part 1: net worth
positive net worth

category	#shesworthsomething
💹 15,700	Roth IRA, not much but it’s honest work. I wasn’t able to contribute last year but sent $1400 this month. Don’t think I will max this year but will do what I can.
📱 1,400	457, not even sure why I contribute to this ($50/paycheck)
📈 25,100	Pension – cash value not super relevant here. 11% mandated contribution
💰 7,100	checking
🤑 3,000	HYSA @ 4.25%
➕ 52,300	we keep it positive around here

debt

category	oops, she’s in debt again
💷 -45,203	Private student loan @ 4.79%, paid biweekly but sending extra $
💸 -72,957	Undergrad Stafford + grad @ 5.2%. halfway done with PSLF!
➖ 118,160	😬 (but it looks worse on paper!)

casita

category	ah, but what about the house?
🏡 362,000	Purchase price, spring 2022, ginormous (income-restricted) condo
💸 -317,026.81	Mortgage #1 balance @ 2.75%
♊ -23,431.95	Mortgage #2 balance @ 0%, down-payment assistance paid in full at end of mortgage or resale
➕ 21,541.24	Equity including both mortgages, since not including #2 feels disingenuous

NET WORTH: -45,672.46
part 2: income
Nothing exciting here as a public school teacher. My salary is fixed and the entire internet can figure out exactly how much I make. Next year I will apply to be a new teacher mentor to move over a lane (6% raise while I do the job). We won a great raise in our last contract so we can finally be paid almost as much as everyone around us!
This is my 5th year teaching but am on step 6 of 11 due to a full year internship.
read my paycheck and weep
pay schedule: 24 paychecks a year (NOT 26), biweekly Fridays with the exception of holidays and the final day of school, where you receive paychecks 22, 23, 24 and are expected to make that last late June through early September
each paycheck is different, so let’s do paycheck #1

💹 2,935.83	gross
💊 -37.14	medicare (but not SS)
👩🏼‍⚕️ -325.65	PPO, I get sick often and in unexpected places
🦷 -42.97	dental
👓 -5.91	vision
📱 -50	457 contribution
🚕 -184.19	federal withholding
🚖 -114.32	state withholding
📈 -322.94	pension withholding
➕ 1,852.71	behold, how little of my take home I get to actually enjoy

Now paycheck #2

💹 2,935.83	gross
💊 -48.01	medicare (but not SS)
📱 -50	457 contribution
🚕 -323.86	federal withholding
🚖 -151.79	state withholding
📈 -322.94	pension withholding
💪🏼 -87	union power, baby
➕ 1,952.23	Also known at work as “the good paycheck”

For those keeping track at home, my monthly gross is typically 5,871.66 and my net is typically 3,804.94
Why typically?

• If we have 3 paychecks in a month: enjoy the big fat no medical or union deduction!
• …unless it’s April onwards, when they deduct health insurance from EVERY paycheck to cover your summer months (we call it double deduction season)
• in December we get a premium holiday (1/2 medical deduction)
• I also run an outdoors club at work, which I am paid $35/hr when I run the club and additional pay for certain trips (last month I was paid $375 alone for our annual weekend overnight before vacation). This can be wildly inconsistent but let’s just say I have an extra $100-150 to play with each month.

part 3: please enjoy my emoji'd YNAB categories

category 💲	PAY DEM BILLZ
🏡 1343.38	Putting the PIT in mortgage…or something like that. The other I is paid separately
⛲ 167	HOA
🔐 68.16	Was not required to have insurance at closing. Don’t be stupid like me.
🎓 0	fed loans, thanks Grandpa Joe. I think this will be about $250/m when it starts up again. PSLF date late 2028
⛽ 31	YNAB tells me this is my average since moving to my house. Grateful to have big windows and a “put a sweater on” childhood upbringing – touched the heat twice this year
🔌 50	Averaged to include spicy hot summer months (it was 34 this month)
💻 39.95	interwebs
🏫 412.92	Private loan, paid biweekly (so if it’s a rare 3 payment month it’s more). The minimum monthly payment is something like $316, but I’m sending an extra $50 to get some benefit from the power of compound interest. 4.79% is not a make or break rate. Payoff 2034 but hope this can happen sooner.
📰 12.50	NYT Academic rate
🚊 90	Monthly pass
🍿 15.99	Somebody needs to pay the HBO Max
➖ 2234.43	Assigned this month

⭐

category 💲	important semi-regular expenses
🎁 20	Averaged gifts and donations, we have a special scholarship at work
⛲ 167	HOA
👗 0	I haven’t bought new clothes in a while and it’s starting to show.
🤸🏼‍♀️ 85	trampoline class
👩🏼‍⚕️ 60	YNAB tells me my average is 60/mo, but this is overinflated due to an MRI in November that I will only have to do once more time. I’m usually at the urgent care or a specialist doctor 1x/month (this month: a UTI), so it’s more like 30
🪑 40	Hard to quantify. Since I moved in, I had a free couch moved ($200), bought a very nice TV ($750), a vacuum ($250), filters for vacuum ($30), and the world’s nicest washer ($1900). So YNAB is telling me a horrifying $400/mo, but let’s call it 40 going forward
🌷 0	I was a good urban balcony gardener, but no balcony. Waiting for a community garden spot, hopefully next year
🍉 250	Includes booze and small household things (TP, paper towels, dish soap)
🥾 30	Am avid hiker and rollerblader. Averaged cost of trip incidentals like carpool or snacks, admission to roller rink
💊 55	3 lifesaving medicines (25/mo + 10/mo + 30 as needed) + 10 for whatever medicine needed for illness of the month (10 for antibiotics this month). Every year I get a new epi-pen for 10 or 30. This month was more like 85 because my pharmacy accidentally sent me a med I have plenty of.
➖ 500	rough guesstimate

⭐

monthly 💲	annual 💲	annual expenses (save early, save often)
🤑 3.95	🕛47.33	Splitting YNAB with a friend on the new family plan
💇🏼‍♀️ 22.50	🕛 270	2x curly haircuts a year (cut + tip)
🩰 127.78	🕛 1150	Pair of opening weekend orchestra tickets + donor perks + volunteer dues
🌴 55	🕛 650	My part of family vacation with parents
🕶 33.33	🕛 400	Annual eye visit (exam + contact fitting + 12 months contacts)
📦 11.59	🕛 139	prime shipping, no car in a store desert + my mom likes videos
🎄 50	🕛 600	I love Christmas
💸 ?	🕛 6500	Roth IRA, we’re getting aspirational. I sent $1400 this month because it was a 3 paycheck month. Going to try to max and see how far I get.
🦷 86.35	🕛 2250	Saving ½ of estimated costs for Invisalign – never had braces as a kid and now my teeth are pretty bad. Hoping to start May 2024. There is unfortunately no savings for paying everything upfront so I’m saving ½ now and expecting a monthly payment around 150/mo during the treatment.
➖390.50	🕛 4,686	Ignoring the Roth IRA

⭐

category 💲	very big savings
🌆 428.57	3k goal by August 2023 (current balance: 850), “No August pay” – we don’t get paid in August and the first week of September so setting aside money specifically for this without feeling guilty for draining my emergency fund
🕐 300	(181.82 since I’m ahead) Homeowner’s 1% Warchest, it’s exactly what it sounds like. For any and all home expenses (things breaking or projects). Current balance: 2k
🛑 140.91	Building back EF, goal is 3k by December 2023 (current balance: 1.7k). I know this is low but my job is hilariously stable. I will try to add another month in 2024.

⭐

category 💲	fun money!
💻 50	Laptop replacement, just chucking money in there. I’d like to buy a Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5i since I love the 2 in 1 form factor. Currently have 100/600
🚝 70 (paused)	Travel fund contribution, but full at 350. BFF getting married in VT in August so hoping to turn it into a girl’s weekend with another BFF
🎮 65 (paused)	General video game fund – keep it topped up at 65 in case a new game drops OR if multiple games go on sale. I try to only buy games on deep sale
🎮 12.99	Final Fantasy XIV sub, I’ll retire someday
👯‍♀️ 50	Anything with friends, including eating out with them. usually 100 in the summer
🍦 30	“eating out” aka solo treats for myself (breakfast at dunks, small treats)
🎊 10	events happening that we want to go to not already covered, averaged.
➖ 202.99	Not including travel and video games since that’s topped up

If you add up the categories, I’m in the red and I’m well aware of it – not for much longer though, as I’m saving really aggressively. 😊
part 4: el diario
Day 1 – Saturday

🌅 gotta get dad to the ballet! 4.80
👯‍♀️ brunch with daddy-o before the ballet, I provide the tickets but he pays for brunch. his wallet is hurting because he only just got paid at his new job, so I kick in 20
👀 because brunch is attached to a swanky hotel and it’s PAX east wknd. 0 for free entertainment
🥤 my father requests a water bottle before the show. 6
🩰 don q, my 3rd time and dad’s 1st. Very good, but very long. 0 because these are volunteer comps
🚊 & 👋🏼
🧼 the casita before the week starts

total: 30.80
Day 2 – Sunday

💤 lazy Sunday morning (dw, I’m still up at 6). Read the NYT cover to cover then play 🎮
🚊 meeting a friend of a friend to help her do taxes but I’m early
📖 it’s gorgeous out so I photosynthesize in the BPL courtyard with my book club book
⛔ the wifi is too slow for us to do taxes so we pack up and 🚶🏼‍♀️ down newbury st until we settle at trident
👯‍♀️ I supervise her taxes, and eat a late lunch (grilled cheese w/ avo and tomato). 22.15
🍉 make the mistake of dragging this poor girl with me to the postage stamp sized TJ’s. and it’s 5:15. one does not shop here so much as get in line at the beginning & pick what you want as you go. a tall person fetches me frozen arepas. I come in right on budget so I’m pleased. 57.52
👋🏼 & 🚊 home to plan my week and decompress with 🎮 and 📖

Total: 79.67
Day 3 – Monday

🌅 it’s just before 6 and birds are happy, but now I am taking the 🚍 to work
🌉 stuck on the bus with my BOSS because a 🚢 is passing through the drawbridge. at least we can now fill out 90 second walk from the bus to dunks with acceptable new england small talk subjects (weather, transit, and sports) before she dips to get coffee
😡 the youth, because tomorrow & wednesday are standardized testing. sorry kids, I don’t make the schedule!
🙏🏼 “my plan is to read the questions carefully and ask God to help me know” – A+ testing strategy
✌🏼 2:30 and on my way home
🤸🏼‍♀️ take the 🚊 to go to bounce (0, see monthly expenses) and catch up with bounce buddy M.
🚶🏼‍♀️ walk with M. to the 🚊, go home for 🍜, 🚿, 📖, 🎮

Total: 0
Day 4 – Tuesday

🌅 hello, happy birds as I walk to the 🚍
🔥 the computers are not charged for testing. teenagers have been divested of all electronics and are not allowed to talk to each other. mayhem approaching in 3 … 2 … 1 …
🤬 nonstatus (male) colleague uses a work group text thread to refer to an unknown female colleague as the b-word. mayhem continues
❓ 2 hour (!) meeting after work due to snow day cancellations. male colleague doubles down on his comment before storming out. brain is mush
🚍 I remember nothing
🔐 as I am politely informed by my e-mail 68.16
👩🏼‍🍳 white bean & tomato stew & watch abbott elementary because it’s cathartic
🗣📕 ballet book club on zoom! we just finished a book about martha graham so we talk about it (I’m hosting next time about james whiteside)

total: 68.16
Day 5 – Wednesday

🌅 please go away, very loud mourning dove
🍎 computers are charged, the youth are not. Mr. Insult has decided not to come to work today (probably for the best?)
🤬 is there something in the water?! another nonstatus teacher informs me that two of my students are talking to each other in the hallway and are not following her instructions which tbh is a day that ends in Y. important context: her instruction is in English and they only understand Spanish. I send them back to their testing rooms and she says, “when students ignore me and continue to speak in a language they know I don’t understand, they are being assholes” UM! GOODBYE!!!
😡 before I say something I regret I turn heel and inform my boss of this interaction. she takes a breath and thanks me for letting her know
😤 this is me taking a calming inhale / exhale before returning to staring at children
🏹 when I am proctoring (read: not allowed to read, grade, do work, browse the interweb), I like to imagine how the hunger games would go down if these kids were in it. the odds are in this room’s favor overall.
👩🏼‍🏫 these miserable youth are forced into a half day of classes, so we conference about grades and I let them have some free time
🏕 run weekly outdoors club for the youth. one student informs me a teacher refuses to sign a permission slip & doesn’t know why. make mental note to find this person and politely inquire. students make a great poster of images from our last trip and practice map skills
✌🏼 at 3:30 to get the 🚂 to then get on the 🚊 to go to 🤸🏼‍♀️ … it sounds awful but it all goes pleasantly smoothly, especially given how the T has been. class is great, lots of one-legged kicking on the trampoline. this is my 2nd week in a row of going from 2x class a week to 3x and it’s a tough adjustment. 0
🚶🏼‍♀️ to the 🚊 with M., who can’t make it to class on Friday – sad!
💊 the medicine I didn’t ask for but keeps coming has arrived. Note to self to call pharmacy and ask them to stop, but says 0 refills. Not a total waste because I KNOW I will get bronchitis again & need this. 10
🍿 paid for to keep my mother happy 15.99
🍴 eat leftover stew and 📞 my mother and best friend T. to debrief this very strange day
🎮 and 📖 before bed

Total: 25.99
Day 6 – Thursday

🌅 ahoy! Run into coworker D. on the 🚍 who gets coffee at dunks. I am feeling weak and acquire some 🥑🍞 3.69
🤝🏼 find this teacher who refuses to sign permission slip (who is also new). his reasons are very valid and we agree on conditions the student needs to fulfill to attend trip. hooray, adults being civil!
🤬 that’s it, something is in the water. two best friends in 3rd hour begin a heated verbal altercation about … a girl? in the middle of my class?? One kid takes off so I call security to let them know he would benefit from a check-in. the other student begins texting threats to his buddy and goes off on me when I tell him to stop. what is happening?!
👼🏼 boy returns with security at end of class, so I walk him to dean to process. 35 minutes later dean says everything is gucci and no more problems. hormones, man.
✌🏼 please get me out of here
💻 bill is paid 39.95
👵🏼 our weekly call (she is my only grandparent and is not doing well)
👨🏼 weekly call with father, who still likes his new job
🍜 leftover stew and Mandalorian with my 👩🏼 (we live text each other). finally, a good space battle!
🎮 and 📖 to decompress along with a long hot 🚿

total: 43.64
Day 7 – Friday

🌅 I don’t think I can do this today.
🧘🏼‍♀️ It has been such a frustrating week (there was another incident that happened that I can’t even reference due to state law/FERPA) that was incredibly traumatic and draining.
📱 to best friend T. and work friend R. to ask what they would do. Both endorse me taking a day off after this wild week.
🎮 and 📖 along with some stretching. 📞 with best friend E. to catch up on her wedding prep and life
🤑 payday! Good paycheck since it’s the 3rd of the month, but it might be missing hours from club. I won’t know until I see my paystub on Monday. +2,183.48 (+50 to 457, +322.94 to pension)
💸 ah, but it’s also the 31st. easy come, easy go 🏡 (1343.38) and ⛲ (167)
🚊 to 🤸🏼‍♀️ to a really 🔥 class. Learn the name of the girl next to me on Fridays who also brings her inhaler and it turns out we’re both teachers!
🍦 take a nice mozzarella sandwich home from tatte 13.97
🚊, 🍴, 🚿, 📖, 🎮

Total: 1,524.35
Grand totals:

• food & drank: 65.81
• entertainment: 15.99
• home & health: 10
• clothes & beauty: 0
• transport: 4.80
• other: 1,618.49 (how I would class my house expenses)

reflection: typical week money-wise in terms of reflecting my non-house spending – I’m saving really aggressively right now and don’t have a lot of money for discretionary spending. Even if I did, I’m very much a homebody during the work week. My job is probably more stressful than most as a baseline but this week was truly unbelievably bad. Still, looking through the week and taking time to step back I realize just how quality my support network is and for that I'm very grateful.

