One clue crossword diver

My partner and I have been together for 3 years, much of it during Covid. We were pretty isolated for most of the first two years. When we started to live more socially, I started noticing that how my partner treats me in front of others really bothers me.
I’ve noticed that if there is a really attractive person around, my partner will want to engage with that person as if I am not even there. Even if they are holding my hand or maintaining touch, as I have asked them to do if someone approaches us and acts directly interested in ONLY them, the eye contact and smiling between the two of them is intense and invariably the person ends up standing very close to my partner. Although having their arm around my shoulder, the rapport almost always leads to the person brazenly requesting my partners contact info or asking them out right in front of me. I genuinely think these men either assume they are available based on the body and facial language, or they get off on cucking a short guy. Because by this point I usually stalk off, I’ve never seen my partner accept the number or actually act on it.
It’s especially hurtful to me because as a trans man, I’m very petite and many people think I’m a gay guy and either I’m just my partner’s friend, or I’m someone they can “do better than” (since society demeans short men). My partner is non binary but presents as a femme cis woman and is 5’10, meaning many people judge us being together.
This came to a head last week. I pay all of our bills and expenses and spoil my partner constantly. I took them to a charity event that had celebrities in attendance. We met the drummer of a famous band and it was like normal, where the guy ignored me and got close up with my partner asking intense personal questions and my partner replying all starry eyed. They held my arm, but it could easily have been a gay bestie situation. The guy kept asking for my partner’s card or contact info.
Afterward, I felt really hurt. I didn’t bring my partner to this nice event so they could be a groupie. I asked them if they would want to meet up with the drummer and they said they would do it but would stop the second it became inappropriate. They then swore up and down that they would never date this guy with a ten foot pole. For me this was the worst part, since I definitely don’t believe that. My partner is very hierarchical and status oriented and I do not doubt for a second they would LOVE to be dating the drummer for this band; not to mention he is also a drummer for one of the most famous solo artists in my partner’s fav genre (and you absolutely know who they are and many of their songs).
There is also a history of my partner developing crushes on other people and me finding out. It’s made me feel so second choice, because my partner would reach out to these people in at least a friendly way and was rejected. So I don’t even feel like I was the one picked when they stayed with me.
Also, if this is how my partner talks to interested people, with seemingly no clue that others are interested, when I am THERE, I am pretty uncertain what it would look like if I wasn’t.
I am feeling pretty run down. I love my partner but I keep feeling unsafe and not chosen. I am not sure if it’s my insecurities because I used to be an equally beautiful woman as my partner and now they get all the attention I used to. I am not sure how to navigate asking my partner to not flirt because I also want them to meet people and have friends. How do I navigate this? What can i say that is not controlling? I appreciate any advice people can share.

I’m in year 11 and i’m not sure if i should pick history or politics for a level. I heard that Politics isn’t well-regarded by most universities as it is “easy”, so if that’s the case then I do not want to take it as i hope to go to a good university in the future. I also heard that history is very content-heavy and hard to keep up with. Any advice?
The other A Level options I’m considering to take alongside history or politics are biology, chem, and psychology. I will not take four A levels, I’ll just settle on three out of these five by the end of summer. I don’t want to take both history and politics because I could end up doing something completely unrelated to humanities in the future and therefore I don’t want to limit my options.
Note: I have no clue what I want to do in the future so i want to take one essay writing subject to keep my options open, I took GCSE history and I enjoyed it, I’m quite good at essay writing.

I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type at age 29 not long ago. Since then, it's put a lot of things into perspective. The one that bothers me most however, is my inability to commit to something. My whole life I thought it was because I was lazy or stupid or just incapable compared to my peers. Which, internalizing all of that has probably led to my current issues with depression and anxiety.
Like many people here, I've had lots of hobbies. I've just never been able to keep interest long enough to develop any proficiency. This has pretty much led me to having nothing that I actually like doing. I now kind of drift aimlessly without any interests. I essentially have developed a pretty serious case of anhedonia.
But I really want to do something. I've always envied people who had a hobby they committed to for years to the point of actually being proud of it. My longest lasting hobby was guitar. I played for about 3 years before quitting. I've tried drawing, learning a language, programming,(I do this at work, but it's mostly small python scripts. I don't do any home projects.) And many other things It always starts with an intense level of enthusiasm followed by burn out, frustration, and lack of enjoyment.
Does anyone have any advice? Anyone here managed to stick with something? What are some of the things you do to stay committed?Or does ADHD just make me destined to wander aimlessly in search of something I actually like doing? I realize I never actually learned how to be disciplined. I have absolutely no clue how to commit to something. So any advice is appreciated.
tl;dr: struggling to stay committed to a hobby. Have no clue how to even do it. Lack of any interests is a big contributor to my depression/anhedonia. Looking for advice on how others have dealt with this or how others managed to stay disciplined and committed despite ADHD. Techniques? Mental cues? Structure? Anything?

I just got 3.5g's from one of my buddies and I was wondering how much to take, setting, etc. I really have no clue what to expect other than cool patterns. What should I expect? Should I even take any? Any advice would help me, thank you!

