…extracted myself from the scene, the bastard that he is. The Scene is a man, a guy of my type, knowing full well where my weaknesses lie.
The Scene, this vice, I can sum up to be my “ideal” version of a man: strong, accomplished, seductive, magnetic. My standards being high, his being higher; he can drive any woman to her knees. He is the typical of what people ask for in this kind of place, but not in terms of looks: he can take care of a woman, he can pick up both her and the bill. He looks smart and well-read yet does not exude arrogance. I like thinking I am accomplished myself, yet he has accomplished far more, keeping me on my toes that I need to keep on and keep up, even if I am aware and he knows this is not for long.
I relapsed, and it feels like getting high for the first time for a second time. It’s the same high, but the high in your teens is different from the high as you get older. The high from the scene used to come from how a guy looks. He’s taller than me, he’s chinito, he has arms that can put me in a headlock, he has ab muscles the stuff of dreams. Over time the appearances matter less; what are looks but a façade, and I’ve never grown to trust a person who looks a little too physically presentable to be true.
The high from the scene now comes from how a guy treats me; so many would offer to meet halfway. Yet there is a type of man–you know the one–the one you would consider risking it all for, even if you only have him for a night. That man. That man, who would not let you lift a finger even if you could. That man, who would not only meet you halfway, but give you more than you asked for. Other guys would say, “you just know exactly what you want” or call me demanding, yet the rarer ones take things as it is and leave me with no choice but to follow their lead. Oh, that man. That man who I would get on my hands and knees for, who could make me say those magic words:

Where you will lead, I will follow.

I relapsed and I lied to my past self. She used to be the coach, saying “this is not the place if you are easily attached.” I thought myself to be strong willed and hard headed before the relapse; I swallowed my pride in the after. He left me stripped of whatever hardness I kept; he was brave enough to be raw and emotional, yet I kept myself under lock and key, quietly observing. Here in the days after, none of us talk. None of us message.
But every time I lift my phone, I wish it were his messages coming through. I know what this lifestyle entails; everyone is too busy to find love, or whatever fragment of it we can find. Modern dating has gotten to be a little too complicated to bother playing around anymore; too many assholes walking around in plain sight.
I know I struck gold with the relapse, knowing that the person who drove me to the beginning of recovery was a guy who could barely support himself to stay alive. The sheer difference is between the ceiling and the floor, me standing in between.
I relapsed and he hit me hard. Literally. I had gotten exactly what I asked for and underestimated that the darkest corners of my mind wears battle bruises with pride. My entire body has yet to recover, yet it does not flinch at his strength. He put his hands on me just as you may imagine it, just the way I like it. It is scary and troublesome to play with fire; under a different context, that experience would have been abuse. But I know what I want, and I know him to hold back.
I relapsed and he held me hard. Where my mind never calms, he calls out to me with open arms: come to me, lay next to me, sleep with me. When I ask how long he wants to have me, he says until tomorrow. I would give that to you and probably a few days more, but I know when a line is a line and when fantasy will never cross reality. His mere presence asserts dominance, he has so much to do out in the world. My dominance is not as strong as his is; I have yet a long way to go.
This is why I dislike aftercare. He has me fantasizing about a nonexistent future because real life sets in and we were never meant to cross paths. Yet how alluring the future would be if we built one together: fulfilling, high-stress careers in public, and keeping a dark secret in private. Let me be your dark secret. Use me until you can’t get enough of me. Use me until you embed me in your thoughts, into your dreams, use me until you see no end in sight.
And we play with fire, and we dance and pursue. Let me follow your lead until dark turns into light. I promise to be good.
I relapsed and the drug came back with a vengeance. I’m detoxing and detaching, and I know it will be harder the next time around. I want you around. This could have been any other vice, but my body chooses The Scene.
I’m now scared with what’s next, because these glasses have been tinted red.

Im definitely more knowledgeable than your average Joe when it comes to computer literacy and tech knowledge. As for coding though, totally new. My goal is to get a base knowledge of coding in general so I could do very basic versions of most kinds of coding projects (rudimentary websites, apps, whatever) so that I can decide after that where I'd like to take it. My main goal as of now though (and please let me know if this is unrealistic) is a very basic text based RPG. Think something like Zork but much less expansive. I know that there are thing that are specifically meant for making something like that without having to go from the ground up, but I'd like to do it with one of the "core" languages so I can really get a feel for the more difficult aspects of coding. I know that it'd be very difficult and there would be other minor projects first, but I think that seems attainable as a small passion project before moving on to bigger, more involved things.
I also found several "roadmaps" that have milestones for each kind of coding with the options for beginners being front end, back end, and full stack. I know what these mean, I'm just not sure which would be most applicable to the kind of thing I'd like to do which is basically know enough to be able to do useful stuff but also fun projects. I'm not looking at a career in coding or anything (I'm afraid that ship has sailed lol).
Does anyone have any recommendations based on that info? I know generally people recommend starting with a free CS course, which I have started, but besides that that I could maybe crack open for a couple hours each day that might be more hands on.

If you're not aware, using multiple mods in NMS quickly gets troublesome, and many players don't want to learn how to use AMUMSS to merge mods. This leads to a lot of picking and choosing what you want, debugging conflicts, etc. As such, I've started working with prolific modders to build a One Ring for NMS - all QoL, non-cheaty tweaks, graphics improvements, and some other stuff in one PAK.
I'll be using Luas to build it all and maintain it at every update, so you wouldn't need to worry about maintenance, being out of date, merging, or the like. Currently, I have mods and permission from myself, Lo2k, Babscoole, and have contacted a couple of others. I have a dozen or so other windows open to look through and a few more mod authors to contact. (If you're an author and are interested in joining, let me know.)
The main package will be non-cheaty, but I'm considering making a cheaty version as well.
DP (rewards for authors on Nexusmods) will be divided between authors primarily based on unique downloads of the original mods.
What I need from the community is feedback on what you would like to see included or NOT included and recommendations for the mod name.
tldr: what non-cheaty and cheaty mods do you think should be in an all-in-one NMS package? What should it be called?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

If you're not aware, using multiple mods in NMS quickly gets troublesome, and many players don't want to learn how to use AMUMSS to merge mods. This leads to a lot of picking and choosing what you want, debugging conflicts, etc. As such, I've started working with prolific modders to build a One Ring for NMS - all QoL, non-cheaty tweaks, graphics improvements, and some other stuff in one PAK.
I'll be using Luas to build it all and maintain it at every update, so you wouldn't need to worry about maintenance, being out of date, merging, or the like. Currently, I have mods and permission from myself, Lo2k, Babscoole, and have contacted a couple of others. I have a dozen or so other windows open to look through and a few more mod authors to contact. (If you're an author and are interested in joining, let me know.)
The main package will be non-cheaty, but I'm considering making a cheaty version as well.
DP (rewards for authors on Nexusmods) will be divided between authors primarily based on unique downloads of the original mods.
What I need from the community is feedback on what you would like to see included or NOT included and recommendations for the mod name.
tldr: what non-cheaty and cheaty mods do you think should be in an all-in-one NMS package? What should it be called?
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

