Old world language crossword

Old Bonegrinder has been notorious for being the stage in the campaign that sets the tone for what can go wrong in Curse of Strahd. I went into this session knowing that this could result in a TPK very quickly. Well, things turned out about exactly how I expected. Our bard was captured by the hags, the paladin killed with a lightning bolt, with Ismark also dying of the same lightning bolt.
I gave a very clear explanation before we started to run the game that this campaign is dark, and death is a very real possibility. This party of four consists of four of my closest friends that I know very well, three of which really liked how I handled the fight. The fourth... not so much. In fact, I fear that they will not like what the campaign offers at all. This fourth person was the bard that was captured.
The bard, despite combat going very poorly, continued fighting until the very end. I made my best efforts to make it clear that they were not going to win this fight with threats that when the third hag shows up, it is all over. Meanwhile, I also display the raw power of just TWO hags alone for three rounds before things started going very poorly. It was when the paladin went down and Ismark destroyed, and the other two party members narrowly escaping that I had to make a decision: do I kill the bard or capture them?
Well, I knew that this person does not like player death, so the hags captured them. Immediately, I saw the sadness on this player's face while all the others were tense and enjoying the show. Afterward, I had to ask what was wrong just to make sure things were good.
They said that they do not believe that the characters should die. Ever. Hmmm
So then I said that this is the domain of dread, where evil lurks in every corner. Heroes are rare in this dark world. They said that they play D&D to escape from the harsh reality we live in. HMMM
I then asked how I can make the campaign better for you, and they said that the heroes should always win, no matter what. They had been playing D&D for years and they do not believe that letting the villains win is good DMing or good storytelling. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
So I'm not sure where to go from here. They still want to play because they don't want to be left out. I don't believe my friend enjoys high-stress situations. I could make the campaign where it is impossible for the party to lose, but idk... I feel like it goes against the nature of Strahd.
With Old Bonegrinder in particular, if there was a TPK, I would have not killed them in the first place. I would have made the hags use them for a quest. Player death is boring IMO, and I only killed the paladin because I knew that player wanted them to go down because they DO enjoy consequences and wanted to show the others that this is a real result of failing combat.
I believe that letting the villains win sometimes is fantastic storytelling. I was going to make the hag cast Geas on them and command them to deliver their hag's eye to Cyrus Belview. This is a great way to get the party into the castle! But they don't like their party failing.
In my last chat with them, I simply said, I will not kill the characters if it doesn't feel right. This is the domain of dread, and villains prosper here. There will be difficult moral decisions you will have to make and I will have a difficult time removing all of them all from Strahd.
I don't know if anyone can offer advice, but I want this friend to have fun.

!!!Please read to the very end to be considered when DMing!!!
Hi everyone! I'm JJ, 24 years old with about a decade in roleplay experience. I'm looking to do a plot centered around beings of myth, legend and folklore with a strong focus on that aspect. Our ideas of mythology can come from anywhere in the world, from ancient Greece, Indian mythology, or take inspiration from the various cryptids said to roam about the United States. I'm mainly interested in creating our own versions or personifications of these myths and playing them out either within their own worlds, or as cultures that cross over and interact that way.
RP Preferences:
-3rd person lit to advanced lit writer, and I tend to write anywhere from 3-10 paragraphs, but make exceptions for less if there's not much else going on. -OC and OC RP only -Fave genres are fantasy, modern or historical. I'm not as familiar with futuristic rps, though I'd be down to give them a try! I like to have romance involved in any plot I do, and am down to double up on plots if we get along well together as well!
Speaking of plots, I do have a few ideas I'd be willing to try and share! I'd like to do some heavy brainstorming with my partners, as this also depends on what aspects and versions of myth they find interesting. The world we'd be operating in could be modern or historical, as I can see fun times with both!
Partner preferences:
-18+
-Use Discord.
-also be lit to advanced lit, or at least semi lit. English doesn't have to be your first language and you don't have to be a perfect writer, just as long as I can understand it or you're willing to talk through any misunderstandings.
-experienced in roleplay. I love banter and plotting and worldbuilding, so please be ready to dig your hands in if you message me.
-similar timezone (EST) is a bonus but not a requirement. I'm a fairly regular roleplayer and can reply often, but I'm not a stickler for timely replies bc life comes first and everyone's schedules and needs are different.
So! If the description sounds like you, and you like this idea, please hit me up! I'm only looking to play as and with male OCs right now, but idc what gender you are irl.
To be considered for roleplay, give me some insight in your first message on who I'm talking to. Let me know your age, rp preferences, availability, writing level, and what you're looking for in a partner and roleplay. If you have a preferred oc or a plot you've been dying to do, let me know that as well! If you start with a simple message, or ask if I'm still accepting partners, I likely won't respond at all and if I do, it's just gonna be me telling you to actually read the post. If I see you put in a good effort but we aren't ultimately a good match, I'll let you know so you won't be left hanging or anything as I understand that can be frustrating for the person who wrote a decent sized intro. If we talked before and somehow got disconnected before things got started, feel free to reconnect as well! I do get distracted and reddit hates sending me notifications.
I can't wait to see you in my dms, and I'm always looking for new partners!

First things first, it’s not just you.
Because the reasons why many relationships today are very fragile and don’t last long or do last long but turn toxic or very unenjoyable after a few years are as follows:

1. It’s easier to start a rebound relationship than to genuinely work on and improve oneself. Because of this, many people suck at working through their past emotional baggage and aren’t fully aware of how that baggage greatly influences the quality of their relationships and the kind of people they attract. 2. People greatly underestimate how much working through this baggage and letting go of/healing it will lead to transformation and drastically improve their life and relationships. 3. Many people want the honeymoon phase (which fades at the 4-6 month mark) to last forever without having to build it and without having to put in the work to sustain it with their partner. 4. Because they don’t want to put in this work (or never learned how to do so) most, if not all of their relationships are very fragile and end in less than a year. 5. The world isn’t ready for true love as it works in real life. It really isn’t. Because right now we are in a time period in human evolution where people are just now slowly learning the significant differences between love and attachment. Of the negative effects of the bad social conditioning that went on for centuries. That certain old outdated values and ideas about love and relationships are no longer viable and never worked well in the first place. 6. Many people believe that love is something that’s found and just falls into our lap. When in reality, true love is something that arises out of mutual respect and something that’s build and sustained. You don’t randomly stumble upon it like how you would find a 50 dollar bill on the ground. 

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening (whatever applies to you) I am a 19 year old man living in the U.S who is currently sick with a sore throat : (
I am funny, somewhat interesting and talkative. I like having good conversations with different people from across the world. As for my hobbies, I enjoy to read, watch film, and chat with people.
So don’t hesitate to dm me and we can go from there :D Please take my mind off my sickness

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening (whatever applies to you) I am a 19 year old man living in the U.S who is currently sick with a sore throat : (
I am funny, somewhat interesting and talkative. I like having good conversations with different people from across the world. As for my hobbies, I enjoy to read, watch film, and chat with people.
So don’t hesitate to dm me and we can go from there :D Please take my mind off my sickness

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening (whatever applies to you) I am a 19 year old man living in the U.S who is currently sick with a sore throat : (
I am funny, somewhat interesting and talkative. I like having good conversations with different people from across the world. As for my hobbies, I enjoy to read, watch film, and chat with people.
So don’t hesitate to dm me and we can go from there :D Please take my mind off my sickness

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening (whatever applies to you) I am a 19 year old man living in the U.S who is currently sick with a sore throat : (
I am funny, somewhat interesting and talkative. I like having good conversations with different people from across the world. As for my hobbies, I enjoy to read, watch film, and chat with people.
So don’t hesitate to dm me and we can go from there :D Please take my mind off my sickness

Good Morning/Good Afternoon/Good Evening (whatever applies to you)
I am a 19 year old man living in the U.S who is currently sick with a sore throat : ( I am funny, somewhat interesting and talkative. I like having good conversations with different people from across the world. As for my hobbies, I enjoy to read, watch film, and chat with people.
So don’t hesitate to dm me and we can go from there :D Please take my mind off my sickness

With the news that development of Adventure Mode for the Steam release is progressing along, I figure some people may want to download the original version to give it a try ahead of the graphics update. As someone with hundreds of hours in adventure mode (there are literally dozens of us!) I thought I would share some of the biggest tips and tricks I've learned. I'll probably be making this into a video once the official release is out and I can get footage with graphics, but until then I'm posting the script I have now here. The rest of this post contains spoilers for every phase of adventure mode, so turn back now if you want to discover all of this for yourself!
Beginner

1. Always have food

-Large stacks of vegetables can be found in containers in human towns. Meat can be gathered from butchered animals. Meat from sentient creatures can’t be eaten.

2. Always have wateale 

-Adventurers need to drink 3-4 times a day. Water skin only holds 3 water, so it is useless. Bags hold 40 and Backpacks hold 100 which is too heavy for most adventurers. Quivers hold 20, which is the perfect amount. Fill quivers with water at rivers or wells.

3. Equip armor 

-Armor and weapons can be found in the barracks of each town. Try to get iron or steel if possible. Make sure to cover the head, neck, torso, legs, hands, and feet.

4. Get a mount 

-Mounts increase overworld speed which increases the amount of ground that can be covered in one day. This reduces how frequently you need to stop for supplies.

5. Get some pets 

-Companions can be tricky to recruit in the beginning, but pets are a great way to increase survivability. Unlike companions, you can also recruit a very high number of pets immediately. Everything labeled “stray” found within a town can become a pet, from ducks to dogs, and rarely even bears and elephants. Just don’t get too attached, most pets die very fast, or permanently run away after combat. Especially the small ones.

6. Make sure your character can read and swim 

-Most skills can be acquired organically by actions which your adventurer does, but certain skills like reading are never unlocked. Because you need to read slabs or books to learn magic, putting a point in reading at character creation is mandatory. A few points in swimming are also recommended. Even a single tile full of water is enough to drown an adventurer with no swimming skill.

7. Make a young world for less necromancers and more Megabeasts, and an old world for vice-versa 

-World parameters matter. Evil is slightly stronger on average, which means the older a world is, the more likely it is to be infested with Necromancer towers and Goblin Pits. Savagery is just the number of animal people to play as, and beasts is the number of beasts to fight. You want both of these as high as possible, the difficulty is actually easier with more beasts, as you won’t have to travel as far for missions.

