Inspired by a shitpost mocking Destiny's misuse of "who's," I figured I'd see what else was out there and goddamn. Obviously, I think that the work Destiny is doing to expose common debate strategies or logical fallacies is important, but reading through the section in his notes triggered my grammatical autism. I felt like an outside party reading through it would be a bit confused by some of the wording, so I tried my best to rework this section in a way that would be more clear to the average reader.
I'll edit other sections as well if this doesn't get me banned lmao
Debate Pervertry
1.When you accuse the other side of saying a thing, and instead of allowing the other side to explain or clarify, you immediately launch in on an attack of that particular thing.
1. Quote your opponent without context and immediately attack this statement without allowing the opponent to provide clarification.
2."Show, don't tell."
When you constantly refer to other books, speakers, videos, etc..."sources of authority" that you claim to be familiar with, without contextualizing or demonstrating an understanding of any of that underlying material. You are substituting an appeal to authority for an actual argument.
2. "Show, don't tell."
Substitute a mere reference to a book, speaker, video, etc. in the place of demonstrating your own understanding or synthesis of this source material. Invoke the name of an expert instead of using their work to shape your own argument.
3. When you intentionally say the name of your interlocutor incorrectly.
3. Intentionally referring to your opponent by an incorrect name (^{please god call this the Bournelli Identity please please})**

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_the_single_cause

5."The Clown Mirror"
Your opponent never seeming to be able to summarize your position, ever. You constantly having to criticize or refuse to accept ANY other characterization of your position.
5. "The Clown Mirror"
The refusal to accept your opponent's summary of your position. Never acknowledge a good faith attempt at characterizing your position under any circumstances.
6.The "Lazy Gardener," or, "Let's not get in the weeds" strategy
Oftentimes, when the opposition is lacking a thorough understanding of what's being said, they will oftentimes attempt to obfuscate away from crucial details by claiming that they "don't want to get into the weeds" or "don't want to get into technicalities", even though these particularly technicalities might be essential to justifying or attacking a particular argument.
6. The "Lazy Gardener," or "Let's not get into the weeds" strategy
When pressed by your opponent on crucial details of your position, brush aside an in-depth discussion of the issue and state "I don't want to get in the weeds" or "let's not get bogged down by technicalities." Dismiss crucial details as distractions to avoid betraying your own surface-level understanding of an issue.
7.The "Deaf Preacher"
When you refuse to engage with the argument and you just make big sweeping moral/virtue signal statements while avoiding any factual response to what was previously said.
7. The "Deaf Preacher"
Launch into a sweeping moral diatribe, praising your own virtues and/or attacking the morals of your opponent. Ignore any statements by your opposition and continue your sermon unphased.
8."Debate Edging"
When you constantly stack descriptive claims one over another that are clearly leading into a certain prescription that you never actually verbalize, causing other people to attack you on a prescriptive claim you've never made and allowing you to refute their arguments without addressing the obvious implications of what you're saying.
8. "Debate Edging"
Stack descriptive statements in such a manner that would lead an average audience to logically assume a prescription without actually saying it directly. Should your opponent assume this prescription as well, ignore the implications of your statements and attack the opponent for making an (oftentimes very reasonable) assumption.
9."Occam's Mallet"
When someone suggests that simply because a party benefited from something (or because they had something to gain something failing) that there must have been some sort of cohesive plot or scheme in order to bring about that particular thing, often involving highly subversive and unethical means.
9. "Occam's Mallet"
Attribute a plot, scheme, or conspiracy to any party which received a benefit from an action or event. Lead the audience to believe that no material benefit can exist without subversive and unethical tactics.
10."Moral Dodgeball"
Accusing someone of holding a different core value simply because you disagree with an applied position that they have.
10."Moral Dodgeball"
Accuse your opponent of holding a different core value simply because you disagree with an applied position they have. (Nothing really to change here!)
11."Robinhood Complex"
Always siding with the less powerful entity in any conflict, simply due to the amount of power both sides are capable of exercising.
11. "Robinhood Complex"
Take the side of the less powerful entity in any conflict by default. Ignore any complicating variables or extenuating circumstances and reduce the issue to an imbalance of power dynamics alone.
12."The Braveheart"
When someone poses a question about how a person should respond in a situation, where it's obvious that the person would need to act in a certain way to protect their interests, but the more privileged debater responds with "Personally, I wouldn't do this..." instead of acknowledging the need for the affected party to respond and protect their interests in a particular way.

1. "The Braveheart" (I'm actually having a really hard time figuring this one out. Anyone willing to help me out here?)

13."You're being so weird/obsessed!"
When someone does something that you do exactly and then you accuse them of being weird when they do it, e.g. making clips/compilations of what the other person does and then the other community creates something in response.
13. "You're being so weird/obsessed!" (or "Pot, meet Kettle")
Mislead your audience through clips or compilations of your opponent, yet dismiss the opponent as being obsessive should they or their audience respond to your characterization with clips or compilations of their own.
14."Death by a thousand anecdotes"
When someone is incapable of pushing back factually against a heavily data-driven argument and instead relies upon personal (or popular) anecdotes, or unrelated data, to make their point.
14. "Death by a thousand anecdotes"
If your opponent attacks your argument with data, tell a series of personal anecdotes or popular stories rather than provide data of your own.
15. "Tragedy of the Commons Sense"
Basically any time someone invokes common sense because they're unable to explain or justify their position in any other way.
15. Tragedy of the Common Sense"
If unable to explain or justify your position in any way, claim that your argument is simply "common sense" and refuse to elaborate further.

Hi I wasn't quite sure who to speak to about this so I decided to use a burner account.
So I 18F have known this guy, 18M (let's call him Connor) since we were kids. Like we have known each other since birth. Now Connor and I live about an hour away from each other and our families used to meet up a bit when we were younger. However, about 5 years ago or so our mums fell out and so we didn't see each other for 5 years. Yet a few months ago, my grandma died and as Connor's mum and my grandma were quite close. We actualy ended up meeting up because we went to visit my grandpa on the same day thatConnor went to the same area to see a play (of a GCSE text that he studies). When our families met up I was actualy taken by surprise, I remembered Connor a bit form when I was younger but of course he was all grown up now and so different than my memory. Not that I'd admit it in my teenage embarrassment but I found Connor really quite cute and after dinner, we went on a small walk round the village to just talk because we were around the same age and our parents went off to get ice cream. We talked about our schools (him going to an all boys school and ke just a public one) and how different they were. I really enjoyed talking to Connor and so when he asked if I had snapchat I of course said yes. Before this I didn't use it like at all. I didn't have any snapstreaks and only had it installed. But after this we kept on talking every day and it was really quite nice to have a friends a friends I spoke to every day.
However at some point my friend, Braleigh (17F but 18 in 2 days) found out about Connors existence because I think my friends spoke about him because ethey kept on teasing him about me (they asked what I did at the weekend and when I said I met a family friend they all made innuendos). Now Braleigh and I hadn't been friends very long but she enjoyed teasing me about Connor but after begging for weeks, I finally showed a photo of him to her and her friends (My first mistake). She said he was ugly and I couldn't really defend him because at this point I hadn't even accepted the crush myself. So time progressed and at some point around Christmas, Connor asked me to give her snaochat to me because he enjoyed teasing her when on my phone. I didn't want to but he said something like "come on don't be boring" and I stupidly accepted.
Now one thing you need to know about Braleigh is she is very good at trying to message guys. No offence to her but she isn't the most attractive but she gives attention to many guys (even in lower years) and is very well experienced. Up until this point she had been in a relationship for about a month with her first boyfriend (now ex) in the year above.
Now I wa strally worried when driving home and when he began to give slower response times than usual I began to get really worried that he was messaging her back and not me (ehich he's fine to fo its his life) but I was in denial about my feelings at this point. Now my family ended up visiting his a few weeks later just after Christmas and ge said he blocked her and we even got into an argument about him not long before. She aid I was acting "stroppy" and ignoring her (she was talking about a time I felt really sick and wanst speaking to anyone just sat with my head in my hands). She said "fine I'll block him" and I thought that was that. She playfully joked about sharing his snapchat to the people in my school because they were all interested about this "Mystery Connor, [my] boyfriend." No matter how often I told them we weren't dating, they didn't drop it (mainly because I'm not really attractive and am not really expected to find love)
Time skip to a few weeks ago. Braleigh and I fell out because some of her friends were gossiping about her behind her back. One of her friends said that it was awkward in lesson when I gave her ex-boyfriemd (This is Braighleigh's second and they had been going out for a month and a half give or take). I said yeah but wanted wanted to drop it because she'd already said the same thing in the lesson and I didn't think it wa say of our business. Now some people started calling her a slag and I think unintentionally U said something that supported that (which I would never want it to be my intention) but two days later she ended up sending me loads of accusatory texts. Now I said to her that I didn't say anything like that and it's mone of my business about her relationships. But a day later she said "why did you lie" and I just didn't want want get involved and said well I'm confused now but I'm sorry. I don't think it's best if we hang out for a bit etc. (Which is fine because she isn't even in my main group of friends she was just a good friend I had outside of that). She said good and a thought that was it. However, the next day at school, she started standing really close to me and my friends where we were stood, talking (like half a meter, it was concerning) and I could see her constantly turning to look at me in teh corner of my eye. I just ignored ignored because I'm sure it would blow over. Yet next week, a friend if mine said oh at Braighlrigh was gossiping about you behind your back. And I said well that's annoying yet she's being hippocritcial is that's what she claimed I did but oh well, it didn't affect me directly, she can do what she wants. I continued to ignore her because eif she wanted to talk then she can approach me but U have other, better friends so uts fine. I haven't spoken about her once (not yo her friends or anyone else) and it really was a thing of out of sight, out of mind situation.
Cut to today where Connor snaps me saying, somethings happening. I said in what way? He said Braghleigh added me... I said OK... and he said that she told him all of what happened and he wasn't picking sides yet. Which kind of annoyed me because me falling out with Braigheigh has nothing to do with him and now she's dragging in out. So I told him, you're great but it has nothing to to with you. And he agreed. But I can't say that I went into a shop with my family and just started stressing (to the point where tears started started fall unwillingly). And I began to feel sick. This only happened once before when Braighleigh said Connor looked fit in a photo and whilst I felt sick for the rest of the day I also pushed it to the back of my mind because she was in a relationship.
Now I know that I can't control either of their actions, they're both poeple in their own right because U really know what I want to do. I want to move on from this guy that I'm left crying over but can't seem to do it. Like I don't know what to do and haven't even been in a situation where I've liked a guy like this or this much. It genuinely make some feel ill and don't know what to do. Could someone give advice. Please and thank you :)
TL;DR

I would love to see a Warframe that is just completely random by having its abilities just randomly use any other warframes abilities. I know this is a stupid concept but I would love to see it anyway.
And alternatively I would love to see a Warframe that is able to change luck for instance could randomize drop chance or Crit chance. I feel like it would be fun to roll for your crit chance mid game like dnd. For example the ability would have a range from like -30% crit chance to +50% crit chance. I know that it has a side affect but I kinda like the risky ness of how it would keep you on your toes wondering if you are going to one shot everything or nothing.

