I somehow forgot to post an update for April and when I realized my mistake, it was already almost the end of May, so I decided to lump the two together. These two months were mostly the months of Pathfinder. I spent whole April and most of the May playing Kingmaker and brainstorming my character for Wrath of the Righteous. I think my friends, who decided to play alongside me helped that a lot. And we even started talking about trying Pathfinder tabletop game just few hours ago, which I'll DM for. It's nice when videogames have this kind of effect on people. Other than that, I finished Hero's Hour and while I had fun with it as Heroes clone, it was lacking some depth that would hook me on it. I also played forgotten adventure A Vampyre Story, which I wish got a sequel. I finally finished Heidi: The Game. Took me like an hour in total. It was mindless 2D platformer and I still don't regret playing it. Then in May, I opened Itch.io and a small game called Fridge Floppers caught my attention. It was fun in-and-out action to complete during my break. I also finally got around to play Frog Detective 3 and it was magnificent ending to the whole trilogy. I played Five Dates, which is well-made interactive movie about dating in the time of corona. And I also played the Mafia: Definitive Edition, a remake of my childhood game. At the end of the month, I started playing Total War: Three Kingdoms. Last Total War game I played was Napoleon, so it has been a while. It's fun so far. On Switch, I made some progress in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, but I'm close to just dropping it. I'm not feeling it. On the other hand, I bought Fire Emblem: Engage and I'm having fun with it so far. I also played LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, which is really boring and doesn't live up to the original LEGO games. I'm currently at Episode VIII, so I think I'll just quickly get past the story mode and end it there. So, let's talk about these games. This will be long update. And as always, beware of spoilers...
Hero's Hour
Well, this journey finally ended. I had to make it my secondary go-for game to break a gameplay stereotype a little bit, but I think I'm finally done with it.
I appreciate what the devs decided to do. A Heroes clone that combines stuff from 3rd and 4th entry sounds crazy, but it works. I felt like at home right from the start. The inspiration is sometimes way too obvious, for example there are structures with 1:1 design taken straight from Heroes. I don't mind it that much, I took it as a nod to the legendary series. I would say the inspiration helped me get "in" the game and understand some of the deeper mechanics faster.
The fractions in this game are a combination of Heroes 3 and 4 fractions mixed with something new. Each fraction had its own gimmick that made it unique. For example undead fraction could rise dead enemies, the barbarians could only level up their units by combat, sea fraction could dig up pearls and trade them for more units, lovecraftian fraction had powerful heroes, who could be on multiple places at once, but had to sacrifice some cultists to be able to recruit stronger units and so on... I've played about a half of maps with random fraction to try them all, but later rotated between 3-4 fractions based on my current mood. I think my favourites were undeads and seafolks.
Each fractions had multiple heroes, each one with unique skill tree. But some skills were shared by multiple characters. And with it comes one of my biggest gripes with the game. These skill trees are so unbalanced. There is OP skill that let's you fill a bar after each battle and when you fill it up, it will spawn a Red Dragon on your team. Red Dragon is one of the strongest units in the game. And that is not all. When level up, this skill also let's you upgrade Red Dragons into Black Dragons, who are even more broken than their Heroes 4 counterpart. And some characters can get this skill as early as level 2. Meaning that you can get extreme push in power within first few turns of the game and can completely steamroll your opponents. But it's not the only skill that is unbalanced. While heroes take active part in the battle, their damage is minimal and there are barely any skills that would make them better. Meaning that heroes' main purpose is to cast spells. And the problem is that some heroes only get spell skills at the top of their skill tree. While there are some good pasive skills, the ability to completely wreck your enemies with spells is just better. I mean there are spells that will basically take your opponent's units and make them yours. And once again, some characters can get these spells super early in the game or even start with them.
Which slowly brings me to battles. I had love-hate relationship with them throughout the whole game. Your units move and attack on their own and your only interaction with the battlefield are your heroes' spells. Well, you can also tell your units to retreat or move somewhere else, but it usually had no effect on the battle. So your only way to affect the battle stands on the ability of your hero to cast spells. And having enough mana to do so. As I said, some spells were crazy. There were multiple times, when I got in the battle with just my hero and small army of troops against huge army. And I won just because my hero could cast overpowered spells the whole time. Be it summoning spells or spells that make some of your opponent's unit instantly disappear or change the team or just good old meteorite rain. On the other hand, when my hero had no spells or couldn't cast them, I had to sit through multiple minutes of automatic battle, which got boring pretty fast, because each unit has one animation for movement and one for attack. Because the battlemaps were flat with nothing interesting on them, I also could strategize in any meaningful way. And it was the worst during battles I knew I'll win, just based on power and numbers of my units, but still had to sit through them. Also in most games, there was usually one huge clash with each opponent, after which my opponent could never get enough momentum again to be any threat.
Final point I would to gather my thoughts on are maps themselves. There is no campaign, only few skirmishes. Well, there are over 40 of them. Each map is randomly generated, but you always see the general skeleton the map will follow. It will show you if you and your enemies are connected by land or sea and if there are any neutral towns. But while each map was randomly generated, most of them felt the same. All of them was divided into same areas. Your starting area, where you could get the starting resources. This area was locked away from the neutral area and your opponents by either a guarded tunnel or guarded fortress. This made most of the maps look the same. I was also missing some better motivation than just "beat all of your enemies." I think a campaign would be fun.
Overall, it was unbalanced fun. It was nice watching my army completely wrecks my opponent. But I wish there was more to it. It felt a little bit shallow. 6.5/10.
A Vampyre Story
It's crazy and a little bit eerie, how many games, good games, get forgotten so quickly. Especially today, when we get hundreds upon hundreds of games daily. It's sad that there isn't enough time to play every interesting title. Or that some cool series never really sees an ending. It wouldn't happen to games I play, right? There is no way. I'm denying any possibility that this could happen to me.
Which is exactly what happened to A Vampyre Story. This P&C adventure game was planned as a whole trilogy. And they really wanted to make you want it. So you can imagine my surprise, when the game just suddenly ended with a cliffhanger. And when I wanted to get the closure the game owned me, I found out the sequel never came out. There is a prequel, but I want to know what happened to Mona! I need to know! It's my right to know! That makes me angry!
I just spent 4 hours getting to know all the characters. I wish I could do anything to experience at least a bit of what happens next. There is even a trailer for a sequel still available on YouTube. Maybe we could bargain a deal?
Is there even a point in playing games anymore? If all we get is uncertainty after enjoying a good game, isn't it depressing that there will never be a sequel?
Bur it's all gone, isn't it? I'll never meet A Vampyre Story's characters again. They will forever be locked in a cycle of escaping that cursed castle again and again. They will always end up on their way to a crazy scientist. Poor Mona. It's depressing.
But you know what? I had fun with it. I loved its art style and humour. I enjoyed exploring the castle and the town and solving the puzzles. I liked that you could use your bat companion as an item, which meant you could combine him with other items. In the end, nothing can take my enjoyment back. So, I think the only thing to do is to accept that this was one-off experience and move on.
Overall, I hope you enjoyed my [s]stages of grief[/s] review of A Vampyre Story. 8/10.
Heidi: The Game
It's strange. I got this game alongside my Game Boy Micro and bunch of other (and arguably better) games, but this one stayed in my mind and from time to time, I noticed I'm thinking about it. So it's only natural for me to pick it up again and play it.
It's a game based on a children book. I remember I read the book in primary school during classes. And I was lucky to be familiar with the story, because the game barely tell you anything about it. It don't even bother to be consistent. For example Heidi mentions Klara once out of nowhere at the end of the game, while completely ignoring her existence up until that point. Other characters are pretty much non-existing, only one of them has dialogue and that's only at the start of the game.
The gameplay is simple. It's 2D platformer, where you go from left to right. And about 70 % of the levels really felt like I was just holding a forward button and just beat the level by jumping at the right time to avoid pits and enemies. The rest had me sometimes going up or down and very rarely (in like 2 levels), I actually had to navigate through a complex layout. It's a game for small kids, I get it, but some levels could be finished in under a minute with minimal input.
Overall, for a game that lasted me for about an hour, it was fun and quick, but didn't really leave an impression. It would be cool flash game. Nothing more, nothing less. 6/10.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker
"It takes 500 hours to complete, " that was an ad for a game I was a little bit interested in. Up until that moment. After I read this ad, I moved the game to the "probably will never play" category. "An epic adventure that will take you 100s of hours to finish, " says another ad for another game. But it fails to address that that game has enough content for about 20 hours and the rest is just a boring filler.
One view, when it comes to value of games is how long it is. And it's honestly something I can't really understand. Time spent in the game is weird variable to measure the value of the game with. For example, when I finally decided to play The Witcher 3 (as someone, who played previous entries on launch, I was turned down by the switch to more traditional open-world and the promise of 100s of hours of content), I spent over 100 hours in it on one playthrougth. But, and also because of this, I think it's mediocre game with great dialogues and cinematography. I experienced everything the game has to offer in about 20 hours. But the game never built up on that, so the final 80 hours of my gameplay were really bland and boring and felt like a filler for most parts. I really only kept up playing because the general consensus about it is that it's one of the best RPG of all time and I just didn't get to the good parts yet. Which is a lot weirder, since it isn't really a RPG, but that's probably a topic for another time. On the other hand, Smile For Me is a game I've finished in one sitting one evening. It knew exactly what it wants to do, executed it perfectly and ended right when it was suppose to. And it's a game I still fondly remember to this day. The art of ending the game at the right time is really hard to master and it doesn't always apply that longer games don't know when to end. For example, Divinity: Original Sin 2, that I've played last month is long game. But it's exactly as long as it needs to be. It barely has any filler in it and leaves me wanting more. On the other side, SUPERHOT is about 2 hours long, but even that is way too much and feels like a slog and just doesn't know when to end.
