Hey,
So I am on the look out to make new connections recently, of fresh new faces, new ideas, new personalities to reignite a zest for life that only new blood can bring! (no ritual sacrifices, I promise)
I am looking for someone to talk to, to open to and to hopefully in time become my best, most comfortable self around as is the goal when developing a real, solid connection with another human.
I don’t want to deliver a sales pitch, give you a list of reasons why you should reach out, but hopefully a mutually feeling of wanting for the same connection will lead you to my doorstep.
I’m a creative writer and a worldbuilder, history buff, philosophy nerd, big time reader and spend my limited free time enjoying TTRPGs and games with friends. I live in Italy, and would prefer to connect with those from a European timezone as trying to communicate across day-long divides is complicated, when long distance is already complicated enough.
With that said, I emphasize the desire for someone to hang out with over voice calls. The written word is overrated when it comes to developing meaningful connections. I much prefer after briefly getting to know someone isn’t batshit to try and vibe with you in our spoken voice, words and unfiltered beauty therein.
I will leave the rest of the discovery of me to the future, awaiting for the moment we could talk the nights away together.

This scam from face value looks decent but a little complex for the amount of money allegedly this team took down. First, they were going out physically towing cars to a shop that one of the dude's owned (opsec killed right there) and then they were doing it from the same place. A real scammer would have......you know what......check out the article yourself.

More than a dozen Southern California residents are reported to have conspired to create fraudulent insurance claims to illegally collect more than $350,000.
They were arrested last week after an investigation reportedly discovered a large-scale organized auto insurance fraud ring engaged in multiple schemes, including holding vehicles hostage and collusive collisions.
Three additional people were charged for their alleged involvement in the organized ring. The charges involve 19 fraudulent claims resulting in a loss of $353,035.
The Inland Empire Automobile Insurance Task Force began an investigation in 2022 after reportedly discovering a California Highway Patrol non-sworn employee, Rosa Isela Santistevan, 55, of Irvine, was unlawfully selling traffic collision report face pages with personal information of people who had been involved in collisions throughout the region.
Searches reportedly led to the seizure of more than 3,500 CHP traffic collision report face pages from the residence of Esmeralda Parga, 26, of Pomona, who the task force determined was connected to Santistevan through the organized ring’s ringleader, Andre Angelo Reyes, 36, of Corona.
The alleged conspiracy began after Reyes befriended Santistevan and other CHP employees by donating to various CHP events and parties. Santistevan printed and unlawfully sold thousands of traffic collision face pages to Reyes, who reportedly would then provide the reports to Parga. Parga would then pretend to be from the insurance company of involved parties and coordinate having the vehicle towed to a repair center, according to investigators.
Tow trucks were then sent to pick up the vehicles and take them to CA Collision, owned by Anthony Gomez, 35, of Jurupa Valley. Once at there, the repair shop held the vehicle hostage and demand cash payment from the insurers to have the vehicles released.
This investigation resulted in 15 suspects being charged with insurance fraud, grand theft by trick, and false impersonation.
The investigating task force included the California Department of Insurance, California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.
Defendants include:

• Andre Angelo Reyes, 36, of Corona
• Rosa Isela Santistevan, 55, of Irvine
• Esmeralda Parga, 26, of Pomona
• Anthony Gomez, 35, of Jurupa Valley
• Ezequiel Baltazar Orozco, 30, of Los Angeles
• Antonio Terrazas Perez Jr., 19, of Los Angeles
• Erika Garcia, 31, of Los Angeles
• Israel Avila Sandoval, 45, of Pomona
• Luis Alberto Ramirez Jr., 32, of San Bernardino
• Robert Arzac, 49, of West Covina
• Antonio Ramirez Perez, 44, of Los Angeles
• Brian Anthony Lopez, 25, of Anaheim
• Emily Marie Boatman, 26, of Ontario
• Ricardo Parga Jr., 23, of Pomona
• Steven Anthony Alfaro, 38, of Buena Park.

​

Man sorry to say but these motherfuckers were stupid. Too many people on one operation for the small amount of money. Someone was going to snitch (which probably how the LE caught wind of the play in the first place) and just too close to home. All of them are positioning themselves for the best plea deal RIGHT NOW as I type this shit. Lets see how this pans out though,

​

For u/likeafuckingninja and u/wingsofopal . Thank you for organising this event and giving me a push to write about something I'm passionate about.
Rating: Very Explicit - bdsm, kidnapping, femdom, edge play. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥
Chapter: 1/3
Word count: 4k
Summary:
Ferdinand Fur, a top-tier investment banker, had asked Dominatrix Shax Stork to set up a special scenario. Nervous yet excited at work, he awaited the moment she would kidnap him and break him apart in her dungeon. Trusting her completely; his Mistress, his oxygen, his life, to give him the relief he so desperately craved.
Shax had been initially surprised by this request but had quickly warmed to the idea and couldn’t wait to give him what he needed. She enjoyed playing with him immensely, loved indulging herself with his body, loved him; her slave, her heart. Wrapped in the mantle of decades of experience, she would take him over the edge, into a free fall of emotions, just so she could catch him safely at the bottom and put him back together with care.
Excerpt:
He felt a hand grip his hair and pull it backwards. Looking up, he met an angry glare, her face surrounded by a red halo from the diminishing light. It matched perfectly with the sweet devil of the night she was.
"You better start walking fast, or my revenge will take place here, with your face in the gravel, and I won’t stop until the entire world hears you scream," she stated calmly.
With a lot of thanks to my two lovely beta readers u/PinkJorts39 and u/Yes-its-unholy
Read it here on AO3

so im obviously a noob, got the mars 4 ultra but awkward finding a decent place to put it for ventilation.
this week im going to use my shed to test and learn then open the door once finished.
so i need some files to test and learn with.
im looking at Batman figures and conan the barbarian.
do i just go to etsy and buy some stl files? but then have to learn and add my own supports.. they also may come in many prints i presume.
else some free test prints to get me going?
thanks

long post warning, i didnt realise i wrote so much😭
so i have an ender 3 that i no longer use and my best friend really likes the stuff i print so im thinking about giving it to her for free and buying her a fresh roll of pla of her choice and im also giving samples of the filament i have so she can try out other colors
anyway, the main question is, what do i tell her about it? ive been doing this for a while and everything seems pretty basic to me so ill prolly end up talking to her about it for 5hrs straight
im giving it assembled, with all tools and some random accessories i printed
the printer has a CRtouch, pei sheet (giving her the old glass one too so she can pick a struggle of her choice) and i made the motherboard fan spin continuously ( connected to hotend fan)
im gonna try to calibrate it as good as i can before giving it but im also teaching her how to calibrate

Hi all,This year I moved to a new school after 7 years in a previous school (Catholic college - primary and secondary). I left due to 2 colleagues I once admired, respected, enjoyed working with and called friends either bullying, excluding and/or undermining me in front of my students and theirs across the whole school year.Moved to a new school (Catholic and systemtic) and am finding many of their ways of operating very foreign, adding to my work and time and am constantly frustrated by lack of consistency, lack of standards and zero acknowledgement of my noticeable student progression and improvement since my arrival.
A few factors that are frustrating and aggravating:
-Apart from myself and one other staff member, ALL other staff (teachers, Teacher Assistants, the Deputy, office admin, specialists) are ALL part-time in the primary campus. In and of itself this is not a problem, however it leads to a lack of consistency and stability for me as I am constantly playing catch-up due to the rotating nature of the year-level team. It affects student behaviour (not so much mine, but the other classes) due to no consistency with teachers. Seems to be a high level of rotating teahers on LSL (short stints) and staff on and off from parental leave. No staff nmeeting I have been to yet has had all staff there.
-Behaviour of students is atrocious when compared to other schools in the area and previous schools from my decade + experience. Students are verbally rude, cannot settle and focus and there are often physical altercations in the playground. I've spent a term and a half really breaking down behaviour expectations, routines and standards. I am making progress, but there is so much stacked against us.
-Parent copmmunity is INTENSE. Moreso than I have ever experienced. Teachers are consistently told their "tone"when talking to parents is rude/negative/insert critique here, parents are constantly emailing teachers to complain about other children and flat out ignoring any and all comunication about their own child. When I asked leadership about this, the reasoning given is either, "Parents at this school have always been like this" or "It's the culture of the area. We get families from all over"meaning the greater metropolitan area. I persoinally do not think this argument holds up as previous schools I've been at have accepted students from relatively large areas in terms of distance.
-EVERYTHING is done as a team." While this sounds great on the face of it, it adds so much to personal workloads when reporting, individual lesson planning, unit planning, NCCD work, resouirce development and/or sourcing, sending emails to parents, responding to emails from parents and more all has to be done as a committee of 7 people. Nothing gets done efficiently or within a desired timeframe.
-Classes - For each year level (double-stream), we routinely mix and match students. Not just for programs (e.g. Spelling) but for ALL subjects and curriculum areas. This means that in theory, I have a class of 31 (e.g. my roll call list), however in any given lesson I could be receiving students from the next-door class. Sometimes the classes stay the same (students) but we (teachers) swap. This makes assessing and reporting a nightmare, as it is unproductive, inefficient and there is no consistency.The reason for this has nothing to do with student learning, outcomes or development. It occurs "to stop parents complaining about which teacher they do/do not get for their child," "to stop parents emailing and complaining about if child x or y is in their child's class."It also means that due to the way the "team-teaching" works, I will never teach certain subjects (e.g. Science or Geography) this year. I have been given subjects the other teachers on Year 5 do not want: Religion, History for example
-Students miss out on opportunities for growth, e.g. in Science as we need to fill out risk assessments for items like using the school oval outside of lunch times and for simple, basic Science experiments (e.g. mixing two liquids - liquids that are not hot, cold). EVERY science experiment of any category needs a risk assessment.I came in so excited about subjects like Science... no more. Can't take the class outside for a brain break as we'd have to book the oval and fill out a risk assessment.
-Class sizes are 31+ and the school has a high volume of EAL and students with various diagnoses. In a class of 31, 20+ are either EAL and/or have a diagnosis (e.g. autism, ADHD, etc)-Zero autonomy. I have to go through 3 supervisors just to respond to a parent email (even if it is wholly positive), I am told what kind of visual aid posters I can/can't have in my room (e.g. a times table chart or a poster on English contractions).
-Release time a joke. I have to sit in my class cupboard as this is the only place in the school that is:--Free of gossiping staff--Free of staff talking in general--The only place staff and/or students will not interrupt me.-Staff are friendly (cheerfully greeting/seeing how my day is/was, seeming interested in me as a person and educator) but there is so much gossip about each other and parents/families. I could go to a staff member with a purely work-related question (e.g. planning or how a school process works) and the conversation almost always ends up being twisted to a poorly behaved student/complaining/gossiping. Even after I have point blank made it clear I do not engage in gossip and find it fractures teams/colleagues and do not have the time for it.
-Multiple duties each day of the week (as we are únderstaffed'' - same as every other school in Australia)-Duty roster (playground) changes every single week due to the high volume of absent staff, staff with multiple roles, etc So no stability or consistency there either.-Foced to pay money into a school social club each week for amenities (e.g. milk/coffee/biscuits) which I never use in a staffroom I never visit or for gifts of departing/retiring/staff going on parental leave.... Yet every time a staff member fits these categories, we get emails from leaders asking if we would like to choose to put towards a gift.... so unsure why I was told the social club goes to gifts. Tried getting out of it in writing (I pay more being one of the few full-time staff) only to be told, "In your contract, you signed that you will be paying money into the social club." Nothing in my contract at all, and I asked the state union to have a look just in case I am blind and having a man's look. They too clearly stated there is nothing in there.
My question is, after 7 years in a school I enjoyed (apart from the aforementioned 2 colleagues changing how they interact with me) is this the norm in Australian Catholic schools (primary and/or combined primary/secondary colleges). I used to be so effective, productive and built strong and positive student relationships. I am now ineffective, unproductive, my time and experience is wasted and my experience seems to be for naught.
*Is this the new normal?
*Is anyone else so utterly heartbroken, soul-crushed and demoralised (and I guess, angry and frustrated) by red tape/inefficiency/unproductiveness, etc?
Any thoughts? Cheers, legends.