I just want you to know that I missed you so much. We’re both restricted to talk to each other or have connections again, but how come I am the only one who is affected by doing this.
Sa totoo lang po, ayoko at naiinis ako sa sarili ko na ganito yung nafefeel ko, after all. Bakit po kase sir? bakit hindi mo nalang sinabi na you’re not that interested on me, so that nakapag build na agad ako ng boundaries sa naging closeness natin as your student and our prof. Sabi ko naman, I am okay naman na happy crush kita at kinikilig lang rin talaga ako sa iyo. Pero somehow, your responses makes me asa na nag rereciprocate ka ng flirting response ko sayo. Umasa ako. Ang babaw ko sa part na yon, promise!
If nalaman ko lang agad na friend ko pala yung other student na nangungulit or nakakausap mo, I would be the one na unang mag lelet go sa pagiging clingy ko sayo. I’m aware and I know na may nakakausap ka pang students other than me, but since you are being honest when I’m asking you such things, that makes me thought na baka iba naman yung way pagdating sa akin, iba yung connections na binibigay mo sa akin. Umasa ako, na kahit na ramdam kong may kausap ka pang iba, ako pa rin yung mamimiss mo at gusto mong makausap or matitiis mo. Wtf, I am thinking right now? Sobrang tanga ko sa part na umaasa lang pala talaga ako that time.
March 28, 2024 is my 5th day trying to move on sa lahat ng iniiyak ko, sakit, at disappointments na napafeel sa issue or problem na ito. And also, this is my day 5 testing this feelings or affection ko po sayo. Kase kahit na aware ako na one sided lang yung naging connection ko po sa inyo, confused pa rin ako, na bakit ganito yung pain, bakit sobrang affected ko, at bakit palaging miss kita. Bakit parang may love hurts sa nararamdaman ko sayo? Sa ilang araw na yun, sa isang araw na nakasama ka, ganon na ba ako nahulog sa thought na magkakafeelings ka rin sa akin, like the way I did? like the way I fall into you?
Ang sakit sir, ang sakit sa akin na ganito tayo. Gusto kitang maging kaibigan na matagal kung hindi man mag work yung mga bagay na narisk ko sa pagkagusto ko sayo. But why did we end up like this?
Hindi ka naman kase mahirap mahalin at hindi ka mahirap maintindihan. Gusto ko lang naman ikaw samahan, kahit kapag kailangan mo lang.
I’m sorry, masyado akong natakot na itago ang lahat. Minsan kahit alam kong iyon ang tama nga na nangyari, naiinis ako sa sarili ko na kung bakit inamin ko pa lahat sa kaibigan ko, bakit nagtiwala ako na walang mababago kahit malaman niya ang lahat. Hindi ko na alam saan lulugar. Pero kung hindi ko rin naman nasabi yun, malalaman ko bang kami ng matalik ko ring kaibigan ang kinakausap mo ng sabay? o marami pala kami?
Sobrang stupid ng thoughts na nagsisisi ako na nagtiwala ako sa kaibigan ko, dahil lang sa namimiss kita at nanghihinayang ako sa mga nawala sa atin ngayon. Sobrang stupid ba ng thoughts ko, na mas nag aalala ako sayo ngayon at kapakanan mo ang iniisip ko?
I really want to act as an adult now, but how? Paano ko gagawin yun, kung paulit-ulit na papasok sa isip ko na umaasa pa rin ako na mamimiss mo ako at sabihing ganon rin ang nararamdaman mo.
Kaso hindi, kaso mali ako. Tama, mali ako.
“Enjoy your life and forget my name, and I will treasure yours…”

Hi! First and foremost, thanks for your interest and I apologize in advance for how long this is, I like to be thorough. I want to start this off with some important things regarding playing at my digital table. My games are all inclusive both OOC and IC, that means both the players and the inhabitants of the game world will be varied. There will be cultural and ethnic diversity, there will be people with physical disabilities, there will be LBGTQ+ characters, the game may very well (see: likely) explore mental health, gender identity, and any number of things. My games are a safe place and I take that promise very seriously. I cannot stress this enough; bigotry of any kind will not be tolerated. There won’t be a warning, there won’t be a compromise, you’ll be out of the game, period. If you can’t manage this, then please save everyone some time and just don’t read further.
Now with that said, let’s discuss the beautiful game of D&D and this campaign and how I DM my games. My games are presented less as a static sequence of events and more of threads in the world that can be followed in any order. In a shorter campaign like this one there has to be a little more structure than a longer campaign, but this is not a railroad. Whatever ending we find to this campaign, we will find it together. Whether that’s the traditional fight the BBEG, talk them down, or join their side and plunge the world into chaos, it’s all on the table.
This campaign is set in the homebrew world that I have created and in truth I am using the campaign to explore individual parts of the world and hopefully expand upon the lore, add new NPCs, sure up any shortcomings, etc. Not because I’m publishing an adventure or anything, just because I really enjoy worldbuilding and having player choices affect the world going forward.
I like to incorporate backstories into the plot, I want everyone to have a chance to really feel a part of the story, not just along for the ride. This is also limited in a shorter campaign like this, but we can work together to give you something to identify with in this world. Whether it be directly connected to a figure in your backstory or just incorporating a theme or dynamic that resonates with your character, let’s find a way. If you give me something to work with, I promise I will find a way. This is a collaborative story, let’s create something hauntingly beautiful together.
There will be a session 0 to go over lines and veils, character creation, as well as just getting comfortable with one another. If there is a need for it to go over additional character creation, getting more acquainted with one another, or anything else we can also have a session 0.5. The point is that we are all comfortable when we begin play. Without any further ado, let’s finally get to the campaign details!
Campaign: Homebrew
System: D&D 5e
Players Needed: I already have some players, looking for 3-4 more.
Ratio: My games tend to lean more towards the RP heavy side of things though I do mix in combat. There are very few potential combat encounters that can't be solved in another way via talking, parlaying, or creativity. The amount of combat is dependent on the group as a whole. I would say in terms of planned potential combat that it will be a 60:40 or even 70:30 lean towards RP.
Scheduling: Bi-Weekly Wednesday 7pm-11pm CST, for 6-12 sessions. There is a chance this goes longer depending on RP, but I believe it will fit into 12 sessions. There’s no hard start date, just when we get the right players we will start scheduling, but it will be within a few weeks.
Software: Discord for voice, Foundry for VTT, D&D Beyond for character creation.

Character Creation:

• This campaign can work with players starting at level 3 or level 5. It will be decided by a group vote on which we start at. This allows for the characters to have some level of experience and renown but not be adventurers of legend (yet).
• All characters get a free feat. The caveat here is that if you pick a newer background that grants a feat, you don’t get an additional feat.
• Play the character you want, don’t worry about party composition. It’s my job as DM to worry about balancing the game, items, and encounters around party composition.
• Interparty conflict is fine and makes for good RP, deliberately obtuse characters designed for the sole purpose of being antagonistic to the party are not.
• All official content is allowed and most 3^rd party content is as well. If you want to use some homebrew content, send it to me so I can review it to ensure it’s balanced.
• We roll for stats. 4d6kh3, drop the full set if under 72 unless you just want to keep them. Rolled in D&D Beyond. I trust my players to not lie about rolls or to try to re-roll 20 times for ideal stats. If I find that I can’t trust you to be honest then we just can’t play together.

