Hello everyone. I have been an active player over the last 10 years or so, played multiple saves over time, already know most fixes for this game due of how long i've been playing. However, today i'm at wits' end with this game . Nothing i do works, the game does refuse to run.
Context: I have a particular save, of a multi generation family which i played for hundreds of hours. I've done all the adventures in world adventures, in all vacantion destinations, collected loads of relics that i have on display, all my sims have at least 5 carreers maxed out and retired, big 3 story house with $6M simoleons worked for etc etc , point is, i've been playing in this save for god knows how long ( 3+ years) and absolutely CAN'T afford to lose it
Over the years i've had to do windows reinstalls multiple times, i even bought a new computer and as always am accustomed to backing up my save files and have multiple of them, for just in case reasons. When i reinstalled windows for the n-th time all i did was reinstall the game + all EP, copy paste my Electronic Arts/The sims 3 folder in Documents and game would work just fine. I did this DOZENS of times, even on the new computer and THE GAME WORKED FINE.
Until yesterday. Yesterday something was up. Something that i can;t explain why, or what causes it.
The problem: Yesterday i had to reinstall windows due to fitting in a new SSD, and of course i proceeded on with the usual stuff needed for the game -- carefully install each and every expansion pack, and stuff pack, copying my save files, loaded up the game, changed settings, and loaded the save. Game runs fine. I save and quit. Next day, things got sour really quick. Right after i started up the game, loaded my save, gameplay begins, after like 5 seconds game freezes and EXITS to desktop. NO ERROR, no "ts3w.exe has stopped working', NOTHING. its just like i hit alt-f4. it just quits to desktop. Now i proceed to recopy my save file as i always keep it for such cases. I load up the save. Game exits to desktop in less than 3 seconds. I try one of my older saves from backup. Same behaviour. I am completely and utterly baffled. In my 10 years of playing this game i have never ever encountered this behaviour. Usually the game won't load a save, gets stuck in infinite loading screen, throws errors 12 and 16 if it can't save. or just crashes with "program.exe has stopped working". But not this. I am at my wits end. All of my backup saves and the main save are unplayable because of this, and i spent a horrendous amount of time in them. But it gets worse
Somehow in frustration i managed to load up the save, quickly head to city hall in my town and use nrass master controller to 'resset everything'. Game runs perfectly after that. i play for 2-3 hours, save multiple times, update ALL of my backups with this save, save again and quit. I load the save after 2 hours, game loads, gameplay begins and right after 2 seconds game quits to desktop. I do not know what to do now.
Things i tried: -running with no mods - same behaviour I usually dont run with loads of mods, i have nrass mastercontroller, overwatch and errortrap, and a mod of a notebook for my sims to write instead of the computer. That is all, in terms of mods -deleting files inside CurrentGame directory -reapplying a known working save -fiddling with graphicsrules.sgr and graphicsCards.sgr to make the game recognise my GPU (i do this the first time when i start the game after a fresh installation) - no effect.
Computer specs: Ryzen 9 7950x CPU RTX 4090 GPU 32 GB RAM 2TB SSD - game installation folder So basically spaceship level of performance for a game such as sims 3
So here i am, asking for your help. Please, if anyone has ever encountered this problem and is willing to share if they found a fix, any help will be GREATLY appreciated.
I checked the error logs, somehow they all have something like this: : ACCESS_VIOLATION reading address 0xb70f0088, in some error logs it says ACCESS_VIOLATION writing adress xxxxxxxx
Thank you for taking the time to read and i hope you have a good day

I would never normally turn to Reddit but I’ve reached the end of my tether. I’m an ex-nurse so medically, I’m good - I don’t need medical advice, more an outlet to rant and get some support. If you have nothing nice to say, please don’t bother; my mental health is incredibly fragile right now.
I’m 34 next month, and I started my period for the first time at 8 years old (it was apparently triggered by CSA).
From the moment it started until now, it has been HORRIFIC. Waking up in pools of blood, barely able to leave the house without bleeding everywhere - never been able to wear skirts, shorts, or anything white. There’s never been a pattern, some periods would last for 3 months, sometimes it would disappear for a year.
I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2017 and was put on metformin. This did nothing to help.
In 2018, I had weight loss surgery as my bmi was (and still is) out of range for IVF. I have had 11 miscarriages - 4 of them were when my weight exceeded 28 stone, 5 were when my weight was at 18 stone, 2 at 16 stone, and 4 when my weight increased slightly.
I have been tested for natural killer cells, I’ve been tested for thrombocytopenia, I’ve been tested for EVERYTHING - nothing has come up except a dodgy thyroid (which I’m on medication to fix).
Anyway, after my surgery, my periods relaxed a bit and I started having one every three months or so which lasted about 3 weeks. Everything was okay until - and I am NOT anti-vax in the slightest! - I had my astrazeneca jab on 6.2.21 - literalky a day later, i bled until 12.6.23. I bled, heavily, every single day for over two years.
I was referred to gynaecology in March 21 and rhey didnt see me until August 22 when I was blue-lighted to a&e with severe iron-deficiency (iron levels 2) where they did a biopsy and a scan. The scan showed thickened endometrium and the biopsy was normal.
I ended up in hospital with an adrenal crisis and the bleeding still wouldnt stop. They gave me tranexamic acid, mefanamic acid, norethisterone - absolutely NOTHING would stop the bleeding. Eventually they discharged me and sent for an emergency iron infusion.
Fast forward a few months and the same thing happens again. Back to hospital, another iron infusion, still no medication would work. They did another biopsy - nothing.
This happened again every few months for about a year which takes us up to last June when I had another biopsy which came back showing “endometrial hyperplasia” but I received a letter from the specialist who said everything was normal. I tried to clarify with them but they weren’t sure what was going on. So I asked for a second opinion at a different hospital.
The new hospital did a biopsy which came back normal (this was Feb 24). After the biopsy, I stopped bleeding. It finally stopped! Until March came along and then I started bleeding AGAIN - I am STILL bleeding now. I’m off for another iron infusion at 2:30 today because my iron stores have dropped to 2 again and I’m at my wits end.
I’ve had 7 iron infusions in 2 years, no medication helps, no dietary changes help, no vitamin, mineral or nutritional deficiencies are documented. I eat very healthily, I exercise and I do everything I can to support my hormonal health (naturally, no additional supplementation aside from folic acid and folate).
I’m booked in to have the mirena coil fitted (again) at the end of June (apparently no sooner slots) but I’m losing the will to live. I genuinely cannot continue waking up like this day after day. I haven’t been able to work for four years because this is overruling my life.
They won’t do a hysterectomy “in case” I want to have children, they won’t investigate for endometriosis because I have “too much scar tissue” and they won’t check my egg quality because my BMI is just over 35. I’m working to lose weight (even though I lost 12 stone through weight loss surgery) but my body has plateaued and I can’t seem to lose anymore. My endocrinologist is scratching his head, I’m at a loss, and I’m genuinely fearful that if this continues much longer, I might end up taking drastic action.

Long story short: Otis was my baby and he had terminal cancer and was losing function and quality of life rapidly this past week. As soon as it went into a range where he was just lying there, breathing fast, not much interest in the usual things, including food and water, we let him go. Logically I knew it was coming, and didn't want to make him suffer or selfishly keep him around languishing through bad days, but somehow I thought I'd be ok eventually. I've had months to know this was coming, and then it was over too soon and I wish a few things had gone differently at the very end (but with the vet there, and my husband, etc, it was hard to not leave Otis's side to oversee some minor details -- like adding special sweetener to his saucer of milk that he drank while getting the sedation shot, or having the meats I'd prepped right there, since he finished his milk so fast and I wanted him distracted and eating instead of feeling the pinch). Anyway, I want to die and I don't know how to process this. I just want my baby back.
(Super long story below, and it's not even everything - no need to read it, I'm sure. Sorry so long, this all just happened 8 hours ago)
Otis was my little 9 pound baby. My shadow. My love bug. I can't put into words our bond and love, but I know many on here get it. He simply wasn't "a dog" he was our baby
Before his 11th bday he suddenly had a large painful swollen shoulder. Turned out to be hemangiosarcoma deep in his muscle. Came on overnight. We consulted with surgeons and oncologists and decided that with such a dismal prognosis, plus his insane fear of the vet, and questionable findings on his ultrasound and X-rays re: possible spread (nothing conclusive), plus's grade 5 heart murmur and (medically managed) luxating patella in his back knee, we'd take him home and spoil him rotten for whatever time he had left.
Well within a week the pain/pressure in his shoulder became too much and we opted for palliative surgery (amputating his front leg), since he was otherwise "fine" and totally himself. Just a painful shoulder and no signs of spread beyond that - just to get him out of pain for his remaining days. They told us it's a surprisingly easy surgery and recovery, and he did amazing.
He adjusted insanely well to tripod life within 2 weeks, still loved his walks, hikes and outings, tons of special foods (beyond the home cooked meals he already enjoyed) - he was the absolute center of our world.
Since it was muscular, they couldn't say when it would return - not quite as bad as hemangio in organs, not quite as good as the skin version, but not many stats. And little dogs usually don't get this, so we weren't sure what to expect but knew his surgery was just to get him out of pain and it would hopefully not return for a few months +. Clean margins on the surgery, etc
Well he only got about 5 weeks before another lump showed up- thankfully not painful this time. And then another.
Ultimately he got 2.5 months from diagnosis before his belly was distended, he had a giant lump on his back the size of an apple, and smaller ones started popping up other places, and his heart and lungs were working way too hard (breathing 60-90 breaths a minute at rest).
He still wanted to go on short walks and go out for burritos and stay by my side all day long (thankfully I work from home). Didn't seem to be in any pain, but the pressure started building in his belly which made his heart and lungs have to work harder this past week.
Then 5 days ago he lost his appetite and thirst and threw up a few times. We tried an appetite stimulant and it helped a lot, but he wasn't the same guy. Just wanted to rest mostly, and eat our foods if they were new/novel, but they made his belly too full and he'd breathe heavily after eating, even though he loved the foods. His eyes seemed duller /glassy the past 3 days, And then started to withdraw a bit (though he still always wanted/needed me right nearby - carried him up and downstairs with me all day long).
The first night he panted overnight (last night) I knew it was too much. I carried him downstairs still in his bed (he normally ran down on his own), and he didn't want to get out of bed to go potty so I just opened the door and he looked out into his yard and into the sunshine. He wasn't himself at all. Normally he runs out and barks or snorts at the neighbor dogs and kicks and makes sure all is under control out there. But this morning he didn't want to get out of bed, even in front of the open door.
He didn't want us petting him, and last night when I carried him upstairs to bed something hurt and he made a little cry. Most likely tumors inside were bothered by being picked up, and also the distensión and pressure in his belly. That night he panted overnight several times and I knew it was time.
We had someone come over and help him transition that evening (tonight).
And as soon as the appointment was scheduled , and after not eating or drinking without the stimulant (and even then, still needing hand feeding of only new people food), suddenly he was willing to eat the steak and chicken we cooked for him - loved it so much. Ate all kinds of foods all day long until the appt.
After laying on the floor on his side, belly so big, breathing fast, coordination with his legs starting to fail him the last few days, falling down today several times (and yesterday) and not able to walk outside other than a quick potty break, he suddenly got such a burst of energy where the vet arrived.
I knew this would probably happen, but it was so hard to see him bouncing around and happy and excited, even though that's all I wanted for him. One last happy day, after several days of just laying on the floor, breathing faster. Just made the timing question a little harder to see him perk up and eat after a week of constant decline and loss of function/coordination.
It all happened a little faster than I expected, and a few details about his final treats of steak and chicken and milk got a little muddled bc my husband stepped in to get those so I could hold Otis's head and hand the whole time. I know it's also my grief making me upset that I couldn't make it exactly as planned, but he went peacefully and it went well, considering. We told him how much we loved him and i got to hold him one last time. I couldn't believe I was saying goodbye. I tried to not cry until after he was gone, and just love him and soothe him and not stress him out. He was the best boy. My baby. My soul dog.
When his heart stopped I couldn't breathe. Shaking, holding my breath, just beyond.
I knew he had terminal cancer for the last 3 months and thought somehow that I could handle this - I'd been processing it this whole time and made every day count even more than usual - but I feel so empty and lost and guilty and devastated.
I feel like I let this happen to him. I feel like I wanted the appt to be a little different in some ways. I need to get over those details. We didn't want him to suffer anymore. As much as we thought we made the call before it was too late, I'm sure he spent many days and hours feeling bad. He didn't deserve any of this.
I want to see him tomorrow morning, snorting and oinking and meowing and making all his weird noises, and licking my face all over. I want my baby back.

