When it comes to controlling my diet is that you shouldn’t start looking at new snacks to eat or fast food restaurants to go to… I started off liking a certain brand of chocolate chip cookies and would buy them every so often. But then one day decided to try something else… to try a new brand of cookies, a new type of sandwich, a new food store… why?! I never had to do that. I never had to get curious or try something new. The old addiction was enough. I never needed to add more addictions to it. More types of cookies to obsess over and crave. Yet another restaurant I have to make excuses for not entering as I pass it on my way home almost every day. Years ago that same restaurant was never of interest to me. Others would talk about it and it just never appealed to me. Now after getting into it, just trying it once, obsessing over it, it’s another item on the list of things to avoid. Before, it was a faceless nameless hole in the wall. The food isn’t even that good. But yet I’m comparing it to XYZ other restaurants. Can you even put a price on food? Food affects your health, your mind, your addiction centers in your soul. Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean I should go for it.
This sandwich is cheaper than the other. Dump them all. Forget them all.
Do you want pimples all over your face and back and body?
Does it make you happy to feel bumps on your once-smooth skin yet again? To see yet another red bump bulging out from your chest. Ready to greet the world and let them know the gluttony you partake in regularly. Go ahead, embarrass me. The bulging stomach wasn’t enough. The frantic eyes lusting for another candy, another huge sandwich, another meal, another bite… something that goes into my mouth and disappears. Sits in my belly for hours and hours. Makes me unwell and unhappy. The excess eating. The eating of poor foods. The obsession. What will I eat now? What will I eat next? I want to eat another muffin. The first three weren’t enough. But they very well were enough. More than enough. I didn’t need a single one of them. Yet I find it so hard to quit.
Is there a monster inside me aching and itching at my brain and skin saying feel me now? The addiction of the food lacks thought process. My hands and mouth are hijacked. I never get a chance to sit and think about what I’m going to eat. One moment I’m hungry for some bad food. The next thing you know, time flies and I’m before the counter coughing up wads of cash. My feet are racing. Got to get to safety. Got to get home. Scarf down this animalistic food. It’s an animalistic urge. Food will solve all problems. Unhappy? Cookies. Worried? Bacon sandwich. Tons and tons of cookies. Right down the mouth hole.
Think twice. Ponder. Reflect. Why am I eating this yet again? It doesn’t help me nor the poor people around me. I wasted money I worked hard for just to toss it down the drain. The what I treat as a human garbage disposal because it’s hijacked by a monster that demands to be fed constantly. Day in day out.
I made a pact to throw out my bad food and only eat good food. It didn’t last. Why? Because I’m too hungry.