I have been trying to wrap my head around this for hours... I download a save from their database, I apply it to my hard drive. I make sure the save game matches both the User ID and Account ID of a legitimate save. I boot up the game. Save corrupt. I download a save from the internet. I manually put it in the correct directory on a USB drive. I put the USB drive in the PS4. I copy it to the hard drive and let Apollo resign it. Again, save corrupt. It's obviously doing something, but whatever that something is my PS4 obviously refuses to accept, even if visually they are signed identically.
Nothing fancy here. Just a 9.00 PS4 with GoldHEN and v1.4.2 of Apollo Save Tool downloaded from the homebrew store. What gives? I have studied both this and this video thoroughly and cannot decipher anything I am doing wrong. I have also followed what is essentially the text version of these videos here. Still, always shows as corrupt. I know I'm new to PS4 modding, but come on... this should be so simple!

Expedition Yeltomar
Frank, a human male in his middle ages, sits in the pilot seat of the small single occupant shuttle. It had been a rather challenging descent so he was taking this time to catch his breath and settle his nerves. The Zeno-biologist has been exploring planets for the past year, jumping from system too system, cataloging planets for the galactic federation. He has already cataloged 3 other life bearing planets in the last 17 systems but this one was by far the most challenging.
Star system 2B38A-22 is a fairly mundane system with a larger K-class orange dwarf star at its heart. It contains a single gas giant and a common ice giant in its outer system with the molten metallic core of another gas giant circling in a 15 day orbit of its parent star. Just farther out is the planet he is currently landed on, being a sizable heavy gravity terrestrial world of 2.8 galactic standard gravity and having an unusually dense atmosphere of 8.1 galactic standard.
Frank takes a deep breath and pulls himself out of the seat. The high gravity of this world was proving difficult to fight against after his time in deep space. 'I really need to get more exercise. I'm getting weak here.'; he says too himself. Being an Earth born human, this world is only 1.6 times the gravity of Earth, so should not be this hard to manage. Walking slowly over too the science station he starts taking readings on the atmosphere of the planet too see if he will need the bulky atmosphere isolation suit, or just the re-breather. 'Hmmm. 40% Oxygen, 30% Carbon dioxide, 22% Methane, trace amount of Nitrogen, Neon, Helium, other gasses too low to make out. That's a novelty. Gravity and atmospheric pressure high enough to hold onto Helium.'; he thinks, starting to get into his elements again.
'Dangerously low biodiversity, mostly grasses and a few types of larger shrub and tree analogs. The limited animal life seems to be almost entirely evolved to use some type of flight. Almost no ground based life. But seems to be a stable marine biodiversity. Signs of a recent mass extinction event, no more then 1000 stellar cycles ago. No signs of civilization detected. No ruins or any forms of technology detected. Anomaly? Hmmm. What type of anomaly? Electromagnetic/Radio-logical. Odd... Close by as well. I'll have to check that one out.'; he reads off in his head. The results read out by the sensors were a bit erratic, changing a bit randomly as he watched them. The thick atmosphere and the shifting magnetic field of the planet are having negative effects on the shuttles sensors, making them unreliable.
"The atmosphere should be breathable, even without the re-breather. That's a nice change. But that high methane level will probably stink. Not so sure about the density though. It's thick as soup out there. Might want the re-breather just in case. Temperature seems fine and there isn't anything dangerous in the atmosphere so won't need the suit at least. Thank goodness for that. Wasn't looking forward to trying to move around in that bulky thing in this gravity."; Frank was starting too think out loud again. Being out here in unexplored space was starting to get too him. "Did you get the info dump Bimni? Is the info matching up with your reading up there?"; Frank calls out, having pushed the comms button in the science lab.
BrightEyesAtSea is a female Adelie Astor-geologist who is unfortunately stuck in their "mother-ship" due too the Adelie being unable to handle high gravity planets. She was quite displeased to say the least. So many different interesting mineral combinations to study and she was stuck ship side. Bimni was a name the human, Frank, had said when trying to shorten her name and it just kind of stuck. Not that she minded, but why couldn't he just use her full name? "Reading different up here. Not seeing that anomaly reading either. Blasted electromagnetic interference."; she Warbles out. The translation software working well to convert her Adelie churrs into human guttural speech, and vise verse. "This one is your call. You've got the more accurate atmospheric readings. Not sure about the rest. Something is off on this world, the chemistry just does not add up."
That did not bode well. If Bimni was having bad feelings, then he needed to be careful. Her gut feelings had proven more accurate then any sensor. "Noted. I'll be careful when out and about. Just keep Rover warmed up and send him down if anything goes wrong."; Frank responds in turn. Rover was a military robotic mech that, despite many attempts at reprogramming, they were not able to tone down its brutishly aggressive responses to stimuli. So they never use it for anything but hazardous environments or when things go wrong. "Just be sure to grab as many mineral samples as you can fit onto the shuttle. It would be so much easier if I could just be down there.": Bimni responds with a huff. Frank can feel her telepathic annoyance even from this range, so she must be truly furious about being stuck ship side.
Finding no other reasons to postpone this, Frank grabs the re-breather and walks, still slowly, over too the airlock. "Alright Bimni. I'm heading out. I'll keep in touch with you using the shuttle as a relay. Hopefully the interference doesn't get too bad."; Frank says after after linking up the mobile comms earpiece to the shuttles antenna. It's not like he was going to go far from the shuttle anyways. Not in this gravity. Just far enough to reach that anomaly. Cycling the airlock, he steps inside. Deciding to wait on the re-breather for now, he clips it too his belt. He would see how bad the atmosphere was and decide from there. Pushing the cycle button, he waits for the airlock to balance atmospheres with the outside, getting a taste of the atmosphere in the process.
As the airlock finishes cycling and opens, Frank is hit with the thick humid atmosphere and the raw smell of methane. Huh. The smell was not as bad as he thought it would be. But the thick humid air was another matter. "It's like pea soup out here."; Frank comments. "I could almost swim in this stuff. But at least its not hard too breathe." Bimni quickly responds with; "Gee thanks. Now I want a bowl of pea soup, and you know we ran out 5 cycles ago." She didn't sound any happier after that comment. "Well sorry for making you hungry, with all the good food being on the mother ship and me only having excursion rations."; he jokes back at her hoping to at least lessen her bad mood. "The only solace I have for being stuck up here."; Bimni coos back, seeming to have lost at least some of her bad mood.
Frank takes his first steps out of the airlock onto this new world and... \*SPLAT\* feels something wet and soft hit his head and slide down his side. Lifting a hand up to wipe the side of his head, he is met with a slimy substance with bits of plant matter and something else. Tentatively, he takes a sniff; "Fraaack...."; Frank lets out with a sigh. Looking up he sees a 2 meter long gasbag creature with undulating manta ray like wings slowly swimming away high above him. "First steps out of the shuttle and I get crapped on by an alien."; he says with a bit of disgust. This is quickly answered with a trilling chuckle from Bimni though the comms. "Not a word."; he says too Bimni, who continues to chuckle even louder. Retracing his steps back up to the shuttles airlock, he reaches inside and grabs one of the rag towels and wipes off the droppings from his head and side. What a great start this is...
20 minutes later, Frank has already loaded several unique looking rocks into the shuttle for Bimni to examine later and has determined that there are in fact TWO types of grass in the surrounding area. Wow. And what is that? Another one of those elongated gasbag creatures high above. Both of the grasses are very similar too each other it seems, both being nearly black in color too absorb as much of the very dim light given off by the orange sun in the sky as possible. It is quite dim out despite it being close too mid day with the sky being completely clear. The thick atmosphere dispersing a lot of the light and giving everything a red orange tint with blues being quite faint. In the distance he can see a cluster of shrubs that look like thick orange coral with yellowish black balloon like gas bags growing out of the ends of each branch. And beyond that, in the general direction of the anomaly readings, there is an unusual rock formation overgrown with some type of plants.
