Everything presented here is in no way canonical, but just a theory. Information presented may be updated over time and what has been worked here is everything that has been presented so far in Act II of Episode 8.

________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

The revelation of the existence of the "Astral Guardians" dates back to Astra's release in Act II of Episode 2.
According to her, the Guardians were centuries ago with humanity, guarding and mastering the power of radianite, long before the event of the first light even existed. On Astra's part, at least, she remembers that a group of astral guardians existed in the city of flowers (Lotus map) and who painted the entire architecture of the place, which now operated on the basis of radianite energy conduction imbued with roots coming from the huge lotus flower in the city center, which is a Nexus, impressively made in a rudimentary way, without any moderm technology.
But the guardians were not just nexus and architectures. They were probably not giant cosmic entities, but similar to humans in shape, as they ended up having children and consequently several descendants (with regular women or men at the time).
Living proof of this is Astra, she knows, and it is visible, that she is a descendant of the first "hybrid" children of these astral entities with ordinary humans several centuries ago. Her radiant powers were probably never awakened by the first light, but she was born with them.
But the whole story of these people ends there, Astra admits and demonstrates that she doesn't know much more than that, she doesn't even know how the astral guardians worked exactly to protect the cosmos and the universe, She is too young and has no clear direction of what she should do.
But, in all these centuries, is there only Astra as a descendant of these guardians? Very unlikely.
This entire tale is narrated from a small perspective of the world, by a person (Astra) who is not even sure about certain points of its origin. Even though many points are not false, there is still information missing.
The artifacts and the traces of radianite architectural structures are the work of these ancient guardians, and counting each one, we have a list from three current countries:

• India: Where was the water bracelet and the city of flowers (Lotus)
• Ghana: Where Astra and her gauntlet come from, under a lake.
• Japan: Where the Japanese cargo ship, the samurai mask and armor come from

With a huge world like ours, which has become globalized over time, nothing prevents the Guardians from never being limited to a single region of the globe or people, but probably other groups of Guardians have explored other lands and cultures. Looking at the world map, these three countries are not very far from each other, apart from Ghana.
What I want to pay attention to here is each agent in the respective game in these regions: "Harbor, Astra and Yoru".
These are references that go unnoticed if you don't pay attention, but these characters seem to share simple, subtle similarities with each other:

• They are the only agents carrying ancestral artifacts, which apparently do not react to anyone who touches them, but for some reason to specific people. Let's remember that the bracelet chose Harbor and ignored Reeves completely.
• Among the three, Astra and Yoru share in their lores the aspect of "ancestry", "past" and "history". Yoru is searching for his ancestors, who he doesn't know well, just as Astra doesn't remember her ancestors clearly. Yoru apparently has no knowledge of his family, at least of past generations and this is an important point, the oblivion about who his ancestors were, which tries to express to the viewer the importance of paying specific attention to the term "ancestor ", something that goes back to the idea of ​​"very old" or "origins". It's something to take notes. Harbor so far is the only one who has not shown that he wants to know about his ancestors, but ancestry is a common and respected aspect of Indian culture. it's worth emphasize. But, he is a historian, constantly related to the past and his fascination, as evidenced by his lines in the game
• Harbor, Yoru and Astra have references to the concept of "divinity". Harbor's name is "Varun", a reference to the god Varuna, ruler of the seas and protector of law and norms and in addition, his uniform is a well-ornamented tunic, similar to a type of cloak, decorated with flowers and a strong blue color, a garment commonly associated with a symbol of power, authority and status. In Indian royalty, robes were often worn by kings and nobles as part of their ceremonial attire. They represented not only wealth but also the responsibility and dignity of the ruler. Astra needs no introduction and finally Yoru is left, who is the most curious.

I'll open a separate point for the same, as Yoru has been in the game before Astra was even released. His full name is Kiritani Ryo. "Kiritani" is a Japanese surname composed of two kanji: 霧 (kiri) meaning "mist" or "haze," and 谷 (tani) meaning "valley." Therefore, "Kiritani" can be translated as "Valley of the Mist" or "Valley of Mist" and "Ryo" is a common name in Japan that can be written with several different kanji, each with a distinct meaning. A common kanji for "Ryo" is 亮, which can mean "clear," "bright," or "illuminated." Another possible kanji is 良, which means "good" or "excellent."
Not only do we have references to ideas commonly associated with deities, but several Japanese mythological entities have some reference to the typical fog that exists in certain areas of Japan, something present in the kanji that make up real Yoru's name. In fact, "Yoru" in Japanese it means "night", another common idea in local mythology, especially with the god Tsukuyomi.
But going beyond the meaning of the names, in the game's lines, Yoru uses the term "god" to self-reference. It's a well-known line, especially because at first it's just something very edgy, at the first sight without much importance coming from Yoru and It's the clutch line, and it's written like this:

"Anyone else think they can kill a god?" - Clutch Line

Also in an unpretentious way, Yoru makes references to the apocalypse and the end of the world. On Yoru's part, they are just provocations, but on the part of the DEVS' choices adopting these specific terms, that's another story:

"Call me when the world ends again. I'd hate to miss it."
"I'm leaving now. See you at the next apocalypse."

• Win the Match lines

Isn't that kind of what the astral guardians shouldn't be trying to do, at least according to what we know from Astra? There are lines from Harbor and Astra that subtly allude to avoiding some disturbance, disaster or death as well, just like see the "end" of the things and etc:

"My proximity to death really added to the fun."
"Yes, disaster averted."
"History is full of senseless aggression. Some things don't change."

• Harbor

And Astra:

"The world may be crumbling, not this place-o, they thriving! Feel that energy!"

"We saw the beginning, and the continuation. Now, the end."
"We defend this place-o, heh! We defend this reality!"
"Waste that Reyna, guys. Before she beast mode." (Reference to Reyna might ending up destroying the entire earth)
So what would this mean? Just that the lineage of the Guardians still persists, but that their current hereditary descendants simply don't remember or know anything about it and this matches what was presented in the Episode 8 cinematic, Retaliation. For some reason, the whole world forgot about radianite and these guardians, until the first light came, only the hourglass scions know this.
Yes, besides Astra, I'm betting a lot that Yoru and Harbor probably have hereditary guardian heritage and there could be other people in the world who are also descendants, even characters we already know.
But none of them are "gods". Just like Greek mythology, they would be the equivalent of "demi-gods", even though I don't agree with calling them "god" in any way, until now. No, just that they have this connection in their blood and nothing else and that perhaps they could have an as-yet-unrevealed role in history in preventing some future catastrophe or that they should have already done so, but for reasons already explained here, they couldn't... They are in the complete dark about this.
All data cited (voice lines) here can be found on the wiki: https://valorant.fandom.com/wiki/VALORANT_Wiki or if If you want another source, you can see the files website (Kingdom Archives): https://www.kingdomarchives.com/

more reviews
See Review 1 for my preferences. As before, samples were bought second hand
Rating system:

1. I do not understand how anyone can possibly like this
2. Hmm, maybe for someone into this sorta scent?
3. This is ok/good, I can see others totally loving it
4. This is really good!
5. This is just fantastic!

Reviews
Yeti (Temple Incense, Nag Champa, Tibetan Tea, Cool Crisp Snow Drifts)
Opens with incense/nag champa and, what must be the cool, crisp scent of snow drifts, which appears to me as a refreshing mint, perhaps peppermint. Lastly the tea note joins. At first I was amping the mint, drowning out the other notes. However, within 5min, the scent was well balanced, resulting in a cool, refreshing and easily wearable incense fragrance.
In total: refreshing, cooling, incense bit above average sillage Rating: 3.75 tendency upwards
Love's Decay (Stargazer Lilies, Forget Me Nots, Bourbon, Saffron, light Amber, Tobacco Leaf)
I initially detected a soft citrus note that smelled like sugar and muted neroli to me. I loved that note! The amber then follows, smoothing out the scent. Overall, this is a slightly sweetened floral fragrance with lilies as the dominant note after five minutes, and overall more muted compared to the opening, which I preferred.
In total: floral, muted, sweetened average sillage Rating: 3.5
Ruby Flame (Red Wine, Pomegranates, Red Roses, Pink Lotus, skin safe Cinnamon, and a touch of old wood and candle flame)
Pomegranate and red wine are the opening notes, followed by the florals, with initially the lotus standing out. The roses then blend seamlessly with the lotus, resulting in a very well balanced scent. The wood plays a subtle background role. This is a comforting scent that's perfect for lounging at home, whether you're reading a book by the fire or simply relaxing in your favourite chair. It's a potentially excellent choice if you're looking for a mellow fragrance to accompany your quiet evening.
In total: comfort, mellow/muted bit below average sillage Rating: 2.75
Fezziwig’s Tea (Dark English Tea, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Peppercorn, Apples, Clove, Orange Peel)
Upon applying this fragrance, I first detect the spice, followed by the tea, and finally the fruit. The pepper joins the blend during the drydown phase. Once dry, the spices emerge slightly above the other notes. I'm amazed at how well the individual notes harmonize with each other. Despite my personal dislike for tea scents, this is a lovely tea fragrance that I would recommend to any tea lover. It is very well blended, offering a calming yet warming and fresh quality. Well rounded, despite the presence of spices.
In total: tea, calming, fresh, well rounded with spice bit above average sillage Rating: 3.75 tendency upwards
Evanelle (Chrysanthemums, Summer Dew, Cherry Blossoms, Vanilla, White Musk and Ozone. This feminine scent is floral fresh, and bright and happy.)
This is a fantastic floral combination. Fresh air with musk, vanilla and florals. Fresh leaning but not a green scent. The scent is gentle, feminine, elegant, and cheerful. While the opening is not my favourite due to the presence of ozone, it fades within 10 minutes, revealing a very smooth and nearly creamy floral blend with vanilla. A sensual skin but better. Overall, the fragrance is well-blended, but on me, the chrysanthemums become more prominent within two hours, slightly overpowering the other notes
In total: floral, elegant, smooth average sillage Rating: 5 (ozone opening 3.75)

I noted my experience with a two-person meditation technique last week in response to another post about meditation, and said I'd post a full explanation of my response later. Here are two accounts of why I stopped the practice, alongside a bit of pre-amble for establishing a couple of important things.
In 1999 I was practicing kung-fu, yoga, and tai chi with a very long-time practitioner
of interdisciplinary martial arts, their histories, and spiritual principles. We practiced some or all of the disciplines every day, for hours, and often very long sessions. I was 20 in 2000, and he taught me a two-person meditation technique he called the Third Eye Beam.
To this day, I have not found any written history of this technique on the internet, or in any academic papers, or in martial arts, or spiritual literature, which is astonishing, as that means until my writing of this, it was an entirely oral tradition, which also seems impossible. So, if you can find any literature on the technique I'm about to describe, I would ask that you PM me, or place it as a link in here, as to my knowledge there is none.
I do not recommend practicing this in any way and will note the reasons at the end. It seems like a volatile practice, and for me, had unexpected and potentially dangerous results.
Third Eye Beam: two people sit in full lotus position between two-ten feet away from each other. Both people look into each other's eyes with a total focus. The two participants begin om-ing in unison until a consistent flow and breath practice is as exact feeling for both as possible. The two practitioners then both cross their eyes, which creates three eyes in each person's visual field. (The crossing of the eyes is similar to the floating finger, where a person holds two fingers out in front of them, crosses their eyes and sees one floating finger in the middle.)
Both people continue to om and both focus on the third eye in the middle. The om-ing and focus on the third eye continues until either person closes the session in whatever manner they close the session, which could be simply looking away, or turning away, etc. The above is the entire practice as it was taught to me and as I practiced with the teacher, and a few other people.
I do not know what this creates other than a sense of connection and awareness, but other things happened on several occasions that caused me to stop the practice in any way. Practice at your discretion, I have no idea what the outcomes might be.

1. I was practicing this a friend who was a professional musician with a record deal one night at his small rural house. He was also taught this practice by the teacher. We we're om-ing about seven feet away from each other and in the full practice focusing on each other's middle eye. The colors in the room began to appear very fluorescent to me, which was whatever.

I then sensed a presence behind him, at which point he began to rock back and forth laughing hysterically. I then saw a purple aural being stand up out of his body. It then began to march aggressively and quickly toward me. I was terrified and brought my hands out of the lotus meditation position at my sides and clapped my hands in front of my face very hard. He immediately stopped laughing and did the same thing.
I don't know what was, or why he was laughing, but I felt it was not safe. I told him about it, and he said, he didn't feel anything, and just wanted to laugh.

