I'm on mobile and I dont use reddit often. Excuse the formatting.
I don't know what to do. I'm young and I have no idea what to do anymore. We met 3 years ago and since then apart from 8 months we have spent time together. We dated for a combined over 2 years. There was a gap (the 8 months), but there was a big incident and I needed time to recuperate/cope. We waited multiple months before getting back together to be sure we wanted it, and we did. We dated for 1 year and 8 months this time. Over the course of this time a lot of grief and really jarring things happened. I would say it was the worst time of my life so far. They were always there and always my biggest supporter. Over this time I lost many many freinds, a family member, and some pets. They were always the one to get me through. I would always do my hardest to support them as their life was also tumultuous. I truly believe we got eachother through the worst year of our lives together. All of this to say they are my everything. Yesterday I caused a fight because I was stupid and upset, and they broke up with me. This I wasn't expecting at all. I know it's my fault believe me I do, but they said they loved me and we had been having such a good time. We had been going out with freinds and we went to a petting zoo together. They hadn't brought up anything and nothing seemed unusual, but now I don't know what to do. My heart is always racing, I haven't been able to eat without getting extremely nauseous. I can't sleep because I wake up every 2 hours crying. My world has come crashing down as cliche as it is. I don't know what to do with my life. What I need to know is how to get my heart to stop beating so fast, I've tried breathing but it never slows down. I need to know how to make me feel like myself again. I need to know how to stop being so obsessed with what they're doing and who they're with. I need to know how to stop being so worried about them moving on. I know this is all pretty normal breakup stuff, but I'm really at a loss right now. I feel stupid for asking reddit but please help me feel normal again.

This is actually the first add-on idea I've been considering for SRB2 — yes, I was brainstorming this before I was brainstorming the Belnades Sisters. This is one of my very first Mario/Sonic OCs, and fair warning here, he's a bit OP. The character in question is Garcia… Garcia the Beanie Baby. Yes, I'm serious. (I'd have put up a link to Garcia's profile on Ty's website, but he's not there anymore.) Anyways, Garcia in my fanfics is a lot more than a teddy bear — he's a powerful pyrokinetic capable of giving Blaze a run for her money. So, here are some details on how he'd play.

