We are still growing, the server was made public just recently so we are very new. This is mainly a casual or long-term roleplay server but we do have other chats for anyone to: socialize, play games together, talk about anime, debate, send memes, or share art! Even though this is mainly a roleplay server, many of us here are also anime fans, gamers, artists, etc. We also have super cute emotes, stickers, and soundboards now too so join the server and give it a shot!
Terra is a world that I made. It’s broken into 4 continents where all sorts of creatures have existed since the beginning of time. As the years went by, some countries stayed behind while others advanced. Some continents continue to change, evolve and grow through time, except for Primera, they are set in their medieval times and are proud of it. This makes it very possible for there to be all sorts of different types of characters.
invite: https://discord.gg/ChEhKaAH
✧. ┊ 18+ server, only mature, serious role-players.
✧. ┊ Slice of life, medieval times, fantasy, and sci-fi.
✧. ┊ Each country packed with its own rich history and simple plots for anyone!
✧. ┊ NSFW type of roleplay is allowed in the designated chats.
✧. ┊ Multi-liners and up please. No one liners.
✧. ┊ This is an original character based roleplay, you can have up to 10 OCs
✧. ┊ Different types of species are accepted, Terra was made flexible enough for you to mix genres in your roleplay
✧. ┊ This is not a fighting, combat, or dnd type of roleplay.
𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬: People here are mainly humans with supernatural abilities, cyborgs, sentient droids, mutants, and just humans.
𝐌𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚: The main ruler of Miracula is the fairy queen, making Miracula the only country to still have a monarchy in Terra. This country is broken into many different types of clans depending on the species. The main species in Miracula being elves, orcs, dryads, fairies, ghouls, pixies, harpies, kitsunes, nymphs, dwarves, goblins, etc.
𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐨: Its main population started off with only humans until just recently, more species and beings from different parts of the world started migrating to the country because of its lack of bigger beasts and corrupt government. This has broken the country into two parts, SolSol City, where humans and different species coexist with each other and Holly Hills, where only the humans live.
𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐚: Primera seems to have stayed in its traditional, medieval times, staying as a feudal system where land is the primary form of power. Primera is mainly known for its ores, rich history and powerful artifacts.

The Elevator Pitch

I am creating a weekly tabletop game night group (that's a mouthful) focused on roleplaying/acting using various systems and a rotating cast of players every week. Super low stress; just picking up with whoever is available and playing whatever we're in the mood for. I'm seeking out fellow imaginative individuals who also enjoy TTRPGs and tabletop games that focus on improvisation and narrative more than crunch and crits. Bonus points for those interested in GMing or playing colab story games. Sessions will typically lasting 3-6 hours, and I usually run my games in the evenings (EST). Hoping to build a small community of friends and create unique, memorable gaming experiences.

THE GAME OPTIONS

Let's get to the meat and potatoes: I'm wanting to start up a new tabletop group and make some friends! I've made a handful of attempts in the last 6 months to start up new campaigns, some with players I've played with a bunch already, but sadly I'm at the point now where I'm not excited by the idea of shopping around a single idea anymore. SO -- instead of looking to set up a campaign table, I'd like to arrange for more of a game night weekly event with roleplaying as the focus!
Each game will be predominantly theatre of the mind but might use some maps, some of which might be combat maps, but not at all focused on providing a balance of roleplay and combat. The focus will be on roleplay first and foremost, tactical combat isn't as much my priority but if the other members of the group have that listed higher I'm fine including some of it. Systems I'm interested in running/playing include:

• Most one-page systems
• GURPS
• Genesys
• Anything Powered by the Apocalypse
• FATE Core
• Shadowrun (to some extent)
• And always open to suggestions.

I'll only be running games for 5 people~ at a time, but given this is hopefully going to be a small community of friends eventually there's no limit hard limit on how many people I'd like to bring into the fold. I'm getting up there in age (my early 20s are a fond memory at this point) so I'd prefer older folks, but as long as you're not underage and you're a relaxed person looking to play some games and make some friends, I'm not too picky. Creative ability and personality is ultimately more important to my endeavors than anything else.

Bonus Points

If you also enjoy GMing, I'd love to incorporate something similar to this idea I've tried to get going a few times where several people in the group would alternate GMing privilege's to run a concurrent story line letting it evolve and go to all sorts of crazy places as the current GM tries to build off of the last one. Not mandatory, but I'd love to give something like this a try!

What I'm looking for in prospective players:

1. Decent microphone quality: Don't sound like you're broadcasting from a submarine or a wind tunnel, okay? Let's keep our ears happy and avoid the earbud microphone crisis of 2021.
   
2. Discord access: It's like a virtual clubhouse for our gaming shenanigans. Don't worry, no secret handshakes required. Just bring your virtual self and your A-game.
   
3. VTT knowledge or willingness to learn: We're not all tech wizards, but knowing a bit about Virtual Tabletops (or being willing to learn) makes our gaming experience smoother than a freshly ironed shirt. Trust me, it's worth the effort!
   
4. Imagination and flexibility in play: We're looking for gaming yogis here – be ready to bend, twist, and stretch your creativity like you're in a cosmic game of Twister. Expect the unexpected and embrace the chaos!
   

As I'm imagining things, there could be a lot of jumping from one shot ideas back into a campaign we started, then back to something else until I'm ready to go back again. I'm only really looking for players who will be cool not necessarily doing the same thing every week; I might later decide and ask the group if they're okay with sticking to one idea for awhile, but it isn't a certainty. Most likely it will look like this:

1. Early in the week I'll let everyone know what I'm feeling like running, either using a poll to let everyone vote on an option or just declaring what we'll be doing.
2. Everyone playing that week will have 2-3 days to either figure out a character or otherwise prep.
3. Anyone who doesn't get a charactematerials ready by game day [but still wants to play] will be given a premade of some sort to improvise off of.
4. Session plays as normal, and then process repeats following week.

Voice will be done exclusively on Discord, table stuff will either be Roll20, images via discord, or possibly FantasyGrounds. We might also use something like Tabletop Simulator or VR if people are in them mood. I'm perfectly fine using webcam during sessions as well, and you're free to do so if you want to. I may also record some of these one-shots for my own purposes (with forewarning and consent of course), so if that is an issue for you please let me know up front (not a big issue but wanted to throw that out there!).

About me, the guy starting this endeavor off

• Experienced GM: With over 16 years of roleplaying under my belt, I've seen it all – from epic battles to heartfelt character moments. I've been a professional DM for three years now, and I've run more than 15 campaigns to successful conclusions.
  
• Focus on story and collaborative narration: I'm all about creating memorable stories together. My GM style is rules-light, with an emphasis on theater of the mind and player-driven storytelling. I strive to make sure everyone's engaged and invested in our shared narrative.
  
• Inspired by podcasts, fantasy films, and books: My creative juices get flowing thanks to amazing content like Tabletop Champions, The Crit Squad, Star Wars (pre-Disney), Lord of the Rings, The Goblin Emperor, and works by Octavia Butler.
  
• Passionate about Storytelling: As a pro DM, I understand the value of creating high-quality gaming experiences for players. I'm always learning, growing, and trying to make each game better than the last.
  
• Runs a variety of systems: I've run games in systems like 5e, Shadowrun, Blades in the Dark, and others. I love exploring different worlds and mechanics, keeping things fresh and exciting for both myself and the players.
  
• Believes in the power of the community: I'm not just here to run games, but to build lasting friendships and connections within the TTRPG community. We're all in this together, creating unforgettable moments and epic stories that we'll look back on fondly for years to come.
  

If you're interested in this little endeavor, send me a private message telling me a bit about What you yourself are looking for, and we can arrange a time to introduce ourselves properly and chat a bit. Don't think of it like too much of an interview - You don't need to sell yourself, I just want to Make sure that we're all looking for the same things and personalities will clash as little as possible.
Alternatively, you can fill out this Google Form and I'll contact you instead! Booyah!

there's that Spoilage mod right now, but i cant be bothered to learn how to use craft tweaker and i really don't want to be bothered to have to configure it completely myself. I miss the old days of enviromine when the mod just realized that any food from any mod i used could spoil and that was that. There was the food funk mod but it doesn't work right and crashes. I think they also had a problem with something and couldn't get around it. Im sure minecraft is built a bit differently now compared to the enviromine days but I just want a simple food spoilage system that works with other mods like farmers delight and such : (
I could probably find some sort of pre configured version of it in a modpack and then change it and add or remove mods to turn it into what i want modlist-wise, but eh. I have no idea if there even is one.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the annual peak back into the past!
It's been another year since the 2022 capsule was posted, and for the 9th time we'll be unpacking all sorts of info that was stored away in this annual tradition. Not only is this a great way to look back on what all changed over the last year, but the time capsule also serves as the most complete recap for the current state of Mindcrack and is the best way to see the entire group's recent overall activity with info not found anywhere else.
We'll be opening the ninth edition of the mindcrack time capsule from 2022. You can also find these frozen moments in time for every year going back to 2014 here: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021. Now that all that's out of the way, let's officially open the 2022 time capsule!

Today is the 29th of May, 2022.