My analysis of The Confessions of Frannie Langton (4-part series show edition).
MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!
I'll discuss the following topics: how it could be avoided, hyperrealism, same-sex relationships failing to work out in scripted TV shows, symbolism, and how it affected me.
For anyone who has seen The Confessions of Frannie Langton, I would like your input on this.
I won't explain a backstory to the show, but I'd recommend checking it out for those who have yet to see it.
It's available on BritBox. There are four episodes, around 50 minutes each.
I will briefly explain how the death of Madame Marguerite Benham and Frannie Langton could've been avoided or attempted to be avoided. I'm also assuming that everyone has a basic/intermediate knowledge of the show and characters, so I won't be going into immense detail, so I can make this relatively short.
How Frannie's execution and Marguerite's death could've (potentially) been avoided:
Frannie falling for Marguerite was a mistake, to begin with. However, you cannot control who you fall for. I just knew it would be a mess from the beginning. I was just defeated that Frannie died due to dealing with the Benhams. To correctly determine if/how Frannie's execution could've been avoided, I must figure out when Marguerite committed suicide. Was it after Frannie killed George Benham? Marguerite was asleep during that time/alone in the bedroom. Regardless of either, I am going to backtrack. Sal, the brothel owner, welcomes Frannie and provides her with a home there after the Benhams kick Frannie out of their house after discovering the affair. If we stop it right here, this is where Frannie could have thrived if she had stayed with Sal.
The white individuals around her respected Sal, who was well off financially and intelligent. The entire mess could've been completely avoided if Frannie hadn't returned to the Benhams (where she never had to be from the film's start). But obviously, characters always seem to do the dumbest things, and viewers/readers know what's ahead of them. In episode 4, around the timestamp 17:38, Frannie talks to Marguerite and states, "Come with me, please." Marguerite replies angrily, ".... how do you think the two of us would do happily in a little cottage by the sea." I don't believe Frannie initially wanted the two to live together. I think, at this moment, the two could've and should've left to live with Sal at her brothel. Even though it wouldn't have been ideal, both deaths could've been avoided.
Disregarding this, I believe the reason Marguartte decided from suicide was also because of her husband's pressure about being unable to conceive children. At the film's beginning, Marguerite makes it aware that she miscarried twice. We do know that she miscarried a third time after becoming pregnant by Laddie, which would prove that she cheated on her husband and that she cheated with a black man. Even though black individuals were free under British law in 1825, it was still difficult to be black and shameful. Let alone a white person of nobility and high statutes becoming impregnated by a black man, despite Laddie being of high standards and respected by his white counterparts, both would still be shamed. Therefore, the pressures form on Marguerite from the revealed same-sex affair, which was shamed, inability to produce children which were humiliated, and becoming impregnated by a black man, probably the most shameful of them all during that time, caused Marguerite to end her life. Although, that was not necessary. Marguerite had another miscarriage after the affair with Laddie, eliminating one problem. Anyways, they should've moved in with Sal, but alas. Despite Marguerite becoming pregnant in Frannie's absence, Frannie is crushed, but it's clear that she still wants a future with Marguerite and is willing to move forward from this, but Marguerite cannot seem to grasp this. Not to mention, that Marguerite is addicted to Laudanum, and gets Frannie addicted too, which negatively impacts both character's decision-making and judgment skills.
​
Moving forward to the trial, which I don't want to spend much time on, the family placed stabbed wounds on Marguerite to cover up the suicide, which would be incredibly shameful to a white family of high nobility. Unlike in today's time, where we realize how sad suicide is and use it as a talking point of discussion, in 1825, this was the complete opposite. Moving forward, Frannie was already in opposition. Being a black person in 1825 England, being accused of practically anything by a white jury and white accusers meant that you would most likely lose 99% of the time, ignoring the fact if you were telling the truth or not the execution was inevitable. so I don't want to be the person who says, "well, technically, the jury could've believed the evidence her lawyer brought forth." A doctor was supposed to testify on Frannie's behalf, stating that Marguerite died from laudanum and was not stabbed by Frannie, but he didn't show up. Even in this case, while the judge might've been inclined to believe her, if he was to side with a black individual, he could be lost his occupation. Therefore, he was to place a facade on a fair trial regardless of the proof and evidence brought forward. Thus, once Frannie killed George, she transitioned to "the point of no return." Even if she fled Benham's house after doing so, she still would've been framed. However, I hoped she wouldn't have reached that "point of no return moment" which she could have avoided by staying with Sal or not killing George Benham. She let her emotions get to her, which is understandable. Benham was an asshole, so who cares if his character was dead? But that's not the point. That time when she was arguing with Benham could've been when she comforted Marguerite. Although Marguerite committing suicide was her decision, and there's nothing she could've Frannie could've done, so there's a possibility that it could've been prevented, but we cannot be sure. Therefore, staying with Sal would've guaranteed a 100% assurance percentage that Sal would not have been put on trial. Not killing Benham and staying with Marguerite would ensure a 50% assurance. Conclusion: Frannie should've stayed with Sal.
​
Hyperrealism:
Although I wish the show and novel had a happy ending, and I so desperately wanted Frannie and Marguerite's relationship to work out, I knew it wouldn't. The novel's author (Sara Collins) did a FANTASTIC job of writing it and creating hyperrealism for the show's producers to follow. Therefore, everything would play out similarly to the show in real life. It would've ended the same, if not worse. So we must not ignore reality. But trust me, and I did want a happy ending.
​
The nature of unsuccessful same-sex relationships in movies and TV:
Hate to be the one to say it, but I've noticed lesbian relationships seem to never work out in scripted TV shows. The characters can never seem to "get it together," or their environment, as portrayed in The Confessions of Frannie Langton, is against them, putting them at odds.
​
Symbolism:
The story warns us not to let our hearts impact our knowledge and not to get ahead of ourselves by thinking about the "what ifs." Frannie ignored her logic. She was very well-spoken and well-written, and she knew the potential negative impacts of pursuing a forbidden love with Marguerite. Still, she chose to ignore them until it was too late.
However, there are other areas I want to touch on. First, I want to reference timestamp 48:14 of episode 4 when Frannie utters, "I'm afraid," and looks to her left to see Marguerite sitting on her prison bed, smiling at her, and Frannie smiles back. This happens again at timestamp 48:58 when Frannie looks back at her bed as she's being walked out of her cell to be executed and sees Marguerite again sitting on her bed.
There are a few ways I'm interpreting this. (1)-Either Frannie is so nervous about her execution that she's starting to hallucinate, which is called "Anxiety Hallucinations," the more likely option. (2)-The following possible reason for Frannie seeing Marguerite after saying, "I'm afraid," represents us thinking about an individual who brings comfort. Sometimes, I ask, "what would XYZ do in this situation" to comfort myself in adversity. Or, I'll think about them for comfort. With that being said, Frannie seeing Marguerite could mean that Frannie was thinking of her, and the directors needed a way to portray that. (3)-The third possible option is that Marguerite was there in spirit form and presented herself to Frannie. Regardless of whether spirituality is a current force in your life, you cannot indeed denote the fact that the writers might've been trying to help us viewers realize that Marguerite was there and allowed herself to be seen by Frannie since Frannie said, "I'm afraid," and that was her way of comforting Frannie, and saying "I'll see you soon, in the afterlife" without saying it deliberately. This is a likely option because, at the first timestamp, 48:14, Marguerite has light shining on her from the window. In many religions and spiritualities, light often represents the presence of a spirit or force; therefore, that could be what the writers intended.
I also believe that Sal and Laddie illustrate what Frannie could've been if she had taken the reigns of her own life. They were wealthy and well-off independent blacks, respected and heard by whites which weren't typical of 1825 England. They represented who Frannie could've strove to be but decided against it by staying in her comfort zone (Pursuing love with her mistress). Therefore, this novel and show are trying to communicate that we should always strive for excellence, regardless of our circumstances, and that our beginnings never determine the end.
​
How this show affected me:
Man... saying I love this show is an understatement. It's completely taken over my mind, and I cannot get over it. I wish there were ten episodes of four. I've watched it twice now. The final scene I referenced in my previous paragraph, where Frannie was in her prison cell, made me tear up the first time I watched it and almost entirely cry the second time, which is incredibly rare. I wanted them to work out soooo severely. Frannie made so many sacrifices for Marguerite, and Marguerite made so many sacrifices for Frannie. It's clear George Benham didn't truly love Marguerite and only wanted her so that he'd be able to have children, which was a status quote. I see myself in the storyline. I understand forbidden love and operating in a world full of unacceptance and trying to figure out ways to find acceptance and a place to fit in. This show made me wonder how many handmaidens in this time fell in love with their mistress, either kept it a secret or carried out a secret relationship that ended badly. This reflects reality during that time, and I hate that real people experienced events like this. Frannie went through such a hard time, and I hate that her efforts were thrown in the garbage, all because she decided to pursue love with a woman who didn't truly understand her. She went through all of that for nothing.
​
I've attached a few links to read in case you need help understanding certain characters or the storyline completely.
​
FANTASTIC SHOW! 10/10
​
Thank you so much for reading, and I would love to read your responses and opinions to what I've typed and the show and novel in general.
​
Thank you.

My analysis of The Confessions of Frannie Langton (4-part series show edition).
MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT!!!
I'll discuss the following topics: how it could be avoided, hyperrealism, same-sex relationships failing to work out in scripted TV shows, symbolism, and how it affected me.
For anyone who has seen The Confessions of Frannie Langton, I would like your input on this.
I won't explain a backstory to the show, but I'd recommend checking it out for those who have yet to see it.
It's available on BritBox. There are four episodes, around 50 minutes each.
I will briefly explain how the death of Madame Marguerite Benham and Frannie Langton could've been avoided or attempted to be avoided. I'm also assuming that everyone has a basic/intermediate knowledge of the show and characters, so I won't be going into immense detail, so I can make this relatively short.
How Frannie's execution and Marguerite's death could've (potentially) been avoided:
Frannie falling for Marguerite was a mistake, to begin with. However, you cannot control who you fall for. I just knew it would be a mess from the beginning. I was just defeated that Frannie died due to dealing with the Benhams. To correctly determine if/how Frannie's execution could've been avoided, I must figure out when Marguerite committed suicide. Was it after Frannie killed George Benham? Marguerite was asleep during that time/alone in the bedroom. Regardless of either, I am going to backtrack. Sal, the brothel owner, welcomes Frannie and provides her with a home there after the Benhams kick Frannie out of their house after discovering the affair. If we stop it right here, this is where Frannie could have thrived if she had stayed with Sal.
The white individuals around her respected Sal, who was well off financially and intelligent. The entire mess could've been completely avoided if Frannie hadn't returned to the Benhams (where she never had to be from the film's start). But obviously, characters always seem to do the dumbest things, and viewers/readers know what's ahead of them. In episode 4, around the timestamp 17:38, Frannie talks to Marguerite and states, "Come with me, please." Marguerite replies angrily, ".... how do you think the two of us would do happily in a little cottage by the sea." I don't believe Frannie initially wanted the two to live together. I think, at this moment, the two could've and should've left to live with Sal at her brothel. Even though it wouldn't have been ideal, both deaths could've been avoided.
Disregarding this, I believe the reason Marguartte decided from suicide was also because of her husband's pressure about being unable to conceive children. At the film's beginning, Marguerite makes it aware that she miscarried twice. We do know that she miscarried a third time after becoming pregnant by Laddie, which would prove that she cheated on her husband and that she cheated with a black man. Even though black individuals were free under British law in 1825, it was still difficult to be black and shameful. Let alone a white person of nobility and high statutes becoming impregnated by a black man, despite Laddie being of high standards and respected by his white counterparts, both would still be shamed. Therefore, the pressures form on Marguerite from the revealed same-sex affair, which was shamed, inability to produce children which were humiliated, and becoming impregnated by a black man, probably the most shameful of them all during that time, caused Marguerite to end her life. Although, that was not necessary. Marguerite had another miscarriage after the affair with Laddie, eliminating one problem. Anyways, they should've moved in with Sal, but alas. Despite Marguerite becoming pregnant in Frannie's absence, Frannie is crushed, but it's clear that she still wants a future with Marguerite and is willing to move forward from this, but Marguerite cannot seem to grasp this. Not to mention, that Marguerite is addicted to Laudanum, and gets Frannie addicted too, which negatively impacts both character's decision-making and judgment skills.
​
Moving forward to the trial, which I don't want to spend much time on, the family placed stabbed wounds on Marguerite to cover up the suicide, which would be incredibly shameful to a white family of high nobility. Unlike in today's time, where we realize how sad suicide is and use it as a talking point of discussion, in 1825, this was the complete opposite. Moving forward, Frannie was already in opposition. Being a black person in 1825 England, being accused of practically anything by a white jury and white accusers meant that you would most likely lose 99% of the time, ignoring the fact if you were telling the truth or not the execution was inevitable. so I don't want to be the person who says, "well, technically, the jury could've believed the evidence her lawyer brought forth." A doctor was supposed to testify on Frannie's behalf, stating that Marguerite died from laudanum and was not stabbed by Frannie, but he didn't show up. Even in this case, while the judge might've been inclined to believe her, if he was to side with a black individual, he could be lost his occupation. Therefore, he was to place a facade on a fair trial regardless of the proof and evidence brought forward. Thus, once Frannie killed George, she transitioned to "the point of no return." Even if she fled Benham's house after doing so, she still would've been framed. However, I hoped she wouldn't have reached that "point of no return moment" which she could have avoided by staying with Sal or not killing George Benham. She let her emotions get to her, which is understandable. Benham was an asshole, so who cares if his character was dead? But that's not the point. That time when she was arguing with Benham could've been when she comforted Marguerite. Although Marguerite committing suicide was her decision, and there's nothing she could've Frannie could've done, so there's a possibility that it could've been prevented, but we cannot be sure. Therefore, staying with Sal would've guaranteed a 100% assurance percentage that Sal would not have been put on trial. Not killing Benham and staying with Marguerite would ensure a 50% assurance. Conclusion: Frannie should've stayed with Sal.
​
Hyperrealism:
Although I wish the show and novel had a happy ending, and I so desperately wanted Frannie and Marguerite's relationship to work out, I knew it wouldn't. The novel's author (Sara Collins) did a FANTASTIC job of writing it and creating hyperrealism for the show's producers to follow. Therefore, everything would play out similarly to the show in real life. It would've ended the same, if not worse. So we must not ignore reality. But trust me, and I did want a happy ending.
​
The nature of unsuccessful same-sex relationships in movies and TV:
Hate to be the one to say it, but I've noticed lesbian relationships seem to never work out in scripted TV shows. The characters can never seem to "get it together," or their environment, as portrayed in The Confessions of Frannie Langton, is against them, putting them at odds.
​
Symbolism:
The story warns us not to let our hearts impact our knowledge and not to get ahead of ourselves by thinking about the "what ifs." Frannie ignored her logic. She was very well-spoken and well-written, and she knew the potential negative impacts of pursuing a forbidden love with Marguerite. Still, she chose to ignore them until it was too late.
However, there are other areas I want to touch on. First, I want to reference timestamp 48:14 of episode 4 when Frannie utters, "I'm afraid," and looks to her left to see Marguerite sitting on her prison bed, smiling at her, and Frannie smiles back. This happens again at timestamp 48:58 when Frannie looks back at her bed as she's being walked out of her cell to be executed and sees Marguerite again sitting on her bed.
There are a few ways I'm interpreting this. (1)-Either Frannie is so nervous about her execution that she's starting to hallucinate, which is called "Anxiety Hallucinations," the more likely option. (2)-The following possible reason for Frannie seeing Marguerite after saying, "I'm afraid," represents us thinking about an individual who brings comfort. Sometimes, I ask, "what would XYZ do in this situation" to comfort myself in adversity. Or, I'll think about them for comfort. With that being said, Frannie seeing Marguerite could mean that Frannie was thinking of her, and the directors needed a way to portray that. (3)-The third possible option is that Marguerite was there in spirit form and presented herself to Frannie. Regardless of whether spirituality is a current force in your life, you cannot indeed denote the fact that the writers might've been trying to help us viewers realize that Marguerite was there and allowed herself to be seen by Frannie since Frannie said, "I'm afraid," and that was her way of comforting Frannie, and saying "I'll see you soon, in the afterlife" without saying it deliberately. This is a likely option because, at the first timestamp, 48:14, Marguerite has light shining on her from the window. In many religions and spiritualities, light often represents the presence of a spirit or force; therefore, that could be what the writers intended.
I also believe that Sal and Laddie illustrate what Frannie could've been if she had taken the reigns of her own life. They were wealthy and well-off independent blacks, respected and heard by whites which weren't typical of 1825 England. They represented who Frannie could've strove to be but decided against it by staying in her comfort zone (Pursuing love with her mistress). Therefore, this novel and show are trying to communicate that we should always strive for excellence, regardless of our circumstances, and that our beginnings never determine the end.
​
How this show affected me:
Man... saying I love this show is an understatement. It's completely taken over my mind, and I cannot get over it. I wish there were ten episodes of four. I've watched it twice now. The final scene I referenced in my previous paragraph, where Frannie was in her prison cell, made me tear up the first time I watched it and almost entirely cry the second time, which is incredibly rare. I wanted them to work out soooo severely. Frannie made so many sacrifices for Marguerite, and Marguerite made so many sacrifices for Frannie. It's clear George Benham didn't truly love Marguerite and only wanted her so that he'd be able to have children, which was a status quote. I see myself in the storyline. I understand forbidden love and operating in a world full of unacceptance and trying to figure out ways to find acceptance and a place to fit in. This show made me wonder how many handmaidens in this time fell in love with their mistress, either kept it a secret or carried out a secret relationship that ended badly. This reflects reality during that time, and I hate that real people experienced events like this. Frannie went through such a hard time, and I hate that her efforts were thrown in the garbage, all because she decided to pursue love with a woman who didn't truly understand her. She went through all of that for nothing.
FANTASTIC SHOW! 10/10
​
Thank you so much for reading, and I would love to read your responses and opinions to what I've typed and the show and novel in general.
​
Thank you.

