Lost ark voice of the forest

Hero's Journey sort of story, influenced by The Wheel of Time, The Darksword Trilogy, and a great smattering of things from novels, old stories, and TTRPG settings. I think it fair to label it rather unique. Heavily simulative, slow-building fiction designed to dispell the real world for a while, designed to be many, many books one day like one long rollercoaster. Come along for the ride, mmn?
We begin in a desert community on a scorched world, gradually advanced 'tribal' societies getting along (and not) well after the mysterious migrations from 'troubled lands'. There is a form of magic that will vary wildly in its reflections as the story goes on. It is subject to heavy rules and/or costs and has constructed mechanics that are revealed in time.
22k words for now posted, but around 3 times that will be available (total) within a week or so.
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🙦 ━━ Intro ━━ 🙤
Long ago, a mythical figure forged paths from realm to realm and advanced civilization to heights undreamed, built on the foundations of technology, science, and a mysterious aberrant power only a fraction were born to wield. One such champion became the greatest of all and led the people to a golden age of wonder, forging science and mystery into one. But the figure ascended, or abandoned the realms, or died... depending on who you asked. The people could not bear the loss of their god and soon they too became lost. And so the great society of these many realms waned and inevitably fell, disaster and war causing a spiral dragging civilization to the brink of annihilation — perhaps the very pit of hell.
Would it rise again, or sink ever deeper? Out on the frontier, in a scorched, forgotten domain, a dormant chance at the fantastical and impossible, the horrific or wondrous... brews.

Kindly check it out further (including the cover) on RoyalRoad or Wattpad. Might do redditserials too, soon.
If you do want to read on Wattpad let me know, because 'tis a barren wasteland so far (one does not simply pad the watt??) but RR is truly wonderful, I admit.
Cheers!

A pair of leaks have turned up on 4Chan that claim to outline details of Rockstar's forthcoming Grand Theft Auto 6. Fans of the franchise would do well to take these rumors with a grain of salt as there's no way to know for sure if any of these details are accurate. The leaker on 4Chan goes by Rhanadeng and claims to have been a friend of a disgruntled employee working on the game during 2019.
The source claims that this employee allegedly asked him to anonymously leak information about GTA 6. However, things later improved, and he lost contact with the Rockstar team member. One key detail is that this person also claims the game has been in active development since 2016 or 2017, with pre-production starting shortly after GTA V was ported to current generation consoles in 2014. The new GTA VI game world map is also claimed to be the size of GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 combined.
gta v mission One of the odder bits that this 4Chan user details is a minigame where players control a stream of urine from a protagonist using motion controls. On the protagonist front, there are said to be four in the game, including a driver called Walther Wallace and an unnamed former Israeli IDF person. Another, Thomas Branigan, is a smuggler who owns an aircraft called the Raven, and Marcus Burke is a drug dealer and father to a young boy.
The area is said to be based in Florida, with Vice City among the three major cities with one smaller city in the far northwest of the map. The game reportedly jumps around in time with part of the timeline set in the 1980s and other parts set in the present day. Missions aren't as linear as they are in GTA V or RDR2, notes the proclaimed leaker. Players will briefly visit a small central American island, but it's reportedly not Guarma. The game starts with gamers playing the role of smuggler, Branigan.
gta v car Supposedly there are multiple child characters in the game that mainly interact with Burke and his son. Switching between the protagonists isn't said to be instantaneous, but the camera reportedly zooms out and travels quickly to where the protagonist the player wants to play is located. Sleeping Dogs-inspired parkour is involved in the game as well, but to a lesser extent without wall running. The leaker claims that weapons function more realistically in the game than they have in past titles. An example noted is rocket launcher back blast that ends up taking out an NPC in one of the missions, where the goal is to destroy a helicopter.
Hand-to-hand combat is supported and is said to be similar to Red Dead 2, with the leaker noting it's harder to fight hand-to-hand GTA VI than in GTA V. Player characters can also gain weight in the game, and it affects character attributes as it did in RDR2. Mori Kibbutz is also reportedly in the game, but not much else is detailed about his character.
This leak isn't the first that has surfaced about GTA 6. Last December, a user on reddit claiming to be a beta tester, leaked a bunch of alleged details of the game. In January, another leak claimed that the game would launch in 2021.