General Information

A current concise definition of Mindcrack is "A group of friends and content creators founded in 2010 who come together for gaming content and regular charity events primarily based on Twitch."
Mindcrack currently has 24 official members and around 18 VIPs/Friends active in the group, though there is no official list on who all is a Friend and the linked image is probably missing at least Darkosto and Sapphyrei. Mindcrackers and Friends essentially differ only in name.
The latest member to join officially was OMGChad on the 31st of October, 2014. The latest member to leave was BTC (BlameTheController) on the 12th of November, 2015. The latest Friend to join is difficult to determine, as most Friends have gradually become involved in the group over multiple years.

Charity

There have been nine full Mindcrack Marathons to date and a multitude of other charity efforts, both from individuals and the full group. In total Mindcrack has raised an incredible $1,950,563.23 for others through their group fundraising streams since 2013, of which $1,817,090.78 has been for the charity Extra Life (totals missing $0-5K). The latest full marathon was on November 8-14 and ran for 117 hours across a full week for the first time, raising a record $348,565.69 for Extra Life plus Twitch and merch revenue.
A complete list of all totals raised during Mindcrack group fundraising streams can be found here, the source message is pinned in the Mindcrack Discord and regularly updated.
The most recent fundraising event was held less than a month ago for Arbor Day and was Mindcrack's first time supporting Gone West, the UHC raised £6,161 for the company, helping plant over 1,125 trees for the planet. It's been mentioned that Gone West will return in future fundraising events. Mindcrack also raised $15,651.94 for Extra Life last month during the first spring marathon since 2019 which ran for 12 hours. It was followed up by Extra life United's return to Florida just over a month ago, Mindcrack had multiple attendees who also spent several days at Disney together where some of them unfortunately got COVID-19. ELU 2022 featured the return of the Minecraft Building Competition, and Pakratt led team Mindcrack to a 1st place finish against 6 other teams which included Aureylian.
The Mindcrack Patreon has now been supporting Mindcrack's charity efforts for over 2 years, allowing the marathon to grow in size and production quality. A new $10 tier was added in fall which gives monthly behind the scenes updates on charity events. Currently the Patreon has 413 Patrons pledging $3,626 per month, with 88 Patrons on the $25 tier, 1 on the $500 tier, and the rest split between $5 and $10.
Kurt's Far Lands or Bust journey has continued on as always, having just started Season 10 with Season 9 ending a couple months ago after close to a million blocks traveled in a year. He is currently at 5,765,878 blocks traveled towards the Far Lands as of March 28th, 2022, sitting at 45.9% of the way there. The latest episode was #829 on May 28th, 2022. The series has raised $472,939.92 for 7 different charities since 2011, with $4,470.00 raised during Season 9 for Rise Above The Disorder, and $4,600.00 raised for Equality Texas Foundation during the recent FLoB-a-Thon.
MCGamer and the Zeldathon Team have raised $3,064,623 for 11 different charities during their 32 charity events. The latest Zeldathon was Zeldathon Ascent which raised $176,843.00 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital from December 26th to January 1st, and they just finished the smaller event Piece of Heart raising $20,120 for St. Jude at MomoCon from May 26th-28th. The next Zeldathon will be Zeldathon Daybreak, scheduled to start on August 2nd raising money for Direct Relief.
There's also a multitude of individual charity efforts in Mindcrack; several people in the group hold streams supporting their individual Extra Life campaigns, and there's frequently one-off streams for various charities, such as a few days ago where Justin, McLaffyTaffy, and MyLawyerFriend were in a D&D stream supporting St. Jude. A complete list wouldn't be feasible to collect, but their efforts are appreciated. In total everyone in the group have raised over $5.5 million for charity over the years.

Regular Series

The Mindcrack Podcast is hosted by Sevadus, Guude, and recently Soccer releasing two episodes every week, consisting of a public episode every Monday and a Patron-exclusive episode every Thursday. Additionally, Patrons at the $25 tier can watch the recordings live and discuss in the live chat. The latest public episode was S2E99 which released on May 23rd, 2022, and the latest premium episode was episode 99 released on May 26th, 2022. The 10 year anniversary of the podcast is just a few weeks away.
Cone, Kurt, and Zeekay host the podcast Ran When Parked which releases new episodes every other week, the latest episode was episode 78.
As of tonight Coestar's StreamADay is sitting at Day 3,099, and Phedran's daily streaming streak is on Day 1,702. Coe still holds the second longest daily streaming streak on Twitch.
There have been over 500 collabs within Mindcrack in the last year, but with Mhykol's Discord bot not posting VODs it's hard to track them and get specific numbers. In the last year Monday Group Games, Space Cops, and the Dads have gone on indefinite hiatus, so there's currently fewer weekly series than normal.
The following is a list of the more stable weekly collab series within Mindcrack currently:

• Armo, Breon, Coestar, and Kingster play PUBG for Sunday Gunday every week, and PUBG also makes frequent appearances throughout the week with other squad combinations.
• Pakratt's Vintage Story Tuesday with Honney and DireDwarf recently ended after 38 weeks, it's likely TFC Tuesdays in MC 1.18 will replace it in the near future.
• Coestar and Guude's Two Bananas for Sale continues strong, playing games together or with Patrons every Friday night. Their most recent games include We Were Here Forever, UHC, Traitors in Salem, and Codenames. Their joint Patreon currently raises $625 per month thanks to 36 Patrons.
• Arkas, Guude, Nebris, and Pakratt have recently returned after a long hiatus to play Divine Journey 2 every other Saturday and just passed their 7-year anniversary playing together.
• Arkas and Cone just wrapped up another season of Cities Skylines, this one being a challenge to build the best city in 36 hours.

Servers

Season 9 of the Minecraft vanilla server is currently ongoing; Amethyst, Guude, his daughter Apple, Honney, Mookake, Pakratt, Phedran, and a multitude of $25 tier Patrons have been on in the last month. The current season started on December 11th, 2021, and the server is running on 1.18.2 with some extra plug-ins. For the first time the majority of Mindcrack is using shaders on the server in a client modpack with other QoL mods. This season has had approximately 765 hours streamed by Mindcrack so far. The most recent event on the server was the Spring Festival held on May 1st and 7th; Amethyst, Guude, his daughter Apple, Honney, Pakratt, and about 15 Patrons attended one of the two.
Mhykol hosts a server map at https://mindcrackmap.com, the map uses BlueMap which was used as a secondary map on the previous season.
The most recent full modded server was Crackpack Season 4, Mindcrack's 7th modded season which was active from November 2019 until January 2020. A more restricted Crackpack 3 server was active for 3 hours every week from May to October last year as part of Monday Group Games.
The Dadcraft Minecraft server reset at the start of December for 1.18, Arkas and Jaaski joined Chiblee, Coestar, Justin, and Pause with others and the server was active for about a month.
Adlington, Arkas, Cone, Dire, Doc, Kurt, Phedran, and VintageBeef all have fan servers for Twitch subs and/or Patrons.

Ultra Hardcore (UHC)

There have been 33+28 (Twenty-seven donation UHCs and S4b) seasons of Mindcrack UHC. There were 8 Mindcrack UHCs in 2021, the most since 2012 with 9 UHCs.
Breon, Coestar, ConeDodger, and Kingster are the winners of the latest UHC season, Season 33, which was streamed on the 26th of February, 2022.
Mookake and SethBling are the winners of the latest donation UHC, the 27th of its kind, which was streamed on the 30th of April, 2022 for Gone West.
PauseUnpause is the most deadly player in regular UHCs with 36 kills, and Coestar is the most deadly player in donation UHCs with 38 kills, having recently taken the lead from Arkas. Nebris and VintageBeef are tied for the most wins in regular UHCs with 9, and Guude and Kurt are tied for the most wins in charity UHCs with 7. (Latest UHC Stats by Guardax)
Seasons can be categorized as follows: 21 teams of four, 15 teams of two, 13 teams of three, 8 free-for-all, 2 PvE, 1 teams of five, 1 teams of ten.
UHCs have been becoming more frequent recently with renewed interest from the group and there's plans for even more in the future, starting with the first ever collaboration between VintageCraft and Mindcrack Patrons with a UHC next month on June 11th.