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Demographics

• Gender: Non-binary
• Race/Ethnicity: Burmese/Myanmarese
• Residence: TX
• Income Bracket: $100k+ (most schools didn't give me any aid)
• Type of School: Large public schools in the suburbs of a big city that often sends ~5 students to HYPMS (I literally learned this acronym today lmao)
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): LGBTQ+ (?) & Burmese/Myanmarese (idk if this this a hook lol, kinda new to this)

Intended Major(s): applied as anthropology (especially biological) but also expressed an interested in human rights and selected that as an alternate where available
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0/4.6 [104.4844 on the 100 point scale where Pre-AP is up to 105 and AP/Dual Credit is up to 110]
• Rank (or percentile): top 1% (out of a little less than ~600)
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc. & Senior Year Course Load:

Pre-frosh	Freshman	Sophomore	Junior	Senior
Honors IPC (counted as regular in GPA tho)	Pre-AP Eng 1	Pre-AP Eng 2	AP Eng Lang	AP Eng Lit
Honors Geometry	Pre-AP Alg 2	Pre-AP Pre-Cal	Communications (req class)	Multi Calc
Honors Algebra 1	Pre-AP Bio	AP CSA: Language	AP Calc BC	AP Chem
Honors Spanish 1 (counted as regular in GPA tho)	Regular World Geo	AP CSA: Math	AP Bio	AP Chem Lab
	Summer Health	Pre-AP Chem	AP Bio Lab	Theatre 1 (required)
	Summer PE	Pre-AP Spanish 3	AP Env Sci	AP Research
	Regular Spanish 2 (pre-ap not available)	AP CSP	AP Physics 1
	Pre-AP Comp Sci	AP Seminar	AP US History
	Regular Business Elective		Summer Dual Credit Econ
			Summer Dual Credit Gov
			Summer Dual Credit Sociology
			Summer Dual Credit Psych
			PE

​
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• SAT I: 1570 (770RW, 800M)
• AP/IB: couldn't take sophomore year APs because of housing instability
  • 5s on all the ones I took (AP Bio, AP Physics 1, APES, APUSH, AP Calc BC, AB Subscore, AP Lang)

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.

1. CEO & Sole-founder of International 501(c)(3) organization
   1. Formed 30+ chapters, helped conduct tens of thousands of preventative care tests, helped tens of thousands of people across 19 countries, formed partnerships with a couple of UN bodies
2. Representative & Young Ambassador at the United Nations
   1. Spoke at a bunch of UN events, co-authored a couple of publications sent to the UN at the time of application, hosted a big UN event
3. Social Media Chair of Youth Branch of a State Wide Political Campaign
   1. Helped manage group of hundreds of members and lead social media team to reach 7 million people and gain 20k followers in a couple of months
4. Cancer Bio Research @ World's Best Cancer Hospital
   1. Just talked about my research
5. Suicide and Homeless Youth Hotline Volunteer
   1. Helped people escape abuse, rape, & grooming
6. School's First In-Class TA & Lab Aid for like all science classes
7. Family Responsibilities (caretaking)
8. Religious School Student Body President
9. Group of the rest of my research projects (medial, public health, social science)
10. Helping educate a group of refugees and nationals and providing them with education

Updates (what I think got me in)

1. Presented before and consulted for a major UN Committee on a specific issue before the Committee met with country leaders from which the issue focused on (I was the youngest person in the briefing)
2. Published a total of 13 first-authored papers between the time of applying and the time of decisions coming out (most were report based); all published before the White House, UN Women, WHO, UN Population Fund, UN Human Rights, Commission on the Status of Women, COP, etc.
   1. these were all individual updates as they got published
3. Progressed to finalist stage of a UN equivalent to the 30 under 30 (luckily decisions came out today -- I was rejected lol)
4. Won a $10,000 Competition
5. Finalist for a $5,000
6. Coca-Cola Scholar (also updated them about being a regional finalist)
7. Consulted for the governments of the UK, EU, and NZ (helped shape a couple pf laws-- a bunch of instances of these)
8. Hosted a big UN Event with a lot of attendees
9. Invited to some high profile UN events
10. Won a $1,000 scholarship
11. Won a $200 scholareship
12. Addressed Human Rights Council x7
13. Semifinalist for school-specific $400,000 scholarship (T20)
14. Finalist for school-specific $400,000 scholarship (T20)
15. Finalist for school-specific $250,000 scholarship (T20)
16. Finalist for a major LGBTQ scholarship
17. Vandy MOSAIC
18. $430,000 scholarship from global T20
19. Joined the largest pro-democracy coalition as the social media chair
20. Joined the youth board of the largest US global health charity and 4th largest in the world
21. Semi-finalist for $12,000 scholarship
22. Semi-finalist for $36,000 scholarship
23. Student Ambassador of one of the largest Human Rights Orgs in the world
24. Meeting with the head of a large UN agency
25. Co-author of a publication for my research work (to be accepted at a big journal -- think Nature, Cell)
26. Helped pass a law in my city
27. Interviewed and featured in a big magazine
28. Offered a $30,000 grant to have a segment of a TV show made about the NPO I founded
29. Working with the White House to organize and event
30. Meeting with a UN Ambassador and former head of state
31. Consulted for US government on asylum
32. Approved to host a UN side event

Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

1. Big role/position at the WHO and get to lead some of the largest NGOs on the planet and UN agencies in work on adolescent health
2. Big role/position at the UN refugee agency for my work to support the well-being of refugees in my area
3. UN award for community work
4. Patent pending on a device that uses salvation reactions to cook food so you don't have to use open-fire methods of cooking
5. Coca-Cola semifinalist

Letters of Recommendation
Research Mentor: "To simply put, [REDACTED] is extraordinary. He is a born leader. The best student and scholar I’ve interacted with over the past two decades of my academic training and research career."
APES & Pre-AP Chem Teacher: "His singular ability to lead those around him through compassion and overcoming so many obstacles in his life has truly defined him as the best student that I have had the pleasure of teaching."
AP Bio Teacher: I genuinely don't know. I've known her for a while and I serve as a TA for her class and have spend hours and hours before and after school, but I genuinely don't know-- could be okay or good.
Counselor: I've met her like twice lol probably generic and just a copy and paste of my resume lol
Interviews
Harvard: He was a really cool former teacher who I think thought I was interesting. Our interview was a couple of hours and it was really great, BUT I didn't talk much about my ECs, really just talked about my goals and perspectives rather than my accomplishments
Princeton: He was a cool guy. We talked for a couple of hours. He seemed really, really impressed by my UN work and seemed to like me.
Yale: Cool guy. Seemed to really like me and talked about how he saw himself in me as a fellow POC. Talked for a couple of hours.
MIT: Cool guy. Really impressive. I think he thought I was great, just not a great applicant to MIT. Asked me a physics question which I got wrong. Talked for a couple of hours.
Georgetown: My interviewer was like hella impressive. Former lawyer. We connected well. He thought I would be great for GTown. Talked for a couple of hours.
Rice: Terrible. I didn't prepare and didn't have great answers. Interviewer was very STEM (I'm not) and didn't seem too interested in my activities. Cut off interview at 30 mins.
Penn: I thought it was really good lmao. I had a lot of fun and we went way over the schedule time and she thought I would be perfect lmao.
WashU (scholarship interview): Timed interview but I felt great. Interviewers were super sweet; laughed at my jokes and made me feel great :)
Brown (video interview): Low key kinda funny; did like a day in the life where I made pancakes for my brother and had a big interview
Berkeley (special program interview): I was not prepared and it was during school hours so I kinda joined 1-2 mins late. I also kinda just read out my application essay as a response for a couple of questions. They didn't seem impressed.
Emory (scholarship interview 1): I got cut off by the virtual timer each time, but I felt quite prepared I think and I think I had great responses
Emory (scholarship interview 2): Really great group interview; gave some great responses. I thought I was resourceful and the interviewers seemed to like me too :)
Emory (scholarship interview 3): Also a group interview; we created something really great and wonderful. Went out of my comfort zone but created something many thought was great. I also met with 2 of my interviewers before and after and both thought I was very articulate and thought I was insightful during the interview.
Essays
Common App Essay: (11/10) I honestly loved it lol. It was a conflict of "he" vs. "they" and I thought it was great and really showed who I was. It was also really fun and engaging to read and not too long. Everyone I spoke to LOVED it A LOT so I guess that has to mean something lol
Supps: I really liked a lot of mine and put a lot of time into them. Many of them were really funny or really deep and conveyed the duality of my personality. I will say tho, in the application process, I applied to a bunch of schools I wasn't a fan of, and, as a result, my sups were very rushed. How much I cared about the school and spent on the supp really reflected my admissions decision (except for 1)-- see parentheses below for info on this.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:

• Stanford
• Columbia (John Jay Scholar as one of the top 25-30 admits + likely letter)
• Brown PLME (I'm not pre-med lol-- applied a joke so this was a pleasant surprise)
• Vandy (MOSAIC admit)
• Rice (with $60k scholarship)
• WashU (full tuition scholarship)
• JHU
• Duke
• All the UC Schools (many regents, trustees, and the big scholarships)
• Emory (full ride scholarship + free week vacation + full funding for all summers)
• Georgetown (got into Walsh!)
• NYU
• Duke Kunshan (got a $145k scholarship without doing the essay and sleeping through the interview)
• UT Austin + 2 honors programs (didn't apply for scholarships)

Waitlists:

• UChicago (didn't want to go "where fun goes to die" so I copied my Harvard essay and applied a couple hours before the deadline)
• UPenn Wharton (I'm not a business girly and I forgot to change an essay about how much I love anthropology and philosophy so I was expecting a rejection lol)
• Northwestern (spend an hour on it and want't the biggest fan of the campus + academic environment)
• Dartmouth (decided not to finish app after getting a couple of early acceptances; not into the whole rural vibe)
• Cornell (wasn't into the rural vibe so I BS'ed this)

Rejections:

• Harvard (spent quite a bit of time on these -- kind of a bummer)
• Yale (wasn't a big fan of the school + location so I didn't care too much about the essays)
• MIT (spend 1 hour on the entire application because I'm not into the STEM lifestyle so I was accepting it)
• Princeton (heard a lot of bad stuff and I'm not into a super academic environment so I didn't try on this essay)
• USC

Major: Astrophysics/ Physics with a minor in theater arts
GPA: 92.15/100 UW, no weighted gpa, no AP/Hon/IB class offered in school
Class rank: Val
Aid: need extensive aid,
LORs: 3 teacher recs ( 9/10 9/10 7/10) mid counselor rec cuz school keeps it under 125 words, explained this in additional info, schools responded positively saying they’d add this to my file.

Standardized Tests:

● SAT (August 2022)- 1500/1600 (EBRW:720/800, Math:780/800, Overall percentile- 99th) (took once)
● Duolingo English Test: 150/160

Research exp:

Research collaborator and advisor- (2020- present)
- Collaborated with Dr……(Dean of Mechanical Engineering Department)
- Regularly analyzed relevant research papers and discussed findings, suggested potential improvements and proposed innovations over meetings on a bi weekly basis.
- Worked on:
➔ powering electric vehicles by substituting Lithium ion batteries with similar alkali based derivatives
➔ hydrostatically powered mechanical arm for restricted submarine systems
➔ analyzing optimal hinge points to minimize post-fold area of hand-gliders to enable rapid commute at avalanche prone locations
- Work on my first patent to begin under Dr ...... supervision by mid-2023.

Honors

● Finalist For Indian team for IOAA’22
Also current semi finalist for ioaa’23 and ipho’23 teams
● National debate runner up

• 2 times National Standard Examination of Astronomy awardee (2021-22 & 2022-23)

● National Standard Examination for Physics awardee (2022-23)
● Invitational Indian National Astronomy Olympiad, qualified for next stage
● National Talent Search Examination Scholar (NTSE scholar)
● Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana ( Young Scientist Encouragement Programme) national merit list awardee
● 9 awards of merit including school, district and state level recognitions by Science Olympiad Foundation
● State Rank-8th in the SilverZone International Social Science olympiad.
● Language Proficiency Award by 1988 batch (given to 1 student every year (school))
● Physics Brawl 2022 World Rank 36.
● Awardee of International Math Olympiad Qualifier Merit certificate by MTAI

Activities

● Comedy ( 2021- present)
- Wrote and Performed 11 Stand-up Scripts
- Taught categorization of Near Earth Objects through comedy sketches
- Performed in economically deprived areas and slums
● Author (2021-present)
- Currently writing “ xxxxxxxxxx”, a book dedicated to helping ambitious high students through the thrills and travails of Pre-College Physics
- Book focuses extensively on co-scholastic aspects of being a physics enthusiast and the opportunities that come by.
● Entrepreneur (2020- present)
- Co founder and Head of R&D Dept. for ‘xxxx’, an emerging start-up that aims to produce customized technology for personalized use.
● Card Stacker (2013- present)
- Creator of 100+ stacks since 2013
- Runs an instagram page on card stacking with over 150 followers.
● Actor and Playwright (2021- present)
- Playwright and Lead actor for xxxx’’s delegation for regional extramural events.
● Orator (2014 - present)
- Participated in over 35 intramural and extramural competitions and events
- 20 awards of merit in xxxxx All India Inter School Debate, ‘xxxx Oratory Champ’ etc.
● Bal Vigyan
- Member of school’s delegation to Sahodaya Bal Vigyan Contest, received Best Project for two years in a row for presenting STEM based solutions to Garbage disposal and Traffic Safety.
- Formulated AV components to LED billboards to quicken response time for motor accident victims
- Devised means to convey waste segregation to uneducated citizens.
● Oratory Mentoring
- As the only two-times Joint Secretary of my schoolhouse, hosted oratory mentorship sessions every Saturday for two years
- Mentored 26 lowerclassmen, 8 peers and 2 upperclassmen.
- A lowerclassmen who struggled with extreme stage anxiety has recently won the National MUN conference.
- Two other lowerclassmen from the mentoring sessions went on to achieve State level distinction.
Recent activity:
Appointed by school as peer counselor, have mentored 200+ lowerclassmen
Current Jee Main Percentile: 99.45%ile (horrible bc i kept writing supps instead)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________Schools:Cornell ED: R
RD: Caltech (stings)Columbia Stanford Princeton Yale (applied up close but uh...)JHU UPenn Dartmouth (cant blame'em, shotgunned)
Have a waitlist but it prolly means nothing being an aid seeking intl
Now what?: will stay here and get a cool undergrad place, will try out for grad schools

Introduction

I have been using Samsung Galaxy devices for 11 years, with my first Android/Samsung Galaxy device being the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (got the Galaxy Nexus in January of 2012) and with me currently daily driving the S22 Ultra (since May 2022).
I have been using iPhones for more than 12 years, with my first iPhone being the iPhone 4 (got the iPhone 4 in December of 2010) and with me currently daily driving the iPhone 14 Pro Max (since September 2022) and the iPhone SE (2020) as a secondary iPhone for iOS development (since March 2022).
Here is my daily driver history:
Android:

• Samsung Galaxy Nexus (bought in January 2012, traded the phone in October 2013)
• Samsung Galaxy Note3 (bought in October 2013, traded the phone in October 2014)
• Samsung Galaxy Note4 (bought in October 2014, traded the phone in September 2015)
• Samsung Galaxy Note5 (bought in September 2015, sold to my cousin's son (16M) in August 2016)
• Samsung Galaxy Note7 (bought in August 2016, recalled in October 2016)
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (bought in October 2016, sold to my cousin's husband (40M) in April 2017 after he broke his iPhone 6 Plus)
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (bought in April 2017, sold to my cousin's son in Vietnam (29M) in April 2018)
• Samsung Galaxy S9+ (bought in April 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (40M) in March 2019, with him giving me his S7 Edge)
• Samsung Galaxy S10+ (bought in March 2019, gave to my sister (21F) in March 2020 via mail, making the A50 as her secondary phone)
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (bought in March 2020, traded the phone in February 2021)
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (bought in February 2021, gave to my sister (21F) in May 2022 via mail due to her cracking her S10+ with the front suffering some cracks, got the S10+ back)
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (bought in May 2022, still using it now)

Primary iPhone:

• iPhone 4 (bought in December 2010, sold to Vietnam's used market in October 2011)
• iPhone 4S (bought in October 2011, traded the phone in September 2012)
• iPhone 5 (bought in September 2012 right after moving to the US, sold to my cousin (53F) in September 2013)
• iPhone 5S (bought in September 2013, sold to my cousin (39F) in September 2014)
• iPhone 6 (bought in September 2014, sold the phone on eBay in September 2015)
• iPhone 6S (bought in September 2015, sold to my cousin's daughter (17F) in October 2016)
• iPhone 7 Plus (bought in September 2016, sold the phone on eBay in November 2017)
• iPhone X (bought in November 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (55M) in September 2018)
• iPhone XS Max (bought in September 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (55M) in October 2019 with him giving me his iPhone X to help use that towards my iPhone 11 Pro Max)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max (bought in October 2019, sold to my cousin (53F) in November 2020 with her giving me her iPhone 7 Plus to use as a spare device)
• iPhone 12 Pro Max (bought in November 2020, device started breaking down, so I traded the phone in December 2021, initially planned to keep it for longer)
• iPhone 13 Pro Max (bought in December 2021, sold to my cousin (53F) in September 2022 after complaints that her iPhone 11 Pro Max is breaking down, with her giving me her iPhone 11 Pro Max)
• iPhone 14 Pro Max (bought in September 2022, still using it now)

