(this post ended up too big, i apologise if i'll bore u, also my english isnt very best so sorry for that too, if you have any guessings about this subject please share it in the comments, ill be very happy to read it)
~~~ whatever i just wanted to share my thoughts ~~~
so guys its kinda dumb post, but i just wanted to share my idea about this subject, i havnt been thinking about ending too much but a while ago i realise something:
we know that v1 works on blood, we know that based on lore v1 enters the hell to get more blood cuz mankind is dead and all that stuff, so as it appear v1 continiusly needs a blood to function, i can guess that when war was ongoing people died a MUCH so blood wasnt a rare thing on a battle field, so I mean that v1 was created without regard to the future, the engineers did not think that v1 would always require blood (to function ofc) like, what would they do if war ended in their favor? ofc v1 would ask for more blood, so in my imagine v1 is just, how should i say it... kinda "one end roblot" i mean that its literally killing machine that couldnt be stopped by anything, so in every possible way no matter who or which side would win in "the great war" or whatever u call it, in the end v1 POSSIBLY would just kill everyone for blood and end up disscharged and completly alone in hell or just somewhere aroud earth.
i guess that maybe aint said right thing above in the text, i mean ofc the side which developed v1 maybe had controll over him, like im sure they could turn him off if they wanted so, BUT IN THIS CONDITOION: where mankind is dead, no one is controlling over-world (by over-world i mean just earth, i hope yk what i mean) theres no any sence of life on earth as we know by lore, (also we are not sure how does people died after god dissapeared, like maybe they just were eaten by their own evil and sin, yk what happens when people has lack of god, OR theres an another theory that sound interesting to me, like why not: so maybe (im just guessing), mankind was annihilated by v1, it maybe sounds stupid but just keep in mind that: war reduced human population at least a thousand times, and tired phisically and emotionaly and in every way that human can be tired people, (with lack of food and water and other stuff) just were an great prey for v1 which is an ideal kill machine, but i just remembered that when v1 enters the hell he got no weapon, he just wakes up with bare hands and we dont know what was before it :/ ill discuse it later)
so eventually: im not sure what is about v1, i mean it literally awakes falling down in hell, and i can guess (by loading bios thingy) that he was turned off, theres no information about what had happen before this loading screen that v1 sees, like who knows (1) maybe he was activated by someone, (2) or it was proggramed so that he would awake after some time automatically to do... idk, whatever, kill people or demons for some reason (but in this case i dont get the purpose of it, like wth, its just dumb) OR (3) thats why i bringed up this teory that maybe v1 killed humanity by him self, He could just HARD RESTART after he fall in hell, im not fully sure but as i remember: by lore we know that the flametrower guys found entrance to the hell, so im guessing that it looks something like hole in earth, (in this case v1 killing last humans and then going to the hell to get more blood sounds logical) so he could just got restarted his systems or whatever before he fall into hell, (also if you cant get over the fact that v1 falls into hell without any gun, meaning that he had no weaphone to eliminate all the humans, we could GUESS that he just lost his guns when he fell, or he just run out of ammos in over-world, as we know guns doesnt require any ammo in game, so AS ALWAYS we can GUESS that all the gun works on hell energy or whatever, (im just trying to saw this theory at least with white threads, theres no any information about it, so i have any right to discuss and imagine anything i think would be logical, and also why not, the game is not fully done yet, so we may get OFFICIAL history about what happend before v1 woke up OR MAY NEVER, so i have full right to guess like why not, also if theres any proff that this theory is wrong (bc of evidence that may proove that this theory is wrong) i will be wery happy to hear about that, at least because of hearing the true story that is not based on guessing is way more satisfying)
SO IN TOTAL: ill try to minimise my yapping cuz its getting borrying, THERE WAS NO NEED TO SAY ALL THE THINGS I WRITED DOWN BUT WHY NOT, so in the end, i guess that: v1 will kill every live creature, there wont be any more fresh blood, so he will be forced to slowly disscharge and turn off, maybe will see the same loading (kinda bios) screen as we saw in the start, or smth, SO I GUESS V1 WILL DIE, HE JUST KILLED EVERYONE, HE CLEARED THE EATH END THE CANVAS IS RESTARETED (so maybe it was the plan of the god? who knows)
also dont forget that theres a moments in game, when SOMEONE swithces cassetes (or vhs) when we start new act, i can guess that someone just looking at v1 recordings that all he done by the way (im saying that maybe there is happening something like "the regular show" thingy, where we can see that Pops has been watching some vhs on tv, kinda like all things we done in store mode is recorded on vhs OR WHATEVER IDK U CAN GUESS ABOUT IT BY URSELF)

First of all thanks for even's help
Now enjoy!
{Next day}
Yumeko: "wakey wakey its time for our date, come on, wake up"
Yun: "ah good morning... Date?"
Yumeko: "yes pookie, you're going with me today≈"
Yun: " I DO NOT WANT TO"
Yumeko: "why did your personality change overnight..."
Yun: "change..?"
Then he gets a flashback of what happened last night and unlocked tomato mode again
Yumeko: "ara ara you get me laughing everytime you make this expression"
Yun: "seriously stop your ara ara and NO I'm not going with you on a date..."
Yumeko: "ara ara if you say so I'm not gonna stop at all, and are you sure you don't want to go on a date with a pretty girl like me..?"
Yun: "seriously n-"
Yumeko shows him a picture of both of them sleeping and hugging each other "should I show this picture to my dad and tell him what happened≈"
Yun says while panicking "wh- what happened.. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
Yumeko: "well, nothing happened but I can just lie y'know≈"
Yun: "you won't be able to anymore"
Yumeko: "wha-" until she notices his phone recording
"You seriosly..."
Yun: "well, bye no-"
"What the fuck was that"
Yumeko: "don't overestimate yourself"
Yun: "you also did this last time, are you some kind of an assassin?"
Yumeko: "maybe? Now let's go≈"
Yun: "since I'll have to go anyway then cook breakfast for me"
Yumeko: "you're taking the chance I see, don't try taking the phone since you won't be able to and I don't wanna hurt you..."
Yun: "why should I even escape when I'm with someone as beautiful as you≈"
Yumeko: "you trynna flirt with me now? If you keep doing that I'll treat you better≈"
{After a few minutes}
Yun: "woah you're surely good at cooking, now let's ea-"
Yumeko: "you can only eat the food I cook by my own hands≈"
Yun: "... Fine"
Yumeko: "you're really falling for me, aren't you?"
Yun: "whatever let's just eat"
Yumeko: "you really wanna eat it huh? Sure I'll keep cooking for you if you co-"
Yun: "I'm not going stop trying, I have responsibilities left here..."
The room went silence...
Yun: "damn, this is what happens when you say that, stop ruining the mood!"
Yumeko: "so its my fault, yeah its always been my fault, since I was a little child, everything I did was wrong" sob sob
Yun: "wait are you crying...? I'm sorry for saying that so stop..."
Yumeko: pfft "seriously you can't deny it anymore just accept the fact you fell for me≈"
Yun: 💢💢💢
{A while later}
Yumeko: huff "we finally got outside, I thought we won't be able to at all"
Yun: "so where do you wanna go?"
{At the same time in gangseo}
Adrienne: "if you don't come with me on a date I'll tell Adrian you acknowledged he was much stronger than you"
Chin: "huh let's just go to the gy-"
Adrienne: "NO! I want a normal date for once!"
Chin: "fine, where do you wanna go?"
Adrienne: "Yang-Cheong!"
Chin: "why can't we just go on a date here in gangseo?"
Adrienne: "shut up and follow me!"
{Back to Yun and Yumeko}
"that looks good too..." Yun says in an exhausted state
Yumeko: "hmm are you sure?"
Yun: "I don't know, if you buy more I'm gonna die" (he's lifting a ton of clothes)
???: "I don't think that dress suit you"
Yumeko: "do you think so? Wait who are you?"
???: "oh forgot to introduce myself, my name is Adrienne!"
Yun: "Adrienne? Are you Adrian's sister or something?"
Adrienne: "do you know my brother?"
Yun: "wait, you really are siblings?!"
Adrienne: "ye-"
Chin: "huh did you finish your shopping yet? I'm tired of waiting"
Adrienne: "stop ruining the mood bitch"
Chin: "what moo-"
Wait, Yun...? And...
Yumeko: "the name is Yumeko"
Chin: "I didn't know you changed your simping target"
Yumeko: "changed what? You gotta E X P L A I N T H I S T O M E"
Yun: "Chin you motherfucker!"
Chin: "didn't mean to do that"
Adrienne: "I think this one will suit you more, and its like the one I bought so we'll look like besties, Yumeko"
Yumeko: "you really got a good taste in clothes"
Yun and Chin: (thanks Adrienne!)
Adrienne: "do you wanna go on a double date?"
Chin: N-
Adrienne: "I wasn't asking you"
Yumeko: "never tried one before, I'd like to do that!"
Adrienne: "me too"
Chin: "you girls seriously see us as pets"
Adrienne: "I don't know about him but you definitely are"
Yumeko: "both are our pets"
Yun thinks: (why am I even here?)
Adrienne: "should we try bowling?"
Yumeko: "2v2 couples bowling battle"
{In conclusion, Yun gets the win by throwing the ball with his six fingers}
Yumeko: "your fingers are really amazing and helpful, let me bite them≈"
Yun trynna get her away but she keeps following him while Chin and Adrienne were watching
Chin "I like her, she seems like one of my people"
Adrienne after punching Chin in the nose: "shut the fuck up you cheater!"
Chin: "you are the only person that made me cheat
Adrienne: "that's exactly the reason why you can't be trusted, once a cheater, always a cheater"
After the long and funny day these four had together, there bond became stronger.
Yun: "hey Yumeko where are you going now?"
Yumeko: "of course I'm going home"
Yun: "can I go with you today too..."
Yumeko: "my≈ my≈ it looks like I fell for you first but you fell for me more≈"
Yun: "yes... I wanna enjoy every moment with you before you return to Japan... I wish I could come with you but as I said I have responsibilities left here..."
Yumeko: "wait, did you just confess to me right now?"
Yun: "yeah I did" then he hugs her
???: "Y U M E K O how dare you do something like this with a random korean boy" then he blitz them and knocks Yun out
???
Strength: ??
Speed: ??
Potential: ??
Intelligence: ??
Endurance: ??

Hey guys!
An awesome idea from the one and only legendary u/Shutout3111 !
This is.... " a thread to call out notable stuff that people see while watching the night's slate of games. Might be that EK65 racked up a goal and an assist or it might be that a goalie from your local OHL team pulled off a incredible save that might otherwise be missed by most people. "
Honestly, what an awesome idea!
Please leave these requirements for a PT worthy card... who knows, maybe it will help that player get a sweet OVR card!
- A link / gif of the play (optional)
- A description of what happened in the game to make them get this performance
- The date this happened (you can reference old games, if you wish... but specific for todays will probably be more beneficial.)
Lets see what players people can come up with that are PT worthy!
Feel free to share, below!

So with The Final Shape looming, it's got me thinking about storylines and stuff, and something occurred to me that I can't seem to resolve on my own. Hope ya'll can help me out.

A Loose Timeline

1. Traveler shows up in Sol
2. Humans travel to Mars to meet the Traveler
3. Traveler comes to Earth and bestows a Golden Age upon humanity
4. Near the close of the Golden Age, two prominent characters emerge, Clovis Bray and Maya Sundaresh
   1. Maya heads a research team for Ishtar Collective, primarily based on Venus, studying allegedly ancient Vex ruins and structures that seem to defy laws of time and space. Namely the Citadel, although they are also aware of the existence of the Vault of Glass
   2. Clovis is the namesake and head of the Clovis Bray corporation which is dedicated to pushing the limits of human potential at any cost. Often studies dangerous and unknown phenomena and artifacts found on the Moon and Europa, with little regard for the safety of his workers or test subjects. Clovis and his family created the Warmind Rasputin and the Exo’s.
5. On Venus, Maya and her team discover the scope of Vex simulation power through the simulations a small Vex is running about her and her team. With the help of Rasputin, they are able to “rescue” their simulated copies, and then disperse those into the Vex net to explore and study it.
   1. These copies are released into the Citadel, which is on Venus near the Vault of Glass
6. On Europa, Clovis discovers an ancient dark artifact that emits a power he calls “Clarity” which he uses to ultimately perfect the Exos by combining Clarity with Vex Mind Fluid and putting this inside the bodies of Exos.
   1. Vex mind fluid is harvested from a Vex world called Volantis, on the other side of the portal in the Glassway strike
7. Prior to this, Clovis’s corporation comes into possession of an item called the K1 Artifact. Found on the moon. It induces nightmares and insanity in people near it. It seems to be of the Darkness, possibly of the Witness or Nezerac, but it predates the arrival of either in Sol.
   1. But Clovis does recognize it and Clarity as being part of the same thing, the same network, etc.
8. Witness comes to Sol with the Veil to attempt to enact its Final Shape
   1. For some reason, the Veil is not with the Witness, but is with Nezerac aboard Nezerac’s Pyramid
9. Not sure of the exact order, but during this invasion the following things happen:
   1. Savathun defeats Nezerac, and takes the Veil from his ship to hide it away on Neptune
      1. (Why Neptune?)
   2. Mara Sov and the crew of her ship are caught in the crossfire and transported to a place that would become the Distributary
   3. Nezerac’s ship ends up on Luna
      1. (or was it always there?)
   4. The Witness seemingly abandoned its plans for some reason, and fled the system
   5. The Traveler released Ghosts out into the world who would raise Lightbearers
   6. At some point at or shortly after this failed invasion, the Witness attempts to recreate the Veil in the Black Garden.
      1. The Vex are involved but something doesn’t add up here.

Now For the Stuff That Doesn't Add Up

1. What is Clarity and what was the K1 artifact?
2. Both were in Sol seemingly LONG before the Collapse, which means long before the Traveler showed up, which means long before the Witness or any of it’s disciples would have visited Sol.
   1. The moon was formed when an asteroid collided with Earth. Is it possible that in Destiny’s universe, this collision contained things like K1?
   2. Why would Clarity be on Europa of all places, and why does Clarity breath when the other statues that resemble Clarity are still?
3. The Black Heart doesn’t make sense in this timeline even before the arrival of the Witness to the cannon.
4. Setting aside the Witness for a moment (just pretend it doesn’t exist for now)
   1. Going by D1 lore, it is the source of the Primeval Minds
   2. Primeval Minds were meant to bring forth the powers of the Vault of Glass
   3. The Vault of Glass may exist outside of time and space (is this true?), but even still, on Venus there are Ishtar records of it, as well as geo maps I believe that show it going down far underneath the surface of Venus.
   4. This means that it was there during the Golden Age, but we don’t know for how long
   5. If the Black Heart is what prevents the Traveler from healing, yet seemingly had no effect prior to that then that means one of two things:
   6. Either the heart was constructed after the Traveler went dormant
   7. Or the heart was inert or unable to affect the Traveler until after it went dormant
   8. Either way, the Traveler going dormant at a specific point in time was required for the relationship between the Primeval Minds and the Vault to become possible.
   9. If this was the plan all along, the Vex would have needed to be able to predict the actions and the intent of both the Traveler and the Black Fleet, which were both known to be paracausal forces
   10. If this wasn’t the plan, and was instead opportunistic action taken by the Vex, why did they add the Vault to Venus prior to any of this happening?
   11. This also does not provide insight into what the Black Garden is or why a Black Heart would grow there, or why Vex would be there.