Important Notes:

• I do my best to include every sale, but at the same time I focus sale with a noticeable price drop, meaning sales start with at least 20% and up. I usually skip anything below that unless it's a worth while title.
  
• Click on the price to visit the store page for that game.
  
• The end date of the sale isn't mentioned, you can check the store page to see it.
  
• All of these sales are based on the US store front, so some sales may not be available depending on your country.
  

[~ PSN ~]

(On Mobile please Swipe left to see the prices and tags)

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Persona 4 Golden	$11.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack
The Persona Collection (P3P/Persona 4/Persona 5)	$49.49 $89.99	Turn-based/Modern Japan setting/Highschool life simulatoMystery/Monster collectoSocial link system/Great soundtrack
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth PS4 & PS5	$48.99 $69.99	Turn-based/Contemporary Hawaii setting/Yakuza life/Open World/Heavy on Drama and Comedy/Heavy on Mini-games/Class Changing Mechanics
Star Ocean The Second Story R	$39.99 $49.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Choose 1 of 2 main characters/Expansive crafting system/Affection mechanic for Party members/Choices matteRemake of the original PS1 title
Tales of Arise PS4 & PS5	$14.79 $59.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Anime style/Revolution Story/anime trope heavy/Social links mechanic between party members
Valkyria Chronicles 4 Complete Edition	$9.99 $49.99	Tactical Turn-based/World War Militar setting/Tactical mixed with real-time elements/Sketch or "Canvas" art style/Build your Army with character customization/Mission based story progression/Army management
DORAEMON STORY OF SEASONS	$14.99 $49.99	Farming Simulator/Mini-games/Social Links system
Rainbow Moon	$2.99 $14.99	Tactical Turn-based/Character customization/Fantasy setting/Dungeon Crawler
Terra Memoria	$14.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting
Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters	$19.99 $49.99 [PS4 version]	Turn-based/Female Protagonist/Comedy/fan-service/Parody
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling	$14.99 $24.99	Turn-based/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Adventure
Monster Sanctuary	$4.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monster CollectoMetroidvania/Pixel Graphics
Relayer	$11.99 $59.99	Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Space travel/Piloted Mecha/Female Protagonist/Anime art style
Death end reQuest	$7.99 $39.99	Turn-based/Female protagonist/Cyber World setting/Psychological HorroNudity
Death end re;Quest 2	$11.99 $49.99	Turn-based/Cyber world setting/Female Protagonist/Dark Fantasy/Gore/Fan-service
Shining Resonance Refrain	$5.99 $29.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Dragon transformation/Musical theme/Anime visual style/Social link mechanic
Mary Skelter Finale	$14.99 $49.99	Turn-based/First-Person View Dungeon CrawleDeep & Full party customization/Female Protagonist/Multiple Endings/HorroFan-service
Born of Bread	$14.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat
DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT	$14.99 $59.99	Action Fantasy/Semi-Open World (zones)/Anime story adaptation/Beautiful animations
South Park™: The Fractured but Whole™	$8.99 $29.99	Tactical Turn-based/Modern Day setting/Comedy/Mature/Dark HumoNudity/Fart Jokes

​

[~ Switch ~]

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Star Ocean The Second Story R	$39.99 $49.99	Action/Sci-fi mixed with Fantasy setting/Choose 1 of 2 main characters/Expansive crafting system/Affection mechanic for Party members/Choices matteRemake of the original PS1 title
Ikenfell	$5.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro
Dodgeball Academia	$9.99 $24.99	Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style
Born of Bread	$14.99 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat
Battle Chef Brigade Deluxe	$6.99 $19.99	Action/Fantasy setting/Cooking battles/Female Protagonist/Side ScrolleBeat'em up/Hand-drawn
Fuga: Melodies of Steel	$23.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2	$23.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading
Front Mission 1st: Remake	$17.49 $34.99	Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/War & Politics/Mecha/Customization
FRONT MISSION 2: Remake	$27.99 $34.99	Tactical turn-based/Sci-fi setting/War & Politics/Mecha/Customization
Dusk Diver	$8.74 $34.99	Action/Modern Taipei Ximending setting/Female Protagonist/Beat'em up/Anime visual style
Terra Memoria	$14.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting
Infinite Guitars	$11.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Sci-fi setting/Rock Music/Hand-drawn/Robots/Rhythm/Timed button presses
Regalia: Of Men and Monarchs - Royal Edition OST Combo	$7.49 $24.99	Tactical turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Social link system/Politics/Comedy
Potato Flowers in Full Bloom	$13.31 $17.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/First-person Dungeon CrawleCustom Party creation/Class Mechanics
Rainbow Moon + Rainbow Skies Strategy RPG Bundle	$23.99 $29.99	Tactical Turn-based/Character customization/Fantasy setting/Dungeon Crawler

[~ Xbox ~]

Game	Price/Link	Tags
Blue Dragon	$6.59 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Class changing mechanics/great soundtrack
Lost Odyssey	$8.24 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting
Costume Quest 1	$4.49 $14.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Choices Matter
Terra Memoria	$14.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting
Dodgeball Academia	$9.99 $24.99	Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style
Ikenfell	$5.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro
Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition	$5.99 $14.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling	$12.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Adventure

~ Steam ~

If you want to check the games yourself:

~ Link to the JRPGs on Sale list ~

Steam Deck Icons (As explained by Steam itself):

🟦 Verified: Means that the game is fully compatible and works with built-in controls and display.
🟧 Playable: Means the game is Functional, but requires extra effort to interact with and configure .
"--" Unknown: Basically unconfirmed or still under-review.