"Still not much too see here Bimni, other then a few odd rocks here and there. I grabbed several samples for you already before you ask. The lack of diversity here is quite disconcerting."; Frank comments to Bimni through the comms. In response he only hears the faint crunching of whatever she had found to munch on while he did all the hard work down here. "Still making my way towards the anomaly. Hopefully there will be something interesting there. At least the bushes ahead are something different. Seem to be a thick stemmed Ficus analog with inflated leaf structures that look like balloons. Some type of adaptation to the high gravity I'm sure."; he continues the running dialog he's been trying to keep up since the gasbag poo incident. Though it has been hard too due with how little there has been to discuss.
Closing in on the bushes, they are in fact, just as he though. Similar to a ficus with thick stems, and the leaves are gas filled balloon like structures that hold up the stems. Really not much to look at other then being completely alien with a fascinating symbiosis with a few benign bacteria that seem to produce the gas that fills its leaves. A sudden sound diverts his attention. Frank looks up just in time to track an unusual 1 foot long bird like creature taking off from the ground in a hurry. The creature has 2 pairs of feathered wings attached too a bird like body, a long swan like neck with a bird like beaked head that hangs down below it's body, no legs, and 2 highly aerodynamic gasbags on it's back. This bird is already moving fast and accelerating even faster as it moves at a right angle too him. "That's a new one. A bird like life form. Has both 2 sets of feathered wings and a pair of gasbags for lift. It's fast too!"; he excitedly says too Bimni.
His excitement is short lived though, as a loud POP is heard and a 3 clawed tentacle is suddenly attached through the birds gasbag, holding onto the bird. This tentacle is in turn part of a large wing shaped creature with an open mouth, filled with sharp teeth, attached too the bottom of its wing shaped body. The bird is quickly dragged backwards towards the open mouth and swallowed hole. The whole time this flying wing creature is rippling with different colors like an earth cuddle fish. Before Frank can even exclaim about it, there is a soft booming sound as trails of faint smoke start to come out of a cylindrical shaped bulge on each side of the wing shaped creature before it shoots forwards at high speed, climbing up upwards again before it's body ripples with color one last time then seems to fade into the sky as its body color quickly matches the color of the sky.
"By all that's holy! Your not going to believe this one..."; Frank says in a hushed tone. His excitement replaced with caution and a bit of fear. "There's a flying predator here that can camouflage to match the sky. Damn thing appeared in the sky out of no where and then was gone from sight just as quickly. Wolfed down that bird like you do with those sardines you like so much."
"Are you safe?"; Bimni responds with honest concern in her squawking voice.
"I think so. Don't see that thing anywhere. But you better make sure Rover is ready too launch on a moments notice in case that thing comes back. The damn thing seemed to be jet powered as well."; Frank responds, still a bit shaken up. He was not expecting anything like that, he wasn't going to lie. Looking around him, there was no shelter nearby other then the rock formation ahead.
"Can you take shelter for a bit somewhere? Just in case it's still around?"; Bimni asks, sounding quite concerned as she preps Rover for immediate launch.
"There's no where too take shelter. Closest is that rock formation. Hopefully there is some place to shelter near there."; Frank responds, not feeling very confident. But it's that or make a break for the shuttle, a good 15 minutes away though the open grasses.
"Do it. And by the gods, keep your human senses open!"; Bimni blurts out.
Frank didn't even bother with a response. He went into a full jog, the fastest he could move in the high gravity of this world. Even with his crazy human endurance, he was all too quickly winded and forced too slow down as he neared the rock formation. Finding an overhang with a shallow but human sized indent under it he ducks into it. It might not be much, but at least he only need to worry about what's in front of him now. "I'm there... Found a... overhang. In shelter."; he panted out. "No sign... of danger." He hasn't felt this winded since he used to run marathons back on Earth.
Having taken a moment to catch his breath again, Frank places his hands on the sides of the indent he's tucked into and only now realizes something is off. Pulling his eyes away from looking for danger, he glances at the surfaces around him. Too smooth. He runs his hands along it again and can feel the seams of... construction? "Uh Bimni? This rock formation is not natural. It was constructed."; he says in a slow quiet voice.
"What? Someone carved it?"; she asked. Frank ran his hands along the underside of the overhang while watching for danger, feeling the framework and paneling that was used too construct it. Metal. "No. It's a structure of some type. It's made of metal."; he responds. No ruins or technology my arse! "Wish you were down here even more now, your better with this stuff."
"I'm sending down Rover. I'll put it on manual and pilot it remotely myself."; Bimni states with a sharp chirp, leaving no room for argument. "Yeah, that's a good idea."; Frank responds softly. "I'll wait until Rover touches down before I start exploring. Don't need that big flying wing to catch me off guard."; he replies back.
Frank remains under the ledge while he waits for Rover to drop in, but luckily it's only a matter of a few minutes and the mech descends too the ground, curled into a ball, and under parachute. The mech is ready to go, being able to survive entry without the shuttle thanks to it's built in heat shield. Rover unrolls and stands up, being half the height of Frank, walking on 4 legs, with a manipulate arm on its back. With Rover there to help guard, Frank is able to leave his impromptu shelter. "Nice aim there Bimni. Landed Rover within meters."; he says to Bimni, a bit impressed. "Are you detecting anything new with Rovers sensors?"; Frank asks.
"Only getting the same reading, anomaly."; Bimni's voice comes from the speaker built into Rovers frame. "Now where did you find the metal?"; she asks as Frank gestures Rover over too the underside of the overhang and the indent he was tucked into before. "Back here, and above us. These surfaces are unnatural and the underside of this overhang is metal."; Frank points out.
Bimni pilots Rover under the overhang and uses the manipulator arm, with its light, to examine the surfaces more closely. "hmmm. Fascinating. These surfaces are of an alloy I've never seen before."; she says with a chirp of interest. As she is maneuvering to look at different parts of the surface, she accidentally bumps Rover into a panel on the side of the indent. There is a groaning noise from the back wall before the wall just as suddenly slides sideways revealing an opening. A soft glow is comming from inside along with the sounds of running machinery.
Giving each other a quick glance, both Frank, and Bimni piloting Rover, step in through the open doorway too figure out what is inside. There is a short corridor that leads too a room filled with softly glowing lights and what can only be a computer control room of some sort. Everything is marked with an alien language that is completely undecipherable. "Now this is interesting. And it's still running. Can you make anything of this?"; Frank says too Bimni before going to oe of the control panels and trying to figure out what it says. He doesn't notice Bimni's lack of response as he touches one of the displays.
There is a quick flash of the dim lighting in the room before all the sounds in the room go quite and the light turn off. "Did I touch the wrong thing?"; Frank asks. "Bimni, any idea? Bimni?"; he asks before turning around too see Rover standing un-moving in the corridor. "Hello. Bimni, you there?" There is no response but suddenly there is a burst of of some form of energy that even Frank can feel and an alarm starts blaring. Think now is the time to leave, Frank turns to Rover and grabs the handle on its back, pushing on it to try and get Rover's tactile override to move it. He's a bit grateful when it starts to back up through the corridor as its supposed to.
Once back outside, in the open air, there is a beep, as Bimni is able to reconnect too Rover. "What happened? I suddenly lost signal with Rover and lost your signal as well frank."; Bimni keels out, sounding quite worried.
"Not sure. Rover just stopped moving in the corridor while I was inside the room on the other side. Maybe some kind of shielding or interference?"; Frank responds while the alarm can still be clearly heard in the background.
"What did you do?"; Bimni demands now that the alarm sound can be heard clearly by her as well. "Nothing. I was just trying to see what the panels were and touched one, then the whole thing shut down and the alarm started going off. A growl is heard through Rovers speakers; "You humans have no common sense! You touch everything without even thinking..."; Bimni grumbles out. Frank can only shrug his shoulders sheepishly, can't really fight ones nature.
