#were put on 3x speed

[squinkreblogs]

I’m rlly about to be done with my final senior college semester huh

[normansnt]

For old times sake (pt.2)

(Huskerdust x platonic! Male!overlord reader)

I'm really happy with how this turned out. Non of y'all asked for it the idea just hit me so I had to write it down😎

ALSO

I'm VERY likely going to write a pt.3 thats an Alastor x male reader so lemme know if ya'll would want that🫡💗

Warnings: V@lentino

Art by the very talented: @dragon-spaghetti

--------------------------------------------------------------

You were having the best time. Talking to Husk and Angel was very fun and you saw the amazing chemistry they had. You guys were talking laughing and drinking in your office when suddenly Angels phone started to get bombarded with messages.

You felt the sudden shift in atmosphere. Angel hurriedly reached for his phone and when he saw the messages he jumped up.

"It was nice to meet you (Y/N) I had a lot of fun and thank you for the drinks but I have to go now, Husk baby I'll see you at the Hotel don't wait up for me if I get home late."

He said, with one breath and quicker then you have seen anybody talk and left with the same speed.

"Shit..." said Husk as he stood up with a sigh to pour himself another drink.

"What was that?" You asked baffled.

"It's...its his job, his boss he is... a fucking cunt"

Said Husk with audible anger in his voice.

You were about to ask more questions but then it hit you. You knew angel was a porn actor. And you also knew about the Vees. It was easy to put the picture together from this point on. And judging by Angles terrified reaction, Husks anger and cussing you could quite easily tell how his boss treated the spider.

"Hey, Husk" he looked at you with tired eyes.

"I have an idea." You said at last with a smirk on your face.

-------------------------------------------------

"HAHH, suck it idiots, guess who was invited to a business meeting by THE (Y/N) Demon of gambling." Yelled Valentino as he entered the Vees break room.

"What. The. FUCK, give me that" said Vox pissed as he tore the invitation from Valentinos hand.

"THAT BITCH, why did he invite you and not all of us."

"Never mind that who the fuck sends messages via letters?" Asked Velvette disgusted.

"This is the way the big shots do it, you uncultured swine" said Valentine still very full of himself due to the invite.

"That doesn't make ANY sense" Vox has read the invitation at least 3x by now not understanding why you invited only Valentino.

The Vees have been trying to get in contact with you for years now but to no avail. You had no interest in any alliances since you thought them to be stupid and egoistic, if overlord meetings were something to go by.

"Deal with it honey, I'm just better than you guys" ended Valentino the conversation as he snatched the letter from Vox and blew the pink smoke from his cigarette into his face.

-------------------------------------------------

Valentino showed up to your casino with Angel by his side dressed in...well, almost nothing. Of course he wasn't gonna show up without a pretty thing by his side and who better than his favorite toy.

"If you embarrass me in front of the demon of gambling I'll-" he started saying through clenched teeth but got interrupted. By you.

"Mr. Valentino, it is such a pleasure to meet you." You started as you put your hand out to shake.

He shook your hand slowly. He was surprised to say the least. One of the most powerful overlords was this young, not to mention very hot. When he got over his surprise however his personality was back and on FULL display for you. He turned on his charm like never before and started shamelessly flirting with you.

You just kept the calm smile on your face.

"So, Mr. Valentino I'm sure you are wondering why I invited you and we will be having a business meeting do not threat however I'm afraid I have something else to take care of first, please go ahed and try out the games my casino has to offer and drink something, all the drinks are on the house for you."

Now, in a situation like this normally Valentino would be offended. How dare someone invite him and then say they have something else to do.

But you were different. You were a very powerful person in all aspects, your goddamn charm, it was just irresistible not to mention the free drinks.

"Well all right but do not keep me waiting for long now, amor." He said with the ever present flirtatious tone in his voice.

You didn't react to this, just a simple nod of your head and with that you left.

Valentino hasn't gambled much in his life, or death, he just stood by when Vox did it, so he sat down by a random table.

He won. To his (and Angels) biggest surprise, he won.

"Oh, yeah, this is going to be a good night. ANGEL, bring me another drink."

This was just the beginning of the night. He continued to go around table by table, and he won, by every single one of them. And the more he won the more he drank.

About two hours after he arrived one of your employees came up to your office.

"It's time sir I think he is drunk enough." Said your guard. So, you put down the book you were reading and stretched. You didn't have anything to do, that was just a lie. It was just part of the plan.

When you arrived downstairs you saw that your employee had been right, Valentino was standing on the table singing and kicking the coins he had won.

You cleared your throat.

"Mr. Valentino, I'm glad you're enjoying my casino" with that one sentence you got everyone's attention in the room.

You could have that effect. You weren't a cruel overlord and didn't choose to rule over people by the means of fear. But you could make it so that even just your voice demanded respect.

"I see you have won quite a lot, would you care to play a round against, me?" You said ever so calmly.

And of course drunk and full of himself due to not loosing once all night, Valentino was more then happy to play with you.

"Now then, since we are playing in the big leagues now we cant just play for money thats below us don't you think."

"I'd like to be below you, handsome" he answered.

You just hummed, unamused.

"I say, how about we play for souls."

That caught Valentino off guard, he didn't think of that, but he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of you so he agreed.

"And...whose soul would you be offering? I heard the demon of gambling doesn't own anyones soul" said Valentino with just a bit of temptation in his voice.

You hummed.

"You heard correctly, I'm in no need of souls, I will be offering...my own" you said still as calm as ever.

To that Valentine spit out his drink. The amount of power that would be in his hand if he owned your soul is...too much for his drunken mind to think about. And of course due to the amount of alcohol in his system he didn't think about how stupid this proposition would be on your part if you weren't 100% sure you would win. He didn't even think about the fact that you are the demon of gambling, the owner of a casino, it would have been obvious to anyone that he had no chance at winning.

"Well then, I'll offer the soul of this beautiful thing here" he said while squeezing angels cheek.

You looked at Angel and said

"Very well then, let the game begin.".

After a few rounds, you were loosing. Big fucking time and Angel was starting to get very worried. But not only him, Husk, who was the whole time as well, making sure the plan goes well, was starting to doubt you two. He knew first hand just how good you were especially in poker, but it was still a game that depended on luck at least 50% of it.

When Valentino needed a break to go puke, Husk walked over to you.

"Kid, just what the hell are you doing you are aware that you're loosing." He said pretty pissed off.

"Oh, I'm just messing with him-"

"Well stop, what if you mess too close to the sun you might be good but you cannot control your luck."

"Luck is a non factor if you use logic. You seriously think a porn seller, money hungry, moth man big shot wanna be will beat me, in Poker? Don't insult me." And with that Valentino returned and the game continued.

He kept winning rounds and Angel and Husk were growing more anxious by the second.

Finally the last rounds were coming around and thats when you decide you messed with him enough. And just like that you started putting down winning hands one after the other.

Valentino was panicking. He is about to loose his best paying costumer whatever you come out with this round everything depends on it-

Royal Flush.

You fucking won the game.

Now that the loss has sobered his mind he could finally look at all of this in a logical way.

Of fucking corse you won. You are the mother fucking demon of gambling just how the hell did he think he could win.

But the wins before. Hold on. That was illogical too, NO ONE goes to a casino and wins every fucking time was he really that drunk not to notice.

You broke him out of his thoughts when you snapped your fingers. And Angels contract that bound him to Valentino appeared in your hands.

However now, where Valentinos name used to be, stood yours.

"Well, Mr. Valentino that was a very productive business meeting I hope to never see you in the future"

"...What?" asked the moth angrier by the minute.

"You still haven't figured it out? I do not care for you or the other Vees business. Did it not seem suspicious that I only invited you? What am I saying of course it didn't, because a narcissist like you would never ask why someone wants their company. See, thats why tricking you was so easy. Getting you drunk wasn't even necessary I only did it so I can be sure that you will play for angels soul."

"...but, but...NO, Angel dust is still mine, he-" Valentino went to reach for Angel but Husk stopped him.

"No he fucking aint." Hissed the cat.

In panic Valentino tried to make the leash appear but to no avail. A deal was a deal. He doesn't own Angel's soul anymore.

"Just why the FUCK was it so important to you to get a wretched whore's soul?" Asked the moth now yelling.

"It was a favor for an old friend."

"You mother fucking- do you know who the fuck I am, I will destroy you me and the Vees-"

"No" you stated simply.

This was the last drop for Valentino.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NO-"

"I would like to ask you to leave now Mr.Valentino and, please tell your partner not to send me any more invitations, I do not care"

Valentino made one last attempt to attack you but your guards stopped him.

