How to get free money ps3

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk stems from The Lost Mine of Phandelver a classic and beloved starter set that many new DMs run. Even with this being the most recent release it still has an issue, the same as with many others...it doesn't describe the best way to transform the book's contents into an actual session. The Book-to-session conversion can be difficult between figuring out when things should happen, understanding motivations, and even organizing encounters.
Well, fortunately for you, 99% of that work is done! Only a few things are really left:

• Read the book, I know surprising, but it can be extremely confusing when you don't know where everything leads to.
• Consider the needs of your group. As you've heard or are about to hear a million times, every table is different. If you plan on combining this with a campaign, you'll have to make tweaks here and there.
• These notes aren't meant to be the end-all-be-all. Tweak to your heart's content, and don't consider any of what's written to be set in stone. For me having notes like this helps give me the confidence to go off the rails and follow along with what my players want. It helps me understand where things were meant to go and why. Having that understanding allows me to guide the players and create other new and interesting stories. These are all things that will come with experience, though, so don't freak out and enjoy the journey!

Advent's Notes: I was surprised with how few changes were made in the book considering how long this adventure has been around and all the wonderful things the community has come up with, I was even more surprised when they started adding more monsters to Cragmaw Cave. It's already pretty rough in there and with the additional creatures, it's almost assured there's going to be a TPK. I've kept most of the fights the way they were with only a few minor adjustments, the most important changes are just subtle nods to the Psi Goblins that will be encountered later on.
Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes Part 1 Cragmaw Hideout: DM Notes
• Link to: Intro + Cragmaw Hideout Playlist
• List of changes in Phandelver and Below: Change List
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection are:

• A Word document with all my notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDFs for all the encounters. This includes all the enemies' stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP.
• An additional PDF with Sildars stats should he join the party as an ally
• Custom maps of Cragmaw Hideout. I enlarged and printed this out for my players as a battle map!

Over 5 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here
As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!
Cheers, Advent

so a little background i am a 30 year old male who has had an issues with depression and tend to stay away from big crowds but when it comes to the people who raised me (my grandparents) id burn the world to make sure they live happily and care free im not really prone to yelling or getting angry but when it involves defending my family i rarely defend myself unless actively provoked at a young age i was abandoned by my mother and father and had some abandonment issues because of it needless to say i was a ball of emotion and anger from 5 til 13 and my aunt has always called me a black sheep lost cause pushed me into the corner or even another room during family gatherings telling me im not family and even told me that everyone would be better off if ive never exsisted needless to say i was and still believe the last part from time to time. now onto the situation at hand my youngest cousin (we'll call him J) J was having cleared of some legal issues and we were talking about how his older brothers told him that in their eyes they werent considered family anymore even though being proven innocent i was telling him if thats how they feel then maybe its time you just let them live their lives and you live with yours in walks abusive aunt (lets call her B) B what right do you have to tell J that he should lets his brothers go you dont have and reasons to do so politely i told her me and J are talking in private and id appreciate it if you dont interject B states i and do what i want as he is my son while you know nothing about family. to this point ive been taking care of my grandparents my grandpa who has been showing and been diagnosed with early onset dementia and alzheimer's and my grandma who was hit with the after effects of covid from being healthy before to now relying on a walker and having stage 3 kidney failure and more pretty much she was hit with the retorical book of medical issues after covid i pay them rent while i stay awake 16 hours a day to take care of them be it cooking cleaning laundry to even taking them to doctors appoinments. needless to say ive been given the right to kick out those who dont mind the rules of the household or treat me or them with disrespect and have on several occasions. after what B said i asked her kindly leave the house i will not be treated with disrespect. B then said you cant kick me out this is my parents home and i can treat you any way i want to i looked to J and said J can you leave the room J left saying we can talk later when B is gone needless to say B wasnt happy when J said that and started ranting and raving how im a bum who has done nothing in life etc etc i politely yet firmly asked her to leave or ill inform grandma and grandpa about the situation and have them take care of it as i rather not have to be your verbal and mental punching bag again she went bananas after saying that and went on a tangent for a good 10 minutes while i was trying to tell my grandparents the situation while B was yelling at me from the kitchen until she said the one thing that is a button no one presses as its my big red button for anger which is "youre just a waste that even your parents didnt want why dont you just end it now itll make everyone happy" ive had many issues and thoughts of ending my exsistance has always been an issue and have already made my peace with my parents but saying that infront of my grandparents and them not saying anything made me lose it i then went to the other room and yelled at her "coming from the women who ran away from home at 16 only to return a year later pregnant and ditching the responsibilities onto your parents only to rinse and repeat so many time you dont even know who 2 of her kids dad is go back home or so help me god i will tell those 2 who still think their dads are their dads that they arent" B said who told you that i know who my kids dad/dads are i retorted "says the women who spent most of her life in on her back with her legs in the air" with a few more curse words to add to it at that point grandparents chimed up telling me to go downstairs calm down they will take care of it and here we are me downstairs writing this while B is upstairs yelling and my grandparents telling her to calm down and threats from the 3 cousins who want nothing to do with J telling next time they see me they will beat me with an inch of my life so aita

Been thinking about getting a credit card because I'm trying to get my own apartment sometime next year, but since I have basically no credit history, I might be hard pressed to get approved for a place, not without a cosigner anyway. I figured that since I'm a gamer and shop at GameStop sometimes, why not! I did have a credit card for a brief time several years ago, but it ended up getting closed. But now that I'm a little older I feel like I can be financially responsible with a credit card. Yes, I know it's not free money. Yes, I know I have to pay off the balance every month. Yes, I understand that interest gets tacked on when you carry a balance. No, I'm not going to be using the card for crazy purchases. Maybe small stuff here and there.

