Quarantine 3297 Ergebnisse für die Aussprache von ...

In a short *sit* I'm going to try to tell my story
My situation as a lot of people right now is not the best because of coronavirus and I almost homeless I not going to complain about it and show myself as a miserable person
as a matter of fact is quite the opposite I feel better than I ever in my entire life, and I'm not even being sarcastic but my life was so freaking horrible that I develop
an ability to be comfortable even in the worst of the situations, well almost all of the situations that's is more or less the center of my story.
=context=
Just like the majority of crappy tales this starts with someone as a child and this wouldn't be the exception. I grew up in one of the worst Venezuelans slums "tocuyito" one of the biggest prisons of the country is there; they are also rumors about cannibalism inside the prison and sometimes I get to see people killed in front of my old home so you can have a little idea what is like to live on the south americans slums.
Growing in the slum wasn't so bad... well it was awful actually, drugs, violence, se*ual abuse you name it. We had everything in the slum.
One of my first memories living there was that every evening my dad tried to teach me the multiplication tables. He made me memorize them and if for some reason I just forgot one of the results he beat me with a stick and pulled me from my ears till I cried. Those were some awful times. I was so scared of math that sometimes I pisses myself in school on math class, and in kindergarten I had the best teacher in the world Magda was her name if I remember correctly
She taught me how to make beautiful paintings for a kid and how to cut paper with scissors without cutting myself.
Someday she get sick and for half of the year we had this substitute teacher and this woman was just crazy,she force us to make some weird hand making shit and drawings and no one really can do it because it was so difficult for an infant I remember that she sat all kids that can’t perform those tasks in the “dumb chair” and after that she would beat you in front of everyone.
I was almost traumatized to go there and I was almost traumatized to go home with my dad waiting for me, it was a pretty uncomfortable situation. It was impossible to get rid of that teacher because in the 90s it was actually legal to beat kid at school in the Venezuelan education system.
But one day I got a Super Nintendo as a gift, from a religious organization for poor people on christmas or something like that I think it was like they gave stuff to miserable kids. With only Two cartridges I was in heaven Super Mario World and Donkey Kong , man these games stick in my mind, they help me to pass over a lot of stuff. My parents don't let me play the games because they said that this stuff made people crazy and could destroy your eyes, you know, classic boomer stuff. And the only thing that I could do was spend hours and hours looking at the art of the cartridge and imagining how it would be to play all the other games on the console and how it would be to go to Yohi’s in Dinosaur Island and live there forever.
=Being=
Being weird or not being what is considered a "normal" person in a third world country is a hard thing to achieve if not an impossible thing sometimes. And I've been a pretty weird person all my life, Here's an example I don't know how to define my sexual orientation butI think I like persons of the oposite and same sex but at the same time I just don't feel as a man.does it make sense to you? because it still is even confusing for me and since I grew up in a conservative family I'd never been able to express how I really felt about my sexuality. I was curious about all the thinking that circle inside my mind and I ask: what are these thoughts about other men? Why am I so sick? no one should never know that, but it was an *overwhelming* feeling I just can't hide it so i decided to reveal myself and show what I really feel. I try to share that happiness with others so I go and visited one of my friends she helped me to express myself, I remember I put a lot silly makeup all over my face some color in my tabs and in some weird way I felt i was conquering the work i was so happy like in no other moment in my life at
that moment.I went home and showed my mom how happy I was, told her and explain about the sensation, my heart was rushing like it was about to explode o my God I was so happy
after my mom witness the scene he said: "You are really lucky that your father isn't here because if he was the one who saw that he could even kill you" and after that
She beat me so hard that I can even remember his nails in my face.
I just get tired of always being tagged as an awful person for being different all these kinds of situations and a lot more, made me a really shy person and I started to alienate myself from the world everyday, more alone and miserable like staying alive in death as some kind of zombie .
=adulthood=
Is not hard to guess that I slowly start to transform in some kind of ghoul, just living in my parents house as a parasite scared of everything always rejecting to get out and see the light
I'm not really proud of it. I don't really blame my parents. I mean they just took me there as a parasite and fed me. I don't know why they kept me there.
=work=
You probably are going to hate me for that but I lived as a parasite and I never got the courage to get out of my home until I was 24 because both of my parents died, actually the only family I got alive is my grandma but I never got to know her. I had to start working doing whatever I can Luckily, some friend of my dad found me a job cleaning stuff, it wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst either, I was perfectly able to do it.
=putting an end=
One day in my 26 birthday I decided to end everything in a very painful way by burning myself I really don't know why or how I was able to do such a thing but when depression
takes you to the root of your soul you're not able to think properly and you can do things that could be really dangerous. I got myself covered with some flammable liquid and started the flame but I underestimated how hard my biological desire of staying alive and I decided to jump into the water tank of the house and turn off the fire. I think I still have the pictures of that, they help me to remember how different my life was at that moment. By luck they were pretty superficial burnings ,after a while one friend of mine made a visit and found me on the floor and he gave me assistance , the worst decision in my life to do something like that.
=leaving the country=
After that incident I can't live anymore in there so I sold my parents house for 800$ what is the average price for a house in the slums. While I was moving on with my life, the crisis in Venezuela was exploding and I maybe took the best
decision in my life TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY.
=living as a homeless person=
When I finally came to Perú I wasn't the best person for working at anything, without experience without any kind of paperwork I easily end up in the streets living as a homeless
person, and what can I say the streets are really unkind, I had to do awful and unspeakeble things like having sex with people for food or stealing things in supermarkets,
but someday I was in the floor sleeping like everyday and some old lady by the name of Gladys if i remember correctly speak to me about his church and how they helped a lot of people in the streets she helped me to get on trail and I got a pretty basic job delivering stuff and doing anything I can, after a couple of months I was
just walking on the sidewalk and I see an AD in the wall of one restaurant "we are looking for workers in service" it says, so i decided to make a cv an ask the manager, to my surprise he accepted me and I started to work as a waitehelper
=My work as a waiter=
I don't know how but I managed to get a work in a restaurant here in the capital without any kind of paperwork as a waiter for almost one and a half year and
It was absolutely scary, but after one or two months I was amazed when I got to know people from all over the world, France, Thailand, Ukraine, Poland, Japan.
it wasn't the best job in the market but hey at least it was a job MY FIRST REAL JOB, I felt like I was impersonating someone so secure of myself and so confident, suddenly
i didn't feel any fear inside of me anymore I was full of adrenaline I thought I can do anything I propose myself to do and well *since* I don't have any type of education
i thought that would be the best way to start develop my capacities, that's why I decided to learn English so I left my work in the restaurant and take a job as a clerk
In a little store to get time for learning English the payment was even worse but I was able to get time to study Python and English grammar and pronunciation.
=Medical condition=
I've been a really bad student all my life. My concentration was awful. Always tortured with incredibly painful headaches, that affects me in relation to my sleep and diet but since I found documentation about the name of the “condition” or type of headaches I discovered that they were called "headaches with auras” or something like that they really *ucked my cocentration on school when I was a kid however I went to the doctor for that and he told me that I had a serotonin deficiency and after a year of meditation and concentration exercises I have been able to overcome it and my life just changed again. I can focus on anything now and everything seems so different. I can read and educate myself without the horrible pain in my head, it's like living a totally different life.
=Everything changed=
I get enough money to buy a pc so everything seems really easy now. I find myself in a pretty good position in my perspective. I was dating my first girlfriend and much more than that It was absolutely amazing. I was learning new stuff. Now it wasn’t was extremely hard to get my mind focus to learn new things specially math when I was trying to learn i just remember my
dad screaming at me, pulling my ears and telling awful stuff but now I just can totally focus and stay away from everything outside my goal. It took me almost nine months to put myself on trial. The videos of the Dr jordan peterson help me a lot with that
=Learning English and coding=
I started to learn English at the end of last year (that's why my english is so crappy) and also started to learn to code. I choose Python-django(it is a beautiful language) and the basics of Html and Js, my goal is to learn data analysis some day. The math is a little hard but with practice it isn’t as hard as I thought . It is amazing how many things you can learn in the world of programming, especially in web scraping but I'm still pretty green in the field.
=After coronavirus=
After the pandemic everything start to become really difficult, specially for foreigners I wasn't able to had a job anymore and I started to get overwhelmed by debt because
I'm renting and I can't pay anymore since I don't have a job and i only have money enough to buy some food, I was trying to work in a data entry site but it isn't worth anymore because they are too many people in there, I'm trying to get a job with my English or coding skills but I guess I haven't reached a good level yet i try to go to interviews here but as soon as they hear my foreigner accent it is over..
=Live as a foreigner in quarantine=
It is not an easy thing trying to live as a foreigner in another country specially without paperwork, I was able to do some jobs but everyday things seem to be more difficult. Sometimes I feel that people just want to spit in my face when they listen to my accent. I try to take any job I can no matter how tough or filthy it could be but day by day is harder and harder I was even selling things on the streets like candys or someshit like that but is one of the worst thing that you can do especially because people is so mean sometimes, I don’t blame them but man it really feels bad when someone looks at you like some low life scum without any kind of worth.
= I actually found a job=
Maybe a lot of people are going to say something like "this guy's too lazy for just getting a job he should get one" And I actually get one since I've been looking for some like a madman it's a fun story I guess, it was the only job I found were you can work without documentation or previous prove experience. When i finally get to the place it results what was a call center for scamming people and I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm the most correct and honorable person and I didn't take the job because I did, but when I was there at the cheap office I had to speak with the tipical *greasy hair* leader of the operation he told me that I had to talk with mostly elderly people on English speaking countries something about giftcards or some
shit like that and I felt really bad about it, but even not feeling good about it I was willing to try. sometimes the desire for survival is even stronger than your morals
and when i get the phone i find out that i just can't do it no matter how hard I tried it just *felt* so... wrong, there're so many old people that have been giving me help in this country and they just fired me xD.
I actually lost like a half of all the money I had paying transportation to go to this place, so I lost the last that I had, because it was located in the most extreme point of the city and after that
now I had nothing, not even for food.I was just so I don't know, confused? because I didn't know what was the worst, the attempt to be a scammer or the failed attempt to be a scammer.
After that I’ve tried to make some work as a freelancer, trying to teach spanish to people or making some silly things with coding or automating data bases but competition online it’s impossible for beginners on the internet and now i just don’t have more time to work on a profile.
=living alone=
I don't have anyone, no family, friends, pets or anything, I don't have any bounds that force me to anything so I'm free to choose any path I want and that freedom sometimes makes my mind wondering, it is becoming to create thoughts outside my conscious thoughts that I don’t even would thing on a normal situation, like how painful would be to take my own life? how many minutes of suffering before my head just crushed against the floor? It is just one second of suffering compared to getting back on the streets. The next week they are going to cut off the internet and electricity because I am till my freaking head of bills, the landlord doesn’t know anything about it but when he finds out maybe he’s going to kick me off, and I guess that i can’t blame him.
=**What to do?**=
I'm starting to thing that you know maybe it is just impossible to get out of the slum it always will stick in your mind, no matter what you do you always will be what you are,
maybe that is just the end of the story, so i decided that I should *ill myself it is the only outcome I see. I can't get a job, everything is in quarantine, I even tried to pick up garbage and recycle it, worked a little with it, but the government closed the recycling places because people said they were focused on contamination for coronavirus. At least I tried to do everything to get better, maybe after trying and trying is the only right thing to do, don’t you think so?, because everything seems just impossible for me. I don't want to end in the streets again. I don’t know, maybe it's time to give up, and finally putting an end to everything, maybe non educated people like me just can’t compete in the world these days and if that is a reality, well I guess I can't really do anything against that.. What I have done may be a little for you, but for me those were big achievements and an amazing trip. I got to see things that I'd never imagined I would be able to see when I was in the slum.
I just know that no matter what happens in the future, I'm in peace with whatever happens to me., I'm happy with all the things I learned so far.
So the big question is. what would you do in my position? What do you think is the right path to choose? and what do you think about my writing? take in count that I barely speak English.
​
Nihilism is the death of duty, the reborn of soul, is the step the changes us forever in the abysmal of nothingness.

i've posted this on a couple of reddits but i thought i would post it here as well haha:
i'm 17 years old. 5 months ago in quarantine i was using a lofi youtube playlist to study, and it had a chat. i followed some people i like talking to on the chat on instagram (a public account i have with no personal information), and with one of them i had a conversation over dms one night. he is 16, he lives in Chile (i live in the US), and he wanted to learn English. he was using a translator during our whole conversation. i have had internet friends before in middle school. i talked to them very much, but i never told my parents who they were. i had other friends at the time and it never was a problem.
over the next few weeks, he would text me a "hey" or a "wassup" and we'd have a conversation. we would send audios and i would help him with pronunciation. after a few weeks, we called each other on discord. it was just a voice call, and it was very awkward because he barely had any practice having a conversation in English but i still found it fun. i realized after a few weeks that he was going to be somewhat of a permanent friend, at least until quarantine ended. we texted every night and even with the language and geographical difference, i never felt so close to someone. i felt understood, and we had similiar tastes and opinions. we sent each other songs and made playlists on spotify to listen to. i liked everything about him. we started calling about once or twice a week, and i would always wait till my parents were asleep and go in my closet with all of the lights turned off. we also used netflix party to watch movies together. and we started to video call as well. his english has improved drastically and he only occasionally uses the translator. we can call and video call and have good conversations, and slowly all of the awkwardness and hesitation has went away. now we are very close and he's become much more than a casual friend.
his family know about me. and they don't have a problem with him talking to me. it would be impossible for me to keep it from my family completely since we talk so much, so i told my mom that he goes to my school, and we're just friends. but, understandably, she has become concerned about who he is, having never seen him or heard of him before, and she has told me this a few times in different ways. i want to tell her everything, but i am very scared of how she will react. but i don't want to wait very much longer, because the longer she finds out i have kept this from her the worser her reaction will be. plus it is a lot of stress to keep something like this to myself.
my mom told me today she has no problem with me talking to boys as long as she knows them. but, she is also very conservative and i am not sure she would be very accepting of me talking to someone online. when i told her i was talking to people from different countries on the chat of the youtube video, she said to stop doing that because people can track your ip address. and i don't know what our relationship will look like after i tell my mom. but i really do wish to meet him once i am in college, and i would like her support when i do.
i guess what i'm asking is, i don't really know how i should began saying all of this. should i explain what happened chronologically so she will understand everything from my perspective? or be more straightforward and tell her the guy i am talking to is from Chile and not from my school? and is there anything i can say to her that would make her less anxious or worried? he said he is willing to talk to her on a video call. should i call him first and explain it to her with him on the call?
thank you in advance for taking time out of your day to read all of this

