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thank you for doing this

what I think will happen if I message my mutuals

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"I kiss this on, which your eyes will rest."

Probably the most romantic thing I've ever read in my dang life.

The other night I reorganized the folder on my computer where I keep all the weird New York Herald personal ads I post.

Over the years I've been clipping these I've come across a handful of personals that were just straight up written in code.

As I was going through the folder I noticed that almost all the coded ads were printed within a year or two of each other (specifically between 1850 and 1852). Looking a bit more closely I also began to realize that the same coded words and phrases were appearing across multiple personals - suggesting they were all written in the same code (which appeared to be a basic substitution cipher), likely by the same person/people.

Possessing multiple samples of the code, struck by the type of confidence that only hits at 11:30 at night, and having the little know-how remaining from a special interest in cryptology in middle school, I thought... I bet I can crack that.

So I took the longest coded personal I had at the time (the image directly above - I've since found a much longer one), cracked open a notebook and got cryptoquip-ing.

I had a few little hitches due to words being mispelled in the original ad and a few unclear letters due to poor quality newsprint, but I soon found myself with a mostly decoded message...

"This morning at elevn[sic] precisely be at Carter's bookstore two eighty five Broadway. As a prete?h ask for their directory. Don't fail."

I made myself a key (V and W are Q and Z, but as neither letter is ever used in an ad there's no way to tell which is which.)...

...and got to decoding the other personal ads and putting them chronological order.

Let's see what was worth encoding 175 years ago...

July 16, 1850 -

"You have arrived by this time I suppose my own dearest Josie. I shall wait ivpatiently[sic] for the Asia** hoping to hear from you. I went to vespers Sunday and sat in your pew. You are never out of my thoughts. I have written down all that has occurred which I thought would interest you. We will read it together on our first drive after your return. I kiss this on which your eyes will rest. Do not forget your own fond devoted Jerry."

** There was a Cunard Line transatlantic paddle steamer called "the Asia" launched in 1850, but I checked the dates it was in New York that year and neither voyage fits what's said in the messages.

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September 12, 1850 -

"Welcome my dearest Josie; when can k[sic] see you."

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September 17, 1850 -

"Not one word from you dearest while away or since you returndd[sic]. Have your feelings then changed, See last Thursdays Herald. I dare not see you for the first time at home."

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October 10, 1850 -

"I’m sick with anxiety about you, love. Will you not see me."

---

The ads then skip almost two years (I'm planning to go through the intervening microfilm by hand at some point to make sure there aren't any sneaky ones I missed)...

June 3, 1852 -

"Dearest - I was very ill whne[sic] you wrote."

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July 4, 1852 -

"Deareft[sic] - Just return[sic] from Albany write again to me box in post office."

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July 7, 1852 -

"Today three oclock Jersey City ferry house."

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July 8, 1852 -

"This morning at eleven south ferry New York side."

Street cars and omnibuses wait outside the South Ferry terminal in New York City, circa 1865.

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July 13, 1852 (the original message I decoded) -

"This morning at elevn[sic] precisely be at Carters Bookstore two eighty five Broadway. As a pretexh[sic] ask for their directory. Don’t fail."

Carter's Bookstore (indicated by janky arrow) as seen in a panoramic view published in Gleason's Pictorial, March 18, 1854.

---

Another time skip, this time 5 months.

December 14, 1852 -

"Give me a da y[sic] dear."

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And the final message (that I've found as of writing this)...

December 25, 1852 -

"Mnray[sic] at elevn[sic] Catharine Ferry New York."

It may not be the most thrilling of Victorian espionage, but it still feels pretty cool to read something no one else has read in 175 years.

I've gone through about 3 months worth of microfilm by hand and found two more coded ads that weren't picked up by the text recognition due to blurry newsprint, but it's a slog so it's going to take a while.

So what are our theories? Did these two crazy kids make it? What was keeping them apart? Why the two year gap? What were all the meetings for?

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@yet-the-world-spins-on you absolutely rocked this

been thinking about fantasy/scifi rule systems and free will

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We justify our exiling of others, our gossip and judgements, by focusing on people as different, "other". We treat our victims unjustly, not noticing our own sin, keeping a safe distance to avoid having to confront their human dignity, and by doing so, become guilty of denigrating them further. We must see victims of isolation/othering not as guilty in being different, but as made in God's image. We must recognize and celebrate the genuine diversity of God's Creation. - From a reflection on the Good Samaritan in this morning's homily.

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"takato was here...?" (shot 3 of 14 or so)

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Finished chapter 1 of Dream BBQ so I can finally work on this again. Shot 1 of 12-ish The feeling of life slipping by.

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hello, me again! this time i actually have a question that I don't think anyone else has asked yet

what's going on back there? is that angel thing a person or a statue? why are there bench legs strewn about? we don't go this way in the video and this is also where the creepy shadow guy comes from, right?

Further down that way is the shopping district; the angel thing on the left and the weird dancer on the right are both meant to be background NPCs (no interactions for them were ever planned); the bench legs are there because "it seemed like a good idea at the time"; yes this is where the Lurker comes from.

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#HUH????? #THATS..... #realllyyy fucking funny #who on the dev team is on tumblr ..... hello (or maybe they just randomly stumbled on this exact comment #and for some reason it indebted in theirmind enough to reference it. which would be even wilder. but either way) #god i love this stupid fucking game# /with all the affection in the world #ena dream bbq #amusing #reblog #undescribed It was me.

Favourite dialogue in ENA: Dream BBQ has to be this inexplicable reference to a comment tube post from a year ago.

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“Naturally, love is much more than an outward consent or a contract, yet it is nonetheless true that choosing to give marriage a visible form in society by undertaking certain commitments shows how important it is. It manifests the seriousness of each person’s identification with the other and their firm decision to leave adolescent individualism behind and to belong to one another. Marriage is a means of expressing that we have truly left the security of the home in which we grew up in order to build other strong ties and to take on a new responsibility for another person. This is much more meaningful than a mere spontaneous association for mutual gratification, which would turn marriage into a purely private affair. As a social institution, marriage protects and shapes a shared commitment to deeper growth in love and commitment to one another, for the good of society as a whole. That is why marriage is more than a fleeting fashion; it is of enduring importance. Its essence derives from our human nature and social character. It involves a series of obligations born of love itself, a love so serious and generous that it is ready to face any risk.”

— Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia

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@snowflake-owl

Everyone needs a sicko to bounce ideas off of. It's necessary to survive any fandom ever.

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This is a neutral post

Feel free to stop here and rest before journeying to the posts below.

(Art by cannonbreed.)

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Tintin Meets The Detectives

Art by Adam Murphy

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Started rewatching tamers again🥹🥹

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work in porgress (unmute for audio)

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"i promised"

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Digimon Tamers Episode 40 | Evolutionary Radiance: Shining Evolution - The two types of people in this world…