Hi all I am a big fan of iBroadcast but I also recognize it’s still on its infancy. I thought it will be smart if we make a list with the functionality we miss and think it will be very awesome to have:
Feel free to add your ideas below 👇
I’ll start with my ideas:
•A protocol similar to Spotify connect
•The ability to search “all songs in your library” in alphabetical order
•An easy access to EQ directly from the song similar to the way the onkyo app does it.
•The ability to choose the quality of streaming and downloading music with more options . So original but also 320kps.
•The ability in the app to look up the internet for cover art and assign it to the song.
•The ability to edit metadata from the app.
•A windows and Mac players with themes and a lot of options similar to musicbee (or a plugin so it works on musicbee). It will be awesome to have like the ability to make themes and share it in the community.
•The ability to burn playlist to CD
•The ability on Android to download music to your main store OR micro sd cards for those DAPs and phones which still use MicroSD cards.
• Like a marketplace of EQ made by experts in which you can choose curated EQ for example how the onkyo app has it.
•Lyrics
•Apple Watch app, Apple TV app , widgets on android, Garmin app would be amazing
•The ability to import your own M3U playlists (currently possibly but only one by one )
•Integration with Denon , Marantz and Yamaha receivers.
•Good integration with phone external DACs like USB Audio Player PRO (or integration directly with USB Audio Player PRO).
-Versions of albums . I for example have By The Way by the RedHotChillPeppers in its original release but also the HiDef re release.
Thanks everything I can think for now but I am sure I forgot something I’ll add it in the comments if some other idea pops in my head .

A few years ago I signed up for a bunch of FinTech investment apps which gave me some free shares after meeting certain criteria. Recently I have consolidated all my assets in Fidelity and I'm working on simplifying my portfolio.
My 401k, IRA, and HSA are all invest in total market mutual funds which is the only thing I plan on investing in from now on. The problem is I still own a few shares in over a dozen companies and I am wondering if I should just sell them.
They currently make-up a very small portion of my portfolio so I don't think it matters either way but I wanted to talk to some people about it before doing anything. I'm the first in my family to have any sort of financial stability so stuff like this stresses me out.
Here are the pros and cons I have come up with.
Pros of Selling:

• Simplifying My Portfolio. The main reason I want to sell them of is because owning nothing but mutual funds makes my portfolio easier to manage. The individual companies might complicate my tax returns and make my returns "nosier" due to their individual performance.
  
• Lock In Gains. Currently almost all of the stocks I own are up due to the excellent market performance, so if I was going to sell them I feel that this would be a good time. I'll make a few thousand dollars which I could put into my emergency fund or a mutual fund.
  
• Avoid Financial Complexities. I eventually want to do things like buy a house which I believe includes a thorough review of my finances. So in my mind owning only mutual funds will make such a review process simple and prevent possible issues for me in the future.
  

Cons of Selling:

• Missing Out On Growth. While it's possible the stocks will go down there is a chance they will go up and beat the market in the long run. As of right now they have all outpaced the market. I only own between 1-20 shares in each company so the gains would be small though.
  
• No More Dividends. The one thing I have enjoyed about owning these shares is getting a steady stream of dividends. They're small but consistent and since they're all long-term I pay no taxes on them which is great.
  
• Tax Headache. While I believe the sale of all these shares won't trigger any tax problems I worry since some of the companies are foreign (e.g. BABA) or in small-cap companies. I can list the companies if people think that information is relevant.
  

My conclusion is that it's best to just sell them and be done with it, but I would love to hear what people on here have to say.

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝟐 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟒 𝐚𝐢𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

Horse Racing 🏇 PREAKNESS STAKES

AND START LIVE HD STREAM

𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬:
𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 $𝟏𝟎 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞
𝐓𝐕𝐆: $𝟏𝟎 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝟐, 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟑
𝐗𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐭: $𝟏𝟎 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝟗, 𝟏𝟎, 𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟐 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏𝟑
𝐅𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠: $𝟏𝟎 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝟏𝟑
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐊 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝 $𝟏𝟎 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 :(
𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐬

When: May 19, 2024 1:00 PM
Where: Columbia, Mo., Mizzou Softball Stadium
Streaming: ESPN
Audio: ktgr
Tickets: mutigers
Stats: ncaa
Make sure to upvote this thread to make it easier for other Tigers to find! Feel free to use this thread for coaching, giving predictions, analyzing the game, asking/answering questions, or commenting on anything else Mizzou Softball related. MIZ!

Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and that means more than just cookouts and backyard fun! It's also become a major shopping weekend, with retailers offering deep discounts on tech and electronics. This year is no exception, and there are already some amazing deals to be found.
Whether you're the grill master of the family or the resident movie buff, there's a tech upgrade waiting to elevate your Memorial Day celebration. Here are some of our top picks for early Memorial Day sales, along with affiliate links to help you snag these deals before they're gone:
1. Big Screen Entertainment: Upgrade Your Outdoor Movie Night
Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time to fire up the grill and enjoy a movie night under the stars. This year, why not take your outdoor entertainment to the next level with a brand new smart TV? Many retailers are offering significant discounts on a variety of models, so you can find the perfect size and features for your needs.
Here are a few smart TVs to consider:
Amazon Fire TV 55" 4-Series 4K UHD smart TV - This TV boasts stunning picture quality and a wide range of smart features, making it perfect for streaming your favorite movies and shows.
TCL 43-Inch Class S3 1080p LED Smart TV with Google TV (43S350G, 2023 Model - Looking for a budget-friendly option? This TV delivers excellent picture quality and all the essential smart features at a great price.
2. Bring the Beats: Must-Have Portable Speakers for Outdoor Fun
No cookout is complete without the perfect soundtrack! This Memorial Day, take your music on the go with a portable Bluetooth speaker. These powerful little devices are perfect for blasting tunes outdoors, whether you're relaxing in your backyard or heading to the park.
Here are some portable speakers to consider:
W-KING Bluetooth Speaker, 90W Peak 50W RMS Portable Speakers Bluetooth Wireless Loud - This speaker packs a punch with big sound in a compact design. It's also waterproof and dustproof, making it perfect for any outdoor adventure.
JBL CHARGE 5 - This speaker offers a long battery life and multiple sound modes to customize your listening experience.
3. Grill Like a Champion: Smart Grills for the Tech-Savvy Chef
Calling all grill masters! Take your grilling skills to the next level with a smart grill. These innovative grills connect to your smartphone, allowing you to remotely control the cooking temperature and monitor your food. This means less time spent hovering over the grill and more time enjoying your guests.
Here are some smart grills to consider:
Weber Genesis SPX-435 Premium Smart Gas Grill - This feature-packed grill offers pre-programmed settings, a built-in temperature probe, and more for perfect grilling every time.
Govee Bluetooth Meat Thermomete - Looking for a more affordable option? The Govee Bluetooth Meat Thermometer will change your traditional way of grilling, it offers Wireless Meat Thermometer for Smoker Oven, Digital Grill Thermometer with 2 Probes and Timer Mode. + Cuisinart CCG-190 Portable Charcoal Grill, 14-Inch
4. Smart Home Convenience: Relax and Enjoy Your Guests
Memorial Day weekend is a time to unwind and celebrate with loved ones. Smart home devices can help you do just that by automating a variety of tasks, freeing you up to focus on enjoying your guests and the festivities.
Here are some smart home devices to consider:
ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced + Smart Sensor for Doors & Windows 2 Pack Bundle - This smart thermostat learns your heating and cooling preferences and automatically adjusts the temperature for ultimate comfort.
Level Lock+ Smart Lock Plus Apple Home Keys - Ditch the keys! This smart lock allows you to lock and unlock your doors using your smartphone for ultimate convenience.
Kasa Apple HomeKit Smart Light Switch KS200 - Control your lights with your voice or smartphone with this smart light switch. Set the perfect mood for your cookout with a tap or voice command.
Don't miss out on these incredible deals and upgrade your Memorial Day celebration with the latest tech! Remember, these are just a few of the many amazing deals available this Memorial Day weekend. With a little research, you're sure to find the perfect tech upgrade to fit your needs and budget.
Happy Shopping and Happy Memorial Day!

The Live Stream on Twitch was posted Tuesday, on May 14, 2024 which will be available for viewing in full for a short time longer.
TLDW - Well if you don't have time to view full 1 Hour, 53 Minute Video here is a Video Quick Link List to key Bookmarks for the relevant "Intro", "State of Dev", "Community Highlights", and "Q&A Questions and Answers" discussed by Community Managers Snutt Treptow and Mikael Niazi, taken from the YouTube Channel for Satisfactory Q&A Videos and the Satisfactory Community Highlights Archive created by u/SignpostMarv (CREDIT)
NOTE: The Questions are the Video Title, and the Answers are a quick synopsis of what was said. The "order" of the Questions may or may not follow the original Twitch Live Stream. Some question are not shown as they are either repetitive and have been answered numerous times before, or simply Twitch Stream Chat Joke Questions. If you have concerns about the accuracy of what I posted, view the Videos and listen for yourself. Often there is more discussion related to a Question than I could post without getting too verbose.

• Intro - Start of Stream - Initial Comments by Snutt and Mikael.

Start of State of Dev Portion

• State of Dev - Intro / Closed Beta Done - Snutt inferred / stated that Closed Beta is now finished which means the game is now entering Gold Stage (game polish).
  
• State of Dev - Trolling about the release date - Snutt stated Version 1.0 could be released on May 15, 2024 or by the latest on December 31, 2024.
  
• State of Dev - Q&A: Is Lym okay? / Outro - This is in reference to a programmer on Satisfactory. The answer is yes. Final Comments by Snutt and Mikael.
  

Community Highlights Portion

• View Community Highlights shown during this Livestream to see some great things other Pioneers are doing.
• There was no Content Creator segment this week.

