I am consistently aware of the fact that I am a woman in this country , everything else that I am comes secondary to the fact that I am a woman . Because I wake up and decide what to wear and that is being a woman , deciding to wear something comfortable and gender neutral is a political move , wearing something girly is pandering to the male gaze OR EVEN WORSE "empowering" i mean What The Fuck is empowering about wearing a skirt?? or a shirt with a little cleavage? also WHY IS MY BODY INHERENTLY SEXUALISED FOR WEARING A SKIRT OR SHOWING A LITTLE OF MY CHEST???? Wearing something Traditional is conservative and sati savitri ,,, I DONT WANT TO BE ANY OF THESE THINGS!! I DON'T WANT TO BE TRADITIONAL, I DON'T WANT TO BE AN EMPOWERED FEMALE AND I DON'T WANT TO BE ALTERNATIVE . Why!??!? is everything a woman does categorized as something? we're cute nerds or hot goths or pure virgin trad wives or ugly unfuckables for being fat or having unconventional beauty ,, and what also is this obsession with beauty?? If I'm fat I'm still supposed to be pretty if I'm skinny I'm still pretty if I'm not dressing cool i can Be Pretty with a little effort WHY SHOULD I EVER BE PRETTY? I DON'T VALUE BEING PRETTY I DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT BEING PRETTY.
Men in the internet have the audacity to bitch and moan about how hard it is to be a man because they're expected to be bread winners and can't get custody of children and there's false rape allegations and women keep lying and making up shit to destroy mens lives. Let's fucking talk about why these systemic failures exist in the first place ,, because Women weren't and most places in india still aren't allowed to work , Men are historical terrible caregivers to children and most false rape cases in india are perpetrated by FAMILY MEMBERS not the girls themselves. Higher class families trying to ruin the lives of lower class men because that's still a thing :D !!!! I don't hate men , but I am fucking sick of some of you pretending that women have it better for any reason And I am so routinely dissapointed with women in this country . Especially the well educated , financially secure metro city dwelling lot of you all. Dissapointed for the way that you continue to protect and cover for bad men . Cover for your families for their "traditional" ways when they demand dowry or expect the women to eat after the men or when your brothers beat their wives or make them change their lives after marriage and you fucking say nothing to them but go on the internet and claim you're a feminist. Female infanticide is still a thing in this country, did we forget? And can we talk about how India is rated as the number 1 most dangerous place to be a woman by the reuters foundtion , literally NUMBER ONE !!! 😂🤩 WOW WE BEAT NORTH KOREA AND FUCKING AFGHANISTAN!!!
What do we have to be patriotic or proud about??? this is a country and culture that hates us. that automatically treats us as second class citizens and we just take it and excuse all this shit because in some religions we're considered goddesses and we're "allowed" to work and vote and We had a woman president and prime minister as if that says anything about the state of women in this country. Put on a pedestal and treated like dolls when we're upper caste and fair and virgins degraded and trampled when were anything else . , If we dare to have our own ideas and emotions beyond happy to serve and obey at all times. Why the fuck aren't we rioting every single day?????? We are weak cowards . Who are complacent in the system , the us who are fortunate and at the top and able to read english and use the internet we are the most complacent because we know better but this indifference settles in our bones because we arent as affected on a daily basis . The worst of it is i cant wear the clothes I want outside and my boss treats my opinion like it doesnt matter till a male colleague says the same thing which is my privilege!!! Which is nothing compared to the reality of most women in this country who are susceptible to so!much!worse! Doemstic violence is still fucking rampant !! atleast there's one thing to join us between classes and castes :D hey! we're all getting beaten up by our husbands and families ! we have so much in common !!!
I feel nothing these days when I hear about the latest woman whos body has been desecrated and chopped up by her angry lover. I feel nothing. Dissapointed but not surprised. give it a week theres going to bw another one. This violence against us , why have we started to accept it??? i see so many comments saying " hey this is the reality of women in india we must accept it" WHY WOULD I ACCEPT IT??????? WHEN THAT COULD BE MY MOTHER OR MY BEST FRIEND TOMORROW?????????
I am sick of us , our complaceny , I want so much more for us. Real justice and equality but fuck. I don't know how to get it when no one else cares enough to be angry.

It seems ridiculous to me. But I want to know what a realistic budget is. The heat pump itself is $6k.
This is the estimate. It doesn’t itemize anything:
Scope of Work: 1 27,008.56 27,008.56 - Install a 3 Head Mitsubishi Hyper Heat, ductless mini split system: Install a 36,000 BTU Heat pump condenser unit outside with a branch box inside and a 18,000 BTU head in the main room, and a 9,000 BTU head in 2 bedrooms complete with control wiring, drains, outside heated drain pan. Price subject to change depending on head location, and availability of drains.
This system is rated to -15 F degrees, it is recommended that you install some form of backup heat fo days that get below 0 F degrees
Note: - This job will require some cuttin of sheetrock/plaster to get the heads and drains installed, this estimate does not include any sheetrock/plaster repair, or painting -Line set will be ran on exterior o home. Heads must be placed on exterior walls.
Electrical: 1 1,500.00 1,500.00 Client to provide electrical circui and disconnect, with in 6 feet of the outdoor unit location.

