Importance of a interest inventory in reading

HI , pleasure to meet you all , as the title states I would love to have some friends to talk to here and there and actually form good friendships. A little about me , I’m an mechanic who loves to cook , game and watch anime , I have a very normal / interesting music tastes but I’m really big in to sleep token right now but I love all types of music , ( I’m also big into dance Gavin dance) . If your interested in be friends please feel free to message me , and if not that’s ok hope you have a great day.
Thank you all for reading , love you all 🫶🏾

Hello everyone,
I've been a Labour member for some time, but recently I've been considering whether the Liberal Democrats might be a better fit for me. My main concerns stem from the perception that Labour seems to be dragging its feet on several critical issues, including:

• Devolution/Federalism: I believe in a more federal structure for the UK, with stronger regional parliaments. The Lib Dems have clear policies on pushing for this, while Labour's progress seems slow.
• Constitutional Change: I'm looking for significant constitutional reforms, and it feels like Labour isn't prioritizing this as much as I'd hoped.
• Electoral Reform: Moving away from First Past the Post to a more proportional system is essential to me. The Lib Dems are strong advocates for this change.
• Repairing UK-EU Relations: Given the importance of the UK's relationship with the EU, I'm looking for a party that will work hard to rebuild these ties. Labour's stance seems less proactive compared to the Lib Dems.
• Education: Education reform is critical, and I'm interested in policies that focus on long-term improvements and investment.
• Fiscal Rules: I want to see responsible and transparent fiscal policies that ensure sustainable economic growth and social justice.

Moreover, being a member of the Lib Dems appears to offer more direct influence over party policy. From what I've gathered, members have significant say in policy decisions, and recent events have shown that member votes can directly shape the party's direction.
Can anyone here convince me to stay with Labour? Are there strong reasons I might be overlooking? How does Labour plan to address these issues in the near future? I would appreciate any insights or perspectives that could help me make an informed decision.
Thanks in advance for your insights!

In this regard I am here to share my recent experience working in The Netherlands for recruitment agencies (uitzendbureaus) and for @HORECA. Namely I had been touch with WeAreKey BV about a front desk agent (receptionist) position in Texel at the newly opened Hotel Brasserie Den Burg, located in DenBurg an island of The North of Netherlands.
The position was advertised both on LinkedIn and the WeAreKey website overall Indeed, which was the perfect offer I have read so far. A fulltime stable contract (not the mainstream 0 hour that Horeca employers give which just ensures to vegetate but not live or take a rental contract) and so this place had even offered accommodation, which is an important aspect since the overall housing crisis has left professionals homeless.
I applied on the 30th of April, and haven’t heard anything back until the 8th of May when we had the first interview online. Then I provided heaps of references.
I was delighted that I finally found the opportunity to get back on track. After receiving that I am hired on the 27th of May, I gained access to the Mews (PMS system) with the hotel and I completed their internal trainings. Just after receiving my certificate about the course the manager (who turned to be the new hotel-owner) decided to not continue with me due less experience than colleagues when I already had been offered the position and I already began the process of moving on to my new job.
The hotelmanager named Cheng Hsu in a less than 10 minutes quick meeting decided I haven’t got enough experience to check - in and out the guests and have a pleasant conversation with them after 2,5 years of being in the hotel industry in same position with references from my previous employers.
It would’ve been accepted however I have sent all my references, all my documents to Nadja Carrillo the director of the recruitment agency and she allegedly accepted my application. We stopped the process, because of the owner of the hotel that didn’t find me sympathetic enough to work with.
Not to mention the hotel was still not open when I applied and she reached me out for the second time: first time she wrote on Indeed that the position is filled, then she texted me that it is still open due some unknown sudden changes (which was already suspicious enough to have doubts inside me) but I trusted in the chilean woman. I don’t understand what has happened but I clearly got scammed. After Cheng Hsu cancelled me - as proud Chinese member of the 21.century’s cancel culture immediately after the meeting I called Nadja, who even told me that I might could have been a housekeeper but of course after all I would’ve never humiliated myself so bad and my nationality.
I lost my current position, my entire life in The Netherlands once again and my references will not give me more references because of this situation. Clearly I wasn’t smart enough to see the red flags with the company.
If a person is hired via email by a company that’s serious and means willingness to work together from both parties. There is no such a thing as cancelling each other especially the company cannot disrespect people like me: migrants that came to make a living and already struggle a lot due to the current housing crisis and lack of support, high inflation and from all the negative circumstances around.
Unfortunately this is legal in The Netherlands, there is no measurement against scammers that allegedly hires you, ask you to do training and meetings with them for completely free and steals your ID, bank account details and tax numbers.
Then telling you sorry but we don’t plan to hire you anymore.
It took me two months to settle myself down with them, after heaps of references and see the fact is I have nothing: NADA! So dear native Spanish speakers who come to The Netherlands, please do not make a mistake like me to trust in Nadja Carrillo and her establishment called WeAreKey.

The game is set in a strange, empty world where an event known to many as "the Fracture" caused all known worlds to tilt. In one of these worlds, players, known as avatars, are born as so-called complex beings.
In the game, there is an aging mechanism called the Heartbeat. This means that the player's health bar refills at a certain frequency. At the beginning, the frequency is very high, but over time, it gradually decreases. However, the heartbeat never completely disappears; the intervals just become longer. Actions in the game can harm the player, who can be healed by the heartbeat. As the game progresses, actions become increasingly critical due to the world and other players, making the heartbeat potentially insufficient.
There is, however, one item in the game world around which the story revolves. This item is called the Ethernal Shard and is the only indestructible object in the game, and it can always be located on the map by any player, collected or not. If a player of a certain level acquires the Shard in their inventory, the frequency of their heartbeat no longer decreases. The Shard can also be used to interact with the game world, which contains a puzzle, and opposing quest lines ensure that players fight over the Shard to complete their quests.
When a player is hit, a phase begins in which their active heartbeat runs passively and does not heal them actively; the heartbeat can then be used for other actions in combat, such as activating items. When a player reaches a certain percentage of their maximum health, they become unconscious and can self-destruct.
When a player is destroyed, all their items are also destroyed, and their shards reappear in the game world. The game world consists of so-called world shards, some as small as a house, others as large as an island. These floating level worlds in empty space offer different biomes, quests, and loot. Most loot consists of items or shards from which items can be crafted. When items are destroyed, their shards reappear. The rarity of the shard determines the respawn process. Some reappear randomly, while others come with their own world shards and NPCs to protect them. Items or shards once bound to the player can only be destroyed by that player, except for the Ethernal Shard. It leaves the player when they become unconscious and can be collected. It is essentially the winning item. A player not only temporarily wins the game while they hold it in their inventory but also has the chance to solve the puzzle of the world.
Thank you for reading this bit of a text. If you like to know more please let me know. :)

I'm at a crossroads while choosing my Career path. I'm Currently Learning UX UI designing and even though I like certain aspects of the UX UI, I'm not completely sure whether this is the Right path for me or not. Because I Find most part of designing as overwhelming and also I don't really like doing that kinda things. Such as User Interviews, Creating Wireframes and User Flows. Actually The Only thing I like about this field is to Sit and Design beautiful Websites and Apps and that's it. I don't really like to work on any other parts of the UX UI designing. Also After I spoke with some people who works in this industry, I learned that it is not easy to survive in this Industry with only one skill.
Now What's interesting is that I really like to read and tell stories. I Really enjoy exploring new stories and story ideas in any formats. I also develop some story Ideas myself. So some friends told me that I should become a creative writer. And Ngl I was thinking the same for a long time. But the Problem is I don't know how to Write dialogues and I doubt myself that whether I Could Come up with an original ideas of my own. So I narrated some story ideas I Came up with to my friends and they said that most of them where mediocre. So Again I was disappointed and Doubting myself. Now I'm all open for to Learning how to be a creative writer and I really like to be one too. Some part of me really compels me to pursue my career as a creative writer. But I'm Really Confused whether I can be a good writer and whether I should switch my Career from UX UI. Because I already switched my career once. I was B.com Student who switched to the UX UI designing. So If I'm to change my path again I should really be certain that it will be the right thing for me. And I'm 25 rn so that is another problem. Can You Guys Help me with choosing the right path for me?

