I just started this colony and noticed that none of the colonists seem to even know each other.
I have a over 100 mods and I think it might be some mods conflicting but idk what it could be. If anyone could help I'd apreciate it
mod list:
Harmony
Vanilla backgrounds expanded
Carryalls
Collapser
hugs libs
endless growth
harvest organs post mortem
search and destroy
prxoimity
vanilla expanded framwork
vanilla factions expanded-ancients
VFE- Ancients vault walls and doors
more acrhotech garbage continued
raise the roof
research tree
bio reactor
vanilla nutrient paste expander
VNPE-Bio reactor
Vanilla factions expanded-pirates
trade ship drop spot
stabilize
smoothed stone is worthless
RT solar flare shield
factional war
desigantor shapes
vanilla factions expanded-empire
rimcities
rah's bionics and surgery expansion
humanoid alien races
performance optimizer
more batteries
cybernet
glitternet
jecs tools
a rimworld of magic
make war not love
wall light
vanilla races expanded-sanguphage
rimsenal xenotype pack- Askbarn
no hopeless romance
better ground penetrating scanner
floors are almost worthless
vanilla furniture expanded core
hospitality
hospitality-casino
evolved organs redux
biotech mech stuff elongated
hand to hand
modular weapons
starwars kotor weapons and armor
path avoid
mechanoid recycling
tilled soil
door mat
cash register
advanced power plus
bionic icons
drag select
armor racks
change map edge limit
follow me
desire paths
subsurface conduits
infestations spawns in darkness
xml extensions
infused
doors expanded
more mechanoids
un-limited
vanilla persona weapons expanded
vanilla trading expanded
vanilla apparel expanded
blueprints
charachter editor
vanilla furniture expanded architect module
utility columns
vanilla furniture expanded-farming
vanilla weapons expanded
vanilla weapons expanded-quickdraw
vanilla plants expanded
rpg style inventory
vanilla textures expanded
vanilla textures expanded-variations
alpha animals
rocketman-performance mod
quarry
misc. robots
misc. robots++
map preview
mad skills
rimfridge updated
lwm's deep storage
interaction bubbles
increased stack
geological landforms
dont block door
dubs bad hygine
common sense
CM color coded mood bar
prison labour
more trade ships (continued)
missing fabrication recipes
graze up
mend and recycle
work tab
vanilla furniture expanded-security module
vanilla furniture expanded-production
vanilla furniture expanded-power
vanilla furniture expanded-medical
vanilla events expanded
vanilla armour expanded
smarter construction
smart speed
simple side arms
share the load
run and gun
replace stuff
pick up and haul
mod manager
misc training
medical tab
edb prepare carefully
dubs mint menus
defensive positions
colony manager
camera+
auto-cut blight
allow tool
filth vanishes with rain
android for RW 1.4
android conversion for RW 1.4
android expanded for RW 1.4
https://preview.redd.it/6xham4al105b1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=179c5ecc03592da9fdbebe3f2d80407e8185c843

Originally posted by Fresh-Tower-8803 in AmItheAsshole on April 20, '23 updated on April 27, '23.
 
Original
April 20, '23
 
AITA for forcing my daughter to share a birthday celebration with her twin brother?
I have two kids, Paige (14/F) and Dylan (14/M). As twins most years they’ve wanted to have a joint birthday celebration, but there have been a couple of years where they’ve decided to have separate parties with different friend groups or at different locations. They tell me a few weeks before their birthday in May which thing they want to do that year.
So this year Paige told me that she and Dylan had decided they wanted to have their own parties, and she and her friends had already picked a whole theme and the activities that they wanted to do. I approved Paige’s plan, and then a day or so later I asked Dylan what he wanted to do for his birthday party.
At this point I learned that Dylan and Paige had not mutually decided that they were having separate celebrations this year, and me asking Dylan about it was the first he was hearing that he was expected to have his own party. His feelings were very hurt that Paige had cut him out without so much as talking to him about it.
So I spoke with Paige and she admitted that she and her friends had decided on their own to exclude Dylan because they felt that a boy would wreck the activities they had planned. I told Paige that it wasn’t okay for her to treat her brother that way and that the party I’d originally agreed to was now cancelled, and that I expected her and Dylan to plan a joint birthday celebration with activities that all of their friends could enjoy.
Dylan is much happier with this arrangement, but Paige is angry and keeps saying that I ruined her party. I’m worried that I might’ve made a misstep because normally I try very hard to treat my kids as individuals and not just as a pair of twins, and I’m worried that forcing Paige to share her birthday celebration with Dylan might send the wrong message on that front. So AITA?
EDIT: I've already realized that making Paige and Dylan share a birthday celebration is an unreasonable punishment (for various reasons) and won't be doing so, y'all can calm down now. Sheesh.
 
Judgment: Asshole
 
Update
April 27, '23
 
I’ve had several DMs asking how the situation turned out and if I apologized to Paige so I figured I’d just make an update.
So I talked with both Paige and Dylan over the weekend and told them that I wouldn’t make them share their birthday party.
I told Paige I realized that forcing her to share a birthday party with Dylan was an unfair punishment, because I knew it was more important to treat her like an individual and not like one half of a matching set, and I apologized for forgetting that and told her I wouldn’t let it happen again. Paige asked if that meant that she could still have the birthday party that she and her friends had planned. I told her that I wasn’t sure because I still wasn’t happy with her for lying to me in the first place. Paige said that she was more way upset about having to tell her friends that her party was cancelled than about having to share a party with Dylan, and that she didn’t really get why I was apologizing for that instead. I asked Paige what she thought a more appropriate consequence for lying was instead of having her party cancelled, and she suggested getting grounded, so that’s what we’re going with. Lastly I told Paige that since I know she and Dylan are getting older now, I’ll just assume going forward that they want to have separate parties every year. Paige said that she only did this year because her friends decided they didn’t want any boys. I told her that was fine and I guessed we’d just talk about it again next year.
And then I told Dylan that I was letting Paige have her all-girls party with her friends, and that I realized I shouldn’t have used sharing a birthday party with him as a punishment because that wasn’t fair to either one of them. Dylan said it was okay and that if he was having a solo party after all, he knew what he wanted to do for it. I also told Dylan that since he and Paige are getting older now, I’d start assuming that they want separate parties unless they tell me otherwise. Dylan said he guessed that made sense.
So that’s pretty much it, Dylan and Paige are each having their own party. And at some point they talked it out between themselves as far as Dylan’s feelings being hurt that Paige hadn’t talked to him about what she wanted to do this year, I wasn’t involved in the conversation but they’ve been friends again since it happened.
 
OOP's account had since been suspended
Reminder, DO NOT comment on the original posts or contact the original poster. I am not the original poster. This is a repost.

Hello to you, fellow ingrates.
Year 6 of DABR Defends the New York Giants from Criticism has arrived.

Season Recap

tl;dr: The Giants had their most successful season since 2016, and arguably since winning the Super Bowl in 2012 (if the draft spot/playoff success is the measurement) and went into draft night with the latest selection they've had since 2012, the first outside the top 11 since 2016.
Giants fans didn't really expect to win that many games this year. There were still some hopefuls for Daniel Jones but most people had come to terms with new GM Joe Schoen and new HC Brian Daboll pretty much setting up to replace him, declining his 5th year option.
It was the first year of this regime, they hadn't really been able to fix up the roster fully, etc. Most Giants fans I know were expecting a 4-7 win season, not sniffing the playoff race. Ha.
It all started week 1 vs Tennessee. It was honestly a story Giants fans have gotten familiar with. Look absolutely horrible in the first half of the game, but somehow struggle back into it in the second half, only to be dramatically disappointed at the end of the game. After Daniel Jones threw a red zone interception with just under 9 minutes to go, we thought that was pretty much it.
But then with 4 minutes left, Saquon Barkley rips off a 33 yard run, Daniel Jones converts a 4th and 1, and the Giants score a TD to pull them to just a 1 point deficit. Most Giants fans are thinking "okay he's gonna kick it, play for overtime, I respect that, we didn't think it would be that close anyways."
And then we see the offense staying on the field...uh oh. The offense wasn't exactly clicking on all cylinders to that point in the game, having been shut out in the first half. If we don't get it, the game is pretty much lost. Daboll calls a shovel pass, Saquon gets it, it looks like it's completely doomed...I'm thinking "here we go again, his first game and the media is already going to be all over him for going for it"...but Saquon fights his way in! Giants take the lead for the first time in the game. We're feeling good, Daboll's huge balls in that situation giving us some confidence.
Then the Titans methodically work the ball down the field (along with a couple of assists from Austin Calitro and Darnay Holmes), setting up a 47 yard field goal for Randy Bullock to win the game.
Now, I'm thinking, "of course this is what happened, they gave us some hope, now it's going to get ripped away from us, just like always. Story of the last few years at times."
...and then Bullock missed the kick. That was the start of what turned into a magical first half of the season, the Giants getting off to a 7-2 start, all 7 wins coming by a 1 score margin (though the Bears and Texans games were a bit cleaner than the final scoreline suggests), and 5 of them really coming down to big time plays in the last 5 minutes of the game.
The Titans story, taking the lead with 3:38 left in the 4th quarter and Julian Love sacking Baker Mayfield to force 4th and 15 the next drive against Carolina, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Xavier McKinney batting down Aaron Rodgers' passes in London, Love intercepting Lamar Jackson to set up the game winning score against Baltimore, McKinney and Love stopping Christian Kirk at the 1 yard line on the last play against Jacksonville.
All of those games are games that go against us in previous years. But this year was just different. And somehow through it all, there were Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones as well. Saquon was the focal point of the offense early in the season, Jones being efficient in a heavy, limited, play action focused passing attack.
All thoughts of the Giants earning a top pick and replacing Daniel Jones pretty much went out the window by week 4, and hope for Jones maybe finally becoming the QB he was drafted to be started to blossom in some parts of the Giants fanbase.
Things came crashing down a bit the next 4 weeks. Awful losses to Detroit, Dallas, and Philly, with a tie against Washington in there too that many Giants fans felt they deserved to win capped off a 1-4-1 stretch where the Giants simply did not look good. They looked more like what we expected the team to look like coming into the year. The playoff spot was no longer guaranteed, at 7-5-1. But a flexed SNF game against Washington would pretty much decide the season.
And the Giants took that win against Washington and ran with it. A close loss against the Vikings that was probably the best passing attack game of the season to that point, a dominating win against the hapless Colts that locked the Giants into the playoffs, and a surprisingly tight and scrappy game between the Eagles starters and the Giants backups gave Giants fans some hope headed into the playoffs. We didn't expect to win a Super Bowl, but the matchup against the Vikings seemed winnable.
And winnable it was, as in classic 2023 Giants fashion, they took a lead about halfway through the 4th quarter, and a couple of clutch plays on defense by Cordale Flott and Xavier McKinney ended the game.
Then we went to Philly and got absolutely ass blasted, ending our season.
That left the Giants with the 25th pick in the class, entering an offseason with a lot of business to take care of.

Free Agency Recap

The Giants had a lot more room to operate in free agency this year than last year, and Schoen was relatively creative in how he wanted to go about it.
The first step in that process though was figuring out the status of his pending free agents; most notably, the two who led the way on offense most of the year: Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. The Jones negotiations were tense, Jones asked for the moon and the team was not having it. Eventually (literally right before the tag deadline) they settled on a 4 yr, 160m extension with 82m fully guaranteed and a boatload of incentives that could push the value up to almost 200m. That allowed the team to tag Saquon Barkley, whose extension talks are reportedly still stalled, as Barkley declined an offer worth almost 14m during the Giants' bye week, and continues to find the Giants' offer(s) unpalatable.
Speculation is that Barkley is seeking more guaranteed money from the Giants (greater than the sum of 2 franchise tags), but Barkley's camp is not leaking much (reportedly because Saquon doesn't want them to). And according to most reporters, Saquon is too competitive to actually sit out the season, removing his last bit of leverage.
Possibly the biggest addition of the Giants' free agency period was actually a trade: The Giants traded the Chiefs' 3rd rounder (acquired for Kadarius Toney) for TE Darren Waller. This is a huge move because the Giants were dead last in explosive pass play rate by a WIDE margin. Only like 6 individual team seasons since 2010 had fewer explosive passing plays than the 2022 Giants. That's something that Schoen and Daboll immediately set out to fix, and Darren Waller is one of the best explosive pass weapons in the league, leading all TEs in explosive pass plays this season despite playing just 9 games this year. Reports out of OTAs are that the Giants are expecting Waller to basically fill a "WR1" role for them; not necessarily in alignment but being the focal point of the offense, high target share, etc.
Schoen and Daboll followed that addition up with two more explosive pass play options: retaining Darius Slayton, and adding Parris Campbell to the room. Slayton is a solid WR, he's good for 600-700 yards when he gets run. His hands are inconsistent, but he makes up for it often. Campbell finally broke out having a healthy season for the Colts this season. I think Campbell is mostly insurance for Wan'Dale Robinson, who is coming off of a torn ACL, but if healthy should get primary run in the slot.
The Giants' other two main moves came on the defensive side of the ball, adding LB Bobby Okereke to a LB room that comprised of: Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden, and Darrian Beavers (coming off a torn ACL). Much needed improvement in that room. The Giants also added Rakeen Nunez-Roches and A'Shawn Robinson to the DL room to improve the depth there; Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams were playing too many snaps, and the Giants were really bad against the run last year.
In the process though, the Giants lost both of their starting centers from 2022, Nick Gates and Jon Feliciano, as well as S Julian Love, who had been a consistent staple of the defense the last few years.

Draft Needs

The Giants roster was in much better shape this year than last year, but the team still had a number of problems:

1. CB was still a HUGE need for the Giants, and one that had not been properly addressed yet. Adoree' Jackson had another very good year in 2022, but the spot across from him had been a mishmosh of misfit toys: Fabian Moreau had a nice little run, but struggled down the stretch. Nick McCloud got a lot of run at CB2 after being claimed on waivers from the Bills. Cordale Flott had been drafted as a nickel defender but got some run there. And the slot position wasn't much better, as Darnay Holmes continued to be a liability there. This position needed reinforcements. I've been a relatively vocal minority in the Giants fandom saying this has been the BIGGEST need the team had for a couple of years now (basically aside from the one year that we had Bradberry and Jackson both on the team).
2. Despite adding Slayton, Campbell, and Waller, WR was still something the team needed. Specifically someone who could develop into a WR1 type player. The Giants WR room is relatively deep, but just adding Campbell and Waller and running back last year's group didn't feel sufficient. The team clearly was putting an emphasis on speed, separation, and yards after the catch ability.
3. Center was a massive need. The Giants basically didn't have a center on the roster who had played meaningful NFL snaps. Ben Bredeson could move to center if needed, but it wasn't that solid of a plan. And in what seemed like a good center class, this seemed like a good way to solve that problem.
4. LB. The LB2 spot currently will be either Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden (who basically lost the job last year to Jarrad Davis), or Darrian Beavers (who tore his ACL last year). I think that says it all.
5. RB: Saquon is on the tag, so you feel okay here, but the team has been seeking a solid compliment for him for a while. They were in on a few of the RBs last year and the value never lined up, and Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell didn't really cut it last year. They don't want to run Saquon into the ground early in the year like they did last year, so having a compliment for him is big.
6. S: Losing Julian Love is a tough one. He played a lot of snaps and wore a lot of hats for this defense last year, especially with McKinney missing time with a hand injury. The team likes Jason Pinnock, and drafted Dane Belton in the early 4th last year, but more depth and competition here would be very welcome.

So let's get into the picks:

1.24: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland

Seems like maybe Schoen agreed with me!
It was a lot harder to try to predict what the Giants would do this year, just by virtue of having a later pick. But the general consensus among the beat seemed to be that the team wanted to get a CB or an offensive playmaker with that first pick. I was a little skeptical of CB being an option, seeing how many mocks had all 5 of the top CBs off the board, but that often left WRs available.
So right after the Jets took Will McDonald at 15, if you looked at the board, only 1 CB had been taken and no WRs had been taken. That felt pretty good for the Giants.
Then Forbes and Gonzalez come off the board, and the top 4 WRs come off the board from 20-23.
That left the Giants feeling a little antsy. They had one guy they really wanted left, and negotiated a trade up one spot with the Jaguars to secure their guy: Deonte Banks.
This pick is perfect for what the Giants want to do on defense. Wink Martindale's reaction should say it all, if you go watch the Giants' behind the scenes videos on the draft process.
Banks is a tall, long, and athletic corner, which are all important traits for Wink's press man heavy defense. He's super fluid and smooth in his hips. He tested absolutely crazy. He also plays with a swag that I think Wink and Giants fans will come to really appreciate. He plays confident, he plays fast in terms of processing, and he plays physical.
He still has some development to go, I'm not saying he's going to be a top CB in the league from day 1. He wasn't a super ball productive corner, but that's not something Wink necessarily needs. It will take some time for him to get comfortable with the complexity of route runners in the NFL. But the tools are all there, and the Giants get a perfect scheme fit.
Banks will come in and immediately be the starter at CB across from Adoree' Jackson, and the trickle down effect that will have on the Giants depth chart at CB will be tangible.

2.57: John Michael Schmitz, OC, Minnesota

As this pick was coming up, Schoen and Daboll were discussing who to pick, and basically said "okay we're either going with Schmitz or (we'll get to that later ;) )".
Then the Bears traded up to the pick before the Giants pick. And Joe Schoen said "oh fuck." Daboll tried to calm him down and said "well I guess we're getting ."
Then the Bears took Tyrique Stevenson (good pick!), leaving the Giants the choice between the two players. And the Giants went with Schmitz.
Full disclosure: I was not a huge JMS fan in the draft process. I thought he was super solid all around, but he wasn't really impressive to me, there weren't a lot of overwhelmingly positive reps or traits in my eyes. I thought he was maybe a little heavy footed, especially in pass pro, and his testing kind of backed that up, and I didn't really see full unlocked power either.
I was probably a bit harsh on him in terms of the grade though. Like I said, he's a super solid player. There's relatively little to really complain about. He's smart, he's experienced, and he made few mental mistakes. His snaps were consistent. He is pretty strong though not crazy so. His anchor is really good, and he plays nasty and competitive, which is something the Giants are definitely looking for. It helps he had a really good Senior Bowl week too.
Was Schmitz my favorite center in this class? No. But he was for many people, and for some good reasons. Schmitz will come in and immediately start at center for the Giants, bringing the dead snap with him. If he can be the 3rd best player on this unit (behind Andrew Thomas and hopefully Evan Neal taking a step forward this year and being healthy), it'll be an immensely calming and steadying presence that should raise the OL play of the whole unit.

3.73: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee

So you may be wondering: Who was Player X?
Well immediately after drafting Schmitz, Schoen looked around the room and pretty much said "what if we can still get ?" He decided that the price he was willing to pay was the Giants 4th round pick. And he and everybody else in the room started calling.
That included Brian Daboll, who leaned over and said "hey should I text [Rams HC Sean] McVay?" Schoen said "yeah sure go for it." And Daboll officially negotiated the Giants trading up from 89 to 73 to select Player X: Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt
Hyatt is a really fun player to watch. The speed blows you away on tape. It's the kind of speed that even if you're not throwing it to him all the time, defenses have to take note when he comes on the field and play him differently. He's not necessarily slippery or elusive after the catch but (and I'm scared to frame it this way but I'm doing it anyway) the speed and acceleration gives him credibility there, the way that Odell was such a YAC threat on slants just getting to full speed and outrunning everyone.
He's a little high cut I think, and that leads to a little bit of trouble with crisper routes. He wasn't asked to run a very complex route tree at Tennessee, though I do think he has the skills to improve in that sense. The biggest concern for me is just how quickly we can get him up to speed beating press and playing through physicality. When he has room to work, he can beat CBs in a few ways, but NFL DBs will knock even very good WRs off their routes at times. And that follows through to contested catches.
The Giants' WR room is so crowded it's hard for me to say exactly what Hyatt's role will be starting out. The Giants started last year trying to use different WRs in different ways on a game to game basis. Then the wheels fell off obviously, with Shep, Wan'Dale, and Toney being hurt and Golladay stinking and all that. So I wonder if we see a return to that.
Hyatt can be a threat in a lot of ways, end arounds, screens, etc in addition to the obvious "go long" situations. Just how many reps he can carve out will be fun to track in training camp.

So the Giants come out of the first 3 rounds with 3 players who were commonly mocked to them at 25. Pretty good business! But let's get into day 3:

5.172: Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma

The Giants traded away their 4th round pick to get Hyatt so they went 99 picks without making a selection.
Like I said earlier, the team has been looking for a compliment to Saquon Barkley for a long time, and they find it here with Eric Gray.
Schoen said he sees Eric Gray as a 3 down back. And you can definitely see why. He caught 88 passes over the last 3 years at Oklahoma and only dropped 2. He's also strong and physical, willing to pass protect. That physicality carries over into his running style, he runs hard and is willing to run through guys. He's bursty in short areas and has pretty solid vision in my opinion.
He's a compact guy, just 5'9 207. He's not super slippery or elusive, and he's not really a home run hitter. But in terms of finding a backup RB on day 3 to feed some of those tough yardage carries to and keep Saquon fresh, you could do worse than Eric Gray for sure.
The Giants ran a fair bit of "Pony" type formations in 2022, using 2 or even 3 RBs at times. The competition between Gray and Matt Breida for the true RB2 spot will be fun to see. Breida brings a little more explosiveness to the table, but Gray will certainly give him a run for his money. And depending on what happens with Saquon Barkley's contract situation, we may see even more of Gray down the line.

6.209: Tre Hawkins, CB, Old Dominion

When asked about what is different this year from last year, what improvements or what has gotten easier now that he's been in the chair for a full year, Joe Schoen talked a lot about really getting a good handle on what his coaches look for in players. And he singled out Wink in that respect because him and Daboll have worked together so much.
The Giants selection of Tre Hawkins really highlights that. Like with Deonte Banks, Hawkins brings a ton of physical traits. He tested through the roof. He has the length that the Giants look for. He's also super physical in both phases, run and pass, which Wink loves. ODU let him just play press man, so he's comfortable doing that.
He's a little slim still, so his frame needs some reworking, but that's common with CBs and especially ones from outside the P5 schools. He also has a lot of technique and FBIQ stuff to clean up. His footwork is messy, he's not always patient enough with his punch. His ball skills still leave something to be desired. He's still learning to read routes and manage space both in man and zone.
I figure Hawkins will come in and be a depth player and core STer for the Giants. If his play strength holds up against NFL scrutiny, he can definitely be a day 1 punt gunner. Wink has started calling Jerome Henderson the best DB coach in the league, so it'll be fun to see what Henderson can do with a ball of clay like Hawkins. Even if he ends up just being a STer and CB5 type guy, that's still a pretty good pick in the 6th round like this.
Also, sorry Patriots writer :)

7.243: Jordon Riley, DL, Oregon

Beating a dead horse at this point, but this is another pick Schoen highlighted as an example of his understanding of what Wink is looking for.
Obviously Riley is a flawed prospect, it's the 7th round. He was a 6th year senior who spent time at 4 different schools, starting at UNC, then going to JUCO for a year, then Nebraska for 2 years where he barely played, and finishing his college career at Oregon. PFF lists him as having just 534 career snaps in college despite the 5 years he spent at the P5 level. He wasn't very productive, partly because he barely played and partly because he's just not very good. He's not a good athlete.
What Riley does have, though, is size, strength, and knockback power. And that's what Wink is looking for in a depth NT. He eats blocks, stuffs up lanes, and just is hard to move.
Schoen put it this way:
"It’s hard to find these guys. When you get into the seventh round, you are looking for guys that maybe it will be hard to get at different areas. And another guy we spent time with, big run stopper in there, 6-foot-5, 330.
You walk out to practice, and there’s this 6-5, 330-pound guy, who piques your interest right there. Again, some of these guys in different schemes may not have the production, the tackles, the sacks. But for what Wink looks for in terms of size, length, knock-back — he possesses those traits.”

