We have a Brown Recluse infestation in our garage - somebody explain to me the difference in treatment approach below:
Black Diamond prescribed a monthly treatment with the goal of starving the spider. They told me they don't have a spray that can kill the spider because it doesn't groom itself and it sheds its exoskeleton, so sprays won't affect it like other pests. So, this approach won't immediately deal with the spider. The tech said that they have been treating an old farmhouse for over 2 years.
Terminix prescribed a dusting and then a quarterly visit. They say that the dust will kill the spider and any other pests.
Obviously, I much prefer the latter. Is there something I'm missing?

Hey everyone, I got a problem and no idea what to do or how to fix it. My gf and I have a modded server together and when I try to log onto via my mobile hotspot it gives me the error message "failed to log in: authentication servers are not reachable".
But when I use her mobile hotspot it works just fine. We have no wifi we just use our phones hotspot for internet. When I googled this problem it said smth about file redirecting mojang's authentication to a differnt site or so. The thing tho is it works just fine when I use a different internet hotspot. The error only appears when I try to connect while using my hotspot.
When I asked my gf to try my mobile hotspot she was able to connect. So the problem seems to lie with my computer but I have no clue how or why. Reddit now is my last chance so to speak. Does anyone know what's going on or have any good websites to look at for solutions?
Thanks in advance, it's not a big deal but very inconvinient as she is not always home so I can't just log in whenever I want to.
Ps.: I wanted to mention that I can log onto other servers without mods just fine, no matter whos hotspot I use.

Dear friends,
I am sorry to bother you all with another "recommendation" type post. This sub has its fair share of it and I'm yet unable to contribute with "proper" content, but I'll promise I'll try to make this post short!
I did my due research (or tried to) and I decided on a Type XIIa/XIIIa (or more generically, a cut focused longsword/great sword) that I would like to custom order. I do not wish (nor can afford, ah!) for very profound requests but something in the line of some options on crossguard, grips, finishes, pommels, engravings and so on. The custom options offer from Regenyei are a decent example of what I am looking for.
While the sword will only be used as a display piece and won't be moved around, it MUST be built in accordance with it being usable and sharp as if I were marching with it to war myself, sort of like a black powder weapon collector wants to have the "real deal" and that's why I need your help, since I'm unable to distinguish the "real sword" makers, the HEMA focused ones (type of steel focused for blunt use and all that) or the decorative mass scale ones. The information I can find about brands and stores is also mostly US based.
The maker must be European based (preferably inside the EU) and my budget can go slightly above the 1000€ mark (but I'd prefer it to be lower).
I really do appreciate all your help and all the information I was able to get on this subreddit so far!

Currently, I have Pro+ Subscription and if I were to upgrade to premium I wouldn't be charged until the remaining time I have in Pro+ expires. The question I have is if I do nothing I will get charged the regular Premium payment but will the charge get offset if I purchase premium during Black Friday price?

She was quite lacking to be honest. I know she is old units, but i feel like she her ping don't synergize with each other. I am sure people here hate using her blue ping in PPC or warzone, it is not that good and was a dps lost.
Her core passive were pretty straight forward and boring, filling her thermal gauge meters every time she use ping and will go to full if she use her signature move.
Her signature move is quite weird, why it moves in vertical way ? like why don't make it like Rosetta or Luna, that have pulling enemy abilities and shoot them with huge fire beam ? also it leave fire burn mark on the ground that deals dot damage, and will be useless if the enemy have high mobility, example is like Siren in norman ex-6. Also her signature moves takes too much time and the damage is not worth it.
She also power creeped by even Lee paleifire when he get ascension , and later get truly power creeped by Lee hyperreal. She is basically the most boring and unfun S rank unit i play because of how clunky her gameplay.

**TERRAN AID SHIPS DESTROYED**
After much speculation, Terran officials have announced that the lost shipping vessels, the Magnolia, Marigold, and Mallow belonging to Kernon Shipping, were destroyed while in transit. The large cargo vessels were lost with all hands, their large cargo of foodstuffs along with it.
This comes as a heavy blow to the Trenixous province of the former Jaaktarian Empire, as the ongoing famine is expected to worsen. Several riots broke out on Terran-occupied worlds upon hearing the news, with many accusing Terran Executive Command of attempting to reduce the Tersean population to “acceptable levels” for future colonization.
EXECOM has repeatedly denied these allegations, stating that the loss of these vessels constitute an act of terrorism. The routes of the convoy and their cargo was announced well beforehand, they say, as an act of goodwill and to discourage any pirates or Jaaktarian Navy remnants from attacking them.
Although the Galactic Conglomerate officially condemns their destruction, many of its member species continue to oppose the Terran occupation of the neighboring Trenixous, Grentali, and Hrengull provinces, refusing to remove the numerous economic sanctions placed upon the growing species.
Analysts say that by occupying these regions the Terrans are overextending their reach and are placing undue strain upon their economy. Despite the Terran claims that such occupations are merely a peacekeeping and sapient rights intervention, there are many who believe that the Terrans are attempting to exploit the ongoing Jaaktarian civil war, a conflict that is expected to worsen as peace talks continue to fall through.
However, there are many who believe that the attacks on the three ships was secretly orchestrated by the Kersean Empire. Relations between the Terrans and the Kerseans have been at an all time low following the incident at Tasagrate-IV, with increasingly aggressive rhetoric being stated by both sides. The recently announced Kersean annexation of the Tretorian, Erenthinji, Grinhalli, and Veruntaner former Jaaktarian provinces have only worsened this. Many have pointed out the hypocrisy of the Kersean position, decrying the Terran intervention while they themselves are directly claiming territory.
Furthermore, the Terran military has…
>Excerpt from a news article published in the Sylintian Press, author unknown.
One of the more famous skirmishes leading up to the start of the Third Orion War was the Terran defense of Tasagrate-IV. The system was largely uninhabited and lay in relatively uncharted space overlapped by Terran and Kersean claims. Tasagrate-IV had been settled by the Terrans five standard cycles prior to the conflict, and a small but robust export-based economy had developed utilizing the planet’s abundance of natural resources.
It is unknown what made the Kersean Empire decide to attack the small colony. Kersean-aligned speakers may claim that they were simply defending rightfully claimed territory from an encroaching aggressor. Pro-Terra sources would likewise claim that Kersea chose to seize the colony and its resources by force in a bid to curb Terra’s growing power. The official position by the Terran government was that it was a probing attack, meant to test Terran defenses and response as a precursor to a much larger invasion.
What can be certain is that the truth will likely never be known. The opening phase of the Third Orion War left the vast majority of the Kersean Empire’s critical infrastructure in ruin. Centers of Command and Communication were among the highest priority of targets during Operation Apocalypto, second only to Kersea’s Relativistic Weapons. Any information held by the personnel and ships that participated in the invasion would have likewise been lost when the second wave of Terran RKV’s, aimed at conventional military targets, obliterated the Kersean fleets. The ensuing chaos and breakdown of civil function means that learning more would be prohibitively difficult. As such, Terran sources and hearsay are all that can be used to document the battle.
Hrjin Argoni’s popular memoirs do shed light on the matter, however his position as a diplomatic envoy by nature means that he was not privy to such military matters. Many have construed Argoni’s orders to “gain the most advantageous settlement” in the territorial negotiations as evidence that the Kersean Empire was always planning on seizing the systems by force, however the Terran diplomats had the same instructions, essentially to the letter.
At the time of the conflict, the Terran population only numbered at about one hundred thousand, the overwhelming majority of which were clustered around the planet’s Capitol or the many mines that dotted the surface. The Terran military contingent was likewise small, consisting of a single Army division and one Wing of MSM-115C Surface-to-Orbit anti-ship missiles, better known as the Paladin.
The Army division was thinly spread across the planet, primarily equipped for anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, and peacekeeping operations. The Paladin Wing meanwhile consisted of four relatively independent Paladin Squadrons, with two located on each hemisphere. That way, the entirety of the planet’s orbital space could be covered and defended, allowing for two squadrons to be on deployment while the other two underwent maintenance or training.
At the Squadron level, the Paladins were commanded by one Mobile Operations Center (MOC), a large tracked vehicle converted from transportation use and equipped with numerous powerful orbital sensors and communication arrays. The MOC would be tasked with coordinating the movement and dispersal of the squadron’s various batteries while also monitoring the orbital space they were assigned to defend. Each squadron held four batteries of three Transport-Erector-Launchers (TELs) that carried and fired the Paladin missiles. The TELs themselves were even larger than the MOC, using Anti-gravity technology to transport the massive Paladin missile horizontally on their backs over the planet’s rough terrain, then having to erect the missile into launch position before being fired. Because of the size of the Paladin’s warheads and the distance they needed to travel to reach their targets, the Paladin was considerably larger than the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of Terran antiquity.
When the order to launch is given, the MOC sends the command to one or more of the squadron’s elements. The element would then stop its movement and each TEL would lower themselves to the ground, at which point several hydraulic legs would extend to anchor the TEL to the ground in a level position. After that, the missile in its tube would be raised to the vertical position while a firing solution is reached.
The Paladin used a cold-launch system, meaning that the missile must first be ejected from the tube before the missile’s solid-fueled chemical booster would ignite. To do this, a generator used chemical reactions to create an immense amount of steam that would eject the missile above the TEL. Following ejection, the missile’s booster would ignite and the missile would begin its flight to the target. Throughout its flight, various stages are discarded and ignited to save weight and increase the missile’s velocity. Once the missile was out of the atmosphere, the missile’s nose cone would be jettisoned and the three warheads released.
Each Paladin Missile carried three W97 Enhanced Radiation Warheads, the most prolific variant of the famed Terran “Neutron Bomb.” Each warhead is equipped with a thruster pack to guide it to its target while evading enemy interceptors. Upon reaching the target, the warhead would detonate either upon impact or proximity, killing the biological crew of the enemy vessel with the immense burst of neutron radiation and damaging electronic systems.
This is what the Kersean Royal Navy faced when the invasion fleet descended upon Tasagrate-IV.
The Empire did not expect significant resistance, and as such sent a light invasion force of 300,000 Royal Marines on 50 transport ships escorted by a fleet led by one Heavy Cruiser, three Light Cruisers, five Destroyers, and eight Corvettes. Upon arrival. The fleet would disperse into three elements. The first would hang back and protect the transports, consisting of the Heavy Cruiser, one Light Cruiser, one Destroyer, and two Corvettes. This would serve as a reserve force should any ships be lost, and would command the overall operation. The two other elements would consist of one Light Cruiser, Two Destroyers, and Three Corvettes. These would comb the surface of the planet, one for each hemisphere, with the objective of seeking and destroying any target of opportunity.
When the invasion commenced, the Paladin had been untested in combat and was relatively unknown even within Terran space. Had the full capability of the system been known by the Kersean Empire, it is likely a much more sizable fleet would have been sent to Tasagrate-IV. The Paladin Wing on the planet only had two squadrons that were combat-capable. One was undergoing routine maintenance, and the other was conducting training missions with inert warheads. The latter would not have time to mount their live warheads before the battle would commence, and as such immediately chose to disperse rather than engaging the enemy.
Once the two Kersean Strike elements were in range of the Paladin batteries, each squadron fired a salvo of eight missiles. These were detected by the Kersean forces, however they were unable to intercept due to their distance from the planet. As such, the eight missiles were able to reach altitude and release their three warheads, totaling 24 warheads per element, four warheads per ship, and 48 warheads in total.
The Kersean point-defense systems experienced significant difficulty adapting to the highly-maneuverable warheads that swarmed their fleets. In total, 75% of the incoming warheads were intercepted. However, that still left six warheads inbound for each element. Both were ravaged by the attack. Between the two of them, only two corvettes survived undamaged, with one frigate surviving with heavy damage and a light cruiser rendered combat ineffective.
This came as a severe shock to the Kersean invasion commander, as the highly dispersed Paladin squadrons were not located by their long-range sensors. As such, she wisely decided to abort the invasion and retreated back into Kersean space. Had she chosen to press the attack, it is likely the invasion would have succeeded, despite significant losses. The two combat-capable Paladin squadrons were down to 1/3 of their firepower, while the other two could be hunted down and destroyed by the invading ground forces.
Upon seeing the success of the Paladin, Terran production and deployment of the system was significantly increased. Kersean intelligence services meanwhile, scrambled to figure out the new weapon.
This incident substantially increased tensions between the two powers, and is regarded as one of the main factors leading to the Third Orion War. Both powers used it for substantial propaganda value. On the Terran side, the technological prowess of the system and the imperialist aggression of the Kersean was strongly emphasized. The Kerseans meanwhile decried the settlement of the system as an invasion and encroachment by the Terrans onto their territory and a flagrant disregard for the legitimate claims, portraying the Terran defense as an unprovoked attack against an armed envoy that was intending to negotiate a settlement.
In either situation, the end result was an increase in military readiness and mobilization as the two powers geared themselves up for war…
>Excerpt from “Third Orion War: Buildup and Causes” by Junkillian Khimonsa, Chief Historian, Livani University.
“Look, those damn Kerseans are up to no good, clear as day. Those xenos think they can strut around the Conglomerate and bully everyone into submission. ‘No More!’ I say.
“Just look at the bill they passed a week ago! Sanctions on damn near everything we make. They don’t like it that we can do things cheaper and better than them, and they hate us. They go around calling us little atom monkeys because their tech ain’t as good as ours. That’s the thing you see, humanity has always been special. The damn xenos ain’t never gonna get that.
“I had a brother on the Marigold when the Kerseans destroyed her. That food was going to do good in the galaxy, helping out the innocents in Jaaktaria. ‘Cept the problem is that doing so makes us Terrans look good and the Kerseans look bad. I’m telling you, those hinge-head bastards in the Diamond Palace are a bunch of Tyrants.
“And then they go around preaching about ‘stability’ and ‘order’ and ‘uplifting’. All they do is go around like loan sharks trapping helpless little aliens in their schemes. And when someone doesn’t want to bow down they break them.
“I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again, War is coming. It’s time someone put them in their place. They think they have the numbers and the precious little ‘RKV’s’. No, like they think us losing a few dozen planets will stop us with the hundreds we have. We will burn their mongrel hides even if we have to choke on our own blood to do so.
“If they think we don’t have the nukes to burn them off of every floating rock they own, I *know* we’ll have the chemicals and bioweapons to bring them a beatdown of biblical proportions. They’ll be a textbook footnote before they even know what hit them.“
>Excerpt from Political Commentator Joe Alexander’s podcast “Humanity First.” The podcast is highly controversial and is known for containing biased or incorrect data. It is currently banned by 78% of Galactic Conglomerate member species.
**BEYOND TOP SECRET**
OSIRIS has observed extremely abnormal Kersean activity that warrants immediate EXECOM attention.
SIGINT has detected a 450% increase in encrypted FTL communications between the Kersean Grand Council and all Kersean military forces. HUMINT and DARKSTAR missions observe that 85% of the Kersean Navy is out of port, with significant fleet gatherings at points ASTRA, BAKER, GEODE, and ZENITH. Significant Kersean ground forces are being mobilized for planetary assault. Ministry of the Voice propaganda has seen a 165% trend increase towards belligerent messaging. 78% of Kersean reserves are being mobilized. Significant activity around Kersean Relativistic Weaponry.
CARDINAL assets in Galactic Conglomerate report numerous conferences between Kersean and Kersean-aligned delegates. 61% of BENEDICT assets are unresponsive. All BENEDICT assets are presumed compromised. Primary, secondary, and underground channels are experiencing severe difficulty negotiating with Kersean contacts.
OSIRIS believes this to be a prelude to a full-scale invasion of Terran space. Kersean activity is consistent with that before the Kersean invasion of former Jaaktarian space. SAMSON sites have been notified of ongoing developments and have increased readiness, however cannot be activated without EXECOM authority.
OSIRIS strongly recommends EXECOM declare STRATCON BLACK and activate CONPLAN 88 in accordance with the Lemay Protocol. Casualty estimates are significant but acceptable. OSIRIS confirms this with the highest degree of confidence. War is unavoidable.
>Highly encrypted FTL communique from the Terran Office of Strategic Intelligence, Reconnaissance, Information, and Surveillance (OSIRIS) to Terran Executive Command, released one decacycle after the end of the Third Orion War. Less than one Terran hour after this message was received, the first Terran RKV’s would be fired as a part of Operation Apocalypto, marking the beginning of the Third Orion War.
He passed me a small sphere in his hand. It was an incredibly tiny object, small enough I had to make sure it didn’t slip between my appendages. I look back up and see him rolling perhaps a dozen of them in the palm of his hand.
“This is it? It must weigh only a gram!”
I tried not to grimace as he smiled.
“It does, but kinetic energy increases *exponentially* with velocity. At the speed of light, that little thing hits with over 10 kilotons of force.”
I blanched as the sphere suddenly felt far, far heavier in my grasp. 10 kilotons was by no means small, but compared to nuclear and antimatter weaponry, it was a drop in the bucket. I turned back to the weapon’s diagram and eyed the warhead section.
“How many did you say it could carry?”
He paused for a moment. Worry briefly flashed across my mind as I feared I had asked an unacceptable question. But my anxieties were placated somewhat as he responded.
“Several thousand, depending on size and method of dispersal. This one is just the anti-ship version.”
Images of the Emperor’s Fleet being torn apart in an instant flashed before my eyes. Garden worlds being left smoldering wastelands while small moons were simply *broken*.
The man took the sphere from me and placed them down on the table. Collecting them one by one into a small bag, he reminded me of a predator picking through the carcass of its prey.
“You know…” he began. “We already have plenty of them in service.”
I could have sworn my hearts stopped beating at that instant.
“I can’t tell you how many we have or how fast we make them, but do know we have enough.”
This was bad. The Intelligence Service told me that the Terrans were only in the prototype stage. I scanned his features for signs of a bluff, a slight tick here or a bead of sweat there, but couldn’t find any.
But then I realized, *The Terrans weren’t beholden to the arms treaties.* They were an upstart race who entered the galactic scene well after the Great Hydrogen Wars, well after hundreds of relativistic weapons had been used in the most horrific manner. Left unchecked, Terra’s resource-rich systems and industrious people meant that the race had the potential to rival and possibly surpass Kersea.
This changed everything. Now it was clear that Terra wasn’t a future threat, but a present one.
If the Terrans were developing RKVs built specifically for anti-ship purposes, then they must already have significant amounts of them. The other races of the galaxy reserved their few RKVs as planet-busting weapons of last resort. There was no need to differentiate them as being anti-ship, because there was only one use for them.
I flashed through my briefings of the Terran military. Budget black holes woven between endless bureaucracy, ship classes designated far different than why their tonnage suggested, uninhabited worlds or systems blocked off, significant agricultural reserves, mobile command posts. The Terrans weren’t just preparing to fight a relativistic war, they were preparing to *win* one.
He continued.
“Despite what you and your government may think, us Terrans aren’t new to this game. We’ve been playing against ourselves for centuries.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed.” He turned around and emptied the bag back into his right hand. “We know the rules.”
Rolling one into place between his thumb and index finger, he tossed it at a nearby model of a terrestrial planet. The plastic model tipped over and clattered onto the table.
“We do have one question though,” Another toss and another model planet knocked over.
*“What kind of player do you want to be?”*
>Excerpt from “I Saw the End From The Past and Could Only Watch.” By Hrjin Argoni, Former Kersean Imperial Ambassador to Terra

