Talk To Me Goose (October 12th-15th):
-The Padres and Dodgers were in an intense playoff game on October 12th, with the Dodgers currently leading the series 1-0 in Dodger Stadium. In the 8th inning, with the Padres up 5-3 trying to bring the series home tied a game apiece, a random Goose decided to make its way down and nestled itself on the grass just outside of the infield, causing one of the more bizarre delay of games a postseason game has seen. The Dodger fans were loving it, due to the fact that right after the Goose was spotted and joined the party, Gavin Lux got on base with a hit, bringing the tying run to the plate. Little did they realize that their opposing fanbase would take a liking to the mascot a lot more, as the Padres and Padres fans would go on a 3 game winning streak against the Dodgers, eliminating them from the postseason, and moving on to the Championship Series with a new mascot in tow.
Alfaro Walks It Off..... Literally (September 27th):
-There were 9 games left in the regular season. The Padres were still locked in a very tight race with the Brewers and the Phillies for wildcard spots, and every win counted. a 3rd of their remaining games was against the Dodgers, who all season have been nothing short of a thorn in the side of the Padres. It was a deadlock. Throughout 9 innings both teams barely scored, with Hader and Alfaro trying to close out the game with a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately, with a runner on 3rd, there was a mix-up between the battery mates, and Alfaro couldn't catch the ball Hader throw, leading to a pass ball and a tie game. In the bottom of the 10th, he was given a chance to redeem himself. With the bases loaded, and 2 outs, there was a full "Party on the base pads" situation with a full count and everyone on. Fighting against a struggling Craig Kimbrel, Alfaro took the most patient approach, and allowed Kimbrel to throw him a 4th ball, winning the game and walking it off, LITERALLY. To put into context as to how crazy this was, his last walk that he allowed himself to earn? JULY 26TH. A month and a half had passed since he last worked a walk. AQUAMAN!
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This guide can be found in it's entirety (w/ commentary and links) at "the Newest Oldest Blog in New Zealand"
Comic collecting used to require a lot more space!

West Cost Avengers Limited Series (1984)

#1-4: Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: How The West Was Won (Epic Vol. 1) Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4, Iron Man Annual 7, Avengers (1963) #250, West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7, Vision And The Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2, and Wonder Man (1986) #1
#1-4: West Coast Avengers Assemble (ISBN 0785162232) Collect s1984 West Coast Avengers four-issue limited series plus the issues surrounding the launch of Avengers West Coast – Avengers #250, Iron Man Annual 7, as well as excerpts from Avengers #239, 243-244, & 246 and Avengers West Coast #100. Also available in hardcover and below in Omnibus, Vol. 1
Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1-4 This 1982 mini-series also acts as a precursor to some of the themes in West Coast Avengers, though it is not a direct prequel to the series. Also collects Giant-Size Avengers #4
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The West Coast Avengers (1985 – 1989)

In oversized format…
#1-16: West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 1 Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785167455) Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4; Iron Man Annual 7; Avengers (1963) #250; West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-16; Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2; Avengers Annual (1967) 15; West Coast Avengers Annual 1; material from Avengers (1963) #239, 243-244, 246; material from Avengers West Coast 100
#17-41: West Coast Avengers Omnibus, Vol. 2 Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785167471) Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #17-41, West Coast Avengers Annual 2-3, Avengers Annual (1967) #16, Fantastic Four (1961) #19, and Dr. Strange (1974) #53
#42-62: Avengers by John Byrne Omnibus Oversized Hardcover Collects West Coast Avengers (1985) #42-46; Avengers West Coast #47-62, Annual 4; Avengers (1963) #305-318, Annual 18
In standard-size format…
#1-7: Avengers West Coast Epic Collection: How The West Was Won (Epic Vol. 1) Collects West Coast Avengers (1984) #1-4, Iron Man Annual 7, Avengers (1963) #250, West Coast Avengers (1985) #1-7, Vision And The Scarlet Witch (1985) #1-2, and Wonder Man (1986) #1
#1-9: West Coast Avengers: Family Ties (ISBN 078516216X) Also collects the first two-issues of a year-long The Vision and The Scarlet Witch maxi-series. That series, in turn is collected in a TPB that includes West Coast Avengers #2. Also available as a Marvel Premiere Classic hardcover (ISBN 0785155007)
Avengers: Vision & The Scarlet Witch – A Year in the Life Collects the 12-issue maxi-series that ran alongside West Coast Avengers, as well as WCA #2
#10-16: West Coast Avengers: Sins of the Past (ISBN 0785167498) Marvel Premier Classic HC. Also collects West Coast Avengers Annual #1 and Avengers Annual #15. Also available as a Marvel Premiere Classic hardcover (ISBN 0785159002)
#15: Women of Marvel, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785127089) This Tigra-centric issue is collected alongside Avengers #83, Spider-Woman #10, Uncanny X-Men #168, 189, 201 & 218, Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12, and lead stories from Strange Tales (1987) #10-11
#17-24: West Coast Avengers: Lost in Space and Time (ISBN 0785162216) Marvel Premier Classic HC. Also collects Fantastic Four (1961) 19 & Dr. Strange (1974) 53
#21: Avengers: The Many Faces of Henry Pym (ISBN 0785162062) Collects key issues of Dr. Henry Pym, who has been Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and even The Wasp! Collects Tales of Suspense (1959) #27, #35, and #49; Avengers (1963) #28 and #59-60; West Coast Avengers (1985) #21; Avengers Annual 2001; and Secret Invasion Requiem
#25-30: West Coast Avengers: Zodiac Attack Marvel Premier Classic HC. Also collects Annual 2 and Avengers Annual 16. Also available in hardcover (ISBN 0785162534)
#31-41: Not collected in standard size
#42-50: Avengers West Coast: Vision Quest (ISBN 0785117741) Doubles as John Byrne Visionaries, Vol. 1. Collects the story as it continues to the re-titled series, staring in issue #47. Reprinted in 2015.
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Avengers West Coast (1989 – 1994)

#47-62: Collected in John Byrne omnibus, above
#51-57: Avengers West Coast: Darker Than Scarlet (ISBN 0785130276) Doubles as John Byrne Visionaries, Vol. 2. Also collects #60-62
#53-55: Acts of Vengeance Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785144641) Collects issues from around the Marvel Universe that participated in the villain-centric Acts of Vengeance theme. From the Avengers Universe that included Avengers #311-313 and Annual 19, Avengers Spotlight (1989) #26-29, Avengers West Coast (1989) #53-55, Captain America (1968) #365-367, Iron Man (1968) #251-252, and Thor (1966) #411-413
#56 & Annual 4: Atlantis Attacks Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785144922) Presents the Marvel-wide Atlantis Attacks event in chronological order, which includes excerpting back-up stories into their own separate sequence. Collects Silver Surfer Annual #2, Iron Man Annual #10, Marvel Comics Presents #26, Uncanny X-Men Annual #13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23, Punisher Annual #2, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #9, Daredevil Annual #4, Avengers Annual #18, New Mutants #76, Annual #5, X-Factor Annual #4, Web of Spider-Man Annual #5, Avengers West Coast #56, Annual #4, Thor Annual #14, and Fantastic Four Annual #22
#58-59: Avengers West Coast: Along Came a Spider-Woman (ISBN 0785162321) Also collects #63-75
#60-62: Collected in Darker Than Scarlet, above. #61 also collected in Avengers: Legion of the Unliving.
#63-75: in Along Came a Spider-Woman, above.
#76-79: Not collected
#80-82: Epic Collection: Operation Galactic Storm (Epic Vol. 22) Collects the entire space crossover epic from Avengers (1963) #345-347, Avengers West Coast #80-82, Quasar #32-36, Wonder Man (1991) #7-9, Iron Man (1968) #278-279, Thor (1966) #445-446, and material from Captain America (1968) #398-400
Galactic Storm was previously collected in a pair of trade paperbacks…
#80-81: Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785120440) Collects the first half of the crossover from Avengers #345-346, Avengers West Coast (1989) #80-81, Captain America (1968) #398-399, Iron Man (1968) #278, Quasar (1989) #32-33, Thor (1966) #445, and Wonder Man (1991) #7-8
#82: Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785120459) Collects the second half of the crossover from Avengers #347, Avengers West Coast (1989) #82, Captain America (1968) #400-401, Iron Man (1968) #279, Quasar (1989) #34-36, Thor (1966) #446, Wonder Man (1991) #9, and What If…? (1989) #55-56
#83-88: Not collected
#89-91: Avengers: Ultron Unbound Also collects Annual 8 and Vision #1-4. This is an early placement of Annual 8, which should fall after #95
#92-100 & 102: Avengers: The Death of Mockingbird Collects Avengers West Coast #92-100 & 102; Spider-woman (1993) #1-4; and material From Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #143-144
After #95 & Annual 8: U.S. Agent #1-4
After #97: Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4: Avengers: The Big Three Collects Captain America (1968) #176; Avengers (1963) #150-151, 215-216, 224; Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4; Avengers (1998) #21; and Thor (1998) #81
#101: Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties Hardcover (ISBN 0785101039) Collects Avengers #368-369, Avengers West Coast #101, X-Men #26, Uncanny X-Men #307, & Black Knight: Exodus. Previously available in an out-of-print softcover sans the Black Knight one-shot as Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties (ISBN 0785101039)
Spider-Woman #1-4: Collected above with Death of Mockingbird
Scarlet Witch #1-4: Scarlet Witch by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Collects Scarlet Witch #1-4 plus supplemental material, including Avengers Origins: Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver and material from Marvel Team-Up #125, Solo Avengers #5, Marvel Comics Presents #60-63 & 143-144, and Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch
#102: Collected above with Death of Mockingbird. The core cast of Avengers West Coast continues in Force Works
Hawkeye, Vol. 2 #1-4: Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksmen Collects Hawkeye (1994) 1-4; Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman; and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #159-161
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Force Works (1994 – 1996)