Secondary iPhone (mostly for iOS app development, listening to music, not including any iPhone/smartphones I bought on eBay for a collection):

• iPhone 5 (September 2015-November 2017): my cousin's husband (55M) upgraded from an iPhone 6 to a Galaxy S6 Edge+ and decided to give his iPhone 6 to my cousin (53F) due to him preferring Android over iOS (he kept the S6 Edge+ until May 2020 when he bought the S20+ and then he gave his S6 Edge+ to me in May 2020 via mail, but between 2017-2020, this acted as his 2nd phone as he was daily driving the iPhone X/XS Max mentioned above)
• iPhone 6S (November 2017-November 2020): my cousin's daughter (17F) upgraded from the 6S to the 7 Plus, along with both her parents (55M, 53F) not only due to the family switching from T-mobile to Verizon but also due to her cracking my old iPhone 6S, which caused her parents not only to replace the screen but also the battery)
• iPhone 7 Plus (November 2020-March 2022): my cousin (53F) received my iPhone 11 Pro Max, but since the iPhone 6S fell off my bike mount a month before, it cracked, and since the battery is so horrendous on the 6S, my cousin (53F) decided to give me her iPhone 7 Plus and I decided to take the 6S to the Apple Store in Cambridge MA to recycle it
• iPhone SE (2020) (since March 2022): Even though my cousin, and later I took very good care of the iPhone 7 Plus, the phone started breaking down on several fronts: the silent switch, charging port pins, and even battery started to die hard, and plus, since the phone is getting unsupported, I started deciding on the iPhone SE. After finding out the iPhone SE 3 was $429 and finding out I could get a prepaid iPhone SE 2 on AT&T for $150 ($50 plan+$15 activation fee but I cancelled auto pay immediately after buying the phone), I got the brand-new SE 2 instead. Nowadays, the battery started to fall apart (even though the battery is currently at 93% capacity) and even though this phone is not in a beta, there are a lot of bugs even on 16.3.1 (I am thinking of updating to 16.4 tonight)

Things my Samsung Galaxy does better than my iPhone

There are many things that Samsung Galaxy phones and other Android phones do better than iPhones, including the fact that on Android:

• notifications are not cluttered in the lock-screen unlike on iOS
• Android is more customisable than iOS and Android is an open-source mobile operating system
• Many new features such as reverse wireless charging, in screen fingerprints, foldable phones, 5G, triple camera setup, phablet size phones,
• there is a real back button on Android
• No need to use iTunes; you could just transfer music and photos/videos between your computer and phone without the hassle of iTunes
• Some Samsung Galaxy phones (S1-S20 excluding the S6/Note5) have microSD and older Samsung Galaxy phones have removable batteries
• Some Samsung Galaxy phones in certain markets have dual sim support, but since e-SIM was introduced, first with the Pixel 2, and later with the iPhone XS, dual sim is less of an advantage
• There are a lot of options, including the M/J series for budget conscious buyers, the A series for the average folk in many countries, the S/Note series for power-users, business users for extra productivity (mostly the Note series) and phone enthusiasts (like me), and the Z series for certain business users for extra productivity and for Flexers
• On my Samsung Galaxy devices, I could share the Wi-Fi password to other phones using the QR code; on iPhones, I could only share the Wi-Fi connection with other iPhones
• Samsung Galaxy devices support split screen view and pop up view, but these two features are restricted to the iPad, and iPhones only support picture in picture video

However, there are many lesser-known things that my Samsung Galaxy phones do better than my iPhones (based on my experience over the past 11 years), and some might be controversial:

• iPhone batteries start to massively degrade after a new iPhone and iOS version comes out

Even though the iPhone batteries are mostly very good during the first year of usage and have extremely good standby compared to Android phones due to software optimisation, by around July 2016, my iPhone 6S's battery is starting to fail, and I did need to rely on battery packs for my iPhones to survive as the iPhone 6S's battery would go from 100-0 after 4-6 hours of heavy use. My cousins did replace the iPhone 6S battery in October of 2017, but by October 2020 (please note according to battery health, IIRC, the 6S stands at 85%), on iOS 14, the iPhone 6S would drain from 90 to 35 in as little as 10 minutes and sometimes, during cold weather, the iPhone 6S's battery (on iOS 14) would die at 30%. Turns out this is not only an issue on my 6S as I bought a 6S on eBay in 2021 for my smartphone collection and that phone (with 80% capacity) also behaved the same, draining from 80 to 25 in around 10 minutes. The iPhones before the 6S also had a poor battery life after a year in my experience, and even though the iPhone 7 Plus, X, XS Max, and 11 Pro Max's battery holds better than the 6S due to the batteries being bigger, the batteries still started to become bad after 1-2 years.
My iPhone 12 Pro Max (I got rid of it in December of 2021 after it accidentally fell out from my nightstand drawer and the back cracked a month before) started seeing its battery fail sometime in September 2021, when the 13 Pro Max came out. Say I leave the house at 10:00 and were to return home at 19:00. By 17:00, with medium usage + hotspot, the iPhone's battery would have depleted to around 20 percent. Plus, my iPhones typically consume more battery if devices are connected to hotspot than my Samsung Galaxies are.
Also, I did receive the Galaxy S7 Edge (2019), Samsung Galaxy S9+ (earlier this month as my cousin's husband upgraded to the S23+), and the Samsung Galaxy S10+ (last year), and given that I would sell these phones on the second hand market, I would test the phones for a week or two to see the phone's condition before assessing it and selling it on the second hand market. What I found is that even though the S10+ cracked and therefore, I donated it rather than sold it, all three phones seem to have solid battery, considering their ages. The S7 Edge with its 3600 mAh battery under heavy use after 3 years would go about for 6-8 hours before needing a recharge, and my S9+ would go about for around 5-6 hours as well before hitting down to 20% of battery (that is after 5 years and given the fact my cousin's husband is a power user), and even though the S10 cracked, it would go for 8-10 hours under heavy usage before draining to around 20%. I also got back my Note5 from 2015 once my cousin's son upgraded to my cousin (50M)'s S8 Active in 2019 once my cousin upgraded to the Note10+, and even on that phone, the battery is still very good considering its age and its 3000 mAh size, doing around 4-6 hours going down from 100-20.

• My Samsung devices have proven more reliable as a whole than many of my iPhones

Even though all the 4 Samsung Galaxy S phones I have repossessed were slightly slow compared to when they were first purchased, all of them, apart from the front cracks on the S10+, are still highly reliable, and according to my usage as well as from the 4 people who have used my phones, they have commented that the phones I gave to them gave them minimal issues and they JUST WORK. Fun fact: during my ownership, I have never experienced any major problems with any of my Samsung phones.
Fun fact, my cousin (28M) switched from the iPhone 7 Plus to the Samsung Galaxy S10+ in March of 2019 and is now currently using a Galaxy S23 Ultra. From his 4-year long experience using just the Galaxy S10+ (he bought the ceramic colour with 512GB of storage and currently his father is using the S10+), even though he is a power user with him customising the phone with themes, being a heavy user, and having cracked his S10+ last year, the phone was still extremely reliable, working fully as intended, apart from the battery, which has been shortened to 6 hours of heavy usage before dying.
My iPhones however, were not so bright. Even though pre-2015 iPhones are mostly reliable during my time using it, since the 6S, there have been some phones which have showed issues here and there, sometimes within the first year of ownership. As for the iPhone 6S, it is basically only the battery, which has been extremely bad after a year and the fact it would sometimes shut off at 30% during cold weather.
Starting with the iPhone 7 Plus however, and there started to be a lot of problems. Even though my iPhone 7 Plus didn't show any problems during my ownership, even though my cousin took good care of the 7 Plus, when I got her 7 Plus in November of 2020 (she got the phone brand new at Verizon in November 2017), the silent switch started to wear down and get stuck, meaning it is hard to turn on silent switch, the charging port pins started to wear, making it very hard to charge the phone or connect the phone to the computer, and the battery started to struggle real hard.
Starting with the iPhone XS Max and there started to be real struggles. Even though I didn't see any problems with either the iPhone XS Max and 11 Pro Max during my ownership and took good care of these two phones, when these two phones got passed to their second owners, problems started to arise. For the XS Max, in May of 2020, it got bricked, and it wouldn't turn on even if he plugged it in the charging cable or through iTunes, and my cousin's husband had to bring it to service, and that got him to purchase an S20+ given he prefers Android over iOS, and after fixing the XS Max, he gave it to his daughter (17F), who is his only child. For the 11 Pro Max however, the phone's battery drained fast and my cousin always had to rely on the charger, and plus, there are issues of connecting Bluetooth devices as well as with calls and volume whilst connected to Bluetooth devices, and my cousin always complained about these issues and even though I did attempt to fix, the issues didn't get resolved (I am tech savvy by the way, so I could get through a lot of issues, such as reset my bricked iPad using iTunes, etc.).
And now onto my iPad Pro 9.7. I bought the iPad in June of 2016, and even though I used it mostly for watching YouTube videos, Udemy and edX courses, the iPad started having a bricking issue in November of 2017. What happened was that I was charging and overnight, the iPad just shut itself off and never powered on again. I tried connecting it to iTunes and even though iTunes could recognise the device, whenever I reset it, errors keep on popping up and it is impossible to reset. I tried bringing it to the Apple Store, but they couldn't reset it either and they suggested that I replace the iPad Pro 9.7 with an iPad Mini 4 for $300. Then, I started taking matters into my own hands and finally resetted the iPad Pro successfully after multiple attempts in January of 2018. Four months later (in May 2018), the iPad bricked again, and I had to do the same process, and it took until August of 2018 after at least 5-10 tries for it to work again. And then in August 2020, whilst charging overnight, the iPad turned off and I thought it was toast. Turned out it was, as after countless times diagnosing the issues on iTunes, the iPad would keep on bricking after multiple reset attempts and after more than 2 years. Then, there was a miracle. In November of 2022, I finally got my iPad working again and I felt like I was very lucky, because I thought that the iPad was bricked forever and wouldn't go back on, ever.
Then, finally, it is my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I bought the phone on 20 November 2020, and by mid-September 2021, things started to go south for this phone. The top speaker started to fail and even though I cleaned it, the speaker was so muffled that I could barely hear anything from the top speaker. I brought it to the Apple Store and they said it is a digitiser issue and they couldn't even clean it for me, and around that same time, the touchscreen started to act up. With a lot of ghost touches, it started to become very hard to use the iPhone (and keep in mind, I have never replaced the screen since I never cracked the front screen). In October 2021, the phone started to have lose cellular signal when I enter the MBTA train and still didn't recognise cellular signal for minutes after I exited the MBTA and was at least a mile from that station on my bike, but luckily, resetting network settings did fix the issue with the cellular signal however. By the time the phone accidentally fell to the ground and the back did suffer some cracks in November, I started to give up on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and in December, I upgraded to the 13 Pro Max.
Even though my Galaxy Buds and my cousin (28M)'s Galaxy Buds did not show any issues (he bought the Galaxy Buds in March 2019 and after heavy usage, it still held up very well and he even gave it to his father), all 4 of my AirPods, even the AirPods Pro 2, have shown issues here and there. My first AirPods (January 2017-July 2018) basically stopped working, and hence, I bought another pair of AirPods in July 2018 and used it until February 2022, when I dropped it in the toilet. Even though I was using the 2nd pair of AirPods half the time (July 2018-January 2020, December 2020-April 2021, November 2021-February 2022), by late 2021, the AirPods started showing major problems. First off, the battery drains so fast even indoors that it only lasted about an hour. Then, once I am outside, the right side would disconnect after only 5 minutes of usage and the left side would keep soldering on. Once it fell to the toilet, it was game over (however, I still kept the AirPods, it is just in the nightstand sitting there, and I did clean it as well). I bought the AirPods 2 in February 2022, and after 2 months, at least once every week or two, the right side would discharge, even in the case (the case is clean by the way), until it went out of battery. I tried resetting the case and putting the case to charge again, but to no avail, and it took several reset attempts for it to return to normal. The same exact scenario happened to the AirPods Pro 2, which I got in October as my cousin wanted to gift me the AirPods Pro 2, in exchange for my AirPods 2. Except that sometimes, my iPhone 14 Pro Max couldn't even connect to the AirPods Pro 2 or even recognise it.

• Hotspot doesn't always work on my iPhones, but always does on my Galaxy

I currently have two phone plans: my main Verizon phone plan with my iPhone 14 Pro Max and my secondary MetroPCS phone plan with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. I do carry a third phone with me (without a phone plan), which is the iPhone SE 2020. Due to me not having a phone plan on my iPhone SE 2020, I do have to rely on hotspot when I am outside. For my iPhone SE 2020, I primarily use it for music streaming and to test my mobile applications, whilst my two other phones are used for more intense purposes, with me spending the most time on my Samsung.
For my iPhone 14 Pro Max and previous iPhones (iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, etc), personal hotspot is very buggy. My Samsung connects just fine to the iPhone hotspot, but my iPhones don't. To preserve the battery, after several minutes, the iPhone SE would get disconnected from the iPhone 14 Pro Max hotspot (which is acceptable), but it gets worse. Even if I am currently streaming Apple Music on my iPhone SE with the screen on as well, the iPhone would disconnect from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it is very hard to connect it to hotspot. Sometimes, the iPhone SE would say 'Unable to join network' and others, it said 'Personal Hotspot Failure', which would force me to restart both the iPhone SE and 14 Pro Max. Now the Remote Hotspot Failure started happening since I got the 11 Pro Max in 2019, and at the time, my 16:9 phone was the iPhone 6S, and even then, there were hotspot failure problems. I restarted the 11 Pro Max, but the hotspot failure would return after a week or two. Even after resetting network settings in 2021 right before my 13 Pro Max because my iPhone 12 Pro Max would lose cellular connectivity even after I exited the MBTA tunnel and I am outside a mile from the MBTA station, once I got my 13 Pro Max, the remote hotspot failure still appears. My Samsung Galaxy over the years connects to the iPhone hotspot without any issues, and would stay connected even if I am not using the phone until I basically turn off hotspot on my iPhone.
Now due to the fact connecting my iPhone SE to the iPhone hotspot is so bad, I would typically use the Samsung hotspot as a backup (keep in mind my iPhone plan gives unlimited hotspot whilst Metro only gives 5 GB). Both iPhones connect to the Samsung hotspot flawlessly, without any issues.

• On my Samsung Galaxy phones, I can disable Wi-Fi using the Quick Settings (swipe down) menu, but for iPhones, it is less consistent

Sometimes, I don't want my main iPhone 14 Pro Max to connect to the Samsung hotspot due to it having its own data. I would turn off Wi-Fi on the control centre and after 5-10 minutes, it would reconnect the Wi-Fi, therefore wasting hotspot data on my Samsung metroPCS plan and making me mildly angry. iPhone does say turning off until tomorrow but in reality, Wi-Fi is turned on after 5-10 minutes. For Samsung, I turn off Wi-Fi on the quick settings until I turn it back on or I flick on airplane mode, which seems more intuitive in my case. However, when I am at home without any hotspot devices, whenever I use quick settings for iPhone, nearby Wi-Fi does disconnect until tomorrow

• Connecting to Bluetooth devices is better on my Samsung Galaxy phones than my iPhones

Pretend I have two Bluetooth devices (AirPods Pro, JBL Clip 4), and I wanted to connect to the JBL speaker. On the Samsung, if I accidentally clicked on the AirPods Pro, I could click JBL Clip 4 immediately and within 5 seconds, I would be connected to the JBL Clip 4 speaker. For the iPhone however, things are not so bright, as if I were to accidentally click the AirPods Pro, I had to wait 15 seconds for Apple to search for the AirPods Pro, and then once it says it couldn't find the AirPods Pro because I left my AirPods Pro at home, that is when I could click on JBL Clip 4 and connect it. That turns a 5 second process into something like a 15-20 second process.

• Apple Pay sometimes doesn't work on my iPhone

On several occasions since 2021, my iPhones would sometimes not pay using Apple Pay and would fail to pay. Sometimes, the iPhone couldn't even detect a reader even though the reader does work. Once I use Samsung Pay on my Samsung Galaxy devices as a backup, the payment did go through and it finally worked.
Yesterday, I was at the MBTA station, and I was attempting to pay for the Monthly pass. Ironically, even though the reader did work, the iPhone 14 Pro Max kept on saying 'Hold near Reader', and even though I held it near the mobile payment reader for 10-15 seconds, it still didn't do anything. Fed up, after the second time, I repaid the MBTA ticket and used my S22 Ultra and the payment did go through. However, at the restaurant around 1 hour later, even though I didn't restart the iPhone, Apple Pay finally worked again as I was able to pay my meal using Apple Pay.

