Small trawl boat

To preface I had played Downpour when it came out. I played it on PS3 when I had a subscription to GameFly (good old days) but I never finished it and, in the lead up to 2 Remake I wanted to amend that.
I want to say first thing that’s on my mind. I truly do believe that Downpour is underrated and overhated but I also think that the reception it got in 2012 makes sense. I’ll explain.
The Combat: The gameplay is beautifully clunky. It reeks that old school Team Silent feeling of making the main character seem like an average joe who can barely hold his own. It’s weird and doesn’t always make sense but once you get the feel for it it’s not that bad. Starting out I would try to interrupt the enemies mid swing which often didn’t work, then I moved to defending all their flurries before getting in a couple hits, but I finally learned how to bait the enemies and put them down in seconds. Combat actually has options despite it feeling so hollow on the surface. It’s not some deep mechanical system or anything but I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t doing the same strategy the whole game and, yeah, running away was a viable strategy as well which is always nice. I do believe the combat is where 2012 players got fed up though along with two others I’ll talk about next. It’s rudimentary in comparison to games coming out around the time and it’s not exactly satisfying. Yeah I learned to enjoy it but it didn’t stop me from getting tired of fighting the same 3 enemies and I often just started trying to avoid them.
The Graphics: Straight up, the game isn’t pretty. At all. As a matter of fact it’s downright ugly most of the time. Character models aside from Murphy suffer the most they just look wooden and like they’re constantly jittering like they’re barely still attached to the earth. I think this somewhat benefits the game when it comes to the monsters, the screamers in particular, and gives the town and locations this grungy feel to them. This is one of the other sticking points for 2012 players. This was the era when all that mattered was ma graphix people often writing off really good Wii games because they were ugly. Gamers in 2012 were relentless with this. If it wasn’t the most groundbreaking graphical leap it wasn’t worth $60.
The Town: In all honesty the exploration of the city is the very best part of the game, in my opinion. Running around Silent Hill finding Easter Eggs and searching for secret entrances was always a blast to me (The Room Easter Egg is truly special). The last time I’ve played a game whose atmosphere was so thick, so haunting, and so fitting was honestly probably Silent Hill 3. Walking around the city making your way through dilapidated buildings and alleyways just felt so right. The Radio’s you can find around town that play some of the most beautiful and haunting licensed music with the quality you’d expect from a radio like that always made me feel something. My personal favorite was If I Had a Boat in the Bank. My biggest complaint about the city is what I imagine everyone’s complaint is. It’s labyrinthian but it doesn’t have any shortcuts aside from the Subway unlocking which was convoluted to say the least. It could’ve REALLY benefited from a Dark Souls like take on the town where you could open up shortcuts to previous locations but considering Dark Souls was only a year prior that seems unfair. This is where I think 2012 players found their other issue. Traversal is long and tedious. Especially without the subway and with monsters roaming the streets.
The Sidequests: One of the stronger parts of the game for me but one that I only loved because I had a guide to tell me which building was which. If I were trying to remember which specific building held Painting sidequest, or ribbon sidequest ending I would have been roaming for hours. With a guide, not for the puzzles, it’s a breeze and a blast to uncover the many sidequests lying about and the tragic stories that they often tell. One of my favorite parts of the game honestly, the point that I was pretty sad when I ran out of sidequests to find. The fact there are 13 is surprising though as that’s a hefty amount for such a small town.
The Story: The story has a relatively strong hook. The opening to the game is a clever twist on the James archetype but it shows you from the beginning that Murphy isn’t a good guy. He’s not a hero. Sewel is the worst and that’s great. He really is a character that you despise from the get go and is the true villain of the story because of his coercion. Frank is solid but I wish he was present for more of the story since he’s such an integral part of it. The character interactions you have are depressing and weird like they should be. And you’re introduced to the “monster” that will haunt Murphy for the entire game and it’s not what you would expect. While a wheelchair bound monster is unsettling it’s not scary and I liked that. It’s not about the monster marching around trying to kill you like Pyramid Head. The journey from the cable camines to the town is one of my most memorable set pieces from this era.
The Endings: I think this is the one place where the game truly falters. The endings just do not satisfy in my opinion. Especially given the fact that depending on the ending the… past… changes somehow.
Ending A: it’s nice and all that Murphy didn’t kill Frank but the fact he didn’t even kill Napier and Sewel had to finish the job makes the accusations pointed at Murphy for the whole game about him being a murderer makes this ending fall apart.
Ending B: this is the best one. Murphy still doesn’t kill Napier for some reason but he doesn’t kill Frank and Anne, Franks daughter, presumably get her revenge on Sewel
Ending C: Murphy kills Frank and then offs himself which puts him back into a loop that find him in the Lakeside Penitentiary from the end of the game. Basically saying that this ending doesn’t even matter.
Ending D: The Execution one is weird. You randomly show back up at the prison from the beginning and Murphy is blamed for killing Charlie, randomly calls Sewel a cupcake, then fucking dies. What a lad.
Ending E: Just a beautiful farewell in all honesty.
Ending F: seeing Murphy take on the role of Sewel and Anne take on the role of Murphy feels like it could’ve been a whole NG+ moment of its own. It’s neat but it goes nowhere.
So yeah! I quite enjoyed it. Obviously I had my gripes with it but overall it’s definitely worthwhile and worthy of the Silent Hill title. I played it on Series X so I didn’t really experience any glitches like I did on my PS3 in 2012 so I can’t speak on those.
Solid 8/10 for me.
If you made it this far, thanks for reading my long winded review. :)

Welcome to our first discussion of David Copperfield! This week, we will discuss Chapters 1-5. The Marginalia post is here. You can find the Schedule here. The discussion questions are below.
One reminder - although this is a classic novel that has been adapted many times over, please keep in mind that not everyone has read or watched already, so be mindful not to include anything that could be a hint or a spoiler for the rest of the book or for other media related to this novel! Please mark all spoilers not related to this section of the book using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).
Links of Note:

• Goodreads page
• Storygraph page
• Rockingham Castle and Mr. & Mrs. Richard Watson: Dickens dedicated this novel to the Watsons (link has minor spoilers for Bleak House)
• A David Copperfield Map (zoom in to click on individual locations - beware of potential spoilers, though)
• Get your own Dickens character name! Use this automatic generator or go by your birthday.