#1-15: Avengers/Iron Man: Force Works Collects Force Works 1-11, 12, 13-15, Ashcan Edition; Century: Distant Sons 1; Material From Iron Man/Force Works Collectors’ Preview
#6-7: Iron Man / War Machine: Hands of the Mandarin Hands of the Mandarin crossover to Iron Man #311-312, War Machine #9-10, and Marvel Comics Presents #169-172
#16-22: Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785162038) Collects Age of Innocence: The Rebirth of Iron Man (1996) #1, Avengers: The Crossing (1995) #1, Avengers: Timeslide (1996) #1, Avengers #390-395, Force Works (1994) #16-22, Iron Man (1968) #319-325, and War Machine (1994) #20-23
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West Coast Avengers (2018 – 2019)

#1-6: Vol. 1: Best Coast
#7-10: Vol. 2: City of Evils (ISBN 978-1302913465)

My mother and I have had a very rough relationship for most of my life. When I was around 10 or so, she started drinking a lot and she quit her job that she had for over 10 years. Because I was the oldest child, that meant a lot of the responsibilities came to me with my younger siblings (there are 4 of them, 2 of them were literaly toddlers/babies). She had many spouts of working small jobs, which meant I'd have to babysit on the days we were over there (my parents are separated and myself and 2 other siblings would go to my dad's for half the week, the other two have different fathers). But then even when she wasn't working, her drinking got worse, and I'd still have to babysit. This went on until I was about 14, and CPS got involved and took us all from her. I'm 24 now, almost 25, and things have improved between my mother and I, but not much. She was barely around during my teen years. She had no place for me to stay when my dad and stepmother packed my things and kicked me out a month after graduating high-school, because of course, she was still drinking constantly.
Since then she doesn't drink as much now, so she is easier to have a relationship with. But she also expects me to just fully forgive her and trust her after all of those years I lost taking care of her children, going through my teen years with no support, and having to find other family to live with when I got kicked out at 18 with no driver's license or job. As I'm getting older, I'm realizing that not only is my mother an alcoholic, but she is a narcissist. And the more I'm learning about who she is, the more I realize, maybe I don't want a relationship with her at all. It's crazy because this is all I wanted when I was 15, 16, 17. I just wanted my mom like everyone else had theirs.
But some things have happened recently that have caused me to maybe think about cutting contact. I'll try to explain it without dragging it on too long, so I'm sorry if I fail at doing so:
About a month ago, I told her a movie was being re-released and I was really excited. We both really enjoy this movie, so she said we will have to make a plan to go see it. Well about 2 weeks ago, I visited 2 of my sisters, and they told me they went and saw the movie. All of them, with our mother, as a whole family (minus one siblings who lives in another state). But no one invited me. I was hurt by this, but not too badly, but I did decide to confront my mother about it, since I was the one who suggested we go in the first place.She immediately pushed all blame onto me and said she didn't invite me to come along because I'm "always busy." So you can't send a fucking text? How hard is that? Am I crazy for thinking that is out of line to ask my mom to at least try to invite me? If I was busy then oh well, but she could've at least tried.
So anyways she said that her and I could just go. I told her I didn't really want to and I wasn't feeling like it, because it really would've been fun to experience it with the whole family, and not just taking me because I was an afterthought. She gets mad and says that if I wanted to go so bad that I should've made plans well before they went. So once again, it's my fault that I wasn't invited, because I shouldve made the plan first??? She can't just apologize and say she should've just sent a quick text. Since that happened, I've been more distant because her reaction hurt my feelings, and I'm dealing with a lot of other stuff mentally. My mom has a tendency to text me literally every day sometimes (when she doesn't go back to her old ways and go on a drinking bender). I don't text anyone every day, and keeping up with the constant communication is very exhausting to me.
So a week has past since the movie debacle, and we're on to last Monday now. She texted me asking how I'm doing at around noon. I was very busy with work until around 4:30, and spent time decompressing and wasn't on my phone. Then at 6 pm, I get a knock on my apartment door. It's my mother. And she stopped by to make sure I was okay because I didn't answer at noon. Let me repeat that. My mother was so "worried" about her adult, nearly 25 year old daughter, not answering her for 6 hours. 6 hours!!! Not even a whole fucking day! And she knows I work. She knew I was busy that day.
So I get a bit defensive and she immediately gets mad and says I should appreciate that she cares about me enough to take the time to come to my house and check up on me. I simply tell her that I am an adult, and that I should be allowed not to text her every single day. I tried setting a boundary and saying that it is stressful for me to have to keep up with the constant communication. She literally just walked away while I was in the middle of a sentence and hasn't spoken to me since.
So here's one last bit of info. One of my sisters ended up being put into my grandparents care during the CPS stuff, and has stayed with them since. She lives in another state with them, so we don't get to see her very often. I have some past issues with my grandparents, my grandfather especially. Without getting into details, he made me very uncomfortable a few years ago while they were living in the same state as me. They were who I went to live with when I was kicked out of my dad's. I told my grandmother what he did to make me uncomfortable and she ignored me and chose not to believe me. I worry about my sister and have tried to get her taken out of their care in case my grandfather tries to be weird with her, but my hands are tied unfortunately.
So fast forward to this most recent weekend. I get a text from my grandmother saying they are in town, and they'd love to go to dinner. I made en excuse as to why I couldn't, because I have no interest in being in the same room as my grandparents, but of course I'd love to see my sister. They are here until next Saturday, so I still have time. But I didn't even know my sister would be in the state, because my mom failed to tell me.
So I texted one of my other sisters today to ask if they've seen her with our mom yet, or if there was a plan to. She replied "we all saw her yesterday and will probably see her again before she goes." I just started sobbing.
So my mom is so angry with me over me setting a boundary and asking for space last week when she showed up to my place, that she A) could not even give me a heads up my sister would be here and B) won't even tell me when they're seeing her so I don't have to put myself in an uncomfortable position by having to see my grandparents. She knows what my grandpa did and that I don't want a relationship with him or my grandmother. I don't even know if this is the right place for this post, but I am just so hurt and baffled. How can my mom not see that this all could've been avoided if she hadn't blamed me for her not inviting me to the movie, and then if she hadn't gotten so angry with me for setting what I believe to be a pretty normal boundary for an adult?
Any advice or kind words would be appreciated. I am super sad that this is happening. I think it may be time to cut off contact with her. I know it may seem so dramatic for me to end my relationship with her, but it's a long time coming. She always disrespects me and when I stand up for myself, she never apologizes and instead finds a way to make it my fault. I'm so tired of sitting here wondering why I deserve to be left out, especially when my siblings are alive and well mainly because of my raising them all those years, when I should've been allowed to be a kid and have fun. She treats the other kids so different than she treats me, and it hurts. I'm so tired of being my mothers punching bag. And I am more than tired of being punished by trying to live a normal and peaceful life after such a traumatic childhood. But then if she can't bully me, she starts texting the other 2 that are the next oldest when she's drunk, and I don't want that for them. They shouldn't have to deal with what I did. I want to protect them, but I also know with my mental health being as bad as it is, that I cannot carry the weight of my mother and all that comes with her forever. I'm just very lost and sad. Thank you to all who reads this and to anyone who may comment. I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to let me vent about this.

my baby is 8 months old and my first goal was 6 months, then 8 months now I’m aiming for a year. He was a preemie born at 34 weeks. My supply has suddenly tanked the last 6 days. I’ve been pumping 8 ounces every 6 hours 3x a day. Now I can barely produce 5 ounces every 6 hrs. This happened because I had 2 days where I went off schedule and was late for pumping by 1.5-2 hrs. How can increase my supply again? I have a school aged child at home and would like to EP as long as possible because this poor baby has caught every flu/virus in the book.

In other words, how many "taps" do you want a game to have till death? A lot of games nowadays seem to be 2-tap, with the likes of Street Fighter being an exception at 3 to 4 taps per round. Is this a good trend, or would you prefer games be a little bulkier? Or maybe the opposite, and be 1- or 1.5-tap like Super Turbo?
And as a bonus side question: how much of a difference in damage do you want between combo damage and noncombo damage? How much should pokes, projectiles, and failed hitconfirms contribute towards winning a round?

Circle of the altruist
Members of the Circle of the Altruist derive their powers from the ancient beings of nature stored deep within their soul. These druids utilize this strength to garner abilities which enhance their prowess in many different aspects. Most members of the Circle of the Altruist hold themselves to using these primal powers in ways to benefit others and protect those around them.
Starting at 2ed level you may only use wild shape as a bonus action for the circle of the altruist abilities; each ability lasts only an hour and ends if another is used. You can also drop any of the effects on your turn as a free action.
Fleeting feet: your movement speed is increased by 5 feet and 10 feet at 10th level
Shielding bark: you gain a +1 bonus to ac that is increased to +2 at 10th level
Arms of oak: add your proficiency bonus to your melee damage and at 10th a plus one to hit
Starting at 6th level you are able to use your abilities more often and now can use wild shape 4 times to activate your abilities you also can use two new ability:
Wings of Ivy: you sprout wings and gain a flight speed of 15 feet increasing to 30 at 14th level
Piercing eyes: you gain darkvision for 120 feet and 240 feet at 14th level
Starting at 10th level in this class you may use 2 of your circle of the altruist abilities at once alongside this your circle abilities increase in strength.
Starting at 14th level you are more Intune with your abilities you can now use them more freely and on each of your turns you can activate a circle of the altruist ability as a free action. Alongside this you can regain a number of your wild shapes equal to half your proficiency bonus rounded down as part of a short rest.

For context: I've been struggling to get a college degree for 7,5 years now and I am almost done. I have a conversation about finishing my graduation project this Thursday and if everything is okay I can schedule a tike to present my portfolio. If that presentation is also okay I graduate.
Here's my issue: my friends and family keep urging me to have a party once I graduate and I don't think I want to for a few reasons.
First: I'm not even sure I'll graduate and the stress is almost unbearable now that everyone around me is expecting that I will get my diploma soon. I'm so scared something will go wrong and I won't get my diploma and disappoint everyone.
Second: it doesn't feel like something worth celebrating to me. It feels more like something I barely survived (literally). Celebrating something that has made me feel miserable for so long feels wrong.
Third: Im exhausted. I feel so burned out and have had so many meltdowns lately. I'm absolutely not in the mood for celebrating. I just want to bury myself in a huge pile of squishmallows and weighted blankets.
My friends and family keep pushing me because they are convinced that I will regret it if I don't celebrate this achievement. I've tried to explain why I don't want to but they don't understand or don't want to listen. How do I make it clear to them that I REALLY DONT WANT TO CELEBRATE THIS?!