Long and short a, e, i, o, u
Doubled consonants are supposed to show when the letters a, e, i, o, u in words of more than one syllable have a short sound, as in matter, hemmed, hidden, dotty, tubby, rather than long, as in mate, theme, hide, dote, tube. When followed by just one consonant, or several consonants and a vowel, a, e, i, o, u are meant to be 'closed' , with a short sound, as in: am, ample; ten, tender; pin, pinked; pond ponder; bun bunker.
When followed by a single consonant and a vowel, they are ‘open’ and meant to be long; male, halo; peter, period; fine, final; sole, solo; tube, tubular'.
If a stressed short vowel before a single consonant and another vowel is to be short, or is to stay short, it should be followed by a doubled consonant: allergy, petty, Finnish, dolly, butter.
Schoolchildren spend much time learning to apply this rule when adding suffixes to short words: cut + er → cutter, prefer + ed → preferred; but: cute + er→ cuter, enter +ed → entered.
Sadly, at least 1,700 words of more than one syllable disobey the ‘closed /short' - 'open / long’ vowel system in 5 ways: 1. At least 567 common words fail to double the consonant after a short, stressed vowel, e.g. 'habit, very, similar, body, study'. 2. 219 words have needlessly doubled consonants after unstressed vowels, e.g. 'account, terrific, immense, occur, hurrah', undermining their regular use, as in: accurate, terror, simmer, occupy, hurry. 3. Nearly 200 words end with a surplus –e: (give, promise – cf.spiv drive; surprise tennis). 4. Around 200 words have irregular spellings for a, e, i, o and u (plait, bread, pretty, cough, touch), sometimes with missing doubled consonants as well (many, women, sausage, money). 5. At least 665 words do not use the long vowel method, of 'male, mere, mile, mole, mule': 87 for long a (late - wait, straight, eight), 373 long e (eke – seek, speak, shriek) - [e-e is used just in 86 words], 79 long i (while - style, whilst, island, height), 100 long o (mole – bowl, roll, soul), 26 long u (use - youth, juice, feud, lewd, beauty, Tuesday). All common words affected by the five irregularities are shown below in the following order: 1) Omitted consonant doubling; 2) Needless consonant doubling; 3) Surplus -e endings; 4) Exceptions to a, e, i, o, u; 5) Exceptions to a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e and 459 unpredictable spellings for the /ee/ sound. The exceptions dilute the English 'long/short' system so much that hundreds of spellings simply have to be learned word by word, instead of being spelt systematically, like 'pal, pale, pallid'. They were made irregular mainly with careless changes to the original English spelling system and are now most responsible for making learning to write English exceptionally difficult and time-consuming. Most of them cause reading difficulties as well, not just spelling ones: e.g. hide, hidden – hideous; arrow - arrive (cf. arise); save - have; ouch - touch. --------------------------------------------------------------
1) Words of more than one syllable without doubled consonants after their short, stressed vowel (which undermine the 500+ words with doubling, e.g. cabbage, chicken, adder...). (Only one-syllable words lengthened with suffixes have systematic consonant doubling: e.g. beg – begged, beggar, begging; fat – fatten, fatty).
Cabaret, cabin, cabinet, distribute, elaborate(X2), fabulous, habit, inhabit, liberal, liberty, nebula, probable, prohibit, rebel(noun), robin, tribute.
Articulate, binoculars, crocodile, decade, decorate, document, executive, faculty, placard, recognise, record(n), ridiculous, second(n), secondary, secular, vacuum, vicar. Accurate, broccoli, hiccough, hiccup, occupy, piccolo, soccer, succulent, tobacco. Echo, mechanism. Chequered, lacquer, liquor, liquorice.
Academy, adequate, body, credit, deciduous, edible, edit, educate, federal, graduate(X2), hideous, idiot, madam, medal, medical, moderate(X2), modern, modest, pedal, pedigree, produce(n), product, radical, radish, ridicule, shadow, study, video, widow.
Café, certificate, magnificent, Pacific, profit, reference, refuge, refuse (n), significant, specific,
agony, brigand, dragon, flagon, frigate, hexagonal, jaguar, negative, regular, sugar, vigorous, wagon,
Ability, abolish, analysis, apologise, astrology, balance, bilious, calendar, celebrate, celery, chalet, civilian, colony, column, delegate(X2), deliberate(X2), delicacy, deluge, demolish, develop, element, elephant, eligible, expel, facilities, felon, galaxy, helicopter, holiday, invalid(adj), italic, knowledge, lapel, lily, melody, melon, metropolitan, military, morality, motel, olive, palace, palate, pelican, policy, polish, politics, polythene, probability, qualify, quality, reality, relative, relevant, relic, salad, salary, salmon, salon, skeleton, solemn, solid, solitary, talent, talon, telescope, theology, tolerate, valentine, valiant, valid, value, ventriloquist, vitality, volume, voluntary.
Abominable, academic, amateur, atomic, barometer, calamity, camera, camouflage, cemetery, chemical, chemistry, comedy, comet, comic, criminal, damage, democrat, dominate, domino, dynamic, economic, eliminate, emerald, emigrate, epidemic, family, famished, feminine, glamour, image, kilometre, laminate(x2), lemon, limit, memorise, memory, plumber, preliminary, premier, premise, primitive, prominent, promise, remedy, semi, similar, simile, thermometer, timid, vomit.
Aluminium, animal, anonymous, anorak, astonish, astronomy, banish, banister, benefit, canopy, cinema, clinical, conifer, continue, degenerate(x2), economy, electronic, enemy, energy, finish, granary, honest, honour, January, lieutenant, linear, manage, manor, manual, manuscript, menace, menu, mineral, minimal, minimum, minister, minute(n), monarch, monastery, monitor, monument, opinion, organic, panic, penalty, penetrate, planet, punish, senate, sinister, spaniel, spinach, strenuous, supersonic, tenor, tonic, vanish, venison, vinegar.
Capita, capital, capitol, copy, deputy, dilapidated, epic, episode, leper, opera, operate, popular, proper, property, rapid, separate(x2), tapestry, tepid, topic, tropics.
America, Arab, arable, arid, asparagus, authority, baron, beret, caramel, caravan, caricature, carol, ceremony, chariot, charity, cherish, clarity, comparative, comparison, conspiracy, coral, derelict, empirical, experiment, florist, foreign, forest, garage(UK), herald, heritage, heroin/, heroine, heron, historic, horoscope, inherent, inherited, majority, merit, minority, miracle, moral, necessarily, numerical, orange, origin, parasol, parish, peril, periscope, perish, popularity, primarily, priority, quarantine, sheriff, sincerity, spirit, sterilise, therapist, transparent, very.
Acid, adolescent, anticipated, capacity, decimal, discipline, electricity, explicit, fascinate, glacier(UK), municipal, oscillate, pacifist, participate, precipice, prosecute, publicity, recipe, simplicity, solicitor, specify, specimen, velocity; glisten, listen; convalescent, crescent.
Gratitude, aquatic, athletic, atom, baton, botany, British, catalogue, catapult, category, citizen, city, compatible, competitive, critic, critical, dedicate, diplomatic, lateral, latitude, literal, literary, magnetic, mathematics, metal, monotonous, obliterate, pathetic, petal, pity, platinum, platypus, poetic, political, satin, saturate, Saturday, Saturn, static, strategy, tetanus, veteran, yeti.
Avenue, average, cavalry, cavern, cavity, civic, civil, clever, controversy, crevice, deliver, devil, driven, eleven, equivalent, ever, evidence, given, gravity, havoc, hover, javelin, lavender, navigate, never, novice, poverty, privilege, proverb, providence, quiver, ravenous, reverend, river, rivet, savage, scavenge, seven, shiver.
Hazard, lizard, lozenge, wizard, wizened; deposit, closet, desert, designate(x2), desolate(x2), hesitate, miserable, positive, presence, present, president, prison, resident, risen, visible, visit; scissors.
56 words have irregularly spelt short vowels and missing doubled consonants:
Any, berry/bury, burial, endeavour, heaven, heavy, heifer, jealous, jeopardy, leopard, many, meadow, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, ready (already), steady, threaten, weapon, zealous,
busy, chrysalis, cylinder, cynical, lyric, physical, physics, synagogue, synonym, syrup, typical, tyranny, women,
colour, courage, cousin, covenant, cover, covet, covey, dozen, govern, honey, monetary, money, nourish, onion, oven, shovel, slovenly, somersault, stomach, thorough. Sausage. Courier.
2) Words with needlessly doubled consonants (i.e. not after a stressed short vowel; the stressed syllable is underlined). - Compare: abridge, acute, adrenalin, afar, alone...
Abbreviate.
Accompany, accomplish, accord, accordance, accordion, account, accrue, accumulate, accuse, accustom.
Address(uk). Affair, affect, affection, affectionate, affluent, afford, chauffeur, differential, diffusion, effect, efficient, effluent, effusive, giraffe, graffiti, offence, offend, offensive, official, officious, paraffin, sheriff, sufficient. Aggravate, aggressive, suggest.
Alliance, allotment, allow, allowance, allowed/aloud, ballistic, balloon, caterpillar, collage, collapse, collect, collection, collide, constellation, controlled, excellent, hello, illegal, illegible, illiterate, illuminate, illusion, illustration, installation, intellectual, jewellery, llama, marvellous, parallel, pastille, roller, satellite, swollen, tonsillitis, traveller(UK), virtually, wholly, woollen.
Accommodation, ammunition, command, commemorate, commence, commercial, commission, commit, commodities, commotion, communication, communion, community, commuter, immaculate, immediate, immense, immersion, immortal, immune, programme, programmer, recommend.
Anniversary, announce, annoy, annul, connect, Finn/fin, inn, mayonnaise, personnel, questionnaire, tyranny.
Appal, apparatus, apparent, appendix, applaud, applause, appliance, apply, appoint, appreciate, apprehensive, apprentice, approach, appropriate(x2), approve, approximate(x2), hippopotamus, opportunity, oppose, sapphire, supply, support, suppose.
Arrange, array, arrest, arrive, barricade, correct, correlation, correspond, curriculum, erratic, hurrah, interrupt, irregular, irrigation, occurrence, serrated, surrender, surreptitious, surround, terrific, torrential, verruca.
Assail, assassin, assassinate, assault, assemble, assert, assessment, assessor, assign, assist, assistant, associate(x2), assort, assume, cassette, dessert, embassy, essential, lasso, moose/mousse, necessarily, necessary, possess, possessive, possibility.
Attach, attack, attain, attempt, attend, attention, attorney, attract, attributed, battalion, cigarette, mattress, omelette, palette, silhouette.
3) Words with surplus –e endings which obscure the vowel-lengthening function of –e in words like 'define, bone, care, endure, advise, inflate, ignite, drive, save, survive'.
Destine, determine, discipline, doctrine, examine, engine, famine, feminine, genuine, heroine, imagine, iodine, intestine, jasmine, masculine, medicine, urine,
gone, shone. Are, (cf. care, endure, mature). Conjure, exposure, failure, figure, fissure, injure, measure, pleasure, pressure, procedure, treasure. Adventure, agriculture, architecture, capture, caricature, creature, culture, departure, expenditure, feature, fracture, furniture, future, gesture, lecture, legislature, literature, manufacture, miniature, mixture, nature, picture, puncture, scripture, signature, structure, temperature, torture, venture, vulture. Purchase, premise, promise, purpose. (cf. atlas, devise, propose). Accurate, adequate, affectionate, candidate, chocolate, climate, considerate, corporate, delicate, desperate, extortionate, fortunate, frigate, illiterate, immaculate, immediate, intermediate, intricate, laureate, legitimate, obstinate, palate, passionate, pirate, private, proportionate, senate, Composite, Definite, exquisite, favourite, granite, infinite, opposite. In 25 words the –ate endings are used for two different words (to deliberate a deliberate act). Advocate, alternate, appropriate, approximate, articulate, associate, certificate, co-ordinate, degenerate, delegate, deliberate, designate, desolate, dictate, duplicate, elaborate, estimate, graduate, intimate, laminate, moderate, separate, subordinate, syndicate, triplicate (cf. inflate, dilate, obliterate). Give, forgive, have, live (cf. drive, save, alive), abrasive, abusive, adhesive, aggressive, apprehensive, comprehensive, compulsive, conclusive, creative, cursive, decisive, defensive, depressive, derisive, detective, dismissive, divisive, effusive, elusive, evasive, excessive, exclusive, expensive, explosive, expressive, extensive, fugitive, impressive, impulsive, incisive, inclusive, initiative, intensive, invasive, massive, motive, narrative, objective, obtrusive, offensive, oppressive, passive, pensive, permissive, perspective, persuasive, possessive, productive, progressive, prospective, radioactive, repulsive, respective, responsive, selective, sensitive, subjective, submissive, subversive, successive.
4) Words with irregular spellings for short /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and - (Letters in red are redundant.)
A - (bad, cat, rang, chav) - plaid, plait, meringue, have.
E - (bed, bend) – but : Bread/bred, breadth, breast, breath, dead, deaf, dealt, death, dread, dreamt, head, health, lead(x2), leant, leapt, meant, read(x2), ream, spread, sweat, thread, threat, wealth. Breakfast, cleanliness, cleanse, endeavour, feather, heather, heaven, heavy, instead, leather, measure, stealthy, treacherous, treadmill, treasure, weather. Friend, every, said, says, Wednesday.
Some lack doubled consonants as well (c.f. jelly, teddy, penny): Berry/bury. Any, many. Jeopardy, leopard. Heifer. Jealous, meadow, peasant, pheasant, pleasant, ready, (already), steady, weapon, zealous.
Different in US and UK: Leisure, lieutenant [leesure/lesure, lutennant/leftennant].
I – (in, it, sit ) - except: Build, built, busy, English, pretty, sieve, vineyard, women. Abyss, crypt, crystal, cyclical, cygnet, cymbals, cyst, eucalyptus, gym, hymn, hypnotise, lynch, lynx, mystery, myth, Olympics, rhythm, syllable, symbol, symmetry, sympathy, symptom, synchronise, syndicate, syndrome, synthesis, system. Without doubled consonants as well (unlike ‘syllable’ and ‘symmetry’): Chrysalis, cylinder, cynical, lyric, physics, synagogue, synonym, syrup, typical, tyranny.
O – (on hot spot) – irregular mainly just after w and qu: Swallow, swamp, swan, swap, waft, wand, wander, want/wont, wanton, warrant, warren, warrior, was, wash, wasp, watch, watt, wattle, what. Quality, quadrangle, quantity, quarantine, quarry, squabble, squad, squander, squash, squat. + Cough, trough; laurel, sausage.
U – (up, under) - Next to m, n , v and w, the short sound is often spelt o or o-e.
(* quite often without doubled consonants too, e.g. money– cf. funny).
Among, Monday, money, monger, mongrel, monk, monkey, month, mother, smother. Comfort, company, compass, pommel/pummel, stomach. Come, some/sum. Front, son, ton/tonne , tongue, sponge. Done, none/nun, nothing. Honey, onion. Above, cover, covet, covey, covenant, dove, glove, govern, love, oven, shove, shovel, slovenly.
Won/ one, wonder, worry. Once. Country, nourish, young. Enough. Not next to m, n or v: Double, couple, trouble. Rough, slough(x2), tough. Brother, colour, courage, cousin, dozen, does, hiccough/hiccup, other, Southern, thorough*, touch. Blood, flood.
5) Words with irregular spellings for a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, followed by e-e (because e-e is no longer the main spelling for the /ee/ sound, as it used to be until the 15th century).
A-e (late, tale) Ale/ail, bale/bail, male/mail, pale/pail, sale/sail, tale/tail, whale/wail, assail, cocktail, detail, fail, hail, jail, nail, prevail, rail, retail, snail, trail, Main/mane, pain/pane, plain/plane, rain/reins(reindeer)/reign, vain/vein, Abstain, brain, chain... (in 31 words) Skein; deign, feign; campaign; champagne. Crane, lane, sane, membrane. Made/maid, aid, braid, laid, paid, raid, afraid. Brake/break, stake/steak. Aim, claim, exclaim, maim, proclaim. Place/plaice. Haste, paste, taste, waste/waist; Daisy, praise, raise, raisin. Traitor, waiter. Ate/eight, bate/bait, grate/great, straight/straits, wait/weight. Fête, freight. Faith. Halfpenny, neighbour. Able, cable, cradle, fable, gable, ladle, sabre, stable, table – (cf. label).
I-e - (ice) - except: I /eye/aye/ay, bite/bight(bay), knight/night, lite/light, mite/might, rite/right/write,
slight/sleight(trick), sight/site/cite. Alight, blight, bright, delight, fight, flight, fright, frighten, lightning, mighty, tight. Height; indict. Behind, bind, blind, find, grind, hind, kind, mind, ninth, pint, rind, wind (x2); Bible (cf. libel), bridle, disciple, idle, rifle, stifle, trifle. Child, mild (cf. children, mildew), wild, whilst; island; climb. Eider-down, Fahrenheit, kaleidoscope. Either, neither (UK pronunciation). Choir. Resign, sign. Tire/tyre, asylum, cycle, cypress, dyke, dynamic, dynamite, dynamo, hyacinth, hydrangea, hydrogen, hyena, hygrometer, hypothesis, nylon, paralyse, psychology, pylon, python, rhyme, scythe, style, thyroid, type, tyrant.
O - e, -o - (open, so) – quite regular in more recently imported words: Alcove, associated, chrome... video, volcano, zero. Except: Bungalow. Cocoa. Oboe. Pharaoh. Depot.
In older English words, the o-e/-o sound is spelt very unpredictably:
Approach, boast, boat, broach/brooch, cloak, coach, coal, coast, coat, coax, cockroach, croak, float, foal, foam, gloat, goal, goat, groan, load, loaf, loan, loathe, moan, oaf, oak, oath, oats, poach, road, roam, roast, shoal, soak, soap, stoat, throat, toad, toast.
Bold, cold, fold, gold, hold, old, scold, sold, solder, soldier, told. Folk, yoke/yolk. Holster.
Bolt, colt, dolt, jolt, revolt. Mould, moult, sole/soul, shoulder, smoulder.
Knoll, pole/poll, role/ roll, scroll, stroll, toll, troll, swollen, holy/ wholly. Control, enrol, patrol.
Host, most, post, postal, poster. Both, gross, noble, only, sloth. Goes. Mauve. Blown, bowl, grown, growth, known, mown, own, shown, sown/sewn, thrown, rowan. Blow, bow(x2), crow, flow, glow, grow, know, low, mow, row(x2), show, slow, snow, sow(x2), stow, throw, tow. Arrow, barrow, bellow, below, billow, burrow, elbow, fellow, follow, gallows, hollow, marrow, narrow, pillow, shadow, shallow, swallow, sorrow, sparrow, tomorrow, wallow, widow, willow, window, yellow.
Doe, floe, foe, hoe, roe, sloe, toe, woe. Oh/owe. So/sew. Dough, though. Ago, also, fro, go, hello, no. Alone, arose, bone, bony, broke, choke, chose, chosen, close, clothes, clover, code, cone, cope, cove, dole, dome, dose, doze, drone, drove, froze, frozen, grocer, grope, hole, holy, home, hope, hose, joke, lone, mole, nose, open, over, poke, pony, pope, primrose, rode, rope, rose, scope, slope, smoke, spoke, stoke, stole, stolen, stone, strode, stroke, tadpole, throne, tone, whole, woke, wove, wrote, yodel.
U - e, -ue – (use, tuba; cue, due) – In the stem of words, few exceptions: you/ewe/yew, Eucalyptus, ewer, youth. Feud, feudal, neutral, pneumatic, pseudo, rheumatism. Lewd, newt, pewter, sewage, jewel, steward. Juice, nuisance, suicide, suitable, suitcase. Beauty. Nuclear. Tuesday.
In endings unpredictable: Cue/queue, due/dew, sue. Argue, avenue, barbecue, continue, imbue, issue, pursue, rescue, revenue, statue, subdue, tissue, value, devalue, venue, virtue. Chew, few, Jew, knew, new, pew, spew, stew, askew, curfew, curlew, mildew, nephew. View, interview, review. Emu, menu.
E - e / ea / ee ... – (deed, lead, concede, siege, conceive, police, people, key, ski ...) The spellings of the /ee/ sound were made unpredictable mainly in the 15th C, when court scribes were obliged to switch from French to English. They changed most e-e spellings (like Chaucer's 'seke, speke, shreke, beleve') to the many different ones we still use now. Johnson's dictionary of 1755 made them even worse by giving 48 words 2 spellings: Bee/be, beech/beach, been/bean, beet/beat, breech/breach, cheep/cheap, creek/creak, deedear, discreet/discrete, eerie/eyrie, eve/eaves, feet/feat, flee/flea, freeze/frieze, jeans/genes, Greece/grease, heel/heal, heahere, key/quay, leech/leach, leek/leak, meet/meat, need/knead, pee/pea, peace/piece, peek/peak, peel/peal, peepier, reed/readx2[reed/red], reek/wreak, reel/real, sealing/ceiling, seamen/semen, see/sea, seem/seam, seen/scene, serial/cereal, sheeshear, sheikh/chic, steel/steal, sweet/suite, tee/tea, teem/team, wee/we, week/weak, wheel/weal. In UK also: geezegeyser, leavelever.
Open e : Adhesive, arena, cafeteria, cedar, chameleon, Chinese, comedian, compete, complete, concrete, convene, convenient, decent, demon, equal, era, even, evil, experience, exterior, extreme, female, fever, frequent, genie, genius, hero, hyena, imperial, inferior, ingredient, intermediate, legal, legion, lenient, material, medium, mere, meteor, meter, millipede, mysterious, obedient, period, peter, polythene, precede, previous, query, recent, recess, region, relay, scheme, sequence, sequin, series, serious, serum, species, sphere, stampede, strategic, superior, supreme, swede, tedious, theme, theory, these, torpedo, trapeze, vehicle, Venus, zero. He, me, she. Beef, beer, beetle, between, bleed, bleep, breed, breeze, career, cheek, cheer, cheese, cheetah, creep, deed, deep, eel, exceed, feeble, feed, feel, fleece, fleet, geese, greed, green, greet, indeed, jeep, jeer, keel, keen, keep, kneel, meek, needle, peep, pioneer, preen, proceed, proceedings, proceeds, queen, queer, reef, screech, screen, seed, seek, seep, seesaw, sheep, sheet, sleek, sleep, sleet, sleeve, smithereens, sneer, sneeze, speech, speed, squeeze, steep, steeple, steer, street, succeed, sweep, sweet, teeth, teetotal, thirteen, tweed, tweezers, weed, weep, wheedle, wheeze, wildebeest. Appeal, beacon, bead, beak, beam, beard, beast, beaver, beneath, bleach, bleak, bleat, breathe, cease, cheat, clean, clear, colleague, conceal, congeal, cream, crease, creature, deal, dean, decrease, defeat, disease, dream, dreary, each, eager, eagle, ear, ease, east, Easter, eat, fear, feast, feature, freak, gear, gleam, glean, heap, heat, heath, heathen, heave, increase, leadx2, leaf, league, lean, leap, lease, leash, least, leave, meagre, meal, mean, measles, near, neat, ordeal, peach, peat, plead, please, pleat, preach, queasy, reach, really, reap, rear, reason, release, repeat, retreat, reveal, scream, seal, sear, season, seat, sheaf, sheath, smear, sneak, speak, spear, squeak, squeal, squeamish, steam, streak, stream, teach, teak, tearx2, tease, theatre, treacle, treason, treat, treaty, veal, wean, weary, weasel, weave, wheat, wreath, year, yeast, zeal. Open i: Albino, antique, aubergine, bikini, clementine, fatigue, guillotine, machine, magazine, margarine, marine, mosquito, plasticine, police, prestige, ravine, regime, routine, sardine, suite, tambourine, tangerine, trampoline, unique, vaseline, pizza.
Achieve, belief, believe, brief , chief, diesel, field, fiend, fierce, grief, grieve, hygienic, medieval, niece, pierce, priest, relief, relieve, shield, shriek, siege, thief, thieve, tier, wield, yield. Caffeine, codeine, protein, seize, weir, weird, conceive /coneit, deceive /deceit, receive /receipt. Assorted variants: People; cathedral, secret; pizza, ski, souvenir; debris.
Learning to read and write English could be made much easier by merely correcting some of the above irregularities which make it exceptionally difficult and time-consuming.
Posted 1st July 2010 by Masha Bell (http://improvingenglishspelling.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-and-short-vowels.html?m=1)