When we were kids, my best friend and I were wells of creativity. We didn’t even get it, we weren’t trying to be artists or “content creators” back then, we were just having fun.
Andy kept making up stories, I’d illustrate the characters and make comics out of some of them. Actually, I drew and painted a lot all my life, easily and without much thought. That was when it worked the best. It would always become harder when some expectation was put upon me, like “draw something for your aunt’s birthday.” Too deliberate. Thinking always blocked me.
The same went for Andy, his stories were the best when done spontaneously.
Back when we didn’t think about how we needed to be creative or productive, or that anything we did had any value or that we had a talent or needed to achieve anything with it. We just did it, and people around us would respond.
Then came university, then work, Andy got a wife and a kid. Slowly, and without any drama, we drifted apart.
I didn’t draw in a long time. It’s hard when you work 5 days a week, you’re tired in the evening and recovering during the weekend. Suddenly the idea of myself as an artist started to matter more and more, and with it it became less and less obtainable. It started to matter because I needed something to hold on to that would represent a side of me outside of this absurd routine I was now stuck in. And I didn’t have my own family, I was free after work, not that I managed to do much with it aside from finishing a lot of shows, games, movies and books and drinking a bit too much.
By then, it’s been years since I saw Andy, but at one point we ran into each other, promised we’d grab a beer, surprisingly lived up to the promise, and realized that, despite all this time, we were still friends.
We started hanging out more often, we didn’t even live that far. His wife just had their second kid, and the whole thing seemed overwhelming to me, but it seemed he was managing just fine. One time I asked him if he was still writing anything. In retrospect, I could recognize that he had a serious gift, endless ideas, unique style, even as a kid. Hell, he even studied literature, although he was in finance now. “Sometimes,” he said. “I don’t have that much time, and I often start on some stories only to realize they’re dumb and give up.”
He told me his dream is still to write a book, but finding the motivation to write is difficult as is, and finding the right moment and atmosphere even more so. But 10 years ago, he wrote a short story/novel, still in the draft stage. I managed to convince him to let me read it, and I was amazed. The story was short, but it was so good and imaginative. The ending felt a bit rushed, and some plot elements could be fine-tuned, but the writing itself was genius. I could feel the characters, the atmosphere around them, the original ideas and believable dialogues…I told him honestly, with a not-insignificant effort to repress my jealousy, that he needed to keep on writing.
He laughed and asked me what about my drawing. I showed him a few things I made throughout the years, and he appeared genuinely impressed. Except there was so little to show. He asked me about one of the more recent drawings, which turned out pretty cool. I told him I actually made it in about half an hour, in a pissed-off mood after losing my job. Most of it was like that. The flash of inspiration is something I can’t summon or plan. “I envy the people who can get anywhere through pure discipline,” I said. “For me, it’s all completely outside of my control.”
This resonated with Andy. “When I wrote my story, at the moment the most complete work in my life, my mother died. That was the worst year of my life. I didn’t care about anything, the only thing I could do was write.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It seems to me that the best works I’ve made came from the moments where I had the least desire to live”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” he confessed.
“I’ve been trying so hard to get that drive back. I tried to write drunk, I tried to write sober, I tried to write when I’m on leave, I tried to write after my leave, I tried to write after work, I tried to write weekends, I tried to write during work because it’s more peaceful than at home…during big live events, or tried to wait for things to get more peaceful, break the routine, write desperately, write calmly, force it, not force it….in the end, nothing works. Except maybe a tragedy.” he laughed.
“Eh, at least you have an excuse. You have a wife, two kids, a demanding job… I’m just lazy.” I tried to cheer him up. I didn’t envy his lifestyle. But it was a good life, the life he wanted.
“I know this sounds awful, but to have children, a family, that’s nice and I love them but I can’t say it’s that fulfilling. Or that it’s the meaning of life for me. Ultimately, they’re here to have their own lives and I’m still me, and I wonder what I really accomplished - creating someone else to take a shot at making something interesting? No, kids aren’t what I want to leave as my mark on this world. And now I feel that this is it, there’s no more that infinitely long future filled with possibilities in front of us.”
We were both in some kind of depression, an identity crisis. In my 20s I was so lost and wanted some stability, and now I was choked by the regularness of life. Maybe it was the awareness that things could continue like this - every day the same, and then you die - that seemed terrifying at times. Especially at night, with the next day gaping in front of me like a black hole, waiting for me to fall in.
Some people have a strong feeling of purpose from which nothing can pull them away. I have some talent, but I find it so monumentally hard to give it any dedication.
After that day, this became our regular topic we always seemed to come back to. Is it better to try to force yourself to do something, or wait for the inspiration to hit you, but what when it’s simply not happening? We’d occasionally read some self-help advice, although we were always a bad audience for this kind of thing, constantly trying to identify what it was that was blocking us. We’d share our observations. Andy would come up with some cool ideas for stories, but it wouldn’t go anywhere. I’d try to sketch or do something “crazy” and it would just come off as forced and fake.
Slowly, Andy started working on a theory that, with time, became more and more concrete and ritualistic. He started from that simple, and not too original observation that he can only create when going through a loss. “The suffering artist” or something. He started to believe that there is some balance in life, that he was trying to maintain too many things, and that some kind of “hole” was needed that could be filled with creation.
We’d had some beers when he was going on about it again. “See, I always avoided big responsibilities, serious relationships, a family… I was always stingy about my time and how much I could give to others. And yet I have the same problem.”
He waved me off, drunker than I was. “We all have different capacities. Although I have more obligations, you are equally balanced by yours, as small as you think they seem in comparison. And even that's the wrong way of looking at it. I’m not talking about free time or energy, because I realized that’s not the issue, just an excuse. I’m talking on a much more… metasiphyc level.”
Metasiphyc. I remember that. I found it hilarious at the time.
But he kept on with his idea of equilibrium, balancing the things you want in life, with an increasingly elaborate approach to the topic. From a general idea that comes down to that all aspects of your life can’t be at their highest at the same time, to the idea that everyone has an average and when you want to rise above it in any way, you need to sacrifice something else.
“Well of course, everyone says you need to sacrifice to achieve greatness. Sacrifice means hard work, dedicating your time to it, shit like that. Except that this approach doesn’t really lead to success for either of us.” I challenged the theory.
He wasn’t discouraged. “No, because that’s not a sacrifice for you. In theory, you’re fine with spending 5 hours sitting down and working on something, you just don’t know what it is.” “No, sacrifice is… a sacrifice. It has to be something you care about. I’ve been studying the topic,” he’d start lecturing. “Humanity always had sacrificial rituals, and they make perfect sense.”
I’d usually laugh it off at this stage, but I think that, even then. I started to notice it was all becoming way too concrete and obsessive. We had more of those conversations, but the more of a thing it became for him, the less committal I was about agreeing with his philosophy. At one point I started seriously suspecting that he was losing it and becoming a fanatic.
One night he called me crying and telling me he took it too far, killed his cat so that he could write, and that he was a total idiot who deserved to die. I could tell he was drunk as fuck. After that incident, he suddenly stopped and calmed down. He was no longer talking about his book, sacrifices, equilibrums and metaphysics. Just normal shit, politics, exercise routine, work issues, family and all. Mostly about trying to drink less and work on his marriage. It seems he re-embraced normal life, avoided the topic of what happened that night, or turned it into a deeper discussion about alcoholism and getting his shit together. I didn’t push, maybe I was relieved if a bit bored by this change.
Then his youngest son died. Accidental suffocation with the blanket. Apparently it happens more often than you’d think.
Look, I’m not a writer, you can see where this is going. But as clear as it may seem here, put together in a linear recount of events, it certainly didn’t cross my mind that Andy had anything to do with it. It’s easy to look back now and connect all the elements, but to accept the possibility is much more bizarre. I just felt bad for him and had no idea what to say.
I was a weak friend at the time. I thought he needed some space and time with his family, and I needed a reason not to awkwardly interact with someone going through things I can’t possibly understand, so after a cliche message expressing my condolences, which took me a day and the help of ChatGPT to draft (I think the result was the eloquent “ Andy, I’m so sorry for your loss, no idea what to say. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”) I kind of stepped back.
A few months have passed. I’m not proud of it, but I rarely actively miss people. Then, he reached out to me and asked me to get together for some beers.
I started with another unconvincing expression of condolences, but luckily he accepted it without any protest and lucidly started talking about how he was doing, the terrible state his wife was in and how confused and lost his little girl was. He said his home was a terribly depressing place, and that writing was now his only escape.
It wasn’t exactly a cheerful declaration, but a few weeks after he sent me a book draft. It was excellent. I loved it. I instantly felt a pang of jealousy. A short while later he managed to publish it.
The book kept getting some traction, slowly but surely, and soon enough I was truly jealous and I started to avoid him again. He didn't share my problem anymore. He created something, it was good, and people started to recognize it. Even if it never gets huge, it will always remain as something he can feel proud of. That was better than anything I was doing. Then again, being jealous of the man who lost his child was brutal, but I was and I didn’t feel like seeing him.
One day he invited me for some drinks while his wife and daughter were away to see her parents. He insisted I come.
This time, he was beaming. It seemed that he was waiting for me to say something until he couldn’t wait anymore. “Can you see that it’s working now? “ he asked.
I gave a confused look.
“The sacrifice”
He told me, to my great discomfort, that he went for all or nothing. That the cat worked just enough to confirm his suspicions, but he knew he needed something big. He had to do something drastic or forever resign to mediocrity. And how his son’s death instantly removed that barrier inside of him and gave him focus. “Of course, it hurt” he toned it down. “Without the pain, the sacrifice wouldn’t be worth anything”
“But your son, was that not an accident?” Happy accident, I thought.”Or?”
“Or” he replied flatly.
He continued. “Look, I don’t care, I know you won't say anything to anyone, at least not seriously. And if you did, who’d believe you, you can’t prove anything and you’re way too lazy to get into any drama and risk looking stupid.”
He was right.
“And maybe you also know there’s truth in it. Maybe you get it. The reason why I am telling you all this is because you’re my friend, maybe the only true friend I have, and because I want to help you. But your problem is that you avoid having anything to lose. That’s why you’re in your equilibrium where you can’t create.”
“What, I should find a girl and make a kid so I had something to sacrifice for my artistic masterpiece?” I asked him in some combination of shock and numbness of disbelief.
He shrugged. “This method is more concrete than you think, and it works. My problem is that I need to keep at it, the success made me happy and again, I’m balanced. In fact, as much as it hurts to lose my son, and as disgusting as this is to say, I can live without him. It was much more painful to watch my wife and daughter despair, that was truly… painful, and horrible. The guilt made me create. And now, I’m finally leaving my mark on this world and my marriage is falling apart,” he took a big sip.
“You sacrificed,” I said.
As time passed, my friend got a divorce, lost his beloved sister and her family in a tragic gas leak accident, wrote another book and became semi-famous in an increasingly broader circle. I didn’t read the book.
We don’t see each other often. I judge him, but I feel like a hypocrite. The truth is, I am consumed with envy, while the advice he gave me is stuck in my head. Meanwhile, time keeps on passing and I still achieved nothing.
“You need to open up a hole in your equilibrium and then fill it in with what you want. It’s a swap. Humanity always understood the concept. A deal with the devil, a sacrifice, same principle.”
Maybe I should stop him before anyone else is sacrificed. I know how much he loves his daughter, I think about it sometimes. But it all sounds too insane. Like some dumb fiction. Besides, he was right, wasn’t he? His way worked and I’m jealous because I have nothing to sacrifice.
It would be better to work on my own life rather than try to ruin his. He’s right, I never built anything so I’d have nothing to lose. We all have our reasons and fears. Maybe I should face mine. Finally, allow myself some closeness, stop pushing aside every girl I start to like. Meet someone, invest in the relationship, put my time and effort towards building something.
And then, perhaps, I’ll be able to find my creative drive.