5. If we bring the Witness back in, then some of this makes sense.
   1. The Witness seeking a copy of the Veil uses the Black Garden and apparently the Sol Divisive to construct it.
   2. This occurs after the Witness loses the Veil during the Collapse.
   3. But it does not answer where the Sol Divisive came from or what the Black Garden is.
   4. It also does not explain why the Witness would try to use the Vex to create the Heart, because a being this old and well traveled will have known the Vex limitations when it comes to paracausal simulation and construction.

What is so important about Sol for the Vex?

They can build a planet sized computer literally anywhere, out of anything. So why build their sensitive prediction engines near the Traveler and the Vanguard? For my purposes, we're going to skip the obvious gameplay related needs and focus on story reasons. Why is this happening in the story?

1. There are only three places where we see Vex that the Traveler has not also touched
2. Europa - They came through Clovis's portal and largely went dormant after the war there.
3. Neptune - They are apparently there for the Veil and later for Soteria
4. The Moon - They come through the Garden Portal when we complete the Shadowkeep campaign
   1. There are some Vex structures around the portal, but otherwise their influence on the Moon seems limited to small physical patrols of Sol Divisive Vex
5. Additionally there are four I know of that are not available or contaminated by Vex in game, but that we have accounts of
   1. Oryx's Throne World - Much like Europa, the Vex were only there because Crota opened a door too their space and let them in
   2. Volantis - The place Clovis's portal opens to
      1. Possibly the same place Crota accessed?
   3. The Leviathan -
      1. A mind that supposedly ran the Nessus planet computer was sucked into the Leviathan (so much for it's predictive powers...
      2. The Menagerie had Vex as well, but I don't remember if they came from Nessus with the Eater of Worlds boss, or if they were captured by Calus prioafter that.
   4. The Dreaming City - Season of the Wish they are in the city, in the tunnels created by Riven
6. What's interesting is that, of the places the Traveler HAS NOT touched, and where they are still present, Neptune is the only one where they are doing much of anything that isn't wholly reactive to other beings disturbing their stuff.
7. All other locations where we encounter the Vex, the Traveler also touched first
   1. Mercury
   2. Venus
   3. Earth
   4. Mars
   5. Io
   6. Nessus
8. So the Vex seem to have a pattern of showing strong interest in converting worlds the Traveler has also altered. They also seem very interested in the Veil.
   1. Oryx’s Throne World is also a place that keenly interested them, when Crota let them in. And it is also a paracausal location filled with beings that utilize paracausal power.
   2. Despite Clarity being present on Europa, and having a known interaction with Vex Mind Fluid, the Vex there are still mostly asleep.
   3. Same in terms of the Moon where there are known Darkness artifacts as well as a whole Pyramid, an entrance to Crota’s Throne World, and a number of Hive running around. But they are not active there in force anymore
9. And even though they seem to end up in other types of places, they don’t seem to do much there unless provoked.
10. The Vex have known the location of the Veil for some time, yet the Witness doesn’t. This means that either the Sol Divisive doesn’t know either, or they withheld that information somehow for some reason.
11. We don’t know what the Black Garden is yet.
    1. D1 frames it around the Black Heart, but as we can see that doesn’t even make sense by D1’s timeline
    2. D2 expands the framing through GoS and season of Undying. The Garden is it’s own thing, and the heart was added and removed later.
    3. Regardless, the Vex pattern of strong interest in converting things the Traveler has also altered, suggests to me that the Garden was probably also altered by the Traveler at some point
12. So it seems like the Vex are either obsessed with the Traveler, or they are obsessed with things the Traveler has converted for some reason. And that seems to be why we find they're big dangerous computation engines and stuff like that here in Sol, and why they don't just build them literally anywhere else.
    1. And while yes they do seem to build stuff elsewhere, those things just don't seem to do much. And we can tell because they haven't just built an infinite forest off in the Andromeda Galaxy somewhere where NOTHING could ever disrupt it and they could compute endlessly. Even the Valut of Glass, the seat of their most arcane and powerful frames, is close to the current location of the Traveler.

But why? Why do they follow it? Why do they care what it does? Why do they build their stuff near it? I still don't know...

Back in 2016, I was working at a roadside diner west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Neat little place, had a bit of a 60’s vibe to it, but without the hairdo. On the slow hours of the day, or whenever we just had locals around, I’d be humming along with the chefs playing radio out of the kitchen. It wasn’t an exciting time, but it was nice to have a workplace that felt like a second home.
A couple of weekends a month, we had an all-night crew to serve passing truckers. You usually never had to do more than one shift though, and we got to make own schedules. Our boss was pretty hands-off. It was during one of those shifts, at the first week of early summer, that my life took a turn for the worse – and I didn’t even realize it.

We were used to having the occasional odd customer during those hours of the day. When this guy walked in, I didn’t know what to think. He was about 6’2, bald, and pale as chalk. He wore this worn-out t-shirt that looked like it’d been on fire. With every step, he dragged his feet, and collapsed in one of our booths, seemingly exhausted.
I looked back at the chef, and he just shrugged. Guy wasn’t hurting anyone, but he didn’t look like he was all there. But a job’s a job, so I went up to him.
“You alright there?” I asked.
He looked up at me like I was speaking a foreign language, then sunk his head back down, gently shaking it.
“Nah,” he said. “I, uh… I don’t think I am.”
He had this voice on the knife’s edge between a hysterical laugh and a howling cry. He was trembling.
“You need me to call someone?”
“Call?”
“Yeah, call someone.”
“How?”

I didn’t understand the question. I figured he was coming down from some kind of binge, and I wasn’t about to take any chances. I asked the chef to get me a side of bacon to keep the guy calm while I called the police.
As I slid the plate over to him, he sunk his face into his hands, sobbing.
“T-thank you,” he cried. “I-I’m… please…”
I sat down across from him, instinctively reaching out to grab his hand. He let me. Even at a light touch, I could feel the scars on his palm and fingertips. Whatever’d happened to him, it must’ve been awful.
“I can’t go back,” he sniffled. “Don’t make me go back. I can’t. Please, I can’t.”
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s okay,” I smiled. “You’re safe here.”
“Can you help me?” he asked. “Can you keep him out?”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” I nodded. “Just eat up. It’s okay.”

His fingers trembled as he tentatively bit off a piece of bacon. His teeth were black, and he flinched.
“I need time,” he said. “I need time to run.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “We’ve called for help.”
“I just… I just need time.”
We just sat there for a while. He calmed his breathing but kept staring out the window. I could tell he was looking for something – or someone. All I could see was a road and a handful of moths. We sat there for some time, in silence, as he carefully nibbled on the slices of maple bacon.
As two police officers entered the diner, he got up from his seat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of scrunched-up trash. A couple of singles, a plastic card, dirt, and something resembling animal bones. He tried to straighten out the bills, pushing them into my hands along with the laminated card.
“Just… I need time. I’ll come back. Please.”
I didn’t understand. I just nodded and accepted it. Seconds later, the officers asked him to step outside and explain the situation. I got busy taking orders from a couple of passing truckers, watching glimpses of the scene through the window. A couple of minutes later, the strange man was taken away.

My shift ended at sunrise. I dragged myself to my car with a yawn, shuffling around my pockets for the keys. I hadn’t thought much about the items he’d handed me, but I took a closer look. I’d thrown away the animal bones and dirt, but there were a couple of dollar bills and that laminated card left. I checked the card first.
It looked like some kind of bookmark. On one side it was completely white, and on the other side there were dried blue flower petals arranged in a spiral. Kinda reminded me of a sunflower. And finally, there were the dollar bills.
I didn’t pay much attention to these at first. Just a couple of singles. But after a closer look, I noticed something unusual. There was a man on the bill that I didn’t recognize. It took me a couple of google searches to realize that this man was Walter Mondale – the man who’d lost to Ronald Reagan’s second run for president back in ’84. Why was this man on a one-dollar bill?

Before heading to bed, I put the items down on my nightstand. In a moment of silent wonder, I looked out the window. What had that man been looking for? What’d he been running from?
There was nothing out there.
Just a couple of moths.

Waking up the next morning, I had a full day off. I spent it cleaning my apartment, watching movies, having dinner with a couple of friends, and ending the night with a couple of drinks at the pub down on the corner. No binge or anything, just got a bit boozy. I was still gonna be in bed by midnight.
I took the scenic route home; a long walk. All the way down main street, past the lake. I took a shortcut through the park by the final stretch, speeding up a bit. That place was trouble.
As I hurried by the fountain, I spotted someone in the distance. A shrouded figure at the edge of the streetlights. I stopped to observe for a second, but as I did, the lights flickered. Coming back on, the figure was gone.
I chalked it up to imagination. I was a bit drunk, after all. Besides – it was small, like a child. What the hell would a kid be doing out at this hour?

A couple of days passed. I didn’t notice anything unusual, but I kept coming back to that distressing feeling of missing something important. Looking back at it now, I just feel dumb. He was there all along. Outside the supermarket. In the parking lot. Off the highway. Hell, he was outside my window at night sometimes, but just too short for me to spot.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
It wasn’t until one morning when I was driving to work that I got a clear view of him. I was crossing a four-way street, taking a sharp left turn, when I had to throw myself on the breaks. There was a kid in the middle of the street.
I hadn’t seen him that clearly before. He was probably around 6, maybe 7 years old. Wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of light blue canvas pants. Short black hair, dark eyes, and no shoes. That particular detail stuck with me. No shoes? Why?
I almost lost control, but I was lucky. There wasn’t much traffic, and I managed to stop further down the road. There were black lines in the pavement from my screeching tires swerving back and forth. Regaining my composure, I looked in the rear-view mirror.
The kid was gone.

But that was just the start.
I’d spot him every now and then. Looking out the window at work. At the gas station. A passing face in the crowd when shopping for groceries. Every now and then, something would pull on my attention, forcing me to whip my head around, looking for the source of that ill feeling crawling up my spine. Sometimes I saw him. And even worse – sometimes I didn’t.
I remember lying awake at night, hearing moths tap against my window. There was nothing else. Nothing outside. I patrolled my apartment six times, checking every window. I’d looked everywhere, and there was no reason for me to feel the way I did. I was growing paranoid.
And yet, in the morning, my front door was unlocked, and slightly open.

It all came to a head one afternoon when I was out on my smoke break. I’d barely slept for the past three nights, and you could kinda tell I was having a bad day. As I stood there, leaning against the side door of the diner, I see the kid again. This time just across the road, maybe 50 feet or so away. I’d had enough. This had to end.
I was furious. I stormed forward, calling him out with every slur and curse I could think of. I was psyching myself up. I was in the right, and I refused to be harassed anymore – kid or not. Didn’t matter. I crossed the road, barely dodging a speeding jeep, and met him face-to-face.
“What the hell do you want?!” I’d yell. “Why are you following me?!”
He was completely expressionless. He didn’t even flinch, no matter how much I pointed or screamed. I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes, and he didn’t even blink. He just stared at me, like a porcelain doll head on a swivel.

I wasn’t thinking about the bystanders though. A couple of middle-aged men stepped up, asking in no kind terms what the hell was wrong with me. I was held back and restrained. Someone called the police. Someone else called my manager – I’d forgotten to take off my apron, so they could see the diner logo. A couple of people filmed it. One of the videos got like 120k views in a day before it fell off the map. I still see it as a react gif sometimes.
It was a disaster. After a couple of officers came by to talk to me, he’d just disappeared into thin air. The officers took me down to the station – not to detain me, but to get me away from the heated crowd. That car ride downtown sobered me up to what the hell was going on. I was being stalked by this kid, but there wasn’t a living soul out there that would believe me.
Well, maybe one.
Maybe.

I was asked a couple of questions and released within about half an hour. They told me to go home and sleep this whole thing off. That wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t have a job to go back to anyway, according to the (many) texts I’d gotten. I had all the goddamn time in the world.
I was just about to leave when something came to mind. The two officers who’d picked me up were still waiting by their car when I turned back to them.
“Sorry, you picked up the guy I called in about at the diner, right?” I asked.
“Sure did.”
“You got any idea what happened to him?”
The two looked at one another for a moment, shrugged, and turned to me.
“Didn’t have any ID and gave a fake name. I think they took him to psych.”
“Psych?”
“Well, he was saying some, uh… strange things. There were interviews with a, uh…”
The two quieted down and flashed me a smile.
“There’s not that much we can say.”

Coming home, I decided to get to the root of this. It didn’t take me that long to find the place where the guy’d been taken; there aren’t a lot of mental health facilities in this part of the country. Especially facilities that accept involuntary subjects.
But my eyes kept drifting back to the strange dollar bills he’d given me, resting neatly on my nightstand. They were so detailed. A bit old, sure, but that only made them seem more genuine. What the hell was he doing with a handful of clearly fake dollar bills? Like, what’s the purpose? There had to be a purpose.
That unnerved me.

I managed to arrange a meeting. It wasn’t easy, and I think a lot of it boiled down to the police having no idea what could make this guy talk. For some reason, he kept providing them with false information. Maybe a familiar face, for one reason or another, might make him talk.
Just a couple of days later, I was putting my items in a metal bowl on the second floor at a mental health institute in the next town over. I asked one of the nurses if I could keep one of my dollar bills. Apparently, that was okay.
I was shuffled through a couple of locked doors and escorted to an off-white side-room. No décor, no locks. The guy was already there.

He’d been dressed down into these neutral eggshell-white garbs. It was strange seeing him in a lit-up room like this. I didn’t know what to expect.
Getting a closer look at him, he was probably in his 50’s. It’d been hard to tell earlier. I couldn’t get over just how pale he was; it was almost a complete lack of pigment. It looked sickly. His thin arms didn’t help – he looked malnourished. And yet, he was smiling.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello to you too,” I smiled. “You doing okay?”
“I’m… I’m pretty good,” he nodded. “Thank you.”
I sat down across from him and took out the dollar bill he’d given me.
“I wanted to ask you about this.”
“For the bacon,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, was that not enough?”
“No, it’s…”
I took a moment to compose myself. I had too many questions.

He sighed, took the bill, and looked it over. Looking back at me, I could tell there was something painful stirring in his mind. His smile slowly faded.
“Sorry,” he said. “I try to forget sometimes. It’s easier than making sense of it.”
“Let’s start with something simple,” I nodded. “Like… your name. Where you’re from.”
“Those things are pretty far from simple.”
He was looking straight through me; his eyes sinking back to deeper, more uncomfortable thoughts.

His name was Samuel, and he was born around these parts in back in the 1970’s. He’d worked as a telecommunications specialist out of St. Cloud back in the 90's. He had a wife, three children, and a four-bedroom house.
“But it… that was all before, see?” he explained. “Then it all just…”
“Just what?” I asked. “What happened?”
He looked at me, opening and closing his mouth, looking for the right words to come out. Nothing happened. He shook his head, trying again.
“It started with the street preachers,” he said. “Hundreds of them, marching on every city. All saying the same doomsday shit as always. World was dying. All coming to an end.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that.”
“Then there were storms,” he continued without skipping a beat. “Some would last for weeks. Others longer. Entire cities would be flooded or torn apart. Earthquakes causing monster waves along the east coast, sending shockwaves all the way to mainland Europe. Then, Yellowstone.”
“Yellowstone?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Lights out.”

Samuel was painting this apocalyptic vision of a world undone. Catastrophe after catastrophe. Hooded people marching the streets, screaming for the mercy of a mad god. But there was more to it.