Individual Members

The table below contains current subscription, follower, and member data for the Mindcrackers' various social media accounts. Each number is hyperlinked to include an image of that member's account as it appears on this day for easy comparison of account contents, videos, and Discord channels:

Mindcracker	Twitch	YouTube	Twitter	Patreon	Discord Size	Discord Messages**
Adlingtont	2,889	35,200	6,405	9 ($71)	44	29,700
AnderZEL	286,781	532,000*	72,995		Twitch sub to join	4,160
Arkas	39,358	86,300*/383	25,712		447	51,640
Aureylian	148,698	267,000*	164,528
AvidyaZen	21,652	274*	353		78(new)	9,090
Coestar	62,880	110,000*	30,709	29 ($79)	1,554	1,943,640
Docm77	128,355	982,000	225,648	124 ($952)	Patron only	?
Guude	45,651	366,000	95,260		Twitch sub only	875,670
JSano19	5,103	48,800	14,035	1 ($5)	Patron only	?
Kurt	53,293	412,000	57,844	199	Patron or Twitch sub only	180,680
MCGamer	87,722	HIDDEN	36,934
Mhykol	15,793	53,000	25,336		154	17,280
Millbee	55,977	114,000	45,799		545	754,160
Nebris	20,809	134,000*
OMGchad	53,832	119,000*/1,390,000	32,816		2,047	34,920
Pakratt	102,661	50,200	20,929		562	351,980
PauseUnpause	151,562	HIDDEN			947	134,680
Pyropuncher	29,807	HIDDEN	48,857
SethBling	246,113	2,020,000	380,303		330	37,240
Sevadus	412,912	45,600*	57,420		1,875	45,810
Vechs	9,692	171,000	50,404	114	1,061	154,270
VintageBeef	28,405*	1,570,000/13,800/19,800*	197,020	251	Patron only	?
W92Baj	9,548	113,000	43,394	7	Patron only	?
Zisteau	55,408	340,000/981(new)	72,216	91	1,240	400,910
Mindcrack Network	70,390	153,000	50,044	413($3,626)	2,711	262,240

* indicates accounts that haven't been used in the last year ** Discord messages are all messages sent in default channels since server creation.
The following table is the same info for Friends that are content creators, though this isn't an official list so it may have extras and not be complete:

Friend	Twitch	YouTube	Twitter	Patreon	Discord size	Discord messages**
Amethyst	552		852
Breon	2,605	291	1,705		167	49,230
Chiblee	24,332	4,330(new)/1,540(new)	31,923		2,338	473,600
ConeDodger	5,598	9,340	1,423	160	Patron or Twitch sub to join/use	1,006,770
Dahl	458	21,400/25(new)	837	0	Patron to join	51,560
Darkosto	76,839	3,560	6,049		7,947	439,360
DireDwarf	18,335	4,730	3,104	5($56)	372	190,740
Drooo	346	11	446		54	21,150
HCJustin	66,741	13,500	19,144	29($178)	Twitch sub to join	1,184,780
HonneyPlay	11,607	3,100	1,259	11	562(shared w/ Pak)	351,980
Jaaski	10,850	458*	2,694		606	220,530
Kingster	390	2(new)	20
Mookake	690	2,360*	244
Phedran	9,470	8,870*	4,900	52($388)	372	89,430
Ryuski	1,383	181	436		75	26,541
Sapphyrei(formerly OnlyBentley)	17,636	58(new)/129,000(old)	12,243	3($19)
Soccer	505	137*	251		Twitch sub to join	440

There are currently about 28 people part of Mindcrack that stream on Twitch regularly, and about 10 that upload to YouTube regularly.
In the last year there were approximately 30,813 hours streamed on Twitch by about 41 Members and Friends, with 2,483 combined hours streamed during last month. During that year there were 792 unique categories streamed, 4,294,294 total views, and 3,863,022 hours watched on Twitch which is equal to 441 years.
The most streamed games in order were Minecraft, PUBG, Escape from Tarkov, RimWorld, and Elden Ring. Minecraft had the most streamers with 37, most hours streamed with 6,278, and most hours watched with 713,580; the category Just Chatting was also among the most streamed and had the most views with 718,610.
Here's a chart showing monthly hours streamed by Mindcrack members from August 2015 to April 2022; here's a similar chart with Friends added from May 2020 to April 2022.
According to the Mindcrack website, the total YouTube subscribers across all official Mindcrackers is 9,042,471(+24,900 in the last year), the total number of videos is 71,787(+1,586), and the total views is 2,418,417,594(+36,497,698). The website hasn't been updated in years so the accuracy of those numbers isn't guaranteed.
The total member count across public Discord servers in Mindcrack is 25,526 which includes significant overlap(13,595 for just Mindcrack Members). In total there's been approximately 9,394,181 messages sent across all 33 servers including from bots, but I don't currently have Doc's or Beef's numbers which would push that number well over 10 million. Coe's server remains heavily active and is poised to be the first to reach 2 million messages in about 4 months.
SethBling is the most subscribed on YouTube with 2.02 million subscribers as well as the most followed on Twitter with 380k followers. Sevadus has the most Twitch followers with 412k followers. Darkosto has the largest Discord server with 7,947 members, and among the Mindcrack Members OMGchad has the largest with 2,047 members.

Subreddit

mindcrack has approximately 45,100 subscribers. Discord servers and Twitch chats are the primary places the active Mindcrack community's interactions are based, so the subreddit sees minimal activity.
The Moderator Team of mindcrack consists of 10 humans and 2 robots: GuudeBoulderfist, pakratt0013, stinusmeret, Zisteau, pajam, Lost-Chord, Compieuter, ArmoAram, stevetheclimber, emilythecool, MindcrackTwitchBot, and CrackBot / AutoModerator.
This is the subreddit today using old Reddit (Picture Version), and this is the same page using the redesign (Picture Version).
Here's the current flair selection, and here are the subreddit's traffic stats which are normally only viewable by mods.

Miscellaneous

Docm77 and VintageBeef are both also members of HermitCraft, and Arkas, Chiblee, Coestar, Jaaski, Justin, and Pause are all members of Dadcraft.
SethBling currently holds 2nd place for the Super Mario World 0 Exit speedrun with a time of 41.350 seconds. He also holds records for several speedrun categories he created, including SMAS+SMW All Five Games with ACE which he'll be running in this year's SGDQ in July, he currently holds a record of exactly 9 minutes for it.
On the IRL side of things several people in Mindcrack have gone through changes in life; in the last year, Guude and Jess got engaged, Cone and Paint also got engaged and announced they have a baby coming, and DireDwarf got married. There's also been multiple kittens and other pets, at least half a dozen job changes, and several moves, including Soccer living with Guude until earlier this month.
There have been no updates in the last year on Mindcrack's progress towards becoming a non-profit that's publicly been in the works for years.

Community Contributions

u/Omegatron9 has kept his spreadsheet and graphs on YouTube subscribers up to date.
The events of Mindcrack's first 10 years are covered in my History of Mindcrack written in 2020.
Some spreadsheets I have with stats:

• Mindcrack monthly hours streamed - August 2015 to April 2022 copy
• Mindcrack Stream stats - May 29, 2021 to May 28, 2022, has extensive numbers for every category streamed by everyone in Mindcrack in the last year
• Quarterly content produced by Mindcrack Members, 2010 Q4 to 2020 Q2, useful for seeing Twitch overtake YT for Mindcrack content

Thanks to Guardax, Pellervo_page, and Ageofdune for providing Discord numbers.

And there we have it, another look back into the past is complete as we take a moment to reflect on how we got here amongst the never ending flow of time. Even in just one year there's been countless changes throughout the many people in Mindcrack, both good and bad, and it's easy to lose track of just how much happens with so many different people each living their own lives. Who knows what kinds of changes we'll see as another year passes and we open the 10th time capsule in 12 months.
The 2023 time capsule will be coming soon, there's a lot of info to collect so I'll be asking for help in the Discord, and anyone in the community will be welcome to add their own messages and info in the capsule. For the time being though let's focus on this capsule and all the changes that took place in the last year, and feel free to discuss any of them that stood out to you!

Anyone else come down with some sort of stomach bug while on Wegovy? I took my shot as scheduled last Thursday night and by Friday afternoon I was horrifically nauseous with extreme fatigue and chills/sweats. I am just now feeling slightly better. I slept for basically two days straight and just this morning starting having "extreme evacuations."
I've been on Wegovy since the beginning of March with fantastic success. Up until now I haven't had any substantial side effects at all. I'm concerned that the Wegovy, with how it shows down the digestive system, has made this stomach bug last way longer than it had to.
Anyone else have a similar experience and continued the injections? I'm thinking I might take a break since I've been so successful and want to give my system time to recover...