I recently discovered that I might be in an abusive relationship for more than 2 years and I don't know when to pull the plug.
Me and my partner have been living in the UK for about 2 years now because of my work, in this whole time he had a couple of jobs, but for no more than 4 months in the same place, leaving me with the financial responsibility all by myself. I'm 25yo and he is 23. Currently, I'm always working for freelancing jobs to be able to have money left to be able to go out and buy things for me - something that I didn't do for a long time.
Last week he had a big fight and I discovered that he was been talking to other girls on the internet, when confronting him, he got aggressive, flipping tables and screaming at me, mentioning that he would kill himself because he couldn't live with the things that he done with me. We got into a couple of other fights this week as i'm trying to regain power. I suggested him to start talking about those things with his therapist and he did, he told me that he never takes responsibilities but I also should look at my mistakes not just him. He suggested that I could be a narc too, but after some researches I have the feeling that i'm codependent.
He asked me to give him another chance as he is now doing therapy but i feel that I've been in this hamster wheel for too long, being love bombed when things gets ugly until something pisses him about me. I'm really afraid of being by myself in a new country with no family and a couple of friends that I made in those two years. I want to believe that he will change and everything will be fine again but i don't know how long this would take and how more can I go through being treated as a flatmate by my own husband.
I wished it was a math problem so that I could just do 2+2 and find out. Is there any techniques that could help me assess what I feel? I feel I've been so drawn into this relationship that I can't even make decisions by myself. Feeling lost.

Loving the game, unfortunnatly i dont really get the trading between two regions. How do i use the packstation? Seems Like they are Not working at all, even with 10 packstations. Main Region is broke and only one good to sell, cant make money to feed my 250 people. My second Region is wealthy plenty of goods but i cant trade those goods to my Main Region. You guys have some tips? What am i doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any tips!

I'm looking to get some shears for personal use, I'd be using them about once every 2-3 months. I found some beautiful shears online for around $200, brand is Saki Shears. My local Sally's has shears for around $50, though. I can afford to splurge on these, but if there isn't much of a functional difference I may go with the cheaper ones instead. I assume most of what I'm paying for with the fancy ones is the elaborate designs, obviously, but in general are expensive shears worth it? Do you need to sharpen them less often or anything?
Speaking of which, after how many cuts do they need to be sharpened?
And is Saki Shears a reputable brand? I found a Reddit post from them where they were seemingly giving out free samples of >$200 items, which is odd to me

does anyone know a way around how on earth to get a CBS account or a paramount plus account for free or to byprass it in england?
I watched the first 2 series's of usa ghosts on bbc iplayer with no problem because I have a account on there but I want to watch series's 3 of usa ghosts but unfortunately bbc iplayer doesn't have series's of it.
(yes I know it is confusing about how in england we called tv show with episode's series but just go along with it)
I can't pay because I don't have my own bank card because my mum looks after my bank details because I am not good with that kind of stuff.
I could ask my dad because he has a paramount plus account already but I rather have my own.

I recently started getting into audio equipment and i currently have Redragon H510 headset, i play cs competitively and i havent had any complaints about it for the last 4 years. Now for music on the other side i dont like these, i feel like there are many songs that i would like much more if i had better headphones and overall i want to hear some change but i dont want to spend a lot of money so after a bit of researching i found IEM TANGZU WAN ER SG for a bit less than 30 euros, i dont know what to expect so unless someone can tell me that ill really feel some difference i dont think im gonna get them. Now obviously you dont know how my headset sounds but im wondering how did others experience this switch

Just curious is someone can explain when the battle pass resets? I'm at lvl 95 (free) and I'd like to get the hero skin that is in the free route. But not sure how much more time I have to get there. Just hit lvl 95 today.
Thanks in advance 😊

Wanna build your agency up to $10k/month in revenue?
Follow this process step-by-step.
The FIRST step
Before you even think about doing anything else,
Is to come up with a no-brainer offer.
If you have a skillset already, build your offer around that skillset.
If you're brand new to the game, you'll need to learn a valuable skill...
So you can frame an offer around that skillset.
A few great skillsets to base your offer on:

• Influencer marketing
• High ticket sales
• Lead generation
• Email marketing
• Copywriting
• Web design

Once you have a skillset, you'll be ready to build your offer.
Here's how:
You need to be crystal clear on what you offer, WHO you offer it to, and what the unique mechanism of your offer is.
Here's our offer:
"We help B2B service providers book 5-10 qualified sales calls each month on autopilot with cold email and LinkedIn outreach."
If you can't state your offer clearly in as few words as possible, you need to work on it until you can.
A good offer also has some combo of the following:

• Shows direct value to the prospect
• A no brainer proposition
• Extremely unique
• Has a guarantee
• In high demand

Your offer will be what DIFFERENTIATES you from your competition.
If you offer the same service as everyone else and frame it the same way,
Prospects have no reason to get back to you.
But if they see they only have to pay for results...
Or you solve a problem they're dealing with currently...
Or they're guaranteed an ROI...
They'll reply.
Now that you're CRYSTAL clear on your offer,
The next step is to build a simple landing page and record your VSL.
Don't overthink your landing page.
Use Carrd for the buildout,
Feature your RMS (We help X achieve Y with Z) at the top of the page followed by a VSL,
And have a call-to-action pushing prospects to your calendar.
So you have an offer and a landing page equipped with a VSL...
Now it's time to start sending prospects to your landing page and getting calls booked on calendar.
If you are familiar with cold outreach,
All you'll need is a contact list from Listkit,
An account on Mailshake to send emails,
And scripts to send to prospects with your emails.
Good scripts are:

• Short
• Personalized
• Based on benefits rather than features
• Focus on the prospects rather than you

