Obsessed with the FallOut games or the new show? Join a fanfic spin off!
I was obsessing over the FallOut games when I made my own spin.
≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈°
Welcome to the year 2200. The bombs went off, World War III coming and going, leaving the world in a radioactive apocalypse. Nature is in ruins, biology so overloaded with radiation their genetic make up is mutated beyond redemption. The world has changed, the survivors must too, but it's not easy. Humans always find a way, as we all know. Even with all the odds stacked against us, humans prevail. This is true 58 years later, where our story begins.
When the bombs fell, the rich had taken shelter in the Oasis', created by the leading science companies. Most know of Vaulttek and their Vaults, this is not where we begin. Evolsys, a company created by a husband and wife duo proficient in biology and technology, had been leading the race against the war in creating the perfect weapon. They had created twenty life sustaining Oasis', most dedicated to the scientists employed by the company owners. What was once known as Area 51, located in Nevada, was purchased and turned into what is now known as Lab 51, the first Oasis created by Evolsys. Here is where we will begin.
Rumors had spread about human experimentation, though nothing had ever been proven. Those who went to investigate never found anything, or else they were never found. These secrets kept Evolsys from being part of the main contributors in the war, which was fine. Their work was dedicated to what they named Project N.O.L.A. No One Left Alive.
The doors to Lab 51 sealed shut when the bombs fell, every scientist working already aware this could be their final resting place. They never opened, until 2199, when a sole woman left, the doors closing behind her. They wouldn't have opened again, until an earthquake broke the underground sensor, and the doors unsealed. Welcome survivor, to the N.O.L.A. Project. Will you save the world?
≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫≪ °❈° ≫
Basically a modern time Fallout style apocalypse. One of the survivors stumble upon the secrets of a lab designed to make bio weapons and will either activate it.. By opening the cryopod of a girl around the age of 20. Discover her secrets as you traverse the wasteland with her.

• 18+ please
• Smut okay but it would be a hella slow burn
• Males and Females welcomed
• Para to multi para please
• Proper grammar
• I'll put in as much effort as you do, don't make it a dry plot
• I work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8 - 7. Be patient I will get back to you.

Looking to make up a shirt design that looks like your typical 5k shirt. Clever name and logo on the front and event sponsors on the back but… I want it to be a Castle Rock to Derry Race.
I have to figure out the hypothetical mileage between the two (Seems to be about 119 miles) and have the race “sponsors” be businesses from the SK universe. Typically Platinum, gold, silver, etc level depending on how big they are.
Trying to come up with a clever name for the race, thinking “Loser’s Club Racing presents…(insert race name) Castle Rock to Derry 119 Miler”

As I get closer towards finalizing the parts and decisions for my upgraded rig (basically an overhaul), I found myself in a bit of a dilemma. I currently have a 49’ Samsung G9 Odyssey, it’s been great in the nearly two years I’ve had it, haven’t had any issues whatsoever. Though there are still limitations, awareness of surroundings on track is something that feels hindered as in Formula cars the mirrors just clip the edge of the screen and in prototypes and gt’s I can only see past the left mirror (albeit I have the rear view).
I want to make sure that when I finally pull through with this upgrade that I am not going to have significant things I wish I did differently (wheelbase options, rig chassis, monitor setup, etc.)
The idea of running triples was always intriguing to me, though bezels made that a little bit of a gripe for me even with the bezel blending accessories available. Though now I am seriously considering it, but want to gauge some factors before doing so which a lot of videos and articles I’ve viewed haven’t touched on enough for me to make a decision.

1. The performance deficit.
2. I know running three 1440p or even 4k monitors will absolutely be more performance hungry than a single ultrawide, but haven’t been able to gauge roughly how much.
3. My current PC, I built back in early 2022 has:
   • Intel I9-12900K CPU
   • ASUS ROG 3090 GPU
   • ASUS ROG Z690-E Motherboard
   • 32GB of Trident DDR5 @ 6000MHz
   • 2TB Samsung

The specs are still great by todays standards but for what I paid in 2022 I sometimes cry and think to myself why I couldn’t have waited a year or two to get the 40 series or spend a third or even a fourth of the price on things like CPU’s, GPU’s, or Ram.
With that in mind, knowing that my PC isn’t the best optimized, cooling and such I need to rework in the near future + maybe throwing in a bit more ram and storage. Does anyone know what I could expect on triples, I would be leaning towards 32’ Curved Samsungs, albeit the bezels are huge and the overall design is far less visually appealing than that of the G9, that’s just nitpicking though. They have both 165hz and 240hz in 1440p.
Another option is going for 27’ though I understand that can mess with the fov a bit, so 32’ is the goal.
Lastly, my goal is to continue having this PC serve as a sim racing platform as well as a gaming PC, I’ve been trying to figure out ways to make that work, if this were the case I would have at any given time 2 to 4 monitors running at once, 5 to 6 in total. If anyone runs a similar system to this, perhaps with an input toggle so easily go from sim setup to desk setup? - that would be really helpful to get some perspective on. One last thing on performance as well, I plan on getting some displays and such, maybe on simply just for the “Yellow”, “Green”, and “Safety Car” indicator that a lot of endurance spec cars have, would things like those which are purely aesthetic (physical version of the in-game screen) have an added impact on the performance on top of the triple screen load? And how would recording or saving clips work with that triple screen config? Would it be helpful—though not necessary—to get a cheap recording/streaming pc with like a 10 series GPU to take care of that instead?
Sorry for such a rant, this is something I’d like to be certain on in as many aspects as possible before laying down the hammer and going on way or another.

A 40 year old man Graduated in Geology and Master's Degree I live in Porto Alegre - Brazil pro-LGBT, left-ish, lets save the environment, I don't talk much, I prefer to listen, friends consider me ironic, sarcastic and fun. I'm not into buying unnecessary things, I prefer the less. Less is more :) Singularity? Lets chat about it?
I like watching media about Scandinavian design, wooden toys, I'm learning Swedish, I can communicate in English.
I like television shows and movies that are mostly sad or those that reflect the human condition in a satirical way, but I also watch crap like 90 day fiance. Examples:
The Royal Tennenbaum - Wes Anderson A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence - Roy Andersson 101 Reykjavik - Baltasar Kormákur Scener ur ett äktenskap - Ingmar Bergman Dancing in the dark - Lars Von Trier Alien Die hard
The Office Arrested Development Breaking bad Bron / Broen Lilyhammer
I love the work of Theo Hansen and his Stranbeest
My favorite cities: Copenhagen and Malmö
Literature - Aldous Huxley, Agatha Christie, Stieg Larsson, Michael Crichton and Uncle Scrooge :)
Hobbies: woodworking, archery, Reddit, playing video games, but I wish I had more, maybe opening a little shop of wooden toys with you?
I have a PS4 (always multiplayer games, they make me feel more connected to humans) and I used to love playing Mario Kart, Mario Party and Mario Tennis.
Music: I like more specific songs than bands, but if I have to choose some artists:
The Cure Coldplay mozart Sigur Ros Explosions in the Sky The Tallest Man on Earth
Ah- I use a wheelchair, so possibly I'm not your type🙂
What Im looking?

• Have a goal in life, studying, working or looking for.
• Age: preferably between 25 and 47
• Location: GMT-3 to GMT+3 for easy conversation
• Biotype: I'm looking for someone slim to average.

