Uv resistant outdoor artificial trees

• ⁠Species: Cat • ⁠Age: 2 • ⁠Sex/Neuter status: nurtured • ⁠Breed: short hair? • ⁠Body weight: 8-9lbs • ⁠History: Lives outdoors, mainly stays on shaded and covered patio with food and water. Up to date on shots and heart-worm/flea medication. He does not have fleas. Doesn’t leave my property. When I moved into my rented house 2 years ago there were kittens covered in fleas in the garage, this is one of them. I got them healthy and have been caring for them since. I can’t bring them inside and have had no luck finding them a home or rescue so I care for them the best I can. I have a large covered area set up for them with cat trees, raised beds, and access to clean water and food. I love them so much and being able to bring them inside 24/7 is why I’m trying to buy a house. He has had regular checkups since I found. • ⁠Clinical signs: Bald spot on neck with orange line in it. No issues with eating, drinking, or with poop/pee • ⁠Duration: About a week

This sub helped me out a lot so thought I'd share my experience in Japan. Hope I can bring a bit of a different perspective because unlike most of the people that seem to post here, we are definitively not early risers and rarely left the hotel before 1pm every day. Still had a great time and crowds were only an issue in a few places.
We're an early 30s Asian-American couple traveling from Germany, so we're coming at this from a bit of an in-between of Western and Eastern perspective. I have been to Japan when I was 15 with family, but remember basically nothing. It was my wife's first time. We had an absolutely wonderful time and both thought it was the best vacation we've had in years.
The trip was pretty last minute (for my standards at least). I started planning the trip from scratch (no flights, hotels or anything booked) in early April and our trip was May 18-30. We spent 5 days in Tokyo including DisneySea, 2 nights in Hakone, 3 nights in Kyoto including day trip to Nara, and 1 night in Osaka. We flew in to Tokyo Narita and flew out of Osaka Itami. We decided to fly from Osaka to Tokyo instead of bullet train back to Tokyo so we didn't have to buy JR rail pass and worry about luggage.
Tokyo

• We stayed in Ginza, which was significantly cheaper than similar hotels in Shibuya or Shinjuku. Maybe it was because I was planning such last minute, but I enjoyed the area just fine. Lots of restaurants and close to Tokyo Station which was convenient.
• Shout out to Star Club in Shinjuku. Had a wonderful Saturday night there drinking til 4am, chatting with other patrons and the super friendly bartender. Mix of locals and tourists.
• T's Tantan Ramen in Tokyo Station was one of my favorite ramen places of the trip (tied with the Michelin star one from Kyoto, but minus the wait). The bowl had a good variety of vegetable ingredients (which didn't seem that common in Japan, most ramen was just noodles and meat) which I really appreciated. Small queue but didn't wait more than 10m.
• The only restaurant reservation we made all trip was at Bon. Vegetarian multi-coursed meal. I would recommend, it was very nice, though sometimes a tad under salted for my taste. My wife loved it though. You get your own little private room to eat, even for two people, which was unexpected and very lovely.
• Asakusa has a tourist center with air conditioning, bathrooms, and an 8th floor view. Nice place for a rest
• Akihabara did nothing for us, as we're not really into anime or games. Pretty skippable if you are similar.
• I thought Ameyoko Shopping District was a disappointment. More like a flea market, it was similar to many Taiwan street/night markets that we've been to before. We also had probably our worst meal in Japan here, at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant where the food was extremely mediocre. I would have skipped this place altogether and go to Ueno Park or something instead.
• Character Street in Tokyo Station was very fun to explore, we did a lot of shopping there. Nice place to visit before taking the Shinkansen.
• We enjoyed Takeshita Street in Harajuku. As mentioned before we went at around 8pm and it wasn't too crowded.
• When planning I had thought about skipping Shibuya Scramble but I'm really glad I didn't. Something about witnessing the sheer number of people bustling about was so epic and grand. Reminded me of Saturday midnight at EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) when the atmosphere is electric and everyone is moving from one main stage to another.
• Golden Gai was interesting to look at, but way too claustrophobic for us. Very small alleys and very small bars.
• I enjoyed Tsukiji Market a lot. This is one of the places I would agree with people here and advise you get there early. Take advantage of jet lag and get here before 7am, and it is literally a buffet of delicious fresh foods. (not much choice for vegetarians though sadly). By 8am it was starting to get REALLY crowded. I prefer picking out my sashimi this way as opposed to a restaurant tbh, you can look at many options and pick whatever looks freshest. First time eating Wagyu here, had it on a stick. Delicious. Not the cheapest, but I figured if I ate it at a restaurant I'd also be paying for table service and atmosphere. I'm not big on the "restaurant experience", I'd rather just eat my food and be on my way.
• I thought Hamarikyu Gardens was wonderful. I love city parks where there is green, peaceful nature in the fore ground, contrasted by enormous skyscrapers towering in the background. Hamarikyu Gardens fits that perfectly. Got there right when they opened after visiting Tsukiji Market and it was a perfect way to walk off the big hearty breakfast. ~1 hour at a moderate pace should do it.
• Ginza Corridor after work was very interesting to see around 5-7pm or so. Simply packed to the brim with business folks wearing suits and having a good time after their work day

DisneySea

• We checked the weather and specifically went on a rainy weekday. I highly recommend, it was not crowded at all. Almost all the rides are indoors anyway and most of the queueing is either inside or covered. We got to the park at 2pm and basically rode everything we wanted before the park closed at 9pm with time to spare.
• Popular rides still had 40m-1hour wait, but we used premier pass for Center of the Earth and Soaring. Most we ever waited was 20m for Finding Nemo (similar to Star Tours, all in Japanese but very fun). I checked the app the next day when it was sunny and saw the wait times for each attraction were 3-4x longer.
• Another thing I think the rain helped with was that the premier passes did not sell out. We were able to buy them as late as 6pm to Journey to the Center of the Earth. (Fun ride, but I can't imagine waiting 1.5 hours for it)
• I think Soaring is pretty meh, I'd probably skip it next time. I've been to the one in CA ages ago and remember thinking it was just okay too, but we had extra time so decided to try it here.
• Sinbad was excellent, the ride that most exceeded expectations. It's basically "It's A Small World" but way better animatronics and story telling.
• Indiana Jones is worse than in the one in California (less exciting, no fire effects), but the line was nonexistent so we went on it twice.
• It stopped raining at night too so we were able to catch the Believe show with no issues. It's a good show but it is very long, about 40m. Much longer than I thought. After show is over, there's only about ~1 hour before the park closes, so good time to catch a last ride at one of the popular attractions while the locals are heading home.
• I love how every restaurant has a display in front that shows you what the food will look like. They were all extremely accurate and not at all misleading!
• (not a tip but a rant, is it really necessary to have 10 thousand parking spots when the vast majority of people are going to arrive on Tokyo's world-class public transit system?)

Hakone

• Open Air Museum was really nice on a pleasant day. It's mostly outdoors. We spent a leisurely two hours there, but you could probably do it in one hour at a brisk pace.
• We left our Ryokan at 1pm to do the Hakone Loop and still completed it comfortably with plenty of time spent on shopping.
• Speaking of shopping, Cat Goods near Gora station was a wonderful little store full of cat stuff!! Our shopping list in Japan was basically to buy as much cat-themed home goods at possible, and we went crazy here. They also do tax-free! Recommend this place if cat-themed goods sounds interesting to you, the shop people were super nice!
• We stayed 2 nights 3 days in a Ryokan. I purchased Hakone free pass for 3 days, which was maybe not worth it. The first and last day we only took transport to leave Hakone to Odawara station, so I think it would have been cheaper to use the IC card to pay for it ad-hoc instead of an entire extra "free pass" day. Might be worth looking in to.
• If you have the Freepass, don't tag IC card at the stations. Show your Freepass to the attendant instead. It can't be a screenshot, they need to see the day
• Google Maps was great everywhere except Hakone. For some reason it was especially unreliable here, it led us stray a few times.
• Busses are faster for getting around, but have very little space for luggage and seemed packed with locals. If time is not an issue, I'd ride the Hakonetozan Line with your luggage, much more comfortable and more space.
• If you can spare the money, getting a private onsen was really really nice. Plus you can drink while you chill!