So my gf just ended (actually 2 days ago) our 15 months relationship. It is my first post ever and i am basicly never making them anywhere (my social media everywhere arę empty) but i feel so alone right now, somehow typing this feels right. Anyways IT IS SO SO SO HARD. It is my 3rd attempt in the "relationships" and i thought it will be my ever lasting love but oh boy i was mistaken. To make it worse there few things that truly makes it worse.
Issue one At some point in my life i was constantly changing where i live and it made my introvert self just go deeper in it. Now i feel like i am not going to trust anymore, anyone. 3rd time i decide to open myself and my heart (i got some issues and childhood problems and it takes rly hard time to talk about them) and it is 3rd time i am dumped. I feel like a biggest fool i could possibly be.
Issue two I always had a dream and literally fueled myself with the belief, that at some point i will be loved. When i was, everything i was doing was almost perfect. Regardless due to this problem with getting to know new people i honestly don t know where i am going to find somebody new. I literally have no idea where to find love. You might say i can t find and love and IT WILL FIND ME, but rly? I am a male, i would say 5/10 at his best not fat not skinny, casual regular. I don t think i ll get any attention from anybody.
Issue three It took month. All of a sudden, just like pulling out uno reverse card, she said she is not comfortable. I was like (in my mind WTF) but kept cool and asked why and what for etc. Came to conclusion she is not certain if she just accepted being my girlfriend as she didn t want to refuse to me when i asked her to be mine. I was like, yeah, you didn t want to say no cuz you liked me. But then she said is will make her decision at her next family gathering with her favourite aunt and cousin. So for a month i was trying my best to be Perfect in every way. I was constantly persuading her. Even came to the point where she had arguments till she saw me cuz she just felt right in my arms. So i was confident in myself. I even organized small picnic and stuff to celebrate her decision cuz still nothing seemed wrong to me, not a thing. The time Has come. I am under her door, she comes out and i tried to kiss her but she moved away do i kissed her on the forehead. Then she said very clearly, firmly and short. This is over. I am not changing my mind, i am not going with u, it is the end. I went to the bench and sat there for an hour or so (bench was somewhere else) trying to at least accept the fact od what happened cuz i still don t know how could this happened.
Issue four I don t feel so well. I mean, i usually felt heartbroken and some warmth of memories after breakup, but now. This is the literal void and constant crying, uncontrolable crying. I don t even feel bad for myself. I just think that i am destined to be alone in this world. Acceptance and suffering without feeling bad about it. Like if somehow it is just the way i am supposed to be.
I feel whole lot better now after typing it. Well maybe not better. Rather not as sad as i was 10 minutes ago. Thanks for reading if you read. Sorry for any mistakes in typing, i am not good at it.

This is a collection of short stories that have something to do with current events. Enjoy.
2023-03-20