Which slowly gets me to Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Kingmaker puts you in a shoes of a (future) monarch. As you progress the game, you gain the ability to manage your kingdom. And with it comes the biggest problem. The game has awful pacing. It starts good. Kill a bandit king and claim good lands. You have few days to do it. But then, you quickly get another, more personal quest. And suddenly, you have to choose. Which one will your pursue first. Will you take out your competitor and risk that the only trail you have to the bandit king will go cold? It adds so much to the game and you question whatever you've done the right thing.
But as the game goes on and you get your kingdom, these choices slowly disappear and all you're left with is "you have X days to finish this quest," which the game sometimes doesn't even tell you and then will just say you failed the objective after some time. While this adds to the overall feeling of alive world, it also introduces few more problems.
But let's talk about the kingdom management for now. You get special quests that can be resolved by you or your advisors and take some time. You basically just click, who will solve which quest and then wait. Some of the quests will lock-in your character for few in-game days. Which means if you don't finish all your personal quests first, you risk failing them. It's really a weird design choice, especially since you still can use you companions normally, while they are solving a kingdom quest, just not your main character.
Then, there is the pacing issue. When you finish a chapter, you have some time to manage your kingdom and explore. Exploring is, like in many exploring-focused games, useful only at the start. After that, you'll encounter the same looking maps, same enemies and same loot. The loot was so weirdly distributed that I've used some weapons all the way from the first dungeon to the end of the game, because there just weren't better weapons of that kind for my characters. After a while, I didn't even bother with exploring everything, because what I got during the main game was enough. So, that's one part of the game that I don't really want to participate in during this time. The second is kingdom management. As I said before, there isn't really much substance to it too. You just click and wait. Sometimes, you don't have anything to click on. So you'll have to click "Skip a day" button. Yeah, there is a button that will skip one in-game day. That's just an atrocious idea. Instead of giving you any meaningful activities to spend your time in, the game let's you click one button until it allows you to continue. And it really is an issue. In one instance, I had to skip over 400 days until the game let me continue with the main story. For the final two chapters, I had to turn kingdom management on auto, because I would have to spend another in-game year clicking skipping button.
It's really a shame, because I think the story was fun. Not something world breaking, but nice little tabletop adventure. Same goes for characters, which I enjoyed quite a lot. I even managed to swap my party members a lot, not really having a set team of 6. I was afraid some of them will be annoying, like overly optimistic Linzi or her polar opposite Jaethal. But even them managed to convince me to like them. My favourites are Harrim, Valerie and Nok-Nok. Harrim had nice twist on the typical dwarf character, Nok-Nok was fun comedic relief and Valerie was one of the best Lawful Neutral character I've ever seen. The final dungeon forced me to shuffle the party one more time, so there was no time for stereotype to settle in. I've played as Wizard, an illusionist, and it worked fairly well. Illusionists are usually RP-heavy characters and doesn't work well in these linear environments, but I had fun with it. Especially illusions on higher levels were something I never tried before.
Which brings me to the pacing issue #2. The battle system. I hate the real-time-with-pause system of cRPGs. Who's idea was it? Who likes to watch two parties missing each other for 10 minutes, while they as player has 0 input in the game? It's not how battles in tabletop RPGs work. Luckily, I was able to switch to turn-based system and it was a little bit better, but I still encountered moment, where no hit would land for 10+ rounds. And especially by the end of the game, it was tiresome to fight low-level enemies in this mode, so I kept switching in and out of it. I'm the end, it was the best idea. I let the game solve easy fights for me, while I kept the harder fights and bossfights for myself. And it was great. I enjoyed most of the chapters and their respective bosses. The final bosses were a little bit predictable, but I don't think the game was aiming at some big shocking revelation, when it comes to them.
Overall, this game has a lot of good ideas and mechanics. But it will shove them down your throat to the point that you'll actively avoid them. When I turned down/ignored all side activities, I had a lot of fun with the game. Which is weird, but it's the result of your 25 hours long game taking 70 hours to finish. 8/10.
Fridge Floppers
Fridge Floppers is a 15 minutes physics-based game made in 48 hours. Which is impressive. The main goal is to move a fridge to a van, while controlling two movers carrying it. You can move them both at the same time or let one of them jump. But the fridge can't fall off.
There were about 5 levels of varying difficulty, just scratching the edge of all the possibilities. You barely get to experience the pain of climbing up and down a set of stairs before the game ends.
And there isn't really anything else to say. The art style is simple, yet nice and feels like a good fit for this game. The controls are easy to understand and hard(-ish) to master.
Overall, I wish there were more levels added to the game, because as I already said, I love the concept. 8/10.
Frog Detective 3
You might remember me excitingly talking about the previous two entries in this series. Ever since then, I was eagerly waiting for the final part of the trilogy. Only to completely miss the release. I only recently learned about it, while browsing Itch.io. I have no idea how could I miss it, but made sure to play it as soon as possible.
Frog Detective is the worthy finale of the series. It picks up exactly where the previous entry ended, but you're also served quick recap of previous games. The game plays exactly like the previous two games. You're let loose in a small area and have to solve a crime. This time, you're in Wild West-themed town and you're trying to find everyone's stolen hats. You're aided by Lobster Cop, who is supposedly #1 detective in this world. But is he really? The story is extremely silly and full of plot twists and surprises. I would never expect this game to surprise with its story.
The gameplay is simple and follows the same structure as the previous games. You talk with characters, find out what they need and what can they offer and then you start exchanging items with them until you get what you need. It's always clear what to do and especially after you talk with all characters, you're just following a linear path.
Overall, this is great way to end the series. I'll be looking forward next game from these devs. 9/10.
Mafia: Definitive Edition
While I've played the original Mafia (and its sequel) when I was younger, I never really joined in the cult that worship this game and its creator as second coming of christ. It was a great game, but the fanbase and its creator are a little bit crazy. And I think that's what turned me off the series for so long. I think the last time I've played Mafia was 10 years ago and it took me so long to get to this remake. Now, while I'm writing this, I know I had some kind of point to make in this paragraph, but I forgot what it was...
So, let's move on to the actual remake. I think it does a lot of things right. I like the re-imagining of the cutscenes, the added details and dialogues. The city looks amazing. It looks like it did in my imagination back in 2002. But it also introduced some not so great changes. It completely kills "Just for Relaxation" mission. It was one of the best mission in the original game, which let you tackle the problem your own way. It also made sense from narrative perspective and was grounded in reality like the rest of the game. Now, it's stupid boring forced linear stealth mission, that betrays Salieri's character and just makes everyone so unlikable and makes them act out of character. Plus, for some reason, there is still dialogue from the original that doesn't make sense in this new scenario. Luckily it's almost final mission of the game and it has no consequences on the rest of the missions.
The gameplay is pretty much the same as the original, only tweaked a little bit to match the modern standard. I like it. The original had more opened areas and let you handle missions your own way, but I didn't mind the more linear approach. It was annoying few times, because I was so used to completing certain mission certain way, but nothing to be mad about. Unlike the mission I talked above.
Overall, I think this remake is nice alternative to the original, but scratches completely different itches, so I don't think it's something to replace the original. 7.5/10.
Five Dates
Five Dates is interactive movie about dating during the time of corona.
And to be honest, there isn't really much to talk about. The gameplay is simple. You watch a movie and sometimes pick, where to take the story. There are 5 woman to date and each of them has really captivating personality and story. They didn't feel one-dimensional at all. I didn't expect it, but the game had great writing and was full of surprises. I decided to first tackle Saffron's storyline and when the credits started to roll, I was left with my mouth opened. I had to take few minutes to really grasp what just happened in the last few minutes. It was fun and it left me wanting more, so I returned and finish all storylines. The acting was enjoyable and I'll make sure to check more games from this studio. I've actually played their Late Shift back in 2017 and it's amazing how much they improved since then. I think it was from them.
And... that's pretty much it. It was cool short game, the acting was great, the dialogues, the characters and writing was fun, there was really big attention to details, despite each shot being just a character standing/sitting in front of webcam. 8/10.
For June, I'm playing Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. I couldn't get enough of Kingmaker, despite it sometimes feeling really dragged out. But I know what settings to turn off or on to make the game more fun. The full version of HROT, Czech Boomer Shooter, was released, so I hope to get around to play it. And I hope to finish Total War: Three Kingdoms. And maybe make some progress with my Switch games. And I'll also try to put Call of the Sea somewhere in between them.