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hi, I’m a high school student looking for some book recommendations to add to my book log and write a journal on. I am interested in non-fiction, science, and historical fiction. Some of the books I’m considering right now are “Read People Like a Book,” “The Courage to Be Disliked,” “48 Laws of Power,” “The Diet Myth,” “Surrounded by Idiots,” “AI 2041,” “Deep Work,” “The Bell Jar,” “Unhappy Camper,” and “What Money Can’t Buy.”
I’m open to both fiction and non-fiction recommendations. If you have any recommendations or books have been favorites during your high school years, I’d love to hear them!
Thanks!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

I'm at a crossroads while choosing my Career path. I'm Currently Learning UX UI designing and even though I like certain aspects of the UX UI, I'm not completely sure whether this is the Right path for me or not. Because I Find most part of designing as overwhelming and also I don't really like doing that kinda things. Such as User Interviews, Creating Wireframes and User Flows. Actually The Only thing I like about this field is to Sit and Design beautiful Websites and Apps and that's it. I don't really like to work on any other parts of the UX UI designing. Also After I spoke with some people who works in this industry, I learned that it is not easy to survive in this Industry with only one skill.
Now What's interesting is that I really like to read and tell stories. I Really enjoy exploring new stories and story ideas in any formats. I also develop some story Ideas myself. So some friends told me that I should become a creative writer. And Ngl I was thinking the same for a long time. But the Problem is I don't know how to Write dialogues and I doubt myself that whether I Could Come up with an original ideas of my own. So I narrated some story ideas I Came up with to my friends and they said that most of them where mediocre. So Again I was disappointed and Doubting myself. Now I'm all open for to Learning how to be a creative writer and I really like to be one too. Some part of me really compels me to pursue my career as a creative writer. But I'm Really Confused whether I can be a good writer and whether I should switch my Career from UX UI. Because I already switched my career once. I was B.com Student who switched to the UX UI designing. So If I'm to change my path again I should really be certain that it will be the right thing for me. And I'm 25 rn so that is another problem. Can You Guys Help me with choosing the right path for me?

Hello!
I'm here because I've had success with forming a meaningful friendship from this subreddit before- and while it didn't work out in the long run, it's shown me that it is absolutely possible to find that spark here.
In an effort to not waste your time nor mine, I'm not here seeking a casual chat- I want to get to know someone beyond just a few exchanges. I'm here for a genuine connection and conversation.
So, why message me? Good question! I'm rather shy, and modest- so trying to talk myself up is honestly really difficult. Instead, here are some random things about me and if any of it interests you, strikes a chord, or makes you smile, then I probably can, too!

