I bought an electric tea kettle yesterday and want to know if the water I boiled inside it to clean it out before first use would be hot enough to sanitize any norovirus that may have been in the kettle or on the spout. the box was not sealed so I'm certain countless people have taken it out and put their hands all over it and even inside of it to see the built in tea infuser while in the store. I probably will still go in with bleach and peroxide to make double sure nothing survives but I'd still like to know whether norovirus can be killed within seconds of contact with water temp at 200°F

I've seen this guy twice. Met him through a dating app. I'm used to men showing clearly they are interested when they are, they text and show attention. However this guy doesn't do that when we are not together.. he doesn't text much between the dates. I initiate conversations but it's like he kills the conversation so it doesn't continue. Normally i would ghost and block such a guy but on first date he told me he has adhd and is a bad texter. ONLY because of that i've have been patient and not cut him off. Another thing, i feel he is too honest whenever i ask him something. I asked him if he had ever done cocaine and smoked marijuana, and when was the last time and he was very honest that he did cocaine new years eve and only does it like 3-4 times a year and smoked 3 weeks ago. I was like ok and kind of become unsure.. However today we were texting and the conversation was leading to sex, so i asked him when was the last time he had had sex. And he said 1.5 month ago (i matched 3 weeks ago and met him first rime 2.5 week ago). I'm thinking if a man truly was interested in me, he'd be lying, afraid that i wouldn't want him, afraid to lose me.. but this guy is just too honest. I'm not sure if he actually really likes me.. Should i dump him and move on? I don't know what i should feel about all this or if i am overreacting

OH BOY!!!, I guess I dont want to touch the game on a while.. I miss stick empires....
One of the problem of stick wars 3 is vault of prudence. You can really spam units that only need gold and kill your miners and keep getting gold.
Bro I made 99 giants XD you can spam units that only need gold and you will win on late game ...
Another thing about this game the one that attack is the first to lose. On late game one mistake and you are pretty doom...
So this game need to have a focus on the time like clash of clans or LEAGUE OF LEGENDS. Something that need to be forcing battles or wars, more that the only objetive that is the tower.
So the game finish early. Because really the late game is shitty now and you don t enjoy the game anymore. I remember playing STICK EMPIRES and they force you to battle at some points because of the limit amount of gold and mana "cristals".
yeah I need a rest of the game....
​
I leave you my replay... GOOD LUCK ITS SO BORING....
Check out this replay stickwar3://watchReplay?guid=572d3428-259e-f300-b9c9-3f5cb7300000

August 6th, 2032 

It was a lovely summer day in early August, there was a relaxing summer breeze and there was no cloud in the sky to be seen. The island’s residents went out in droves to enjoy the warm weather. Some of them had gone down to the beach, while others went out to get ice cream at the town’s most famed ice cream parlor. The Leclerc brothers went outside that afternoon as well.
The two dark-haired boys were on their way to play soccer in the local park, the two chatted animatedly about their favorite club’s most recent match as they walked down the street. The two looked alike and were unmistakably brothers, the only thing that set them apart were the younger’s seaweed-green eyes.
Even if they had different fathers, Sam and Jules considered each other full brothers. For the longest time, the two have been able to count on each other and grew pretty close. At first, Jules thought of having a younger brother as lame or stupid, even more, because that little brother was from a different father. In the end, he quickly grew to love his role as a big responsible brother, especially given their mutual love for soccer.
About two or three years ago the Leclerc family moved to the United States from France. Despite the boys’ protests, Jeanne assured them that America would be a lovely place to grow up and that her parents would love to have their grandsons around more. Of course, the two didn’t understand the reason behind their mom’s choice had to do with Sam’s divine heritage and Camp Half-Blood.
At least Nantucket was kind of a great place to live. Even if it could be cold on the island and the people had funny accents it reminded the two of their birthplace of Saint-Tropez. Sam always liked being near water, so to still be able to grow up near the sea was a dream come true. Jules couldn’t quite blame his younger brother; the sea was great and hopefully, he could finally pick up surfing or sailing.
As the two made their way over to the soccer field Jules kept the soccer ball high up in the air using his knees, as the self-proclaimed king of keepie-uppie he kinda had to show it off to anyone who wanted to see it. He caught the ball in his arms as he and his brother passed by a construction site where a house was being built. Given it was summer break the site was abandoned and a great place to explore. Jules always loved challenges and exploring, this seemed like an excellent opportunity to be a good older brother and teach Sam all about being brave.
‘’Hey Sam, regardez ça.’’ Jules tugged his younger brother’s soccer tracksuit, grinning excitedly as he gestured for the building site. The excited grin turned into a confident one seeing his brother’s confusion at what he was getting at. ‘’Wanna explore that construction site over there? We have all afternoon to play soccer and I’m sure mom won’t mind if we play some in the evening as well. This could be a fun adventure.’’
Eyes wide, Sam looked at his brother. The boy looked up to Jules in many ways. Jules was really good with people, he was great at soccer, FIFA, and Call of Duty. Sam would love to be more like his brother, be less of a coward sometimes, and just do stuff without thinking it through. But this? This sounded really dangerous. And dumb. It was like Sam’s entire body was telling him not to go to the building site. ‘’Jules, are you sure? I’m not sure if mama-’’
‘’C’mon Samuel. Mom doesn’t have to know this.’’ With a playful grin on his face, Jules nudged his brother’s shoulder. It was a typical Leclerc trait to be stubborn, especially with the older boy who seemed to be blind when it came to danger. Seeing the worried look on his brother’s face caused Jules to look at Sam with a small, more serious smile. ‘’Five minutes trip Sam, détends-toi un peu, I protect my little bro.’’
Looking down at his untied Nikes, Sam scratched his head. He deeply cared for his brother, but sometimes Jules could be a little irresponsible and this sounded exactly like an irresponsible thing. What if someone caught them sneaking around somewhere where they shouldn’t be? Mom would be so disappointed in them and she probably ground them for the rest of summer. On the other hand, the thought of breaking the rules was thrilling and Jules’ words of encouragement were very convincing. Sam looked up again, seeing his brother’s kind face made him feel like an idiot for being such a worrywart. Jules was right; this shouldn’t be that big of a deal. ‘’Five minutes, not longer.’’
‘’Sam, you’re the realest.’’ Jules fist-bumped his brother, his grin widening as he had it his way. He turned to look at the close fencing surrounding the construction site. If playing Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed taught him anything it was that there always was a hole in a fence like this. If not they could just climb over this. Without a care in the world, Jules started to walk around the fencing, looking for a place from where they could enter. With his younger brother following after him like a loyal dog.
The past few years hadn’t exactly been easy for the Leclerc family. A few years after they emigrated to the United States, Sam and Jules’ mother Jeanne was diagnosed with the horrible disease that was leukemia. Both of the boys were really scared to lose their mother and spent hours on end in the hospital. Thankfully Jeanne had been able to recover from her sickness, but that didn’t mean those few years were easy for the family.
Especially Sam had a hard time dealing with his sick mother. He was young and couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to play soccer with him and Jules anymore or why she didn’t pick them up from school to go to Dairy Queen. The younger brother isn’t really the type to take things the way they are. He is the type that wants to beat the waves life sends at him into submission, he simply can’t go with the flow. Deep down Sam wished he was more like his brother and mother who took things way better than him. Maybe he inherited his sense of wanting to be in control and his stormy temper from his mysterious dad?
‘’Hey, I think I found something!’’ Sam called as he turned to look for his brother before gesturing to a small opening between two fences. He looked proud of himself and quite excited for whatever adventure was waiting for them on the construction site. Maybe Sam still has second doubts about this, maybe he shouldn’t just break rules like that, but as long as he and his brother stick together nothing will go wrong. Besides, they both can run really fast.
Jules, who was checking for openings in the fencing further down the road, turned around upon hearing his brother’s voice. He jogged over with a wide grin appearing on his face as he saw the opening between the two fences. He didn’t share Sam’s worries and was excited about exploring the building site and the house that was being built.
‘’Good job buddy! Man, this is gonna be great.’’ The older brother was practically bouncing from one foot onto the other in his excitement. He ruffled through Sam’s hair before jogging over to the opening, looking at his brother with a grin. ‘’Samuels go first.’’
‘’Jules, allez!’’ Sam groaned at his brother calling him by his full name again. He couldn’t help but chuckle at Jules’ appetite for adventure. In a way, it worked contagiously on the younger brother, who had forgotten about his earlier worries. He followed his brother to the fence, giving him a fistbump before slipping onto the construction site through the opening.
The older boy followed Sam onto the building site, looking around with a contended grin. There was a yellow excavator to dig holes, many racks with tools and building materials, and maybe most exciting of all the shell of a concrete two-story house surrounded by scaffolding. Okay, maybe construction sites weren’t half as exciting as Jules thought them to be, but exploring new places was and there for sure was a lot to explore in this gigantic sandbox.
Jules looked over to his younger brother, to see what he was thinking about this. It wasn’t surprising to see the familiar expression of worry on Sam’s face. Both of them often acted on impulses, but Sam had a little more self-control. And he often thought about the possible consequences and what-ifs for a little longer. Placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, Jules shot him a small smile. ‘’We’ll walk around and then we’ll bail. It’s hella boring here anyway.’’
‘’It’s not that scary really. I’m just being me, you know me.’’ Sam admitted meekly as he looked around the building site himself. Jules was right; this place didn’t look all that thrilling. Did he really have to make a chicken out of a feather? Even Arsène Lupin wouldn’t know how to make this place into an exciting one. Except by maybe… the boy eyed the dark blue soccer ball Jules was holding. Could they play soccer here? In a brief moment of lacking impulse control and wanting to impress his brother, Sam grabbed the ball out of his hands and dribbled away before looking over his shoulder. ‘’Caught you, off-guard Slowpoke.’’
Jules opened his mouth in surprise seeing Sam steal the soccer ball from him and run off with it. Okay, he had to admit his brother had balls for doing that and that playing soccer on a building site was kinda exciting, but that didn’t mean he was gonna let his younger brother get away with that. No one outplayed him. Jules steeled himself before speeding over to his brother. ‘’You’re a fucking Slowpoke yourself, buddy. Give it back.’’ He laughed*.*
‘’Mama said you can’t use that word!’’ Sam murmured in protest as he dribbled away again. The boy couldn’t help but giggle again as he outran his brother. Sam knew that Jules would catch up with him sooner than later. He had to outsmart his brother; that’s what a good soccer player would do. And that’s also what annoying little brothers do. Sam passed the dark blue soccer ball through an opening in the house before chasing after it.
From the inside of the shell of the concrete house was just as boring as it was from the outside. There were stairs leading to the first floor. There were a few puddles of water in the house, some tools catching dust, and- Sam looked confused at the scratches on the walls. To his knowledge, there weren’t any dangerous creatures in this area, but to him, the scratch marks looked like they came straight out of a horror movie about a werewolf. The boy’s mind worked overtime, causing him to go from ‘dumb and overly courageous’ back to ‘dumb and kinda scared.’
Sam gulped, trying to shake away the thought of a werewolf coming to eat him. He picked up the ball, turned around, and got out of the house as fast as he could. Now he would just have to find his brother, make amends and go back home. The boy let out a panicked yell as he was tackled by someone or something. ‘’Please, don’t kill me!” He muttered as he fell to the ground.
‘’Kill you?’’ Jules raised an eyebrow seeing his younger brother suddenly panic at what looked like to be nothing at all. He would be giving himself shoulder pats for successfully tackling Sam if the boy didn’t look so… spooked. What had happened to him? Jules pulled Sam back to his feet, dusting the dirt off the tracksuit. ‘’Sam, what happened, are you ok? You’re not trying to trick me, are you?’’
Sam let out a sigh of relief as he found it was his older brother who tackled him and not some crazy monster. With the help of Jules, he managed to get back up to his feet before sheepishly handing the soccer ball back. ‘’I think I saw-’’ The boy fell silent as he noticed the large, black mastiff with glowing red eyes approaching the two of them from behind. The beast was about as big as a bear and it didn’t take long for Sam to put 2 and 2 together. ‘’Jules, what’s that thing? Can we go home now?’’
‘’Huh?’’ Jules turned to look over his shoulder to stare at the black mastiff with a glassy look in his eyes. It was as if his brain couldn’t decide whether he was seeing a really big dog or a small grizzly bear. And if there was anything he was scared of it was dogs. He was especially scared of big dogs, what if that thing attacked them? Jules tugged at Sam’s tracksuit, pulling his younger brother behind him. He should have listened to Sam. This was a dumb idea. ‘’Fuck this, I didn’t know they had a guard dog.’’ He whispered under his breath as he froze. ‘’Walk away slowly, just please don’t panic, okay?’’ He muttered mostly to himself.
Even if his older brother didn’t like to talk about it, Sam knew about his phobia of dogs. He didn’t need to be an empath to see that Jules was trying not to panic. And still, he was trying to be the protective one. ‘’You’re right.’’ Sam began as he looked at his brother with a look that was both confused and worried, before turning into a more determined one. ‘’We’ll go now.’’ With that said the younger brother pulled the older brother with him, slowly backing away from the large mastiff that was still giving them the ‘I’m gonna eat you’-stare.
If it hadn’t been for Sam pulling him away, Jules likely would still have been in the middle of his staring contest with the big black dog. Stuttering out a quiet ‘thanks’ Jules turned to look at his younger brother again. Usually, it was Sam who was the scaredy cat, but when it came to dogs the older brother was completely useless. Stupidest thing was that Jules didn’t even know where his phobia came from, he always had struggled with dogs, and that made him feel like such a loser sometimes. ‘’You know what, I’ll buy us ice cream later-’’
At that point, the hellhound decided it had enough of staring at the two French boys. it smelled demigod and that could only mean one thing; a feast. Letting out an awful-sounding howl, the black mastiff bolted toward the brothers.
‘’-If that thing doesn’t eat us first!’’ Jules cried out in panic as the black dog came running over them. They were so gonna die. After telling his brother to book it, Jules grabbed a small rock from the ground and threw it at the mastiff in the hopes of chasing it away. Seeing that the dog wasn’t bothered in the slightest by being pelted with a rock, the older brother let out another sigh, ignoring the voice in his head telling him to fight. Instead, he ran after his younger brother.
Despite them being in good shape and being quite fast, the two brothers unfortunately weren’t fast enough to outrun a hungry hellhound. It caught up with Jules first, tackling him to the ground next to a rack of building materials. The boy let out a yelp, shielding himself from the dog. The hellhound sniffed at the teen before catching Sam’s seawater smell. The hellhound wasn’t one to let a meal go, especially not a tasty-looking son of a big, important god. It growled again, it’s red eyes glowed before it began to chase after a scared-looking Sam again.
‘’Jules!’’ Sam froze as he saw his brother push himself to his feet again, he realized too late he was the hellhound’s new target and watched in fear as the beast jumped at him and sank its teeth in his leg. Now Sam likes to think of himself as a somewhat tough type. He’s not hurt easily and doesn’t mind getting tackled or falling over, but this? This was the worst feeling ever! It was like the dog’s teeth were made out of unbreakable steel. He felt something wet streaming down his leg and he wasn’t sure if it was his own blood or the dog’s saliva.
For some strange reason, Sam couldn’t quite explain his survival instincts kicked in. The colors he saw and the sounds he heard around him became much clearer. He did still have a fighting chance and he was gonna use it to kick the dog’s ass that hurt his best friend. ‘’Go away!’’ He shouted as he crawled back, kicking at the mastiff’s face.
The hellhound was caught off guard at Sam’s attempt to fight back but quickly recovered seeing that the boy was still a very easy target. Deciding it was better to just kill the young demigod, the hellhound lunged at Sam’s chest.
This time Sam was faster than the dog and managed to roll away before it got to kill him. By the minute Sam was growing more frustrated with himself, with the dog, with just everything around him. He felt lost, he never had felt this lost. This was it, he was gonna die, and so was Jules. Their family would miss them too much. So lost. To Sam it was like he was standing in a stormy sea, waves crashing at him trying to drag him down with a storm brewing above his head. A storm waiting to be unleashed.
Sam had gotten used to his dark thoughts, to his sudden outbursts of rage, but this was different. This was life or death. That dog had hurt him and his brother and wouldn’t stop hurting them until they were dead! It was gonna pay for that. Preferably with its life. The dark thought washed over the younger brother like a wave of cold water, the sudden burst of confidence nauseated him. It made him feel like he wasn’t fully in control anymore like the only answer was to destroy.
‘’No!’’ Sam shouted with a voice deeper than his own. He pushed himself back to his feet before kicking the monstrous mastiff in its head. There was an oppressive pain drumming behind his eyes, as someone hit him in the head with a hammer. ‘’You are not welcome here! Do you understand?!’’ He spat, his face contorted with rage.
‘’ALLEZ EN ENFER!’’ Sam shouted, his throat beginning to ache from all the yelling he was doing. And like that, just like it was nothing, the earth began to shake violently. All of Sam’s pent-up anger was released as he used his Geokinesis for the first time in his life, even if he didn’t know it himself. The boy’s tears blurred his vision as he repeatedly threw curses at the mastiff that had dared to bother him. In the distance, Sam heard a muffled cry that sounded awfully familiar. He wanted to check out what was going on, but it seemed all his brain could tell him to do was hurt the monster.
As the earth rumbled on the hellhound let out a panicked yelp, and its eyes darted around rapidly. It didn’t understand what the seaboy was yelling at it, but it did understand it was trying to mess with the wrong innocent demigod. Growling a final time, the hellhound decided it was for the better to speed away, as far from the earthquake boy that wanted to kill it.
With the mastiff bolting off into the distance and the earth quieting down, Sam felt his headache triple in strength, almost as if someone set off dynamite in his head. That was what it felt like, pure unorganized chaos. Even though the oppressive pain didn’t go away, the boy felt like he was back in control. Whatever primal instinct had taken over the steering wheel just there was gone. Sam’s blurry vision faded back to normal, shaken he looked around him. The earth beneath him had cracked, a few racks had fallen over and-
With a look of horror on his face Sam saw how one of the racks with materials had fallen over to crush Jules’ legs. He saw how his brother was shielding himself, how he was shaking, and heard his sobs. ‘’Fuck.’’ Sam muttered as he ran over to Jules, ignoring the terrible pain in his leg and head. Even though the rack hadn’t crushed Jules as a whole, the damage still looked very bad. His face had gone from tanned to a sickly pale while he panted heavily as he tried to reach out for his legs. With ‘’No, Jules, c’mon. Hi. Please.’’ Sam muttered as kneeled beside his older brother.
‘’Hey, buddy,’’ Jules said in a weak voice, trying to put up a smile as he held back his tears. The pain his body was going through felt horrible. It was like the entire lower half of his body all at once. No, he had broken bones before, this was worse. Way worse. To him, everything happened in a blur. First, the dog attacked him, then Sam yelled, then the earthquake happened, and then this. ‘’I’ll be alright. The dog is gone. Yay.’’
Sam shook his head as he looked at his brother. He didn’t sound or look alright at all. Even if he tried to smile, Sam saw fear in his brother. Not just fear of the dog, fear of the earthquake. Fear of his rage. It made him feel a headache way worse than after facing the dog. ‘’We need to get a doctor, we need to call mama.’’ He said as he grabbed Jules' arm, feeling his heart beating hard through his pulse.
‘’No, we don’t need a doctor. I’ll be alright Sam.’’ Even though he tried to sound kind, Jules couldn’t help but be annoyed with his younger brother. He was alright, he’d just shake this off. Today was a shit day already, he didn’t need to see a doctor as well. As he tried to move his legs, he realized something was wrong. His brain told his legs to stand up, but his legs didn’t respond. He didn’t feel his legs, he just felt pain. ‘’No.’’ He said as he began to cry. ‘’I can’t feel my legs, Sam. Help please.’’ He said as he looked at his younger brother through teary eyes.
Sam held his brother’s arm, squeezing his hand softly, feeling a wave of sadness washing over himself. He didn’t understand any of this, he didn’t understand anything of what happened, but he knew that the earthquake wasn’t a coincidence. There was more behind than and he knew he wouldn’t like the answer. ‘’I’m here, I’m not gonna go, but we need a doctor, we need mama.’’ He explained as calmly as he could before reaching to grab his own iPhone and seeing his brother nodding in agreement.
Deep down the boy felt pain, fed-up and anger. His brother, his best friend, got hurt. Sam swore to never get anyone he cared for get hurt. But what if all he wanted to do in his anger was hurt?