Any further comments from either of them is cut short as a pair of dragon like creatures land heavily beside them and let out a roar. These creatures are close too 4 feet tall at the shoulders, standing on four thin legs with 4 toed clawed feet. They both are black in color with thin, spindly looking bodies that are covered in very short, dense fur. They have a pair of wings on their back that are larger then their bodies and shaped like the wings of an albatross, and a single row of wide scales running along their backs from the top of their head too half way down their tail. The larger of the two stands up on it's hind legs and starts making shooing motions with its front legs and wings as it takes steps towards them. It is making strange animal vocalizations while it is doing this, sounding like many different animals, most unknown, but some sounding strangely familiar.
Bimni readies to defend Frank using Rover, but a quick gesture by Frank delays her. "Lets back away slowly and see how they respond first."; Frank says as he starts to back away from the structure. Begrudgingly, Bimni follows suit, backing Rover away from the building as well. Their actions are rewarded by the larger creature moving to stand in front of the open passage and crossing its front legs, like it is standing guard. The smaller of the two slips behind the larger one and hurries into the structure, still moving on all four legs. As it slips past, and into the structure, a series of marking can be seen over its back legs and tail. They are green in color and resemble lightning or electricity.
A loud series of animal noises is heard coming out from inside the structure. The larger creature blocking the passageway leans down, without taking its eyes off Rover and Frank and barks a series of noises back into the structure in turn. As it does this, marking can be seen on the sides and back of this creature as well, this time a red flame like pattern can be seen. A quick series of flashes is seen from the corridor and the sound of the alarm is silenced followed by the sounds of machinery starting up again. The smaller creature exits the structure shortly after, using its tail to hit the panel too close the doorway as it exits. Both creatures are now standing there staring at Frank and Rover, not looking too happy.
The smaller of the two creatures standing in front of Frank and Bimni turns too the larger one and lets out a series of barks, pops, clicks, and whistles which the larger one turns its head slightly towards it and gives off a purr sound. The smaller one stands up on it's hind legs and stretches up to rub it's nose on the chin of the larger one before dropping down too all 4 legs again and slipping behind the other. It quickly moves away from everyone and launches its self into the air with some visible effort, flying away on it's long thin wings.
"So what do you think Bimni? They don't seem like animals too me. Their actions seem a bit too civilized."; Frank says too Bimni, with a strange echo. "You think they are the ones who built this structure?"; Bimni responds with no echo from Rovers speaker. "I'm not sure. They might also be another species that found the structures already here."; Frank says with that odd echo again, while turning towards Rover. "I'm not sure."; is repeated in Franks voice. Frank freezes, looking around. Bimni also hears that, and has Rover turn completely around too scan the area. The creature in front of the structure has uncrossed it's front legs and is now standing less defensively with its head cocked too the side.
"I'm not sure."; is said again in Franks voice. This time it is definitely coming from the creature in front of the structure, as it tips its head too the other side. "Did it just copy your voice?"; Bimni asks, having turned Rover to face the creature again. "I think it did."; Frank responds, with no echo. Raising one of his hands up he points at himself and says; "Frank", then points at Rover and says; "Rover". Finally giving an open handed gesture towards the creature, he waits for a response. The creature seems to think about it for a bit and is about to give a response but suddenly turns it's head too the side as three more of the creatures fly in and land nearby.
One of the three that lands is the smaller one with green markings from earlier. Another is only slightly larger with blue markings that look like lightning, while the third is much larger. The largest of the three is even larger then the one standing in front of the structure. It has bright yellow flame markings on it's sides and tail and is carrying some sort of device. All three of them stand up on their hind legs shortly after landing and start talking to each other and the one that was there already quite heatedly. An unusual combination of different animal noises, mixed with pops, whistles, and barks and exchanged before the one at the structure stops and points at Frank and says; "Frank", then at Rover and says; "Rover" in a perfect imitation of Franks voice.
"Well, that settles it. If there was any doubt about intelligence..."; Bimni says after the obvious display. As soon as Bimni speaks, the largest of the beings taps a few times on the device it has and a projection appears above the device like a video screen. On this projected screen is the world they are standing on, seen from high orbit. The projection begins playing a video of sorts that shows a world lush with life. None of which has been seen anywhere. The video changes view, showing different versions of the 4 beings on different parts of the world, with cities and lots of advanced technology around them. Then the view changes again too high orbit where a powerful solar flare is shown flashing over the planet with several chunks of metalic asteroids being swept along with it.
The view changes again so the beings running in terror and crowding into bunkers and sturdy structures as asteroids rain down in fireballs, exploding high in the thick atmosphere. The sky turns flames as the atmosphere is ignited by the asteroids. The view changes again to a few survivors making their way out of bunkers to find a world flattened and burned empty. The view changes to high orbit again, but the view is getting closer too the planet as if what is giving the view is falling towards the planet. The lush planet appears burned barren and brown as the view goes static as the view source starts to burn up as well. Finally the view shifts too the few survivors giving up everything they have to build structures like the one in front of them as plants start to grow around the structures in slowly increasing circles. The 4 beings all turn too look at Rover and Frank while the one in front of the structure points at it then sweeps it's hands around at the general area.
Several days go by with the beings on the planet, soon known to call themselves Yeltarians, surprisingly quickly learning how to use the human language. Their own language involving implied meaning, and the sounds produced expressing that meaning instead of words. With the language barrier broken, the Yeltarians were able to fully explain what happened too their world. A massive solar flare had shattered the dieing inner planet of their system, flinging chunks of the planet outwards with the flare its self. Between the flare and the following planetary chunks, they had set the atmosphere ablaze, catastrophically altering the atmospheric composition. Most non aquatic life was decimated in the initial inferno while much more of the remaining life on the planet slowly dieing off from the atmospheric changes.
When the Yeltarian survivors finally left their bunkers, they found a world leveled by fire and chocked off by a nearly un-breathable atmosphere. Using all their advanced knowledge, the survivors hatched a plan to save both themselves and their world. A massive terraforming project over their entire planet. They built hundreds of terraforming machines around the world using every available scrap and surviving piece of technology they could find. Then to give their planet a chance to heal, they turned to their own culture and shifted it from a materialistic high tech one, to a minimalist druidic society. All this, just to save as much as they could of what life remained.
But the remaining biodiversity of their world is too low, and they continue to loose species to disease and failed genetic alterations. Their world will not last much longer with how few living things remain. Even their terraforming equipment is starting to fail. So this leaves them with only one hope, to find suitable life outside of their own world to balance the failing ecosystems. But, they had torn apart their only remaining spacecraft to build the equipment that sustains their world. And they have no way to rebuild them with all their technology regressed to the state it is in now.
They were also willing to explain their race as well. What had once been several different Yeltarian races, had all become one race after the cataclysm. They are of two different sexs, male and female, with the females being larger and stronger in general. While the males tend to be smaller and much lighter, but also faster and more maneuverable in flight. They also explained the meaning of the markings on their bodies. The color doesn't mean as much, but the pattern shows which of the two divergent genetic traits are active in their bodies. All Yeltarians have the genetics to use an organic fire through the production of alcohol in their bodies, and bio-electrics generated by specialized cells in their bodies. But only one of the two genetic traits ever manifests due to a special gene that randomly activates one trait genetic while blocking the other trait genetics when they reach maturity.
"So, would you be willing to help us out? Take one of us with you to help search for compatible life in the depths of space? Too save our dieing world?"; The leader of the local Yeltarians asks Frank and Bimni. "This is our only chance since we are unwilling to give up our dieing world. Our, Yeltomar."

