There's like 10 different gta subs but this one seemed the least online focused so I'm posting here. I'm not a writer or a modern day philosopher but playing the story again for the first time in years, I couldn't help but feel like the inclusion of Michael as not just a protagonist, but possibly the most "main charactery" of the three was strange considering the main themes of the world. GTA games often deconstruct our real life society in a very satirical fashion but they don't just do it for the laughs, they're usually commenting on the things they're satirizing. In GTA V the overarching theme that is present throughout the whole game is the idea of corruption and sin at the very upper levels of society, not just the rich and wealthy, but simply those in power over others. Steve Haines, Devin Weston, Lazlo, and even Stretch, all people who use those "below" them to gain or hold power. Even the minor villians, they are all characters who are at the top, help keep people at the top, or are trying to climb to the top, every single character in the game plays into this pyramid schemish idea.
This is contrasted by our main cast, or atleast in theory. Trevor is the character who fights against this the most. He runs his own company that he carries on his back, completely free and independent. Next we have Franklin, Franklin is someone who is tired of being used by the powerful and sees an out by climbing to the top with Michael being his ticket to do that, ofcourse throughout the game he is being strung on until he realizes that nothing has changed. Franklin can be "redeemed" although in the game it doesn't feel like that ever happened. Yes they got back at everyone who screwed them, but what message does that send? We can assume that the three protagonist have all become the very people we spent the whole game fighting against which in itself can be the message, but the game ends it on a strange tone, the vibe is that we somehow won when in reality, after the credits, our characters have just become the villians.
Now finally to the point, I feel that this issue cannot be worked around with Michael being one of the main protagonist for one simple reason. From beginning to end, Michael is an antagonist. We know he used Trevor when they were younger, and now 10 years later he is doing the same to Franklin. The entire game focuses on the hole Michael dug by making a deal with shady individuals a decade prior, and we watch him climb out of that hole on the backs of others. This is such a strange choice. Rockstar made it a point to have their world say "hey, these kind of people are bad and are the antagonists of our world and story" and then they make you play as one of them which I just find odd.
I'm now going to suggest a change I think would more themematically fit in with the message I think they were trying to send. Keep Michael as a charcter, have his story play out essentially the exact same way as it does, dialouge and all. But in this scenario, Michael is NOT playable, and not just that, he is the final antagonist. I could go on for hours on why this change would make the themes much more consistent and the story unfold in a much more interesting way but I'll break it down only for how it impacts the main cast for now.
Firstly, not being able to see things from Michaels perspective would add a bit more mystery into what the hell is happening at those upper levels of the pyramid that we had explained to us in every Michael story mission. Michael lied a lot throughout the story to the entire crew, we knew this because we saw the truth from Michael's perspective, but imagine if we didn't. Imagine the plot twist when we find out that Michael made a deal with the Feds and tried to have Trevor killed. There are also many instances towards the end after that revalation that really paint Michael in a bad light not just with Trevor, but with Franklin. Franklin becomes much less trusting of Michael. At many points, when crew members die on heists Michael will be forgetful if not outright dismissive showing that he doesn't care about these people, all things that would foreshadow the eventual twist at the end where he ends up as the final antagonist.
For Franklin, I think this enhances his charcter to potentially the most intriguing character arc in a GTA game. At the start, it would appear as though Franklins talents are finally appreciated by someone of importance, someone who can finally help him climb the pyramid and escape the cycle of crime and violence his friends and family are so accustomed to. As the story progresses though, we slowly begin to realize that not only has Michael been using him to solve his own problems, but that the life Franklin so desperately wanted was never worth it in the first place. Michael has a failing marriage, no friends, nothing to live for, and money hasn't solved any of it. I don't know exactly how this plays out, but essentially a much more developed ending A, like many missions leading up to this point, where instead of being any block of the pyramid, Franklin decides to tear the whole thing down and that includes Michael.
I think there should still be a third main character. The three protagonists represented three different tiers of society. Michael being the wealthy "1%", Trevor being a middle class independent "business owner", and Franklin as the lower class "blue collar guy". I want to change the story as little as possible atleast for Trevor and Franklin, but I think Lamar would work as a good replacement. See, Franklin becomes nearly as wealthy as Michael after their first heist together, in this new scenario I think they should play into that more. Perhaps play up the idea that Franklin was "keeping Lamar out" for being so unhinged, so Lamar has to find his own way up the pyramid. So now we have Franklin helping out a lot with the high level crimes alongside Michael, Trevor always out doing his own thing with TPI, and Lamar struggling most of the game through petty level crimes trying to find and in on what Franklin has. Maybe this becomes the conflict that finally pits Franklin against Michael, maybe after a job gone bad Michael suggests that Franklin do to Lamar what he tried to do to Trevor all those years ago.
I think this cast of three work better for the themes of the world since it allows Franklin to really secure that "main main character" spot and have him be the one to really send the message home that I think Rockstar was trying to send. You have to destroy the pyramid, you can't play into it, dont allow yourself to be used by the powerful and wealthy. Trevor and Lamar already embody that mindset but are treated as lunatics for not conforming to the rules of this society, their characters would be these sort of twisted angels on Franklins shoulder. In the end, Franklin would choose his friend and family, Lamar, over power and money. Trevor would find the companionship he longs for in Lamar and Franklin. And Lamar would probably be written a bit differently to tie into this bro-mance ending but I dont have time for that.
Idk, this is just something I've been thinking about my whole playthrough, going for the platinum now.