 -------------------------------------- Total: $28,508.56 

I'd never really thought about this comparison before but I saw a comment recently that pointed out the two, conceptually speaking, actually do have a lot in common.
Both, at the time of their original stories, were brand new villains for Batman to face. The new hotness that's come to Gotham to f**k up his day, with a big part of the plot being the mystery of who The Phantasm/Hush is, with the reveal being...the only other new and significant character introduced for the story. Both Andrea and Tommy are retconned into Bruce's past and made very important to him (one being the woman he loved, the other his childhood best friend), with said past being shown to us in flashbacks throughout the story. And both serve as a dark reflection of Bruce himself.
With these similarities, why is it that I find one works way more for me than the other? Especially when I grew up with both these stories.
I'm definitely a bit in the minority here but I've never really gotten the hype over Hush. That's not to say I don't like the Hush story, just that Hush/Tommy Elliot specifically is just kind of...okay to me at best. Not bad but not one of Batman's villains I feel a strong attachment to or feel a lot of excitement over when he's going to be in something. I never feel the same as others when they say they want Hush as the villain for a movie or that he should have been the main villain of Arkham Knight. I could certainly believe a good writer could get something good out of his concepts, but as he is, as he was in the original Hush story, the story most people know him from and that put him on the map, he's just...okay.
But then there's Andrea, and while I don't think she really needed to appear in other stories after Mask of the Phantasm, since like Tommy it feels like a case of diminishing returns, I do still find myself a lot more attached to that character and feel like she was very well done despite conceptually being so similar to Tommy. With Hush I don't want him to be in anything more after his initial story because I didn't really care that much about the character, whereas with The Phantasm I didn't want her to be in anything after her initial story because I didn't want them to ruin what I felt like was already done near perfectly and wrapped up.
I think the difference comes down to two big things: Framing within the story, and characterization.
Both stories center around the mystery "Who is The Phantasm/Hush?", but the execution of both mysteries, the pay-off to them, and Andrea and Tommy's place within those narratives is handled very differently.
Hush, in my opinion, is interesting almost solely because of the mystery around who he is and how he manipulates events and Batman's villains to strike at him. When we get the reveal that he's Tommy, not much is added that replaces the mystery in order to keep him interesting.
Why did he do all of this? Because he resents Bruce for being able to inherit all of his parent's wealth as a child while his own attempt to gain the same was foiled by Bruce's father saving his mother's life after Tommy deliberately tried to get his parents killed. In regards to making Tommy a dark, twisted reflection of Bruce, this does work. While Bruce loved his parents, was deeply scarred by their deaths, and he'd have given up that entire fortune and more just to have them back, Tommy was willing to kill his just to get his hands on their money and hated his mother for surviving. But as the big conclusion to this big story spanning most of Batman's rogues gallery and all the manipulations and planning and gaslighting the villain had done, this motivation feels too...mundane. It's too petty.
Don't get me wrong, pettiness does not make for a bad villain motivation in the right context. My favorite supervillain of all time is Lex Luthor and half that man's plans are fueled by pure spite for Superman for daring to make him look bad by being a good person. But for all the build-up and everything that was involved this answer just doesn't feel satisfying. Even things like Tommy's mother always comparing him to Bruce or Tommy creating a new face to look like Bruce to steal his identity and fortune wasn't a thing until later stories. In the original Hush story, Tommy is purely just after revenge on Bruce for getting inherited wealth as a child while he had to wait until he was an adult.
This isn't helped by how little we really get to know Thomas Elliot and Bruce's attachment to him before the reveal.
I think one of the things that works best about Batman: Hush, more than the mystery around who Hush is, is that the whole storyline feels like a semi-celebration of Batman and a love letter to the character. It showcases a lot of his big name villains, shows Batman's connections to his allies, from the Bat family to Huntress to Gordon to Superman, marks the start of what, in my opinion, made Catwoman a genuine contender for being Batman's best romantic relationship rather than just another love interest, goes into Batman's history, from Jason Todd to Harold and even his childhood before his parents were killed, and all while throughout we're getting the narration boxes of Bruce's inner thoughts, going in on what he thinks of himself and everyone around him. It's one of those stories where if someone wanted to get into Batman comics for the first time or needed an introduction to the character (weird as it is to think that when the character is everywhere these days), Batman: Hush would be one of the ones I'd point out.
The story has a lot going for it...and Thomas Elliot gets lost in it all. We get to somewhat know what he was like as a kid, so much of which doesn't apply to him as an adult in the present because so much time has passed since then, and what we do get to know of him as an adult gets put into question once we find out he's Hush since he more than likely was putting on an act every time he interacted with Bruce. We don't even get that much interaction between him and Batman after the reveal of his identity is made in order to get to know the real him, nor does he even take off his bandage mask to fully confirm it's Tommy. He gets shot by Harvey Dent, falls from a great height, and then f**ks off until he can be brought back in an eventual sequel.
This is part of why I wasn't really that upset when the animated movie adaptation of the story had The Riddler be Hush instead of Tommy, who basically was the real mastermind behind everything anyway in the original and was the more impactful twist. He's the one who figured out Batman was Bruce Wayne, being the one to present that information to Tommy, and was the one who got all the villains to cooperate with the plan. Most important of all, I have a feel for who the Riddler is. But Tommy? He's...smart. Apparently. And petty....apparently. What is Tommy's actual character beyond "guy who wanted his parent's money"?
Let's compare all of this to The Phantasm and Andrea Beaumont.
Like with Hush, the main mystery Mask of the Phantasm centers around is "Who is the Phantasm?" but the scale is more simple. The Phantasm isn't after Batman but rather is knocking off members of the Valestra crime family and, intentionally or otherwise, is getting Batman framed for the murders.
Like with the flashbacks to Bruce and Tommy's past with each other, we get flashbacks of Bruce and Andrea's own past together. However, not only was it a past relatively more recent, and thus we get a better feel for who Andrea is since she's already an adult in the flashbacks, but the flashbacks are more central to the movie's plot and don't have a million other more memorable or iconic bits happening around them to take the attention away, in part because these flashbacks show us Bruce's own history with the Valestra mob. The flashbacks with Tommy often didn't have a lot of relevance to the mystery around Hush or what he was doing beyond the fact that they involved Tommy It was mostly Bruce reminiscing about his childhood. While the flashbacks with Andrea also served to give insight on the people the Phantasm is targeting and why someone would want them dead, Andrea especially. Even the Joker, who is brought into the movie to help spice up the climax, used to be a hit man for the Valestras, and in fact was the one who was sent to murder Andrea's father. He ties into the main plot of the mystery while all the rogues used in Hush were mostly there to just wear Batman down or throw him off Tommy and Riddler's trail.
We also get Andrea and Bruce interacting in the present, greatly aided by her quickly figuring out that he's Batman and the two being able to speak frankly to each other, and interacting after he figures out she's the Phantasm. And when we get the reveal that she's the Phantasm, her personality doesn't really change that much, meaning that while she was hiding the truth from Bruce she wasn't putting on a complete front. Unlike Tommy, who we honestly aren't sure if we know anything real about, we feel we understand Andrea quite well. While what we saw of Tommy prior to the reveal helped cover up that he was Hush, what we saw of Andrea had it make even more sense that she was the Phantasm after the reveal is made.
Why is Andrea doing all this? She wants revenge on the Valestra mob for forcing her to flee Gotham, keeping her from marrying the man she loved, killing her father, and basically ruining her life. It's a very simple motivation but the build-up to it is more appropriate given the size and scale of the story and thus that simplicity doesn't feel like a big let-down. And even more so, it makes her a good dark and twisted reflection of Bruce. A normal life upended by crime and corruption unchecked, Andrea took on a terrifying alternate identity to bring justice in a way no one else could/no one else would, but along the way became consumed by the same need for vengeance that Bruce has always had to keep himself from falling into, to the point there's nothing else for her. A sympathetic motivation isn't inherently better than a petty one for a villain. It depends on its context and how it's executed. And Andrea's sympathetic motivation works here because of the parallels with Bruce and how much of a tragedy it's written as. Bruce almost never became Batman because he was so unexpected happy being with Andrea, but the crime Batman was intended to fight against tore him and her away from each other, destroying both of their lives yet again, and ended up corrupting the woman he had loved so much, turning her basically into...well...him.
TL;DR: Despite their similarities and how obvious their mysteries are when you think about them even a little, Andrea Beaumont as The Phantasm works better for me than Thomas Elliot did as Hush for the following reasons:

• We get to know the real Andrea better than we do the real Tommy, both before and after the reveals are made.
• Andrea's motivations feel more appropriate to the story being told with her than Tommy's were.
• Andrea being a dark, twisted reflection of Bruce ties in better to the story thematically than Tommy being a dark, twisted reflection did.
• Both the Phantasm and Hush start off cool and interesting because of how mysterious they are. The more of Phantasm's mystery is revealed, we get enough backstory and characterization to replace it to still keep us invested. The more of Hush's mystery is revealed, the less interesting he becomes because there's so little to take its place.

Hey all, anyone else notice that young kids and animals (usually peoples pets) have such a high affinity towards us? Whenever I go to other peoples houses and meet their animals or in public if they are off leash, they always run to me immediately. When I’m at a house with an animal, it follows me everywhere and the owners ALWAYS like “huh usually he doesn’t like people” or “she usually hides when someone comes over but she’s approaching you more than she does to me” I just think it’s interesting because I give very little attention to other peoples pets. Random stray cats approach me too. One even followed me all the way to my house! Even one time a stray dog was growling at me in a dark alleyway, but I walked past it and it immediately stopped growling and it gave me no reaction. I felt no sense of danger. Now with kids (usually ages 3-7) they stare at me in public for really long periods of time. I usually do not stare back and I avoid looking in their direction because it freaks me out a little, but recently I’ve been really focusing on saying hi to people and smiling at them while using proper eye contact. At the beach a young kid was staring at me while I was walking past him, I stared back and he continued to stare (I had sunglasses to partially cover my eyes lol)Then I smiled a little, and as I passed him he said “hi” and I said hi back. Then I heard him say to his dad, “people are really nice here” and in the previous few days I had some similar reactions. I just wonder why little kids stare at me.

I want to try creating my own covers of the songs in Swords (just for my own practice I don’t intend to profit off this at all) and if I had the instrumental versions of the songs I would have a much easier time both recreating the music and practicing the lyrics.
Does anyone happen to know if these exist and if so where I could find them?

Hi!
My HP laptop needs a new windows hard drive.
I was asked to purchase one before bringing it to be installed at local tech repair shop.
Can you tell me what to buy? The guy was no help.
He told me to take a picture of this so I could know which one to buy. But, this is like another language for me. Lol
I think he said n.2 2200 SSD. Does that make sense?

With the news that development of Adventure Mode for the Steam release is progressing along, I figure some people may want to download the original version to give it a try ahead of the graphics update. As someone with hundreds of hours in adventure mode (there are literally dozens of us!) I thought I would share some of the biggest tips and tricks I've learned. I'll probably be making this into a video once the official release is out and I can get footage with graphics, but until then I'm posting the script I have now here. The rest of this post contains spoilers for every phase of adventure mode, so turn back now if you want to discover all of this for yourself!
Beginner

1. Always have food

-Large stacks of vegetables can be found in containers in human towns. Meat can be gathered from butchered animals. Meat from sentient creatures can’t be eaten.

2. Always have wateale 

-Adventurers need to drink 3-4 times a day. Water skin only holds 3 water, so it is useless. Bags hold 40 and Backpacks hold 100 which is too heavy for most adventurers. Quivers hold 20, which is the perfect amount. Fill quivers with water at rivers or wells.

3. Equip armor 

-Armor and weapons can be found in the barracks of each town. Try to get iron or steel if possible. Make sure to cover the head, neck, torso, legs, hands, and feet.

4. Get a mount 

-Mounts increase overworld speed which increases the amount of ground that can be covered in one day. This reduces how frequently you need to stop for supplies.

5. Get some pets 

-Companions can be tricky to recruit in the beginning, but pets are a great way to increase survivability. Unlike companions, you can also recruit a very high number of pets immediately. Everything labeled “stray” found within a town can become a pet, from ducks to dogs, and rarely even bears and elephants. Just don’t get too attached, most pets die very fast, or permanently run away after combat. Especially the small ones.

6. Make sure your character can read and swim 

-Most skills can be acquired organically by actions which your adventurer does, but certain skills like reading are never unlocked. Because you need to read slabs or books to learn magic, putting a point in reading at character creation is mandatory. A few points in swimming are also recommended. Even a single tile full of water is enough to drown an adventurer with no swimming skill.

7. Make a young world for less necromancers and more Megabeasts, and an old world for vice-versa 

-World parameters matter. Evil is slightly stronger on average, which means the older a world is, the more likely it is to be infested with Necromancer towers and Goblin Pits. Savagery is just the number of animal people to play as, and beasts is the number of beasts to fight. You want both of these as high as possible, the difficulty is actually easier with more beasts, as you won’t have to travel as far for missions.