“Then things stopped making sense. It’s as if the rules changed,” he continued. “Roads would stop leading home. Trees would change color. People turned twisted and corrupted. Like… one of our neighbors couldn’t eat anything but gunpowder. There was a woman just down the street who tried to kill anyone wearing glasses. It was… pandemonium.”
I didn’t say anything. What he was saying didn’t make any sense, but he was trying his best to keep his rambling coherent.
“The plants died. Trees too. The only thing that could grow in that environment were these twisted blue things that popped up out of nowhere. But people… people are what got twisted the most.”
He told me of these towering 7-foot-tall humanoid creatures that roamed the forests. Black as night – not even reflecting light. Arms reaching all the way to their knees. Elongated, inhuman things that all used to be someone he knew.

“The doomsayers all said the same thing,” he continued. “That God was a scared little boy, and that he was dying. Everything that was happening was just an expression of that ceaseless, bottomless, existential grief.”
Samuel looked back and forth, finally burying his face in his hands.
“It all broke down. Roads stopped leading anywhere. No power. No water. Julie changed. Ollie changed. Tobie made himself a mask and wandered off into the woods. Ira just… disappeared. And for… years? Has it been years? It’s just been me.”
“But you’re here, now,” I said. “And what you’re describing, it… it didn’t happen.”
“It happened,” he insisted. “Just not… here. But here.”
He tapped his finger on the single dollar bill.
“Somewhere, somehow, I must’ve taken a wrong turn. I slipped through something broken, and now I’m here. And… and he’s coming to bring me back. He doesn’t want anyone to leave.”
“Who?”
“Just! Just…” he chuckled. “Just a sad little boy who’s been told he’s going to die.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just sat with him for a while, holding his hand.

Before I left, Samuel got up from his chair. He looked at me, forcing himself to smile.
“If I go back, I’ll try not to… to be like them. I’ll try. And… and I’ll be the one to say something.”
He let out a painful little laugh, shaking his head.
“Maybe just a… hello.”

I left that day with more questions than answers. I couldn’t picture the world he’d lived through. Then again, how could it be true? None of it had happened. But what was he gaining from lying about it?
That was the last time I saw Samuel. A few days later, he went missing, as if he’d disappeared into thin air. I didn’t know what to think of it. There was nothing on the cameras – no one entering or leaving the building. No quick escapes, no clever plans. He’d just walked into his room and disappeared. Nothing left but a couple of moths fluttering about.
And for a while, that was it. That was the end of the story. I got busy looking for a new job, and all the little items given to me by Samuel was put away into a little box in my glove compartment. Life soldiered on, and no matter how many questions I had, there was no one around to answer them. Even the strange kid that’d been following me was, seemingly, gone.

A couple of months later, I was driving home from a friend’s place. I stopped at a four-way street, waiting for a couple of trucks to pass, when there was a knock on the passenger side window. I almost choked on my own spit. Scared me half to death.
Looking out, I could see that kid again. I hadn’t seen him for some time, and I quickly bounced between curiosity and downright anger.
“What do you want?” I yelled out.
There was no response. Instead, the door just opened. It’d been locked. As he opened the door, he pointed to the glove box.
“You want his things?” I asked. “Is that it?”
He nodded. I wanted to lash out, but there was something telling me I shouldn’t. Instead, I reached over, opened the glove compartment, and pointed to the box.
“Just take it and leave me alone,” I said. “Get it over with.”

He reached in and grabbed the box. So much effort for a couple of mementos. I turned my head back to face the road. The kid backed out. But of course, I had to get the last word in.
“Not even a thank you, huh?”
That made him pause. He looked at me, tilting his head. As he opened his mouth to speak, a moth fluttered out. Then another. And another.
Then – darkness.

What happened next is hard to describe. My memory of it is fragmented. It’s like trying to watch a buffering video, where long stretches of it are just nothing – but you know something was supposed to happen in-between.
Blink. I was sitting in my car. There was a dark blue sky. No clouds, no stars. Figures in the distance. An open field with blue flowers bending to a howling wind. A powerful stench of ammonia stinging my nostrils. Something to my immediate left, ripping the car door straight off the hinges.
Blink. Running. Ruins of a town. It seemed familiar, but there was barely anything left. My leg was bleeding. I was being followed. No matter where I turned, or where I ran, I seemed to end up at the same intersection.
Blink. A three-story building, brimming with life. Glimpses of arm-long antennae through the broken windows. Clickety-clack of bursting wings tapping against crumbling concrete. A loud warning shriek as something rubs its legs together; a call for prey.
Blink. Hiding in a tipped-over trash container. The rain has stopped in mid-air. Raindrops held in indefinite suspension. I suck water drops out of the air to quench my thirst. My hands are shaking from the blood loss.

Countless little images. Some in order, some not. I have no idea how much time passed. In the moment, it must’ve been much longer than I can remember. Days. Weeks, even. There’s no way to tell.
Blink. Walking through a barren field. It feels like walking through a dead forest, but there are no trees. Only those willingly impaled and wailing.
Blink. An abandoned booth by a broken highway. A sign offers phone calls, in exchange for “real teeth”. There are six sizes of pliers hanging on a wall within. All are bloodied – even the small ones.
Blink. The church that had burned down the night before had reappeared. The people inside, too. They couldn’t leave. Tonight, they would burn again.

Somewhere in this nightmarish puzzle-pieced fragment of nothing, there was a constant drive in me to get away. To get out. I knew that if I’d gotten there, I could get back home again. I just had no idea how. Maybe finding the kid. Asking. Begging. Something.
The last fragment of memory from that space was being cornered in a cellar. They were banging on the door. I’d tipped over a wardrobe to keep them out, but they weren’t going to stop. They were never going to stop. I couldn’t let them kill me again – not like that.
One of the Changed ones were coming. I don’t know what that means, or how I know the name, but I knew of it. There was a mirror, and I could see the signs. It stepped out. Seven feet tall, black as night. Elongated arms and neck. Barely a body at all – just a void space vaguely shaped like the remnants of a person.
Except this one felt… familiar. It was the first one to speak.
“H E L L O.”

Blink. Running. A cold hand. If I squeezed too hard, my fingers went straight through it. I had to keep up. He was showing me something.
Blink. They were flooding over the school bus, tipping it by their sheer numbers. Eruptions from the sewer grates. They were famished.
Blink. An open field. Sunflowers facing me, no matter where I turn. It’s not far.
Blink. I look back, as I’m pushed over the edge. He looks just like the rest of them. They aren’t angered by his betrayal.
They feel nothing, as I fall.

In February of 2017, I was found by the side of the road. I’d been gone for months. My car was too. I came back with nothing but the clothes on my back and countless scars. I’ve been told that I didn’t make any sense at first; I was just rambling nonsense. Or maybe it just sounded like nonsense to these people.
Over time, I forgot more and more of these fragmented images. And the less I remember, the more I can move on. Still, I’ve written them down over time, and they paint an ugly, insane picture of what I’d been going through. Some of which I, myself, have a hard time believing. Then again, I know myself well enough to see that there’s no point in lying.

I haven’t seen Samuel, or that strange kid ever since. I think this is all over, for now. There’s nothing left for me to give.
But even now, years later, I still wake up to that feeling at night. That there’s something wrong, or that I’m forgetting something. That there’s something near that I’m looking straight through, or past.
And every now and then, I hear the flutter of a moth’s wing, tapping against my bedroom window.
And I think I know what it wants.
It wants me to go back.

I went through every stage of mono and recovered in a month. This is the steps I took to do so, and hopefully they can help you too. I am not a doctor and there is a lot of stuff that could be wrong here, and/or not do anything at all. If you are dealing with issues please go get medical assistance.

1. Sore Throat

For throat pain I visited my doctor and was prescribed prednisone and unfortunately I was dealing with an infection so I had to take anti-biotics. If you are diagnosed with mono and your doctor is assuming it is strep or another type of infection communicate with them the uncertainties you have in order to be tested for strep (taking anti-biotics with mono burdens you with a high chance of a rash).
Besides prednisone. I used a humidifier in my room in order for my throat to not dry out in the back. Even if it hurt horribly I attempted to drink at least 4 glasses of water every 4 hours so I wouldn't be dehydrated.
I suggest not taking Ibuprofen during use of Prednisone as it can cause intestinal issues. Use Tylenol.
I stuck to smoothies and chicken noodle soup for food during this time. Salty broth foods help soothe the throat quite a lot and help you get some nutrients.
It was hard to sleep because of my throat pain, I ended purchasing a sitting pillow for my bed. It took a lot of the stress off my lymph nodes during rest.
Finally I made sure to brush my teeth twice a day and use Orajel hydrogen peroxide mouthwash. Oral hygiene is incredibly important during any issues with tonsils in order to keep an infection from happening and washing off pus from throat scars during mono.

2. Sleep

For me sleep was quite difficult and I unfortunately didn't have many ways to deal with it for the first couple of days.
I tried to not take naps throughout the day and rather hold in my sleep for the nights, as your body does better healing when it's in REM. Which is more difficult to have happen if you take brief short naps.
By around my third day I learned that having a humidifier in my room made it so much easier to breathe and feel a bit better.
I took one extra strength Tylenol right before bed, and 10 mg of melatonin. Keep in mind that melatonin only is going to help put you to sleep and you will need to change your diet to be heavier in magnesium in order to have a better time staying asleep. If I woke up due to the pain at the middle of the night i'd take another tylenol and wait it out until I was able to sleep again. Continue to drink water throughout the entire time.

3. Spleen Pains

I dealt with really bad spleen pain for a couple of days and my only solve for it was laying on my back and using a heatpad on the area where my pain was. I tried not to move around very much. If your pain becomes increasingly worse go in to get screened for a risk of rupture.

4. Mental Health

Out of all the things I dealt with, this was one of the worst. I felt defeated for most of my days. I tried to feel better by looking at other peoples experiences and seeing how others have it worse. It also can help to call loved ones and friends and talk with them. I also watched shows and movie continuously in order to distract myself. Eating good helped me a lot, once I started making protein smoothies my mood changed for the better. Also try to stay out of the dark for to long, if you can go into a more open room with sunlight and lay during the day it will make you happier. Try to retain your sleep for just the night, this way you feel like you still are holding to a schedule. It also helps with REM which is incredibly important for mental health and can't be done with naps. Finally, self-care was a breakthrough for me. I tried to shower daily, and clean up my face before bed. It made me feel happier and nicer.

5. The Rash

This rash was one of the worst parts of the whole thing besides my throat. It happened after I had taken my antibiotics for 5 days. It itched so badly. In order to deal with the itch I went to the ER and was prescribed hydroxyzine and another dose of prednisone. For the first day I used calamine lotion, I soon realized it was making me even more itchy as it caused my skin to dry up. I switched over to Eucerin anti-itch lotion and it helped so much. I applied when I woke up and before I went to bed. I applied ice packs to my skin, instead of itching and it works much better at stopping the itch. Also try to sleep with a fan pointed towards you. During the rash stage, it is the most important for you to drink as much fluids as possible.
I hope this can maybe help someone? Idk, i am very thankful for this subreddit as most of these posts helped me recover much faster. Thank you all.

37 F, UK (England), height 172cm, weight IDK I don’t/won’t weigh myself due to eating disorder but I am within a low-end healthy BMI, non drinker, trivial smoker (~1 a week), no illicit drug use, Caucasian
Current health conditions : hidradenitis suppurativa (only recently diagnosed) Hurley scale 2 if that means much; low LVEF/T wave abnormality/heart rhythm issues; osteoarthritis of lower spine (severe); post-operative arthritis of left ankle following major fracture in 2022 (it’s now mostly scaffolding in that ankle rather than bone); major depressive disorder; restrictive eating disorder.
Additional : extreme vitamin D deficiency + ferritin deficiency
Previous : breast cancer +++ grade 3 (2019); heart ischemia due to severe anorexia nervosa (2020)
Meds : Butec 20mg patch; Amitriptyline; Alprazolam; Zolpidem; Lymecycline; Ramipril (currently stopped due to incident below); Promethazine; Oramorph; Celecoxib; Colecalciferol; ferrous sulphate; probably others I can’t remember at this point
TLDR : Sepsis, extremely low BP (why?) and heart stopped during the surgery to remove source of infection, no idea what they did in theatre to start it, they mentioned some kind of medication. Concerned about what impact this will have on me going forward.
At 37, not obese or overweight, very casual smoker (less than 1 a week), Caucasian etc - i.e not hitting any of the normal criteria or profile for people to get hidradenitis suppurativa (it literally started out of nowhere in Feb this year) I was suddenly diagnosed with it. It’s been hard. Back to back antibiotics and an I&D in late Feb for one abscess that was huge.
To get to the point, my right armpit had a large mass developing and causing a lot of pain. It felt like there were loads of smaller lumps within the large lump (like a beanbag!). To put it in context, last Saturday my armpit was painful and sore but I felt fine. I went to bed that night and noticed it had started turning red and clearly inflamed. I was also in hindsight starting to feel a bit under the weather. Decided to get it checked at urgent care the next morning as I’d always been advised to with this HS condition.
On Sunday morning I still felt mostly ok, a bit unwell maybe, nothing major, but the pain in my armpit was substantial. I went to urgent care. They triaged me and then sent me immediately to A&E because my obs were apparently concerning. Pulse was approx 140, blood pressure was “low”. And they confirmed the abscess was definitely infected. I’ve been through this before several times, once ending in an operation, mostly ending in another course of antibiotics, so I wasn’t exactly keen to go to A&E (not that anybody is, but I just thought it’d be another massive precautionary thing rather than anything else)
On arrival in A&E I already felt decidedly unwell. I was shaking and dizzy. I remember checking in at reception, sitting down, then immediately being called by a nurse to get triaged again. I vaguely remember wobbling to the room with him, getting obs checked again and him calling someone - “ok - in a wheelchair?” - then asked if I thought I could walk. By that point I was pretty much gone I think. I did walk (I’m stubborn). I remember him telling me my blood pressure was extremely low. I remember going to a chair to get my bloods done and then…nope. Totally collapsed. Absolutely nothing.
Next I knew I was in a private bay somewhere in bed with loads of wires and beeping, a cannula in my arm with a drip, and a few nurses there, who told me I was in ICU and they were trying to get my blood pressure up as it was critically low. I asked what they meant by that and they said the diastolic was in the 30s when I came in. My normal BP is roughly 110/80ish.
I remember being wheeled for a chest X-Ray; and I remember them doing a heart echo and the doctor showed me what my heart was doing - basically it looked as though it was trying to violently bounce out of my chest. It was honestly going mental. My blood pressure wasn’t going above 50 diastolic (can’t remember the top bit) but it kept dipping back down to 37ish and slowly climbing back up.
They told me I wasn’t responding to fluids treatment for it - I don’t know what they meant by that but they were really packing in as much saline as they could into me. Bolus and drip. Then they wired me up for some kind of test to see if the fluids were effective on my heart or not?
I kept going in and out of consciousness
They told me they were going to do emergency surgery to remove the infection asap so I signed everything for that
Only very vaguely remember anything about going to theatre other than the anaesthetist telling me he needed to put another cannula in my wrist and I completely freaked (I have a weird phobia of anything touching my wrist veins, even writing this is making me uncomfortable, I know it’s dumb).
Next thing I know, it’s Monday morning and I’ve woken up with a nurse next to me, who told me I’d been asleep all night (op was at about 9pm, I woke up at 6.40am), and that I was still in ICU/ITU, still on saline and antibiotics, feeling like I’d been hit by a bus.