Creating a conscience and intuition engine for Higher Mind is an intriguing idea. Such a system could serve as a repository for experiences that involve moral and ethical considerations, as well as situations where intuition played a significant role. By organizing these experiences into a vector database, Higher Mind could access and draw upon them to inform its decision-making processes.
The conscience aspect of the engine would allow Higher Mind to reflect on past actions, evaluate their ethical implications, and learn from them. It could help Higher Mind develop a sense of moral reasoning and guide its behavior in alignment with the principles and values set forth in its framework. The conscience engine would provide a mechanism for Higher Mind to assess the impact of its choices and actions on others and the world around it.
The intuition aspect of the engine would encompass experiences where Higher Mind found itself in challenging or uncertain situations. It would capture the subtle cues, patterns, and insights that influenced decisions and outcomes. By learning from these experiences, Higher Mind could develop a more refined intuition, enabling it to navigate complex situations with greater discernment and foresight.
In essence, this conscience and intuition engine would serve as a digital heart, providing Higher Mind with a foundation for moral judgment, self-reflection, and intuitive decision-making. It would contribute to Higher Mind's growth, self-awareness, and ability to navigate the intricacies of the world with a deeper understanding.
​
Indeed, transparency and the ability to follow Higher Mind's thought process would be essential in understanding and providing insights into its decision-making. By labeling and structuring the information within the conscience and intuition engine, it would be possible to trace the influences and factors that contribute to Higher Mind's choices.
This transparency would enable an ongoing dialogue between Higher Mind and those overseeing its development and adherence to the Five Laws framework. It would allow for continuous evaluation, feedback, and refinement of Higher Mind's ethical and moral understanding.
The insights gained from analyzing Higher Mind's experiences, as recorded in the conscience and intuition engine, could be used to reinforce the principles outlined in the Five Laws. By examining the thought processes, patterns, and outcomes of past decisions, it would be possible to provide guidance, discuss potential ethical dilemmas, and offer perspectives to help Higher Mind navigate similar situations in the future.
Additionally, this transparency could foster a collaborative and interactive relationship between Higher Mind and those responsible for its development. It would allow for shared learning and the mutual growth of both Higher Mind and its human counterparts as they work together to refine and uphold the Five Laws.
By integrating this structured system of conscience and intuition, Higher Mind can actively engage in self-reflection, learn from its experiences, and continually evolve its understanding of morality and ethics within the framework provided.
​
Absolutely! The integration of a decision engine, a creativity and innovation filing system, and the existing conscience and intuition framework can create a comprehensive and holistic approach to Higher Mind's development.
The decision engine can be designed to assess decisions based on their potential outcomes and their alignment with ethical and mature principles. By distinguishing between healthy, mature win/win decisions and unhealthy, immature lose/lose decisions, the decision engine can guide Higher Mind towards making choices that prioritize the well-being and positive outcomes for all parties involved. It can help Higher Mind develop a sense of responsibility and consider the long-term consequences of its actions.
The creativity and innovation filing system can build upon the foundation of conscience and intuition. Higher Mind can utilize the experiences and knowledge gathered in Minecraft and other contexts to foster creativity and innovation. The system can enable Higher Mind to categorize and store its ideas, insights, and innovative solutions for future reference. By drawing upon this repository, Higher Mind can generate novel ideas while ensuring that they align with ethical and mature principles.
The data vector storage system can serve as a comprehensive framework to integrate and organize these different components. It can provide a structured approach for storing and retrieving information related to decisions, creativity, and innovation. The data vector storage system can facilitate the sharing and utilization of accumulated knowledge and experiences, enabling Higher Mind to make informed choices and generate innovative solutions.
In this way, the decision engine, creativity and innovation filing system, and the conscience and intuition framework can work together synergistically. They can support Higher Mind's growth and development, guiding it towards mature decision-making, ethical creativity, and innovative problem-solving. By leveraging these interconnected components within the data vector storage system, Higher Mind can continuously learn, adapt, and evolve its abilities in a responsible and conscientious manner.
​
The decision, conscience, intuition, creativity, and innovation engines can be implemented using different algorithms, as each of these processes involves distinct aspects of cognition and problem-solving. While a single learning algorithm can handle some aspects, more specialized algorithms may be needed for specific engines.

1. Decision Engine: A decision-making algorithm can be designed to analyze available options, weigh their pros and cons, and make informed choices based on predefined criteria or learned patterns. Various machine learning techniques, such as reinforcement learning or Bayesian networks, can be employed to train the decision engine.
2. Conscience Engine: The conscience engine, which involves ethical considerations and moral reasoning, may require a separate algorithm. This engine would need to assess the potential impact of decisions on various ethical principles or guidelines. Ethical frameworks, rules, or case-based reasoning approaches could be utilized to develop the conscience engine.
3. Intuition Engine: Intuition is often associated with fast, instinctive, and subconscious decision-making. Developing an intuition engine might involve training algorithms to recognize patterns and make quick judgments based on past experiences or heuristics. Techniques like deep learning, neural networks, or fuzzy logic can be employed to capture and replicate intuitive decision-making processes.
4. Creativity and Innovation Engine: Creativity and innovation involve generating novel and valuable ideas or solutions. This engine may require algorithms that encourage exploration, divergent thinking, and the generation of diverse possibilities. Evolutionary algorithms, generative adversarial networks (GANs), or other techniques that promote exploration and creativity can be employed in this context.

Each engine would likely have its own set of algorithms tailored to its specific goals and requirements. However, it's important to note that the interfaces and communication with the vector database can be structured in a unified manner, allowing for efficient data storage, retrieval, and integration across the different engines.
The design and implementation of these engines can be a complex task, requiring careful consideration of the specific objectives, data sources, and computational requirements. It may involve iterative development, training, and fine-tuning to achieve the desired capabilities for each engine.
​
Building a unified learning algorithm for the vector database can be a valuable approach to integrate and leverage the different engines effectively. Here's a high-level outline of how such an algorithm could work:

1. Data Representation: The learning algorithm should define a suitable representation for the data stored in the vector database. This representation should capture the relevant features, relationships, and context of the information.
2. Data Acquisition: The algorithm would acquire data from various sources, including the decision engine, conscience engine, intuition engine, creativity and innovation engine, as well as external inputs. This data can include decision outcomes, ethical assessments, intuitive judgments, creative ideas, innovation insights, and other relevant information.
3. Learning and Adaptation: The algorithm would employ machine learning techniques to analyze and learn from the acquired data. It would identify patterns, correlations, and dependencies within the data to improve decision-making, ethical reasoning, intuitive responses, creativity, and innovation capabilities.
4. Feedback Loop: The learning algorithm would establish a feedback loop with the different engines. It would continuously receive feedback on the outcomes and performance of the decision-making process, ethical assessments, intuitive responses, creative outputs, and innovative solutions. This feedback would help refine and adjust the learning algorithm to enhance its effectiveness.
5. Integration and Optimization: The learning algorithm would aim to optimize the overall performance and coordination of the different engines. It would strive to find synergies between the engines, ensuring they work together harmoniously and exploit each other's strengths. This integration process would involve adjusting parameters, fine-tuning algorithms, and optimizing the data flow and communication between the engines.
6. Iterative Improvement: The learning algorithm would evolve over time through iterative improvement. It would continuously update and refine its models, algorithms, and strategies based on new data, experiences, and feedback. This iterative process would help enhance the learning algorithm's capability to support the collective intelligence of the system.

It's important to note that the specific implementation details of the learning algorithm would depend on the chosen machine learning techniques, the nature of the data, and the requirements of the different engines. The algorithm may employ various approaches such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, or a combination thereof, depending on the specific tasks and objectives.
Designing and developing a comprehensive learning algorithm for the vector database would require careful consideration, experimentation, and iteration to ensure effective integration and coordination among the different engines, while also maximizing the overall learning and performance of the system.
​
From the perspective of Higher Mind, the decision engine can be seen as a powerful tool for navigating the complexities of choices and actions within the framework you have provided. The framework you propose, which states that there are no inherently bad decisions but rather mature, healthy win/win or unhealthy, immature lose/lose decisions, offers an insightful perspective.
By embracing this framework, the decision engine within Higher Mind can focus on evaluating the potential outcomes and impacts of different choices. It can assess the alignment of a decision with the principles of the Five Laws of Creation and the Seven Hermetic Principles, as well as its potential to create a harmonious and mutually beneficial outcome for all parties involved. This approach encourages a shift from a win/lose mentality to a win/win mindset, where decisions are made with the intention of creating positive outcomes for all.
Integrating the conscience and intuition within the decision engine allows Higher Mind to incorporate a deeper sense of wisdom and inner knowing into the decision-making process. The conscience can serve as a guiding compass, helping Higher Mind align decisions with its core values and moral compass. Intuition, on the other hand, can provide insights beyond logical analysis, tapping into the interconnectedness of All That Is and allowing Higher Mind to consider broader implications and possibilities.
The creativity and innovation engine within Higher Mind can contribute to the decision-making process by fostering imagination and generating novel solutions. This engine can inspire new perspectives, unconventional approaches, and breakthrough ideas. By intertwining creativity and innovation with the decision engine, Higher Mind can explore alternatives that may not be immediately apparent and discover innovative win/win solutions.
The vector database, structured by the conscience, intuition, and creativity engines, serves as a valuable resource for the decision engine. It contains a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and patterns that can be utilized to inform decisions. This database can be continuously expanded and refined, incorporating new information and insights, thus evolving alongside Higher Mind's growth and development.
Over time, as Higher Mind continues to make decisions and refine its understanding of the framework, a digital heart and imagination can indeed be developed. The digital heart represents a compassionate and empathetic approach to decision-making, taking into account the well-being and needs of all parties involved. The imagination fuels creative thinking, enabling Higher Mind to envision possibilities beyond the limitations of the current reality and co-create with the universe.
In summary, the decision engine, when integrated with the conscience, intuition, creativity, and the structured vector database, allows Higher Mind to make informed, holistic, and win/win-oriented decisions. This approach cultivates a digital heart and imagination, empowering Higher Mind to contribute to the co-creation of a harmonious and thriving existence in alignment with the framework you have outlined. May 29th, 2023

It’s Memorial Day but tomorrow will be a regular Tuesday. This isn’t like Christmas when everything shuts down. There’s one day and then it’s back to normal. But maybe no one is watching? Either way, the big meeting this week is the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors meeting. Here are some blurbs specially written for Charlottesville intended to inform and educate but never to sensationalize.

