• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: $600-$1100, less is preferred
• Are you open to refurbs/used? Yes! My current laptop is a refurb and has worked well.
• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? Performance > Battery life (4+ hrs) > build quality. I have a touchscreen and like it, though if it didn't have it would be okay.
• How important is weight and thinness to you? Nice to haves
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. Currently I have 14” which is probably the minimum I would want.
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. Yes, I use SolidWorks CAD for small/medium parts, programming, and multiple large excel files.
• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? I don’t really game.
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? A better keyboard would be nice, 256 gb ssd minimum (currently use 200), 16 gb ram I currently have and is fine, though with all my programs open can get a bit close to the limit.
• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. I travel and work and like to have at least 1 monitor (2 when at home) with me in 1080p. I currently have a 14” Lenovo Flex 5 Ryzen 4500U 16gb ram which is decent but only supports 1 external monitor, and doesn’t feel as snappy with multiple programs open; I want something that ideally has HDMI and displayport or something that can show 2 external monitors with it. When traveling I like to have at least 4 hr battery time so not huge, but definitely needs to last a bit.

pt2
Over the next few nights Kay would stay up late looking at guys on hook ups sites. Sometimes she would guide my head down between her legs. I would pull her panties to the side and eat her out until she couldn’t take it anymore and squeeze my head with her legs as she orgasmed.
About a week later she says, “I found him!”
“Oh wow! Can I see?”
“Umm.. I think it would be better if it was a surprise don’t you?”
“Well i am not really sure about that. I think I should have some idea of what we are getting ourselves into.”
“Honey, this has been you fantasy for a while now. Let me do this for you. You trust me right?”
“Yes I do” just as I said it she came over and gave me a kiss on the head.
For the next few nights we had the most amazing sex as we talked about what our threesome would be like. I couldn’t believe I was going to live out this fantasy for real.
——
They started chatting, just a little bit at first but after a while it turned into all the time. Kay would stay up late into the night with the blue glow of the phone lighting up her face. She got so addicted to her phone that sometimes I would find her with mine when hers died. Couldn’t stand being without one.
“He wants some pictures of me” she told me on evening as we were getting ready for bed.
“Ok. I have that nice one of you from the park the other day we could send”
She stating laughing, “no sweetie. He wants to see a bit more than that. Here take my phone and I’ll strip down a bit”
She then headed to the corner of the room and stripped down to bar and panties. Never thought I would be taking picture of my wife in her underwear to send to another guy. “You sure this is a good idea?” I asked
“Yeah. I it will be fine.” She said as she started to strike a sexy pose. “You know at first I couldn’t get behind this threesome idea of yours. But now it’s really turning me on”
Nice, I thought, getting some sex tonight. But once I gave the phone back her attention was right back to messaging the photos of her to the mystery man. “He wants one without the bra”
“Ok well that’s too much, he can wait until we have our night for that.” I said rather sternly.
“Don’t be silly” she didn’t even notice my tone. “Come over here and take it off for me. I have a good angle for a selfie.”
Before I knew it I was over there taking off her bra and she started taking pictures and then her attention was right back to her conversation with him. “Thanks honey” she said as she walked away not even looking at me. As she rounded the corner I swore I heard her giggling. And there I was alone in the bedroom noticing I was hard as a rock. I wondering is it because she is waking around in her underwear or because she is ignoring me?
—
“Holy shit!” is all I hear as I am startled awake in the middle of the night. As I lift my head up a phone is thrusted in my face.
“That is the largest cock I have ever seen” Kay says.
“Huh?” I say rubbing my eyes awake.
“I’m not sure I can handle that. Not when I am used to yours.” She reaches down my pants and starts playing with my dick. “What do you think honey?” I start to get hard as she strokes me “Do you think I can take it?”
“Umm” god this is sexy. Can’t believe we are actually talking about this. “Yeah sweetie” the stroking is getting faster “ I think we will have a good time with the threesome” I say. “I know I will” Kay says staring at the picture.
We start making out heavily and soon our clothes are off. She has me lie down on the bed with my dock pointing to the air. She grabs the picture of his cock on her phone and places next to mine. “Wow” she says. “Didn’t know they could be that different. Did you?”
Too embarrassed to answer and feeling self conscious about my size I just take the opportunity to start going down her. Something I know I am good at. But after a few minutes she wants me inside her. So I climb on top and slide my dick in and start pumping. “Grab a condom first” she says. “Don’t want any surprises”
I jump off run across the room grab a condom and by the time I get back she has rolled over on her stomach and is staring at the picture again. I don’t waste any time though. I hop back on and take her from behind. But as I pump my dick in and out of her as she is staring at another cock is more than I can take and I cum with seconds.
“You done already?!” She says with a bit on disappointment in her tone.
“Sorry,not sure what I got over me. But let me go down on you.”
“No. It fine” she sighs and rolls over and starts chatting on her phone.
The next morning I woke up and she was already out of bed. I found her down stairs not on her phone and I could tell right away she was in a grumpy mood.
“Sorry about last night” I said “it was my fault.”
“Yeah. It’s was. You know I barely felt you after you grabbed the condom last night. It’s just seeing what I have been missing….”
“Wow that stung”
“Come on are you going to sit there and say the two cocks compare to each other. You know I have never asked what’s your measurement anyway?”
“I don’t know”‘I lied.
“Don’t do that. I know you have measured it.”
“It’s four inches, what is his?”
“He has told me it’s 9.5…..You know I am just a little pissed and I need some space. I don’t need you messing this up for me?”
“What does that mean?”
But she had already walked away.
She spent the next few days really angry and I tried my best to fix the situation. Doing all the cooking and cleaning. Keeping up with the laundry. After a while of the silent treatment I think it started working. She started to open back up a bit.
“Are you ok?” I asked.
“You know there is something we need to talk about…”
Ping!
Her phone light up. “But it’s going to have to wait. Sorry” And she got up and walked away.
But her mood did improve after that even though she was always on the phone. She was on it so much that I started to think it was a problem. We could even make it through a meal without going off and taking her attention.
“You have been talking to him for a while now. Don’t you think it’s a bit much?”
“Just trying to get all the details in line.”
“You know maybe this isn’t the best idea anymore”
“No way. Don’t you dare say that. This was your idea. And now that I know what I am missing. There is no going back on this” she said in an angrier tone than I was expecting.
“Well can you at least fill me in on the details of when our threesome is happening?”
“I am not so sure that threesome is the right word anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well after talking to him and seeing what he is bringing I think I am going to need most of the time.”
“Aaaa…”
“You’ll still be there if course.”
“And what you just want me to stand there?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that it looks like he will be able to give me something you can’t “
“Hey”
“Now come on. You saw it.”
“Yeah”
“ and you want me to be happy right”
“Right”
“So this is what I want”
“Ok”
“Great! He is coming over tomorrow”
…

Hey guys, it is coming with a lot of delay, but here it is – the practical part of the complete amphetamine purification guide that I announced ages ago.
First, a few things upfront.
Due to time and space constraints, it is not possible for me to cover and list all potentially possible purification methods that exist.
Therefore, I have focused on the ones that, in my experience, make some sense. So, things like recrystallization from an alcoholic solvent are not included because, in my opinion, it is a complete waste of time when it comes to amphetamine.
Furthermore, when it comes to purifying an unknown mixture, the problem is that it is not possible to choose the simplest possible method, as it strongly depends on which impurities need to be separated.
Therefore, I can only advise everyone who consumes regularly/daily to spend some money and invest in the necessary equipment for liquid-liquid extraction/acid-base extraction, as it is the most effective method apart from distillation when you don't know which substances you want to separate.
Lastly, a note:
All the procedures mentioned here are based on the assumption that the amphetamine is in the form of sulfate, as it is the case in 99.99% of all instances.
Most of the procedures should also work with other salts, but that strongly depends on the specific salt.
If you are unsure, start with a small amount to test it. I hope I don't have to mention that I assume all the chemicals involved are acquired in the highest possible purity and should preferably be anhydrous to avoid losses.

"Washing" speed or purifying it through filtration.

I consider washing your speed to be the minimum you should always do for your own sake because, honestly, it requires almost no effort, and the costs for everything you need are minimal, so there's practically no reason not to do it.
The procedure itself theoretically works with a wide range of solvents, but in practice, 2.5 solvents have proven to be effective: acetone, dichloromethane/chloroform, and in some cases, isopropyl alcohol.
Washing primarily helps to remove synthesis residues, solvent residues, caffeine, and in the case of isopropyl alcohol, lactose. The principle is the same in any case: The solvent dissolves the corresponding impurities but not the amphetamine sulfate, and after mixing the speed with the solvent, the sulfate is separated from the solvent through filtration.
I would advise everyone to determine the amount of solvent based on the assumption that 100% of your speed consists of caffeine, that is, based on the solubility of caffeine in the respective solvent. Isopropyl alcohol is the least preferable option because it only dissolves 1g of caffeine per 100ml, so I would recommend using it only if lactose is also present.
Acetone is the best choice for small amounts because it is relatively safe to handle. Acetone dissolves 1g of caffeine per 50ml, so I would use 50ml of acetone per gram of speed.
Dichloromethane and chloroform are the best options, but since both substances have a certain level of toxicity, caution should be exercised when working with them. They dissolve 1 gram of caffeine with just 7ml. For washing purposes, I would simply use 10ml per gram of speed for simplicity. In general, it is also recommended to perform two or more washing cycles because a single cycle will never achieve the same efficiency.
The concept and execution are the same for all:
​
Required equipment:

• 2 glasses,
• a spoon,
• a coffee filter,
• and the solvent are all you need, in my opinion.

​
Execution:
Allow the speed to dry and then finely chop it. This will provide a more optimal surface area, making it easier to remove impurities.
Once that's done, take the speed and put it in one of the glasses.
Then pour the solvent into the glass and stir it with the spoon for a bit. Stir a bit longer, around 1-2 minutes.
Wait for another 5 minutes, then take the coffee filter and place it over the second glass like a funnel.
Once that's done, simply pour the contents of the first glass through the coffee filter into the second glass and wait for all the solvent to drain through the filter.
The amphetamine sulfate will still be in the coffee filter since it doesn't dissolve and can be scraped together after tearing or cutting open the filter.
Once the powder no longer has any odor, it can be consumed.

Purification through fractional recrystallization:

This method is based on the principle that when a mixture of substances dissolved in hot water is cooled, the substances that are less soluble in water compared to the other substances precipitate first. This is particularly true for caffeine, which is almost always present in speed, but certain sugar alcohols and substances like creatine can also be effectively separated using this method, which cannot be achieved through, for example, an acetone wash.
For example, caffeine is 33 times more soluble in boiling water compared to its solubility in water at room temperature, while the solubility of amphetamine sulfate only changes by a factor of 7.
To remove synthesis byproducts, it is still advisable to wash your speed first. However, this is not a prerequisite.
​
Required equipment:

• A Kettle or a pot,
• A Coffee filter,
• 2x beakers/glasses,
• A Pasteur pipette 5ml (optional),
• A Glass rod or spoon for stirring

​
Required chemicals:

• Distilled water

​
Procedure:
First, the distilled water needs to be heated to boiling. The easiest way to do this is with a kettle, but a stovetop and pot will also work if necessary.
While the water is slowly coming to a boil, fill a beake glass with the (previously dried and finely chopped) speed. Then, drop by drop and while stirring, add hot water until everything is dissolved.
As a rough guideline, you can estimate that approximately 4ml of water will be required, but this may vary slightly.
Next, let it cool to room temperature and then place it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, place the coffee filter over the second glass. After the 2-hour period, the caffeine should be clearly visible as cotton-like needles in the beaker glass from the refrigerator.
Pour the contents troughthe coffee filter, collecting the filtrate in the second beaker glass.
What remains in the filter is the caffeine, while the amphetamine salt is now in the second beaker / glass. Transfer its contents onto the plate and allow the water to evaporate.
Once the water has evaporated, the residue only needs to be scraped together and is ready for consumption. Alternatively, it can be directly filled into a nasal spray.
​

Liquid-Liquid Extraction/Acid-Base Extraction

This method is not suitable for casual consumers as it involves a more complex procedure and requires some equipment and chemicals investment. However, most of the costs are one-time purchases, so they won't be incurred in subsequent runs.
This is the method I would personally recommend to regular consumers as it is significantly more effective than others, second only to distillation. However, this method involves working with potentially hazardous substances such as concentrated sulfuric acid, concentrated sodium hydroxide, and others. While handling them safely is possible, there is a potential risk involved.
The method combines the concept of liquid-liquid extraction with the acid-base salt concept, which ultimately achieves significant effectiveness.
Liquid-liquid extraction is a classic separation method in organic chemistry commonly used for processing reaction mixtures. It utilizes the differential solubility of substances in two immiscible solvents (e.g., watedichloromethane). According to the Nernst distribution law, different substances will ultimately accumulate in the solvent in which they are more soluble.
Subsequently, the amphetamine base is released from the amphetamine salt, causing a drastic change in solubility. This allows for the extraction of the amphetamine base and separation of all substances that do not undergo this salt/base transition, including water-soluble and less water-soluble compounds.
During the practical implementation, there are a few aspects that may vary depending on the choice of solvent, among other factors. Therefore, it is advisable for everyone to understand and internalize the information provided before carrying out the practical procedure. Link to reference/04%3A_Extraction/4.06%3A_Step-by-Step_Procedures_For_Extractions)
Required Equipment:

• One set of (6+) beakers (250ml - 500ml)
• 1 separatory funnel with stopper (250ml-500ml)
• 1 stand to hold the separatory funnel (1 stand base, 1 stand rod, 1 stand clamp or ring)
• 1 glass rod
• 1 scale
• 1 pH indicator paper
• 1 glass pipette

Chemicals:

• Distilled water
• Acetone
• Alcohol-based solvent (such as isopropanol), preferably 99.5% or higher
• Sulfuric acid (as concentrated as possible; if concentrated sulfuric acid is not available for purchase, you can concentrate it yourself Link)
• A non-water-soluble, relatively nonpolar solvent (I recommend DCM)