Part 19 Like Angels Falling from the Heavens (Part 1) (Part 18)
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"Dropping in 3… 2… 1. Mission initiated." A synthetic voice read the words off of Tensebwse's HUD and his vision was suddenly filled with the familiar sight of metal and polymer panels rushing past him. “Target ETA, 8 minutes.”
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“Alright, ladies!” Tens shouted into his comms-link to the Qui’ztar warriors who were about to experience why the Hell Divers had that name. “Hold on tight! When those retro-thrusters kick, they kick hard!”
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"Hold on to what?" The deep yet feminine that called back was equal parts excited and nervous, and even held hints of sarcasm.
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"Consciousness." Tens chuckled as he felt himself slowly being pushed towards the planets below.
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Despite not feeling too much pressure himself, the Nishnabe warrior was keeping a close eye on both his own acceleration gauge as well as the reads out from his trainees. With his suit and control-AI acting as the central node of the networked machines, he had immediate access to the external and internal sensors of every mech he was in formation with. And, like a good pack leader, Ten wasn't at the front of the group, charging ahead, and possibly going beyond the physical limits of the Qui’ztar warrior women. Rather, he was at the back of the formation, letting the first-time jumpers set a pace they could endure, and watching for signs of overexertion. Even though each woman was nearing the absolute peak of their athletic abilities, the strain they were about to feel would be unlike anything they had ever experienced.
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"This isn't that bad." It was Hutloxa who made the remark while sounding a bit too confident.
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"We're still on the insertion-burn!" Tens fully laughed into the comms. "Verify trajectory and shield integrity, ladies. It's now or never!"
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"Drop zone marked, call out when verified!" Captain Marzima's commanding tone was that of an ardent professional as she knew her commanding officer was watching them carefully.
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"Drop Mech 1, confirmed!" A cacophony of voices began calling out in sequence until completing at number 19.
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"All units confirmed, Lieutenant!" Marz was doing her job with the precision of a trained expert.
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"Excellent, Captain!" Though the praise wasn’t necessary, Tens was starting to get excited as he saw the timer for the retro-thrusters slowly counting down. It had been months since his last time falling into hell and he missed the adrenaline rush. “Remember ladies, you need to keep breathing. If you stop breathing you will pass out. The mechs can and will land on their own if they need to but I need you to stay with me for the whole drop. Do you understand me?!?”
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“Sir, yes, sir!” All 20 voices shouted back through the comms in perfect synchronization.
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Tens could feel as his heart rate picked up in anticipation as his mind became perfectly clear. Only a few hundred meters below him he could clearly see the highlighted outlines of each of the mechanized walkers he was following towards the ground below. Judging by the angle of their approach, the direction of the planet's rotation, and current placement of the day-night terminator line, they would be hitting their drop zone just as the sun would begin to rise. Though that wasn’t necessarily the intention when planning out this training drop onto the Kyim'ayik’s new colony world, the Nishnabe warrior was looking forward to seeing the sunrise on a new planet. As he watched his countdown time slowly inch closer and closer to the fun part, he hoped that even if some of the women got sick, they would enjoy falling into hell and then being greeted by the morning sun.
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“Remember what I said, just keep breath-” Tens almost had his own breath knocked out of lungs as his retro-thrusters began to fire. With a glee none of the women were expecting to hear as they were all rocked by the same forces, the young Nishnabe warrior let out a call of unbridled excitement. “Eeee!”
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"What! The! Fuck!" One if the women shouted into the comms though, through the strain, it wasn't clear who.
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"You got this!" Tens was able to get out in a surprisingly clear tone. "We're only just over 30 m/s2. This isn't even an emergency drop!"
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"Come ladies!" Marz's voice, despite the pressure on her body, was just as strong and confident as it was at the very beginning. "You're deathworlders! You're Qui'ztar! You will endure!"
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"You'll build up a tolerance with more drops." Tens added, his ear to ear grin audible as he tried to keep the women going. "Sound off! I need to hear you're still with me!"
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"Drop… ugh! Drop mech 1! Still breathing!" The first women called out through labored breaths.
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"Drop Mech 2! This is great!" The next voice, in stark contrast to the first, sounded like she was having the time of her life.
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In sequence, each of the women called out their number and condition, some showing intense strain and others were clearing having a grand time. It didn't matter to Tens if some of them would need more training, or may not even be cut out for these kinds of missions in the future. The only thing the man cared about at this moment was making sure that they all landed safely. Though it only took a few seconds for each woman to signal they were still conscious and aware, and one a second or two between each one speaking, they were burning through the counter down timer just as quickly as they were beginning to burn through the upper atmosphere of the planet below them. Just before Tens's view of the deep blue oceans beneath him were obscured by the building ball of fire and the blue shimmering from his active shielding, a quaint chain of islands caught his eye. When Captain Marzima finally confirmed that she too was still conscious and able to maintain her professional demeanor, the countdown showed less than six minutes until they touched down.
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Like angels of fury falling from the heavens, the 21 mechanized combat walker suits tore their way through the building layers of atmosphere, reentry plasma building with each passing moment. The preprogrammed descent path, having been calculated long in advance, coupled with the lack of incoming fire from the ground to ensured the group of first time jumpers and their experienced instructor had no need for evasive actions. In front of them was a clean and clear route, save for a few sparse clouds, which would see them land directly at the chosen site for the new Kyim'ayik colony. Even though something in the back of the man's mind was telling him not to trust the Arnehilians on the planet below, the idea that even the gray demons who had stolen his ancestors from their home weren't all evil warmed his soul. As the formation of mechs came closer and closer to their target, continuing their dramatic descent as if they were an unstoppable force sent by the Gods, the coastal clearing they were heading towards was highlighted by their HUDs.
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"By the Matria- oof!" One of the women called out with a mixture of giggling and exhaustion. "It doesn't let up!"
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"Just a couple more minutes!" Tens couldn't help the fact his volume was raised. None of them could. All he could do was shout words of encouragement to spur on the few who were still having trouble acclimating to the strain. "I know you're strong! I know you’re capable! Just keep breathing and you'll be the first Qui’ztar to see a sunrise over the shores of new colony world!"
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"Yac'tloma! Chuiom! Are you still with me?!?" Marz's slightly more intense yell caused Tens to trigger the cockpit-view of both of the pilots who got called out.
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"Yes, Captain!" Yac responded almost instantly and with a surprising amount of strength. "I think… mmm… I'm finally getting used to it."
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"Chuiom!" Marzima shouted again just as a hologram of the Qui’ztar in question popped up on Tens's HUD.
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"I'll wake her up." Tens chuckled as he sent a signal to Chu's mech to give her some mild stimulation.
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"Fucker!" The woman was instantly awake and Tens could see through the holographic display that she wasn't happy. "Did someone just shock me?"
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"No napping till after the debrief!" Tens retorted. "Your vitals are fine and we only got a minute or so left. Keep breathing and stay with me!"
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Various readouts across Tens’s HUD were running through numbers faster than the holographic display could refresh. From altitude to effective airspeed, the Nishnabe warrior could see that everything was going perfectly and, despite some of his trainees showing signs of serious exhaustion, he was about as happy as he could be at that moment. Though one of the women did stop breathing for just a moment too long, and needed a bit of prodding to wake back up, the health data the man was cycling through indicated everyone seemed fine, no bones had been broken, and the strain hadn’t caused any unforeseen injuries. Regardless of how strong and capable he knew all of these women to be, and the fact that inertial dampers were reducing the felt forces to about a third of what they should be, each of these Qui’ztar deserved to relax after this. With only a few thousand meters per second of relative velocity left to burn off, and the retro-thrusters maintaining a cool 80 meters per second squared of deceleration, they would all get their moment of peace very soon.
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“Is that the Arnehilian settlement?” Hutloxa’s voice cut in through the comms. “It looks really small.”
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“Yeup, looks like.” Tens answered while bringing the relevant data up on his HUD. “Just a couple bigger buildings that look like greenhouses, some smaller ones that look like civilian structures, and really simple solar heating and wind energy systems.”
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“My systems are telling me there aren’t any defensive systems.” Another of the warrior women added with hints of both confusion and doubt in her voice. “I’ve never seen Grays without some kind of weapons.”
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“Remember the brief!” Marz shouted into the brief. “These aren’t Grays, they’re Greens. They’re entirely peaceful and they only have a few personal defense weapons that would barely break our skin.”
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“I don’t -ugh-” It sounded like Chu was still struggling with the pressure she was under but was beginning to cope. “I don’t like this. Feels like a trap.”
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“Their Mayor said he’s tried to keep his people clear of us.” Despite having more reservation about this situation than he cared to admit, Tens almost hoped he would have the opportunity to meet one of these supposedly peaceful Arnehilians. “But we’ll find out if he actually did it. According to the Admiral, the guy is a total softy and doesn’t like telling people what to do.”
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“The ground is coming up fast!” One of the women nervously shouted as Tens noticed his relative velocity gauge showed the mach cones surrounding the mechs were about to dissipate and they would be on the ground in the next few seconds.
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“Congratulations, ladies!” Tens shouted in reply as he saw the first mech halt its descent less than a meter off the ground before its massive metal feet could impact the soil. One by one each of the mech stopped just before impact and gently set themselves on to the surface of the planet. “That was your first trip into hell and I hope you enjoyed it!”
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There was a chorus of cheers, sighs of relief, and what even sounded like a few tears as 19 of the 20 warrior women began to celebrate their accomplishment. As each of the mechanized walkers shed their re-entry assistance systems, the durable and combat tested thrusters impacted the ground in a series of dull thuds, and complete physical control over the suits was given over the pilots. While a many of the over five meter tall goliaths of metal and poly ceramics jumped up and down, throwing their fist in to air in excitement, some of the others had taken up more leaned forward positions to represent the posture their pilots would be in if they were out of their suits and catching their breath. As the orange and purple sunrise crested the horizon, the Nishnabe warrior couldn’t help but take a moment to simply enjoy the scene around him. Though Tens knew the celebration could and would likely keep going until the recovery shuttle landed to pick them up, he couldn’t help but notice that one of the mech seemed to be staring at the treeline of the clearing.
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Quickly interfacing with the sensor system networked into his own, it soon became quite obvious what Captain Marzima was staring at. Just a few dozen meters away, just at the edge of the treeline surrounding the clearing, were four beings which were quickly highlighted on Tens’s HUD and registered as Arnehilian biosignatures. With a quick zoom and directed scan, it became immediately obvious that a small group of children had stuck away from settlement to watch the mechs land. Though they looked quite clean, well fed, and properly cared for, Tens couldn’t shake the feeling that these small, dull-gray beings were somehow different from the silver-skinned bastards whom he hated. It may have been the more healthy, full-figured appearance of their more human-like frames, the simple olive-drab clothing they wore, or possibly even just the more natural appearance of their skin, but they didn’t seem evil at all. Despite the somewhat suspicious nature of beings trying to keep themselves hidden, a smile formed on the Nishnabe warrior’s face as he walked his mech over towards them.
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“Hey kids! I can see you!” Tens shouted through his suit’s external speaker system which prompted the children to try to duck behind cover. “The sensors already have you tagged as innocent. You don’t have to hide.”
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“Report.” Admiral Atxika’s commanding voice cut into the comms link even though she already knew exactly what was going on.
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“Ah, just some kids.” Tens quickly replied with an unbothered tone. “Probably got told to stay away and then did what kids do.”
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"I'll contact Mayor Harideth and have him come collect these wayward youth." Atxika replied a bit softer. "Make sure they're safe and uninjured. This planet does have its share of predators."
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"You got it." There was real excitement from the warrior as he closed the distance to where the children were still cowering behind cover. "Hey kids, are you alright over there?"
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The only reply Tens received as he stopped just a few of his mechs long paces away from the treeline was silence. Despite their attire blending surprisingly well with the lush green forest that surrounded them, the children's attempt to hide behind a large bush was weak at worst and endearing at best. Seeing as they were obviously still afraid of the giant metal machine that was standing just a few meters away, Tens took the initiative, lowered his mech down to a kneeling position, and triggered the cockpit opening procedure.
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"Don't be scared." Tens shouted with a caring voice from his now open cockpit. "I've got some snacks for you if you come out."
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"But… you're an angel…" One of the children was slowly lifting their head above the bush as they spoke.
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"And angels only fall on tyrants and oppressors!" Another child added with an absolutely adorable, squeaky voice while joining the first with their head poking above the bush.
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Tens shifted his eyes between the two, unsure of how to respond, but very glad that both children seemed perfectly fine beyond their fear and apprehension. As the other two slowly rose, the Nishnabe warrior opened a small compartment in his cockpit and moved to pull out the promised snacks.
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"We… we aren't oppressors…" The child who spoke first was clearly still very concerned about why these angels had fallen so close to her settlement. "Are we?…"
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"No, no, no!" Tens quickly answered in the sweetest voice he could muster. "You are innocent children, little ones! You have done nothing wrong. Now, you can eat candied fruit, right?"
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"Yes!" The two youngest children shouted in perfect, ecstatic unison.
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"But…" The first child, though she was now eying the small packets of treats that Tens had in his hand, obviously still had her reservations. "If we aren't oppressors… Why did you fall so close to our village? Are there oppressors nearby?"
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"Ooohhh!" The realization of what was scaring the young girl hit the man like a falling brick. "No, no, no, don't worry, sweetheart. We're just training. Angels have to practice falling so we can do our jobs perfectly when we are called to."
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"Huh…" The gray, scaly skinned little girl only looked concerned for a second longer before a huge smile formed across her face and her large blue eyes began to sparkle. "I guess that makes sense. And you all were so beautiful as you fell! Like a wing of fire falling to the ground with the fury of the loving Old Gods!"
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"The Old Gods?" Tens half asked while motioning for the children to approach and collect their snacks. "But, more importantly, what are your names, little ones?"
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"I'm Valerovum." The first child, who was obviously the leader of this group, announced as she guided the rest from behind the bush and towards Tens and his mech. "And this is Teliuva, Carmoni, and Jokiat."
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"It is a pleasure to meet you all." The man bowed slightly before handing the snack packets to Val who then distributed them to her posse. "Do your parents know you're out here? I'm sure they're worried about you."
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"Umm…." Val and her gang's eyes grew wide as they realized they might get in trouble for wandering so far away from the safety of their village. However, as if on cue, a new voice called out from the forest behind them.
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"Valerovum! Teliuva! Carm-" It sounded like a man was desperately crying out for the young children.
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"Over here!" Tens shouted back as loud as he could. "They're safe!"
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In the few moments it took for rustling of branches and leaves to close the distance to where Tens and the children were waiting, the kids had already opened their snacks and begun savoring the sweet treats as if it were the very first time they had ever eaten something so sweet. When the olive-drap clad Arnehilian Mayor burst through the bramble, he quickly came to a frozen stop as he saw the four children eating their snacks in front of the Nishnabe warrior and his mechanized walker.
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"Mayor Harideth!" Jokiat, the smallest of the four children, ran over the older being, wrapped one of his legs in a tight hug, and then offered the packet of candied fruit up towards him. "This angel has the best snacks I've ever had!"
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"They aren't-" The Mayor began before quickly cutting himself off. "Oh, is that right, Jokiat?"
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"Yes, yes! You have to try one!" The small child raised the packet of snacks even further towards the Mayor’s dull-gray face.
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"They're just candied fruits." Tens clarified after seeing the hints of apprehension on Harideth's face. "They're high in vitamins and sugar content."
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“Tha- Thank you!” Harideth took one of the slices of dried, semi-hardened fruit from the package then gave Tens a polite bow before patting Jok on the head lovingly. As he took a delicate bit of the sweet treat, his eyes suddenly grew just as wide as the children’s and he looked like he was eating the most delicious thing he had ever tried.
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“Good, right?” The Nishnabe warrior was doing his best to be friendly towards these members of a species that, in any other circumstance, he would have already killed. “I always keep a few packets in my mech just in case I get hungry on a mission.”
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“This is wonderful!” The mayor confirmed before bowing again and then redirecting his attention towards the group of children. “Now children, we were worried sick about you! There are predators in this forest. Think about how your mothers would cry if something bad were to happen to you. Let’s get you back to the village before one of those predators finds us.”
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“I can escort y’all, if yah want.” Tens chimed in with a genuinely pleasant tone and smile on his face. “I wouldn’t want anything happening to these adorable little ones. If there are predators in this forest, they wouldn’t dare try to attack y’all if me and Loud Bark are with you.”
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“Oh, that-” Harideth was about to respectfully decline when Jok interrupted him.
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“The angels protect the innocent!” The small child’s shout was quickly followed up by the rest of the children repeating the phrase in near perfect unison. “The angels protect the innocent!”
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“That…” The Mayor looked down into Jok’s eyes and saw a sense of hope and serenity that touched his soul before he turned back towards Tens. “That would be quite kind and generous of you. I would truly appreciate it.”
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“Tsss! Don’t worry about it!” Tens was all smiles at the prospect of being able to witness a truly peaceful Arnehilian settlement. “It’s gonna be another 30 to 40 minutes before the recovery shuttle gets here, another 20 to 30 minutes to load up all my trainees, and then they can just come pick me up from your village. Besides, angels protect the innocent, right?”