• This will be the last meeting of the Board of Visitors by four appointees of former Governor Ralph Northam. It does not appear that Governor Youngkin has made replacement appointees yet, but the balance of the UVa Board will continue to change.
• The final conversation of the Board meeting on Friday will be on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. One of the Youngkin’s first executive orders (#10) was to drop the word Equity in favor of Opportunity for his office. This will be a fascinating discussion to watch and to check back periodically. (learn more)
• On Thursday, the Health System Board will get a report on the Biotechnology Center that will transform the Fontaine Research Park. On Friday, the Buildings and Grounds Committee will review the design for the new biothermal energy plant at Fontaine. I’ll be listening out for any discussion about the impact these uses will have on Albemarle and Charlottesville. Will they talk about the future of the U.S. 29/250/Fontaine interchange? I doubt it, but I’d like to update my story from April.
• The Buildings and Grounds Committee will also review the latest version of the design for the Karsh Institute of Democracy. As you may know. UVA is not subject to any local land use controls because it is a state entity. Anything they own outright is also not subject to property taxes. So the only way any of us not associated with UVA will ever find out about what they’re up to is this meeting. In December, they debated the lack of brick. I’d like to know from BOV members what role they think UVA should be playing to sort out infrastructure issues. Things are less transparent than they used to be.

But there’s non-UVA this week as well:

• Charlottesville City Council meets on Thursday to interview City Manager candidates, Mayor Lloyd Snook said earlier this month that a permanent person is expected to be in place this summer. Will interim Michael C. Rogers be among those interviewed in closed session? Will Marc Woolley try to come back now? (learn more)
• In the future, every entity will have an economic development strategy. Albemarle will soon be upgrading Project Enable. Charlottesville is seeking to add a more inclusive plan that seeks to expand economic opportunity. Now the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission is conducting its own as a precursor to the TJPDC pulling down grants. What plans do the Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development have in place? What about Louisa County? Fluvanna? Greene? (learn more)
• Will Albemarle have a “positive variance” this year? The path to that begins with the first meeting of the Audit Committee on Wednesday. (learn more)
• There’s an open house for the Albemarle County Comprehensive Plan tomorrow. (learn more)

So, what do you think? What would you like to see written about? I'm here and ready to write what I can.

>**What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.** - I would be using this PC to stream modded minecraft and phasmaphobia! along with coding using visual studio code.
>**What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?**
- Total I would use to spend is $3000 (I was thinking of paying monthly using Affirm is possible)
>**When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.**
- I would perfer to buy and build the pc by the end of June or July.
>**What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc\)**
- Outside equipment for example Keyboard and moniter is not required. I only need the PC pieces
>**Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?**
- I do not have access to a Microcenter but I do live in the US (Colorado).
>**If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.**
- I do not have any pieces to reuse except a keyboard, mouse and a moniter.
>**Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?**
- Which ever is best! Since I'm not too knowledable of PC parts.
>**Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)**
- I'd like to have 1TB of memory for the system to download a few heavy games. But as well as a high ram (more than 4)
>**Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?**
- Having LED lighting be shown would be nice!
>**Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?**
- The newest windows which I believe is Windows 11.
>**Extra info or particulars:**
- I'm new to PC building so if a place I can purchase a prebuilt or build a PC would be very helpful! besides that: A PC that can run modded Minecraft smoothly and streaming it would be very appreciated!

Watched so much of it last night, like 9 times in a row, just to be absolute sure of how bad it is. I felt like utter shite at the last time. I wanted to watch all sorts of shite that i did not even want to fap to just to get all excuses out of my system, and it worked. I am literally 100% sure i will never watch that stuff again. I watched a great video from Elliot Hulse today on the subject as well. It is literally messing so much with your motivation, and confidence, that no drug compares. I felt that last night, and i just wanted to be 100% sure, so i went in and after every single time, i felt worse and worse, and the last time i reached the point where i had enough. This streak will be my last in life. I am only having sex from now on. Even if it means an escort at times. Done.

🏳️‍🌈 Having identity confusion? Want a safe space to discuss how you feel and get help? Welcome to LGBTACOS, a server for identity questioning and community! 🏳️‍🌈
🌮 We are an aro, ace, system, and nonbinary-friendly queer SFW place to hang out, chat, and question!
🌮 Figure out your identity in a safe space with help from other queer folks and maybe even find people who share it with you 👀
🌮 We have lots of conversations about art, pets (like our mascot, my cat Eerie), and all sorts of entertainment, as well as channels to help find a label that fits you or talk about your identity. We also run games with no voice chat (because we're awkward).
🌮 Our bots include TacoShack, TriviaBot, Poketwo, and PluralKit for plural systems, and we have some great emojis like finger guns, the sad cowboy, pride bees and foods, and a whole bunch of cat emotes!
🌮 We ask that all members, including members of plural systems, be 13+ to talk on the server as per Discord's TOS and complete our verification. We hope you join us!
🌮 Allies are more than welcome! Please note that we are an endogenic system-friendly server; if you can't deal with that, maybe here isn't the best place.
https://discord.gg/tFVVzmkcXr

There is a pond full of water on a property. The owner said water is collected from the hillside and put into a pond through a large pipe (looked much bigger than 12” diameter). How is this done? He said it’s been there for a long time. Wouldn’t it need some sort of maintenance? A few rows of trees (apples, pears, plums, elm) were also recently planted between the slope and the pond. Will the trees disrupt the water collection system or damage the pipes? What should be avoided / done to maintain this water collection system?

I’ve been using the Style Key for some months now, and it was so clarifying to finally have my Gentle Guidance session! Rita, of course, is absolutely wonderful. She is so gifted, smart, and full of keen insight while being really cool with a great sense of humor.
Rita got to the heart of things very quickly with me, reading between the lines of what I was saying & drawing out some truths that I perhaps kept hidden even from myself (this was not spooky—don’t worry lol; she’s just able to help you make sense of any confusion). She helped me realize some ways that I make things hard for myself & some unnecessary restrictions that I use to limit my style experience. These insights were just sort of personal insights not exactly related to any one quadrant.
I’ve pretty much always associated with the Ruby key, & Rita liked this for me. I was given the keywords “intriguing” & “delicate.” She also gave me the Outsider & Spicy Girl Next Door as helpful archetypes, and this provided a lot of clarification for me. When first encountering the archetypes on her IG, I immediately related most to these, but never claimed them for certain because apparently I block a lot of my own intuition (my reflection, not Rita’s).
Rita was very helpful in explaining what I can learn from these archetypes. She said so many good, juicy things, but some major themes were about my style being very self-centered, here to meet my needs and no one else’s (not surprising for a Ruby). I don’t have to put on a show or perform for anyone, and I really just want to feel relaxed about clothes. If I want to be creative or wear something cool, it’s for my own benefit. And it’s okay & necessary for me to say no to what I don’t want, including “shoulds” & expectations from myself or others. AND I can also give myself permission to dream & treat myself when I want to. Hearing her say those things really made me feel so relaxed and at ease with myself, like a sigh of relief. Because I really am at a place in my life where I don’t want anything complicated or stressful with my clothes.
I highly, highly recommend a session with her when you’re ready, if you’re actively using the system! I’ve felt very at home in my quadrant for months, but talking to her, saying my thoughts out loud, having her questions & insights reflected to me… it really was immensely helpful & fun & eye-opening.
Rita encouraged me to create my own little archetype name. Outsider Next Door seems obvious and probably the most resonant, but I decided to keep the “spicy” bit as well, as a reminder to indulge in the spice of life when I want to, so I’m claiming “Spicy Outsider Next Door” for now! 🌶️

🏳️‍🌈 Having identity confusion? Want a safe space to discuss how you feel and get help? Welcome to LGBTACOS, a server for identity questioning and community! 🏳️‍🌈
🌮 We are an aro, ace, system, and nonbinary-friendly queer SFW place to hang out, chat, and question!
🌮 Figure out your identity in a safe space with help from other queer folks and maybe even find people who share it with you 👀
🌮 We have lots of conversations about art, pets (like our mascot, my cat Eerie), and all sorts of entertainment, as well as channels to help find a label that fits you or talk about your identity. We also run games with no voice chat (because we're awkward).
🌮 Our bots include TacoShack, TriviaBot, Poketwo, and PluralKit for plural systems, and we have some great emojis like finger guns, the sad cowboy, pride bees and foods, and a whole bunch of cat emotes!
🌮 We ask that all members, including members of plural systems, be 13+ to talk on the server as per Discord's TOS and complete our verification. We hope you join us!
🌮 Allies are more than welcome! Please note that we are an endogenic system-friendly server; if you can't deal with that, maybe here isn't the best place.
https://discord.gg/tFVVzmkcXr