• Automatic updates are better on my Galaxies than my iPhones

My Samsung automatic updates are set overnight, and even with airplane mode turned on during the night, my Samsungs are always up to date without ever having to go to the settings app to update the firmware to Android 13. As for iPhone, they did schedule automatic updates between 4-5 am, but in reality, automatic updates keep failing even with Wi-Fi turned on overnight. If I wanted to update my iPhones, I would typically have to manually update via settings

• Wi-Fi is far better on my Samsung Galaxy/Android phones than my iPhones, iPads, or Macs

I attended university between 2018 and 2022, and in late 2021, at university (I majored in CS by the way), my iPhones, iPads, and Macs would often struggle with Wi-Fi. My iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 7 Plus (as of November 2021) would sometimes even outright refuse to connect to Wi-Fi and same goes with the MacBook 15' Core i9 (2019) (I have since upgraded to the M1 MBP 16 since the logic board on the MBP 2019 failed in November 2021), and if connected, at some parts of the university, they are extremely slow, and sometimes, borderline unusable. My S21 Ultra however, at the same place, worked far better and was able to load websites. Even my Windows laptop was able to load websites as well as my Galaxy A51 (I brought an A51 one day to MIT to see if the Wi-Fi issues only occurred on Apple products).
Fun fact: the Galaxy S21 Ultra was the first phone to offer Wi-Fi 6E and not even the iPhone 14 Pro Max supports this feature
Then in July 2022, during a flight from Dallas back to Boston, my iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone SE 2 would fail to connect to JetBlue's Wi-Fi network several times and if connected, the Wi-Fi was painfully slow and near unusable whilst my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra connected to JetBlue's Wi-Fi network just fine and worked as expected, with websites loading reasonably quick, just like at my university with the S21 Ultra.

• USB C lasts longer than lightning connector

Finally, one thing Samsung and Android OEMs do better than Apple is the fact that many Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy devices, come with USB-C which is the future compared to Apple's ancient lightning connector (frankly, Apple now uses USB-C on most of their iPads except for the entry level iPad 9). It allows for faster charging and transfer speeds and USB-C is basically superior to lightning, which is a relic from a bygone era. Plus, USB-C seems to last longer. Whilst my lightning connectors generally worn out between 6-18 months before having inconsistent connections or connectivity issues, my USB-C connectors would keep soldering on for at least 5 years before breaking down like the lightning connectors.
TL;DR: Even though there are many benefits to owning an iPhone over an Android device, based on my user experience, after over 11 years of using various Samsung Galaxy phones, two Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and one Galaxy Bud and after over 12 years of using various iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and AirPods, I could safely assure that there are a lot of benefits to using Samsung and Android products over iPhones, namely due to the fact that notifications, customisation, features, options, Wi-Fi, multitasking, batteries, hotspot, Bluetooth, mobile payment, etc., are better on Samsung and Android products than on iPhones, based on my user experience.

Introduction

I have been using Samsung Galaxy devices for 11 years, with my first Android/Samsung Galaxy device being the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (got the Galaxy Nexus in January of 2012) and with me currently daily driving the S22 Ultra (since May 2022).
I have been using iPhones for more than 12 years, with my first iPhone being the iPhone 4 (got the iPhone 4 in December of 2010) and with me currently daily driving the iPhone 14 Pro Max (since September 2022) and the iPhone SE (2020) as a secondary iPhone for iOS development (since March 2022).
Here is my daily driver history:
Android:

• Samsung Galaxy Nexus (bought in January 2012, traded the phone in October 2013)
• Samsung Galaxy Note3 (bought in October 2013, traded the phone in October 2014)
• Samsung Galaxy Note4 (bought in October 2014, traded the phone in September 2015)
• Samsung Galaxy Note5 (bought in September 2015, sold to my cousin's son (16M) in August 2016)
• Samsung Galaxy Note7 (bought in August 2016, recalled in October 2016)
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (bought in October 2016, sold to my cousin's husband (40M) in April 2017 after he broke his iPhone 6 Plus)
• Samsung Galaxy S8+ (bought in April 2017, sold to my cousin's son in Vietnam (29M) in April 2018)
• Samsung Galaxy S9+ (bought in April 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (40M) in March 2019, with him giving me his S7 Edge)
• Samsung Galaxy S10+ (bought in March 2019, gave to my sister (21F) in March 2020 via mail, making the A50 as her secondary phone)
• Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (bought in March 2020, traded the phone in February 2021)
• Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (bought in February 2021, gave to my sister (21F) in May 2022 via mail due to her cracking her S10+ with the front suffering some cracks, got the S10+ back)
• Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (bought in May 2022, still using it now)

Primary iPhone:

• iPhone 4 (bought in December 2010, sold to Vietnam's used market in October 2011)
• iPhone 4S (bought in October 2011, traded the phone in September 2012)
• iPhone 5 (bought in September 2012 right after moving to the US, sold to my cousin (53F) in September 2013)
• iPhone 5S (bought in September 2013, sold to my cousin (39F) in September 2014)
• iPhone 6 (bought in September 2014, sold the phone on eBay in September 2015)
• iPhone 6S (bought in September 2015, sold to my cousin's daughter (17F) in October 2016)
• iPhone 7 Plus (bought in September 2016, sold the phone on eBay in November 2017)
• iPhone X (bought in November 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (55M) in September 2018)
• iPhone XS Max (bought in September 2018, sold to my cousin's husband (55M) in October 2019 with him giving me his iPhone X to help use that towards my iPhone 11 Pro Max)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max (bought in October 2019, sold to my cousin (53F) in November 2020 with her giving me her iPhone 7 Plus to use as a spare device)
• iPhone 12 Pro Max (bought in November 2020, device started breaking down, so I traded the phone in December 2021, initially planned to keep it for longer)
• iPhone 13 Pro Max (bought in December 2021, sold to my cousin (53F) in September 2022 after complaints that her iPhone 11 Pro Max is breaking down, with her giving me her iPhone 11 Pro Max)
• iPhone 14 Pro Max (bought in September 2022, still using it now)

Secondary iPhone (mostly for iOS app development, listening to music, not including any iPhone/smartphones I bought on eBay for a collection):

• iPhone 5 (September 2015-November 2017): my cousin's husband (55M) upgraded from an iPhone 6 to a Galaxy S6 Edge+ and decided to give his iPhone 6 to my cousin (53F) due to him preferring Android over iOS (he kept the S6 Edge+ until May 2020 when he bought the S20+ and then he gave his S6 Edge+ to me in May 2020 via mail, but between 2017-2020, this acted as his 2nd phone as he was daily driving the iPhone X/XS Max mentioned above)
• iPhone 6S (November 2017-November 2020): my cousin's daughter (17F) upgraded from the 6S to the 7 Plus, along with both her parents (55M, 53F) not only due to the family switching from T-mobile to Verizon but also due to her cracking my old iPhone 6S, which caused her parents not only to replace the screen but also the battery)
• iPhone 7 Plus (November 2020-March 2022): my cousin (53F) received my iPhone 11 Pro Max, but since the iPhone 6S fell off my bike mount a month before, it cracked, and since the battery is so horrendous on the 6S, my cousin (53F) decided to give me her iPhone 7 Plus and I decided to take the 6S to the Apple Store in Cambridge MA to recycle it
• iPhone SE (2020) (since March 2022): Even though my cousin, and later I took very good care of the iPhone 7 Plus, the phone started breaking down on several fronts: the silent switch, charging port pins, and even battery started to die hard, and plus, since the phone is getting unsupported, I started deciding on the iPhone SE. After finding out the iPhone SE 3 was $429 and finding out I could get a prepaid iPhone SE 2 on AT&T for $150 ($50 plan+$15 activation fee but I cancelled auto pay immediately after buying the phone), I got the brand-new SE 2 instead. Nowadays, the battery started to fall apart (even though the battery is currently at 93% capacity) and even though this phone is not in a beta, there are a lot of bugs even on 16.3.1 (I am thinking of updating to 16.4 tonight)

Things my Samsung Galaxy does better than my iPhone

There are many things that Samsung Galaxy phones and other Android phones do better than iPhones, including the fact that on Android:

• notifications are not cluttered in the lock-screen unlike on iOS
• Android is more customisable than iOS and Android is an open-source mobile operating system
• Many new features such as reverse wireless charging, in screen fingerprints, foldable phones, 5G, triple camera setup, phablet size phones,
• there is a real back button on Android
• No need to use iTunes; you could just transfer music and photos/videos between your computer and phone without the hassle of iTunes
• Some Samsung Galaxy phones (S1-S20 excluding the S6/Note5) have microSD and older Samsung Galaxy phones have removable batteries
• Some Samsung Galaxy phones in certain markets have dual sim support, but since e-SIM was introduced, first with the Pixel 2, and later with the iPhone XS, dual sim is less of an advantage
• There are a lot of options, including the M/J series for budget conscious buyers, the A series for the average folk in many countries, the S/Note series for power-users, business users for extra productivity (mostly the Note series) and phone enthusiasts (like me), and the Z series for certain business users for extra productivity and for Flexers
• On my Samsung Galaxy devices, I could share the Wi-Fi password to other phones using the QR code; on iPhones, I could only share the Wi-Fi connection with other iPhones
• Samsung Galaxy devices support split screen view and pop up view, but these two features are restricted to the iPad, and iPhones only support picture in picture video

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However, there are many lesser-known things that my Samsung Galaxy phones do better than my iPhones (based on my experience over the past 11 years), and some might be controversial:
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• iPhone batteries start to massively degrade after a new iPhone and iOS version comes out

Even though the iPhone batteries are mostly very good during the first year of usage and have extremely good standby compared to Android phones due to software optimisation, by around July 2016, my iPhone 6S's battery is starting to fail, and I did need to rely on battery packs for my iPhones to survive as the iPhone 6S's battery would go from 100-0 after 4-6 hours of heavy use. My cousins did replace the iPhone 6S battery in October of 2017, but by October 2020 (please note according to battery health, IIRC, the 6S stands at 85%), on iOS 14, the iPhone 6S would drain from 90 to 35 in as little as 10 minutes and sometimes, during cold weather, the iPhone 6S's battery (on iOS 14) would die at 30%. Turns out this is not only an issue on my 6S as I bought a 6S on eBay in 2021 for my smartphone collection and that phone (with 80% capacity) also behaved the same, draining from 80 to 25 in around 10 minutes. The iPhones before the 6S also had a poor battery life after a year in my experience, and even though the iPhone 7 Plus, X, XS Max, and 11 Pro Max's battery holds better than the 6S due to the batteries being bigger, the batteries still started to become bad after 1-2 years.
My iPhone 12 Pro Max (I got rid of it in December of 2021 after it accidentally fell out from my nightstand drawer and the back cracked a month before) started seeing its battery fail sometime in September 2021, when the 13 Pro Max came out. Say I leave the house at 10:00 and were to return home at 19:00. By 17:00, with medium usage + hotspot, the iPhone's battery would have depleted to around 20 percent. Plus, my iPhones typically consume more battery if devices are connected to hotspot than my Samsung Galaxies are.
Also, I did receive the Galaxy S7 Edge (2019), Samsung Galaxy S9+ (earlier this month as my cousin's husband upgraded to the S23+), and the Samsung Galaxy S10+ (last year), and given that I would sell these phones on the second hand market, I would test the phones for a week or two to see the phone's condition before assessing it and selling it on the second hand market. What I found is that even though the S10+ cracked and therefore, I donated it rather than sold it, all three phones seem to have solid battery, considering their ages. The S7 Edge with its 3600 mAh battery under heavy use after 3 years would go about for 6-8 hours before needing a recharge, and my S9+ would go about for around 5-6 hours as well before hitting down to 20% of battery (that is after 5 years and given the fact my cousin's husband is a power user), and even though the S10 cracked, it would go for 8-10 hours under heavy usage before draining to around 20%. I also got back my Note5 from 2015 once my cousin's son upgraded to my cousin (50M)'s S8 Active in 2019 once my cousin upgraded to the Note10+, and even on that phone, the battery is still very good considering its age and its 3000 mAh size, doing around 4-6 hours going down from 100-20.
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• My Samsung devices have proven more reliable as a whole than many of my iPhones

Even though all the 4 Samsung Galaxy S phones I have repossessed were slightly slow compared to when they were first purchased, all of them, apart from the front cracks on the S10+, are still highly reliable, and according to my usage as well as from the 4 people who have used my phones, they have commented that the phones I gave to them gave them minimal issues and they JUST WORK. Fun fact: during my ownership, I have never experienced any major problems with any of my Samsung phones.
Fun fact, my cousin (28M) switched from the iPhone 7 Plus to the Samsung Galaxy S10+ in March of 2019 and is now currently using a Galaxy S23 Ultra. From his 4-year long experience using just the Galaxy S10+ (he bought the ceramic colour with 512GB of storage and currently his father is using the S10+), even though he is a power user with him customising the phone with themes, being a heavy user, and having cracked his S10+ last year, the phone was still extremely reliable, working fully as intended, apart from the battery, which has been shortened to 6 hours of heavy usage before dying.
My iPhones however, were not so bright. Even though pre-2015 iPhones are mostly reliable during my time using it, since the 6S, there have been some phones which have showed issues here and there, sometimes within the first year of ownership. As for the iPhone 6S, it is basically only the battery, which has been extremely bad after a year and the fact it would sometimes shut off at 30% during cold weather.
Starting with the iPhone 7 Plus however, and there started to be a lot of problems. Even though my iPhone 7 Plus didn't show any problems during my ownership, even though my cousin took good care of the 7 Plus, when I got her 7 Plus in November of 2020 (she got the phone brand new at Verizon in November 2017), the silent switch started to wear down and get stuck, meaning it is hard to turn on silent switch, the charging port pins started to wear, making it very hard to charge the phone or connect the phone to the computer, and the battery started to struggle real hard.
Starting with the iPhone XS Max and there started to be real struggles. Even though I didn't see any problems with either the iPhone XS Max and 11 Pro Max during my ownership and took good care of these two phones, when these two phones got passed to their second owners, problems started to arise. For the XS Max, in May of 2020, it got bricked, and it wouldn't turn on even if he plugged it in the charging cable or through iTunes, and my cousin's husband had to bring it to service, and that got him to purchase an S20+ given he prefers Android over iOS, and after fixing the XS Max, he gave it to his daughter (17F), who is his only child. For the 11 Pro Max however, the phone's battery drained fast and my cousin always had to rely on the charger, and plus, there are issues of connecting Bluetooth devices as well as with calls and volume whilst connected to Bluetooth devices, and my cousin always complained about these issues and even though I did attempt to fix, the issues didn't get resolved (I am tech savvy by the way, so I could get through a lot of issues, such as reset my bricked iPad using iTunes, etc.).
And now onto my iPad Pro 9.7. I bought the iPad in June of 2016, and even though I used it mostly for watching YouTube videos, Udemy and edX courses, the iPad started having a bricking issue in November of 2017. What happened was that I was charging and overnight, the iPad just shut itself off and never powered on again. I tried connecting it to iTunes and even though iTunes could recognise the device, whenever I reset it, errors keep on popping up and it is impossible to reset. I tried bringing it to the Apple Store, but they couldn't reset it either and they suggested that I replace the iPad Pro 9.7 with an iPad Mini 4 for $300. Then, I started taking matters into my own hands and finally resetted the iPad Pro successfully after multiple attempts in January of 2018. Four months later (in May 2018), the iPad bricked again, and I had to do the same process, and it took until August of 2018 after at least 5-10 tries for it to work again. And then in August 2020, whilst charging overnight, the iPad turned off and I thought it was toast. Turned out it was, as after countless times diagnosing the issues on iTunes, the iPad would keep on bricking after multiple reset attempts and after more than 2 years. Then, there was a miracle. In November of 2022, I finally got my iPad working again and I felt like I was very lucky, because I thought that the iPad was bricked forever and wouldn't go back on, ever.
Then, finally, it is my iPhone 12 Pro Max. I bought the phone on 20 November 2020, and by mid-September 2021, things started to go south for this phone. The top speaker started to fail and even though I cleaned it, the speaker was so muffled that I could barely hear anything from the top speaker. I brought it to the Apple Store and they said it is a digitiser issue and they couldn't even clean it for me, and around that same time, the touchscreen started to act up. With a lot of ghost touches, it started to become very hard to use the iPhone (and keep in mind, I have never replaced the screen since I never cracked the front screen). In October 2021, the phone started to have lose cellular signal when I enter the MBTA train and still didn't recognise cellular signal for minutes after I exited the MBTA and was at least a mile from that station on my bike, but luckily, resetting network settings did fix the issue with the cellular signal however. By the time the phone accidentally fell to the ground and the back did suffer some cracks in November, I started to give up on the iPhone 12 Pro Max and in December, I upgraded to the 13 Pro Max.
Even though my Galaxy Buds and my cousin (28M)'s Galaxy Buds did not show any issues (he bought the Galaxy Buds in March 2019 and after heavy usage, it still held up very well and he even gave it to his father), all 4 of my AirPods, even the AirPods Pro 2, have shown issues here and there. My first AirPods (January 2017-July 2018) basically stopped working, and hence, I bought another pair of AirPods in July 2018 and used it until February 2022, when I dropped it in the toilet. Even though I was using the 2nd pair of AirPods half the time (July 2018-January 2020, December 2020-April 2021, November 2021-February 2022), by late 2021, the AirPods started showing major problems. First off, the battery drains so fast even indoors that it only lasted about an hour. Then, once I am outside, the right side would disconnect after only 5 minutes of usage and the left side would keep soldering on. Once it fell to the toilet, it was game over (however, I still kept the AirPods, it is just in the nightstand sitting there, and I did clean it as well). I bought the AirPods 2 in February 2022, and after 2 months, at least once every week or two, the right side would discharge, even in the case (the case is clean by the way), until it went out of battery. I tried resetting the case and putting the case to charge again, but to no avail, and it took several reset attempts for it to return to normal. The same exact scenario happened to the AirPods Pro 2, which I got in October as my cousin wanted to gift me the AirPods Pro 2, in exchange for my AirPods 2. Except that sometimes, my iPhone 14 Pro Max couldn't even connect to the AirPods Pro 2 or even recognise it.
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• Hotspot doesn't always work on my iPhones, but always does on my Galaxy