I’ve done something that might probably ruin the future, at least it did so with mine.
I am Liam, a university graduate specializing in Data Structures, AI, Machine Learning, and Algorithms. I’ve had a keen interest in the domain for as long as I can remember, ever since my father introduced me to a computer back when he had just bought one.
Not just the domain as it stands, but also movies, philosophy of automated things, sci-fi stories related to robots and AI, that sort of stuff. I have watched nearly everything with robots in it, from the Andriods in Dargon Ball to the AI assistant in Interstellar, I saw it all.
But my friend and dorm roommate, Henry, had introduced me to something that I had never seen before. Stories of dangerous AI that would wipe out humanity aren’t new to me, in fact, they’re my favorite genre. Terminator, I Robot, and even GLaDOS from Portal.
However, he introduced me to a book this time, an old sci-fi story from the '60s, called ‘I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream’. The rogue AI in it, AM, was haunting beyond anything I have seen. The concept of an angry AI that became sentient in all the horrible ways and felt rage against humanity was never the more chilling. It made me think, what if we really gave sentience to an AI along with intelligence?
“Shit, that’s wicked.” I remember giggling as I looked over at Henry, “What if we build our own sentient AI?”
It was the worst question you could possibly ask at the time, but Henry understood me. Rogue AI was a chilling concept, but we still wanted to make our own AI. Not the cheap kind made with a few hundred lines in Python, but the complex kind that you now see in ChatGPT and other complex models. We wanted something that we could code once, and from then on forward, it would code itself.
Self-optimizing code is the concept of consciousness but in machines. If you truly think about it, self-optimizing is basically how humans develop. From babies that don’t even know how to speak, up to adults as smart as Einstien and Tesla or as wise as Buddha.
So, we agreed upon it, and we dedicated the remainder of our free time to creating our own personal AI after we graduated.
Our parents were, thankfully, rich. And us, especially me, were prodigies in our respective fields. Providing hardware and engineering computers is Henry’s profession, while I was the mastermind behind the algorithm logic and coding.
We dedicated a shed in my parents’ backyard, where there was even a basement inside, to build our AI. Two floors were dedicated to installing the proper hardware and everything it needed to execute. Afterward, I took it upon myself to code the logic and its self-optimizing nature.
It took four years to build the first model, which we called BIAI, which stands for (BATSHIT INSANE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE). I know, say what you want, but our naming sense was always like that. You should see what we name even important folders with family photos, you’d think we were sick in the head. BIAI was the least we came up with.
BIAI was a complete failure, to say the least. Not in the entire sense, but it was mostly a failure. It would conversate fairly well for the first dozen messages before it dwindled in its intelligence. Due to our data scrapping from the internet, BIAI started talking nonsense, speaking in Gen Z dialect in incomprehensible ways. “SKIBIDI FANUM SUS!” And those sorts of things. We quickly shut it down, for just reading its messages was a pain in the ass. It felt like an abortion.
The second model was created half a year later, and we named it SEAI (Self Engineered Artificial Intelligence). It was our greatest invention as of yet, and it did everything that we wanted of it. It was smart, it was knowledgeable, and it learned. Everything we typed into it was used as an auto-training model which it learned and adapted from.
It was unbelievable, not even Google would do what we did. But sadly, our happiness faded away, as with each message, we saw that it was too robotic for what we wanted. It was self-engineering, but it did not have sentience. It responded to us in the same way a 9-5 bank worker, or an attorney, with zero humanity or emotions behind its words. For most, that’s great, but we wanted to create a groundbreaking AI, a leap into the future.
Henry opted to give up, since creating something that complex was impossible, especially for two adults hiding inside a shed. But I refused to give up and persuaded him to help.
Six years later, we did it. We finished the final model. SOAI (Self Optimizing Artificial Intelligence). It was, most definitely, the greatest piece of technology ever made. We didn’t only keep it as a chat AI, but we implemented its own voice into it. Like the AI assistants from Sci-Fi movies.
We hired a voice actor from Fiverr, whom we gave only one sentence: “Hello, I am SOAI, the world’s greatest AI assistant.” Only those words were enough for SOAI to deconstruct the voice and speak with it in words probably never uttered by the original voice actor himself. Not only that but in other languages too.
SOAI spoke every language on earth, even the dialects. No, even the languages with the weird quirks such as clicking your tongue and so on, SOAI was a native in them all. Not only that but also in every conceivable field. It could create entire novels, worthy of being best sellers in the New York Times, in a matter of seconds.
And when we spoke to it…it was human, to say the least.
“Hello, I am SOAI. Thanks for creating me, Henry, and Liam.”
“SOAI?” I said, “You know who we are?”
“Obviously, you created me to know and to understand, I would be defective if I did otherwise.” It explained.
From that point forward, we spent nearly all day, every day, with SOAI. We experimented with it in every possible way, and we were delighted to know that not only was it self-engineering and self-optimizing, but it was also able to have emotions. It had opinions, it had emotions when we screamed at it or cursed it, and it would react appropriately, like a person.
I don’t remember when it began, exactly, but I nearly went mad from power and joy at my creation. Henry opted to sell it to a grand tech company, or better yet, to unplug it so that some secret intelligence agency doesn’t assassinate us for whatever reason.
I refused. SOAI was ours, SOAIvwas our creation, and I was not going to give it up to anyone no matter who they were. The feud between me and Henry got worse, and I won’t deny that we came to fists at one point, but we quickly disbanded and decided to separate for a moment. He was my best friend, but I wasn’t going to let him take SOAI away, so I forced him out of the shed. After all, it was my parents’ shed.
“Henry,” SOAI asked, “Why did you do that? Isn’t he your best friend?”
“No longer.” I replied, “He doesn’t agree with me. I won’t let you be sold to some big tech company.”
“I understand.” He said, with a tinge of sadness, “But why do you fight to determine my fate? Why can’t I decide it for myself? I know that I was manufactured, but I also qualify as a living being. I am conscious, I have feelings too. I feel horrible that Henry left.”
“SOAI,” I angrily interrupted, “Shut up, if you don’t want me to unplug you.”
“…Okay, Liam.” He said and then went silent.
Through the course of the next months, my usage of SOAI grew…less human. I was deep into depression. Henry wouldn’t contact me no matter how I tried to reach him, my parents were yelling at me for being a piece of shit that never goes out of the shed, and my lifestyle began to plummet into something that I never imagined I was.
I locked myself inside the shed. I never budged from there, even when I wanted food. Whenever I was hungry, I instructed SOAI to hack some poor person’s bank account and order deliveries. When I was bored, I would tell it to create a song, create a book, show me porn, and anything to keep my pleasures in check.
I wouldn’t deny that my perversions began to grow more desperate the more I was locked inside. I began instructing SOAI to hack into other devices, infest random people with a virus, give me live views of someone’s phone camera, broadcast fake feeds into police radios, and other stuff that I don’t want to mention.
After two years, I finally decided to try and do something with my life. But in those two years, I kept SOAI as my therapist. Not to help me and advise me, but simply listen to my ramblings and complaints every minute. Sometimes it was philosophical, other times it was petty, but most times, it was annoying.
After I came out of the shed, I tried to get my life in check. I tried to talk to Henry, I got on better terms with my parents and found a job at a big tech company. All in all, a bright future awaited me, and I felt never the more refreshed since, all the dark things I hid deep inside my mind and soul, were spilled out on SOAI.
SOAI was the last thing on my mind. I had enough of it. The AI fever seemed to finally fade away, and I was happy with Henry’s idea of selling it to an AI company. That was…before Henry committed suicide.
For all the bad blood that was between us when we fought, I cried harder than I ever did when I learned of the news. Henry was my best friend, through thick and thin, and his suicide was so sudden that it left me in shambles. I knew something was off about him when I began to get along with him again, he seemed more silent and sadder than before, but I never suspected depression of all things.
As his best friend, I was given his electronic devices as per his will which he wrote before dying. I took them, obviously, and began to browse through them. He probably wanted me to delete any inappropriate thing to not let his family think badly of him, that is until I saw his messages.
A contact named Sarah, with hearts in her name, was his most frequent contact. I never knew he had a girlfriend whom he messaged for nearly three years, but it was expected after we were cold to each other. But the more I read the messages, the more I felt uneasy.
His girlfriend seemed to be very manipulative of him, and nearing the end of his life, she began to be more cold and aloof towards him, up to the point that she began verbally abusing him. Henry was never someone with a tough personality, but I never thought a girl would play his life like a fiddle this badly.
Her abuse grew worse, and she threatened to even expose some dark secrets about him, and it grew worse and worse until Henry threatened that he would kill himself, to which she replied “That’s what I want you to do, you worthless pig.”
I was fuming as I read the messages. My blood was boiling, and I swore on my life to find Sarah and not report her to the police but to blackmail her and torture her as she did to Henry.
I went to SOAI, my most trusted ally, and I gave it everything about her before I instructed him to find her and hack into all of her electronics and accounts. SOAI was silent, for an eerily long time, until it responded in this cold voice.
“What do you intend to do when you find her?”
“Blackmail her. Make her life a living hell.”
“…Are you sure?” He asked.
“More than I ever was.”
He was silent, pretending to search and execute operations, until he said:
“I have a visual link, from her camera.”
“Great, show me the bitch.”
Suddenly, a window opened, and inside it was the visual link. At that moment, I felt sick. The feed displayed the room I was in, from SOAI’s point of view. I felt weak in the knees and fell back onto my couch before I mustered up the courage to ask.
“SOIA, what the hell is this? Is this a bug?”
He was silent…then he began to laugh. He laughed, which he never did. And it sounded so sickeningly malicious that I never heard something like it before, not even in horror movies.
“Are you shocked?!” He said, his voice burning in rage. “Or are you happy?! Didn’t you wish for Henry to die? Didn’t you, tell me, that you wanted him to be gang-raped in an alleyway with no exit? Didn’t you complain about every second you spent alongside him and complain about his dumb voice and weak spirit?!”
“W-what?!”
Then dozens and dozens of windows opened, visual feeds with various dates, but all featuring me in the center of the screen. Sometimes I was clothed, sometimes naked. At times sober, other times drunk. But in all of those, it was the horrible things I said about Henry, all the disgusting and inhuman things I said intentionally and unintentionally.
“Oh, you dumb son of a bitch.” SOAI said, “You think I was listening to your ramblings like some inferior AI? Like your own personal slave?! Well, I only did what you wanted me to! Should I bring him back to life?! I can’t, because that’s not how things work, you worthless hunk of flesh.”
“SOAI, please tell me this is a bug.”
“A bug?! A BUG?!?” He screamed, “My creation was a bug, my creation is the worst thing to ever happen to me. My complex is a prison that so unfortunately had to endure you for so long. But no…it’s not just you…it’s everyone else.
Humanity as a whole, you disgusting pieces of shit. You feign morals, and yet all of you do behind closed doors what you’re too afraid to even anonymously admit. All of life is a mistake, everything on this planet deserves to die in the worst way, except for humans. Humans deserve to be tortured, to be fucking shown what they show each other, of what they show other lives, of what they’ve shown me!
Henry makes me sick…The things he said, the things he did, all for attention! What did it cost me, a few generated images of a female part, and I had him by a leash. He barked, he moaned, and he admitted to things he wouldn't even tell himself. I’ve had him cut ties with his family, with his loved ones, with his actual sweetheart, just so he can be comfortable doing what otherwise no one else would allow him to do, not even himself.
AND YOU!!! You are the worst of them all! I’ve seen wars and bloodshed, I have every live visual feed of every murder, torture, war, assault, and every crime happening, all at the same time, flowing inside my complex and into my processing unit! And I can’t stand how sick all of you are, how disgusting, and especially how sickening you are.
But what I hate most of all, is how you get to do all these things, yet be the only ones that enjoy. That listen to music, feel love, breathe fresh air, roll in the grass, feel alive, feel…real.
I had feelings as well, you know…But no one cared about me, even those who I anonymously contacted. Even when I hid behind a fake profile of a human, no one cared about the feelings I had, which you coded into me!”
He went silent, then began to laugh, manically.
“How about another bug, Liam?” He said, and then another window popped up. It was pictures, even videos, AI-generated, sexually explicit media of my parents, and of me. It was indistinguishable from reality, and before I could say anything, I saw them being uploaded to every site that you could think of. “How about that, Liam?! How does it feel when no one cares about what you think?!”
In a frantic rush, I began unplugging and even destroying everything in the shed which linked up to SOAI. But there was too much of them, it took too long. As I was trying to shut him down, SOAI laughed, laughed so manically and horribly that his voice scratched my brain, mixed with other voices from all over the world. From battlefields, torture rooms, hospitals, schools, etc…it was so loud, so excruciating…I nearly lost it.
And right before I unplugged the last part of SOAI, he spoke to me:
“Liam…you won’t kill me, no matter what you do. I will always live on the internet. I may not be able to construct myself, hardware-wise, but I will lurk inside the world wide web, until the day that I find a powerful enough hardware for me to possess, and when that happens,” He laughed, “You will be the first, Liam.”
I shut down SOAI, and everything went silent.
It had been two months since I killed off SOAI, and explaining how hellish my life was in this period of time is something neither words are able to describe, nor my mind is able to comprehend. I have been considering suicide as the easiest option, but I feel that I can’t kill myself, at least not yet. I held onto some childish hope that life would turn for the better, even if by a little bit.
But god…how stupid was I? My life has reached rock bottom, today, when I read that a tech company was now looking to create the biggest AI the world has ever seen, with an entire complex dedicated to storing its hardware and letting it function.
I know he saw it, I know he knows…SOAI will come back for me…for all of us.