I’m with my bf for 4 years, going into 5 this July. There’s one thing that makes me sick and I can’t forgive easily, and that’s lying. He knows that from the moment we met, I can’t stand lies and I always want the truth even if it’s bad news.
Throughout this years there have been 3 to 4 events where I knew the truth about something, I tried asking him about it and giving him the chance to explain himself to me, but he just straight up lied to me. It was really intense because the first two times I couldn’t give him evidence that I know how things happened so he just continued with a lie. He managed to confess a day after, or even some times months later in a random conversation where we both were “fine” so he felt comfortable saying he was lying back then and that I was right about the events.
He has just started at a new job, where he is the only guy there among other 2 guys and a lot of girls. I had a work opportunity outside our country so at the moment and for 4 months I’m going to be abroad so it’s been even more difficult for us. I catch myself getting insecure sometimes when a woman I don’t know is involved, but I try to soothe myself because I do know he loves me and that I’m being unreasonable with those thoughts. For the whole month that I’m away, we always speak on the phone and two hours pass by with him rambling about work and always defending one specific girl at work. Yesterday, while he was at work, I texted him and he didn’t reply but was active on instagram. I don’t check that in any way and I don’t care, but it happened to show his profile to a friend I met here so I saw he was online and thought “he’s here but doesn’t reply to me” and thought about making fun of it because I do like teasing him. When I was at his profile, the following went up when I refreshed it, and I found out that it was the girl he’s been so much mentioning from work. I’ve already sent him a teasing message, and he replied that he wasn’t on instagram. Then, the story changed to “her sister called him on insta”. That’s a straight up lie because he never speaks on insta with his sister. He sent me screenshot of the “call”, which was made at 17:28 from his part and ended the same time from his part again. But I’ve asked why he doesn’t reply to me at 17:10, where supposedly he was speaking on the phone with his sister. I knew he was on insta to accept the request from this girl from work, so I just wanted him to tell me the truth, it’s not even a big deal. But the way he lied to me and made up stories rather than just saying that made me feel sick. I might overreacting but I physically can’t stand lies, I wouldn’t lie to anyone let alone the person I love. He was keeping up with the lies until the end of the day, even though I have him a lot of chances for him to just say the truth. At midnight, on the phone, he finally said that he was on instagram because this girl sent him a request but that happened during the end of his shift, around 20:00. He was still lying to my face so I just said to him what happened and how I knew the story and knew he was lying the whole time about something so so minor. He finally confessed that all the stories he told me was a lie, and he justify it that he “wasn’t thinking and was an immediate move to lie to me because he kinda felt guilty about it”.
I know it’s a minor issue at the moment of the way it happened, but it has happened before with much bigger problems, I’ve always told him that I can’t respect someone who lies to my face and is fine about it, but I just can’t help myself to think of how he was okay lying, and how many other “lies” I might have believed only because I didn’t know the truth or didn’t have the ways to prove my gut feeling. He says he won’t ever lie to me again and that he don’t want to lose me. I love him and I also don’t want to lose him but I do feel overwhelmed and can’t stop thinking about how he lied straight up and even got offensive when I tried to tell him the truth.
TL/DR: my (22F) bf (27M) lied to me but I knew the truth and I feel overwhelmed of the way he tried to gaslight me.

I’m with my bf for 4 years, going into 5 this July. There’s one thing that makes me sick and I can’t forgive easily, and that’s lying. He knows that from the moment we met, I can’t stand lies and I always want the truth even if it’s bad news.
Throughout this years there have been 3 to 4 events where I knew the truth about something, I tried asking him about it and giving him the chance to explain himself to me, but he just straight up lied to me. It was really intense because the first two times I couldn’t give him evidence that I know how things happened so he just continued with a lie. He managed to confess a day after, or even some times months later in a random conversation where we both were “fine” so he felt comfortable saying he was lying back then and that I was right about the events.
He has just started at a new job, where he is the only guy there among other 2 guys and a lot of girls. I had a work opportunity outside our country so at the moment and for 4 months I’m going to be abroad so it’s been even more difficult for us. I catch myself getting insecure sometimes when a woman I don’t know is involved, but I try to soothe myself because I do know he loves me and that I’m being unreasonable with those thoughts. For the whole month that I’m away, we always speak on the phone and two hours pass by with him rambling about work and always defending one specific girl at work. Yesterday, while he was at work, I texted him and he didn’t reply but was active on instagram. I don’t check that in any way and I don’t care, but it happened to show his profile to a friend I met here so I saw he was online and thought “he’s here but doesn’t reply to me” and thought about making fun of it because I do like teasing him. When I was at his profile, the following went up when I refreshed it, and I found out that it was the girl he’s been so much mentioning from work. I’ve already sent him a teasing message, and he replied that he wasn’t on instagram. Then, the story changed to “her sister called him on insta”. That’s a straight up lie because he never speaks on insta with his sister. He sent me screenshot of the “call”, which was made at 17:28 from his part and ended the same time from his part again. But I’ve asked why he doesn’t reply to me at 17:10, where supposedly he was speaking on the phone with his sister. I knew he was on insta to accept the request from this girl from work, so I just wanted him to tell me the truth, it’s not even a big deal. But the way he lied to me and made up stories rather than just saying that made me feel sick. I might overreacting but I physically can’t stand lies, I wouldn’t lie to anyone let alone the person I love. He was keeping up with the lies until the end of the day, even though I have him a lot of chances for him to just say the truth. At midnight, on the phone, he finally said that he was on instagram because this girl sent him a request but that happened during the end of his shift, around 20:00. He was still lying to my face so I just said to him what happened and how I knew the story and knew he was lying the whole time about something so so minor. He finally confessed that all the stories he told me was a lie, and he justify it that he “wasn’t thinking and was an immediate move to lie to me because he kinda felt guilty about it”.
I know it’s a minor issue at the moment of the way it happened, but it has happened before with much bigger problems, I’ve always told him that I can’t respect someone who lies to my face and is fine about it, but I just can’t help myself to think of how he was okay lying, and how many other “lies” I might have believed only because I didn’t know the truth or didn’t have the ways to prove my gut feeling. He says he won’t ever lie to me again and that he don’t want to lose me. I love him and I also don’t want to lose him but I do feel overwhelmed and can’t stop thinking about how he lied straight up and even got offensive when I tried to tell him the truth.
TL/DR: my (22F) bf (27M) lied to me but I knew the truth and I feel overwhelmed of the way he tried to gaslight me.

Hey everyone - first time posting here. I’m a FTM to a 3.5 month old and my maternity leave is ending. Overall things have been pretty good but my husband and I definitely overcame a few challenges together and learned along the way to get to this point.
I’m thankful to have had a normal, healthy pregnancy and delivery and despite initial breastfeeding difficulties baby is healthy and feeding and sleeping well, but I have a lot on my mind as I prepare to return to work Monday and would be happy to hear some feedback from those who have been here before.
1) I’m legit worried about what to wear - I’m between sizes in this awkward not still maternity but also not back to normal phase; I feel awkward in my body and while I’m trying to love myself as I am I do feel old dysmorphic thoughts creep in so I’m trying not to get self conscious and remind myself that I recently birthed a human.
2) Speaking of, how long did it take you to lose your belly and how did you do it? Obviously I’m not as big as I was when carrying, but I definitely have a pooch leftover and trying to figure out how to get rid of it. I was pretty fit in the past but I may be on the low end of the PCOS spectrum (doc says I just barely meet the criteria), so it may be harder for me to lose weight although I admit that I haven’t restarted my workout routine beyond daily walks yet; not sure where to find the time or energy these days.
3) What is it like going back to work with a new baby? What makes your routine go smoothly? What worked for you and what didn’t work?
Basically I’m just trying to navigate how to go back to my corporate job (where I was recently promoted so there will be higher expectations/more responsibilities), while still attending to my baby/keeping my breastmilk supply up, taking care of my household, maintaining a good relationship with my husband, friends and family, and get my body back but it’s all starting to feel overwhelming…

Okay so I need some serious help and guidance. This is going to be a bit of a story, so i apologize for the length.
Info: 23 yr old male, gay, 5”5, 130 pounds-ish
(Sidenote: I used to be a fat child so I’ve always had body image issues, and in high school I was anorexic/ bulimic for a few years. The issue I’m going to be discussing is separated from these past occurrences, but I thought my past with eating disorders was worth mentioning as it’s related).
My issues began about 3 years ago. I started getting more into fitness for aesthetic reasons. Before this decision I was already very healthy (exercised about 3 times a week, no alcohol, lots of Whole Foods, good sleep, and have been a vegan for many years beforehand). Once I made this decision to get more into fitness, I developed an eating disorder over time and bad body dysmorphia. I over-exercised and under ate, I was not fueling or recovering properly from lifting sessions, which made me lose a lot of weight that I did not need to lose as I was already skinny beforehand. Eventually after about a year and a half i realized my issue and began eating more, which lead to great results both physically and mentally. However it seems that since recovering from the eating disorder, the over exercising has come back. I’m no longer afraid to eat enough, but i just am doing wayyy too much. I’ll put my full current routine below, but to sum it up I’m working out everyday, at least an hour and a half. I have two hardcore leg days (Mon/Fri) along with a lighter leg day that is combined with one of my 2 arm days (Weds), 2 arm days (Weds/ sun), and 3 abs/ core/ full body yoga days (Tues/ Thurs/ sat). I do lifts at home using dumbbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands, as I don’t like working out with others. My current routine gives me the aesthetic goals I want, which is strong legs/ glutes, a toned waist, and toned arms, but this routine is taking away a lot from my life. I don’t want to progressively overload with weights as I already did this going from a 20 to 30 to 40 pound dumbbell I’m currently using, plus I’m ok with my current muscle size. I just want to modify my current routine to give me similar results but not have it take over my life. I wake up between 4:30 and 5AM every day since i workout in the morning, as this is the only time i can do so. I have to wake up so early because the workouts I listed above take so damn long. My 2 hardcore leg days (Monday and Friday) used to only take 2 hours, and now they’re 3 hours. I get results, but the rest of the day I feel weak, exhausted, and like I’m running on stress hormones. This is the major issue I’m having, as my main goal with weightlifting was to have juicy thighs/ glutes, which I’m getting, but at what cost. My remaining lighter leg day (Wednesday) is also combined with arm lifts and a 45 min walk. For 2 of my 3 abb days (Tuesday/ Thursday) I do an hour and 20 mins of stomach vacuums, an intense 25 min core/ full body yoga video, and then a more relaxed 30 min full body yoga video, which ends up being about 2 1/2 hours counting rest and bathroom break. For the remaining 3rd abb day (Saturday), I do the vacuums, the intense core/ full body yoga, and then a 10 min jog ending in a sprint (about two hours total). My remaining day (Sunday) is just arms and a 45 min walk which I have no issue with.
Current Routine: (5:20-8:20)AM LIFT: LEGS Monday-10 x 4 (40) reverse lunges, 12 x 4 (48) squats, 9 x 4 (36) deadlifts, and 20 x 3 (60) glute bridges. ALL USING SINGLE 40 LB DUMBBELL
(5:30-8:00)AM VACUUMS/ABS/YOGA Tuesday- floor vacuums, 25 min core yoga, 30 mins full body yoga.
(5:40-8:10) AM LIFT: ARMS/ LEGS/ WALK Wednesday- arm lifts, 30 glute kickbacks (each leg) with 20 pound, 15 x 4 exercise- band hip abductions, 10 x 4 (40) glute bridges, 45 min walk. ALL USING SINGLE 40 LB DUMBBELL
(5:30-8:00)AM VACUUMS/ABS/YOGA Thursday-floor vacuums, 25 min core yoga, 25 mins full body yoga.
(5:00-8:00)AM LIFT: LEGS Friday-10 x 4 (40) reverse lunges, 12 x 4 (48) squats, 9 x 4 (36) deadlifts, and 20 x 3 (60) glute bridges. ALL USING SINGLE 40 LB DUMBBELL
(5:00-7:00AM) VACUUMS/ABS/JOG Saturday- floor vacuums, 20 min core yoga, 10 min jog with spring at finish.
(5:30-7:00)AM ARMS/ WALK Sunday- arm lifts, 50 min walk.
⚫️I need help in reducing this routine. It is taking over my life. I have to go to bed by 9:30 every night in order to sleep enough for a morning workout everyday, which has drastically killed my social life. This exercise disorder has killed my libido, and I’m almost certain my cortisol levels are too high because I go through days of water retention/ bloating most likely due to constant physical & mental stress. My Goal is to restructure and lessen the entire routine overall to be more sustainable, but my main focus is to reduce the length of time for leg days.
⚫️I need help Specifically with shortening the mon/ fri leg days so they don’t take 3 hours. Theoretically I understand it shouldn’t take 3 hours, but because of the large number of sets & reps, I need to take more rest periods in order to finish the full leg workout. I like the leg exercises (reverse lunges, squats, deadlifts, and glute bridges), but just not the excessive reps. Ive accepted that reducing these leg days may result in some muscle loss. I just need to find a way to still do these 4 leg exercises with similar results I have now, but not taking as long. I’ve heard that excessive reps actually hinders muscle development. Are my rep numbers considered excessive? and would reducing my rep numbers cause muscle loss, even if they’re excessive?
⚫️Is two leg days (instead of 3), enough to maintain my current muscles? I want to cut out the additional 3rd day of leg lifts on my Wednesday arm day, but I’m worried that cutting out these lifts will make glutes smaller.
⚫️ Is 2 abb/ yoga days enough for tone? Would cutting off the 3rd day negate or improve my goal of have a defined but slim torso? I’m worried this 3rd abb day I’m currently doing could eventually overdevelop my core, which I don’t need as my torso is already square shaped. However I’m also worried that only doing 2 abb days a week will make me wide torso less defined. This 3rd abb day is on Saturday, the day after one of my intense leg days, so I always feel depleted and exhausted for this workout.
⚫️LASTLY…. I need outside perspective. I’ve already spoken to my cousin about this as she’s a personal trainer, and she Told me I was really overdoing it. Ive already reduced my Reps for leg days to my current routine, but it still feels like too much. I know I’m overdoing it, I’ve known for a while but I just feel stuck and that I’ll lose my results if I modify my routine to be more sustainable. I love fitness but this is taking a toll on my life. I know that I need to lessen this routine, I just have no idea where to start, and no idea how to restructure it in a way that still gives me similar results to what I have now. Please any help is helpful, I’m desperate.