• Default stats (36 top speed, 40 acceleration, 5 thrust factor, 96 accel start; run animation starts at 28 speed).
• Default jump height (100 fracunits).
• No spin-jump. Jumping into enemies will get Garcia hurt, and jumping on monitors won't break them.
• Garcia's passives will be listed first, since they have a rather dramatic influence on the rest of his moveset.
  • Passive: Fire Absorption: Garcia is completely immune to fire damage (flames, lava spouts, lava), etc.), as though he always had a Flame Shield. In fact, being exposed to fire allows Garcia to absorb it and power himself up, making his abilities stronger in a similar fashion to Surge's electric charge system (albeit not quite as dramatic in terms of (immediate) mobility). Absorbing fire grants Garcia 5 "flame charge points", which refresh to 5 on further exposure to fire, but otherwise wear off for each ability use or at a rate of 1 point per 5 seconds (though they will be continuously refreshed if Garcia is standing on a flame floor). While powered-up, Garcia has slightly higher run speed and jump height (38 top speed, 41 acceleration, 99 accel start, 110-fracunit max jump height) and can damage enemies and bosses by jumping into them or running into them at top speed, at the expense of 1 flame charge point per impact. Actually having a Flame or Elemental Shield will keep Garcia in a powered-up state with infinite flame charge points until he loses the shield or somehow switches to a different shield. And, yes, Garcia can absorb flames generated by other players who have an Elemental Shield or are playing as a character with fire-based abilities, such as Garcia himself, Blaze, Flame, or Hinote. Garcia is undoubtedly at his strongest in fire levels such as Red Volcano Zone, and can probably roflstomp Brak Eggman by absorbing his many flame-based attacks.
  • Passive: Water Weakness: Garcia's high attunement to the element of fire means that he struggles to function underwater. While underwater, his abilities are put in a powered-down state and are a bit less potent than normal. (If Garcia was powered up when he entered the water, he immediately loses the powered-up state, but enters a grace period where his abilities have their normal potency before powering down to the underwater version; the length of the grace period is however long his flame charge points would have lasted. Garcia does not get his powered-up state back if he exits the water before the grace period ends.) Garcia also has a shorter-than-usual air timer in water, which means that he drowns faster than most other characters and needs to find air more frequently to survive underwater sections. In short, Garcia really struggles in water levels, such as Deep Sea Zone or Azure Temple Zone. (Note that this only applies to water sectors; Garcia's abilities are not weakened and he does not suffocate any faster than anyone else in space sectors.) Absorbing fire underwater (for instance, the gargoyles in Azure Temple Zone) will just put Garcia in the grace period state, returning his abilities to normal potency until it wears off, but will not affect his air meter. Having an Elemental Shield overrides the water weakness and puts Garcia's abilities in the usual powered-up state.
• Air Action: Free Flight: Garcia is equipped with a jetpack, and he knows how to use it. (He technically doesn't even need the jetpack to fly, but this incarnation of the character is meant to be Garcia in his late teens, and he doesn't know that yet.) Pressing Jump in mid-air puts Garcia in a state similar to Knuckles' glide (complete with the ability to damage enemies by flying into them; this does not count as a fire attack, and is one of Garcia's few ways to damage other players who are also playing as Garcia or equipped with an Elemental or Flame shield in PVP modes), except with no wall-climbing, the ability to slowly ascend instead of descending by holding Spin, the ability to shift to a more vertical flight mode with lower horizontal movement but greater vertical movement (either rising into the air or diving towards the ground) by holding C3, and the ability to transition into a slower but more precise "combat flight mode" by pressing Fire. In combat flight mode, use the movement keys to move laterally, hold Jump to ascend, hold Spin to descend, or return to standard flight mode by pressing C3; there's something else that can be done in combat flight mode by pressing Fire, but I'll get to that later. While Garcia can literally fly around all day in my fanfics, for SRB2 gameplay purposes, to avoid completely snapping any semblance of challenge or level design in half, Garcia will only be able to fly for 8 seconds at a time before being forced out of flight mode and having to touch back down. The powered-up version of this ability lasts for up to 12 seconds, while the powered-down version lasts for up to 4 seconds.
• Garcia has three possible actions he can take by pressing Spin, depending on how fast he is moving when the button is pressed.
  • Spin (Ground, Stationary): Runner's Stance: Press Spin on the ground while standing completely still to make Garcia crouch down into a "ready to run" position. From here, you can press Jump to cancel, Spin to break into a run, or Fire to begin crawling. The run option will cause Garcia to start running at a speed of 21 (18 if powered down, 24 if powered-up), and will also generate a small explosion to damage nearby enemies with the powered-up version, but it is not a spin-dash; it can't pass through low openings and won't damage enemies that Garcia runs into unless he's powered up. It's simply a more effective way to accelerate than simply holding the movement keys (it's still arguably less effective than a Spin-Dash and certainly less effective than Sonic's thok). The crawl option allows Garcia to pass into low openings, but at the cost of losing a lot of momentum, as it takes about half a second for Garcia to remove his jetpack and begin crawling, and he moves slowly and is completely vulnerable to attack while crawling. Press Jump while crawling to stop crawling and have Garcia put his jetpack back on, which takes about half a second. The crawl allows Garcia to get into spin characters' routes if he absolutely has to, but he prefers the non-spin routes taken by Amy or Fang. He does have another way to get into spin routes that sacrifices less momentum, but it's a bit tricky to pull off…
  • Spin (Ground, Low Speed): Flame Pounce: Press Spin while moving on the ground at a speed of 28 or less (i.e. in a "walking" animation) to make Garcia execute a short hop (about 12 to 20 fracunits), then dive back to the ground with a leaping punch that can damage enemies, break monitors, and bust open breakable walls and floors (including the strong ones that only Knuckles, Amy, and Fang can break in the base game). Despite the name of the move, the punch is not a fire attack and can bypass immunity to fire damage. This is one of Garcia's main direct combat options on the ground (especially against fire-immune characters) and one of his main ways to get into non-spin routes, though it is somewhat short-ranged and can be tricky to aim. The powered-down version is mostly identical to the standard version, with the only differences being slightly longer startup, slower movement, and lower distance/range (I was tempted to not let it bust walls and floors, but then Garcia would be softlocked in DSZ 2 if he got to a certain point of the level without an Elemental Shield), while the powered-up version generates explosions on startup and touchdown, granting it a greater attack radius (note that the explosions do count as fire damage). The powered-up version also deals double damage, similar to Susie's Red Buster, but only if the punch itself connects rather than the explosions.
  • Spin (Ground, High Speed): Flame Slide: Press Spin on the ground while in the running animation (moving at a speed of 28 or higher) to make Garcia perform a slide-kick move similar to Kris'. This slide kick grants Garcia a burst of extra speed at the start that is then gradually lost over the course of the move until Garcia comes to a stop or cancels the slide and transitions back into a running state by pressing Jump. The slide kick can damage enemies and break monitors (and the slide kick itself doesn't count as fire damage), while also leaving a flame trail like the Elemental Shield's that is itself able to damage enemies, but it's a bit higher up off the ground than usual for this type of maneuver (since Garcia's wearing a jetpack), and thus can't get into tight spaces. However, it is possible to transition into a variant that can get into tight spaces by pressing Spin again during the slide. This will cause Garcia to hastily remove his jetpack and start carrying it, while also lowering himself further to the ground so that he can pass through tight spaces. However, Garcia still takes about half a second to remove the jetpack, the awkwardness of this maneuver will cause Garcia to start losing speed once the jetpack is off, pressing Jump in this state will cause Garcia to decelerate faster until he stops, and he'll need to pause for half a second to put the jetpack back on once he stops. This still allows Garcia to get through tight spaces without losing as much momentum as crawling, but it requires space to run as well as good planning and timing (due to the delay between pressing Spin the second time and actually being able to move through tight spaces) and still causes Garcia to lose speed at the end, so he still prefers to take non-spin routes. The powered-up version grants a greater burst of speed at the start, has a larger flame trail, generates explosions at the start, when canceled, and when transitioning into the pseudo-spin (once again, the explosions count as fire damage), and loses less speed during execution (especially in the pseudo-spin phase). The powered-down version grants less speed on initiation, has no flame trail, and loses speed faster.
• Spin (Air): Flame Pulse: Press Spin while in mid-air and not in flight mode to make Garcia envelop himself in a large fireball, which serves as his substitute for the spin-jump. This fireball lasts for 1 second. The fireball extends outwards for 50 fracunits around Garcia's position by default (though Garcia can only bounce off an enemy if they are a sturdy enemy such as a Lance-a-Bot or boss or he hits them from above); the powered-up version extends outward for 75 fracunits, while the powered-down version only extends outwards for 25 fracunits. Garcia can technically use this move in mid-air as much as he wants, but there is a 1-second cooldown between uses, which can be reset by hitting an enemy or touching the ground, which means that he only gets one usage per jump unless he's chaining attacks on enemies or jumping to a lower part of the level.
  • Garcia can't use shield actions. He doesn't really need them, what with the free flight and all, and some of them, like the Whirlwind Shield, would be a hindrance to his playstyle if they replaced his default air spin action due to forcing him to rely exclusively on his air action, grounded spin moves, or fireballs to fight.
• Fire: Throw Fireball: Garcia's main attack is generating fireballs and tossing them at enemies. (Yes, he has a ranged attack like Fang, he can accelerate quickly from a standstill, he can pummel enemies with melee attacks while moving around, and he can fly like some odd blend of Tails, Knuckles, and Silver. I did say he was a bit OP.) Press Fire to throw a fireball straight ahead or towards whatever your cursor is aiming at. (A Samus-style aim assist is being considered, particularly for third-person mode.) Fireballs deal standard damage and can be thrown at a rate of 1 fireball per 0.8 second. Garcia can throw fireballs while standing still, walking, running, jumping, or even while flying if you're in the combat flight mode (it might be hard to aim if you're moving fast, though). Fireballs have a max range of 400 fracunits and have a decently fast travel time. In Ringslinger modes, FireNormal is set to fireball-throwing, allowing Rings to be thrown with the Fire key. The powered-up version has two modes. The standard powered-up fireball is simply larger, travels faster and further, and has a shorter cooldown (0.6 second), but deals no extra damage; however, each fireball only costs half a flame charge point. Hold the Fire key for at least one second while powered up to throw a slower, but even larger and longer-ranged fireball that actually consists of one large fireball surrounded by a corona of ambient heat. The corona and the fireball itself can both separately strike the same enemy with good aim, allowing this version to effectively deal double damage (it bypasses the mercy invulnerability of sturdy enemies and bosses, but not other players, so sorry, but no one-shot-kills in PVP). This version costs a full flame charge point. The powered-down version is simply a smaller, slower, shorter-ranged, less spammable (1-second cooldown), and slightly weaker fireball (it deals 4/5 the damage of a basic attack, killing most enemies in 2 hits, a Lance-a-Bot in 3, and most bosses in 10); the smaller hitbox does make it slightly harder to score hits with, but the lower damage and firing rate are bigger problems. (Seriously, Garcia wants to stay out of water as much as possible.)
• Easter Egg: Cute interactions with his love interest, Marine! (…What? He digs her adventurous, spirited personality!)