I still see a lot of people who barely understand what it is and a lot of men and women alike who think patriarchy = men being dicks to women which isn’t exactly on the nose. So I will do my best to explain this as simply as I can.
Patriarchy was created when we made patrilineal lineages with the agricultural revolution when humans started accumulating resources/wealth.
Those patrilineal lineages are what made men become dominant because wealth being transferred patrilineally Means women have to achieve wealth through men because they can’t on their own
The elites wanted more men to fight their wars and to serve as manual labor. More manual laborers than there are jobs mean those workers have no bargaining power and can be exploited (welcome to current US capitalist hell).
So women are relegated to reproductive labor (cooking and cleaning, etc) meant to literally “reproduce” the male laborer for his employer. Reproductive labor is essential in order for productive labor (jobs) to exist.
So of course women’s labor is devalued for exploitation but that will be going off rails to another topic
So patriarchies limit women’s economic and reproductive freedoms. This results in MORE babies because women who can’t support themselves must find a male provider. Men who would otherwise never be chosen have a much higher chance because duh. And those men expect reproductive labor and sex
And in comes patriarchal religion to reinforce the status quo. “Be fruitful and multiply” and “submit to your husband” sound waaaay better from god (and conveniently benefit men amiright?) than from some rich asshole saying that it’s getting harder to underpay workers when there’s fewer of them to go around.
And in a relatively short time frame, we got to a population of 8 billion.
You can see incels and the manosphere bitching about the lack of women settling for any loser with a dick and a job. This is exactly true. Women with options are pickier. If a man is not needed then he has to be wanted and no one taught them that because they group up with men being needed and being taught that women are some kind of entitlement.
When they were forced to allow women to work, of course that would mean women wouldn’t need men or to reproduce as much, because they could provide as much as a man so they manipulated shit again
They made it so two incomes were needed. So single motherhood is still a threat to women.
But some women could still achieve independence with the ability to work and own property along with reproductive freedoms being added in
But the wage gaps and unequal pay still disadvantaged enough women that many still would need a male partner. And we had religion, Disney movies, fairy tales, and social pressure all reinforcing that women needed men or that romance and marriage was some ultimate fantasy
Overtime more and more women were willing to leave bad marriages or opt out all together. And birth rates just dropped and the end game capitalism situation where the working class has been bled dry only exacerbated this
So now women’s rights are going away again. They need use desperate and fucking more men. They don’t care if we are married, casual fucking, or raped. Those all result in babies. They don’t even care if we’re fully grown. That was evident with the fact that child marriage is still legal
So yes. Women don’t have near as many kids when reproducing on their own terms.
And our reproductive freedoms only go as far as population goals. We will NEVER actually be allowed to collectively opt out of sex and reproduction. We’d see the handmaids tale come to life before that happens
It’s just another fucked up form of the sexual arms race that occurs in a lot of the animal kingdom except humans are supposed to more evolved than that.
But despite the fact that patriarchy is exploiting and abusing men for their lives and labor, they often won’t acknowledge or fight it because it gives them status over women. As you’ve seen, they hate when women have the choice to reject them. Women who choose careers and to live child free are often berated for a reason
So when you see women saying things like “women are the value” or “we ARE the table” it’s not coming from thin air. Everything is designed to make women more accessible. Women’s biology is weaponized against them because it’s fucking POWERFUL to have all the say in whether someone gets to reproduce or if there even is another generation. It doesn’t mean men aren’t worthy human beings. They’re just not the ones who carry infants nor can their biology be exploited in the same way.
Patriarchy is NOT the natural order. It didn’t exist before the agricultural revolution. Paternity didn’t even always matter because again there weren’t always patrilineal lineages. Some cultures even had elders providing childcare while both men and women hunted. The “traditional family unit” is a product of patriarchy.

My DM recently started a western D&D two shot, and I've been thinking about character races. I'm currently playing a female Bison Minotaur (native American) barbarian, used the basic Minotaur stats. I've envisioned a 3 foot tall Thri-creen "Craw Dad" gambler rogue who speaks with a French accent, using the thri-creen stats. Last night I conceived of a jack-alope centaur using the centaur stats, but designing the character on Hero Forge using the centaur body with rabbit face, ears, and forehead antlers