Now that your outreach is running and your landing page and VSL are set up,
It'll be a matter of a few weeks (or even days in some instances) until you book your first call.
The last step before you have your first client: the sales call.
Sales can be super intimidating, but you'll get better & more comfortable with them by putting in the reps.
Once you get on your first few sales calls, you should be able to close your first client!
Even if you work for free or only get paid for results, your first client is a BIG milestone..
Make sure you sign them on with a formal contract.
Then, once they're officially signed on,
Set a great first impression on your new client with a smooth onboarding process.
By now, you'll be able to deliver results for your first client,
Turn those results into a case study and (hopefully) a monthly retainer,
And repeat the cold outreach sales onboarding process over and over...
Until you hit $10k/MRR.
Of course, this post is weeks, even a month or two, of work compounded into a 10 minute read.
I turned week-long processes into single sentences...
So be patient, be consistent, and have faith in the process because it won't be as easy as this post makes it seem...
But this process WILL work.
Even if you have to tweak scripts, pivot offers, eat shit and feel like giving up,
As long as you stick with it, it'll work.
Just get out there and put in the hours!
Hope this was helpful to you, I know I could've used this when I first started.
Source

I see there is a recent, useful post on cognitive decline, but I'm new here and also wanted to tell my story.
Background. Male, 61 years old. In summer '22, I had three concussions. (I don't drink or take drugs; it was three freak accidents, each one different.) Those injuries, especially the first one, gave me light sensitivity, language problems, memory problems, insomnia. I recovered after a month, then the next two I recovered after a week or two.
I got Covid in Jan 2024 and have had LC since. That's more like a "medium"-hauler in terms of time, and most of my symptoms (fatigue, bradycardia, PEM, POTS, insomnia) have seemed mild or improving.
Cognitive decline. But a week or so ago, I noticed cognitive decline and it's freaking me out. I've been doing some gig work that involves describing photos aloud, and I could not think of the word "cleaver" (like a meat cleaver) even though I was looking right at a picture of it. "It's a . . . knife, a kind of square knife," I said.
The other day I tried to say "September," but what came out was "December" and next came "November." So it took three tries to say one word.
Worst of all, I messed up my chance to get all my student loans forgiven--I'm getting just a fraction of them forgiven when I could have wiped out the whole debt. But a combination of executive function problems and not understanding how the program worked led to this mistake.
I get health care through an HMO (Kaiser Permanente) whose party line is that the only medical treatment for LC is anti-depressants. I'm not interested in that.
Poverty. LC has left me on the brink of homelessness. I live in low-income housing and was struggling to make a living as a freelancer before I got sick. One reason I tried so hard not to get Covid was I knew it could be financially devastating, and it has been.
I had to start working two hours a day just three weeks after Covid because I have no financial support other than my earnings. No paid sick time, no long-term disability, no short-term disability. I do mental work, editing academic books and journals.
I have about two months' of expenses in the bank--not in savings, just, all told, checking, savings, the extra savings account where I set aside money for taxes, that all comes to about two months of expenses. But as a freelancer, I often don't get paid until two months after I invoice. So two months is not a good cushion, it's barely a cushion at all.

Hey everyone, first time posting here.
33yo, male. I've been bouldering indoors for about three years now and I've noticed a few specific things that don't get talked about much. Here are some questions I've been pondering:

1. I'm looking to push myself more with limit bouldering above my current grade. Currently, I tend to stick to boulders around my flash grade on reset days, work on my project grade during sessions, and only tackle boulders above my limit grade once I've cleared everything else. Should I be focusing more on trying climbs that are way above my level?
   
2. Any tips for practicing coordination, comp-style, and slab boulders when my gym doesn't have many of those routes?
   
3. How can I improve my technique for high foot manteling moves, when you need to sit on your foot and wrist/shoulder? I always find these uncomfortable.
   
4. Any advice for managing skin when working on slopers or volumes? When to stop? When to burn?
   
5. When is it a good idea to revisit a hard boulder problem that I've already sent, especially if I feel like I could improve on my beta or technique?
   
6. I really enjoy training on the board, doing it twice a week alternating with sessions on the moonboard. Should I prioritize this style of training for a while, or should I balance it with other styles? I feel some frustration in both cases. Getting better on the moonboard would be nice, but others styles are lovely too.
   
7. How do you deal with changes in difficulty level set by the route setters? It seems like every month or so there's a shift, which can be confusing. Do you just adapt and focus on what challenges you, or do you find it affects your training consistency?
   
8. I've been considering joining the strongest group at the gym once a week and following their lead, even if it means attempting climbs that are beyond my current ability. If that group disperses, I'd move on to another. While this approach exposes me to new challenges and beta, I find it somewhat distracting and notice I rest less. Any thoughts or advice on this approach?
   

Feel free to answer any or none of these questions. Cheers!