Mtl law book
Controlled drugs and substances act, cdsa. Substances on this list are controlled substances. Schedules are categories substances fall into
If lose case can be deported
If you possess over the legal limit of pot can be imprisoned post 2018 still. 2018 is when pot was legalized.
There are provincial and federal laws
The police arrest but the crown charges. Crown can charge for a different crime then police arrested for.
If you are being prosecuted then there are charges against you in a criminal file
The crown and police have a lot discretionary power with your treatment and your file. Crown is like prosecutor, not police.
Director of penal and criminal prosecutions, DPCP, prosecutor provincial boss, instruct and provide guidance for prosecutors. Other provinces have their own name.
Jury or judge acquit which means your innocent. Prosecutor can also withdraw charges "withdrawn" status.
Sentence are possible consequences of being guilty
Priors are prior criminal record
Law enforcement officer: immigration officers, police, youth protection agents, municipal inspectors, correctional officers etc.
Black, indigenous, racialized and migrant communities, people who are known to the police, are targeted more by police, meaning police also violate their human rights more often. Sentenced more harshly than whites. Drug laws are historically created to target these groups.
Systematic bias: those with authority, even incl teachers, have explicit or implicit bias against certain communities
Racial profiling: officers target certain groups of ppl and postal codes more.
Anti gang squad, anti gun squad, anti radicalization are dog whistles for targetting minorities. Also includes applying additional surv eillance to target group.
During say a anti gun police raids, they can prosecute the raided for any illegal drugs the cops find. This results in potential criminals fearing to call the police bc if there is an investigation the police could nail the caller. If a sex worker has HIV and does not disclose their HIV status it counts as sexual assault, meaning if a John beats her up, risky to call the cops on him.
If have PR status and found guilty could be deported/removal. Some drug addicts only are PRs.
Anytime you speak to police you are making a statement. Crown can use these statements to convince someone else to plead guilty or convict. Your silence cannot incriminate but your statement might.
Police allowed to lie. Will do anything really to get a statement. Don't react to any of their behaviours, comments, or questions since that can be a statement. Try to remain silent. But many ppl do not have the privilege of remaining quiet, ex that can worsen police behavior.
Rehearse how to speak to police without providing any incriminating statements if you think you want to make a statement.
Police cannot arrest you if they don't identity at least 1 offence. On arrest they give undertaking paper or hold you until court date.
After released by police, prosecutor might decide not to prosecute. If police are holding you after arrest your 1st court date happens after 1-3 days. Sentencing may be postponed until therapy/school/work etc is complete.
1st court case is usually 1-3 days after arrest, then bail applies for the 2nd court date in like months/yrs. When released after arrest can be released without conditions.
If plead guilty with lawyer, lawyer can negotiate to have certain charges withdrawn
Cannabis act covers cannabis.
You can be acquitted of 1 charge while charged with the others
Willing blindness: you are supposed to inquire about the nature of a delivery you are driving if the package seems suspicious.
4(1) Possession, "Simple possession": to prosecute evidence needed: knowledge/willful blindness that substance in your possession and knowledge/willful blindness that it is a controlled substance named in the cdsa and measure of control/consent to their possession Law requires measurable quantity of drug, ex residue in a bag If there are drugs in your car and you are the driver or passenger, it cannot be the only reason for a conviction. Possession - drugs don't have to be on you. Willful blindness - you ought to have know you have the drugs in your possession Knowledge of your possession is proven by it's location (hidden or in sight), whether police have statements by you or others. Schedule 4 substances and lower cannot be found guilty of simple possession, but can be found guilty of other offences like trafficking
Double doctoring/ 4(2) obtaining a practitioner: asked dr for prescription or drugs without disclosing that info about the drug that u received in the last 30 days. Both for personal usage and for dealing. Uncommon charge.
5(1) Drug trafficking, trafficking in substance: proof must prove that you did 1 of the following or that you offered to do one of the following: - Selling drug or prescription: incl if the sale is not completed. - helping or encouraging someone to buy/sell. Bringing the buyer to the seller and if without this help the sale would never have taken place. Introducing a potential buyer to a seller is sometimes prosecutable depending on the judge. It sounds like it might only be an offense if accused works for the dealer and arranges the meeting between buyer and seller, but not clear. - giving drugs for free or for "free" is still trafficking - cannot administer illegal drugs even if asked too - if transporting home for personal consumption only, simple possession. But if or the purposes of sharing with friend, roommate then trafficking. Exceptions: inside safe injection site for drug checking purposes. Buying doesn't seem to be trafficking. Selling a prescription (the paper) is trafficking - Max sentence is life
5(2) Possession for the purposes of trafficking: simple possession + purpose/intent of trafficking. Large quantity helpful to prosecutor but not required. Presence of measuring, packaging equipment, multiple bagged quantities, large amounts of cash, notebooks can be evidence. - Max sentence is life
Drug trafficking: sale, gift, administrating drug, transport of drug.
Case study: Nat brought cdsa drug to share with client at motel. Client overdoses and Nat has to call 911. Police show up too. She admits to cops that she bought the drugs and that he asked for them so the cops know it was his idea. She is convicted of trafficking.
6(1) Import (or export) and 6(2) possession for the purpose of import (or export): all must be proven: Bought drugs/organized their entry into Canada Knowledge/willful blindness/recklessness that controlled substance Intention to import the substance Bring drugs or organize their entry into the country: happens as soon as drug enters/leaves any country and continues until drug arrives at final destination in Canada in a person's possession. If in transit through mtl and Toronto offence has take place in both locations. You don't have to have been personally transporting the drugs or even present at the place of entry to be charged. If police intercept the drugs in transit, irrelevant to defense. Crown doesnt have to prove you know the precise nature of the drug. Recklessness: ex accused caught with 2 bottles of wine that contain dissolved cocaine, since the cocaine amount was large, the producer prob wouldn't give this bottle to a blind courier. Behaviour following importation may provide convincing evidence of participation in offence: meeting with ppl, receiving calls of short duration at late hours, coded language by accused+accomplices, using public telephones to talk to "accomplices" despite owning a cell. After drug arrives to final destination, other ppl cannot be prosecuted for "possession for purposes of import" Police are specifically looking for fake suitcases on flights being carried by women 30s-40s
7(1) Production of substance, 7.1(1) possession, sale, etc for use in production or trafficking: production - manufacturing, harvesting, growing, etc. Offence includes offering to produce drug Evidence must prove you have some control over location/operation of production: cannot be convicted for simply being in a place of production. Police usually do detailed surveillance against accused first. Warrants for interception of private communication, track/trace (surveillance device on car), garbage searches, search warrants Police usually find out when purchase of large or suspicious purchases that are commonly used in drug production.
If police are at your house for a DV investigation and they see a baggie of what looks like heroin, can result in arrest.
Possession means: you have it on your personal possession, you know a friend is holding it for you, you know that you have hidden it somewhere. If your friend is holding a cdsa drug for you and they know it's cdsa drug, then you both are in possession. If the cops raid your grandma's house and you stores cdsa drugs there, she will not be convicted.
Knowledge of the drug: you just have to know it's a controlled substance, not what it is specifically to be convicted.
Judges sentence more harshly depending on drug type. Ex if there are current anti meth events or media, worse sentence.
Possession of methadone/opioid agonist treatments (OAT): - Health care providers don't need permission to prescribe, administer, sell/provide methadone to patients. Patients need a ordeprescription. To own methadone must be a patient or health care provider basically.
Initial meeting with a judge after arrest is a bail hearing.
To get bail: - better odds if minor crime - have $ via bail or signing a "recognizance" that says you'll pay bail. Get both back later on. A "surety" (friend) can pay for you. - fixed address that isn't a homeless shelter - ties to the community - family, legal job, studies, community engagement - proof of how will support self legally - having a friend reserve you a spot in rehab - indigenous
Conditions can prevent you from owning a cell phone.
Causing death by criminal negligence and manslaughter for giving drugs to someone who overdosed. rare. Can be convicted if you and a friend are shooting up together and you shoot them up at their request and then they die. Accidentally bringing a drug that contains fentanyl and your friend dies. Harsher punishment if accused is much older than decreased or if deceased is not much of a drug user.
Crown can withdraw some charges but keep others.
A guilty plea only may help improve sentencing. If pleading guilty better to do it before the trial.
Didn't type up schedule 1-7 drugs pg 38, 39 Schedule 1: opioids, meth, Adderall, ghb, methadone, MDMA Schedule 2: synthetic cannabinoids, most cannabis is regulated by the cannabis act now. 3: shrooms, lsd 4: zolpidem, steroids, benzodiazepines 5: not in the book if it exists 6: ingredients to manufacture drugs 9: manufacturing equipment ex machines to fill pills
Selling other medications like idk ibuprofen could be a civil matter where the gov might issue a large fine against you and failure to pay the fine results in conviction.
Sentencing - court determines punishment, ex prison, fines
If your lawyer and prosecutor agree on a specific sentence during a guilty plea, judge will most likely accept that, but judge doesn't have to.
Types of sentences: un/conditional discharge, fine, suspended sentence with probation and conditions (ex community service, rehab) imprisonment in institution or in community.
Being guilty can have other effects like travel ban to USA.
Sentencing considers: type and context of offence, circumstances of arrest, criminal record/priors, first charge for this kind of offence, current situation, level of detail and assurances in rehab plan, are there victims, prosecuted as summary or indictable offense. Unofficially judge considers bias like being anti-sex worker.
Prosecuted for either indictable offense or summary offense. sometimes the law decides which, sometimes prosecutor does. Determines max sentence and severity judge will serve.
Indictable offense - more serious. Some crimes are always indictable. Summary - less serious
Aggravating factors - reasons court gives harsher sentence: - Not having a drug addiction at the time of offence - priors - commited offence for financial gain - breach of trust - etc
Mitigating factors - reasons court gives better sentence: - guilty plea - been in drug rehab if had drug addiction at the time of the crime (get letters from case workers) - age - remorse - community involvement - etc
Mandatory minimum sentences, Mms.
Since 2012 Mms higher and a bunch of drugs moved up in schedule
Gladue report: - optional for accused. - affects all parts of court - prepared by some org - for anyone who identifies as indigenous
Impact of race and culture assessment IRCA: - A few provinces have this - gladue for black ppl - judge can legally ignore it - exists bc black ppl have faced a lot of adversity
Stimga = negative stereotypes
Ppl who use drug usually get worse treatment from justice system.
If you participate in a treatment program pre sentencing, it can reduce your sentence oand delay legal proceedings. Court needs to recognize its value and legitimacy. Court can also force you to attend a program of their choosing which can be like prison-lite. You can propose your plan to the court.
Special tribunals in mtrl regulate the provincial court treatment programs.
Many sex workers gain access to new resources and opportunities which can allow them change their condition and protect themselves. Anti sex worker laws deny them of this and their agency.
Drug addicts and sex workers are constantly stimgatized especially if they do sex work and use drugs.
Sex workers: Try to represent as a victim for a reduced sentence: - apologize and show remorse about your sex work - talk about how you're a victim of sex work - allow the court to paint your sex work as all the problems in your life - make no claim about the useful of sex work in your life - be poor, get exploited by clients/pimps - when the court tells you to stop talking to other sex workers, drug users, clients, do it.
If you are between 12-17 YO: - youth criminal justice act or director of youth protection applies to you, 1 or the other, you can sorta pick - "very serious" crimes you're prosecuted as an adult, so public criminal record - if an adult works with you on a crime it worsen the adults sentence
Police can charge you for possession of a weapon of they find a scissors or pocket knife
If police find you with a gun, they can easily give you 3 yrs. Weapons bans are 10 yrs.
Immigrants: - try to get either type of discharge (conditional or unconditional), that's the same as not guilty in immigration law. - refugees without Canadian citizenship can be deported - if you don't have PR, a hybrid offense or 2 summary offenses can get you deported - PR: receive a 6 month sentence or guilty of a crime that has max sentence of 10 yrs. - with an expired visa, cops database doesn't have that kind of info, but they could call Canadian Border Safety Agency (CBSA)
worse charges for drug trafficking if offence happens near school or other place frequented by minors, or on correctional facility grounds, or in a gang, setting traps, using someone else's building, creating hazards in a residential neighborhood
Indictable offence usually don't have fines associated with them.
Cannabis act (CA) - distribution and trafficking are the same thing - having on possession for sale is illegal - public place: public has assess too and any vehicle located in public view - generally refers to dried cannabis, usually 30g or equivalent
Illicit cannabis is illegally obtained cannabis. It doesn't have the gov stamp of approval