I currently have two phone plans: my main Verizon phone plan with my iPhone 14 Pro Max and my secondary MetroPCS phone plan with my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. I do carry a third phone with me (without a phone plan), which is the iPhone SE 2020. Due to me not having a phone plan on my iPhone SE 2020, I do have to rely on hotspot when I am outside. For my iPhone SE 2020, I primarily use it for music streaming and to test my mobile applications, whilst my two other phones are used for more intense purposes, with me spending the most time on my Samsung.
For my iPhone 14 Pro Max and previous iPhones (iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, etc), personal hotspot is very buggy. My Samsung connects just fine to the iPhone hotspot, but my iPhones don't. To preserve the battery, after several minutes, the iPhone SE would get disconnected from the iPhone 14 Pro Max hotspot (which is acceptable), but it gets worse. Even if I am currently streaming Apple Music on my iPhone SE with the screen on as well, the iPhone would disconnect from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it is very hard to connect it to hotspot. Sometimes, the iPhone SE would say 'Unable to join network' and others, it said 'Personal Hotspot Failure', which would force me to restart both the iPhone SE and 14 Pro Max. Now the Remote Hotspot Failure started happening since I got the 11 Pro Max in 2019, and at the time, my 16:9 phone was the iPhone 6S, and even then, there were hotspot failure problems. I restarted the 11 Pro Max, but the hotspot failure would return after a week or two. Even after resetting network settings in 2021 right before my 13 Pro Max because my iPhone 12 Pro Max would lose cellular connectivity even after I exited the MBTA tunnel and I am outside a mile from the MBTA station, once I got my 13 Pro Max, the remote hotspot failure still appears. My Samsung Galaxy over the years connects to the iPhone hotspot without any issues, and would stay connected even if I am not using the phone until I basically turn off hotspot on my iPhone.
Now due to the fact connecting my iPhone SE to the iPhone hotspot is so bad, I would typically use the Samsung hotspot as a backup (keep in mind my iPhone plan gives unlimited hotspot whilst Metro only gives 5 GB). Both iPhones connect to the Samsung hotspot flawlessly, without any issues.
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• On my Samsung Galaxy phones, I can disable Wi-Fi using the Quick Settings (swipe down) menu, but for iPhones, it is less consistent

Sometimes, I don't want my main iPhone 14 Pro Max to connect to the Samsung hotspot due to it having its own data. I would turn off Wi-Fi on the control centre and after 5-10 minutes, it would reconnect the Wi-Fi, therefore wasting hotspot data on my Samsung metroPCS plan and making me mildly angry. iPhone does say turning off until tomorrow but in reality, Wi-Fi is turned on after 5-10 minutes. For Samsung, I turn off Wi-Fi on the quick settings until I turn it back on or I flick on airplane mode, which seems more intuitive in my case. However, when I am at home without any hotspot devices, whenever I use quick settings for iPhone, nearby Wi-Fi does disconnect until tomorrow
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• Connecting to Bluetooth devices is better on my Samsung Galaxy phones than my iPhones

Pretend I have two Bluetooth devices (AirPods Pro, JBL Clip 4), and I wanted to connect to the JBL speaker. On the Samsung, if I accidentally clicked on the AirPods Pro, I could click JBL Clip 4 immediately and within 5 seconds, I would be connected to the JBL Clip 4 speaker. For the iPhone however, things are not so bright, as if I were to accidentally click the AirPods Pro, I had to wait 15 seconds for Apple to search for the AirPods Pro, and then once it says it couldn't find the AirPods Pro because I left my AirPods Pro at home, that is when I could click on JBL Clip 4 and connect it. That turns a 5 second process into something like a 15-20 second process.
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• Apple Pay sometimes doesn't work on my iPhone

On several occasions since 2021, my iPhones would sometimes not pay using Apple Pay and would fail to pay. Sometimes, the iPhone couldn't even detect a reader even though the reader does work. Once I use Samsung Pay on my Samsung Galaxy devices as a backup, the payment did go through and it finally worked.
Yesterday, I was at the MBTA station, and I was attempting to pay for the Monthly pass. Ironically, even though the reader did work, the iPhone 14 Pro Max kept on saying 'Hold near Reader', and even though I held it near the mobile payment reader for 10-15 seconds, it still didn't do anything. Fed up, after the second time, I repaid the MBTA ticket and used my S22 Ultra and the payment did go through. However, at the restaurant around 1 hour later, even though I didn't restart the iPhone, Apple Pay finally worked again as I was able to pay my meal using Apple Pay.
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• Automatic updates are better on my Galaxies than my iPhones

My Samsung automatic updates are set overnight, and even with airplane mode turned on during the night, my Samsungs are always up to date without ever having to go to the settings app to update the firmware to Android 13. As for iPhone, they did schedule automatic updates between 4-5 am, but in reality, automatic updates keep failing even with Wi-Fi turned on overnight. If I wanted to update my iPhones, I would typically have to manually update via settings
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• Wi-Fi is far better on my Samsung Galaxy/Android phones than my iPhones, iPads, or Macs

I attended university between 2018 and 2022, and in late 2021, at university (I majored in CS by the way), my iPhones, iPads, and Macs would often struggle with Wi-Fi. My iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 7 Plus (as of November 2021) would sometimes even outright refuse to connect to Wi-Fi and same goes with the MacBook 15' Core i9 (2019) (I have since upgraded to the M1 MBP 16 since the logic board on the MBP 2019 failed in November 2021), and if connected, at some parts of the university, they are extremely slow, and sometimes, borderline unusable. My S21 Ultra however, at the same place, worked far better and was able to load websites. Even my Windows laptop was able to load websites as well as my Galaxy A51 (I brought an A51 one day to MIT to see if the Wi-Fi issues only occurred on Apple products).
Fun fact: the Galaxy S21 Ultra was the first phone to offer Wi-Fi 6E and not even the iPhone 14 Pro Max supports this feature
Then in July 2022, during a flight from Dallas back to Boston, my iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone SE 2 would fail to connect to JetBlue's Wi-Fi network several times and if connected, the Wi-Fi was painfully slow and near unusable whilst my Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra connected to JetBlue's Wi-Fi network just fine and worked as expected, with websites loading reasonably quick, just like at my university with the S21 Ultra.
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• USB C lasts longer than lightning connector

Finally, one thing Samsung and Android OEMs do better than Apple is the fact that many Android devices, including Samsung Galaxy devices, come with USB-C which is the future compared to Apple's ancient lightning connector (frankly, Apple now uses USB-C on most of their iPads except for the entry level iPad 9). It allows for faster charging and transfer speeds and USB-C is basically superior to lightning, which is a relic from a bygone era. Plus, USB-C seems to last longer. Whilst my lightning connectors generally worn out between 6-18 months before having inconsistent connections or connectivity issues, my USB-C connectors would keep soldering on for at least 5 years before breaking down like the lightning connectors.
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TL;DR: Even though there are many benefits to owning an iPhone over an Android device, based on my user experience, after over 11 years of using various Samsung Galaxy phones, two Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and one Galaxy Bud and after over 12 years of using various iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and AirPods, I could safely assure that there are a lot of benefits to using Samsung and Android products over iPhones, namely due to the fact that notifications, customisation, features, options, Wi-Fi, multitasking, batteries, hotspot, Bluetooth, mobile payment, etc., are better on Samsung and Android products than on iPhones, based on my user experience.

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the history of games. It came along as a return to form after what many fans would argue was a misstep with the more gritty and realistic GTA 4. Originally released back in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3—yes, it spans three console generations—developer Rockstar has supported the game's online mode with continual updates adding new content, new areas, and even all-new mechanics.
GTA V was such a runaway success—and GTA The Trilogy: Definitive Edition was such a dumpster fire—that Rockstar gave up working on a Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC, and has now reportedly abandoned plans to remaster more of its beloved older titles to instead focus on both further GTA Online content as well as the development of GTA 6.
gtaonline fukaru
Naturally, expectations for GTA 6 are incredibly high, and given the advanced age of GTA V, fans are chomping at the bit for any bit of news. That's why there's so much buzz around a report at Bloomberg that focuses on Rockstar's new corporate culture. Company co-founder Dan Houser left Rockstar in 2020, and ever since then the development house has been trying to reshape a corporate culture that the report refers to as being "like a frat house".
Given the nature and tone of the humor in the Grand Theft Auto series, it's really not surprising to hear that the atmosphere inside Rockstar was juvenile and chauvinistic. The report remarks that the workplace culture at Rockstar was "full of drinking, brawling, and excursions to strip clubs." That may sound like a good time to some, but it's admittedly not very professional.
gta1 katie Katie from the OG Grand Theft Auto (1997) on PC (left) and Game Boy Color (right).
As part of the report, author Jason Schreier casually reveals that GTA 6 will have at least two playable protagonists, and that one of them will be a Latina woman. This technically isn't the first playable woman nor even the first playable Hispanic woman in the GTA series; the very first GTA game featured a Latina named "Katie" as one of its eight playable characters.
Still, very few of the series' modern fans even remember the old DOS-based Grand Theft Auto, so we can forgive everyone for forgetting about poor Katie. Regardless, the new girl will apparently be part of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like crime duo, calling to mind the partnership between Claude and Catalina in the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III. Hopefully the partnership between the new player characters in GTA 6 doesn't end the same way that one did.
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KOwen 29 July, 2022
Release the PC version at the same time as the consoles please!
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Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the history of games. It came along as a return to form after what many fans would argue was a misstep with the more gritty and realistic GTA 4. Originally released back in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3—yes, it spans three console generations—developer Rockstar has supported the game's online mode with continual updates adding new content, new areas, and even all-new mechanics.
GTA V was such a runaway success—and GTA The Trilogy: Definitive Edition was such a dumpster fire—that Rockstar gave up working on a Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC, and has now reportedly abandoned plans to remaster more of its beloved older titles to instead focus on both further GTA Online content as well as the development of GTA 6.
gtaonline fukaru
Naturally, expectations for GTA 6 are incredibly high, and given the advanced age of GTA V, fans are chomping at the bit for any bit of news. That's why there's so much buzz around a report at Bloomberg that focuses on Rockstar's new corporate culture. Company co-founder Dan Houser left Rockstar in 2020, and ever since then the development house has been trying to reshape a corporate culture that the report refers to as being "like a frat house".
Given the nature and tone of the humor in the Grand Theft Auto series, it's really not surprising to hear that the atmosphere inside Rockstar was juvenile and chauvinistic. The report remarks that the workplace culture at Rockstar was "full of drinking, brawling, and excursions to strip clubs." That may sound like a good time to some, but it's admittedly not very professional.
gta1 katie Katie from the OG Grand Theft Auto (1997) on PC (left) and Game Boy Color (right).
As part of the report, author Jason Schreier casually reveals that GTA 6 will have at least two playable protagonists, and that one of them will be a Latina woman. This technically isn't the first playable woman nor even the first playable Hispanic woman in the GTA series; the very first GTA game featured a Latina named "Katie" as one of its eight playable characters.
Still, very few of the series' modern fans even remember the old DOS-based Grand Theft Auto, so we can forgive everyone for forgetting about poor Katie. Regardless, the new girl will apparently be part of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like crime duo, calling to mind the partnership between Claude and Catalina in the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III. Hopefully the partnership between the new player characters in GTA 6 doesn't end the same way that one did.
Comments1Comments Support Independent Tech Journalism, Become A Patron! Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, GTA V, GTA, gta 6 exp-player-logo
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KOwen 29 July, 2022
Release the PC version at the same time as the consoles please!
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Share Powered by TermsPrivacyFeedback 85K 27K 39K TOP CONVERSATIONS YOUR NEXT PC PLATFORM? Intel 13th Gen AMD Ryzen 7000 Intel Meteor Lake Ryzen 7000X3D Submit More Results MORE HOT HEADLINES Grab This NVIDIA GeForce Hotfix To Stop... WB Delays Hogwarts Legacy Launch On PS4... Intel Panther Lake Gets Ready To Roar... What The Fungi? Scientists Create A... US Antitrust Boss Compares Big Tech To... Lonestar's Mission To Build Data Centers... AMD's Last Of Us Game Bundle Deal Drives... KEEP INFORMED My Topics Follow topics to stay updated with your favorite content

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the history of games. It came along as a return to form after what many fans would argue was a misstep with the more gritty and realistic GTA 4. Originally released back in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3—yes, it spans three console generations—developer Rockstar has supported the game's online mode with continual updates adding new content, new areas, and even all-new mechanics.
GTA V was such a runaway success—and GTA The Trilogy: Definitive Edition was such a dumpster fire—that Rockstar gave up working on a Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC, and has now reportedly abandoned plans to remaster more of its beloved older titles to instead focus on both further GTA Online content as well as the development of GTA 6.
gtaonline fukaru
Naturally, expectations for GTA 6 are incredibly high, and given the advanced age of GTA V, fans are chomping at the bit for any bit of news. That's why there's so much buzz around a report at Bloomberg that focuses on Rockstar's new corporate culture. Company co-founder Dan Houser left Rockstar in 2020, and ever since then the development house has been trying to reshape a corporate culture that the report refers to as being "like a frat house".
Given the nature and tone of the humor in the Grand Theft Auto series, it's really not surprising to hear that the atmosphere inside Rockstar was juvenile and chauvinistic. The report remarks that the workplace culture at Rockstar was "full of drinking, brawling, and excursions to strip clubs." That may sound like a good time to some, but it's admittedly not very professional.
gta1 katie Katie from the OG Grand Theft Auto (1997) on PC (left) and Game Boy Color (right).
As part of the report, author Jason Schreier casually reveals that GTA 6 will have at least two playable protagonists, and that one of them will be a Latina woman. This technically isn't the first playable woman nor even the first playable Hispanic woman in the GTA series; the very first GTA game featured a Latina named "Katie" as one of its eight playable characters.
Still, very few of the series' modern fans even remember the old DOS-based Grand Theft Auto, so we can forgive everyone for forgetting about poor Katie. Regardless, the new girl will apparently be part of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like crime duo, calling to mind the partnership between Claude and Catalina in the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III. Hopefully the partnership between the new player characters in GTA 6 doesn't end the same way that one did.
Comments1Comments Support Independent Tech Journalism, Become A Patron! Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, GTA V, GTA, gta 6 exp-player-logo
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KOwen 29 July, 2022
Release the PC version at the same time as the consoles please!
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Share Powered by TermsPrivacyFeedback 85K 27K 39K TOP CONVERSATIONS YOUR NEXT PC PLATFORM? Intel 13th Gen AMD Ryzen 7000 Intel Meteor Lake Ryzen 7000X3D Submit More Results MORE HOT HEADLINES Grab This NVIDIA GeForce Hotfix To Stop... WB Delays Hogwarts Legacy Launch On PS4... Intel Panther Lake Gets Ready To Roar... What The Fungi? Scientists Create A... US Antitrust Boss Compares Big Tech To... Lonestar's Mission To Build Data Centers... AMD's Last Of Us Game Bundle Deal Drives... KEEP INFORMED My Topics Follow topics to stay updated with your favorite content

