueBelarusianBengaliBhojpuriBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CorsicanCroatianCzechDanishDhivehiDogriDutchEsperantoEstonianEweFilipinoFinnishFrenchFrisianGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGuaraniGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHawaiianHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIlocanoIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKinyarwandaKonkaniKoreanKrioKurdish (Kurmanji)Kurdish (Sorani)KyrgyzLaoLatinLatvianLingalaLithuanianLugandaLuxembourgishMacedonianMaithiliMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMeiteilon (Manipuri)MizoMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianOdia (Oriya)OromoPashtoPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiQuechuaRomanianRussianSamoanSanskritScots GaelicSepediSerbianSesothoShonaSindhiSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTatarTeluguThaiTigrinyaTsongaTurkishTurkmenTwiUkrainianUrduUyghurUzbekVietnameseWelshXhosaYiddishYorubaZulu
Powered by Translate
Archive
Labels
Report Abuse
Strategic Links
A-Donate for CMM Urgent Needs
CMM College of Theology
CMM Facultad de Teologia
CMM Global Website
CMM MissionsCast (podcast)
Strategic Connecting Toward Freshness and Fullness in God
CMM is strategically positioned with proven, trusted, indigenous friends in many nations activating, equipping, connecting and releasing the saints to reach their people and nation with the love of Father God.
CMM is cross-denominational. We are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus and the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross assures us of victory, through trials, as we are trained to rule and reign with the Father's heart and love of justice and mercy and walk humbly before Him.
CMM is a 501c3 founded in 1978. We also handle donor relations for approximately 500 missionaries globally, ordained ministers, as we enjoy the Lord in fellowship, offering Christian accredited degrees globally, church planting, healing, counseling, orphanages, and prayer centers, creative arts, prophetic, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, medical, stopping human trafficking, leadership training and creative incubators for entrepreneurs, disaster relief, and connecting destinies.
Call 704-225-3927 or email office@cmm.world to learn more or to have one of our many CMM amointed, itinerant ministers speak at your church or group, in person or online.

https://imgur.com/a/mx8Nekn
Sitting in an old, musty laboratory in one of the more senile members of the Council's tower is a curious contraption that few outside of the wizarding spheres are aware of the purpose of. With a set of lenses, a roll of little pictures strung together, and a lightning-powered mechanism that rotates the roll and projects light through it to produce moving projections, it's a strange machine indeed. It's been examined, taken apart and put back together again, but the artificers have come to the conclusion that illusions of far greater quality can be made with simple magic, and so it's never gone past this single prototype, the origins of which not even its owner knows.
Now is a little different. Someone has found another roll that looks like it could connect to it in a canister that was found in a small crater after a shooting star was seen in the sky the night before. With only a little bit of whining from its owner, the projector is brought out before the Council for a brief looking-over of its contents. The roll is inserted and an apprentice mage provides a small, steady current for the mechanism. Slowly, it whirs to life and begins to shine a picture onto the wall. A small eagle icon is displayed first, followed by the words "United Anglosphere Federal Bureau of Abnormality, copyright MCMLXII."
A man in a strangely-trimmed black robe appears in the center of the screen. Upon further inspection, it seems that he's wearing a somewhat-bastardized form of the "business robes" Third Clockwork diplomats are known to possess. He emerges from a brightly-lit concrete corridor flanked by two men with bulky black rifles and begins to speak.
Hello, new agents, and welcome to track twenty-two of your advanced post-induction course. If you're seeing this, you should be assigned to Timeline Cluster 612 or thereabouts, and this lesson will discuss a prominent factor in our actions in the region.
A diagram of a robed witch, her body obscured save for the face by a hooded cloak, is shown. She looks relatively normal, if, indeed, normality exists in this world, but then she's shown without the cloak on. Underneath, her body is spindly and thin, with long, segmented metal rods replacing limbs and a thrumming engine in place of most of her torso. It's unclear whether she's human at all. The picture returns to the man.
This is an artificer of the Third Clockwork. What is the Third Clockwork, why is it the third, and what happened to the other two?
The man and his guards begin walking back, the camera following them into a small, round room. In its center is a model of a planet, its surface completely covered by brass and steel. Shimmering points of light hover over its surface, accentuating the uncountable lights burning bright below.
This is a model of what we believe the homeworld of the First Clockwork looked like. Judging by historical records, we can determine that Clockwork One was a post-magitechnological-singularity single-planet civilization which housed several billion trans- and posthuman citizens for an estimated 650 years until... well, this.
Appearing over the model, a small cloud of what seems to be glowing dust particles descends on the planet. The camera zooms in to reveal these particles to actually be tiny winged individuals which fan out to fly over the world in lines. Wherever they go, the lights are replaced with microscopic, roiling flames, and eventually the whole planet falls dark.
We believe that a contingent of Demiurgic Elohim discovered the planet and took offense to its lack of faith towards the false god, destroying its infrastructure and killing an estimated 90 percent of its population. Now, this would be devastating enough to send most societies back to the Stone Age, but they survived, establishing the Second Clockwork and making use of the pre-collapse artifacts they still had to sustain a relatively-high quality of life on their planet.
The man waves his hand and the flaming wreck covering the planet slowly smolders out. The utterly destroyed sectors are disassembled and cannibalized for resources, revealing a vast white desert beneath, and the more intact ones are rebuilt and reactivated. Eventually, in just a few portions of the once-great civilization, light begins to shine once more.
Unfortunately for the Second Clockwork, this, too, was not meant to be.
One by one, spacecraft, which in reality should be miles long, appear in the planet's orbit until all city centers have at least one overhead. Then, all at once, they drop singular glowing projectiles into the atmosphere and into their targets below. In an instant, the rebuilt civilization disappears in a flurry of mushroom clouds.
They once again attracted the attention of a greater power, the Thespian Corporation in this case. The Corporation will be covered fully in the next lesson, but they were infamous for their complete disregard for sapient life on timelines they conquered, and so they, with a single kinetic impactor volley, killed three quarters of the Second Clockwork.
In the craters that remain, new lights spring up, but these are colder and bluer, and the structures visible from orbit are not the warm yellow of brass, but a sterile white.
The Corporation, as was protocol, dropped its settlements from orbit and began a ground war in the midst of the chaos. Anyone they captured was disassembled to study the magitech that composed them. Had this continued, the Corporation would have, in all probability, driven the Clockwork extinct...
The man snaps his fingers. Instantly, all Corporation settlements blink out. A few are even taken apart or burned.
But the Corporation's violent collapse in the midst of widespread social pressures from within would put its invasion on hold indefinitely. However, the damage had been done, and almost all knowledge of magitech had been lost. The Third Clockwork, established shortly after this disastrous war, has access to vast stores of this ancient technology, yet little knowledge of how it works.
It is unknown how they have expanded into other timelines, but we believe they may have stumbled upon a dimensional-transit artifact by accident. They have quickly become endemic to several timelines in their immediate vicinity, and can be unpredictable to unprepared agents, wielding artifacts that they do not understand and we cannot reverse-engineer. However, their erratic nature should not be underestimated, as they are the hardest ten percent of a civilization built by the hardest ten percent of a previous civilization, and they--
Abruptly, the projection ends. Upon further investigation, the rest of the film has been physically cut off, and now that the Council looks at it, the canister that it came from looks tampered with.

I know some MTF parents proudly claim the "dad" label with their kids. But, I know others use combinations of mom/mommy, mom/mom2, mom/momma, just names etc. For the folks that are not using "dad" as a label, how do you introduce yourself to the parents of other kids? Specifically with text introductions.
Trying to coordinate with an outing with the parents of my child's friend from school. I have their number from my child and need to text them to coordinate logistics. I am fully out with a legal name change etc and to my child's friend, but I have never communicated with the parents before. I have been divorced from my kid's other parent for a while. Any experiences/advice are appreciated.
Edit for grammar: ...communicated with the parents*

Let's begin. Here are a few of mine...
1. Aim to do the right thing.
Aim to do the right thing – the action which you inherently know is the right thing to do. The right thing may or may not necessarily correspond to the current law or to what is currently culturally acceptable, but you should act and behave in order to do good. Good for yourself but more so good for society and others. By doing the right thing you erase yourself of the difficulty of deliberating on issues. You follow what you know in your heart is the thing to do. You also are making decisions that are in sync with your beliefs and our intrinsic sense of purpose. It makes decision-making easier and it makes you feel better.
It may not always be the easiest or simplest choice and it may often require you more work or more sacrifice but it should be the correct decision. Hopefully your sense of right and wrong also aligns to that of your community, or society’s, or the planet’s – or vice versa – but in any case do what is good.
Where does this sense of right and wrong come from? Most likely from a combination of our societal upbringing and our ancestral DNA that has allowed us to survive and evolve as social creatures. We have survived in large part because of our ability to align with others and form groups, communities, societies. We have thrived because of our ability to share and cooperate, collaborate and innovate together. We are social inherently and it's very likely that this trait is now hard-wired into our sense of right and wrong. It is who we are and how we have survived. Sharing, caring, protecting, and nurturing.
Do the right thing.

2. Everything is on a continuum.
Nothing is 100%. Nothing is completely right/wrong, good/evil, black/white, male/female. Everything lies on a continuum with degrees of difference. Differences are determined or organized by descriptors or labels, and often these labels are purely in the eye of the beholder. The majority of labels are subjective judgement calls. Labels make descriptions easier but they are a blunt instrument that categorizes people and assumes a narrative. One size fits no one.

Luckily, we are constantly and consistently expanding our labels and expanding our shades of gray. What was considered a binary choice of labels a few decades ago now likely has a multitude of options. And in another few decades it will likely be more expansive. Or perhaps in a few decades the need or desire for labels may even be obsolete. Our complexity is what helps makes us human and this complexity should be valued and heralded.
Be wary of binary choices or labels – everything is on a continuum.

3. Don’t assume that there is always meaning.
We have become who we are as humans because we have a predisposition to put meanings on things – even when there no meanings. Making meaning has helped us enormously in understanding who we are and how we can survive easier. It has allowed us to understand our world and to adapt to it and have it adapt to us. This trait has allowed us as a species to prosper and benefit. Yet our predisposition to look for reason makes us search for meanings even when they may not exist.
We often find, or rather make, meaning often out of things which are happenstance. Anything we couldn’t explain was explained by a greater power (thunder, earthquakes, drought) and we still resort to the phrase Act of God to explain unexpected or unexplained events. Maybe there is no meaning, and we seek it because of how we’ve evolved. Maybe it’s our need for meaning that is driving us to see it where it may not exist. Religion works on one level as it answers this need for meaning – meaning for the world we know and meaning for the world we don’t fully understand. Many religions have evolved and have been evolving to suit our newer scientific or cultural understandings of the world, crafting their writings to match the times. In doing so they continue to provide many people support, understanding, and meaning for the volatility of a complex world. But just because something can be awarded meaning doesn’t necessarily mean that it is correct or correctly attributed. It also doesn’t mean that it doesn’t.
Before we try and answer ‘why’ and seek meaning, we should ask ourselves if the question itself is even a grand assumption? For some, many, maybe most things, there may not be a reason – just chance or happenstance. Making or attributing meaning well be providing us with an incorrect answer.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be asking – it does mean we shouldn’t be automatically assuming.

4. Aim to be content. Appreciate your emotions.
Aim to be content and don’t be afraid of emotions. Most importantly don’t be afraid of sadness, or even loneliness, as they are part of who you, and we, are. They make up the spectrum. Modern society treats sadness like it does dirt – clean it up and wipe it away. But just as our bodies, as an organism, adjusts and, to a certain point, needs dirt, bacteria, uncleanliness – our wholeness needs all emotions. We need the basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise) and the learned (love, guilt, shame). Understand your emotions and understand for the most part they are temporary. This has never been truer than this year. It has forced contemplation, solitude, reflection onto all of us. It has placed us inside our own fishbowl to consider or reconsider our own emotions. Many have suffered greatly and all of us have been affected and for those who are able this has provided us the time, space and opportunity to delve inside ourselves and understand more of who we are. Emotions make us who we are and the better we allow them, understand them, or at least appreciate them, the better we know ourselves.
Appreciate that emotions are who you are.