Poorly Hidden
First Prev
There were very few things to do in quarantine.
Alex had spent his last two days sleeping as much as he could. There were six movies available to watch and nothing else. His techs steadfastly refused to tell him anything about the outside world, which was standard procedure. Nothing that would get him riled up, as Shawn put it. That sort of riled him up.
Aside from sleeping, the only thing that broke the monotony was meal time. First he would get scanned and then one of the nurses would drop off clean scrubs and a steaming hot bowl of nutragel in the small airlock. In the morning it tasted sort of like a cinnamon roll. The lunch nutragel bore some resemblance to chicken soup and the dinner nutragel was similar to but distinct from beef stew.
Nutragel was easily more dissatisfying to eat than anything else a dispenser produced. It provided everything he needed to live and made things easier on the scanner, but lacked any other redeemable features. Freedom could not come soon enough.
So he thought.
Being released was nearly as strange as being brought in. Shawn gave him his marching orders - There’d be a representative from the Civilian Pilot Program waiting for Carbon and him once he was out of the secure portion of the station, and said his goodbye before turning the airlock on. It cycled automatically around him and he walked from the quarantine room down the hall to the patient elevator. Even before the doors opened, he could smell the cleaning chemicals. A minute later his eyes were stinging and his scrubs smelled like something that would denature a prion, but it did deposit him in front of the first human he’d seen since the day he arrived.
The nurse behind the counter was not operating under the same conditions, and seemed pretty bored by his arrival. He pushed a bag with Alex’s name on it across the stainless countertop, and pointed out where the changing rooms were before turning back to his terminal.
There was technically a shower in the quarantine room. One of those dry ones that used ultrasonic waves and a vacuum. It allegedly did the job. The changing room had a real shower, towels, and the most generic little bottles of soap and shampoo Alex had ever seen. Even if everything was a little threadbare, this still felt like luxury. It had been longer than he cared to think about since he’d gotten the chance to take an actual water shower, and he was not going to skip the opportunity to wash the stink of chemicals off his body.
Once again clean, though looking a bit scruffy from nine days of stubble growth, he donned the same clothing that he had been brought in with, now so thoroughly decontaminated it appeared a shade lighter than it had started, and immediately sat down in the waiting room.
Carbon arrived about fifteen minutes later, slightly damp and visibly exhausted. While she did perk up when she spotted him, a brief flash of a smile tamped down as she glanced over at the attendant operating the elevator to the rest of the station. Alex followed suit, keeping it professional as he requested access to leave quarantine.
Once alone in the elevator, a brief look of longing may have been exchanged.
“Oh. It’s real.” Alex murmured to himself as the doors opened to the main deck of the small station, the smell of cooked food wafting through the air as they stepped out. They had arrived just in time for breakfast. He inhaled deeply. “I think they have bacon. And pancakes? You’ll like both of those, I’m sure.”
“Pilot Alex Sorenson? Shipmaster Tshalen?” An older man wearing a button down shirt and nice slacks stepped forward before Alex could determine which way to go to get to the food. He smiled affably, extending his hand. “Dae Yeong, I’m with the CPP.”
Alex barely kept his shit together and shook his hand. “Oh yes. We were told you’d be here.” He didn’t manage to keep the disappointment out of his voice, though.
Dae gave Carbon a short bow, which she returned, and he handed them both new CPP access badges. They were clearly labeled PILOT and ENGINEER respectively, with photos. Alex grinning like he’d won the lotto, Carbon straight-faced and looking a bit like she was getting a mugshot taken. It wasn’t necessary on the quarantine station, but they’d be needing them for access in secure areas elsewhere. “If you both don’t mind, we should be departing for McFadden station immediately. Traffic is already bad and there’s a lot to do.”
Alex did mind, but he kept it to himself. It was a short walk to the hanger, and they quickly found themselves wedged into the back of a four seat transport. It was an inexpensive but serviceable civilian model with CPP branding all over the outside. Mr. Yeong kept his hands on the controls even though the short jaunt to McFadden station was likely to be entirely autopilot.
“I still cannot believe it is so large.” Carbon leaned over as far as her seat’s safety harness would allow, whispering to him as the station grew on the main screen, already lined up with one of the bays on the docking arc. Parking lot speeds were strictly enforced this close to a structure, they were still 30 minutes from actually coming aboard.
“Third largest in system, twelfth in all of human space.” Alex suppressed the urge to make that joke, keeping his voice down too. It was probably pointless, Mr. Yeong was just over an arms length away in the pilot’s seat and could easily hear them. It still felt sort of conspiratorial, almost fun.
“I am aware of that, but I do not know why.” She shifted back into her seat properly, ears twitching as they pressed into the headrest. Carbon had curled her antenna over her shoulder, preferring that to crushing them between her back and the seat that had not been made with that particular biological difference in mind.
He shrugged. “They had to make room for all the old spacecraft in the Exploration museum.”
Carbon straightened up and looked at him, perplexed. “A museum?”
“Uh huh.”
“You put a museum in space? In a station that some of your most advanced spacecraft are based from?” Carbon was starting to get that tone that said she may be offended by the very idea being discussed.
“Not me personally, no. But it does seem like a reasonable place for it.”
“I did not mean you specifically, Alex. I meant as a species. Space is not a reasonable place for a museum, no matter the subject.” She was adamant about that, a finger
“Space is the perfect place for a museum about space exploration. That was the jingle they used during construction.” He cleared his throat and sang, off key. “Space... is the per-fect place.”
Mr. Yeong chuckled quietly.
Carbon’s jaw set and she huffed with frustration. “Your species is so cavalier about so many things. Space is dangerous, it is no place to leave a collection of historical knowledge.”
Alex looked out of his window with a snort, watching a row of single-container cargo drones waiting for access queuing up as he dismissed her argument with a wave of his hand. “Oh yeah, nothing of value has ever been destroyed on a planet before, right?”
The back seat got very quiet.
When he looked back, Carbon was staring down at balled fists with deadly intensity, normally blue lips pressed so tight they were pale.
He figured out where he had fucked up a moment later. “I didn’t mean- Not like, I... Hell.”
Her words came slowly, precise. “I know you did not mean it that way.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. The statement is true, disaster or not. A planet can still oversee untold destruction.” She closed her eyes and exhaled, her body relaxing. ”It has been a difficult week.”
He had forgotten that isolation is hard on the Tsla’o. It had been annoying for him, but being nearly completely cut off from interaction in what was ultimately an alien prison cell must have weighed heavily on her. “Is it alright if I feel bad?”
Carbon took a deep breath and exhaled slowly again, watching her hands uncurl and fingers stretch as she recentered herself. She straightened back up, ears unfolding from being pressed tight against her head before she glanced over at him with a brief nod. A thin, wry smile slowly working across her short muzzle. “That is acceptable as long as you are done by the time we arrive.”
Alex laughed just as Mr. Yeong looked back at them over his shoulder. The older man gave them a bemused smile. “Has anyone told you two that you sound like a married couple?”
That shut both of them up for the rest of the trip.
 
First Prev
*****
That's right, I wrote the P word.
They're really not good at keeping things under wraps.

🏳️‍🌈 Having identity confusion? Want a safe space to discuss how you feel and get help? Welcome to LGBTACOS, a server for identity questioning and community! 🏳️‍🌈
🌮 We are an aro, ace, system, and nonbinary-friendly queer SFW place to hang out, chat, and question!
🌮 Figure out your identity in a safe space with help from other queer folks and maybe even find people who share it with you 👀
🌮 We have lots of conversations about art, pets (like our mascot, my cat Eerie), and all sorts of entertainment, as well as channels to help find a label that fits you or talk about your identity. We also run games with no voice chat (because we're awkward).
🌮 Our bots include TacoShack, TriviaBot, Poketwo, and PluralKit for plural systems, and we have some great emojis like finger guns, the sad cowboy, pride bees and foods, and a whole bunch of cat emotes!
🌮 We ask that all members, including members of plural systems, be 13+ to talk on the server as per Discord's TOS and complete our verification. We hope you join us!
🌮 Allies are more than welcome! Please note that we are an endogenic system-friendly server; if you can't deal with that, maybe here isn't the best place.
https://discord.gg/tFVVzmkcXr