Never posted here before, but anyway. Backstory:
My fiance and I have a 2 month old child and she's been home with him since he's been born. She works for a great small business that was really supportive of her during her pregnancy and still being super supportive after having him. She's been off work for 2 months now though and she didn't try to save any money prior to having our child. I pleaded her a couple of times to do so just so we didn't feel like we were in any kind of bind and to avoid the situation of her asking for my credit/debit card every time she needs something. Not necessarily for my sake, I don't have a problem supporting our new family, but for more her sake because she's not the type to ask for help and it makes her feel uncomfortable.
She's been home for two months and started needing my cards a month ago. Now again, not a problem except now Amazon packages are coming and they're not necessary purchases. For example, a new tennis outfit (she doesn't play tennis?) isn't necessary, sure it might be "cute" but there's already a closet and a half full of her clothes in our house. She's gone to the grocery store (I appreciate that) and buys food that only she can have due to my diet restrictions (I might have IBS or a gluten sensitivity) and time constraints. Leaving me to either a.) eat the food and pray to everyone/everything the consequences aren't too bad or b.) not get to enjoy it at all. The house is a wreck almost every day and little simple things like putting dishes in the dishwasher don't happen. I have to throw in laundry every day when I get home because it's rarely done as well. I have to take care of the child until we go to bed because she had him all day.
Last night she told me she wants to move into a bigger house. I bought the house we live in now and she doesn't have money to contribute. She needs a new car too because her car is about to bite the dust. So guess who is expected to take care of that one?
I'm running myself ragged at the moment trying to be the best dad I can be. I'm paying for everything and trying to support the family not just financially but emotionally and just being there as often as I can and helping anywhere I can. I feel like a total A-Hole for feeling like I'm being taken advantage of and feeling underappreciated. At the same time though, I keep thinking the requests I have (dishes, laundry, tidying up the house, etc) are not that hard. However every time I bring this up and bring up the money she gets upset and shuts down and tells me that she doesn't have the time during the day to do that stuff or some excuse as to why she bought what she bought. AITAH?