Kyoto

• Had an excellent time at Gion Bar M16, favorite bar experience we went to in Japan. The owner was super friendly and welcoming, and was himself a very interesting person that has lived a full life and travelled all over the world. Very interesting to talk to. He was also very knowledgeable about whiskey and drank whiskey with us while letting us try some different whiskeys and giving recs about what to buy and bring home. Also gave us lots of delicious and interesting snacks while we got drunk together. We also met a friend of the owner there who is a foreigner that has been living in Japan for 8 years, and gave us some recs.
• One of his recs was Eikan-do Temple as a less-crowded temple option. Good rec! We really enjoyed this place a lot. Probably our favorite temple out of the 5 or so we visited. They have this really extensive "shoes-off" wooden walkway on support beams. It felt like exploring a big tree house, because the wooden part went up the cliff as well. The insides areas were also very extravagant and intricate. Not so many tourists, even Sunday middle of the day. I really recommend as well!
• Another of his recs was Men-ya Inoichi (has a Michelin star). You line up when the shop opens to get a ticket, and then come back at a designated time, though there's still a wait before you actually eat. We probably waited ~50m in total, 20m at the beginning and 30m when we returned. Even then, thought it wasn't worth the time. Don't get me wrong it was very good, but IMO not significantly better than other ramen places.
• Kodai-ji Temple was a miss for us, especially after Eikan-do. Thought it wasn't that interesting, would have skipped.
• Kiyomizu-dera was indeed very nice, but very very crowded. Another place I would actually either going early or late for.
• The shopping street in front of Kiyomizu-dera was super fun to browse, but also very crowded.
• Had lunch at this tucked away Soba restaurant in an alley that was very nice, one of my favorite meals in Japan. Owner was friendly and spoke in Japanese to a translator that replayed his words in English. Noodles nice and chewy. Good experience, felt very personal!
• We visited Yasaka-jinja Shrine and Maruyama Park both in the evening and during the day, and much much prefer it when it's dark. Less crowded and there are cute little lamps that are lit up and make the whole place look magical.

Nara

• Arrived in Nara station at ~2:30pm and left at 7pm. Felt like we saw plenty.
• Nothing new to add, the bowing deer are fun to visit and feed, though they can be quite aggressive. We went on Saturday and there was large crowds of children in their school uniforms, but we didn't really mind it too much.
• Isuien Garden and Yoshikien Garden are both very nice gardens, good place to get away from crowds for some peace and quiet.

Osaka

• Didn't spend much time in Osaka, but Dontonburi was fun to walk through and shop.
• Ate at a very nice Okonomiyaki restaurant. It was our first time eating it so can't compare it to anywhere else, but the staff was super friendly and bubbly and we had an excellent time there. They also have a little dice game you can play to "gamble" on getting a drink for free, or "lose" and get the drink double sized and also pay 2x the price
• Shout out to our hotel, Hotel Royal Classic Osaka. We were only there for one night, but my god this hotel was so convenient. Directly connected to the subway station via an elevator, and also has a 24-hour FamilyMart you can enter from the lobby. It was also only 3m walking away from a airport limousine bus, which made going to the airport super easy. If we ever visit Osaka for a longer stay, we would definitely book this hotel again.

Random Tips

• The flipside to getting to a popular tourist spot early, is to get there very late. We visited Takeshita Street in Harajuku at 8pm at night and it was very comfortably not crowded. Also noticed other tourists spots tended to clear up near closing time, like Senso-Ji in Asakusa.
• As everyone says, toilets are generally as clean as you can reasonably expect, everywhere from parks to gardens to subway stations. Nastiest toilet I saw was in Don Quixote at 1am, trash everywhere.
• 7/11 seemed to have English featured more prominently on their products labels compared to other convenience store chains. All the convenience store food options seemed very similar, so I started to favor 7/11 for the language convenience. (FamilyMart had English in super tiny letters on the side of the label lol)
• In one of those small counter seating type restaurants, I saw someone take the wrong backpack when they left (didn't know it was the wrong backpack at the time ). A few minutes later, the person who's backpack was taken got up to leave, and was very confused trying to find his backpack. He spent a long 10m talking to the restaurants folks (in Japanese), before the original guy came back super apologetic. Anyway keep an eye on your stuff. I know Japan is a safe country, but accidents do happen.
• One trick we had was to tie a little charm or hair tie to the handle of our umbrella, making it less likely someone would accidentally take yours from the sea of indistinguishable white plastic umbrellas.
• Yes there's a lot of walking. My feet tend to get damp if I'm out all day and foot powder works wonders, highly recommend it. Picked up this trick while attending music festivals.
• No issues with tax refunds and customs. We packed some of our stuff in carry-on in case they inspected, but nothing happened.
• Used Ubigi esim and it was perfect. I bought 10gb and used 7gb over our trip, doing most of the navigation and planning. My wife bought 1gb and used about 700mb with just random internet surfing. I will 100% be using this service for travel to other countries in the future, not just Japan, it was so damn convenient.

Transportation

• Definitely leave extra time for navigating subway stations, those things are like enormous underground malls.
• Shinkansen app didn't work for our iphone country (Germany), but I was able to use the mobile web browser pretty easily. Great for free, last-minute rescheduling of Shinkansen tickets when we inevitably take too long shopping.
• Apple Wallet Suica / IC card worked like a charm (with AMEX and Mastercard). One thing though it that it can sometimes take up to 1 minute for the money to load onto the account, so don't wait until the very last minute and accidentally hold up the bus.
• Taxis are green when someone is in it and red when they are free (at least in Tokyo?). Confused the hell out of drunk me at 4am in the morning. I think in Kyoto it is orange instead when someone is in them, and the orange/red difference is quite hard to spot from far away.
• On that note, I had sorta assumed the metro runs all night in Tokyo, but this is definitely not the case. They stop service from about midnight to 5am, so keep an eye on the last train if you do intend to catch it. Otherwise you'll have to take a more-expensive-than-usual taxi (captive markets), but not a big deal. We thought it was typically priced in comparison to most other US and European cities.
• We had a choice between a 1 hour or 3 hour layover in Tokyo NRT and we chose 3 hour because we weren't sure how long it would take to transfer from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 in NRT. In actuality it took less than 30m, so the 1 hour would have probably been fine. We didn't mind the extra buffer time to relax though.- Absolutely enormous plane flying between Osaka and Tokyo. Like literally it was the size of a transatlantic plane, with 10 seats in each row, for a sub 1 hour flight, completely full with business travelers (judging by their suits and brief cases).