Lifting Yourself Up (-400): The powers you have gained here work just like an invisible muscle. Ignore them, and they will stagnate. But actively use and train them, and you will see just how far dedication can take you. And now, all other abilities in your repertoire gain the same potential. Exercising your powers will increase their strength, no matter of what nature they might be or how mighty they already are. Unlike normal exercise, where after a certain point further progress becomes simply impossible, you will always see the same gains if you keep on putting in the time and effort. Don't neglect you real muscles, though. Playing superman is only fun if you also look the part
Hypnos Gene* (300CP): That which does not kill you, makes you stronger. Of course depending on who you talk to this could easily be a load of bullshit, but some seem determined to prove it right. This is an incredibly rare gene, rarer than even the genes that bond the host with Progenitor and its derivatives. It works by killing the weaker cells through natural selection, leaving only the strongest to keep the organism ongoing and encouraging the reproduction of the better cells. However, keep in mind that this is an extremely slow process, so don't expect to take on giants for a good long time... but one day you could. Time will be your greatest ally with this... a very slow, but steady ally.
Supernatural Savant (-600): People have all sorts of talents. Some are good at sports, some have amazing voices, some are great at computer games, and some are ridiculously good at using their superpowers. Wait, scratch that, the last one is just you. You have an inborn talent for using any extraordinary abilities you might have in your arsenal, and coming up with new uses for them. In just a few weeks, you could go from only being able to use rudimentary telekinesis for the movement of small objects to creating barriers with it, easily shaping and moving gases and liquids, affecting things you cannot perceive with your senses, diverting and controlling energies such as lightning, and feeling your surroundings through telekinetic feelers. One might even wonder if the original power was capable of such feats, or if you invented them yourself. But there’s no need for wonderment: if you diligently train and experiment with your abilities, you will see yourself able to use them in ways impossible to grasp for any others, pushing both the power and yourself beyond their limits. So long as you are creative, the various tricks and specializations you invent this way will allow you to advance your power in ways beyond just raw strength, and perhaps topple even giants with the metaphorical sling
Misery Loves Company (-600): All the negativity you experience in life - all the fear, anger, and jealousy - are, as their name suggests, not something one would like to feel. At least not most of the time. In combat though, that bit of anger can mean the difference between staying down and losing or getting up again for one last round. In your case, said difference is far beyond mere mentality and adrenaline. As you feel more and more miserable, no matter what shape that misery might take, you will see yourself become hardier, in both mind and body. You’ll find enemy attacks registering less and less in your mind as you shrug off even the most gruesome injuries, ignoring the pain and soldiering ever onwards despite how they should normally hinder you. Even as a limbless wreck knocking on Death’s door, you would still find it in you to knock over your adversaries like a bowling pin and tear them to pieces with your teeth. Your wounds just make you fight all that harder, letting a weak teenager shatter bones like glass, and you become more in tune with your body and surroundings, seemingly dodging attacks on instinct you couldn’t have seen and moving with the grace of a martial arts master. This also affects your powers, as you are using all available resources to bash some heads in. Somebody who could scarcely lift a rock on a good day might just tear their foes in half, if they were cornered enough, and use their powers with a focus and skill they normally couldn’t have dreamed of.
Blood Type + (Discount Medic): You are a universal donor and receiver both with blood and plasma and produce much more lifeblood for such purposes without changes to your diet being required. You could give enough of each for eight guys without keeling over, receiving either from any creature that shares your form, and your blood has no shelf life allowing it to be stored indefinitely even in hot temperatures. You are also able to transfer exact copies of any powers or perks you possess via blood with the exact specifications entirely up to you. Abilities thus given to others will grow over time and with use. Note: Blood transfusion is not the only means to pass on any abilities via blood, if you just want to put a few drops in someone’s drink that works too.
This Single Dream [400 CP] The last thing Miracleman and Liz Moran were expecting when their daughter was born was for her to speak only minutes out of the womb, or for her to become the most advanced being in the universe before her first birthday. Your own children will see similar growth in their bodies, minds, and powers. They’ll inherit all of your powers, surpassing you as infants, and by the time they’re adults their abilities will vastly outstrip even that. This applies to any superpowers and natural abilities, as well as traits like strength and intelligence.
Miraculous Growth [600 CP] Following his attempted murder in orbit, Kid Miracleman flew below the radar for two decades under the guise of his secret identity, Johnny Bates. Despite barely using his powers at all during that time, they didn’t atrophy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Kid Miracleman grew so strong he was able to effortlessly beat Miracleman into unconsciousness. You see similar retention and growth in your strength in power. It never weakens through disuse, instead growing more powerful over time. This allows any kind of superpower to grow without limit.

I did not know about TSM when I started Naltrexone treatment. So, if TSM requires one to be aware that they are using the method, I was not TSM. But the TSM theory was proven effective for me, regardless of my original intent. I stopped drinking incrementally, and I was eventually completely sober and happily so. Over time, approximately 1 year, sobriety became my preference over drinking.
I do not intend to downplay the difficulty of recovery because I struggled desperately for 2 decades, to the point of daily intravenous drug use and homelessness. But, Naltrexone eventually made my sobriety easy.
Comfortable in my sobriety and preferring it as a lifestyle, I forgot about drinking and became completely uninterested in alcohol or drugs, and alcohol had nearly no appeal to me beyond infrequent, unproblematic curiosities.
This from a guy who was once considered a “chronic relapser,” went to multiple rehabs (the last of which was a 1 year inpatient) and could not get sober. I was a low bottom alcoholic and drug addict who used compulsively and without any control over my obsession. I was hopeless and everyone had given up on me.
I began taking Naltrexone with a mission of complete abstinence from the beginning. I met my wife while I was struggling to stay sober before treatment began. She encouraged me to get additional help (beyond 12 step which never worked for me) and I sought out a doctor at a psychology clinic. She prescribed me lamotrigine for bipolar 2 (which was previously undiagnosed) and it helped me greatly. My anxiety nearly disappeared and I was able to function at a high level.
But I would unintentionally go and get drunk once a week to my detriment. It was going to cost me my relationship, and my wife (girlfriend at the time) was the only person who believed in me. I knew if I lost her I would nosedive and my sanity and my life would be in great danger.
I read about Naltrexone and decided to try it. My doc added 50mg oral daily to my regiment. I improved significantly. But every so often, over the course of a year, I would drink and regret it. Drinking on Naltrexone always made me feel uneasy and hangovers were awful. Each time I drank, it reinforced my desire to quit, and eventually the time between episodes grew and grew until I never got drank again. It was crazy. It was a true miracle and it made me believe in God.
I think that some people in recovery do not even believe me when I tell them that I do not know my sober date, but I don’t. I was not aware that my last drink would be my last drink and so it was not notable enough to record. At some point, I just looked at my wife and said, “I don’t want to drink anymore. The desire to drink is gone.”
And I never drank again. Mental health treatment and the support of my wife cannot be understated, but I would not be here without Naltrexone. I hope my experience will help others.

