Sunday school opening ideas

My girlfriend of almost a year left me. First serious relationship ever. She told me it was her not me. Being a bad gf, long distance (the college I am going to is 30 minutes away from her school), and not having time for me I believed most of this at face value for the first 2 weeks. She told me I ment so much to her for her junior to senior year. And that she felt so luck to be with someone that treated her how she felt like she deserved. If that be notes, gifts, date ideas, checking up, being a shoulder to cry on, and respecting her physical boundaries that she did not want crossed alone. That on more than one time she admitted she thought I was just going to try to take her V-card. When she wanted to wait, and I told her I respect and care about you to much to her hurt you intentionally. All photos of us are gone on her account. They are not gone on my at all I for whatever reason am feeling better and unachievable 3 of the 6 total post that we are in together. Just so yall are aware I still have 2 post with my pass ex. Was not super serious but I cared about her and she was like my first kiss, gf, school dance, date, etc. We went no contact after my graduation 6 days later. This has been really hard for me especially when she picked me when we started dating.

Hi, so, I've been trying to figure out my MBTI for a while now and initially I thought INFP before realizing that was painfully wrong. I've since figured I'm an xNTP. Now I just need to figure out which I am between the two.
Points foagainst Inferior Fe (or Tertiary)
• Enjoy bringing up certain topics to mess with people and make entertaining conversations (A burrito is a sandwich, salsa could in theory be a spaghetti sauce, a questionable game me and my friends played the others weren't there for, etc.) • Bad at empathizing with people (This is mostly because I get uncomfortable dealing with other people's emotions and tend to just joke around) • Bad at "reading" people (This may because I'm neurodivergent but I struggle to understand people's secret motives and whatnot) • I am socially illiterate while at the same time not being socially illiterate (I have to observe my surroundings first if I want to fit in and blend in but I am generally good at navigating social situations once I have a minute to adjust and examine the environment.) • When it comes to the few things I find personal (like my music tastes) I am very against sharing them, I don't want to be judged for it, but once I feel comfortable enough with the people I am more open to sharing things I consider more sensitive information about myself. • My sense of humor can be all sorts of things but I tend to follow what other people are going with or describe it as "twelve year old boy" humor. I am historically very quotable. There are two separate discord friend groups I am in where things I have said make up a decent 75-90% of the whores chat. • I can tend to see people more as amusement and temporary ways to ease my boredom than friends, when I was (again,) in school I would befriend a person for classes I wouldn't be able to use my phone in because otherwise I'd be really bored. Took until senior year and a D&D party to have actual friends I liked and actually did spend time with outside of school.
Points foagainst Inferior Si (or Tertiary)
• Ignoring my body functions until I literally can't (As a kid I would hold in my pee and ignore it because I had other things I wanted to do more until I was crouching on the floor holding it in. Also have ignored my hunger and thirst for similar reasons or because it would "take too long") • Enjoy specific comfort foods/shows (However I might plan to have/watch them and will just not do them. No clue why, I just never get to it) • Bad with routines (I try to set up routines and plans and they just fall apart, the only way to get myself to do anything is if it's NOT planned and I don't on a whim.) • I use past information I've learned and collect it all to use for my arguments when I'm debating with someone to make a logical explanation for why I'm right (using analogies or similar situations to the point I'm trying to support or random pieces of information that, again, support my point.) • I don't really get sentimental about things usually but randomly if big changes occur I get super upset and pissy about it (Ripping up the floors in my childhood home might make me upset or annoyed. I get over it pretty quickly, though.) • I am not very organized. During schooling I shoved all of my school items I received into my backpack and just called it a day, at best I usually put the things connected to each other (such as AP Gov packets) together but that was about the extent of it. • Hated when I was forced to organize things and organize my files because I figured I would literally never use it and I didn't • Sometimes will randomly get a spark of inspiration like once a year and will organize my dresser and actually not shove everything in there for once • I am really terrible organizing things on my own, even these bullet points. Only reason I'm doing it like this is someone said, "Hey, put this into ChatGPT to make it easier to read" and I went, "Good Idea" so I did and it got put into bullet points and it was way easier to read.
Thanks for the help, everyone. Much appreciated.

I wonder if anyone else feels this way?
I am a Economic History student. I actually went into uni to study History and Economics, but I did drop Economics as I realised it wasn't really what I wanted to study. Plus I was dealing with severe mental health issues at the time, and doing joint honours was just too much. I can do a bit of maths in this degree, but I miss the methodology and the satisfaction of completing a question correctly.
I looved STEM at school, I just happened to love History more and it's where my passion lies. At A level, I actually ended up getting an A in Maths and a B in History.
I found a lot of what we learnt in A level Maths could be quite useful - for example testing hypotheses, integration etc. I also used to code when I was a young teen but gave that up (I am a woman and got harassed in my school computing classes). I feel now I have lost a lot of those skills, even if I know I am capable of them.
I know in the job market, STEM skills are valued also, even in non-STEM fields. Even in the humanities field, data analysis is very useful, and I know AI/machine learning is used for stuff like textual analysis.
So yeah, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas? It's probably a bit of imposter syndrome but I generally do feel dumber STEM-wise than I did at sixth form. I had to look up what logarithms were for the other day, oh my days lol.

I failed my 3rd year in college from one of the top 3 universities here in the Philippines. I am being treated for depression, anxiety in and out for about 5 years already. Hindi ko na kinaya ang course ko during 3rd year and failed all my subjects. I was dismissed and not in school for 2 years. I still want to finish school but I don't know of any university that would accept my failed grades. Another option I searched is Open University abroad.
Can I simply enroll there and forget about my 2 years in college that I passed, what will happen to my TOR?
Thanks for anyone's help!

It is a winter night in 2002, Seth Berkowitz's found himself craving something sweet and comforting amid the late-night video game sessions and pizza deliveries. As the snow fell outside, an idea took root – a business that could deliver warm cookies until the late hours of the morning.
So he starts with $150 worth of baking supplies, and spent his summer perfecting classic cookie recipes, enlisting feedback from friends and his wife, who coined the catchy name "Insomnia Cookies."
By junior year, he was ready to bake and deliver from his college house. Adorning dorm halls with flyers and offering flavor samples like Classic Chunk, Mint Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal Raisin, and M&M cookies.
Though initial orders trickled in, a front-page article in the school newspaper sparked a surge, propelling Insomnia Cookies from a mere three orders a night to a staggering 80.
Seth, the sole baker and delivery person, found himself overwhelmed yet exhilarated by the unexpected success, netting $10,000 by the end of the semester.
Therefore he continued refining his operations, establishing a website for orders and eventually relocating production to a commissary kitchen off-campus. Joined by co-founder Jared Barnett, Insomnia Cookies expanded its delivery zones, reaching campuses beyond UPenn's borders.
A proven business model, Seth thought about expanding Insomnia Cookies by strategically opening storefronts outside of Philadelphia near college towns.
With a $10,000 profit from his first semester and funds from angel investors, Seth opens up Insomnia's inaugural storefront in Syracuse, New York, just a week before his college graduation.
From there, more strategic expansion followed, with new locations planted near college campuses.
However, the road to success was paved with challenges. The financial crisis of 2008 nearly derailed Insomnia's trajectory, forcing Seth to downsize and take on multiple roles himself.
Until the advent of the iPhone and the growing appetite for late-night convenience proved to be another strategic cause for Insomnia's meteoric rise. As delivery apps such as DoorDash and GrubHub started to take place in the market.
From 2012 to 2018, the company experienced its fastest growth, opening 125 new stores and establishing a robust corporate team.
In 2018, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts acquired a majority stake in Insomnia for $140 million, a testament to the brand's growing success. Insomnia continued to flourish, raising an additional $4.5 million to fuel its expansion.
From humble beginnings in a college dorm kitchen, Insomnia Cookies now generates over $200 million a year with over 260 locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
All from a crave of a late night cookie.
Full article here or case studies