• I live in the south of England but I have lived around Europe previously. I lived for around a year in Lithuania and about 6 months in Austria, and further time living in Scotland
  
• I have a degree in chemistry and a further Master's in Drug Design and Biomedical science
  
• I currently work as an analytical chemist, which sounds more interesting than it actually is with me spending most of my time in a windowless lab testing random chemicals
  
• I've always been a voracious reader. Bookstores make my heart happy. I'll read anything with a good plot. I am currently reading a lot of books on history, but I will pick up whatever random fiction book looks interesting, which tends to be random depressing books!
  
• I will happily eat anything that is highly spicy!
  
• I have travelled quite a bit over the last couple of years with trips to Denmark, Spain, Germany (twice), Austria and Czechia! I am also into photography, mainly architecture and I have put some of the better ones here!
  
• Empire is the best Star War
  
• Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones.
  

So what now? Introduce yourself, share a photo to I can put a face to the words, tell me 5 random things about you, or 5 things on your bucket list, or the first 5 things you'd do if you won the lotto- or anything at all you'd like to share. Have animals? Show me pics!
Lastly, I know it's hard to take the time to write a thoughtful message on the chance that it may go unanswered. I'm not here for a lot of messages- I'm here for just one, and I know the kind of message that I'm hoping to receive. I don't want to waste anyone's time, so if I don't reply then know that I'm rooting for you to find the person you're hoping for, too!

When we were kids, my best friend and I were wells of creativity. We didn’t even get it, we weren’t trying to be artists or “content creators” back then, we were just having fun.
Andy kept making up stories, I’d illustrate the characters and make comics out of some of them. Actually, I drew and painted a lot all my life, easily and without much thought. That was when it worked the best. It would always become harder when some expectation was put upon me, like “draw something for your aunt’s birthday.” Too deliberate. Thinking always blocked me.
The same went for Andy, his stories were the best when done spontaneously.
Back when we didn’t think about how we needed to be creative or productive, or that anything we did had any value or that we had a talent or needed to achieve anything with it. We just did it, and people around us would respond.
Then came university, then work, Andy got a wife and a kid. Slowly, and without any drama, we drifted apart.
I didn’t draw in a long time. It’s hard when you work 5 days a week, you’re tired in the evening and recovering during the weekend. Suddenly the idea of myself as an artist started to matter more and more, and with it it became less and less obtainable. It started to matter because I needed something to hold on to that would represent a side of me outside of this absurd routine I was now stuck in. And I didn’t have my own family, I was free after work, not that I managed to do much with it aside from finishing a lot of shows, games, movies and books and drinking a bit too much.
By then, it’s been years since I saw Andy, but at one point we ran into each other, promised we’d grab a beer, surprisingly lived up to the promise, and realized that, despite all this time, we were still friends.
We started hanging out more often, we didn’t even live that far. His wife just had their second kid, and the whole thing seemed overwhelming to me, but it seemed he was managing just fine. One time I asked him if he was still writing anything. In retrospect, I could recognize that he had a serious gift, endless ideas, unique style, even as a kid. Hell, he even studied literature, although he was in finance now. “Sometimes,” he said. “I don’t have that much time, and I often start on some stories only to realize they’re dumb and give up.”
He told me his dream is still to write a book, but finding the motivation to write is difficult as is, and finding the right moment and atmosphere even more so. But 10 years ago, he wrote a short story/novel, still in the draft stage. I managed to convince him to let me read it, and I was amazed. The story was short, but it was so good and imaginative. The ending felt a bit rushed, and some plot elements could be fine-tuned, but the writing itself was genius. I could feel the characters, the atmosphere around them, the original ideas and believable dialogues…I told him honestly, with a not-insignificant effort to repress my jealousy, that he needed to keep on writing.
He laughed and asked me what about my drawing. I showed him a few things I made throughout the years, and he appeared genuinely impressed. Except there was so little to show. He asked me about one of the more recent drawings, which turned out pretty cool. I told him I actually made it in about half an hour, in a pissed-off mood after losing my job. Most of it was like that. The flash of inspiration is something I can’t summon or plan. “I envy the people who can get anywhere through pure discipline,” I said. “For me, it’s all completely outside of my control.”
This resonated with Andy. “When I wrote my story, at the moment the most complete work in my life, my mother died. That was the worst year of my life. I didn’t care about anything, the only thing I could do was write.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “It seems to me that the best works I’ve made came from the moments where I had the least desire to live”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” he confessed.
“I’ve been trying so hard to get that drive back. I tried to write drunk, I tried to write sober, I tried to write when I’m on leave, I tried to write after my leave, I tried to write after work, I tried to write weekends, I tried to write during work because it’s more peaceful than at home…during big live events, or tried to wait for things to get more peaceful, break the routine, write desperately, write calmly, force it, not force it….in the end, nothing works. Except maybe a tragedy.” he laughed.
“Eh, at least you have an excuse. You have a wife, two kids, a demanding job… I’m just lazy.” I tried to cheer him up. I didn’t envy his lifestyle. But it was a good life, the life he wanted.
“I know this sounds awful, but to have children, a family, that’s nice and I love them but I can’t say it’s that fulfilling. Or that it’s the meaning of life for me. Ultimately, they’re here to have their own lives and I’m still me, and I wonder what I really accomplished - creating someone else to take a shot at making something interesting? No, kids aren’t what I want to leave as my mark on this world. And now I feel that this is it, there’s no more that infinitely long future filled with possibilities in front of us.”
We were both in some kind of depression, an identity crisis. In my 20s I was so lost and wanted some stability, and now I was choked by the regularness of life. Maybe it was the awareness that things could continue like this - every day the same, and then you die - that seemed terrifying at times. Especially at night, with the next day gaping in front of me like a black hole, waiting for me to fall in.
Some people have a strong feeling of purpose from which nothing can pull them away. I have some talent, but I find it so monumentally hard to give it any dedication.
After that day, this became our regular topic we always seemed to come back to. Is it better to try to force yourself to do something, or wait for the inspiration to hit you, but what when it’s simply not happening? We’d occasionally read some self-help advice, although we were always a bad audience for this kind of thing, constantly trying to identify what it was that was blocking us. We’d share our observations. Andy would come up with some cool ideas for stories, but it wouldn’t go anywhere. I’d try to sketch or do something “crazy” and it would just come off as forced and fake.
Slowly, Andy started working on a theory that, with time, became more and more concrete and ritualistic. He started from that simple, and not too original observation that he can only create when going through a loss. “The suffering artist” or something. He started to believe that there is some balance in life, that he was trying to maintain too many things, and that some kind of “hole” was needed that could be filled with creation.