Setting:

Welcome to Elysiia, the year is 756 PSC - or Post-Second Cataclysm - and Elysiia is a vibrant planet. Long gone are the days of the Primordials’ dominion over the lands, gone also is the War of Gods, sealed away thousands of years ago. From the ashes of a bygone era has risen a thriving land with many diverse people. From the displaced Feylands of Remcourt - home to fey descendant creatures and prison to incorporeal creatures unfortunate enough to be caught behind it's barrier - to the Flying City of Arigon, floating among the clouds interweaving magic, nature, and technology.
Our story, however, begins in the lands of Morroch, born after the splitting of the worlds by the World Serpent. It is said that Morroch was a point of direct impact of the World’s Serpent’s bite, leaving behind the most diverse array of biomes on Elysiia, much of it incorporated with serrated mountains and rolling hills. There is much to explore here including the northern region belonging primarily to the Stone Giants of Thulkna who call the Crimson Peaks – given their name because of the reddish color of the soil – home. Let us not forget the western seaboard of the Tilltona Coast, cliff-lined coasts with treacherous waters and frequent storms, home of the Storm Giants of the nation of Salleria.
For this story, we explore the Decayed Heights of the western region of Morroch. A brutal and unforgiving arid desert dominated by three powerful tribes: the Jeswye, renown for their connection to fire and abilities as blacksmiths and warriors; the Sandstriders, Lizardfolk who traverse the vast desert with ease, trading, and maintaining the fragile peace; and the Ironhoof Tribe, fierce warriors who thrive in the storm-battered coastal regions of the Decayed Heights.
Recently, the long-standing tension between the Jeswye and the Ironhoof has escalated to the brink of war, threatening the stability of the entire region and crucial trade routes that allow for safe passage through an otherwise inhospitable region. The campaign will begin in the floating bustling trade city of Vespera, located off the coast of the Decayed Heights. Here the characters have received a request from a representative of the Merchant’s Guild to meet to discuss a lucrative opportunity that is for the betterment of the world.
More world info and campaign info will be given before character creation and upon request (I will never turn down an opportunity to talk about lore and worldbuilding).
Who am I? My players typically call me Hex or simply Chris (he/him)

• 33
• DMing for 4 years
• I work in tech so I like to try to do cool tech shit with my VTT.
• I’m a power nerd and love a bit of everything. Anime, comics, rp, tech, ttrpg (obviously), video games, writing, wrestling.
• For me D&D is a collaborative storytelling experience. I’m not out to murder your PCs or make things overly difficult for the sake of making you sweat.
• If I had to rate my skillset as a DM I’d say I’m very good at improv and storytelling but I don’t have a huge vocal range so I won’t be mesmerizing you with a unique voice for each NPC. I do what I can.
• These games are designed for me to experiment with technology, new in-game locales, cultures, etc. and as such some aspects are generated on the go or in the case of technology might experience some technical difficulties.
• Rule of cool. Yes the rules have a place, no we won’t be throwing them completely out. But if something is creative and feasible to at least attempt, yeah you can roll for it. If it’s not feasible I won’t even ask for a roll.

In closing, I’ve attached a google form below to fill out. I hate forms that make trying to get into a D&D game feel like a job interview so I’ve tried to stray away from that as much as possible. I don’t care how much experience you have, be it you’re entirely new or a 20 year vet. But comments, messages, and chat requests can often get missed so this helps me make sure I’ve seen everyone’s submissions. If you've made it this far, thank you so much for your time and patience.
If the post is not marked closed, I am still reviewing submissions.
https://forms.gle/5E1Qm2ghAU73gNGN8

Hey guys,
to all those who already received aeo and to those who haven't,
what do you want in the first 2 year in Western, or I should ask this how much do you guys value the first 2 year in Western?
I understand that people who get into ivey will probably end up in ivey, but I somehow still wonder should I choose a difficult degree instead of a easy one?
Currently I have chosen bmos, which is the course where biggest ratio of people get into Ivey, but now I am thinking if I should do a math, engineer or computer science degree instead, it can build up your knowledge on other area as well. (NOT doing double degree imo right now)
Here are the pros and cons:
Let say engineering
Cons:

• Lower average which may affect your conditional aeo offer

-High workload which you may don't have time to participate in all those club, meeting and even find a job (lacking ECs to get into Ivey)
I can only think of these two cons right now
Pros:
-Meeting more friends from a total different faculty

• stronger math base and logical thinking
  
• build up time management (that's what I heard of engineering student)
  
• Broader vision or perspective
  
• if you know, you know. some country do value stem student more such as healthcare, engineer and computer science, for them commerce is a program which everyone can do
  

That's all i could think of righ now
What about Bmos
Cons:
Honestly there isn't much cons here unless you flip the pros side for engineering and regard it as a con
Pros:
almost definitely got into ivey with aeo, the 80s average is not something really difficult for myself to achieve
Sometime i still think I myself got some math based talent which I don't wanna waste it, but if that decision make me lost the opportunity to ivey, i will definitely regret and upset more.
Come on guys, please help me to analyze the two decision and maybe choose the one that you will do for yourself

https://imgur.com/a/Hb5bzGX

• Other with a paid account plays fine
• I can't join the server with its normal IP
• Chunks load very slowly and I phase through blocks when I'm going too fast
• Sometimes I couldn't walk because I would get teleported back
• My frame rates are always 60
• My Uploads and Downloads speed is 100/80
• It takes almost 10 seconds just to open an empty chest
• Everything is delayed
• I have no client-side mods
• I don't have a VPN
• This has happened to me since the first time I joined the server
• High ping affects only me. Even though I live 11km away from my friend
• My ISP says my internet is fine

Hi my boyfriend and I (27) are planning a two week trip to Sardinia in September, we are renting a car to get around and want to start in Alghero (staying for 4 nights), then head to the northeast side of the island. We’re thinking of spending 5 days near Palau and 5 days at anywhere between San Teodoro to Abratax (around this area there seems to be lots of small towns and beautiful beaches which we’d love to explore). I’m wondering what’s a good base for the northeast part other than Palau? Also there seems to be some music festivals in September. Is it worth checking out? How does that affect the business of the surrounding towns/beaches? Also, are there any other cultural festivals happening in September?

William was just about to scoop another mouthful of porridge and berries into his mouth when someone scooted into the seat next to him.
“Marline.” He inclined his head before returning to breakfast.
A breakfast that, prior to his teammate’s arrival, had been blissfully free of noise or interruption.
Which made sense given that the ‘rise and shine’ bell wasn’t going to ring for another thirty minutes or so. To that end, the cafeteria was near empty, but for a few servants flitting around the place as they set tables or partook of their own breakfasts.
Breakfasts that were something of a step down from what was normally served at these tables, given that the usual heaped piles of hot sausages, crisp bacon and hearty eggs were still being prepared in the kitchens.
Still, on this occasion, that was fine by William. Sure, the main reason he’d told his team to rise a little earlier than normal was to allow them to dine in peace without being harassed by the rest of the rumour hungry student body, but it was also useful in that it somewhat limited some of his more… difficult teammate’s breakfast options.
“William,” the dark elf hissed as she leaned down. “We have a problem.”
Despite his early morning lethargy, those words managed to send something akin to a shiver up his spine.
“What!? What’s the problem?” he asked as he whirled around, remembering only at the last minute to keep his voice down.
Sure, the cafeteria was relatively empty of both staff and students, but it hadn’t escaped his notice that pretty much all of them had had their eyes on him since he sat down.
“What do you mean, ‘what’s the problem?’” Marline whispered furiously into his ear. “The fucking alchemy lab blew up last night.”
“Oh, that.” She’d gotten him all worked up for nothing. “Someone’s enchantment probably went awry after being kept in storage too long.”
That was a lie and they both knew it. He’d explained to Marline in great detail why trying to gain access to his storage room was a poor idea without him present. To that end, it was obvious that someone had attempted just that.
As such, the old alchemy building was now a smouldering ruin, with dozens of academy guards and at least one member of the palace guard sifting through the rubble when he walked past.
Or at least, they’d been watching over a dozen menial servants as they sifted through the rubble.
Still, no one had been too alarmed by it. It was hardly the first time the building had been destroyed after all.
Alchemy was by its nature a fairly dangerous art.
A form of homeopathic magic that attempted to imbue objects with magical abilities by combining them with conceptually similar items, it tended to both be prohibitively expensive and notoriously unreliable.
Left eyes from forty-year-old salamanders didn’t grow on trees after all. Nor testicles from albino bulls in heat. And that was the kind of specificity one needed to create a half-decent stamina potion.
There was a reason that alchemy was gradually being phased out in favour of the slower but more reliable art of enchanting.
“Yes, very unfortunate,” Marline said through gritted teeth. “But what about ‘our’ ingredients that were being kept in the building. It might be… dangerous of someone stumbled across them in the rubble.”
Dangerous? Gunpower couldn’t explode more than…
“Oh, you’re talking about the gift we were holding for your family?” He realized.
“Yes!”
“Why didn’t you check last night?” he asked.
“...I tend to wear earplugs when I sleep,” Marline admitted reluctantly. “Given… Verity.”
William glanced towards the young woman’s long elven ears and thought about their orcish teammate’s tendency to snore like she was trying to wake the dead. The inner walls of their dorm weren’t particularly thick and Marline’s room was right next to the other girl’s.
Yeah, he could see why she might have invested in some hearing protection.
A decent set of earplugs wouldn’t drown out the noise of the morning bell, but they’d be more than capable of drowning out the distant whumph of an alchemy lab going up on the opposite side of the campus.
He momentarily wondered if the noise had caused any of his other teammates to get up, before dismissing the idea.
Strange noises in the middle of the night were far from unusual in a military academy and usually best ignored unless you had a very good reason to think they might involve you.
“Well, it’s not a problem,” he whispered. “I moved it last night before heading back to the dorm.”
The look of relief on the dark elf’s face was palpable, before it gave way to confusion. “Why?”
He shrugged. “For the same reason I booby-trapped the storage room in the first place. Once it got out that I had a mithril core – and might have had something to do with Al’Hundra’s death, well it seemed like there was a decent chance someone might go snooping around places I might want to hide something.”
And the alchemy lab was just about the first place someone would think of right after their team’s dorm room.
Fortunately for him, there were a few places that were quite impractical for hiding something long-term, but pretty ideal in the short term.
And just so long as Marline’s aunts arrived before next Welday, the mithril core would be safe.
Though as he gazed down at the bowl of porridge in front of him, he found his appetite wasn’t quite what it had been just a few moments ago.
“So where’d you hide it?” Marline asked excitedly, clearly relieved that her family’s future wasn’t currently buried in rubble.
William paused as he considered how to answer that question. Something his teammate was quick to notice.
“William,” she prompted. “Where’s my family’s core?”
He gazed down at his bowl, still thinking.
“William!” she shouted as best she could while still whispering.
“The safest place I could think of. Somewhere it’d be covered completely and no one would voluntarily look.”
“Voluntarily?” Marline said. “Covered?”
Credit where credit was due, no one had ever accused his teammate of being slow on the uptake. At least, where politics wasn’t concerned. So it was that it wasn’t long before he witnessed her expression morph from confusion to horror… to rage.
“You buried my family’s mithril core in the latrines?!” she hissed.
William scratched his chin awkwardly as he avoided her furious gaze. “More like dropped. I didn’t need to bury it because it sank on its own. Which is good given I wasn’t quite sure of the relative buoyancy of mithril in… well… you know.”
In his defence, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Indeed, if one were to be purely objective about the whole thing, it still was. The core was safely hidden at the bottom of one of the lesser used latrine pits. The bottom mounted… storage vats of which were pulled out and emptied into the bay once a week.
It was a fairly old fashioned system, given the existence of indoor plumbing across the rest of the academy. Indeed, he suspected the latrines were only kept around to serve as a form of punishment duty for any cadets that happened to royally piss off their instructors.
“They’ll be safe there until Welday,” William argued weakly. “At which point your aunts can collect them without anyone being the wiser.”
“Collect them from the latrine’s storage vats!” Marline hissed, slamming her head into the table. “Ancestors, the future of our house is now literally swimming in shit.”
Gingerly, William moved to pat the dark elf on the back. “Ah, but at least it’s safe.”
Once more he glanced away as two silver eyes peeked out angrily from between the girl’s arms.
Needless to say, he was rather glad for the eventual arrival of the rest of their team – even if Bonnlyn chose to complain at length about the fact that she was going to be forced to dine on ‘twigs and berries’ – as opposed to the gut busting pile of vaguely food shaped grease she normally chose to partake of in a morning.
Still, at least Marline had stopped glaring at him by the time they’d all finished eating – escaping just before the first of their fellow cadets piled noisily into the cafeteria.