Game	Price/Link	Tags	Steam Deck
Chrono Ark	$18.74 $24.99	Turn-based/Modern day setting/Roguelike DeckbuildeFemale Protagonist/Anime visuals/Card Battler	🟦 Playable
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night	$9.99 $39.99	Action/Medieval Gothic Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/PlatformeSide ScrolleMetroidvania	🟦 Verified
In Stars And Time	$15.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Monochrome art style/LGBTQ+/Comedy/Time Travel/Hand-drawn Cartoon style	🟦 Verified
Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom PRINCE'S EDITION	$11.99 $79.98	Action/Fantasy setting/Isekai/Base BuildeArmy Battle/Character CollectoBeautiful art style	🟦 Verified
Born of Bread	$12.49 $24.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Paper Mario-like/Comedy/Timed hits combat	🟧Playable
Terra Memoria	$14.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Base Building/Resource gathering & Crafting	🟧Playable
Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2	$23.99 $39.99	Tactical Turn-based/Steampunk setting/Anthropomorphic characters/Social Links System/Base upgrading	🟦 Verified
Fae Tactics	$5.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Beautiful Pixel Graphics/Unique Battle system/Monster Collector	🟦 Verified
Dodgeball Academia	$9.99 $24.99	Action/School Life Sim/Sports (Dodgeball)/2D Hand-drawn Cartoon Art style	🟧Playable
Sword and Fairy 7	$14.99 29.99	Action/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Female Protagonist/Great visuals and Music/Rich Story and Lore/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles	🟧Playable
Ikenfell	$5.99 $19.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Pixel Graphics/Female Protagonist/LGBTQ+/Retro	🟦 Verified
Astria Ascending	$8.74 $39.99	Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/PlatformeFemale Protagonist/Class system	🟦Verified
Haven	$14.99 $24.99	Active time combat/Sci-fi setting/Heavy on Romance/LGBTQ/Local Co-op support/Exploration/Resource Gathering	🟦 Verified
Crimson Tactics: The Rise of The White Banner	$14.99 $29.99	Tactical Turn-based/Medieval Fantasy setting/Class system/War & Politics/Dragons/	--
Jack Move	$9.99 $19.99	Turn-based/Cyberpunk setting/Female Protagonist/Pixel Graphics/Hacking	🟦Verified
Earthlock	$4.49 $29.99	Turn-based/Fantasy setting	🟧Playable
Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament	$4.49 $14.99	Real Time/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Rich Story and Lore/Monster collection/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles	🟧Playable
Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament	$4.49 $14.99	Real Time/Chinese Martial Arts Fantasy (Xianxia)/Rich Story and Lore/Monster collection/Chinese voice acting with English subtitles	🟧Playable
Children of Zodiarcs	$5.39 $17.99	Tactical Turn-based/Fantasy setting/Female Protagonist/Card Based/Deck Building	🟦Verified

​

~ General Recommendations (All Consoles) For Anyone Who Can't Decide ~

First off, I won't recommend big or famous games like Final Fantasy or Persona, this is more for lesser know, hidden gems, or just games where it's hard to find someone talking about them.
​

[Valkyria Chronicles]

[Valkyria Chronicles 4]

This one is really hard to explain through words alone, but just in case, the VC series is a World War 2 military setting story, where you act as the lead of a squad and take mission to drive back the enemy. The story is drama heavy and the gameplay is tactical turn-based, but it's mixed with real-time third person shooter.
You can also make your own army by recruiting different types of solders, training them and upgrading their gear. From rifles to tanks, this is a game you have to experience to understand.

[Fuga: Melodies of Steel 1 & 2]

Great game, great art style, and really well made and balanced turn-based combat. That alone is enough to get the game. Then you add the time-management part of the game, where you spend time upgrading the different tank rooms, cooking, exploring ruins, spending time to bond with other characters, and so on. It's also great if you want a game that you can play for an hour or 2 and then put down for later. As the game is played through stages, and once you're done with a stage, you get an intermission to do what you want and come back to it later.
It's not a long game (compared to the usual JRPG), as you mentioned, it's about 20 hours. Story-wise I think it was a bit too short. Gameplay wise it was great fit, because it didn't outstay it's welcome, and it ends when you feel you have mastered the gameplay and want to face the final challenge.
The story is good, but isn't the focus. Gameplay is the main focus. In fact you'll feel that a lot of context isn't told in the story, but instead left for you to either read about in the in-game wiki or just figure out through obvious clues in the story.
There is a big mechanic that this meant to put a lot of pressure on your playthrough (don't worry about it being spoiled because it's literally explained in the first hour of the game). The thing is though, if you have experience in JRPGs or just play in a really well thought out and relaxed manner, then that mechanic might not be as big a deal as they make it seem to be. Yet it's still fun nonetheless.
Fuga 2 is even better. It fixes a lot of the minor issues the first game had, and what's really great, is it improved the "big pressure" mechanic I talked about, and now it actually is a big deal. Then add to that so much little new mechanics added that just makes for a much more fun and challenging game. The 2nd game also continues the same story.

[Ni no Kuni] Series

If you're looking for that great Isekai fantasy adventure feel, then these two games are where it's at. Fantastic visuals and great music, coupled with a great art style, a combo that is perfect for a chill and relaxed gaming experience. Especially when talking about the first game, with the help ofStudio Ghibli, they managed to make a truly whimsical world with that Studio Ghibli classic touch.

- Important Note: The games aren't connected story-wise, so you can start with any of them -

[Wrath of the White Witch]

For a the best fantasy adventure feel, while the combat is a hit or miss depending on your taste, don't let that stop you from actually diving into a true fairy tale world, this is the one with the better story in my opinion, so if you want more story than game, this is for you. Still it has a good share of gameplay, from raising and collecting Pokemon-like monsters, to learning and using different spells, not just in combat but for the overworld too.

[Ni no Kuni™ II: Revenant Kingdom]

This one focuses more on gameplay, with a Kingdom builder, Army battles, Heavy loot focus, and even character collector, this is the one to go with if you want more game than story. Still has the great music and he fantastical art style and setting. Add to that a lot of side activities like beating rare monsters, collecting cute creatures to help you in battle, and even going around the world to gather people to help you build your kingdom. You'll never be short on things to do.
Finally, both of them have beautifully draw world that is just a pleasure to walkthrough, made even better with the amazing orchestral soundtrack.

[Star Ocean The Second Story R]

The original PS1 game was already an amazing JRPG and a classic. But this remake takes it to go even further beyond SSJ3. It should be the standard on how to make a faithful remake on of a classic title.
I don't want to overhype it more than I already did. So to keep this short, this remake does so much:

• All major story events are now fully voice acted. This includes a lot of the private actions too.
  
• Fully redone and better translation of the game.
  
• New Character to recruit to the party.
  
• New Private Actions and 13 new Endings.
  
• New character portraits, not just for the main cast, but also for many other characters.
  
• A complete rework for the battle system to be up to modern standards.
  
• So many QoL features:
  
  • Auto-saving
  • Fast-forward cut-scenes or skip them.
  • Text log
  • All difficulties can be accessed from the start
  • Fast travel
  • 3 different voice dubbing options to choose from (New English, Original Japanese, New Japanese)
  • Your choice of different art styles
  • Choose between original OST and new rearranged OST.
  • No random battles anymore, as enemies can be seen and avoided

And believe me when I say I still haven't touched half of the amazing work that has gone into this remake.

[Sword and Fairy 7: Together Forever]

They did a great job with the presentation of the game. Great voice acting (Chinese), great graphics, amazing music, and an impressive attention to details of the world and it's lore, especially the engineering of the buildings and their decor. Then you have the really beautiful design of each piece of gear, and even just normal attire of each NPC and the disciples of each sect or soldiers of each of the different of each plane (gods, humans, demons).
Then we go to how great looking the monsters and local flora and fauna of each realm. You can feel the intense work that has gone into making and animating each of them. It really is a joy to watch them, as much as it is to watch each environment you see them in. There really isn't enough time to talk about how good the presentation is.
As for the story. First off, I am not an expert in Chinese novels mythology, but I am a big fan of Xianxia and Wuxia novels. So when I say that the story is...good but nothing great, I am saying this as more than just a JRPG fan, but also someone who is very into this type of world and Chinese martial arts fantasy setting. it's nothing that will stick in your mind, apart from the events that take place in some of the beautiful set pieces in the game, or the cut-scenes with beautiful action cheoragphy.
The gameplay is also about average. The side-quests are fun and are worth doing if nothing more than for learning more about the lore and the world. But the actual battles and action gameplay isn't as good as the best ones out there, but it's not bad. I have ran into some bugs, some small, some big, but that was when the game just came out, and it did receive a lot of patches since then. You can tell that they aimed to make a huge triple A production, but didn't have the time or manpower to test a game of this size. It's still fun to play and experience, but the level of gameplay is nowhere near the level of the presentation that the game gives the impression of having just from watching the gameplay or trailers.
If you enjoy walking through magical and fantastic looking JRPG worlds, or if you enjoy Xianxia/Wuxia fiction, then this is an easy choice. Hell even if you don't, it's still worth a go at this price.

[Blue Dragon] & [Lost Odyssey]

These two are classic titles that will probably won't be ported to or remade to modern consoles. That's why this might be the last way you'll ever get to experience 2 classic titles of the genre. Lost Odyssey has great story writing and unique character settings, and Blue Dragon has great exploration and a really fun character class customization system, and one hell of a boss theme.

[Monster Sanctuary]

This is a solid game, everything in is polished and balanced to make sure you are having fun collecting new monsters and customizing your team through evolution/skill trees/gear and making the best in-sync party you can. I only wish it was longer, it's not short by any means, but it's not long either. I would say depending on if you're trying to "catch them all" and explore everything and fight all bosses, this could easily be a 30+ hours game, but if you focus on the story, then it's about 20 to 30 hours. Now even longer with the 2 new free DLC expansion added.
Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining that it's short, but that I was having so much fun, that I wish it didn't end.

As always, please do add your own recommendations, and let me know if there is mistake or if something was missing, and have a nice day.

Hi everyone,
I'm working on a 2D side-scrolling game in Godot 4.2.2 and I'm encountering a strange issue with my player character. When I press the shoot button ("F"), my character performs a short dash forward instead of just firing a bullet.
Here's some relevant information:

• Player Script:
  • "Shift" key is used for dashing.
  • "F" key is used for shooting.
  • Script includes separate logic for handling movement, dashing, and shooting.
  • Code checks for is_on_floor before applying dash velocity.

Player Script: https://pastebin.com/7Be2Xwbf

• Bullet Script:
  • Basic bullet functionality with launch direction and collision handling.
• Collision Masks:
  • Player - Layer 2, Mask 1
  • Bullet - Layer 1, Mask 2 (prevents collisions with player)

Bullet Script: https://pastebin.com/1YkrxbRz
Troubleshooting Steps Taken:

• Verified separate input assignments for dash and shoot.
• Added a print statement to check velocity.x before shooting (shows velocity.x is 0).
• Reviewed code for unintended movement caused by other scripts.