The Uneven Divide - Part 3

(Part 1 and 2 in first post of Collection)
“I see a city on a disk. Though all the powers of the world would like to watch it fall, it won’t. I look at it floating above it all. Above There’s political turmoil. Beyond the grip of local markets, this city spins around the globe. You make your business everyone’s, and in turn, everyone profits from your presence.”
I see a land so cold,” I continued. “That it smokes as if it’s on fire. Like the Mother Sphere pulls you up, the frost brings your people together. This inseparable unity warms each building by your people’s sheer attraction for the Lands of Over-There. What us foreigners see as a frigid barren disk of ill fortuity, where people live barred up inside out of necessity, it’s instead a fortress from anything cold, which hosts every fervent hearted opportunity.”
The lock beeped. The door crept open. She kicked her feet off. A skinny man with both our ages walked in. He was wearing a three-piece suit. This wasn’t uncommon, as each layer made the heating bill less hard to look at. His name and the chain on his matte black visitor’s badge were contrasted with gold.
They spoke in their language.
He said something like hi, how are you, what are you doing here?
She answered something along the lines of hi, I’m doing great, in a meeting, you?
He went on saying precisely “I’m doing twice well”—which is an interesting expression meaning; I was already doing well, but from the moment you asked about me, I started doing twice as well—then I think he said he was also here for a meeting, and “who is he?”
She told him my name, then his name to me. Whom I will refer to as Gotnaym of Over-There.
He greeted me, I presented myself with a customary nod. Which could’ve been considered curt in our culture.
Then it got too wordy for me to understand. They switched languages as he walked over to extend his hand.
Mid-shake, he said in perfect speech, “She tells me your consultancy in There is no circus. I might have some questions later, my son is investing abroad.”
Then he laughed. I tried my hardest to make my confusion pass off as surprise, all while making sure not to loosen my grip nor lose the tempo of the motion, as I smiled in what I hoped to have looked like an agreeing pose.
“He’s not interested in any clown ventures I hope, Mr. Gotnaym,” I said. “I’d be out of my league if he were.”
“That’s exactly why I’d hire you,” he explained. “Thankfully, we’re a line of miners, Mr. Consultant. Hard-working people, who bring along like-minded experts. There are no full-time artists on these disks, I’m afraid.”
I was ready to let go but he wasn’t as willing.
“It’s always a fine moment to meet someone glad to buy into their family,” I concluded. “But I might not be the right hire for advice on how you ought to spend your own money. I don’t know if she's told you my line of work?”
This made him laugh some more. He was still shaking my hand.
“She has, yes!” He looked at her after placing his free hand on my shoulder side. She was completely motionless. “Funny man,” he said in his mother tongue.
“Don’t let me interrupt you, Mr. Consultant. Please continue while we wait,” he said, finally releasing his grip to grab a seat by the backrest.
“While we wait?” I asked him.
“I just is inform,” she said. “Next meeting is push to soon. Temporary lockdown here. Please continuing, Mr. Consultant. You no leaving now.”
“Emergency?” I read in their eyes the impending dread they covered up with an interest in listening only, so they wouldn’t have to think.
“Gladly,” I said. “I guess I’ll find out soon. Thank you for giving me this time out of your day.” She had some relief mixed in with her emotions. The rest of her micro-expressions were of a combination I’ve never noticed twice. It was too particular to recreate in writing or in a film.
“Mr. Consultant talking how city infrastructure be one with immigration,” she explained. “I asking what he see in city.”
“Where was I?” I asked me.
“You were reporting how the cold brings us people together,” he told me.
Wondering if their door wasn’t soundproofed had flooded my head with blood, which drew along this fresh thought frenzy and the terrible idea that anyone could’ve heard us earlier.
“Right,” I said to start hushing my blushing. “The problem. Your city is nothing more than a cold flatland sprinkled with tall boxes where folks come and freeze to death. That’s what they see from below, down in There. When I booked my ticket, my friends argued about who would get what if I didn’t make it back.”
The suitedman sat down.
“To outsiders, to the frigid ones, these lands get people to ratify off on an early will. I mean—I signed a waiver just for the elevator ride… Too many who travel to your disks don’t come back home. Most get working visas. The deal is: you spend four months a year here, and that pays for six of vacation. The smart ones, like I’m sure your son is, do five years to invest in There’s Venus coin traps. Then they sit back and never visit again. They risk their days for the money. Not for your city, not for the people here. They say they come to live out the rest of their lives at the mines. Then if they’re lucky enough not to get shipped home as a popsicle, they go to their folk waving their phat wads of cash in the hands with the least fingers lost to the frostbite.”
“I asked the locals last night. Why would you sell everything for this? Leave your families, abandon your lifestyles—What pulled you in? They all gave me the same answer. The same one I have. The first time I came here, it only took me two days. Two days to fall in love.”
“You maybe fall in loving after no long enough, Mr. Consultant,” she said.
“Are you telling me you don’t feel the same?”
“I think,” Gotnaym interjected. Then he paused. Sort of like cutting someone off on the freeway only to slow down right after.
“I think what my colleague is trying to express here … is that all of this sounds a bit too poetic.”
He looked at her to see if she’d agree. Which, she did.
“I also think we’re both happy you really are loving the experience here, Mr. Consultant. But it takes more than feelings to move to a place like this. The ones who do immigrate are steadily emigrating in larger numbers. The workforce won’t meet the upcoming demand. We start terraforming the east perimeter straight after the election next quarter. That’s a projected two years to find enough workers, build and house multiple villages. Provided the right candidate wins.”
At that moment, I was glad to have mistakenly not skipped our philosophy professor’s class on The Ethics of Language. I got my dates mixed up and thought it was a mandatory attendance lab. She explained how Over-There’s main export was subject to ethical scrutiny. They extracted such a lucrative resource, that they could afford to import all else. From food to people. Two entirely different things, that they’d fail to source locally in any useful quantity. Therein laid the dilemma. Their dialect had evolved so as to not differentiate between workers or wheat in regard to imports. As for commodities in business, they began treating both as such on paper. Written words have real-world applications. That same export was also what their disk was made of. One giant mother-cluster of concentrated minerals.
“How long is a mine active on these disks?” I asked.
“About a half lifetime depending on the weather. You’re looking at the investment of the century, my Frozen-Nozen. Literally.”
This suddenly explained why I so easily passed off as a consultant. At least, that’s what I was thinking then. They were probably ready to pay everyone and their kids to get as many opinions on this as possible. I can’t believe I used to give mine out for free.
“Frozen-Nozen?” I asked.
“It’s a term for those who aren’t afraid of a bit of outdoor labour,” he said.
“I see. Couldn’t you just advertise that fact in There?” I pitched.
“I don’t get it.” He mimed a billboard with his hands. “Come up to Over-There, and freeze your nose off for a living wage.”
“That’s not what I meant, but really, why not? People are nomadic opportunists. They’ll move and let the frost nip at their nose if you promise them a round fiddy years of job stability. If they become permanent residents.”
“No one plans on spending fiddy years in a work village, Mr. Consultant. They’re built as temporary housing. They share a shower per unit.”
“Isn’t that an issue? People need a good quality of entertainment to stay someplace so dull when they can glance at other options. They’ll want something they can’t get anywhere else. Couple that with the appeal of privacy. Your child population levels are dropping? Intimacy widely increases from zero to one shower per household. I’d start hiring full-time artists to get some inspiration flowing. Let couples make their own entertainment. Get some comfier architecture. They'll make babies. Or get your engineers to make leisure versions of your military rovers. With enough room for two. Watch them hit wild speeds in the east bumpy lands around their camps.”
“How much would that cost?” He asked. To my relief, he then immediately reconsidered. “No, these plans are staying under permafrost. We want to attract workers, not activists.”
I must’ve looked confused.
“Much leaving people, because activist come Over-There and saying mine is kill nature. Much tourism satire is Come visit before disk is all holes,” she quoted.
“If it’s really destroying the ecosystems then I’m afraid there isn’t much—”
“What ecosystem?” He interrupted. “Nothing but people live here, Mr. Consultant. And we only cover 15% of our whole island. Most of us are all in this city. The claims are false.”
“Then why do enough of both your people and mine believe these activists?” I insisted. “Who I’ve never heard of, so they must all be online. Is complaining just something to do? How does that affect where people live?”
“Emotion of being … more purposeful than normal people,” she said. “Important maybe to many action people. But also, wireless community There having very addictivity.”
“Adictivity?” I asked. “I mean—or, what do you mean by addiction?”
She explained how our wireless communications in There were designed to get individuals to react before thinking.
Anyone reading this today won’t understand the complexity of the issue, so I’ll try to translate the way people like your great-great-grandparents used to communicate. I suggest you ask them about it if they’ve opted for resurrection therapy.
We had these sorts of primitive portable screens that were usually carried around in pockets. Pockets were these holes in our clothes that would hold stuff. When we mostly owned material items, we needed a method of having those things at our disposition. And because we only have two biological hands, most would prefer to walk about with lighter objects in all kinds of pouches. From books to babies, bags of fabrics were significant to us.
The most important pouch was the pocket. That’s the place where people put stuff they wanted to hold closest to their person. That’s because not having them nearby caused an immediate sense of emergency. Their money, their analog keys, their smokables (non digital drug consumable), the time of one day divided into 86,400 different times… Most would also keep their touch screens in their pockets.
We’d communicate through a revolutionary medium termed, “social media.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s because presently, that’s our only form of expression left. So we just call it talking.
Fun fact: in 1402, both words were banned if put together. For all generations coming after the criminalization of social media, to try and curb the addiction, so we could gain control over the technocratic overlords of the virtual space. Clearly, that didn’t work, but I won’t bore you with the details in this format for much longer.
To quickly finish this history lesson then, we nicknamed those screens “phones.” They were these physical things that you’d feel right on your skin. And you had to push around to type words or record either your organic image or sounds, or disproportionately more often, those of a cat. A real cat. They aren’t a digital invention! Then you’d post those representations in places called “the Internet.” The Internet would be referred to as the world today.
Humans had to mind-travel via their phones to access the world before. And they’d navigate through it by utilizing their biological hands like a bunch of Neanderthals. On Social Media in the Internet realm, other people would have to move their fingers around their screen to come look at what you posted. Can you imagine? It’s like if today, someone had to do something to hear you.
They would then react to what they saw. Kind of how people used to communicate what they thought through their body language. The only difference was that in the Old World, a public would react to a speaker on stage, and everyone went on their way afterwards. No longer under the influential energy of a cheering or booing crowd, they could think about the message. On the Internet, it would stay up, and we could keep reacting to it. Even years after something was said. The public reaction would get louder and louder and it was like it never stopped to calm down and reflect. Excitement is not a friend of thought.
As people posted more and more, they did less and less of anything else. The goal of the communication was only to react. Always as fast as possible. People started doing activities only so they could post. They lost the enjoyment of doing for the sake of doing. Everything became a reason to get a reaction out of others. Everyone became amateur stage performers. Professionals had to be trained in that regard. They had to learn how to handle themselves when their work would become a series of reactions to trigger a chain of reactions. The users of primitive Social Media never stood a chance.
It’s what she explained during our impromptu board meeting that afternoon. It’s what changed the way I saw the world as well. I watched as her theory turned out to be sufficiently accurate, and I caught myself wondering for a moment if she hadn’t had something to do with the unravelling of the events.
If you’re Neanderthal enough to remember the sound of genuine vocal chords, I invite you to imagine how she expressed it all to me in her riveting broken accent. It’s why I wrote it how she said it.
The year is 1282 again. It’s cold, the exit doors are locked down, I have an actual phone in my physical pocket…
She asked me to see mine. A ritual at the time. So I showed her. She didn’t look impressed, so I asked her to show me hers. It was nice. Real nice. So nice in fact, that I started feeling a bit shy and ended up subtly putting mine away as she explained.
“People addicted to making posting. More posting, more liking, more emotion of purposeful existing. But so many content, so much other people also looking for … valid of purposeful life, because now, day no with phone is like food no with taste. Is boring. Why eat? Why do anything? But problem happen when truth is people wanting. Because goal of social media is react, react, react. Chain reaction like nuclear. Have be fast. Social media not receive, think, maybe react if wise. Social media no survive this way, very boring if not in-person meeting for exchange serious ideas. No win Internet point for taking time, finding truth, telling people wrong too. No good feeling also, if thinking, no posting, no outside influence saying yes you living and you be valid person. So no react, no valid existence.”
She paused. We both glanced at one another to confirm what we had already decided. Neither of us were going to interrupt her train of ideas. I was impressed. Not by what she was saying, though. It wasn’t anything we didn’t know. It was more that she could almost speak our language when she carried herself in her flow.
“People define value by number of attention they getting. They getting attention by posting posting posting, reacting reacting reacting, and no thinking thinking then maybe posting after long. Thinking bad for business if business is price of reacting. Business need people pushing button not after long. Social media Model is job of push button. Worker build city, push button too you thinking. But building infrastructure, opportunity, thinking involved more than even writer, Mr. Consultant. Bad thinking kill in building city.”
It took me a second to break character. Then I remembered who I really was. Eventually I realized she had just insulted me. I gave a warm chuckle. This disrupted Gotnaym’s attention. She went on.
“Influencer is job of push button to getting more people pushing button before thinking. Influencer is good if follower push button with no thinking. Even in war business, reacting not always best strategy. Pushing … gun button?”
“Trigger,” he helped.
“Pushing trigger no thinking is not same like pushing trigger because quick thinking. Influencer like is … study with school only to becoming teacher after. But only attaining knowledge in reacting more. Not attaining quick thinking. Not same. This worrying functionary like Mr. Fore Gotnaym, because how control crowd online that only goal is react react react, no thinking? On Internet, better no thinking. More reacting, more people see their reacting first and reacting to it so more people also get reacting, more people only agree for attention, and more message get famous. More message famous, no worry if true, more people believe. More people believe, less people believe when truth happen. Look at phone, Mr. Consultant.”
I took it out of my pocket.
“Make posting,” she said. “I showing you.”
The suitedman visibly refrained himself from stopping me. I was two days behind on checking in with my Internet experiment, so I did what she asked. When I connected to Social Media, my feed was filled with alerts on posts. Something about disinformation and people fighting over the truth of the universe and if it was really the end for us. The media application wasn’t this agitated two days ago. Warnings on misinformation were mostly centred around past events, never regarding upcoming ones from what I had seen before.
“Is this why we’re in a lockdown?” I asked.
“Yes…” she reacted.
“So why does it say that it’s all a fabrication?”
The room fell dead quiet. Her bottom lip quivered and she turned around to burst in muffled sobs. She just broke down. It was surreal. The man stood up to whisper something. She nodded with her head down, so he walked towards me. Then past me and to the windows, making sure I followed him by spinning in my chair. My back ended up facing her.
“Under different circumstances, you wouldn’t be locked down with us, Mr. Tourist,” he said.
Uh-oh, I thought. This culture seemed to have developed a taste for cleverly employing names.
“But there’s no use in locking you up for espionage either, it looks like your people are willing to let you rot anyway.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. She sniffled and told us I could turn around now.
“Don’t worry kid. You’re either the best spy I’ve met and you can die with dignity, or you’re the worst ever, and you’re worth more to us as living propaganda if we make it out of this,” he said, patting my shoulder as he walked by.
“I didn’t get your answer,” I mumbled as I turned around. Then I understood that he was trying to make her laugh.
“Either you’re the best,” he repeated. “Because I haven’t heard even a single high-school rumour about you. Or you’re the worst, because you were really a shit consultant just then.”
She drew in a chopped breath, which she released in a soft chuckle of relief. I thought maybe this was a prank. But then why was she crying?
I asked her what was going on. She nodded at him and he told me he wasn’t joking. They really considered that I was a spy from There. This theory didn’t hold any water in the end. The umbrella company under which the most popular international platforms operated, had somehow been convinced to place a warning on the forecast of a natural disaster headed for the disks. The corporation happened to have all their servers in There’s jurisdiction. All the privately owned media companies followed suit just to try and survive.
Gotnaym explained how anyone with any scientific authority who had attempted to voice their doubts had immediately been shadowbanned. They injected their profiles with a fake number of views and likes, and used bots to make it look like there were people engaging with their content. As far as the whole globe was convinced, as far as the citizens of Over-There were concerned, this admonition had been discredited a month before the announcement of the disaster. The United OV Body sent out an emergency text message, an even more primitive form of communication, confirming the threat to their civilians, but it was in vain. The videos debunking the warning had timestamps dating too far back. And the Internet had already decided that it was all a hoax. Eighteen world leading scientists, all saying it was propaganda. The people in this city didn’t believe they were about to die.
How could I have missed this? Especially if I had checked everything everywhere online before buying my ticket?
Like a kid again, it slipped out.
“Why?”
He rubbed his thumb and two fingers together. Money.
“Environmental warfare is not a crime, Mr. Tourist. And you seem to be collateral damage to them.”
They showed me a video of myself reassuring the world that I was okay, and that no one on this disk believed any of the disinformation propagated by the unhinged astronomers. That Over-There’s authorities were perfectly aware that it was all a hoax. It was dated two hours before I set foot on the disk. On the plus side, I never did get over a hundred million views before. To most of the world, I was a hero, here to bring down the anti-science disinformation machine. They were looking at an AI-generated video of me. They even got my voice right. My family had liked my video. My dad had sent me a message saying he was proud.
I looked up and plunged my eyes in her frightened face. It stripped me forever of any good feelings. In one hour, I felt the lifelong dissatisfaction of a hard drug addict. That day, I lost my faith in reality. To this day, I cannot enjoy anything. Not after what happened. I feel too guilty.
“Shouldn’t technological warfare be a crime, though?” I said.
“You could call a stick with a pointy rock on its end a technological advancement.”
It was becoming trickier to think straight. How can you? When you’re about to take a final blow, and there’s nowhere to run, no strength to block. It was like getting pre-concussed.
“How long until it happens?”
“It might not. We’re waiting on people to show up here and determine if it can be avoided. So try to think of something else in the meantime,” he said.
We said nothing.
“There is one thing neither of you can avoid, though… So you might as well make your peace with it now,” he added.
“What it is?” She asked.
“Mr. Tourist is about to meet your father.” He said. Then he looked at me. “Or is it Mr. Consultant to him?”