This has been making me feel awful for a little too long now and I honestly have no clue what to do so I might as well try writing here (from a throwaway account of course) I’ve known her for about two years, but we’ve really been friends for only like 5 months (maybe a little more than that to be fair). So basically though, I think we’ve developed a pretty nice friendship during this time. Personally I have anxiety disorder so I always have a hard time believing people are actually being genuine with me and fully trusting them, but I always feel pretty comfortable around her, she also often simply checks in on me asking how I’m doing especially if she notices I’m stressed or not in a good mood and other “little” stuff like that, she’s almost always very kind to me and even though we haven’t really known each other well for too long she’s one of the few people I feel comfortable opening up to and talking to about more serious stuff (and viceversa) and she’s always willing to help me and like listen to me even for hours when I need to. Apart from that she’s attractive and I really like basically everything about her personality, she’s very smart and kind and mature for her age. Now the problem is lately I don’t know if I actually like her like her, but I do spend quite some time thinking about her, miss her when I don’t see her for a few days and I lose my sh*t if I see her even dancing with some guy to the point I start breaking things and being unable to get out of bed even for multiple consecutive days after it (my mental illness has something to do with this tbf), so uhm yeah I guess so. And at this point I honestly don’t know what to do. Like I said I value my friendship with her but I feel like it’s reached the point where sadly this is causing me more harm than good. I’m not sure how to stop caring about it and if that’s even possible anyway, but how should I approach her. Factor in that we’re not even gonna leave in the same place in a couple months so that should make it easier but in the meantime I would still prefer to get out of this situation like right now because it’s already a tough period for me due to unrelated things and I can’t really handle this whole situation on top of everything else. Obviously telling her the truth is not even an option since it would be pointless and get to the same conclusion anyway with the only difference that it would be 1000 times more stressful and embarrassing. Do I just start ignoring her and see what happens? At worst maybe start a fight on purpose over something random for no real reason?

In 1997, I was a 5-year-old starting my first day at Powell Elementary School in Florence, Alabama. As a child of immigrant parents, I didn’t know a lick of English and I was very angry to be in a completely different world. My poor teacher, Mrs. Debbie McFall, was so patient with me even though she couldn’t understand what I wanted. I was so sure I was saying the correct English word for water so I became increasingly frustrated before completely breaking down and crying. My teacher was so patient the whole time before realizing I wanted water thanks to another little boy in class. After that, my teacher made sure to make Kindergarten a wonderful place for me. I started learning English and making friends. But what I remembered the most is her taking me to her home after school (with my parents permission of course). Her house was like a paradise for children. She had toys galore and so many cats and dogs to play. I remember watching Blues Clues over and over again. She would later give me her copy, which I still have today. One day after school, we found a stray cat and I asked her if she could give it a home, so she picked up the kitty and took her with us.
I moved in 2000 and have never been able to contact her again. My school also does not exist anymore. I would love nothing more to see her again and thank her so much. I have never forgotten her how she made a scary-looking world a loving place for me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

