Hi, I made the biggest mistake of my life.
My ex and I were friends for 2 years, and after we had a disagreement and stopped talking to one another, realized we had feelings for one another and dated for 8 months. We planned to get married next year, and during those 8 months spent as much time as possible together.
Before I deployed, we had what she called the best date shes ever had and the favorite night of her life.
Now she wonders how I became an asshole so quickly and I dont blame her. I deployed for 35 days unexpectedly and the first 7 days were shit, but i had her support.
She forgot my Birthday for the second year in a row and it was the beginning of my spiral. One of the big promises she made during that argument before we started dating was she would never forget.
I was destroyed because no one has ever cared about my birthday besides family. The deployment was already going terribly and there was a very big risk i would lose my career. So i broke down and told her how much this hurt me, how much i was looking forward to it. She revealed that she was planning something really beautiful in August, she just misplaced the month instead of it being in may. I still laid awake every night thinking about it, being torn up.
A friend of mine that she did not like, was the only person who remembered. That friend is someone my girlfriend felt compared to, and I understand why. I made an asshole comment that "I would" my friend before i left.
One night when my girlfriend had a bad day at work, she came to me with a story about a bunch of dudes hitting on her, and i did honestly just become hurt and started being a dick over text. I started saying "did it really happen? Sounds like something that happened on reddit." I was venting to my friend at this point and my girlfriend had sent her the same story, so she started asking the same questions i was, but then without my knowledge started insulting my girlfriend while we were talking. It went from me just having an asshole moment to pretty much being a part of bullying her.
This caused alot of damage between us, but she was still trying to make things work. She just felt uneasy speaking to me, felt afraid of me, and couldn't stand to look at my face. There were nights she was sweet and nights she was angry, nights she was cold and apathetic. I know i hurt her alot and tore her up. My deployment wasn't making anything better with the stress and timezone difference, but its not an excuse for my actions.
She presents 3 options 1. We break up 2. She supports me until im home, then we take a month break 3. We work through this but her love and trust resets to 0
At first I chose the 2nd one, because i felt time to cool down was important, but a few days later i asked for the 3rd one which was a mistake. We talked and talked, i offered therapy for both of us, a couples counselor but she didnt want anyone else involved in the relationship. She was hurt.
She broke up with me because she said she was exhausted and didnt want to be hurt anymore, she didn't want to break up but she couldn't bear it anymore. She said she wanted me to try again with her but not now.
We were silent then began talking for a few days. We spoke about happy memories, the time we had together, my issues and what needs to be done to fix them, set up boundaries and a plan for me to work on myself. I asked about getting back together and she said she needed time to think.
When i found out she had a dating profile setup after we had that conversation it broke me. I told her that i appreciated her, but i couldn't keep speaking with her while she was doing that, i told her it was completely fine for her to do that, were not dating anymore, but it hurts to see so soon, its not her fault, i just didnt want to communicate for my own mental health.
She said she was willing to let me in again, she just needed a distraction, some casual sex and hook ups to fill her loneliness. She said that but as i found out she was really looking for a new relationship.
I dont blame her, everything fell apart in a month and i didnt handle things well. I was very stressful.
Even now though she still tells me she wants us to keep talking, she wants to support me and she respects me and cares for me, shes trying to be accommodating and wants to be around me.
I shook her off the first few times and tried to go no contact because i knew i wouldn't react well but shes been hanging on and i dont know why. I keep spiraling and just getting better then worse again. Im starting to finally get my emotions under control but its came at the cost of blowing up on her a few times and just being a total dickhead. I was very pushy and mean during the breakup and a very ugly side of me came out.
Im currently scheduling to get therapy and will be trialing medications for my issues this monday. Ive lost roughly 20 pounds during this ordeal and plan to just continue my weight loss and become a slave to the gym. My ex said she wanted me to really start my career and get a solid foothold in life, so i plan to start college and a better job soon.
Im moving on but i do truthfully want to give things a try again later, after we've growed and matured and ive handled my issues. She says the same but i dont know if its possible to undo all the negative feelings she has for me. I worry that the 8 months we had together of pure bliss, those memories will be replaced and soured with the month i was terrible.
She says she wants to stick around and see me change, but we just cant be together right now. I know were both going to see other people, and thats not an issue now that ive had time to sober up and mentally evaluate my situation.
Im not clinging onto the hope that we may love again, if it happens it happens. But i just need some strangers to give me the reality, can someone really forgive or move past these actions?
During our last spat about a week ago after we had a great night playing a game together, this is what she said.
"Stop thinking so hard, It's actually starting to piss me off Like it just feels no matter how accommodating I become you just you can't handle it I just don't know why, I have zero reason to accommodate I left because I didn't like how I was being treated. You just don't like it But like I just I don't know what the fuck I'm doing wrong here I have done likewise for you because I still care a lot about you I respect you and I understand you've done the same for me I'm reciprocating and not giving up on you But you're making this really really hard I'm exhausted You were fine before You're not going insane"
The best thing I feel i can do i just back off, and be present when she feels comfortable with it. It was only a month ago we planned on marriage and a family. Now her and i both agree i changed into someone else. She has a longstanding illness that will shorten her life and I dont want to not be a part of her life. I've stopped her from killing herself multiple times, we've been through alot of shitty things through friends and as lovers, dealing with her getting discriminated against, her friends hurting her, ive been there and supported her for all that. She used to avoid expressing who she really was, i got to see her transform from a shy introvert to a social butterfly who actually wears makeup and dresses now.
I just became the bad guy and i really dont know where to go. Everything we had is destroyed. When i got home from deployment i learned my mother had stage 4 cancer in the lung and brain and it just changed my entire outlook. I dont want to give up on this person, i want to be the best friend I can and hopefully be a better love and husband if that something im allowed to even attempt in their eyes.

So, we (21m, 20f) were together for 4.5 years. From those 2.5 years were distance relationship, because of the COVID lockdowns and school. When we became 18 (2 years ago) we moved in together. We are pretty much the same age, there is only around 3 months of difference between us. We both finished secondary/high school. I started to work as a network admin, later became a network designer at a big company. She went to university. Our relationship wasn't always perfect, but there's no perfect relationship, so I think we were in the norm and most of the things went really well. We loved each other, we were there for each other, we did lots of things together and really enjoyed our relationship up until around half a year ago, when she said she wants to break up, because she met an another guy. We've talked through it and discussed that she'll stay and I'll improve on my negatives, which I did. She agreed to block him on social media and not not contact him anymore. I thought she did, but apparently I was wrong. A week ago I found out and confronted her about it, and she had weird responses. On Thursday, she randomly came in to our room and said she wants to break up and doesn't want to fix any issues, just because, and that she feels like this for months now. She said, she loves me, but doesn't enjoy being with me anymore, but there was no reason to it. I didn't really have a choice at this point, she packed her things and we said goodbye. Now, it's a point to note, that during our relationship, she was using my tablet and old laptop for university (we both had desktops, but she needed a laptop and a tablet, so these weren't used, so I gave her them to use). Yesterday, when I powered on the tablet (the battery died some time ago), messages started arriving. Not to discuss it for long, before logging out from all of her accounts and deleting her local profiles from the devices, I found out, that not even a day passed, and she was already sexting with that other guy even though she denied when breaking up, that there's anyone else. She said she just wants to be alone... It felt horrible, and I didn't have the stomach to look further up into her messages to find out if she also cheated or not.
I'm not sure, where she learned this from. She absolutely wasn't lime this when I met her, and I think, that she just met stupid people at the University, who gave her these stupid advices, to not notify me if she has any problem with our relationship, and to just "follow her heart" instead of fixing problems with something that she already invested 4.5 years into. I feel terrible, and I feel even worse, when I think about what will happen to her, because my feeling is, that she will just be used to get sex and thrown away by that guy, and I just can't bare the idea of this, because she was the cutest and sweetest girl I've ever known. (It was our first relationship for both of us, but still, never met someone this sweet). I've already started to try to get over it, however now the apartment just feels empty without her and her things, and my life goal was to provide anything to her that she needs. Now I'm without a goal, alone, in a city, where I moved just because of her.
I've never been good at socializing, and I'll never be find anyone like the original her (the one I met and fell in love with). She was just perfect in every way, and even our meeting story was probably the most romantic thing ever. I feel hopeless, and useless, as I'm no longer able to protect her from what's coming.
According to people I spoke with, she'll probably only realize what she has lost once she needs to enter the "real world", which comes after finishing university, as only then will she realize, how much I provided her, and how much time and energy I saved her for working hard enough to be able to provide to both of us, to live comfortably. However this will be just too late, and I really wanted to make her a life she deserved, a life without struggles, without the need to work a 9-5 or worse job, so that she could focus on what she wanted to prove. Unfortunately, seems like even though I gave her everything she wanted, I wasn't amongst the things she wanted. How long will this feeling last? How long will the apartment feel this empty? When will I be able to forgive myself for not being able to protect her from anything bad?