"I was winning all night you dickwad I sucked your casino dry" tried to irritate you Valentino.

"Oh? Thats right here, isn't this one of your coins?" You threw it at him.

"Of course, every coin has two sides."

Valentino turned the coin around to discover a big fat 0 at the other side.

"What-"

"You really thought you won at every single table? Wow, you are even stupider than I thought."

It was part of the plan, you told everyone who worked at the casino wherever Valentino sits down, he wins, at least coins of zero. You needed to boost his confidence so he'd think he can beat you.

"You will not take him away from me I'll find him-"

"You will do no such a thing he belongs to me now so he is under my protection." You were getting a but pissed now, he just wouldn't give up would he?

He was about yo say more when you looked at him. Dead in the eyes. Thats half the reason why you are as powerful as you are. The look. If you looked someone deep in the eyes they will see their worst nightmares playing right in front of them.

Valentino started screaming, crying and shaking uncontrollably. And with that your guards dragged him out.

You turned to Angel and Husk, who were standing there holding hands.

You looked at Angel, lifted the contract, and tore it in half right in front of him.

Angel was staring at you. He stared as tears started to roll down his cheek and he fell to the ground in sobs.

'I'm free' he thought to himself over and over again. Husk chuckled as he knelt down to his boyfriend and hugged him.

You two locked eyes, and you understood just how thankful he was, words weren't needed.

You wanted the couple to have some privacy so you headed back to your office.

Unbeknownst to you another demon was present that night at the casino, and he saw the whole ordeal.

"How well you grew up to be, young (Y/N)" chuckled Alstor to himself.

"(Y/N)" you heard Ang- Anthony yell from behind you.

You turned around with raised eyebrows and looked at him.

"THANK YOU" he yelled still sobbing.

You smiled at him.

"Happy to help, for old times sake."

[solipseismic]

ty for the tag @thesunlikehoney !! <3

a band you don’t like that many others do:

the mountain goats lmao (i like a few of their songs but i dislike the rest)

a childhood memory that you remember vividly:

i have permanent nerve damage on my right kneecap from fucking up a mazurka (very basic figure skating step/half-jump kind of thing) and falling in such a manner that i bashed my knee into the ice w like 3x my body weight behind it in force lmao

least favorite animal and why:

lord. i dont really dislike any animals so i guess one i've had personal experience w? i will never ever want an akita (relative had a poodle-akita mix and dear god). they're like the less smart and more evil cousins of huskies.

hot fandom take:

satine and obi-wan would be 200% more interesting if they were some kind of fucked up non-romantic relationship. "i would have left the order for her" we all know the tcw writers just put there bc ppl wanted a blonde woman cardboard cutout love interest for white fans to project onto (as if romance is what "humanizes" characters, huge jerk-off pantomime). "this is duchess satine whom i have an intricately crafted and decades-old rivalry with to see who can pick up the most morosexuals in our personal entourages" the crowd goes wild. satine herself is 200% more interesting when writers allow her to stand on her own and not just as a prop to obi-wan. also ppl who ship obtine are missing out on the most illustrious joy of padme/satine.

do you wear any jewelry, if so, what’s your favorite piece:

yes, i have one ear pierced (default diamond stud; some of my fav earrings are from noonmade like the suncatcher and wind chime, most others r just whatever i've picked up over the years) and i'm almost always wearing a raven skull pendant i got for my bday from a friend :)

a movie others liked but you didn’t:

13 going on 30 ... clueless ... 10 reasons i hate about you ... i just don't have the romcom/chick flick spirit in me :(

three things you love about yourself:

typing speed, great core strength, big cat

a place you hope to visit in the future and why:

i would like to climb 설악산/seorak mountain, my mom grew up in that area and i like mountain climbing :)

an actor that gets on your nerves and why:

crisp rat. he's bad.

things you’re excited for in the nearby future?

설날 / lunar new year on feb 10 :)

least favorite ship in a fandom you’re in:

dinluke and obtine lmao though it's less a ship thing and more the certain Kind of people that do a specific Flavor of shipping that are unfortunately hugely prevalent in dinluke and (more recently) codywan :(( however like 85% of the obtine shippers ive interacted with are just white assholes lmao

what’s the most toxic fandom you’ve been in?

mcu/marvel comics graphics community on instagram. i will drop my phone in lava

list three things you find beautiful about life:

big cat, mellow post-rock, krylon workable fixatif

any dreams for the future?

finish my thesis babey

how are you really feeling today?

i need to do more wrist stretches

tag games taglist (ask to be + / -): @47crayons , @sleepy-night-child , @bladeverbena , @drippingmoon , @vellichor-virgo , @writing-is-a-martial-art , @wiz-is-sorta-a-writer , @thelaughingstag , @mj-is-writing , @hellowkatey , @asbestostrain , @gayskywalkcrs​ , @lorspolairepeluche , @coarsely , and anyone else who wants to do this !!

[blissooya]

[WEVERSE] 230506 슝이🌹 update

Play with me🫶🏻

👤 : Jisoo song recommendation!

🐰 : Shoongie recommends Shoong

👤 : Receiving a reply is hard

🐰 : Receiving a reply isn't easy but what if you're as happy when you do get it?!

👤 : Kitty vs Koromi ?? 💜❤️💜❤️

🐰 : I can't give up on Kuromi.. Since I like purple hahahehehe

👤 : I'm angry. You don't reply to me every time.

🐰 : You have a lot of anger! Don't be angry! It's your loss if you get angry! haha

👤 : Jisoonie!!!! What are you doing up at this time!!!!! 😤

🐰 : I ate too much so I'm digesting~

👤 : When will BLACKPINK do the first ptich?

🐰 : kekekeke I do want to try, when I was young I threw a lot to my dad

👤 : Jisoonie today did you get hit with a lot of Pochacco-lighting??

🐰 : However I'm not the type to get gaslighted

👤 : Unnie during tour Shut Down rap that says me, was it a spoiler when pointing at your face??

🐰 : No, that's just really me! keke Actually besides music shows during concert, Jennie was too far away for me to point at her so I just pointed at me!

👤 : Jisoo unnie what drama are you watching? I'm so curious

🐰 : Sorry but I'm not watching drama, instead I'm watching Hunter X Hunter. Sorry haha

👤 : Jisoo unnie why are your hands so fast? I can't keep up with unnies typing speed

🐰 : I also surprise myself too sometimes!

👤 : Today's tmi

🐰 : Why!! Why are you curious?! I'm also curious! Why are people curious about todays tmi because at the fansign I got this question so many times that I ran out of tmi's so I had come up with some in the end!! That's today's tmi

👤 : Unnie give Coachella behind !!

🐰 : People really like behind and tmi! Hm.. right before the show there was a mirror that was like the size of a door and with Jennie, we both kept practicing around 3x speed kekeke

👤 : Unnie, have you watched Avatar?🙋🏻‍♀️

🐰 : No! I just.. heard a lot about it so I know cg is amazing!

👤 : I like All Eyes On Me so much

🐰 : I like it too kkkekeke 🥰

👤 : How many Iced Americanos did you drink? ☕️

🐰 : 3 cups!!!!! How did I end up drinking this many?!

👤 : Look forward to Hyde Park!

🐰 : Isn't that something I'm supposed to say?! Look forward to it! haha

👤: Do you like the new Blackpink game?

🐰 : I haven't tried it yet kkkk I want to quickly try it. I told them about the fun parts from different games I played, but we'll see!!!!!

👤 : Jisoo, if I go to the fansign, I can dance the Flower challenge in front of Jisoo! kekeke

🐰 : You're saying this because you weren't at the fansign right????

👤 : If Blinks become cockroaches what are you gonna do???

🐰 : Someone asked me this a while ago kekekeke I'll put you in my house and I'll throw away(?) the house but I told them not to worry because I'll bring a lot of food ! I'll make you live in abundance(?)! kekeke

👤 : Kim: Kim Jisoo's Flower song is so good

Ji: Be as beautiful as you are right now

Soo: Watermelon

🐰 : 100 points

👤 : Jisoo, Jennie doesn't know the meaning of 농협은행 (NongHyup Bank) kekeke

🐰 : .... Then did I just become a person who wrote a bank name under her picture?

👤 : How do you feel that many people used Flower song for challenges?

🐰 : The dogs and cats are so cute. Even for me, I thought I even would want to film it with my pet to show them off but the distance between dream and reality are so far, Dalgomie fail!