1. I decided to experiment with the practice outside of what had been taught. I was sitting outside of where I worked, and I looked at a man who was walking into the store 40-50 feet away and see if there would be an affect. I focused on the middle of the two visual images of him, where there was no image, I did not om, I just focused. His walking posture began to change, and he slowed down to about a quarter of his walking speed, but stayed oriented toward where he was walking, i.e. he didn't look at me. He then slowly reached into his pocket, took out a pocketknife, and slowly opened it. His body began to turn toward me, but his head did not. He began to walk toward very slowly me. I stopped "beaming" him, he switched back into his original posture, looked at his knife in his hand in a very confused way, closed the knife, put it in his pocket and walked into the store.

That was the last time that I tried this, both of those experiences with the third eye beam were within a 30-day period in 2001 or 2002 in the summer.
I also practiced with a handful of other people, including the teacher, at least fifty times, and the above is why I stopped.
I'm happy to answer any questions, but it's still puzzling to me, that this technique, whatever it is, is not out there anywhere to my knowledge but have clear affects, so, like I said, if you have any information drop a link or PM me.
Also, I think it's a very specific practice, and am not sure what all the outcomes could be, or why, with all of the yogic and energy practices that are so common in the public eye these days, that even those practitioners don't talk about it, or know about? I’ve asked many, just in a cursory, have you heard of this thing where two people om with their eyes crossed and focused on the third eye in the middle. They did not, but why?

Iso is by far the weakest agent in the game, so let's take a look on how he could get buffed. It's rather difficult to buff Iso to be honest, because there are rather limited ways to do so:

• Iso's vulnerable ability is already a good ability and doesn't need a buff. Even if you wanted to buff it, there are not a whole lot of good options available. Make it faster is an idea I've seen floating around but it's already pretty fast and it really wouldn't do anything to make Iso better
• Iso's ult doesn't really need any unique changes either, maybe you can reduce the cost by one but there are really limited options available to buff his ult without making it a completely free kill. It's also just a decent ult already
• Iso's shield is finnicky and could definitely use a buff. I think making it so you don't have to pre-activate the ability and could just shoot the orb on kill anytime is a huge quality-of-life change but honestly doesn't really move the needle in terms of Iso's viability. The shield kind of just is what it is. There's really not a whole lot else you can do with it, it already tanks one instance of damage. You can't make it two instances without it becoming broken. Making it last longer won't do much to help buff Iso out of F tier. I saw on TenZ's stream when he was talking about Iso buffs that he thought of an idea where the shield could tank a stun as if it was the instance of damage. It's a definitely cool idea, but overall this would not buff Iso by any significant amount. How many times a game will you actually have an Iso shield up and then get stunned? I'm betting less than once a game. Maybe once every two games

Which brings me to really the most obvious ability to buff: Iso's wall. The wall is just bad. There's no use sugarcoating it. It's one of the worst, if not the worst, abilities in the game. Why is it so bad? One of the reasons is because you can't stop it whenever you want like Harbor's wall. This makes it almost completely useless on defense, as you can't block off a chokepoint with it to delay/stop an execute. It also lasts a pretty short amount of time at just 4.6 seconds when fully formed and is narrower than Harbor's wall.
This leads to most people suggesting the wall be buffed to work like Harbor's wall where Iso could stop it anytime he wants. However, I don't like this idea and I don't think Riot likes it either because it takes away from the uniqueness of both Iso and Harbor's walls. Other basic ideas include making the wall wider or having it last longer. These basic ideas could definitely be good changes, but I propose that Riot should lean into the anti-bullet shield idea of the wall and also make it block projectiles. This would work like the buy phase barrier where projectiles such as Killjoy mollies, Raze nades, Sova darts, really any projectile would just bounce off the wall.
I believe this change could make Iso viable even in coordinated pro play. In fact, this buff may have the biggest impact in pro play but would be a great buff across the board at all elos.
For starters, this would make Iso much better on defense. As soon as a site exec starts, Iso can just drop the wall and suddenly the Sova dart bounces back in Sova's face, the Viper molly drops to the floor, etc., etc.
This buff would also have the funny additional benefit of denying lineups. When you see that Brim molly flying at the spike, just throw the wall and suddenly the lineup misses and you can stick the defuse.
But the greatest impact might just be that this change could maybe make Iso viable on Lotus. In my opinion, Lotus was already one of Iso's better maps in ranked as it is one of the few maps where his wall in its current state can be useful on attack. It's decent at denying the default C long peek while your team takes mound. B site is one of the only sites where the wall can actually be fully utilized to cover waterfall while you exec because it's such a short site. Iso also has some decent plays on defense as his vulnerable is very useful to combo with a Raze nade every round on defense to fight A, and it is not as valuable as an Omen flash so you could always do it every round (plus he has two of them).
The Lotus meta has always been to heavily fight for A rubble control. Some teams always do it, some teams do it less, but all teams do it pretty frequently and have multiple set plays for fighting A rubble. Even during ranked games across all ranks people know to fight for it on defense, throwing Raze nades and Omen blinds.
If Iso's wall was buffed to reflect projectiles, he would be extremely valuable on Lotus attack as he could throw the wall on A every round to completely shut down any defender aggression. The wall serves a dual purpose as you and your team can get across to rubble for free behind cover. You would essentially get easy rubble control every round for 200 credits.
If we're talking specifically pro scene, having that free rubble control may already be enough to make Iso a niche pick. However, this could also have the added benefit of allowing teams to switch from Omen to Brim as their primary controller. Some teams already have shown that they prefer Brim, such as NRG or Navi, although it is still considered a niche pick. One reason teams go for Omen is because of how good the Omen flash can be for fighting for A. However, if teams used Iso they could use the Iso vulnerable instead and also pick Brim without having to sacrifice all of the capabilities of the Omen flash.
As a final note, I know that some people will probably complain about how it is too OP if you can just drop a wall and completely shut down a Raze rocket or Deadlock ult, but do remember that a simple Kayo knife can already do that.

https://archidekt.com/decks/7612530/big_red
Idea for this deck is simple, big red creatures, double damage effects, and extra combats. I know it's going to have a slow start, and possibly even not get to play some games because of mana flooding/screwing but want to do what I can to minimize that.
I chose Neheb the eternal as the commander because he can easily make big amounts of mana to drop my expensive spells, and I liked the idea of keeping them around instead of using Purphoros the Bronze Blooded to cheat them into play for a turn.
After play testing on archidekt I find I either have an explosive start of mana rocks or rituals and get the ball moving, or I don't get any and just land pass for 5-6 turns then start going.
Advice on what to cut and add? Budget is pretty open, noting crazy like a mana crypt or jeweled lotus, but if the card is under $50 or so I'm probably open to it. Dockside Extortionist is top of my lift of expensive cards I want to add but not sure I'm ready to pull the trigger on getting one just yet but know it is something that will make it into my collection someday.
I think cutting the rituals for more rocks might be a good call, since consistent card draw is still a problem, and if I can get Neheb out, and keep him alive, I'll have plenty of mana to dump my hand with.
Should I go all in on wheels to keep my hand stocked? Or focus more on impulse draw? How much protection should I run? I know Neheb can be a pretty big removal target, so I wonder if it's better to focus less on protection pieces, and more on ways to work without Neheb being around to make my mana for me.
I know burn is typically how Neheb wants to be played, but I want this deck to have its primary focus being on BIG RED CREATURES!

Welcome back chefs!
I'm happy to announce that 20 dishes have been entered into the contest! Each dish in the menu below has a number. When you make your guesses, please write the number of the song and the three competitors you think are those songs in order of first guess to last guess.
For example, this is how you'd format your guesses for dish #1 and #2:

1. u/FreeCuddlesAnyone, u/curryraejepsen, u/Chickflopia
2. u/SandHannahtiser, u/Azzbestos, u/FreeCuddlesAnyone

And so on!
Please note, you can only list a chef as a first guess once! However, you can list them as a second and third guess as much as you’d like. When you’re ready to send me your guesses please submit your guesses on the food ordering apps known as 'Reddit' or 'Discord'!
Deadline to send me your guesses will be at Sunday May 19th at 23:59CEST!
The point system is the following:

• 5 points for a correct first guess
• 2 points for a correct second guess
• 1 point for a correct third guess

Here is our delicious menu!

No.	Artist	Dish	Link
1	Mark Mothersbaugh	The Sims 2 Theme	Here
2	Dasha	Austin	Here
3	Sarina	Lotus	Here
4	Atiye	Abrakadabra	Here
5	J-E-T-S (ft. Mykki Blanco)	PLAY	Here
6	Liz Dieppa	Conmigo	Here
7	Brentalfloss (ft. Dave Fulmer)	Zelda: Ocarina Of Time	Here
8	Lily Allen	LDN	Here
9	Znous	Sidi Arbi	Here
10	Livin' Joy	Dreamer	Here
11	Santigold	Rendezvous Girl	Here
12	Les Rallizes Denudes	Night Of The Assassins	Here
13	yergirl	exactly the same	Here
14	4 Pozitsii Bruno	Vesna	Here
15	deadmau5 feat. Rob Swire	Ghosts N Stuff	Here
16	Tommy heavenly6	PAPERMOON	Here
17	Sofia Carson	It's Only Love, Nobody Dies	Here
18	Shoebill	shitcorebabes	Here
19	Wu-Lu	Daylight Song	Here
20	Hyper	Sim The Builder	Here

YouTube Playlist: Here!

List of chefs

• Azzbestos (Cori)
• bvsil (Basil)
• chaoticciolina (Diana)
• Chickflopia (Alexi)
• curryraejepsen (Eke)
• FreeCuddlesAnyone (Jacob)
• Fun6754 (Fun)
• Georgie-M (Georgie)
• jakub_chyl (Jakub)
• las_facepalmas (Palmas)
• PercyYates (Percy)
• qyzxf (Rickolas)
• SandHannahtiser (Hannah)
• SeptimiaZenobia (Zenobia)
• slfkjia (Plus)
• sondercherry (Brandi)
• tehhammerz (Apple)
• XalionN (Alexis)
• Zeiskyte (Crown)
• zuperZany (Zanny)

Greetings pue-mans,
I've now had the chance to sample over 40 different puers (mostly shou) and dial in my preferred brewing style. I haven't taken notes, but I've noted some favourites and I'm becoming familiar with the qualities I like/dislike.
I'm in Canada and am putting together my next order now. At this point, I was hoping that with this information, I might solicit suggestions for both any potential "bang-for-buck favourite, buy 10 tongs" daily drinkers, and any that could fill gaps I've missed in my sampling.
In general, I like to brew fairly dark/strong, but just short of coffee-like. I'll typically use 10-12g in ~250ml of water off the boil in a yixing pot, quick rinse, then steeped for ~60-120 seconds increasing over the course of five or six steeps.
In general, I prefer shous that are thicc, smooth, pungent/musty, with a tiny bit of astringency on the tail, little-to-no bitterness, LOW caffeine (more relaxing than energetic), with some mildly interesting note(s)--not just muddy water--and a lingering "hui gan". So, you know, how they're all advertised.
I’m not good at naming flavours, but I’ve tended to like puer others have described with creamy, nutty (walnuts), earthy, dates, ginseng, petrichor, old books. Woody can be nice if there’s more to it (except for bamboo and camphor, the former dominates everything and the latter seems to be code for all aroma, no taste). Hit or miss on mushroom, mineral, barnyard, spice, and surprisingly, cacao. Negative on vegetal/herbal/grassy. I’m floral-curious, and drawn to the promise of stuff like plum and honey, but I think those are more sheng territory.
Here’s my list with some commentary.
 
FAVOURITES:
[Yunnan Sourcing]
2019 Menghai DaYi V93 Premium (Ripe)

• My current favourite daily drinker. Just can't go wrong, it ticks all the primary boxes for texture and and it has enough of a flavour to not be boring. It becomes weak and thin after ~3 of my murderous steeps, but that's fine by me as I'm usually tapping out around that amount, and I hate wasting potential steeps as it approaches noon. I can't drink puer after noon or it messes with my sleep.

2018 Yunnan Sourcing "Year of the Dog Blue Label" (Ripe)

• It's like the V93, just a little better in every way. But not 2X-price better, so not a contender for a replacement daily drinker.

1990 CNNP "9016" Aged (Ripe)

• I thought this one would knock my socks off, yet I was underwhelmed for the price. It's good, and has a quality I really like that I can't put my finger on (some kind of delicious lingering mustiness), but is also a little too thin from the first steep.

[San-Tea]
2005 “Muddy Lips” Jing Gu (Da Ye) (Ripe)

• This was my daily drinker for awhile. The price was right. Unfortunately, too boring. I need more depth.

1999 “Dirty Knees” Langhe (Ripe)

• Successor daily drinker to the above, much more interesting, yet finnicky to brew (easily becomes too bitter) and pricier.

[Crimson Lotus]
2021 Pasha Shan “Lao Cha Tou” (Ripe) & 2021 Pasha Shan (Ripe)

• Really great, outstanding flavour and ticked all of the most important boxes. Would be my current daily drinkers if I could afford it. (Grouped together because I couldn’t tell much of any difference between the two versions.)