Start Q&A Portion

• Q&A: Video on Friday? - ANSWER: This is in reference to Friday, May 17, 2024. There won't be any video due to a lot of behind the scenes activity related to the game resulting in Snutt being very busy. They still plan on releasing more Version 1.0 related Videos in the future as time allows.
  
• Q&A: Will Closed Beta participants still be under NDA after 1.0 is released? - ANSWER: After Version 1.0 is released they will make decisions about release of Closed Beta information.
  
• Q&A: Did you find anything from Closed Beta feedback? - ANSWER: Yes. Closed Beta revealed some bugs / issues which will be addressed, but also provided some other feedback which will be useful now that the game is in Gold Stage (game polish).
  
• Q&A: With the Closed Beta now done, will you be closing things as "fixed in 1.0" before the release? - ANSWER: The update of the Satisfactory Q&A Website to mark bugs and issues as "fixed" will be done AFTER Version 1.0 is released because sometimes things break again after they are fixed due to a fix of another bug / issue.
  
• Q&A: You said end-game will be changed, will Recipes be easier or harder? - ANSWER: Well, some of the Closed Beta feedback was that the game was too easy (but I guess that depends on the players previous experience). As with all things, game related, they might tweak some things after Version 1.0 is released.
  
• Q&A: Is there anything being released in 1.0 that wasn't in Closed Beta or Update 8? - ANSWER: Obviously there will be content in Version 1.0 that was not in Update 8, but everything that will be in Version 1.0 was shown in the Closed Beta.
  
• Q&A: How much notice will we get to prepare for 1.0? - ANSWER: They do plan on releasing some information prior to Version 1.0 release, like recipe changes, resource node movements, etc., but not everything will be known before hand. They plan on releasing a video sooner than later to allow plenty of time for Players to prepare.
  
  • There are things related to new content in Version 1.0 that can't be prepared for without spoiling it, so you may still need to make some adjustments to existing factories if using Update 8 Game Saves.
• Q&A: Are you being pressured to release 1.0? - ANSWER: There have not selected a release date yet. They still plan on releasing this year - 2024 - but are under no pressure from others to do so. As soon as they are ready, they will announce the Version 1.0 release date.
  
• Q&A: If I have Early Access, will I get 1.0 for free? - ANSWER: If you bought the game prior to Version 1.0 release you will NOT have to repurchase it.
  
• Q&A: Is there a fixed development lifespan beyond 1.0? - ANSWER: They currently plan to continue to develop and support the Satisfactory Game after Version 1.0 is released. There is NO set time limit, but depending on how the game does, they will decide then how long they will continue to work on the Game.
  
• Q&A: With 1.0 going to Unreal Engine 5.3, will that change how big the Save File we can have? - ANSWER: Unreal Engine 5.3 will not affect Game Save Files. Now the Version 1.0 optimization of using Lightweight Actors (Video Bookmark), also known as "Data Only Objects" will allow in the short term for Game Sacve Files to decrease in size until the Player builds more. There is no upper limit on Game Save File sizes.
  
• Q&A: Can you give more info about the Chainsaw change? - ANSWER: This is in reference to this Twitter Post on May 8, 2024 which is pretty self-explanatory and they did not add any more information. You saw what you saw.
  
• Q&A: Will Rain come back (I miss it)? - ANSWER: (as also answered in previous week Livestream) Rain, which was available in Update 7 / Unreal Engine 4, and occurred at all times of day or night, was broken by Update 8 / Unreal Engine 5. Rain return might be a Post-Version 1.0 update, or might be permanently removed.
  
• Q&A: Was the ability to Parachute climb up cliffs a deliberate feature? - ANSWER: The action of Pioneer using a Parachute being shot up into the air when they touch an incline was not intended BUT will be allowed to stay in the game at the urging of one of the game producers.
  
• Q&A: Will the bonking when sprinting into Glass Walls come back? - ANSWER: This is in reference to this window bonk / donk / thud sound made when running into full frame windows, which was added in Update 5 but removed in Update 6 as part of game optimizations. Snutt vows to make sure it is back in Version 1.0. Time will tell if it happens or not.
  
• Q&A: Will 1.0 finally have full Controller Support? - ANSWER: They have started to investigate it, but don't know if they will be able to make it work by the time Version 1.0 is released. They might add it after Version 1.0 is released, maybe.
  
• Q&A: Are there any plans to officially support Steam Deck? - ANSWER: This ties into Official Controller Support. They might add it after Version 1.0 is released, maybe.
  
• Q&A: Do you guys still have creative time to add features to the game? - ANSWER: "Creative Time", which use to be done every two weeks, has been placed on hold until Version 1.0 is released. Afterwards, there are plans to bring back "Creative Time".
  
• Q&A: What's going on with the CoffeeStain.com website? - ANSWER: This is in reference to coffeestain.com which currently shows a picture of the Pioneer and the words "Stay Tuned". They are doing a major update of their Website along with changing Web Hosts.
  