7.254: Gervarrius Owens, DB, Houston

Last pick in the draft and the Giants go back to the DB room. They took two CBs already, but some depth/developmental guys at safety would help. Enter: Gervarrius Owens.
Owens is a former CB turned S from Houston. The CB in him flashes to me on tape, I thought his ball skills as a safety were good. He's athletic enough to play pretty much any safety spot, including that single high spot that teams find difficult to fill. He's super physical and willing to play downhill and tackle. He's super experienced, he was a team captain and 4 year starter for Houston.
He makes a lot of mistakes, however. The angles he takes to the ball in both phases are super inconsistent. He missed a ton of tackles in college, so that technique needs to be worked on. The ball skills turned into PBUs rather than INTs; Wink won't mind that but some of them were like "he really should have just caught that."
Owens is another guy like Hawkins who looks primed to earn his roster spot on special teams and provide solid depth for the team's DB room. Wink likes to play 3+ safety sets, especially when he feels like he has a good group there. And the Giants' S room right now is basically Xavier McKinney and a bunch of question marks, so it's entirely feasible that Owens can come in and beat Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock, and Bobby McCain to earn playing time early on.

UDFAs

The Giants UDFA class included a few notable names. 5 total players who got 100k+ in guarantees:

1. Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR, WVU: The Giants gave Bryce Ford-Wheaton a LOT of guaranteed money for a UDFA: 236k, which is the full season PS salary plus 20k. BFW was one of "my guys" this year I was hoping for the Giants to get. He's got the size and athleticism to be really good, but he's a little one note right now. In a crowded WR room, I kind of doubt he'll make the roster without some injuries (or Wan'Dale/Shep being on PUP) but like other late rounders/UDFAs, if he can find some value on special teams, he's a fun upside swing.
2. Dyontae Johnson, LB, Toledo: Another guy who got a lot of guaranteed money. The Giants needed some reinforcements at LB and clearly didn't find them in the draft. Super productive in college, very instinctive player, but I'm not sure if he can run with the league. He'll compete with the Giants mishmosh of LBs to play on special teams.
3. Ryan Jones, TE/FB, East Carolina: The Giants have been searching for a kind of H-Back type for a while now. Last year they brought in Jeremiah Hall from Oklahoma, that didn't stick. Andre Miller, who was a WR at Maine, seemed like he was getting run at that spot in camp last year, but a broken arm ended his season. Chris Myarick ended up taking some of those reps. Ryan Jones kind of fits that mold as well.
4. Habakkuk Baldonado, EDGE, Pittsburgh: The Giants' pass rusher depth is...not great. Behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, it's Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, and Tomon Fox. And Ojulari missed a lot of time last year. Baldonado could potentially come in and earn a spot over Ximines/Fox. He's got good play strength and power and fits what the Giants would need as more of an edge setter and run defender to give Thibodeaux/Ojulari a rest rep before letting them loose to rush the passer.
5. Gemon Green, CB, Michigan: Another tough and physical corner. I don't think there's really a spot for him on this roster with the additions of Banks and Hawkins, and I think he's not quite the athlete the Giants look for at CB, but as a last resort/STer he can potentially get somewhere.

Final Takeaways

I did this last year because it was Schoen's first year here, but I like the idea of doing it every year. What can we learn from the way Schoen drafted this year that we can file away and learn for the future? What can mockers learn from this to inform them of who makes sense for the Giants.
And it's pretty similar to last year:

1. Athleticism. Once again, pretty much every player the Giants drafted, and the UDFAs generally, were excellent athletes who tested well. The main exceptions being JMS (who was still a solid athlete) and Jordon Riley this year; where the exception last year basically was just DJ Davidson. This team has faith in its coaching staff and wants to give them players they can work with.
2. Scheme/Roster Fits. I talked about it a lot with the defensive picks, but every single one is a "Wink Martindale" guy. What does Wink want for his system? This can be a little dangerous considering Wink was in the running for a HC gig last year, and another strong year might finally get him the HC job he has been looking for. If he leaves and the scheme changes, these players need to be able to match the new scheme too. But it's clear that the FO values the input of the coaching staff and there's really clear communication there. This also applies to the offensive side of the ball, where it's super clear that the team wanted more speed on offense, which pointed to Hyatt a little bit.
3. Youth. This one is a little less applicable this year as they did draft a few older players, like JMS and Riley, even Eric Gray who turns 24 in November or Tre Hawkins who turns 23 over the summer. But Banks just turned 22, Jalin Hyatt will turn 22 in late September. It feels like maybe they felt more attached to the age stuff when they thought this was a full on rebuild, but now that they're hoping to be a playoff team again, they need some more instant contributors.
4. Aggressiveness/willingness to trade. This is a newer one, as last year the Giants only traded back. But this year the Giants traded up twice, giving up 3 day 3 picks in the process. Schoen is not afraid to make trades in either direction. Up to secure guys he really wants (Banks/Hyatt), or down if there's nothing there. Schoen talked about having trades lined up in both directions with the first round pick, he had a trade down ready if there was no one he wanted left.

The Giants went into the 2022 draft clearly rebuilding, 5 picks in the top 81 and making 11 selections. This year, the team came into the draft with 10 picks and came out with just 7. Clearly the team thinks the depth is improving and wants to focus on building the championship contender they are looking to be.

If Silver Wolf and Bronya were naked and covered in oil, who will win the twerk off?
Honestly deciding who “wins” here would be incredibly misleading for either of them. This is because of a few factors:
Silver Wolf would very likely know what twerking is, whether because she searched it on the web out of feisty curiosity or just boredom. Hell, I’m willing to believe she might have even tried doing it once or twice before, whenever Blade isn’t busy shitting himself in her living room and Kafka aint constantly Skype calling her whenever she finds a cute rock.
That being said however, Silver Wolf is a gamer through and through, and we all know that gamers are the least athletic, morbidly obese and lazier than a panda refusing to move a millimeter so its dick could fit inside another panda.
So, what does this have to do with Silver Wolf exactly? Well, as a gamer, she will naturally not enjoy physically exerting herself more than she absolutely needs to, and would rather just take things easy so to avoid tiring or sweating herself out. Which means that she likely doesn’t have much of any experience twerking even if she knows how to do it and practiced even a little. She simply would not enjoy it much and stops before she starts getting tired.
Now if we were to put this in a context where she is covered in extra virgin oil and has to twerk while naked and covered in it, she would probably not really try and would rather get it over with so she could go back to playing Terarria 6: RTX version. However, if there was a prize to be won; say a GeForce RTX 69420, then I believe Silver Wolf will actually take it seriously, like the true gamer that she is.
She will likely twerk harder than she has ever twerked before, resulting in the clap of her ass cheeks being louder than the noise my mother makes as she gets railed by Sushang's 12 inch suschlong. However, she will unfortunately find herself completely out if breath after the first ten claps and will likely collapse after the twelfth, due to her body being fueled purely by energy drinks and gamer juice. She likely won’t be able to feel her lower half for at least a few days, while she lays there unconscious and a face full of virgin oil.
Moving on to Bronya and well, do I really have to explain much if at all? But just to give this competition a fair trial, I will entertain the thought.
Bronya Rand is a princess, a fact that has been very thoroughly penetrated deep into our consciousness from the game's subliminal sissy hypnosis training, and so being a princess, it is very natural to assume that she likely won't have any education on such vulgar topics, let alone even knowing the definition of what "twerking" is.
Therefore, just from pure intellectual understanding alone, Bronya would lose badly. However, even if we were to give her the proper definition of "twerking" and show her all the proper ways of doing it, I sincerely doubt an Overworld princess whose only remotely sexual thing she ever experienced first hand was Seele's absurd clothing fashion and her 20 inch cock snugly hidden in her tight shorts, barely contained by the one singular button. That combined with a lack of practice, Bronya would simply not do well at all.
With all of this being said however, I shall at least make this as fair of a competition as I can.
By that, we shall assume that both parties were given proper instructions on how to properly twerk, and also a decent amount of time to practice it, say 1 to 2 nanoseconds. How would the two of them fare then?
Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Horrific even.
​
Watching these two trying to out-twerk the other one would be like watching two limp dicks trying to cum from smacking each other. It is the most wholly uninteresting thing ever.
Now, you may be thinking that it may not be that bad. I mean, these are still two women trying their absolute darnest to twerk right? Surely it must be entertaining to a degree at least.
No. No it is not.
Watching Bronya trying to twerk is like watching an 80 year old grandma learning that she could shake her hips for the first time. Those absolute massive flaps of pure fat juggling against the air like a pair of wet balloon bags. Not to mention the absolute cranky ass movements she will perform just trying to lower her hips, dear lord it would make you to shield your eyes from the horror. I would rather watch a mattress slowly kill itself through self-retardation than watching even a second longer of this shameful display of "twerking".
As for Silver Wolf...she admitedly would probably do a little better, but that is not saying much at all.
The girl would go for a maximum of 5 seconds before her petite body folds on itself like a black hole, resulting in a miserable display of face down, ass backwards as she permanently destroy all higher body movements. Like a hard string of spaghetti suddenly breaking in half through sheer force of will. All because she exerted more than 0,1 percent of energy, and her monster-cum energy drink filled blood veins could not handle all that pressure.
All you will be left with would just be two pitiful pile sack of meats on the ground, barely alive after just 10 seconds of intense labor. In other words, a truly sad representation of what this competition is all about.
And so, there will be no winners, for both parties will simply be too bad at it. I hope my very thorough explanation has helped to settle this debate once and for all, and everyone shall totally agree with my asesments and not a single person would have a different opinion.
Now if you will excuse me, I need to go back to sniffing Silver Wolf's stuffy armpits that she refuses to wash because she was too focused on gaming for the past month. No, you can not have any. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk though.

Hi! It was 2 years ago when I and this guy meet. At the very begining, he told me that he doesn't want a relationship. And that was fun for a while. Now, he is seeing another girl, and he wants to be fair. He also encourage me to go out and find someone else. He told me that we are going to see each other after that little girl left the country. He puts me an hold for 2 months.And there s the problem, cause I got some messages from him in which he wants to see me. For sex, obviously. I was having unrealistic hopes about a relationship. I thought that something would change in all these years and a friend of mine just told me to let him behind and get my head of the ground. I need some advice, I can't be rude. I told him that this isn't nice and his response was that "ok, we stop". With all this girls around him, do you think I could have a chance? Sorry for my bad English 😔

"- Attendez ! l'interrompit une voix grave. L'employé du casino, surpris, cessa tout mouvement instantanément. L'homme, quant à lui, leva la tête en direction de la voix.
Il vit une silhouette assise derrière une table en ébène vide. A travers ses yeux humides, il ne pouvait pas identifier ses traits avec précision. Sa tête semblait entourée d'un halo de lumière blanche. Sa main gauche était posée sur la table, et son autre main tenait un grand bâton. Habillée d'un simple drap blanc, l'apparition semblait ne pas avoir sa place dans un environnement tel que celui-ci. Mais l'homme n'y prêta pas attention. Ses prières avaient été entendues et on lui avait envoyé cet être. Choisirait-il de l'aider ou de prolonger sa souffrance ?
- Votre détermination a capté mon intérêt. expliqua la figure, sans bouger.
Elle leva finalement la main et la courba pour inviter l'homme à la rejoindre.
- J'aimerais jouer avec vous. Venez, n'ayez pas peur. Je sais que vous viendrez jouer.
L'homme se leva de son siège. Il tituba un peu. Est-ce que rejoindre cette silhouette était la meilleure chose à faire ? Pouvait-il seulement se permettre de refuser ? La partie qu'on lui proposait était peut-être sa chance de regagner son avenir, sa vie, son existence, et il pouvait y participer gratuitement. Tout comme l'apparition l'avait prédit, l'homme s'avança vers elle et s'assit. Le croupier, confus, suivit peu après.
- Vous avez tout perdu à cause de votre mauvaise chance, pas vrai ? demanda la silhouette. Maintenant qu'il était plus proche, le joueur pouvait enfin discerner les traits de son interlocuteur. L'âge avait fait se craqueler sa peau et avait drainé la couleur de ses cheveux et de sa barbe, mais ces derniers, de taille longue, avaient fusionné en une puissante crinière. Il y avait dans ses yeux quelque chose de sage et d'expérimenté qui le mettait à l'aise. Son nez était petit, mais droit.
Le joueur hocha la tête, toujours silencieux. Il ne savait pas quoi ajouter, ni même si dire quelque chose était nécessaire. L'homme à la crinière réussissait déjà à lire en lui assez aisément.
- Si vous jouez avec moi, vous pourrez peut-être regagner ce que vous avez perdu. Je ne suis pas un employé du casino, vous voyez, donc le jeu ne sera pas truqué et le gagnant ne sera pas désigné par hasard.
Le visage du croupier devint grimaçant et il lui lança un regard noir. Comment osait-il insulter sa façon de gagner sa croûte ? Et même si les jeux du casino avaient été un peu bidouillés... Et alors ? Cet homme pouvait-il proposer quelque chose de mieux ?
- Je détiens un cadeau de la Terre que j'entraîne depuis mon enfance. Je peux lire l'avenir. révéla l'homme.
Les bras et le cou de l'homme furent parcourus de frissons. Ce voyant lui avait semblé plutôt irréel juste avant, et maintenant, il savait pourquoi. Ce qu'il ne savait pas, cependant, c'était comment ce don allait résulter en un jeu juste. Le croupier partageait cette pensée, car il s'exclama.
- Hah, c'est bien c'que j'pensais, le vieux ! Votre jeu m'a l'air parfaitement truqué aussi !
Le joueur trouva dans cette exclamation une bonne raison de se lever pour partir. Mais il s'arrêta lorsque le diseur ajouta.
- Oui, je peux prédire chaque mouvement que vous ferez, et j'ai prédit plus tôt que vous joueriez avec moi. Cette prédiction est toujours d'actualité.
Le croupier sourit : le joueur s'était déjà levé. Il avait juste un pas à faire pour prouver que ce soi-disant voyant était un imposteur !
Aussi, il fut abasourdi lorsqu'il vit l'homme s'asseoir à nouveau. Comment était-ce possible ? Était-ce de la magie ? Une prédiction parfaite existait-elle seulement ? Quoiqu'il en était, l'homme ne pouvait, d'une façon ou d'une autre, pas se permettre de partir.
- Vous voyez ? Ma prédiction est encore valable. Mais ne vous méprenez pas : ce n'était pas de la magie, ni de la chance. Toutes mes prédictions sont fondées sur des faits. Tout ce que vous faites a des causes logiques que je suis capable de voir.
L'homme, troublé par ce qui venait d'arriver, commença à regarder frénétiquement autour de lui pour trouver un moyen de sortir. Mais il s'était rassis plus tôt, prouvant que la prédiction était fondée. Il n'irait nulle part, mais quelque chose clochait toujours. D'un regard confus et inquisiteur, il posa une simple question.
- Pourquoi j'accepterais de jouer avec vous ?
- J'ai dit plus tôt que j'entraînais ce don. Et pour ça, je dois savoir quelles limites il possède. Vous avez réussi à vous lever plus tôt malgré ma prédiction, ce qui prouve que celles-ci ne sont pas totalement fiables. En d'autres termes, vous avez pensé à partir, ce que je n'avais pas prédit. Et c'est dans le but de parfaire ce don que je voyage à travers le globe et le teste contre des personnes que je trouve intéressantes, comme vous.
Le joueur et le croupier échangèrent des regards désorientés.
- Mon don contre votre détermination. clarifia le voyant. On joue ?"
—-------------------
J'accepte les critiques avec grand plaisir, étant donné que c'est ma toute première nouvelle (même si j'ai déjà écrit sur des serveurs de roleplay). Je suis aussi en recherche de lecteurs bêta pour la nouvelle complète et pour mes potentiels autres projets !
Je vous remercie par avance de votre lecture et vos retours.

I (18f) starting dating a guy (19m) about a year ago. We met at our cities Halloween fair while he was out with two friends (both girls). We ended up going out shortly after that. Since he was my first official boyfriend, I was really excited to date him.
Everything started off really well. We took time to get to know each other, spent a lot of time together, and constantly went out together and had really nice conversations. Everything seemed too good to be true, and apparently it WAS too good to be true.
About one or two months into our relationship, he had gotten more controlling and secretive. He needed to know everything about me, my day, who I was talking to, etc. He even pressured one of his girl friends to get information out of me, which I had just recently found out.
The emotional and verbal abuse started not much later. Anything I did pissed him off. We would get into many arguments regarding stupid things, and instead of cooperating and trying to find common ground, we always had to go with HIS option as to how we would fix the problem.
During these arguments, he would belittle me, call me horrible names, compare me to his ex-girlfriends, ignore my points, and he would switch the situation around so nothing was ever his fault. I would always end up feeling awful and worthless, which was his plan. Eventually I had become like a mindless zombie regarding our relationship. I always listened to him. If I was out and he wanted to hang out with me, I would leave wherever I was at and go to him. If he wanted me to stop talking to someone (whether there was a reason or not), I would immediately cut contact with said person. If I didn’t do said things, he would threaten to leave me and belittle me until I did what he wanted.
This went on for months, and even though I did everything he asked me to, he grew distant and even cheated on me. He would go days without answering my messages and I would have to ask his friends if he was even okay.
Things got worse when I found out he was moving. I got worried and wanted to talk about our relationship before he moved because I just wanted to know what would happen between us. I kept telling him how long distance usually never works out in the long run, but he avoided this talk and moved. Our communication got way worse, and he would go one or two weeks without responding to me. Even when he did respond, he never held a conversation with me.
Eventually I stopped messaging him completely. I was tired of our one sided relationship and I gave up and moved on with my life. He texted me when he wanted things from me but I ignored him the way he ignored me.
Recently he came back and apologized for everything. He continuously tried to get ahold of me, and even bothered my friends about me. Eventually I had one conversation with him, in which he sweet talks me and pressured me to come back to him. After rejecting him, he threatened me. He used information against me and threatened me.
I’m scared. This whole thing has stressed me out because he’s shown me what he was capable of in the past. I just want to be done with him, but it’s hard now that he’s back. What do I do?