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11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
When I woke up, I was in such a haze that I couldn’t make out where I was at first. My vision was a blur and all I could hear was the sounds of rushing water. I tried to move my limbs, but each muscle down to my little finger felt like lead weighing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like forever before the ringing in my ear was slowly swallowed out by a voice crying out from what sounded like a distance only to grow louder as it seemed to approach me from the void I had woken up in. It wasn’t until I heard my name that I recognized it was Kate’s voice, pleading and filled with tears.
I blinked away the blur, finding myself staring up at a water damaged ceiling, a single yellow light brightening the room. My head was pounding and my body still felt heavy, but I moved my head enough to turn and see where Kate was calling from. It took a moment, but I soon realized that she was lying on her back, strapped by her arms and legs to a metal table, looking to me with wide terrified eyes.
“Detective, please help!” She cried out. “Please don’t be dead! Please help me!”
“Bl-Black…Well…” I groaned out as I tried, painfully, to pick myself up off the stone floor, “Black…Well… Ah… Shit… Shit! Ms. Blackwell-“ I was gaining consciousness minute by minute as I finally took in the situation and got to my feet. However, the moment I had gotten to my feet and began running to Kate only to immediately fall back to the floor once again, my ankle getting caught by something heavy. I turned to see my ankle had been shackled to the floor by a cuff and chains. I searched my person to find my coat, along with my Glock had been taken, blood decorating my pants and sleeves. I placed a palm to my forehead to find blood when I lowered it down to look at the warm liquid slithering down from my scalp.
“Ms. Blackwell,” I returned my attention to her, examining what I could from my place on the floor, “are you alright, are you hurt?”
“I… I… I don’t… Don’t think so…” she managed to whine out.
“Where’s Mr. Raines?”
To this question, Kate looked away from me, sobbing being her only verbal response.
I went back to the shackles on my ankle and began trying to yank the chains off from the floor, but they had been well maintained and were too strong for me to simply yank out of the stone. I then quickly looked around the room to find we were in a different basement from the one in Cabin #3, though it had the same kind of layout, the table the only major difference. I also took note of the blood stains that trailed from the sides of the table and the dried pools below.
“I want my mom!” Kate cried out, her voice echoing in the empty room.
“I’ll get you to her, I will, I promise,” I assured her, trying to find something, anything to get us out of this, “do you remember how we got down here?”
“I… I… I just re-remember… Remember you g-getting knocked out… Knocked out by someone and them… Them putting a rag over me… Then everything went black… Then I woke… Woke up… H-Here…” Kate answered, trying to breathe with each sob she let out. “I… I th-thought… y-you… You were d-d-… Dead!”
“I’m not, I’m very much alive and I’m going to get you out of here and back to your parents,” I vowed as I continued looking for a way out of this situation, “we’re going to get you out of here, get you home, and we’ll make sure no one ever gets hurt here ever-“
The sound of the basement door from the splintered wooden steps cut me off. I listened as feet descended down the steps to the basement below, Kate’s ragged breaths the only other sound. The person who came down was a woman. The same exact woman from the photo I had found in her house. She looked as if she had not aged since that photo was taken, despite how long ago it seemed the photo was taken. She had the same exact long, white hair, same tired looking eyes, and same disgustingly pale skin as in that photo and on her profile picture. It was Mrs. Larson.
“Deeeeeetectiiiiiiive,” she spoke in a hoarse voice mixed with what I assumed was her own and several others, both male and female, adult and child, “youuuuuuu shouuuullld haaaaaaaaave juuuuuuusssssst giiiiiven herrrrrrr toooooo meeeeee… Youuuuuuuu diiiiiiiiid nooooooot haaaaaave toooooooo ssssssseeeee thiiiiiissssss…”
“Fuck you!” I shouted, beginning to charge at the elderly woman only to be yanked back by my shackles. “Let us go, right now!”
“Nnnnooooo,” Mrs. Larson replied harshly as she stepped over to loom over Kate.
“Stay away from her!” I barked, trying desperately to break free of my shackles.
She ignored me as she ran a shaky hand down along Kate’s trembling face. “Ooooooooohhhhh, Kaaaaaate… Sweeeeet, sweeeeeeeet, Kaaaaaaaaaate…” Mrs. Larson cooed as she went on stroking Kate’s wet cheek. “Doooooo noooooooot crrrrrrryyyyyyy, dooooooonnnnnn’t thiiiiiiiiiinnnnk oooooofff iiiiiiiit aaaaaaaassssss dyyyyyyyyiiiiinnnnng, thiiiiiiiiinnnk ooooooooffff iiiiiiit aaaaaassssss ssssssssaaaaaaaaaviiiiiiinnng aaaaaannnnoooootherrrrrrrrr liiiiiiiiife.”
“I-I… I d-don’t… Don’t under-understand… w-what th-that… That m-means…” Kate cried, her hands gripping the sides of the metal table beneath her, “P-Please, d-don’t… Don’t kill me… L-Let… Let us-us go!”
“Nnnnnoooooo,” Mrs. Larson answered in the same harshness she used on me, “IIIIIIIII neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuuu,” she then shot a death glare my way through tired, silver eyes, “aaaaaaaannnnnnd heeeeeeeeee’ssssssss beeeeeeeeeennnnnn nnnnnnnoooooooothiiiiiiiiinnnnnng buuuuut aaaaaa thooooooorrrrrrnnnn iiiiiiinnnnn myyyyyyyyy ssssssssiiiiiiiide siiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnccccccce youuuuuu eeeeeessssssscaaaaaaped meeeeeeee.” She then looked back to Kate with a softer look. “Aaaaaaaassssss fffffoooooorrrrr whaaaaaaaat youuuuuuu caaaaaannnn’t uuuuuunnnnnnderrrrrrssssssstaaaaaaannnnnnd, IIIIIIIIII nnnnnneeeeeeed yourrrrrrrrrr heaaaaaaaarrrrrt tooooooo ssssssssaaaaaavvvvvvve myyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiisssssssterrrrrrrr.”
“The fuck does that mean?” I demanded, still trying to vain to pull my ankle from the chains. “How the hell will Kate’s heart save your sister?”
“Diiiiiiiiidnnnnnn’t nnnnnnneeeeeeed toooooo beeeee Kaaaaaaate’sssssss,” admitted Mrs. Larson, “buuuuuuuut sssshhhhhheeeeee hiiiiiiiiid theeeeee ooooooootherrrrr giiiiirrrrrrllllll ffffffrrrrroooooommmmm mmmmmeeeeee.”
“S-Son… Sonja…” Kate sniffed, the tears still streaming down her face.
“IIIIIIII oooooooonnnnnlllllyyyyy neeeeed fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllle,” Mrs. Larson dismissed Ms. Greymoore’s name, “ffffffeeeeeeemmmmmaaaaaallllle heaaaaaaaarrrrrrrtsssss toooooo rrrrrrreeeeeetuuuuurrrrrrnnnnn mmmmmmyyyyy ssssiiiiissssssterrrrrrrrr toooooo theeeeeeee giiiiirrrrrllllll ssssshhhhhheeeee uuuuuuuusssssed tooooo beeeeeee.”
“That’s a fucking joke right?” I asked. “The hell makes you think eating a female heart will turn your sister back into a human woman? Have you seen what’s happened to your sister?”
“IIIIIIIII knnnnnnnooooooow beeeeeeecaaaauuuuusssssse iiiiiiiiiiit wooooooorrrrrked ooooooonnnnn mmmmmeeeeee,” Mrs. Larson explained, “IIIIIIIIIII waaaaaasssss aaaaaaablllllllle toooooo reeeeeeetaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn thiiiiiiiiiisssssss huuuuuummmmmmaaaaaannnnn fffffffooooorrrrrrmmmm ffffffrrrrrooooommmm eeeeeaaaaatiiiiiinnnnnng theeeeeeee heaaaaaaaaarrrrrtsssss, sssssspecifffffficaaaaaaallllllyyyyyy fffffffeeeeeemmmmmaaaaallllleeee sssssssooooooo IIIIIIIIII mmmmmmaaaaaayyyyyy rrrrrreeeeetuuuurrrrrnnnnn toooo beeeeeiiiiinnnng theeeeeeee giiiiiirrrrrrrllllll IIIIIII uuuuuuusssssed toooooooo beeeeeee.”
“You were dead,” I pointed out, “they found your body up here, you were buried.”
“Theeeeeessssssse sssshhhhheeeeeellllllsssss arrrrrrre mmmmmeeeeeerrreeeellllyyy veeeeeessssssellllllssssss ffffffoooooorrrrrr theeeeeeee sssssspiiiiirrrrriiiiiitsssss weeeee hiiiiiiiiiiide beeeeeneeeeaaaaattthhhh,” Mrs. Larson responded, finally turning her gaze to me, “IIIIIIII haaaaaaad tooooooo maaaake peeeopllllle beeeelieevvvve IIIIIII haaaaaad diiiiiiied tooooo keeeeeep frrrrroooommm theeeee poooooollllliiiiicccce ffffrrrrrrooooommmm pooookiiiiiinnnng aaaaarrrrouuuuuunnnnd aaaaannnnnd rrrrruuuiiinnnnniiinnnng eeeevvvveeerrrrryyythiiiiinnnng.”
“So, let me just get this whole thing straight,” I began as I started rubbing my temples, "when you and your sister starting into… Whatever the hell that thing you call your sister is-“
“Ooooouuuurrrrr sssssspiiiiiirrrrrriiiiiit,” Mrs. Larson corrected.
“Whatever!” I shot. “You found out that eating female hearts turns you two back into human women and to keep police from suspecting you, you pretended to be dead and… What? Just hope a shitty real estate agency would buy your property and you could just… Kill people, people with lives and families outside the mountains?”
“Thaaaaaaaat iiiiiiisssss cooooorrrrrreeeeect…” Mrs. Larson admitted, narrowing her eyes at me.
That’s when I began laughing hysterically, holding my sides that hurt with each harsh breath of a laugh I took. Both Mrs. Larson and Kate looked to me as if I had lost my mind and at this point I was starting to believe I had. Everything I had seen and heard about this entire case would put anyone in the looney bin. And I’m the damn fool who dug too deep into something he had nothing to do with.
“Whaaaaaat’s ssssoooo ffffuuunnnny?” Growled Mrs. Larson, stepping around Kate to stand between us.
“I don’t know what’s fucking funnier, honestly,” I chuckled, running a hand through my hair, “the fact that you thing people won’t be poking around even more when they discover not only is Blackwell missing, but so is a detective and escaped convict all of whom now have ties to these fucking mountains and those cabins, or that you thing I’m more afraid of what you plan on doing with me more than I am when her father finds out I got her in this situation in the first place!”
“Heeeeeee wooooonnnnn’t beeeee aaaaabllllle toooooo doooo aaaaaannnnnyyyyythiiiiiinnnng aaaaaaafffffterrrrrrr IIIIIIIII’mmmmm dooooooonnnne wiiiiiiiith booooooth ooooooooffffff youuuuuuuuu,” Mrs. Larson hissed as she inched closer, “fffffffiiiiiiirrrrrrssssst, IIIIIIIII waaaaaannnnnt youuuuuuuu toooo waaaaaatch mmmmmeeeee kiiiiiiillllll herrrrrrr,” she turned her head to look to Kate who was now just shaking, her eyes seemingly gone dry from the crying, Mrs. Larson then looked back to me, “sssssseeeeecooooonnnnd, IIIIIIII wiiiiillllll ssssssaaaaave youuuuu fffffooooorrrr mmmmmmyyyyy sssssiiiiiisssssterrrrr, oooooonnnnne heeeeaaaaart wiiiiilllll nnnnoooot ssssssaaaaaatissssfffffyyyy herrrr huuuuuunnnnnger.” She took another step. “Uuuuuuuunnnnnllllliiiiiike sssssssoooooommmme ssssssiiiiiibllllliiiiiiinnnnnngsssss, IIIIIIIII caaaaaarrrre aaaaaaboooouuuuut mmmmmmyyyyy ffffffaaaammmmiiiiilllllyyyyyy.”
She stared into my eyes, expecting a reaction and while my blood did somewhat boil at the accusatory statement, I didn’t fully understand what she was getting at. Not until she used that voice. Not until she relived that day with those two familiar child-like voices.
“Screw you, Liam!” She cried out in a voice I remember from my childhood. “I hope you drop dead!”
“Stop.” I demanded.
“Piss off, Ryan!” She shot back in a second boy’s voice.
“I said stop!” I began shouting.
“Help me, Ryan! Please, help me! I’m sorry! Please, Lucky Dime, help me!”
I then lunged toward her, reaching my hands out toward her neck only to be stopped by the shackles as she swiftly, almost without even moving, stepped just out of my reach.
“Fucking bitch!” I screamed out.
“If only you really cared about me, Lucky Dime,” sighed Mrs. Larson as she turned and began making her way to the side of the room where a cart stood in the shadows. She pulled it over to Kate’s side, the cart covered in rusted medical tools.
“P-Please,” Kate wheezed, “p-p-please… I… I d-d-don’t w-want… Want t-to d-d… D-Die, I… I w-w-want m-m-m… My m-mom!”
“Dooooonnn’t woooorrrrryyyyy,” Mrs. Larson soothed, using that mix of different voices, “mmmmmmaaaayyyyybeeee sheeee wiiiillll cooooommmme loooookinnnng ffffooooorrrr yooouuuuu aaaaannnnnd sheeeeeee caaaaannnnn joooooiiiiiinnnn youuuuuuu.”
Kate began to sob, begging and pleading for Mrs. Larson to let her go, thrashing around in her restraints. Telling the older woman that there was no saving her sister and that she was too far gone for this sick ritual to work anymore. I tried to yank at the chains once more, trying to loosen it at least enough to break free and grab at Mrs. Larson.
“Rrrrrrreeeeellllllaaaaax,” Mrs. Larson ordered as she began filling a syringe with some kind of clear liquid from a small bottle, “yoooouuuuuu woooooonnnn’t eeeeeveeennn fffffeeeellll iiiiiiit, thiiiissssss wiiiiiillllll puuuuuut youuuuu toooo ssssssllllllleeeeeep aaaaaannnnnnd wheeeeeennnnnn youuuuuu waaaaaake uuuuuuuup, youuuuuuu’lllllll beeee iiiiiinnnnnn heeeeeaaaaaaveeeennnnn… Uuuuuunnnnnnnllllllessssss youuuuuuu weeeerrrrrrre aaaaaa haaaaaarrrrrlllllooooooot, iiiiiiinnnnnn whiiiiiiiich caaaaaassssssseeeee, mmmmmaaaayyyy Goooooood haaaaaaaave mmmmmmmmerrrrrrrcccccyyyyy ooooonnnnn youuuuuur ssssssoooouuuuullllll… Aaaaannnnnd baaaaaaasssssed ooooonnnn hoooooow youuuuuu drrrrressss aaaaannnnnd theeeee coooommmmpaaaannnnyyyy youuuuuu keeeeeep,” She added as she eyed me, “IIIIIII ssssssaaaaaayyyy youuuuu haaaaaave aaaaa lllllloooooot ooooooffff fooooooorrrrgiiiiiviiiiinnnnng tooooo dooooo.”
Kate continued to cry as Mrs. Larson pushed the needle of the syringe into her arm, pushing down on the plunger as it pierced the flesh. Kate’s loud screams soon turned quieter and her red eyes began to glaze over, but she continued to stay awake, tightening her grip on the table and still begging to be let go.
“IIIIII waaaaannnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch, Detective,” Mrs. Larson spat out my title in Mr. Blackwell’s voice, “IIIII waaaaannnnnt youuuuu toooo waaaaatch herrrrrr fffffaaaaaade aaaaaannnnnnd mmmmmeeeee rrrrreeeemmmmooooove heerr heeeaaaarrrrrt toooooo ffffffeeeeeed tooooo mmmmmmyyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiiissssssterrrrrr,” she then pulled out a recorder, “theeeeennnnnn wheeeeeennnnn IIIIIII ssssssuuuuummmmoooooonnnnn herrrrrrr aaannnnd sheeeee fffffiiiinnnniiiishessssss oooooofffffff heeeerrrrr heeeaaaaarrrrrt, youuuuuuu’llllllll beeeeee neeeeeext.”
“Fuck you,” I snarled, “I hope you and your sister burn.”
“IIIIIIIII’mmmmm gooooonnnnnaaaaa gooooo aaaaallllllerrrrrrt mmmmmyyyyy ssssssiiiiiiissssterrrrrr,” Mrs. Larson turned and began making her way to the basement steps, “ssssseeee youuuuu boooooth ffffffoooooorrrr diiiiiinnnnnnerrrrrrr.”
She then pressed the play button on her recorder and a small, little girl’s voice echoed in the room before Mrs. Larson vanished up the steps.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
Then the door slammed shut.
“De… Tec… Tive…” Kate squeaked out, her breathing slowing.
“Stay awake, Blackwell,” I ordered her gently, looking around frantically for anything to get us both out of this alive, “I’ll get us out of this, I promise, just stay awake, we’ll get out of here, I just need-“
“I’m… S… Sorry…” she breathed out. “I’m… So… Sorry… For… Get… Getting… You… In… To.. This…”
“No, no, this is not your fault!” I assured her. “That psychotic bitch got us both into this shit and I won’t stop until I get us out and put her and her fucking sister are six feet under!”
“W…Wha… What… H… Hap… Happened… To… To L… Liam…?”
I stopped struggling with the chains and turned to look to Kate. Her head was turned to me, her face wet, hands clenching as hard as they could to the table beneath her, the light in her eyes slowly fading second by second. She was trying desperately to stay awake. The medication Mrs. Larson taking hold of her as the minutes ticked by.
I dropped the chains that were in my hands, looking away from her, wanting to stare at anything other than another person I had failed.
“He was killed,” I answered, “we were fishing at a lake nearby… Lake Gaagige… We got into a really stupid ass fucking fight about how which fishing pole we were going to use. I wanted to use our dad’s, but Liam was older and said only men could use dad’s fishing pole… I told him… To drop dead and stormed off… When I got home, my parents dragged me back to the lake and scolded me for leaving him…” I trailed off, swallowing all the tears and screams I’d bottled up since that day. “When… We found… Him… The autopsy… Said he was mauled by a bear… I’ve blamed myself for leaving him there alone… For letting him die and getting killed like that… The last thing I ever told him was to drop dead… I was a shitty brother and now I’m a shitty detective…”
“Is… Is he… Why… You became… A… Detective…?”
I took a deep breath and swallowed the tears again. “No, Blackwell,” I answered, “he’s not why I became a detective… I already knew what had killed him… It was my fault… If I hadn’t been such a brat and stormed off… He might still be alive… And now… What that bitch said…” I replayed Liam’s screams that escaped Mrs. Larson’s mouth. “I’m starting to think I’m getting what I deserve. Karma’s back to kick my ass…”
“H… How… Old…?”
“I was six… Liam was eight…”
“N… N… Not your… F… Fault…”
I turned to look to Kate, her eyes on mine, however faded.
“Y… You were… Only… A k… Kid…”
I took another intake of what little air there was down in that basement. I had spent years trying to convince myself of the same thing, but those moments never got easier for me when those thoughts returned.
“I think you’re just being nice,” I laughed painfully, “but I’m afraid I- and my folks- don’t share the same sentiment.”
I was staring down at where the chains were coming from in the ground, Kate not saying a word for over a couple of minutes. I spun to see if she had fallen asleep and immediately tried to find out how to wake her up again. However, once I our eyes met, I saw that she was still fighting sleep, the last of her tears rolling down across the bridge of her nose and into her hair.
“I… I… I had… Had a c… Crush… O… On… J… Jasper…” she confessed, her voice getting quieter and higher. “P… Paul and… And Son… Sonja knew… I never… Never c… Cared f… For Luke… But I’m… Sure… S… Sonja t… Told him…” she looked like she was going to sob again. “I… I never g… Got the… Ch… Chance… T… To tell J… Jasper… I… Was… Scared… He… He and… P… Paul were friends… And I… I kn… Knew… How P… Paul f… Felt… A… About m… Me… I… I did… Didn’t wa… Want to… R… Ruin… Anyth… Anything…” She took a gulp of air. “I… I ha… Hated L… Luke… I… A… Always… Kn… Knew… He… He was a… Player… B… But Sonja… Said… Said she was hap… Happy… So… So I did… Didn’t wa… Want to g… Get in… H… Her way… B… But Luke d… Didn’t l… Like h… How cl… Close… We… Were… I d… Didn’t w… Want him to make… Make her th… Think I… I was l… Leading her o… On… T… To get them… To b… Break up… Th… Then… That n… Night… Sh… She w… Wanted to… To leave…” She let out two pained gasps of breath. “I… I let them down… I let them all down… Luke pro… Probably thought… Thought I w… Was the one who… Who f… Filled Sonja’s mind… With thoughts of… Of him ch… Cheating… Th… Then I… I got them… All killed…
I… I didn’t deserve them, d… Detective…” she went on, looking away from me to stare up at the water damaged ceiling, “I… I… I was a… Terrible… Terrible friend…”
“Did you read their guest book entries?” I asked.
“N… No… D… Didn’t w… Want to… To r… Read any… Anything p… Private…” Kate answered.
“Jasper didn’t blame you,” I assured her, remembering what he had written in his entry during his time watching Mrs. Larson just outside the cabin, “even when he heard the voices- when he heard Mrs. Larson- telling him to, he didn’t. I don’t think the others blamed you either. You didn’t do anything wrong, Ms. Blackwell, there’s no way you could have known any of this would happen.”
“K… Kate…”
“What?”
“C… Call… Call me… Kate…”
“Aright, Kate,” I let out what little laughter I had left inside me, “so long as we’re the last people we’ll be chatting with, call me Ryan.”
“R… Ryan…”
“If we at all live through this, I’m going to need a long vacation after this,” I said as I turned to look at my shackles again, looking around myself to try finding anything to Get free since a vacation sounded like something to die for at that moment, “do you know any good vacation spots I can book for the fall?”
“Y… You’re… You’re a… Dick…” Kate struggled to laugh.
“I also enjoy pineapple on pizza,” I winked as I reached down to my ankle, ready to break it just to taste that sweet combination of tomato sauce and fruit.
“G… God… I… I c… Can’t… Believe… I th… Thought y… You w… Were c… Cute…”
I sat down on the floor, grabbing my ankle with both my hands. Needing to hype myself up enough to do what I was going to do, I began removing my shoe and sock from the foot, rubbing and squeezing my way up and down the ankle to my toes. I had never broken a bone in my life before this and I definitely never thought I’d do it of my own volition, but this was a desperate time and it definitely called for desperate…
“Wait what?” I turned to look to Kate, finally registering what she had said.
However, just before I could be sure of what I heard, the sound of a hunting rifle going off just above our heads right before we heard the door to the basement swing open and immediately be slammed shut. Both Kate and I turned to see someone stumble down the wooden steps, his clothes torn and body scratched and cut to a nearly deadly degree. I was even shocked he was still breathing.
“M… Mr… R… Raines…?” Kate gasped out.
“What’s left of me at least,” Mr. Raines grumbled as he limped over to Kate and quickly began undoing her straps to the table, “damn thing almost ripped my head off, but one swing of the barrel to its eye and I was able to get away… Can’t say it didn’t do its damage though… I’m… Getting really fucking hungry…”
He shook his head violently before limping over to me. He then raised an eyebrow at me when he saw how I was positioned still on the floor with a bare foot in my hands shackled to the floor.
“I… I was… I… I thought you were-“ I stammered.
“I am,” Mr. Raines interrupted, “at least, I’m on my way there anyway.” He then retrieved my Glock from his back pocket. “I don’t know what that thing did to me, but I’m not gonna make it out of this alive, or the way I came in. It’s a massacre out there by the way. Lot of men in blue bodies out there… Very… Hard to ignore… Sure more will be on their way. So.”
With that, Mr. Raines pointed at my chains and pulled the trigger on my clock, barely giving me time to cover my ears as the sound rung out loudly in the basement. I shook my head, trying to undo the blurry and ringing side effects of the sound of a gun going off near your head. I gave the older man a glare before standing and snatching my Glock from his hands. That’s when I saw Kate shifting herself to the side of the metal table she was no longer tied to, trying to get her limbs to comply with her to help her off and on to the floor.
I ran over and grabbed her just as she nearly stumbled face first to the floor and lifted her up to her feet, her body heavy with lack of keeping herself up.
“Do you think you can walk?” I asked, trying to keep her on her feet.
“I… I don’t… I…” Kate stammered as she tried to push herself off of me while also using using me as a crutch until she could stand on her own. However, she didn’t seem to be able to put any kind of pressure on her legs without falling down.
“Kate?” A girl’s voice called out from above us.
Feeling Kate shudder, I realized that it must have been the sound of Sonja’s voice and Mrs. Larson was using her to keep Kate from running. I quickly swung my arm down behind her knees, pressing the other down on her back as I lifted her up off the floor, my Glock at the ready as I kept it pointed in front of me while my arm held up Kate’s knees.
“She must have heard the gunshots,” I pointed out, “how’d you get past her in the first place?”
“I set the other cabins on fire,” Mr. Raines answered as if it were the simplest of answers, “I had to distract her somehow and give those bodies she’d been eating a better fate than becoming her shit.”
“Are you planning on setting this place on fire too?” I asked.
“‘Course I am!” Mr. Raines exclaimed, seemingly offended I’d even ask. “I already doused it in gasoline, I ain’t wasting all that time!”
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice cried out, getting closer to the basement door. “Are you seriously leaving me here to die alone again!”
“Please… Make it… Stop…” Kate sniffed as she gripped my shirt and burying her face into the fabric.
“Let’s get you two out of here.” Mr. Raines began leading the way to the basement stairs, cocking his rifle as he did so.
“What about you?” I asked, immediately following after him.
Mr. Raines didn’t answer as he stomped up the stairs and kicked the door open to the first floor of the cabin. The stench of the gasoline he had spilled hitting me harshly in my face.
“Kate!” Sonja’s voice, along with a different crescendo of male voices shrieked out as Mrs. Larson appeared from the corner of the hallway where the basement was located.
“Leighton?” A different woman’s voice asked the moment the old woman’s eyes spotted Mr. Raines. I then watched in both shock and confusion as it almost looked like the very skin on the woman melted off to reveal a much younger woman. The woman I recognized as Bonnie Collins. “Leighton… Love is that you?”
Mr. Raines kept his rifle on the vision of the woman he once loved before her murder, but didn’t move or speak.
“Darling, I’ve missed you so much!” The fake Bonnie cried out as she began making her way to Mr. Raines with arms open wide to hug him.
Mr. Raines then lifted his gun up higher, placing his finger on the trigger which caused the vision to stop in her place.
“Leighton?” The fake Bonnie asked. “Baby, it’s me… Bun-Bun… Don’t you recognize me…?” She began to tear up.
“You’re not my Bunny,” Mr. Raines growled before he shot once at the woman.
The fake Bonnie swiftly dodged the bullet, an inhuman hiss coming from an unhinged mouth, revealing a row of long, sharp teeth. The skin of Bonnie then melted off to reveal another woman, a lot younger than the first one it intimidated. The face of one of the victims upon being brought on this case.
“Kate,” the fake Sonja called out, “Kate, what are you doing? Who are these men? Why are they trying to hurt me?”
Kate let out a sobbing gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder with her arm wrapped around my neck.
“Didn’t I suffer enough?” The fake Sonja asked. “First my boyfriend and now you? Why don’t you want to be with me anymore?”
“Shut up!” Kate demanded. “You’re not Sonja! You killed her, you killed all of them! I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m not letting their memories end with you!”
Kate then snatched my Glock from my hand under her legs and shot directly at the fake Sonja’s head. Again the shot missed as the fake vision of the girl slithered out of the way, a frustrated growl of a dog and human escaping it’s mouth. It then zipped to the side, cowering with its back to us on the floor.
“Lucky dime…” A child’s voice then took over. The vision’s skin melting now to a much smaller figure. “Is this what you want? To kill me all over again?” He turned to look up at me, Liam’s face forever eight-years-old staring up at me. “It’s no wonder mommy and daddy hate you now… You were always a shitty brother… Now, I’m gonna starve to death because you’d rather help a couple of strangers.”
“I’m sorry, Liam,” I replied, everyone, including the fake Liam looking to me in surprise, “I left you alone out here and that’s what got you killed by that thing out there and I’m sorry. But, if I’d stayed it may have been both of us and then mom and dad would have no one left to blame but each other. If you had left and I was the one killed, you’d probably be in my shoes instead. I’m sorry for letting you get killed, but I’m gonna make up for it now.”
I then took my Glock back from Kate and pointed it to the vision of Liam.
“Good bye, Liam.”
I shot the gun once again, missing the creature again, however, this time I just kept shooting, Mr. Raines following after. Our different bullets just kept firing, the thing dodging and trying to get closer to us. The creature screeched out at us in a myriad of different voices both familiar and unknown. It wasn’t until one shot from my Glock struck the creatures shoulder and Mr. Raines’ rifle struck its head when the skins of everyone it was trying to turn into all melted off, revealing Mrs. Larson once again.
However, this time, she looked shriveled, older than she looked before. Her face looked deformed, beginning to grow furry, her eyes growing nothing but red, no irises, no pupils, just red. Her hair grew longer, branches like antlers growing painfully out from her skull, breaking the skin as they grew larger. The lower half of her face grew elongated, turning into that of a muzzle of fangs and a drooling mouth.
“You… All… Have no rrrrrrriiiiiight!” A different, unknown voice snarled out from what used to be Mrs. Larson. “People liiiiiike you all… Abandoned me and myyyyyyyyy sister!” The fur growing around this thing grew out short and shaggy, the cloths it was using melting off with the skin and flesh it was wearing. It now didn’t look anything like a human woman. It now took the form of a large wolf mixed with that of a deer, it’s body dog-like with hooves, antlers, and a long, scraggly tail. “You lot abandoned us here! You left us all here to diiiiiiiie!”
Guilt was weighing down on me with each syllable it was growling. Kate looked away from it, burying her face in my neck as Mr. Raines lowered his rifle.
“Nooooow, you’re bringing more here to just leave and let die out here!” It went on, it’s horrifying, broken body shuddering. “Why let them just vanish and die up here when they can bring people like my sister and I back? Give me Kate’s heart and fix what you threeeeeeeeee failed!”
Mr. Raines then handed over his rifle to Kate, placing it down on her stomach as her hands were still wrapped around my neck. The older man made his way over to stand over the thing, its neck creaking like a rusted door as it turned its wolf-like head to look up at him.
“Leighton…” Bonnie’s voice came from the creature. “Give mmmmeeeee her heart aaaannnnd we can be togetherrrrr again… If you eat the deeeeeetective’s we can saaaaaave you tooooooo…”
“My Bunny’s dead,” Mr. Raines told it as he dug in his pocket and took out a carton of matches, “and so am I.”
“You’d burn your wife?” A mix of Bonnie and Mrs. Larson’s voices shrieked as it glared at the match he took from the match box.
“You’re not my wife,” Mr. Raines told it, “and I’ll never see her again.”
“Fooooooool,” Mr. Larson’s voice chuckled, “you’llllllll killllllll us both!”
“With the shit I’ve done in my life, I know you’re taking me to Hell with you,” Mr. Raines growled back as he struck the match on the box, “so I’m sure as fuck not afraid to burn here on Earth with you!”
Mr. Raines then dropped the match to the floor right before the creature and everything around the two of them immediately went up in flames, the fur of the creature catching quickly and engulfing it. An agonized shriek echoed out all around us, the creature thrashing in the fire it had gotten swallowed up in. Mr. Raines then grabbed it by it’s long, furry throat and swung it down back flat the floor, jumping to pin it down.
“Get out!” Mr. Raines cried out to me. “Leave here!”
Not needing to be told twice, I held onto Kate tightly and bolted past the two burning bodies, jumping over the fire as it began growing fast throughout the cabin. I quickly got to the front door and stopped to look back to see Mr. Raines fighting the creature and preventing it from coming after us, it begging for me to bring Kate back and that it would die without her.
“I’ll clear your name,” I called back, trying not to reel back in horror as I saw Mr. Raines skin begin to melt off, “I’ll let people know you didn’t kill Bonnie!”
“I’ll let people know you didn’t… Kill… Liam!” Mr. Raines’ voice called back, him thrashing around with Mrs. Larson as he said my brother’s name in my voice.
I turned back and kicked the front door open, rushing Kate out of the burning cabin. I ran until I got far enough from the smoke, turning back to see all three cabins now on fire, the area around them all ablaze. The only place untouched was Mrs. Larson’s house, all the evidence remaining. I could hear sirens in the distance coming closer. The sounds of shouts from the surviving officers sounding much closer.
“I’m here… I’m here… I’m here…”
I looked to the front porch of Mrs. Larson’s house where her recorder continued to call out for her sister. I set Kate down at the base of a nearby tree and ran to snatch the recorder, shutting it off. I searched around, looking for any signs of Prudence, but it appeared that the fire and the sounds of sirens and voices had scared her off. I ran back to Kate, her eyes closed and her not responding to me calling to her, but after checking her pulse and breathing, I found that the medication Mrs. Larson had given her had finally taken over and she was now fast asleep, the rifle Mr. Raines gave her still sitting on her rhythmically rising and falling stomach.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I leaned against the same tree I set Kate down on and slid down to the ground next to her. The first two cabins were already practically nothing but ash, the last still blazing as I heard the slowly fading screams of Mrs. Larson and Mr. Raines coming from inside.
When the screaming ended all together, the smoke turning blacker as it rose from the flames, I got to my feet and took out my pack of cigarettes as I approached the fires, staying far enough away not to get burned. I opened the pack up before stopping myself as I reached for one of the ten remaining cigarettes inside. I then flung the entire carton into the fires without taking one.
“Save one for me down there, you old bastard,” I told Mr. Raines before making my way back to Kate’s side.
It wasn’t long before the remaining officers found us, looking in confusion at the fires and to me with a sleeping victim in a homicide case on the ground. I told them we’d need to call an ambulance for Kate and that we needed to keep the flames from getting to Mrs. Larson’s house as it held evidence on the case. One officer retrieved his radio and called for an ambulance while a group ran to the house and another went to try controlling the fire as best they could by yanking out any bushes near by and throwing them away from the area around the house.
Luckily, the fire trucks were called long before the fire spread too far, residence noticing it practically the moment Mr. Raines set the first cabin on fire.
As I sat there, keeping Kate held up against the tree we sat under, I listened to the crackling of the fire, the sirens of fast approaching fire trucks and the ambulance, and the sounds of distance, coyote, almost human, howling.