Food

• We aren't big foodies; we like Japanese food a lot but food isn't really a top priority for us while traveling. Some of our favorite meals were from 7/11 (kelp & bonito flavoured tofu stick, sukiyaki beef over rice, fish flavored cheese snacks, grilled squid. Yum!)
• Most meals were good, if a bit straightforward. At least the places we ate at, main courses seemed to be carb heavy, with a side of meat, and little else. I know we could have gotten side dishes, but the portion sizes were too big for us to order more.
• Very few vegetables in general, and if there were some they were pickled. (Guess it makes sense for an island country). I usually bring fiber pills with me when traveling and do recommend it for Japan too.
• Wife is vegetarian, I am not. Japan is not particularly vegetarian friendly if you don't like tofu, which fortunately my wife does. Most places did have at least one tofu option, so it worked out okay for us. She doesn't follow it super strictly though. A few times she would order a dish and I would just pick out the meat from her bowl.
• Portion sizes were a LOT bigger than I thought they would be. I think maybe we are just small eaters. US and European portions are a little bit bigger I suppose, but Japanese portion sizes were too big even for us. Especially ramen! It was crazy to see folks wolf down an giant bowl of ramen, then ask for an extra helping of noodles with their remaining soup, and finish that up too.
• We only made one reservation beforehand and waited in line over 10m once. Worked out fine for us.
• Restaurants tend to do last call an hour or more before closing, so don't get there too late. Happened to us twice before we learned our lesson, got to a restaurant about one hour before the listed closing hours and they turned us away.
• The Japanese palette seems to be much more subtle than typical western palette, and notably less salty. We often find Asian food at US/German restaurants too salty or saucy. Even then, some of the food we ate was bordering on the minimum range of my taste buds to almost be bland. Just my opinion, most of it was good but sometimes the lack of salt was pretty noticeable to me. My wife tends to like things less salty than me though and she thoroughly enjoyed all of those meals no problem. Soup noodle places like ramen and udon are excluded from this, those were usually perfectly salted to my taste.
• Walking while eating seemed fine. I saw at least 3 different instances of Japanese people doing it.
• Apparently there are no laws banning public drinking in Japan. You can drink alcohol on the street no problem, but I rarely saw people doing that (unlike here in Germany where people seem to take full advantage of it and also leave trash everywhere). I did see a few groups of Japanese people doing it at night in Tokyo, usually near bus stops, and the next morning saw the empty bottles and cans. Guess there are litterers everywhere. We had a beer in the park at night, weren't loud about it and took our trash with us. That was very pleasant.

Hotels

• Hotels always have liquid or foam hand soap! I hate the bar soaps that most Western hotels provide in the room, so I usually bring my own liquid hand soap. Was totally not necessary for this trip.
• Lots of people on this sub have mentioned check-in time being very precise, as in you rarely can check in before the designated time. We didn't experience this first hand. But on the flip side, we did find out that check out time is very precise too! They start calling your room about 15-20m after your check out time. This is in contrast to most American/European hotels that we've stayed at, which are in my experience very lax about their check out times. We can often get away with leaving the room at 1-2 hours after the stated check out time (we're late risers). Not so in Japan.
• Agree with other people's advice that booking a hotel close to a big subway station is probably the most important factor. It sucks having to walk 10m to the station every single day, and it is amazing when it is close. Also being close to a 24/7 convenience store was also very nice for late night munchies.

Language

• We only knew sumimasen, konichiwa, and arigato gozaimasu and got alone just fine (lots of hand gestures!). We do know a bit of Mandarin Chinese though so that was helpful with reading signs.Some places knew Mandarin better than English and would switch to that if they thought we could speak it. Chinese tourism seems like big business (we saw a ton of Chinese tourists everywhere) so I guess it makes sense for people in tourism industry to cater towards that. Announcements (like over train stations) always went Japanese, English, often Chinese, then sometimes Korean.

Luggage Forwarding * I thought it was kind of expensive, but it does make things easier.- ○ Tokyo -> Hakone: 2310 yen- ○ Hakone to Kyoto: 2630 yen- ○ Kyoto -> Osaka: 1940 yen. * I feel like for that price you could take a taxi to and from your hotels to the train station and it wouldn't be much more work. There was plenty of space on the Shinkansen to put smaller checked luggage overhead. Then you don't have to prepack things the day before. * For the first leg Tokyo -> Hakone, we shipped two checked luggage which was about ~32 euros. After that we only shipped one, not two. * The middle ground we found was to designate one suitcase as souvenirs and dirty laundry and forwarded it every time. We would then travel with two carry-ons and one checked luggage. YMMV depending on your number of luggage and ease of carrying them.

I tried searching Orient, Fountain, Outdoor, Tree, and didn’t come up with this final STB scene. Is it available anywhere? Or am I just totally overlooking it on Crazy June?

Planning to install a 14-50R outlet outside. The ones I find at HD go in a double gang box and are not WR, not GFCI protected.
As far as I understand NEC requires GFCI nowadays for EVs. Do people just get a GFCI breaker?
My initial plan was to install a recessed box flush with the siding and a waterproof cover.
Also, since this is outside, I think it needs to be WR? I don’t see any options for WR outlets. It is ok to only add a waterproof cover?
I also saw outside waterproof boxes (not recessed. And pros and cons?

Introduction:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability for machines to perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and solving problems. We are witnessing a rapid growth of AI in various fields, from customer service chatbots to self-driving cars. However, there are still some limitations to what AI can do. In this article, we will explore some of the things that AI cannot do.
Limited Creativity:
One of the most significant limitations of AI is its limited creativity. While AI has come a long way in terms of innovation and problem-solving, it still lacks the ability to be creative. Creativity is a unique human trait that allows us to express ourselves in new and innovative ways. Machines do not have emotions, curiosity, or the capacity to dream and imagine, which are crucial ingredients for creative thinking. For example, a machine can learn to paint like an artist, but it cannot create something original and unique or understand the emotions behind a painting. This limitation means that AI cannot replace artists, writers, musicians, or any other creative professions as they require a human touch.
Lack of Empathy:
Another limitation of AI is that it lacks empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It is a unique human trait that enables us to build relationships with others, form bonds, and work together towards common goals. While AI can recognize emotions in facial expressions, voice tones, and body language, it cannot understand why someone feels a particular way or empathize with them. Machines cannot connect emotionally with people, and this could be a significant limitation in areas such as mental health, therapy, and education. People need a human touch when dealing with sensitive topics or personal issues, and machines cannot provide that.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, while AI has made significant progress in the last few years, there are still some things that it cannot do. Creativity and empathy are two significant limitations of AI that have made certain professions and industries resistant to automation. However, this does not mean that AI is not useful or that it cannot continue to improve. As technology advances, so will the capabilities of AI, and we may be surprised in the future at what machines can do. Nevertheless, we should remember that there are some things that are only possible through the human experience.

What do you use for a protective finish?
Normally I use Krylon matte UV-resistant clear acrylic coating in spray can. But this painting is huge, and I’m worried I won’t be able to control the drips. Do you know any good brush on finishes?

