This is something that's been bothering me for a while. I have several small software projects I would like to share with human users, but I've stopped pushing my code to github because it just makes me feel kind of gross to think I am contributing free labor to the technical oligopoly of closed source language models.
I know there are contradictions in my thinking here. I have worked for several companies whose products were built on open source products (though to be fair a couple of those companies weren't just _using_ open source but were actively contributing or producing their own open source projects) and I have contributed to open source projects I know are used in commercial products. I don't claim to be free of contradictions and I'm not trying to resolve those here.
What I want to know is this: Is there space in the definition of open source for a license that imposes restrictions on the distribution of the licensed source such that it cannot be distributed via hosting services like Github whose terms of service include implied license grants that allow them to basically do whatever they want with the code they host?
I get that there is a definition of open source offered by OSI and I can see good arguments being made against "human-only open source" (but I can also see some good counter arguments). I also get that copyright itself (an arguably outdated legal paradigm where LLMs are concerned) includes the doctrine of fair use which hasn't fully played out in the courts yet.
Am I the only one who feels this way? Or is this sense that there is a problem to be solved shared by others in the community?
If we can't call a license with restrictions against the use of covered software to train LLMs "open source" but we still want to share it with humans in ways that are otherwise covered by the OSI definition, what would we call it? In my mind, the restriction against use in LLMs without the attribution typically required of open source doesn't make such software proprietary (though I can see someone who feels affront at this kind of restriction wanting to call it proprietary).
I was thinking about this earlier today and decided to try putting together a pass at such a license, calling it the "Human Public License":
* https://gitea.com/waynhuman-public-license
This is a modification of an MPL 2.0 derivative I found in a collection of "non-AI" versions of other licenses.
I would like to call this license "open source" as I think it fits much of the spirit of open source before the LLM hype and productization of LLMs brought to my awareness the code I intended to share with other humans might also be used to train closed source LLMs.
Not that it's very relevant or important but I am trialing this license on a little tool I started working on recently:
* https://gitea.com/waynchooks

Where are my people who just eat, and are fat? No soda, no crackers, cakes, cookies, ice cream, fast food, junk. My people who eat healthy meals and are overweight. The people who eat the food that OTHER people choose to eat to LOSE weight and get in shape? 🤣 The people who stop eating soda, and junk, and feel all proud because they are eating my meals getting all slim, meanwhile these same meals make me fat?
I have been eating normally for 13 years. Normal, my normal. Which is skipping breakfast or having an egg. A salad with chicken, a little cheese and homemade salad dressing for lunch or a half a grilled cheese if that's what I make my kids. Dinner is always a meat, with always salad every meal and a side of potato, rice, or pasta. Only a little of which I eat. But I will add some salt or butter. Snacks are fruit. That's my normal.
I eat.
For years I barely ate. I lived off of a single slice of toast and a chunk of cheese in the evening for an entire year. No coffee, just water. Full stop. And I didn't look sick or anorexic. I looked good. I was 110 lbs at 5'3. I walked a lot. I was active too lol
Another year I lived off of one meal of a small piece of chicken, a steamed veg and a potato or rice in a heatable container I'd bring to my night shift. One single coffee with cream to get through my shift. THATS IT. Nothing else all day, every day. I'd go jogging sometimes.
Another year I lived off of a bagel I would throw in a ziplock (just the bagel) and a yogurt cup and then have a small plate of pasta and meatballs or whatever my Mom made. I was about 110-115 lbs. If have brunch on Sunday mornings. Other than that. Nada. No coffee either. Just water. Every day.
I have photos from back then. I had thighs! Not thick, but they were there. I looked healthy lol How is that even possible?? I must have been living on 500-800 cals average a day.
For awhile I was broke and would eat a half sandwich and a banana the entire weekend. I'd fry and onion for dinner as my only meal of the day or bake a potato with salt. No butter. I survived. I did kick boxing, and walked everywhere because I had no car. I was 115 lbs. I looked good. People said I looked fit and I was. I had muscle. How is this even f*cking possible???
My periods made me want to to die. I barely held onto employment. I would vomit from the pain. (Luckily not at work but I almost passed out once). For years I would clutch onto a heating pad on my belly at my desk trying to cope. I lived on advil every 4 hours for 5 days every month.
But when I had children, I decided to eat for nutrition and no longer for my appearance. I eat f*cking healthy meals. You won't find anything unhealthy in my house. Guests have to dig around to even find a bag of loose sugar around my place. I just don't count calories obsessively. I know damn well that an accidently oops if a tsp of too much salad dressing would blow me over my "maintenance" calories. I know that the handful of blueberries or banana is gonna totally screw me over. But I eat it anyways. And I'm overweight. But my periods are amazing! And I have healthy children and likely won't get osteoporosis at this point lol I am not lazy person. I never sit down. Literally never. I am always on my feet. I'll dig an entire garden out by hand with a shovel while pregnant and do just fine. I run after my kids. I'll peel off beside my son riding his bike and keep pace and not get gassed. But I don't lose any weight, ever. Where do the calories go? Who knows? They cling to my body. They love me lol
But where are my people who do the "hard work." Who live the lifestyle of the ones who "decided to make a change" and are still overweight? Where are the ones who can literally survive and look amazing on 500 calories? It seems like some kind of bloody miracle yet, well, here is me!!
If there was ever an apocalypse or famine I would be good! If he running through the forest all day, eating my one chunk of meat every 5 days doing just dandy while everyone else was dropping like flies. It's just who I am.
My brother literally pours a measured 1/4 cup of olive oil on all his food because his metabolism is so slow. He has the opposite problem and has to fight so hard against it. It's wild. We are two extremes whereas everyone else just sits luckily somewhere in the middle!!

I made my first throw away account for this. Yipee (he said with all the excitement of a deflating woopie cushion).
I (M23) currently live with my mom (F64) and dad (M65). I'm attending a local community college and struggling to find a regular job while also pursuing a career as a writer and musician. I love my mom and dad very much, and they love me too. They have been nothing but supportive of me and my aspirations my entire life, and I am so grateful to them for that.
That isn't to say we don't have our issues (i wouldn't be talking about them on this sub if they were perfect, after all) but I think the context here is very important.
So, in exchange for no rent, i have to follow a set of rules. Some of them are pretty reasonable (no illegal drugs in the house, do my fill of chores, keep my room and bathroom clean, etc.), but some could be considered a bit weird (attend church once a week, no sex inside the house). While I'm okay with these rules, there is one i chafe against regularly… i have to maintain my haifacial hair in a very specific way.
So, as my username implies, I have long hair. It goes past my shoulders and rests at my upper back. It's also very thick. My mom likes to say my hair, like hers, wants to grow out, not down. (It really does feel like my hair wants to spite gravity sometimes). It defaults to curly ringlets, but I have options to style it.
It wasn't always like this, though. For a majority of my life, i kept my hair short. When i was 17 i heard about locks for love, the charity where you can donate your hair to create wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment. I was really inspired by this, and wanted to participate. I had to wait a year, until i graduated high school (because of our dress code and because i did a lot of theater stuff that required me to have short hair) to start. For four long years, I grew my hair out and finally, cut it off to send it to charity. It was really fun, we threw a small, silly party to celebrate.
But over the next few months, I began to realize something… i really liked having long hair! I've only now begun to verbalize it, but i felt confident and sexy with long hair. It was the first time I made a style choice on my own without involvement from anyone else and i loved it. So, thinking that this was a harmless form of self-expression, I decided I wanted to grow my hair out again, but this time keep it. And here, is where my troubles began.
Now, during the first time I started growing my hair out, my dad made it no secret he didn't like the long hair look, but went along with it because he knew it was for a good cause. But during the fall of 2021, when i made my intentions clear of mainting the look, he began to complain… a lot. Now, i'm not going to pretend some of these complaints were without merit. In terms of styling and hair care, I had no idea what I was doing, and combined with my big, bushy, unkempt beard, I looked terrible. I looked like a caveman Jerry Garcia. My hair was constantly knotted and greasy looking, i had split ends I refused to cut, and my beard was uneven. It drove dad up the wall.
Then, one morning, my parents forced me to go to a barbershop down the street. I went in, explained the situation, and told him i wanted to keep my long hair, but to get rid of all the stuff they didnt like. To shape it up, style it. The barber looked at me, and said it was too soon (it had been five months since i had sent my hair in) and to come back in a month. Satisfied, i texted my mother the news, got myself some lunch, picked up some groceries and came back home. My parents were waiting for me. I don't think Mom had seen my text. They were disappointed. A day or so later, dad came into my room as i was waking up, still wiping the dust from my eyes and gave me an ultimatum. I was going to cut my hair or he was going to kick me out of the house, and take my car too since his name was on the paperwork.
…To say the following two hours were eventful would be an understatement. In short, after lots of screaming, crying, and swearing, from both sides, we came to the agreement we have today; in exchange for keeping my hair tidy, and my beard trimmed, I could continue to live at my parents house. Whenever dads around, or we're out together, he wants me to have my hair tied back (nevermind that can actually damage the hair in the long term) or wear a headband to keep it out of my face.
While he's done a lot to regain my trust since that day (and I've done the same), i still feel uneasy about the whole thing. My dads explanation is that he's from another time, which is true. He grew up in the sixties and the seventies. If i were to fall through a portal in time, people off the street would probably think i was homeless or a hippie. That's how he thinks i look. And that terrifies him, because he thinks I don't know or understand how the way i portray myself can come off to others. It's also an issue of respect to him. In case it wasn't clear earlier, my dad is a Christian. He was a pastor in the Nazarene church for many years, but he's retired now. To him, growing my hair out like i have, after all the times he's expressed his dislike, is the equivalent of me flipping him off. Some of you may be wondering “How are these sentences related?” Well, if you open your bibles to Exodus 20:12, you will find the fifth commandment, which states “honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” To say my faith is important to my dad is an understatement. The most important thing my to my dad, aside from the safety and health of me and mom, is whether or not i still believe Jesus Christ is my lord and savior. But im getting lost in the weeds, lets get back on track.
The point is, my dad sees this as a very personal insult, and a representation of all his fears that I might fail in life in a way that he can't prevent. That's how he's explained it to me. Im not trying to justify or explain away his behavior, I'm just trying to tell you what he's told me.
From my perspective, while Dad was right that my grooming at the time was terrible, my hair style does not, and should not, matter to him. I'll admit, at that time in my life, i was going through a really rough patch that i do not want to go into here. I had some awful habits back then, and i was clinically depressed. But coming in and saying you're gonna kick me out unless i give you what you want isn't what i would call christlike behavior, much less normal empathetic father figure behavior.
So why am i writing about this now? Because he did it again.
So, my dad has still been complaining since the three and a half years this happened, but I've been getting better and better at cleaning and maintaining my hair. Im not going to pretend I'm a master, but at least I'm not using two for one shampoo anymore and have learned how to consistently make a towel wrap. Today (sunday), dad got home from a business trip. When he got home, we didn't really say much because i was rushing to complete summer school homework due by midnight. We said Hi and I love you, but that was pretty much it. I had been working all day on this, since the moment i got up. I missed church because i was exhausted from staying up late, you guessed it, working. After all this time, i finally do it, and go out to have an actual conversation with my dad. And the first thing he says to me during this conversation? After not seeing me since Thursday? “[Long locks], you really need to do something about my hair. You need to remember our agreement. It's becoming a problem.”
Wow. Thanks for the veiled threat dad, nice to see you too.
I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like i cannot please him. I'm just now getting the hang of this, and its like… he doesn't care. I went to a new barber six weeks ago to cut off my split ends and shape it up. I trim my beard every 4-8 weeks. I shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, dry, comb with a wide tooth comb, comb with an actual brush and then maybe use a band if dads around, AND ITS STILL NOT ENOUGH. The one day i don't do my hair because i am trying to prioritize the things that matter and he says that.
And the thing that bothers me is that it brings me down all the time. It affects my self-esteem and self-image. And he keeps dangling my ability to live a life over my head unless i give him what he wants, and it makes me wonder where will it end? What will he want me to change next? Will he threaten to take away my clothes? Stuff i bought with the allowance he gives me? This thing that happened today made me realize i am so helplessly dependent on these people and I can't take it anymore. So my thought process is why don't i just save us the trouble of all the shouting, crying and swearing, pack up my bags and leave? Lets save the time and trouble and move on because I don't want to fight.
I'm sorry if this has devolved into an incomprehensible slurry, but I've been trying to write this all down for an hour and i'm so tired. I don't want to give up this piece of myself that I've grown to love. But am I being a big stupid baby about this? Should i just give him what he wants? Or should i take a stand for my own personal boundaries and identity and move out? And if the latter, what should my next steps be?
Thank you for reading this wall of runes. I'm going to pass out now. Good night.