The bright yellow terror

‘’Every now and then I would stare at the murky brown water below and see several small glimpses of bright yellow popping up from and then retreating down below the surface in rhythmic fashion. Like a dance routine. Bright deadly yellow. The rotting sweet stench of death still lodged in my nostrils.’’
I had happened upon these diary pages by mistake when I was digging through old boxes in my basement. My wife had insisted, finally, that I sort out and get rid of everything I didn’t need. Now here I was, confronted with a part of my past I had tried to suppress unsuccessfully for so many years. 24 years to be exact. 24 odd years of trying to understand what exactly happened in those days when I was trapped on a rooftop in Phuket during a deadly and disastrous natural catastrophe.
24 odd years of having to dodge around questions of my abject and unwavering fear of the ocean. Well, in truth, I guess being caught in a large tsunami and witnessing immense destructive forces of nature coming directly from the great wide ocean would be a fair excuse, but it was only half the truth. It wasn’t just the waves themselves that had terrified me.
Until now, I thought the water damaged remains of the diary I kept back then was lost. I even hoped it was. I never shared this story with anyone. Partly because the horror was too fresh in my memory back then and I wanted to focus on moving on with my life and by the time I felt my mind was stabilized I had no real interest in returning to that dark part of my past. Partly because the right words always escaped me.
Mostly because I was afraid people would think I was insane. I can no longer contain this, however. I need an outlet. I spend years running from it. But I guess I can’t lie to myself anymore. Someone once told me that writing can be therapeutic. Simply putting your thoughts down on paper, or in our times, more likely in word document, can help you compartmentalize trauma. So, I’m giving it a try. I can’t pretend the events of those days in Phuket didn’t cast a shadow over everything in my life that came after.
I often think of the beach days I missed with my son when he was a boy. Days where I should’ve done dad stuff. Thrown him into the ocean. Watched him laugh his little face of as he braved the waves. Helped him build sandcastles. Gone exploring along the sandy shores in search of beached treasure in the form little rocks and the odd piece of amber. I just couldn’t. Initially I had objected to the idea of him going at all. Naturally, my wife would hear none of that and I realized reluctantly, that my fear and trauma should not rule my son’s life. Instead, my wife would go, and I would always stay home. She understood, to some degree, what I had gone through and where my fear came from.
Only to some degree. My son did not, and I fear he resented my absence on those perfect sunny days, despite my efforts to make up for it with other activities. Both he and my wife certainly noticed how closed off I was about certain parts of my past. Secrets untold, especially those who are grounded in trauma, almost inevitably turns to toxic in our systems. I’m finally ready. I just hope it isn’t too late.
I won’t lie. I’ve always had a vivid imagination although I have never had trouble distinguishing between what is real and what is not. At least until my sense of reality was forever challenged. I know these things happened to me. I know what I saw and what I experienced was real. I just don’t have a truly rational explanation for it. Yet, I swear, there was something in the water that came with that tsunami. Something deeply, deeply unnatural. Something brightly and oddly yellow. I had no other word for it than the bright yellow terror.
I had travelled to Thailand, more precisely Bangkok late December 2000. 19 years old about to turn 20. I was on one of those infamous and increasingly popular self-discovery trips. I had caught the fever. Like so many other young hopeful adventurers at the time I had seen The Beach. I had read into the wild by Jon Krakauer.
I watched Dicaprio walk the sandy shores of paradise and read on in excitement and awe as Christopher McCandles set out to become one with nature and discover himself. Kill the false being within and all that. In simple terms, I thought I’d try and find my own slice of heaven on earth. Expand my horizon. Get to know some new people. Learn something about myself in the process perhaps. I wasn’t exactly fleeing from anything, that wasn’t it. I had a loving although cuddling and overprotective family. Especially my mom would worry about me constantly (and still does).
Yes, I admit it. My parents had paved the way for me at almost every step. Made sure I got into the right schools. Made sure I never needed for money. I guess I got tired of feeling dependent on them. I stopped taking their money and saved up for the trip myself. It was time I stepped up. It was time I threw myself into the world to see what would happen. Hell of a time and place I picked for that.
The following story is based on the surviving pages of the diary I kept during the time and my own memory.
Bangkok 23rd December 2000. 4 days before the tsunami.
‘’My first day in Bangkok. Quite overwhelming but in a nice way. No one here to save me. No one here to tell me what to do. Thailand is hot and humid and there’s something in the air. I think it’s adventure. I think it’s limitless opportunity. I met a monkey in a diaper and got thoroughly beaten and lost 100 bath in a game of connect four by some 10-year-old kid. Got scammed as well though, I will have to wise up and learn the ropes. Avoid the yellow taxis. Go for the Tuk Tuks. Well, lesson learned. I met a guy who told me all kinds of terrifying things about Australia. Robert. I’m meeting him in Phuket a couple of days from now.’’
You could probably imagine the excitement bubbling within me. For the first time on my own. 19 years old. Prime of my life. In a strangely new and exotic city. Possibilities seemed endless. I still remember vividly driving off with the wind in my hair in a tuk-tuk as Bangkok unfolded before me with all its oriental mysticism and surrounding cityscapes. To be fair, I had never even seen an honest to god palm tree before as they simply couldn’t grow in the northern climate I was from.
I got myself stationed in a decent guesthouse around Khaosan Road. Everywhere I looked it seems others had gotten the same idea as me. Backpackers littered the streets and in a strange way, I felt at home amidst this quiet chaos, amidst the crowds of hopefully likeminded explorers, far, far away from home. The humidity was hitting me though, it was something I would have to get used to. It felt like a wet hot invisible blanket. Khaosan Road was perfect for me. A meeting place for young backpackers, with tons of opportunities to plan further travels. I did after all, not plan on staying in Bangkok for too long. It was just a stepping point to other adventures.
It was still early, and the humidity was clammy as hell. I was in the mood to socialize and with no real plans I simply ventured out into the streets of Bangkok, circling around the area where my guesthouse was located. It wasn’t long before the first opportunity presented itself in the form of a taxi driver calling me over. He offered to take me on a tour of the city. Foolish and naïve as I was, I indulged him. I remember how the cab driver lit up a doobie, joint, spliff, devil’s lettuce whatever you want to call it.
You know it as soon as you breathe in the air. Don’t get me wrong, I smoked myself, but letting a clearly high person drive me around the busy Bangkok traffic did not seem like a good idea. I should probably have asked to be let out that very moment, but as the kind of timid, shy type of person I was plus the desire to just go along with whatever happened come what may made me stay. Unsurprisingly I was eventually led to a store, fitted for a suit a didn’t want, and then subsequently charged an obscene amount for the cab ride. I didn’t have the courage to refuse his unreasonable demand. Noteworthy mention. That same night I heard from a fellow traveler that just recently someone had been stabbed in an argument with a cab driver. I didn’t let it get me down or drive me off course, because as you’ve probably gathered by now, I didn’t have a course.
As day turned to night and when the sun’s rays slowly disappeared behind the rooftops of Bangkok, the city itself began to transform. As if a part of it which had laid dormant, hidden away from the light, started to emerge.
Neon lights advertising different bars, people making all kinds of promises of untold pleasures and sensations. Tourists ready to party. All now filled the streets. Some seemed all too aware of what they were looking for, others simply drifted around aimlessly, in search of something unknown, something to spice up their existence. I found a small seemingly cool place called The Hangover. I swear to god, I wish to this day I hadn’t. Maybe then I wouldn’t have set my course for Phuket. In any case, I went in and pushed myself through the crowds of rowdy and loud tourists and up the bar where I ordered a Pina Colada. Please don’t judge me. I just really like coconuts and the song is pretty good as well. Standing at the crowded bar and looking around, hoping something interesting would catch my eye. But most of all, I was hoping someone would just take the first step and come talk to me.
Someone did. His name was Robert, and he was from Australia. A tall skinny and no-nonsense older guy who seemed quite experienced with all things Thailand. He eventually invited me down to his group of friends at the far back end of the bar. Robert spared no time telling me about himself. He had worked all kinds of jobs, in all kinds of places. Most recently he had worked as a guide in Phuket. Among other things he had arranged rock climbing expeditions. I probably forgot to mention, I was big into rock climbing and generally all kinds of outdoor activities back then.
I already had quite the climbing experience despite my young age. As Robert talked about all the places he’d been, he made me feel like the novice I was. That was never his intention though, as I quickly learned. He wasn’t a bragger. He just knew what he was talking about and when he laughed, he did it with his entire face and in a way that made you laugh with him and feel comfortable.
Eventually the conversation naturally gravitated towards Australia. A place I had always wanted to visit. He looked at me for a second, as if to contemplate something. Then told me to watch out for locals trying to play pranks on me. I was naturally interested in hearing more and that’s when he told me about drop bears. Supposedly drop bears are carnivorous versions of Koalas residing in trees to then drop down on unsuspecting victims and viciously attack them. We laughed quite a lot, and I admitted I would probably have believed the stories as I was a fairly naive person and the idea of hostile subspecies of koalas didn’t seem that farfetched to me. It would be typical of past me to get punked around like that. Our conversation then shifted towards Australian wildlife and fauna and the horrors residing within its diverse and complicated eco system. He told me about a plant not uncommonly referred to as the suicide plant. Dendrocnide moroides or more commonly known as stinging tree, stinging bush or gympie gympie apparently has such a nasty and painful sting it made a man commit suicide simply to escape the pain. Another dangerous inhabitant was the box jellyfish he explained.
Their sting was about as deadly as it gets. A single sting to a human will cause necrosis of the skin, excruciating pain and, if the dose of venom is large enough, cardiac arrest and death within minutes. I have always found jellyfish equal parts fascinating and equal parts frightening. Beautiful but deadly creatures. In fact, the ocean, in all its grand wide-reaching glory had always horrified me to some extent. So much unexplored space. Who truly knows what could be lurking down there? Robert quickly assured me, that as long as you take your precaution the likelihood of getting stung by a box jellyfish was rather small. They had signs up warning people against them. Generally, do not ignore these signs. They are there for a good reason.
It was getting late and before we said our goodbyes Robert suggested I meet him in Phuket, more precisely in the Khao Lak area on the 28^th as that was the first day he would be able to. I thought why not? He seemed genuinely nice and knowledgeable. Just good company all around and he promised to show me the greatest climbing spots a bit away from the crowded tours. It was a start.
I would never meet Robert again. I don’t know what happened to him. Thinking back on those days leading up to the point the waves came crashing down always gives me an uneasy, sad, and melancholic feeling. The people I met in Bangkok talking about going south. Those I met in Phuket before it happened. I have no idea if they ended up as corpses floating through the murky brown waters or god forbid, victims of that unholy terror from the deep. I hope Robert wasn’t among those unfortunate souls who died or went… ‘’Missing’’. Although if I must pick one or the other. I would hope he died quickly.
Bangkok 24^th of December 2000. 3 days before the tsunami.
I woke up with a slight hangover. Christmas is commonly celebrated on this date in my country, so I was expecting some calls to go through on my brick sized Nokia at some point once all the good folks back home woke up. They were about 5 hours behind me and at 9 AM Bangkok time they would still be sleeping. I used the time to do some shopping before my trip to Phuket. I got plenty of rope, a couple of snap hooks and a harness. I knew they’d have all of this on the guided tours, but I liked to find my own spots to climb, and I had good sense and knowledge enough to not attempt anything too daring. By the way. For those uninitiated, snap hooks are used to make a quick, reversible connection on a system of ropes, or to connect a rope or cord to another component, like a lanyard medallion or barrier post. Essential if you want to go climbing. If you’ve ever gone ziplining it’s the thing that connects you safely to the zipline and lets you slight across.
After having done my shopping, I bought a bus ticket to Phuket intending on leaving that same night and went back to my hotel room. As exciting as Bangkok was, I felt it was more for people intend on partying and in all honesty, a bit too crowded for me. I was excited to move on and I could always come back if I wanted to. On my way into the reception area, I was stopped by a young hip looking dude looking for a cigarette. Now I don’t necessarily consider myself a perfect judge of character, but he had an easy-going way about him that immediately drew me in. Sometimes, you can just tell.
He had sort of a rugged look about him. Dirty blond half-long hair. His face I would best describe as boyish but something in his eyes betrayed him and revealed his age to be older than you would assume. His style was… Boheme I guess I would describe it as. Like something taken out of the 70s LA scene. I’m not a smoker. Never was. So, I couldn’t help him on that front. It didn’t matter he would find someone else he said. For a while we just casually talked. Apparently, he had come to Bangkok just a few days prior and seemed about as lost and without direction as I had been before deciding on taking my chances in Phuket. Alex was his name, and he would later save my life and help me understand what it means to forge a quick and unbreakable connection through shared trauma, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
He asked me if I wanted to go somewhere and get a beer. I thought why not? He was about my age and on his own as well. I told him I had to go make some calls and I’d be out in about an hour. Back the hotel room I quickly gathered all my stuff and packed it up, so it was ready to go. My climbing gear took up the most space. I figured if things went well with Alex, I might be able to persuade him in joining me at some point in Phuket. Even though I had set out for this trip to be about discovering myself and being on my own, I longed for some kind of company. Don’t we all? I called my parents up and we wished each other a happy Christmas. It was odd to think they were somewhere nearly half-way across the world celebrating Christmas while snow draped the landscapes there. Here I was, In hot and humid paradise. No, I did not miss the cold or the snow, but I did miss not being there to celebrate the holidays with my family. But it had been my choice to go during the holiday season and I did not regret it. I had saved up enough money and there was no point in waiting anymore. There would be many other holidays to celebrate in the future.