👤 : How did you learn about NongHyup Bank meme?

🐰 : kekekeke Maeng-saem told me..🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

👤 : How long will Jisoo stay on for today~ When will you reply? Did you eat hot pot~ Was something happy that happened today?

🐰 : I was happy because I met Blinks kekekeke I was able to talk with them and Blinks reactions are so funny, do Blinks think I'm funny too?

👤 : Pochacoo Kim Jisoo lovers were very happy today ❤️ Pochacco selfie lets go! And I'm curious who your favorite Hunter X Hunter character is 🥹

🐰 : Killua! It's my 5th time watching! .. kkkkkkkk

👤 : The only person who makes my heart flutter, Jisoo 🩵🩵🩵

🐰 : What's these heart colors?! 🤍🩶🩷🤎🩵 wow... I just found out

👤 : Unnie you're the only one who hasn't forgotten your password??? 😁😁🤣 The other members seem to have forgotten

🐰 : Because I'm a genius!(?)

👤 : Do you have a Netflix drama recommendation?

🐰 : It's not a drama but Kill Boksoon kkkk!

👤 : While making the Flower logo design with Chaeyoung, were there any episodes?

🐰 : She also helped pick the Today's Jisoo logo with me haha

👤 : Pull down the shutter and close the door! Im the last comment! Jisoonie leave only the scent of flower and go

🐰 : kkkk oh thats right I was about to leave. It's really the last comment haha great timing, I'm leaving only the scent of flower and going to sleep~~! Going haha🌹

keke It was so fun today I wanted to talk to Blinks before going to bed so I came! haha Let's have fun tomorrow as well!!! Tomorrow I'll try to sign quickly so we can talk more haha Sleep well and see you tomorrow ♥️ Love you🫶🏻 Nyongan!!!

[egg-emperor]

Hello! I have one quick question. Who is your favorite dr eggman boss fight? Mine is Egg Emperor because of 3 reasons.

1 reason: he is the final boss of my favorite sonic game

2 reason: the music is just chef kiss

3 reason: i´ll show you what real evil is! I can feel the evilness in that line if it was real dr eggman and not metal sonic team sonic would not survive. Ok thats all goodbye have nice day.

Aaagghh it's hard to choose because he has so many great ones, especially when it comes to the designs! So I can't order them properly or possibly list all my favorites but I'll put some of the ones I think of and go back to the most for both design and actual gameplay here because not all of them have as great gameplay as they look but they're all cool.

My favorite that's actually controlled by the real deal Eggman has to be the Egg Dragoon. The way it has fire, ice, electric, drill, AND bullet attacks is super epic. The separation attack in Generations was pretty cool too. I like how the tail can throw things like when he'd try to swing it to through Sonic off him in Unleashed and throw rocks at him in Forces.

And it has a really awesome design, it's my favorite mech that wasn't modelled to look like himself 💜

My favorite version of the fight is the 360/PS3 Unleashed version of course, it's intense and I love how he gives it his all in throwing everything at Sonic that he's got, it still never fails to get me hyped. I also love how energetic crazy and angry Eggman sounds, he's beautifully threatening and it's my favorite Mike Pollock performance ever so 🥰

I'm still proud of my video of the fight in all three games with all S rank with no damage. You can tell I play them over and over a ton lol

The Egg Emperor is equally loved by me and that's why I have the name. It's metal as fuck, it's designed to look like him, and he made himself into the glorious emperor mech of his empire 💕💜💖💗

I'm just sad that he didn't get to use it himself (though I like to imagine he got to in Generations 3DS and seeing him use it in IDW was a delight). I love his lance and missile abilities and his super fast violent charge that used to make me jump. The music is hype and the way it changes to the repeated 3x loop of the guitar at the peak increases the intensity of the fight. All the teams would've been obliterated if it were actual Eggman in there for sure hehe

This is like looking into a mirror because we're both Eggman enjoyers, Heroes is both our favorite game, and my edit is your icon XD

Honorable mentions would be the Death Egg Robot and Nega Wisp Armor. They have simple gameplay but the Death Egg Robot is a classic with cool abilities to stomp on and shoot spiked arms at Sonic, and one of my favorite designs for being designed to look like himself. And the Nega Wisp Armor is always a blast to play with the speed, music, and the seconds you get to come face to face with Eggman hehe

The Egg Breaker is also actually really cool, I dig the different abilities it has in the different fights, like the mace he can jump and slam down on people and he runs and swings around, the laser beam eyes, and the bombs with his face on them are golden. And also the- okay I'm gonna stop otherwise I'll just be listing every single Eggman boss ever at this point because I love them all for their designs, gameplay or both wjhshksbgkshf

Thank you, hope you have a nice day/night too! ^^ And the Egg dollar bill is much appreciated XD

[samueldays]

Thea: The Awakening guide to the Piece of Cake achievement and AAR, part 1/2 (turns 1-99)

As this is written on my personal blog and not GameFAQs, I'm going to indulge in some rambling alongside the guide, for the benefit of followers who have no idea about this game but might be vidya-curious.

(Continued in Part 2.)

Thea:TA is a pretty good Slavic-fantasy post-apocalyptic game about gathering survivors to build your village, hunt monsters, raise children, collect resources, craft gear, do quests, and save the world. It's somewhere between CRPG and 4X -- maybe a 3x, there's no "Expand", you just have the one village and perhaps explorer parties. Difficulty is adjustable. Today I'm going to talk about turning the difficulty almost all the way up.

"Every Decision Counts" is the hardest achievement shown by default. "Piece of Cake" is a hidden achievement that I'm going to describe how I get here as I play along and explain. I had it already; this is a repeat for demonstration.

The maximum difficulty rating with everything turned up is 350%, so the first question is what you most want to turn down to 300%.

It's tempting to turn off "Bloodbath" (stops characters from going below 0 HP, vastly increasing their survival chances after a hard fight). But that eats your entire budget, and you're still going to be getting into lots of hard fights due to the combination of world progression speed, high monster aggressiveness, and small groups of villagers. Better to win the fights by a large margin, by having larger groups with better gear.

Here's my setup for 300%:

World Size: Small (0%)

World Progression: Normal (10%)

Group Limits: 16 (10%)

Other items as in screenshot

If I were to suggest something else, it would be reducing Realism for the gathering carryover.

Once the game starts, there are three strategic points to keep in mind:

Keep ahead of the difficulty curve. Thea has a little bit of rubberbanding in that your population growth decreases with your population, but if your gear is trash, or you haven't got advancements, or you haven't got resources, the game is not going to hand them to you. Tougher monsters will show up over time.

Keep gathering. This ties into the first point for gathering the resources that will provide your gear and advancements, but also means that your expedition should know when to not move. It's easy to get distracted picking a little shiny here, a little shiny there.

Know the game. You should be aware of the important quest components, like leshys, dragon, avatar, zmey, and which can be dealt with how. You should be familiar with the tech trees and the build requirements. You should know not to burn rare woods for fuel. Thea has enough randomness that you need to be able to adapt based on your situation, which requires an understanding of what your options and tools are. Imitating me is nowhere near enough to get the chievos.

And one technical point: you can use the autosave feature to reload -- this does not require crashing the game or file editing, so I consider it merely very cheesy as opposed to outright hacks. "Saves Off" disables the normal Save and Load buttons, and restricts you to one savefile. The autosave function saves to that file every 5 turns, not after every action. You can still use the Load Autosave button, and the Save And Exit button which also uses the autosave slot. If you save and exit at the start of a turn, load back in, and fight a battle, then loading again will take you to the pre-battle start of turn, so you can retry it.

For patron deity, I suggest a L3+ Perun, L5 obviously preferable. Perun is best god, but also the hardest to unlock. If you don't want to slog through all that yet, L5 Morena for the advancement points is second best. Failing that, L3+ Mokosh for the extra food. You'll be sitting in the village gathering a lot, and rerolling several starts with this approach, and food variety provides important buffs. Suggested village focus: Gatherers.

Start the game, skip Theo's Tutorial, put your starting advancement points (assuming Perun) into Wicker, Elfwood, Monsterbone and Quartz to unlock the maximum amount of visible resources. Move your starting villagers around, and check if you have good resources within 3 tiles of the village. 3 tiles is the gathering range after building upgraded Blessed Paths. You also need to have at least one craftable resource within 1 tile that you can use to generate advancement off the bat. Nice bonuses: 2 food so you can get a variety of cooking going, coal, resources within 2 tiles to get midgame.