8. Don’t be afraid to run if you can’t win 

-Although this is technically a turn based RPG, running away isn’t a button you press, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an option. If you are heavily outnumbered or facing a very strong enemy, don’t be afraid to sprint away and reengage when it is more advantageous to do so. This is better than dying and losing your progress.

9. Don’t swim until you’ve really trained 

-While it may be tempting to take a quick dip in the river, death can be moments away in any body of water. Even at competent and above levels of swimming, your character can only go about 10-20 squares before getting tired, and swimming while tired has a chance to keep your character in the same tile, further increasing their fatigue. This can mean your character drowning even just one square from the shore if you are extremely unlucky.

10. Aim for the neck/head for instant kills 

-Aiming in combat can be extremely beneficial. Lots of minor enemies such as kobolds and bandits can be killed with one solid hit to the neck or head. Using this tactic can make encounters against large groups of enemies much easier.
Intermediate

11. Fast travel to long rest 

-If you are damaged in battle and bleeding out, even if you are faint with mortal wounds, fast traveling via the world map will instantly heal your wounds. This may be considered a bug, but since adventurers cannot currently be healed at hospitals via adventure mode, this is the only way to actually heal. Furthermore, since you can’t fast travel during combat, and because fast traveling doesn’t remove major injuries such as missing limbs, I’d say it’s a pretty balanced feature.

12. Jog whenever possible 

-Whenever not mounted and not in combat, you should set your speed to jog. This will increase your endurance stat naturally over time, increasing your combat prowess while you move around. Just be sure to reset your speed whenever your character drops to the ground from exhaustion to give them a chance to rest. Keep extra water on hand while doing this, as your character will need to drink more. And make sure not to jog into combat, this will increase your character’s chance of becoming exhausted during combat, which severely lowers stats.

13. Create a character that just wants to perform 

-A focused character will always be more proficient in combat, receiving a boost to stats such as accuracy and damage. Fully customizing needs in character creation can make a character that is very easy to keep focused. You can completely remove needs in character creation if you wish, but this will also remove the chance to receive the focused buff. If anything, just be sure to avoid needs that are currently impossible in adventure mode such as “Make romance.”

14. Create a world with legendary metals for better loot 

-The more metals you choose at world generation, the better the loot will be everywhere. This setting can make gearing up in the early game either extremely trivial, or extremely challenging. World age can also affect possible loot, as extremely young worlds will not have created enough armor to make most encounters have meaningful loot.

15. Tell stories of your notable kills 

-Information in dwarf fortress is passed via a rumor system. No matter how many dragons you may slay, when you enter a new town, no one will care because they don’t know who you are. Every time you reach a new town, you should tell the largest group of people you can the stories of every notable encounter you’ve had. Early on you should tell stories of killing bandits, while later on you should focus on just semi-Megabeasts and Megabeasts.

16. Recruit other party members 

-While animal companions are good choices for meat shields early game, you should recruit as many fighters at barracks to adventure with you as possible. The amount of companions you can have at any one time is limited by your current reputation level, which is why it is important to tell everyone you can of your notable kills. Animal companions take up companion slots even though they go over the max cap, so try to transition from lots of animals early on to a small party of adventuring companions in the midgame, and a large number of companions in the endgame. Just be sure to let your companions win some easy battles on their own to level up their skills, otherwise they will die just as easily as animals in fights against Megabeasts. Don’t be surprised if some of your companions get terrified in combat and run away just like animals. If you can, be sure to find them, as they will take up a companion slot if you don’t part ways with them or watch them die. If they die and you don’t see it, they may permanently take up a slot this way. This is a bug and will hopefully be fixed eventually, but be wary of it for now.

17. Become a hearthperson 

-Starting a new character and trying to find quests can be very challenging. Lots of random characters will have various rumors, but won’t know enough details to send you on a proper quest. Lords and ladies however can make you into a hearthperson, and can then give you proper quests. They will only do this if you have enough reputation level though, which is why telling stories is important. Usually it takes a story of a bandit leader kill or higher to get a lord or lady to recruit you. You can bypass this stage and get to quests right away by choosing to start as a hearthperson. Just beware that quests are randomized, and sometimes your first quest will be to kill a megabeast. When this happens, I recommend traveling to another town and becoming hearthperson there.

18. Train your skills early 

-Training skills via active combat can be very deadly. If possible, try to fight large, easy enemies to train all related combat skills as early as possible. If you find a horse for example, you can attack its legs to immobilize it, then spam nonlethal strikes to train your weapon skill. A couple horses with no legs is a brutal but safe way to train up weapons all the way to legendary.

19. Set combat preferences to facilitate training 

-Skills like observation and stats like endurance are very important for late game combat. These skills in particular can be trained incredibly fast with combat preferences. If you set melee combat preferences to close quarters, this will prefer to grapple the enemy over and over again. This means you can move into the enemy repeatedly to quickly train without navigating menus. Doing this without changing preferences can mean your character automatically makes a headshot and kills the enemy before you get the chance to properly level up stats. Just be sure to move away from your legless horses if you get tired, as the lowered stats means that even low risk combat can result in injury.

20. Sneak up to enemies for stealth kills 

-If you want to dispatch of large camps quickly and efficiently, chaining stealth kills can be an easy way to do this. Just press S to toggle sneaking, then try to approach enemies without walking into their cone of vision. Doing this at night can be especially effective, as enemies have greatly reduced perception.
Advanced

21. Get a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon 

-Some enemies in dwarf fortress are much easier to kill than others. Kobolds and crundles will crumple against most weapons, while things like bronze collosi are much harder to deal with. A good rule of thumb is to keep a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon on hands at all times. Use slashing against basic targets and undead for quick decapitations, piercing against large organic creatures like giant cheetahs or rocs so that they give into pain (essentially stunlocking them), and blunt against inorganic enemies to crush them (collosi, armored titans, iron men, etc). When in doubt, keep a whip on hand to one shot most enemies. A legendary lasher with a named masterwork whip can easily one shot most things in the game with a heavy attack to the head. This should be considered a bug that will probably be fixed later, but is very fun if you want to RP as a legendary vampire killer. Regardless of weapon choice, weapon skill is equally important. A novice hammer dwarf with a steel war hammer is just as useless against a bronze colossus as a legendary axedwarf with an artifact copper battle axe.

22. Remove your backpack when starting combat 

-Fighting while overencumbered is a death sentence. While fighting above default speed does not reduce the number of frames it takes to swing your weapon, fighting below default speed will add a delay after each swing before you can act again, giving enemies free strikes against you. This is also why fighting prone is ill-advised. However, this mechanic should not dissuade you from overencumbering yourself. Most mounts negate a large (if not all) amount of encumberance. In addition, your character can move anything they can grab, even if it is the entire corpse of a megabeast which weighs multiple tons, it will just take them more frames to haul these items. So long as you store all of your loot in the same backpack, you are always safe from ambushes no matter your encumbrance, as you can remove and drop your backpack as soon as combat starts, which usually takes less frames than it takes for any enemy to move. After combat, your backpack should be where you left it, and you can easily retrieve your haul.

23. Aim for the legs first, then the hands, then the neck 

Aiming for the neck can make weaker enemies trivial, but more proficient enemies will not allow this tactic, and very large enemies will have necks too large to decapitate. An advanced tactic that works against most strong enemies is to aim for the legs first to knock your enemy prone (or wings against flying enemies). Once your enemy is on the ground, their speed is halved, essentially giving you twice as many turns to attack. It is at this point you should aim for their arms, as these hold weapons for humanoids and usually have claws for beasts. Once the legs are taken out and the usage of weapons is disabled, you are much more likely to land a headshot, and in a much safer position to repeatedly spam this attack.

24. Bleed out megabeasts, cut off hydra heads, pummel collosi 

Certain enemies such as Megabeasts are much harder to kill. These should be considered boss fights, and thus have certain kill parameters. Bronze collosi in particular usually need to have every single body part destroyed in order to be killed. Hydras in turn need to have the brain of each head destroyed to die, and will almost always live if one head is alive. Hill titans can vary from nigh unkillable (humanoids made of steel) to killable via literally any damaging attack (blobs made of water), so reading their description is extremely important in dealing with them.

25. Never get hit (level dodge and block) 

-Because major injuries are unhealable, these accumulate over time. This means that the best way to play adventure mode is to never get hit. This may seem like a tall task, but almost all damage is avoidable via dodge and block. If you have a high observation stat, you will be able to dodge or block attacks. While this may automatically succeed against weaker enemies, it has a chance to fail against stronger enemies if not properly leveled, so be sure to train these skills early on. Fighting when focused and not exhausted should ensure that these avoidance abilities work properly. Just don’t try to block an attack you wouldn’t block in real life.