I dropped D&D5e for Pathfinder2e basically immediately on release. I never gave up playing in my favorite D&D campaign setting though- Eberron. If anything, I found Pathfinder2e better suited to the Eberron setting, which I had played in 3.5’s ocean of content for years. While I have grown to enjoy Pathfinder’s Golarion via playing in multiple of Paizo’s APs, I still run my own games in Eberron, using Pathfinder 2e rules. I am not the only person to do this, and there is even a fantastic fan-made Eberron conversion that can be found [here}( https://scribe.pf2.tools/v/2qF7WjsY-pathfinders-guide-to-eberron).
Pathfinder2e has 23 base classes, with that number soon to be rising to 27. Not all these classes have obvious D&D parallels, and so I wrote this guide primarily help players and GMs link Pathfinder’s many unique classes to Eberrons’ somewhat less conventional fantasy world. I also sort of hope this might interest some Eberron players to give Pathfinder2e a try, and some Pathfinder2e players to give Eberron a try. I will go over all the Pathfinder2e unique classes and talk about how to connect or change them (thematically) to fit into Eberron- no mechanical homebrew required.
The artificer question: Eberron created a class for D&D that is special built for the setting, the Artificer. In Eberron, where magic is technology, Artificers are sort of like scientists. In game mechanics, they are magic item specialists. In the original 3.5 rules, they literally just made magic items as their main class feature. This was changed (ruined in my opinion) in D&D5e, but the core of the class is still character who does not cast spells, themselves, but rather manipulates magic items. This does not exist in Pathfinder2e, but there are a few classes I think make for great substitutes mechanically if you change the flavor. I will bring this up in a few classes under the heading “Can this class be an Artificer?”
Alchemist- Alchemists create Elixers and bombs and mutagens, all of which fit very well into the world of Eberron. You can absolutely play an alchemist straight- A goblin engineer could be a bomber, a veteran of the Last War could be a Chirugeon, and a Lizardfolk shaman from Q’bara could be toxicologist. Another angle though is shift the Alchemist to be more magical in nature. A bomb could be a crystal that houses elemental energy. A mutagen could be a device that injects arcane power into the blood. Can this class be an artificer? Absolutely, that small flavor change to make the class more magical in nature is all you need to do.
Gunslinger- This is a weird one. Some people do just play Eberron as a world that has guns- this has become more common in the 5e era, and there is nothing wrong with this. Personally, prefer the idea that guns don’t exist, but there is magic that comes very close. The setting in Eberron takes place shortly after a massive, World War 1-esque conflict that accelerated the pace of magical technology. I like to run with the idea that wands were developed as offensive weapons- not as powerful as a wand that casts a whole spell but able to shoot blasts of magic all day. In my Eberron, these gun-wands are powered by Dragonshards that serve almost like magazines or heat sinks in Mass Effect. The result? Wandslingers baby. Mechanically, your pistolero might still be using two guns, but thematically, their long coat is now full of “dueling wands”. The Sniper might have a special, magically powered rail gun that fires a crossbow bolt with lightning magic. You can run wild with the flavor! The one thing I like to maintain is that gunwands are still new and rare, much like guns in the Golarion world. Wandslingers are specially trained wizards and warriors- a random layperson couldn’t just pick up a gunwand and make it work. This sort of ads to the “true grit” feel of the gunslinger. Er, wandslinger.
Another option for the Gunslinger for players who want to stay true to the gunpowder theme, is introduce guns as weapons from the Dwarven Mror Holds or the Hobgoblin nation of Darguun. It would be a stretch to say that pirates from Lhazaar have adopted these weapons either.
Inventor- Much like the Alchemist and the Gunslinger, the best way to convert the Inventor into fitting into Eberron is retool them to be more explicitly magical. They still might have gears and gizmos and gadgets, but these tools should be powered via magical sources. You can really work on your Magipunk slang here “I added mana-calibrators to my geomantic hammer”. A good media example for a magical inventor might be a character like Jace from Netflix’s Arcane series. As touched on previously, Eberron features magical crystals called “Dragonshards” that store, bind, and release magic. These could be a great way to work an Inventor character into Eberron. Additionally, the House of Making provides a natural backstory home to the inventor. Could this class be an artificer? Absolutely. This is probably the best analogue to 5es “Battlesmith” subclass of the artificer.
Investigator- The Eberron world is a setting that is built around intrigue, mystery, and even noir, as much as it it pulp action adventure. The Investigator is an easy slot into Eberron. Multiple governments have spy agencies, such as Breland’s Dark Lanterns. Over half of the Dragonmarked houses have solid reasons to employ investigator type characters, whether a half-elf detective for house Medani, a half orc bounty hunter of Tharask, or even a specialized Courier for house Orien. Additionally, an Investigator makes for a great “on the job scholar” type character, a treasure hunteresearcher for Morgrave University, for example.
Kineticist- Eberron is full of the idea of “manifest” zones; regions that have some extraplanar link to elemental (or other planes), pefect for playing this elementally charged class. This is an easy way to work a Kinetcist’s backstory into Eberron. For example, a character from Sharn who races in the Eight Winds race could be an air Kineticist due to their connection to Sharn’s manifest Zone. Another option is to simply have Kinetcists be more primal, raw types of magic users. An orc from a Gatekeeper tribe could be a wood Kineticist, a Dwarf mountaineer from Mror could be a stone kineticist. My group currently has a Sahaguin who is a aiwater kineticst. Finally, a Kineticst is, mechanically speaking, a class that uses magic but doesn’t cast spells. This could be used to represent Dragonmark, especially a rare and dangerous Abberant Dragonmark, very well. Could this class be an artificer? Why the hell not. Maybe an artificer who specializes in elemental binding?
Magus- This has to be one of the easiest ones to adapt. A Warrior who wields magic and weapons fits almost anywhere in Eberron, since the whole idea is commonplace. A veteran soldier? Special Forces? A pirate? An enforcer of a Dragonmarked house? A champion of the cults of the Dragon Below? A survivor of the Mourning? Could this class be an artificer? Yes, if you don’t mind being a very martially focused character. Maybe an artificer who uses a specially powered magical sword?
Oracle- A caster powered by a mysterious curse? That seems like a shoe-in for a character that draws power from the Draconic Prophecy. It also seems like a good way to play a character who has a dragonmark- especially someone with a difficult to control Siberys mark or a strange Aberrant mark. For example, someone with a powerful Mark of the Storm might be a Tempest Oracle, wheras someone with a mysterious connection to the Draconic Prophecy might be a Cosmos Oracle. Additionally, because Eberron’s dieties are so distant and nebulously real, an Oracle dedicated to them makes for a good divine character that exists outside of traditional church hierarchy- like a zealot of Dol Arrah (Battle Oracle).
Psychic- The obvious home for the Psychic class is as a substitute for psionics, which Eberron was designed to include in 3e, but has never really found a home for in 5e. The class works well for Kalashtar or Reidran humans, or anyone who uses psionics. Some subclasses of the Psychic might also work well for certain members of dragonmarked houses. The way I run Eberron in Pathfinder2e is that any occult-list (one of Pathfinder’s four sources of magic) may be a psionic character. I once had a psionic bard! But not every occult caster has to be a psionic user. Again, that means a Psychic can work great for a Kalashtar Psion, but also can work for a magical character, like a silent Thuranni assassin who kills with mind magic.
Sorcerer- Sorcerers are different enough in Pathfinder2e from D&D that I think they are worth mentioning here. Pathfinder has four magic sources, rather than two. Arcane (wizards), Divine (Clerics), Primal (Druids), and Occult (Bards). Sorcerers are not just arcane casters- they choose which source they cast from on character creation when they choose a Bloodline. This gives them a HUGE variety of ways to fit in the world. A primal magic using sorcerer with the Fey bloodline could be from the Eldeen reaches, a Divine sorcerer with the demon bloodline could be from the Demon Wastes, an Occult sorcerer could have the power of a Quori spirit within them, all alongside your traditional dragon-blooded arcane sorcerer. Because of this, I also think sorcerers could be a good stand in for Artifacers with a bit of reflavoring (and focus on crafting). An Imperial Bloodline sorcerer especially could work well as an artificer. I think a Wizard might be a more clear choice, but the potential is there.
Summoner- Summoner is a very broad class that chooses between all four magic traditions (much like sorcerer). The main thing they have going on is their permanent summoned companion- their Eidolon. This gives a lot of oppurtunities to work them into Eberron. Their backgrounds can be just as diverse- from a necromancer from Karnath to priest from Thrane with a connection to a holy spirit, to a clockwork engineer from Zilargo. My current Eberron party has a demonic summoner who has a flesh-warping creature from Khyber as their Eidolon! I do think the summoner could work as a very specific kind of artificer who has a constructed battle companion- though the Inventor might work better for this, unless you want spells.
Swashbuckler- Another very simple one. A warrior who relies on daring and gusto over strength is a great trope for Eberron. From an airship captain to Lhazar pirate, to even a Hoggoblin swordsage or a street fighter from the slums of Wroat, the Swashbuckler fits anywhere into Eberron with no need for flavor changes.
Witch- Like the Sorcerer and Summoner, Witches choose their magical source on character creation (though the vast majority of their subclasses are Occult and Primal). The witch is sort of the Pathfinder2e version of the warlock; their power comes from a pact with a powerful entity. Mechanically though, Witches are much more about hexes and sustaining buffs/debuffs than dealing damage and blasting. Eberron is full of a lot of power creatures- Demons, Dragons, Fey, Quori, Dealkyr which make for great patrons for a Witch. I also think its entirely possible to simply have your patron be a powerful mage or even a dragonmarked house- a storm-witch of house Lyrandar or a shadow-witch of house Phiarlan, for example.
I hope this gets people inspired to make characters, and maybe even look into the Eberron campaign setting. I also hope this helps GMs do what I have done over the last few years, which is migrate 5e players over to Pathfinder2e.

The whole point of the levelling system is that you shouldn't necessarily get all the way up there, let alone tier 150 or 200. Last season I got to level 156 and took a month long break in the middle of it, plus playing a lot of other games and getting a 4.0 GPA in college. yeah, I have a little more time than other people but if you really couldn't hit 100 it just means that you aren't playing very much. This season it should be easy to get 2 levels a day from daily quests, rocket racing quests, and daily discovery. This is possible in under an hour per day. Listen, I get it, the XP nerf is frustrating for people who are really busy, and putting v-bucks behind the bonus rewards is a crappy thing for Epic to do, but the levels aren't that hard to get. scoring well in matches and doing daily quests can get a person fairly easily to level 200 if they play a decent amount. If you play less than that you aren't supposed to be able to get everything, the battle pass is designed to reward effort. honestly, it shouldn't even be realistically possible to hit level 100 in a day. To the guy that did, I salute you. to the people complaining, stop AFKing and just play the game. you'll get there, I believe in you.

I am a mother of 2 boys (age 4 and 6) I bought them a PlayStation 4 as most boy-moms would to relax after sports and homework etc. I actually enjoy playing the games with them and thought I might search the PlayStation store for a couple games of my own. I was surprised that in 2024, as I was scrolling through the games, almost ALL of the games were still aimed toward boys. I understand it is generally viewed as a boys hobby (yes I know there are many girl gamers - you know what I mean) but wouldn’t that probably because there aren’t any hit female-oriented games even offered? I mean surely someone is creative enough to come up with a game that isn’t war-racing-fighting etc. Surely someone can design a game incorporating all the things women love that isn’t aimed for a toddler. Am I missing something here? If you’re an entrepreneur- here’s your sign lol. There’s a gap in the market. Free territory waiting to be developed and exploited lol.