I never cared much for social media. I only use Reddit, and often disable the voting altogether because it just seem stupid. My phone is used solely for note taking, SMS, email and telephone calls.
Being in my mid-fourties, I have this nagging fear that I'm turning into a bitter old fart whose sole foundation is being opposed to everything contemporary. So I thought I might at least try to hear some counterpoints!
I guess the core of meme is getting the reference. If so, I haven't really seen any memes in the right context. But I can't imagine how any context can save something that is, uh, just fundamentally crappy.
The memes I've seen looks a bit like dad jokes. A tired punchline repeated badly, without any effort. And while dad jokes, in their pure form are at least geniue (the "dad" truly believe he is being fresh and clever) in contrast to this, memes just seem so desperately ironic and distanced.
My feeling is that memes will go the same way as the Flash format. This was the format for everything entertaining on the web, but today it is all but forgotten because badly animated clipart with an ironic voice-over simply isn't all that grand.
A lot of books, reddit posts, youtubers and games offers inspirering, honest and challenging ideas. Why should I miss out on any of this for something that just seems worse in every aspect?
What am I missing?

If you want to read the full chapter, please go to AO3!
THE SINS OF OUR FATHERS - A DDMA WHAT-IF? STORY
Chapter 3: The Truth
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\November 7th, 2017. Salvato High School, around 11:15 AM.\**
In terms of coming up with incredible art, and figuring out great ideas to put on paper, Itsuki Mirai was one of the best. Even as a child, he was always eager to grab a piece of paper and some crayons, and go to town with it. And as he grew older and older, his affinity and skill in the craft grew as well. By High School, it was clear the boy had a bright future with the art world if he kept this up.
However, even those with incredible talent can have moments where those great ideas and skills aren’t up to snuff. Maybe it’s because they’re feeling sick, or that what they’re working on isn’t giving them that same passion and drive as other projects they’ve done before. And in Itsuki’s current case, it was due to being distracted by the thoughts in his mind.
Granted, he tried to power through and come up with something as he doodled in his red sketchbook at his desk, set near the back of Mr. Amari’s classroom. He even tried looking around the room for something that might inspire him, like the small fridge at the teacher’s desk, which had some Star Wars stickers on it.
There was also an old record player on a shelf behind Itsuki at the back of the room. Though, he never heard it play a single tune throughout his time in High School, due to it being broken. And when looking back to the front of the room, he took notice of Mr. Amari taking sips of Coffee from his Wild E. Coyote cup while looking over stuff on his computer at his desk.
Honestly, Itsuki always found Amari’s classroom quite comfortable, ever since he first walked in here as a Freshman. In fact, Kiyoshi Amari was almost like the father he never really got, and many of the other students held him in high regard. He was kind, relaxed, and fun to talk with, while also being passionate and fair when it came to his duties as a Math teacher.
Yet…despite all that, Itsuki hasn’t bothered moving the pencil in his right hand across the paper much. Every time he starts to make something, he decides to erase it and start over. It was a tedious and annoying process, and the redhead wasn’t happy with any of it at all. In fact, many of the students could tell he was having a bit of trouble.
So much so that Mr. Amari decided to get out of his desk and walk towards the boy, feeling a bit concerned. And once he gets there, Itsuki looks up at him with a despondent expression on his face. The redhead takes note of the teacher’s brown sweater and blue jeans, alongside his black shoes and the wrist watch on his right hand.
While it’s a common look for him, it definitely shows what Mr. Amari is all about. Professional, but comfortable. Plus, his brown hair that’s starting to turn white due to old age is also eye-catching, alongside his blueish-purple eyes. And his figure is quite skinny as well. Though, he still has a pretty good diet, despite looking like skin and bones sometimes. Regardless, the teacher asks what’s going on with the young Mr. Mirai, hoping to cheer him up a bit.
Amari: “Everything going well today, Mirai?”
Itsuki: “Eh…it’s just one of those days for me…”
Amari: “I getcha. That artist brain of yours can’t always work at 100% efficiency.”
Itsuki: “Mm. I wish it could, but…we don’t always get what we want.”
Noticing Itsuki’s more downcast tone of voice, Amari decides to press a little more about what his student is dealing with.
Amari: “Something tells me it’s a little more than artist block.”
Amari: “Would it be okay if you told me what’s wrong?”
Itsuki: “...Sure. I don’t see why not.”
Setting the pencil down, Itsuki sighs and tells Amari what’s on his mind.
Itsuki: “So, you remember all the crap that’s been going on with me and Natsuki, right?”
Amari: “Indeed. She keeps pushing you away when you get too close and all that?”
Itsuki: “Yes. But she was absent for the Culture Festival, despite how much we needed her for the Poetry Recital in the Literature Club.”
Itsuki: “However, when I tried texting or calling her, she never responded.”
Amari: “Really? Not even during the weekend? Or yesterday?”
Itsuki: “Nope. But I DID see her peeking out the window of the clubroom doors, and confronted her.”
Itsuki: “She said her aunt had a stroke, and that’s what kept her from showing up.”