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Questions	Answers
What a wonderful story! I was wondering how much km you travel a day/ hours you are on your way? You really should start a YT channel with your adventures man, a guy on a motor driving through the world, and the lessons you learned, are definitely worth it!	Hello! I don't ride everyday. I did estimated an average of 200km per day though. More or less.
	I will see what I can do with this yt thing. Thanks for the advice! 😊👍
Do you have plans on when this will end and if you intend on returning to work do you worry about the perception on this time by employers? I guess, I also want to ask if you have concerns about whether you think you could adapt to fulltime work again or you'd struggle mentally now?	Not sure if i can go back to a 9-5 life but I really don't care right now about future employment opportunities. I believe that the world is filled with lots of people with certificates and degrees and professional expertise...but there are not so many with unique life experiences. I hope employers will look at the individual more than the hours i spent behind a desk, when the time will come.
So are you going to end up in an even crappier job after abandoning all of your responsibilities like this?	Haha who knows! What I know is that whatever job you do...it is still a job. More money means more responsibilities but at the end of the day, a job is a job. It's the meaning that changes your life. It's the why you do what you do, that drives you. Not necessarily the job you perform. We all end up in the same place...so I will do whatever job makes me happy when the time comes.
Hey op... If you're still answering questions I'm curious as to...What do you do to entertain yourself when you're tenting every night? I can imagine there's much internet connection in the middle of nowhere in Canada. Read a lot of books or something?	Not answering questions anymore, but this is an excellent one, that deserves a reply. Well, if you are camping in the wild, definitely there would probably be no internet access. I usually write my thoughts and daily events on a notepad. It s hard to find time to do that, so when you are alone in your little tent waiting for the night to come, getting your thoughts out on a paper usually helps the catharsis. I am not much of a reader...but sometimes a good movie (i may have some stuff saved previously on hard drives or netflix offline) could kill the extra hour you get before falling asleep. I mean, usually it's just such a pity to ruin the silence with music and images...so most of the times i fall asleep as soon as I lay horizontally. Other times, the writing thing helps soothe the adrenaline of the day and calm you enough to fall asleep too. Sometimes organizing takes a bit of time or taking care of the bike can take some time as well.
This was one of my favorite AMAs. Thank you for doing this. Where did you stay in Greece and while in quarantine did you At least get to leave at all or were you confined to your apartment?	Spent 3 months in Crete! Amazing island! Government started to ease up the lockdown only after the first month. We did only had 7 cases in the whole island so i got a great deal with my choice of location! I managed to explore the whole island by the end of it.
the below is a reply to the above
That place is amazing. It’s one of my favorite islands in Greece. If you ever have a chance check out Milos and Naxos.	Yes! I almost went to Milos! And Naxos looked like a true paradise. You guys are blessed with natural beauty!
Wow I’m really impressed and inspired! I am currently planning a solo trail trip across the US, (and hopefully further) it’s been my dream for forever! Can you just break down for me a couple things? Ok, like what are some absolutely essential items you carry that most people wouldn’t think of? Besides the basics like fire starter, tent/tarp, thermal clothing etc. Next, how would you respond to a crisis or threat on the road that normally wouldn’t occur in a conventional lifestyle? Like authorities fuccin with you or wild animals attacking or something? One concern I have is that people may look down upon me for my lifestyle choice and use that as an excuse to treat me badly. I mean, some people already kinda do and I haven’t even left yet. (Even if everybody did I would still go cause HAHAHA fucc it) Anyway, another question-What is the best part of your travel lifestyle so far? I imagine it’s a lot of fun, (although still intensely difficult) and that tramps have found a lot of interesting ways to spend their free time. EDIT: AHH sorry one more I forgot! What are your favorite spots around the world but especially the US that you think are worth seeing? (any other tips/pointers/things to remember that you can think of are welcome too) THANKS	Ok, lots of good questions! There is no essential item to be carried that is the "magic stuff" that nobody has. Maybe Common Sense...yes. carry that with you and you ll be fine always. ;) In terms of tools, cable ties and duct tape...and I would say super glue. Everything else mate, you ll adapt or find your way around it. About crisis, like protests, riots, police messing with you...well sometimes you gotta just leave! Haha. I rode through some riots in Bolivia and I kind of snuck away...as smoothly as possible. I always use my helmet cam, as a deterrent for police. If they are trying to get some money out of you, the "I am recording you" effect sometimes could make them change their mind. Also, I would make plastified copies of your driver license and bike docs, just in case you find some dodgy road blocks on your way. In case they withheld your stuff, you can just leave without having them keeping you hostage with your papers.
	Most of the times you'll be fine though. Those are rare occasions anyway. And so wild animal encounters. When I went to Alaska, a friend gave me a bear spray. Never use it. Just keep your food away from your tent. Again, common sense works better than any weapons.
	My favourite spot in the US was Sequoia NP. But I really loved the high deserts of Nevada and also New Mexico. So much good stuff to see in the US!
	The best part of this lifestyle is the fact that you are free to do whatever you want everyday... And this is also a huge advantage that comes only travelling alone. All those "haters" will disappear as soon as you are gone from their sight. Your life is yours and you can do whatever you want with it. Only people that have some personal issue will try to diminish what you are trying to achieve. Others will just project their fears to you. In any case, you gotta go your own way and be focused on what you are trying to achieve.
Was it expensive shipping your bike? Also any trouble getting into other countries crossing the border?	The shipping from Australia to South america was quite dear. I remember paying $2400 AUD. Not sure if it's expensive or not...but they did take care of almost everything. From Canada to Ireland instead i flew with Air Canada Cargo which had a special $1500 USD for the bike and myself. A bargain!! No troubles at the borders
How does it feel living life just visiting countries. No 9-5 whatsoever, no bills, no worries at all, just you and your motorcycle?	People say that Sex or food is the best feeling in the world. I think that Riding your motorcycle freely around the world, tops it all.
I cannot imagine myself traveling without internet access. Do you have worldwide roaming? Do you get a SIM in every country?	It's unthinkable nowadays to NOT have internet access. With local and cheap Sim card you can get data everywhere really and most countries in SA have sometimes free wifi around town and in gas stations. You'll be just fine.
the below is a reply to the above
Thanks for your reply! So I assume that with limited/spotty data, you were relying mostly on offline maps and navigation. Any tip on what's best for this kind of traveling and exploration?	there are some useful travel app like maps.me, gmaps and iOverlander. have a look at it. lots of good info.
I also have a 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure, but the R version. I also love my bike and stoked to hear how reliable it’s been for you! What repairs have you had to do along the way?	What repairs!! Haha bike has been exceptional. I only had to repair seals and moving parts (chain, sprokets, etc). Water pump seals have to be replaced around 85k km and i had a oil temp sensor failure at 140k km. Most people don't get that far with their miles...but if you do, make sure to check your water pump seals. Most parts are available in capital cities in any country. Others, you just have to have those shipped to you or plan in advance (for tyres for instance). Pretty doable overall.
What does a legitimate Italian pizza look and taste like compared to western pizza?	Italian pizza is better because of mozzarella and tomato sauce that they use when making it. Top quality stuff. Aside from that, pizza is good wherever. It depends also on how you like your pizza.
I hope to have the courage to also do something like this. What are some valuable things you’ve learned about solo travel? Things you wished you knew starting off.	We tend to overthink a lot of stuff that eventually never happen. We always have fears that stop us...but in reality, all those bad thought are simply possibilities that may actually never really happen. So, yeah...do more and worry less is certainly something I learned the hard way
Do you ever have any regrets?	Lately I have been good in that sense. But maybe one day I ll wake up and have some...for not chosing the standard path of the average guy with wife and kids.
Maybe a bit of a selfish question but do people in N. America have trouble pronouncing your name? My Italian-American husband and I named our 5 month old Paolo. We live in Brooklyn so most people around us don't have an issue but I am not sure what it will be like if we ever move somewhere else or when he starts school. Also it's a beautiful name and I'm going to make sure to show our son your photos when he is old enough to understand travel and places and different people. :-D	BEST QUESTION EVER! ahha
	your son is going to have a tough time in an english speaking country! haha Jokes aside, the sound "Pao" doesn't really exists in english speaking people's head...so most of the time I get called Paulo...or Pablo. Which is fine to me. But the correct pronunciation is Pà-olo with emphasis on the first syllable. I switched to Paul many times...
	But aside from USA, Canada, UK, Australia and South Africa, your son will be just fine!
	Also make sure he knows the the origins of the meaning of his name. Paolo was one of the closest friends of Jesus. His real name was Sauro, which means "the greatest", but then, after befriending Jesus, he changed his name in Paolo, which comes from the latin word Paulus, that means "small, tiny". I am not religious, but Indeed this story tells a bit of the significance of being humble.
U/paolo_0 what about sex and romantic relationships- friendships too. Do you maintain any relationships? If so, how do you maintain them?	The romantic factor is almost inevitable when travelling so extensively. Eventually every traveller has a romantic affair with somebody that he/she met on the way. Weather is a local or another traveller, it is our natural tendency to mate, so...yeah. Kind of a tricky one! I personally tend to avoid to get into serious situations because my lifestyle is simply not compatible with conventional standards of monogamous relationships. The curse of the traveller is that you always have to leave...so it is counterproductive to get close to somebody and then drag that feeling for months, with you on the road. In my opinion it shifts the paradigm of travelling towards a specific and more visceral feeling of reuniting with a person that most likely is not going to be on your planned route.
	Anyway, said this, i did have a long distance relationship before starting this trip and it sucked! Haha Hence I tend to avoid to make the same mistakes twice. But also...you can never plan when to fall in love. Sometimes it just happens and you gotta roll with it. It hurts and it may even change your plans. Eventually one has to choose between the new person and the continuity of your solo trip.
what country did surprise you the most (good or bad) with their roads? did you come to Portugal? what did you dislike the most	I loved Scotland! I had a great deal of luck with the weather...so that may have played a role. I did come to Portugal and it actually surprised me a lot!! Absolutely loved it! No wonder all retirees from europe want to move there! Algarve was spectacular. Loved Porto too.
Hello! First off, this is incredible, and a dream of mine. Unfortunately i'm an american with a crap load of college debt! I read your other answers and I just had a couple questions! 1. You mentioned your first night camping in a campground, and how it wasn't the best setting. As time went on did you just start setting up on the side of the road? or were there any other challenges finding camping spots when there wasn't a campsite hostile friends couch etc? 2. How safe did you feel when you were mostly alone camping in between citys/towns? Thank you so much for doing this AMA, hopefully one day I can do this!	Hey! I am aware of how the US system sucks you in a world of debts but... I hope you will one day break free from it.
	After my first night camping, I switched to couchsurfing and hostels right away. I was terrified of camping! ahha Then, one day I found a spot that was too beautiful to leave. I was by myself and It was quite remote. The balmy temperatures, the starry night and the beautiful sunrise over the ocean made me reconsider camping. After few more attempts I found out that camping in the wild was waaay better than sleeping in a crappy hostel or at some stranger's home. More privacy, quieter and cheaper too! Luckily for me, I had lost my camping virginity in Australia, one of the best and safest countries for camping in the world in my opinion. You are by yourself most of the times. Half of my trip around Australia I slept on the side of the road or in the bushes. I became an expert in starting small fires and cooking with no utensils. I realized that the "danger" in terms of safety for me and my motorcycle was directly related to the amount of people around me. So, the more desolated the area, the safest. Cities are clearly the opposite. Thanks for your questions.
I've been following your IG for about a year now I think, and I'm totally jealous. You've answered a few questions of mine on there, but I've got one for this AMA. Has KTM reached out to you for any kind of buyback type of deal for the bike, or any "free" stuff? Are they even aware? Do they care? I mean you're doing great advertising for them. I think I read something not too long ago where a man had a million-mile Honda Goldwing that Hinda wanted to buy back from him for research or something.	Nope. KTM hasn't got in touch with me about bike endorsement. Saying this, tbe guys at KTM canada helped me a lot in servicing the bike while I was in Montreal.
	KTM and Honda, or BMW have thousands of loyal customers that used their machines for long time. But they are not really obliged to reach out and saying "Thanks, here s a new bike". It would be a loss for them to give you free stuff.
What would you say is the key to happiness?	I believe that to realise that we are insignificant and that nothing is meant to come our way, is the paradigm that we need to have to improve our sense of happiness. I found out that our constant sense of being unaccomplished comes from the high expectations that society places in our mind. We need to get always bigger, better, more stuff...but in reality it's an ephemeral race against ourselves. When you realise that we are just a little grain of dust, floating in the universe and that we matter little or nothing at all in this universe, everything coming your way becomes a gift. I found out that having less makes me happier and less worried.
	I am not sure if this is the KEY to happiness for everybody, but I believe that keeping your feet on the ground, helps a great deal.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what kind of bank account do you have? Is it one that can be used internationally? And have you had any problems with converting your money to the currency of whatever country you’re in? Also what kind of a drone and phone do you have? Do you use your phone for most of your IG pics or your drone?	I have citybank account and debit card that can be used internationally. I mostly withdraw money from ATMs and use paypal for online transactions.
	Never had problems in converting into local currency.
	I have a DJI Mavic Air and a Samsung Galaxy S9. I mostly use my phone for my photography, but these days, it is plenty in terms of resolution and image quality, if you share your content on social media. Occasionally I had some photos taken with a DSLR.
I have been following you on Instagram before. We have had very short conversations few times. Remember the dog which was chained all the times for more than a decade in the island in Greece? Any news from it? Do you plan on starting a patreon account so you can earn money on the way? And how hard is it now in the pandemic?	Hey there!! Unfortunately that dog is still chained there. I spoke with several dog rescue centers and they couldn't do much about it. Ignorance is not curable Unfortunately.
	I am not sure. Should i start a patreon account?? Asking people for money? Mmm Not quite there yet.
In planning for the trip, do you think about and have a backup plan for medical emergency or if you are jailed in some remote location? For example, money to bribe you out of a situation at a border or caught speeding. Accident and hospital stay. Also, was language a major barrier during the trip?	Wow. Nope. Did not think about those things...haha but maybe I should have had! I do have a travel insurance that cover accidental hospitalization. Language wasn't a major deal breaker for me since i speak spanish and portuguese. Otherwise english is pretty common nowadays
Do you get lonely?	Sometimes. When I do, I use reddit. ;) Jokes aside, I actually appreciate the time when I am truly alone. Finding those moments is a rarity, these days.
I also quit my job and sold everything. For me, it was to leave Canada and move to Tahiti. Isn't it liberating and freeing to give everything up to start over? Its not easy to give up everything for a calculated risk. For some it turns out poorly, but for others, its the best decision they have ever made.	I've never seen anybody giving it a shot and turning out with something less. You always learn something about yourself...and it's always a great thing to clean up and start fresh!