This is a ThrowAway account because I have friends on Reddit and prefer to keep this private.
I (40M) have a son (18M) who had just been accepted to college. When he told me he had been accepted, I was extremely happy because I didn't have that opportunity in my life. I was born into a family of 8 siblings and we never had many luxuries growing up, so I dropped out of school to work and help at home. Today, I work in the same place where I started my first job, but in a managerial position that pays me very well for someone who doesn't have a diploma.
Back to the title: when my son was accepted to college, I asked him to read the notice and gather all the necessary documents for his college registration. I don't understand much about technology, so I asked one of my employees, who knows how to use a computer better than I do, to help me with my son's registration. During the week, I kept asking him for the documents and he always made up an excuse not to deliver them. In an attempt to help him, I had already gathered all the documents of his that I had printed, but according to him, some documents could only be obtained online and that might take some time.
When the last day for registration arrived, he gave me the missing documents and without wasting time, I went to work to use my computer with a friend to do his registration. However, the website of the college he said he had been accepted to was not accepting the login credentials. I called him many times asking if the credentials were correct because to enter the new student's page, information from the document and the registration number were needed, but he didn't answer my calls. That day, I got home as quickly as I could to find him and try to resolve this as soon as possible.
When I got home, he was on the couch and from his expression, I noticed something wasn't right, and I was right. As soon as I entered the room, he asked me to sit down because he wanted to have a "serious conversation". In this conversation, he revealed that he had not actually been accepted to college but had lied to me out of fear of my reaction if he didn't get in. At that moment, my world fell apart. I had never felt so disappointed as I did at that moment. I had told everyone how smart my son was and that he had been accepted to a good school, was working from Monday to Sunday doing overtime to surprise him with a car that I was going to buy for him as a gift, only to find out he had lied to me.
In the same conversation, I couldn't hold back. I argued with him about how he could lie to me about this, I talked about how much I had worked to provide him with a good education and that he had nothing to do but his chores and study. I got so upset that I ended up crying and saying he was a disappointment, something I regret, but in the heat of the moment, I couldn't control myself. I sent him to his room and sat on the couch not knowing what to think. I spent two hours staring at the walls thinking about where I had failed him. I was never absent, never hit him, and was always understanding, even about him going to college or not, because I hadn't even finished elementary school, so I would understand if he didn't want to go to college. He had no reason to lie to me, but even so, I tried to be understanding and let time pass to apologize when I was calmer.
The next day when I got home from work, I looked for him but he wasn't home. I wanted to have a conversation with him to apologize and talk about other future possibilities for him, but he was out with his friends. Because of this, I decided to use the computer we share to check my email, but when I went to use it, it was already on. What I saw on that screen was something that made me take back everything. My son and his friends were talking badly about me in an extensive conversation that seemed to have been going on for months, where I was called various names, and his friends said they were his "real family". Reading that was torture. It was obvious he had left the computer on for me to see because he never left it on or any of his accounts logged in.
When he got home, I lost it, I yelled at him again, this time worse than the last, and said he had until the end of the year to get a job and move out because I wasn't going to support a lying adult who didn't appreciate anything I do. He started crying and saying I was overreacting, but I didn't care. I stood firm in what I said, and he knows that. Now, his grandparents are calling me trying to get me to change my mind, but I don't think I'm wrong in making the decision I made. I've always tried to be the best father for him, but if all this was for nothing, then I give up, I won't put up with this anymore.
So, am I the asshole?

Hi y’all,
Long time lurker, first time poster here and I could really use some advice.
I, 33, met my girlfriend, 35 on a dating website about 11 months ago. It was very different to anyone else I’d been with. It wasn’t that intense passionate sexual kinda chemistry, but it was something. We just clicked like I haven't had.
Unfortunately we knew she’d have to move interstate temporarily for a work contract for 10 months about 2 months after us meeting. We spent a lot of time together over that 2 months. During that time I learnt a lot about her and she intrigued me. She was avoidant in some ways. Non-committal, which was fine as we had discussed openness and although we agreed to it and went over rules/guidelines, neither of us have done anything about it. With her leaving we figured it would just be something casual.
However, after she left, I visited her, she visited me, we'd go on trips together, and this pattern has continued up until now. She’ll be back next month. So obviously, it became a lot more than casual - I'd never done long distance either so that was all new.
Since we met, she's had a lot going on in her personal and family life, and her emotions are very fiery and up and down. I have always been there to support her through it all. At about 5 months in, she stayed with me for a long period at one point and we didn’t do too well with it. She had a lot of trouble expressing emotions properly… and I think the hardest one for me was that she could not handle any thing to do with us being serious, whether it be a conversation about ‘us’. I think this was our downfall. We lost the honeymoon period too quickly. We weren’t ready to be in the same house.
Despite that, we continued our relationship, with small problems here and there but nothing drastic. We maintained our visiting, and they were a mix of everything. Not as romantic, but still fun. Not as sexual, but still sometimes. I think the distance hasn't helped because when we see each other, its not our normal lives. Its just us, 24/7.
Fast forward to now, 2 months until she returns. She has been extra distant and avoidant. I know she’s busy but she hardly wants to talk to me, she doesn’t seem to care about what’s going on in my life, and things don’t feel good. I want to make it work because I love her.
She told me that although she loves me and I’m her best friend, she just doesn't know what she wants. She needs time to think about it. She can’t give me an answer. She doesn’t want to end it, but doesn’t know what she wants. She doesn’t like the idea of being with only one person… and apparently this is a normal behaviour from her at this point in a relationship - she gets itchy and irritated and everything the partner does annoys her. I’m meant to go see her next week, I told her I could cancel and she said not to.
When I put it like that, it makes her sound horrible and she is not. She just struggles with feelings and emotions. She’s got a huge heart and I love her so much. I'm happy to give her space and step back a bit if it will help. But I guess what I'm trying to know is, what the hell do I do???
I don’t want to be something someone is unsure about, but I also know how much love there is there and I'd hate to give up on that without trying.
Please help me - be as brutually honest as you need to be!
Thanks!

I found many threads about this, its persistent since 2k20. Also found that people were able to find the solution but every reddit thread about this was deleted by mods. (dont know why, people were saying it wasnt against discord tos or anything like this).
So yeah, everytime I open my pc at morning my custom status clears itself. The thing is that my friend also has one but his doesnt clear. He doesnt know why, I dont know why. I have set on "dont clear" and it clears, he when he checked yeasterday had set to "clear after today" and its still on for like 6 months now.
Any ideas or fixes? Thank you

Hey everyone! I am pretty much done applying to aways but keep getting emails about different schools that I have saved opening up apps right now. Would it be too late to apply to those?? Or should I just go for it. I currently have one away scheduled and I’m trying to secure another. Thank you!