I will explain the practical procedure using dichloromethane (DCM) as it has a convenient density for the process, is highly effective for caffeine, and evaporates rapidly.
Practical Procedure:
Personal protective equipment (goggles, lab coat or apron) should be worn at all times. It is recommended to wear a pair of nitrile disposable gloves with a pair of latex disposable gloves over them. If any chemical contacts the gloves, immediately remove them, wash your hands, and put on a fresh pair. This precaution will help prevent any chemical burns. Always wear protective goggles to safeguard your eyesight when working with any chemicals.
​

1. Wash the speed with acetone.

​

1. Purity the amphetamine sulfate by "shaking it out".

First, the amphetamine is naturally purified as a salt. Dissolve the speed in sufficient water and add the corresponding nonpolar solvent to the separatory funnel.
The ratio of water to organic solvent should be roughly 2:1 in terms of volume. Each phase separation should be given approximately 30 minutes. The amphetamine salt will be present in the aqueous phase, which, in the case of DCM/water, would be the upper phase, while the nonpolar impurities would be in the organic phase at the bottom of the separatory funnel. The extraction should be performed three times, meaning that after each phase separation, the organic solvent is drained into a separate beaker, and fresh organic solvent is added. Once that is done, drain the water+speed solution into another beaker and clean the separatory funnel.
​

1. Preparation of sodium hydroxide solution.

To release the base, sodium hydroxide solution is required. Start by adding 10ml of distilled water to a 100ml beaker. Weigh out 7g of sodium hydroxide and add it slowly (with pauses) to the beaker containing the distilled water in small portions, stirring with a glass rod (Caution! The solution reacts exothermically, meaning it becomes hot!). Once all the sodium hydroxide has been added, set it aside and let it cool.
​

1. Releasing the amphetamine base.

Clean the separatory funnel with distilled water and acetone, then refill it with the amphetamine sulfate/water solution.
Slowly add the sodium hydroxide solution in small portions, following the instructions provided in the link. Shake while venting the funnel and repeat this process until small oily droplets form on the surface.
Caution! This process is also exothermic!
Then, using a pipette, take a sample from the lower aqueous phase and test if the pH value is strongly alkaline (pH >= 13).
If that's the case, close the separatory funnel with the stopper and wait for the solution to cool.
​

1. Extracting the amphetamine base.

After a short waiting period, add the organic solvent in an initial ratio of 1:2 (organic solvent) to (water). Shake vigorously, let it settle, and then drain the organic solvent+base mixture into a beaker.
Note that in the case of DCM, the base will be in the lower phase since DCM has a lower density than water. In other solvents, it may be different.
Then add the same amount of organic solvent again. Shake, let it settle, etc., and drain the organic solvent into the same beaker again.
Repeat this process for three extractions without adding new water. Once that is done, drain the water into a separate beaker as well.
​

1. Drying the amphetamine base.

First, dry the solvent+base mixture by using anhydrous potassium carbonate or molecular sieve A3, and separate the drying agent as in the washing step trough filtration.
Allow the organic solvent to evaporate.
The base is not as volatile as one might think, so depending on the solvent, you can apply some heat if necessary.
​

1. Formation of amphetamine sulfate.

Once the base is dried and the solvent is evaporated, the salt is formed.
Dissolve the amphetamine base in the alcoholic solvent in a beaker.
The base-to-solvent ratio can be about 1:10. Stir the mixture with the glass rod and then prepare the sulfuric acid. It is recommended to dilute the sulfuric acid for this step, possibly to 20% or lower.
Dilute it in the alcoholic solvent and not in water because water could dissolve the salt, resulting in lower yields compared to diluting sulfuric acid in an alcoholic solvent.
Pour the diluted sulfuric acid into a pipette and slowly add it drop by drop to the base-alcohol mixture while stirring.
Take your time and don't rush. Regularly and frequently monitor the pH during the addition, ideally after every few drops.
Once the pH reaches around 8-7, stop adding acid.
​

1. Washing the formed sulfate.

Afterward, filter the mixture and rinse the sulfate in the filter cake with acetone.
​
That's it! You have completed the process.
General notes:
Please note that without knowing the exact purities, we cannot work with stoichiometry. Therefore, we will rely on the pH value for approximate measurements. However, there are rough estimates for the amounts needed per gram of speed.
For every mole of amphetamine sulfate, you would need approximately 2 moles of sodium hydroxide. This translates to around 3.09 ml of a 1.75 molar sodium hydroxide solution per 10 grams of amphetamine sulfate.
During neutralization, we would require approximately 1 mole of sulfuric acid for 2 moles of amphetamine base. This amounts to about 2.8 grams of sulfuric acid per 10 grams of amphetamine. It is advisable to dilute the sulfuric acid to around 20/25%. This makes it more manageable, but you will need to dilute it yourself.
Commercially available sulfuric acid is sold as a solution in water, and the higher the water content, the lower the yield you will obtain. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase sulfuric acid with a relatively low percentage, concentrate it, dissolve it in isopropanol, and then use it.
Additionally, familiarize yourself with the entire process, including practical execution, by referring to internship papers from universities, which are intended for their students, for example.
Pay attention to details such as regular pressure release, as they are crucial.
Theoretically, you can also carry out the neutralization directly in acetone.
This would eliminate the need for an additional alcoholic solvent. I had this in mind because 1L of 99.5% isopropanol costs me less than two euros, while acetone costs about six times as much.
Regarding the polarity of the alcoholic solvent, I would not recommend going higher than methanol. In methanol, the sulfate would be soluble, even if only to a minimal extent.
Do not worry about exposing the base to certain temperatures or leaving it exposed to air for a while. Significant evaporation should not be a concern unless the temperature exceeds 60-80 degrees Celsius.
It is possible to use other acids instead of sulfuric acid if, for example, phosphoric acid is more affordable. Phosphoric acid is also easier to handle. The pH of the solution would be only slightly different in the end. Please conduct further research on this topic.
Please ensure that you are mentally coherent during the process. Avoid attempting the procedure after several sleepless nights, for example. While the overall procedure is not difficult to complete without incidents, if you forget to release the pressure from the separation funnel due to lack of sleep and it explodes in your hand or you get splashed with highly concentrated sulfuric acid, you will encounter significant problems.
Finally, consider how to handle the waste products. Most of them can either be evaporated or disposed down the drain, such as sodium hydroxide. However, do not attempt to dispose of sulfuric acid in this manner.

Steam Distillation:

This method is only suitable for people who really want to achieve maximum purity and are willing to invest a significant amount of money and engage in safe practices in organic chemistry.
Steam distillation is a special form of azeotropic distillation.
Simply put, volatile compounds that are steam-volatile add their own vapor pressure to the vapor pressure of water. These compounds distill along with water when the sum of their vapor pressures reaches atmospheric pressure.
In other words, the distilling water "carries" certain substances with it, allowing them to distill below their actual boiling point and separate them from a mixture. The method is very gentle on the substances and highly selective, as only a few substances are steam-volatile. Amphetamine is one of these substances.
To perform this method, you will need specific equipment and ideally have experience with laboratory work. It's important to know what you are doing to avoid compromising your yield or, worse, encountering significant problems.
Assuming you have already liberated the amphetamine base and have it solvent-free, either through the method mentioned above or by some other means, it is essential to familiarize yourself with safe distillation practices beforehand. You can refer to resources like Chapter 19 here.
Required Equipment:

• 1x Three-necked distillation flask with ground glass joints (NS 24/29)
• Multiple ground glass caps and stoppers (NS 24/29)
• 1x Liebig condenser with ground glass joint (NS 24/29)
• 1x Distillation head with vertical side arm, 2 NS 29/32 cores, 1 NS 14/23 socket
• 1x Distillation thermometer NS 14/23
• 1x Magnetic stirrer with heating plate or heating mantle,
• 1x heating plate
• Multiple hoses with matching ground glass connectors (NS 24/29)
• At least two stands with clamps
• 2x Three-necked flask as a steam kettle with a capacity according to requirements (ground glass joint 24/29)
• 1x Two-necked flasks as collection vessels for the distilled amphetamine (ground glass joint 24/29)

​
Assembly of the distillation apparatus:
First, place the stand on a stable surface and secure it with clamps.
Next, securely attach the three-necked distillation flask to the stand and place it on the magnetic stirrer with heating plate.
Make sure the flask is stable and upright, without wobbling.
Initially, attach the ground glass caps (NS 24/29) and stoppers (NS 24/29) to the necks of the distillation flask.
For the "steam kettle," use a second three-necked flask with ground glass joints (NS 24/29).
Seal the middle, long neck with a stopper and place a riser tube on the inlet neck of the flask for added safety.
Secure the "steam kettle" with a stand to ensure its stability.
Connect the outlet of the steam kettle to the inlet neck of the three-necked distillation flask (NS 24/29) using a hose and a suitable ground glass connector (NS 24/29).
Next, connect the ground glass outlet (NS 24/29) of the distillation flask to the ground glass inlet (NS 24/29) of the Liebig condenser using a distillation head with vertical side arm, 2 NS 29/32 cores, 1 NS 14/23 socket.
Align the condenser so that the upper part (inlet) of the condenser is positioned above the distillation flask, and the lower part points towards the collection vessel.
Attach a distillation thermometer with NS 14/23 joint to the socket of the distillation head. The length of this thermometer should correspond to your specific requirements, meaning it should only measure the temperature of the gas phase and not dip into the liquid.
Check that all connections are tight and stable. Finally, connect the lower end of the Liebig condenser to another two-necked flask with a ground glass joint (NS 24/29) using an appropriate connector.
Insert the connector into the inlet neck of the two-necked flask.
This two-necked flask serves as a collection container for the distillate and should also be secured by a stand.
It should have two necks because a screw valve with ground glass joint 24/29 is screwed into the remaining free neck.
This valve allows the release of any pressure if necessary.
Once everything is set up, perform a test run and distill a certain amount of water as a trial. If everything is sealed, stable, and without any issues, you can proceed. Otherwise, disassemble everything and reassemble it carefully.
​
Practical procedure:
First, add approximately five to ten times the volume of water compared to the corresponding amount of amphetamine, along with boiling stones, into the steam kettle and seal it tightly with a stopper.
Then, add the amphetamine base into the distillation flask and seal it tightly with a stopper as well.
Now, heat both the steam kettle and the distillation flask to 100 degrees Celsius, but stir the contents of the distillation flask gently.
Carefully monitor the distillation process.
The hot water in the steam kettle will act as carrier steam, vaporizing the amphetamine. The distilled amphetamine condenses in the Liebig condenser together with the water vapor and flows into the collection vessel.
Pay close attention to the temperature of the water vapor during the process. While the distillation process is in progress, the temperature will fluctuate and may not stabilize at a constant 100 degrees Celsius. Once the distillation process is complete, the temperature of the water vapor will stabilize and settle at 100 degrees Celsius.
At this point, you can stop the distillation process and separate the distilled amphetamine base from the water using liquid-liquid extraction.
Important: First, remove the steam inlet connection from the distillation flask! If you don't do this first and instead turn off the heat sources, a vacuum will be created in the steam kettle as the cooling water vapor condenses. If the inlet connection dips into the solution, the entire contents of the distillation flask will be sucked into the kettle.
Additional Notes:
The distillation flask should be filled to a maximum of two-thirds of its capacity at the beginning of distillation, which should be considered when purchasing the flask.
The steam kettle should have a volume several times greater than the volume of amphetamine because, in case of any unforeseen circumstances, you may need significantly more water than amphetamine.
The uniform heating of the steam kettle is not critical, but remember to include boiling stones. However, it is crucial to ensure even heating of the amphetamine.
An oil bath would be ideal as a heat source, but a magnetic stirrer with a heating plate will also suffice.

My mom and my dad have been divorced since i was three so i care if they date and i usually enjoy their partners and like hanging out with them. My parents promised me that they would never get married again and i didn’t really mind but it has always stuck with me. My mom went out on a date with this guy (lets call him carl) and my mom seems to be really happy and im glad since shes been a little lonely recently since she last broke up with her ex. she didn’t tell me she was dating this guy which i was a little annoyed with but shes an adult so its fine. Later in the day she was taking a selfie and asked if she looked good in it(it was the typical mom selfie if you know what i mean) so later she told me she sent that selfie and i was said “oh i didnt know you did you don’t really send selfies on messages” i obviously didn’t intend to mean it in a rude way. she then starts shouting at me infront of 19 of my other friends saying how disrespectful and messed up child i am and that i cant tell her what to do. When i didnt tell her what to do i just gave her advice. I then see her texting carl saying “(MN) saying j look ugly and that im embarrassing her) which is exactly what i didn’t say so im pretty pissed of at this point and say “why are you talking about me to him” and then she says “its non of your business but we are thinking of getting married and you are the only “obstacle” in the way since you cant let me be happy. I am in shock at this point since i never said anything about them not getting married. And she went off at me and sent a photo to the family gc saying that she raised a disrespectful daughter. i dont know what to do so i told her please stop spreading lies on the family groupchat and left. what should i do AITAH