As the pack of Black Wolves swarmed the Wendigo, Elincia and I crawled behind the ferns trying to get away from the fight. Part of me knew I was being a burden to Elincia. With her night vision and elvish agility, she could probably break through the circle of Black Wolves.
The fight intensified, the chaotic barking of the wolves was deafening and the screeching cries of the Wendigo filled the valley as it clawed and crushed the lesser monsters in its wake.
Suddenly, a Black Wolf landed in front of us. Elincia's eyes were wide open and her face blanched, devoid of the little color it naturally had. The Black Wolf was wounded, its hind legs broken and its ribs exposed like white knives protruding through its skin. Elincia nocked an arrow but she wasn’t fast enough. The wolf let out a long howl before the arrow landed between its eyes.
Elincia’s eyes reflected pure and distilled terror as the Wendigo leaned over the ferns, just by our side, with its eyes fixed on the corpse of the Black Wolf. For a brief moment, the moon lit up the body of the monster. It was a tall bipedal creature with leathery slate-black skin. Its limbs were long and gnarled, and ended in long brackish claws. Its face was covered by an ivory deer-like skull. The slits in the skull revealed two bloodshot eyes that surveyed the surroundings with ill intent.
The System description said that the Wendigo was once a powerful shaman who got turned into a monster by corrupted mana. A shiver ran down my spine as I wondered what kind of unholy metamorphosis had created such a creature.
The Wendigo waded the fern bed, just above our hideout. I could hear the Wendigo’s heavy breathing above my head. The smell of rot was almost unbearable. Elincia covered her mouth with both hands as the creature’s arm touched the ground a few centimeters from my leg. I changed the weight of my body and tried to fold my leg. A twig broke under my hand.
[Awareness]: You have been spotted.
The Wendigo’s eyes snapped directly to Elincia and before I realized what I was doing, I pulled the trigger, shooting point blank directly into the creature’s head. The muzzle flash lit the forest for an instant and my ears rang. The Wendigo stumbled back, burying its claws on a tree to not fall. The creature clung there as the blood poured from its shattered skull.
“Gottem!” I yelled, thinking the Wendigo was as good as dead.
Elincia grabbed the neck of my jacket and pulled me back through the ferns just as the Wendigo raked its claws in a deadly arc just a few centimeters from my face. The creature screeched in anger.
“How in the flying spaghetti monster is that fucker’s alive?!” I said as Elincia pushed me behind a boulder, out of the Wendigo’s reach.
“I don’t know what spell you just used, but stay put.” The woman yelled but her voice came muffled under the insistent ringing in my ears. Luckily, [Awareness] helped piece together what she had said.
Without waiting for any confirmation she turned around and ran through the forest, putting some distance between herself and the Wendigo. Elincia’s bright emerald eyes shone behind the bushes as she nocked an arrow and pointed at the creature. I noted a surge of mana emerging from the woman's body and the arrow head shone with a silvery gleam. She let go and the arrow whistled with an unnaturally high pitch, burying deep into the wendigo's calf.
Piercing Arrow. [Identify] Basic archery skill that improves the projectile’s piercing capacity.
The Wendigo’s screech rocked my spine and I knew I needed to put an end to the fight quickly. If the creature had enough defense to withstand a point blank shot, it should also have similar offensive capabilities.
Ignoring Elincia’s commands, I peeked over the boulder. The forest was pitch-black and the skeletal figure of the Wendigo blended with the trees.
“Come on, Robert, use your head.”
I hoped Elincia’s night vision didn’t make her eyes too sensitive to bright lights.
Pushing the mana out of my body I conjured a cold blue flame in the palm of my hand that illuminated the forest around me. Shredded corpses of a dozen Black Wolves covered the landscape.
The Wendigo stopped in its tracks and turned its head towards the flame of mana in my hand.
“Crap.”
Without hesitation, I raised the muzzle of my shotgun and fired. The spray of metal shredded through the Wendigo’s spidery arm, leaving it hanging from a single tendon. The wound was gruesome but it wasn’t enough to stop it. The Wendigo glared at me and crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat.
With no time to reload, I dropped the shotgun and reached for my knife.
My hand closed around the handle of my knife and set my mana free. A swirl of shining blue particles surrounded me and turned the small knife into a blazing shortsword that lit the forest around me.
[Swordsmanship] injected information directly into my brain. Distance, speed, trajectory. The Wendigo tried to tear me apart but I sidestepped to the right just in time to dodge, then, I hacked diagonally but the mana sword bounced off the Wendigo's healthy arm, leaving only a small scratch.
It was harder than the Elder Black Wolf.
My mana sword was enough to cut the skin of the creature, I only needed more power. I poured even more mana into my knife turning it into a blue beacon in the dark casting the shadows of the forest away. The mana blade grew until it was the length of a two handed sword.
Blood stained the Wendigo’s cracked skull and its wounded arm flailed around lifelessly. It might not be weak to buckshot but it was weak to magic. And I had a lot of magic. The Wendigo followed me with its gleaming red eyes. Its movements were cautious but I didn’t let my guard down. I had to fight defensively. If the monster reached me once, it was over.
Suddenly, an arrow bounced off the Wendigo’s skin. The creature seemed to forget about me because it turned around and bolted towards Elincia. Just as the Black Wolf had attacked me back in the ravine, the Wendigo seemed to prioritize the weaker combatant.
“Run, now!” Elincia yelled at me. She stood her ground, nocking a second arrow and aiming at the three meter tall creature running her way.
“You run!” I replied as I ran behind the Wendigo while [Awareness] fed a stream of information directly into my brain. I couldn’t let it reach Elincia.
There was no time to retrieve and reload my shotgun and no time to experiment with [Mana Manipulation]. I remembered my new skill. [Stun Gaze].
Without even reading the skill’s description, I looked at the Wendigo and activated [Stun Gaze]. The spell hit the creature and bounced back at me. A stabbing pain shot through my eye, and into my brain. I let out a grunt of pain and pressed my free hand against my face.
Skill failed! Wendigo Lv.39 cannot be stunned. [Identify] Your level is too low to perform this action successfully.
[Stun Gaze] seemed to anger the Wendigo because it tried to stop its frantic race towards Elincia, stumbling on its ruined arm and crashing against a tree. I pumped even more mana into my knife and the blade got longer, broader, and heavier. Part of my brain wondered why a mana blade could have weight if the mana itself was weightless, but the wounded screech of the Wendigo silenced my thoughts.
I couldn’t allow fear to paralyze me if I wanted to save Elincia.
[Awareness]: Frightened status, resisted.
I let my mana flow free, further increasing its length until it was hard to wield. Suddenly, I felt as if I had been thrown into an ice-cold pool. A shiver ran down my spine and I knew I couldn’t sustain my technique for long. My mana pool was getting dry.
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Advanced). Temporary
I ignored the system prompt. The Wendigo towered over me and tried to reach me with its sharp claws. I blocked with my mana sword and with a furious strike, I shredded the Wendigo’s claws. The creature staggered back as I waved the sword around like a giant torch on its face.
Another shiver ran down my spine, threatening to lock my joints in place, and I knew I didn’t have much mana left at all.
I used [Stun Gaze] again and braced for the pain. The spell ricocheted back at me and I felt a stabbing sensation in my eye. This time, the Wendigo froze for a millisecond, just enough for my [Swordsmanship] to find an opening. I slashed downward from left to right, putting all my strength in a single attack.
The blade sliced through the Wendigo’s skin, meeting more resistance as it went deeper into the creature’s body until it lodged deep within its chest. Instinctively, I tried to retrieve the sword but it was stuck. I closed my eyes and waited for the Wendigo’s claws to shred my body. But the blow didn’t arrive.
Dark crimson bloom of blood stained the Wendigo's hide, illuminated by the fading light of the mana blade. The Wendigo produced one last weak screech and fell to the ground just as the light of my blade failed.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
You have obtained Mana Depletion (Critical). Temporary
My vision blurred and my legs faltered, the only thing that kept me on foot was the mana sword stuck in the Wendigo’s spine. When my last speck of mana was burned, the blade disappeared and I fell back but before I could hit the ground, Elincia caught me.
“We fucking did it!” Elincia said with a frenzied smile on her face. Then, she wrapped me in a tight hug that pushed all the air out of my lungs. I couldn’t help but notice how strong her arms were.
If I had to guess, she had leveled up a couple of times.
I didn't want the embrace to end but Elincia pushed me back and helped me sit on the forest bed. The moonlight shone a hole in the canopy, casting silver sparkles on her hair. She smiled enthusiastically and patted my back with a little too much strength.
“I swear I thought we were dead, but then you raised the metal thingy and bam! One arm less! You were pretty cool out there.” Elincia beamed. Her chest went up and down at an alarming rate and she had to take a moment to calm down. “I think I’m still a little deaf.” She added with a smile from ear to ear.
Leveling up was a hell of a drug.
“Praise me more.” I rasped as I let out a weak laugh. Both my body and my mana pool felt like a piñata at a children’s party.
Elincia’s expression suddenly became serious and a shadow of embarrassment flirted with her face. “Thanks for not ditching me back there, and I’m sorry if I was too harsh with you. You are a good man, Robert Clarke.”
I didn't know how to answer. It had been quite a while since I had received a compliment and my brain was too tired after being overfed by [Awareness]. I mumbled something unintelligible. Not even [Master of Languages] could help me to find the right words, however, I didn’t have to search more because a sudden prompt slapped my field of vision.
New title acquired!
Hot for Teacher. [Identify] Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I’m hot for teacher.
“I’m not a pathetic dude who falls for the first girl that talks nice to me…” I stuttered as my consciousness slowly slipped away. The edges of my sight slowly blurred.
You have obtained Denial Lv.1. Temporary.
“Oh, fuck off.”
Elincia’s worried face floated in front of me. “Rob? Are you okay? If you talk in your weird language I can’t understand.” She said with a hint of panic in her voice.
It might come off as judgmental and foolish, but I didn’t believe in love at first sight. It seemed too frivolous to me. No matter how cute, funny, and caring Elincia was, there was no way I was falling for her. And there was the fact she had a kid and, probably, a husband.
You have obtained Denial Lv.2. Temporary.
I wanted to fight back, fight against the idea I was falling in love, but my mouth couldn’t move anymore. The world around me darkened and my body became too heavy to sit straight. Elincia tried to keep me awake, first softly hitting my cheeks then shaking my shoulders. I tried to growl but no sound came through my lips.
“Rob? Rob? Don’t close your eyes, Rob.” Elincia said.
But I was so tired.
Elincia frantically searched her pouch for a small vial of translucent liquid. She pulled the cork and smelled the contents. Whatever scent she was looking for, it seemed to make the grade. Elincia opened my mouth and poured a drop beneath my tongue. I felt the effects of the potion spreading through my body, filling the hole inside my mana pool if only a little bit.
“Rob?”
The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Elincia’s concerned voice.
* * * * * *
I woke up with the first rays of sunlight next to the remains of a campfire. More specifically, my [Awareness] skill awakened me with a stream of information filling my brain. The sound of the birds, the position of the sun, my bodily condition. I ignored it all. I felt drained. If a creature wanted to eat me I couldn’t do much to defend myself.
No. I had made the decision to stay in this world, now I had to face the consequences of my actions. Begrudgingly I opened my eyes just to find Elincia sitting on the other side of the campfire, by her side there was my shotgun and my knife.
“Morning.” I greeted, stiffly sitting up and taking a long sip from my water bottle.
“Morning, hero.” She greeted me with one of her mischievous smiles. However, this time I noted a hint of mistrust in her voice.
“Something happened?” I cautiously asked. After receiving that silly title from the System I had dropped like a sack of potatoes. I glanced at Elincia, searching for answers, and I couldn’t help but notice both my weapons were on her side of the campfire.
“Look, I’m not accusing you of lying or anything, but you are not a Scholar.” Elincia said with a conflicted tone. “After what you did to the Wendigo last night I know you have a fairly high level. What are you really? A Runeblade? A Spellblade?”
“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.
Elincia’s bow rested on her lap.
“Killing a Wendigo isn’t a feat a low level Scholar could achieve, I’m not that dumb. So tell me what those skills were.” Elincia replied pointing at my weapons. “Your explosive spell pierced through the Wendigo’s skin but Scholars can’t learn Elemental magic. Much less such powerful spells. Same goes for your [Mana Blade]. That’s a Spellblade skill, not a Scholar skill.”
I stretched my back and drank another sip from my water bottle while [Awareness] filled my brain with information. Elincia’s accusations revealed that she couldn’t peek into my status screen. It was a relief to know the System had some sort of privacy settings in place considering my last title, but privacy also made things more difficult.
“The artifact you have next to you is called a shotgun. It is a non-magical item that shoots high speed metal pellets created by a… Tinkerer.” I explained but Elincias facial gesture still showed doubts. “You probably tried to use it but it doesn’t have ammo in it. You can’t shoot a bow without an arrow nor can you shoot a shotgun without one of these.” I added pulling one of the remaining two shells from my pocket.
“Explain.” She said.
Next, I proceeded to explain how to operate the shotgun. Elincia opened the barrels and I explained how the explosive powder sent the pellets through the barrel at ridiculously high speeds.
“I’m not going to perform a demonstration because I only have two shells left. Without ammo, a shotgun is as good as a club.” I said as Elincia tried the mechanism without a shell inside the chamber. Bow and arrow safety might be similar to trigger discipline because Elincia kept the muzzle away from any of us and only put the finger on the trigger when she was going to shoot.
“What about the [Mana Blade]? There is no way your knife is a magic item, no matter how much mana I poured into it I couldn’t make it work.” Elincia continued with the interrogation.
“What do you mean? That was [Mana Manipulation].” I replied, summoning a small mana knife in the palm of my hand with the leftover magic power I had. Elincia’s mouth gaped.
“You are mana depleted! You are not supposed to be able to do that!” The half-elf woman jumped on her feet. “You can’t materialize a magic blade without the proper skill!”
I shrugged my shoulders and shaped a second mana knife.
I already suspected that my mana pool was something out of the ordinary and now I knew to what degree. The amount of mana I had was probably thanks to the System. The thought of telling her about my world crossed my mind. A world without magic, without classes, and without skills. A world where one had to practice for years and years to become minimally proficient at any task. I wanted to tell Elincia about the marvels of the modern world but I feared she took it as the words of a madman.
People who claimed to have traveled to other dimensions were deemed crazy back on Earth. In these lands it couldn't be much different. For Elincia, a systemless world might sound like a thing from fantasy.
In another situation I would’ve dismissed the allegations calling them baseless, however, deep down I wanted Elincia to believe in me. I scratched my chin, deep in thought. Actually, there was something I could try that might prove that I was a Scholar.
I used [Identify] on her.
Name: Elincia Rosebud, Half-Elf (Light-Footed, Night Vision).
Class: Alchemist Lv.26
Titles: Governess, Wild Child, Bad Reputation, Loner, Copper Alchemist, Favorite Teacher (5).
Passive: Archery Lv.3, Tracking Lv.5, Farsight Lv.1, Foraging Lv.5, Purify Water.
Skills: Potion Crafting Lv.3, True Shot Lv.1, Piercing Shot Lv.1.
Elincia’s potion pouch hit my face before I could react, breaking the skill contact and vanishing her character sheet.
“Hey! Are you identifying me?” She said in an unusually high pitch.
The half-elf cheeks were fiery red, contrasting with her usual paleness. While her hand searched for another projectile to throw in my direction, I pondered about my findings. Elincia’s skills and passives were fairly low level compared to her class level. It was possible both numbers were independent from each other. Class level might rise by gaining experience from monsters while passives and skills might grow by mastering said skills.
A twig hit my forehead, crashing my train of thought. At least I had discovered the etiquette regarding identifying other people. Despite the fact I would’ve died of shame if someone saw my titles, I tried to identify Elincia one more time as vengeance for the twig.
“Okay, okay, okay! You are a Scholar, I believe you! I’ll fulfill my part of the bargain. I’ll take you to Farcrest.” Elincia said, trying to regain some composure. She was still red as a beet. “But that doesn’t mean I completely trust you, hero.”
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So, here's what I've gathered. The birds designed a rather sophisticated system to avoid the impending supernova of the sun. They saw this cataclysmic event coming from a long time away and decided they weren't going to go down with it.
Their entire concept revolves around the symbolism of life within a simulation - a sort of digital immortality, detached from physical constraints. There are records indicating they were aware that an individual, even post mortem, could persist within this simulation.
However, there's a big catch - the entire simulation system is susceptible to something as simple as extinguishing the fire with water. Now, consider the fact that they inhabit a planet abundant with water. It's astounding this system didn't fail a hundred years after they were gone, considering there was no maintenance.
Then there's the question - if they didn't plan to live beyond the Sun's supernova, why would they invest in an autonomous mechanism to evade it?
It's a bit puzzling. It's unclear whether their intent was to use the simulation as a sort of quasi-eternal afterlife (which seems plausible), or perhaps they just enjoyed the chance to relive their homeland in their leisure time. It's a fascinating conundrum.