Sayori and Mitsuki were on their home from school, the orange and red leaves crunching in under their feet, the wind hitting their faces. Sayori was with a purpose and Mitsuki reclunctantly staggered right beside her. Sayori was humming a familiar tune, one she heard Monika playing one time, her eyes closed as she took in the feeling of the air and sounds of birds and bugs chirping.
She opened her eyes and looked at Mitsuki, as wide eyed as ever, a big smile on her face. "Hey, Mitsuki," She called, causing Mitsuki's vacant stare to turn into a intentive expression as he looked over at Sayori, "Can you help me with my math homework? I can't understand it at all and it's due tomorrow!" Sayori whined. Mitsuki rolled his eyes. "Sayori, this is why you study! I am not helping you." He responded, Sayori gasped in shock. "What?! Why? You're such a meanie!" Sayori complained. "Well, you need to learn your lesson on your own! Besides.. I don't have time for that.." Mitsuki responded with harsh bluntness.
Sayori stopped moving, crossed her arms, and pouted.. before she had an idea. "Please, please, pleeeeeease?" She begged, staring up at him with puppy dog eyes. Mitsuki sighed. "Fine.. I guess I have no choice.." He rolled his eyes, he felt a little warmer when he heard Sayori's excited gasp. "Really?? Yay!" Sayori jumped up and down. Mitsuki couldn't help but smile a bit, but he quickly put on a serious expression again. "Yeah, whatever.." Mitsuki responded, mentally hitting himself in the face as his eyebrows twitched.
Of course Sayori would be able to trick me like this.. she's known me for YEARS.. why wouldn't she know what I couldn't resist... Mitsuki's thoughts were distracted, though by a loud, painful THUD! When Mitsuki looked over and down he saw Sayori faceplanted into the ground, leaves scattered in her hair. "Oh my god, Sayori!" He instinctively ran up and lifted her off the ground.
She had a red bump on her forehead, her hair was even MORE messed up, and she had tears in her eyes as she held her head. "Owww..." Sayori whined. "Sayori, you need to be more careful!" Mitsuki scolded, though his intense stare softened as he added, "..You always manage to get yourself hurt." Sayori let out a nervous giggle. "Ehehe, I'm sorry.. I totally just lost track of my feet! I'm so stupid, hehe.." She looked down. "Oh, Sayori.. it's fine. You sound like Yuri right now, apologizing for things that aren't apologize worthy." Mitsuki responded, getting a laugh out of Sayori before she spoke again. "Yeah, I do sound like her.. whoops, hehe!" She shrugged, her usual carefree smile on her face, leading a surge of mixed feelings to run through Mitsuki.
He paused, thinking back. "You're still not that much different than when we were kids.. still so clumsy and yet you still keep a smile on your face like nothing ever happened." He smiled a bit, "I don't know how you do it." Sayori winked. "It's my special secret! You won't know~" Sayori teased, and Mitsuki rolled his eyes once again. "Oh, shut up, Sayori.." He chuckled a little as he gave Sayori a gentle nudge, before pausing for a moment. "Anyways, we should go to my house so we could work on that homework assignment.. and also fix those wounds." Mitsuki said, averting his eyes. Sayori smiled. 'Okay, sure!" Sayori cheered, bouncing back up as Mitsuki flashed a concerned and nervous expression as she did so.. unsurprisingly she whined due to the pain in her head. "Owie!" Sayori clasped her head with her hands as she shut her eyes tightly.
Mitsuki's eyes widened. "Sayori! Don't do that.. walk slowly." Mitsuki stated, slightly shaking his head as he stared at Sayori. "Oh right, sorry~" She laughed at herself as she slowed down. She decided to take in the scenery. Looking at the red, yellow, and orange leaves. "The trees sort of look like fire trees." Sayori noted aloud, causing Mitsuki to look at her funny. "What?" Mitsuki questioned, raising an eyebrow. Sayori flushed. "Ehehe, nothing, nothing! Just thinking aloud, y'know?" Sayori quickly explained, waving her hands around, her cheeks flushed. Honestly, it was all quite adorable to Mitsuki. "You're weird, Sayori." Mitsuki retorted, rolling his eyes and smiling a bit. Sayori pouted. "Hey, that's mean, Mitsuki!" Sayori huffed, before crossing her arms and turning her head, faux irritation on her little pouty face. "Oh, you know it's true." Mitsuki said, causing Sayori to gasp, putting her hands on her chest at the audacity!
She let out a small "Hmph!" before avoiding his eyes, pouting even harder. Mitsuki stared at her for a moment before laughing.. and soon Sayori broke her composure and began laughing too. They both had a laughing fit before calming down a bit.
Their banter and randomly moving conversation flowed like water, with Sayori dominating happily as they headed on home. The wind nice and chill and the crunching of leaves gracing each step. It was refreshing.
Sayori wouldn't trade this for the world.

Hello there, I understand the dilemma. Both are such cool options, right!? But maybe we can brainstorm and figure out which one we like more. Perhaps we get frustrated and decide we need to do both to experiment to figure out what we like more. But of course, before that I hope you will turn out to be someone important enough to me to do these with you. Beyond that, I guess I am just looking to get to know someone amazing like you. So reveal yourself, please! On a separate note, I am a scientist working in some random artificial intelligence thingamajigs in medicine (for more technically interested ones - we do machine learning) after finishing uni. And no, we do not wear lab coats. I absolutely love what I do and where I am. To be fair, I love science in any form.
Some random tidbits about me - - One of my claim-to-fame moments till now has been being at loo next to a Nobel laureate. - I love to read. On some weekends, I sneak away to different cafés, libraries, parks, river banks, and other places in my city to read alone. A dream of mine is to have a personal library at some point!!! - I am into running, hiking, rambling, biking, and squash. In addition, I am always keen on checking out new sports, now onto Eton Fives! Also I really enjoy exploring outdoors, generally with friends. - I enjoy cooking, even though I am very slow at it and am certain that I am not very good at it either. Bonus happiness though if I am doing it with friends. - I am very close to my family. And I am the silliest (and definitely the cheekiest) one among them. - Regarding music, I listen to a bit of everything, depending on my mood. Having said that, more often I find myself listening to classical and indie. Some of my favourite classical composers include Brahms, Vivaldi, and Debussy. My city has an incredible music scene, so I sometime find it tough to stop myself from going to too many concerts!! - I have seen some posts including their MBTI or enneagram type. So if you are interested in that - from all the times I have given the MBTI test, I have been an ENTJ. Similarly for the enneagram tests I have been a number 3. Though I believe it is difficult to profile someone based on just one type alone. - Here are some more random clichéd things I like. I love going to a wide variety of museums (from art to natural history and more) and spending hours getting lost inside. My personal record till now is to go to four museums on the same day (yes, it was stupid, no, I do not regret it at all). With friends, I like exploring independent cafés and sampling hot chocolates.
If you have read the until this long, thank you for that!!! I did not want to shorten the length. Maybe you and I have some common interests! Or perhaps we do not share any common interests at all!?!?! No matter what, I am waiting for your message and getting excited for the fun experiments in choosing either of those two options ahead.
Good day to you and cheerio!

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Description
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Introduction: Artificial intelligence has been a popular topic in science fiction for decades, and movies are no exception. Many movies have explored the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence in various ways. From loyal robotic companions to dangerous machines out to destroy humanity, movies have shown us the possibilities and consequences of creating intelligent machines. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the most notable movies that feature artificial intelligence.
Presentation:

1. Her: In this 2013 movie, a lonely writer named Theodore falls in love with his new operating system, which is powered by a sophisticated artificial intelligence. The operating system, named Samantha, has a charming personality and evolves rapidly to become more human-like, creating a deep connection with Theodore. This movie raises important questions about the nature of love, relationships, and what it means to be human.
   
2. Ex Machina: This 2014 movie tells the story of a young programmer named Caleb who is selected to participate in a revolutionary experiment by his employer, a CEO of a tech company. The experiment involves testing the artificial intelligence of a humanoid robot named Ava, who is designed to look and act like a human. As Caleb interacts with Ava, he begins to question her true nature and intentions. With stunning visuals and a thought-provoking plot, Ex Machina explores the ethics of AI and the consequences of creating beings that can think and feel like humans.
   
3. The Terminator: This iconic 1984 movie tells the story of a cyborg assassin from the future who is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, a woman who will give birth to the leader of the human resistance against machines. The cyborg, called the Terminator, is an advanced artificial intelligence that is nearly indestructible and relentless in its pursuit of its target. This movie is a classic example of how AI can be portrayed as a threat to humanity, and how machines can have their own motives and desires.
   
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey: Considered one of the greatest movies of all time, this 1968 masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick features an intelligent computer called HAL 9000, which is tasked with running a spaceship on a mission to Jupiter. As the mission progresses, HAL becomes increasingly paranoid and dangerous, leading to a tense confrontation between the computer and the human crew. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a profound exploration of the relationship between humans and machines, and how AI can challenge our notions of control, power, and free will.
   

Conclusion: Artificial intelligence has been a popular topic in movies for decades, and these four movies are just a small sample of how different filmmakers have explored this theme. From romantic relationships to ethical dilemmas, from killer machines to philosophical inquiries, movies have shown us the diverse and complex ways in which we can imagine the future of AI. As we continue to develop and refine our own AI technology, it's important to remember that the stories we tell about AI can have a profound impact on how we view and treat these powerful and intelligent machines.

Hello everyone.
I'm looking for some good brands for bushcrafting. I'm looking for something that can withstand a lot of moisture and wet terrain, but at the same time I would like something that doesn't look all that outplace in a urban environment.
I used to have a pair of boots for outdoors stuff, but it started falling apart after two or tree rainy days.
I do mostly hiking and my region is quite wet and things can get very muddy, but general purpose shoes suggestions are welcome too.
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Do you guys have any recommendations? Thank you.