Chapter Summaries:
Chapter 1 - I Am Born: David Copperfield launches into the retelling of his life story with that famous line that questions whether he or someone else will turn out to be the hero of his life…but we’ll just have to read the whole thing to find out! Immediately we are let in on the unusual circumstances of David’s birth, which is suffused with superstition, causing the town gossips to speculate wildly. He was born on a Friday night near midnight, which of course means that he’ll have an unlucky life and be visited by ghosts and spirits. (I mean, would this even be a Victorian novel without some ghosts? David assures us that he’s yet to be haunted, though.) He was also born with a caul (inside the amniotic sac) which means he’ll be safe from drowning. This is apparently such great news that they advertise the caul for sale after his birth, but only get one hit on Victorian Craigslist, so they hang onto it until they can put it up for a raffle several years later. David says he remembers that raffle and found it super weird to watch a piece of himself get sold off, which, fair! He does note that the old lady who won the caul died in bed and not by drowning, so I suppose it was worth it?
Anyway, back to David’s birth! His father had been dead for six months on the night of his birth, and his mother was a terrified teenager living alone with Peggoty, her servant-girl, so called because they share the same first name. One Friday afternoon in March, his mother was hanging out by the fire and pondering the likelihood of dying in childbirth, when a formidable woman named Betsey Trotwood showed up at her door. Miss Betsey was his father’s aunt and she loved Mr. Copperfield, but hated her abusive husband, who she paid off to go to India and leave her alone. It worked - he died there! On the night in question, Miss Betsey literally pokes her nose into Mrs. Copperfield’s window and then demands that the pregnant lady get up to let her in. Being a force of nature, she takes charge of the room right away, criticizing the Copperfields’ choice of home (a rookery with no birds?) and making somewhat disparaging remarks about Mrs. Copperfield’s history as an orphan and a nanny. She also declares that the baby will be a girl and demands to be the godmother and namesake so the new Betsey Trotwood (Copperfield) can undo all the mistakes of Great Aunt Betsey’s life. Mrs. Copperfield goes into labor and Miss Betsey stays by the fire, plugging up her ears with cotton. She spends some time mildly abusing Ham Peggoty (the servant’s nephew who was hanging around the house to carry emergency messages) and generally ignoring the doctor. Said doctor, Mr. Chillip, is a gentle man but speaks so slowly that Miss Betsey almost throttles him. When he congratulates her on the birth of a BOY, she smacks him upside the head with her bonnet and leaves immediately, never to darken the Copperfields’ door again! Welcome to the world, David!
Chapter 2 - I Observe: David Copperfield relates some of his early impressions of life: his memories of creepy pantries, stuffy parlors, boring church services, and a loving home. His mother is young and beautiful in these memories, and Peggoty is beautiful to him in her own way (though she insists she is not). One day, Davy's mom shows up with a stranger who walks her home and - gasp! - touches her hand! Davy immediately dislikes this black-bearded, dead-eyed interloper and Peggoty seems to like him even less. He falls asleep while his mother is swooning over her new admirer, but when he wakes up his mom and Peggoty are having a big fight. Peggoty says the new man is bad news and Mr. Copperfield would never approve, while Davy's mom says Peggoty is being unfair and heartless. When all she does is sacrifice for Davy, doesn't she deserve some attention and excitement?! All three of them end up crying, and things are never quite the same between the trio again.
Davy's mom continues to see this man, Mr. Murdstone, who rides up one day and invites Davy to take a little trip with him to see a yacht. Peggoty gets him ready in a huff, and you can just tell this is the Victorian era version of riding on the irresponsible boyfriend's motorcycle without a helmet. Davy gets to meet some friends of Mr. Murdstone and watch them do a bunch of paperwork on the yacht. They also make fun of him, comment on how hot his mom is, and make him drink brandy. Since Davy is a little kid, he thinks they're having a grand time. When he later tells his mom they complimented her looks, she is quite thrilled. And then a few months later, Peggoty invites Davy to go with her to visit her brother for a fortnight. She talks up the trip so Davy will be excited, but it's clear she's worried. Davy wonders how his mom will fare all alone, but Peggoty assures him she will stay with a neighbor. (Lies!) Mr. Murdstone is there to see them off and he has … opinions … about how emotional Davy's mom is during the goodbyes. I'm with Davy when he wonders why it's any of this guy's business in the first place. In retrospect, Davy reflects that he wishes he had known he was leaving something behind forever and he is glad that he and his mom had a touching moment full of love as his carriage pulled away.
Chapter 3 - I Have a Change: Davy endures a very boring journey across flat countryside towards the sea to get to Peggoty’s family in Yarmouth. When Davy complains, Peggoty defends her hometown, as a proud Yarmouth Bloater. (Here's some bonus reading: a Victorian-era article about bloaters.) Davy is won over when they reach the busy fishing town and he gets to see the Peggoty home: it is a boat that has been converted for living, and he thinks it is pretty perfect. It turns out to be a full house due to the generous nature of Mr. Peggoty (original Peggoty's brother). Just don't mention said generosity because it makes him super mad. Mr. Peggoty has taken in the orphaned children - Ham and Em'ly - of his drowned brothers, as well as Mrs. Gummidge, the widow of his fishing partner. Davy's fortnight with the Peggotys is full of happiness. He explores the seashore with Em'ly and falls in love with her. They bond over never knowing their dads, although Em'ly wishes she were a lady in the same class as Davy. Davy reflects that given what he knows of her future life, it might've been better if Em'ly drowned that day by the sea. Dark! Mrs. Gummidge often has melancholy moods where she cries all day and declares she has it worse than everyone else, but the family kindly chalks it up to mourning for her husband and assures her they don't want her to go off to the poorhouse and die.
As the visit draws to a close, Davy realizes he has quite forgotten to miss his home and becomes eager to see his mother and Blunderstone Rookery. Yet when they arrive, Peggoty pulls him into the kitchen nervously. She really botches the delivery of her big news because Davy first thinks his mother may have died and then, when she tells him he has a dad, imagines Mr. Copperfield may have risen from the dead. But she brings him to the parlor to greet his new step-dad: it's Mr. Murdstone, of course. Mr. Murdstone proves himself to be a real downer, kicking things off by correcting Davy's mom (who we discover is named Clara) for jumping up too enthusiastically at her son’s arrival. Davy sneaks away to find that his house has completely changed and the yard has acquired a mean, black dog that snaps at him.
Chapter 4 - I Fall Into Disgrace: Davy has fallen asleep crying after the discovery of his mother’s marriage, and when Clara and Peggoty wake him, his mom blames both Peggoty and Davy for his despair. Mr. Murdstone comes up and dismisses them both so he can be alone with Davy. He explains that if he had a stubborn animal, he’d beat it until it obeyed, strongly implying that Davy had better change his attitude or else. Things get pretty grim for Davy after this. He is kept isolated from both his family and neighborhood children. Mr. Murdstone’s sister, Jane, comes to live with them and immediately takes over Blunderstone. Clara is given no say in household matters: even the keys are kept by Miss Murdstone and, when Clara protests and weeps at being pushed aside, the Murdstones manipulate her into apologies and submission. When the family goes to church, Peggoty is no longer invited and the Murdstones keep Davy and his mother apart; Davy also notices that the family seems to be the subject of much whispering and staring from the community.
Davy’s days are miserable. He is often locked up alone in his room, where he loses himself in his father’s old stash of novels and uses this escape as a survival mechanism. (This collection of novels was taken straight from Dickens’ own childhood, according to his biographer John Forster.) When allowed out of his room, Davy endures lengthy, difficult lessons in the parlor. He suspects the lessons are meant as much to teach his mom the Murdstone tradition of firmness tyranny as they are to educate him. No matter how hard Davy tries, he cannot seem to remember the lessons under such severe supervision. Davy is belittled as stupid for his mistakes and boxed on the ears with his books by Mr. Murdstone. When Clara tries to help Davy at one point, Miss Murdstone catches her, and both Clara and Davy are in a good deal of trouble. Clara is chastised, Davy is removed from the room, and the next day’s lessons are overseen by Mr. Murdstone with a cane and switches. This goes about as well as you would imagine: in his terror, Davy makes more mistakes than ever and is dragged from the room by Mr. Murdstone. To her credit, Clara does protest and try to run after them (unsuccessfully). Mr. Murdstone wields his cane and switches, but Davy bites his hand in an attempt to wriggle away. He then beats Davy severely and leaves him locked in his room for five days. During his imprisonment, Davy sees only Miss Murdstone who brings him meager meals and allows him short walks in the garden each morning and family prayers in the evening, before locking him away again. At the end of this punishment, which feels like years to Davy, Peggoty sneaks to his room to whisper through the keyhole that he will be sent to boarding school in the morning. She tells him his mother isn’t very angry with him, only disappointed, and begs him to remember her and her love for him. She promises to look after Clara and they both vow to write to each other. Davy asks to be remembered to Em’ly and the other Peggotys.
The next morning, his mother expresses her disappointment in his behavior and her hope that boarding school will reform him; Davy seems to realize she has been coached to believe the worst of him. He chokes down a little breakfast before his coach arrives, and Clara steals one unsupervised moment with him to say goodbye affectionately. Then, they are parted, and Davy is on his way to boarding school. It’ll surely be a harmonious and supportive learning environment. Right? Right?!?
Chapter Five - I Am Sent Away From Home: Mr. Barkis, the carrier driving Davy on the first leg of his journey to school, pulls over not too far away from the house. Who should appear out of the bushes but Peggoty! She silently hugs Davy until she pops some buttons of her dress (one of which Davy keeps), hands him some cakes, and slips him a note from his mother that includes two half-crowns. Davy shares a pastry with Mr. Barkis, who asks a lot of questions about Peggoty’s relationship status and cooking skills. He asks Davy to write Mr. Barkis is willin’ in one of his letters to Peggoty, which Davy does at the next stop. As he waits in Yarmouth for the stagecoach to London, Davy eats lunch at a hotel restaurant where he is grifted by the waiter. This unscrupulous man tricks Davy into giving him his ale, most of his food, and some of his money. The rumor goes around that Davy has the appetite of a boa constrictor, making him too nervous to eat at the next stop for supper. Wedged between two men and with a woman’s luggage stuffed underneath him, Davy spends an uncomfortable night in the stagecoach as it approaches London. He finds it strange the next morning, after all the snoring and moaning he witnessed, that the adults insist they were unable to sleep a wink!
Upon arriving at the station in London, there is no one to collect him. Waiting in the office, Davy begins to worry that he will be turned out of the station at night, run out of money and starve, get lost walking home, or have to offer himself as a soldier or sailor (though he knows he is too small for that). Finally, a rather scrawny man - who Davy assumes is the Master of Salem House School - arrives and takes Davy the rest of the way. Weak from lack of food and sleep, Davy begs to stop so he can buy breakfast, and the man takes him to the home of a poor woman (presumably his mother) to cook the provisions they purchase. The man plays the flute very badly as Davy begins to eat, but soon Davy has fallen asleep. He wakes to hear comments of “delicious” which he assumes refers to the man’s music, but I bet indicates they were eating Davy’s breakfast. They continue on to Salem House, where a man with a wooden leg lets them in and throws old boots at Davy’s escort, who turns out to be Mr. Mell, an employee of Mr. Creakle, the school proprietor. Salem House is dilapidated, dirty, and deserted. Davy wonders where everyone is and Mr. Mell informs him that Davy has been sent to school during the holidays as punishment. Another punishment: Davy must wear a sign on his back identifying him as a biter, which makes him increasingly paranoid that someone is always behind him reading it. (Probably not.) He also worries that the students, whose names he can read carved in the doorpost, will all make fun of him for it when they return. (Probably true!) Mr. Mell, an odd man with various ticks, doesn’t pay much attention to Davy, but neither is he mean. We get another ominous reference to the future in that Davy says he dreads the return of boys like J. Steerforth and the presence of “the awful Mr. Creakle”.