Im a videographer with extensive sony ff equipment as well as an old a6000 and many lenses. I used to travel for vacation and carry the a6000 plus some good glass with me to snap some shots. But found myself in my couple of last trips not using them at all and reaching for my poco f2 pro, a gopro or insta360 and a drone. I think its the convenience of being in the moment plus i get good enough results for social media that i am happy. Also no weights.
Now i have a couple of vacations that will be in locations with great scenery but unpredictable weather. I was thinking getting my a6000 plus maybe a tamron 18-300 (with all its shortcomings) and call it a day. But the weater is so unpredictable that it might start showers any time and then stop and so forth. My a6000 isnt water resistant like other cameras and it also doubles as my streaming or street photography camera when back home.
My choice is either go with a new apsc body (a6400/a6600/z50 maybe) or get the s23u and call it a day.
Please give me your opinions and recommendations.

Okay, so... a few days ago I posted about a rewrite of all Elite seasons, dividing it into two parts (part 1: S1, S2 & S3, and part 2: S4, S5 & S6). It was a rewrite that I did about a year ago, and only a few days ago it occurred to me to upload it here without further ado, but several comments on the post from the last three seasons told me that they felt a little disconnected from the rest, that last seasons didn't had a general harmony between the characters and the story itself, and the truth is, you were right.
So, since I had nothing better to do at home, I began to think of some way to accommodate that, and well, this is what I came to ^-^
This is only the S4 rewrite, and I want to clarify this retains most of the things I mentioned in my original post, but in a better order, and with several additions I took from the comments on that post, which really made this version a 100/10.
I leave you the link of the original post, where you can read the first complete idea:
https://www.reddit.com/EliteNetflix/comments/13yr1r6/fixing_netflix_elite_season_46_english/
I'll be making the new parts 5 and 6 in a few of these days, and uploading them to my profile as well. When I have them, I will leave those links in the comments of this post.
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S4: the main focus of this season would be on excesses, specifically, on the consequences of drug abuse.

• The story of this season should have followed the consequences of Polo's death for our characters, the weight of the pact of silence regarding Lu, and the non-hypersexualized harmony that the first three seasons had between the characters.
• In addition, from this season several things about the school itself raised in previous seasons seem to have been forgotten just like that:

1. Las Encinas is a bilingual school, but we never see another teacher speaking English (French in the English dubbing) again.
2. The school competition with the Ivy League prize that Nadia and Lu compete for during the first three seasons is not mentioned again, when it is supposed to be something that is done every single year.
3. In addition, from this season almost all the scenes are located almost exclusively inside the school, and we see very little about outdoor scenes, or the private lives of the characters. This is also a serious mistake, since that was what best allowed us to know each other's backgrounds, and create empathy with them.

Initial setting for this season:
(in my post about the first three seasons) I made clear my idea for Christian's character at the end of season 3 (I decided to keep the character in the show, for plot reasons of season 2):

• Christian has pleaded guilty to the crime against Polo, partly to protect Lu (with whom in this version he would have had a romantic backstory) but also because he knew he would not bear to have another murder charge on his conscience (in this case, Polo's) after everything that happened with Marina. It was like his way of making himself pay for keeping silent, and at the same time understanding the reasons that Carla had had to protect Polo all that time: for the people you loved, you are willing to do anything; Carla had done that for Polo, and now he was doing it for Lu.
• At the end of the previous season, at graduation, we would very briefly met a new character who happened to be Carla's younger brother. That character (Felipe) will be one of the new main ones of this season and will be a completely modified version of Phillipe's character (who as such does not appear in this version).
• Nadia, Carla, Lucrecia, Cayetana, Ander, and Malick would have successfully graduated the previous season, and would no longer appear in this one. In this version, Omar would not appear anymore either, since he would have gone to the US with Malick, accompanying Nadia and Lucrecia.
• Samuel, Guzmán, Rebeka and Valerio would be the characters repeating the course and staying for one more season. Cayetana would also stay, but as in the original version, she would do so as the new school janitor.
• Guzmán and Mencía become close friends this season, based on how much Guzmán would see Marina in Mencía [For those who didn't know, Mencía was written as a reformulation of Marina's character, adapted to the needs of the new environment with this "new gen"].

Ari, Patrick and Mencía:

• We would find out that they are adopted children of Benjamin.
• The three of them + Felipe would enter the third year of school, that is, a course below the one that Samuel & company are repeating (making Felipe, Patrick and Ari two years younger than them, and Mencía three, since they originally tell us that she is one year ahead).

Benjamín Blanco: The father of the new trio, and the new principal in Las Encinas, after Azucena's dismissal. He is actually Polo's uncle (his late wife was Begoña Benavent's sister).

• Benjamín would have come to Madrid to help his sister-in-law regarding her son's trial, and to try to obtain information about this, by infiltrating the school, since apparently, despite Christian's guilty plea, there does not seem to have been direct evidence implicating him as the killer, beyond the romantic bond he shared with Polo, so police say it's quite possible he'll be released for lack of evidence.
• They tell us that Benjamin asked his three children for "help" to try to find out what really happened with Polo. However, Ari is the only one who accepted his request for help. Patrick and Mencía try to act as if that doesn't happen. Neither of the three mentions that Polo was their cousin.

Felipe Rosón Caleruega.

• Apparently, he had spent all those years attending a sister private school of Las Encinas located in Argentina, called Los Olmos, and when we got to know him properly this season we would discover that it was not his idea to return to live in Madrid, but rather a decision made by his parents. We would later learn that he had actually been expelled from his last school, and that there is something about his past in Argentina that he is trying to keep secret [Remember that he is a new version of what Phillipe was, so he must have something shady behind him].
• Felipe's "dark past" is based on having anger management problems: a video is revealed in which he is seen together with a group of students attacking another boy. There is a heavy complaint against him, and the case is still on trial, and only thanks to the influence of his parents was he able to avoid being arrested.
• Related to the second main plot of this season, which in the future would become the main plot for later seasons:

⠀⠀⠀ → His father, Theodoro Rosón plans to rebuild a public school again on top of the ruins of San Esteban's (Samu, Nadia & Christian's old school), this time by "legal means" to avoid the same fate as Ventura (Guzmán's father, who was arrested in S1), but still solely for the economic purposes that would result from such construction, and a new scholarship program that this new school would have with Las Encinas.*
⠀⠀⠀ → During the next season, the construction of this new institution would have finished, and we would have new scholarship recipients in Las Encinas, coming from this new school. This would be part of the "reboot" that the next generation would mean for Elite.
They make us believe that Rebeka (not Ari) is the main victim of this season... but she is not.