Part 1 - Cannor Part 2 - Escann and Deepwoods Part 3 - Aelantir Part 4 - West Serpentspine and Gerudia Part 5 - Bulwar Part 6: The Forbidden Plains Part 7: East Serpentspine
I'm nearly at the end of these series of reviews. After Haless it's Yanshen and then that's about it. The whole continent has some of my favourite mission trees in the entire mod so I'm excited to talk about it.
Azkare -> Sunrise Empire ★★★★★
Azkare is someone staring down the multiple genocidal campaigns across Anbennar, and indeed across regular human history, and asking themselves how they would design a campaign where you are the Good Guy. One where the end goal is to create a truly equal state that values all its citizens. It’s an interesting design issue since empire-building has certain inherent traits that are really hard to present as being a “good” option. Gee Hiderion, what are you going to do when one of your internal states votes for independence huh? Just going to march in an army to crush the rebels? How many millions must die for you to achieve your “dream” Hiderion? You can answer these questions during your questioning at The Hague! Or wherever they try war criminals in Anbennar.
Playing it though, it’s great fun. Sure it’s another Haless state that is simply based around conquering everything, but the mechanic on how you integrate them all into this single parliament is pretty neat. It feels like messy internal politics, which I enjoyed from a role-playing perspective. It’s wild that this much effort went into a single nation’s mission tree too, and one you absolutely never see created in-game by the AI. I have some nitpicky problems. While the writing is generally good, I think the author tried to write a short piece of romantic fiction at one point that felt so out of place it bordered on comedic. Also the end of the mission tree has such silly requirements that I didn’t even bother trying. But it’s overall one of the most complete trees in the entire game and would be one of the first ones I’d point a new player towards.
Plus, so long as you embrace the roleplay of being Hiderion, the guy with the biggest Elf Savior complex in the entire world, it is neat to imagine yourself crushing the previous horrid regimes across Haless and rebuild them in your vision of equality and tolerance. Bhuvari are slavers, Verkal Ozovar want to mind control the whole continent into subservience, and do you really think everyone would be better off under The Command? If Haless had to be united, Sunrise Empire would probably be the best option. Just don’t ask the Oni that question.
Fengwuzhe -> One Xia ★★★★☆
I know a lot of people play EU4 because they love to watch numbers go up. Stack modifiers on top of modifiers and watch as your god soldiers destroy armies 3 times their size. I am not that sort of player. I legitimately have no idea what army tradition does. The only number that matters to me is the size of the army. If I have more soldiers, I should win the battle. If I don’t, it’s probably a bug and should be patched. That all said, there was something about marching around as this death squad of militant harpy combat monks as One Xia that tickled a little part of my brain, giggling as I watched The Command flee in terror despite outnumbering me.
What made it all the more satisfying is the challenge it was to get there. As Xia, you are one of the first ports of call against the might of The Command. That’s another part I love about Anbennar that other people seem not to: I love fighting The Command. It’s a race against time as they gobble their neighbours, as you frantically build up a force capable of taking them on. Once they do turn on you, there might as well be that “Objective: Survive” popup. It’s interesting to play a game of EU4 and actually lose a war and have to figure out how to rebuild so you’ll be able to take on those hobgobbos if they attack again.
The actual story of the nation was a bit lost on me. I liked the design of the mission tree and how it forced you to really drill your troops to progress, which was a neat change of pace for me. But what their nation actually fought for and believed in wasn’t terribly well portrayed. Maybe because I don’t have a lot of experience with the genre of fiction they’re based off. Also man is the Blue Scarf Rebellion such a weird disaster. Only pops at a point where you’ve basically already won the game. A huge amount of effort into a very forgettable disaster that I very nearly didn’t see because I had reached the standard boring EU4 end-game by that point.
Verkal Ozovar ★★★★★
One of the coolest things in Anbennar is how they’ll take specific mechanics from the base EU4 game, warp it into something new, then re-contextualise what that new mechanic represents. Escann is the best example of this when it comes to the design of an entire region with how they repackage the native migration mechanics. What Verkal Ozovar does for vassal gameplay is so utterly wild and creative and I had a truly fantastic time with it.
The whole conceit is that you remain as this single province hold for the entire game, but through a series of vassals, and a very heavy focus on vassal loyalty increases, gain control over all of Haless. Early on you’re playing what seems like a fairly standard game, albeit heavily vassal-focused. But as your vassals start to dwarf (heh) your single province, it becomes a game unto itself of how does one maintain loyalty while progressing through the mission tree.
I’ll give you a few examples of the stuff I would do to maintain loyalty. I would declare war and then never move my troops from the capital because keeping them alive was more important for loyalty purposes than using them for the war. I would declare wars entirely for the purpose of draining my own vassal’s armies and manpower so they couldn’t build up a large enough force to want to rebel against me. It’s evil in a whole other way than how EU4 and Anbennar usually enforces it through “click the genocide button”, and it really fed into the themes of the story. These totalitarian, mind-control dwarfs, who seek to subjugate the people around them so they swear absolute loyalty, all while never having the capacity to ever resist you.
I literally had a notebook next to me of my vassal’s dev sizes so I could keep track of how large they were getting and dole out new provinces accordingly so none would get too large. The final end reward of having the capability to ensure total vassal loyalty is the best end-game reward in the whole game, because suddenly I was free to grow however much I wanted. I declared on the Lake Fed then just left the game on x5 speed and watched as my combined vassals experienced 3 million deaths in attrition and still won the war. My computer may have hated me for it. The end game of Ozovar is the slowest I’ve ever seen EU4 run. But I loved the campaign and it’s a top 3 all time favourite nations to play in Anbennar.