26. Don’t let enemies get a surround 

-Fighting against multiple enemies can be a likely death scenario. If enemies completely surround you, then your character has a greatly reduced chance of automatically dodging or blocking attacks. In addition, moving through an occupied tile in dwarf fortress will roll a die, and the losers will be forced prone, as only one creature can stand in a tile at once. Make sure to set speed to scramble in combat if this happens, get to an unoccupied square, and stand up as quickly as possible. Dodging into an open space in this scenario is a much better option than moving manually if at all possible. This entire scenario can be avoided if you slowly dodge in the same direction as enemies approach you in combat, ensuring that you only fight one at a time, and force the others to tire themselves as they run after you. Striking the legs of as many targets as possible is effective here, as it drastically increases the time it takes for each enemy to reach you.

27. Throw stones to level archery 

-Archery can be very cumbersome to use, as most bolts are too heavy to use without causing constant encumbrance, and training it is very slow and painful, as arrows usually split into stacks of one when fired. However, there is a way to level archery extremely quickly. By throwing something at the same tile you are on, you level your archery skill. You can then pick up the thrown object and throw it again. This is much faster than using arrows. One of the best objects to do this with is coins. As it turns out, coins are actually the best ranged weapon. Coins can be used in combat to great affect. Because dwarf fortress uses the archery stat when throwing items, it calculates the damage of thrown items as if shot from a bow with the same archery proficiency. While this does not do nearly as much damage as bolts themselves, it effectively gives adventurers a way to reliably use ranged weapons without worrying about retrieving ammo, as money can usually be found in multiple stacks of 100 at bandit camps.

28. Use archery against webs/fire 

-While archery is a niche weapon type for most scenarios, it is mandatory against certain titans and most dragons, as well as giant cave spiders. Titans, like spiders can possess the ability to web your adventurer. This stunlocks your character, making any shot a guaranteed hit. Against large enough titans, getting hit with a single shot of web is enough for instant death, as they will squish your head while webbed. Other titans may possess deadly dust or poisonous gas. While some of these effects are benign, breathing others can and will kill your character, and to my knowledge not even fast travel stops this. Fighting fire breathing dragons is an instant kill scenario as well, as they can melt your armor into molten liquid metal, stunlocking your character until they die from the heat. You can attempt to repeatedly jump until you reach a river, but you are certainly dead at this point. The use of archery (or rather, throwing coins) is mandatory at this point. While a few shots may not do anything at first, repeated shots will accumulate damage, and eventually kill or disable the enemy. Just be very careful getting into melee range to finish enemies off after this occurs, as one unlucky web or fire shot can and will still kill you. Avoid looting titans with dust or gas effects until after you leave and return to the area with fast travel to be sure that the gas dissipates.

29. Know the game progression (Kobolds, Bandits, Hearthperson, Semi-Megabeasts, Towers, Megabeasts, Dark Fortresses, Caverns) 

Knowing what you’re doing at any given point can be the difference between life and death. If you’re playing adventure mode without savescumming (which is the only way to play it in the old versions), then you will be making new characters a lot. Knowing the basic progression of where you should go on new characters will make the ultimate goal of raiding the vault and fighting the angel that much easier. Your basic path should be gearing up in towns, training basic combat skills against animals, fighting kobold and bandit camps to level reputation, telling stories to become a hearthperson, doing quests as a hearthperson to further reputation level and combat skills, fighting semimega and Megabeasts to become a legendary hero, raiding towers to find the secrets, raiding dark fortresses to find the vault and slay the angel, and finally using the secrets to delve into the caverns without having to eat or sleep and fighting forgotten beasts there until your character dies. The surface and visiting towns should be considered the early game, raiding sites should be considered the midgame, killing the angel in the vault should be considered the endgame, and roaming the caverns should be considered the postgame. Of course, adventure mode has lots more to offer than just combat, and if you want to learn its ins and outs for yourself, the only way to do that is to jump in and play it.

So I have like three notes from this song stuck in my head. And I semi-remember the album cover. The guy sings in a very deep, slow, melancholic way. The album cover is a sepia/grayish color with a woman dressed in black. She may have had a top bun and was kinda dead-looking. I mean this was years ago so I may be mixing things up. But does anyone remember this album or the artist? TIA!!

Hello, and welcome to RepWeidianSneakers! Whether you’re a long-time member or someone new who just straggled in from one of the other replica subreddits, this recurring post will serve as an introduction to or reminder of the subreddit rules. This group runs in several key ways that may be different from other groups to ensure we maintain a high-quality group where well-informed replica buyers can engage in constructive conversation regarding the best batches for various shoes, batch flaws of popular and commonly purchased batches, and QC posts of new and old products alike.
Please do your best to stay up-to-date on the latest subreddit rules and cultural norms in order to make sure that your participation in the group is in accordance with how we run things here! All sub rules are visible along the side bar if on desktop, and under the "About" tab if on mobile. We appreciate your attention and diligence to subreddit policies, and hope you enjoy your time here!
The following rules will be outlined in the following ways:

1. Most Important Rule of the Sub
2. Post Formats (QC, Find, Help Me Find)
3. General Subreddit/Reddit-Wide Rules

Rule #1: Sneakers from Weidian, TaoBao only
This one should be self-explanatory - QCs for shoes purchased from middlemen are not allowed on this sub. I understand that many users value the input from members in this subreddit specifically due to their reputation and credibility, but we want to keep this sub as pure to its purpose as possible. If there are specific people from whom you want input from, feel free to post in the other rep subs and tag them.
Additionally, when users ask for recommendations on where to purchase, make sure to provide links to Weidian or TaoBao stores, and not middlemen. Middlemen sell Weidian/TaoBao products at a markup for convenience - always focus on the actual product.
Rule #2: QC Post Title Guidelines: [QC] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}
When posting your QCs or Finds, use the following format: [QC] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}. Example: [QC] 400¥ FK Batch Travis Scott x Jordan 1 High OG Mocha from A GDJ Supplier
The Group Automod comments on every single post in this group with a reminder of this title format. If your title does not include each of the necessary components in the brackets above, please be proactive and repost with the correct format. If you don’t delete the post, a moderator will, and that or repeated infractions may result in a temporary ban from the group. This rule exists to ensure the group is easily searchable to help make researching batches on your own as streamlined as possible.
Rule #3: QC Posts need W2C Link:
If you are posting a QC, make sure to post the W2C link. If the listing link is dead, please post the link to the store where the shoe was purchased instead. No W2C link will result in the deletion of your post!
You are welcome to post Weidian links, TaoBao links, or links from any shipping agent except for PandaBuy, given that PandaBuy forces you to login to see the item, whereas the other agent links do not. Linking a PandaBuy link and not an alternative link will result in the deletion of your post.
Rule #4: Help Me Find Post Title Guidelines: [HELP ME FIND] {Shoe Name} + Picture of Shoe
If you are hunting for a certain pair, your post title must include the Full Shoe Name and Colorway as well as a picture of the shoe in question. If either is missing, your post will be deleted. This rule exists to reduce the number of repetitive “Help Me Find” posts, as a user will be able to search previously posted “Help Me Find” posts for the shoe they want.
Example: [HELP ME FIND] Jordan 1 High Chicago
Rule #5: Find Post Title Guidelines: [FIND] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}
Okay, so you’re on WeChat, and a seller has posted a new product. You want to be the first one to post about it on Reddit, so you rush over and make the post. Great, pat yourself on the back. Just kidding. Don’t just stop there - put some thought into the post. How does this new find compare to other products on the market? Do they have potential? You don’t have to be an expert QCer, but give your general thoughts. In short, were these worth finding? The hope is that with this general subreddit policy, it will encourage people to post high-quality finds and reduce clutter from low-tier finds that don’t add much to the group.
Rule #6: Be Respectful of One Another
Please be nice and courteous to one another. All rules of Reddiquette apply. Your membership in this subreddit is contingent upon your overall Reddit activity, not just limited to this subreddit. To put explicitly, this includes but is not limited to: harassing or disrespecting others in other subreddits, posting hate speech of any kind, or spreading misinformation. Any violation of this will result in the banning of your account and any alternate accounts you may be known to have!
Rule #7: No Cussing
In line with the previous rule, no cussing on the sub, please. Often, on the rep subs, the only time people are cussing is to insult one another, spread misinformation, or speak illy in general. For this reason, an AutoMod is in place that will regulate posts and comments on the sub. Your post/comment will be deleted and you will receive a message alerting you if this happens. Bonus: Mr. Frosty can't post or comment without some sort of explicit language, so this simple rule (and the accompanying AutoMod) keeps the sub safe
Rule #8: Support Your Statements with Evidence
Essentially, cite your source. Let's avoid being like other rep subs where people make up rumors or decide their opinions without any research or evidence.
If you comment saying a batch is the best or better than what has been posted, show us why. Link reference posts, rep vs retails, QCs, etc. Show, rather than tell, us why what you're saying is correct. If your statement is a good one, this shouldn't be difficult. As above, don't default to name calling if you can't support your statement. It is okay to have a well-informed opinion - it is not okay to have an uneducated opinion that you spread as fact.
If you run into issues with a member or members in the group that are not participating in this group norm, please tag a mod, and the situation will be handled accordingly.
Rule #9: No Seller Ads
Self-explanatory. This especially applies to lost middlemen posting their fake QCs to try to gain business. If you are a member and see this, please report the post. If a post receives enough reports, it is automatically removed and sent to the mod queue. This helps keep the group clean through community effort.
Rule #10: No WeChat Verification Posts
I understand that you may want your WeChat verified in order to communicate with sellers or see their WeChat Moments. There are other subs for WeChat Verifications though. Please do not make these posts here. Use the appropriate subs. Posts will be deleted.
Rule #11: No Memes
This group aims to be a research-focused subreddit. It prides itself on providing the most objective information possible. Please keep the memes or satire posts in other subs. This includes meme titles or captions such as "how fast do I need to walk" or "fire up the rep machines." These posts add little to no value and are often unoriginal anyway.
Any use of meme titles will result in a 14-day temp ban as previously announced, as will repeated infractions of posting other memes.
Lastly, this Group is Not Meant to Be a Direct Line to u/poncecatchemall
Please reference his guides and resources linked below for answers to most commonly asked questions. He does not read chats asking repetitive questions, and mod mail is not meant to be used to ask specifically him questions, so do not use it for that purpose.
- Poncecatchemall’s Recently Updated Beginner’s Batch Guide where I cover top batches for popular shoes.
- Poncecatchemall’s Select Weidian/TaoBao Finds: November 2022 Edition covering popular purchases with all W2C Links
- Never used an agent? Check out Poncecatchemall’s Updated Weidian, TaoBao, Agent: How-To Guide for a step-by-step guide on how to purchase reps using WeGoBuy
- How to Ask Poncecatchemall For a QC/LC please follow these instructions if you want a response.
​
Thank you in advance to everyone for following the sub rules and for keeping this sub a great, high-quality sub to be a part of. If there are any rule addition recommendations, we are always open to suggestions.