It was actually rather amusing, that for all that the coming match had obvious implications for the country as a whole, in theory it was simply another practice match between two groups of cadets.
To that end, there was no great ceremony as the members of Team Seven made their way through the double doors leading to the Floats. There, as per usual, stood the members of the opposing team along with an Instructor from a ‘neutral’ house.
Never mind that the great bleachers to each side of the faux-ships were filled with eager spectators when they were normally all-but bare. Or that not one of the viewing orbs bolted to the gantries overhead was bereft of the ambient glow that signified they were in use.
Half the noble houses in the country were likely watching the events that were about to unfold through those crystalline orbs. Though William had to wonder if the Queen was one of them or if she was present in person, simply hidden behind whatever magic she used to render herself and her guards invisible.
Still, as he gazed upon the spectacle around them, William couldn’t help but be reminded of just how impressive a construction the Floats were, the stadium sized building hosting not just the ships that made up the field, but room for spectators, viewing orbs, staff and a myriad other smaller facilities that each worked to allow the practice matches to occur.
With that in mind, one notable absence from the building’s usual occupants was hard to miss.
“Where are all the sailors and marines?” Olzenya asked.
“I don’t know,” William said as they continued walking towards Tala and her team. “Maybe they’re already onboard?”
He doubted it though. He’d have been able to see people moving about inside the great vessels or marching across the deck.
No, something was amiss here.
Still, he’d known there was a possibility of House Blackstone attempting something. And the absence of the Float’s usual staff was likely to be related.
Nothing for it now, he thought. Whatever they’ve done can’t be too overt.
The Principal of the Academy might have been in New Haven’s pocket – which made her an ally of House Blackstone – but even her power had limits with the Crown and half the country watching.
“Ma’am,” William said as he came to a stop before the Instructor from House Summerfield. “Team Seven reporting.”
Instructor Halfin, ironically the woman who’d first introduced his team to the floats glowered at him.
“I don’t like this,” she said without preamble, her voice raised loudly enough that it was clear she was aiming her words not just at him, but Tala and the rest of the world besides. “The Academy and the Floats are supposed to be a training environment for the future leadership of the nation as a whole. Not a pissing ground for idiotic adolescents.”
“I didn’t choose the venue, ma’am.” Even as she spoke, Tala’s gaze stayed on William.
“And I didn’t ask your opinion, cadet.” Halfin’s words were biting as she turned towards the third-year. “The only opinion that matters here is mine. Not yours. Not his. Not your mummy’s. And not the rest of these upjumped cretins.”
Her hand flew out to encompass the veritable circus that were the stands. “So, with that in mind you can believe me when I say that my only concern is getting through this farce as efficiently and as fairly as possible. I don’t give a shit about what’s on the line or who doesn’t want to marry who. All that matters to me is whether or not you have wax or paint on your breastplate or enough harpy-venom in your system to put you down for the count.”
Both Tala’s and William’s eyes widened a little at that.
“Wax, ma’am? Paint?” Tala said.
The older woman grunted. “You heard me, and that’s all I’ll say on the matter. Let it be known I’m not happy about it. Nor about the fact that half the sailors on base have apparently come down with the shits.”
Ah, so that was why the float’s usual crew was missing. Clearly the work of House Blackstone, though to what end William was yet unsure.
Are they trying to delay the match? He thought.
That wouldn’t be ideal for a number of reasons – most of which centred around it giving House Blackstone more time to sabotage him and his team. There’d been a damn good reason he chose to have their match literally a day after he challenged her.
“This has naturally affected my ability to run a normal Float match. Normally that would be grounds for delaying this whole farce,” Halfin continued, tone darkening as she spoke the next few words. “But it has been ‘suggested’ to me by a number of parties that doing so would be impractical. So, we shall instead be making use of one of the scenarios available to us that does not require the use of regular crewmembers.”
She gestured towards the area between the two faux ships, the football field sized stretch of land normally empty but for a few overhead nets designed to catch falling cadets.
That wasn’t the case today. Instead, the area had been filled with a tangled mess of pre-fabricated structures and various other bits of paraphernalia.
“Airship down,” the Instructor said, and after a moment’s observation, William realized that the stretch of land really did look like what you might have seen if an airship crashed into it.
Assuming said airship crashed with enough force to scatter its component parts around rather than remain as a fairly battered single object. Which, given the heights said ships could drop from, wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
“Our third year cadets will be familiar with this scenario, but I will explain it briefly for our first years.” Again, there was no mistaking just how unhappy Halfin was with all of this. “In short, an allied or enemy airship has crashed in neutral territory. Both sides of the conflict have dispatched a mage strike team to search the wreckage for the ship’s core so as to deny it to the enemy. Unfortunately, neither side can effectively search said wreckage until the other strike team has been completely eliminated.”
Halfin’s gaze turned towards his team. “To clarify, do not let the flavor text of this scenario fool you. There is no core within the wreckage in this scenario. The only way to win is to completely eliminate the opposing team.”
Over the woman’s shoulder, William didn’t miss the small smile that flitted across his fiancee’s features.
Ah, so that’s her game, he thought.
Oh, he didn’t doubt she would have preferred this whole engagement be delayed so as to allow her more time to stack the deck, but on short notice simply changing the scenario to this still helped her.
Theoretically.
It reduced the number of ‘wild card’ factors that might benefit him or his team. No crew members. No orbs to collect. Just a straight up fight between the two teams.
Sure, said wild cards could have just as easily worked in Tala’s favour, but given the skill disparity between the two groups, it benefited her to reduce the number of random vectors present in the coming fight.
Plus, it also had his team attempting to navigate an unfamiliar scenario.
Well played, he thought.
“Any issue with that, cadets?” Halfin said as she finished her explanation.
“None at all,” William said before the rest of his team could interrupt, noting the small pout of disappointment that flitted across Tala’s face.
She’d probably wanted him to kick up a fuss and force the match to be delayed for the reasons he’d thought of before.
Alas, she wasn’t that lucky.
No, for better or for worse this was happening here and now.
Sure, it wasn’t an ideal scenario, but he could make it work for him. It simply required him to pull out another trick that he’d been hoping to hold onto for just a little while longer.
Amusingly, Halfin also looked a little disappointed. The woman had probably wanted the match delayed on principle. It was clear both his new weapon and Tala’s interference rubbed her the wrong way.
Though as he had the thought, he was pleasantly surprised to see there was at least one woman in the academy who placed her duty as an educator and impartial judge above politics.
Indeed, if she had a reputation for such, that was likely part of the reason why she’d been selected for this match as a compromise between the Crown and the Blackstones.
“Well, if that’s all, then you’ve got ten minutes to check out your weapons and get to your starting positions.” Halfin grunted, before she seemed to remember something. “And I suppose I’ll take possession of the ‘bet’ now.”
There was no missing the disdain in the woman’s voice, which actually made William feel a bit better as he gestured over to Verity.
Unslinging the backpack she’d carried all the way over, the girl still looked more than a little awed as she unveiled the glowing metal orb. It was actually a little amusing, the mixture of relief and reluctance that crossed her features as she handed it over to the Instructor.
An instructor who was apparently not entirely carved from stone, as she somewhat reverently accepted the object.
Even the distant stands hushed down a bit as the bowling ball sized core changed hands.
Of course, it was barely a second before the moment was interrupted.
“Of course you’d have the orc carry it,” Tala grunted, her tone resigned.
Verity flinched back at the words and every other member of his team – including Olzenya leaned forward to argue – but William forestalled them all with a simple raised hand.
“Of course I did,” he said simply. “She’s a valuable member of my team and I trust her. Far more than certain other individuals present.”
A core could also be deceptively heavy despite its ability to produce lighter than air aether and he had no real desire to carry it all the way across campus. It also went unsaid that Verity was best equipped to intercept any… opportunistic thieves.
Indeed, he’d have paid to see some enterprising moron attempt to wrestle the bag holding the core off his orcish teammate on the walk over here.
It hadn’t happened of course, the possibility had always been an outlier at best, but given the stakes it had seemed better to err on the side of caution.
…It had also been amusing to see the myriad emotions that had flashed across the faces of most of the team when he quite casually tossed the bag holding the core to the orc. One would almost think he’d just thrown a baby at her.
Indeed, the only one who’d not been affected had been Marline, who’d just looked quietly resigned.
Which was still fun in its own way.
It was a little childish perhaps coming from a man ‘his age’, but that same age was what gave him the experience to know that sometimes life was about being a little silly and enjoying the small things.
And what better silly fun was there than teasing a bunch of far too serious kids by throwing around a basically indestructible ball of magical space metal?
Of course, given the flash of irritation that shot across Tala’s face, it was clear she thought his smile was an accompaniment to his taunt.
However, before she could say anything, Halfin scooped up the core. “Well, I’ll be holding onto this until the match is over. At which point I shall hand it to whomever I deem to be the victor.” For just a moment, her expression softened. “You can rest assured, both of you, that I shan’t let it out of my sight or off my person for the duration of the match. This I swear – even if I’m irritated at this whole situation.”
William and Tala both nodded, accepting the solemness of the woman’s impromptu oath.
“Alright,” she said, slinging the thing under her arm as she returned to her previous acerbic personality. “You’ve got ten minutes to collect your weapons and be at your designated spots for the beginning of the match. Anyone not in the correct place at the correct time will be considered eliminated for the purposes of this match. Dismissed.”
With her bit said, she strode away, no doubt up to the judges tower - which had an eagle’s eye view of the entire arena.
Leaving two teams of rather combative cadets behind.
Ten minutes was more than enough time to collect their gear, so William allowed himself a few seconds to simply gaze at Tala’s team.
“Finally realizing how outclassed you are, William?” Tala sneered.
It was funny, normally that kind of open disdain was beneath her. Sure, she’d yelled at him before, but to his mind that was more of an expression of frustration than animosity.
Here and now though?
She hated him.
And he revelled in it.
Not because he hated her. He didn’t. Even if they were enemies. At worst he’d say he pitied her for her ignorance and worldview.
Much like him and his otherworldly views, she was a product of her environment.
She wasn’t evil. At least not in an intentional sense. Indeed, by the standards of this world she was actually a good person.
Loyal. Dutiful. Hardworking.
Simply in service to an institution that he abhorred.
With that in mind, the reason why he relished in her disdain was simple.
It meant that he was now worthy of it in her mind. No longer an irritating non-factor that refused to play along, his actions now had consequences.
He’d earned her animosity honestly.
He was a factor. A person.
It felt good.
“Just counting the numbers,” he said. “Some part of me wondered if you might be a team member or two short.”
Indeed, the fact that he’d hoped for the murder of a young man or woman last night was something he counted amongst the least of his sins. There’d be a great many more of those to come.
Still, ignorant of his thoughts, the girl stiffened, all but confirming his suspicions as her mind no doubt turned towards last night’s explosion.
It had been her people who’d tried to raid his alchemy storage room – though it seemed she’d not been so foolish as to send anyone on her team to accomplish the job. In all likelihood the unfortunate fools who’d run afoul of his trap had likely been little more than paid off servants or some other kind of catspaw.
Irrelevant in the scheme of things ultimately and chosen for that very reason. Unfortunate, but hoping that his enemy would be a teammate or two down had ever been a long shot.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Tala said. “My teammates are all ready and eager to serve not only me, but to honour their family names as well through that service. Though I know that’s a concept most alien to you.”
Around her, four other members of the girls team stood up a little straight, animosity burning in their gaze as they silently regarded his team with disdain.
Disdain his own team was quite happy to level back – if only out of loyalty to him.
Still, it was funny; Tala was more right than she knew. The values of this world were in many ways alien to him despite having lived here for nearly two decades.
“I suppose you’re right,” he chuckled. “To that end, I’ll see you in the arena.”
He took a moment to enjoy the look of puzzlement on his foe’s face at his placid rejoinder, before he strode away, his team falling in behind him.
Though as he walked, he made sure to turn to each of them. “Make sure to double check all of our equipment. If Tala was able to give half the Float staff food poisoning last night, I wouldn’t put it past her to be able to tamper with our equipment.”
Each of the girls nodded seriously at his words, no doubt leery of discovering a razor blade or some other such implement in one of their boots. Or that their bolt-bow had a faulty intake valve.
Indeed, the only piece of equipment William could theoretically have been sure of was that which he was currently wearing and the spell-bolts that would have been delivered clandestinely at the last minute by either Griffith or a palace guard.
And even then, what the fuck is this about wax and paint rather than rubber? He thought.
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So it's quite clear that water maps are not popular; most players ban them, so they were removed from the 1v1 ranked pool. In Quick match, where they still exist, going by 1v1 QM games played, we can see water maps are among the least played, suggesting players are either banning them, or dodging when they get them.
In theory, water maps would be an interesting change of pace, adding new gameplay styles and strategies that we don't see on land.
But in practice, the thing about water maps is they tend to seriously distort game balance, and leads to 1 dimensional gameplay that isn't fun to watch or play. Because water is such a fast way to boom, building a dock and winning water is essential, making civs like Japanese absolutely dominant on big water maps due to their 30% cheaper fishing boats, and shinobi to disable enemy docks. Other civs, like Malians, feel obsolete, because they lack watewood perks, can't get enough wood to both build pit mines/houses and still age up at a competitive time, and their cows are too slow relative to how fast fishing is.
The gameplay on water maps is almost always the same- both sides open with a dock, maybe there's a bit of dark age spearmen fighting depending on the matchup, then they hit feudal, and it basically just comes down to ship micro, maybe a couple land units raid to distract and idle their wood line, and if one side loses water, the games over. Games end very quickly, and its rare to see any significant battle on land, siege, etc.
I think this issue has been largely ignored because of the 1v1 ranked pool excluding water maps, but I think it' still worth fixing because it affects the quick play experience, and because tournaments still include water maps for some reason.
Ideally, water would play out more like AOE3- it is a viable option for booming, and you can't ignore your opponent water booming, but it's not so insanely OP to the point where Age 1 docks are the only viable way to keep up with your opponent.
Thus, I would suggest the following:

1. Reduce fishing boat base gather rates from 0.7/0.9 to 0.6/0.75, but increase the effect of fishing boat techs by 10% at each rank from 20/15% to 30/25%. This means that opening with a dock in dark age is no longer an absolute necessity, but still worth it on certain civs. At the same time, it makes so that later in the game, water investment still pays off, so you can't just ignore water all game.
   
2. Give better water perks to civs that are truly lacking on water. Malians for example have practically nothing; no buffs to villager wood production, no buffs to docks or fishing boats, just a useless transport ship garrison bonus, and trade ship toll outposts, and their cows are obsolete compared to fish eco...I don't think I've ever seen them picked in a tournament on water, please correct me if I'm wrong. There are probably a few other civs that need water buffs too.
   

Unless you are ready to handle the reaper cushions.

The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.
― Mark Twain

general information	additional information
name: Micah Di Santis	preferred name: Myka, Mike
d.o.b.: 10 June 20XX	age: 16
nationality: Sicilian	hometown: Sicily, Italy
gender identity: cis-male	gender expression: male
sexual orientation: Undecided	preferred pronouns: he / him / his

• Half-blood- and non-half-blood-related conundrums: ADHD (attention deficiency and hyperactivity disorder), Dyslexia

relation	name/s	age	relationship
divine parent	Charon, The Ferryman	old	Micah still has no idea what to think about his dad. Speaking with him during the visit to Olympus did nothing to clear things up. The man, or was it immortal, was blunt and yet, his son's opinion of him was still up in the air, though leaning more to the positive side. At least Micah has the connections to get himself an admittedly fantastic tailored suit.
mortal parent	???	???	Micah has no idea who his biological mother is. The only reason he knew who his father was before he came to camp was because the spirits told him.
mortal adoptive parent	Maria Di Santis	32 years old	If Marco was a saint then Maria was a saintess through and through. Everything she did, she did with someone else in mind. From the day she adopted Micah to the moment Marco died, Micah did not see her cry for herself at all. She'd cry when a little boy got hurt and would offer help or cry when she saw a cat get kicked by some drunk douchebag.
mortal adoptive parent	Vincino (Vinny) Bertelli	37 years old	Vincino is an absurdly rich man who was born and raised in Sicily. He found Maira through her singing on the side of the road to raise money for Micah's trip to the US. He offered to take her in because he liked her and sponsored Micah's trip by giving him some money and a ticket onto a transatlantic cruise ship headed to New York City. All things considered, he's a kind and considerate man who loves Maria.
adoptive brother	Marco Di Santis	14 years old, Deceased	Marco Di Santis was a saint. Ever since he learned the word 'kindness', he was absorbed and defined by it. He loved seeing the smiles bloom on people's faces when he shared some bread or helped them with something but what he truly loved more than anything else was sailing and playing the piano. He was handsome beyond reason, having pale blonde hair and clear blue eyes, though he never had a chance to grow into it fully.
dead guy	Chris	16 years old, Deceased	Like Marco, Chris is one big ball of sunshine. The only difference is he's a ghost. Micah met Chris on the cruise he stowed away on to get to the US and the ghost promptly joined him, though reluctantly because he was watching over his parents and little brother, due to finding him interesting. Like Marco, Chris is handsome though he had more time to grow into his looks. Framed by golden hair and chocolate brown eyes, Micah wouldn't have doubted it if the boy was very popular during his living days.
friend	Willow 'Will' Crest	16 years old	One of the more laid-back campers Micah had met, Willow became something of a friend to the son of Charon, though they started off more as discussion partners than anything else. And besides, being chill-buddies is pretty fun on its own. Who knows where things can go from there?
friend	Rachel 'Rocky' Williams	17 years old	Rocky was one of the first people Micah met upon arriving at camp and her enthusiasm, uncharacteristic for a child of a chthonic god, immediately made her stand out. Though he genuinely has no idea what goes through Rocky's head, Micah considers them close, and okay, maybe he has a minuscule crush on her.
friend/former cabin-mate	Ramona Herrera	16 years old	Being another camper who met Micah's criteria for friendship (i.e. Be chill and relax), Ramona is someone who Micah doesn't know too much about. Much like Kit, who Micah has seen around camp and the Hermes Cabin, she is a mystery to him. Though he does enjoy trying to spot which corner she's hiding in at any given camp gathering.
acquaintance (?)	Mathew Knight	15 years old	Matt is, as far as friendship is concerned, a work-in-progress. Micah's father had recommended getting to know the son of Hades and though he'd lost himself in school shortly after, Micah had made introductions.