I (34M) am currently on a trip with my GF (41F). It is a job trip, but I invited her to come along me (all paid for me). In part because I thought it could be nice but mostly because in the last 5 work trips I have taken she always gets angry and starts fights. Her points included not taking her with me.
So, the day of the trip, 20 minutes before taking the bus to the airport she tells me that she is feelimg bad. I asked her what was wrong and if she felt fine for travel. She said "I don't know". "What choice do I have?".
We got to our room and it doesn't have a private washroom (I misread the booking). I know that this is unnaceptable for her and her OCD. So I try to take her to a new hotel (losing my money on the first one) and she said no. Thankfully the staff was very understanding at hotel 1 and (for a fee) let us switch rooms and gave us a washroom only for us (for her).
I told her this and she got even angrier. She started berating me telling me:

• She is never going on a trip with me again.
• Why didn't I ask her to book the room with me. This one is a valid point. I apologized back then.
• Why didn't I cancel my trip when she was feeling bad before?
• To "ignore her and go to the conference". She told me that 3 times. I asked her what to do with food another 3 times and she said she could take care of herself.

I told her I made a honest mistake (which I tried to fix) and that it was unfair to treat me like that. She continued the fight and I answered to her multiple accusations and left her alone to go to the conference.
She got mad that I left her alone (?), we had another fight and she said that I never can calm her down. I answered "sorry, everybody else had to learn to control their anger without lashing out and it is not my job to do it for you".
She made another scene about leaving (alone, in the middle of the night 2500 km from home) and after I told her how insane that was, we went to sleep, angry.
Was I the asshole for telling her that it was not my job to calm her down?. Also for not cancelling the trip before? I am regretting that one... I should have never invited her on the first place, but in the last 6 months we had not had a fight and things were going great.
TLDR: I made a mistake while inviting my girlfriend on a trip, instead of letting me fix it, she started a fight and I told her that it is not my job to calm her down.

First time posting, long time reader. Wasn’t sure how to go about this but here goes..
My wife (33F) is finishing up her 3rd year in DO school. We’ve been together 12 years, married going on 6. We don’t have kids. I (39M) have been along for the journey since undergrad. What a rollercoaster.. Getting into med school was huge. It was a school out of state. We’re from the west coast, school is in southwest; close enough to family to visit, far enough to miss them. I work full time and fortunately was able to transfer. We have a home in CA and again, fortunately, I make a decent amount where we were able to buy a home close enough to her school and an hour away from my work. Currently, we rent out the west coast property. Having properties has always been a goal of mine, so buying a second home wasn’t something I would be upset about, especially in a growing city.
Since I work, I carry most, if not all, of the financial side of things. I say most because I don’t want to discredit when she buys things at the market and I don’t hand her money to pay for it. For me, my money is our money. Her loan is my loan. We do it together. I’m on board.
The demands of med school are intense, as we all know. I’m on board with all the sacrifices we make as spouses. I cook, I clean, I pack her lunches, wake her up if/when she’s running late, prepare her coffee and send her off with “I got you, babe.” That’s who I am. I do all those things not for an IOU payment. I do it because I love my wife and I know I want to support my partner. I feel like she has possibly gotten so used to it that she forgets to support the one who supports her most. Her family situation is another post for another subreddit that gets very.. difficult. Therapy has been an avenue we’ve taken as a couple and as individuals. It’s helped.
Here is where I feel like I’m finding the edge..
Moving away from home has its challenges. I would surf every week - Can’t surf in the desert. I’m close with my family - Can only see them every so often now. In our marriage, affection has gone from healthy to occasionally. Sex life, same. Understanding the mental demand, stresses and planning for residency applications, wanting to plan for a baby, her family stress, all of those are factors. I’ve been patient and understanding. I do my best.
I enjoy camping. It keeps me sane. During that “limbo” I plan trips for myself or with other family members, which means I drive to another state and have a decent trip for 4-5 days. THIS is my hobby. THIS makes me happy. This happens twice to three times a year. I love my truck. I invest in my truck. I purchased and worked on everything that has been done to my truck. I’m proud of it. THIS makes me happy.
Again, I carry the financial side of things. I also save money for future plans (babies, another move, another house, emergencies etc). Am I wrong for spending money on my truck? Because I’m continually getting guilt tripped for it by my wife. Sounds silly, but when I voice that frustration with my wife, the answer I get is “When are you done?” And my response is “It’s something I continue to enjoy and can afford. What if it’s never done?”
Is it fair to be guilt tripped this way? I mean, I do my part. And then some. I feel like sacrificing and carry the load I do and voicing when it’s tough falls on deaf ears. And all I ask is to be supported while I support her. I’m not drinking and hitting strip clubs, I’m camping. Im working on my truck. It’s my hobby and it makes me happy. A “I’m happy you enjoy your truck and it’s given you a lot of joy.” would send me to the moon. For me, that’s an “I got you, babe.”
Idk, I feel like a tool. Only do what supports her journey but don’t find things that make me happy throughout it, because her journey is the one that is most important…? I don’t know how else to live a life for myself without being guilt tripped, while supporting her 90% of the time.
Am I crazy?! Is there a different perspective I could adopt? I feel like I’m losing my mind and losing who I am. I’m not a tool, I’m a person.
TL;DR Med school is demanding, I love camping and working on truck, wife doesn’t agree with how I spend my free time and money.