2022 Night Shift (Ripe)

• Also great. The thing is, to brew it as dark as I like brings out a bit too much of a bitterness, off-note, and astringency.

[TREASURE GREEN]
2018 Xiaguan Tuo Cha (Ripe)

• Previous candidate for a daily drinker, until I found the V93.

2012 Bingdao Gu Shu (Ripe)

• Very good, in a different way from the rest of what I usually like, in that it has rich and complex flavours; texture is too thin to be a top favourite, yet I commend for what it is. If it weren’t so pricey I’d stock up for some variety in the rotation, and I think I could grow to appreciate it even more over time.

[SOFTER DRINK]
2020 Kuura Cola (Ripe)

• Seems almost exactly like the V93, while lasting for twice the steeps at twice the price. Not a feature for me, but deserves as honourable mention; I’d be curious to try more Kuura stuff.

LIKED:
[Yunnan Sourcing] 2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Bronze Label Peerless" (Ripe) 2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Mengku Teng Tiao" (Ripe) 2021 Yunnan Sourcing "Di Jie Village" (Ripe) 2001 Basket Aged Yi Wu (Ripe) 2022 Xiaguan "Tibetan Flame" (Ripe)
[San-Tea] 2004 “Sapwood” Xiaguan Te Ji (Ripe) 2004 “Worm Hands” Langhe (Gong Ting) (Ripe)
[Crimson Lotus] 2023 #PNWLOVE (Ripe) 2017 Storm Breaker (Ripe) 2014 Yiwu “Iron Forge” Huang Pian (Ripe) 2019 Nevermore (Ripe) 2021 Dark Depths (Ripe)
[Treasure Green] 2008 Ban Zhang Organic (Ripe) 2005 Chang Tai Hong Jing Dian (Ripe) 2013 #7562 Dayi (Ripe) 1998 Fu Hai (Ripe) 1993 #7581 (Ripe)
MEH:
[Yunnan Sourcing] 2001 Basket Aged Yi Wu (Ripe) 2022 Xiaguan "Tibetan Flame" (Ripe)
[San-Tea] 2005 “Sediments” Mengsong (Ripe) 2004 “Herds” Da Xue Shan (Ripe) 2007 “Undergrowth” Yiwu (Ripe) 2001 “Fauna” 7542 (Ripe)
[Crimson Lotus] 2016 Cloudy Days (Ripe) 2010 Black Gold (Ripe) 2014 Capitalist Lion Tamer (Ripe) 2000 Old Warrior (Ripe) 2014 Huang Pian MEGA Brick (Ripe)
[Treasure Green] 2012 Chuan Jia Bao Beeng Cha (Ripe) 2003 Bamboo (Ripe) 2012 Basket Hei Cha 2009 Liubao Hei Cha
DIDN’T LIKE:
[Yunnan Sourcing] 2015 Gao Jia Shan “Da Cang Jia” Wild Harvested Fu Brick 2018 Mojun Fu Cha “Pure Happiness” 2018 Mojun Fu Cha “Ming Pin”
THANKS, I HATE IT:
[Yunnan Sourcing] 2009 Lao Ban Zhang Premium (Raw)
[Crimson Lotus] ? Bulang Dragon Ball

I'm sure there are many posts about team compositions and strategies that were successful in smashing through these stages, but I am making this post for the following reasons:

1. To give others who are searching for help a comparison my teams vs. theirs;
2. More details of my teams
3. And something fairly recent

My Limit Break level is 363. Using the team compositions below, I was able to get to 37-16, where I am currently unable to pass. The first three two-team battles in chapter 36 I did on manual (and that was the first time I actually tried manual battle, just to divulge how noobish I still am despite how far I've progressed) but the rest were completed on auto. I also stayed on auto up to 37-16. I haven't tried manual for 37-16 yet, because it was just yesterday when I encountered this roadblock and I have a life outside of SFD. Still, I thought it might be worth mentioning my all contributing factors to my success because when I was stuck and looking for team suggestions, having the four main members of a team was typically all that was mentioned and we all know there are many other factors. It is my hope that this information helps players who are stuck anywhere. So, without further ado, my teams...
Team 1 (L-R): S. Poison, Leonardo, F.Blanka, M.Bison. I have Guy assisting Leo and Cammy assisting Bison. My Ex moves are Toxic Love (lv 20), Breath of Rage (Lv 29), Zanku Hadosh0 (Lv 10).
Team 2 (L-R): Elena, Viper, BZang, EHonda. I have Guile assisting Viper and Dhalsim assisting BZang. My Ex moves are: Nature's Advent (Lv 40), Vigilante (Lv 40), Crazy Potato 9Lv 29)
S.Poison is SSS 5* has all wind gear at +2, FS+30, Toxic Love (lv20), Vigilante, (4*), 1 SSS car, rest are SS, soul power at lv 62 Leo is SSS, has all master gear at +2, FS+27, Tears of Blood (lv10), Fast Chant (4*), 1 SSS car, rest at SS Soul power at 0 F.Blanka is 5* SSS has mixed faction gear (two of which are+2), FS+23, Zanku Hadosho (lv10), Broken Formation (4*), all cars at SSS Bison is SSS 5* all infernal gear at +2, FS+30, Breath of Rage (lv 29), Martial (4*), all cars at SSS, soul power lv 62
Guy is SSS 4* all wind gear (no +), FS+10, no Ex, War Dance (4*), all cars SS Cammy is SSS 5* faction/no faction gear (hand/chest +2; wrist/boot wind +1), FS+23, no ex, Shelter (4*),4/6 car SSS
Elena is SSS 5* 3/4 lightning gear all +2, FS+23, summer waves (lv 10), war dance (4*) ,2/6 cars SSS Viper is SSS 5* all fire gear at +2, FS+30, no Ex, Broken Formation (4*), soul power lv 83, 5/6 car SSS BZang is SSS 5* 3/4 wind gear all at +2, FS+21, Chains of Guilt(lv 40), Fast Chant(4*),4/6 SSS cars EHonda is SSS 5* all light gear (2 at +2; 2 at +1), FS+21, Crazy Potato (lv 29), Echo (4*), soul power lv 40,, 6/6 SS cars
Guile is SSS 5* 4/4 wind +2 gear, FS+25, Nature (lv 40), Assault (4*), 6/6 SS cars Dhalsim is SSS 5* 3/4 fire gear all at +2, FS+30, Crimson Lotus (lv 49), Broken Formation (4*), 5/6 SSS cars
Note: I know that Fighting Souls use diamonds as their rank indicator but I used asterisk because there is no easier representation.

It may or may not be 3 in the morning. I'm sitting here, yet again, in a (rather continuous) Radiohead musical spiral. Radiohead, In Rainbows From the Basement (April 2008)... To be exact, spellbound as ever.
I can recall first beginning introduce to Radiohead at the age of 13? by a hair stylist. After she cut my hair she made sure to hand me a note reading "Ok, Computer- Radiohead. Check them out"
After listening to one song my preteen self forgot about Radiohead. Idk probably caught up in Mindless Self indulgence or swept into the undercurrents of the cure, girlhood ponderings.
Over a decade later, I reconnected with Radiohead after being gifted an Ok, Computer cd. Which proceeded to live in my car for nearly five years.
Couple years ago a stranger approached me at a little coffee shop in Asheville, NC..we somehow opened an hour long gushing sesh on Radiohead. Exchanging reflections and songs that inspired us by them. At one point this stranger introduced me to lotus flower 2011, which changeddd me. It was a sweet memory I forgot about until now.
Anyways, after hours of listening, learning Arpeggi on the piano, purchasing CDs, dancing, crying, and being blissed out to Radioheads mystical delights.
I am here to confess, unabashially, that Radiohead's music has played crucial role in my life thusfar.
But tonight it clicked. Thank you
Guess I should get some sleep

Hi everyone! The other day when I was sharing all the green scents I had, and my reviews of them, I realized I had never done a full review of all the Pineward scents I've gotten, and my review of the house as a whole, so far...
My rating system: 1/5 - I actively don't like this scent/it makes me sick 2/5 - ehh, I don't really like it very much/it doesn't smell like a perfume at all 3/5 - meh, it's okay. It'll be ok layered with something else, or someone else may like it, it's just not for me. 4/5 - I do like it, it's just got something small missing from making it perfect, ie: I don't like the dry down, or it fades too fast, or it's just missing 1 note or 2 5/5 - I absolutely adore this scent. Any more and I would want to swim in it lol
__________________________________________________________________
Overall Review of the House so far:
I've tried 19 scents from them so far. Most of any other house. Mainly cause they have a super affordable sample option (1.8ml/$6) and they gifted me so many with my first order. I bought 13 and they gifted me 6 additional scents.
This is The Most atmospheric scent house I've found yet. Each scent transports you to a different location and tells a story.
Definitely a house to let settle for a while, though. At first I didn't think I liked many of them. After 6 months, I like most all of them. I just end up using a lot of them for mixers. Though, a surprisingly high amount turned out to be standalone scents for me!
They are a bit more of a unisex/masc perfume/cologne house. But, I actually like unisex complex scents, cause I like to layer them underneath sweeter, more one-note scents that I find.
Turn Around Time was actually very fast compared to the other houses (ordered 11/24 of last year, the order was sent out 11/28, and I don't remember exactly when I got it in, but it wasn't a very long time after that. I was actually surprised at the fast TOT, especially because they included in their thank you note an apology for being so late! I was like, huh? Ya'll are super fast actually! (especially compared to houses like Fantome, which I love, but take FOREVER) And they included 6 freebies in there as well, which was phenomenal!
Just be forewarned, some of these scents do stain!! So I wouldn't necessarily spray on clothing.
__________________________________________________________________
Apple Tabac 5/5
Notes: fresh red apple, tobacco, fir balsam, rum resin, dried fruits.
First impression: I absolutely love this scent and it is a sweet unisex standalone for me. This scent is Super well balanced. It is a pop of pure red apple juice right in your face, like you're in the apple barn, drinking fresh cider. You smell tobacco drying from the rafters, the fir trees outside, the rum resin, the dried fruits, everything. It all balances Super nicely, but you can still pick out every single note. I absolutely love this and will probably be a Fall Staple for me (or whenever I want to evoke that fall feeling in my chest lol. It's May, but in smelling it, I totally felt the fall chill lol)
Dry down: still smells phenomenal. You don't really lose any of the notes, even the apple, which is rare for me
**I really like layering this over Ponderosa (listed below)*
Boreal 4/5
pine needles, mint, cedar, resins, moss.
Frigid forest of the northern wilderness. Chilly mint gives way to a soft bed of creamy cedar, pine, and moss.
First Reaction out of the bottle: If you like Mint, this one's for you. It is Straight Mint. The cedar pine and moss were almost non existent props to the Very strong Mint, first out the bottle wet. Me personally, I was hoping for more of a Hint of mint overlaying a stronger scent of cedar and pine and moss, but the opposite is truer with this one. You do get an underlayer of cedar on the drydown, but the majority is full on mint.
After months of letting it sit, I came back to it and it is Much more balanced. Much more of a winter vibes forest scent I could get behind. Essentially she's the Winter Witch. A very Minty unisex woods scent
The long Dry down: dries down to a faint crisp woods scent. Still very pleasant to wear