Background:
The continent of Gêde is a sprawling land of diverse biomes, vegetation, and different walks of life. Humans, animals, fairies, orcs, vampires. All sorts of creatures inhabit the land and over thousands of years, have formed civilizations, villages, and kingdoms.
There are three prominent kingdoms in Gêde. In the northwestern temperate regions lies the kingdom of [writer’s choice]. In the northeast mountain ranges of Gêde lies Sovia, a kingdom of ice and snow, which is ruled by powerful warlords and greedy kings.Sovia is inhabited by frost giants, yetis, and uldra. But the monarchy consists of a long lineage of Vampyres who have taken favor of the sprawling, mineral-rich land and everlasting arctic nights. Down towards the tropical Niraqian Sea stretches the smaller peninsula kingdom of Al-Khuna. This kingdom, fertile by the sun and sea, is dominated by humans and sun elves on land and Suvannamacchi—mermaid-like creatures—in the sea. Al-Khuna was particularly rich in spices, exotic vegetation, silks, and it was said to have had enough gold to make the sun god himself jealous of the kingdom’s radiance.
Well. that was 100 years ago.
For the last century, the royal Al-Khunian kings of the family Farashi had made some…rather critical financial decisions, mostly driven by greed, ignorance, and arrogance. It was always rumored by the other neighboring kingdoms that one day Al-Khuna would collapse under its own rule. The economy was rapidly beginning to collapse. The frivolous spending, greed, and ignorance of the late Raja, his father before him, and his father before him had plunged the land into its downfall. The entire kingdom had gone into a deep famine, and poverty was running rampant. Even as the old generations of the royal family died off and the new generations were coronated, no one could solve the famine. Drought plagued the land, and trading ports were not outputting enough goods to bring in profit. Al-Khuna was growing desperate.
The Raja should have approached the king in the northwest for help. Perhaps then, Al-Khuna might have been saved. But no. Stupidly, Al-Khuna had struck a deal with Sovia.
All Sovia needed to do was provide food and money and the Al-Khunians would sell their services in any way possible, but more conflicts were arising. The Sovians would demand services and goods that the Al-Khunians did not want to provide, but the Sovians were demanding more payment than what was originally agreed upon. Contracts were broken, and loopholes were taken advantage of. The Raja of Al-Khuna made impulsive mistakes that ultimately left too many vital parts of Al-Khuna as collateral.
A war broke out, but Sovia was too powerful. The Raja of Al-Khuna was too proud to surrender, and when he and his Rani were finally assassinated by the Sovians, every kingdom in Gêde watched as Al-Khuna fell under Sovian control.
The only ones of the Farashi line that were spared were the young Prince Adan and his baby sister Princess Iirana, who were ordered by the Sovians to be taken far away where they would not cause any trouble. It was against Sovian morals, of course, to spare children when decimating an entire country.
Prince Adan remembered the massacre, however, and as his birthright to the throne, he planned well into his adulthood how to regain control of Al-Khuna.
~
The Prompt:
"Go! GO! Into the woods!" The booming voice of the prince was nearly drowned out by the sounds of screams, cannons, metal clashing against metal, and destruction. Another battle was raging mercilessly, this time right in the heart of Al-Khuna... It started as a failed assassination attempt on the Sovian prince, who was to marry Princess Iirana—who was now 21. It was all planned out by Prince Adan to regain control of Al-Khuna. They were to arrange matrimony between Prince Veric and Princess Iirana. They were to meet during the Festival of Lights, an annual Al-Khunian traditional party held every Summer Solstice. Iirana was to seduce him, take him somewhere private, and kill him with a kiss with the nightshade painted on her lips.
The Sovian guards saw right through the plan, and all hell broke loose.
Iirana and Adan managed to flee the palace. Shouts and commands could be heard somewhere in the disarray of the battle as Sovian soldiers attempted to track and pursue them. Adan grabbed Iirana's hand and led her through the fray. They ran for what seemed like hours, and they had almost made it to the edge of the kingdom before the prince collapsed with a painful thud. "Adan?" Iirana's eyes widened at the sight of a Sovian arrow impaling right through his leg. He sucked in a sharp breath and yelled through his teeth, "Don't wait for me! Into the woods, Iirana, NOW!!"
She wanted to protest, she wanted to drag him with her, but she knew better, and she fought herself as she fled far into the forest. Far, far away from the raging battle, the screams, the clashing of weapons, and the collapse of buildings on fire. She did not look back to see what had become of her brother.
Al-Khuna was destroyed. The Sovians would make sure there was nothing left for Iirana to return to. The only direction she could go for another safe civilization was northwest across the entire continent.
And that she did.

~
The scene:
“Your Highness! My Lord!” Rowan, The captain of the Royal Guard of the northwestern castle barged into the throne room, interrupting the business his king was attending to. He never behaved in such a manner, and certainly never barged in without a formal announcement. His eyes seemed wide with confusion and urgency, and behind him, two guards were slowly escorting a female figure between them.
“Please forgive me for this sudden intrusion, my lord, but—” Rowan turned his head to watch as his armored men came closer, and the figure slowly becoming more visible to their ruler on the throne.
They had her held firm by arms, but she was not cuffed. She did not seem to struggle either, but rather allowed them to guide her where they wanted her. She was young. Human. Although like no human in this kingdom. She was dressed in a ragged gray peasant dress and black cloak. Her skin was a dark olive tone, as if kissed by the sun god himself. Her fingers and hands were adorned with swirling intricate curlicues of a faded red stain. Her feet were bare, painted with the same patterns. Her hair was thick and falling over her shoulders like tendrils of endless black night. Her dark downcast amber eyes seemed…tired. Empty. Dark circles plagued her gaunt face; it was clear that she hadn’t eaten in some time, it seemed like she hadn’t slept in…months. The tightness of her pupils resembled that of an old warrior, one who had seen death and was forever haunted by the horrors of the past.
This was not a normal girl. Not one that was from anywhere near here.
“My lord,” Rowan straightened as he spoke. “She says she is from Al-Khuna. Says she had been traveling for several months. Says she fled from a Sovian attack. They’d apparently done a massacre. Says she escaped.” He spoke rapidly, trying to recount everything that she had told the guards when she initially approached the castle. They didn’t believe her at first, but upon looking at her foreign appearance, they knew they needed to get her to the king right away for his judgment. After that encounter, however, she hadn’t said another word. The exhaustion was simply too much.
After Rowan spoke, the young woman slowly raised her head to meet the king’s eyes. As exhausted as she appeared, there was a certain look about her. There was a certain fire in her eyes that told him that she did indeed come from a powerful line. And she had seen things that only true hell could produce.
My HARD Rules:
I only roleplay on Discord.
I roleplay in 3rd person only.
Advance-lit only. I write with detail and flesh out 2 to 3, sometimes even 5-paragraph responses. I expect my partner to hold the same writing standard.
You must be 18+. This roleplay will contain adult themes like gore, violence, and possibly sexual themes.
I am in US Central Time.
Explore your creative freedom! You'll be playing the "leader" of the northwestern kingdom (you get to name the kingdom as well), whether that be king, prince, emperor, or whatever you'd like to call your character. Have your kingdom be any race you want! Humans, elves, orcs, vampires, etc., or make up your very own! They can of course have magic or any other special traits that you'd like. This is your domain to play with.
Thank you for reading this rather long prompt. If you are interested, please message or DM me through Reddit with your RESPONSE to the prompt, as if you are starting the roleplay with me. I want to see how your writing is and if you are what I’m looking for. If you are not interested, thank you anyway for your time, and happy roleplaying!

Background:
The continent of Gêde is a sprawling land of diverse biomes, vegetation, and different walks of life. Humans, animals, fairies, orcs, vampires. All sorts of creatures inhabit the land and over thousands of years, have formed civilizations, villages, and kingdoms.
There are three prominent kingdoms in Gêde. In the northwestern temperate regions lies the kingdom of [writer’s choice]. In the northeast mountain ranges of Gêde lies Sovia, a kingdom of ice and snow, which is ruled by powerful warlords and greedy kings.Sovia is inhabited by frost giants, yetis, and uldra. But the monarchy consists of a long lineage of Vampyres who have taken favor of the sprawling, mineral-rich land and everlasting arctic nights. Down towards the tropical Niraqian Sea stretches the smaller peninsula kingdom of Al-Khuna. This kingdom, fertile by the sun and sea, is dominated by humans and sun elves on land and Suvannamacchi—mermaid-like creatures—in the sea. Al-Khuna was particularly rich in spices, exotic vegetation, silks, and it was said to have had enough gold to make the sun god himself jealous of the kingdom’s radiance.
Well. that was 100 years ago.
For the last century, the royal Al-Khunian kings of the family Farashi had made some…rather critical financial decisions, mostly driven by greed, ignorance, and arrogance. It was always rumored by the other neighboring kingdoms that one day Al-Khuna would collapse under its own rule. The economy was rapidly beginning to collapse. The frivolous spending, greed, and ignorance of the late Raja, his father before him, and his father before him had plunged the land into its downfall. The entire kingdom had gone into a deep famine, and poverty was running rampant. Even as the old generations of the royal family died off and the new generations were coronated, no one could solve the famine. Drought plagued the land, and trading ports were not outputting enough goods to bring in profit. Al-Khuna was growing desperate.
The Raja should have approached the king in the northwest for help. Perhaps then, Al-Khuna might have been saved. But no. Stupidly, Al-Khuna had struck a deal with Sovia.
All Sovia needed to do was provide food and money and the Al-Khunians would sell their services in any way possible, but more conflicts were arising. The Sovians would demand services and goods that the Al-Khunians did not want to provide, but the Sovians were demanding more payment than what was originally agreed upon. Contracts were broken, and loopholes were taken advantage of. The Raja of Al-Khuna made impulsive mistakes that ultimately left too many vital parts of Al-Khuna as collateral.
A war broke out, but Sovia was too powerful. The Raja of Al-Khuna was too proud to surrender, and when he and his Rani were finally assassinated by the Sovians, every kingdom in Gêde watched as Al-Khuna fell under Sovian control.
The only ones of the Farashi line that were spared were the young Prince Adan and his baby sister Princess Iirana, who were ordered by the Sovians to be taken far away where they would not cause any trouble. It was against Sovian morals, of course, to spare children when decimating an entire country.
Prince Adan remembered the massacre, however, and as his birthright to the throne, he planned well into his adulthood how to regain control of Al-Khuna.
~
The Prompt:
"Go! GO! Into the woods!" The booming voice of the prince was nearly drowned out by the sounds of screams, cannons, metal clashing against metal, and destruction. Another battle was raging mercilessly, this time right in the heart of Al-Khuna... It started as a failed assassination attempt on the Sovian prince, who was to marry Princess Iirana—who was now 21. It was all planned out by Prince Adan to regain control of Al-Khuna. They were to arrange matrimony between Prince Veric and Princess Iirana. They were to meet during the Festival of Lights, an annual Al-Khunian traditional party held every Summer Solstice. Iirana was to seduce him, take him somewhere private, and kill him with a kiss with the nightshade painted on her lips.
The Sovian guards saw right through the plan, and all hell broke loose.
Iirana and Adan managed to flee the palace. Shouts and commands could be heard somewhere in the disarray of the battle as Sovian soldiers attempted to track and pursue them. Adan grabbed Iirana's hand and led her through the fray. They ran for what seemed like hours, and they had almost made it to the edge of the kingdom before the prince collapsed with a painful thud. "Adan?" Iirana's eyes widened at the sight of a Sovian arrow impaling right through his leg. He sucked in a sharp breath and yelled through his teeth, "Don't wait for me! Into the woods, Iirana, NOW!!"
She wanted to protest, she wanted to drag him with her, but she knew better, and she fought herself as she fled far into the forest. Far, far away from the raging battle, the screams, the clashing of weapons, and the collapse of buildings on fire. She did not look back to see what had become of her brother.
Al-Khuna was destroyed. The Sovians would make sure there was nothing left for Iirana to return to. The only direction she could go for another safe civilization was northwest across the entire continent.
And that she did.

~
The scene:
“Your Highness! My Lord!” Rowan, The captain of the Royal Guard of the northwestern castle barged into the throne room, interrupting the business his king was attending to. He never behaved in such a manner, and certainly never barged in without a formal announcement. His eyes seemed wide with confusion and urgency, and behind him, two guards were slowly escorting a female figure between them.
“Please forgive me for this sudden intrusion, my lord, but—” Rowan turned his head to watch as his armored men came closer, and the figure slowly becoming more visible to their ruler on the throne.
They had her held firm by arms, but she was not cuffed. She did not seem to struggle either, but rather allowed them to guide her where they wanted her. She was young. Human. Although like no human in this kingdom. She was dressed in a ragged gray peasant dress and black cloak. Her skin was a dark olive tone, as if kissed by the sun god himself. Her fingers and hands were adorned with swirling intricate curlicues of a faded red stain. Her feet were bare, painted with the same patterns. Her hair was thick and falling over her shoulders like tendrils of endless black night. Her dark downcast amber eyes seemed…tired. Empty. Dark circles plagued her gaunt face; it was clear that she hadn’t eaten in some time, it seemed like she hadn’t slept in…months. The tightness of her pupils resembled that of an old warrior, one who had seen death and was forever haunted by the horrors of the past.
This was not a normal girl. Not one that was from anywhere near here.
“My lord,” Rowan straightened as he spoke. “She says she is from Al-Khuna. Says she had been traveling for several months. Says she fled from a Sovian attack. They’d apparently done a massacre. Says she escaped.” He spoke rapidly, trying to recount everything that she had told the guards when she initially approached the castle. They didn’t believe her at first, but upon looking at her foreign appearance, they knew they needed to get her to the king right away for his judgment. After that encounter, however, she hadn’t said another word. The exhaustion was simply too much.
After Rowan spoke, the young woman slowly raised her head to meet the king’s eyes. As exhausted as she appeared, there was a certain look about her. There was a certain fire in her eyes that told him that she did indeed come from a powerful line. And she had seen things that only true hell could produce.
My HARD Rules:
I only roleplay on Discord.
I roleplay in 3rd person only.
Advance-lit only. I write with detail and flesh out 2 to 3, sometimes even 5-paragraph responses. I expect my partner to hold the same writing standard.
You must be 18+. This roleplay will contain adult themes like gore, violence, and possibly sexual themes.
I am in US Central Time.
Explore your creative freedom! You'll be playing the "leader" of the northwestern kingdom (you get to name the kingdom as well), whether that be king, prince, emperor, or whatever you'd like to call your character. Have your kingdom be any race you want! Humans, elves, orcs, vampires, etc., or make up your very own! They can of course have magic or any other special traits that you'd like. This is your domain to play with.
Thank you for reading this rather long prompt. If you are interested, please message or DM me through Reddit with your RESPONSE to the prompt, as if you are starting the roleplay with me. I want to see how your writing is and if you are what I’m looking for. If you are not interested, thank you anyway for your time, and happy roleplaying!