Quick Summary & Link: The IRC code's format for expressing the Minimum R-Values (via Table R402.1.3) in the format such as 20&5ci, or 13+10ci promotes a bias (unintentional) towards satisfying the requirement for continuous insulation by using continuous Exterior insulation. I contend that there are much simpler, easier, and less technically challenging ways to build a wall assembly that satisfies this insulation requirement without Exterior continuous insulation.
White Paper 20+6fci wall 14Nov2.pdf https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hf23xgkwmdjrzb89qynh0/White-Paper-20-6fci-wall-14Nov2.pdf?rlkey=q6zr9y6r13nuprkehdjtepji6&dl=0
Detailed Summary:
In NJ we have adopted the 2021 version of the IBC and IRC at the beginning of 2023, and along with the new code came requirements for higher insulation values. Previously under the 2018 version code could be satisfied by a 2x6 wall with R20, or a 2x4 wall with R13 and R5 continuous insulation. Now under the 2021 version the whole State must provide R20 + R5 continuous, or R13 + R10 continuous, or a single cavity wall of R30. I've found that during the past year that every builder I discussed this with was unaware of the change - and some I caught in mid-bid where they had gravely mis-estimated the work they would need to supply. Furthermore over half the architects I spoke to about this were also unaware of the change.
I became very concerned because the overwhelming implication is that the continuous insulation layer must be at the exterior, and I was witnessing an entire State of builders being thrown into detailing flashing and water tightness with an exterior layer of insulation which they had zero experience with. There are alternates to this, and in fact the 2021 code introduced a table of minimum U-Factor values which bypasses the familiar table of insulation values. Another run-around is the Res-Check software package where the option to measure the total performance can prove compliance with alternate assemblies. However builders certainly, and admittedly most architects are not in the routine of calculating U-Values of their wall assemblies, and in fact Res-Check is quite limited in the format of data entry for insulation - its cavity or continuous only.
Some may argue that the code does not require the continuous layer to be exterior, but that does not hold up. The rush of material manufacturers to bring to market products that are specifically aimed at R5 continuous exterior insulation is palpable. Sheathings with insulation laminated, rigid insulation with air water barrier pre-laminated, dense and rigid batts are all being touted as the solution. These companies have invested millions in developing and promoting products to answer what is obviously a call to exterior insulation in the building code.
So I along with a couple of colleagues from New England who have already been working under the R20+5continuous requirement for many years have written a White Paper to document compliance of a greatly simplified compliant wall assembly consisting of R20+R6 furred continuous insulation located at the interior. This requires much less work than continuous exterior insulation, and more importantly requires no new skills or techniques for successfully flashing and making the exterior side weather tight. And the performance is marginally better than R5 continuous.
It is our intention to share this widely, so that architects and builders are not caught unprepared for the new code requirements when and if they come to your location the way they have just landed on New Jersey. The white paper can be downloaded from this link:
White Paper 20+6fci wall 14Nov2.pdf https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hf23xgkwmdjrzb89qynh0/White-Paper-20-6fci-wall-14Nov2.pdf?rlkey=q6zr9y6r13nuprkehdjtepji6&dl=0