Current Hypothesis:
Based on the debugging steps, the issue likely doesn't stem from a residual movement when firing. Maybe it's input events? Less likely, but there might be a discrepancy in how the "dash" functionality handles input events compared to the "shoot" button.
Request for Help:
I'd appreciate any insights or suggestions on how to resolve this unintended dash behavior. If you need any additional code snippets or details, feel free to ask!

I have been working on a computational biology paper for over 3 years. In my first year of working on it with a postdoc, I found that the model is saturated and it is very difficult to improve the model, I have told my supervisor repeatedly regarding this. However, he still wanted to keep exploring things and because he did not believe in me, he added another PhD student to the project. In this field, independent validation (a test set not used to tune the model at all) is important, so my supervisor created a system where we don’t have labels when we test our models. Also, although we held the test dataset’s label, he tested it on his own repeatedly secretly without my supervisor’s knowledge and he claims that his model is better in a certain aspect compared to my proposed model (it is actually just because he could test himself and parameter tune the model).
In the end, he proposed that we “combine” his model with mine to have a better model in all aspects. When we finalized the model, I found out that his dataset was easier and our validation split was not correlated at all with the test set and he never told this to anyone. I thought there was no reason to combine the model because my model applied to a new dataset also yielded the same performance as his model. I could also parameter-tune my model and get it all done in 10 minutes. So, the ‘combine’ model was not done in good faith and diluted my contribution/credit. I was arguing vocally about combining the model and kept pointing out that the new dataset is easier and different than the old one, so we were not comparing Apple to Apple. To be fair, I was probably too critical, tactless and vocal about this. I was quite mad that he cheated and never told me the new dataset was easier and the validation was not correlated. My supervisor doesn’t know at this point that he cheated. The problem is the Ph.D. student and the postdoc kept saying that the dataset was the same. I tried to prove that the dataset was easier and got similar performance as the combined model on the new dataset easily; however, the postdoc was mad at me because I pretty much proved that the dataset that he generated was wrong and he rushed through finalizing the model with the Ph.D. without debugging the dataset. The PhD student also kept saying the dataset was the same (pretty much lying at this point). My supervisor didn’t believe me because these two people kept saying the dataset was the same and my supervisor kept cutting me off while I kept pointing out that the dataset was different. The postdoc also took my model without my consent and ran away with it with the Ph.D. to finalize the paper.
So, after the model was finalized, I tried to reproduce some of the Ph.D. student results and couldn't. When I said that I couldn’t reproduce some of the results, my supervisor was mad at me even though the Ph.D. student himself could not reproduce the result afterward. I guess he thought that I was the one making things up because the Ph.D. student is actually really hard-working. He pretty much tries everything that is possible (even though he and I know it is going to fail and doesn’t make sense). Then, on one-on-one meeting, I told my supervisor that the Ph.D. student cheated and tested the independent validation on himself multiple times. My supervisor didn’t seem to believe me and excluded me from the project afterward.
After I was excluded, I managed to prove that objectively the dataset is different. The exact same model applies to these datasets yielding two different results and on the new dataset, my old model performs just as well without combining the model. I also managed to propose a better model than the current “combined” model and he did not allow me to submit my model. I also gave a picture proof to my supervisor that the Ph.D. could test on the test set himself. However, the Ph.D. student still insists on submitting his “combined” model despite he added a lot of stuff that is not even working and may get us rejected.
Then when the paper was about to be submitted, I just knew that my second author authorship was turned into a third authorship and the Ph.D. became a cofirst despite I had worked one year earlier than him. I did not write the manuscript because I was excluded - honestly, I thought it was pretty silly to add things that are not working to the paper with the same performance. I don’t know why the manuscript is allowed to be submitted in the first place.
What would be the course of action here? I am not happy that my contribution becomes a third-author contribution especially since the model is pretty much the main contribution of the paper and not the biology. I am lacking in biology, preprocessing data, etc, but we use the same biological features as other papers so they are not novel. I found that I gave away the paper to the Ph.D. for free because he added nonsense to the paper. The papers ultimately get rejected because of his addition (which is not reproducible and does not improve the model in the first place). And he doesn’t allow me to submit my new model. Now, the paper pretty much reverts back to my old model and it was reverted back and submitted behind my back.
My solution is to allow me to submit my new model so that I can get a cofirst but my supervisor does not allow me to submit my model. I am pretty sure this is because the PhD wants it to be the "next version" so that he can be the first first author since it is his real project instead of helping the postdoc on this project. However, I am not keen on the next version since we cannot even improve the current version after 2.5 years of trying and my model was taken away without my consent. My supervisor asked the first first author for me to be the first author but he voted no because the Phd students had taken over and I got excluded so I could not take over. And I feel that the whole fiasco happened because he did not generate the dataset properly, now my authorship got relegated because of he did not do his responsibility well and ran away with my model without my consent. Can I actually vote no or withdraw my model from the paper? Since it is my intellectual property, I feel that I can be a first author using my model on another paper instead of sharing the model as a third author. I honestly want to use the paper & authorship for my Ph.D. application and my PI kept saying that we were going to submit it soon, but he never submits the paper. I feel that I cannot keep delaying my career because of this.
Now it seems that the PhD is the one who lost credibility.. when he presented his ideas, my advisor sort of reminded him that what he proposed did not work and he could even not reproduce his own result.. so I guess I gain back my credibility. What could I have done better? What should I have done better? I need some specific feedbacks. I feel that I need to be more tactful and diplomatic and become better and conflict resolution. On the other hand, the PhD is blattanly dishonest and lying even to my supervisor's face convincingly, so it also contributes to the problem as well. Should I work with the Phd again just to keep the professional relationship? or should I work in another project? I am sometimes afraid his work has too much shenanigans and he cannot even reproduce his own result.
I need some feedback to improve myself!

I'll explain why and how the fight started. Please tell me if I am in the wrong or if I should apologise and get back together.
The story:
I took a break from working for like a couple months. Since I am "free", my partner wants me to spend time with them mostly and wants all my attention. We have been going out for almost a year now.
So, we hang out for like 8 hours a day (my partner works from home). Once I get back home, they will facetime me after dinner and we talk until we sleep. But I don't get to do anything I want to.
They usually don't like me spending time with my friends. We have gotten into a lot of arguments cuz I'm on call with my friends while they try to call.
The actual conflict:
My friend had her birthday a week ago. I don't hang out with my friends that often cuz I am always with my partner. So, my friends made this birthday party plan a month prior to get everyone on board. This plan wasn't even a full day plan. It was like a half day plan and we'd get home in the evening.
When we go out with friends, we usually don't know what we're gonna do. We make plans as we go. So, We didn't make a detailed plan. We just knew we're going to the beach. That's it.
So, I told my partner about this and they were okay. But on the day I was supposed to go to the party, they started asking me questions about where we are going, what we'll be doing and everything.
Them asking questions was not a problem for me. I answered everything. But they felt as if I did not want to share that information to them and that's why I didn't tell them myself.
When I told them we don't know what we'd be doing, they were like, "you just don't wanna share it with me. It's fine. You made the plan anyway right?". I did not make the plan. And when I tried to prove it to them that we did not have a solid plan that day. They did not even want to hear me out.
My partner clearly did not want me to go. So, I texted the birthday girl that I won't be joining them. She understood that my partner is that way.
Meanwhile, my partner and I started screaming at each other. One thing led to another and finally when they said "dont cancel your plans for me, go, be with your awesome friends".
I got fed up. My friends have been with me for over 10 years. They understand what type of situation I'm in. You still pull their leg in our fight?
I just told them "my friends are awesome whether you like it or not". That's it. They slammed a chair against the wall.
I was frustrated and was done with this shit. I just told them that we're breaking up and left.
I did not know where to go. I wanted to cry. My parents were at my home. I haven't told them about my partner. So, I called my friend and asked if could come over
She was getting ready to go out. I went there, cried for more than an hour. And my friend said "look, you have been crying for so long. They haven't tried to call or text you at all. They blocked you on insta. Enough is enough. Come with us"
So, I went with them to the beach. Meanwhile, my partner started calling me. I was with the friends of the birthday girl. So, I didn't answer the call cuz I know my partner would scream at me. And I was not ready for that call infront of strangers.
They kept calling me non stop and when I finally answered. They told me they were waiting outside my house. When I told them I came with my friends they started yelling, screaming, cursing.
I took my stance and told them it's over. But they still kept calling and told me that they are the only one fighting for this relationship. They started to self harm themselves and that made me leave my friends and book a cab to their place.
Even while I was on the cab they still called me names. Asked me not to come. They said " took you long enough to leave your awesome friends and look at me"
After a while I couldn't take it anymore and i just went straight home.
Then, they got even angry and pulled up outside my house. Remember, my parents came to visit. So, they were Standing outside. I asked them to come in and have a convo, they refused. My mom and dad came out and invited them in. They still refused.
They told me, "you went out to the beach with your friends right? I want you to come to the beach with me right now". (P.s. it was 10pm at the time)
I didn't go. And it made them even mad. They started cussing and said I prioritise my friends over them.
This fight happened for about 30 mins before they left. Then we didn't speak for a while.
After few days, we made up. They told me that I don't love them enough and constantly compared me to their ex's.
Yesterday, they found an insta reel that my friend posted of that day in the beach. I didn't tell them about it cuz I didn't want to start a fight again. We both knew that this topic brought conflict. My partner saw the reel and said "I was miserable that day and you had fun???"
I was miserable that day too. The girls at the party who I barely knew also were asking me if something was wrong or if they could help. I actually ruined their party. I was crying. Always on the phone with my partner cuz they kept on calling.
But my partner now thinks I have betrayed them while they stayed loyal cuz they've never been loyal to any of their ex's. They tell me I have never been grateful of them. That I was enjoying while they were miserable trying to hurt themself.
I did try to have a conversation about this. But they won't understand my side of the story.
And when I told them I can't keep coming to their place every single day cuz I need to take care of some stuff. They flip out saying "you be with your family. You be with your awesome friends. Don't ever come to me. Why do you need me anyway"
When I facetimed them today, they faced the camera to the wall and never spoke a word. And finally, they sent a text saying that they will stop everything they did for me. And left a good bye message.
Now, back to the question:
Please tell me if I am in the wrong or if I should apologise and get back together????