Some ppl give a fake name to cops bc risk of being identified is worse than the risk of obstruction. If you give police a fake address, they might mail court papers to that address and you won't be able to receive them. If you give the cops a fake name and need to retract it, try to say it's a "nickname but my legal name is x"
Recording cops: - legal for you to record cops unless property owner has rules against it, recording actually does interfer with the investigation - police may tell you that it's illegal. Might charge with obstruction, or say you're breaking like privacy, take your recording device, demand you erase recording, say they're seizing your phone bc it contains evidence - if police seize your phone, they could find incriminating evidence to charge you or someone else with another crime
Frisking: - cops can legally if u are arrested. Only supposed to if they thinking you have a dangerous item on you and are a threat to someone's safety. If you get upset this increases the odds they'll search you. If they are searching you for weapons not supposed to search you for other things like drugs, phones, tattoos etc. They can use this to search for needles to identify you as a drug user - searching you for evidence of the crime they say you committed - if you're temporarily detained/being questioned same thing - if you give them permission to search you or your property, they will. To prevent this say loudly "I do not consent to the search" and "je ne consens pas a une fouille" (jeh neh koh sehn pah ah oon foo yeh) - if an illegal search results in say drug charges, the drug charges could be withdrawn - if unlawful arrest (ex police brutality) then the subsequent search might be illegal
Seizures: - can seize items in a warrant. Ask to see and read the warrant. - if the warrant is to search a location, must have that address, specific area they can search, and list items theyre searching for - ask cops for a copy of the report identifying the seized items and where the items are being held Can seize items without warrant if they think it's related to a crime, ex: - weapons that may have been used in the offense, Items that provide evidence like phones, scales, note books, items obtained through criminal offenses like money from drug selling, They can seize items before any arrests While you're detained they will frequently go through your phone Note down: everything they seize, when, whom, where you were at the time. Careful about "obstructing" police while you do this, record officer name, patrol car number, badge number and other identitying info, knowing seizing location helpful for trying to get your things back, if an item is evidence you won't get it back til the end of the case, if it's considered proceeds of a crime you'll likely never get it back, illegal things you will never get back
While detained, you can try asking a guard or lawyer if you can use your phone to get phone numbers, usually they'll say no. Guards will be able to read your phone while this happens. Memorize the numbers of potential sureties.
Don't have incriminating evidence about yourself or your associates
Drug use equipment: - can legally distribute unused drug equipment - if you have drugs on you, having sterile drug equipment can be used as additional evidence against you - may still be seized by security - If you're hanging out with a drug users and you're searched and they find sterile needles, they may then search your companion
Being detained: - physical detention is like being cuffed - psychological - they tell you you're not free to leave/act like you can't leave - can detain for: you're connected to a crime, being a witness, victim, breaking a bylaws, warrant however discretionary power means they might not for a warrant, being present at a raid - technically don't have to identify yourself, but police will likely arrest you for obstruction - police have to tell you why
Being stopped and questioned: - just bc you are in the area a crime took place, doesn't mean they can stop and question you legally unless you match suspect description. They will anyway if they want
Warrants apply country wide
Arrested: - cops must tell you what you're being arrested for - they'll let you go with an "appearance notice" that may include conditions - you'll receive a "summons" in the mail is really an appearance notice - keep you in detention for a few days until a judge sees you - If you have kids, get a criminal lawyer and family law lawyer - if you're an immigrant criminal lawyer and immigration lawyeexpert - arrest warrant: must have name of person to arrested
You can negotiate conditions, like if banned from an area but have dr appointments there. Lawyer can do this.
If cops question you or tell you to go with them: - ask "am I free to leave? Am I being detained or arrested" if unclear ask again, if still unclear make motions to leave and leave if they don't stop you - if detained: "what am I being detained for?" - if arrested: "what am I being arrested for?" -- you have the right to ask and to speak to a lawyer - technically illegal for them to detain you due to trying to bring you to a shelter or rehab etc
Police legally have to wear badge number and name tag and have to identify themselves if you ask them to
After abusive police interaction, note down: - when, where event happened - held anywhere? Conditions of where you were held? Location? - officer names, numbers, car numbers - what was searched? When, where, how did it happen? - who was searched? How and where were they searched? Name and badge number of cop. - Dmges? take pics - who was detained? We're they offered an interpreter of needed? Do they speak the same language as the officer? - give all the info to lawyer
If cop grabs you and you pull away they might try to charge you with assault of an officer
Prep for dealing with police: - anyone in my party break a law? Any warrants? Youth protection involved with anyone? - if we're stopped by police, are we all staying silent, all giving the same info? Other plan? - are cops targetting me, the neighborhood? - if cops targetting someone else, can I walk away? - is my hangout area heavily surveilled? Is my party heavily surveilled? - if I have id, does it reflect the name I'm gonna tell the cops? What happens if an officer shows up who knows me? - how to respond to cops if my kids are with me? - condition breach? - am I carrying anything arrestable? Plan if they search me? - are all my incriminating items hidden from plain view? - what police consequences is most harmful to me? What am I most concerned about? What am I willing to do to avoid these? - can I role play with someone?
Good Samaritan overdose act (Good Sam law): - If someone is overdosing and you call 911, police legally aren't supposed to arrest you or anyone else there, incl overdosee for simple possession or simple possession condition breaches - everything else they can arrest you for. And they are known to use the opportunity to extract arrests Consider: throwing away/hiding your illegal drugs, tell others there you called 911 so they can leave, tell dispatch that area is safe so maybe police won't come, should I leave and get someone else to stay or leave a note on the overdosees,
Security guards, transit officers, etc: - no legal requirement to speak with them - they can citizens arrest you physically legally if they see you doing it - cannot legally search you - can legally use reasonable force to remove you from a building - Montreal public transit security can become special constables easily and can detain and arrest ppl suspected of criminal activity on mtl transit. Can access police database. - All public transit security can fine and issues tickets related to their public transit. You're required to provide them name, address, dob
Driving a vehicle: - if you are driving, police have more authority, like asking for ID, breathalyze - police can stop vehicles bc: see a driving violation, believe the vehicle is related or a crime, routine police blockade for like drunk drivers passing - often use license plates to determine if the car was stolen or a getaway vehicle or whatnot - police pulling over ppl in high crime areas for no other reason is illegal - important to not have knife, drug residue on plain view - if you're too shaky, pink eyes, they know lol in the car as drug dealers, they're more likely to find you suspicious - after arresting driver, they can legally search your vehicle if it's related to why they arrested you, ex they arrest you for drugs and then they can then search the vehicle for more drugs - more likely to search your vehicle if you're wearing a bulletproof vest - can search the vehicle legally for "safety", they see you have weapons charges and then they search the vehicle or if they have reason to fear for imminent evidence loss, fear imminent threat to someone's safety - legally easier for police to search your car then pat you down. - police can only legally ask driver for ID unless they turn the stop into an investigation in which case they can then ask everyone in the vehicle for ID - sleeping in your vehicle: take keys out of ignition, sleep in the back. Police may still harrass you and say it's in relation to criminal charges
Investigations: - begin for any reason, even via anonymous tip line calls - often police with surveill and if they see suspicious activity, they get a warrant
Residential location: - greatest privacy from police here legally, however: if owner unknown, abandon, frequented by marginalized ppl, police more likely to invade - when can they enter your house: generally police cannot enter without a warrant unless the person who answers the door consents, if they think someone inside is about to commit a crime or that a crime is in progress, in hot pursuit and the runner enters the house, if they think someone inside's life is in danger - if you don't consent to them entering say: I do NOT consent to you entering, je ne consens pas a ce que vous rentrez (jeh neh Kon sen pah ah seh voo rehn-tray) - can get warrants to enter for unpaid tickets, money owed to revenue Quebec - police search your home when: someone being arrested there and police think something is a danger to other potential occupants, police fear imminent lose of evidence, medical emergencies (Medicare card, suicide notes) - if they see something suspicious (drugs, scales, large sums of cash) in plain view (from your door, or anything they see if you allow them to enter. Even if you let them in, they're not supposed to search your house or roam to other rooms) they can seize it. - an arrest warrant isn't enough to search a place
Hotel/motel: for your room, generally same rules as residential, but a bit less privacy - for public areas, no privacy benefits - if cops get keys from hotel staff or permission from hotel staff they'll use that to enter your room - often will say the housekeeping staff saw something suspicious
House keepers: - if they see drugs, lots of condoms, paraphernalia, sex work publications or drug publications they may contact police. There is an increasing trend for this happening under the guise of human trafficking prevention esp if you're a marginalized/racialized women who uses drugs. - they are allowed to enter your room
Hospital: - usually won't provide the cops with much info unless they have a warrant for a patient. Sometimes even will not let cops into your hospital room - will contact law enforcement. Usually have low threshold to attempt to kick out ppl as it relates to arguments, raised voices, disruptions - if you are with a patient, hospital more likely to provide info on you to cops, so careful what info you give cops - as a patient u may have to change clothes and that could lead to dropping suspicious items out of your pocket - if you go to the hospital with a friend, tell them to stfu about providing info about you - bringing a friend can help by taking notes, advocating for you. Ideally your friend isn't know to the cops, can stay calm.
Supervised injection site, SIS: - inside cannot be charged with simple possession. Cannot give to others or administer to others. - staff cannot be charged with trafficking for providing the venue or material facilitating the drug usage. Same with staff checking drugs, which would normally be trafficking - police can do whatever outside of the building. If arrested for simple possession, could tell lawyer you were on your way to the sis/on your way back home - if you are investigated in relation to a sis, make sure your lawyer speaks with the sis bc your lawyer prob doesn't know the basics of the sis. - to use a sis, usually don't need to provide real name or info. If you give your real info, easier for medical staff at hospital to look you up if needed
Speaking to police: - if arrested cops suppose to stop asking you questions once you request to speak to a lawyer, but they will often still ask you questions anyway. After you speak to a lawyer they have the right to question you again - they will attempt to provoke you into speaking - interrogator will ask random questions to build rapport (ex personal life, interests). Will often promise or claim to help you if you talk to them - legally can lie about most things. Ex evidence, other ppl's statements, "if you leave now we can't help you later", "if you cooperate now you will get a more lenient sentence". - don't react to their questions
Initial appearance in from of a judge before bail hearing: - you appear before a judge within a day. If it's a weekend or holiday then after that. Have a lawyer come with you. This is when you plea guilty or not guilty - can try to exchange 1 release condition for another, discuss this with your lawyer beforehand - if you receive a fine, some organizations can you get a payment plan. Community service can also be used to pay off a fine.
Bail hearing - you can schedule the meeting with a judge at a later date to give you more time to prepare for how to make bail - usually happens within 3 days - prepare in advance how to get released on bail - Prosecutor will often argue you shouldn't be released bc: you won't attend your next court date, you pose a risk to the public, public will lose faith or you're released. - your lawyer will likely argue: you have a fixed address (can be friends, family), will obey your bail conditions - sometimes to make bail you need: bail money/recognizance document saying you'll pay latesurety. Surety should have legal job and no criminal record. Show that you have routine, like school, clubs, job, family. Can have someone who ideally does not have a record come testify to your character. Proof of income. Someone to book you a spot in rehab. - if the court takes your passport, photocopy the important pages
Cdsa and cannabis act are frderal criminal laws, but are often prosecuted by provincial/municipal forces
Law reform/Stella: The term decriminalization is getting more widely used and the meaning is recinding. Stella says decriminalization of drugs and sex work is a necessary first step to guarantee human rights. Drug use is not always an illness or problem. Abstinence is not the only way and thinking it's the only way is harmful. Drug sellers should be be categorized as bad ppl. If 1 law is repealed cops will often just target a sigmatized group with a new law. Alternative punishment instead of prison is still not decriminalization, aka Portugal model. For things like cannabis, even tho self possession of an amount is legal, you still can face police surveillance, unwanted police contact, trouble with landlord, etc. Individual prosecution directors, police departments can set guidelines, but those are not related to laws. Guidelines can say more or less punishment.