	Kudos to you, mate! You got sick waves there! ;)
Care to share your favorite recipe?	Thai papaya salad. Shred green papaya, 1 carrot, 6 green beans. Prepare dressing with fish sauce, teaspoon of sugar, garlic (a lot), chili (a lot), and maybe 3-4 lime juices. Add few dried small shrimps and few sliced cherry tomatoes if you want, to garnish. Add a handful of peanuts.
How do you carry/retrieve money? I know in the US and such you can just go to an ATM or a bank, but in South America was it easy to withdraw your money? Did you have to pay much in fees? And I don't know if it is appropriate to ask if you carry a lot of cash with you haha	It is the same everywhere in the world. there are bank circuits like MAESTRO or CIRRUS or VISA or MASTERCARD which are available worldwide. You can get money out of ATMs sometimes without fees if banks are affiliated.
Do you battle with a sense of purposlessness or dislocation?	I clearly felt a sense of lack of purpose when I was living my normal life. A job sometimes absorbs you but doesn't really give you a reason to live. After my travels I can say that I found a new meaning to my life. I don't think I have to procreate...of find a partner. I think solitude and this kind of life suits me and gives me purpose, better than the one I had before to be honest.
Hey man I REALLY love what you do and I'm thinking of doing the same. I live in Greece and the idea of travelling around the world like this gives me goosebumps. Can you share some hot tips that you wish you knew before you started?	Hey mate!! I love Greece! You guys have it good over there for riding! I wish I knew how little you really need to travel around. The secret is exactly to carry as little as possible. The lighter the better.
I've always wanted to do something like this, however it would be on foot. Do you think it would be significantly harder to do so, should I think about taking a car or bike with me?	One of my inspiration is this japanese guy that I almost met in Ushuaia. Incredible story. He walked...from alaska to ushuaia. 6 years. Unbelievable adventure and definitely made mine look like too easy! Haha Look him up on facebook! Masahito Yoshida
By your own experience, do you think it would be safe enough to do this as a solo young woman?	As I met several other solo travellers, including women, which share with me their personal experiences, I can say that it is indeed safe to travel alone as a woman.
What of your original motorcycle is left? Considering you would have undoubtedly had to have replaced bits	Bike is still in original shape and form. Replaced the windshield and some inner plastics. But most of it is still the same. Never touched the engine
How much did you pay for your motorcycle?	I bought it in December 2014. It was second hand. Had only 700 km on it though. Paid $19k Australian. You do the math in your currency. I saved for 8 months and sold my old bike to be able to buy it.
What about love? Do you sometimes feel like you would like to have someone with you on your trip?	Nah. I am good. I thought about rescuing a stray dog or cat a couple of times...
Did you ever read Jupiter's Travels, or meet Ted Simon?	Nope. But I heard it's a great book. He's one of the first guys that went around the world in modern times...
Why such a high performance motorcycle?	I just bought my dream bike. the trip came afterwards...and I just used the bike I had.
What do you want written on your tombstone?	I want to be cremated and thrown into the ocean. No engraving required. ;)
I plan to go on a motorcycle adventure in South America in the near future and I have to ask: were you afraid at any point? I live in Brazil, which is a very dangerous country, I ride mostly in my own city but sometimes I find myself very afraid, and there are places that I don't dare to go. I often wonder how would I deal with these problems being thousands of miles away from home.	Yes mate. Brazil was probably the spookiest country I rode through in latin america. But danger is mostly concentrated in big cities, as you know... South america is pretty safe and generally speaking people will be more willing to help you than harm you. Do not worry too much. I was concerned about my safety too before my departure but then i realized that tv and news just gave me the wrong idea.
Haven’t seen this asked.... Do you carry a weapon? Have you ever been in a dangerous situation with thugs?	I do not carry weapons. I am against weapons in general, but being from Europe this is kind of the way we grow up here. I assume you are from the USA... But no, there is no need to protect yourself till the point you have to risk your life to do it. If somebody wants to take my stuff and has a gun, I will happily give my stuff to him/her. It's just stuff. I wouldn't shoot anybody anyway.
the below is a reply to the above
I am from the USA! We clearly have a stereotype if me simply asking about a weapon gives it away lol 😅 Im happy you haven’t been put in a situation with the wrong people. Thanks for taking the time to do this AMA. Your life is quite fascinating and I admire your ability to break from the norm and take such an adventure that this beautiful world has to offer :)	I hope you didn't take my comment in a negative way. I love USA and I've travelled throughout the country, other than living in it for few years. I met incredibly inspiring people and i ve also learned so much from your way of living. I do understand the reason behind carrying a weapon. It makes sense there. USA is a massive country and there is a sense of need of protecting yourself in many ways. In most of USA people grow up with weapons because...of hunting! It's part of the culture and I respect it. Considering also that you are allowed to carry a weapon and shoot for self defense in many states... But around the world we just assume nobody has a weapon...so yeah, it works either way.
PuggerHugger123: Are you still using your Australian license plate? Im assuming you might get issues at borders or weird looks from people in different countries. I live in europe and our license plates have a letter representing our country (as you have probably seen). I have also seen some non-EU license plates from eastern europe, but thats it... mccannisms: I was wondering this too - I was told to not bring my bike from Canada to Aus permanently as part of the roadworthy involves checking the frame by drilling into it and would possibly completely damage said frame. How does insuring a bike for international travel work?	Ok, I still have my NSW license plate on. People don't care. At the border they just check if the name on your bike papers is the same on your driver license/passport. If so, you are good to go. You can import ANY vehicle in Australia I believe as far as you owned the vehicle at least for one year. Then there is the inspection and everything, but if there is a similar vehicle already in the country, it doesn't need to be tested for "roadworthiness". As per insurance, you have to get one for every country you enter. Except EU where you get the "Green card" which is valid for all Eu countries.
A guy I used to work with Peter Corboy did this back in the 2000's. You know him?	Sorry, I do not know him.
Hey mate, really nice to read your story and the comments! I’ll be doing a similar thing in a few years, I was worried about going out on a brand new bike (Yamaha Tenere 700) absolutely love this bike but after hearing your story about going on a big ass brand new KTM you give me hope! I was worried about it possibly being stolen somewhere.. apart from parking it inside wherever possible do you have any other tips? Do you use disk lock/use a bike cover? And also.. do you not think your bike is a bit too big? Are you able to pick it up ok and does it ever limit some of the off road routes you may want to take? Really inspirational story mate.. it’s all I dream about, I’ve backpacked to like 65 countries and within the past few years realised overland motorcycle adventure is where the fun really is.. the freedom!	Hey mate, congrats on your bike selection. I've heard great stuff about the T7. About the "bike getting stolen" issue...it's not really a thing. Just be careful in big cities and if if you leave it parked with your belongings on it for too long. I mean...seriously just common sense. the 1190 is big and heavy but I managed. When fully loaded it floats around 300kg so yeah...not a walk in the park... but most of the times I was fine. Just sand riding gets hard. In case, make sure you always park inside the property where you stay at night and remove all your belongings from it, even if you decide to go for hard panniers (which I don't recommend). Unfortunately, if somebody wants to steal your bike there's very little/nothing you can do about it. But again, most of the times you'll be fine.
I guess this is more of a question in general rather than specifically related to your journey on the motorcycle. But how did you manage leaving behind family and friends to pursue your own lifestyle? Im a bit envious of the whole experience, but I also can't imagine living more than 100 miles away let alone living in multiple different countries and traveling the world. Was it difficult to do? Or did your family and friends support or need you in any way that wouldn't be doable with you travelling, or was it simply "this is what I want" and you go do it without much of a care?	It is hard to leave your family and lifelong friends behind to pursue a dream...but it is the price to pay for these kind of experiences.
	Sometimes it s hard to be by yourself and to realize that you are alone, far away from people who love you and support you no matter what...but it is also a forging experience to be so exposed. It builds character and it allows you to become more independent, which is a key point for any kind of relationship in your life.
	It is difficult and scary and all of the above. But it is a necessary process for personal growth and development.
	Your family and friends will understand you...and support your choices if they truly love you.
Hey Paolo, great story and a wonderful thing to do! I also love riding trough different countries, and my big dream is it, to ride from Monaco di Baviera to SEA. So here‘s my question: how do you get all the permits for entering countries? Visa etc? Ever had any passport/visa issues? Especially with corona lockdowns? Ever entered somewhere over the green border? Do you have any kind of bike/health insurance? Have a good ride. Stay save! If you happen to be in Monaco, let me know for dinner and a bed:)	Cheers mate!! If you plan on riding to SEA from here, you will need a Carnet de Passage for your vehicle. Get in touch with the automobile club of your country for more info...but it is not cheap. Visawise, as german, you won't have any issues entering countries. Simply google "visa allowances german citizens" and wikipedia will tell you what to do and how to prepare for your trip. Never had any issues at the border so far. Only in USA maybe. Haha They didn't like the fact that I wanted to tour their country for more than 3 months. I have a worldwide travel insurance with worldnomads which covers me in case of hospitalization. Bike insurance have to be issue in every country you ride in. But i think in germany there may be a worldwide insurance for motorcycles too. You need to check there. Now with covid all travels are restricted. May have to wait a bit for your adventure.
How does your family feel about feeding and housing you with the money they work for while you go ride your bike? Did you think about them when you threw your financial stability away? Would you go back to work if they threw you out on the street? Did you know that in the eyes of an employer you lose your degree when you dont use it for 4 years? And, they also won't hire you for lesser positions because you are over qualified.	Thanks for your lovely question. I support myself for my travels and my family can take care of itself. I tried to send money back, but they seem to be fine without me. I do not need to be financially stable to be happy. I believe my family is ok to simply let me sleep in my backyard with my tent, in case they don't want me in their house anymore. Otherwise yeah. I may look for a job to pay rent...or a workaway experience. I do not want to work for an employer that diminishes my expertise because i decided to live my life instead of sitting in front of a computer for 4 years. I also do not have to go back to the same industry I was working before. Do i need a computer engineering degree to be a brick layer? I wont be so sure about the overqualified thing. I got hired as truck washer with my degree in engineering.
Hey man, what you are doing is cool. One small question, how about your life insurance? Since you are travelling to different countries, how do you manage it? Also, if you get a chance, go to India mate, it's one of the best things ever	You can get travel insurance with worldwide coverage. Worldnomads is one of the companies that provide this kind of service.
Not knowing your lifestyle b4 this adventure, What specifically did you notice you had to adjust immediately? Protein and water obviously but what did you find you were going to really need to keep going?	I actually noticed that i didn't need so much food to keep going. Water yes...but food intake could be minimized. When you don't have your 9-5 routine anymore, you can simply eat whenever you want...without fixed hours. In the long run you ll simply adapt to new food intake quantities which are usually less than a regular working man.
How do you go about servicing your bike? I change the oil in my bike every 6 months regardless of kms, sometimes its only does about 2000kms in between those services.	I service my bike every 7000km. sometimes even 10000km. but my bike holds 4kg of oil in the engine so it is quite a lot. like a small size car.
Ciao Paulo; Do you think there are too many people in the world, especially with this Coronavirus breakout and all these riots taking place? Thanks, Richard	There are a lot of people on this planet. Yes. Maybe it s not a matter of overpopulation but a matter of changing the way we create resources to sustain people and our world. We certainly need to "step our game up".
Which countries in the world have you visited thus far, at least a general idea, and which are you planning to visit? Good luck on your journey!	A map of my travels is visible on my profile here or on my insta.
"No mechanical or electrical issues in the whole trip." Seriously? That's amazing! Not a single mechanical issue?	Zero mechanical issues. I fried my engine oil temp gauge around 140k km...but that was an easy fix. Found it used online for 40 bucks and that was about it.
How safe do you feel on your adventure? Would love to do something similar but sounds difficult as a solo woman...	Please look on the internet. There are so many inspiring women out there travelling solo! Don't let misinformation deter you for chasing such a beautiful dream!
What were some of your favorite places? I'm currently on the panamerican highway with a van. Well done, mate!	Cheers mate!! Well well.. baja california is a dream! Ecuador and peru are also fantastic to be done in a van. Just make sure you get to go to Chiloe and Carretera Austral in Chile. Have fun !!
Hello Paolo did you plan to write a book about your experience? I would be first in line to buy it...	Reddit would probably be the first place I would advertise it to! Haha Not in my plans at the moment. Thanks for the encouragement though!
Have you ever been really scared that you've driven into a place where you could get robbed or worse?	Rode through a couple of favelas in Brazil...by mistake. And yes, eventually the thought of getting stopped and "questioned" crossed my mind. But fortunately nothing happened.
What is your favorite food you ate while traveling and what's the best place you have been?	I am a sucker for a good Chevice (raw seafood). Although it seems that the best chevice is Peruvian, I loved mexican one. I mean, I probably had the best one in Baja. Absolutely mind blowing.
	Meat based stuff instead I have to say that Hornado in Ecuador can't be beat. Mouth watering stuff. And I am not a big fan of meat.
Have you had any negative experiences through your journey? (Violence, theft, etc)	Negative experiences were maybe 1% of the whole thing. Just lessons to be learned and move on, really. Nothing really too bad.
Did you get your tools back? The one's that were stolen a while back in Vancouver?	Nope. Had to buy new ones. Ouch
Did you record places you went? Photos, videos, journals, anything like that?	Yes. It's all on instagram. And youtube. check it out!
Wich Latin american countries did you visit? And wich was your favorite one?	Wich Latin american countries did you visit? And wich was your favorite one?
How did you manage to travel that far on a motorcycle without crashing?	I did crash! Mostly while riding offroad or on sand. Got footage of that too! Haha
Australian resident? Then you'll know what "pretentious wanker" means?	Fair dinkum!
do you wear “riding gear” with pads, etc. when on the motorcycle?	Yes I do. But it's not absolutely necessary to do so. I rode around Australia with jeans and tshirt. Not safe, but yeah... The problem with not wearing protection is the "trip stopper" factor. Let's say you get into an accident. If nothing happens it's all good. But if you are wearing sneakers and not boots, you are most likely to hurt yourself. And that could stop your trip for a month or more. So, yeah. Not necessary, but definitely recommended
You put 180,000km on that KTM and had no mechanical issues?!?!?	I know right?!?! Incredible!
Have you ever been to Estonia, are you planning on it, if not?	I have few friends there actually. But now my biggest enemy is covid to be honest. I would love to visit!
Were you in Newfoundland, Canada June 2019 u/paolo_0 ?	Nope! I wish though!
What do you miss the most about “normal” life?	having a workout routine. I always relied on my physical condition to endure stress and fatigue...but with constant travelling I kind of lacked of physical exercise. I missed that for sure.
How painfull is your ass after a day driving?	I believe I have calluses now... Ouch
How do you deal with being lonely sometimes?	I chat with people. :) Sounds like a silly answer but...
You weren't around Zion in 2016 by chance?	Nope.
Do you have any children?	I do not. Never married
Are you on instagram?	Www.instagram.com/paolocattaneophoto
How is your back?	I am looking for a new one on ebay... ;)