• From the first episode, we begin to have flashforwards at the beginning and at the end of each episode, where we see, to begin with Rebe in a coma in the hospital, intubated, letting us know that apparently and for some reason (which we still don't know at that moment, but you know, we here are from the future so we can already say that this reason was Armando) his life hangs by a thread. One of the flashforewards of the following episodes before the end shows us a scene of the police closing the closure of a funeral bag with a corpse inside, followed by another scene of Cayetana crying, hugging Felipe... apparently, Rebeka is dead...
• In the end, we find out that Rebeka would end up in the hospital because of Armando, after finding out what Mencía was going through all season, and having confronted him to defend her, but ending up severely beaten in the process.
• For the final episode, we finished understanding that the one in a funeral bag was actually Valerio...
• Valerio dies of an overdose, "completing circle" in his drug addiction plot, but not forcing murder into the season.

Armando's fate:

• HE IS NOT KILLED BY GUZMÁN. Seriously, how did the writers come up with the idea that the character we met SEEKING JUSTICE FOR THE CRIME AGAINST HIS SISTER would become the new criminal face, not facing the consequences and ending his story with him running away to avoid charges?
• Armando is imprisoned: During the last episode we see Mencía crying in the hospital, blaming herself for the possibility of losing Rebe because of her. She finally comes clean; Not with her father, not with Ari, not with Patrick... but with Guzmán. Guzmán is the only person she trusts enough to admit the truth about Armando. Just at that moment, Rebeka wakes up. The rest is simply a competent action on the part of justice.
• So that the public is left with a pleasant taste in the mouth... Armando is murdered in prison? Maybe.

Characters' subplots this season:

• The fact that Mencía is one year ahead of her siblings tells us that she has a fairly high intellectual level, which apparently at first would mark her as the new best in her class, and they tell us that if so, she could be the new candidate to win the prize for which we saw Nadia and Lu competing in the first season. However, as her plot with Armando develops, her grades begin to drop, which creates some concern in her teachers, but leaves Felipe as the second candidate for the award, being the second highest grade in the class. This does not create a rivalry between them two: Mencía is affected enough by her own problems to care, and also, we don't want to textually rewrite Nadia and Lu's plot with other characters, but to maintain the coherence of the traditions that we were previously told that the school had.
• Being that Carla and Marina had been best friends as girls, we discovered that Felipe actually knew Marina, although he doesn't remember her very well. He did not know Guzmán at all, however we see him approaching him anyway to offer his belated condolences on his sister's death. Perhaps in this same scene we discover that Felipe also knew Polo, and in fact had once been "close" to him: he was his sister's first boyfriend (with whom, in the first season, we were told that she had dating since age twelve). This means that Felipe was less than ten years old when he met Polo. Talking to Guzmán, Feli remembers how he used to enter the living room where Polo and Carla were, making her angry, although Polo always defended him and offered to play video games with him at the end of the afternoon. Felipe looks grieved over his death, even though he clearly doesn't know anything about what really happened to him.
• After everything that happened with Polo the previous season, Cayetana is at a point in her life where she is not capable of being in another relationship. Her plot remains only in the way that she wants to change her future and focus on her design career, perhaps having aftermath of everything that happened with Polo, making her start having anxiety attacks (but treating the subject delicately, with her beginning to see a specialist by Rebe's obligation). We would see how Caye tries to seek support from Valerio, because of "Polo's issue" and the connection that Valerio also had with him, but she is frustrated when she realizes that Valerio seems to have coped with all this issue through the use of drugs. Another possible plot for her would be her attempt to help him (parallels to her original attempt to help Philippe). Cayetana would be an easy second target for Ari, in her attempt to find information about Polo for her father. However, she would not achieve much due to the gap between them throughout the season.
• Felipe begins to become friends with Valerio (note: in my rewrite of season 3, I mention that Yeray and Carla's drug plot I gave up to Valerio, causing him and Carla to start having some kind of sex-romantic tension plot as client/dealer, before Carla decided to end that relationship in good health). Feli doesn't know about his sister's past with Valerio, nor does he care much either. He, however, although occasionally accepts to get high with Valerio, doesn't fall in the same game as Carla and is one of the people, along with Caye, who try to get Valerio out of his addiction.
• As for the Blanco siblings, Mencía's plot would continue as is, without too many changes (ie: Armando). We would see Ari mostly as her father's informant, initially her going through Samuel's cell phone as she started hanging out with him, seeing if she could find any information related to Polo's death. As for Patrick, his plot this season would be basically the opposite of Ari's: the pressure he has on him due to his father, and the guilt Benjamín blames him for not taking care of Mencía the night of his mother's accident. Throughout the season we would see him begin to despair more and more because of this, these being the bases of the approach that he would have with Valerio (where he would begin to try to get away from his problems through drugs), which would end in their future relationship [see below].
• Christian would appear as a recurring character. His scenes are based on visits given to him by Samuel, or even perhaps Guzmán, in prison. His permanence this season would be used to generate tension for the public, especially since (as mentioned at the beginning), the police would end up releasing him, due to lack of evidence against him. Let's say they take his statement as a result of the alcohol he drank at the party. It is his potential (and definitive) release from prison, which causes the arrival of the Benjamins in Madrid, with Benjamin trying to seek justice for the family of his dead wife.

Characters relationships this season:
Samuel + Ari + Guzmán.