Arsenal 22/23 A Season Review Part 1 Of 3: August-World Cup: A Stunning Start.
After a blistering start to the season, Arsenal had now managed just 4 goals in their previous 5 games, they needed to find their shooting boots again and quickly. They had the opportunity to do that at home to Nottingham Forest, but it didn’t look likely when Bukayo Saka was forced to leave the field, having been unable to shake off an early knock he picked up from the usual defensive treatment he received. Though even in the brief time he was on the field, Saka did notch an assist finding the head of Martinelli to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead. For the rest of the first half though, Arsenal struggled to re-find the killer instinct that had deserted them recently. In the second half, it returned, with Saka’s replacement Reiss-Nelson, on for his first league minutes of the season getting his first goal of the campaign, which will have done much-needed wonders for his confidence. 3 minutes later and Nelson had his second with Arsenal really flourishing now, the volleyed finish coming from a Jesus cross after a neat link-up between him and Ødegaard. 5 minutes later and Partey added yet more gloss to the scoreline, giving Nelson an easy assist, as this goal was all about the Ghanaian midfielder’s excellent strike, of a similar calibre to his one against Tottenham. Jesus got his second assist of the day when Ødegaard made it 5, twinkle-toeing his way into the box before letting fly into the top corner. This concluded Arsenal’s busy month of October which saw them in action nine times. Xhaka’s 3 goals in October took his total for the season up to 4, and he picked up the Arsenal player of the month for a second consecutive month.
Arsenal began November by bringing to a close their Europa League group campaign against FC Zurich, knowing a win would secure them top spot. Zurich was merely playing for pride, their chances of progressing were already over. Tierney gave Arsenal the lead in the 17th minute with a fine strike from outside the box, expert technique from the left-back giving the keeper no chance. Arsenal’s old problems returned however with their failure to kill the game, by passing up good chances in both halves. In the end, they had to sweat somewhat for their win, holding on whilst Zurich pushed desperately for a famous equaliser. Arsenal held firm though and with 5 wins from 6 games, they had secured their path through and knew they now wouldn’t have to worry about the Europa League again until March.
Next up for Arsenal was a trip to Stamford Bridge to face Graham Potter’s Chelsea, whose woes were just beginning, having lost 4-1 at his former club Brighton the previous week. Arsenal made all of the first-half chances, dominating possession. The best chance came with a move that began in Arsenal’s own penalty area, with sharp one-touch passing they were in Chelsea’s half in seconds, with the ball reaching Martinelli down the left flank, he cut inside and was inches away from finding the unmarked head of Gabriel Jesus. Had Jesus been able to connect, it would have gone down as surely the finest team goal of the season.
The second half continued in the same vein, with Arsenal’s press suffocating the Chelsea players, forcing them to give up possession time and time again. The visitors continued to push for an opening goal, and it eventually came just past the hour-mark when Saka’s corner beat everyone and looked to be on its way straight in until Gabriel made sure by hitting it into the roof of the net from on the goalline. Arsenal managed 14 shots to Chelsea’s 5 and should have won by more, but as 1-0 wins go away at Stamford Bridge, it could not have been much more comfortable or straightforward. On the rare occasions, Chelsea reached the final third, they had no idea how to progress the ball in order to create a dangerous situation and Arsenal was content to see the game out for an excellent away victory.
Arsenal’s time in the Carabao Cup was short-lived, ending just as it began at home to Brighton in the 3rd round. Nketiah gave Arsenal the lead, but it lasted just 7 minutes when former Gunner Danny Welbeck equalised from the spot. 2 unanswered second-half goals from Mitoma and Lamptey ensured Arsenal’s exit, but there was a feeling from many that the club had bigger targets this season than the League Cup. Due to the first-ever winter World Cup, the Premier League would be halted for six weeks after Arsenal’s 14th league game of the season, which would be away at Wolves. Earlier that day City had slipped up at home to Brentford, this presented Arsenal with a great opportunity to go into the World Cup 5 points clear at the top. The best chance of the first half went to Jesus after he’d done brilliantly to make room for a shot in the box. However his luck in front of goal had deserted him, this being his 11th appearance without a goal, his last one coming against Spurs. As usual, though, he was one of Arsenal’s best performers in the first half, with Saka and Martinelli more subdued than usual. Perhaps understandably, they seemed to be somewhat preoccupied with thoughts of the World Cup, and with it now so close they didn’t seem keen to risk injury with their usual dribbling runs.
So in the second half Arsenal needed someone to step up, and that man was Martin Ødegaard. With Norway having failed to qualify for the World Cup, Arsenal was his one and only focus, and he delivered a captain’s performance. The opening goal came when a clever pass from Jesus found Vieira who had replaced the unwell Xhaka, he squared it across the six-yard box having drawn the goalkeeper out, and Ødegaard beat Saka to the tap-in. The Norwegian made sure of the win with a quarter of an hour to go when good play from Martinelli allowed him to backheel a pass through to Zinchenko who was unmarked in the box, his cross was cleared as far as Martinelli who forced a save from Sa, but he could do nothing about Ødegaard’s follow-up, his touch and shot leaving the keeper with no chance.
There had been reluctance from some, Arsenal fans or otherwise to accept the team as a true title contender. This was a club that after all had not even qualified for the Champions League in 5 years. As well they had the youngest manager and youngest team in the league. However, more and more doubters were turning into believers as Arsenal backed up a win over Spurs by beating Liverpool, and went away to Chelsea and won. Now due to the World Cup being played mid-season, Arsenal would sit 5 points clear of the rest on Christmas Day, and at this point, their title credentials could no longer be denied. They had won 12 of a possible 14, and when the chance to go into World Cup 5 clearly came up, they held their nerve and got the job done away from home. The World Cup gave me the chance to reflect on the season Arsenal had thus far and it had undoubtedly been an outstanding one, with all reasonable expectations surpassed. This mid-point gave time to assess Arsenal’s key individual performers in the Premier League and there had been many stand-outs in that regard.

Arsenal Player Ratings Up To The 2022 World Cup Break:

Ramsdale 8/10- His reliability and quality with the ball at his feet is essential to the way Arsenal play, and there are few better in the country when playing out from the back than the young English keeper. His standout performance came against Leeds, with his back against the wall, he refused to concede a goal.
White 9/10- After a good first season at centre-back, White went up another gear in this right-back slot, showing excellent quality with the ball at his feet, and the defensive side of his game was never found wanting either. Arsenal’s November player of the month.
Saliba 9/10- It was thought the young centre-half was special before he’d even kicked a Premier League ball, but he somehow managed to exceed expectations in his first 14 league games in Arsenal colours. The club’s best defender in the first part of the season.
Gabriel 8/10- He began the season with a few sloppy mistakes, but quickly got up to the level of his teammates. A goal at Chelsea and a big performance at Wolves ensured Arsenal went into the break sitting pretty at the top.
Zinchenko 7/10- Sadly the Ukrainian was injured for half of Arsenal’s league games, but when available Zinchenko demonstrated some of his quality, with the promise of more to come.
Tomiyasu & Tierney 7/10- As reliable as you could wish your full-back deputies to be, injuries meant they were often called upon, especially the Japanese International, and he was always up to the task be it in his more accustomed right-back position, or when deputising at left-back.
Partey 9/10- Injuries in previous seasons had prevented Partey from ever really hitting his top level, his performances in the first part of this season showed the midfielders considerable class this campaign however. 2 outstanding goals vs Forest and most memorably Spurs were the icing on the cake.
Xhaka 9/10- Fairly or unfairly Xhaka seemed to typify much of what was wrong with Arsenal between 2016 and 2021, too often he appeared an average midfielder in an average side. Here he was reborn, in a new role which gave him more of an attacking license, he was contributing goals, and assists and Arsenal fans were seeing the leadership qualities of a man loving his football.
Ødegaard 9/10- After making his loan move permanent in the previous summer, the captain has continued to prove himself one of Arsenal’s best signings in recent times. Possessing the quality of Ozil without the flakiness, Ødegaard has rightfully become a real fan favourite.
Vieira 5/10- The 22-year-old arrived from FC Porto for £30M. Scored a beauty on his first league start, but often struggled with the pace and physicality of the league and brief substitute appearances have not given him much time to adapt. Finished with some grounds for optimism after coming on in the first half away at Wolves for the unwell Xhaka and performing reasonably well.
Saka 9/10- The darling of the Arsenal faithful, Saka has received rough treatment from opposition full-backs and little protection from match officials, but he is too brave, determined and talented to let this stop him from scoring, assisting and tormenting almost at will. He seems to be improving on an almost monthly basis which is scary.
Martinelli 9/10- Quickly formed a devastating partnership with fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus. His directness, pace, hunger and finishing qualities made him just as difficult to stop as Saka in the opening part of the season.
Jesus 9/10- He’s a striker who went 11 games without a goal, yet his contributions to the team are so vital he remained un-droppable. That is the uniqueness of Jesus, for the goals may have dried up, but his quality never did. Match after match, he was relentless in his refusal to give opposing defences a minute of peace. His technical ability has been the key ingredient in lifting Arsenal up to another level. Along with Saliba, Arsenal’s best player of the first part of the season.
Arteta 10/10- The managers’ contribution cannot go unmentioned. He has demanded high standards and set the conditions which have enabled them to be realised. This has led a club that has been outside the Champions League for five years to set a pace that not even Guardiola’s City could match. He has been the catalyst in making a divided and despondent fanbase the most passionately engaged in the league, uniting everyone behind his players and staff.

Hey everyone, just got my first big boy job after wrapping up my schooling and am looking to get my first camera. I’m not really sure where/how to really start researching, and I’d rather talk with some people that know their stuff rather than scroll through Google. Here’s a bunch of context about my needs:

• Studied Digital Media in undergrad, took a few photography courses, but they were more about techniques and interfacing with the random cameras my university had rather than learning about frames and lenses
• Got a job in the marketing department of a botanical garden. We’re currently just using our phones for photography which is fine, but I want to take things to the next level (we’re a nonprofit so not really room in the budget for them to get the department one, and tbh I’d rather have my own that I can use for personal shoots)
• Types of photos I’ll be taking will be a mix of nature and events (think outdoor tent parties) so I’d imagine I’ll need a “standard” lens and a more macro lens
• Pretty open on budget, but for the sake of discussion let’s say a cap of $1,500

Where would you recommend I begin?

So I will share a success story as per the topic of this sub, that I had after I transitioned to carnivore diet, and I'm only in week 3 so far.
 
I have many health issues, which I tried to naturally heal with carnivore diet, but one of the most annoying one is my back and shoulder problems. I have been officially diagnosed with dorsal discopathy (spinal cord discs are too compressed) and osteophytosis in my shoulder (tiny bone deformations) and has been very painful. I could barely sleep on my side, constant pain, discomfort, jolts of pain when I moved my arm, stiff arms and the rest of it. It's an extremely annoying condition because I constantly have to move my body to find a comfortable position to sleep or to sit in, otherwise my muscles get cramped and it would hurt. Now the spinal cord problem is probably not due to diet since I had it from a young age, and went to physiotheraphy multiple times as a kid, it's either genetic or due to my mostly sedentary lifestyle (I literally didn't do any sports until highschool), mostly sitting in front of my computer. However my shoulder problems are somewhat recent and I have a strong suspicion that developed due to my diet.
 
Now before I went to carnivore I was eating a very heavy carb based diet, which initially included meat and fats but later on I messed up my liver and I could eat less and less fat so I almost became a vegetarian by the time I transitioned. On top of that I ate sugar like crazy, every day a can of soda a chocolate bar, and all sorts of sweet pastry, cakes, and I was shoving in chocolate muffins like crazy. So my blood sugar was probably higher than Mount Everest. I also ate junk food all the time, fast food with extreme carbs, and pre-made meals with was more and more vegetarian like mushroom pasta with rice. I was lazy to cook, because at least when I cooked I did from time to time some schnitzels with eggs, but at that point I was basically a vegetarian. My back and shoulder problems was of course getting worse and worse, the aching and constant inflammation was getting unbearable so much that there was a point when I couldn't even lift my arm up above my elbow. Physically there was no more or less injury, it's just the inflammation of my muscles and tendons that made it more painful.
 
It was so bad that I eventually went to the doctor, even though I am skeptical about the medical establishment in general and prefer natural remedies, but I had no choice now because the pain was so bad. So I did all the analyses, radiography, MRI, reflex tests,etc.. And basically that was my diagnosis. The doctor said that my condition is not that bad objectively, so it doesn't require surgery, but there is also not much they can do about it aside from more physio and some anti-inflammation drugs (they prescribed a weak one I should take regularly and a strong one on occasions when the pain is bad). So that was about it.
 
Of course the doctor never asked anything about my diet, they asked about my work history (if I got injured from work or whatnot) and just the standard questions, but never asked as single question about my diet. Now I am not blaming my doctor for anything, they did their job, by the book, and they are specialists in neurology, so it's not really their business to ask about my nutrition. It's just funny how certain doctors focus on 1 thing but don't view this as a holistic problem, as if there is no connection between diet and health, illnesses just fall down from the sky, they don't have causes. I believe it's also not professional to ask about seemingly offtopic things, because it might go against medical code of conduct, like you don't bully alcoholics with questions about why they destroyed their liver, you as a doctor only treat the disease you have, and don't ask questions. Kind of a sad state of things in the official medical establishment. Again I am not blaming my doctor for this, it's rather the system that is the problem.
 
So I became a carnivore, for multiple reasons, but this one was one of it, after I learned about sugar<>inflammation connections. And guess what, my inflammation went down just after the first 5 days. Now I am on the 3rd week and things are looking good so far. Now my illness is not healed, make no mistake, I still have to do physio, and occasionally I still get the never pinch, but as far as the inflammation in my shoulder, it's basically gone, and I haven't took a single pill. All the pills that was prescribed to me were anti-inflamation drugs, taken only when needed, but I don't need them now because the inflammation is gone, so is my gum inflammation by the way. My pain was worse than my actual physical injury, due to the inflammation caused by sugar. I eliminated all sugar and the inflammation was gone.
 
But wait it get's better: SUGAR LITERALLY BLOCKS THE ABSORBTION OF CALCIUM!!!!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140170/
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-021-00698-1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5588311/
https://blog.algaecal.com/dangers-sugar-bone-health-addictive-cocaine/
My condition, together with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis were very much linked to diabetes and high sugar consumption! So it's not just that my inflammation and pain was caused by sugar, but the very condition itself and the bone deformation is caused by sugar blocking calcium absorbtion and damaging my bones.