Putting differences aside and reaching for the stars! Join the discussion on Papa Lens as we explore the idea of a moon base as a unifying force for humanity. Let's transcend Earthly politics and work together towards a brighter future beyond borders.
#spaceexploration #unity #moonbase #futuretech #PapaLensPodcast #podcast #modernity #earth #humanity #switzerland #militarization #astronomers
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https://reddit.com/link/1d5krwk/video/g1ne8j1n2y3d1/player

I have no mods installed. The command to open the menu is bound to a key but it won’t open. I thought this was just a steam deck issue so I tried it on my laptop and it still didn’t work any ideas as to why?

I (20F) have a close guy friend (21M). He has confessed to being attracted to me bec of my personality but I'm not his type appearance wise and we are simply not compatible even though I told him I'm slightly attracted to him too. So we are quite open about our feelings and relationship overall. Anyway, I have caught him looking away quickly many times as I approach then pretending he just saw me when I'm very close. I'm really confused about it bec in general he's a confident person. I don't think he's looking away bec I got him all flustered or anything lol. Especially since he made sure I understood he was attracted to me but didn't actually like me (I don't think he's lying about that). Any ideas why this could be?

Putting differences aside and reaching for the stars! Join the discussion on Papa Lens as we explore the idea of a moon base as a unifying force for humanity. Let's transcend Earthly politics and work together towards a brighter future beyond borders.
#spaceexploration #unity #moonbase #futuretech #PapaLensPodcast #podcast #modernity #earth #humanity #switzerland #militarization #astronomers
Full episode Facebook Twitter YouTube Spotify Instagram
https://reddit.com/link/1d5krvf/video/g1ne8j1n2y3d1/player

Hail, dear phantom, I’m glad to see you again. True to my word I went back to the Undead Burg to visit the familiar residents and see if I couldn’t put some of my keys to use. Ultimately, of course, I was after the Bell of Awakening. I believe the Crestfallen Warrior mentioned one being beneath the Undead Burg, so that was what I aimed to uncover.
Instead, I found new threats and an entity that whittled my resilience down to its bare foundation.
My keys brought me to some peculiar locations. I remembered well two locked doors, one in both of the turrets that interrupt the grand wall surrounding the city. In the tower that I passed through to confront the Taurus Demon, is a door that once unlocked brings you further down.
To my surprise, at the bottom of those spiral stone steps, awaited a brute of a warrior. Donned head to toe in armor most robust, wielding a shield that he was able to comfortably hide behind and an even larger club. My initial impression was one of awe, truth be told. He appeared as though he could crush me with his thoughts alone!
As it turned out, it would be his weight and lumber that would work to my advantage. Merely a roll to the side gave me ample opportunity to launch a Soul Arrow his way, something he scarcely had the choice to avoid. So robust was he, however, that I ran out of spell slots before he fell, a very rare feat. Although my Estoc was useless against his impervious armor, some well-placed back stabs put him in the ground for good.
I was fortunate to not suffer a scratch, as I reckon that’s all it would have taken. I pilfered a ring from his corpse, to reveal his name: Havel.
Beyond Havel was a door, one that, to my sheer astonishment, led to the Darkroot Basin. The extent of the Darkroot forest was one I hadn’t anticipated. I thought I had put the verdant murk behind me for a while. And after stepping foot into the green mire and seeing beings composed purely of crystal - I turned the other way. With no spell slots and no bravery, I fled to return another time. Besides, I still had another key I wished to operate.
I decided to unlock the next door and uncover what was beyond before returning to the safety of the Bonfire. I must be growing more audacious. The next door was found just before where the large drake positioned itself, on the second turret.
Before me sprawled another descent, and I found myself in the rotten depths of the Undead Burg before long. Viscous dogs roamed the ruined streets. The path I picked first took me to a door of iron bars that led me back to a familiar spot in the Undead Burg - a location right next to the Bonfire. A very sweet relief.
It was there I readied myself for the dive into the lower Undead Burg. I imagined a sprawling street ripe with rotten ruin. And although that’s what I met, the path was very linear. After I bested an ambush of thieves and roaming dogs, I heard the cries of someone trapped.
I couldn’t believe my luck when I uncovered a fellow sorcerer! Trapped in the depths of that cesspit, of all places. We wore almost the same attire, and he said he would return to Firelink Shrine. Perhaps I was a little too eagre in our greeting, but he would sell me his sorceries all the same when I met him again.
I noticed white light blocking a small arch, and knew something foul stirred within. Before stepping foot through, I wished to uncover the rest of the streets, and my exploration took me to alleys and gutters. After dispatching more thieves, I climbed up another turret that rejoined to the filthy aqueduct that led to Firelink Shrine - just in time to meet my fellow sorcerer once more.
Finally in my wretched journey could I learn more spells. Spells that would serve me extremely well. I purchased the Heavy Soul Arrow and Magic Weapon, to elevate my abilities considerably.
With renewed fervor, I struck down the local ambling Undead with such aggression and power that I shocked myself. None would stand in my way, now, I thought to myself.
I was quickly humbled, dear phantom, when I returned to the lower Undead Burg and traversed through the white light to stand face to face with the abhorrent Capra Demon. Before I had fully stepped out of the white light, its grotesque form was already upon me. If I had moved a split second later, I would have been crushed beneath both its behemoth blades.
Despite my haste, I was not out of danger, for two dogs were quick to rip me to shreds.
Never have I been slain so quickly!
And so I ran again. Up the hill, through the aqueduct, down the spire, through the alley, and up the stairs, only to be greeted by more savage dogs. I was ripped asunder in my careless advance.
Again and again did I make that journey. If I weren’t torn apart by the guarding hounds, then I was swiftly executed by the Capra Demon and its infernal pets. So many times did I make that trip that I was almost driven to madness. Never has wrathful rage stirred so violently in me.
It was those dogs. They were the bane of my attempts to slay the Capra Demon. Too easily they penetrated my cloth garbs; with each bite I couldn’t help but recoil and cry out. Perhaps I was relying on the safety that distance brought me with my sorceries. And so I thought to seek the safety of steel, for once.
As unfamiliar am I with wearing suits of armor, any sort of piece I donned slowed me down dramatically. Nothing more Soul sacrifices to the Bonfire couldn’t remedy, however.
I’ll save you the tale of my time in Darkroot Garden slaying for Souls, although I did notice an unfamiliar sign, written by a fellow phantom. It advised me to strike the tree down in front of it, and to my surprise, the tree soon fell, revealing a long untouched expanse.
In this hidden nook of the solitary garden, resided more of those slumbering stone giants, and a slew of strange amphibian creatures with reptilian features. They fell easy enough, although their long, sharp tongues struck me some times.
At the end of this secluded space was another fortification. I couldn’t believe my luck as I found a discarded Wolf Ring. The moment I slotted it onto my finger I could feel my robustness harden. It was then I had the idea to utilize the ring found on Havel’s body, and I felt my person grow stronger. My punches didn’t hit any harder, but my body could lift things before I sweat to look at.
With these enhancements, I was able to don better armaments and still move as swiftly as I did with my sorcerer garbs.
With the helm of a Bell Gargoyle and the shoddy armor ripped from a hollow, I was ready to face the Capra Demon and its hounds. No bite shall affect me so viscerally, now, thanks to my rings.
I stepped into the white light and immediately rolled past the demon’s lunge. Although the dogs were at my heels in an instant, their clamping maws didn’t cause me to pause. With my Estoc enhanced with magic, I was able to end their miserable existence upon the stairs.
Without his hounds, the Capra Demon wasn’t such a challenge, especially as my Heavy Soul Arrows punctured deep into his ruinous hide. It wasn’t long, then, before it fell, and yet another key came into my clutches.
My victory over the Capra Demon wasn’t nearly as jubilant an occasion as I suspected, although I didn’t kill it for the thrill of the hunt.
With the key in my withered hands, I headed back into the alley and opened the door, to peer into the Depths.
I was wrong to suspect a Bonfire close by, and in exploring the dank depths, I found a quick end at the hands of a swallowing and oozing creature, something I could scarcely see before I found myself back at Firelink Shrine, here to meet you.
I shall tell you more of my adventure into the Depths another time, should you care to listen. I have prattled on long enough, have I not?
Godspeed, good phantom.