My brand new to TTRPG daughter killed her first basilisk and immediately skinned it to make some leather armor. So, we need some component and crafting rules. Anyone have any good suggestions?
I'm looking for both 'durable' crafting like armor and weapons as well as single-use crafting like potions. My preference is for mechanical items like Cairn that provide more “width” instead of “height”, meaning they produce new capabilities for the PCs instead of more +1s.

Hello again! I've just updated my inventory after some new acquisitions. I have them in a spreadsheet, but I've also listed them out below for those who don't want to click through. I'm open to offers, trade or sell via paypal. Please comment first before dm or chat.
Available Keys
IGSRep
Barter Profile
STEAM Profile
WISHLIST
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11-11 Memories Retold
112 Operator
911 Operator
A Case of Distrust
Aaero
Acceleration of SUGURI 2
Ageless
Alien Breed: Impact
American Fugitive
Angel Express [Tokkyu Tenshi]
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
Atari Vault (REMOVED FROM STEAM)
Aven Colony
Back to Bed
Barrier X
Battle Group 2
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock
Behold the Kickmen
Between the Stars
Between the Stars (x2)
Black Book
Black the Fall
Bleed 2
Blockstorm
Blood: Fresh Supply
Bloop Reloaded (REMOVED FROM STEAM)
Bomb Defense
Boneless Zombie
Book of Demons (x2)
Boreal Blade
Broken Age
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Bulb Boy
Cavern Escape
Cepheus Protocol
Chicken Assassin: Reloaded (might be used?)
Chronology
Commandos 2
Conan Chop Chop (x2)
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!!
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! (x2)
Corridor Z
Crazy Machines 3
Cyborg Detonator + Beast Blaster + Zombie Boom
Dandara
Dark Fear
DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation
Dead End Job
Dead In Vinland
Deadly Days (x2)
Deep Dungeons of Doom
Deep Ones (REMOVED FROM STEAM)
Deleveled
Delta: Rings of Saturn
Demon Turf
Desert Child
Desolate ( x2)
Distrust
Doodle Derby
Draw Slasher
Drawful 2
Dub Dash
Edge of Eternity
Eidolon
EMBR
Evan's Remains
Fallout 1
Family Man
Fantasy Blacksmith
Farmer's Dynasty
Figment
Finding Paradise
First Class Trouble
Five Dates
Fling to the Finish
Fluffy Horde
Fobia St. Dinfa
Forged Battalion
Fort Triumph
Framed Collection
Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle (base+3dlcs) (REMOVED FROM STEAM)
GameGuru
Garage: Bad Trip
Genesis Noir
Go Home Dinosaurs
Going Under
Golden Light (x2)
Golf Gang (x2)
GoNNER - Press Jump To Die Edition
Gray Dawn
Gunpoint
Guns of Icarus Alliance
Gurgamoth
HackyZack
Haimrik
Hard Reset Redux
Hard West
Headlander
Helheim Hassle
Hero's Hour (LATAM/SA LOCK)
Hexologic
Hiveswap Friendsim
HIVESWAP: Act 1
Iris and the Giant
Iron Danger (x2)
John Wick Hex
Jurassic World Evolution 2
Kathy Rain
Knights of Pen and Paper 2
Labyrinthine
Lacuna - A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure
Leisure Suit Larry - Retro Bundle
Let them Come
LevelHead
Little Big Workshop
Lust for Darkness
Main Assembly
Master Spy
Midnight Protocol
Mimic Arena
Mind Spheres
Minit
Mom Hid My Game! (Nintendo Switch Code)
Monster Crown (x3)
Moon Hunters
Morbid: The Seven Acolytes (x3)
NAIRI: Tower of Shirin
Necroworm
Neon Chrome
Neoverse
Neverout
Nex Machina
Nimbatus - The Space Drone Constructor
Nongunz
Not Tonight
Orbital Racer
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You
Paradigm
Path of Giants
Paw Paw Paw
Peaky Blinders: Mastermind (x2) (REMOVED FROM STEAM)
Pesterquest
Pixel Heroes: Byte and Magic
Pixplode
Plunder Panic
Police Stories
Poof
Postal
Praetorians
Propnight
Pumpkin Jack
Purrfect Date - Visual Novel/Dating Simulator
Rage in Peace
Railroad Corporation
Railway Empire
Rebel Cops
Regions of Ruin
Regular Human Basketball
Relicta
Retimed
Roarr! Jurassic Edition
Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
Rogue Lords
Rover Mechanic Simulator
S.W.I.N.E. HD Remaster
Safety First!
Sakura Forest Girls
Sakura Forest Girls 2
Sang-Froid - Tales of Werewolves
Satellite Reign
Scanner Sombre
Scrap Garden
Scourgebringer
SCP 5K
Serial Cleaner
Shoppe Keep
Shoppe Keep 2
Sigma Theory: Global Cold War
Silence
Skilltree Saga
Slime-san Deluxe Edition (Includes OST)
Slinger VR
Slipstream
Smile For Me
Solarix
Sorry, James
Space Crew
Space Shock 3
Speed Kills
Starsand
Steel Rats
Super 3-D Noah's Ark
Super Daryl Deluxe
Super Magbot
Super Rude Bear Resurrection
Survive the Nights
Surviving Mars
Swag and Sorcery
Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon
SYSTEM SHOCK: ENHANCED EDITION
Tacoma
Telefrag VR
The Blackout Club
The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters
The First Templar
The God's Chain
The Journey Down: Chapter 3
The Mortuary Assistant
The Night of the Rabbit
The Spiral Scouts
The USB Stick Found in the Grass
Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943
They Bleed Pixels
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
Through the Darkest of Times
Total Tank Simulator
Tower of Time
Toy Odyssey: The Lost and Found
Treasure Hunter Simulator
Tropico 3
Truberbrook
Underhero
Valfaris (x2)
Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York
Vegas - Make It Big
Vessel
Visage
Wandersong
Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (x2)
Within The Blade
Worms Rumble (Includes Legends Pack)
WWE 2K Battlegrounds
X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC
Zero Reflex: Black Eye Edition
Zombie Night Terror
Zwei: The Arges Adventure
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

See document for teams currently available. DM if interested.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dWWi2D1Wdx0OO8lujWMALMZd82SF3gw5-0TNnO5KECQ/edit

I believe that outside of special emergency forces the police should not be carrying guns or any sort of lethal weaponry. The recent events in Nashville seem to sway people towards supporting the use of deadly force from police, however if we look at the motives of the perpetrator in the first place, their intention was suicide. They may have been too scared to end their life themselves, or they wanted to go out with a 'bang'. or maybe in their mind they thought they were doing good. The bottom line is that their main intention was to be killed by the police, and it is concerning to me that 'suicide by cop' seems to be a popular occurrence in this day and age of mental health crisis'. the majority of officer involved shootings seem to be people who are intending to die.
I refuse to believe that in these incredibly advanced times technologically, that there is no alternative for immobilizing and ending the threat of an armed criminal without killing them.
Another effect of disarming the police would obviously be the effective elimination of unjust killings at the hands of incompetent/malicious police officers. No matter how rigorous you train and background check officers, evil individuals can still get through and earn the right to legally kill other human beings. Maybe the public would actually begin to trust and cooperate with the law if they were no longer capable of ending our lives at any moment.

I was very close with my Grandma, she was my comfort. She passed away and My parents were at the hospital with her during her last moments while my big sister (13f) was watching my brother (6) and I (5). We had a dinner of KD (Kraft Dinner mac n cheese.) and juice. My sister sent us to bed after a short call to my parents. They had told her my grandma had passed, but she didn't want to be the one to tell us, she decided to send us to bed early. Me, being full of my favourite dinner I passed out pretty quickly. Yes I was young, but I watched my grandma going from a lively person too bedridden in a short period. I knew she was sick, but I was still too young to know what death was.
I remember waking up to use the restroom and as I swung my legs over the bed, I promptly stopped seeing a purple translucent mass standing in my doorway. Like purple see-through clouds. I loudly called out for my sister as I stared at the anomaly. My first instinct of fear fading quickly. The mass started to move towards me, but I wasn't afraid anymore. Merely curious, I reached my arm out to touch and my hand went right through the cold purple mist. I knew who it was, I don't know how. I knew that was my grandma, I can't explain, but it felt like her. Just then my sister rounded the corner with a sour look on her face. She got mad at me for waking her up for nothing. She didn't see her, but I did. I kept telling her grandma was here, right beside me. Looking slightly confused and creeped out, she just told me to go to bed, nobody was there, but I knew. I knew she was saying one last goodbye. My sister left the room but not without a quick "shut up and go to bed." The mist eventually dispersed and I was left cold and tired. I was dumbfounded by the whole experience, but I was so tired I didn't think too much into it and just laid my head on my pillow and fell back asleep, completely forgetting my pee break altogether.
The next experience I remember, I was about 10yo at the time. We were living in an old Victorian style character house beside a busy highway in town and my brother and I shared the upstairs' loft. It was by definition; a creepy old house. Weird small crawl spaces and nooks and crannies. It had those old single pane windows that would rattle loudly in the wind, and old scraped wooden floorboards the creaked with every step. It was looming three stories high that looked like it was slightly crooked from the front. A large fenced backyard with apple trees and a big Oak tree that looked as if had been there since the beginning of time. There was decent amount of kids around the block that gathered at our house. Only because our parents didn't care what we did as long as we weren't breaking things or being loud inside. Most of the time we'd be outside riding our bikes, rollerblading, playing our "one of a kind" game hide and seek tag, which is pretty self explanatory. Occasionally, we would play good old hide and seek in the basement when it was rainy or gross outside. The broilelaundry room specifically, so we didn't get yelled at by our parents for causing chaos. We also played it in the dark, for more of a "scary" effect. I usually hid in one spot. It was the crawl space behind the hot water tank, raised up so it was a flat surface across the hot water tank to the crawl space. It was a large L shaped room, the small crawl space on the opposite side of the entrance. I remember easily where to go and how to get there without any light. It was always creepy, but in all darkness it didn't freak me out as much. This one particular rainy day, I was crawling back out because some of our friends complained that there were too big to get there and how I was cheating (I was cheating, don't come after me). I went to put my hand out on top of the hot water tank, as I wanted to swing my legs down. I started to lean forward and support myself with my left hand, when it felt as if I was pushed. Hard, from behind. My face collided with the hot water tank where my hand was supposed to go and I instantly got a fat lip. I could taste my blood and I let out a loud wail. My brother was at my side immediately. Once He felt the blood dripping down my chin He ran to turn on the lights. As He turned them on, I was staring straight at the crawlspace, tears in my eyes and looking into the darkness. As the lights flipped on, I saw what pushed me. It was black. Really black. Crouched in the far corner. It was only there for a split second, and gone the next. I had brushed it off, the thought of my mother distracted me. I knew She wasn't going to let us play down here in the dark now that I had gotten hurt. That very night after dinner and asleep in my bed was when the dreams started.
Our bedroom was a weird configuration. More so to accommodate the roof as it was basically the attic. There were lots of dark spots and shadowed places. It also had a door to the outside that attached to a small balcony and stairs leading all the way down to the first floor, us being on the third and top. I had my bed pushed into one of those corners. There was the wall to the outside. My bed pushed up against it, tucked tightly into the corner and flush with the standing wall, which jutted out into a small hallway-like corridor and led to the outside door. My bed was fit very snuggly in there, and reminded me of a four post bed frame. I even hung up cheap blankets on the walls for the same affect. My mother didn't love the location of my bed, but she knew I was a big girl and could make my room the way I wanted. She was just terrified people were going to break in through the door and kill us. I always remember her coming up to make sure it was locked, as when we played sometimes we would unlock it and forget about it. (We lived on a busy highway in a busy town.) She did the same this night, coming up to make sure it was locked, and making sure we were actually sleeping. I would stay up late reading with my little handheld flashlight my brother gave me. He was tired of me making him keep the lights on so I could read. While I was sitting there, engrossed in my book. I could a here ticking sound. I didn't pay too much attention to it, like I said before we lived on a highway, it got noisy sometimes. It progressively got louder and louder. My brother yelled at me to stop. I told him I wasn't doing anything. He didn't believe me of course, just told me to shut up and rolled over in his own bed, shoving the pillow over his face. I rolled my eyes and continued my reading. The ticking eventually stopped, and I drifted off to sleep with my book in hand and flashlight still on. I had dreamed of our house. I was playing hide and seek tag with my friends and brother. Such a fun time, running, laughing and playing. It was all so real, it felt like colours were brighter and more unrealistic. I was distracted with the beautiful incantation of my normally bare, creepy and sad looking home. It wasn't until I turned around to see that it was no longer my friends chasing me, but it was the black being playing with me. This fucking thing was on all fours, chasing me. My steps faltered slightly, and I got a good look at it. What I saw I will remember for the rest of my life. It was humanoid, solid black, and kind of shiny looking. Like it was coated in thick tar. Not at all see-through. It left no remnants of the black tar on the ground, though it looked like it was just a moving substance. I gapped at it. Even crouched on all of its long limbs I could tell it was big. But nimble, its arms extended to hands and it was moving solely with the tips of it's fingers brushing the ground. It didn't really have facial or body features, just slick, moving, black. It scared me so much, I came to the conclusion we weren't playing anymore as I took in it's demeanor. It was coming at me with such force it made me pick up the pace to full on sprinting. My face went from silly smiles to dread. It was trying to get to me, crawling on all fours, up walls and down them sideways, defying gravity by itself with it's weird shaped spider-like arms and fingers. I was now terrified. Thinking of escape only, I climbed up the stairs to my bedroom. First thing I ran for was my bed. Stupid, I know. Instead of an empty bed, I found my sleeping body. I was confused, but I'm right here? I paused and thought as my arms already reaching to touch my abdominal area, making sure I was me. I touched my body, and quickly stepped back. I felt myself touch my body. This was all very confusing. I looked behind me and the black being was nowhere to be found. I desperately searched the walls and roof. I took some light tentative steps over to myself, still scared but feeling my heart rate start to slow. I looked at me, laying there asleep, I was distracted by this whole ordeal. I remember thinking I didn't think I looked like that. A familiar noise caught my attention and I looked at the door, and saw it. It was tapping its black nail on the glass of the door, making a loud ticking sound. It was getting louder and louder. The dead bolt was locked to my relief. Until I watched as it takes it's black hand and starts slowly its hand in the air, turning the deadbolt on the inside. I panic. I run to my brothers bed, looking for his safety and comfort. Panicking, I see He's not there. My hands are sweaty, so I wipe them on his blanket. I didn't know what to do. So I freeze. This was too much for my 10 year old mind. My back is to the rest of the room and I'm trying to pretend it wasn't there with my eyes secured tightly shut. I listened closely so I didn't miss the footfalls. I heard nothing.. I un-scrunched my face, opening my eyes tenderly. I was so afraid I had realized that I wet my pants somewhere along the way. Reluctantly I forced my body to move. I carefully turned around to find the door open. The black being was not coming for me anymore, but slowly crawling up unto my bed. I watched as it carefully placing its hands and feet up my bed and around my sleeping body. It's head was dragging along my limp self, up my stomach and chest to my head while it creeped up the sheets. Pressing its forehead to mine, it lowered itself so it was laying on top of me. It swallowed my little body whole, paying no attention to me standing over on the other side of the room. I felt everything like I was physically laying there. I wasn't, I was standing right where I had been, by my brothers bed. I could feel the cold slimly feeling head while it slid up my body, leaving a frozen trail of wetness. I shivered, looking down to see if there was black tar on me. Feeling all of this and disgusted with the consistency, I looked over to where my body had been on my bed. I couldn't see my heart stripped PJs anymore. Just utter blackness where my body should have been. A cold like plunging into glacier water had overtaken my body and I began feeling weak. I felt so stupid. I lead it right to me, how dumb can I be? Idiot. Feeling my legs give out underneath me, and my head hit the floor. I don't remember anything after this. I do remember waking up with my book tucked neatly underneath my pillow along with my flashlight which was now off, and the outside door wide open, letting in the crisp fall morning air. I did notice some bruising on my wrists and stomach. I told my mother about it and she just told me it was a bad dream, and got mad at me for opening the door. I told her repeatedly that I hadn't done it but she ignored me. I didn't show her the bruises. Only because I could see the fear in her face. I feared that she would think that I was crazy, or that she wouldn't want me. And maybe I was nuts.
The black being was with me all the time now. It started out small, far in the distance but eventually came closer. It was simply there. I'd see it standing behind my parents at dinner, or in a corner in class. At soccer practice in the field. I never got used to it. It never said anything, despite me asking why when I was alone. I would give it glares, I would yell at it sometimes, or cry, or both. It never did or said anything back, it was just there. Watching me. In my dreams it would crawl to me. I never led it to my sleeping self again, though I would occasionally fall asleep in the wrong place and forget I was two different beings at once. I didn't know what would happen if I did lead it there. I didn't know what happened last time but I don't think it was good. I just ran and ran and ran until I woke up. My grades began to drop, I woke up tired all the time. Mostly, I would stay up as long as I can. All night if I could, anything to escape the running. I took to drinking my parents left over cold bitter coffee. I would space out staring at the thing. It would stare back. My parents took me to the doctor, a therapist, and a sleep specialist, that was interesting. I didn't want to go, but I was forced. They made me sleep in one of their facilities. It was an uncomfortable feeling sleeping somewhere I didn't know, knowing that the Thing was staring at me from across the room. Waiting to chase me in my dreams until I wake, and then rinse and repeat. I resented it. They let my mother sleep in the room with me, on their spare cot like bed. I fell asleep, and it chased me around the facility. In the morning the specialist said that from the minute I entered my deep sleep, my heart rate would go up drastically and did not mellow until I woke up. He also said my sleep REM sleep and regular sleep was not normal for a child of my age. The diagnosed me with insomnia and nightmare disorder. They sent me home with mild sleeping pills. I didn't like them. They made me groggy and it was really hard to run away in my dreams. My parents tried though. I loved them for that. Anything to help me with whatever I was going through. I tried much more when I was awake to pretend everything was okay. To ease their anxiety over me. I stopped telling them about the nightmares. I didn't know how to explain it without it coming out in child talk and getting dismissed. I was also worried I'd get taken away from my family, taken away from my everyday life and put in a insane asylum. So I just endured it, saying nothing.
After a year of this, we moved again. I was not very excited, knowing the Thing would follow me. But as always, life goes on and we moved. I loved the new house, even though it was very run down. Much more than our old house. Shitty drywall and paint was flaking off the walls, with old creaky boards all throughout. They were once painted a grey colour, which was now chipped off in the middle of hallways and rooms revealing the rotting wood boards underneath. A larger attic space upstairs with wood panelled walls and small short winding hallways and doorways became our bedrooms. Both doors to the two bedrooms upstairs were cut in half and opened separately. My older sister slept downstairs with my parents in the two rooms down there. But I didn't see the black being here. It didn't follow us into the truck, and it wasn't anywhere to be seen. I was very excited, and my parents noticed an immediate change in my demeanour. They saw me smile genuinely again. I slept in blackness, not dreaming of the black thing, not dreaming at all actually. It was nice. Honestly I would take blackness over running from fear every night. I did miss dreaming, but anything was better than that Thing chasing me. It didn't last long though. I was about to fall asleep one night, around a month or two after we settled in. I was happy and full from dinner, reading my book, fighting sleep until the next chapter so I could start another tomorrow. When the top part of my door opened, I was perplexed, not afraid. Nothing was there so I stood up to close it, and it wouldn't close. I tried and tried to no avail. I gave up. It must be stuck I thought. Having never opened it before, I assumed there was a reason it opened and wouldn't close. I went back to my bed, giving in and falling asleep. I dreamed I had woken up. Something was tapping on my mirror across the room. My first reaction was annoyance, being woken from my black slumber. I looked at it from tired eyes, half open and groggy. There it was, crawling out of my mirror. It started as a small black dot, slowly morphing into a 3D picture of the black being. It had found me. All this time it was searching for me. I was now wide awake, and I was frozen. I couldn't move from my spot on the bed. I watched as it crawled towards me, slow and calculated. It stopped in front of me. "Come." Gurgled noise came from its nonexistent mouth, along with a sickening demonic growl that made me shiver. It had never spoken before, I didn't think it could. It motioned its black hand towards itself and moved its head towards my window, the one that opened out onto the roof. I don't know why, I didn't want to. But my body started moving against my will. I stood up and it jumped on the bed behind me, to the floor, then back again. It advanced behind me, herding me on all fours. Quickly, back and forth in a sideways manner, moving closer and closer towards me like a large human spider, until I was climbing out the window. It was a cold night. I was shivering. I looked back to watched it climbed out of the window from the ceiling. Hands like sticky pads, like gravity had nothing on this thing. It continued towards the spine of the roof, its pitter patter of fingers tapping eloquently . I followed it unwillingly, my body reacting differently than my mind. I wanted to run, to hide, anything but follow this thing. My body robotically went anyway, paying no mind to my brain telling it to stop. I was at the top, on the edge facing the dimly lit pothole riddled road two stories up when I finally gained back control from the thing. I looked around for it, trying to find it. It scampered from underneath the roof, slinking by my toes, moving almost fluidly from upside-down to sideways until it perched beside me. "Jump" it commanded. No way I thought, but my body was already positioning itself closer to the edge. I looked at it. It seemed to be staring at me, though I couldn't see its eyes. It didn't have any, it was like staring into complete liquid darkness. This horrible ungodly thing had me in a trance. I was screaming at my body to stop. Trying to move just a finger, a toe, a twitch. Panic stricken all over my face, I could feel my heart pumping blood fast through my veins. All I could think was; I'm going to die. Today, Now. My body wasn't listening, it was moving, getting ready to leap off the roof. Nothing to save me, I decided to let go. I was tired of fighting. The last year and a bit was just too much for me. It cocked its head to the side as I leaped. I regained control as I plummeted to the ground. I had let out a blood curdling scream as I fell, waving my arms and legs in an attempt to land on my feet. I don't remember hitting the ground, just falling forever. When I woke, I was laying with my feet facing my head and my knees bent at the wrong angle, my body laying overtop of itself and bent at odd spots. I couldn't feel anything. My head was laying sideways on the concrete as I stared with wide eyes at what had caught my attention. It was the purple mass engulfing the black being. Swallowing it whole, it looked as if it was being pulsing and being sucked up like a vacuum. The black thing was becoming less and less visible until it was all purple and faintly glowing. It hovered for a moment, then I watched as it walked over to me and laid inside my body. It filled my whole being with light, I could feel light. Just as quick as it happened, it was gone. The black being, and my grandma. The next thing I know I blink and my mother is cradling my head, tears cascading down my face as She wailed like I've never heard before. My brother and sister huddled together in the background staring in distress at my funny looking legs. My father was on the phone with the ambulance. I started to feel all of my broken limbs and the amount of pain from jumping off of a roof. The pain was excruciating, I eventually blacked out.
The next time I regained consciousness I was in a hospital bed two weeks later. My mother was beside my bed and had fallen asleep cradling my casted arm and hand. I had broken both of my knees, my arm and wrist. 5 fingers were broken, and I had a severe concussion. I was in a coma for 13 and a half days. I recovered after an extensive amount of surgeries. I only regained thigh feeling in my left leg so for awhile I walked with arm supports. I don't see my grandma anymore. I believe She's the one who saved me. I owe my life to her. I haven't seen the black being since I was 10 years old.
Until yesterday. I was sleeping next to my husband. My boy, who is 3 1/2 and learning words comes in screaming early this morning. He kept yelling "Bwack." and urgently pointing towards our bedroom door while slapping my arm, begging to be picked up and coddled. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and glanced toward the doorway as I reached for him. I stopped midway, much to my little boys displeasure. There it was, standing in the doorway. Black tar like substance dripping onto the carpet in large clumped piles. I screamed so loud the neighbors called the police. My child screamed in response to my fear. I passed out. I think it was from the shock, or maybe over exhaustion of having a child. I don't know what to do anymore. It's 4 in the morning while I type this. My husband and child fast asleep beside me. The black thing is right beside me. Breathing ragged, choked breaths. The cops left after my husband explained I occasionally have night terrors. That's what I told him they were, I couldn't have my husband look at me like my family does. Nobody believes me. And it's coming for me. It's just waiting right there for me to fall asleep I can feel it. I'm terrified. I hope I'm wrong. I can't have my little man go through this. So I'm going to go to sleep now. I'm going to kill it. I have to. I have no other choice, I will protect my family at all costs. I'm staring into its oily and slithering face. Reaching into my bedside table and grabbing my handgun, I never took my eyes off of it. It cocked it's head to the side, like it had done that very night 14 years ago. I cradle my gun to my chest, close my eyes, and hope it comes with me.

Talking birds aren’t for everyone. They’re an upward of forty year commitment to what is basically a flying toddler. I had inherited my family’s parrot, Frida Macawlo, once my father passed and looked after her another twenty years. She passed away at forty-seven.
To say I was devastated was an understatement. I was perhaps grieved her more than I did my father. She was uncomplicated. She had been around in my family longer than me. There are photos of me in a diaper trying to reach her cage. Apparently she bit me on several occasions. She would greet me when I got home from school everyday with a peppy “hola!”. Even when I moved out and began my law degree she still recognized me every few months when I would visit. Macaws are marvelous creatures. I think their intelligence is vastly underestimated.
A few months after Frida passed I was in a slump. I had no wife or children to speak of. No one to come home to after a long day of family law in Tijuana. It is unforgiving work. I’m no fool to try and pursue a different branch of law in my state. The corruption would be disheartening. My older sister was wise. She chose to cross the border (legally) to study and practice criminal law in Arizona.
It was her suggestion that I get a new parrot. I was apprehensive at first. Another five decades with a bird? I’d be well into my seventies by the time it croaked. She suggested a cat or dog instead. No. I saw enough feral cats and dogs daily. They were overgrown rats.
But then my younger brother, having apparently devised this plan with my sister, gave a rescue center my details with the request to keep a look out for birds. A green Amazon parrot had been found injured and needed a home. He spoke, so they knew he’d been raised in captivity and he’d probably struggle in the wild.
Scarface had been found with a cut on the right side of his face and a broken wing. He was estimated to be between five and ten. He needed me. Really, I probably would need him too.
We struggled to connect at first. Parrots are very loyal creatures and bond with one person. He would screech at me when I brought him his food. Poor boy was probably terrified by all the changes in his life. I’d assumed he’d escaped or been abandoned by his previous owner. I hated to see such a beautiful creature neglected.
Our breakthrough was Doritos. He saw me come home, exhausted, and bring out a giant bag of Doritos, then jump in halfway through an episode of Law & Order I’d been watching the night before. Scarface recognized the crinkle of the bag and demanded a corn chip. They’re not good for birds. I gave him two.
After that he was chatty. Perhaps the reminder of his old life allowed him to open up. His vocabulary was interesting. No “hola!” when I came home. Instead, he would say “¿quiúbole?” like some chullo. He also always commented when I was cooking with the frying pan “huele a tocino” (smells like bacon). I would laugh and agree, even if it wasn’t bacon. He liked the taste of meat which was odd. I tried to keep his meat intake to a minimum given the salt content, but he would try to steal it off my plate in the most amusing manner. I loved his presence.
I was alerted to Scarface’s eccentric imitations by my cleaner. She told she’d been given quite a fright by a man screaming for help, only to find Scarface laughing to himself. He realized it scared her and kept screaming. Not a bird screech, a man’s scream. She told me she heard the bird begging someone to stop, telling them that’s what they got, and laughing. A whole conversation with himself parroting some unknown prior interaction. I assumed the previous owner had exposed Scarface to some action movies and didn’t think much of it.
I only started to find it unnerving when he said “sin cara para ti” (no face for you) while I was brushing my teeth. Then he screamed. Then he laughed. I would think the parrot had multiple personality disorder if he had the mental capacity for such an illness.
My little brother’s teenage son took a fancy to Scarface when I paid him to look after him for the weekend. I was off to Mazatlán for a wedding. I think the idea of being left alone with a whole house to himself also encouraged his engagement with the parrot. I checked in twice. On FaceTime I would say hola to Scarface and he would look around confused before asking “¿quién es?”. He was a smart bird but didn’t grasp the concept of screens. My nephew promised me he was going to teach Scarface a whole new English vocabulary. He wanted the bird to be bilingual.
His attitude had shifted dramatically upon my return. He was paler than a corpse when he handed me back the house keys. I asked him what was wrong and he lied and said nothing. Scarface was still in equally good spirits. He was climbing on the the lamp in the kitchen singing to himself. Perhaps he’d done his man screaming act for my nephew and it had freaked him out.
My nephew revealed the truth to me several weeks later. He’d been sharing Scarface content with his friends on Instagram and Snapchat. Someone had recognized him. I didn’t understand how a parrot could be recognized until he told me the more explicit details.
You see, this bird has made several appearances in LiveLeak videos from a few years back. Cartel related content. I don’t want to describe the content too much because I don’t want you searching it. It doesn’t benefit the victims for you to watch them get tortured and murdered (if you post a link to any of it in the comments I'll report you). Still, my nephew showed me one video. In concrete basement or garage a man was headless and another man was in the process of being burned with a kitchen torch. I hated to see the footage, but the tiny green blur in the background caught my eye. The screaming continued after the man died. It was coming from a parrot. The men in the video laughed and mentioned how the charred skin smelled like bacon.
I threw up.
I told my nephew to never watch anything like this again or he could go to jail for possession of objectionable content. Perhaps harsh, but I didn’t want him to become numb to this content. He needed to know these were real men with families who were being given such humiliating and horrendous deaths. I then watched one final video titled “Grooving Chico”. A dead man without skin on his face. The green parrot was standing on his chest bobbing up and down to a popular song from the 90s (I won’t name to avoid getting it trending for all the wrong reasons).
I didn’t want to believe it was Scarface, but perhaps he lived up to his name. To be sure, I played the song off my phone. Sure enough, he started bobbing along in the same way as the video.
It turned out my parrot had belonged to someone in a cartel or gang. That person had lost him either upon their own chaotic death or by accident. I’d never know for sure and I didn’t want to.
My problem was the intelligence of Scarface. I do believe animals are innocent, but Scarface was smart. He knew what death was. He knew what pain was. He had been trained to think such horrific things were normal. He danced like a monkey attached to an accordion for monsters while men died. That was the world he came from.
But what was I to do with him? I couldn’t possibly listen to him replicate the screams of men he watched die with such glee now that I knew the source. I made my nephew keep it a secret. His father would want the bird killed or released outside. I had to be more rational than that.
“Tocino,” Scarface stated proudly as I did, in fact, fry him up a slice of bacon. The aviary he was going to wouldn’t be giving him anymore bad treats. I’d located a crazy vieja who had over fifty birds she’d rescued. I told her Scarface’s story (but left out the gross parts which may have made her faint) and she assured me he wouldn’t say such things in her house. There were too many other birds to interact with to want to speak Spanish.
She renamed him Lázaro. I give her a bit of money every month to feed her birds for my own conscience. The videos I saw in seeking out Scarface’s identity haunt me even if they aren’t surprising. You know these sorts of things happen, but seeing it filmed and having a parrot replicate someone’s torturous final moments really tears away any ignorance I wished to have.
Lázaro is doing fine. I have not visited him out of fear he will revert to his old vocabulary. I miss him despite his short stay in my home. I feel we could’ve been lifelong companions if things had been different.
Months later fate handed me a new set of cards. A grey kitten with gooey eyes had gotten itself stuck in my walls after apparently sneaking under the house. Once I got it out I saw how sick it was and took it to the vet. An expensive visit for a stray kitten. They told me if I took it to a pound or rescue center it would likely be put down now that it was missing and eye and had FIV. It seemed the option was I take the kitten or it died. That’s how I ended up with Cyclops.
My sister was right about getting a dog or cat. At the very least don’t mimic the atrocities men can commit to one another.

Part 2 on HFY
"No, my girlfriend is not from Canada, I never said that."
"So what did you say?" the police officer asked. I sighed.
"I said my friend, not my girlfriend, is a Proto-Indo-European goddess of knowledge and learning. And books. She likes books."
"Uh huh," he said, writing something in his notebook. I sighed. This was not going well. I was standing in my parents' living room, amidst the overturned furniture and strewn about decorations among which I'd grown up. They were out of town again, a common occurrence since I graduated high school. I think it was Bermuda, this time. Or was it Bimini?
In any case, our home had been burglarized. So I called the police. I guess they suspected me of being involved somehow, because their questions had turned from 'when did you get home?' and 'did you notice anything outside?' and 'did anyone know you'd be out for the evening?' to asking me who I'd been out with and why and what we'd been doing.
Look, it wasn't a date, alright? Sarisa is not like that. I mean, she's not even anatomically correct. But she likes me, because I'm her only worshiper. She likes to spoil me, and because she's a goddess, she can do things like make money appear out of thin air and cause people to not seem to notice that she's always butt-naked. I mean, the anatomical incorrectness might have something to do with that, but honestly I'd stare even harder if I saw a naked, beautiful woman with jet black eyes and no nipples or... You know. Downstairs.
"And you two were having dinner at Le Chef Bizarre."
"Yes," I said.
"And it wasn't a date."
"No, just dinner."
"And she's not here because..."
I facepalmed. "Listen, I'll summon her, and you can speak to her yourself."
"Summon?"
"Yeah, like a demon? Only, you know... Not. Because she's a goddess... She doesn't have to come, but she always does because I'm her only worshiper."
"Her worshiper, huh? So is this like some kinky dominatrix thing?"
I facepalmed again, and grabbed one of those little pocket bibles. Don't start with me. They're cheap, they're barely bigger than a matchbook, they burn easily, and, I mean, I'm summoning a Proto-Indo-European goddess of book learning. Yahweh may be out there, but he's not my only option, you know?
I lit it on fire and dropped it on the tile floor. It blackened the wax, but I could easily fix that. As it burned, I said, "Sarisa, I need you to speak with the police, please."
It only took a few seconds for the door to burst open. Sarisa liked to make a dramatic entrance. She bounced up and planted a kiss on my cheek. This wasn't helping me sell the whole 'not my girlfriend' thing.
"Sarisa, can you explain to the detective here what you are?"
"Sure," she said brightly, and then all hell broke loose. The room was full with a light that was somehow black, while beams of bright white shone from Sarisa's eyes. She held out her arms as she levitated off the floor, and when she spoke, her voice was vast, ancient and terrible.
"I am Sarisa, lord of learning and keeper of all knowledge. I know all that is known by man, and it is through my power that mankind has raised itself from the dirt to ascendancy over this world. All will tremble before me, lest I take back what I have so freely given."
And then it was over. No more Galadriel from The Lord of The Rings, just Sarisa, me and the cop. The light was gone, and Sarisa was just a semi-normal naked woman with a weird accent, solid-black eyes and no nipples. She giggled. "Does that answer your question, detective?"
The policeman stood there, mouth agape, stunned.
"John LaPlante," she said.
"Wh-what?" he stammered back.
"You were wondering earlier today who actually killed Jimmy Hoffa. It was John LePlante, a nobody, really. He was a Teamster who was upset about union dues. He lost his temper one day, and came for Jimmy. Shot him and dumped his body offshore, tied to an anchor."
"What?" the cop asked.
"Okay fine, how about some knowledge a little closer to home. You know that cold case file you keep in your desk drawer? The bottom one, on the right. Well, if you run right up the road here, and dig in the trash set out in front of number seventy five eighty three, you'll find a plastic cup with some fingerprints on it that will match the ones you pulled off the murder weapon."
"What? How did you... What?" The cop was completely bamboozled. I knew the feeling, Sarisa had that affect.
It only took a few more minutes to get him out the door and off to solve my case. I bet he'll go check out the trash at 7583 first. At least I hope he will, it freaks me out that a murderer might live just a couple houses down from me. I turned to Sarisa.
"So you know who did this, right?"
She nodded, a reproachful look in her eye. I wondered what I'd done. Before I could ask, she asked me a question. "Jerry, is anything actually missing?"
"Uh, no... Now that you mention it, I think everything's still here, just wrecked..."
"Right. And do you know who might have had a reason to come here, frantically searching for something... Or someone?"
"Uh..." I thought about it, "No."
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," she said as her figure started to fade.
"Wait!" I called, "Aren't you going to tell me?"
Her voice had a hollow echo to it. "No, but I'll tell you this. She's still here..."
With that, she faded away. I swallowed, looking around. Those last words were ominous. I thought about what they might mean, and then it struck me. Oh no...
I carefully crept down the hall and pried open my bedroom door. There she was. Dark haired and tanned with solid black eyes like Sarisa. But that's where the similarities ended. Where Sarisa was willowy, she was buxom and curvaceous. Where Sarisa was anatomically incorrect, this woman was... Well, very clearly not.
She looked at me through wavy locks of black hair, a predatory smile on her face. "Hello, Jerry. I haven't had a worshiper in a long time, and I've been very... Very lonely."
"Uh... Inanna?" I asked tentatively. She nodded. And then she leaped.
I screamed.

As the title says. Link cannot absorb Dragon Souls or use Shouts; however, for the purpose of fairness, the Master Sword (or equivalent, such as the Four Sword) will seal away killed dragons and prevent them from reviving. He has the basic knowledge the Dragonborn does during the Dragonborn quest ("there is a malicious entity named Miraak, and he has a temple near the center of the island"). The Skaal will assist Link as they would the Dragonborn (and the same is true for Hermaeus Mora). Link can grab items from other places in Solstheim and explore if necessary.
​
With that in mind, can Link defeat the First Dragonborn and return to Hyrule?
​
R1: Skyward Sword Link. He has access to all equipment from his game of origin, Fi is still with him, and he can call his Loftwing from anywhere, including Apocrypha.
R2: Breath of the Wild Link. He has access to the Master Sword, the Sheikah Slate, the Champion's Abilities, his paraglider, and the elemental rods (MeteoBlizzard/Thunder), and the Bow of Light. None of his equipment will break, because this adventure has good mechanics. /s
R3: Composite Hero of Time (all equipment from both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask). Navi and Tatl assist him.
Final: Composite Link. All equipment from every Zelda game, including any armor, musical instrument, sword, magic ability, etc. I know Composite Link is broken, but I heard Miraak is pretty insane too, so I felt the need to put him here.

I am currently taking a leave of absence from college because I realized I do not have the skillset for cybersecurity yet. The pandemic incentivized bad habits for me and I just went to school for the sake of trying to complete it. This meant memorizing what I learned without truly understanding it. I realized my mistakes and I have since taken a leave of absence. I realized I still have an interest in IT and I would love some advice on how to get my first job and prepare for my career ahead of me for years to come.
​
I have transferred from a community college to my university in 2019. I had enough units to transfer, but not enough to get an associates degree. Forward to today, I took a leave of absence and I have to market myself despite the fact I still do not have a degree. Over this month, I managed to get my Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner certification and I finished all 5 of the classes under the Google IT Support Professional certification. I am currently working towards my CompTIA A+ certification and expect to get it in mid April. I'm also applying to jobs in the meantime and networking.
​
I have no experience and I am currently getting my resume together. How should I list my current certifications? Should they fall under Education or Certifications? I also reside in California, where my cost of living is higher. I have some wage/salary expectations that would be in the $35,000-40,000 range. Am I selling myself short here? Is this a reasonable range to have for a first job in IT? If anything, this leave of absence has taught me that I still have a passion for IT and want to have a career in it. I also have a family to support and we are going through a rough financial situation. I figured I could kill two birds in one stone by getting an IT job. How do I market myself when I took a leave of absence and that I will be returning to college and graduating in 2025? How do I explain this to an interviewer in a way that won't cause too much judgment? How would I format my resume based on the fact that I do not have a degree at all yet? Do I just include my time in community college from 2017-2019?
​
Any advice is appreciated. I really need it. I am excited for what's to come for me and I would love to get hired soon while I get my A+ cert!

In the fight against Shadow, Fenrir used a technique called "Utsusemi". This is a technique from the old world before Diablos. The name means decoy or "paper soldier".
Cid explains how it works himself. Fenrir uses the same "natural sword" Cid used aganst beatrix to blend into nature and erase the presence of his sword, while also moving very slowly(relative to usual). He then leaves a magical afterimage that is moving faster than himself but is delayed. Afterimages aren't just caused by speed, but also by using magic to create an illusion to replicate your movements. The result is an optical illusion where he tricks the enemies brain into mistaking the afterimage for the real attack By the time you prepare to block or dodge the afterimage, the real slash has already cut you. It not only fools sight but even the magical sense, so alexia felt nothing. Even Cid admitted he couldn't see through it and only dodged it the first time using auto counter. The moment his body felt the attack it moved to avoid the slow slash without him thinking about it, otherwise he'd have been killed in one blow. The second time this repeats. The third time he manages to land it just by calculating the delay and reading the flow of magic. Meaning he used the mana of the afterimage to predict the real strike, after learning the timing from the first two blows.
Fenrir then uses a technique called "Bloodfang Utsusemi", an upgrade of Utsusemi he created himself after 1000 years of training.
This technique instead of moving slow has Fenrir swing his sword at ridiculous speed, several times sound. He then leaves not one but up to nine magical afterimages behind. The nine swords represent nine potential attack avanues he can choose from. Because he is now creating multiple afterimages, he can now swing the sword at maximum speed while still masking it's presence completely, using the force of the repetitive swings to make it go faster and faster, increasing the power of the attack and making auto-counter no longer as effective. He can set it up in the middle of combat. All swords share the same property as the original, by the time you see them move you've already been cut. And since there are multiple attack angles even if you figure out the delay you only have a one-in-nine chance of dodging. And if you dodge one he can use the leftover force to swing the remaining 8, even if you block unless you do it so precisely to kill all the force it won't be enough. Cid however had already fought the guy long enough to use his warrior conversation skill and just predict all the attack orders based off the opponents mentality. He then used his own copied Utsusemi to leave a delayed afterimage of himself getting cut by the nine swords. Meaning he perfectly predicted the attack order and set up a 100% realistic simulation of what the attacks would do in a split second. Being an afterimage user himself Fenrir figured it out quickly, but it was too late by the time he did. Cid had used the disctraction to slip behind him.
Cid then perfectly copies this technique Fenrir honed for 1000 years and improves it based off his own experience on his first try. This by cid's own admission is his "greatest masterpiece", and the best sword technique he currently has, to the point where he actually thanks the "old terrorist" and shows it to him as a reward. The new technique is "Utsusemi no Atomic", and it is disgustingly broken. It's like a combination of triple linked crane wings, nine lives, and tsubame gaeshi from fate.
Cid instead of just nine swords using flash step and the 49th mobfu technique to create nine clones of himself without sound, by repeatedly jumping into 9 different positions and using the continous flow of kinetic energy to constantly accelerate himself,so when Shadow attacks he's several times faster than he normally would be, like mach 10-30 in the end. The nine clones all completely mask his movements and position like in the previous verison, but due to his mana being too dense to sense(accept for top teir beings) and him being precise enough to cause no disturbance in the airflow or sound, the counters to the original Utsusemi are much less effective. More importantly since he can spread these nine illusions throughout the battlefield the number of attack angles not only increases like Bloodfang Utsusemi, but so does the number of directions. At least bloodfang could only attack you from the front, shadow can hit you from the back, the front, or anywhere from a full 360 degrees. As if this wasn't deadly enough, he then abuses the slime sword transformation property to change his nine swords into freely size changing dragons. Meaning even if you figure out the trick and read the flow of magic, you still will have trouble actually avoiding it because the exact reach and shape of the 9 unpercievable attack weapons is ever-changing. Then for a final cherry on top he mixes in atomic attribute magic. Imagine nine people attacking you from nine different directions with 9 different dragons. Each dragon actually bites down several split seconds earlier than you see them bite down on you but the delay interval is different for each one. Each one bites down with the force of a collapsing pocket dimension, can destroy space time and erases your atoms, and nullifies magical regeneration on the level of diablos. Good luck!

I just completed my first ever nuzlocke run with AS and I fucking lost to the Champion:(
My whole Team (Blaziken, Pikachu, Lombre, Swellow and Gyarados( technically also kyogre, but i didnt use it and just wanted to sacrifice it tbh) was alive when I got to him and everything was fine, until metagross, the last of his pokemon. And i only lost because I made a fucking mistake and send out the wrong pokemon at first, by accident. Killed my starter after that and eveything was over, i kinda hate myself over it.
I know I could've won, because I tried the battle again afterwards(still want to play the delta episode but whatever) and made it through without a Single victim.
I only lost four pokemon until then. Two right at the start after the second gym, one after the sixth and one at the beginning of victory road. I was so proud and then fucking Steven.
I try another run with X tomorrow, but right now I am heartbroken😭

When the Chatgpt trend began.. I researched a lot on how It's gonna impact blogging especially Niche blogs. I found assuring answers from experienced bloggers about how they've witnessed a lot of these blogging killers and how blogging has only flourished in all these years but ...
Has something like GPT4 has ever happened before? In its newest update, It can now read webpages (Give it a prompt and It can even fckin summarise this whole thread for you). It supports plugins and the information its giving is surprisingly good enough. (for general niches)
I want to believe that Blogs will remain relevant as AI can't produce that human touch but is it such a differentiating factor for an ordinary user that they'd go through all the trouble of Skipping through a sea of ads, newsletter prompts, and 100-word introduction blabbering.
Take keywords like cheap dinner ideas for example, GPT 4 will answer this while also giving you the recipe and real time price of the ingredients. It can even scan your refrigerator and suggest you dinner ideas from the stuff available.
GPT seems to be the superior product and what's even scarier is.. its just the beginning. Microsoft is going all in with AI, In just 4 months It has advanced exponentially. It has information only upto sep 21 but for how long ?
I've completely invested my last 6 months in niche blogging and all this progress is demotivating.
The harsh reality is that Google search has deteriorated. You have to skip through at least four serp ads to get to the first result, which is increasingly being dominated by media giants like Forbes, Good Housekeeping, and others trying to rake in as much ad revenue as possible with the most generic content.
Chatgpt may not kill SEO, but what if it does kill niche search? Where the only keywords searched on Google are navigation, local, or ecom? Is this the end of niche sites?
please prove me wrong!
and and .. by any miracle even if niche sites remain relevant, what steps can google take to maintain the authenticity of the search results as the barrier of entry is now almost gone and Anyone can produce content on a large scale with relative expertise..

Loading items

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[quest: 1002]Request of the Elim of level 5 (min 3) gives
Tree Hugger
Accuracy +4
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1005]Barring the Gate of level 9 (min 6) gives
Poeta's Protector
HP +20
Physical Defense +5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1124]Avenging Tutty of level 7 (min 7) gives
Animal Lover
MP +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1143]Nola's Request of level 13 (min 11) gives
Straw for Brains
Parry +5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1018]Mark of Vengeance of level 21 (min 18) gives
Krall Hunter
Crit Strike +2
Flytime +1
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1169]Lightningfoot Tuka of level 16 (min 14) gives
Bottled Lightning
Movespeed +3%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1020]Sealing the Abyss Gate of level 21 (min 18) gives
Verteron's Warrior
HP +30
Magic boost +6
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1319]Prorite's Money of level 19 (min 19) gives
Patient
Evasion +3
Accuracy +6
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1036]Kaidan Prisoner of level 29 (min 24) gives
Mabangtah's Envoy
Physical Defense +10
Block +8
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1488]Three Kurin Brothers of level 24 (min 22) gives
Savior of Eiron Forest
HP +30
MP +24
Movespeed +3%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1466][Spy] Respect For Deltras of level 27 (min 26) gives
Eulogist
Crit Strike +5
Attack +2
Parry +8
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1349]The Klaws' Secret of level 32 (min 30) gives
Klaw Hunter
Magical Accuracy +6
Magic boost +9
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1354]Practical Aerobatics of level 31 (min 30) gives
Aerialist
Fly speed +2%
Flytime +4
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[quest: 1368]A Secret Recipe of level 32 (min 30) gives
Kobold Chef
HP +57
MP +57
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1371]Flowers for Isson of level 33 (min 32) gives
Isson's Apologist
Crit Strike +7
Physical Defense +-5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1470][Group] Hannet's Revenge of level 37 (min 32) gives
Bloodsworn
HP +36
Physical Defense +15
Block +12
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1041]A Dangerous Artifact of level 38 (min 33) gives
Demolitions Expert
Magic boost +15
Attack +2
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[quest: 1043]Balaur Conspiracy of level 41 (min 35) gives
Eltnen's Hero
Physical Defense +15
Magic Resist +8
HP +40
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1494][Group] Korumonerk's Worry of level 40 (min 38) gives
Krall Stalker
HP +44
MP +44
Flytime +2
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1054]Power of the Elim of level 36 (min 31) gives
Arbolu's Anointed
Movespeed +3%
Crit Strike +3
Magic boost +8
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[quest: 1620]Start Spreading the News of level 39 (min 35) gives
Big Damn Hero
Block +15
HP +35
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[quest: 1057]Creating a Monster of level 36 (min 35) gives
Chief Investigator
Attack +1
Movespeed +4%
Magic boost +8
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[quest: 1063]Brigadier Indratu of level 48 (min 41) gives
Indratu Bane
Crit Strike +8
Magic boost +11
Flytime +2
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[quest: 1619][Group] RM-114c of level 44 (min 41) gives
Tenacious Pursuer
HP +48
MP +48
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[quest: 1647]Dressing Up For Bollvig of level 43 (min 42) gives
Not-Quite-Master of Disguise
MP +45
Magic Resist +8
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[quest: 1554][Spy/Group] The Seiren's Fin of level 45 (min 43) gives
Master Angler
Accuracy +10
Magical Accuracy +8
Crit Strike +8
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[quest: 1686]A Cube for Perento of level 45 (min 43) gives
Spymaster
HP +57
Attack +3
Magic Resist +10
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[quest: 3502][Group] Nereus Needs You! of level 50 (min 48) gives
Dark Sovereign
HP +65
Magical Accuracy +10
Casting time +2%
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[quest: 1071]Speaking Balaur of level 30 (min 25) gives
Balaur Whisperer
Magical Accuracy +3
MP +46
Magic Resist +3
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[quest: 1702]Defeat 9th Rank Asmodian Soldiers of level 26 (min 25) gives
Tough
HP +40
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1710]Defeat 1st Rank Asmodian Soldiers of level 34 (min 25) gives
Battle-Hardened
HP +50
Flytime +5
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[quest: 1718]Trading Down of level 40 (min 25) gives
Gullible
Fly speed +2%
Evasion +4
Flytime +3
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[quest: 1077]Fragment of Memory 3 of level 45 (min 35) gives
Traitor's Bane
Crit Strike +6
MP +36
Parry +8
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[quest: 1798]Jakurerk's Shot at the Big Time of level 40 (min 38) gives
Honorary Black Cloud
Movespeed +5%
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[quest: 1719][Group] Confront Asmodian Officers of level 40 (min 40) gives
Invincible
HP +50
Flytime +5
Fly speed +3%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 1720][Group] Confront Asmodian Generals of level 45 (min 40) gives
Heroic
HP +60
Flytime +5
Fly speed +2%
Attack speed +2%
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[quest: 1738][Alliance] Defeat Upper Gatekeepers of level 49 (min 47) gives
Battering Ram
Fly speed +3%
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[quest: 1901]Krallic Potion of level 10 (min 10) gives
Krall Whisperer
Magic boost +5
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[quest: 3943][Top Expert] Weaponsmithing Expert of level 30 (min 29) gives
Top Expert
Evasion +6
Magic Resist +6
Physical Defense +10
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[quest: 3922]The Gladiator Preceptor's Task of level 34 (min 34) gives
Aetheric Master
HP +45
Attack +3
Magic boost +12
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[quest: 3912]Intention of Lady Yustiel of level 17 (min 17) gives
Daeva of Mercy
HP +100
HP regen +4
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[quest: 1939][Spy] Going out of Business of level 39 (min 36) gives
Veritas Agent
Accuracy +8
Evasion +6
Attack speed +2%
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[quest: 3908][Group] To Master the Dragon of level 47 (min 45) gives
Dragon Sword Master
Movespeed +4%
Fly speed +3%
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[quest: 3009][Group] A Cursed Thief of level 24 (min 22) gives
Bounty Hunter
Magic boost +8
Fly speed +1%
Flytime +2
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[quest: 3016][Group] Eliminating a Suspect of level 25 (min 23) gives
Gestanerk's Avenger
MP +36
Magical Accuracy +2
Magic Resist +4
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[quest: 1094]Project Drakanhammer of level 50 (min 46) gives
Drakanhammer
Magic boost +15
HP +-45
Attack +3
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[quest: 3057]Cursed Zirius of level 50 (min 49) gives
Knight Errant
HP +40
Evasion +8
Magic Resist +-6
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[quest: 3211][Group] Steel Rake Captain of level 44 (min 43) gives
Dread Pirate
Crit Strike +10
Magical Accuracy +8
HP +50
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[quest: 3940]Loyalty of level 50 (min 45) gives
Miragent Holy Templar
HP +80
Movespeed +3%
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
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[quest: 1099]An Important Choice of level 50 (min 50) gives
Seraphic Vindicator
HP +52
Physical Defense +30
Attack speed +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Orichalcum Token
Circumspect Advisor
Crit Strike +4
Magic crit +2
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Orichalcum Token
Kind Counsel
Crit Strike +8
Magic crit +4
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 180 Orichalcum Token
Key Master
Crit Strike +8
Magic crit +4
Movespeed +5%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 360 Progress Token
Alabaster Hand
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
Movespeed +4%
Fly speed +3%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 180 Radiant Token
Seeker
PVP Attack +20
PVP Defense +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 90 Fortuneers Token
Fortuneer
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 11033]You Make Me Sick of level 52 (min 50) gives
Iron Stomached
HP regen +3
HP +60
MP Regen +3
MP +60
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 11118]Making Setzkiki Laugh of level 54 (min 53) gives
Shulack Friend
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
HP +50
Physical Defense +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 11460]The Shulack of Taloc of level 51 (min 51) gives
Guardian Protector
Healing boost +12
Magic boost +17
HP +50
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Guardian Ally
HP +65
Magical Accuracy +10
Accuracy +14
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 30009][Group] Pieces of You of level 55 (min 52) gives
Balaur Eradicator
Block +14
Physical Defense +25
Enmity +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 11063][Spy/Alliance] Eliminate Marchutan's Agent of level 55 (min 55) gives
Kaisinel's Assassin
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
Attack +3
Magic boost +15
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 30213][Group] Magical Essence of level 55 (min 53) gives
Discoverer of the Secret
Evasion +7
Accuracy +14
Magical Accuracy +10
Magic Resist +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Vanquisher of Mastarius
Movespeed +3%
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 10025]It's Better! It's an Obelisk! of level 55 (min 55) gives
Tiamat Stalker
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
Crit Strike +7
Magic crit +4
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 30265]A Polearm Walks into a Bar of level 51 (min 50) gives
Akarios' Friend
Fly speed +2%
Flytime +5
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[quest: 18405]Memories, in the Corner of His Mind of level 55 (min 50) gives
Drana Journaler
Evasion +10
Magic Resist +10
Block +10
Parry +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18201]The First Rule of the Crucible of level 55 (min 50) gives
Empyrean Challenger
Accuracy +6
Magical Accuracy +4
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18202]Molfus's Approval of level 55 (min 50) gives
Up-and-Comer
Accuracy +8
Magical Accuracy +6
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18203]Keep on Driving Me Higher of level 55 (min 50) gives
Master of Preceptors
Accuracy +10
Magical Accuracy +8
Attack +1
Magic boost +5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18204]A Giant Illusion of level 55 (min 50) gives
Mighty Combatant
Accuracy +12
Magical Accuracy +10
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18205]Vanquish the Vanktrist of level 55 (min 50) gives
Crucible Champion
Accuracy +14
Magical Accuracy +12
Attack +3
Magic boost +15
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 18206]A Private Exercise of level 55 (min 50) gives
Crucible Challenger
Attack +1
Magic boost +5
HP +30
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Progress Token
Alabaster Wing
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Progress Token
Alabaster Eye
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Radiant Token
Radiant Fist
PVP Attack +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Radiant Token
Radiant Shield
PVP Defense +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Radiant Token
Radiant Blade
PVP Attack +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Radiant Token
Radiant Shroud
PVP Defense +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Fortuneers Token
Tracker
Attack speed +1%
Casting time +1%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Fortuneers Token
Hunter
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%

------------------_ASMO TITLES------------------_

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2007]Where's Rae This Time? of level 9 (min 6) gives
Raider Hero
HP +20
Physical Defense +5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2119]Black Opal of level 6 (min 5) gives
Treasure Hunter
Accuracy +4
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[quest: 2208]Learning Mau Language of level 12 (min 10) gives
Mau Whisperer
Magic boost +5
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2022]Crushing the Conspiracy of level 20 (min 12) gives
Protector of Altgard
Crit Strike +2
Magic boost +6
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2289]Rampaging Mosbears of level 15 (min 13) gives
Legendary Hunter
Parry +6
Movespeed +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2230]A Friendly Wager of level 14 (min 12) gives
Mosbear Slayer
Evasion +2
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[quest: 2284]Escaping Asmodae of level 16 (min 14) gives
Kind
MP +20
Flytime +1
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 2493]Bringing up Tayga of level 20 (min 20) gives
The Cat's Meow
Magic boost +6
Fly speed +1%
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[quest: 2480][Spy] Elim of Elysea of level 23 (min 21) gives
Postal
HP +36
MP +36
Movespeed +3%
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[quest: 2033]Destroying the Curse of level 27 (min 22) gives
Curse Breaker
MP +34
Magic boost +8
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[quest: 2334]A New Recipe of level 25 (min 24) gives
Shugo Chef
Evasion +6
Flytime +2
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[quest: 2034]The Hand Behind the Ice Claw of level 30 (min 25) gives
Tayga Slayer
Evasion +8
Magic Resist +8
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[quest: 2368]A Quota of Creatures of level 29 (min 27) gives
Scourge of Mt. Musphel
Fire resist +3
HP +32
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[quest: 2343]Ancient Ginseng of level 29 (min 29) gives
Ginseng-Infused
HP +40
Movespeed +3%
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[quest: 2377][Group] A Curse-Breaking Clue of level 31 (min 29) gives
Honorary Kidorun
Parry +8
Evasion +6
Fly speed +2%
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[quest: 2478][Spy] Ingredients For Sausage of level 30 (min 29) gives
Tenacious
Crit Strike +8
Physical Defense +15
Attack +2
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[quest: 2041]Hold The Front Line of level 40 (min 34) gives
Protector of Morheim
Physical Defense +15
Magic Resist +8
HP +40
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[quest: 2394]A Dying Wish of level 38 (min 36) gives
Shedim Altruist
MP +42
Magic boost +12
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[quest: 2437]Father's Revenge of level 38 (min 36) gives
Mosbear Nemesis
Block +15
HP +40
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[quest: 2434][Group] Revenge is Sweet of level 38 (min 37) gives
Silver Mane Ally
Attack +2
Magic boost +15
Parry +6
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[quest: 2485][Spy/Group] Killing Mabangtah of level 39 (min 37) gives
Provocateur
Accuracy +8
Evasion +6
Attack speed +2%
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[quest: 2491][Group] Ungrateful Muhamurru of level 40 (min 38) gives
Silver Mane Champion
HP +44
MP +44
Flytime +2
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[quest: 2511]Ambitions for Success of level 35 (min 34) gives
Snowfield Predator
Accuracy +9
Crit Strike +7
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[quest: 2571]Delivering Medical Supplies of level 35 (min 35) gives
Besfer's Shield
Magical Accuracy +8
Magic boost +10
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[quest: 2055]The Seiren's Treasure of level 43 (min 38) gives
Easy Mark
Accuracy +10
Magical Accuracy +8
Movespeed +4%
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[quest: 2061]Suppressing the Bakarma Legion of level 48 (min 39) gives
Beluslan's Hero
Crit Strike +8
Magic boost +11
Flytime +3
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[quest: 2699][Group] A Mysterious Book of level 36 (min 35) gives
Loremaster
Attack +2
Block +12
HP +40
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[quest: 2656][Spy] Letter to a Friend of level 45 (min 41) gives
Emissary
HP +57
Crit Strike +8
Physical Defense +20
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[quest: 4502][Group] Essence of Fate of level 50 (min 48) gives
Dark Vindicator
HP +65
Magical Accuracy +10
Casting time +2%
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[quest: 2071]Speaking Balaur of level 27 (min 25) gives
Balaur Whisperer
Magical Accuracy +3
MP +46
Magic Resist +3
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[quest: 2702]Defeat 9th Rank Elyos Soldiers of level 26 (min 25) gives
Tough
HP +40
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[quest: 2710]Defeat 1st Rank Elyos Soldiers of level 34 (min 25) gives
Battle-Hardened
HP +50
Flytime +5
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[quest: 2718]Trading Down of level 40 (min 25) gives
Born Merchant
Fly speed +2%
Evasion +4
Flytime +3
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[quest: 2076]The Shadow Summons of level 45 (min 33) gives
Shadow Marked
HP +27
Physical Defense +20
MP +28
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[quest: 2798]Sign on the Dotted Line of level 40 (min 38) gives
Wheeler-Dealer
Movespeed +5%
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[quest: 2719][Group] Challenge Elyos Officers of level 40 (min 40) gives
Invincible
HP +50
Flytime +5
Fly speed +3%
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[quest: 2720][Group] Challenge Elyos Generals of level 45 (min 40) gives
Heroic
HP +60
Flytime +5
Fly speed +2%
Attack speed +2%
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[quest: 2738][Alliance] Top Gatekeepers of level 49 (min 47) gives
Valiant
Fly speed +3%
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[quest: 4947][Top Expert] Weaponsmithing Expert of level 30 (min 29) gives
Top Expert
Evasion +6
Magic Resist +6
Physical Defense +10
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[quest: 4922]The Gladiator Preceptor's Test of level 34 (min 34) gives
Aetheric Master
HP +45
Attack +3
Magic boost +12
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[quest: 4933]Intention of Lord Marchutan of level 17 (min 17) gives
Azphel's Aegis
HP +100
HP regen +4
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[quest: 4912][Group] The Curse of Agrif's Rage of level 47 (min 45) gives
Master of Agrif's Rage
Movespeed +4%
Fly speed +3%
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[quest: 2928]Power of Love of level 49 (min 45) gives
Factotum
MP +57
Magic Resist +7
Magic boost +15
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[quest: 4014][Group] The Lingering Ghost of level 24 (min 23) gives
Unyielding Pioneer
Magical Accuracy +6
MP +28
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[quest: 4017][Group] The Ikelus Manhunt of level 25 (min 24) gives
Protector of Brusthonin
Crit Strike +3
Attack +2
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[quest: 2094]The Secret of Adma Stronghold of level 50 (min 46) gives
Spiritspeaker
HP +50
Magic Resist +10
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[quest: 4056]Captain's Hat of level 48 (min 47) gives
Pirate of the Carobian
Attack +2
Crit Strike +6
Flytime +4
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[quest: 4211][Group] Steel Rake Slaughter of level 44 (min 43) gives
Steel Rake Headhunter
Crit Strike +10
Magical Accuracy +8
HP +50
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[quest: 4944]Loyalty and Affableness of level 50 (min 45) gives
Fenris's Fang
HP +80
Movespeed +3%
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
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[quest: 2099]To Face the Future of level 50 (min 50) gives
Shedim Conquerer
HP +52
Physical Defense +30
Attack speed +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Circle Token
Shrewd Advisor
Crit Strike +4
Magic crit +2
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Circle Token
Outstanding Advisor
Crit Strike +8
Magic crit +4
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 180 Circle Token
The Circle Leader
Crit Strike +8
Magic crit +4
Movespeed +5%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 360 Ward Token
Field Director
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
Movespeed +4%
Fly speed +3%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 180 Crusader Token
Fixer
PVP Attack +20
PVP Defense +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 90 Daemon Token
Daemon
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
[quest: 21029][Group] Bring Down the Chieftain of level 52 (min 51) gives
Lesson Giver
HP regen +3
HP +60
MP Regen +3
MP +60
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[quest: 21109]Chenkiki's Enemies of level 53 (min 52) gives
Incarnation of Vengeance
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
HP +50
Physical Defense +20
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[quest: 21460]A Shulack's Story of level 51 (min 51) gives
Hand of Support
Healing boost +12
Magic boost +17
HP +50
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Apostle of Justice
HP +65
Magical Accuracy +10
Accuracy +14
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[quest: 30109][Group] Pieces of the Past of level 55 (min 52) gives
Balaur Voltaire
Block +14
Physical Defense +25
Enmity +2%
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[quest: 21063][Spy/Alliance] Crush Kaisinel's Agent of level 55 (min 55) gives
Veille's Adversary
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
Attack +3
Magic boost +15
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[quest: 30313][Group] Opening the Prison of level 55 (min 53) gives
Delver of Mysteries
Evasion +7
Accuracy +14
Magical Accuracy +10
Magic Resist +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Vanquisher of Veille
Movespeed +3%
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%
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[quest: 20025]Chase to the End of level 55 (min 55) gives
Obstinate Herdsman
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
Crit Strike +7
Magic crit +4
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[quest: 30365]A Ray of Hope of level 51 (min 50) gives
Arekedil's Hope
Fly speed +2%
Flytime +5
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[quest: 28405]Kexkra's Past of level 55 (min 50) gives
Drana Journaler
Evasion +10
Magic Resist +10
Block +10
Parry +10
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[quest: 28201]Through the Wind and Fire of level 55 (min 50) gives
Empyrean Challenger
Accuracy +6
Magical Accuracy +4
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[quest: 28202]Halfway There of level 55 (min 50) gives
Up-and-Comer
Accuracy +8
Magical Accuracy +6
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[quest: 28203]The Student Becomes the Master of level 55 (min 50) gives
Master of Preceptors
Accuracy +10
Magical Accuracy +8
Attack +1
Magic boost +5
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[quest: 28204]Everything's Bigger in Asmodae of level 55 (min 50) gives
Mighty Combatant
Accuracy +12
Magical Accuracy +10
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
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[quest: 28205]From the Reaches of Nothingness of level 55 (min 50) gives
Crucible Champion
Accuracy +14
Magical Accuracy +12
Attack +3
Magic boost +15
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[quest: 28206]A Challenging Challenge of level 55 (min 50) gives
Crucible Challenger
Attack +1
Magic boost +5
HP +30
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Ward Token
Field Warden
Attack +2
Magic boost +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Ward Token
Field Agent
Attack +3
Magic boost +17
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Crusader Token
Blood Champion
PVP Attack +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Crusader Token
Blood Sentinel
PVP Defense +10
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Crusader Token
Blood Conqueror
PVP Attack +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Crusader Token
Blood Phalanx
PVP Defense +20
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 7 Daemon Token
Operator
Attack speed +1%
Casting time +1%
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Buy for 14 Daemon Token
Handler
Attack speed +2%
Casting time +2%

Hi,
Getting the following repeatable error on a new system install of Fedora 38 & 37 (Redhat as well). Nothing special about the system (z590 vision D mother board with 11700 CPU, 64GB of memory, 3 pice m2 drives) . Windows is installed on the first drive. continuously getting this error:
kernel panic - not syncing attempted to kill init exitcode=0x00000009
Any help would be appreciated.

I got ahold of my XR Elite on Sunday and have been analyzing and testing it since. I'll be going through everything I've taken note of so far.
First of all, the biggest problem with the headset right now is that the hardware was released before the software was finished. What I mean is, the OS has an early Beta/Late Alpha feel to it. Hand tracking inputs aren't tuned very well at all, despite being accurate. Pinching is way too overly-sensitive, resulting in unintended inputs, and those inputs aren't handled by the UI very well either (setting up a boundary with your hand is nearly impossible). In addition, they didn't wait until a stable software library was ready before throwing it into people's hands. On top of that, many apps you actually can download aren't even configured to work with the controllers, some of those being first party Vive Studio apps. This makes HTC look very unprofessional, and the result is it being next to useless as a standalone until the expected apps are available and existing ones fixed. These aspects will probably solve themselves within the next 6 months or so, but the damage of weak first impressions has already been done. I'm confident that they can fix this as there's some impressive stuff that is there (the way it distorts your passthrough image to correct the relative position of your virtual hand/controller despite only having one camera, for example), they just need time.
Next, I want to talk about the PCVR experience. Since there's not really any standalone support right now, this is where any current user will spend most of their time. I'll start by saying that the SteamVR integration for stand-alone headsets is second to none. Rather than have a clunky multi-step system, it's so simple that your PCVR games show up in the local library itself without needing to toggle settings or navigate menus. It's a one-time set up and you're good to go. It even supports hand tracking as a PCVR input, something the Quest lineup doesn't allow. Now as far as the actual experience, here's where they made some really big oversights. The streaming quality is excellent, equal to the quest 2 or even better (I unfortunately gave my Quest 2 to a family member, so I can only compare from memory), but the default settings make it appear terrible. The thing that makes this really bad is that actually knowing that settings to configure this exist aren't clearly delivered to the user. They exist only within the Vive Streaming Hub settings itself, and don't appear in the Headset's UI at all. Simply adding quality settings under the PC connection tab in the headset would solve this misconception. This could also be helped by making the default quality settings context and environment dependent (default to max settings on USB or Wifi6/6e, or lower if PC has low VRAM). I started off being really disappointed with the default compressed quality, but when I found those settings and bumped them up, I was greeted with a beautiful native looking picture. In addition, there's another setting in the Streaming Hub that's enabled by default called compatibility mode. This causes Steam VR to see your controller as Cosmos controllers, which is a horrible idea because only a tiny fraction of games even support that controller to begin with. I've found that letting SteamVR see the XR controllers for what they really are works in games almost 100% of the time. This should absolutely be off by default and accessible in the Headset's connections tab UI too. There's also another oversight in the Vive Streaming Hub, it has an always on Foveated rendering, probably because the Focus 3 was what the app was built for. If this can be disabled, I haven't figured it out.
So in fewer words, the PCVR experience can be and is decent if not great, but the defaults provide a subpar experience and it's not intuitive or obvious how to make it better.
Now for comfort and hardware. This headset was marketed as extremely comfortable, and in certain conditions it is, but for most, it's the most uncomfortable headset I've ever worn. Nearly all of the problems seem to stem from the pancake lens implementation. The lenses are very small, circular, and the diopters prevent it from being bigger or shapier. In a standard headset you typically want to tighten down to get a good FOV. In the XR Elite, this doesn't work. The top of the facial interface has a hard plastic forehead rest that absolutely kill any comfort you may have had. I think this part could easily be solved by making it hard rubber instead, or something similar, which can easily be done in a hardware revision like the Quest 2 did with it's facial interface. Though, the probable reason why it's like that is because you can't actually go closer than it wants you to. Unlike most Fresnel lensed headsets, or even the Quest Pro, there's no angled cutout on the lens to factor your nose, so pushing your face closer will actually force the lenses apart. It's just literally incapable of being closer to your face, so if your head shape is more curved than flat, coupled with the reduced lens size created by having diopters, you're going to have a very small FOV. Using these in glasses mode with the top strap used as a back strap is probably the most comfortable (and surprisingly stable) way to use this headset, it's genuinely impressive, but you lose an extra 5 to 10 degrees of FOV or so on an already small FOV. So how can this be fixed? Without significant hardware changes, this is probably impossible, but if it were to be redesigned I would absolutely cant the lenses at an angle or drop the diopter and in favor of a lens shape that factors the nose placement. The pancake lenses themselves don't seem to offer any substantial benefit, as the god-rays are replaced by general glare instead and the larger edge-to-edge clarity is offset by the overall loss of FOV.
Now for the price to value aspect. HTC really wants to sell this as a consumer product going against the Pico 4 and Quest 2, but the reality is that the price determines what people compare it to, not the labels. A consumer willing to pay $1100 for a headset is probably also considering a Quest Pro, a Vive Focus 3, a Vive Pro 2, a Pimax 8KX or Crystal. Even staying within the Vive ecosystem, while I don't own a Focus 3, I do own a Pro 2 (which shares a lot with the Focus 3), and the Vive Pro 2 is hands down a far superior VR experience in every category (it's even far more comfortable), for about the same price. The quality difference between Focus 3 and XR Elite feels like a Quest 2 to Quest Pro gap, not the small marginal gap the XR Elite/Focus 3 prices would have you assume. Since the stand alone library doesn't really exist yet, it can only be measured as a PCVR headset, and as one, it falls very short. If I were Vive, I would really double down on making the stand alone library as healthy as possible. Do whatever you need to do, pay developers to port, just get it there. Use that library to strengthen the value of Viveport to gain more subscriptions. Good, now you have the revenue stream that makes it possible to lower the price of the XR Elite. Drop it to at least $800 as soon as possible and aim for $600 or so as a long-term goal. If the product has a reason to be used and the cost is right, people will use it. Content attracts users, users attract developers, and developers create content. Fail to realize this early on, and you become a Sega Saturn/PS Vita/Philips CD-I. HTC needs to realize that they're in the console market now, not simply the hardware market. Different rules apply for success. Also, HTC, stop trying to bank on attracting the Crypto crowd. They aren't a goldmine more profitable than the users you already have. They aren't paying customers, they're customers expecting to be paid.
I've seen quality control issues floating around, seemingly on par with Pico 4 issues. I'm among those effected, as I have a dead pixel on my headset. I've never had issues with Vive headsets before, so I think this is probably a result of them trying to push out too many headsets too fast. This is very bad on their part, and it seems they've greatly underestimated the importance of a good initial launch. Early reviews are one of the deciding factors on whether hardware sinks or swims, and because of the rush, nearly everyone that has one is disappointed, and their reviews are what future customers base their decisions on. It didn't need to be that way. Had the higherups simply had the foresight to allow the XR Elite to be completed before launch and making sure each headset shipped wasn't defective, the odds of it succeeding would have been astronomically higher. Since they didn't, most people are returning their headsets and potential buyers are rightfully steering clear due to the bad launch press. Just look at the Steam Deck, people had to wait a long time to get theirs, it made them restless and angry, but at the end of the day the product they got was exactly as promised 99.9% of the time, and as a result it's praised as a great success despite taking a long time to get in people's hands. Most of us would have preferred to wait for a good product than get an undercooked one now (whether we consciously realize that or not).
Despite the current state, I'm not returning mine. It does what I need it to do as a developer, I have other headsets to do what it can't, and I'm willing to wait for the software side to get better with time. Since Pico might never come to the USA, this is pretty much the only semi-competent Meta alternative in the states until Deckard shows up in a decade or two. Hope this was useful to someone.

It was a beautiful day in the fall, and though being in the middle of nowhere in Ohio isn’t exactly my ideal setting for an assignment, it could have been worse. Opening my windows, listening to music, and getting a good whiff of country air is a nice contrast to being cooped up in cities like I’m used to. The sight of brown stalks of corn populating the miles of fields along the road was welcome, as was the cool and clean smell of the air. It’s a good thing these jobs don’t involve much interaction with people. Unfortunately, some level of interaction is inevitable.
On my way to this one, I got a speeding ticket from a cop at some little local department. Though I was, in fact, speeding, I got the feeling that he also didn’t so much like seeing a fed in his neck of the woods. The local police aren’t a fan of us, so I’ve come to learn. They tend to get suspicious of us, thinking we’re up to some top-secret mission behind their backs. I guess they would be right.
I kept driving down the gravel road until the navigation let me know my destination was coming up on the right. Turning down the radio as I approached, I glanced toward the empty fields and the woods that met them beyond. I then turned into the long dirt driveway leading to our civilians’ house and garage.
I rolled up and parked with my trunk facing the porch. Stepping out, I got another whiff of the fresh country air and looked at the area of operations that lay before me. I was surprised at the amount of land and space that I had at my disposal. Space is good for these jobs. Additionally, I was informed that there weren’t any neighbors close enough to worry about. I couldn’t have asked for a better setting.
After stretching and letting out a light sigh, I decided it was time to get to work. I pulled the keychain out of my pocket and unlocked the front door. It seemed like a nice enough place. It was certainly nothing worth complaining about given the conditions of houses I’ve faced in my previous assignments. I went back outside to my massive, government-issued vehicle and opened the trunk.
I pulled the first couple of duffel bags worth of equipment out and brought them inside. The kitchen was as good a place as any to set up. After making five or six trips of dragging heavy bags and boxes of my junk into the house, I went back outside to open the garage. Thank God we were able to catch this case early and the civilians were able to make it out in time. It also meant I got room in the garage to park this thing. All that remained in the truck was the large metallic box, but I wasn’t going to need that until later.
I shut the trunk and pulled my vehicle into the garage, closing it on my way out. I stepped back into the house where I changed from my suit to my gear. Wearing the suit all day annoys me but I suppose the higher-ups want us to look like good, “friendly” feds to the public. The public has no idea the kind of monsters we are.
I unpacked box after box of equipment and weapons. I loaded up my Glock 17 with its extended 30-round magazine just as I did with my standard .556 rifle. I checked the laser sights on both. All good. Next was my favorite, the.338 with the best scope you could ever ask for. It sure is nice having a virtually infinite budget. Perks of working for the US federal government I suppose. The final firearm I brought was my personal .357 magnum revolver that I kept holstered on my chest. I figure it’s never a bad idea to have one more gun, just in case. Maybe I should have brought more on this one. If things got too close, I always had my hunting knife. I sharpened it that morning before heading out.
The next few hours consisted of me going out into the woods near the house in various places and setting up dozens of my little cameras equipped with motion sensors. They were there to give me an idea of the location of anything that got brave enough to get close to the fields that surrounded the house, I would be able to know about anything that was coming to me. I didn’t take too much caution in setting them up. Things never get interesting until nightfall.
I returned to the house where I turned on my laptop and assured that all the cameras were connected and working. I could see every single one of them from there and would know if anything so much as moved. I then got situated on a chair by the kitchen table, where I opened the window and set up my .338 rifle to watch the fields with.
I suppose it would be worth mentioning why I’m out here, setting up fancy equipment in the woods and loading up an arsenal of guns while I’m alone in a farmhouse that isn’t mine. Let’s back it up.
March 1st, 2017, 3:33 am, Iowa
Dispatch gets a call from a local farmer. He claims to be looking at a figure standing still at the edge of a treeline on his property. The description given by the farmer was that of a man of average stature and build, clothed in a loose black or grey shirt and trousers and a large-brimmed hat.
The farmer tells dispatch that he had awoken abruptly roughly an hour earlier, unspecified as to why. He spotted the figure outside his kitchen window soon after. The figure had been standing near the edge of a row of trees. It was facing the house and hadn’t moved a muscle since the farmer noticed him. The farmer quickly retrieved his rifle and walked out onto his lawn, proceeding to brandish his firearm and tell the trespasser that this property was his and to leave immediately. The farmer, seeing that the man remained unthreatened by his warning and display of a firearm, retreaded back into his home to retrieve his phone and call 9-1-1 as he continued to watch the figure from his porch.
During this call, the farmer’s voice was noticeably nervous and frightened. The desperate tone and quivering speech continued to worsen as he went on explaining the situation to dispatch. Dispatch instructed the farmer to remain where he stood and not to approach the trespasser. Dispatch reassured the farmer that the police were on their way. A few quiet and uneventful minutes passed. Then, without warning, the farmer let out a horrified scream through the phone. The call was disconnected seconds later.
The police began their over 40-minute drive to the residence. Halfway to their arrival, multiple new calls were coming to dispatch from the farmer’s neighbors. They reported seeing a large stack of smoke coming from the farmer’s home, and the closest reported seeing the house on fire.
By the time police arrived, the house had burned to the ground. The fire department arrived shortly after but oddly enough, the fire had completely subsided. What remained was the charred crumbs of what was once a house. The firefighters that arrived on site were bewildered by how quickly the fire must have burned the house. There was no explanation they could fathom.
The police searched the nearby fields and woods for the farmer and alleged trespasser to no avail, however, their search was quickly called back upon the findings of the firefighters in the house. The man’s charred bones were found beneath the rubble but not as they should have been. It became clear after further investigation that the man’s limbs were ripped from his body before it was incinerated at an impossible speed. 4 .308 bullet casings were found where the porch of the house used to be. The rifle was found just outside of the house, unscathed despite its proximity to such a violent fire. Forensics confirmed that the rifle had fired these casings but the bullets themselves were never found.
This was the first, but far from the last.
October 28th, 2017, 11:07 pm, Montana
Dispatch gets a call from a rancher who spotted a woman in an old-fashioned black and white dress and wearing a linen cap. The rancher claimed the woman was standing amongst his cattle and not moving. The rancher expressed no panic or concern for his safety over the phone, but rather a concern for the woman in the field. The rancher also noted that his cattle kept their distance around the woman.
An ambulance arrived at 11:29. Paramedics found no trace of the alleged woman. They walked to the entrance of the rancher’s house and discovered his door to be unlocked and open. After calling for the rancher and getting no response, they stepped inside to be greeted by the corpse of the rancher, hanging from a noose in his stairwell. The man had no history of mental illness and none of his relatives or acquaintances had any reason to believe he was suicidal. Additionally, an autopsy report concluded that both arms were broken in multiple places as well as every finger as if they had been crumpled together by a great force. He could not have tied the noose himself.
November 29th, 2018, 2:06 am, Wisconsin
Dispatch gets a call from another farmer. He had spotted a woman in an old black and white dress and linen cap. The woman had been standing in the long driveway from the road to his house, lit by the lamp that covered it. She stood motionless in the cold, windy, and heavily snowing weather. The farmer and his wife were later found under a collapsed wall of their crumpled house with stones placed on top. They had been placed in a seemingly orderly fashion until there was enough weight to crush their bones.
This happens to be the first incident we have on record with photo evidence. A trail cam owned by the farmer and his wife a few acres away from the house caught a picture the night of the incident. It caught a picture of the woman exactly as the farmer had described. Black and white dress, white linen camp. It looked as though she had stepped through time from hundreds of years before and placed like a mannequin in front of the camera.
May 30th, 2019, Minnesota
September 3rd, 2019, Nebraska
January 4th, 2020, South Dakota
I could go on but the point is that these incidents have been happening more and more frequently and they aren’t stopping. We do know what they are, or at least what they’re supposed to represent to us.
Every single one of these “people” lived in North America during the witch trials. We don’t believe they were the ones who were executed. We believe they were the ones who made the accusations, the ones who got their neighbors killed, the ones who carried out the executions and now they’re back to kill again.
Luckily, my department picked up on these patterns early on and designated a team to deal with them. There are a few hundred of us. I am in the dark about what everyone does exactly. I haven’t met many but I do know that some find potential incidents, some investigate, some deal with the cover-up and handling the publicity, and then, of course, there are the ones you send in to eradicate the problem. That’s where I come in.
I am here to hunt them down, to put them back in their graves so it would seem. Sometimes I get here before they’ve claimed a victim, sometimes after. But their reign of terror comes to an end with me. They’ve never gotten away from me, and I have never failed an assignment. I didn’t plan on this night being any different.
A beep sounded from my laptop screen as an outline from one of the cameras lit up, indicating that the motion sensor detected movement. It had been quiet since I set it up, there was not even the slightest sign of wildlife. No deer, no squirrels, nothing. I leaned forward and intently examined the camera that had been triggered. There was nothing to see. Another sensor triggered. Again, the camera showed nothing. My eyes darted from camera to camera, looking for motion. Another camera triggered, though all that I caught sight of was a shaking tree branch. There was no wind today. Another. This time I saw it. A dog-looking figure darted across the camera in only a few frames, but I knew it was no dog.
I turned my attention from the cameras to the field in front of me, where the movement had come from. I got behind my rifle and looked down the scope to the treeline in the distance. My heart began to pound in my chest at an intense tempo.
I could feel the adrenaline kicking in while I scanned the edge of the field for movement. All that greeted me was the orange glint of the setting sun on the treeline and the tiny shadows of the little stumps of corn stalks in the otherwise empty field. It was silent. Not even a wind accompanied me this evening, though I can’t complain. It’s better for shooting.
For a few minutes, I continued to run my scope along the treeline, occasionally getting a peek with my own eyes. It was during one of these peeks when I noticed a color out of place, in between a couple of trees on the other side of the field—some sort of black-and-white spec that was there not a second before. I lowered my head down, back behind the scope, and centered it. As I steadied the scope, a man-like figure standing at the edge of the field came into focus.
It wore black, tattered rags of clothing that hung loosely on its rigid frame. It stood still, stiff as a board. Its eyes were fixed on something ahead of it. It took me a moment to realize it was focused on me. It didn’t move a muscle, not even blinking as it stared.
I came to my senses and prepared to do my job. I flipped the safety off of my rifle and centered my crosshairs on its chest. I began to breathe deeply, my finger on the trigger, ready to pull but I didn’t take the shot, not yet. I saw it start to move.
Even with the distance between us, my scope made the picture of this figure clear as day. The movement came from only one part of its body; its mouth. First, its crusty lips detached from one another and the mouth began to open. Steadily, it opened more, and more all the while the rest of its body and head remained fixed. Its jaw sank to what should have been all the more it could, but it didn’t stop. It fell further, dipping down below its chest, its skin like a stretched rubber band waiting to snap, though it didn’t, it kept stretching.
Still stiff as a board, the man-like thing remained with its eyes locked on me while its mouth sat open, impossibly wide. It stood still with its hanging jaw for a moment, a moment I shouldn’t have given it. Now I knew I had my target. I began to apply pressure to the trigger before I was stopped, shaken by a force.
A scream, like a choir of souls in despair being dragged off to hell, with the power of a thousand horns sounding the start of a medieval battle rung through the fields. Its volume caused flocks of birds in the nearby trees to fly away in a panic, its bass shuddered through my chest and left me too hypnotized to pull the trigger. I’ll never get used to hearing one of them scream.
“Here we go”
I muttered to myself, the only thought I could conjure from my brain at the moment.
Closing its mouth, it leaped forward and reached for the ground in front of it with its hands fixed like claws. As soon as they met the ground, the feet followed and planted themselves quickly so that it could boost itself forward once again. It had begun its terrible charge. All the while, its face remained fixed on me, rotting teeth exposed and clenched in rage. The speed at which it rushed across the empty field would make a deer running for its life look lazy in comparison, but I was the prey here.
Though my heart began to race at the sight of this abomination barreling toward me, this anomaly of hatred and hunger bound to flesh, I remained calm. I began to steady my breathing, taking control of each breath, in and out.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
Squeeze.
The crack of the shot rang out through the dimming sky and the field before me, my response to its enraged scream. I remained fixed on the target, observing the spatter of blood as it shot from its back. It began to scream again, this time rapidly and desperate in tone. I quickly moved the bolt and chambered the next round, accompanied by the soft ring of the brass bouncing on the floorboards under my chair.
Although I managed to land a clean shot to the chest, it didn’t do much. It kept running, keeping on at its same speed. Though now it changed its direction and was running adjacent to my position in the house. It was trying to flank me. It wanted to find a way around my line of sight. I couldn’t let it.
Again, I took control of my breathing. Slowly, I drifted my rifle on the bipod until the creature came back into view. Its limbs pounded at the ground with speed and power as it propelled itself across the field. I’ll never get used to seeing one run either.
Starting behind it, I continued to move the scope, just fast enough to begin gaining on him, just fast enough to let the crosshairs catch up. Inhale. Exhale. The crosshairs slowly began to overtake it. Inhale. Exhale. Squeeze.
I chambered the next round quickly. This shot brought him to the ground, but it didn’t keep him there. After a short tumble, it rose and began to run again, this time back towards the woods it came from. Inhale. Exhale. Squeeze.
The third shot grazed its back. Frustrated, I chambered another round and took aim, but it was far too late. Before I could even begin to line up my fourth shot, it had taken one final leap from the field back into the treeline it came from.
I let out a sigh and hung my head in disappointment. I knew what I had to do next but I sure as hell didn’t want to. The last flickers of sunlight shone through the open window and lit my .338 rifle as I reloaded the magazine. I sat and stared blankly at the screen in front of me, hoping a camera would pick up some sort of movement that could clue me into wherever it ran off to. Knowing my luck, I shouldn’t have expected it to.
After coming to terms with reality, I stood up and grabbed my .556, slinging it around my body and letting it hang in front of me. I aimed it down, looking through its sight and testing its laser again before checking the chamber. Good to go. Next, I adjusted the night vision set to my head before picking up my .338 and heading for the door. As I stepped outside, I let out another sigh, this one of stress. Hunting these things at night, on their own turf is never as fun, nor as easy as finishing them quickly from a distance but what choice did I have? I just wanted to get it over with.
I flipped down my goggles and switched them on, illuminating the dark field in green and white. I began my long walk across. It took me longer than expected. The speed of that monstrosity caused me to underestimate the size of the field. Each step I took was slow and quiet. I didn’t want the crunch of my feet meeting the dirt and remnants of corn stalks to disturb my hearing. If that thing made a noise, I needed to hear it. If only I could have quieted my incessant heavy, nervous breathing too.
I was not even halfway to the treeline when I reached the first pool of blood, where I had shot it for the second time, and it decided to retreat. Bits of flesh were scattered about the ground, but I didn’t care to stop and look. Instead, I focussed on the blood I could see that led back into the woods.
Any experienced hunter has had to track a deer or two. It can be very frustrating. The trail isn’t always so clear, and you never know how far it has gotten. In my case, I knew this thing was still alive, and it was angry.
I continued my walk, splitting my attention between the blood trail on the ground and the treeline in front of me, scanning for movement and listening. If I was lucky enough, it would have gotten bold and tried to take me down in the field. Unfortunately, I’m not so lucky. Silently, I followed the trail until it met the woods. I stopped walking and calmed myself.
I didn’t want to go past those damn trees, but there was no avoiding it. I had a job to do. I extended the bipod of my .338 and lowered it to the ground before raising the stock of my other rifle to my shoulder. I took a deep breath and resumed my walk, now even slower and more cautious. At least now my heavy breathing would be drowned out by the sound of snapping twigs beneath my feet.
Immediately upon entering the woods, I spotted the next sight of blood. It came from a tree branch, its leaves covered in the dripping crimson liquid. I walked up to observe, only to notice more blood on the branch above that one. And the next. I noticed the pattern and followed each branch up, one by one, each with its leaves covered in blood. Suddenly a mass moved on top of the tree next to the one I was looking up at.
I swung my rifle up, pointing above me at the top of the trees. The mass turned and into view came two glowing eyes, like white lights in my night vision. It opened its mouth again to let out another deafening scream but I raised my rifle and took aim. Its scream was cut short by a bang from my barrel and the thud of the rounds meeting flesh. I was only able to squeeze half a dozen rounds off before it leaped away, to the tops of the neighboring trees.
I kept shooting as it jumped from one tree to another, though within seconds it was out of my line of sight. I charged through the woods after it and watched it leap impossible distances, shaking trees so hard I thought some might snap. All the while I kept trying and failing, to line up a clean shot. The ones I did manage to squeeze off were either misses or ineffective.
Even at the full-on sprint that I managed to sustain for a good few minutes, I was barely able to keep up. I almost abandoned the chase entirely before I saw an opportunity. There was a clearing ahead. A trail. The distance across was far too wide for it to jump. It took a sharp right once it realized this and began jumping from tree to tree along the trail. I rushed into the opening before kneeling to line up a shot. I followed it with my sights, tracking the timing of each leap, and letting t it land and leap once more before it settled on a new tree. I shot off two more rounds as it braced to leap again.
They were perfectly placed and its body tumbled in the air and crashed violently to the ground. Having lined up my sight, I squeezed the trigger again to hear the absence of a gunshot, replaced by the click of the firing pin in the empty chamber. I screamed curses at myself as I quickly exchanged magazines. By the time I looked up, the body was already gone.
I got to my feet and continued down the trail at a jog-like pace with my rifle at the ready. I was beginning to get frustrated more than anything. I’ve put dozens of these things in the ground before, I didn’t understand why was I having such a hard time with this one. As I approached a curve in the trail, I slowed my pace and brought the stock of my rifle back to my shoulder. I approached the curve from the outside of the trail, trying to get a clear view of what was beyond when my head violently snapped to the left.
My vision went suddenly dark and it took me a few moments to realize that I wasn't dead, nor was I unconscious. Something hit my night vision goggles and knocked them clear off of my head, breaking the mount they sat on. My eyes were only beginning to adapt to the dark when another object came flying towards my head, narrowly missing as it whistled forcefully past my ear. It was a rock, around the size of a football. I couldn’t help but glance behind me in astonishment at the object that had nearly decapitated me before turning my attention back to what threw it.
Sure enough, there it was. Standing behind the trees at the corner of the path. I let my anger take control and began to fire rapidly at its torso. My disregard for accuracy hardly mattered at this range. Regrettably, it meant I was now closer than I would have liked and it began to charge. I landed shot after shot. Blood spurted from its back and painted the tree branches and leaves that it passed as it barreled toward me.
Again, my magazine went empty. Instead of bothering to reload a new one, I quickly drew my Glock and continued my rapid fire on the beast. It broke into the clearing and fell to all fours before it leaped forward and ran as it had done in the field. It closed the distance between us in seconds.
A hand clenched around my throat and I was lifted off of the ground like a feather. It kept running, past the edge of the clearing and carrying me into the woods. I continued to pepper it at point-blank range with my pistol. Between shots, I could hear its hysterical laughter directed at my futile efforts. Its face smiled with a look of sadistic insanity.
I continued shooting until my magazine went dry and I was stuck with an empty gun. With nothing else I could do, I began to beat its face with the empty pistol. This seemed to piss it off. It violently threw me through the air. I felt my body snap dozens of branches before I met the ground and rolled uncontrollably.
Recovering quickly, I grasped the rifle still slung around me and replaced the empty magazine with a new one. It was mere feet away from me when I started to fire. I got a few shots off before it grabbed my arm. This time I whipped the barrel of my rifle up, clubbing it hard across the face. It let out a short, irritated scream. I thrust my barrel at the top of its head, knocking it back as it emitted another angry grunt. It reached up with its left arm and tried to grab the barrel before half of its fingers were blown off by my next shot. It recoiled its arm in pain before swinging it back at me.
Upon contact, my rifle flew out of my hands and the sling came undone from my body as it was thrown far into the woods behind me. I attempted to retreat before he grabbed me with his right hand, and what remained of his left around my neck. Again, I was picked up and it carried me, this time only a short distance to a tree. My back cracked as I was slammed into the bark.
It looked up at me and smiled again.
“We killed our sinners, we brought justice to our land. We brought justice for God”
I ignored its foul speech, lifting an arm and hooking it across the face with a firm punch. It had no effect.
“You are all sinners, and you will die for your sins as they did”
Again, I struggled and pummeled its face with everything I could muster but it still did nothing.
“Now go and burn in the lake of fire”
It shouted, before laughing with a dozen sadistic voices all coming from its mouth.
It opened its mouth and its jaw was once again stretched to what should be an impossible level. It lowered me until I was level with it. It moved its open mouth toward my head, shaking with rage. Its teeth now inches from my face. Its breath, foul. With my left arm, I drew my knife, slashing it across the chest before plunging it into its neck. I hooked a punch with my right arm that finally caused it to stumble. It wound up its own punch and let it loose. I narrowly escaped, ducking out of the way before its fist met the tree and went right through, splitting it in half before the wood tumbled to the ground.
I took this opportunity to draw my .357. He recovered from its punch and faced me, pulling the knife from its neck and letting blood spurt and gush. It stared me down as it slowly approached, ready to deliver its finishing blow.
Its head was shaking now, harder than ever in anger, its mouth hung open to half its capacity where it showed its rows of rotting human teeth. I raised my revolver and attempted to steady my sights but I was too shaky. I quickly collected myself. Inhale. Exhale. The front sight became level with the rear. Squeeze.
The recoil caused the gun to rise enough for me to get a look at the damage. I clipped its mouth, in the corner of its jaw. It hung open, with one side detached completely. It wailed in pain as it gargled its blood and crumbled to the ground. I aimed again, cocking the hammer. Squeeze. With the second round, I detached its jaw completely.
“Let’s see you bite me now, fucker”
I painfully muttered with anger. It dropped my knife and was now laying flat on its back, breathing heavily. I approached, cocking the revolver again as I did. It reached out with its mangled hand but I kicked it away before placing my barrel to its skull. Squeeze. And then silence.
After dragging the body back to the field, I spent the next few hours retrieving my lost and damaged equipment, as well as tediously finding every one of my cameras. I then retrieved my vehicle and drove it to the edge of the field. There was just one more thing to do.
I opened my trunk and pulled out the metallic box. I don’t understand why they make these things so goddamn heavy. I opened it and placed the corpse inside before securing the extremely heavy-duty lock. Next was the hole. It wasn’t easy digging after I had been roughed up and tossed around by an undead religious maniac with superhuman strength, but at least this was the last thing I had to do.
I finished digging the hole, placed the metal casket inside, and covered it up. From there, I collected my equipment, packed it up, and took off. Supposedly there’s a cleanup crew that comes in after we’re done with these missions and destroys any bizarre evidence.
I suspect they take the body as well. Where do they take it? What do they do with it? I have no clue but I’ve been strictly reminded to not ask questions on the matter and to just stick to doing my job. Still, I always find myself wondering.
What I have even more questions about is why these things exist in the first place. What the hell is going on? Why them? Why now? Has this been going on for longer than I know? Am I being lied to? What happens next, in the future, if this keeps going on? It’s only been getting worse. They’ve only been popping up more and more frequently. When does it end? Does it end?
I have more questions than I do answers but what I can tell you is that this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s only going to get worse. There are only going to be more of them, not less. The death toll will only continue to rise. People are going to find out sooner or later. It might as well be now. Maybe we will stop them. Maybe this will all come to an end one day, or maybe we are the ones who are all going to meet our end. Either way, I’ll be there to see it.

