Marine cooler with wheels

I am a complete beginner to triathlon and am looking to by a bike. I don’t want a tri specific bike because:
A. The cost B. I just want to get a bike I can use for all sorts, not just tri.
My question is, what is people advice around type of bike and type of wheels/tyres?
I am thinking road bike but with maybe 28mm gravel tyres to give it all-round abilities.
Thoughts please?
Thanks.

Timestamps: https://imgur.com/a/l2pNZ3P
Selling parts of a previous build.
Looking to bundle the CPU, mobo, PSU, and cooler together for someone’s SFF build Price: $210 shipped
Also selling a pair of HD 650s, with a small issue. Check the timestamps to get a better understanding, but essentially it is missing a clip on one side of the headband that holds it in place. It is a non issue in use. Price: $170 shipped
Reach out if you want to do local - I’ll bring the price down a bit for either. Local to 23059.

Hello, I know it might have an impact to the warranty, but how do i upgrade my 4100 with a SSD? I am in worry about the wear out of the emmc. Are there any things to consider when I open the box? Do I have to remove the rubber feeds? Do I have to make changes to boot the box from ssd then? SSD already here - now thinking also about a SSD cooler also. Let me know your thoughts! Thank you!

Waking up next to Stanton, our clothes were all over the floor. Blushing at last night’s activity, I checked the time. A loud scream burst from my lips, the book club was in ten minutes. Crashing to the floor, Stanton stirred awake. Panicking at the time, the floor shook as he crashed to the floor. Searching for anything to wear, he was already tugging on a black band t-shirt and ripped jeans. Fixing his hair, my hand settled on a black and white striped swing dress. Slipping my feet into my boots, he brushed my wild hair into a simple side bun. Kissing me on the forehead, he dropped a random book into my palm.
“I will hang out with the husbands to analyze their behavior. Get those hens talking about their men.” He said simply, ignoring what we did last night. “Try and drink some coffee with them. Tell them that you have a stomach sensitivity.” Focusing on the book, scarlet colored my cheeks. It was one I had written and published fifty years ago, his brows furrowing.
“You’re telling me that I have to go and sit with a bunch of women while they misinterpret what I wrote.” I groaned bitterly, wishing that he would acknowledge last night. “Whatever. At least I know the plot.” Hooking his elbow into mine, we walked across the street. The husbands welcomed him with open arms, Susie yanking me in. Pulling me into the kitchen, she slid me a cup of coffee, my stomach churning. While most vampires enjoyed it, I despised it with a burning passion. Taking a sip, the pungent taste reminded me of a bunch of pennies.
“Tell me about sleeping with him. Was it fun? My husband is so boring.” She pleaded desperately, pressing her palms together. “I also asked for you to come because you look a lot like my favorite author.” Hitting the wall, a secret shelf with every single book I wrote covered every inch of the damn space. Think of an excuse, you idiot. Stanton looked up from his own conversation outside, my lips pressing into a thin line.
“My mother wrote them.” I lied seamlessly, Susie buying into it. “She was a lovely woman.” Lie, that was a lie. My mother was a poor Irish vampire who ditched me at the ripe age of three, her next question causing me to spit my coffee out.
“When is the sound of tiny feet entering your home?” She trilled sweetly, cupping my hands. “You are the first to know that I am pregnant now. I have been trying for years. Maybe you can get pregnant soon and we can have them be best friends.” Horror hid behind my polite smile, a long squeal escaping my lips. Like hell I would go along with her sick little plan. Something felt off, my vision blurred. A purple liquid swirled on top of the coffee, my body hitting the floor. A rough darkness devoured me as coffee pooled around my head.
A yellow light swung over my head, something else feeling off. Clammy sweat drenched my skin, a fever burning my cheeks. Susie towered over me, a spike spinning in her palm. Attempting to crawl away, her heel dug into my back. Unable to move, this felt like something else. The desire to take Stanton nearly controlled my mind, the claws extended from my fingernails. Spinning another needle of the liquid in her palm, she jammed it into my leg. Extreme nausea wracked my body, the beginning of a heat cycle disabling me. Parting my lips to speak, I needed his blood to survive or that was what it felt like. Only wheezes poured from my lips, she jammed another needle into my leg. Sending me into the next stage, every touch raised an incredible amount of goosebumps. Shivering in my spot, the last time I felt this was one hundred years ago when a handsome stranger caught my eye.
“I used to be a hunter.” She bragged gleefully, sitting down on top of me. “We have to finish before the book club arrives, you fucking idiot. I meant what I said about you getting pregnant around the same time. I know the serial killer lives among us. You have to trust me with that.” My eyebrow twitched with a mixture of bewilderment and irritation, a snarl curling on my lips. All of this was too much, my knee meeting her face. Crawling onto the living room floor, my legs felt like rubber. If she hit me with another needle of that liquid I would be pregnant within the next few days. At the current level in mine, three months remained before anything had to be done about that. Stumbling out, blood poured from her nose. Struggling to my feet, my shaking fingers opened her fridge to see what I needed. The process had already begun but I could delay it for a while. Pulling out a needle full of a milky liquid, she cried out as I jammed it into my thigh.
“I am not ready for that quite yet, Miss hunter!” I shouted vehemently, fuming darkly on the stool. “How can I know that you aren’t the serial killer?” Pausing in her spot, her slender hands jammed her nose back into place. Wiping the blood out from underneath her nose, she sat down across from me. Chuckling softly to herself, her fingers drummed on the stainless steel counter top.
“They killed my sister and her family a couple of weeks ago. I have nothing to gain from this.” She informed me briskly, holding her stomach. “I am the neighborhood watch and I can’t stand that someone is slicing their way through our little piece of paradise. Revenge is in my plan but now I have to be careful.” Seeing things through her point of view, the fact that she sped up my natural reproductive cycle ticked me off.