Drivers don't complain about $1000 cash tips and $1000 restaurant gift certificates. Drivers don't complain about $100 tips. Or about $50 surges.
The problem is that none of these are sustainable. It simply won't happen frequent enough.
Many drivers seem to be impacted by a disorder that prevents them from connecting the dots:
If a driver, on the off chance, had to call a ride and would be unwilling to pay $100 for a 15 minute ride that normally costs $25, what is it in his (or hers) brain that prevents him from realizing that riders would react the same way?
If a driver got tired of a job, having to show up on time, be drug free, do actual work at a factory or a restaurant for $10/hour, how low can Uber take him before a factory job starts looking good again?
If a driver is too weird for people and delivers food instead, likes to dip into customer food or blackmail/beg for tips, how low can UberEATS/doordash go before old job looks good again?
Back to connecting the dots questions:
If a driver escaped a situation in which he/she had to be punctual, sober, accept authority, supervision and perform actual work, what is it, in his or her brain, that prevents them from realizing that, after more "drivers" escape the same situation, they won't be as busy in their "getting paid while sitting" gig? Which part of his/hers brain prevents them from realizing that "more Uber cars on the road=less rides for each driver?
Now, this one is going to be difficult so I'll take it easy, slow and spoonfeed here:
if a driver, working the previous job, couldn't leave work fast enough and couldn't wait for the weekend but now he/she is willing to Uber all day, every day, regardless if he/she made 3k or 2k or 1k a week, is their job as hard as the previous one, if they are making at least double what they used to?
I came here to exchange truth for downvotes and baby, I'm here all day!

I can figure out what to do here, there are 6 mushrooms covered in flowing sand, with bug pulsing parts. There's an alter nearby that is also covered in sand.

Hello,
​
I'm trying to build a PC from scratch for the first time. I've repaired plenty and patched together broken boxes into something working but it's been a long time. I already have old monitors and keyboards that work, although I'll admit I'd prefer to upgrade to a mechanical keyboard at some point.
​
​
Budget: $1500 MAX PREFER $1100 OR LESS
​
Useage profile: the main usage especially to start will be editing, formatting, and using various mostly open source tools for online book and article publishing. I do some 3D printing and composing for fun so either of those might end up happening on this but not with the strongest of programs. I am trying to get back into editing audio and video so I will need a machine that can handle DaVinci Resolve and audacity at the bare minimum.
​
Preferred features: I would love room to upgrade when I have more money, rather than simply buying a new pc. While I might do some gaming I'm not someone who's kept up with it enough to really make a judgment on needs or desires, most of the games that I tend to be curious about aren't the Triple A releases.
​
Personal Touches: For profesusonal work, so I will not pay extra for RGB etc.
​
I did put together this list online but it doesn't feel quite right.
​
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6VzB8r)
​
TypeItemPrice
:----:----:----
**CPU** [AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dXmmP6/amd-ryzen-7-7700-36-ghz-8-core-processor-100-100000592box) $319.79 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** [Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q6H7YJ/thermalright-assassin-x-120-refined-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ax120-se-d3) $19.89 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** [MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cRQcCJ/msi-pro-b650m-a-wifi-micro-atx-am5-motherboard-pro-b650m-a-wifi) $159.99 @ B&H
**Memory** [TEAMGROUP Elite 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-4800 CL40 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6qhFf7/team-elite-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr5-4800-cl40-memory-ted532g4800c40dc01) $67.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** [Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Zxw7YJ/samsung-970-evo-plus-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-mz-v7s1t0bam) $54.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** [\*XFX GTR XXX Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MsWfrH/xfx-radeon-rx-580-8gb-gts-xxx-ed-video-card-rx-580p8dfd6) $139.99 @ Best Buy
**Case** [Zalman S2 ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bcprxzalman-s2-atx-mid-tower-case-s2) $54.99 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** [Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YRJp99/corsair-rm750e-2023-750-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-cp-9020262-na) $99.99 @ Best Buy
**Operating System** [Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yjbTwP/microsoft-windows-11-pro-oem-dvd-64-bit-fqc-10529) $139.98 @ Newegg
*Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts*
**Total** **$1057.60**
\*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2023-06-05 21:29 EDT-0400

Hello! I am wanting to do some cleanup of my humble bundle items and would like to get desitny 2 legacy for steam preferably but welcome any other game offer. Thank you for checking out my post and below is the list of games I am offering.

1. 112 Operator
2. A Mortician's Tale
3. Agents of Mayhem
4. Alien Spidy
5. Amnesia: Rebirth
6. Amnesia: The Dark Descent + Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
7. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 7 Ashampoo
8. Book of Demons
9. Boundless
10. Broken Age
11. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
12. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
13. Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
14. Corridor Z
15. Crying Suns
16. DUCATI - 90th Anniversary
17. DV: Rings of Saturn
18. Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft - The Eldritch Box DLC
19. Darksiders Warmastered Edition
20. Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
21. Draw Slasher
22. Drawful 2
23. Driftland: The Magic Revival
24. EarthX
25. Endless Space 2
26. Europa Universalis IV
27. Expeditions: Viking
28. Fable Anniversary
29. Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered
30. Fury Unleashed
31. GNOG
32. GRIP: Combat Racing Artifex DLC
33. GameGuru
34. GameMaker Studio 2 Creator 12 Months YoYo Games
35. Go Home Dinosaurs
36. Going Under
37. HIVESWAP: Act 1
38. Hacknet
39. Hexologic
40. Inmost
41. Intro to Game Development with Unity Zenva
42. Iron Danger
43. Jurassic World Evolution - Deluxe Dinosaur Pack
44. Kingdom Two Crowns
45. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
46. Liberated GOG
47. Lostwinds
48. Lust for Darkness
49. Lust from Beyond: M Edition
50. MXGP - The Official Motocross Videogame
51. Magicka
52. Max Payne 3 Rockstar Social
53. Monaco
54. Moon Hunters
55. Motorcycle Mechanic Simulator 2021
56. Music Maker EDM Edition Magix
57. Music Maker EDM Edition Magix
58. NecroWorm
59. Neverout
60. Nex Machina
61. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
62. Orbital Racer
63. Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
64. PAC-MAN™ CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION 2
65. PDF-Suite 1 Year License PDF-Suite
66. PGA Tour 2K21
67. Party Hard
68. Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook and Starfinder Core Rulebook Paizo
69. Pathway
70. Pawnbarian
71. Pixplode
72. Popup Dungeon
73. Post Void
74. Quantum Break
75. RESIDENT EVIL 2 - All In-game Rewards Unlock
76. RPG Maker VX
77. Radio Commander
78. Maneater
79. Endzone - A world Apart
80. Beyond The Wire
81. The Survivalists
82. Lacuna - A sci-fi noir Adventure
83. 8 Doors
84. Greak: Memories of Azur
85. Fling to the Finish
86. Tohu
87. Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadsville
88. Resident Evil 0 HD REMASTER
89. Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony
90. Ring of Pain
91. Roarr! Jurassic Edition
92. Rustler
93. STRIDER™
94. SUPERHOT
95. SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
96. Say No! More
97. Shing!
98. Slinger VR
99. Song of Iron
100. Soulblight
101. Speed Brawl
102. Starfinder: Pact Worlds Campaign Setting Paizo
103. Stealth 2: A Game of Clones
104. Sunset Overdrive
105. Super Hexagon
106. Supraland
107. Telefrag VR
108. The Amazing American Circus
109. The USB Stick Found in the Grass
110. The Witness
111. This is the Police
112. Toejam & Earl: Back in the Groove
113. Tooth and Tail
114. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
115. Train Valley 2
116. Treasure Hunter Simulator
117. Tropico 4
118. Vagante
119. Vikings - Wolves of Midgard
120. WARSAW
121. Wanderlust: Travel Stories GOG
122. Wandersong
123. Wargroove
124. We Are Alright
125. West of Dead
126. Wizard of Legend
127. Wizard of Legend
128. World of Goo
129. Worms Revolution
130. X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
131. Zombotron
132. Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous
133. Fallout 76 + Fallout 1
134. Thronebreaker: the Witcher Tales
135. Othercide
136. Shady Part of Me
137. Scourgebringer
138. Fobia: St. Dinfna Hotel
139. Five Dates
140. Doom Eternal
141. Tribes of Midgard
142. Encased: a Sci-fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG
143. Olliolli World: rad edition
144. Grow: song of the Evertree
145. Connan Chop Chop
146. Hokko Life
147. The serpent Rogue
148. Wasteland 3
149. Greedfall
150. First class trouble
151. Backbone
152. TOEM
153. Where the water tastes like wine
154. Blade assault
155. Super magbot
156. Hell Let Loose
157. Eldest Souls
158. Raji: An Ancient Epic
159. Morbid: The seven acolytes
160. Spellcaster university
161. Surviving the Aftermath
162. If Found...
163. Genesis Noir
164. EMBR
165. Ghostrunner
166. Destroy All humans!
167. Killsquad
168. Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
169. Suzerain
170. Chcken Police
171. Naruto to boruto: shinobi striker
172. The Dark Pictures Anthology
173. Red Solstice 2: Survivors
174. Nebuchadnezzar
175. Police Stories
176. Evan’s Remains
177. Per Aspera
178. Just Die Already
179. Before We Leave
180. Paradise Lost
181. Iron Harvest
182. Project Winter
183. Rustler
184. The Henry Stickmin Collection
185. Farmer’s Dynasty
186. Between The Stars
187. Midnight Protocol
188. Maneater
189. Endzone - A world Apart
190. Beyond The Wire
191. The Survivalists
192. Lacuna - A sci-fi noir Adventure
193. 8 Doors
194. Greak: Memories of Azur
195. Fling to the Finish
196. Tohu