Hi! Im 20F and have RPped for 12 years, Wanna make a world and watch it slowly come to life on the page? Then welcome into my little world, Let's keep it simple I am an artist who is in neverending art block, I like to doodle every now and again and I enjoy ooc. I wanna rp something SOL and filled with story, dramatic,spicy,sad or romantic you name it. I want to rp something that makes my mortared-in art block crumble at it's seems so I can get back in my art groove. If you ghost or get bored quickly, I would suggest not reaching out, I want to make a friend and long-term buddy from this if Plausible. All partner's should be 18+ please! Let me also note I prefer Discord but I can rp here on reddit too.
I type 1-2 paragraphs sometimes more or less depending on how intune to the rp I am, I don't have any guidelines besides asking that you can at least type 1 paragraph for me to work with. One-liners are just a pain and offer little to go off on or with. I would also love a quick replier since I myself reply fast, so I spend hours waiting on replies sometimes bored while waiting.
My favorite plots are the more unique ones so my mind's always open to hearing idea's! Some setting's I enjoy are Apocalypse, Magic/Medevial, Modern, and Futuristic. But again I'm open to hearing just about any idea's, I kindly ask that if you want a fandom rp to look elsewhere as I'm only looking to rp this post with OC's in our own built world.
I don't having any specific plot's currently that I would like to do, so feel free to reach out! Please Introduce/Otell me your least favorite food if you've read through this entire post :)

[INDEX]
I banked the fire and stared into the golden eyes of Beatale before I crept into my makeshift tent.
I still had my auric vision running and couldn’t help but notice the thin silver cord that ran from me to Horse. Firming up my aura, I reached out with my hand and grabbed it. I could feel the nearly imperceptible vibration between my fingers as I used my mind to probe at the thread. I could feel a bright spark of intellect, a light at the end of a tunnel. Pushing with my mind, I slid down the thread until the spark grew larger and eventually filled my inner vision with a hazy white light. Horsey thoughts nudged at me curiously.
I slid into the haze and immediately lost all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the silver thread, I’d have no idea how to exit this shifting white fog. Horsey thoughts got stronger as I followed the thread while the haze thinned and cleared to reveal an endless prairie of green grass. I found myself standing before a naked man wearing a horse mask and I stared in shock. It was obviously me wearing a cheap costume horse mask — there was no mistaking my tattoos.
“What did you expect?” Horse neighed at me. “I am you and you are me and we are all together. Goo goo ga joob.”
Horse made a shooing motion with his hands and I accelerated backwards through the white haze and slammed into my own body with a gasp. I stared at the tarp overhead for a long minute, processing this new revelation. Horse was a part of me, a piece of my spirit. Whatever psychic stuff I did with that silver cord lead me into a house of mirrors where I got to look at myself pretending to be a horse. I can’t even deal with that right now.
Rolling into my blankets, I dropped off to sleep.
*Ding*
-=- - Welcome to the Dreamworld - Included in the Psychic Skills pack, the Inner Sanctum is your psychic domain. It is the mental fortress that you must secure and maintain to defend against psychic and spiritual assaults. All of your neurosis and fears are symbolised in this realm and must be defeated or subjugated before you can become master of the domain. Good luck. -=-
I banished the pop-up and looked around. I knew I was asleep, but everything was just as real as when I was awake. I was breathing, I could feel the floor under my feet, and if it weren’t for the pop-up, I would have sworn I had been teleported. The room I was in resembled an oversized luxury prison cell, maybe a thirty foot cube. No windows. Rough stone walls with thick mortar. Large brass wall sconces were set directly into the stone and suffused the room with a warm, golden light provided by glowing rocks. The stone floor had colourful Persian rugs tastefully placed. A high plaster ceiling was painted with a rendition of Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’, depicting me as both Adam and God.
There was a comfy sofa in front of a large screen television that hung from one wall and an ornate grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner. It was currently 10:08 PM. Another wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf, stuffed with books of varying sizes. The third wall was covered with pictures and I could see at a glance that they were images from my life. The fourth wall had a thick riveted steel door on the right side, a full sized mirror on the left, and a computer workstation in the middle.
The picture wall was my first target. A few were quite large, nearly life sized, while others were tiny prints no larger than the palm of my hand. Scenes of my life were displayed in each one. The largest was me riding Horse with a shit-scared expression, shooting at a pack of wolves. Others were smaller, each with different frames. Some ornate gold or silver, others plain wood, a few wrapped in briars or barbed wire. Nanny Ramsey holding me as a young child. My dog Jean with a red ball in his mouth. My parents, screaming at me. I turned my attention to the books. Books are safe. Books don’t judge you.
The sweet, musty scent of a used book store filled my nostrils as I drew close to the honey coloured shelves. Hundreds of volumes filled the wall from floor to ceiling, with a ladder that could be rolled along a rail to access the top. I smiled at the sight. I had always wanted a library like this. I pulled a book at random and read the title, “Confused Fantasies about Joseph Harris, part XXIV of the Middle School Years”.
I slid the book back onto the shelf. Let’s see what’s on TV.
The remote was a slim, futuristic looking affair with a minimum of buttons. I pointed it at the television and moments later the huge screen came to life and presented me with a simple menu for movies, divided into six categories: Happy, Surprised, Afraid, Disgusted, Angry, and Sad. I scrolled through the offerings for a minute, reading the titles and reviews about the movies of my life. It really bothered me that there were so few selections in the Happy section.
The number of Sad movies increased by one.
I walked over to the mirror and noticed there was a small sticky note pasted to it. “Astral Realm. Experienced users only.” I shoved the note in my pocket and stared at my image. Sturdy black boots, black denim jeans and shirt with mother-of-pearl buttons, deep brown gun belt slung at my hip, red bandanna and black felt hat. All I needed was a pencil moustache and I would look like the stereotypical villain in any spaghetti western. At that very moment I decided to grow out a goatee. I’d rather be mistaken for a bad guy than a victim.
So how does this astral realm thing work?
The mirror appeared to be nothing more than a mirror. It was cold, smooth glass surrounded by a wrought iron frame, and reflected my image. I didn’t necessarily want to go walking into danger, but I wanted to know how it worked. I pushed and prodded the glass in frustration until I noticed my image grinning at me. I jumped back in surprise and it doubled over in silent laughter.
“Hilarious, dude. You got me,” I huffed. “So how do I get in?”
My mirror-self tipped his hat and stepped to side.
I reached up to the mirror again and my hand passed through, vanishing as if cut off. Okay, just a quick peek and we’ll explore the rest of the room. I stepped through and the world shifted around me. I was standing back at the campsite. My body was insubstantial as a ghost and the tarp was a wisp of substance running straight through me. Non living things don’t seem to have much presence in this realm. Glancing down, I saw my sleeping body rolled up in the blankets, a thin silver thread running from it to me, and another thread running to Horse.
Looking around, I surveyed the campsite. My astral vision seemed to be on and had an unlimited range. I could see the life all around me, the distant forest was a sea of greenish-gold, grasses and brush nearby glowed with spectral light. Tiny ghost insects scurried while ghost mice nibbled at whatever ghost mice nibble on. Ghost seeds and ghost insects, I suppose. I turned my attention overhead and gaped at the sight of a monstrous serpentine spirit flying through the inky void. I dropped back through the tent and rolled inside my body. That was plenty enough for now.
I rolled through the mirror and landed flat on my back, staring at the fresco on the ceiling. Vinnie-God winked at me and Vinnie-Adam grinned. Climbing to my knees, I brushed non-existent dust from my trousers and watched mirror-me doubled over in soundless laughter.
“Hey, laughing-boy!” I yelled at him. “You’re like the guardian or something, right? You got it covered?”
Mirror-me stood and saluted with a smile, then gave me two thumbs up. A moment later, his face took on a serious expression and he wriggled his right hand in the ‘maybe’ motion. Then he pointed at me, tapped his wrist, and then a finger to his head.
It all depends on how fast I learn stuff, I guess.
Two thumbs up and a winning smile reflected back to me.
A large cork board was mounted to the wall over the computer and a small note was pinned to it. “Note to self: Don’t fuck with the Elvish womens.”
The computer screen featured a screensaver of me as Vitruvian Man doing callisthenics over the words ‘HumanOS’. I tapped the spacebar and was rewarded with the sound of powerful fans kicking to life as the computer emerged from sleep mode and prompted me for a password. Should I assume it’s the same as the password on the computer I pawned in my previous life?
Password: *******esi
I was rewarded with a sweet R&M desktop and a couple of icons. System, NeuralNet, My-Tunes, My-Movies, My-Office.
System was just what I expected, lots of .dna files and other confusing scariness that allowed me to tweak my physical body and mental state. My-Tunes was a collection of every song I’d ever heard and My-Movies was a collection of every movie I’d ever seen. Not that I’m complaining, but it would have been nice to have “My-Games” so I could play RDR. My-Office was a clone of the popular software by a similar name. I have no idea what I’ll ever need a spreadsheet for in this world.
NuralNet opened up a search engine called Me-Seeks, featuring a familiar blue guy.
I typed in “beer” and several thousand results were displayed, anything I’d ever read, heard, or watched about beer, including how to make it. This right here made the price of admission totally worth it, access to an exact copy of everything I’d ever read, and I was a voracious reader. Sadly, most of the stuff I read was futurology — solar panels, electronics, biotech advancements, quantum computing. The material for steam engines, blacksmithing, farming and the like, were slim pickings. That’s okay though, I could still reproduce the Gutenberg press, the cotton gin, simple internal combustion engines, and basic batteries along with some sketchy knowledge of metal alloys, acids, bases, and other things I had read over the years. All that wasted time watching “How Things Work” was finally going to pay off. I copied a few likely money makers to My-Office, saved the file, and exported to my Notes, just in case they didn’t exist on Aerth.
A popup covered the screen.
📱 [New Upgrade Available!] 📱
🎉 Enhance Your Experience with the Latest HumanOS Features! 🎉
🌟 Features Include:

• 🧠 Memory Booster: Increase your Memory for smoother multitasking and improved performance.
• 🔋 Energy Optimizer: Extend your battery life with advanced power-saving techniques.
• 🛠️ Utility Upgrades: Access new apps and utilities to enhance your daily life and adventures.
• 🗺️ Advanced Mapping: Never get lost again with enhanced GPS and location tracking.

🔥 Special Offer: Only 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0! 🔥
[Upgrade Now ✅] [Remind Me Later ❌]
Apparently I could upgrade myself, which reduced the cost of using my Utilities while providing other minor benefits. My Utilities would level up as I used them, which would increase their battery cost, so if I didn’t keep pace with an update to the OS they could become prohibitively expensive to operate.
Stupid pay-to-win world.
So, do I pay 2000 credits for version 2.0 or 5000 credits for version 3.0?
I selected version 3.0 and klicked [Install]. After watching it download the update, it popped up another screen that asked if I wanted to update now, or wait until Midnight for the mandatory update.
I selected [No] just as the grandfather clock chimed 10:30 PM. I wondered if time ran slower in here, because it seemed like I had spent a lot more time on the computer than 15 minutes. Walking over to the imposing steel door, I noticed a bronze key with a thin chain in the lock. There was another sticky note on the door. “Subconscious. Please keep the key with you at all times.”
That’s not scary at all, is it?
I unlocked the door with a loud clunk and pulled it open to reveal a bedroom straight out of some royal castle. I could tell immediately that it had seen better days. The tapestries on the wall were frayed and fading. The canopy over the bed had a few holes in it. A thin layer of dust covered the mantle of a small fireplace set into the wall. There was a window letting in bright sunlight and I moved over to look outside.
I was on the third floor of a keep surrounded by the walls and turrets of a modest castle. A castle that had fallen into serious disrepair. Did this represent the state of my inner mind? One tower was shattered and the curtain wall under it damaged. The lower bailey was full of litter. I could see a few soldiers walking around the allure, keeping watch.
I have people in my subconscious?
Someone behind me cleared their throat.
Whirling, I discovered a familiar old man standing in the door of the bedroom. What was left of his hair formed a white halo around his head, his face was unshaven and covered with several days of growth. He was dressed like a poor and tattered manservant, but carried himself with a dignified air.
“Woodhouse?”
“It’s nice to see the master at home,” He said with a proper English accent. “There are many matters that require the master’s attention.”
“Uh, sure,” I said, hanging the key around my neck and tucking it in my shirt. “And who are you again?”
“Your personal manservant, of course” he said with a slight bow. Walking over to the steel door, he pulled it closed and it locked with a solid thunk. “Master should always keep his inner sanctum closed. One never knows if something nasty will creep in.”
“Thank you, uh, Woodhouse. I’ll remember that,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “So what needs tending and how do things work around here?”
He smiled and beckoned me with a white gloved hand. “If master would be so kind as to follow me, I’ll introduce him to the staff and explain the duties and obligations of his domain.”
I’m 99.9% certain that everyone here is just me wearing a mask, so I shrugged and followed Woodhouse out of the bedroom and into the rest of my subconscious.
Five minutes later I was on the ground floor and seated on a shabby throne with the cast of a popular —and probably very copyright protected— animation in front of me. Woodhouse was the head butler and my personal manservant. Pam was the cook and demanded that I start importing sugar and alcohol before she was shushed by Woodhouse. Carol was a maid. Krieger was chancellor and Cyril was the steward. Archer and Lana were in charge of security. Ray was the marshal in charge of everything from the stables to the blacksmith.
I stared in disbelief at the motley crew kneeling in front of me. No wonder my inner mind was in such shambles. I was overcome with an irrational sense of anger at myself.
“Arright, listen up,” I barked, my voice echoing around the room. “I swear to God that I will fire every single one of you and hire circus clowns to replace you if you keep fucking things up. No joke. Circus clowns, got it?”
I ran a hand over my face as Ray pissed himself. “The only reason I’m not putting a boot in your asses right now is because I realise that you’re aspects of me, and the people you represent are pretty damn good at their jobs when they give enough of a shit to actually do them. As a team, you’re dysfunctionally fantastic and always seem to come out ahead no matter the odds.”
Heaving a sigh, I continued. “Things have changed and I need to get my shit together. I’m going to need every one of you to pull your weight and help me help you. Get back to your duties, I’ll meet you one on one later.”
My subconscious caretakers scurried out of the room.
“I’ll have one of the maids tend to the piss,” Woodhouse assured me.
“Never mind that,” I snapped. “I honestly had no idea my mind was such a shit show. I’m very disappointed in myself.” I pictured the Angry, Sad, and Disgusted counters on my personal movies clicking up. “Show me what needs to be done and let’s get started.”
During Woodhouse’s walking tour, everything clicked into place. This was some altered version of Bodiam castle, a location that was on my bucket list of places to visit. The royal council room, located behind the throne room, contained a “living” tapestry on the wall that showed the castle and surrounding land in real time. The castle was located in the middle of a small lake, and a single wood bridge led to the mainland. A small town surrounded the lake and a wall encircled the town. Outside the wall, the land was an irregular patchwork of forest and field, with a stinking swamp to the south. The entire “kingdom” was maybe ten miles across, surrounded by impassable mountains with innumerable creeks that fed the lake which drained into the southern swamp.
“Zombies are the problem, sir.” Woodhouse said, as I surveyed the living tapestry of my mental domain.
“Zombies?” I prompted.
“Yes sir, Zombies” Woodhouse continued. “Nasty bitey things that come in from the mountains and harass the peasants. They’ve gotten especially worse over the last few months. The soldiers do what they can, but they seem to have lost all motivation. Probably because they haven’t been paid.”
“And who pays them?”
“Typically chancellor Krieger is in charge of financial matters, although Steward Figgis has taken over the duty, sir.”
“Then let’s make Figgis our first stop.”
“Very good, sir.”
The office of the steward was run by Cyril Figgis, who managed the kingdom in my absence. It was overflowing with paperwork and charts, books and scrolls piled high on every flat surface. Cyril was desperately attempting to tidy things when Woodhouse and I walked in.