Does anyone currently own an Arex Zero Tactical Compact? I looked under all 3 Arex related manufacturer listings on the MSP handgun roster and this particular model is the only version of the Zero 1 absent by exact name. The Zero 1 CP (the compact non tactical version) and the Zero 1 T (the full sized tactical version) of the pistol are listed.

So I uploaded my save on the PS4 to the cloud in cross-save management, and tried downloading that save onto the PS5. However, I keep getting a response which states that there had been no save file backed up in the first place. I have downloaded all DLC for the remastered version as well, which I saw could've been a problem.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, cause my save file had like 200+ hours on it, and I don't wanna grind my way back again.

I am a big PC beginner so maybe I am doing this wrong but my SSD card is nearly full and my other drive (1TB) is only half. That latter is where I store all my games (I've heard, however, to have your games downloaded on your SSD for better performance?). I seriously don't think I used my SSD for anything huge because it's so small. Is there a way to safely transfer files from the SSD to my other hardrive? Or a way to see what is causing it to be so full? I couldn't update my most recent Nvidia driver update because it said I needed more space. Thank you!
​

The HRRFY.
It’s the horror movie festival where something genuinely fucked happens every year. And I mean every year.
Like, there are some screenings that unleash hordes of bats while the movie is playing. You're free to leave whenever you want, but the movie will still play for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Other screenings hire actors to turn at you and scream at some point in the movie. You have no idea when, or how many times.
It's a festival where the word "illegal" can't even begin to describe what occurs. You'd only attend if you were a young, stupid edgelord like me who was trying to prove he was hardcore to his friends.
Trust me. DO NOT GO.
You have nothing to prove to anyone. Don't be stupid.
Wait for the lamer film versions to come out streaming. That's what everyone else does. They're neutered edits but they're fine.
All they lack is the real gleaming thing everyone wants to see at HRRFY, but who cares. At least you don’t get traumatized. At least you’re not risking your life.
Anyway, if you really want to know what attending HRRFY is like. I’ll be quick and summarize the one screening I went to. It was the 20th anniversary, and I was lucky enough to get in.
***
I had signed up for the HRRFY mailing list, and joined the subreddit. Through a series of cryptic online emails I solved a sequence of riddles and was entered in the lottery for a HRRFY entry.
Lady Luck took a shine to me, because one day in my mailbox, I received a physical ticket. I had done it.
I was going.
The actual ‘ticket’ was a black USB key that announced the location of the festival the night before (which I won’t disclose here) and it did force me to pay for a very expensive flight in order for me to make it on time.
You see, to prevent getting shut down, the location of HRRFY changes every year. Some years the local police have managed to stop it, but for the most part, authorities have given up. What’s the point of arresting or charging anyone, if all the organizers and attendees actually want to be there?
Upon arrival, I had to pick between three participating theaters.
Based on title alone, I decided to go see “Many Drownings” (directed by Oleksander Gołański.) It was in the theater that was furthest away from the downtown core, which meant it was likely the one where the craziest shit was bound to happen.
That’s what I came here for right?
I lined up a solid two hours before the screening like everyone else. The entire line was jittering, just vibrating with excited twenty-somethings. Rumors flew left and right.
“I heard they’re going to force everyone to take acid.”
“I heard an actor’s gonna run in and shotgun the ceiling.”
“I heard they’re going to disappear like four more people this year. At this screening!”
Each year people disappeared. And each year the same people were ‘found.’ And yes this is the worst part, and why should never, ever, ever go to this event.
Again I will repeat myself. DO NOT GO.
No one has ever truly gone 'missing' at HRRFY in any legal or physical sense, because every missing person always shows up a day later, convinced that they are fine—refusing to elaborate further.
There are some small support groups for people who have family members who had gone to HRRFY, and came back irrevocably changed after being ‘found.’
These few unlucky people lose all semblance of personality. They don’t want interviews, or help, or therapy, or contact of any kind. And they never, ever want to talk about what they saw.
Some HRRFY fans think that these ‘found’ people were body-snatched. Cloned in a lab or replaced by a cyborg, or something stupid like that.
But I think there’s a far simpler explanation. The ‘found’ are still the same people. They're just terrified. They got shaken by something that shattered the foundation of their mind, body and soul. They got too scared.
They got HRRFY’d.
***
I should mention I had a cough the day I went. And I was worried my sickly appearance might give me trouble at the airport.
So I invested in an intense double N95 mask which I wore for the whole flight, and continued to wear even at the screening of “Many Drownings.”
It made my face hot and uncomfortable, but it still didn’t stop me from yelling “excuse me, excuse me!” as I ran to snag a seat in the back of the theater.
I always preferred sitting in the far back. You get a good view of the whole screen, and a good view of the whole audience.
Beside me sat a big dude named Sylvester, who apparently flew all the way from Australia to attend HRRFY.
“Worth the full Seventeen hours mate! It’s gonna be epic!” he dropped a massive camping backpack beside me, which I assume contained all of his luggage.
The lights dimmed, and the production company logos started to play.
The whispering, giggling and suspense all stacked upon each other to create an electric feeling in the air. I was giddy. It's like the entire audience was embarking on a massive roller coaster.
The anticipation was the best part for sure. It might have been the only good part.
Then the movie started.
It was a wide shot of a gray, stormy sea. The waves were massive, and the thunderclouds were looming. There was no land visible in any direction.
All we could hear was the sound of waves foaming, swirling, and crashing over and over. Lightning crackled. Rain poured. The camera held perfectly still over this storm as if it was mounted on a perfectly hovering drone. A drone so resilient that it didn’t waver at all.
I thought it had to be CGI.
The shot held like this for the next few moments. Everyone sat glued to their seats. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
What’s going to happen? How are they going to scare us?
People chuckled. People cheered. People wanted to tease whatever was going to happen—to happen already.
But nothing did.
Five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes went by without any change. People started snoring.
I looked beside me and saw that Sylvester—the most excited audience member of them all—had fallen totally asleep. The jet lag must’ve gotten to him.