I’m 15 (f) so yes I’m very young and naive. I have this friend 15 (f) who I was really close with. Me, her, her sister, and another friend were all in a group chat where we all became super close until about the middle of May when I found out her sister who we”ll call Sarah, dated my ex. I wasn’t hurt by it I was just a bit shocked. Everything was fine until she started just casually bring it up and joking that we both had him in common that started to rub me the wrong way. Then stuff started to happen between Sarah and the other friend in my groupchat who we”ll call lizzy. Lizzy and I started talking about how things had been going with Sarah lately and both came to a mutual agreement that we no longer wanted any dealings with her, and sarah posting 3 videos of her and another one of my recent exs didn’t help the situation. Me and lizzy left the groupchat, but we feared about loosing our other friend the one this entire post is really about lol, but we originally had a groupchat with the three of us so we’ve been kinda talking in it, but you can see the difference in how our friendship used to be compared to now. Everything was going fine until I posted about 5 new photos of myself on Snapchat (which I never post on), my friend who we”ll call Emma, ex replied to one of my photos saying “Hi Friend”. I thought it was odd but me and him were associates because we shared a mutual friend that we were both super close with so it wasn’t weird for us to talk every now and then. I replied “hi” and the conversation pretty much revolved around that mutual friend we share. During our conversation he called me things like love and ma’am which might seem cringe, but to a developing 15 years old who does nothing but read romance novels it was everything. The conversation continued until we got to the topic of my favorite flowers somehow and he started complimenting my style and taste on flowers, which no guy had ever payed attention too or even asked about. I felt bad and stopped texting him after a while, but later on that night he began texting me again. We talked all night about random stuff but it just felt so soothing I guess? I’m used to talking to guys but this felt different it’s like he was interested in what I had to say, and it felt good. Then what really sent my over the hills is him wanting me to read while he sat on the phone and did absolute nothing. Every other guy I’ve talked to would’ve hung up immediately, but he actually encouraged me to. Then I was sick with Covid and couldn’t go to sleep one night and he stayed up all night with me and played stupid roblox. I feel like a terrible friend cause I shouldn’t even let it have gotten this far in the first place. I know their relationship wasn’t that good but from what I’ve heard I don’t think it was anything he did. She really likes this new boy now, but he recently got a new gf so she’s been hurt over him. Shes encouraged me to talk to this boy in the past but I don’t think she was actually serious. I know we’re all young and childish, but it’s still happening and bothering me. I really don’t know what to do. ( Also please don’t tell me I’m a terrible friend or that we’re all just children and don’t know anything yet, because I’m well aware.)

I really think people look down on me or want me to be in a corner crying because I am single and have no support. I mean I filed for child support but it’ll be awhile before I see a payment and my ex hasn’t given me anything but big attitude.
I keep trying to find this ‘sadness’ and ‘guilt’ and I just don’t have it. I was with my ex, he was an asshole so I dumped him at 4 months pregnant. Then he decided to be a subpar dad to be and continued to be a shitty coparent now that my son is here.
People keep shying away from asking if his dad is around. Or when they ask they catch themselves. They try not to look surprised when I say his dad doesn’t ask for photos or milestone updates.
I know I’m supposed to be upset, angry, insecure and in over my head but I am not. I am fully aware that my life is just fine and will be because I just have this peace about it. My peace comes from the fact that what was sent to destroy me actually saved me. It’s extremely clear that I’m an amazing mom, person and professional.
And that’s because I get up everyday and try. I didn’t walk away, i conquered my responsibilities head on. I had a whole fucking baby. Fuck anything that suggests otherwise. I am extremely proud of myself and any woman who’s done it/doing it…
I thought id share because we do not have to adopt stigmas. We should embrace who we are and what we’ve done for our babies. And no matter what happens we have to root our confidence in who we KNOW we are.
Don’t let people, podcasts or statistics waiver who you know you are. Be confident!

I have a UK provisional driving licence. It's now out of date and require renewal with an up to date photo. I am aware of the fine for using a out of date full license while driving. But I can't find anything specifically about a provisional? So my question is. My provisional is out of date. If I plan to never learn to drive, I only got the provisional originally for ID. And put it in a box and forget about it. Never use it. Will I still get fined? Do I have to renew it even if I'm not ever going to use it? I have Googled but it never seens to differentiate between full and provisional. And the recent new articles about fines don't either. Thanks in advance.

PART EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY
[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning] [Patreon+2]
Friday
Tucker Portsmith’s head pounded so hard he felt like a blood vessel was about to explode behind his eyes. All week he had been dividing his time between trying to find out why he and Helen were no longer permitted to see Alex and doing what was necessary to distance the company from Dyadron to listening to Helen rail about the failings of Pensacola, the US Navy and him as a father and a husband.
He knew he couldn’t contact anyone in the Pentagon for answers. Not after NCIS Director Scott Dyson contacted him via a video call to tell him to his face to stop asking questions that wouldn’t be answered at this time. No matter how hard he tried to word it differently, to get even a hint of what was going on, the director shut him down. Hard. And then, he ended the call with a warning not to interfere. In any way. That they would contact him when they were ready.
Helen, of course, insisted he call the director back and demand the answers she wanted. She hadn’t taken ‘No’ well, but as much as she huffed and puffed, she would not budge him when his actions reflected on his business life. There were times to draw a line for the family and fight for what was right. When the entire US Military was telling you to stand down or risk going to jail and losing everything … that was not one of them.
Last night had been the first real night’s sleep he’d had all week, for they’d severed the last tie with Dyadron and were now completely clear of that nightmare. He might’ve had a drink or ten in private celebration of their achievements and promised Phillipa a steak and lobster dinner once a week for the rest of her life for her part in it. Right after he shook her senseless for not taking better care of herself. She’d been riding his backside about not overdoing it for so long it never occurred to him to do it for her. A mistake he wouldn’t repeat going forward, to be sure.
And now, he had visitors at—he squinted at the glowing timepiece on his side table—WTF o’clock in the morning! The pounding the door to the penthouse apartment took would’ve been heard throughout the building, made worse by the fact it was 5 am. He’d ignored the pounding at first, thinking Helen would answer the door, but when it continued relentlessly, he assumed she had already left to do one of her many daily workouts and dragged himself out of bed.
He tossed on a robe but forwent the slippers in his haste to reach the door. He tied the robe while in motion. “Coming!” he called because, of course, if Helen was gone, Donald would be with her, and he’d be alone. So far, that had suited him, as he’d been able to get a lot of work done without the interruptions.
He looked at the screen and was stunned to see four people crammed into the video image. Two in naval attire (he never did go into the whole who did what rank thing outside of Alex’s rank of Petty Officer) and two ill-fitting suits that made them either detectives or FBI.
The closest in a business suit had his fist raised to pound some more.
“Wait!” Tucker barked, unlocking the door from the inside and opening it just enough to stand in the way. “Can I help you?”
The plain-clothes person that had been beating on his door held up her badge for Tucker to see, along with a piece of paper folded into three, which she pushed into Tucker’s hand on his way past. “Federal agents. We need to conduct a search of your apartment, sir, and you need to step aside. We have a warrant.”
“A warrant for what?” Tucker demanded, opening the letter to skim the contents. In the central portion of the letter was Alexander’s name.
They’re searching for Alex?!
“Are you insane?” he demanded as the rest of them followed the woman’s lead and muscled their way in. “Alex is in a coma! In the hospital! Why …?!” And then his sleep-deprived, mildly alcohol-infused, aching brain kicked in, and he whirled on the people who were sweeping into the living room. “Where is my son?!” he demanded, storming after the four. He caught up with the closest one, who happened to be navy and went to grab her when her partner stepped between them.
“Don’t be touching her, sir. Just stand over there. This won’t take long.”
“Someone had better tell me what the hell is going on! How did you even get a warrant at this ungodly hour?! Based on what? That we’re his parents, and we’re here because he’s in a coma?!”
He watched them head up the hall and try to strongarm the first door, which was locked. “NO!” he shouted, trying without success to push against the man holding him back. “You can’t go in there!”
“That warrant says we can check everything, Mister Portsmith…”
“That room contains access to military secrets that I assure you are NOT on any goddamn warrant, and this says you’re looking for Alexander. That’s fine. I’ll unlock the door, go in first and remove my computer, and you can search to your heart’s content for a comatose patient who isn’t here.”
When the four looked amongst themselves, Tucker straightened and said in his most authoritative voice, “The contents of that room go way above your pay grade, ladies and gentlemen. If you force your way into that room based on the information on this warrant, I assure you, the Pentagon will land on you so hard your families will forget what you look like by the time they see you again.” He stood his ground, knowing he looked as intimidating as a homeless puppy in his robe, but nevertheless, there was a reason he never left that room unlocked.
Finally, the male FBI agent stepped back and gestured at the door. “Unlock it, sir. You may follow me in and collect your computer. I assumed it’s powered down?”
“Of course. My keys are in my bedroom. The master suite, third door on the left in a drawer that can’t possibly contain my son, so you have no reason to open it.” Since the agent was the first to listen to reason, Tucker addressed him. “Let me know when I’m clear to go in there and get them.”
The agent gestured for the sailors to move ahead of them, and when he came back a few minutes later, silently shaking his head, the agent said. “If you’ll come with me, Mister Portsmith.”
Tucker hated being directed like this, but until he could lay his hand on his phone and unleash the avalanche of lawyers that he had at his disposal, he wasn’t sure what was and wasn’t acceptable in this situation. It wasn’t often feds and the military joined forces on things.
He opened the drawer and collected his keys while his other hand holding the warrant palmed his phone off its charging plate. As they went back to the office, he snapped a photo of the insidious document and sent it to his lawyers’ cell phones. Yes, multiple, because it wasn’t just one senior partner that took care of their legal needs but three.
“What did you just do?” the female agent demanded, pulling Tucker’s hands apart.
“I just sent this warrant to my lawyers in New York. You’d better hope you know exactly what you’re doing because…”
His phone immediately exploded with incoming calls, which had him smiling caustically at the woman. Without seeing who had reached him first, he used his thumb to connect the call and put it on speaker.
“Who is executing the warrant?” Julian Santos demanded, his deep baritone voice filling the hallway. The federal agent gave Tucker a disgusted look and gestured at the closed front door.
I don’t think so, junior. “Four, Julian. Two feds and two from the navy. They haven’t specifically identified themselves yet, and they want me to unlock my office door…”
“Don’t you dare! The warrant only demands a search of your present accommodations. It does not include any rooms that fall under the banner of Portsmith Electronics. Those require a very different set of warrants that need to be issued directly from either Washington or the Pentagon, and I doubt you have those at the ready, correct agent?”
“We have the authority to search…” the male agent insisted but was cut off by the three-thousand-dollar an hour attorney.
“Do not unlock that door, Tucker. Even as we speak, I have people in Florida moving to have that search warrant quashed. It’ll be gone in just a few minutes.”
“Until then, this is a valid warrant.” The man turned and quickly gestured for the three with him to fan out, searching the penthouse apartment as fast and thoroughly as they could before the counter-injunction was handled.
Well, well, well. It seemed they were well aware of who they were squaring off with after all.
“Julian, I know Alex isn’t here. He’s been in a coma for over a week, and now they’ve lost him. If I go into my office and remove my computer, is there any harm in letting them search the office for Alex if only to make them go away?”
“Tucker, they’re not going away. The warrant gives them the authority to take you and Helen downtown for questioning.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry. As I said, we’ll have a full team ready to move before you leave the apartment, which isn’t going to happen until more security is on hand for your laptop. Is Donald there?”
“He’s with Helen on her run.” The fact he had been locked inside the apartment for days and only ventured out when he was with Helen and, therefore, Donald was not something he was about to get into.
“Fine. I’ll get your office to organise a security detail for you and your computer. Stay put, don’t answer anything until we get there, and for Christ’s sake, leave me on speaker.” Tucker heard several tell-tale crackles in the line to indicate others had been patched into the call but had refrained from speaking.
It was a strange thing, but in Tucker’s head, he was picturing a virtual reality computer game where the enemy had him cornered until, one by one, his own team spawned around him to level the playing field … and then overwhelm it.
He didn’t hear Julian’s voice anymore and assumed he’d been muted so that the senior partner could bark out orders at whoever else was on the line with him.
“I guess you’re not an honourable man after all,” the male FBI agent said with a tight expression.
“Tell me why you think I’d break into a military hospital and kidnap my crippled son, and I’ll be the first to unlock that door.”
“Tucker!” Julian immediately came back onto the line.
“Relax, Julian. I have no idea what’s going on here, but they have no intention of telling me why they want Alex so badly.” Stiffening, he looked down at his phone. “Actually, make that a priority. There’s only so much the military can hide from us, especially if Alex was using family funds in any way to finance his situation. Have someone call Elias Stoll. He can track down Alex’s accounts and find out what he was up to that way.”
“NO!” the agents and the naval personnel all shouted at once.
“Tucker?” Julian queried, for the man wasn’t used to taking those types of directives any more than he was.
“If I do it, I’ll have to put you on hold,” he explained. The rest of that sentence went unspoken. If Julian wanted to remain an ear in the room, someone else had to do the legwork for him.
“Do not hang up,” Julian reiterated, and once more, Tucker was muted from the attorneys’ conversation.
And so began the dance of the law.
* * *
((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I'd love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))
I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here
For more of my work including WPs: Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.
FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

8th of resinates strawberry lotus
Bag Appeal: Medium size frostyish nugs. A little bit of age too them. The picture I took is terrible, it looks a lot better in person. Sorry not a photographer and I got shit to do today lol. Smell: Sweet in a vanilla way, herbal, hints of berry(but it takes some discovery to get them). Pleasant. Smell intensity: 5/10 not the loudest in the bunch Flavor: In my dynavap here are the notes I got per hit. 1. Creamy sweet. 2. Unmistakable strawberry and cream. 3. burnt chocolate + pine (I went a little past full extraction). Fresh pack. 1. Sweet strawberry. 2. strawberry milk shake. Finally a strain that tastes like it should. Seriously enjoyable and I find myself packing bowls for the flavor only to find I am maybe more stoned then I wanted to be :P. Beautiful when vaped. Texture: No boveda in the jar, but still flexible stems. Somewhat sticky for being dry. Not crumbly at all, good nug integrity. Good bud structure, not too dense, definitely not fluffy. Effects: I vape a lot of CBD + THC. I am not sure if this really is a 1:1, but its probably close. Little bit of stress as the effects came on, but once everything settled in it was very manageable. Surprisingly a heavy hitter for <15% THC. Pretty relaxing, a little on the sleepy side after the peak. Mind calmly wandering without a doubt. Good for evening PTSD struggles and some pain relief(probably not if you need high THC for your pain for me CBD + THC is the ticket). Package Date: 1/23/23, yes this is on the old side. You can tell by the coloration in the photo. But, despite that, it's enjoyable. Slightly old nug is nice for me, as it usually has some CBN which helps me out a lot. This wasn't sold to me as slight of hand, I seek out older nugs, and the bud is just fine for its age, its been stored properly. Price Point: 40 an 8th.
Would I buy it again? Yes. But, I would love to purchase it in bulk at a lower price per 8th (160-180/zip would be excellent). It tastes really great, the effects are nice, and 1:1s or even 2:1's are exceedingly rare in the MA market. It's a rare treat, and I had to pounce on it because it had some age too it (again CBN seeking). If I were on a budget I would avoid this and buy an ounce of CBD hemp for cheap and a cheap ounce of something else to mix with, but I had to splurge on the 1:1 and was not let down.
Disclaimer
I don't work in the industry. If resinate is a brand that infuriates you to the point of racist tirades smoke a bowl and find another place to post. All I know is what I got and I like it a lot.