The game mode is for solo/Duo/trio, and starts off very similarly to Bounty Hunt, except there are only 2 teams. Each team starts at there own compound and the other team starts at an adjacent compound but there is a boundary that separates them for now (like the wellspring boundary in quick play). each team has their own boss to kill and banish, once the first team starts banishing, the border keeping the teams apart is dropped allowing the teams to cross into each other territory and fight over their prize. Unlike Quick Play this mode requires you to use one of your hunters, and Like quick play there are no extractions, the last team living gets out after all bounty has been collected. Each boss gives you one Bounty token. But bountys from this game mode are not worth as much as from Bounty Hunt.
Clarifying details. Solos matchmake with other solos unless they choose not too

This is a long one, so please bear with me. I’ll keep it as brief as I can without deleting context.
When I was 7 I came to the UK to visit a relative for a holiday as an unaccompanied minor. I had a return ticket and my mother fully expected me to return home. The person I came to stay with (paternal aunt) effectively kidnapped me and started sending me to school, and there was nothing my mother could do about it.
She was extremely physically, and psychologically abusive toward me growing up. I was constantly guilt tripped and told I should be grateful for all she’s done for me etc. She then had her own children from when I was 11, and I was often left home alone with them while she went out. She always made it clear that I was not her child and told me that my mother was trash and that I would have starved to death had I stayed with her. This wasn’t true as after my father died I was placed with another paternal aunt back home and I was happy, saw my mother regularly and had a healthy family dynamic.
I got my first period at 11, and developed very quickly, looking much older than my age. She started to accuse me of seducing her partner, and she found my contraceptive pills that had been prescribed to me by my doctor to manage my endometriosis. This to her was proof that I was f*cking her partner. The guy never touched me or made any sort of inappropriate comment or move. He often protected me from her outbursts, telling me to lock myself in my room until she had calmed down. He was like a dad to me.
I was called every name under the sun (whore, slut, witch, homewrecker etc). This is ironic since I didn’t actually have sex until I was 20.
A few years ago she had a mental breakdown (I believe psychosis), and to put it frankly, she has been a mess ever since. I took care of her throughout her accusations of me trying to kill her and her kids, waking up in the dead of night to find her staring at me accusing me of witchcraft in her home. Eventually it became too much for me and her sister came to the UK from home. At 19 I decided to move out. After a long battle with the home office, I was granted indefinite leave to remain, and after years of not having contact with my mother, I moved out, packed a bag and went to see my mother for 3 months.
I’ve since developed a wonderful relationship with my mother and shared some of my experiences with her, but I know she would be crushed if I told her everything. I worked hard and built my mother a house to retire in.
The trauma caught up with me and I’ve faced years of depressive and anxious episodes. I’m finally in counselling to deal with my issues.
The problem is that I am the only person who has consistently tried to help her over the years despite all she did to me. It will take me a long time to completely forgive her, but I love her children as if they were my own and still hold some small respect for her for “raising” me.
I’ve faced pressure from my family to continue helping and seeing her even though they are much better equipped than I am to do it. I’ve had no contact with her for the last few months whilst I’m healing but I still feel bad and still feel this pressure from other family members to just get over it. Should I start helping her again? I feel so triggered every time I speak to her or see her but I still feel guilty. Any advice please?

During my research on the corporal punishment I noticed there was always "something" like no matter what the other person had "something" I'd kill 1 argument and another would come in it's place like a virus. Thered always be that person with that "Aha" or that new sabing grace to defend this crap "I only hit in dangerous situations" There was always sooooooo soooo much I can say, everyone I pressured or argument I dismantled immediately trued jumping to the "well I turned out fine" and I'd always have to like drag them back to like the actual conversation. If the amount of effort people put into justifying this glorified child abuse was put into anything else, no joke the American education system would be up there with Finland. And what's like the end goal here, people always try and play the YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME card so then I gotta go through that. It be like there saving grace, a way for them to maintain power. Because this is more of a "statement" if anything if a person can't change then well they won't change. So then I'd have to find a goal, a task, or something in this regard. I have faced sooooo many logical fallacies. Soooo many personal attacks. Soooooo many assumptions. When I think about the amount of people who would assume I give a da** about time outs or reasoning not working and then leave a emoji as if I cared about those things In the first place it honestly pisses me off.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, why's there just soooooo much of "it" there's just soooooo many walls and barriers and hoops and hurdles and blah blah blah my head hurts. Why's there soooooo much defense on hitting kids?