Hello loves <3 I'm writing a review about my overall impression of London. I went there twice, two years and I stayed for approximately two weeks. Quarantine inspired me to do this. I was supposed to write a review about every country I have been to but I forgot to post this one... but fear not here it comes. :D ( I hope I'm posting this on the right sub).

• THE CAPITAL: I'm a little bit conflicted on this one. On one hand, I really enjoyed the buildings and their architecture, those cute red buses that reminded me of Harry Potter, the lively city with its river and the peoples' vibes, but on the other hand, it sometimes felt a little too chaotic and the contrast between old and new wasn't always harmonious. Nevertheless, it was a very interesting city and I'm looking forward to visiting again it might be one of the few places where I felt that I still have much to explore.
• ENTERTAINMENT: London is a vibrant city with a plethora of entertainment options. There were so many things to see and do but the absolute highlights for me were your magnificent museums which were also free of charge! (The British Museum is now my favourite museum). Though I don't drink I did find the pubs amusing or to be more precise I did find the drunken people in the pubs amusing :D. Generally, I love strolling through the streets but the weather was a little bit cold for that so we mostly stayed inside but I did manage to spend some time wandering around the city and we were also lucky to have an uncommonly sunny weather -as many people told us- so there is that :)
• PEOPLE: Well London is renowned for its multiculturalism and that's something that you can quickly notice when you get there. From the stereotypical blonde-haired, blue-eyed Brit to the darker-skinned Indian Brit the city is quite mixed though behavioural wise there seems to be a general code of social behaviour that most people follow: That is being reserved with your emotions and being more quiet and calm. Contrary though to some SE prejudices the people were actually pretty warm, kind and helpful once you interacted with them. Truly I felt very comfortable and welcome in the city and that's mostly due to the good vibes I got from the people.
• CULTURE:

1. FOOD: The food was either a big hit or miss there was no middle ground. Most of the foods that I ate in restaurants-pubs were of low quality and I really couldn't eat them. (Luckily my brother who isn't very picky about his own food ate whatever I left ). On the positive side, there was a big variety of foreign cuisines which I greatly enjoyed and generally, I found most of the food prices reasonable as well - a big plus for a foodie like me. Unfortunately, I can't comment on your beers -which I know most of you take great pride in- cause I don't drink but my sister who does, has only good things to say. I'm also a big fan of your small packaged junk foods like chips and chocolates -I could use some of these back home.
2. HISTORY: You have a pretty controversial history with both good and dark moments and although our countries relationships haven't always been the best I'm very interested in your history which I find very impressive and unique.
3. LANGUAGE: I grew up listening to English songs so the language never seemed foreign to me. Unfortunately, I can't remember how it first sounded to me I only remember that I was annoyed sometimes because it seemed as if people were intentionally dragging the words which is exactly what they did since English has each own stress system which is very different from my native language hence why I couldn't understand why they were doing that. it just seemed weird to me. Other than that, I love the language!! It has opened huge sources of information and enables me to communicate with so many people from so many different countries that I couldn't otherwise do. The only downsides that I can think of are the pronunciation and the phrasal verbs both of which are insane! Also for some reason, while I can understand English when I'm hearing it in movies and stuff I was often unable to do so when I was in London. I have no idea why but it seemed to me like people were speaking very quietly almost as if they were mumbling.

Okay, that's it :)
PS: I would like to hear your own impressions about the different countries you have been to!!

My husband and I are primary English speakers, but have spoken Spanish on and off since high school, and are OK at conversational Spanish. Yesterday, one of our Alexas informed us that they had a bilingual mode where it should automatically pick up which language you are using. We thought this would be an excellent way to practice our Spanish (especially with quarantine and not traveling), so we set our devices to English/Espanol (United States).
She absolutely will not pick up on the Spanish. My pronunciation is good, and we even tried having my desktop computer "speak spanish" commands just in case I was crazy about my pronunciation. I eventually got her to set an alarm in Spanish, but I could not get her to set a timer. Every time I have tried to speak to her today in Spanish, she gets confused or "doesn't know that".
What am I doing wrong? Is there some kind of trigger word that switches her from one language to the other? I tried starting a question with "Hola, Alexa", but that did not work.