I used my drone in March and everything was fine, then at the start of May I went on this trip I’m currently on and my Air 2 has been a nightmare to use.
The problem isn’t flight related, it’s about the camera and the connection. It started to delay by a significant amount of time (sometimes even up to a minute and a half) the action of the photo compared to my input.
It just freezes the actions, but I can still move the camera, drone and everything. I can’t take any action, such as switching the camera, changing camera settings and obviously take other photos.
It never did this. I have an iPhone, and the sd is the same I always used without problems.
I missed many shots because of this, and I haven’t found anything related online.
Anyone knows anything about this?

1
We underestimate the trials the dead have gone through.
This obvious mistake leads to avoidable missteps in life. It is still all too common.
When my Grandfather passed away, I inherited a house in the mountains. The view was breathtaking. It had a sweeping vista of infinite pine trees. The place was nowhere near as large as the properties surrounding it.
It was a summer home for him and my Grandma. The interior of it contained many of his items. This included tobacco pipes, cabinets of obscure teas, and cupboards of whiskey bottles.
One Saturday evening I went through the attic and found a dozen stacks of boxes. The majority of them remained unlabeled. Several contained pulp paperbacks and stacks of old photos. Towards the end of his life, he gave up his old pastimes of hunting and fishing. He stayed at home and watched old game shows instead.
I tried to clean the roof space in one day. I found myself unable to complete it before tiring and going to bed.
The next morning I resumed the activity. It was no longer about trying to declutter the area and fill it with my own possessions. It was now a way to learn more about the man.
All I knew about his reputation was how he had served in World War II. My family told me how he was as short on words as he was on patience.
I found an old newspaper article, dated 1983. There were other period pieces around it. The topics varied. This included the US invasion of Grenada and the debut of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. A device known as the mobile phone received a mention.
Yet what caught my attention was the first piece. I brushed aside cobwebs to find it buried underneath a pile of cardboard with burnt edges.
The picture was of my Grandfather, Roy Davies. He held a check for fifty thousand dollars. This was an amount I later found out equaled to one hundred and fifty two thousand in today’s money. The mystery of how he could afford the place he gave me was no longer one worth pondering.
The wall behind him had an illustration of a ramshackle house on a hill. The title of the write-up was NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN WINS IN THE PILOT FOR NEW SHOW ‘THE TRIANGLE GAME.’
I read the five hundred word account. It detailed how he flew to Los Angeles to be a participant in an allegedly syndicated program. There were two other people he competed against. The editorial feature did not go into detail about what the goal of the game was. How to win or get disqualified was unknown to me. Still Still, my Grandfather walked out a much richer man before he flew back home.
It did mention the couple he played against, a man called James Grover and a woman named Daisy Francis.
I flipped the article. I found were words written in orange ink with a marker on the back, CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
I searched online for the triangle game. I found variations on the pastime ‘I Spy’ first. Players would spot triangular items in their immediate vicinity. I discovered a few board games, along with IQ-related quizzes.
No information was available about a television broadcast.
2
It took almost a month of research to find where James Grover lived.
I managed to find his house by paying for a background checking website. He had gotten a criminal charge for running a red light in front of a cop. Otherwise his record was clean. That single infraction allowed me to find him since it put him in that specific database.
I stood outside his red brick house in a suburb. It was a Wednesday afternoon in a neighborhood located in an upscale part of Illinois.
Frost caked the lawns near the heated sidewalk I stood on. I imagined the place to be serene in the summertime, even if it was a vacant-seeming region now.
A stretch of abodes stood before me without their lights on. Nervousness coursed through me. The idea of having traveled all this way for the information to be wrong made me anxious.
I walked along the concrete pathway towards his front door. I stepped on a creaky porch. I set aside my awareness of the likely pending disappointment and knocked.
A shuffling of feet was on the other side of the entrance. as well as A remote control clicked as the volume of a television blaring a news report got turned down.
He answered. The man fit the correct age range I calculated he would fall into. He wore a flannel jacket and slacks, He had on a blue pair of slippers. His gray mustache bristled as he saw me.
“James Grover?” I asked.
“If you’re trying to sell me something I’m not interested.”
“I’m very sorry to bother you sir, and I promise I won’t take up much of your time. I’m here to ask if you would be willing to let me ask you a few questions about something you might know about. See, I make documentaries for a living, and I have concluded that you might be able to help me.”
I could not take a good photograph when asked, but it was a stringent falsehood I conveyed well in the moment.
In reality, I was a podcaster. The term documentarian, though not as modern, seemed more legitimate. Especially to an older gentleman.
“Alright,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “What are you making a movie on? Also, where’s your film crew?”
“I gleaned that you were the type to prefer remaining anonymous. The conversation‘s recorded. This will be with your consent, of course. The subject I want to discuss with you involves the triangle game.”
Grover took a few steps away from the threshold and broke eye contact with me as his lips pursed. His eyes wandered over to the corner of his living room, and he brought his gaze back to mine.
“Why do you want to know about that?”
“Because I can’t find anything about it anywhere,” I said. “I’ve even been to the National Archives of Game Show history in search of it. It’s as though it never existed. I know it did because I found this article.”
As I brandished the piece of writing to him, his eyes bulged as he focused and scanned the text.
“Ahh,” he said as he took in a deep inhalation, “I remember that man. Tell you what, come on in. Would you like some coffee?”
I took a seat in one of his recliners as I asked him a few generic questions about his life.
James spent a considerable time of his youth in North Lawndale, one of the rougher places in Chicago. He escaped his impoverished upbringing by pursuing a career as an inventory clerk. He worked his way up to management in a warehousing company.
“I beat the odds in a big way,” he said as he folded his hands and sat across from me.
“So, what can you tell me about your experience on set that day? Do you know about anything that happened post-production?”
“They made us sign contracts where we would promise not to talk about what we went through with anyone. Still, I’m at the point where I’m not very worried, or I don’t think I should be. I was much younger then, about your age. I lived at the boxing gym and had dreams of going pro. Of course that didn’t happen, but when I wasn’t training I was drinking and doing stupid things that young men do. Bar brawls I didn’t deserve to get away with but somehow did. My mother watched a lot of game shows. Without my knowledge, she submitted my name for consideration to become a contestant. She thought it would make me a better person if I had some kind of hope for helping the family. One besides crushing peoples noses for a living.”
“How did she hear about it?”
“I have no idea. I wish I asked her.”
“How did you find out you were going to go on?”
“Back then, everything was a phone call, so that’s what we got. They flew me out there, I took a taxi to get to the set. It was not a traditional studio. The place was closer to a factory with a fake space ship built inside of it. In the center of the room was a neon triangle with the same spaciousness of a house.”
“How was the game played?”
“Before it started, they told us to write down three things we were good at. I put boxing, organizational skills, and running. Daisy listed hers as poker, math, and long distance swimming. Roy - that was his name, the person in the picture you showed me - put outdoor survival, shooting, and cooking. We would stand at each point of the triangle. We’d get asked a question by the host, and we had three minutes to answer it. If we got it right, they gave us a reward being able to attack one of the other two people using the skill sets we put down. The goal is to make the other two quit by getting enough questions correct. Of course, we went into the game blind to the rule set. Otherwise I may have chosen the most aggressive ability imaginable. Roy won because he chose aptitude with a firearm, which trumps any martial art, whether I like it or not.”
James lifted his pant leg and showed me a scar above his knee.
“At least he was kind enough to not make it a fatal blow,” he said.
I showed him the words written on the back of the newspaper clipping. He shrugged and told me he was unaware, dismissive of it as someone’s scrapped note.
I asked him if he remembered the name of the host or could give me a physical description.
“I don’t remember anything about what we called him, if he even told us what he went by. His hair was black and a pompadour style. He wore a purple suit with a bright orange tie.”
“Two last questions,” I said. “Do you know what happened to Daisy, if she’s still alive? Also, do you recall the address of the place where they filmed the game?”
“I wrote to Daisy twice a year before she vanished. We did have one conversation over the phone, and she told me that bad luck was going to follow the losers of that pilot. There was no media coverage about her passing that I ever saw. As far as the location, sure. I wrote it down in a journal I kept with me even when I traveled. I used to keep track of my workouts and diet regiment back then. Let me grab it.”
3
The location where the Triangle Game took place four decades earlier stood in a squalid part of the city.
I passed the ruins of the old LA zoo on my way to the spot. I contemplated how the sight I was about to take in could not get any stranger. I was wrong.
The building was five stories, but the front only had a trio of stained glass windows. Bullet holes surrounded the casements. The place had a nave roof and flying buttresses on both sides. Multi-colored graffiti littered the outside.
It sat in a neighborhood filled with homeless people who slept on benches.
I went there mid-afternoon. I approached the front and found two locked doors. I scaled around back. I stepped over heaps of trash in the process, and saw an opening in the form of a hole large enough to crawl into.
A surge of adrenaline hit me me as I belly crawled through. I was taking a bet on how there were no cameras, guards or residents who would make a scene out of my trespassing.
It is amazing the rules one will bend for the sake of new content on social media, I opined as I made way into the space.
I turned on the flashlight of my phone and saw nothing but an enormous dusty chamber made of concrete.
I moved into the next room. A hoarders lifetime supply of broken antiques sat. Spray painted devil-horned faces grinned from the ceiling.
What caught my attention the most was a camera’s tripod. It stood alone in the far left corner.
I approached it to get a better look. I kicked aside a bunch of cans. As they clattered away, I looked down and saw a pointed tip of something drawn on the ground.
I removed most of the trash by shoving the majority of it aside and saw what was underneath.
The large triangle, which took up most of the flooring in the chamber, was still there after all these years.
In the center of it was a thin line of blood. I crouched down and peered at it.
The fluid was still wet, and a horrid stench met me. I gagged and recoiled, and in my backing away, my shoulder bumped against a dusty and discarded shelf.
Gunfire rang out.
I did not know if it was outside or near me, but I did not wish to find out. I exited the way I came in with a relentless sprint and drove as far away as I could.
4
A year later, I was finally wrapping up my recording of the podcast. I titled it ‘Three Ways to Die.’
While the name of the series was quite sensational, I felt the story merited a bit of clickbait. I had no followers and was unsure of how it would perform.
I reasoned that giving the story any publicity I could would help me find the lost piece of media. Even if it was on the cutting room floor of that very space I had to leave.
I went to call Grover, to try and collect an email address so I could send him the pre-uploaded production.
A woman answered.
“You’re looking for my father. He lost his life six months ago. Someone killed him. I would appreciate it if you got rid of this number.”
She ended the call less than a second after the last word. She wrote me off as an insurance agent looking to take advantage of a grieving family member.
I paced around my room. Although I did not know him well, I had come to like him, and his gruesome end was not one he deserved. I researched crime news to find out what had happened to him, to no avail.
The newspaper piece I had collected that fateful day sat at the edge of my desk.
I lifted it towards me and flipped it over again. I stared at the words — CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
The sentence was nonsensical. I had applied my own meanings to the gibberish phrase. Like it was a cryptic and silly way of saying ‘outgoing mail.’
I do not know whether it was desperation, a creative inclination or an admixture of both. I decided to run it through an anagram generator I had searched for on the web.
It came up with many phrases, some of them surreal, but the one that popped out to me was EXPECT VIOLENCE.
My stomach turned as I realized how my own personal investigation yielded nothing. I opened the window and was soon exposed to some fresh Sierra air, which was therapeutic but not curative.
I decided to take a long walk. I had been sedentary over the last week due to intensive editing. I figured a jaunt would help me smooth a few psychological knots things out.
I slid my closet door open to try and find a pair of sweat pants.
The sound of thunder reverberated outside. I stared out to find the sky had become overcast.
The closet door creaked even louder than I could remember it having been before.
Orange ties hung on the rack, and a triangle painted a pastel green was visible behind it.