I am having an issue with my simulator rig. I have working semi-truck dashboard gauges wired to a USB emulator board made by a UK firm, Symprojects (ProGauge is the model of the board). The board was designed for this purpose and features pin outs for various gauges “Speedo”, “Tach”, “Fuel”… and runs off of a 5V power supply. Its connection to the PC is USB. The board is controlled by an application known as “SimDash”. It takes the telemetry data from a game (parameters like speed, RPM, and others) and displays it on the real gauges. The main function of SimDash is to allow communication between the gauges and the game, and to calibrate the gauges accurately. The PC is only used for this sim rig. It’s a fairly modern gaming PC and has very limited non-sim related programs on it. I’m losing my mind over this. I am not extremely tech savvy when it comes to somethings, but I am good in others. So, please forgive me if I don’t understand something. Now here’s my issue: The application. I can download it without issue, it unzips without issue, but then when I click it, nothing happens. It apparently opens in the background somewhere because it shows up in the Task Manager, and if I try to launch it again, it says its “already open”. I have tried min/max of the windows, trying to scroll around the desktop, everything. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled multiple versions of the application so many times I lost count long ago. I cleared the saved data in the “Users > username…” file. This has been going on now for just under 2 years and I’m pissed off, disgusted, and feeling like ripping the board out and finding another way. I’ve been in touch with the software developer on and off over the last almost 2 years and we’ve tried many, many different versions of the application to no avail. I am running Windows 11 (just upgraded from 10 about a month ago). Now here’s the kicker: It worked beautiful on a laptop with similar specs to the PC (but older) running Windows 10 when I bench tested the dashboard before installing it in my sim rig during a September 2022 overhaul! The application worked. The gauges worked. I don’t get it!!!!!!! I am in a community of semi-truck sim rig builders, and well as a few racing rig builder groups and many have used this SAME EXACT PROGRAM AND BOARD and had ZERO ISSUES. I can find nothing through Google, nothing on the company’s message boards, and the developer has no ideas. I seem to be the only one on Earth having this problem. I am really hoping against hope that I can find a computer related fix since the program itself does not seem to be a problem.

So I've been working on this one for quite some time, running sessions here since November, so I thought I'd finally share with the class. My previous domains have all the highly streamlined into a specific gimmick (or if you're being less generous, one-trick ponies), and I wanted to transition to an episodic style campaign for scheduling and session-planning reasons. So I challenged myself to make something that had a lot of potential in the type of sessions, terrain, and factions. I'm pleased with the result and I have endless fun. Dragonmine dungeons, sea monster hunts, and up to my armpits in murder mysteries (Involving everything from serial killers, forced marriages to sea creatures, finding shipwrecks, and backstreet grafting, and their current conundrum involving medieval compacts and mining rights).
What I have here is the stripped down version, hence the lack of things like a detailed backstory, NPCs, or the factions I'm mentioned. These things all exist, but there's far too much for a random reddit post.

Caergwynt

Domain of cursed bloodlines and stolen flesh
Darklord: Dr James Pugh
Genres: Body horror, cosmic horror
Hallmarks: A cursed piscine populace, dragon-flesh grafting surgery, a seaside town.
Mist Talismans: A preserved dragon’s bladder, A piece of leather with a triple-eye tattoo, a carver’s blade

A thousand years ago the people of Dan-y-Mor bargained with the Deep Ones of Thol’Yth, a bargain that caused their home to sink into the sea and has left a corrupting mark on their bloodline to this day. But times have moved on, and in the seaside tourist town of Caergwynt the people try to throw off the chains of the sea and embrace modernity. Dr James Pugh, master surgeon, alchemist, and prodigal son of Caergwynt, brough home with him the discoveries of Dragon-flesh grafting, and how the power within draconic meat can counteract the curse that afflicts them as they age.

But along with innovations, Pugh has brought twisted ideals of supremacy, callousness, and self-loathing to the town. Behind the pastel painted houses and ice-cream stands, Pugh holds the domain in the grips of his ideology. In Caergwynt both beauty and ugliness are skin deep; horror lies beneath both.

And where are they getting this dragon flesh?

Noteworthy Features

Those familiar with [Domain Name] know these facts:
· The coastal population is cursed by their piscine ancestry. Though they appear human to begin with, they start to warp into fish-like beings as the enter middle-age, until eventually they can’t survive on land.
· Magic and the occult arts aren’t banned in the town, but they pride themselves in their modern thinking, and so both are rare and seen with suspicion. Alchemy is very popular, as is natural philosophy of all kinds, though scientific truth is often clouded in ideological bias.
· Minor surgeries involving dragon flesh is hugely popular in the town, primarily as it staves off the piscine transformation. Draconic virtues such as wealth, independence, and power are idealised, while meekness, poverty, and laziness are seen as the result of oceanic taint.
· The inland parts of the domain are mountainous and sparsely populated, but under the mountains dragons lie hibernating in the hundreds. Through use of industrial quantities of sedatives, mining teams, and the skilled blades of the ‘Carvers’, they remove the flesh of living dragons for sale to surgeons.

Geography and locations

At the heart of the domain lies the town of Caergwynt, for which the domain is named, though it extends well beyond the picturesque town. Coastline stretches to the north and south for 9 miles in each direction. Outside the town much of the coastline is steep cliffs with only occasional cove, until the northern most two miles, which level out into sand dunes and finally to an estuary, the river bisected by the mists.

The domain extends another 13 miles inland to the east, almost immediately rising into rolling mountain ranges worn smooth eons ago by glaciers. Beneath these mountains are rich veins of ore, usually lead, copper, tin, silver, and even gold. Not to mention another, slumbering, treasure. These ridges and valleys are mostly populated by sheep farmers and miners, and their distance from the civilised towns means the old traditions still hold strong. Travellers here are likely to be vexed by the remaining fey spirits, whom they have likely offended by breaking their baffling codes.

Lastly, to the west is 13 miles of sea. Beneath the sea here is the remains of Dan-y-Mor, the lands that were drowned. Legends tell that the dragon Rhodri Efydd drowned these lands to punish the people there for their pact with the Deep Ones, and that it’s the survivors of this event that settled in Caergwynt and established the cursed bloodlines that still dwell there. The ruins are now populated by the Deep Ones, and the seas are treacherous to those who do not pay tribute to them.

Caergwynt town The main settlement and namesake of the domain, Caergwynt town is the seat of James Pugh’s power, and the nexus for his ideas. A rail line connects the town to the wider world through the mists, bringing tourists from far and wide to enjoy its pastel houses, seaside attractions, and healthy sea air. The town has grown incredibly rapidly over the past fifty years, so many of the houses are relatively new, painted brightly, and have plumbing. Wealthier houses often have electricity even, as Pugh idealises technological progress as a means of freeing oneself from the overlords of old.

Along the seafront promenade one can find ice-cream stands, circus acts, and countless sun loungers. Many children paddle in the shallows, under the watchful eyes of the many lifeguards. An impressive pier thrusts out to sea over 600ft, hosting a bar, dancefloor, and bandstand, as well as being decorated by colourful electric lights along its whole length.

On an upward-thrust outcropping of stone overlooking the bay, the ruins of a medieval castle can be found. Though much of the old outer portions are now a pleasant picnic overlook, the ruins themselves act as a façade that conceals the home and workshop of Dr James Pugh, the regal remains cloaking the garish metal construction where Pugh conducts his experiments and surgeries.

Dan-y-Mor Long ago, these lands were cast into the sea for the betrayal of the people here to their own kin: In return for protection against floods, the elders of the town betrothed many of their younger relatives to the Deep Ones. When forced to confront the horror of what they’d done, they refused to repent, and so the dragon Rhodri Efydd flooded the land to try and kill off all those tainted by the deep.

Not only did he fail, but the Deep Ones now occupy the ruins in great numbers, growing their strength and plotting their control over the surface. Led by the high priest Xrilath, ancient human structures have been supplemented by cyclopean temples to unfathomable gods. Here Xrilath experiments in creating mutants for his legions, and plots to spread his insanity to all. His aristocrats constantly feud and war over slaves and territory, and his priests construct monuments to induce storms and curses over the ocean. Unnatural reefs and trenches can come and go under the force of their magic, and shipwrecks are a frequent sight.