Borealis 2/5 Notes: snowdrifts, peppermint, camphor, black tea, black elder, valerian root, ocean spume, fir balsam, orris root, pine needles, incense, sandalwood, Irish ambergris, cedarmoss, patchouli, deer musk (botanic accord), ashes.
First Reaction: I REALLY did not like this one. It was a freebie given (which they were amazing to include so many freebies), but this one, to me had a very stringent vibe with an underlayer of almost urine smell. I don't get very much of the pine or any of the snowdrifts or peppermint. But it does have a very 'black apothecary' vibe to the smell. Like it's the smell of an old trappegatherer's cabin in the woods. A witch in the woods that you go to, to trade with when you're desperate. If you like musk and dark foresty herbs and dirt, then this one is for you. It's like the dark chaotic marshlands sister witch to Boreal
This is the poster child for letting a scent rest lol.
Dry down: It Definitely softens on the drydown, but there's still that weird note in there, for me, that makes it not so pleasant as its sister Boreal
Also, to note about this scent, the first listed notes are snowdrifts and peppermint, but I do NOT get those notes at all. It's very much more 'Marshland forests by the sea maybe in winter...when winter is year round lol like Alaska....which makes sense with the name now that I think of it lol
Steading 4/5
Notes: tobacco, hay, beeswax, barley, dried needles, poplar, hops, maple, and wisps of peat smoke. A dense wheaty tobacco perfume with dried fir needles and honeyed maple sweetness.
First Reaction: If you like fresh natural straight out the tree, maple syrup, then this is the scent for you! I do definitely get the honey and maple, that is FOR SURE. At first straight out the bottle, I didn't think I liked this scent. It was a Strong Maple front.
BUT, after letting it settle, I tried it again, and it is now strangely becoming one of my fast favorites! The maple has mellowed out a bit and now I almost smell straight honey. The longer I smell it, the more I feel like I've been taking a autumn drive and stopped in at one of those side orchards that are selling homemade honey and maple syrup and you take a tasting tour. Personally, though, I'll still probably layer it onto something a bit more foresty/woodsy/cedar smelling to even out that super strong sweet maple. Cause on the Drydown it still completely smells like Maple honey. It's a really good honey scent though. A lot of honey's come off strangely urine-y on me. This one doesn't. It's like a true maple honey. Really nice. Almost nostalgic when it dries down
Eldritch 3.5/5 (I'll use it as a mixer, but not on it's own. It's a bit much on its own lol)
Notes: Leather, Myrrh, patchouli, fir, oolong tea, opoponax, smoke, pine needles, oakmoss.
Lair of ancient eldritch abominations, a resinous and dark perfume for the bold and unafraid.
this Fall 2023 Version included additional tea & moss
This was a Curiosity's sake purchase when I saw this on a list of 'If you want to smell like a witch' suggestions (very accurate for this to be on that list). First on my skin I definitely get the sharp leather notes and I think the myrrh. It is definitely a challenging scent and more of a unisex or masculine scent, but me as a witchy woman, I love it. I think I'm totally getting the Opoponax (resin that smells like oak honey powder and leather), the smoke and the fir. First out of the gate I feel like it makes me smell like a dark and mysterious witchy apothecary owner during the 1700s in a port town, with gunpowder and fire tinging the air. And you're making poisons and special magical bullets. And I think I do really like the addition of tea and moss into the scent, otherwise, I think it'd be more of a pirate-y unisex/masc scent. With the Leather and Myrrh and oolong tea and smoke, it has a bit of a 'Buccanneepirate' vibe to it. But with the Patchouli and oak moss and pine needles, it gives witchy and slightly southern vibes, which leads my head to go Bayou pirate/witch lol. Right after I got it, though, it was definitely a challenging scent. But, trust me, let it sit, it will get so much better with time.
First dry down it softens beautifully, so if you think it's too strong and overpowering at first, don't worry. It'll mellow
Long dry down, it does get a bit musty and stale herbally after a bit. But, it is Just perfect if you want a remnant scent of 'I just walked through a witchy Apothecary in Savannah'
Just keep in mind, right out the bottle, it is a very challenging scent. Make sure to let it rest a bit, and then try it on your skin, too, before judging.
*note: if you're not an herbally/witchy person, this may be more of a masculine scent pull. I could totally see giving this scent to a guy friend/family member, if you get it and it's not for you. For me personally, though, I love it as a dark wet witchy base layer under something super fruity (like SF&F's Lilac & Gooseberries, or Lorelai from Fantome), to give me the perfect fruity darkly complex witchy scents.
Sadly, the top notes are a fast faders on me (but I think it may just be that my skin gobbles scents ). After about 2 hours it had faded to a Very soft dried herbs, leather, and smoke. It really does perfectly pair w/ Strange Fire & Fumery's Lilac & Gooseberries, though, to give a fruity floral witch vibe. That soft dried herbs, leather, and smoke scent, though lasted a Very long time, till the end of the day pretty much

Ponderosa 5/5
Notes: Ponderosa resin, ponderosa needles, cedar, vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon, butterscotch, beeswax, raisin cookies
First Impressions: definitely another atmospheric scent. I get sweet resins and wood, like I'm in a wood barn or wood lodge. It's a very sweet woodsy scent. Think a wood lodge up in Gatlinburg, where you can get all you can eat pancakes and sweet pastries all day with fresh syrups. I don't get too much strawberry in there, but almost like you can smell someone's strawberry pancakes with maple syrup in this wood lodge.
I feel like this would be a WONDERFUL deepening layer underneath a strawberry vanilla scent that seems too one-note, to really give a full bodied complex scent. But, quite honestly, It's actually a fine stand alone scent for me, too
Dry down: It still smells really great! More into the wood/resin smell with a touch of butterscotch and vanilla, rather than super gourmand-y. But, the drydown is still a super pleasant scent I don't mind wearing
**I actually really like layering this under Apple Tabac**

Hayloft 4/5
Notes: hay, lavender honey, crocus, sweet vernal grass, bison grass, toasted almond, hazelnut, oats, dusty wheat.
Another atmospheric barn scent, but more a springtime barn: fresh sweet grasses and flowers hanging from the rafters, the warm sweet hot cross buns in your basket from breakfast. You're having breakfast in the loft, overlooking your garden. I do wish there was a bit 'more(?)' to this scent though? Like either bring in some more vanilla notes to make it a true gourmand OR bring in more lavender and herbs to make it a more green scent. I think though, because of that, that makes this a perfect layering scent. So, depending on how I want to smell that day, I can layer this under a more gourmand scent. Or, I can layer it under a more floral or green scent
though, after smelling it again after the drydown....nah, it balances out super nicely to a light spring wood barn scent. I don't think you even need to mix it with something. You can wear it on its own. I'll bring it up to a 4.5/5 rating-wise

White Fir 5/5
Notes: orange, ginger, white fir, clove, anise, pine, musk, vetiver, oakmoss
The PERFECT wintery citrus scent. Super crisp. You definitely get the citrus and ginger and white fir. The only more perfect addition would be to maybe layer it with a patchouli or deeper woodsy/cedar scent, I think, to give it a bit more depth and less 'Winter Cleaning day' vibe.
*For a sweeter vibe, though, I layer this under Kinmokusei from Fantome, and it gives me pretty much a perfect witchy lemon citrus green herbal scent*
Clemenpine 1.5/5
Notes: Clementine, Blood Orange, Maritime Pine, Night-Blooming Jasmine, Saffron Flower, Rough Suede, Passion Fruit, White Lotus, Fir Balsam, Tobacco Leaf, Cedar Planks, Leather, Sandalwood, Pacific Ambergris.
I really wish I had had the chance to let this one settle for a few months like the others, but sadly it got dropped onto my cement floor and shattered, so I only had my first impressions of it, which was that it smelled like PURE cleaning fluid. Which really sucks, cause I love orange and citrusy scents and was very hopeful for this one. I may eventually order a sample again, just to give it a second shot, since all the rest of these benefited so much from letting them sit and rest
Meadowmoss 1.5/5
Oakmoss, Alpine Sandwort, Wild grass, Green Wheat, Orange Blossom, Fir Balsam, Tomato Leaf, Azure Bluet, Mountain Wildflowers
First impressions: This one is one of those scents I wouldn't actually wear. BUT, one I would use on like my dryer balls or as a room spray on furniture in spring. It really is like you're standing out in an open field in the Swiss alps singing, the Hills are Alive, next to a wayward nun. If that's what you'd like to smell like? This one is for you! It just screamed 'linen sheet' to me, rather than perfume. Also, I unfortunately have an autoimmune allergy to nightshades and I didn't realize this had Tomato leaf in it :/
So, it's one I'm gifting to my mom
Ivymoss 3.5/5
Notes: Climbing Ivy, Green Tea, Spearmint, Lime Rind, Lemon Verbena, Waterlily, Emerald Cypress, Mugo Pine, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Treemoss, Cedarmoss.
Another one that DEFINITELY needs rest before you judge. At first it was purely going to be another dryer ball scent. But after Months of letting it rest (like legit half a year), I actually think I like the scent enough to maybe wear it! (at least as an undertone, if not as a standalone). It's a very Bright Green early Springtime vibes scent. Fresh, without smelling overtly like cleaning fluid or laundry detergent. It's truly like walking through a forest in very early spring, with the air still crisp, but new plants starting to grow.
It's not one I would wear a Lot, I don't think....but maybe in early spring layered under an apple-y scent. Or maybe as an undertone layer with something like a honeysuckle scent, to balance it out for me.

Greymist 5/5
Notes: Noble Fir, Scotch Pine, Expressed Citron, Blond Tobacco, Botanical Musk, Vetiver.
Another one that Really needs to rest, before you try, cause I'm pretty sure it was on the list of (I REALLY don't like) when I first scented these, but now months after, this one's gonna be one of my favorite winter scents, I think. It legit smells like Christmas time. The fir and pine Really stands out, and you get that little bit of tobacco in there too, almost like you're hugging Santa and he smokes a pipe lol.
Acadian 3.5/5
Sweet Yuzu, Bergamot, Juniper Berry, Ivy, Eucalyptus, Waterlily, Goldenrod, Heliotrope, Seaweed, Cedar, Oakmoss
This scent reminds me of trips to the Lost sea or Rock city. Smelling the damp mossy forests and wet mountain stone. That smell of caves found along hikes in damp foggy weather. I kinda flip between loving this and not so loving this one. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes at all, which is sad, cause I do like a lot of those individual scents. But, it is a really nice general unisex/masculine scent
A little goes a Very long way, though. It's got a very lengthy throw. I like pairing a DOT of it underneath one of my sweeter fruity or floral scents. If I use too much, there's a note in there that's a bit wonky and it goes a bit powdery and strong and gives me a headache. And I don't like this one as much on the drydown. Powder notes tend to last the longest on me (and they're the worst for me) and it gets very strong and weirdly powdery/perfumey on the drydown, sadly, which is why I put it at a 3.5 for me. It may be great for someone else though. My brother says it smells like a generic male cologne lol
Akero 5/5
Notes: green apple, benzoin, patchouli, sandalwood, cedar.
The first bit of a freshly picked green apple. When I smell this, it transports me to a green apple orchard, with the apples just getting ripe. It's definitely got a Green earthy undertone, but the bright apple evens it out a bunch. I really love this, even alone, or layered with a sweeter fruit scent, like Kinmousekai from fantome. I do wish the Cedasandalwood stood out a bit more, though. I may have to try putting a drop of this onto an actual cedar chip. See how it smells

Caravansary 5/5 freebie
Notes: fir balsam, deer musk (botanic accord), vanilla, black tea, lavender, blue spruce, blue chamomile, treemoss, incense, mulched pinecone, campfire smoke.
First impressions: Like Olle+Max's Summer Witch is like a summer roadtrip for me, hitting up all the hippy/witchy side shops and thrift shops along the way….This is the winter version. Again a super atmospheric scent, it instantly transports me to my car in winter, riding along the backroads, smelling the fresh fir and pine trees, the smell of camp smoke in the distance and the herbs I smoke cleansed the car with before the trip, along with the hot tea I have in my traveler mug for the journey ahead. It's definitely unisex, but honestly, I could probably wear this in winter by itself. Or, I'll use it as a layering element, to bring a bit of smoke/incense/winter travel vibes to a blend
Gingerbread 5/5 freebie
Notes: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, wheat absolute, butter co2, molasses distillate, brown sugar, black walnut, milk, cream, vanilla.
This one was a freebie thrown in (They included a Ton of freebies, which was so phenomenal!)
First impressions, another very well balanced set for late fall/winter. It smells like a fresh gingerbread snap (those hard old school ginger cookies), you can smell the cinnamon and cloves so much that it almost comes off as fresh cut wood which is definitely a complimentary vibe for this scent. Though, that may also be the wheat absolute and black walnut coming out, too. The sharpness from the ginger is mellowed out by the milk and cream and brown sugar and molasses. Another scent that blends very well, but you can still pick out all the individual notes and they tell a story. It's really cool how this house does that!
Christmas Wine Freebie 3.5/5
Notes: cranberry, plum, blood orange, cloves, nutmeg, fir balsam
It's definitely got the vibe of mulled Christmas wine. I'm kind of meh about it, though? There's a note in there I'm not fond of (I think the nutmeg) and I wish there was a bit of a crisp forest underlayer in there and maybe a bit more fruit, less mulled wine spices. BUT, this does make for a perfect mulled wine top note mixer on one of my more winter woods scents, like Grey Mist and Caravansary…and then maybe getting a winter berry scent to layer over top everything. This is a great mid layer scent for me.
Glühwein Pinewardperfume Freebie 5/5
Notes: Cranberry, champaca, cherry compote, rasberry, fir balsam, chocolate, davana attar, oakmoss, frankincense
Quite honestly everything I want Christmas Wine to be. In the description it says it was actually built on a base of the christmas wine scent, but with additional festive nuance, and this 2023 version is less sweet with more cocoa and champaca. This is actually pretty sweet, so I can't imagine what it was before. It's like sweet winter berries, and you can pretty distinctly scent the fir and frankincense and oakmoss. So, basically, all my notes from Christmas wine and how to improve it…they did it in this lol, it is Gluhwein. Just get this one lol
Then last but not least, they also included another freebie that isn't listed in their scent collection for sale. It's a Mint Cocoa. Which, honestly is Another poster child for letting rest lol. At first it was a bit chemically and I didn't like it at all. Now, it fluctuates from being a photorealistic mint chocolate….to weirdly smelling like my dad's alcoholic egg nogg that he loves every year at after Thanksgiving-New Years. I think it'll be a great mixer or even standalone this winter for me. Very nostalgic vibes.
_______________________________________________________________
So, I hope anyone looking for Pineward reviews! They're a really cool house, so I hope they keep growing!