1
We underestimate the trials the dead have gone through.
This obvious mistake leads to avoidable missteps in life. It is still all too common.
When my Grandfather passed away, I inherited a house in the mountains. The view was breathtaking. It had a sweeping vista of infinite pine trees. The place was nowhere near as large as the properties surrounding it.
It was a summer home for him and my Grandma. The interior of it contained many of his items. This included tobacco pipes, cabinets of obscure teas, and cupboards of whiskey bottles.
One Saturday evening I went through the attic and found a dozen stacks of boxes. The majority of them remained unlabeled. Several contained pulp paperbacks and stacks of old photos. Towards the end of his life, he gave up his old pastimes of hunting and fishing. He stayed at home and watched old game shows instead.
I tried to clean the roof space in one day. I found myself unable to complete it before tiring and going to bed.
The next morning I resumed the activity. It was no longer about trying to declutter the area and fill it with my own possessions. It was now a way to learn more about the man.
All I knew about his reputation was how he had served in World War II. My family told me how he was as short on words as he was on patience.
I found an old newspaper article, dated 1983. There were other period pieces around it. The topics varied. This included the US invasion of Grenada and the debut of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. A device known as the mobile phone received a mention.
Yet what caught my attention was the first piece. I brushed aside cobwebs to find it buried underneath a pile of cardboard with burnt edges.
The picture was of my Grandfather, Roy Davies. He held a check for fifty thousand dollars. This was an amount I later found out equaled to one hundred and fifty two thousand in today’s money. The mystery of how he could afford the place he gave me was no longer one worth pondering.
The wall behind him had an illustration of a ramshackle house on a hill. The title of the write-up was NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN WINS IN THE PILOT FOR NEW SHOW ‘THE TRIANGLE GAME.’
I read the five hundred word account. It detailed how he flew to Los Angeles to be a participant in an allegedly syndicated program. There were two other people he competed against. The editorial feature did not go into detail about what the goal of the game was. How to win or get disqualified was unknown to me. Still Still, my Grandfather walked out a much richer man before he flew back home.
It did mention the couple he played against, a man called James Grover and a woman named Daisy Francis.
I flipped the article. I found were words written in orange ink with a marker on the back, CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
I searched online for the triangle game. I found variations on the pastime ‘I Spy’ first. Players would spot triangular items in their immediate vicinity. I discovered a few board games, along with IQ-related quizzes.
No information was available about a television broadcast.
2
It took almost a month of research to find where James Grover lived.
I managed to find his house by paying for a background checking website. He had gotten a criminal charge for running a red light in front of a cop. Otherwise his record was clean. That single infraction allowed me to find him since it put him in that specific database.
I stood outside his red brick house in a suburb. It was a Wednesday afternoon in a neighborhood located in an upscale part of Illinois.
Frost caked the lawns near the heated sidewalk I stood on. I imagined the place to be serene in the summertime, even if it was a vacant-seeming region now.
A stretch of abodes stood before me without their lights on. Nervousness coursed through me. The idea of having traveled all this way for the information to be wrong made me anxious.
I walked along the concrete pathway towards his front door. I stepped on a creaky porch. I set aside my awareness of the likely pending disappointment and knocked.
A shuffling of feet was on the other side of the entrance. as well as A remote control clicked as the volume of a television blaring a news report got turned down.
He answered. The man fit the correct age range I calculated he would fall into. He wore a flannel jacket and slacks, He had on a blue pair of slippers. His gray mustache bristled as he saw me.
“James Grover?” I asked.
“If you’re trying to sell me something I’m not interested.”
“I’m very sorry to bother you sir, and I promise I won’t take up much of your time. I’m here to ask if you would be willing to let me ask you a few questions about something you might know about. See, I make documentaries for a living, and I have concluded that you might be able to help me.”
I could not take a good photograph when asked, but it was a stringent falsehood I conveyed well in the moment.
In reality, I was a podcaster. The term documentarian, though not as modern, seemed more legitimate. Especially to an older gentleman.
“Alright,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “What are you making a movie on? Also, where’s your film crew?”
“I gleaned that you were the type to prefer remaining anonymous. The conversation‘s recorded. This will be with your consent, of course. The subject I want to discuss with you involves the triangle game.”
Grover took a few steps away from the threshold and broke eye contact with me as his lips pursed. His eyes wandered over to the corner of his living room, and he brought his gaze back to mine.
“Why do you want to know about that?”
“Because I can’t find anything about it anywhere,” I said. “I’ve even been to the National Archives of Game Show history in search of it. It’s as though it never existed. I know it did because I found this article.”
As I brandished the piece of writing to him, his eyes bulged as he focused and scanned the text.
“Ahh,” he said as he took in a deep inhalation, “I remember that man. Tell you what, come on in. Would you like some coffee?”
I took a seat in one of his recliners as I asked him a few generic questions about his life.
James spent a considerable time of his youth in North Lawndale, one of the rougher places in Chicago. He escaped his impoverished upbringing by pursuing a career as an inventory clerk. He worked his way up to management in a warehousing company.
“I beat the odds in a big way,” he said as he folded his hands and sat across from me.
“So, what can you tell me about your experience on set that day? Do you know about anything that happened post-production?”
“They made us sign contracts where we would promise not to talk about what we went through with anyone. Still, I’m at the point where I’m not very worried, or I don’t think I should be. I was much younger then, about your age. I lived at the boxing gym and had dreams of going pro. Of course that didn’t happen, but when I wasn’t training I was drinking and doing stupid things that young men do. Bar brawls I didn’t deserve to get away with but somehow did. My mother watched a lot of game shows. Without my knowledge, she submitted my name for consideration to become a contestant. She thought it would make me a better person if I had some kind of hope for helping the family. One besides crushing peoples noses for a living.”
“How did she hear about it?”
“I have no idea. I wish I asked her.”
“How did you find out you were going to go on?”
“Back then, everything was a phone call, so that’s what we got. They flew me out there, I took a taxi to get to the set. It was not a traditional studio. The place was closer to a factory with a fake space ship built inside of it. In the center of the room was a neon triangle with the same spaciousness of a house.”
“How was the game played?”
“Before it started, they told us to write down three things we were good at. I put boxing, organizational skills, and running. Daisy listed hers as poker, math, and long distance swimming. Roy - that was his name, the person in the picture you showed me - put outdoor survival, shooting, and cooking. We would stand at each point of the triangle. We’d get asked a question by the host, and we had three minutes to answer it. If we got it right, they gave us a reward being able to attack one of the other two people using the skill sets we put down. The goal is to make the other two quit by getting enough questions correct. Of course, we went into the game blind to the rule set. Otherwise I may have chosen the most aggressive ability imaginable. Roy won because he chose aptitude with a firearm, which trumps any martial art, whether I like it or not.”
James lifted his pant leg and showed me a scar above his knee.
“At least he was kind enough to not make it a fatal blow,” he said.
I showed him the words written on the back of the newspaper clipping. He shrugged and told me he was unaware, dismissive of it as someone’s scrapped note.
I asked him if he remembered the name of the host or could give me a physical description.
“I don’t remember anything about what we called him, if he even told us what he went by. His hair was black and a pompadour style. He wore a purple suit with a bright orange tie.”
“Two last questions,” I said. “Do you know what happened to Daisy, if she’s still alive? Also, do you recall the address of the place where they filmed the game?”
“I wrote to Daisy twice a year before she vanished. We did have one conversation over the phone, and she told me that bad luck was going to follow the losers of that pilot. There was no media coverage about her passing that I ever saw. As far as the location, sure. I wrote it down in a journal I kept with me even when I traveled. I used to keep track of my workouts and diet regiment back then. Let me grab it.”
3
The location where the Triangle Game took place four decades earlier stood in a squalid part of the city.
I passed the ruins of the old LA zoo on my way to the spot. I contemplated how the sight I was about to take in could not get any stranger. I was wrong.
The building was five stories, but the front only had a trio of stained glass windows. Bullet holes surrounded the casements. The place had a nave roof and flying buttresses on both sides. Multi-colored graffiti littered the outside.
It sat in a neighborhood filled with homeless people who slept on benches.
I went there mid-afternoon. I approached the front and found two locked doors. I scaled around back. I stepped over heaps of trash in the process, and saw an opening in the form of a hole large enough to crawl into.
A surge of adrenaline hit me me as I belly crawled through. I was taking a bet on how there were no cameras, guards or residents who would make a scene out of my trespassing.
It is amazing the rules one will bend for the sake of new content on social media, I opined as I made way into the space.
I turned on the flashlight of my phone and saw nothing but an enormous dusty chamber made of concrete.
I moved into the next room. A hoarders lifetime supply of broken antiques sat. Spray painted devil-horned faces grinned from the ceiling.
What caught my attention the most was a camera’s tripod. It stood alone in the far left corner.
I approached it to get a better look. I kicked aside a bunch of cans. As they clattered away, I looked down and saw a pointed tip of something drawn on the ground.
I removed most of the trash by shoving the majority of it aside and saw what was underneath.
The large triangle, which took up most of the flooring in the chamber, was still there after all these years.
In the center of it was a thin line of blood. I crouched down and peered at it.
The fluid was still wet, and a horrid stench met me. I gagged and recoiled, and in my backing away, my shoulder bumped against a dusty and discarded shelf.
Gunfire rang out.
I did not know if it was outside or near me, but I did not wish to find out. I exited the way I came in with a relentless sprint and drove as far away as I could.
4
A year later, I was finally wrapping up my recording of the podcast. I titled it ‘Three Ways to Die.’
While the name of the series was quite sensational, I felt the story merited a bit of clickbait. I had no followers and was unsure of how it would perform.
I reasoned that giving the story any publicity I could would help me find the lost piece of media. Even if it was on the cutting room floor of that very space I had to leave.
I went to call Grover, to try and collect an email address so I could send him the pre-uploaded production.
A woman answered.
“You’re looking for my father. He lost his life six months ago. Someone killed him. I would appreciate it if you got rid of this number.”
She ended the call less than a second after the last word. She wrote me off as an insurance agent looking to take advantage of a grieving family member.
I paced around my room. Although I did not know him well, I had come to like him, and his gruesome end was not one he deserved. I researched crime news to find out what had happened to him, to no avail.
The newspaper piece I had collected that fateful day sat at the edge of my desk.
I lifted it towards me and flipped it over again. I stared at the words — CC ENVELOPE EXIT.
The sentence was nonsensical. I had applied my own meanings to the gibberish phrase. Like it was a cryptic and silly way of saying ‘outgoing mail.’
I do not know whether it was desperation, a creative inclination or an admixture of both. I decided to run it through an anagram generator I had searched for on the web.
It came up with many phrases, some of them surreal, but the one that popped out to me was EXPECT VIOLENCE.
My stomach turned as I realized how my own personal investigation yielded nothing. I opened the window and was soon exposed to some fresh Sierra air, which was therapeutic but not curative.
I decided to take a long walk. I had been sedentary over the last week due to intensive editing. I figured a jaunt would help me smooth a few psychological knots things out.
I slid my closet door open to try and find a pair of sweat pants.
The sound of thunder reverberated outside. I stared out to find the sky had become overcast.
The closet door creaked even louder than I could remember it having been before.
Orange ties hung on the rack, and a triangle painted a pastel green was visible behind it.

I am actually expecting a lot backlash for this since the majority of the fandom loves the twist lol

Part I: Characters

I.a Sunny
Sunny is the main characters, we spend a good portion of the game exploring his dreams, and even the real world is explored through his perspective.
Sunny tends to dissociate, even before Maris death, as is evident by the excerpt found in the lost library:

"This year, ☐ was lucky enough to get assigned to a desk next to the small window."
"Every day during class, ☐ would gaze listlessly through the opening... at the shadows of the trees, the clouds creeping overhead."
"His mind drifted elsewhere... into his own worlds, his own stories, his own adventures."
"He had a habit of doing this.It was easy for him to get lost."
"Today was the same as any other. ☐ stared vacantly out the small window as the clouds passed one by one."
"Suddenly, a hand playfully slaps his back, snapping him out of his reverie. ☐ looks away from the opening."
"☐☐☐ smiles. He motions that class is over and that it's finally time for lunch. It's pizza day today, and theyneed to bolt to the cafeteria before it's all gone."
"☐'s stomach growls. He looks at the small window one last time."
"He would have to continue his adventure another day."

The dissociative tendencies are very clear, described as his mind being elsewhere.
However, the excerpt also shows off another key-trait: Imagination.
Sunny has extraordinately vivid imagination, as displayed by the entirety of Head Space, as well as his liking of imagining himself and his friends going on adventures, even in the real world, as well as both before and Maris death.
The situation described by the Lost Library is pretty much identical with the real world event involving fighting the recycultists.
One more important, but less dicussed point, is his excellent memory. Sunny can recall the correct order of Basils photographs without failure, even after 4 years of staying inside.
And speaking of the album, he can also accurately recreate their content in Head Space, shown by the HS version containing pretty much the exact same content as the real one, just with the aesthetics adjusted to Head Space. Furthermore, the scribbled out version found in Black Space are 100% identical with the reeal ones, just blacked out with marker.
Considering this, I'd say good memory is an understatement.
I'd go as far as attributing him with Photographic Memory.
But despite this, Sunny forgot something, 4 years ago he repressed something.
And he is aware of this. Dialogue from various HS characters allude to this, and urge him to try and remember:
Stranger:

STRANGER
The truth that you've locked away... You must find it no matter what.
STRANGER
You have to... for the both of us.

Faceless:

FACELESS
Even if you hide something, it will always be there.

Bullet points for Sunny: Prone to dissociation; extremely vivid imagination; amazing memory; knows he forgot something and believes he can recover it
​
I.b Basil
Basil is a very controversial character, receiving a lot of hate, but also a lot of love.
Basil-haters often attribute him with traits such as 'obsessive' or 'manipulative', even though none of these are accurate on closer inspection.
I'll just list of a few of his traits, which will be highly relevant for the crux of this theory, though just indirectly.
- Basil has abandonment-issues. These are repeatedly displyed by franctic pleas for someone to not leave him.
- Basils view of other characters are mostly based on idealization. It is seen through assgining flowers with highly positive meanings to his friends, while ignoring any negatives they might hold.
Furthermore, this behaviour is very prominent in his complete refusal to accept what Sunny had done.
- Basil is also deeply troubled, with latent suicidal ideation and tendencies. The by and large biggest red flag is encountered on '3 Days left', where he says this to Sunny...

BASIL
It's nice to see that you're still around...even if it's only for a little while.
BASIL
Here. Take my PHOTO ALBUM... I want you to have it.

...Basil acts like he is saying goodbye to Sunny, and hands off his most precious sentimental belonging...
...Despite not even knowing that Sunny is moving away.
​
- Basil is highly emotional. He displays extreme emotional reactions when put under pressure or faced with emotional hurt.
The previously mentioned instance of learning of Sunny moves triggers him to run to the bathroom, where he has a mental breakdown.
Judging by dialogue like...

POLLY
BASIL's been going to the bathroom a lot lately. I hope it's not my food...

...and...

AUBREY
And when we got to his room, I tried to talk to him... but he said he had to go to the bathroom and ran off.