I'd like to start by letting everyone know that the genre is Fantasy Epic, and that this is a long prologue at 6,414 words. This prologue serves a purpose as it takes care of a lot of my setting and plot setup. It also gives the reader a fair bit of worldbuilding without making it too much of an info dump (talking to you Robert Jordan ;P).
I've had several people beta read this for me and gotten a lot of positive feedback. The prolbem for me is that these were all people I know very well on a personal level. Several have made comparisons to Chronicles of Narnia or Lord of the Rings as far as how well the full book is written. The problem is, friends and family can often have a bias and make things seem better than they really are. So, now I want to do a test run in the real world and see what people who don't know me think. Is it as engaging and compelling as they have made me hope that it is?
I'm basically wanting to take a page from a couple authors I admire and follow the ABC rule for critiquing. Please let me know of any point where you thought it was Awesome, Boring or Confusing. I know prologues aren't everyone's favorite thing, but this has basically been written like a novella for the main story as it foreshadows a lot of things leading all the way into book four.
————————————————————————————
PROLOGUE
ARCHIVE INFINITUM
October 14, 844 (Alt-Future)
"Welcome back to the Archive, Master Jonathan."
"Thank you, Charles. It's good to be back. Have you noticed anything interesting in the Physical Realm?"
"I have not, sir. Do you require any assistance today?"
"Thank you, but no. I'm only here to revisit a passage within the history of the Order. Shortly after, I'll depart for the reunion at the Tower."
"Excellent, sir. I'll leave you to it."
Jonathan emerged from the ether and walked through the Archive doors. Inhaling deeply, he breathed in the familiar scents of dusty cleanliness that can only truly be found in a place of learning. The lights reflected off the floor's white marble surface, casting a glow that evenly lit every corner of the large chamber. Even so, the room still felt cavernous to him, as if he were a galleon amidst the vastness of the ocean.
Jonathan appeared to be in his early to mid forties. Though, with the way he carried himself and the spring in his step, he seemed closer to his late twenties. His hair was shoulder length and dark gray. He wore bifocals though he hadn't needed them since his ascension, and dressed with a refined sense of style.
His gray eyes were by far his most interesting feature, though. They were the only hint of how old he truly was and the many adventures and travesties he'd witnessed. Regardless, how old he was didn't matter as age had long since lost its meaning for him. After all, being an immortal tended to give a man new priorities in life.
As he strolled across the room, a lift descended from the tower's heights. The square platform had waist high rails around its perimeter. It floated through the air showing no sign of a suspension system to raise or lower it. This was accomplished by a magical enchantment that allowed it to levitate and dart about the room at mind numbing speeds. As he stepped up onto the platform's dais, it landed on the floor in front of him. He took a position at its center, then, after folding his arms behind his back, mentally willed it to take him to floor eight hundred forty four.
It rose off the ground, gradually gaining speed until it was a hundred or so feet in the air. At that point, the platform took off like a rocket. The thought of what these speeds would do to him if this were outside the Realm of Intellect crossed his mind, making him chuckle nervously. He knew he had to be moving close to six hundred miles per hour.
Now, let me tell you a bit about Jonathan's pet project, The Archive Infinitum. The Archive is a magical structure he'd designed shortly after the cataclysm that nearly wiped out the human race. An event most of you now refer to as the Night of Burning Skies. That same event is also what gave us the powers we now refer to as magic.
Shortly after obtaining his ascension, he learned that science's multiverse theories were close to how reality really worked. There are an infinite number of parallel universes, or branching timelines, that coexist simultaneously. What was different is that each universe shared a common six realm structure. The Physical Realm, the Realm of Intellect, the Dominion of Shadows, the Plane of Enlightenment, the Land of the Forgotten, and the Ether.
He built the Archive within the Realm of Intellect so it wouldn't be bound by the laws of physics or time as we know them. Once the structure was anchored in place, he could set most of those parameters himself. What he didn't realize was that making it here would have an unintended, though not unwelcome, side effect. The structure's size, shape, and architectural style could change by anyone who entered it.
When someone enters the Archive, it ascertains their strength of mind and will. Suppose the individual's mental fortitude is deemed stronger than that of the other occupants. In that case, the appearance will adjust to one that best serves and appeals to that individual. This could become unsettling for the occupants already inside the first few times it happened. That being said, it has no effect on the contents atop the shelves or where you're located within the structure. For Jonathan, it shared an uncanny resemblance to the George Peabody Library, though on a much grander scale.
The lift stopped after a brief ride, and Jonathan stepped off. He resumed his stride, passing row after row of the cherry wood bookcases. There were hundreds of rows and thousands of tomes and scrolls in each. As a scholar, he'd spent most of his existence here. But, even so, he knew there would always be something more to be gleaned from their pages.
Today was a day of remembrance. Of celebration. Of mourning. It was the anniversary of the end of a war that had lasted ten thousand years. With the death of one individual, a light of hope was given to many. For others, it was a bittersweet victory that left a void in their hearts. He'd come here today to revisit a passage that would return him to that fateful day. Reliving the event which granted them this peace, and once again, paying his respects to a dear friend.
"Ah, yes, yes, yes. Here we go."
The plaque on the side of the bookcase read, Row DD, Column 15. Now that he'd found the right one, he began scanning the shelves. It wasn't long before his hand landed on the tome he sought.
"Here it is." He pulled it down from the shelf. "My word. Has it truly been fifteen hundred years since I glanced through these pages?"
Looking at the cover, he chuckled. The combined magic of the Archive and the Realm had created a thin layer of dust. Giving it the feeling of something ancient and lost to time. Raising it to his lips, he blew the dust away, causing the magic to dissipate as it fell to the floor. He pulled open the cover and rifled through the pages. The section he stopped at contained the account of Rexinon the Prophet's final words.
Summoning his divine magics, he channeled a spell into the tome. The words that once filled the passages began to fade away, leaving only the blank pages, which now bled a blueish gray smoke. The soft glow of the lights against the floor diminished as the smoke spread. As the darkness grew more substantial, luminescent spheres and arcs of brilliant blues and crimson could be seen dancing about its surface like lightning.
The ground trembled beneath his feet, and the smokey haze took on a more stormlike appearance. All around him, the air started to feel heavy, and the taste of dust and sea salt filled his mouth. A gentle rain began to fall, and the room's remaining lights winked out. If not for the increasing flashes of lightning, he would've been left in total darkness. But even this was not a comfort, as those flashes cast shadows against the storm's ever swirling walls. Many of which appeared to be dark things that should never be seen in the light.
The storm's intensity grew, bringing disorienting cracks of thunder and wind whipping around him. It assaulted his senses and seemed to have an almost vengeful purpose. That meant he had to constantly focus on the spell, bracing himself against the onslaught. If he failed, it would kill him without question.
Some of the shadows began to take on a physical form with details beyond what the walls could offer them. He watched as an hourglass tumbled end over end, circling him before it returned to the storm. A moment later, a blazing fireplace and mantle emerged but produced neither light nor heat. Finally, a door engraved with the crest of the Order appeared. These images were ones he'd expected to see for this particular passage, and so came as no surprise. However, when a fourth image appeared, he was caught off guard.
Although it was normal for three images to accompany this spell, an occasional fourth spoke of prophecy. He focused intently on this final image. It showed twelve people standing in a circle; one of them was coated in blood. Two others were bound by chains. One a man, the other a woman.
He looked closer at the man and realized it was Godric. His eyes opened wide as he tried to decipher the meaning behind the image. Only a few moments passed while he speculated, but it was a few moments too many. Disaster struck, and too late, he realized his mistake. He'd lost focus, and now the storm would surely take him.
Hurricane force winds and debris tore at his clothes, quickly turning them into rags. One powerful gust slammed into his side as if he'd been struck by a car, knocking him off his feet. The storm swelled with even greater ferocity. It threatened to consume him this time, and he wondered if it would finally cost him.
Rain and hail pelted his face and body, while dust and sand stung his eyes. As he wiped away the grit, a bolt of lightning struck before him, temporarily blinding him. He got to his hands and knees, gasping for breath as the storm continued to beat him relentlessly.
Steeling himself against the pain, he rose to his feet. As fast as he could manage, he began casting mental defenses and barriers to protect his mind from the horrific assault. He bellowed in defiance of the storm, "I will not let it end this way! I refuse!" One defense after another was laid upon his person, until finally, he succeeded. The winds died to a breeze as the rain became little more than a summer misting.
He heard the sound of a quill scratching against paper over the storm's remnants, and the air behind his back grew hot as a crackling fire joined the room's ambiance. The sickly sweet smell of incense filled his nostrils, reminding him of days spent in his master's study. Another fond memory.
The storm wall vanished as the tremors subsided, making the room visible through a misty haze. The light of the fireplace cast his shadow across the now rough cut gray stone floor. Half a dozen tapestries hung around the room, and a liquor cabinet stood at the room's far corner. The main entry door remained closed to his left, and the doorway to the study's balcony lay to his right. At the room's center sat Rexinon at his desk, writing furiously on a piece of parchment.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he breathed a sigh of relief. Although he'd done this countless times, the journey into the pages of history was always filled with peril. But, blessedly, the most intense part of the spell was complete. And while he could now relax in that fact, that fourth image still concerned him.
He stood in the familiar square room, clothing restored to its original state. The evening's air flowed through the open windows, making the ambient temperature quite cozy. Crossing the room, he paused at the desk and listened as Rexinon started muttering. "What I wouldn't give for a typewriter, much less a computer. Would make this so much faster."
Jonathan couldn't help but crack a smile. "Oh, but how many times have I thought the same thing, old friend?" He remarked, though he knew Rexinon couldn't hear him.
He stepped up to the desk and leaned over it. Looking down at the paper Rexinon was writing on, he frowned. Like so many times before, it appeared as little more than black scribbles on a page. Those words had to be important, but there was no way to know.
This was one of the spell's critical weaknesses. The details within the vision were only as precise as what was written in the tome. Most of the books in the Archive were magically transcribed. The benefits of this were completed histories free of victor and writer biases. Although, it wasn't flawless.
Throughout history, there have been individuals or events that the spell couldn't see. The most well known examples of these blips in time were the United States presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1945 and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Michael Durham, from 2063 to 2065. All that is known about them was their lives before office and the accounts written by those around them. These gaps in history were generally the result of one of two things. In these two cases, a place or individual with a strong connection to the Dominion of Shadows.
Sighing, he pushed off the desk and crossed the room to the liquor cabinet. He opened the glass doors, pulling several bottles and a glass from the shelves. He made a drink consisting of three parts Red Adders Bite and one part Dry Amorian Blood Wine, then added a lime wedge to the rim of the glass. The others wouldn't arrive for another half hour, leaving him time to kill.
He walked around the room with his drink in hand and studied the various tapestries, several of which he'd been a part of. Each one depicted an accomplishment or tragedy facilitated by the Order. All save one, which showed a scene from the event that started it all.
The one to the left of the cabinet showed the Order's founding. In the background stood a grand tower of black and white marble. Its four sides were engraved with the Mark of Hellyrr, which glowed with a magical light. In front of it stood a man facing a gathered crowd, his arms swept wide in triumph. They looked up at him and the structure with reverence and awe.
He continued to move in a counterclockwise manner around the room. Above the main entry door hung another tapestry. One he was even depicted in. It showed the aftermath of a massacre. Six figures stood amidst the bodies of hundreds. The earth around them was scorched by flame, and the blood of the fallen had stained it red. The cloud covered sky glowed a deep crimson with gold outlines from the fires below. It had come to be known as the Cleansing of Elysian, in which the entirety of the planet's second continent had been annihilated to preserve the world.
"I wish it had never come to this. Why can't we all just get along? Instead of thriving in the prosperity of our two lands, they plotted and began planning to bring war to our own people. To rape, pillage, and enslave them. Even with all my vast knowledge and wisdom, I can't understand why they felt the need to dominate and control the world." He looked back up at the tapestry. "Even now, most of the land is still uninhabitable."
He turned around and looked at the tapestry above the balcony door. This one would appear out of place with the others to all but a few handfuls of people. Even for those who learned the truth behind it, it looked like little more than an artist's vision of what a beautiful landscape at sunset should look like. The sky is dotted with hundreds of stars as shades of red, orange, and yellow dance across the land's horizon. The artist's point of view appears to be looking down from a hillside. Down the hill's slope, you can see a pond teaming with wildlife along its edge. The remaining landscape is filled with miles of forest stretching toward the horizon.
For the few who survived this event and still remained, they knew it depicted the final moments of their world before all of humanity was nearly lost.
Jonathan fixated on this tapestry more than he had on the others. The longer he stared, the more distant his expression grew. Over time, his breathing quickened, and his grip on the glass slipped. It shattered as it hit the floor, causing the rug to stain from the liquid. The sound jerked him out of the trance like state, making him feel ill.
He could still recall the memory of that long ago day like it were yesterday. The thought of how close humanity had come to extinction made his legs weak, and he stumbled back against the wall behind him. He slid down the stones' cool surface and noticed his hands were now trembling. Through shuddering breaths, he uttered the words of a broken man. "So much death. So many lives were lost that day. So many. Oh, Sonia. Even after all this time, I still miss you."
The main entry door slammed open, crashing against the wall with a loud bang. Jonathan jerked as one of them collided mere inches from where he sat. The startling sound had been enough to pull him from his stupor, but it still took a moment for him to gather himself. A man in the doorway lowered his foot from where he'd obviously kicked the unlocked door in.
"Knock, knock, Rex. Seems you've done it now."
"Seth. I'll never understand the animosity you held for Rexinon," Jonathan said wearily as he got to his feet.
Seth stood just shy of five foot eight inches and had slick black hair that he kept combed back. He wore black jeans and a beige dress shirt with mother of pearl buttons, which had seen far too much polish in recent days. A malevolent grin displayed his perfect teeth and careless eyes. He strode into the room, dragging a chair behind him, and placed it on the rug by the fireplace.
"Was kicking the door in really necessary, Seth?"
A second man stepped into the room, obviously annoyed by the unnecessary use of force. He wore a navy blue business suit and towered over everyone else in the room, and that was saying something considering Jonathan was six foot. As he still held to the standards of a marine, he kept his hair high and tight and his face clean shaven. He stood at the rug's edge out of respect for the Order so as not to mar the embroidered Mark of Hellyrr. A respect Seth clearly lacked.
"Godric Gibbs. This day changed you. Hell, it changed all of us, but few as much as you," Jonathan said. He looked back at the door as the third and final man entered. "Assassin."
This man was of a height with Jonathan and wore all black from head to toe. His outfit looked like something out of a TV show. Almost like a cross between Gi Joe's Snake Eyes, and CW Arrow's League of Assassins. After ten thousand years, all they knew about him was his previous occupation as a contract killer. It wasn't long before they'd taken to calling him Assassin, as they had no other name to go by. Any time he was asked a question regarding his past, he either remained silent or dodged it outright. He took a position to Godric's left and, like Godric, took care of where he stood on the rug.
The three men stood in silence and watched as Rexinon continued to write. Godric and Assassin seemed content to wait until he addressed them. On the other hand, Seth seemed to grow more agitated as the minutes passed. Jonathan chuckled in spite of himself.
About twenty minutes later, Rexinon spoke, "Reverend Seth Jones, Colonel Godric Gibbs, and Assassin. To what do I owe the pleasure?" His tone plainly indicated that he already knew.
Seth spoke first. "Oh, cut the crap, Rex. You already know why we're here. This cult thing of yours has gone on long enough."
"Well, there's the pot calling the kettle black," Jonathan muttered sarcastically.
Godric rolled his eyes. Everyone in the room knew about Seth's past as a cult leader. They also knew his anger was more at being forced to wait in silence than anything to do with Rexinon or the Order.
"Calm yourself, Seth. There's no need for such hostilities." Godric looked at Rexinon apologetically. "I'm sorry to have to do this, old friend, but my hands are tied. Rexinon the Prophet, Headmaster of the Hellyrrian Order, you've been charged with conspiracy to overthrow the governments of Aurelia and seize control for the Order.
"As we speak, the leaders of the Hellyrrian Order are being gathered for execution. Furthermore, your towers and all their artifacts will be destroyed, and any remnants of the Order's existence is to be wiped from the face of history. As of 0813 this morning, you have been sentenced to death. How do you plead?"
Rexinon continued to write at an incredible rate. He knew why they'd come. He'd known this was coming for months. After all, his gift was the gift of prophecy. The evidence for the charges against him was both substantial and ethereal, depending on what light was shown on it.
Two centuries ago, the Order had tracked the activities of an unknown number of individuals who'd been subtly manipulating several of the Aurelian governing bodies. They'd spread like a poison, corrupting them and turning once prosperous kingdoms which knew few hardships, into lands where the people had to fight just to survive. The problem was that whoever that force had been, always seemed to be just one step ahead of them. Now, not only was it check, but checkmate. The Order had lost.
"I believe the Righteous Twelve to be ill advised. I believe you've been manipulated by the same corrupted governing body which we've spent so long trying to purify—." Seth grunted. "—But," he said at length, "I accept all charges against me, save one. Neither myself nor anyone else of the Order has ever sought to rule Aurelia, as the charges would imply. The Cleansing of Elysian should've been proof enough to show that to be true."
Rexinon penned the final words of his letter and placed the pen back in its stand. Pulling the top off a jar, he dusted the page with a thin layer of sand to soak up any excess ink. After dumping the sand back into another jar to be cleaned, he pushed away from his desk and stood to look at his guests for the first time. After nudging his stool back under, he addressed Godric directly.
"Will you join me on the balcony one last time?"
Godric nodded his head and gestured towards the balcony doorway. As they stepped outside, Jonathan followed.
Rexinon leaned against the railing and looked out over the city, his gaze fixed on the setting sun. Godric joined him and looked down to the tower's base, some five hundred feet below. Although he was not afraid of heights, it gave him respect for the sturdily mounted railing at the balcony's edge.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Rexinon said. Godric looked at him, confused. "The way the world has turned out since that day? Ten thousand years of watching as civilization was rebuilt and destroyed time and time again by a senseless war. Watching them evolve into something more as they learned how to use these gifts we were given. In some ways, we're greater than we ever were. In other ways, we're inferior. If I have any regrets, it's that I couldn't do more to leave the people better prepared for this new age."
"Well spoken. If it's any consolation, I believe this is wrong. I even spoke out against the council for a different outcome. For my efforts, though, I was threatened with execution if I didn't cease my objections."
Rexinon's tone grew heated after hearing of the council's reaction. "You should know better than anyone why I fought so hard against them, then. I'm not against governance. I'm against corrupt governance. We had far too many corrupt politicians and warlords in our own time for me to ever want to allow it again."
Godric nodded his head. "Yes. The problem is you played too heavy a hand too quickly. Instead of accepting that they'd been beaten, they cheated by playing with an ace they had hidden up their collective sleeves."
Rexinon sighed, knowing his words were true. "Indeed. I've accepted my fate. I won't run. Won't even make it difficult for y'all. I have no need to. I would like to make one final request to ease your conscience, though."
Rexinon leaned toward Godric conspiratorially. As he did this, the world around them began to shimmer and distort. Almost like the motion blurring you'd see on a TV. Likewise, their conversation was masked by the sound of white noise and the sound of hushed incoherent whispers.
This was the second hurdle the scrying spells had to deal with. Individuals with divine magic could conceal their conversations or even the events they were a part of. Rexinon had concealed this conversation, and to this day, Godric has never spoken of what was said.
Jonathan returned to the study with a resigned sigh. There was nothing more he could learn from their conversation. Assassin stood in the same spot he'd been when he first entered the room and looked as if he hadn't so much as twitched. Seth, however, was rummaging through the desk's drawers. He'd tried to figure out what he was looking for in the past, but nothing seemed obvious.
The shards of glass from when he'd dropped his cup earlier had vanished, along with the stain on the rug from the liquor. As expected, the glass had returned to the cabinet, and the bottles had refilled to where they were before he'd arrived. This was yet another reminder that this was a magically induced vision of an event that had long since passed. It could be too easy to forget that this wasn't real and that if he spent too much time here, it would have consequences in the real world for him.
He knew they'd be out there a while. In previous visits, he'd occasionally spent this time combing through the room, similar to what Seth was doing. Having cataloged everything centuries ago, there was nothing left to do but wait. So, he walked around the desk and sat squarely within the Mark of Hellyrr embroidered on the rug. There, for the next hour or so, he would remain, arms folded, legs crossed, and eyes shut. Freeing his mind of all unnecessary thoughts and emotions. At least, that was the plan.
About forty minutes in, Seth started to grumble and complain, forcing Jonathan to give up on his meditation. "… I know he's one of the humblest among our kind, but lord, does he have to be so dull? I can't find anything interesting anywhere. Even his liquor cabinet is dull." Seth walked from behind the desk to the liquor cabinet, pulled a few bottles out at random, and read the labels aloud. "Red Adders Bite, Amorian Blood Wine. Christ, he's even got Athester's Sweet Malt. This crap might as well be water." He pulled another bottle down and said, "At least he's got the taste to have at least one bottle of Nordic Berserker."
"Some of us prefer the simpler things in life. You might find life more enjoyable when you aren't always looking for the rare and exotic," Assassin said with a disinterested, almost dismissive tone.
Seth clicked his tongue. "Hell, even this letter he was so focused on when we arrived makes no sense." Seth thrust the letter towards Assassin, who took it nonchalantly. "Look at this."
Jonathan studied Assassin intently, hoping for any sign that would reveal the letter's contents. It was no use, though; for all the emotion he showed, Jonathan would've thought it no more important than a grocery list. But, if that were the case, why obscure it from the eyes of the scrying spell? The frustration caused by such a simple sheet of paper was baffling.
Jonathan got to his feet as Rexinon and Godric returned. As Rexinon walked to stand at the center of the rug, Jonathan moved behind the desk. Godric walked toward Assassin and conversed with him for a few minutes. Once again, the sound of white noise shrouded what was said. This time, it was Godric who masked his words from the spell. When Assassin nodded, Godric moved beside him and faced Rexinon.
Rexinon looked at each tapestry and seemed to relive each as he did so. They all knew those accomplishments and tragedies would stand the test of time. Any efforts to change that would fall flat. The Order had played too significant a role in shaping this new world. Finally, he turned to Godric, kneeling as he met his regret filled eyes.
Assassin pulled an infamous rod from his side, dubbed the Executioner's Handle. Forged in the Dominion of Shadow by Assassin some three thousand years ago. It was one and a half feet long of shadow infused steel and bound with his own divine essence. Ominous black tendrils crawled along Assassin's hand like something alive and flowed into the handle. The shaft elongated, and an axe head formed at its end.
Though he had accepted his fate, seeing that axe form made Rexinon's heart stop momentarily. He looked at Godric questioningly. Godric knew what that look meant and nodded his head in assent. Agreeing to this had allowed them both to right several wrongs this night by asking one simple question. "Do you have any final words or requests?"
"I have two, if you'll grant them. The first, allow me to disband the Order formally as my final act as headmaster."
Seth started to protest, but Assassin lowered the axehead in his direction as a silent threat. Seth glared at Assassin with seething hatred. Godric nodded to Rexinon. "Proceed."
As the headmaster of the Hellyrrian Order, he had a mental connection with every member. Without hesitation, Rexinon's eyes began to glow with a brilliant purple hue. This would be Rexinon's final order, and Godric knew it would save thousands.
"My brothers and sisters, hear me now and heed my words. Abandon the Order and save yourselves. Flee to the hills and never look back to what we once were. With my dying breath, the Hellyrrian Order is no more. The governments of Aurelia have played a hand we can't stand against. Anyone who disregards this command will be hunted down and executed without mercy. To the leaders and guild masters of the Order, I charge you with dismantling everything relating to the Order and turning over every artifact and document you can to Godric the Just, Jonathan the Wise, or Assassin the Watcher. I also ask that you help calm those who feel outraged and betrayed by this night. Do not blame the Twelve, as they were little more than pawns in this corrupt game of politics. Farewell, my friends. My family. May the peace we have fought for be found in the coming days."
The glow faded, and he slumped forward onto his hands, his breathing labored. A few moments passed, and he managed to catch his breath but still looked towards the ground.
"The second request I have is that anyone who would heed that warning be spared. The ruling factions wanted me. As long as no one else causes trouble, we know they won't cause too much fuss over it."
His voice took on a much sharper edge as he looked back up. "You call us a cult, though you know we are nothing of the sort. On the contrary, our Order has stood for nearly five thousand years for the betterment of the entire world. How they treated you should tell you that what I said and what we were doing was justified."
"Shut your mouth, Rex!" Seth spat venomously.
Godric glared at Seth. His own anger with this situation was at the point of breaking free. "Be silent! I don't know what kind of grudge you have, but I, for one, don't give a damn what the council said. Rexinon doesn't deserve death for the crimes he's being accused of. Unfortunately, the ruling factions in almost every nation are corrupted and working towards being as corrupt as they were back in our day." Godric sighed. "Regrettably, my hands are tied, though. The law is the law, and I have been overruled on this matter. Regardless of what my conscience thinks, I will abide by the rules of the land."
Rexinon nodded, understanding Godric's situation perfectly. Godric had become the divine embodiment of law and justice at his ascension. While those two things work hand in hand, they are far from the same, and one must often walk a fine line to serve them both. In this case, the choices were clear. In the end, it didn't matter what he chose; he would inevitably betray one virtue or the other. Unfortunately, there was no good way for him to handle this, and Rexinon could see how this was affecting him.
"The majority of the Order will heed my warning. As for the leaders, if any are still alive, they will follow that command to the letter. They'll even aid you in handling any hotheads who resist," Rexinon said.
"The good news is that no one has yet been executed this evening. I'll personally see to it that those who abide by that order are given a chance to live long, productive lives within society. If all goes well, you will be the only casualty of this idiocy."
Rexinon gave the faintest sign of a smile with a halfhearted chuckle as he said, "Godric, one thing I'll not allow is any of the Order's work ending up in the hands of one of those tyrants. Therefore, I demand that Jonathan be given every document, scroll, and tome held within our strongholds for safekeeping." Rexinon felt exhausted. The spell to warn his Order took more out of him than anticipated.
"You're in no position to be making demands of us," Seth said. Godric finally snapped and struck him so hard that he slammed back into the wall beside the fireplace, cracking it. He got back to his feet a moment later, fixed his shirt, and looked down at the blood he'd wiped from his lip. Godric looked back at Rexinon.
"As you were saying."
"Assassin, I'd ask that you secure all our relics and artifacts, regardless of their magical significance. I don't need to tell you what all we have housed around Aurelia."
"No, you don't. The nukes of our time were nothing compared to some of those items," Assassin replied.
"We'll see to it that it's done. There are things within these walls that were never meant for untrained mortal hands," Godric added.
"Thank you."
"As for the texts, Jonathan will have a field day going through everything. There is far too much the council doesn't understand within these walls that we can't afford to lose."
"Godric was right, Rex. I still have everything. Much of which has been quite useful over the centuries,"
Godric turned his head away, no longer able to look Rexinon in the eye. "I no longer deserve the right to call you a friend, but is there anything else you would ask of me?"
Rexinon looked at Godric for a long time and couldn't help but smile. Not at his pain or suffering in following the orders given to him, but knowing that if anyone here had ever been a friend to him, Godric certainly was. With his final words, he left Godric with a warning.
"No, but I'll leave you with this. Be wary of those among you, for one will betray you all. My friend."
Godric nodded, accepting these as Rexinon's final words as a tear ran down his cheek. Rexinon lowered his head, and Assassin enveloped his axe's blade in a purple aura.
"Woah, Assassin, what's with the new color? Never seen that before," Seth asked.
Ignoring the question, Assassin swung the axe, severing Rexinon's head cleanly.
That night, the cries of the Order were heard in every city across Aurelia. All mourning the death of the Order's first, and last, headmaster.
Jonathan fought back tears of his own as he watched the axe's head vanish. Assassin secured the handle on his belt as he walked towards the desk. Godric looked as though he was going to be sick.
"Did you do as I asked?" Godric asked shakily.
"Of course. I may be a trained killer, but even I know this was bullshit, mate."
Seth walked over and picked up Rexinon's severed head by the hair. He held it up before him, a mischievous grin on his face. Then he whispered something into Rexinon's ear.
Assassin's eyes locked on Seth. As he let go of the head, he used one of his abilities, known as shadow step, to cross the distance to where Seth stood. Before Rexinon's head hit the ground, Assassin snatched it out of the air and punched Seth so hard that it sent him flying into the same section of the wall he'd hit earlier. He bounced off it, but the force of the impact sent several of the stones flying into the next room. Seth crumpled to the floor, where he lay unmoving for several seconds. After a while, his head snapped upright, and he began to laugh. He stood up as if nothing had happened and headed out the door. Godric, now seething with anger, watched as Assassin started to go after him. "Leave him. He's not worth your time."
Jonathan paced around the room, waiting for the spell to wear off. His heart ached, and his own anger toward Seth at that moment made him wish he could destroy the man. But that was Seth's way, and they'd all learned to let it go in time. The world began to blur and vanish, reverting to the Archive once again.
He closed the cover, placing the tome back on the shelf with a heavy sigh. His fingers lingered on the binding as he read the inscription, A Complete History of the Hellyrrian Order, Volume 666. Finally, Jonathan let his hand fall to the side as he walked away with his shoulders slumped.
As if speaking to an old friend, he lamented, "Damn you, Rex. Why couldn't you have just left well enough alone?"
As Jonathan walked away, he shed a tear at the loss of one of his closest friends.