If your start is good enough, use the Load Autosave command to un-move your villagers and un-spend your points, returning you to the start of the turn. If not, reroll! And look for the resources that let you build Blessed Paths.

Blessed Paths is important to my strategy - it lets you sit in the village and grind the gather -> craft -> advance cycle more without having to risk splitting the party or going outside the walls, if you have relevant resources nearby. It's found in the east branch of the Construction tab, behind Watchtower and Palisade. Here are its construction requirements:

Something that's not obvious from this screenshot:

The "Dryadwood" slots accept only Dryadwood. Not Ancientwood.

The other slots accept the shown resource or better of same category. "String" accepts any thread. "Silver" accepts silver or mithrill. "Amber" accepts any gem.

Dryadwood + Ruby + Dryadwood is probably the cheapest way to get +2, but it depends on what you have nearby.

Here's the start I'm going to be using for the example run:

Advancement points after the reset: Spidersilk, Quartz, Granite, Light Armor Crafting. (I'm going to ignore the vines, they're entirely surplus.)

That means I can grind spidersilk armor, netting (ha) better equipped dudes and more advancement points. But first I'm going to check starting gear and explore the surroundings a little more - if I find Coal nearby, I would have everything I need for Blessed Paths +1.

A child grows up while exploring and I pick Gatherer class. We need to be harvesting wood and food to keep the village warm and fed, we want to be harvesting spidersilk and crafting armor, and the village started with 2 Gatherers 1 Craftsman, while the expedition started with 2 Gatherers 1 Warrior 1 Hunter.

Exploring shows Clay, Steel, Obsidian to the east. (All locked.) I wipe out the easy monsters en route, and find Coal further east. The little problem is, Coal takes 414 gather points for one load, and I have skill 4 + 4 + 3 = 75 gather points in my current exploring group. What I could really use now is a wicker or cane resource to make gathering baskets. Failing that, Amber + Coal as a fallback to make gathering jewelry.

Theo shows up with the tutorial hints once I've cooked food, awarding some random resources and asking me to make a village building. Since Perun starts with village buildings, Theo shows up again the next turn, awarding more random resources. I got some Clay, but sadly, no wicker, so I call the exploring party back and go west, stopping at the village to deconstruct spare loot and exchange food.

Let's talk about food a bit.

This screen and subsystem are a pretty good piece of game design, IMO, because you can entirely ignore it and still complete the game just fine. Entirely optional subsystem that you don't need to interact with or think about. Nor does it gate any gameplay content.

At the same time it shows a clever, sensible mechanic to encourage you to interact with the cooking system for buffs, instead of just hammering "gather more mushrooms". Every variety of food your party has available gives an incremental buff up to 10 kinds, shown on the right. In this case I started with meat in storage, picked mushrooms near the village, picked fruit and seaweed on the expedition, and cooked some stew to get up to 5 kinds, giving the first bonus movement point.

Also, cooking meat + mushrooms to get Bigos produces more units of supplies than just eating the ingredients raw. Cooking is great!

The exploring party randomly looted many fine sandstone blocks from a group of skeletons (don't think too hard about it), so bringing them home makes it easy to start constructing a proper pasture without consuming precious wood needed for fires in this cold, post-apocalyptic age.

Also, a proper crafting tool[kit] from Iron and Clay for my crafter.

The exploring party finds Cane to the west, so that is going to be my next advancement point use, which will be coming up soon thanks to my crafter work. On Turn 20, the advancement point rolls in, I unlock Cane, the crafter at home starts a cane+clay gathering basket with the freebie, and the explorer party starts gathering more cane. Current status: 8 people, 5 researches.

Once the exploring party has harvested cane twice for 12 units, they head back, drop off the cane to be turned into 3 new gathering baskets (oddly, cane+clay is better than cane+spidersilk), pick up the premade basket, join the village for a turn to assist the gathering, and leave again to gather more cane until everyone has superior baskets. Cosmic Tree quest appears during this time, and I'm going to be ignoring it. Getting the baskets is far more important to get the economy going.

With a pasture up, I'm pulling in Mushrooms, Meat, Fish regularly, and cooking more foods. I get another advancement point from basket spam on turn 35, and unlock Cabbage Patch. (This is where babies are found. I figure it's a Slavic equivalent to the stork.) More children means more villagers eventually, now I have baskets and spidersilk, so I'm going to be heading for the Blessed Paths next. On turn 40, a random crafter joins my village, not from a child growing up but from the pasture's "Attract Humans" modifier. He'll sit at home since crafting on the move won't be implemented until Thea 2: The Shattering. On Turn 41, the Hangedman appears to curse my people, and I do my first savescum reload (not counting the initial map rerolls) to avoid that since I don't want his curses, taking me back to 40 still with the crafter.

My expedition leaves again to acquire Granite for a better cabbage patch, while my village is getting food and spidersilk clothes. A lot of End Turn happens with only minor adjustments to optimize gathering under realism constraints. By turn 50, I've gotten the Cosmic Tree, Divine Quest, Herbalist, Dziody, Smith locations popping up and ignoring all of them.

Then another kid matures enough to undergo the rites of passage into adulthood, and I wonder for a while between my class options: Crafter, Warrior, Gatherer, Medic. Eventually I settle on Gatherer, but I'll want a Warrior next - tougher fights are starting to appear. Still there's spidersilk needing 360 gather points for one bag (6 units). She joins the expedition, so now I have 5 at home and 5 abroad.

Some random events occasionally provide more resources.

One of the many tiny optimizations for high difficulty is that this bird meat should immediately be restricted and then cooked to provide both more food and more varied food.

Bandits show up. I track them down and beat them up for my stuff back. Some spider nests have spawned to the west, and I aggressively hunt down spider packs (on the offense you can use Hunting instead of Combat, which doesn't sap real HP) while leaving the 2-skull nests to spawn more spiders that are relatively weak and provide good drops (more spidersilk). While the expedition is out, I visit the Smithy with the lovelorn dwarf and then go to see the Rusalka about some children, picking up whatever resources I can gather in 1 turn on the way when the expedition camps.

The names are so I can easily keep track of who belongs at home, who belongs abroad, because the expedition rejoins the home village often to do a little work and then split again.

Orcs are easy enough to take down with Social Combat, picking up 4 human(ish?) kids and red ribbon. One of the kids matures while traveling, and this time I promote to Warrior, and promptly equip him with the gear I get from the dwarf smith. At this point my explorer group is up to 11 food types, zipping around the map with +2 move, taking fights easily with the +5 health +3 damage benefits of a varied diet and good morale.

Palisade researched on turn 80. The Attract Human %chance buildings draw another Warrior to sit at home defending the village, and I'm up to 12 people. A child matures and I take the rare chance at a Sage, hoping for magic skill - nope. Did have medic skill though. The Sage Borzymir is given a gathering bucket and set to gather.

I roll a Crow joining my group from a random event. I split it off from the group and send it to go die alone. This is because Thea has rubberband mechanisms: your population goes up slower when you have more people. The cute crow that can't wear armor or weapons, and has crappy HP and skills, counts as a people.

I go to see about the next step of Cosmic Tree quest. Leshy 1 has an elf and wants me to go kill the allegedly corrupt Leshy 2. When I find him, Leshy 2 says "no u" and offers me a payment of Ancientwood to take a few flakes of his tree and lie to the allegedly corrupt Leshy 1. I accept the payment and a social blessing, and set off to lie -- a funny thing about the Social Combat implementation in this game is that you lie better with more people in your party, even if they are individually unconvincing. So I move a Sage and Warrior from village to adventuring party temporarily. Leshy 1 is suspicious, but eventually accepts that I killed Leshy 2, and hands over the plot-relevant elf with the infodump.

The elf starts explaining, then offers me the option to skip the textual cutscene. Thank you, developers, thank you kindly!

I get a random loot drop of enchanted bone and use it to start a spidersilk+bone vest that gives +magic for my sage, which will let me access several useful options in encounters.

The expedition comes home to help gather and craft a bit. Blessed Paths is unlocked on turn 94 and I start construction with spidersilk + granite + coal. This only provides +1 radius, but it's a good start. +2 radius requires one of Nimblewood, Diamond, Ruby or Mithril in the construction. I don't even have the prerequisites unlocked to see those, much less gather them, since I rushed BP so hard. It's going to take a while to build. My traveling expedition goes to hit up a few more sidequest sites meanwhile. The next steps in the main quests are facing Perun's Avatar and the Dragon guarding the cosmic tree clue, neither of which I am even vaguely ready at this stage, the explorers being seven guys with pointy sticks.