“I figured I might kick start things for your body. The sooner you get pregnant the happier Stanley will be. I always catch him watching the families walking by with a longing look. I am only doing it because he doesn’t suck up to me which makes him my favorite stranger.” She expressed with her real smile, pointing to me. “You are a purebred vampire. Such luck should be blessed in your eyes. You can give birth without dying. I met you once when my old man came to talk to you in your jail cell. I don’t know if you don’t remember him but his name is Father Rowell.” All of my breath escaped my lungs at the mention of his name, my mind flicking through the memories of every person who had visited me. Come to think of it, a redheaded woman did accompany a priest that one time. How did I not make the connection? Laying my head on the table, several women ran in. My eyebrow twitched, the perfectly dressed woman interrupted our conversation. A sea of blonde haired women shoved me aside, a couple of them shooting daggers from their eyes. Stepping back, Susie tugged me close to her. A bout of nausea wracked me, the combination of the potion she had injected with me mixed poorly with my sudden social anxiety. Dropping a tray into my palm, her gentle touch dragged me to the four ivory walls she called her living room. A brown leather set reminded me of my cell, the tray crashing to the floor. Glass shattered everywhere, my immediate response was to run. Apologizing profusely, I bolted out the door. Ignoring their looks, I ripped off my boots. Sprinting down the street, a masked individual slammed into me. Crashing to the ground, the pavement felt cool against my face. Still weak from earlier, I couldn’t just fight them off like normal. Quivering on the pavement, a disguised voice sent chills up my spine.
“Goodnight, my dear!” The robotic voice laughed evilly, a knife slamming into my body repeatedly.” Copper poisoned my taste buds, the person whistling. A rusting van pulled up, the license plate number 568 4325 stuck into my memory while my blood pooled underneath me. Tossing me into the van, Stanton barely made it onto the street. Locking the door behind me, I leaned against the wall. Pulling out my silenced phone, my vision blurred as I turned on my location. Hiding my phone behind a dusty box, a darkness swallowed me alive.
Jerking awake once more, this trend had to stop. Groaning in pain, a yellow light swung over my head, a rough rope cut into my wrists. Struggling only made the knot tighter, the killers having to be boat owners, hunters or some sort of boy scout. Glancing around, no weapons lay around. Talk about being professional. Muffled yelling stole my attention, a filthy redhead tugged on chains against the wall. Two small children hugged her side tightly, silent tears staining their cheeks. One, a pair of worn steel toe boots came into view. Two, the other shoe appeared. Three, his masked face poked around the corner. Four, Five, Six, one of the killers were at the bottom of the stairs. Seven, he towered over me at six foot seven. Lifting up his mask, relief crashed over me at the sight of an anxious Stanton. Seconds from cutting her rope, the boss stomped down the stairs. Pulling his mask down, the boss cleared his throat.
“Cut off her fingers until she talks about how she found us.” He demanded via a thick distorted voice. “Never mind, give me the knife.” Snatching it from Stanton, he could only watch with horror as the man held my finger straight. Three red dots blinked in the corner of my eyes, the operation making sense. This asshole was running a torture to murder show, a lump forming in my throat.
“Thank you for your payment of a million dollars. We shall gut her like a deer.” He mused darkly, tracing the knife along my flat stomach. “Then I will play with the guts to please you.” A scream burst from my lips the moment the blade glided across my stomach. Fighting the urge to vomit, my steaming guts poured out onto my lap. Playing with my intestines, the money began to pour in. Choking on the blood building up in my throat, a hack sent it all over his mask. The questions were sick, a clammy sweat drenching my skin.
“We have a vampire.” He announced with wicked laughter, my heart sinking in my chest. “This is going to be fun.” Stanton held his composure, the back of the metal chair bending underneath his grip. The heat potion kicked in, one accidental touch clouding up my mind for a moment. Bending down to my level, his next words sent chills up my spine.
“The boys are coming. We have to keep him occupied for about thirty minutes.” He growled through gritted teeth, the man asking him to run the computers. Touching my shoulder one last time, the chair squealed the moment he sank down into the chair. Shoving a slender flash drive into the USB hole, he was gathering the IP addresses. Shoving my guts back in, childlike wonder brightened the killer’s tone at my wound sealing shut. Susie’s sister held her hands over her kid’s eyes, the knife sliding in and out of me. The wet noise did little to help me, the potion making my stomach churn worse than normal. The money kept pouring in, the welcome sound of chaos woke me up from my sickly state. The agents from before piled down the stairs, Stanton ripping off his mask. Cutting the rope, his touch made me jump a couple of feet into the air. Popping to my feet, every footfall echoed in the concrete cell. Assisting Susie’s sister, her arms embraced me desperately. Every emotion soaked my shoulder, another touch from Stanton resulted in a tender blush on my cheeks. Shooting me a thumbs up, his lips brushed against the top of my head. Helping the woman to her feet, Stanton scooped up the children. Bright flashes blinded me, the news crew attempting to speak to us. Climbing into a tinted SUV, the children bounced into their mother’s arm. Fishing around a bag, he held out packages of cheddar crackers. The boys accepted them graciously, the car heading towards the hospital. The door ripped open, nurses ushering the family inside. Scanning me up and down, Stanton held me by my hips. Sniffing me real quick, fear flashed on his face. Not having time, Susie smashed into me. Desperate tears flooded from her cheeks, her quaking hands cupping my face. A deep crimson painted my cheeks, a newfound respect for me glowed in her eyes.