Hire Gmail Hacker for Ethical Needs is an insightful article that delves into the world of ethical hacking, focusing on the unique perspectives of hackers who specialize in Gmail. You will discover how these professionals can help you recover lost passwords, secure your accounts, and investigate potential cyber threats, all while adhering to legal standards and ethical guidelines. The article highlights the skills and expertise of ethical hackers, shedding light on their crucial role in maintaining digital security. With a friendly and approachable tone, the piece offers a deeper understanding of why hiring an ethical Gmail hacker might be the solution you need.

Hire Gmail Hacker for Ethical Needs

Have you ever wondered if hiring a hacker for Gmail could be done ethically? It might sound a bit outlandish, but in certain situations, it can be both legal and necessary. This article will guide you through the ins and outs of hiring a Gmail hacker ethically, while retaining your values and adhering to legal guidelines.

Understanding the Hacker’s Perspective

Who Are Hackers?

Hackers often get a bad rap. The term "hacker" brings to mind images of people in dark rooms, breaking into systems for nefarious purposes. However, not all hackers are bad. In fact, there are "white hat" hackers who use their skills ethically to help others. These hackers follow the law and adhere to strict ethical guidelines.

Ethical Hacking

Ethical hacking is the practice of penetrating systems and networks to spot vulnerabilities before malicious hackers can exploit them. Ethical hackers are skilled professionals who use their knowledge for good. They are often hired by companies to protect sensitive information, ensure security, and train employees on best practices.

When Might You Need to Hire a Gmail Hacker?

Forgotten Passwords

One of the most common reasons people consider hiring a Gmail hacker is to recover forgotten passwords. Life is busy, and sometimes we forget the little things, like email passwords. In such cases, an ethical hacker can help you regain access to your account.

Security Concerns

Perhaps you suspect your Gmail account has been compromised. In such scenarios, a hacker can help secure your account by identifying any breaches, ensuring that your sensitive information remains safe.

Legal Situations

In some legal situations, gaining access to an email account is crucial. For example, in cases involving fraud or embezzlement, an ethical hacker can help retrieve pertinent information that can serve as evidence.

Important Considerations Before Hiring a Gmail Hacker

Legal Implications

Before you decide to hire a Gmail hacker, it's crucial to understand the legal boundaries. Unauthorized access to email accounts is illegal and can result in severe penalties. Always opt for ethical hackers who follow legal guidelines.

Ethical Boundaries

You must ensure that your actions are ethical. Hire a hacker only if you have legitimate reasons, like recovering your account or ensuring security. Avoid any activities that could harm others or invade their privacy.

Verifying Credentials

Not all hackers are trustworthy. Before hiring, do your due diligence. Check their credentials, reviews, and, if possible, get recommendations. Trustworthy ethical hackers often have certifications like Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP).

How to Find an Ethical Gmail Hacker

Online Platforms

Several online platforms connect clients with ethical hackers. Websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and others have dedicated sections for cybersecurity professionals. These platforms usually have reviews and ratings to help you choose the right person.

Platform	Features
Upwork	Large community of professionals, reviews and ratings available, detailed profiles
Freelancer	Competitive bidding process, wide range of skills, portfolio sections
Guru	Strong focus on security professionals, niche market, reviews, and feedback

Hacker Communities

Hacker communities and forums like Reddit, HackerOne, and Bugcrowd can be excellent places to find ethical hackers. These platforms are often frequented by cybersecurity professionals who are passionate about their work.

Referrals

Sometimes, the best way to find a reliable hacker is through referrals. Reach out to friends, colleagues, or professionals in related fields to get recommendations. This ensures that you are hiring someone trustworthy and experienced.

What to Expect from an Ethical Gmail Hacker

Initial Consultation

Expect an initial consultation where the hacker assesses your needs and provides a preliminary plan of action. This step usually includes discussions about your goals, any specific concerns you have, and the time frame for the project.

Proposal and Agreement

After the consultation, the hacker will present a proposal. This document outlines the scope of work, timelines, and costs. It's crucial to have this outlined in an agreement to protect both parties.

Work Process

Most ethical hackers follow a structured work process, which can include the following steps:

1. Reconnaissance: Gathering information about your Gmail account, such as associated security questions, recovery emails, etc.
2. Analysis: Identifying potential vulnerabilities and devising a plan to regain access or enhance security.
3. Execution: Implementing the chosen strategies, whether it's password recovery or securing the account.
4. Reporting: Providing a detailed report of the steps taken and recommendations for future security.

Follow-Up Support

Good ethical hackers offer follow-up support to ensure that the issue is completely resolved and that you understand any steps you need to take to avoid future problems.

Ethical vs. Unethical Hacking: A Comparison

Understanding the distinction between ethical and unethical hacking is crucial. Below is a table that highlights the key differences.

Criteria	Ethical Hacking	Unethical Hacking
Purpose	To identify vulnerabilities, enhance security, or recover lost data	To steal data, cause harm, or gain illegal access
Legality	Legal, with consent from the owner	Illegal and punishable by law
Approach	Transparent, follows a structured process	Secretive, often deceptive
Reporting	Provides detailed reports and recommendations	No reporting, leaves no trace

Tools Ethical Hackers Use

A variety of tools are available to ethical hackers for Gmail hacking and cybersecurity purposes. These tools aid in recon, analysis, and execution.

Tool	Function
Burp Suite	Comprehensive web vulnerability scanner
Metasploit	Penetration testing framework
Wireshark	Network protocol analyzer
John the Ripper	Password cracking tool
Nmap	Network discovery and security auditing tool

Cost of Hiring an Ethical Gmail Hacker

Factors Influencing Cost

The cost of hiring an ethical Gmail hacker can vary widely based on several factors, including:

• Complexity: The more complex the issue, the higher the cost.
• Experience: Highly experienced hackers charge more for their expertise.
• Urgency: Projects requiring immediate attention could incur higher fees.
• Duration: The length of the project will also affect the cost.

Cost Range

On average, hiring an ethical hacker can cost anywhere from $50 to $200 per hour. Specific projects like account recovery might fall within a fixed price range, typically $100 to $500 depending on complexity and urgency.

Protecting Your Gmail Account

Setting Strong Passwords

One of the simplest yet most effective means of protecting your Gmail account is by using strong passwords. Avoid using easily guessable information like your name or birthdate.

• Length: Your password should be at least 12 characters long.
• Complexity: Use a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
• Uniqueness: Don’t reuse passwords across multiple accounts.

Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication adds another layer of security to your Gmail account. Even if someone gets your password, they’ll also need your phone or another device to log in.

Regular Updates and Monitoring

Be vigilant about updating your passwords regularly and monitoring your account activity. Google provides a feature that notifies you of any suspicious activity, which can be very useful.

Ethical Hacking Certifications

Having an understanding of the certifications ethical hackers may hold can help you verify their credentials. Here are some common ones:

Certification Name	Description
Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)	Comprehensive course covering various techniques and tools used in ethical hacking
Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)	Certification requiring hands-on demonstration of hacking skills in a lab environment
GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN)	Focuses on penetration testing and methodologies, including advanced techniques and tools
CompTIA Security+	Broad cybersecurity certification, covering foundational security skills and knowledge

Ethical Hacking in Business Context

Benefits for Companies

Businesses often hire ethical hackers to strengthen their cybersecurity measures. By identifying vulnerabilities ahead of time, companies can protect their sensitive information and reduce the risk of data breaches.

Regulatory Compliance

In industries like finance and healthcare, regulatory compliance is crucial. Ethical hackers help these companies meet legal standards by ensuring that their systems are secure and up to date.

Training and Awareness

Ethical hackers can also provide invaluable training to employees, helping them understand the latest security threats and best practices for minimizing risks.

Potential Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Finding Trustworthy Professionals

Finding a trustworthy ethical hacker can be challenging due to the abundance of scammers in the market. Always verify credentials and ask for references to ensure that you are working with a reliable professional.

Balancing Costs

Hiring an ethical hacker can be expensive. To balance costs, define your needs clearly and set a budget beforehand. Sometimes, an initial consultation can give you a good idea of what to expect in terms of pricing.

Legal Framework and Ethical Guidelines

Legal Considerations

Understand that ethical hacking must always comply with legal frameworks. Unauthorized access is illegal. Make sure you have the explicit consent of the email account owner.

Ethical Guidelines

Ethical hackers follow a strict code of conduct:

• Integrity: Always act in the client's best interest.
• Confidentiality: Keep all client data confidential.
• Legality: Ensure all actions are legal and within regulatory frameworks.

Final Thoughts

Ethical hacking can provide legitimate support for various needs, including Gmail account recovery and improving security measures. By hiring a professional ethical hacker, you can ensure that your Gmail account is both secure and accessible, without crossing any legal or ethical boundaries.
Navigating the world of ethical hacking might seem daunting, but with the right guidance and considerations, you can achieve your goals responsibly and effectively. Remember, the key is to always act ethically and legally while ensuring that your actions respect the privacy and rights of others.
So, the next time you find yourself in need of a Gmail hacker for ethical purposes, you’ll know exactly what to do and what to look for. Good luck, and stay secure!

TradingView.com.com is a popular online platform that provides a comprehensive suite of tools and resources for traders, investors, and analysts to analyze and trade financial markets. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of TradingView.com, its features, and its benefits, setting the stage for a deeper dive into the platform's capabilities in subsequent chapters.

What is TradingView.com?

TradingView.com is a cloud-based platform that enables users to analyze and trade financial markets, including stocks, forex, futures, and cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2011, TradingView.com has grown to become one of the largest and most popular trading communities in the world, with over 10 million registered users.

Key Features of TradingView.com

TradingView.com offers a wide range of features that make it an attractive platform for traders and analysts. Some of the key features include:
1. Charting and Technical Analysis: TradingView.com provides a powerful charting platform that allows users to create custom charts with various indicators, drawing tools, and annotations. Users can also access a vast library of pre-built indicators and templates.
2. Backtesting and Paper Trading: TradingView.com allows users to backtest and paper trade their strategies using historical data, enabling them to refine their trading ideas and test their performance.
3. Community and Social Trading: TradingView.com has a large and active community of users who share their ideas, strategies, and insights. Users can follow other traders, participate in discussions, and share their own ideas and insights.
4. Alerts and Notifications: TradingView.com provides a robust alert system that allows users to set custom alerts based on market conditions, technical indicators, and other criteria.
5. Data Feeds: TradingView.com offers a range of data feeds, including real-time and historical data, for various markets and instruments.
6. Scripting and Automation: TradingView.com's PineScript language allows users to create custom indicators, strategies, and automated trading systems.
7. Mobile Apps: TradingView.com offers mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, enabling users to access the platform on-the-go.

Benefits of Using TradingView.com

TradingView.com offers several benefits to its users, including:
1. Improved Trading Decisions: TradingView.com's charting and analysis tools enable users to make more informed trading decisions.
2. Access to a Large Community: TradingView.com's community provides users with access to a vast network of traders, analysts, and experts.
3. Customization and Automation: TradingView.com's scripting and automation capabilities allow users to create custom strategies and automate their trading.
4. Real-time Data and Alerts: TradingView.com's real-time data and alert system enable users to stay up-to-date with market movements and react quickly to market changes.
5. Cost-Effective: TradingView.com offers a range of pricing plans, including a free version, making it an accessible platform for traders and analysts.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have provided an overview of TradingView.com, its features, and its benefits. TradingView.com is a powerful platform that offers a range of tools and resources for traders, analysts, and investors. Whether you are a seasoned trader or just starting out, TradingView.com provides a comprehensive suite of tools to help you analyze and trade financial markets. In the next chapter, we will delve deeper into the charting and technical analysis capabilities of TradingView.com.