I get lucky and have another Sage join me in a random event of an old man at a campfire, this one with native magic skill, so now I have two!

Continued in part 2 due to post image limit.

[vermakesthings]

Druid's

I will refer to "nature" as the living aspects of nature, even though nature also refers to things like thunderstorms, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Druid's are another race just like the Werebeasts that were used as janissaries and revolted. Druids were typical humans, taken by the god who enslaved them and changed to be more in tune with nature. They can eat any biological matter and gain nutrients from it, it is common to spot them casually taking a bite out of a tree branch. They do not get sick from any sort of infection, or parasite. They are about three times as strong as a mortal when surrounded by living nature, so trees, beasts, etc. When in a less natural environment- a human village, for example- they are much less strong than a human, and if they spend a few days there they will be put into a coma. They won't die from this alone, though if not returned to nature and consciousness or fed they will end up dying of thirst. Druid's are incredibly weakened in underground locations. Entering a cave is likely to put them in a coma within hours, and during that time they will be hardly capable of walking on their own. When in an unnatural environment, the nonliving aspects of nature, notably weather and such, will increase their longevity to a degree. If the village they are in has a continuous thunderstorm, they will probably last a few weeks without a coma. They have an innate connection with animals, and can understand their behavior/body language instinctually as well as more easily tame them. This does not extend to actual control over the animal. They can also tell plants where to grow, and for the cost of much stamina may force plants to grow much faster, as well as in ways that are unnatural, shaping them.

They look mostly like regular humans, but on closer inspection you will notice differences. They're hair looks kind of like plantgrowth, with some of it actually forming leaves if grown long. This hair color can be changed at will, to literarily any color.

The child of a druid will always be a druid entirely, even if the other parent was a normal human. Druid's are not immortal, but they do live at least four times as long as the average human lifespan, so roughly 300 years. Oftentimes more than that, often less. No one knows what happens if a druid has a child with a werebeast, as it has not yet happened, nor has their ever been a vampiric druid to test that result.

In modern times, they have their own community within a forest near Demtuny. They do not build homes in most cases, as they are quite comfortable in storms, and in the environments they choose they do not have to fear temperatures. The more they sleep within the branches of trees and the grass of the earth, the more comfortable they are; building a home both A: requires space taken from the environment, as well as resources and B: separates them from natural life. Now when they do decide to build an enclosure, they do so in a way that does not have those two problems, by growing trees and plants in such a way that the entire house is built with nothing but still living plants. This takes several days, even with their power to speed growth.

The reasons for these curses and benefits: the god who enslaved them was one of nature. He was loath to use humans for his war, and his plan if he did win the war with the other gods was to wipe out all humanity, but in the end was forced to or else lose to the might of the other god's janissaries. He did however change them more to his liking. Some of these changes were for his own reasons, such as the hair style, but some were for war. He tried to make the changing color to the entire body for camouflage but he did not have enough power for that for so many people, not after the effects he'd already given them, and so it only affected the hair. The 3x strength is obvious why, but at the time he did this it affected them anywhere, not just in nature. It was only when they rebelled that he attempted to revoke their strength and curse them with weakness, but they were so attuned with the natural world through their long servitude towards him and through the other blessings which he did not have the power yet to revoke, so he was only able to curse them with weakness in an unnatural environment.

They are peaceful with Demtuny, though they do have rules: they do allow the people of the town to enter the forest with limitations, that being that their main village's borders are to be respected, and they are to fell no plant within their forest, only taking already dead things as must, unless the Druid's give explicit permission. The other forests the druids have no claim over, and do not object in any way to their treatment, though they do offer advice often.

With Reliqonous they are not peaceful. They have carefully made sure Relqonous is not aware of them, and even after Demtuny was discovered neither did Demtuny reveal their secret nor did they help to defend Demtuny from Reliqonous' force. They do all they can to prevent notice. If someone from Reliqonous enters their forest, they are unlikely to ever leave again, barring should they move into Demtuny, due to their friendship with the druid's and their policies of keeping the Druid's secret.

[fallenraffe]

Savage Lover by Sophie Lark (1*)

<i>1 star</i>

when I finished I was so happy I ended up giving it 2 stars, but as I started thinking about it I struggled to come up with a single thing I liked about this book and well when the best thing about it is that it finally ended.. a one star it is

I liked the concept - at least some of it, namely the fast & furious infusion - but the execution was 💩

the writing was not great, so many telling instead of showing, the rs dev was laughable, the whole thing was just so juvenile and not even in a fun way

when girl finally opens up to the guy about her issues and feelings she only does it cos she's high and then they proceed to almost have sex, but as per us most of that scene was also just told, except for the smutty bit cos those are v important ofc🙄

2 things I distinctly remember: 1) when the girl spots the guy with the queen bitch of hs at the bank and gets jealous and gets her feelings hurt, thinking there was something between them, but clearly she was just kidding herself, and while girl is throwing herself a pity party I'm in my mind going <i>girl what? you guys barely know each other, you kissed maybe twice, there's no rs no basis for your hurt at least not from where I'm standing</i> 2) when the guy was thinking about how she's the only one who knows him, ya know the real him and loves him and all that love dovey bs and I'm over there like, <i>bitch what, where?!</i>

the mafia stuff was also v pheriferial here, guy and his fam is in the mafia and oppp they accidentally ended up going straight with their business woe is them😭💀 it was mostly just the guy gearing up to rob a bank, cos he can and its fun and he needs the money so he doesn't have to do business with others le sigh

fmc was more irritating tho, but I really didn't give a damn about either of them, let alone their "rs"

i listened to like half of it on 2x, then picked it back up as ai was doing some organising/packing in an effort to finish it up and then the next day (when I was around 77% I went and upped my speed to 3x so I could put myself out of my mysery asap)

my desire to pick up a S.L. book wasn't v strong to begin with, but after this what lil I had went📉📉📉📉📉📉

the only good thing about this was that the narrators were actually awesome, way too good for this bs tbh

(ax2, then x3

ns👍🏻👍🏻)

[bundlebrent]

Car drama continues

If any of you are actually reading this I apologize in advance for not making any fucking sense probably

So today my Dad picked me up from work and we went down into Portland to the mechanics shop I left it at yesterday because the battery problem started up again. They were like yeah it is the big battery like you thought it was 6 months ago when you took it to the big battery people and they said no actually it’s fine. 😠

Annoying I’m grumpy about it but it’s not the complete end of the world we’re going to drive it to the other place and leave it there overnight etc etc but No

About 1/3rd of the way to the battery place after slugging my way through stop and go traffic to the part where traffic opens up and you’re supposed to actually drive at a normal speed now I realize I have to put my foot to the fucking floor to get about 25 miles per hour and cannot get above 34 at all.

A stress filled 10 minutes of pothole filled backroads got me to the worst 7/11 parking lot of all time. I turn off the car look around and realize if it came to needing a tow it would pretty much be impossible but knowing I’m surrounded by 25mph streets I figure I can get a block or two farther and start the car back up. And gripping the steering wheel with everything that’s in me I manage to get down 6 blocks to a bowling alley while staying at the speed limit and now I am sitting in the parking lot.

My Dad had already driven his car all the way to the battery place so he’s turned around to come and find me and this absolutely fucking huge bowling alley and then He will drive my car while I follow in his (because I can’t take more of the foot touching the floor eventually equals 34mph thing)

And in the meantime I’m making this useless rambling rant post and also wondering why the largest bowling alley I’ve ever seen is where I ended up. I haven’t gone in and maybe it’s not as huge as my brain is saying but the building is 3x larger than the bowling alley I used to work at so it’s definitely in the stupid big range

Sorry again to anyone who fought there way through all that and is still confused I can barely sort it in my head I was hoping putting the ramble in text format would make it easier to edit some points…

[shinigamiringo]

Oh shit here we go again..?

what, did you think I forgot about this lol bet you did. it's ok, I did fail a bit! Which is why I only put 3 goals for Q1. Buuuut! I didn't fail fully so I still consider this a mostly win lol Here's what I learned!

Q1 supposed to be goals (a refresher lol)

1. Learn and understand all 2000 jouyou kanji.

Doing just kanji is hella boring so I get distracted. I need something to keep my interest. I, like a smart bean, tried just using "The guide to remembering kanji" book, and was like lol nope.

2. Work out at least 2x a week

I actually accomplished this near the end! WOOHOO GO ME \o/ However, the last week I had to take a break because my feet were killing me. So I didn't work out but I was still doing really well with it so yaaay.