I was doing some research on this
The common theory is humans reached the Americas primarily through a migration that occurred during the last Ice Age, around 15,000 to 20,000 years ago.
The prevailing theory which supported by archaeological and genetic evidence, suggests the following
Bering Land Bridge: During the last Ice Age, sea levels were significantly lower, exposing a land bridge called Beringia, which connected what is now Siberia in Asia to Alaska in North America. This land bridge provided a route for humans, who were likely following herds of large animals, to migrate from Asia into North America.
the Bering Land Bridge theory is the most widely accepted, multiple migration waves and routes, including the coastal route, are also considered possible based on archaeological and genetic data.
Coastal Route: An alternative or complementary theory proposes that some early humans traveled along the Pacific coastline in small boats. This "coastal migration" hypothesis suggests that they navigated along the ice-free corridors of the coast, surviving on marine resources.
Clovis Culture: Once in North America, these early migrants spread across the continent, giving rise to various cultures, including the Clovis culture, which is known for distinctive stone tools found in archaeological sites across North America. Genetic studies have shown that the indigenous peoples of the Americas share a common ancestry with peoples of Siberia and East Asia, supporting the migration theory through Beringia.
Take me back

There is still a chance of you attending one but the chances are significantly lower. Your Squadron / Corps may still get a last minute offer or someone may cancel. In my case, I was in the same boat as you guys last year and got an offer two days before the CTC started. Just don’t plan your entire summer around the small chance of you getting a CTC offer.