tldr: does this need to be sent in for repairs?
https://i.imgur.com/q3TpYyp.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/KGJcGMw.jpg
bought it around May 20th, literally only used it three times: once for setup, once to tryout demos, once for a short session of Saints and Sinners
i've only put it on top of flat surfaces, been super careful with it. i have a PSVR1 as well and have that little blue cloth thingy to clean your lenses with, and about three weeks ago now (yes when i found the scratch i literally just put the thing away lol), when i went to clean it for the first time, i noticed this scratch just below the center of the right lens
what's weird is, i don't notice it on the screen or anything, it doesn't obstruct the view. also, i have a feeling that the scratch is BELOW the surface? like a production error or something, either way since i was super careful with it and only put it on top of flat surfaces, i'm almost positive i didn't scratch it. should i start the repair process? it's been in my possession for three weeks now
thanks!

I’ve been on the subreddit for a few months and have often seen people post various books they added and also a few where people try to get a sense of monitory value for certain books. So I thought I’d pick everyone’s brains to see what most are willing spend, does oop make you willing to spend more, does fomo play a part, what about variant covers, and any other reason.
Exact amounts aren’t necessary if you’re feeling self conscious I understand money can be a sensitive subject for some people

Greetings everyone!
tl;dr: this subreddit will be participating in the reddit protest for 48 hours from 12th June as a result of the upcoming API changes by going private.
As many of you are already aware, reddit has announced significant upcoming changes to their API that will have a serious impact to many users. There is currently a planned protest across hundreds of subreddits to black out on June 12th for 48 hours.
More Information:
For a great infographic explaining these changes, see here: https://i.redd.it/zqptto18e34b1.jpg

• Third Party reddit apps (such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun and others) have been told that they will be charged for accessing the API. Put simply, each request to reddit within these mobile apps will cost the developer money. No one is against paying a fair amount, but the amount quoted is comparable to what Twitter charges (which has been ridiculed by many for being extortionate). The developer of Apollo was quoted around $2 million per month for the current rate of usage and given 30 days notice of this change, which was too little notice to implement anything before incurring significant costs that they would be unlikely to recoup from users. Sadly, Apollo and RIF and others have announced they will be closing on 30/06/2023 as a result of this change. It is likely that other apps will follow. If they do remain open you will have to pay a monthly fee to cover your API usage.
• Many users with visual impairments rely on 3rd-party applications in order to more easily interface with reddit, as the official reddit mobile app does not have robust support for visually-impaired users. This means that a great deal of visually-impaired redditors will no longer be able to access the site in the assisted fashion they’re used to.
• NSFW Content is no longer going to be available in the API. This means that, even if 3rd party apps continue to survive, or even if you pay a fee to use a 3rd party app, you will not be able to access NSFW content on it. You will only be able to access it on the official reddit app. Additionally, some service bots (such as video downloaders or maybe remindme bots) will not be able to access anything NSFW. In more major cases, it may become harder for moderators of NSFW subreddits to combat serious violations such as CSAM due to certain mod tools being restricted from accessing NSFW content.

Open Letter to Reddit & Blackout
In light of what’s happening above, an open letter has been released by the broader moderation community, and DHL will be supporting it by going private for 48 hours starting on Monday 12th June.

Hi!
My HP laptop needs a new windows hard drive.
I was asked to purchase one before bringing it to be installed at local tech repair shop.
Can you tell me what to buy? The guy was no help. A link to a good one on Amazon would be amazing because that is where I want to purchase it from.
He told me to take a picture of this so I could know which one to buy. But, this is like another language for me. Lol
Trying to post photos here, but it won’t allow me too. I don’t see in the rules where it says I can’t.
I think he said n.2 2200 SSD. Does that make sense?

So… officially… what are the rules to it? I know 35% off wawa items, 50% off fit to fly, our employee price items, free shortie per shift, yada yada- and can be used 15 minutes prior, during or after a shift ends..
…but what’s the actual technicality to it… Would one get fired for purchasing a employee priced mac and cheese in the 15 minute prior to a shift…but proceeding to give it to someone(like their parent/child/sibling) before clocking in.
Is there a difference between that 15 min prior vs being the one physically taking the food home end of shift?
Does it really just depend on who the MOD is?
I just want to know what’s actually OK per wawa standards and not just one MOD is cool with it while one isn’t.
I was told that the “max” discount per associate is supposed to be 3… but my store manager doesn’t really care as long as you aren’t flat out abusing it- however a lower rank manager does enforce it when they work.
I just want the official knowledge to cover myself… I don’t wanna get fired over sending home chicken strips for my kiddo, or thanking a sibling for a ride with a mac, ya know?
Thanks in advance!

1. Leverage Off-Peak Travel 📅 Consider visiting Mexico during off-peak seasons. Not only will you dodge crowded tourist spots, but also save on flights and accommodation. The months of May and June are often less crowded and still offer great weather.
2. Take Local Transport 🚌 Public transportation in Mexico is reliable and affordable. Collectivos (shared vans) and Camiones (buses) offer a real Mexican experience while saving you some cash!
3. Always visit a Local Markets 🛍️ Mexico is famous for its bustling markets. Find unique souvenirs, handcrafts, and delicious street food at a fraction of the price compared to touristy shops. Mercado Benito Juarez in Oaxaca and Mercado 28 in Cancun are worth exploring.
4. Learn Basic Spanish 🗣️ Knowing a bit of Spanish goes a long way in Mexico. Not everyone speaks English, especially in rural areas. Simple phrases like "¿Cuánto cuesta?" (How much does it cost?) or "¿Dónde está el baño?" (Where is the bathroom?) can prove very helpful.
5. Use the "Mexico" App 📲 Download the "Mexico" app. This official travel app gives you access to up-to-date information about places of interest, accommodations, restaurants, and local events.
6. Eat Street Food 🌮 Mexican cuisine is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Tacos, tamales, and churros from local street vendors are must-tries. Just ensure to choose vendors that are busy with locals; they're busy for a reason!
   
7. Travel Insurance is Key 📑 It's crucial to have a travel insurance policy that covers medical emergencies, theft, and trip cancellations. Hospitals in Mexico can be pricey, and having insurance can give you peace of mind.
   
8. Cash is King 💸 In many places in Mexico, cash is preferred over credit cards. Always carry some Mexican Pesos for local markets, street food, or small establishments.
   