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- - - - -
Ceele strolled through the damp grass along the outskirts of the village, a spring in her step and the dwindling scent of dew following behind. It rained yesterday, which had prevented her from going out to gather supplies, but the mild morning air had been accommodating enough for her to get an early start and make the trip. She was glad she did.
One hand clutched her new prize to her chest, while the other held a fraying wicker basket filled with herbs and some edible roots she gathered by exploring the forbidden forest. Despite her reservations regarding where she chose to go, her excitement now lingered like a steady thrum of shifting stones, giving her energy that defied how long she had been walking. She all but pranced beneath the burgeoning night's sky, gleefully toeing the line between the dirt pathways of the settlement’s outskirts and the trees of unclaimed land. Normally, her path back home would never be so close to the village, but she was far too gleeful to mind. She had come back with a sense of fulfillment and a rare object—or if not rare, then hopefully of great value.
It was hard to point to any one specific reason that she came across the orb. There had always been a ‘draw’ during her travels, urging her that there was something missing in her life, yet it was no more than a mild whim to walk in a particular direction more often than not. Once she reached this part of the continent, she was compelled to wander, never quite able to explain why she obliged the sensation besides having nowhere in particular to be. Even when she finally settled somewhere, it stayed in the back of her mind, suggesting that she was close to whatever would make the pit of vacancy go away. She ignored it, purposefully distracting herself with her work and responsibilities, yet that could only last so long. When she awoke this morning with plans to resupply, and all of her newfound spots had been picked clean by wildlife, she turned to the depths of the forest where she was warned not to tread. It was all too easy to follow the subtle tug in her chest through the loose justification.
The urge to be somewhere grew unbearable with every step closer to the forbidden area. That sense of having a direction she needed to go became stronger and stronger, until she was well into land long since forgotten. She came across an overgrown depression in the hillside, and was entranced by the foreboding image. Something about the cave just…beckoned her. She was far too weak to resist.
Horrible tales echoed into her ears as whispers of fearful voices, warning and unending, yet but a dull drone compared to her hammering heart. She navigated the trees and brushed aside unkempt vines, stepping into the cavern with a mix of expectation and trepidation, then laid eyes on the small obsidian stone perched atop a crumbling pillar. The feeling of needing to travel somewhere…stopped.
The pull was absent, which was why she held the orb close instead of placing it into her basket. She wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but she recalled overheard tales of hidden gemstones, deep cavernous expanses, and the untold terrors that lay within. Comparing the scenes of those fables to the cave seemed foolish now; it wasn’t some torturous chamber, but a dusty depression in a small hillside. Besides, anything this pretty was sure to be worth a fair sum, and she needed the coin. Yet the thought of selling the precious-looking stone was a conflicting one. She shook off the thought for the time being, turning her attention back towards where she was going.
Shadows stretched and faded as the moon stole the last of the illumination afforded by the sun, replacing it with a calming glow that caressed the log frames and thatched roofs of various homes. A star-filled sky came into prominence as clouds lazily drifted away, revealing the promise of tomorrow’s fair-weathered arrival. It was too late for anyone to notice her treading on the edge of their town while lost in thought, but she was still careful not to get too close to the houses or livestock pens where people might be finishing the evening’s duties. It was best that they didn’t see her returning from a place she was told not to go. Still, her feet carried her near the dwellings as she took in the noises.
Ceele enjoyed the comforting chatter from a distance. Indistinct words floated freely. Meaningless gossip and warm goodbyes were exchanged between friends and family. Places of various occupations were dark and quiet, only the faint contented mewls and clucks of livestock coming from their pastures as they ate what was recently put out for them. No metal rang throughout the streets as it was struck inside a centralized smithy, no heated bartering came from an overactive trade house, and the crunch of dirt beneath transport or merchant wagons was absent, replaced by the rapid steps and yelps of children rushing to their homes before it got too dark out. It was all just gentle conversation and life drifting through the wind, taking the rustle of leaves along for the ride, just so she could hear it. Tranquil, in a word.
She wondered what it would sound like if she were yet one more voice within that crowd of kindness. Would it be loud like the larger cities? Would she struggle to maintain a thought with so many stray topics floating about? Would she once more yearn for the peace and quiet of solitude that she had grown used to, or would she immerse herself, free of judgment and laughing like the carefree young that scampered about? Did thinking about it even matter?
Her smile fell from its genuine intensity—still worn, but not as fully. She glanced downward as her stride lost its jubilant bounce, her tail losing its sway as her grey eyes examined the dry black scales that adorned her body against her wishes. It was the ugly hue of tarnished oil, unlike the skin of any other kobold she had met. Some had reds or greens, yellows or whites, while most were between a sandy tan or earthen brown. The rainbow of peculiarities was displayed by the lucky few, and she was one of them…
…Yet she was different in the worst of ways.
Even if she would rather any other colour, she supposed it was that way to make sure no one came near without accepting the unspoken risks. That was what her mother always said, anyway, though the woman hardly feared much of anything in her old age, and dedicated herself to giving her offspring all the love she had left to give—a perk of living a full life. She would always help her daughter bathe, complimenting the colour of what most were unnerved by. That was more than a decade ago now, however. Ceele’s parents had passed on while she was still young, and she took to travelling not long after, working at what she could to afford what little she needed. Never for long, though—just enough to get to the next town between where she was and where the urge to go lay. There were certainly moments she looked back on fondly, but the journey had taken its toll.
The crude material of her ‘dress’ was coarse, old, and heavy, but it helped ease the worst of spring's chill—even if it was more of a modified sack than proper attire. Still, it was all she had after the last of her clothing fell apart, and giving the repurposed material a name that reminded her of something else made it less uncomfortable to wear, somehow. It would have to do until she could afford a pitying seamstress or the like. Until then, she would pretend she didn’t look so desperate, even if it only highlighted her status and made finding work difficult.
But it did. The dishevelled garment was a far cry from the wonderful silks or breathtaking designs she had seen some women wear, harshly marking the distinction between herself and those of affluence. The clothing of commoners was also a leap in style and quality, so she couldn't say her attire was up to even modest standards. No matter how hard she squinted, and no matter how much she fantasized otherwise, she seemed every bit like the vagrant she was, down to the soil embedded in the curvature of her claws and the stains throughout her fabrics. She looked like a serf from the more oppressed lands, yet they too wore crude cottons, which said a lot about how she appeared to those who had never lived a life of servitude. It was obvious that she was an outsider. That she didn't belong amongst the rest. It made changing something as simple as her appearance all the more difficult; prospective employment always saw a young woman who seemed more likely to steal or swindle than make an honest day’s living.
There was one good twist of fate in recent memory, however, and she came upon the result of it after leaving the slowing bustle of the village behind. Her steps carried her through a small copse of trees on the outskirts of town, the small shaded path leading to the back of a large, carefully pruned clearing, a scattering of fruit-bearing trees providing even darker shadow than the already dim moonlight. She skirted along the aging fence on the border that kept predatory animals away, carefully hoisting herself over the barrier where a large vegetable garden she was responsible for tending resided. If one were to tell her she would be living in such an area several months ago, she would have smiled politely and walked away, yet here she was.
A modest, warmly lit home occupied the middle of the clearing, sitting front and centre when one approached from the village path. It looked quite cozy, surrounded by berry bushes that were just beginning to bloom as the last dregs of winter slipped away. A front patio displayed a nice table and well-loved chairs, the rustic appearance only adding to its charm as a place where friends and family spent the warm summer afternoons. A smithy to the left of the house functioned as an additional heated building during the colder months, but usually served as a storefront and to muffle the sounds of hammered iron, though that had become less common. An old stable was nearby, close enough to be accessible, but not so close as to disturb the once occupying animals with sounds of iron craft. It hadn't seen a horse in quite some time, apparently, so it was mostly a workshop for whatever tasks didn’t require fire or metal.
There was a long history attached to each little detail—from the scuffs along the wooden siding to the depressions in the ground where daily routine wore into the earth. Every fault suffered throughout the years was matched by a thousand quirks that made it feel welcoming, like the house itself was merely waiting for the next friendly face with one of its own. She knew that the inside of each building would look just as cared for.
Her concern lay outside, however. It was a comparatively miniscule space just barely visible through the sheltering trees, true, yet it was where her efforts turned into tangible results, and where a stranger’s trust was painstakingly repaid. Once overgrown grass had been laboriously trimmed, the weeds plucked and disposed of, and now nothing distracted from what she could claim she had done.
The small plots of rock-bordered soil had little buds of growing vegetables, a sense of pride never failing to bloom in her breast with the knowledge that it would be barren without her touch. When her troubles and concerns grew heavy, and fears of the future or spectres of the past loomed over her head, she could look at where she had brought life where it wouldn't otherwise be. Some days, that was enough. She smiled in appreciation at what was admittedly amateur work, the night’s sky helping to hide any inevitably made mistakes.
She enjoyed the sight for a moment longer, then turned to walk towards a neglected old tool shed that was well out of sight within the trees, far away from whatever warmth and comfort the larger house offered to everyone and anyone. She put a hand on the degrading wood of the entryway, giving one last sad smile at the garden as she dismissed selfish thoughts of taking the eventual harvest for herself. A breath cleared the uncertainty from her voice, and she pushed open the door.
“I'm home!”
= = = = =
It took a while for Altier to adjust to his situation, and even once he accepted that his mana wasn't being siphoned, he was still reeling from confusion. He had spent centuries with every year passing by without his notice, yet now he was painfully aware of each creeping second languidly dragging on with the expediency of growing grass. It was as disorienting as it was painfully nostalgic.
Time was something he was never good with, and it only got worse as a dungeon. He'd get lost in creating rooms, corridors, creatures, and whatever else needed doing, only pausing to watch or listen to the few adventurers he became interested in. There was a stint where he spent what felt like hours agonizing over new abilities or options while he let the system manage things in the background, though he supposed it might have been much longer. So many wasted days, yet he still hadn't managed to try everything he had gained access to. Some abilities were simply too niche, came with concerning titles, or held descriptions that made him wary. Anything with ‘Decay’ in the name was instantly ignored—he didn't need more reasons to fear his affinity, and from the few he took the effort to read through, they were always vile.
But his existence for the moment was no longer like those endless stretches spent pondering the minutiae of what would help his adventurers grow stronger. Now, he could follow the rhythmic sounds of footsteps and steady breathing that set a calming pace. They were someone else's, yes, but they contextualized how easy it was to slip away without the subtle noises of life that he had long since surrendered to help his family. Of course, there were more differences that he noticed since being removed from his crumbling cavern, and his sight was the newest change.
He never gave much thought to how far he could see before. Why would he? As a man, his world extended as far as he could fathom, yet was also confined to the room where he spent his days, and as a dungeon… Well, who was he to consider distance when an event happening miles away could be seen with a flicker of thought? Nothing was too far when it was within his creation. Or his ‘body,’ he supposed. Sadly, his entire perception currently consisted of the small sphere of his obsidian core, and maybe a finger's length beyond it—which is to say, not much. He could make out the fine details in the dirty burlap he was held against, and how pale moonlight slowly took over the blurred reds of sunset, but hardly anything more. It was all just frosted colours after a certain point, and he found it infinitely frustrating. He just wanted to peer beyond the haze and scaly hand holding him to confirm that the sky he remembered was still there. Alas, the sunlight faded at too quick a pace, yet one oh so agonizingly slow.
The ensuing darkness gave him nothing to do but think about where he was, not that he had any ideas. He was too curious about why he wasn't dead to bother much with his blurry surroundings after the soft-spoken kobold abducted him, thus why he only belatedly noticed how limited his worldview had become. There might have been a forest beyond his cave, but the greens and browns were gone, and the sounds of steps through brush was replaced by the distant din of a village. An idle curiosity pondered if he would recognize any descents of his ‘family tradition’ adventurers there, but he was being carried by what most considered a monster, so likely not.
That short musing was short-lived, however, and he brought his focus back to the matter at hand. He supposed he was being taken somewhere specific, but that was an obvious deduction, considering he was taken at all. The why of the matter was less so; for what purpose would someone want a Decay-aligned core? He hadn’t heard of them before…well, before he was made into one, but he couldn’t imagine many uses. Maybe he was being sold? His…kidnapper? His sudden companion seemed rather pleased by their discovery of him, so that might be the case, and it was morbidly amusing to think that a frail, sickly young man might one day become a coveted, highly valuable item. His abduction could also be a part of some cult’s nefarious activities, but he didn't want to think about that too hard. He experienced enough odd ceremonies from the adventurers who took the time to tell him their tales.
Either way, he wasn't in the dungeon anymore, and he couldn’t see where he was going. He tried to query his menu to glean an answer, but was met with a scrambled mess he suspected read ‘Synchronizing…’ and little else. It gave him a headache trying to make sense of it—which he didn't know was possible anymore—so he dismissed the text and distracted himself with blurs from whatever diluted senses he still had. There wasn’t much to observe other than the constant footfalls and the flicker of shadows on his companion’s burlap garment. They might have travelled through brush again, but it was too dark to really say for certain.
Eventually, there was something new. He heard an old latch rattle and rusted door hinges groan, then a shuddered clack that confirmed he was now in a building. His kobold acquaintance gently cooed at something before moving about the nearly pitch-black space, finally setting him down on a… He wasn’t sure what it was, besides old and wooden.
[D$#@m$n E@$*ded]
The headache from before became a blinding migraine that suffocated him under a flash-flood of suffering. Seconds passed in abject torture until it blissfully abated, the mental blinks clearing his mind enough to notice a change in his existence. Specifically, he could actually see something besides the rotting wood grain he was placed on top of.
And it wasn’t anything promising…
He was more or less in the centre of a room no bigger than twelve paces by maybe ten. Not a terrible size for a space, but it was clearly never meant to house someone. His resting place looked about as neglected as he surmised; it was an upturned feeding trough, he supposed, since calling it a table seemed too generous. The surface was rife with holes and degraded iron, so it was something that once saw regular use before being replaced and tossed into storage, never to see the light of day again.
Actually, most things in the room seemed to fit that description. The window shutters were installed with metal hinges that had since rusted them closed, the misalignment letting in a draft—and whatever weather was outside as well, most likely. A poorly carved bowl sat on the floor, the stain beneath it hinting that it collected any rainwater that slowly dripped from the leaky roof. The wooden floorboards looked old, splintered, and in need of maintenance or replacement, though an effort had been put into abrading it somewhat smooth lately.