“Thank you so much for saving them. I don’t know how I could ever thank y-” She blubbered uncontrollably, my hand raising to stop her. Smiling brightly in her direction, this reaction made it all worth it. My lips parted to speak, a nurse dragging her off before I could explain myself. Stanton dragged me back to the car, a snarl twitching on his lips. Slamming me down into my seat, the partition hummed its way up.
“Your heat is supposed to be for another year! Why do you smell like you are three months away?” He demanded hotly, the crack of my hand meeting his cheeks stunning the both of us. How dare he ask after not talking about last night! Clenching my fists into a ball, I turned my back.
“You haven’t talked about last night. We had fun and you acted like nothing happened!” I blurted out venomously, happy to have it off of my chest. “You already forced me into a marriage, and now you want me to ignore what happened last night. Fuck you. I had fun but here you are. Was it that bad? Susie sped me up so we could be pregnant around the same fucking time. Did you know she used to be a hunter? She opened right up to me. In fact she knew me.” Spinning me around to face him, an apologetic smile dimmed his features. A piece of hair fell in front of his left eye, his hands rubbing my shoulder.
“I can’t tell you why that all scares me.” He mumbled under his breath, sliding me a large emerald box. “You need to get changed into your uniform to enter the facility.” Peeling off my destroyed dress, his eyes couldn’t leave the angry scars covering my body. Flipping the box open, I pulled out a lightly armored leather number. Tugging it over my head, the onyx leather covered my arms. Hiding my bloody hands underneath the bell sleeves, the deep v-neck showed off my ample breasts. Sitting back in the seat, the A-line skirt floated away from my body. Scooting closer to me, he offered me his neck. Sinking my fangs into his tender flesh, every gulp revived my health. Curling my arms around his neck, he drank away. This time a wave of euphoria crashed over me, a long sigh pouring from my lips. Unable to stop, fright rounded my eyes the moment his hand curled around my neck. A muffled protest stopped him, an oppressive silence hung between us. The car skidded to a halt, an impressive navy marble building towered over us. Helping me out, the numb look on his face scared the shit out of me. Marching in aggressively, the way he was acting reminded me of the first time I met Father Powell. Hugging him from behind, his muscles relaxed.
“We all lose control at times.” I assured him lovingly, the tone taking over my voice for the first time. “If I can gain control, you can do it.” Cupping my trembling hands, an agent was attempting to remember the plate number. Typing it in for them with my free hand, a grateful expression met my exhausted face. My legs gave out, Stanton placing me on his back. Ignoring the jeering whispers, the rumors spread within minutes. Bursting into the interrogation room, a shaggy haired man with angry dark eyes watched him set me down in the chair across from him. An unkempt beard danced with every growl in his throat, his scarred face informing me of a rough life.
“I am not the only one in this plot. Do you remember that serial killer club on the news a couple of years ago? I am the bottom tier.” He bragged gleefully, the sweet smell of poison wafting from his mouth. “We must all die with honor.” His heart beat one last time, Stanton calling for help. Help wouldn’t come soon enough, this was a magical poison. Dragging him out of the room, I climbed into the driver’s seat. A skill I had learned the moment cars had been invented, the modern car proving far easier to drive than those things. Stanton hopped into the passenger seat, my fingers typing in an address into the GPS. Driving for too long, the brakes squealed to a halt in front of a bustling night club. Taking off his tie, the poor thing floated to the back. Roughing up his suit, he protested as I messed up his hair. Letting my hair down, a familiar face had to be spoken to. Sauntering up the door, the bouncer let us both in. Loud music worsened my migraine, a scantily clad blond guided us up to the office. Opening the door, my fingers curled around the neck of my old friend. Pinning him to the wall, his scarlet curls bounced around. Ruby eyes glowered back at me, his garish velvet suit irritating me further.
“Who are you selling your poison to, you fucking idiot?” I interrogated him intensely, Stanton yelling at me to calm down. “I know what you sold to Susie. That I can let go but sell some sort of poison to a serial killer after school club! You are playing with fire.” Cocking his brows, he slammed his knee into my chest. Every rib shattered upon impact, all the breath leaving my body. Coughing on the floor, he picked me up by my hair.
“I refuse to let a runt like you run my life. I sell my magical drugs and that is that.” He snapped hotly, my bones fusing back together. “I don’t know or care what they do with them.” Wicked laughter rumbled in my throat, the heel of my bare feet slamming into his jaw. Raw energy built around my fist, his bones shattered upon the impact of my fist. Sliding down the wall, my bruising fingers picked him up by his collar.
“I don’t care that you make drugs. That isn’t my department but when they are used for suicide I have an issue. Who ordered it!” I screamed furiously, a glob of spit landing on my face. “Just answer the fucking question. I will break every bone in your body. You still owe me for you selling me out. I fucking let you keep the reward money.” Clicking his bones back into place, he struggled to his feet. Unlocking his cabinet, he pulled out an ancient ledger. Dropping it into my palms, he sulked to his desk.
“Take it. I have to start another one anyway. I will call you if somebody uber weird pops up.” He commented kindly, pulling out a new one. “Don’t charge me, ‘kay. I provide loads of hunger suppressants for the monsters in the area. I also help monsters get pregnant faster. The poison was only meant to be sold for someone who was going to die. You know that I can see reapers as well as you can. Watch your temper with that heat potion coursing through you. Your powers are going to be a little wacky for a bit.” Mouthing a silent thanks, a triumphant grin spread cheek to cheek. Walking through the club, another discussion had to be had once we got into the car. Climbing in, dread bubbled in my gut.
“Give up why you were in prison.” I demanded sternly, leaning on the steering wheel. “Don’t lie. I can sniff that shit out.” Tears welled up in his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. Storm clouds rumbled to life, heavy raindrops crashed to the top of the vehicle.