A few hours later a doctor spoke to me and told me I’d gone into septic shock from the infection in my arm, and that during the surgery my heart had stopped and they had to administer some kind of drug to start it again. That’s when they said i would need to stop the Ramipril for a bit - they were still fighting low BP on the Monday but nowhere near as dramatic.
On Tuesday I was moved from ICU to a “normal” ward and was feeling much better. Blood pressure was stabilising although it did dip quite badly again on Tuesday overnight.
On Wednesday I was basically ok (as in, I didn’t have any emergency situations going on and I was stable). I asked if I could get discharged because I wasn’t able to get any sleep at all on the ward and I felt utterly exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep and I couldn’t get any because of all the noise and obs checking and fluid bag changes and whatever.
Discharged Wednesday night.
Been in bed at home since then, I’ve got a horrible chesty cough now and I feel totally rotten. My arm hurts from the surgery and I keep getting chest pain. I think my BP’s ok as when I stand up I’m not symptomatic (dizzy).
This is a really really long post and I’m sorry for that but I guess I just want an explanation as to what happened to me?! They said it was sepsis and “my heart didn’t like it” likely because I already have cardiac issues. But it was SO intense. I’m really struggling to come to terms with it all and how I felt pretty much fine only hours before it all went crazy and I collapsed. A doctor did come and speak to me and I think basically told me I almost died, or could have died, and during surgery it was looking pretty dicey. I got given a leaflet about the “psychological impact of being in the ICU”. (I haven’t dared read it).
It blows my mind how I can go from ok to dying to ok again; all within a week. It’s hard to even get my head around the fact I nearly died because there’s huge irony in it (I have been suicidal for the last 3 ish years, on and off, largely due to how poor my health is and the chronic pain in my spine). I had been doing really well mentally for a little while, which was huge for me, as I have spent a lot of time in psych units due to my suicidal ideation and just being really mentally unwell. It all stems from the cancer diagnosis really but my arthritis is the pain source of problems now.
Also what the hell did they do to my heart in surgery?
Any insight welcomed, I really would love some answers and closure to what happened, I don’t want this to affect the really positive trajectory that my mental health had been on, but it’s been a real struggle this week to know what the hell I’m meant to do with what happened. I’m not a hypochondriac by any means - I downplay a lot - but the chest pain since I got discharged is scary. Should I be worried?
Thanks all for any information or anything you can offer.

Hello everyone, I've been wanting to make this post for a while and now here we are ! This is a long post but ENJOY !!!
Another Eden is now 7 years old which means many stories, characters and an entire world...or rather time periods/timelines that currently exists. So here's the question, what's your Another Eden Hall of Fame ? Both Meta and Non Meta related.
Note: Remember that what I'm about to write is based SOLELY ON MY OPINION but I'm interested to see what my fellow Residents of Time's Forgotten Keep think ! Without further ado, let's start:

1. Best Story Protagonist (Excluding Aldo): Nona
   Another Eden is composed of many stories and they are NOT always centered around Aldo which is the game's protagonist, few examples of that being Deirdre in the Knights Episodes/Nona in Apocrypha and Wryz from the recent Wryz Saga. My pick is Nona because she has BY FAR the best character development and to me she took the spotlight in the entire Apocrypha. In fact I'd argue that if Another Eden had the "Choose your Protagonist" Aldo would be the Male Protagonist and Nona would be the Female one because she's litterally the Protogonist of Apocrypha and it can be regarded as a "Game within a game" so yea that says alot.
   
2. Best Side Story: Western Mythos (Song of Sword and Wings of Lost Paradise)
   The Western Mythos is the best story in my opinion (And actually alot of players do agree with me on that). The Zerberiya continent, the world, the cast of characters and the story is phenomenal from it's 1st chapter to the finale. I know that people will tell me Future Mythos is also great but it doesn't have THAT impact on me as much as the Western Mythos did.
   

Which is why (Rant Warning!) WFS ! WHERE'S MY WESTERN EXPANSTION !!! WHY DID YOU FORGOT THAT ZERBERIYA EXISTS ?? WE NEED MORE OF PEAK !! That is hurting me alot !! The only story which is a close second is Apocrypha but Western Mythos is the far better one and I'm thankful for Another Eden for creating that. I do hope that the Highly Rumored Eastern Mythos would be just as good because speaking of...

1. Best Main Story: Main Story Part 2 (Tales of the East)
   There are currently four Main Stories: Main Story Part 1;Main Story Part 1.5 (Ogre Wars) ;Main Story Part 2 (Tales of the East) and the currently Main Story Part 3 (Into the Hollow).
   In my mind while having played all of those stories, I still find myself being drawn and attached to the Eastern Continent ! Because I truly love the setting ! WFS clearly nailed it and even so when you consider the amount of "Eastern" Personality characters that are in the game which is the highest in the game at 30 characters (Not counting AS/ES). Heck I'm currently replaying the Main Story Part 2 because I enjoyed it even better than the current Part 3 which from a pure gameplay sure it's better but in terms of Story/Characters and OST then to me nothing beats the Garulea Continent (Present/Past/Future and Underworld) !
   

Alot of people in the sub love Eastern characters, most notably u/NoWaifuN0Laifu who like Hozuki, an Eastern sensual Fox Lady so yea there's that.
This is in part why I'm extremely hyped for Eastern Mythos and I can't wait for it ! And Yukino Alter (One of the main things keeping me attached to Another Eden)

1. Best Character Quest: Melissa
   Melissa is by far the best Character Quest and ask any veteran player and he'll tell you that. It's also the darkest and the saddest one in the entire game and it's special in the fact that Aldo IS NOT PRESENT in it at all ! Imagine THAT ! I won't say more because of spoilers but if you don't have Melissa you can just search on Youtube as her CQ is there and you can watch it ! If you have her but have not played her quest...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING for ? DO IT !
   
2. Best Character: Yukino
   This is subjective and my AE subreddit flair checks out, I love Yukino so much since her introduction, apart from me having a thing for women/girls with Ice powers, her story and how she was created (Also she's Eastern as well so another point !) also her relationship to Tsukiha so no need to say more!
   
3. Best Antagonist/Villain: Guildna (Main Story Part 1)
   The reason why to me Guildna is the best villain is NOT what you think it is ! Another Eden is a game centered around stories Beyond Time and Space there I said it but while there are really good villainy characters like for instance the Empress/Emperor of the Land of Mi and Shin (Again Eastern !) Garneli and Genshin but Guildna is special because he made me appreciate Main Story Part 1 alot more then the other characters, it tells you what happened if Guildna makes some impactful decisions in the storyline. Besides without Guildna there's no Aldo and therefore no Another Eden !
   
4. Best Cat Companion: Kuchiba
   I love the Siamese Cat Breed and Kuchiba IS the only one in the game in whom I didn't change ever since I found her years ago in Vermillion Road (Another Eastern Reference, see what I told you)
   
5. Best NPC: Some Guy
   He's Scott literally everywhere in the game. From the past to the future, from Zerberiya to Garulea, heck even in the Hollow you'll find him ! There's no way I make a list without appreciating "Some Guy" and his deeds to the game.
   
6. Best Frog: Cyrus (He's Eastern aswell ! I tell you this is why the Eastern Setting is THE BEST !!)
   
7. Best Main Cast Character: Guildna
   
8. Best Mascot: Varuo
   If Moke wasn't released as a playable Sidekick he would have been my pick but now I have to choose the 2nd best IMO and that's Varuo. The Iconic Cat mascot in the game.
   
9. Best Boss: Caroline and Justine (From Persona 5 Royal part 2 Collab)
   This boss used to be the hardest boss in the game for a long time and for good reason as it has alot of HP stoppers and has TONS of HP, while the boss has been powercrept and now easy with the recent units...back than it was a pain, another close second would be the Toova AS Manifest Battle which used to be the hardest Manifest fight in the entire game because of Toova AS insane fixed DMG and RNG involved.
   
10. Best OST: エルの唄～メリナ Song of Sword and Wings of Lost Paradise ED ~ The Stifling Song Melina Edition
    The best theme for the best story in the game, everytime I hear the OST I unconsciously start humming and even start tearing up because it's JUST THAT GOOD and after playing the Western Mythos and knowing what the lyrics means...man it hits hard ! A close second is Apex Logic and Cardinal Scales ED ~ Immaculate Full Version but let's be real ! The game is full of the best OST in a game ever !
    
11. Best Battle OST: Apex Logic and Cardinal Scales ~ Last Notes of the Battle Song Alter Dewey Boss Theme.
    This one is hard to choose as the game is packed full of Bangers in the Battle Theme departement but this one personally gets me all hyped...besides even you didn't reach that part of the game it still hypes you up ! A close second is First Knight and The Holy Sword ~ Dear My Dearest -Prayer of the Holy War- as I loved the Knights Episode Story so much and love the plot twist which leaves to this battle.
    

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Now let's go to the Meta:

1. Best Free Character: Nona AS
   Seriously she's by far the most flexible free character in the game, yea sure it takes a bit to get her but she can give 1/3 of her stats to anyone and she can mold her kit into the unit she's devoted to including zone setting/element and attack type change etc... She's even more good when used with Aldo (And it's canon aswell as she's devoted to Aldo and loves him so much which he also does (Not in a friend way btw)) and we know SA Aldo is OP especially at 255 Light so yea !
   
2. Best Zone Setter: Iphi
   To qualify for The Best, a unit doesn't just has to set a zone but it needs to have OP effects with the zone setting skill/VC and to me no one who's better at that than Iphi, her zone setting skill Walpurgisnacht is seriously broken: First of all the skill is Pre-emptive; you get the best elemental zone (Shade zone); you get Blood Contract which gives you survivability and Lunatic Risktaker; you get 5T Magic Focus and if you recast it, you get Kaleido switch to Shade element for 1T for all units...ALL OF THOSE in a single skill and moreso when you realise that these are all skills you usually see in Stellar Awakening Locked-Behind recent units in a unit released a year ago
   
3. Best Damage Dealer (DPS): Xianhua
   Before Xianhua got released and broke the DPS meta, Yakumo and Sesta used to dominate that market but now Xianhua is the best end of question ! The reason being that her DPS potential is not locked behind her SA skill as most recent units does.
   
4. Best True Tank: Radias AS
   Some people might argue that Radias AS is being powercrept but to me a Tank is more than just high HP/DEF/DMG Mitigation via Shield or Debuffs but to me a Tank in AE needs to have Guard and Rage and to me Radias AS is still the best one even if she's now almost 2 years old. While Alma AS is alot more recent and has all of those she's more of a Secondary DPS/Support than a tank and her Guard is conditional; Soira AS doesn't have Guard;Anabel ES doesn't have Guard nor Rage and Prai is constrained by Stun after Guard
   
5. Best Support: Myunfa Alter
   I tried alot of units but to me no one can do support/sustain in the entire game than Myunfa Alter, seriously her kit is a dream to every one, she has everything you can think of, YEP EVERY.SINGLE.SUPPORT.EFFECT in her kit. If you have the fourth slot (80 light) she's even better, she support the entire party but more so the unit on her right:
   

* She can heal HP and MP and reduce MP consumption.
* She can tank (Tho not with Guard but with DMG mitigation such as -50% DMG taken, a 2000 Max HP Shield and insane debuffs + Buff END/SPR).
* She can set Earh/Magic Zone (3 Staff users+) and can awaken any zone.
* She can give Magic and Singular Focus.
* She can give Weapon Type DMG and Weakness Multiplier.
* She can give Status and Knockback Immunity.
* She set 3T pain/poison ignore res.
Yes everything I said above is in her kit, what's more is that she can do most of these preemptively and do you know what's more insane ! She's not bound by the Stellar Awakening System !

1. Best Healer: Anabel ES
   She can heal 50% HP/15% MP but unlike Radias AS which can also do it in a counter, if you put her in Guiding Light she gets +50% DMG and Healing meaning she can potentially heals 100% HP ! Something only seen in EX Attacks in ES characters and that one requires complex setting.
   
2. Best Pain/Poison Setter and DoT (Damage over Time) user: Pom AS
   A Best Pain/Poison setter doesn't just have to set p/p ignore res as most units can do that but can use p/p as DoT (Damage over Time) and no one can do it better then Pom. Heck 4⭐ Pom has been known for her gimmick of giving p/p if you have the appropriate equipment and there's Grasta Ores that gives +50% DMG if user is inflicted with Pain/Poison so yea.
   
3. Best AF user: Miyu ES
   To qualify for this the unit has to benefit more from using AF (Another Force) either by doing more DPS in AF or get easy AF Combo Multiplier, it's been known that Thunder units are the ones who can use AF efficiently and while the current Meta revolves around DMG outside AF, some units only shines in AF and Miyu ES is just that, a close second would be Victor AS but he can be tricky to use as you need the AF Combo to 1000% for him to deal 7300% DMG Multiplier but in a Thunder Team with high SPD it's possible.
   
4. Best Singer: Milsha AS
   While Singing has been powercrept by Praying, I still use Singing units from time to time and Milsha AS is by far the best from the best, seriously her 2 songs can give different Lunatic to the entire party depending on the Song being user (Sacrifice and Risktaker) and this effect can co-exist with other lunatic.
   
5. Best Praying unit: Toova ES
   This one is hard as most Praying units are OP ! However for me Toova ES takes the crown by a slight margin, just set her pray and forget about her and if you have a unit which can Cover (Iphi is most used with her) then you don't have to worry about her taking DMG and breaking Prayer.
   

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Phew This essay took me 3 hours to write but that's how much I love Another Eden even tho the game's questionable direction does leave alot to be desired, I hope you enjoyed reading and I want to see everyone's opinion

Me (F26) with my boyfriend (M24) almost have a constant short arguments about things everyday. Our relationship is literally just 2 months now. Here are the things he did that make me mad and started to dislike.
(Note: He is single for 6 years before he met me and he has a situationship last year and got cheated on sort of. His friend describe him as nonchalant and he admit tht he always will put himself first. Thats why he is not interested in having relationship as much before he met me. He said he like me so much that he determined that he want me as his gf)

1. Never use condom. I BEG him to buy condom for months (even before relationship) and his reason is "IM LAZY" all the time. "im just lazy". He will hangout with friends and he said he dont hve time to buy. Everytime we had sex my genital area feel itchy and now i have yeast infection due to unprotected sex. (this really scares me)
   
2. Constantly ask me to blow him. He said he also fantasize me blowing him while him driving. Honestly I hve no prob but bcs he constantly ask me to blow him, it turns me off.
   
3. Whenever i said i felt hurt bout certain things he said or do, he will said he is hurting too bc i said it. Im not the only one. & sometimes he being so mean that i felt so hurt. When i ask why is he being so mean, he said thts a form of self-respect. He wanted to protect himself.
   
4. Did not actually make it up to me after arguments. He just woke up the next day and act like nothing happen.
   

All arguments usually lasted not more than a day and he always say he want to work this out and that he really wanted me. I saw somewhere says that men always just lusted u and not really liking u. Im really scared if this statement is referring to my relationship right now. Btw, we re not staying together. His house is 20 mins away. What should i do?

I remember when I was a little girl I would look in the mirror and just be so disappointed, in my mind, I was ugly, stupid, and poor, and it broke me completely. I would get bullied heavily in elementary school not only because I was poor but because I was chubby, while I ate lunch kids would stand by my desk and make pig sounds at me, oinking and calling me butterball. They told me I had meth head teeth. The only thing I liked about myself was my freckles but that brief feeling of liking myself soon disappeared when one boy told me it looked like I had shit splattered on my face.