• The love triangle was a pretty dire plot that only increased the public's hatred towards Ari for having separated Nadia and Guzmán, and for being the reason for the loss of all the development that Guzmán and Samu's relationship had had for three seasons.
• Only Samuel remains her love interest, setting up that possible future "fatheson" connection between him and Benjamin.
• Guzmán, for his side, would continue to have a long-distance love relationship with Nadia through video calls, and towards the end of the season, she surprises him with a visit to Madrid.

Samuel and Ari's relationship would not be there just as one more of the season, but would serve as an element for the plot: Ari would have approached Samuel after learning that he was Christian's close friend (the accused in Polo's murder) to try to obtain information. However, her feelings towards him would become true over the course of the season, thus seeing a kind of development in her character, which would allow the public to empathize with her.

• At some point near the season finale, Samuel would learn of Ari's and her family's connection to Polo's family, and the real reasons she had reached out to him. He would break up with her right then.
• Ari finally confesses the rest of the story, filling in the puzzle pieces that Samuel was missing. He claims that it hadn't all been fake, not for her: she had really fallen for him.
• As a possible redemption ending for the character, Ari vows not to tell her father about the truth after Polo's death, guided by the love she had come to feel for Samuel.

Rebeka + Mencía:

• I don't want to make changes to their relationship, because what they showed us about them this season was very beautiful and well developed. As a general rule of the season, they would also fall into the category of "no unnecessary sexualization of characters", which would mean getting rid of scenes like the one with the melted chocolate...
• We know that, aside to Rebeka, Mencía has her own plot with Armando, which is what triggers Rebeka's attack that leaves her in the hospital.

Patrick + Valerio:

• "Replacement" for Ander-Patrick-Omar's love triangle idea, without the drama and toxicity that this trio represented. Ander and Omar are gone. Valerio and Patrick? Both are wild partiers with drug-abusing tendencies. Let's match them up and watch them explode and burn, because that would be very funny.
• Later it could be revealed (or not) that Patrick would have approached Valerio at Ari's request, to try to obtain some information regarding Polo's case, at the insistence of their father.

Felipe ... + Cayetana?

• Since Felipe is a modified version of Phillipe, it would make sense for Caye to take the same position on wanting to help him despite his past, just as she did with Phillipe. Although this season I have said that I want to focus more on Caye's psyche after Polo's death, and that I don't know if she would be in the best place to want to be in a romantic relationship... In this case, maybe in this version we could reverse the roles of this couple...
• The rapprochement between them would (probably) take place thanks to the fact that they would now both have Valerio as a person in common: they both know each other thanks to him, and apparently they feel sympathy for each other when they meet. This could give us shared scenes of them at school, with Felipe defending Caye from Ari's teasing for her being a janitor (as an example).
• The real rapprochement between the two would occur at the moment when Felipe realizes that Cayetana doesn't seem to be in her best moment. He tries to get closer to her, to help her. We see him also trying to talk to Rebeka, to see if she knows what is happening to Caye, and it is Rebeka who, after several attempts, ends up revealing to him that Cayetana used to be Polo's girlfriend, along with Valerio. This was the explanation that Feli needed.
• That night, Felipe would go to Cayetana's house to try to talk to her, to comfort her. We would see a scene of a brief kiss between them before Cayetana separated from him, crying. Finally Caye had snapped. She would be the person who would finally break the pact of silence: she would reveal to Felipe that she knew who had killed Polo, and that it had not been Christian. The scene would end at that moment, tacitly implying that she would have revealed the whole truth to Felipe, although making him swear that he must not tell anyone.
• This confession would be what Cayetana needed to do so as not to fall into madness, so as not to continue feeling guilty. After that, her anxiety attacks would apparently start to subside, little by little. We would see her less nervous, although several times she would go to Felipe repeating that he must not tell anyone the truth, fearing what others could do if they found out that she had broken the silent pact.
• By the season finale, she would finally face Felipe, and the question of "What is this we have?". She apologizes to him, but tells him that it wouldn't be fair to let whatever they had go any further if she wouldn't end up being fully there for him. She was in no condition to have another relationship. Not after Polo... (and for the final ending of the last episode... not after Valerio). He gets it. They both end up on good terms, hugging each other. They are both crying over Valerio's death (this would be the flashforeward scene we would have seen in the first episodes).

By season finale, Guzmán drops out of school: he decides to join Nadia in the US.

• It's reveal that he feels guilty for getting away from everyone, especially because of what he has just discovered about Mencía. Her “brotherly instinct” tells him that he must stay to protect her, but in the end they show us a scene of both saying goodbye to each other in peace, and Mencía crying, thanking him for having put Armando in jail.
• There would be a farewell scene between him and Samuel, closing their plot as "brothers".

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So, that's it! My second take on a season 4 rewrite. Those who read my original post will have noticed that several things were literally a copy and paste of the original post. But I feel that it is the additions that I made thanks to the comments on that post that really end up giving the seasoning to this version ^-^

Hello hello! My name is Lillie, 23, she/her, transfemme, and I'm looking to join a group of folks interested in playing/running Curse of Strahd. I have had a prior jaunt in Barovia with a DM who ran the game for too brutally. Strahd was intolerable, very few things made sense, and hell, we were stuck using ENCUMBERANCE RULES. So! I'm hoping to find a new group for a less brutal run through of Curse of Strahd. I understand the game is meant to be hard, scary, and brutal, but our characters in the last game were so hesitant to move forward we would rather just sit in Vallaki doing roleplaying stuff than proceeding the storyline because things were just.. that rough.
As for experience, I've been playing 5e for 6-7 years now, and consider myself rather well versed in the rules and playing. My characters often have deep backstories that I very much love having intertwined with the overarching narrative. I adore RP, and enjoy combat, so a good balance of the two works well for me. I don't have a character in mind quite yet, but I often spend my free time making characters, so I'll be sure to have one by the time we begin.
Ideally I'd like a group playing late. 10-11pm EST start time late. I'll be starting a new job very soon that has me working the afternoon-evening shift, so I'd like to still be able to fit in the game after a shift. I can maybe work around a bit earlier, but it'd be a bit hard. As for days of the week, I have a group for Tuesdays and Sundays weekly, with occasional/biweekly games on Saturdays, so any days besides those I am guaranteed free.
If you'd like to ask me anything further, my discord is Shmallo#7025 and I can also be reached here on Reddit, although I do not check this site nearly as much.