“You weren’t my first partner.” He uttered bitterly, chewing on his lips. “I had a romantic relationship with her and she turned out to be the serial killer. The bodies piled up behind me, and I didn’t even know. We were incredibly intimate. She lied with the biggest smile on her face. I enjoyed our evening together and that you only drank from the serial killers to survive. She was what the agency calls a binge eater. Devouring person after person and I was the one to put her down. The difference was that I didn’t love her like I love you.” Covering his mouth, a further explanation needed to be heard.
“What do you mean by love me?” I asked politely, attempting not to lose my cool while pulling into a Cally’s. “Don’t lie to me. I have been through enough hell today.” Refusing to look in my direction, my hands cupped his face. Gritting his teeth, his hands cupped mine.
“I observed you for months and fell in love with the way you helped the prison when you could. I loved it when you would spend weeks buried into an inhumanly huge pile of books.” He choked out awkwardly, fresh tears flowing from his eyes. “I sound like a creepy stalker but I needed to make you my mate from the instant you met me.” Nodding my head, my lips kissed his hungrily. Scarlet colored his cheeks, his hands falling to my flat stomach.
“I love you too.” I choked out just as awkwardly, hoping not to upset him further. “Watch this book, I will be right back.” Swiping his wallet, I ran into the department store. Ignoring the bright lights and horrid smells, I paused in the baby section. Closing my eyes, the sweet sound of my mother singing an Irish lullaby soothed my nerves. Snapping awake, a tiny girl had crashed into my legs. Instead of crying out in fear, she began to giggle.
“You are so pretty.” She sang adorably, her horrified mother scooping her up and running away. Getting a couple of packages of toy cars and a beautiful bouquet of white roses, hurt dimmed my eyes at the cashier watching me in pure terror. Paying for the items, silent tears stained my cheeks. Not saying a word, I punched in the address for the hospital. Cursing to myself, we were four hours away. Setting the stuff in the back, I chose to turn on the radio to drown out the chaos in my mind. Sobbing the whole way back, this world was no different. The only thing missing was the torches that had hunted my mother down. Getting there in record time, I ditched my partner to catch up to me later. Stopping at the desk, the nurse didn’t show the same fear as the people in the store. Tucking a loose piece of caramel hair behind her ears, her gray eyes twinkling with joy.
“Thank you for bringing them in.” She returned with a genuine smile, pointing to the last room down the hall. “Visiting hours are over. Surely, they want to see their hero. I will pretend I looked the other way.” Winking in my direction, she turned her back to me. Running to their room, an exhausted Susie lay on her sister’s bed. The children perked up at me, smashing into my legs. Crouching down at their level, I presented the packages of cars. Pecking my cheeks, they ran off to go play with them. Rising to my feet, I presented her with the flowers.
“How does your sister like her coffee?” I inquired with my genuine smile, the mother’s expression softening into a gracious smile. My lips parted to speak, the woman’s head shaking. Coughing a bit, blood covered her hand. Seconds from pushing the nurse button, her raspy voice stole my attention. Stanton hovered in the door, the mother’s heart monitor going nuts. Looking closer, a bony hand rested on her shoulder. Following the arm, a reaper held her shoulder. Death had come to her, the option not working for me.
“Is there anything I can give you in return?” I begged with my palms pressed together, knowing that those kiddos needed their mother. “How about this?” Snapping my fingers, my stolen reaper’s scythe rested in my palms. Snatching it from me, the cold hand curled around my neck. Gasping for air, his yellowed skull hovered inches from my face. Biting down on my arm, he gulped down enough to figure out who I was.
“I recognize your stupid face.” A chilly voice thundered evilly, the other finger playing with my hair. “You vampires are the bane of my existence. I can’t take your souls when there's none to take. I will spare her this one time but she will have to go next time regardless of what you have.” Dropping me to the floor, he was gone. Coughing up a storm, one of the kids hit the button. A look of horror dawned on his face, his tiny body smashing into my legs. Crouching down to his level, he shivered in my arms.
“Was that a reaper?” He stuttered brokenly, my head nodding. “Will they ever hurt me?” His tight red curls tickled my face, the other twin watching from a distance. Their emerald green eyes watched me as the nurse brushed past me.
“No, they won’t.” I promised them warmly, taking him to the waiting room. “Let’s go play while they take care of your mom, ‘kay.” Susie snapped awake, picking up her other nephew. Crashing into the nearest chairs, they played with their cars. Susie rested her head on my shoulder, snores echoing in my ear. Letting her sleep, I was thankful for my current life.

Hiya
I’ve asked about tires a billion times but I finally got new wheels and am looking for the tires to order today or tomorrow.
Mostly pavement touring with some gravel and more dirt. Sometimes spending days on dirt but nothing super technical, very easy dirt.
Rim size is 700x25, so looking for 50mm-2.3”. Something fast on pavement where I won’t die on wet asphalt or wet dirt. I don’t plan to ride any mud. We’re aiming on the bigger side bc my partner is partially blind and often hits holes and small rocks - the cushion feels safer to her.
If you’re wondering, we’re in southern oregon now, heading up to Vancouver Island to ride the forests for a month or two. We take dirt and gravel when it isn’t going to add days to our route.
Im looking at Teravail Sparwoods, Ultradynamicos, WTB venture, Gravelking SK+
TLDR: pavement w some dirt/gravel tire 50-2.3 700c.

When you're rich enough, you get perks you can only dream of. Literally. But somehow, my paradise turned into hell.
And now I'm paranoid.