Itsuki: “Yet…she never told me ANYTHING about having an aunt. So I’m willing to believe that it’s either a subject she kept hidden for a good reason, or it was entirely made up.”
Amari: “Huh…strange…did you call her out at all?”
Itsuki: “No. I could tell she wasn’t feeling too great, and she didn’t want to see everyone else at the time.”
Itsuki: “In fact…she looked like she was…”
Itsuki: “...Afraid of something.”
Itsuki: “And it definitely didn’t look like the fear of loss…”
Itsuki’s suspicion is clearly shown through his facial expression. And while Amari keeps a calm and still look on his face, he’s definitely feeling suspicious about this situation too.
Amari: “Are you certain of your ideas?”
Itsuki: “Well, considering how many times she’s lied to me, I don’t have much reason to NOT believe something is up.”
Itsuki: “I just hope she gives me a clear answer today.”
Amari: “So you’re gonna talk to her? Don’t you think you should give her some time to think about it first?”
Itsuki: “Maybe. But I think she was considering the idea of telling me when I saw her yesterday.”
Itsuki: “Besides, I’m done with her constant dishonesty.”
After those words are spoken, Amari shows a bit of concern on his face. Then, he takes a deep breath, and regains a bit of his composure before speaking.
Amari: “Let me tell you this, Itsuki.”
Amari: “When it comes to confronting your loved ones about their troubles or honesty, it can get quite messy.”
Amari: “One could call it a delicate process. Very easy to make a mistake, if you’re not careful.”
Amari: “Hence, I want you to be mindful of how you go about this.”
Amari: “Just because Natsuki’s someone you care a lot about, and she’s having some issues doesn’t mean she automatically owes you any kind of answer.”
Itsuki: “Sure, but…if my loved ones are having a tough time, then shouldn’t it make sense that I step in and do whatever I can in order to help them?”
Amari: “To an extent, yes. But that doesn’t give you the right to barge into their problems and act like a hero.”
Amari: “Some things can’t be so easily solved with a few kind words. And especially not with punches or kicks.”
Amari: “Though, I will say it’s not good to lie to those you care about. Especially if it’s frequent.”
Amari: “However, depending on what they deal with, they might have some justified reasons for not saying anything.”
Amari: “Like, they fear others might get hurt by it, or do rash things because of it.”
Amari: “And while I know you’re pretty level-headed for the most part, even people like you aren’t unlikely to snap under stress.”
Amari: “So, you can’t be too pushy or too distant. You need a good balance of both to make it work.”
Amari: “But…I’m certain you’ll find a way to make things right at the end.”
Amari: “All I can tell you is good luck, and to keep my advice in mind.”
While Itsuki still doesn’t look too happy, he does seem to be a bit better as he has a small smile on his face.
Itsuki: “I will. Thank you, Amari. I appreciate it.”
Amari: “Don’t mention it. Anything to help a student.”
Amari: “Now, hopefully, you’ll finally be free to draw something cool like always!”
Itsuki: “Heh. Probably not. But here’s hoping.”
Amari chuckles a bit, before heading over to another student in the room, leaving Itsuki to continue his doodling. As he expected, he doesn’t get much done in terms of “Drawing something cool.” But he’s at least able to better think about what’s going on with Natsuki, and how to handle it. In fact, he’s starting to think if he IS being too pushy with this matter.
Granted, he had no plans of letting Natsuki off easy for constantly putting up fronts with him, but at the same time, she must have a good reason for doing so, right? And how WOULD Itsuki react if he found out the truth? It could be so much worse than whatever ideas he has in mind. What if…in order to deal with Natsuki’s problem…he ended up going too far?
Thinking about that heavy thought, Itsuki takes an annoyed sigh, recognizing just how much more complicated this issue is. Luckily, he has plenty of time to figure out how to go about everything. So, for now, he just hopes for the best.
Read the rest of the chapter on AO3!
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Next: Counter
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Tw : Abortion, suicide
So I went through an abortion, both pills and surgical D&C, I’m in serious physical pain, I have back pain till now and I had bad side effects until 2 days ago. My boyfriend is a basically a child. I didn’t notice that before and when I really needed him he acts like a child. He only does things I ask him to do. I would be crying and he’d think it’s okay to ask if he can smokeup. I raise my voice because I’m tired of him just arguing when I’m not in the mind space he says I’m abusive. I want to be in this relationship, idk why. But I can’t go through another failed relationship and I don’t think I can find anyone nice who would be okay with the abortion. It’s a thing that’ll stay with me forever. I have to fix this relationship. Commenters who’re gonna say I’m dependent and I need therapy, please dont. I know that. I don’t want to go through a breakup and be alone and miserable while also dealing with the post stress of abortion and my body still thinks I’m pregnant. I’m angry, I need him to change and take responsibility and be a good boyfriend. I fucking trusted him when he said he wants to be with me forver and made promises. I earn more than him and I mostly take care of the household expenses. I was very skeptical of having unprotected sex but he said he’ll be with me forver and we’ve nothing to worry about because he knows how to handle it. Newsflash he doesn’t. He knocked me up. I would’ve broken up with him before the abortion but now I can’t. I really wish I knew what he really was but no. Idk what to do. How do I fix this relationship?