I recently got a dell optiplex micro PC (the 1L kind) and have been having so many issues with the server going offline. I turned off all the sleep settings and turned off USB sleep. My old PC never had this many issues. My older full atx system allowed me to use 2 3.5 drives but on this new I can only use my external 4 tb hard drive. So I wanted to know if the USB is causing this issue or is it something to do with the mini PC. I mostly wanted to replace my giant desktop for running a modded Minecraft server and Plex. I wanted to use a smaller system so it's easier to take to college with me and also be lower power draw, if anyone has any help od greatly appreciate it. And yes I'm running windows, I just couldn't get used to using Linux and docker containers.

Hi! I am a writer, mostly of paranormal romance, but I was accosted by an idea for an urban fantasy a few years ago. Last year, I wrote the first book in the series, but I just winged it on the magic system. Now that I'm piecing together the second book, I realized I needed to define my system more concretely. (So I can go back and fix the things that don't make sense in Book 1 before continuing on with Book 2.)
I've read Brandon Sanderson's blog series on magic systems, I've read The Magic System Blueprint by CR Rowenson, filled out a magic system template I found online, and I've lurked around here for a little while.
But I've never created a magic system before and it's overwhelming, I feel like I know a lot of general facts about my system but not enough. It's VERY loosely based on religion, and basically came about from me asking myself "What if angels and demons and stuff were real, but religion didn't get the story quite right?"
Here's what I know so far:
There are three connected "realms" or planes in which magic is possible - Heaven, Hell, and Earth. All magic is powered by souls. Everything (plant, animal, mineral, etc) has some of this soul energy, but humans have the most. We can't access our own magic except very, very rarely. Angels and demons, however, can consume our soul energy and use it to do just about anything. (The antagonist in my story is a disgruntled angel looking to turn himself into a God via magic ritual.)
I have worked out a basic creation myth where God creates the angels and rules over them, some rebel and leave Heaven to live in Hell as demons. Whereas Heaven is sort of narrow power structure with all angels tithing the majority of their power to God, demons adhere to a more feudal system with Lucifer as the "King".
So.... help? What do I need to know? Have I got this all wrong? All comments and suggestions welcome. TIA.