I remember the first arena release being a fun game mode with around 20 augments and 5-10 new items. It was mostly balanced and every game didn't feel like an RNG chore. You knew what augments there were and you re-rolled to find them or you could build accordingly to synergize with your teammate. No team felt undefeatable if you just built right and forced some good augments.
Now when I queue up arena it's strictly to play 1-2 with friends. It felt like you could go for hours and hands diff 2-3 times and most losses felt mostly like your own fault.
Now I'll queue with some friends and there are 150 augments or something, with the three-tier system, and some of the augments are incredibly busted for their tier.
If I'm running into Scopier, scoped, scopiest weapons rapidfire - 4 crit item trundle? Out
Or talented marksman, or whatever that augment is that fully refunds your ability if you hit at more than 700 range, watching ashe spam W from the other side of the map infinitely while her other augments are some kind of armomr shred as well as an infinitely stacking burn, all silver augments.
Let me know if I'm just stupid and wishing for a simpler arena, but it just seems like Arena devolved from a fun PvP experience that lasted 10-15 minutes to this 25 minute "who can get the most cdr at the longest range" type of game. I am glad they combated the whole tank thing where tanks could just sit in the fire forever waiting out deaths, but I'm not sure adding infinite amounts of augments that are completely RNG, and some of these new items like talisman being so useless unless the rng hits, is really healthy.
Ending note, fuck that lotus map thing. Terrible design and the most unfun map to play if you're not super strong. Strong poke team just perma starts the lotus cooldown and then spams poke so you can't cross. Even as the winning team I just feel like I'm rng diffing the enemy team, not even winning by doing anything.

I've been meaning to write this review for a while and hesitated because I'm somewhat new to the fragrance hobby, but I figured if at least one more person new about Kismet Olfactive then I would be happy. Kismet Olfactive is one of the houses that got me interested in this hobby to begin with (the other being Diptyque) and I happen to own samples of almost everything they've released.
About Kismet Olfactive: An indie house based in NYC and founded by perfumer Shabnam Tavakol. She studied at Grasse Institute of Perfumery and her studio sets out to create "fragrances from feelings," both inspired by memories and meant to move the wearer emotionally.
I brought all of my samples to my local Scent Bar and showed them to everyone there – they all thought the fragrances were well-blended and it was interesting to see each person have different favorites. I actually happened to walk in right as a customer was asking if Scent Bar stocked Kismet Olfactive and it was truly a serendipitous moment that I had brought all my samples that day. Kismet comes from the Persian qismat which means "fate" or "what is meant to be" which I thought was fitting.
CLASSIC COLLECTION:
Nostalgia (Top: Anise; Heart: Tonka Bean, Rose de mai; Base: Leather, Suede, Nagarmotha): Such a beautiful fragrance and the first I smelled from this house. Someone I knew was wearing it and I just couldn't get enough. Nostalgia is a smooth, creamy, warm leather and unlike any leather I've smelled before. It's so well-blended it's hard for me to pick out individual notes and the longevity is amazing. It reminds me of sitting in a worn leather armchair in an old private library. It feels cozy, comforting, and familiar. This fragrance is in Frederic Malle's personal collection and is also my personal favorite from Kismet.
Studio Scent (Top: Bergamot, Heart: Turkish Fig, Persian Black Tea, Lavender, Base: Amberwood, Oakmoss, Palo Santo): For those you familiar with BDK's Gris Charnel, Studio Scent is its more natural, fresher sibling. To be fair, I'm slightly biased since I smelled Studio Scent first, but the fig really shines in this and the choice of palo santo over BDK's sandalwood is a good one.
The Poet (Top: Grapefruit, Ambrox; Heart: Casablanca Lily, Ambrette Musk, Frankincense; Base: Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Patchouli): So smooth and sexy – the grapefruit in the opening gives it a nice zing. Once it blooms on your skin, it really comes to life. The tonka bean, patchouli, and musk blend perfectly and I see it as a "your skin but better" type fragrance. Marketed as unisex but I think it leans slightly masculine. If you like Molecule 01, you'd probably like this. I'm currently wearing it and I can't stop putting my nose to my arm!
Nympheas (Top: Pond water; Heart: Maté, Lily of the Valley, Lotus; Base: Vetiver, Oakmoss): Nympheas was inspired by Monet's paintings and I'm immediately transported there when I wear it. I feel like I'm in a pond covered with lotuses – acquatic, fresh, floral, slightly ozonic. The only gripe I have with this fragrance is that its longevity is weak.
Wedding in Oaxaca (Top: Pink Pepper, Ginger, Coconut Milk; Heart: Geranium, Gardenia, Violet Leaves; Base: Osmanthus, Musk, Sandalwood): I used to think that I hated white florals; Wedding in Oaxaca is what changed my mind for good. The opening is fresh from the pink pepper and ginger, but this fragrance really shines when it settles into your skin. Once the heart opens up, you get a beautiful creaminess from the white florals. Fresh, warm, creamy, and slightly spicy.
Tuberose Tantra (Top: Clove, Ginger Root; Heart: Tuberose, Jasmine; Base: Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cashmeran): Warm, spicy, and floral but different from Wedding in Oaxaca. The tuberose here is faintly reminiscent of bubble gum, but not in a bad way. It's a very well-balanced fragrance and leans more into the spices than Wedding in Oaxaca. If you love tuberose, I definitely recommend trying this one out!
COMMON GROUND COLLECTION: This collection is limited edition and inspired by cities around the world. Unfortunately I was only able to get my hands on L.A. High and Embarcadero, but they also have ones for Barcelona and Paris. LA and SF are both home for me, so being able to smell both of these was a treat.
L.A. High (Top: Saltwater; Heart: Maryjane, Sage, Violet Leaves; Base: Sandalwood, Palo Santo, Petitgrain): Fresh opening with the saltwater and sage, and gradually its warmth from the sandalwood and palo santo comes through. The marijuana note is so well-blended and is more of a supporting character than the highlight, if you're worried about smelling like weed. The fragrance as a whole really does feel reminiscent of a sunny LA day. Unisex, but I see it leaning slightly masculine.
Embarcadero (Top: Bergamot; Heart: Galbanum, Violet Leaves, Labdanum; Base: Patchouli, Vetiver, Oakmoss): I'm not sure how Shabnam was able to do it, but she really was able to capture the feeling of SF. It's classified as a modern fougere and it reminds me of walking along the wharf on a slightly overcast day, the fog slowly dissipating as the ocean breeze passes through the city. When I close my eyes I can see the tall cypress trees.
Kismet Olfactive is one of my favorite houses and I've enjoyed every fragrance from them so far, even though I don't see myself wearing all of them. So far everyone I've introduced Kismet to has found something they like, and I hope you can too (unfortunately nothing here for you gourmand-lovers – maybe one day!). Thank you for reading!

This is going to be part scent Request, part scent Review of all the green/lemony scents I've tried so far....
I'm a bit of a green witch and I love having green undernotes to my perfumes. Generally, I've just been layering other scents over either For Strange Women's French Oakmoss or Pineward's Eldritch, but I would love to find some more standalone green scents. As well a some citrus scents!! I absolutely Love citrus, but scent-wise (the same with the Green scents) have been turning out smelling more like cleaning fluid or something I'd put on my dryer ball or a room spray, not necessarily use as a perfume. There are a few that have worked out, though, so I thought I'd share my reviews of those too!
_______________________________________________________________________ My rating system: 1/5 - I will never wear it and I actively don't like/hate this scent. 2/5 - It doesn't really smell like a perfume or I don't really like it 3/5 - meh, it's okay. It'll be an okay mixing agent, or someone else may like it, it's just not for me by itself 4/5 - I do like it, it's just got something small missing from making it perfect, ie: It dries down weird, or it fades fast 5/5 - I absolutely adore this scent. Any more and I want to swim in it lol
Here's what I've tried so far and how they smelled to me:
Alkemia
Moss Maiden ( Ferns, bark, lichen, crushed autumnal greens, and moss) - 2/5 - I May use this as a green layering note, but mainly I'd probably use it as a dryer ball scent or room spray. It does smell like a mossy cave...but if that mossy cave was SUPER clean lol. It's got this weird cleaning spray vibe in there
Green Witch ( oakmoss, Diviner's sage, lemon verbena, orchid, nightshade, winterhazel, rowen bark) - 2/5 - This one's got some lemon in with the green, but again, just screams 'This is laundry detergent!' to me when I smell it :/
Baccante (Blueberries, Oakmoss, wild ivy, lavender, tonka, and forest fungi) - 6/5 - I will be totally buying a full bottle of this. It's one of the first perfumes that could be a total standalone for me. It's like you're standing in a blueberry field, full of ripe fresh blueberries. I would legit rate it a 10/5 if it didn't disappear so fast on me. That may just be my skin, though.
Sucreabeille
Vodka & Swearing - (Sedona, sage, lemongrass, mojito, and juniper) 3/5 - Doesn't quite give off 'Cleaning fluid' but it does give off Very photorealistic 'Mojito'. I just sadly don't really get anything else. Just lemon mojito. Like, smelling it is akin to holding a lemon mojito up to your nose, quite literally. Not sure if I'd like to smell like that alone. If the green herbs were better in there, maybe I'd wear it...I may actually overlayer it with Green Witch and see how it does, after writing out these....
**OH MY GOODNESS OKAY I FOUND THE MIX lol...layer on For Strange Women's French Oakmoss under Alkemia's Green Witch, and top with Suc's Vodka & Swearing lol. No lie...It's a pretty great lemony Green witch scent, without being too 'Cleaner Fluid-y'. later, after the drydown, It does dry down a bit too perfumey/powdery, though, so later throughout the day, I layer on Baccante or Where the Wild things Grow (look down below), to bring in a fruity element to the mix. Unfortunately, my skin does suck those up, so I've gotta reapply like every 2 hours
haha love when that works out, though lol.... Hope that scent combo helps someone else **
Pineward
Boreal - 3/5 - (pine needles, mint, cedar, resins, moss. Frigid forest of the northern wilderness. Chilly mint gives way to a soft bed of creamy cedar, pine, and moss.)
If you like Mint, this one's for you. It is Straight Mint. The cedar pine and moss are almost non existent props to the Very strong Mint. Me personally, I was hoping for more of a Hint of mint overlaying a stronger scent of cedar and pine and moss, but the opposite was more true with this one. You do get a good underlayer of cedar on the drydown, but even in the drydown, you still get that wintery mint. It'll be a great mint additive to some of my stronger foresty scents, though! And I think, layered with Krampus it will be really nice winteyule scent. After the Drydown, you can really tell it's a softer minty version of Borealis lol. Like Boreal is the pale, shy dark woods winter witch, while Borealis is the wild and chaotic summer dark swamp witch sister
Borealis - was a 1/5, now a 3/5 - (Notes: snowdrifts, peppermint, camphor, black tea, black elder, valerian root, ocean spume, fir balsam, orris root, pine needles, incense, sandalwood, Irish ambergris, cedarmoss, patchouli, deer musk (botanic accord), ashes)
First Reaction: I REALLY did not like this one. It was a freebie given (which they were amazing to include so many freebies), but this one, to me has a very stringent vibe with an underlayer of almost urine smell( the musk, I think). I don't get very much of the pine, but it does have a black apothecary vibe to the smell. Like it's the smell of an old trappegatherer's cabin. A witch in the woods that you go to, to trade when you're desperate. If you like musk and dark foresty herbs and dirt, then this one is for you. It is STRONG on the musk, though
BUT, Okay, just fyi this is the poster child for letting a scent rest lol. I didn't much like it at first, but After a few months I tried it again and now it's going to be a great dark green witch undertone scent lol. I don't get much winter vibes, though lol. Just dark forest ones. Like it's a bit more Swamp witch then Eldritch (next down below), but it could be a sister to the "Bella Lestrange would wear me as perfume" vibe
Eldritch - 4/5 -
Notes: Leather, Myrrh, patchouli, fir, oolong tea, opoponax, smoke, pine needles, oakmoss.
Lair of ancient eldritch abominations, a resinous and dark perfume for the bold and unafraid. Fall 2023 Version: additional tea & moss
This was a Curiosity's sake purchase when I saw this on a list of 'If you want to smell like a witch' suggestions (very accurate just fyi). First on my skin I definitely get the sharp leather notes and I think the myrrh. It is definitely a challenging scent and more of a unisex or masculine scent, but me as a witchy woman, I love it as a green undertone. I think I'm totally getting the Opoponax (resin that smells like oak honey powder and leather), the smoke and the fir. First out of the gate I feel like it makes me smell like a dark and mysterious apothecary witch, with her shop at a dock in the middle of a dark swampy bayou. And I think I do really like the addition of tea and moss into the scent, otherwise, I think it'd be more of a straight, almost pirate-y, unisex/masc scent
First dry down it softens beautifully, so if you think it's too strong and overpowering at first, don't worry. It'll mellow
Long dry down, it does get a bit musty and stale herbally after a bit. But it is Just perfect if you want a remnant scent of 'I just walked through a witchy herbal shop in the Bayou' vibe
Just keep in mind, right out the bottle, it is a very challenging scent. Make sure to let it rest a bit, and then try it on your skin, too, before judging.
*note: if you're not an herbally/witchy woman, this may be more of a masculine scent pull. I could totally see giving this scent to a guy friend/family member, if you get it and it's not for you. For me personally, though, I love it as my witchy base layer under something super fruity (like SF&F's Lilac & Gooseberries), to give me the perfect fruity complex green witchy scent.
White Fir 5/5 - Notes of orange, ginger, white fir, clove, anise, pine, musk, vetiver, oakmoss
The PERFECT wintery citrus scent. The only more perfect addition would be to layer it with a patchouli or more of a 'dark forest' scent, to give it a bit more depth and less 'Winter Cleaning day' vibe
Clemenpine -2/5 - (Notes Clementine, Blood Orange, Maritime Pine, Night-Blooming Jasmine, Saffron Flower, Rough Suede, Passion Fruit, White Lotus, Fir Balsam, Tobacco Leaf, Cedar Planks, Leather, Sandalwood, Pacific Ambergris)
I really wish I had had the chance to let this one settle for a few months like the others (pineward really needs some settle time to fully bloom, just fyi), but sadly it got dropped onto my cement floor and shattered, so I only had my first impressions of it, which was that it smelled like PURE cleaning fluid. I'm talking orange Pine-sol :/ . Which really sucks, cause I love orange and citrusy scents and was very hopeful for this one. Eventually I may get another sample of it, to try again, but I was really disappointed in it.
Meadowmoss 2/5
Notes: Oakmoss, Alpine Sandwort, Wild grass, Green Wheat, Orange Blossom, Fir Balsam, Tomato Leaf, Azure Bluet, Mountain Wildflowers.
This one is one of those scents I wouldn't actually wear. BUT, one I may use on like my dryer balls or as a room spray on furniture in spring. It really is like you're standing out in an open field in the Swiss alps singing the Hills are Alive next to a wayward nun. If that's what you'd like to smell like? This one is for you! Not really for wearing on me, though. It smells like a dryer sheet.
Ivymoss 3/5
Notes: Climbing Ivy, Green Tea, Spearmint, Lime Rind, Lemon Verbena, Waterlily, Emerald Cypress, Mugo Pine, Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Treemoss, Cedarmoss.
This is one that DEFINITELY needs rest. At first it was purely going to be another dryer ball scent. But after Months of letting it rest (like legit half a year), I actually think I like the scent enough to maybe wear it! (at least as an undertone, if not as a standalone). It's a very Bright Green scent. Fresh, without smelling overtly like cleaning fluid or laundry detergent. But, it does give that hint. Like Irish Soap almost. It's truly like walking through a forest in very early spring, with the air still crisp, but new plants starting to grow....and you're wearing freshly laundered clothes lol
It's not one I would wear a Lot, I don't think....but maybe in early spring with a apple-y scent. Or maybe as an undertone layer with something like a sweet honeysuckle scent