We’d had some beers when he was going on about it again. “See, I always avoided big responsibilities, serious relationships, a family… I was always stingy about my time and how much I could give to others. And yet I have the same problem.”
He waved me off, drunker than I was. “We all have different capacities. Although I have more obligations, you are equally balanced by yours, as small as you think they seem in comparison. And even that's the wrong way of looking at it. I’m not talking about free time or energy, because I realized that’s not the issue, just an excuse. I’m talking on a much more… metasiphyc level.”
Metasiphyc. I remember that. I found it hilarious at the time.
But he kept on with his idea of equilibrium, balancing the things you want in life, with an increasingly elaborate approach to the topic. From a general idea that comes down to that all aspects of your life can’t be at their highest at the same time, to the idea that everyone has an average and when you want to rise above it in any way, you need to sacrifice something else.
“Well of course, everyone says you need to sacrifice to achieve greatness. Sacrifice means hard work, dedicating your time to it, shit like that. Except that this approach doesn’t really lead to success for either of us.” I challenged the theory.
He wasn’t discouraged. “No, because that’s not a sacrifice for you. In theory, you’re fine with spending 5 hours sitting down and working on something, you just don’t know what it is.” “No, sacrifice is… a sacrifice. It has to be something you care about. I’ve been studying the topic,” he’d start lecturing. “Humanity always had sacrificial rituals, and they make perfect sense.”
I’d usually laugh it off at this stage, but I think that, even then. I started to notice it was all becoming way too concrete and obsessive. We had more of those conversations, but the more of a thing it became for him, the less committal I was about agreeing with his philosophy. At one point I started seriously suspecting that he was losing it and becoming a fanatic.
One night he called me crying and telling me he took it too far, killed his cat so that he could write, and that he was a total idiot who deserved to die. I could tell he was drunk as fuck. After that incident, he suddenly stopped and calmed down. He was no longer talking about his book, sacrifices, equilibrums and metaphysics. Just normal shit, politics, exercise routine, work issues, family and all. Mostly about trying to drink less and work on his marriage. It seems he re-embraced normal life, avoided the topic of what happened that night, or turned it into a deeper discussion about alcoholism and getting his shit together. I didn’t push, maybe I was relieved if a bit bored by this change.
Then his youngest son died. Accidental suffocation with the blanket. Apparently it happens more often than you’d think.
Look, I’m not a writer, you can see where this is going. But as clear as it may seem here, put together in a linear recount of events, it certainly didn’t cross my mind that Andy had anything to do with it. It’s easy to look back now and connect all the elements, but to accept the possibility is much more bizarre. I just felt bad for him and had no idea what to say.
I was a weak friend at the time. I thought he needed some space and time with his family, and I needed a reason not to awkwardly interact with someone going through things I can’t possibly understand, so after a cliche message expressing my condolences, which took me a day and the help of ChatGPT to draft (I think the result was the eloquent “ Andy, I’m so sorry for your loss, no idea what to say. Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”) I kind of stepped back.
A few months have passed. I’m not proud of it, but I rarely actively miss people. Then, he reached out to me and asked me to get together for some beers.
I started with another unconvincing expression of condolences, but luckily he accepted it without any protest and lucidly started talking about how he was doing, the terrible state his wife was in and how confused and lost his little girl was. He said his home was a terribly depressing place, and that writing was now his only escape.
It wasn’t exactly a cheerful declaration, but a few weeks after he sent me a book draft. It was excellent. I loved it. I instantly felt a pang of jealousy. A short while later he managed to publish it.
The book kept getting some traction, slowly but surely, and soon enough I was truly jealous and I started to avoid him again. He didn't share my problem anymore. He created something, it was good, and people started to recognize it. Even if it never gets huge, it will always remain as something he can feel proud of. That was better than anything I was doing. Then again, being jealous of the man who lost his child was brutal, but I was and I didn’t feel like seeing him.
One day he invited me for some drinks while his wife and daughter were away to see her parents. He insisted I come.
This time, he was beaming. It seemed that he was waiting for me to say something until he couldn’t wait anymore. “Can you see that it’s working now? “ he asked.
I gave a confused look.
“The sacrifice”
He told me, to my great discomfort, that he went for all or nothing. That the cat worked just enough to confirm his suspicions, but he knew he needed something big. He had to do something drastic or forever resign to mediocrity. And how his son’s death instantly removed that barrier inside of him and gave him focus. “Of course, it hurt” he toned it down. “Without the pain, the sacrifice wouldn’t be worth anything”
“But your son, was that not an accident?” Happy accident, I thought.”Or?”
“Or” he replied flatly.
He continued. “Look, I don’t care, I know you won't say anything to anyone, at least not seriously. And if you did, who’d believe you, you can’t prove anything and you’re way too lazy to get into any drama and risk looking stupid.”
He was right.
“And maybe you also know there’s truth in it. Maybe you get it. The reason why I am telling you all this is because you’re my friend, maybe the only true friend I have, and because I want to help you. But your problem is that you avoid having anything to lose. That’s why you’re in your equilibrium where you can’t create.”
“What, I should find a girl and make a kid so I had something to sacrifice for my artistic masterpiece?” I asked him in some combination of shock and numbness of disbelief.
He shrugged. “This method is more concrete than you think, and it works. My problem is that I need to keep at it, the success made me happy and again, I’m balanced. In fact, as much as it hurts to lose my son, and as disgusting as this is to say, I can live without him. It was much more painful to watch my wife and daughter despair, that was truly… painful, and horrible. The guilt made me create. And now, I’m finally leaving my mark on this world and my marriage is falling apart,” he took a big sip.
“You sacrificed," I said.
As time passed, my friend got a divorce, lost his beloved sister and her family in a tragic gas leak accident, wrote another book and became semi-famous in an increasingly broader circle. I didn’t read the book.
We don’t see each other often. I judge him, but I feel like a hypocrite. The truth is, I am consumed with envy, while the advice he gave me is stuck in my head. Meanwhile, time keeps on passing and I still achieved nothing.
“You need to open up a hole in your equilibrium and then fill it in with what you want. It’s a swap. Humanity always understood the concept. A deal with the devil, a sacrifice, same principle.”
Maybe I should stop him before anyone else is sacrificed. I know how much he loves his daughter, I think about it sometimes. But it all sounds too insane. Like some dumb fiction. Besides, he was right, wasn’t he? His way worked and I’m jealous because I have nothing to sacrifice.
It would be better to work on my own life rather than try to ruin his. He’s right, I never built anything so I’d have nothing to lose. We all have our reasons and fears. Maybe I should face mine. Finally, allow myself some closeness, stop pushing aside every girl I start to like. Meet someone, invest in the relationship, put my time and effort towards building something.
And then, perhaps, I’ll be able to find my creative drive.