To this day, the church bells of Dan-y-Mor can be heard when the sea mists are thick.

Llwyd North along the coastline, as the cliffs finally give way to pebbles and finally a sandy beach, sits the unfortunately named Llwyd. Behind the town lies the only flat terrain of the domain, but it is boggy and brackish and so of little use, without a safe harbour like it’s sibling settlement to nucleate around. Thus, it’s a stretched-out town of a few hundred, composing of only two streets running a mile each in parallel along the beach, with the only high ground occupied by a church and a small railway station.
Like Caergwynt, its populace are doomed to mutate as they age, but away from the most intense of Pugh’s influence, they see themselves as more at peace with their nature. Repulsed by their lack of self-repulsion, Pugh has successfully discredited the town as being run-down and dire, stalling its attempt to draw in tourists as Caergwynt has, despite superficially similar pastel houses and beach attractions. Without cash coming in, most of the town is now stuck in a cycle of dilapidation that makes true Pugh’s slander.
Of the ailing attractions, the most notable it the Abominarium, a fledgling zoo that pivoted to displaying captured cryptids and the occasional escaped carver’s pet when funds for proper zoo animals wasn’t available.

Porthniwl
This town lies at the very south of the domain, a ruined place that was bisected by the mists when they descended and never left. Formerly, it was the template that Caergwynt copied to reinvent itself, but now the ebb and flow of the mists leaves it inhospitable and maddening, populated only by aberrations, Aled Llias-y-mor’s Deep-One splinter faction, and insane pirates. The cultists worship and bargain with otherworldly entities that spawn from the mists, welcoming them as Xrilath’s distant kin.

Cwm Crith
Following the river Crith from its terminus in Caergwynt inland (Or better yet, simply taking the narrow-gauge train with the miners each morning) will eventually lead to Cwm Crith, the upper reaches of the Crith valley. Formerly a loose scattering of shepherds, the valley has become dominated by Pugh’s dragonflesh mines that have poked holes in the mountainside. Leaked poisons, smelting effluent, and the residue of toxic ores has rendered the river a pretty but toxic blue colour, and decimated the agriculture of the valley.
While not the only dragonflesh mining compound in the domain, Cwm Crith is by far the busiest and most profitable. Owned of course by Dr James Pugh, Cwm Crith Mining Company, and its subsidiary the Goldscale Carvers, is an economic powerhouse by the standards of the other businesses in the domain. Along with dragon flesh, the draconic influence that seeps into the rocks has imbued the region with rich veins of ore that facilitates the industry of the domain.

Dr James Pugh

_See biography for full account_
Having left the decrepit town as a teenager, Pugh returned with a surprising supply of cash, a doctorate, and ambitious ideas about how the town should enter the bold new world of industry that was emerging. When he returned with a mysterious supply of money, he quickly set to work rebuilding his hometown to fit his own ideas. Where as the curse of their bloodline was formerly an accepted fact of life in the town, he introduced shame of their heritage along with the pioneering surgeries that could counteract it.

Dr James Pugh's Powers and Dominion
Despite being over seventy years old, Pugh appears to be in excellent health. Tall and lean, it’s clear to anyone meeting him, and confirmed by any who knew him as a youth, that he has always possessed an angular but handsome face, one that has only ever expressed seriousness or coldly simmering rage.
However, while age hasn’t affected him too greatly, his own surgery has: He has reptilian eyes, shimmering gold in the irises, and faint golden flecks in all visible skin. Golden scales can be seen around his neck and hands, though his habitual long-sleeved shirts don’t reveal much else. While most grafting subjects are left with swollen and distorted scars to be covered with heavy layers of make-up, Pugh’s few visible stiches are immaculate.
He always wears well made but not flamboyant clothing, so that it is his body, not attire, that draws the eye. Always practical, he is never seen in anything other than the ideal apparel for the occasion.
Though Pugh’s physical self is as full of hypocrisy as his ideology. Despite every sign of refinement and control, he can only maintain this visage by regular consumption of an expensive dragon-blood potion.

His true form, a consequence of his self-inflicted experiments, is a monstrous brute, with heavy staples holding together draconic and human flesh. These wounds are rife with infections that causes him to ooze pus and blood as he moves. While his hulking asymmetrical frame is strong, he suffers greatly from migraines, and thus his intelligence is drowned out by pain and anger. In a mockery of a dragon’s breath weapon, he can vomit great quantities of phosphorescent acid that ignites on contact with air.

Despite seeming to be bursting at the seams, his constitution is remarkable. He has survived poisoning, blood loss, strangulation, and many of his own experimental procedures beyond any reasonable explanation. Grievous wounds will render him in an apparently dead state for several days, but so far he has always woken back up.
However Pugh doesn’t hold sway over the domain by brute force, for almost none know his true condition. His true power is ideological and economic.
With his stolen money, he made many early investments into the mining sector, paid for the rail line that feeds visitors into the town, is the landlord of many homes in the town, and financed most of the tourist attractions. From this he earns a reliable and steady fortune that frees him up to pursue his research, and gives him leverage over a significant amount of the town as their landlord or employer.

Whilst the domains police are not officially under his command, his generous donations, forensic assistance, and loyal local politicians means that they tend to act in his favour.
And when he needs direct actions take, he has the Goldscale Carvers.
As their owner, he has cultivated a collection of brutal and loyal men who aren’t afraid of dirty work. They are also the unofficial biohazard containment specialists of the domain, so Pugh will gladly invent some hazard the police are ill-suited to handle when he wants things handled by his goons.

If attacked, he can choose to transform into his monstrous true form, but will resist doing so at almost any cost. Instead, he is comfortable in using potions and a dueling pistol, along with some magic that resides in him from all his tampering with dragon’s blood.

Dr James Pugh's Torment
· Xrilath is occupied full time with undermining Pugh’s ideology and trying to engineer his fall from grace. The mad aboleth believes only by bringing Pugh down to his level will they all be free of the mists (He’s not wrong either).
· Pugh relies on the dragonflesh mines to not only make money, but also perpetuate his ideology of grafting. Yet he’s terrified one day a dragon will break loose and take revenge on him for his crimes against them.
· Despite all his talk, Pugh has the most monstrous, most obscene grafts of everyone. By his own preaching, if anyone found out, they’d cast him down for his weakness.

Roleplaying Dr Jame Pugh
Pugh is a man of many dualities, hypocrisy made flesh. He’s the tortured spirit of a man whose self-image and true self are incompatible. Pugh’s motives are a web of his enlightened philosophies and base desires. What welds them together is his determination, an iron rod that glows hot enough to burn but never bends.

Pugh believes that gracious physical form belies a noble mind, and vice versa. And that his surgeries are not simple jobs of stitching and cutting, but a means of balancing out a noble intellect with a suitable body, if said body has been unfairly tainted. He blames failed surgeries and the common madness that comes from them on the result of unworthy recipients trying to claim grander forms than they deserve. He practices phrenology, the pseudoscience of determining character from the shape of one’s skull. He will often offer to undertake a phrenological exam on new acquaintances and prospective clients, and fills in the results with assumptions and what knowledge he has gathered on them so far.

In another brazen display of circular logic, he believes that the taint of the deep ones hides the town’s true draconic ancestry, and that the surgery simply helps it rise to the surface. Yet his own true body is a mockery of his own art, the most gruesome of all his patients is himself, and his grandeur is only a façade.