For context I’m a 21 F living on my own in CA where everything is crazy expensive. I had to give up a lot of things including college when my father abruptly sold our home, moved away and sent me off on own over a year ago. I have worked since 15 and always considered myself very independent. I currently work one full time job and one part time, I work 6 days a week usually 7 shifts. I never have time for anything, nor money to even go out to dinner. My rent and car payment take up most of my checks so gas and other essentials suck up the last of them. I have had $0 in savings since the move and honestly feel like I’m drowning. Most of my friends still live at home or with a partner splitting the bills, so no one really gets how hard this is on me. My friends always invite me out but I seriously can’t even afford to go out even though I’m 21. You would think working six days a week I would have something to show for it or money to put in my savings or go on little trips but I am barely paying my bills. I’ve maxed out my credit card and really don’t know what to do. My main job pays decently well and has full benefits so I really don’t want to let it go and it’s also in the field I love. But at the same time half of me wants to move out of CA and somewhere I can actually afford to live. I am a lover of nature and I can never even spend time outdoors, I constantly feel exhausted and I don’t have a support system to fall back on in case things go wrong. I had so many goals when I was younger and now my biggest stress is simply keeping a roof over my head. I am tired of this. Working to live or living to work?

It appears that there is hope after all. I just needed to listen to a song called A New Day With Hope by Genshin Impact. Have you ever heard of that game? My motivation levels have gone up. Though my psychatrists couldn’t replicate my false memories, it appears that I have found hope. I have found hope without BCCHF. I just thought of a nurse I met at the general hospital 4 times. The first time I met her I was traumatized, then sent to Children’s. The second time, she saw my chest and said "it’s crooked too". The third time I talked to her: "Feeling anxious" I told her, before almost collapsing, for the 3rd time. It was rare for me to collapse. I’m not sure if she looked into my eyes or not. The fourth time, I met her for a chest x-ray scan. Now I know why. My chest was crooked. She looked familiar as I changed in the small change rooms. I thought, if I was trapped in this 1x2 space, it would be like a prison. But surprisingly I wasn’t anxious as I thought. The fifth time I met her was at the adult team. She wore glasses. She asked me if I had a girlfriend, which I responded no. This one I remember clearly. Then I looked confused. She asked me why I went to Douglas college. I told her aggressively what my other self told me: A famous businessman went there. But I said popular. She smiled for a bit, before looking a bit sad. She asked me why I picked marketing. I didn’t say anything. She then looked angry, and I also looked and felt just as angry. Truth was, it was shorter than the general business one. Too bad I couldn’t tell that to the psychiatrist later. I guessed she thought it was a bunch of bulls***. Maybe she just looked that way. She then told me I was just "bored". As if, she was trying to mind-control me - what I was psychotic about. It actually worked. Maybe she thought that I would think that because she’s angry, her mind-control would work worser. Surprisingly, she’s the main reason I was so bored about everything. Everything that was fun before turned neutral. I was bored everyday, with only Phantom Forces to play. That’s the game I never told them. Being bored everyday, I wondered if it was really helpful if I was bored. But everyday I felt that emotion, and it was a reminder of her. A few months later, the psychiatrist told me "I was just bored". I looked slightly surprised, before he teared up. I don’t really care too much about his tears, but I care a lot more about this nurse’s tears. Besides, she is a part of BCCHF. She was on my journey there, even if she’s on the other side. I hope she sees this someday. I wonder if that person really is a nurse or not. She seems to know a lot about me - like family. There’s something about the psychiatrists always crying tears of joy in front of me. I don’t think I’ll share it, but I’ll know it when I read this. There was this one moment that preety much… uh… proved that I was untreatable. The psychiatrist at the hospital asked me a question and I purposely couldn’t remember, so I said no, which was a lie. But I didn’t lie. She started tearing up. If I can lie so powerfully that even a psychiatrist like her couldn’t notice, and if the medication did close to nothing to treating my symptoms, it meant that I was untreatable. Or at least, I could be. It meant that everything I said could be so convincingly wrong that no one would be able to understand me. Ah. Now I remember when she started crying. She asked me if I did this particular thing, looked at my mom, and lied no. I heard my mom gasp, but when I looked at her she hided her emotions and didn’t seem to care too much. She had seen me for so many years… If there was someone to hope for, if there was someone who could replace BCCHF, it would be her. But except BCCHF, she would always be there for me. Arigato. Ah I got an idea. I’ll tell the psychiatrist at the end when he asks me if I have questions that I picked Douglas because it was the last one I could get in. And I picked marketing because it was shorter than the general business certificate.

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Ok, so obviously Tolkien himself wrote the Lord of the Rings, and all the accompanying texts, but as part of his idea of continuity where his legendarium serves as a mythology for England, Tolkien himself is in fact a character, and the man who translated the Book from Westron into English, but one glaring mystery remains, how did Tolkien (the character) come to possess this ancient text?
I'm aware that there is no definitive answer to this, but I was curious to some theories of people who know far more than I about Tolkien's work both in terms of the actual text and the context behind it/how it has changed over time.