He may be missing the day-to-day action of being in the thick of things as a general manager, but those duties now belong to Kent Hughes. It would be interesting if Gorton entertains offers to get back into the action this summer.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/opinion/2023/03/30/why-the-lost-art-of-elite-nhl-goaltending-should-give-the-maple-leafs-some-nhl-playoff-comfort.html?rf

Everyone fucking ignores me and its like God is trying his hardest to keep me from getting help, reddit wont let me message the one person who said I could vent to them, so fuck it I'm just going to pretend the entire sub is them.
I'm not really sure what the fuck is wrong with me. I think about suicide all the time but like I'm scared of death. I really don't want to live anymore, I've seen all my life is gonna offer me and I don't like it. It's the same fucking thing everyday. Wake up, sit in the shower doing nothing for a half hour, get dressed and ready in 10 minutes, go to school, do zero work because I have zero motivation, think about death, come home, go to my job I fucking hate that I get so fucking underpaid at, think about death all day, come home, get high, think about death, and go to bed at 2, just to wake up at 6 the next day. I've lost a third of my entire bodyweight in the last year, yet I'm still fat and I have a double chin that I can't do anything about. I have zero motivation to do anything. I'm 3 months away from graduating highschool and I have no plans whatsoever. I have no motivation to do anything. The only time I don't feel like I'm losing my mind is when I'm baked, and I'm so fucking tired of getting high every single day just to feel something. I tried gtting a therapist but she doesn't even fkn let me talk to her. I'm a virgin, and I've never been in a real relationship. I've been rejected by every girl I've ever talked to. I don't even care about sex, I just want to be loved ffs. I could die a virgin and be happy so long as I'm not alone. I fucking hate being alone. I hate myself so fucking much and everytime I'm with myself I just think about hanging myself. Nothing at all is going right for me. Not a fucking thing. On top of all that i can't forget to mention my mother who is so fucking sick I can hardly stand to be around her it makes me so sad, she can't walk or do anything for herself. And my alcoholic father is the cherry on top. He's not just a drunk, he's a loud and violent one.

While transferring photographs from my phone to my PC by USB, something went wrong, and since I had them marked to delete once transferred I've lost half of them. I have everything else backed up on Google, but pictures and videos weren't backed up. This happened yesterday, is there any options to retrieve the photographs? Can supply any further details as necessary, thanks!

I was transferring files over from my old computer over to my new computer. I realised I hadn't copy and pasted, I had cut and pasted. Meaning that when I fucked up the file transfer and went to delete those files (permanently. It was a lot of stuff.) to just redo the whole thing over I fucking deleted the whole damn thing off from everything, forgetting I had used the cut and paste feature.
I lost hundreds of hours of footage I had filmed, bank details, and tons of documents from my main hobby.
I'm trying shit like Recurva but I don't have high hopes. I fucking hate my stupid fucking brain. I wish I could have just been fucking patient enough to sit and wait to resume the file transfer or thought even for a fucking SECOND about what I was doing before I hit the delete button.

https://preview.redd.it/1164dt7sdvla1.png?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=21602fcf4fcb049b4403b153d4af94e7ff694c52

for me was the rogier rapier, i just found out recently with help guides bc every time i did a run always lost his track and never know of him