My 5-year-old nephew somehow got a hold of the phone. Not quite the conversationalist yet, it still felt good to hear his voice. Hearing his excitement over the prospect of celebrating Christmas brought me back to my own childhood. Decorating the Christmas tree, watching holiday cartoons and of course, opening presents. I finished my calls and went out to see if Alex was ready. He was already waiting for me and had apparently managed to score some cigarettes in the meantime. He had changed his outfit as well. Now wearing a faded black doors t-shirt. We talked a bit about Jim Morrison and the doors as we headed off down streets. We passed a myriad of small stands selling everything from electronics to colorful t-shirts and small bracelets with campy misspelled English catchphrases. We dodged the many intrusive offers and eventually found a small comfy looking bar with seats outside shaded by palm trees. We ordered a couple of beers and the conversation started flowing along quite nicely. Alex was 25 and from London It turned out. We also had a common interest in music. For a while he had busked as a street musician while working odd jobs here and there and had eventually decided to travel the world.
His first stop had been India where for a while he had lived on the rooftop of some abandoned building while attempting to learn the art of playing the sitar. I thought about that for a second. Living it rough on some rooftop in India. I don’t know why that idea intrigued me so much. Seemed like freedom to me, I guess. Sleeping under the wide-open skies. Looking down on the streets and watching people go about their lives. I guess I just liked the idea of doing something that seemed different from what I had ever done before. Living on a rooftop, if even just for a while, was definitely not something I had done before. There was the view as well, Alex reminded me. And it was free of course. We drifted off into long conversations about music I won’t bore you too much with, only to let you know we shared a passion for old school music like the doors and Jimi Hendrix as well as 90s shoegaze music like My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive. I had Slowdive’s Shine playing in my mind that day. All felt so dreamy at the time.
I eventually told Alex of my plans to go to Phuket and he was onboard almost immediately. I loved how easy it was here on the road. There was no ‘’well maybe’’, or ‘’let’s think about it.’’ In fact, Alex had been to Phuket before and knew of a place we could stay for free. Another rooftop of course, but he had already sold me on the idea. From there, we could plan our next step he said. ‘’our next step’’ I don’t remember vibing with someone that quickly before or since, but then I guess making friends is always easier when you’re young and easy going. I always seemed to attract good company without much effort back then. I chalk it down to my friendly and slightly shy demeanor. Seems it only becomes harder to make friends as the years pass though. At least for me it did.
We got a bus ticket for Alex and shopped a bit more. I got some first aid supplies. Bandages, plasters, that kind of stuff. Rock climbing is safe, mind you, but you can end up scraping yourself and I felt in general, being prepared for whatever might be a good idea if I was to live it rough on some rooftop. The bus-ride to Phuket took about 12 hours give or take. By going at night, we could sleep most of the way and be in Phuket early morning on the 25^th. The trip down was uneventful. We would take turns listening to music on Alex’s Walkman or talk about things we saw along the way. Like roadside bars and restaurants who were little more than a tin roof covering a few plastic chairs and brightly colored menu cards. Everything seemed simpler here, in the best ways possible.
No big flash, no fanfares or luxury. Nothing pretentious. Just a calm, laid back atmosphere and friendly smiles from the locals as we passed by. Alex told me he wanted to start a band blending elements of Shoegaze with classic rock and insisted I learn to play the drums as he had tried but found no luck. String instruments were more him he told me. I told him jokingly if he could come up with a good name, I might be down. He just nodded and looked out the window and started talking about how beef was a rare and more expensive ingredient in Thai cuisine, and I wondered about the sudden random change of subject. Although we had talked a lot during the short time we had known each other, Alex was still a mystery to me in many ways. Judging from all the things he told me he seemed like a person who dreamed big, but never really followed through
An unfinished education. Scribbles on pieces of paper that ended up gathering dust in his drawer instead of turning into a book. A band that never really took off because he lost interest or didn’t deem that it was good enough to get successful. He talked at length about leaving a legacy. It seemed to be something that concerned him. I guess he wanted to put his mark on the world. To be remembered. To live on in some small way. I had never really thought about it myself although I did have a fascination with historical people and the lives they lived. In fact, when I do read I mostly read biographies. I just never had any ambition like that myself. I don’t need the world to know my name, or sing my praises, or remember me. Good friends, family and a sense of freedom and adventure was enough. I had tried to ask Alex about his family and friends back home, but he seemed avoidant and always found a way to change the subject without really providing any meaningful information. At certain points, I sensed a carefully hidden sadness behind his otherwise optimistically youthful and bright blue gaze.
Phuket 25^th of December 2000. 2 days before the tsunami.
Alex woke me up. It was 9 AM and we had arrived at the Phuket bus terminal 1 near Phang Nga Road. We were here. Alex explained to me that the there were several derelict and abandoned buildings perfect for establishing a free of charge rooftop domicile in an area not too far from the resorts of Khao Lak. Phuket back then wasn’t exactly the overcrowded tourist spot it is today, but it was well on the way. I understood why. The scenery was beautiful. Long sandy beaches with small island dots in the horizon, begging to be explored. Giant limestone cliffs covered in green shrubs. It did seem like paradise to me, without being too far away from civilization. I guess despite my adventurous nature, I wasn’t quite ready at that point, to walk into the wild, which is why Khao Lak seemed perfect as a start for me.
We found the area Alex had talked about. Several derelict buildings were concentrated in a small area divided by a main street that if followed long enough, led to an area with shops and places to dine. We set our eyes on what looked like an abandoned apartment complex. It was derelict, rugged looking and it seemed clear at first that no one lived there. Its ghostly façade begged us inside to explore and we accepted the invitation. As we made our way in, through a busted window in the back, we quickly became aware that the place might not be as abandoned as we had initially thought. Several signs of squatters such as cooking utensils and sleeping mats lay scattered here and there. Alex quickly rationalized that it could just be other backpackers, or it could be the people had moved on. I shrugged and we decided to make our way to the roof. We made our way to the top floor and accessed a broken-down door that led directly out onto the roof. I must admit, besides excitement, I was somewhat hesitant. Any doubt I had disappeared when we first stepped onto the rooftop terrace. It was perfect. It seemed it had functioned as a balcony or space of sorts the inhabitants could make use of for gatherings.
The entire space was surrounded by a fence. Several palm trees shaded the northwest corner which was perfect for when things got too hot. In the middle a small shed or janitorial sort of building stood. We found some cleaning materials, brooms, some parasols in there as well as an old rusty grill. The view was great. We could see the large beachfront in the far distance surrounded by limestones. After inspecting the area and finding it to our liking we sat down, and Alex broke out a bottle of whiskey. Unaware of the horror that would later unfold here, we celebrated in the shade of the palm trees. We had found our place for a while. Our place.
After a while we decided to put some money in the local economy and shop for supplies.
Essentials: Water. Cigarettes. Booze. The devil’s lettuce. Cooking utensils. Although none of us was admittedly any much of a cook. But what the hell. Can’t be seen dining out every night when we were trying to live off the fat of the land so to speak. I know, ridiculous. We were squatters. Nothing more. But heck, we would move on if we became a problem for any one here. We weren’t trying to be a bother.
Optional but greatly wanted: A blow-up animal mascot. Maybe a dolphin if possible. Some new music for Alex’s walk-man. A guitar. Decorating artifacts of any kind to make our domicile more personal.
We more or less got everything we needed and started setting up base. Getting our hands on something funny to smoke proved the biggest challenge but Alex finally succeeded at a beachfront bar. Some friendly Norwegian dude who had connections apparently. He warned us against being too open about doing drugs, even if was ‘’just’’ marijuana. Thailand had a strict approach to drugs. We thanked him and he told us to just come back here at the bar if we needed more, he was usually around.
Afternoon was rolling around and there we were. Sitting atop Phuket. On our very own rooftop presidential suite. We decorated the place with a few things we found. Among them ‘’Arthur’’ our blow-up shark (they had no dolphins). Alex had come up with the name, I asked him why ‘’Arthur’’ but in what I had quickly come to know as typical Alex fashion he just shrugged it off. We just smoked a bit and drank some booze as the evening progressed and I told Alex about Robert and Australia and all the nasty things that could kill you there. I’m not sure why, but it had made an impression on me. Insects, rare poisonous creatures, stuff like that was nightmare fuel for me. Don’t even get me started on spiders. Alex was a bit more laid back on that front. He seemed most amused and interested in the suicide plant and wondered if some poor soul had ever mistakenly used it as toilet paper and we had a good hard chuckle over that idea. Poor soul indeed.
As night rolled on stars started popping up on a clear night the sky and I learned that Alex had a fascination with the universe. Particularly the idea of multiverses and infinite universes. What if somewhere out there we were looking back at ourselves. Slightly different but still us. Sometimes it seemed to me he longed to be anywhere else but where he was. Maybe trapped in the past he was so reluctant to share with me. Then we started talking about time. I don’t exactly remember why. I think he brought it up.
Anyway, Alex had a lot to say about time. Like how he believed our perception of time is tied to our experiences. For example, someone who spends their life not stepping up, not really taking risks or chances, just following along the stream, just following the routine, in essence, just killing time, might experience time as having moved fast when they look back, because there are simply less variety, less volume, less memories to look back on. We don’t remember routines, we remember breaking them, we remember doing new things, meeting new people, being in new places. It creates the illusion that gives time volume, that makes it seem fuller, longer. I liked that idea a lot. It made sense to me. Make sure you live life to the fullest and waste as little time as possible.
I told him about my 10^th grade math teacher and how he said something about time I will never forget. Our perception of time can be measured mathematically. For example, to a 4-year-old turning 5 the transition of a year will seem much longer than it will to a 24-year-old turning 25. Because 1 in 5 is a larger fraction than 1 in 25. It blew my mind. The longer you live, the faster time seem to pass. But I agreed with him, maybe the quality and variety of the life you live and the memories you make has an affect too. Alex made a ‘’boom’’ motion with his hands around his head and laughed. We were quite stoned at that point and well, some of you might know how being stoned sometimes throws you into these philosophical conversations. It was nice. I enjoyed the ease with which I could talk to Alex about all kinds of things.
At one point I asked him a hypothetical. If he could go back in time and change just one thing, what would he do. He fell silent. I once again sensed the sadness creeping behind his eyes. It was if he was about to answer, like he was sizing me up but then shot the idea down. Time travel is impossible, so why bother was his only response and I accepted that whatever troubled him in the past, was not for me to know even if my interest only grew stronger and stronger.
I told him about my family. My overprotective mother. My father and his desperate attempts to get me interested in cars. About my older sister and my nephew. Alex nodded and asked the usual polite questions. When the subject came to my little brother his interest seemed to spark significantly. How old was he? Was I good older brother? Did I look out for him? I didn’t think much about it at the time other than finding it curious how interested he seemed to be. When we finally settled in the for night, under the starry sky, I slipped into a nightmare. It was the same I had had years earlier when I was 16. Back then I was having a hard time adjusting to the new school I had started at and maybe because of that stress I was having nightmares coupled with sleep paralysis.
I would lie in my bed, paralyzed. On my side, facing the door to my room. I often had the light on outside of the room and it would shine in through the open door. This one time , I saw dark figure approaching. Optimistically I assumed it was my mom, coming to wake me up. Although as the dark figure approached, I quickly realized this wasn’t so. No words were uttered. The eerie figure just slowly came closer, until it was right by my bed side. It sat down and I realized it was an old woman or man. It was hard to tell, because its face was literally just a mish mash of wrinkled flesh. No eyes and no mouth either. But it mumbled through its mouthless face. Speaking in tongues.
I spent some considerable time afterwards wondering what it could have been trying to communicate to me. I know of course, this was all just my mind playing tricks on me. Yet, that experience was, I suppose, my first nudge towards believing there’s more between heaven and earth than we might know. It seemed aggressive in any case. My insides were screaming as I desperately tried to wiggle myself awake as I had sometimes successfully done during paralysis. I eventually woke up. Drenched in sweat. Back then though, I had actually been in my room, and in the dream the room had stood clearly for me as it actually looked in reality which only made it seem more real. This time, I woke up next to Alex, still drenched in sweat. Alex had woken up. I had screamed in my sleep apparently. He comforted me in an almost brotherly show of affection. It took me by surprise a bit. I appreciated it, though it only made me wonder about him even more. I would have to solve the mystery behind Alex I decided. I would have to truly gain his trust. Figure him out. And I did.
Phuket 26^th of December 2000. 1 day before the tsunami.
‘’Alex played the guitar a bit and I drummed up some beats. It needed some work, but not half bad. We came up with a name for our band to be as well. Subway sleepers. Based on Alex’s time sleeping in the subway of London. It was another hot perfect day on the rooftop. We talked about going climbing the next day and I can’t wait to show Alex the joys of rock climbing. Everything is peaceful here. No stress. Just living life. Smoking it up. Meeting new people. We talked some more with that Norwegian weed dude and invited him and a couple of his friends up to ‘’our’’ place for a party. Another near perfect day.’’
Looking at these diary scribbles is making me feel it all over again. The serenity of those calm worriless summer days (well it was winter back home but it felt like summer here. Strange that) leading up to disaster. Always calmest before the storm they say. This was our last day before everything changed. Before I got a lesson in humanity. In stress under crisis. Before everything I thought I knew changed forever in the meeting with something that surely shouldn’t exist in this world.