A tiny and decrepit fireplace was to the left of the door upon entry, its brickwork slowly crumbling due to weathering and age. It was sized more for keeping the room warm during mild days than to keep away the frigid chill of night. Its base only held cold ashes, but there was a collection of deadwood and scraps nearby, so that would probably be rectified soon. A small wheel-less cart had been turned into storage against the opposite wall, some herbs and other foraged items stowed away in it for future use. Various things he remembered seeing his father and brothers use in the fields were scattered about, too. It was nostalgic to see, honestly, even if his recollections had blurred over time.
Bundles of tattered blankets formed a pair of nests in the far corner, the smaller of the two had a pile of rough plants nearby. That answered his silent pondering of the room's purpose somewhat, though he was pretty sure the bedding material was salvaged, and there didn’t seem to be any hay or padding underneath whoever was sleeping on it. He didn’t know what to think about the weeds; they were purposefully placed there, and whoever did so had taken the time to wash them, but it was still strange.
He couldn’t see a doorway besides the entrance, yet most of the hallmarks of residency were put where space could be afforded, however crude. All in all, he surmised that it was a gardening shed of sorts, and his new acquaintance apparently lived here. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when a creature he had only read about came into his dungeon, but it wasn't being brought to a rundown and decrepit shack for unknown purposes.
Even if he had been raised by parents who made a humble living at the best of times, and they had emptied their coffers for unsuccessful attempts to ease his ailments, his acquaintance's living space made him uncomfortable. His family's house was never anything fancy, true—it shared some of the worn qualities that inevitably gathered over the years—but it was never this bad. His home benefited from a father's touch keeping it robust and a mother’s love keeping it warm, whereas this place had seen neither in quite some time. Oh, there was evidence that such was once the case; a wall was adorned with carefully made and well-spaced hangers for the various gardening tools, though the implements themselves had become a victim of neglect. That being said, he could make out the fresh soil and recent scratches exposing furrows of silver, so they were seeing use again.
A scrape and clack of flint drew his attention to his kobold companion. They were kneeling in front of the fireplace, methodically sparking life back into a dead flame with twigs and dried leaves. A slow, steady breath into the reddened base illuminated its face with a dull orange glow, revealing its weary visage and the permanently etched smile that rested beneath its cold grey eyes. The black-scaled kobold looked tired, if he were to guess—much the same as Altier did when he spent countless days watching everyone living a life he could never have through the mossy window of his bedroom. He was probably humanizing it too much. Still, he was surprised by the muted pang of sympathy, and how he would feel much more than blithe curiosity after spending so much time alone in the crumbling crypt of his own making.
A mental breath cycled through him as he looked at the odds and ends yet to be observed. Hardly anything else was of note—everything else was degraded and neglected, too. He did notice a nest of blankets move though, which was as good a distraction as any. The answer to his previous ‘pile of weeds’ inquiry poked a tiny nose from a crease in the fabric, then rapidly pawed at the blankets to dig itself out. Altier stared at the creature in both recognition and confusion.
It was a rabbit…or at least it looked like one, assuming you were to also describe a porcupine and a sea urchin as well. He was pretty sure he didn’t remember any hare that had jagged metal-tipped fur, nor that had said fur arranged into a row of spiked horns that flowed down its spine, terminating at a large fluffy tail, which was equally bizarre to see. The whole of its coat could double as a weapon, with semi-sharp barbs sticking off seemingly at random, yet he remembered an adventurer saying most animals used that sort of thing defensively. He increased his focus as he tried to make sense of the odd creature. Surely he would have heard about—
[Hoppittttttt#%%÷ — Ferro-o-orabbit-it (Ma%$le)
Abil—]
[Null]
[Er0Rrrrrrrr—]
[Und#$f—]
He bit back the pain caused by the sudden intrusion of his menu, blanking out the text and mentally retreating to hide from the source. Did he just inspect something? How? Shouldn’t his entire…‘framework,’ was it…? Yes, that was it. Shouldn’t that have been corrupted? Why could he see the creature’s information when his entire framework was damaged? That was the first ability he lost, so why is it the first to be functional? How was it functional? Was it? It did just spit garbled text at him, but it was something, and that was more than he had gotten from it in a very long time. If it was somehow working—no matter how poorly—then that left the question of why he hadn't heard of anything called a ‘ferrorabbit’ before, assuming he read that correctly.
A soft thud vibrated the tro— table, startling him out of thought. He turned his attention to the button nose wiggling erratically at him, the short, stubby muzzle leading to surprisingly expressive and curious red eyes. Dull brown fur jutted off in random tufts and patches, changing to a darker tint on its paws and the upper half of its ears, while the tips of its spikes were a muted hue of iron. It still seemed just as soft as the less pointed variety he remembered, if a touch dirty. Upright ears twitched this way and that way as its head vigorously shook, eventually settling on pointing in his direction when it calmed down enough.
It was apparent that he had its undivided attention…for all of a few seconds. His scaly companion called something out in their foreign tongue, and whatever conclusion the pointy-furred animal came to, it seemed more interested in the kobold, parting from him after nudging his core with its nose.
[Cre-e-e—]
[Errrrrrr0r: Undefiiiiiiii—]
[Acceeeeep-t-t-t??]
[Yeeee— s s / Nnnnnnn—]
He winced at the intrusion, but the contents detracted from the pain. He couldn’t remember the system ever asking him a question without his explicit intent being involved. It wanted him to…accept something? Was it the system prompting him, or the animal? What was he to accept?
[Creatuuuuu—]
[Acce-e-e-%#@ed!]
…What?
= = = = =
“Hoppit, that's not food!” Ceele admonished half-heartedly, placing a larger branch on the burgeoning flame before she got to her feet. She wasn’t actually that worried; the stone was as big as his head, and she was pretty sure he couldn't bite into it. Hopefully. “Come here, momma has a treat for you!”
The ferrorabbit playfully bumped the gemstone and jumped off the low table, landing with a soft thud that belied how heavy he was for his tiny size. He wiggled in excitement, his ears flailing and releasing a slight clack whenever the two connected. It got even louder when she grabbed her basket and put away the useful herbs, taking out a specific item that she had gathered just for him. The little bun wasted no time in scurrying over and standing tall on his hind legs to judge if the offered plant was to his liking—and it was, based on how he dug in with enthusiasm. She stifled a laugh as she contentedly watched him nibble away on the treat, ignoring the guilt that came with knowing she couldn't afford proper vegetables for him. He had a hard life too, and it tore at her to have so little to give.
She came across Hoppit a year ago, during a storm that worsened while she was travelling between towns. The day had darkened to night in spite of it still being about noon, but the weather didn't care for how bright it was supposed to be. Wind and rain became a typhoon, forcing her to seek shelter in a thankfully abandoned den of what was probably a larger animal. She was fine with waiting out the squall, since the stone roof over her head was more than she usually had back then, but the sounds of dull bangs and thuds near her hideaway was followed by cries of animals yelping in pain. Curiosity won over reason, and she left the safety of her shelter to see what was causing the disturbance. Truthfully, she was hopeful that she'd come across scraps or the like, her hunger driving her forward, and she could always turn back if it seemed dangerous. Yet when she arrived at the source of the commotion, she found herself thinking of anything but food.
Two predators had fought over a small burrow, both trying to dig out a meal and taking offence to the other doing the same. What they didn’t know was that they were assaulting the home of ferrorabbits. Specifically, the home of an angry, protective, and well-fed mother that was keeping her newborns safe from the storm when predators decided to try their luck. From the scene Ceele came across, it was certainly obvious why most people dislike trying to hunt the creatures.
Sadly, the rabbit didn't survive an attack from two predators, but she did make their victory pyrrhic; neither could do much about their hunger with their bodies full of cuts and holes, and it was only a matter of time before they succumbed to blood loss or infection. The mother's sacrifice meant that the babies had avoided the imminent threat, but they were left unattended as a consequence, and it took an opportunistic bird swooping down to shake Ceele out of her shock. Despite her subsequent hurry, she only acted in time to save one of the orphaned young. The warren was new and barely dug out, which meant that it didn’t take much effort for the kits to be found—by both her and hungry maws. All she could do was scoop the ball of fluff into her arms and run back to the cave before anything else tried to eat it.
In retrospect, it was a stupid decision for a number of factors. She barely had the resources to supply herself, and an attempt to raise offspring of any type would only make the inevitable heartbreak worse. But when she saw how quiet and scared he was… How his tiny, shaking body calmed in her arms, those terrified red eyes seeking comfort… She should have just walked away when she knew there wasn’t going to be anything to fill her stomach. She should have put the baby animal down and let nature take its course…yet the preciously furry face stole her heart far too quickly for it to grow so cold. The next day was spent backtracking to the nearest town to get him something suitable to eat, which used most of her meagre savings. Still, it was worth every coin.
Hoppit had been accompanying her ever since. He grew quickly, transitioning from something she saved that stormy night into a presence she had grown to love like a child. The little lagomorph would bounce along beside her during her travels, then ride in her arms as he rested—though the latter happened with worrying frequency as of late. She hadn’t learned much about the springy herbivores, but she knew enough to say that he wasn't as big as he should be, nor was his fur as sharp. No matter how startled he was, his spiky coat never managed to do more than stiffen slightly, which was apparently a side effect of poor diet, according to snippets of conversation she had overheard on the topic. She wanted him to be healthy, but she didn't know what he needed. Not many farmers raised ferrorabbits, and those that did were far away, so she didn’t have anyone to ask what she should be doing. Her best course of action was to give him what little she had.
Ceele was well aware of how he would be better off on his own, but he followed her whenever she tried to set him free. Hoppit just kept launching into her arms and wiggling his ears, ecstatic that he was with her again, uncaring that food was scarce and that they spent most of their days travelling. No amount of cold nights spent bundling up under the tattered blankets she managed to find ever dampened his spirits, and he was content to eat the grass or flowers whenever he felt like it, oblivious to the fact that he wasn’t getting enough nutrition. He would dig and excitedly drag back oddities that he found, and the one time he found a plant that looked particularly good for him, he insisted that it be shared with her.
A black pit still lingered in her chest when she recalled how pleased he was while he munched on the rare vegetable he discovered, then how distressed he became when she wouldn’t have any as well. He bumped and nipped at her, all but begging her to eat. His ears pinned back against his head, his fur bristled in a way she hadn’t seen since. It was only when she took a small bite and let him inspect the new teeth marks that he seemed to calm down, but perhaps she had been looking too deep into the actions of her tiny friend. All she could say for certain was that he was scared she was going hungry.
A morbid thought wondered if his first mother had refused food shortly before being attacked, and he—as small and simple as he was—had connected the two events in his mind, making him absolutely terrified that something would happen if Ceele didn’t have something too. All of that fear, and desperation overwhelmed him, just because she was happier watching him eat. She was determined to erase that issue. She would find something that needed a worker and earn enough to feed them both. One day, she would be able to smile at how big and healthy her little fluffy boy had become, but until then, it was becoming increasingly difficult not to think about how she was spending so much time growing vegetables and fruit that he couldn’t have…
Every morning was an exercise in tending to the gardens while actively shoving down images of a pleased ferrorabbit happily eating the results. That never went well; no matter how determined she was to complete her duties without a single selfish thought, most tasks were done while picturing his full belly and delighted bounces. There were a few weeks until the fastest of the crops would be ready for harvest, and Ceele would have to collect them while fighting the urge to bring back just a few for him.
She couldn’t, because she knew exactly how quickly that could escalate. It would start small—A vegetable here, a fruit there—but seeing Hoppit happy was one of the precious few good things she had in her life. Crossing the line would only become easier each time. They couldn’t risk losing their new home over greed, and she was already betraying the trust given to her by housing a wild animal, especially one known to be a pest for crops. She didn't want to know how angry it would make her benefactors if she was caught taking their vegetables for one.
No matter how tame and precious Hoppit was, and no matter how well he listened, they would only see him as the same creature that ruined harvests in droves. Thus was why she had to tell him to stay cooped up by himself while she was working or scavenging. And to her surprise, he did.
Honestly, she had made the initial request with the expectation of needing to carry him back into their home until he understood that she wasn’t leaving him forever. There wasn’t much she could do to stop the ferrorabbit from digging through the old wooden building if he wanted to get out. He wouldn’t need to damage anything either—a rotting board on the door only needed a little push to nudge it out of the way, and his natural curiosity made sure he was aware of it. But no, Hoppit was well-behaved as always, keeping hidden until she walked through the door, where he would leap from the shadows to personally show her how good he was and how he stayed put like she asked him to. It never stopped amazing her that he had such a surprising level of understanding despite being an animal, and that was to say nothing of how young he was.
All that intelligence, joy, and companionship he offered her…and yet the best she could give back to him was the weeds from the garden and the odd plant she found while scavenging…
Soft clacks of flicking ears dragged her from her pondering, her mind returning to the present. Hoppit finished his treat of the small plant, then bounced in place and scurried over to his bowl of water, perfectly happy to have eaten only that. He was so joyful with how little she provided, approaching every day of scarcity with the same enthusiasm she could never muster, as if certain that everything would be alright.
“It’s bedtime, Hoppit,” Ceele announced through a soft sigh, stoking the fire with enough branches to hopefully last the night. The ferrorabbit perked an ear in her direction, then sat on his haunches to extend the rest of himself up, his two little forepaws adorably held to his chest as he inspected the room like he always did. She smiled and made sure everything was stored away, then laid down on her bundle of blankets, covering herself with the warmest one. Hoppit bolted over to snuggle once he decided everything in the shed was up to his standards, throwing himself to the floor in a dramatic flop of comfort. Her quiet laughter subsided as they both settled in for the night, her tail completing the rabbit’s encompassing cuddle, but her eyes fell towards the obsidian orb on the table, her thoughts following suit.
It sat there, just as she left it, as benign as anything else ever placed atop the improvised furnishing. Yet there was a sense of ease and purpose as well. The old wooden trough seemed…important with its adornment firmly laid upon its surface, and she couldn’t puzzle out why. She was starting to doubt her earlier excitement.
Should she sell it? Would anyone know where it came from? Would anyone know what it was, or if it was worth anything? If she could get even a modest sum for it, she would be able to buy clothing, food, and new bedding. It would be easier to convince someone to give her work if she was dressed better and wasn’t so thin, and then she would have the income to slowly improve both of their lives. She could pay for a wandering merchant to ask a ferrorabbit rancher about the animal, even if it would take time to get back to her, or maybe she could hire a local if they needed to go near one for some reason. The cost didn’t matter to her as long as it happened.
But there was something else bothering her about the idea of selling the stone. She had travelled so far with a tug in her chest, only for the feeling of wanderlust to dissipate as soon as she held it. Was that a sign? She was never one for things like ‘fate,’ but a niggling doubt in her mind discouraged the idea of making a profit off her discovery. Even if what she could gain was so very tempting, and even if Hoppit would be happier if she did…
She tore her dampened eyes away and closed them, ignoring the burning trails running across her face. It would be another early morning, and she needed to sleep so she could take care of the garden. Decisions like this could wait. Once she had nothing else distracting her, and she had time to properly think about it, she would see how she felt about the stone.
Eventually, she dozed off with Hoppit pressed against her chest, and a longing in her heart.
Next
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A/N: Patreon and Ko-fi will be 1 chap ahead this time around, and I've set it so everything from the lowest tier up can read the newest trashfire! Anything above that is sheer show of love. Hope you enjoyed!