DISCLAIMER
I almost didn’t post this. Not because I think it’s too wild or doesn’t make any sense. In fact, quite the opposite. The information I present here, which is the result of countless hours spent re-watching videos, listening to audio, and cross-referencing official information, is something that now seems to me to be far too viable not to be correct. I have actually tried to prove this theory wrong and… well basically I can’t. So, please bear this in mind as you read. This could end up being one of those rare occasions when we’re actually onto something. Either way, I hope you enjoy the post.
First point; this is going to be a long post. Given the subject matter, it needs to be. Second point; I have not added any images or videos directly into the post but have instead included a great many links embedded within the text itself. This should ensure that the post is no longer than it needs to be but should still allow you sufficient opportunity to fully scrutinize every part of my theory, so that you can determine for yourself whether or not you think it holds weight.
I have organised all of the information under specific headings designed to make everything more accessible. Each section focuses on a particular aspect of the main theory. Even if you think that some of what you are reading may not be relevant, I can assure you that everything written here has been included as an important part of a much larger puzzle, and so I would advise that you patiently make your way through the entirety of the post. In an effort to ensure that your time invested here is appropriately rewarded, and in the spirit of preserving the scientific method, I have tried to keep flavor text and blind speculation down to an absolute minimum.
Note that I will be listing various aspects of this post as being confirmed correct or incorrect as and when we have official information to verify such facts. So here we are, after five long years of waiting, the inevitable release of Starfield, like the event horizon of some nearby black hole, is almost upon us. With the Showcase now a mere 24 hours away, it is time for us to take a look at what makes this particular game so special, as well as discovering just how we will be given the means to fly among the stars.
And so, without further ado, let us begin.
Hitchhiker's Guide
From watching gameplay footage, and also listening to various devs talk about Starfield, we know that at some along the early part of the story, we will find ourselves on board a Constellation Starship, which is appropriately named Frontier. With us on the ship is VASCO, an adorable robot assistant who will eventually become one of our possible companions. But how did we even end up on this ship? Well firstly, I do not believe that Frontier is our ship, or at least not at first. And so, we’re probably here in the capacity of a ‘guest’ of some kind, or more likely, a hitchhiker.
If we take a look at this scene, we first hear a male shouting “that’s the Crimson Fleet!” and then a female saying “Everybody get ready!” After this, we can see that the group we are with is attacked. We already know that we uncover some kind of unknown artifact whilst mining for ore near the beginning of the Main Quest, and that the aforementioned Crimson Fleet is essentially an organised collective of space pirates. But what we don’t know is why they attacked us. This is not something I will be diving into in this particular post, although I do have some theories about this. But the relevance of the series of events here described cannot be understated, as they seem to be the launching point for our entry into Constellation and the adventures that follow.
Next, if we look a little further, we can see that this seemingly-important member of Constellation is not with us when we arrive at their Headquarters on Jemison, which suggests that he may have been killed during the above mentioned attack. Also note that, in-spite of not having a voiced protagonist this time round, we can clearly hear somebody talking over Frontier’s comms system, which means that there must be a designated pilot. Given the fact that we don’t see anyone who is confirmed as being the pilot (although it may actually be this person), it is safe to assume that this designated individual was with us during the flight but was first injured in the attack on the planet’s surface and was then taken to Medical Bay after we successfully land on Jemison.
It is my belief that, after perhaps being exposed to some kind of energy pulse from a grenade or something similar, the first member of Constellation we see was outright killed (hence why we are then asked to join up ourselves, perhaps to take over his role). The pilot, however, clearly survived as we can hear him talking to Control over the comms system during what is actually an extended two-way conversation, but I think that his vision was somehow compromised so that, even though he is able to speak, he is temporarily unable to see. The good news about this most unfortunate situation is that it opens the door for us to quickly step into the hot seat and, with the pilot acting as our guide, we will experience our very first Starfield flight tutorial.
Radio Chatter
If you listen to the beginning of both the Official Teaser Trailer and Official Gameplay Reveal for Starfield, you will hear both halves of the radio conversation I have referenced above, or at least the parts of it that Bethesda have given us so far. The first of these is spoken by somebody being referred to as Control, and the second by Frontier’s pilot. I previously posted a link to an audio I made and put up on Soundcloud, which gives us all of the confirmed parts of this conversation carefully spliced together and enhanced for clarity. Note that some of the audio, despite these enhancements, is a little hard to make out.
The final, in-game conversation is going to be a fair bit longer than what we have here and will be based on the specific processes that are required before attempting a Grav Jump. I don’t think we will hear this conversation every time we perform a Jump (especially given that our protagonist does not speak), but the first time we experience this early step-out moment, a detailed and appropriate pre-launch conversation will only serve to enhance what I’m sure will be an awe-inspiring experience.
Note that, at the end of this post, I have provided a link to a written transcript detailing what I think is being said in the full version of the above conversation. In the meantime, here is a breakdown of the confirmed parts of this audio. This is slightly different from the version I previously posted, due to new evidence clarifying exactly what is being said here. I have left line-spaces to help show where the missing parts of the audio will eventually go:
PILOT: "Control this is Constellation Starship Frontier."
CONTROL: "Constellation Starship Frontier, we have you on scanners."
PILOT: "We're ready to start on your signal."
CONTROL: "Performing Road Systems check. Helium-3 tanks, check. Seals are intact."
PILOT: "Maintaining Exit Vector course, Steady 'till Ready."
CONTROL: "We are still go."
PILOT: "Coordinates input, plotting Jump course."
CONTROL: "We read you Constellation."
PILOT: "Sky-Bus is converged, we're looking good."
CONTROL: "Jemison route looks good."
PILOT: "Allocating Auxiliary Reactor Power."
CONTROL: "Prepare for departure. Graviton Loop Array Spool, check."
PILOT: "System checks are green across the board."
CONTROL: "Your space Lane is clear."
PILOT: "Grav Jump commencing in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
Road-Trip
At first, this seems like a typical, albeit futuristic version of an Air Traffic Control conversation. After all, much of what is being said does sound very familiar, and the rest seems appropriate to Starfield’s apparent Hard Science Fiction theme. But it’s only when you start digging a little deeper that you realize that something else is going on here as well.
Note the following terms taken from the above transcript: Road, Exit, Course, Coordinates, Bus, Route, Departure and Lane. All these words share a very noticeable common theme. They are all in some way related to Road Networks. Note also the phrase “green across the board," which sounds like it could also be a reference to Traffic Lights.
Zooming Along
Next, let’s look at this map, which features the home of a certain Software Development Company you may have heard of. If you zoom out a fair bit, you will see two large Cities, namely Washington and Baltimore. Zoom out a little more, and you can now see the cities of Richmond to the South and Pittsburgh to the North-West. Zoom back in over any of these four major cities, and you will see that there are many more smaller locations within each of the city limits.
Now scroll the map over to any of the areas outside of these cities, and you will find a multitude of other important locations. These include residential areas, airports, medical facilities, sports and leisure facilities, research facilities, manufacturing facilities, tech companies, supermarkets), hotels, places of worship, and many others. All the above locations are important in one way of another to the continued functioning of our society, and all can be placed within two distinct categories. These are Population Centers and Infrastructure.
You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Now imagine that there has been some kind of catastrophic flood in this area, and all these locations, although somehow miraculously intact, are now separated from each other as a series of individual islands in the middle of a newly formed ‘ocean’. Suddenly, the existing Road Network, along with any cars, busses, and other road vehicles, would become useless. You would need to use a completely different system, one designed to properly accommodate these changes, which would of course have to incorporate such elements as harbors, shipping routes, and vehicles capable of travelling along a waterway.
Now let’s zoom out again, this time further. Much, much, further. Each location has now been transformed into either a planet or a moon, spread across various star systems covering a vast region of space. Each one of these planets and moons will have its own individual features, resources, possible inhabitants, and infrastructure requirements. With such a quantum leap in terms of scale, if we now wanted to travel between these locations, which could in many cases end up being several light years apart, we are going to need something far bigger in terms of scale, complexity, and technology.
Shown In 60 Seconds
During the first ever 60 seconds of Starfield footage we all saw, shown in the form of the Official Announcement Teaser at the end of BE3 on June 11th 2018 (which redditor InToddWeTrust2023 has very nicely referenced here), we were given some surprisingly important clues which now form the cornerstone of this theory. Not only have these clues stacked up with every consecutive trailer released, as well as many of the other official videos and various other snippets of information, but their sheer level of consistency places them well outside the realm of possible coincidence.
Some of these additional clues were given to us in the two videos referenced above which contain the comms audio. The second of these two videos, namely the Official Gameplay Reveal, dropped, as would be expected, at the end of last year’s Showcase on June 12th 2022. Some of the most crucial information we have been given to date regarding my theory is actually contained in the 70 seconds shown before Todd even begins to speak. We will discuss the relevance of all of this a little further on in the post.
Lo-go/no go
First, some Space related terminology. In Mission Control speak, a Launch Status Check, also known as a go/no go poll, is part of a very carefully designed system implemented by US Space Agencies to ensure maximum safety and the best possible survival chance of both the ship and its crew prior to launch. This, or something similar, will undoubtedly form an integral part of the pre-launch, or rather, pre-Jump procedures incorporated into Starfield, especially given what we know in relation to its specific influences, attention to detail, and focus on realism.
But let's look for a moment at a different type of launch. Let's look at the process of carefully managing the flow of information when you are launching a long-awaited, multi-million-dollar triple-A video game and you happen to be a major player. With the combined might of Bethesda, Zenimax, and now Microsoft, there is clearly a great deal of scope in terms of how they were able to execute all of the steps involved in this process. One critically important factor, and one that has been masterfully implemented in the promotion of Starfield, is the use of familiar iconography.
If we look at the iconography seen during the promotion of Starfield, we can see that there are two main elements. These are the circular Starfield logo, first unveiled in 2018, and of course the recently updated Bethesda Games Studios logo, which has existed in various iterations since around 2006. Both of these share a common, simplistic yet effective design, and the BGS logo in particular is now light years ahead of its original design as seen on box art and in promotional materials for The Elder Scrolls VI Oblivion. At the time of Oblivion’s release, the long-term use of this particular logo, which incorporates the now familiar Fallout Vault Door, was a little uncertain due to restrictions with the associated licence (more on this below). But once this matter had been resolved, it would make a lot of sense that they would then develop this logo into the much sharper, more modern version we see today.