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When I was in junior high a transfer student arrived in the middle of the semester; a kid that was different from everyone else. Right away he had caught my eye, in fact he caught everyone's attention because he had a very unique disability; he couldn’t speak. I guess you could say he was deaf, though it was clear to me after getting to know him that he could in fact hear; every word spoken to him was understood with simple nods or gestures; facial expressions contorting into understood language; so I guess he was mute; yeah, that would describe him best. He was an oddity to most but to me he was a unicorn, something that sparkled in our dim monotonous lives and it wasn’t until he revealed who he was did I become terrified of him and his shine.
I was in 7th grade maneuvering my way through the jungle of middle school, avoiding trouble and premature violence. I was an undersized boy for my age, no more than 5ft tall; puberty had yet to visit me leaving me left out of the herd; the other students or the ‘sheep’ as I called them that infested my school. They were all the same, kids that were driven by hormones constantly talking about boys or girls, their deep voices riding on the coattails of the wind that breezed in and out of our hallways. I was a mere shadow, always walking a few paces behind the others not wanting to be seen or acknowledged; I saw what others that looked like me went through, they were tortured and abused for simply existing.
Once Bryce Ellis and his friends stuck Timmy Easton’s face in the shitter for over 10 flushes, I was in a stall over, hiding and waiting for the torment to be over. I slithered my feet up on to the stall caressing them to my chest as I sat in a fetal position horrified of how one human could treat another. Eventually the bullies had gotten bored, their short attention span driven minds directed them to another endeavor leaving Timmy to fester in his tears and possible filth.
He sobbed for minutes that felt like hours as I remained silent in the stall over, I placed my hand cautiously on the barrier wall trying to absorb a bit of his pain, my heart ached for him in that moment and I wanted to lend him a compassionate hand if only I had the courage to do so. So yeah, I did my best to stay hidden, unseen to all the dwellers that mindlessly walked in and out of our school on a daily basis, the boys that believed themselves to be men or the girls that pontificated to anyone that listened. I was lost into an enteral sea of vindictive young adults that searched for any reason to lash out at anyone that stood in their way.
So when ‘Tape boy’ — as they would eventually call him — came to my little middle school that stood still in the secluded hills of our small town I was enthralled almost immediately with his existence. He was introduced to my home room class, I sat in the back burying my head into my arms, occasionally lifting my head to listen on the days lecture. My day dreams entertaining me as the clock slowly ticked away at our lives and it wasn’t until my teacher promptly stopped talking did it trigger a primal emotion in me to sit up and pay attention. I postured myself up straight, pausing the internal movie that played in my mind to see what the interruption was about.
There he was, a new boy that no one had ever seen before, by middle school everyone knew each other; we had went to the same elementary school, the same holiday events and grocery stores. So getting a new student was like getting a new flavor at Baskin Robbins; a mystery taste simmering on the tip of your tongue as you digested every drop, his presence was intriguing. He wasn’t small like me, I would say average height for a 12 year old; about 5'4, slender body with unkempt dark black hair. He looked timid, his head tilted towards the ground not wanting to accidentally lock eyes with any of us as the teacher introduced him, my mind wandering with such intrigue because to all of our astonishment he was wearing a surgical face mask — mind you this was in the 90’s; eons before the Covid pandemic breached the windows of our thoughts.
Right away I could hear the murmurs, the questions erupting throughout the classroom as everyone pondered of why this boy sheltered his face. I stared on for what must of been minutes as the shy boy kept his gaze down, I could see him slightly squeezing the arm straps to his backpack nervously the longer he stood there on full display for all.
I had my fill and I relaxed my postured sinking back into my chair directing my stare out the window but then Billy Sherman asked the question we all had on our minds,
“Uhm, why is he wearing that mask?”.
Our teacher explained to us that it was because of some weaken immune system, something about how his ticker didn’t click like the rest of ours, she then also told us about him being mute. This drew my eyes right back to him, I think it did for all of us and for a moment the quiet kid raised his head and locked eyes with me. His dark black eyes glistened with despair, the deep purple bags that sagged under his eyes were more indicative of someone that hadn’t slept in days. I felt something for him in that moment, our third eye conversing in some cosmic dialogue and as quickly as he rose his head did it drop once again towards the ground. I could still hear all the the other kids snickering, questioning and some even giggling; it made me sick, if I was a braver boy I would of stood on top of my desk and verbally lashed out to all the sheep, instead I rose my hand asking something Mrs. Willis never said, what was the timid boys name?
“Oh I’m sorry, how rude of me, this is Gabriel”.
She sat Gabriel upfront next to her desk, wanting him close in case he needed to write or sign something to her and just like that everyone went back to their simple lives; including myself.
The next few weeks I saw little of Gabriel other than the back of his head during class, once the bell rang everyone that my eyes glimpsed at for the day disappeared or just maybe it was me who dissolved into the ambience of our school. Either way I saw little of the boy who wore a mask, the one that sheltered his true identity and my curiosity with the new flavor of the week gradually faded into the abyss of non-existence; well, that was until the day I saw the mask slip.
It was end of the day, I spent most of the time turning corners anytime Bryce Ellis approached; evading the wrath of him and his band of merry men who were the pinnacle of human torture; finding any opportunity to demean those who crossed their path. I remember leaving Chemistry class, my mind all to occupied with leaving the hell hole of every kids dread and that’s when I saw Gabriel walking down the hall towards the cafeteria; his head still tilted down; his gaze tracking every step he took; face mask still tightly fitted around his face.
This time I saw someone was following him, it was Tom Ingram one of Bryce’s guys, a kid that tried to be the “alpha male” of the group numerous times, doing his best to dethrone the reign of Bryce. He was a big boy for his age, probably about 5'9 and easily weighed 200 pounds, he was a wild card alright; he got caught pouring sugar down Mr. Whitakers old Pontiac gas tank for giving him a poor grade. So when I saw him berating poor Gabriel; taunting him as grotesque laughter followed every insult, I felt like I had to do something and my consistent stealth veneer of camouflage morphed into into a full on sprint towards the two. I saw Tom was closing in on him, other kids looking on with bewilderment on their faces — not knowing if they should laugh out of fear or grimace from disgust. For the first time in a long while did a burning sensation of courage ignite in my soul, I was tired of seeing monsters preying on the sheep and I was going to stop it somehow.
Finally Gabriel had stopped walking and stood still, his head hanging even lower than before, the strands of his long hair covered the remainder of his face. Tom began slapping the top side of the poor kids head, yelling out obscenities, angered that he didn’t stop sooner. I was close, I was gonna stop this since all anyone else could do is cower in fear while looking on and then it happened causing me to stop dead in my tracks, my eyes widening with befuddlement. Tom had torn away the mask from Gabriel's face, awes with groans came from everyone then silence blanketed the entire school and for those few seconds our existence had been swallowed up by the earth itself.
“What the hell” Tom yelped out breaking the still but heavy disquietude.
I wanted to say something, but no words could be manifested only gurgles as I choked on my own disbelief. The timid boy under the mask of intrigue had a strip of black duct tape covering his mouth, it stretching from the side of his face to the other almost resembling what would be some hideous smile. The timid boy then collapsed his hands over his face as faint muffles of sobbing protruded from him, he ran into the nearest restroom only for Tom to pursue. Finally my thoughts had been gathered while my body came back to life, I brushed off the bizarre occurrence of that grizzly smile and I reminded myself of what was about to happen. Tom was going to punish Gabriel for simply existing as he and his gang have been doing for years and like some old factory machine the cogs of my body set into motion as I ran towards the restroom.
Before I could open the door the most horrid scream exploded outwards into the hallway, the sound sending a cold shiver down my spine and Tom came running out of the restroom gripping at his face crying. He was hysterical running and bumping into the walls until finally crumbling onto the floor only to continue sobbing. My mind was clouded with a whirl wind of confusion, I no longer knew what to do, I mean I was going to run in there and stop the assault but now the assaulter was on the floor destroyed. Then Gabriel calmly came out of the restroom, his mask firmly back on and he turned to look at me, his dark eyes burning an image of anguish into my mind. I asked if he was okay of course he said nothing though, he didn’t need to I could just sense his response and it was one of gratitude. I almost could see him smiling at me from underneath the mask and I reminded myself of what was under it; that abysmal duct tape that looked like a sinister grin.
From that day on most of the kids were afraid of Gabriel, I could see the look of terror in their eyes anytime he passed by them even though his headed was still shifted downwards but that’s the day whenever someone mentioned him they referred to him as “Tape boy”. I had heard through the whispers of our school that Tom had suffered some mental breakdown, that the doctors couldn’t find anything psychically wrong with him, it was as if his mind had shattered. He remained in some mental hospital, memories of him gradually fading and the sheep went on with living their mundane lives. Bryce even slowed his bullying, I think he knew that their were now more eyes watching everyone after the altercation and he didn’t want to get caught in some bad situation, though I could see he was itching to get at Gabriel. I went back to being a shadow, avoiding all the others still not too confident that the days of torture were over.
Even though Gabriel was regarded as some magical or perhaps malevolent being by most; not sure which one; he still appeared to be sad; lonely, his head always dragging with despondency. I made an effort in getting to know him, I wasn’t afraid like the rest of them something about the day we locked eyes gave me the resolve to understand he wouldn’t hurt me. I approached him during lunch break, he was outside sitting underneath a tree, the shade showering him a gloom of haze. I think I surprised him or maybe it was just my stealth nature but I saw him jump when I sat next to him. I began talking about the origins of Darth Vader, of how he was originally a hero using his force power for good only to eventually turn to the dark side.
Gabriel just looked at me confounded of why I was even talking to him, his stare looking on with indifference. I told him that he was like a super hero, doing whatever he did to Tom was just like a super power, that I was thankful. His gazed then returned back to the floor almost out of shame, I guess whatever he did that day he didn’t see it as something special, or something to praise. I then told him that I still envied his ability to defend himself, that having such an ability was better than winning the school lottery — which was a week supply of free cafeteria food. I kept blabbering on for the remainder of the break while he still postured his stare towards the floor until the bell had finally rung. Before getting up I told him that if I could have a super power mine would be invisibility that’s when he turned to me pulling out a small spiral from his back pack writing something down, he then showed me.
“Why?” it read.
I told him that I didn’t like being seen, that if I could I would melt away into the noise, then life would be better he just stared at me with what I could assume was disbelief. He didn’t write anything back, he just remain seated while I stood to my feet. I asked if he was coming back to class but he ignored me and just stared out into space presumably lost in his own thoughts.
For the next several months I would catch Gabriel in the hallways, talk to him about the latest edition of whatever comic I was reading, Superman being my favorite and I would go on and on about how his true super power wasn’t strength but hope. I think he became more comfortable with me, pulling out his spiral notebook to write down his thoughts; his questions and answers — a new gateway of communication had formed between us. Most times I could tell what he was going to write by looking at his eyes, those dark haunting eyes, he was a mysterious book slowly being revealed to me and I was completely beguiled by his friendship. Bryce and his little posse slowly went back to bullying the sheep, though they kept their distance from Gabriel and me.
I guess I had a new protector one that wouldn’t be crossed and something about that protection left me feeling proud. I knew in my heart that the timid kid that now went by “Tape boy” wouldn’t hurt a fly that maybe the day of Tom going crazy was all by chance, perhaps his rage snapped his mind. I tried asking him about that day numerous times but he never explained what happened he would redirect the conversation back to super hero’s. I would walk home with him on certain days, well, more like he would walk me home I never got to see where he lived, he was too reserved to give up that kind of information but the days we would walk together was always fun. I finally felt like I belonged, the longing emotion of needing acceptance was found by his friendship.
One day when I was walking home by myself I decided to stop in at the gas station to pick up a drink and scour the latest edition of comic books in the small rack of magazines. Before entering the store I could hear arguing voices engaging in combative dialogue and it became vividly clear that it was more of a yelling match than conversation. It was coming from the side of the building, most times I would just ignore it but one of the voices sounded all too familiar and I crept slowly to the edge of the building poking my head out to get a glimpse of the disturbance. It was Bryce, his back was up against the wall while someone who I presumed was his father berated him with such a vicious snarl on his face. The angry man kept slapping Bryce across the face anytime he tried to say something and soon tears began drizzling off the face of the mighty bully only for the man to laugh.