Chapter 2: Creating an Account and Setting Up Your Profile

As a new user, creating an account and setting up your profile is the first step in exploring the world of [Platform/Service]. In this chapter, we will guide you through a step-by-step process to create an account and set up your profile, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience.

Section 1: Creating an Account

To create an account, follow these steps:
1. Visit the Sign-up Page: Go to the [Platform/Service] website and click on the "Sign Up" or "Create an Account" button. This will take you to the sign-up page.
2. Enter Your Email Address: Enter a valid email address to serve as your login credentials. Make sure to use a unique and memorable email address, as it will be used to reset your password if needed.
3. Choose a Username: Choose a unique and memorable username that will be used to identify you on the platform. This can be your real name, a nickname, or a combination of letters and numbers.
4. Create a Password: Create a strong and unique password for your account. A strong password should be at least 8 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
5. Confirm Your Password: Re-enter your password to confirm it. This ensures that you have entered the correct password.
6. Verify Your Account: Click on the "Create Account" button to create your account. You will receive an email verification link to verify your email address.

Section 2: Setting Up Your Profile

Once you have created your account, it's time to set up your profile. Follow these steps:
1. Fill Out Your Profile Information: Fill out your profile information, including your name, birthday, and location. This information will be used to personalize your experience and connect with other users.
2. Add a Profile Picture: Upload a profile picture that represents you. This can be a photo of yourself, a logo, or an avatar.
3. Add a Bio: Write a brief bio that describes yourself, your interests, or your expertise. This will help others get to know you better and find common ground.
4. Customize Your Profile Settings: Customize your profile settings to control what information is visible to others and what notifications you receive.
5. Connect with Others: Start connecting with other users by sending friend requests or joining groups related to your interests.

Tips and Best Practices

· Use a strong and unique password for your account.
· Keep your profile information up-to-date and accurate.
· Be cautious when sharing personal information or connecting with strangers.
· Use the platform's built-in features to block or report suspicious or inappropriate behavior.
· Respect other users' privacy and boundaries.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully created an account and set up your profile. You are now ready to explore the world of [Platform/Service] and start connecting with others. Remember to keep your account information secure, be respectful of others, and have fun exploring the platform. In the next chapter, we will dive deeper into the features and functionality of [Platform/Service].

Chapter 3: Navigating the TradingView.com

Interface

As a trader or investor, it's essential to understand the TradingView.com interface to get the most out of this powerful platform. In this chapter, we'll take a comprehensive tour of the TradingView.com interface and its various components. By the end of this chapter, you'll be well-versed in navigating the platform and ready to start exploring its features.

Section 1: The TradingView.com

Dashboard

The TradingView.com dashboard is the main hub of the platform, providing an overview of your account, market data, and other essential features. Let's break down the key components of the dashboard:
1. Header Bar: The header bar at the top of the screen displays your username, account balance, and other account information.
2. Navigation Menu: The navigation menu allows you to access various sections of the platform, including your watchlists, charts, and settings.
3. Market Data: The market data section provides real-time quotes for various assets, including stocks, forex, and cryptocurrencies.
4. Alerts: The alerts section allows you to set custom alerts for specific market conditions, such as price movements or news events.
5. Watchlists: The watchlists section enables you to create and manage custom lists of symbols, making it easy to track your favorite assets.

Section 2: Charting and Analysis

TradingView.com is renowned for its powerful charting capabilities, allowing you to create custom charts with various indicators, studies, and drawing tools. Let's explore the key features of the charting interface:
1. Chart Types: TradingView.com offers a range of chart types, including line charts, candlestick charts, and Renko charts.
2. Indicators: The platform comes with a vast library of built-in indicators, including moving averages, RSI, and Bollinger Bands.
3. Drawing Tools: The drawing tools allow you to annotate your charts with lines, shapes, and text.
4. Studies: Studies are custom indicators created by the TradingView.com community, offering a wide range of trading strategies and techniques.
5. PineScript: PineScript is a programming language used to create custom indicators and strategies.

Section 3: Community and Social Trading

TradingView.com is more than just a trading platform – it's a community-driven platform where traders and investors share ideas, strategies, and insights. Let's explore the community features:
1. PineCoders: PineCoders is a community of developers who create custom indicators and strategies using PineScript.
2. TradingView.com Blog: The TradingView.com blog features articles, analysis, and insights from experienced traders and investors.
3. TradingView.com Forum: The forum is a hub for discussion, debate, and learning, where traders and investors share their experiences and ask questions.
4. Watchlists: Watchlists allow you to share your favorite symbols with others, making it easy to collaborate and learn from each other.
5. PineScript Challenges: PineScript challenges are community-driven initiatives where developers create custom indicators and strategies, and the community votes on the best submissions.

Section 4: Customization and Settings

As you become more comfortable with the TradingView.com interface, you'll want to customize your experience to suit your needs. Let's explore the customization options:
1. Theme: TradingView.com offers a range of themes, allowing you to personalize the look and feel of the platform.
2. Layout: The layout options enable you to customize the arrangement of the platform's components, such as the chart, indicators, and alerts.
3. Notifications: The notification settings allow you to customize the types of notifications you receive, including market data updates and alert notifications.
4. Security: The security settings enable you to set up two-factor authentication, password recovery, and other security measures to protect your account.

Conclusion

Navigating the TradingView.com interface is an essential step in unlocking the full potential of this powerful platform. By understanding the various components of the dashboard, charting and analysis tools, community features, and customization options, you'll be well-equipped to start exploring the platform and developing your trading skills. In the next chapter, we'll dive deeper into the world of PineScript, exploring the programming language and its applications in trading and investing.

Chapter 4: Understanding Charts and Time Frames

In this chapter, we will delve into the world of charts and time frames, a fundamental concept in technical analysis. We will explore the different types of charts, time frames, and how to use them effectively on TradingView.com. By the end of this chapter, you will have a solid understanding of how to use charts and time frames to analyze and trade the markets.

What are Charts and Time Frames?

Charts and time frames are the foundation of technical analysis. A chart is a graphical representation of a security's price action over a specific period. Time frames, on the other hand, refer to the duration of the data displayed on the chart. In other words, time frames determine how much data is displayed on the chart and how often the data is updated.

Types of Charts

There are several types of charts, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The most common types of charts are:
1. Line Chart: A line chart connects the closing prices of a security over a specific period, creating a continuous line. This chart is useful for identifying trends and patterns.
2. Candlestick Chart: A candlestick chart displays the high, low, open, and close prices of a security over a specific period. Each candle represents a specific time period, and the color of the candle indicates whether the price closed higher or lower than the previous day's close.
3. Bar Chart: A bar chart is similar to a candlestick chart but does not display the open and close prices. Instead, it shows the high and low prices, as well as the open and close prices.
4. Renko Chart: A Renko chart is a type of chart that uses a unique algorithm to create a chart that is not based on time. Instead, it uses price movements to create a chart that is more focused on the price action.

Time Frames

Time frames determine the duration of the data displayed on the chart. Common time frames include:
1. 1-minute: A 1-minute chart displays the price action over a 1-minute period.
2. 5-minute: A 5-minute chart displays the price action over a 5-minute period.
3. 15-minute A 15-minute chart displays the price action over a 15-minute period.
4. 30-minute: A 30-minute chart displays the price action over a 30-minute period.
5. 1-hour: A 1-hour chart displays the price action over a 1-hour period.
6. 4-hour: A 4-hour chart displays the price action over a 4-hour period.
7. Daily: A daily chart displays the price action over a 1-day period.
8. Weekly: A weekly chart displays the price action over a 1-week period.
9. Monthly: A monthly chart displays the price action over a 1-month period.

Using Charts and Time Frames on TradingView.com

TradingView.com is a popular platform for charting and analyzing financial markets. Here's how to use charts and time frames on TradingView.com:
1. Creating a Chart: To create a chart on TradingView.com, go to the "Charts" tab and select the security you want to chart. Choose the chart type and time frame you want to use.
2. Customizing the Chart: Once you have created a chart, you can customize it by adding indicators, drawing tools, and other features.
3. Switching Time Frames: To switch time frames on TradingView.com, click on the "Time Frame" dropdown menu and select the desired time frame.
4. Zooming In and Out: To zoom in and out of a chart on TradingView.com, use the mouse wheel or the "Zoom" button.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have covered the basics of charts and time frames, including the different types of charts and time frames. We have also explored how to use charts and time frames on TradingView.com. By mastering charts and time frames, you will be able to analyze and trade the markets more effectively. In the next chapter, we will explore the importance of indicators and how to use them to make informed trading decisions.

Chapter 5: Technical Indicators and Studies

In this chapter, we will delve into the world of technical indicators and studies available on TradingView.com. As a trader, it is essential to understand the various indicators and studies that can be used to analyze and predict market movements. This chapter will provide an overview of the different types of technical indicators and studies available on TradingView.com, their uses, and how to apply them in your trading strategy.

What are Technical Indicators and Studies?

Technical indicators and studies are mathematical calculations based on historical price data that help traders identify trends, patterns, and potential trading opportunities. These indicators and studies can be used to analyze and predict market movements, making it easier to make informed trading decisions.

Types of Technical Indicators and Studies

There are numerous types of technical indicators and studies available on TradingView.com, including:
1. Trend Indicators: These indicators help identify trends and potential trading opportunities. Examples include the Moving Average, Relative Strength Index (RSI), and Bollinger Bands.
2. Momentum Indicators: These indicators measure the rate of change of an asset's price over a given period. Examples include the RSI, Stochastic Oscillator, and Momentum Indicator.
3. Volatility Indicators: These indicators measure the degree of price movement or volatility. Examples include the Average True Range (ATR) and Bollinger Bands.
4. Pattern Recognition Indicators: These indicators help identify specific chart patterns, such as head and shoulders or triangles. Examples include the Ichimoku Cloud and the Keltner Channel.
5. Statistical Indicators: These indicators use statistical methods to analyze market data. Examples include the Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the Simple Moving Average (SMA).

Popular Technical Indicators and Studies on TradingView.com

Some of the most popular technical indicators and studies available on TradingView.com include:
1. Moving Average: A simple moving average calculates the average price of an asset over a given period.
2. Relative Strength Index (RSI): The RSI measures the magnitude of recent price changes to determine overbought or oversold conditions.
3. Bollinger Bands: Bollinger Bands consist of a moving average and two standard deviations plotted above and below the average.
4. Stochastic Oscillator: The stochastic oscillator compares the closing price of an asset to its price range over a given period.
5. Ichimoku Cloud: The Ichimoku Cloud is a comprehensive technical analysis system that inclues multiple indicators, including the Tenkan-sen, Kijun-sen, and Senkou Span.
6. Keltner Channel: The Keltner Channel is a volatility-based indicator that plots two lines above and below a moving average.
7. Average True Range (ATR): The ATR measures the average true range of an asset over a given period.
8. Exponential Moving Average (EMA): The EMA is a type of moving average that gives more weight to recent price data.
9. Simple Moving Average (SMA): The SMA is a type of moving average that calculates the average price of an asset over a given period.
10. Stochastic Momentum Index (SMI): The SMI is a momentum indicator that measures the rate of change of an aset's price over a given period.

How to Use Technical Indicators and Studies

To get the most out of technical indicators and studies, it is essential to understand how to use them effectively. Here are some tips:
1. Combine Indicators: Combining multiple indicators can help confirm trading signals and reduce false positives.
2. Use Multiple Time Frames: Analyzing multiple time frames can help identify trends and patterns that may not be visible on a single time frame.
3. Adjust Parameters: Adjusting the parameters of an indicator can help tailor it to your specific trading strategy.
4. Use Indicators in Conjunction with Fundamental Analysis: Combining technical indicators with fundamental analysis can help provide a more comprehensive view of the market.
5. Backtest Indicators: Backtesting indicators can help evaluate their performance and identify potential biases.

Conclusion

Technical indicators and studies are powerful tools that can help traders analyze and predict market movements. By understanding the different types of indicators and studies available on TradingView.com, traders can develop a comprehensive trading strategy that incorporates multiple indicators and studies. Remember to combine indicators, use multiple time frames, adjust parameters, and backtest indicators to get the most out of technical indicators and studies.

Chapter 6: Creating and Customizing Charts

As a trader, having the right tools and information is crucial for making informed decisions. Charts are an essential component of any trading strategy, providing valuable insights into market trends and patterns. In this chapter, we will explore the process of creating and customizing charts on TradingView.com, a popular platform for traders and analysts.

Creating a Chart on TradingView.com

Creating a chart on TradingView.com is a straightforward process that can be completed in a few steps.
1. Log in to Your TradingView.com Account: Start by logging in to your TradingView.com account. If you don't have an account, you can create one by signing up on the TradingView.com website.
2. Select the Symbol: Once logged in, navigate to the "Symbols" tab and select the symbol you want to chart. You can search for symbols by typing in the symbol name or by using the "Search" function.
3. Create a New Chart: Click on the "Create a New Chart" button to create a new chart. You can also create a new chart by clicking on the "New Chart" button in the top-right corner of the TradingView.com window.
4. Select the Chart Type: Choose the type of chart you want to create. TradingView.com offers a variety of chart types, including line charts, candlestick charts, and more.
5. Customize the Chart Settings: Customize the chart settings to suit your needs. You can adjust the chart size, grid lines, and other settings to create a chart that meets your requirements.

Customizing Charts on TradingView.com

Customizing charts on TradingView.com is an essential step in creating a chart that meets your specific needs. Here are some tips for customizing your charts:
1. Add Indicators: Add indicators to your chart to gain insights into market trends and patterns. TradingView.com offers a wide range of indicators, including moving averages, RSI, and more.
2. Add Drawings: Add drawings to your chart to highlight specific patterns or trends. You can add lines, shapes, and other drawings to your chart to create a visual representation of your analysis.
3. Add Alerts: Set up alerts on your chart to notify you of specific market events or price movements. You can set up alerts based on price movements, volume, and other market indicators.
4. Customize the Chart Grid: Customize the chart grid to suit your needs. You can adjust the grid lines, grid spacing, and other settings to create a chart that meets your requirements.
5. Save and Share Your Chart: Save and share your chart with others. You can save your chart as a template or share it with other traders and analysts.

Advanced Chart Customization

In addition to the basic customization options, TradingView.com offers advanced customization options that allow you to create complex charts and indicators. Here are some tips for advanced chart customization:
1. Create Custom Indicators: Create custom indicators using the TradingView.com PineScript programming language. You can create custom indicators that meet your specific needs.
2. Use Custom Drawings: Use custom drawings to create complex patterns and shapes on your chart. You can create custom drawings using the TradingView.com drawing tools.
3. Customize the Chart Layout: Customize the chart layout to suit your needs. You can adjust the chart size, grid lines, and other settings to create a chart that meets your requirements.
4. Use Advanced Chart Settings: Use advanced chart settings to customize your chart further. You can adjust the chart settings to suit your specific needs.

Conclusion

Creating and customizing charts on TradingView.com is a powerful way to gain insights into market trends and patterns. By following the steps outlined in this chapter, you can create complex charts and indicators that meet your specific needs. Whether you're a seasoned trader or a beginner, TradingView.com offers a range of tools and features that can help you create charts that meet your specific needs.
Chapter 7:

Introduction to Trading Strategies

As a trader, having a solid understanding of various trading strategies is crucial for making informed decisions and maximizing profits. In this chapter, we will explore popular trading strategies, their underlying principles, and how to implement them on TradingView.com. By the end of this chapter, you will have a comprehensive understanding of various trading strategies and how to apply them using TradingView.com's powerful platform.

Introduction to Trading Strategies

Trading strategies are pre-defined rules or methods used to make trading decisions. These strategies are designed to help traders navigate the markets, identify profitable opportunities, and minimize losses. Trading strategies can be categorized into several types, including:
· Trend following strategies: These strategies aim to identify and ride the trend, whether it's an uptrend or a downtrend.
· Range trading strategies: These strategies focus on identifying and trading within a specific price range.
· Mean reversion strategies: These strategies rely on the idea that prices will revert to their historical means.
· Statistical arbitrage strategies: These strategies involve identifying mispricings in the market and exploiting them.

Popular Trading Strategies

2.1 Trend Following Strategies
Trend following strategies are designed to identify and ride the trend. These strategies involve identifying the direction of the market and trading in that direction. Some popular trend following strategies include:
· Moving Average Crossover (MAC): This strategy involves identifying the crossover of two moving averages to determine the direction of the trend.
· Relative Strength Index (RSI): This strategy involves identifying overbought or oversold conditions using the RSI indicator.
· Bollinger Bands: This strategy involves identifying breakouts above or below the bands to determine the direction of the trend.
2.2 Range Trading Strategies
Range trading strategies focus on identifying and trading within a specific price range. These strategies involve identifying support and resistance levels and trading within the range. Some popular range trading strategies include:
· Support and Resistance Trading: This strategy involves identifying key support and resistance levels and trading within the range.
· Channel Trading: This strategy involves identifying and trading within a specific price channel.
2.3 Mean Reversion Strategies
Mean reversion strategies rely on the idea that prices will revert to their historical means. These strategies involve identifying overbought or oversold conditions and trading in the opposite direction. Some popular mean reversion strategies include:
· Mean Reversion Trading: This strategy involves identifying overbought or oversold conditions and trading in the opposite direction.
· Statistical Arbitrage: This strategy involves identifying mispricings in the market and exploiting them.
2.4 Statistical Arbitrage Strategies
Statistical arbitrage strategies involve identifying mispricings in the market and exploiting them. These strategies involve analyzing historical data and identifying statistical anomalies. Some popular statistical arbitrage strategies include:
· Statistical Arbitrage: This strategy involves identifying mispricings in the market and exploiting them.
· Event-Driven Trading: This strategy involves identifying and trading on specific events, such as earnings announcements or mergers and acquisitions.

3.