Licenced to Fly
Way back in April of 2007, Bethesda realized one of their biggest long-term business goals by finally securing the full rights to the highly acclaimed Fallout series. Prior to this, in 2004, they had been granted limited rights which would allow them to develop Fallout 3 and then two additional games, but they clearly wanted full and unrestricted access to the franchise and all of its assets. Since this time, in addition to Fallout 3, we have seen the release of Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, as well as a number of smaller projects, including Fallout Shelter. This is all the proof you need to confirm the fact that, in-spite of some initial setbacks, Bethesda’s insistence on going the extra mile with regards to securing the full franchise, was most definitely worth it, and was seen by many as a landmark achievement.
Looking at the most recent entry to this ever-expanding series, namely Fallout 76, I would like to draw your attention to two of this particular game’s trailers. First, we have the Fallout 76 Official Trailer from 2018, and then The Pitt Story Trailer from 2022. In the first of these two trailers, at around the 35 second mark, we see the new BGS logo once again, and then near the end of the video we see a smaller version, neatly tucked away over on the left-hand side of the usual copyright notice. If we then look at the second trailer, at around… Hold on a second, let me rewind that a bit… wait, what?
This is where things start to get really interesting.
One Small Step
Okay, going back to the Fallout 76 trailers, although the smaller version of the BGS logo can be seen at or near the end of each of these, only the first incorporates the larger, ‘splash-screen’ version. “But why is this even important?” you may ask. “They may have simply forgotten to include this detail in the second trailer.” I can assure you that this is most certainly not the case. In fact, I am one-hundred-percent confident that this was quite intentional. I would even go as far as saying that this one, seemingly insignificant detail, actually brings us a step closer to unlocking the secrets of Starfield. Essentially, Bethesda have taken full advantage of how we all think we remember certain details, and as such, this is an example of truly expert-level hidden marketing on their part. I also believe it will form the basis of at least one of the big reveals during the showcase.
One Giant Leap
Let’s go back one more time to the Announcement Teaser and the Gameplay Reveal for Starfield. Look at how drastically different the BGS logo is in both of these videos compared to any of those used in promoting Fallout 76. What will really blow your mind here is the fact that all four of the trailers mentioned above were first shown to us during the same two Showcases we have just been discussing! In other words, the first of these videos for both Fallout 76 and Starfield were both unveiled at the 2018 Showcase, and the second of each at the 2022 Showcase. And yet each respective pair make use of drastically different versions of what we all thought was the exact same logo. This means that Starfield has been designed, from the ground up, to be viewed and experienced in a totally different way than, and completely separate from, any of Bethesda’s previous titles.
To clarify this point, after extensive research, I can confirm that this new, animated BGS logo, with the vault door rolling off to the left and then ‘opening up’ just before the text appears, has never been featured anywhere in an official capacity that is not directly related to Starfield. It is completely unique to this specific IP. This fact ties together everything we have looked at in the post so far. It also lets us see things from a completely different ‘orbital’ perspective. For example, I believe that this information gives us the real reason why Bethesda worked so hard to secure the full rights to the Fallout franchise in the way that they did. Not only did they wish to create awesome games set within the Fallout universe, but they also needed total freedom to make use of a specific part of this franchise that so that they could then incorporate it into their next, very very big, space related IP.
For Mankind
Okay. This is the part you’ve all been waiting so patiently for. This is the big reveal. For months now, perhaps even years, we have all been drip-fed the idea that Starfield is essentially “Skyrim in Space.” The reason I think that we have been told this is to misdirect us away from an intrinsic, interwoven connection between Starfield and Bethesda’s other major franchise, which is of course Fallout. But just to put your mind at rest, I do not for a nanosecond believe that the reveal will be, “We fooled you all, it’s actually Fallout in space!” no matter how cool that might at first sound.
What I do believe is that Starfield will be so different and so unique when viewed alongside anything else that Bethesda have published, that it will quite literally take your breath away. This game, the spark of which was first ignited 25 years ago, is Todd Howard’s true passion project. Everything else was simply the path he took to finally get here. This is the story he has always wanted to tell, the story of Mankind’s true legacy. And it all starts, just as it did when Interplay released the original Fallout) game back in 1997, with a familiar, but staggeringly different Vault Door.
The Vault
There is a very special and completely unique hidden Vault in Starfield. Not only is this particular Vault unlike anything you have previously seen anywhere within the Fallout universe, but it is also unlike anything you have seen in any game. Period.
This hidden Vault is actually the key to both interstellar and interplanetary travel. And it also happens to be the single biggest construction project in human history, extending across a span of almost one-hundred light years. And it is not even close to being completed, even after more than two-hundred years of construction.
This Vault is, by its very nature, completely invisible and shielded away from view. It is quite literally hidden in plain sight, and it can only be accessed through one of its specially crafted Vault Doors. But what does all of this mean for gameplay, and how does something like this even work? I’m glad you asked! Let’s strap in and prepare for launch, because we’re all in for an incredible ride.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen... to The Starfield
Entering The Starfield
The following is my own interpretation, based on scientific reasoning and a huge amount of detailed analysis, of exactly how I think this system works. It is, as ever, backed up with several links throughout, as well as additional evidence for which I shall provide a separate link at end of the post. I am expecting perhaps some differences in terms of specific details once we get hold of the final release of Starfield, but I am confident that I am at the very least well within the ballpark with all of this. Okay, here goes.
The Science Behind the Magic
Starfield is the name given to a vast network of interconnecting tunnels, spanning the entirety of the Settled Systems, providing us with a very fast and highly practical means of travelling between different planets, and even different star systems. These tunnels exist within a localized, folded state, known as Tunnel-Space. The construction of the Starfield is made possible thanks to a technological breakthrough which allows gravitational waves (or Gravitons) to be woven together to form something known as a Gravity-Tunnel, which is then stretched out and connected between any two existing stellar objects, such as two planets in a given system, of even two stars from different systems.
In order to maintain the integrity of each tunnel, it is wrapped in a special type of Exotic Matter known as Superfluid Helium. This has a number of highly unusual properties, including negative energy density and negative energy pressure. This essentially makes it the physical-space equivalent of time going in reverse, meaning that it is capable of counteracting the effects of any conventional physical force, including the gravitational pull of a black hole. As such, it will hold the structure of the Gravity-Tunnel together for an indefinite period of time over a potentially infinite distance through space.
Within the Starfield are a large number of Nodes and Junction Points. Nodes are used to connect together all of the planets in any one Star System, and Junction Points then connect different Star Systems together, making use of much larger Gravity-Tunnels that are the equivalent of Interstate Highways. Note that all flight between any given planet and any or all of its moons is handled locally, outside of the Starfield.
Because all of the stars, planets, and moons in the Settled Systems are in a constant state of flux, by which I mean their relative distance and positions) are constantly changing in respect to each other, the tunnels within the Starfield have been designed to be able to expand and contract almost infinitely so that they can accommodate any changes in these two factors depending on when, where, and how you travel.
Although the main tunnels are designed to transport people, resources, waste, and other items directly relating to either Population Centers or Infrastructure, I believe there is also a sub-system) that will allow much smaller objects, such as probes, to carry data-packets that can be upload at one location and then downloaded at another, effectively solving the problem of inoperable delays in communication between remote locations.
Inside of each Gravity-Tunnel is a bi-directional singularity, which can be switched between two opposite polarities whenever required with the help of the surrounding Exotic Matter, allowing for two-way traffic inside what is essentially a one-way system. This means that, as long as you are able to ensure the correct polarity of all connecting Nodes and Junction Points along your route (as in “Sky-Bus is converged” and “Jemison route looks good”), you will be able to travel, in theory at least, from any point A to any point B, as long as all of the required interconnections exist within the system.
When travelling through the Starfield, you will set a specific route, known as a Sky-Bus, which is a specified pathway that runs from your staring location to your destination. You will then, with the help of Starfield Control, access the tunnels using a Gating System which I will explain below. Incidentally, I believe that the accepted in-universe name for the actual transit network that we are making use of within the Starfield is the Sky-Bus Tunnel System.
Each tunnel in this system actually has two separate ‘Lanes’, one on the left for outbound traffic, and one on the right for incoming traffic. As I have explained above, each of these tunnels can only accommodate a single direction of traffic flow at any given time. And so, a safety measure had to be incorporated to prevent any accidental attempts to travel the wrong way down a tunnel and destroying yourself and your ship.
At each end of any given Node or Junction Point is a Gate. These are the ‘Vault Doors’ I have been referring to. The Gate comprises of a gigantic metal outer-ring connecting to an inner Vault Door. This Vault Door will either be at the center (closed position), or the left (open position) of the outer ring. The open/left position will allow outbound traffic to leave the orbit of the current planet they are in proximity to. To allow inbound traffic, the entire outer ring, with the Vault Door locked in place, will rotate clockwise through 180 degrees to the open/right position to allow access to the inbound Lane. When the outbound Lane is then once again required, the structure then continues to rotate in a clockwise motion until it reaches the open/left position once again. When required, the Vault Door will return to the neutral position at the center of the ring, and the tunnel will be locked.
Regarding Grav Jumps: Whenever you wish to perform a Grav-Jump, you must first request permission from Starfield Control, who will guide you through the process. Once the route is set and your Exit Gate is locked in place, by activating your ship’s Grav-Drive, along with it’s incorporated spooling system, you will first lock on to the front of the tunnel entrance.
Next, using a system similar to an Aircraft Catapult, you will be pulled into the tunnel at great speed, where the Graviton Loop Array will hold your ship in-place inside the tunnel, and will also ensure you don’t accidentally go down the wrong path. At the other end, the spooling system described above then acts as an Arresting Cable, slowing you down over a very short distance.
If all of the above is actually correct, especially the last part, then I think I will be having this on repeat in the background before Grav-Jumps!
Finally, here is the link to my additional supporting evidence and other materials, including some stuff I haven’t had a chance to really go into yet. Feel free to throw any questions at me, and I’ll do my best to answer them. In the meantime, Showcase will commence in 24 Hours…