appearance

faceclaim	height	weight	hair	eyes	skin
FC, Art by Charlie Bowater	5’11”	Doesn't care	Black	Amber, fiery like gold	Lightly tanned, peppered with a few more recent thin scars from his time at camp

description: Micah is a fairly restrained person when it comes to clothes. Usually, he'd only grab a long-sleeved shirt and some jeans, feeling content. Most of his clothing is fairly average, what with them being of all sorts of muted colors and sorts of clothing. He isn't used to expressing himself whether it is though clothing or other methods.
equipment:

• Folding Knife; The cleaver-shaped folding knife was a present from his brother and Micah has taken to using it for almost everything in his day to day. When his mother fell ill after Marco's death, Micah had to scrub the docks, cut rope to secure the boats, and even got to work on some boats during outings for extra cash. The knife became like a lifeline, being used for everything he had to do.
• Bead Necklace; Micah has been at camp for a year now.
• Monster Directory; Over the years, Micah has seen one or two monsters in their undisguised forms and has taken to keeping note of them by drawing them in as great a detail as he can remember in a separate notebook from the rest of his drawings while also making notes of tactics that worked against them.
• Sketchbook; Ever since he started drawing, Micah has had a good amount of sketchbooks, most of which he donated to orphanages in Sicily for the little kids to enjoy the drawings if they weren't destroyed by seawater or other kids. After he donated his last one with a few pages blank at the end, he got himself a new book, this one being leather-bound and practically a blank slate. He's glad to have an abundance of space to draw as his story unfolds.
• Art Supplies; A good amount of colored and uncolored pencils, all in different states of use, either dull or sharp, long or short, and an eraser in a dark brown leather box.
• Satchel; The over-the-shoulder bag Micah carries around with all of his items. It's nothing special, just an olive green bag with a good amount of compartments and space.
• Throwing Knife Bandolier; Micah's choice of weapon, the bandolier he carries is easy to hide under civilian clothes, fast to access, and easy to use. The knives are of standard make and easily replaceable with others from the armory, though Micah tends to clean and sharpen them himself after each use.

abilities:
* – modmailed / custom

godrent domain powers: 

a) Dead Communication; Ever since his close brush with death, Micah's powers surged. His father's connection to spirits and those who have died became his and as such he can now see and communicate with the spirits of the dead. They have been his only source of information on his father. He likes to build a network of spirits whenever he goes somewhere new so he can gather information as fast as possible.
b) Shadow Camouflage; From a fairly young age, Micah wasn't much of a social butterfly. Most of the time, he felt most comfortable in a shadowy nook where the lines of his body would be broken by shadows, using the ability unconsciously. After his near-death experience, Micah became more aware of his ability to hide in shadows and learned to use it more effectively than before.
c) Shadow Travel\;* After an unknowably long amount of time spent in Hades, Micah's father, Charon, was aligned with the underworld to which he led the souls of the dead. Similarly, Micah has inherited the ability to travel through shadows in short or long-range teleports.

godrent minor powers: 

a) River Step\;* The connection with the River Styx flows through Micah's veins as much as it does through his father's. The ability this connection granted him was the ability to walk on water, as long as there is no significant shift to the water, such as large waves.
b) Death Buff\;* Being a servant of the God of the Dead, it only makes sense that Charon would draw his own power from his master. As such, Micah has inherited a trait where he becomes stronger when around children of other deities of death, such as Hades, Melinoe, Zagreus, the Oneiroi, etc.
c) Aura of the Harbinger\;* Being a multifaceted deity, Charon passed down his multifacetedness in the form of an aura ability. Micah has the ability to project an aura with two opposite effects that work on separate targets. A calming effect affects any spirits within the aura while an imposing effect like that of Children of Hades affects living beings within the aura's range.

godrent major powers: 

a) Major Watercraft Manipulation\;* Being known as the Ferryman of the Dead, it only makes sense for Charon, and Micah by extension, to have dominion over watercraft. Micah's control over watercraft was one of the first powers he discovered and the power that is most intertwined with him in his entirety. He has inherited the ability to gain absolute control over any and all watercraft down to the rigging and ropes.

skillset 

Over the years, Micah has picked up a good variety of skills, including fishing and rope work. Still, there have been a great many learning experiences for the boy on the streets of Sicily. Free running came as a given to any child of below-average means in Sicily but Micah was significantly worse than most thanks to a leg injury he got at the age of thirteen. Drawing was the only real luxury he had during his time when he wasn't working. A young lady from a carnival that was passing through taught him how to use throwing knives after he helped her find her way around the city. He learned ballet by watching, sitting for hours outside a studio every day for weeks until he'd gotten good enough to practice independently, which led to his interest in gymnastics. One of the older neighborhood boys took to teaching Micah, his brother, and the other kids how to read and write in English. Micah's adoptive mother insisted on teaching him how to speak English from a young age. Now, he can speak English with a barely noticeable Sicilian accent.
personality
Micah is about as quiet as you'd expect from a Chthonic kid. That isn't to say that he is particularly serious or brooding, in fact, even when he's upset, he rarely does either. He mainly remains silent because he isn't particularly talented at talking. His reactions to most things tend to be a bit muted unless something is especially funny or angering. Any of the kids that liked him or trusted him in Sicily did so because they understood that when it was needed, Micah would talk as much as was needed and would do what needed to be done to keep everyone safe.
Fatal Flaw; Vengefulness
backstory
Micah's past year at camp had been simultaneously the most relaxing and confusing year of his life. There had been a unfamiliarity that Micah had with anything to do with relaxation or really anything but working that had slowly melted away. He'd made friends and discovered passions that might have otherwise gone ignored for the rest of his life (Art was definitely one of those).
So, when school started to take over his time, Micah barely gave it any thought, settling back into his old work mentality, though now focused on mental instead of physical labor. Before he knew it, it was summer, school was out, and he was back at the start, not knowing how to get himself to relax.
now
Micah stared at the ground around the Range target blankly, the celestial bronze knives scattered around it refracting light. He was jolted out of his mental haze when a camper a few rows down yelled at him for standing in front of the target for so long. Quickly finishing up gathering his throwing knives, Micah slotted them into his bandolier and left the Range.
For a while, he just walked, until he reached the pier. Boats had been a constant of Micah's life before coming to camp and when he was really out of it or off his rocker, the son of Charon liked to settle at the camp pier and imagine what sort of sea vessel he'd design for himself. Aesthetics might not have mattered to everyone but to Micah, they did. The ship would have to look as good as it sailed.
Now, he fell onto his back in the sand a few meters from the pier and stared up at the sky. Barely any clouds. Gods that was boring.
(Credit to u/FireyRage for the amazing intro format.)

Species: Dog
Age: 4 Weeks
Sex/Neuter status: Bitch
Breed: Working Cocker Spaniel
Our WCS had a litter of 6 pups 4 weeks ago. One passed away due to being underdeveloped. Four are growing really nicely, teeth have come through, starting on puppy mush, peeing and pooping on their own, playing, running around, etc. However, one is very wobbly and can't walk without toppling over. She's eating well, peeing and pooping on her own, playing, etc, but she just can't move around very easily at all. I initially wondered if it was due to her inner eavestibular system developing faster on one side, affecting her balance. But her ears now appear fully open and she's still extremely wobbly. She can walk well if I hold her steady, there does not appear to be any physical weakness in the limbs, but her head bobs quite a bit. From early on, she's had trouble latching as she tucks her head to her chest. She also tips to the right more so than the left. She's able to scramble back to her feet, but she struggles even to stand and can just go flying again. I'm starting to worry it's neurological - just wondering if others more educated than myself agree? The vet is coming for their jabs at 6 weeks so we will ask then as otherwise, she's very healthy and happy. I'm hoping it might be something she can grow out of and not something that will affect her quality of life. Any information is well appreciated.

Rules:

1. You can affect ONE character with one action. No "all the Freys suddenly and individually decide to fight on the side of the Starks..."
2. The action has to be plausibly within the world of Westeros. No "a Faceless Man gets a nuclear warhead and blows up Kings Landing".
3. The action has to be as yet unpublished; you cannot go back and change a clear, already published, action of a character.
4. Your chosen action can be absurd ("Lancel decides to become a priest of the Red God"), but can't be impossible ("Jaime wakes up one morning and he has two real hands again!")
5. Book characters and plot only.