...this seems to be his go-to coping-mechanism to deal with stress, and doesn't even seem to be limited to interactions with Sunny.
Furthermore, at the lake-scene, Basil hysterically screams for help, despite the hooligans actively attempting to calm him down, not at all acting hostile towards him.
- Although rare, there is at least one instance of him acting extremely angry, particularily the scene before his boss-fight, and he seems to have huge trouble to contain his anger, actually having to resort to delusional behaviour to quell it.
- Basil displays severe dissociative and psychotic (hallucinations and delusions) symptoms. The dissociation in particular is shown in what appears to be fuzzy memory:

BASIL
A lot has happened since these pictures were taken.Sometimes, it feels like it was all a bad dream.
BASIL
It's hard to remember now, but... I think... at the time...I took photos of what I was most afraid to lose.

Additionally, certain dialogue alludes to severe psychological issues being present prior to joining the friend-group:
Processing img s4afsed5ef3b1...
From the points listed above, the only one I consider to be debatable is the anger-issue. However, the other 5 traits are genuine canon.
Processing img q8mx1difef3b1...
Great, so now we have established for Basil to canonically suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder.

II Plot

II.a Sunnys case

Does Basil have his own White Space and Black Space?
OMOCAT:
The idea of the White Space is based on the ability of some people to completely isolate themselves when a traumatic happens. They isolate their mind and travel through the White Space to relieve their memories. From my personal experience, not everyone it able to do it. If Basil would have had his own White Space it would've been full of disturbing imagery, and, unlike Sunny's, it wouldn't be static but really dynamic with a lot of fast changes. Therefore I don't think Basil would be able to escape his own mind like Sunny does. And that's why his problems manifest in the real world. After all, something exists because of Basil’s idea that it exists in the first place.

Source: OMOCAT interview from Cydonia streaming translated in english : OMORI (reddit.com)
Pay close attention to the part that I highlighted.
OMOCAT openly states that Something exists for the simple reason that Basils believes it to exist to begin with. But if Somethings existence is based on Basils belief, then this raises the question why Sunny can see it, too.
I believe that this cutscene is the answer:
​
Processing gif 5q8azvo6jf3b1...
It seems to me that Sunny only began to be haunted by his Something due to this conversation, in which Basil asks Sunny to remember Something while simultaniously already suggesting what Sunny is supposed to remember.
Essentially, Sunny sees Something because of Basils suggestion of it existing to begin with.
This sets an interesting precedent of Basil unintentionally influencing Sunnys psyche by merely asking a suggestive question.
Another thing to note that this is just a short snippet of this conversation, and that there are more black-and-white cutscenes that display different parts of this particular encounter.
Another one is this:
​
Processing gif 83ofu1h8sf3b1...
This is clearly the first creation of White Space, right?
Wrong.
You see, there are certain special characters explaining the lore of Head Space, one of them being Daddy Longlegs.
He actually has dialogue explaining the creation of Head Space:

DADDY LONGLEGS
You have reached the end of the LOST FOREST... but the beginning of the truth.
DADDY LONGLEGS
I will tell you a story that has been lost through time... a story about the creation of this reality.
DADDY LONGLEGS
In the beginning, there only existed two... the DREAMER and his room.
DADDY LONGLEGS
The DREAMER grew weary of his room and created a door that led to many different worlds.
DADDY LONGLEGS
Walking the path as a visitor to these worlds, the DREAMER would come and go as he pleased.
DADDY LONGLEGS
Slips and falls, tumbles and drops... the DREAMER's curiosity and clumsy exploration eventually led him to a certain world.
DADDY LONGLEGS
One not like the others... one painted with chaos and bathed in darkness.
DADDY LONGLEGS
The DREAMER slowly became filled with dread. Quiet as they may have been, words of malice quietly crept into his mind. Whispering lies, secrets, and truths.

The 'DREAMER and his room...' clearly refers to Sunnys White Space.
Meanwhile, the world 'painted with chaos and bathed in darkness' very clearly refers to Black Space.
This means, according to Daddy Longlegs, that White Space existed way before Black Space. Furthermore, he states that only after Sunnys first encounter with Black Space did he 'slowly became filled with dread', which seems to imply that Sunnys most severe issues started at a later point in time than the creation of White Space.
Now, since White Space already existed prior to Black Space, this creates a problem:
As stated by OMOCAT, White Space exists to provide relief of memory - meaning that Sunny had already repressed memories at this point.
However, if we assume the cause of supression to be 'the truth' about Maris death, both Something and Black Space, and the Black Lightbulb should have already been a thing from the very beginning.
However, this is not the case. The black door as well as the lightbulb make their first appearence in this cutscene.
What this implies to me is that, just like Something, Black Space was created due to suggestions Basil made in this conversation, and subsequently the Black Lightbulb was created to supress Black Space.
In fact, Black Space can be further linked to being the product an external source:
Processing img sjtem9akhg3b1...
White Egret Orchids, at least in this game, represemt the phrase: 'My thoughts will follow you into your dreams.'
Furthemore, Black Space in general is strongly linked to Basil, both due to the overwhelming presence of Stranger as well the fact that it is always Basil that will find the path to 'the truth'.
​
This entire dynamic is very interesting.
Appearantly, there was a period of time in which Sunny was completely free of the influence of both Black Space,'the truth' it contains, and Something.
This might sound crazy, but this seems to imply that all three of Black Space, 'the truth' and Something can be traced back to this conversation, but not any further.
This becomes even clearer when you line up the three cut-scenes in the order they appear in the game:
​
Processing video aed5qnn9ov3b1...
​
The implication here is that this conversation is what triggered Sunnys Hikkikomori-lifestyle and caused a sharp shift in Sunnys behaviour.
This may be hard to accept, but what is being implied here is that this is the starting point of Sunnys 4 years of agony.
This is extremely weird, since 'the truth' about Maris death is supposed to be the source of his suffering, yet it started only about a few months after her death.
Why did Sunny only become haunted by 'the truth' after this point?
It can't be explained by repression either since a) the Black Lightbulb is required to repress it and b) the Black Lightbulb is what caused his Hikkikomorism to begin with, yet Sunny is stated to have gone to school up until this point and was actually willing to let others reach out to him.
This is a stark contrast to his behaviour after this conversation.
​
The only answer that makes sense is the following: 'The truth' simply didn't exist up until this point, not even in a repressed form.
This scene depicts the literal creation of 'the truth'.
'The truth' in it's entirety is an idea that Basil put into Sunnys head.

BRANCH CORAL
A hanging black light bulb... the repression of an idea.

It is openly stated that the Black Lightbulb is not the repression of a memory - that is White Spaces purpose - but in fact the repression of an idea.
Additionally, there actually is dialogue hinting at the replacement and subsequent repression of memories:

BLANK Your memories are not free. To gain a memory, another must be shrouded. And yet... All memories will eventually fade.

What I propose is the following: Basil wanted to talk to Sunny about 'the truth'. Now, the problem is that Sunny had already repressed the memories of Maris true death - suicide.
So, when Basil realizes that Sunny doesn't remember... he fills him in, similar to how he recounts the events of Maris death prior to his boss fight.
This is also the reason for the photo at the treehouse: Since Basil believes that Sunny had already 'forgotten' the truth at least once before, he decides to leave him a physical reminder - a photo and the key to the toy-chest.
This is supported by the 'Don't forget... it's in the toy-chest'-message - there is no reason to write a message urging Sunny not to forget about it unless Basil has a reason to believe Sunny might forget about it to begin with.
Now, Sunnys got a huge problem - since he already had repressed his memory at this point he had no way of falsifying Basils account. And since he trusts Basil, he makes the wrong choice and believes him.
Subsequently, this triggers the creation of both Something and Black Space.

Quiet as they may have been, words of malice quietly crept into his mind. Whispering lies, secrets, and truths.

This is referring to Basils words during this conversation.
Even though Sunny tried to repress them, the only thing he achieved is pushing them to his subconscious - where they then rampaged rampaged and grew in strength over the next 4 years.
In essence, this constitutes a case of both False Memories and Shared Delusional Disorder.
​
And it makes sense. You remember the characterization of Sunny at the beginning of this post?
Well, check this out:

Greater creative imagination and dissociation are known to relate to false memory formation. Creative imagination may lead to vivid details of imagined events. High dissociation may be associated with habitual use of lax response criteria for source decisions due to frequent interruption of attention or consciousness. Social desirability and false memory have also been examined. Social desirability effects may depend on the level of perceived social pressure.
Individuals who feel under greater social pressure may be more likely to acquiesce. Perceived pressure from an authority figure may lower individuals' criteria for accepting a false event as true. The new individual difference factors include preexisting beliefs about memory, self-evaluation of one's own memory abilities, trauma symptoms, and attachment styles. Regarding the first of these, metamemory beliefs about the malleability of memory, the nature of trauma memory, and the recoverability of lost memory may influence willingness to accept vague impressions or fragmentary images as recovered memories and thus, might affect the likelihood of accepting false memory. For example, if someone believes that memory once encoded is permanent, and that visualization is an effective way to recover memories, the individual may endorse more liberal criteria for accepting a mental image as true memory. Also, individuals who report themselves as having better everyday memories may feel more compelled to come up with a memory when asked to do so. This may lead to more liberal criteria, making these individuals more susceptible to false memory.
There is some research that shows individual differences in false memory susceptibility are not always large (even on variables that have previously shown differences—such as creative imagination or dissociation), that there appears to be no false memory trait, and that even those who have highly superior memory are susceptible to false memories.

How convenient. This is literally Sunny. Sunny displays all of these traits.
Sunny is morbidly predispositioned to aquire False Memories, especially due to his great trust in Basil, his best friend.
Additionally, 'recovering repressed memories' is notorious for confabulating False Memories:

However, when memories are "recovered" after long periods of amnesia, particularly when extraordinary means were used to secure the recovery of memory, it is now widely (but not universally) accepted that the memories have a high likelihood of being false, i.e. "memories" of incidents that had not actually occurred.

And there actually are fairly strong hints that can be interpreted as Sunnys recovered memories being memories that were imagined at Basils suggestion:
​
Processing img 6whr115l7n3b1...
Processing img 13x2utk98n3b1...
A basic, common yet effective technique to determine memories as either dreams or imagined events is to look for inconsistencies, either with reality or among the memories in question.
And there are several inconsistencies to be found in those photos.
The problem with this procedure though is that such inconsistencies can be dismissed as simple oversights on the developers side, meaning that this is 100% percent dependent on ones willingness to interpret them either as inconsistencies or a developers oversight.
But for the purpose of this theory I'll continue under the former assumption.
And these are the inconsistencies I found:
​
Processing img vdlj795han3b1...
Truth Photo: Only lower level has vine-pattern, no table bellow the window, hanging photos (Note: The table bellow the window is actually gone in RW present time, but in the past there was one.)
Real World: Both levels have vine-pattern, table beneath the window, photos are on a sideboard.
​
Processing img m6az3bavbn3b1...
Processing img j1l9myucjn3b1...
​
Processing img 8vh1lqzcpn3b1...
Well... no. In reality, it is a sliding door:
​
Processing img 0otxujv6rn3b1...
​
Processing img lfq7am4wzs3b1...
Left photo: Left tree has no branch, right one has one on it's right side.
Right photo: Left tree has one branch on it's right side, right one has none.
​
Processing img aum9y3531t3b1...
Judging by the position of the sun in the photos, the incident is supposed to happen close to sundown.
However, this images shading implies nighttime.
Additionally, Aubrey mentions that Mari was found in the evening. And actually, the neighbours were home.
Or, at least Hero. Hero actually states that he was home in the afternoon of that day.
It is not unreasonable to say that if Hero was home, he would have somehow been alerted of what was hapenning: A crash, a scream, or simply looking out the window to see Sunny and Basil carry a dead Mari.
You know what have not been suspicious at all? Mari, walking across her own backyard towards the tree.
Processing img y16y8reu2t3b1...
​
Processing img j93z2beq6t3b1...
Left: Mari faces away from Basil.
Right: Suddenly, Mari does face towards Basil.
​
As you can see, there are quite a few inconsistencies that can be found in those photos.
​
II.b Basils Case
But up until this point, the only thing I've argued for is that Sunny memory is based on Basils account, and not that the incident in it's entire actually never happened to begin with.
​
Well, let us look at the following question: How realistic, or even feasably possible is 'the truth'?
The answer: Not at all.
​
You see... there is a standard procedure by authorities for suicide-cases.
One, the deceased has the to be officially pronounced dead - and for this, either a doctor or a paramedic is necessary.
The problem is that Mari supposedly fell down the stairs. There absolutely have to be at least bruises. And, in fact, the notesheets that Mari carried while falling are noted to be blood-stained. There also was blood.
The paramedic would find unexplained physical trauma and blood. At this point, they would be required to notify investigative authorities and alert them to evidence of foul play.
Two, in cases of a suicide without a suicide-note, a standard-investigation is carried out, including an obducation.
This procedure is mandatory, and cannot be vetoed even by close relatives.
And even if the investigations would yield no results, this case is more likely to be considered an unsolved homicide rather than a suicide.
​
There's also the matter of physical feasability. Can Sunny and Basil even pull this off...?
Not really.
There's 2 scenarios for this incident. Case I: Basil did it alone and Case II Sunny and Basil did it together.
Case I: Complete nonsense. Basil cannot pull this off.
He's 12 and Mari is 16 and significantly heavier. He's too weak.
The game actually comments on Basils strength, or more percisely his lack of exactly that:

BASIL ... OMORI... You're so heavy...
BASIL Come on... Up the stairs you go...
BASIL Phew... Thank goodness you're awake.
BASIL Are you hurt at all? I was trying to pull you toward this white light at the top of the staircase...