Greymist 5/5
Notes: Noble Fir, Scotch Pine, Expressed Citron, Blond Tobacco, Botanical Musk, Vetiver.
Another one that Really needs to rest, before you try, cause I'm pretty sure it was on the list of scents I REALLY don't like, when I first scented these. But now months after, this one's gonna be one of my favorite winter scents, I think. It legit smells like Christmas time. The fir and pine Really stands out, and you get that little bit of tobacco in there too, almost like you're hugging Santa and he smokes a pipe lol. Quite honestly, it may actually be a standalone scent for me, for winter time
Acadian 3.5/5
Notes: Sweet Yuzu, Bergamot, Juniper Berry, Ivy, Eucalyptus, Waterlily, Goldenrod, Heliotrope, Seaweed, Cedar, Oakmoss
This scent reminds me of trips to the Lost sea or Rock city. Smelling the damp mossy forests and wet mountain stone. That smell of caves found along hikes in damp foggy weather. I can't really pick out any of the individual notes at all, which is sad, cause I do like a lot of those individual scents. But, it is a really nice combination into a unisex/masculine scent. All of Pineward, so far has leaned more to the Unisex/masc cologne side of things. But, this one I do like to pair with something like Lorelei from Fantome, which is a strawberry over seawater and seaweed scent
A little goes a Very long way. It's got a very long throw. I like pairing a DOT of it with one of my sweeter fruity or floral scents. If I use too much, it does dry down a bit powdery and strong and gives me a headache, which is why I put it at 3.5 instead of 4/5
Akero 4/5
Notes: green apple, benzoin, patchouli, sandalwood, cedar.
The first bit of a freshly picked green apple. When I smell this, it transports me to a green apple orchard, with the apples just getting ripe. It's definitely got a Green earthy undertone, but the bright apple evens it out a bunch. I really love this, even alone, or layered with a sweeter fruit scent, like Kinmousekai from fantome. I do wish the Cedasandalwood stood out a bit more, though. I may have to try putting a drop of this onto an actual cedar chip. See how it smells
Ollie & Max
Spring Witch 2/5 Notes: an enchanting blend of rosewater, jasmine and lily top notes, middle notes of clover and greenery, finishing with citrus and herbs
This one is another dryer ball scent for me, unfortunately. A really nice dryer scent, though! Perfect for springtime. I just more expect this scent with detergent, not a perfume
Sorcellerie Apothecary
Where the Wild Things Grow 3/5 1: the Sweet version.
Notes: Late spring strawberries still on the vine and vanilla cream soda slowly fade to strawberry blossoms, fresh green grass with morning dew, and ambrette seed.
I do like this, but not on its own. It's got a bit of a chemically tone in there (from the 'cream soda' I think). It does give fizzy strawberry drink, vibe, though. I like layering it over Fantome's Lorelei and FSW's French Oakmoss for a strawberry witch vibe
II: The fruity green version. Notes:
Late spring strawberries still on the vine and vanilla cream soda slowly fade to strawberry blossoms, fresh green grass with morning dew, and ambrette seed.
I do like this one, but it's a bit Too much artificial candy and green grass for me, if that makes sense. It reminds me of sucking on a strawberry candy as a kid, running around in the fresh cut grass. I do like it, I just have to layer it with Lorelei and other green/fruity notes, otherwise it gives me a headache
Fantome
Lorelei - 4/5
Notes: Tart wild strawberries, basil, black narcissus, entangling seaweed, watery graves
It starts off with a punch of fruity strawberry, but has bottom notes of salty seaweed and sweet basil. And I absolutely love it when basil finds its way into perfumes. I absolutely love that scent. I just wish there was More basil and other herbs, maybe
I do love this scent, but not on its own. I love it as a mid level mixing layer, though. Usually I'll layer it above something like Eldritch or Acadian or French Oakmoss (see all three above), and then top off with one or both of the Where the Wild Things Are scents (also look above), for a more full bodied Strawberry Witch vibe scent.
____________________________________________________________________________ TL;DR:
So, essentially, I've had some hits and some misses. I love Fruity scents and I want green witch/kitchen witch herbal vibes with my scents. I like gourmands. I sometimes like florals (just more on the fruity floral side, not the powdery floral side). I HATE with a passion powdery scents and scents that go cleanedetergent vibes.
Can ya'll help with some recommendations for any lemon or orange citrusy perfumes that don't go 'cleaner fluid or detergent' vibes? And/or any herbal or Green scents that I may like?
Please & Thank you!!