In a small amount of time, I'm planning on leaving my flat and moving onto a boat. I've been researching and watching for about a year and a half now, planning while I carry on paying off my home. One thing that seems a complete mystery is fuel costs! Nobody seems to want to talk about how much it costs to fill the tank? Why so secretive?

1. You currently living on board? How big is your fuel holding tank and engine size?
   
2. How much did you spend the last time you filled up?
   
3. What's your normal expectation of how long that will last?
   
4. Were you very active? What are your costs, summer vs winter?
   

I've just recently looked at a barge that had a 600 ltr tank, but working out anything is near impossible, mainly because I don't know what to look for really. I might be an idiot, but I'm also not willing to put up with any 'how long is a piece of string' nonsense. I just want expectation vs. reality, and how much do you budget for fuel and how often do you top up?
Thank you for any seriously thought out answers in advance.

I’m in my late 20s and my partner is 30M, his friends are 30-32M and their girlfriends/fiancees/wives are prob like 30+F. They were all a tight knit group until people started planning weddings and getting married etc. I get how that would just naturally change things and also just growing up and dynamics changing so I didnt think much of it. The ladies have always been a little “ladies who lunch” who wish so badly to be a country club trophy wife (but none of them are… and I thought well yes, a lot of us arent nor do all of us want to be??). They are very obsessed with keeping up with the jonses and do the whole “only hang with a group just one on one” thing which has always been odd to me bc its just hard to coordinate with like 3+ couples from a logistical standpoint! I find their conversations to be boring (always about people their wedding, husband, kid, house… how they want to be a SAHM but they cant so theyre upset about it, not being able to afford a house so asking husband to work harder lol, expensive memberships/vacations/purchases etc) just bullshit i dont liek to engage in. Im 28 (really not that much younger) and they always say “oh, youre so young you have time to figure it out” and I thought it was weird how that was “noticed” ?? They bore me and rub me the wrong way so I stopped going to events unless it was a big one like a wedding or my bf really wanted me to go with (he doesnt like the girls either so he usually goes to guys nights).
After I became disconnected, one of them literally made up rumors about me hahahaah and spread it and my bf shut it down and confirmed it was not true but I just laughed at how juvenile the situation was. They refuse to go to dinner with us but they only want 6 people to go on someones boat or 10 people to go to a birthday party where everyone pays for their own tab/services (bowling, golf, ticketed event). Another one tells me God wants me to have kids (gross) and how “your mind will change when youre older” ( HIGHLY doubt that a 2 year age cap would make that huge of a difference but okay).one couple joined a yacht club and invites people every weekend (and if you say no, they will ask someone else after 5 minutes haha) and they will not do anything other than the yacht club (maybe bc its pre paid?) or brunch at the country club. Not my scene and I get motion sickness and I hate golfing so I just dont go bc why would I waste my time and Energy haha and they decline dinner invitations. I get that we all work and are busy and are looking to try to save money in this economy. They then complain they cannot afford to buy a house bu then the wife will say “oh but you know we’ve been working with loan office and realtor and” and its like okay but its been 2 years of this just dont even bring it up if you cant afford right now bc most of us cannot? Then she will say they found a bigger and nicer home to rent for 4000$ (WTF more than a mortgage!). Like an hour outside the city we live in (fine but dont tell me you flush 4k down the toilet every month and cry about the country club and no house. She will say snarky things to her husband if he says they are saving money and say “but you have to pick ONE country club for us still” and it makes me so uncomfortable bu also I judge them for over sharing haha My bf said he thinks that the girls are offended I dont take interest to their invites and what they have and he thought it was funny. It is funny but also kind of a wtf moment
I do not think I’m better than them but I realize how different we are? We all legit grew up in the same county, went to a network of private schools, and this area is very affluent and our parents worked HARD but no one is really the 1% in the group. I moved home with my family bc I was in grad school last year and I am a nurse so I’m literally busy dealing with other people’s crap/personal problems all week so I dont have time to deal with other people’s personal crap on my off days. They’re so appalled that I work a job like that when they all work as well (respectfully, we all work in traditionally pink collar woman jobs like I’m a nurse, the others are admin assistants and teachers so its not like any of us are climbing the corporate ladder) I went to school out of state so I have a lot of wonderful friends who live all around the east coast so they visit here or i sometimes visit them. My job, friend group, is completely different from all of theirs and they all went to school in state and never left. Our lifestyles are different, and im focused on career right now and not marriage and boat/countryclub/vacation/designer bags at this moment. A few of them are genuinely really nice and some are fun at times but in small doses. The yacht girl had an accident and needed urgent surgery on her arm so i reached out and offered to drop off groceries or meal prep company since they have food allergies inthe house and she responded as if she was offended “no its fine my husband just will buy us something every night bc we live new a lot of new restaurants now” HAHA
Not that I’m particularly pressed, I know they will prob stick around since we are talking about getting married. How do you respond to mean girls? Are they jealous? Do I continue to be unbothered? Do i reach out to show I dont hate them? Kill them with kindness? Fly under the radar? Clap back? I take it that mean girls don’t change after 30 either

When I first started my career I spent a couple of years in nurseries and preschools. I worked in one really bad one. Learning journeys (do they still have those or is it just tapestry?) were outright forged. The kids had never done the activity "evidenced" in the learning journey and no one was tracking any development of any sort. The staff were all in their late teens/early 20s and more concerned with their phones, chatting and starting drama with each other. Ratios were ignored, kids left to fend for themselves, naps forgotten about or just left to over nap for hours. I've also worked in a decent one. But even in the decent one there were 34 kids in that room, we always worked to ratio and so many things were missed. Accidental injuries, biting, falls etc. There were issues with sharing which just had to be ignored because there were more important things to worry about. Kids who were too shy to ask for water or to use the toilet would just have accidents or not drink because everyone was too busy to keep track of which kids hasn't drunk or who was able to use the toilet but had to be reminded. Again, this was all within ratio and as a whole the staff really were trying their best but if you've never worked that environment you can't imagine how busy it is. My favourite comment from parents was when a child had got an injury and no one saw it happen. They'd ask, "why weren't you watching him?" Well I was on snack, someone else was on nappies, someone else was following around the clearly autistic child to stop them hurting themselves and the other staff member was outside with a small group. Sooo what do you want from me??
I know a childminder environment would remove a lot of these concerns for me but I'm a SAHM with limited ability to work due to disability, I don't even know if I am going back to work. So my son will stay at home with me for as long as possible. I want him to do preschool because it's good prep for school, I don't think a childminder accomplishes the same thing. It's a long way off, my son is only 15 months old. But I worry about it a lot. I feel like I have this insider knowledge and I'd be happier in ignorance. Anyone else in the same boat? How do you get over it?