8. Don’t be afraid to run if you can’t win 

-Although this is technically a turn based RPG, running away isn’t a button you press, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an option. If you are heavily outnumbered or facing a very strong enemy, don’t be afraid to sprint away and reengage when it is more advantageous to do so. This is better than dying and losing your progress.

9. Don’t swim until you’ve really trained 

-While it may be tempting to take a quick dip in the river, death can be moments away in any body of water. Even at competent and above levels of swimming, your character can only go about 10-20 squares before getting tired, and swimming while tired has a chance to keep your character in the same tile, further increasing their fatigue. This can mean your character drowning even just one square from the shore if you are extremely unlucky.

10. Aim for the neck/head for instant kills 

-Aiming in combat can be extremely beneficial. Lots of minor enemies such as kobolds and bandits can be killed with one solid hit to the neck or head. Using this tactic can make encounters against large groups of enemies much easier.
Intermediate

11. Fast travel to long rest 

-If you are damaged in battle and bleeding out, even if you are faint with mortal wounds, fast traveling via the world map will instantly heal your wounds. This may be considered a bug, but since adventurers cannot currently be healed at hospitals via adventure mode, this is the only way to actually heal. Furthermore, since you can’t fast travel during combat, and because fast traveling doesn’t remove major injuries such as missing limbs, I’d say it’s a pretty balanced feature.

12. Jog whenever possible 

-Whenever not mounted and not in combat, you should set your speed to jog. This will increase your endurance stat naturally over time, increasing your combat prowess while you move around. Just be sure to reset your speed whenever your character drops to the ground from exhaustion to give them a chance to rest. Keep extra water on hand while doing this, as your character will need to drink more. And make sure not to jog into combat, this will increase your character’s chance of becoming exhausted during combat, which severely lowers stats.

13. Create a character that just wants to perform 

-A focused character will always be more proficient in combat, receiving a boost to stats such as accuracy and damage. Fully customizing needs in character creation can make a character that is very easy to keep focused. You can completely remove needs in character creation if you wish, but this will also remove the chance to receive the focused buff. If anything, just be sure to avoid needs that are currently impossible in adventure mode such as “Make romance.”

14. Create a world with legendary metals for better loot 

-The more metals you choose at world generation, the better the loot will be everywhere. This setting can make gearing up in the early game either extremely trivial, or extremely challenging. World age can also affect possible loot, as extremely young worlds will not have created enough armor to make most encounters have meaningful loot.

15. Tell stories of your notable kills 

-Information in dwarf fortress is passed via a rumor system. No matter how many dragons you may slay, when you enter a new town, no one will care because they don’t know who you are. Every time you reach a new town, you should tell the largest group of people you can the stories of every notable encounter you’ve had. Early on you should tell stories of killing bandits, while later on you should focus on just semi-Megabeasts and Megabeasts.

16. Recruit other party members 

-While animal companions are good choices for meat shields early game, you should recruit as many fighters at barracks to adventure with you as possible. The amount of companions you can have at any one time is limited by your current reputation level, which is why it is important to tell everyone you can of your notable kills. Animal companions take up companion slots even though they go over the max cap, so try to transition from lots of animals early on to a small party of adventuring companions in the midgame, and a large number of companions in the endgame. Just be sure to let your companions win some easy battles on their own to level up their skills, otherwise they will die just as easily as animals in fights against Megabeasts. Don’t be surprised if some of your companions get terrified in combat and run away just like animals. If you can, be sure to find them, as they will take up a companion slot if you don’t part ways with them or watch them die. If they die and you don’t see it, they may permanently take up a slot this way. This is a bug and will hopefully be fixed eventually, but be wary of it for now.

17. Become a hearthperson 

-Starting a new character and trying to find quests can be very challenging. Lots of random characters will have various rumors, but won’t know enough details to send you on a proper quest. Lords and ladies however can make you into a hearthperson, and can then give you proper quests. They will only do this if you have enough reputation level though, which is why telling stories is important. Usually it takes a story of a bandit leader kill or higher to get a lord or lady to recruit you. You can bypass this stage and get to quests right away by choosing to start as a hearthperson. Just beware that quests are randomized, and sometimes your first quest will be to kill a megabeast. When this happens, I recommend traveling to another town and becoming hearthperson there.

18. Train your skills early 

-Training skills via active combat can be very deadly. If possible, try to fight large, easy enemies to train all related combat skills as early as possible. If you find a horse for example, you can attack its legs to immobilize it, then spam nonlethal strikes to train your weapon skill. A couple horses with no legs is a brutal but safe way to train up weapons all the way to legendary.

19. Set combat preferences to facilitate training 

-Skills like observation and stats like endurance are very important for late game combat. These skills in particular can be trained incredibly fast with combat preferences. If you set melee combat preferences to close quarters, this will prefer to grapple the enemy over and over again. This means you can move into the enemy repeatedly to quickly train without navigating menus. Doing this without changing preferences can mean your character automatically makes a headshot and kills the enemy before you get the chance to properly level up stats. Just be sure to move away from your legless horses if you get tired, as the lowered stats means that even low risk combat can result in injury.

20. Sneak up to enemies for stealth kills 

-If you want to dispatch of large camps quickly and efficiently, chaining stealth kills can be an easy way to do this. Just press S to toggle sneaking, then try to approach enemies without walking into their cone of vision. Doing this at night can be especially effective, as enemies have greatly reduced perception.
Advanced

21. Get a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon 

-Some enemies in dwarf fortress are much easier to kill than others. Kobolds and crundles will crumple against most weapons, while things like bronze collosi are much harder to deal with. A good rule of thumb is to keep a slashing, piercing, and blunt weapon on hands at all times. Use slashing against basic targets and undead for quick decapitations, piercing against large organic creatures like giant cheetahs or rocs so that they give into pain (essentially stunlocking them), and blunt against inorganic enemies to crush them (collosi, armored titans, iron men, etc). When in doubt, keep a whip on hand to one shot most enemies. A legendary lasher with a named masterwork whip can easily one shot most things in the game with a heavy attack to the head. This should be considered a bug that will probably be fixed later, but is very fun if you want to RP as a legendary vampire killer. Regardless of weapon choice, weapon skill is equally important. A novice hammer dwarf with a steel war hammer is just as useless against a bronze colossus as a legendary axedwarf with an artifact copper battle axe.

22. Remove your backpack when starting combat 

-Fighting while overencumbered is a death sentence. While fighting above default speed does not reduce the number of frames it takes to swing your weapon, fighting below default speed will add a delay after each swing before you can act again, giving enemies free strikes against you. This is also why fighting prone is ill-advised. However, this mechanic should not dissuade you from overencumbering yourself. Most mounts negate a large (if not all) amount of encumberance. In addition, your character can move anything they can grab, even if it is the entire corpse of a megabeast which weighs multiple tons, it will just take them more frames to haul these items. So long as you store all of your loot in the same backpack, you are always safe from ambushes no matter your encumbrance, as you can remove and drop your backpack as soon as combat starts, which usually takes less frames than it takes for any enemy to move. After combat, your backpack should be where you left it, and you can easily retrieve your haul.

23. Aim for the legs first, then the hands, then the neck 

Aiming for the neck can make weaker enemies trivial, but more proficient enemies will not allow this tactic, and very large enemies will have necks too large to decapitate. An advanced tactic that works against most strong enemies is to aim for the legs first to knock your enemy prone (or wings against flying enemies). Once your enemy is on the ground, their speed is halved, essentially giving you twice as many turns to attack. It is at this point you should aim for their arms, as these hold weapons for humanoids and usually have claws for beasts. Once the legs are taken out and the usage of weapons is disabled, you are much more likely to land a headshot, and in a much safer position to repeatedly spam this attack.

24. Bleed out megabeasts, cut off hydra heads, pummel collosi 

Certain enemies such as Megabeasts are much harder to kill. These should be considered boss fights, and thus have certain kill parameters. Bronze collosi in particular usually need to have every single body part destroyed in order to be killed. Hydras in turn need to have the brain of each head destroyed to die, and will almost always live if one head is alive. Hill titans can vary from nigh unkillable (humanoids made of steel) to killable via literally any damaging attack (blobs made of water), so reading their description is extremely important in dealing with them.

25. Never get hit (level dodge and block) 

-Because major injuries are unhealable, these accumulate over time. This means that the best way to play adventure mode is to never get hit. This may seem like a tall task, but almost all damage is avoidable via dodge and block. If you have a high observation stat, you will be able to dodge or block attacks. While this may automatically succeed against weaker enemies, it has a chance to fail against stronger enemies if not properly leveled, so be sure to train these skills early on. Fighting when focused and not exhausted should ensure that these avoidance abilities work properly. Just don’t try to block an attack you wouldn’t block in real life.

26. Don’t let enemies get a surround 

-Fighting against multiple enemies can be a likely death scenario. If enemies completely surround you, then your character has a greatly reduced chance of automatically dodging or blocking attacks. In addition, moving through an occupied tile in dwarf fortress will roll a die, and the losers will be forced prone, as only one creature can stand in a tile at once. Make sure to set speed to scramble in combat if this happens, get to an unoccupied square, and stand up as quickly as possible. Dodging into an open space in this scenario is a much better option than moving manually if at all possible. This entire scenario can be avoided if you slowly dodge in the same direction as enemies approach you in combat, ensuring that you only fight one at a time, and force the others to tire themselves as they run after you. Striking the legs of as many targets as possible is effective here, as it drastically increases the time it takes for each enemy to reach you.

27. Throw stones to level archery 

-Archery can be very cumbersome to use, as most bolts are too heavy to use without causing constant encumbrance, and training it is very slow and painful, as arrows usually split into stacks of one when fired. However, there is a way to level archery extremely quickly. By throwing something at the same tile you are on, you level your archery skill. You can then pick up the thrown object and throw it again. This is much faster than using arrows. One of the best objects to do this with is coins. As it turns out, coins are actually the best ranged weapon. Coins can be used in combat to great affect. Because dwarf fortress uses the archery stat when throwing items, it calculates the damage of thrown items as if shot from a bow with the same archery proficiency. While this does not do nearly as much damage as bolts themselves, it effectively gives adventurers a way to reliably use ranged weapons without worrying about retrieving ammo, as money can usually be found in multiple stacks of 100 at bandit camps.

28. Use archery against webs/fire 

-While archery is a niche weapon type for most scenarios, it is mandatory against certain titans and most dragons, as well as giant cave spiders. Titans, like spiders can possess the ability to web your adventurer. This stunlocks your character, making any shot a guaranteed hit. Against large enough titans, getting hit with a single shot of web is enough for instant death, as they will squish your head while webbed. Other titans may possess deadly dust or poisonous gas. While some of these effects are benign, breathing others can and will kill your character, and to my knowledge not even fast travel stops this. Fighting fire breathing dragons is an instant kill scenario as well, as they can melt your armor into molten liquid metal, stunlocking your character until they die from the heat. You can attempt to repeatedly jump until you reach a river, but you are certainly dead at this point. The use of archery (or rather, throwing coins) is mandatory at this point. While a few shots may not do anything at first, repeated shots will accumulate damage, and eventually kill or disable the enemy. Just be very careful getting into melee range to finish enemies off after this occurs, as one unlucky web or fire shot can and will still kill you. Avoid looting titans with dust or gas effects until after you leave and return to the area with fast travel to be sure that the gas dissipates.

29. Know the game progression (Kobolds, Bandits, Hearthperson, Semi-Megabeasts, Towers, Megabeasts, Dark Fortresses, Caverns) 

Knowing what you’re doing at any given point can be the difference between life and death. If you’re playing adventure mode without savescumming (which is the only way to play it in the old versions), then you will be making new characters a lot. Knowing the basic progression of where you should go on new characters will make the ultimate goal of raiding the vault and fighting the angel that much easier. Your basic path should be gearing up in towns, training basic combat skills against animals, fighting kobold and bandit camps to level reputation, telling stories to become a hearthperson, doing quests as a hearthperson to further reputation level and combat skills, fighting semimega and Megabeasts to become a legendary hero, raiding towers to find the secrets, raiding dark fortresses to find the vault and slay the angel, and finally using the secrets to delve into the caverns without having to eat or sleep and fighting forgotten beasts there until your character dies. The surface and visiting towns should be considered the early game, raiding sites should be considered the midgame, killing the angel in the vault should be considered the endgame, and roaming the caverns should be considered the postgame. Of course, adventure mode has lots more to offer than just combat, and if you want to learn its ins and outs for yourself, the only way to do that is to jump in and play it.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 66%. (I'm a bot)

The British Antarctic Survey has released its new maps and they are a stark visual depiction of the retreat of ice at our poles.
In an interview with Sky News, he emphasised that the melted ice will never return, remarking that the planet has "Lost this glacier melting game and sea level rise game".
"He said:"Thanks to an already high concentration of carbon dioxide, we have lost this glacier melting game and sea level rise game.
Professor Taalas's unusually blunt language reflects growing concern about the Arctic and Antarctic ice.
The warming drives further melting, and as the ice melts into the oceans, sea levels rise.
The melting of permafrost, or ground which has previously been permanently frozen, is one of the things that most worries climate scientists.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: melts^#1 ice^#2 game^#3 level^#4 poles^#5
Post found in /environment, /collapse, /worldnews, /environment, /elevotv and /BreakingNews24hr.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

So here we are – Riders on exile. Well, better this fate than becoming Swiss cheese. If they sent such a big offensive there, they were really determined. But they really think they’ll find some documents there? They can try, but Yan claimed that there’s nothing of value left.
I was the one leading the group – with Svarog detector in one hand, with my eight-shot revolver in the other and with cig in my mouth. Our gear was unchanged – I still had my SV-338 on my back and had my armor, which I found out it was modified version of Clear Sky’s CS-3b.
Sorrow wasn’t far from me. Even though we had most likely the most advanced detectors out there, he still was throwing bolts here and there. Probably because of boredom. This doesn’t mean that I stopped using them myself – I had a pack of bolts on my belt.
I should’ve mention it – we were heading to the Garbage through northeastern path. Soldiers came from southwest and they are most likely looking for internal dangers rather than those from the outside, so we were relatively safe.
After failing a couple of times to spark a conversation in our group, I was just focused on finding a safe route to the Zone’s first crossroads. And – I’ll be honest – I wanted to find an artifact. Not only to gain some cash, but maybe to find something that would make this journey more interesting. The luck wasn’t on my side that day, sadly.
We came to the Garbage. We all knew by instinct to prepare ourselves for some resistance. Resistance as powerful as Clear Sky these days, but resistance nonetheless. To our surprise, however, we found the nearest ”outpost” empty.
Confused a little, we started exploring the surrounding area. No presence of bandits could be located. I even used my scope to see the insides of a hangar, but on the surface, it was safe. Even the sentry dressed in Sunrise suit, standing before the brick wall didn’t open fire at us. Quite the opposite, actually – he waved when he saw us and said to come closer. And we did just that.
”Riders!” – he shouted with joy. - ”Holy fuck!”
”Hey, em…” – I tried to remind myself of his name. - ”Oh! You’re Yara Bubble. One who was a ”whale” on our party.”
”Yeah, I overestimated my capabilities. I shouldn’t drink that much.”
”At least you’re alive and well now.”
”Yep.”
”Still, we’re curious about the current situation in this hangar.”
”Nothing to write a book about, I’m afraid. Duty and few hired loners executed an assault on the complex, clearing the place from this scum. For now, bandits haven’t inducted any sort of retaliation.”
”Not surprised. They’re…”
Suddenly, Zrak started… What’s the name for crow’s sound? Let me check… so I found the name ”caw”. So he was… cawing? Sounds stupid. But that’s the most common answer. Anyway, he started making loud sounds.
For others, it’d seem like he’s doing this for no reason. But we’ve found out this meant that an emission is approaching. And that meant we should be careful, Zrak especially. Codex said that crows die way faster in blowouts than humans.
”We should get inside.” – Sorrow stated. - ”Emission’s gonna hit us in a moment.”
”Wow…” – Yara was impressed. - ”Your bird can sense such things?”
”Yeah – one of the reasons why I love him. Come on.”
We made our way into the hangar. It was occupied mostly by loners, but few Dutyers were hanging around here as well. To spy on us or escape from the superiors for at least a moment – it’s hard to blame them.
Of course, even if emission just started, we won’t just sit like cowards, doing nothing. We popped a vodka bottle and I shared smokes with Sorrow and Craver. We were exchanging jokes of various quality. I felt good, but couldn’t get rid off the feeling that this was… artificial.
After blowout stopped, we bid our farewells with Yara and continued going to Army Warehouses. Atmosphere here was pretty much calm. Bandits may not be present at that time, but mutants were still roaming the lands. They weren’t attacking us, though.
We weren’t going to Duty outpost – we still weren’t sure if we could safely enter Rostok, even though some ex-soldiers claimed that they miss our visits and were surprised that we stopped going there. Hell, they promised us to talk to their highest superiors for an official invitation. We got one, but we continued to be hesitant about this.
Instead, we used Garbage-Wild Territory route. It’s rarely used, so even better for us. Unfortunately, that meant going through the field rich in fire anomalies. Nothing that four Svarogs and lots of bolts can’t solve.
Going further into this location (that many claim to be almost as bad as Red Forest, which I can’t understand), we found something interesting. Okay, maybe not that interesting, but we found bodies of mercs and loners that had to be fresh, judging by the state of corpses. We decided that we’d leave them alone.
Soon after, we got near the wreckage of helicopter that had fire anomalies around it. One of it was still active, but that’s because the body of flesh was in it. Strange that it didn’t turn into ash. But we went to nearby big door that was hiding a part of Rostok complex.
I’ll be completely honest here – I don’t know what should I write about this location. Really, it’s so uninteresting that I’d have to lie to say something worthwhile. And I don’t want to do that. So for your entertainment, I’ll just skip to Warehouses.
We ended up near bloodsucker village – the location that’s our destination. In south of it, there’s a small farmstead that poses as Freedom outpost. That’s official information, but it’s actually Irina’s place where she lives and that’s where Quarrel visits her.
Yep, living next to abandoned village that bloodsuckers really like for some reason plus it’s dotted with various fire anomalies. How she can live here without problems is unknown to me, but hey – strange shelter is better than no shelter… I think.
We were careful about stepping here. With weapons in our hands, we were slowly approaching the farmstead. We didn’t saw any signs of Freedom presence, which made me (but maybe others too) slightly disturbed. This didn’t last long, though.
”Guys, it’s safe, I assure you.” – said the woman in Freedom helmetless SEVA, coming out of cover.
”Hi, Iri.” – Quarrel waved at her.
”Hi, Cas. Oh, and hello, Riders.”
We just nodded at her, without uttering a word.
”What brings all of you here?” – she asked, a bit surprised.
”Army raided our place.” – our tough guy replied. - ”Big offensive – with choppers and such.”
”Huh… good that you didn’t stay to fight them.”
”Of course. It’d be stupid, so I commanded that we should get somewhere else, at least temporarily, so we could come up with the plan of recapturing the place.”
I rolled my eyes when I heard this. Quarrel – prideful as usual, even if it involves lying. He really changed through these months. But I wanted to get straight to the point.
”Long story short – army raided our place and Quarrel suggested that we should come to you.” – I said after a moment of silence. - ”Are you willing to share some space with us?”
”Of course.” – Flora replied. - ”Perhaps not the house, but this barn should be enough. It has relatively whole roof, so you won’t get wet. Are you fine with that?”
”Yeah. But there shouldn’t be any problems with… neighbors, right?”
”Last bloodsucker was killed by me more than a month ago. They didn’t reappear since then. Other mutants don’t come here as well. It’s really a safe location.”
”I’ll stash the items there.” – Quarrel joined the talk. - ”After that… maybe you want to go somewhere?”
”With you? Always.”
After this exchange of words, we got to the barn. Quarrel just left the stuff he was carrying through this journey in the corner and he was heading out with his girl, saying ”See you later, guys” before leaving us.
Craver quickly organized his part of this barn and instead of helping any of us, he proceeded to eat some sausage. I wanted to say something, but I knew that this won’t help much, if at all. Suddenly, he got a message that made him visibly happy.
”Lads, I have to go.” – he said loudly.
”Have fun…” – I replied to him with indifference.
Ex-ex-merc (I know this sound stupid, but still wanted to write this) grabbed his gear and quickly left the hideout, leaving me and Sorrow alone in our new home. I should feel bad about this, but I started to feel… lighter. Like a tension got swiped away.
We finished organizing out parts at the exact same moment. I briefly checked if Sorrow is alright, but he said he’s fine and then he started another vodka bottle. I should leave him to his thoughts and let him rest for a while.
I looked through our items and grabbed new pack of cigarettes. I lit one and lied on my sleeping bag. After thinking about what to do, I pulled out my PDA and started watching some videos on the internet. I don’t know why, but in Army Warehouses, there were much better speeds.
So I was detached from that world for some time, not thinking about my or others’ problems. This felt… good. Very good, even. But then I turned towards Sorrow, who had his head buried in his legs. I got to him, sat nearby and pat his shoulder. He immediately raised his gaze to me.
”Plagued?” – he was a bit confused.
”What’s the problem, Sorrow?” – I asked with genuine intent.
”Can I be completely honest with you?”
”Sorrow… you’re my brother. I’d never replace you. I’ll never sell you out. I’d rather pop a bullet in my head than to give you up. So yes, you can be perfectly honest with me.”
”Plagued… I don’t think coming here was a good idea.”
”Why?” – I asked, even though I suspected what the answer might be.
”Quarrel said it’s good that he’ll have us and Irina close. It’s not even that I’m envious. It will create new problems, new arguments. More likely for our group to fall apart. Craver going to mercs and his girl isn’t helpful either. I don’t want to stop them, but with each day, we grow more distant from one another. I wish it was like in our old days.”
”I want that too, Sorrow. But sadly, there isn’t much we can do about this. I tried pretty much anything I could. And us leaving them won’t help either. It’ll just cement the fall of our team.”
”Yeah…”
”One can hope that it’ll eventually get better. At least we have each other.”
”There’s that… Eh…”
”You feel better?”
”A bit. Thanks. But…”
”What?”
”I’m curious about how the soldiers do in our former base.”
”Huh… I won’t stop you.”
”I’ll try to return as fast as I can.”
”Be careful, brother.”
”I will. Goodbye.”
And I became last man standing. Eh… Even though I let him to do the thing he wants to do, we both know it’s an excuse to be alone with his thoughts. He still cares, otherwise he’d pull out Kurt Cobain long ago.
Few minutes later, I got up and went outside. I couldn’t find Sorrow anywhere. I lit up another smoke and started to look around my new place. Mutants were really far from my current location, but I saw approaching Freedomer. I was cautious, with revolver in my hand.
”Hey!” – guy shouted cheerfully.
”Greetings.” – I replied calmly.
”Is there Irina Flora around?”
”She’s absent. Personal matters. Why do you ask?”
”She was supposed to give me a report, so I could give it to Lukash.”
”Really?”
”Nah, it’s just an excuse, so I could get out from the base.”
”But what do you want from her?”
”My amount of weed is getting low. I asked pretty much everyone if they have some to spare. Looks like I’ll have to look elsewhere. You’re here alone?”
”Yeah. And who are you exactly?”
”Yurik Bear. I know you’re Rider, but I don’t remember which one.”
”Plagued.”
”Maybe you want to go with me? I’ll have someone to talk to.”
”If weed is involved then I’ll go.”
”Great. I’ll go around for a while and ask others for some plant. But after that, I know the place where we can chill out. Follow me.”

So.. if xians insist that yahweh is a "he" and given the current status of the world regarding xian opinions on transgendered individuals... We can conclude that Yahweh has a penis. Why would he have a penis? Just to rape Mary, the 14 year old wife a Joseph? If he's got a penis then it would seem there should be female versions of yahweh as well as other penis owning deities. The penis is designed to multiply a species amongst competition so why would yahweh have a penis? Why didn't yahweh create a son from soil the same way he created Adam? Why rape Mary of all people to make offspring? It seems this whole penis situation isn't being examined closely enough...

Hello, and welcome to RepWeidianSneakers! Whether you’re a long-time member or someone new who just straggled in from one of the other replica subreddits, this recurring post will serve as an introduction to or reminder of the subreddit rules. This group runs in several key ways that may be different from other groups to ensure we maintain a high-quality group where well-informed replica buyers can engage in constructive conversation regarding the best batches for various shoes, batch flaws of popular and commonly purchased batches, and QC posts of new and old products alike.
Please do your best to stay up-to-date on the latest subreddit rules and cultural norms in order to make sure that your participation in the group is in accordance with how we run things here! All sub rules are visible along the side bar if on desktop, and under the "About" tab if on mobile. We appreciate your attention and diligence to subreddit policies, and hope you enjoy your time here!
The following rules will be outlined in the following ways:

1. Most Important Rule of the Sub
2. Post Formats (QC, Find, Help Me Find)
3. General Subreddit/Reddit-Wide Rules

Rule #1: Sneakers from Weidian, TaoBao only
This one should be self-explanatory - QCs for shoes purchased from middlemen are not allowed on this sub. I understand that many users value the input from members in this subreddit specifically due to their reputation and credibility, but we want to keep this sub as pure to its purpose as possible. If there are specific people from whom you want input from, feel free to post in the other rep subs and tag them.
Additionally, when users ask for recommendations on where to purchase, make sure to provide links to Weidian or TaoBao stores, and not middlemen. Middlemen sell Weidian/TaoBao products at a markup for convenience - always focus on the actual product.
Rule #2: QC Post Title Guidelines: [QC] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}
When posting your QCs or Finds, use the following format: [QC] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}. Example: [QC] 400¥ FK Batch Travis Scott x Jordan 1 High OG Mocha from A GDJ Supplier
The Group Automod comments on every single post in this group with a reminder of this title format. If your title does not include each of the necessary components in the brackets above, please be proactive and repost with the correct format. If you don’t delete the post, a moderator will, and that or repeated infractions may result in a temporary ban from the group. This rule exists to ensure the group is easily searchable to help make researching batches on your own as streamlined as possible.
Rule #3: QC Posts need W2C Link:
If you are posting a QC, make sure to post the W2C link. If the listing link is dead, please post the link to the store where the shoe was purchased instead. No W2C link will result in the deletion of your post!
You are welcome to post Weidian links, TaoBao links, or links from any shipping agent except for PandaBuy, given that PandaBuy forces you to login to see the item, whereas the other agent links do not. Linking a PandaBuy link and not an alternative link will result in the deletion of your post.
Rule #4: Help Me Find Post Title Guidelines: [HELP ME FIND] {Shoe Name} + Picture of Shoe
If you are hunting for a certain pair, your post title must include the Full Shoe Name and Colorway as well as a picture of the shoe in question. If either is missing, your post will be deleted. This rule exists to reduce the number of repetitive “Help Me Find” posts, as a user will be able to search previously posted “Help Me Find” posts for the shoe they want.
Example: [HELP ME FIND] Jordan 1 High Chicago
Rule #5: Find Post Title Guidelines: [FIND] {Price in Yuan} {Batch} {Shoe Name} from {Seller Name}
Okay, so you’re on WeChat, and a seller has posted a new product. You want to be the first one to post about it on Reddit, so you rush over and make the post. Great, pat yourself on the back. Just kidding. Don’t just stop there - put some thought into the post. How does this new find compare to other products on the market? Do they have potential? You don’t have to be an expert QCer, but give your general thoughts. In short, were these worth finding? The hope is that with this general subreddit policy, it will encourage people to post high-quality finds and reduce clutter from low-tier finds that don’t add much to the group.
Rule #6: Be Respectful of One Another
Please be nice and courteous to one another. All rules of Reddiquette apply. Your membership in this subreddit is contingent upon your overall Reddit activity, not just limited to this subreddit. To put explicitly, this includes but is not limited to: harassing or disrespecting others in other subreddits, posting hate speech of any kind, or spreading misinformation. Any violation of this will result in the banning of your account and any alternate accounts you may be known to have!
Rule #7: No Cussing
In line with the previous rule, no cussing on the sub, please. Often, on the rep subs, the only time people are cussing is to insult one another, spread misinformation, or speak illy in general. For this reason, an AutoMod is in place that will regulate posts and comments on the sub. Your post/comment will be deleted and you will receive a message alerting you if this happens. Bonus: Mr. Frosty can't post or comment without some sort of explicit language, so this simple rule (and the accompanying AutoMod) keeps the sub safe
Rule #8: Support Your Statements with Evidence
Essentially, cite your source. Let's avoid being like other rep subs where people make up rumors or decide their opinions without any research or evidence.
If you comment saying a batch is the best or better than what has been posted, show us why. Link reference posts, rep vs retails, QCs, etc. Show, rather than tell, us why what you're saying is correct. If your statement is a good one, this shouldn't be difficult. As above, don't default to name calling if you can't support your statement. It is okay to have a well-informed opinion - it is not okay to have an uneducated opinion that you spread as fact.
If you run into issues with a member or members in the group that are not participating in this group norm, please tag a mod, and the situation will be handled accordingly.
Rule #9: No Seller Ads
Self-explanatory. This especially applies to lost middlemen posting their fake QCs to try to gain business. If you are a member and see this, please report the post. If a post receives enough reports, it is automatically removed and sent to the mod queue. This helps keep the group clean through community effort.
Rule #10: No WeChat Verification Posts
I understand that you may want your WeChat verified in order to communicate with sellers or see their WeChat Moments. There are other subs for WeChat Verifications though. Please do not make these posts here. Use the appropriate subs. Posts will be deleted.
Rule #11: No Memes
This group aims to be a research-focused subreddit. It prides itself on providing the most objective information possible. Please keep the memes or satire posts in other subs. This includes meme titles or captions such as "how fast do I need to walk" or "fire up the rep machines." These posts add little to no value and are often unoriginal anyway.
Any use of meme titles will result in a 14-day temp ban as previously announced, as will repeated infractions of posting other memes.
Lastly, this Group is Not Meant to Be a Direct Line to u/poncecatchemall
Please reference his guides and resources linked below for answers to most commonly asked questions. He does not read chats asking repetitive questions, and mod mail is not meant to be used to ask specifically him questions, so do not use it for that purpose.
- Poncecatchemall’s Recently Updated Beginner’s Batch Guide where I cover top batches for popular shoes.
- Poncecatchemall’s Select Weidian/TaoBao Finds: November 2022 Edition covering popular purchases with all W2C Links
- Never used an agent? Check out Poncecatchemall’s Updated Weidian, TaoBao, Agent: How-To Guide for a step-by-step guide on how to purchase reps using WeGoBuy
- How to Ask Poncecatchemall For a QC/LC please follow these instructions if you want a response.
​
Thank you in advance to everyone for following the sub rules and for keeping this sub a great, high-quality sub to be a part of. If there are any rule addition recommendations, we are always open to suggestions.

Galatians   Chapter Five (https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Galatians+5)
 
-1. The Anointed frees [שחרר, SheeHRayR] us unto freedom [חרות, HayROoTh], therefore stand, and do not submit [תכנעו, TheeKhahN`Oo] again [שוב, ShOoB] to yoke [לעל, Le'oL] the slavery.  

“The expression for freedom [επ ελευθερια - ep eleutheria] (in slightly different Greek form) appears in the certificates of sacral manumission which were given to slaves who purchased their freedom. The slave would deposit the money in the temple of his god for the priest to transfer to his master “for freedom.” He then became the slave of his god, free from his human master.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 545-546)  
“Among the Jews, the Messiah’s reign was to be a reign of liberty, and hence the Targum [ancient Jewish commentary] on Lamen. [Lamentations] ii. 22. says, “Liberty shall be publicly proclaimed to the people of the house of Israel, על יד משיחא âl yad Mashicha, by the hand of the Messiah, such as was granted to them by Moses and Aaron, at the time of the Passover.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 393)  

...
-5. And we, in spirit upon foundation [of] belief, waiting [מיחלים, MeYahHahLeeYM] to hope [for] fruit, the our righteousness [δικαιοσυνης - dikaiosunes, justification, righteousness].  

“The language is so compact that Paul’s meaning has to be inferred from 3:14; 5:22-23; and Rom. [Romans] 8:23-26.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 548-549)  
“The full measure of human righteousness is still a thing of the eschatological future (cf. [compare with] Rom 5:19).” (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)
“That they could not have the Holy Spirit, without faith, was a doctrine also of the Jews; hence it is said, Mechilta, fol. [folio] 52. ‘That faith was of great consequence, with which the Israelites believed in Him, who, with one word, created the universe; and because the Israelites believed in God, the Holy Spirit dwelt in them; so that being filled with God, they sung praises to him.’” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II pp. 393-394)  

-6. That yes, in Anointed YayShOo'ah ["Savior", Jesus] there is no thought [חשיבות, HahSheeYBOoTh], not to circumcision [למילה, LahMeeYLaH] and not to foreskin [לערלה, Lah`ahRLaH], rather to belief, the laborer in way [of] love.  

“No passage in Paul’s letters is of greater importance for integral understanding of his religion and the relation of his faith to his ethics. The mutuality of faith, hope, and love – a theme repeated with many variations – runs through everything he has written and forms the substance of his theology. … Paul’s religion is distorted whenever his ethics and his ‘good works’ are made to appear as an incidental by-product of his faith rather than as one of its essential ingredients.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 550-551)  
“This humble, holy, operative, obedient LOVE, is the grand touchstone of all human creeds, and confessions of faith. Faith, without this, has neither soul nor operation: in the language of the apostle James, it is dead, and can perform no function of the spiritual life, no more than a dead man can perform the duties of animal or civil life.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 394)  

...
-12. Would that [מי יתן, MeeY YeeThayN] and be cut [ויכרתו, VeYeeKahRThOo] the misleaders [המתעים, HahMahTh`eeYM] [of] you!  

“‘I wish that those who are upsetting you would even emasculate themselves!’ This is what Paul said and meant. … for a similar outburst see Phil. [Philippians] 3:2-3, where the advocates of circumcision are ‘dogs,’ and by a play on words – περιτομη [peritome’], κατατομην [katatmen] - ‘circumcision’ becomes ‘mutilation.’ Paul may have been thinking of the mad spectacle of the Cybele-Attis cult, whose priests in frenzied devotion used to emasculate themselves as a sacrifice to their deity. … The shock of Paul’s statement to the Judaizers can be measured in the light of the prohibition in Deut. [Deuteronomy] 23:1. To a devout Jew his blunt language would be as sacrilegious as a Christian would find the wish of a disbeliever in sacraments that all advocates of baptism would drown themselves. Never happy after making such denunciations (II Cor. [Corinthians]1:23-2:11; Phil. 3:18-19), Paul quickly changes his tone…” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 554-555)  

-13. My brethren, to freedom you have been called,
only that not be, the freedom, means [אמצעי, ’ehMTsah`eeY] in hands of the flesh,
rather that minister, [each] man [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] his neighbor in love.  

“To be freed from the ceremonial law, is the Gospel liberty; to pretend freedom from the moral law, is antinomianism.” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 395)  

-14. See, all the Instruction included [כלולה, KLOoLaH] in saying [במאמר, BeMah’ahMahR] one – “and love to your neighbor like you.”  

“The quotation is from Lev. [Leviticus] 19:18; cf. Rom. 13:8-10 [and Matt. [Matthew] 7:11 (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 789)]. The tense of the verb ‘fulfilled’ is perfect; thus Paul says that the whole law is fulfilled, in the sense of ‘has been fulfilled’ whenever one man loves another as himself…. Paul the Christian loved his neighbor not because a commandment disobeyed would bring punishment, or fulfilled would merit reward, but because it was his new nature to do to.  
But who was Paul’s neighbor? He was, first of all, ‘the one who was near,’ the fellow member of the society of Christ who needed help to bear life’s burdens (6:2). Then, with continuously lengthening radius, Paul drew a series of concentric circles to embrace all men (6:10; I Thess. [Thessalonians] 5:15; I Cor. 9:22). Even his enemies were included, for Christ received sinners, and personal vengeance was no fruit of the Spirit (6:1; Rom. 12:20; 15:1-3). … He bore the burden of his neighbor’s sins, and although he sometimes had to threaten them, he was never without hope for their repentance (I Cor. 4; II Cor. 12:19-13:10; II Thess. 3:14-15). He could hurl anathemas, and his friends did not always find him easy to get on with … but the love of Christ would never permit him to contract the circle of his neighbors (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1; II Cor. 7:5-16; 1:23-2:11). (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 557)  

...  

…………………………………………  
Fruit of the Spirit and usurpations of [ומעללי, OoMah`ahLahLaY] the flesh
[verses 16 to end of chapter]  

-16. Say I to you, walk in way the spirit and do not fill [את, ’ehTh] desires [תאוות, Thah`ahVOTh] [of] the flesh,
-17. for the flesh desires [מתאוה, MeeTh’ahVeH] to what that is in opposition [שבנגוד, ShehBeNeeGOoD] to spirit, and the spirit is opposed [מתנגדת, MeeThNeGehDehTh] to the flesh. [The] two [of] them oppose to this to this, and to that [ולכן, OoLeKhayN] you are not able to do [את, ’ehTh] what that is in your want.  

“This is Paul’s way of stating the Jewish doctrine of the ‘two impulses’ which are at war within the heart of man. The rabbis declared that God created Adam with two inclinations, one good, the other evil, and required him to choose which to obey. He was free to follow his good impulse, but he chose the evil, and so did all his descendants. Consequently every man became the Adam of his own soul. Some maintained that the evil impulse awakened at the age of nine, others at twelve. Study with practice of the Torah was the sovereign remedy to wear it away …” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561)  

…
-19. Deeds of the flesh are revealed [גלויים, GLOoYeeYM], and these are they:
adultery [נאוף, Nee’OoPh] and fornication, impurity [טמאה, TooM’aH], licentiousness [זמה, ZeeMaH], 20. slavery of idols, magic [כשוף KeeShOoPh in my Hebrew New Testamentⁱ ; the Greek here is “φαρμακεια pharmakeia - the use of drugs of any kind, whether wholesome or poisonous...” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 562] hatred, contention [מדון, MahDON], stinginess [צרות עין, TsahROoTh 'ahYeeN, “squint eyed”, Ζηλος Zelos jealousy], anger [כעס, Kah'ahÇ], strife [מריבה, MeReeYBaH], divisions [מחלקות, MahHLahQOTh], factions [כתות, KeeThOTh], 21. envy, drunkenness, profligacy [הוללות,HOLeLOoTh], and as similar.  
Say I to what that I already said: doers of deeds like these will not inherit [את, ’ehTh] kingdom of the Gods.  

“Πορνεια [Porneia] ... fornication ... means ‘prostitution’, but includes sexual vice and unfaithfulness to the marriage vow. The task of the church in creating a conscience on this matter was made doubly difficult by the practice of prostitution in the name of religion. Long before Paul, the prophets had denounced the fertility cults and made prostitution a synonym for idolatry.  
Φαρμακεια [pharmakeia] ... Since witches and sorcerers used drugs, the word came to designate witchcraft, enchantment, sorcery, and magic. The law of Moses prescribed the death penalty for it, and the prophets denounced the Egyptians, Babylonians and Canaanites for practicing it; but this did not prevent the Jews from producing some famous practitioners (Acts 13:6-12; 19:1-20). Next to state-worship, magic was the most dangerous competitor of true religion... claiming to specialize in the impossible, it prostituted faith to superstition, and divorced religion from ethics. ... In Paul’s spiritual arithmetic, faith plus miracles minus love amounted exactly to zero....  
Ερις [Eris] is ... strife ... The spirit of Eris is perfectly described in the words of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland – ‘ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.’  
The fact that he expected the near return of Christ to end this present age must not be permitted to obscure the equally important fact that he regarded his own life and witness for Christ as an essential element in hastening that event.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 561-565)  

-22. In opposition to [לעמת, Le`ooMahTh] this, fruit of spirit:
he is love, happiness, peace, patience, [ארך רוח, ’oRehKh Roo-ahH, “length [of] spirit”] generosity, good heart, faithfulness, 23. modesty [עננה, `ahNahNaH], restraint [רסון, ReeÇOoN] [of] self– upon such [מדות, MeeDOTh] as these there is no instruction further [חלה, HahLaH, sic ["so in cite"] for חלאה, HahL’aH!].  

“Since love is a personal relation it is not a matter of law, and cannot be commanded; and since it is God’s own love growing as his ‘fruit’ in the hearts of men, no one can claim it as a merit for self-salvation. ...  
... in every age ... men have found it hard to see how God could have anything in common with humanity, and Christians have been tempted to make a distinction in kind between God’s love and man’s love. Paul’s authority has been claimed for this dualistic view. Αγαπη [agape’] is set against ερος [eros]. God’s love is said to be αγαπη reaching down to save man by his grace, and ερος man’s self-love aspiring upward to save himself. Paul’s αγαπη is associated with justification by faith, the Greek ερος with salvation by works.... Jerusalem and the Christian faith are made to oppose Athens and human reason, and the conclusion is drawn from the history of Christianity that ερος, man’s self love, has always been a source of corruption of αγαπη, love inspired by God’s grace.  
This interpretation of Christian love is intended as a defense of the doctrine of justification by faith and as a means of securing scriptural support for a dualistic philosophy which aims to protect the transcendence of God against humanism. But to draw such sweeping conclusions from a word study of two Greek nouns, without adequate consideration of other related Greek words and ideas, is to oversimplify. The LXX [The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] is full of evidence that this distinction between αγαπη and ερος cannot be maintained on the basis of lexicography. The Greek O.T. [Old Testament] uses both the noun αγαπη and the verb αγαπαω [agapao] to express not only God’s love for men, but man’s love for God and for his fellow man. Although there is no certain evidence that the noun αγαπη was used by nonbiblical writers prior to Christianity, the argument from silence may be invalidated by future discoveries, and it would be precarious to conclude that αγαπη was a specifically Christian word.  
One-sided emphasis on God’s love as ‘unmotivated’ by anything in his creatures tempts men to regard him in the light of an egotistical philanthropist who expects gratitude and praise but neither needs nor desires the mutuality that is inherent in the very nature of love... Without a faith that dares humbly to believe that God needs man’s love ... the Christian’s conception of his high calling to be a kingdom builder is liable to reduce itself to blind obedience to commands given arbitrarily for man’s good while awaiting God’s eschatological fiat. Such a misconception is bound to give aid and comfort to the inclination of human nature – ‘the flesh’ – to divorce religion from ethics.  
Grave moral consequences result from such a view of Christian love. It is associated with a doctrine of predestination that makes God’s choice of the objects of his salvation utterly arbitrary.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 565-566)  
“The peace which was the fruit of the Spirit ... could be trusted to keep men's hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7), so that they need have not anxiety about anything. This explains the sublime recklessness of the Christian peacemakers. Being colaborers with God (Rom. 8:28), they were aggressors for peace. They aimed to live at peace with all men (Rom. 12:18), but fear of making enemies did not turn them from their task of producing soundness, wholeness, and harmony in a world of chaos. Their reasonable service was to ... substitute the righteousness and peace and joy of his [God's] kingdom (Rom. 14:17) for the low aims of 'the flesh,' thereby creating the conditions for peace. Their ideal was to live so that quarrels could never get started.  
Christian peace was therefore neither the calm of inactivity nor the mere passive enjoyment of freedom from strife. It was not the imperturbability of the Epicurean, or the apathy of the Stoic, or the contemplation of the mystic. The man who possessed it was not exempt from storm and shipwreck, but by faith he knew that he would arrive in port (Acts 27:21-25), and that all was well for him and his fellow men of faith ... And so, where all else was panic, he played the man.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 567)  
“... just as God’s patience was not to be presumed upon, so the Christian’s patience was not a spiritless good nature that would put up with things which it could not escape, or would not prevent. It was patience with a purpose, as in Paul’s pleas to Philemon, which contrasts so sharply with the Stoic motive for self control... Those who bore this fruit ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6), and the enemy did not know how to deal with such unheard of patience and persistence.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 568)  
“Negatively defined, gentleness is everything that the ‘insolent, haughty, boastful’ men of Rom. 1:30 are not. It is the opposite of υβρις [hubris], the worst of sins in the eyes of the Greeks – deliberate, arrogant defiance of the gods by overstepping the limits set for human beings. In the O.T. such men are called ‘sons of Belial,’ the turbulent, highhanded wicked, who rage against God, kill, rob and enslave the righteous ‘meek’ and take possession of the earth for themselves. The psalms are full of moans and complaints against this rich and powerful majority, who used religion as a means of gain and kept their consciences in flexible subservience to the exigencies of power.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569)  
“’Εγκρατεια [Egkrateia] is temperance (KJV [King James Version]), self-control (RSV [Revised Standard Version]) ....  
The Stoics had helped to prepare the soil out of which this fruit of the Spirit was to grow. They insisted that the sovereign reason could and should control the passions. They believed in a law of nature to which they must conform, and they endeavored to maintain their inner freedom under all circumstances. But their motive was very different from Paul’s, the one being devoted to the glory of the God of grace, the other to the preservation of the sovereign self-will. When the Stoic collided with things beyond his control, his inner independence turned into apathy, practicing the motto ‘When we can’t do what we want, we want to do what we can.’ He took orders from his commander in chief, an impersonal God who had the power of life or death; but he did it in such a way as to make it clear to God and men that he, the Stoic, was after all the captain of his soul. He controlled his anger because he found it a nuisance to be under the power of any passion and in his sight meekness was contemptible weakness...  
Paul exalted humility: ‘It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me’ (2:20). ... His self-discipline was the result of his spiritual experiences, rather than an undertaking to induce them; and his self-control was sane compared with the ascetic excesses of later Christian groups such as the ‘Encratites,’ who forbade marriage and followed fantastic dietary rules.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 569-570)  
“Unrepentant sinners have no appetite for the fruit of the Spirit, and when its production and distribution require changes in the political and economic status quo, men ... pass laws against it ... Especially in time of war these traits of Christian character have been forbidden fruit, though given for the healing of the nations. Occasionally the world, exhausted with fighting, and sick of its cynical Epicureanism, has professed a desire for the fruits of the Spirit, but on its own terms without the cross required to produce them.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 570)  

... 26. Do not, please [נא, Nah’] be panters of [שואפי, ShO’ahPhaY] honor vain [שוא, ShahVe’], the provokers [המתגרים, HahMeeThGahReeYM] and enviers [ומקנאים, OoMQahN’eeYM] a man in his neighbor.  

“The right stood in terror of the iconoclasm of the left, and the radicals labeled all other men reactionaries ... Both sides professed to love liberty and defend it, but neither was willing to grant it to the other.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X p. 572)   END NOTE  
ⁱ ספר הבריתות, תורה נביאים כתובים והברית החדשה [ÇehPheR HahBReeYThOTh, ThORaH, NeBeeY’eeYM, KeThOoBeeYM, VeHahBReeYTh HehHahDahShaH, The Book of the Covenants: Instruction, Prophets, Writings; and The New Covenant] The Bible Society in Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, 1991.  

  An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

Here's the text:
My biggest hero is my father. When I was just six years old, he bought me my first computer, which started my passion for technology. His support and encouragement from such a young age played an important role in shaping my journey. So, I'm forever grateful to him for introducing me to the world of technology and being a constant source of inspiration.

This is a scenario that might not make a lot of sense, but I'll do my best to explain it.I am disciplined, but only if there are external factors.... I think the way I grew up led me to be completely unprepared for real adulthood, where there's not a lot of external stimuli to have discipline.
​
I had a 4.0 GPA in high-school, multi-sport athlete, got a full ride to college in division I sports.
In college, I was team captain, got a 3.7 GPA, did plenty of scientific research.
Post-college I got into one of the best programs in the country for my PhD, have had a very successful PhD with multiple papers in high-tier journals.
Now that I am adult in the "real world" (9-5, pets, a partner) I have realized I have ZERO internal discipline.It literally blows my mind that in college I was a full time athlete and student, worked part time and had time to party with friends....
This was only a few years ago! But I also had a set schedule for classes/practice/work, free meals from the dining hall, and no option to not perform..
​
What I mean by that is that there was NO option to quit. I couldn't NOT show up for 5 AM workouts, because the entire team would get punished. I couldn't NOT practice, or give it my all because the entire team would suffer and I would let people down. I couldn't NOT get good grades because I needed to be thankful for the opportunity of an education. I couldn't skip class or do poorly on a test because Coach would hear about it and I'd have to do extra workouts or something.Now, today I only have energy to walk my dog 2x a day, go to work and then collapse on the couch after doing chores. MAYBE hang out with a friend once a week. I am not overweight, but I have gained 20 Lbs in the past two years that refuse to leave me. I am doing well at work and have a stable relationship so people just assume I am set but I can't shake the feeling that I am stuck on this couch.
​
I want to do more things! I want to run a marathon, I want to learn a new language, I want to travel, I want to start reading again, I want to have a nice body again... I don't want my life to just pass by while I lay on my couch with every day looking the same.Here's the kicker, I set goals, I signed up for the gym and went for a month and haven't been back cause If I don't go who cares? there's no penalty. I keep buying books, but ooh social media is more entertaining and that's what I would rather do so that's it.
​
Can anyone give me any advice on how to develop INTERNAL discipline rather than needing external factors? Or how to incorporate external factors now as an adult where there is zero incentive to be and stay disciplined?
If you made it this far thank you.

I've collated 4 of the biggest/most interesting AI stories this week:
The full breakdown went live this morning right here, but the most interesting are included below for Reddit discussion as well.
UK to host major AI summit of ‘like-minded’ countries
Britain is set to host a significant summit on artificial intelligence in the coming fall, with Rishi Sunak aiming to position the U.K. as a prominent player in the field. British officials assert that the country is well-suited to convene discussions on the future of AI. They attribute this to the agility gained through Brexit, enabling the U.K. to respond promptly to the rapidly changing AI market. The government intends to strike a balance between the strict regulations of the EU and the more relaxed approach adopted by the United States.
DeSantis campaign shares apparent AI-generated fake images of Trump and Fauci
This week, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis released a video that featured some eyebrow-raising imagery—supposedly showing former President Donald Trump giving Anthony Fauci a hug. But here's the kicker: those images were most likely generated by artificial intelligence, showcasing just how these cutting-edge tools are turbocharging political attacks. With AI, politicians can now toe the line between reality and fantasy, blurring the boundaries in their campaign tactics. DeSantis' video, posted on Twitter by his rapid response team, took aim at Trump's alleged support of Fauci, who has become a favorite target for Republicans due to his involvement in shaping the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New model offers a way to speed up drug discovery
The search for potential disease treatments within vast libraries of drug compounds is a time-consuming endeavor. To expedite the process, scientists have turned to computational methods for screening, but many existing techniques remain slow. However, researchers from MIT and Tufts University have now introduced an alternative approach using a large language model, a type of artificial intelligence algorithm. Their model, called ConPLex, can match target proteins with potential drug molecules without the need for computationally intensive steps like calculating molecular structures. This breakthrough enables the screening of over 100 million compounds in just a single day, surpassing the capabilities of existing models. By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, ConPLex opens up new possibilities for accelerating drug discovery and uncovering life-changing treatments.
Chinese quantum computer is 180 million times faster on AI-related tasks, says team led by ‘father of quantum’ Pan Jianwei
Scientists in China are celebrating the incredible power of their device, aptly named Jiuzhang, which can tackle artificial intelligence tasks a whopping 180 million times faster than the world's mightiest supercomputer. This quantum wonder isn't just showing off; its problem-solving prowess has far-reaching implications. From data mining to biological information, network analysis to chemical modeling research, Jiuzhang's capabilities are astonishing. In a groundbreaking experiment, the research team utilized Jiuzhang to crack a notoriously difficult problem that stumps classical computers. With over 200,000 samples to process, the results were jaw-dropping. While the fastest classical supercomputer would need a staggering five years to accomplish the task, Jiuzhang completed it in less than a second.
P.S. If you like this kind of summary, there's more in this free newsletter that tracks the biggest summaries in AI tech. It helps you stay up-to-date in just 5 minutes a week.

Previous Part
Well, things have officially gotten batshit.
When I called Mr. A and told him about the Vagrant’s actions, I could almost hear him go pale. Obviously, he had hoped this would never happen. He told me to say a certain phrase aloud: “Closed for Maintenance.” Just like that, the entire shop shifted. The glass door was covered with an enormous slab of some bizarre material that looked almost like obsidian, and come to think of it, looked an awful lot like a solid form of whatever the Vagrant’s skin was covered with. The same thing happened to the windows, and the lights in the shop turned on automatically. Finally, the warehouse door was sealed by one of the slabs.
There was no doubt in my mind that Mr. A had hoped and prayed this would never happen, but he always expected that it would. Despite his obvious fear, he managed to keep enough composure to tell me that these slabs were created from material taken from one of the Vagrant’s earlier intrusions. Using it, he had been able to create a full system that would drive the creature out. Then he told me with some hesitation that it was time for me to meet “Them.” Now, this was the first time he had decided to give them an actual name. According to him, they were called “the Proprietor.” Despite their innocent-sounding name, I had the sense that I had to be on my guard when it came to dealing with them, something Mr. A confirmed. “You’ve dealt with eldritch things before, lad, but trust me when I tell ya, this bloke’s on a different level. I can’t stress these instructions enough, lad: don’t ask them anythin’. Just listen, then wait until they’ve finished speaking. They’ll know why you’re there, and they’ll give ya answers, but they won’t be comfortin’.”
Well, I got what Mr. A was talking about after he had given me the instructions on opening a door to the Proprietor’s world. I’m not allowed to disclose how I made it appear, but a door that the shop previously didn't have appeared behind me. On it was a sign that read, “Proprietor’s Office. Staff Only. Violators Will Be Terminated.” A faint droning noise emanated from the other side. Cerberus gave a small whine, and I just pet his head and smiled reassuringly, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling nervous as well. I slowly placed my hand on the doorknob, then turned and opened it.
How do I best describe what I experienced there? I think the best word I can use is, “contradiction.” Imagine an infinitely large room with no color, yet somehow brighter than the Sun. The droning noise I heard from the other side of the door continued, but it was joined by a deafening screech.
Then the noise changed to words. I could hear them suddenly speaking in my head. It pierced my mind, speaking in nonsensical phrases that I could somehow comprehend. They had no voice and every voice. Like I said, “contradiction.” Bear in mind, the speech of this being is similar in structure to the Pr’mAtrian. Same as them, the Proprietor seems to be unable to translate their words into fully comprehensible human language so this is the best I can do. The following is the best translation I can provide.
You/Manager entered/were invited here to understand/know how to kill/evict Vagrant/Vandal and protect Investment/Property/Shop. We/the Proprietor know/remember It/Vagrant. It/Vagrant is/isn’t. Vagrant/Vandal was/is created from nothing/Void. It/Vagrant is/isn’t happy/angry/hates Us/You/Everyone for Existing/Being/Living. Vagrant/Vandal wants to Deface/Break/Kill You/Us/Everything for Having Form/Life. Use/Fire Gun/Tool. Not Easy/Simple. Gun/Tool useful against Living/Undead/Existent People/Folks. Vagrant/Vandal does/doesn’t exist/live. Kill/Break Living/Physical Prison/Form/Jar and put Nothing-Vagrant in Prison/Form/Jar. Bring/Deliver Jar to Us/the Proprietor. That is all/Thank you/Back to work.
This is all approximate; I have a clearer picture of what I need to do in my head. So basically, I need to kill the physical form of this thing, then seal it in something that they gave me. It looks like a puzzle box (if Hellraiser comes to mind, I don’t blame you; I thought the same.) Why they didn’t do this for previous owners is beyond me. I reported back to Mr. A, and he was as surprised as I was. Still, he told me to keep the gun and box close at hand. Strange as the Proprietor was, I found myself trusting it. I had the impression that if it saw me as a tool or puppet, it could have easily taken over my mind, used me to kill the Vagrant rather than instructing me how to.
I have a feeling that things are really coming to a head soon, though. Just two hours ago, I got a call. Before I could answer, an enraged voice snarled, “You spoke to them, didn't you, you little shit?! I couldn't sense you for hours! I was starting to think you’d gotten so scared you decided to finish the job yourself! What did they tell you?!”
I stayed quiet, instinctively reaching for the gun. ”What. Did. They. Tell. You?!” it demanded again through clenched teeth, all arrogance and mockery gone. Still I said nothing. It shrieked, “Damn it, tell me or I’m going to carve you into tiny pieces and make your dog fucking eat them!” “You sound scared,” I replied coldly and with a hint of mockery of my own. There was silence on the other end. Then my right ear erupted in pain as the Vagrant screeched furiously. I dropped the phone and fell, clutching my ear which was ringing with tinnitus. Cerberus rushed to my side and began nudging me. Once the pain began to subside the sound of high, deranged laughter sounded from the phone’s speakers. Then I heard a sound that chilled my blood more than this sadistic creature’s laughter, something that made all three of Cerberus's heads begin barking and growling. It was sealed up, but I could hear it all the same.
It began knocking from inside the warehouse where I first saw it, all while the phone kept broadcasting its laughter.

Sir David
Sir David suppresses a sigh. He couldn't say he hadn't been expecting a conversation like this. He gestures to a nearby bench and sits down, leaving Ariane room to scoot in next to him.
"Well firstly, I'd say you're my wife now. My surname does sound nice on you. A bit faster than I wanted to move perhaps, but let's call it a battlefield promotion."
Ariane offers him a half hearted smile. "Except I fled that battlefield like a little girl with her tail tucked between her legs. If I am your wife then my place is next to you. I can fight. You know I can fight David."
"Darling, in the end I'm the trained combatant in the family, and getting you out of the line of fire was my absolute first priority. This isn't to doubt your abilities, I think you're perfectly capable of defending yourself, but you don't have an Undaunted brand for thermal protection against a race known for fighting with fire, or any other covert protection. Nor are you an adept. You're immensely physically strong, far stronger than me even at your reduced size... but you're not a killer my dear... and I am."
Sir David sighs for real this time, but doesn't move his gaze from Ari's eyes. He had to meet her head on with this sort of thing. Take wife by the horns if you will.
"I don't want you to be a killer. It's my profession, I have no shame in it, for I end the lives of wicked people so good folk can sleep soundly at night. I did so on Earth, I do so now. I put myself at risk to protect the people I care about. My children. My grandchildren. My wife... and now my wives."
Sir David gently takes Ariane's hand, their fingers interlacing naturally.
"So if given a choice to ensure you're as safe as you can be, even if it means putting me at more risk... I'll always take the option that means you are as safe as possible. Even if that costs me my life. That's my promise. My oath. My duty was to Queen and country, and now to the Undaunted... but I took those oaths for Mary, my children... and now you."
Ariane nods softly, clearly still a bit upset.
"I ah... I understand, I think. I suppose I'm a bit upset with myself more than I'm upset with you. I was just... so scared. Even as I was incredibly, violently angry I was terrified... and the relief I felt when I ran was... shameful to a degree. Leaving you to die maybe. It hurt me a lot, like a razor was tearing at my guts. I just thought about what I'd do if you died or got hurt because I wasn't there and I-"
Tears start to well up in Ariane's eyes just a touch and David wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in a bit closer.
"There, there. I didn't die. Nor was I going to. Not to trash like that. Nor is fear a shameful thing. Fear is a natural response. I get scared. Captain Bridger gets scared. Even Cannidor get scared at times. Usually of me or Captain Bridger in my experience. Anyone who says they feel no fear is a liar, a fool, or psychotic. Or quite possibly all three. Soldiers train to overcome their fear to accomplish significant things... but you my dear aren't a soldier."
David caresses Ariane's back, stroking down her spine and drawing a sigh from her as she relaxes a bit, tension bleeding out of her body.
"You need to master your fear just enough to flee smartly, summon help, barricade yourself, or as a last measure, fight. Which you did today. Just like you did on the Talasar Spire when you saved all those children. You're quite the heroine from just doing those things you know? You don't need to do more. Nor, if my preferences at all matter, would I wish you to. You're a beautiful soul to me Ari. I adore how fresh and bright you are about the things in the world you love. I want you to focus on that. Focus on being a joy to this galaxy... and to me. Instead of worrying about the profession of arms that is not your own."
Ariane sniffles a bit, then plants a kiss on David's cheek. "You know, you play the hard, tough, man, with that almost piratical swagger of yours... but you're just an old softy aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged my dear."
"I uhm. I think I'd still like to learn how to shoot. Or something. Just be better able to defend myself... and our children."
"Heh. Well I think we can take care of that... though I'll note that wasn't at all subtle Ari."
Ariane leans over again and kisses David hard on the mouth this time, her tongue briefly tangling with his and leaving him breathless.
"No. That wasn't subtle. I fully intend to reward my knight for gallantly protecting me, and you'll see just how unsubtle I can be David Forsythe."
"I'll look forward to it then. To close the loop on our previous conversation though. You know that if you had been even a talented markswoman with a pistol I'd have still sent you running at the earliest circumstance right?"
Ariane nods, nearly knocking one of her horns against David's head.
"I understand."
David gives her another gentle kiss on the cheek.
"Capital. Like I said, even if you're capable, your best defense is avoiding a fight entirely. You should only fight if you absolutely must. That's why I fought in the court yard. Not because I could win, but because we didn't have a clear or safe avenue of escape. As soon as we had such an avenue I got you out, and were I alone I'd have fought a fighting retreat to follow you in hopes of moving to a more defensible location. Or getting help from the wardens of the Inner Shrine."
"Which is exactly the type of behavior I have to beat into new recruits." Comes the now familiar smoky voice of Miri'Tok, as the click of her heels on stone announce her return to the room.
"I'm terribly sorry about the wait, police procedure is tedious, even for clear cases of self defense. David I'm told you have a bounty hunting license, so you'll be receiving some credits for their heads. Not extremely bad girls, save the boss, but bad enough to be worth some money. The local police are paying out a bonus for the living ones. That blue haired girl apparently won't shut up; she's rolling on her old boss so enthusiastically they had to bring a synth in to transcribe it all. It's going to be a busy couple of days for the capital district police force."
David nods. "Take half for yourself would you? I hardly need the credits and you did the lion's share of the dangerous work, I just had a little target practice."
Miri'Tok laughs. "Ah the sheer gall on your husband Ariane, a little bit of target practice he calls it. Some of the cleanest shooting I've seen in years with gangsters with rap sheets that combined stretch from here to orbit and it was just a bit of target practice! Hah!"
Ariane and David join in the laughter this time, the room returning to a hospitable warmth as Miri'Tok seats herself on a bench near the couple.
"I must compliment you as well Ariane." Miri'Tok says, orienting herself more squarely to the Agela.
"Me? What did I do?"
"You kept your head in a dangerous situation and didn't go to pieces like a great many women would have. This is a great deal of credit to your name. Even Apuk civilians, socialized to violence from birth, can go to pieces when real violence is forced upon them."
David nods.
"More or less what I was saying dear, you did a splendid job getting us help. If things had gone a bit more poorly, it's help we would have direly needed too."
Ariane's smile returns to her face like dawn for David, warming the room up even further as she snuggles a bit closer to him.
"Well if you're both telling me that, who am I to argue?"
Miri'Tok chuckles, and rises. "I'm afraid I must actually return to my duties, I've lingered longer than I intended. I'll take you down the hall and leave you with the Wardens in their ward room. Nar'Jan and the girls have been preparing an impromptu victory party for you both. Just a little toast, then one of the girls will give you the full tour of the war shrine. You're both welcome in the Inner Shrine whenever you please, so please come back while you're on Serbow and they'll gladly receive you."
Miri'Tok turns to leave, only to be stopped by Ariane tugging on her sleeve. When the Apuk warrior turns, Ariane holds up her communicator.
"Before you go let's exchange contact information. I really enjoyed our time with you, and I know David did as well. Perhaps we can meet again soon? Without another fight preferably."
"Oh!" Miri'Tok gets that same dusky tone that David associates with a blush in Apuk.
"I uh. I'd like that. Perhaps dinner or something? I know some great places to eat in the city."
"Sounds wonderful, I'll send you David's contact information later once I have a minute."
"I ah. Thank you. I'll look forward to it."
Miri'Tok offers a bow from the waist and quickly hurries away, the echo of her heels fading down the corridor.
David raises an eyebrow and looks over at Ariane.
"You know, when you said you were going to show me how unsubtle you could be, I was expecting something a bit more... intimate shall we say."
"So let the knowledge that things can get even more forward make you wonder at what tonight holds when we get back to the Tear."
David chuckles, caught entirely off guard with the sexual aggression from the normally demure Ariane.
"You're showing me all sorts of sides of yourself today Ari. Still, that really was a bit too forward wasn't it?"
Ariane cocks her head, giving David a slightly confused look.
"What? She's an excellent candidate for a third wife. Better to preempt her asking a bit so we can take the time to discuss it, and it doesn't hurt to put the welcome mat out when to my eye she's so accomplished and so obviously interested. Plus she'd be a good recruit for the Undaunted from her decorations. She's a very skilled warrior even if she's not a battle princess. Though she might be a princess. You never know. She's not wearing a crown, but apparently a lot of the battle princesses in service to the Imperial military skip the crowns outside of formal occasions, instead only going by their ranks."
Another eyebrow raised, a common thing when Ariane was in the mood to surprise David it seems. "Where did you learn all that? I haven't the foggiest about how to read Apuk decorations."
Ariane shrugs. "When I finished that book about your unit back on Earth, Eastern Approaches, I read a book or two on contemporary Apuk martial culture. I thought it might come in handy."
"So what does your reading tell you about Miri'Tok?"
"Well as she said she's an Apuk Imperial Marine. She started as an enlisted woman, and has done a century of service at least. She's done at least a dozen combat deployments, and numerous space deployments. The difference being specifically going to a conflict zone, and floating around on an Apuk Imperial Navy vessel looking for trouble.”
Sir David doffs an imaginary cap. “An activity I heartily approve of.”
Ariane rolls her eyes with a smile before continuing.
“She has five wound medals, an even dozen valor medals in varying grades and has been named as a member of an Imperial martial order. Knights for lack of a better word. Not all that dissimilar from you really if you'd had another forty years with the Royal Marines and SAS. Then there's a variety of competence awards that aren't as important. Suffice to say, Miri'Tok is very good at what she does."
"Hmmm. Yes I could see that in the fight, and you think she's interested in me?"
Ariane rises, and saunters the step or two to David slowly, placing her hands on his shoulders and leaning down to kiss him deeply.
"Darling, from her axiom she's single. From what she tells us about how her family treats men and views sorcerers, you're literally one in a billion... and she got to fight alongside you. I've heard Ghorza Bridger crowing about getting to fight side by side with the Captain at a bar on the promenade after the Talasar Spire with the same enthusiasm most girls save for a once in a lifetime present or getting pregnant. I also could tell that her shield sisters were green with envy. Well. Greener than normal anyway. If Miri'Tok wasn't interested, I'd be worried she'd hit her head in the fight. Plus her body always seemed to be facing you, except when she was speaking directly to me."
Ariane stands back up and tucks some of her hair back into place, with an exaggerated attempt at a glamorous, flirtatious pose..
"Well, with such a gifted potential candidate it wouldn't exactly be a hardship to share. I'll just have to take solace in the fact that I'll always have a bigger rack than her."
David's eyes naturally drift downwards from her face, considering the rack in question, only for a slightly embarrassed Ariane to stick a finger up to direct his attention back upwards before covering her reddened face with her hands.
"My horns David. I meant my horns. I have bigger horns than she does."
It takes every fiber of discipline he's ever possessed for David to suppress the cheeky grin that desperately wanted to plaster itself across his face, and to tame the school boy giggle fit he so dearly wanted to have. He stiffens his upper lip like a proper British gentleman and manages to dryly respond.
"Well my dear, let's not talk about other women. You have a fantastic rack and I look forward to appreciating it later tonight."
Ariane shoots him a look, clearly over acting her slight embarrassment into mock outrage, playing along with her husband easily.
"Now you're doing it on purpose!"
"Yes, but you're cute when you're flustered."
"You're impossible David Forsythe!"
"That I am Mrs. Forsythe."
Ariane chuckles, and leans over, planting another gentle kiss on his lips.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way."
First Last

Blockthrough helps the world’s leading media brands restore a healthier relationship with the 225 million users who filter their online ad experience. Our real-time ad filtering technology ensures that only creatives that meet the highest ad quality standards such as Acceptable Ads and Better Ads are served to opted-in users—thus delivering respectful, relevant, nonintrusive, and consent-based advertising.
Blockthrough is the most popular ad filtering solution among the Comscore Top 150, and our customers include brands like AccuWeather, Freestar, CafeMedia, Healthline, and Future plc. Today, our technology powers more than 10,000 sites across the globe, monetizing over 2 billion pageviews each month.
For its innovative technology, strong revenue growth, and contribution to the online publishing ecosystem, Blockthrough has been recognized with awards from analysts and trade publications including Deloitte, The Globe and Mail, Great Place to Work, Adweek, AdExchanger, Digiday, The Drum, and AdMonsters. Blockthrough is a TCF v2.0 certified vendor and a member of Interactive Advertising Bureau (Canada), associate member of Association of Online Publishers (UK), and community member of Prebid.
Blockthrough is expanding our Engineering team! We are seeking an experienced Backend Software Engineer to help build products that impact millions of customers and handle billions of monthly requests. This candidate will work closely with our Product Team and senior engineering members within a culture that prides itself on craftsmanship and clean design.
Please note that for this role we are only considering candidates permanently located in North America. What You'll be Doing

 Design and implement robust and scalable solutions Write efficient and clean code Build and maintain CI pipelines Collaborate with other engineers when architecting large-scale solutions Own a piece of the stack and be responsible for implementing and operating production systems Write Go code and work with GCP services 

What You’ll Need

 3+ years of production software engineering experience in one or more languages (Go, Python, Rust, C++) Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Ability to get up to speed on complex, difficult concepts with minimal assistance Proven ability to communicate complex technical issues cross-functionally A BS/MS/PhD in a scientific field, or equivalent experience 

Bonus Points if You Have

 Understanding of the ad-tech ecosystem and/or ad-tech experience Experience with GCP or AWS cloud platforms Strong Linux background 

Why you’ll love working at Blockthrough

• Close-knit and collaborative culture with transparent leadership that cares
• Competitive compensation (including health, dental, and vision benefits)
• 28 days of vacation per year
• Paid sabbatical program
• Retirement Savings Plan
• Top-of-the-line hardware
• Optimal work-life balance
• Up to $1k home office reimbursement
• Professional development compensation
• 100% remote or the opportunity to work out of our central downtown Toronto office, surrounded by some of Toronto’s hottest startups

If you don't have all the requirements but think that you'll add value to the team, we’d love to hear from you!
Read more / apply: https://www.golangprojects.com/golang-go-job-gbv-Remote-Backend-Software-Engineer-Toronto-Blockthrough-remotework.html

World Tier 1 is easy mode for the casual player. The number of different modifiers is overwhelming for new players and not needed to easily clear the campaign, which is where a lot might finish at.
Benefits

• Spend less time comparing stats
• Differentiate WT1 and WT2 "for veterans"
• Smoother, slower learning curve for modifiers

Things that aren't needed and can be grouped up
% Damage should replace:

• Damage to Close
• Damage to Distant

Damage to Crowd Controlled should replace:

• Damage to Immobilized
• Damage to Stunned
• Damage to Frozen
• Damage to Slowed

Damage Reduction should replace:

• Damage Reduction from close
• Damage Reduction from distant

This would excluded legendary effects which benefits as a learning method. I'm sure many other modifiers can be grouped up as well.
Explaining the dozens of modifiers to a 65 year old casual D2 player (i.e. my father) made me realize they aren't needed at a lower level and is a barrier to keep playing. He will spend months casually finishing the campaign as-is.