Most tragically, is that from a young age, Pugh has adored the legends of old. He envies the way that the world used to make sense, that people could earn their place by their qualities, and that larger-than-life characters decided the fate of the world. Yet he’s too astute to be blind to the apathetic randomness of the modern world, where logic and science tell us that nobody is truly important. This manifests in his ideology of great people displaying draconic traits, and sometimes in his more crazed experiments…
For Dr James Pugh does go mad. Sometimes for days at a time, he’ll whip himself into a stupor of narcotics and paranoia, lock himself in his laboratory, and perform experiments that would sicken even himself in the light of day. Mockeries of beast of legends, such as drakes and chimeras, are a common result of this.
Bonds: “I have a lot of work still ahead of me: I must fend of the nefarious Deep Ones, perfect my work of removing their curse, and outs my rivals for this kingdom I have built.”
Ideals: “A man should be strong, unwavering, and bold. What he owns is proof of his power. A graceful visage belies a respectable heart.”
Flaws: “I’m surrounded by enemies at all time! I can’t trust anyone! Paranoid? I’ll show you paranoia!” “I’m terrified of dragons.” “My body and blood are tainted and I’m worried I won’t be able to undo any of it.”
Traits: “Yes I’m the smartest man in the room. Any room. All rooms. I take what I want, and by successfully doing so, I prove that I am right to do so.”

Despite his exhaustive list of flaws, Dr James Pugh is an extremely capable individual. Along with his academic brilliance, he has a keen mind for business, strategy, and social manipulation. He can be charming, though more often opts for an aloof commanding presence. Knowing how durable he’s become, he rarely shows fear.
Pugh will try to befriend anyone who seems well-learned, strong-willed, and bold. He’ll compliment those he believes are following his ideals, but the closer they come to being his ideal man, the more he’ll see them as a rival.


Adventures in Caergwynt
By its design, Caergwynt has a wide variety of locations to explore, and several factions to interact with. The ocean is riddled with the feuding Deep Ones, shipwrecks, and the mutated kin of Caergwynt. Inland is host to fey and ghosts that bedevil the simple farming folk, as well as with dragonflesh mines. Caergwynt town is a hotbed for backstreet surgeries, families torn apart by biology, and the clash of the old ways against the new. And while the domain is modern enough for gunpowder, steam trains, and even the odd electric bulb, the history of a thousand years ago still casts its shadow into the current day.

· A pair of serial killers have been abducting those with dragon grafts ripping out the valued flesh, and selling it on the black market. Can anyone track them down?
· A man driven mad by his grafts has become obsessed with a 30 year old shipwreck, claiming that the sunken treasure aboard is his hoard, and has hired help finding it and taking it from a Deep One noble.
· A valuable item has been hidden in an abandoned mineshaft, but the Goldscale carvers have started using it as a convenient place to farm their carrion crawlers.
· A washed-up sea monster has started an outbreak of a strange disease. Pugh is confident he can create a cure, but needs someone to hunt down a living specimen.
· Sightings of a strange creature have spread around the town. Is it a monster from the ocean, or was it created closer to home. To find out, one would have to race the carvers to find and kill it, lest any evidence disappear.

I was psyched to get a pair of AP3 after my beloved Endorphin Elites kicked the bucket (RIP). I loved the shoes but I figured I’d try something new. Having heard great things about the Adizero Adios line, not to mention the awesome design/colorways, I finally tracked down a store near me that carried them.
Tried them on to get the right fit and did a run on the stores treadmill to see how they felt. I was very happy with the feel and was psyched to take them out for a spin the next day… Really felt good about them being my next speed/race day shoe. That excitement went away after the first (4 mile) run though and now it’s nothing but disappointment…
I have only done three runs on them, one being long, and I am pretty frustrated with them… I understand the hatred for the upper now, as I have experienced every issue it has sadly. I have a gnarly achilles that is torn up from the poorly designed heel, along with irritated and sore areas on the top of my feet from lace pinching. I’ve taken all the recommended steps to try and solve the issues - kt tape on the back on my heels for extra cushion, runners knot to lock the heel in place. I was really hopeful these would fix the issues, but they did not. The runner knot seemed to stabilize my heel a little more, but the rubbing still happened. The runners knot also came with the downside of the lace pinching, which caused the soreness and irritation at the top of my feet.
I’m really bummed… If these were not issues, I really think they would be a keeper! Until these issues are solved though (🤞🏻 for v4), I don’t think they are the shoe for me. I just can’t tolerate the issues in a nearly $300. I also can’t imagine the damage my heels/feet would take with a HM or marathon race.
So what now? I’m really hoping for some advice from you all and insight into some other options. The Endorphin Elites are always an option, but I really want to branch out. I don’t want to pigeon hole myself into one race day shoe just for the sake of familiarity when there are possibly even better options out there. I have been considering the ASICS Metaspeed Sky Paris or even Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro 2. I know the Boston 12 is an impressive shoe also, but I have heard that it has the same upper as the AP3 with the same issues. I’m open to other possible options as well. Just want to find that perfect one for me.
Thanks much in advance!

Chapter 1
Scene 1
Sunlight streamed through the windows of my modern apartment as I meticulously folded clothes and packed my bags, the anticipation of an upcoming trip tingling in the air. The day seemed ordinary enough until the doorbell shattered the tranquility.

Startled, I hurried to answer it, only to find Elena bursting into the house with her usual exuberance. She was a whirlwind of energy, her long chestnut hair tied back in a messy ponytail, her bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement. Her olive skin glowed with vitality, and her infectious smile lit up the room.

"Peter, what took you so long to answer?" she exclaimed, her voice carrying a mix of impatience and amusement as she took in the array of luggage before me.

I shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "Just packing for a trip."

Elena scoffed, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Immigrating, are we?" She scanned the room before turning her attention back to me. "Seriously, though, what's with all the luggage?"

I chuckled at her bluntness. "You know me, always overpacking."

She rolled her eyes, reaching for her phone and cranking up the volume on her favorite song. The heavy riff of "Passenger" by Deftones filled the room, adding a pulsating rhythm to our conversation.

Taking a seat at the cluttered kitchen table, Elena flashed me a mischievous grin. "I came to hang out with my friend. Is that a crime?"

I raised an eyebrow, eyeing her suspiciously.

Elena's laughter filled the room, unapologetic. "Okay, you caught me. I need your help." Despite my curiosity, apprehension flickered, yet her sparkling eyes drew me in. "Come on, Peter," she urged. "I promise it'll be worth your while."

"What do you need me for?" I asked, unable to resist her infectious enthusiasm.

Elena's brows furrowed, and she leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I was hired by a family in Silverlake to find their missing daughter, Emily. She disappeared without a trace, and I've been investigating this case for weeks. But I have zero leads."

I frowned. "And you think I can help?"

Elena nodded eagerly. "You're one of the best investigative journalists I know, Peter. Your skills are exactly what we need to crack this case wide open."

"I promised my mom I'd spend a vacation with her. I leave in 2 days. I'm sorry, I cannot help you," I said firmly, my resolve wavering in the face of Elena's determination.

"In 2 DAYS AND YOU'RE PACKING FROM NOW?!" Elena exclaimed incredulously.

"Well, I've got to be well prepared," I defended with a shrug, trying to downplay the urgency of the situation.

"This will be over in less than 2 days. All I need from you is to help me identify her last known location when she disappeared and any digital data you could find linked to her disappearance. Do that for me, and you can continue with your plan," Elena bargained, her eyes pleading with urgency.

I hesitated, torn between my obligations to my family and the pressing need to help Elena solve this mystery.

"Well, you could get that from CCTV cameras and her social media, what do you need me for?" I asked, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the blaring chorus of "Passenger."

The heavy guitars and pounding drums filled the room, drowning out Elena's next words as she searched my face for a response. "Well, don't you think I tried that?" she retorted, frustration evident in her voice. "I couldn't get access to CCTV footage, and her social media revealed nothing. I need a deeper search into the digital landscape, and you're the one I trust the most with this."

"One thing is never enough for you, though. You have a way of always pulling me with you, and I really need this. My mother needs me right now. I haven't seen her since the funeral, and I cannot let her down," I said, my voice cracking with emotion.