Implementing Trading Strategies on TradingView.com

TradingView.com is a powerful platform that allows traders to implement and backtest various trading strategies. Here are some steps to follow when implementing trading strategies on TradingView.com:
1. Create a new chart: Open a new chart on TradingView.com and select the asset you want to trade.
2. Add indicators: Add the indicators you want to use for your trading strategy. For example, you may want to add a moving average crossover indicator.
3. Set parameters: Set the parameters for your indicators. For example, you may want to set the period for your moving average crossover indicator.
4. Backtest the strategy: Backtest your strategy by running a backtest on TradingView.com. This will allow you to evaluate the performance of your strategy.
5. Refine the strategy: Refine your strategy by adjusting the parameters and testing different scenarios.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we have explored popular trading strategies and how to implement them on TradingView.com. By understanding various trading strategies and how to apply them using TradingView.com, you can make informed trading decisions and maximize your profits. Remember to always backtest and refine your strategies to ensure optimal performance. In the next chapter, we will explore advanced trading strategies and how to use them to improve your trading performance.

Chapter 8:

Backtesting and Evaluating Trading Ideas

As a trader, it's essential to test and refine your trading ideas before implementing them in live markets. Backtesting and evaluating your trading ideas can help you identify potential flaws, optimize your strategy, and increase your chances of success. In this chapter, we'll explore the process of backtesting and evaluating trading ideas using TradingView.com, a popular platform for charting and backtesting trading strategies.

What is Backtesting?

Backtesting is the process of applying a trading strategy to historical market data to evaluate its performance. It allows you to test your trading idea on past data to see how it would have performed in real-time. By backtesting your strategy, you can:
1. Identify potential flaws in your strategy
2. Optimize your strategy for better performance
3. Refine your strategy to improve its accuracy
4. Evaluate the strategy's risk-reward ratio

Why Backtest?

Backtesting is crucial for several reasons:
1. Risk management: Backtesting helps you identify potential risks associated with your trading strategy.
2. Strategy optimization: Backtesting allows you to refine your strategy to improve its performance.
3. Performance evaluation: Backtesting enables you to evaluate the performance of your strategy and make data-driven decisions.
4. Confidence booster: Backtesting gives you confidence in your strategy, reducing the risk of emotional trading decisions.

How to Backtest on TradingView.com

TradingView.com offers a range of tools and features for backtesting trading ideas. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:
1. Create a new chart: Open TradingView.com and create a new chart for the asset you want to backtest.
2. Select the data range: Choose the time period for which you want to backtest your strategy. You can select a specific date range or use the default settings.
3. Add the strategy: Click on the "Indicators" tab and add the strategy you want to backtest. You can use built-in indicators or create your own custom indicators.
4. Set the parameters: Configure the strategy's parameters, such as the number of bars to look back, the number of trades to take, and the stop-loss levels.
5. Run the backtest: Click the "Run" button to start the backtest. TradingView.com will apply your strategy to the selected data range and provide performance metrics.
6. Analyze the results: Review the backtest results, including the strategy's profit/loss, drawdown, and other performance metrics.

Evaluating Trading Ideas

Evaluating your trading idea is a crucial step in the backtesting process. Here are some key metrics to consider:
1. Profit/Loss: Calculate the total profit or loss generated by your strategy.
2. Drawdown: Measure the maximum loss experienced by your strategy.
3. Sharpe Ratio: Calculate the Sharpe Ratio to evaluate the strategy's risk-adjusted performance.
4. Sortino Ratio: Use the Sortino Ratio to evaluate the strategy's risk-adjusted performance, focusing on the maximum drawdown.
5. Information Coefficient: Calculate the Information Coefficient to evaluate the strategy's ability to generate profits.

Best Practices for Backtesting

To get the most out of backtesting, follow these best practices:
1. Use a robust data set: Ensure your data is accurate and free from errors.
2. Test multiple scenarios: Test your strategy on different time frames, assets, and market conditions.
3. Monitor performance metrics: Keep track of your strategy's performance metrics and adjust as needed.
4. Refine your strategy: Continuously refine your strategy to improve its performance.
5. Avoid overfitting: Be cautious of overfitting, where your strategy performs well on the training data but poorly on new data.

Conclusion

Backtesting and evaluating trading ideas is a crucial step in the trading process. By using TradingView.com and following best practices, you can refine your trading strategy, optimize its performance, and increase your chances of success. Remember to evaluate your strategy's performance using relevant metrics and refine it continuously to improve its performance. With practice and patience, you'll develop a robust trading strategy that can withstand the challenges of the markets.

In the dynamic landscape of modern business, success isn't just about having a great idea; it's about executing that idea with precision and strategy. A well-thought-out business strategy serves as a roadmap, guiding every decision and action toward achieving long-term goals while navigating the challenges of the market. Pablo M. Rivera, an aspiring entrepreneur and visionary, crafting such a strategy is not just a necessity but a passion. Here, we delve into the essentials of developing a winning business strategy, drawing insights from Rivera's journey and expertise.
1. Know Your Purpose
Every successful business strategy begins with a clear understanding of its purpose. Ask yourself: What problem does my business solve? What value does it offer to customers? Rivera emphasizes the importance of aligning your business goals with your passion and expertise. Identify your unique selling proposition (USP) and let it serve as the cornerstone of your strategy.
2. Market Research
In today's competitive landscape, thorough market research is non-negotiable. Pablo M. Rivera advises aspiring entrepreneurs to dive deep into market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor analysis. Understand who your target audience is, what drives their purchasing decisions, and how your product or service can meet their needs better than the alternatives.
3. SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a powerful tool for assessing your business's internal capabilities and external environment. Rivera recommends conducting a SWOT analysis regularly to identify areas for improvement and capitalize on emerging opportunities while mitigating potential threats.
4. Set Clear Goals and Objectives
A winning business strategy is goal-oriented, with clearly defined objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Pablo M. Rivera advises entrepreneurs to set both short-term and long-term goals, breaking them down into actionable steps to track progress effectively.
5. Adaptability and Flexibility
Flexibility is key in a rapidly changing business landscape. Rivera stresses the importance of remaining adaptable and open to feedback. Be willing to pivot your strategy if market conditions or consumer preferences shift, and embrace innovation as a means of staying ahead of the curve.
6. Build a Strong Team
Behind every successful business is a talented and motivated team. Rivera emphasizes the importance of surrounding yourself with individuals who share your vision and complement your skills. Foster a culture of collaboration, communication, and continuous learning within your organization.
7. Execution and Monitoring
A well-crafted strategy is only effective if it's implemented effectively. Rivera advises entrepreneurs to establish clear accountability structures and regularly monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress toward their goals. Be prepared to make adjustments along the way based on real-time data and insights.
8. Continuous Improvement
The journey toward success is an ongoing process of learning and improvement. Rivera encourages entrepreneurs to embrace a mindset of continuous learning and innovation. Stay informed about industry trends, invest in professional development, and seek feedback from customers and stakeholders to refine your strategy over time.
In conclusion, developing a winning business strategy requires a combination of vision, research, planning, and execution. By following these key principles and drawing inspiration from the experiences of visionaries like Pablo M. Rivera, aspiring entrepreneurs can chart a course toward sustainable growth and success in today's competitive business landscape. Remember, success is not just about reaching your destination but about the journey you take to get there.

These are prompts that ask you to switch up genres of the story you are working on to see if there are pieces that fit better into a different style.

1. Prompt: What if your fantasy epic suddenly transformed into a noir detective story, with the protagonist navigating the gritty streets of a magical city to solve a high-profile magical crime?
   
2. Prompt: Imagine your psychological thriller transitioning into a heartwarming coming-of-age story, with the protagonist discovering unexpected friendships and personal growth in the midst of their psychological challenges.
   
3. Prompt: What if your space opera took an unexpected turn into a romantic comedy, where the protagonist, an intergalactic explorer, finds love amidst the stars while evading alien threats?
   
4. Prompt: Picture your cyberpunk tale becoming a political intrigue drama, with the protagonist navigating corporate boardrooms and government conspiracies to uncover a web of corruption.
   
5. Prompt: Imagine your dystopian future evolving into a time-travel adventure, where the protagonist discovers a device that allows them to reshape the course of history and prevent the dystopia from ever occurring.
   
6. Prompt: What if your historical epic took on elements of a swashbuckling pirate adventure, with the protagonist becoming a charismatic captain leading a rebellion on the high seas?
   
7. Prompt: Picture your supernatural mystery transforming into a romantic paranormal drama, with the protagonist balancing their quest for the unknown with the complexities of a forbidden love affair.
   
8. Prompt: Imagine your cosmic library narrative becoming a cosmic horror story, with the protagonist discovering forbidden knowledge that unleashes eldritch forces threatening the fabric of reality.
   
9. Prompt: What if your utopian society narrative turned into a post-apocalyptic survival story, with the protagonist navigating a world in ruins and leading a group of survivors to rebuild civilization?
   
10. Prompt: Picture your magical realism tale becoming a surreal comedy, with the protagonist encountering absurd situations and quirky characters in a world where the laws of nature are delightfully twisted.
    
11. Prompt: Imagine your psychological drama taking a turn into science fiction, with the protagonist grappling with existential questions as they navigate a futuristic society governed by AI overlords.
    
12. Prompt: What if your post-apocalyptic adventure shifted into a road trip comedy, with the protagonist and their diverse group of companions navigating the wasteland in a quirky, retro-fitted vehicle?
    
13. Prompt: Picture your steampunk narrative becoming a courtroom drama, with the protagonist, a brilliant inventor, defending their groundbreaking creations against accusations of endangering society.
    
14. Prompt: Imagine your political intrigue drama transforming into a high-stakes heist story, with the protagonist assembling a team of specialists to infiltrate a heavily guarded government facility and expose corruption.
    
15. Prompt: What if your supernatural drama took on the elements of a family sitcom, with the protagonist, a paranormal investigator, trying to balance their otherworldly encounters with the chaos of family life?
    
16. Prompt: Picture your coming-of-age story turning into a space exploration adventure, with the protagonist leaving their small town behind to embark on a journey among the stars.
    
17. Prompt: Imagine your romance novel becoming a gripping courtroom thriller, with the protagonist fighting against societal norms and legal challenges to be with the one they love.
    
18. Prompt: What if your mystery novel transformed into a fantasy quest, with the detective protagonist discovering a hidden realm where magical creatures hold the key to solving the case?
    
19. Prompt: Picture your dystopian tale becoming a psychological horror story, with the protagonist uncovering the dark secrets of the oppressive regime and facing nightmarish visions.
    
20. Prompt: Imagine your cosmic exploration story taking a turn into a space opera musical, with the protagonist expressing their journey through intergalactic ballads and dance numbers.
    
21. Prompt: What if your superhero narrative became a time-travel thriller, with the protagonist using their powers to navigate temporal paradoxes and prevent catastrophic events?
    
22. Prompt: Picture your alternate reality tale turning into a virtual reality adventure, with the protagonist discovering a simulated world that challenges their perceptions of what is real.
    
23. Prompt: Imagine your psychological thriller becoming a psychological comedy, with the protagonist navigating absurd situations and dark humor as they confront their inner demons.
    
24. Prompt: What if your cyberpunk story shifted into a techno-noir mystery, with the protagonist, a hard-boiled detective, uncovering a conspiracy in the neon-lit streets of a futuristic city?
    
25. Prompt: Picture your historical epic transforming into a time-travel romance, with the protagonist finding love across different eras while trying to preserve the course of history.
    
26. Prompt: Imagine your magical realism tale becoming a slice-of-life drama, with the protagonist navigating the ordinary challenges of daily life amidst the backdrop of subtle magical occurrences.
    
27. Prompt: What if your space opera narrative took on the elements of a space western, with the protagonist, a lone gunslinger, navigating the lawless frontiers of the galaxy?
    
28. Prompt: Picture your dystopian future evolving into a psychological thriller, with the protagonist unraveling a conspiracy that challenges their sanity and the very nature of reality.
    
29. Prompt: Imagine your fantasy epic becoming a mythological saga, with the protagonist assuming the role of a chosen hero destined to battle ancient gods and mythical creatures.
    
30. Prompt: What if your utopian society story shifted into a political satire, with the protagonist navigating the absurdities of a seemingly perfect world that hides dark political machinations?
    
31. Prompt: Picture your supernatural mystery taking on the elements of a supernatural comedy, with the protagonist encountering mischievous spirits and navigating the challenges of the afterlife with humor.
    
32. Prompt: Imagine your coming-of-age story becoming a superhero adventure, with the protagonist discovering extraordinary abilities and grappling with the responsibilities that come with them.
    
33. Prompt: What if your post-apocalyptic adventure took a turn into a philosophical exploration, with the protagonist contemplating the nature of humanity and morality in a world in ruins?
    
34. Prompt: Picture your steampunk narrative transforming into a romantic melodrama, with the protagonist navigating intricate love triangles and societal expectations in a clockwork society.
    
35. Prompt: Imagine your political intrigue drama becoming a sci-fi space exploration, with the protagonist navigating interstellar politics and encountering extraterrestrial civilizations.
    
36. Prompt: What if your cosmic library narrative shifted into a supernatural thriller, with the protagonist uncovering a haunted section of the library and facing malevolent spirits from forgotten realms?
    
37. Prompt: Picture your utopian society story becoming a psychological horror, with the protagonist slowly realizing the sinister underbelly of their seemingly perfect world.
    
38. Prompt: Imagine your magical realism tale taking on the elements of a fairy tale, with the protagonist embarking on a quest to break a magical curse and restore balance to their enchanted world.
    
39. Prompt: What if your space opera narrative evolved into a political drama, with the protagonist navigating the intricacies of galactic diplomacy and power struggles?
    
40. Prompt: Picture your dystopian future becoming a survival horror story, with the protagonist struggling to survive in a world overrun by monstrous creatures and navigating the horrors of a post-apocalyptic landscape.
    
41. Prompt: Imagine your fantasy epic transforming into a courtroom drama, with the protagonist navigating a magical legal system and defending the rights of magical beings.
    
42. Prompt: What if your psychological thriller took on the elements of a dark comedy, with the protagonist facing bizarre situations and twisted humor as they unravel the mysteries of their own mind?
    

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If you're into reloading your own ammunition and looking for a reliable option to choose from, then look no further than the 458 Socom Reloading Dies. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about these dies, including their specifications, features, and how to use them. Get ready to take your reloading game to the next level!

The Top 12 Best 458 Socom Reloading Dies

1. Lee Precision 4-Die Carbide Set for .38 Special and .357 Magnum Reloading - Experience efficient and effective reloading with the Lee Precision Deluxe 4 Die Carbide Set - the perfect solution for .38 Special ammunition!
2. Lyman Rifle 3 Die Set: Precision Carbide Expander and Seating Die Set for 5.7 x 28 Reloading - The Lyman Carbide Deluxe Rifle 3 Die Set provides a seamless and durable reloading experience for 6.5 x 55 Swed. Mauser cartridges, offering extended case life and precise bullet seating.
3. Lee Precision 45 ACP Breech Lock 3-Die Set for Reliable Reloading - The Lee Precision Breech Lock 3-Die Set for 45 ACP offers easy die identification, reliable performance, and a complete kit for effortless and precise reloading - the ultimate companion for your reloading needs!
4. High-Quality RCBS 3-Die Set for 5.7 x 28 Reloading - The RCBS Lott 3-Die Set offers a top-quality, 5.7 x 28 reloading system that includes dies for size, expander, and seater, resulting in a professional, crimp-free finish for your ammunition.
5. Precision 7.62 x39 Reloading Dies Set for Exceptional Performance - Lyman Pro Die Pack offers superior precision and durability for reloading 7.62x39 cartridges, backed by stainless steel material, carbonite neck sizing, and enhanced bullet seating technology.
6. Reloading Dies for Small Capacity Rifle Cases - Lee Rifle Charging Die is a versatile and efficient reloading solution for small capacity rifle cases, compatible with Auto Disk Powder Measures and ideal for 22 cal. cartridges and up to .308 Win.
7. Lyman 380 Auto Carbide Pistol Die Set - Precision, versatility, and consistency: the Lyman 380 Auto Carbide 3 Die Set delivers top-quality rounds for bullseye, action, and cowboy shooting enthusiasts.
8. Hornady's Premium 458 Lott Die Set for Precise Bullet Sizing - The Hornady Series II 3-Die Set for 458 Lott delivers dependable reloading performance with all-steel construction, Sure-Loc lock rings, and a smooth elliptical expander, ensuring a consistent and reliable fit in cases.
9. Hornady Expander Die for .458 Lott Straight-Wall Cartridges - Enhance your straight-wall cartridge loading experience with Hornady's reliable and versatile Expander Die for .458 Lott caliber, featuring convenient die locking rings and ensuring perfect bullet seating.
10. High-Quality Hornady Powder Cop Die for 204 Ruger - The Hornady - Series I 2-Die Set in 204 Ruger offers durable all-steel construction, easy disassembly and cleaning, and precise adjustments for superior performance.
11. Hornady Custom-Grade 450 Bushmaster Reloading Kit - Experience top-notch reloading with the custom-grade Hornady Die Set 450 Bushmaster, featuring the innovative Zip Spindle design and guaranteed to last a lifetime, making it an essential addition to any reloader's arsenal.
12. Hornady Series I 2-Die Set for 223 WSSM Bullet Feeder and Seating - Experience unparalleled precision and durability with Hornady's Custom-Grade 2-Die Set 223 WSSM, featuring the innovative Zip Spindle design for effortless adjustments and superior reloading results.

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Reviews

🔗Lee Precision 4-Die Carbide Set for .38 Special and .357 Magnum Reloading

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When I decided to take up reloading my own ammunition, I knew I needed a reliable and efficient set of dies. That's when I stumbled upon the Lee Precision Carbide 4 Die Set. I was immediately attracted to its four-die set, which included a carbide sizing die, a bullet seating die, a powder thru expanding die, and a carbide factory crimp die. The set is perfect for effectively and efficiently reusing my ammunition.
One of the things that stood out to me was the air-tight, low profile box that the dies come in. It keeps the dies organized and preserved, so they're always ready to use. The dies themselves are high quality and easy to set up, ensuring a smooth and efficient reloading process.
However, there were a few drawbacks. The instructions could be clearer at times, and I found that I needed to thoroughly clean the dies with lacquer thinner to ensure accurate adjustments and prevent any issues with powder flow. The locking rings also took some getting used to, but after a little practice, I was able to easily switch between calibers on my Lee turret press.
Overall, the Lee Precision Carbide 4 Die Set has been a reliable and efficient addition to my reloading setup. It's a great value for the price and has lived up to my expectations. I would definitely recommend it to fellow reloaders looking for a high-quality and cost-effective set of dies.