Hey guys!
 
I made a big update to the “Everything We Know About Stormgate – A Giant Compilation (With Sources)” post, increasing its size by almost 50 percent!
 
The original post has now been divided into two: The main body of the post, and a second part in the comments (because it surpassed the character limit). The direct link to the 2nd part in the comments is here.
 
I’ve also made some wording and grammar changes, and added extra sources for some of the points.
 
And that’s not all!
 
I’m happy to announce that I’m now a part of Stormgate Nexus and have also posted the full undivided post on the SGNexus page here. The SGNexus version also has some nice additions, like the inclusion of images (including a cute turtle and the meme chicken), email screenshots, and a few developer quotes.
 
And in case you haven’t seen it yet, one of our mods u/_Spartak_ has included a shortcut at the top of the subreddit where you can access the post.
It was also included in the Welcome & FAQ page of the subreddit under the question “How can I learn more about Stormgate?”, so you can easily access the post whenever you want, even as it falls from the top of the subreddit into the abyss.
 
But What If I Already Read the Whole Post?
 
Worry not! You won’t have to reread everything again looking for what has been added.
 
Below is a compilation of every new point that has been included in the post, organized by subheading.
 
And if you see a paragraph fully italicized like this, it’s because it was in the original post, but was included here to provide context for a new paragraph.
 
Enjoy!
 

What Is Stormgate?

• Stormgate will be available on Steam for Windows PCs. Specific system requirements have not been revealed, but you can get a baseline by seeing Unreal Engine 5’s requirements. 1

Races

• The Human Resistance’s mechanics have been described as having a Protoss-like mechanic, a couple of mechanics that felt Terran-like and WC3 Human-like by Neuro, who got to play the game early.⁵
  • He also mentions that it didn’t feel exactly like playing Terran. 6

 

• The Infernal Host is described as the “Swarm” faction, which uses superior numbers to overwhelm enemies.⁷ But they may have playstyles that have a lower number of more elite units. 8
  • In general, they’re experimenting with factions having different “tracks” or “trees” of compositions, some with more units, some with fewer, similar to SC2 Terrans, which has a playstyle of few very powerful units (Mech), and a higher-numbers, higher mobility playstyle (bio). 9

 

• Pre-apocalypse humans had a lot of research and technology aimed at dealing with climate change. Their roster will have a variety of units that were repurposed from tasks such as agriculture and industry into war, providing an army that has a lot of supportive, healing, and synergy units. 10
  
• They’re aiming for about as much military unit asymmetry as SC2, but more worker asymmetry than SC2 had, moving closer to WC3’s level of worker asymmetry. 11
  
• Asymmetrical late game design for races: instead of just balancing the game around big late game army vs big late game army, they instead want differences like one faction being a better ability to harass the opponent, while another is better at direct big army combat, for instance. 12
  

Economy

• There will be 2 resources: a plentiful resource akin to minerals in Starcraft, and a “tech” resource that is rarer, akin to vespene gas. One of the advantages of a tech resource is that it can give scouting opportunities, such as by deducing how much gas an opponent can have. 14
  • The tech resource is called “Therium” and is described as “crystalline”. Human resistance workers will return to the refinery with Therium after it’s been collected, rather than returning to the main base structure. 15
  • The second resource has been described as “unlike anything we've seen in previous Blizzard RTS.” 16

 

• They do not plan on having a Warcraft 3-style upkeep system, where you get lower income as you reach higher supply thresholds. 24

The Engine

• Games can support up to 1300 units in a single game. 30
  
• The ability to spectate games after they’ve started, similar to Dota 2 and Age of Empires 4, is in consideration, and they’re building the tech in a way that allows them to include the feature even if it isn’t there on launch. 33
  

New Player Experience & Making the Game More Approachable

• The Infernal Host has a unit called the “Shadowflier”, described as an early flying scout unit⁵⁵ and Neuro mentions an early cheap scouting unit for the Humans.⁵⁶ These two units further confirm that each race will have early and affordable methods of scouting.
  • The human scout unit has been described as a “Cute little scouting unit“⁵³ and may be the small spider-like robot on the left from this mousepad art, or the drone seen on the trailer. This is just speculation and it could be something else entirely.

 

• One of their core philosophies is that each of the 4 main game modes (Campaign, Co-op, Ranked PVP, and Custom Games) are largely isolated game modes, with little crossover and conversion from one game mode to another. They will focus on providing each segment with significant support and will not focus on trying to use one game mode as an on-ramp for another game mode (like using the campaign as an onboarding step towards Ranked PVP). 59

Heroes

• If Heroes are in 1v1, they’re unlikely to be like Warcraft 3’s (high power, centers army around them, leveling, items and inventory, attributes, etc), as Frost Giant has expressed disliking some of the downsides of Warcraft 3’s hero design like snowballing and having fewer army splits due to the centralization of combat around heroes. 63
  • We also have confirmation that Heroes won’t have an inventory and items like in WC3. 64

Game Speed

• Similar to SC2 in how fast the game start is, following a design philosophy that is closer to the 12-worker start era of SC2 than the 6-worker start era. 68
  • On top of this, Neuro says it felt a little bit slower to expand than Starcraft 2’s Zerg Hatch First, but about the same speed as a Terran. 69, nice

Maps

• They’re experimenting with having more terrain levels/layers than SC2, where the maps mostly had just 2 levels. 79

Deathballs

• Late game units will also be more specialized to have greater room for counters and army composition shifting and adaptation, rather than finding the perfect good-against-everything unit and spamming it, or having the perfect mix of units that never needs to be changed. 82

Turtling

• They identify turtling as a potential problem, and one that can make some games stretch for longer than they should. Part of the way they’re addressing this is experimentation with powerful late game finisher units to break turtling and finish the game when you’re ahead instead of not being able to end the game against a turtler. 83
  • “Lumbering mega units” is mentioned in this comment too.

Team Games (3v3 Ranked PVP)

• The 3v3 mode will be more objective-based. 93
  
• Creeps (Neutral enemies to defeat on the map) in 3v3 will have rewards for the entire team, rather than just the player who did them (it won’t necessarily be every creep). 94
  

Story

• In the cinematic trailer, we see a human archeologist retrieve a powerful shield amid ruins. According to the email “Re: War Update”, this shield is called the “Aegis Cipher”, and is a relic.
  • The shield isn’t just for blocking demonic attacks. It also has a constellation map that can be used to find the locations of relics that have been hidden for millennia. Part of the campaign will be about retrieving said relics to help fight against the Infernal Boogaloo. 105

 

• The current moment in the story will also be represented in other game modes. For instance, if the new season is covering the story in a new place, that new place would have new tilesets, which would also be used on ranked maps. 109
  
• The choice of setting came from asking “What is a universe that allows us to tell the stories that we want to tell” and that allows for specific game mechanics they want in the game. 110 And it provides a wide range of nerdy concepts – magic, fantasy, sci-fi, technology, etc. 111
  
• There are already 5 years of the story planned out. 112
  

Co-Op Commanders

• Forced cooperation sucks (like needing both you and an ally to stand on the objective together), as it can result in frustrating experiences where your ally doesn’t do the objective with you. As such, Stormgate’s Co-op will avoid implementing it. In its place, they want an “extreme bonus” philosophy, where you can get the objective just by yourself, but it goes 10x faster with an ally present as well. 123

Custom Games & The Editor

• They have 3 core pillars for the editor: The Terrain Editor (Create Melee Maps), the Script Editor (Create different game types), and the Data Editor (Allows you to create new units and abilities). These 3 should allow people to make the vast majority of maps that can already be made in SC2. 129
  • They want to have visual/flowgraph scripting for the script editor to facilitate use. 130
  • Data editing will be made much easier to use, especially on the Simple mode of the editor. ¹³¹ And they want the editor and its hotkeys to mimic the game in some way to make it easier to get into the editor. It might have grids, for instance. 132

 

• They’re trying to make the designers at FGS use the tools that will also be provided for modding. They weren’t there yet at the time of the interview but were getting closer to it.¹³³ They want it to reach the point where players can open and look at the FGS-built maps and projects to see how they were built using the same tools that will be available to players. 134
  • Doing this is really hard and requires a lot of work, which showcases their commitment to modding and custom games. 135
  • The UI system is an exception, where they’re using the Unreal Engine 5 UI system to create Stormgate’s UI and modders won’t have said tools in the in-game editor. But they’re considering implementation with UE5 so players who create new UI-related modding on UE5 can import it to Stormgate, and are also considering to add a secondary modding tool just for UI. 136

 

• They have many ideas for editor tutorials. They may not have enough time and resources to build them. They’re also considering user-created tutorials. 138
  • They found bite-sized tutorials to be the most effective, e.g teach people how to make a unit, then how do you make a turret, and so forth one piece at a time, instead of a complete “how to make a TD game”, as it makes learning less overwhelming. They’re also looking at “example maps” as an example of bite-sized teaching, where editors interact with a map that is just a standard rules map + a single change like a certain unit getting one new ability. 139

 

• Steam Workshop integration isn’t completely out of the table, but it is unlikely to be implemented since their mods are expected to be multiplayer and for most maps and mods to be multiplayer, unlike Steam Workshop’s single player focus. It would also be limiting in case they branch out to more platforms other than Steam. 140
  
• You’ll be able to use the editor for camera changes and manipulation.¹⁴¹ It could be used for creating cutscenes. 142
  

 

Esports

• Besides the official pro circuit, they’re also going to allow 3rd party events, instead of banning non-official competitions. 147
  • Not only that, but they also plan to integrate community tournaments into the path to pro to make a cohesive esports system/circuit. 148

Progression

• There will be out-of-game progression. SC2 had a limited out-of-game progression system that was very short, but they want Stormgate to have a more robust one, and for you to always earn some progression after each game, even after losses. 157

Post-Release Content

• Besides new units coming into the game, we might also see unit replacements (existing unit(s) rotating out of the faction's roster). 170

Patches

• New competitive balance changes will have a testing phase, where you’ll be able to test the changes before they’re implemented to make sure they’re good enough and to prepare pro players for the next patch. 176

Concept Art

• One of the goals of the art style and graphics is the visibility and readability of units and the battlefield. They also want backgrounds to be more lit and brighter to improve readability. 177
  
• New big concept art source (Human Resistance concept art 1)
  

How Can I Support Frost Giant?

• The biggest factor right now is wishlisting it on Steam. It may seem useless at first, but wishlisting is a big deal because the more wishlisted a game is, the more the game will be showcased on Steam.
  • We’ve recently become the 95th most wishlisted game on Steam and got some extra concept art for it! Let’s get it higher boys! 184

Spellcasters (New Subheading)

• Neuro’s first playtest had a low number of spellcaster units on the army roster.¹⁸⁵ The devs also mentioned how they like to make units distinct without adding new active abilities since they can increase the complexity of the army and multiple spellcasters management, which might mean we’ll get fewer spellcasters per faction in Stormgate than in SC2/WC3. 186

Confirmed Units (New Subheading)

• Lancer: A tanky tier 1 melee unit with slightly longer reach than other melee units due to its long spear. They have an ability that allows them to deflect ranged attacks. They might also have some sort of damage reduction against large single instances of damage, similar to the Starcraft 2 Protoss Immortal. 187

 

• Evac: The arliest flying unit of the Human Resistance. It has the ability to carry units. They won't have any other capabilities besides carrying units. 188

 

• Vulcan: A mech that deals damage in a cone are and increases its attack speed the longer it keeps firing. It also has a jetpack movement ability that dashes to a location and stuns the enemies it passes through. 189

 
We have seen multiple other unit arts and screenshots (including Infernal ones), like those on the Concept Art subheading, but we have no confirmation on their mechanics.

Gameplay Footage Shown (New Subheading)

• We’ve seen screenshots (like those at Steam), and two very short clips during Summer Games Fest 2022, but no full in-game footage yet.
  
• This little Valentine’s clip showcases the Machine Factory building (with a Valentine’s skin) and a snippet of official music.
  

More Gameplay Footage When? (New Subheading)

June 11th at the PC Gaming show at 1 PM PDT / 4 PM EDT / 10 PM CEST. 190

Big Names Behind Stormgate

• Micky Neilson: Stormgate’s Lead Narrative Designer who worked as Publishing Lead for Blizzard, managing books, comics, and short stories for the company. He has also worked as Story Lead for Hearthstone and has authored multiple comics and stories for Warcraft, Starcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo. He also wrote some of the unit lines in SC2 and WC3. His works “World of Warcraft: Ashbringer” and “World of Warcraft: Pearl of Pandaria” have both made it to the New York Times Bestsellers list.

 

• Trevor Housten: The Senior Esports Manager you’ll often see answering esports-related questions on Frost Giant interview. He’s worked at Blizzard for 8 years on the esports division, and at esports-related jobs at GoMTV, IGN, and OGN before that. He’s behind much of the vision for Stormgate esports.

 

• Tracy W. Bush: Do you love SC1 and Warcraft 3 music? Then you’ll be happy to hear that the same sound designer and composer that worked on those titles is also collaborating with Frost Giant to create new iconic RTS music. He has also worked on Warcraft 2, Diablo 2, and World of Warcraft.