5. Yet understand that pleasure is (mostly) subjective.
Pleasure and happiness are mostly subjective, not objective. What that means is that we - for the most part - decide how we react to anything and everything. It is at a base level our decision – not any outside force or action - on whether we are happy, content, and find pleasure in things. Now it is also given that events or outside actions will affect our reactions, moods, and some events will make it harder or easier to find happiness. However, we still have decisions to make and we still have control over the majority of our responses.
We have control over how we react. This should provide us some degree of empowerment. While we don’t want to be constantly chasing happiness, we also should not see ourselves as merely recipients of events. We are in control. In control to both understand our emotions and also in control to determine how we react and influence our emotions.
We control them, they shouldn’t control us.
.....
OK there we have it. Five ideas from a ton of years. Random thoughts or thinkings that make me a little of who I am. Stay tuned for sixty and either a new set of six or just another thought. And in the meantime what are yours?

hi all, i have always struggled with outbursts in general/with my family but it has gotten out of hand. (i’m young enough to be in the home, i live with my three brothers and both parents) i am often misunderstood which leads us to arguing and i have been labeled as angry, entitled, ungrateful. this hurts to me as a pisces mercury/mars and i’m starting to think i am a part of the problem. (not fully, it’s a lot to explain..) we all got into an argument a few minutes ago and i ended up yelling at one of my brothers which i usually don’t do because he is my best friend and usually my voice of reason. we hardly argue and i feel like i went way too far. the guilt is sinking in and i’ve been crying… i don’t wanna be as angry of a ram, any help would be appreciated :(