Previous Part
Well, things have officially gotten batshit.
When I called Mr. A and told him about the Vagrant’s actions, I could almost hear him go pale. Obviously, he had hoped this would never happen. He told me to say a certain phrase aloud: “Closed for Maintenance.” Just like that, the entire shop shifted. The glass door was covered with an enormous slab of some bizarre material that looked almost like obsidian, and come to think of it, looked an awful lot like a solid form of whatever the Vagrant’s skin was covered with. The same thing happened to the windows, and the lights in the shop turned on automatically. Finally, the warehouse door was sealed by one of the slabs.
There was no doubt in my mind that Mr. A had hoped and prayed this would never happen, but he always expected that it would. Despite his obvious fear, he managed to keep enough composure to tell me that these slabs were created from material taken from one of the Vagrant’s earlier intrusions. Using it, he had been able to create a full system that would drive the creature out. Then he told me with some hesitation that it was time for me to meet “Them.” Now, this was the first time he had decided to give them an actual name. According to him, they were called “the Proprietor.” Despite their innocent-sounding name, I had the sense that I had to be on my guard when it came to dealing with them, something Mr. A confirmed. “You’ve dealt with eldritch things before, lad, but trust me when I tell ya, this bloke’s on a different level. I can’t stress these instructions enough, lad: don’t ask them anythin’. Just listen, then wait until they’ve finished speaking. They’ll know why you’re there, and they’ll give ya answers, but they won’t be comfortin’.”
Well, I got what Mr. A was talking about after he had given me the instructions on opening a door to the Proprietor’s world. I’m not allowed to disclose how I made it appear, but a door that the shop previously didn't have appeared behind me. On it was a sign that read, “Proprietor’s Office. Staff Only. Violators Will Be Terminated.” A faint droning noise emanated from the other side. Cerberus gave a small whine, and I just pet his head and smiled reassuringly, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling nervous as well. I slowly placed my hand on the doorknob, then turned and opened it.
How do I best describe what I experienced there? I think the best word I can use is, “contradiction.” Imagine an infinitely large room with no color, yet somehow brighter than the Sun. The droning noise I heard from the other side of the door continued, but it was joined by a deafening screech.
Then the noise changed to words. I could hear them suddenly speaking in my head. It pierced my mind, speaking in nonsensical phrases that I could somehow comprehend. They had no voice and every voice. Like I said, “contradiction.” Bear in mind, the speech of this being is similar in structure to the Pr’mAtrian. Same as them, the Proprietor seems to be unable to translate their words into fully comprehensible human language so this is the best I can do. The following is the best translation I can provide.
You/Manager entered/were invited here to understand/know how to kill/evict Vagrant/Vandal and protect Investment/Property/Shop. We/the Proprietor know/remember It/Vagrant. It/Vagrant is/isn’t. Vagrant/Vandal was/is created from nothing/Void. It/Vagrant is/isn’t happy/angry/hates Us/You/Everyone for Existing/Being/Living. Vagrant/Vandal wants to Deface/Break/Kill You/Us/Everything for Having Form/Life. Use/Fire Gun/Tool. Not Easy/Simple. Gun/Tool useful against Living/Undead/Existent People/Folks. Vagrant/Vandal does/doesn’t exist/live. Kill/Break Living/Physical Prison/Form/Jar and put Nothing-Vagrant in Prison/Form/Jar. Bring/Deliver Jar to Us/the Proprietor. That is all/Thank you/Back to work.
This is all approximate; I have a clearer picture of what I need to do in my head. So basically, I need to kill the physical form of this thing, then seal it in something that they gave me. It looks like a puzzle box (if Hellraiser comes to mind, I don’t blame you; I thought the same.) Why they didn’t do this for previous owners is beyond me. I reported back to Mr. A, and he was as surprised as I was. Still, he told me to keep the gun and box close at hand. Strange as the Proprietor was, I found myself trusting it. I had the impression that if it saw me as a tool or puppet, it could have easily taken over my mind, used me to kill the Vagrant rather than instructing me how to.
I have a feeling that things are really coming to a head soon, though. Just two hours ago, I got a call. Before I could answer, an enraged voice snarled, “You spoke to them, didn't you, you little shit?! I couldn't sense you for hours! I was starting to think you’d gotten so scared you decided to finish the job yourself! What did they tell you?!”
I stayed quiet, instinctively reaching for the gun. ”What. Did. They. Tell. You?!” it demanded again through clenched teeth, all arrogance and mockery gone. Still I said nothing. It shrieked, “Damn it, tell me or I’m going to carve you into tiny pieces and make your dog fucking eat them!” “You sound scared,” I replied coldly and with a hint of mockery of my own. There was silence on the other end. Then my right ear erupted in pain as the Vagrant screeched furiously. I dropped the phone and fell, clutching my ear which was ringing with tinnitus. Cerberus rushed to my side and began nudging me. Once the pain began to subside the sound of high, deranged laughter sounded from the phone’s speakers. Then I heard a sound that chilled my blood more than this sadistic creature’s laughter, something that made all three of Cerberus's heads begin barking and growling. It was sealed up, but I could hear it all the same.
It began knocking from inside the warehouse where I first saw it, all while the phone kept broadcasting its laughter.

🌕 18 + Community!
🌕 Horror + Cryptids
🌕 Appalachian Setting
🌕 Multi Paragraph / Novella Writing Level
🌕 POC and Gender non-conforming characters welcome!
The Virginia/Tennessee border. 1928.
On hot summer nights, Briar Ridge can't sleep - not that it ever does. The cover of night hides plumes of smoke. The quiet rumble of cars cruising down dirt roads can barely be heard over the din of the cicadas. Drunken laughter flies easy and warm across whispering corn fields.
That might be a sound for sore ears.
See, Prohibition is in full swing, and these moonshiners are risking life and limb to put dinner on the table for their families. When you live in a holler as sorry and wild as Briar Ridge, it's either the mines, the fields, or the 'shine. And most folks have chosen the 'shine. Sure, if there's an explosion you might loose a hand, but it's better than coughing up that awful dust in the belly of the earth. S&C Coal can go right to hell in the minds of most folk around here.
With their eyes on their stills, the people of Briar Ridge don't realize they're being watched from the treeline. Or they might'a just gotten used to it. When you grow up in these mountains, everything's watching you. Might be a cougar. Might be a black bear. Might be the swamp monster Farmer Obadiah was praying real hard over at church two Sundays ago. As long as you keep your gun handy and your buddies close, you'll be okay. At least, that's the logic most folks use so they can sleep at dawn.
But most folks ain't ever had to deal with werewolves before. And most folks don't realize their safety in the moonlight is long gone.
.·͙̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̩̩̥ ✩ ̩̩̥˚̩̥̩̩̩͙‧͙ .
Werewolf, RUN! is an adult-only horror roleplay server set in Prohibition-Era Appalachia. We are a tight-knit community with a love for all things cryptid, horror, and nerdy. Our required writing level is multi-paragraph to novella, and the server is loosely based on a card game named Werewolf. Some games similar to it that you may be more familiar with are Heads Up, Seven Up, or Mafia. If you've never played it before, it's quite easy! The premise is simply:
There are werewolves in the town of Briar Ridge, and it's up to the townspeople to catch them before the whole town is infected!
Once a real-time lunar cycle, Werewolf players (who are informed of their role as a werewolf entirely in secret) will tell admins who they wish to attack. The role of Werewolf, Doctor, and Seer are all assigned by dice rolls, and writers are encouraged to keep their role assignment secret!
But there's much more living in these woods than just werewolves! Cryptids are liable to randomly spawn in interactions, so do mind that you always keep a spare tire handy! You never know what's lurking just beyond the treeline!
.·͙̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̩̩̥ ✩ ̩̩̥˚̩̥̩̩̩͙‧͙ .
https://discord.gg/kbkGPJSYm4