Long story short and as much as it sucks to say, I haven't really experienced much of anything. I'm going to intentionally beat around the bush as to what category that "experience" falls under but I think most people should be able to figure it out lol. In other words (and if you play games), I'm a complete noob when it comes to all things girls. As for why those things haven't happened and why I want that to change.. There's a few reasons, but the main reason why I'm putting such an emphasis on this is because I'm a huge homebody and I don't go out much at all which makes it difficult to meet people. That's where Reddit comes in! The message I'm essentially trying to send is becoming physically and emotionally close with a girl is what I want the most. I want to experience it all; the laughs, excitement, curiosity, intimacy, hanging out, fun. Blame all the Disney movies I watched as a kid for that lol.
Finding someone would be a dream come true, but I'd love to find friends too if that's all you're looking for! Local or international, just let me know if that's what you want instead :) We could end up being really close friends and you'll introduce me to a friend who I end up being with? That may or may not be the plot from a romcom 🤔 So that means I definitely wouldn't be opposed to a relationship! I've obviously never been in one so I'm not exactly sure how to transition to that, haha. I totally wouldn't mind finding out, though :) Also someone to say good morning and night to, too. That would be the best even if it's incredibly cheesy.
Anyway, it could be someone with a lot of experience or someone with no experience like me, or introverted or not introverted, etc. I don't have a preference either way :) But if I were to be reaaally picky: they'd be sweet and down to earth because just cuddling on its own would be all kinds of cool. A bit about me: I'm shy, caring, kind, sweet and am normal in the weight and height categories. I want to say I'm cute in the looks department? 🙈 I'll let you decide that though lol. I think it's super fun learning about people through conversation so I'll leave the following hobbies section blank. Then again, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give a small hint to something I love.. My username should provide clues to that! I Siriusly need to re-watch the movies again. Maybe with someone I meet through r4r?
Alright, I can't hold it in anymore. I pretty much like a little bit of everything. For example, when it comes to music, I go through Backstreet Boys phases to Disney song phases (Moana is awesome and I haven't even seen the movie 🙊) to something like Linkin Park, Paramore or 50 Cent. What I'm trying to say is I like a little bit of everything! So there's a good chance I'll like whatever you like when it comes to hobbies and interests and that means connecting with each other should be relatively natural/seamless. Or maybe that's wishful thinking on my part, haha.
I'm not the best with openers and if you're also in the same boat, then how about this: If you could have any superpower what would it be and how would you use it? Being out of this world smart like Tony Stark is an acceptable super poweanswer, by the way.
Hopefully my first impression is a good one! If anyone is even remotely interested, then just let me know and I'll get back to you asap!

Hi everyone,
I'm excited to share that I'll be joining Yale Medical School in Fall 2024 after graduating from MIT this spring with a double major in neuroscience and computer science.
During my MCAT preparation, I developed a tool called MedKey that significantly helped me achieve a score of 524. MedKey is a flashcard deck powered by AI, designed to improve understanding rather than rote memorization. Unlike traditional flashcards, which often lead to correct answers based on familiarity with sentence structures rather than deep understanding, MedKey uses MCAT-style examples to test your comprehension.
Example generated from medkey:
During a team meeting, everyone seems to be in agreement about a new project proposal. Even though you have reservations about certain aspects, you decide not to voice them because you don't want to rock the boat and disrupt the harmony within the group. After the meeting, you realize that you missed an opportunity to provide valuable input that could have improved the project's outcome. This is an example of ___________.
With MedKey, you'll never receive the same scenario twice. Each practice session offers a unique scenario, ensuring you understand various aspects of the concept.
I'm currently seeking a small group of 30-40 people to test the beta version of MedKey and provide feedback to see if people will be interested in using this for their MCAT prep. If you're interested in participating, please let me know in the comments and DM me your email address to be added to the email list. First come first serve basis since our servers can not handle many users.

This kid arrived in the illegally UK when he was 18, on one of those small boats that keep going down in the channel. My mum met him in a local cafe where he worked and slept in the store room, she took him in and kind of adopted him. He’s very gentle and a good kid, he’s lived with her for two years now and it’s been great. She looks after him, helps him learn English, and sort of generally mothers him. He helps around the house and gives her a bit of purpose since I’m not around enough to anymore to absorb her mothering instincts.
He’s from a village near Aleppo and left when he was about 14 because he was being pressured to the join the PKK. His village was taken over by ISIS for a short time and he saw all kinds of crazy shit and just ran off and spent three years walking across Eurasia until he finally made it to the UK.
When he first arrived here, although he was 18, he looked like a child. He hadn’t been in school and hadn’t eaten properly or had any kind of home for years. Now he’s a confident young guy, speaks decent English and is apprenticing to become an electrician. It really seems like he is gonna make it.
Writing this while eating baklava that he brought home from the cafe he used to work at :)

We are family of 6 and have 5 checkin suit cases with us with some carryons. Is it best to take ferry from Naxos to Athens or fly? I see flight prices are almost double (129€) vs ferry (57€) when we include check in bags but I also worry that taking a ferry will waste half a day. Since we are only going to Athens for 2 days before we catch flight home, is it worth spending the extra money to catch flight?
Also I see on ferry hopper that there are two types of boats.. smaller jets like champion or larger blue star that take longer. Which one do you recommend for a family with small kids and older grand parents?
Do the ferry prices go up if we book closer to the travel day like flights ? Or are they fixed? Is there a chance of them selling out if we don’t book early? We plan to travel on July 14