I’ve read/listened to a ton of Christie and have run out of available ones to borrow from my local library’s audiobook borrowing system!
In the past I read and really enjoyed Anthony Horowitz’s contemporary series. I most recently read The Maid and was… not into it. Looking for smart/sharp writing (see Christie), nothing very violent or scary—more mystery than thriller—and that wonderful feeling that you could figure it out if you just pieced together the clues. Basically a mystery that is fun but not dumbed down. Would love specific book recs instead of just authors, and open to modern or classics. Thank you!!

I have a crush on an online friend. He has no clue about it and sees me only as a good friend. He has lots of other friends who live in his city and they meet him often. I've seen him commenting on their posts sometimes, tagging them in stories of their meetups. Idk why but it makes me feel insecure and there arises a feeling that i may not be as close as they are even as a friend. Altho i never post, i posted something yesterday(it was a candid picture, one side of my face was not visible). He just liked it, didn't comment. This makes me think if he thinks i don't look good enough or something and comparing myself to his female friends. He doesn't usually like my stories too whenever i post some selfie, may have liked them only once or twice. I don't get what it means. I'll not lie most of this is due to my own lack of confidence or low self esteem, that inability to love myself and stop comparing. I just don't want to think such things.

Hi guys
I recently bought a second-hand switch. It is RCM exploitable and I think I followed all the steps properly. I use Atmosphere v1.5.2 and have stock 16.0.2 in my sysMMC.
Now to the problem. If I start Atmosphere through Hekate (v6.0.4 and v6.0.5) I get the Atmosphere logo with some green lines and then end in a fusée error message "A fatal error occurred when running Fusée. Abort called, lr=0x4001060d"
Trying to boot it into CFW with the fusee.bin (correct version from Github) directly launched I shortly see the Atmosphere logo and then a black screen. Nothing more happens except I can send the fusee.bin payload again. Resending the fusee.bin payload throughs than a Kernel Panic (0xf00) with the Program ID: 524850534f53454d.
Sometimes I got lucky and it booted into Atmosphere. No clue what I changed when I did that. I used the same payloads, same notebook and same cable.
Using emuMMC or sysMMC doesn't change anything in the behavior.
The SD Card is a newly bought one (today) and is from a trusted vendor. It is a official one and f3 on my Linux doesn't report any errors.
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Booting the stock firmware works flawlessly and it is "usable" = I don't have any games bought yet.
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Any help or hints on where to look further would be appreciated.
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This slot is a giant money pit. Like everyone be bitching that Sweet Bonanza is bad, no. Go play Zeus vs Hades.
I've spent $80 (bear with me) on 0.30¢/spin (so like ~267 spins) on 2 different days and I can count one hand, yes one hand how many of those spins I broke even on and/or saw a slight return.
"BuT iTs (ha tits) AlL aLgOrThM"
The algorithm is shit and what's worse are the payouts. 5x Q/K/A pays out your bet. Yes that's right. For a 15 line slot 5x Q/K/A pays you back your bet. I think the cups (chalice) pays you 3x your bet.
Oh, and don't be misled by typical Pragmatic bullshit. Playing Hades mode may be "higher volatility" but it has a higher theoretical RTP. Go figure.
I have no clue if the bonus is the saving factor for this game or not. Frankly, I'd rather take the money and go physically burn it over buying the bonus for this shitty slot.

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https://preview.redd.it/10nibey6185b1.jpg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e120db9aa8d865bb52e9bd3932a3593ac0776e7d
THE NEWSPAPER
When Maura wakes up aboard the Kerberos in cabin 1011, the first thing she does is reading the front page of a newspaper that was lying on the floor. The main news deals with the disappearance of the Prometheus since four months ago. There is also an article about the Bermuda triangle and another that seems to be about hypnosis…
Whoever sees the series for the first time might think that those are clues pointing to where the story may be heading, but later it seems that they are simply a red herring. We might then think that the newspaper is not important at all, but there is one detail…
After reading the news about the Prometheus, Maura leaves the newspaper on top of a book... Have you noticed anything strange?
https://preview.redd.it/5k3ocn7b185b1.jpg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=17a992b5958b02d0f279072188160637b15068a3
Baran and Jantje not only show us the newspaper on that occasion, but we can see it up to three more times. Three more occasions in which that same strange detail from before is repeated: The masthead is not shown to us. Twice because it is folded to fit in the envelope but there is one time Maura holds the newspaper in her hands similar to the first time but the upper part falls bent at the crease and we can not see it… Is this intentional?
By hiding the masthead, the creators would be precisely pointing out the importance of what is hidden. Luckily, we can go back to that scene with which we began our journey aboard the Kerberos.
https://preview.redd.it/8i4cmldc185b1.jpg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ddc55d9ca52566253784b590a7a495e77f9b4c7
https://preview.redd.it/q90agqdd185b1.jpg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51a704120b051b568634764ca040d181f1b3ef2c
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THE MASTHEAD
That first time the newspaper is shown to us, in addition to being the only one allowing us to see the masthead, has another peculiarity... In that close-up shot, Baran performs a mild "selective focus", with which he keeps the right half of the frame in focus, subtly indicating to the viewer the part of the image where the interest lies.
If we look closely, in addition to the news headlines, we can read something else in the masthead... Right in the right corner, two words* are visible within a small box: "Companion" and "Passe Partout".
https://preview.redd.it/d3ggmd8f185b1.jpg?width=1360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=582863ce206458d86e3e39a1bf616b192f4e6237
Seeing these two words together, the first thing coming to mind is an important character from Jules Verne’s work, “Around the world in eighty days”: Phileas Fogg’s traveling companion, his butler Jean Passepartout. But in this story, beyond the trip theme, we will hardly find anything significant in relation to 1899.
So why are those two words in the newspaper? What sense can they have appearing there together? In order to answer these questions, we first have to discover their meanings…
Companion:
This word has several meanings… The first of these would be “a person with whom one spends a lot of time or with whom one travels”. This word also designates “a type of book that gives you information on a particular subject or tells you how to do something”, as a synonym of "handbook" or "guide". Lastly, it has a very important meaning… “each of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other”.
And we also have the nominal locution “companion journal” that designates a newer academic journal that is affiliated with an older and better established journal in the same field.
Passe Partout:
This word can be used as a synonym for “safe-conduct”, a document that guarantees someone immunity during a conflict, allowing them to transit or remain in a territory without risk.
It is also used to designate "an element for framing images consisting of a box-shaped outline, usually made of cardboard, surrounding the work before the outer frame. Its main tasks are to give prominence to the work and protect it from contact with the glass. Sometimes, it frames several works together".
But the most important meaning is the following: it is a synonym for "Master key" or "Passkey".
What can Jantje be telling us with those two words? Looks like that newspaper is some king of guide... It's showing us a way to do something... We need a key...
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TICK-TOCK... TICK-TOCK... TICK-TOCK...
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* Below these two words there is a third one: “Free”. While the first two are striking because of their peculiar meanings, "free" does not seem out of place, since it's probably indicating the free-of-charge of the newspaper.
EXCERPT FROM SOURCE: darkest1899.com