I finished watching both animes, the OVAs, and the movie a few times now, and after reading through a lot Reddit/Quora/Stack Exchange posts, I still have some thoughts and questions I want to address. I've read the VNs shed more light on everything so I'll check those out once I have time.
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First DMail and Alpha/Beta Divergence
In S;G episode 1, sending the first DMail causes the worldline to shift from a beta worldline to an alpha one, but I still have some confusion about that. For the DMail to cause the shift, my understanding is that there must have been at least one iteration at the very beginning where Kurisu dies for real (not killed by future Okabe), Okabe somehow gets alerted to this (no future Okabe scream to catch his attention), so following sequence of event unfolds:

1. Lecture on time travel happens, Kurisu meets up with her dad and dies for real (presumably killed by her dad)
2. Okabe somehow stumbles upon Kurisu's body, goes outside and sends DMail to the past (b/c Daru was messing with the phone microwave)
3. SERN saves the DMail in their database but don't necessarily check it and/or connect it to Okabe having a working time device right away. At this point, Kurisu's dad is on his way to Russia with Kurisu's paper on time travel
4. Daru attends a talk on time travel (this is very important b/c it's the reason Suzu wants to go to 2010, so she can meet her dad)
5. Some time passes and SERN does connect the DMail to Okabe's lab, raids it, steals the phone microwave, and uses it to develop the first time machine before Russia does (b/c SERN is the closest to having cracked time travel with the jellyman experiments), and takes over the world
6. In the future, Daru develops an imperfect time machine (since SERN has full control over what's required to build a fully functional one). Daru is killed. Suzu is raised by her mom, has never met her dad but learns about him and Okabe. Suzu's mom is also killed, and Suzu joins the resistance at some point.
7. Suzu is given the mission to travel to 1975 to acquire an IBN 5100 and make sure Okabe acquires it in 2010 so Daru can use it to decrypt the SERN database that stores the first DMail, and erase it so that SERN never takes the phone microwave.
8. Suzu travels to 2010 b/c she knows her father attends a talk on time travel and wants to meet him. Due to the time machine being imperfect, her coordinates are off, and she crashes into the roof, thereby causing Kurisu's father's lecture on time travel to get cancelled. Kurisu is alive, and her paper on time travel is never stolen by her father.
9. Suzu also doesn't meet her dad just because by traveling to the past, she's already shifted to a worldline where her Okabe prevents Daru from attending. Presumably she couldn't have predicted this outcome b/c of worldine shifts in general being unpredictable due to the Butterfly Effect.
10. From this point on, in each subsequent worldline/iteration in the Alpha attractor field, Suzu always travels and crashes in 2010, Kurisu always survives and helps the FG lab build a time machine, Mayuri always dies (b/c the universe is cruel), and the future always leads to a SERN dystopia. S;G events unfold.

If this is correct, this implies that one of the major divergence factors is the first DMail and not necessarily Kurisu's death and her time travel paper. SERN can still develop a time machine using just Okabe/Daru's phone microwave. It's just that the very first iteration of the alpha worldline (at least from the perspective of the anime) will eventually lead to subsequent alpha worldlines in which Kurisu is still alive and is the one that develops the time machine instead. We know that Kurisu isn't strictly needed to develop a working time machine b/c Daru is able to do it, albeit with Maho's help, in the beta worldline. Thus, it's not unreasonable to think Daru + Okabe + SERN's research is enough for SERN to create a time machine first even if the Russians have Kurisu's time travel paper.
However, I feel like this is probably incorrect, and this may be one of those cases where Suzuha just always travels to the past, and there's no initial origin point where Kurisu dies, and her father steals her time travel paper. It just never happens the moment the first DMail is sent no matter how many iterations back you try to look.
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Kurisu's Importance in the Beta Worldline Attractor Field
One thing that gets emphasized is how Kurisu needs to survive to prevent WW3 in the beta worldline, but I don't think that's true, if my reasoning for the previous section is correct. The conditions that lead to WW3 are the following:

1. Kurisu's time travel theory is exposed to the public in some way (be it her father stealing it, someone using Amadeus to recreate it, or something else). This causes a global arms race to create a time machine which escalates into WW3.
2. Okabe never sends the first DMail so SERN never acquires the phone microwave device from the FG lab.

Whether Kurisu lives or dies is irrelevant. In fact, the only real difference between the S;G and beta worldlines besides Kurisu's survival is the survival of the time travel theory which leads to the time machine arms race. If the paper is destroyed, even if Kurisu is dead, the world would effectively be in a pseudo S;G worldline where SERN isn't guaranteed to control the world and WW3 isn't guaranteed to happen. It could even be argued that Kurisu's survival actually increases the chances of WW3 b/c she has the ability to recreate the time travel theory. The reason saving Kurisu is so important is b/c it's Okabe's ideal worldline where both Mayuri and Kurisu are alive, not necessarily b/c it's the ONLY way to prevent a guaranteed dystopian future.
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Time Travel Mechanics and Reading Steiner
At this point, it's common knowledge that there's only one universe, and there can only be one active worldline. This means there's no multiverse or meeting multiple future/past selves and grandfather paradox shenanigans. My understanding is that every time any time travel happens, be it through sending DMails, sending data, physical time travel or whatever, it causes a worldline change. Sometimes the change is so negligible (e.g. Okabe telling Daru about Faris's strategy in the Rai-Net tournament) that it's effectively the same worldline in every other way, and it doesn't trigger Reading Steiner which means Reading Steiner doesn't trigger in every worldline shift, only ones that are big enough that overwriting the new Okabe's memories would trigger it. Logically, this means there are worldline shifts that even Okabe won't detect, but for all intents and purposes, they're insignificant b/c the Okabe getting overwritten had the exact same (or close enough) memories as the Okabe doing the overwriting, and the worldlines are effectively the same.
But what about traveling to the future? Or when there are multiple instances of the same character from the future/past traveling to the same time. I think traveling to the future must be functionally the same as traveling to the past in causing worldline shifts. We know that worldline shifts must occur each time someone travels to the past so this means two instances of the same character traveling to the same time will never meet each other (e.g. no 3 Okabes on July 28th in 2010). Consider the scenario where Person A has time machine FG203 in the year 2036. Person A uses FG203 to go to 1975. Person A then uses FG203 to go back to 2036, exactly 1 minute before Person A leaves initially leaves for 1975. At this point, if traveling to the future doesn't cause a worldline shift, time paradoxes become possible. Therefore, any kind of time travel, to the past or the future, must cause a worldline shift. This is why Suzu and Daru are both concerned about Suzu time traveling to a point in time she's already time traveled to (e.g. Suzu and Mayuri traveling to 2010 for Operation Arclight). It could cause a significant enough worldline shift that introduces new variables and Butterfly Effects that make the Steins;Gate worldline unattainable. The reason I emphasize significant is b/c, as we've already conjectured, any kind of time travel causes a worldline shift, but not all worldline shifts are big enough to trigger Reading Steiner. You can still shift to a worldline that's only slightly different enough to be effectively the same.
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Timing of Reading Steiner From Okabe's Perspective
We know that Okabe was ill as a kid which is heavily implied to be due to Reading Steiner activating from a worldline shift, possibly due to Suzuha traveling to 1999 to prevent Y2K. Reading Steiner also activates the moment Okabe sends the first DMail, as opposed to happening on the date it gets sent to in the past. This implies that it must always happen from the perspective of the Okabe from just before the worldline shifts. However, how exactly does the universe determine when exactly the worldline shifts from Okabe's perspective? Here's a thought experiment to illustrate what I mean:

1. The S;G worldline's future is somehow actually worse than both the Alpha and Beta worldlines. Okabe calls Suzu out of retirement for one last job jump. Suzu's mission is to go back to 1999 and prevent Okabe from developing his mad scientist persona, thereby preventing the events in S;G from happening.
2. Suzu travels from 2036 in the previous worldline (in which Okabe is still alive) to 1999 in a new worldline (in which Okabe is also alive). When does Reading Steiner activate from the perspective of Okabe? Does it happen in 2036 or 1999? Or does it happen in both? If it happens in both, would Okabe in 1999 only receive the memories of Okabe up until 1999 from the previous worldline? And, then separately, in 2036, assuming Okabe is also still alive, he would receive the full memories of the previous worldline, right?

In the anime, this is much easier to follow and reconcile b/c we only follow the perspective of one Okabe at a time b/c either there's only one Okabe at that time or the Okabe in any other times that are relevant for the worldline shift are dead (e.g. 2025 in beta worldline).
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S;G 0 Ending Timeline
Here's my understanding of the timeline.