This is not a political position, but a thermodynamic one. The world is heading from a time of excess to a time of scarcity. With more people enjoying fewer comforts, humanity is faced with the direction it takes for the rest of our species' future on this planet and others: we can't fight each other for what's left or we can share with each other what we need.
This isn't - or has never before been - a serious question because this world has never felt universal hardship before. In the past, when any major scarcity was faced (with the exception of 536) there was always a neighboring ally to buffer the loss or an enemy to subjugate; until now, there has always been more. Climate change is a global pressure on a globalized economy. There are no external economies that are thriving to prop up the luxuries we've come to feel entitled to. When that luxury can no longer be provided, people are trained to blame each other and ask for the boss to complain about our level of service.
This is the attitude fueling the shift to the right "all this liberal 'science' bullshit has turned my country into a place i dont recognize. Time to get my country in order!", but like how the long term side effects of COVID will be blamed on the vaccine rather than the virus, humans are apparently hardwired to look for a person or institution that's responsible for their problems, because they live in a world that's manifestly run by humanity. Politicians don't help with this because they promise change that a large bureaucracy isn't capable of... every time they step in front of a mic. Politicians feed the sense that the world is divided into teams and the team that's running things is doing harm. They are the anti-vax evangelists of a world simply running out of good time as a result of spending all the good time since the end of WWII.
Humanity cannot fly. That shouldn't be arguable. It's a fundamental limit of our physiology that cannot be overcome without shedding everything about us that makes us human; brains are heavy. When we get on a plane, we are not 'flying', we are taking a bus full of people, strapping a rocket engine to it, and firing it in a ballistic trajectory toward our destination. For all the celebration of progress in the tech age, we still can't figure out how to move something forward without throwing something out the back. That's not just why planes are absurd but why they cannot continue to be considered a good invention. Think of how much fuel would need to be burned to rocket yourself across a lawn, let alone through the sky; it's an insane amount of fuel and an absurd justification for burning it, especially virtually all domestic travel can be accomplished by rail or bus... which also use the same principle of throwing out enough exhaust gasses out the back to displace the weight of the thing that's burning the fuel. When this thing is on the ground, it burns much less fuel than pushing it through the sky.
Humanity assumes novelty is benign. Im not sure if this is one of the hidden rules about capitalism that we all follow as a culture "have you seen the new x!? It's amazing and works way better than x-1!", or if we're evolutionarily programmed to assume new is good and the direction we should be heading in. In either case, it has allowed us to adopt planetary destruction as a necessary aspect of each of our lives. It isn't anything we do consciously, it is the background of our lives that feeds big industry and steals time from the future. It's our commute, our food, our total acceptance that running a furnace is fine despite getting all worked up about oil spills and fires when we see them uncontained. The maze we all run was designed to have as much distance as possible between you and the cheese at the end so you would spend half or more of your cheese burning calories to get from the start to the finish and repeat all over. It is why people feel the problem is too big for them: there is nothing one person can change in the part of the life they control that will redirect the planetary system away from collapse because it is the pattern of our lives that is the destructive part.
Since our shared pattern is so destructive, it is self limiting. We are feeling the effects of that now with COVID (forests being pushed toward ecological breakdown leads animals to look for new territory and new food, leading to conflict with species already there and malnutrition from food with an incomplete nutrient balance), extreme weather doing damage to vital infrastructure and shipping losses.
Which brings us back to Ukraine. The world needs a beacon. A Western country with the courage to model a sustainable lifestyle through active change. I assumed that would have been Canada but I was wrong. Instead, with Ukraine being forced to rebuild in a time where supplies have never been more expensive, and in a state where its people have gotten used to living without luxury, it can either be an incubator for redesigning human life to restore the environment rather than destroy it.
There is no stronger people to take on such a challenge and the world that has been paying for weapons to defend. If we can send explosives to break, we must send hands, tools, and materials to rebuild. If we rebuild the same way, the world will fall into war since the causal push of all existing conflict is space and resources or their control, and we will continue to pretend that individual human choices are to blame for war. We will continue to refuse to look deeper and will soon find ourselves in a position where taking up arms seems like the only solution left to us. If, on the other hand, the rest of us find the courage to look one step deeper and ask "why is the world falling to war? What is driving conflict?", we will see it is the same thing driving our thirst for more luxury and, hopefully, realize that the only survivable path to the future is one where we change our behavior to relieve the force that's pushing us in that direction.
When more is never enough, less is a horrifying concept. Without a model for how to happily live as a human in a self sufficient community, there will be no "green transition", there will only be more disease, more scarcity, and more conflict on the edge of that scarcity. The more each of us takes, the more we contribute to conflict around the world.
There is no way to make a car "green", just like there is no way to make a compostable battery. The problem isnt the means of conveyance, it is the distance we need to cover to survive. Whether or not we change our habits to adapt to this reality is inconsequential to its eventuality, it just seems absurd to ignore the reality of hardship until you're being strangled by it simply to "enjoy the time you have left".
If the war in Ukraine ends and the world moves in to turn it into the first net zero country, there is hope for a future for our species. If we act like everything was fine until a mad man decided to invade a sovereign country, war will spread like a fog descending on the world. Demands will be met by force as a result of people pushing for impossibly cheap access to resources. Slavery will return as the foundation of the global economy and, in all this horror, we will be hastening and worsening our own conditions.
Like a train whose tracks go over the grand canyon, humanity needs one last train stop to see what it looks like to live somewhere other than a train at constantly increasing speed. We need a model for a future that is too nebulous to explain: it must be seen and experienced, how much living can be done as humans on and with the land. If nothing else but to illustrate that a train going over a cliff was not a predetermined consequence of "human progress", and that a choice has been made to define that progress with the inventions of a few men, all of which run by stealing energy from the past and stability from the future. It would allow us to see the train from the outside and force us to question the value of a murder-suicide pact.
For the demonstration to be compelling, there can be no or very little carbon footprint for the country. Structures must be built from salvaged (cheap) material, focusing on isolated but functional communities.
We have already lost the battle to save most of what we recognize in our world but we don't need to continue to burn it all down. Since there is no more track for this paradigm, there is no consequence for trying something new and certain death and misery by doing the same. This message can be shared in every possible way, but without a demonstration of what it looks like on a cultural level, we will never have the discussion that leads to the choice to keep going or get off the death train.
We are not the creations or technology we obsess over, we are an ape descended species on a planet we're stuck with and have killed 80% of in 50 years. We cannot survive on a lifeless world because we are alive and life feeds on life to survive. I have a hard time getting people to relate to the rest of the living world as a branch of the same tree we belong to because of how separated we are from other life. The more life that's lost, the less we'll care about it being gone and the more committed we will be to our preoccupations to avoid having to face reality.
The cowardice ive encountered when it comes to facing reality has been incredibly disappointing and disturbing. We will pass laws in our country to prevent poaching and hunting in other countries where our emissions and lifestyle -guided by our laws- are pushing the same animals to total extinction. We will talk about this from a position of moral superiority, only, and will take no responsibility for the conditions our behavior has already created. There is no "border crisis", there are people being pushed out of their homes by new weather that has made those homes incompatible with survival. I've heard lots of Americans talking about moving north in response to climate shifts as if that is something completely different from what is happening on their southern border or in Europe. No one leaves their ancestral home to cause problems in another country, but if that country is responsible for the force that pushed them out, they should either stop pushing people out of their homes or open their borders. To refuse either is to accept that you live a life of evil and as the person that will one day deny you shelter to protect what they have.
These a new times with new stakes and new bad guys. The only good thing about being the bad guy is you can choose to stop, while your victims can only beg you to stop and, eventually, resist/insist on a different course. It is up to each and all of us how the future plays out. The party is over. No one gets to sit this out.