I didn’t know why the older man was treating Bryce the way he was, information cut out of my understanding, for all I know it could of been because of something the bully did at school. I found it to be poetic justice that the boy that caused so much heart ache suffered the same amount only at home. It felt like a cliche, the angry kid was angry because of the angry father; a cruel loop of never ending proportions. Eventually the man or father walked away getting back into his car leaving the bully to brush away the tears from his face. I cautiously retreated my head away deciding to ditch the store completely when that same broken voice only minutes ago shouted out to me with a hefty dominance.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Bryce howled out.
I didn’t bother turning around, I just ran home, dodging into alley ways trying my best to not been seen. It didn’t appear as if he was following, but seeing him in such a vulnerable state was bemusing. We were a small town how could I not know who the man was, we all knew each other since we were small and then it hit me; Bryce’s dad had left when he was little. This man must of been his step dad or perhaps mom’s boyfriend, it didn’t matter I was going to mind my own business, I was going to slither back into the shadows; but my attempts would only fall on defeated shoulders.
I didn’t want to tell anyone of what I saw, I hoped that keeping my mouth shut would of been enough for the bully to leave me be. Unfortunately there is no reasoning when it comes to human beings, we base our actions on emotions, our anger and Bryce confronted me the next morning in front of Gabriel.
“Hey fairy, did you enjoy the show?” the angry kid spouted out at me.
I tried explaining to him that I wasn’t trying to intrude, that the arguing concerned me, that I didn’t like seeing him being mistreated and then he punched me right in the gut. I fell to the floor gripping at my stomach, the pain slicing through every fiber of my body. I tried catching my breath but inhaling was too painful and I sheltered my face expecting another punch but the bully walked off leaving me to sweat. Gabriel kneel down to me taking out his spiral notebook writing the obvious question, I gestured to him to give me a moment and I honestly felt like crying. I had spent years doing my best to blend into the background, the invisibility power I was so desperate to have amongst the sheep was now gone; I was on Bryce’s radar.
For the remainder of the school year I tried avoiding the bullies, the monsters that preyed on the sheep but their leader would actively search for me, he was no longer intimidated by Gabriel; his once menacing allure had dwindled and now we both were sitting ducks. Luckily there was only a few weeks left until summer break and I only had hoped that the time off would be enough for the monster of monsters to cool off.
Entering summer was a relief much needed for my sanity, I took a few thrashings but it was over, me and Gabriel had big plans on spending time together. He wasn’t an out door kind of kid, he usually would just come over my place and we would read my comic books. He quickly grew enchanted with the idea of super hero's, their powers restoring balance to the nature of our world. I enjoyed every minute of it, my parents on the other hand looked less jovial to our friendship, they didn’t like the mask; it worried them. They thought that whatever illness he had could be passed on to me, but they didn’t do anything to stop us from seeing each other, they only silently protested.
So after awhile we decided to meet somewhere outdoors, away from my parents judgmental stares, there was a creek close to my house, the trees giving us enough shade to stay cool on those long summer days. The small stream that flowed through the trenches of the creek enriched our view as we would find the perfect rock to perch on while reading our comics. We didn’t see much of any of the other classmates that summer, the sheep kept their distance or maybe it was just us, but the days seem to pass quickly and before we knew it summer was coming to an end. I couldn’t remember how many volumes we must of read but Gabriel was now a fan of almost every super hero. He tend to raise out his arms while walking, mimicking the premise of flying like Superman; his ponderous eyes cutting through the brush as we escaped our secluded summer spot.
It was on the final day of our summer break did I pressure the shy timid boy to explain to me what had happen that day, the day Tom lost his marbles, I needed to know. Gabriel as always tried redirecting the conversation, holding up a comic of Batman, pointing at some dialogue. I got upset, I raised my voice telling him that if we were friends then he should tell me, that there wasn’t secrets between us. His heavy eyes collapsing to the ground, shifting his posture on the rock that we both sat on.
“Look, I just need to know, you’re my best friend” I told him with genuine longing.
The school year was about to start up again and I could already envision a future of slithering through the hallways how I have always done, but with Gabriel maybe that could change. I needed to know and I was done guessing, fantasizing that he was some super hero or at least my hero; my protector. I stood up off the rock walking over to the stream, the sound of water colliding unto the small stones that infested the trench triggered something awful in my gut. I took a deep breath and made my final stand with my best friend.
“If you don’t want to tell me then I’m going home, see ya” I said with impatience dripping off of my words.
Gabriel ignored my warning and continued pointing at the comic book, that’s when I noticed what he was pointing at, it wasn’t dialogue it was one of Batman's villains — he was pointing at Clayface. This made me stop, my minding halting after speeding at 100 miles per hour; it crashing my thoughts.
“Yeah, what about Clayface?” I curiously asked with a withered and tired voice.
That’s when his pointer finger was no longer on the page but rather it was pointed towards his mouth; the mouth that was hidden behind his mask. He could see my face drop with sadness, whatever disfigurement he had underneath that horrid black duct tape must of been something like the villain from the comic and my heart broke for him. Gabriel’s eyes gleaming with absolute sorrow, the boy that only wanted to be left alone, the person all the others feared just wanted solitude and here I was badgering him to no end about something so insignificant. We stared at each other for several seconds, our eyes meeting in some altered state and I reached my hand up to his face tenderly taking off his mask. There it was, the black duct tape that resembled a grin, a nightmarish one that could only been seen in some horror movie. I then placed my fingers on the edge of the tape, my cold grip causing him to shiver and I slowly began to remove it.
“What the hell are you fairy’s doing?” a voice called out from the brush, one that sank my heart into my stomach.
I turned trying to locate the voice and sure enough there he was, the bully that had tortured so many for so many years — it was Bryce. His body slowly revealing itself from the brush like some despicable ooze frothing from the depths of hell. Though, something about him was different, his cold stare no longer fictitious but more intimidating and as his body fully emerged did I see the blood trickling down his soaked stain shirt. He was covered in the crimson fluid, there was even some on his cheeks almost as he had some open wound and smeared the remnants of it on his face. The devilish grin that bestowed his bruised and beaten face quickly led me to a conclusion; one that I wish I didn’t conclude. A purplish black infested the out layer of his left eye, it practically closed shut and his nose had been bent to a unsightly angle. I started to whimper as my lips trembled from fright because this Bryce was not the same one that had given us wedgies or swirlies this one was a true monster, a beast that devoured souls. His gaze was enough to display a vacancy of any humanity and my eyes crawled down his arm into his hand to see the black pistol that he firmly gripped.
“Uh, Bryce what happened? Are you okay?” I groaned out while sniffling.
He didn’t answer, he just kept grinning at me, the ghastly smile that stretched ear from ear plagued my vision and I knew that he had done it, that he had hurt someone badly. I was terrified and in the moment I had completely forgotten about Gabriel, my tunnel vision only focused on that firearm.
“Where the hell did the other one go?” the monster asked, I turned and realized Gabriel in fact had run away leaving me behind.
I wanted to run, I wanted to flee while screaming but horror kept me in place and I felt like some dear trapped in headlights contemplating my entire life in mere seconds.
“Everyone always messes with me!” Bryce yelled out with such ferociousness.
There was no talking my way out of this one, no pleading, I knew in that moment he was going to kill me; his rage over flowing to the point of lunacy. He quickly pounced dropping me to the floor, screaming with madness and he repeatedly hit me over the head with the but of the gun causing me to see stars. His words became incoherent sounding like muffled tones that slushed it’s way into my hearing, I shook my head trying to collect myself, just maybe I could figure a way out of this but as soon as my vision corrected itself Bryce would strike me another time causing it to blur once again. I fell into a darkness, my world collapsing into an eternal void of loneliness as my body began to float effortlessly but as soon as I thought this was my final moments flashes of Gabriel flooded into my mind awakening me out of whatever slumber I found myself in. That’s when I realized Bryce was no longer hitting me, instead he was talking to someone and as I grabbed at my head trying to steady my balance I saw it was Gabriel standing still head as always tilted downwards.
Bryce confronted him pointing his 9mm directly at his head yelling, screaming at the top of his lungs but my best friend remained unmoved, just quiet and then he slowly removed his mask. This caused Bryce to pause, his tone weaken and I think for the first time he digested if he should proceed doing what he was doing.
“What are you doing freak?” the bully yelped out.
Gabriel remained quiet, eyes still directed towards the floor, his breathing escalating; I could see his chest pump more vigorously with each passing second. With the mask off me and Bryce could see the bewildering black duct tape strapped to his face, Gabriel’s face began to tremble violently as if he was trying to yell through the bondage. He then finally began to peel of the thick layer of black duct tape and it came off with a wicked screech as I could see my friends eyes squint with pain.
Bryce was no longer pointing the gun at Gabriel, no longer was he even saying a word his arm lowered to his side and both him and I stared on with amazement. What was under the tape was layers of skin, twisting and binding to each other like some thriving organism living it’s own life on Gabriel's face. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t say anything I was in shock and my head still throb from pain. Then Gabriel's mouth — if you want to call it that — began to stretch open, he tilted his head backwards while the mountain of dead flesh started to drip down his face allowing some endless void to open up inside of him. I could hear the cracking of bones breaking, his jaw shifting to accommodate the massive hole that was now his mouth and then horrid dwindling fingers began to protrude from the darkness.
My mouth gaped open with trepidation and if I had the ability to adjust my head I would think Bryce had the same facial expression. Then a grotesque head forced it’s way out of my friends mouth revealing a face that could only exist in the realms of the dead, this new creature having two large almond shape eyes; eyes that looked very similar to the ones that were attached to my friend. This ‘thing’ then stared at Bryce, that’s all it did, no words were spoken no violence was created it just stared at him and soon the bully grasped at his face and began to yell. He ran frantically in different directions, his gun firing out into the tree line, I jumped for cover; falling to the floor sheltering my head with my arms. Bryce’s terrified screams caused my stomach to turn and soon those dire cries stopped along with the gunshots.
I must of stayed on the floor for what felt like hours, too scared to rise to my feet and through my peripheral did I see the sun begin to set plunging the small creak into darkness. I eventually mustered up enough courage to get up and I looked around, Bryce was mere feet away from me, he lay still on the floor blood spewing out of his head; it appeared as if had shot himself. I walked over to his body befuddled of what to do I then remembered Gabriel, I turned to look for him but he was gone it was only me and Bryce's dead corpse. I ran home telling my parents about everything, of the encounter I experienced, at first it seemed as if they didn’t believe me but they still phoned for the police.
I led them to the creek to the bullies dead body, I initially thought perhaps they would blame me, connect me to his death but the police believed me; well the believed me about Bryce but not about Gabriel. They told me that Bryce had killed his step father, apparently they had gotten into some altercation and afterwards he went into his mothers bedroom and shot her to death. They told me that the once bully was a disturbed individual, suffering abuse for many years; that I was lucky to escape from his wrath. I told them that they needed to find my friend I wanted to know if he was okay, but all the officers could do was pat my back with sympathy trying to relax me.
It has almost been 30 years since the event, I still have nightmares of what had happened, I see the dead stare Bryce had while pointing his pistol at me, I see him repeatedly hitting me over the head again and again. Though, what still haunts me more is Gabriel's mouth contorting into that horrid shape revealing the creature that lived inside of him. He was never found, I’m pretty sure he moved on to another city, another place where bullies like Bryce tormented their schools and I could only imagine Gabriel was there to balance the wrongs of the world. I am scared of my best friend, but I know at the same time he is my protector; my super hero, he is out there doing good, I can feel it and I hope he can sense my love for him. Maybe we will never meet again, perhaps it’s not written in the stars for us to reunite but one thing is for sure, I get comic books mailed to me randomly every month; most are of Superman and I know exactly who they are from.