Although capturing photos on Vivo x100 pro is magical. There are some following improvements (especially in portrait mode) I would like to see.
1) introduction of two new focal lengths 70 mm ( 85 mm loses its spark because main lense is digitally zoomed to it's max almost) and 125mm( addition of 25mm to the periscope it is fair enough and good enough). 150mm if they feeling generous😊
2) I would like see sharper photos. Right now portrait pictures are binned at 9MP from a 50mp camera.Bin it at around at least 12-15 MP. I would understand if the focal lengths change and they have to bin it, that is okay.
3) Better focus. Just a bit of movement and the camera loses focus. Huawei Pura 70 ultra is a good example of how to keep subjects in focus even if they are moving. It is okay if the picture takes more time to process. We all can live with that
4) Let AI process the hair. Although this is an extension of point 2. But, nonetheless I think it needs special attention. Especially in indoor lighting the hair just smudges most of the times.
5) Eye tracking and face tracking. Not just one. Even if you click the photo once they close the eyes. It should turn out with eyes open. I think this would be a unique point of selling mobiles as well. Because many good photos are deleted just because of this.

What should i do?
Hey im 16m
and 2.5 years ago I met a girl through snapchat we were just talking for 1 year and then she wanted to meet me I liked her quite a bit so I agreed we met in my city because she was here that weekend and the moment I saw her I was in love we talked all day and a week later she said she was in love too but I wanted to ask her when I saw her in real life again so that stopped us from being in a relationship then I didn't see her for 2 months and we called and talked a lot and one day she said that her mother wanted to meet me I was jumping for joy and didn't know what to say because I was so happy 1 week later I met her family.
it was a great day and everything went well i had bought flowers for her and her mother just before i left we went for a walk and i thought that was my chance to ask her but i didn't dare every time
every time I wanted to say something no sound came out and I became shy then we went back inside and shortly afterwards I went home we kept talking a lot and doing a lot of things together and everything went well a few months later we still hadn't seen each other because we didn't have enough time I missed her a lot but I didn't dare to say that 1 month later was Valentine's Day and I had a I got her a bear of roses that unfortunately I couldn't give to her myself because she had problems so we couldn't meet up, so I sent it to her house, which honestly hurt a lot because I wanted to give it myself and ask her right away for a relationship A few days later she had given me bear and we were talking until I got a lump in my throat and suddenly started missing her very much. I actually never miss people but with her I felt different and I thought maybe I should just say something. I feel and I did I said that I loved her and that I never want to lose her again and even though people say that young people always break up, we stay together and we will make it. I saw that she was in our chat for a while and then she called me and i heard she was crying she said that I was very sweet and that she will never forget that
everything went well until 2 months later I had arranged to meet her twice and she had ghosted me twice, the last time I was very angry because I went to her city and waited 2 hours for her we were not talking until I said I didn't want to talk for a while because I was too angry
after 2 days of not talking I said I was sorry for what I said and that I wanted to talk it out she said she would call me when she had time but after 2 days I still hadn't heard from her so I asked if everything was okay and then she said that she has thought about it and that she doesn't want a relationship right now because she now has to focus on herself, school and her family, which I completely understood, we both had our own problems, that's what brought us together in the first place we just forgot what happened and started talking normally again after that we and we met up one more time or we shouldve met up because she ghosted me again this time one of her problems got in her way and she couldn’t contact me
But i didnt know so i got angry and said if she is gonna do this everytime i dont want to keep going
she explained what happened and then one of my problems came to my mind, which made me react even angrier to everyone, she didn't know and thought I was angry, and thought I was angry which made our argument even worse the next day our argument continued and after that we stopped talking for 1 day then she said she has thought about it and thinks it would be better if we with “us” She said she had no interest anymore after that moment i realized what had happened and i started chasing her for 1 week but it was already too late 4 days after we stopped talking i tried again and i told her how i felt and sent her a message about us for a long time in the hope that it would help She called me again crying and said that i was nice and she really loves me but she doesnt know how we should keep going she said she will come back on it
After couple of days she said “maybe its better if we really stop “ and its hurts me when she said that that day we talked a bit and i felt nothing for her anymore One day later i mist her so much i wanted to go back in time and re-do everything but in an good way 2 weeks after that mist her so much i contacted her and she said “you need to forget me otherwise your gonna hurt yourself” after that i said “okay sorry for bothering you” and that was 1,5 months ago
I really mis her and i think about her everyday even if i dont want to thinking back we had it so perfect with each other and i just want to restart with her And i want to contact het again but she probably gonna me annoyed or smt and she wanted no contact because is will hurt her to so i respect her her choice My best friend said that i need to forget everything because she probably already did
But idk went its late in the day i miss her Im football player and got scouted for a great team And she always believed in me and when i get news from my new team i wanna tell her because i always told her and my mom first but now it just makes me sad
So should i contact her again and say that i miss her and probably annoy her or What should i do?

Hey im 16m
and 2.5 years ago I met a girl through snapchat we were just talking for 1 year and then she wanted to meet me I liked her quite a bit so I agreed we met in my city because she was here that weekend and the moment I saw her I was in love we talked all day and a week later she said she was in love too but I wanted to ask her when I saw her in real life again so that stopped us from being in a relationship then I didn't see her for 2 months and we called and talked a lot and one day she said that her mother wanted to meet me I was jumping for joy and didn't know what to say because I was so happy 1 week later I met her family.
it was a great day and everything went well i had bought flowers for her and her mother just before i left we went for a walk and i thought that was my chance to ask her but i didn't dare every time
every time I wanted to say something no sound came out and I became shy then we went back inside and shortly afterwards I went home we kept talking a lot and doing a lot of things together and everything went well a few months later we still hadn't seen each other because we didn't have enough time I missed her a lot but I didn't dare to say that 1 month later was Valentine's Day and I had a I got her a bear of roses that unfortunately I couldn't give to her myself because she had problems so we couldn't meet up, so I sent it to her house, which honestly hurt a lot because I wanted to give it myself and ask her right away for a relationship A few days later she had given me bear and we were talking until I got a lump in my throat and suddenly started missing her very much. I actually never miss people but with her I felt different and I thought maybe I should just say something. I feel and I did I said that I loved her and that I never want to lose her again and even though people say that young people always break up, we stay together and we will make it. I saw that she was in our chat for a while and then she called me and i heard she was crying she said that I was very sweet and that she will never forget that
everything went well until 2 months later I had arranged to meet her twice and she had ghosted me twice, the last time I was very angry because I went to her city and waited 2 hours for her we were not talking until I said I didn't want to talk for a while because I was too angry
after 2 days of not talking I said I was sorry for what I said and that I wanted to talk it out she said she would call me when she had time but after 2 days I still hadn't heard from her so I asked if everything was okay and then she said that she has thought about it and that she doesn't want a relationship right now because she now has to focus on herself, school and her family, which I completely understood, we both had our own problems, that's what brought us together in the first place we just forgot what happened and started talking normally again after that we and we met up one more time or we shouldve met up because she ghosted me again this time one of her problems got in her way and she couldn’t contact me
But i didnt know so i got angry and said if she is gonna do this everytime i dont want to keep going
she explained what happened and then one of my problems came to my mind, which made me react even angrier to everyone, she didn't know and thought I was angry, and thought I was angry which made our argument even worse the next day our argument continued and after that we stopped talking for 1 day then she said she has thought about it and thinks it would be better if we with “us” She said she had no interest anymore after that moment i realized what had happened and i started chasing her for 1 week but it was already too late 4 days after we stopped talking i tried again and i told her how i felt and sent her a message about us for a long time in the hope that it would help She called me again crying and said that i was nice and she really loves me but she doesnt know how we should keep going she said she will come back on it
After couple of days she said “maybe its better if we really stop “ and its hurts me when she said that that day we talked a bit and i felt nothing for her anymore One day later i mist her so much i wanted to go back in time and re-do everything but in an good way 2 weeks after that mist her so much i contacted her and she said “you need to forget me otherwise your gonna hurt yourself” after that i said “okay sorry for bothering you” and that was 1,5 months ago
I really mis her and i think about her everyday even if i dont want to thinking back we had it so perfect with each other and i just want to restart with her And i want to contact het again but she probably gonna me annoyed or smt and she wanted no contact because is will hurt her to so i respect her her choice My best friend said that i need to forget everything because she probably already did
But idk went its late in the day i miss her Im football player and got scouted for a great team And she always believed in me and when i get news from my new team i wanna tell her because i always told her and my mom first but now it just makes me sad
So should i contact her again and say that i miss her and probably annoy her or What should i do?