Then I peered beyond the rest of the audience members and saw other people snoozing too. Heads were keeled over, some people were curled in their seats, some had even spilled out into the aisle and were dozing on the floor.
I looked above the bright screen, at the huge vents in the corner of the theater. I saw a faint white gas emerging from the vents.
Holy shit. What have we been breathing? I tightened the straps on my N95 mask, and made my breathing shallower.
The gas must have been pumping since the opening credits—because how else would an audience of two hundred people all fall asleep?
As I moved my hand through the air in front of me, I could sense the thickness. It was definitely hazier than usual. I took the scarf off my neck and wrapped it around my mouth as well.
Then I spotted movement in front of the screen.
It was a tall blonde man, wearing a black trenchcoat and military-grade gas mask. Beside him arrived six hazmat suits who started pointing at various audience members.
I slunk in my chair, pretending to sleep like everyone else.
Two hazmats walked over to the front row and picked out a sleeping guy in flannel. They lifted flannel up, under the armpits and by his ankles, carrying him between them both like a hammock.
The hazmats walked back up to the stage, where the blonde leader inspected the flannel man and tapped his head. Something was approved?
The hazmats began to swing flannel back and forth, as if they were getting ready to toss him. Despite their masks, I could hear a very muffled, very distant countdown.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
The flannel audience member was tossed into the screen.
I literally watched him fly into the image of stormy waves … andfallinto them. The flannel man sank into the gray water like a rock, leaving a few bubbles and foam. A wave came crashing down. All trace of him was gone.
What the fuck.
All six hazmats began grabbing more audience members with much more urgency. It became a minute-long process where they would pick the sleeping person up, bring them beside the screen, and then swing-toss them into it.
How was this possible?
I turned slightly to see if there was a projector above me, and realized there was none. Which meant maybe there was no screen on stage.
Which meant … maybe it was a portal?
I tried to wake Sylvester by shaking him. I pinched his leg and arm a bunch.
He was out cold.
The hazmats started grabbing audience members from the middle rows now. They were emptying the whole theater. What the hell was I supposed to do?
I waited until they grabbed another batch, only a few rows down from me. When all hazmats had their backs turned—I broke into a run.
With my left arm, I tightly gripped my mask and scarf against my face, while my right arm vaulted me over seat after seat.
I had never breathed so hard—through so much fabric—in my life.
The hazmats all turned to me. “Hey! Hey!” But their hands were full with their next victims.
I ran all the way down the aisle, to the big exit sign on the left. My heartbeat filled my head. My plan was to dropkick through the exit door.
I imagined myself breaking through like some flying gazelle.
I jumped.
I angled my kick.
It might as well have been a brick wall. I fell ass-first to the ground, followed by my head. Of course the door was locked.
Through a muffled mask I heard a sneering scoff.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Above me stood the one wearing a trenchcoat. I could see his piercing gray eyes through his gas mask.
I rolled aside and tried to run by him. He lifted a foot and tripped me without effort.
My forehead bashed into an empty seat. It dazed me.
The blonde leader bent down and grabbed me by the neck, tearing away my scarf and mask.
“No! No!”
A sweet, ether-like smell filled my nostrils. I did my best to hold my breath, but I could already feel myself getting light-headed.
The other hazmats joined in, grabbing me from all sides. Even if I had the strength to struggle, there was no escape now.
Above me, all I could see was the dark theater ceiling, and some of the light behind me from the cinema screen.
“Three…”
“Two…”
“No. Please. Don’t do thi—”
SPLASH.
I was plunged deep into cold, wet chaos. My head was completely underwater.
Gagging. Bubbles. Spinning.
I fought for dear life, dog-paddling like a maniac.
Churning. Freezing. Panic.
For a second, my head popped above the water. I inhaled all the air my lungs could muster. I stared across a vast, violent ocean.
An enormous thirty foot wave came in my direction.
My whole body lifted higher and higher as the wave approached. I did my best to tread water. It seemed to be working.
Then a series of smaller waves arrived and smacked my chest.
SPLASH.
Spinning. Kicking. Flipping.
My view alternated between the pitch dark ocean beneath me, and the moonlit night sky above.
Again I swam to the surface, popped my head out. Ravenously sucked in air.
There was a small lull in the water.
Around me I now registered the other theater goers. Most of them were lying face-down or sinking … but a few were flapping about like me, fighting for their life.
And above all of us, a floating white shape.
It was painfully bright, I had to lift one hand to look at it.
My jaw dropped.
It was the movie screen, hanging completely still in the air. It showed a dark, empty theater. The exact same theater we all occupied moments ago.
It was tremendously high, above all of our heads. There was no way of reaching it.
Then I saw another thirty foot wave come our way. It grazed the bottom of the screen.
I knew what had to be done.
***
One of the theater goers happened to be on a college swim team. She was the first one able to traverse one of the giant waves and climb into the screen.
Once she was up there, she found a firehose in the theater and reeled it out to us like a rope.
One by one, we swam as hard as we could, praying to God we could reach the rope. Everyone’s energy was sapped. Your body can only sustain itself on adrenaline and fear for so long.
By some miracle, five of us got out.
I was the last.
I climbed the rope coughing and vomiting. I had swallowed so much water that my stomach felt swollen.
When I reached the top and they pulled me into the screen, I sobbed. I couldn’t stop crying.
My life had flashed countless times before my eyes. In bubbling, suffocating visions, I saw both my parents and my brother. I saw my highschool graduation. I saw my favorite Christmas from when I was six years old.
I had almost lost all of that. I had lost almost everything.
On the dirty, carpeted theater floor, I lay with my face down, savoring the fact that I now lay on a hard surface. God bless ground. God bless this filthy, popcorn-strewn ground.
Beside me I heard bantering, hugging, the wringing of wet clothes. Sylvester was the second last to be saved, and he was particularly vocal.
“Wooooooaaaaahh!” He came and drummed me on the back, lifted me up. “Oh my god dude! Holy shit!”
I sat on my knees, wiping the tears and snot off my mouth.
Sylvester clapped his hands, held his face and screamed some more.
“Holy shit dude! That was so fucking scary! Like literally people were dying beside us. Like I SAW people die!”
I nodded, shivering in my drenched clothes. “ I know it was—”
“—That was craaaaazy!”
He laughed and stood up, patting everyone on the back. He kept clapping his hands like this was some sports event.
“That was sick! That was siiiiiiiiick!”
He ruffled someone’s hair then ran up to me with an open palm.
“High five dude! WE MADE IT! High five!
“Don’t leave me hangin’ dude!”