This started out as a response to another comment, but ended up as enough for its own post.
https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Aalchemy+-is%3Arebalanced+-format%3Avintage&order=released&dir=asc&as=grid&unique=cards
Looking at their respective approaches:

• [[Angel of Eternal Dawn]]: Tracking number of turns is technically doable but Wizards seems to consider anything more than [[Serra Avenger]] too much of a hassle. I don't expect that to change.
• [[Angel of Unity]]: Perpetual in paper is impossible. Counters can be tracked within public zones, and stickers leaned into this - I think there's some interesting possible design space in sticker-like counters that can let arbitrary cards function like [[Skullbriar]]. But tracking changes to cards in hidden zones is too far to be practical.
• [[Captain Eberhart]]: Caring about cards in hidden zones is impossible. A paper card would do this by revealing relevant cards.
• [[Expedition Supplier]]: MH3's tokens work a lot like conjure, but they're tokens, not cards. In Vintage-legal sets, a card must be represented by a card. The closest way I can think of to implement this is: "Put a card you own from outside the game onto the battlefield. As long as it's face-up in a zone other than a player's hand or library, that card is a copy of Utility Knife." This would work to roughly emulate cards like [[Boneyard Aberration]] where conjuring cards into a graveyard is necessary, while conjuring cards into your hand is already roughly emulated by effects that let you exile them and then cast them from exile. However, there's no way to emulate the library interactions of a card like [[Goblin Morale Sergeant]], and being functionally different means it wouldn't work for exact reprints of any conjure cards.
• [[Faithful Disciple]]: Spellbooks are conjure with even more complications. Wizards could, theoretically, create a mechanic with a reminder card listing out the cards constituting a spellbook and make a keyword for "select three of those cards at random, then choose one of the selected cards, exile a card you own from outside the game, and that card becomes a copy of the chosen card as long as it's in public zones and you can cast it from exile". This would most likely require "token" cards for every card in the spellbook, as well as the reminder card for the spellbook itself, so for a 15-card spellbook, it would require 16 token slots. Maybe doable in a high-complexity set where they're willing to have a single spellbook appear on a number of cards, but even then, it wouldn't work to reprint the actual spellbook cards that exist.
• [[Inquisitor Captain]]: Seek interacts with hidden zones in ways that aren't feasible in paper, while paper can get similar effects just by revealing cards from the top of the library until the desired kind of card is found.
• [[Geist of Regret]]: Same as Seek. Paper would do this just by revealing cards from the top of the library until hitting an instant and sorcery, put them into the graveyard, and put the rest on the bottom in a random order. Close enough for design purposes, not close enough for a reprint.
• [[Patient Zero]]: Like turn tracking, this is technically doable but just annoying. Paper would probably use some sort of counters.
• [[Bloodrage Alpha]]: Another effect that's doable but annoying to track. Paper would probably use a boon-like marker for it.
• [[Town-Razer Tyrant]]: This one is fine but paper would probably prefer to use counters, like with [[Obsidian Fireheart]].
• [[Lupine Harbingers]]: This might be a more feasible approach to turn counting since it only counts from when the card is used, but having the card be hidden complicates the matter of tracking it publicly. Paper would probably use a foretold variant where you declare it as a variant at the point you foretell it and then count the turns from there, but this would make it public information that it's not a regular foretold card.
• [[Begin Anew]]: This is another perpetual one, but it's one where perpetual-from-hand could easily be emulated: "Destroy all creatures, then exile all cards from your hand face down. As long as those cards remain exiled, you may play them, and if you cast a creature spell this way, the creature enters the battlefield with an additional +1/+1 counter on it." Another case of a card that's roughly equivalent for design purposes but different enough that it couldn't count as a reprint.
• [[Wickerwing Effigy]]: Like Town-Razer Tyrant, this is totally fine but would probably use a counter.
• [[Forsaken Crossroads]]: Tracking the starting player is probably fine.
• [[Inchblade Companion]]: This is completely fine. Was it supposed to say conjure?
• [[Mothrider Cavalry]]: Paper would just have you reveal your hand if you want the discount.
• [[Holographic Double]]: Another conjure card, but one with a particularly interesting possible paper counterpart: "U, Exile Holographic Double from your hand: Exile a card from your hand face down. For as long as that card remains exiled, you may play it if it's a creature card. When you do, note that card's name, and as long as Holographic Double remains exiled, you may play it as a copy of that card." With this, you don't even need a sideboard card to stand in... but it's still slightly functionally different.
• [[Bellowsbreath Ogre]]: It looks like this has been changed to no longer use the word "perpetually" in its rules text, but intensifying a specific card still has all the issues of perpetual changes.
• [[Herald of Vengeance]]: Works fine in paper. Tracking issues are possible but at least it's only looking one turn in the past.
• [[Imoen, Trickster Friend]]: A lot of specialize cards use mechanics that are already off-limits, but this is one of the few that doesn't. Still, you'd never fit all the needed text onto one card, even a DFC, and more importantly, IIRC it's a perpetual change which is off-limits anyway.
• [[Hag of Ceaseless Torment]]: The individual hags are all fine, although they don't seem to be Alchemy-legal on their own in the first place.
• [[Moradin's Disciples]]: Double team involves both conjure and perpetual.
• [[Water Weird]]: A paper version would have you look at the card.
• [[Stroke of Luck]]: There is nothing digital exclusive about this.
• [[Arcane Archery]]: Boons would be fine in paper. They'd probably have printed tokens.
• [[Favored Enemy]]: This is ruled out for checking hidden information, but it's still a bit novel for its "most prevalent" check.
• [[Jon Irenicus, the Exile]]: Works fine. Counting libraries has precedent in paper, this would just mean needing to keep tracking them.
• [[Minthara of the Absolute]]: Using intensity on a group of cards rather than an individual card is fine, but paper would probably use counters.
• [[Tasha, Unholy Archmage]]: Fully within paper mechanics, even declining to use perpetual changes or seek because they'd make her weaker. But who would want to play against this nightmare of a card?
• [[Assemble the Team]]: Works fine in paper.
• [[Quicksilver Servitor]]: Another "paper would have you reveal it" one. Maybe something like: "As you put a card into your hand, you may reveal it. If you do, when you next cast a spell from your hand this turn with the same name as that card, proliferate."
• [[Dedicated Dollmaker]]: Fine in paper. Paper might use counters, but there have been exceptions.
• [[Draconic Debut]]: This is fine but looks like it wants a boon or something like it for tracking.
• [[First Little Pig]]: This is fine, its associated cards are not. Probably wouldn't be printed without them.
• [[Captivating Crossroads]]: Like other starting player cards, it should work fine, and has the benefit of only caring during the first three turns.
• [[Legion's Chant]]: Chorus cards intensifying as a group seems fine rules-wise but could get confusing. Paper could support equivalent cards but would probably use a different form of tracking. Most likely it would use player counters, but that would be a significant functional change.
• [[Merfolk Tunnel-Guide]]: Three-time boons are trickier than one-time ones but seem fine.
• [[Reflection Net]]: Another "activate only once" one that would be fine in paper.
• [[Ominous Lockbox]]: This is fine in paper.
• [[Concert Kaboomist]]: Another one where the paper rules can support it but keeping track could be annoying.
• [[Rampaging Ursaguana]]: Like with Lupine Harbingers, this would want a variant that keeps count.
• [[Sproutwatch Dryad]]: Another "paper would have you reveal it" one.
• [[Thought-String Analyst]]: This is fine in paper. Most likely, a paper version would tell you to note the card's mana value and lose that much life, so the opponent can confirm that you were telling the truth when the card is revealed, but this would not be a functional change.
• [[Stalwart Realmwarden]]: Another almost-a-boon that could probably be templated to be trackable without any functional changes.
• [[Thieving Aven]]: Heist has the same issues as seek. A paper equivalent would probably have you look at cards from the top of your opponent's library, with the option to reveal any lands among them, until you choose not to reveal three cards, then exile one of the cards, gain the option to cast the exiled card if it's a nonland, and return the other revealed and unrevealed cards. This would be a functional change, though, and the reminder text would be quite long.
• [[Intruder's Inquisition]]: Can't tell the greatest mana value among cards in the opponent's hand without making them reveal it.

Another version of the search with the problem keywords removed: https://scryfall.com/search?q=is%3Aalchemy+-is%3Arebalanced+-format%3Avintage+-o%3Aperpetually+-o%3Aspellbook+-kw%3Aconjure+-kw%3Aseek+-kw%3Aspecialize+-o%3A%22double+team%22+-o%3Aheist&unique=cards&as=grid&order=released&dir=asc

Sheep and Wool (Innovation and Resilience) Bill

A
BILL
TO
Make provision for a commission to oversee sheep farming in the UK to empower industry innovation and resilience, and for connected purposes.