Background:
The continent of Gêde is a sprawling land of diverse biomes, vegetation, and different walks of life. Humans, animals, fairies, orcs, vampires. All sorts of creatures inhabit the land and over thousands of years, have formed civilizations, villages, and kingdoms.
There are three prominent kingdoms in Gêde. In the northwestern temperate regions lies the kingdom of [writer’s choice]. In the northeast mountain ranges of Gêde lies Sovia, a kingdom of ice and snow, which is ruled by powerful warlords and greedy kings.Sovia is inhabited by frost giants, yetis, and uldra. But the monarchy consists of a long lineage of Vampyres who have taken favor of the sprawling, mineral-rich land and everlasting arctic nights. Down towards the tropical Niraqian Sea stretches the smaller peninsula kingdom of Al-Khuna. This kingdom, fertile by the sun and sea, is dominated by humans and sun elves on land and Suvannamacchi—mermaid-like creatures—in the sea. Al-Khuna was particularly rich in spices, exotic vegetation, silks, and it was said to have had enough gold to make the sun god himself jealous of the kingdom’s radiance.
Well. that was 100 years ago.
For the last century, the royal Al-Khunian kings of the family Farashi had made some…rather critical financial decisions, mostly driven by greed, ignorance, and arrogance. It was always rumored by the other neighboring kingdoms that one day Al-Khuna would collapse under its own rule. The economy was rapidly beginning to collapse. The frivolous spending, greed, and ignorance of the late Raja, his father before him, and his father before him had plunged the land into its downfall. The entire kingdom had gone into a deep famine, and poverty was running rampant. Even as the old generations of the royal family died off and the new generations were coronated, no one could solve the famine. Drought plagued the land, and trading ports were not outputting enough goods to bring in profit. Al-Khuna was growing desperate.
The Raja should have approached the king in the northwest for help. Perhaps then, Al-Khuna might have been saved. But no. Stupidly, Al-Khuna had struck a deal with Sovia.
All Sovia needed to do was provide food and money and the Al-Khunians would sell their services in any way possible, but more conflicts were arising. The Sovians would demand services and goods that the Al-Khunians did not want to provide, but the Sovians were demanding more payment than what was originally agreed upon. Contracts were broken, and loopholes were taken advantage of. The Raja of Al-Khuna made impulsive mistakes that ultimately left too many vital parts of Al-Khuna as collateral.
A war broke out, but Sovia was too powerful. The Raja of Al-Khuna was too proud to surrender, and when he and his Rani were finally assassinated by the Sovians, every kingdom in Gêde watched as Al-Khuna fell under Sovian control.
The only ones of the Farashi line that were spared were the young Prince Adan and his baby sister Princess Iirana, who were ordered by the Sovians to be taken far away where they would not cause any trouble. It was against Sovian morals, of course, to spare children when decimating an entire country.
Prince Adan remembered the massacre, however, and as his birthright to the throne, he planned well into his adulthood how to regain control of Al-Khuna.
~
The Prompt:
"Go! GO! Into the woods!" The booming voice of the prince was nearly drowned out by the sounds of screams, cannons, metal clashing against metal, and destruction. Another battle was raging mercilessly, this time right in the heart of Al-Khuna... It started as a failed assassination attempt on the Sovian prince, who was to marry Princess Iirana—who was now 21. It was all planned out by Prince Adan to regain control of Al-Khuna. They were to arrange matrimony between Prince Veric and Princess Iirana. They were to meet during the Festival of Lights, an annual Al-Khunian traditional party held every Summer Solstice. Iirana was to seduce him, take him somewhere private, and kill him with a kiss with the nightshade painted on her lips.
The Sovian guards saw right through the plan, and all hell broke loose.
Iirana and Adan managed to flee the palace. Shouts and commands could be heard somewhere in the disarray of the battle as Sovian soldiers attempted to track and pursue them. Adan grabbed Iirana's hand and led her through the fray. They ran for what seemed like hours, and they had almost made it to the edge of the kingdom before the prince collapsed with a painful thud. "Adan?" Iirana's eyes widened at the sight of a Sovian arrow impaling right through his leg. He sucked in a sharp breath and yelled through his teeth, "Don't wait for me! Into the woods, Iirana, NOW!!"
She wanted to protest, she wanted to drag him with her, but she knew better, and she fought herself as she fled far into the forest. Far, far away from the raging battle, the screams, the clashing of weapons, and the collapse of buildings on fire. She did not look back to see what had become of her brother.
Al-Khuna was destroyed. The Sovians would make sure there was nothing left for Iirana to return to. The only direction she could go for another safe civilization was northwest across the entire continent.
And that she did.

~
The scene:
“Your Highness! My Lord!” Rowan, The captain of the Royal Guard of the northwestern castle barged into the throne room, interrupting the business his king was attending to. He never behaved in such a manner, and certainly never barged in without a formal announcement. His eyes seemed wide with confusion and urgency, and behind him, two guards were slowly escorting a female figure between them.
“Please forgive me for this sudden intrusion, my lord, but—” Rowan turned his head to watch as his armored men came closer, and the figure slowly becoming more visible to their ruler on the throne.
They had her held firm by arms, but she was not cuffed. She did not seem to struggle either, but rather allowed them to guide her where they wanted her. She was young. Human. Although like no human in this kingdom. She was dressed in a ragged gray peasant dress and black cloak. Her skin was a dark olive tone, as if kissed by the sun god himself. Her fingers and hands were adorned with swirling intricate curlicues of a faded red stain. Her feet were bare, painted with the same patterns. Her hair was thick and falling over her shoulders like tendrils of endless black night. Her dark downcast amber eyes seemed…tired. Empty. Dark circles plagued her gaunt face; it was clear that she hadn’t eaten in some time, it seemed like she hadn’t slept in…months. The tightness of her pupils resembled that of an old warrior, one who had seen death and was forever haunted by the horrors of the past.
This was not a normal girl. Not one that was from anywhere near here.
“My lord,” Rowan straightened as he spoke. “She says she is from Al-Khuna. Says she had been traveling for several months. Says she fled from a Sovian attack. They’d apparently done a massacre. Says she escaped.” He spoke rapidly, trying to recount everything that she had told the guards when she initially approached the castle. They didn’t believe her at first, but upon looking at her foreign appearance, they knew they needed to get her to the king right away for his judgment. After that encounter, however, she hadn’t said another word. The exhaustion was simply too much.
After Rowan spoke, the young woman slowly raised her head to meet the king’s eyes. As exhausted as she appeared, there was a certain look about her. There was a certain fire in her eyes that told him that she did indeed come from a powerful line. And she had seen things that only true hell could produce.
My HARD Rules:
I only roleplay on Discord.
I roleplay in 3rd person only.
Advance-lit only. I write with detail and flesh out 2 to 3, sometimes even 5-paragraph responses. I expect my partner to hold the same writing standard.
You must be 18+. This roleplay will contain adult themes like gore, violence, and possibly sexual themes.
I am in US Central Time.
Explore your creative freedom! You'll be playing the "leader" of the northwestern kingdom (you get to name the kingdom as well), whether that be king, prince, emperor, or whatever you'd like to call your character. Have your kingdom be any race you want! Humans, elves, orcs, vampires, etc., or make up your very own! They can of course have magic or any other special traits that you'd like. This is your domain to play with.
Thank you for reading this rather long prompt. If you are interested, please message or DM me through Reddit with your RESPONSE to the prompt, as if you are starting the roleplay with me. I want to see how your writing is and if you are what I’m looking for. If you are not interested, thank you anyway for your time, and happy roleplaying!

Basically the title. 21M caught my ex hooking up with my roommate/friend since freshman year 5 days after she dumped me because she thought I didn't respect her identity as a nonbinary person (she uses she/they pronouns). It was almost two months ago and I still can't go more than like 20 minutes without thinking about it. We dated for a year and a half and I enjoyed every second although there were a few problems I still loved her dearly and I felt that she loved me the same. My roommate she had sex with went through a long-term relationship ending like two years ago and I was one of the many people consoling him during the following months when he was heartbroken. The night we broke up he basically just told me that he doesn't know how to deal with these situations and never said anything to me besides that. I didn't think anything of it since some people just genuinely don't know how to console people. But now I can't help but think he was just waiting and waiting during our entire year and a half relationship for his chance to fuck. On March 12th I said something in a conversation with my other roommate (lets call him Alex) about how it's confusing when nonbinary people go by they/them because it makes me think I'm talking about multiple people. A few days later she said we needed to take a break from the relationship because she thought I didn't respect her identity. During the "break" (in which we still saw each other almost daily) many things were said about how she's "not a monogamist" and "doesn't know if I'll be enough for her". She eventually ended it on March 28th because she said that despite it being over two weeks since the incident she still didn't feel any better. I later found out she ended it that particular night because I wouldn't stop texting/being friends with Alex (who she never liked, but began to hate after the events on March 12th because he said something even more disrespectful to nonbinary people than I did). I went to one of the campus counselors about it a few times and they and a few other of my friends told me that it wasn't my fault and that she was just looking for an easy out since she didn't want a monogamist relationship with me. FWIW, my roommate she had sex with had been friends with Alex for almost 4 years and saw him almost daily in their classes, which is the only thing that makes me think she was just bullshitting and looking for an easy way out of the relationship because I keep telling myself that it doesn't make sense that she would break up with me for being friends with Alex and then go fuck his even closer friend 5 days later. This was my first relationship ever and the first person to even show a slight amount of romantic interest in me and I just don't know how to move on from it. I still find myself every day wishing I could tell her all the random things that happened to me throughout the day and wishing she was still in my life. And despite all the sob story my side isn't exactly great either. The way I found out was my roommate turning off his location sharing randomly despite having it for over two years. I knew he always found her attractive and once I got the thought of them doing something like that behind my back I just couldn't sleep without verifying so I got on the bus at like 12:15 am and went over to her place (about a 30 minute trip door to door). The whole way there I kept thinking I was a crazy psychotic stalker and that there's no way either of them would do something like that to me. But then I got there and saw his car in the parking lot. At that point I had basically all the proof I needed, but instead of just going home I opened her front door (her door lock has a code that I obviously still remembered) and stood in the doorway until she looked down at me from her bedroom. I asked her what he was doing here and how long it had been going on and she said it had only started today and I just said "ok" and locked the door behind me and left. At the time I didn't think it was a big deal but if I was her and I heard my door opening randomly at 12:45 in the morning I would probably be pretty terrified. He eventually sent me a wall of text at 4 am saying how what he did was unforgivable and how he would be moving out of the apartment as soon as he could (his family lives like 15 minutes away). I didn't sleep at all that night and called out of work the next day. A few days later I publicly called her a whore on my Instagram story and about a week or two after that I tweeted "killing my ex and her new lover in honor of OJ dying" (this was a few hours after OJ had died) and they both saw it and he was going to report me to the cops until I called him up and told him I wasn't being serious and I would leave him alone if he didn't report me. I then called her and told her the same thing but she said she didn't believe me since I had "broken in" to her place that night and she threatened to report me to the campus Title IX office while breaking down hysterically. She also told me that the breakup was entirely my fault and that she hated my guts ever since the night of the incident and would have broken up with me on the spot if Alex wasn't in the room. I like to believe that she was just doing crocodile tears to elicit an apology from me to save face but she has really bad anxiety and genuinely might have thought that I was going to kill her so I have no idea. After the semester ended and I did my routine end of semester Instagram recap post I included a screenshot of the 4 am text message he sent me in which he called himself "weak and pathetic" and half-apologized. A few days later they both got no contact orders against me and that's basically where we're at now. Two of my friends that I've known since freshman year are apparently rooming with him next semester so I've blocked them and anyone else I know that would take his side. It's so overwhelming because it feels like I've lost basically all my friends and the love of my life when just three months ago my life was basically perfect. She and my roommate had a good friendship that developed throughout the year and a half we were dating and I liked that they were able to get along so well but I don't know how I'm supposed to trust anyone like that again. I don't want to be that guy who's insecure about his girlfriend having male friends but I don't know how I'm supposed to not be insecure about it now. I've fallen into some pretty bad habits (I drink most days now and went back to smoking weed) because it's the only way I can numb my mind for a few minutes. The concept of finding a new relationship is so daunting and I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to do it. I wish I still had her.