Hello all! I have been playing ttrpgs for around 4, almost 5 years now and despite being in many different diverse groups I've never had any horror stories to share. Now, I have at least one minor one.
People involved are myself(female, because it unfortunately matters), DM, Rogue, Ranger, Fighter, Bard and Witch. This is a Pathfinder 2nd Edition game.
Most of my experience has been with 5e, and I hadn't really touched any other system. So, when everything went south with Wizards of the Coast and the OGL and Pinkertons, I decided to branch out and try other systems. That is when I managed to find a group for Pathfinder! I was excited to learn the system, so as soon as I was in, I started reading the core rulebook and listening to videos on the rules of the game.
The initial party consisted of everyone but Witch(she would join later). DM proclaims he has about 3 years experience running 5e games, but is new to Pathfinder himself. No big deal, it seems all of us are new, with Rogue and Ranger being brand new to ttrpgs. We'll learn the system together. Things start off somewhat okay, with a skirmish between two sides, with players split between the two factions. Combat is very basic and everything dies in a single hit, without really attacking us directly. We do discover that Bard's character is... Well, the best way to describe him was a flamboyant gay elf, using a stereotypical gay voice and cadence, who ran from the battle at the first sign of trouble. That was... Off-putting, but it was whatever.
We cleared the encounter, and one side clearly won. My character was actually knocked unconscious, but was picked up and carried by another player of the opposing faction, Fighter. We then all eventually stumbled across a large dragon man, basically a Dragonborn, who breathed lightning, and had a huge axe and plate armor. When we fought him, all at lvl 1, still worn out from the last battle. Almost no one could hit his AC, and he nearly downed half the party before we managed to win. I later found out that the DM just used a level 3 player stat block for this guy, and buffed his HP, which I know in 5e, at least, is a bad idea.
After this, the DM had a shady NPC show up out of nowhere and invite us to come along with him. This was the first sign that the DM wasn't very good at roleplaying, or at least doing so in a convincing way. But, this was the plot hook, so we all went with it. The DM then showed off their inexperience again when we were offered a mission from this NPC, and Rogue asked some pretty softball questions about why we'd want to work with them. As an aside, rogue's backstory involved working with criminals, and these guys were like rebels against the empire who invaded the city.
Either way, we had to go to an auction house to buy a magical item. We were given 50 gold to buy the item, and this was where the DM displayed their inability to describe rooms to us. The description was very bland, and didn't paint much of a picture for us. He also didn't really do many voices, so it was difficult to tell if an NPC was talking, or if it was the DM out of character. Regardless, we found the item we needed, placed bids and got into a bidding war with a noble. For whatever reason, this makes the bard decide to set off a... Distraction, by trying to cast a spell on the noble to charm them, to which they roll a 37 to resist. We are level 2, by the way. This leads to bard's backup plan.
Bard lights and shoots off fireworks in the auction house, causing the entire roof to cave in and severely injure most of us. Rogue did manage to snatch the item, and slip away along with Ranger. Bard ran down the street escaping the guards, and myself and fighter just stood around in disbelief, because up until that point, we had all blended in without issue. There was no reason for such a huge commotion. We stayed and the noble spoke to us, but we talked our way out of it, Fighter being the type from a military/mercenary background, and myself being a local farm girl.
Eventually, we all met up, and in between sessions, the entire group agrees to kick Bard for playing a blatant caricature and being chaotic stupid. He also talked over and interrupted people a lot, and really tried to push his luck with every ruling. And, before we returned to the quest NPC, we got a new player, Witch, who immediately rubbed myself and Fighter the wrong way because she was playing an older, grandmother type, character who... No matter what you said... She knew more than you, or at least as much as you.
Once we got back to the quest NPC, we were paid for the job, and given the option of taking other quests. We did one on an island, it was a poorly narrated place with a simple puzzle that everyone kind of overcomplicated. Typical rpg stuff. Then another, where we got to see Ranger awkwardly flirt with an NPC as a distraction. He was terrible at it, and we all had a great laugh.
I should point out that in each of these sessions we played, DM usually sounded very unprepared, even when we were doing what was clearly intended. He also frequently showed that he was not doing anything to learn the system between sessions. He'd make the same mistakes each week, forget how many actions his NPCs have taken, or even how saves and checks work, frequently using passives, instead of opposed checks. It was frustrating, because we had two brand new players to TTRPGs and we were all new to the game. Yet, it was Fighter and myself, and occasionally Witch as her know-it-all trait wasn't character specific, who were explaining the rules. I even had to correct him on crits once, because he said the number on the attack roll, even with 20, was below the AC. He argued until I showed him the ruling, and he then changed to saying he knew how it worked. Apparently not.
I digress... In game, we did another mission that resulted in our party being ambushed by the noble we had seen at the auction house. The party was then split on motives, as the Witch felt this guy was evil and refused to change her mind, while he told my character he could help her find her biological mother(she was adopted, and there was a lot of familiarities between him and her). Other than what Witch felt about him, and that he was a noble from the invading kingdom, we had no real reason not to trust him. Well, once we were released and able to discuss things, and no matter what anyone did in trying to convince Witch to work with noble, she refused without giving any explanation in or out of character. She just didn't like the guy because of where he was from.
The session ended without us having chosen a side, and we were poised to visit with the noble the next day. The morning of that day, during the next session, Fighter couldn't make it, so we said he went off to talk to someone from his back story, and we went shopping. Rogue got herself a crossbow and Ranger helped teach her how to use it. We then went to a local restaurant my character frequently went to with her adoptive father. This was a fun opportunity for my character to kind of talk about her childhood a bit, how important family is, and some stuff about her dad. When we got there, the Ranger asked what he should order, and my character recommended this huge, expansive breakfast, and I even made up a name for it, the "Hungry Farmers Breakfast" and added that her father proclaimed to have been the first to order it and even named it. Cue our Witch chiming in to say he lied, because this dish is served all across the land. She's eaten it at tons of places.
Now, it's worth mentioning that I had brought it up to DM multiple times that Witch has a know-it-all, one-up whatever you say, personality, and that it really detracts from what others can do. He's said he talked to her about it, and nothing has changed despite that. This, for me, was the last straw. I called her out, and said for her to let us come up with unique character development that we want, and to not steal the wind from our sails. I might have been a bit rude about it, but it was a repeated issue that had yet to be resolved. Witch tried to defend what she said by comparing it to stuff in real life, like from chain restaurants, and I had to point out that they don't tend to have chain restaurants in fantasy worlds, and that this place was specifically a local place.
After that, Witch got quiet and the DM ended the session an hour early because he had stuff to do, and Witch was apparently feeling sick. Supposedly unrelated to being called out. I talked to Rogue and Ranger, and neither of them thought I was out of line, and were sort of feeling the same way about how she was acting. I messaged DM the next day about it, and he promised he'd talk to her again.
I waited a few days, and the Discord server was quiet, and I messaged DM, asking if they had heard back from Witch since they messaged her, and he said he hadn't. He then told me, absolutely out of the blue, that he had a dream of me, that I was holding a baby, and he and I went on a walk together. I... Had never had the misfortune of hearing something like this before, and just promptly tried to change the subject. Fortunately, he went with the change and we talked a bit about Pathfinder stuff. Now, DM knows I'm married, I live in a different country than him, and that I'm... Around 10 years older than him. So, I was very confused as to why he would ever say anything like that to me.
We skipped the next session because two players couldn't make it, and during this time, I asked a lot of people IRL, and in other ttrpg games I'm in about the situation, showing screenshots of the conversation so they had, verbatim, what he said. Everyone, guys and gals, thought it was either super weird, or outright creepy as heck. I agreed, and decided that this would be the last nail in the coffin. Poor descriptions, bad roleplay, terrible rulings, no enthusiasm during actual sessions and suggestions of introducing broken critical failure rules, like permanent injuries or dismemberment into a game with total ttrpg newbies ON TOP of this guy also dreaming about me with a baby. I was done.
I wrote the DM a length explanation, told him how creepy it was, and that I'd be leaving. Wished him well, and waited for his response. To his credit, he didn't explode. But, he did say that I was overreacting because what he said wasn't explicitly sexual or romantic, and so I shouldn't take it that way. Yeah, I'll just take my friend's advice, where she said he was testing the waters with the dream stuff. I told the group I was leaving, without context outside of things just weren't for me. Wished them well.
When I left, Rogue, Ranger and Fighter all stayed in touch and wanted to play more games with me. DM, on the other hand, decided to air out everything that he and I said, sharing screenshots of the conversation and... Yeah. Rogue and Ranger were both kind of shocked by it. Rogue said it was none of her business, and agreed that DM was a creep. Ranger was a bit more forgiving about the dream stuff, but was also offput by the airing of dirty laundry. Fighter left when I did, so he didn't see it.
Tldr: Joined a Pathfinder 2e game where the DM went from incompetent and underwhelming, to really creepy, alongside a player who glorified a gay stereotype, and another who wouldn't let anyone have any cool moment, because she had apparently experienced everything in life, and it was better than whatever you did.
Glad to be out of that group, and now I have Fighter, Rogue and Ranger in a group that I and Fighter take turns DMing one shots in until we can find someone who would like to be a DM for us on a longer form adventure.
All in all, far from the worst horror story, but still an interesting little rollercoaster. I hope you enjoyed this. Sorry if it was a long read.