To start this I'm probably going to be making a hot take and say, with the introduction of 6th job, Maplestory's "tutorial" really doesn't end till your main hits 260 and obtains 6th job. I know this is a hot take, but with hyper burns coming around the corner, I think new players will want a way to gauge their damage and when they can start looking to clear bosses. I want this to be known that I will be listing a few damage ranges for each boss. Some bosses will not have either the lower bound since its more just something that you end up passing naturally just by training or I haven't really tested it myself or have the solo since either I'm not sure about it or its more that those ranges are so far up there I haven't gotten there myself. Also I will be using b/s for most of the damage requirements. This damage requirement is on a dojo dummy with the boss's stats since its much harder to test damage on the boss itself. Also I'll just assume that these BA's are without gskills and only green pot + fams.
MID GAME BOSSES: DAMIEN, LOTUS, LUCID AND WILL
Normal Lotus and Damien Party: if you can solo vellum then you can party this boss. Solo: About 1b/s on lotus/damien, which realistically will never be a hurdle for your hyper burn. From my personal experience if you can farm in like moonbridge or even esfera you can solo normal lotus and damien. It's more just a sanity check rather than damage.
Hard Lotus and Damien: So technically damien is tankier than lotus, however, due to lotus phasing wasting either time or burst damage its pretty much even, and also p2 damien is just annoying to set up your burst. After some discussion I've come to realize that most min players aren't really going to be worrying about overbursting lotus and the cutscenes actually don't really affect runtime for min solos/parties that much. Also kinda forgot that some classes can't hit damien while he is in the air and also that some classes just lose all their burst if damien tps away. Due to this Damien is actually quite a bit tankier than lotus as well as the fact that he has more base hp than lotus anyways. I'm just going to put hard damien at about 25% tankier for most classes with a few classes being especially disadvantaged in the boss and some being VERY advantaged in the boss. Examples of advantaged classes are DW, WA, NW, Khali, and Adele. Pretty much classes that can still get good damage off when the boss is in the air and also can avoid the balls well. Examples being NW being able to tp across the map after dragging the balls to the corner, WA being able to jail the balls entirely, Khali being able to full combo damien in air, Adele being able to float and do damage to damien while in air and then there's DW. I can say a little more about him because I main DW, but to name a few, great mobility with being able to traverse most of the map by animation canceling your iframe dash with equinox slash (you wont need the iframe its damien) and the combo of using our rush skill with equinox slash to dodge the blue balls in p2. In addition to just being able to full burst damien while he is in the air. Gives DW quite good uptime in the boss. Also for the majority of classes, just upjump atk damien when he is doing balls, you only get like half your atks compared to normal but its extra damage. Disadvantaged classes include pretty much every class that can't hit while mid air. One example being explorer mages being unable to use their main bossing skills while mid air. I/L cant use chain lightning, Bishop cant use angel ray, etc. Min: 4b/s for Lotus and 5b/s for Damien Party: about 12b/s for lotus and 15b/s for Damien. Most parties won't 6 man hard damien and lotus and would rather just duo or trio the boss for higher pitch chance. However, if you do want to run a 25m hard lomien then its probably closer to 6b/s and about 8b/s for Damien Solo: 25b/s for lotus and 30b/s for Damien, This is kinda the point where you want to find a guild with at least 15 crit damage and 15 damage gskills to solo this.
Normal Lucid and Will Real talk, I don't know the requirement for this, its somewhere in between solo nlomien and min hlotus. As for the solo requirement then its something like 15b/s? Is it high? probably, but also remember that you have the 1.5x arcane bonus so realistically it's a lot lower than most ppl expect to solo this. I got some ppl confused about this solo requirement, but to put it out here, the base hp is about 24T which is about 2/3 of hard lotus. but also remember that since you are in the arcane river you should be benefiting from the 1.5x arcane damage bonus on this boss so the "real" req is about 10b/s on lotus which is quite low tbh. Honestly tho if you are able to solo this you should just party hard luwill. Party: If you can solo normal lomien you can party normal luwill Solo: 15b/s
Hard Lucid
Real talk this is the main reason I wanted to talk about this. I see too many players pushing soloing these bosses off when they are WAY overgeared for the boss. I've been told that players are supposed to do fully buffed BA's for Lucid 40s so, I'll just change that rq. MIN: 2.2T in 40s ON ORIGIN BURST. Do this BA with all your buffs so that includes green, red, gskills, etc. Pretty much every buff that will last long enough for you to hit p3 with. So don't include other externals like wh. You can probably clear with just 2.2T on origin, but also test your non origin burst and average it. If your origin and non-origin burst average to about 1.5T or something close that you should be more than fine. Party: 2T in 40s on non-origin burst. This will give you something like a 15m run which is what most ppl are looking for anyways. Solo: 13.2T in 40s on Origin Burst. For this one, I'll say players hit this requirement a LOT earlier than most ppl expect. Just go pop all your 30m buffs and maybe a cider if you end up doing that for your solo and do a 40s burst on a dojo dummy, you will be surprised how quickly you are able to solo lucid. For context, my DW was able to hit this with 21 star hat 19 star top and the rest of his gears 17 stars. And DW really isn't known for their burst. Also I think at the time of my solo I was still unlocking my boosts so it was somewhere between 200-500 fragments in a very accessible point in 6th job.
Hard Will:
Technically the damage requirement is lower than lucid, but most players will be hands gapped for p3. So I'll just leave it at the same requirements as lucid. The real damage test here is if you can get to p3 and web out with a lot of lives. Also I highly recommend running resistance link and if you still need extra damage go get urself a kurr ring for a 9s iframe when you web out. If you play it right you should be able to get 4 bursts off in p3 will. Which if you are hitting the 13.2T req on lucid is more than enough to kill p3 will. The rest of the boss is pretty chill as long as you have some form of an hp fam for p2. Or you can just play safe for the start of p2 and generate some moonlight then fight normally since as long as your dodging the majority of will's attacks and not tanking a ton of legs you should have more than enough moonlight to stay healthy in p2. Also for the soloers out there learn where the safe spot is for p3.
Hard Gloom: About the same requirement as lucid and will. The boss isn't tankier than the other two by much. For burst classes the requirement for this boss is about the same as luwill, for more DPM classes its slightly higher at 9-10T for solo and min is about 1.7T in 40s and party is prob around 2.5T for a min clear. Min: 1.7-2T in 40s Party: 2.5T in 40s Solo: 10T in 40s
Hard Vhilla and HDarknell These bosses are where the game really starts to pick up. Realistically most players won't try to min clear this anyways, but here are the recommended damages for these bosses. Min Party: 20b/s Party Requirement: 35b/s for like a 15m run Solo: 100b/s
Guardian Slime: I kinda forgot about this boss. Sorry! The main issue with this boss is that its total HP varies depending on how strong you are since it heals every minute or 30s or something like that. It also favors condensed burst classes and 3 minute classes quite a bit due to the nature of how its test works. As such, the requirement is weird to give. Normal: 5T hp and heals 1% every 1 minute Party: If you can solo normal lomien you can party this boss. Solo: 4-5b/s If your class is a burst class then its on the lower end of that range and if your class is dpm then it would be on the higher end of that range. Also being a 2m vs 3m also changes ur min req with 3m being lower than 2m due to the nature of test.
Chaos: 90T HP and Heals 1% every 30s Someone complained that the requirement was too low, so I'll put in the math. CSlime has 90T HP, in a 25m run it will heal 50%. Naturally you are doing 85% of ur damage to the boss at all times (they changed it to 85% during new age) except for groggy. As such, (90*1.5)/.85 = 158.82T effective HP in a 25m run. Which means that you gotta be doing a total of 106b/s effective damage in boss. On burst your effective damage increases by 45% going from 85% fd to 120% fd. So classes that get most of their damage out in 15s are doing a lot more effective damage than other classes that are doing DPM. Party: 15-20b/s Its about as tanky as vhilla is for a 25m run. Although the min is technically lower, you are not benefiting from the 1.5x arcane river bonus. Solo: 90-100b/s Again this range really depends on your class, whether ur 2m or 3m and ur uptime. But yeah again about as tanky as vhilla. TBH the req is probably a little lower, but due to the reduced damage when not on burst its really tankier than most ppl expect it to be. Its effective HP on a 25m run is 135T.
Black Mage: Welcome to Late Game Okay here I'm probably going to be flamed but that's fine. Most players will not want to do a TRUE min clear, most players are adamant that the min for this is 60b/s in BM. However, I'll be the one to bare good news if you REALLY want to clear BM as soon as possible, the actual true min clear is 35b/s. You heard it here. 35b/s for a 50m run. You are probably never going to find a party that is willing to do that, but if you and your friends are down then go for it. Also note that this is 35b/s on a BM dummy so you lose that juicy 1.5x multiplier (unless on event) and also probably are going to be losing damage from level reduction since if you are min clearing then i doubt you are 280 for max level bonus. Min: 35b/s Have fun in p1 :) Party: 60b/s Solo: 200b/s this is pretty widely accepted that BM solo is about 200b/s. That being said, if you can 1 burst p1, then you are probably going to be able to solo the boss, most players (including myself) started attempting solos when they could 1 burst p1.
GRANDIS: Where are the dragon bosses T^T I thought this was the land of dragons
Normal Seren: Although this boss seems to have only a bit more HP than vhilla, its actually a lot tankier than vhilla. The reason being is its DAWN PHASE. Pretty much at the end of every cycle in p2 seren, there is a dawn phase. In this phase seren gains a shield starting at 10(?) percent and increases whenever anyone in your party gets hit during the phase. Usually most inexperienced parties will be healing around 20-30% during this phase, and more experienced parties try to keep it below 20%. Truthfully speaking I don't think this boss is worth min clearing, but once you start do BM I would look into this. I'm not going to give this a min or party b/s since I was really over damaged when I started and based on my calcs its like lower than vhilla, but also really depends on if you can do more than 2 cycles or not. Ah fuck it, I'll just put a 2 cycle as min req for party. Party : 60b/s for a 2 cycle Solo: Go to hard seren.
Hard Seren:
If you have a group of friends from BM or even earlier, I highly recommend that you start progressing in these bosses with a voice chat, the boss becomes SO much easier and dawn doesn't destroy your progression if you do. Also I've seen some sheets floating around with some interesting information on it. A lot of sheets say that 160b/s is min for a 2 cycle for hard seren. I'm here to announce that it is COMPLETELY CAP. Also realistically if you are doing more than 2 cycles you are a maniac, but I'll put it here for the crazy ppl out there. Also funny the longer you go in seren the "harder" the boss gets as she gets more dawn phases and ends up healing more than if you were able to clear earlier. But if you are taking more than 2.5 cycles then your party doesn't have enough damage as the boss's dawn might just out heal your damage. Also note that you WILL NOT be doing damage during dawn, so if you ever hit dawn you just straight heal the boss for at least 10% Min: 100b/s for a 2 cycle Party: 160b/s Solo: 400b/s I don't know anyone that can solo this shit LOL Just watched my bishop friend solo at 400b/s in a 3 cycle hseren. Have fun!
Easy Kalos Real talk, I would make your party with supports in mind. Every support is going to reduce the party requirement by a LOT. Example being Bishops drop this requirement by pretty much half. Other supports like BaM, BW, DW, Mech, Kanna, etc. will also decrease your party requirement by a lot. Party: 11T in 35s. Solo: CBA, by the time your strong enough to solo this you might as well do nkalos.
To all the end gamers out there if I made a mistake just LMK. For the most part this should be accurate. For the ppl looking to progress, good luck out there and I wish you the best of luck!
EDIT: I've been told that rather than guestimating your damage on lucid its better to just do a full buffed 40s BA for lucid and test ur dps that way.
Edit 2: I've been too spoiled with my own dmg for lotus and damien so after some discussion about it I'm altering the min reqs for the bosses so that damien is about 25% tankier due to how often the boss just decides to tp away from you, stay in the air, or blue balls in p2. Also forgot about the guardian angel slime so I added that

Recently, I got the Loremaster of Outland achievement by leveling 1-59 in Burning Crusade and then freezing XP at 59 so I could complete as much of it as I could using Chromie Time. This post is to share details of how that went for anyone interested in doing the same. Or perhaps this'll help you decide not to. Either way, it'll have been helpful and overall I enjoyed doing this immensely and want to share!
Why I Did This

1. Catching up on the story - I played through Dragonflight and felt I did not entirely understand some lore moments. I figured I'd appreciate having more context of current content after playing through World of Warcraft from scratch, oldest expansions to new (which is why I'm starting Burning Crusade and not Cataclysm-revamped Azeroth).
2. More of a challenge - Running through Chromie Time made this feel more "real" and less trivial. I had to be careful what I was doing, particularly with BC mob density & the difficulty level of some of the later quests. The forever options to run old content dungeons with others via dungeon finder was also super engaging and the queue as DOS never took too long.
3. Profiting off old content - I was curious to see if running Mining/Herbalism would make this experience a lucrative one, along with any rare transmogs picked up along the way. Curiously looking at every item that dropped with the TSM add-on (to ascertain value in the AH) was also pretty cool & helped keep me interested throughout.
4. Building Faction Reps - I figured this would be helpful to my future self if I decided to do any rep grinds in the future, as running Loremaster tends to get you at least to Honored with the average expansion faction.

Chosen Class
Death Knight. Alliance Kul Tiran. Never played DK and knew the self-regen skills would help me if I got bored at any point and wanted to challenge myself with bigger pulls to speed things up. Ran Frost for this particular expansion & may change that in the future. I also spent much of my WoW life as Horde (been playing off and on since Vanilla), so choosing Alliance helped this feel fresh.
How Long Did This Take?
/played by the end of this was 2 days, 1 hour, and 24 minutes. I tried to be diligent in always logging off if I had to go away from my keyboard. But worth noting is that I was not trying to speedrun, read all the quest text, and did not pay much attention to what was needed for Loremaster in each zone unless I started to feel I was doing something wrong (examples include more time than was necessary doing quests in Skettis and Ogri'la, neither of which were required for Loremaster). The end quests of Netherstorm & Shadowmoon were also a time waster given how many dungeons & traveling across the map was required. I was not expecting those and so probably did not travel optimally. I did have to leave Chromie Time at the very end to complete every Group (4) or Group (5) quest I had acquired in Outland. Anything Group (3) or under I was able to solo within Chromie Time.
Route Taken
Hellfire -> Zangarmarsh -> Terrokar -> Nagrand -> Blade's Edge -> Netherstorm -> Shadowmoon. I hit lvl 59 by the end of Terrokar and then froze xp.
Thoughts on each Zone
Hellfire Peninsula - Visually and lorewise not terribly appealing, but felt fun to do circles around the map completing quests en masse. Greedily sucked up a lot of Fel Iron here too. Zangarmarsh - My favorite of this run. I adored the vibes of Telredor & the Sporeggar. Made me wish for player housing in WoW so I could get more soft pink & purple architecture in my life. Terrokar Forest - Loved the music and vibes here as well. Haunting. Was time consuming running quests between Shattrath & around here though. Nagrand - Still a gorgeous area. Was relaxing to listen to podcasts while grinding through the Nesingwary & elemental kill quests. I feel like this zone went by the fastest. Blade's Edge Mountains - While awe-inspiring at a distance, up close the textures of this area were really ugly. Endless ogre killing quests also made this area tedious. Netherstorm - Loved running quests with the Consortium. The juxtaposition of eco-zones & apocalyptic storm was fantastic. Guilty of many end quests requiring a group (or, in my case, temporarily exiting Chromie Time) to complete. Shadowmoon Valley - Felt like quite an intense finale zone. I initially liked how you quest & expand across the zone relatively fast... but then get stuck doing LONG questlines demanding a lot of backtracking across Outland. Lorewise they were impactful though.
Conclusion - Attaining Loremaster of Outland could often be fun & challenging on a gameplay basis. On a lore basis, I found myself really getting into it once I switched mindset away from expecting character-driven stories and more to it being about the world that you explore. For example, I loved the recurrent theme of driving enemies against one another to give allies breathing space. Expeditions to supply Telredor with food & the means to survive. The goblins sneakily trying to steal tech & money from the Consortium without detection & risking their wrath.
Money & Materials Acquired
I gave myself just enough money at the start to buy big bags and then otherwise started from scratch. I had ~18k gold by the end of the run. That is purely quest rewards, picking up loot, and vendoring - no Auction House. Materials acquired by the end (notable amounts included only):
2468 Netherweave 588 Fel Iron Ore 128 Motes of Fire 239 Dreaming Glory 499 Felweed 169 Golden Sansam Leaf 148 Dreamfoil Blade 55 Runecloth 108 Eternium Ore 151 Motes of Life 607 Motes of Earth 28 Motes of Shadow 15 Fel Lotus 111 Ragveil 636 Adamantite Ore 33 Blindweed 27 Ghost Mushroom Cap 53 Ancient Lichen 71 Terocone 34 Motes of Water 11 Motes of Air 31 Khorium Ore 84 Nightmare Vine 110 Netherbloom 38 Motes of Mana 47 Liferoot Stem
Worth noting is that I went out of my way to go after resource nodes whenever they popped up on the minimap unless they were surrounded by 4+ mobs unrelated to any quest I was running (in which case I often couldn't be bothered). As for transmogs, I wasn't interested in holding onto anything unless TSM said it was worth over a thousand gold and would trade in a reasonable amount of time. Nothing fit both of those parameters. Most weapons/armors would theoretically have sold on the AH for a couple dozen to a few hundred gold, but possibly not for weeks, and that didn't feel worth my time. So I ended up vendoring everything after adding them to my own growing transmog library.
Conclusion - I have yet to go to the trouble of putting all of this on the Auction House but, based on TSM's projections of value for each material, I think that this will have helped make the Loremaster run several thousand gold more profitable than it would have been otherwise. That being said, it's worth noting that simply running current content world quests would be a better use of one's time if gold-per-hour is the goal.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I really enjoyed doing Loremaster in Chromie Time. I was able to take it at my own speed, not feel like I had to race through things to be at the cutting edge of content, and I had to be careful to some extent as I explored Outland. It also felt almost like playing the expansion fresh for the first time given other people always running around (though later zones were sparser). And being able to run dungeons with others again was a blast and I could do that any time I wanted as a break! Though the gold making side of things wasn’t quite as impressive as I’d hoped, it was still fun to scrutinize the items I got and amass materials to sell later on when I get the time.
Given that Burning Crusade is reputedly the toughest Loremaster, I’m psyched to keep going and enjoy WotlK and expansions to come. The increased quality of quests & writing will be an added bonus too. If anyone has any questions about this experience, please let me know and I’m happy to answer. Otherwise this can just be a reference point for the Loremasters of the future who may not want to do it with just trivial content. Cheers!