3. Floss, brush, and mouthwash everyday

This is kinda a half accomplishment, I think. I did manage to brush most days, but there were some days where flossing and mouthwash wasn't done because lazy/tired or I didn't have time.

SO! 3 goals, 2 done 1 partial; I'd say that's a great win! The best part, ofc, is when I was being consistent, I started doing other things. I was meditating for at least 3 minutes, doing my morning and night face routine, and keeping my room cleaner (no, not completely clean. I have cats and those furry gremlins like to cause chaos ok) IDK if adding those things unintentionally was what caused me to slip or if it was the taking a break, but either way I would say I'm doing pretty well. What is next with Q2? Let's talk about it!

Q2:

Continue to work out, but go to at least 3x a week

Since I did kiiiinda do the workout thing, I'm going to keep this in the list of goals. I got to a good area with running but the problem came when my feet started dying. I had to stop and recover, plus get some actual running shoes. Right now, I'm doing the zombies, run! 5k to increase my running speed, then I plan to work through the zombies, run! seasons. I did pretty good with working out everyday, so I will try to keep that in my goals.

Ofc, I can't just run so I plan to add some exercise routines from Darebee. I was doing the yoga one, but I might switch that to an anaerobic type. Ah wait.... ok! I will keep the yoga one, since it's only 30 days and once that's finished, move on toooooo

Ringfit! I have a few other games I could use, but ringfit has a lot of different types of exercise that seems like it could help. Plus, that "guy who did ringfit for 300 days became super fit!" news article is stuck in my head. I was debating on adding more in the gym, but tbh I don't like staying there too long since I always get a bit creeped out. I'm paranoid ok don't judge me.

2. Brush and mouthwash everyday

since this one was a half, I'm going to pull it from 3 things to just brush and mouthwash. I would prefer to keep floss, but I think keeping a bit of the stress away might help. We'll see.

3. Japanese, everyday

ok, I won't lie- not reaching the Japanese goal hurt a bit. It was kinda upsetting considering I broke it down but! hope springs eternal! New goal is Japanese at least 5 minutes a day. I'm sure I'll want to do more but if I put a low bar I should be able to jump over it not dig under it lol I do have some plans on how to tackle it and test myself but I'm going to just put on this master list that I'll give myself a sticker everytime I reach this goal. I like stickers, sue me.

4. Meditate 1 minute everday

I wasn't going to add a 4th, but since I reached the gym goal (even though I'm adding to it) I figured I needed to add something new. Meditation is good for attention spans, anxiety, etc, etc, so this is a nice little goal to facilitate the others, I think.

And that's it! I might add my mini Japanese plan, but tbh it's kinda more a fun thing at this point. I'm really excited about this next quarter! If I was able to make it this time, I know I'll definitely do better this next time. I also might be taking the JLPT, depending on my speed. Wish me luck in this second quarter.

onwards, to greatness~!

[nflsafetyinfo]

Damar Hamlin Profile

A sentiment that seems to always pop up in the discussion of football, is the speed of the game. As time goes on, it seems as though the players get faster, and the game moves quicker. Unfortunately, as a result of this we have to witness some pretty awful injuries, like the one that Damar Hamlin experienced. Damar Hamlin is a 24 year old safety for the buffalo bills. He made a name for himself at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a star player. According to Pittsburgh's Official Stats, Damar managed to rack up 290 total tackled as well as 6 interceptions in his collegiate career. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills, and immediately showed talent.

On January 2nd, 2023, Hamlin was playing as usually in the Bills game against the Bengals. On one play, he unintentionally ran into an opposing player, getting struck in the chest. Due to the nature of the hit, he went into cardiac arrest and medical staff stormed to field to help him out. The entire country became aware of this injury very quickly. He was taken to a hospital and updates were not to be seen until a few days later when he broke the silence on his Twitter account. He said, "Putting love into the world comes back 3xs as much… thankful for everyone who has reached out and prayed. This will make me stronger on the road to recovery, keep praying for me!" As he is still in recovering, it is unclear if he will continue to play on in he future. For now he continues to help out his community and spread positivity using his social media accounts.

[cru1sec0nt0l]

What Life's Been Like Recently (Year 1)

The last 10 months have been a bit of a whirlwind. It's only now that I'm being forced to pause and really reflect.

I think for a little while I fell out of love with my job. I think the best way I can explain it is a bit like the phases of a failed relationship in Strangers Again by Wong Fu. The stages are as follows:

Stage 1 Meeting – First time you saw each other Stage 2 Chase – Getting to know each other Stage 3 Honeymoon – In relationship where you can do anything you want as a couple, everything feels amazing. Stage 4 Comfortable – Comfort you feel when you're together Stage 5 Tolerance – Excuses make to make distance Stage 6 Downhill -the effort to try to make things wok Stage 7 Breaking up – Better to end it all.

I think the first few months were stages 1 and 2. Getting back into the groove of practicing, evaluating, and treating patients. Getting up to speed with trying to treat 2 patients at once, while still trying to complete documentation and not sacrificing quality of care. Constantly showing up an hour and a half early or staying late to finish documentation. Trying not to beat myself up over being slow - which, as everyone put it, is a product of being a new physical therapist.

After those initial months, I think I hit a bit of a sweet spot (stage 3) with my treatment flows, was able to initiate conversations about mentorship and start the group, and started feeling more at ease with being a practicing clinician. However, I was still putting in the crazy hours, and the documentation just never seemed to let up. I tried to justify it to myself, saying it was okay since I didn't have an SO or family to take care of after work. But eventually, I stopped taking care of myself. Stopped working out. Stopped eating healthily. Sleep quality was shit. The candle was being burnt at both ends.

That's when I speed ran into stages 5 and 6 - feeling very much burnt out. Physically and emotionally. I think at that point I also had a large volume of patients with higher emotional needs as part of their rehab process. Those patients can be challenging because they require you to give a lot in order for them to feel adequately supported. Retrospectively, I think the challenging part was not knowing if those patients were going to get better, due to my lack of experience. Externally, the patient would question their rate of recovery. I could only try to reassure them that it was part of the process. Internally, I'd question myself as far as why those particular patients were struggling. I'd ask other therapists, who'd simply say those patients needed more time. My own lack of certainty made it harder for me to provide certainty to those patients who crave it, which in turn only feeds their anxiety about the process. Ultimately, seeing those patients come through and doing very well was incredibly beneficial for me. It gave me positive reinforcement that the book knowledge does translate, but sometimes the payoff takes a while. It definitely helped me to feel like less of a fraud when providing guidance to patients later on.

During this time I think I was also struggling with a lack of renewal, professionally and personally. I think the mentorship began to provide that outlet, professionally. But it was only once I decided to stop documentation off work hours, that I began to experience a shift in the level of burnout I was feeling. I made it a priority to work out (run 20 min a day, 5 days a week, and lift 2-3x per week), which made a massive difference to my mental and emotional health. I also took on several cases which reinvigorated me as they required me to use skillsets that had been dormant since before PT school. Getting to program higher level exercise and sports related movements was so enjoyable. Working with high school, collegiate, and recreational athletes across different sports provided so many avenues for creativity in treatment that I began to feel the fun in my job again.

At this point (over the last 2 months), I had picked up so much positive traction in my life. I was the healthiest I'd been since working as a personal trainer before grad school. I was enjoying my job and my personal life on the weekends. I even went on a date for the first time in 2 years. Mentorship had been going well, if sporadically, and I was in the midst of applying for residency programs. I was financially in a good place. In fact I had hit my financial goals for my first year of employment and was starting to plan how I was going to start paying off a good chunk of my student loans before the shit hit the fan again.

Cue Complete Achilles Tendon Rupture.

Fuck.

In the two weeks since it's happened, I've experienced a range of emotions. From the initial pseudo-determination/quasi-denial immediately after the injury, to the shock and mild dejection after seeing how much this was going to cost me (both in lost income due to temporary disability and surgical/rehab expenses). So far things have gone well, but I'm also nervous. Am I going to be the same athlete in the long term? Can I get close? I know what the rehab theory is, but the questions still linger.

Some of the things my patients said after finding out about my injury also stick with me. Most have been lovely. But a few managed to find a knife and twist it.

"Oh man, well you've lost all credibility now".

To be fair, this was said in jest, but it is a fear in the back of my head. My style of treatment to this point has been very involved and demonstrative. How do I continue to be as effective when that's no longer an option? It's going to take me 3 months to be able to do a single calf raise. I'm going to be extremely limited physically, so it's going to require me to a much more effective verbal communicator. While I think I'll be better for it in the long run, the force growth process makes me a bit apprehensive.