Chapter One
.
.
Prev
-Sometime the following morning-
Taritha awoke to the unsettling sound of silence. She stared up at the heavy beams and planks of her new ceiling, feeling a wave of vertigo as she tried to recall where she was. For the first time in her life, she had woken up in an unfamiliar place. As she shifted, the magical mattress adjusted beneath her, and the memories flooded back. She was in the mage’s extraordinary factory-fortress-palace. She lived here now. A smile spread across her lips at the thought. Understanding the bed’s quirks now, it no longer bothered her. She got up confidently to start her day, instinctively ducking her head as she had in her old hovel. Straightening up, she noted that even if she jumped, her fingertips wouldn’t reach the beams above.
Taking in her sparse surroundings, her problems presented themselves. She couldn’t wash without warm water. She had no fire to heat the water. She also didn’t have any water.
There’s warm water in the dining hall, down on the first floor on the opposite corner of the huge building.
She sighed with resignation. So far away.
The young herbalist put on her official White Flame industries skirt and blouse, shaking out the wrinkles. As she slipped it on, a thought crept into her mind. It seemed like she’d overlooked the whole reason for the factory.
What if she didn’t have to go herself? Do the imps have a maximum range?
She invoked her imps, directed them to don their dresses and hats, then commanded, “Lady Bluebird, go to the kitchen and fetch me a large mug of hot water!” Her voice trembled a bit, unsure if she was doing it right, or inviting fresh disaster.
“Merp!” the tiny imp in a blue dress confirmed. It tugged the heavy bedroom door, to no avail.
Taritha pulled it open a crack, and the hellspawn squeezed out to bound down the hallway and out of sight.
While she waited for it to return, she emptied out her family’s ancient iron cook pot to use as a wash basin. It was mostly clean, even if it smelled of a thousand meals and was a bit sooty. She scarcely had it empty when her imp returned, a gorgeous iridescent mug of water held high over its sun-hatted head, trailing steam behind it. The little monster placed it on the floor in front of her, and stood with its ‘sisters’ in a row.
Truly a magical place, the water runs!
She dabbed one of her old raggy washcloths into the hot water to wash her face, neck and arms. Seeing the used water in the wash basin, another problem occurred to her. She couldn’t just fling it into the woods, not without a long walk. But this problem was just the mirror image of her first problem.
“Lady Crossbill and Miss Goldfinch, dump this water down the latrines, and then clean the pot, and return it to the room.” The red and yellow dressed imps merped in unison, and sprinted away with the wide iron pot, not spilling anything despite their speed. “Come Lady Bluebird, it’s time for breakfast!”
She walked the halls with a new perspective. It might be just that she was better rested, it might be that her first two real imp tasks worked perfectly but she could feel her misgivings fade already. It was exactly like she imagined nobles lived. One just says one’s wants out loud, and it becomes someone else’s problem. She used to think it was unfair, but now that she saw the other side of it, there was definitely some merit to the system. Besides, based on what Mage Thippily said, it wasn’t like the imps were even aware that they were serving, so it was no hardship to them.
She could smell breakfast as she came down the stairs. More accurately, a lord’s breakfast. Instead of porridge, she could smell bacon and eggs and fresh buns. As she came around the corner she stopped in involuntary panic, seeing that the counter crawled with tiny imps, darting about and wielding knives and spatulas as big as they were.
Of course, who else would make the meals here?
Some imps stood on the cooktop, entirely unaffected by the sizzling eggs on either side of their hooves, while others sliced fruit and veggies with phenomenal precision.
"Morning, Taritha! Hungry? How about a bit of everything?” Klive grinned. He wore an apron while ordering imps about the kitchen. He held a wooden spoon like a marshal's baton. There were far more imps than his three, but he commanded them all.
“Uh, sure?” She was badly overwhelmed, but hungry.
There were a few of the guards at a table, but none of the directors were to be seen. She overcame her shyness to sit with them, beside Jourgun.
“Good mornin’ Miss, how was your sleep?” he asked cheerfully.
“Took me a few tries to figure out the magic bed, but once I got that sorted, I don’t think there is even a comparison! I slept so well, and I feel great today!”
“Good! I’m glad you got it, Theros slept on the floor last night! Superstitious ninny!”
Theros rolled his eyes and raised his hands in frustration. “Dammit, you don’t have to tell everyone about that! Also I’m not superstitious, it’s just that the thing moved! I had no way of knowing it was safe! There’s demons here you know!” He hissed the last bit, as if he was worried that the demons were listening.
“Hah! Sure, not everyone has the courage of a peasant girl!” Jourgun asserted as he ate a thick slice of bacon. “No offence, miss.”
“I bet I face more scary things in a week than you lot do in a month! You should aspire to be as brave as a peasant girl!” she retorted with a smile. She wasn’t actually offended but it was important not to let things slide. She leaned over to whisper to her imp what kind of tea she’d like, and smiled even wider as it darted into the chaotic kitchen.
“Aye, my blood would run cold if I had to deal with sick wee ones, and dying old ones! I see you’re already getting the hang of these imps! I think Lord Thippily was too modest, they are way better than he let on,” the burly guard said.
“Mage Thipilly,” Taritha corrected.
“Might be Mage-Lord now, he owns productive lands now don’t he?” Rikad asked between bites of eggs covered with creamy dill sauce.
“Might be Archmage-Lord, I bet he’s better at magic than any of ‘em back at the mainland!” Theros speculated.
“Those terms have definitions he doesn’t meet, and that’s a poor way to speak of your betters.” Somehow Aethlina was standing behind them. Her tone was icy, which wasn't unusual for her. “I have business at the sawmill, two of you will accompany me.”
“At once, mi’lady.” Jourgun said, bowing deeply while wiping his face on his napkin. He smacked Theros on the shoulder as he rose, ”Just a moment for us to get our armour on!” The two men jogged out of the dining hall to the armoury.
The elv perched beside Taritha, her feet on the seat with her hands behind her back. It looked natural enough when she did it, but Taritha couldn't even imagine sitting in that posture.. The mysterious elv was wearing a stately flowing robe with the hood down, her plumage and narrow neck marking her inhuman heritage. The lighting was good enough for Taritha to see she was entirely covered in a nearly invisible fine downy fur. The conversation was entirely stopped, as all the humans became intensely interested in their plates, avoiding eye contact. The silence stretched and grew.
“So what are the requirements of those titles, Aethlina?” Taritha finally asked. In a society where forms of address and titles were the entire basis of one’s identity it was an important question. Calling Aethlina by name was a daring move to assert equality. Taritha blushed immediately, wondering if demons were already corrupting her manners.
Aethlina regarded her for long moments. “A Lord is nobility, a privilege granted by one’s liege. In this case, the Duke of Wavegate, which hasn’t been granted. The archmage title is awarded by the College of Magic upon completing ritualised tests, which he hasn’t done.” She kept her intense gaze on Taritha. “In the future, address me as Director of Operations, or Director Aethlina.”
“Yes, Director Aethlina. Thank you,” Taritha said with a gulp. The silence hung heavy, but the young herbalist was grateful for two imps when they delivered a plate heaped with breakfast. The imps exuded an air of comical authority. They both wore finely tailored miniature coats, complete with brass buttons and tiny cravats. Miniature satchels hung over their shoulders, and wide-brimmed hats, slightly askew, completed their meticulous ensembles, making them look like a caricature of a pair of merchants ready to strike a bargain.
The breakfast tasted even better than it smelled, and was her sole focus, anything to distract herself from the elv sitting beside her. Thankfully her relief came soon, as Aethlina rose.
“Strive to have a productive day,” Aethlina said, her voice cool and distant. She glided out the door to the central yard, her preternatural hearing picking up the faint sounds of Jourgun and Theros jogging back from the armoury. Clad in full mail and armed, they rushed across the dining hall to catch up to the Director.
“Addressing her by name?! I DO aspire to your courage! Maybe not your recklessness!” Rikad whispered once the heavy oak door to the yard shut behind the armoured men.
“What was I thinking? Light purify me! At least I lived to tell the tale!” She sighed with a bit of a tremble. She finished the rest of her meal and started to clear her dishes.
“Leave 'em, that's not people-work any more!” Klive called from the kitchen. She stopped, leaving a mess felt wrong, but she understood the reasoning. With a hurried thanks and a wave she darted out to the factory floor, where she hoped to find Mage Thippily. She’d assumed her normal lessons were on hold while he ramped up the factory, but knew she ought to double check.
The mage was exactly where she expected to find him, in the centre of his great production floor, surrounded by countless imps. It took her a second to remember that he was in no way limited to three like the rest of them were. It looked like an entire society of imps were darting around him. She stood in awed silence, just watching the spectacle of production. Raw materials eroded before her eyes as they took one plank, one bolt of cloth or cask of linseed oil at a time, as quick as a hen might peck for seeds. The imps themselves were perfectly silent, other than the odd ‘Merp’ as new commands were issued, but their tools made a jarring racket. There was sawing, planing, hammering, and other actions she couldn’t even describe.
“Oh, good morning, Miss Witflores! I’ll be with you in just a moment!” he said distractedly, before giving yet another series of commands to the imps.
“That’s fine, I just wanted to confirm that–” she started.
“I think they’ve got it now. Let’s watch them complete their orders, and we can start today’s lessons,” the demonologist said, taking off his wireframe glasses to clean the lenses on his shirtsleeve. Taritha noticed sawdust in his hair and beard.
The tiny imps began taking raw materials less frequently, while finished goods piled up at the far end of the line. The demonologist was fully focused on their work, so she remained silent, observing him. His lips twitched as if he was about to give new orders, but then relaxed. This happened almost constantly, his eyes darting from one end of the chaos to the other, as alert as a cat watching a squirrel.
Once the last dresser was built and stacked with the other furniture, they doubled back. The tiny, and to her eye naked, imps cleaned the entire area, replacing their tools and sitting cross-legged in a neat grid, covering a fair portion of the work area.
“Perfect! Just as I’d hoped!” The mage turned to leave the factory floor, and gestured for her to follow. “We’ll do your lessons in my chambers today. I’ll inspect their work later.”
“Oh, alright. We don’t–” She hustled to catch up with him.
“Actually today’s lesson will be a short one, I’ve some field work I’d like you to perform!” Demonologist Thippily was more energetic than she’d ever seen him. Gone was the normal weight of introspection and worry, in its place was a tornado of activity. If it wasn’t in bad taste, given his profession, she’d have even called him a man possessed.
“So as you are doubtlessly aware from our earlier discussions on mana field density coefficients, there is usually a slight natural variation?” he said as they ascended the steps to the third floor.
“I, uh, probably?” she said. The words were familiar, but didn’t connect to any concept in her mind.
“Anyways, there is a field of mana everywhere, like oxygen in air. And sometimes that mana is slightly more concentrated, and slightly less, again not that dissimilar to oxygen.” he continued as they walked quickly down the third floor hallway to his chambers.
“Yes! We breathe that!” she agreed confidently.
“I noticed that my imps were moving a bit slower today, which suggests they might be over-consuming local energies. Though powered by hellplane energy, the conduits rely on normal ambient mana.” He pushed his door open, revealing his chambers, more than twice the size of Taritha's.
The room was divided into distinct areas: a sleeping area, a library with a massive desk, and a cosy section with comfortable chairs for entertaining. These spaces were thoughtfully partitioned by plants, bookshelves, and painted room dividers. The room was well-lit by a series of narrow windows on the external wall, allowing beams of bright morning light to stream in. It looked centuries old but smelled of fresh sawdust and linseed oil.
“This is so nice! It’s huge!” she exclaimed, taking a seat in an ornate armchair. She ran a finger over the perfect woodwork, wondering if it had been crafted that morning or the night before. “And I felt guilty about how unreasonably big my room was!”
“Thank you! Don’t ever feel bad about that. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I made this—a manometer to measure ambient mana.” He held up a short piece of wood with glowing lights on it. “The levels are noticeably lower on the factory floor than here. I’d like you to take some readings around town, and perhaps into the woods. The more data points, the better. Feel free to assign a guardsman to watch your back if you like.” He rummaged through his desk drawers, searching for something. Taritha’s ears perked up. This sounded a lot like having authority over the young men she worked with. She’d assumed she was organizationally far junior to them but had never asked for clarification.
“Here!” He handed her a small blank notebook, a graphite stylus, and the rough-cut piece of wood. Her gaze was drawn to the glowing parts that resembled gems. Its crude appearance stood in stark contrast to everything else she’d come to expect from him. The center-most gem was labelled with an ‘N,’ a plus sign above, and a minus sign below. The rest were unlabeled, as was the back.
“It’s just a prototype, but I’d like you to note your location and the readings. For instance, if you’re at the docks and these all light up, write ‘docks N+6’. If two gems below light up, you’d note ‘N-2’. Got it?”
“Seems simple enough.”
“I haven’t calibrated it properly, so any results are valuable, even if they seem useless,” the mage explained distractedly.
“Will do!” she said resolutely. “What are the little magic gems made of?” They were quite shiny and a soothing green.
“Just ordinary emeralds; the enchantment is all in the plank.” The world spun for a moment as she grasped the staggering value of a dozen cut emeralds of that size. She had no context, but she was sure lords had smaller stones in their swords or sceptres. She would definitely be getting an armed escort for this errand.
“Um, I’ll report back when I’m done,” she said bravely.
“Excellent! Carry on!” He grabbed a handful of books and papers and sat himself at his desk.
Taritha went a few doors down to her room to get a sturdy over-the-shoulder bag for her outing. She sat on her bed, marvelling at the treasure in her hands. It was clear that the mage had crafted it himself, and quickly. There was no consideration beyond function; the top of the wood wasn’t even square. Most baffling of all was the incredible wealth of gems casually attached. Each one was nearly the size of a pea. People died for things a sliver of the value of even one of those.
This is by far the most valuable thing these hands have ever held.
And he just handed it to me, like it was leftover toast!
And he made it sound like the emeralds weren’t the valuable part of the device!
And this bed and the imps would be vastly more valuable yet!
She closed her eyes and swallowed slowly. The true nature of the mage’s gifts hadn’t registered before. Where did she even fit in society anymore? She still felt like a hungry peasant girl from a drafty hovel, but that was at odds with what she held and what she sat on. Most curiously of all, the idea of stealing it didn’t even occur to her. The mage’s trust had somehow become more valuable than gemstones.
Don’t just sit there, be the person he thinks you are!
After a slight detour to get her imps to create a simple leather case for the garish instrument, she found Rikad in the armoury, unpacking crates of gear from the move.
“Where is everyone? Is it just you here?” she asked.
“Nah, a normal busy day, Klive’s on sentry and Kedril’s on gate. The Chief and the rest are about town. What’s up?” he said without stopping his work. He was putting gambesons on armour stands that mimicked a man's shoulders, then putting the heavy mail hauberks on top. The effect on the few he’d already finished were a lot like a headless armoured torso. There were several bare stands still waiting.
“Great news! Laundry day will have to wait. The mage asked me to take a survey around town and suggested I bring an armed protector!” she teased, her voice beaming with over the top enthusiasm.
“Well if the Lord Archmage said I shouldn't do my chores that’s good enough for me,Taritha.” He said with a smile. He stopped unpacking and started donning armour, making a point of getting his employer’s title wrong while addressing her by her first name.
Unsure how much privacy he needed she turned her back while he changed. “In the future you will address me as Medic Taritha,” she said with as much faux icy indifference as she could muster.
“Your ladyship shall have all the respect she deserves!” in far less time than she expected he touched her elbow, “Ready to proceed!” He was in full armour, including a closed helm and the white and purple company tabard. He had a longsword on his hip and a wide shield on his back. It looked like he strode off the cover of a fairy tale book, his mail even sparkled in the flickering lamplight.
“I feel safer already!” she started down the hallway and out of the building. “I’m just taking some readings from this new artefact that he made, and writing it in the book.” They waved to Kedril in the gatehouse as they left.
“So why did you want me around? This is your town, and folk here normally seem nice enough?” Rikad asked, his voice slightly tinny through his helm.
“You’ll see! Actually, this is probably a fine first reading.” They stopped just a few paces beyond the gate. She pulled out the manometer, and saw it was one over normal. “Here, hold this,” She passed him the gem encrusted object while she wrote the results in the notebook.
“Holy balls, are these…?” he stammered.
“Oh my no! Nothing special, just ordinary emeralds,” she said in her best professorial tones.
“Wow! That makes sense. I see why he’d worry about some new hire running off with this to start her own queendom, far over the horizon.”
“Strangely, it felt like an afterthought.” She put the manometer back in her bag along with her notebook. “He’s weird with money, isn’t he? If someone overcharged him five times the fair price, I bet he’d apologise and pay it!” she whispered.
“Not even kidding, that’s basically how my salary was agreed upon. And it's not normal even for other fancy folk. Some of my family worked for nobles back in Jagged, and they were the stingiest, most demanding jerks you’d ever meet!” They continued through the forest toward town. “I meant the nobles,” he clarified.
Taritha hadn’t spent much time with Rikad before but it was impossible not to smile around him. Part of her worried she couldn’t keep up with him, since he always was cracking on about something, but thankfully he didn’t seem to expect her to.
“Yeah, Mage Thippily isn’t what I expected. Not that I really knew what to expect. Do you think the town will go along with his Big Plan?” she said, intoning the last two words with gravitas.
The road passed near some outlying cottages, and Taritha stopped, quickly taking a reading and jotting down the results. She was getting better at being quicker and more subtle with the artefact.
“This town? No question. Have you not been to the pub lately? They toast to him more than they do to the Light, their count or their own wives! Don’t underestimate just how much the town has changed.”
“I grew up here! They hate things that don’t match their beliefs. If they knew the truth? You guys are gonna earn every glindi of your salary the day that gets out,” Taritha said. “Me too, for that matter.”
His helm scraped his shoulder pauldrons as he shook his head. “Nah, he’s done the hard work, won their trust, everything else is easy.”
She shook her head but didn’t reply. He didn’t know these people. Obviously no one would talk about their true reactions to some out-of-towner, in front of another out-of-towner.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” he said as they reached the trade district. She took another reading, smooth and quick; she didn’t even think Rikad saw the emeralds that time.
“I get why you think what you do,” she said diplomatically.
There was an old woman in her garden, just on the other side of the low fence they were walking by. She was mostly skin and bones and old enough to be either of their grandmothers. She knelt in her garden, pulling weeds in the midday sun, wearing an old patched dress with a wide straw hat.
“Excuse me, gran, do you mind if I ask you something?” Rikad asked politely, taking off his helm to make eye contact.
“Huh! Sure, anything for you!” Her voice was gravelly but clear. She stopped what she was doing and sat back on her bum. Her face was weathered and flushed from exertion.
“Would you consider the mage that moved here this spring a good thing for the town?” He spoke evenly, trying not to bias her answer.
“Mage Thippily is his name! You ought to know that, wearin’ his tabard and all! Best thing that’s happened to this town in my life! Ever! I spent six years in bed, couldn’t walk, just waitin’ to go into the Light! Now I feel like a teenager again! He fixed my back, he fixed my skin, fixed it all! I’m eighty-eight years old, and I’ve been gardening all day!”
“I’m glad to hear it! He’s a great man, and we are both honoured to work for him!” He nodded and started putting his helm back on. The floodgates were open, and she wasn’t done.
“Don’t think I don’t see you there, Taritha! I got good eyes again! Yer creams were a godsend! But now I’m gonna live until I’m two hundred! That mage couldn’t do anything wrong, not if he tried!”
“That’s incredible, ma’am, thank–” Rikad started.
“If he needs to eat babies, I’ll round up some for him! I ain't got a shortage of useless great-grandbabies! Shadows below, if he wants to pump a few babies into me, he’s welcome to ’em!”
“That’s very much not the–” Rikad said, slowly backing away, grateful for the low fence between them.
“Or did he send me his strapping young man to do the job?” By now she was standing with a mostly toothless grin, leaning over her fence. Rikad backpedalled more quickly. “Fine, be like that, but tell him that Abby Greyn is here for him!”
“Will do, gran! Have a good day now.” They walked quickly down the road to put some distance between them and the amorous oldster.
“I see, I may have misjudged the effect of helping people,” Taritha said, stifling a giggle.
Rikad chuckled, adjusting the chin strap on his helm. “I told you! He won more than just their trust!”
.
Prev
.