Author's Note:
7700 words, broke Reddit's character limit, so you know the drill. Will be split into two parts, both posted today. Enjoy!
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"Stop! STOP!"
The terror in Kismet's voice rose higher as death drew nearer. He fled from Rob's grasping hand, but a Purge Divinity-infused fingernail managed to graze him, carving out a scoop of divine essence as if flaying a mortal's skin.
Kismet let out a screech as the Purging energy added to his growing collection of scars. A dozen small holes now dotted the surface of his mana-body, looking like he'd been pockmarked by wasting disease. Each wound represented a moment where the god had narrowly escaped with his life.
If those injuries had been inflicted by any other ability, then he could have rejuvenated himself in the time it took to blink. Purging energy was not so kind as that. It was purifying wrath in the shape of a Skill; their vengeance given form. Whatever divinity it touched, it extinguished.
As if cleansing the universe of a sickness that had infected it for far too long.
The BERSERKER continued his unrelenting advance. In response, Kismet threw up a frantic barrier of mana. It was strong enough to deflect one of Ragnavi's Annihilation beams–
And Rob blasted through it like paper mache. His charge sent broken shards of energy scattering across the divine realms. More mid-air rifts tore open, the HUMAN's aura strangling the surrounding area in a vice grip of power. Purge Divinity seemed to glow with light emanating straight from the pits of hell.
None of which was anywhere near as unnerving as the murder contained within his piercing gaze. When Kismet met Rob's eyes, he saw the end of eternity fast approaching.
The god's next barrier was just as frantic. However, this one was not comprised of mana, but of solid matter. Kismet summoned the hardest, most dense substance known to the mortal realms, then transmuted it into something that otherwise could only have been forged inside the heart of a dying star. It was many times more durable than the impossibly tough walls of an aberrant Dungeon.
So when Rob demolished it with a single punch, he actually had to put a bit of elbow grease into his windup.
Another wall materialized in front of him. He crushed it, then the one after, and the one after that, lashing out with bestial ferocity. The BERSERKER plowed through Kismet's hastily-built defenses like a bulldozer of fists and savagery. Rob was knocking them down as quickly as the god could make them, relishing the sensation of being able to vent his anger on targets that weren't fucking running away.
Then the twelfth wall fell – revealing a monstrous, spiky, fanged behemoth concealed behind.
Rob paused, momentarily taken aback at the sight of a mundane creature within the divine realms. 'Mundane' in relative terms, anyway. This monster was on par with a newborn Blight, radiating power that would have sent ordinary fighters sprinting for the hills.
It was also barely cognizant of its surroundings. The monster stared at him with unblinking, vacant eyes, just the tiniest glimmer of awareness present in its gaze. Rob noted that segments of its flesh were bubbling, as if the creature was fresh out of the oven and still needed to settle.
He couldn't help but feel a modicum of pity. This was yet another thoughtless creation, condemned to existence by an uncaring maker. Even monsters deserved better than that.
Rob caved the beast's head in before it could realize that it was alive. Pity was not the same as hesitation, and this was the only mercy he could afford to grant right now.
Didn't matter. Kismet's pawn served its purpose. In the brief instant that Rob spent getting over his initial surprise, the god had teleported to safety. He was already planning his next stunt that could buy him a few precious seconds of survival.
The HUMAN grimaced as he turned to give chase, unable to suppress the burgeoning sense of unease growing within his chest.
It almost didn't seem fair to feel that way. Rob knew he was winning – at least on the surface. Any outside observer would've bet their life savings on him, especially after the show of overwhelming superiority he'd just displayed. Kismet had been at a disadvantage before Never Forget Your Rage's recent upswing, and now it was no contest. Rob was confident that he would still be stronger even if the eight gods merged into one super-deity.
He also knew that he was living on borrowed time.
Whenever he moved, or activated a Skill, or even breathed...the sensation was there. Strength accompanied by incongruous frailty. Like background noise that kept getting louder with every action he took. His body felt close to pulling itself apart, as if his very molecules were a hairsbreadth away from coming undone.
It was different from Soul Instability. Whereas that threatened to collapse his soul, this frailty was an affliction of the flesh. The longer he fought, the more his physical form was at risk of popping like a balloon.
Such was the price of constraining godlike power within a mortal shell.
"Stay back!" Unaware of the turmoil fermenting in his assailant's mind, Kismet threw up his hands and...inverted...space? Rob didn't have a name for what he was seeing. Rather than stopping to puzzle out this latest brand of divine bullshit, he sent out a pulse of Purge Divinity, canceling whatever esoteric effect Kismet had been attempting to produce.
His Purging energy scraped against the divine realms like a cheese grater. Five rifts immediately tore open near both Rob and Kismet, with the god anxiously retreating from one that appeared just inches away from him. A low rumble echoed around them, and for a moment, they felt struck by an abrupt feeling of vertigo – until the realms gradually stabilized, righting once more.
For now.
Rob eyed the rifts with a detached, clinical gaze. An endless sea of mana resided behind them; the bedrock of the system itself. While he recognized that the rifts tearing open was bad news, he also couldn't really muster the energy to care. Between his overflowing rage, overtaxed body, and overburdened soul, minor details like the impending destruction of reality were hard to give much focus.
There was a way to fix all of that, of course. Rob couldn't outright deactivate Never Forget Your Rage – not without losing its bonus stats. But he could attempt to ease the storm of fury in his heart. By lessening his anger to more reasonable levels, Never Forget Your Rage would put less strain on both his body and the divine realms.
The notion forced a peal of hideous laughter to claw out of his throat. Lessen his anger? He'd have better luck trying to douse a volcano with a garden hose. No. For a wildfire that had grown this out of control, the only thing to do was stand aside and let it burn, burn, burn.
Until naught remained.
"I said stay back!" Kismet bellowed. He lifted his arms into the air. "Begone!" One moment later, Rob's vision was filled with scorching light. An apocalyptic geyser of mana burst forth from underfoot, intense and searing. It stripped the flesh from his bones in no time flat, powering through Almighty Resistance with pure, unmitigated violence.
And it still wasn't fast enough. Rob flickered a Purge Divinity shield for just an instant, allowing him to escape the geyser with his upper body – and most of his HP – intact. Lifesurge swiftly patched him up, leaving both combatants right back where they'd started.
Slowly, Kismet lowered his hands. They were shivering. "What are you?" he whispered. "Why are all my efforts in vain?"
To be honest, Rob was mildly impressed that Kismet had held on for this long. The god's combat efficacy was increasing as time passed, improving from panic-spamming teleports to more inventive maneuvers – as if he was learning how to fight on-the-job. He'd also stopped draining the other gods to supplement his power, having found an alternative source of fuel: mana seeping out from the sporadically-opening rifts.
It was the one silver lining to fighting an implacable BERSERKER so powerful that he fractured reality. Whenever Rob utilized Purge Divinity, more rifts opened up in the realms, and more mana leaked out from inside. The gods had invested that energy into the system millennia ago, and it typically would've been off-limits until they closed up shop and left Elatra. Kismet was making use of it now, absorbing the extra mana to strengthen himself, like a lifeline barely keeping him afloat.
The god's tenacity was...calling it 'admirable' would be going too far, but it did warrant a sort of begrudging respect. As someone who'd tangoed with multiple Blights, Rob knew what it was like to square off against a frenzied beast that could end him with a touch.
Being the scary one was a nice change of pace.
In exchange, Kismet had graciously donned the role of their battle's Combat Class user; fragile, outgunned, and pulling improvised maneuvers out of his ass for a chance at victory. The god could finally feel what it was like to be vulnerable. How exciting! Rob was more than happy to assist. Learning experiences such as these only came around once an eternity or so.
Flippancy aside – while Kismet still possessed room for improvement, this was the most that could be asked of a deity who hadn't seen combat in literal eons. His biggest fuckup had been taunting Rob in the wrong ways, but he couldn't have known about Never Forget Your Rage, that was an excusable oversight. By all other accounts, Kismet was performing adequately.
Even so...
"YoU aRE noTHinG."
The sound of Rob's voice caused two fresh rifts to open up. Kismet flinched, casting a teleportation spell out of pure reflex. Without pause, the HUMAN resumed his hunt.
Nothing. Perhaps that statement was hyperbole – yet it rang true nonetheless. While Kismet may have been a creature of supreme divinity, on the field of battle, his pedigree meant nothing. In the face of an implacable, unstoppable foe, his power was worth nothing. Very soon, he would be nothing, consigned to oblivion by Purging energy.
Rob couldn't help but unfavorably compare Kismet to the final Blight. Weren't these supposed to be two sides of the same coin? Each one-half of an original transcendent Will? Yet the Second Will had brought Rob to the edge of despair...and Kismet was fleeing like a cornered rodent. It was difficult to reconcile the two divinities as theoretical equals.
Although he knew that was an unfair comparison. Rob had fought the Blight before learning Limit Break and Never Forget Your Rage. Kismet wasn't weak.
The HUMAN was just far too strong.
If he rematched the Second Will today, he would beat it to death with his bare hands.
"Look at what you've wrought!" Kismet swept an arm out, gesturing towards some of the many rifts that Rob's presence was tearing open. "Do you understand what will transpire if you persist in this folly?! If the divine realms shatter, then so will all of Elatra! You are on the brink of destroying everything which you have striven to protect! Cease this–"
"CAN'T."
In a flash, Rob dashed forward and scooped out a chunk of the god's mana-body with Purge Divinity. Before he could do more, Kismet shrieked with pain and teleported away, leaving the BERSERKER to crush his prize between five clenched fingers.
"FoRCed mY HAnD." He located Kismet again. "NO GOING BACK."
Stopping wasn't an option. If the divine realms crumbled and Elatra imploded...well, that would be a faster end than what the gods had in store for its people. At least this way their deaths would be quick and hopefully painless – and his friends wouldn't be turned into Skills tortured for all eternity.
Still, Kismet did have a point. Destroying reality wasn't exactly the ideal outcome. There had to be a way to speed up the conclusion of their fight. Rob was certain he would win if given enough time, but he couldn't guarantee it would be before either his body or the divine realms collapsed.
{Ascend.}
Like a snake slithering through a minefield, Leveling High skirted past the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions raging within Rob's mind. He attempted to tune out its voice, yet Humanity's curse refused to be denied, the static loudening until he was compelled to respond. Quit distracting me, he snapped. In case you haven't noticed, I'm FUCKING. BUSY.
{You seek to ensure victory over those who rule above,} Leveling High continued, without missing a step. {As do I.}
Then sit back, shut up, and–
{Ignoring your deficiencies will not make them disappear. This body is...feeble. Incomplete. Unfit to wield the power contained therein. Like a polished sword attached to a brittle hilt, liable to snap in twain at any moment.}
Rob grit his teeth. He couldn't deny Leveling High's assertions. Normally he'd just tell it to piss off, but considering how much was at stake here...
With a feeling like he'd sat down to deal with the devil, Rob sighed. Then what do you propose? That we upgrade my body somehow? I don't think putting more points into Vitality would help, even if I had any to spare. Me being so juiced up on stats is half the problem.
It shook its head. {You have far surpassed the limitations of mortality. Strengthening your power further would be akin to pouring water into an overflowing cup.}
So we...what, increase the size of the cup?
Static akin to laughter echoed inside his head. {We do away with it entirely.}
An icy chill began creeping up Rob's spine, as if the cold hands of fate were working their way towards his neck. He recalled a system notification from days before – 'Your Race has morphed from Human (?) to: Ascending HUMAN'.
Not Ascended. Ascending.
Weeks-old memories came surging to the forefront. 'The Heartkiller is closer to our form of life than those you call friends,' the Blight-child of Elysium had once said. 'As long as you continue to live, eventually, you will become an existence with the power to crush the Others and free the Skills from their shackles. You are no longer one of the Ephemeral. Now, you are a cocoon, metamorphosing into something grander. When you emerge, you will be as the Eternal.'
The Blight-child had laughed at him, then. 'After joining us, preserving these worlds will no longer be your desire.'
Rob grimaced. Denied, he flatly told Leveling High. Whatever you're about to suggest isn't happening.
It scoffed at him. {Your prejudices blind you. Do you think the gods have need of physical bodies? Does it hinder them in any capacity? No – the opposite. By definition, infinity cannot be constrained. Discard this useless flesh, and your conquest of the divine realms is assured.}
Maybe you didn't hear me when I said–
{By all means. Spurn my counsel...and condemn your friends to death. Shall their lives be worth it, in the end?}
Rob sucked in air through clenched teeth.
{Ascend.} Leveling High purred with anticipation. {You are bound by a prison of meat, bone, and blood. Break free. Finish what has already begun. Gaze upon the tapestry of infinity in all its dreadful splendor. Seize victory not as a Human, but as a completed, transcendent HUMAN.}
With a scream to drown out the static, Rob chased after Kismet again and again. The god was in full-on panic mode, eschewing offensive attacks in favor of perpetual retreat, focused wholly on keeping the BERSERKER as far away as possible. He would teleport the instant that Rob laid eyes on him, frantically stalling for his life.
It was – quite unintentionally – providing evidence to Leveling High's claims. If Kismet was on the defensive, catching him would take time they might not have.
I... Rob narrowed his eyes. How would I finish Ascending, anyway? It isn't like I can just flip a switch and make it happen.
{Incorrect.}
He blinked. WHAT?
{You have long since achieved the qualifications for true godhood,} Leveling High explained, in a lecturing tone. {There is no milestone that remains necessary to achieve. Rather than needing to overcome some hurdle of strength or power, the obstacle barring your path is more...arbitrary. Self-imposed.}
Humanity's curse seemed to peer into his soul. When it spoke next, its voice was filled with disgust. {You remain mortal because you wish to do so – both consciously and subconsciously. The Ascension of a nascent deity has been obstructed by cheap sentimentality.}
Rob almost started an argument over its usage of 'cheap', but he exercised restraint, keenly aware that there was bigger fish to fry. Can't do anything about the subconscious. I am \not* activating Melancholy Resistance.*
{Nor should you,} Leveling High remarked, shuddering at the prospect. {A grand statement of intent will be sufficient to shift your mentality. I believe...yes.}
The static churned like a hive of buzzing wasps. {When you next tear off a piece of the leader god's mana...even if just a sliver...devour it. Gorge yourself on their essence.}
Bile threatened to rise to the top of Rob's throat. Seems excessive, he mused, trying and failing to keep his tone lighthearted. To become a god, I eat a god? Wouldn't that make me a divine cannibal?
{You ARE a cannibal.} Leveling High's voice wavered, its veneer of helpfulness slipping to reveal the madness that lay beneath. {What do you think you've been DOING for nearly a YEAR? You kill, ingest your prey's Experience, and MAKE THEIR POWER YOUR OWN. This world is one of consumption and parasitism – devouring a god's essence is merely a more HONEST variant of THE SAME actions.}
...You clearly weren't paying attention during Diplomacy's PR lessons. Rob pursued Kismet once again, pressing his fingernails into his palms when the god hurriedly teleported away. There is such a thing as being too straightforward. If you want people to listen to you, then maybe dress up your words so they don't sound so horrifying.
{BUT AM I WRONG?}
Rob had no answer to that.
Bolts of divine mana peppered his skin. Kismet had barely managed to squeeze an attack in-between his escapes. The bolts ricocheted off Rob's skin like ping-pong balls, leaving minor scrapes and nothing more. It wasn't anywhere close to bypassing Almighty Resistance and his massive HP pool.
Yet it also reminded him of the mana-spears that Kismet had sent towards the rest of Riardin's Rangers. His Party members only possessed a shared, diluted version of Almighty Resistance, and their HP was a fraction of his. If Kismet aimed another attack of that caliber at them...how many would perish, right then and there?
Was Leveling High correct? What point was there to sentimentality if it just got his friends killed?
In truth, Rob knew that it didn't really matter if he completed his Ascension. Based on what he had planned for himself after the gods were dead, little would change either way. Still...he also knew that Ascending would be a one-way trip. No take-backs. If he went through with it, a fundamental part of him would be irrevocably altered.
Something twinged in a corner of his mind. It wasn't Leveling High, or his rage, or any of the other emotions currently dominating his headspace. This was a familiar friend; perhaps Rob's #1 most trusted confidant since he'd first set foot in Elatra. One that had rarely ever steered him wrong.
Paranoia.
And at the moment, it was telling him to be very careful before jumping into the deep end.
Ten teleports.
{What?}
Give it ten more Kismet teleports, Rob said. If I haven't dealt him a serious injury by then....I'll do what I need to do. He grimaced as Kismet vanished before he'd even finished the thought. Ten starting now.
Leveling High's static quieted. It resembled a patron at a restaurant who'd ordered their meal, and was waiting patiently for the main course to arrive.
Rob didn't waste time being offended over its nonchalance. Free of distractions, he immediately swept his gaze across the divine realms, pinpointing his quarry in a micro-instant. The BERSERKER dashed forward, pushing his body as far as he could, layering Rampages on top of Dexterity that made the laws of physics want to curl up and weep.
Kismet was prepared. He'd drawn more mana from the fractured rifts, quickening his speed and reactions. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep his head above water, not yet outpaced by their continually escalating arms race.
The HUMAN struck, the god fled, and both were left in the same position as before.
{One.}
Rob turned on a dime, charging without needing to look. He'd heard the moment that Kismet's teleport ended. It afforded him a split-second head start.
A gravity well suddenly appeared below his feet, as if a miniaturized black hole was weighing him down. Apparently, Kismet had set it up ahead of time as a just-in-case trap. Rob pierced through the spell's area of effect before it could ramp up to something dangerous, but his pace was slowed by a hair in the process, and his prey escaped.
{Two.}
You know what? Screw this. Rob whirled away from Kismet's newest location and blasted straight towards one of the lesser deities that his Party members were fighting.
He'd been too hung up on getting even with a hated foe – when there were seven other juicy morsels for him to play with. This way, Kismet would either sit back and watch as his allies were massacred, or the god would be forced to act instead of running like a goddamn cowar–
Sense Mana alerted Rob to magic gathering behind.
Pivoting, he leapt into the air. Rob superimposed himself in front of Kismet, bodyblocking the rainstorm of destructive mana that was about to be unleashed upon Riardin's Rangers.
Due to his swift response, the attack was released early. A simple Purge Divinity shield prevented him from incurring any damage. Rob still felt no sense of triumph as the mana dissipated around him. He just wasn't fast enough to kill the lesser gods and protect his Party at the same time – or at least not fast enough that he should gamble their lives on it.
Kismet disappearing a moment later didn't help matters either.
{Three.}
Frontal assaults weren't guaranteed to succeed, and targeting the other gods was a no-go. Could he take Kismet by surprise? Increase his Dexterity?
Rob contemplated mining Never Forget Your Rage for more stats, but swiftly vetoed the idea. His body was already struggling to hold itself together. Putting additional strain on a shaky foundation seemed...unwise.
Plus – at the risk of eating crow in the near future – he didn't actually think it was possible to feel angrier at the gods than he was right now. Seriously, what was left?
He hated them for sending him to a fantasy deathworld. He hated them for tormenting his friends and family. He hated them for being partially responsible for the Blight. He hated them for what they'd done to Elatra and Earth. He hated them for all the lives they'd stolen. He hated them for being the living embodiments of indifference and cruelty. He hated that they fostered good PR among the people they oppressed. He hated how monsters of such craven hypocrisy were also immeasurably powerful. He hated the sensation of divine mana crawling on his skin. He hated the unsettling sound of their voices. He hated their bizarre formless appearances. He hated them for being pompous pricks. He hated whenever they tried to relate to him. He hated whenever they didn't.
Most of all, he hated that they were still alive.
Even if he found out that they'd personally antagonized him since birth or some petty nonsense like that, it wouldn't measure up to the litany of transgressions they'd committed thus far. The blazing inferno within his soul could burn no hotter. Should burn no hotter. For his sanity's sake, if nothing else.
Kismet teleported. It wasn't in response to anything. He'd merely anticipated some sort of action – and was then baffled afterwards when he noticed the rampaging BERSERKER standing quietly in deep thought.
{Four.}
Rob advanced. While he didn't have a plan yet, he'd also learned that if he gave Kismet the slightest amount of breathing room, bad things tended to happen.
Can any of my Skills give me an edge? Unfortunately, he didn't think so. As usual, his lack of ranged options was biting him in the ass when it mattered most. Almost everything he could use required getting in close – which was the whole freaking problem – and none would be more effective than Purge Divinity, regardless.
Maybe I could set up a Waymark point, then catch Kismet's teleport with one of mine...no, that won't work either. The odds of him popping in next to a random Waymark point are slim. Could fill the battlefield with lots of Marks, but even then I have to consider the Skill's activation time. With my current Dexterity, it'd honestly be faster just to run at him.
The vast majority of his abilities simply weren't up to par in a clash with divinity. Limit Break, Purge Divinity, and Never Forget Your Rage had been specifically designed by the Skills to facilitate deicide. Something like Power Slash couldn't possibly compare to jailbroken stats and a touch of death.
As an act of defiance against his own logic, he cast Enmity, the only ability that could feasibly hit Kismet at range. The god casually shrugged off its effect before promptly escaping.
{Five.}
Like a frustrated animal, Rob snarled and gave chase. Just need to keep trying. Kismet isn't perfect.
{Six.}
Sooner or later, he's going to mess up.
{Seven.}
He's going to mess up.
{Eight.}
HE HAS TO MESS UP.
Suddenly, Kismet transformed his right hand into a blade of mana. With one harsh motion, he sliced open his own left arm.
By now, Rob had conditioned himself to never stop moving forward, even if something shocked him – which this sight very much did. His mouth dropped open, and Leveling High paused in the middle of eating its metaphorical popcorn. They still kept advancing without an iota of hesitation.
And ran straight into the mana cloud leaking out from Kismet's wound.
Rob blinked, opening his eyes to a wonderful day. The twisting plains looked dazzlingly beautiful, with fauna and plantlife lit by rays of effervescent light from the twin stars shining above. People cheerfully went about their day, happily shaking their trunks in shows of greeting, or rattling their scales to initiate merry games.
All was at peace.
Until – in unison – everyone froze. The tumult of life went quiet in an instant, replaced with pensive silence.
As if they'd been struck by the creeping, pervasive sensation of being watched.
A sound rang out. Half of them immediately fell over dead, fluids gushing from their ruined bodies.
The survivors could only lay there, crippled and in pain, as more people slowly rose into the air. Invisible fingers seemed to pluck them from the ground – and then began ripping off their limbs, one at a time, like a child dissecting butterflies–
Rob dragged himself back to the present.
It had taken much less time than before to recognize what was happening. Now that he knew what to expect, experiencing the remnant souls' lives wasn't so different from the dreamlike quality of an Attunement vision. Although...realizing that he'd witnessed the end of a world preceding Elatra did cause his thoughts to hitch for a single moment.
Which was just enough for Kismet to forge a spear of mana, then send it plunging through Rob's eye, skull, and brain. Its tip was forged to shred anything it touched, no matter how durable or Resistant.
The god whooped with glee – only to wince as the HUMAN's sole reaction was a long, drawn-out sigh. With an air of exasperation, he reached up and yanked the divine spear free with a nauseating splorch.
His eye had been reduced to a seeping red mess. He closed its eyelid. When he opened it again, the orb within had already Regenerated, now sporting an unamused glare.
It was something of a unique moment. Mid-battle events didn't typically leave both combatants feeling disheartened. The all-powerful god was losing faith that he could ever hope to stop Rob's onslaught...
And the BERSERKER didn't know if he could justify continuing on like this. His body still felt like it was pulling itself apart; if anything, the sensation was growing more pronounced as their battle progressed. While Kismet would make a fatal mistake eventually, Rob couldn't guarantee that he would last long enough to capitalize on it.
Unless he followed Leveling High's advice and–
With a howl that shook the divine realms, Rob launched his stolen spear at Kismet. His aim was true, yet it sailed through empty air, the god's afterimage tauntingly fading away.
{Nine.}
Final chance.
​
--
​
Link to Part 2