I've recently took a big interest in flower gardening and really wanted to try to make a hybrid, mainly cause I think it's a fun challenge plus it would be super cool if I got to name a plant, problem is that I'm not too knowledgeable on the topic yet even though I've spent a lot of time researching it for the past week, just the shear amount of information is a bit overwhelming so I don't really know where to start with learning about it.
I realize that it's a bit out of my league right now but again I think it would be super cool if I could do it, I also realize It's pretty likely that I fail but I don't really care about that, I really just wanna know is if it's theoretically possible, also if there are any improvements to the process that I can do (if it is possible) would be helpful to know.
I decided to on trying to cross Podranea ricasoliana with Tecoma stans so I asked Gpt-4 to give me a step by step process so I wanted to know if you guys think it could possibly work:

1. Choose two plants that you want to hybridize, Make sure they are healthy and mature enough to produce flowers and seeds.
2. Prepare a suitable growing environment for both plants. They both prefer full sun and well-drained soil. You can grow them in pots or in the ground, but make sure they are close enough to each other for cross-pollination to occur. You may need to adjust the watering and fertilizing schedules according to the needs of each plant.
3. Wait for both plants to flower at the same time. This may be tricky, as Podranea ricasoliana flowers from November to March, while Tecoma stans flowers from late spring to the first frost. You may need to manipulate the photoperiod or temperature of the plants to induce flowering at the same time.
4. Once both plants are in bloom, collect some pollen from the anthers of Tecoma stans using a small brush or cotton swab. Carefully transfer the pollen to the stigma of Podranea ricasoliana. Repeat this process for several flowers on different branches of Podranea ricasoliana. This is called artificial cross-pollination.
5. Label the pollinated flowers with a tag or marker to keep track of them. Protect them from insects and other pollinators by covering them with a paper bag or mesh netting.
6. Wait for the pollinated flowers to develop into fruits. This may take several weeks or months depending on the plant species. Monitor the fruits for signs of ripening or splitting.
7. When the fruits are ripe, harvest them and extract the seeds. Clean and dry the seeds and store them in a cool and dry place until you are ready to plant them.
8. Plant the seeds in a suitable growing medium such as potting soil or vermiculite. Keep them moist and warm until they germinate. This may take several days or weeks depending on the seed viability and dormancy.
9. Once the seeds germinate, transplant them into individual pots or containers and grow them under suitable conditions. Observe their growth and development and look for any signs of hybrid characteristics such as intermediate leaf shape, flower color, or growth habit.
10. If you are lucky enough to obtain a successful hybrid, you can propagate it by cuttings or tissue culture and name it according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.