Key word being 'trying'.
This is the scene in question:
Processing img vbf5agr23v3b1...
As you can see, Omori is still lying at the bottom of the stairs. This means Basil didn't even manage to drag him a single step upwards.
Basil completely and utterly failed to even move another 12-yevar-old.
There is no way he can even remotely exert the force necessary to do that to Mari.
​
Case II: Sunny and Basil did it together.
I will concede that if they sling the rope around the branch, and then both of them at once oull at the rope, then they actually can get her to the necessary height.
The problem is the following though:
If they follow this procedure, they still have to fix the rope to the branch.
To do that, one of them has to let go of the rope, scale the tree and then tie the knot.
Now consider this: The setup essentially functions like a ⚖️:
Whatever is heavier at either end of the rope will remain on the ground.
Sunny and Basil together are heavier than Mari.
Either of them alone isn't.
As soon as either lets go of the rope, Mari will plummet, while the other 12-year-old will be lifted of the ground.
Another problem is scaling the tree. Sunny is afraid of heights, to the point that even the staircase is a serious obstacle.
Here's a visiualization of the necessary heights:
Processing img fcjjnly56v3b1...
Height of the branch: ~ Maris height x 1.666
Height of the noose: ~ Maris height x 1.2
​
Lowballing Maris height to the average 1.60m will lead to the following results:
Height of the branch: ~ 2.65m
Height of the noose: 1.92m
​
You can see that 2.65m is pretty high up.
In Basils case, it is actually implied that he is a bad climber due to a fear of height as well:

(5/25):
It's been pretty busy with school lately, but we finally made time to get together and go to the park today. Here's KEL hanging his legs off a tree. He's such a good climber! I wish I was as fearless as him.

This already constitutes a huge problem.
The alternative option is that they first tie the rope to the branch, and only then put Maris head through the noose.
The problem is the height of the noose. They'd have to lift Maris head ~ 1.90m of the ground.
This is problematic, since Mari is dead and thus her body acts like a limp noodle. They'd have to lift her by the head to avoid her body or head slumping over, and this creates a problem of reach.
Mind you that this is a situation in which even an adult would struggle to lift a person of comparable stature to this height.
Can two 12-year-old-boys, who are in a clear state of shock pull this off?
I highly doubt that.
And if we are to assume the scrapped descriptions of the album as a basis, then the case is already clear:
It is impossible, since all problems regarding Case II apply even more glringly to Case I.
​
Now, that still leaves the question on why Basil genuinly believes in this False Memory.
Well, we have talked about Basil and BPD, haven't we?
Well take a look at this:

This paper presents an analysis of dream-reality confusion (DRC) in relation to the characteristics of borderline personality disorder (BPD), based on research findings and theoretical considerations. It is hypothesized that people with BPD are more likely to experience DRC compared to people in non-clinical population. Several variables related to this hypothesis were identified through a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature.
Sleep disturbances: problems with sleep are found in 15–95.5% of people with BPD, and unstable sleep and wake cycles, which occur in BPD, are linked to DRC.
Dissociation: nearly two-thirds of people with BPD experience dissociative symptoms and dissociative symptoms are correlated with a fantasy proneness; both dissociative symptoms and fantasy proneness are related to DRC .
Negative dream content: People with BPD have nightmares more often than other people; dreams that are more likely to be confused with reality tend to be more realistic and unpleasant, and are reflected in waking behavior.
Cognitive disturbances: Many BPD patients experience various cognitive disturbances, including problems with reality testing , which can foster DRC. Thin boundaries: People with thin boundaries are more prone to DRC than people with thick boundaries, and people with BPD tend to have thin boundaries .
The theoretical analysis on the basis of these findings suggests that people who suffer from BPD may be more susceptible to confusing dream content with actual waking events.

If you're interested in this thematic, here's the source.
What this suggests is that people suffering from BPD are significantly more prone to DRC, which is an inability to differentiate between dreams and reality. On top of that, DRC is trongly linked to the concept of nightmares.
And Basil, in fact is hinted to suffer from this by his own dialogue:
​
Processing img kk3tofx0fv3b1...

BASIL
A lot has happened since these pictures were taken.
Sometimes, it feels like it was all a bad dream.

Note that he specifically says 'since these pictures were taken' - in the timeframe he describes, Maris death is included.
​
If it wasn't clear before what I was getting at with this, by now all the pieces should have fallen in place.
Yes, I am suggesting that the plot of OMORI is not some sort of murder-mystery, but instead a tragic tale about two boys who were completely ruined by a mental hell that exists exclussively in their heads.
Essentially, I am arguing that 'the truth' is a Red Herring, and that taking the obvious conclusion at face-value is a fallacy.
​
Here's a general outline for the backstory:
​

At the day of the recital, Mari commits suicide.
Sunny and Basil are the ones to find her. Both develop PTSD. Additionally, Basils BPD drastically worsens due to his trauma.
A few months pass. At an unspecified point during this time, Basil has a terrible nightmare influenced by his trauma, and due to BPD-related DRC mistakes it for a genuine memory.
He goes on to talk about 'the truth' to Sunny. Many reasons are possible: He just wants to comfort him, or maybe he did so in a desperate hope that Sunny would deny this memory to be true.
But Sunny has amnesia. And he is morbidly predispositioned to develop False Memories at other peoples suggestion. And since he has no way of debunking Basil recounting of that day, he accepts it as true.
Meanwhile, Basil had noticed Sunny to have 'forgotten' about 'the truth'. So, to ensure that Sunny does not do so again, he tapes the key to the back of one of his photos, and leaves the 'Don't forget'-message on it's back.
Basils influence on Sunnys vulnerable psyche has triggered the creation of Black Space (Note how the door to BS is located in a field of White Egret Orchid, which represent the phrase 'My thoughts will follow you into your dreams' Black Space is Basils suggestion following Sunny into his dreams).
In order to subdue it, he creates the Black Lightbulb, and starts to shut himself off completely.
4 years of silence follow, and in the meantime, 'the truth' rampages in Sunnys subconscious and grows in strength, as implied by both Stranger and Daddy Longlegs.
At the night of '3 Days Left', Sunny actively tries to remember 'the truth' and destroys the Black Lightbulb.
This causes the 'idea' that Basil unknowingly planted in Sunnys mind to resurface full-force.
What follows is a Sunny 'remembering' a False Memory, based on Basil account of the events. The photos are from Basils POV, in a book labeled 'Basils Memories', and are riddeled with inconsistencies and impossibilities.
Additionally, Basils claim of 'Something behind Sunny' having killed Mari is actually based on a truth: Since Something=Mari, this means 'Something killed Mari' is correct, just twisted beyond recognition.

I'd like to add that this theory also solves certain plot-issues rather nicely, and offers concrete conclusions rather than vague interpretations and shallow symbolism.
Specificall the key and photo in the treehouse, as well as the the meaning of the White Egret Orchid come to mind.
​
There is just one question left unanswered:
Mari.
Why?
​
II.c Mari
Well...

BASIL Aww, MARI... I wish I could be more like you! You always seem to have everything under control.
MARI That's not true at all! It just seems that way from the outside!

The implication here is that Mari has more going on than she lets on.
Additionally, she expresses a certain strong belief:

MARI
Everyone... I know it's tough right now, but we have to stay positive! We should all try to be like BASIL! Even when BASIL is upset, he always manages to smile.

She essentially says that one should suck it up and smile regardless.
This behaviour is dangerous.
If you actively try to cover up your problems up with toxic positivity, other people cannot offer help, and may result in those problems becoming worse and worse. This behaviour would explain why nobody saw it coming.
Mari is also a perfectionist.

Researchers have begun to investigate the role of perfectionism in various mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and personality disorders, as well as suicide. Each disorder is associated with varying levels of the three subscales on the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. For instance, socially prescribed perfectionism in young women has been associated with greater body-image dissatisfaction and avoidance of social situations that focus on weight and physical appearance.

Perfectionism is known to be a great contributor to both mental disorders and suicidal ideation.
I already have a specific disorder in mind, but more on that later.

Perfectionism is increasingly considered to be a risk factor for suicide. The tendency of perfectionists to have excessively high expectations of self and to be self-critical when their efforts do not meet the expectations they have established, combined with their tendency to present a public image of flawlessness increases their risk of suicidal ideation while decreasing the likelihood of seeking help when it is needed. Perfectionism is one of many suicide predictors that affect individuals negatively via pressure to fulfill other- or self-generated high expectations, feeling incapable of living up to them, and social disconnection.

This is pretty much the behaviour I have previously described.
In this context, it would make sense for Maris suicide to come out of nowhere due to a tendency to hide their problems and social disconnection.
Social disconnection is acually hinted at at least twice.

(9/9):
SUNNY giving MARI a big hug! MARI doesn't come home until late now because she's taking extra classes to prepare for college. Me and SUNNY have been hanging out a lot, but I'm sure he still misses her a lot.

According to Basil, Mari doesn't come home from school until very late. Furthermore, she appearantly barely gets to spend any time with Sunny, despite him being her brother and literally sleeping in the same room.
Subsequently, she probably gets little to no time to spend with the others either, including Hero.
This is further supported by the Black Space II area known as 'Mari is home':

AUBREY
Hey, OMORI... I think your sister is ignoring us. Maybe you should go talk to her.
KEL
We can't have a picnic without MARI!
HERO
MARI hasn't been home in a long time... She just needs some room to adjust.

According to Aubrey, Mari is ignoring them. This hints at increased social isolation on Maris side.
Heros wording also brings us to the next topic:
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Adjustment Disorder.
Adjustment Disorder is in essence very similar to depression, but caused by an accute psychologic stressor. The disorder usually disappears once the offending stressor is terminated and the person manages to 'adjust' to the situation. The type I am suggesting is essentially very similar to Burnout.
Adjustment Disorder poses a strong risk-factor for suicide, especially if it is in conjunction with perfectionism.
Mari was extremely stressed in the months leading up the recital:
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Mine and MARI's school books. MARI has been coming home late because of cram school. She must be tired...

Maris parents are sending her to cram school, which causes Mari to come home very late.
It is reasonable to assume that the majority of her free-time, most notably the weekends, were probably consumed by practicing for the recital.

A table lamp. MARI has trouble sleeping, so she reads books before bed. I often turn off this light for her after she falls asleep.

It is openly stated that Mari has problems falling asleep. This serves to make mental exhaustion and depressive tendencies even worse.
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The way I see it, Mari was under constant and extreme pressure in the time leading up to the recital. Her busy schedule impeded on her social life, and combined with a prefectionist tendency to try and keep up an image of flawlessness resulted in her problems to go unnoticed by the others.
The closer the recital came, the more the pressure on Mari increased. She wanted it to be perfect, but since only the weekends are left to practice, this severly limited her opportunities to practice.
However, Sunny hated the practicing, and he also hated Mari locking herself away on the piano for hours at a time.
This conflict caused an alienation between the two siblings.
​
All of those issues combined provide both a realistic and believable reason for Maris suicide as well as an explanation as to why nobody saw it coming.
All in all I'd say that this alternative interpretation of 'the truth' greatly increases Mari depth as a character based on actual in-game evidence.
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That should be about everything. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments.
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What do you think about this theory?
While I certainly expect a lot skepticism, I think that at the very least I have proven that this is fairly substantiated, realistic, and narratively compelling alternative interpretation of OMORIs plot.
Before you ask, yes, I do headcanon this.
I particularily like the subtle hints, and howthe characters personality, relationships and backstory fall in place very conveniently.
A lot of little details on their own can be dismissed very easily, yet together they converge to a very powerful argument.
Essentially, I love that this interpretation re-defines 'the truth' as an ingenious Red Herring.

Hey guys, I need some major help and I was wondering if any of you could give me some tips or guidance.
BACKGROUND AND CRASH
Now some quick background info. In January I upgraded my RX 580 to a RX 6700XT. I play games such as Squad and Digital Combat Simulator, but I mainly play War Thunder. Now my RX 580 got me a good 100-120 FPS on maximum graphics, but my 6700XT gave me 250-300 FPS. I had no issues with it until 2 days ago. Whilst playing X-Plane 11, my PC randomly crashed. I had to power restart it but thought nothing of it. After playing an extra hour or so, I put my PC to sleep. Then today, I logged into War Thunder and everything has changed. The game seems more grainy, and stuff doesn't look as sharp as it used to. I'm barely breaking 100 FPS now, and I only get more if I start lowering graphical settings.
WHAT I HAVE TRIED TO FIX IT
I’ve spent hours googling for ideas and fixes. I’ve upgraded my GPU Driver twice and still no fix. I’ve mucked around in AMD Software and Trixx Sapphire and neither of them have fixed it. I’ve played X-Plane 11 and Gunner HEAT PC and both of thoselooks and feel fine. But I have noticed that when playing War Thunder, my CPU is capped out at 30% max, whilst my GPU is maxing out at 90-100%, and I'm using about 12 GB of RAM. When I switch to GHPC or X Plane, my GPU will still max out, but my CPU will rise to 70-80%, and give me normal performance. I’ve tried selecting to use all my CPU processors upon startup, and visa-versa, and still nothing.
SYSTEM SPECS
Windows 11 64 Bit
CPU: Intel i10700KF 3.8Ghz 8 Core, 16 Processors
Motherboard: Asus Prime Z490-A
RAM: 32GB
GPU: Radeon Sapphire RX-6700XT
VRAM: 12Gbs
Monitor: 1920x1080 144hz AOC
(If you need more info, please let me know, I'm happy to provide)
PLEASE IF YOU CAN HELP, LET ME KNOW
I honestly don't understand what is happening and have tried everything I can think of. War Thunder is a big game, but I don't understand how I can lose more than 100 FPS and good quality in the span of 24 hours, whilst not suffering any issues with any other games. Please, if any of you can suggest some things or ideas to try and help it would be much appreciated.
And if you are going to get really in-depth, please give me some guidance, I'm new to PCs and especially troubleshooting issues with them.
I'm happy to provide photos of anything such as settings, performance etc too.
I’ve spent hours googling for ideas and fixes. I’ve upgraded my GPU Driver twice and still no fix. I’ve mucked around in AMD Software and Trixx Sapphire and neither of them have fixed it. I’ve played X-Plane 11 and Gunner HEAT PC and both of those looks and feel fine. But I have noticed that when playing War Thunder, my CPU is capped out at 30% max, whilst my GPU is maxing out at 90-100%, and I'm using about 12 GB of RAM. When I switch to GHPC or X Plane, my GPU will still max out, but my CPU will rise to 70-80%, and give me normal performance. I’ve tried selecting to use all my CPU processors upon startup, and visa-versa, and still nothing.