Hello. I am a new bus driver, working in one of the biggest and busiest cities in this country. A lot of the people I met in training were HAMs. Lots of people on the job are HAMs. Probably a higher rate than most industries. Naturally, it comes from being largely sedentary while working long hours, especially given the mandatory overtime we have to do. What also doesn’t help is drinking multiple sodas and eating candy, chips, or fast food during your break.
One of my line instructors stressed the important of healthy eating to me. He suggested drinking only water and coffee as beverages, to pack my own lunch, and to have fruits to snack on. Mostly common sense things.
The main issue is he doesn’t follow his own advice and it shows. HAM supervisor is at least 100 pounds overweight. He does drink water, but I also see him drink at least one 20 oz Mountain Dew or Pepsi per shift, and have candy or chips (he’s fond of Doritos) as a snack. For lunch, he usually has Jersey Mikes (to be fair it looks like the smaller serving). He also mentions that depending on the shift he works, he eats dinner then goes right to bed, which probably doesn’t aid in weight loss. He also mentions that he and his wife (also a HAm driver but not as severe) will finish pints of ice cream while watching tv regularly. His regular work assignment is 5 days/57 hours, and he is almost always forced to come in on one of his days off.
When I brought up his hypocrisy in a playful, round about way, he laughed it off and said he just had bloodwork done, and he’s healthy. I highly doubt this. Again, he is at least 100 pounds overweight. Even if he eats healthy at home (outside of the pints of ice cream), there is no way he is not at worst prediabetic and has high risk for heart disease. The high stress levels of the job (traffic, crazy drivers, problematic passengers) must also wreck his blood pressure, even when he appears calm under pressure.
One day when we had a 90 minute unpaid break on the schedule, I chose to hit the small but serviceable health center here. It turns out the people who use our center (drivers and cops) are regulars, who knew I was new just because they’ve never seen my face before. I introduced myself, they welcomed me, and told me to make sure I keep my health a priority. They said they’ve seen people pack on pounds like I’d never believe in just a short few years.
Later that day when I had a question about where to turn next, he was annoyed I didn’t study the route during my break. I apologized, and went off on a tangent about how I used to workout regularly before going to training and how I don’t feel good about not working out. Later I asked him how our health center compared to other divisions. To nobody’s surprise, he said he doesn’t know, as he hasn’t seen any of the gyms at the company (it shows). He also mentions he gets here about an hour before the shift starts, just incase of traffic. He chooses to chill in his car or lounge room here rather than lift some weights or hit the treadmill.
For what it’s worth I’ve noticed that nearly all the managers and supervisors are obese. Not just overweight, but obese. Most of them do administrative work, and don’t work on the busses.