In all honesty I've never really used Reddit in my years of having it but I really just want to talk
I'm not diagnosed so I apologise if that's an issue and I can leave. I'm 17 turning 18 soon and plan on seeking help when possible I've been researching bpd a while now and between me and my partner of 3 years we feel as if it's the best way to describe my behaviours. I'm not looking for anyone here to confirm or diagnose me I will seek professional help eventually. My parents also don't fully believe in labels/diagnosis which has made things tougher at times for reaching out for help.
Sorry for rambling a lot, this isn't the whole story I'm just curious about this in particular as I haven't seen any online resources ever mention it really and was wondering if perhaps anyone else has ever experienced it perhaps. I describe how I feel in daily life as low, I don't have much motivation or joy for things but I also don't feel deeply upset by much apart from when I feel extremely good or extremely bad. However over the last month I've been getting triggered much more than usual and my emotions have been getting so intense I've started getting extremely dizzy and even fainted once. This was the part I don't see anyone talking about. I've also been disassociating for long intervals just staring at nothing and not even realising. Has anyone else experienced fainting ?? I potentially have a belief that it may be over how often it's happening and my body is just struggling with how intense I'm feeling and can't keep up? It sounds a bit stupid but I'm just confused and I don't know what's happening I can't think of any other reasons and I'm just scared and want to know if anyone else gets this???
It's happened before but not frequently only usually when I cry for long periods of time and seem to just fall asleep from exhaustion. This time is different as there isn't really much to cause it, I'm not crying, not short of breath from hyperventilation or anything just purely feeling negative.
I'm sorry again especially since I'm not diagnosed and I may not have bpd and this probably isnt even relevant to it and I'm not even sure if I make sense I'm just tired of only being able to talk to myself and I'm just confused with everything

Hi, I'm Melia. This is most definitely a rant, though I suppose I just need somewhere to get my feelings off my chest. So I'm 16 and have recently come to terms with my bisexuality (I identified as a lesbian for a while and didn't want to let go of the label). I've been worrying a lot about my future as a bisexual person— an issue which my already existant anxiety issues haven't helped. I recognise that we bisexuals have some privillage considering how being attracted to the opposite gender and being able to relate to straight people can make some things in life much much easier. I should be grateful to have this proximity to heterosexuality, but for some reason I just feel oddly guilty. This brings me to what I've been pondering concerning my future: what gender I'm going to end up with. I'm young and no bisexual can fully control who their "end game" will be— I know this, but this doesn't stop me from overthinking the dilema of sapphic vs straight marriage. If I end up with a man, that would be more socially acceptable and I won't have to deal with the homophobia lesbians have no choice but to put up with, whereas if I marry a women I will. Then again, I won't have to "greive" my queerness and I've admitadly always dreamed of being with a woman. Nonetheless, I read an article that said that 80 something percent of bisexuals end up with a partner of the opposite gender, so now it feels like I'm bound to commit to a man. It also feels like I'm too privillaged to call myself queer, yet straight people obviously have a different experience. All of this has been making me awfully stressed and insecure. I could discuss it with my therapist because she's the only one I'm out to, but she still thinks I'm a lesbian. Any advice/support would be greatly appreciated!

Since Rabbit, Inc. likes to cite their patent as the evidence of the LAM's existence, why don't we take a look? Others can do a deeper dive, but this is what stood out to me:

1. The patent doesn't go into much technical detail about HOW the LAM (or "Interface Model", to use the patent's terminology) is actually trained or functions.
2. The patent makes liberal use of the broad term "configure," which might be for strategic reasons, but because the term is so broad, it leaves open the possibility for the whole thing to be done manually by humans.
3. The Interface Model is said to operate through either 1) "auto-formalization" or 2) selecting among "preset workflows" (e.g., Playwright scripts), but there is considerably more emphasis on the selection among preset workflows than on the auto-formalization aspect. In fact, auto-formalization isn't referenced in the critical "claims" section until claim 13 of the 19 claims, and all it says is that the system "uses" one.

Some choice snippets: https://patents.justia.com/patent/11908476

an intention model configured to translate a user intention into one or more actions without receiving explicit step by step execution instructions from the user;
an interface model in communication with the intention model and configured to translate one or more requests from the intention model into a sequence of user interface (UI) actions on one or more target applications; and
an action executor in communication with the interface model and configured to execute the sequence of UI actions on the one or more target applications.
The selected agent(s) 104 initiates interaction with products and/or services over a network to achieve goals that satisfy the user's intentions.
Finally, the system is preloaded with a huge set of preset workflows to represent common interface interaction patterns across consumer apps. (Step 404) As such, at any point in this process, if the Interface Model 404 decides that what is shown in the demonstration is similar enough to a preset, the model 404 can make “a shortcut” and return the preset that has been identified.
The Interface Model 404 can be equipped with a large set of workflows, which are defined as a known sequence of UI actions across a series of applications. These workflows can be robust up to minor adjustments of UI components. In one embodiment, for most high-frequency consumer-facing cases, there are at most 50-60 distinct workflows within an application, even for complex actions that require using multiple apps. The dynamic model 414 can first attempt to assign a request to an existing workflow before falling back to auto-formalization.
Interface Model 404 is the key for the OS to learn to see the web and interact with the applications on the web as a human would.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the exemplary operation of the Interface Model 600, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. First, unstructured demonstrations (e.g., video recording) 602 and structured demonstrations (e.g., DOM change stream) 604 are fed into the Static Model 606 of the Interface Model 600. These demonstrations can be generated by the end-users directly, or could originate from external labeling forces. Unstructured demonstrations may go through UI component localization and segmentation 608 before being sent to the Static Model 606. Static Model 606 performs UI identification, classification and visual relationship detection on a target app. Based on the output from the Static Model 606 and workflow presets (e.g., sequency of Agent Host actions) 610, Dynamic Model 612 of the Interface Model 600 can perform auto-formalization, workflow identification and translation to enable interaction with the target application.

1. The system of claim 12, wherein the demonstration model uses an auto-formalization process of creating a formalized system that approximates observed UI interactions.

This mini-event will run from from 19:00 GMT Monday, May 27 until 19:00 GMT Tuesday, May 28; to participate you will need version 11.4.2 or higher, at least 200 dragon power, and a high quality, stable internet connection.
Please keep all event related questions and strategy discussions in this thread while the event is live; good luck and happy merging!
 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Event Notes

• Version 11.4.3 has been released to most devices, with additional fixes including one for the dragging/lagging issues that have plagued some folks.
• Reminder: The devs are no longer giving advance notice of most Shiny Days mini-events. Odds are we’ll still get one every week or two, most likely on Thursdays or Mondays, and so far they’ve kept to the standard 19:00 GMT start time and usually last 24 hours.

Elsewhere in the Game

• An unexpected mid-week OoC event will begin tomorrow. (Link )
• A new player-vs-player mini-event called “Race Event” is out for beta-testing to a very small number of users. (Link 1), (Link 2), (Link 3)
• Popular Links:
  • Dens List
  • Friend Tag Exchange
  • 2024 Event Schedule

 

EVENT FAQs

• Points are earned by merging eggs and dragons; in general the higher the dragon power created by a merge, the more event points it will yield. Examples (5-merges all):
  • Bronze coin breed: Tier 1 eggs = 2 points, Level 1 = 4, L2 = 8, L3 = 16, L4 = 33
  • Platinum trophy breed: Tier 1 eggs = 80 points, Level 1 = 200, L2 = 320, L3 = 480, L4 = 800
• There is an increased chance of spawning Shiny Dragons for the two two featured breeds as long as the event is live; odds for other non-coin breeds are not affected.
• Eligible coin breeds can ONLY spawn a Shiny version during an event.
  • We’ve reached out to the devs to clarify this, since the ”event-only” label that was previously in the Dragon Book is gone.
  • Update May 27: Still waiting to hear back….
• Mystery Egg merges earn points based on the type of dragon that is produced.
• Super Eggs do not produce event points or Shiny dragons.
• Merging Shiny versions gives the same number of points as regular dragons for that breed.
• Shiny Dragons can only be merged up to Level 4 at this time.

 

POINT REQUIREMENTS

1. Mystery Mosaic - 4 points
2. 2x Decision Eggs - 70
3. Mystery Mosaic - 210
4. Level 1 primary breed - 350
5. Level 1 secondary breed - 490
6. Mystery Mosaic - 600
7. Mystery Mosaic - 810
8. Shiny Level 3 primary breed - 990

Total points needed to finish the event: 3,524
 

FEATURED DRAGONS:

^{Note: A = Arcadian breed}

• Primary: Princess
• Secondary: Jester (A)

 

PREVIOUSLY FEATURED BREEDS:

• May 23 Cosmic, Shiba (A)
• May 20: Chameleon, Cupid (A)
• May 6: Diamond, Cool (A)
• April 25: Turtle, Martian (A)
• April 18: Crowned, Fairy (A)
• April 8: Magician, Deer (A)
• March 28 beta: Cosmic, Hera (A)
• March 21 beta: Croissant, Chocolate (A)
• March 14 beta: Diamond, Shiba (A)
• March 7 beta: Dreamer, Seth (A)

EVENT TROUBLESHOOTING

If the event is not showing up correctly or if glitches are affecting your play:

1. Check that you meet the version and dragon power requirements.
2. Try hard-closing and then relaunching your game.
3. Try rebooting your device (ie, turn it completely off, then back on and allow it to fully boot up before relaunching the game). If you are on wifi and have access to the router, try rebooting that, too.
4. Try switching to a completely different internet source.
5. Try clearing your game’s cache (google for instructions for your specific phone type).
6. If you’re suddenly experiencing multiple issues like lagging or error messages (or if the event vanishes completely), close the game and try again after 2-3 hours. Events are internet-based, and sometimes issues with the servers can cause temporary problems — all we can do for that is to wait it out.
7. If none of the above helps, contact Gram Games Support through the in-game link or the Support Web Portal for help figuring out what’s wrong.

^{updated as needed}

My fellow gamers, for too long has our community suffered the indignation of an intolerable culture that has denigrated, besmirched, exploited, and has outright demonized our culture of unique individuals with a genuine love of a hobby that they see as profitable and progressive. They have taken beloved IP’s (Intellectual Properties) and twisted them into their own personal ideological crusade of undermining and humiliating the core aspects of characters they deemed as “Toxic” or “White Supremacy”. Through the guise and protection of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity) & ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) they have used our influence in the entertainment industry to push their narratives and agendas that have stigmatized our culture with numerous anti-consumer practices that they call “being progressive”. But the truth of the matter is they were never really looking to be a part of our community, they simply wanted to use our community as a tool of activism and propaganda in the entertainment industry as it was extremely profitable, and they wanted inclusion in that division. Ever since GamerGate & Female Frequency, we have had to endure the incursion of forced ideologies, xenophobic behaviors and inferior overpriced products that have never been in our best interest and have been flat out disgraceful towards foreign media.
Before Gaming had become a major source of entertainment, we were often categorized as anti-social or societies rejects where because we found more enjoyment in playing fictional characters and not spending as much time out and about, we never fully assimilated in society (which is a good thing if you ask me). From 1998 to 2007, at the height of innovation, creativity and production, Gaming had reached a golden age in which it had revolutionized society. Hollywood Execs who had ruined the movie industry turned their attention to video games as a source of income since video games had outperformed movies in terms of profit. No one was concerned about gaming, much less diversity or inclusivity until it became profitable. This makes people like SBI look extremely disingenuous as they were not interested in gamers as a community with its own culture. They simply wanted to use it as another weapon in identity politics.
Microtransactions; the hidden enemy to gamer progress and inducer to mental laziness of our community. Microtransactions have been around for a long time; however, it has never been more potent and apparent than in recent years. It has aided in the dismantling and segregation of players on the ideology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and has created another sub-culture of gamers who have no real drive to be better outside of how much money they put into the game. This has degraded our culture as well as we have become “fat” off transactional gaming but at the same time we have been “starved” of purposeful gaming where our achievements were our sustenance. I am not saying that microtransactions are bad, but when they are exploitative and predatorial like they have been and don’t give gamers room to grow, we become lethargic and unwilling to improve ourselves as gamers. Oversaturated microtransactional games are one of the many reasons why we have become complacent and unwilling to fight against the exploitative tactics used by big brand game companies such EA, Ubisoft, ActivisionBlizzard, NaughtyDog and so many other western business model companies. Western style games were not like this in the past, they had much more depth and actual effort put into them with the gamer in mind. This has not been the case for over a decade and our connection to western developers has been whittled down to just being transactional. That is one of the reasons why you see so many remasters and remakes in today’s gamer community. They have lost their willingness to improve as developers of games and simply accept corporate/share holder rules.
Game journalists also do not have any real integrity or purpose outside of being funded for their involvement in promoting IPG (Identity Political Games) in a positive light to the public whether it’s positively received or not. They are not interested in what we have to say, they all support the same agenda and that is why they are a dying breed. Within the next couple of years, they will be out of the job and more than likely they will not be able to stay in the industry giving how they have responded to past articles that have clearly been scripted on the premise of diversity and racism. Not only that, but most of them are also extremely hostile to the community as they stereotype and defame the individuals that are a part of the community they are supposed to serve. We have been mentally liberated from their lies and coercive tactics as we tend to laugh at their obvious attempt at virtue signaling while hiding their misdoings so that they can play the victim.
My gamer brothers & sisters, I would not suggest the following action that we must take now without good cause. I have weighed our options and the best option for us now is this…...CULTURAL SECESSION. Naturally this is a form of segregation where they would more than likely claim they are being segregated by the dominant culture of the gaming community but that is incorrect. For years now we have been the ones who are often marginalized and ostracized for the smaller portion of our community. And when we aren’t, we’re exploited for more funds so that these companies can stay in business only to subject us to low quality products that coincide with the “WOKE Agenda” that are often huge expenses to these big brands i.e. AAA/AAAA games that will eventually flop for its obvious forced diversity and bug infested product which will undoubtedly piss off the consumer to the point of wanting a refund. Losing copious amounts of capital and stock in the process, not to mention their reputation is permanently marred.
We must separate on every cultural level in terms of entertainment and ideology. We must reject everything from the west that promotes toxic western beliefs, practices, and exclusion from other cultures (i.e. Southeastern Countries such as Japan and Korea). Japan & Korea have been the targets of unjust discrimination from Western Developers, Western Journalists, Western Localizers (The Wokelizers) and Western Society Prejudice regarding their sense of aesthetics as Westerners hate the aesthetic sense of these countries. The reason why they resort to such base tactics isn’t just because it weaponizes the ideal female form but it’s also because they have deep-seated insecurities about their own looks so when they see attractive female characters, they use terms such as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized” to establish the moral high ground. But the truth is, they want to feel superior to that which is ideal, so they insult and dehumanize this figure that portrays natural female beauty because they see it as an insult to their own social superiority in what they believe is a hierarchy of them being at the top of all other women. Because of this and so many contributing factors, their movies flop harder than the Fat Chocobo landing on a group of enemies and their games seismically fail just as much if not more. We must sever our connection to Western Developers, Publishers, and ALL Western-Centric Entertainment for they seek to mentally enslave us to their Xenophobic ideology.
Let’s define Western Culture and its traits. Western Culture/Society is composed of more than several different ideologies that work in unison with one another to facilitate dominance over multiple aspects of society. Business, Social, Political, Technological, and sometimes even Global Affairs are affected by these ideologies that portray a specific mindset of Western beliefs. What are those ideologies you ask?

• Perpetual Victimhood: By weaponizing the fact that they are marginalized and of a small portion of western society, they can push their agenda to absurd standards that ultimately ostracize the main demographic. And when companies don’t capitulate, they are labeled as anti-progressive/misogynist’s or cohorts of White Supremacy. They use this to cancel their targets and silence them through societal defamation to keep the public on their side. They also use this mindset to justify their own lack of self-agency as they tend to throw companies who do adhere to their demands but miserably fail to turn a profit under the bus so that they can maintain face in front of the public while denying their actual involvement. They will never accept “Sense of Agency” when it’s negative but will gladly accept it when a positive outcome shines on them as if they are entitled to it.

Official Wiki GamerGate Page)
​

• Societal Terrorism: This is another form of ideology weaponization that they use in order to make companies “toe-the-line” with their agenda. By weaponizing cancel culture, they exert dominance over these companies but in exchange they also reimburse those companies with DEI & ESG funds that raise their credit score as well as having social status with the marginalized demographic. However; cancel culture has not succeeded in years and developers and publishers probably only want the money and the DEI ESG rating. But they have to maintain the image of having social economic power so that they can continue to strong-arm other developers into compliance and promoting financial benefits of DEI & ESG. In other words, if you are not for sale, they discredit and stigmatize you in the industry.

Asmongold Clips.
https://youtu.be/Iq86DnmX2xY
​

• “Its not us, its you who’s wrong” Mentality: This mentality is especially annoying as they tend to use it to hide their incompetence. They often look down upon gamers who are not in the industry to hide their obvious lack of knowledge on game development thinking that their job title grants them special status that they believe gives them the right to be condescending. But the truth they never wanted revealed has already strangled their careers of all credibility. They were never GAMERS, they were INVADERS. Community Colonists that seek to indoctrinate next generational gamers into their hive-mind and brand previous generations of gamers as villains.

@GeeksandGamers
https://youtu.be/1HbrTkqQFuM
​

• Double-standard Enforcement: By labeling something as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized”, they can claim this is morally wrong if it promotes traditional dynamics between men and women. Heterosexual relationships are condemned while at the same time Same-sex relationships are praised. Additionally, heterosexual relationships with main white male characters turn antagonistic and spotlight stealing. This is deliberate as to promote the “Girl Boss” ideology to indoctrinate women into the Feminazi state of mind. While at the same time, should a male character also adopt the “I don’t need male/female” ideology its seen as Toxic Masculinity which isn’t even a real thing. The idea of a strong male character is taboo while enforcing strong female characters is the ideal.

@MugenLord
https://youtu.be/to5Uciy_yeg
@EndymionTv
https://youtu.be/7TPTR8-qmbk
​

• Dehumanization/Demonization: This is something that most military branches use in order to remove conscious inhibitions such as mass slaughter is wrong or categorization. By enforcing ideologies to denounce humanity in certain targets, it deactivates your conscience by saying this is not human therefore its ethically okay to treat this target without compassion and deny the fact it has sentience. We gamers fall under this category for journalists, developers, companies and society at large. This is a tactic we are familiar with to an extent as it implies that we are not normal when we do not do what everybody else is doing. “Geeks are the worse” or “Nerds need to fall into a pit of lava” are verbal dehumanization forms that most people in society say and we as Gamers tend to be relegated to those categories. This is their way of imposing the social hierarchy on us by establishing superiority. We know this as Gamers as we see it very often in the games that we play and some times experience it in real life.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gamergate#The_end_of_their_relevance
​

• Deflection/Projection: This is basic psychology 101. By redirecting the conversation away from their mistakes and back on to the opposing view to avert blame and justify their innocence they can avoid criticism. However; deflection is a CONSCIOUS decision, meaning they have no real argument to justify their incompetence. If you can consciously process the situation, you have self-agency which means you don’t have a legitimate excuse. Projection is something else entirely. Most times, Projection doesn’t work on conscious decisions rather it is automatically deployed when feeling threatened, anxious or both. Instead of accepting accountability for feelings or actions that are deemed socially unacceptable they accuse others of committing that unacceptable behavior thereby exonerating themselves and proving that those feelings and/or actions are not their own.

@TheTrentReport
https://youtu.be/bPIPSKruYRo
These traits are so nefarious and unconscionable that I have a hard time believing that anyone could harbor them. However, given the social, political, and economic climate that we are in, those in power who use their influence on controlling society most definitely possess these insidious traits. Everything that they do is all about control and since video games are the biggest market in the world, they want control over it and the communities built around it to accrue more wealth and to use that wealth to subjugate other cultures. Mainstream media is a tool as well as mainstream organizations and sites to help accomplish this goal.
The government recently announced its intentions towards what they believe is “GamerGate 2.0” and now even the ADL has made an official appearance, referring to gamers as “extremist’s”. We know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore because they don’t think we are aware of their motives. This is just a pretext for them to exert even more control and we know why, it’s because they want the influence we as a community have to must serve them. So here is what we do my fellow gamers-
“In light of recent events and years of mainstream stigma, we the members of the Global Gaming Community [GGC] must officially renounce ALL TIES to the corporate western video game market. We have been financially exploited through predatorial monetization schemes, pelted with numerous articles of disdain and intentional misrepresentation from game journalists, news outlets regarding us as dangerous individuals and, even subjected to inferior products not only riddled with bugs but also products meant to push political agendas. For the preservation of our community and its unique culture, apart from a few select game development studios we officially sever all connections to western owned video game companies & their mainstream affiliates. From this point onward, we will no longer support western corporate developers, journalists and publishers that do not coincide with the goals of our community.”
Naturally this is completely optional. If you are okay with the state of the gaming community as it is, feel free to ignore this. But if you wish for real change and a break away from oversaturated monetization in the games you play and the push for radical ideological reform, then you are in the right place. Lets sever these rotted miasmic ties once and for all so that our community can be preserved and made better for future gamers. If you agree with this, share it with whoever you think might be interested. The more gamers who get involved, the easier it will be for us to finally break free from mainstream game companies and their associates.

I (F18) was in a so called “situationship” with a guy (M18). Basically, hindi kami, hindi rin niya ako nililigawan, pero we were something. Hindi namin nadefine yung relationship.
Background: We met on a common friend’s party then we clicked, started bonding, hanggang sa may naform na friend group because of the bond. For almost two months, we were happy.
For the first month, we were almost always together. Same school and parehong year kami so halos match naman lahat ng sched. Pagpasok, lunch, pag-uwi. We’ll call each other pagkauwi then see each other again the next day. It was a routine.
Hanggang sa I felt something in me that’s demanding for a label, for something serious and long term. So nagsimula na akong mawala room sa “fun” side and started investing more sa long term. That’s when he changed din. His focus went to his friends, his “girl best friend” started bothering me, and he stopped giving me time.
I knew that I didn’t have the right to demand. We were something, but also nothing. We did things that couple do, but we never defined what we were.
Hanggang sa ako yung napagod at sumuko. I ghosted him. I don’t know if counted as ghosting kung nasa iisang cof naman kami at nagkikita kami sa school. During a school event, I tried approaching him but he ignored me. I thought na valid naman kasi nga I ghosted him but I really thought he’d chase.
I did not reply and he did not ask why. He looked okay without me habang ako ay halos di na nagffunction.
It’s been over a month since we last talked and I’m not fully healed yet. It consumed me to the point na I was almost failing my classes and ppl cant even talk to me.
Hanggang ngayon I still long for that closure. I heard rumors about him having a new girl/s right after we “ended” and it hurts me thinking na ang dali lang.

I think there's so much loss associated with being a lesbian today. We see it in the closure of lesbian bars, of shops, and of the policing and censorship of lesbian communities online (also -- I am profoundly annoyed by people who pretend that the internet is not a healthy and robust and sometimes uniquely accessible space for community.) I see it in my life -- gone is the time of easy camaraderie with other sexual minorities. It's not a witch hunt! Until it is -- until an innocuous joke about the reality of being a woman, of being a female homosexual means I get interrogated by a stranger I met at a random wine night after the fact.
The thing is that you can be happy without lesbian camaredie -- I manage it most times because I have good friends whom I love. But then there are the days where my skin feels raw with how much of myself I have to constantly explain or how much of their lives orbit men and it's possibly a little ridiculous but i could just cry with the need to talk about flirting with a woman i like without having any part of any of it be compared to heterosexuals. "Yeah I told her she could text me," "Oh really? That reminds me, this weird ass man ...". It's not a terrible violence, it's nothing really compared to the genuine homophobia that I and many of you have and will face. But that's when I want lesbian solidarity the most.
In the moments where I can be wholly lost in ... the lesbianism of it all. Where I'm just a woman who loves a woman and this is just the way of the world and i don't have to think about how men are towards women and how women like men or don't like them or whatever. Just me, just her. I'm possibly a fragile zoomer, but I'd just for once like a bubble where her and I are the whole of desire, where the only truth is that of a woman loving a woman. And that's forever lost, really.
The other thing that I feel such a profound loss about is my capacity to be recognised as a nuanced and complex person by the outside world. In this post-Butlerite world, there's no space for being what I am and thinking and saying what needs to be said and it is gutting. The idea that my principles and the objective reality of my sexual orientation make me unsafe to be around or hateful is irritating of course because it's false but, importantly, it robs me of my humanity. It boxes me into a position that means I cannot be engaged with, for fear of contamination -- this isn't silly-making, it's the state of my career. I only get away with what I get away with because I am good with words and deflecting. Imagine having to write about the relationship between lesbians and labour and genuinely having to worry about the section on the conflicts over the identity and labels -- not because what I've written is wrong, but because any acknowledgement of papers discussing the adoption of "lesbian" as a label vs "queer" in modern workplaces may mean I get raked over coals for thoughtcrimes. But that's still not the problem -- it's that i cannot be considered a fully fleshed-out person and run the risk, by the pure fact of my GNC lesbian pride, to be vilified as something I could never be. I become a plot device in the grand social justice narrative, meant to be knocked aside in the march for justice and progress.
And there's loss in so many ways I cannot pay justice to -- the intimate relationships we lose, the everything of it all sometimes. But I just want to complain about this feeling of loss around me as an embodied person. Who can be compassionate even in their recognition of the material. Who can be unlikeable and horny and self-indulgent and funny and not just synecdoche for whatever irritating whole I've been relegated to represent. And yes, fucking hell, I just want to fucking exist as a dyke without being reminded that men exist just for a little while. I want to win the lottery so I can start up an underground lesbian bar again ffs.