Is it necessary to pull all 4 wisdom teeth? The marked wisdoom tooth is decaying is it possible that it affects my sinuses? I had a infection on the side (ear and eye):
https://preview.redd.it/u19vpz72ss1d1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94d51e75cb4fbfae4732201fcbd56de53320ae23

I 29F live with my mom, older brother by 6 yrs and 95yr old grandma. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety from about 20yrs old and have probably been living with it since I was a child but didn't know what it was. Since I was a child I have had a lot of responsibility placed on me as the "gifted kid" that would "save and protect" the family and hold it together. Now, I wasn't aware I was being put into that role until I got to live and work abroad and had some time to reflect and also talk to peers to realise that most people don't live their childhood, teens and twenties supporting their family of adults - especially not as the youngest member of the household.
That job abroad felt like it was the first time doing something for myself and by myself but quickly became supporting the family financially and at every beck and call from abroad. My mom would vent to me about whatever is daunting on her emotionally, stressing her financially etc and being so used to it - I always made it become my problem to fix it. This lead to a problem where, I have no savings, no property that isn't tied to/shared with someone else, and I am constantly mentally drained and emotionally exhausted till I just don't have the mental capacity to work on my own goals and aspirations. Further stressing me out is I actually have a lot of big goals and aspirations and expectations I set to myself. Being so far behind, esp when it seems like its mostly not my fault (apart from my enabling it etc) doesn't do wonders for my mental health.
The usual pattern in my life is as soon as the slightest good thing happens, or even just a shift in my mental health (say motivation comes from somewhere and I really start to put plans into action) - something much worse happens that forces me back into my abyss. Except, it gets deeper and deeper every time. I'll spare you several examples.
So upon my realisation that I was probably "parentified", that my mom is far too reliant on me as a second breadwinner and that I am functionally her husband - I wrote her a letter saying I was pulling the plug on all that, that they all needed to learn how to live without relying on me because I don't even want kids and don't see why I am supporting adults when I don't even live there at the moment. I was going to express that they are fundamentally holding me back and that it has to and would stop.
Unfortunately, before I could finish that letter, mom calls to say she was diagnosed with cancer. Now this too would be somehow my issue to fix cause my brother though working always made less than me and he was extremely unwilling to take care of mom. Even to just take her to doctors appointments he couldn't be bothered to do, preferring to just work instead. While I was abroad I had to ask my friends and mom had to ask her friends for that kind of support and I eventually hired a caregiver that I sent money back home (in addition to my usual financial aid). Eventually it would come to pass that mom would need chemo and the possibility she may not survive. I was afraid to come home lest all the burden of this naturally high stress situation fell on me - but at the same time what if she doesn't make it and I never saw her again?
I couldn't afford a roundtrip airfare and the arrangement with my job was if I terminated at the end of my contract without renewing I could go home at my employer's expense. I decided to quit and come home after a less than hopeful conversation with my mom's oncologist. This meant financially we'd be reliant on mom's regular burdened by debt income, her insurance and my brother's income (this never happened btw) to get by since I am now jobless.
What I feared happening happened exactly AND more! Not only did the caregiver I hired eventually walk off the job which made me mom's primary caregiver, her nurse, her chauffer, personal assistant and courier. I also became the housekeeper, the shot caller, the household manager, the cook, the plumber... you get the idea. On top of that, my brother would be a regular thorn in the side because he would throw tantrums when I needed the car to do things for mom (mom and I own the car but mom started to let him drive it while I was away since he recently got his license). He was highly uncooperative with handling his own personal responsibilities (eg taking care of his cats), as well as anything where I would need extra help with mom. My grandma also would complicate things ( she has always been a narcistic bitch and no one in the family likes her but mom insists she has to stay cause mom is a pushover - you see who I get it from yes. Grandma would actively compete with my mom for pity points, faking sickness, deliberately making herself sick, exerting herself unnecessarily to then feign weakness and guilt trip me - all because she wanted the same attention that I gave the cancer patient.
Mom too, would put me under emotional duress cause in all this she also wanted me to do everything and be happy about it even if I had to pretend. She would start to make demands, oddly specific meal requests of someone who does not cook at all, demand having access to me at all times of day, and if I were to take free time out of the house by myself, she would insist I need to do something for the house or for her while I was out esp if I was going to use her car (the car we both own, that when we bought she told me it was mine and the car that is officially willed to me - yes that one). We also had several arguments where I learned she always thought that cause I was the "smart one" she expected that I could be fully left to my devices and I'd turn out fine and she could rely on me to take care of my deadbeat, driven-less, lazy, lonely, woman-blaming incel and approaching sexually deviant brother after she eventually passes. Cause she is confident that he may never learn to fully adult. And she is likely right by her own fault was she coddles him and shields him from every form of consequence of his action or inaction and is very hesitant about any kind of tough love for him but when it comes to me - even with the slightest of things/benefits she will quickly withhold because "I am inherently more privileged" than he is.
In all of this, my friends when I reach out for support never want to show up. They don't want to deal with any of my problems. No one wants to let me stay even for a week to get a break from my household. Most of them anyway I can't even trust cause they see me as their scapegoat for female touch and affection and since I am no longer willing to pity their loneliness they have gone extremely cold and some try to skirt around touching me inappropriately when they're around me.
Now, I also live in a poor country where pay is always shit. I still only have a bachelors in something that pays extra shit at entry level esp in my country. Peers in my country have very different interests than me usually which is how I am still with the same circle of misfits I have from high school as friends. There's not really anything to do at home that interests me - career wise or entertainment wise. Which is why getting out was such a high priority. But as you can see that's always been and continues to be put on the back burner.
Now that mom is doing much better, its back to looking at exiting cause I will not ever feel better if I stay in this house or even in that country. And my family can thank themselves for finally pushing me to the point where I really don't care what happens to them once I am confidently gone.
So I have shit family, shit friends, no job, my family is actively trying to strip me of any kind of power or leverage with what I do own, changing the conversation as necessary if it means I stay trapped. All because I unfortunately expressed that I want out and that I am not of the opinion that family is everything or blood is thicker than water. Once I get a job, it probably won't pay well enough to rent and apparently the car I part own isn't really mine while I live in my mom's house (which is also legally, partially mine) by her logic. Public transit is very expensive, so if I rent without a car that's even more money I'd have to make. I'd also have to accept the risks that come with public transit in a murder-loving country esp a murder-against-women-loving country vs just brute forcing the mental trauma of staying at that pitiful excuse of a home.
This was a lot longer than planned and if you read all of that, thank you. Sincerely. If you have any tips on how to cope in a high stress, high pressure environment besides hobbies, meditation and exercise - enlighten me. If you skipped to the end, I am not doing a TLDR. I will just wish you blessings and I hope that your life is on a better trend than mine ever was.

F25 5’8 SW: 235lbs GW: 165lbs CW: 228.8lbs
First week down, and on day 8 I’ve lost a total of 6.2 pounds! I’m getting 1000-1200 calories a day (not for lack of trying to eat more but getting full very fast). I’m also walking 10k steps a day and lifting 2 times a week.
I had basically no side affects this week except a little nausea in the 3 hours post injection. I had the best sleep I’d had in months the night of injection, and I woke up so energized and rested. I’ve been waking up earlier a lot easier. Appetite suppression was v high days 1-3 at a “I don’t want to eat anything, but I have an alarm set to tell me when to eat” level, then tapered off to a “I could eat but I don’t really want to, so I will eat when the alarm rings” level days 4-6, and today I felt a little bit of a desire to eat more (another boiled egg though haha). Food noise remained gone the whole time, the sound of silence has been glorious!!
The weekend was definitely a test, I went to brunch on Saturday and I got a full English which I normally would have demolished, but I could only barely finish half. For a late lunch I ate the other half and half of a slice of banana bread my partner picked. I can tell you the banana bread was a bit of a mistake, it felt like a stone in my stomach for a couple hours.
I dropped most of the weight days 1-4. My weight stalled between 228 and 229. Not sure why? It could be initial water retention from working out, or TMI warning ⚠️ : starting my period on day 3 (even though I’m on the pill??), or something else entirely.
Still feeling positive regardless, excited to keep going with all of you!!

So I'm currently pregnant with my 2nd child and I'm 7 +1 weeks according to my baby tracker app.
We lost our first child Jack at 20 weeks. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELLP. But also my placenta was full of clots and baby wasn't growing how he should have been so we were made to induce and when that didn't work due to my cervix being swollen, I had to have a D&E procedure under general anesthesia. My epidural earlier that morning hadn't worked properly and I could still feel the right hand side of my body a bit.
Rewind slightly from that though, when I was in the process of being induced it was taking a long time so they broke my water, during one of my cervical exams after that the OB on shift at the time told the nurses (whilst still in the room) that they could feel body parts stuck in there. This OB was kinda rough and didn't have a great bedside manner considering what I was going through and then she said that, in earshot and it really upset me. Then she appeared to do nothing about it. Later that day I was out on a pitocin drip and throughout the night contractions started to happen and I was running a fever. They gave me antibiotics and convinced me to have an epidural because the hydromorphone and fentanyl was barely touching the pain. (I have hyper mobility and I'm a redhead which I believe can both affect how those kinds of drugs work).
My family had to fight for information the whole time I was there, even after my procedure. So when I still wasn't able to deliver they spoke to my nurse and sheanaged to get a different doctor to come in and talk to us who offered us the d&e procedure finally.
I get out of the procedure which was done by the new (to us) doctor that had offered it and the mfm doctor that had given us the awful news. They told me I lost a litre of blood but I'm lucky to still have my uterus. They also told me during my recovery that my white blood cell count was the highest they'd ever seen in their careers and when I was starting to heal from that they made it clear I'm lucky to be alive.
I don't know if I am remembering everything in the right order but that's essentially my experience.
Fast forward back to now. All I can think about is all of that, and the loss of our son. I was six weeks on the anniversary of his death.
Ive had bleeding already, a couple of clots but not enough bleeding to go to the ER. I'm terrified we're going to be told that we've already lost this baby. But if we aren't, I'm terrified that we're going to lose it anyway, in similar circumstances as last time.
We've decided not to tell anyone I'm pregnant this time. When my husband is at work I feel very alone with this but when he's home he's very supportive. I've felt awful, so much nausea and sickness/dry heaving etc and I feel unbelievably fatigued a lot. I'm really not coping very well. My first ob appointment isn't until the 29th and it just feels so far away still.
I guess I just needed to say all of this out loud to someone that's not my husband who is doing his damnedest to not be negative or show any fear himself with everything I'm already carrying.