Link to AO3
chapters 1&2
chapter 3
chapter 4
chapter 5
chapter 6
chapter 7
chapter 8
chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
The Academy looked normal enough from the distance but blew Gentry’s mind when she finally entered it. First of all, the way in lay through a massive winter garden full of the most luxurious botanical collection she’s ever seen. Not only that, but it seemed to be arranged in a way that offered spaces for hanging out as well as paths in and out. Here and there, G noticed little nooks with people’s voices coming from them and small murmuring streams gleamed in the sun that blazed through the transparent walls and roof. This place looked magical and invited to stay, enjoy the refreshing coolness and peace of mind. But Gentry had a good enough rest in her communal room the night before and was eager to start working on her first assignment that the System had spat out with a congratulating letter. Figuring out the controls of her new wristcomm was simple enough.
DEAR GENTRY!
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU ARE THE FIRST CONTESTANT TO CLEAR ALL CHALLENGES AND OBTAIN THE STATUS OF AN ASHTAPADAN NEWCOMER! YOUR MEDICAL DATA HAS BEEN ANALYSED AND FOUND ACCEPTABLE.
IN THE ATTACHMENT TO THIS LETTER YOU WILL FIND A LIST OF RULES, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IDEAS THAT WILL DEFINITELY HELP YOU IN THE FIRST WEEKS IN OUR BEAUTIFUL CITY BUT WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND FINDING A BUDDY THAT WOULD BE YOUR MAIN GUIDE AND POTENTIALLY A NEW GREAT FRIEND! IT CAN BE ANY CITIZEN OR A MORE EXPERIENCED NEWCOMER.
YOUR CURRENT POINTS: 0
WHY NOT START EARNING SOME WITH YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT?
START ANY BEGINNER COURSE AT THE ACADEMY AND KEEP YOUR ATTENDANCE RATE OVER 80% — WORTH 50 POINTS
(OPTIONAL) FIND SOMEBODY WHO IS WILLING TO BECOME YOUR BUDDY — WORTH 20 POINTS
Without stopping to check if the vending machines offered anything good, G made her way through the dreamy garden and entered the inner yard that looked just like everything here: nothing too eye-catching at first glance but secrets hidden everywhere.
One thing she had already noticed was that most of the people had another piece of technology on their bodies besides the comm on their wrists: a sort of extendable visor that some of them kept engaged at all times. Those who were focused on the screen had a comical look on their faces, a thousand-mile stare, eyes wide even as they were talking to each other or going about their business. It was unclear yet why they would engage the screen for so long though. No one needed this much time to read a notification or check a map.
Take a group of young students by the fountain, for example. They seemed deep in conversation with each other yet their pupils didn’t focus on the person in front, but on the translucent screen over the top part of their faces. Was it some kind of virtual reality helmet?
If so, G needed one, too.
Perhaps she’d be able to make new friends this way.
There was something else that caught Gentry’s eye. Despite her initial disappointment about the severe lack of male hotness in the streets, people of both sexes seemed to really care about their appearance. Even those who probably weren’t naturally stunning were very interesting to look at not least because of the crazy fashion sense everyone here had. Never before had G seen so much variety in what everyone wore: countless variations on different national garments, some looking very traditional, like something one could see in a theatre, some — futuristic uniforms straight out of a sci-fi movie. It didn’t seem like anyone was concerned with gender norms here, too. At least in when it came to the outfits.
G hoped she didn’t look like a creepy stalker when her gaze lingered on a pair of very nicely shaped legs stretching from underneath a plaid skirt that belonged to a young man in the group sat by the edge of the water. A pair of snow-white knee-highs, flat loafers and neat raven hair with some blue streaks completed the image. His clothes fit him very well and weren’t inappropriate in the least: something an old money university student would wear.
A female student that is.
And he wasn’t alone. Here and there, among more conventionally dressed people, there were people wearing all sorts of things: a crazy mix of goth-like apparel but barefoot, men and women with heads covered with scarves, people in strange jewelery that looked like it weighed a ton and so on. Most importantly, no one seemed to care what the others looked like.
Was it paradise? Looks like the demo didn’t lie: it was heaven on earth.
The young man in the middle of the student gaggle caught her staring after all. With a dazzling smile, he waved in her direction as if they were great friends, and G waved back, face heating, hoping there wasn’t anyone behind her this tease was actually waving at. Thank god his shoes weren’t heeled, otherwise she would definitely have a heart attack right here, in the middle of the common area, on her first day.
Did he notice her ogling his legs? Judging by the giggles of his friend's entourage, they all did. The young flirt covered his mouth, eyes wide in mock indignation and pulled his knees in, as if hiding them from the improper attention, getting even more laughter from the rest of the company. G averted her eyes and tried to calm her breathing as she was on her way through the yard again, but before they all disappeared from her field of view, she noticed the coquette stretch his legs again and fall back on a friend of his, embracing the lucky man’s neck in an affectionate gesture, already forgetting G existed.
There was no way she wasn’t going to make some pretty boy do the same for her. Forget the assignment, put that in the list of her top priorities!
At first, Gentry was lost when she failed to find any kind of class schedule and there was no one to ask at the reception desk.
Why have a reception desk if nobody’s on duty?
Soon, however, it occurred to her that there was no schedule: each room within the wide marble corridors had a small display with a handwritten message scribbled on it.
Bachata for beginners
Product engineering (Tuesday class cancelled)
Colloidal chemistry (revision today)
None of these were the Communications course that Jey was talking about, but the variety definitely made G’s eyebrows go up.
Was she just supposed to barge into any class and sign up? Did she have to sign up later if she liked the subject? Was it ok to choose any?
After some wandering around, too scared to just walk in uninvited or ask others for directions, she finally stumbled across the door saying:
Communication & decision making course (Newcomers welcome)
With the desks arranged in a horseshoe and the people of various ages that were also apparently Newcomers, it all seemed comfortably casual. Everyone was chatting as she walked in, paying G no mind so she busied herself with the wristcomm that dinged at exactly the right time to save her the embarrassment of looking for a desk.
Would you like to enroll in this course? Scroll down to read the description.
Was this damn thing a spying device? Did it just know which room she was in? Jey didn’t joke when she said the little thing was going to be her primary aid!
“Are you looking for somewhere to sit?” called a young red-haired woman at one of the paired desks. “Here, this one is free.” She had the auglasses on, like everyone else, but they were off, showing her lively face and a pair of sharp green eyes.
“Thanks,” G said, gratefully taking the offer. “I’m new here, don’t know how things work yet.”
“It’s alright, the course is very engaging, you’ll love it.” — the woman held out a hand — “I’m Sereen, what’s your name?”
G shook the warm palm. “It’s Gentry. And by new I mean I’m new to Ashtapada, not just the course. Literally arrived yesterday.”
“Really?” — S looked surprised — “Everything must be very confusing!”
“You have no idea,” G smiled. “I’m glad someone understands. Everyone’s friendly but acts as if giant mechanical dogs in the streets and a moss garden in the lobby are the most normal things ever.”
“Don’t worry, I was just like you when I first arrived, you’ll get the hang of it soon.”
“Hope so! Is that the lecturer?”
“Shhh...”
Just like everything else in Ashtapada, the lecture started out normal enough only to unfold into something completely alien to how things were normally done.
Apparently, the Communications course involved learning rationality, debating, logic, etiquette and god knew what else. It was supposed to give the future citizens tools to, well, communicate. G was given a booklet with some ground rules for beginners that included entries that sounded like something Sun Tzu would say if he studied debating instead of warcraft.
“The purpose of any argument is not to win it and not to change the other disputant’s mind. It’s to find the truth.”
“Always argue in good faith.”
“Don’t attack your opponent.”
“If attacked, dismiss the attack as if it didn’t happen.”
Well, hopefully, it only meant verbal attacks! G knew too well that when it came to physical violence, it was hard to ignore it.
Most of the rules looked straightforward enough, some were confusing.
“Seek challenge to your convictions. Avoid echo chambers.”
“Don’t seek being right.”
“Be mindful of your audience including yourself.”
“Avoid “Empty arguments” that don’t bring everyone closer to the goal of finding the truth.”
The lecturer, a willowy man of about sixty that drowned in his tweed jacket, started the class with a bit of small talk with the regulars after distributing the booklets to all first-timers. He made sure to give it to G face down so that his photo under the “About the author” title didn’t go unnoticed. He also made most of the “talk” part himself.