“Yo..you..your majesty,” Cyril stuttered, bowing low. Scrolls fell from his overloaded arms, spilling across the floor. He dropped to his knees and scrambled to gather them up. “I didn’t expect you to visit so soon. Please forgive the mess, housekeeping has been slacking…”
This was the guy who ran things while I was conscious.
“Shut up, Cyril” I said. “You’re responsible for everything in this office. That includes keeping it organised and tidy.”
“Y..yes milord.”
“It’s my understanding that you’re in charge of making sure everyone gets paid. So why aren’t we paying people?” I asked.
“We’re nearly out of Fuks, your majesty. I’ve been saving them for emergencies.”
“Fucks?”
“Fuks,” Cyril explained, pushing a pile of books off a large chest and opening it. Reaching inside he pulled out two small bags and emptied them on top of his cluttered desk. “Gold and Silver Fuks, the currency of the kingdom. I can’t maintain the kingdom when I have no Fuks to give.”
Behold the subconscious kingdom of Vincent J. Carter, it runs on Fuks.
“So how do I get more fuks?” I asked, examining one of the coins. It had an image of me on one side and symbol on the other that could be interpreted as “peace among worlds”.
“You kill the zombies, your majesty.”
Of course I do.
Woodhouse and I left Cyril’s office and headed towards the office of the chancellor where Krieger worked. It seemed that Cyril took over financial matters when Krieger became erratic and proposed luring all the zombies into the city and setting it on fire. Not sure how that corresponds to my own self-destructive behaviour, but I’ve had some dark thoughts over the last couple of months and I’m sure they’re reflected here.
Krieger’s office was much neater in comparison to Cyril’s, but it wasn’t by much. Shelves lined the walls and were filled with an array of questionable items, including a still snapping zombie head in a jar. While the office of the chancellor was supposed to be in charge of financial matters, it looked more like a dodgy rummage sale.
Krieger was launching sword blades at a pig carcass when we walked in.
“What exactly are you doing?” I asked, standing in the doorway.
“Hm? Oh, your majesty!” he said, turning around and bowing deeply. “I’m testing a new invention. It’s a spring loaded hilt that shoots sword blades. Very useful for our soldiers.”
“Stupidest idea ever,” I snapped. “I hate everything about it.”
“Okay,” Krieger said, tossing the hilt into a nearby pile of junk. “But don’t blame me when you need to shoot a sword at a zombie and don’t have one.”
“So why aren’t you managing the financial affairs? Collecting taxes, paying people, stuff like that?”
“Because the population has declined so much none of that matters?”
“What do you mean?”
“Wellll, the population represents things you care about,” Krieger said, going into lecture mode. “And the zombies and other monsters are real or imagined problems in your way. Since you don’t care about too many things the population has shrunk to just what’s needed to keep everything running on the bare minimum of fuks. And since you don’t seem to have any long or short term goals, there’s no need to kill off the zombies and get more fuks. Everything is fine just the way it is.”
“No, it’s not Krieger” I said, grinding my teeth. “My mind is in a shambles. It’s a joke. I want it fixed. No, I want it better than fixed. I want it improved.”
“Oh! I’ve got just the thing for that!” He said, digging around in his pockets, “It’s a spring-loaded hilt that shoots swords!”
Pam and Cheryl were hanging out a gallery window jeering at Archer and Lana sparring in the inner courtyard.
“What the hell are you doing!” I snapped
They whirled in surprise and then dropped into deep curtseys.
“Your majesty!”
I took a deep breath, trying to regain my centre. “Get to work cleaning this place up. Find a room, clean it, and move on to the next. Start with my bedroom, then the throne room and the council chamber, then everything else.”
Cheryl spoke up. “Can’t do it. We got no fuks to clean with.”
“You need fuks to clean?”
“Gotta buy stuff,” Pam said. “Cleaning supplies, food. You wanna eat, you’re gonna have to spend some fuks.”
“Talk to Cyril,” I ordered. “Tell him I said to get you supplied.”
They ran off in the direction of the stewards office.
I watched Archer and Lana bashing each other enthusiastically through the window.
Several minutes later the sparring couple stopped and bowed when Woodhouse and I stepped into the inner courtyard.
“Your majesty”
“My liege”
“Enough,” I said. “If you have enough energy to smash each other, you have enough energy to smash zombies. Tell me what I need to know so I can start gathering fuks.”
Archer shrugged and spoke first. “You just kill the zombies and other monsters. They drop fuks.”
“Anything special about the zombies?” I asked. “Are they fast? Do people get turned into zombies when bitten?”
“Nope,” Lana said, resting her wooden sword on her shoulder. “Most of them are slow shamblers and just need a good wack to the head to kill them.”
“Some are special,” Archer interjected. “Occasionally you’ll have some fast ones, or those that need holy water to kill. They’re just bad memories, figments of your personality that need to be eliminated. Some are worse than others.”
“The zombies are bad memories?” I asked, imagining all the bad memories that I had.
“Memories, thoughts, insecurities, metaphysical mumbo-jumbo,” Woodhouse supplied. “They are endless, but constant vigilance can keep them under control.”
“So let’s get started,” I said. “Lead the way.”
Lana and Archer lead me up to the parapet over the front gate where I looked over at the dozens of zombies milling about aimlessly in front of the entrance to my mind. Pulling out my gun, I began to pick them off, easy as shooting fish in a barrel. The crack of my spell pistol attracted more zombies and I dispatched them with ease until no more were left around the gate. As I fired each shot I could feel some sort of existential energy flowing from me, draining some hidden reserve.
“Gather up the Fuks,” I commanded. “And Lana?”
“Mi’lord?”
“There’s no excuse for this. From now on, I expect the walls to be clear of all zombies.”
“Yes mi’lord,” she said, giving me a small bow.
Turning to Archer, I shook my head. “You’re obviously my personal narcissism, so just try to stay out of Lana’s way, or better yet - try to kill more zombies than her. If you think you can.”
Archer scoffed. “No contest. I took top marks in sharpshooting.”
“That means I should expect to see results by tomorrow. I look forward to it.”
Archer looked panicked for a moment then smiled. “Sure, I can give you results.”
Turning back to Woodhouse I said “Show me what else need attending.”
Woodhouse led me through the town that represented my mind, pointing out each business that had fallen into disrepair, suggested others that needed improvements, and additions that would benefit me. In the distance, I could hear Lana and Archer shooting at the crowd of zombies and with each echoing shot I felt a tiny bit better about everything.
[INDEX]