Hello my lovelies!
Welcome back to our second discussion of Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. This week we're covering chapters 7-13. Here's a summary of what's happened now:
We jump back in with Serapio, who, 10 years after his mother's ritual, is finally headed to Tova. The intervening years have been hard for Serapio, between his father's neglect and his tutors' cruelty, but he is finally ready to achieve his destiny. Pilgrims have taken him from Obregi to Cuecola, and now Lord Balam has secured him passage to Tova in time for the Day of Convergence.
That morning, Serapio is already on board the ship when the crew arrives and begins to prepare for departure. No one bothers him, but Serapio enjoys the "almost company" as they prepare. Around midday, he hears raised voices and what seems to be a confrontation involving a few men, including Lord Balam. Serapio uses star pollen stored in a bag around his neck to communicate with a nearby crow and allow him to see through its eyes. Through the crow, Serapio sees the crew as they watch the argument between Lords Pech and Balam on the deck. He also sees a woman with radiating power that he recognizes is Teek before she whistles and breaks his connection to the crow, causing him to bleed in the process. Serapio is enamored with her and, as they push off, resolves to get to know the crew and captain during the upcoming journey.
We jump back in time to 8 years before the Day of Convergence. Serapio is fourteen, two years removed from his mother's ritual and death and more or less ignored by his father. One day, as Serapio sits on the terrace feeding and playing with his crows, his father brings a man who claims he will prepare him for his destiny. Serapio replies that he's already aware of his destiny, to be born a crow, and when pressed, reveals the nicknames other crows have given him, such as Grandfather Crow, Nightbringer, and Suneater.
The man confirms that Saaya had arranged for him and two others to train Serapio for his destiny - to become a god. The man hands Serapio a piece of wood and a chisel, explaining that he's going to teach him how to carve. He asks Seraipio a question; Serapio replies with a smart-aleck answer; and then the man strikes Serapio across the face. Before Serapio can call his crows to attack the man, he tells him that he'll hurt them too. The man grabs and strikes Serapio a few more times, telling him that he must become accustomed to pain in order to achieve his destiny, and that it's his responsibility to teach him how. Cowed, Serapio begins to cooperate with the man's questions and instructions. That night, before he leaves, the man tells Serapio he can call him Paadeh. Serapio eventually falls asleep holding the beginning of his first carving - a crow.
19 days before Convergence, Naranpa sits with the other priests during a long Conclave meeting at night. Well, all of the other priests except for Iktan, who Naranpa realized had sent someone in xir place and who slips into the room later during the meeting. Naranpa has spent most of the meeting wondering what Iktan could be doing instead of paying attention, which becomes clear when Haisan asks her if she wants to add anything and Naranpa has to ask him to repeat what he just said. Abah tries to take advantage of Naranpa's lapse in attention, suggesting that it would of course be due to the excitement of the assassination attempt that morning and that it was understandable. She suggests that maybe Eche, the dedicant generally regarded as Naranpa's chosen successor, could step in.
Naranpa refutes this and begins to talk about the assassination attempt plainly, hoping to convey her feelings that it stemmed from the mostly nonexistent relationship between the Celestial Tower and the Sky Made clans and their waning power. Naranpa also suspects that Eche is sleeping with Abah and so the two of them have joined forces together against her. Abah then suggests that perhaps Naranpa's reforms are too ambitious, which is why the assassin targeted her, and that she might be better off stepping down. Abah even goes so far as to suggest that the attempt might be related to Naranpa's family in Coyote Maw, particularly her younger brother. Naranpa bristles at these accusations, even going so far as to tell Abah to fuck off, before deciding that it would be better for her to leave rather than allowing Abah to bait her any further. Before she can leave, a servant arrives with the news that Yatliza, the matron of Carrion Crow, is dead.
This, understandably, makes everyone nervous, given the earlier assassination attempt. Naranpa ends the conclave and dismisses everyone except for the four priest and the servant who brought the news. Naranpa asks the servant to explain the circumstances behind the murder; the servant, confused, explains that Yatliza wasn't murdered, just found dead in her bed, before recounting everything she knew. Naranpa dismisses the servant as Haisan and Iktan begin to bicker about what to do next.
Yatliza's death has come at an inconvenient and some would say inauspicious time. The Celestial Tower has closed for the Shuttering, a 20 day period of fasting and penitence in preparation for the winter solstice and a ceremony welcoming the return of the sun afterwards. At the same time, Yatliza's death will leave one of the Sky Made clans without a matron until a new one is invested, which unbalances the Speaker Council that handles civil affairs in Tova and leaves Carrion Crow without a leader. It will look bad to have a funeral and anointing during the Shuttering, but waiting until after the Shuttering for the anointing will appear disrespectful and leaves the opportunity for other factions to take advantage of the power vacuum and imbalance. On top of all of this, although Yatliza has a daughter who would generally be expected to step in as the next matron it's possible the other council members might have objections.
Naranpa quickly makes up her mind, deciding that they will have a state funeral in four days as usual and that Yatliza's daughter will be anointed as the new matron of Carrion Crow shortly afterwards. They will request that the Sky Made clans come to them to plan everything, since they are shuttered, and if the Speakers Council feels someone else should be matron they can take it up with the Tower after the solstice. Naranpa gives everyone their tasks, mostly to get them out of her hair, and dismisses them before heading up to her rooms. She'll speak to the other clan matrons alone later that day.
Iktan catches up with Naranpa as she reaches her rooms. Naranpa worries about how Abah could know about Ochi (Denaochi), given how she had destroyed references to her past. Iktan explains that if someone went looking to dig up her secrets, it wouldn't be hard to find him. Xe also reassures Naranpa that while Abah did embarrass her during Conclave, she managed to recover well enough, although Abah still cannot be trusted. At this point, Naranpa spots a scratch on Iktan's neck, offering to heal it before she realizes and xe confirms that it came from a "moment of passion" - Iktan has a lover that is not her. Hurt and jealous, Naranpa insults Iktan and xe leaves.
We briefly step back in time one day, back to 20 days before the Day of Convergence. After a hard day of rowing, Xiala directs Callo to have the men land on a nearby cay where they'll rest for the night. She then goes off to see Patu, a sailor known for his cooking skills and habitual seasickness. Xiala is a bit concerned to find Patu sick, but he waves it off, saying it's just a cold and Callo vouched for him. He begins to plan a feast for the men using the very nice provisions Lord Balam stocked the ship with. Xiala leaves Patu to it and heads back to middle of the ship, wondering about the man from Obregi that has yet to emerge from the room. Lord Balam had described him as a kind of religious recluse, which doesn't endear him to Xiala at all. Still, she's willing to do the bare minimum and make sure he's at least seen to during the trip, but before she can talk to the man they land.
By the time Xiala gets off the ship, the men are well into the feast Patu has prepared. The food is good, the liquor is flowing, and everyone is having a good time. The men greet Xiala happily, chanting "Teek" a few times, which is a little unsettling, but Xiala brushes it off and joins the meal. After eating and a couple of drinks, Xiala addresses the crew to break the news about Lord Balam's requirement of reaching Tova in 20 days. A number of them worry, since making the timetable would require them to sail in open waters during a particular dangerous season. Oddly enough, Callo is the one who speaks in Xiala's favor, asserting that Xiala's Song will help smooth their passage. This isn't really how Xiala's powers actually work, more of a superstition around how they supposedly work, but she decides to lean into and play up her Teek heritage. The crew latches onto the idea, even chanting "Teek" over and over again in their enthusiasm, and making bold claims about reaching Tova in even less time. While Xiala is grateful that the crew is eager to sail the open waters to achieve their goal, she is a bit nervous that they all rallied behind Callo's support. She can't help but wonder what will happen in the future if she and Callo disagree on a decision.
Xiala speaks to Callo privately, directing him to cut off the alcohol soon and make preparations to leave tomorrow. Xiala usually sleeps on the ship while the crew is on land; although she's worried about the crew bonding in her absence, she decides to trust Callo in this instance. Before she can finish her instructions and head to the ship, Callo pales at something behind her, and the crew grows quiet.
We know that earlier that day, Serapio enjoyed just generally being around the crew as they left Cuecola. When they initially landed, he stayed on the ship but, after hearing the sounds of the crew and captain as they ate, Serapio decides to try to join them. So he covers his eyes, pulls his cowl up, and slowly makes his way to where everyone else. As the others see him appear, everyone stops. The (anachronistic) record scratches. You can hear a pin drop. Serapio says hello in stilted Cuecolan and smiles at everyone, until he remembers his teeth are red and stops smiling because that's probably not helping right now.
Xiala tries to be polite and respectful, hoping to lead by example, but the crew is definitely scared of him. Even when Callo gets a plate of food for Serapio, he stands back and holds it out as if he's afraid to get any closer. Frustrated, Xiala takes the food and Serapio back to the ship, reminding Callo to have the others ready to sail at dawn. Once on the ship, Xiala and Serapio get to know each other as Serapio tries a bunch of new foods, including a painful-to-read experience with eating fish. Serapio confirms that he can see somewhat, mostly shapes, shadows, light, and movement, relying on other senses for everything else (and the crows, though he doesn't mention that). Xiala confirms that she is Teek, and the both of them acknowledge the precariousness of the whole voyage, particularly in terms of Callo's popularity with the crew. As she gets ready to leave, Xiala tells Serapio to go outside tomorrow morning to let the crew see he was just a man like them, albeit with his eyes covered. She explains that she'll sleep on the ship and be there to protect him if a superstitious crew member decides to kill him that night. When Serapio asks who will protect her, Xiala replies that she's with her mother, the sea, and no one messes with her children.
We close with Serapio, 6 years before the Convergence. He's sitting at his workbench when a strange woman enters his room, admiring his carvings. She says that Paadeh sent for her, although she doesn't seem to know that Paadeh is dead, a fact Serapio isn't eager to share for some reason. The woman introduces herself as Eedi, the second tutor arranged to prepare Serapio for his destiny. Eedi is purposefully evasive, but she generally reveals that she's a former spearmaiden from Hokaia. This confuses Serapio a bit, since Carrior Crow is from Tova, but she reassures him that their influence is great and that some in Hokaia would like to see the Celestial Tower brought to heel as well.
Suddenly, Eedi asks Serapio if he would like to begin before striking him with her spear. She manages to hit him again before he blocks her strike, at which point she walks over to his shelf of carvings and knocks them all onto the ground. Panicking, Serapio tries to grab at Eedi and stop her but bumps into other things or gets knocked out of the way. Eedit keeps knocking carvings onto the floor, threatening to destroy his trunk and even break her bones. Serapio stops to think; it's clear he'll have to outsmart her rather than overpower her. When he puts his hand on the desk, he touches the divination mirror his mother used to use. Serapio uses the mirror to throw a shadow at Eedi, and then some of his carvings when she's distracted by that. He bumrushes Eedi, knocking her to the ground, then tries to attack her with the chisel but misses. Serapio then tries to rip out Eedi's eye, but she manages to knock him off of her before leaving in search of a healer.
Eedi eventually returns, asking Serapio how he knew how to use shadows like that. He replies that he doesn't know; it was just instinctual. Eedi tells him that her job is to train his body, in the way that Paadeh trained his mind. His third tutor, Powageh, will deal with his powers; until then, Eedi will teach him how to fight.
Discussion questions are listed below in the comments. As always, I ask that you don't discuss any content in the book beyond the endpoint for this week's discussion. If you want to talk about something later on in the book, please do so in the Marginalia post. The full schedule for Black Sun can be found here. See y'all next week for Chapters 14-19!