While we engage in nearly comprehensible absurdities, the planet gradually stalls, indifferent to the protests and dissatisfaction of the “useless cattle.” How will your carbon footprint and carbon wallet function in the world envisioned by the WEF?
Allow us to introduce Barbara Baarsma, the CEO of Rabo Carbon Bank—not to be confused with Rabo Bank. In a video interview, she promotes the concept of a “personal carbon wallet.” While it might appear trivial, her statements are quite alarming and warrant serious concern.

Indeed, it’s quite the topic. Let’s dissect it gradually and consider the likely implementation methods.
One might view this as merely an additional layer of taxation that will be embraced by globalists. However, we believe it’s more profound. When bankers begin to speak of rights, the impoverished, and the green economy, it’s evident they’re crafting a world tailored for the elite, with little regard for the rest.
In essence, it could mean a future where personal entertainment and travel are luxuries beyond reach. But rest assured, the elite will likely indulge on behalf of all.
Carbon Labels on Products.
This is nothing but totalitarianism. We forgot to mention that Rabobank and Baarsma both participate in the World Economic Forum.
When many people consider carbon emissions and carbon footprints, they often associate them solely with travel, fuel, gas, and electricity, viewing these as the primary sources of emissions. However, the reality is far more complex.
Allow us to introduce you to a company you might not be familiar with, called Doconomy.
Doconomy is a credit card endorsed by the World Economic Forum of Klaus Schwab. In May 2019, an article was published on the WEF website with the title: “This credit card has a carbon spending limit.”
The article says

Indeed, it reduces their expenses and further:

We are now approaching a deeper understanding of its functionality. It’s not limited to travel; it will encompass all aspects of life.
In February 2019, Mastercard published an article titled “Mastercard and Doconomy Launch the Future of Green Payments.” The article discusses:

It’s remarkable that they highlight the capability for users to monitor everything. This, they assure, will not be exploited for malicious intents, such as banks and governments tracking all activities. Certainly not. Additionally, Mastercard is a partner with the WEF.
In May 2019, the United Nations engaged in climate action by publishing an article titled “Innovative Climate Action – New Credit Card Limits Users’ Climate Impact.”
Patricia Espinosa, the UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change, was highly impressed with this concept and lauded it extensively. Indeed, Espinosa and the UN are partners with the WEF, which seems to indicate a recurring pattern.
Large banks also perceive this as a significant opportunity. In 2021, Barclays partnered with MasterCard and Doconomy. This collaboration is viewed by some as akin to surveillance and socialism. Additionally, it is well-known that Barclays is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
This doesn’t fully capture the scope of what the WEF, Mastercard, the UN, and similar global organizations are orchestrating. You’ve only been exposed to a fraction of the narrative.
Imagine this scenario: In Ireland, Marc Ó Cathasaigh, a Green Party member, visited Brew Dog pub in Dublin earlier this March. He presented a menu image where each item had a CO2 label, prompting the question: Will this influence your choice?
The menu displayed traditional options like chicken, beef, and lamb on one side, and “plant-based” alternatives, including Beyond Meat’s lab-processed options, on the other. Notably, Bill Gates has invested in Beyond Meat.
The disparity in Dublin’s exorbitant prices for these two product types is minimal, yet there is a significant difference in CO2 emissions.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a notion being seeded in the public consciousness regarding varying CO2 levels. Efforts are being made to nudge people towards plant-based foods and Beyond Meat products, clearly indicating an underlying agenda.
The criteria for measuring CO2 emissions are unclear as yet, but restaurants have begun implementing tests. I’ve perused all the comments on this subject; some view it as positive, others disagree. However, the issue is that none of the respondents seem to grasp the core issue.
What’s likely to unfold is this: your carbon footprint may dictate your dining choices at a restaurant. Depending on your remaining points for the month, you might be restricted to either ‘right food’ or ‘lab food.’
It does sound quite peculiar, doesn’t it? The number of points you have could decide whether you’re permitted to consume ‘proper food’ or ‘synthetic food.’
If you were a courageous child, you would be permitted only to consume lab-grown plant-based foods to avoid exceeding your carbon quota. Attempting to order beef with high CO2 levels would be prohibited.
The same principle applies to your weekly supermarket visits, where each item purchased would have a CO2 value assigned.
Yet, the situation becomes more absurd. In the past month, Eamonn Ryan, a WEF member and leader of the Green Party in Ireland, has proposed a reduction in Irish livestock numbers. Instead, we would import cattle from Brazil. This, we refer to as the “Ruminati” agenda (the work of the “reflective”).
Now, consider the carbon footprint of Brazilian beef imports on the menu. It would skyrocket. Can you perceive their objectives and the potential consequences?
It may seem excessively bleak, but it’s not entirely implausible. Consider the events of the past two and a half years, and you’ll see it’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.
We’ve been shown predictions of how it could unfold. For instance, the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive,” which revolves around social credit points, offers a glimpse into such a future. Imagine substituting the social credit score with a carbon footprint to grasp the concept. In the future, digital identities and currencies, social credit points, and carbon footprints are expected to function together.
Doc Ono provides an illustration of this concept on their website, using clothing as an example. Imagine you’re in the market for a new pair of jeans.
On their website, they claim:

Picture yourself shopping with a “carbon calculator” and discovering you have only 10 points left. You can’t purchase jeans that cost 21.45 CO2 points; instead, you must choose jeans priced at 8.98 CO2 points. Ultimately, you cannot surpass your quota; if you do, your card will be disabled, and your digital payment will be rejected.
The “carbon calculator” we referred to is actually a real tool developed by Mastercard.
In a 2021 press release on their website, they report the following:

Guess who’s collaborating with them? Doconomy. It will be implemented as an app so you can check your carbon footprint, which will determine what you can buy and what you can’t.
It’s not merely the traditional “carbon calculator”; it’s the 2030 carbon calculator, aligned with the 2030 Agenda. If you examine the top left corner of the image closely, you’ll notice the progression from 2020 to 2030.
Eventually, it will evolve into an application encompassing the essentials of digital ID, digital currency, social credit score, and more. It’s akin to entering a fusion of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and George Orwell’s “1984.”
However, whether this will materialize is another matter entirely. This isn’t just the ramblings of a conspiracy theorist. I’ve attempted to present evidence of real-world developments. It remains your choice to believe it or not, and to decide if we will allow it to unfold.While we engage in nearly comprehensible absurdities, the planet gradually stalls, indifferent to the protests and dissatisfaction of the “useless cattle.” How will your carbon footprint and carbon wallet function in the world envisioned by the WEF?
Allow us to introduce Barbara Baarsma, the CEO of Rabo Carbon Bank—not to be confused with Rabo Bank. In a video interview, she promotes the concept of a “personal carbon wallet.” While it might appear trivial, her statements are quite alarming and warrant serious concern.

Indeed, it’s quite the topic. Let’s dissect it gradually and consider the likely implementation methods.
One might view this as merely an additional layer of taxation that will be embraced by globalists. However, we believe it’s more profound. When bankers begin to speak of rights, the impoverished, and the green economy, it’s evident they’re crafting a world tailored for the elite, with little regard for the rest.
In essence, it could mean a future where personal entertainment and travel are luxuries beyond reach. But rest assured, the elite will likely indulge on behalf of all.
https://www.soulask.com/countries-have-collaborated-to-develop-a-credit-card-that-tracks-your-carbon-footprint/