Miscellaneous

• “…and it [replay system] will have similar baseline functionalities as Wings of Liberty’s replay system had at launch – with features like speed up/down, pause, rewind, and more.” 192
  
• Highest supply on a single unit will be 8-10 supply. 200
  
• There is no SC2 Archon mode planned. 201
  
• They want to have more post-game stats. SC2 had a few of these, like tracking your APM and supply blocked time on the post-match screen and telling you whether you’ve performed above average. Stormgate is planned to have an expanded version of this, with even more stats being tracked. 202
  
• FGS was founded in 2020 and Stormgate has been in production since then. 203
  
• The philosophy on camera zoom level is that they want it to be restricted since players can optimize the fun out of the game by using a high zoom out option that gives gameplay advantage but reduces the fun of the game by making it harder to tell what’s going on and making the art less pronounced. 204
  
• There won’t be naval combat at launch. 205
  
• Units will have funny voice lines. 206
  
• Frost Giant is taking an inclusive methodology to game development, with consistent ongoing design discussions, where FGS proposes a topic to discuss about, and later gives their organized ideas on the topic. You can see the list of topics here. And the latest discussion as of this post is about progression. 207
  

I can't find anywhere to specific to get help with this... So while I need help with this topic, I also need help knowing where to post!
My wife is a nurse and we are in Philly on a travel nurse contract. She works nights at Einstein.
The place we are renting is in a decent neighborhood. The company renting it out charges as such.
We are trying to figure out what recourse we have for the endless problems we've had. Rent is coming due, and trying to move in the middle of this contract is not possible.
We made it clear my wife works nights and has severe allergies. When we moved in:
The apartment was not clean at all. The futon (not couch) was absolutely covered in dog hair. Took them a week to come out and vacuum and steam clean. We out a sheet over it in the meantime and avoided it.
The AC filter has about all inch of dirt and dander in it, so it hasn't been changed in a long time. Still not replaced
The kitchen table was out together with spare hardware and is unstable. You can't eat or work on it. Took 25 days to address. We are either standing, on the couch, or spent money eating out.
The black out curtains they promised are not black out curtains and don't cover the whole window.
The oven didn't work for the first 10 days.
Bathroom faucet handle is moldy.
Toilet tank overflowed for first 10 days before fixed. We'd have to turn the water on to use the toilet, then shut it off.
There are mice in the walls. Still not addressed, and keeps us up.
These are the main issues I can think of while laying in bed stressing. There are other, stupid issues but I'm trying to stay focused.
What can we do? The guy we deal with who I think runs this show is a dimwit, trying to charge top dollar and spend nothing.
I hate being taken advantage of. Can I withhold payment for the coming month? Do I have leverage of any kind? Can I get him in trouble with the city?
Thanks to anyone who responds.

Region: NA / EUR Age: 18+ (majority in the community though are 30+)Discord:
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Description: We are a community who strive to build an environment catered for older gamers in COD who just want to kick back after work, play games stamped with some great memories. Created in 2003, Adults choose to play with us because we provide one of the most honest, lax gaming communities for non-toxic Adults who want a home that won't have kids or teens barking orders at them, and drama free staff. No other community displays their Paypal info to prove 100% of their donations go towards the community. What we offer:
💠 Good Sportsmanship and will (no rages or blames for mistakes)
💠 Friendly, active, and generous members teaching new players while assisting the vets
💠 Never get kicked from community regardless of life activity (life comes first with us)
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💠 Channel Creation - Make your channel, lock/limit it and set it how you want to play with friends
Other Games We Play: Battlefield, Star Citizen, EFT, Division 2, Apex, D&D & many more Survival/FPS games

"Shit!" Chris shouted, causing Gary to spin. Boss held a spotting scope up to his eye.
"No way they didn't see us," he said. Gary marked the two running figures in the distance. He didn't think about it. He didn't register that they seemed small. He only knew that if the Taliban got wind of them moving through this pass they'd start mortaring the area and send out spotters. It would just be a matter of time before they were all dead.
He put his eye against the magnified optics. He placed the crosshairs at the top of one figure's neck and fired. It stumbled and fell. The other one angled off, getting some lateral motion, which would have been a smart move if Gary weren't such a good shot. He got the left arm of the crosshairs lined up on the same spot, the vertical bars just in front of the figure and fired again. The second one dropped.
"Checking," he said as he rose from the crouch he'd shot from and ran towards the closest. It took a minute or two to reach him, and when Gary flipped him over, his breath caught in his throat.
Blood soaked the front of his tunic and the lower half of his face. He was gasping for breath, his windpipe and probably one of his lungs destroyed by the intense cavitation of the 5.56mm round.
"I was..." the boy gasped. Because that's what he was, just a boy. A boy with thin, delicate features. A bow-tie, soaked in blood and clinging to his neck was below the tunic and Gary could just make out the top of a familiar Star Wars patterned vest below it.
"I was going to save the world," the boy gasped.
"You were," Gary agreed. "You were gon' marry a goddess and have the sweetest kids. And you were going to save the world, more'n once."
"Found the second!" Rog called. Gary turned away from the boy who would now never grow into the man he'd meet in a safehouse in Kabul after getting discharged and taking up work for the Company.
He walked over, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his stomach.
This one was a girl. Earth-brown skin and tightly braided cornrows greeted him. Gary collapsed when he saw her.
"Why'd you shoot me, daddy?" she asked.
"I had to, baby," Gary sobbed. "You was gonna call the Taliban."
"No I... No I wasn't... I was gonna tell... Dad," She reached up as Chris jogged up. Rog looked at them, scowling.
"Dad and Daddy? What are you, a couple of fags?"
Gary ignored him. He cradled his daughter in his arms as she bled out into the dust and dirt of a fallow field.
----
He awoke with a start, the old familiar panic already fading. Chris sat up smoothly, awoken by his movements and wrapped his arms around Gary. His smooth skin pressed against Gary's back and helped ground him in the moment.
He was in bed, naked, with his husband. Natalia was asleep in her room, peaceful and calm and happy and loved. Gary reminded himself that he didn't need to check on her. That she was a light sleeper, and she'd wake up and then all three of them would be up until four in the morning, and they'd all be bleary-eyed and exhausted all day tomorrow.
"Same dream?" Chris asked. He nuzzled Gary's neck, then kissed his shoulder. Gary reached up to stroke his arm.
"Yeah," he said, his voice raw. "A little different, this time."
"In what way?"
"The first one was Jerry. But as a kid, you know? Like, ten, twelve years old. He was wearing one of his little bow-ties and his Star Wars vest under the tunic. The second one..." Gary took a deep breath to steady himself. "It was Nat."
"Ouch," Chris said with a wince. Gary nodded.
"I won't lecture you about how we had no choice again. I think you know. I think your brain has made your peace with it, and this is just your conscience, refusing to let go."
"Ayup," Gary said.
"Hey," Chris grabbed his chin and turned his head to kiss him tenderly on the lips. "That conscience is a part of what makes you so beautiful."
Gary smiled into the kiss.
"Come on now," he said when they pulled apart. "We both know you only want me for my body."
Chris slipped a hand down Gary's stomach and let it drift lower and lower.
"Well, how about that," he said when he found something interesting. "I think we both know that it's my body that somebody wants right now." Gary reached back.
"I'd say the feeling's mutual," he said. Chris moved around as Gary stretched his legs out to let the beautiful man straddle his lap. Their lips met as they intertwined the fingers of their hands. All thoughts of the nightmare fled Gary's mind as the blood rushed out to do other things.
----
As was usually the case when they woke up in the middle of the night for some hanky panky, Gary awoke with a sore neck and back. He stretched out, toes seeking the sheets and finding nothing but Chris' body, pressed to his side.
He opened his eyes to see that Chris was already looking at him. "You slept in," Chris said. "You're getting lazy in your dotage, old man." Gary turned to glance at the clock. 0527 hours.
"Seventeen minutes," he grumbled, sitting up and pushing his feet off the bed. There were the sheets, crumbled on the floor. Gary rolled his neck to work the stiffness out, then stretched his back.
He felt the bed jerk as Chris hopped out.
"Who's on KP this morning?" Chis asked, opening the underwear drawer and digging through. Both men were about the same size and shape, close enough to wear the same size clothes, so they'd long since combined their wardrobes into one. Chris found two pairs and tossed one to Gary, who caught it and stood to pull them on.
"It's your turn." Gary said, "But I think I'd like to get breakfast if you're okay with that."
"Grandma's?" Chris asked, referring to Gary's favorite greasy spoon.
"We can do something else if ya don't want that," Gary said. He opened the closet and found jeans for both of them, spinning suddenly and whipping one pair at Chris' head. Chris got a hand up, but not quite in time, and the legs wrapped around his head. Gary grinned at him as he got untangled.
"Well," Chris said primly as he extricated himself. "If that's how you're going to thank me for last night, I guess I can go back to pretending I still have a gag reflex."
"Let's not be too hasty now..." Gary said, but before he could go on, Chris whipped the jeans at him like a wet towel. The hem of one leg smacked into his back, just above his ass with a stinging crack, making Gary yelp and Chris grin.
"Truce!" Gary declared before his husband could fire again. Chris lowered the jeans and began to pull them on. Gary did the same with his pair, and then went digging into the closet again.
"Wanna coordinate today?"
"Get the long-sleeves. The two identical gray ones," Chris said. "Our pants already match, might as well match the tops, too."
"I take it you wanna wear the black boots, then?" Gary asked as he took the two gray shirts off the hangers and handed one to Chris.
"They're the only pairs we have that match."
Gary chuckled as he pulled his shirt on and tucked it into his pants. Chris tossed him socks and they sat down and pulled on their boots. When they were done, they admired each other for a moment.
"Twinsies," Chris said in an artificially cheerful, artificially high-pitched voice. Gary chuckled.
"Let's take Nat to IHOP," he said as he opened the door to get their daughter. "We ain't been in a bit."
"Works for me," Chris replied.
----
They hadn't quite finished their pancakes when Gary's phone rang. He looked at the number, then sighed and showed it to Chris.
"That's probably your first case," Chris said. Gary nodded. "Ayup. So I should take it." He pressed the accept button and held the phone up to his ear.
"Johnson," he said.
"Hey Gary," Inanna's voice said. "Hey, Anna," he responded.
"How's Chris and Nat doing?"
"They're good. We're just eating breakfast now, at IHOP."
"I'm jealous. Jerry's with the little ones today and I'm stuck in the office, running on coffee and a blueberry muffin from the break room."
"Figured you'd take the day off," Gary said. "What with it being the first day of summer break."
The waitress approached their table then. "Anyone need a refill? Anything to go? Or just the check?"
Gary held up a hand. "Am I gonna need to come into the office soon?"
"Uh... Probably. I've got a case for you, and you'll need to be briefed. And I think I might come with you. Mind magic might be useful here, and I know that's not really your thing."
"Want me to bring you breakfast?"
"Fuck yes," Inanna said with gusto. Gary chuckled and pressed the phone to his chest. "Can I get a menu? I'm gonna get a meal to go."
The waitress smiled and promised to be right back.
"What you want? Pancakes? French toast? Crepes? A big, hearty plate of eggs and potatoes and bacon?"
"Yes," Inanna said with a chuckle. "I'm famished."
"I'll do you one of the samplers and add some french toast, then," Gary said.
"Thank you, Gary."
"No problem. So give me the bird's-eye view."
Inanna sighed. "It's kids, Gary. I wouldn't have put something this heavy on you, except we don't have anyone else. Jack and Glenda are working another case up in the Rockies, John's up in New Jersey helping out with a kidnapping and both Clarence and Regina are on those killings up in Oregon."
She sighed again. "We've got three dead in a group foster home in the Baltimore suburbs, Franklin Green, to be specific. All three died in the middle of the night, one each night for the past three nights. The police reports said that each one woke up in a sweat, screamed the air out of their lungs and collapsed, dead. Preliminary autopsy results on the first showed tearing in the heart tissue, significant internal bleeding. The cops said the beds were soaked in blood."
Gary sighed. The waitress returned with the menu, and Gary used it to order Inanna's food. When he was done, she took off, promising to have it out shortly.
"Ayup. That sounds mighty weird."
"Cops called us when they got the third this morning. They're freaked out. The rest of the kids in that home and the caretakers are beside themselves."
"I'll tell ya what. I can be in Franklin Green in twenty minutes if I leave here. Why don't ya send me the address and we'll meet there. You can pass on the details to me as ya eat, I think I got enough to start with."
"Okay," Inanna said. "I'll leave the office in, say, fifteen minutes. How much for the food?"
"Don't worry about it," Gary said. Chris put a hand on Gary's arm. "I got it," he mouthed. Gary smiled at him.
"Okay, I'll see you there."
"Twenty minutes," Gary said and hung up.
"We'll take an Uber up to Gunpowder and have a nice hike," Chris said. "Maybe we'll stop by the safeway and pick up some supplies for a picnic." He looked at Nat. "Would you like that?"
"Hell yeah!" Nat said, kicking her legs happily and wiggling her butt back and forth as she shoved the last piece of pancake in her mouth." She grinned as she chewed.
Gary chuckled. The waitress returned with a pair of boxes and the check. Chris took it and muttered. "Military discount?"
"My dad was in the Army," the waitress explained. "You two wear it like a neon sign, no need to check IDs."
"Thank you, darlin'," Chris said, handing her the check back, along with his card. She took it to ring them up and Chris told Nat, "Say goodbye to Daddy. He's gotta go work."
"Bye Daddy!" Nat said, hopping up to come wrap her skinny arms around Gary's neck. He kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her back gently.
"Now, you heed your Dad, y'hear?"
"Yes, sir," Nat said. Gary smiled at her and booped her nose, eliciting a giggle. "That's my girl," he said.
----
"That ain't a lot to go on," Gary said as he and Inanna sat in Old Bess outside the group home. Inanna stuffed the last of her french toast into her mouth, dripping syrup on her lap.
"Shit," she muttered, grabbing a napkin and soaking up the condensation on the bottle of iced coffee she'd brought with her. She dabbed at the stain.
"I know," she said as soon as she swallowed. "But it's all we got."
Gary sighed. "Well, if you're done, let's go check the site. I'll interview, you scan for magic."
Inanna nodded and opened the door. "Mind if I leave this here for now?" she asked, gesturing at the empty food containers. "S'fine," Gary said. He climbed out and they both walked to the front door. He noticed that Inanna had a small handgun on her belt. He approved. It matched his G2C, which reminded him...
He produced his troll doll and clicked it to a belt loop using the small metal carabiner he'd had to replace the original plastic clip with. It was his good luck charm, his favorite of the collection that occupied a display cabinet in his living room. It had been with him through thick and thin, and it would make a good conversation starter with the kids, he thought.
Inanna knocked on the door, which was answered by a stressed-looking black man with a neat, short beard and a bald head. Gary felt the man magically. Patronly love, grief and stress came off of him.
Inanna and the man exchanged a few words and then she gestured to him.
"This is my partner, Gary Johnson. He's an Army vet as well." Gary stepped forward and offered the man a hand.
"Percy Washington," the man said in a deep, resonant voice. "Wrench monkey, oh-three to twenty-three."
"Pleasure to meet ya, Percy. I was a shooter, ninety-two to oh-twelve."
Percy chuffed a short laugh. "Couple of pensioners, then. Infantry?"
"Something like that," Gary said. Percy nodded, understanding what he was getting at.
"So Percy, can ya take me to one of the kids what saw what happened?"
"Yeah. Suzanne's still here. I had the others sent away, you know, for their protection, but Suzanne wouldn't stand for it. She flat refused to leave me and Beth."
Gary nodded. "Family's family, even if you had to find it."
Percy led him inside the large house, down a hall and to a small den with a TV on one wall and a thickly-upholstered couch on the other. A girl, about the same age as Nat sat there. She had bright red curls and a smattering of freckles across her face. The TV was playing a re-run of The Legend of Jimmy, from the first season. Suzanne was staring at it with haunted eyes. Gary blinked as he recognized the scene.
"Mighty strange coincidence," he said as he sat down next to the girl. She slowly turned her head to regard him.
"That's me," he said, as his counterpart on the screen tossed a grenade through a dilapidated factory door, waited for it to go off, then rushed in.
"Glenn Jackson?" the girl whispered.
"Gary Johnson, actually. They changed all our names for the show. The creator, my friend, Sookie, she wanted to give us the option of avoiding a lot of media attention."
She turned back to the television and watched as Glenn gunned down six men with ruthless efficiency.
"Is that how it really happened?" Suzanne asked.
"Sort of," Gary said. "Gunfire in a small space makes more smoke than you're seeing there. It's louder than the TV makes it sound, too. And I don't think there were any fellers in that particular room."
"But you rescued the girl?"
"Ayup. Found her hiding behind a couch, just like in the show. She was hurt, real scared, too. I got her out of there and back to our group."
"This is my favorite part," she said. Gary glanced over at Percy who nodded, then shook his head. Gary understood. Someone had hurt Suzanne before she came here. He sneered unconsciously and hoped his beard hid the expression. People who hurt kids... He called them and a few other types 'orcs'. Because they filled a role in his life that orcs did in fantasy books. People that the hero could kill in spades without ever having to feel guilty about it.
Gary and Suzanne sat in silence for a bit and watched the dramatic moment that Glenn found the naked Karen behind the couch. He watched as his counterpart put a large gun in her hands and she turned it on the greaser, bleeding out on the floor. He'd been dead in real life, but in the show, his eyes widened as he realized the girl he'd hurt would have her revenge.
The camera cut to a close-up on Karen's face as the flash of the shot lit it up. Three more flashes came in rapid succession, and then she gave the gun back and vomited on the floor.
Glenn held her hair back and rubbed her back as she convulsed, then pulled a large t-shirt from his pack and handed it to her. He stripped the shoes off the dead greaser and got Karen dressed.
The scene faded to black, and then expanded upon the meeting with Ishtar.
"You know, Inanna's here with me," he said.
"Ishtar?" Suzanne asked, not taking her eyes off the television. "Ayup. She's walking around, feeling out the magic in the house, right now. We can say hi, if you want. Maybe get some autographs before we go."
The people on screen chatted for a moment, then Ishtar ripped the head off the greaser she'd been holding hostage. Gary winced. Now that he thought about it, this was a little bit too violent for a child her age. He hadn't let Nat watch the show, yet. But Percy seemed like a good guy, and he clearly cared about his kids. Gary wouldn't second-guess his parenting.
Gary watched the characters vanish in the smokey heat-illusion visual effect that Sookie had picked to represent teleportation in the series, and then the credits rolled.
"Did you guys come here just to meet me?" Suzanne asked.
"Sort of," Gary said. "I need to talk to you, ask you some questions about what happened."
Suzanne nodded.
"Can you tell me? Just tell me the whole story of what happened to the others."
"I only saw Jerry die," Suzanne said in a small voice. A flash of the dream that had woken Gary up last night went through his head, but he dismissed the mental image. Jerry was a common enough name.
"I had a nightmare that night. A dark man came. He chased me through the house, but I hid in the attic and he couldn't find me for a while. I woke up when he opened the attic door.
"I was sitting in bed when Jerry woke up. He looked at me and said 'the dark man', then he started screaming. It woke everybody up. He screamed so loud his voice broke, and then he started bleeding out of his mouth and he fell over in bed."
Her voice had cracked worse with each word, and she sobbed the last few. Gary tried to gauge the girl, feeling her emotional state. She was afraid and sad of course. But she felt alone, too. She'd been an only child for a while, living with parents, real or foster, who didn't care about her. Until she'd come here, Gary guessed. He could feel where the wounds had started to heal, here in the group home with Percy and Beth and the other children. But then this happened, tearing the old wounds open.
Gary went for it. He wrapped the girl in his arms and pulled her into his torso, letting his shirt soak up her tears.
"I know, darlin'," he said gently. His own voice cracked with remembered pain. "I seen my friends die, too. I know what you're feeling."
She clung to him and cried for a long moment. Percy still stood in the doorway, his face a mask of sympathetic pain, blended with his own pain.
After a good while, Suzanne began to calm down.
"I wanna go lay down," she said.
"That's fine, honey," Percy told her. "You can go lay in me and Missus Beth's bed, if you want."
She stood and turned to walk through the door, but stopped.
"Are you here to kill the dark man?" she asked Gary.
"I think I might be, darlin'," he told her.
"When you do... Will you give me the gun? Like in the show?" Gary winced. This girl was too young for that, he was sure.
"We'll see," he told her. She nodded, accepting that, then turned and left.
"Jesus," Gary breathed.
"She's been through a lot," Percy said. "Her mother was one of those cultists from the show. So was her father, most likely, but nobody knows who that is. CFA found her when she was four, living in a roach-infested trailer with her mom, who was strung out on meth at the time. She had scars from cigarette burns on her arms."
Percy sighed. "The first foster family that took her turned out to be... A bad fit. They couldn't deal with a child who had trauma like that. They ended up locking her in her room and going out together a few times before the case worker found out and brought her to us instead."
"I hope them two ain't fostering any more kids," Gary said.
"They won't tell us what happened, but I heard through the grapevine they've been blacklisted," Percy confirmed. Gary nodded in satisfaction.
"She tell you what happened?" he asked. Percy shrugged.
"Same thing she told you."
"You notice the two parts about the 'dark man'?" Gary asked. Percy nodded. "I did, but I don't know anything about this stuff. I told the detective about it. I think it was her that called you guys."
"That sounds about right," Gary said. "Which was was Jerry? I mean, what order did the three pass in?"
Percy sighed again. "First, it was Candy. Then Jerry, then Martin."
"Did Candy say anything about a dark man? Or was there something else that could have inspired Suzanne's nightmare?"
"You think it was a coincidence?" Percy asked with a frown. Gary shrugged. "Maybe. I'm trying to rule that out."
Percy raised his hands in a helpless gesture. "Okay," he said. "Candy, right before she died..." He sniffed and angrily rubbed his eyes. "I made it into her room, because she was sleeping with Lacy, and woke her up when she sat up in bed. Lacy called us, probably tattling on Candy, she's like that, you know? Anyways, I went to see what was the matter, and I caught what Candy said. She said 'he's coming', right before she started screaming."
"Hmm. What about the last one, Martin?"
"I don't know. Martin had his own room. He might have said something, we didn't hear him until he started screaming."
Gary nodded.
"Thank you," he said. He walked up and put a hand on Percy's shoulder and spoke in a quiet voice. "I got a little girl of my own. I can't imagine what you're going through, right now."
Percy nodded and scowled at the floor. When he turned his face up to meet Gary's eyes, his were steely and angry.
"I just want this to stop," he said. "And if there's someone or something behind it, I want that person or thing or whatever... I want it dead."
Gary nodded. He patted Percy's shoulder. "Let me go check on my partner," he said. Percy turned with him. "Beth should be showing her the rooms where it happened. Come on. This place is a maze."
Percy led him through three halls to a stairwell, then up it and through two more halls until Gary could hear Inanna's voice.
"...not sure. I'm just gathering information right now. But it does look like that."
Gary stepped into the room the voices were coming from to find Inanna and a middle-aged, redheaded woman with long, straight hair, wearing a heavy metal T-shirt. The redhead turned to him as soon as she spotted him and held out a hand.
"Beth Washington," she said, her voice choked and raw.
"Gary Johnson," he said, shaking her hand. Beth nodded and let his hand go to stare at a bloodstained bed that had been stripped of sheets. Two more beds filled the room.
Gary turned to Inanna. "What'cha got?" he asked.
"There's something here," Inanna said. "A spirit or a deva, maybe. Not an asura, I don't think. It doesn't feel powerful enough for that. This is a tricky creature."
Gary nodded. "What can ya tell about it?"
Inanna shrugged. "Not much. I caught a glimpse of it, though. It looked like a tall man, perpetually cloaked in shadows."
"The dark man," Gary muttered. He felt the air as best he could. Even though he was nowhere near as proficient as Inanna, he could feel it. A dark, sinister presence, waiting to strike again.