(Apologies for bad english, it's not my first Language)
I have been watching Pyro's content since 2016 and even though I liked the way he managed his channel back then, it has become a shell of it's former self. I think most of his community knows about this situation and I just wanted to add my small grain of sand into the heaping pile of rubbish that Pyro Live and Le Slop have formed.
Firstly, Pyro Live channel isn't "slop", it's fucking garbage. This term Pyro and his fans used to refer to the content the Second Channel produced carried the implication that it wasn't what Pyro wanted to do, rather what he had to do to pay bills and produce the larger and higher quality videos. This has now proven to be the contrary, since Pyro is producing around 5-7 Pyro Live videos a week that are of the poorest quality and talk about "This internet drama is insane" or "Insane Youtuber situation". These videos, coupled with the insane amount of donos pyro earns from his streams (1000 bucks to show his feet) are providing him with a steady flow of income, income Pyro is using to improve the Slop Live channel instead of the Main Channel,
An argument many will use to justify the "Slop Live" situation is the following: "Oh but Pyro NEEDS the money from the second channel to create 4 hour long videos like the Cruelty Squad one." Even if it is arguable that Pyro could actually afford to live from the main channel alone since he has his own merch, live events and is streaming on top of it (those 100$ donos might be a huge chunk of his income), I do believe that 95% of Pyro's fanbase would be happier if he posted shorter and higher quality videos in the Main Channel (Like the Iron Lung or Petscop ones) since this would actually free up Pyro's schedule in order to be able to release more videos. But no, Pyro has to do the 5 hour video on Cruelty Squad and fill it with unnecessary jokes and filler. He HAS to make a Lethal Company video instead of the Darkwood one because he needs to capitalize on that sweet sweet money that comes from talking about viral games. He needs the money that comes from monetizing every single video with worthless products.
I think this is kind of the point of this post. Pyro has been prioritizing money over everything else and it is becoming annoying. His live videos are up to the brim with unnecessary tangents and conversations that Pyro artificially generates out of thin air in order to reach the 8 minute mark. His reactions to donos are extremely unfunny since he ALWAYS screams and starts flailing his arms around like a monkey at a 5 dollar dono that told him his hair is actual garbage. No Pyro, asking mods to pull someone's home address for the 25th time in a row when someone in chat says "Oldest Pyro Fan" at a barely developed fetus is NOT funny.
I am not trying to downplay the effect we as his audience have had on him. We constantly bully and mess with Pyro, making unfunny jokes about his hair and his chin, something that has made Pyro think that he needs to scream like a react Andy at every donation that "attacks" any part of his personality. It is a cashgrab of the worst kind (the kind of cashgrab we as his audience are a part of) and it has hindered his video's quality greatly.
Also, him reusing topics for the second channel and straight up reacting to SunnyV2 on the Third Channel (Le Ultimate Slop Live) just shows that he does not fucking care wether his content is interesting or not. He is becoming a C-tier British Moistcritikal imitation without all the ironic humor that makes Charlie enjoyable to watch. The absolute lack of self awareness when confronted with the lack of research in the Fallout video and the absolute dogshit points he makes in said video is revolting. Him making a 40 minute video about the Kendrick and Drake beef whilst admitting he knows dogshit about any of the singers involved in said beef (and making wonderful comments like "Metro's Booming") is one of many examples of Pyro milking the content cow dry. I honestly believe Pyro has said Neon and Adin Ross's names in the past months more than his own parent's name's during his entire life.
In conclusion, what used to be a great channel dedicated to passionate videos has now devolved into a 3 way channel content beast, creating video after video of baseless critique and commentary. There is still hope that Pyro might change for the good, prioritizing the main channel videos instead of the slop of the Second Channel, but seeing at the direction his channel is moving it doesn't seem likely.
Ironically, we might be seeing MoistCritikal or Ludwig reacting to a SunnyV2 video on "The Fall of Pyrocinical" in just a few years.