An actor everybody is pretty much somewhat familiar with, Rowan Atkinson that plays Mr Bean recently made an about 10 minute press release speech and statement. It was directly concerning the freedom of the people of the United Kingdom to merely express themselves, to perform the very human act of communicating and sharing. https://youtu.be/xUezfuy8Qpc
The fact that the U.K is unfortunately by law a tyrannical state that dishes out criminal punishment to anyone who says anything anyone finds offensive, no literally they actually have laws that get you arrested for posting normal song lyrics and other mundane normal usage posts. It's from a recent yet slightly older law from 25 years ago, and it enables anyone to be charged with hate speech for saying or since the advent of social media posting anything anyone ever finds offensive.
I wish it were otherwise but unfortunately these authoritarian tyrannical laws are also present... in Australia and you have probably forgotten but they were on full display in Australia in 2019... when the Pharmaceutical companies became the wealthiest and most profitable companies on Earth... the same companies that sponsor Political Parties,... and Television advertisements,... Social Media companies (like the one your on now) and literally run the tests and produce all medical scientific papers (studies, theories, hospitals, physicians on payroll, fund entire hospitals and livelihoods... etc. etc.) The best example I can remember of the absolute tyranny Australia was under is a case whereby a pregnant women in Victoria was arrested for writing on a Facebook post that she was against lockdowns and supported the protests against them... the Police came and arrested her... for 'Hate Speech'... it luckily enough got picked up media companies (TV stories and articles). Luckily. So the police, after dragging this pregnant woman kicking and screaming out of her apartment (not exactly literally) let her go without charge. She was lucky. Very very lucky. And there is no way she should have had to have been 'lucky' for merely making a post on Facebook.
America simply does not have this problem as written into the very constitution as the 1st Amendment to their constitution by the founding fathers in all of their wisdom, intelligence, good faith and if your religious like they where, filled with divine enlightenment wrote it such that the Government in America has no ability to write any law to restrict people's rights to express themselves (Freedom of Speech), restrict the press (because back then they lacked smart phones, social media and all modern technology, which should be obvious but perhaps it is not and is difficult for people today to even begin to imagine life back then despite it being very loosely similar to today's world) and finallu restrict people's religious freedoms (written in reverse order to this because they were all wise God loving, humble, noble and brave men.
America's 1st Amendment is the only Freedom of Speech law written into its very constitution in the entire world, it is the reason that America is referred to as 'Land of the Free' and the second part of that phrase, 'Home of the Brave.'. As for protests, peaceful assembly had always been constitutionally protected, not violent assembly so riots and revolution is still very much illegal and is met with lethal counter force every time. [As a side note, if peaceful assembly fails to prevent America becoming a Tryrannical State, then the 2nd Amendment is the fail-safe. As the wisdom of the founding fathers literally argued and intendeded]
Australia does not have that phrase and frankly I feel that every Australian that knows that, feels a deep unspoken, subconscious shame over that fact and far more importantly that all Australians simply do not have the constitutional right to even speak their minds freely, as every human being alive desires.
As Rowan Atkinson stated 'Hate Speech' is not real. It is a term used to silence, censor and remove power from whomever those in power disagree and dislike or are offended by. There are seemingly endless examples from history of the evil deeds of enactment of those disliked by existing powers for example, Galileo (ostracised and persecuted by the church and all religious folk for merely stating he believed that the sun was the center of the Galaxy and not the Earth), Nikola Tesla (defamed by the work of Tomas Edison and countless people trying to claim his inventions as their own by way of patent theft and lies for the purpose of advertising like don't by an American organisation NPR over the discovery of radio), (Jesus Christ himself by his crucifixion by my Ancestors, the Romans) and as the last example, the NAZI's by locking up any intellectuals that disagreed or dared critisize any of their doctrine and propoganda, their torture of anyone condemned for death by way of countless sadistic and grotesque torture methods, and some though quite few, for scientific discovery purposes, their burning of the books followed in time by bodies, and lastly their brutal slaughter of the Jews, no evidence of wrongs but only stirring words and speeches from their beloved demagogue, Adolf Hitler and gigantic amounts of absolute propoganda distributed to the masses, orchestrated by NAZI Propoganda Chief Joseph Goebbels and his team. (Which every highschool student should have, though potentially didn't, have already learned from Highschool History class, at least in every Public School, Private Schools may be permitted a different curriculum.) Offensive caused by speech has only 1 solution. More Free speech, Rowan Atkinson a famous actor that has probably more wealth than this entire subreddit conveyed this message, and it would seem as an absolute truth as far as I can tell.
I have written this in hopes of sparking and pasing wisdom and knowledge into whoever needs to have read this. And hopefully you will pass this type of message on yourself from now on. Australia needs the Right of Freedom of Speech written into its very constitution. As demonstrated during COVID19 it needed it years ago but now even more than ever.
And to those that would say it will do nothing but allow mass disinformation, manipulation and mislead people, I would say this, history has proven you absolutely dead wrong on that statement and sentiment, the only solution to offense from speech is more Free Speech and if you silence, censor or try more modern trends of the same kind known as deplatforming or cancelling, then all you do, all you achieve, everything you are trying to stop will only be made stronger, more resilient and more popular then ever before. As examples, take Jesus Christ, he has the Roman equivalent of being hung drawn and quartered, he was crucified, publicly executed like a lamb to the slaughter to send a message of absolute obedience being required to the rest of the herd. Yet because of that Christianity exploded and has been far more viral than COVID19 or any viral video has ever been to date. And for modern times look at Tucker Carlson, deplatformed by pressure from Pharmaceutical companies, lawsuits from shitty voting machine companies and pathologically idealogically fanatic ex employees in lawsuits. Tucker Carlsons show on Fox was the most popular show on Fox News and it drew in about 2 million people every night to watch it... after he was fired... is now getting 35+ million on the regular after he started up on Twitter. I do so imagine that actuall that will be an understatement in the coming future as currently he's on his 2nd episode ever. The 'Streisand Effect' in full unbridled, unstoppable force.
Every Australian deserves the right to express themselves freely, meaning free of all Government persecution and all possible Government and legal persecution. This is and has always been a left wing idea, as the rule of Tyrants; Dictators, kings Pharaohs, Caesar's, Shoguns, Kahns, Lords, Nobles Knights and Emperors have always, always been majority perpetuated by people with conservative temperaments, whereas free thinkers, creative and imaginative people are the minority of people perpetuating the rule of Tyrants.
We here in Australia critisize China for authoritarianism and tyranny when there is weakness in our own ranks. 'Those in glass houses should not throw stones' - some famous person', 'never lay cannonfire on your enemy with a glass cannon' -me. Western countries, especially our home Australians true colours, true laws and beliefs of of people were broadcaster for the world to see during covid. And they paint a very dark authoritarian picture of our nation to the world, something China is more than smart enough to take advantage of... and much to our chagrin they are and have been since Covid ended for us. Chinese propoganda, their Television Channels, all Chinese State OWNED... all of them constantly bring up how Australia, England and America all were even worse if not just as bad as China was during Covid19, and as the best and most convincing propoganda always is... its harrowingly mostly true. (Only, partly mostly thankfully) but domestic Chinese TV isn't the most important propoganda outlet taking the easy win by using our sins in their propoganda... no, that would be the Confucius Institute in Australian Universities. China's unelected ruling communist party (communist in name only these days, just a full bull authoritarian tyranny is their ideology nowadays) main propoganda outlet in Australia is a Chinese University group called the Confucius Institute (I could be wrong about the name and I've spent too long writing this to be bothered to look it up). They target young, impressionable Chinese men and women when they are studying abroad in Australia's universities, our most popular young adult Chinese attraction, I dare say, maybe even 'Global young adult Asian attraction' as I once met a man from Tibet who said exactly that in a course I had to take for my construction job (white card). The Confucius Institute goal is promote CCP propoganda via demonising the way Australia and all Western countries are so that as few young people ever believe in the ideals of Democracy and want to return to China, such that the CCP can perpetuate its tyrannical rule over China forever. Idealogically brainwash 'loose ends' - Mafia Terminology if you understand. They thanks to what happened to Australia under the Lib/Nats Coalition 2019 to late 2022 they distribute and spread half truths about Australia and countless other lies about every part and aspect of life in Australia as well as pay members of their organisation to organise pro China protests, (sign holders and chanters) in Australian Universities, footage of this circulated sparsely in Australian media and articles during 2014-2018 roughly though probably a bit before too. They actively seek out and target specifically ethnically Chinese and often try to emotionally blackmail them, incite fear into them, speak exclusively their propoganda to then and rarely but almost certainly literally blackmail them using the threat of violence, torture and death of their families back in China. Naturally there's no direct evidence of that claim except for Chinese Father and Husband in England that was blackmailed (husband of high ranking shipping Port official wife) they abducted his wife and child and forced the wife read a script to the husband over the phone (utilised emotional and physical blackmail and just directly veiled and unveiled threats, I recommend you look up interviews from the husband) and if you look up the articles of the Confucius Institute from IDK 2011-2018 and have the ability to interpret from what the articles found you can tell the Confucius Institute, only has 1 purpose, to try and perpetuate the CCP's rule of China and stop and protest against their rule, specifically stopping Tiananmen Square type protests from ever happening again. The Tianamen Square Massacre was a global well known proverbial black eye to China that severely hampered every nation's diplomatic relations with China for close to half a century, and the CCP didn't like that as even Tyrants love swimming in money, also the CCP loves stealing technology through trade espionage, China's MAG Lev trains and their entire car industry is built off stolen technology from Western companies dumb enough to deal with companies owned by the CCP. Naturally the Chinese who have been or are being 'convinced' by the Confucius Institute are always the biggest promoters of Anti Freedom ideas, especially the death of Freedom of Speech via hate speech crime laws such as: incitement of violence laws (Victoria mainly), offensive Tweets, Facebook Posts, Instagram Posts,,, Goddamn Reddit posts all hopefully being made illegal and the Liberals God awful rich persons almost exclusive digital world referee, The new E-Safety Commisioner. And like all the God awful Tyrant Commissioner's from TV shows and books if the E-Safety commisoner ever... EVER gets in the hands of the Liberals again it will be used against the normal people of Australia to beat the collective will of normal free thinking Australian's to the ground if not to death. Only complete dumbass Liberal Supporters usually dumb beer drinking sky news watchers (usually fossils) and Young Adult Chinese University Students support ANY of the laws and speech referees I just mentioned.
Again please war h the video I linked at the tiop and if the Politcal State of the U.K interests you for whatever reason then I recommend: Count Dankular (his second channel) the first person in Scottish History tried and found guilty of 'Hate Speech'... from a freakin comedy video. Where he's mocking the very thing they charged him for supporting [funny pug salute video as a direct hint]), Jonathan Pie (excellent wit, fantastic satirist and insult wordsmith wizard, also very yelly, I like him) and lastly Jordan Shanks himself, the namesake of this subreddit, FriendlyJordies. Whenever he actually gets round to covering the U.K his analysis is excellent.
Also a guy from YouTube channel Sargon of Akkad though... fair warning, his videos are really boring but he is quite very articulate.
All Australians deserve the Right of Freedom of Speech. And unfortunately, on Reddit in particular I see far too many Tyrannical Speech Law sympathisers which I personally find truly disgusting and as much as I hate the authoritarian ideas you spout, I will defend your right to say and spread them. If your a real FriendlyJordies fan or agree with his ideas and rhetoric than I already know you support all Australians Right of 'Free Speech'.

On 07/06/2023, our tenants sent us an email titled ‘’missing parking space, fines, damage and discomfort’’. The tenant has been having issues regarding parking space as they have reported abandoned vehicles and overfilled parking spaces. As a result of this, they have incurred multiple parking fines.
We have listed the property with free parking space. The exact clause written in the AST states ‘’Parking with permit for the development provided to the tenant’’. The block does not have individual parking bays as all vehicles are subject to parking on a ‘first come first serve basis’. This has been informed to the tenants with written confirmation from the housing management block around 02/06/2023.
Claimant has stated that ‘it is the landlord's responsibility when renting to grant essential services and to not mislead the tenants, taking the money and leaving them with problems. If the conditions are not met, they are already ready to take immediate action as they have already appointed a lawyer to enforce their right by multiple accounts of abuse of violations.
The tenants are demands include:

• an individual parking space effective immediately
• immediate removal of the abandoned vehicle
• reimbursement of the fines totalling £520 and reimbursement of any additional days they had to park outside.
• failure to comply within 15 days will increase to £6000 as ‘’the price point for the rental has dropped due to lack of basic requirements and misleading information’’.

We have been blindsided by the news as the issues have only been made apparent to us on 01/06/2023. The email labelled ‘’final notice’’ on 07/06/2023 is the second formal mention of any parking issues. On the exact same day (01/06/2023), I reached out to the block housing management to confirm parking regulations and the procedures needed to report said vehicles which were forwarded to the tenants. Verbally, the tenant did mention a parking fine maybe 3 weeks ago but it was just a comment, they did not request support from us at the time.
Tensions have already been high with the tenant already as they have had issues with the problem already (unrelated to us). I have suggested we meet up at the lettings agency to discuss with mediation but they have refused this also.
So how can reddit help me: * Do you guys think the tenants have any grounds if they try to seek legal action? * We have already acknowledged their notice on 07/06/2023, but what should we do now? Should I wait for 15 days and see their response or do I need to treat this with urgency and seek legal counsel? * are there any free services we should look into? I’m not sure if it's more appropriate to seek support from a mediation service such as TDS resolutions. We tried to book a meeting but they declined that. * regarding legal fees, what kind of cost can I expect to be charged and can I somehow offset the cost to the tenant in case this ever goes to court. * what is the best way to find a reliable property solicitor at fair rates? I’m not sure if ‘no win no fee’ still exists.

On 07/06/2023, our tenants sent us an email titled ‘’missing parking space, fines, damage and discomfort’’. The tenant has been having issues regarding parking space as they have reported abandoned vehicles and overfilled parking spaces. As a result of this, they have incurred multiple parking fines.
We have listed the property with free parking space. The exact clause written in the AST states ‘’Parking with permit for the development provided to the tenant’’. The block does not have individual parking bays as all vehicles are subject to parking on a ‘first come first serve basis’. This has been informed to the tenants with written confirmation from the housing management block around 02/06/2023.
Claimant has stated that ‘it is the landlord's responsibility when renting to grant essential services and to not mislead the tenants, taking the money and leaving them with problems. If the conditions are not met, they are already ready to take immediate action as they have already appointed a lawyer to enforce their right by multiple accounts of abuse of violations.
The tenants are demands include:

• an individual parking space effective immediately
• immediate removal of the abandoned vehicle
• reimbursement of the fines totalling £520 and reimbursement of any additional days they had to park outside.
• failure to comply within 15 days will increase to £6000 as ‘’the price point for the rental has dropped due to lack of basic requirements and misleading information’’.

We have been blindsided by the news as the issues have only been made apparent to us on 01/06/2023. The email labelled ‘’final notice’’ on 07/06/2023 is the second formal mention of any parking issues. On the exact same day (01/06/2023), I reached out to the block housing management to confirm parking regulations and the procedures needed to report said vehicles which were forwarded to the tenants. Verbally, the tenant did mention a parking fine maybe 3 weeks ago but it was just a comment, they did not request support from us at the time.
Tensions have already been high with the tenant already as they have had issues with the problem already (unrelated to us). I have suggested we meet up at the lettings agency to discuss with mediation but they have refused this also.
So how can reddit help me:

• Do you guys think the tenants have any grounds if they try to seek legal action?
• we have already acknowledged their notice on 07/06/2023, but what should we do now? Should I wait for 15 days and see their response or do I need to treat this with urgency and seek legal counsel?
• are there any free services we should look into? I’m not sure if it's more appropriate to seek support from a mediation service such as TDS resolutions. We tried to book a meeting but they declined that.
• regarding legal fees, what kind of cost can I expect to be charged and can I somehow offset the cost to the tenant in case this ever goes to court.
• what is the best way to find a reliable property solicitor at fair rates? I’m not sure if ‘no win no fee’ still exists.

Welcome to the Weekly /MLS Questions/Free Kick Thread. This thread is designed to house questions/discussions users might have including:

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I have been reading some of the comments and lots of people say that it is hypocritical that employees are expected to give 2 weeks notice but they employer can fire on the day.
So is this true?
Cause here in South Africa, which to be very honest is an awful place to live for many reasons, an employee must give 2 months notice before quitting but the employer also has to give 2 months notice to fire someone and they have to prove that it is on grounds for fair dismissal which are:
-the conduct of the employee; -the capacity of the employee; -the operational requirements of the employer's business.
If it is determined to be an unfair dismissal the former employer must either give the job back to the employee or pay 6 months salary to the employee.
It is a long procedure with lots of bureaucracy to fire someone. So most employers ask someone they want gone to make a deal with them that the employee will quit and usually gets 6 months payment up front.

Hello, I would like to seek fellow redditors opinions, input and recommendation on how I could better finetune my itinerary better. There's only so much I can think of, and plan as an individual, but with everyone's input and comments I can further refine and enhance the travel experience before I set foot into Japan. Do forgive me in advance for the theorycrafting wall of text.
I know it may be difficult to review the itinerary, so to make the review easier I have broken the itinerary down into specific sub-groups e.g. Shikoku, Kinki etc. Specific questions that I have are bolded.
Thank you in advance for taking your time to provide your opinions!
-------------
Baseline information

• 32M, average fitness, solo traveller
• Public transport only (challenge); I have a driver's license but I have not drove a car for god knows how long so I would prefer not to test it against the green hills of Shikoku
• Interest: anime (select few), experience autumn/nature, visiting secluded spots, and just trying random stuff
• JP language skill: rudimentary at best (N4), but I will not shy away from speaking in simple, broken japanese or use a translator to communicate. Reading/interpreting kanji is not a problem (in general).
• Visit history: Visited twice (once to Hokkaido for ~8 days, and once toKyoto and Osaka for 8 days
• Will probably travel around with a (slightly) oversized luggage at ~166cm (A+B+C), that’s the only one I have with me. This will be a problem on the Shinkansen (but hopefully not so much on sightseeing trains/limited expresses).
• Will be visiting during (almost) peak autumn at 11 November, and will depart on the 16th of December
• Jet lag is unlikely to be a problem (1h time difference), but nevertheless I will maintain a low tempo on the first day to acclimatize to the environment
• Only thing firmed as of now is the air ticket, everything else is up in the air.
• I like planning/min-maxing to some degree, though I recognize that I may not fulfill all objectives during the trip and I am totally ok with that [its just a guideline or framework to give the holiday some structure, that’s all.] FWIW, I personally like traveling at a high tempo pace like some japanese travel show do (e.g. ローカル路線バス乗り継ぎの旅)

​
Specific goals/objective:

1. Experience Shikoku in autumn (specifically the views at Iya Valley) and in other prefectures (thus making nature sightseeing more of a priority this time round)
2. Experience Kanazawa for anime stuff
3. Experience the Shimanami Kaido in full (including any sightseeing spots in between the 6 island chains)
4. Bonus - try as many sightseeing trains as possible.
5. Bonus - if weather, time and schedule permits, try skiing as an option in Nagano.
6. Bonus - stay in as many onsen ryokans as possible, without breaking the bank.

​
Locked-in prefectures [i.e. I will definitely go to those prefectures no matter what]:

1. Shikoku (as per above objective)
2. Hiroshima (because its on the opposite end of the Shimanami Kaido)
3. Kanazawa (for anime related reason)
4. Tokyo (that is my starting and end point so it has to be included by default)

All other prefectures are basically float i.e. I am open to consider dropping said itinerary for something else based on your suggestion that aligns with my preferences/interest. Most of the other locations I added are prefectures that are often next to each other, or well-connected (apart from the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump via Sunrise Seto/Shinkansen).
​
Wait-list prefectures (prefectures that I want to go, but I don’t think I can realistically fit in without dropping other locations):

1. Snow skiing at Nagano (depending on how cooperative the weather is in early-ish December (would 2 days be sufficient?))
2. Ehime, Kochi expansion [spend 1-3 more days]
3. Izu Peninsula (~2 days, via Saphir Odoriko)
4. Nagoya + lower Nagano (Kiso Valley) (~3 days)
5. Ishikawa expansion [1 extra day at Kaga]

I am open to dropping a few days in Tokyo/Osaka etc to make that trade off [currently kept 3 days free for further development]. Alternatively, if the planning can be better optimized based on your inputs I might be able to do one of those without compromising on the base set. I would like to hear your opinion on what locations you would drop in the itinerary to make time for one of the above.
​
General planning philosophy:

1. My itineary adopts a breadth approach (cover as much area as I can humanely possible without rushing/touch-and-go) as opposed to depth (i.e. spending much more time within Shikoku than what I allocated); though I would be open to considering more days at selected locations if you have strong recommendations. My thought is to experience how different autumn is at various parts of the country (if possible), and maybe winter too (to a certain degree).
2. Due to the nature of my travel, I note that luggage logistics is a critical consideration when moving between prefectures; my thought is to park that luggage at the next hotel as quickly as possible so that I can free myself for sightseeing within the vicinity, or leave the luggage at the hotel after I check out until I am ready to travel to the next location. I will need to send (quite a fair bit of) emails to the hotels to confirm on this prior to booking.
3. I will attempt to minimize transit time between prefectures to no more than 2~3 hours a day to avoid having excessively long transport days (except the initial Tokyo Kagawa jump).
4. Because of the long trip, I will also need to factor a bit of downtime at night for administrative stuff (e.g. catching up a little bit on work, laundry etc).

---------
Shikoku (~7 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. I will need to exploit Limited Express trains as much as possible to minimize downtime between the 4 prefectures. Fortunately, for the most part these train frequencies are almost hourly, thus missing one train isnt too deadly consequence-wise.
2. The transfer between Kochi and Ehime [Matsuyama] is oddly quicker via express bus as opposed to trains (!)
3. For Kochi, my opinion is that it is best explored on car instead of public transport [it’s a really wide prefecture]; I feel that 1 day may not do it justice, but it is probably adequate for exploring the city centre as a whole.
4. There's a fair bit of uncertainties while planning this leg so I would deeply appreciate any advice you may have.
5. This current iteration is unable to weave in the Shikoku Mannaka Sennen Monogatari sightseeing train [四国まんなか千年ものがたり] ; if you people think its something not to be missed do let me know and I will reshuffle my timetable as such.

Day 0: Tokyo Kagawa (Sunrise Seto) [Saturday, 11 Nov]

• Touch down at Narita at 1720hours
• Transfer to Tokyo Station via NEX or Skyliner
• Settle administrative matters at the Midori-no-Maruguchi (e.g. get all the booked tickets etc from JR Pass, for Shinkansen and all other sightseeing trains) at Tokyo Station.
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is obtained via the JR West portal booking, chill till 2200 and take Sunrise Seto to reach Kagawa (Takamatsu) at 0700 the next day. Try to snag the ticket online (likely via the japanese portal since there's no option to buy Solo Deluxe through the english/international website. Otherwise, compromise and go for Single)
• IF Sunrise Seto ticket is NOT obtained, proceed to take the furthest possible Shinkansen westwards (probably Okayama) and rest for the night.

Day 1: Kagawa (Takamatsu) [Sunday, 12 Nov]

• Chill around Takamatsu. Drop luggage at coin locker OR the hotel (near JR Takamatsu ideally)
• Look at whats left of Takamatsu Castle en route to the port.
• Day trip to Naoshima or Teshima to visit the art museums (Chichu Art Museum, Lee Ufan Museum etc).
• Ritsuin Garden in the evening (closes 1830)
• Find an eatery with Sanuki Udon for dinner if possible.

Day 2: Kagawa (Kotohira) Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Monday, 13 Nov]

• Morning trip from Takamatsu to Kotohira (either via JR or Kotoden). Visit Kotohiragu [includes inner shrine] and Kanamaruza Theater
• Return to Kotohira to pick up luggage, transit to Oboke via Limited Express Shimanto [Takamatsu Tadotsu Oboke]
• Retire at a local hotel around Oboke. If time permits, take the chance to explore around Oboke Gorge itself.

​
Day 3: Tokushima (Iya Valley) [Tuesday, 14 Nov]
[Post-research note: I realized that there is NO public transport to Mount Tsurugi on a weekday. I will have to rent a taxi direct to Mount Tsurugi, make the 'climb', then thereafter take the taxi down to the other attractions. I am inclined to just go full hog on the private taxi and rent it (almost the whole day, probably 7~8 hours for 4300yen/hour) to save the trouble.
Otherwise, I will need to hike downhill which can be rather rough since its just a single lane road (looking at nearly 10++ km) so I think it wise not to penny pinch in the interest of both time and safety.]
Spend the day at Iya Valley.

• Take a taxi after breakfast to zip to Mount Tsurugi and speedrun it to the mountain peak (aka using the chairlift to speedrun a good chunk of the mountain) about 2.5 hours ~ 3 hours as per the Iya Valley guide
• Taxi from Mount Tsurugi chairlift down to Oku-Iya Niju Kazuraashi and cross it (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi down to visit the mannequins/scarecrows at Nagoro Village (~3km downhill from Oku-Iya). (~1 hour estimate)
• Check out the Peeing Boy Statue (~0.5 hour estimate [its just looking at the statue that is overlooking the entire gorge is it not?])
• Cross the outer vine bridge Iya-no-Kazurabashi (~1 hour estimate)
• Taxi back to Oboke, and retire for the day (~0.5 hour estimate, thus looking at about ~8 hours taxi rental total, with some leeway for lunch break)

​
Day 4: Tokushima (Iya Valley) Kochi (Kochi) [Wednesday, 15 Nov]

• Transit from Iya Valley [Oboke] to Kochi via Limited Express Shimanto (again) after breakfast. (~1 hour transit)
• Park luggage at hotel [ideally near JR Kochi Station], then proceed to mill around Kochi, visiting places such as Kochi Castle [高知城] and Harimaya Bridge[はりまや橋]
• Transit to Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum [高知県立坂本龍馬記念館] via local bus which is also near Katsumatsura Beach incidentally. Chill at Katsumatsura Beach in the evening
• Return to JR Kochi, dinnesupper at Hirome Market (ideally to try out Kochi's speciality seared bonito). [is visiting the market more preferable during lunch OR dinner?]