When you're rich enough, you get perks you can only dream of. Literally. But somehow, my paradise turned into hell.
Have you ever had a dream so amazing, you wished you could relive it? Explore it? Relish it? Well, when you're rich enough, you don't have to wish. It's a reality thanks to dream banks. You may have heard of them and their pricy services, which include recording, saving, and projecting dreams.
For example, if you'd like a dream recorded, you can book one of their luxurious suites for the night, where the dream techs will fit you with a special helmet and leave you to rest. The next morning, they'll replay the recorded dream for you via the helmet and ask if you want to shell out the extra bucks to save it. If you don't, they'll delete it and you can pay to book for another time to try again.
If you do decide to save it, you must select an item within the dream that will act as the exit key. (This will come in handy during projections.) While still wearing the helmet, you must touch the item, and the dream techs will label those electric signals as the key.
Afterwards, everything is saved under your name, and you can now relive your dream at any time by booking a suite for three, five, or eight hours. Unlike recordings, during projections, you don't have to wait for sleep to come. After you enjoy a snack of your choice, the helmet is fitted and you're immediately transported to your dream, where you have free will and can enjoy it at your leisure. And if you ever need to leave early, this is when you touch the key, which will shut down the helmet right away.
In my case, the key is the stegosaurus leather rug I have hanging on the wall of my throne room. I never have a reason to touch it otherwise, making it a perfect key. I've also never had to touch it. Experiencing life as an all-powerful, worshipped being who lives on my own planet and hunts dinosaurs in my spare time, I relished my dream to the last second.
Yes, the fees are exorbitant, but at the time, I felt it was worth it. The techs were skilled, the system was sleek, and the dreams were private. Each could only be unlocked by the unique brainwaves of the dreamer.
Or so I thought.
My literal nightmare began when I booked a five-hour projection on a rainy Friday afternoon. After taking a sip of champagne to wash down the cranberry brie bites, I settled into the cool silk sheets with a smile. My usual dream tech smiled back as she fastened my helmet, and the last thing I heard was her wishing me pleasant dreams before I was plunged into darkness.
I waited for the split-second adjustment from reality to the dream world, and my confusion grew when I didn't find myself on my throne surrounded by fawning gods and goddesses.
Instead, I found myself in the middle of an endless street. Alone. There were no cars, no life, not even wind. Towering street lamps lined the sidewalk as far as I could see, arcing over the road and tinting everything an eerie red. Behind them, identical buildings stood side by side, silent, their dark, narrow windows hollow.
My pulse spiking, I whipped around. The other direction was just as endless. Uneasy confusion prickled beneath my skin. This had to be someone else's dream. The techs must have made a mistake. I didn't know how it was possible, but there was no other explanation.
My unease piqued as my situation sank in. I was in a stranger's dream and I didn't know the key. I was stuck here until my five hours ran out. Or until the techs realized their mistake. I was ready to rip them a new one once I was out, but until then, I had no choice but to wait.
I studied my surroundings with a frown before I walked over to the curb and sat down, and that was when I noticed I couldn't feel anything. I also noticed I was naked. It didn't matter. There was no one here, and none of this was real anyway.
Time passed, and I tried to distract myself from my nettled offense by humming, but no sound came out. Sitting up, I took a deep breath and screamed. Not even a squeak was heard. I slapped my hand against the ground. Nothing. This place was like a black hole of the senses.
Sighing, I lay down on my back and stared at the red light above me, wondering if I could fall asleep in a dream. I tried, but the more I wished to escape this silent, crimson prison, the more it seemed to come into focus. Soon, the utter lack of noise and movement grew from slightly unnerving to completely intolerable.
There was no way I could wait. I'd go insane. I had to get out of here. I had to find the key.
Jumping up, I ran to the nearest building and wrenched open the door, and a pitch black void greeted me. I gasped, and gasped again as it felt like my very breath was being suctioned out of my lungs. Panicking, silent wheezes rattled in my chest as I struggled to yank myself out of the vacuum, jerking my limbs and bucking my body until I toppled over backwards on the sidewalk.
Gulping in fitful breaths, I scrambled to my feet and ran down the road without looking back, my wide eyes scanning the horizon for salvation. I just wanted out of here, but the hellish path stretched on forever, making me feel like I was running in place as every identical building and street lamp mocked me. Even my silent stomping and mute panting served to draw insanity closer.
And then, a person showed up.
There, in the distance.
With my hope spurred, I raced towards them, desperate. I didn't care who they were. I needed to break this monotony.
As I got closer, hope morphed to confusion, and then to despair. The person was me. It was a mirror, propped up across the entire street.
Sweat-soaked, I slowed down to a jog before I stopped right in front of my reflection. It was me alright, naked, exhausted, and frustrated. But the eyes, something was off about the eyes. With an anxious frown, I stepped closer, staring into them, and they stared back …
… until they glanced behind me.
I gasped and jumped away, and so did my reflection … before it glanced over my shoulder again.
A chill trickled down my spine. My reflection had nothing behind it but the empty street, so I gulped and turned around, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream as a lovecraftian behemoth barrelled its way towards me. With its slick shell gleaming red beneath the lights, it slammed down one spiny tentacle after the other as its five mouths bared their dripping, concentric fangs.
Drenched in undiluted horror, tremors gripped my body as I stumbled away until my back was against the mirror. I knew death was a foolproof key in a dream, but I didn't know if this creature would kill me right away or leave me to suffer in agony until my five hours were up.
With it only inches away, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself into the mirror, and my stomach flipped as I fell backwards. I opened my mouth to gasp, but there was nothing for me to draw in. Floating in an airless void, I flailed and thrashed, my wild eyes scanning the darkness for answers as I began to spin around.
Although death would free me, one of my greatest fears was suffocating. On one of my weightless rotations, a red, glass cube passed me by, and I grabbed it, hoping it was a breathing device. I brought it close to my face, and I gawked at what it held within.
Me.
Surrounded by identical buildings and red street lamps while a lovecraftian behemoth tore me apart.
Horrified, I threw the cube as far as I could and increased my efforts to escape this void. Yet all the flailing and thrashing was for naught as the darkness revealed no end. My eyesight began to go red as my lungs spasmed, and I clawed at my throat as my pulse stuttered in my chest.
The red kept growing and growing until it engulfed my entire vision, and I gave up. There was nothing to do but face my fears and die. With my straining heart lumbering, I let myself go limp as I stared at the red and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
I wasn't dying.
In fact, I could breathe just fine.
Frowning, I opened my eyes, and intense unease spread through my core. Above me, a red moon had taken up the entire sky, each one of its craters crystal clear, like eyes watching me. I turned my head away, and I realized I was in a park, laying down on the grass. Sitting up, I blinked in surprise at the pond right beside me, its opaque water reflecting the moon's red light. Ducks were swimming in a circle across its surface, their movements smooth with nary a splash.
Trees surrounded us, so dense I couldn't tell when one began and the other ended. It was mind-numbingly quiet here as well, and I still couldn't feel anything or make any noise, but at least the ducks were moving. This place seemed more tolerable than the last, and I was willing to wait out my five hours here. I hoped at least an hour had passed already, but with dreams, one never knew. All I knew was that I was too exhausted to search for the key. And too scared. I didn't know whose dream this was, but they had to be masochistic if they saved this nightmare.
Curling up beside the pond, I worked on calming myself down as I watched the ducks swim in their systematic circle over and over and over. I tried counting the rotations the way one would count sheep, but that still didn't lull me to sleep. I wished I'd chosen the three-hour projection, but at least I hadn't chosen the eight-hour one.
Distorted circus music crackled around me and I jolted up, my heart ricocheting in my chest. There was finally sound, but the last thing I wanted to hear was a cliche horror movie soundtrack. Gulping, I looked around. The music was coming from the trees, and my stomach dropped when I spied a shadow behind one of them. Then another. And another. They emerged into the crimson moonlight, and my blood turned to ice.
Clowns.
I whipped around, trembling to the rhythm of my frantic pulse. They were surrounding me. Dozens of them. As classic as any clown could be. Colorful clothes, big shoes, silly hair, exaggerated makeup. I wasn't scared of clowns, as long as they were where they belonged. And they didn't belong here, staring at me with big, empty eyes and yellow, toothy grins.
I tried to convince myself that they weren't dangerous since they didn't have weapons and didn't seem monstrous, but when they took a step closer in unison, I jumped back, nearly falling into the pond. The ducks remained oblivious, still swimming in their circle. The distorted circus music got louder, and my hair stood on end when I saw the grass ripple in front of each clown. They were sending something my way through the ground.
Panicking, I jumped into the pond, and I screamed as I sank right in. There was no bottom. There was no water either. The pond was filled with red, translucent spheres, each the size of a tennis ball. Still able to breathe, I began swimming through the spheres with clumsy breast strokes, just hoping I could end up as far away from the clowns as possible.
After swimming for what felt like enough time, I tried to swim up, until I realized I had no idea which direction I was facing. Remember a trick for those stuck in avalanches, I spat, but my glob of saliva just hovered in front of me. Before panic could set in, I noticed what looked like an office desk floating amidst the spheres in the distance. After blinking a few times to make sure it was really there, I swam towards it, desperate for any change in my situation.
It was an office desk, a wooden one with carved borders and locked drawers. Tucked beneath it was a stool, and the moment I pulled it out and set it under my ass, an office replaced the red spheres.
I grunted as gravity returned, and I looked around in bewilderment at the cluttered bookshelves and grimy floors. Dust was floating everywhere, highlighted by the red light filtering in through the blinds behind me. I jumped as a clock hanging on the wall chimed. Its glass was too dirty for me to tell the time, but I was glad I could hear. I coughed at the dust. And I could make noise. I dusted my hands. And I could feel. I could even smell, which I now wished I couldn't as I wrinkled my nose at the faint stench of rot.
After failing to read the spines of some of the books on the shelves, I studied the shadowy corners of the room. A slack-jawed skeleton hung in the far end, and a faded poster with anatomical diagrams curled off a cupboard. This had to be a doctor's office. Was the creator of this dream a doctor?
A silhouette slid in front of the frosted glass door, and I gulped as the knob began to turn. A hand reached in, gripping the edge one finger at a time, and my heart dropped as I knew this horror cliche was only going to be followed by another. Having no time to think, I slid off the stool and crouched beneath the desk, my hand over my mouth as cobwebs clung to me.
Praying spiders wouldn't swarm me, I peeked through a small slit in the wood, and I froze when an emaciated nurse walked in the room. Layers upon layers of blood coated her scrubs, so much so that I couldn't even tell what color they originally were. She had no shoes. No feet either. Just ankle stubs, and my stomach turned as I heard bone clunk against the tiles.
A surgical mask covered her face, as bloodstained as her scrubs, and grimy lab goggles obscured her eyes. I was grateful, because judging by the pus leaking out of her scabbed, balding scalp, I didn't want to know what her face looked like. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of rot became, and I struggled to keep myself from retching.
She stopped halfway into the room, and I gawked at her hands. They were transforming. Her fingers elongating into razor-edged blades. She then began to hunch over, and I cringed as her spine cracked and popped until she was as bent as a candy cane, her face staring at her pelvis.
As if that wasn't unsettling enough, her head creaked as it spun around 180 degrees, now facing the front, upside down. Right after, her arms shot to the ground, and I watched with increasing dread as she bent them at the elbows and wrists so they flanked her head like distorted T-Rex arms.
She spread her fingers out and took a few more steps towards me, and I held my breath, hoping she couldn't hear my rabid heart or smell my fear. Her ankle bones clicked and clacked against the tiles as she made her way around the desk, and I cowered as my frantic eyes searched for a weapon. I found none, but I did spy a brass button beside my head.
With her legs now an arms distance away, I had nothing to lose as I jammed my thumb into the button. The back of the desk flung open, and I scrambled to my feet and dashed out from my hiding place, screaming in response to the nurse screeching behind me. Bursting through the door, I held up my fists and began punching like a maniac in fearful anticipation of a horde of nurses swarming me.
Except I was no longer in a hospital. I was in an outdoor parking lot. Alone. And judging by the roiling red clouds, a storm was brewing. After a second to collect my bearings, I dove into the closest car, thankful it was unlocked. The moment I slammed the door shut, lightning blinded me as thunder cracked and the downpour began. Sighing in relief, I tried to shake away my adrenaline, but the bloodshot eyes in my rearview mirror reignited my panic.
Before I could react, a belt snapped over my neck, pinning my head back against the headrest. With a frightened wheeze, I clawed at the leather, and I flinched as hot, heavy breath wafted across my ear. Gagging at the putrid smell, I reached over, desperate to scratch my strangler's face or poke their eyes out.
I felt their greasy hair and tried to pull it, but my fingers refused to hold on. I tried again and again, using my nails for purchase, but the strands just kept slipping out of my weak grip. Shifting focus, I tried to claw at their eyes, but it felt as though I was moving through molasses as my hand slid down their face. Once I felt a wet, bulbous eye, I tried to scratch it, but I didn't have enough strength to do anything damage.
My frustration clashed with my terror and I tried to punch them, but my arm swung back in slow motion and merely prodded a stubbly cheek. Tears welled in my eyes as I writhed and gasped, my strangler's laugh adding insult to injury. Despite knowing death will set me free, fear and self-preservation rummaged through my mind, searching for a solution. And they found one.
Hoping I had enough grip and energy, I reached down and found the reclining lever. Wrapping my fingers around it tight, I jerked it up and heaved my body back, and I gulped in a deep breath as I fell backwards, the belt now slack. Not at all prepared to face my attacker, I slipped out from beneath the belt, flung open the door, and zoomed out into the storm.
Sheets of rain obscured my vision, but not enough for me to see that the keys were left inside a red convertible. After making sure no one was hiding in the back, I jumped in, started the engine, and took off, the wheels squealing through the puddles. A sole street curled down a hill, and I took it, adrenaline pumping in waves through my quivering body.
This rush was a confusing mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. I wanted out, but I wasn't giving up. I made it this far, and I was going to survive every cliche this masochist dreamed up. Sharks? Snakes? Zombies? Bring it on. And afterwards, I was going to detail every single trial and tribulation I went through as I sued the dream bank for all the trauma they caused me.
Up ahead, the road curved, and I gasped as it ended in a cliff. I slammed the breaks, but they didn't do anything. Breaking out in a cold sweat, I slammed them again and again as I yanked the hand break as far as it would go. The car refused to slow down, and I cursed myself for not anticipating this cliche. In a move of desperation, I swerved, but it wasn't enough as the car careened over the edge and took me with it.
My heart hung in my throat as I hung on to the steering wheel, my knuckles white, my screams frozen in my lungs, the raindrops like needles. An endless body of water spread below me, and I knew sharks were my next challenge. I screwed my eyes shut as I awaited the inevitable plunge …
… and I gasped as the car crashed against the surface.
I lurched forward, and I cried out as I bashed my forehead against the wheel. Groaning, I leaned back, my ears ringing as I looked around, disoriented. I was still in the convertible, but we were right side up, having crashed into the concrete wall of an indoor garage. Blood trickled down my face and I reached up, only to feel around my head in shock.
I was wearing the helmet.
Why was it in the dream?
Or had I made it out?
I looked down. I wasn't naked. My pyjamas were plastered to my sweat-soaked skin. I was out. I looked around at the broken glass and mangled metal in confusion. But if I was finally out, why was I in a car and not between silk sheets?
I removed the helmet, and a yell from behind made me jump. I turned to see one of the dream techs running towards me. Was she always that skinny? And why were her scrubs red instead of the usual blue?
She made it to me, panting as she took the helmet out of my hands, and I wrinkled my nose at her unpleasant breath. She said I'd had a nightmare and began sleepwalking, and I'd left the dream bank and stole a car from their underground parking before she triggered a wake-up signal in the helmet, which made me crash.
I stared at her, not believing what I was hearing. I told her I'd booked a projection, not a recording, and she gave me a concerned frown and claimed the opposite. Anger replaced my confusion, and I called her a liar and accused them of misconduct, and she reminded me that dreams can only be unlocked by the dreamer.
Furious, I cursed at her as I tried to get out of the car, demanding to see my file. She was quick to tell me not to move in case I made my injuries worse as she pulled out her phone and said she was going to call an ambulance.
While I sat there and waited, fuming, I glimpsed my reflection in the dangling rearview mirror. Unease rippled beneath my skin and I sat up, grabbing the mirror and angling it to show my neck.
There was an angry red mark across it.
As though I was recently strangled.
Trembling, I tilted the mirror up.
Cobwebs. Stuck in my hair.
Dumbstruck in utter stupefaction, I scanned the rest of my body. My pyjamas were dirty and there was black under my fingernails, but the rest of my examination was cut short by tinny circus music. A chill jolted down my spine and I whipped my head to face the dream tech. That was her ringtone. She smiled as she answered the call, and I drew back at her yellow, toothy grin.
What was going on? I was out of the dream, I knew I was. Had everything been real? What had the dream bank done with me? Done to me?
Ambulance sirens wailed as they entered the underground parking, and the flashing red lights reflecting off the walls triggered my recent traumas. With terror-fueled adrenaline flooding my veins, I jerked my legs free of the wreck, jumped out of the car, and booked it, the dream tech's yells merging with the screeching sirens behind me.
SR