Sometimes I dream weird stuff and I like to tell my family. This year I have been having dreams with repeated or connected events. For this post, I want to talk about my most recent dreams.
On Monday’s night, I dreamed that a woman came into my house while my mom and my sister were at the gym. My dad and the woman who comes to cook were with me. When this stranger came into the house, I knew we were in danger because she had been coming to the entrance and I felt she had a weird vibe. Anyways in the dream she was supposed to attack the three of us but the only things I could see were that she locked up my dad in his room and she took the cook to mine after threatening her; when I went to my room, I found her naked (and giving me her back) and I started crying because this stranger had told her to do that to humiliate her. Fast forward when my mom and my sister arrived, it turned out everything was a play??? Everyone was laughing and the cook was fully dressed. The I woke up.
On Tuesday’s night, I dreamed that my closest friend from the university (we were at a place that was a mix between my school and our university) was running through bushes, trying to get to the bathroom, because he was naked; I could feel he felt ashamed. Another stuff happened but that is the important part for this post.
Now, yesterday (Wednesday’s night), I had another weird dream but I woke up like at 9:00 am and fell asleep again. This time, I had the most curious dream from this group. I was in a long path, surrounded by plants, it looked like a forest yet felt like my university’s paths were we have a lot of plants. If I crossed everything, I could arrive to Disneyland. A lot of people were here. When I was walking through the path, I found some beings (I don’t even think they are humans at this point): fully black eyes, very skinny bodies, pale skin (to the point it kind of looked pink), white but few hair (straight and not so long). They were almost 100% naked, but they had a little white piece of cloth to cover their private parts. They seemed to be very tall but they walked on their hands and feet. The ugliest of them was literally just a head that I don’t know how it was capable of waking by itself. None of them harmed me, although I was a bit scared by them and by the amount of older people that were there (I felt like I was going to kidnap me). I met an old man who asked me to help him walk to the other end of the road, as he had to go to a church, because he was going to get baptized. I told him about the creatures and he told me not to worry about them; I mentioned the head I saw walking by itself but I don’t remember what he answered. I actually went to the church with him after that; I was wearing a yellow dress, white socks and black shoes.
My mom says that the people we see in dreams are actually reflections of ourselves, but I don’t understand what is happening between these three stories. What do you think?

I wanted to make a little post to start gathering some information on armors and bugs etc into one place.
Armor isn't crafted by the player, rather you have to take materials to specific NPCs to make armor for you.
When talking to NPCs that offer to make armor for you, hit C to go directly to the crafting menu instead of navigating their gossip menus.
First, Herne
Herne offers to make Padded armor and Light armor. Padded armor has the same protection and movement bonuses as Light armor, but with resistance to cold temperatures.

Name	Bonuses	Materials
Light Singlet	+1 Protection, +2% movement	18 Fiber
Light Leggings	+1 Protection, +2% movement	15 Fiber
Light Gauntlets	+2% movement	9 Fiber
Padded Wrap	+1 Protection, 9 Cold Protection	18 Fiber
Padded Breeches	+1 Protection, 9 Cold Protection	15 Fiber
Padded Bracers	+1 Protection, 9 Cold Protection	9 Fiber

Full set of fiber armor from Herne costs 42 fiber. Currently there's no penalty to having cold protection when it's not cold out, so it seems like padded armor is your best bet.
Next up, Kalev

Name	Bonuses	Materials
Stone Breast	+2 protection, 3 cold protection, +3% piercing resistance, -2% movement speed	16 stone, 9 fiber, 2 resin
Stone Greaves	+2 protection, 3 cold protection, +3% piercing resistance, -2% movement speed	8 stone, 6 fiber, 2 resin
Stone Mask	+1 protection, 3 cold protection, +3% piercing resistance, -2% movement speed	8 stone, 3 fiber, 2 resin
Stone Vambraces	+2 protection, 3 cold protection, +3% piercing resistance, -2% movement speed	8 stone, 3 fiber, 2 resin

Whole set will take 40 stone, 21 fiber, and 8 resin. Stone armor slows you down but is a complete upgrade in terms of protection especially against the number of insects that do piercing damage.
This is as far as I've gotten for armorers, I'll update as I find more armor people.
Insects
Ladybugs are friend shaped. Love them. Cherish them.
Ants are bastards, use swords. even better, use a grasshopper scythe.
Sawyer beetles are scourges of the forests IRL. They need piercing damage to take them down. Do so without mercy. They also drop chitin which you'll need for making a better axe.
Bees are fuzzy and swarm you. They also need piercing damage. They can drop insect wings that sound like they're used to make flying armor at some point, which I'm rather looking forward to.
Butterflies exist. I haven't found anything special from them yet.
Ditto Dragonflies. Dragonflies look like they probably drop wings for flying armor, but I haven't killed any yet. I hope we can tame them for flying mounts at some point though.
Other tips

• When it says that your Food and Hydration are low, you only need to eat. It's all represented in one bar. You don't need to look for a water source, just cook and eat something.
  
• When looting, press and hold F (Interact button) to loot everything in a small area around you. If you're gathering from a node (ie. resin droplets), continue holding F to quickly loot the stuff from the node instead of searching around for it.
  
• Not everything requires tons of clicking. You can click and hold to swing your weapon multiple times for harvesting or attacking. Clicking and holding also allows you to combo your attacks, but makes it hard to actually block.
  

I saw King Lear at the Shakespeare Theatre Company last week, and all I have to say is run, don’t walk, to see this show! Spoilers ahead.
I’m a pretty big Shakespeare fan and a huge Hadestown/Patrick Page fan, so I was really excited for this one. My expectations were high, but they were met easily!
I usually am very wary of more modern adaptations of Shakespearean plays. They can definitely be great, but, in my opinion, they’re not easy to do well. This adaptation doesn’t shove the modernity in your face (it’s not like the characters carry around phones or anything) but they do a great job of making it more relatable to a modern audience. The costume choices, for instance, are modern, and do a fantastic job of conveying character, particularly for the sisters. It did a great job of establishing Cordelia in the first scene since it can be difficult to do so with her since she hardly has any lines.
Patrick Page did a wonderful job, as expected. I think I could listen to his voice all day. I thought Shirine Babb as a genderswapped Kent was a standout (she put on a Jamaican accent for her disguise which I thought was very clever). A female Kent worked really well. Rosa Gilmore as Goneril and Matthew J. Harris as Edgar also put on notably great performances. Gilmore, in a talkback after the show, really made it clear how passionate she was about Goneril, rather than being evil, being a product of her circumstances. I thought her passion really shone through in her performance. I’ve read Lear, but the sisters really made much more of an impact on stage than on screen.
Finally, I thought the direction was fantastic. There was a lot of talking with hands which really helped convey meaning to the audience. They did make the choice to have the Fool die after his final line in the play and did a good job handling it. Probably the only issue I had was I wish the Fool would’ve spoken just a bit slower. He was the only one who was hard to understand.
Anyway, this is certainly the best Shakespeare production I’ve ever seen. If you’re anywhere near the DC area, PLEASE go