About

The goblins from the Village of Gob are waking up clean every morning, and this has directly impacted the local market for the worst and a great danger emerges from the woods putting pressure to fix Gob's mystery. However, this is only the beginning of a 3 session adventure that uncovers a tragic conspiracy.

What You Get For Playtesting

• Your name will be added to the list of playtesters in the credits page on the final version of the book.
• A copy of the playtest material used to keep
• A PDF of the adventure run for the playtest after the last session

Playtest Content

We will be playtesting three ancestries that were made for the Pratalia setting. The goal with this playtest is to see how the ancestries function mechanically in-game and get feedback on the lore and roleplay for them.
🐸 Roog

Frogs that can jump very far, mastered the art of calming one's mind, and have a weakness to psychic energies and emotional disturbances

🦋 Orphaned

Celestial moth-like beings that master the fine arts and have a very naïve and curious demeanor

🐱‍🚀Noblins

Hairless Cat like beings that like to live life to the max, live chaotically, and have a penchant to overdo it "just a tad"

​

Game Details

• Players: 4-6
• Played Using: Foundry, Discord Voice Channels
• Adventure Length: 2-3 hour sessions, 3 total sessions, same time weekly
• Cost To Play & Ways To Save $
  • Cost: $12 per session ($36 total)
  • Early Bird: First 2 players that sign-up for any group get Half-Off the first session
  • Bring A Friend: Sign-up with up friends and you and your friends reduce the price per session by $3 (Saves $9) (This does stack with Early Bird)
  • Free $10 Towards Your First Game: If you never made an account on StartPlayingGames, you can use this referral link to get a free $10 that you can immediately use towards these games
    • https://startplaying.games/referral/cl710ephv7978109iegq1bdu4m

GROUP TIMES AND SPG LINKS

There are 6 groups that people can join to play. Below is when the first session starts for each group. Sessions 2 and 3 are on the same day and time each week.
Group 1: Wednesday May 22 8PM EST 1 EARLY BIRD SEAT AVAILABLE!
Seats Filled: 1 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw614ptv001tg1r0ati6w2kn
​
Group 2: Thursday May 23 8PM EST
Seats Filled: 2 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw617x5i00038yd5fxj4x4r8
​
Group 3: Friday May 24 2PM EST
Seats Filled: 2 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw618ty50003mz3nln48qjuu
​
Group 4: Friday May 24 8PM EST 2 EARLY BIRD SEATS AVAILABLE!
Seats Filled: 0 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw619mly005i8zr30m94vkxe
​
Group 5: Saturday May 25 2PM EST 2 EARLY BIRD SEATS AVAILABLE!
Seats Filled: 0 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw61ad8a000x3754vi2xbfue
​
Group 6: Saturday May 25 8PM EST TWITCH STREAMED GAME
Seats Filled: 2 out 6
SPG Listing: https://startplaying.games/adventure/clw61b654004lidjceukus48y

A little late to the party, but I just created a i5 10NUC NAS with an external 4 bay Terramaster DAS.
I was totally new to OMV, Docker, Portainer etc before now. My NUC was previously running Kodi, directly hooked up to my amp>TV.
I'm using Jellyfin as my media tool of choice, as it allows you to use hardware acceleration for free, whereas Plex charges you. This means my CPU is not capping at 90% transcoding as was the case with Plex, but circa 15% 4k with Jellyfin streaming wirelessly via Chromecast.
I'm grateful for all the YT vids out there that were invaluable getting me up and running.
Great piece of software, and saved a lot of money Vs a dedicated off the shelf NAS solution that's better in the sense the gen 10 i5 and 8gb DDR4 is pushing things along seemlinessly.
Been a fun weekend getting it up and running and learning to boot!

Wanting to try out the Life Series myself, but not being interested in any of the community servers, I came up with my own ruleset for how to play your own Single Player Adventure inspired by the Life Series. As there aren't any other players, the objective obviously isn't to be the last survivor, instead the goal of this challenge is to survive as many sessions as possible with a ruleset you set for yourself at the start. I haven't tried this out yet, but I might soon. However feel free to try this out yourself.
General rules, that define the Challenge:

• Play alone on a Minecraft Survival World and choose a difficult. Hard Mode is the suggested choice here
• You have 3 Lifes. If you die 3 times the challenge is over and you are only allowed to view your world in spectator mode
• Every play session has a fixed length. For the Life series they use 3 hours plus a break. You can choose the amount of time yourself, but you have to make sure every time you play you are (roughly) playing for the same amount of time.
• Set aside a fixed time every week or every other week where you play a session. The Life Series does this on Fridays, choose which ever weekday is best for you.
• Alternatively or in addition to a fixed day you can also play sessions irregularly, but you have to make sure to still make them the same amount of time. Playing irregularly might take away from your immersion and enjoyment, but I understand that for some people it might be the only way to play at all, if they aren’t able to find a regular date.
• Give yourself a task every session. If you fail your task you loose a life. This will keep you engaged and give you a stream of constant goals to work on in your limited playtime each session.
• You task should be chosen at random from a list you or a friend specifically prepared for this challenge. At the end of this post is a list of tasks I thought up for myself. As I haven’t really played Minecraft in a long time, many of these tasks may sound relatively easy. I encourage you to make your own list. Each task should be doable, but still provide a challenge. Tasks might include things you always wanted to do in Minecraft, but never got around to.

Optional Rules, that you can add if you want:

• Set the World border to 700 Blocks (which is what it was in 3rd Life) or another limit of your choice. This can be done with the Command "/worldborder set 700". Note that this only works if you open your Single player world to Lan and enable commands
• Don’t use Helmets (like they do in the series)
• Use three different Skins for each Life
• Give yourself 30 hearts with no regeneration like in Secret life (If I understand correctly this can be done without mods, just with Commands and Game Settings). Instead of loosing a life, you loose 10 hearts if you fail your challenge, unless you have 10 or less hearts then you still loose a life.
• Make a backup up your World after every Session. This way you can save your progress and take a look back at how your world developed session after session
• If you loose a life during a session, you don’t have to do your task anymore, preventing yourself from potentially loosing another life from failing your task
• In a Session with a hard task your play time is increased to give you a a better chance of succeeding e.g. by 50% or by 30 mins.
• You must end the session after you finish your task

Difficulties

• Easy: Only do easy Tasks
• Medium: Do easy tasks by default, but do a hard task every third session (or another interval you choose for yourself)
• Hard: Do hard tasks by default, but do an easy task every third session (or another interval you choose for yourself)
• Very Hard: Only do hard Tasks

Example Easy Tasks

1. Build a House following Grian’s instructions laid out in this Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUzggMjVze8
2. Find a Diamond Vein
3. Build an Enchanting Table
4. Kill one of every hostile Mob in the Overworld
5. Build a Pillar at all corners of the world or at each of these 4 XZ Values, if you don't have a custom world border: 350/350, -350/350, -350/350, -350/-350
6. Dig down to Bedrock
7. Own atleast 5 each of the following animals: Sheep, Cows, Pigs, Chickens
8. Get Netherward from a Fortress
9. Kill 3 different Mobs with 3 different Red Stone Traps

Example Hard Tasks:

1. Open the Endportal. If you have already done that, kill the Enderdragon instead
2. Collect 3 Wither Skulls. If you have already done that, summon and kill the Wither instead
3. Find an ancient City. If you have already done that, spawn and kill a Warden instead
4. Convince a Friend to join you for atleast 30 mins of today’s challenge. You cannot ask your friends in advance, you can only start asking them during the session
5. Choose a random easy task. You must complete that tasks, but you cannot use your base until you finish the task.
6. Choose a random easy task. You must complete that tasks, but you cannot wear any armor or use a shield until you finish the task.
7. Find and cure a Zombie villager
8. Acquire a full set of enchanted Diamond Gear, but don’t use it. Instead set it aside. You cannot use it until you go down to your last life. (This task is only for if you aren’t on your last life)
9. Go down to half a heart three different times with three different methods
10. Trigger and clear a Pillager Raid (This task is only for if there is a village in your border)
11. Get a Monopoly. You must collect all of one of the following resources on your world: Sand, Cacti, Sugar Cane, Dead Bushes or another resource of your choice (This task is only for if you have custom World Border)