Prev Royal Road Patreon
Karghol stepped forward. As Rob he might be scared, but he'd been the leader of the group for a long time, operating as our main tank across a ton of games, and now, I could see him taking that step again, "Okay, first thing's first. If they're gonna pop us out of this from the outside, then that's not on us, but we've all seen this anime. If they're not coming, then we need to get to the endgame as fast as possible."
"Nope," I shook my head, surprising even myself at how quickly I'd said something.
He turned, "What? I mean, we gotta get out ahead of this."
"In most games, I'd agree, but not here, not in this game. Also, side-point but decision time for everyone: Real names or character names? I can't keep flipping between them. Lugh is what's on my party registry, so I'm sticking with Lugh," It seemed small but wasn't.
I'd learned well enough that giving people all of the information was most often counter-productive at best. Giving people a small, immediate choice was far preferable and got them on the path to understanding better. Temur snorted slightly at the absurdity, "Well, I suppose you can call me either Temur, or Temur. Whichever floats your boat."
Several groans came out, and finally, some laughter. I mean, it was dad joke humor to be sure, but jokes were probably going to become a much more specific thing for us. From there, everyone chose their character names, either because it was simply easier given the nametags in our party rotation, or because they just didn't want everyone knowing their real ones. Khargol however, was a slight agitated, "Alright, so why not speedrun it?"
"Because speedrunners die and reset constantly."
The slight mirth died out in the room, but Khargol wasn't ready to yield the point, "I've watched you do a no-death run of Dark Souls!"
I nodded, "And do you have any idea how many times I died in that game getting to that level of skill? Look, this isn't Dark Souls. That game has set difficulty levels. Yeah, it's got solid AI, but here? The AI adapts to tactics, and I'm pretty sure the beta test players are about to learn that the hard way."
Everyone was a bit curious at the statement, but it was Shelara who spoke up, "What does that 'adaptive AI' mean?"
I sighed, and took a seat at the head of the table, with Khargol finally sitting down next to me, "It means the AI of the system is learning. Beta testers essentially get to play ahead of the general public to try and stress test the system under actual play conditions. Most usually, they'll try to learn as many exploits as possible, so even if they start out on brand new characters, they're still going to be far ahead of the pack, getting gear and coin ahead of others. Assume that the beta testers have watched things like SAO or other 'trapped in a video game' style series, and they're doing the same as Khargol is suggesting. Problem is, that's exactly what a bunch of them already did, and if the AI works like it's supposed to, then it's ready for them.
"For Valorian Saga, one of the biggest selling points was its adaptive AI system, a system that learns. What that means is that the system behind bosses has already learned those exploits from beta testers and has some sort of answer for them, and they're going to run dead into them."
Chrysta sat forward, leaning her elbows on the table, at least in part to show off her biceps, "Well if a speedrun is out of the question, then what do we do instead?"
Shelara cut back in, "But... shouldn't we try and go save the beta testers?"
I considered, "Shelara, in answer to your question, we can't. Even assuming we could catch up to wherever they're at, there's almost no chance they'd listen to us if we did. They're just as likely to assume we're rivals, or to think we're idiots, but regardless they won't be following our instructions just because we say so. As far as they're concerned, they already know this game, and we're a bunch of sprouts who are panicking. Even if we could get past that point, we don't know the game like they do, and we're more likely to end up needing saving before we ever get to them.
"As to the other question, Chrysta, what we do now is finish up the starter quests, then we use our flyers to join the militia."
Every MMO veteran groaned openly. Arkadi especially was annoyed at the concept, "Come on, man, faction-grinding on day two? We're not even out of the gate yet!"
I'd expected this, and checked my in-game clock, and swore under my breath. We needed to get moving, with only roughly eighteen minutes of daylight left, "Guys, that's why we need to join the militia. It's safe, and grinding up our faction rep with Valoria opens a lot of doors, not least of which is giving us barracks space to live in free of charge, basic equipment upgrades, and getting coin. That's just the short-term gains. Yeah, not much, but it gives us a foundation. We get the lay of the land, and we build up our strategies. There's another reason though, and it's important."
Khargol nodded, "As militia, we get arrest powers in line with the laws of Farrelston."
"Wait, we'd be cops?" Shelera seemed slightly hyped about the concept.
I nodded, "More or less. We aren't out in the main room right now cause everyone's losing their minds out there. They're all coming to terms with the idea that this place is where they might die, and that breeds desperate reactions. Fourteen million players split between fifty servers, giving an average server population of... two-hundred-eighty thousand per server give or take for server popularity. Assume maybe one percent of that go fully around the bend and get violent, and that gives us two thousand eight hundred violent criminals that just hit the city on this server that have the ability to level up within the system.
"Farrelston has to be a safe space for players to return to, but that can't happen if there isn't order, and that means law enforcement."
One of our newcomers made her presence felt, the elf woman from the cathedral, shaking as she spoke, "I'm Layala. What about my brother?"
Tom... "I don't know. I don't what happens to those who die in the game. Maybe they wake up, maybe they're just comatose in a hospital somewhere, or maybe they're gone."
I let it sink in for everyone. Layala's eyes fell to the table as she slowly wept. I hate this, but sugarcoating the thing wasn't good for anyone, "All I can work on right now is keeping us all alive. This is a fantasy RPG, so for all I know, there might be another way to get them back, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. Anyone who knows someone who didn't respawn, we'll keep a journal of names, to see that they're remembered. We chronicle the dead, and if the opportunity to get them back presents itself, we go all-in on it.
"I know we all have questions... but we can't stay here to answer them all, and I don't have all the answers for you. We need to start moving, and moving now. We've got thirteen people here, our five and the eight we added on. We've got enough people to form a guild when the time comes, so we should start acting like a guild now."
Layala's voice cracked, "I-I nominate Lugh."
I was startled. I've been very game-knowledgeable, but I wasn't the leader type. It was never my role in the group.
"I second the nomination."
Khargol. My head whipped around, "Look, guys, I'm not a leader. I know stuff, that's what I've got. Khargol's the one who leads."
Khargol shook his head, "Not here, not in this game. I'm all good for the tanking, but you're the only one of us who's putting out a plan of attack, and I'm getting more lost by the minute. It sucks dude, and it hurts to admit it to myself, but you're the guy this time."
Nods occurred, and by show of hands, I was almost unanimously elected to command the 'guild', minus my own dissenting vote. Well.... crapbaskets, "Alright, fine. I won't argue it, but we've gotta get a move on. Get the starter quests going, and when we unlock the job change system, we'll work things out from there. Until then, we'll break into three parties, two four-man parties, and one five-man. Khargol, you're in charge of the five-man, Temur and myself are the other party leaders for now. We'll meet at the barracks come sundown. We spread out the neos amongst the three parties so they're all protected, and we get started. Don't do any combat quests alone."
I picked up Shelera for my party's neo, along with Chrysta and Layala, and the parties agreed to meet up in front of the barracks around sunset so we could join up together. We fought the press of bodies in the tavern to get out into the streets, and headed off for our quests. I could feel my heart racing a bit, the whole thing feeling like some sort of bad dream, but we would need a minute to get things together, "Okay, let's check everyone's quest logs. Any shareable quests, share them with the group so we can all help out and get rewards. We tackle them from lowest to highest."
We moved through the streets to the first quest, running messages around the city for the heralds. The quest was designed to get new players oriented with the larger city of Farrelston and what factions existed within it. The vast majority of players though, were barely moving, either pressed into the tavern or milling about in front of the cathedral. This was a huge problem, and we were finding clusters of people around, hiding and trying to just deal with the enormity of it all. We were running messages to guards, merchants, and nobles on what was a very low-key questline while watching people crying or raging. Shelera moved up next to me, close to tears herself, "We can't do anything?"
a I halted, and looked around again, and noticed some people who weren't in groups. Solo players who had come in by themselves, the same as you'd see in any MMO, and now they were cut off from the world, friends, family, and no party. Solo players really only existed in MMOs, people who would just fill in the gaps, and otherwise keep to themselves, and it worked in the world of video games. In the real world, though, it wasn't good, "We can do a little."
I jogged over to where a powerfully built Dracon with a sword and shield was balled up on the ground, weeping, purple-scaled head buried in his arms. I knelt down next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, what's your character name?"
The Dracon boy looked up imploringly, his voice quavering, "Umbaar..."
"Hi, Umbaar. I'm Lugh, and these are my friends. Why don't you come with us? You can join our party," I kept my tone even by pleasant.
He nodded sheepishly and accepted the party invite, "My mom's gonna kill me. I wasn't even supposed to be playing the game."
Oh God, no, "How old are you, Umbaar?"