I’ve mostly seen people dunking on Ithan and Tharion. Tharion I completely get, the guy is a mess, he’s a full grown adult who said his favorite food is cheese puffs and acts like a bad version of captain Jack Sparrow. Honestly I hope Sathia gets with Colin, I would love that story. SJM also said Tharion had a pouch for his genitals that opens like a clam, lol whatever that means??
But if I have to pick I’m choosing Ithan. He’s a young kid, almost went pro with sunball which we were reminded a thousand times, and he has potential. He’s a sweet guy, he loved Bryce and honestly he was better than his brother. When we found out more about Connor from his perspective I was like wow, wasn’t expecting that. He went in and rescued Sigrid who is such a wild spirit. Yes it went sideways but his intentions are good. Then he gets appointed as heir. I really do want more of his story, he had weak character development but it was there and I think there is more to come. I would rather read about him than Tharion.

A bit of a long post today summarizing Stannis's character journey through the books. Don't read if you don't mind a little Stannis dickriding. Sorry not sorry.
When I first read AGOT, I thought Stannis was pretty cool. Ned mentioned that he was a hard mfr, so I respected that, even if he didn't make an appearance. It also added to the mystique that this guy who hadn't showed up yet was massing an army just a couple dozen miles from King's Landing with a sorceress. Overall great side character in the first book.
Next book, he's at his worst (which is still pretty good, anyway). Pre-Renly assassination, Stannis was kind of a jerk. One line that stuck out to me was the "not allowing laughing at his feast" part. He wasn't mysterious anymore, he was just a guy with a small army and a huge navy groveling about what is rightfully his but wasn't granted to him. Stannis mostly stops his groveling after Renly's death, though, and gets his act together. The Blackwater was probably my favorite sequence in the books. The idea of guys charging across a burning bridge of ships redeemed whatever qualms I had about him before. He had an army willing to charge across a burning bridge of ships. Compare that to the dicking around that Renly did for most of the second book, hosting tournaments and feasts at every minor holdfast he came across.
Stannis's character development up to this point is minimal. He's stayed mostly the same, although with less complaining, since he has a larger army. After the Blackwater is really what this post is about, because that's when he changes the most.
He realizes now that with his army basically reverted back to what it was pre-Renly, and with much less of a navy, that he can't hope to win any land campaign against any of his opponents in the South. He can't gather Tyrell swords, and he has no gold to buy a lot of mercenaries. So he sits on Dragonstone and becomes reclusive and despairing.
Then Davos comes back, and so begins the best bromance in Westeros (i'm willing to debate this with my life). Unlike the BS other version, he smiles and is very happy that Davos came back. He appoints a commoner as Hand of the King, knowing he's the only one to give him honest advice. Never done before (to my knowledge). "Then we will make new lords" is such an awesome line. Davos is one of the purest people in Westeros, and 100% deserves it. I realized that if Davos was supporting Stannis wholeheartedly, and Davos was basically an angel by Westerosi standards, Stannis couldn't have been that bad of an option for King.
I think what turned a cool but sometimes annoying character into a legend was his saving of the Wall, at Davos's insistence. He listens to his hand, leaves tiny garrisons in Storm's End and Dragonstone which he's probably confident will be starved out or taken within the year, and heads north. He bets all this on the word of his Hand and a single letter. All the other Kings and various claimants, who had more men than he did, didn't spare anybody. Stannis brings his entire army.
Few of the birds that Aemon) had sent off had returned as yet. One reached Stannis, though. One found Dragonstone, and a king who still cared.
So Stannis lands and disembarks, taking the wildlings by surprise. I think "Stannis! Stannis! STANNIS!" was what turned most Stannermen into what we are today. He defeats 40,000 warriors in an even larger column with 2,000 mounted knights and men-at-arms. He saves the Night's Watch when no other King would, preventing a full-on wildling invasion. I know some people say they wouldn't be as bad as some others say, but nobody can control a horde of 100,000 undisciplined people who just got past a massive wall. There would've been a fair bit of looting and killing.
Then, he listens to Jon Snow, offers to legitimize him and accepts his rejection. He thinks he should attack the Dreadfort, and even though he's famed for being stubborn, he sees reason, and decides on a march on Winterfell. He completely breaks with his character when he also listens to more advice that says he needs to court the mountain clans. He gains three thousand men from this venture. Overall, doing great.
Even if the North is only supporting Stannis to get a Stark back in Winterfell and kill the Boltons, I don't think they'll betray him either. The Great Northern Conspiracy is probably a vast collection of smaller conspiracies, all wanting to get a Stark back ruling the North, as a King or not. Just my thoughts, though, it's completely open to interpretation.
So he rallies whatever remains of the North to him, and liberates Deepwood Motte, giving it back to its original house, getting their support as well. He keeps valuable prisoners and helps to keep an army full of multiple ethnicities and dialects afloat long enough to smash the Freys. He has a great plan which I believe will work.
This is how far Stannis goes in the books. I might update if Winds comes out. I have no delusions, Stannis is doomed by the narrative, but I think (hope) George will do him a service and allow us to have the satisfaction of seeing him string up Roose and Ramsay, and then go out like a boss against the Walkers.
CONCLUSION
Overall, he went from a spiteful man who was, although the better candidate for King than his brother (i'll debate this in the comments if you want) only thought of his rights, and not of his people, at the beginning. Quote:
Surprisingly, Stannis smiled at that. “You’re bold enough to be a Stark. Yes, I should have come sooner. If not for my Hand, I might not have come at all. Lord Seaworth is a man of humble birth, but he reminded me of my duty, when all I could think of was my rights. I had the cart before the horse, Davos said. I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne.” Stannis pointed north. “There is where I’ll find the foe that I was born to fight.”
Unfortunately, that probably won't work out for him, but Stannis is, without a doubt, the greatest of the candidates living. In the Clash of Kings era I wouldn't have said this, but GRRM has shown that he does bend, like when he courted the mountain clans or learnt to serve the people to gain loyalty, not the other way around.
I hope I get to see him roast Ramsay on a spit.

Hey guys, I'm wondering if anyone has encountered this issue. Chrome is absolutely dragging for me. I'm talking sub-20 Mbps download, under 1 Mbps upload speeds. It's absolutely fucking crawling.
I have no extra anti-virus, just Windows Defender. I have no extensions enabled other than Google Docs offline mode. I've done a full re-install of Chrome. Nothing is helping. If I pull up Microsoft Edge, everything flies. 200+ Mbps download, 35-40 Mbps upload. I can't for the life of me figure out what the fuck is wrong with Chrome.

Watchnixtoons2 is now updated to version 0.12.4
You can download direct from the developer here
Also available from this source
Don't rely on the Crew repository because they are extremely slow posting updates.

Hi, I'm really loving Ghost of Tsushima. I downloaded it from [FG]. I'm thinking of actually buying the game if it ever goes on sale.
I wanted to ask if it's possible to transfer my progress to the Steam version?
I don't want to play it all over again, even though I really like it. Open-world games are kind of boring to me, but this game feels very nice to play.
Thanks in advance, comrades.