11:15am.
I was waiting for her to arrive. We started talking just a week ago on Bumble and yet managed to exchange only a few pleasantries throughout the week; I had already written off the conversation until late at night yesterday.
Yesterday, at 11:45pm.
I got an App notification from Bumble, "You have a new message." That's odd, I wasn't actively talking to anyone on the app. I thought maybe this was another one of those 'bugs' that would lure me to open the app and participate in this virtual roulette wheel of finding gratification through others. Swiping left on profiles I don't like, rejecting people and their life experiences because their interests don't align with mine. I felt like a dictator presiding in his court, sitting at a long mahogany table with a high chair at a trial against his rebel. The only difference is these are strangers on an app, and I get to decide whether they are a worthy mate. I don't understand myself fully yet.
I have the power to deem someone unworthy of me. "What's that on her nose?" "Her smile isn't genuine." "She has too many piercings for my liking." This is modern love, Megalomaniacs walking through a house of mirrors, laughing at each other's reflections.
Everyone is performing, Faking their intimacy. Trying to be a counterfeit of a fictional character that says the exact catchphrase repeatedly. A bio with a time stamp of when Jim kissed Pam in their bio followed by an "if you know, you know."
What if I don't? Is it that relevant to the collective consciousness? Napoleon waged war on the entire world at 35 and conquered it. Men that age today fight over vape flavors. Dating profiles with pictures of you at exotic vacation spots, "I found myself in Bali." Were you really lost? Or were you too busy performing? When was the last time you felt alive? Was it when you had that long island iced tea at the beach flaunting your expensive bikini that favorably accentuates your curves? Or was it when your high school crush liked that story you posted on Instagram? Remember? That photo of you at the beach which profiled your ravishing legs while they glistened in the Sun with the sea in the landscape? Was it the night your father died in the adjoining room while you were asleep? What were his last words? Surely not Bazinga. All this performing has turned us into gypsies, constantly arriving somewhere but with a feeling of withdrawal. Trying to fill the void by living life to the fullest but feeling emptier by the day. Ghosts are real; take a look inside.
I fired the app up, and it was not a trick. I indeed received a message. It was her. "Do you want to meet tomorrow?" The message read.
I was taken aback by the suddenness of this request but admired her initiative after a week of radio silence. The last message before that read, "Are you still around on this app?" This message usually was my eulogy for a dead person on these apps. A person dies many deaths in their lifetime.
I was not too keen on the idea, but I had to reply quickly; you can't express doubt on these apps as a man. I was always uncomfortable with a blank slate, meeting someone for the first time and starting over, the emphasis on trying to be genuine and yet impress; the barrier of spoken word communication is that I can never give the receiver a full context of what I'm thinking. A word I index from my vocabulary can mean a myriad of things based on the cognitive bias of the person on the other side of the table. Conversations have to be built upon many assumptions and are often shrouded in mystery. My biggest concern is whether I can help the other person understand. In that sense, can anything be the 100% objective truth? It's cutthroat competition out there; I don't know this person. Besides, it was a hectic week, and I would rather sleep in.
Typing.......
"Hey, I'm not sure. I really wanted to sleep in tomorrow. Work has been crazy."
I stared at the brightly lit-up screen due to the white canvas of the chat window. I closed my eyes as the weight of my message found itself hanging in between worlds. The white screen was temporarily stamped on my retinas. I exhaled very violently, and before I realized it.
Select all
Delete
"Tomorrow, 11:00am. CP?"
Ugh, why do I do this to myself? I wanted to have some alone time, and now I have to prepare myself with mock conversations by running multiple simulations of how a good first date is supposed to be. You want your chat to be free-flowing and yet ensure it doesn't run amok and deviate into subject matters that require heavy opinions where an argument is waiting to spur. You have to keep it light & breezy and yet not be boring. Brilliant people are often incorrectly labeled as boring. The problem with being a genius is you have to be consistently good at one particular thing, and that one thing may not appeal to the interests of everyone. I've been an introvert all my life and am good at observing people from a distance. I'd likely pick up on social cues very quickly, but the fact of the matter is I become hyper-aware in a mano y mano showdown.
Two ticks appeared next to my message, signaling that it had crossed the virtual barriers and reached her. My error is now irreversibly etched into digital libraries stored in encrypted logs echoing through the infinite space-time of large server rooms. An error that gets reciprocated through infinity becomes an assertion. An assertion strong enough to bring me here.
I usually go to sleep looking out the window and staring at the cars passing by. The light hum of the engines jostling against the wind, which simulates the sound of a breeze rustling through the leaves of a tree, is very comforting. Closest you'll feel to nature in this concrete jungle. I was not looking out the window. I looked at the ceiling, wondering what was in store for me the next day. The shadows of the cars now gliding on the ceiling walls of my bedroom, momentarily merging in light and disappearing in the dark. It looked like the ghost of perdition of my previous bad dates had come to mock me by dancing on my roof.
9:00 am.
I woke up early with a weird sensation under my body. Turns out I had slept on my arm. This is the closest I've been to sleeping with the feeling of someone else's touch.
I had to shave; look pretty. I was quickly running through the things I could say that would make a good first impression. I had already sprayed the shaving foam on the palm of my hand and started to rub it on my face. "Hey, nice to meet you." Too basic. "I've been expecting you." Too creepy. "Oh! How embarrassing, I was planning on wearing the same thing.", Too risky. "What's up?" Seriously? I should jump out my window into the oncoming traffic. It's a good idea, but I've already shaved half my beard. I wouldn't want the news to read, Man dies in a shaving accident. My school of thought distracted me, and I accidentally pierced my skin with the razor. Tiny crimson beads began to appear on my neck. I gathered them on my thumb, licked them off, and quickly finished the rest of my shaving.
I picked out my outfit, decided to be bold today, and sported my charcoal black jeans. I paired them with a lilac shirt that slightly clung to my body. It gave my torso and waist a good definition. I am not used to having sharp features. Still, two years into my fitness journey, I feel confident enough to wear smart clothes but not the kind of confidence where I can thump my chest and invite someone for a fight in a nightclub. Some might say I'm still a fat person trapped inside a moderately fit person's body or 'Transfit' for the lack of a better term.
I quickly slapped on some aftershave which immediately seeped into the open cuts and burnt through my skin. Put on a perfume that added a zesty depth to my presence. After popping a couple of breath mints, I was ready to march down to the Colosseum and fight for my love life.
10:58am.
I reached the rendezvous point, which was meant to be the place where we decided to dedicate 2 hours of our time to each other. I'm looking around the café. It is a busy afternoon. The café was pretty. She picked it, after all. The café had earthy-looking furniture, which complemented the muted color tones of the walls and the dim lighting. The whole aesthetic of this place was comforting. The café had large windows and was located on a narrow street, surrounded by small bungalows from end to end. Soft, natural light filtered through these large windows, casting a soft glow upon the carefully arranged furniture. The place was filled with the aroma of coffee beans and freshly baked delicacies.
11:15am
She walked through the door, emerging as a mere silhouette against the sunlight. The dimmed lighting in the café briefly lit up her jawline as she started looking for me. I immediately got up from my seat and waved like a little kid to tell her that I had secured a spot for us. As she noticed me, her furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips immediately beamed into a smile as she met my gaze, and this was the first time I set my gaze on her, she was wearing a summer dress and black boots, which really made her look adorable yet but there was a touch of elegance to the way she carried herself. With hurried steps, she rushed towards me. A tiny sling purse was hanging by her waist, oscillating back and forth as she approached. You could tell how apologetic she was about being late by the urgency in her steps. "I'm really sorry, I got stuck in traffic near Saket metro station" "Sun rises in the east, and there's congestion near Saket metro station! both are permanent truths." I mumbled.
"I'm sorry, what?" She said. And I proceeded to repeat my quirky comment slightly louder, to which she giggled uncomfortably, still feeling a bit of guilt about being late, I assumed. I quickly backed up my quirky opener with some conversation, "So..... What's up?" Oh my god, I really did end up saying What's up? While she was busy replying to my very creative and original inquiry, I was busy screaming internally,
"YOU MORON, YOU REALLY SAID, WHAT'S UP? AFTER ALL THAT PLANNING & PREPARATION, ALL YOU COULD COME UP WITH WAS, WHAT'S UP? YOU HAVE THE CONVERSATIONAL CAPACITY OF A FORK, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID"
"Should we order? I'm starving", I snapped back to reality with this request from my date. "Yes, certainly, I think you should take the Egg and Ham croissant and the Vietnamese Iced coffee. Given that you just walked in, and it's burning up outside." I said without a second thought. I looked up at her, and for the first time, I got to have a good look at her face. She had slightly big eyes with a dark hazel hue, which made her look extremely innocent. She had a dainty pointed nose that she had contoured with amazing craft, adding sweetness to her visage. Her lips were elegantly narrow, the pink lipstick she wore made her entire face look radiant, and the shade complemented her dress and dusky complexion. This was when I noticed a shiny stud just underneath her lower lip, it was a piercing, and it looked like an "ON/OFF" button you could press. After battling my intrusive thoughts for a moment, I caught myself staring at her lips for quite some time, but the piercing kept distracting me when I noticed her lips curve into a smile. "So you're already dominating me around, huh? You think I can't handle my own order" She had a mischievous glint in her eyes. " No! God no! I just wanted to save you the trouble since you were hungry. These are my favorite items on the menu". She chuckled and gave me a playful slap on my hand, "Relax, I was just pulling your leg. I'm actually impressed with your recommendation. I really wanted to have a croissant and an iced coffee."
"Great! So umm, why'd you get late?" I already regretted asking that question. I wasn't trying to interrogate her or anything. Her previous joke took me completely off guard, and I just went with the first thing that came to mind. "Oh, I usually like to sleep in late on Sundays. I was binge-watching K-dramas all night and forgot to set my alarm" She sounded assertive and not as apologetic as before. "Oh great, I've never watched K-dramas before. Can you recommend a show for a K-drama virgin?" I replied. "Hahaha, Yes! But are you sure you're ready for such a commitment?" There it was again, that mischievous look. "Mhm, We'll need a safe word." I said while leaning into the conversation. "That we will" She caressed her chin playfully and narrowed her eyes. "How about Shaadi?!" she exclaimed. Her suggestion made me laugh, "That doesn't sound like a safe word at all. It sounds like a warning!" "Exactly! It effectively solves the purpose", She raised her hand towards me for a high-five, which I immediately acknowledged. "Only in today's world can you make someone stop by threatening commitment" My comment widened her eyes, and her lower lip gently rolled out into an upside-down grin that hooded the stud under her lips, suggesting that she was impressed, "That was deep." She commented. I wanted to add a "That's what she said!" as a reply to her comment to follow up something profound with something funny, but I chose against it in that fleeting moment. I wanted to impress her by highlighting all my qualities. That would certainly give me her undivided attention. I felt like a child. We've learned from childhood that social interactions are like a game of chess. We watched our parents at Family gathering carefully crafting narratives teetering between the truth and exaggeration, waiting their turn to share another anecdote or achievement. When they ran out of their inventory, they would subliminally vie us against our cousins, Boasting about what feat their offspring pulled off this time and that well-intentioned smile from your parents to you, followed by a suggestive nudge of the elbow, sometimes with an underhanded question, "Did you hear that?" which meant go ahead, do something, say something quirky and get the attention of all the adults.
11:35am
Her phone started ringing. She once again started apologizing. "I'm sorry I have to take this!" The café was slightly busy now, so she had to walk outside to receive her call. I settled back in my seat, letting my guard down. I could be myself again for a brief moment till she came back. I looked around at the people sitting at the other tables. There was a person with a Macbook, with enormous headphones wrapped around his head. This embodiment of a modern-day productive and dynamic workforce in itself is a nod of approval of the café's identity. If you run a café and a person with a Macbook doesn't exist at your café at all times, I hate to break it to you, but you're not a café at all. An Eatery that also 'serves' coffee at best. To my left was a group of middle-aged women who were planning their next exotic trip. On the table behind me were students discussing which Foreign university they wanted to finish their masters from. I also wished last night that I'd rather be sleeping in. We were all unfamiliar with each other but with an ephemeral sense of bonding that they'd rather be arriving somewhere but here.
I noticed my date talking on the phone through the large windows of the café. She was darting back and forth and moving her hands a lot as if she was explaining something to her caller. I observed the people walking past her; the world around me seemed to move faster than I could perceive. The urgency in their movement suggested that everyone had somewhere to be, like charged particles constantly in motion, convinced that they belonged somewhere. My line of sight was cut off by a staff member wearing a green apron approaching me with a tray. It soon occurred to me that this was our order. She politely bowed and placed the glass of iced coffee on the table as it clinked against the wooden table. Next to it, she rested the dish with the croissant, It looked fresh off the oven, and its golden layers glistened in the coral lighting of the café. I couldn't resist the sight, so I immediately dug into the croissant.
I looked up with a mouthful of food, and there she was, my date, looking dismayed, standing with her hands on her hips, "You started without me?"
"I'm sorry, this just looked too good." I replied, giving her an innocent smile.
She giggled, placed her phone on the table, and took her seat. I noticed her phone was the same model and color as mine.
"Hey! I have the same phone". I quickly reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and raised it over the table to confirm the fact. She was still engrossed in the croissant. She looked up at me, brushing off the crumbs from the corner of her lips, and replied, "Yeah, so?" I shrugged, "Good choice, I guess?" She dropped her shoulders and laughed. Seeing her laugh made me feel really good.
"Why did you decide to ask me out all of a sudden?" I asked, still needing to understand the reason behind her unexpected behavior. My question seemed to snap her out of her food trance; she looked at me instantly and carefully tucked the hair covering her face away. "So I didn't want to end up talking for days on a stupid app, then spending all that time to finally meet someone and then realize that it's a waste of time, you know. I wanted to check the vibe right away."
"Well, that makes sense, So..."
She cut me off mid-sentence, " This Vietnamese coffee is so good, very close to what I had in Vietnam."
I immediately got drawn into what she was saying," You've been to Vietnam. I've been meaning to visit for a long time. How was it?"
Her lips left the straw with a soft parting. Her lipstick had tinted the brim of the straw into a rosy pink. She formed an 'O' made with her thumb and index finger while the rest curled inward to communicate it was nice. She swiftly placed the glass down to reply,
"It was fabulous. I exhausted all of my itinerary. The food was amazing, the sights were amazing, the people were amazing. I'd go again in an instant."
"Was that an invitation?" I inquired, mirroring her infectious charm.
"It depends" She shrugged and gave me that mischievous look of hers again.
All I could do was grin at her playful ambiguity.
"Do you travel a lot?" She asked me with genuine curiosity.
"I recently warmed up to the idea of Travelling, I haven't traveled a lot, but I'm starting to like it a bit more. I went to Qatar."
"Qatar? Lol, what's that?" She had a noticeable smirk.
"It's a country in the Middle East. They hosted the FIFA World Cup not too long ago. It was a childhood dre...."
She cut me off again, "I hate the Middle East."
"Well, okay, I went to watch the FIFA World Cup. It was a childhood dream for me to be able to witness it live". Her interruptions were starting to jar me a bit.
"Oh really, when was this?" She brushed her hair away, picked up her glass of coffee, and set her lips on the straw.
Her question really excited me, "It was quite recent, actually. Did you miss the news?"
"I did read something..."
Her words trailed off as I let my excitement get the better of me.
"I'm sure you heard about Messi winning the WorldCup. It was all plastered all over the news! It was incredible" I leaned in with excitement.
"Why would I know about Messi winning the Worldcup? He's not relevant to me." She met my excitement with a dismissive chill.
"Well, it was all over the news, so I assumed you'd know. Have you heard of Messi before?" I tried to keep my tone steady to curb the simmering tension.
"I have." She replied bluntly.
I waited to hear more, but her response kept hanging in the air.
"Okay, then, isn't it logical to assume..."
"Do you know about Jeremy Corbell?" She asked, her finger pointing at me. Her hand gestures started to feel intense.
"I haven't," I replied.
"Great, so I know something you don't." She prompted.
She folded her hands and leaned back on her chair briefly. Then she lunged forward and started glugging down on her drink.
There was an abrupt silence all of a sudden. I shifted in my seat as the weight of the silence made me restless. My date was busy taking hearty sips of her drink. For the first time in this entire interaction, I was able to notice the Jazz music playing in the café. The smooth notes of the piano and the trumpets infused themselves with the silence creating an eerie vibe.
I attempted to break it, "I was just pointing out that since you knew about Messi, then it might be a safe assumption that you'd also know that he won the World Cup. The same sources that informed you of his presence could have mentioned this milestone, perhaps?"
Her response was to continue sipping on her drink.
"Certain characters are so exceptional that they transcend past the domain they excel and become cultural icons - like Einstein, for instance, not only theorists & scientists know of him."
She finally kept her drink down and looked up at me, Her expression like stone, unmoved by my conscious efforts to steer this conversation away from the tension.
"I take offense in the fact that you think people should know what you know." Her words cut right through me.
I tried to douse the fire by clarifying, "I don't have any such reservations. I thought I made a rational assumption considering your familiarity with Messi."
She furrowed her eyebrows which really unsettled me, "You assumed that I should know something, and I'm not okay with these assumptions." Her voice almost verged on a yell.
Attempting to make sense of it all, I even started pacing through my words, "Isn't that how things work? We don't have a lot of information available at any given point of time; you have to make assumptions to be able to move forward, be it a decision or a conversation."
"What?" Her face had a look of incredulity with her narrowed eyes and tensed eyebrows.
I brought my fist down on the table with a nervous thud.
"Look, there were so many assumptions that we both made to be able to get here. I assumed that you knew where CP is. You assumed I knew the Café we were going to meet at? God, I assumed I'd be alive today. If I was worried that all of this would stop tomorrow, do you think I'd even show up? We all live in a realm of assumptions because we lack absolute knowledge. I know I'm going to die one day, but I'm choosing to assume it's not tomorrow."
I could see her face shifting through a multitude of emotions from confused to surprised and back to detached.
"You're not making any sense. You're just talking about general knowledge." She retorted.
Her comment really made me nervous, so I rushed to agree with her trying to wrap up the topic for good, "Exactly, so I assumed it was general knowledge, but you didn't know."
"You can't make sweeping assumptions about people; it's very reductive." She had a harsher tone towards me at this point.
Her tone really intimidated me, and I wanted to just speak my mind at this point, "I know we like to differentiate ourselves but...."
She interrupted me again by talking over me loudly, "There are better ways to get to know a person."
At this point, I really wished that stud under her lip was a button and I could press it to make her stop interrupting me like this.
"Hear me out, no matter how well defined your identity is...."
She charged me again, "You're so full of yourself."
Her sharp tone really got on my nerves. I still tried to explain what I wanted to say, so I proceeded anyways, "Can I Just....?"
"Can you stop interrupting me?" She yelled this time.
This was the last straw for me, and I lost my composure, "What? You've been interrupting me ever since we started talking. I just wanted to point out that we're pretty much the same people, man! You have the same phone as me. You're consuming the same coffee I am. I want to go to Vietnam. You want to go to Vietnam. We might be different at extremes, but the central tendency of our behavior is not. Why is making an assumption harmful? It can be a wrong one. I can always update it? "
I didn't realize how loud I was speaking till she poked her finger into her ear to suppress the sound of my voice.
This made me stop abruptly. The smooth piano notes filled up the ambiance of the café again; I noticed I had everyone's attention and settled back in my seat in defeat.
She saw my reaction, and there was a sense of calm on her face; for the first time since she came back, she looked less intimidating. She purposefully kept her voice low, now realizing that we had just created a scene, "There are better ways to get to know a person. It's like you're picking on my brain. Don't try to figure me out. All this nonsense about central tendencies and patterns, why are you psychoanalyzing me, you idiot? Ask me things, and I will tell you. This was supposed to be a date, not a fucking interrogation."
She made a lot of sense. The Café had now turned into an impromptu courtroom; Prosecution had successfully called out my social handicaps in a filled courtroom. The other patrons in the cafe were the Jury, and the Wise man with the Macbook was the Judge. In the case of the girl with an on/off button Vs the boy who can't make conversation, I pronounce the boy the odd one out.
She could've just got up and left right there, but she allowed me a chance to have a closing argument.
"I've only observed people from a distance and never tried to engage them, so I defaulted to that. I've been hiding in plain sight from the society where I can make minimal interaction that's enough to keep me in the spotlight, but most of my interactions are indirect. Thank you for pointing this out; perhaps we can start over?"
She smiled at me again, and oh, was that a welcome sight, "No, we can't." She got up from her seat, "But it was nice meeting you. Take care!" She wore her little sling purse on her shoulder, walked out the door, and soon merged into the current of people walking past the café.
6:00pm
I was home looking out of my window again. I had a steaming cup of chai cradled in my hands. I took a soft sip and stared down at the traffic below. The traffic flowed like a river, cars coming to a halt and then moving again, moving in synchronized harmony, adjusting, accommodating, and navigating at the same time. The pedestrians, each with their own purpose, walked briskly along the sidewalk. I was filled with a sense of calm as the reason behind the soothing effect of this sight became clear – it was the perpetual motion of people finding their way and eventually returning home. I recognized that I belonged in this window, my comfort zone, and my vantage point where I got to participate in society by observing.
I began to take another sip of my chai when the streets of Delhi were finally blessed with their first rains; as the streets were being showered, I realized that this downpour marked the first of many conversations for me participating in the society as well.