"I'll be fourteen in December."
Due to the nature of the game, the minimum age for Valorian Saga was eighteen. He'd likely gotten access to the rig, and just jumped on, and now he was trapped, "I'm sure right now, your mom's just worried about you, but we'll keep you safe. Come on, we've got quests to do."
The absurdity of our questing was fully growing with each step we took. After running messages, we helped the watch with investigating some local crimes to learn the search system, worked with merchants on trading to get the economy down, and along the way, we found some more solos to fill us out to the party cap of eight. The jobs were immaterial to me, but Shelera and Layala both found comfort in picking up more people, with the latter taking over care of Umbaar. NPCs went about their day's work, and I started to catch on to something, "Hey... is this day... running long to anyone else?"
Games don't use full twenty-four-hour days, using a shorter day and night cycle to give the impression of a world without having to artificially inflate the game to make it feel like a full day. Valorian Saga had, in the videos, been shown to have a twenty-minute day, and twenty-minute night, but as we ran around, it had been far more than twenty minutes now. The sun had barely moved in the sky, which given the rest of the game's level of detail wasn't something they would've ignored. Chrysta spoke up after counting her clock, "Uh... well dearheart, I do believe we've got us a twenty-four cycle now."
There were several possibilities to this, perhaps either our minds changed gear to work with in-game time, or the game had altered to have twenty-four-hour time. Either way, we had no answers for it. I was getting a bit sick of having more and more questions I couldn't answer, but I couldn't focus on it in the here and now. I called a halt, and we found a small corner tavern to get food and drink. I took some time with the menu system, and up popped the character status window.
By statistics, we were moving up a bit, but the main stats of our jobs weren't changing very much at all. My basic stats for movement had risen, but not by much, and the gain was tapering off. That was probably from all the walking around the city we were doing. Reputations were going up in the city guilds attached to our quests, but again, they were minor improvements, and the effective XP was tapering off from doing them. I took out my character journal, a system conceit by the devs that the game world was simply too grand in scale to not allow a lot of notetaking, and did stat-math just like when I would spreadsheet my builds at home. From what I could see, the game had no true 'leveling' system. Instead, skills and attributes were built up by how you played, sort of like in Skyrim, but the same actions would not keep getting you the same degree of XP. A common enough point, or else someone could pull a South Park and just merc wolves until they hit the cap. Abilities would unlock as your stats rose, some coming online automatically like Sprint, while others you had to find a trainer for, such as the Double Knock ability for archers. From what I'd seen online, the abilities would unlock advanced jobs, and certain combinations would unlock hybrid jobs, so a Paladin would be a combination of a knight and acolyte. None of the testers had gotten that far, however, they'd just seen the possibility of it.
I noticed Shelera leaning over to look at my journal, and I smiled, "Just doing nerd stuff, plotting my progression to figure out what jobs I need."
She smiled back, "That seems weirdly normal. What are you thinking of doing?"
"Well, for now, I need to move up my abilities as a Hunter, right? Hunter eventually leads to a few choices, so I'm thinking I'll probably go for a Ranger build. That means I can train up Yndress here as a battle companion."
Yndress had been flying about with me, and sometimes resting on my shoulder, and now, she was curled up by my arm on the table as I continued. Shelera reached over and petted Yndress, "That is so cool. She's so warm. I totally should've figured out a way to get the limited edition... so what should I be leveling up?"
"Well, you're a vagabond, so you might look at something like Bounty Hunter since we're working with the militia. Combine that with another job.... huh."
"What?"
Daeva grinned, "Oh, sweetie, he just worked somethin' out. What do you need, Lugh?"
"Give me a minute. I need to go to the scrivener," I shot up and stepped out of the tavern.
It wasn't far to the scrivener where I could buy the supplies I needed. We'd just done an ink delivery there, and now, I would need paper and ink to work with. Returning, I cleared off the tavern table and laid out a large scroll used for maps, currently unmarked, "Okay, I need everyone to bring up your character pages and stand where I can read them."
Gamers generally do have a sense of when someone's worked out an exploit, and this was one of those times. They brought up their screens so I could start marking down abilities, attributes, and skills. Of note, my Scibing ability was ticking slowly upward as I laid things out. Scribing could turn into runic writing and other more arcane and mundane pursuits. What I was working on became a skill tree system, with the various jobs being grouped together. I had to move things around, and in real life I wouldn't be able to do that with ink, but in the game sense, it was pretty simple. I kept moving around my drawing, finally starting to come into a workable initial system of abilities, jobs, and other things that built off of one another. It look a bit mad, like if no one had stopped the devs on Path of Exile's skill tree, but it was there, "We're thinking about this wrong. We need to get to the barracks. I don't want to explain this twice."
Banded back up, I stopped by our newest unlock: Carriage Stations. The city was entirely too big to be running around it all the time, and for just half a silver, we could go to any other ward in the city. I signaled the coachman, handing him my flyer, "Take us to the militia barracks."
The coachman nodded sharply, "Right you are, sir."
The coaches held four, so we split between the two, and I rechecked my numbers. I was pretty certain I was right by the math, but these things didn't always pan out like you wanted, so it was best to recheck. It still seemed to be working out like I thought, but I needed Temur for a blind study of it. We got out at the barracks, a building made up of fortified walls and barred windows with internal shutters. Militiamen NPCs were standing guard out front, while we could just see some working in the training yard to the side. From what I could see, however, we were the only players here.
Temur's party arrived first, and apparently, I wasn't the only one picking up strays as two carriages emptied of people. He was running a full party as well now, and grinning in his uniquely Temur way, even if he did have draconic features now, "So, I see we're all taking in the lost little lambs?"
"I mean, sure, why not? That's how we met, so why not do it here, too?"
He nodded, "Questing went well, if a bit hum-drum, but you have a look in your eyes that says you've worked something out. You got math time!"
I nodded, "Waiting for... yeah, Khargol went off-road, I see."
Temur and I had shown up with two carriages each, only for Khargol to pull up with four, all packed. That put our new numbers at thirty-two players as he practically bounced up to us, "What?!"
We both shook our heads, "Nothing, man. Never change. I've got some news for everyone."
The full mass moved over to the side of the building so we weren't obstructing the entrance, "Party people, I worked something out at lunch."
I rolled out my map of the skills tree, "Okay, so I was going over my character screen, and did some math. I know what we need to do: We need to move up on every job."
Khargol shook his head, "Isn't that gonna leave us as jacks of all trades? We'd be running pretty average."
I gestured with my hands a bit in dismissal, "Usually, you're right, but here, it's different. The stats aren't really separated here, they're intended for cross-classing, and it's not just the combat jobs. I moved up a bit at Scribing here, and it looks like it'll be the same for crafting and gathering jobs. Move up in X, Y, and/or Z jobs and you unlock a hybrid. So like, say you move up as a blacksmith, armorer, and weaponsmith. All three have abilities building into one another, and that can unlock further abilities, other jobs, a whole classification of things we can't see yet.
"Using abilities works up the stats associated with that ability, and the higher the ability, the more XP it generates for the stats. Those stats still stay there when you do a job change, so you could be a Gladiator working up strength by working the forge."
Shelera looked over the drawing, "Okay, so you think if we take every job up, then that'll make us a lot stronger? But won't we end up with a bunch of usless stats?"
I shook my head, "No, for two primary reasons. For one, what if instead of Paladin, you went something like a Hexblade in D&D terms? Or, Shelera, you take Bounty Hunter, then build up your hunter job to Scout, and you have something akin to a Justicar class? Or Khargol, what if you master every weapon group?"
Temur's interest was peaked at mention of Hexblade, "And what is the second reason?"
I sucked in a breath, "It's a job change system. There's a job change skill, and every basic skill I've seen has upgrades, even if I can't see the end of the trees yet. The adaptive AI is going to adapt to our individual tactics, but even if all of us were playing hunters, we'd all approach hunting differently, maybe more reliant on archery, or snares, or pets. It would force the AI to keep readapting its own tactics on the fly. If we build up, we might just be able to get to something better than the sum of our parts."
Karghol nodded, "And that makes it doubly important we get going on the militia stuff. Shall we?"
The lot of us went over to the barracks, where a guard greeted us at the door, "Hold, citizens. What is your business with the thirteenth Valorian militia?"
I stepped forward, "We're here to enlist for service."
The guard perked right up, "Ah, good. Greetings and well met! I am Sergeant-at-Arms Brant. We are in need of stalwart folk to help protect Farrelston and wider Valoria in these trying times. Dark things are afoot both at home and afar, and it speaks well of you that you would choose service. Please, enter the hall, and register yourselves with Yeoman Granger. Welcome once again, may the purple dragon fly eternal!"
Prev Royal Road Patreon