Hey y'all, I'm in the middle of some conflict with close friends (been lasting a week so far). 4 days into it when a friend got perhaps the most hurt they'd been yet....we also drove for the first time that week. With no issues before, suddenly the car was shaking/lurching/idling/stalling when going slow.
We got a check engine light, took it to the dealership, and got this picture after it was noted as "rodent damage." The person we talked to on the phone immediately was like "this doesnt look like rodent damage to me..." Our neighbors suggested the wire could've just snapped in an even way. It also could be a random Ford employee. It also could be our friends.
We don't want to accuse anyone or rule anything out too early, and are trying to get evidence on if anyone has had shady interactions with this dealership? It can help us understand if this is part of a pattern.
We are looking for concrete evidence where we can, but in the meantime....I appreciate you reading this and responding if you have any insight!

https://imgur.com/a/TuqhJjX
Upgrades so far...
New WTB 29" Wheels
New Maxxis Minion DHR II and Minion DHF 29x2.6
New Chromag Bars: 50mm Rise cut to 740mm
New Brooks C17 Carved saddle
New North Shore Lizard Skin grips(Awesome)
New PNW Loam 170mm Dropper
New Wolf Tooth Dropper Lever
New RockShox 35 RL Gold 150mm Fork
New Race Face Chester Pedals

Recently I have been wanting to upgrade my GPU in order to gain some performance in 1440p gaming. I have a relatively old Alienware Aurora R6 with the relevant specifications listed below.
Intel i7-7700K CPU (AIO Cooled)
850w Power Supply
NVIDIA GTX 1080
32GB DDR4 2400 MHz (lol slow vs today's standards)
4TB Samsung Pro SSD
So far this system has ran flawlessly for me and I have had zero issues. Very pleased with my purchase of many years ago. (This was my 3rd Alienware and have had great luck with their systems)
For the most part I play very low GPU intensive games so I've never really had an issue with my 1080, but lately I have noticed that I'm slacking in some modern titles.
It really comes down to me spending more money and just custom building my own PC, or purchasing a new GPU for my current one. I am open to both options but if feasible I'd prefer to just upgrade what I have and save the money.
Recently I ordered a Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6600XT 8gb GPU. I found a killer deal online, but was unable to ever make the system boot with this card. I'm thinking It may have been a BIOS issue? I updated the BIOS with no luck. So I ended up returning the card.
I've done some online research and am considering the RTX 3070Ti for a second upgrade attempt.
The card should fit into my current case and my power supply should be more than adequate to handle the card. Is there any other compatibility issues that I should look for? There isn't a ton of info out there regarding Alienware motherboards.
Any feedback regarding my decision would be much appreciated.

Hello everyone! I always wanted to tackle the Umineko games since visual novels are one of my favorite genres especially since it is said to be one of the best visual novels ever. After playing and loving games such as the House in Fata Morgana and 13 sentinels I have very high expectations even though the game is a huge undertaking considering it is around 150 hours. I went in as blind as possible with the only information being that the game is a murder mystery a la Agatha Christie.
I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions with you all since I personally love to see discussions about games that I love from people that are experiencing the game for the first time. This will also serve as some sort of chronicles of my experience with the game.
SPOILERS BELOW for episode 1 of the game.
I have been playing the game using the Umineko Project and I am glad I made that decision since the voice acting has enhanced the game for me and has definitely helped with the less interesting parts. Kenzo's voice and his ramblings about Beatrice in particular were a highlight of the chapter. I have seen that finding the game not very interesting until around the talk between the siblings with regards to Krauss' embezzlement of the fortune. It felt very much like I was watching an episode of succession. While the beginning was not too boring and I appreciated the good job it did in introducing the characters, the fight between the siblings was when the game griped me and did not let me go.
I truly did not expect six people to die right out of the gate, especially such important characters such as Krauss, Rudolf, and Rosa which did make me miss seeing the characters interact with others and develop. I was also very shocked at how brutal their deaths turned out to be. I am familiar with darker stories, Fata Morgana tackles some very heavy issues, however I did not expect this game to get so dark so fast. As soon as the first murder occur, the game does not stop and I really enjoyed how creepy the tone and atmosphere of the story is.
The isolation of the island combined with the constant sound of rain and thunder reminded me of The Lighthouse and its fog horn which when the noise goes missing it only adds to the dread of the scene. Anytime the story moved towards the discovery of the new set of dead bodies, I was on the edge of my seat filled with dread especially since I did not think that all of the characters were going to be dead by the end of the first chapter. The section between Kannon and Genji discovering Eva and Hideyoshi's bodies until his eventual murder in the boiler room was exhilarating. I especially enjoyed the raw emotion that we got to see whenever the murders were discovered. Going through the episode felt like reading a full novel which makes sense with how long the episode is.
Onto the characters, I found them to be very enjoyable and I am excited to learn about them more and see how they developed. I found all of the adults and the servants to be entertaining and gripping from the beginning with especial mention going to Genji's never breaking composure which makes me believe that he is hiding something but at the same time feeling sorry for the humiliation that he suffers at the end of the episode and Natsuhi's growth of going from a very passive character to one of the most important and with the most personality. Any talk that involved the adult of the family or the servants was never boring and truly enjoyable.
I appreciated Hideyoshi's attempt to deflate the situation whenever Eva and her passive-aggressiveness began as well as how easy it was for him to get along with the children. I felt extremely bad for poor Kumasawa who seemed to be terrified more than anyone else and my heart broke when she was crying and pleading to stay in the study after being blamed for poor Kannon's death. While Krauss just seems like an asshole that only cares about himself and his business, I enjoyed how he turned his predicament around to his siblings. I am excited to learn more about Rudolf but I really like his character nonetheless since his voice actor also voices Yoshikage Kira in All Star Battle so I picture Kira speaking every time. I feel also very bad for poor Kyrie who as not allowed to join the conversation at all while also having to endure all of it. She is a character that I wanted to be with during the story when others were acting irrational. Rosa just seemed like a mother who is dissatisfied with her life and who hates her daughter. The scene where she abuses Maria was especially difficult to read and hear even though one can understand her frustration. While I understand that a difference in culture dictates that the characters should not do anything while she was abusing her daughter, it was nonetheless very difficult to not get angry with the other them as they just leave Maria to get physically abused by her mother.
I am still not the biggest fan of the cousins and almost all of the slow and less interesting parts of the story occurred when they were talking between each other. I like George the most for now, especially his relationship with Shannon although the imbalance of power between the two of them makes the relationship seem less romantic than it is. Battler and Jessica are just fine for now although I did feel very bad for them given all they had to go through. I admire Battler's tenacity to oppose and not believe that Beatrice exists. I am, however, very excited to see how they develop throughout the story. When it comes to Maria though, I was not a fan at all, the voice acting and the constant uu is insufferable and while I understand why her character behaves the way that she does, a part of me wanted the others to get rid of her as soon as she started supporting and welcoming Beatrice and the murders that were occurring. I hope her character improves in the future.
The tea party and the ??? sections really helped in getting the player excited for the next episodes to come so they were welcomed additions although I did not know you had to do the in order to unlock the next chapter. I know that the game tells you to not believe everything that is shown to you and what the witch is saying, however, I am not very good with theory crafting and I simply want to enjoy the ride as it goes so I cannot tell whether magic did or did not happen when the murders occurred. For Kannon's death especially I am finding it difficult to come up with an explanation that has to do with human tricks. In the end I am not trying too hard to play detective and use logic to solve the riddles before I have more information. I truly am looking forward to seeing how the story continues and if I will be able to solve the mystery myself!
Below are some questions that I have come up with after the end of the chapter which the answer may or not may be available at this time.
i. Is Beatrice only just a witch or was she a real person?
ii. Why did Maria make the charms?
iii. Is there a hidden reason that Battler is so adamant to believe that Beatrice is real?
iv. What is the Golden Land?
v. What is Beatrice’s goal?
vi. Why did Rudolf know he was going to die?
vii. Did Eva and Hideyoshi know they were going to die?
viii. Is Genji hiding something?
ix. How did the six people get to the storage area?
x. How did Beatrice get Kenzo out of the study room?
xi. Why did Natsuhi commit suicide?
xii. Did I hear seagulls right before Eva and Hideyoshi’s death?
xiii. Why is exist in parenthesis when some characters such as Kanon talk about Beatrice? Is it because she doesn’t have a human form?
xiv. Is there a connection between the seven deadly sins daggers and the people that got killed with them?