I am not from a well establish background financially, but with strong religious beliefs especially Christianity.
My parents believed in salvation, and not going to Church was something that was frowned upon in the family, this became the basis and the foundation of our religiosity.
At night everyone of us was assigned a task one was to Read the Bible, the other to pray, and our Mother's task was to try and explain to us the verse according to the way she understood it, sometimes accompanied with those old scary tales of witches and how their end were miserable ( There's one, of an Old granny who had a big Frog to the size of a full grown 🐈, which she used to terrorize and kill village members...) and she'll sum it up with the moral of the story in relation to the Bible. My Mother was very welcoming, I remember at times, random passer-by who could only come to ask for drinking water ended being invited for meals they never unexpected.
We used to attend to this a certain Church in our rural home (Husband -Bishop, Wife- Mama Kanisa), where people would cry whilst praying, and the majority of the church members were women, followed by Children, and few Men who held leadership positions within the Church. We had other options of Churches like ACK, SDA and Catholic which were not very far from our area of residence, but our "Mabati" church thrived in criticism and ended up convincing us that ( SDA, ACK & Catholic) wouldn't give one space to grow spiritually. The Men who were in pastoral position were good at their work of Ministry, they would minister till you fully surrender and await for the second coming of Christ. However, something mischievous was hidden in them, these people during midweek, when they go hungry and have no way to survive, they'll go pick their Bible and decide to visit one of the church members "unplanned" mostly Women ( who were philanthropic and would give without caring about tomorrow, because it's only God who knows what tomorrow beholds) and my Mother was one of them, she would loan for bread, Blue band, Sugar, sometimes slaughter Hen only to make sure the Man of God doesn't go hungry, and he will be served with those ceramic dishes only reserved for guests, and the number of visit would increase according to how welcoming you are. This led to them being exploited maximumly.
Financially we were not well off and there was no future of being stable either. My Mom would wake up early in the Morning and you could hear her praying whilst crying asking for breakthroughs, years passed and nothing changed, we were still languishing in poverty. Something that made me doubt the existence of God and wether being too philanthropic breeds misfortunes.
My Dad was the first to leave the "Mabati church" and joined the SDA church, and rules had to be changed since he's the owner of the home. Before we shifted and followed him to his new found Church, he erected a fence and a gate, attending church was only for Saturday or Sunday not for the whole day but for hours allocated to that service ( Either first or second), no pastors coming unannounced, and anyone coming to his home had to have business bringing him/her there.
Since we left the Mabati church everything has been good and we can finally start seeing light. Something I love with the first churches established ( ACK, CATHOLIC, SDA etc) they don't thrive on criticism and they're not in for forced miracles and lies to get members. Our God is a God of order and I love how orderly they are no noises from the loud speakers, well planned services, they don't overdo preaching with that "throat cancer seeking voice".
These Mabati and Modern Churches once they realize you are philanthropic with the little you have, they can really exploit you with deceit and lies, while you are left thriving in poverty ( You understand why they are many such like churches in Kibra, Mathare etcetera, however they do defend it with high population).
In my first Years of studies during long Holiday break, I happened to visit my friend in one of the ghettos ( Kawangware), and attended a church that had a longer name than the names of their 20 members combined, the service was not in order (Could last up to 3PM), speakers of 200DB and the pastor is still shouting to the top of his voice, the members were addressing him as "papa". The "papa" was a convert from Muslim to Christianity.
I was sitting at the back ( a common norm to any new member in the church). During intercessory prayer time, there was this woman who I was later told was the prophetess, she was going round eyes closed and would pick random members and take them to "papa" where she'll tell him all your problems and you'll confirm if they are true or not and later "papa" would pray for you.
This time it was my turn, the "holy spirit" led her to me and I was taken to "papa". I was told to raise my hand (obeyed), eyes closed which I didn't and microphone held for me to affirm the words of the prophetess, she spoke in language I couldn't understand, so all were interpreted for me, " umetafuta kazi miaka tatu na ukakosa" ( Mind you, I was a fresher during the post coronavirus period). I was totally confused because if I say no I would disband the church, if I say yes then I would be part of deceit.
I answered nothing, and walked away from the podium heading directly to the exist " huyo ako na shetani kubwa, amefungwa na shosho yake, mwache tutamuombea, maombi haitaji gari" papa said. As a new member in the church before beginning the of the service the ushers were to collect the numbers. At 9PM the pastor called me and said I should have agreed with everything they were saying, we had a long conversation and ended up hanging up to his BS.
Another encounter was with a church where members were being given salt and sand mixed in a paper, to go and pour to their doors and at their work place and await for blessings ( the mixture was in a basin) " Wenye wako na shs 1000 Moja wakuje wachukue baraka zao, Wenye wako na 900..800..500..50... Wenye hawana kujieni" I was part of Wenye hawana. I took the mixture and during the departure time I poured it at the entrance of the church wao pia wabarikiwe, the usher aliniangalia akacheka tu.
Beware to this new upcoming modern churches, as long as you abide by the Bible and the ten commandments you are good to go. Of late have been reading Quran and just trying to understand their version of religion.