Kita opens her eyes to see her right hand laying in front of her. As her vision adjusts she remembers the interrogation and in a moment of panic, she sits up to assess the damage on her right hand. She brings it to her focusing vision to find all of her fingers perfectly intact. She brings up her left hand thinking she's misremembered, but she finds the same.
Nothing wrong.
She feels for the back of her head, where the wound was and the same healing has taken effect. She sat up much quicker than she should have, and she didn't get woken up by any pain.
"Your hand healed while you were sleeping," Says a young voice from behind her, "How'd you do that?"
Kita turns to see a little boy who hasn't gotten much sun. He must have been here for a while now. He's dressed in rags that wouldn't do much to keep him warm. Her eyes widen as she finally locks with his. How is he still alive? They're black. Like Kita's- He had his soul stolen.
"I don't know," Kita answers, but quickly realizes she's lied. The strength she felt. The feeling of… Fullness that she'd gotten from the souls. It's completely diminished. Ten percent of what it used to be. She can only cast one small spell with this. "How long have I been asleep?"
"I dunno. There are no windows in here so it's hard to tell. Half a day maybe,"
There are no windows, just dense, concrete walls on all four sides. The place stinks. Wreaks of body odour and mould. Ugh, she can't be here for long. She's not the raider type.
"Why did they put you here?" The boy asks, with his curious, soulless eyes.
"I was just trying to get to the marketplace,"
"Marketplace?" The boy giggles, "It's called the strip, silly,"
"The strip?"
"It is a marketplace, but no one calls it that here,"
Shit, they all must've known she isn't from around here whenever she called it that. Is that why they were so certain she was part of Chevo's crew? This is their territory, so raiding is either done by them or by competitors they'll want to snuff out.
"I also lost my soul," He says too loudly, prompting some of the other downtrodden prisoners to glare at her.
She covers his mouth with her hand and passes him a menacing glare for his intrusive psycho-analysing. This kid will get himself killed if he talks like that. People could be religious and make a scene if they hear such.
"You should speak less," Kita says, trying to shut him up.
Speaking to him in the first place is probably where she went wrong. Kids can be so damn irritating, and this one definitely meets the requirements.
She lowers her hand from his mouth after her mumbles in confirmation. "How did you end up here?" She asks him.
"Well, they said they could sell me for a lot of money… Ya know, because of-" With his finger, he draws a circle around his face. Trying to refer to the whole 'souls' thing.
Kita chuckles at his attempt at being inconspicuous.
"I'm Jan, by the way," The kid says, extending an arm out for a handshake.
"Kita," She responds, shaking the kid's hand. "Where are you parents, kid?"
"I just told you my name, and you call me kid?"
"Seriously?" Kita rolls her eyes.
"My parents said remembering names is important. Did you forget it already?"
"No, stupid. Your name's Jean,"
"It's Jan!"
"Jan, right. That's what I just said,"
Jan overtly rolls his eyes, mimicking Kita's fed-up attitude. "My parents are at home," He answers, wrapping his arms around his legs and drawing his knees close to his chest. "I haven't seen them in a while,"
"They live here?"
"No, I'm from a different city. I don't know where it is now, so… I don't think I'll see them again,"
"Sheesh, kid. That's depressing,"
"You asked!"
"I just asked where they were. All you had to say was 'Not here'. But you go and hose me down with your sad ass back story,"
"Oh yeah? Well, it's more depressing that a grown-up like you can get caught just as easily as a little kid did!"
"Uhm, did they hit you in the back of the head with a bat or some shit to bring you here? Or crush three of your fingers in interrogation?"
"No…"
"I didn't think so. It's much more difficult to get me in here than you,"
"Yeah yeah, you're here anyway," The kid points at Kita, grinning. "We're equals,"
"The only thing you're equal to is my left boot. As a matter of fact, my left boot is more useful,"
"Because it covers up your stinky feet!"
Kita chuckles at Jan's argumentative attitude. Screwing with him is pretty fun. As far as kids go, he's not that bad- He isn't some kind of spoilt brat.
"You know what," Kita says, "I was going to take you with me when I escaped this place, but after the stinky feet thing… I'm having second thoughts," She shrugs.
"There's no way to get out of here," The kid sighs, "There are so many guards upstairs. Anyone that gets out the cell doesn't come back,"
"So… They escaped?"
"No, they died!"
"Oooh, of course. Well, I won't,"
"How do you know?"
"Want to hear a secret?" Kita asks him.
"O...k," He answers suspiciously.
She leans over to whisper in his ear, "I can't die,"
"Liar! That's impossible,"
"You saw my hand heal, didn't you? I'm a hero with magical powers,"
The kid laughs, "There's no way you could be a hero,"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You bully little kids! You'd be a supervillain, definitely not a hero,"
"Whatever," Kita giggles, rolling her eyes. "Villains are cool too,"
"The dark one is not cool," The kid says, curling his knees closer.
"Agreed,"
It's settled then. Kita's going to try getting both of them out of here. Her other options aren't so great- Working for these raiders. Why the hell would she waste her time with any of that? And waking up buried sends some other type of chill down her spine. If anything, that option genuinely has her worried, so they need to leave and get out alive.
She'll need a couple of souls though… The two guards by the front door of the hall are an option, but getting them over here is a mission of its own. She looks around her to count four other prisoners, excluding Jan, sharing a cell with them. Three in the cell to her left and six in the cell to her right. Getting all of them won't be so easy. She can pull two at a time, and it takes about five seconds to consume a soul.
If she's quick with it. This can all be done in under a minute. Two, tops.
What then? How do they get out of here? She was brought down a few flights of stairs but she can recall how many, or which one would have the exit. Walking out the front door isn't the best idea anyway, maybe there's a back exit. Somewhere they send out cargo or something.
"Hey kid, do you know a way out of here?"
"Not really… Sorry,"
The two raiders guarding the main entrance suddenly unlock the cell Kita resides in- It must be decision time. They both step into the cell and walk straight past Kita to grab Jan by the arms.
"Hey!" He yells as he starts violently shaking his body to escape their grasp. "Let go of me,"
"Where are you taking him?" Kita asks as they drag him out of the cell.
"Shut up," A guard orders Kita, slamming the cage shut behind him.
"Let me go!" Jan continues to resist.
"Hey, Jan. It was nice knowing ya',"
He doesn't respond, he's too panicked. They are really planning on selling the kid. To who? Why would anybody purchase someone without a soul?
Crap. She's going to have to find him. Both of the guards have dragged him beyond the door, creating a window for her to get out of here before they return.
This isn't a big deal, she'll just have to improvise.
^{AUTHOR'S NOTES
Read ahead on RoyalRoad https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/68702/soul-stealer-anti-hero-reincarnation-fantasy
Kita's thoughts - Post Chapter 7
"Kid... I mean, Jan,"}

Talismans would be small, in inventory items that provide unique effects made from some of the less useful items of the game

overview

talismans would essentially function similarly to blood essence providing unique effects in exchange for needing to be charged with items. unlike essence though they are held in inventory and will eventually turn to dust but can be overcharged (unless max upgraded).