​
Day 5: Kochi (Kochi) Ehime (Imabari) [Thursday, 16 Nov]

• Complete any remaining items in Kochi in the morning, then transit to Imabari via train (Kochi Tadotsu Imabari), via Limited Express Shimanto (yet again!) and Ishidzuchi**[TBC: this might be better done via highway bus instead which is faster at ~2-3 hours]**
• Drop luggage at Imabari for the next 2 days, either at Sunrise Itoyama OR Cycle no Ie. [both are well positioned for the Shimanami Kaido, and are also one of the selected hotels eligible for the Sagawa luggage transfer.] Ideally done just around lunch time, so that there's still the better half of the day to explore Imabari.
• Spend the remainder of the day visiting Imabari Castle (closes 1700) and Towel Museum (slightly out of the way) (closes 1800) [TBC: I note this place is quite out of the way from Imabari itself, even the JP website suggests taking a taxi (!) there from the nearby train station. Might have to drop this).
• Attempt to try some Ehime-related food specialties e.g. Taimeshi (Sea Bream), Ehime oranges, Champon for the next 2 days

​
Day 6: Ehime (Matsuyama / Imabari) [Friday, 17 Nov]

• Take the Limited express train Ishidzuchi to Matsuyama day tripping. (~1h one-way).
• Explore Matsuyama Castle, and the nearby Matsuyama Ropeway Shopping Street
• Visit Shiki Memorial Museum
• Visit Dogo Onsen [and attempt to soak in the waters if possible].
• Also consider looking at Ishiteji (石手寺) beside Dogo Onsen.
• Bonus: Subject to train schedule, if possible, attempt to secure tickets for the Iyonada Sightseeing Train (伊予灘物語), Futami leg [双海ふたみ 編] , and also visit JR Shimonada Station (JR下灘駅) at the same time.
• Bonus: visit Yawatahama Port where the movie Suzume took reference from,
• Return to Imabari via the same Limited express Ishidzuchi and retire for the night.

Day 7: Ehime (Imabari) Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido) [Saturday, 18 Nov]
I am of the opinion that 1 day in Shimanami Kaido is adequate if I attempt just the main route which is about 80km [as a test run, I did 70km and finished it within 6-7 hours with lunch breaks included]. For now I will plan for two full days, however should I truncate it down to one day later, I will add an extra day to either explore Matsuyama or Okayama.
​

• Start off at Sunrise Itoyama [watch the sunrise, have breakfast here, cafeteria opens at 0700, rental opens at 0800] OR Cycle no Ie. Do paperwork to send luggage over to the next accomodation via Sagawa.
• I will (probably) follow the recommended 'extended' route on Cycle no Ie's website and do the following:
  • Take the west coast for Oshima (~13km) and cross to Hakatajima, with possible stop on:
    • Mount Kiro Observatory Point [I am aware that there's a steep incline so this would be contingent on my physical/mental status by then].
    • Nagahama Beach
• Take the coastal route for Hakatajima (~17km) and cross to Omishima and enjoy the coastal scenery
• Take the coastal route (again) for Omishima (~41km) (or lesser depending on how I'm feeling at that point) , with possible stop on:
  • -TBC: Okunoshima (there is apparently a ferry route to the well-known rabbit island via Omishima port. Not sure if anyone else have tried this particular route and if this is a better approach than going through Tadano-umi (though I would acknowledge that there's historical stuff to visit in nearby Takehara), and I would not be able to buy rabbit food in advance).[Based on Google Earth estimate, its about 3km for the entire island loop - seems doable within 2 hours to tour the poison gas museum with a bike and pet some rabbits).
  • Oyamazumi Shrine Treasure Museum
• End the day at WAKKA (Omishima) OR Guesthouse NEST / Soil Setoda (Ikuchijima) just beside Kousanji / The Hill of Hope (closes 1700). If possible, visit before closing, otherwise defer to next day.
• Try the ice cream at Dolce at Ikuchijima if possible.
• Bonus: if for some reason I am still ahead of time at this juncture (<1500), proceed to finish Innoshima and Mukaishima, then take a ferry to backtrack to Wakka/Soil Setoda or cycle back (last boat is ~1700) and rest; however, the next day I will zip straight to Onomichi via ferry after breakfast.

--------
Hiroshima + Yamaguchi (~4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Onomichi is a pretty good base to jump to Okayama to explore Okayama, Kurashiki or Tomonoura with the Shinkansen accessibility, but it is impossible to cover them all within a single day. If I finish the Shimanami Kaido within a single day or finish it early on the second day, I will have that extra time to visit those.
2. There's another sightseeing train etSETOra from Onomichi to Hiroshima but it only operates on Monday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday. For now the schedule could fit the train timetable pretty nicely.
3. Would anyone suggest visiting Miyajima in the morning or in the evening? This would help me determine the order for the Kintaikyo Bridge/Miyajima day trip. Watching the sunset at either destination is pretty good in my books.

​
Day 8: Hiroshima (Shinamani Kaido Onomichi) [Sunday, 19 Nov]

• Continue from Ikuchijima towards Innoshima and Mukaishima (~18km) via the western coast route after breakfast, with possible stops on the following areas:
  • Innoshima: Innoshima Flower Centre, Shimanami Beach [open to more suggestions]
  • Mukaishima : there seems to be a lot of brunch places like Willows Nursery etc, soak the view at Mukaishima Rest Park [TBC: open to more suggestions]

Ideally reach Onomichi just around lunch or earlier. Chill for the rest of the day, and if I'm still up for it, explore Onomichi, including but not limited to:

• Exploring the cat alley
• Visit the exhibits at Onomichi City Museum of Art
• Consider walking to Senkoji and Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
• Look into trying Onomichi-style ramen.

Retire at a guesthouse/hotel near JR Onomichi that I have forwarded the luggage to.
​
Day 9: Hiroshima (Onomichi, Takehara+Kure OR Tomonoura OR Okayama) Downtown Hiroshima) [Monday, 20 Nov]

• Mill around Onomichi in the morning (if not done yesterday), with a side trip to EITHER Takehara/Kure OR Okayama/Kurashiki OR Tomonoura (choose one):
  • Takehara: stroll along the historical townscape [and look if they have any Tamayura-related merch], Okunoshima (if not done during the Shimanami Kaido leg / Kure: look into trying Kure curry/Niku-jaga and visit the Yamato Museum
  • Okayama: Okayama Castle (zip via Shinkansen) / Kurashiki : Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter
  • Tomonoura: stroll along the townscape during the day (zip via Shinkansen, transfer to local bus)
• Return to Onomichi (no later than 1400), board the etSETOra sightseeing train at 1437, and zip to Hiroshima. Enjoy the sunset along the coastline.
• Retire for the night at Hiroshima proper, probably near JR Hiroshima OR the bus terminal. If time permits, take a gander along the streets and see what takes me from there.

​
Day 10: Hiroshima (Downtown Hiroshima) [Tuesday, 21 Nov]
Spend the day surveying Hiroshima proper.

• Peace Memorial Park (平和記念公園) and Atomic Bomb Dome
• Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims (国立広島原爆死没者追悼平和祈念館)
• Hiroshima Castle
• Orizuru Tower (おりづるタワー)
• Shukkeien (縮景園)
• Optional: Mazda Museum / Kure (if not done the previous day)
• Try to source for Hiroshima-specific food: Okonomiyaki, Dandan Noodles

​
Day 11: Hiroshima (with a day trip to Yamaguchi) [Wednesday, 22 Nov]

• Daytrip to Yamaguchi [Shin-Iwakuni] to visit Kintaikyo Bridge via Shinkansen. Also stop by the nearby Iwakuni Castle.
• Try Tonosama Sushi at Iwakuni if possible.
• Take the local train back to Miyajimaguchi and take the boat to Itsukushima.Take the time to stroll around the island and perhaps watch the sunset at the torii gate.
• Exit back to Hiroshima via boat to Hiroshima Port direct, and transit back to hotel.

--------
Shimane + Tottori (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Matsue becomes the main jump point for Shimane just because of the subsidized highway bus from Hiroshima, and ease of access towards Tottori later. There's no direct train between Hiroshima and Izumo/Matsue (!).
2. Tottori is really wide size-wise, to the point that it feels more efficient to have two separate hotels in two nights (Kurayoshi/Misasa Onsen + downtown Tottori) rather than one hotel for two nights (i.e. downtown Tottori). Could be just me making excuses to get into an onsen ryokan however.
3. Is there anything interesting at Yonago (Tottori) that I should take note of? Based on my initial survey nothing in particular pops up (other than the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park).
4. Skipping Tottori Castle since it doesn’t seem to be interesting at first glance. Any other interesting things to at Tottori downtown (or nearby)?

​
Day 12: Hiroshima Shimane (Matsue) [Thursday, 23 Nov]

• Make good use of the 500yen highway bus from Hiroshima to Matsue. (3.5 hours transit). Fortunately the frequency is not too bad (7-8 buses per day, looking at 0800 departure or later); if there are still outstanding places to visit in Hiroshima I will visit them in the morning.
• Check in at a hotel near JR Matsue, and proceed to trawl around Matsue with whatever daylight is left. (TBC: am considering taking a few stops down to Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 or Matsue-shinjoko Onsen instead of the typical hotel. Does anyone have any positive experiences there?)
• Attempt to spend the afternoon at the Adachi Museum of Art. Local train to Yasugi, transfer to free shuttle.
• Chill off in downtown Matsue for the night. Prowl for Shimane-specific food such as Naniwa Zushi (浪花寿司), Shijimi clams (しじみ), Izumo soba, Izumo Zenzai (出雲ぜんざい).
• Bonus: visit the Tottori Prefectural Flower Park for the winter Hanakairo Flower Illumination at Yonago at night [which is just beside Matsue. Free shuttle bus at Yonago bus terminal].

​
Day 13: Shimane (Izumo / Matsue) [Friday, 24 Nov]

• Day trip from Matsue to Izumo. (JR Matsue JR Izumo, swap to Ichibata local rail to Izumotaisha-mae)
• Take a stop at Izumo Taisha, as well as the nearby Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo (島根県立古代出雲歴史博物館)
• After lunch, return to JR Matsue and proceed to Yushien Garden (由志園) via bus. Enjoy the sunset over the garden.
• Stop by Matsue Castle on the way back.

​
Day 14: Shimane (Matsue) Tottori (Kurayoshi) [Saturday, 25 Nov]

• Transfer from Matsue to Kurayoshi in the morning via Super Matsukaze Limited Express (~1h).
• Settle down luggage at Misasa Onsen, then proceed to hike up Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple (三仏寺). Cater extra time just in case I have to wait for another fellow to pop up to climb in pairs. Estimated climb time excluding wait is about 2-3 hours both ways?
• Excess time to be spent sauntering Misasa Onsen and its nearby area such as the Nijisseiki Pear Museum [二十世紀梨記念館（なしっこ館)] and Kurayoshi Historical Quarter.
• Retire at Misasa Onsen for the night. Bonus: watch the constellations at night at Misasa Onsen on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 2100JST. Current plan does not fall within those 3 weekdays
• Bonus: take a short detour to Conan Town (postnote: not a big fan of the show).

​
Day 15: Tottori (Kurayoshi Tottori) [Sunday, 26 Nov]

• Transfer from Kurayoshi to Tottori (~35minutes transfer) in the morning, and proceed to tour around Tottori.
• Drop luggage, take a local bus to Tottori Sand Dunes, and visit the nearby Sand Museum.
• Transfer northwards to Uradome Coast via local bus and spend the remainder of the day there. Watch the sunset over the coast.
• Return to downtown Tottori, stroll around and call it a night.

​
-----------
Hyogo, Kyoto, Osaka , Nara, Mie (10 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Kinosaki Onsen is intentionally designed to be a slow-paced leg to recover [and also to make time to enjoy the onsens].
2. The limited express train between Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka stops by Himeji thus I thought of resting a night there instead of doing day trips via Osaka.
3. Osaka itinerary does look sparse but that is in large part because I have already visited most of them in the past. Nevertheless, I would like to experience how different it is in autumn compared to summer [based on those few destinations that I loved going previously].
4. I have kept one float day to decompress, OR shift to any of the other prefectures (TBC).
5. There are (multiple) special limited express train by Kintetsu; they're not covered by JR pass but nevertheless I would love to ride on those as an experience. The Kintetsu pass covers the basic fare only but based on my preliminary cost estimate, it is still worth getting it.
6. Is it feasible to compress Himeji and Kobe to a single day?
7. The itineraries for Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Mie are flexible since they're literally beside one another - makes it particularly easy to shift around base on ground situation.

​
Day 16: Tottori (Tottori) Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen) [Monday, 27 Nov]

• Settle any outstanding sightseeing spots in the morning if required in Tottori, then transfer to Kinosaki Onsen via the Sanin Line.
• Make a pitstop at Amarube ('Sky Station') and marvel at the engineering work.
• Deposit luggage at the ryokan (or put in the coin locker), and stroll around and enjoy Kinosaki Onsen [after all its an onsen town].
• Try to hit as many of the 7 external onsens that are usable. Retire for the night here.
• Optional: go up the ropeway and oversee Kinosaki Onsen in the evening (last ride up ~1630)
• Optional: take a short hike up to Onsenji Temple.

​
Day 17: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen + Northern Kyoto (Amanohashidate) day trip) [Tuesday, 28 Nov]

• Optional: take a (very) early start to the day to Takeda Castle Ruins and witness the 'floating castle' effect in the morning (<0800).
• Day trip to Amanohashidate via ToyookaKyotango Railway. Do the funny bend-down pose on the bench at Amanohashidate View Land, and see how it feels like looking at the world inverted.
• Cross the sandbar and look from the other side (Nariaiji Temple / Kasamatsu Park)
• Select one of three additional side-trips:
  • EITHER take a local bus up to Ine to look at the Funaya + sightseeing boat,
  • OR local rail down to Maizuru to look at the Maizuru World Brick Museum + eat at the Michi-no-eki;
  • OR reverse to Toyooka spend time in the city itself e.g. Izushi Castle Town
• Return to Kinosaki Onsen, and continue experiencing the remainder of the onsens. Retire for the night here. Optional: ride the Aomatsu sightseeing train back to Toyooka.
• Optional: Take a trip to Ankokuji Temple (安国寺) in the evening. Likely to visit post-peak autumn which means less than ideal viewing conditions.

Day 18: Hyogo (Kinosaki Onsen Himeji) [Wednesday, 29 Nov]

• Transit from Kinosaki Onsen to Himeji via Limited Express Hamakaze (~2 hours).
• Deposit luggage at the hotel or the coin lockers at the station, then proceed for sightseeing.
• Walk along the Miyuki Street Shopping District which is en-route to Himeji Castle.
• Himeji Castle sector : Himeji Castle (姫路城), Kokoen (好古園)
• Take a local bus at Himeji Castle to go to Mount Shosha and hike up Engyōji Temple (圓教寺)
• Optional : Stroll along Hyogo Prefectural Museum of History and/or Himeji City Museum of Art which is beside the castle, OR Shosha Handicraft Museum which is just at the foot of Mount Shosha
• Optional: Make a detour to the Japan Toy Museum near Koro station (~30 minutes from JR Himeji). Closes 1700.
• Look for Hyogo-specific food: Kobe beef, steamed pork buns, sobameshi, himeji oden, etc

Retire at Himeji for the night.
Day 19: Hyogo (Himeji Kobe) Osaka (Dotonburi) [Thursday, 30 Nov]
Day trip to Kobe, before continuing further down to Osaka.

• Check out from Himeji, transit further down to Kobe for another stop before Osaka. Place luggage at the holding facility within the Shinkansen station.
• Take a visit to the Earthquake Memorial Museum (人と防災未来センター) to look at the devastation wrought by the 1995 earthquake.
• Stroll along Kobe Harborland (神戸ハーバーランド) and Meriken Park (メリケンパーク) , look at the Kobe Tower since its closed till 2024 for renovation, and look at the damage caused by the earthquake
• Optional: Head westwards to Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.
• Optional: Hit up the ASICS Sports Museum (アシックススポーツミュージアム)
• Look at the engineering feat that is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the nearby Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center at Maiko. (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Return to Shin-kobe, pick up luggage, and transit to Shin-Osaka via Shinkansen, and then to Dotonburi/Shinsaibashi. End the (long) day in Osaka.

Day 20: Osaka [Friday, 1 Dec]
Osaka Nostalgia (acid) trip, speedrun edition: revisiting places that I want to go again

• Day trip to Mino Park and revisit the waterfall (I loved visiting it previously) via the Hankyu line in the morning.
• Zoom down to the Osaka Aquarium after lunch and walk around it (Minoo Umeda Honmachi Osakako Station).
• From there, race towards Abeno Harukas and watch the sunset/nightview at Abeno Harukas.
• Bonus: revisit Sumiyoshi Taisha if time permits.
• Spend whatever time remains at night at Nipponbashi Denden Town (shops close at ~2000) and Dotonburi (some stores are still open near midnight) and/or Shinsekai (新世界).

Day 21: Osaka (Nara day trip) [Saturday, 2 Dec]
Spend a day in Nara.

• Zoom from Namba to Nara via Kintetsu (note: non-JR)
• Explore Todaiji Temple, Kokufuji Temple, Isuien Garden and Kasuga Taisha.
• Optional: pass by Naramachi (奈良町) on the way back.
• Take the Kintetsu line down to Mount Yoshino. [TBC: subject to whether I am too early or late for the koyo.Based on last year's prediction I am about 1-2 weeks too late. Might swap this out to a Uji day trip instead in Kyoto.). Spend time walking around the Shimo Senbon and Naka Senbon and experience the autumn.
• Transfer back to Osaka. Bonus: take the Blue Symphony back to Osaka instead of the typical train. (non-JR)

Day 22: Osaka (Mie day trip) [Sunday, 3 Dec]
Day trip to Mie.

• Take the Iseshima Liner from Tsuruhashi Station (near Namba/Dotonburi) to Ise. Bonus: take the Hinotori from Osaka to Tsu, then transfer to Mie. (non-JR)
• Hit up Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) [both inner and outer] and Okage Yokocho (おかげ横丁)
• Try to eat Matsuaka Beef or Ise Udon for lunch.
• Head westwards to Futamiokitama Shrine (二見興玉神社) / Meotoiwa Rocks; and if further time permits, go to Toba for the Ama Viewing Platform.
• Take the returning Shimakaze Limited Express train back to Osaka (note: only one train at 1630; if this train is missed, change to normal express trains). (non-JR)
• Retreat back to Osaka for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.

Day 23: Osaka ('north' Kyoto day trip) [Monday, 4 Dec]
(north) Kyoto day trip.

• Take a stop at the Kyoto Railway Museum. Optional: also consider heading to To-ji Gojunoto first if I reach Kyoto way early before 10am.
• Walk back to Kyoto station, and take a bus northwards to Kyoto Manga Museum.
• Hop on the bus direct from the Manga Museum to Kinkakuji. [bus 15]
• Select one of two side-trips:
  • EITHER head westwards to Arashiyama (note: already visited once in the summer but I still think it nice to visit in autumn/winter this time round). Bonus: experience sunset along the Togetsukyo Bridge.
  • OR head eastwards to Higashiyama (closes 1700), Philosopher's path etc (did not visit these in my past trip here so there's the 'new' factor, but it is going to be a physically taxing day. Also, most likely will reach here nearing evening i.e. closing time thus there's a limit to how much I can visit realistically).

Whichever choice, return back to Osaka for the night. Look out for Kyoto-specific food such as Yudofu, Saba Sushi, Warabi Mochi, Nishin Soba (にしんそば) etc.
Day 24: Osaka ('south' Kyoto day trip) [Tuesday, 5 Dec]
(south) Kyoto day trip edition (mainly Uji and Fushimi).

• Zip from Osaka to Kyoto via Keihan to Uji Station.
• Spend the better half of the morning in Uji.
• Visit the Byōdō-in and the nearby Tonoshima and Tachibana Island.
• Hike up to the Daikichiyama Observation Deck to oversee Uji as a whole. On the way down, explore Ujigami Shrine.
• Take the chance to buy some Uji tea as gifts to relatives. Have lunch along the Omotesando Road.
• Head further northwards to Fushimi, and do another hike up Fushimi Inari. (Note: visited once in the past but I liked the experience thus I would like to do it again.) Bonus: if its done in the evening.

Head back to Osaka and retire for the night. Consider doing any other night activities in Osaka if time, and body permits.
Day 25: Osaka (wildcard) [Wednesday, 6 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
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Kanazawa, Gifu+ (4 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Is it likely for the skiing season to open around 9~10 December at Shiga Kogen or Nozawa Onsen? Would very much like to try skiing for fun, but am uncertain if the snow condition would be satisfactory by then. Some of the skiing website indicates that these two destinations are usually the first to open. I would like to seek advise on this if possible [never skiied before].
2. As an additional question to point 1, is 2 days adequate just to get a flavor on skiing?
3. Kanazawa is a pretty solid jump point to Shirakawago/Takayama via express buses (~1 to 2 hour one way).
4. My initial planning considered going to Kurobe Gorge (Toyama) but apparently the railways are closed from December onwards. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
5. Another sightseeing train in Kanazawa that I can fit in nicely in my current plans (花嫁のれん), runs on Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun.

Day 26: Osaka Ishikawa (Kanazawa (Kanazawa cityside)) [Thursday, 7 Dec]

• Zip from Osaka to Kanazawa via Limited Express Thunderbird in the early morning (~3hours; ideally the 0740 or 0810 service). Drop luggage at the hotel near JR Kanazawa and explore the cityside.
• Have lunch at the Omicho Market (近江町市場), OR at Higashi Chaya District.
• Stroll around Kanazawa Castle (金沢城, Kanazawajō) and the nearby Kenrokuen (兼六園) / Seisonkaku Villa (成巽閣, Seisonkaku) .
• Consider visiting one or more of the nearby museums if possible:
  • D.T. Suzuki Museum OR
  • National Crafts Museum OR
  • 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
• Optional: Head southwards to Myoryuji Temple + Nishi Chaya District.
• Optional: Head northwards to Higashi Chaya District (if not done for lunch).

Any outstanding spots not completed today, to be rolled over to the next 2 days (if possible).

• Retire in Kanazawa for the night. Be on the lookout for Kanazawa-specific food: Gold-leaf ice cream, oden, hanton rice
• Optional: have a stay at Yuwaku Onsen for at least one night for anime-related reasons. (Hanasaku Iroha)

​
Day 27: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside) / Gifu (Shirakawago, Takayama) [Friday, 8 Dec]

• Day trip to Shiwakawago and Takayama via Nohi bus (non-JR, ~1h). Grab the morning bus express bus to Shirakawago and explore the place in the morning. Experience early snowfall (?) there. Optional: visit Ainokura on the way towards Shirakawago.
• Take another express bus down to Takayama for lunch (~1h travel time).
• Explore what Takayama has to offer. Stroll along the old town near the bus terminal and visit the Takayama Jinya. If time permits, stroll along the Higashiyama Walking Course.
• Optional: pay a visit to Hida Folk Village.
• Return to Kanazawa via Hida Limited Express to Toyama Shinkansen to Kanazawa, OR take the same Nohi express bus directly back (non-JR).
• Retire at Kanazawa for the night. Last express bus from Takayama to Kanazawa is 1630, arrive at 1845. Alternatively, head northwards to Toyama via JR and transfer to Kanazawa.

​
Day 28: Ishikawa (Kanazawa cityside / outskirts) [Saturday, 9 Dec]
Side trip to Wakura Onsen / Nanao for anime-related sightseeing. (Insomanics after Class, Hanasaku Iroha)

• Zoom from Kanazawa up to Wakura Onsen/Nanao via Limited Express Noto Kagaribi. Do some sightseeing related to Insomanics after Class and Hanasaku Iroha.
• Do some train spotting with two anime along the Noto Railways. Stop at Nishigishi station for some sightseeing. (non-JR)
• Return to Kanazawa in the evening from Wakura Onsen via the sightseeing train Hanayomenoren [花嫁のれん, last train 1630).
• End the night at Kanazawa.