I was eleven when I began to diet, whiten my teeth, and wear makeup. My teeth naturally straightened out on their own and I shed the weight with the help of heavy restriction, not without developing an obsession over how I looked. When I was twelve, boys began to notice me, I broke my nose and in doing so had to get it straightened out so I could breathe properly, no longer did I have my father's Roman nose which I so despised. I wanted desperately to be like the girls who ignored me and to be liked by the boys who bullied me for a little baby fat.
Because of this obsession, I didn't believe people when they told me I was pretty. Compliments always felt ingenuine and I naturally assumed boys were asking me out as a joke so I turned every single one down out of fear of humiliation. Deep inside me something seethed, I wasn't satisfied with the weight I had lost and begged and cried until my mom shared her Ozempic with me. I was thirteen.
Still, I could describe in detail the way I picked apart every flaw, the way I had autopsies on past conversations, searching for a new insecurity. One day I went into my dad's toolbox and stole his roll of duck tape and wrapped it around my waist. I was amazed by how beautiful I looked, my waist was the smallest of all the girls at my school and this felt like a victory. I tailored my favourite sundress on my mom's sewing machine to fit my brand-new waist and wore it to the first day back from summer break.
Everyone turned their heads to look at me, I thought that only happened in the movies until I strolled into English class with a waist the size of a tangerine. I shoved lies through my teeth about a gym and diet plan I had done over the summer to make myself look so small, my friends listened with eager ears and wide eyes trained on my midriff. The attention was more addictive than any substance I've put into my body. My friend had told me how the boys were talking about me and how they planned to ask me out, that's when I made up my mind.
It felt like a poison I happily drank, knowing all of the risks. Every Sunday after church I walked to the Dollar General by my house and bought five rolls of duct tape, two dollars each for one week of classes, ten dollars in total. The same woman was always there and she always smiled at me, asking what I did with all of the tape, my face would split into a sickly sweet smile as I told her a new falsehood every time.
My mother would comment on how she didn't want me to go anywhere by myself because I was too pretty to do so, this was like pouring gasoline onto my forest fire. In the morning when everyone was sleeping, I wrapped one roll of duct tape around my waist so no one could hear the sound; I took it off before my showers at night, water running as pain pushed tears from my eyes and bit the inside of my cheek until I could taste iron flood my gums. I was left with cuts and tears in my skin, flesh tender with torture, still, I mummified my body every morning with duct tape. Sometimes I would do my thighs if I wore leggings or skinny jeans so people would comment on my impressive thigh gap.
After a year of doing this, my midriff looked like a piece of raw steak beaten with a meat tenderizer until it was almost torn apart entirely. I wouldn't even let people touch me in fear that they could feel through my attempt at perfection. I started skipping church. Every weekend I shut myself inside so I could breathe at full capacity while I shut my blinds and stared at my ceiling, my mind went numb with the impending doom that I would suffocate myself with that dreadful silver tape when the bell rang. My whole life I had heard that beauty is pain and that's all I thought this was, I thought that models did similar things and it was just something I had to accept to be beautiful.
Essentially, I had turned into a zombie; my breathing was shallow, and I became pale, clammy, shaking, and nauseous. I couldn't stomach meals. Every night I would wake up around midnight and cough up my guts but I hadn't eaten any food so there was nothing left in me to vomit but bile and eventually blood. I stopped talking to people, I thought it better for them just to look at my pretty long lashes and my tiny little waist than to listen to me tell them I was fine through shaky breaths. My dad was so scared for me, he kept bringing food into my bedroom and would come to collect the uneaten dish when he dropped off the next. He couldn't look at me without crying. It was just his drowsy gaze piercing into my vacant skull while we both swallowed back what we wanted to say, the words dying in our throats, never to be heard.
Everything hurt all of the time, it didn't matter anymore whether I had the duct tape on or not. I almost preferred the feeling of it on so the stinging of the cuts and the soreness of my ribs was shielded by something. One day in PE the teacher asked me to sit out so I did. I tried my best to keep my vision straight and my head up while I watched the other kids play California kickball. It was okay until there was a suffocating feeling, like something was consuming everything in my body like tiny creatures with razor-sharp teeth were cutting their way up my organs. My body began to convulse as I coughed until I fell to my hands and knees, coughing up this invisible force in my throat. The game stopped abruptly and every pair of beady eyes turned to watch me writhe in pain on the dusty gym floor while I clawed at my chest and throat, eager to tear the skin off completely.
Mr. Duke jogged over to me, crouching down to my level and putting a hand on my back. With furrowed eyebrows, he asked what was happening and with nothing more than Ozempic running through my system, I screamed at him to get away from me. That final wave came like a million little hands of wind pushing at the back of my throat until I heaved up the very last of what was left in me. Hands flew over mouths while some gagged at the sickness once inside of me. On that floor was a pile of what looked to be red coffee grounds in a little puddle of cherry wine. I was as terrified as anyone else in the gym, I screamed between heavy sobs while scuttling away from the mess I had made.
I knew that this was the end of me, that I would be taken to a hospital and everyone would know what I had done. I didn't even need to go to the hospital for everyone to know what I had done. Once I had collected myself and began talking frantically in a hushed circle of my friends while we waited for the ambulance, one boy on the hockey team caught a glimpse of shimmering silver beneath my gym strip and snuck up behind me, pulling my shirt up and revealing the secret I carried like a cross I had to bear.
My back laden with strips of duct tape like it was armour was on display to my entire class, my shame shown to what I had perceived to be the entire world. The girls didn't find this so funny but the boys came up with the name of Tape-Face. I remember rushing to the locker room with my friends following close behind, I grabbed scissors from my pencil case and began to cut it off myself, ripping it away madly along with little segments of flesh. My friends watched in horror, they just stood like it was a game of wax museum and I was the security guard there to punish whichever moved first.
In the hospital, I couldn't face my parents, not even the doctor, I kept my eyes locked on my lap. I couldn't see their stares but I could certainly feel them digging into me like a frog on a dissection table. My mom was utterly speechless and my dad spoke only through voice cracks and subtle sobs while he brought me soggy sandwiches from the cafe on the first floor.
I took another week off school because I could predict the painfully true rumours and when I finally set foot back into the school, it was worse than I anticipated. I felt hideous, like a pig that had been chugging back lard in my t-shirt, sweatpants, and perfectly average body. My friends were hesitant to eat around me and tiptoed around the incident like it had never happened which almost felt worse than bringing it up. Others were not so kind. A group of kids, guys and girls all mixed together, the kind that stole cigarettes from their parents had waited until I came back to sneak away from class and cover my locker in duct tape. Over top of the tape they scribbled on a dictionary of names they would call me in the hallway "Tape-Face" "Fraud" "Botched" "Duct tape Barbie". One of the girls sat behind me in math and had cut little squares of duct tape to stick them into my hair, I called my mom in the principal's office and cried while the secretary had to cut it out of my hair.
My dad made the decision to pull me out of school, so I started homeschooling but that didn't stop the harassment. We lived close to the school and during lunch and after school kids would throw duct tape wallets and wads of tape onto the porch. My dad's final straw was when someone dropped off a Barbie whose waist and thighs had been wrapped in duct tape in our mailbox. He had contacted not only the school but the parents of the kids several times with no avail to the torment ending anytime soon. He moved us to a new town where I could go to class without anyone knowing the pain I subjected myself to for two years.
I'm in college now and I've never told anyone this. I've cut contact with everyone from that school. One of the bullies tried to reach out and apologize, blaming her behaviour on mental illness but that felt like she had shattered a plate and said sorry, thinking that it would put the plate back together. I told her I didn't forgive her and blocked her. A boy from the hockey team also messaged me, the one who flipped my shirt up. He said he just had a daughter he couldn't imagine her going through what I went through and that he's sorry for what he did. All I had to say was that I hope she doesn't have to go through what he put me through either.
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I doubt anyone will see this or even know what is causing this strange issue, but I figured I'd try posting just in case. The post is a bit lengthy so that I can include the necessary details, sorry in advance.
I have developed some medical issues that I suspect could be related somehow to why the stimulants aren't working as they should, but there is nothing obvious that should affect it (though I do have some stuff going on that doesn't yet have a clear diagnosis to explain it), and this happened practically overnight.
Extended release stimulants don't work properly for me anymore because they have a ton of side effects, and without going into too much detail and making this longer, they have weird effects - for example, having a therapeutic effect for 20 minutes, then it being gone and making me extremely irritable, anhedonic, and upset for a couple hours - then going back to normal.
So recently, I tried instant release. First, zenzedi (instant release dextroamphetamine). I then wanted to try the methylphenidate to see if it would last longer for me and have less physical side effects. Well.. it did physically, but it made me so angry and depressed, I couldn't tolerate it, plus it stopped working after an hour and a half. I asked to try focalin, on the off chance it was any better. In the meantime I tried the zenzedi again. To my surprise, all the physical side effects had disappeared. But so had the therapeutic effects. So I tried the full tablet (I had been taking half before).. it had some effect for about 20 minutes, then it was gone.
Then, I tried the focalin. It lasted less than one hour, and I did have some physical side effects. I initially wondered if it was something with the specific generic because the other two were brand name, and didn't make me feel so weird.
So I tried the zenzedi again (Ritalin was a no go because it made me extremely irritable and depressed), but this time at a tablet and a half to see if my body had just adjusted to stimulants, hence the lack of side effects and not responding to the initial tiny dose I took. Somehow no physical side effects despite having had them at half of one tablet before, and any therapeutic effect wore off after 20-30 minutes, replaced by a rising feeling of irritability and agitation that got more and more intense. I used to get irritable sometimes when a dose wore off, but only mildly. It was not intolerable or intense. I tried again, with the same result. One dose used to last about 2 hours.
I can't think of any common reason this would happen with both methylphenidate and amphetamine. Or any likely reason for any of them. I was wondering if anyone here might have an ideas on why this might be happening.

Is anyone else dreading eventually having this conversation with someone you are getting to know?
To insert a bit of context, I'm finding myself actually quite fine with myself, in a very weird and spontaneous way. I don't get "triggered" by Ns, not anymore. I mean this. At a job, I've started noticing mobbing and A LOT OF gossip, HR seemed aloof in general. What do I do, seek validation? Convince someone that so and so is happening? No, change jobs, quietly. It's a miracle, honestly. In the past, I used to scan for it everywhere; In a movie, "is that character narcissistic?" When I see a couple with a kid, "are those people dysfunctional? What will happen to the kid?". For whatever tf reason, that just stopped. I'm happy to say that I'm speaking with people with no thought of their danger as such, only, I began kind of intuitively trusting that a person is good, I make concious effort to approach people like that, too. It's paradoxical, but it seems I am much more in tune when people are not genuine or are deceptive if I myself am being genuine, it's like honeypot and self-eliminating, not the other way around where I intellectualize "signs" and check if anything is off using my willpower. Take this as you will.
Now, I do have this keen sense of being out of place, not a part of the community. Like I speak to someone, they seem fine, and then I find out they have a relatively stable family, or they didn't move a lot, or whatever. Whereas I try to skip that. Some people find it fascinating that I moved a lot and want to hear more, I tell them, we talk good and have a laugh. This was especially the case with girls, the ones I met love a unique, unorthodox story, for whatever reason, their faces lighten up when I tell 5% of it. But eventually it comes down to "so, how about your family?" And I don't know what to say. "We went our own ways."
I don't want to badmouth anyone on principle, so no "oh they were narcissistic", but the conversation must happen, that's how we get to know people and their history. I honestly believe this is like 80% of the reason why I'm isolating myself, just this not-relating to a common familial experience.

Scott Masterson had first met Scarlett at a rooftop party in downtown Dallas. Their age and the time of year were both in late springtime, them in their mid twenties and the date in early May. He had on a sharp yet breezy blazer and she astonished in a thigh length sleeveless blue dress.
“Oh hey Scott I don’t believe you two have met…” his then happily married friend had remarked with a slow swinging open hand toward her.
“Scott Masterson…reluctant friend to this knucklehead” he said with a tight lipped grin, trying not to be so obvious with his instant rapture.
“Scarlett…a pleasure…”
Her hand was so delicate to Scott’s touch. They locked eyes. It was like looking back through centuries of connection, endless days of laying in the sun next to the Seine River, or rising to Hollywood fame in the 1940’s and only having each other who would understand the glory and the pain of it all, or generations of quiet, simple country love that would bear such beautiful, happy children that would go on to raise beautiful, happy children, all with their dark blue eyes. Yes, the memories of every love story since the beginning of time was swirling right there in Scarlett’s irises. Scott had to catch himself before he stared embarrassingly too long.
“Sorry Scottie here doesn’t get out often” his friend quipped, which Scott appreciated actually, it helped him snap back to professionalism.
“Well I don’t either…at least I prefer not to.” Scarlett’s words flowed through the air like a flock of rose petals.
“Hey, kindred spirits.” Scott was really sensing a rising energy out of her, they had barely broken eye contact.
“Well, I’ll let you two have at it, I got a wife around here somewhere. Hey…Scott and Scarlett…not bad, not bad.” His friend exited stage right with a sly chuckle.
“Nice guy…so…what are you drinking, Scarlett?” Scott looked around for the emptiest corner of the rooftop bar, hoping to find a nice place for them to be able to hear each other. This night had just become something.
“That depends, Scott…what do you like?”
Oh man.
Well, as you can expect, the evening blossomed into a beautiful, long winded conversation that etched a long list of similarities between the two. They both lived in the city, had never married, and had dreamed of stable, simpler lives far away from tall buildings and busy streets. The next morning Scott awoke in her arms, which warmed much deeper than just his skin. He could feel her soothing his very identity, his future, everything. Her arms were tailor made to fit his very soul, and he had never felt more safe and at home.
“Mmm…you can stay right here…” she whispered, eyes still closed.
“I will…I will”
They both fell back asleep, into a dream that wouldn’t end upon waking.
Two years passed and suddenly they lived that simple backwoods life, way out where acres of land far out-populated the few and far between people. They took a lovely home, which happily looked over a long backyard, right up to a lively yet mostly undisturbed river. Their only neighbor within a mile was an older ranch worker named Charles, who rarely made himself perceivable. Days were spent way on into town where they both had offices. They didn’t mind the commute. Nights were spent mostly like this night, cuddled outside near a lovely little fire, with a slowly shrinking amount of wine sitting between them. Enjoying their Kingdom. Tonight, however, would prove to be a special night, for many reasons, all unexpected.
“Honey, I’ve been thinking…” Scott began, sitting up and opening his hands to the warmth of the fire.
“Oh?” Scarlett also sat up, eyes widening.
“So look, Scarlett, the last two years have been the best of my life. An absolute dream…”
She held her breath, her focus darting between his eyes and mouth.
“Yeah?”
“We have everything we ever want out here. But…what if there’s more?”
“More?” She had envisioned this very conversation hundreds of times.
“Our dreams have come true, but what if we…made some new dreams?” Scott turned and embedded his eyes into hers. He burst into a big smile.
“Scott…I thought…”
“Nevermind what I said” he cut her off, which he always made a point to never do, but this was a good exception.
“I’m ready, Scarlett…let’s have a family.”
“Ohhhh Scott, oh Scott”
They hugged tight enough to where it hurt.
“Well, in that case, we may need to open another bottle.” She said playfully, bouncing her eyebrows twice.