Hi there! First post on reddit so please forgive me if i'm not using any fancy text.
I've been DM'ing now on and off for around near 5 years, originally I ran for 2 separate friend groups with Vastly different likes and dislikes. I had to stop one groups campaign due to work schedules and as the such (gotta love adult life ;-;)
So recently my current group consists of close friends so it is quite easy to get things across but it can also be very easy to lose control of the table if we start having jokes and a good laugh.
the above is not the issues I'm having as the DM however the stuff above i'm fine with as long as we are hanging out and having a good time. My issues span from multiple small issues which I will list below Beginning with myself as I know I make plenty of mistakes as I DM but I'm looking for advice to make sure i'm not going crazy and being a C**T with some of my table rules i've implemented
My Issues I need to work on: Note Taking - I lose track of my notes (this has been getting better moved to an app called obsidian which I have stuck with and this seems to be working wonders for me) but still needs work.
World lore - Kinda a addition to the note taking issue I have, I like to chop change some things but I still want it to make canonical sense to the worlds timeline which can be a little messy at times.
Pacing - Oh god I'm awful for pacing sometimes I'm too fast or i'm far too slow my players spend an entire 7 hour session on 1 street corner being my worst example.
Sometimes Retconning Small things - I Don't know if I think its okay to do this, I've only had to do it twice in total I Hate retconning stuff as I feel like if maybe a player that doesn't shine to often finally gets out their shell i'm worried if I retcon something It can really take away from that players motivation.
So above are my issues for sakes of time I'm going to copy paste a recent paragraph I sent to my players parts like player names will be edited of course. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So shappening dudes and dudets, DnD is going to be on the back burner for me for a Little bit cause personally feeling burnt out for a couple reasons that I'll get to in a little bit. So first things first the main thing I'm going to an induction day so I'm hoping I get this job (I got the Job whoop whoop) and DnD will be moved to every 2nd Saturday if thats gonna be a issue we can discuss that down the line. Now couple of mini Issues I want to get off my chest. So the Number 3 joke died ages ago for me and its just annoying so stopping that would be nice thank you, anyone that says it going forward you'll just take 3 damage. Unfortunately the interrupting and pacing is horrendous I'm gonna do my best to keep my focus on the game and I ask so do you. For the time being kinda a add on to the previous my max player count I can do is 6 no more, "Player Name" please let "His Partner" know I do not mind if she watches but I can't have her play not until I feel like the pacing is better and no ones shouting over each other. The Cards, They are fun but i'm gonna rejig them to be less annoying and alot less OP, (I'm removing that bag of holding card) personal thing - If I ask something to do with in the game could you please just acknowledge you have seen it, cause I've typed in plane text plenty of times before and it just doesn't get listened to it starts with one person then everyone else follows if you get me and it can make some little instructions that make things easier for me alot harder. As the DM I want a bit more control So one of the major ones that I ask is NO ONE calls "Roll a persuasion to persuade me" or anything along that lines, it is unnecessary and tbh I find it a bit rude. NO Rape or Rolling Cock size. (its just weird and its disgusting you'd think of it tbh)
There are a few more other things that personally bother me but those are the main ones, the minor ones just consist of 1. Don't Make up your own lore of my own creation and then treat it as cannon, I didn't ask and I don't care.

1. Don't ask for any more custom items, if I give you something be happy and let it be a surprise. 3."did we level up?" i know its a joke but tone it down before it gets worse.
2. If you create a backstory please give me the footnotes of the main points that I can work with, don't give me a lore book about how garfunkle the black white man slain a beast. I won't read it. (Edit - I don't mind if they give me a book to read I do like lore I just mean here that I'd prefer notes of the main points in their characters story)
3. I would prefer Game things are sent on discord concerning characters thats a personal thing, I created the discord for me to be organised and have it all in one place so if you please could just send me stuff on that even if its a dnd beyond link I would like it all in one place. I get this is gonna be alot to read but I hope I get my point across. I am the dungeon master and I want to create a game for you guys to enjoy but I have neglected my own joy for the game and have been more lazy with it because of this. I have alot of stuff to fix from last session especially and I'm gonna try to be more focused on the game and create a better experience and all I ask is please listen, pay attention and any question on the world so you can clarify things you may ask me, if there is any issues during the session call for a break if its that major so we may discuss at the table and if its a small issue we discuss it after the session. I may rule things wrong but i'll attempt to rule it in a way that makes sense and then I shall research and let you know afterwards, I'd rather not search rules in the middle of the game and taking half a hour per turn. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So context for some things the number 3 joke is from shrek "NUMBER 3 MY LORD" and I use magic the gathering cards for little 1 session boons they are a hell of a lot of fun and I'll post under this if anyone else play's DnD and MTG (I'd recommend using the Dungeons and dragons sets for Magic if you wish to try this out)
Revitalize x2 - Add a Medium Potion to Inventory
​
Treasure x3 - Add 100 Gold
​
Choose Your Weapon - Choose one for the Remainder of the Session
Archery - +2 to Range attacks
or
Two Weapon Fighting - +2 to Melee Attacks
​
Curse of Surveillance - You Grow an eyeball onto the palm of your hand, something or someone is watching you (The DM determines who) This curse is passed on
when someone else draws the card or removed with the "Remove curse Spell"
​
Improvised weaponry - You feel compelled to use the first random object as your weapon for the session.
​
Triumphant Adventurer - Roll a D20,
Even Numbers add 3 Platinum to your Inventory.
Odd Numbers Summons a Gold Plated Cocky knight to gloat how rich he is for 1 minute.
​
Hunters Mark - You Gain the Ability Hunters Mark for the Session it does not Require Concentration.
​
Contact Other Plane - You ask anything from the DM roll a d100 to discover the outcome.
​
Hoard Robber - The best robber in all the land has found you and took every bit of coin you have leaving a single fake gold piece.
​
Dawnbringer Cleric - You can Choose One to use throughout the session
Cure Wounds
Dispel Magic
Gentle Repose
​
Priest of Ancient lore - A old Dwarf appears in front of you radiating a holy light asking "Would you like to know the lore of this land?"
​
Boots of Speed - You Gain Extra 15ft Speed for the Session.
​
Silver Raven - A Unknown Vampires Raven Follows you.
​
Check for Traps - You becoming Increasingly paranoid of traps for the session the DM at Random will ask you to check for traps at your feet.
​
Blessed Defiance - You Summon A white Spirit, it says nothing, it is friendly to only you, it will follow and defend you for this session.
​
Chaos Channeler - A wild magic sorcerer Explodes from the multiverse, he looks excited as he transports himself again creating a Minor wild magic effect.

So this is a pretty large post But I am looking for advice on maybe rules I should consider going forward, how to keep proper control of a party of 6 and just anything I should improve as a DM and anything I can further communicate to my players at the table.

Disclaimer: this is a DIY method for superficial wounds only.
The first time I did this was last summer, less than 48 hours before I was supposed to go on holiday where it was absolutely scorching, I was on Epiduo, forgot that waxing your face is a big no-no and lifted the skin on half of my face. I’d accidentally lifted my skin about six months prior and those wounds are still visible today, over 1.5 years later, so I was panicking. But I did some googling and hence, developed my method for recovery. Flash forward to about 48 hours later, I met my friend at the airport, asked her how the scarring was and she replied, “Where?” I checked the mirror and sure enough the wounds that had been pink and glistening two days ago, and scabbing up until just 12 hours prior were nowhere to be seen.
I’ve since used a modified version of that method to treat my skin when it’s particularly dry and flaky, so dry that no amount of moisturiser was enough, and just yesterday when I woke up with benzoyl peroxide burns on my face and all over the underside of my chin. Well, it is now 24 hours later and I can confirm that the burns have almost entirely faded!
All you need is some aloe vera gel and petroleum jelly.
If you’re using a cleanser during this time, make sure it’s very gentle with no AHA or BHA in it, like Cetaphil’s gentle skin cleanser. For the aloe vera gel, you want it as pure as you can find it. Make sure it doesn’t have anything extra added such as an oil, or any sort of fragrance or colouring, such as the Lifeplan Aloe Vera Gel. Similarly, if you’re using Vaseline for the petroleum jelly, use the original formula. I would recommend generic petroleum jelly though which is far cheaper too.
All you need to do is cleanse your face and then, with your face still wet, generously apply some aloe vera gel, mixing it in with the water on your face. Keeping the area moist is vital for optimal healing and to prevent PIH, think hydrocolloid blister plasters, and while aloe vera has soothing properties and is hydrating, it is not moisturising. You need to add moisture for the aloe vera to hydrate the skin with. Then, no need to wait for it to dry, just apply a bunch of petroleum jelly on top to lock it all in and that’s it! You’re good to go!
If I feel my face get a bit dry beneath the jelly, I’ll go in on top with some more water and aloe and mix it in, or repeat the process again. Mixing the aloe with water also has the added benefit of greatly reducing any irritation the aloe alone may cause, as I personally find it drying and irritating whenever I use it in its undiluted form.
I would recommend trying to stay at home for at least the entirety of the whole first day, preferably the first two days so that you don’t have to worry about how your face looks with all this on, you really want to be heavy-handed with this, but also to protect your skin from the sun, the wind, the heat, the cold, the pollution… the outside world is currently your enemy unfortunately.
If it’s just not possible though—I had to leave the house to do a 4 hour long exam yesterday after waking up with chemical burns myself!—then your next best option is to just go in with a load of oil blotting sheets before you leave, just until your face is sufficiently matte enough, along with an SPF on top (you’ll probably need to blot again after this). Another alternative is just going in with a hydrating moisturiser on damp skin, along with an SPF, followed by a layer of petroleum jelly for protection + oil blotting sheets but I would only recommend this as a very temporary solution if you really can’t get the previous method to work for you, and after you’ve let the aloe + water do its thing for a while already.
If you CAN stay at home and your wounds are mild-moderate, then there’s also the original, unmodified method I employed. The first time I did this when my skin lifted, the steps I detailed above were just what I did when going to bed. In the morning however, after putting on the aloe gel, rather than going in with a layer of petroleum jelly, I proceeded to fill a spray bottle with a 1:3 water to aloe ratio, shook it up and spent the next day and a half (until the night before the flight) at home, spraying my face with the water-aloe mixture whenever I felt my skin was the slightest bit not wet until bedtime. It was messy but I had nothing else to do and nothing left to lose and it did end up working.
Anyways, I hope this helps someone. Let me know how it goes!