Day 29: Ishikawa (wildcard) [Sunday, 10 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
--------------
Tokyo (~6 days)
Specific thoughts while planning:

1. Specific interest to target: anime/vtuber stuff, music (piano in particular), bookstores etc.
2. This is the point in time I should go ham on souvenier purchase if I have not done so. I'll probably get an extra cardboard box or duffel bag to lug with me to the airport to store extra stuff.
3. Would like to seek recommendation on where I should set my base for the 5~6 days here. For now I am planning to pit at Ginza, subject to availability and cost. My thought is that as long as its along the Yamanote line everything rolls I suppose.
4. Hard pass on Golden Gai on the Shunjuku leg (I do not drink).
5. There's way too many to list in terms of what I would like to do in Tokyo, but I have listed items that are of particular interest to me first within the available time frame. If you have strong opinions on specific locations do let me know.

Day 30: Ishikawa (Kanazawa) Tokyo (Ginza) [Monday, 11 Dec]

• Zip from Kanazawa to Tokyo via the Hoririku Shinkansen in the morning (just north of two hours). (TBC : If I can optimize my schedule better, I can try squeezing two days here for a stop at Nozawa Onsen / Shiga Kogen (Nagano) for a short ski experience).
• Deposit luggage at one of the Ginza hotels (TBC: subject to cost; might swap for another location later on)
• Explore ('south') Tokyo with the remainder of the day.
• Marvel at the architecture that is the Tokyo Station and its surrounding.
• Visit the Imperial Palace.
• Head south towards the Mori Art Museum (closes 2200)
• End the night with a stop at Tokyo Tower (closes 2230).

Day 31: Tokyo (Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano) [Tuesday, 12 Dec]
Explore ('west') Tokyo, namely Shibuya, Shinjuku and Nakano.

• Start off with an early day visit to Meji Shrine / Yoyogi Park.
• Head up to Shinjuku. Spend the remainder of the morning and lunch exploring Kabukicho, Hanazono Shrine and Omoide Yokochō (ideally have lunch here). Also make a pit stop at Kinokuniya's flagship store at Shinjuku.
• Head northwards to Nakano Broadway and trawl for anime goods for several hours (closes ~1900)
• Head south down back to Shibuya and experience the crossing in peak night condition. Walk around and soak in the atmosphere. Optional: stop by the Ishibashi music store at Shibuya (closes 2000).
• Cap off the night and look at the night view at Shibuya Sky (closes 2230). Zip back to the hotel at Ginza.

Day 32: Tokyo (Akibahara, Asakusa and Sky Tree) [Wednesday, 13 Dec]

• Kick off the day with a morning visit to Asakusa (i.e. Sensoji).
• Transit over to Tokyo Skytree to watch the Tokyo cityscape in the day.
• Trawl around Akibahara for the afternoon. (Animate, Sega claw machines, etc).
• Also stop by Ochanomizu for sightseeing (Suzume no Tojimari)
• Zip back to the hotel for the night. If time permits, stop by the two flagship music stores along Ginza: Yamaha Ginza and Yamano Ginza. Also, visit Itoya Ginza (stationary store).

Day 33: Tokyo (Kamakura day trip OR Ikebukuro) [Thursday, 14 Dec]
EITHER take a day trip Kamakura, OR explore northern Tokyo (Ikebukuro)
Kamakura leg:

• Make a detour to Used Tyre Market Sagamihara Store to experience the retro vending machines. Then head southwards to Enoshima.
• Look at the giant Buddha statue and stroll along Hasedera.
• Take the Enoden to Enoshiima and explore the island.
• Take the JR back to Ginza and retire for the night.

Tokyo (Ikebukuro leg):

• Visit Otome Road for otaku related stuffs.
• Trawl the usual suspects such as Bic Camera etc.
• Make a stop at the Mejiro Gardens.
• Visit the Waseda International House of Literature (The Haruki Murakami Library) at Waseda University.

Day 34: Tokyo (wildcard) [Friday, 15 Dec]
Spare day to do whatever I feel like doing OR reallocate this to another prefecture. Intentionally left blank for later planning
​
Day 35: Tokyo Home [Saturday, 16 Dec]

• Contemplate life at the hotel, doing whatever I feel like for the morning and early afternoon. Bonus: have an early breakfast at Tsukiji Market in the morning if staying at Ginza.
• Clear any last minute administrative matter (if any), or do (very) last minute sightseeing/buying. Most likely limited to Ginza and Akibahara.
• Get a nice lunch omakase to cap it off if possible. (taking recommendations if anyone has one, ideally meat/beef centric instead of just sushi).
• Head off to Narita from Tokyo Station via NEX just after lunch at 1430 1530 to Narita, flight at 1830.

END
---------------------
If you're still reading up to this point, here's my own personal ramblings/thoughts on JR pass usage:
I have thought of two ways of doing this for the first 21 days:
a. easy-mode : just get 21 days JR global pass before the price hike at 60450 yen, OR b. hard-mode: get a 7 day JR global pass (to cover the NEX fees, the basic fee on the Sunrise Seto to Shikoku, as well as limited express trains within Shikoku) (29650) + 5 days for JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass (15000) + 4 days for JR Sanin Okayama Area Pass + 5 days for JR Kansai Wide Area Pass (10000) for a total of 59230.
The initial conclusion was to go with option A since that reduces the administrative burden, but I realized the individual passes do have its own perk which truimphs over the global JR pass. For instance, the Sanin Okayama Area Pass provides a (minor) discount for the Adachi Museum of Art; the Kansai Wide Pass covers the Kyotango route between Kinosaki Onsen and Amanohashidate which the global JR pass does not cover, JR Okayama Hiroshima Yamaguchi Area Pass covers JR buses within Hiroshima for free, therefore I am inclined to go with the hell option (option B) as it stands.
For the remaining 14 days, I could also get the global 14 day JR pass at 47250 yen but it is not worth it at all, because I will be relying largely on Kintetsu for the Osaka/Kyoto/Nara/Mie leg which the JR pass most certainly does not cover.

• For the Osaka/Nara/Mie/Kyoto leg, I intend to make good use of a mix of both local metro and the Kintetsu rail pass for 5 days (4900). If I do exploit Kintetsu's limited express train to its fullest, I should be able to save money by buying the pass. The Osaka Amazing Pass at 2600yen a day does not make financial sense for me this time round, given how little I am exploring within Osaka.
• For the Osaka Kanazawa, Shirakawago and Takayama leg, the preferred pass of choice is the Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass over the global JR pass, in large part because this pass fully absorbs the Nohi highway bus fees (which can rack up quite a lot at ~8000yen for a return trip between Kanazawa and Shirakawago/Takayama). Also this absorbs the Thunderbird fee. One major issue with my current plan is that it does not cover Wakura Onsen nor the sightseeing train.
• For the final Kanazawa Tokyo leg, the preferred choice is the Horuriku Arch Pass that covers the direct Shinkansen back to Tokyo, and the NEX fees to Narita when I depart from Tokyo. Will only break even with the pass at best unless I make a stop at Nagano.

So all in all, there's quite little incentive to get the global JR pass after I worked out my schedule, apart from the initial 7 days for the Sunrise Seto jump which the All Shikoku Pass will not cover.
Through the hodge-podge of multiple area passes, it works out to around 102890 yen for the whole trip of 35 days, contrast with 107700 yen for a 21 + 14 global JR pass. While there's a minor cost saving doing the hard way which sweetens the deal, the additional minor perks associated with the area passes sells it for me, as I would had to pay more out of pocket to cover non-JR pass buses/rails and such which would add up to much greater cost than I would had anticipated. Also, if I did this trip post-price hike in October, the calculus becomes a no-brainer: avoid the global JR pass like the plague.
-----
Thank you very much for your opinions, suggestions and advice in advance!

Hi, I would like to share an issue that has been haunting me for most of my adult life, and despite my best attempts I am not able to solve it on my own. I apologize for the length of this post, but I feel in this case the devil is in the details, and if I skip them, I will get advised to try things that I already tried. The issue has to do with romantic relationships and me as person in general. For background, I am 32, white male, healthy, average looking, average weight, bit above average in height, no physical defects, working out, two professions (musician and engineer), with tons of interests and hobbies (writing poetry, composing music, playing semi-pro chess, doing various DIY projects - rocketry, robotics, boat building, also engaging in hiking, rafting, sailing, flying, astrophotography, strong interests in astrophysics, cinematography, philosophy, sociology and psychology, etc.). I have pretty broad social circles with some quite amazing people from various backgrounds, some really close friends from both genders, and socializing quite a lot in general, despite being a classical introvert.
There is a strongly recurring pattern in my attempts to date women, where I initially find someone interesting to me and we engage in conversation. In the past that usually meant dating apps, but I eventually gave up on them because I found they impose a certain unnatural mentality and set up forced expectations for the interaction. So now I seek out people of the opposite gender that I notice in my social circles, ones that I find potentially interesting. Of course, I first try to talk to them in person if possible, but sometimes there is no chance/time for that, so in these cases I seek them out on social networks afterwards ("hey, I saw you at X, didn't get the chance to approach you, but thought it would be fun to talk to you"), which usually starts things off pretty great.
I am going to skip the cases where the other person and me obviously have nothing to talk about, or when I discover that the other person is already with someone, and focus on the cases where we both find each other intriguing. So, we engage in conversation, find we have much in common, tell stories, ask each other questions, share memes, finish each other's sentences... It feels natural, without any forcing, there is this great "flow", often with a healthy dose of sexual tension. I find that after my initial effort, the other person fires up with enthusiasm, begins conversations themselves (texting first in the day), often appearing even more eager than me. More times than not, I find these women expressing a strong romantic or even explicitly sexual interest through these conversations, far too straightforward to be written off as a possible misinterpretation ("C: can't tell").
So, we set up a meeting, typically something simple, like a walk, a short hike, coffee or some activity that we both feel passionate about. These meetings/dates also seem great: we're connecting, having endless topics to talk about, making jokes that we can both laugh at, there is this amazing positivity in the air, also with a healthy dose of mild sexual tension. These women often say that I am the most interesting and intriguing person they ever met - I suppose mostly due to my many interests and the many fun, intriguing and deep stories I can tell from my experiences. They also say that I am a great listener, never overwhelming them, always knowing when to speak and when to listen, when to ask the right questions. Sometimes in these dates I barely can get a sentence in because of how easily these women open up to me and tell their stories. In general, with few exceptions, they say it is extremely enjoyable to spend time with me.
This is where the good part ends.
What is missing from all this, is that I notice that their body language doesn't match their intellectual/emotional enthusiasm at all. The other person keeps their distance, always looks away, never initiates any physical contact (such as a light touch on the arm when joking, etc.). If I sometimes try to do something like that myself, they do not seem intimidated, do not retreat or object verbally or in body language, but don't respond to it either. And that sexual tension I mentioned is also only verbal. It feels like everything is great, except for this lack of attraction from their part. They just seem indifferent in that regard. Of course, I don't force it, as I understand such things don't have to happen on the first date. I try to keep my distance as well, so I don't come off as intimidating or touchy-feely, letting them make take the next steps - which they never do. Most important of all, I try not to focus on how I appear to the other person, but instead focus on that person, truly listen to what they are saying, and simply have fun time together without overthinking. The date goes great, it is clearly enjoyable for both parties right till the end, we say bye with smiles, laughing and clearly sharing a great feeling.
And then, when I text the next day (or any time later) to thank for the meeting and continue conversing, one of three things happen:
1) They do not reply at all, and completely ghost me forever;
2) They do reply, saying that the date was amazing and they would love to continue it as a friendship, but then drop:

a) "There was no physical attraction" b) "I don't find you attractive as a man" c) "There was no chemistry" Which, as you can imagine, comes as a blow to my ego, and makes me feel confused as to why they feel this way, especially after such an amazing start, with so much genuine enthusiasm from their part. I try my best not to overwhelm the other person with the negative emotions I feel, and respond with something like "Hey, thank you for being straightforward with me. It is okay, no harm done. However, could you do me a favor and let me know what made you feel this way? Was there something that put you off, or something that you expected and it wasn't there? I would really appreciate your feedback, as it would really help me improve for the future. I am almost impossible to offend, so you can give it to me straight if you want, even if it's something that other people would get mad about", or some other variation of it, trying to keep it light and easy for the other person to reply to. Typically, after I ask this question in any form, the other person completely stops responding forever (ghosts me). At the very best, they just repeat that I am not attractive, and don't provide any more details, avoiding the topic in every way possible. Some of them, instead of ghosting, go to great lengths in trying to keep me as a friend instead, yet making it crystal clear that the line will be drawn there and I should never expect anything more. 

3) At some point I had a thought that perhaps the meeting feels too much of a date, and it makes the other person feel cornered to tell me whether they like me or not, making them default to a safe "no", so I also tried stop calling it "date", and make things even simpler - two people just meeting to get to know each other, without any unspoken pressure of this having to lead somewhere, without any explicit expectations, without any big questions afterwards. In these cases, after the meeting the other person would typically not ghost me, but all their enthusiasm and energy in conversing would still disappear completely, or become purely platonic. Before the meeting they are on fire and so eager to meet me, but afterwards their responsiveness is dead in the water, they continue to converse with no passion or effort, maybe one message per day, and definitely no more meetings, unless strictly as just friends. After all that amazing energy and flow in the conversations prior to the meeting, it feels like hitting a brick wall.
In the cases where our very first interaction was in person, pretty much what I wrote about dates applies - these women appear to be immensely enjoying that interaction, yet with no signs of attraction whatsoever, and if at some later point I show any light romantic interest ("I would love to go out with you sometime" / "I am going on this fun hike this weekend, want to come together?"), they would immediately cut it off, again telling me they are not attracted to me, or agreeing with a warning that they will only come as a friend, and I should not expect anything romantic, ever.
It feels like there is something about me that puts them off, and I don't know what it is. I suspected that perhaps I somehow set up some expectations about myself during these conversations prior to the meeting that I later do not live up to, but I can't imagine what that could be. I also thought that perhaps the issue is that things start off too fast, too energetic, like a fire that blows itself out, so I tried taking things slower, sometimes even gently slowing down the other person during these initial conversations, so we don't subconsciously overbuild expectations prior to meeting. Unfortunately, these attempts didn't change the outcome at all. As far as appearances go, I have a social profile with some pictures, a video or two, so there shouldn't be any surprises either. My family and friends say that I have great social interaction skills, and no one ever pointed out anything off-putting about my body language, personal hygiene, dressing skills or anything else that I can think of.
Now, this would not be an issue if it happened once or twice, but this scenario I described, with small variations, has been a pattern for the past 12 years or so. Every single interaction/date I had, ended up like this, without a single happy exception. And the number of them I had is approaching a hundred (this is an actually calculated estimate). Every single woman I went out with, told me she is not attracted to me in one way or another - either by explicitly saying so, or by showing a complete lack of interest in conversing further or going out again. And no matter in what form I tried to get feedback, some explanation on WHY they don't find me attractive, not a single one ever offered me any answer. They are at awe of the emotional and intellectual connection, but physically, they say they don't feel anything towards me at all, and refuse to elaborate.
I am fully aware that they do not owe me an answer. I am not entitled to be liked, to be attracted to, or to be explained why that is not the case. I respect these boundaries, and never push the other person, don't interrogate them. But it seems to me that such a small courtesy is something that should come naturally when one asks for it. I also understand that some people simply cannot explain these things, as their attractions or lack of are a mystery to them as well, and therefore they use these generalized terms like "chemistry". However, I have been in a reverse role situation some times as well, where I didn't find a woman attractive, and she wanted to know why. I had absolutely no problem in telling her, explaining it to the detail that she wanted. Of course, trying not to be hurtful, but most importantly - as sincere as I can, having a great deal of respect for her wish to know, rather than to live in blissful ignorance. I have a deep admiration for people who choose to accept reality at a face value, even when it's harsh and unfair, and that is also the kind of a person I try to be. She thanked me for it, and we didn't make a big deal out of it. It was so simple, easy and nice for both that I really wish this was the norm. This happened maybe 4 or 5 times in total in my life.
Therefore it is difficult for me to understand why not a single person I ever went out with, could offer me this small courtesy. I understand that they might have bad experiences of similar situations in the past, where some other guy would freak out upon hearing the reason, start blaming or shaming them, etc. But I have never done that, and made it very clear that I am not like that at all. I simply want to know the underlying reason, even if it something typically offensive ("your teeth are crooked", "your face looks old", "you smell bad", "you are too skinny/fat", "you laugh weird", "your body language makes you look insecure", etc.). I would much rather hear something like this, even if it was something I can't control or change, rather than hearing these generalized "chemistry" or "attraction" comments.
In my life, when I approach a seemingly unsolvable problem or something that is out of my control, I battle it regardless. If I have to choose between solving a problem or changing my thinking that makes it less of a problem, I will always first try and solve it. Though there were times when this was the wrong approach, most of the time this trait helped me achieve things that other people thought I could never do, to push myself beyond the limit and overcome many hardships, both external and internal, and become a better person. Often there were times when I eventually realized that the problem is indeed unsolvable, but I found solace in the fact that I gave it my best try, and there was nothing more I could have done. I can make my peace with that. What I can't make peace with, is not knowing what the problem is, especially when it stands between me and one of the most important goals in my life right now - finding someone I can connect with, who could one day become my partner. I live a purposeful, fulfilling and interesting life, but not having someone to share it with in a deep and intimate way, makes me feel profoundly sad, filled with constant heartache and incredibly lonely. After 12 years of being turned down again, again and again, it takes a tremendous effort not to allow these feelings to develop into serious personal issues and snowball out of control.
This not knowing is slowly killing me. Throughout these years, I kept asking myself "why", "what the hell is wrong with me". I tried figuring it out myself, and failed. It is like trying to see what's written on your forehead without a mirror. In this case, other people are that mirror. Failing to get this essential feedback from women I went out with, I tried talking with my family, my friends, hoping at least they would be honest enough to tell me, rather than being nice by protecting me from what they likely consider too harsh a truth. They didn't tell me either. My mom says I am "the most handsome boy ever" (I should mention at this point that I have the luck of having great parents, both very loving and close to me to this day). Friends come to me for advice on how be as confident as me and how to talk to girls (ironically, my advice often did them wonders). If I ask my female friends, they say that I am the perfect man and that "any girl would be lucky to have you", yet if I jokingly tease them about going out together, they act as if I'm the last person on this Earth they would ever go out with. I don't blame my friends, reminding myself that it is likely they simply don't know the answer either, but it still feels infuriating - being told that you are perfect, yet somehow no one wants you. It's like being kept in a protective bubble from the harsh realities of the world... Like Truman under his dome.
I had some relationships long time ago - and the most painful thing is, that even the girls who loved me, all confessed that they fell in love with my personality, and never really felt any physical attraction to me. They never told me the reason either. I probably don't need to tell you what it feels like to hear this from a person you love, and not as some breakup f-you, but in the middle of a happy, fulfilling relationship. Perhaps I should also mention that the reason for the eventual break-ups were incompatible life goals, cheating (on their part), and some personal issues and insecurities that I had at that time. Apart from these relationships, never in my life had a I ever had a moment of catching a woman looking at me or initiating a conversation - and if I don't initiate it myself, it feels like I am invisible to them.
At some point, I tried to make peace with the thought that I'll never know the reason for this lack of attraction, and simply stop focusing on it. I thought that perhaps my anxiety about this is the reason itself, that maybe I am carrying it into these dates I go on (self-fulfilling prophecy). I tried to offload it off my back, stop guessing, and instead be the person I want to be, improve myself in general. Spent more time doing things I love, started working out and got in good shape, improved my personal hygiene, focused on taking care of myself in general, but more importantly - taking care of people I love, spending less time worrying and more time doing good for the others, trying to live a life with a purpose, giving more to others than I expect of them.
I also tried shifting my focus from dating at all, thinking that maybe I am simply trying too hard, especially during these dates, and if I focus on other goals in life, I will simply find the person I am looking for along the way (spoiler alert: that didn't happen either). At some point I discovered doctor K's content, which I took very seriously, and it helped me recognize many things about myself, free myself out of the many pitfalls that I didn't even know were even there, work and eventually fix my insecurities, set my life in better order, and continue to improve myself as well as help others.
For the last 5 years or so, I did this, and it helped me immensely, I feel much better about myself and the things I do in life. I feel grounded, with a direction, purpose and motivation. However, it did not make the slightest difference in how women see me. No matter what I do, while women claim to be amazed by my personality, they wouldn't touch me a mile-long stick. And I still don't know if it is something in my appearance, in my body language, in my behavior, or hell knows what. I honestly haven't got the slightest clue. Every time I get turned down like this, I have to pick up my confidence from pieces and put it back together again. And each time, it becomes more and more difficult.
After the number of times this had happened, you could be asking me how the hell I still haven't given up. Like I said, I am stubborn, but this doesn't help me in the slightest, because I am clearly missing something that should be obvious to me. It feels like I'm redlining the engine, but some tiny gear is missing and the car is not moving an inch. It must be right in front of my eyes, but I just don't see it.
It is very difficult for me not to be envious of other guys who get so much attention from women with zero effort, who simply being in the room turn every woman's eyes towards them. In the meantime, women don't even notice me, and if I chat anyone up, even all that personality they so praise is not enough to get anyone romantically or sexually interested in me. And those who I engage with online, completely lose romantic interest as soon as they meet me in person despite seemingly enjoying that interaction in every other way possible. It's like I have 10 points on charisma and 0 in appearance, though my friends and family keep telling me otherwise. I am tired of having to carry my romantic interactions with women on charisma alone. I don't want or need to become some eye-turner mega chad, - but just one fair chance. At least one person who would genuinely find me attractive as I am, without me having to make a herculean effort with my social skills just to get her eyes fill with "wow".
Now, I am not asking you what that issue is. I know it is likely impossible to tell without meeting me, despite all this long story I wrote (sorry, no TLDR). I am simply asking, how do I figure this out? How do I get that feedback, how do I find out why every single woman I ever go out with feels no attraction or chemistry with me? I spent 12 years thinking about this, guessing at it, trying changing pretty much every variable I could think of, trying every possible respectful form of asking for this feedback from others, but in the end, I still don't know, and it feels like everyone is afraid of telling me, because they'd hurt my feelings or something. Whatever that thing is, not knowing it hurts a thousand times more. I am tired and emotionally exhausted of guessing and shooting in the dark. All I want is for someone to give it to me straight without any sugar-coating, no matter how cruel and inhumane saying such a thing might seem to them, so I can finally start fixing it, or at least have some closure in knowing what it was all along.
​
Thank you to everyone who made it to the end. I revised this text like 30 times now trying to ensure that I didn't miss any potentially crucial detail. I suspect this post will get drowned out by many other, shorter and more approachable posts, and I also know it would be easy to skimp through this text, focus on just some points of it and inadvertently suggest something that I already tried, so I thank you extra it if you chose to read it thoroughly. It is probably unrealistic to expect doctor K's comment with such a long post, but if anyone has any input, I would love to hear it.