My sister have made their first renting venture and in their single page lease it states that if they are 10 days late on rent the landlord has the right to forceably enter and evict them. No details on what that means weather they will come unexpectedly ans enter the home or with given notice or if unexpectedly with an officer or not just that vague statement. So my question is what can the owner do legally and what isn't legal under normal circumstance and what they can and cannot do based on the vague lease agreement. Yes they signed, clearly without thoroughly reading through it and asking questions apparently; I thought I had taught them better, but they claim to have felt pressured to sign and get it done. Were located in Ohio.

Hello all! I’ve been on 0.025% tret since mid-2020, grade 1-2 acne. Did short contact therapy for a solid 3 years (tolerance built up to 2 hours every night), and recently upgraded to overnight application with a Micro gel formula.
My acne has been manageable - but lately, whether it’s hormones or the weather or purge from the new tret formulation, I’ve been needing some extra care. Over the past few months I’ve added in Niacinamide and Azelaic acid, as well as AHA and BHA.
My routine -
24F, Oily acne prone skin, prone to dehydration and barrier sensitivity, in hot and humid weather Main concern - acne and PIE/PIH, mild congestion
AM -

• Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant
• Cosrx Snail Mucin
• (on alternate days) The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc
• (only when required) Benzac 5%/Azelaic Acid 10% on spots (depending on the type of acne)
• Mist with One Thing Propolis + Honey
• Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel-Creme
• Suntique I’m Safe SPF 35 (indoors) OR Missha Essence Sun Milk SPF 50 (outside)

PM - (tret days) (2 times a week) - Bioderma Atoderm Huile de Douche - Mist with One Thing Propolis + Honey - Klairs Rich Moist Soothing Serum - Cosrx Snail Mucin - Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel-Creme - 0.025% Micro Tret Gel - Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel-Creme - Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask
(non tret days) - (if I’ve left the house) I’m from Fig Cleansing Balm - Lacsoft Lactic Acid Foam Cleanser (2 times a week) OR Bioderma Sebium Gel Moussant - Cosrx BHA - Cosrx Snail Mucin - The Ordinary 10% Azelaic Suspension on the spots only - Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Gel-Creme
The progress is there, but it’s slow. And a bit too slow - each month around my period I get a few new bumps. I get why it’s slow, most of the products I’m using are quite mild. Which is why I’m wondering - would introducing Paula’s Choice BHA Liquid Exfoliant bring about drastic change? Or should I just stick to the slow but mild routine?
I’ve not yet been able to find a satisfactory comparison between PC and Cosrx yet - most are either using it just for clogged pores and are not on tret.

Caden is a new app on the app store that lets you earn $1 a day passively.
Use my code "E82E" to earn up to $10 after signup.