Place: A house in Gangseo
The gentle rays peeked through the curtains. They illuminated a room. Inside the room, a woman and a toddler were sleeping. The toddler was a carbon copy of the woman -- black hair and pale skin.
A teenager gently nudged the door of the room. He had white hair and pale skin. He wore a black T-shirt, yellow shorts and an apron with "Certified Chef". He tiptoed into the room.
He saw the duo sleeping. The little one was hugging her mother and was drooling. The boy took out his phone and quietly took photos of the duo.
??? (thinking): My new home screen.
Hae-in: Zy...? Zygarde (quietly): Hey. Breakfast is ready sleepyhead.
He crouched and softly tousled her hair.
[Zygarde Lee]: 193 cm, 90 kg; XX, XXX, A+ (Ascended), SS, XX
[Hae-in Kim]: 181cm, 70kg; MR, LR+, A(Awakened), B, MR+
[Yeon Hwa Lee]: 86cm, 15kg; ???, ???, S, ???, ???
Hae-in (groggy): What time is it... Zygarde: 9 am.
Hae-in was startled. She woke up with a start.
Hae-In: Oh my god! I- Zygarde: It's fine~ Breakfast is ready.
Zygarde gently lifted Yeon Hwa and patted her back.
Zygarde: Yeon. Wake up. I made your favourite!
Yeon yawned and rubbed her eyes.
Yeon (groggy): Mmmm... Zygarde: Yeon! Look it's Taiyo! Yeon (awake): Tayo? Tayo!
The mother-and-daughter duo freshened up and sat down at the table.
Zygarde: Presenting... drumrolls, please... Zygarde: Yeon! Table tap.
Yeon Hwa began flailing her arms and tapping the table.
Zygarde: Samgyeopsal! Yeon: Samamamama! Zygarde: Samamamama!
The trio feasted.
A short while later...
Hae-in: Thanks for the food. I'll do the dishes. Yeon: Play!
Suddenly Zygarde's phone rang.
Zygarde: Who can it be? Oh, it's Yun. Zygarde: Yo man? Right now? Sure...
Zygarde cut the call and looked at Yeon forlornly.
Yeon: Papaa? Zygarde: Papa. Out. Sorry. Yeon: Papa back? Zygarde: Soon.
Zygarde nuzzled Yeon and she squealed and giggled.
Zygarde: I'll be back honey!
Place: A warehouse in Gangseo
[Seongji Yun]: 180 cm, 92 kg; XX, X, S(Ascended), B, XX
Yun: Thanks for coming down. I hope I didn't disturb your family time. Zygarde: Not at all! Tell me. What can I do for you?
Yun explained his predicament.
Zygarde: Do you have to follow his path? Don't get me wrong.
Zygarde gave a reassuring pat on his back.
Zygarde: Is chasing his shadow the only way you can get stronger?
Yun pondered.
Zygarde: Don't give me an answer right away. Could you keep this at the back of your mind? I want you to find your path.
Zygarde's phone rang. He chuckled.
Zygarde: It seems like some people miss me. I'll be off.
Place: A hospital in Gangseo
[Kim Seol Jin]: 184 cm, 79 kg; X, X, B(Ascended), C, XX
Seol Jin sat on the chair with a defeated expression.
Seol Jin: How bad is it? Doctor: His left kidney and stomach have ruptured. His condition has stabilised after surgery. We have to keep him in the ICU. Seol Jin: It's all my-
The doctor exhaled and patted him.
Doctor: I'm sorry to hear about the incident It's important to remember that it's not your fault.
He sat beside Seol Jin.
Doctor: These things happen, and it's natural to feel overwhelmed. Seeking support can be helpful during difficult times.
The doctor handed out a business card.
Doctor: If you feel very disturbed, I can arrange for you to meet one of our counsellors. Seol Jin: I don't think I need it.
The doctor prised the card into his hands.
Doctor: Take it, boy, and get something to eat! You've been here for the past 16 hours!
Seol Jin: Y-yes sir
A few hours later...
Place: A house in Gangseo
Hae-in: Looks like someone needs a nap. Yeon: Noooo... Zygarde: C'mere.
Zygarde gently lifted her.
Zygarde: Hold gently like a burger.
He cradled her and sang her a lullaby. Yeon soon drifted off.
Hae-In: I still have no idea how you do that every time. Zygarde: The secret is being the favourite parent! Hae-in: As if?!
The family sat on the balcony, enjoying the gentle breeze carrying the earthy scent of fallen leaves and the sight of vibrant, colourful foliage swaying in the wind, accompanied by the soothing sounds of rustling leaves and melodic wind chimes.
Hae-in: How long has it been since we had some free time... Zygarde: I know...
Zygarde lay on her lap and glanced at Hae-in. He rested the sleeping toddler on his belly. She was sleeping soundly and hugging her favourite Sanrio plush.
Zygarde: As I look up, the waning sun in the distance perfectly angles with Hae-in, as if a holy aura is surrounding her. Hae-in: Where did that- Zygarde: Her black eyes are akin to a pair of black onyxes. Hae-in: I- Go on? Zygarde: Her lips are like rose petals, soft and delicate, with a natural rosy hue that complements her graceful smile. Hae-in: Wow I- Zygarde: There's more! Hae-in: Go on...
Zygarde gently grabs Hae-in's head and pulls it closer.
Zygarde: And did you know that no matter what...
Hae-in tensed up.
Zygarde: I-
Hae-in lips touched Zygarde's. It certainly wasn't their first rodeo. But it was certainly their first one in a long time.
Their tongues intertwined. And their breathing had a shared rhythm. They closed their eyes to deepen their passion.
Zygarde: Mmm! Hae-in: Hmm? Zygarde (prying himself off): Yeon...
Hae-in became flustered.
Much to their surprise, she had not been disturbed by the whole event.
The duo softly giggled and continued their day.

Heyo hi!
I've been away from reddit for a little while as I needed to deal with some personal stuff but am once again on the lookout for someone/some people who I can hang with every now and again! I'll jot down my hobbies here and if they resonate/match with yours feel free to drop me a DM! :))
So, here goes:
- Music ~ I play the piano & guitar!, currently learning to sing, still a loooooong way to go though!
- Dance/Fitness ~ I've been trying to get into modern dances like hip hop/street popping styles :D
- Skincare/Fashion ~ Any fashion-fanatics would totally be welcome as I'm trying a big restyle currently, currently working on different hairstyles and outfit designs!! Possibly getting some curly hair into my straight hair soon!
- Video Games ~ I do like to play games every so often, primarily on PC but I do have other consoles too!
- Language Learning ~ Been learning Korean and trying to learn other languages recently too - any tips/guidance or just generic conversations in languages besides English are super welcome
- Cooking/Baking ~ I love baking too, very therapeutic which brings me onto my other hobby:
- Coffee/Drinks ~ I love to make and explore different types of coffee, recently made my own boba tea also :) would looove some tips on how to make my coffees extra creamy!
I do have other hobbies but I'd say the above are probably all my main ones :) I will say though, I am from the UK but my sleep schedule can be pretty scuffed so I'm happy to chat to people from anywhere in the world :)
If anything mentioned takes your interest, drop me a DM and see if we vibe? I do use discord primarily so it's preferred and please be 18+ annd finallyyy, please do not spam me if I don't reply in 15 seconds...!! I will try my best to get back to everyone <3

Heyo hi!
I've been away from reddit for a little while as I needed to deal with some personal stuff but am once again on the lookout for someone/some people who I can hang with every now and again! I'll jot down my hobbies here and if they resonate/match with yours feel free to drop me a DM! :))
So, here goes:
- Music ~ I play the piano & guitar!, currently learning to sing, still a loooooong way to go though!
- Dance/Fitness ~ I've been trying to get into modern dances like hip hop/street popping styles :D
- Skincare/Fashion ~ Any fashion-fanatics would totally be welcome as I'm trying a big restyle currently, currently working on different hairstyles and outfit designs!! Possibly getting some curly hair into my straight hair soon!
- Video Games ~ I do like to play games every so often, primarily on PC but I do have other consoles too!
- Language Learning ~ Been learning Korean and trying to learn other languages recently too - any tips/guidance or just generic conversations in languages besides English are super welcome
- Cooking/Baking ~ I love baking too, very therapeutic which brings me onto my other hobby:
- Coffee/Drinks ~ I love to make and explore different types of coffee, recently made my own boba tea also :) would looove some tips on how to make my coffees extra creamy!
I do have other hobbies but I'd say the above are probably all my main ones :) I will say though, I am from the UK but my sleep schedule can be pretty scuffed so I'm happy to chat to people from anywhere in the world :)
If anything mentioned takes your interest, drop me a DM and see if we vibe? I do use discord primarily so it's preferred and please be 18+ annd finallyyy, please do not spam me if I don't reply in 15 seconds...!! I will try my best to get back to everyone <3

The title of this post may seem insane to most people, I know. Although it is long, please follow me closely as I explain why Beyoncé is the loser of a beef that she wasn't even included in.
We are currently in a time in the music world where the "top artists" are releasing some of their worst work, their desires are CLEARLY outweighing their passion, and their fandoms' dedication outweighs their actual value. Let's look at a few examples:

1. Taylor Swift - Tortured Poets Department: extremely lazy lyrics ("like a tattooed golden retriever" and "my friends all smell of weed or little babies" just to name a few), unoriginal concept (it's heavily giving Lana del Rey imo), and redundantly long.
2. Kanye West: I don't even think an explanation is necessary here
3. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday 2 & "Big Foo"t: ...
4. Cardi B - "Enough (Miami)": literally sounds like every Cardi B song ever...

Basically... music is not music right now (the mainstream, top performers). Passion is being replaced with greed, which kinda makes sense given the economy rn, but consumers continuing to be passive & dismissive about this is dangerous for the future of art AND EDUCATION (I'll get to that).
The Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake beef was not just a cool rap moment. The music that came from both sides of this beef, as well as the events that occurred outside of the music, drew a BOLD line between Entertainers/Pop Stars and Artists. It also revealed another important question: when CAN the music be separated from the artist (notice I said "can" instead of "should")?
See, many people throw around the phrase "we SHOULD separate the art from the artist." However... how did separating R. Kelly's art from him go? He had a cult following of people who SAW him and KNEW about him being a predator, but didn't care. This allowed his career to grow and gave him more money & resources to hurt people and simply make black people look a little cuckoo for continuously rallying behind him. WE CANNOT SEPARATE HIM FROM HIS ART. Unless you're cool with jamming to songs about little girls.
Pop Stars, like Drake and Beyoncé, get hella passes for their actions. Kendrick Lamar absolutely broke that wall down regarding Drake. He showed that Drake's "art" is not only flawed, but his tactics are detrimental to an entire culture and to art. I won't go in too much detail just because there are many articles/videos that break their beef down. We heard Kendrick describe his interpretation of Drake's relationship with Atlanta (which I agree with) in "Not Like Us." However... I don't think Kendrick knew he was breaking Beyoncé's wall down as well...
The possibility of separating Beyoncé from her work was thrown in the trash in 2013 with her surprise self-titled album. See, her first 4 solo albums were AMAZING (imo). She did a DAMN good job with those records without tactics that have detrimental consequences SOCIALLY (I'm aware of her theft allegations during this time, but for this post I'm discussing her impact on the world collectively rather than just within the industry). We could enjoy the music without feeling guilty due to her political and business decisions. Thus, we COULD separate the art from the artist. However... she stripped that ability away from us with each album after 4. *let me please note that I believe that pop stars should not dabble in activism, so this next section may slightly sound biased bc of that belief, but I'm doing my best to stay neutral*

1. Beyoncé (2013) - there's not much wrong with this album to me, but I mention it because I believe it's the catalyst. Feminism had a big year in 2013 (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/16/feminism-minority-voices-2013-inclusion), and feminism was a large theme of the album. Whether this was intentional or not, it had an impact (https://www.elle.com/culture/a35492/beyonce-and-feminism-essay/). I don't believe there were greedy/shady intentions with this album or its promotion, I just think the success of this album could've prompted the choices she and her team made for the following albums.
2. Lemonade (2016) - This is an amazing album sonically and visually. But... the promotion. So, the film she released with the album went through 11 chapters that represented the 11 songs on the album. Oh wait... there's 12 songs on Lemonade. Formation is thrown on at the end. The album is clearly relationship centered, but she released Formation as the single with all the black power imagery during a time where Black Lives Matter was moving heavy (I am black btw). I feel like the racial and social impact of this album is due to our own interpretations and theories about the album's meaning, and I think it was made that way on purpose. I think they had a great 11 song album that could've sold on its own, but Formation was used to stir the pot and I personally feel like using activism for marketing in an album rollout for pop music is unethical. maybe I'll do a separate post on that.
3. Renaissance (2022) - 2020-2022 was a big period for the LGBT community, particularly the trans community. Also, the hype around the show Pose was booming. I love this album. But come on... look into the promotion

If you want a deeper dive on her promotion tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99W79ED4hCE
You see where I'm going here. When you pair this with all of the other mess like the songwriting allegations, her obvious goal of billionaire status, and promoting wealth to us as if it coincides with excellence and it's something we should all be striving for, all while being held up as a LEADER in the black community or even the black art space..... it's a no for me. The music is great but I can't financially support an artist like that.
However... Kendrick Lamar's music connects with me on a different level because it coincides with the human experience. He is honest, authentic, and creative in his work. Artists being themselves is what inspires transformation in me. He doesn't have to use overboard promotional tactics and grift to a specific demographic to take care of himself and his family. And Beyoncé doesn't have to either. Also... Kendrick is competent and knowledgeable about his work. We know the passion behind it because we see it in the lyrics, hear it in his delivery, and feel it when he discusses it. Never any large consumerism tactics behind it... any of that.
Kendrick is sticking out in the industry right now (to me) because he has separated himself from the "greedy pop star," like Drake. It shines a light on the true artistry in Kendrick's work, and the lack of it in Drake's. And when I looked into Drake's mess, I found a bunch of other top stars' mess as well. And that includes Beyoncé.
I call Bey the real loser of the Kendrick vs. Drake beef because I believe she has been held at the top spot for us (black ppl) for a while. She just won an "innovator" award. Her image doesn't coincide with what is on paper and wax for me anymore. She's a hell of a performer... but there's too many questionable elements here. Kendrick has not only proven himself to be the top rapper, but the TOP artist (at least among black artists, but I believe overall).
Yes, the pop stars are "bigger." More fans, more money, more power, crazier fans, more resources, etc. Beyoncé is the most adored; the bigger one. But when it comes to art, which I'm passionate about DEARLY.... it's Kendrick for me. Listen to his albums and tell me different.

Cover Art <<Previous Start Next >>
GLOSSARY This links to a post on the free section of my Patreon. Note: "Book 1" is chapters 1-59, "Book 2" is chapters 60-133, "Book 3", is 134-193, "Book 4" is CH 194-(ongoing)
Fuyuko, Derek, and Shizoku spent most of a day dealing with their accumulated gains and preparing for their first day of exploration. Shizoku spent a fair amount of that evening's time communing with Bip, her slime familiar. She needed to adjust what spells she had at the ready for dealing with a wetlands environment.
While she was studying her grimoire, Derek and Fuyuko were preparing more physical means of dealing with the wetlands. Most of their work had been dealt with by trading the boat for three pairs of proper swamp boots, but the footwear needed a little adjusting and resizing for each of them.
The over boots were a combination of different techniques for dealing with different sorts of mud, with the base being a raised wooden sole that 'winged' out to resist sinking further into soft mud that was deeper than the ridges raised the sole. These were attached to oiled leather over boots that were useful for wading. The wooden soles were detachable for prolonged wading where they would provide a hindrance.
Derek could reshape the wooden portion to match their feet exactly, and reshape metal fittings if needed, but leather and cloth needed manual adjustment. Given how long they were planning on using these for, it was important to make them fit as perfectly as possible to prevent blisters and sores, even with their normal footwear underneath the boots.
They began their exploration by using the mapping tools they had won in the library to learn the layout of the swamp near the town. It didn't take them long to realize that some of the islands moved very slowly, and Derek was able to use his elemental talents to investigate, leading to the disturbing realization that under the right conditions, mud could have currents and flows.
Shizoku's magic wasn't quite as effective as she would have liked, for most of it was designed to work in other environments. Magic designed to hide your tracks and traces didn't prevent you from making them in the first place, and so did not keep you from sinking into mud. She did have a spell designed to make traversal through any terrain safe and easy, but it didn't last very long and was best reserved for crossing smaller sections of really bad terrain.
Spells used for manipulating and altering plants could also provide small bridges, but these were limited by the strength of the nearby plants. Generally speaking, they were better for clearing plants out of the way.
These difficulties were inspiring ideas of future spells to research, but that required more time than just the little bit of rest they got each day.
Derek's powers were more consistent and easier to use repeatedly or for long periods, but the effects tended to not be as dramatic as the witch's spells. He could make the mud firmer or softer to a degree, but he couldn't create a solid path out of flowing silt for even a few minutes.
Fuyuko found that her long limbs and greater strength allowed her to move easier through the swamp then her friends could, just by virtue of being able to apply more force and leverage. This was why she was leading the way, Derek found it difficult to monitor the details of the mud around them while also working to firm it up constantly, and it was easiest for Fuyuko to cope with any sudden changes that Derek wasn't able to compensate for.
Their outward journey each day was mostly limited by Derek's stamina, and when he was approaching his limits they would use a combination of their maps and Shizoku's divination magics to find the best route back. Such spells required some precision in defining a destination, so they were not very useful when you didn't have a concrete destination in mind.
Because the trio were taking their time to be thorough and to explore all possibilities, it didn't take long for them to begin finding all the bounties that the swamp held in store for them. Shizoku was able to find plants with medical and alchemical uses, though she had to consult the tomes that she had stored in Bip's memories as wetland plants were not very familiar to her. Once she had identified any specific plant, she could give it to Fuyuko as a sample and the luponi could use her better senses to find more of that plant.
Fuyuko also caught the scent of some mud that was strangely familiar, and after she and Derek dug out some of the intensely colored clay, Shizoku was able to recognize it was a valuable type of clay used for making prized teapots and other pottery. This explained why the scent had been familiar to Fuyuko, as Kazue had been excited to introduce her to Cimbu and the fourteen-year-old had been fascinated by the ability to make the little clay dragon spit water without any magic involved and sometimes made some tea just to have an excuse to play with the tea pet and make him spit. Well, once she'd been shown how; tea wasn't something she'd had much experience with before.
Claiming the clay was more problematic. However much they might be able to claim in their explorations and bring back to town, there were only so many other explorers they could trade with as everyone had a limit to how much stuff they could physically haul out. In the end they decided on a single large sack of clay that would be stored in Fuyuko's spatially expanded backpack.
Derek did most of the work of 'mining' the clay, during which they made another discovery: Opals. There weren't an outrageous number of them, but they were decent-sized and high quality. These became a higher priority target than the clay itself, though they kept that too.
The teens didn't forget the lessons they'd been given about the previous level and wanted to fish here too. However, the water was murky in the places it was deep enough to possibly have fish, making it more difficult to know where the fish were.
It was only after they talked with people back at the town that they learned about fish traps, and set about making those. Specifically, eel traps. The eels were prized for both their skin and their flesh. Their skin was bother durable and supple and came in a wide variety of colors and patterns, and their flesh was sweeter than most varieties found out in the world. As soon as they learned how to make and set eel traps, those were added to their routine during their explorations.
Their travels throughout the swamp also brought them to many of the scattered 'monster homes' throughout the swamp, including the time that Fuyuko nearly stepped on a kobold enjoying a nice relaxing mud bath. It was a shock for all three of them as none knew about the relatively recent acquisition of the small, scaled race.
Shizoku was fine with the kobold after she got over her shock, but she did less well when they met the crabbit, who was so kind as to sing for them. Not that any of them found the sight of the interior of the 'mouth' to be less than disturbing, but the effect on the little kitsune was profound as she tightened her lips into a forced smile despite the panic showing clearly in the lines and tension around her eyes. She did well enough to keep her reaction under control that the inhabitants chose to ignore it rather than call her out on it, which would have knocked down their standing in the witch's evaluation.
After about a week, they decided that their mapping and exploration of the swamp was about as good as it was going to get. It was time to approach the witch's hut that they'd avoided previously. The Fairy Witch was in a strange, almost manic mood and the trio quickly found out she was obsessed with creating new musical sounds.
"Alright kids," Carmilla said, "you want to pass my swamp? You have to help me out here. Look, the bards I've gotten my hands on have been great and all, even pretty damn creative. But I think I need something from people who don't know as much about music. Here's my workshop, I don't care if it's a new instrument or a new way of playing an old instrument, a different sort of harmony, or whatever. Gimme something new, and you can use anything you want here, the good stuff is in another building. Bah, this lot." She glared at a group of distant figures. "They're boring, won't even respond to me flirting with them, and not a musical bone in their bodies. Well, time to play the part. Have fun in there, but I don't really want to see you again until you got something for me."
The only one of them with any musical training at all was Shizoku, but it had never been something she'd pursued on her own. That left them somewhat aimlessly poking around the workshop and messing around with instruments they found, many of which were obviously experiments that were only finished enough to test.
That did eventually prove to be enough for inspiration. A large lute was laying on top of a narrow table, and Derek frowned thoughtfully at it. "I think I remember seeing something once that looked a little like that, but smaller. Like, it had a long board with a bunch of strings, way more than the lute, but the strings were on the top sort of like the lute, and it had a folding stand so that it sat on the ground. The lady who played it was set up in the square and taking tips, I guess to help pay her way? I don't know where she was traveling to or from, I only saw her once. I remember it being nice, but I don't remember what it sounded like exactly."
That was enough to start the ball rolling. "I think I know that one," Shizoku said, "Gran Gran has one tucked away. I don't think I've seen her play it though. Hmm. Well, she wants something new to her, and I don't think it's portable enough that most people are going to lug one down here, so maybe we can do that. I don't know how to tune without a tuning fork. Wait, Fuyuko, you have sharp ears, think you can figure out proper notes and a scale? "
Fuyuko looked at her blankly. "Um? I don't know, what does it involve?"
Shizoku gave her a quick rundown of how notes relate to each other with harmonies and gave an example by singing a few notes that were close to each other. "So like that, but cleaner. Only, we are supposed to be creative, and I know that there are different scales." She chewed on the idea for a little while more, thinking out loud while the others asked questions.
They agreed that the first step was going to be having a sounding box for the body, once Shizoku explained that was how the instrument amplified sound. Though that meant figuring out the size. Derek suggested that he try to make it as big as Carmilla could play. She wasn't as tall as Fuyuko, but she was pretty tall and had long arms and fingers.
The table seemed like a perfect frame to start with, even if they were going to destroy it, and the three of them set about scavenging the other instruments for parts. They snacked on strips of dried eel when they needed to take a break, and by evening they had a crude sound box built into what had once been the table. Even with Derek's wood-shaping skills, they were having trouble getting the salvaged parts to fit smoothly together into a single box with enough resonance.
Udup, the witch's shadow drake familiar, came out to check on them, and after getting a report on their progress offered to fetch them some food if they wanted to camp out here instead of trekking to town and back. The teens agreed that was the better idea, and it allowed them to tinker with ideas until they turned in for the night.
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Also to be found on Royal Road.
My Patreon My Discord Top Web Novels - Romance.io - TVTropes
$3. : 10 Early chapters, lore excerpts $5. : 20 Early chapters, Short Stories $10 : 30+ Early chapters, New stories not published anywhere else (Until after I finish this story at least) . . . . . "A Girl and Her Dungeon", "The Celestine Fox", and AU Core 1: "Coreless"

I'm copying a comment I made elsewhere because I realized it could help here.
I'm totally cool with sharing my experience because I think it's important that people know about it, especially with how effective it's been to me. There are many ways it's delivered and I'll list from cheapest and easiest to most expensive and highest time commitment.

1. Troche/lozenge: doable at home. Cost me $90 for a 6 week course
   
2. Spravato: do this in the office, usually covered by insurance.
   
3. IV: this is incredibly expensive $600-$1k a session but the most effective.
   

I only have experience with the troches, but they were amazingly effective for me. For best results, you need a totally controlled environment that's as dark and quiet as you can get it. Put on sleep shades and put on headphones/earbuds. The heaviest effects last about 3 hours but you won't be able to really do anything productive for another 4 hours, so it only makes sense to do it in the evening.
Not all people have the experience I have, but for me it's INTENSE in a good way. It's borderline psychedelic where I enter a pseudo-dream state and my brain shows me new insights, flips through memories I had locked away, and serves as an "angel on my shoulder" telling me what a good friend or therapist would say. Really, for me it feels like an insanely effective and intense therapy session and it has about the same lasting effects. However, it's no free lunch. My body hurts like hell the next day because it makes my joints feel like they're falling apart. If you have interruptions during it, you WILL have a VERY bad time. It also makes you dizzy, loopy, and definitely unsafe to do stairs or drive. Absolutely only do it at the end of the day.
I'm not sure what other peoples' experiences are, but for me it's great at both kinds of trauma. It's just harder to dislodge chronic lifelong trauma and that will take much more time. It was easier for me to direct it to work on the acute trauma of things like the car accidents, my son in the NICU, my son's seizures, etc. But lately in the past few sessions it's been able to help with the lifelong trauma like neglect, the weird dissociative thing where I locked away basically all memories throughout most of my life, etc
So I have been diagnosed with C-PTSD because of all this crazy stuff and I was unable to function after my son's seizure because that was the breaking point. The event that made it necessary to start this was when I got in a huge fight with my wife insisting she hadn't told me about her life and career plans (??? obviously she had) even though just a few days ago I was actively participating in planning it. I had been getting mad at my wife and son for totally innocent nonsense reasons which I had NEVER done before and I had NEVER acted like that my whole life, which is how my wife knew something was very wrong.
It then exploded into realizing I had been behaving like an Alzheimer's patient because my memory from one day to the next was not continuous: I literally didn't recognize my work documents, where I put things, what I was talking about to people, that I had met people, etc. Every time I opened my work computer it was like I was looking at someone else's computer and I had to piece together wtf I was supposed to do. I didn't remember most major life events (couldn't remember my own wedding, graduation, what my college campus looked like even).
I also could barely go outside because every time sirens from an emergency vehicle went by or even if I just saw flashing lights that vaguely reminded me of such, I would straight up black out or go into "caveman mode."
Post-ketamine, I no longer have random rage. I can access so many more memories and they don't immediately hurt me. I'm able to stay much more present and no longer black out. I have become more patient and tolerant to stress. I have been able to make BIG gains in therapy because blocks in my brain shifted and I became more receptive to outside help. I've learned how to be kinder to myself and take care of myself better. I've hugely enhanced my coping skills. Honestly, before this I was on the fast track to divorce, relationship destruction, and death before this pulled me out of it.

Heyo hi!
I've been away from reddit for a little while as I needed to deal with some personal stuff but am once again on the lookout for someone/some people who I can hang with every now and again! I'll jot down my hobbies here and if they resonate/match with yours feel free to drop me a DM! :))
So, here goes:
- Music ~ I play the piano & guitar!, currently learning to sing, still a loooooong way to go though!
- Dance/Fitness ~ I've been trying to get into modern dances like hip hop/street popping styles :D
- Skincare/Fashion ~ Any fashion-fanatics would totally be welcome as I'm trying a big restyle currently, currently working on different hairstyles and outfit designs!! Possibly getting some curly hair into my straight hair soon!
- Video Games ~ I do like to play games every so often, primarily on PC but I do have other consoles too!
- Language Learning ~ Been learning Korean and trying to learn other languages recently too - any tips/guidance or just generic conversations in languages besides English are super welcome
- Cooking/Baking ~ I love baking too, very therapeutic which brings me onto my other hobby:
- Coffee/Drinks ~ I love to make and explore different types of coffee, recently made my own boba tea also :) would looove some tips on how to make my coffees extra creamy!
I do have other hobbies but I'd say the above are probably all my main ones :) I will say though, I am from the UK but my sleep schedule can be pretty scuffed so I'm happy to chat to people from anywhere in the world :)
If anything mentioned takes your interest, drop me a DM and see if we vibe? I do use discord primarily so it's preferred and please be 18+ annd finallyyy, please do not spam me if I don't reply in 15 seconds...!! I will try my best to get back to everyone <3

Hello Cadets and Welcome to Jesinia's Library Chat; A weekly post where you can share what you're currently reading, ask fomake recommendations, and chat with other users about books.
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