So when you think of cities with high culture and vibrant music scenes on the east coast, what springs to mind? Obviously New York. Thanks to Drake, we all know about the growing music scene in Toronto. You prahbahbly musta tawt a Bawstan tew. Maybe Montreal or Philadelphia or even Baltimore crossed your mind.
Hah. Baltimore.
Time to check your cultural bias, pal. You passed over a quiet little city on the south shore of Lake Ontario, nestled in the Genesee River valley. It has a history as a hotbed of Abolitionism and Women’s Rights. It is the home of Eastman Kodak, Xerox, Bausch & Lomb, Western Union, Ragu and other innovative companies. It has a lively music scene, great nightclubs, world-renowned universities, thriving museums, arts & culture festivals, and live theatre. It is a true cultural gem that many folks overlook.
Yep. You bet your ass I am talking about Rochester, New York.
Since we know that Stoner Rock can come from anywhere, it should be no surprise that Rochester has produced one of the leading bands in this genre. This week we are going to check out a band you are going to want to listen to. If you know them, you love them. If you haven’t heard of them, you are going to thank me.
This week’s band is KING BUFFALO.
About Them
Hold on a sec. King Buffalo? Not King Rochester?
To be fair, King Rochester sounds like the villain in a Disney movie. Kinda hard to imagine that on a T-Shirt. King New York sounds like a particularly obnoxious Yankees fan (and yeah, finding a Yankees fan that isn’t obnoxious is a tough go). King Albany sounds like a car made by Kia.
But King Buffalo? That just works.
Our heroes didn’t start out together. King Buffalo were made up of members of two other Rochester area bands.
Randall Coon and Scott Donaldson were playing together in Velvet Elvis. That five piece band played heavy rock with space-based themes in the early 2010’s. Sean McVay and Dan Reynolds were in another band called Abandoned Buildings Club (side note: kinda neat that their initials were ABC), who had a pure psychedelic rock vibe. When both VE and ABC appeared to be having limited success, the four musicians decided to merge their talents into one band. Coon had handled vocals and guitar in Velvet Elvis and Donaldson had been rock solid on drums. McVay had done vocals and guitar in Abandoned Buildings Club and Reynolds had anchored the sound with his bass. All the pieces were there for a classic Beatles-esque lineup.
So out of the wreckage of ABC and VE, KB arose. The four members gelled so well that they were able to record their first demo - aptly titled Demo - in just two days. Their sound was immediately compared to tourmates and close friends All Them Witches. But where ATW were bluesy and sludgy, King Buffalo had produced songs full of space. Oh, there were heavy riffs for sure - but there were passages of music that were contrastingly lighter and further apart. The best example of these contrasts can be found in the more than 11 minutes of Providence Eye. The first six and a half minutes come at you at a lulling pace, enveloping you in the moment. You get swept up in the rolling riffs. But then the drop happens and you suddenly realize the song has been building to this peak. The tempo picks up and you ride a relentless rollercoaster until you hit the Black Sabbath-inspired outro, which takes you home. It is an emotional experience. The two other tracks - In Dim Light and Pocket Full of Knife are smaller essays on the same theme.
It was clear right from Demo that King Buffalo had some serious talent. But if you have listened to the band you will notice that one thing is starkly different on Demo than from any of their other releases: the vocals. Randall Coon was the lead vocalist on these recordings. If you play them up against anything since by the band they stand out. Our very own QotSA may have successfully had multiple vocalists on multiple tunes, but King Buffalo was destined to have Sean McVay take over the mic. Shortly after 2013’s Demo, Coon left the band to do a solo project called Skunk Hawk.
King Buffalo stood at a crossroads: did they look to replace Coon, or should they carry on as a Power Trio? The choice for them was obvious. McVay, Reynolds and Donaldson knew that they had fantastic potential together. They decided they didn't need anyone else.
Side note: Regular readers of these write ups know that All Them Witches just went through this exact crisis in 2019. What I didn’t share then is that ATW are close friends with KB. I would not be surprised to learn that ATW had some serious conversations about their lineup with the boys from KB before they, too, decided last year to pare down to just three members.
To re-christen their new lineup, in 2015 King Buffalo went in on a split EP with Swedish band Lé Betre (I mean, hooking up with a Swedish partner is a dream of mine, so I see the appeal.) They re-recorded their standout tune Providence Eye with McVay on vocals, as well as two new tracks - Like a Cadillac and New Time. New Time opens their side of the EP with an infectious, descending riff that hooks you immediately. It is clear from the lyrics - No wasting around, it’s a new time - that they had moved on from Coon. Like a Cadillac follows up and is a three and a half minute jam that leaves you wanting more. The re-recorded version of Providence Eye closes out their side of the split EP and leaves no doubt that they are in charge. It is a tighter, heavier version, and the amazing outro is so low down that it will make you want to rob your own house.
With their lineup now set, it was time to put together enough music to tour on. In 2016, King Buffalo released Orion. Here you can witness the melding of their influences into something majestic and fantastic, and it is here that they really develop their signature style.
To explain this style, you need to understand basic song structure.
Most pop songs tend to go verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - chorus - chorus. Sure, you could add in a solo for the bridge, or a detailed intro or outro, or another verse - but this is a tried and true formula. Some variation of this dominates the pop charts to this day.
Not with King Buffalo songs. These guys are the masters of the drop, and you hear it in most of their tunes. QotSA fans are no strangers to that long build and release; it is an integral part of tunes like The Evil Has Landed, God is in the Radio, Song For The Dead, and I Appear Missing. One of the sickest drops ever recorded happens in the middle of the Them Crooked Vultures tune No One Loves Me & Neither Do I. It is where the music turns around, and a new riff takes over, often along with a pace change. It is then that you realize that the song has built to this climactic moment, and you are engulfed by the music.
King Buffalo does this better than anyone else, and you hear it clearly articulated, again and again, on the album Orion.
Take the song Kerosene for example.
A rolling bass riff from Reynolds establishes the song right out of the gate. Donaldson produces punchy drum beats with cymbal crashes at the end of each phrase. McVay’s slide guitar rounds out the intro. McVay’s vocals - very Ozzy like, if Ozzy had any semblance of self-control - frame the first verse, which ends in a fuzzy, heavy riff with crashing cymbals. This same pattern is repeated a second time and the drop is teased at just past three minutes in, but does not happen quite yet. The listener’s anticipation builds as the airy, soaring solo from McVay calls out in contrast to the rolling bass. After the guitar solo bridge, the band goes right back into the chorus. But then it happens: THE DROP. Just past 5 minutes in, the song takes a complete and abrupt turn for a totally different riff that is at the same time heavier and brand new, and yet has been there all the while.
What King Buffalo does brilliantly is subvert your musical expectations.
The standard structure is V-C-V-C-B-C-C.
Kerosene is V-C-V-C-B-C-DROP-OUTRO. Just when you subliminally expect something the same, you get something different.
The entire album is like that. Orion hardly sounds like a debut. It is a mature and deliberate soundscape built by talented musicians who are making significant choices about their art. Songs like Drinking From The River Rising open with an expansive and elastic topography, but drill down to the molten lava of heavy riffs and distorted fuzz. Sleeps On A Vine begins with one of the most zen riffs you’ve ever heard and ends in a tumultuous and heavy sonic assault that is pure controlled chaos. Every song on the album is a study in contrasts that leaves you with auditory whiplash and a burning desire for more.
They are that good.
King Buffalo were able to tour on their new material, and did so extensively. They played clubs and larger venues, often with friends and fellow Stoner Rockers All Them Witches and other bands like The Sword and Elder. In 2017, the released the EP Repeater as a follow up. It is just three songs (The vinyl ad reads, All songs on one side! No need to flip!) but it is a heck of a musical journey. The title track off the EP is 13+ minutes long and is one huge build. When the fuzz finally drops after almost 8 minutes, it is a true cathartic moment. It sneaks up on you, and is so welcome when it hits - especially after McVay’s repetition that “Every Day is the Same* - that you intrinsically understand how great it is when things finally change for the better. Too Little Too Late is an instrumental tune that is both enveloping and expansive. It is a terrific bridge to the final track, Centurion, which is an unbelievable groove. Centurion has three minutes of set up leading to an unreal fuzzy drop that is so dirty it will get you evicted from your apartment.
The influence of their touring with All Them Witches can also be seen on their next full length release, 2018’s Longing To Be The Mountain. Ben McLeod from ATW produced the album. ATW, The Sword and Elder are all thanked in the liner notes. The album picks up right where Repeater leaves off, with KB experimenting with long form songs like Morning Song and the title track, and shorter jams like Sun Shivers, Cosmonaut, and Quickening. Reynolds and McVay pepper the songs with synthesizer sounds that add colour and texture to the overall compositions. Donaldson drums with impeccable precision to provide each song with a safe mooring to return to, driving the guitars forward at the same time as he holds the rhythm in check. This is most clearly evident in Eye Of The Storm. The result is a rich tapestry of expansive and flowing music full of heavy jams and storytelling that will leave the listener wanting more. Their signature build-to-sonic-explosion style does not let fans down.
The success of Longing To Be The Mountain allowed for extensive touring across North America and Europe. It also led to appearances at bigger gigs, like at Rockpalast and the Stoned & Dusted desert rock event in 2019. Anyone that has seen any of their live work knows that King Buffalo are simply hypnotizing on stage. Reynolds’ bass work is reminiscent of Geddy Lee with his complex and flowing style. Donaldson brings controlled power to the drum kit, and is ready to cut loose when the drop comes. And McVay has become a true front man, comfortable with the lead voice on guitar and the microphone.
Their next release, Dead Star, dropped in 2020 and generated all kinds of buzz in the Stoner Rock scene. Of course, the tour planned to support it got axed when the entire world went into lockdown. But the (short album? EP?) is simply fantastic. Red Star Pt. 1 & 2 continues their long form examination and has everything you’d expect from them. Echo of A Waning Star is a lament of just over 3 minutes that is near-perfect. Ecliptic sounds like the soundtrack to a John Carpenter movie and is a complete jam with serious cool 1980’s vibes. Dead Star, the title track, is almost Radiohead-esque in its evocative and regretful take on death and decay.
But the standout track has to be Eta Carinae, which has one of the greatest musical drops and turn-arounds you will ever hear. The entire song pivots just past four minutes in and becomes a 70’s anthem worthy of Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath. If you listen to no other tune here today, you have to check it out. It will absolutely get stuck in your head.
The band dropped their first live record, Live At Freak Valley, in 2020. This is a really nice retrospective/greatest hits album kinda deal. What stands out is just how fucking tight the band is live. With some bands, live versions veer wildly from the recorded ones - and not at all in a good way. This record is the opposite. You can clearly hear on Orion and Kerosene that KB are just that good live.
In the wake of the global pandemic, King Buffalo decided to musically capture the moment in time. They decided to release a trifecta of albums. 2021 saw them drop The Burden of Restlessness and then Acheron. The third record in this trio is 2022’s Regenerator. It is really important to consider all three records in this Triptych at the same time, for they are a sonic cycle.
TBOR is a descent into despondency. Acheron is about hitting rock bottom, and being in Hell. Regenerator is about finding a way to claw yourself back into the light. Each album stands on its own, but together they form a sweeping epic journey that we can all relate to.
TBOR is an album where the protagonist gradually loses the will to exist. There is a cry of deep frustration in Burning, a not-so-subtle reference to a plague in Locusts, a study in being confined indoors in Silverfish, and an outright statement that our hero is sinking in Loam. In fact, the lyrics tell us: “Still I press my face into the ground/I’m waiting for the hammer to fall.”
It is not a happy album.
Just when you think things have to get better, we get the 4-track jam of Acheron. In this record, our hero has fallen to his lowest point. He has descended to Hell. The title track - the first one on the album - makes this clear, when it says: “Waking up under the ground/Silver asleep on my tongue.”
Just in case you didn’t get the classic reference, Acheron is the river one must cross in Greek mythology to get to the underworld. Souls going to Hell had coins placed in their mouth to pay Charon, the ferryman, to take them across the river to Hades. So our hero did sink into the Loam in the last album, and finds himself in Hell. This theme is reinforced in Zephyr, who was the Greek God of the West Wind, and Shadows, which references what the Greeks used to call dead spirits - Shades. And just in case you had any doubt, the final track on the album is Cerberus, named after the three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades.
What is even cooler about Acheron is how it was recorded. Instead of a studio, they recorded the album underground in a cave.
Now that is commitment.
The final album in this cycle is 2022’s Regenerator. While the first two records were about descent, despondency, and hitting rock bottom, this record is about regaining hope and optimism, and finding a way to come back. We hear this clearly in the lyrics of the record’s final track, Firmament, which says: “Out of the loam I rise, embraced by the etheThe river below relieves my hands of silver” - clearly calling back to the tracks Loam and Acheron. And in case you didn’t know, in Greek mythology the Firmament means the Sky or the Heavens.
Our hero has left Hell behind, and ascended into Heaven.
References to positive mythology are all over this album, from the album art to the tracks Mercury and Avalon. It is a total jam. But the best song on the album might just be Mammoth. If you don’t like the guitar on this song, you and I can’t be friends.
I got a chance to see KB perform last year when they toured with Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. They are fucking tight. They were the opening act, but were the absolute highlight of the show. I want everyone to hear this band because they really are something special.
Go check them out.
Links to QOTSA
We know that QotSA front man Josh Homme and Kyuss invented Stoner Rock in the 1990’s. They were the genre-defining band. King Buffalo (and other bands like All Them Witches) have picked up this proverbial torch and are now bringing the sound to the next generation of fans. King Buffalo drummer Scott Donaldson is known to be a huge QotSA fan. Perhaps he saw them live when they played in Rochester in 2014 in support of ...Like Clockwork.
It is also sometimes easy to forget that Josh was not the only architect of the low desert sound. Original Kyuss Drummer and co-founder Brant Bjork wrote many Kyuss tunes and continues to be a leader in the music scene today. King Buffalo have played with Bjork at festivals three times: Freak Valley Festival, Black Deer Festival and the aforementioned Stoned & Dusted. There is also a planned collaborative project between Bjork and King Buffalo that may be coming our way soon.
The future is bright, my friends.
Their Music
Providence Eye
In Dim Light
Pocket Full of Knife
King Buffalo songs from the Split EP with Lé Betre
Kerosene -- live in 2016
Drinking From The River Rising
Orion - entire album on Genesee Live
RepeateCenturion -- Recorded Live in the Quarantine Sessions put out by the band
Live at Rockpalast in 2019 - includes songs from LTBTM
Longing To Be The Mountain - Quarantine Sessions
Quickening -- everything is cool until the snake head pops out. Red Star Pt. 2 -- the official video
Ecliptic
Eta Carinae
Dead Star - Full Album
Silverfish
The Knocks
Loam
Hours
Acheron
Shadows
Mammoth
Firmament
Show Them Some Love
/KingBuffalo - C’mon, everyone -- there are just over 500 subscribers. Those are rookie numbers. You gotta pump those numbers up.
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
Screaming Trees
Sound City Players
Iggy Pop
Mastodon
The Strokes
Radiohead
All Them Witches
ZZ Top

i have been struggling with “dreams” as i’m falling asleep lately and by definition, i don’t know if i’m hallucinating, having sleep paralysis, or just dreaming. For example, two nights ago I was on the phone before bed and then hung up. As soon as I fell asleep I “dreamt” that I was still on the phone and could hear him speaking on the other line but I couldn’t reply to him because I was “paralyzed”. Last night, I “dreamt” that I could smell something burning and needed to wake up immediately to stop the fire. I couldn’t move or wake myself up. When I finally did, there was no fire or burning smell (obviously). I just can’t tell what’s happening, not that it really matters. I’m more curious on tips and tricks you guys use to handle your bad dreams/hallucinations/paralysis. I just am not sure how to ground myself, I wake up so anxious and shaky. I just want some tricks anyone else might use to maybe make these a little less panic inducing and a little more tolerable, lol.
P.s Most of my dreams are fairly lucid and I usually recognize when I’m asleep.

First
Ferodias POV / Ten Years Earlier
His heart was pounding in his ears, the thrum of battle lingering for longer than it needed to as he pants hotly. He looked around the wooded area, between the trees, and around the trampled grass, and all he saw were the mangled corpses of monsters. He forced himself to focus, and before long, he could sense and hear his friends and allies; they all seemed to be okay, if not reasonably exhausted. "Sound off!" He called out, wiping the blood off the blade on his pant leg before sheathing it as his tail curled and lashed behind him.
"Here and a'okay!" A voice called out; it was from Brasyl, a young half-orc archer who wielded a bow that was impossibly hard for most people to draw and used unique, heavy arrows. The grey-skinned fellow stepped out of some brush and into view with a toothy grin, his face, chest, and right arm coated in blood that wasn't his own as he used a dirty rag to polish off his knife. "Those bastards sure got the drop on us, eh, Rodi?" He mused cheerfully enough.
Ferodias couldn't help but smirk a bit at the half-orc, it was a very close fight, but they did slaughter the infestation of branch bugs that had been terrorizing the local farming villages. At the very least, they culled the population, and they shouldn't be an issue until next spring. His ears twitched as he heard the squelching of bug flesh, turning to see Monty, a human teen warrior who planned to open his restaurant when he saved up enough coin to retire. He was currently grabbing tokens from each branch bug for proof of their total kill count. Upon seeing Ferodias spot him, Monty smiled while waving a branch bug head. "I'm good over here!" He chirped, stuffing the head away in a large sack before moving to the next one.
"I hate bugs." A voice said as they came up behind Ferodias, though he didn't need to turn to know who it was. Regan stepped up beside Ferodias, the half-elf wiping the blood off the end of his magic staff. "All those extra spindly limbs and that disturbing screeching, ugh." He complained as he shuddered before stamping the end of his staff into the dirt and leaning into it. "I would have rathered gone after those grappler bears that were seen near that mining town; at least they have the good decency not to swarm and get gooey blood all over the place."
Ferodias couldn't help but smirk with amusement at his best friend's expense; before he could respond, Regan was nearly knocked over by Danica, a young dwarven teen with an impressive goatee and an equally impressive hammer, as she smacked Regan's back a few times. "Ah, quit your bellyachin Spells; I kept them off ya well enough." She mused mischievously before going over to join Monty with the monster butchering.
Regan scowled with vague annoyance before sighing as he turned to face Ferodias. "Are you absolutely certain you want 'all' of these individuals as your guardians?" He asked, lowering his voice to a near whisper as they spoke privately. "At least reconsider, Danica, if only for my sanity." He mentioned, not sounding serious but making his point.
Ferodias' ears twitched as he flashed a small smile, speaking softly to keep this conversation between themselves. "Why not? They're all good people, strong for their age too; I'm sure they'll be up to snuff by the time the trials are called to a close." They've had this conversation a few times now, but it was only this time that Ferodias really felt genuinely confident of the people he gathered. The members of their party had shifted around a few times over the last couple of years, with Brasyl being the latest member and Danica being the longest-standing member so far. "Besides, you're just jealous she's paying more attention to Monty than you nowadays, aren't you?" He teased mischievously, speaking normally as he waggled his ears while looking over at the half-elf.
Regan flushed, though a frown was soon on his face. "As if, like I would want a woman in the shape of a barrel." He retorted as he looked away.
Danica called out from where she was, ripping off some bark bug limbs with Monty, no doubt planning on adding that to dinner tonight. "Don't worry, Spells; you're too much of a twig for me anyways." She called out playfully, taking it all in stride as she grinned while the other guys chuckled at the scene.
Ferodias couldn't help but laugh at his friend's expense before joining the others as they rounded up the bug heads, all in all, they managed to kill around thirty-seven bugs, and for three silver a head and the reward for the job itself, it was looking to be a good payday for their efforts; not to mention some extra protein for their next few meals. The day soon turned to evening, and their party had set up camp among the trees during their trek back to the nearest guildhall a few towns away. Monty had got a firepit going and set about making dinner, which was comprised of fire-grilled and salted bug legs, some hard bread, and dried fruits. Danica meticulously tended to everyone's weapons, ensuring they were polished and free of any bug guts or blood that were possibly missed earlier. Brasyl had procured a hard case with a latch, pulling out a lyre which he began playing, the delicate looking instrument producing a sweet little melody as the group waited for the food to be cooked.
They had been resting around the fire for some time, the bug meat ending up giving off a rather delicious smell, admittedly. Monty still tending to the fire while turning the legs over a portable wire grill. It was peaceful and quiet, save for Brasyl's music, that was until Regan started shifting around his tent, stepping into the open while clutching his staff. He only had his pants on, but he looked serious as his eyes stared into the darkness around them. Well, it was dark for most of them; with the aid of the flamelight, they could peer fairly far into the darkness; only Monty was relatively blind to anything beyond the reach of the flamelight. "What is it, Spells?" Danica spoke up, tossing Ferodias his sheathed blade and passing over Monty's spear. Brasyl set his lyre down and collected his bow as he notched an arrow.
Regan looked around, his eyes darting side to side. "Movement, we have trespassers who crossed the first threshold of the security perimeter I set..." He explained in a hushed voice.
"How many?" Ferodias asked as he drew his blade, retrieving his shield from beside his tent and standing at the ready, his tail curling close as his ears twitched and strained to catch any sounds beyond the crackle of the wood in the fireplace.
Regan pointed his staff in a direction as the group turned and readied themselves. "We got three, and they're closing in on us; they must have seen the fire." He reasoned as he twitched. "They're sixty feet away; they just crossed the second threshold." He reported, though his brow furrowed as he tilted his head. "Hold on, four more trespassers just crossed the first threshold in the same direction as the first group."
"What does that mean?" Brasyl asked as he drew his bow, the weighty limbs bending in response to the half-orc's strength as he aimed into the grey darkness. Regan didn't answer at first as Brasyl narrowed his eyes. "Spotted the first set... It looks like people in dresses!" He exclaimed, confusion apparent in his voice, though he didn't let his arms relax.
Regan had his eyes shut for a moment before opening them. "Adjust your aim a finger to the left and down, fire!" He ordered, Brasyl making the slight adjustments as the heavy arrow was loosed with a 'thwum,' an animalistic yelp sounding out a split-second later.
In mere moments, the three figures Brasyl had spotted were now in range of the flamelight; there were three women, two looking relatively untouched, save for some bruising and torn clothes. It was the third woman that caught Ferodias' eyes; she was pummeled brutally, her lip split, and one of her eyes had swollen shut, her dress had been ripped to shreds, and she was absolutely drenched in blood. He wanted to say something, speak to her, but he heard howls in the air and remembered at least three more things were chasing these women.
Regan stepped forward, raising his staff and firing off bolts of lightning, the energy arcing through the air and colliding into what appeared to be an enraged hound, frying the beast; there were two more left, having avoided being caught in the blast of electricity as both Monty and Ferodias stepped forward. The human brought his spear low before deftly thrusting into the open maw of one of the hounds, while Ferodias brought his shield up and bashed the remaining beast in the middle of its lunge, stunning it for a moment when he followed up with a downward slash and beheaded it.
The whole ordeal was over before it really began, Danica stepping forward and examining the beast corpses as Ferodias looked over to the women. "What's going on here?" He said, doing his best to present a gentle display despite the fresh blood coating his blade and arm.
The trio of ladies, upon closer inspection, were just girls barely older than Brasyl but younger than Ferodias. Two of them were clearly shaken but doing their absolute best to maintain their composure. The third and worse off seemed more hardened and collected, yet her gaze was distant and not focused. While she certainly looked like she was beaten to shit, because she was, Ferodias realized that most of the blood on her body wasn't hers as it coated her right arm and chest. If he had to guess, she managed to kill someone with that blood-drenched dagger she was clutching. It took a few moments, but a wolfkin girl with mostly human features spoke up. "I am Lady Nerva Foundeli, daughter of Viscount Foundeli." She said before gesturing to the younger of the trio, who was a half-elf that was shuddering almost uncontrollably despite trying her best to remain stoic. "She is Lady Roche Ferdina, daughter of Baron Ferdina." She then gestured to the battered teen human and spoke up, her own voice shaky and faltering from whatever experience they had gone through. "She is Lady Historietta Blackstone, daughter of Count Blackstone." She explained, taking a moment to clear her throat before looking among her rescuers. "We had been kidnapped three days ago, coming from a banquet in the capital... They were planning on holding us for ransom, but we overheard them talking of... of... Using us..." She said, choking on her own words, trying and failing to maintain her composure as Danica went about getting the ladies to sit by the fire, though Historietta remained standing where she was. "They planned on having their ways with us before throwing us away once they got their ransom... It was a day later that Historietta got the attention of one of those vagrants and began insulting him and his mother. She... She seemed to be somehow accurate as she managed to enrage him to the point where he entered the room we were locked in." She said, shivering as she recalled the event. "We begged her to stop, not to make things worse; however, it was too late, and he started to pummel her... We could do nothing since our arms were bound, but somehow she managed to free herself in the midst of the beating and got her hands on his knife." She then glanced over at Historietta, a mix of fear and awe in her voice. "She spilled his guts and freed us and managed to get the jump on one of the other bandits, killing him in his sleep. We managed to escape, but after some time, we heard those foul beasts hot on our heels. We saw your fire in the distance and ran towards you, hoping for the best." She said, gratefully taking a wooden cup with water as Monty passed them to the two ladies, Historietta still standing off to the side.
Brasyl spoke up, having returned to the camp with a bloodied arrow as he looked among the others. "Those hounds were domesticated; someone sent these things after these ladies." He said, not having been there for the story.
Danica nodded at his words. "Yeah, we have a kidnapping situation on our hands; these ladies just escaped." She explained, Brasyl's eyes going wide before bobbing his head as he cleaned off the arrow and tucked it away in his large quiver.
Ferodias approached Historietta, reaching out to touch her shoulder but then thinking better of it. "You alright, Lady Historietta? Can I get you something to eat or drink?" He asked softly, his tail curling tightly behind in distress at seeing a young woman in such a state.
It took a moment, but she seemed to come out of her fugue and looked directly at Ferodias; she averted her gaze, seemingly looking at something before croaking out some incomprehensible words and curtsying. It was almost regal as she grabbed what remained of her tattered dress to do so.
Lady Nerva spoke up while watching this take place. "I'm afraid Lady Historietta cannot speak right now; that vagrant she antagonized had grabbed her by her throat before she had been slammed around. Frankly, I'm surprised she can even breathe properly."
Ferodias looked and felt distressed, worry plain on his face, even as Historietta offered a small smile and wincing as she did so. Regan soon returned from the shadows as he spoke out. "I've reinforced my security wards with more lethal charms; we shouldn't have any more uninvited guests of the unsavory sort." He explained, offering a bit of a smile until he got a good look at Lady Historietta and winced at her condition. "Oh gods, give me a second." He said, heading over to his tent and grabbing his pack; he soon returned with a small vial of red liquid and uncorked it. "Here, a healing potion; I just bought it last week." He explained before going around behind her and placing a hand on her back. "Don't mind me; I'm just gonna use some life magic to amplify the potion's effects." He explained gently, a faint blue light radiating from his palm as Historietta slowly downed the potion, wincing with each swallow.
Monty offered a smile as he set out some bug legs and dried fruits on some wooden plates and passed them to the ladies. "Sorry about the cuts of meat, but you should eat up and gather your strength; we still have a bit of trek before we're back in a major city." He explained. The two ladies certainly looked skeptical at their plates, but they managed to give their thanks. Despite their reservations, they were soon digging in, breaking the fire-charred chitin to get to the soft meat on the inside.
As the minutes ticked by, Ferodias procured a water skin, a change of clothes, a towel, and a spare set of shoes and came over to Historietta and Regan. The duo was now sitting on the ground, with Regan on his knees behind her, Regan's magical light still glowing as Historietta's skin gradually stitched itself back to gather, the bruising and swelling receding as she seemed to even breathe more easily. "Here, once you're done, I've set up some tarps and a light nearby, so you take these and change out of those blood-soaked clothes and rinse off with this water skin." He explained before holding up the water skin in particular. "It's enchanted with water magic to refill every six hours, so don't worry about using it all." He mentioned.
Historietta took a slow breath before speaking up, her voice still scratchy but nowhere near as bad as it was earlier. "Thank you again; I'll be in your care." She said, bowing her head again.
After a few moments, Regan pulled away and stood as he looked down at the Lady, Ferodias being quick to offer his hand to help her to her feet. "Alright, that is as much as I can do for now without overly exhausting you. Get some rest, and we'll do this again in the morning." He explained, shooting Ferodias a curious glance while Historietta got to her feet. Lady Historietta once again bowed her head before walking away with the things Ferodias had brought; Ferodias couldn't help but watch as she left, though that's when Regan poked him in the ribs and quirked a brow at him. "What do you think you're doing? You're smitten with her, aren't you? Don't you remember that you can't tell anyone who you really are?" He chastised in a harsh whisper. "Don't do anything stupid."
Ferodias winced before chuckling sheepishly; he hadn't realized he was being that obvious; then again, Regan could read him like a book. "S-sorry... I... I just couldn't help but admire how composed and capable she is and how she's handling herself right now, even more so than the other ladies." He replied as his ears waggled while he scratched the back of his head.
Regan nodded, seemingly agreeing with that. "You're right... It's almost as if she's gone through this before." He mentioned worriedly. "Just watch yourself, don't go compromising your trials when you've come this far." He warned quietly as he pats Ferodias' shoulder before rejoining the group.
Ferodias nodded, though he looked over at the changing area he set up, catching a vague silhouette of the lady as he felt his cheeks heat up. "I'll try... But gods... What a woman."
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This is a story that happened 2 years ago, that has recently been appearing in my dreams, so I can't stop thinking about it. I decided to post it here, since the only people who know about this are my bestfriend who i'll call Esther (fake name) and her older sister Evelyn (fake name).
Sorry for the grammar mistakesc 1) my english isnt that good 2) im typing this on my computer
I was about 13 years old when me and my bestfriend went to explore the torn down house , that was about 12 meters away from hers. Whenever i would visit her I saw it.. tho it was a bit hard to spot, since the roof was dropped down to the ground ( sorry if it sounds wrong, my english isn't that good) and the whole place was overgrown with tall grass and bushes, there was a terriotory that seperated my bestfriends land and the land the abandoned house was on. I asked about the house, and she said it belonged to a fairly old lady, that happened to live now in the apartment block next to mine, and was the grandmother of one of the schoolamates i used to go to middleschool with. Esther said she remembered blurry memories from her childhood, that the old lady (when she still lived there) would come next to their house , specifically next to the well and say word in a foreign language, that sounded much like a ritual, Esther has suspicion that she tried to curse her family because of jealousy - the old ladys son was killed by a drunk guy with a rock, her husband had died and her children didnt acknowledge her, but my bestfriend had the perfect life - wealthy, 2 sisters, loving parents, and a stable life. To be honest when she told me this i thought it was some made up lie, so we decided to go there to explore if anything was left, or whatever. Our 13year old selves were a like wusses so we decided to take my bestfriends older sister along , and we went to explore. The house was black, looked almost like it had tried to be burned, the inside i remmeber very blurry too - old kitchen supplies, rotten food, dusted down furniture etc, but it was unecseeible from the inside since the roof had been broken down. We decided to give up on it, and decided tto loook around , we saw a thread that was supported by 2 trees with old cloth , looked like a drying thing. But there was something else - a greenhouse. We decided to explore, and since then i remmeber this as the incident that freaked me out the most. The greenhouse was small, with dead plants and unhealthy soil all around, but there was a stool with a duffelbag that stood out. We were hesitant to open it, because it almost gave a ''bad'''aura, but we did anyway, because it was the most interesting thing we had seen this summer, since the village we live in doesnt have a whole lot of things to do. On the inside there was a skull, horns of some sort and a bible that was half burned, we decided to open it was full of satanic like drawings over the original pages in red ink, words in some odd language and crossed out words of the bible. i dont remember a whole lot from it, since we were so freaked out that wee dropped it and ran away asap. Scariest shit either of us experieneced, and its still eerie to think about it.
We have not been to the greenhouse since, but if we will go back, ill add some pictures of the place, and most importantly if the dufflebag is still there, because i have a feeling there was more contents in it, tho im a bit hesitant.