Been awhile since I have posted here. Cliff note version of my trauma(s). Dad killed mom when I was 1 year. 18 years of childhood hell. Fixed myself. Had a daughter with congenital heart condition and after massive effort to help her make it, I watched her die at age 3. Then 11 years of copious drinking to cope, only to die at the bottom of a pool drunk. 3 days my family was told I was brain dead, but I woke. Now, I'm here. 4 years sober and free from my past. I am "cured". Let me explain what cured means. I am not triggered my memories of my past. I just get triggered like everyone else does. Life triggers normies too. But, my past no longer comes flooding back. I continue to have a very sensitive limbic system. When life triggers me, my adrenaline response is much higher than a normie, but the difference between now and then, is my brain and body no longer fears it because my primitive brain doesn't believe that my trauma(s) are happening all over again.
How did I accomplish this?
For starters, I don't abuse substances. Period. Nothing will ever change is you are abusing drugs or alcohol. That must stop before the real work begins.
What do you mean by "real work"?
I mean, you gotta do the opposite of what you are doing now. Most of you when triggered do whatever you possibly can to shut that shit down. You bury it or you cover it up with substances. You don't let it wash over you and let it dissipate on its own accord. Why? Because who wants to feel those feelings or think those associated thoughts? Sorry to inform, but you must.
Why?
Simple. It's literally how your brain is wired. It's your primitive brain (amygdala) versus your thinking brain (prefrontal cortex). The pathways from the primitive brain to your thinking brain are super highways, but only back channels, side streets, and alley ways in reverse.
What does that mean?
When you are triggered, you cannot tell your primitive brain to chill out. You can't tell it that the trauma was actually 10 years ago and it's not happening right now. All it knows is it's triggered and freaks out in an effort to "save you".
How does this explain my intense reaction 10 years later?
Because you have a memory. You remember the trauma, your primitive brain freaks out because your adrenaline surges. But its One way communication. It's the same reason a herd of gazelle can watch one of their brothers be mauled by lion and 5 minutes later go back to munching grass like nothing ever happened. There is no thinking brain. Just a primitive brain. Gazelles don't get PTSD.
So what's the fix?
It begins Life Style Changes and pre-workout. It's is best to do all of the following under guidance of a licensed counselor especially trained in trauma informed care and CBT, but you can DIY. I did.
1.Stop drinking and using drugs. That's number 1. For obvious reasons, but you also can't be numbing yourself if you are going to train your primitive brain over time that the trauma is actually in the past. Think of it as downloading information. Those side street communication pathways are like 32k dial up internet speed. It'll take time.

1. Learn Copings skills to manage anxiety etc. And most importantly is to learn how to assertively care for yourself.

What does that mean?
It means you are #1. You come first and you carve out time each day engaging in things you enjoy, interest you and/ or pleasurable. You gotta develop these things. You also need to learn the 10 assertive rights of an individual as well as boundaries.
Now what? You do the work. This means dedicating whatever time you can handle each day processing your trauma. (Every single day). Maybe it's just 5 minutes maybe it's 30. The point being you try. The time will increase overtime. Thos could be a counseling session but doing this once a week in counsing is never enough and it will take you forever. You coudd spend time journaling your story. Coming to this site to read other peoples stories. Or maybe it's just think about the trauma. It's a conscience effort to do it but you are in control. Not your stupid primitive brain freaking out and forcing you to relive it.
For how long?
For just short of what you can handle. Could be 5 minute. Could be 1 hour, but no more than 1 hour. And while doing it, you engage in coping skills that you can also do at the same time: squeezing a stress ball, listening to relaxing music. Shit that helps you to stay grounded and present.
Then what?
This is the most important part. You have processed and now you are triggered. At the end of your time. 5 minutes to one hour sitting in the shit. You must immediately engage in a favorite assertive self care activity for a hour or at least until the adrenaline dissipates and you return to a baseline.
For me. And really anytime I feel really triggered.. because I still get adrenaline surges.. I kill shit on Xbox. So effective for me. You just have to find your things. Maybe it's crafting, waking and listening to music, watching a favorite show, cooking, video games, exercise etc.
What results can I expect?
Overtime you will increase the time you are able to spend time with your trauma and decrease the time it takes level off and return to baseline. You will slowly teach your primitive brain that the trauma is in the past and you no longer need to fear those feelings. You are safe.
You also you find yourself with a much more fulfilling life as you will constantly be assertively caring for yourself.
This IS NOT EZ. It is hard. You are literally doing what we should all have done when the trauma happened. But, you will see results faster than you think. If you are committed and do the work, you could see noticeable results in a few months or less. Probably less.
It's a new way of living. And it only continues to get better.
Lastly, I will repeat that although I DIYed this, I don't recommend. It is best to do this work under guidance of a therapist and especially to help you develop the skills necessary to do the real work.

Everything you need to know about the Le Mans event!

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[REQ] ($785 USD) (#Fort Collins, Colorado, USA) (Repay $800 5/19/2023) (Cashapp, Zelle, venmo, ApplePay)

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I finally start my new job on Monday! But I will also be homeless on Wednesday 5/2 if I cannot scrape the rent together by that afternoon. I can repay the full amount on the day that I receive my first paycheck, which is May 19th. I would also be extremely grateful for a lesser monetary amount than $785 as ANYTHING helps!!
I can make an early partial payment on May 10th as I am picking up some weekend side gigs that pay in cash.
Thank you so much for considering my post! I have a big chonky FIV+ cat named Mr. Cow that relies on me to provide him a safe and stable home. Unfortunately, I ran out of savings early due to an emergency vet procedure that cost me $720 back in late March. So, your loan will be helping this affectionate little guy too. (I cant post a link here but I would be happy to share some cute pics 🐈‍⬛💖)
I am willing to provide you with any and all extra information that you need.
From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU.