249: Couldn't Leave You Hanging..

29:28So you would think it's in park, but then if you accidentally hit the gas, obviously the car would go. Yeah. Really tough. So we get one last final update on this, this whole saga. And again, this is kind of where it gets pretty dark you guys so if you can't handle um like a tragic death then please skip ahead how much later is this one so this is coming from november 19th 2025 so a year and a half later okay it goes i feel terrible making this post about my ex-wife's driving i don't know how to link my old post. Sorry. I will summarize. My ex must have had ADHD or something. She would be driving and then decide to look in the back seat or on the floor of the car instead of pulling over.

30:20She was badly hurt when she took off her seatbelt at a red light to get a soother that my kid had lost rather than just pull over and park. I told her if she did it again, I was going to divorce her and take custody. She was in physical rehab for a while. She then drove into a canal by the mall because she didn't put the car in park when she was getting paperwork from the back seat. After my ex drove her car into a canal, I was done. I knew she was going to get my kids injured or worse. Both me and her ex went for full custody of our kids, and part of the divorce settlement in my case was that she was not allowed to drive my children anywhere.

31:00Our divorce was rough and I still loved her. I just couldn't risk my kids. She got a dog. The dash cam her insurance forced her to get showed that the dog was making puking noises in the backseat. She turned around to look at what the dog was doing and she got hit by a semi when she drifted into oncoming traffic. My kids lost their mom. Their older siblings lost their mom. I lost a co-parent I still cared about. Her parents lost a daughter. I feel awful, but a few of you have asked for an update. I think I will be forgetting about this account forever now. I will probably not reply to questions.

31:41I just felt like the folks that helped me before might want closure. See the dash cam thing. You know, honestly, it's very sad tragic but you just think about it how does this keep happening over and over and over and that could have been you know a full family in a small car on the other side yeah it's just you when it gets so bad you almost look at the best of the absolute worst case scenarios no death like this is none of this is a good scenario no it's just you know you think about it with like drunk drivers at least they didn't kill someone you know but it's just like it's just so tough because everyone took the measures they could everyone everyone was trying to protect her and get her help and make her realize like, you have a problem.

32:41You gotta be safe. I don't know. It's just so, it's sad. It's horrible. But everyone did what they could to try and control what they could of the situation. Yeah, be safe. It's just too bad her mind kept reacting in a way where, what is this? I need to look now. I know. And then it's just, I don't know, man. It's tragic. It's a bad one to start off the year with. It's tragic. I think it provides a lot of lessons in it, though. Like, be safe this year. A lot of people in the comments on Best of Regidor updates are, like, all trying to find the silver lining. Like, someone literally says, silver lining.

33:22All her kids and ex-partners are alive and unhurt. Like, there could have been kids in the car. There could have been all four of them in the car. Like, there were measures taken to make sure everyone was being as safe as they could be. And like OP was in a rock and a hard place, like truly, like I love this person, but I need to protect our kids. She won't. I need to. You have to, yeah. Here's a divorce. So I think there's a lot to take from this. I mean, some people just in the comments can't even believe it. Someone, the top comment actually is, I remember the previous Boru post. I thought it was funny when it was revealed in the comments that the accident that brought on the divorce was rolling into a canal.

34:05It's not so funny anymore. No. And it's just, I don't know. I just felt like this story, like it's an intense, tragic story. But I think it is just a reminder of like how fragile we are. And be safe this year. If there's a bad habit you have, maybe it's the time to address it because life is short. Well, and also don't get too comfortable, which I think we talk about a lot in the sense of, you know, always have that look over your shoulder, always be aware of your surroundings, but especially driving, you can get really comfortable driving, especially, you know, most of the accidents happen close to home because that's where you are the most and that's where you're the most comfortable.

34:48so you don't think like oh this stoplight you know i always i know what happens here and it's like the one time you're caught off guard is the last time i know even if it's green look left and right always don't use your phone like the amount of people i've seen in minnesota literally just driving and their phone is like up in their face they're going line to line to line back and forth in their face i'm like what are we doing and it's snowy here there's glare ice on the road like be safe. Yeah. Be safe. But okay, let's move on to that one that you initially picked. And it gets better from here.

35:24Okay, I promise. Let's go. This episode is brought to you by Nintendo. Everyone's version of Me Time is a little different. That's why the Nintendo Switch 2 system is so fun. With exclusive and Nintendo Switch compatible games like Mario Kart World, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Tamodachi Life, Live in the Dream, or Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, there's something for every vibe. And with upgraded hardware, play at home or on the go, whenever the mood hits. Learn more at Nintendo.com slash Nintendo Switch 2. Games and systems sold separately. Some Nintendo Switch games may not be supported or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2.

36:05Games rated E for everyone. This episode is brought to you by Cash App. I myself have fallen for a scam, thought I was getting a really good deal on tickets, and bam, I sent the money and I didn't get my tickets. There's so many common scams these days and finding all the red flags can be hard. That is where Cash App comes in. Keeping your money safe from fraud deserves to be a priority and Cash App treats it that way. With security lock, Cash App requires a successful face ID or biometric authentication to access your account. It's like your money is protected by your own personal bodyguard, even if your phone is lost or stolen.

36:42Plus, if you're about to send money to someone new and Cash App notices something looks a bit off or that you might be falling for a scam, it will send you a warning before the money is sent to confirm that everything looks right. Download Cash App and spend with peace of mind today. Download Cash App today and make your money work for you. Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partners. Visit cashapp.com slash legal slash podcast for full disclosures. So this one is coming from AITAH. It is only a couple hours old at this point. Titled, Am I the asshole for refusing to have sex with my partner while his family is staying with us?

37:20And telling his mother exactly why. Whoa. I, 33 female, live with my partner, 35 male. We generally have a good relationship, including a healthy sex life. Until recently. About two months ago, his parents and younger sister came to stay with us temporarily while they dealt with some financial issues. That temporary stay has turned into eight weeks with no clear end date. They didn't ask me directly. My partner agreed first and told me after. Since they moved in, his mom has completely taken over the house. She rearranged the kitchen, comments on what I eat, and has made several passive-aggressive remarks about me not acting like a wife.

38:05We're not married. His sister goes through my things and once walked into our bedroom without knocking when I was getting dressed after showering. Because of all of this, I told my partner I was uncomfortable being intimate while they're here. I don't feel relaxed, I don't feel like I have privacy, and frankly, I don't feel respected in my own home. I've still been affectionate, just not interested in sex. My partner says I'm, quote, punishing him for something that isn't his fault. Grow up. And that adults should be able to have sex even if family is around. He also said it's been long enough and that I should try harder.

38:50Things blew up last weekend when his mom confronted me and asked if I was withholding intimacy from her son I was shocked and told her calmly that yes I don't feel comfortable having sex when I'm being judged invaded and treated like a guest in my own home Nicely put Now his entire family thinks i'm disrespectful Overshared and i'm trying to control him My partner says I embarrassed him and I should apologize to his mom for bringing our private life into it. I told him she brought it into it first. He says I'm making a big deal out of nothing and that sex shouldn't stop just because I'm annoyed.

39:33I think my comfort and boundaries do matter. So, am I the asshole? No. Oh my God. I'm ready to get... I'm ready to... He can go and take his family. go shoo out new year new man bye honestly you're the fire horse that's what it's about when your relationship is kind of on yeah let's get into this for a second when it's on the edge when it's on you know you're on fragile ground it's time to go man time to go I know not putting up with that are you kidding and how'd she find out did he tell her mommy she won't she won't have sex with me because you guys are here mommy mommy she won't suck my dick mom mom oh sure 100 she's withholding intimacy as a form of control so that you'll leave mom she doesn't want you here mom why are you having no matter what way he said this i don't think there's a good way to have that conversation with your mom i think what happened i would love for someone if you have a thought in your in your head about like how that conversation could be appropriate, I would love you to put it in the comments because like, I can't imagine that conversation.

40:45It's so bad. I just think there's too many, there's too many flags around and they're all colored red. It started with the fact of not asking you. And then the family's just there and like, cool. You know, we'll just be there for a couple of days. We all know how that goes. We've seen that many times. And now we're two months in. How many more months are we going to go? I know. And I understand when people like are having financial struggles and they should be able to move in with family. Like that is such a nice thing for him to do, but it should have been a conversation. You don't live alone.

41:21You live with a partner who I assume is paying rent or mortgage or whatever it is. Like that's at least a conversation. Yes. Anytime. Even if you have just like roommates, you still owe it to the people you live with and signed up to live with to say, hey, here's the situation. What are you guys comfortable with? Especially if it's your partner. Of course, you should help those in need, especially family or anyone that you want to do that for but you can't just bring people into a cohabitated space no without having a conversation hell no i'm literally i'm not kidding new year new man because if he's living by himself theoretically he could have them live there for years forever whatever he wants yeah they can stay with you forever that's not the problem The problem is the lack of communication, the lack of, honestly, that's the best way to put it.

42:20The lack of communication. There's no respect. No respect. She has no respect for her. And then it's like the sister walking in. No boundaries. The whole family has no boundaries. That's the only, you don't even need a reason, first of all, to not be intimate while there's family there. But that's a super easy one. Well, guess what? They walk right in. Yeah. And then the rearranging, all of it is just, oh, it's getting worse and worse. This is a bad cycle. No. I feel like it's going to end up with them done. I mean, there's no way. There's no way forward for me. You get out of this, especially with him not doing any, anything to be a teammate with you.

42:57Yeah. Zero. Just his comments too. Sex shouldn't stop just because you're annoyed. No is like a fine answer. I'm not feeling it. Like you're not going to be in the mood. You don't want to be intimate. You don't have any, I don't even know what like the better word for horniness is when you are living in a situation like this. Like how are you motivated? How do you feel inclined to want to hook up and do stuff? I think annoyed is putting it lightly. He said it's been long enough. Wine and dine me. Put the little razzle dazzle on. Hey, I understand this has been hard on you. Let's go get a hotel.

43:35Let's go to a nice dinner. Let's connect. Let's get back to us. Not this, oh, it's been long enough. You shouldn't be annoyed. You're withholding intimacy. No. Do we know how old this guy is? Yeah. Yeah. He is 35. I thought you were going to say 21. Too old. With that. Too old to be acting like this. Top comment on this one. I may not be a smart man, but I do know when a relationship has run its course. You're not the asshole, but I'd be gone. Next comment, gone so fast. OP, this is a mess and I would want no part in it. He disrespected you when he unilaterally decided that they could stay and further does by not correcting the behaviors of the guests in your house.

44:24Rude-ass people living rent-free, I presume, and have the nerve to ask why he's not getting sex. Are you fucking kidding me? I wouldn't feel attracted to this spineless man either. Yeah, especially when, you know, you didn't really have a choice in the matter, but you guys are doing this to help them immensely. And then they feel so entitled to everything. And to come run the ship. oh i know and there's a lot of strikes i mean people clearly outline strike one moving people in without asking strike two not putting the surprise guests in their place when they started boundary stomping i mean his mom rearranged the whole house and was going crazy sisters walking in that's not just helping like organize that's like i'm gonna make this space mine and that's what she's doing strike three acting like you're the problem for being uncomfortable Strike four, expecting you to put aside your discomfort and be intimate with him when he's made it quite clear your boundaries don't matter.

45:22Why would you feel safe in that situation? Not the asshole, but you will be to yourself if you don't move out or kick all of them out if he moved in with you. And then someone else adds, Strike five, crying to mommy about not getting sex. Strike six. That's insane. Mommy having the audacity to get involved in someone else's sex life. Holy shit. he's a mama's boy and mama knows way too much op if you ever want to have sex again you might as well be having sex with his mom they both crossed a line you don't have a partner you can trust to keep your thoughts and feelings safe and a potential future mother-in-law who will never respect you yeah i think she especially won't because he's not putting her in her place yeah This whole situation exposed all of these cracks.

46:12Yeah. Not necessarily in you guys' relationship even, more just with whom you're with. And it shows why some of that could probably fly under the radar because you're not obviously with his family all the time. But wow, is it all showing. I know. I think it's time to move on and let the year of the fire horse do that for you. It's time for big change. I do want to talk about it because it is really, really cool. So year of the fire horse signifies a rare, powerful period of dynamic energy, passion, transformation, and ambition. Happens once every 60 years. Very, yeah, it's very rare. And combining the horse's freedom and strength with fire's intensity often brings swift change, innovation, and a need for bold action.

47:04It is seen as a time for breaking old patterns, fostering cultural shifts, technological leaps, and new perspectives. You should move forward with strength and determination. Perfect year to get humans back on the moon. Okay, there you go. There you go. Oh, it's happening. We're going to the launch. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of interesting legends about fire horse girls and women, girls, babies that are born in this year. A lot of interesting stuff. I would like to learn more about the Chinese zodiacs and what my dog means. Am I a wood dog? What are we in 1994? Wood dog? Aren't we wood dogs? Like a dog made of wood?

47:46Wood dog. What's a wood dog? Yeah. The 1994 Chinese zodiac sign is the wood dog. Wood dog. Wood dog. I've never heard that. Yeah. Damn. Oh, we have pretty good traits. Wood dogs. We value truth and fairness. That's good. Known as dependable friends who are always there. Feels a strong need to protect loved ones and stand up for what's right. Tend to be sensible and grounded. Empathetic listeners. Oh my God, I'm such a wood dog. Okay. The crowd goes wild. I'm just admiring the moment. Yeah. Just watching it go down. I think she should march back in and go, the fire horse is here. I like that. And you guys, well.

48:31You guys are out. I think you just, yeah. It's probably simpler given the situation that you probably just kind of exit. Irish goodbye. It's the year of the Irish goodbye. Goodbye. No, no. None of this. Just. Bye. Out. Secret. Pack your shit in the middle of the night. Well, hopefully you can find it all with the mom and sister going through everything. Yeah. Shit. Yeah. Okay. Well, on that note, embrace the fire horse. And let's end this on a very positive note. Okay. Okay. Okay. This one I read like curled up in bed this morning after a very late night, obviously, for my grandma's birthday. And I was sitting there in the covers and I read it and I'm just crying.

49:21so maybe have a tissue ready because it is it's a feel good this episode is brought to you by billy i don't know about you guys but i get a little lazy in the winter i'm in hibernation mode and i grow up my leg hair a little bit but it's getting warmer and now i'm excited for that first shave of the season and if you are then you got to get the billy razor into your life it's designed for how women actually shave legs pits toes happy trail wherever prickles decide to show up. It has five sharp blades and a pivoting head, so you can actually get everywhere without doing shower gymnastics. And it comes with a magnetic holder so your razor stays dry on the wall instead of sitting in a shower puddle.

50:03Grab a Billy razor in your favorite color in store or at mybilly.com. This episode is brought to you by Vinted. Season is changing. Time to clean out that closet and maybe make some extra money in the process. Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell your clothes you no longer wear and get more value out of your wardrobe. It's super simple to use and with no selling fees. So you keep what you earn. Give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free to start listing with no seller fees. Okay, before we get into this one, I already know there's going to be issues with my pronunciation and I've done a deep dive into trying to figure out how this is pronounced.

50:49Some people pronounce it Tolkien. Some people pronounce it Tolkien. There's literally a whole subreddit on Tolkien fans about Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Silmaril and whatever the other book is. And there's literally so many different posts on this all talking about the pronunciation of Tolkien and literally like the comments don't really get anywhere and people are like oh it's Tolkien I thought that the whole time and then other people come up with another pronunciation and so the top comment that I see on this is well I hope you're happy from the comments we now have three possible pronunciations so even the super fans are not all perfectly aligned on how you say it.

51:35Okay. Here we go. This is coming from r slash Tolkien Books, 24 days old, titled, Try Not to Make Fun of Me. I Bought My Boyfriend a Gift and Epically Failed. I kind of deserve to be made fun of for this, but hear me out. I'm not particularly a Tolkien fan, not because his work isn't absolutely legendary and deserves all of the reverence that it gets. It's simply because I'm not much of a fan of fantasy novels. However, my boyfriend deeply loves Tolkien's work, and I love that for him. And the man is such a gem that I want to spoil him rotten. Anyhow, I was at a vintage store and I came across this book set, which I had never seen before at any other used bookstore.

52:21I was nervous about the purchase and wanted to research it better before going through the checkout line. But of course, just my luck, I had no cell service in this small town. I even tried walking two blocks away from this vintage store, praying that a cell signal would make itself known and save my life. No luck. So I decided to just be a brave girl and purchase it. Mind you, at the store, this book set is saran wrapped. I was not allowed to open it and get a closer look at the books before purchasing. I get home and immediately feel devastated upon discovering that the pages are as yellow as an angoraphobic chain smoker's walls.

53:05I thought it couldn't get worse. Until, to humiliate myself further, once I finally regain self-service, I google it and discover that the set is missing a goddamn book. I am so completely, entirely, deeply embarrassed and ashamed for not knowing any better. I literally cried. And no, the vintage store did not accept returns. That's sketchy. I don't have enough money to repurchase the correct set for him. I spent$50 at the vintage store, and even that was already getting outside of the budget I have on my pathetic barista salary at the moment. But God, one of my absolute favorite things about my boyfriend is how much he loves to read and how much he cares for his books.

53:51He doesn't dog ear pages. He carefully mends any tears, meticulously organizes them on shelves. I was really, really hoping to knock one out of the park with this one, and instead, I wasted my money and embarrassed myself. I told him I bought him a gift that ended up being a fail, and I vowed to never tell him what it was, and I mean that. That being said, would it be a crime against Tolkien if I repurpose this book set into some sort of art piece? I do collage work, and I've been brainstorming some ways I could use excerpts of the text and or the covers to make something for him in the future.

54:30Should I just sell it for pennies? Should I just burn it, put it on the street corner for free? I'm kidding about that, but truly, the pages are a traumatizing shade of yellow, and although my boyfriend would not expect perfection out of a vintage set, even for my taste, the damage and missing book is too severe to gift to him. I feel so dumb, but because the shell that the books came in didn't look like they had much wiggle room, I would never thought a book was missing. I can barely fit my thumb in between the books and the shell, so it just didn't dawn on me that The Hobbit should have been there.

55:09that's the end but we do have some pictures okay okay so here's picture number one it's three books and they're inside of like a red box like what you would have a set of books in and to me there doesn't seem like there's a way to fit another book in there I agree because why would you have three big ones and one very very tiny one I know just that's what you'd expect and then there's an additional picture where she like flips the book and you can see the yellow of the pages and like you know when she said like chain smokers walls I you know I envisioned yellow but like these are yellow like almost turning orange red and like green on some parts it's a very very scary color to see book pages.

56:00I also, the one thing I'll say is the whole, oh, it's wrapped in saran wrap. Oh, but you can't open it. You know why? Because you discover there's a missing book. Whatever this vintage shop is, I'm not trusting them. I'm not going. No, thanks. That's messed up. I feel like they knew. I feel like they knew. I think the three books are still worth a decent amount, though. Obviously, a complete set would be better. It's probably saran wrapped just so you could barely see. So you can steal one of the books. I get it. I get it. You know, I get it. Top comment. Sets of Tolkien were and are sold both with and without The Hobbit.

56:43Based on how they fit in the box, my guess is that this set never included it. As for the yellowed pages, that's normal for books this age, this particular edition has cover art by Tolkien himself, which is a nice thing. And given that it has the slip case, I don't think that you necessarily overpaid. In general, though, I would never buy books that you can't physically examine before purchase. OP responds, by nature, I'm such a careful, calculated person that I'm shocked I even had the gall to purchase a book I couldn't examine first. But that day, I was a combination of brutally hungover and foolishly brave.

57:25OP gets a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of responses on this. People talking about what year this set is from, 1973. You didn't fail at anything. There's nothing wrong with it here. This set is only three books. There's one user that particularly stands out, and this is user Overhill Underhill, okay? And this user says, I may be able to help you out. I've been collecting Tolkien books for over a decade and have over the course of time collected duplicates of many books. I have quite a few extra copies of The Hobbit that go with the Ballantine Books box sets and would be happy to send you one for free.

58:12I've been slimming my collection down as I have been running out of space with having recently moved, so I have quite a few other Tolkien books and I would be happy to rehome with someone I know would appreciate them. Let me know if you're interested and I'll happily send some books your way. Nice. Doesn't that make you guys just want to cry? Should it happen? So OP responds to Overhill Underhill. That's so generous of you. After I posted this and read everyone's comments, I revisited eBay and saw that some red box sets seem to come with The Hobbit and some don't. There's so little space in mine that I'm now assuming mine wasn't meant to come with The Hobbit.

58:53That's what also initially confused me. I was thinking it was missing a book, but also couldn't fathom how the book would even fit inside the case. Right. Over Hill Under Hill responds, As someone else said, check the spine of the box and it will either say Hobbit or not. I have a few that say Hobbit and even though it looks tight, the Hobbit is able to squeeze in since it's a small book. Either way, let me know and I would be more than happy to send you a Hobbit or a few other vintage Tolkien books. So OP does add a little bit of an edit. Good heavens. Thank you so much for your responses, everyone.

59:29I did not expect to get unanimous encouragement to give it to him. This has totally made my day. Despite its imperfections, I'm so excited to gift it to him after all. Thank you to the Redditors who confirmed that the set I got actually should not have come with The Hobbit after all. Right after I brought it home, I searched eBay and saw a vintage set in red that did come with it, so I assumed mine should have as well. Also, thank you to the Redditors who confirmed that when this particular set was brand new, the edges of the pages were intentionally color-stained yellow. Because although I have quite a few old books myself that have pages that have yellow due to age, these pages seem to be an unnatural shade of yellow.

1:00:11So the color stain makes so much sense. Christmas is saved, y 'all. So I think some of the comments with Overhill Underhill came after that brief edit because there's another update coming the next day. Okay. And OP said, tried to edit my previous post and couldn't. So here's an update for everyone who was generous enough to comment. I checked the spine this morning and despite the optimism some of you shared with me, it absolutely should have had The Hobbit in this set, which is now refreshing my memory as to why I doom spiraled so hard a few months ago when I bought the set. But hey, I'm still going to be a good sport and gift it to my boyfriend.

1:00:51But there's a strong chance I might be taking up Overhill Underhill's offer to send me a copy of The Hobbit after all. 100%. And OP did end up including some more pictures of the book in this. And it is beautiful. I mean, even without The Hobbit, like this is such a beautiful gift. There's artwork on the cover. And if you're a Tolkien fan and you have this, I mean, the set is 50 years old, over 50 years old, and it's still beautiful. Yeah, that's really cool. So a couple more pages of the books in that update. And then OP shares another update, December 20th, 2025. So about 11 days later, I made a post a while back sharing that I'd epically failed after taking a risk and buying my boyfriend a Tolkien book set for Christmas at a vintage shop without being able to do research on it first.

1:01:44With my luck, I discovered later that not only were the edges of the pages well beyond the usual shade of vintage book yellow, but worse. The set was also missing The Hobbit. Well, the plot has since massively thickened, and the story gave way to a crescendo I was not expecting. I've got updates for you. the first two nowhere near as thrilling as the third one most of you commented on my original post saying that the set was never meant to include the hobbit even though my slip case listed it and man i'll hand it to you some of you had me properly doubting myself for a moment thinking wow maybe i didn't make such a blunder after all then multiple redditors commented saying they had the same set when it was brand new or nearly new and all four books did in fact originally come with it and fit in that case.

1:02:34That is, apparently, only until you open or read the books. Once read, they expand and become difficult to get back into the case without damaging it. Hearing that, it didn't surprise me at all that so many of you own a set that only includes the trilogy. If all four couldn't fit, The Hobbit is unfortunately the perfect book to detach from the set. Two, regarding the Chainsmoker-esque yellow pages. To those of you that said the pages weren't far off from how the vintage books simply age over time, I think if you could see them in person, you'd get my initial panic. I've loved old books my whole life, and I've never seen pages that yellow before, unless there was damage present.

1:03:15I still figured there was something wrong until multiple Redditors commented that even when the set was brand new, the edges of the pages were originally printed with color-stained yellow edges. That makes much more sense. Three, again, those two things, and posting a few more photos of the set I originally purchased are not even remotely the reason I'm even posting this update. It's to share how this whole saga reached some unexpected heights. Did she find a signature or something? A Redditor read my original post about how much my boyfriend reveres Tolkien's work, as well as how, despite my good intentions, my foolish optimism led to both Christmas gift misfortune and a financial setback, particularly due to my meager barista salary.