Anyways help would be very much appreciated, also if anyone has any good sources on plant breeding and hybridization, or information that would be useful for flower gardening or gardening in general that would also be a great help.

I am a recent high school graduate, and due to financial constraints, I have not been able to pursue college until now. Since I was young, I have always dreamt of becoming a doctor. In fact, I chose the STEM strand in senior high school to prepare myself for a medical career. I have dedicated myself to academic excellence and engaged in numerous extracurricular activities and training programs related to medicine. One example sa Red Cross. Sobrang ineenjoy ko yun kasi kahit itrain lang kami ng basic first aid feeling ko I get a glimpse of becoming a doctor. My passion for becoming a doctor has been unwavering, and I particularly enjoy subjects like chemistry and biology.
Now that I am ready to start college, I have recently come across information about careers in the IT industry. Considering our financial situation, the attractive salaries in the tech field have caught my attention. I have started to ponder whether the time and effort I would invest in studying medicine could be equated to studying IT, where a six-figure salary seems attainable.
Over the past few days, I have been reading stories from doctors and medical students who express regret about pursuing medicine due to its physical and mental demands, relatively low salaries, and the toxic work environment. Puro negative walang positive huhu. In terms of passion, I am passionate about helping others in need and especially makakatulong ako sa filipino people. But the way they are highlighting the healthcare system in the Philippines, it's demotivating 😔
If I want to be practical, a career in IT seems to be the better choice. However, it is incredibly difficult for me to accept the thought of not pursuing medicine, as it has been my lifelong dream.
At this point, I believe it is essential to make a decision, especially with the approaching start of the academic year in August. If I choose a tech-related course, it would mean starting from scratch. I feel completely clueless about other career options since my research has primarily revolved around medicine. I am truly uncertain about what to do. Identifying myself as a future doctor for so long, the thought of working in a different field is currently demoralizing.
To doctors out there, considering the sacrifices, efforts, and sleepless nights you have experienced, is pursuing medicine truly worth it? If you had the opportunity to go back in time, would you choose to pursue medicine again?

After almost 5 years spent in research (I have a MSc in Physics) I was just annoyed to use my time in order to produce results that would eventually end up in a research paper to be forgotten after a few months: I didn't see any purpose in that. That's why in 2019 I moved to the industry by applying as Data Scientist to a large corporation. I really hoped the industry would give me more practical applications of my knowledge; I was wrong.
Since I joined the company I've been bouncing back and forth between different projects where I would have plenty of meetings discussing general stuff, without ever going into the details. Every time we were getting to something concrete it was said that I shouldn't do any development, as this is the task of subcontractors. Even when I managed to build some products that I think were pretty cool, after just a few months the same products ended up forgotten into a drawer because were built with already outdated requirements (a management issue).
Nowadays I just spend my days working on personal projects as the tasks that I'm assigned to are fairly easy and don't require me too much time. Plus, I'm working on stuff that I'm pretty sure nobody will ever use. Why do I know that? I could be literally gone for days and almost nobody would realize. I shouldn't really complain as I'm not working many hours and payed more than enough, but being constantly without motivation is definitely not good...
In the end I'd just like to be useful and to build something that I know will serve a purpose. Is it really hard to do that in big companies? Is there anyone in the same position as me?

This is a bit of a long one, as I think our situation is a little unusual.
I have recently finished uni and got a decent paying first job lined up a distance away from my parents house, but close to my partner's house so I'm moving in with her.
We'll be in her bedroom in her parents house. It's a small room and a busy house, but it will work short term so we can save up a little.
In 6 months time, I imagine we should have £15k in joint savings for a deposit. By this time, or earlier, I think we'd have gone insane living in her small bedroom.
At that point, how should we look to moving out into our own property? £15k doesn't seem enough for first time buyers to get a mortgage, with the average property price in our area being around £200-250k, even for a flat. Rental prices are around £800/month, again for a flat.
From what I've found through research, I think these are our options... -rent while saving for a bigger deposit to buy our ideal house -buy the cheapest flat we can find, pay off some of the mortgage until we have enough for a deposit for an ideal house -go for a buying scheme such as shared ownership, rent to buy, etc, either to build a deposit or get an ideal house for us
As someone new and unfamiliar to all this, I've seen a lot of contrasting opinions on the many schemes and I'm a bit lost. I want to maximize our money, it would hurt to sacrifice so much income on rent when it's essentially dead money we won't see again. Though it may make sense if it keeps us sane and allows us to save for a deposit on a good house.
Collectively we will be earning just over £50k/yr before tax, I don't know how much we should expect to be offered as first time buyers looking for mortgages.
What would our best option be, given our circumstances? Are there more options I didn't list?
To add to this confusion, ideally in 5-10 years, I'd like to move away to the other side of the UK, so is it even worth mortgaging in such a short space of time?
I hope this post wasn't too jumbled- I'm hoping someone can point us in the right directions.
Thank you!