"What's going on here? I hope you're getting me a new physical therapist."

This is the one that bugs me. Not one question about how I was doing. Also completely, disregarding the fact that I was present in the clinic trying to introduce him to his new therapist the day after tearing my Achilles while in a cast and crutches. I even worked the next day on a torn Achilles (did a lot of sitting) because I wanted to smooth transitions for my patients before my surgery. I care so damn much about my patients and the quality of care I provide. But it's a good reminder that a good chunk of them don't view you as a human. More as an ends to a means. With those patients, dispassionate objective care is more appropriate. Otherwise, you'll start burning yourself out again.

Ultimately, this Achilles tear is just another obstacle to navigate. After the family losing everything in high school, Dad committing suicide in college, and grinding 3 gigs to get into grad school and graduate in my mid-late 20s, I feel like all I've known is the grind. Aside from those years between undergrad and grad school, I haven't really been able to thrive. I just keep trying to float and take small steps towards goals that continue to drift away (financial security, finding a girlfriend, having a family, owning a house). Middle school me would've felt very in tune with all this, equating it to the struggle for victory in the hip hop songs I used to listen to pre-game. But struggling for this long is wearing on me. It raises questions I don't have answers for. Part of me is still seeking validation for the decisions I've made. I don't know how to validate the struggle when it keeps dragging on. But like most other things in my life, only time can tell.

[rogueemmy]

There are a finite number of hours in a day, and Mondays....Mondays feel like those hours were put in the dryer on high, and being played back at 3X speed.

[bop-pipeguy]

Brownell’s Retro 4x Carry Handle Optic

Carry handle AR-15s are all the rage these days. Commanding silly prices on auction sites, flexed hard on Instagram and hotly debated between A1 and A2 style sights, you’re not cool if you don't have a fixed carry handle upper. But what if you still want some decent glass? There are plenty of options out there, and one in particular brings up thoughts of the jungle and liberty in Saigon, the Retro 4x Carry handle optic from Brownell’s.

This scope is not just inspired by the Colt 3 and 4 power scopes of the 70s, it IS the old Colt scope. Manufactured by the original company, using original designs, this is a 1:1 reproduction, with the only difference besides markings being the modern lens coatings and nitrogen purged, this is a vintage optic with modern internals. Think mass produced restomod. 

I missed out on the first few batches of these optics a few years ago, but eventually managed to get ahold of one for my BRN-16A1 (we can talk about this rifle another day) and it just looks right sitting on top of the carry handle. The height is very convenient for a fast shot while maintaining situational awareness. as a side note, too many companies these days are putting out ultra high optics mounts. Guys, a carry handle gives you the same height mount, has a built in backup iron sight and even comes with a receiver! But again, that's another discussion for another day. The optic does not use a rail or ring, but rather mounts directly to a hole in the center of the carry handle, placing the eye box in pretty much the same place the shooter would need to be to use the iron sights. it also allows the use of the irons by way of a machined hole. it feels more “crowded” than without the optic, but it is still perfectly useable. the sight picture itself is clear with a simple duplex reticle, which is a pleasant change from the over crowded and poorly explained reticles available on most optics today.

As if all this wasn't enough, the Retro 4x also features a Bullet Drop Compensator knob. with settings from 100 to 500 yards, this optic has some reach. However it is not a precision optic. The user will not be dialing in DOPE or be making precision shots. That is not the purpose of this scope. The purpose was originally and still is to increase hit probability at distance with speed. Calibrated with 55gr M193 ammunition in mind (to go along with Brownell’s Retro line of rifles and their 1:12 twist) these optics simply let you see a little farther a little better. That was enough for the US military. While I do not believe they were ever officially adopted, they were not replaced until Trijicon’s ACOG was adopted. If you look around, you can actually find images of the Colt 3x and 4x on rifles as late as the 2003 invasion of Iraq. 

Aesthetically pleasing and highly functional, the Brownell’s Reto 4x optic deserves consideration on your next carry handle build. As of this writing, they are in stock at brownells.com and you can save 10% on it by using code pipeguy10 at checkout.

[its-snicket-here]

Being sister of Ainz?? *Whisper from the dark corner*

*Whispers from the deep abyss of personal drafts* Hell fucking yeah

----------------------

Due to you being much more younger and more prone to gaming. I can see your character to have more of a monstrous form than a humanly look.

Ainz can now rest on having to spend money on your account, due to you doing multiple side jobs. Though, that doesn't let you escape of sharing your half of rent.

Your character is a demon; clad in a tattered yellow cloak with the hood always up, blocking any prying eyes from seeing your face. What it only peaks out is grey hair. Though the sleeve aren't long enough to cover your bandaged and shackled arms. In an ombre fashion, the arms are shown to go from black to blood red at the finger tips.

Though when unhooded, it's shown that your face is also pitch black. Your mouth is replaced with something more inhumane, having no teeth nor anything. Though it's capable of breaking and tearing through anything with such animalistic powers. Strange red substances dribble out, though nobody dares to try even touching it.

Your eyes is blindfolded, though when unraveled, it shows only a void where the sockets are. All oozing the same red substance that dribbles from the mouth. You have a long black tongue that oozes a stank smell when activated for fighting.

Your chest had an open hole, where your ribcage pops out in the flesh and where your spine could be shown. Where the heart is supposed to be lies a giant plasma ball. Though like Ainz's, it's indestructible.

Like the mom, you and Ainz have special perks when you have family members joining in the game. Unlike mother's rage, the two of you have now gained "Sibling's Rivalry."

When the two of you were transported into the new world, instead of spawning inside the Tomb with Ainz. You were spawned inside a cave, deep inside the forest where Hamsuke was at.

It took you a little while to get out of there, but you did it.

But it did took you long time getting your sense of perception because your sight has been replaced black and white outlines. You were tripping over multiple shit in the cave and the forest: trees, rocks, a lizard, a corpse, you name it. You were tripping everywhere.

Though despite your struggle of having a different sense of perception. You were able to detect life sources somewhere, but couldn't exactly pinpoint the direction it was coming from.

So, it caught you off guard when you "see" a giant hamster right in front of you doing a piss ass job of threatening you.

Thus the hilarity ensued when you activated your intimidation skill on Hamsuke.

So, you have now a hamster ride and a new roommate to sleep with. Though, you do enjoy the furry rat hamster's company. At least she'll be your guide around the forest.

Thus the two of you were dubbed the "The Wise King of the Forest" and "The Demonic Puppet," much to your annoyance. You're not a damn puppet that's for sure.

When Ainz heard about you and Hamsuke in the forest, he was highly interested in you. Rumors had it you were the supposed puppet/rider of "The Wise King of the Forest." So of course he wanted to either recruit you or to at least collect you like he was planning to do for Gazef

It was surprise when he finally noticed that it was his sister that was labeled as "The Demonic Puppet," but is relieved that he isn't lonely now

Breathes

That doesn't escape the fact you're now a gremlin

Might as well make you the prankster demon, because you do a shit ton of light hearted tricks

The classic plastic wrap on the doorways, replacing bombs with glitter dust, making swords break at the first contact before reconnecting all together again, toothpaste filling in Oreos/pastries, you get the drill.

Demiurge wants to experiment and study your red ooze that drips out and see its effect. You have now gained Demiurge's interest on studying you, especially your reasons to be shackled.

I would say that you're aren't specifically in the guide but is considered to be because of your connection and how frequently you've visit the guide.

Though, you can't gain a human look no matter how hard you can transform

As if you can actually transform lmaooooo

So, you are forced to wear a mask and lots of long sleeved shirts, bandages, long pants, your coat, and/or dresses when you go outside with Ainz and Nabe in E-Rantel. Though you can't seem to take off your shackles off you.

I can see you and Evileye being acquaintances in heroes term. Other than that, she sees you as a gateway on trying to hook up with Ainz/Momonga and an interesting person. A strong mage always hiding behind a mask like her.

Though unlike cosmic demon eldritch mama, you don't gain a following. The last thing you want is idiots trying to summon you, despite saying a very hard no on accepting their praises and begging.

There is times where you go onto a blood frenzy uncontrollably out of the blue that Ainz had to put Demiurge and Cocytus in charge in containing your blood frenzy. If it goes out of control, then Ainz would reluctantly WILL and HAVE to put you out for himself.

So when the war happened between the two kingdoms, when Ainz was making everyone thinking he was an actual fucking monster. They all should be fearing you. You. Go. Nuts. With. Full. Intent. of. Excitement. For. Blood. And. Fear.

Before the whole war even happened, you and Demiurge were setting up the battlefield with traps, hidden demons/beasts, hiding poison containers somewhere in the water supply that will open at a specific time, portals from hell, etc. You are on full intent of destroying the kingdom with all of your might.

Just hope they don't get inside [Death's Parade] ok? :)

-------

[Sibling's Rivalry] - Due to you having a connection with another player via email/phone number confirmation, you and your connector have now gained a new skill set [Sibling's Rivalry]. When in a 40 meter radius with your sibling, you have now gained an increase of 125% ATK speed, 45% AGILITY, and a 200+ MP boost.

[Blood Lust] - Every physical kill increases your ATK power by +15%. Maximum is +150% for 15 minuets. Though when passive, when not killing, the player will have a meter that will slowly goes up until 100%. If any kills hasn't occur,

[Death's Parade] - One time use, afterwards you must rest until [Death's Parade] can be used again. Upon use, within 75 meter radius of the caster shall turn into an arena. Those who inside the radius can not escape nor those outside the radius can join in. Multiple demonic summons and undead summons shall appear and will fight to the death to the players that are trapped inside. The arena will stay on until either the caster's MP reaches to 1 or the players inside the arena is dead. 145% ATK speed, 65% spell power, 145% casting speed.

[F. E. A. R] - Fear Energy Acid Radiation. Those who are not immune to the fear energy radiation or has consumed fear acid would now experience a multitude of nightmares and hallucinations until they have escaped the radiation or after 2 hours if digested. It is possible to die from [F. E. A. R].

[Tier 1/2/3 intimidation] - Tier 1 effects low leveled beings through 1 - 25. Tier 2 effects mid level beings through 25 - 75. Tier 3 effects higher level beings through 75 - 100. When under the intimidation, they will be frozen in fear for 10 minuets. Though if using a higher level fear on a lower level being it can have a lasting effect until turned off.

[Blood Cult Garbs] - 'Worship is meaningless when given prayers and offerings. What THEY need is blood to be spilled, screams to be heard, flesh being wounded!' 195% spell power, 145% casting speed

[Sacrificial blade] - 'This is a gift from the Gods...' A blade that has already taken the lives of many unbelievers and its willingly followers. Though it has been unwashed over the years of use. 175% life leech, status: bleeding, status: hemorrhage, status: infected

[Status: Holy Imprisoned] - Due the angelic shackles containing your sins, you have been now suppressed of demonic urges and have now gained morality and emotions. Though the older the shackles are, the harder it will stop the demonic urges and sins seizing through. Every time a demonic ability/spell has been mustered, the host will go through intense pain that will take 25% of their health, but will never go down to 0. -250% holy damage resistance, demonic damage nullified, status: imprisoned, -110% casting speed [Holy Imprisoned is inflicted by Angelic species that is the same level or higher than the host. Can be effected again.]

[Orb of Trickery] - Due to you now infused with the orb, you are now able to cast illusion spells, psychic spells, and hypnotic spells much faster with 3x of the effect.

[stilldani24]

Pain, but like, It’s Tolerable

corpse husband x platonic!reader oneshot

words: 1089

request: “corpse x reader where she’s a streamer but she’s very private about her personal life and she randomly goes awol for a week before coming back and steaming among us. during the game the others notice that she’s unusually quiet and she lets it slip that she had surgery and is kind of in pain and that’s why she isn’t talking much and everyone is concerned, specially corpse and then he texts her/facetimes her after they both stop streaming to make sure she’s alright and to scold her (like playfully) for not letting him know about the surgery” from anonymous

Your doctor told you to rest for a while, not to work out, and not do anything too strenuous. You knew exactly what to do during your recovery period, and that was play Among Us until you literally dropped from exhaustion. 

Okay, not really. But pretty close.

You were actually kind of nervous to go back to playing, especially since you had been pretty much AWOL for the entire week. You had suffered from a few health conditions throughout your life, and had numerous surgeries to fix them, or at least attempt to. Whenever you had one surgery, another one followed three or so years later. And after years of trying to get your kidneys to work with you, you had eventually gone into kidney failure and began dialysis while still trying to be a streamer and maintain your friendships with those you met online. It was hard, balancing everything while also being an adult who had to pay rent and shit, but you managed. All you had to do was pray that someone in your life was a match for you so you didn’t have to wait potentially years on the waitlist. 

Your sister was tested and came back as a match, and graciously donated her kidney so you could stop needing dialysis and have a long, happy life. You two now only had one kidney each. Kidney buddies. You should remember to make a shirt like that for Christmas to give to her. 

But the second day back from the hospital, you made your way slowly to your game room. You had an ice pack to your incision, wrapped in a towel of course, and slowly sat down in your chair with a soft grunt. After situating your pillows so you wouldn’t be in too much pain, you messaged your Discord group you were in with Corpse, Sean, Felix, and a few others that you were down to play. They immediately sent the game code and you hopped into the game, followed by joining the call. The lobby consisted of Sean, Felix, Corpse, Dave, PJ, Nogla, and yourself. Sean, Felix, and Nogla were streaming whereas the other four of you would just be vibing along with them. You would get back to your regularly scheduled streams when you healed a bit more, so you could be your normal loud and animated self while not worrying your viewers too much. 

“Y/N!” Sean greeted you enthusiastically, making you smile as your little purple avatar ran around the lobby of the game. “Where the hell have you been, we’ve been worried sick!”

“Yeah, no kidding,” Corpse added, and you sensed a little smile behind his voice, but also genuine worry. “Where were you, yeah.”

“Oh, just had some personal business to take care of, don’t worry about me,” you responded casually, adjusting yourself a bit. It caused a little twang of pain, causing you to hiss quietly. “So, uh, what are we playing today?”

“We’re gonna play hide and seek, you down?” Felix asked. 

“Oh, so down. Let’s go, boys,” you replied back with a grin. 

As you played a few rounds of hide and seek, followed by a few rounds of the school game telephone, and finally you guys put the lobby in 3x speed and raced around the map. The boys were all loud as hell as normal, and the race was hella fun, but if you laughed too hard, it hurt like a son of a bitch. Corpse had noticed after a while of your near silence, but didn’t say anything until his worry got the best of him. 

“Hey, Y/N. Are you sure you’re okay, you seem really out of it today,” he mentioned in the lobby between games. 

You sighed, running your fingers through your hair. “Alright, fine, I’ll spill. I didn’t wanna say anything while a few of you were streaming, but it’s alright. I got surgery a week ago. I had a kidney transplant after my kidneys failed, so yeah. I’m in pain right now, but it’s tolerable so I wanted to play with you guys. Kinda take my mind off of it.”

The boys were kinda silent after that. 

“No cap?” Corpse finally asked, making you laugh. While you were both Gen Z, the lingo sometimes got you when he used it in front of people who definitely were not Gen Z. 

“No cap, Corpse,” you replied, a smile still on your face. “Deadass though, I’m doing alright. I missed playing after not being able to for a week of being in the hospital so let’s get back to it, shall we?”

After a weird game of trivia, where Dave gave PJ the easiest question ever and the rest of you questions you couldn’t even think of answering, the lot of you stopped playing and exited the call to go about the rest of your days. Not even two minutes later though, as you were trying to get the strength to stand up, your phone began ringing with the familiar tone for FaceTime. You slumped back down into your chair before picking up your phone. 

“Hey, Corpse, what’s up? Miss me already?” you teased as you sat back in your chair, grunting a little bit from the movement. You were definitely not FaceTime ready, with dirty hair and sleep deprived eyes, but you were always down to talk to your best friend. You didn’t give a fuck what you looked like to him. Corpse had his camera off. 

“Damn, you look like shit,” he laughed, making you do as well. It was just the kind of friendship you had. “But what the fuck, dude? You were MIA for a week just to come back to say that you had a kidney transplant? The fuck?”

“I’m sorry!” You laughed, holding your arms up slightly in defense. “I didn’t wanna worry you. You already got shit going on in your life, you don’t need my problems tacked on as well.”

Corpse audibly huffed, and you could tell he was just rolling eyes. Playfully, of course. “Hell, if you needed a kidney, you could have fucking asked. I don’t know if I’d even be a match but I’d be willing to get tested.”

“Awe, Corpsie,” you teased playfully. “Genuine friendship? In this economy? Unheard of. But thank you, that actually means a lot. Where were you when I was on dialysis though, huh?”

“Well if you would have fucking told me--”

“Whoops, look at the time! Gotta go!”