Chapter 1:

Section 1: Definitions
For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions apply —
(1) ‘Competent authority’ refers to any public department or agency assigned responsibility of carrying out the provisions of this Act;
(2)

Chapter 2: The British Sheep and Wool Commission

Section 2: Establishment of the Commission
(1) There shall be established a commission for the purposes of ensuring the longevity, the good management, the efficiency, and the competitiveness of the Sheep and Wool industry.
(2) The commission shall have the power to make recommendations to the Secretary of State on matters that include but are not limited to —

(a) the development of Wool innovation Community action plans;
(b) land usage;
(c) scientific advancement and research funding;

(3) The Commission shall be entitled as the “British Sheep and Wool Commission”.
(4) The British Sheep and Wool Commission is a body corporate.
(5) Within this Act “The Commission” shall refer to the British Sheep and Wool Commission.
(6) The commission’s membership shall be drawn from experts in the industry and confirmed by the Secretary of State, and must include —

(a) At least one 1 member representing tenant farmers;
(b) At least one member who is a licenced veterinary surgeon;
(c) one member representing the interests of sheep grazing within the Crown Estate; and
(d) one member representing the interests of the woolen textile industry.
(e) a maximum of 10 members in total.

(6) The Secretary of state may, by regulations, amend the composition of the commission in section 2(5).
(7) The Commission shall not be an agent of the Crown meaning it does not enjoy any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown.
(9) Regulations set under this Section shall be subject to negative procedure.
Section 3: General powers of the Commission
(1) The Commission may do anything which it considers—

(a) to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of, or in connection with, the exercise of its functions, or to be conducive to the exercise of those respective functions.

(2) In particular, the Commission may—

(a) enter into contracts,
(b) acquire and dispose of land,
(c) co-operate with any person,
(d) Obtain advice or assistance from any person who is, in the Commission's opinion, qualified to give it,
(e) pay any such person such fees, remuneration and allowances as the Commission may determine.

Section 4: Annual Report
(1) The Commission shall annually lay before Parliament a report detailing —

(a) the status of the British Sheep and Wool Industry as assessed by the Commission;
(b) the sustainability of the industry, insofar as to consider:

(i) environment impact,
(ii) accommodating the industry alongside UK obligations under relevant international treaties concerning animal welfare, the climate emergency, environmental protection, and any other factor that the Commission deems relevant.

(c) a price analysis across all Commission Member farms to inform international trade.

Section 5: Investigative Powers
(1) Where appropriate, the Commission may appoint persons to inspect, investigate or examine sheep farms.
(2) Persons outlined in (1) shall not have the power to compel any person to comply with an investigation, unless accompanied by —

(a) a constable;
(b) an investigative person acting on behalf of a lawful agency of the crown.

Or in possession of —

(c) a court order issued by a magistrates

(3) Any investigation must be carried out for the purposes of informing the commission’s role as dictated by Section 2(1).
(4) If an investigator acting on behalf of the Commission finds evidence of unlawful activity, then they must inform the lawful authorities within the area in which they are acting.
Section 6: Aims of the Commission
(1) The Commission shall have, but not be limited to, the following aims and objectives —

(a) the building of collaborative challenge communities focused around circular design, circular business models and circular recovery;
(b) the developing and implementing of a circular innovation action plan that meets diverse industry needs, is challenge-led, and aligned with national initiates; and
(c) the creation of a circular knowledge hub to share and promote best practice, industry and policy insights.

(2) The Secretary of state may, by regulations, amend the aims of the Commission in section 1.
(3) Regulations set under this Section shall be subject to negative procedure.

CHAPTER 2:

Section 7: Sustainability Subsidy Scheme
(1) A sustainability subsidy scheme shall be established, funded and run by the designated operations UK Investment Bank.
(2) Administration of the Sustainability Subsidy scheme shall be to the responsibility of the —

(a) UK Investment Bank;
(b) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or the responsible competent authority; and
(c) should the provisions of this Act extent to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; their respective competent authorities.

(3) Funds from the established scheme in paragraph 1 shall be used to support innovation and resilience investment into the agriculture industry, in which for the purposes of this Act, includes sheep farming.
(4) The Secretary of State may set regulations, through secondary legislation, to amend this Section.
(5) Regulations set under this Section shall be subject to negative procedure.

Chapter 3: Connected Purposes

Section 8: Application to Scotland
(1) This Act shall extend to Scotland following the passage of a motion of legislative consent in the Scottish Parliament.
(2) For application in Scotland, where “Secretary of State” is mentioned within this act, the Scottish Ministers shall have responsibility.
(3) Where applicable, the subsidy established by Section 6 shall be paid by the Scottish Treasury.
Section 9: Application to Wales
(1) This Act shall extend to Wales following the passage of a motion of legislative consent in the Welsh Parliament.
(2) For application in Scotland, where “Secretary of State” is mentioned within this act, the Welsh Ministers shall have responsibility.
(3) Where applicable, the subsidy established by Section 6 shall be paid by the Welsh Treasury.
Section 10: Application to Northern Ireland
(1) This Act shall extend to Northern Ireland following the passage of a motion of legislative consent in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) For application in Scotland, where “Secretary of State” is mentioned within this act, the Northern Irish Ministers shall have responsibility.
(3) Where applicable, the subsidy established by Section 6 shall be paid by the Treasury for Northern Ireland.

Section 11: Short Title, Commencement and Extent

(1) This Act may be cited as the ‘Sheep and Wool (Innovation and Resilience) Act’.
(2) This Act commences a year and one day following royal assent.
(3) This Act extends to the entirety of the United Kingdom.
This Bill was submitted by the Right Honourable Dame u/Underwater_Tara CT KG MVO PC, Countess Kilcreggan, Shadow Defence Secretary, on behalf of the 39th Official Opposition. With contributions from the Right Honourable Dame u/Waffel-lol LT CMG GCMG, Leader of His Majesty’s Official Opposition, and the Right Honourable u/Hobnob88 Lord Inverness, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Opening Speech:
Mr Speaker,
I welcome the privilege I have been given to open this debate, bringing attention and debate to a subject that has seldom seen debate in this House in the last 10 years.
Britain has a proud agricultural and horticultural history, founded on the principles that enabled Britain to be one of the foremost exporters of fabrics for around a Century. This bill is founded on those same principles, and will enable the sheep and wool industry to continue for years and decades to come.
A core part of this bill is sustainability. Now, this has double meanings. There is environmental sustainability, and the use of the word in the sense of how well the industry can maintain itself long into the future. Particularly in recent years there have been problems with the industry maintaining its competitiveness and as a result the British sheep industry has very much pivoted towards primarily meat production. This pivot, as a result of uncompetitiveness, is something that this bill is intending to help tackle.
In the previous few decades, the prevalence of so-called fast-fashion has grown and grown. Cheap clothes produced on a pence-per-hour wage, shipped in cheaply and “drop-shipped” to your door, designed for a handful of wears then thrown away. I personally recall during university my housemate saying how she needed to buy a new outfit for whatever night out she was going on next, and this is profoundly wasteful. These clothes are produced at high environmental expense, in highly unethical circumstances and we must create an alternative.
That alternative is fabrics produced closer to home, especially for consumers in the UK. The reason why wool was traditionally the fabric used for fine clothes and linen for cheaper and more daily use clothes. Even when cotton began to be imported, it was reserved for the wealthy as it was highly costly to import. In order to achieve net-zero, we must begin to seriously begin considering how we can fulfil the majority of our textile needs closer to home, and reverse the pivot of the British Wool industry towards solely meat production.
Thus, Mr Speaker, we arrive at this bill. This bill puts all of what I have said already into practice, setting up a government-backed commission to advise on policy changes necessary to safeguard the British wool industry and ensure its sustainability. Further, we have set up a new subsidy scheme to be operated by the British Investment Bank that will be responsible for appropriately subsidising wool producers to deliver innovation and ensure resilience.
I commend this bill to the House and wish to see it’s swift passage.
This debate will close on 12th June at 10PM BST.