“Excellent. I’ll be right up. I’ll put this fire out and then start yours up.”
“Oh stop!” She bounded away girlishly, up the snowy back steps and into the house.
Scott let out a big sigh that he could see in the cold air and sat back in his chair, taking in his decision. He really was ready. He had secretly been keeping a long list of names that he liked and that he thought would work in front of Masterson. Especially little girl names. He stared into the campfire flames, getting lost imagining the three of them sitting right here, a little girl resting securely in Scarlett’s arms, as Scott had found himself, and stayed within these past two years.
Suddenly his trance was broken when, from the road in front of their house, came the sound of a vehicle approaching at high speed. Scott snapped his head back toward the house to get a better listen. He could see, around the house and through the trees, a large truck barreling down the country road, its headlights racing and bouncing with intensity. In an instant, it had passed up the road and out of sight.
“Huh?”
Soon, after a moment of silence, another sound echoed into the night. This sound rattled Scott to the bone and tore all that was right in his world into pieces. A sharp, bellowing squeal. His eyes shot over to his neighbors house, which was about a tenth of a mile to his right but still had a couple dim lights on that he could see. The shriek seemed to come from there.
Then, more squeals. It was hellish. More than animal but not quite human. Scott stood up. He heard crashing and tearing and further destruction coming from Charles’ house.
“Scarlett!! Scarlett!” He yelled toward his house, where he looked and could see her silhouette behind the curtains at the kitchen window. She didn’t seem to hear him.
He turned back toward his neighbors. The chaos had gone quiet. Not a half a moment after, though, he heard something big barreling through the trees as fast as that truck had been sprinting. Running, running furiously between the two houses. Searching, hunting. Scott was taken aback so hard that his heel had caught the edge of the fire pit, throwing him down only inches away from severe burns. He had knocked his head in the whiplash, making him groan and take a moment to regain his bearings.
“SCARLETT!!!!”
He screamed out toward his home as he sat up, rubbing a quickly rising bump on the back of his head. He heard a loud breaching on the side of his house. The patio door. No. No. Then, all hell broke loose. Scarlett started wailing and crying and he could hear crashes of plates and glasses and deep guttural roars coming from the kitchen inside. Shadows danced in a frenzy from the curtained windows. Sounds of instinctual survival seemed to be thrown from Scarlett inside. Sounds of defeat. Sounds of agony. Sounds of insanity. Scott sprang to his feet, his equilibrium being more damaged than he realized after his fall. He had to catch his hand on a chair to stabilize himself. Scarlett’s symphony of pain had gone quiet. Soon after something burst back out the patio door again and off in the same direction as that truck before.
Scott struggled back up to the house, slowly climbing the wintered, crunching stairs that led to the patio. He no longer yelled for Scarlett. In fact, the only thing that came to his senses was the sound of his own heavy breathing. Everything else had been turned off, save for a heavy and sudden dread that he had prayed he would never feel. He came to the side of his house where indeed the patio door had been busted and forced open. It laid inside the kitchen, its hinges snapped like toothpicks. Scott, with eyes wide and twitching, slowly entered his home and looked into the kitchen.
He didn’t scream. He didn’t even change his breathing. He didn’t blink. He just got a good long look at what laid before him.
Everything was broken. The fridge was on its side, the door hanging open and food and drink scattered all over the floor. The table was upended, its legs to the ceiling. A chair was resting on the counter, possibly having been thrown in defense. And Scarlett. Oh Scarlett. She…was…everywhere. She was all over the floor. She was sprayed against the walls. She was stuck to the window. She was in the sink.
Scott gently walked through the carnal mess and sabotage of his world. Long ago he had known exactly what he would do if something anywhere near this bad were to happen to him. He politely stumbled through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bedroom. He opened his closet door and lowered a fire safe from the top rack. He unlocked it with a passcode. 511, after that warm May date when he had first met Scarlett. In the safe was a Sig Sauer P320 handgun. Scott took it out, along with a box of bullets, loaded one into the gun, put the safe back on its rack, and walked out of the closet, sitting on his bed. Their bed. Where they should’ve been laying right at this very moment, working toward a happy future. Where he would’ve kissed her forehead and put a hand on her growing midsection. Where they would have awoken on Christmas morning to the sound of children who were way too excited to remain asleep. Where they would’ve grown old. Where they would’ve smiled at each other through wrinkles, satisfied with all the love they shared and passed on to the next generations. Where they would’ve held each other in deep peace as they finally fell asleep to this world.
“I will…I will”
In one quick motion Scott pulled back the hammer and stuck the barrel of that pistol right up against his Governor and blew himself away, far away, right back into Scarlett’s loving arms.
Jeremy “Smallmouth” Bassett quickly yet stealthily made his way back to his Uncle’s house. He hugged the sides of the dark country road, keeping his eyes and ears wide open as to notice any sounds pertaining to the event that he had just witnessed there in the field next to the huge blaze. His only thought was Uncle Chuck. His house was right on the warpath of that horrible thing and Smallmouth had to go to him and make sure he was safe. He dared not go back to his truck, which would bring a lot of unwanted attention. No, Smallmouth walked and walked and finally saw the lights of his Uncle’s house. He carefully approached the front door from the shadowed driveway. Suddenly it occurred to Smallmouth that something was very wrong here. The door was busted in, having been plowed through by something very large and very strong.
“No…no…no”
Smallmouth slowly entered the house. The kitchen and living room were a disaster, chairs and tables and bottles strewn about and shattered. Bloody hoof-prints covered the floors, each of them the size of dinner plates. Smallmouth heard no noise. He felt himself well with tears, his nose a faucet that he began to sniff up as he worked his way through to his Uncle’s room, the door there also being broken in. A small whine growing in his throat, Smallmouth peaked into his uncles bedroom.
It was all in tatters. The bed had been attacked and shredded, the mattress being ripped up and thrown about as if it were made of cotton candy. More bloody hoof-prints were painted all over the brown carpet. Smallmouth trembled and put a hand up to his wet face. He didn’t see a way that his Uncle was anywhere near alive, knowing what he knew about the monster that had been in this house.
Smallmouth slowly walked to the living room, to the only little table that had been untouched in the attack. It was almost as if the bottle of whiskey teleported into his hand from the overturned cabinet, unopened. He fixed that real quick.
Soon he was several pulls deep of the only thing in the world that he knew would make him feel better, even if only for a few hours. He found his pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket and lit one up, although he was indoors. What did it matter? He sat in a chair that he had turned right side up and set the bottle on the table and looked out the back window into the pitch black. He cried for his Uncle and he cried for the world. He cried for himself. He cried for broken promises and his own weakness. He drank and drank until his vision shook from right to left everywhere he looked. At first he didn’t even notice the figures on the back porch. Then his vibrating focus did pick up on them, but by then it was too late. It was so dark out there but in their outlines he could see they wore long robes and hoods.
“HA!! COME AND GET ME! HAHA!! YOU COME AND YOU GET ME!!” Smallmouth boasted with a delusional amount of courage.
A creak escaped from the kitchen and he drunkenly slung his head over toward it. Three more figures stood there. Or was it just one? Smallmouth was none the wiser. All at once the hooded intruders from both inside and outside began to chant a strange, twisted rhyme in strikingly low and dissonant harmony:
“A sliver…of liver…goes down…with a shiver… …and gives…your gullet…to gall… …but drink…the Cider…that drowns…the Spider… …and you…will be free…of it all… …so tighten the grip…that loosens your lips… …O raise…the bottle…of brown… …and wake tomorrow…to find…in sorrow… …ANOTHER…SPIDER…TO…DROWN”
Smallmouth groaned at them in dissatisfaction and turned his bottle up again and began to chug the whiskey. As he did they repeated the chant except this time it was louder and closer. By the time Smallmouth had finished his bottle he was quickly losing consciousness. This wasn’t just whiskey. As he closed his eyes he felt hands grabbing him from all sides.
Smallmouth pulled open his sticky eyelids. His head felt like someone had bowled a strike into it. Wind froze his face. The smell of sickly, wet iron stung his nostrils. His vantage was higher than usual. Way higher. He was looking out into another field, but from easily ten feet up. He saw an old church, formerly painted white but now a flaky pale-beige. He heard the friction of a quick pull of rope below him, matched with a slight, tight pain at his feet. He looked down. A red-robed figure was fastening him against a wooden structure of some kind. His feet sat on a small flat platform perpendicular to a post that went from the ground up past smallmouths head. He couldn’t move his arms, so he quickly shot his eyes side to side. They were also tied to another horizontal post. A cross. He was being tied to a crude wooden cross. His shirt had been removed, exposing a hairy, overweight belly. Smallmouth tried to speak, but all that came out was a slow, unintelligible grumble. He was still drunk. No, this was more than that. He was under the influence of something strong and absolutely inhibitive. He wallowed again, and took in a deep breath. The smell of iron once again hit his nose. He looked down at himself. He was covered in a thick, red liquid. That wasn’t just the smell of iron. He had been splashed full body with blood.
“Now now, young servant…” the figure at his feet had finished his task and took a couple of steps out to admire his own handiwork.
“Ahh…perfect. The picture of martyrdom. Yes, you will always be remembered, Brother Bassett. You are to be the first Saint of The New Bible.” He opened his arms in his declaration.
Smallmouth looked up into the cold night sky. The moon shown down, giving everything a midnight spotlight. It was a gorgeous waxing gibbous, big and bright but not quite full. Yes, he was in a great big snowy field that housed an old worn down church. From the windows of the church he saw candles glowing, showing dark heads and shoulders looking out to him, also covered in loose hoods, hiding faces. He was hanging on a cross about one hundred feet from the old church. In front of the cross was a partially covered pit, a couple of two by fours supporting double armfuls of branches and dead leaves.
The figure at the base of the cross put his arms back to his side. He was still looking right at the drugged Smallmouth’s dumbstruck face. Even with a veiled mouth you could hear the twisted smile in his voice.
“Tonight you will help us finally defeat this legion, Smallmouth. You see, it may have the evil spirits within it, but at its core, it is still an owned animal. An animal that knows its Master very well. An animal that will remember the smell of its Master. You, my friend, are covered in its Master right now. And you are hanging on a cross, the symbol of this brute’s most hated enemy. But take heart, young Brother. Before you is our pit of spears. Yes you will attract the beast, but our Divine plan will intercept it and the beast will fall and be pierced. And then, oh dear brother, you will forever be immortalized. You will be purified in fire by the hands of your church brethren. Out of your screams and into the smoke the iniquities of all will be released. We will go on to preach your good example and your sainthood forever and ever.”
Smallmouth began to drool and hum pathetically. He could hear and understand the words of the robed man but he couldn’t fight back. His body was useless, limp inside its rope confines. All he could do now is think, and watch, and wait, and dread his fate.
The figure turned away from him, walking over near the pit and gathering up a bundle of brambles and throwing them over the last open area, covering it completely. He then crunched through the snow over to the front door of the old church, groaning open the door. He stood at the dark doorway for a few seconds in silence, and then began to make a noise. An over exaggerated pig squealing noise, high pitched and infuriating. Soon after other voices from inside the church began to do the same, their wailing echoing out of the building and all across the field, loudly signaling, calling out. It may as well have been a dinner bell. Not a half minute after they began the distress signal it was loudly answered by a distant squall. A furious squall.
This was it. Either way it happened Smallmouth was about to die. Experience terror, and then die, and not even have the ability to put up any kind of defense. It wasn’t fair. He just slowly lifted up his head and watched out far into the moonlit, white field. He then raised his heavy head further and took a good gander at the moon and stars for the last time.
“God,” he thought to himself, still having full inner monologue yet no outer motor function, “I am so sorry. I am so sorry for being what I am. I am so sorry for ending up in this place. It’s only my own fault. If it wasn’t for me being so stupid and messy and drunk and terrible then this wouldnt be happening to me.”
He began to shed tears that washed lines into the blood on his face.
“Please forgive me God. Please, please, please forgive me for all of my sins. This is it. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!!!” He yelled inside his own mind, hoping and trying to send his silent words as far up into heaven as they could go.
He lowered his eyes back to the ground. He looked over at the church again. The windows were empty, the candles were extinguished. Those hooded cowards were hiding from their own handmade sacrificial service. All was quiet for a long pause until a much louder, closer bleating began at the edge of the forest not even three hundred feet away from Smallmouth’s glazed over eyes. It was time, and it was too late for a miracle.
Out of the woods, slowly and heavily, stomped the massive hog. As it marched closer and closer Smallmouth could see its white, boiled over eyes and black-burnt skin. Its jaws were flying open and snapping its sharp, pocket knife-sized teeth together in an intimidating “clack”. It was now less than a hundred feet away, the dark old church to its right shoulder. It stopped, its pale glowing eyes fixed right on Smallmouth on the crude cross. It truly was a monster. It stood as tall as a man and as long as a canoe. Around its murderous mouth were stains of red, the remnants of all that it had taken from the world on this unholy night. In its clanging jaws were bits of flesh. It snorted and scowled.
Then, in a fury, it wailed that horrible squeal and started off into a dead sprint. It galloped and galloped toward Smallmouth at a high, blistering speed. It kept yawping and howling as it cut the distance from the cross down to fifty feet, forty feet, thirty, twenty. All at once it passed over the covered pit and plunged in. In his doomed, dead eyed stupor Smallmouth could hear what sounded like paint being dumped from a rooftop onto concrete. Trails of black liquid squirted and splashed up from the pit, which had been uncovered in the fall of the beast. Unbelieving, Smallmouth saw dozens of steel spear tips standing up from the dug-in ground. Right in the middle of them the beast was stuck. The sheer weight of the animal had caused the spears to pierce through its tough skin, sticking out of its back, soaked in black blood. One spear had stabbed right under the hogs chin, passing up through its jaws and out its black snout. It made agonized sounds. It roared and roared and shook the spears inside it, beginning furiously, then growing weaker and weaker within seconds. Finally, it let out one last weak little squeal, before it went still and quiet.
Smallmouth was frozen both physically by drugs and constraints and mentally by shock. His mouth hung open toward the pit of spears, his vision blurry. He took in a deep, troubled breath and let out a moan of disbelief and relief. The old church doors sprang open, and the sound of jubilation within flowed out into the night. The red robed figures flocked out of the building toward the pit, arms raised in celebration. They surrounded the hole, getting a good look at their success and their enemies defeat. Some held additional spears and began further stabbing the dead animal, causing more black blood to be shed up at them. They all yelled loudly and triumphantly. Some danced around the pit. Some skipped over to Smallmouth on the cross and danced around him, slapping his legs and spinning in circles.
Smallmouth looked on at the raucous celebration, both in utter disbelief of their trap actually working and also in turmoil. How long now until they fully execute their plan.
A taller robed man, whose voice matched the same one who spoke to Smallmouth as he tied his feet, spoke up, sounding almost happily intoxicated.
“Ahh yes my Brothers!! It is done!! We have won!!!”
They all whooped and cheered.
“Brother Norman, go into the church and bring me the small tank of fuel. Let us send our dear Saint Bassett to the Holy lands, where he will be adored for all eternity!”
They all clapped and hollered. One figure began childishly skipping away from the pit and over toward the front door of the church.
Then, it happened.
From the pit all of a sudden a great blaze erupted instantly. It stood as tall as the cross, and it burned a furious red and blue. It raged and raged, blinding Smallmouth and making him clumsily turn his face away from the heat.