So first before someone jumps to conclusion from the title, I do love Harry Potter world. The movies, the books, the game. I'm 29 and still listen to them when heading to bed as they have a calming and relaxing effect on me. So no hate on the books at all but this is just a theory I have been pondering on for a couple of days and just need to write it down.
Harry Potter was more of a fuck up than an actual hero. No? Well, maybe we need some more proof of this before you might belive it. Again this is just a theory and I would love for people to either crush it or add to it.
The philosophers stone:
Let's say that Harry Potter did not survive, not that he didn't exist but just that when Voldemort went to the Potters and killed them, the magic Lilly put upon Harry was strong enough to disrupt the spell and destroyed Voldemort but not strong enough to save Harry from the spell so he died. Everything happening in the book would still happen except for Ron would not meet Harry and instead find that one empty train compartment. The interactions would probably be the same but a bit less dull as Harry had no effect on how came to that compartment at all. During school Ron would probably be in the friend circle of his brothers and Hermione would probably be more alone but be that "colleague" type that is nice to talk to and help you with homework if needed. But everything else regarding the philosophers stone would play out the same as the trio weren't involved in it, just investigating it. Quirell and Voldemort would still have come to the mirror of Erised but wouldn't been able to get the stone either way as the only way to get it was to not wanna use it, which was exactly what they wanted to do. They wouldnt be able to stay there forever or unnoticed either as Dumbledore realized he had to go and check on it when Voldemort tried to figure out how to get it. Harrys fuck-up here is actually risking the stone getting into Voldemorts hands because it appeared for him while Voldy was there.
Chamber of secrets:
Lucius would still have put the book in Ginny's cauldron as Draco would probably find something else to bash the Weasly's about instead of Harrys fame when they were in the same book store. Lets jump here to the point where Ginny throws Riddles diary away after realizing something isn't right with it as everything happening here is also behind Harrys back until he finds the book. The book would probably never have been found again... Why? Because no one enters that bathroom, they even had a cauldron of polyjuice potion cooking for a month and not a single student or teacher noticed it. No one. Riddle wouldn't be able to do anything as he had no one to possess. What did Harry fuck up here? He found it and started using it and once Ginny found out she had to take it back scared her secrets and action would be spilled and Riddle could keep possessing her.
Prisoner of Azkaban:
This is my favourite because even if not cleared from the murder Sirius Black would still be alive. 1. Harry is dead, Hogwarts not a high risk place as they had no clue why Black would go there after escaping so no dementors. 2. Pettigrew still in Ron's possession as he joined the Weasly's before Harry ever met them to know if Voldy was gaining power again through Mr Weasly. 3. The map would never have been found by Lupin as it would still be in the possession of the twins and wouldn't notice if someone disappeared from it. 4. Blacks wits would without doubt still have made him get his hands on Pettigrew the dude wasn't stupid even if he failed some attempts. In the end Pettigrew would be killed because no one would've been there to either stop him nor stall him from doing the deed once he had the rat. Sirius on the run but alive.
Goblet of fire:
Triwizard thingy would play out as it should've, Hufflepuff winning. The real mad-eye would've been a teacher, the school year would be one of the best for the students. Voldy wouldn't have a body, because the only one going to Voldy was the coward Pettigrew that hadnt established a normal life for himself. Who only went back to Voldy in fear of death from Sirius. He couldnt turn to the Death Eaters as they was also against him as Voldy was destroyed from the information Pettigrew gave. Sirius is stating this, and Voldy is stating that Pettigrew only came back because of fear not loyalty. So Voldy wouldnt even have a body again since Pettigrew helped him obtain one which will be difficult when he is dead. But here we can split it in two categories, the Quirell got away and Quirell was defeated. These two depends on if you want to belive Dumbledore got back to the mirror of Erised in time in the first book to stop Quirell or if he got away. I'm gonna focus on Dumbledore catching him as this it my theory and he would have spent just as much time trying to get the stone if not more as Harry wasnt present. As Dumbledore was there in time to save Harry I think he would be in time to defeat Quirell. So NO body for little Voldy. But Dumbledore would see Voldy as a bigger threat here again and possibly start taking measures against him even if he wasnt able to use magic. "But dumbass, Voldy could just possess someone else to give him a body again." No! The reason he could possess Quirell was because Quirell allowed it as not just a devoted follower but obsessed with his master so he allowed himself to get possessed after too many failures on Voldy's orders (like failing getting the stone from Gringotts). Ghost Voldy could only possess lesser animals like rats and snakes. Looking at other followers of Voldy there is only two I could see would let him be possessed again and that is Bellatrix or Crouch Jr. But one being in Azkaban and the other secretly under the care and imperious of Crouch Sr that wouldnt be much of a possibility. It was Pettigrew helping Voldy get in contact with Crouch Jr after leading Bertha to him and from Pettigrews nurturing being able to perform enough magic to rip the blocked memory out from her about Crouch Jr. SO AGAIN no body....
Order of the phoenix:
No Umbridge since there is no bad blood between Fudge and Dumbledore since there is no Voldy coming back. No reason for Dumbledores Army to be created. Normal school year. Sirius grieving but free and alive and no reason to rush into mystery department to die in saving a fuck-up. No mass outbreak from Azkaban. Yeah... Thats it...
Halfblood prince:
No cursed Dumbledore as he wouldn't have found out about the horocrux as harry wouldnt have destroyed the book in chamber of secrets. No reason to go to the lake and get poisoned finding a fake locket. No reason for Draco to try an kill Dumbledore. No reason for Snape to flee. Normal school year. Not sure if Slughorn would've been chosen to teach or Dumby just would've found someone else now he doesn't chase memories. Dumbledore probably still taking measures against the weakened Voldy if he would show up again. This is something I haven't touched but Dumbledore probably have bigger interest in Neville because of the prophecy and since Harry is dead Neville would be the probable chosen one.
Deathly hallows:
Ron and Hermione actually graduating from Hogwarts properly. No war so everyone dead this year lives. The last seven years Slytherin have won the house cup. (Im a Ravenclaw but to be fair, with the living Voldy getting his powers back detector (Snape) on the staff they are just going to win.) But again normal school year.
In conclusion, Hagrid should've dropped Harry during the ride and let him die.
Now a couple of last words, this is still just a theory, nothing else, just a fun thing that have been nagging my mind. I wont even read it through because I will let anyone that wants to crush this to crush it and those to support it to support it. The only thing I will say is about the diary during second year. That it would be possible for someone to find the diary. Yes, but why would anyone be interested in it? You have a bathroom no one goes into, the only ones finding it was Harry as he went in to the bathroom because they have been having business there, and even then they weren't interested in it until they found out someone had thrown it at Murtle.
But that is just a theory, a Harry Potter theory!! Now bash it to a pulp my friends.

In your experience, are a lot/ most coworkers lazy/incompetent?
I currently work in the accounting department of a large F500 corporation. Previously I worked in accounting-adjacent roles at other large corporations such as employee compensation/benefits, payroll, A/P, and A/R.
You would think that these giant companies with huge HTalent Acquisition bureaucracy would have good screening in place.
However, at various different corporate jobs I witnessed:
Employees who slept at their desks all day
Employees who were never actually at their desks all day
People who could not grasp or refused to learn how to use SAP or whatever ERP system was in place.
Coworkers who would just ignore emails/requests if they didn't understand how to do something or would flat out refuse to ask someone for help.
Coworkers who always looked very busy. As time goes on your realize these people have absolutely zero clue how to do their jobs. They essentially just click around their desktop and shuffle papers all day. They just make sure to have work-related stuff on their screen so that if the boss walks by they look like they're "working".
People who spent all day sending things to the printer. Stuff that did not need to be printed.
Coworkers taking 1 hour to 1.5 hour lunch breaks. We got 30 minutes. Or spending huge amounts of time just aimlessly walking around the building/campus.
Similar to above, but it seemed like their were many people who understood how to do their jobs on a very simplistic level. But if any task required a shred of problem solving or critical thinking they were completely lost. These folks of course boasted how "easy" their jobs were.
Had one coworker who could not grasp any part of her job. Would basically stare blankly at her computer all day. Every task was done completely wrong. She left to work in the marketing and then sales ops departments because our department "sucked". Then she left those departments to bounce around some more departments and is still employed.
All these coworkers had degrees in accounting, finance business admin, or HR. In fact the companies I worked at all basically de facto required you to have a degree even if the job didn't explicitly say so. Minimum salary at most corporations I worked at seemed to be 55-60k.
It's just crazy that there are people busting their butts in retail/food service/manual labor for very little money.