“I never took part in a debate,” G told Sereen, who was patiently waiting for the class to begin. “And never seen anything like these rules. Is it actually useful?”
“Oh, believe me, professor Poe will be ecstatic to talk to you about them. He can’t not start discussing his subject at the slightest provocation. Look.” — she raised her hand — “Professor, how was your weekend?”
The man wearily smiled. “That might seem like a meaningless question, Sereen, but it’s actually very much related to the topic we are going to cover today.”
“See?” — S raised her eyebrows with a suppressed smile. G giggled. This promised to be interesting.
“Our friend Sereen is a very polite person, isn’t she?” — Poe smiled at the class but his eyes glided over everyone’s faces, gaze turned inwards like he was reading an invisible text written on the walls. “But as kind as she is, I don’t think she’s actually interested in how my weekend went. Small talk is just a social custom we engage in to strengthen our social relations. Why don’t we just start a day by saying “Hi! I value our relationship and would like to fulfill my societal role!” to everyone we know? I would definitely prefer THAT over the small talk! He-he!”
The audience laughed politely. The guy seemed alright.
“However, just as we use different tools to fulfill this role in different contexts, so can the context of a logical problem steer our thinking towards a rational, that is, right, and an irrational, that is, wrong, answer.”
“Well, that’s not a given,” Gentry mumbled under her breath but it went unnoticed by S, who was already immersed in the lecture.
“Consider the famous René Descartes’s quote "Cogito, ergo sum". Who can translate it from Latin?” — the board behind the thin, almost transparent man glowed, displaying the words.
“Is it really a Beginner’s course?” G asked Sereen in a low voice but her companion was already raising her hand, together with a dozen other students.
“I think, therefore I am,” she said after a curt nod of the lecturer’s permission.
“Very good,” he continued, pleased. “I taught you well. Those of you who attend my lectures regularly are familiar with the notion of solipsism, which states that the only thing we can be sure about is our own thoughts.”
Gentry looked at S with raised eyebrows.
If this is an introductory course, what was the advanced like?
Sereen didn’t seem to perplexed. She was fully following the thread.
“However,” professor Poe said. “I am going to challenge that notion by demonstrating that we can’t trust our own mind when it comes to perceiving reality.”
He looked at the audience with a quizzical eye, and pointed at Gentry with a long bony finger “You, new girl. I want you to close your eyes.”
Why her?
Gentry was only happy to hide behind her eyelids. No doubt the whole room was now staring at her.
Through the blood rushing in her ears, she heard the old man’s voice, “Who was sitting beside you before you closed your eyes?”
“My new friend Sereen,” G answered and heard a little gasp of appreciation from the woman.
“So you know she existed as long as you two were whispering behind my back. However, now that you can’t see or hear her. How do you know she exists?”
“Well, I can reach with my hand and touch her,” Gentry said, demonstrating.
“Yes, this is what most people answer,” Poe said. “You can open your eyes now. But let me ask you this: how would you know it was her, an not some other person that took her place?”
Gentry’s intuition was right: everyone was staring, as if waiting for her answer.
“Well, I suppose— ”
“Hush, it was a rhetorical question,” the professor cut her off. “The correct answer is that you can’t know that. We think we can trust our senses or at least our thoughts, but this is also false. Everyone, look out of the window.”
Everyone did.
The day was as fine as Gentry was annoyed.
What did this pops think of himself?
“I’d ask what you see, but I already know the answer,” he went on. “All of you would say “the sky”. And all of you would be wrong, because sky doesn’t exist. We only see the endless emptiness of the outer space, but perceive it as a blue dome. It’s an illusion, a phantom, born out of our collective unconscious.”
Sereen whispered, lost in the lecture, “Ah, yes, Carl Jung.”
What?
Was it supposed to be obvious?
“But listen to this,” he continued, voice booming like a demiurge’s in the completely silent room. “Listen to this. How many words is it? Listentothis. Our common sense says it’s three words while in reality it’s just a string of sounds I an producing with my mouth. I am literally making you hallucinate the spaces between the words I’m saying. With knowing that our perception is so flawed, how can we know that we even know how to think?”
“I’m sorry, professor, I disagr...” G started but got struck down by his serrated gaze.
“I’ll invite questions at the end, young miss,” he chopped out.
Sereen’s eyes were sympathetic. It looked like most if not all of professor Poe’s students had learned not to interrupt him.
He went on, “Anyway, the fact that you even understand what I am saying is in itself incredible and shouldn’t be possible.”
“But it IS possible, right?” G whispered to Sereen. “I mean, aren’t we understanding this as he speaks?”
“PLEASE refrain from talking unless asked!” professor Poe roared.
Impressive lung capacity for such a frail human being!
G begrudgingly did as she was told. The guy seemed to be enjoying this power trip a bit too much to her taste.
“Now, since most of you,” he put some emphasis on the word to shut up another pair of whispering students. “Most of you think you comprehend my words, you must know that there is a way to tell that something is real, even though we can’t rely on our senses for perception. I’m giving you a minute to discuss with your partners what it might be.”
G considered it. She and Sereen exchanged equally confused glances.
Like a dutiful student, S started summarising Poe’s arguments but Gentry listened with only half an ear. She felt that behind all this over-thinking was a clear and simple answer.
She watched the professor walk along the aisles, tuning into one or another conversation before leaving each with a smug head shake of disapproval.
What was there to think about? Even if they didn’t see the world precisely as it was, something was definitely real, right? The chair she felt under her buttocks, the air around, the low murmur of the students. The annoying professor that… looked a little too translucent.
Gentry waited for the man to approach their desks and tune into Sereen’s musings. As he came so near they could reach out and touch him, Gentry did just that.
To her utter shock, her hand went through the old jacket and sent a wave of static over the professor’s figure, his whole form glitching and flickering.
Professor Poe was a hologram!
Unable to help herself, Gentry said, “No wonder you don’t think anything is real, Professor, you are hardly real yourself!”
The whole roomful of people stared, transfixed, at the surreal scene of a student’s arm disappearing into the teacher’s abdomen.
Gentry looked back at Sereen in search of support.
Was it laughter in her eyes?
Poe’s blood drained from his face, the mouth slacked open, twitching as if trying to form some words, but none came out.
Sereen chimed in, “You never told us you were a simulation, Professor.”
“Out!” Poe gritted lowly so that no one really heard him.
“I’m sorry?” G asked, innocently.
“Out of my class!” he exploded, jumping out of Gentry’s reach with an enraged grimace. “I am as real as you are!”
G stood up and looked at her hand then back at Professor Poe.
How much rage could storm in those watery eyes?
Then, she winked at her new friend.
“Let’s go then, shall we?” she said.
Sereen looked lost for a second, her eyes darting pack and forth between Gentry and Poe. Then, her gaze seemed to cloud a little, as if she retreated into her own head, but when she resurfaced, she nodded with a mischievous smile.
Both young women left the room, the classmates’ sympathetic silence and Poe’s angry seething seeing them off.
***
“What a way to start my first day,” Gentry said. “My hands are still trembling a bit.”
She and S were calming their nerves in the green winter garden, the soothing sound of the little running streamlet at their feet a welcome distraction.
“Believe it or not, his course is actually quite useful,” Sereen laughed. “Who would have thought the old Poe is actually not human? I guess we never thought of poking him in the stomach before. This is going to be the talk of the Academy for the next month or so!”
“Is it? I feel bad now. I guess I’m not getting any points for attending this lecture, right?” — Gentry checked her wristcomm — “It says “zero progress” and something else… ad.. Honi… adhonim…”
Sereen laughed, “Yeah, you adhominem’ed good old Poe, no wonder you got zero credit!”
“What does it mean?”
“You’ve seen the rules of learning and discourse, right?” S said. “There are no-nos, things that aren’t allowed, especially when it comes to Rationality classes and the like. Ad Hominem means an attack on the speaker, not their argument. It isn’t exactly what you did, but I guess it’s the closest thing!”
“Ad Hominem, huh,” G said. “Well, I guess I deserve it then. Thanks for standing by me.”
If it wasn’t for Sereen, G wasn’t sure she would be going to return to the Academy any time soon!
“You just chose a wrong course as your first class, G,” — no doubt about that! — “But another lecturer who works here is much more open-minded and he also teaches Rationality. I think you’ll enjoy him more than our old Poe. His next class is in a couple of days. Wanna come?”
***
DEAR GENTRY!
CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING AN OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT! 20 POINTS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO YOUR STATUS COUNTER.