🔗Lyman Rifle 3 Die Set: Precision Carbide Expander and Seating Die Set for 5.7 x 28 Reloading

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I recently had the opportunity to try out the Lyman Carbide Deluxe Rifle 3 Die Set, and let me tell you, it has been quite the adventure. On one hand, it has some really impressive features - like the super hard and slick carbide expander that makes resizing a breeze. Plus, the carbide button that can be adjusted for height, really comes in handy.
However, along with these pros, there are a couple of cons that I've come across. Firstly, I noticed that the carbide free floats on the rod for self-centering in case necks, which is great in theory, but in practice, it seemed to be a bit too sensitive, leading to some issues with neck alignment.
Another thing is that when I was using the set, I unfortunately came across a seating die that was not as good as I had hoped. It caused me some trouble, and I ended up ruining several cases before I figured out what was going wrong.
Overall, the Lyman Carbide Deluxe Rifle 3 Die Set has its strengths and weaknesses. It's loaded with features that make it a great choice for reloaders, but it's also important to be aware of its limitations. If you're looking for a comprehensive set to help you get the most out of your rifle cases, this might be a good option for you.
But if you're after a more robust set that can handle a bit of rough handling, you might want to look elsewhere. That's just my experience though. Your mileage may vary.

🔗Lee Precision 45 ACP Breech Lock 3-Die Set for Reliable Reloading

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The Lee Precision Breech Lock 3-Die Set for 45 ACP is the ultimate companion for all your reloading needs. Featuring colored smart lock bushings that make identifying the right die a breeze, this set is designed to make your reloading process smooth and hassle-free.
Crafted with carbide for reliability, the set includes a carbide full-length sizing die, bullet seating die, and powder thru expanding die. This guarantees consistent and precise reloading results every time. You'll also find a universal shell holder, powder dipper, and comprehensive instructions/load data. With this complete kit, reloading enthusiasts, both beginners and experienced, will love the convenience and user-friendliness.
Effortlessly switch between dies with the colored smart lock bushings, ensuring no more wasted time searching for the right one. The carbide dies are built to last, offering flawless, seamless performance for your reloading tasks.
Experience the ease, precision, and reliability that Lee Precision is known for with the Lee Precision Breech Lock 3-Die Set for 45 ACP. It's time to take your reloading arsenal to the next level - get yours today!

🔗High-Quality RCBS 3-Die Set for 5.7 x 28 Reloading

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I recently had the chance to try out the RCBS Lott 3-Die Set, and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. This set includes a Group C die, a Sizer die, an Expander die, and a Seater die, all of which are essential for any gunsmithing workshop.
One of the standout features of this set is the 3-Die roll crimp, which adds a professional touch to your reloading dies. The quality of the dies is top-notch, and the fact that they are made in the United States only adds to their appeal.
While the RCBS Lott 3-Die Set is a great addition to any gun enthusiast's arsenal, there are a few drawbacks to note. For instance, the dies may require some adjustment to get the perfect fit, which can be a bit frustrating. Additionally, the price point may be a bit steep for some users, particularly those just starting out in the reloading world.
Overall, if you're looking for a high-quality set of dies to take your reloading game to the next level, the RCBS Lott 3-Die Set is definitely worth considering. While there are a few minor drawbacks, the pros far outweigh the cons in this case.

🔗Precision 7.62 x39 Reloading Dies Set for Exceptional Performance

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Introducing the Lyman Pro Die Pack, a versatile and powerful addition to your press reloading toolkit. Crafted with your Mark 7 press in mind, every aspect of these dies was meticulously engineered to deliver top-notch performance. While they're perfectly suited for Mark 7 presses, they also work seamlessly with regular progressive presses, turret presses, and even single station presses.
The Lyman Pro Die Pack boasts dies made of stainless steel for its resilience and rust resistance. It's great to see durable and anti-corrosion materials in action. The Lyman Pro even goes the extra mile with highly polished carbide rings on the sizing dies, offering unparalleled wear resistance and reduced sizing force. The spring-loaded decapping rod system ensures the primer is ejected from the primer pocket with force, eliminating any potential misfire.
In the Lyman Pro Die Pack, the M die neck expander stands out. It has a specially designed two-step expander plug, ensuring just the right amount of neck tension and flair for your case mouths. The pistol sets include flare dies, designed to let bullets sit securely on the case mouth before being seated.
The Micrometer Seating die, a standout feature, impresses with a micrometer adjustable seating head. It guarantees precision bullet seating length and a floating bullet seating punch that centers your bullet with pinpoint accuracy. Lastly, each set comes with a taper crimp die, micrometer adjustable, which fully removes any case mouth flare and provides improved bullet retention.
However, like any review, there are pros and cons to consider. While the Lyman Pro Die Pack delivers exceptional performance with its array of features, it may lack compatibility with certain cartridge types. Always ensure it matches your intended use. Overall, the Lyman Pro Die Pack is a reliable and robust choice for reloaders looking for top-tier performance.

🔗Reloading Dies for Small Capacity Rifle Cases

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I recently tried out the Lee Rifle Charging Die and was impressed with its functionality. It allowed me to charge small capacity rifle cases with ease, using the Auto Disk Powder Measure or Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure. The die works similarly to pistol powder expansion, but without expanding the case mouth. Instead, rifle case expansion is done in the sizing die, making it an efficient and accurate process.
One aspect I loved about this product is that it could be used on a wide range of cartridges, from. 22 cal to. 308 Win. I appreciated the versatility it offered, as a seasoned shooter looking for an effective reloading solution. The Lee Precision Reloading Rifle Charging Die made the process of reloading smoother and more efficient.
However, there were a couple of minor drawbacks I encountered during my experience. Firstly, the die did not include a shell holder, which might be a downside for those looking for a more complete kit. Secondly, it only sized cases up to a length of 1.76 inches, which might be limiting for some long-range shooters.
Overall, the Lee Rifle Charging Die is a reliable and efficient tool for reloading rifle cartridges, especially when paired with the Auto Disk Powder Measure. Its ease of use, versatility, and quality construction make it a worthwhile addition to any reloading setup.

🔗Lyman 380 Auto Carbide Pistol Die Set

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My experience with the Lyman 380 Auto Carbide 3 Die Set has been quite positive. In my daily life, I found these dies to be versatile and efficient in creating high-quality ammo for various shooting activities. As a pistol reloader, I appreciated the inclusion of a Tungsten Carbide sizing die and a two-step neck expanding m die for proper bullet alignment.
The bullet seating die roll crimp bullets securely and the provided bullet seating screws offered an added bonus, accommodating both round nose and truncated cone bullets. However, I did notice that the bullet seating die had a slightly rougher finish compared to other Lyman products.
Overall, these dies have significantly improved my reloading process, delivering consistent quality ammo. They fit seamlessly with my reloading press and the included tools made the process even smoother. Though the finish of some components could be improved, the Lyman 380 Auto Carbide 3 Die Set has proven to be a reliable and efficient choice for serious shooters seeking high-performance ammo.

🔗Hornady's Premium 458 Lott Die Set for Precise Bullet Sizing

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The Hornady 458 Lott Series II 3-Die Set has been my trusted friend in reloading ammunition for quite some time now. This set of dies includes a sizer, expander, and seater, all made of high-quality American steel. The precision and craftsmanship that went into making these dies are evident as they deliver reliable and accurate results each time. The all-steel components make them sturdy and ready for any amount of use, while the smooth polished elliptical expander ensures a seamless release from the case neck without causing any neck stretch.
One feature I appreciate the most is the Sure-loc lock rings. They lock the dies into position and provide precise adjustment, making fine tuning a breeze. This set also comes with a storage box, which is a great addition to keep everything organized and safe. Although I have had a positive experience with this product, it's worth mentioning that some users have encountered difficulties with the case seating and size. However, the pros far outweigh the cons, making the Hornady 458 Lott Series II 3-Die Set a go-to option for many reloaders.

🔗Hornady Expander Die for .458 Lott Straight-Wall Cartridges

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I've been reloading my own ammunition for years, and I was excited to give the Hornady Expander Die a try for my. 458 Lott cartridges. The American-made product seemed promising, and it was compact enough to fit in my reloading setup.
The die was easy to set up, thanks to the smooth threading system, but it took some adjustments to ensure the case mouths were expanding properly. Once I got the hang of it, the die worked like a charm, and my bullets seated with ease.
The die locking rings provided extra security during the reloading process. The only drawback I found was that the die wasn't included with a shell holder, which meant I had to purchase one separately. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and will be continuing to use the Hornady Expander Die for my reloading needs.

🔗High-Quality Hornady Powder Cop Die for 204 Ruger

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I was intrigued to try the Hornady - Series I 2-Die Set for 204 Ruger. The all-steel construction and smooth polished elliptical expander caught my attention, and it seemed like a promising addition to my reloading toolkit.
One of the highlights of using this set was the precision and ease of adjustment. The sliding alignment sleeve and spindle lock design made it simple to fine-tune my bullet seating, while the hardened steel decap pin held up well without bending or breaking. Additionally, the comprehensive set came with a built-in crimper, retainer ring, and a storage box for convenient storage.
However, I did notice a few drawbacks. Firstly, the bullet seater guide left a noticeable indent around the bullets, which could potentially impact their ballistic performance. Secondly, the de-primer design wasn't the most user-friendly, requiring an extra de-primer to be included with the set.
Overall, the Hornady - Series I 2-Die Set for 204 Ruger proved to be a reliable and accurate option for my reloading needs. Despite the minor flaws, I found the set to be well-crafted and a great addition to my toolkit for achieving consistent bullet seating and bullet crimping.

🔗Hornady Custom-Grade 450 Bushmaster Reloading Kit

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I've used the Hornady Custom-Grade Dies 450 Bushmaster for a while now, and let me tell you, it's a game-changer. The Zip Spindle design is a real lifesaver - it eliminates spindle slippage and makes adjustments a breeze. You know when you're struggling with a stubborn spindle, but not with these beauties!
The Sure-Loc rings are top-notch quality and contribute to a satisfying and comfortable reloading experience. However, I did encounter a slight issue with the resizing die in my set. Not a huge deal, but worth mentioning.
Another downside is that the included shell holder #44 isn't included. I was initially perplexed but glad I had a trusty cut-off wheel nearby. No biggie, though.
Overall, this product has made my reloading journey more efficient and enjoyable. Give it a try, and I'm sure you'll feel the same!

🔗Hornady Series I 2-Die Set for 223 WSSM Bullet Feeder and Seating

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Using the Hornady Series I 2-Die Set 223 WSSM has made my life easier for reloading ammunition. The new Zip Spindle design is a true game-changer, eliminating spindle slippage and making adjustments smooth and simple. The 7/8-14 threads are sturdy enough to keep the spindle locked in place, but also flexible enough for easy adjustments. The included storage box is also a convenient feature for keeping everything organized.
However, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of a shell holder. And while the die locking rings do their job, I found myself yearning for easier assembly. But overall, this product has definitely made reloading a breeze.

Buyer's Guide

Welcome to the buyer's guide for 458 SOCOM reloading dies! This guide will provide you with important information and considerations to make when purchasing reloading dies for this specific cartridge. Whether you're a novice reloader or a seasoned veteran, this guide has something for everyone.
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Types of 458 SOCOM Reloading Dies

There are two main types of reloading dies available for the 458 SOCOM cartridge: single-stage dies and progressive dies. Single-stage dies are ideal for beginners and those who prioritize accuracy and control over speed. In contrast, progressive dies allow for faster reloading and reduced manual labor but may sacrifice accuracy in some instances.

Important Features to Consider

• Brand reputation: Choose a reputable brand with a track record of quality and customer satisfaction. This ensures that you're investing in a die that will perform well and last for a long time.
• Material: Die materials can vary, with some common options being steel, aluminum, and brass. Steel dies are generally more durable and resistant to wear but can be heavier. Aluminum and brass die bodies are lighter, making them more comfortable to use but potentially less durable.
• Sizing die compatibility: Ensure that the sizing die you purchase is compatible with the 458 SOCOM cartridge, as well as the type of ammo you plan to feed the firearm.
• Shell holder compatibility: If you plan to use separate shell holders, confirm their compatibility with your chosen die.
• Adjustability: Determine whether the die features adjustable components for precise calibration. This can be crucial for achieving consistent and accurate results.

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General Advice and Tips

1. Start with a good-quality reloading manual or online resource to familiarize yourself with the correct procedures and specifications for the 458 SOCOM cartridge.
2. Take your time when handling die components, and be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper use and maintenance.
3. Invest in high-quality tools and accessories, as they will inevitably pay off in the long run with better accuracy and consistency.
4. Consider joining a local reloading club or online forum to connect with fellow reloaders and learn more about the 458 SOCOM and reloading techniques.

A good set of 458 SOCOM reloading dies can be a valuable investment for any shooter looking to save money on ammo while gaining greater control over the performance of their firearms. By considering the factors outlined in this guide, you'll be well-equipped to make an informed decision on the best reloading dies for your needs.

FAQ

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What are 458 Socom Reloading Dies?

458 Socom Reloading Dies are tools used to resize, reshape, and reform spent cartridges for reuse with new gunpowder and primers. They are essential for anyone interested in reloading their own ammunition, and they are compatible with the 458 SOCOM cartridge.

Why use 458 Socom Reloading Dies?

Using 458 Socom Reloading Dies offers several benefits. Firstly, it can save you money in the long run, as reloading your own ammunition can be more cost-effective than purchasing factory-made ammunition. Secondly, you have more control over the ammunition you're producing, which can be particularly useful for customizing your rounds to your specific needs.
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What are the different types of 458 Socom Reloading Dies available?

There are several types of 458 Socom Reloading Dies available, and the most common ones include:

• Full-length resizing dies
• Short resizing dies
• Sizing collars
• Decapping dies
• Powder measuring devices

What are the differences between full-length resizing dies and short resizing dies?

Full-length resizing dies include the neck sizing tool, and are designed to resize both the case and the neck of the spent cartridges. On the other hand, short resizing dies are designed only for resizing the case and do not include the neck sizing tool. If you are looking for maximum control and precision, full-length resizing dies are recommended. However, if you want a more affordable option, short resizing dies are a suitable choice.

What should I look for when purchasing 458 Socom Reloading Dies?

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This is a throwaway account. So I'm a DM for my group of 7 players, and we're nearing the end of our first campaign. It has lasted almost 3 years. We recently had a TPK in which all but the wizard were killed and we did a time skip to 1 year in the future when the wizard has formed a new party to get revenge. We're playing that story out now.
My conflict comes in with the nature of the TPK. Although it happened around 2 months ago now, I still feel bad and am not sure whether I did the right thing, so I hope reddit can give me some opinions here. This is a long one because I think all the context is necessary, sorry about that.
So the party was hunting down some important magic items and managed to sieze one after a difficult series of battles and an extremely difficult boss fight, which they managed to win only by convincing a dragon to switch sides to theirs. Once they had the magic item in hand, a lich appeared (an illusion) and used Instant Summons to snatch it away from them. Turns out she had ties with the cult the party is going up against and has a personal vendetta against the cleric.
I've done things like this before. I like to bring in elements from each character's backstory as a sudden twist to the story and have them grapple with it. I had foreshadowed this earlier when the cleric cast commune, his goddess mentioned that he should be careful about the region he was entering, since it's the domain of his enemy; this lich and her allies. I understand it seems harsh but I was hoping to set up a super high-stakes situation by stealing this magic item from the players right as they thought they finally had it.
The party was level 11 at the time. I told them that if they went straight after the lich, it would most likely result in a TPK, but that they were free to act as they pleased. I had given them a couple of alternate routes and I was also hoping they would try to do some research in game and really rp out their characters' stress. They decided to go and scope out the situation anyway.
I had the lich pretending to be the king of an elven forest area. The party had met and freed the true king from a prison in the feywild earlier, and he had joined them for a part of their journey before splitting off to this forest city to try and get his kingdom back. I knew the lich encounter would likely be a TPK, so I gave the king a party of 4 level 9 characters (he himself was roughly equivalent to level 17) with the intention that the party should team up with them to make it a fair fight.
The druid in the party was always very anti-social in rp, and would go off alone a lot. Some of the other players complained about this behavior, especially one of them, the barbarian (will be important later). The druid player would insist that he was in character and honestly, I loved his backstory and the ideas he had for his character. So I was often on his side, asking others to try to support him in bringing out his character through rp. But what usually happened was the druid would kind of play solo for a bit, going off and doing his backstory stuff until I realized the others were getting bored and switched scenes. The party was also growing distrust for the druid because of his consistent departures.
When the party met up with the king and his forces, they forgot to consider that they could have been scryed on (I had done it to them earlier and had an NPC point it out) so they ended up showing the lich where the king was hiding out. The guards showed up to arrest him as a "false king" and he chose to implicate himself alone, trying to leave his allies and the party out of it.
The druid decided to wild shape into an insect and follow the guards and the king to prison alone. I made the prison very very well fortified so he came up with a break-in plan by pretending to be a mechanic or something. It didn't work out (bad rolls) so he ended up just running into the prison and getting chased by guards, until he managed to wild shape and go invisible (again he is doing all of this alone).
He got to the very bottom where the highest profile prisoners were kept. I had positioned a frankly overpowered guard there. I gave him sentinel and a bunch of battle master features. I tend to put extremely overpowered guards in very high profile places just to discourage this type of behavior. The druid tried some charisma checks to get past him but it didn't work out and combat began. He was quickly downed by this guard and others that came in hearing the commotion.
He came to and the king was in the cell with him, but this was the lich in disguise. I made sure to describe that his clothing and hair looked different than the druid remembers but the player told me afterwards that he had forgotten how the king usually looked. He started spilling everything and the lich decided to kill him and use finger of death to bring him back as a zombie.
Here is where I think I messed up big time. I didn't want to just ask the player to make a new character because I saw potential for a redemption arc where the party brings the druid back from undeath and understands his backstory. I also felt like it was an awkward point in the story to introduce a new character. So I did a little homebrew in the moment and let the druid keep all his class levels and features and memories, but be an undead servant of the lich. I did this publicly as well so the rest of the players knew what had happened in meta.
The druid player loved this and enthusiastically returned to the party to trick them. He immediately started texting me ideas on how to really bully the party in combat. The barbarian, however, immediately did some very light meta-gaming and used divine sense (paladin multiclass) to figure out that the druid was undead. Very light because, to be fair, he was using divine sense semi-regularly to make sure the lich or any undead servants weren't following the party.
The party had understandably lost the trust of the king's allies because they assumed the party lead the lich to them on purpose. The reveal of the druid being undead was almost the final nail in the coffin. The druid, now outed, returned to serve the lich. The party panicked here and teleported back to a city with the mentor of the wizard but she wasn't there (I had moved her elsewhere). They tried to think of anything they could do but 3-4 hours of real time passed and they were just stressfully coming to no conclusions. It didn't help that I gave the druid player an NPC to play to help them out and he made him as unhelpful as possible in rp.
The barbarian player and another player were fed up at this point and convinced everyone that they should just go fight the lich. I decided to speed things up as well and had the king's allies free him from prison and the king explain everything to them so they would be on the party's side. So the party teleported back to go fight.
Before the fight session, I had several discussions with the players out of game. The druid player wanted to make the fight really hard. Honestly with the party plus the king and his forces, I thought we might just get action economy-ed to death, so I allowed him to summon some minions. He wanted a hag coven so I allowed it, not realizing what kind of terrain control the coven spells gave him access to. This was a huge mistake on my part and I can't expect the druid player to know as much about balancing encounters as I do.
I put up a message on the campaign group chat, asking how hard I should go. I got mixed answers and decided I would stick to my original plan and try to stay true to the rp of this lich. I told the cleric to be prepared for a TPK and save his 6th level word of recall to teleport the party out in case things got bad. Then came my dicsussions with the barbarian...
He was insistent that I go as hard as possible. He said "it wouldn't be a lich otherwise." He was also telling me that we needed a fresh start and that a TPK would make a lot of sense for the group right now. Honestly, it made sense to me. I felt like the weird first time characters everyone made were holding them back from rp-ing like they had learned to by this point.
Anyway, the fight rolled around. The hag coven's terrain control was way too effective and the druid player had multiple instances of call lightning up as backup once that was dispelled. The hags also started invisible in the corner of the room and there was a LICH distracting the players from the hags and druid casting stuff from the sides. The battle was extremely one-sided and the players only managed to kill the druid and one of the hags before TPK. The wizard survived a death save and played dead then managed to sneak out. I told the cleric to be ready to word of recall when I saw the TPK coming but the party decided to stay and fight it out as a group. It was a really touching moment.
What really put things into perspective for me was the reaction of the barbarian player. He got power word killed turn 2 and rage quit immediately (we play online). He then went on multiple rants on the group and in my DMs about how it was extremely unfair. To his credit, he had very valid points. His arguments were: (i) the druid shouldn't have had class levels (ii) power word kill is too overpowered (iii) I should never have stuck a lich into this story in the first place.
Now the barbarian doesn't feel like playing dnd anymore and has told me that this experience soured dnd for him. Honestly, it doesn't feel like he faults me as much as he faults the druid player and the game itself. But I feel like most of this responsibility falls on my shoulders. I was the one who gave the druid class levels as a zombie, I was the one who allowed the hag coven, and I was the one who stuck a lich into this story in the first place.
We're still good friends outside of dnd and I think the player understands my perspective, but I feel really bad that I seem to have spoiled dnd for this player, who was the biggest fan of dnd in our group before this. So, was I in the wrong for how I ruled this?

I've done my MBA from one of the top B-Schools in my country, graduating in 2024. I just started working in a general management role at a conglomerate and I want to break into finance roles. My undergrad was in law and I worked for a year at the general corporate team at a top law firm in my country. What is the best way to break into finance? I have no other experience in any finance roles.
I'm planning to get my CFA level 1 this Nov. What are my chances of landing a finance role? What specific job profiles should I target? I don't have any specific inclination toward IB. I'm fine with any finance role, provided it pays well lol.
I'm willing to put in the work and effort to make the shift and I'm fine with working long hours (pulled 16-18 hour days for months on end at the law firm).

Good day, Redditors.
I'm writing this post to share the leassons that me and my team has learned this year from spending almost $250k on facebook ads for our own e-commerce brand.
Let's get started.
I started advertising on Facebook in 2017, which is seven years ago. It feels like two years, really. Back in 2017, when the Facebook ads platform was quite new, it was hard not to get results. Businesses used stock images in their ads and made millions in sales.
Back then, if you started Facebook ads, it was like having the only restaurant in town, and just because you were the only one in town, it would always be full. This was Facebook ads back then.
Fast-forward to 2024, and it's like having 100 restaurants in a small town. Everyone is competing for the same customer. Advertising today is hard. Actually, you could say that in 2018, when there was more competition than in 2017, the same thing you could say about 2019 and 2020 (the release year of IOS 14). What's the point that I'm trying to make? Facebook ads in 2024 are easier than they will be in 2025 and 2026.
If you just look at all the legacy brands in the car industry, skin care industry, or any other industry, they still mostly use tv ads, billboard ads, and youtube ads; if they are advertising on Facebook, their ads suck. That being said, direct-to-consumer or any other small business owner still has time to get it. Yes, it's more challenging but will only become more complex.
That being said, let's jump to the lessons I have learned this year, and hopefully, you can take some nuggets away from this post.

1. THE CREATIVE

This year, we have tested more than 400 ad creatives for our brand, and we still haven't done enough testing. Content really is the king. Last year, I wrote about the need to test at least five creatives a week. That's long gone. The tiktokization is real in Facebook ads as well. The more you test, the faster you find winning ads that can scale.
This year's learning on creatives is that best-performing ads don't live as long as they used to. In 2023, we still had ads from 2022 that were the best-performing ads for some clients. This year, it's way different. The life of the best-performing ad has gone down. This means we must create more ad variations, especially when we find a winning ad angle.
I would suggest anyone spend at least 30 minutes on Instagram reels and look at the content that interests them. Then, look at your Facebook feed the next day; you will see tons of ads about the thing that you watched on the Instagram reel the previous day.
Creating just few ads a month is not enough. Back in 2017 you could run 2 ads for the whole year and just print money. It's 2024 and two ads should be launched every day.
So, how can you test hundreds of ads a month?
2) THE RESEARCH
Every small, medium, service-based, direct-to-consumer business owner, marketing director, and CMO has a major advantage over big legacy brands.
It is the ability to connect with your core customers on social media. The way to do that is by researching. Every business has a medium—and large-size competitor in its market. Go to their website, socials, and Google reviews and look for 1, 2, and 3-star reviews about their business.
This is where you can find a lot of golden nuggets on what customers don't like about their product, their customer service, their offer, their service, and so on.
Use that information and create ad content that shows that your product service does not have ".... these problems."
Let's just imagine that you are selling premium quality shoes, and one of your competitors is doing the same, but many of their 2-star reviews say that the competitors' shoes are causing blisters on your feet. You can use that information and your ads to say "that your shoes will protect the customer's feet from blisters."
If you have a better product, some of your competitors use that information and ad creatives around that. Before you do that, read every single 1, 2, and 3-star review and note down what the review was about.
You will be able to take away at least 10+ ad angle ideas from these reviews, and you can create hundreds of ads that you can test.
Back in 2018, ad testing was easy. You created ten ads, each of them with a different messege. 4 for the top of the funnel. Four for the middle of the funnel. 2 for the bottom of the funnel, and you could run it for the rest of the year.
Right now, you need to do a lot of research to truly understand your customers so you can create ads that speak to them. We ran through our competitors this year just by creating ads that spoke to our customers' desires and needs.
Every two weeks, we check our competitor's bad reviews to see if there is a new ad angle that we could test.
Have you seen legacy brand car ads? All of them are the same. Car driving down the hill, pulling up at their house, a guy or girl walking into the house. Every ad is the same, a lot of times when we see the ad we don't even know which car brand it is because it's all the same.
Same thing is happening right now with Facebook ads. All of the ads look the same, speak to the same people and this makes it harder to get results.
The leasson that we learning this year on research is that it needs to be done daily. There is so much information posted every day on our competiors, or the research studdies that has recently be done that we cannot afford to do marketing research once a year. It needs to be done daily at least for one hour. Those who will do it will get better results with their facebook ads.
3) TESTING
In the past two months I have seen far to many ad account audits and I can tell that 95% of the ad accounts don't know what ad testing even means.
I have seen campaigns named DYNAMIC CREATIVE TEST, but when I look at the ad set level, the dynamic creative is off. The ads inside the ad level are different, 3 different creatives, 2 different copies, the same headline. I ask what exactly are you testing and the answer is always " ads" But what exactly are you testing? " I don't know". That pretty much summs up a lot of advertisers today.
How do we do ad testing? We create one ad angle based on one desire. In this ad angle, we have three images with the same messege ( each image has a different background or any other changing variable), two ad copies, and two headlines. This is a dynamic creative ad.
Once we get results, we break it down by best performing ad creatve, ad copy and headline. Then we create improvement creative variations to the best creative, best ad copy and best headline under a new dynamic creative. Then we repeat the process again. And again, and again. Usually about 10 times. Sometimes even 20 times until we hit a really good performing ad angle.
Here are some an ad angles that always work - "US VS THEM" , "Founders Story", "2(3,4,5) Reasons Why X", "Features Benefits" "Negative Humor". All fo these marketing angles work. It's impossible for them not to work if you put in the effort and find the winning ad combination for these ad angles.
And you can find it by testing. In 2023, we tested one improvement and two new ad angles every week.
This year, we will test at least three improvements on the best-performing ad angles and 5 new ad angle tests every week.
This goes back to what I mentioned before: the more you test, the faster you find winners and the quicker you can scale your ads. We even use AI like Claude for ad copy, script writing, headline writing. We also use photoshop ai for more image creative creation. This helps us speed up the process. One creative person with understanding on how ads need to look like can put out the same amount of ads as four people working full time daily without Ai.
One direct-response copywriter with AI can write as many ad copies daily as four people would write in a week.
Even for some of our clients, we have competitors who literally test 100 ads every week, and it has been a challenge to keep up.
To sum up the lesson, last year, we thought that we tested enough this year, and today, we think that we don't test enough, so we're looking for ways to test 50 creatives a week.
4) SCALING THE WINNING TESTS.
Here are some quick tips on how to scale your winning video ads.
The first thing that we do is try to show the same video message, but in a different way. Then we filmed the exact same video but in a different environment. Then we also introduce different age groups; if your product appeals to 18-65, then you need to have people in your ads that are in those age groups. One ad can be a person who's 19, then another ad is 24, 30, 35, 40, 46, 50+, and so on. People resonate with people in their age group. It's hard for a 55-year-old to resonate with a 19-year-old who does not share the same problems.
If you find a winning ad don't sit on it, don't let it die out, scale the creative by creating more of it that would appeal do different audiences.
It's a common mistake to rely solely on increasing ad spend when a winning creative starts to lose its effectiveness. Instead, consider creating more variations of the ad, especially if the message is still generating results. Don't be afraid to create 50 or more variations of the winning ad. Remember, it's not easy to find a winning creative, so it's important to make the most of it when you do.
Sometimes, it takes us six weeks to find a winning ad messege when we test 50+ ads. Once we find it, we make sure that we squeeze out all the juice from that winning ad messege.
5) ADVERTORIALS, LANDING PAGES ETC.
I have mentioned this in other posts. This is this years biggest leasson. Test more landing pages, advertorials and listicles. We all know that the product page, website always needs to be improved and the more you improve the better conversion you can get.
But what a lot of people overlook is testing separate landing pages and advertorials.
Especially landing pages based on best performing ads. If you talk about a problem in the ad and then just randomly send people to your website you will get sales. But if you talk about the problem and send people to a landing page that goes deeper inside the problem that the customer might be facing and educates them that this one of the best and cost effective solutions out there your ads will get even more conversions.
I almost feel ashamed that last year, we did not do this on the scale that we do now.
We also launch a new landing page or advertorial test for our past week's best-performing ads every week. To continue to the marketing messege. This strategy has been so impactful that we will launch a new sales campaign just for landing pages alone.
6) CREATING SOCIAL CONTENT.
It's not enough to create ads. You also need to create content that you can publish on your feed to get organic engagement. Getting organic engagement boosts your ads. Also, the best organic posts can be used as ads to increase engagement.
How many content pieces do you need to post? Ideally? Ten reel videos a day. I do understand that this sounds wild, but here I am. We are not posting ten videos a day yet.
Suppose we go back to understand what Facebook and Instagram are trying to optimize for. They want the users to spend as much time as possible on their platform.
The only way a user can spend as much time as possible is to consume content. If you publish content that people like to watch, educational, humorous, and showcase content around your product or service, you will get a boost from Facebook and Instagram algorithms. Your ads will get lower CPM; lower CPM = lower CAC. Lower CAC = More profit or more money for advertising to scale your business.
We started posting one post daily and saw a decrease in CPM and CAC. Also, engagement on our social media increased. Once people see the ad, they can click on the Facebook or Instagram page, and there's actually some good content that people like to watch, which helps Facebook's algorithm.
7) ENGAGING AD CONTENT
The more engaging the ads are, the more meta algorithms will push them. By engaging ads, I mean they need to get reactions, comments, and shares.
Here's a simple yet effective strategy to boost ad engagement: Start by replying to comments, and then end your response with a question. This encourages the person to continue the conversation in the comments section, thereby increasing engagement.
It's a simple equation: the more comments you get on your ads, the lower your CPMs will be. Comments are a clear indicator of engagement, and higher engagement leads to lower costs.
I just checked the reports for our brands on our best-performing ads, and all of them had 100+ comments.
Imagine seeing an ad without any likes, comments, or shares. Now, imagine seeing an ad with hundreds of comments, shares, and hundreds of reactions.
Seeing an ad with so much engagement alone sparks interest to see it what the whole fuss is about.
You can also comment first under the ad using your personal profile.
One of our customer service teams' tasks is to reply to ad comments within 30 minutes of the posting the comment. Replying fast increases the chance for them to reply back, which boosts your ad.
8) SUMMARY
Compared to all the previous years, this year has been the hardest in advertising, especially after recent changes in meta-algorithms going heavily into ad content optimization.
This meant that we had to be more strategic about testing and more dialed into research than ever. If you had told me in 2018 that you need to test 50 ads a month and do at least 2 hours of research weekly, I would have told you to go F**** yourself. I have succeeded with my five ads per ad account, and I'm good.
Looking back, this humbles me and makes me think and ask the question - "what will be required to get success with Facebook ads in 2026?" This is only two years from now? One thing I know for sure is that it will be more challenging than it is now.
Even writing this right now fuels me with an urgency to build things bigger and faster. Cause in two years there is going to be 400 resturants packed in a small town battling for the same customer.
Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this post. See you in the next one.

Good day, Redditors.
I'm writing this post to share the leassons that me and my team has learned this year from spending almost $250k on facebook ads for our own e-commerce brand.
Let's get started.
I started advertising on Facebook in 2017, which is seven years ago. It feels like two years, really. Back in 2017, when the Facebook ads platform was quite new, it was hard not to get results. Businesses used stock images in their ads and made millions in sales.
Back then, if you started Facebook ads, it was like having the only restaurant in town, and just because you were the only one in town, it would always be full. This was Facebook ads back then.
Fast-forward to 2024, and it's like having 100 restaurants in a small town. Everyone is competing for the same customer. Advertising today is hard. Actually, you could say that in 2018, when there was more competition than in 2017, the same thing you could say about 2019 and 2020 (the release year of IOS 14). What's the point that I'm trying to make? Facebook ads in 2024 are easier than they will be in 2025 and 2026.
If you just look at all the legacy brands in the car industry, skin care industry, or any other industry, they still mostly use tv ads, billboard ads, and youtube ads; if they are advertising on Facebook, their ads suck. That being said, direct-to-consumer or any other small business owner still has time to get it. Yes, it's more challenging but will only become more complex.
That being said, let's jump to the lessons I have learned this year, and hopefully, you can take some nuggets away from this post.
THE CREATIVE
This year, we have tested more than 400 ad creatives for our brand, and we still haven't done enough testing. Content really is the king. Last year, I wrote about the need to test at least five creatives a week. That's long gone. The tiktokization is real in Facebook ads as well. The more you test, the faster you find winning ads that can scale.
This year's learning on creatives is that best-performing ads don't live as long as they used to. In 2023, we still had ads from 2022 that were the best-performing ads for some clients. This year, it's way different. The life of the best-performing ad has gone down. This means we must create more ad variations, especially when we find a winning ad angle.
I would suggest anyone spend at least 30 minutes on Instagram reels and look at the content that interests them. Then, look at your Facebook feed the next day; you will see tons of ads about the thing that you watched on the Instagram reel the previous day.
Creating just few ads a month is not enough. Back in 2017 you could run 2 ads for the whole year and just print money. It's 2024 and two ads should be launched every day.
So, how can you test hundreds of ads a month?
2) THE RESEARCH
Every small, medium, service-based, direct-to-consumer business owner, marketing director, and CMO has a major advantage over big legacy brands.
It is the ability to connect with your core customers on social media. The way to do that is by researching. Every business has a medium—and large-size competitor in its market. Go to their website, socials, and Google reviews and look for 1, 2, and 3-star reviews about their business.
This is where you can find a lot of golden nuggets on what customers don't like about their product, their customer service, their offer, their service, and so on.
Use that information and create ad content that shows that your product service does not have ".... these problems."
Let's just imagine that you are selling premium quality shoes, and one of your competitors is doing the same, but many of their 2-star reviews say that the competitors' shoes are causing blisters on your feet. You can use that information and your ads to say "that your shoes will protect the customer's feet from blisters."
If you have a better product, some of your competitors use that information and ad creatives around that. Before you do that, read every single 1, 2, and 3-star review and note down what the review was about.
You will be able to take away at least 10+ ad angle ideas from these reviews, and you can create hundreds of ads that you can test.
Back in 2018, ad testing was easy. You created ten ads, each of them with a different messege. 4 for the top of the funnel. Four for the middle of the funnel. 2 for the bottom of the funnel, and you could run it for the rest of the year.
Right now, you need to do a lot of research to truly understand your customers so you can create ads that speak to them. We ran through our competitors this year just by creating ads that spoke to our customers' desires and needs.
Every two weeks, we check our competitor's bad reviews to see if there is a new ad angle that we could test.
Have you seen legacy brand car ads? All of them are the same. Car driving down the hill, pulling up at their house, a guy or girl walking into the house. Every ad is the same, a lot of times when we see the ad we don't even know which car brand it is because it's all the same.
Same thing is happening right now with Facebook ads. All of the ads look the same, speak to the same people and this makes it harder to get results.
The leasson that we learning this year on research is that it needs to be done daily. There is so much information posted every day on our competiors, or the research studdies that has recently be done that we cannot afford to do marketing research once a year. It needs to be done daily at least for one hour. Those who will do it will get better results with their facebook ads.
3) TESTING
In the past two months I have seen far to many ad account audits and I can tell that 95% of the ad accounts don't know what ad testing even means.
I have seen campaigns named DYNAMIC CREATIVE TEST, but when I look at the ad set level, the dynamic creative is off. The ads inside the ad level are different, 3 different creatives, 2 different copies, the same headline. I ask what exactly are you testing and the answer is always " ads" But what exactly are you testing? " I don't know". That pretty much summs up a lot of advertisers today.
How do we do ad testing? We create one ad angle based on one desire. In this ad angle, we have three images with the same messege ( each image has a different background or any other changing variable), two ad copies, and two headlines. This is a dynamic creative ad.
Once we get results, we break them down by best-performing ad creative, ad copy, and headline. Then, we create improved creative variations to the best creative, best ad copy, and best headline under a new dynamic creative. Then, we repeat the process again. And again, and again. Usually, about 10 times. Sometimes even 20 times until we hit a really good performing ad angle.
Here are some an ad angles that always work - "US VS THEM" , "Founders Story", "2(3,4,5) Reasons Why X", "Features Benefits" "Negative Humor". All fo these marketing angles work. It's impossible for them not to work if you put in the effort and find the winning ad combination for these ad angles.
And you can find it by testing. In 2023, we tested one improvement and two new ad angles every week.
This year, we will test at least three improvements on the best-performing ad angles and 5 new ad angle tests every week.
This goes back to what I mentioned before: the more you test, the faster you find winners and the quicker you can scale your ads. We even use AI like Claude for ad copy, script writing, headline writing. We also use photoshop ai for more image creative creation. This helps us speed up the process. One creative person with understanding on how ads need to look like can put out the same amount of ads as four people working full time daily without Ai.
One direct-response copywriter with AI can write as many ad copies daily as four people would write in a week.
Even for some of our clients, we have competitors who literally test 100 ads every week, and it has been a challenge to keep up.
To sum up the lesson, last year, we thought that we tested enough this year, and today, we think that we don't test enough, so we're looking for ways to test 50 creatives a week.
4) SCALING THE WINNING TESTS.
Here are some quick tips on how to scale your winning video ads.
The first thing that we do is try to show the same video message but in a different way. Then we filmed the exact same video but in a different environment. Then we also introduce different age groups; if your product appeals to 18-65, then you need to have people in your ads that are in those age groups. One ad can be a person who's 19, then another ad is 24, 30, 35, 40, 46, 50+, and so on. People resonate with people in their age group. It's hard for a 55-year-old to resonate with a 19-year-old who does not share the same problems.
If you find a winning ad don't sit on it, don't let it die out, scale the creative by creating more of it that would appeal do different audiences.
It's a common mistake to rely solely on increasing ad spend when a winning creative starts to lose its effectiveness. Instead, consider creating more variations of the ad, especially if the message is still generating results. Don't be afraid to create 50 or more variations of the winning ad. Remember, it's not easy to find a winning creative, so it's important to make the most of it when you do.
Sometimes, it takes us six weeks to find a winning ad messege when we test 50+ ads. Once we find it, we make sure that we squeeze out all the juice from that winning ad messege.
5) ADVERTORIALS, LANDING PAGES ETC.
I have mentioned this in other posts. This is this years biggest leasson. Test more landing pages, advertorials and listicles. We all know that the product page, website always needs to be improved and the more you improve the better conversion you can get.
But what a lot of people overlook is testing separate landing pages and advertorials.
Especially landing pages based on best performing ads. If you talk about a problem in the ad and then just randomly send people to your website you will get sales. But if you talk about the problem and send people to a landing page that goes deeper inside the problem that the customer might be facing and educates them that this one of the best and cost effective solutions out there your ads will get even more conversions.
I almost feel ashamed that last year, we did not do this on the scale that we do now.
We also launch a new landing page or advertorial test for our past week's best-performing ads. To continue to the marketing messege. This strategy has been so impactful that we will launch a new sales campaign just for landing pages alone.
6) CREATING SOCIAL CONTENT.
It's not enough to create ads. You also need to create content that you can publish on your feed to get organic engagement. Getting organic engagement boosts your ads. Also, the best organic posts can be used as ads to increase engagement.
How many content pieces do you need to post? Ideally? Ten reel videos a day. I do understand that this sounds wild, but here I am. We are not posting ten videos a day yet.
Suppose we go back to understand what Facebook and Instagram are trying to optimize for. They want the users to spend as much time as possible on their platform.
The only way a user can spend as much time as possible is to consume content. If you publish content that people like to watch, educational, humorous, and showcase content around your product or service, you will get a boost from Facebook and Instagram algorithms. Your ads will get lower CPM; lower CPM = lower CAC. Lower CAC = More profit or more money for advertising to scale your business.
We started posting one post daily and saw a decrease in CPM and CAC. Also, engagement on our social media increased. Once people see the ad, they can click on the Facebook or Instagram page, and there's actually some good content that people like to watch, which helps Facebook's algorithm.
7) ENGAGING AD CONTENT
When we create ads we also think about what would be the engagement be like. All of of best performing ads for our brand and our clients are really engaging.
The more engaging the ads are, the more meta algorithms will push them. By engaging ads, I mean they need to get reactions, comments, and shares.
Here's a simple yet effective strategy to boost ad engagement: Start by replying to comments, and then end your response with a question. This encourages the person to continue the conversation in the comments section, increasing engagement.
It's a simple equation: the more comments you get on your ads, the lower your CPMs will be. Comments are a clear indicator of engagement, and higher engagement leads to lower costs.
I just checked the reports for our brands on our best-performing ads, and all of them had 100+ comments. Imagine seeing an ad without any likes, comments, or shares. Now, imagine seeing an ad with hundreds of comments, shares, and hundreds of reactions.
Seeing an ad with so much engagement alone sparks interest in seeing the whole fuss. You can also comment first under the ad using your profile.
One of our customer service teams' tasks is to reply to ad comments within 30 minutes of posting the comment. Replying fast increases the chance for them to reply back, which boosts your ad.
8) SUMMARY
Compared to all the previous years, this year has been the hardest in advertising, especially after recent changes in meta-algorithms going heavily into ad content optimization.
This meant that we had to be more strategic about testing and more dialed into research than ever. If you had told me in 2018 that you need to test 50 ads a month and do at least 2 hours of research weekly, I would have told you to go F**** yourself. I have succeeded with my five ads per ad account, and I'm good.
Looking back, this humbles me and makes me think and ask the question - "what will be required to get success with Facebook ads in 2026?" This is only two years from now? One thing I know for sure is that it will be more challenging than it is now.
Even writing this right now fuels me with an urgency to build things bigger and faster. Cause in two years there is going to be 400 resturants packed in a small town battling for the same customer.
Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this post. See you in the next one.

Good day, Redditors.
I'm writing this post to share the leassons that me and my team has learned this year from spending almost $250k on facebook ads for our own e-commerce brand.
Let's get started.
I started advertising on Facebook in 2017, which is seven years ago. It feels like two years, really. Back in 2017, when the Facebook ads platform was quite new, it was hard not to get results. Businesses used stock images in their ads and made millions in sales.
Back then, if you started Facebook ads, it was like having the only restaurant in town, and just because you were the only one in town, it would always be full. This was Facebook ads back then.
Fast-forward to 2024, and it's like having 100 restaurants in a small town. Everyone is competing for the same customer. Advertising today is hard. Actually, you could say that in 2018, when there was more competition than in 2017, the same thing you could say about 2019 and 2020 (the release year of IOS 14). What's the point that I'm trying to make? Facebook ads in 2024 are easier than they will be in 2025 and 2026.
If you just look at all the legacy brands in the car industry, skin care industry, or any other industry, they still mostly use tv ads, billboard ads, and youtube ads; if they are advertising on Facebook, their ads suck. That being said, direct-to-consumer or any other small business owner still has time to get it. Yes, it's more challenging but will only become more complex.
That being said, let's jump to the lessons I have learned this year, and hopefully, you can take some nuggets away from this post.
THE CREATIVE
This year, we have tested more than 400 ad creatives for our brand, and we still haven't done enough testing. Content really is the king. Last year, I wrote about the need to test at least five creatives a week. That's long gone. The tiktokization is real in Facebook ads as well. The more you test, the faster you find winning ads that can scale.
This year's learning on creatives is that best-performing ads don't live as long as they used to. In 2023, we still had ads from 2022 that were the best-performing ads for some clients. This year, it's way different. The life of the best-performing ad has gone down. This means we must create more ad variations, especially when we find a winning ad angle.
I would suggest anyone spend at least 30 minutes on Instagram reels and look at the content that interests them. Then, look at your Facebook feed the next day; you will see tons of ads about the thing that you watched on the Instagram reel the previous day.
Creating just few ads a month is not enough. Back in 2017 you could run 2 ads for the whole year and just print money. It's 2024 and two ads should be launched every day.
So, how can you test hundreds of ads a month?
2) THE RESEARCH
Every small, medium, service-based, direct-to-consumer business owner, marketing director, and CMO has a major advantage over big legacy brands.
It is the ability to connect with your core customers on social media. The way to do that is by researching. Every business has a medium—and large-size competitor in its market. Go to their website, socials, and Google reviews and look for 1, 2, and 3-star reviews about their business.
This is where you can find a lot of golden nuggets on what customers don't like about their product, their customer service, their offer, their service, and so on.
Use that information and create ad content that shows that your product service does not have ".... these problems."
Let's just imagine that you are selling premium quality shoes, and one of your competitors is doing the same, but many of their 2-star reviews say that the competitors' shoes are causing blisters on your feet. You can use that information and your ads to say "that your shoes will protect the customer's feet from blisters."
If you have a better product, some of your competitors use that information and ad creatives around that. Before you do that, read every single 1, 2, and 3-star review and note down what the review was about.
You will be able to take away at least 10+ ad angle ideas from these reviews, and you can create hundreds of ads that you can test.
Back in 2018, ad testing was easy. You created ten ads, each of them with a different messege. 4 for the top of the funnel. Four for the middle of the funnel. 2 for the bottom of the funnel, and you could run it for the rest of the year.
Right now, you need to do a lot of research to truly understand your customers so you can create ads that speak to them. We ran through our competitors this year just by creating ads that spoke to our customers' desires and needs.
Every two weeks, we check our competitor's bad reviews to see if there is a new ad angle that we could test.
Have you seen legacy brand car ads? All of them are the same. Car driving down the hill, pulling up at their house, a guy or girl walking into the house. Every ad is the same, a lot of times when we see the ad we don't even know which car brand it is because it's all the same.
Same thing is happening right now with Facebook ads. All of the ads look the same, speak to the same people and this makes it harder to get results.
The leasson that we learning this year on research is that it needs to be done daily. There is so much information posted every day on our competiors, or the research studdies that has recently be done that we cannot afford to do marketing research once a year. It needs to be done daily at least for one hour. Those who will do it will get better results with their facebook ads.
3) TESTING
In the past two months I have seen far to many ad account audits and I can tell that 95% of the ad accounts don't know what ad testing even means.
I have seen campaigns named DYNAMIC CREATIVE TEST, but when I look at the ad set level, the dynamic creative is off. The ads inside the ad level are different, 3 different creatives, 2 different copies, the same headline. I ask what exactly are you testing and the answer is always " ads" But what exactly are you testing? " I don't know". That pretty much summs up a lot of advertisers today.
How do we do ad testing? We create one ad angle based on one desire. In this ad angle, we have three images with the same messege ( each image has a different background or any other changing variable), two ad copies, and two headlines. This is a dynamic creative ad.
Once we get results, we break them down by best-performing ad creative, ad copy, and headline. Then, we create improved creative variations to the best creative, best ad copy, and best headline under a new dynamic creative. Then, we repeat the process again. And again, and again. Usually, about 10 times. Sometimes even 20 times until we hit a really good performing ad angle.
Here are some an ad angles that always work - "US VS THEM" , "Founders Story", "2(3,4,5) Reasons Why X", "Features Benefits" "Negative Humor". All fo these marketing angles work. It's impossible for them not to work if you put in the effort and find the winning ad combination for these ad angles.
And you can find it by testing. In 2023, we tested one improvement and two new ad angles every week.
This year, we will test at least three improvements on the best-performing ad angles and 5 new ad angle tests every week.
This goes back to what I mentioned before: the more you test, the faster you find winners and the quicker you can scale your ads. We even use AI like Claude for ad copy, script writing, headline writing. We also use photoshop ai for more image creative creation. This helps us speed up the process. One creative person with understanding on how ads need to look like can put out the same amount of ads as four people working full time daily without Ai.
One direct-response copywriter with AI can write as many ad copies daily as four people would write in a week.
Even for some of our clients, we have competitors who literally test 100 ads every week, and it has been a challenge to keep up.
To sum up the lesson, last year, we thought that we tested enough this year, and today, we think that we don't test enough, so we're looking for ways to test 50 creatives a week.
4) SCALING THE WINNING TESTS.
Here are some quick tips on how to scale your winning video ads.
The first thing that we do is try to show the same video message but in a different way. Then we filmed the exact same video but in a different environment. Then we also introduce different age groups; if your product appeals to 18-65, then you need to have people in your ads that are in those age groups. One ad can be a person who's 19, then another ad is 24, 30, 35, 40, 46, 50+, and so on. People resonate with people in their age group. It's hard for a 55-year-old to resonate with a 19-year-old who does not share the same problems.
If you find a winning ad don't sit on it, don't let it die out, scale the creative by creating more of it that would appeal do different audiences.
It's a common mistake to rely solely on increasing ad spend when a winning creative starts to lose its effectiveness. Instead, consider creating more variations of the ad, especially if the message is still generating results. Don't be afraid to create 50 or more variations of the winning ad. Remember, it's not easy to find a winning creative, so it's important to make the most of it when you do.
Sometimes, it takes us six weeks to find a winning ad messege when we test 50+ ads. Once we find it, we make sure that we squeeze out all the juice from that winning ad messege.
5) ADVERTORIALS, LANDING PAGES ETC.
I have mentioned this in other posts. This is this years biggest leasson. Test more landing pages, advertorials and listicles. We all know that the product page, website always needs to be improved and the more you improve the better conversion you can get.
But what a lot of people overlook is testing separate landing pages and advertorials.
Especially landing pages based on best performing ads. If you talk about a problem in the ad and then just randomly send people to your website you will get sales. But if you talk about the problem and send people to a landing page that goes deeper inside the problem that the customer might be facing and educates them that this one of the best and cost effective solutions out there your ads will get even more conversions.
I almost feel ashamed that last year, we did not do this on the scale that we do now.
We also launch a new landing page or advertorial test for our past week's best-performing ads. To continue to the marketing messege. This strategy has been so impactful that we will launch a new sales campaign just for landing pages alone.
6) CREATING SOCIAL CONTENT.
It's not enough to create ads. You also need to create content that you can publish on your feed to get organic engagement. Getting organic engagement boosts your ads. Also, the best organic posts can be used as ads to increase engagement.
How many content pieces do you need to post? Ideally? Ten reel videos a day. I do understand that this sounds wild, but here I am. We are not posting ten videos a day yet.
Suppose we go back to understand what Facebook and Instagram are trying to optimize for. They want the users to spend as much time as possible on their platform.
The only way a user can spend as much time as possible is to consume content. If you publish content that people like to watch, educational, humorous, and showcase content around your product or service, you will get a boost from Facebook and Instagram algorithms. Your ads will get lower CPM; lower CPM = lower CAC. Lower CAC = More profit or more money for advertising to scale your business.
We started posting one post daily and saw a decrease in CPM and CAC. Also, engagement on our social media increased. Once people see the ad, they can click on the Facebook or Instagram page, and there's actually some good content that people like to watch, which helps Facebook's algorithm.
7) ENGAGING AD CONTENT
When we create ads we also think about what would be the engagement be like. All of of best performing ads for our brand and our clients are really engaging.
The more engaging the ads are, the more meta algorithms will push them. By engaging ads, I mean they need to get reactions, comments, and shares.
Here's a simple yet effective strategy to boost ad engagement: Start by replying to comments, and then end your response with a question. This encourages the person to continue the conversation in the comments section, increasing engagement.
It's a simple equation: the more comments you get on your ads, the lower your CPMs will be. Comments are a clear indicator of engagement, and higher engagement leads to lower costs.
I just checked the reports for our brands on our best-performing ads, and all of them had 100+ comments. Imagine seeing an ad without any likes, comments, or shares. Now, imagine seeing an ad with hundreds of comments, shares, and hundreds of reactions.
Seeing an ad with so much engagement alone sparks interest in seeing the whole fuss. You can also comment first under the ad using your profile.
One of our customer service teams' tasks is to reply to ad comments within 30 minutes of posting the comment. Replying fast increases the chance for them to reply back, which boosts your ad.
8) SUMMARY
Compared to all the previous years, this year has been the hardest in advertising, especially after recent changes in meta-algorithms going heavily into ad content optimization.
This meant that we had to be more strategic about testing and more dialed into research than ever. If you had told me in 2018 that you need to test 50 ads a month and do at least 2 hours of research weekly, I would have told you to go F**** yourself. I have succeeded with my five ads per ad account, and I'm good.
Looking back, this humbles me and makes me think and ask the question - "what will be required to get success with Facebook ads in 2026?" This is only two years from now? One thing I know for sure is that it will be more challenging than it is now.
Even writing this right now fuels me with an urgency to build things bigger and faster. Cause in two years there is going to be 400 resturants packed in a small town battling for the same customer.
Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this post. See you in the next one.