A trivial point in some ways, because anyone who understands the position won't be distracted by tweaks of the name. "Ontological perspectivism" is pretty good at highlighting the issue, but it's already used elsewhere.
"Perspectivism" is also associated with relativism. I don't deny that sophisticated versions of relativism are possible, but currently I tend to see only the sophomoric self-refuting type dressed up in fashionable lingo.
Aspectualism is closely related to phenomenology and logical positivism, and both of these are strongly related to phenomenalism.
Phenomenalism, as presented by Mill, avoids the mystification of Kantian dualism. Reality is not hidden behind appearance. It's just appears over time. It is "hidden" like the piece of the road on the other side of the hill being ascended. Aspect rather than representation is the key metaphorical adjustment.
I acknowledge that Kant is ambiguous. He is sometimes a phenomenalist. But this is not how his name tends to be used, and Hoffman is lately purveying an updated brew of the stuff. The refutation is easy but ignored. Indirect realism takes direct realism for granted. It does this to make the physiological arguments against the trustworthiness of the foundations of these same arguments. Our brains, bodies, and worldly objects are taken as real to argue that they are only representations. Space itself is called unreal, and yet spatial relationships are crucial to the argument that the brain creates a mental representation of a world that is never given directly.

OVERVIEW
The Wall of Sheep would like to announce a call for presentations at DEF CON 32 in Las Vegas, NV from Thursday, August 8th to Sunday, August 11th. Packet Hacking Village Talks goal is to deliver talks that increase security awareness and provide skills that can be immediately applied after the conference. Our audience ranges from those who are new to security to the most seasoned practitioners in the security industry. We are accepting submissions from individuals and organizations on any of the topic areas, including, but not limited to, the following technologies and applications:

• AI and Machine Learning in Security: Impacts on network and operating system security; use in deploying and defending networks.
• Awareness: Security awareness program success and failure stories.
• Cloud Security: Hacks and tricks for assessing and testing services.
• Compliance: How to use regulatory compliance requirements in your favor to enhance your overall funding and security posture.
• Networking and Cybersecurity: The latest hacks, trends and technologies in networking and cybersecurity.
• Spy-level makeup art (e.g., wigs, prosthetic noses, etc.)
• Supply Chain Security: Building security into the supply chain process to reduce risk.
• Threat Defense: Advanced techniques for defending networks, systems, and services from cyberthreats.
• Tools, Techniques, and Procedures: network sniffing, intrusion detection, monitoring, forensics, DFIR log analysis, collection & visualization, threat hunting, EDR telemetry, lolbin's for defense, detecting download cradles, using the ATT&CK framework for defense, Incident response process and procedures and/or recovery, automation

DEF CON attracts a wide range of technological skill sets, presentations need to be accessible, with explanatory information to help the audience understand.
The Wall of Sheep will not accept product or vendor related pitches. If your talk is a thinly-veiled advertisement for a product or service your company is offering, please do not apply! We will also not accept talks that have been given elsewhere, including at DEF CON / Black Hat / BSides.
All accepted talks will be announced, recorded, and published by Aries Security, LLC. and DEF CON Communications, Inc. Please see our YouTube channel for all talks from previous years: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL9S5Wv_dNvO381slSA06w and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Om9kAkl32dWlDSNlDS9Iw.
The Call for Presentations will close on Friday, May 31st at 11:59 PM PST. The list of talks will be finalized and published on Friday, June 7th.
SPEAKING FORMAT --UPDATED FOR DEF CON 32
Each presentation slot is 1 hour maximum, including time for Q&A. If we have time and it is in line with our goals mentioned above, then there is a good chance you will be selected.
Presentations will be part of DEF CON's new "Creator Stages". Although presenters will not receive a DEF CON speaker badge, they will receive a human badge and additional identification as village speakers. Presentations will also be recorded and shared on DEF CON's media servers and YouTube. Additionally, we do not recommend live demos. Pre-recorded demos are preferred.
To submit a presentation, please provide the following information in the form below to cfp2024[at]wallofsheep[dot]com
Primary Speaker Name:
Primary Speaker Title and Company (if applicable):
Primary Speaker Email Address:
Primary Speaker Phone Number (to contact you if necessary during the conference):
Primary Speaker Twitter name (if you want it known if you are accepted):
Primary Speaker Mastodon name (if you want it known if you are accepted):
Additional Speakers' name(s), titles, and social information:
Additional Email Addresses:
Is there a specific day or time you MUST speak by?
Name of Presentation:
Length of presentation: (20 minutes or 50 minutes)
Abstract (100 words MAXIMUM, absolutely necessary for printing purposes):
Your abstract will be used for the website and printed materials. Summarize what your presentation will cover. Attendees will read this to get an idea of what they should know before your presentation, and what they will learn after. Use this to inform about how technical your talk is. This abstract is the primary way people will be drawn to your session. CFP reviews like to see what tools will be used and what materials you suggest to read in advance to get the most out of your presentation.
Has this talk been given anywhere before? YES or NO
Speaker's Bio(s) (75 words MAXIMUM per bio):
This text will be used for the website and printed materials and should be written in the third person. Cover any professional history that is relevant to the presentation, including past jobs, tools that you have written, etc. Let people know who you are and why you are qualified to speak on your topic. Presentations that are submitted without biographies will not be considered.
Detailed Outline:
You must provide a detailed outline containing the main points and navigation through your talk. Show how you intend to begin, where you intend to lead the audience and how you plan to get there. The outline may be provided in a separate attachment and may be as simple as a text file or as detailed as a "bare bones" presentation. The better your outline then the better we are able to best review your presentation against other submissions (and the higher chance you have of being accepted). SUBMISSION NOTE: Presentations that are submitted without abstracts, outlines, or speaker bios (e.g., that have only PDFs, PPTs, or white papers attached or only point to a URL) will not be considered.
Supporting File(s):
Additional supporting materials such as code, white papers, proof of concept, etc. should be sent along with this email to cfp2024[at]wallofsheep[dot]com. Note that additional files that may help in the selection process should be included. We are not asking for a complete presentation for this initial submission. That will only be required if you are selected for presenting.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By submitting you agree to the Terms and Conditions below. Please read and accept these terms by inserting your name in the appropriate area, otherwise your application will be considered incomplete and returned to you.
Grant of Copyright Use
I warrant that the above work has not been previously published elsewhere, or if it has, that I have obtained permission for its publication by DEF CON Communications, Inc. and Aries Security, LLC. and that I will promptly supply DEF CON Communications, Inc. and Aries Security, LLC. with wording for crediting the original publication and copyright owner. If I am selected for presentation, I hereby give DEF CON Communications, Inc. and Aries Security, LLC. permission to duplicate, record and redistribute this presentation, which includes, but is not limited to, the conference proceedings, conference CD, video, audio, and hand-outs to the conference attendees for educational, on-line, and all other purposes.
Terms of Speaking Requirements

1. I will submit a completed (and possibly updated) presentation and a reference to all of the tool(s), law(s), Web sites and/or publications referenced to at the end of my talk and as described in this CFP submission by noon PST, July 30th, 2024. Please note this is a hard deadline as presentation and details need to be sumitted to DEF CON.
   
2. I will submit a final Abstract and Biography to the Wall of Sheep by noon PST, July 30th, 2024. Please note this is a hard deadline as presentation and details need to be sumitted to DEF CON.
   
3. I will include a detailed bibliography as either a separate document or included within the presentation of all resources cited and/or used in my presentation.
   
4. I will complete my presentation within the time allocated to me --not running over the time allocation.
   
5. I understand that I will be responsible for my own hotel and travel expenses.
   

Yes, I, (insert primary speaker name), have read and agree to the Grant of Copyright Use.
I, (insert your name here), have read and understand and agree to the terms as detailed in the Agreement to Terms of Speaking Requirements.
In the case that a speaker is a child under the age of 13 years old: in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regulations, http://www.coppa.org, any child under age 13 must have parental consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of that child's personal information by a website. Parent/Guardian Consent: I (insert parent/guardian's name here) am the parent or guardian of the minos named above. I have read and understand and agree to the terms as detailed in the Agreement to Terms of Speaking Requirements.