Elena's expression softened, her eyes reflecting understanding. She reached out and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I get it, Peter. Family comes first. But think about it, helping me could bring closure to another family who's desperate for answers."

Her words struck a chord within me, igniting a sense of duty and purpose that I couldn't ignore.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded slowly.

I grabbed a notebook and a pen, my determination solidifying as I focused on the task at hand. "I'll do it for the girl's family."

A flicker of relief crossed Elena's face, her shoulders sagging slightly as she realized I was onboard. "Thank you, Peter," she said, her voice tinged with gratitude.

"The town of Silverlake, where Emily had disappeared, was 140 miles away. It was a daunting distance, but one that felt insignificant in the face of the urgency of the situation. Little did I know, Emily wasn't the only one missing. There was a series of disappearances in Silverlake that had gone unnoticed until now."

With a shared glance, Elena and I made an unspoken agreement. We would go to Silverlake, together, to start investigating immediately.

Scene 2
As Elena and I approached the reception desk, the polished tiles of the lobby floor echoed softly beneath our steps, carrying an air of anticipation. The lobby itself exuded a quiet elegance, bathed in the soft glow of the afternoon sunlight streaming through the expansive windows. A gentle hum of activity filled the space, punctuated by the occasional rustle of papers.

The receptionist, a woman with an air of indifference, glanced up from her notebook as we approached. Her eyes, cool and assessing, swept over us before settling on Elena with a hint of curiosity. "How can I help you, dear?" she asked, her voice monotone yet tinged with a subtle edge of detachment.

Elena, undeterred by the receptionist's demeanor, greeted her with a warm smile that illuminated her features. "We're in need of a room for my friend here," she said, gesturing towards me with a nod of her head. "He'll be staying with us."

The receptionist's expression remained unchanged as she reached for another key, her movements precise and methodical. Retrieving the key, she handed it to me with a detached air. "Room 204, second floor, fourth room on the right," she repeated mechanically, her attention already drifting back to her notebook as if our presence was of little consequence.

As I accepted the key, my gaze was drawn to a striking symbol adorning the wall beside the reception desk – the Eye of Horus. Etched in gold against a backdrop of deep blue, its intricate design seemed to watch over the lobby with an enigmatic presence, casting a subtle aura of mystery over the space.

"it's all over the place in here they believe it protects them from evil" Elena shrugged, noticing my gaze lingering on the Eye of Horus.

I nodded thoughtfully, intrigued by the symbolism woven into the fabric of the hotel. "Interesting," I murmured.

With the key in hand, I turned to follow Elena as she led the way towards the staircase, the soft echo of our footsteps mingling with the hushed whispers of the hotel's guests. As we ascended the stairs.

As Elena entered the room, she immediately shed her coat and rushed to the counter, grabbing her phone. Without pause, the familiar strains of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" filled the room, blasting at an ear-splitting volume.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Elena's predictable ritual.

"Okay, Mr. P, we have no time to waste," Elena declared over the blaring music, oblivious to my annoyance. "Grab your notebook and let's start with the case."

"Emily's disappearance was the initial focus of my investigation," Elena began, her eyes reflecting the seriousness of the matter. "According to her family, Emily was extremely close to her mother. Her life seemed to be on track, with a successful career in marketing and a new boyfriend. However, her parents didn't approve of her relationship with Matthew, citing him as a point of contention."

She paused, her gaze drifting as if searching for the right words to convey the complexity of the situation. "The police initially dismissed Emily's disappearance as a case of a young woman running away, especially since Matthew was also missing."

Elena's voice wavered slightly, betraying the weight of the uncertainty surrounding Emily's fate. "For a while, I entertained the possibility that Emily had indeed chosen to leave her life behind. But then, three days ago, another woman disappeared under similar circumstances."
"And where is Matthew?" I interjected, my mind grappling with the complexities of the case. "His friends and family filed a missing persons report on him as well. He disappeared one day before Emily. But there's no reason to think of him as a suspect, is there?"

Elena's expression darkened, mirroring the shadow of uncertainty that clouded my thoughts. "That's the perplexing part," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "All three people disappeared without a trace. One moment they were there, and the next... poof, disappeared as if they've been captured by ghosts."

Her words sent a chill down my spine, and I couldn't shake off the sense of foreboding that gripped me. It was as if we were peering into the abyss of the unknown, where answers remained elusive and danger lurked in the shadows.

As my mind raced, struggling to contain the torrent of thoughts swirling within, I sought desperately for patterns amidst the chaos. With furrowed brow, I turned to Elena, my voice trembling with urgency.

"Is there any connection between the third woman who disappeared and Emily or Matthew?" I inquired, grasping at straws in the hopes of unraveling the enigma before us.

Elena shook her head solemnly, her eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation. "No," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "The third woman is a 50-year-old, last seen exiting her workplace at the quaint bistro, La Petite Cuisine, and heading home."

The revelation sent a shiver down my spine, the realization sinking in that the disappearances were not isolated incidents but part of a larger, more sinister web of mystery. As I pondered the implications, a sense of unease settled over me, the unknown looming ominously on the horizon like a gathering storm.

"Listen, P," Elena's urgency resonated in her voice as she spoke, her words cutting through the tension in the room like a knife. "I acquired CCTV footage of Emily's last sighting, and that's what I need you for."

Without a moment's hesitation, she raced to retrieve her laptop, returning with it clutched tightly in her grasp. With a sense of urgency, she opened the device, revealing the footage of Emily walking down a seemingly ordinary square, her demeanor betraying no hint of the impending turmoil.

But then, like a sudden storm on a clear day, a police patrol car flashed across the screen, casting a shadow of doubt over the otherwise mundane scene. "That means the police have more information on Emily's last movements," I realized, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

In a voice tinged with frustration, Elena explained her futile attempts to obtain a statement from the police, leaving us stranded in a sea of uncertainty. It was a crucial piece of the puzzle that remained tantalizingly out of reach, teasing us with its elusiveness.

Turning to me with pleading eyes, Elena's hand reached out to grasp my arm, her wide eyes locking with mine in an unspoken plea. "I need you to secure an interview with the chief of police or any detective working the case," she implored, her voice soft but desperate. "You could still go on your awaited vacation with your mum afterward."

Her touch sparked a fire within me, "alright el I'll think of a plan but I need some rest first, maybe we could meet at the lobby after 2 hours?"

"Thank you, Peter, for real," Elena's gratitude washed over me, momentarily easing the weight of the task ahead. "Also, two hours sharp, don't be late, ey?"

I offered her a reassuring smile, my resolve firm. "I am always on time," I assured her, though a flicker of uncertainty danced behind my eyes.

"Yeah, right," Elena retorted sarcastically, her skepticism evident as she exited the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

As the door clicked shut behind her, a sense of apprehension settled over me like a heavy shroud. Contemplation mingled with reservation, and a hint of fear gnawed at the edges of my mind.
Scene 3
As Elena departed, I surveyed the room. It bore the marks of neglect, with faded wallpaper peeling at the edges and worn furniture showing signs of age. The bed, positioned against one wall, appeared tired and weathered, its mattress sagging in the middle and the sheets bearing wrinkles. Above the bed, an out-of-place symbol caught my attention once again - the Eye of Horus, its intricate design etched into a wooden plaque and mounted on the wall.

Feeling the weight of exhaustion settle upon me, I sank onto the bed, craving a moment of respite. Before I could even settle in, the insistent ring of my phone shattered the silence. With a resigned sigh, I reached for the device, noting the caller ID - it was my mother, FaceTiming me.

I answered her call, greeted by the warm glow of her smile radiating through the screen. Our exchange of greetings was laced with the gentle familiarity of mother and son.

"Hello, dear," she chimed, "So, you finally found some time to visit your old mum, did you? How kind of you."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, accustomed to the underlying reproach that often accompanied her affectionate words. "Yes, Mom," I replied, trying to mask the unease in my voice with forced cheerfulness. "I'm looking forward to spending some time with you."

Her smile widened. "Well, I'll believe it when I see it," she quipped, her words laden with a veiled challenge. "Don't keep me waiting too long now. You know how precious my time is."

"Are you calling me just to do that?" I interjected, a hint of frustration creeping into my voice.

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Do what, dear?" she inquired innocently.

I hesitated, the words catching in my throat as I grappled with the swirling emotions inside me. "Never mind, Mom," I murmured, a wave of guilt washing over me for even entertaining the notion of confronting her.

But before I could retract my statement, her expression softened, and her voice took on a tone of vulnerability that caught me off guard. "Listen, Peter, I'm sorry," she began, her words tinged with a hint of sadness. "I just miss you. You don't call enough, and it feels like there's nothing for us to talk about. I just..."

Her voice trailed off, leaving the weight of her unspoken words hanging heavy in the air between us. In that moment, I felt a pang of sympathy for the woman on the other end of the line, grappling with her own insecurities and yearning for connection in the only way she knew how.

"I understand," I replied softly, feeling a surge of empathy. "I've been too caught up in my work, but that's why I decided to take this vacation. I've missed you too, Mom, and I really am looking forward to spending more time with you."

A genuine smile spread across my mother's face, her eyes lighting up with warmth and relief. "Oh, Peter, that's wonderful to hear!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with genuine happiness. "I've missed you more than you know, dear. It's been too long since we've had a chance to catch up properly."

Before we could delve further into our conversation, my mother couldn't resist injecting a bit of her trademark humor. "Well, now that you're finally taking a break from work, maybe you'll have some time to find yourself a nice, not-at-all-crazy wife," she teased, a mischievous twinkle dancing in her eye.

Her playful jab elicited a hearty chuckle from me, knowing full well it was all in good fun. "We'll see, Mom," I replied with a laugh, shaking my head affectionately. "But for now, I think I'll focus on spending time with my favorite woman - you."

With a heartwarming laugh, my mother waved goodbye, her parting words carrying a hint of playful insistence. "Don't forget to keep your eyes open, Peter! You never know when Mrs. Right might come along," she quipped before ending the call, leaving me smiling at her enduring humor and unwavering love.

As she hung up, the old bed's worn embrace felt oddly inviting. I sank into its tired folds, finding unexpected comfort in its familiarity, and drifted into a well-deserved sleep.

scene 4

The sound of my alarm rang, and I half-opened my eyes, seeing only in black and white. I hit snooze and repeated the process five times until I finally woke up. I hoped Elena wouldn’t get mad at me for being late. The bed squeaked as I got up, and I hastily washed my face. As I turned on the water tap, I noticed water droplets leaking from the sides.

"Jeez, this place needs serious renovations," I muttered to myself.

I walked to the lobby, only to meet Elena.

"Hi, El," I said, bracing myself for Elena to scold me for my lateness.

"Hello, Peter," she replied in a low voice. She seemed to be staring at a void behind me, her face expressionless and still. I took a step closer to her.

"El, you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, all is good. Uhm, weren't you supposed to leave for a trip to see your mom?"

"Well, yeah, in two days. I'll help you with this thi—" I began, confusion visible on my face, but Elena interrupted me. Her voice was firm, yet she avoided making eye contact.

"No, Peter, it's fine. I've thought about it, and I don't need your help anymore. You can go."

"I am not your toy, Elena. You can't just make me travel with you and then ask me to leave before I even get the chance to do anything," I snapped, my anger blinding me to the obvious. There was something Elena was hiding, and I needed to be calm to understand what was going on.

I tried to salvage the situation by apologizing and reassuring her that I was by her side, but it was too late. Elena's eyes welled up with tears. "I'm sorry, but please, Peter, leave. Go on your trip," she said, storming out of the lobby.

As she left, I noticed a necklace with the Eye of Horus dangling around her neck. Why does Elena wear this, and why is this place filled with an ancient Egyptian symbol? I froze, unsure of what to do. As I ran after Elena, desperation gnawed at my insides. She wasn't in front of the lobby anymore. I hopped into my car and started scouring the streets, telling myself she couldn't have gone too far.

I drove down every street, checked every alley, but Elena was nowhere to be found. Panic rose within me, and my breath quickened as I frantically tried to contact her, only to find her phone out of service.

Finally, I parked in front of an old bar. It was midnight by now, and the place was bustling with people. As I entered, I was greeted by a middle-aged man with a full beard. "Hey, newcomer, welcome to the Allure Bar," he slurred, his breath heavy with alcohol. He introduced himself as Michael Convivial, the owner of the bar, and offered me a shot on the house since it was my first time there.

"I didn't come here for the drinks," I said, the song 'What Am I to You' playing softly in the background. I showed him a photo of Elena, and he instantly recognized her, laughing as he muttered something I couldn't quite catch.

"That crazy girl who still hopes," he said, his speech slurred. He mentioned that he last saw her two days ago.

As I stepped out of the bar and headed towards my car, a ping from my phone startled me. It was a message from an unknown ID, accompanied by a chilling photo. In it, Elena lay unconscious, her Eye of Horus necklace smashed beside her. The caption sent shivers down my spine: "Listen to Elena, outsider. Get out of Silverlake and don't get involved in a fight you've got nothing to do with."

Dread washed over me as I stared at the image, my mind racing with questions.

As my fingers moved almost of their own accord, typing out a message, my mind raced with a mixture of fear and determination.

"I don't know who you are, but I will soon, and I will make you pay," I wrote, my fingers trembling slightly as I pressed send. "You've made it personal by kidnapping Elena, and I won't let you hurt her even more, you hear me?!"

Tears welled up in my eyes as I stared at the screen. I never knew I cared for Elena this deeply until this moment. The thought of her in danger filled me with a sense of fierce protectiveness, driving me to do whatever it takes to bring her back safely.

Since I got my TimeMachine 01, I travelled to a couple of races with it. Luckily, my case allows me to only remove the wheels leaving the rest of the bike intact. As was advised by the mechanics, I insert the plastic spacers between the brake pads when the wheels are removed. But every time I re-assemble the bike it takes a lot of time and effort (mostly thanks to aerodynamic caliper covers) to get rid of rotor rubbing against the pads.
On my older road bike I don’t have a similar issue at all - I reinstall the wheel, screw in the thru-axle and I’m ready to go, no readjustment needed.
So my question for other owners of this bike is the following: is it just the case of my BMC being a new bike (compared to my road bike) and it can be resolved permanently or are those issues “by design” (tighter gaps for more compact caliper design) and I just need to accept it?

Okay so I'm looking for personal transportation ideas for my science fiction series that will make it more alien/futuristic as opposed to cars and or transporters like Star Trek.
For us humans cars are a common every day thing and well what if an alien race like ours had its own form of transportation.
I mean yes, I am turning my eyes to Japan with their high-speed train system for mass transit, with buses too as there are some cool bus/train designs out there to draw inspiration from.
But cars? eh maybe too common for my setting, but i don't want too bizarre, like giant bugs or something as i already have that theme going for the mechs.
Sure, maybe car sized mechs would be cool, but this is an interesting thought puzzle here based on our current level of tech.
I mean my aliens are certainly more advanced than humans but Star trek transporter tech is still centuries off.

I don’t know how you make a show about demons and the literal anti-Christ so “cozy” but they somehow managed to pull it off. I love David’s dark loft and kristen’s cramped cluttered little townhouse. It feels like they live in perpetual fall or winter (don’t recall it every being sunny or seeing them in summer clothes), but it never feels depressing (maybe that’s because I’m a PNWer so I’m used to it?). Anyway, they somehow manage to make a show that should feel cold and scary into a comfort show (for me anyway). It has such a particular “look” to it. I know nothing about cinematography or set design but whoever’s doing it is doing a fantastic job.