1. Go to the press
Don’t stay put at Mr. Kharge’s residence. Head out to the TV Studios NOW and join the exit-poll discussions this evening on the front foot. Deciding not to go to was/is a bad idea. Rethink it. Present your view to the people directly to bypass the rigged system. Presence of faces and voices will also help everyone visualise what an alternative govt. could look like and get momentum going. Throw some names of potential ministers. Leave some options open for realpolitik. Preferably, have some big guns leading this media drive. Why can’t Rahul Gandhi do it personally on at least one channel? Shashi Tharoor and Arvind Kejriwal (out till tomorrow only) could join. BJP’s unlikely to field senior spokesmen. It’s going to be the usual three S’s: Swapan Dasgupta, Sudhanshu Trivedi and Surjit Bhalla. Surely some senior I.N.D.I.A. politicians can steal a march over them.
2. Claim victory, both electoral and moral
Irrespective of exit poll results, claim the final vote is going to be anti-BJP (message is to woo the NDA allies to your block if push came to shove) and clarify/warn that post-poll alliances or defections to NDA will weaken such allies and defectors in state elections because that’d be defying the public mandate. If exit-polls show close results or tilt towards the opposition, all the merrier.
3. Raise bogeys
Red-flag all potential obstacles and threats: ECI, President’s Office, Horse-trading etc. so any arm-twisting becomes embarrassing and difficult later. Dare/Pressurise powers to be to call largest coalition/block over single largest party.
4. Keep flock together
Nothing to explain. Remember Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and how fickle winning tickets and final allegiances can be.
If the I.N.D.I.A block does all this, people will take them seriously. The indian voter has likely given them as big an opportunity as possible. If they can't grab this chance, they'll likely be eroded in the coming five years and the future and demonstrate a fear of success and inability to see things through. BJP's uncharacteristic political missteps like having a long-drawn election cycle and persecuting political opponents shows they're as fallible as they're ever likely to be in the short to medium term. But are they listening? We'll see. It'll be telling, one way or the other.