Talismans

To craft a talisman you'll need imbued clay. this is created with 10 soft (or 28 dry) clay used on a PoH altar. once imbued you can left click to pull up the crafting menu and imbue them like normal. This process requires 10 crafting and 10 prayer to do a basic imbue.
Imbued clay can also be used again on any altar to sacrifice it like bones, giving roughly the xp of baby dragon bones.
To actually create the talismans though, you'll require runecrafting (see the table). and they are activated via left click, only one effect can be active at a time and have a 1m 30s cooldown between deactivation and next activation to prevent flicking beneficial talismans
Each talisman has 3 levels to it created with a formula of (BASE LEVEL * 4) if level 20 or below and (Base level * 2) if above level 20, so for example a level 10 talisman's level 2 variant would require 40 runecrafting and then 99 for the highest tier variant. or for a level 30 talisman it would take level 60 ruencrafting for the tier 2 and level 99 for t3. any talisman with a base level of 45 or higher only has two tiers and are naturally some of the strongest, and any talisman at level 90 or higher are automatically t3.
Its upgrade cost would be (BASE INGREDIENTS COST *2) so some talismans can become quite pricy. Each tier increases the effects of a talisman by 2.5% but also increases charge drain rate by 1 and 2 per tier respectively.
this makes it so the higher tier talismans burn brighter and shorter providing great effects at a cost to longevity making overcharge a necessity for extended use.
All talismans can hold up to 500 charges at max. T1 talismans will turn to dust through use, Max tier (be it t2 or t3 for that talisman) will not turn to dust
talismans

Talisman	Runecrafting level	Effects	Ingredients	starting charge	overcharge item
Weeping talisman	10	increases bleed damage by 2.5% increases	1000 congealed blood, 100 water runes	100	congealed blood
Claw Charm	35	adds an extra auto attack hit every attack dealing about 10% of weapon damage (maxes at 30% at t3)	25 nailbeast nails,	25	nailbeast nails
Shell charm	25	reduces damage taken by 3% from all combat styles (maxes at 9%, tank armor gets an extra % per tier so it caps out at 12)	20 of any snailhelm,	20	snailhelms, giant snail shells, snail shells
Spirit Talisman	15	consumes stone spirits like a coal furnace to keep your afk meter at 30%. HOWEVER unlike the other charms you need to charge it with a specific stone spirit to afk at that spot, you can mix and match up to the limit of 500 and your starting 100 charges will depend on the stone spirit used. when upgraded to t3 it will keep you at 50%	100 of any stone spirit + 10 bronze bars	100	stone spirits
Wisp charm	15	increases summoning charm drops by 3%, stacks with spirit attraction potions. Charms consumed by the imp grant 2.5% more xp	25 of any summoning charm + a spirt attraction potion OR 10 spirit weed	25
Wooden charm	25	increases woodcutting speed by 2.5%. When using superheat form this is increased to 3.5% base.	10 of any log type, but higher tier logs will yield better starting charges, 5x impious ashes	10-100 depending on log type used	logs
String Talisman	35	allows you to auto string your inventory if you have the strings present at a cost of -7.5% xp. Unlike other talismans upgrading this talisman lowers the xp loss.	25 bow strings and 1x diamond	25	bow strings
Lucky talisman	50	a badluck mitigation item, gem type coresponds to boss/activity tier. It prevents you from receiving duplicate PvM drops sacrificing a charge per kill. For example if you want BLM for Kerepac or zamorak it would require a hydrix as they're currently max tier and would be recharged via hydrix dust, for t90 bosses onyx, and so on and so forth down the line till you reach world bosses like flash mobs who would use opal/jade/topaz as their charge item	1-25 of a gem type + 1x gold bar. high value gems require far less	25-100	gemstones (type dependant)
fortunate talisman	40	when receiving coins or salvage this talisman increases the size/gp total dropped slightly. Removes low value drops from your LOTD/ROW/ROF drops. Recharge is based on gem type, each gem boosts the value slightly with alchemical onyx providing the greatest boosts.	1-25 of the following gem types; 1 alchemical onyx, 10 cut onyx, or 25 cut dragonstone.	500	onyx, fortunate components, and dragonstones based on the type.
Waverider charm	35	attunes you to a specific fish type increasing catch rate by 2.5%	25 of a fish + 1000 water runes, or for 10 shark teeth and a sailfish it will work for any fish in game.	25	specific raw fish
Flame Charm	50	adds dragonfire to your attacks (3% caps at 8% at max tier)	1x dragonfire shield (or variants) or a ward and 20 dragonstone cut	50	dragonfire components, and dragonstones
Corporeal charm	60	summons a dark core at random, while skilling it recharges prayer but lowers the remaining resources from that resource node (lowers activity bar heavily
Draconic charm	86	greatly increases the damage and accuracy of dragon items and special attacks or the efficiency of dragon tools. unlike other talismans ONLY t2 exists	5x of any dragon item + a cut dragonstone	100	dragon items (darts and arrows not included)
Plunder charm	45	Increases the rate of more valuable items/rewards while doing any thieving activity. Vastly improves the drop chance of rouge's set items and synergizes with it to allow the rouge's set to act like master camo/worker outfit + 2% better xp	26-3 of any pyramid plunder artifact (high tier counting for more) + 1 cut ruby	26	pyramid plunder items
Surefooted talisman	50	prevents failing agility obstacles, if the talisman is t2 and your level vastly outpaces an agility obstacle it will automatically be traversed.	25 agility potions + a cut emerald	25	agility pots
Hunters charm	25	Unique effects based on tier. t1 destroys product for more xp, t2 increases product for less xp, t3 boosts rare events in BGH (doubles and triples) and slightly increases product	20 hunter pelts (pitfalls for t3, falconry for t2, noose for t1) + bronze wire	50	hunter pelts
Inventors charm	90	only one tier, lowers junk in exchange for more components. When rare components are involved has a chance to give an extra, higher chance for rare components NOT tied to boss items.	10k junk + 5 of any metal bars	250	junk (1k per 50 charges)
Dragonskin charm	90	reduced damage taken from ranged and magic by 15%, increases damage taken from melee by 7.5%	25-5 of any dragon hide (more common ones take more to charge)	100	dragonhide
Metal Skin talisman	90	reduces damage taken from ranged and melee by 15%, increases damage taken by magic by 7.5%	25-5 of any metal bar (same as above for charges)	100	metal bars
Enchanted Skin talisman	90	reduces damage taken from melee and magic by 15%, increases damage taken by ranged by 7.5%	25-5 of any magical cloth (same as above for charges)	100	magic cloths (fine cloth, split bark, etc)
Enigmatic charm	95	reduces typeless damage taken by 15% BUT increases damage taken from non-typeless attacks by 10%	1 alchemical onyx + 25 dinosaur leather	500	onyx dust
Onyx Charm	99	counts your weapon as obsidian for the berserker necklace, obsidian weapons and armor have 10% increased damage, accuracy, and armor (stacks with tzhaar DR)	10x onyx + 5 dragonfire components	150	onyx dust

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Note: I make fun of books and authors, so if you really can’t take being poked at, Spindle Manor will do the poking for you with their long, sexy legs.
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Table of Contents: ctrl + f:
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Updates: #
Stats: ^
Recs: *
Conclusion: @
Answers: ~
Theme: Ö
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Welcome back to Reviewless Review Recs of May!
A short introduction to this post: Every book is recommended, regardless of how bad it is or not. You have the brain capacity to decide if you like it or not, don’t let a stranger make a decision for you.
I speak in the second POV and describe what the book is actually about, and not the false advertising of publishing companies. I do this with shitty jokes and satire and try to convince you to pick up the book, regardless of how I feel about it.
Unlike Hoover, all books deserve a chance….Sigh, OK, fine, fine, Barbara. Even….Even...Eleventh Cycle.
ARE YOU HAPPY, NOW, B-
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May:
May was filled with disappointment that a jury vote existed and the king of Finland didn’t win Eurovision. The world unanimously cried, but couldn’t be that mad that Loreen won.
Except this bitch.
I fucking wanted Alika to win so badly. I even voted and paid for the first time to give all my votes to her. Her song spoke to me and touched me that it’s never too late to go back to my work.
If Bomanz from Black Company can become a famous sorcerer at his rickety age, maybe we can too!
My favorites of Eurovision (from music videos only, I feel like every one of my favs bombed someway except Finland, France, and Norway):
Estonia
France
Austria
Czechia (wtf was that live performance...)
Finland
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In ACTUAL book news, I’ve been waiting patiently for the library to hand me the newest Mark Lawrence book that I’ve been waiting literally 3 and a half weeks now, but I still get bumped down on Libby...for some reason. Eh.
Also since I managed to finish “She Who Rides the Storm”, I finally started “Elantris”. Was a long time coming but was saving it for a while and thought it was finally time to tackle Sanderson. I started Way of Kings with the paperback version and boy, that was a mistake for my ADHD…
And, that’s why I got a Kindle last year.
Anywho, let’s get started!
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Some Updates: #
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• I started comparing last month’s stats with this month, just to see how everything is progressing cause I like working with numbers!
• As requested by a user, I have made the recs longer
• At the end of each Rec, I put a theme song that I thought fit each book appropriately. You can tell how much I loved Eurovision this year.