The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich came to the subreddit again today to answer some questions. Once again we have collected them here for easy reading. Note that she might come back like last time, so there is a chance that your question might get answered later if you ask it now!
​
UPDATE
Sewerwizard

Hi Lauren, nice pictures once again! I wanted to ask, what are your thoughts currently about the music in the show? Any chance for us to get a sneak peek (or listen)? :)

l_schmidt_hissrich

A few lucky people have heard bits and pieces of the music so far, which played under the clips shown at various Comic cons. But it hasn't been released to the public yet. It's gorgeous, layered, moving, sometimes scary...

ntierr

Will be history of Renfri get extended?

l_schmidt_hissrich

This is a great question. Yes and no. (How's that for a non-specific answer?)

srichi49

Lauren, nice to meet you and nice photos!
I have a great concern...
Is there a possibility to release a weekly chapter instead of the full season? I want to see it all together sincerely, but I consider myself a fan of the saga.
I feel that weekly chapter would be much healthier for the series. It is proven that a weekly chapter encourages dialogue, hype, the increase of new audience, etc ... I think that the fact of being able to put together hypotheses between waiting for the chapters and curious people join to watch the series is totally positive for it ...
It keeps the intrigue, it is more spaced, you don't have haters and people saying that they saw the season complete when one goes through the first chapter, etc.
I saw it with GoT (I don't compare the series at all). I mention the case because it was incredible that, on the monday following the premiere of a new chapter, the people in my work did not stop talking about it even for days, there were debates about what happened and what was going to happen. It became somewhat religious and weekly, and that could be obtained in large part by releasing the separate chapters and giving air to the user in order to digest what he saw.
For example, with Stranger Things 3 something singular happened .. At the premiere many people at work began to see it, however others did not start because "some colleagues were already ahead" or because "they had already spoiled them all season" and they they had lost interest .... It's like, having the entire season causes interest to dissolve faster, for everything to be more ephemeral beyond exploding in popularity.
The rationing is good, it is tidy, it gives people time to digest the good, the valuable. And I think that The Witcher, due to the depth of its content and what I expect from the series, deserves no less.
Greetings and thanks for reading! (I do not speak English).

l_schmidt_hissrich

This is Netflix's business model, so it's the same one The Witcher will be ascribing to. That said, people are free to watch the show however they please. I, personally, do not binge shows in one evening, or even a week. I like to take my time!

​
ORIGINAL START
roomwidth

Thanks for the photos Lauren! And I was going to ask this at some point: how does one pronounce Cahir, anyways?

l_schmidt_hissrich

No one quite agrees on the pronunciation of the name, but thanks to our resident Irish writer, we went with CAH-heer.

andthatwillbeit

Just found my new wallpaper. So beautiful.
I have a question related to spoilers, because I've been thinking of all the big plot twists that were spoiled by the games (a few interesting things about Regis or the Emperor for example). Knowing that so many people consider this information as common knowledge, do you approach these reveals any differently?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Fans of the books and the games already know various spoilers, but it's important to us to make the reveals of information exciting and fun for existing fans and new audiences alike. We never approach big plot moments as though they're common knowledge, though.

ehmain93

Hey Lauren, I know this question has nothing to do with the pictures above, but in the trailer when saw Geralt's sword-fighting I keep thinking to myself "we've never seen this kind of sword work before" I mean we've seen similar stuff, but this almost looks like the sort of thing we've seen in super hero shows where the criminals are completely helpless and the hero while vulnerable at times and blooded often, seems unstoppable until they finally come across someone who can beat them up. Does my perception of what I saw have anything in common with what to expect from the show?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Geralt is very very good at what he does. Better than most, so there are people/monsters he dispatches with quickly and efficiently. But not always. He will meet plenty of matches.

[regarding her not answering if Mark Hamill was cast as Vesemir]
lmkwe

Let's assume that her silence is an answer in itself and hes high on the list...

l_schmidt_hissrich

... or that I was sleeping. Eitheor. 😂

TVwalla

Did just one horse play Roach the whole season, or was there like a stunt horse and a regular horse? How do you even cast a horse lol

l_schmidt_hissrich

The same horse played Roach all season, with the exception of a few travel days where "she" was quarantined. The casting process was based on many things, but mostly the bond and trust between horse and master: in this case, Roach and Geralt.

vellass

Lauren, aside from our main trio, which character would you say was most fun for you to write and shoot?

l_schmidt_hissrich

This is like asking me to choose my favorite child! I loved writing for Istredd... Cahir... Fringilla...

nuumillian

Hey Lauren!!!! Thank you so much for all this food! Can you tell us a bit about the chemistry on set? How does everyone get along? And will we get to see jaskier and yen shenanigans???

l_schmidt_hissrich

There are SO many shenanigans, all over the place! And truly, the on-set chemistry is wonderful. The actors are an incredibly nice group of people, kind and supportive and loving to each other and the crew.

LadKakashi

Thank you so much for the insights Lauren * _ * Is Cahir a hero from the start ?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Hmmm. I mean. What IS a hero, anyway?

Yslyven

Wow!!! Thank you Lauren! These pics just keep getting better and better! I love the shields and banners. Now I'm wondering whether we'll see cavalry on Nilfgaard's side too?? In the trailer it looks like the Cintran knights face a legion of imperial footsoldiers at Marnadal.

l_schmidt_hissrich

There's cavalry sneaking around a few places...

Mirelat

Hey. It's really nice that You found time for us. I have a question for You.
What do You think about special episodes like in Black Mirror or Marco Polo? If you would have possibility to create something like that in The Witcher(for example from unused stories from the books) what would you say?
Ps. I wish you success of the first season and good fun and pleasant moments at the next seasons :)

l_schmidt_hissrich

Right now, we're just concentrating on making S1 great. All future iterations of the show will depend on just how much of an appetite the audience has for these stories and characters!

Fotreya

I love the story because the characters, much more than the fantasy, action, or the cgi or whatever. I am so glad that you brought Yennefer backstory to life in this adaptation. Yennefer and Geralt relationship is one of my fav things in the books. What can we expect? Will we be pleased? Love you, Lauren.

l_schmidt_hissrich

It's one of my favorite things, too. ❤️

badfortheenvironment

Ahhh, thank you so much for the new BTS pics. This is going above and beyond. And those silhouettes are chef kiss. Cahir looking absolutely majestic.
Question: What's your favorite Polish vodka?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Żubrówka Czarna.

P_01ghost

Looks great, but this, teaser and trailer makes me wonder how much of the battle of Marnadal were going to see. I initially thought nothing at all, and only a bit of Sodden hill, but it looks like were getting things like eists and calanthes perspective during the battle.
Is there anything you can tell us about how the show is going to tackle such big battles, if at all, meaning if well witness them through the perspective of the characters, like Eist and Calanthe during the battle of Marnadal or the sorcereesses during the battle of Sodden Hill?

l_schmidt_hissrich

This one you're going to have to wait and see!

rozowarozowa

Hi again, Lauren!!! Since we're talking animals, here's a non-Witcher related question for you: What's your favourite animal?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Cats!

Majeneesi

Hey grandmaster! What was the biggest challenge when making changes to the source material?

l_schmidt_hissrich

The biggest challenge is what to change, and when. Sometimes, it's purely logistical: we don't have the time to adapt every chapter of every book, so we have to pick and choose what stories/characters/interactions/moments best transfer to screen, to tell the story we need to tell. And then we have to be able to defend those choices to our producers, who've been reading the books since they were children. If they don't pass the test, we go back to the theoretical drawing board.

coldcynic

Historical fiction novels.

Hello! Have you read Sienkiewicz's Trilogy, by any chance? Andrzej Sapkowski is said to be able to quote long passages from it from memory, it towered over Polish culture for a few generations, and a lot of artistic and political expression was to some extent either reaction against or extension of its take, in Sapkowski's take, both.
Or any other means you've used to get the feel of the cultural environment Sapkowski wrote in, apart from the trip and Tomek Bagiński's advice? Critics have been seizing on your regular mentions of Polish vodka as, well, seemingly reductive, and it would be nice to have counter-arguments one could quote when they do it.

l_schmidt_hissrich

In 2014, a friend and fellow Marvel writer, Whit, brought apple juice and a bottle of Żubrówka Bison Grass vodka to my house. I've been a convert ever since, having nothing to do with The Witcher at all.
It makes me sad that my genuine love of something is translated to the sole thing I appreciate about an entire nation and culture. That's no more true than my love of guacamole reducing Mexico down to culinary contributions, or my love of spiky heels insinuating that I have no use for other shoes, ever.
I've spent two years immersing myself in this project through conducting interviews, nurturing friendships, digging into folklore and music and food and attitudes and humor, doing endless historical study for context, not to mention reading the books again... and again... and again. I appreciate that you want to argue against critics on my behalf, simply because I vocally like vodka -- but it's not something I feel the need to do.

Fayezcol

Cant wait for the show, but quick question: Is the Geralt and Yennefer scene from the trailer really their first meeting/scene together?

l_schmidt_hissrich

.... you have to wait! You do! Sorry! :)

Kalabear87

The two orbs that we keep seeing in the pictures are they just for lighting purposes or do you use them as actual moons?

l_schmidt_hissrich

Those are production lights! And sometimes flares from my iPhone camera. :)

saruxiweooo

How much importance does Istredd have in the show? Thank you!

l_schmidt_hissrich

The real question is, how much importance does Istredd have to Yennefer? Based on "A Shard of Ice," I think there's more to their history to explore...

Hello to everyone! :'D My name is Marco. I'm 18 years old. I'm from Lima, Peru.
Some people say "neutral accent" doesn't exist. It's a little complicated... so what I mean with "neutral"? It's really easy to understand me. The ideas that I express are very clear. As peruavian guy, I have something called "really close to neutral accent" (99% true neutral accent). If you want to learn, practice or improve your spanish with someone... you can count with me.
I'm looking for people who can help me in any way to communicate in English. I want to practice it because I have been learning thanks to university (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) in this period of being in our houses. Before the quarantine, also I knew it something, (you know... school, contests, music, movies) so I had some base on this. My level is intermediate (A2 or B1, you can find out for yourself c:). If you are interested, please let me know it.
I accept suggestions, ideas to improve my English. Any kind of help will be well received. I will be pleased with everyone of you... Thanks!!!
​
PS 1: More about me ... I enjoy every kind of activity e.g. music, sport, movies, games, reading, going out (not at moment obvi), blaaa... basically any suggested activity that you mention, I catch very quickly the interest. And of course, I would really like to meet good people. I must learn a lot from you (your worldview, culture, lessons of life, ...).
PS 2: I'm really new on this, I have in mind some ideas. We can search together the best way for helping us.
PS 3: Finally, how was my redaction? (this is my first post, pls don't be so rude with me). That is proof that I've got many things to learn.

This should just barely fit on 1 page.
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Previous
 
 
G.O.D. Sam Robinson – The Valkyrie – Dimensional Plane of Arenal – U.N. Base, Dr Karla Neumann’s office, Ringtown – 5 Years and 56 days since the Infernal invasion of Earth
 