i'm sorta struggling with data (understatment of the century). i got a 75% on the first test (permutations) and then a 59% on the next one (combinations). i never was a math person, but i just feel so lost, to be honest.
i don't know if i'm completely screwed because my initial goal was to get over an 85% or above in all my courses, but it's just not looking that great.
does this course get easier from here? is there still hope for me to achieve my goal? i'm too far in to drop this course/request a change tbh.
please just let me know that everything's okay bc i'm kinda freaking out now.

6 months is going to fly by, I know it. But, I am getting married to my best friend and I could not be more excited. A little bit about us, we both grew up in small towns. We went to the same college, but we did not meet until after we both graduated. My sister actually set us up. We have been pretty much inseparable since. I dunno, I am just excited about it all and September cannot come soon enough.
In the meantime, I am wondering your best advice. What to expect until the wedding day. What to expect after. If you have a successful relationship, what's your advice? If you have had a failed marriage, what's your advice?
I am excited to see responses to this one. I am wanting advice from all walks of life. The world is crazy, everyone has different experiences, and everyone's voice matters.. and you never know who may need to hear what you have to say!

Background info: I live in Portland, Oregon, and I'm covered by SAIF insurance. On Sunday I took a fall down a few stairs and grabbed the handrail with my left hand to catch myself; my left shoulder took the brunt of the force. I was clocked in and I have a witness to the injury.
Since then my left shoulder has been stiff/tender and I have lost some range of motion, especially having to rotate it to put on shirts, and it just sounds crunchy and poppy. I'm going today to an urgent care with my claim form to get it checked and seek a referral for more investigation but was wondering if it would be more beneficial just to seek a specialist in the matter? I worked with a medical group (Rebound Orthopedics) who takes workers comp, but I know claims are complicated and one poor decision can run the risk of less being covered.
My worry is that the urgent care won't take it seriously (I had a frustrating experience dealing with poor treatment and misdiagnosis on a blown knee from a sports injury last year) and I want to make I'm prepared to navigate this process since this is my first time dealing with workers comp so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The company restructured corporate services and I recently lost my Director of Administration who was my mentor. She was advocating hard for me to be promoted to Manager, Administration - basically managing all the admins in the office. Because my director is no longer in the company, I lost that advocate & in addition the restructure totally changed the reporting lines where I am now a 'Administrative Team Lead' and I report into an executive who has zero connection to admin whatsoever. I'm responsible for doing everything a admin manager does in addition to supporting a few execs.
The reason i mention the above is to give context to the next few statements. I am having MAJOR issues with an EA who is on my team. She has been at the company longer than me, is older than me, supports pretty senior executives in the company - but I am technically at this point her superior. Anytime I have a team meeting everyone is on board except for her. She had major issues with my director (to the point where she cornered her and attempted to have a public screaming fit). The rest of the admin team sees right through her BS - but the problem is the executives don't. In their eyes she is the model EA. I will admit, she is good at her job, but she is NOT a team player - and since we're in a small office; it is very obvious when someone isn't pulling their weight when it comes to general office services (that is a part of our role here & its made clear in the interview process that admin are expected to help with the office & function as a team).
I have tried to sit down with her multiple times and see eye to eye; convince her that i am advocating for the team and i treat everyone fairly. She has issues with it all and I know she will begin to start bashing me to the executives which could potentially put my job in jeopardy.
Question 1: Given my situation - is there anything I can do differently to make her see that I am not mistreating her?
Question 2: Should I go to my execs and explain the situation? I don't want to have to get them involved - it just seems so petty.
Any suggestions are so welcome. Thank you!