This question is for people who have long time depression and anxiety, have been through a high doses of meds that has actually improved their conditions and after successfully completing the courses have eventually stopped taking them with doctors recommendation and haven't relapsed later.
I don't know whether even there are cases such. But after over a decade of battling with severe depression and generalised anxiety, when I finally started my treatment I had a clear goal. I want to treat my conditions like any other health condition and take the help of professional to make it go away or atleast be manageable. I don't want to curl up on a bed for rest of my life sinking in the darkness of my mind. Now after a sustained period of my body adjusting with a meds, showing improvement and carrying a bag filled with meds, and feeling free of the dark thoughts and crippling anxiety for smallest of task, I wonder when I will be in the other side of it. When I don't have to rely on the meds to function.
I understand many of the drugs and their efficacy are still not fully understood. What could be the long term effects and whether in order to fix one thing I am breaking something else. Whether my heart or my liver or my kidney is going to bail out.
I have expressed this concerned to my doctors. Have also specified them I do not wish to maintain the laundry list of meds indefinitely. They have assured me gradually it will be tappered and I may have to be on one or two meds in future. One of them have explained me this like taking an insulin for diabetes or taking medication for blood pressure or thyroid. And I do have understand his theory. But I would like to know from people who have been in my place, what waits for me in the other end, after I finish the course the treatment or will it work or not.

(insert GarageBand Acoustic Picking 18)
​
Hello, and welcome to the History of Russia. Last week, we finished our discussion of Jarl Rurik's settlement of the Novgorod region and establishment of the region. This week, we will discuss the period of Rurik's rule, starting in around 867 and ending with his death.
​
Probably the best place to start is with Rurik's first round of conquests, as this will put into context much of the administrative goals he achieved during the interbellum before his second round of conquests. At about the same time that his brother-in-law Bjorn af Munso would set sail for the Viking conflicts in England, Rurik sent forces to the region just north of Novgorod known as Vodi. The defending forces were outnumbered, and the region fell quickly to siege. This is where the rule of King Rurik began. Shortly after the conquest, Rurik announced that with complete control over the Novgorodian region he was proclaiming himself as King and establishing a royal court in the new capital. The coronation took place on September 24, 867. To celebrate this achievement, a runestone was erected in the newly acquired land. In addition, a grand tournament was held where Valdemar af Aalborg would win the duels and earn himself a position as Rurik's bodyguard. It was in this position that he will go on to be recognized as the court's first "Champion of the Violet," commanding forces alongside Rurik.
​
After the conquest of Luki, Rurik would then deploy his forces northeast, marching through the Biarmiland in short order. Rurik's forces would travel along the rivers until they reached key holdings and sieged them down, trampling the much smaller forces of their opponents, controlling the jarldoms of Chudia by 870, Biarmia by 874, and Vologda 877. It was upon finally reaching Ustyg that his up-to-now unblemished record received its first blemish. Jarl Ulljoi called his son-in-law the Karelian Tuure and raised a mercenary host, and with a numerically superior force was able to dislodge Rurik's forces who had never fully recuperated from the constant warring. According to the skald Baldr, it was during this fight that Tuure let out a massive scream and entered a berserk slaughter, where he gained the nickname 'the Butcher.' Rurik would pull his forces back to the capital and recoup over the winter of 882-883 as well as purchase the services of a Lithuanian host. While Ulljoi would take this advantage to control the chiefdoms of Povonets and Pudozh, he would then attempt to ford the Belo Ozero where his forces were broken on the other side by a rejuvenated force in the spring of 883.
​
The consolidation of the Biarmiland region marks the end of Rurik's first series of conquests and his interbellum transition to administration, a period which would last for about 10 years. It is worth discussing Rurik's family now, as his handling of them will help set the stage for events to come. His first three children with Ingrid were all daughters - Umila, Iliana, and Ragnhildr who were wed to Krasimir of Starodub, Tarkatzus of Arpad, and Gauronas of Prussia respectively. In the summer of 883, about 9 months after returning to Novgorod during the rout, Ingrid bore her first son Sverker. With the knowledge of the Norse tradition of confederate partition, Rurik was well aware that if he had multiple sons his lands would be divided amongst them, and thus endeavoured to ensure that each of them would be a capable ruler in their own time. Thus, the Biarmiland was split up amongst Rurik's children as they were born - Biarmi to Sverker, Chudia and Vologda to the twins Sigurthr and Bergthor in 884, and finally Ustyg to Ragnarr in 891.
​
To say that the interbellum meant that Rurik's armies stood idle would be an incorrect assumption. Though they did not formally go to war at this time, they would still periodically raid the nearby holdings for loot, which was translated into increased development across Novgorod - in the capital as well as in the personal holdings of Luki, Vyangi, Tikhvin, and Vodi. Much of this money was also invested into developing cultural relations with the local Russian rulers.
​
Rurik's grand tour starting sometime in 891 and ending in 893 heralded the culmination of his adminstrative efforts, but also brought great personal tragedy. He set out first for Pallteskja, administered by his son Helgi, but learned shortly upon departing of a wave of consumption that swept through Vologda and would kill Sigurthr. On route to the court of High Chieftan Askell, his wife Ingrid was injured in a fire and would succumb to her wounds within the week in the fall of 892. Shortly after returning, in the winter of 894 the young Bergthor was found dead on a hunting trip, killed multiple times by archers. It would not be an overreach to make the assumption that this rash of death affected Rurik, as it was in 896 that he would commit himself to one last series of wars. At the age of 66, and still commanding troops into battle, it is not unlikely that Rurik envisioned himself dying with a sword in his hand.
​
In the same manner as before, Rurik's forces were able to blitz through much of the region of Vladimir in 897, capturing Suzdal and the holding which one day will become Moscow, the capital of Russia. Taking advantage of Ruslan's weakened state to the south, envoys were sent to request submission. The answer was no, and within the year Ruslan's answer had been changed to a yes. After this, Rurik set his eyes on the lands west of Minsk, to Pinsk and Kyiv. His second, and final, blot on his military record would come in a similar manner as the first - Pinsk, calling upon its allegiance with Chornobyl and Varmaland, was able to outmaneuver and crush Rurik in the field. Rurik himself was captured, and forced to end his war as ransom.
​
Rurik never would recover from his short prison sentence. A few days later, he would retire to his bedchamber from where he did not emerge. He was 69 years old, and had ruled Novgorod for 32 years. Next week, we will follow his heirs as they enter the octagon in what is now known as the Novgorodian Wars of Succession. Only one, his youngest living son Ragnarr, will survive the next 5 years.
​
(insert GarageBand Acoustic Picking 18)