1:04:00In response, this Redditor sent me not only the missing copy of The Hobbit that belongs to the 1973 set that I purchased, but also some truly incredible items I could have never dreamed of being able to gift my boyfriend for free. Wow. He would not even allow me to pay for shipping. I'm not often one to shed happy tears, but without knowing the contents of what he had even planned to send in the first place, other than The Hobbit, I opened the boxes this Redditor sent me and I sobbed. Any photos I include in my post today, aside from the 1973 trilogy and its slipcase, are what he sent me. Wow.

1:04:41I've already thanked him profusely in a DM, but I want to, again thank over hill under hill your generosity has left me in awe and the words to properly thank you have continuously failed me i would have been thrilled even to have been given the hobbit but all of the other books you gifted are absolutely incredible and will be deeply cherished by my boyfriend the print signed by andy circus might genuinely break his brain it broke mine nice and for those that don't know Andy Serkis played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings I also want to thank the rest of you for responding to my original post and encouraging me to give this out to my boyfriend despite its flaws I appreciate the helpful information plot twists, generosity, laughter and even the asshole comments because it truly wouldn't have been Reddit without them I can't even fathom what my boyfriend's reaction will be on Christmas Day he'll know immediately by the sheer number of presents under the tree that I wouldn't have had enough money to purchase all of those things for him.

1:05:42He has no idea what the nature of his gifts are. He just knows there's tons of lore involved and extra gifts as a result. I at least had to spoil the fact that Reddit community came together for him for Christmas simply because I didn't want him stumbling on any of my posts by accident. Yeah, yep. So the poor man agreed to stay off Reddit until Christmas. I was feeling down about Christmas this year because I could afford so little for my boyfriend, but now I'm genuinely excited. I can't wait for him to open his gifts and to send him the link to the original post so he can read the entire saga for himself.

1:06:17Merry Christmas, everyone. I love it. Yeah, it's so exciting when you have all that stuff to give and now the story to go with it. I think the story is even cooler, you know, because it makes everything that much more sentimental. It's so special. It's just like the kindness and like to pay for shipping. Like when you guys see the picture of everything that got sent, it was so, so much stuff. Like I couldn't believe it. Like there's these two books, these two books. So four books, six books, this whole pack of books there's what nine other books here in nice box sets the signed golem picture that's awesome and a whole thing about its authenticity it comes with a certificate this is the set with the hobbit I mean just that generosity and like Christmas is so tough on a lot of people, especially financial reasons and not feeling like you can provide enough or, you know, whatever.

1:07:28And this is just beautiful. It's such a beautiful, beautiful part of humanity. And our lovely friend Overhill Underhill does see the update and make a comment on it. I'm happy to have come across your original post and be able to help out. The Tolkien community in general has always been such a kind and sharing one, so I always do my best to uphold that. I've had the pleasure of meeting Andy Serkis a few times at events, so I definitely wanted to include one of the autographs I had gotten as an extra surprise. Thank you to everyone in this community and everyone that commented on the original post and shared your knowledge on the box set and your reassurance that OP had not made a mistake with her purchase.

1:08:12And as Sam said, there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for. Someone replies to him and says, you have the true markings of a great hobbit, Mr. Underhill.

1:08:30So cute. It's also so cool that he had an outlet for, you know, because it's, I think when you have stuff you love so much, and then I think everyone gets to a point where they have this collection of stuff and at some point they're like I have too much me with anything horse related now but to give it to someone that appreciates it almost even more than you ever ever did special I think that's uh you know that's what we all hope for our most prized things is that they go to someone that truly appreciates them yeah so it's just it's kind of perfect all around because he probably felt just as good doing it as they did, you know, receiving it.

1:09:15So it's just, you know, it's such a, it's actually, it's a good cycle. We talk about so many bad cycles in this show where it just gets worse and worse and worse, but this is, this is beautiful. This is really nice. And we have one final update. Many of you requested a final update after my boyfriend opened his Christmas gifts, and here it is. But bear with you if you're not already aware, brevity is not a strength I possess. Initially, I wasn't sure what order to gift the books that Overhill Underhill so generously sent. I thought it might feel repetitive to open Tolkien after Tolkien back to back, so I staggered them between the other gifts I'd gotten him.

1:09:55Each time he got to a Tolkien, he was fascinated and in shock. There were multiple books he hadn't even been aware existed. Once he opened a few gifts, he asked if we had gotten to any of the Reddit lore yet, and I repeatedly pled the fifth. I wanted his suspicion to grow organically, and it did. He commented that he was astounded by how much money he thought I had spent, as he knew I couldn't afford any of that, and worried that I had poured all of the purchases onto a credit card. I decided that the second to the last gift would be the print signed by Andy circus. I knew then for sure he'd know a gift like that, and thus the overall theme wasn't accomplished alone.

1:10:41He had already been speechless and in awe over the other books, but the print just baffled him. He asked how I could have pulled something like that off. That's when I confessed I couldn't have done this alone, and that Overhill Underhill sent the print and all of the Tolkien King books he had opened until this point. Lastly, I had him open my original gift, the 1973 Ballantine set. I shared in detail how I had come across it and how devastated I initially was when I thought his gift was damaged and incomplete, and how much encouragement I received from Reddit to gift it anyways. Tucked underneath the set was what I framed as the book that truly started it all, which was the missing book in the set, The Hobbit.

1:11:25I admittedly lost it a bit when sharing how I felt about how these books came into my possession. This all has meant so much to me. He choked up as well, especially reading Overhill Underhill's comment on my update post and the numerous other comments from other Redditors thereafter. All right, I guess truly last, I gave him a little box of printed QR codes that linked to the multiple posts that have led up until this point. He saw that my prior update hit 14k upvotes, and we both laughed at the absurdity and kindness of it. He's so moved by the reception this saga has received. He also expressed that if any community would show up in droves with kindness, integrity, and support, it would, of course, be the Tolkien community.

1:12:10Your collective moral compass and generosity are unparalleled. You all are gems. He hasn't gotten through even a fraction of the comments as of yet and has his work cut out for him over the next couple of days. He's read some of his favorites so far out loud to me and it's clear how much all of you have impacted him. We both generally loathe being in front of the camera so just know we did our best to rally beyond our anxious tendencies to post a photo of us for y 'all. Merry Christmas everyone and over hill under hill please brace yourself for even more of a flood of gratitude from him and I and honestly if we're lucky.

1:12:49My boyfriend and I would love a private Q &A from you. We have so many questions, comments, and accolades we're tempted to inundate you with. Edit, forgot to mention, another Redditor is sending two more books if you can believe it, and they're legendary too. They should arrive this weekend. And here is a picture of the two of them with all of the gifts. It's like a full collection. It is the most massive, beautiful collection I've ever seen. And they're so cute and smiling in front of a tree. I'm just like, it's just amazing. Absolutely amazing. That's awesome. So. Wow. Beautiful, beautiful story.

1:13:25Of course, Overhill Underhill sees the last final update and just says, I'm so happy to see this final update and glad to have been able to contribute to the saga along with many other kind Redditors. Thank you all for the kind words, especially those who have said that these posts have made them want to be more charitable. This world can always use more kindness. And as Gandalf said, quote, some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

1:14:07I love this story. This is where I lost it, reading it this morning. So we could go home and watch all the movies or read all the books. that's that's more appropriate we should read all the books i know i haven't read the hobbit literally probably since eighth grade yeah same so what a beautiful beautiful story beautiful community i just like can't even believe this all came about on this small little sub on reddit i mean the sub itself it has 200k weekly visitors like it's not super super big 999 weekly contributions so i mean it's big pretty good like still it's just like wow like how special for these people like out of the kindness of their heart to just come and share and send these books and yeah i mean over under hill you you crushed it wow just wow yeah so that is the note we're ending it on a little bit of a short sweet episode or the note we're starting it on because it is the first episode of the year thank you guys so much for being here sorry this was posted a little late obviously some late night birthday celebrations but we've got some amazing amazing guests this month and i'm so excited for you to see them some really good comedians some repeat customers so it's gonna be a good month and a few surprise guess I just got an email for a crazy one yesterday and I'm like am I getting targeted by a phishing scam or is this real because this is a big name so so excited to spend another year with you all two outtakes turns five in February yeah and I'm gonna embrace the the year of the firehorse and see what we can really do this year there you go there we go until next time guys until next time bye bye

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