First, Previous
Memory transcription subject: Michael Smith, Human extermination officer
Date [standardized human time]: November 4, 2136
Once we realized that the Nixas were pack predators and probably social enough to hold a grudge, we made sure to get the hell out of there and raced multiple miles downstream, before slowing down again. Our mission forced us to actually explore the ecosystem, instead of just driving past it, after all.
We were all rational enough to agree on that, but none of us liked it. For the entire rest of the day we were constantly checking our backs, waiting for an angry pack of Nixas to attack us. Not that any animal would be able to hurt us inside of the Truck, but something about Vartek almost bleeding out stripped us bare of any sense of safety or security. Vartek was still almost completely incapacitated by his wound - unsurprisingly, if you considered how lucky he even was to even be alive after that bite almost severed one of his biggest blood vessels. We could have called in a medical aircraft to fly him home, but he refused to go and leave us alone, so we decided to nurse him back to health on the inside of Bob.
We still didn’t know why the Nixa attacked us so recklessly, but we had some theories. Steven supposed it was a territorial creature and saw us as competitors over the already limited food supply, so it had no choice but to attack us, if it wanted to live. Lim believed that the lack of food forced it to attack any possible prey, no matter how difficult to kill, because it could not afford to be picky.
It’s almost entirely empty stomach - as the surgery showed - appeared to support the second theory, whilst multiple traces of this exact Nixa we found nearby supported the idea of it being territorial. Either way, any other Nixas we encountered could be equally, if not more, deadly and we did not intend to find out the hard way.
We did find multiple traces of other Nixas nearby - including multiple tiny bones, chewed apart and sucked dry of bone marrow, with not a single ounce of flesh left on them, as well as footsteps of Nixas traveling in small groups. We also found some creatures gall bladder, carefully ripped out of the body by a Nixa before the rest was eaten. We rarely left the safety Bob provided, and when we did to take a sample, we staid in a small radius and made sure everyone was equipped with guns and flamethrowers and plasmaweapons - we were taking no chances anymore.
Since we had found no traces of Nixas before and suddenly there were hundreds of signs of Nixa activity now, we assumed we had stumbled right into their hunting grounds. This meant that, once we left this area, they would likely leave us alone. But until then, we had to be very careful.
The good news was, that the Nixas filled the gaping hole in the food chain we had noticed. The bad news was, that we probably placed lower than them on that chain, and that they knew that very well.
The team was in shambles. Almost loosing Vartek hurt, but maybe being hunted by an entire pack of predators? And not even knowing how many they were, where they could be lurking or whether they actually were hunting us? Now that fucked with our nerves. Mirva was sobbing again, and I really didn’t know how to help her or calm her down. Farlent had not let go of her weapons since Vartek fell asleep again, David and Lim had stayed up all night, Steven had not spoken a single word since and Ortsa began making many mistakes, which was very unusual for her. Not only did she open the wrong door last hour, the hour before that she pressed the buttons to start in the wrong order and almost broke Bobs engine.
None of us blamed her for those tiny mistakes, since the nerves made all of us less competent, but she clearly blamed herself plenty.
Usually, I knew how to calm them down, how to keep the team happy, but right now? I couldn’t even calm myself.
I was so deep in thought, so focused on our shitty situation, that I didn’t even notice Mirva was talking, until she repeated herself:
“Mike? Hey, Mike? Please, Mike, listen to me… Mike?“
“Huh? Sorry Mirva, I was… stuck in some mental loop… how are you?“
“Scared… terrified really. Are you really sure those monsters can’t get to us here? I mean, they were smart enough to wait for the moment we were all distracted before attacking Vartek!“
I was not sure, but I didn’t have the heart to tell here that. Not that I wanted to lie to her, either, but the truth would just be cruel at this point.
“Don’t worry. They can’t harm us. Because they aren’t monsters, just animals. Smart, dangerous animals sure, but animals nonetheless. They want to live and they want to avoid being hurt and thus they would never be insane enough to attack us. Not while we are all armed, together and sitting inside a moving fortress with rocket launchers, energy weapons and grenade proof armor. And even if they tried, Bob would protect us. He is a good truck and he got a lot of tricks up his sleeve. And even if all else fails, you don’t have to worry. Because I am here and I will protect you!“
Mirva took a deep breath, my words seemed to work, but she wasn’t quite convinced yet.
“Because that is your job?“
I chuckled and hugged her.
“No. Because you are my friend!“
Mirva smiled nervously - she actually smiled like a human, oh my god that is so cute - and her horizontal pupils got a little smaller, as she slightly calmed down. But then she shot the sleeping Vartek a sad glance.
“I am sorry I couldn’t save Vartek. I was out there and I should have stopped that Nixa, but I was too weak, too scared.“
I grabbed her by the shoulders.
“No, you are not weak. I saw you out there, standing in front of Jane, making sure that the Nixa didn’t kill her as well. Without you, we could have lost her, you hear me? That wasn’t weak, that was brave!“
I thought that were the right words to make her feel good, but something went wrong. As I said brave she suddenly recoiled and for a split second she was looking of into the distance as if she wasn’t even aware I existed anymore. I had no clue what just happened, but it probably wasn’t good. Therefore I quickly rephrased:
“Err… I meant to say you did a really good job there. Thank you for saving Jane!“
Mirva shook her head as if she had just woken up, than she gave me a proud wave with her tail.
“You’re welcome! It always feels good to do what’s right. Even though I still wish I could have helped Vartek… anyways, thanks for this talk, Mike. It really helped!“
She hugged me again and walked of.
Well, that was weird.
I looked around and saw that, since the last time I checked about an hour ago, most of the team had fallen asleep now. Including Farlent, which meant no one had had their eyes on the road for the last few minutes. Fuck.
I wipped my head around just in time to see three Nixas, with their eyes locked right on me, jumping away immediately after seeing me snap around.
And whoosh, they were gone. Hiding behind some rocks, presumably.
Or was I getting so tired I had started hallucinating?