I have no idea what is going on here so I'm hoping someone might be able to help me out.
Yesterday I did two things, updated to the latest version of the webui and installed the ControlNet extension and I don't know which one or if it's both or something else entirely I'm unaware of but for some reason when I'm trying to run a batch of images through controlnet and when I'm about halfway through a batch of 30 images Firefox suddenly skyrockets in memory usage until I'm hitting 99% and my pc is slowed to a crawl until I force an exit.
I have no clue what is going on but it's making it impossible to get anything done. I'm not even running locally or anything so I don't know why it's suddenly eating/leaking memory or whatever is happening.

1st one from a Google of the text, looks like an 1819 half crown, and the 2nd I have no clue, but are they gold?

What's up wc5e! Back with more of my 5e Classic-ish+ campaign, this one is a one on one session with my Rogue player, Orfiz. As always, I'm stoked to share this with you all and love any feedback or questions.
Just like with Val's one on one for the Mistmantle questline, I wanted to really give Orfiz a good dedicated session that he could bring some cool moments back to the group with. This served as the perfect opportunity to paint a better picture of the political state of the kingdom without boring the other new players stiff or having them risk getting overloaded with exposition.
No pictures this time, this session was strictly a notebook, a dice tray, and some bourbon.

The Tl;Dr:

• Party questions NPCs in stockades entrance, finds that their bounty was a former stone mason that had turned to the Defias.
• Rogue connects with SI:7 and investigates Lady Prestor and Baros Alexston to get more info on the stonemasons' exile.
• Party is then directed to Westfall to collect a report from a deep undercover agent working to identify and take out Defias leadership.

The setup:

This was mostly a catch-up session for Orfiz since he couldn't make the stockades session itself. We ended up taking a few hours for some heavy RP, which was great because Orfiz's player generally doesn't lean that way during a normal session. It allowed for some awesome character moments and plot that could come organically from a player to the rest of the party next session. We got to dive more into Alterac being a suspicious faction and threat, and introduce Prestor in a low stakes way.
This isn't really mechanic heavy except for just some perception checks, lockpicking, and really leaning on the player to decide what threads he was going to follow and how. He got to play Stormwind P.I. and it was awesome.

The session:

The party emerges from the stocks and has a chance to question the NPCs in the foyer. The girl is revealed to be Hope Saldean, whom was attending the farmers market in the city on behalf of her family back in Westfall. When she saw Garrick being taken into the prison, she began cursing and throwing her produce at him. She had bad aim, so she hit the party and was taken into custody when the guards worked to quell the riot.
Orfiz questions Hope, all he could get out of her were that she thought they were in love and she can't believe that he'd fall in with the bandits. He moves to question Garrick, and gets the backstory of the masons being exiled from the city and labeled as criminals, so he had to pick up work on local farms to survive. He had a summer fling the prior season with the farmer's daughter while he was there that harvest, and she was convinced as young lovers tend to get, that he'd be back to whisk her off her feet and take her away from the mundane farm life. Seeing him with the red scarf draped around his neck sent her into despair.
The party collects the bounty reward and goes about restocking, grabbing some basic gear improvements from what's available, and finally collecting their estus flask health pots.
Orfiz uses this downtime to investigate Garrick's story about the masons being ousted from the city, and figures he could tap into the kingdom's spy network. His training at Ravenholdt in the ways of the rogue led him to discover markings in cant near the sewer they used to get past the riot by the stockade entrance. Makes sense - spies would want an easy incognito route directly to the prison.
In the tunnels beneath stormwind, he recognized some of the cant as sarcastic propoganda style "if you see something, say something" isms. He reached SI:7's HQ through the tunnel and was immediately greeted by blades to the face as he entered through the trap door. Hands up, he shrugged and said "if you see something... say something?" and the guards eased. As a gnome, he went to the nearest desk, knocked on the side of it to get the attendant's attention, and found himself talking to the man himself, Shaw.
Shaw lamented how things played out and how hard it's been policing the city and weeding out any dissidents or guild associates, as there had been another riot in the streets prior that had led to queen being struck and killed by a thrown rock from the crowd. He knew things didn't add up but didn't have the manpower or resources to investigate the matter, but he's been keeping a close eye on Orfiz and his companions since they first set foot in the city.
Orfiz's immediate reaction to that statement was to pull out some coin and set it on the desk... he "forgot" to pay their gate fee when they got off the deeprun tram. This got a hardy laugh out of Shaw and got his guard down, so he gave Orfiz the skinny: he knows something is up with the House of Nobles but he can't get near them while the King is on the warpath since the riots. Orfiz grabbed a parchment he'd looted off of Bazil, and Shaw tilted it at the candlelight to reveal a reflective type of invisible ink. Orfiz recalled this was a trick that his Ravenholdt pals had used to be able to communicate secret messages and have them readable in the faintest of light. But this was a trick that only worked with ink crafted from a rare orange flower only found in the Alteraci region...
Shaw curses that Lady Katrana Prestor is the diplomat from Alterac, and she's been too close to the King to question without him flying into a rage about the stonemasons. Orfiz volunteers to gather some intel, all Shaw could help provide is that she takes a route through the castle gardens on the way to her late committee meetings, he could catch her there.
He questions her in the garden as a "concerned constituent" of the city and hands her the bloody note (right?). He asks if she knows anything about it, she of course blows him off, and moves on to her budget committee meeting. He eavesdrops to hear her arguing against any treaties or restitution for the masons and digs her heels in.
Next stop was Baros Alexston, the patron noble house that had commissioned the stonemasons to rebuild Stormwind in the first place. The exterior was damaged, like it had been pummeled with rocks and dirt and even started on fire in a few spots. There were large door-spanning locks across his cellar access and front door, Orfiz was able to pick the cellar entrance and slink in unnoticed. Baros returned from his errands and Orfiz got to do the Nick Fury sit-in-the-corner-shadows-with-a-cigar thing. Baros was terrified, and looked exhausted, and his house was in complete disrepair. Baros burst out that he doesn't have anywhere to go and everyone wants to kill him, he can't even go back to his family stead in Westfall because the thugs have taken it over in a move that seemed very personal. Sweet, Next clue!
Orfiz returns to SI:7 and reports his findings. Shaw says he's got a man on the inside, but he's deep undercover and they have not been able to pull him out or even get his report. Since these guys have handled themselves well, and they're special deputies already, Shaw tasks the Orfiz and his companions to keep digging into this. They part ways with Shaw's praise, "you're short in stature, but you've got it where it counts. These are desperate times, and you know what they say, desperate times call for"
Orfiz interrupts "Half Measures". The party found their company name.
End session 5.5!

Up Next: Session 6 - The People's Militia

So ayun there is this guy that recently akong inapproach (April this year) to ask something for school-related stuff. And as stated sa title, nagkakasundo kami sa iba't-ibang bagay and eventually napunta kami sa relationship talk and sinabi niya sa'kin na may crush siya recently. Tapos he gave me clues at may sinabi siya na "Well sometimes the answer we seek is right in front of us", so ayun nag-assume na ako pero I ignored that thought kase nga mali ang mag-assume. And one time I accidentally said that I'm seeing someone tapos sinabi niya "Who's the lucky guy?". Sinagot ko siya and then sinabi niya na "Glhf" then I said the same to you tapos ayun di na niya ako kinausap (even in f2f, di siya nag-hi) at inimbox niya yung last message ko.
The question is should I face him and apologize? Or just let it be na lng since yung pag-inbox niya na is a sign na we're through?
Kase I have this similar situation were an ex friend of mine started to avoid me and ayoko na ng ganoon experience 🥹

I have a crush on an online friend. He has no clue about it and sees me only as a good friend. He has lots of other friends who live in his city and they meet him often. I've seen him commenting on their posts sometimes, tagging them in stories of their meetups. Idk why but it makes me feel insecure and there arises a feeling that i may not be as close as they are even as a friend. Altho i never post, i posted something yesterday(it was a candid picture, one side of my face was visible). He just liked it, didn't comment. This makes me think if he thinks i don't look good enough or something and comparing myself to his female friends. He doesn't usually like my stories too whenever i post some selfie, may have liked them only once or twice. I don't get what it means. I'll not lie most of this is due to my own lack of confidence or low self esteem, that inability to love myself and stop comparing. I just don't want to think such things.

1. I have a white shirt fetish, I never watch porn, instead I masturbate to soccer matches and pictures of white shirted people including myself. I have no clue whether I'm bisexual or asexual.
   
2. I am a communist, not "liberal" type or "tankie" type but classical Marxist
   
3. I have Bipolar 2 but I'm the most well controlled one among people I know
   
4. Other people with depression generally feel the worst at morning. I feel the worst at night after 21:30.
   
5. I live in China
   

Just ama and I'll respond when I wake up