Sir David
Sir David suppresses a sigh. He couldn't say he hadn't been expecting a conversation like this. He gestures to a nearby bench and sits down, leaving Ariane room to scoot in next to him.
"Well firstly, I'd say you're my wife now. My surname does sound nice on you. A bit faster than I wanted to move perhaps, but let's call it a battlefield promotion."
Ariane offers him a half hearted smile. "Except I fled that battlefield like a little girl with her tail tucked between her legs. If I am your wife then my place is next to you. I can fight. You know I can fight David."
"Darling, in the end I'm the trained combatant in the family, and getting you out of the line of fire was my absolute first priority. This isn't to doubt your abilities, I think you're perfectly capable of defending yourself, but you don't have an Undaunted brand for thermal protection against a race known for fighting with fire, or any other covert protection. Nor are you an adept. You're immensely physically strong, far stronger than me even at your reduced size... but you're not a killer my dear... and I am."
Sir David sighs for real this time, but doesn't move his gaze from Ari's eyes. He had to meet her head on with this sort of thing. Take wife by the horns if you will.
"I don't want you to be a killer. It's my profession, I have no shame in it, for I end the lives of wicked people so good folk can sleep soundly at night. I did so on Earth, I do so now. I put myself at risk to protect the people I care about. My children. My grandchildren. My wife... and now my wives."
Sir David gently takes Ariane's hand, their fingers interlacing naturally.
"So if given a choice to ensure you're as safe as you can be, even if it means putting me at more risk... I'll always take the option that means you are as safe as possible. Even if that costs me my life. That's my promise. My oath. My duty was to Queen and country, and now to the Undaunted... but I took those oaths for Mary, my children... and now you."
Ariane nods softly, clearly still a bit upset.
"I ah... I understand, I think. I suppose I'm a bit upset with myself more than I'm upset with you. I was just... so scared. Even as I was incredibly, violently angry I was terrified... and the relief I felt when I ran was... shameful to a degree. Leaving you to die maybe. It hurt me a lot, like a razor was tearing at my guts. I just thought about what I'd do if you died or got hurt because I wasn't there and I-"
Tears start to well up in Ariane's eyes just a touch and David wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in a bit closer.
"There, there. I didn't die. Nor was I going to. Not to trash like that. Nor is fear a shameful thing. Fear is a natural response. I get scared. Captain Bridger gets scared. Even Cannidor get scared at times. Usually of me or Captain Bridger in my experience. Anyone who says they feel no fear is a liar, a fool, or psychotic. Or quite possibly all three. Soldiers train to overcome their fear to accomplish significant things... but you my dear aren't a soldier."
David caresses Ariane's back, stroking down her spine and drawing a sigh from her as she relaxes a bit, tension bleeding out of her body.
"You need to master your fear just enough to flee smartly, summon help, barricade yourself, or as a last measure, fight. Which you did today. Just like you did on the Talasar Spire when you saved all those children. You're quite the heroine from just doing those things you know? You don't need to do more. Nor, if my preferences at all matter, would I wish you to. You're a beautiful soul to me Ari. I adore how fresh and bright you are about the things in the world you love. I want you to focus on that. Focus on being a joy to this galaxy... and to me. Instead of worrying about the profession of arms that is not your own."
Ariane sniffles a bit, then plants a kiss on David's cheek. "You know, you play the hard, tough, man, with that almost piratical swagger of yours... but you're just an old softy aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged my dear."
"I uhm. I think I'd still like to learn how to shoot. Or something. Just be better able to defend myself... and our children."
"Heh. Well I think we can take care of that... though I'll note that wasn't at all subtle Ari."
Ariane leans over again and kisses David hard on the mouth this time, her tongue briefly tangling with his and leaving him breathless.
"No. That wasn't subtle. I fully intend to reward my knight for gallantly protecting me, and you'll see just how unsubtle I can be David Forsythe."
"I'll look forward to it then. To close the loop on our previous conversation though. You know that if you had been even a talented markswoman with a pistol I'd have still sent you running at the earliest circumstance right?"
Ariane nods, nearly knocking one of her horns against David's head.
"I understand."
David gives her another gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Capital. Like I said, even if you're capable, your best defense is avoiding a fight entirely. You should only fight if you absolutely must. That's why I fought in the court yard. Not because I could win, but because we didn't have a clear or safe avenue of escape. As soon as we had such an avenue I got you out, and were I alone I'd have fought a fighting retreat to follow you in hopes of moving to a more defensible location. Or getting help from the wardens of the Inner Shrine."
"Which is exactly the type of behavior I have to beat into new recruits." Comes the now familiar smoky voice of Miri'Tok, as the click of her heels on stone announce her return to the room.
"I'm terribly sorry about the wait, police procedure is tedious, even for clear cases of self defense. David I'm told you have a bounty hunting license, so you'll be receiving some credits for their heads. Not extremely bad girls, save the boss, but bad enough to be worth some money. The local police are paying out a bonus for the living ones. That blue haired girl apparently won't shut up; she's rolling on her old boss so enthusiastically they had to bring a synth in to transcribe it all. It's going to be a busy couple of days for the capital district police force."
David nods. "Take half for yourself would you? I hardly need the credits and you did the lion's share of the dangerous work, I just had a little target practice."
Miri'Tok laughs. "Ah the sheer gall on your husband Ariane, a little bit of target practice he calls it. Some of the cleanest shooting I've seen in years with gangsters with rap sheets that combined stretch from here to orbit and it was just a bit of target practice! Hah!"
Ariane and David join in the laughter this time, the room returning to a hospitable warmth as Miri'Tok seats herself on a bench near the couple.
"I must compliment you as well Ariane." Miri'Tok says, orienting herself more squarely to the Agela.
"Me? What did I do?"
"You kept your head in a dangerous situation and didn't go to pieces like a great many women would have. This is a great deal of credit to your name. Even Apuk civilians, socialized to violence from birth, can go to pieces when real violence is forced upon them."
David nods.
"More or less what I was saying dear, you did a splendid job getting us help. If things had gone a bit more poorly, it's help we would have direly needed too."
Ariane's smile returns to her face like dawn for David, warming the room up even further as she snuggles a bit closer to him.
"Well if you're both telling me that, who am I to argue?"
Miri'Tok chuckles, and rises. "I'm afraid I must actually return to my duties, I've lingered longer than I intended. I'll take you down the hall and leave you with the Wardens in their ward room. Nar'Jan and the girls have been preparing an impromptu victory party for you both. Just a little toast, then one of the girls will give you the full tour of the war shrine. You're both welcome in the Inner Shrine whenever you please, so please come back while you're on Serbow and they'll gladly receive you."
Miri'Tok turns to leave, only to be stopped by Ariane tugging on her sleeve. When the Apuk warrior turns, Ariane holds up her communicator.
"Before you go let's exchange contact information. I really enjoyed our time with you, and I know David did as well. Perhaps we can meet again soon? Without another fight preferably."
"Oh!" Miri'Tok gets that same dusky tone that David associates with a blush in Apuk.
"I uh. I'd like that. Perhaps dinner or something? I know some great places to eat in the city."
"Sounds wonderful, I'll send you David's contact information later once I have a minute."
"I ah. Thank you. I'll look forward to it."
Miri'Tok offers a bow from the waist and quickly hurries away, the echo of her heels fading down the corridor.
David raises an eyebrow and looks over at Ariane.
"You know, when you said you were going to show me how unsubtle you could be, I was expecting something a bit more... intimate shall we say."
"So let the knowledge that things can get even more forward make you wonder at what tonight holds when we get back to the Tear."
David chuckles, caught entirely off guard with the sexual aggression from the normally demure Ariane.
"You're showing me all sorts of sides of yourself today Ari. Still, that really was a bit too forward wasn't it?"
Ariane cocks her head, giving David a slightly confused look.
"What? She's an excellent candidate for a third wife. Better to preempt her asking a bit so we can take the time to discuss it, and it doesn't hurt to put the welcome mat out when to my eye she's so accomplished and so obviously interested. Plus she'd be a good recruit for the Undaunted from her decorations. She's a very skilled warrior even if she's not a battle princess. Though she might be a princess. You never know. She's not wearing a crown, but apparently a lot of the battle princesses in service to the Imperial military skip the crowns outside of formal occasions, instead only going by their ranks."
Another eyebrow raised, a common thing when Ariane was in the mood to surprise David it seems. "Where did you learn all that? I haven't the foggiest about how to read Apuk decorations."
Ariane shrugs. "When I finished that book about your unit back on Earth, Eastern Approaches, I read a book or two on contemporary Apuk martial culture. I thought it might come in handy."
"So what does your reading tell you about Miri'Tok?"
"Well as she said she's an Apuk Imperial Marine. She started as an enlisted woman, and has done a century of service at least. She's done at least a dozen combat deployments, and numerous space deployments. The difference being specifically going to a conflict zone, and floating around on an Apuk Imperial Navy vessel looking for trouble.”
Sir David doffs an imaginary cap. “An activity I heartily approve of.”
Ariane rolls her eyes with a smile before continuing.
“She has five wound medals, an even dozen valor medals in varying grades and has been named as a member of an Imperial martial order. Knights for lack of a better word. Not all that dissimilar from you really if you'd had another forty years with the Royal Marines and SAS. Then there's a variety of competence awards that aren't as important. Suffice to say, Miri'Tok is very good at what she does."
"Hmmm. Yes I could see that in the fight, and you think she's interested in me?"
Ariane rises, and saunters the step or two to David slowly, placing her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to kiss him deeply.
"Darling, from her axiom she's single. From what she tells us about how her family treats men and views sorcerers, you're literally one in a billion... and she got to fight alongside you. I've heard Ghorza Bridger crowing about getting to fight side by side with the Captain at a bar on the promenade after the Talasar Spire with the same enthusiasm most girls save for a once in a lifetime present or getting pregnant. I also could tell that her shield sisters were green with envy. Well. Greener than normal anyway. If Miri'Tok wasn't interested, I'd be worried she'd hit her head in the fight. Plus her body always seemed to be facing you, except when she was speaking directly to me."
Ariane stands back up and tucks some of her hair back into place, with an exaggerated attempt at a glamorous, flirtatious pose..
"Well, with such a gifted potential candidate it wouldn't exactly be a hardship to share. I'll just have to take solace in the fact that I'll always have a bigger rack than her."
David's eyes naturally drift downwards from her face, considering the rack in question, only for a slightly embarrassed Ariane to stick a finger up to direct his attention back upwards before covering her reddened face with her hands.
"My horns David. I meant my horns. I have bigger horns than she does."
It takes every fiber of discipline he's ever possessed for David to suppress the cheeky grin that desperately wanted to plaster itself across his face, and to tame the school boy giggle fit he so dearly wanted to have. He stiffens his upper lip like a proper British gentleman and manages to dryly respond.
"Well my dear, let's not talk about other women. You have a fantastic rack and I look forward to appreciating it later tonight."
Ariane shoots him a look, clearly over acting her slight embarrassment into mock outrage, playing along with her husband easily.
"Now you're doing it on purpose!"
"Yes, but you're cute when you're flustered."
"You're impossible David Forsythe!"
"That I am Mrs. Forsythe."
Ariane chuckles, and leans over, planting another gentle kiss on his lips.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
First Last

Just updated to 3.14.2 latest UVTools release. I really wish I hadn't (worst decsion of year so far) its totally useless any previously perfectly supported model (refined by it) now shows hundreds of overhands not existant in previous release and which seem to assume supports from Lycee Slicer do not give any support more than 2 pixels (which is wrong). Previous models refined by uvtools that print perfect now show hundreds of issues which simply do not exist. Not only that the islands detection does not even display the problems for new models. The tool is showing massive sections of good models in blue not black as if they had a problem. I am using Mono 4K and 6K printers and never had this problem before with over a dozen releases of UVTools. Attempts to repair a handful of single pixel islands (with surface only 1 pixel below) using parameters only to work on 1 pixel islands and to decend only 1 layer now (the simplist possible operation) completely destroy my models. I make very complex models and totally rely on uvtools (nothing else like this exists) without it I might as well throw my printers in the dustbin!! I am really upset with its open source developer who has somehow destroyed it for me!