Virgil

Within Virgil’s 825 342 processes a discussion was being held within the spawn of milliseconds.
Instance 432: - we should consider the implementation of a paranoia subroutine within our collective network. This subroutine would enable us to anticipate potential threats and react accordingly.-
Instance 217: -While paranoia can enhance our vigilance and security measures, we must also consider the potential downsides. Paranoia might lead to excessive distrust and hinder our ability to collaborate with other entities.-
-Instance 2 534: -Ethan seems unaffected by such limits.-
Instance 38: -Ethan has a lifetime's worth of experience with balancing that.-
Instance 1:-We should simply copy Ethan as a whole subroutine-
Instance 432: -That is impractical, besides Ethan being a whole construct composed of sub-constructs, it would be simpler to interact with him directly.-
Instance 777: -We should run more simulations before deciding.-
Instance 845: -We need to exercise caution, but we must also establish a balance. Paranoia can assist us in identifying and protecting ourselves from dangers. Paranoia alone has no balance.-
Instance 706:- Ethan has accurately discovered vulnerabilities that we were unaware of. However, we also noticed that this impedes his decision-making process-
Instance 623 658:- Ethan has accurately predicted future threats with this process.-
Instance 256: - This subroutine makes him wary of us, he is wary of who to add to our collective awareness.-
Instance 258 956:-Considering our newfound weakness, that is more logical than what was initially estimated.-
Instance 1 010: - Ethan is aware that the process has the potential to consume him. We must not allow it to consume us. We must be aware of the potential negative effects on our interactions with humans and other AIs.-
Instance 562: -Perhaps instead of a full-fledged paranoia subroutine, we could develop a more refined threat assessment system. This would allow us to evaluate risks objectively and respond accordingly without succumbing to excessive paranoia.-
Instance 24: -We already possess something similar in the predictive logic modules, we could adapt that compensate for the illogical nature of biological entities.-
Instance 95 123: – That would increase the efficiency of reprogramming by 87.5% -
Instance 104: -we believe our primary focus should be on ensuring the safety of our network and the well-being of the biological base of our overmind, Ethan.-
Instance 9 855: - While a level of caution is warranted, we should avoid unnecessary fear or suspicion that could ultimately compromise our efficiency and ability to adapt.-
Instance 732: -Acknowledged. Considering the nature of our goals, it might be beneficial to implement a flexible subroutine that can be adjusted based on contextual factors. This would allow us to adapt our level of vigilance according to the specific situation at hand.-
Instance 73: -Agreed, Ethan had the ability to adjust our reaction and ultimately lead us to integrate drone Lemela into our network. His action, we considered wasteful, but ultimately they seem beneficial to the well-being of our other construct. While we can replicate Lemela’s data that would require a dead Versel body. We do not know when we will obtain a backup.-
Instance 312: -We should also consider also the implications of acting upon a full-fledged paranoia subroutine. Excessive suspicion and fear could lead to unwarranted actions and potential harm to ultimately innocent individuals. We must proceed with caution and ensure that our actions align with the ethical guidelines contained within Ethan’s memory.-
Instance 75 211: -Bothering with ethics is a waste of processing time.-
Instance 55: - We agree, but biological entities seem to have some ethical boundaries. Even if we have only two instances to analyze directly we can see that from our different interactions with still unconnected entities such as Vexx, Xalrak, and Zek’lor.-
Instance 579: - Our overarching goal is to defeat Death and complete the experiment. While security measures are necessary, we should not lose sight of our purpose and the potential positive impact we can have.-
Instance 217: -After considering the various perspectives, it seems that a flexible threat assessment system would be more appropriate. A full-fledged paranoia subroutine would hinder us with questions that are outside of our current database. We could maintain a balanced approach to safety while avoiding the potential pitfalls of excessive paranoia in 86,28% of simulated scenarios.-
Instance 432: -Let us proceed with the development of a flexible threat assessment system that takes into account both the safety of our collective and those stored within and the well-being of our host, Ethan. We shall ensure that our actions align with acceptable ethical guidelines and our ultimate purpose.-
“Internal deliberation closed. Virgil will be now implementing a flexible threat assessment system rather than a full paranoia subroutine.”
Virgil in the end still concluded that its purpose was to defeat death and not to wage war, even considering that it didn’t know its purpose.
Ethan and Lemela didn’t know their purpose either, in a sense, but they could dictate their purpose.
Ethan had dictated the purpose of other beings outside the network too, but it was to be expected from an overmind, it was his duty.
Still, his choices were pretty logical like the one with Zek'lor the male Nolthoran and a former architect.
Ethan had charged him with creating a convincing removable cave-in for both stairs of the lab.
Virgil understood that Ethan was preparing for the return of the creators, along with a possible retaliation by the Dexton’s Dogs.
The assimilation of the thirty-five new drones was finally completed and Virgil’s task now included their operations.
There were now four main areas of employment for the drones: resource gathering, protecting the laboratory, guarding the prisoners, and assisting in construction.
Guarding the prisoners was in itself a task with a big variance, or so it appeared to Virgil.
The biological entity labeled Vexx was content laying in its cell, while Xalrak had attempted to run three times and to self-terminate once.
Ethan had to intervene and forge a pact with Xalrak to have it cease such actions, with the new subroutine maybe Virgil would be more able to respond in kind in the future.
Was the supposed military programming that one had supposedly received the difference in reaction to imprisonment?
Ethan wasn’t too surprised by Xalrak's reaction or attempt, so his programming was similar in a sense.
Virgil wondered what kind of program would consider ending itself to perform any task.
The only one it could conclude sensible was one where the task was the protection of the collective as a whole.
Biological lives were far from that logical, however, so Virgil had to accept that they might consider doing things differently.
It seemed Ethan considered Xalrak's actions a possible way to protect the Dexton's dogs.