As it says in the bit you clicked on: I’m delightful. Read further for a small sample of the many ways in which I am wonderful, and find out how you, yes YOU, can take advantage to the amazing limited time offer. Also, we're social distancing, so I suppose this is a good time for torrid correspondence.
Offer includes:
Wit: I’m funny. Sometimes dry and biting, as when hanging out over drinks and I’m making acerbic sotto-voce comments about the dipshits at the other end of the bar, declaiming upon how Democrats are just as bad as Republicans and anyway Hillary is super corrupt. Sometimes absurdly silly, as when we are in bed, and especially in those awful moments during kink when pushing our emotional boundaries has inadvertently shattered the shared intimacy whereby situations that might otherwise be horrifying turn unbearably hot and sexy and intimate; (because you are firmly bound, suspended from a hook in this door-frame, with a ball gag distending your mouth and a large man is selecting amongst his toys for what to hit you with, now that you’ve been worked over with the crop that he’s still using to caress your clit. For example). Talking about the kink is supposed to be further down, but I’m proud of my ability to notice those moments and pull the gag and start improvising a progressively more absurd re-telling of the constitutional convention as a poorly organized swingers convention, using the contents of my pockets to represent the various founding fathers and their outhouse assignations with Jefferson.
Frightening intellect: I’m really, really bright. I read, constantly and voraciously and indiscriminately, at least as far as subject. I pay attention to news and politics and policy and everything else and I’m always glad to spend time with someone else who is as interested in the world as I am. I adore — really, deeply adore— doing kink with terrifically intelligent women; having the kind conversations where I feel like I must be a genius just because I can kind of keep up with you. Kinky sex is by nature pretty intimate, at least when it is something two people are doing together as opposed to some dude who figures kinky girls are easy and thinks being a dom means not caring if she comes and yelling bitch a lot. But I am not that guy. I fucking hate that guy. I spent years being miserable and basically at war with my sexuality because I thought being male and dom meant I had to be that guy and oh my God I think I’d rather just remove the entire apparatus using a rusty spoon from my Swiss Army knife rather than be like that walking indictment of humanity. So I need to like the person I’m performing misogyny at. She needs to be someone I can talk to before and after and not feel like I’m robbing an intellectual cradle. My capacity to be the most amazing dom you’ve ever invited to cross you boundaries — which I can totally be — is tied directly to how much I respect you as an equal making a choice and my assessment of your respect for me in the same way.
Sexy: There is no one true standard of hotness, and I don’t hold myself forth as the platonic ideal of the male form (for one thing? The Greeks were super into tiny penis. I’m serious. Had to do with their ideals of balance, apparently). I’m a big guy, 5’11, white, with a broad-shouldered sort of frame that leads people to think I’m taller than I am. I have a bit of a gut, but not so much that you’d call me fat, walking down the street; I suspect that the gut is something I notice but mostly no one else does. I get more compliments on my ass than I know what to do with.
I’m fit and active, I have nice eyes, a good smile and a better laugh. I’m currently clean shaven, although I’ve been known to grow a beard from time to time. (It is a small, neat Van Dyke sort of thing - I couldn’t grow a hipster lumberjack beard if I wanted to. Something else the Greeks would have had opinions on). Brown eyes, brown hair, and bespectacled. Nerd, but sexy nerd. And admit it: when a dude is tying you up and saying demeaning, degrading, frantically arousing things to you, wouldn’t you rather, when drops the crop and your world collapses to the feeling of his fingers (HOW many fingers? God, can you even tell any more, you are so wet...) moving inside your pussy and his thumb on your clit, when you suddenly feel his free hand up under your hair, right along the scalp, in that good, firm grab that makes you feel small and helpless and sexy and dirty and nasty and so, so good (and HEY! Did I tell you you could do that? If I wanted you to fuck your filthy hole on my fingers I’d have told you to, wouldn’t I? So stop, or I’ll have to take them away) ... in that moment, I have to believe you’d rather have the person whispering sweet, dirty nothings in your ear be one who can use words like “wanton” and “harlot” as well as “skank” and “hoe” or strangely popular “bitch”. Who can capture your imagination even more thoroughly than he’s bound your hands and ankles. I don’t know. I’m not even just a little bit submissive, and even if I was I’d still be a dude. But I have to believe -and user feedback surveys seem to support - that it is better when the violence of action is matched by wickedness of mind and quickness of wit.
Liberal: I’m not imposing a political litmus test. But because I only screw people I like and who I at least believe like me, and because the politics of the moment are centered around such a toxic person leading an even more toxic movement it matters: If you are on board with the current conservative movement in America, just... no. Because while I might get past the stupid policy, maybe. I mean probably not, but I can forgive well-meaning and ignorant, at least in principle. But I could never accept the cruelty.
Feminist: As much as I enjoy deploying the tropes and language of misogyny in bed with a likeminded partner, my enjoyment of that for that performative misogyny hinges on you being in on the joke (if you’ll allow). It isn’t just about “being good”; virtue has nothing to do with it, at least in this context. It is because as a dominant I get off, in large part, on your desire: controlling it, restraining it, heightening it, sustaining it and ultimately satisfying it (or not, as circumstances dictate). If we don’t start from a place where we both see ourselves as peers, I can never be really sure that desire is authentic or authentically mine. And I am egotistical enough, or maybe just have enough self-respect, to demand that I be certain that your desire is for me, specifically, at least in the time we are in “bed”. (although the bed is only the actually relevant piece of furniture at most half the time. Really, beds are actually terribly designed for good sex. Post coital cuddle and bullshit sessions, while we discussed what worked, what really worked, and what needs work? That is a fine use for the bed. For fucking and fucking related program activities? At best a poor second to a good couch or any of a wide variety of chairs.
Stoned-sex: I love the way it affects my physiology, keeping me aroused and in the moment for hours and hours and the way it drops my refractory period down to only a few minutes or a half an hour before I’m in the mood again. And I love the way it slows down my otherwise sometimes too quickly racing mind, so that I can slide effortlessly into the dominant analog of subspace; that mental space where calling a pretty girl who I like and respect and admire a lazy no good whore, where yanking her up by her hair, slapping her face and telling her to get her greedy little mouth all the way down my cock or I’ll show her what rough really means... Weed helps me be in that space without quite so much second guessing or worry that I’m going to hurt you. It lets me trust my instincts and you and your ability to safeword out, and that is good for both of us.
Kinky: Obviously. And obviously, this is shot through with examples. But: I like power and control. I like, more than anything getting to know you and your mind and being able to figure out how to wrap you around my fingers so thoroughly that I hardly have to lift them to have you dancing my tune. I can be rough, and cruel, and I love causing pain, even to the point of tears and balancing that against urgency and a desire to please and an orgasm that I can hold just out of reach until the moment I don’t and just as your are falling off from that peak ratcheting the sexual energy back up so that even though you just came call over my hands or cock or mouth you’d do anything-Anything-ANYTHING for one more caress, one more thrust, one more slide of my tongue (inside: that specific, delightful acid tang of the inside of a cunt that you only taste when you push your tongue deep inside - it never lasts on a finger, for some reason - then out and up and you can feel her tremble, strong and subtle and if it were a song this bit would be almost subsonic and then under the clit and around and there she goes, she’s starting to beg again and now I kinda have a crush on her because she is learning me back, harlot instead of whore, and an under-undercurrent of mirth beneath it all: the power is real and the desire is real but we also both know it is a joke, a shared secret: we can do this and still be friends and isn’t that fucking awesome?).
I have a few specific fetishes: I like to decide what you wear, when we are together: I love being able to look at you and know, not just that you’ve made yourself into an expression of my ideal of high femme sexuality, but that as you did so, with every little bit, anticipation was building. That I’ve been teasing you, maybe for hours, without doing a thing or saying a thing. (And of course, it plays back into desire and its close cousin, consent. If every stitch you are -and every stitch you are.- wearing was chosen with an eye to my desires, that is an implicit declaration of enthusiastic consent). I have a bit of a twist for deviance. Sitting next to a woman who I know has got nothing on under her panties but the butt plug I told her to wear is hot; hotter still if I handed it too her at the bar and she returns from the bathroom and hands me her panties. Hotter still if I hand it too her and she doesn’t go to the bathroom, but just looks around and then slides it up her ass with a smirk and a “Thank you SiDaddy”. I like being called Daddy, sometimes. There is something inherently provocative when the kind of woman -scary smart, self-confident, and self-aware - that I am drawn to lets a breathy, anxious “Daddy” slip her lips. There is something inherently filthy about hearing that word, with all its baggage, demeaning, infantilizing implications fall from the lips of someone who is alive to those implications and is calling to me in that way not despite them, but on account of them. (It isn’t my revolution if I can’t dance to it. And it isn’t my feminism if we can’t repurpose our cultural baggage in order to have a spectacular sex life in a magnificent relationship).
I have more than a bit of the daddy in me. A bit physically — I’m solid like that. And still more in attitude. As much as I demand of a partner, I cherish knowing I can be a very particular kind of safe place to stand for her. I enjoy, even need, to be protective and caring, supportive and nurturing. Not only in that quiet place after we have hit the climax (or between the first, easy release and starting the next assent — which is very much part of why I like being able to combine weed with my kink. As much as I love giving reign to some of the darker parts of my personality during the rush of kink, I also exulting that aftermath; when your head is on my chest and my arm wraps around you, and my hands explore your body without any urgency or any hesitation. I love that feeling of being a place of safety and feeling you relax into my size and my strength. It is the only feeling that I have that I identify as definitely masculine (in and for myself: I’m not trying to claim that experience as uniquely belonging to those issued a penis and number of testicles at birth).
It extends beyond sex; really, that is only the tip of the iceberg. Vital, and you sure as shit are going to sink if you miss it in the dark. But it runs all through my relationships. Arguable without the sexually charged overtones, it is just a over complicated way of saying “I like being a good boyfriend”. But where would we be without our sexually charged overtones? And it cuts both ways: if you are pulling from that part of me without returning the counterpoint of submission I need (or I feel I’m constantly reminding you that I need it and your compliance thus feels grudging) we are going to crash and burn. If you fail to make certain it is clear to me that you are as happy to give me what I need as I am eager to give you what you need, I’m going to feel really ill-used.
Having said all that, I’m not remotely a good fit for anyone who defines themselves as a little. A Daddy/daughter dynamic without the explicit embrace of childishness has an intense pull because it combines taboo violation with a power exchange dynamic that comports well with my personality — being both protective and demanding, authority and comfort works well for me. But I find that the idea of trying to be sexual with someone locked in to portraying a prepubescent very uncomfortable and suspect that I would still feel that way with someone who’s “little” age was more mature. That is a squick, rather than a value judgment. With me, that sort of age play (or even worse pet play) works strongly against the kind of intimacy that I value in kink. Role play can be a blast, and I love it, but I need it to clearly be play, something that can be stepped into and out of without stepping completely out of the kink dynamic. I bring the entirety of myself to everything I do, and I have enough self-regard to demand the same from my partner. If I like you enough to take you to bed, that necessarily means that I value your mind enough to lust after it — no matter how lovely you may be in repose, if you can’t or won’t turn me on with your intellect you will lose my interest so quickly as to acquire a visible redshift as you exit my life. Accordingly, when I reach for your mind, be it too discuss housing policy or my difficulty with a binding, to check on your well being or learn how your dissertation is progressing, (and I’ve done all of these during a scene) I deserve to be able to find it, and you, there reaching back.
If you’ve gotten this far and if you are at all the target audience: (cis-female, like weed and kink together, comfortable in yourself and your kinks, think you’re sexy) send me a PM. Don’t think yourself out of it or wait and see or anything. For fucks sake don't read the following Just put together a couple of paragraphs of message and fire it off. I don’t know what will happen, but I know for sure you won’t regret having done so. After all, like I said right up top: I’m delightful. I bet you are too.
I used to try and assert that I don’t have a type. That isn’t true, though: I have several even beyond the implicit, willful intellectual type suggested above. And the list keeps growing: I’m forever delighted by the variety of women who've made my hindbrain start barking and trying to do tricks, at one time or another. Granting that, my abiding lust objects resemble 40’s pin ups far more than 00’s porn stars, at least insofar as body type goes; tattoos and piercings can be wonderfully sexy. Likewise, though a wonderful rack can be a wonder to behold a girl in an A-cup who has that warm flare of hip and legs that go all the way down can lead to me walking into traffic. Finally, my experience of myself is sufficient for me to say confidently that race isn’t a factor in my libido, either for or against.
I live in Chicago, love my city, and for all I value the intellectual aspect of all this, I want ultimately to meet one (or more, I suppose;) women with whom I can spend time with both doing sexy things and the kind of things that make us both so terribly sexy. If that means an intense but memorable two days while you are visiting your great aunt Wilma, that is worth doing. If that means ongoing encounters frequent enough to keep us both sated, great. And if those are intermixed with enough non-sexual shared activities that the phrase “friends-with-benefits” is a fact and not just a more polite way of saying fuckbuddies? Even more great. Super, even. And if that last develops into a passion that carries us through the next three or four decades, both of us slightly bemused that we got along so well during the benighted days before first we fell upon one another, carried away on a passion so intense it is visible from orbit? Well. Wouldn’t that be delightful.

More than 78,000 Afghan refugees relocated to the US as part of Operation Allies Welcome, but few have gained permanent status
On the day he turned 24 earlier this month, Asmatullah checked the status of his asylum request online, hoping that an approval would be his birthday gift.
When he realized that his case was still pending, he took a deep breath and looked up at the California sky, more than 7,000 miles away from the city he grew up in but that he fears returning to.
It’s been more than 18 months since Asmatullah and some members of his family rushed to Kabul’s besieged international airport after Taliban fighters stormed into the capital and retook control of Afghanistan.
“It was crowded and I saw a little boy that lost his parents,” he told the Guardian, speaking in a park in Sacramento during a break between rainstorms last week. “I grabbed him and started yelling ‘whose son is this?’ whose son is this?’”
Asmatullah called out for help at one of the airport’s busiest gates, where Afghan citizens and US military were all trying to deal with the chaos, but to no avail.
In the crush and mortal danger from so many directions, he knew he needed to get himself out. Asmatullah managed to board an evacuation flight after showing an American soldier a certificate his father had received for his work as a civil engineer in several US military construction projects in the country, which would put him and his family in peril as Afghanistan came back under Taliban control.
Asmatullah asked for his last name to be withheld out of concerns for the safety of his father, who remains in Afghanistan.
The plane took off and he, his mother, sister and two brothers escaped, flown first to Qatar for vetting then the US via the government’s humanitarian parole system, a special immigration authority that the Biden administration used to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan evacuees, dubbed Operation Allies Welcome.
Within six days of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, Asmatullah arrived in Pennsylvania. He was later taken to Camp Atterbury, Indiana, where he was offered temporary housing and medical care for four months until he was able to travel to Sacramento, home to several relatives who had emigrated to California following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, after Al-Qaida’s terrorist attacks on the US on September 11.
Asmatullah was given permission to live and work in the country legally for two years.
That period runs out this September and he’s increasingly concerned that if his asylum request is not approved he – along with tens of thousands of other Afghan evacuees in the US – is at risk of losing his work permit and protection from deportation and he dreads the prospect of having to return to a Taliban-controlled nation gripped by humanitarian crises.
But nearly two years since the fall of Kabul, only a small percentage of evacuated Afghans have managed to secure permanent legal status in the US’s clogged immigration system.
“We are strongly pushing for an extension of parole status. This is very much within the power of the [Biden] administration,” said Tara Rangarajan, executive director of the the International Rescue Committee in Northern California, a resettlement organization that assisted 11,612 of the more than 78,000 Afghan refugees relocated to the US as part of Operation Allies Welcome.
“There’s an unbelievable mental instability of not knowing what the future holds. It’s our responsibility as a country to help ensure their stability,” she added.
In the Sacramento area alone, IRC has helped resettle 1,164 Afghans.
Asmatullah watched his little brother ride a bike near a tennis court in busy Swanston Park, in a part of Sacramento with a growing Afghan population, in the county with the highest concentration of Afghan immigrants nationwide.
“Sacramento feels like home and I love it,” he said. “Here, we are not concerned about getting killed, I just want to worry about getting an education.”
Nearby is bustling Fulton Avenue, notable for its Afghan stores and restaurants, where Asmatullah and his family enjoy spending free time, he said.
Asmatullah’s ambition in the US is to become a computer scientist and he recently enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at American River College, a Sacramento public community college.
His 14-year-old sister is one of more than 2,000 Afghan refugee children in the local public school district and he said she’s eager to pursue higher education, an opportunity now out of reach for women in Afghanistan.
He also hopes that his asylum request is approved so that he can apply for a green card and ultimately find a legal path for his father to come to the US and be reunited with the family.
His voice cracked as he began talking about concerns for his father’s safety back in Afghanistan and he quickly asked to switch topics.
Meanwhile, legislation that would help Asmatullah and thousands of other Afghans out of their nerve-racking wait with a clear pathway to permanent residency, the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, stalled in Congress last year.
The law would provide the evacuees a sure pathway to permanent US residency. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar called it “the right and necessary thing to do”, while Republican Lisa Murkowski called on the US to “keep our promises” adding she was proud of legislation designed “to give innocent Afghans hope for a safer, brighter future”.
But Chuck Grassley, the Senate judiciary committee’s top Republican, blocked the bill, seeking tougher vetting.
Almost 4,500 Afghans have received permanent residency through the Special Immigrant Visa program for those who directly assisted the US war effort, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
And as of 12 March this year, USCIS has received approximately 15,000 asylum applications from Afghans who arrived under Operation Allies Welcome, but has so far approved only 1,400, according to agency data provided to the Guardian.
Asmatullah said he always knew that starting again in America from scratch would be a challenge.
But he said: “I just want to show my siblings that a better life is possible.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ma28/afghans-resettled-in-us-future-uncertain

Hello fantasy,
I debated whether it was worth posting my card this year, especially since I didn’t do any cool theme like some of you! My challenge was to try to find books I actually liked, and I’m a tough customer, so ideally nothing below 3 stars, and only books I didn't mind boosting.
I only mostly made it, and there are a few books on here I’d have liked to replace, but toward the end the replacement books were getting lower ratings than the originals, until I accepted it was time to take a break. Nevertheless, it’s always fun to do bingo and I did get some great books on the card. I read 10 eligible books this year that did not make it onto the card (not counting sequels of books that are included, as I continued 2 series), and all of the books left off earned 3 stars or fewer, mostly fewer. So my favorites of the year are all represented.
Sadly I can’t seem to get the enlarged cover images to make a visual card and I am tired, so no pretty image to share, just reviews!