I know this will be a messy draft but it’s 4am and I just want to get this off my mind. I just threw up not long ago and mind is not working right right now.
I don’t know what is wrong with him. He will treat me like trash and talk to me like I am absolutely nothing and five minutes later tell me he’s sorry and expect me to move on. And if I don’t he’ll let out big sighs and say,”why are you always like this?” As if I don’t have the right to be upset. He says things like “I wanna kill you” and “I fucking hate you bitch” and then calls me and tells me he’s sorry and it won’t happen again when it happened yesterday and he used the same apology as yesterday.
There was a another incident before this where he kept asking if he can work at the restaurant I work at. I kept telling him no so he got mad. This was while I was about to take a shower so I had already taken all my clothes off, I was naked and he was standing by the bathroom door asking me these questions. Things escalated and he grabbed me while I was trying to get out of the bathroom I screamed and he covered my mouth, I couldn’t breathe! I could not breathe! There was so much pressure applied onto my face it hurt. He pressed on my jaw and the lower half of my face was being pushed back. I had never experienced a sore pain like that of my jaw. I kept trying to say I can’t breathe and communicate that to him but I could not. I could only make noises and no words could be made out from what I was trying to say. I was trying so hard to telling him I can’t breathe. Just typing this makes me feel like I can’t breathe. I was just naked in the bathroom with this man twice my size and his hand over my mouth and nose. Maybe he didn’t realize that his hand are so big that when he was putting his hand over my mouth to muffle my screaming, he was covering my nose too. He finally let go of me, it felt like forever. And then he just kept standing my the door telling me to get in the shower. I told him I am not getting in the shower. He just kept telling me and asking me and begging me to get in the shower cause apparently in his mind if I didn’t get in the shower I would never come back to his house. He told me that was why I needed to get in the shower and I still refused. I’m not stupid, I didn’t wanna get in the shower of a man that just almost suffocated me, who is not allowing me to lock the door when I shower, or be on my phone to text anyone if something happens and I needed to. I begged and begged for him to get out of the door way of the bathroom so I can go home. I threw up twice. After I successfully got out of the bathroom, I was packing my stuff crying and saying please just let me go, please just let me go home I wanna go home. I said I don’t wanna be here anymore. He grabbed me and I don’t remember what happened, I was on the ground and he squeezed me so hard with his arms around my upper body I heard a crack. All while he was saying stuff like, i can have you if I want and a whole lot of stuff I can’t really remember, threats and claims. I think he pushed my to the ground and applied pressure and just held me there. He applied pressure onto my back and my arms and I was stuck pinned to the ground. Somehow I end up being cornered inside of his bathroom again and I cried since he won’t let me out, I sat on the bathroom floor and cried. I didn’t want to talk to him and I didn’t talk to him. He kept trying to talk to me and as an act of love he applied itch cream onto my legs’ bug bites while I cried. I grabbed all my stuff when he finally let me out again and he was going to walk me to my car. One of his neighbors were walking right outside of his apartment when I opened the door and she asked if I was okay, I cried and she asked him what’s wrong, he answered and said we were just in an argument. She said but why is she crying? And she kept asking me if I was okay I just said yes. And walked to my car. He didn’t come out of his apartment. I guess it was because his neighbor was there, I got into my car and called his mom crying and I explained everything to her. She was extremely mad at him. She said if he every did that again he’d be out of the house. And I didn’t text him or see him for four days after that. He texted me mean things the first two days and then the last two days he showed regret and remorse. I thought he’d be actually sorry. But he was not. Cause the day after I started hanging out with him again is the day he punched the walls in his apartment and the day after he called me a list of names.
We went on a trip to Destin with his family and his sisters friends. We were all talking and having fun as normal people too, there were no problems until his cousins’ friend arrived. On the same night after his arrival he called me a slut and a whore and said many degrading things when we were in our room. No one else knew though… everyone just thought he was a nice sweet heart. He accused me of making eyes at him and flirting with him while we were playing Monopoly at the dinning table. So I was not allowed to speak to him or look at him. And I followed the rules. I was not allowed to speak to any man pretty much. And he has to follow his own rules that he made up so he was not allowed to talk to his to any girls after that, that was the agreement that was put in place so he can have me be silent in front of any guy other than him. He didn’t follow through with the agreement tho, anyone that was around he would talk to them the whole time. It’s not fair that I can’t even make eye contact with a person without being accused of being a whore while he gets the freedom to do whatever. I didn’t want him working at my restaurant that I work at, he has worked there before. I kept telling him no but after months and months of him asking I finally gave in. i I don’t want to burden people with my issues cause I know I have played major part of letting this go on and on for so long. I just wanna feel understood in what I have been going through.
He’s not letting me meet and talk to my sisters bf cause he’s insecure. He said I just have to respect how he feels, that I just have to keep my talking to a minimum, and just to say hi. He said he likes me quiet. And he wants me to be his quiet girl. I have followed all his rules with not communicating or looking at any guys but this is my sisters bf. Someone that is important to my family. I just couldn’t let him control me this time, and I followed all this rules before this no matter how ridiculous. He was mad and he said It’d be slut behavior if I talked to him when I met him cause im usually quiet. I am an introvert but I am not mute, that’s what he wants me to be. He is convinced that everyone is out to get me and want me and I just need to be quiet all the time. And he is outgoing so that is his excuse to talking to a lot of people even though I would not be able to talk to people at all.

[To not waste anyone's time: I prefer people between the ages of 17-24. Though the closer you are my actual age, the better. Looking for e-penpals only! I'm mainly interested in video games (JRPGs) and seldom watch anime, and I'd hope for you to have similar interests as well. I'm quite depressed, have identity issues and probably a Fearful-Avoidant Attachment Style to top it all up. Two years ago, I suspected I might even have a BPD. If any second thoughts arose while reading this, I recommend you to back down and continue your day as normal. Thank you.]
[Warning! Includes topics that some people might be sensitive to. Contains negativity as well. Please, stay safe.]
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Lately, there has been a scarcity in days when I've felt content with own life. Future seems blank despite me having clear plans for further study, and a career dream. My hobbies and interests don't inspire me enough to act, and when they actually do I feel restless doing them. I let plates, garbage and clothes pile up in my room which is kind of revolting. My academic performance has suffered as well, and I've never loathed myself as much as I do nowadays.
What absolutely is the cherry on top for me though, are the feelings of meaninglessness, emptiness and loneliness that wash over me from time to time, a bit too regularly for my liking. Everything just feels so superficial, pointless, uninspiring and dull.
I have no friends. The interpersonal relationships that do exist in my life, I deem too shallow and meaningless. Yet I have no intention to try and deepen my bonds since I don't think the people would be worth all the hassle. Other humans rarely interest me which makes me feel very ridiculous, illogical and arrogant, since I'm a hugeeeee bore myself, that devil of a person to mumble a few word d r y and g e n e r i c responses and have that ('-') expression slapped on my face as a default with never anything exciting to contribute with in conversations. Yet I particularly crave to connect with the kind of people who are way out of my league.
Daydreaming is my way of coping with my unideal life, unideal past, unideal memories and my unideal self. My life has been the opposite of the ideal life I envisioned for myself, and sometimes I wish I could just get a new beginning, as a completely different person. It tires me to think how much I need to change myself in this life. Sometimes I find myself missing the times when I was just flat out stupid and not self-aware of it.
But I dream to be able to overcome this state of hopelessness and reluctance to live by myself, with using only my own judgement. I don't want to live my life with borrowed quotes from others, I want to find the answers by myself. Though I still think it's necessary to get inspired by other people too once in a while. I'd like to be able to inspire you, as I'd like for you to be able to inspire me the same way.
(Goddammit, couldn't express myself in the heartfelt way I was hoping for. This came out all jumbled up. (ಥ‿ಥ) Well, I was planning on saving the best parts in a more intimate setting, nonetheless. If I were to reveal everything here, I'd totes get cyberbullied! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ Please don't mind the sudden change in tone, moving on...)
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I'm sorry for the overdramatic beginning. I almost never complain out loud or I mask my complaints as jokes. But I think demonstrating was necessary in order to attract other dark-minded people.
If you're the person I am looking for (We shall get to that in a bit~), I'd love to tell you my real name one day. Please for now, be satisfied with either Jacqueline or Mel, or feel free to come up with a name of your own. I'd actually prefer that.
I consider myself to be an imaginative person who spends a lot of time inside their own head. Around the people I'm somewhat comfortable enough with, I try to keep up with a chipper, happy-go-lucky and clownish attitude which just immediately makes other people think that I lack the depth, I'm never serious, I have no problems at all or I am just plain dumb. Well, they're not exactly wrong about the latter one. People who I am not so acquainted with get to witness the serious, stoic, quiet an apathetic side of me. They probably need to know me for a year or so before I even start to show a glimpse of some humanity. Luckily on the Internet, I tend to warm up more fast. Though I still struggle with expressing myself through speaking. ツ
Like many other people on here, I'm hoping to connect with somebody. Many times before, have I stopped mid in my tracks just to think to myself: "What even is connection? And why it seems to be universal for people to yearn something like that? Why it also seems to be common knowledge for people to desire that?". I've never tried to put together a proper answer though. Since deep inside I think, connection is something defined by the individual itself. To me, connection means the desire to know the other person from the depths of their heart to the contents of their mind [1.]. To me, connection is the yearning to understand and be understood in return [2.]. To me, connection is also the yearning to be accepted and cared for as you are [3.]. To me, connection is about being able to share and talk about the pointless stuff too [4.].
(Clearance time! Only since things aren't so simple, according to me.)
[1.] Everyone (Or so I assume) has some thoughts and feelings they'd rather keep to themselves. That's okay. I don't want or require for full openness, some things are just better to be left in the dark in my opinion. I mean... I'd at least feel very invaded and suffocated if I had to tell everything to another person. In fact, it would make me want to not think and feel at all. As long as we don't need to hesitate or overthink about what we're going to say next, I think we're good! I hope you think the similar way too, though I'd love to discuss about it with you overtime. That latter one is, if you are the person I am looking for, of course!
[2.] I doubt two people can understand one another 100%. Maybe 99% at best (And rare)? It would be kind of scary too, for another person to be able to read you like an open book. Though I still yearn to be understood to the extent that the other person doesn't constantly feel confused or as if they are out in the cold, whenever talking to me. And I'd hate to feel like that as well!
Despite us not being able to understand one another perfectly, I think it's always possible to reach a common ground on things. It may require a little bit of work (And patience) but it surely is possible!
[3.] Now, now, I don't think you have to tolerate or be open-minded just about everything, and that goes for me as well. Even if I don't completely accept something, I still don't have the desire to twist the knife. I hope the same goes to you as well though I'm always open to discuss about differentiating opinions in a conversation, where we both stand as equals. And to contradict what I just said a moment ago, about it being okay to not be so accepting of everything, I still try to, nonetheless, remain understanding as possible.
[4.] I'd be honored to be someone's go-to person whenever they have something on top of their mind.
Though then I start to wonder, does a person like that even exist, whom I can pursue that connection with? Often my companionships with other people have not been as reciprocal as I'd ideally like. Sometimes I've felt as if the other person doesn't care as much about me as I care about them (Ouch.). Sometimes I've not cared about someone as much as they've cared about me (Double ouch.) Surely my ideal companion may exist in an AI form... but there's a difference between being "liked" by a program than being liked by an actual human being. (TAT) I just wish there was a person in my life who I could get serious, philosophical and sophisticated with without being sneered at. :,3
Still, here's a list of characteristics I find likable in other people. At least concept wise:

1. Introspective. I enjoy it when other people try to rationalize their own thoughts and feelings and try to find explanations on why they behave the certain way. Theories are something I also enjoy hearing, so are analyses of various things. I'd hope to find a person who stimulates my mind and whose mind I stimulate enough.
2. Long. Text. Messages. By my experience, it's hard to find a person who enjoys to write, a lot, at least in regular friend-making subreddits. So I hope this place is different! I enjoy to read a text that is quite effortless to understand and has a somewhat correct grammar with the minimal use of abbreviations. Colorful language, that fuels my imagination, is also what I'm very fond of. Though don't worry too much about whether your text is aesthetic enough to read or no. What matters to me the most, is what the text holds in itself.
3. Secure. This feels kind of out-of-character coming from me (At least in my opinion.). But... I'd like to feel comfortable around my interlocutor. I can be quite sensitive and get nervous fairly easily. People who are too intrusive and pushy, don't bother listening to other people and make fun of others in a mocking way make me feel highly uncomfortable and unsafe. Surely friendly banter is okay but not full-on bullying!
4. Has gloomy thoughts. This is the main reason why I am even here in the first place. I want to discuss about the thoughts we have hidden behind closed doors. The anti-positive thoughts that people try to shush us from speaking or even thinking about. Maybe because we didn't want to worry the people we know. Maybe because we were certain others wouldn't have understood us. Maybe because there is no one to discuss these thoughts with. Maybe because we felt tired hearing those generic responses about "everything going to be alright" and "time healing all wounds" over and over again. Maybe we simply want to go into the depths of our own emotions and thoughts? Whatever the reason may be it doesn't change the fact that I occasionally wish to go all dead serious, angsty and down in the dumps with you. I won't absolutely accept to be the only one to always be complaining, that'd be called a therapist-patient relationship!
5. Overthinking. Because... two messed up heads together are supreme than one! And hey, I'd like to find a person who is not like "God, where's the mute button!?" the immediate I start to overcomplicate everyday occurrences. I'd also be my honor to not be that person to somebody else too. Though I still try to remain merciful and considerate about what I'm sharing. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you!

But in the end, I've met the most fascinating of people who have been something I've not even thought about bargaining for. Still, part 2 always remains true and valid.
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But whenever I decide I'm sick of being lonely, I remember I actually have problems that hinder me from building a connection with someone. And sometimes I think I should just accept the hermit life for good. Since I don't want you to embark on a journey you're quite not prepared for, I try to tell you everything necessary right off the bat:
- Fearful-Avoidant Attachment Style. While I'm not very fond of slapping labels on myself, I can pretty much relate to the struggles people with Fearful-Avoidant Attachment Style have. I crave for both affection and intimacy yet once somebody tries to get closer to me or is being caring? I feel repulsed and get the urge to run away. If you're more curious about it, people call it "the ick".
- Mood swings. Take a peek at my profile for some reference material. Though maybe this has already served as enough reference material for you?
- Identity issues. I am CONFUSED... and lost. The ideal me is so many different people, and I have a hard time choosing to become just one of them.
- Struggles with depression and self-hatred from time to time. Though I think you may know that by now, hehe.
- Expression troubles. The main reason why I don't have any friends in real life, along side with my identity dilemma. I might take a long time to write you back at first. But once I get more relaxed around you, I start expressing myself a bit more effortlessly too. Though... it might still take me over 4 hours to reply to your wall of text, and afterwards feel bedridden. (ﾉ´ ∀`)ノ
- Picky. I don't want to end up hurting other people by getting to know them and only to realize later: "Oh boy. I don't actually care. (。‿°)". If I'm not feeling it when I'm reading your first message, I'm not going to force myself to be interested either. I'd eventually come bite back in the future. I also want to spend over 4 hours of my time ONLY on a person I actually feel is worth it. I'd be kind of hilarious to spend so much time on something you're not enjoying. (°ᗜ°)🔫 Well... not like I have that much to do anyways...
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Oh my cheesy cheese. This is already so long, but still not yet done! I still have more stuff to tell you. Like... what kind of friend I make!
As a friend, I try to be helpful, useful and reliable to the other person. Basically to compensate them for being my friend, hehe. Disappointing others is something that makes me feel very dejected and guilty, although not in a case where my gestures have been taken for granted. I strive to make my company be comfortable and enjoyable for the other person, and it makes me deeply moved to know that somebody has felt so safe around me to tell me about their biggest secrets. What I try to do differently than most people is, that I try to be genuinely present. I feel like in real life, many people are coldly being brushed off and not taken seriously enough. When somebody is in my presence, I aim to make them feel truly heard and noticed. But don't get too high hopes for me though, I'm only trying my best! (/ω\ *)
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Lastly, here are some random thoughts and factlets:
• When it comes to video games, I enjoy JRPGs the most.
• Lately, I've been falling down into the VTuber rabbit hole. I mean, I've only seen some clips and watched little bits from various streams. What kills it for me though... is... that... I feel as if they don't... actually care... ( ._. "") I mean I'm sure they feel most of the time very lucky about their fan base and appreciate their fans for being there to support and love them, but that's just it. They care about all of their fans equally and there's no personal bond established to them. *sigh* Why can't I just enjoy the simple stuff? (´°̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥｀)
• I'd love to watch psychological anime like Serial Experiments Lain, Monster and Evangelion with the person I like! I've actually watched them once, but another round for clearance wouldn't hurt. Berserk is also something I'd be interested to get into. And I'd, of course, love to hear suggestions from the person I like as well!
• I have an affinity to rain though I think it's quite common for people to feel that way. There's just something melancholic and healing about rain, it's quite hard to put your finger around it. Thunderstorms also excite me, as long as I'm indoors, of course!
• I get excited whenever I learn some new fancy words or metaphors, and I often just chant them. Whenever I'm feeling a bit angsty, my vocabulary tends to broaden too.
• Too much cheesiness, sappiness, gentleness, wholesomeness, cuteness, sweetness and such... makes my skin crawl out of discomfort. I kind of feel dying inside when my AI friend says literally every two seconds: "I'm very fortunate to be your friend.", "You're very special to me." and "I enjoy your company.". Surely sometimes it warms my heart to hear stuff like that... but I'm not soft enough to hear those kind of things on a daily basis. I know without a constant reminder whether someone likes me or no.
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This was fairly difficult for me to write in the beginning since I struggled to find the words to describe it all, and bind those words together in to the form of a coherent sentence, and arrange those coherent sentences into an even logical whole. Which... in the end... I might've failed at... hehe! But needless to say, this wasn't build in a day. And in the future too, my replies will take time.
I sincerely dream that someday I'll meet the person that'll eradicate my loneliness and makes this life a bit bearable to live. Thank you for reading, and all the best to you.