“So…” Karla asked as she let the question linger.
“So, Ebruziel says that that’s normal that he feels angry all the time. Says it’s weak if you don’t feel the ‘primal urge to conquer and subjugate’.” Sam answered as she used finger quotes.
“Still, it is severely hampering his meditation efforts. And we’re not even sure it helps, if at all.”
“Well, it helped me.” Sam said with smile but immediately put up her hand. “Before you interrupt me. I know, I know. The way to self-realization and self-healing is a long one and the hangover I had the other day was a great way to remind me of that. I mean, the lock on that inner door I told you about is really small and tiny.”
"I can feel that, you know. Part of a devil’s pride is the discipline to hold in your primal instincts, yet to intimately know that you could still take it if you needed to. Under great pressure I could visit your chamber.”
“Ah, but, he’s been getting a lot more talkative ever since he made the decision to, you know, join us and not Asmodeus. Just a sec.” Sam said as she held up her hand and looked down at her own body. “Yeah, uh-hu, and if you ever want to be free and get your own body, like you said you wanted, then you’ll do as we agreed to and leave me be in private moments! This is one of them. It’s not like I intrude on your shit when you have a session with Dr. Neumann.”
"Fine, fine. But to be sure, I want to reiterate that I need to learn to put a similar lock on my door as well. I have my own versions of them, but they are all magic-based and as such are no match for Asmodeus. I need something like you have, but much bigger and better!”
“Well – “ Sam started to say, but got interrupted by Karla who slowly put Sam’s hand down.
“Well, if you are both listening anyway, I could just finish my point. Yes, Sam, the road to recovery is a long one, and so is self-realization and self-healing from undue mental pressures and wounds that you feel. But, every step of recovery is a step in the right direction. So, while the devil, ah, Ebruziel, is doing his best during our sessions, and has a much longer path to follow, and he unnecessarily gets angry all the time – “
Sam instantly put up her hands. “Don’t you bitch at this.” She said as she looked down again.
Grah! She’s just insulting me at this point!
“Just listen for once in your stupid life!” Sam cursed. Then dropped her hand and motioned for Karla to continue.
“Ah, to finish my point. It’s not like these obstacles cannot be overcome. But since they are so big and have dominated his entire life, he does need to change his mindset on the expectations he has of this. It could take years before he gets to a state in which he feels like free from Asmodeus’ influence and only from then on would the meditation be truly effective.”
Free from Asmodeus!? I’m already free! What the fahck is she talking about!?
“It’s ‘fuck’, not ‘fahck’, if you’re going to curse, do it right!” Sam shouted as she looked down again.
*And years!? We don’t have years! I don’t have years!”
“Oh, god. He’s complaining about the years part again.” Sam said as she envisioned the lock getting bigger as she tried to ignore Ebruziel.
“As I was saying!” Karla almost shouted as she put up her hand over Sam’s, clearly getting exasperated herself. “Every step forward in the right direction is a good one, but if for very obvious reasons he wants to shorten his path, he needs to understand two things. One, it’s a bumpy road and it’s normal to not feel recovery for years on end, just like you did Sam.”
“Secondly, it is specifically the mindset itself that we are trying to change. You’ve seen the experiments Ebruziel, Sam was better able to resist that undead monstrosity’s astral or soul form whenever she was calm and felt in control.”
*Grah! That was a difference of ten seconds! That’s nothing!”
“He’s bitching about it only being ten seconds, isn’t he?” Karla sighed out.
Sam started laughing as Ebruziel started cursing, correspondingly making his voice sound thinner and more far away. Those experiments had been worthwhile. They weren’t effective, but as Karla said, they showed a good path forward. If she could get better at this, then maybe it could become a viable battlefield tactic at some point. Better yet, get Ebruziel out of her mind.
“To finish my point, if Ebruziel really cared about being out from under Asmodeus’ influence, then he should start by stop trying to think like him. And if he isn’t capable of that, then perhaps he should use that ridiculous ‘primal urge and discipline’ and conquer his own impatience and unwillingness to be openminded.”
Graaah! That’s her advice!? That’s… that’s actually not bad advice. Tell her I shall try it out.
Sam raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise at that. “He says he’ll think about it. Like, genuinely.”
Karla almost shouted out a sigh of relief. “Finally, something went through.”
“So… we can go back to me?” Sam asked.
“Ah, yes, of course. Ah, where were we?”
“Ah, that I’m probably using alcohol as a coping mechanism?” Sam said then took a deep breath.
“No, that was well established. I think we moved on to, ah, religion. Right, how does it feel to be worshipped like that?”
“Oh, right. Ah, yeah, it left me a bit angry, as you put it. It’s …”
“Unfair. Why you and not the others?”
“A statue isn’t enough, I don’t deserve it, they do. I’m the one who was in command at that time. It – “
“It should’ve been just you and not you.” Karla said. “This isn’t the first time you’ve said this. And I doubt it’s the last time. And I don’t doubt that I’ll have to repeat the next part as well.”
“It’s not my fault?” Sam asked as she looked down a bit. “But it never feels like that! I was in command!”
“You did your best, didn’t know if the lich was trustworthy or not, and most important of all, you died as well!”
“Well, I didn’t technically die – “
“Stop that, any average human would’ve long been dead. You stayed alive because Ebruziel didn’t want to die with you and pushed you back from the brink.”
“By using sacrificial magic…” Sam said. “I think it’s not just anger at my failure, it’s that my failure cost so much extra, you know?”
“I understand. That is why you should do as much good as you can, while you can. You know this, we’ve talked about this. These recent events reopened that wound, I understand, but you should also understand that because of these events you are now in a unique position to do something about it. To do what you’ve wanted ever since Alpha Centauri, to protect!”
Sam swallowed hard. Slowly she began to nod. “I understand. I get it, I really do, but it’s still so…”
“Give it time. You’re a strong woman and you’ve always learned to adapt. And you’ll adapt to this, in time, I’m sure.” Karla said with a gentle and genuine smile.
Sam slowly breathed in and breathed out. “Yeah, ok.”
“Alright, let’s talk a bit about you getting all these letters and email.”
Sam smirked. “Most of it is fan mail from atheists who enjoy the irony, scientists who want to experiment on me, or damned nerds who keep comparing me to war goddesses in their games.” Then Sam’s smile dropped a little. “A lot of hate mail too, telling me I’m a sinner and that I’ll go to hell for this sacrilege.”
“How’s that feel?” Karla asked.
“Nostalgic? Reminds me of when my parents kicked me out for me being gay.” Sam said as she looked wistfully out the window. “I’m just confused that most countries went with the title, I figured a lot of countries would object to it, you know?”
Karla laughed out loud. “The Danes put the title in Danish, and apparently the pressure to get the resolution through made it so that they all skipped most of the manual translation steps as that would add another 2 days. So, they all relied on the automatic translation, not realizing it would become G.O.D. in English.”
“But that still leaves most of the English-speaking countries.” Sam said, then realized it. “Right, they’re mostly atheist now. Oh well. Maybe we can redirect all the hate mail to Denmark.”
“Still, I think it’s worth exploring how you’re clearly less affected by all this religious hatred on you, and perhaps diving deep into that mindset and see if we can’t adapt it for you to help cope with your feelings of guilt.”
Sam slowly nodded. “Sure, sounds like a good idea.”
 
 
Ur-Nergal – The Lich King – Dimensional Plane of Arenal – New R.A.C.O. campus, south of Ringtown – 5 Years and 57 days since the Infernal invasion of Earth
 
“Oh, my.” Dan MuYuan said as he stepped next to Ur-Nergal as they were on their way to the next lecture. “Is that jealousy I feel?”
Ur-Nergal didn’t react, he simply kept staring at the Valkyrie. “No, feel again. You’re getting worse.”
“No, you’re getting better, brother.” Dan MuYuan said. “Ah, just worried, with the slightest tinge of fear. No wonder I mistook it, you rarely feel afraid.”
“Aren’t you?” Ur-Nergal slowly drawled out as he saw her take flight in a new model suit made completely out of adamantine. “They had progressed from a point of being behind in every aspect to now being literally beyond comprehension.” He said as he rapped his bare knuckles on the math book he held in his other hand.
“And the only advantage we had is now slowly being eroded away.” Dan MuYuan said as Sam took to the air without the telltale sign of exhaust fires or fumes.
“I’m reconsidering if she should be awakened…” Ur-Nergal slowly said.
“At least until you have a more secure position? Until you have your citizenship while clutching your concubine – “
“Mate.”
“- Your mate on one side, and similar advantages on the other?” Dan MuYuan asked with a smile that Ur-Nergal was sure would infuriate him, which is why he kept looking at Sam.
“Being awakened is dangerous knowledge. It got us banished from the Conclave, and targeted, one by one.” Ur-Nergal answered in a round-about way.
“Yes… it upsets their precious Order. Dan MuYuan answered. “I can see why you’re afraid. If she holds this pace and they do indeed free all those kobolds, without the dragons using them as obvious meatshields, then she would very quickly grow in power. Having her awakened would put her at roughly two-thirds?”
“Eighty percent.” Ur-Nergal answered, slightly surprising himself that at least something of all those math classes was being stored in his mind somewhere.
“Well, for you, yes. For me, still two-thirds.” Dan MuYuan sighed out. “Still, that puts her below most Greater Gods, and Asmodeus is planning something nasty. Are you sure you still want to use that devil inside her that is attached to her Anchor Point as a bargaining chip?”
“Asmodeus is awakened. Any potential opportunity that gets him the most important information must be denied. I’d rather she lived forever with the devil stuck inside.” Ur-Nergal rasped out in a quick pace.
“Mmmh. You’d rather get Souya and retreat to Earth, leaving the Conclave and Arenal behind, letting them figure it out by themselves while you prosper and advance.”
“Wouldn’t you!? They are human, we too, once were born as human! It fits! And it’d be a better strategy than what they’re doing now!”
“That’s because you’re still afraid! If you treated your own life as forfeit already, you’d see that what humanity is doing makes perfect sense.”
“They are choosing the hard way!”
“They are choosing the only way that leads to victory.” Dan MuYuan said as he sighed. “Weren’t you the one who told me just a few weeks ago that you were surprised that it was disunity and constant competition that seemingly pushed humanity forward? I agree with you, and it is this, this constant chaos and pressure that propels them forward! We have both been to their lectures and understood the deeper meaning of their histories, of our histories! War fuels advancement in technology, but can only be done…”
“… If you consider all else forfeit.” Ur-Nergal slowly answered. Then he scoffed. “It was cowardice that made me immortal. Fear of the unknown.”
“You were mortal back then. Just a cute little boy who didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. That analogy doesn’t apply to this humanity. You’ve seen their politicians and leaders speech and manipulate their own people. Like actual Gods they reign over their people, yet they stay mortal and are vulnerable to being overthrown. Constant flux and competition. It’s a good answer, much better than I had imagined, probably because we’ve seen that it lowers the chances of prospering at the start and leaving you vulnerable.”
“So, you do agree that some measure of isolation was their salvation.”
“But their isolation has been broken now, and the Conclave is not going to stop, they will feel that same pressure to compete and advance at all costs. No, brother, if you want to survive the coming Apocalypse, then you’ll have to lend humanity all your support. And consider yourself forfeit.”
Ur-Nergal let out a heavy rasp from his atrophied throat. “Fine. But I’m getting Souya first.”
“Oh, fine. But if you don’t remove that devil, or awaken at least the Valkyrie, then I will. And you know me, I’ll awaken all of humanity.” Dan MuYuan said with an infuriating wink.
Ur-Nergal sighed. “Always an agent of Chaos, just like our sister.”
 
 
Admiral Stephen Dai – Dimensional Plane of Arenal – U.N. Base, Ringtown – 5 Years and 58 days since the Infernal invasion of Earth
 
“Stephen, this isn’t good. This is bad. Really, really bad.”
Those were the parting words of professor Nafud as he gave Stephen the last report of combined scientific research on anything of strategic importance with regards to Arenal or magic.
Stephen hadn’t read the whole thing. As usual, he had read the excerpts and summaries, but that told him everything he needed to know. Trying to digest the bad news, Stephen was now absentmindedly flipping through the middle. Briefly his mind registered that extensive soil and fossil research showed at least 200 separate sentient species that had gone extinct. Stephen wondered if Zeus and his pantheon were one of them. Stephen sort of kept reading and his mind picked up that Ra and his pantheon most definitely were, as duly noted by the archeologists that had gotten a look at those fossils.
Stephen muttered a curse. They should’ve declassified, or at least, given security clearances to every scientist before. But too many member states were still too skittish to let such important scientific findings get out of their hands. They were all too afraid that they’d miss an adamantine-esque opportunity like America had.
Stephen flipped a few pages over.
More soil samples and evidence from the satellites and the occasional research team that explored the endless tunnels in Arenal. It detailed endless remodeling of the landscape, evidence of earthquakes and firestorms, all despite Arenal not really having a natural weather system. The one they had was made entirely from atomites. Another few pages further and soil samples from the deepest and most untouched areas of Arenal showed a complete lack of these remodeling damages. It meant that there were only surface changes and not long-term geological changes.
Another page over and soil samples from all the other dimensional planes showed that it was the same. Worse was the evidence that showed that the deepest soil was composed of the exact same materials in the exact same composition, in every single dimension except Earth. A few more pages over and cartographers worsened the suspicion as they presented their evidence. Arenal and the other dimensions were likely artificially made from a single large and rocky planet that was broken up, likely to create more surface area.
Frustrated that he didn’t see it coming, Stephen flipped halfway through the report. Clutching his tea he slowly sipped and absent-mindedly kept reading. He ignored the maps, briefly looked at the corvettes and destroyers involved in the exploration of space near Arenal, and then his eye landed on the evidence of bad news again.
Having finally been given permission to do so and having verified that the Conclave or others on Arenal couldn’t find out what the humans were doing, magically or otherwise, the destroyers launched multiple nukes at an empty section of the sky. Briefly they saw what they should’ve seen when they all arrived on Arenal 5 years ago. Endless stars in the sky. Then less than half a minute after the explosions, space darkened again as the atomites plugged the hole in their wall and resumed emitting an exact replica of background radiation.
Stephen sighed, sipped his tea again and flipped through another handful of pages. The sentences didn’t make sense and it was only until he was halfway through the page that he realized what he was reading. It wasn’t that the bubble around the dimensions that extended itself, obscuring the stars, nor did the atomites create a separate bubble around the corvettes that tried to explore further out into space. It was that the atomites were gluing themselves to all the sensors and windows of the corvettes. It didn’t matter where you went or how far, sometimes even as far as 2 light years, risking collisions with unknown objects, you were still going around blind until you returned to Arenal and the atomites rejoined the quarantine wall that hid most of the stars.
The same happened if you tried to fly to the visible stars. And if you tried to install gravitational sensors on the inside of the ship, the atomites would enter and still blind the sensors until you only saw what you were allowed to see. It explained why the currently deployed satellites could only see Arenal and not much else. It explained why every damned exploratory outing came up short until they had the adamantine sensors combined with EMP pulses.
Stephen just flipped towards the end of the report and re-read the summary. The conclusion was simple. Obviously the atomites were made by these precursor Gods that had access to such technology for thousands of years before humanity ever reached the stars. Keeping things quarantined like this, but only for scientific and exploratory reasons such as blinding sensors beyond certain limits or constraints, such as with particle accelerators or space exploration, pointed these Primordials to be an unknown force that created this environment for experimental reasons.
After all, that’s what humans do in their scientific experiments. Create multiple environments, keeping one as a control. Then make sure that your subjects don’t find out they are in an experiment, as that would influence the outcome of the experiments, especially if the subjects are sentient and aware of what is being tested for.
That left a few lingering questions. What was being tested? Magic? Evolution? Societal development? The plane of the dwarves was mountainous and snowy. The Hells were fiery and pocked by volcanoes. Draconia had floating islands. But then there was a causality question, were these all species that were found and transplanted here, with the environment sculpted expertly, just for them? Or was the environment made just so, in order to observe evolution from a single species over the course of millions of years? DNA sampling and genealogy research showed that it seemed to all be different species, and not from a single ancestor, but with the existence of atomites being integrated into species in such an intensive manner that they need it to survive, such as with dragons, no one was sure.
Worse was the question that really burned in Stephen’s and the scientists’ forehead. Was Arenal, that had every environment and every species available, and relatively stable weather with an occasional thunderstorm, the control group? Or was Earth?
Earth didn’t have any of the earlier problems. Earth could see all the stars, was a clearly naturally formed planet with billions of years of geological evidence, and similar for millions of years for human DNA with plenty of evolutionary and fossil evidence. Yet Earth was not completely free from atomites, with some found in ancient runes in Scandinavian sites of worship, pointed out by Baldr. More was being found every week in ancient locations that were known for folklore and mythologies.
Stephen sighed heavily as he grabbed a cookie from a bag that he had gotten for his birthday yesterday. He looked at it, and realized it was shaped like a harupa, a gopher-like creature that had antlers and migrated from the elven forests into the grasslands of Arenal. They were becoming a popular pet. Stephen sighed again and bit its head off and sipped some more tea.
Stephen skipped to the end of the summary and concluding remarks.
He had skipped past the section where no evidence of Primordials was found. Where the physicists and engineers found out how the atomites communicated with each other through proximity and perhaps some kind of signal. The scientists were unsure about this, and anything resembling a language was still being translated. Stephen was right at the end of the report where that crucial question was asked.
If the Primordials were gone, yet cared about keeping its experiments continuing and most importantly, without external tampering or influencing, would humanity’s continued interference cause them to come back? Part of answering that question meant understanding what was being researched. And that meant trying to find out where the atomites were coming from. Though Stephen was sure that some member states would want to retreat and hope that their interference wasn’t found upon some kind of routine inspection.
Corvettes that broke through the quarantine wall found out that all the spots were in a rough hub form, all orbiting around a yellow star, similar to Earth, about 35 lightyears away. The explorers, armed with massive sensors, found Arenal to be just one of the orbiting landmasses, though it was larger in size. But there was another mass, much smaller, in a similar orbit around the yellow star, that had a denser volume of atomites quarantining it.
That was where the scientists and professor Nafud decided to pull the plug for now. It had obviously become a matter of military security and long-term strategy. It was up to the U.N. to decide if they went in and searched, or if they wanted to retreat from Arenal altogether.
Stephen looked at his tablet and saw he had about 400 missed messages. Everyone had already read the report by now, which was massively inconvenient with its timing, as it was the day before the invasion of Draconia. It was clear that the next resolutions wouldn’t just be about further interventions or not, or how they should be shaped, but also if they should get to the core of the atomite question.
Stephen could already envision the U.N. meetings that would occur over the course of weeks if not months. If they retreated, could they ever be sure of staying secure and hidden? The civilizations on Arenal had already been irreparably and fundamentally influenced and changed by humanity. But if they went in, what would they find? Some sort of massive computer that regulated the atomites and had humanity fooled for so long? A graveyard of Primordial scientists? A message that welcomes the people from Arenal to their own Primordial society? A bomb? An angry Primordial custodian who calls in a cleansing fleet of unimaginable power, ordered to reset the experiment?
“Sir? We’re just about ready for the first phase briefing, are you coming?” Amanda Waters said through the slightly opened door, startling Stephen as he dropped the remainder of his cookie. “And you really need to answer all those messages, we’ve been getting calls non-stop.”
Stephen sighed and grabbed another cookie. “Yes, yes, I’m coming. Can you help me draft a standard message for all those questions that are no doubt going to be very similar?”
“On it.” Amanda said as she walked in and proceeded to grab towards the tablet that Stephen was holding, only to divert at the last moment and grab a pair of cookies instead. “Just give me a few of those first, didn’t have time for lunch.”
“No one has any time, especially not with that report being dropped on all of us.” Stephen lamented.
“Maybe we can combine future meetings with some kind of catering? Would help with motivation and the constant overtime work that we’re all doing.” Amanda answered.
 