We're already here at day five, we are so close to Worm's birthday. So let's not dilly dally I want to get right into it.
Honorable mentions list:
Arc 20 Chrysalis
Arc 12 Plague
Arc 19 Scourge
Arc 11 Infestation
The Top 7 Arcs in Worm according to my opinion:

1. Arc 16 Monarch
   
2. Arc 24 Crushed
   
3. Arc 30 Speck
   
4. Arc 31 Teneral
   

Today's Honorable Mention: Arc 3 Agitation This is where the story finally picks up. Most people only remember the bank heist from this Arc, which I don't blame them, it's lots of fun with that and the fighting with Wards. But I also enjoyed the slower pace in the beginning with Taylor sparring with Brian, the planning of the bank heist itself, and her conversation with Armsmaster which is great on a re-read when you're not biasely rooting for Taylor, the conversation with Tattletale explaining how being a cape is a high risk game of cops and robbers, then the bank heist and fight with the Wards, I have read that fight over and over again. Finally closing with Worm's introduction of gray morality with the Brockton Bay Wards interlude. Soild arc this, soild arc.
3. Arc 27 Extinction: If I was doing a list of the best Arc titles, this would win, and it would win by a mile. Just that name gives me chills. I was scared to read this Arc because I was so terrified for the characters. I think it's amazing what great writing can do and how it can influence your feelings. The opening where Brockton Bay is just destroyed after having been built up as our main setting for the majority of the story. Wildbow certainly isn't afraid to destroy what he's created. Taylor and Rachel do some search and rescue before going to Earth Gimel with the rest of the refugees and she runs into Emma's family who seemingly blame her for Emma's death, which I mean no, granted because of what happened to her back in arc 20 she felt like she had nothing to fall back on having her worldview destroyed so fell into a deep depression and refused to leave her room but at the end of the day I feel like that was Emma's choice not to leave so thereby Taylor is not responsible in any way shape or form. But that's just me.

Alan, Emma’s dad, had lost weight since I’d seen him last. He’d noticed me, and looked up, staring, his eyes red. His wife sat in a lawn chair beside him, while Emma’s older sister sat on a blanket at her mother’s feet, her mother resting one hand on her head.
Zoe’s -Emma’s mom’s- eyes were wet. Emma’s sister looked equally upset.
Emma wasn’t in sight. I could guess what they were crying about.
Alan was staring at me now, and there was an inexplicable accusation in the look. His wife took his hand and held it, but he didn’t move his eyes a fraction.
When Anne, Emma’s sister, looked up at me, there was a glimmer of the same. A hint of blame.

Then we go into the meeting with Cauldron, this is pretty much the final big debriefing. We watch from Defiant going off on Saint, Grue having a silent panic attack as Bonesaw is there, and everyone letting out their anger on Cauldron whether they be the Irregulars or Taylor herself. Moving forward comes with Taylor's conversation with Sophia, Shadow Stalker. I love this conversation. Sophia winning gold in mental gymnastics as she's convinced herself that she's the reason why Taylor is such a successful cape just so she doesn't have to concede her worldview. To me Taylor through this conversation overcomes her trauma, it ties up her own personal loose end with it. And for me, there was no other point in the story where I was as proud of Taylor as I was by the end of this conversation.

I felt okay with this decision. Comfortable. It wasn’t a mask I was wearing, so strong it might as well have been real. No. It was something simpler.
I’m not scared of her anymore.

Then comes the Birdcage villains, a real selection of who's who. I want to know more about some of these villains, specifically String Theory. I can almost hear what her voice sounds like and visualize her mannerisms. I sure wish Scion didn't off her, but we'll get to that in a second. Then leads to my third favorite chapter in the entire series 27.4. Taylor sitting down with Glaistig Uaine is such a fascinating conversation, Uaine only addressing people by their shard name is so creepy but I can't help but love it. I also love this little tidbit of Taylor thinking what she would look like if she got claimed.

What if I fell in battle? Would she claim me? Would I become like that? What form would that body take? Skitter, Weaver, or a blending of the two?

The way Uaine views the world like people are actors and everyone has a part to play, her talking about Eidolon, and her talking about Scion, she's such a fascinating character. She ends the conversation by telling Taylor she can't wait to collect her shard. I absolutely love this. Then Taylor picks out her costume in ways that symbolizes her and her journey, picking out a black costume with white plates, attribute to both Weaver and Skitter, a handgun reminding her of her first kill, Coil, and pepper spray reminding her of her first night out in costume. I really do love this chapter.
The oil rig battle, there are so many thoughts that come to my head when I think about this scene. Another fight that fully convinced me despite there being more arcs left in the book I was fully convinced the story was coming to an end here. Some things are went over such as Lab Rat giving out arm bands and Chevalier commenting on why they're out on a oil rig in the middle of nowhere

“It’s isolated, to minimize chances he can track us somehow,” Chevalier said. “And we have a good escape route. Not to mention it’s the furthest point from Scion.”

This would not age well.
Then group after group attack Scion doing whatever they can seeing what might work, but then comes my girly String Theory. With her one of a kind, never seen before G-driver. She fucking smokes Scion, well not really but it was something more than what anyone else had done. During my first time reading this it was in that moment of triumph that I had a thought that I remember distinctly. "Hold on a second, Scion is a God basically. If he really wanted to he could just find them. No that wouldn't happen, that would feel too narratively unfair." I moved on and kept listening, oh boy, you could imagine my reaction when it was revealed Scion was above them staring down getting ready to actually smoke them. I could not believe what I was listening to. This line from the book summarized my feelings at the time.

“Oh god,” someone said. “Oh god, oh god.”

I love what great fiction can make you feel.
Scion sends down his golden light bomb and takes out most of the people on the oil rig, Taylor gets dismembered and does everything she can to survive. Using her bugs, using the serum Lab Rat had made. She done ends up with an incredibly deformed body but it saves her and ends up with the Irregulars and has a lovely conversation. I love Weld so much and same with Sveta she's adorable.

“Be brave, Sveta,” Weld murmured.
“I just tell myself I need to act like you,” Sveta’s voice came from within the sphere.

I love this conversation as they're trying to convince Weld to go with them as this chaotic battle between some of the strongest capes in the universe battle against Scion. After the conversation with Weld Taylor does what she can to help in the fight against Scion. It does not go well, but I love the fact that no matter what Taylor is always willing to try. No matter what. Taylor dives into the water after Eidolon send some flying into the water, as she tries using every bug from under the water against him. And as she realizes that she fails she looks up and sees Uaine looking down eagerly for her shard. But Taylor gets saved by the bell as she falls deeper and deeper into the water and a portal opens. I love Worm.
Then comes the interlude, Eidolon's interlude. Eidolon is a character I overlook but I think he's an interesting case of this is all I have so I will give my life to this because the alternative is worse. I will say though in the same interlude he has such an amazing fight with Scion, oh my goodness probably the biggest power scale fight outside of Gold Morning. But even for the one fight that feels like power versus power switching between the current events and his backstory goes back to fights and Worm pulling at your heartstrings during these. But this ends with a very iconic line, Scion uses his path to victory and finds the one way to break David.

You needed worthy opponents

Day five is in the books and now we're on to say six, my goodness gracious Worm's birthday is fast approaching and I feel like I'm starting to get a little bit better at these. With that let me know what I can do better. As always, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to read this and I'll see you tomorrow.