1. S;G 0 Okabe successfully thwarts the rooftop helicopter attacks, allowing Operation Arclight to be carried out.
2. Suzu and Mayuri travel back to 2010 for Operation Arclight, only stay for the minute that other Suzu and Okabe are still in the past to avoid time paradox that would cause a worldline shift, run out of fuel and get stranded in 18000 BC.
3. At this point, even if Mayuri slaps some sense into Okabe after his initial failure to save Kurisu, it doesn't do anything b/c we still don't have the plan for Operation Skuld figured out yet, or do we? I lean towards not yet b/c then the ending in 2025 doesn't make sense to me.
4. Timeline proceeds as normal, leading to beta worldline where WW3 happens, but this time, having been reinvigorated by Mayuri's plea, Okabe spends the next 15 years figuring out all the details for Operation Skuld, realizing that you can "deceive" fate by faking Kurisu's death.
5. The recording we see at the end of episode 23 followed by Okabe undergoing Operation Altair to rescue Suzu and Mayuri in 18000 BC is all actually the previous worldline just before episode 24 in the original S;G anime.
6. Unclear where Suzu and Mayuri go to after this. Okabe 0 presumably stays behind to not risk overwriting present Okabe (or any point up until his death in 2025), though I don't know if the overwriting is that risky so much as just traveling to the future itself being risky since it can cause a significant worldline change. I touch on this more further below.
7. More time passes, as Suzu has to grow up to become future soldier in 2036 (unless we can use Suzu that time traveled back from 18000 BC?) and carry out her missions to acquire an IBN 5100, use it to prevent Y2K in 1999 per the original John Titor timeline at the start of S;G episode 1, and convince Okabe to save Kurisu.
8. This time, it's the final iteration which leads directly to episode 24 in the original S;G anime and everything needed to achieve the S;G worldline is present.

With that said, since we've established that traveling to the past definitely causes a worldline shift, and traveling to the future likely causes a worldline shift to avoid time paradoxes, doesn't this mean that Operation Arclight is somewhat risky? There's no guarantee the worldline shift caused by Suzu and Mayuri traveling back to the future won't change things enough to make the S;G worldline unattainable. Basically any more worldline shifts after Suzu goes back from 2036 to 2010 for the final iteration is risky b/c of the unpredictability of worldline shifts and Butterfly Effects. Or maybe, the power of love and friendship is enough to overcome this? Personally, I fully respect Okabe's decision to save future soldier and best girl.

In Meta ads, I have a clicks and conversions campaign running simultaneously with a 3% LAL audience seeded by 90 day purchasers. The results are enormously different:
Clicks campaign: $0.19 CPC w/ 5.5% CTR (no conversions)
Conversion campaign: $4.40 CPC w/ 1.9% CTR (some conversions)
I understand that Meta will show ads differently to accomplish the goal - but how can the difference be so extreme with the same LAL audience? How can that audience have so many garbage clicks?

1. Thunderball is the best Bond novel, much better than Moonraker and even On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It moves at a much brisker pace than those latter two novels I've mentioned and the Vindicator plot is really good.

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1. Goldfinger is the 4th best Connery film. Used to be 2nd best for me, but I now find that Thunderball is better due to it being superior in action, photography, sex appeal, Bond girl, locations, humour and I'd even argue pacing. Dr. No is better as well because of the faster pacing, better Connery performance and again, more interesting locations. From Russia With Love is easily the best Connery flick.

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1. Perhaps controversial, but I feel when it's often said on here or Youtube that "The Living Daylights is the most underrated Bond film", it is s often said to just to farm upvotes.

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1. For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy did not need Timothy Dalton to be better movies, in fact I think he'd have made them weaker. The former was perfect in tone thanks to some comedic lines being executed well, yet we had a grounded tone. Octopussy had dark overtones mixed with silly moments which fit Moore's iteration of Bond fantastically.

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1. Tomorrow Never Dies is easily the best Brosnan film due to it having the best action of the Brosnan era, ridiculously fast pacing and arguably the best Brosnan performance along with his best look as Bond. Brosnan's odd number films had very slow and uneven pacing, especially The World Is Not Enough and GoldenEye's poor pacing in Severnaya.

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1. I think Craig's even numbered films constitute the three weakest films in the franchise alongside Quantum of Solace. I feel all three are the nadir of Bond writing, even more than the early 1970s. The SPECTRE angle was terrible and Quantum of Solace had the worst villains/henchmen by a distance.

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1. As much as I love You Only Live Twice, it would have been better and more sensible to have Diamonds Are Forever filmed in 1967, then let Lazenby do OHMSS in 1969 and then You Only Live Twice in 1971 for a perfect two-film run adaptation.

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1. I personally think the next Bond film will be released around 2027/28. I wouldn't be at all surprised at that date.

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1. The GoldenEye tank chase is nowhere near a work of art as many seem to believe in my opinion, the final fight with 006 at Arecibo is the best action set piece in my opinion. The tank chase is let down by a poor score piece and nothing spectacular happens with the tank, it just literally smashes through the city centre. It's nowhere near as good as the tanker chase in Licence To Kill or the African parkour in Casino Royale.

​

1. Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me captured and exhibited the Bond formula the best in their respective films.

In this post I will argue from the Quran and Hadith that there is no worldly punishment for someone leaving their religion according to Islam. Many scholars argue that there is no punishment for apostasy unless they start preaching against Islam and start trying to convert people out of Islam, I reject this as well and will show evidence against this. Any punishment for apostasy, if any, will occur after we have died and it is only between Allah and the person.
​
I am not sure whether any of the Muslims in this subreddit believe that the punishment for apostasy is death, but unfortunately many Muslim countries and Muslims themselves around the world support death penalty for apostasy.
​

No Compulsion in Religion

Holy Quran 16:93:

And if Allah had enforced His will, He would surely have made you all one people; but He lets go astray him who wishes it, and guides him who wishes it; and you shall surely be questioned concerning that which you have been doing.

Holy Quran 2:257

There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, right has become distinct from wrong; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress, and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle which knows no breaking. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Holy Quran 18:30

And say, ‘It is the truth from your Lord; wherefore let him who will, believe, and let him who will, disbelieve.’ Verily, We have prepared for the wrongdoers a fire whose flaming canopy shall enclose them. And if they cry for help, they will be helped with water like molten lead which will burn the faces. How dreadful the drink, and how evil is the Fire as a resting place!

In the above verses Allah affirms that there is freedom in religion in this world and the consequences for the choice of religion will only manifest in the after life. This freedom is applied to those who leave Islam as well otherwise it would contradict these verses. The people can choose who and what to believe and disbelieve in.
​

Death for Apostasy - A Characteristic of the Enemies of Prophets

Throughout time the prophets were raised against disbelievers to try and convert them. Many were tyrannical and would kill those who changed their religions and accepted the Prophets and would even try to kill the prophets.
The example of Pharaoh in 20:72:

Pharaoh said, ‘Do you believe in him before I give you leave? He must be your chief who has taught you magic. I will therefore surely cut off your hands and your feet alternately, and I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm-trees; and you shall know which of us is severer and more abiding in punishment.’

Prophet Abraham (as) was threatened with death by stoning for leaving idolatry in Quran 19:47:

He replied, ‘Dost thou turn away from my gods, O Abraham? If thou cease not, I shall surely stone you (to death). Now leave me alone for a long while.’

We also saw this in the time of Muhammad ﷺ where the Quraysh would torture and kill slaves and other poor people who converted to Islam.
To the Muslims who believe in death penalty for apostates of any kind, I ask that if you desire people to convert from other religions and be able to become Muslims safely, how can you then kill those who choose to leave Islam to another religion or belief? Unless you believe that Christians should be able to kill those who convert to Islam, but you certainly wouldn't like that. In my view, you would become exactly like the enemies of the Prophets throughout history if you advocate for the killing of apostates.
​

Freedom of Speech and Encouragement for Dialogue

Many times the Quran asks people of other faiths and beliefs to produce their proofs.
Quran 2:112:

And they say, ‘None shall ever enter Heaven unless he be a Jew or a Christian.’ These are their vain desires. Say, ‘Produce your proof, if you are truthful.’

Quran 27:65

Or, Who originates creation, and then repeats it and Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Is there a God besides Allah? Say, ‘Bring forward your proof if you are truthful.’

Quran 21:25

Have they taken gods beside Him? Say, ‘Bring forth your proof. Here is the Book of those with me, and the Book of those before me.’ Nay, most of them know not the truth, and so they turn away.

This is clear evidence for the fact that those who belong to other faiths and beliefs should engage in dialogues and debates with Muslims. It is completely illogical to say that this right to produce proof of their belief would not be applicable to an apostate. Apostate's enjoy the same right to freedom of expression as people born into other religions, it does not make any sense as to why apostates should not be afforded the same right to publicly declare their apostasy and discuss amongst the community as to why they left and produce their proof.
​

No Verse in the Quran declares Death for Apostates

The Quran mentions apostates a few times but it never once prescribes the death penalty for them. If Allah required apostates to be killed there certainly would have been a verse to confirm this.
Quran 47:25:

Surely, those who turn their backs after guidance has become manifest to them, Satan has seduced them, and holds out to them false hopes.

(see also Quran 16:6-9)
​

Possibility of Repentance

Quran 3:90 on apostates:

Except those who repent thereafter and amend. And surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.

The verses before this verse speak of apostates and it says they will be condemned by Allah, the Angels and all of humanity. If there was a worldly punishment for apostasy Allah would surely have stated it here.
Quran 4:138:

Those who believe, then disbelieve, then again believe, then disbelieve, and then increase in disbelief, Allah will never forgive them nor will He guide them to the way.