Morning of day 6 caffeine-free.
Last night I tried sleeping without any sleeping medication, as the last two nights I realized they were putting me out extremely quickly. Fell asleep quickly, had some broken sleep but no long wake-ups!
I felt very fatigued yesterday at work. I think this morning I feel about the same.
This morning for the first time in my adult life, I touched my face and thought “My skin is dry!?” I’ve always had oily-type skin since I can remember. On day 3/4 I felt like my hair and skin got super greasy for a short time but then stopped. I hope this continues?
Finally, I am still enjoying how my mind is moving much slower. I’m less reactive and irritable.
This experience is already making me seriously question my adolescence when I started drinking coffee, and thinking about not encouraging my children to develop the habit for as long as I can. Until now I was letting them share my coffee, thinking nothing of it.

I plan on ending it in ~30 years, or when I become a burden on my friends and family.
Preface:
I know and understand I am extremely privileged. I’ve always had supportive parents and a safe place/roof over my head. I’ve faced hardships, but they’re a far cry from what others have dealt/are dealing with.
Context dump:
I grew up in a middle class family in England, born of two working class parents that managed to achieve a decent amount of social mobility and provide a comfortable childhood for my siblings and I. We weren’t spoiled in a material sense. We all went to local state schools, never had the latest games consoles, designer clothes, or ate fancy food. My parents chose to spoil us with experiences and travel, getting the opportunity to see the world and have a go at different activities.
I was gifted when it came to academics and flew through school in all the top classes, however choked when I got to my final years. As a result the university I went to wasn’t all that great. This along side other factors such as experimenting with drugs, developing an eating disorder and getting myself into a very toxic relationship (my ‘first love’) started my depression. When covid hit I dropped out and moved back home.
My depression persisted and got worse. I contemplated suicide frequently, however always knew it was never really something I’d go through with, at least not yet. In the meantime I started working in hospitality in my hometown, developing two major passions, music and craft beer. In total I spent 2 years saving money, developing my passions and trying to ignore my depressive thoughts.
Where I am now:
For the last two years I’ve been living in a major city in England. I have a great job working 40 hours a week in a craft beer pub and can pay my own way with a little left over to save each month. In my free time I go and enjoy the music scene and listen to the Djs I love mix live, and (safely/infrequently) taking drugs to enhance the experience. I have a beautiful, kind, hilarious girlfriend that I have a great relationship with. I’m attempting to put myself out there with Djing myself, in the hopes of playing clubs one day. Right know I feel relatively content, proud of myself for striking out on my own and building a life for myself, and living %100 independently.
I’m really not trying to brag, I’ve had a privileged upbringing and I know that. But I would like to make a list of things to help get across this sense that I’ve already lead a full life and would be okay if it ended tomorrow.
I’ve visited 10 different countries in 4 different continents. I’ve tried sailing, skiing, kayaking, rock climbing, horse riding and sky diving. I’ve gone camping in -10 degrees weather. I’ve helped build living facilities (laying bricks) for orphans in South Africa. Performed my own original poetry for a room of 50 people. I’ve felt some of the most intense euphoria it’s possible to feel, in unison with another person I love to the ends of the earth.
I’ve also seen extremely low lows, contemplated suicide and confronted my own mortality. I’ve shoplifted. Hurt peoples feelings. Lied for my own benefit. I’ve felt real heartbreak and mourned close family members. I’ve experienced high levels of self hatred/inadequacy and projected those feelings on my loved ones negatively impacting them. All things I regret, but contribute to my life feeling ‘full’.
The controversial bit:
As a result of all this, coupled with my depression, I plan on killing myself when I start becoming a burden on others. The exact nature of my depression is also crucial to this. I believe that my existence itself is to some extent immoral. To make it actually moral would involve moving somewhere I can live entirely independently, which would sadly involve effectively cutting off my friends and family. The way the modern world is structured means that there is always some from of exploitation involved in the goods I consume, and I as a consumer contribute to this exploitation. I’ve come to terms with it for the meantime. I will only start to really plan the end of my life once my parents are gone. It would cause them too much grief if I were to leave before they do.
I’ve been considering this since I was about 16. Reading moral philosophy since 15. I’m going to strive to improve the lives of those around me, be kind and helpful and do right by people for the next 30 years or so and then seek out the most reasonable way to end my life.
My girlfriend knows about these plans. She is understanding and supportive.
Thanks for reading.

Number 100:

1.Balanced Exploration: Signifies exploration, adaptability, and seeking equilibrium.The Knight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing reliability, diligence, and practicality. 2. The Page of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card embodying creativity, intuitive exploration, and emotional sensitivity. 3. Creative Intuition: Reflects artistic expression, intuitive exploration, and creative potential. 4. Emotional Curiosity: Symbolizes curiosity, emotional depth, and imaginative creativity. 5. Exploring New Emotions: Embodies emotional exploration, creative inspiration, and sensitivity.

Number 90:

1. Balanced Vision: Signifies a well-rounded vision, completeness, and achieving balance.
2. The Knight of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing assertive action, determination, and swift movements.
3. Swift Action: Reflects decisive action, determination, and assertive behavior.
4. Assertive Communication: Symbolizes clear communication, directness, and swift decision-making.
5. Active Pursuit: Embodies quick thinking, adaptability, and focused determination.

Number 91:

1. Harmonious Growth: Signifies growth, expansion, and creating a harmonious environment.
2. The Queen of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing clear communication, independence, and intellectual maturity.
3. Intellectual Clarity: Reflects clear thinking, independence, and intellectual maturity.
4. Balanced Judgment: Symbolizes fairness, intellectual maturity, and clear-sightedness.
5. Assertive Authority: Embodies clear communication, intellectual strength, and assertive guidance.

Number 92:

1. Stable Leadership: Signifies stable leadership, practicality, and vision.
2. The King of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card representing visionary leadership, boldness, and entrepreneurial spirit.
3. Visionary Leadership: Reflects influential leadership, boldness, and entrepreneurship.
4. Creative Authority: Symbolizes innovative thinking, leadership in creative ventures, and a visionary approach.
5. Entrepreneurial Spirit: Embodies pioneering mindset, leadership skills, and a visionary outlook.

Number 93:

1. Transformational Change: Signifies radical changes, growth, and dynamic shifts.
2. The Five of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing financial hardship, isolation, and seeking help.
3. Overcoming Adversity: Reflects challenging times, seeking assistance, and perseverance.
4. Recovery from Struggles: Symbolizes resilience, seeking support, and rebuilding after hardships.
5. Adapting to Change: Embodies resilience, overcoming difficulties, and seeking stability.

Number 94:

1. Adaptive Partnerships: Signifies adaptable relationships, cooperation, and flexibility.
2. The Six of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying transition, moving on, and mental healing.
3. Moving Forward: Reflects transitions, leaving behind difficulties, and seeking peace.
4. Mental Healing: Symbolizes mental clarity, emotional peace, and healing from past issues.
5. Transition to Stability: Embodies moving towards peace, seeking resolutions, and finding tranquility.

Number 95:

1. Intuitive Exploration: Signifies intuitive insights, exploration, and heightened awareness.
2. The Seven of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card representing challenges, standing firm, and defending beliefs.
3. Defending Beliefs: Reflects standing your ground, overcoming challenges, and defending principles.
4. Courageous Stand: Symbolizes resilience, determination, and facing opposition with courage.
5. Spiritual Fortitude: Embodies inner strength, resilience, and defending spiritual values.

Number 96:

1. Balanced Adaptation: Signifies adaptability, harmony, and maintaining balance amid change.
2. The Eight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing dedication, skill-building, and craftsmanship.
3. Dedicated Efforts: Reflects focused work, dedication, and skill enhancement.
4. Skill Development: Symbolizes honing talents, focused learning, and mastering skills.
5. Steady Progress: Embodies consistent effort, skill improvement, and dedicated craftsmanship.

Number 97:

1. Spiritual Exploration: Signifies spiritual growth, exploration, and inner enlightenment.
2. The Nine of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying anxiety, worry, and mental distress.
3. Overcoming Anxiety: Reflects inner turmoil, worry, and seeking peace of mind.
4. Mental Relief: Symbolizes seeking calmness, alleviating worries, and finding mental solace.
5. Inner Healing: Embodies emotional stability, mental peace, and healing from distress.

Number 98:

1. Resourceful Solutions: Signifies resourceful approaches, adaptability, and innovative strategies.
2. The Ten of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing emotional fulfillment, harmony, and family bliss.
3. Harmonious Bonds: Reflects joyous connections, family happiness, and emotional satisfaction.
4. Emotional Fulfillment: Symbolizes contentment, happiness, and a sense of completion.
5. Family Harmony: Embodies familial joy, emotional satisfaction, and harmonious relationships.

Number 99:

1. Innovative Vision: Signifies visionary ideas, creativity, and seeking higher understanding.
2. The Page of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying intellect, curiosity, and new perspectives.
3. Intellectual Curiosity: Reflects seeking knowledge, new ideas, and intellectual exploration.
4. Energetic Communication: Symbolizes clear thinking, direct communication, and new concepts.
5. Exploring New Horizons: Embodies curiosity, embracing new perspectives, and intellectual ventures.

Number 100:

1. Balanced Exploration: Signifies exploration, adaptability, and seeking equilibrium.
2. The Knight of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing reliability, diligence, and practicality.
3. Steadfast Commitment: Reflects dedication, reliability, and unwavering commitment.
4. Practical Adaptation: Symbolizes adjusting plans, steady progress, and reliability in change.
5. Consistent Progress: Embodies steady growth, adaptable strategies, and reliability in endeavors.

Number 101:

1. Creative Harmony: Signifies creative expression, harmony, and a balanced creative approach.
2. The Queen of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing charisma, confidence, and creativity.
3. Creative Confidence: Reflects self-assuredness, creative flair, and passionate expression.
4. Charismatic Leadership: Symbolizes influential leadership, boldness, and creativity in leadership.
5. Inspired Expression: Embodies passionate creativity, confidence, and influential charisma.

Number 102:

1. Stable Independence: Signifies independence, stability, and self-reliance.
2. The King of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing emotional maturity, compassion, and leadership.
3. Emotional Stability: Reflects balanced emotions, leadership in emotions, and compassionate authority.
4. Compassionate Leadership: Symbolizes emotional intelligence, balanced leadership, and stable emotions.
5. Steady Guidance: Embodies calm authority, emotional stability, and compassionate leadership.

Number 103:

1. Resourceful Expansion: Signifies expansion, resourcefulness, and growth opportunities.
2. The Ace of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card embodying new opportunities, prosperity, and materialization of goals.
3. Material Opportunities: Reflects new beginnings, potential wealth, and fertile ground for growth.
4. Prosperous Ventures: Symbolizes abundance, materializing ideas, and fruitful beginnings.
5. Potential Manifestation: Embodies the potential for success, materialization of goals, and fertile opportunities.