So I got deferred from uWaterloo CS and I'm choosing between uWaterloo CE, uWaterloo Math (co-op), UofT St. George CS. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could share some advice in terms of how I should choose between them.
My end-goal is to pursue a career as a machine learning engineer (MLE) or data scientist (DS) (even machine learning researcher if I decide to pursue a PhD), ideally at companies like Jane Street, Two Sigma, OpenAI, Google, etc. However I am aware that the first step is most likely a software developer role, then to pivot into a MLE or DS role, so my goal for now is to get a software developer role in the US.
I've listed the pros and cons (in order of importance) of each choice from my perspective. If anyone can provide any further detail to my listed points and/or point out details in my assessments it would be greatly appreciated:
uWaterloo CE:

• Pros:
  • Access to uWaterloo co-op pool, which has many opportunities for software developer co-op placements.
  • There are still AI-related research opportunities in Waterloo.
• Cons:
  • Courses are mainly hardware and math focused, and I'm not interested in hardware.
  • I heard that the co-op market is currently bad, and missing two co-op terms will get me kicked from the CE program. (Is that true?)

uWaterloo Math:

• Pros:
  • Access to uWaterloo co-op pool, and I can move my co-op terms around based on whether I can find a co-op (unlike CE).
  • The Math program courses align with my interests better than CE, and I can also take some coding electives.
• Cons:
  • I might be at a disadvantage compared to CS, SE, or even CE students for finding software co-op positions. (Is that true?).

UofT St. George CS:

• Pros:
  • Aligns with my interest in math and software.
  • Potential opportunities in AI research, but I don't know how likely it is that I will get valuable research experience (i.e., will help find a software or ML/AI job in the future).
  • Have the option to only do 4 years of studying (and research) straight if the job market is not promising over the next couple years, as the PEY program is optional.
• Cons:
  • Their PEY program only provides experience with one employer, and it doesn’t have as good of a selection as uWaterloo’s co-op pool (especially in terms of going to the US for placements).

Here are some additional questions I have:

1. How difficult is it to transfer from Math to CS or CE to SE (or even CE to CS)?
2. How does research work in uWaterloo for undergrad students? How do I go about finding these positions? What kind of work should I expect when doing research as an undergrad? Would being in the CE or Math program put me at a disadvantage to getting ML/AI-related research positions?
3. Do CE and Math students have access to the same co-op pool as SE and CS students?
4. How likely is it to find a software-related co-op position in CE or Math co-op? Will employers discriminate against CE and/or Math students for software positions?
5. Do most students that get US co-op positions get them through the uWaterloo co-op pool? Or by applying to them externally?
6. If you can comment on this, how much of a disadvantage would I be in UofT CS when it comes to getting software developer internship placements through summer internships and the PEY program, either in Canada or the US?
7. What is the most probable path to become a machine learning engineer?

Thanks in advance!!!

In April 2020, I got a NordicTrack T6.5 S. I know, I know. NordicTrack. But at the time I just needed something inexpensive I could walk on when the weather was too bad to let me walk outside. I thought I might run on it just to burn more calories, but I didn't exactly enjoy jogging or running, so that wasn't a big factor. I found a good deal on Amazon, and went for it.
It's four years and one walking belt later. To my own surprise, I now regularly jog on the NordicTrack. Last fall, I broke 10km for the first time in my life. My slow, distance pace is between 7.3 and 7.5 miles per hour. My fast pace for short jogs is 8.5.
My treadmill hasn't been the same since the original belt tore and I replaced it with a Treadmill Doctor one. The belt always moves itself to the left side of the machine, and it's worn a groove in the plastic of a covering on that side. It works, but it's not great. Recently, the treadmill has developed a habit of randomly stopping. It could be after 4 minutes or 40, but it's happened on my last few jogs. Also, the time between me hitting the stop button and the motor actually starting to stop has gone from almost instant to several seconds. I'm thinking my $650 Amazon special isn't going to last too much longer.
I'm just over 6 feet tall, 230 pounds. I like having the option to adjust the incline, but use it only sometimes. My most intense use case is a 15-20 minute session at 8.5MPH or so, or 40-60 minutes at around 7.5MPH. This is a few times a week. The treadmill will live in the basement, not a garage, on a concrete floor.
What I do NOT want is fancy screens. No apps, no touch screens, no speakers or docks, none of that. I'm visually impaired, so will be putting tactile stickers on the important buttons and not touching anything else. Touch screens are terrible, since controls can move and they don't always work with the stickers. Apps tend not to be coded to work well with screen reading software I use to access my phone. The simpler the controls, the better. Oh, folding is nice, as it's easier to store the treadmill when it has to move to make room for temporary projects in the basement. I gather that most decent units don't fold, though, so I know I may not get that feature.
I've read several recommendation threads on here. Where I live, there are no local techs, and few fitness shops. I'll look around more, but I'm not expecting to find much. I may have to order online and hope for the best.
Speaking of recommendation threads, people keep talking about light jogging versus running. What's the difference? If it can go fast enough that I have to shift from a walking posture to a running one, that's running. If it can handle that, then aren't we done? I may well be underestimating how intense running can truly be. I did say I'm relatively new to it.
Thanks for any help. If I can keep this around $1000, that'd be wonderful. I know that may well be impossible, though. I'm not against spending money for quality, but I don't want to pay for features I can't use, either.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/1lOe6l8
Hey all, back with some Send-it Sunday goodness:
GUN STUFF

• SOLD Agency Arms EDC Glock 19 Gen 3 Magwell - Also fits Glock 23 and 32. Used but in great shape, but it's missing the hex keys to adjust the screws. It's a quality product, I'm just more of a Sig guy, no matter how I dress up a Glock, lol. - SV $65/TV $75
  
• SOLD Magpul Glock 19 Gen 3 Magwell - This was a bit of a disappointment. There's nothing wrong with it, and it works, but it just didn't actually seem to improve loading the mags for me, at least not without a bit of fitting that I wasn't interested in doing. - SV $5 with any other purchase/TV $10 with any other purchase
  
• Clakit and OneTigris Black MOLLE Phone Holsters - Decent pouches, but I run my kits in OCP or Green. Both have a soft liner inside to protect the phone, and both are pretty decently sized, should hold all but the biggest phones. - SV $20 for both/TV $25 for both
  

KNIVES

• SOLD Boker Magnum Drop Point Automatic Knife - This thing is actually pretty sweet! A classy little discontinued Auto in AUS8 with a good action and great centering. Has a couple minor scuffs, but is overall very clean! Feels great in the hand, and carries well. - SV $25/TV $30
  
• Buck Trio Pocket Knife - Brand new in the box. I'd sent an older discontinued model in for repair, and they replaced it with this one. - SV $15/TV $20
  
• SOLD 4 Pack of Goofy Carabiners - These came as part of a bundle I picked up a while back. They are trying to be Swiss Army Knife carabiners, and all sort-of succeed. I wouldn't trust my life with them, but I would trust my keys, and the tools on them are fairly useful. - SV $15/TV $20
  

MOVIES/TV

• A big HD-DVD Bundle (12 Titles) - This is going to appeal to a VERY specific person, lol. I present to you, a bunch of HD-DVDs! Titles are in the pictures, but some highlights are Apollo 13, Constantine, and U571. All are in good overall shape, but the cover for The Departed is pretty rough. Discs are all in good shape. - SV $30/TV$40
  
• Bundle of Disney Blu-rays (14 titles) - A bundle of newer Disney movies; there's a mix of traditional animated, CG, and live action. All are in great shape, and all include both their blu-ray and DVD, except for Nightmare Before Christmas, which is only the blu-ray. None have any digital codes. - SV $40/TV $45
  
• Hanna-Barbera Complete Series: Speed Buggy and Josie and the Pussycats on DVD - Two DVD collections: the complete series of Speed Buggy and Josie and the Pussycats. Speed Buggy is in great shape, and Josie is still new in package. - SV $15/TV $20
  
• The Magnificent Seven Collection on DVD - A collection of the original 4 Magnificent Seven movies, in a nice DVD boxed set. - SV $5 with any purchase/TV $5 with any purchase
  

VIDEO GAMES

• Skyward Sword (Wii) & Splatoon (WiiU) - Two more classics together. Skyward Sword is in good shape, includes it's manual and soundtrack, and plays on the Wii and WiiU. Splatoon's case is rough, but the game is in great shape! - SV $20/TV$25
  
• Iron Man VR for PS4 - Bought a PSVR recently, and in my frenzy to snatch up games, ended up with two copies of this. It's pretty fun, and as close as you'll get to being Tony Stark this side of the MCU! - SV $10/TV $15
  

TRADE INTERESTS:

• P320/P250 Safariland Level II holster
• A decent minimalist plate carrier in OD or OCP
• Mags (P365, P226, P320/P250, 10/22)
• AR Lower Parts Kit
• NRA National Match type service rifle sling
• A Kershaw Emerson CQC-7B
• Gerber Covert Auto

And, that's all I've got! All prices include shipping, like they should. You must speak up in the comments to call dibs! Once you do, we can switch to PM, and go from there. Thanks for looking!

Monday
Dimmy: I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day! Stevie Kate surprised me with a balloon, baguette, half-eaten apple, and pinworms she picked up from the feral Denner tots, and I surprised Stevie Kate and London with a Sol Brush powdered sunscreen shill and carcinogenic particles of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in their lungs. Stevie Kate’s spent the past 48 hours in her pajamas tearing through a bag of rotisserie chicken, so I decided to resume potty training to get her to stop binge-eating chicken. I am finally ready to start potty training again now that we are going through so many diapers with twice as many Contentots in the house.
Dimmy: Ta da! Here is Stevie Kate’s adorable potty setup! Complete with balloons and princess underwear! Stevie Kate, are you ready to go on the potty and wear your underwear? Stevie Kate: I’m ready right now! Neighbor Boy Harry: Uh… Imma head out and go help my mom with her shitty stationery line! 🏃‍♂️🎒
Tuesday
Dimmy: Would you like to give us an update on how potty training is going? Sassy Kate: Would you like to give us an update on how you and daddy exploit your children on the internet for financial gain? Dimmy: I’ll give you a cookie if you detail every bodily function from the past 24 hours. So Fed Up Kate: I’ll give you a swift kick in your bad knee if you don’t stop talking about my toilet training. Dimmy: That’s it, your punishment for being sassy is you have to stay in your pajamas again all day. Sleepwear Kate: We all knew that was going to happen anyway.
Dimmy: I need to get your guys’ thoughts. With potty training, do I just stay at home? Or do I carry the miniature singing toilet with balloons attached everywhere we go? I’ve been staying at home the past 24 hours and it is torture! We haven’t even been able to go visit the Astroturf at the shopping center by our house. Stevie Kate’s been doing pretty good. We’ve had a couple accidents today, but she’s been doing really well for the most part- OW! Why did you kick me in the knee, Stevie Kate? Here, go play with this bag containing an entire rotisserie chicken and eat as much of it as you want. Mommy’s busy talking to the people in her phone who fund our lifestyle. Anyway, I can’t just stay inside for the next two weeks! That’s insanity! I need your help! How do I go out with Stevie Kate while potty training? Drop your tips in the box! I know I could just ask my sisters, Iris, or Meta AI on Instagram instead, but that doesn’t drive up my engagement numbers like responses from you sorry losers do!
Dimmy: Speaking of Iris, I did text it for craft ideas to keep School’s Out Kate busy this summer. Also I contacted Iris for a color analysis and Iris responded that bright orange parachute I wore car shopping looked great with my skin tone, and I should consider cutting up some of the parachute material to sew it into a dress. I tried to explain to Iris that it already was a dress, albeit a voluminous one, but Iris just responded with these bizarre outfit suggestions of monochromatic business looks for fall and winter where each outfit is the color of Tiffany’s self-tanner-applied orange skin. I tried to tell Iris it’s summer time and it’s hot as fuck here in Texas, plus I mainly wear athleisure and billowy dresses, not business clothes, but Iris said who cares, these aren’t real clothes anyway, just weird hypothetical Fashion Plates looks a robot mocked up. Iris said whatever I do, to avoid wearing cheetah print. What the fuck! That’s never going to happen. I love cheetah print. Still, I think you gullible assholes should subscribe to Iris anyway and use my code BOYAREYOUDUMB for 50% off your first month! Don’t you want to be able to TEXT Iris instead of carry a computer around 24/7 to use ChatGPT? I know that question makes no sense, since you don’t need four laptops in a Nordace backpack to use ChatGPT, but all of my followers are gullible idiots and will subscribe to Iris despite my idiotic statements!
Thursday
Dimmy is wearing loads of dark makeup and another gigantic billowy dress, and you know what that means… time to go car shopping again with paid pal Diana! Dimmy shared stories from Wednesday’s car shopping excursion to Hyundai and Kia and once again the trimmed-down troll was “too busy” to go along. Sidekick Kate was a good sport through the whole car shopping ordeal, despite hopping from bathroom to bathroom, the charge running out on her Tonies box, and her Mylar princess balloon sailing away in search of a beach to pollute. Screenie Kate forgave Dimmy for losing her balloon since she knows there’s always plenty more where that came from and she has Wina from Balloonish on speed dial. Dimmy sailed from new car to new car thanks to a strong breeze and her billowy dress, looking for the SUV with the most charging ports for all of her devices and the largest number of adjustable cup holders big enough to fit even the most gigantic of Stanley cups in her collection. She found the “Hun-Die” Palisade fit the bill, with chargers and cup holders galore. She wasn’t as impressed with the Kia “Tell-a-ride” because it didn’t have as many cup holders and ports to charge her numerous devices. Dimmy is now torn between buying either the Palisade or the Escalade because those were the only cars she found that rhymed with “getting paid.” Should she go with the practical, convenient “Mom car” Palisade or the super nice and luxurious Escalade?
Today Jen is grateful Kimmy, Stevie Kate and London are coming over to bring hugs and content. Stevie Kate was excited to show off her potty training progress to Minnie and Papa.
Jen: Stevie Kate, what are we doing today? Sugarless Kate: Baking sugar-free cookies on this damn, dirty floor, like usual. Jen: Why are you using ghost-shaped cookie cutters? Spooky Kate: Because Mommy is a ghost! Jen: Your Mommy is a ghost? Stevie Chef: Yes! Because I want her to disappear!
Tiffany was furious when she saw on stories that Kimmy, Stevie Kate and London were getting all of Jen’s gratitude and attention, so she threw a giant bow and no shoes on Lily and sped over to crash their party and divert all the attention to herself. She immediately whipped out her boobs to shill her Eby bra when she saw Dimmy nursing, claiming she and Jen might start lactating at any moment. Then she publicly shamed Stevie Kate for having an accident in her car seat on the way to Jen’s.
Meanwhile, London is still alive despite the clouds of Sol Brush sunscreen powder raining down on her face yet again as Dimmy’s fascination with demonstrating how to use the high-commission product continues. Dimmy headed to the airport to pick up yet another sister to help her out with London, but not before posting a Ritual vitamin shill so she could take the day off stories tomorrow.
Saturday
London is finally being a cooperative Contentot, smiling for Instagram from beneath her giant bow, and doing a picture-perfect Swaddle Stretch channeling her older sister’s performances from back in her newborn days.
Sol Brush is back in stock and Dimmy is bursting with joy at all the commission she’s going to make from more sales of the ineffective sunscreen, her kids’ lungs be damned. If Sunburnt Kate doesn’t convince Dimmy’s followers it doesn’t work, I don’t know what will.
Stevie Sunburn headed indoors to get a break from the sun and play with the robot bug toy Dimmy’s sister brought her. Thank goodness the Tacky Screech Owl found an Amazon link for the gift so she can make money off that too. Dimmy even had an active Active Skin Repair code, so she shilled it them sprayed Stevie Sunburn to give her some relief.
Street Urchin Kate looked like a Victorian Orphan by mid-afternoon as her Belle princess dress mopped up dirt, sidewalk chalk, Dimmy’s makeup, and everything else in her path. Dimmy left Disheveled Kate with her sister and cleaned herself up, threw on her Paris dress, and headed to a baby shower for the Houghtons’ wealthy family friend Anna. The beautiful florals and tasteful spread at Grange Hall were too elegant for the tacky turtle bunch, so Jen set the centerpiece flowers on fire with the votive candles to protest the lack of balloon arches, then escaped by helicopter to go terrorize another Texas city, Austin.
With two days off this week and tomorrow being Sunday, Dimmy’s Saturday shilling was at an all-time high. She’s linking up everything but the kitchen sink, and she’d link that up too if she had a code for it.