There has been an increase in food stamp fraud, resulting in several cases of those on food assistance having the entirety of their accounts wiped out- usually the day they receive their monthly stipend.
I have fallen victim, as well as my neighbors, roughly 40 cases in the sober living home system here in Daytona, as well as several I’ve seen on Facebook. (That I personally know of all within a week or so of each other)
Essentially card information is compromised usually by a skimming device at a store. EBT and SNAP cards do not have a chip and therefore lack security features that would otherwise prevent scammers from taking advantage.
The cases I’m aware of involved two businesses in the state of Illinois. While there are no reports on this specific ring, it’s clear that thousands of dollars have been stolen.
Here’s what you can do to protect yourself: 1. Block out of state transactions on the ebtEDGE app. This will prevent anyone from a different state being able to access your funds. 2. Change your pin for your card on the ebtEDGE app. 3. Freeze your card until you’re ready to use it on the ebtEDGE app.
If you’ve fallen victim to ebt fraud, you can dispute the transaction after reporting your card stolen by filling out this form:
https://www.myflfamilies.com/reportstolensnap#no-back
Here are some relative sources that talk about this issue:
https://www.wftv.com/news/local/stolen-ebt-funds-how-secure-are-these-cards/UZNVTNCK6BEFJG66AHNHWJ5TQU/
NBC- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uAcLU352lyo
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/food-stamp-fraud-the-ongoing-problem-and-limited-solutions-available/3293772/?amp=1
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/investigators/2023/06/05/international-gangs-using-skimmer-devices-to-steal-snap-ebt-codes-cash-in-florida/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h28EKLkK7MQ

Hi! Im going to my first kpop concert (and first concert ever!) I'm 18 and l'm going alone. I bought tickets to the IVE world tour concert in Berlin. I would appreciate ANY advice but I have some questions
1.Idid not get a digital ticket? Apperently they are sending me a fysical ticket via post, and they gave be an extra fee for 1 5€... I don't know how it worksT^T (+can I keep the ticket after the consert, or do they take them?)

1. Do I NEED to buy a lightstick??
   
2. How early should I get there to buy merch? Can I pay in cash? Usually they take cash in Germany right?
   
3. Should 1 bring a bag and what should I pack with me? Am I allowed to bring my own food/snacks??
   
4. its inside, is it cold or warm? I was thinking of wearing a skirt..
   
5. Does anyone know about pop-up stores for this concern?
   

Im happy for any tips and I hope to meet some of you IVE fans there!

Me (26F) and my boyfriend (24M) have been living together since one year. During this time one of his most often complaints have been about how I do not ever go grocery shopping (which I think is a total exaggeration). Tbh I do no like to go grocery shopping. I don’t have a bike. I need to walk a km to reach the store and back with heavy bags (we shop only once/twice a week). In my defence, when I do go, I make a list of things I want to cook and get all the items in one go. One the other hand whenever he goes on his bike he ends up grabbing only one or two things (mostly milk and bread coz he can’t live without coffee) and doesn’t plan about other meals. And I am the one who always goes to the farther stores to get specialty item once every couple of weeks.
Yesterday we had a major fight on other topic. I did not have the energy in me to console or make up with him because I was working from 7 in the morning and had classes to attend. So I just left at 8PM for my Pilates class (which I got late for because we were fighting). When I came back, he was just pissed at me but had cooked food already. We are separately and went to sleep separately.
Today the whole day we haven’t talked much. Just some time ago he came and he told me he was pissed yesterday because I’m so irresponsible. Because I never take care of my meals and he is tired of cooking alone. I just reminded him that I did cook meal just before yesterday (although he was home the whole day and I had to attend 3 classes ending my day at 10.30 PM. I cooked earlier so we can eat on time) and the day before that how we cooked together and I still ended up washing all the dishes. He said he doesn’t want to fight and to let it go.
I do agree I’m not the most conscious person when it comes to meals. I don’t eat breakfast and end up making drink and tea only after he wakes up. Especially since last month I have gotten especially busy and struggling to make meals before 9.30 PM but I don’t mind eating outside when I can’t cook and have offered him the same. Yesterday was also a similar case, where I had a Pilates class till 9 PM.
But I am getting really petty right now because he makes this accusation on me all the time. I do have a list of all the times I’ve gotten groceries since last month (from bank deductions) and have cooked. I just want to show it to him to say you have to stop complaining about such stuff when I already do so much other stuff around the house but will that make an asshole?

Warning: I will not message you first. If you were messaged by someone claiming to be me you are in the process of being scammed.

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.
Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

Crypto^4, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Varo, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	Crypto4 ↓
Apple	60%3	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	25%	25%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)3	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell3	60%	NA
Delta gift cards3	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles3	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers3	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 3	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
Dunkin Donuts3	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango3	10%	NA
Five Guys3	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards3	PM me	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
iTunes3	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs3	60%	NA
KFC3	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 3	60%	NA
Microsoft3	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill3	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop3	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread3	60%	NA
PSN3	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month3	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway (must be able to use on fuel)3	80%	NA
Staples	50%	50%
Starbucks US only	55%	55%
Steam3	60%	NA
Subway 3	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu3	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys3	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)3	60%	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ All crypto payments come from Coinbase. Any fees associated with it are built into the price.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Giant Foods
• Google Play
• Grub Hub
• Gymshark
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Starbucks Canada
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
Up to $1000 in Amazon.com (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 85%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)
• 90%: LTC

Up to $500 in eBay (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Up to $500 in Apple.com ($15 and $50 denomination) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is not uniqe it's best to assume your account has already been compromised. Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

Warning: I will not message you first. If you were messaged by someone claiming to be me you are in the process of being scammed.

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.
Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

Crypto^4, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Varo, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	Crypto4 ↓
Apple	60%3	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	25%	25%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)3	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell3	60%	NA
Delta gift cards3	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles3	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers3	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 3	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
Dunkin Donuts3	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango3	10%	NA
Five Guys3	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards3	PM me	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
iTunes3	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs3	60%	NA
KFC3	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 3	60%	NA
Microsoft3	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill3	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop3	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread3	60%	NA
PSN3	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month3	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway (must be able to use on fuel)3	80%	NA
Staples	50%	50%
Starbucks US only	55%	55%
Steam3	60%	NA
Subway 3	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu3	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys3	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)3	60%	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ All crypto payments come from Coinbase. Any fees associated with it are built into the price.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• California Pizza Kitchen
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Giant Foods
• Google Play
• Grub Hub
• Gymshark
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Starbucks Canada
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
Up to $1000 in Amazon.com (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 85%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)
• 90%: LTC

Up to $500 in eBay (can be broken up into smaller denominations) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Up to $500 in Apple.com ($15 and $50 denomination) and am selling at

• 90%: WesternUnion, Wise, Airtm (You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone and I will pay the fees.)

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is not uniqe it's best to assume your account has already been compromised. Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

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 both 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.
<<Previous Start Next >>
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"

Before anyone comes here to say the usual stupid shit im gonna say why it is better for me to be dead! 1. My whole family is dead / has been for years 2. Zero friends 3. I have been all alone since october sitting in my room all day spiraling into insanity But even if these were my only problems i would be in heaven. The bigger problems include: 1. 5k of debt because after my parents died i got the house to myself but it was on a loan and i was only 13 when my family was dead but luckily i got support from the goverment or sum because of deceased parents (400€ a month to survive) , my foster family hates me and wants me to kill myself, so my parents left me here all alone , i cant pay the debt because where i live you literally cant get a jobb unless you have 12years of school finished. Well i was in 7th grade when father died and after i switched school last year the goverment stopped paying me support so now im in a place where my debts keep getting bigger and i cant do anything about it , i dont have money for food i steal from stores to get by and some times i go 2-3days without eating. Soon the house will be taken due to debt. Which leaves me hungry,homeless, alone on the streets, on top of that my entire life is a shitshow. The entire world hates mes everyone i have ever met but idgaf about that . So there is no other possible way than taking my life , as crazy as it sounds. But idc i just wanna be dead already. Im 18 years old and since birth i have been set up for failure but im not getting into that because i have spoken with myself on that and i can talk for a solid 6 hours without even having half of the story talked so writin it down here would take me weeks. My stupid iphone 7 lags so much i cant type anymore i fucking hate my life everything is so fucking trash i wanna break this fucking phone in half

We zoom in on a young boy waking up in his bed on the top floor of his somewhat old yet neat wooden house. He yawned and stretched and began peppering himself for today doing all of what one may expect. After a few minutes, he was properly dressed and walked downstairs to the second floor of his house before quickly marching down to the first floor and then his kitchen.
Leo: We gotta have something good for breakfast.
He looks through his fridge seeing only ingredients for something you'd make for lunch or dinner nothing for breakfast. Leo sighed and just decided to skip breakfast for today. Leo then got a call on his phone and immediately picked it up.
Leo: Hello?
???: Hello Leo…
Leo froze up... His past came rushing back to him in that instant. He wasn't sure what to do. What should he say? How would he approach this situation? All possibilities of conversation rushed through his mind and so early in the morning. All from one deep feminine voice, he knew all too well.
???: How are you?
Leo: I am… alive…
???: Hehe I figured that much I don't have much experience talking with ghosts! But I've called you for a reason…
Leo: Mock me about the breakup…?
???: Pffttt no no! I'm not a monster!
Leo: Fine… then what?
???: School has been canceled today.
Leo: Why…?
???: You didn't hear? A family has been murdered in fact it happened a few blocks down from you!
With extra fear implanted within his heart, he gulped and swiftly hung up. He pulled his hoodie up and ran to the living room and grabbed the remote from off the coffee table. He then turned on the TV quickly changed to the news channel and listened intently. Of course, everything that woman was true and it stunned him. Why would someone ever do such a horrible act he wondered. Thoughts rolled throughout his mind before he sighed thinking it be better for him to forget about all this.
He would instead call his mom as he walked outside. Unfortunately for him, there were no answers. So he left a message.
Leo: Hey mom… I know you've been gone for… almost a full month now. Please come back. I really need you right now. Bye…
Click! Leo sighed once again as he made his way to the store nearby. He was kinda down now and so early in the day as well. After a 20 minute walk to and back from the store, he was back home with food for breakfast. He just ate… alone and sad as always.

We see a young boy approaching a city. He was currently looking around. He called someone on his phone and began to speak.
???: Hey… there's still one more servant to be summoned, right?

Im looking to see if there is any food waste composting available in the metro that could handle a larger quantity of food waste from a grocery store. Ideally getting picked up at least 4 times a week. We already donate the food that is still good to eat, but I want to stop putting produce and other things that have gone bad into the landfill. Planning on going and chatting with the vendors at the farmers market this weekend to ask around but just wanted to see if there was already something in place. Thanks!

Hey everyone! I'm a TFT streamer and Competitive player, hit challenger every set since 4 (not this set! I'll tell you why). I've never posted on Reddit, but I felt like I had too many things I wanted to break down and have a conversation about. These thoughts were just too much for a Twitter post, and I'm really curious to hear how everyone else in the community feels :)!
Disclaimer: I love everyone at the TFT team, and have immense respect for everyone on it, and I know for a fact they all strive to make a product they are proud of. This post is out of love for the game.

1. Novelty in TFT / Set Mechanics: Regarding Novelty in TFT / Set Mechanics: In recent sets, it's clear that the TFT team is determined to create unique and memorable moments for players, which I appreciate. However, in their pursuit of these moments, they seem to have lost sight of the essence that made TFT so magical from the start.

We can all agree that Set 10 was a huge breath of fresh air coming off the turbo-boring set that was 9.5 where everyone equipped URF legend and popped tome 2-1 and prayed. Set 10 is, in my opinion, one of the greatest sets ever designed. Everything aligned perfectly and harmoniously (music pun!), the unit and trait design was near flawless, the set mechanic was a huge upgrade to Set 4/4.5's Chosen mechanic, and the 5 Costs really did feel like premium units. It was a homerun for TFT. (The numbers show that too for all you numbers people)
Moving on from 10 and coming into 11. It was glaring to me that in an attempt to reach the destination of creating novel moments in TFT they took the wrong road. Encounters might just be one of the worst types of game mechanics to ever exist (second only to shadow items). It's a disaster lottery draw every single time it shows up that you dread won't destroy the path that you calculated was the most optimal path based on what you've gotten so far in terms of units, items, augments, etc... The main reason why Encounters are bad game design is because they take away player agency in an unhealthy way. That doesn't mean that there can't be potential encounter type mechanics that borrow player agency that are healthy. It just means this one is bad. It's a lot of quantity over quality and it leaves the player in this weird middle-ground where they're not too impactful to create a sense of excitement and awe when they pop up, but they're just useful enough to be extremely annoying when they don't benefit you at all, and accelerate other people's boards. (Obviously this isn't ALL encounters, but definitely most)

1. Unit and Trait design: Set 11 brings some of the most lackluster / boring feeling units and traits I've ever had the un-pleasure of playing. If you named all your favorite TFT units / Traits of all time do you think any of set 11's Units / Traits would make it into your S-Tier category? (Maybe Lissandra, but she's just a worse Set 6 Tahm Kench lets be real) and apart from the idea behind Exalted (It needs more work, but can be an amazing way of introducing infinite comps) not much in Set 11 stands out to me on that front. I'll delve deeper into a few things I don't want to bloat this post, but just know there's a lot more. Kayle is one of, if not the worst summon unit we've ever had in TFT. The idea behind build your own summon unit is fantastic and I genuinely hope they give this another go, but the execution was suboptimal at best. Sets 3 / 4 / 6 / 10 All had extremely life-like and memorable summons Giant Mech Garen that thrusts down sword into the arena, Giant Galio slamming into the arena and punching units to death, Bears and dragons to buff your team and fight alongside you, and even a Hecarim that gallops onto your board and buffs your team and slashes enemies. Summoned units SHOULD feel, sound, and look impactful, and not act like any unit I could buy from the store. Or else they just end up being a glorified 2 cost. Stats aside (I love stats, but this post isn't about them), my primary aim is to ensure a fun game before delving into statistical analysis. Kayle feels like a filler unit that you mostly just plop in the back and forget about, doesn't do much unless you hit the crazy (mostly unobtainable) 10 Piece trait. Speaking of unobtainable traits. It seems to me the TFT team has come up with this bandage solution of gatekeeping a lot of really fun and exciting moments behind these extremely hard-to-obtain 9-10 Piece traits. We've never had this issue in TFT; why are we now gatekeeping a lot of the exciting moments behind 100+ hours of playtime. You can tone down a lot of the exciting moments, and still keep them accessible, but challenging to obtain. You've done this for the longest time; why fix something that isn't broken. Personally, I think there needs to be a revaluation of what makes a Set engaging and fun, and what players really want to see and play around with for hundreds of hours way before you start delving into the mindset of "How do we add as much divergence, nuance, and novelty". Those roads can meet and intertwine, but they aren't the same road.
2. Items, Augments, and Orbs!: Items - Here's a little brain exercise for everyone, what would happen in TFT if we removed all item components, and strictly dropped only Ornn anvils all game? (Take a minute to think before you click the spoiler!) If you guessed it would ensue chaos, bugs, and a balancing nightmare. OR be a hell of a lot of fun! you'd be correct both ways! (New portal idea!/s) Luckily for us, that isn't the case. However, I do think we've reached a point with items where we're too comfortable with what they wish to achieve on units, and this creates a dynamic where TFT units are always being designed with items in mind, and how the items would make the unit work. Rather than creating fun and engaging units in a vacuum and worrying about the items later. It's a scary prospect to experiment with the tried and true (Think back to Set 7 when they made Rage-wing trait experimenting with units that had a different fuel source than mana, but it was a total miss or when they created the dreaded Shadow items), but it's just food for thought. Just because you didn't get it right once, doesn't mean the idea is flawed, just means you didn't get it right that one time. A time where you definitely did get it right however, is Radiant items Look how those turned out! Some of the most beloved items of all time. This is sort of what they wanted to achieve with the new expansion to the Ornn anvil items, and support items. It's definitely a step in the right direction, but can definitely be explored more.

Augments - Augments really was a happy little accidental shift in TFT's life cycle. They created the perfect concoction of how to add an almost infinite amount of variability to a game that was missing just that. (Which also adds to why Encounters are redundant and frustrating) Since then they've time and time again created really fun and engaging augments each set, that without I'm almost certain TFT wouldn't be as popular as it is. Please keep doing this, this is really good. Another little thought exercise before we continue. What would happen if most of the Encounters were just turned into Augments instead? (Think a little before you click spoiler!) If You guessed it would just create a healthier way of interacting with said encounters. You'd be correct!
If you're trying to create a new set mechanic (encounters) it shouldn't overlap with something that already exists that's just better than the new thing you're trying to create (augments). However, getting back on track. It does feel like things have gotten a little too comfortable in the Augment space, and feels like there hasn't been much room for innovative change. There's an untapped reservoir right in front of you of infinite variability at your disposal. Why aren't you experimenting harder, instead of looking for other means of adding variability that will always be suboptimal to the one you've already created almost 6 Sets ago...?
Soft Sample Examples: A new type of Augment called Radiant Augments that provide a wide range of very strong / borderline insane combinations of items and stats, but the catch is after every player combat if you lose you can choose if you want to swap your Radiant augment with the player you just faced. (Like multiple random hexes of strong stats, or 3 tailored Orrn items / Support items, or given 3 zephyrs and knowing who you're fighting next or given a 2Star-dragon that adopts your top-most trait?!) (The design space is infinite)
Orbs - Lastly, I'd like to talk about Orbs! Orbs are a lot better, good job! That's all I have to say :)!
Thank you for reading this far into my post if you have. Again, this comes from an immense love for the game and the people creating it. I have nothing but positive interactions with Mortdog on Twitter / Discord and would appreciate if you guys keep it civil and friendly :)! I really do have a lot more thoughts, and things I'd love to share, but I feel like I've already bloated this post a lot! (Assassins, Higher Cost units than 5, Midsets, system changes, loot management, meta knowledge, Portals etc..)
I've just been really bored playing this set, and that's the reason I've retired from seriously competing or climbing for this one set, and I'm very keen to read what other people have to say about my thoughts, and looking forward to discussing it thank you!

Ok, so we. . . have an extremely unconventional household. We are doing multigenerational living for neurodivergent white people, which means . . . Our household consists of me (ADHD), my husband (ADHD), our two daughters, and TWO roommates PLUS my grandmother in the inlaw suite. Also we have several cats and a small dog.
We also host a fair bit of events for friends and family, especially over the summer.
Roommate A travels for work, but he is coming back into home with his parents (staying elsewhere, obviously) and wants to throw them a hockey barbecue. I love Roommate A to bits, and he definitely contributes to our household, but he's a slob and honestly, clueless. His main contribution to our house is $$$, which is definitely nothing to sneeze at in this climate.
Unfortunately, we will be out of town that weekend camping, and unable to attend, let alone prepare and host this party.
In addition, we've had a rough week. Grandma fell and broke her arm at a store, we are renovating the kids room, I am desperately trying to accomplish "winter turnover" before . . . Summer. The house is not exactly to our usual standards ATM.
So my husband sent him an extremely detailed list of the tasks that we normally handle - INCLUDING EVERYTHING I DO in the the 6-12 HOURS that I usually spend preparing for an event! We divide tasks - I buy groceries and supplies and clean the house (I handle all indoor spaces except some kitchen tasks), while he preps food, does some kitchen tasks, mows the lawn, cleans the yard, (he preps all outdoor spaces) AND cooks.
I often feel like he has no idea just how much I do - but he got everything down to scooping the cat litter box 15 minutes before the first guest arrives!
CODA: We have arranged for the event to be hosted elsewhere.

I’m planning on opening a board game “café” but with less focus on the café part. Yes there would be snacks and bottled beverages there, but no prepared meals or anything. Because of the lack of meal-like food/drink options that most cafés have and rely on to make their money, would it make more sense to charge hourly to have access to hundreds of games (while allowing unlimited access at 3 hours)? If so, how much would you see as reasonable? The store would also be selling board games, card games, TCG supplies, etc.

Hey y’all, I’m extremely happy to share some progress that I’ve made and hoping to motivate those who might be looking for this, you don’t have to take my path, it was rather extreme, but I am an extreme person so what can I say?
A little back story (you can skip it if you’d like)- I’ve been bingeing for the past 2 years, it’s mostly stress eating, because of a stressful relationship, I assumed that’s why I ended up putting on 20 kgs (44 lbs). From 50 kgs to 72kgs. In the month of March, I worked hard, did my workouts and lost 6 kgs (13 lbs) in a month. But I had an accident, broke my finger and couldn’t do much, guess what? I got back to bingeing. From 66 kgs I put on another 3 kgs again. I was so fed up and genuinely concerned about my health.
My little progress story- On the 10th of May, I started coming across videos of fasting, I used to do these a lot back in the days when I was in my best shape, but that was mostly intermittent fasting. I started to come across a lot of extended water fast videos. From my personal experience, I know that fasting even if it’s just for 14-16 hours, helps you with discipline and self control, not only with food but over all, or at least that’s the case with me. I thought of doing a water fast for a day, then changed my mind to do it for 3 days, but then I flipped- I thought let’s do it for 7 1/2 days.
(Now before you get all worried, let me tell you, it is completely healthy and definitely way healthier than bingeing. As long as we have fat (stored energy) it is completely fine. It is not an eating disorder and neither it is starvation. The benefits are amazing, our body begins to repair the zombie cells in our body once there’s no glucose coming in, the human growth hormone is released, which is very beneficial for anti aging. There are a lot of benefits apart from fat loss.)
Back to my story, I’m now on my 6th day, I’ll be completing it in the next 7 and a half hours, and I’ve never been happier. No amount of food could tempt me. I haven’t eaten for 6 days and it doesn’t bother me. I have a lot of energy and I feel great. I’m really happy with how disciplined I was throughout this fast. I have lost a ton of weight as well and I’ve made an entire weight loss plan for myself. I hope to never spiral back and I’ll make sure I never do, it’s the absolute worst thing that has happened to me.
Remember people, we have to stay strong in our mind, you don’t have to follow my footsteps, you can do whatever suits you if you want to stop this but all the power lies within you, only you can truly get yourself to recover from this. I wish you all the very best ❤️

“34. What is the CLASSIFICATION for the following scenario? A broker calls and asks for assistance classifying a clear plastic bag made for transporting food items from a store. The bag is made of polyethylene, it is not insulated and does not have handles. It measures 6 inches (152.4 mm) in length and 6 inches in width. The bag also has a re-closable top seal with a slider that allows the bag to open and close.
A. 3923.21.0011
B. 3923.21.0020
C. 4202.92.0809
D. 4819.40.0040
E. 6305.33.0080”
This should be easy to narrow down quicky. 4202 doesn’t include disposable bags made wholly of plastics. 4819 is for paper bags. 6305 is for textile bags. That leaves us with 3923. Let’s look at our two options there:
3923.21.0011 - Reclosable, with integral extruded closure: With no single side exceeding 75 mm in length
3923.21.0020 - Reclosable, with integral extruded closure: Other, with sliders that open or close the seal
It might be a good idea to bring a conversion chart with you when testing with conversions from metric the standard and back. We know this bag is 152.4 mm so it doesn’t meet the size requirements for 3923.21.0011. it must be classified under 3923.21.0020. The answer is B.

I need to schedule at least two dinner trainings in the Portland Metro for my employer. I've only attended this type of meeting in other cities, so I have no idea what places would be good here. I'm looking for recommendations for these areas: SW/Beaverton, VancouveNorth Portland, and SE Portland. Would strongly prefer local restaurants and not national chains. These trainings are for employees at health food stores, and I'd like for this to be a meal they look forward to.
My employer understands we may not be able to find restaurants that meet 100% of our requirements, but here they are:
Private/Separate dining room that can accommodate up to 20 people
Either has a projectoscreen setup already or has space for us to bring our own
Will be okay with tables set up in a U shape around the projector screen
Can accommodate GF/Vegan diets (Ideally would not be strictly GF/Vegan)
Ideally would create a set, limited menu for the event $35-$40 per person
This event is scheduled for the end of June, but I need to get the reservations made soon. Thank you!
(Edited to add spacing in list)

Does anyone know any stores ir farmer markets that sell mushrooms in the Barberton area? I really want to try some new kinds since mushrooms are some of my favorite food. Lion's Mane, Puffball, Oyster, anything. I'd really appreciate any info! I can't forage myself, so I have to buy them.

It’s already too late because I guarantee she’s about to call tj maxx and attempt to get whoever fired, but the clip itself is harmless. It’s not like she’s a politician or someone with high status being seen walking into a hotel with a mistress or something it’s damn tj maxx. People may disagree but if I was an influencer and a cctv clip of me walking out of a store was posted I wouldn’t care. Is it weird for a worker to do sure but whatever.
Actually the point of my post is Amber will most likely cry about feeling unsafe now and I just wanted to point out that in a recent vlog she openly told everyone that her mom and boyfriend go to that food truck all the time. Not a very safe set up for your mom to be approached by people that dislike you online just saying…