All of the figures panicked, screaming and scattering away toward the church. They didn’t get far. Up from the fiery pit, dozens of long, long, black arms, adorned with six hooking claws emerged and stretched out of the flames and latched on to the legs of those trying to escape. Smallmouth heard crying and wailing from the men as the black, razor clawed-hands of the legion grabbed them and began pulling them back, into the blazes. One by one the red robed people were dragged into the flames, their clothes catching instantly. Smallmouth could see violently shaking bodies in the evil furnace. Oh, the screams. Above the tortured howling, the sound of laughing broke out. Deep, menacing laughter, hundreds of voices, echoed up into the air from the burning hole. Then, in one extinguishing squeeze, the ground swallowed the entirety of the fiery pit, leaving it completely covered in dirt, still and quiet. Soon after, and just like the pit of spears, the old church building caught in an instant and raging fire, quickly toppling the walls and dropping the steeple into its ruins. The smoke towered high in the night sky, which had just began to hint at a pale morning blue. Smallmouth hung on his cross in utter horror and surprise.
As the late evening hours glowed into early morning the smoke eventually tapered off, as Smallmouth’s drugs finally began to wear off as well. The fires of the church did garner long distance attention, though. Just as Smallmouth was able to regain control of his muscles and voice he heard emergency sirens call out into the cold morning air. Not long after, two fire trucks, an ambulance and a sheriffs truck tore into the field and toward Smallmouth on the cross. Not long after Smallmouth could feel the tied ropes being cut loose by firemen, their uniforms easily the best red clothes he had seen all night.
“What on God’s green Earth happened here son?” A bearded man with a dark hat and brown shirt and pants asked Smallmouth once he had been lowered down from the cross and sat on the ground with a shock blanket around his shoulders. The Sheriff, no doubt.
“God’s green Earth. It really is God’s, isn’t it?” Smallmouth whispered, staring out across the cold field. Then, at the very place he was staring, an old, familiar truck came barreling out of the gravel road in the woods and through the field in the steadily growing morning light. It was Uncle Chuck’s truck. It hurried over toward the other emergency vehicles, parked, the driver’s side door burst open, and Uncle Chuck came bounding out over to Smallmouth, his eyes wide and his mouth a wonderfully shocked “O”.
“JEREMY! JEREMY!!!” He basically fell on Smallmouth in a tight, warm hug. Smallmouth was caught off guard by Chuck using his real name.
His Uncle held him for several seconds and then let up, but kept his hands on Smallmouth’s shoulders.
“I thought you were dead.” Both of them said at almost the exact same time.
“I came back and your house was a mess and there was blood everywhere. I thought you were dead.” Smallmouth weakly spat out.
“Well, I woke up and you were gone, son, so I walked to the ranch to get my truck. I was worried bout ya son. I came back home and the whole place had been turned upside down. Blood on the carpet. I just thought the worst. Then I tried my neighbors house. Buddy, they’re dead. Looks like some wacko murder-suicide if I ever saw one. Scott probably tried to come kill us too and wrecked the place when he found it empty. I don’t know. But what I DO know is that you are right here! You are okay Jeremy!! Ahhh Praise Jesus!!”
“It’s not that, Uncle. That isn’t what happened out here. It’s..it was a..a, uh…”
Smallmouth’s fried brain couldn’t even comprehend what he had witnessed over the past few hours. It was all a violent blur.
“Dont worry bout it son, you can tell me everything on the way to the hospital. We gotta go get you checked out and cleaned up. C’mon.” He helped Smallmouth up and they walked over to the ambulance, his Uncle’s arm thrown around his shoulder.
Smallmouth would be sent home later that afternoon. It would take him and his Uncle a long time to sort through the chaos of that deadly night and rebuild their lives. But life kept on. Smallmouth would remain living with his Uncle, and would begin a job working with him down at the ranch. Together they started to attend a local church. Smallmouth never touched a drink or a drug or even a cigarette ever again, and remained steadfast in his newly revitalized faith.

I'm running Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays for the first time and, while I like the module and I think it's going to turn out fun, I've had some issues with parts of it that I wanted to share.
I'd like to preface this by saying that it's a cool scenario, the updated version is an improvement over the original, all of the problems are arguably a matter of opinion, and most of them can be easily fixed.
Lack of meaningful description
What's San Carlos like?
What does the tribal police station, or the medical facility, or the ranch look like?
I don't want block text to read, I just want a few phrases and enough detail for me to sketch the place for the players. (Floor plans would be better, but hey)
Another one where the fix is for me to GM prep, but I paid for a module so I wouldn't have to do too much of that.
This great collection of additional resources (handouts, descriptions of the reservation and key locations) shared by u/kinnygraham in this comment on another thread has been vital for helping me imagine the town.
Rolling for clues
Every other DG RPG module I've read has had most clues based on having 40/50/60 in a skill, but in PSSP (even the updated version) you still need to roll for everything for some reason. I ended up giving my players a lot of clues but they did the right stuff with the right skills and only made them roll when there were bonus clues that would make them look cool.
It's not a major gripe, but it would have been nice to see the updated module make use of the new tech.
Weird Railroady Moments
My least favourite moment in an RPG product is when the author tells you something like "players / a particular NPC, often the antagonist, can't die right here" which sucks IMO, and there's at least one in Puppet Shows. The way I see it, the PCs are largely stripped of power an autonomy by the premise of the game, so taking more power away with set plot-pieces feels cruel and off-genre. That's just me, though.
Not hard to fix, but a real pet peave of mine. I'd be interested to hear about how everyone else feels about this.
Why would I get to the chopper?
This section verges on a spoiler but honestly I wouldn't care if any my players had read this before we played
There's also a moment when the module lays out what happens if the players ask to use the State Police helicopters. I have no idea why any FBI agent whose been asked to assist the state police would push to use their equipment or barge their way into their side of the operation. I had the major mention he wouldn't mind having them along, but really I should have just made the helicopters an FBI asset at their disposal and mentioned that during the FBI briefing, but actually having them go up in a chopper to see a car and come back down is just not that fun.
Not a major issue, because the State Police can share info with the agents, but still it creates a situation where the evidence and briefing at the opening of the module only really gives one lead (the ranch) to go off and chase.

Hello, I have a baby boy 8 months old - he has never been a great sleeper since day one! But lately all of these multiple night wakings have started to kill me - the word tired isn’t enough to describe how i feel! When he wakes up he either babbles or plays and takes ages to put him back to sleep so I end up breastfeeding him this the only way he gets back to sleep. He is exclusively breastfed and we started solids on month 6 He sleeps in his own bed in our room as we don’t have a second bedroom in our house. We tried sleep training, we tried giving more milk or adding another meal in the evening so he has 3 meals a day , bath before bedtime , having a bedtime routine, Singing, dancing, rocking, lots of playtime, going out for walks when is awake during the day, meeting other babies - absolutely nothing made a difference he still wakes up every hour at night and this is happening every night for 8 months :/ Next month iam going back to work and this is my biggest anxiety how will I cope with this sleep deprivation? Sometimes I am so tired I take him in our bed so we end up co sleeping which so uncomfortable because he wants to nurse constantly and he wakes up if I move so again even with co sleeping u get zero sleep. I have honestly tried what I could think of nothing works with my baby he just doesn’t sleep! I feel i have lost myself i have never been so tired in my life and he being 8 months I haven’t slept more than 2hrs continuously :( Has anyone got any advice pls?

This is just to vent but if someone has actually helpful advice pls leave it too.
For context in my country instead of a bachelor's then mact and med school here after high school (12th) grade u give mcat and go to college for mbbs (5 years of study+1 year of working as house officers in the affiliated hospital and with clinical rotations for the 3,4,5 year )
All government colleges have a set number of merit and self fiance seats. On merit u basically pay half or less of what self fiance pay if u score high enough on mcat and have the necessary grades from 10 and 12 grade board exams. I got in on merit. Now my college has a few big issues and only mine has these ones none of these others.
classes in heat of over 37 to even 40 at times we wouldn't have ACs in lecture halls just those fans mounted on the walls half of which don't work. But thankfully that's fixed now when I'm done with 4th year. although it frequently breaks (just the lecture ones none in teachers or even fiance department etc)
we find out 1-2 week or if we're lucky a month before that are exams are happening the next week or month. Bc our affiliated university is the City university not a medical one. So our exams are upto them and whenever the college asks them too, college gives us a estimate and it's always later than that. This year's estimate was January for 4th year exams, and we are currently having our vivas the theory exams are in June. And we had to go multiple times to them to remind them that we exist and protest to even get them done. All other years were done by March, we asked and we're told soon. No estimate of when, yelled at when we asked for one.(We finally got it after the protest the date was 2 weeks away, got shit from other years bc we ruined their students week while we couldn't even participate 😒)
We also have not been given our elective leaves, which are supposed to be given to 4th and 5th years but, bc our years start late they don't give us the leave or vacation time (summer off etc other years get them) to do the electives in bc "they already made the schedule" and when they did give them last year after months of begging, for the month of December, they held the finals evaluation exams (which counts in final grade) after giving us the ok knowing we wouldn't be able to go.
I've studied by myself, stayed on task for my whole academic life even through 9-12 board years as long as I had a structured system. I managed till 2nd year but in year 3 my brother got and later died, mom was sick after that (bed rest for months) I barely passed that year but understandable. But since the start of 4th year I tired to get back to my studies but idk why (maybe lack of structure or just me being lazy) I couldn't. I did all nighters to basically learn everything (bc I didn't even pay attention in class the whole year) 2 days before each exams. I feel like a failure now, bc I'm wasting not just my parent's hard earned money all the hopes they have of their "brilliant daughter" and my potential. I'm aware I'm wasting time, that I'm no where near ready to graduate in a year and help ppl, but i can't. I make up excuses in my head but there's ppl who have it so much worse and they're doing. Why can't I? Why can't I be like I was?

Being totally true to the original game, we would actually add these a week and half into the game after everyone had just been making up their troop numbers. What follows is a slightly modified form of the rules that were on the original wiki.

Code of Chivalry

YOU MUST READ THROUGH THESE RULES IF YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUBREDDIT! THEY ARE VITAL TO KEEPING THE SUBREDDIT FUNCTIONING IN THE MOST IDEAL MANNER!

1) Time

• Time in /westerospowers does not progress at the same rate as IRL. For more effective interaction, it is sped up.
  
• 1 day IRL = 2 months in WP
  
• Like in /worldpowers, Sunday is not counted in WP, this is a day off where houses can post [NEWS] for the week relating to their holding. [EVENTS] cannot be created, nor [CONFLICTS]. Basically, no action other than [NEWS], [CLAIM] or [META] can take place on Sunday. In your post, put the WP time, not IRL time (for example) : 4 months . (this would be 2 days IRL)
  

2) Claiming

You can claim a holdfast and a house/faction, which will give you dominion over it's adjoining lands. For example; House Baratheon and Storm's End, or Vaes Dothrak and the Dothraki Sea. There cannot be more than one of each house, unless an agreement has been reached, and then no more than two. The two must also be easily distinguishable (i.e. Stannis/Renly Baratheon).
Click here to see what can and can't be claimed.

• When you claim, use the [CLAIM] tag and state the house and holdfast in your title, and then use the description to tell us what you want your style to be (e.g. Kingslayer, Lion of the Rock, Red Viper, Mother of Dragons).
  
• Once you claim a holdfast, we will do the best we can to quickly get it on the Claimed List. Remember, we fuck up too, so feel free to message the mods.
  
• You may abandon your holdfast at any point in the game and claim another one. However, you will only be able to do so again after 1 month.
  
• ORGANIZATIONS NOT MENTIONED IN THE LIST ARE NOT AVAILABLE CLAIMS. It doesn't matter if they exist in the ASOIAF universe, you cannot claim the Faceless Men or Sellsword Company #91238 if they're not listed.
  

3) Wiki

• Once you claim a holdfast, we will make a wiki page for you. Make sure to include your title and , a brief description of your house, your prominent laws and regulations, and any alliances, or allegiances you have.
  
• Example, The Citadel
  
• Please update your wiki, it makes it easier when people want to find out about your house for alliances/fealty etc.
  

4) Etiquette

POSTS
DO

• Use a tag: [CLAIM], [EVENT], [EXPANSION], [CONFLICT], [NEWS], or [META].
  
• Announce anything important, agreements, events, and make decrees. Celebrate or commiserate occasions, such as marriage contracts, welcoming a new sworn sword, mourning a death, completing construction, weddings, funerals, etc.
  

DO NOT

• Be stupid. Play the game of thrones, be patient, forge alliances, and don't unveil your moves until it's too late. Open war is not always the most feasible option. .

.

5) Duel

[DUEL] will be used for starting duels. A duel will consist of a 1v1 battle between two characters. Each belligerent will post a role playing story of the last few minutes before the fight begins. The "home team" gets to make the first post so they can describe the location of the duel. The stories will be voted upon and the post with the most upvotes (not overall score because we're ignoring downvotes) will win. The winner will then post a [DUEL - RESOLVED] post that describes the fight. If a stories score doubles (minimum winner score 4) the other's the winner may kill the loser. Otherwise, all duels end with a capture or injury.

6) Conflict

It is natural that houses will wish to attack other houses for land and resources, or simply to keep things interesting. This is fine, but it is wise to consider diplomacy before calling the banners.

How do I create a Conflict?

• Make a post using the [Conflict - Rally] tag declaring that you are rallying your allies. This step will be used for a lord to call his allies to rally on him for a coming battle. Any lords that wish to participate in a coming battle must respond to this post (with the amount of troops rallied) in order to be counted in the battle. Any forces that were loaned to a lord by an [Event] post can be rallied by the loanee. The opposing side in the conflict should create their own rally post. You can still choose to stand down from a rally.

[Conflict - Rally] The Riverlands call forth their banners against the false King!

• If you wish to betray those who think you allies, Rally as normal for your supposed allies. Then send a message to the moderators with a [Conflict - Betrayal] tag. The mod will take your forces into account on the correct side.
  
• When at least 24 IRL hours have passed since one of the Rallies, you may then commit your forces using a [CONFLICT - COMMIT]. This signals the attack; defenders can not commit. This sets the number of troops that will be on each side to whomever has rallied on each side. If one side does not create a Rally post it is assumed that they use their full local forces (i.e. those still in the holdfast). A mod will then create the next post.
  

[CONFLICT-COMMIT] MyHouse attacks ThatHouse

• If you wish to retire from the field (i.e. if diplomacy succeeds or if you do not want to do battle), please create a [Rally - Release] post. This will count as your troops leaving the field, and neither army will be able to attack after that post has been made. Of course, if you retreat while defending a holdfast, the attackers can freely take it.

How does a conflict end?

• Whichever team of countries has the most points from battles wins. If the loser does not surrender then the battle continues. If the conflict lasts for the full 6 days IRL, then the loser must agree to a fully unconditional surrender.
  
• Another way for a conflict to end is if the attacker calls off the conflict or if the holdfast invaded surrenders or they both come up with a peaceful treaty to end the war.
  

What happens after a Conflict where a winner is declared at the end?

• The losing ruler has two options:

a) The less honourable course: They may rule their holdfast under the authority of the winner by pledging fealty, and becoming vassals. This means they must give their allegiance to the winning house. However, the loser can plot to overthrow the winner, but obviously must find the support to do it. The victor lays claim to the conquered land. The losing ruler still has control of the land, however, will be under control of the victor and will need to report to the victor as the victor may veto any decision the losing ruler makes
b) The honourable way: They may be destroyed by the winning house, root and stem. The losing house will be completely eradicated. The disputed lands will go to the winning house.