Number 104:

1. Harmonious Creativity: Signifies creative collaborations, balance, and artistic endeavors.
2. The Two of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing partnerships, mutual respect, and emotional connections.
3. Harmonious Bonds: Reflects emotional connections, partnerships, and mutual understanding.
4. Collaborative Unity: Symbolizes cooperation, emotional balance, and harmonious relationships.
5. Balanced Partnership: Embodies mutual respect, emotional harmony, and cooperative endeavors.

Number 105:

1. Intuitive Exploration: Signifies intuitive insights, exploration, and heightened awareness.
2. The Three of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card embodying foresight, expansion, and seeking new horizons.
3. Seeking Opportunities: Reflects anticipating growth, expansion, and seeking new possibilities.
4. Expansive Vision: Symbolizes forward-thinking, seeking prospects, and planning for growth.
5. Foresightful Ventures: Embodies anticipation, seeking new paths, and visionary exploration.

Number 106:

1. Balanced Stability: Signifies stability, discipline, and building a solid base.
2. The Four of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing apathy, dissatisfaction, and contemplation.
3. Contemplation and Discontent: Reflects introspection, discontentment, and contemplating choices.
4. Seeking Satisfaction: Symbolizes a search for fulfillment, exploring options, and inner reflection.
5. Emotional Reevaluation: Embodies reconsideration, emotional introspection, and seeking contentment.

Number 107:

1. Innovative Communication: Signifies innovative ideas, creativity, and expressing original concepts.
2. The Five of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying conflict, tension, and winning at a cost.
3. Conflict and Resolution: Reflects confrontations, ego clashes, and resolving disputes.
4. Learning from Conflict: Symbolizes understanding losses, valuing lessons, and seeking resolution.
5. Resolving Disagreements: Embodies conflict resolution, compromise, and learning from adversity.

Number 108:

1. Stable Foundation: Signifies stability, security, and a solid foundation.
2. The Six of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing nostalgia, childhood memories, and innocence.
3. Nostalgic Reminiscence: Reflects fond memories, innocence, and reconnecting with the past.
4. Emotional Connection: Symbolizes deep emotional bonds, nostalgic experiences, and innocence.
5. Past Reflections: Embodies reminiscing, innocence, and reconnecting with cherished memories.

Number 109:

1. Innovative Ideas: Signifies fresh perspectives, original concepts, and inventive thinking.
2. The Seven of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing deception, manipulation, and evasion.
3. Deception and Secrecy: Reflects hidden motives, evading truth, and misleading actions.
4. Seeking Clarity: Symbolizes uncovering deceit, honesty, and seeking truth.
5. Honesty and Transparency: Embodies truthfulness, sincerity, and open communication.

Number 110:

1. Harmonious Stability: Signifies stability, balance, and creating a harmonious environment.
2. The Eight of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing restriction, feeling trapped, and limited options.
3. Overcoming Limitations: Reflects feeling constrained, seeking freedom, and finding solutions.
4. Mental Liberation: Symbolizes breaking free from restrictions, seeking alternatives, and mental clarity.
5. Freedom from Restraints: Embodies seeking liberation, overcoming limitations, and finding solutions.

Number 111:

1. Enlightened Guidance: Signifies spiritual wisdom, intuitive insight, and divine guidance.
2. The Nine of Wands (in some decks): Tarot card embodying resilience, endurance, and standing firm.
3. Resilient Persistence: Reflects unwavering determination, resilience, and courage.
4. Strength through Challenges: Symbolizes overcoming adversity, standing tall, and resilience in difficulties.
5. Courageous Resilience: Embodies resilience, persistence, and fortitude in adversity.

Number 112:

1. Balanced Stability: Signifies stability, structure, and balance in all aspects.
2. The Ten of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing painful endings, betrayal, and rock bottom.
3. Closure and Renewal: Reflects closure of cycles, painful endings, and readiness for new beginnings.
4. Embracing Change: Symbolizes transformation, releasing pain, and seeking renewal.
5. Transition to Healing: Embodies letting go, embracing change, and healing from pain.

Number 113:

1. Innovative Inspiration: Signifies creative inspiration, intellectual ideas, and forward-thinking.
2. The Page of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card embodying new opportunities, practicality, and studiousness.
3. Exploring Opportunities: Reflects new ventures, practical pursuits, and embracing opportunities.
4. Practical Ventures: Symbolizes grounded approaches, new prospects, and exploring possibilities.
5. Curiosity and Learning: Embodies curiosity, embracing knowledge, and seeking practical paths.

Number 114:

1. Adaptive Progress: Signifies adaptability, progress, and flexibility in approach.
2. The Knight of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card representing romantic idealism, creative pursuits, and following dreams.
3. Dreamy Pursuits: Reflects emotional depth, pursuing dreams, and romantic aspirations.
4. Creative Aspirations: Symbolizes creative endeavors, emotional expression, and passionate pursuits.
5. Sentimental Pursuits: Embodies emotional expression, dream chasing, and romantic ideals.

Number 115:

1. Visionary Exploration: Signifies visionary ideas, spiritual quests, and explorative insights.
2. The Queen of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card symbolizing emotional intelligence, compassion, and nurturing stability.
3. Nurturing Empathy: Reflects compassionate care, emotional intelligence, and nurturing support.
4. Intuitive Guidance: Symbolizes heightened intuition, emotional wisdom, and empathetic connections.
5. Emotional Wisdom: Embodies empathy, emotional insight, and nurturing compassion.

Number 116:

1. Stable Authority: Signifies stable leadership, practical wisdom, and authoritative stability.
2. The King of Pentacles (in some decks): Tarot card representing material success, prosperity, and financial security.
3. Financial Stability: Reflects material success, practical wisdom, and financial security.
4. Reliable Leadership: Symbolizes grounded leadership, prosperity, and practical stability.
5. Steadfast Authority: Embodies stability, financial security, and leadership strength.

Number 117:

1. Innovative Knowledge: Signifies unconventional wisdom, unique insights, and visionary intellect.
2. The Ace of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card embodying clarity, truth, and new perspectives.
3. Clarity and Truth: Reflects mental clarity, truth-seeking, and a new viewpoint.
4. Mental Prowess: Symbolizes intellectual strength, clear thinking, and seeking truth.
5. New Beginnings: Embodies fresh starts, mental clarity, and the pursuit of truth.

Number 118:

1. Structural Stability: Signifies stability, organization, and a structured approach.
2. The Two of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing indecision, stalemate, and weighing options.
3. Decision-Making Dilemma: Reflects mental conflict, decisions, and weighing choices.
4. Balancing Choices: Symbolizes a need for resolution, balanced decisions, and seeking clarity.
5. Mental Crossroads: Embodies decision-making, seeking clarity, and resolving conflicts.

Number 119:

1. Balanced Partnerships: Signifies balanced relationships, cooperation, and mutual understanding.
2. The Three of Cups (in some decks): Tarot card embodying celebration, friendship, and joyful gatherings.
3. Harmonious Celebrations: Reflects joyful occasions, friendships, and harmonious connections.
4. Friendship and Unity: Symbolizes social bonds, celebration, and mutual happiness.
5. Joyous Relationships: Embodies happy connections, celebrations, and mutual appreciation.

Number 120:

1. Innovative Communication: Signifies innovative ideas, creativity, and expressing original concepts.
2. The Four of Swords (in some decks): Tarot card representing rest, recuperation, and a period of contemplation.
3. Mental Rejuvenation: Reflects recuperation, resting the mind, and seeking mental peace.
4. Contemplative Rest: Symbolizes introspection, mental tranquility, and taking a break.
5. Peaceful Pause: Embodies mental rejuvenation, quiet reflection, and inner calm.

These interpretations offer insight into various aspects of life and situations, aiming to provide diverse perspectives and potential meanings for each card.

Bunch of stuff for sale
PRICES ON NIB INCLUDE SHIPPING TO CONTUS

• Infernus Marines from Levi Box (NOS) $25
• Kill Team Veteran Guardsmen (NIB) $45
• Predator (NIB) $55

Built: shipping is $5 a model free if you buy more than $200

• Mawloc $75
• Malceptor $80 a piece, $150 for both
• Psychophage $20 or free if you buy $300 in stuff
• Exocrine $65
• Exocrine 3D Printed $25
• Tervigon (Magnetized) $40
• Old One Eye $60
• Deathleaper $40 Sold
• Broodlord $30
• Parasite of Mortrex $25
• Venonthropes $60
• Neurolictor x3 $25 a piece, $70 for all
• Biovore $40
• Gargoyles Partially, Bases have been magnetized $30
• Forgeworld Ripper $40
• Norn Emmisary $70 Sold

NOS: $100 for all these SOLD

• Neurotyrant
• Screamer Killer
• Genestealers
• Neurgaunts
• Gaunts x30

NIB: $200 for all these

• Tyrannofex $45
• Hive Tyrant $45
• Warriors $45
• Venomthropes $70

Books:

• 9th Edition Codex
• 10th Edition Codex $40 for both

I ship pretty fast, so if you send an offer stick tight as I typically respond via the reddit app quickly.
My Karma Thread 25+ trades

So I just got a 8a pixel and was setting it up, added my fingerprint and then passed my phone to my wife. She wanted to check it out and it was locked when I passed it to her and she put her finger on it to open and it did. I know we don't have the same finger print so that was very freaky to me. I'm not going to use my face to unlock and so I guess I'm stuck with my pin which is annoying. Anyone else have any experiences with this?