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, offer you a sleep-friendly snack, 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 Tuesday 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 empty eyes and 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 hair and tried to pull it, but my fingers refused to hold on. I tried again and again, 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. Even when I felt a wet, bulbous eye, I didn't have enough strength to do anything.
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. Spiders? 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 a gentle hand woke me up.
I sat up, my pyjamas plastered to my damp skin, the silk sheets soaked. The tech gave me a sympathetic smile and asked me if I wanted to review the dream or if I wanted to delete it right away, since she could sense it was a nightmare.
I stared at her in furious disbelief as I yelled and cursed, accusing them of misconduct, and she gave me a confused frown. She said I had booked a recording session, not a projection one. After I called her a liar, management got involved, and they showed me my file with proof that I'd booked and paid for a recording session.
I told them they must have mistakenly charged me for a recording session, but I was one hundred percent sure I went through a projection session. I asked for five hours on a Tuesday afternoon. Not eight hours on a Tuesday evening. I had champagne and cranberry brie bites, not chamomile and honey-glazed almonds.
Their concern increased as they told me I was wrong. They said it was Wednesday, I'd slept the entire night, and they had my recorded dream to prove it. I demanded to skim through it, and they obliged. There it was, every scene of that nightmare. But it wasn't mine. It couldn't be. Could it? I hated scary movies. I also rarely had nightmares unless it involved me going broke. Why would I dream of an amalgamation of every horror cliche?
For a second, I was afraid I was still in the dream. This nightmarish scenario would fit right in with the others, taking it to Inception levels. But everything seemed real. I could hear, feel, and speak. No one was growing tentacles or blades. Nothing smelled pungent. Nothing glowed red.
I groaned and buried my face in my hands, confused and uncomfortable. I didn't know what the truth was anymore. One tech reminded me it was impossible for dreams to be projected to anyone but their creator. Another tech gently touched my shoulder and suggested I see a doctor if I continued to get spells of confusion like this. Not knowing how to reply, I paid them to save the nightmare before I got dressed and left.
Back home, I talked to family and friends, nothing seemed suspicious. Nothing seemed ready to kill me. I'm typing here on Reddit, and I'm sure I'll get replies. I'm out of the dream. I'm certain of it. But that leaves two other options.
Either I really did book a recording session and had my own nightmare, in which case I should take the tech's advice and see a doctor because my memory doesn't add up …
… or something sinister is going on at the dream banks, and they're using their clients as guinea pigs. Perhaps they're planning on branching out and creating a mental house of horrors where clients can get a near-realistic experience without fear of death. But why wouldn't they ask for volunteers instead of traumatizing loyal customers?
So I have to ask, have any of you experienced something similar? I know the odds of finding another multimillionaire who frequents dream banks is slim on Reddit, but even one other account can help my case.
SR

How many case fans do I need if I buy the AP201? Do I even need case fans at all? And, is the included cooler with the Ryzen 5 3600 enough to keep the CPU running at reasonable temps?
​
Here is my build:
​
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor	$154.99
Motherboard	MSI PRO B550M-VC WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$149.99 @ Amazon Canada
Memory	TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Amazon Canada
Storage	Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$69.97 @ Amazon Canada
Video Card	[Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card] (USED) (https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/product/336qqs/sapphire-radeon-rx-6800-xt-16-gb-pulse-video-card-11304-03-20g)	$500.00
Case	Asus Prime AP201 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$108.99 @ PC-Canada
Power Supply	Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Canada Computers
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total	$1168.92
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-07 17:24 EDT-0400

2019 Signature w/ 40k miles. Love this car :)
I have a new mechanic that I don’t have trust with yet and he’s recommending wheel alignment/rebalancing for like $200 after I get new tires.
The steering wheel “alignment” is fine but mechanic said something about doing this service to make sure the new tires wear uniformly.
Worth it? Thoughts?

Hello, lovely folks! I've been feeling the BMW itch again about a year after selling my beloved E60 535i. Later this week, I'm hoping to go check out a 2015 335i M Sport; the car looks cosmetically great, and only has 30k miles. However, if there's one thing I learned from all the breakdowns and issues during my E60 ownership (Bought the car with 105k miles, so I brought it on myself lol), I need to do my due diligence before inheriting someone else's bag of worms!
I understand the woes and benefits of N54 ownership, and the common problems that come with that; however, I'm finding less info on potential issues with the N55 in this 3 series candidate. Is there anything mechanically I should watch out for? I've been warned about water pumps at about 60-80k, and various charge pipes/intercooler piping cracking prematurely.
Also, with my old E60, there were some repairs I attributed to age rather than mileage; the car lived 10 years in Texas and So-Cal, and the heat took its toll. Things like the coolant expansion tank, wiring clips being brittle, coolant hoses and oil cooler hoses cracking and leaking, and the door lock actuators sticking and needing to be replaced. Is there anything I should be wary of with a 2015 F30, just because of the car's age, despite the low mileage? This car has lived in Oregon its whole life, so less heat cycles of all the plastic I would hope haha.
Thank you all for your help and advice!

WARNING: SPOILERS GALORE IN HERE, IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ALL THESE GAMES AND DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT READ!
I've always liked KH, since I first saw Cloud in a KH1 commercial as a kid (I was obsessed with FF7 as a small child), I knew I had to play it.
So I played KH1 religiously in elementary school, heard about CoM but didn't have a gameboy advance so I ignored it, then played KH2, barely understood what was going on, but enjoyed it thoroughly. Continued to ignore the 'spinoffs' because my family was poor and there was no way I could afford all the different portable consoles they were putting these damn games on. Then, finally, bought and played KH3 on release, with my wife.
fast forward to a couple months ago, and after a few debates with my coworkers about the 'quality' of KH3 (I kinda hated it), I decided to sit down and play through the entire series properly, because it was VERY apparent I was missing too much context, and thankfully, 1.5+2.5 final mix, and 2.8 are things that exist now, and are free on PSPlus, so why not? Besides, my wife's ONLY exposure to the series was KH3, so I owed her some context.
Kingdom Hearts 1: What can I say? It's KH1, it's Simple, it's Clean, it's a good fuckin' game when nothing like it really existed at the time. I played on Normal because my wife was watching along, and I didn't want the plot progression to get hung up on me dying to the same boss 25 times. In hindsight, maybe I should've picked a harder difficulty, because I remember spending hours on Maleficent's dragon form as a kid. Hiding out in the bramble where none of her attacks reached me, just chipping away at her HP, but now, I just kinda walked right through her. My biggest complaint with KH1 was against bosses like Ansem's second phase (when you're fighting him 1v1), that KH1's lack of gap-closing options becomes apparent. Bosses like Ansem will frequently blink to the opposite side of the arena, and it takes Sora so long to close the distance, that they've already moved into an attack with i-frames before you can reach them, leading to a lot of missed opportunities for punishes, in my opinion. It didn't help that I accidentally put myself in a sort of 'hard mode' by choosing the Dream Sword, and discarding the Dream Shield, making Sora a glass cannon. But on the flip side, in comparison to later entries the franchise, I really like KH1's more grounded movement, but I'll get more into that later.
I beat the game pretty quickly, so I farmed for Ultima Weapon, as I'd never gotten it as a kid, and then kinda... walked right through Sephiroth, Hooded Figure, Phantom, and Kurt Ziza with little to no effort. Hell, I beat Seph first try, so that was a bit disappointing but I think I did it to myself by grinding out Ultima Weapon first.
Chain of Memories: This was it, my first proper "spinoff" title and I was very excited to get into it, and discover new pieces of the story I missed, and it did NOT disappoint! being properly introduced to the Organization members prior to KH2, finally understanding why Namine is a thing, memories, heart's memories, etc. All to culminate in a proper setup for KH2's opening and to explain why Sora was in a giant flower, etc.
Gameplay however... I knew it was card based because I remember my friend as a kid briefly showing me the game, so that was no surprise, and I honestly did enjoy it enough, the card-based combat was fleshed out enough to give players plenty of room to develop strategies and that's really all I needed from it. What I didn't like, however, was the gameplay loop. It simply got repetitive, and it was obvious that this game was a reskin of a GBA game, hardware limitations included. Every cutscene at the beginning and end of a floor was great, especially towards the end when the climax starts to really ramp up, but getting to those moments was such a slog, so by halfway through the game, I was over it and just wanted the game to end.
Marluxia... omfg. Okay so I played this game on normal, but I guess I screwed up and spent too many levels on max HP, and not enough on deck size, this fight took me for-fucking-ever to beat, I genuinely hated this game by the end, and to top it all off, I misread the endgame prompt and didn't create a "completed save", so I couldn't start Riku's chapter, unless I went back and beat Marluxia again...
358 Days/2: Moving on, even though I own a DS, I'm not buying a copy of this, so I watched the included movie in 1.5+2.5, and honestly, it was great. It added SO MUCH more context to KH2, and it was fun to try and piece together at what moments during KH1 or CoM that certain things were happening in Days. Axel's outright bizarre motives in KH2 finally make sense, Roxas's memories, etc. I will say, though, that Xion confuses me, I really don't understand how Vexen, who constantly talked about his replicas being incomplete, imperfect, etc, was able to make something so powerful, and unique, as Xion. Total outlier of his skills and it never feels properly explained but oh well.
Gameplay's a little light, though.
Kingdom Hearts 2: I was REALLY excited to get back into this one, and it didn't disappoint. With the proper context from CoM and Days, the beginning FINALLY made sense and by the end of Twilight Town, my wife said "Roxas really got done dirty, and I'm mad." To which I agree. Going through this entire game with the intended amount of context was like playing a whole new game, it made a game I already consider to be great, even better. What else can I really say?
When I got control of my character the first thing I remember saying was "jesus christ was the camera always this far away?" I guess I never really noticed it, but with combat being so much more aerial focused, it makes sense. I had never played the Final Mix version of this game, so the Limit Form was a welcome sight, even if it is hilariously broken. Overall, watching Sora's moveset expand as his skills with the Keyblade do, is neat, and reaction commands are a fun mechanic to play with, personally.
However, I did not like how 'floaty' Sora is, and it's a theme that continues through the rest of the series. I died a lot due to getting knocked into the air by a hit, and then just never getting the chance to touch the ground again because Sora takes 10,000 years to float back down to the ground. With no aerial blocking, and air dodging having a longer cooldown then dodge roll, it led to a lot of frustration. Also, special shout-out to "YoU ClEvEr LiTtLe SnEaK!", honestly, fuck Xigbar, I don't know why, but his fight gave me more trouble than any other boss in the entire game. I struggled so much to find an opening to punish him and spent 90% of the fight swinging at the air then getting hit in the back because of how much he blinked around.
I never got around to getting ultima weapon, or beating any secret bosses in KH2, although I did visit Lingering Will and Sephiroth just to see what they were like. I remember I beat Seph as a kid at lvl 65 specifically because of MP Berserk, so maybe I'll go back and try it sometime.