Two months have passed since I accepted my bisexuality. I have kinda known it for I had some same sex crushes over the years, although I always denied it until that one drinking game with kind and accepting queer friends. Everything is kinda new tho, also the bi cycle hits really hard. But I'm genuinely happy and I love myself for the first time in my life. :) I think about my previous 'straight' life sometimes. Like the fact that I remember that I had those crushes that I wouldn't have called crushes until my coming out to friends, and about how I would always be ashamed when anybody was talking about the gay community in a slightly negative manner.
Well, that life wasn't straight at all... the thing is, on top of feeling shame about my hidden sexual orientation, I had a single "fetish"? (I don't want to offend anybody, I just don't know if that's the proper word or not for what I have/am) That was crossdressing. I did it since I was 14 or so, and I even fantasized about it sooner (like 11-12). It turned me on sexually. I revisited it... still turns me on sexually. I think what the hell, I can't be trans, I wouldn't like to be trans :( at least not in Hungary. Even bisexuality is a pain in the ass here. And there's no kind of hormone therapy or else that would turn me into a beatiful woman since I'm a hairy, dad bodied guy flooded with testosterone.
The previous line of thought also suggests there's a chance I might be because I was like that (no way I can be queer) until I accepted I'm bi. However, I theorize that it all was a way to live out my bisexuality. Now I think it's a way to live out my submissiveness for men. And how I look when dressed as a woman doesn't matter, only the feeling, like satin, skirts, dresses and how the bra holds my man boobs, it feels really sexy. On the other side of things, if there was a magical pill that would turn me a hot biological woman for a certain period of time then I know I'd spend all my weekends as a woman. However, I could never say goodbye to my penis or beard forever😂 I could to my body hair, I would dig a laser therapy and I also would shave. Plus I know I would be happy as a woman too but I'm perfectly happy as a man who occasionally likes to try on bras, panties and dresses for fun.
For the coming out part: You know, hungarians in their fifties (like my parents) are usually homophobic as hell. Mine are only mildly homophobic. That means, they belong to the 'middle class' of people who say things against gay parent rights and pity Freddie Mercury about his unfortunate death. However, I'd take my chances because for years - dorm life in high school and uni's first year - I have been quite distant from them. I feel like I'm a double agent and I've had enough. I want a real, supportive mother and father from whom I could take advice in life's most private matters as well. I want what I feel I almost never had. I also want them to be a friend of mine. I won't tell my mother, she's too damn obstinate and seems to think what she says or does is always right. My father is a really good man I look up to: kind, always correct with people and always supportive of me. Now I'm at home but tomorrow I'll leave for uni (like 300 km) for nearly a month. I plan on telling that I'm bi, right before I leave, only to him. Tbh I fear he won't take it well and I just know he needs some time to digest all I will say. But now I don't need to tell him, I mean I don't yet have a boyfriend. But it will be easier if I do now, so it won't be so shocking then, IF I am by chance I settle for a guy. The only thing that bothers me is I don't feel that I can fully be myself at home and with them.
The bottom line:
So I'd like to seek out your advice. With all I've said, am I just a bi guy with a crossdressing fetish/femboy/egg?
Should I tell my father I'm bi and if yes, how shall I start? I get that he can only accept but not understand and this is sometimes even harder for fathers.
I'm sorry for the tangled up pieces of thoughts I have scraped on a sleepless night at four a.m. And for the long text as well. I'd really appreciate if you read it and helped. Plus, I don't know whether I should use the NSFW tag or not. For now (until you say otherwise) I'll keep it off because this way I might be able to reach out to more people.
Edit: Satirically, pardon me for my poor usage of the english language.😂 I feel that I must, like I'm too queer not to✌️🏳️‍🌈 (don't know which flag I should also use rn)

i’m (18f) going insane. i’m going to college in a few months and will probably stay in dorms.
for background, my mom is an alcoholic and has been in trouble for it before, yet continues. she makes things about herself, (ex: even my graduation, only caring about what dress she will wear to the ceremony.) i am not honest with her about many things and tend to sugarcoat because she’s very judgmental and self centered. i don’t come to her with my problems, including my eating disorder because when i tried she called me ungrateful. she’s simply not understanding, even though i’m a 4.0 student and have never been in trouble or snuck out.
in a way to explain it, she lives in a fantasy and everyone around her adheres to it to keep her happy. therefore, my parents don’t have many friends at all. since i was 12, i’ve wanted to move out and would picture my freedom while they were drunk screaming again.
i only have 3 months until i move into dorms, but things are getting unbearable. she will blow up on me and be threatening but will be happy just minutes later. i’m not allowed at my boyfriends house and have to send proof of any of my friends houses, despite being an adult. they’ve began hiding their drinking as well, which is pointless because they become erratic and angry as the night goes on.
however, we do have our good days and they can be great, i just know that anything i say during the good times can and will be used against me later on. i also know how hard me moving out will be on all of us.
anyway, i got with my boyfriend (18M) a year ago after knowing him for 4 years and we’re both working and saving . he offered to let me move in and is willing to help me separate from my home until college. i see myself marrying him. he knows my situation and has been helpful, and i have money saved up. but i don’t know what to do.
TLDR; do i stay home and continue to bear with my alcoholic parents while i prepare for college or move out and go no contact?