Hi everyone. I’m looking for a USB-C to 2x USB-C hub. I don’t need any features other than speed and smallness. Preferably a short tail for the upstream USB connector.
I’ve been trawling Amazon and aliexpress but haven’t really come across anything that fits my desires.
I suppose one of those ports being able to supply power to the upstream device would be a handy but not necessary.
Thanks in advance.
Purpose is to connect a SSD and other USB device to an iPhone.

Hey there! I'm a 19-year-old aspiring software engineer and self-proclaimed geek from California. In my free time, I love exploring the great outdoors—whether it's boating on the weekends, hiking scenic trails, or playing sports with friends. I'm also fascinated by true crime and can spend hours engrossed in documentaries or podcasts on the subject. Additionally, I'm passionate about giving back to my community through volunteering. Described as a fun-loving individual, I enjoy spending time with my close-knit group of friends, but I'm always eager to expand my social circle. If you're looking for an engaging conversation, tech advice, or just a friendly chat, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm also infatuated with tattoos so if you have any feel free to share, Let's skip the small talk and build some meaningful connections!

I am a programmer, but I am new to gamedev. I have been messing around with Monogame (formerly XNA) for a couple of years, but really started taking it seriously as a hobby in the last 6-12 months.
I am a capable gameplay programmer, and have made prototypes in Unity and Godot, but never got around to actually completing a game jam.
I am looking for a team, or even a partner, who is looking to work together on an upcoming game jam or small project. I am willing to take it as seriously as needed, and can commit to 2-3 hours a day for 3-4 days as week if it is a small project. I can also take PTO and commit to all-nighters for a game jam or similar event. I have a b background in audio engineering as well, but I am pretty much useless with regard to pixel art, so an artist onboard would be ideal.
Would love to chat with anyone in a similar boat, or if you have a discord/slack channel I would be happy to jump in and introduce myself.
Cheers!

I'm on PC but i noticed this for as long as I've played eso, the navigation is either horrible or I'm missing something..
For example, I am on High Isle and just got the tournament begins challenge which is telling me to go to daggerfall. So i hop on the map and i go over all the big continents like summerset auridon hews bane etc but i don't see dagger fall. So I'm assuming its not like a big continent but a small city in one of those continents..
What am i supposed to do go one by one until i find daggerfall? Even if i go to zone guide i only see Deshaan under The D's, no daggerfall.
It just seems so tedious and annoying now i have to Google where daggerfall is because i don't know where to find it. I wish quest had a more detailed breakdown on where on the map to go. Even the in map markers want you to go the absolute long way for a quest, thru every main gate, pass every continent thru every boat and sea instead of just using waypoints.
Its one of the things that make me really hate ESO even though i love it.

I find myself stopping in at the store you work at to say hi and maybe chat a bit. I catch myself even buying something small that I don’t even need when I get out of work. I get a fuzzy feel when you look at me because I know it’s mutual. The way you smile and look down after making eye contact sometimes gives it away. I’ve noticed you looking over to my side of the street that I work when we both were outside. Or the time when you walked passed the window to my shop, looked right at me and waved with that smile of yours. I definitely noticed you perk up when I walk in like I’m a break from the monotony for you.
But I’m sure you know I’m married (most likely through my membership info that pops on on your screen at your store) and I’ve gathered from conversations that you might be on a similar boat but don’t wanna mention it exactly. It’s cool though. We can just stay strangers that like to see each other once in a while and chat about music and other stuff. Won’t stop me from wishing I could ask you to hang out sometime, get to know each other more and see where things go.