The Fabulous (4.5 stars)

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann: Five fairy tale survivors come together in a dodgy support group in modern New York. This novel is weird and different, and very funny, with pitch-perfect dialogue and vibrant, memorable characters. It also does a great job of exploring feminism, trauma and economic inequality, and the ways all three of these are inextricably linked.
The Square: Mental Health (HM): I liked this square a lot, and while several of this year’s books fit, the one with the frame story about a trauma support group seemed particularly apropos!
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Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Fantasy from one perspective, science fiction from another, privileging neither; worldviews are durable and neither is really more true than the other. This is a fabulously inventive and plain cool novella, with strong writing and enough depth to be memorable. The chapter with side-by-side columns featuring the two protagonists’ very different interpretations of an origin myth is an especially nice touch.
The Square: Book Club (HM): Self-explanatory. This one was especially popular in the Hugo readalong and generated some great discussion.
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The Drowning Girl by Caitlin Kiernan: Maybe fantasy, maybe not: a woman with schizophrenia writes about some weird and troubling experiences in an attempt to parse what’s really happened to her. A weird, wonderfully-written novel with a completely believable voice, and a deep sympathy for its protagonist’s mental illness; this one never feels exploitative or shallow. Particularly impressive is the chapter written when the character is off her meds. I liked the two embedded short stories, purportedly written by the lead, a bit less, but they certainly show the author’s range.
The Square: LGBTQ List (HM): I lucked out with this one, not having realized it was on the list until after reading it with a book club. I would have preferred an own voices aspect to the prompt, and this book meets that requirement as author is trans. As far as LGBT elements in the book, the protagonist is a lesbian and her girlfriend is a trans woman.
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Murderbot by Martha Wells: I read all six of these books this year and love the series even more as a whole, which is rare for me. Murderbot is a fabulous lead, with a strong voice, extremely relatable (it judges everyone for being incompetent, and just wants to chill and watch media), and a great arc (learning to trust and care about people, despite being socially incompetent). The plots are a lot of fun, although more mystery/thriller than I usually care for, and feel well thought-through, and I appreciate the critique of corporatocracy running throughout. Wells’s ability to create great secondary characters just by showing us what they say and do, without any emotional intelligence on her narrator’s part, is something other authors should study. I’m here for as many books in this series as she wants to write and am very glad I gave her another chance after a bad experience with one of her fantasies—and I don’t even like sci-fi!
The Square: Set in Space (HM): The first book is set on a planet, albeit an uninhabited one. But most of the rest of the series is set on ships and space stations.

The Very Good (4 stars)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: Lovely, atmospheric and propulsive—I had a lot of fun figuring out what was happening here. Piranesi has a strong individual voice and I love his genuine kindness and compassion. This isn’t the perspective you would expect this story to be told from and it’s better for it. Clarke is also just an excellent writer, a strong prose stylist and a confident storyteller willing to leave some questions unanswered.
The Square: Standalone (HM): A bit of a cheat on the hard mode since I’m confident it’s only not on the list because it wasn’t published yet!
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The Bone Orchard by Sara Mueller: A dark, political standalone fantasy in a quasi-Victorian setting, featuring a woman who has suffered so much trauma that she deals with it by offloading portions of her personality and memories into other bodies. This one is well-written and different, set in an interesting world where psychic powers come with terrible costs. The beginning takes some attention to piece together what’s going on and I might have liked a little more from the end, but overall a worthwhile read.
The Square: Published in 2022 (HM): An impressive debut and I definitely want to see where this author’s imagination goes next.
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The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik: I’m a huge fan of this series: the first book got a very rare 5 stars from me, the second 4.5; this one is a little lower but I still love the trilogy as a whole. I wish this had been a little less frantically plot-driven and allowed the characters a little more room to breathe, but it’s a fabulous plot with some incredible twists and reveals, a lot of current relevance, and as always, a great protagonist in the snarky but heroic El.
The Square: Urban Fantasy (HM): Not your typical urban fantasy but I think this one definitely qualifies, as it’s set in the real world and in fact mostly in cities!
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The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin: Le Guin is a fabulous writer, and this book develops quite a deep story in a short page count, of a girl raised to be a powerful priestess who comes to question the order of things. I love the anthropological knowledge that forms the basis of her worldbuilding, and her writing is vivid and the characters feel real. Le Guin has also written about her struggles writing women as heroes, and I definitely see that in the end, where the character ending she meant as triumphant came across to me as disappointing. I wanted Tenar to take hold of her newfound authority with both hands and make the priestly compound, and perhaps her country, a better place. Instead she ends the book as a teenage refugee dependent on Ged, finding freedom only by giving up her power.
The Square: Cool Weapon: I didn’t vibe with this square so hoped something would turn up, and as Ged has a magical staff that he can also fight with, I think this technically qualifies. Sometimes technically correct is the best kind of correct.
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Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: Delightfully whimsical, sweet, and fun, this is a fairy-tale-esque story of a girl cursed into the form of an old woman, and the motley crew she falls in with, all of them living in a decidedly strange castle. I think this is really more an all-ages book than a middle-grade one; Jones’s philosophy was that kids were better at complicated plots than adults are, and that’s borne out here. I could have done without the sudden romance turn at the end.
The Square: Name in the Title: Self-explanatory.
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Daughter of Mystery by Heather Rose Jones: A lighthearted, fun book, this is a quasi-period novel set in an invented European country, featuring a romance between a young woman of the gentry who comes into money and uses it to study magic at university, and the guardswoman/duelist she inherits from her godfather. Both leads are sympathetic, the plot enjoyable, and the magic based on prayers to saints is fun. Not especially memorable but I think I’ll read the sequel (featuring a new couple) for next year’s bingo.
The Square: Small Press or Self-Published: This one is small press rather than self-published; Bella Books focuses on publishing lesbian lit.

The Good (3.5 stars)

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey: A delicious psychological thriller, in which the biggest source of tension is the question of just how far our morally compromised protagonist will go. Strong writing, an unreliable narrator, and a weird cloning scenario set this one up as an intense read. Some character decisions seem a bit unlikely, but overall this one was definitely worthwhile.
The Square: Anti-Hero: I don’t love the way women labeled anti-heroes are so often just traumatized people being human, but Evelyn is pretty far gone. One might reasonably question whether there’s any “hero” in her at all, but she’s a compelling lead.
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The Keeper’s Six by Kate Elliott: A fun portal fantasy featuring a badass older woman and her posse setting out to rescue her adult son, who was kidnapped by a dragon. I really enjoy and respect Elliott’s work—she thinks through her worlds and characters deeply, and her progressivism is genuine, longstanding and interacts intelligently with her very well-developed worlds. These days I’m not that into quests and adventure plots, which is likely why I didn’t enjoy this one more.
The Square: Revolutions and Rebellions: In line with the progressive ethos, Esther works to oppose slavery and help workers claim their rights everywhere she goes—there’s definitely some rebelling against the status quo going on here.
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The Just City by Jo Walton: This one is hard to encapsulate in a mini-review. Time-traveling Greek gods Athena and Apollo bring together philosophers from throughout the ages to found Plato’s Republic in the Bronze Age, as an experiment. The book is a fun way to learn about Plato's Republic, and the characters’ philosophical discussions and sincere pursuit of excellence are great fun. I think Walton is better at writing about positive experiences than negative ones—her portrayals of grief and trauma have always fallen flat for me and do so again here, and some of her character voices are stronger than others, while the climactic debate seemed amateur. But despite the criticism, this one left me with a lot to think about, and I went on to finish the trilogy—the second is a slight step down but worth reading if you liked the first (unfortunately it’s hard to stop as they all end on cliffhangers), but the third is just a nosedive, WTF did she think that absurd plotline belonged in this trilogy when there were so many meatier things to explore? The trilogy as a whole I wouldn’t rate above 3 stars, but the first book gets 3.5. Somehow I never love Walton's books, but they're all so unique I keep coming back anyway.
The Square: Award Nominee (HM): Self-explanatory.
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Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde: Urban fantasy or perhaps magical realism, set in Lagos and exploring issues in contemporary Nigerian society. This one is vibrant, distinctive and messy, making no apologies for its Nigerian English and not catering to the foreign reader. It’s more short story collection than novel, and I found the first half intense and heavy but very well-written, as it explores themes of life, death, and finding meaning. The second half seems more focused on telling stories of queer Nigerians for queer Nigerians who haven’t seen much of themselves in fiction, but may do less for the reader for whom it’s not personal.
The Square: Set in Africa (HM): One of only a couple squares my natural reading didn’t fill. I checked out 5 interesting-sounding books from the library, previewed them all, and this was the winner, which I was glad of because I wanted to read an African author and not just someone of African descent. The runner-up, Redemption in Indigo, seemed strong enough that I might read it for a future bingo.
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Kalpa Imperial by Angelica Gorodischer: A thoughtful, literary collection of short stories set at various points in the history of an imagined empire; it reminds me a bit of Chinese history in its cyclical rising and falling. It’s no wonder Le Guin was a fan, as this is a thematically rich work, dealing with big ideas about history and power and the individual’s role in all this. Plot and character are not the focus, and I expected the stories to tie together more than they do, but they leave the reader something to think about as Gorodischer does not spell things out.
The Square: No Ifs Ands or Buts: This year’s easiest square, and I gave up hard mode, but I wanted to fit this book on my card somehow, okay?

The Okay (3 stars)

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel: Enjoyable but not particularly memorable, this is a retelling of the Ramayana from the perspective of Rama’s antagonistic stepmother. It takes the well-worn route of making her near-perfect and Rama in the wrong, which has generated some interesting discussions about its portrayal of Hinduism. Unfortunately, it’s told in a generic first-person voice that makes Kaikeyi herself into a generic idealized protagonist. Despite that, I really enjoyed its focus on her relationships with family and friends, particularly the other women in her life, and the flow of the book appealed to me, with our lead mostly finding success and happiness in life. If you enjoyed Circe, but want to see better feminism and could do without the sex and romance, you should definitely try this.
The Square: Family Matters (HM): I love this book for this square because the book is primarily about family relationships of various sorts. And its three-generational cast places our heroine in the middle generation rather than the youngest one, which is nice.
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In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire: The only novella in this series that I’ve read, and I loved it right up until the end. Our heroine has to choose between a portal world and our world, and passes back and forth repeatedly as she grows up and her decision gets harder and harder. I loved the deep but understated emotion, the relationships between the heroine and her families both biological and found, the fact that both her mentor and her best friend are also women/girls and these relationships have a lot of depth and emotion to them, and the sheer reasonableness of this initially bizarre world and its rules. The tragic ending basically destroys all that though, as to make it happen a major character acts against common sense, her own established wishes and motivations, and the rules of the world, all in one ridiculously contrived swoop. It seems like the author knew what ending she had to come to based on this protagonist's appearance in an already-published book, and so had to force a story that had grown in a different direction into that mold. This is the second McGuire book I’ve read, and likely the last, as my enjoyment of both books was severely impaired by elements that seemed really poorly thought-through.
The Square: Shapeshifters (HM): A cool feature of the world is that takers slowly begin to grow feathers, and ultimately turn into birds if they don’t change their ways (it’s okay though, they can become human again by giving back to the community).
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The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri: This was pretty mid for me, despite elements I like in theory: the South Asian inspired world, the three major women characters who play important roles in each other’s stories. I don’t really do epic fantasy anymore (what you don’t see on this card are all the others that I DNF’d early), but my enjoyment was probably also held back by having previously read Suri’s Books of Ambha, which I enjoyed much more. I’m starting to feel as if she creates all of her major women characters by starting with the same “strong woman” template and changing up the particular life experiences—also, you really have to emotionally connect to get much out of Suri's books and I wasn’t quite there with this one.
The Square: Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey (HM): There’s a forest where time passes at a different rate. Not a huge element but it is there!
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At the Mouth of the River of Bees by Kij Johnson: Quite a varied short story collection, from fantasy to science fiction to magic realism. There were stories in here that I loved—particularly the first, “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss,” about troubled people finding their way back into the world through a circus act. There were stories I hated, like “Dia Chjerman’s Tale,” an incredibly dark and upsetting tale of the brutal destruction of a planet. So it’s hard to recommend as a collection, though I absolutely recommend all of Johnson’s novels, particularly The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, closely followed by Fudoki. Oddly enough, the story that grew into Fudoki is here and I liked it less as a short story; the collection also includes the story that grew into my least favorite of her novels, The Fox Woman—and I liked that one much more.
The Square: Five Short Stories (HM): Self-explanatory.
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Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher: Cute but forgettable to me. A princess-turned-nun gathers a motley band to go on a quest to rescue her sister from an abusive husband who is also a king. I wanted a little more from both the world and the characters—Marra is nominally 30 but has a pretty standard coming-of-age story, which seems like a waste of an adult heroine, and the supporting cast is in theory cool but didn’t do much for me. Someone likened them to Pratchett characters and I think there’s some truth to that, so if you get more emotionally invested in his characters than I do (read: at all) you might also like this more.
The Square: Author Uses Initials (HM): Self-explanatory.
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The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin: A very well-written novel; that opening is breathtaking in its sheer confidence and power. And there’s some definite character depth here. I can see why this is popular and award-winning. But I never connected with the characters, and it proved too dark a book for me to enjoy—expect horrific violence against children. Also, those themes? Yeah, I’m tired of fantasy novels that like to pretend power is irrelevant to human power relations. This setup—mages with horrifically dangerous and violent powers are hated and feared by the populace because of those powers, and use the fact that people "wrongly" hate and fear them to justify ever more violence against average citizens who can never hope to match their power—this makes a great analogy for America’s police and how they see themselves. Unfortunately the book transparently intends it as an analogy for actual oppressed people, particularly African-Americans, where it works much less well.
The Square: Weird Ecology (HM): A world geologically different from our own (though I think it may be intended as our world in the far future), where plants, animals and people have evolved to survive even decades of disaster-induced winter.
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You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor and Janina Matthewson: Set in a dystopia, this purports to be the memoir of an influential psychiatrist, with footnotes by disapproving editors. The conceit is believably executed, and as a meditation on memory and history and complicity this works fairly well. It’s less successful with plot and character, and I didn’t believe in the dystopia (the world government has outlawed families? Really?). This is a tie-in novel to a podcast, Within the Wires, and while it’s sold as one you don’t need to listen to the podcast to understand, I think maybe you actually do.
The Square: 2+ Authors: This square actually got me on a multi-authored-work reading kick this year. Unfortunately, those books are ranking lower than average for me; you’ll see one more further down and there were another two ranked too low to make it onto the card (including one that would have qualified for hard mode!).
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Monstress Vol. 7: Devourer by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda: I enjoy this graphic novel series, a beautifully drawn epic fantasy in a female-dominated world. Warning that it’s dark, graphic and gory, though, and seems to be bogging down a bit in the middle volumes. Or maybe I just need to wait till it’s finished and read it all in one go rather than one book per year.
The Square: Non-Human Protagonist: A bit of a cheat since Maika can pass, but she is Arcanic, meaning from a race of animal-people, not human. (She’s also sharing her body with a monster.) I later read an actual novel for this but I hated it so here we are.

The Not-So-Good (2.5 stars)

Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer: This is actually kind of fun, an epistolary novel featuring two spunky cousins encountering magic and romance in Regency England. The authors wrote the novel by writing each other letters in character as a game and without discussing the plot, which is a super fun origin story, but as a novel I don’t think it quite works—both leads have protagonist syndrome, they’re kind of the same person and their plots have all the same beats, including identical climaxes, which was awfully boring the second time around. Still, if you love Georgette Heyer and you love fantasy you might want to give this a try.
The Square: Historical Fantasy: I love this as a square and wish I had something better for it—initially I used Daughter of Mystery but then moved that out late and had to scramble.
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Pemmican Wars by Katharina Vermette: A short graphic novel featuring a Metis teenager who is struggling in foster care and meanwhile is transported back to (or perhaps just dreams of?) scenes from Canada’s past. The present-day thread is intriguingly told, almost all pictures with very few words, and brings home the protagonist’s isolation while letting readers come up with their own interpretation of what’s happening. The past segments feel really juvenile though, much younger than the YA it’s sold as, and still don’t do much to clarify the history.
The Square: BIPOC Author (HM): The square I struggled with most this year, because I really wanted to do hard mode, but had a lot of trouble finding a fantasy by an indigenous author that I wanted to read. I read a lot of lists and reviews, previewed at least 7 books, and read 3 of them. The first, while perfectly decent, was straight literary fiction and I could not make an argument that it was speculative, despite its being sold that way. The third was definitely fantasy but I thought it was pretty bad. So I wound up with this one, which is only arguably fantasy, very short, and which I didn’t think was all that great—definitely a non-ideal choice! But bingo is up and I don’t mind boosting this for those who might in fact enjoy it.
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Thanks for reading! If you want the longer version of any of these reviews, check out my bingo shelf on Goodreads. Hit the “view” button on the far right side of each listing to see my review.