Birth By Sleep: I heard so much about this game as a kid, and even recently, and I knew during my first playthrough of KH3 that Terra, Aqua and Ventus were from BBS, and that they were pretty important characters, but I could've never guessed just how important until I finally played this game. The story for this game was simply great, I started off thinking Terra was the most bland, uninteresting character I'd ever seen (his VO's flat delivery of dialogue didn't help), but by the end, he was my favourite, and honestly, Aqua felt like the third wheel to me, by the end. Like sure, after completing the 4th 5th and 6th episodes, I felt bad for her, as she was clearing going through A LOT, but while Terra and Ventus both had VERY clear stakes in the story, Aqua just felt kind of... there. Her ties to the plot weren't nearly as strong and her story was more relegated to "watching her 2 friends get fucked by destiny and plot". However, Aqua at the end being responsible for Castle Oblivion, along with the clarification on what Org. 13 was looking for in CoM, was such an awesome reveal and my wife and I were losing our collective shit over it.
Oh, and of course, finding out what exactly the Lingering Will was, was pretty damn cool, too!
Fun fact, this is the first game I played on Critical, everything was on Normal until this point. I heard it was one of the easier games to play on Critical, so I figured why not. By the time I finished Terra's arc, I was begging to go back to CoM to fight Marluxia. I cannot express enough just how much I DESPISE this game, in a gameplay sense. Ignoring the obvious things like playing through the same worlds 3 different times and how tiresome that gets, the combat was so blood-boilingly infuriating, I wondered if I was going to actually finish the game. The command system, I hate it. "What? You wanted to cast Cure because you're about to die? Well, too bad, the enemy with 0 warm up frames in his attack just hit you at the same time you pressed X, so your Cure goes on cooldown now, fuck you." That's not even getting into the terrible end-lag in your own attacks, and just how sluggish everything feels. Critical mode aside, this game even on Normal would've pissed me off for all the same reasons, I was so relieved to be done with it.
Re:Coded:>! I was told this one wasn't necessary, and almost skipped it, but decided against it and I'm kinda glad I did. I only watched the movie, but I hear the gameplay itself is pretty solid, so maybe one day I'll check it out. The plot is self-contained, and interesting to watch, and it does get referenced a few times in KH3, so it didn't really feel like a waste.!<
Dream Drop Distance: I was genuinely lost for a while, plotwise, in this game. I felt like I'd missed an entry somewhere that'd apply context, but no, Yen Sid is just not great at explaining things. By about halfway through the game I was caught up and understood what was going on, but the first hour or so I was just along for the ride, hoping I'd understand it later. I enjoyed what DDD was doing, and it felt like, had it been a console release, this could've easily been KH3 with just how much direct impact it has on the plot compared to other entries. Honestly, watching Riku slowly, but surely, get his act together throughout the series has been a treat, and it all comes to a head in this game, he finally moves on from rival/edgebaby to a proper equal to Sora, so much so that if they were to have a gentleman's duel just to test their strength, I couldn't confidently say who would win.
The worlds were hit or miss, seeing Notre Dame was cool, but honestly who the hell asked for Tron: Legacy? I will note that, especially for worlds like Tron, I didn't really feel like I was part of the plot like in KH1 and 2, but more like I was just watching the plot progress from the sidelines. It was jarring.
But the biggest disappointment by FAR was Fantasia. Before I even booted up this game, I was talking about how cool it would be if KH ever visited the world of Fantasia just due to how unique of an experience it would be. I imagined something along the lines of a rhythm game like Crypt of the Necrodancer or Metal Hellsinger, just a neat gimmick tied to that world's music that kept you in line with the beat of the song. So, when I watched the opening to DDD and saw the very clear reference to Fantasia, I got excited, only to be completely let down by it being just another world, except your hits play random instrument noises, and essentially a barebones prototype to Melody of Memory as a reaction command. Honestly, this world was completely wasted on a portable KH entry, it should've been saved for a console entry where it could've been realized more fully, rather than confined to the limitations of a portable console. Oh well, maybe in KH4.
I also played this game on Critical and hooboy did I feel it, but first, the basics. Flowmotion sucks. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Seriously, I get what they were going for, but I honestly hated how disruptive flowmotion ended up being. Air dodge out of the way of something, well, you touched a wall, so now you gotta brace against it and get ready to bounce off. It's not that it was ruining my gameplay or anything, it was just annoying because it'd remind me of its existence at the most inconvenient times, and it was broken, like, hilariously broken. I definitely abused flowmotion to get through some encounters early on, when I didn't have many tools at my disposal yet, and even in the World that Never Was, I managed to use flowmotion to get ontop of, and over a building to get to the other side, which triggered a cutscene I don't think I was supposed to see yet, because suddenly I was talking to Roxas with NO context, so there's a good chance I skipped a scene or two by doing this purely because the game let me, and I wanted to see what was at the top, if anything (I originally thought I was gonna find some way out of bounds or something).
The Dreameaters genuinely don't bother me. I actually kind of enjoyed levelling them up as a means to acquire abilities and passives. The only thing that unironically kept me from grinding their stats more is that irritating fucking song that plays whenever you play minigames with them. I despise it. With all my heart.
The drop-out mechanic was annoying as hell in some instances, especially when, towards the end of the game, I did a TON of farming on Sora for Droplets, to give Riku a ton of bonuses to help with progression, only for the game to immediately FORCE me to drop from Riku, back to Sora, just as soon as I got control of him, causing me to hard reset the game, reload my save, and actively backtrack as Riku to get an actual use out of the bonuses I saved up for him.
The combat was, well, I wasn't enthused to see the Command List back, and I suffered all the same frustrations that BBS gave me, with only MARGINAL improvements in gameplay. The only saving grace was enemies actually had warm-up animations on attacks, giving you a brief head's up instead of just randomly bursting into a combo with no warning.
Anti-Nightmare Sora was the first fight that I genuinely gave up on. even Xigbar in KH2, Terranort in BBS, Terranort again in BBS, Vanitas, all of them I managed to push through. But this fucker? No, I had to walk away for a day, come back, grind my eyes out, and when I FINALLY beat him, the game then beat me over the head with Young Xehanort...