If we were to kill apostates how would they be able to repent or be able to believe and disbelieve multiple times? Still in the case of those who apostate multiple times Allah does not say to kill them and rather gives glad tidings of forgiveness if they repent or warnings of punishment from Allah if they do not repent.
​

Apostasy would Encourage Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is worse than disbelief from an Islamic point of view.
Quran 4:146:

The hypocrites shall surely be in the lowest depth of the Fire; and thou shalt find no helper for them,

No one is able to control what is within a persons heart. If a person no longer has faith in Islam and is no longer a Muslim at heart, but stays a Muslim in name just because his/her government would kill them otherwise, then they are now a hypocrite which is even worse than disbelieving. This would not save them from the hellfire so there is literally no point in promoting punishments for apostates. Instead, such force and oppression would lead people to hate Islam even more and who can blame them for that?
​

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

After the Holy Quran, the most authoritative source for laws in Islam is the practice and sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In his life, Muhammad ﷺ never killed anyone for mere apostasy.
For example, the prophet ﷺ never killed any of the apostates that left the religion after the Isra (night journey).
In the treaty of Hudabiya, anyone who left the Muslims to go to the Quraysh could not be returned and this term was agreed on by the Prophet ﷺ. If Allah had commanded to kill apostates, Muhammad ﷺ would never agree to a term that would not let him carry out Allahs commands.
Quran 3:73:

And a section of the People of the Book say, ‘Believe in that which has been revealed unto the believers, in the early part of day, and disbelieve in the latter part thereof; perchance they may return;

In his Tafseer Behrul Muheet, Abu Hayyan Al-Gharnati mentions that this was decided upon by twelve Jewish rabbis of Khaibar and Urainah:
‘Twelve rabbis from amongst the Jews of Khaibar and the town of Urainah (decided to act upon this) and said to one another: enter into the faith of Muhammad (sa) in the beginning of the day by confessing faith by the tongue but not in actual beliefs, and disbelieve in the later part of the day.’
There is no record of these Jews ever being killed and they certainly would not have tried this plan if they knew that they would be liable to be killed for apostasy.
​
An example of a Bedouin who blamed his fever on the acceptance of Islam in Sahih Bukhari 7216:

A bedouin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "Please take my Pledge of allegiance for Islam." So the Prophet took from him the Pledge of allegiance for Islam. He came the next day with a fever and said to the Prophet (ﷺ) "Cancel my pledge." But the Prophet (ﷺ) refused and when the bedouin went away, the Prophet said, "Medina is like a pair of bellows (furnace): It expels its impurities and brightens and clears its good."

The Prophet ﷺ never once warned him that apostasy would be punished by death nor did the Prophet ﷺ order people to track him down to execute him. Rather it was seen as good that only the pure would stay and there would be no hypocrites staying in Islam.
There is also the example of the apostate Abdullah bin Abi Sarh who committed treason.
Sunan Abu Dawud 3458:

Abdullah ibn AbuSarh used to write (the revelation) for the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Satan made him slip, and he joined the infidels. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded to kill him on the day of Conquest (of Mecca). Uthman ibn Affan sought protection for him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave him protection.

The war was now over, and his treason had not included murder of innocent Muslims, unlike others. His crime had been inciting other tribes against Islam and abandonment of the Muslim forces during a time of war. Abdullah had surrendered of his own accord and asked to accept Islam, which was a declaration of repentance. Thus, he had put himself under the mercy of the ruler of the time. The Qur’an states that the default punishment for treason and rebellion is death, but those who surrender themselves before they are caught should be shown leniency (Quran 5:34-35).
​

Hadith - Narrations on Apostasy

Sunan an-Nasa'i 4059

"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him.'"

The Quran is the supreme source for Muslims and the Hadith should be interpreted in a consistent manner with the Quran. As I have set out that the Quran allows for religious freedom and freedom of speech in religious matters.
We also need to look at the context of the time. In that time the Arabs were tribal and family connections meant everything. When Islam came, the brotherhood of Islam superseded any familial and tribal connections which upset the pagan Arabs and for that, and other reasons, they became hostile to the Muslims. Eventually the Pagans and Muslims were at war with each other and fought many battles. in this time, when people generally deserted religion they did not merely abandon their doctrine but they would be changing their allegiance either between the Muslims or the pagans and joining their military. Hence, apostasy was equivalent to "harb" meaning rebellion or treason. This interpretation is more consistent with the verses of the Quran and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who allowed people to leave the religion so long as they didn't intend to commit treason and start rebellions. Hence, this is why the bedouin and the Jews who deserted from Islam weren't killed, because they weren't starting war against the Muslims.
​
Other Hadiths provide the qualification of rebellion and war:
Sahih Bukhari 6899:

"By Allah, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) never killed anyone except in one of the following three situations: (1) A person who killed somebody unjustly, was killed (in Qisas,) (2) a married person who committed illegal sexual intercourse and (3) a man who fought against Allah and His Apostle and deserted Islam and became an apostate."

Sunan an-Nasai 4048:

The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim except in three cases: An adulterer who had been married, who should be stoned to death; a man who killed another man intentionally, who should be killed; and a man who left Islam and waged war against Allah, the Might and Sublime, and His Messenger, who should be killed, or crucified, or banished from the land."

Hence, the overwhelming evidence is that death is not for apostasy but for rebellion and in that specific time apostasy and rebellion were generally the same. As stated, there are examples of those who deserted Islam such as the bedouin and the Jews and those who left after the night journey who were not killed.

No Rationale for Death for Apostasy

For a missionary religion that wants to spread its message to the whole world and win the hearts of every people, death for apostasy makes no sense. Death for mere apostasy is morally reprehensible and many people rightfully critique it. How can a religion claim to be perfected in morals and from God when it kills its people if they leave the religion and preach against it. I believe Islam is the true religion and it is able to refute any arguments put against it. There is no threat from apostates or anyone else who try and preach against it, hence why Allah invites people from other religions to produce their proofs multiple times.
​
The very name Islam requires there to be a wilful submission to the will of Allah by a person. If people were under threat of the death penalty for apostasy by the government and that is the only reason they call themselves Muslim, then they are no longer wilfully submitting to Allah's will, rather they are submitting to the government which defeats the purpose of the very core of Islam. Allah bestows love of Himself and Islam when believers strive towards Him as is stated in many verses of the Quran and Hadith, hence there is no good reason to have the threat of death towards its followers in order to keep them in the religion.

I just finished the Theater and I'm kinda getting bored.
There are way too many enemies that keep respawning so I don't even bother killing them, I just run away.
I haven't yet explored any of the Testing Facilities, so I'm still running around with the pistol, shotgun, electric pistol, electric rifle, axe and a sword. The game doesn't really explain to you how to unlock the Facilities, you kinda have to explore on your own but how am I suppose to do that when I get 50 enemies thrown at me every 5 minutes.
And the game keeps giving me AK bullets and FatBoy bombs, even though I don't have the recipes to craft them.
It's too bad because I really like the gameplay and the story, but the pacing feels super weird.

I'm set to graduate in 4.5 years, but last minute, I have decided to look for a 3rd co-op. I know there aren't as many opportunities this late, but that's not my concern. I am worried about whether I will get shut down asking to add a 3rd co-op and am wondering if anyone has experience with going about this and how that worked out. If they say no, what I can do?

I (19F) had never thought that a love disappointment could hurt so bad, until I experienced it.
A few months ago I met a boy who was a friend of my best friend, there was chemistry from the very beginning between the two of us and we kissed that same day. The problem is that we live very far from each other, I go to the university in almost the other side of the country and he studies in my hometown. Despite this, every time I returned to my city I tried to see him, we always ended up hooking up and little by little over a couple of months I began to feel things for him that no other guy had ever made me feel, but we weren't officially anything.
The last time I saw him, we had sex and I decided to ask him for his number to move forward in this strange and sporadic relationship, he seemed completely in love with me; the way he looked at me, spoke, touched me... I really thought that after that night when I returned to college we could keep in touch. I was wrong. He ghosted me for a week, then he texted me only because our mutual friends "forced" him to do so, telling him that he was very immature and his actions would hurt me, he sent me a message saying that we probably weren't looking for the same thing (even though I never I told him what my intentions were) and that's it. He destroyed me, I felt like all my hopes were shattered and blamed myself for everything, believing that I wasn't good enough for him. However, I found a peak of comfort in the idea that maybe he wasn't ready to have a serious relationship with anyone. I was wrong again.
The following month he had a girlfriend. The point is that he didn't want a relationship WITH ME. That obviously made everything worse for me, how could I have meant so little to someone who meant so much to me? How do I stop loving someone who never loved me? I have repeated to myself a thousand and one times the many reasons I have to hate him but I always end up ignoring them. My heart aches, every time a friend names him something inside me twists, I feel my chest heavy and literally feel nauseated. I don't know how to make it stop, I've tried meeting other guys but that doesn't even make me erase him from my mind.
I would love to talk with him, be able to tell him how has his actions make me feel and what I think about everything, I wish be able to close this chapter, but if he didn't care at all during those months, I doubt that he cares now. I feel stuck and I'm afraid I won't find someone who makes me feel like he did and does still...

Previous -------------------------------- Next chapter soon(tm)
I am no authority in Chinese, translation, or Taoism. I have no cultural or religious Taoist background. English is not my first language. Chinese text might be wrong, I don't know how to read or write Chinese. Translation might be inaccurate, comments might be mistaken. The comment section is usually great and provides useful insights. Sources linked in comment section, sort by oldest.
Feel free to share your favorite translations in the comments so we can all compare and learn together, also feel free to ask anything or correct any mistakes. You are free to copy, change, improve, expand, and/or share this text with whoever. No recognition or mention of OP is required. Enjoy!

Chapter 10:
載 營 魄 抱 一 ，
Carry like a tent oneself’s being (spirit) embracing Unity [,]
能 無 離 乎 ？
Are you able to empty depart? hoo! [?]
專 氣 致 柔 ，
gather Qi (essence of life) deliver soft [,]
能 嬰 兒 乎 ？
Are you able to (be like) newborn child? hoo! [?]
滌 除 玄 覽 ，
remove to look at mysterious (with desire) [,]
能 無 疵 乎 ？
Are you able to empty defect hoo! [?]
愛 民 治 國 ，
love the people rule nation [,]
能 無 知 乎 ？
Are you able to empty know? hoo [?]
天 門 開 闔 ，
Heaven door open and close [,]
能 為 雌 乎 ？
Are you able to do/be female? hoo! [?]
明 白 四 達 ，
bright – pure – intelligent in four directions [,]
能 無 知 乎 ？
Are you able to empty know hoo! [?]
生 之 、 畜 之 ，
Like giving birth as livestock [,]
生 而 不 有 ，
give birth yet no have it [,]
為 而 不 恃 ，
do/be yet no rely on [,]
長 而 不 宰 ，
long yet no slaughter [,]
是 謂 玄 德 。
it is by nature correct to say mysterious Virtue [.]