Please bare with me, as this is long and somewhat complicated. Maybe someone else has the same or similar issues, and can offer some helpful tips or encouragement? These issues have made me become a hermit, and I have zero social life outside of my household.
I am 47 female, postmenopausal, and I have had hyperhidrosis for 20+ years, and it's the worst on my face and head. Last year I was prescribed glycopyrrolate. The warning I got from my rheumatologist was that it MAY make my secondary Sjogren's symptoms worse. So I tried it, for half a week. My eyes and mouth were SO dry that they hurt, and I didn't notice a major reduction in the sweating, so I didn't take anymore. I've lost several teeth in the last 5 years due to dry mouth (not bad hygiene) and nothing has helped that either (gels, lozenges, gum, etc). I'm a mouth breather (asthmatic, allergies, polyps, deviated septum, etc), so that makes it all worse. Despite the dry eyes being like 2 sides of Velcro, they're super sensitive and water constantly for days on end. I am constantly blotting the sweat and tears, which leaves my skin red, dry and chapped (sometimes cracked) around my mouth, eyes and a bit of my forehead. I've tried switching from Kleenex to cotton bandanas, flannel and bamboo cloths, which helps, but hard to keep up on laundry with my body constantly leaking! Anyway...
Summer is coming up and I want to be outside more and be more active, but I worry about the sweating, heatrash and sunburn. I have very fair, translucent skin, with some sensitivity, dryness and a history (age 0 to 30) of the worst eczema you could image... picture a child whose skin looked like raw hamburger from head to toe, and suffering through tar baths, sun treatments, mummy wraps, and steroids. All of it ruined my skin. I have zero acne, never get pimples or blackheads, and have no oiliness to be seen... just random flaky dry skin patches and buckets of sweat. I am wanting to find a sunscreen that absorbs nicely into my tiny pores and doesn't mattify or dry me out. I also want to try facial antiperspirants. In what order would I do my skincare routine? I normally wash my face with gentle cleansing wipes, tone with Simple toner, apply serums (The Ordinary's The Buffet and Amino Acids + B5) and then moisturize with The Ordinary's moisturizer, Naturium Plant Ceramides, or Purlisse Blue Lotus. I have given up on makeup, unless it's a bit of mascara. I just don't care anymore as it's not worth the hassle of watery eyes, sweating it off and it just disappearing from my nose. I cannot use any type of mattifying products or powders because they dry me out worse.
I have tried 2 chemical facial sunscreens in the last 6 weeks, which made my face hot and red, and left me with a flaky patch of skin between my eyebrows that I cannot get rid of (I've been putting raw African shea butter on it for 3 days straight). It was the Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen that did it first, after 4 hours of wearing it. I used it only once and gave it to my daughter. 2 weeks later I tried Kao Bioré Aqua Rich Watery Essence (Japan) sunscreen, and it seemed to reactivate the dry patch! Both absorbed or dried quickly, and my skin felt silky dry and smooth, but... then it started snowing down on my glasses. I think the common ingredient would be alcohol, or some mattifying thing. I've since ordered 5 "Holy Grail" sunscreens from Korea and Japan to see if they are better. The mineral sunscreens just seem to sit on top of my skin, make me sweat worse, and then I'm icky sticky and streaky! I've been doing research and reading reviews, taking product matching quizzes for several weeks, and am very frustrated. I won't have the new sunscreens for several weeks to try out, but they are Purito Daily Go To, Beauty of Joseon, Round Lab Birch, Canmake Mermaid and Rohto Skin Aqua Super Moisture. I wanted to try Supergoop, Heliocare 360 Fluid Cream, and LaRoche-Posay Anthelios Milk Melt-In, but they are expensive and review are all over the place, especially for dry or sensitive skin... God forbid I have both! cry
So, any recommendations for 1. A facial deodorant that doesn't have a matte finish or is actually moisturizing? And 2. A facial sunscreen that works on dry, sweaty and sometimes sensitive skin? And 3. Which order would one do their routine?
I should also note that my hyperhidrosis is SO bad that I have chronic intertrigo and frequent yeast infections in my skin folds. I've used nystatin powder for years, never with any luck. The cream version made me sweatier. Cornstarch, baking soda, gauze taped in place, etc. I've tried cotton and bamboo bra liners, which do help. I got a breast reduction 10 years ago, and that didn't help at all... I think I'd need a mastectomy to not have that issue there. I have changed out all of my clothing and bedding to strictly natural fibers, and that has helped some, but not sure how it will help in the summer. Cotton seems to just soak up the sweat and get soggy and gross. I like modal, bamboo and silk, but $$$! Add to all of the above that I have fibromyalgia, so everything remotely snug on my body or skin causes pain and leaves red marks, dents and sometimes bruises... plus rashes in those sensitive areas. I've been wearing modal boxer briefs in a size 3 times bigger than I would wear, just so they don't hurt. It leaves extra material to tuck into the folds to stop the skin sticking, some sweat and rashes... but as soon as I move, the material falls back to its normal position, so not helpful when out and about, and when I need it the most. When we go out to eat, and the seats are vinyl, I have to wipe it with a napkin as I leave the booth... and it looks like I peed my pants! I wish they made the bra liner type things for the apron area and groin! Maybe they do, and I just have searched using the wrong terms.
The TL;DR version: Looking for recos for cranio-facial hyperhidrosis topical products, specifically 1. sunscreen and 2. antiperspirants. I have dry skin and barely any skin oil (my fingers don't leave prints even on my phone, unless I've recently moisturized), so I don't need matte products. My skin CAN be sensitive, but I couldn't tell you what all it's sensitive to, except alcohol. Glycopyrrolate may work (I have it) but it also made my extremely dry eyes and mouth worse. Also, if anyone knows of a way to keep other areas of the body dry (skin & fat folds), that'd be great info too. I'm considering spray antiperspirants for my problem areas, but not sure if that would work or be safe. I don't care if my shins or tops of my feet or arms sweat, but the face and where I sit have to be addressed... it's so embarrassing! My skin issues are 1. Hyperhidrosis, 2. Dry eczema prone facial skin, 3. Sensitive skin, 3. Intertrigo. In addition to the skin stuff, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, fibro, asthma, allergies, IBD, gerd, secondary Sjogren's and whatever else I'm forgetting. I take a dozen medications each day, but that's less than half the meds I was taking over a year ago!
Basically, if I can gain more confidence, get outside and be more active without being drenched immediately, I can move more, lose weight, and at least the sweaty areas would be smaller? I sweat if I move or squat or bend, yet the house is kept at 60° in the winter, and 68° in the summer. I can't do chores, so I have a homemaker. If there's no sunscreen that will work on my face, I'll just get a wide brimmed hat with a UPF rating or tight fabric. I did buy 2 oversized Columbia long sleeve fishing shirts to wear when outdoors this spring and summer, but they are nylon and polyester, so I worry about sweating and being miserable in them. I live in northern Minnesota, so summers can be mild, but this year is not expected to be. Humidity is a major spring and summer issue, and dryness is the winter issue. The humidity worsens the sweating, blotting worsens the rashes and dryness, and the humidity doesn't help with moisture at all. My skin is actually worse in the summer than winter from all the blotting, wiping and mopping of sweat.
Thank you in advance for any help offered! If I missed any pertinent details, please let me know! I made a similar post weeks ago on a skincare sub, but didn't get any response. Sorry for the lengthiness, but didn't want to miss anything. 😬

Disclaimer: The gummy pretty much kicked in full blast right now. You can skip this article anytime you wish.
Ok so I used to be in tech a loooooong time ago. Lotus Notes way back days. I did consulting and back then I had a fair good experience on how to bring a team together to work on a project.
These days I have been out of the game for so long, but the problem is... my life soul searching has taken me to this point in my life. This moment, can either be a moment like any other moment in the day, or it could the moment where a convergence of like minded souls combined, and made something pretty interesting, spiritual, and fulfilling.
So with this idea that I have, I don't know how it works anymore. In other words, how do you take an idea you have, which life has taken it's path, the good and bad, and brought you to develop this idea, and you think this idea has teeth. Practically speaking, I have an idea, how do I make an app for Vision Pro?
But my question is just a bit deeper than that. I know I can go and hire people etc etc. But I have issues with that route based on my experience in the industry. But, normally I would go through my chain of contacts and start pitching the idea and draw up a project plan or even business plan etc depending on the size of the idea.
But this time, I don't know. I think this idea is a bit different. A bit deeper. And I think it can only be built with people that can understand my message and if they do, they feel in themselves this is worth investigating more. I'm trying really hard to not say evangelical role. It's not really that. It's more a consultant to a project and the project although mine, is more connected to those that are involved in it. And the only way they would allow themselves to be involved in it is if they believe in the idea.
It's that kind of idea. So here are some variables that hopefully answer some questions typically would be asked. But answered in my cryptic way for now.
I'm not a programmer. Most I did was lotusScript back then and I have a good logic side. The idea is a bit logic based (or grounded) but must be done in a very visual method. I want to help mold this idea and through conversations with developers with similar understands can communicate in our languages to find the answer.
I know very little about VR in general. Yep. Maybe my idea is not new. I do not know and would want to discuss that of course.
I'm not an artist. I can't draw much at all, but technically I can design. But I believe the idea is visually interesting and with purpose. The artistic lead would really understand the idea's description of things, and how to represent that visually. Again I would want to describe the feeling that it should bring out from the user and communicate that with the artist to build it.
I'm not a millionaire. Even if I was, I have had enough experience in my consulting days to know you can throw shit on a pig but it will still be a pig. It has to make sense before it makes cents. People involved should be involved in the compensation agreements but this is just an idea. Until it Is a reality, it's just an idea.
I don't know any angels. My past experiences with outside capital, too early and it's dead in the water. When money and greed take over, then the thing is pretty much over. You can't start with angels. You can see them when you are turning the idea into something real. That's the point of the idea in the first place.
So where do I go from there? How do I find like minded, soul searching, technically skilled to come together, discuss, realize the message I want to give out, and if they do not agree, they never go off and steal it, but if they agree, we make the idea a reality?
(Please Reddit... please don't reply with monster.com. please not monster.com.

Hi,
I have been working in IT for a few years, but somehow (luckily) I had never heard of Lotus notes before.
Long story short I need to transfer the Lotus notes (.NSF) files to .PST for a client of another firm. I have no idea who these people are and all I have are the .NSF files.
I Bought a conversion software and stupidly thought I could just upload the (100Gb) of files there and convert, but I'm stuck. I get errors from the conversion software and somewhere I read that I would need the original User ID of the Lotus notes user to actually make the conversion.
Is there any other way to convert them?
I installed Lotus notes (IBM Notes) and I can open their huge email inboxes in the software and when I first opened the Notes app it asked for name etc. and I just wrote "test user". I somewhat understood this is very secure and works off of the ID's but can someone explain further?
All input appreciated as this is very urgent for the, thanks!

Hi,
I have been working in IT for a few years, but somehow (luckily) I had never heard of Lotus notes before.
Long story short I need to transfer the Lotus notes (.NSF) files to .PST for a client of another firm. I have no idea who these people are and all I have are the .NSF files.
I Bought a conversion software and stupidly thought I could just upload the (100Gb) of files there and convert, but I'm stuck. I get errors from the conversion software and somewhere I read that I would need the original User ID of the Lotus notes user to actually make the conversion.
Is there any other way to convert them?
I installed Lotus notes (IBM Notes) and I can open their huge email inboxes in the software and when I first opened the Notes app it asked for name etc. and I just wrote "test user". I somewhat understood this is very secure and works off of the ID's but can someone explain further?
All input appreciated as this is very urgent for the, thanks!