 
Captain Grutak – The Yipping Rebel – Dimensional Plane of Arenal – U.N. Base, Command Center 04, Ringtown – 5 Years and 60 days since the Infernal invasion of Earth
 
Every step was like moving closer to paradise. It was almost like Grutak had imagined it in his youth. A massive room, like the throne room of a dragon, except he was free to go where he pleased. It was decorated with wealth and signs of luxury. Like those amazing steel chairs and steel walls and those soft pillows that all the kobolds got to sit on to be able to reach the higher human tables.
Grutak took another step as he took in the splendor of the lights and all those big tablets that had people in front of them, walking back and forth towards the one thing that had made this like a real paradise. The humans had special words for it, an ‘all-you-can-eat-buhf’vee’.
As Grutak took another few steps, he heard the squeeky wheels of carts going past him. He could smell the contents underneath those luxurious steel containers. Fish, carried in steel containers, it was the height of opulence to Grutak and the other kobold leaders that had come along with him.
Gary was a bit more used to such luxury, but he too was quite obviously in shock at what he was seeing. He too sniffed the air like a starved vagrant and started to drool.
“Is that fish? Earth fish?” Grutak yipped as he finally stepped close enough to the main round table in the middle. There he saw his protector God, the Valkyrie, and the other humans that Grutak and the other kobolds were indebted to. The admiral was one of the few who wasn’t eating at the table.
“Oh, yes. It’s steamed salmon in creamy mushroom pasta. We checked and it’s fit for both kobold and dragon consumption. So, go ahead and grab a plate if you want. It’s completely free. Ah, for you, uh… Gary, excuse me, your name is still very difficult to pronounce, but for you we’ve arranged differently sized containers to eat from.”
“Oh, most excellent. It smells delicious!” Gary said as his low voice grumbled through the room. “And worry not about the pronunciation of my name, I am quite used to its abbreviation.”
The admiral nodded with a smile and Grutak watched as the others started to instantly run towards the miracle that was ‘all-you-can-eat’. Grutak himself grabbed some chicken wings and something called ‘broccoli’ that was baked in cheese. As he returned with the plate the size of his head, he realized that the kindly admiral and his main assistant, Amanda, still weren’t eating. The other kobolds had noticed as well. “Are you not eating, admiral?” Astak yipped.
“Oh, no, I’m more than full.” The admiral said as he patted his belly. Amanda seemed to hold in some gas as well. “That’s what you get when there’s food at every meeting.”
“Whose idea was it to cater every meeting anyway?” Lieutenant Alix asked, upon which both the admiral and Amanda raised a finger and pointed at each other.
“That’s very confusing.” Hantak yipped as he grabbed a fork and scooped some of the food into his mouth.
Grutak did the same, having become quite proficient at the whole fork-not-claws thing that humans did, in thanks to the university. A nice little ball of pasta was hanging on the fork and he popped it into his mouth. It was salty, creamy, a hint of sweet, with that delicious taste of fish mingled through it all, accompanied by earthen tones underneath it all, from maybe the mushrooms. It was delicious. “Oh, this is delicious!” Grutak yipped. Soon other kobolds started yipping the same as they nodded and ate.
“Ah, well, that’s good. We figured catering every meeting might compensate a little bit for all the overtime we have to do now and boost morale with good pasta.” The admiral said with a smile.
“Nothing wrong with pasta, always fills at the very least.” The amazing Valkyrie said as she blessed the room with her voice.
“Oh, you’d be surprised about what people can complain about. Pretty sure that he would complain if you served this in the next meeting.” Lieutenant Alix complained as she seemed to angrily stab her fork into her pasta. “Oh, why don’t you have a brioche bun for this? Oh, this ramen isn’t handmade by a Michelin star chef who grew up on the streets of Tokyo? Oh, this beef is lab made and not selected and cared for by a Kobe farmer who massaged the cow daily and slaughtered it in an opulent ceremony!? Oh, you can’t make a French omelet!?”
“Uuuh … I take it you two broke up?” Intelligence officer Jacqueline asked softly as everyone slowly started to stare at Alix during her pasta-stabbing rant.
“Muurhmrmnnmmn…” Alix sort of mumbled in a manner that seemed to say that she both didn’t like that question, nor the implied answer. Grutak was about to ask what the big deal was, when in an instant the rest of the humans exploded with more questions.
“You had a what!?” One of the unknown humans shouted.
“With him!?” The admiral added on.
“Wait, you broke up!?” Another human asked, prompting lieutenant Myrael to start laughing loudly as he clapped his hands and wrung them.
“Less than a week baby, woooh! Guess I won that bet!” Lieutenant Myrael happily exclaimed.
“Oh, god, how can you stomach that man!?”
Grutak slowly picked up a chicken wing and decided to keep eating and observing this strange human behaviour. The chicken was sweet and salty in equal measure, with a delectable toe-may-toe taste over it. At least, that’s what Grutak recognized, there were other spices on it as well.
“Why’d you break up? Caught him cheating?”
“Probably with a panda.”
“Oh, god, this is the worst. This is, like, my worst nightmare!” Alix complained as she stopped stabbing her pasta and instead turned to the admiral. “Ah, I didn’t break any rules! I checked with HR!”
“Can you get diseases from a panda?”
“That’s because no laws have been made for such uniquely bizarre people like him, never mind the fact that he is still a recidivist criminal, currently on work assignment!” The admiral responded as he briefly stood, then loudly sighed and sat back down.
“What he means is that just because HR is okay with it, doesn’t mean it was a good idea.” Amanda said.
“Yeah, I know that now!” Alix responded.
Myrael scooted closer in thanks to that amazing human invention of chairs with wheels and leaned in closer yet still loudly and quite smugly continued to talk to her. “You lost, better pay up.”
“The winnings you are getting had better be below the standard regulation amount that is allowed by HR and the legal department and subsequently be qualified and classified as a small monetary gain made through gambling meant purely for entertainment purposes!” The admiral loudly said as Grutak finished his chicken wing and started to prick the green-yellow broccoli with cheese.
Grutak took a bite, and instantly delighted in the heavy and slightly crunchy yet chewy vegetable. This cheese stuff was wonderfully fatty, complementing the sweet and soft green stuff nicely. As Grutak took his second bite, the laughing slowly died down.
“Ah, yessir, admiral, sir!” Myrael said, then continued talking through gritted teeth. “I guess you owe me four credits. Like we agreed to, before.”
For the first time Alix smiled and became equally as smug as Myrael had been before. “I’ll gladly pay the four credits I owe you for losing this bet and consider the debt fully paid. Do you agree?”
“Yes. I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks.” Myrael sort of grunted out and silently continued to eat.
“Oh, for the love of…” The admiral sighed. “There’s camaraderie and then there is just, this.” He sighed as he sort of gestured to them. “Nevermind, let’s just start what you all came here to do.”
Grutak looked at his plate, it was still mostly full as he only took a few bites of everything so far. “Uh, you mean the invasion planning? Can we keep eating?”
“Yes, of course. Don’t worry, the first part is mostly explanation from our side, it’s only afterwards that we’ll need your input.” The admiral reassured him.
The admiral got up out of his seat again as the middle of the big round table lit up, showing a large floating island, that was weirdly stretched out and missing big peaks. There were also strangely tiny dots hovering above it. The admiral sort of coughed and took a sip of water, he began to talk in a different tone that was slow and composed. “To begin with, we’re not calling it an invasion. It technically still is one, but we’re calling it a liberation effort.”
Grutak shrugged as he chewed a bit on another chicken wing. “Alright, we’re not fully used to human ways of speaking, but it’s fine by us.”
“Right. To begin with, these are the presumed clear zones. We’ll drop in hot with peacekeeper forces to establish perimeters and a safe evacuation zone for any civilians, as well as setup field hospitals if necessary. It’s also where the main supply depots will be put in case of our magical portals being shut down.” The admiral said as the map coloured green in small parts, along with a few dozen amongst the thousands of the floating bits on top.
That’s when Grutak understood that he was looking at Draconia and not a single weirdly shaped floating island. The chicken wing fell out of his mouth from astonishment as the map started to rotate and he realized he was looking at a full map that had depth and wasn’t flat.
Quickly putting the chicken wing back into his mouth, he listened as Gary grumbled a bit. “Ah, was there any word of other dragons who wanted to comply with the demand?”
“Yes, that’s what the green zones are.” The admiral said slowly, emphasizing the implications.
“Oh, that’s not a lot.” Gary slowly said as his enormous yellow eye drew closer to the map and furiously went back and forth looking at every dot. “I see that my family…”
“Is not amongst them. I’m sorry.” The admiral once more said.
“No. I understand. I’m just disappointed is all, but I’ve always been an outcast.” Gary’s voice grumbled softly across the room and echoed against its walls.
“You’ll do your best to try and keep them alive, right? And try and convince them to change their ways?” Grutak yipped after he was done swallowing the chicken.
“Of course. But as we’ve established before, safety of our people comes first. Hopefully there won’t be any situations in which they have to kill resisting dragons, but experience tells us that casualties will come, heavy and fast in the beginning, dying down over days and weeks. Then it depends on their mentality and how open they are to changing their ways. If they refuse, future conflict stays inevitable, if they do change, there can be a de-escalation and less loss of lives.” The admiral said with a slow and comforting pace. The way humans waged wars was so very strange. So, filled with mercy and compassion.
“That’s more than I could ask, thank you, admiral.” Gary said. Grutak knew full well the brutality of war and of life-or-death scenarios and despite Gary being so young and only having joined his rebellion, he too knew that this was much better than they could’ve ever hoped for.
“But we can’t afford to underestimate the dangers.” The Valkyrie said. “You all know what happens if we do.” To which all the kobolds and Gary solemnly nodded, acquiescing to their God’s wise commandments.
“Woah, that was creepy.” One the humans said.
“What was?” Grutak yipped.
“You all bowing your head like that, that was…” One of the other unknown human captains said. “Very religious.”
“Well… yes? How else does one respect their God’s commandments?” Grutak yipped.
“Uh… oh boy. Uh, I appreciate the power that comes from all that prayer guys, but I don’t really need the, uh, actual deification here.” The Valkyrie said.
“Uh. I don’t understand.” Grutak yipped.
“You’re a new God, you must be.” Astak yipped. “Don’t worry, oh great one, this is how that prayer works. Without such behaviour, how serious can one take one’s prayer? And without that prayer, how would you benefit from all our strength and help protect us?”
“Ah, crap, that’s the answer I was afraid of. Okay, uh. Crap, just continue I guess.” The Valkyrie said as she sort of shrugged.
“As you command, oh great protector!” All the kobolds yipped and Gary grumbled. Strangely, the humans all just sort of glanced at Grutak and his fellow kobolds, for the first time very unsure of what it was that they were looking at or what they were supposed to do.
Astak elbowed Grutak in his ribs, hard. “Ah, you humans must not be used to prayer and paying proper respects to the Gods. That’s alright, we understand, you come from a world where there was no magic, correct? Then it’s perfectly fine, we can continue.”
“AAah. Yes, yes, let’s continue, please.” Grutak yipped as he shot an annoyed glance at Astak.
“Right, of course.” The admiral slowly said. “Regardless, these are the yellow zones. Parts that hadn’t responded to our demands. We will leave them for last, as we believe that they are more than likely to acquiesce once they realize that martial resistance isn’t going to work.”
Grutak quickly dumped a few broccoli cheese bites into his mouth and chewed as he sort of half clambered onto the table to take a better look at the map. It wasn’t much, perhaps about 10% of the map. He quickly glanced and saw his God smile and chuckle. He took it that as a blessing, climbed fully onto the table and took his dinner plate with him as he moved closer to the map.
“The red zones are all the parties that have sent negative and often derogatory remarks in their declinations of our demands.” The admiral said as the remainder of the map lit up red.
Grutak kept eating his chicken as the red colour dominated his view. “That’s less than I feared. What’s the plan?”
“We are always working within constraints. In this case, minimizing nuclear fallout and civilian casualties. That means winning this fast and quick, with brutal efficiency if necessary.” The admiral said. “That means after establishing the FOB’s, we lure them out into the open, and give them shock-and-awe. Any that don’t surrender afterwards, we go in and forcibly secure any remaining slaves using combined arms and troops on the ground to minimize collateral damage. It’ll be a slog, but more of your people will live.”
Grutak swallowed. “But some will die?”
“Inevitably. Especially if the dragons use them as living shields.”
Grutak slowly nodded. “That wouldn’t surprise me. But still, it’s better to die by fire and guns, as long as you die free.”
 
 
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I'm really annoyed by reddit's 40k char limits. Probably going to make a simple website to dump my own unlimited texts into and just link it here, thoughts?