​
comment:
​

Carry like a tent oneself’s being (spirit) embracing Unity [,]

載 "load/carry"; Meaning: 车 a vehicle, sound: 𢦔 a weapon.
營 "camp"; Meaning: 宮 palace or two rooms with a roof, sound: 𤇾 glimmer or two torches.
魄 "vigowhite soul"; A half of the living soul. Meaning: 鬼 ghost, sound: 白 white.
抱 "embrace"; meaning: 扌a hand, sound: 包 to wrap around.
一 "one"; translated in this chapter as Unity. Probably in reference to Tao or the Virtue of Tao.
*Note Manwangdui characters for spirits are different. Might add them later, or if someone comments on it it would be great. Thanks!
"To carry on your back your own body and embrace Unity,"
Another reference to "body behind yet body first" using Ancient Chinese souls as references. More on the topic of hún and pó here.
"To carry the heaviness of the physical body behind your own back, while not considering yourself as different (better or worse) from everything else."
​

Are you able to empty depart? hoo! [?]

離 leave/depart; Depicts a bird 隹 being caught in a bird trap 罕. Based on the original meaning "to catch a bird".
I usually make space for multiple open-ended questions:¿Can you depart from your body? ¿Can you depart from embracing Unity?¿Can you catch your body like a bird? ¿Can you catch Unity in a bird trap?
Hoo! *Exhale* (like blowing inside the wooden flute).
​

• Other translations: Renamed authors like Iñaki Preciado translated this as a single question: "¿Can you make your spirits embrace the One and not abandon it?".

​

gather Qi (essence of life) deliver soft [,]

專 specialize/monopolize; Depicts a hand (寸) spinning a wheel (叀). Original meaning "turn"
氣 air (Qi); Also translated as Chi, Ki, or life-energy.

• "air"; to later on make a reference to "air-ing" yourself, or becoming "flexible".
• "essence of life"; the energy inside every living creature in Chinese beliefs/culture.

致 send/delivecause; meaning: 攵 "reach", sound: 至 "tap",
柔 soft/gentle/flexible; meaning: 木 tree, sound: 矛 spear,
"Gather Qi and deliver flexible"
The gathering of Qi is referenced in multiple practices, both religious and philosophical. Body and mind.
"Not to lack your needs and to take care of your physical and mental well-being, while also being able to adapt to the circumstances (flexibility)"
​

Are you able to (be like) newborn child? hoo! [?]

嬰 infant; 賏 sea shells 女 Meaning: woman
兒 son;
"Can you imitate a newborn child?" or "Can you return to the state of a newborn child?"
Hoo!
​
​

remove to look at mysterious (with desire) [,]

滌 "wash/cleanse"
除 "remove"
涤除 to wash away and divide.
覽 look at; Meaning: 見 "see", Sound: 監 "watch carefully".
​
"wash away from yourself looking with desire what is considered mysterious, divide the looking from the desire".
Notice it is not asking "to look down" to avoid looking at mysterious things, but merely being aware of the desire when it arises and to "not to cling" to that desire. It would be impractical to cover your eyes to avoid looking at things or to ask someone to never desire anything. I thought subjective clarification could be useful.
​

Are you able to empty defect hoo! [?]

疵 defect, flaw; 疒 "sick" meaning and 此 "this" sound.
Easily interpreted as "looking with desire is sickness, can you avoid it?"
but I also like to add: "are you able to stop seeing the act of desiring as a defect?"
or more broadly "Are you able to empty the meaning of the word defect?"
So then both ideas can merge:"Can you empty your desires? While not imposing the same condition on other people, can you think of them as not different from you?"
Hoo!
Other translations are as follows:"Can you clean your mysterious mirror, until it reflects (or has) no defect?"
​

love the people rule nation [,]

愛 love; Sound: 旡 To choke on, meaning: 心 heart
國 nation;
"To love the people while ruling the nation". I like to add: "and love the people ruling the nation"
​

Are you able to empty know? hoo! [?]

"Are you able to empty the knowledge that you carry in your bowl?"
​
Other translations:
"Can you love your country and rule them with empty knowledge (or no knowledge)"
or more recent translations:"Can you love your country and your governor and guide them with WuWei?"
[Note: This last one changes 知 [know] for 為 [do/be]. I feel it loses some of the precision from Manwangdui, but I already messed up with the "perpetual" since Chapter 1, so what do I know about what is best? Pick whatever fits you and keep time and space in consideration, dear reader. Also, comment below. I would love to add more translations and interpretations, changes, etc.]
​

Heaven door open and close [,]

開 open; Depicts a open door.
闔 close; Depicts a closed door.
"The doors of Heaven open and close,"
​
My step-by-step interpretation:
​

• "The door of heaven" might be a reference to chapter 1:
  • "The mysterious 衆 妙 之 門 door of crowds of wonders"The door that opens and closes and contains and manifests ten thousand creatures.
    • empty name is 天 地 之 始 Heaven and Earth's beginning,
    • giving it a name is 萬 物 之 母 ten thousand creature's Mother, in reference to Tao.
• Door open and close are, both, dual and a perpetual processes
  • Door closes: death. bad luck. injury. failure.
  • Door opens: birth. good luck. healthy. success.
  • The infinite process of creation and destruction. "The beginning and end of the universe"

Therefore the first half might be referencing Tao, the process, the existence as a whole. The experiences and changes in every individual as things happen in their life.
Interpretation from some scholars :
"To experience life with all of your senses"
​

Are you able to do/be female? hoo! [?]

雌 female; a bird. Used for females of a species.
"Are you able to be female? hoo!"
"Are you able to stay calm? are you able to give birth?"
From Chinese opposites male and female, meaning the male is "war, doubt, and active" while the female "peace, calm, and passive" able to 生 "give birth/come to life".
Therefore:
"While life happens and good and bad occur to you at any point in time,
Can you stay calm? can you be loving like a mother? can you avoid pointing out the flaws in other people?"
Hoo!
[Note: Recent translations added a "no" in front of "female", translating it as "not be discouraged". Possibly from biblical influences from [1 corinthian 16:13] where the male is associated with courage, and other more modern terms under the same influence like "man up" and "be a man". I choose to avoid that in this translation.]

bright – pure – intelligent in four directions [,]

Referencing qualities,
明 bright (good, useful, kind, intelligent)
白 white, pure: (clean, doesn't lie, doesn't cheat, not arrogant, etc)
四 in four directions
達 intelligent or arrive at.
​
"To be good, to be pure to help in every direction"
​

Are you able to empty know hoo! [?]

"Are you able to empty your bowl of knowledge?"
or "are you able to make no distinction and help everyone equally?"
​
translated also as:
"Can you penetrate with clear vision the universe world without knowledge/using intelligence?"
​

Like giving birth as livestock [,]

畜 livestock; meaning: 田 "field", sound: 玄 deep.
"Giving birth like livestock, coming to life like livestock (domesticated animals)"
​

give birth yet no have it [,]

"Give birth yet not possess the child you gave birth to, come to life yet not have a life of your own"
​

do/be yet no rely on [,]

Do things, become things; yet don't rely on them (or don't cling, don't dwell on the things or what you became)don't be arrogant while doing it.
​

long yet no slaughter [,]

宰 slaughterule; 宀 barracks where 辛 slaves live
"help to prosper (yourself, home, family, city, nation, world); yet don't slave."
Less literal:
"help them grow inside and outside, but don't force them on one path, let them choose."
or maybe just "have a long sword but don't slaughter"
​
A common saying would be in place:
Give someone a fish, he will eat for a day.
Teach someone how to catch fish, he will eat for the rest of his life.
This is just adding to it:
"help them prosper, but don't force them into something they don't what to do on their own."
​

it is by nature correct to say mysterious Virtue [.]

德 Virtue; Virtuous people have a straight 直 heart 心. 直 also represents the sound.
Original form of 德. The 彳 (walk) component was added later.
"It is naturally correct to call it Mysterious Virtue"
"This is called Mysterious Virtue."

I (19F) had never thought that a love disappointment could hurt so bad, until I experienced it.
A few months ago I met a boy who was a friend of my best friend, there was chemistry from the very beginning between the two of us and we kissed that same day. The problem is that we live very far from each other, I go to the university in almost the other side of the country and he studies in my hometown. Despite this, every time I returned to my city I tried to see him, we always ended up hooking up and little by little over a couple of months I began to feel things for him that no other guy had ever made me feel, but we weren't officially anything.
The last time I saw him, we had sex and I decided to ask him for his number to move forward in this strange and sporadic relationship, he seemed completely in love with me; the way he looked at me, spoke, touched me... I really thought that after that night when I returned to college we could keep in touch. I was wrong. He ghosted me for a week, then he texted me only because our mutual friends "forced" him to do so, telling him that he was very immature and his actions would hurt me, he sent me a message saying that we probably weren't looking for the same thing (even though I never I told him what my intentions were) and that's it. He destroyed me, I felt like all my hopes were shattered and blamed myself for everything, believing that I wasn't good enough for him. However, I found a peak of comfort in the idea that maybe he wasn't ready to have a serious relationship with anyone. I was wrong again.
The following month he had a girlfriend. The point is that he didn't want a relationship WITH ME. That obviously made everything worse for me, how could I have meant so little to someone who meant so much to me? How do I stop loving someone who never loved me? I have repeated to myself a thousand and one times the many reasons I have to hate him but I always end up ignoring them. My heart aches, every time a friend names him something inside me twists, I feel my chest heavy and literally feel nauseated. I don't know how to make it stop, I've tried meeting other guys but that doesn't even make me erase him from my mind.
I would love to talk with him, be able to tell him how has his actions make me feel and what I think about everything, I wish be able to close this chapter, but if he didn't care at all during those months, I doubt that he cares now. I feel stuck and I'm afraid I won't find someone who makes me feel like he did and does still...