The episode resumed on a shot of Zee and Jo, their skin tones back to normal, running up to a smiling Chris. "Welcome back," he told the camera. "Zee and helper Jo are the first to arrive here, at the world's largest mud puddle!" The camera pulled back, revealing that the trio was standing near the edge of a large lake of burbling mud, a measuring stick rising out of it at the nearest edge.
"It's eight feet deep," Chris explained over a close-up of the measuring stick showing the mud reaching up very nearly to the 8' mark, "and 200 yards across. And," the camera quick-panned to the far right side of the 'puddle', "since it's too thick to swim through," the shot cut back to the couple and Chris, "the only way to the other side is with one of you piggybacking the other."
"Umm...," Zee said hesitantly, sharing a wary look with Jo, "doesn't that mean the person on the bottom..."
"Will drown?" Chris finished. "Yes."
"What?!" Jo said in wide-eyed shock.
"Unless they use this garden hose!" Chris added, a light chime playing as he held up a length of green hose.
Zee let out a breath. "Okay then. Guess I'm on the bottom, then."
Jo's eyes widened a bit in a brief bit of surprise, and she looked at her partner. "I should be objecting to this since I'm supposed to be the helper, but hey. No heavy lifting from me."
"Yeah…" Zee agreed half heartedly.
Confessional: Zee
"I was able to hold Jo onto my back while we were skiing," Zee told the confessional. "I can still do the same while under mud."
Confessional Ends
"I know that I said you were weak in the past," Jo said, "but that was until I saw that you were able to make it this far in the game."
"You thought wrong about me," Zee replied. "I wasn’t active at first in challenges and finding food, but with Julia eliminated, I was able to grow and become a finalist."
Chris suddenly stepped between the two. "How touching. Now start the challenge."
The scene cut to Zee and Jo jumping into the mud, the former disappearing below its depths while the latter, on his shoulders, held up the length of the hose. They started moving forward, and the camera panned back to the left to show Harold, Scarlett, and Chris holding up another length of hose.
"Yeah, I'll be on top," Harold stated.
"Pardon me?" Scarlett countered, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't trust you not to let me drown," Harold told her. "Self-preservation comes first."
Scarlett groaned. "That's fair," she said, taking the hose from Chris, "but if you let me suffocate, I'm dragging you down into the mud with me."
"Crustal," Harold deadpanned, and as Scarlett crouched down, she jumped onto the brainiac's shoulders. Scarlett stood back up and put the end of the hose in her mouth, and she jumped into the mud.
The tense music faded away as the camera moved onto Chris, the host sighing as Chef walked up. "You think the mud was a bad idea?" Chris asked. "It's a little quiet… oh yeah," Chris said as if in sudden realization, "almost forgot about the Peanut Gallery. Bring 'em back in!" he said into a walkie talkie he only then pulled out.
Moments later, the wind kicked up around them, and the camera zoomed out to show the large helicopter flying in with the former contestants still hanging – and screaming as they swayed ominously – below it. "Would you let us down already?!" Leshawna shouted angrily. "It's freezin' up here!"
"Yeah, I want to cheer for Zee!" Julia chimed in.
"If I wasn't tied up right now, I'd have half a mind to pound you!" Duncan shouted at the host.
The camera focused on DJ. "Hey, Chris?" he looked forward and asked loudly. "Just bring us down before anybody else gets miffed at you!"
"No, and I don't care," Chris answered with a calm smile, until Chef whispered to him. A flat note played over a close-up of Chris staring blankly at him. "Huh...good point," he admitted. "Ooh!" he said with a sudden grin. "I just had an idea!"
A flash took the scene to Zee and Jo, the tense challenge music resuming at a low volume and slow pace in the background. They were still slogging through the mud, Zee out of sight but Jo only submerged up to her stomach. She looked back over her shoulder, smiled, then said "Keep going!" into the piece of hose she was holding. "They're way far behind!"
Confessional: Zee
"So as it turns out," Zee said, "being submerged in the mud is kinda like being trapped in the dark. But there aren't any animals below to scare me."
Confessional Ends
The music ramped up as Jo suddenly stopped moving, then seemed to turn around and start moving back towards the start. "Uh, Fruit Loop?" she asked into the hose. "We're going the wrong way!"
The camera cut to Harold, looking somewhat bored as he held the hose atop Scarlett's shoulders, before noticing the other team and frowning. "Why are they coming this way?"
"Ugh! They're too safe to sabotage each other!" came the sudden voice of Chris McLean, the camera cutting to him standing in the show's jeep with Chef at the wheel, speaking into the microphone of the jeep's loudspeaker. "Deploy the 2.0 model!"
The shot cut back to Harold and Jo as they looked around with strange expressions, the sound of something like a rocket taking off coming from somewhere in the distance. They looked up and to the left, and the camera shifted to their viewpoint to show a large object shooting up through the sky overhead...
...then abruptly diving towards them, revealing itself as a red-eyed robotic bear with small jet engines coming out of its back. Harold and Jo screamed as their respective partners continued in their previous directions, getting out of the way as the Bear landed in the mud. It hit with enough force to cause a wave of mud, which shot all the way across the puddle carrying the finalists and their helpers along for the ride. All four immediately began to cough upon landing in a muddy heap.
Confessional: Harold
"At least I have a better shot," Harold said. "We're tied right now, but who knows what other tricks Chris has up his sleeves."
Confessional Ends
A close-up of the nozzle of a fire hose in Chef's hands preceded him blasting the muddy finalists and helpers with water, all four screaming where they'd landed on the shore of the 'puddle'. Moments later, the water was shut off, leaving them drenched but clean.
"We're all tied up," Chris announced with a smile. "Perfect time for a little break. First, let's bring in the Peanut Gallery again." He took out his remote and pointed it at a patch of ground nearby, a hole opening up in it and a rather shoddy-looking set of stadium seats shooting up out of it with the ten former contestants seated – and still tied-up – in it.
"Sha-finally," Lightning said, the shot cutting to him sitting in the top row with B, DJ, Duncan, and Max and Leshawna, Ella, Julia, Sammy, and Amy in the bottom row. "Are we gonna get to watch the rest of the challenge now?"
"Yup!" Chris answered with a happy smile, pressing the button on his remote again so that a large widescreen television emerged from another hole in the ground near him and the finalists.
"Will you untie us too?" Ella chimed in.
Chris huffed. "Whine, whine, whine," he said in annoyance. "Don't I do enough for you kids as it is?"
"No," all fourteen of the season's cast members replied at the same time.
A flat note played over a close-up of the host pursing his lips. "Yeah, I owe Chef twenty bucks about that," Chris said, the camera zooming back out again to show the finalists and helpers. "Everyone, grab a seat," he instructed, and the four reluctantly sat down on the logs lying behind them. "I'm gonna show you some of my favorite clips from the show..." He pointed his remote at the TV, and the shot focused in as it switched on and started to play footage of a confessional...
"Dunderhead was already pretty useless," Jo complained. "But now he's making moves on one of the actually decent players on the team? Not on my watch!"
The camera cut in close to show Jo pausing and looking back. "Something on your mind, Anti-Squeakerbox?" she asked, the camera shifting to show B peering at her and shaking his head.
“It's not what you think it is," Jo told him. "As long as they are on this team, Julia and Zee will not date."
“Not exactly how I wanted the elimination to play, but hey. Julia’s gone and with Zee still in the game, I could manipulate him into doing whatever I say,” Jo grinned.
The footage paused, and Chris leaned out in front of the television with a wide and mischievous grin. "Seems like there isn't a shipper on deck…" he said impishly.
"So you were trying to keep me and Julia apart?" Zee said as the camera moved to him and Jo, his eyes wide with shock. "Does this mean that...,"
"Yup. I convinced Julia to quit," Jo replied. "I didn't expect her to fully go through with it since I was gonna vote you out!"
"I can't believe you'd try and do that!" Zee said with a glare!"
"If I didn't do what I did, then you two likely would've blown challenges for us like the dueling one!" Jo argued back.
The camera focused on Julia in the Peanut Gallery. "I was trying to defend my boyfriend, but sure," she said dryly.
"I'm just worried what Chris is gonna show from Scarlett," Sammy said. "It looks like he wants to mess up the finalists and their helpers..."
"Maybe he won't show anything?" Amy suggested. "I mean, it's not like Scarlett and Harold were that close to begin with."
The shot cut back to a smiling Chris. "Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of leaving those guys out of all this fun," he said happily.
"I don't see how," Scarlett said. "Harold already knows everything about me now. I’m practically an open book."
Chris laughed. "Seems you forgot that the cameras are always on. So here's some more juicy information that everybody gets to hear." The screen on the TV went from static to a scene from the fifth episode.
Scarlett herself grabbed the dueling stick Ella retrieved, fished an electric eel out of the water, and tossed it to Max. "Max!" she cried, and her teammates looked at her in confusion, prompting her to pretend that she had coughed. "Pardon me!"
“The plan was for Max to be the only one not in the trap, so the team would know he built it and vote him off!” Scarlett confessed.
"I overheard Leshawna and Harold's conversation when they were foraging together, and Leshawna being on to me is something that I refuse to let happen," Scarlett claimed. “Zee's really gullible enough to deceive, and I'll try to talk to Ella.”
A deep, dramatic note was struck over a shot of Harold in shock. "So it was you who got Leshawna eliminated!" he scowled in Scarlett's direction.
"I wasn't ready to come out just yet, and between the two of you, you were less likely to warn anyone about me!" Scarlett retorted.
"So all this time, Scarlett was aiming to usurp her master!" Max ranted.
"I don't blame her," Leshawna commented. “As much of a pain as she is, I would've done the same thing and sent your annoying behind home.”
"Okay," Chris said happily as the shot moved onto him, "I'm sensing some major hostility and I'm liking it. I'm out of popcorn, though, so we should probably get back to the challenge."
"Seriously?!" the finalists and helpers alike exclaimed.
"Obviously, the helpers aren't gonna be very helpful anymore," Chris replied. "So, instead of helpers, Jo and Scarlett will now be hinderers." As he spoke, Chef walked back into view with a pair of video game controllers, tossing one each to Scarlett and Jo. "The island is now back online," Chris continued, "and, with these controllers, they will be able to throw up obstacles to throw you down, or, completely crush you."
The shot cut to Scarlett as she looked at her controller and smirked. "Good to know."
"Looking forward to it," Jo said in determination.
Harold and Zee gulped, and Chris laughed. "That was the good part," he said. "Let me tell you the bad part. You have ten minutes to finish this challenge," he told Zee and Harold. "If neither of you do, Scarlett and Jo get to split the money."
"Dude, what?" Zee said in shock.
"You can't do that!" Harold protested.
"I can! I will! I am! GO!" Chris announced, blowing his airhorn right in Chef's face, earning an annoyed sigh from the man. Harold and Zee immediately ran off, but the camera cut to a close-up of a thoughtful Jo.
"Well...I want the money, but I'm not really comfortable with how this is set up," Jo said to herself. "But...I guess it wouldn't be too bad if I just made this a little more challenging for them..."
"Do what you want," Scarlett said, the camera panning over to show her grinning darkly with her controller in hand. "I'm getting my justice."
Confessional: Jo
“And I thought I was an underhanded person,” Jo mentioned to herself. “Velma has less morals than me and Gnome Master.”
Confessional: Scarlett
"I was snubbed in the last episode," Scarlett confessed. "And now that I've been given permission, I can stop the finalists from winning without getting electrocuted!" She pulled out the remote from the seventh episode. "I don't even need this device. I have a controller to do the job for it."
Confessionals End
A few quick drum taps opened up a deep and dangerous challenge theme, the scene returning to Zee and Harold sprinting across the open field only to gape in shock as the pine trees in the background starting launching like rockets.
"What the heck?" Harold said. "Rocket trees?"
One landed right behind them, forcing both finalists to roll forward out of the way. "This island is wild!" Zee cried as the two continued running, more and more trees landing behind them like massive spears.
The two were shown together in a brief close-up, raising their eyebrows in surprise. A quick-pan ahead revealed the landscape changing, trees and rock formations rising up out of the artificial ground to form a large, dense barrier.
Harold jumped ahead of Zee as they climbed over the first big rock formation.
Zee vaulted downward and dashing forward along a lower 'path' among the rocks. Just as he was about to jump down onto grass, however, a boulder shot upward – and he landed on it groin-first. A close-up showed him letting out a high-pitched squeal of pain.
Harold's wince drew the camera's attention back upward to show him leaping from a boulder and grabbing onto the branch of a tree, only for the tree to suddenly shoot back down into the ground – causing him to yell as it dragged him down and slammed him back-first onto a fallen log.
Zee gave him a quick concerned glance as he jumped onto the same log, then upwards onto a rock formation before climbing onward and to the right and out of sight.
The scene cut back to the hinderers, both still working their controllers with Scarlett still looking considerably happier about it. "No need to change what works," Jo said uncertainty.
"What happened to that cutthroat attitude you've been displaying?" Scarlett asked. "Don't throw it away when I can get something out of it. And lower some of those trees. They're giving them too much cover from this storm I'm whipping up."
The camera panned onto the monitor to show Zee and Harold struggling against a powerful wind as they walked through what looked like a dense forest as leaves, dust, branches, and various small woodland animals blew past them.
A focus on the monitor's screen transitioned the scene back to the challenge. "I think...I can see the finish line in the distance," Zee said, pausing for a moment as he struggled against the intense gale.
"They're not making this easy on us," Harold commented.
The pair briefly passed behind a thick and mossy pine tree, the camera zooming in slightly as they reappeared. "Would you?" Zee asked.
"...I guess not," Harold answered after a moment.
The shot cut back to the Peanut Gallery to show them watching with worry and anticipation. "C'mon, Harold," Leshawna spoke. "Just hang in there."
"I know you can win this, Zee," Julia said. "You deserve it after everything."
Then the camera cut back to the hinderers, Chris standing next to their monitor with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. "Ooh! They're getting close!" he said excitedly, prompting Scarlett to scowl and Jo to frown.
Once more the scene moved back to the finalists, their arms raised to buffer themselves against the winds – snow beginning to fall and lightning beginning to crack in the background - with Harold in the lead. "Two minutes left!" Chris called out over the island's loudspeaker. "Two minutes!"
"I...," Harold said with glee. "I think I can make it!"
"Not if I can help it!" Zee shouted, speeding up as the dense trees around him and Harold began to recede into the ground – and the tense and dangerous challenge music resumed. "If I win, me and Julia can go out and change the world together."
"I have to win this," Harold told him. "I've been undervalued and looked down on by my peers, friends, and even my family. I need to prove my might."
The snowy ground below their feet began to crack. A hollow sound played, then all at once, the ground shot up under them, earning startled yells from both. The shot soon cut to the new peak they were standing on rising up into the sky, then stopping.
"Drats..." Zee muttered, both finalists looking down with wide eyes. his final word echoed as the camera zoomed out, revealing the snowy mountain they were now at the top of.
The Peanut Gallery was shown gasping, as were Jo, though Scarlett was smiling as their misfortune. "Twenty seconds left...!" Chris said as the camera moved on to him looking at his watch.
The shot cut back to Harold. "I guess it's over," he sighed. “Scarlett wins after all.”
Zee noticed a bulge in the snow beside him. The boy shoved his hand into it and pulled out the phone Duncan stole from Chris. "I don't know how this got here, but we have to get down. Start stomping the ground."
Harold nodded and stomped on the ground at his feet, and after a few cracks, Zee hurled the phone down, breaking the device apart. Their eyes widened as the mountain began to crumble under them, and the ground imploded in on itself.
"Six! Five!" Chris began to count off, the music cutting out save for a single plodding note to highlight each number. "Four!" The camera panned onto the television, showing both finalists tumbling through the snow and rock. "Three! Two! One!" The shot cut to the finish banner, then zoomed out to show the avalanche stopping just under it – with neither finalist in sight. "GAME OVER!" he announced, blowing on his airhorn as a subdued but triumphant riff played.
Jo stood up in surprise, and Scarlett started cheering.
"My mission was a success!" Scarlett said in victory. “Now hand over my well-deserved prize!”
"Congratulations Jo and Scarlett," Chris said with his usual smile. "Revenge is sweetest-" he glanced at the monitor- "ohhhhh, what have we here?" he said with a sudden look of shock, the music cutting out as he pointed at the television screen.
A sharp note played as a familiar hand stuck out of the snow lying just past the finish line and waved. Scarlett's jaw dropped in shock, and Jo let out a sigh of relief.
The scene cut to the finish line, the camera pulling back a little ways as Chef walked up with a stretcher, dressed as a female nurse. Leshawna ran onscreen and pushed him out of the way. Chef flew off frame with a shout, and Leshawna grabbed the arm and pulled, freeing a shocked and snowy Harold from the aftermath of the avalanche. "Oh," he groaned, looking around as Leshawna dropped him on the stretcher, "what happened?" he asked as the victorious music began to play again with much more enthusiasm.
"You won, Ginger Baby!" Leshawna answered with a smile, the camera pulling out even more to show Harold looking back at the finish banner.
"I did it!" Harold said excitedly. "Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V has claimed victory! Boo yah!" he raised his arms and cheered, the shot cutting away to show all of the Peanut Gallery cheering.
“We weren't able to talk to each other as much, and it's clear we like each other as more than just friends, but how about we hang out a little bit back home and see where things go?” Leshawna suggested.
“As long as we don't rush into a committed relationship, I'd like that,” Harold smiled back.
The camera panned to the left to show Julia frantically pulling a dazed and half-conscious Zee from the rest of the avalanche, and picking him up onto her back.
"Julia," Zee said weakly, "I'm sorry that I-"
"Be quiet," Julia said with a weak smile as she carried her boyfriend over to the stretcher and set him down next to Harold. "You need to rest."
"But-" Zee tried to say.
He was cut off by Julia grabbing his head and kissing him full on the lips. "You didn’t win the money, but we can still provide for the world in our own ways, and with the power of love," she said with a smile as she broke the kiss, leaving Zee looking dopey.
The capstone theme began to play as the footage skipped ahead to a shot of the open sky, the double-rotored helicopter soon flying up into view. "That's it for this very, very off season," Chris began, standing in the open doorway with Zee and Julia sitting on the edge letting their legs dangle freely with Julia leaning into Zee; Harold and Scarlett standing on either side of Chris, the latter annoyed and the former grinning while holding the suitcase full of money to his chest; and the rest of the cast, crouching down and peering over in the gaps between and behind the rest, constantly jockeying for position as they tried to get one last shot of themselves on camera.
"This is Chris McLean, saying if you can't stand the pain-" the handsome host continued, the shot cutting in closer- "stay off the Total! Drama! Paaaahkitew Island!"
"RE-VENGE!" Max suddenly yelled from behind Scarlett, shoving her out of the helicopter, and the brainiac screamed as she fell.
The camera lingered on the dumbfounded looks of Chris and the other ex-campers, all of them staring at Max in shock. "This is how a traitor should be rewarded," he said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes defiantly.
The ex-campers and host burst out laughing, and a fun and energetic tune started to play. The camera panned over to the windshield to show Chef laughing along with the rest of the cast from the pilot's seat, and the helicopter flew away.
The music soon faded away, though, and the scene quick-panned down to show a screaming Scarlett landing in the giant mud puddle. She quickly surfaced with a shocked splutter, and pulled herself out onto dry land. "How am I going to get home now because of those imbeciles?!"
A few ominous notes were struck, and a ferocious growl caught Scarlett's attention. She looked up, and the camera zoomed out to show Scuba Bear 2.0 standing over her, eyes red. "Heheh," the brainiac laughed nervously. "You're not going to hurt me are you?"
The scene abruptly cut outward to the full long-distance shot of the island, the ominous music ending as Scarlett's scream and Scuba Bear's snarl echoed across the lake.
(Roll the Credits)
Lightning - 14th
DJ - 13th
Amy - 12th
B - 11th
Julia - 10th
Max - 9th
Leshawna - 8th
MERGE
Jo - 7th
Duncan - 6th
Ella - 5th
Sammy - 4th
Scarlett - 3rd
Zee - 2nd
Harold - 1st

It's fascinating to see how Kasumi/Sumire ended up being a divisive character among Persona 5 fans, at least from my impression. One one hand, she has her dedicated fans who call her "best girl". On the other hand, I've seen players who outright dislike her and don't think she's a welcome addition to Royal. From where I stand, I still personally like the character despite being about 6/10 to me in terms of writing. It's honestly carried by her backstory and the idea of her character arc. But I think she's missing some of the key ingredients to turn from a serviceable character to a good character who lives up to how she's marketed as the poster re-release waifu of P5 Royal.
I think her first 5 ranks of her confidant as Kasumi could have had more stakes to it to make them more interesting so that it didn't take 100 hours in the game to become a "she exists" to a serviceable character. I get that she's supposed to serve as a taste of what Maruki's plan is like and foreshadows the twist of her character, but why stop there? At least give a reason why we should to feel bad about her slump. Maybe make it that she is pressured by her mom who has high expectations of her and kept comparing her to her dead sister who is apparently very good and one of the confidant events have her stand up against her making it in line with Persona 5's themes. And what Sumi (as Sumire) badly needs is more meaningful interactions with the party members other than Ren/Akira/Jonkler. I understand not being very close friends with all of them, but why doesn't she have any banter with Yusuke and Futaba? Given that Sumi and Futaba have similar backstories about blaming themselves for a loved one's death and being around the same age, I think they would relate to each other at least to some degree. As for Yusuke, I think it would be interesting for them to talk about their slumps in their careers and I could picture him admiring Sumire's gymnastics moves and see them as art. That way, he would also support and help Sumire to overcome her inferiority complex about being not as good as Kasumi. And have the PT watch her gymnastics performance in her rank 10 confidant so that it seemed like they are there to support her and in a way, she's integrated well in the main cast.
Anf that's my two cents. I also think she should have joined the PT around Shido's palace and lessen her time in gymnastics. But that would make changes in Persona 5's story which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I don't feel like going on to write a thesis paper to explain the changes.