Splinter is inspired by the slicing and mirror powers that the witness uses during the lightfall and tfs trailer. This is basically just a fun idea as to what a 'witness subclass' would look like.
Visuals: The splinter subclass would have its designs consist of broken glass and reflecting mirrors. Its energy would be a pale red with bright white streaks. Enemies killed by a splinter debuff would have look as if they were sliced into red segments before disappearing. Lore: If stasis is control and strand is going with the flow, splinter is ignorance. Rather than controlling or flowing with the universe, you have to actively deny its rules to use splinter. The witness carved a hole in the traveller by ignoring the strength of its shell.
GAMEPLAY:
Verbs:
Cut - enemys hit by cut take a small amount of damage and are given one stack of cut. If they receive 100 stacks, they will be hit by dismantle.
Visual: Cut would look like a small red slice going across the enemy's body
Dismantle - when an enemy is 'dismantled' they will receive a moderate amount of damage over the course of 1.5 seconds. Other enemies hit by dismantle will be given a varying amount of cut stacks, depending for how long they were in the aoe. Cut and dismantle would be your bread and butter for general ad clear. Dismantle would also stun overloads.
Visual: Where cut is one single slice, dismantle is a flurry of these slices going across the inflicted targets body, as if they're being diced.
Displacement - enemies affected by displacement are initially slowed by 60%, before going back to normal speed over the course of 3 seconds. Projectiles slowed by displacement are permanently slowed by 50%, and their damage decreased by 15%.
In pvp: Displacement would slow players by 30% and gradually return them to normal over 3 seconds.
Visual: Normal enemies that have been displaced would look like segment of their body have been cut offer and separated. These pieces eventually fuse back together as the slow effect decreases. Boss enemies would simply have a red hue to show they have been affected by displacement.
Rend - A high power single tick of damage in a small radius. This would be more helpful for taking care of healthier targets quickly. Hitting a barrier champion while they are shielded stuns them.
Visual: Rend would appear like a gash in the air, as if the universe itself was cut open. This gash would stay for half a second after a rend attack. This gash would look similar to the portals made by vergil in dmc5 (although more red instead of blue)
Guard points (splinter's main gimmick) When using a splinter powered melee, the first 0.3 seconds of the attack while have a guard point. If an enemy hits while the guard point is up, you will receive 60% reduced damage and be immune to one shots. It will also boost the damage of the melee by 50%. Projectiles will also proc the guard point depending on the overall damage of the projectile. Enemies hit by a guard point empowered melee are briefly flinched.
Visual/audio: When in the 'guard point stance' your guardian will radiate red splinter energy with white streaks. When hitting the guard point, the white streaks will turn black and make it resemble an impact frame.
The audio and animation of the melee would also change to make the attack feel more impactful.
Reflective plating - while reflectjve plating is active, gain 20% dr and empower your guard points to be more effective. Guard points with reflecting plate now active in the first 0.7 seconds of the melee rather 0.3, and will increase the damage resistance to 90%. Lastly, projectiles that hit the guardian while guard point is active will reflect back to the enemy (although for reduced damage)
In pvp: The only difference with pvp is that your head hit box will not be immune to one shots.
Visual: Reflective plating will look similar to guard point, the energy will just be much less intense.
Rupert drop (probably not what it would be in game but bubbles already taken) - Rupert drops are the splinter subclass pickups (even though you don't actually pick them up). Rupert drops are a hybrid between stasis crystals and tangles. They can be for either cover or they can be shot to pop into a small cutting explosion. When shot by their creator or allies, rupert drops will move away from where they were hit, the bigger tha damage, the faster it moves. Ruperts drop would have a 15 second cool down and be generated by killing enemies with rend.
Visual: Rupert drops would look like giant bubbles roughly the size of a guardian. when taking damage, they slow crystallize before exploding into shards of glass.
When spawning in. The rupert's drop would look as if its slowly being formed by pieces of glass coming out of the gash made by the rend.
Grenades:
Shred grenade - explodes on impact to create a moderately sized explosion (slightly larger than a scatter grenade) that would deal a total of 110 stack of cut over the course of 0.75 seconds.
Cleave grenade - sticks to target before exploding into a small radius rend attack.
Dispersing grenade - explodes into a field of displacement that slowly implodes to create a small displacement explosion. The initial field would act similarly to a dusk field grenade, while the implosion would be similar to a snare bomb in damage.
Subclasses:
Each of the subclasses would mirror the arc subclasses in a way, Since splinter would be the darkness antithesis to arc (like solastasis, void/strand)
Ronin - hunter subclass Where arcstriders use their hand to hand prowess and expertise with the pole arm, Ronin use their skill with the blade to fell even the largest of does with a single slash.
Ronins are inspired primarily by heroes from old samurai movies. Wandering swordsman who could defeat armies with nothing but their trusted sword.
The gameplay fantasy of ronin would consist of well timed guard points and high power single target damage using rending attacks. The subclass would have a higher skill ceiling than most, rewarding knowledge of enemy attack patterns with high damage attacks.
Melee - Unsheathing strike (2 charges) Striking enemies with your katana inflicts them with 30 stacks of cut. Standing still before attacking will increase the damage of the strike by 15%. When empowered by a guard point, the strike will deal 60 stacks of cut in a large radius.
Visual: The splinter katana's is made up of various uneven panes of broken glass. When empowered, the katana's blade goes from red and white to pure black.
Super - shimmering blade (roaming/one off) The Ronin unsheathes their blade when beginning the super. While in super, there are 2 attacks. Light attack - fast slashes that each deal 40 stacks of cut. Heavy attack - quickly sheathe the blade and become immobile. Releasing the attack button has the Ronin slash the air and rend every enemy in a large radius. This attack ends the super immediately.
Holding the attack for a longer period of time increases the damage of the rends, fully maxxing out at an 80% boost.
During the release of the attack, a guard point is active for 0.3 seconds (0.7 when reflective plating is active). Hitting the guard point immediately increases the attack damage to 80%, while also further boosting the range and damage by 15%.
Aspect 1 - crossguard slash After a successful guard point, follow up with a second slash that rends the opponent. Killing an enemy with slash regenerates 50% of your melee charge.
Aspect 2 - quickdraw sheathe Gives hunter a guard point during initial activation. Successful guard points now boost class a ability regeneration by 150% for 4 seconds.
Blastmarine - Titan subclass Blastmarines mirror arc strikers as both are 'soldier' subclasses. Where strikers are frontline fighters, blastmarines are the 'heavy artillery' weapons experts of their fireteam.
Where ronin are calm, collected samurai, Blast marines are loud, explosive 80s action heroes. Big guys with bigger guns.
The blastmarine gameplay fantasy consist of being the heavy weapons guy, battling the hordes of their enemies with their cutting and dismantling projectiles.
Melee - Knucklebuster Raise your left arm briefly (this is when the guard point is active) before cocking back their right arm's wrist cannon. Hitting enemies with this inflicts them with 50 stacks of cut. When empowered, the radius of the blast is increased and inflicts 80 stacks of cut
Visual: The guard point would resemble a boxer blocking a punch before counter attacking with a jab. The wrist cannon would resemble the red arm punch from ultrakill. The attack would also end with the blastmarine pumping their arm like a shotgun (cus it would look cool)
Super - devastator cannon (one off) The blastmarine would ready the cannon onto their shoulder (similarly to a scorch cannon). The cannon would need to be charged fo a short period before firing. The initial blast would deal high single target damage before imploding into this cloud large cloud of dismantling slashes. This cloud would last front seconds before disappearing.
Visual: the devastator cannon would look similar to a halo spartan laser, just much bigger and with a much bigger blast radius.
Aspect 1 - coverfire blaster Rally barricades now spawn in a heavy cannon for the blastmarine and their allies to pickup. This cannon fires at 300 rpm and has a total 25 rounds that it can fire before disappearing. These shots have a small aoe effect and each deal 20 stacks of cut. Continuous damage with the turret Grant's reflective plating. This aspect would act similarly to a gauss cannon from halo.
Aspect 2 - ballistic bombard
Enhance the functionally of your splinter grenades.
Shred grenade - improved radius and total damage and duration (now deals 170 stacks of cut over 1.5 seconds) Cleave grenade - can now be charged to skip across the ground up to 3 times. Each bounce creates a rend.
Dispersing grenade - increased radius of initial field and increased damage of implosion. Initial field now pulls in enemies and flinches them.
Glassformer - warlock subclass (name tbd) Where stormcaller is harmony within, the glassformer embraces the chaos of splinter to conquer the battlefield.
glassformers are inspired from crackpot scientists from monster movie. Creating inconceivable creations.
The gameplay of glassformers revolves around using rupert drops and creating unpredictable combinations.
Melee - broken flurry (2 charges) The glassformer sends a burst of 8 panes of splinter. Each pane inflicts 6 stacks of cut. When empowered, the total amount of panes increases from 8 to 12, they also can increased tracking to targets.
Visual: Each of the panes would shoot off from the glassformer's fingertips. When empowered, the panes turn black.
Super - razing burst (one off) The glassformer raises a giant ruperts drop infront of them, before slashing it with their splinter infused hand and rending it, this creates a large ape explosions that dismantle enemies in its radius. Enemies near the giant gashes are slowly pulled in.
Visual: Razing burst is essentially a large spherical blender that would pull in enemies not originally caught in its blast.
Aspect 1 - fracturing chasm Rends now linger for a longer duration and suck in enemies in radius of it. Killing enemies that are pulled grants reflective plating.
Aspect 2 - chromatic concoction Inflicting ruperts drops with elemntal verbs gives the explosion that property. (For example, applying jolt to the rupert's drop gives the explosion jolt.) A singular bubble can hold up to 3 new verbs.
Visual: When a verb is given to the ruperts drop, the respective subclass energy will begin swirling around the inside of the drop. The more verbs, the more colours swirling around.
Fragments: Fragments would be obtained similarly to strand, killing enemies with splinter will have a chance to give a 'shard of splinter'
Killing targets with rend reduces rupert's drop cooldown (0.5 seconds per enemy)
Apply more cut stacks
Picking up orbs of power grants reflective plating
Rapid finale blows with dismantle grant grenade energy
Precision finale blows against displaced enemies creates a displacing explosion
Super finale blows create cutting explosions.
Conclusion: I'm ngl this post is wayyyy longer than I thought it'd be. I wanted to just spitball an idea I had the other day for a new subclass

Hello there, fellow roleplayers! I’m a 24 year old female from Europe and I’ve been interested in working on a fun and interesting story with a creative partner for a while, to be more specific, I’m looking for a zombie apocalypse setting, a story which might could involve multiple themes.
I am also really into using references and face claims for characters, so let me know if that’s your thing because it’s a big plus!
All that being said, I am 100% open to discussing this with you before starting anything. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and preferences! Roleplays are done on Discord only. Thank you for reading, feel free to reach out to let me know if you are interested.