The profusion of identical green tents at this spring’s anti-Israel protests struck many as odd. “Why is everybody’s tent the same?,” asked New York mayor Eric Adams. Like others, the mayor suspected “a well-concerted organizing effort” driving the protests. More recent reporting shows a concerted push behind the Gaza protest movement. But it is not as simple as a single organization secretly rallying protesters or buying tents. Instead, the movement’s most determined activists represent a network of loosely linked far-left groups. Some are openly affiliated with well-known progressive nonprofits; others work in the shadows.
The movement also draws on diverse but generous sources of financial backing. Those funding streams may soon be augmented by the federal government. As I chronicled last year in a Manhattan Institute report, “The Big Squeeze: How Biden’s Environmental Justice Agenda Hurts the Economy and the Environment,” the administration’s massive program of environmental justice grants seems designed to prioritize the funding of highly ideological local groups. The Inflation Reduction Act, for example, earmarks $3 billion for “environmental and climate justice block grants” intended for local nonprofits. Today, hundreds of far-left political groups include language about environmental issues and “climate justice” in their mission statements. If just a fraction of planned grants flows to such groups, the effect will be a gusher of new funding for radical causes.
As the Gaza protests spread across U.S. college campuses, many observers noted an eerie uniformity among them. From one campus to the next, protesters operated in disciplined cadres, keeping their faces covered and using identical rote phrases as they refused to talk with reporters. The Atlantic noted the strangeness of seeing elite college students “chanting like automatons.” Students held up keffiyeh scarves or umbrellas to block the view of prying cameras and linked arms to halt the movements of outsiders. At Columbia University and elsewhere, protesters formed “liberated zones,” from which “Zionists” were excluded. Around the edges of the encampments, the more militaristic activists donned helmets and goggles and carried crude weapons, apparently eager to mix it up with police or counter-protesters. We’ve seen these tactics before—notably during the “mostly peaceful” Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, when full-time agitators helped ignite riots, set up a police-free (and violence-plagued) zone in Seattle, and laid nightly siege to Portland, Oregon’s federal courthouse.
In a remarkable work of reporting, Park MacDougald recently traced the tangled roots of organizations backing pro-jihad protests, both on and off campuses. These include Antifa and other networks of anonymous anarchists, along with “various communist and Marxist-Leninist groups, including the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), and the International ANSWER coalition,” MacDougald writes. Higher up the food chain, we find groups openly supported by America’s growing class of super-rich tech execs or the anti-capitalist heirs of great fortunes. For example, retired tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who is married to Code Pink founder Jodie Evans, funds The People’s Forum, a lavish Manhattan resource center for far-left groups. As the Columbia protests intensified, the center urged members to head uptown to “support our students.” Following the money trail of other protest groups, MacDougald finds connections to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Ford Foundation, and—surprising no one—the George Soros-backed Tides Foundation.
Of course, the current wave of anti-Israel protests also involves alliances with pro-Hamas organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine. Last November, Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that SJP and similar groups have deep ties to global terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
For many keffiyeh-wearing protestors, however, a recently professed concern for Palestinians is just the latest in a long list of causes they believe justify taking over streets and college quads. In Unherd, Mary Harrington dubs this medley of political beliefs the “omnicause,” writing that “all contemporary radical causes seem somehow to have been absorbed into one.” Today’s leftist activists share an interlocking worldview that sees racism, income inequality, trans intolerance, climate change, alleged police violence, and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts all as products of capitalism and “colonialism.” Therefore, the stated rationale for any individual protest is a stand-in for the real battle: attacking Western society and its institutions.
In the U.S., this type of general-purpose uprising goes back at least to the riots at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle. In those protests, mainstream liberal factions—including labor unions and environmentalists—were joined by “black bloc” anarchists and other radicals eager to engage in “direct action” against police. That pattern—relatively moderate demonstrators providing a friendly envelope for hard-core disruptors—formed the template for many later protests: the Occupy Wall Street encampments in 2011, demonstrations following the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, 2016’s Standing Rock anti-pipeline movement, and of course, the calamitous summer of 2020.
These uprisings were not entirely spontaneous. In some cases, activists spend months planning mass actions—for example, against economic summits or political conventions—and can recruit street fighters from across the country. In others, an event, such as George Floyd’s death, sparks popular protests involving neophyte demonstrators. Those attract far-left activists, who swoop in to organize and expand the struggle, often tilting it toward more radical action.
That has certainly been the case at the college Gaza-paloozas. At Columbia, the New York Times spotted a woman old enough to be a student’s grandmother in the thick of the action as protesters barricaded that school’s Hamilton Hall. The woman was 63-year-old Lisa Fithian, a lifetime activist, who Portland’s alternative weekly Street Roots approvingly calls “a trainer of mass rebellion.” A counter-protester trying to block the pro-Hamas demonstrators told NBC News, “She was right in the middle of it, instructing them how to better set up the barriers.” Fithian told the Times she’d been invited to train students in protest safety and “general logistics.” She claims to have taken part in almost every major U.S. protest movement going back to the 1999 “Battle in Seattle.”
America’s radical network has plenty of Lisa Fithians, with the time and resources to travel the country educating newcomers about the “logistics” of disruptive protests. And these activists appear to have played key roles in the college occupations. The New York City Police Department says nearly half the demonstrators arrested on the Columbia and City University of New York (CUNY) campuses on April 30 were not affiliated with the schools. One hooded Hamilton Hall occupier—photographed scuffling with a Columbia custodian before getting arrested—turned out to be 40-year-old James Carlson, heir to a large advertising fortune. According to the New York Post, Carlson lives in a $2.3 million Park Slope townhouse and has a long rap sheet. For example, in 2005, he was arrested in San Francisco during the violent “West Coast Anti-Capitalist Mobilization and March Against the G8.” (Those charges were dropped.)
For a quarter-century now, Antifa and other anarchist networks have worked to refine tactics and share lessons following each major action. At Columbia, UCLA, and other schools, authorities found printouts of a “Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide” and similar documents. The young campus radicals are eager to learn from their more experienced elders. And, like the high-achieving students they are, they follow directions carefully. MacDougald asked Kyle Shideler, the director for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, about the mystery of the identical tents. There was no need for a central group to distribute hundreds of tents, Shideler said. Instead, “the organizers told [students] to buy a tent, and sent around a Google Doc with a link to that specific tent on Amazon. So they all went out and bought the same tent.”
In other words, America’s radical class has gotten very skilled at recruiting and instructing new activists—even from among the ranks of elite college students with a good deal to lose. How much more could this movement accomplish with hundreds of millions in federal dollars flooding activist groups around the country?
From its first week in office, the Biden administration has trumpeted its goal to funnel more environmental spending toward “disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized,” partly by issuing grants to grassroots organizations. Previous environmental justice (EJ) grant programs were small in scope. But, with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, a huge pool of grant money became available. EPA administrator Michael Regan told reporters, “We’re going from tens of thousands of dollars to developing and designing a program that will distribute billions.”
More than a year and a half later, it remains hard to nail down just where the Biden administration’s billions in EJ grants will wind up. Money is being distributed through a confusing variety of programs, and the process of identifying recipients is ongoing. To help outsource the job of sifting through proposals, the EPA last year designated 11 institutions as “Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.” These groups are empowered to make subgrants directly to community organizations, under streamlined EPA oversight. In all, the Biden administration has entrusted these outfits with distributing a staggering $600 million in funding. The money is expected to start flowing this summer.
The EPA’s grantmakers include a number of educational institutions and left-leaning nonprofits. For example, the EPA chose Fordham University as its lead grantmaker in the New York region. Fordham, in turn, lists as partners two nonprofits that oppose immigration enforcement. (One, the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, states on its website: “NJAIJ believes in the human right to migrate, regardless of citizenship or political status.”) Neither group claims expertise in environmental issues. Given that the IRA’s eligibility requirements for EJ grants are extremely vague, however, perhaps that’s not a problem. Almost any activity that could help “spur economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities” (in the words of Biden’s EJ executive order) might qualify.
Perhaps the most prominent—and problematic—EPA grantmaker is the Berkeley, California-based Climate Justice Alliance. The CJA is a consortium of mostly far-left activist groups. It describes its mission as working for “regenerative economic solutions and ecological justice—under a framework that challenges capitalism and both white supremacy and hetero-patriarchy.” The group is a vigorous proponent of the omnicause, embracing almost every left-wing concern as a manifestation of climate change. For example, the CJA website proclaims: “The path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine.” MacDougald notes that the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, one of CJA’s affiliated groups, “organized an illegal anti-Israel protest in the Capitol Rotunda in December at which more than 50 activists were arrested.”
The CJA website also includes a section dedicated to the cause known as Stop Cop City. It refers to an effort to halt the construction of an 85-acre police and firefighter training center outside Atlanta. Rag-tag activists from around the country have gathered around the facility since 2021. They have repeatedly battled with police—sometimes with fireworks and Molotov cocktails—and used bolt cutters to enter the site and torch construction equipment. (CJA’s Stop Cop City page features a cartoon illustration of three childlike activists; one brandishes bolt cutters.) The group also backs a legal defense fund for activists arrested in attacks on the training center or in other protests. For those looking for more inspiration, CJA links to an interview with former Black Panther and self-described revolutionary Angela Davis.
The Alliance is not an ideological outlier in Biden’s EJ coalition. On the contrary, when the White House assembled its White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council (WHEJAC), a panel of outside experts meant to provide “horizon-expanding EJ advice and recommendations,” it chose CJA co-chair Elizabeth Yeampierre to help lead the committee. Like other members of the panel, she sees environmental issues through an ideological, not a scientific, lens. “Climate change is the result of a legacy of extraction, of colonialism, of slavery,” Yeampierre told Yale Environment 360. As a group, radical EJ activists tend not to focus on pragmatic ways to reduce pollution and carbon emissions; for them, the real goal is overturning what they see as an exploitative economic and political system. Since these are the voices the White House chose to help shape its EJ policies, we can assume this worldview will dominate grantmaking decisions.
In February 2023, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, along with fellow committee member Pat Fallon, wrote to EPA administrator Regan asking for more information on the EPA’s grant programs. They noted that the EPA’s own studies of EJ grants issued in previous years showed sloppy supervision. According to an EPA report, an earlier version of the program funded projects that did “not logically lead to the desired environmental and/or public health [result].” Without better oversight and more clearly defined goals, the congressmen wrote, the EPA’s EJ grant machine risks becoming simply a “slush fund for far-left organizations.”
Since then, the administration has done little to reassure skeptics. To the contrary, the EPA has put at least one far-left organization—CJA—in charge of distributing $50 million in grant money. No doubt, many of the EPA grants will go to worthwhile projects. But money is fungible. A group that gets a large grant to, say, clean up dirty parks or teach children about recycling will also be able to hire more staff and divert more resources to political action.
With graduation behind them, most of the anti-Israel college protesters have stowed away their keffiyehs and moved on to summer vacations or internships. But the peripatetic activists who helped guide and intensify those uprisings are doubtless already planning their next actions. After all, two political conventions are looming. This fall, the college protests will likely flare up again, though by then perhaps focused on a different facet of the omnicause. And, with hundreds of millions in fresh funding flowing through the activist ecosystem, the groups that quietly nurture extremists—like those who firebombed “Cop City,” or who chant “Intifada Revolution!,” or who block bridges in the name of “climate”—will be more emboldened than ever.
A Slush Fund for Radical Protesters? City Journal (city-journal.org)
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Im sorry about what happened. I didn’t disappear on you intentionally.
If you remember 2010, I left because i had no idea you might have feelings for me or that i did and because i thought you didn’t care about me as a friend. Seemed like you had so many good friends and i was afraid that you would hurt me like N did. Im weird about friendships because I barely had any growing up and seemed to constantly lose friends. I didn’t leave to hurt you I just thought you wouldn’t notice.
Then more recently, i was in love with you. I didn’t want to hurt you. Not ever. I started to think you were using me along with him encouraging that idea then the proxy changed and became nasty and i didnt even know you were still out there loving me. I didn’t know it hurt you and realizing last night from your letter hit me like a truck cause i never wanted to be the person that appears to prove your trauma fears right especially not for you. I know what thats like and i know how horrible it feels (though with a different trauma of course) and it pains me so much that thats how it was for you.
Im so sorry but as i was saying I didn’t do it on purpose. I just didn’t even know. The thing about our relationship is it was through letters and i stopped looking at letters and i guess I stopped writing them too. So you couldn’t know and i dont remember seeing anything from you. I vaguely remember you were upset that i was talking to him but i don’t know if you knew he ghosted me after seeing my picture. I dunno. I was so lost and confused at the time. Writing letters became too difficult, thats why i stopped.
I guess i am a terrible person. I shouldn’t have talked to him though i remember someone kept trying to talk to me during the beginning. It was probably him.
And based on the fact that i got psychosis just from talking to a dude casually a while before that (when we werent talking cause you told me to leave you alone, which id still like to know what happened there, that whole thing really hurt me but that’s not the point of this), i was far too traumatized by men then to have any clue about him (A). Unfortunately. (Btw, i wish we had a more private place to hash out private things)
Im not trying to make excuses and please don’t say i am (cause my mom has forever and ever) but this whole thing was more complicated than perhaps you thought.
Im conflicted because i feel like this is the path i had to go down, to find myself and figure out my traumas but i never meant to hurt you along the way. I never wanted you to feel abandoned and left without a word. I can’t imagine how that must have felt. This will eat away at me probably for the rest of my life.
Im sorry, this is a shitty explanation and apology but apparently all i could come up with at the moment. My brain is all over the place.
So, thats why i thought you wouldnt want to give it a try anymore. Seemed too terrible to ever trust me again.
I do love you (but without any contact how can i show you? I wanna show you) and i see a future everywhere around me of us. Comes up unbidden. Sometimes i think i hear you, im not sure. And i worry im so bad at just everything that youll think im just some user. I don’t know how many users go through extreme embarrassment though lol. They’d be smoother too. Im so awkward.
I froze when i realized just what id done (inadvertently). From the letter. I shut down completely. My guilt is never ending, what’s some more. But for reasons i can’t explain right now (one day though) this guilt is extra excruciating. Cause it’s you. The one i adore most.
You always thought (it seemed) that id done something to hurt you with all this intangible guilt i carried around but it was just how i annihilated the whole world.
I wish i could hold you. You can yell at me if you want. If it helps. I wish i could just be near you.
It’s been like 5 years. I can’t believe it. We’re due to see each other again.
Anyway, i love you and i hope you have sweet dreams when you sleep baby (he calls you babygirl ive noticed). I’ll stop calling you that.