Hello Guardians,
First, I want to talk about a very new and unique interaction that makes Behemoths almost unkillable when played properly.
Now I previously did a post about the niche 3-Stack Behemoth strategy, which I called the “Forbidden Build” (HERE).
But in short, three Guardians run Behemoth, wear Hoarfrost-Z and continually create and break stasis crystals, thereby constantly farming overshields, all the while while advancing towards and then securing the zone.
But with Season of the Deep, Bungie introduced a very special weapon - the exotic Strand trace rifle from the new dungeon, The Navigator.
The Navigator’s exotic perk is that firing this weapon at an ally grants Woven Mail to both the user and the target - while also refunding bullets to the mag.
And that’s when I asked myself: Is it possible for me to be more of a piece of shit than last season?
See, I discovered that Woven Mail actually STACKS with all of the Behemoth damage reduction buffs in PVP.
Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/pPshtZQFwtk
Of course, as usual, I'll summarize everything below if you prefer to read.
---

Damage Reduction

That’s right… Behemoth now has THREE separate ways to reduce damage or grant damage resist, and they all stack.

1. Whisper of Chains, which grants a 15% global damage resist when near a stasis crystal
   
2. The Rime Overshield, which grants +100 HP when you have max overshield; and now
   
3. Woven Mail which gives you 25% damage resist to body shots.
   

Stack these three forms of damage resist, and all of a sudden, you can literally eat a Jotunn shot to the face and shrug it off.
NB: Your Rime Overshield does not take less body damage with Woven Mail BUT Woven Mail + Whisper of Chains DR do stack once you're on normal shields/HP! You can see the first part of the video for demonstrations.
—

Behemoth Buffs

Now I get it, you might be thinking… OK, you basically added Woven Mail to your last Behemoth Build. That’s clever, but is that it?
Nope. Not even close.
Behemoth was buffed across the board with Season of the Deep, and it seems like people still haven’t realised yet. So let’s talk buffs.

1. The Shiver Strike melee was buffed and now goes faster and travels further. This is noticeable in regular play, but it gets crazy when you pop super. The Behemoth shiver strike melee whilst in super is absurd - we’re talking Beyond Light stasis levels of movement and speed. Check it out for yourself.
   
2. The Howl of the Storm melee is now easier to use and freezes in a wider cone, making it a reliable and absolutely nasty shutdown ability much like it was prior to the nerfs.
   

And lastly, Trials is no longer vanilla elimination, it’s Zone Control. In other words, not only was Behemoth directly buffed, it was also indirectly buffed because the main game mode of endgame PvP is quite literally tailor made for the Behemoth kit.
—

Build Overview

With the build that I’m about to show you, you’ll get:
- Three separate forms of damage resist
- Near infinite ability uptime
- Supersonic movement tools;
All of which, played in the Dominion game mode, where those tools have the most impact.
So let’s get to the build.
First things first, this is a TEAM BUILD - in other words, you NEED a 3-stack of Behemoths - so be sure to send this video to convince your friends to stack up together.
Also, what’s devious about this build is that it’s VERY accessible. You do not need to be an insanely cracked PvP player to make this work. You know that saying that: “God made man, but Samuel Colt made them equal.”
This Behemoth team build is the great equaliser, and when used properly, is so utterly broken and stifling that you will beat teams that you have no right beating.
---

Aspects and Fragments

So for the Triple Behemoth build, you need at least two other teammates running Behemoth and ALL of YOU need to equip:
- Tectonic Harvest; and
- Howl of the Storm
In terms of fragments, you will want to equip:
- Whisper of Conduction, which means that nearby stasis shards track to your position. This way you don’t have to actually go and pick up your stasis shards, they’ll just float over to you and get absorbed. It also gives you a pretty nice stat boost of +10 to intellect and +10 to resilience. What a bargain.
- Whisper of Chains, which means that you will have damage resist when you are near frozen targets or a friendly Stasis crystal. It also grants you a very nice +10 to recovery.
- Whisper of Shards, which means that shattering a stasis crystal will grant improved grenade ability regeneration. Shattering more crystals will ended this effect. This fragment also grants you +10 resilience, yet another fantastic stat boost.
- Whisper of Rime, which means that collecting a stasis shard will give you a small amount of overshield which lasts 10 seconds. Collecting more shards adds to the overshield and extends the duration.
In terms of abilities, you will want to equip:
- Glacier Grenade
- Shiver Strike; and
- Rally Barricade.
---

Exotic Armor

As for exotic armour, for this specific build, you will need to use Hoarfrost Z, which you can get from farming Lost Sectors. Hoarfrost turns your regular barricade into a giant wall of stasis crystals. Remember to use the rally barricade for a lower cool-down, as there’s no difference in the size of the wall when using rally barricade with the Hoarfrost chest piece. So it’s the same wall but with a lower cooldown than using towering barricade.
Alright, so remember how Tectonic Harvest means you create stasis shards when you break crystals? And stasis shards give you free over shield because of Whisper of Rime? And breaking those crystals gives you faster ability regen for more crystals cos of Whisper of Shards? Which in turn leads to more shards, and even more over shield?
Yeah.
See, three Behemoths together can literally produce an infinite amount of crystals by using their grenades, their howl of the storm melees and even their class ability when you use the Hoarfrost Z chest piece.
And infinite crystals means… you got it! INFINITE OVERSHIELDS.
But wait there’s more… Those overshields also stack with the 15% damage resist you get when standing nearby any friendly crystals. AND with the new Navigator Exotic Trace rifle you can also stack a layer of Woven Mail on top of all that.
—

How To Play The Build

So this is how you play the build. You figure out where the zone is, and you basically build a gigantic fortnight palace of stasis crystals nearby and slowly creep closer and closer to the zone by expanding your sphere of stasis crystals. You literally want to be making and breaking crystals constantly, generating over shield and dominating the area that will eventually become the capture zone.
See here’s what’s brutal about this build and play style. It forces your opponents to engage while you are in your strongest position and they are in their weakest.
Your opponents are forced to push or the game goes to time and you capture the zone. But if they push, they’re pushing into 3 behemoths with over shields, damage resist, and cover in the form of exploding stasis crystals.
Now when your opponents are about to engage, which usually happens when the zone becomes active for capture, get your teammate to give you all Woven Mail immediately before the fight starts which gives you:

• 200HP
• A 100 HP Overshield;
• 15% Global Damage reduction from Whisper of Chains; and
• 25% body shot damage reduction from Woven Mail.

Congratulations, you are literally unable to be 1-shot by virtually any single shotgun, fusion rifle or grenade launcher.
—

Weapons

Now, in terms of weapons, the most important thing is that ONE member of your fireteam runs The Navigator trace rifle. The Navigator doesn’t really need be used in combat but rather as a way to self-buff your team before engagements.
And the nice thing about using this build is that you KNOW when the engagements are going to happen. They’re going to happen when the zone becomes active for capture, whether that’s Trials or Survival.
Other than the Navigator, I recommend that everyone else uses Cerberus paired with either a Grenade Launcher or a Fusion Rifle.
Now you might be thinking, that’s a weird combo, why those specific weapons? Well, Cerberus 1 lets you break crystals faster than any other weapon in the game and building then breaking crystals is quite literally the centerpiece of this build.
Grenade launchers are used because apart from doing huge chunk damage to the opponent, if the grenade launcher detonates next to a stasis crystal near your opponent, the stasis detonation plus the grenade launcher can basically 1-shot them. If you don’t like grenade launchers, you can also use fusions to very good effect.
And Fusion rifles are excellent to use because you can literally just trade fusion shot for fusion shot with an opponent and you’ll win 100% of the time. If they shoot you with a fusion, you survive because of your damage resist, but if you shoot them back, they die. It’s like those old movies where two people duel with pistols - except in our case, we’re wearing a bullet proof vest.
---
OK guys, there's more detail/demos in the video, but I think that pretty much covers everything!
Have a good one, and I'll see you all in the Crucible,
MrArmageddon