Hello, first of all English is not my first language. So im sorry if i make any mistakes. A few days ago, i saw a quote on tiktok. "I like girls because I like YOU, I don't like you because i like GIRLS" And i just thought how similar this sounds to the experience i am having right now. I am in highschool, and this is my first year. I have 2 friends in my class that i hang out with. Three of us are girls. (Quick disclaimer: In my country teachers switch classes, not students so you have the exact same classmates for the entire year)
And one of them, im going to call her Esther, (this is not her real name) is making me feel some feelings i didnt even know i could feel. From the beginning of the year, i become friends with these girls. They are kind, funny and i really love them. But this is about something beyond friendship. And i think i am the only one who feels that way.
Everything started when we started to go out after school to have fun. When we continued to go out, and talk more about our lives i became so close with these girls. I love them, maybe they are not perfect but they are amazing friends.
I always knew something was a bit odd about me, now i dont think it is odd of course. When i was in kindergarten, when i played games with my friends i was always the saviour, the hero who saved the princess and i was so passionate about it too lol. Growing up, i had some thoughts about wanting to be a boy so i could hold girls like boys did, i can touch them but not in a friendly way. Like i just wanted a girlfriend. I didnt even know what being gay meant until i was 8. And these happened before that. After 8, i still thought about these but i was so STRICT about not being gay.
Some time passed, i become more and more aware of my feelings and my opinions. I became the biggest ally, if someone asked my if i was gay i was straight! Just straight. So i always kept my feelings as a secret. But they become bigger and bigger by each day. I started to listen queer songs, i started to research bisexuality and i even read that one comphet lesbian essay. But the thing that made me realise my sexuality the most is that i felt disgusted everytime a boy showed a "masculine" gesture. But i liked men? I have SO many celebrity crushes. But i just cannot get myself like a guy in my town. The other day when i was out with Esther, a guys came up and asked for my instagram. I gave it to him, we talked a bit and i just never felt excited. He was handsome, he was really cute and respectful but i just couldnt. But i HAVE celebrity crushes so i really dont know. I think men are hot, i would like to have a boyfriend. But i just cannot imagine marrying a men, so i just thought i was not made for marriage. But the idea of having a female partner... felt almost comforting. Its like i wouldnt dislike that.
I had lot of conversations with my mom about queer people. My parents are allys, they were always chill and cool about that stuff. But my mom told me something.
"I support their rights to live, but i think i would get so shocked, and i would have a hard time if my child was gay."
I dont think these words really affected me much because i know my parents would accept me if i was gay or not. But there is just SO much difficulties of accepting yourself.
So i want to talk about Esther, the main topic of this post.
She is really pretty, and smart. I just feel so nice and free with her. When we go out, she understands me, i understand her. She is a bit shorter than me, so petite and just so cute. She even has some piercings haha. She is an atheist just like me, and she is like one of the few people besides my parents that i can talk about atheism. She is very experienced, very mature but fun at the same time. She has a lot of exes, but i never thought one of them was good enough for her. I just met her this school year but i dont want to leave her side. Today, when i was laying my head on her thighs she stroked my hair with her fingers, it felt amazing. She always looks at my eyes while i speak, and i am the type of person who LOVES eye contact. So i told her that i loved this the best about her. Her eyes are really pretty too, like very dark brown. Today i compared my light brown, almost honey coloured curly hair with her black, straight hair and i just become so happy, i dont know why. I am a bit selfish. Like everytime i have friends i just dont like them a lot, you know? But she is different. I adore her.
My other friend in our trio is really nice. I just know i like her in a friendly way. But when Esther laughs, and her voice sometimes makes this very cute voice shen she laughs i melt. I had crushes in middle school, i even had a crush this year, but i just liked the way they looked. I can never compare the emotional connection i have with Esther with any guy i could talk.
Esther has a boyfriend. She is straight. She sat on my lap, we hug everyday. She kisses my forehead and we both play with eachothers hair. I did these exact things with my old friend but i NEVER felt anything. Like just friendly love, thats it. With Esther, it feels intimate. It feels wrong but she doesnt know. She just loves me. I dont hate her boyfriend, he is just not good enough for her. You can ask, do you think you are good enough for her? Well yes. I understand her better than any men ever could. She had 2 boyfriends in this school year and both of them are just some stupid teenage boys. They wouldnt listen her ideas about the universe, they wouldnt like it if she made a dirty joke, but i did. And i loved it too.
But the problem is she wants a guy, and she is only going to see me as her bestfriend. I am a bit taller than her, but i am a girly girl. She wears dresses when we hangout, i wear skirts. She tells me everything about her boyfriend, and i just know that when they broke up, i am going to listen and comfort her. I will be there. And i just want to cry everytime she does these little cute gestures towards me. Do i love her? Am i gay? Am i bisexual? I dont know. I am so confused. I dont want to ruin or friendship so i will NEVER say anything about this. I dont really want advice, but i would be happy if you guys just tell me your opinions. Thank you...

Im sorry for my poor English, it’s my third language.
I’m 28 years old. In 2013 I found out that I had a benign tumor in my spinal cord, I was told that this kind of tumors don’t affect health unless it grows in size, I just should do screenings once a year and that’s it. Danger symptoms are: loosing balance, coordination, weakness in my legs. In June 2023 I did my annual screening and I was told that everything is fine, it grows but veryyyyy slowly. In August 2023 I started having back pain in the exact area where tumor was located. The problem is that I couldn’t have a consultation with my neurosurgeon (I won’t go into details because it’s a long story). The pain was becoming worse and worse, so I was almost panicking, I went to numerous doctors and some of them said it can’t be affected by tumors, some said it can be affected, I felt completely helpless, didn’t know what to do. I tried every treatment they prescribed but it didn’t help. So I flew to another country to meet more qualified doctors. Both of them said that my situation is under control, I won’t be paralyzed (it was my main fear), but I’ll need surgery sooner or later, they were ready to do surgery. Also they said that my back pain can be affected by tumors. So I decided to do surgery. Neurosurgeon assured me that I’ll recover 100% in three months after surgery. It was the hardest three months in my life (again I won’t go into details), I barely walked, couldn’t feel my lower body e.t.c. In three months I was in much better shape, but I lost sensation under the chest area on the right side of my body, also I lost about 30% sensation in my lower body comparing how it felt before and became shorter for 3cm, and I guess I’ll be with it for the rest of my life. The worst thing is that pain in my back didn’t go away, it stayed. I found out what it was later, the pain almost vanished. I can’t come to my senses, I’m depressed and it’s hard for me to talk to people, I constantly regret having surgery. Outcomes affect me on daily basis. Maybe writing it here will help.

A lot of hero shooters have lore every season to keep players engaged. But Overwatch deciding to add pve has ruined that multi-season arc format, leading to less engagement from players and outside interest in the game.
In Apex Legends, there is no pve. But we have in-game video comics, launch trailers and stories from the outlands (basically cinematics). These add to the story every season, where we currently have Alter seeking horizon for some mysterious reason. All of these being updated on a seasonly basis keeps players engaged and helps bring outsiders into the game because their characters look cool.
It's the same story with Valorant. They have a new cinematic every episode (season) and update Brimstone's voicemail to reflect changes in the world, along side banners which add to the lore. Like I said, another marketing stunt to keep players engaged and get outsiders to see the cool agents and their abilities.
Overwatch used to have this with their comics and Cinematics. But adding a story mode to the game forces them into a ditch they can't escape, meaning the story generally needs to stay in limbo until the next pve drop. Nothing significant can be added or changed that would affect the "main story" which absolutely sucks. Venture is great example, they're a cool hero but they practically have zero lore and we don't even know what talon wanted to steal in her animated trailer because if we did, it would affect the story and pve by proxy.
Even basic things like comics aren't released every season, and they aren't even available in the game. I'd argue adding video comics to the game (similar to Apex) would be amazing, but that still doesn't fix the stagnating story issue.
Pve should've never been created. Not only has it killed Overwatch 1, but it has killed on of the most important things Overwatch has been known for since 2016: it's story. Without those cinematica I wouldn't be here today. It's sad to see them go.

I'm so sick of my brother's ex's anger that's affecting my nephew's time with his father and the time we get to see him.
Here's the thing, she has every right to hate my brother. He didn't treat her well in that relationship, cheated on her constantly and was an alcoholic. He never put his hands on her thankfully.
Throughout the entire relationship, we were on her side and was her main support when her family decided they were so embarrassed she had a child with a Black man that they moved across the country while she was pregnant. But this rant isn't about all of what we did for her. Nor the fact she still tried to make things work despite my brother's shitty behavior in the past and us saying she can dump him and we would still support her 100%
This rant is about years after them finally breaking up and her bitterness. Like I said, she has every right to be angry at my brother. But since he got into a relationship, she does everything she can to take my nephew from my brother. She went scorched earth when she found out my brother was dating again. When the courts sided with both, giving 50/50 custody, she still refused to let him see him. Then it became you get him on the weekends for a few hours, while I get him the rest of the time, the holidays, and so forth. And he's matured and feels bad for how he treated her and now wants to play the "good guy" and allow her to break custody agreements.
She throws away any toys, clothing, etc. that we, not my brother, but the rest of the family buys him. Especially things my mother buys because she's angry my mother, despite supporting her, didn't support her enough to allow her to run off to another state with my nephew. (Helping my brother with his parental rights because she was a lawyer before retiring.)
She chooses to let him wear clothing too small for him, holey and wornout, or barely anything at all, because she "doesn't want to owe us anything." But it's like, it's not about you owing us, it's about my nephew and his happiness. Mind you, we never told her she owes us for helping her. That was because we cared about her and my nephew.
If he takes anything from my brother's house to hers, it goes right into the trash or she'll nag my brother about not bringing it to her place and give him a time limit to retrieve it, if she's in a good mood. What my nephew tells us.
If my nephew wants to come over to our place, and my brother asks her if she's willing to go here, because it's close to their drop off, she'll become belligerent and refuse and will take him home.
She and I used to be friends, before she dated my brother, and even know it's hard to really speak badly about her. But it's just exhausting.
My nephew when he's playing online games with me or does come over, is constantly saying he wished he could live with us again. Not her or my brother. And I don't blame him. I don't know what's happening over there, but it's definitely making him depressed and there's nothing we can do about it. He says this every time he's with me or with my mom. It's just so freaking heartbreaking. I wish I could do something, but I can't. And I don't know what she situation is like. She refuses to let my brother or any of us know where she lives, we don't talk to her, so it's like what's happening to make him say this every, single, time?
TLDR: Brother's ex is angry over their relationship. Throws away anything we buy him no matter the cost or if he really needs it. She breaks custody agreements. My nephew whenever I speak to him, always brings us that he wished he could live with us again. And it's heartbreaking.