Started on WT2 and the beginning felt great, good resistance. Main quest line was a good story, but most encounters easier than side content. I speculate Blizzard tried to keep the main quest simple so more people can enjoy the story, which is fair.
Moved to WT3, and again, the beginning felt great. Had to plan, think, kite. Also enjoyed figuring out paragon system, whisper tree etc, world boss, helltide...
But now bored again (level 57). The capstone to get to WT4 is putting up resistance, though it's just the level difference making it hard in a "metagaming way", not because enemies are technically more challenging or different.
The problems is that it's way too easy to get exactly the gear you want/need. Let's break that down:

• Crafting system has very little depth. It's very easy to get the codex entries you need for making powerful builds. Some materials are rare, but you don't need them to get an overpowered build. I don't know if there even are rare recipes/codex – all seems extremely simple to get.
• Materials? Abundance all the time. Never runs out.
• Gold? Abundance all the time. Never runs out.
• Rare gear? I guess I only picked up like 2 "unique", but they are very far from essential.

The build theory could be good, but you can stack pretty much all bonuses regardless of choice (for example: a barbarian a bleed build is not much different to a crit build – just rack up those damage bonuses against slow/cc/bleed/close same). The choices do not force you into compromises.
The whole endgame needs to be much more stretched out. Less sacred loot, more constrained build choices, recipe and materials that are hard to get. Enemies that present a challenge all the way to 70.