Hello all, I have made some other posts looking for an RPG game that I can fall in love with and I have tried a few this past weeks. Therefore I am doing another post trying to detail what exactly I am looking for and bringing in the games I have played ( or I am currently playing ) and what are they missing.
So, what I am looking for is, a classical RPG, portrait mode, with a class system that has impact in the game, with classic gear system ( sockets, enchants, upgrades, item quality ), with PvP ( I don't care if the enemies are controlled by AI, I just want to face other people characters in the arena ), with guilds, with something to do every X hours ( call it energy system but let me play more than 5 min every hour please ), with customization ( like being able to write a bio for my character and this kind of stuff ). And additionally but not a must, let it be "serious" ( it can be cartoon but I don't like foolish games, I don't know how to explain better ).
I know this is a LOT of things and that's why I never found THE game.
I am currently playing:
Orna ARPG
Truly awesome game that I am enjoyining, no energy system, a wide variety of classes, classic gear system, pvp, guilds... this game rocks. But the drawbacks for me are, classes are swappable ( I prefer to have one character per class rather than onme character than can swap back and forth ), and the sprite of your character is not customizable, you have a sprite and you are this everytime, even if you equip a hammer, if your sprite is a guy with a sword, it will have a sword. Stupid I know but I care about this things. For the rest, the game is truly awesome and I am looking forward to keep playing it. Also it has a deep skill system which I like.
Shakes and fidgets
I playd for a few hours with a warrior, deleted it and I am going for a battlemage now. Game looks really fun for a time based gameplay where you send your hero to quests and then you collect the exp, gold and loot. There are classes but there only affects the stats and a unique passive, combat is automatic and that's it, your only impact in the game is choosing the gear ( always the best you have tbh ) and to keep improving your character so it can win more battles against stronger enemies. Honestly? If it had a little more complex battle system and ( optionally ) a more serious interface this game would be even cooler. I am going to play it still for a few days to see what's going on, it is a good approach of what I am looking for.
Please if you know some games that can fit into my desires feel free to tell me :)

Hello all, I have made some other posts looking for an RPG game that I can fall in love with and I have tried a few this past weeks. Therefore I am doing another post trying to detail what exactly I am looking for and bringing in the games I have played ( or I am currently playing ) and what are they missing.
So, what I am looking for is, a classical RPG, portrait mode, with a class system that has impact in the game, with classic gear system ( sockets, enchants, upgrades, item quality ), with PvP ( I don't care if the enemies are controlled by AI, I just want to face other people characters in the arena ), with guilds, with something to do every X hours ( call it energy system but let me play more than 5 min every hour please ), with customization ( like being able to write a bio for my character and this kind of stuff ). And additionally but not a must, let it be "serious" ( it can be cartoon but I don't like foolish games, I don't know how to explain better ).
I know this is a LOT of things and that's why I never found THE game.
I am currently playing:
Orna ARPG
Truly awesome game that I am enjoyining, no energy system, a wide variety of classes, classic gear system, pvp, guilds... this game rocks. But the drawbacks for me are, classes are swappable ( I prefer to have one character per class rather than onme character than can swap back and forth ), and the sprite of your character is not customizable, you have a sprite and you are this everytime, even if you equip a hammer, if your sprite is a guy with a sword, it will have a sword. Stupid I know but I care about this things. For the rest, the game is truly awesome and I am looking forward to keep playing it. Also it has a deep skill system which I like.
Shakes and fidgets
I playd for a few hours with a warrior, deleted it and I am going for a battlemage now. Game looks really fun for a time based gameplay where you send your hero to quests and then you collect the exp, gold and loot. There are classes but there only affects the stats and a unique passive, combat is automatic and that's it, your only impact in the game is choosing the gear ( always the best you have tbh ) and to keep improving your character so it can win more battles against stronger enemies. Honestly? If it had a little more complex battle system and ( optionally ) a more serious interface this game would be even cooler. I am going to play it still for a few days to see what's going on, it is a good approach of what I am looking for.
Please if you know some games that can fit into my desires feel free to tell me :)

“Its not fair to judge like that, nobody is perfect” Is what you get from narcs and from ppl who defend lousy parents. I’ve seen a movie where a Father and son are in the concentration camp during Hitlers regime. He pretended that they need to win a game in order to go home with a tank. The father did whatever he could to protect his sons childhood but did everything to make sure his son survives.
If a father in WW2 can shield his son from a harsh reality and give the best childhood ever during a horrible time where any day could be your last then what’s the excuse for parents in this day and age failing at giving you the childhood you deserve?. There is no war, no famine or a dictator threatening their lives. Yet they act like you should be thankful that you are being breadcrumbed. That their paranoia is good enough reason to comprise your happiness. How can parents believe that having a terrible family is not their fault, or that parenting doesn’t come with a manual so that gives them a clean slate everything they ruin things for you. Or that not knowing that their way of treating you never benefitted you and act like it’s your fault somehow.
Thankfully I’m not as dumb as they think they are, Doing Research has increased my knowledge and I’ve learned what parents I need in life and what parenting style suits my life the most. I also believe that you should discipline your children the way you want to be disciplined so when I didn’t get a good grade I won’t get rewards and when I do I reward myself and with the reward system I always do my best. At times I do feel there is still a part of my character that has been underdeveloped, At times I still feel joy when I do child like things for example play in the snow making snow angels during winter. It’s something I could hardly do as a child because it didn’t snow every year and Narc mother wasn’t at home often. I do hope one day I’ll be happy. Right now it’s a bit hard.

Welcome to Free Talk Weekend! There are no specific discussion topics for Weekends. As such, moderation is more relaxed regarding specific and content within the thread.
What's on your mind? How's your week in Apex? How have your Apex games been going lately? Want to show off your stats or banners? Need some help or want to give out some pointers? Anything you want to talk about that wasn't brought up in a previous thread or did you miss a specific discussion topic earlier this week? Talk about it here!
This thread also serves as a group finder!
Looking to grind out battle passes or events? How about a squad for some sweaty ranked games? Or maybe you're just looking for a chill bud for casual? If so, look no further!
Helpful information to include in your LFG comment:

• Platform
  
• Username
  
• Game Mode (casual/duos/ranked/firing range)
  
• If ranked, what rank?
  
• Time Zone/Region
  
• Special requests (chill, sweaty tryhard, mic/no mic, Discord, 1v1, etc..)
  