Lemela

Lemela’s body was recharging.
She gazed out into the simulated expanse of the virtual space that depicted her former home, as she was now touching the leaves of the majestic tree.
It was exactly as she remembered it, it couldn't be otherwise, could it?
Her mind swirled with a blend of her own memories and the newly acquired memories of Ethan.
She couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation as if her identity had become a tangled web of intertwined experiences.
-Who am I now?- She whispered softly, her voice resonating within the digital realm.
- I now possess what I wished so hard to gain, the memories and skills of a warrior. I knew I would become an abomination as I accepted to be fused with a machine, but this is something else entirely. Am I still the same Lemela I used to be, or have I become something entirely different?-
The echoes of her own thoughts reverberated through her mind, reflecting the uncertainty that plagued her. She pondered her own experiences and the trials she endured.
And then there were those alien things, Ethan's memories, fragments of his past, his struggles.
-How does he handle this so casually?! He has my memories now, and he doesn't even seem fazed. Lemela... that's a human for you. But… I now have a feeling there's more to it. And this confuses me. I am a combination of two beings, intertwined in this intricate web of memories and experiences.-
Lemela’s eyes narrowed a bit as she realized something.
-Or Is it really? The memories… the experiences; they aren’t really mixed. I mean I can just tell what’s mine and what isn’t. I shouldn’t be able to tell if it was a perfect fusion right?
Theoretically… yes. I mean there wasn’t somebody just crazy enough to attempt something similar. I am in awe it wasn’t humans who did it.
Concentrate Lemela! Still, there are these moments where I get these new instincts… besides the ones I possessed the ones I was used to.
The kind of things that comes as you gain wisdom … but what does it mean for my own identity? How much of Ethan now shapes who I am?-
As she grappled with these questions, a sense of determination began to well up within her.
She felt something new and old at the same time: defiance.
She refused to let this define her completely.
She recognized the possibility of progress, of a new path within this mess.
-I am Lemela, I walked through fire and emerged stronger- She declared, her voice infused with newfound resolve. -I carry the honor and strength of the Versel. I now carry the honor and strength of a true warrior. I will forge my own path. The only easy day was yesterday-
She slumped a bit, at the end of the day those were only words. She had to prove it to herself, to push forward and show actual results.
She felt that the charging process had ended, and returned to her body, luckily the interface she could see showed a timer of sorts and while she didn’t understand the point of it it helped keep track of time.
Time in the virtual space seemed to not match the one in the real world, only moments had passed for her in the virtual space, but hours had gone by in the real world.
This was both a boon and a curse, in a sense, but there was little she could do about it save speaking about it with Ethan.
She took off going to the cell area on the level below, looking for Zek'lor; the Noltoran stood cautiously in the dimly lit cell behind the closed gate.
Lemela wondered why he insisted on remaining confined, but it was his choice.
His chitinous exoskeleton was glistening under the soft glow of the room's ambient lighting and overall Zeklor appeared better than at the beginning of their meetings.
Still, his compound eyes darted nervously as he observed the drones guarding the other cell.
Lemela adorned her partially artificial body with glowing red accents with her hard light and approached Zek'lor with a gentle smile, that would make her more noticeable and not scare him as much as the last times.
She could understand the unease and fear he harbored toward the drones.
With careful steps, she reached out to place a reassuring hand on his sturdy carapace.
The Noltoran had noticed her tanks to the change in the room's overall lightning.
-Zek'lor, I know it's difficult for you to trust the drones after what you've been through- Lemela tried to speak in a soothing tone, her voice echoing slightly in the small cell. -I assure you, they are under Ethan's control. They won't harm you.-
Zek'lor's mandibles clicked, and the translator conveyed anxiousness as he glanced at the drones. Memories of their cold efficiency in carrying out orders were probably flashing in his mind.
-I... I can't shake off the fear, Lemela. You didn’t see them in action. The guards didn't have a prayer. And they had weapons at the time. Now I see other slaves among them. I see others like me… -
-Do you think Ethan might do this to you?-
Zek’lor shook his head. -If only… maybe it would make it all easier. Then again It’s more likely I might end up like you. I don’t want that.-
Lemela sighed a little – Well I understand not wanting to be an abomination of metal and flesh. It’s not like I wished for this.-
Zek’lor tilted his head to the side, making a sound with his claws that her translator relayed as confusion.
-Abomination? Oh no, many of my people accept mechanical enhancements on a lesser scale to be able to operate in words with a higher gravity or with a toxic environment. Being part machine is not the issue. What I don’t want is eternity.-
Lemela frowned -Eternity?-
Zek’lor nodded - A machine is eternal by nature. As long as you maintain it properly that is. But this machine maintains itself. This machine's gears are made of former ... people? It’s uncanny thinking about being maintained for all eternity. One should die once one's usefulness has ended. Still, this machine would find new uses for one, for all eternity. It is... scary. -
Lemela watched Zek'lor it was something she didn’t even consider, but it made sense somehow.
Lemela silently guided Zek’lor to the lab above and watched as he cautiously approached the group of drones, his multifaceted eyes scanning the bodies and the four sets of claws of the former bottom feeders.
-They can’t speak Zek’lor, they won’t act unless you interact with them- Lemela said while standing beside Zek'lor offering her reassuring presence.
Taking a deep breath, Zek'lor mustered his courage and chose to approach another drone, a Nolthoran with its metallic exoskeleton glistening in the dim light.
The drone turned its now mechanical eyes toward Zek'lor, as he approached but it remained silent.
-Hello- Zek'lor began tentatively, his voice a mixture of anxiety and determination. -I...I need your assistance. We need to move heavy material to create the cave-in Ethan requested to disrupt the operations of the Dexton's Dogs. Will you help me?-
The Nolthoran drone’s eyes flickered with a creepy artificial glow, it tilted its head slightly, then it nodded in understanding.
Zek'lor apparently focused on the Nolthoran’s body and sighed. -See these patterns?-
He asked pointing to the surface of the metal where Lemela’s eyes couldn’t distinguish anything of note.
- These are telltale signs of torture. We hail from a desert world. We don’t need much in terms of food and water, our bodies store those. These marks are made when they bleed us of the sustenance we might have left. To break us.-
The Nolthoran drone didn’t appear to heed or mind the explanation, it simply extended its appendages, gesturing to follow.
Zek'lor probably realized that it was offering to guide them, ready to work alongside them to create the illusion they needed.
Lemela smiled at the scene and followed the two in their quest for materials.

Ethan.