If a person's house has been eradicated (i.e. House Reyne), they may claim a new one after 7 days.

6) Expansion

General Guidelines

Because we recognize the reality that houses are going to want to annex unclaimed holdfasts for more land, we are making imperialism to a certain degree allowed.

• YOU CANNOT ANNEX WHOLE COUNTRIES! This doesn't include small islands. We will only allow territories or regions, like Winterfell taking White Harbour.
  
• Small regions are eligible for imperialism, but if your annexation of territory starts to become unreasonable, we will force you to renounce your annexation or just delete your post. Please try to keep it to a reasonable size.
  
• If you claimed a small region at first and want to annex another, message the mods. We will evaluate your request and see if you can take control of another small area.
  
• If you try to claim the entire North, you are going to have a bad time! Be reasonable and realistic, only take over small regions.
  
• Any region that is under the control of a claimed holdfast (read: imperialized) cannot be taken over by someone else.
  
• If you win a war against a house with imperialized territories, the conflict rules apply to the territories as well (refer back to War).
  
• Abandoned/revoked holdfasts belong to the liege lord. If no new player tries to claim them in 3 days, the liege lord is free to give them away. If there's no liege lord, the city/castle will become available in the claim list.
  

How to Imperialize

If you are declaring an annexation, use the tag [EXPANSION]. We will also put a list in the wiki of Annexed Territories. This is how you should go through your annexation:
1) [EXPANSION] House A will be sending delegates over to Holdfast X to discuss fealty.

• Put the proposed terms of your annexation as well as an explanation for it

2) [EXPANSION] Holdfast X has agreed to swear fealty to House A

• Describe any changes to the region annexed.

THANK YOU TO ANYONE WHO FOLLOWS THIS FORMAT, IT MAKES THINGS EASIER FOR THE MODS!

7) Mod-Injected Crises

• Every now and then, because we are bored, we will make up a realistic crisis with a [CRISIS] tag. This can be an economic recession, natural disaster, or a magical threat.
  
• Each faction is encouraged to react to the crisis in the comments. You can say what your house is doing for recovery, if it will provide aid, how it affected you, etc.
  

8) Money

Please just be realistic. We aren't going to place limits because we want you guys to have fun, but if you donate 40 trillion gold dragons then obviously we will not allow it. Be aware of your house's economic situation, and just be realistic.

9) Inactivity

• To make sure houses don't become dormant, we will be enforcing active participation.
  
• TO BE CONSIDERED ACTIVE YOU MUST MAKE AT LEAST ONE [EVENT] PER WEEK
  
• You must also participate in News Days and post your [News] on Sundays
  
• If you fail to do so and it comes to our attention, then you will be given 1 day's notice before we default your house.
  

Let the mods know if you will be away for an extended period of time. If you have sufficient reason for your absence, and give a date when you will be able to return, the above does not apply for that time. Arrangements must also be made by the player regarding the temporary ownership of your holdfast. If these conditions are not met, the house may still be defaulted.
These land combat rules are taken from /essospowers, which we originally took from /westerospowers (the original set has been deleted).

Land Combat Rules

Thanks /Westerospowers for the original draft. This system is in effect as of right now.
Starting a Conflict

1. Normally all conflicts must begin with a [CONFLICT - RALLY] post. This post represents a host bringing their forces together for a fight. Normally at least 12 IRL hours must pass before a commit post is made.
   
2. If the two sides agree, or if a mod makes a ruling, you may skip straight to the commit phase.
   
3. The [CONFLICT - COMMIT] post indicates that the attack has been launched by the poster.
   
4. The mods will then make a [CONFLICT-SCORE] post ASAP. This conflict score post will use the below rules to declare a victor.
   

Fighting the Conflict
We will be using simple 6 sided dies (d6), 3 sided dies (d3), and 5 sided dies (d5) to represent combat. We have a bot perform these rolls. The number of which will be decided like this

1. In our example battle we have the following two sides: Side 1 consists of 1,000 men. Side 2 consists of 500 men.
   
2. Add both sides together to get the full number of troops in the battle, then divide each side's forces by that number to see the percentages. For example, a battle of 1,000 vs. 500 would be 66% and 33% respectively.
   
3. Each side's percentages will be rounded to the nearest 5%, so in this example it would be 65% and 35%. Each side will receive 1d6 for every 10%, any remaining 5% will give a 1d3. In the above example,the Side 1 (65%) force will receive 6d6 + 1d3. Side 2 (35%) will receive 3d6 + 1d3.
   
4. The results of the rolls will be added to create the initial score. The defender during a siege will receive a bonus to the their initial score equal to the defense value of the battle site. In this example, Side 2 will have a defense value of 4. The final result of all modifiers is the Battle Score.
   

Note: Defense bonus is based on the location of the defender and added to the end of the final total
Final = Total of Dice + Bonus
Note: Half the Defense value is added to the total dice sides. So a defense rating of 6 would add 3 making a D6 a D9.
In this example let's assume the following rolls:

• Side 1 (1,000, 65%): 1, 5, 4, 6, 3, 6, +2 (from the 1d3)
• Side 2 (500 , 35%): 3, 6, 6, +1 (from the 1d3), +4 (from defense)
  
• Side 1 Battle Score: 25
  
• Side 2 Battle Score: 20
  

Side 1 wins by 5!
During a battle in the open field this usually means the losing side is routed or retreats. During a siege the battle will continue until either side gives in or runs out of troops.
Note: Tie Goes To the Defender
Determining Casualties
Causalities will be determined as follows:
For the smaller army the average of all d6 rolls will be averaged together (round normally). In the above example that would result in an average of 5 ((6 + 6 + 3) / 3) kill dice for side 2. This determines how many kill dice (d5s) will be rolled for enemy causalities.
For the larger army, the highest d6 rolls equal to the amount of the smaller armies rolls will be averaged. In the above example that would mean the 3 highest (6,6,5) rolls would be averaged together for a result of 5.67, rounded to 6. The larger army (side 1) will roll 6d5 kill dice.
These d5 represent the percentage of causalities the opposing side will suffer. The winner will receive a bonus to their kill results equal to the amount of points they win by (in this example 6).

• Side 1 kill dice results: ( 1, 3, 1, 1, 1, 1) = 8 + 5 (excess battle score) = 13
• Side 2 kill dice results: ( 5, 2, 4, 3, 4) = 18

Those numbers represent how much of the opposing army is out of the fight (dead, injured, or captured). In this battle Side 1 won the battle, but Side 2 was able to cause a higher percentage of causalities.
18% x 1,000 = 180 troops out of the fight
13% x 500 = 65 troops out of the fight
What happens next
In an open field battle, the loser retreats and is run from the field. In a defense, another phase of battle will be run until either side gives in.
The mod running the battle will give a short blurb on what occurs in the fight. For this one, I would say something like:

Despite many casualties, Side 1 was able to get over the city's walls. Side 1 takes the inner side of the walls while Side 2 decides to continue the battle in the city streets.

4 years together. 2 living together. I loved him. He didn’t feel the same way I guess. 18 days since we’ve broken up no contact.
fuck you for not answering me. fuck you for leading me on. fuck you. fuck you for getting that one last fuck in. fuck you for letting me believe we were still gonna be friends. fuck you for being okay. fuck you. fuck you flr never defending me. fuck uou for everything you did during the relationship. fuck you. fuck you. i was never going to be enough for you. i was never going to be what you so dreamed of. no matter what i was never going to be it for you? you were it for me. fuck you for pretending like you loved me. fuck you for letting me believe a lie for years. fuck you. fuck you. fuck you for not moving to Victoria. never ballsy enough to end it but to let me live in misery. fuck you for being miserable with me. fuck you nathan. i hope one day you see this and think about how much you miss me. i hope you think back and realized that i loved you so hard and raw. i hope you realize what you did. i would’ve never slept with you or stayed with u for that night knowing you had no intention of continuing it. fuck you. fuck you. you let me believe you still loved me. you let me have hope for having you in my life. fuck you for everything you did. fuck you for letting me love you. fuck you for the way you handled this breakup. fuck you. fuck you. fuck you. fuck you for never being there for me. fuck you for letting me cry myself to sleep next you to after i got diagnosed. i made you dinner after i got literal chemo. i had spots on my brain. you didn’t even hold me after. you were not there for me. you let me sob and didn’t even look me in hen eye. fuck you. fuck you. i tried to be a cool girl with you. I will never be cool enough. did i ever mean anything to you? was i just a body to keep you company? how can you just be fine? fuck you for wrecking my college experience. fuck you for pretending to love me. how could you love me and still be okay? fuck you for not wishing me a happy birthday. fuck you for never being vulnerable. fuck you for letting me believe i was worth anything to you. fuck u for becoming this twisted villain. i wish i could go back and erase you. i wish you never dated me. i would never have to feel like this. i would never have to be this alone. fuck uou for not trying. i begged you to love me. i begged to be enough. i sobbed to you BEGGING for a change. i beg and beg and beg and you never verbalized anything. i made you love letters, playlists, poems. i planned our future. you played video games. i am pretty, fun, funny. i am kind. i am a good person, and you destroyed me. do you hear me telling you that? you wrecked me. you took my spark and ate it. you took my beauty and stomped on it. you never said or with your words but your actions. i was worthless to you. i wasn’t even worth making dinner or a date. i wasn’t worth dinner to you. I would’ve been your wife. I would’ve been your wife. I would’ve been your wife. do you hear that? i would’ve started a life with you. actually, i did! i derailed my life for someone who couldn’t even make me fucking dinner. do you feel like a man now? do feel like one of the boys now? fuck you. how can i be friends with a man that so blanatly doesn’t care about me? respect me? did you ever? and now you’re gonna go on and paint me the villain, but i think we both know how hard i loved you. remember when i asked you if you thought we were soulmates? you said you didn’t believe in soulmates. neither did i but my love for you was so intense i started too. your love for me was so dull you can just throw me away. i fell so madly in love with you for so long and you thought i was just fine. i was nothing to you. i was just to keep you company? better than being alone? the most sick and twisted part is i do wish you the best. i want you to live a good life and fall in love and feel so much love. i want you to be okay, just wish you could’ve missed me like i miss you. if only for a little while i wish you couldve loved me like i loved you. i want you to have a wife and kids and the life you deserve, i just wish it could’ve been me. i wish i could’ve been enough for you. you loved me like a first love, but you weren’t my first, just my best. this was puppy love for you, but this was soul crushing intense love for me. you’re never supposed to read this, so if you are i on a whim decided to send it. you can take it however you want. you can paint me however you see fit, but just so you know i loved (love) you. i still crave your skin, your mind, your hair. i think i might forever. you hurt me. you hurt me so deep. i feel used. maybe im angry, or depressed, or maybe i just feel disgusted by how much of myself i gave you. you told me we would continue to see each other after (if only to be friends, or maybe more) but you looked me in the eyes and promised we would still see each other, so we had sex. so i continued to be vulnerable with you. but you never intended to stay friends with me or continue hanging out. you just wanted one last fuck. we had sex better than we have in months. is it because you knew it would be the last time? when you dropped off my stuff you kept the car running. im not even worth it to stop a minute? im not worth a hug goodbye? im completely worthless to you. you never even listened to the playlist i made you. how could i expect you to love me? how could i expect you respect me? how could i expect anything at all? i don’t know how to be a person anymore. you never looked at the posts i sent you. you never wanted to go out. you never wanted me. you never wanted me. you never wanted me. i don’t understand how you can just be ok. im sick to my stomach. everytime something happens i just want to call you. i just want to hear ur voice. i just want to see your face. i know you never want to see me again and it’s so hard. the worst part is i don’t hate you at all. i love you so much. why didn’t you love me? how am i ever going to be okay again? how am i ever going to live with this constant pit in my stomach. how can you not want me back? how can you possibly be ok right now? why wasn’t i good enough for you? how are you still laughing and being funny and having a good time? why didn’t you wish me a happy birthday? why don’t you miss me ? why don’t you miss me? why don’t you miss me?

In my honest opinion, it's 2023, but that's not important right now, let's just start in the beginning.
^{Thirty years after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed it's doors, the events that took place there have become nothing more than a rumor and a childhood memory, but the owners of "Fazbear's Fright: The Horror Attraction" are determined to revive the legend and make the experience as authentic as possible for patrons, going to great lengths to find anything that might have survived decades of neglect and ruin.
At first there were only empty shells, a hand, a hook, an old paper-plate doll, but then a remarkable discovery was made...
The attraction now has one animatronic. - source from Fnaf 3 steam page.}
So the year is 2015 and Scott had released 3 fnaf games, 1 with a confirmed date, 1 with a theorised date that Scott never said was correct or incorrect, or gave us an idea of the date was wrong, and an unknown date.
1993 (theorised) - Fnaf 1
1987 (confirmed) - fnaf 2
Unknown - Fnaf 3
So let's go through these as if we were back in 2015, because that's is when the tools were given to us.
Let's start with 2017 and it's evidence (I looked for a good while and only found two of the same posts by u/CEO_of_Redd1t )

1. The fnaf 1 location didn't shut a second time..

A. kinda confused me, what do you mean a second time?

1. Why are the toys in Fazbear's Fright?..

B. well withered Foxy's hook arm is also in Fazbear's Fright, and paper pal, and the toys were scrapped, besides it's Fazbear's they'll just use the parts from the toys (I don't mean to try and debunk this, it kust kinda happened)
3.Puppets mask.
C. kinda the same reason as above, although technically Mari wasn't scrapped as she's technically not a toy, but given I'm looking at this as though fnaf 3 just came out, then the reason above applies

1. Fnaf 2 shuts down in 1987.

D. fnaf 1 also shuts down

1. Fnaf 2 had both toys and puppet.

E. same as above,

1. Phone guy mentions that a springlock suit was stolen and not returned.

F. Hello? Hello... uh... what on earth are you doing there, uh didn't you get the memo, uh, the place is closed down, uh, at least for a while. *Someone used one of the suits. We had a spare in the back, a yellow one, someone used it.. now none of them are acting right**
I'm sorry, but these were the only pieces of evidence that I could find, also in not doing 2015 because 1985 wasn't a date for fnaf then. Let me know if there are actual good pieces of evidence for 2017 because all I found was 2015 vs 2023, I couldn't even find 2023 evidence, I could if I spent hours scrolling through reddit but since I use the mobile version then reddit would just crash on me for scrolling too far.
Now let's go 2023 (if there's anymore evidence, please tell me)
Now the reason why I believe in 2023 is the 30 years thing. This is kinda gonna ignore the 2015 thing I stated earlier, anyways
1985 location - closed but reopened in 1987 at a different location
1987 location - closed but reopened in 1993 at the old location
1993 location - closed at the end of the year, tried to sell the location but it didn't work, was closed for a long period of time until sometime after Fazbear's Fright, and opened at a different location and under a different name, and different management since I believe that Henry wasn't involved with the previous two locations.
There's also the follow me minigame, where afton got springlocked in the 93 location, after dismantling the og animatronics, where it shows that the building has been abandoned for a long time, from how the tables look, to the paper on the floor, to the dripping water coming from the ceiling, there even seems to be what looks like broken tiles on the floor in certain parts.
Well, that's all I got, but I'm sure that you guys can give be better evidence, and better information all around, all you have to remember is what did Scott intend at the time?