Alternatively, you can check out our Discord, which has dedicated LFG channels, or our LFG subreddit ApexLFG.
Moderation in daily threads is more relaxed, but please stay on topic, be respectful of others and remember our rules
Got any feedback for these daily posts? Message Modmail with any valid suggestions and feedback!

crack
current booger weld
primeweld settings
I'm a complete noob to welding and only dragged a mig gun and used a preset econotig to melt puddles a decade ago. I cracked a threaded hole on the side of the block by overtorquing the oil pressure sensor (the hole is 1/8" diameter and pressurized w/ oil) and i've been having a hell of a time finding someone to weld the hole shut. Out of 20 mobile welders I called, only 1 came through and he failed at fixing the crack. It's still pissing oil out once the car starts. At this point, I decided to fix it myself and bought a primeweld 225x + 124cf pure argon bottle used. I also have a spare block (identical to the one in the car) to practice on. Could someone help me doublecheck my notes and guide me through this a bit?
settings:150 amp start current (household 120v)AC120hz frequencyw/ 50% balance2Tpost flow 7SPULSE OFF
plan of attack:-clean the area with brake kleen-clean the area with pure acetone-grind off booger weld-grind channels into any pores/cracks to fill-clean again with acetone-preheat w/ propane torch to 150-200*F-one pass over channels without filler to zap out impurities-second pass w/ filler hopefully puddling up with the base metal
things to practice:-keeping electrode sharp and ~3mm away from surface-keeping torch at consistent near-vertical angle
things to research/test more still:-cup/tungsten configuration-filler material (4043 is what i think is correct rn)-since the real piece is leaning slightly towards me, which direction should i weld to fill the hole? top to bottom going from right to left or something else (i'm right handed)

Everybody yearns to lead a happy married life. Unfortunately, there are times when couples start feeling lousy as things do not go well in the relationship. Even after carrying out research, it becomes difficult to know the actual reason.

Tldr, I’m still somewhat new to Dnd and need some tips for being the best fighter I can be as a level 8 human champion! The full story: So I’ve played a couple Dnd campaigns but I’m still pretty new. Most of my experience was level 1 or 2, but in one current campaign I joined I started at level 6 I think (now I’m lv 8). The campaign has been going for a couple years before me so others have come and gone-most notably, a fighter. I didn’t know about him when I joined-I was gonna be a rogue, but they already had one, so I chose fighter and now I keep getting compared to him. After the last session, someone said that they wish the other guy was back because my fighter’s not holding up good. I WAS NOT TRYING TO REPLACE HIM, he was gone long before I came and I had no idea about him, but now I’m feeling pretty down. I’m doing my best to learn Dnd and I thought I was doing good. I know I should have a thicker skin, but it really got to me because 1, I’m REALLY pouring my heart and soul into this! I haven’t missed a session yet (joined just after Christmas). I research Dnd a lot and try to strike a balance between efficient combat and good roleplaying. 2, to be honest I don’t have a lot of friends so this group was high up there for me. To have someone I really liked wish they had a different fighter really hurt my feelings. I don’t think he meant it maliciously-he and that guy were really close it sounds like-but man, that hit me hard. So… where I’m at now. I’m a human fighter, level 8, Champion, Outlander, with archer fighting style and lucky and sharpshooter feats. (You don’t need to keep track of all this-but I’m just putting it all out there so that if anyone wants to give me specific tips, they have all the info.) I mainly fight with a longsword and a bow. Side gripe: One thing holding me back is I CANNOT, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, GET BETTER THAN STARTING GEAR. The one exception was a leftover corpse slayer bow from their bag of holding-which is nice, but their gear is so much better than mine that I’m a joke. I’m talking magic armor, magic weapons, magic ammunition-crazy high AC’s (his is 10 higher than mine---10!!!) and damage output to match. MONEY TOO, GOODNESS. I’m looting bodies furiously to get stuff but can’t find good weapons, or raise enough money to buy my way up any time soon. The DM hinted that he’d work something out eventually but I fear that he a, forgot, b, wants me to play for years like the veterans to “earn” good gear, or c, now that they gave me the bow thinks I’ve gotten enough handouts. Anyway, huge thanks to anyone who read all that, and please the more specific tips and advice I can get, the better! I’ve been trying to play my cards right but I need every edge I can get. This could be how I should build my fighter as I continue to level, combat tactics, ways to raise the damage I deal… I’m desperate! Ideally I want to be a good enough fighter that no one has to worry about replacing me/eventually like me enough that it’s no longer a concern, but if I can’t get that kind of respect, I’ll settle for the other kind---being so strong that they can’t hold anything against me and have to eat their words! Anything helps!!!

Hi, I was looking to upgrade my ram from 16 to 32GB. My laptop is a ROG Strix G15 G513 G513QM-HF286T with R9 5900HX, RTX3060.
As for RN I am running two MICRON MTA4ATF1G64HZ-3G2 8GB they came with the laptop and after 2 years its time I upgraded them so researched a bit and finally found KF432S20IB/16 Kingston FURY 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 CL20 SODIMM Fury Impact, these seems better but the thing is buying a 32GB kit of this is around 12K here and buying two 16GB ones is around 6K (IDK why it's like that) so, now I'm confused as I read somewhere that kits are better and sometimes mixing rams just doesn't work and these are non-returnable. Should I go for it? If you guys have any other suggestions pls do share some.

So I've been working in a translational medicine lab since spring semester. It was slow in the Spring, but I figured it would pick up in the summer. So far, all I've done is run extremely long PCR and gel experiments. Every day, I spend about 40 minutes doing the same thing as the day before. That's it. I spend the next 5 hours sitting there doing absolutely nothing waiting for the instrumentation to finish running. I've expressed my concerns to the people that are training me, asking for more to do, and I feel like I'm wasting my time. They assure me that it will get better eventually, and that they can't really give me more stuff because I'm not trained yet.
I personally feel very frustrated. I understand that there's not much for me to do, but I just do the same basic things over and over, and don't understand how it will get better. I'm personally a little slower when it comes to doing research, as it often requires several repetitions before I can do it seamlessly myself. The people that are training me have clinic obligations as well and are so busy I don't really get the oversight and training I feel I need.
I could be overreacting--I've only been working for about a week this summer, but I've felt this way since January and just assumed it would get better. It hasn't. It's really frustrating. Spending the summer away from friends and family, waking up early every day, all just to have a really negative experience thus far that doesn't feel like it will improve all too much.
I was thinking about going to school for an MD or PhD after I graduate, but this experience really makes me hate that idea. Biology and chemistry have always been my thing, but now I am unsure if I should even continue on this path. I am really confused as to what I should do. Should I try to stick it out and just hope it works for me? Should I seek a new lab even though it's the summer? I would probably try to avoid translation medical research after this experience. Based off of previous research projects I've worked on in high school, I've found that I enjoy working on hands on projects that keep me busy all day, providing consistent work from 9-5 or 6. While these projects are often more tiring, I've found that they are more fulfilling and I enjoy the fast paced learning and the day to day lifestyle much more. Should I change labs? If so, what subject might be interesting and keep me busy? For reference, I have fairly solid chemistry, physics, and math backgrounds as well.