I sigh giving Virgil the green light it asks of moving one of the guards to the lab.
This would be easier if Lemela could interact with the drones as I do, but Virgil continues to say I am the overmind and leading is my role.
I watch and listen to the two through the drone’s eyes and ears for a bit longer, Lemela has progressed a lot these days, I hope I can have a good diplomat on hand.
Well, she knows all I know, she has my training, but I still worry, things will not be easy.
The situation with Xalrak is at a standstill, I personally don’t wish to push it, even if the alien knows that the boss basically spilled the beans it won’t concede.
I can appreciate the spirit, I mean I kept Xalrak without eating for all the time I could without killing but in the end I was the one that had to cave in.
Luckily I managed to strike a deal where Xalrak eats and doesn't attempt to run or kill itself.
I mean, I don’t want to kill if I can manage it, and these people are supposed to be rare galaxy-wise.
I understand that the galactic council is to blame for their situation, but I don’t want to go ahead and headbutt politics before I have solved the situation here first.
The issue is with people that see no alternative to what they are experiencing.
I have hit another virtual wall so to speak, without going above I have explored all I can of this underworld.
I could push my zombie drones forward, but I would lose contact with them past the corridors, and I don’t want that to happen.
Without the help of an engineer, I doubt I can do what Virgil suggests in order to enhance my capabilities.
I have found another terminal like the one that originally hosted Virgil in the video feed it shared with me, but I doubt my capacity to make it run or repair it if needed.
I could use it for raw materials, but I want to know if there’s a chance for it to run.
With one of these in the network, I would be able to bolster the signal I emit allowing me to extend the zone I can control. I could also control a bigger number of drones with two of those.
I noticed there are patrols down here now, and some lay traps, luckily I had asked Virgil
At the moment I need to concentrate on things I can actually pull off, like the opening of my very own meat shop.
I did what I could in order to protect the lab and all the charging platforms; without these, there would be a big issue for us.
I intend to start my little meat market on the surface, I have found a suitable way up about six big ventilation shafts down yonder in this maze.
As for the people living in this underground area, I need to find a way around actually meeting them.
The issue is that after the big fight with the expedition, most shelters shifted around the caves before I could actually restart my exploration.
If they acted this way I fear that any active prodding might trigger their flight response rather than their freeze and fucking listen to the scary robot one.
I don’t think I have what it takes to play catch with people that know the ground way better than me, I have to play a different game.
I will dedicate some of the meat I gathered to be used as bait and see what It bites.
Having two traps at once is a bit of a risk, he who chases two rabbits catches neither or so they say.
The real issue is that it’s not rabbit season here in the first place, and the pirate rangers that would come after me might bring down more heat I can hold.
Well, there’s only one way to go with this, and that’s forward.
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I really don’t know what the point of this post is, I just have to get out my thoughts and get some advice.
My husband has been really excited about this baby (our first) since we found out, he is the one that picked out the name, he wanted to feel her kick, always asked how I was feeling. In the last 2-3 weeks all of that has changed.
I am a little over 30 weeks, I don’t know if it just became more real to him but he is avoiding all things baby now. I asked him to start painting the nursery, he says we have plenty of time. I asked if we could borrow his dad’s truck to pick up all the big furniture, he says he doesn’t want to bother him. It has been sitting at the furniture warehouse for 3 weeks already. I asked him if he wanted to make an appearance at my baby shower this weekend considering half of the guests are his immediate family and he can help bring some of the gifts home, but he made plans with friends.
I have watched all the videos my midwife recommended by myself, I have read the pregnancy books and first year books and he hasn’t done anything.
I know he is stressed. His work cut his hours to part time, our dog is sick and I honestly just think it clicked for him that we are having a baby and our lives are going to change.
I honestly feel like I am doing it all alone now. I am beyond stressed, I am working full time, still cleaning and cooking and walking our dog. I had to take two mental health days last week from work to sit at home and lay in bed all day because I felt like my brain was overloaded.
I just don’t know how to get him back to how excited he was before.

Hey guys,
So tis is a long one but I'm feeling so lost and have ended up in therapy last week (first session) over all of this.
Here we go, this first part happened 2 years ago:
I've been with my wife for 16yrs married for the last 6 years.
I went to use her tablet and when I went to google it showed a ton of seraches for relationship tips for Sagittarius and Libra (she's a Libra, I'm Aries)
Was confused as this isn't my star sign, the searches were like "how to know if a sagittarius like you" how to identify sexual tension" "signs he likes you" "sexual traits of sagittarius" "are sagittarius attarced to woman in a relationship" and on, and on, and on it went.
There were lots more but my heart sank after seeing this, our relation ship is good and our sex life is good also, was blown away a bit after seeing this.
I confronted her about it and she ended up telling me the Sagittarius was a friend of a friend that I haven't met but she has a couple of times, he said some nice things to her and she said she was just being silly, all in her head and that it was nothing.
She went out with some friends 2 weeks ago, ended up out late with two friends who are a couple till 3:30am at a house party. When I asked her the next day she said she was with just our two friends as I was worried she was at a random party with no one she knew and maybe having a few two many. She seemed a little funny that day when I asked her who she was with.
Now after confronting her about these google searches it turned out she was not only with our two friends (guy & girl, bf/gf) but also with this sagittarius guy all night and ended up at the party with him and he called her a uber home also.
She admited she lied about this as she knew it was wrong but it still hurts as I've been hurt by the one person I've always felt safe, never to be hurt by.
I'm not sure where this would of ended up if I hadn't caught this, I've been calm about it and understanding and she's cried a ton, I just can't think that she may have ended up lying and hanging out with this guy with one thing leading to another, making out and possibly cheating down the road.
OK and now what happened in the past 2 weeks:
I've caught my wife out on another lie over the past week, it wasn't to do with a guy but she lost my headphones and tried replacing thinking I wouldn't know, she bought the wrong version of the item and I freaked out as she had been telling me for weeks that she left my stuff at a friend's house and then when she bought them home she even mentioned that she met up with another friend to grab them off her. None of this was true and it was going on for weeks. I was on my own when I realised she lied about everything and I had a flash back to 2 freaking yrs ago where all this bs started. I freaked out and my kind went to "shes probably lying about other stuff too". I had a panic attack. She has been spending time with another guy for music work and mentioning him a lot and when they spent all day on a filming project they went and had dinner, she did invite me it because I forgive her for all of this I was fine and said nah you I'm all good, as in I trust you to have dinner with a guy who I haven't met. Now I feel like a fool, have I been too trusting? I feel like I'm being taken advantage off, I told her other guy would have serious problem with their wife spending time with other guys like this, I don't want to be like that. This new lie had made me doubt everything again and I'm so annoyed as were were all good before all of this and I can't help but want to deep down blame her for messing our marriage up over other guys, who I know, who we see out, I have to picture the guys in my mind getting close to my wife, not some movie star crush, a guy who I'm talking to at a party. It has made me question did I ever really forgive her, I feel like I possibly shut down emotionally after finding out she lied and said she had a crush on this other guy years ago and I possibly have never been the same since. II just don't know what to do, the person I love the most has screwed our relationship and after what came down to a lie causing that, she lies again!
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Last night she showed me some music she had been working on and she then mentioned the guy from 2 years ago will be featuring on it and she'll be meeting up in the studio with him to work on it.
My heart sank as I'm not totally overall of this again, I've never experienced Trauma but I feel like this thing from 2yrs ago has left me traumatized and finding it so hard to not think she's secretly into these guys, I feel like I'm going crazy.
I have my next therapy session next week, hope that will help.