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Stats: ^
Books read this month: 10 (+3)
Books I started: 13 (=)
Total amount of words I read (approx): 1,050,508 (-414,261,565) according to last month...I read way more. Not sure why the numbers are this drastic
Books published 2010+ : 8 (N/A)
Mary Sues & John Smiths: 11, give or take (7+)
YA books: 5 (+4)
Good smut scenes: 1 (+1?) I think it was in the Witcher, say what you will about the series, the man knows how to write smut
Light Novels read: 0 (-2)
Books that felt Souls-like: 6 (+2)
Audiobooks: 4 (N/A)
How many brain cells I lost: 529 (+500)
Brain cells gain: 175 (N/A)
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What other stats do you guys want to see?
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Guessing Game:
Want to know the real rating I gave each of these books anyway, even though the true spirit of this post is to decide for yourself anyway? I know there’s one of you fuckers in here, but here, guess the ratings and the answers are revealed at the end. You anarchist, you.
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Reviewless Review Recs: \*
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Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb: Read if you're in the ages 14-18, as this is possibly the most edgiest thing you might read about fictional Italy. Two teens are trying to solve a murder mystery in an alternate universe where Catholicism reigns supreme. Wait.
As an adult, this is a living personification of that one prozd video.
If you ever played Phoenix Wright, you’ll figure out the murderer in 5 seconds. If you haven’t, then maybe this would come as a surprise.
Atheism is talked about on the nose, you can't stop thinking about “Friends” because of "Roz" being mentioned every other second, and our intrepid MC goes to horny jail every other second when she's literally fighting for her life and not focusing on a gun that could disembowel her.
PTSD of war is represented by the male MC who probably once could be have been the trope of the “nice guy” in school that you never had had interest in, but 3 years later, because he sported 5 o’ clock shadow and has a barotone voice, he’s automatically hot.
Oh, and there are token bi, POC, and elderly people, but they’re only mentioned for a few pages, so don’t expect that much diversity. You think Archer, Maas, and Lobb could actually be friends with each other given how they write their books. A secret society. cough
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Ö Theme: Heat Waves – Lime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOokFwrmri4
Ö Runner up clip: Moist maker (this sandwich is actually GOAT, made it several times): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9FG4kg8HNU
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Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman :
Read if Percy Jackson wasn’t edgy and dark enough for you and need something similar. Uniorinically, this is actually not satire but an actual (sorta) rec. Structure is similar to Jackson but with none of the jovial themes and tropes. Think “Lightning Thief”, only dark and edgy with grotesque monsters and, not urbanite Greek deities, but evil people from the Crusades era.
You keep thinking you’ll meet the 4th character in the Sanderson reunion tour, but there’s actually only 3 characters that are on this journey, not 4. So that Italian will actually not join us even though you liked his character a ton and curse at yourself at a potential LGBT partner dude. One day.
You will also find yourself crying, not because of how the story ended, but how the epilogue ended and boot up AO3 to fix everything.
You probably should(n’t) give this book to your aunt for reasons you know in the back of your mind but your evil AF. Maybe offer this to at Christmas and explain that it’s a book about a pilgrimage...(which isn’t totally wrong) but you’re a little bastard that is gonna get an ass whopping next Christmas, but it’ll be worth it.
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Ö Theme: Alika- Bridges: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO9g5t3VSuw
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Time of Contempt (Volume (???)) by Andrzej Sapkowski (Witcher)
Read if you want to see Geralt turn into a woke ally Boomer, Yennefer going to relationship counseling, and Ciri gets her wish in more ways than one. If you’re comparing Witcher books with each other, quality has gone up since Blood of Elves if that’s what you’re concerned about. We also see the Abyss Watchers making an appearance and then you think of Jerma’s Rat song in your head for inexplicable reasons.
This book is mostly about Yennefer trying to employ questionable (albeit understandable) parenting tactics on Ciri and being caught up in the after math.
As usual, book is dated towards rape, but the only saving grace is it’s “off screen” and not in your face, “Eleventh Cycle”, knock that shit off
Let’s be real, you can’t treat this series as a separate unique book to it’s own, it’s more of a long ass story that Sapkowski decided for marketing reasons to space it out in 300+ page books.
If you ask me what makes this more interesting than the previous books, it will be like asking me which regional orange looks different and bitch, I don’t got energy for that shit.
Ö Theme: Rats Birthday Mixtape
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The Curse of the Spectre Queen / The Rise of the Snake Goddess by Jenny Moke
Read if you like to imagine Indiana Jones as a teenage girl, but loves books. Instead of meeting hot girls, we meet hot 1920s men, which you get to decide how good or bad that is.
The BAMF slays and you wish we had her as our Jones instead of our shy book loving MC, but hey, at least this MC has at least one quality to her that has way more personality that anything Shannon can hope to write in her stories. (Yes I know she writes her books as if they were history books, that’s not the point, Meredith)
Spectre Queen’s plot is literally another book that will make you hug trees and will lead our characters across to Ireland. The next book is about a girdle, that you literally had to Google wtf a girdle was. You first thought it was a grill.
You wonder if the publishing agency struck a deal with the Irish and Crete travel agencies.
You also make a startling discovery that these characters are your OC from high school and middle school and your love interest OC from college mashed up into an adventure book that is oddly less erotic than anything Maas could create. You decide how good or bad that is.
Ö Theme: Indiana Jones Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bTpp8PQSog
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Mordew by Alex Pheby
Read if you want to read an MC bland as hard tack inherit powers that don’t make sense till past the 70% mark. You want to read a dark YOUTH ADULT novel. Can’t find anything that’s edgy and dark enough for you? Well, here it is!
Dark mansion with Igor from the Velvet Room with an obvious villain being obvious, befriending a young boy that supposedly wants the best for him.
What can go wrong?
There are Souls-like elements weaved in, but you’re not going to see much of it. It’s mostly a vibe/fart than a plot or atmosphere.
What this book is pretty much: boy wants to help dad, there are weird monsters living in the mud, and a mansion that totally wants to abduct/help kids. Totally. Oh, and be aware, animals die in this book. A lot. An entire species is pretty much annihilated for teenage hormonal reasons that won’t make sense even if you’re still a teen. (Yes, I was one too and I also didn’t go on genocides. Thanks, Dad, you are a gem.). Oh, and someone fucked an anthropomorphized hedgehog along the way. Yeah. That happened.
If you go into this book, DO NOT READ THE BLURB! It ruins the whole plot of the entire book. If you buy/rent it, don’t you dare flip to the back side. Just open to the first chapter and start reading. You’re welcome, Matt.
Ö Theme: La Zarra – Evidemment Unironically, I think this song fits rather well with Mordew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWfbEFH9NvQ
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Ö Runner up clip: Running in the 90s: You know why... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ0xBCwkg3E
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She Who Rides the Storm by Catelin Sangster
Read if you like Sanderson and wished he focused more on the characters rather than the world building. You also like the ooey gooey feeling of finding a red/blue ship that you wished was the main pairing, but you’ll have to settle them being the side ship. Oh god, why, every single time?!
While it does have romance tilt to it, this book focuses more on finding a cure for a mysterious illness and two of the characters are refugees from a religious cult that loves sunshine and that one weird horse mount from the Empire Strikes Back that you couldn’t take the auroshees seriously because of that.
Imagine that desert bar scene in A New Hope, but make it a whole book. But make it about a heist as a side plot that is barely touched on until the last 20% of the novel.
You also love doing puzzles in your spare time as you’ll be doing a lot of piecing together of the plot and world building from chapter to chapter. Unlike my problems, this one is pieceable and the last remaining piece is dangled over your head until the next book.
...Sangster is probably going to make you pay $20 for this singular piece, ain’t she?
Ö Theme: First Aid Kit - The Lion’s Roar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqS1MV_xA_I
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Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
Read if you want to have a blunt conversation with Bourdain about food, the faults of the kitchens, what not to do if you want to be a chef, and to be transported to the deepest, darkest alley where you might be knifed, but goddamn, the best chicken heart can be found here.
If you’re a bitch that’s easily spooked by curse words, then this probably isn’t for you. Though...you can sneak this to your cook boyfriend if you want to break up, because he already read the fucking book, Berta, I thought you knew him better by now!...Now you can finally segway to break up. Congratulations!
You’ll see the workings of a mind that was suffering. That was the reflection of this entire autobiography. Suffering and food. That’s life in reality, ain’t it?
Don’t expect cohesion or a semblance of logical flow of pacing. This book, like Mr. Bourdain’s mind, was a cluster fuck of erotically describing food, the dark corners and reality of the cooking world, and shitting on people because they were dicks.
He is sorely missed, and this isn’t a bit, but I still mourn his loss to the world. The world needs him again.
RIP to the GOAT.
Ö Theme: Okami – Sei-an (Aristocratic Quarter II) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxXsEqNBTYE (Because he’s timeless and immortal even beyond death)
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Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
Read if you got tired of everything happy and sunshine in Percy Jackson and wanted blood, death, knives, SKELETONS, AND 12 year olds that are surprisingly self aware of the fact that they’re a teenager. You want less consumerism and capitalism than what Percy Jackson pushed down your throat. Finally, no mentions of those fucking gold arches, Riordan.
Oddly, no parents are dead in this book. In every YA book you read, there is at least one parent dead, gone to get milk, or playing Tears of the Kingdom. Pleasant surprise for this narrator.
You are also a person that hates world building that lastS for pages and pages. There’s none of that in this book. Expect pages of dialogue like it’s a transcript of my parent’s arguments.
Mom, I don’t agree with you. No, I don’t agree with you either, Dad. You fucking little….Just plant the damn fig tree, for fuck’s sake.
From other sources, apparently the book series gets darker as books go on, so take that as you will. Listening to Eminem and Linken Park between books may increase levels of angst in the subsequent books.
Side effects include: angst, a potentially bi-found family that lasts 10 seconds, fear of skeletons, mourning for fictional characters, and teenagers being oddly logical.
Post script: This would actually make an excellent autumnal book cause of spoopy skeletons.
Ö Theme: Lose Yourself – Eminem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YuAzR2XVAM (I was yesterday old when I realized “Mom’s spaghetti” lyrics was this song)
Ö Runner up clip: Spooky scary skeletons
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The White Rose (Volume 3 of the Black Company) by Glen Cook
Read if you liked having Charm flashbacks of Volume 1, but want a great dopamine rush in Volume 3.
Night Circus got nothing on this book for reasons you’ll figure out later. Expect a lot of weird crack shenanigans such as talking rocks just to name an example. The Lady’s character is fleshed out a lot more than previous volumes. Twists and turns are aplenty and Croacker complaining he’s too old like an old grandpa shopping 10 AM at a Walmart.
Funny enough, Morgenstern is a lot related to this book in more ways than one. Move over, lady, Cook was the original writer of Night Circus, caramel popcorn and candy apples be damned! We’re eating crusty bread and thickened stew, bitch!
You’re not going to be at the edge of your seat until the last percentage of the book, but it’s worth the dopamine rush and emotions that are given in the end, long after you put the book down. You will find yourself wandering around the library wondering how you returned from a reality of flying manta rays and talking rocks...to old ass Swedes loitering in the lobby, discussing where to fika next.
You’ll need a lot of Monsters to process your emotions tonight.
You also finally figure out where Miyazaki got the inspiration for the Storm King in Demon Souls. All this time, you got mad at Miyazaki for inserting a giant manta ray for disappointing climax reasons. No. He may have understood Black Company more than we thought.
Coleydoesthings is also screaming at the top of her lungs by the end of the book, crying into her body pillow.
Ö Theme: MSR – Lord of the Wolves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izFwwGx-wmo (Someone help me on the EX Stages omfg)
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Conclusion: @
I’ll be traveling soon, so the books might be on the short side, but my dumbass quality will remain. Just sprinkled with a lot of curry, chapati, and a big helping of obesity.
God, my thighs can’t take anymore of America.
I think I’ll have fun reading Elantris cause it’s literally a love letter to Soulsbourne and I might learn a bit from it! Can’t wait for it!
I know it’s not book related too much, but what were y’alls favorite in Eurovision?
(Did anyone feel like Armenia just spent money to send that girl an expensive Tinder profile?)
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Answers: ~
Seven Faceless: 2/5
Between Two Fires: 3/5
Time of Contempt: 4/5
Curse and Snake: 3.95/5 & 4/5
Mordew: 1.5/5
She Who Rides the Storm: 3.9/5
Skullduggery: 3/5
Medium Raw: 4/5
White Rose: 4.5/5
If you have any constructive feedback, I’m open to them! Hope you enjoyed this month’s Recs!

My store has a gm, sales asm, ops ask, GSM, mobile manager, cnd sup and 2 retail sups. I've been chosen as one of the shift leads Anyone know what kinda bloodbath I can expect this Friday?

And not in a "Reporter on your back 24/7" deal, but more of the fact that society has this hardon on making movies or series of the Heroes actual life or achievements and/or the like.
Imagine someone from the Management course in U.A. to make a showing(movie, video, clip) around a hero or an event and they have full access to every recording that happened and must present in a light that makes the Heroes looks good, while somehow keeping some information unknown, be that from perspective shift, skipping over some clips or muting audio and covering it with music.
Take the USJ and make it where everything is always being recorded on a drive that's wired, since a Villain was jamming the signals. That event could go from a tonal shift so hard from something that would start out as a "slice of life" feel to an "Action/Horror" genre.
Go further with some of the fics I've read where the writer makes the class goes almost a week of a "Hero vs Villains" session and that would be a huge deal for the audience, The failing Heroes and the rising Vilians.
Speaking of, it wouldn't be in a vacuum like some that I've read, the audience would almost be everyone from JP who wanted to pay attention to that stuff, cause you know, streaming services are still a thing.
"Dude, did you see what Deku did? Where do you think those black tentacles comes from in his family" "Blasty is so cool, but such a brick when it comes to Riot." "Hah!" "Holy shit, you saw the video where Prez-ginium was lecturing the teacher from Shiketsu?" "That's my favorite so far! I loved how the scene shows everything he was talking about!" "If Grapejuice don't stop, Froppy is going to make some wine at some point." "*Giggling* He is my hero! Make 'em show them T-ack!" "Haruka's in the next room, shut!"
Could also be quite a challenge for Heroes and Hero-Students alike as they HAVE to get used to being on film the moment they join and retain their resolve.

If there is a better place to post, please tell me.
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My wife is a nurse and we are in Philly on a travel nurse contract. She works nights at Einstein. The place we are renting is in a decent neighborhood. The company renting it out charges as such. We are trying to figure out what recourse we have for the endless problems we've had. Rent is coming due, and trying to move in the middle of this contract is not possible. We made it clear my wife works nights and has severe allergies. When we moved in: The apartment was not clean at all. The futon (not couch) was absolutely covered in dog hair. Took them a week to come out and vacuum and steam clean. We out a sheet over it in the meantime and avoided it. The AC filter has about all inch of dirt and dander in it, so it hasn't been changed in a long time. Still not replaced The kitchen table was out together with spare hardware and is unstable. You can't eat or work on it. Took 25 days to address. We are either standing, on the couch, or spent money eating out. The black out curtains they promised are not black out curtains and don't cover the whole window. The oven didn't work for the first 10 days. Bathroom faucet handle is moldy. Toilet tank overflowed for first 10 days before fixed. We'd have to turn the water on to use the toilet, then shut it off. There are mice in the walls. Still not addressed, and keeps us up. These are the main issues I can think of while laying in bed stressing. There are other, stupid issues but I'm trying to stay focused. What can we do? The guy we deal with who I think runs this show is a dimwit, trying to charge top dollar and spend nothing. I hate being taken advantage of. Can I withhold payment for the coming month? Do I have leverage of any kind? Can I get him in trouble with the city? Thanks to anyone who responds.

So I’m gonna play devil advocate on the kyra using paper plates. Also I have lots to say about kyra because I’ve been watching okbaby for a long time and I’ve been in this subreddit a while now. I find that people dig into her for using paper plates with kids and yes i agree paper waste is horrible, but like she has 4 kids. Also I’m not sure if a “grew up in lower income” type of thing or a black thing (cuz I’m black) but her using paper plates should not be a big deal. Life is busy and dishes aren’t always something you have time for also as a neurodivergent person it’s just easier. This shouldn’t make her lazy that’s a wild label over some dishes. Also kids like certain colors or characters on objects like plates and this can cause fights especially when there is 4 of them. Yes she could easily buy them what plates they like but a damn paper plate ain’t hurt nobody. I feel it’s realistic and I personally don’t have kids yet but it’s really not that bad as some people make it seem. This is not me siding with her at all tho I think she’s crazy but I’ll talk about that another time 😂😂

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• I am looking to replace my console to play mostly heavily modded CDProjektRed and Bethesda games
• Specific games on my list are Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

• $1300

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• I am planning to purchase a computer in July
• Question - Is it worth waiting until Black Friday in the US? My console still works so if it's really a good time for deals, I would consider it

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• I have a really nice keyboard, mouse, and a really old external display, but I will need everything else

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• USA - I have access to two Microcenters - the one in Marietta, GA and the one in Fairfax, VA

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• Keychron M1 Wired Gaming Mouse PMW3389
• Keychron K5 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard
• HP Pavilion 22cwa 21.5-Inch Full HD 1080p IPS LED Monitor, Tilt, VGA and HDMI (T4Q59AA)

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• I don't know anything about overclocking so I think I will not do that.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

• I don't know of anything particular

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• I do not care about aesthetics and would prefer to save money in that area if possible

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• I do not have a current license for Windows so I will need one, but I don't have a preference

Extra info or particulars: N/A

Thank you in advance for your help! I'm a console game stepping into new territory - I've never built a computer from parts before so I really appreciate any guidance.