...Then I discovered Balloonra and slept through the rest of game.
Fragmentary Passage: Not much to say other than it's a tech demo for KH3, plot wise, it was interesting to see where Aqua's story lines up with the end of KH1, and where she's at both literally, and mentally, by KH3.
X: Back Cover: Whoever wrote the dialogue for Master of Master's needs a raise and a personal statue outside SE HQ because this guy is hilarious! His deliveries are genuine, quick, witty, and not at all the stilted, oddly paced dialogue I've come to expect from the KH series, and well, everything Square does outside of FF14 and 16. I would not be surprised to find out his dialogue was written in English first, rather than Japanese.
Anyway, I'm really mad I have to either play, or watch someone else play, a gatcha game to get the rest of the context here, because this movie was fascinating, and these characters all seem to be pretty damn important to KH4, so it's a shame.
Kingdom Hearts 3: Back (almost) full circle! Just like with KH2, coming into KH3 was full context was such a breath of fresh air! Everything made more sense, and I had a clear understanding of the character's motives and goals throughout the story. Again, what's there to say, really?
Well... the worlds kinda suck. Olympus being relegated to a tutorial felt like a slap in the face, and overall, the entire world felt bland. It looked like a generic Unreal Engine open world environment, with Hercules pasted in it. Nothing about the open wilderness outside the city really looked like it belonged there, it didn't fit Hercules' art style in the slightest. Compared to, say, Kingdom of Corona, where everything felt more visually on brand, granted, Tangled is a CGI movie, Hercules isn't, I understand that the translation is harder to make but it really didn't look like much effort was taken at all for 2/3rds of Olympus.
Arendelle was "Fall of a mountain simulator" and I was absolutely sick of it. It also epitomized my problems with DDD's worlds in that, when you really think about it, you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in Frozen's plot. You are sidelined the entire time, with Sora and the gang essentially climbing back up a mountain, being told "hey here's what you missed, okay bye!" Before being yeeted back off again, to rinse and repeat ad nauseum until you fight a boss that just doesn't feel earned, which is a damn shame because Skoll is one of the coolest looking fights in the game. There's no participation, the plot simply ignores you the whole time and does it's own thing until you leave.
Pirates and Big Hero 6 felt hilariously short. If you have no intention to explore the open world (there is nothing worth exploring in Sanfransokyo, so this doesn't help) The worlds feel like you're in and out in 20 minutes.
Shoutout to Monsters Inc and Toy Story, you definitely felt like you were a part of the world, and a part of the story happening within it.
The end of this game was phenomenal, seeing everything you've been watching build up, finally come all together, the reunions, the realizations, the callbacks, all of it was such a MASSIVE payoff that was completely lost on me the first time, when the only games I had played were KH1 and KH2, and not since they were new.
So, as with every other game after BBS, I played this one on critical, as I was told it was simply a more rewarding experience, and I honestly agree. Sure, I had a lot of frustrations (Sora's floatiness being paramount) but you can finally BLOCK IN MIDAIR, and BLOCK OR DODGE MID COMBO! If KH2 had these mechanics, it'd be hands down the best game in the whole series, period. I wish they'd thought of it sooner, almost every entry in the series would have benefited from this.
I did spend my fair share of time absolutely raging at the final boss gauntlet, however, and really, my biggest issue was just visual clarity (if you remember Xehanort's meteor attack, then you probably know). But I beat it and was very satisfied with how Xehanort's arc turned out. KH3 is a great game.
Re:Mind: I got this DLC half off, and even still, I'm a little mad I spent money to spend most of my time rewatching the cutscenes I JUST WATCHED from the maingame. The game reached a point where it started truncating the cutscenes to get to the new info quicker and I couldn't help but wonder why the hell they didn't do that to begin with... but ultimately, the DLC was good, a glorified boss gauntlet, sure, but good. Explaining Sora's disappearance was welcome and started setting up context for KH4.
The data fights... as of writing this, I have completed 11/13 of the fights. I'm missing Xion, Xehanort, and of course, Yozora. Only reason I haven't done more is a sudden lack of free time to do so. To reiterate, I'm on Critical, and these fights, while some have absolutely pissed me off to no end (lookin' at you, Vanitas), these fights have solidified KH3 as probably my favourite game in the franchise, purely on gameplay alone, and one of my favourites of all time. The combat FEELS rewarding, (usually) failure doesn't feel like you were cheated by some BS mechanic, but feels like something you know YOU did wrong, and need to correct for the next attempt. I will be going back to do the rest of the fights, as terrifying as they look, because so far, it's been genuinely fun to figure out the puzzles behind these fights and put my skills to the test.
Melody of Memory: Kingdom Hearts rhythm game! Neat!
Well, kinda. It wasn't a very satisfying game to play in comparison to something like Guitar Hero, but it was enjoyable to listen to my favourite KH songs (shout out to The Encounter! Don't care how bullshit the boss is, if it's using that song, I can't even get mad, it's just too much of a bop!) But I did not appreciate yet another rehash of the plot as the main gameplay incentive.
Thankfully that game is pretty damn short, so getting to the end, where the actual meat and potatoes is, in terms of new plot, was pretty painless and overall, worth it. More context for KH4, Kairi deciding to train under Aqua(!), and the somewhat harrowing implications that Xehanort knew about the 'unreality'.
And that's it. I guess I'm done with KH until 4 releases, or that AR mobile game. I've been typing for a very long time now and I'm not sure how to close this out other than... uh, thank for reading, can't wait to hear all about how wrong or right I am about your favourite entries!

Hi all. I’m 21F and I’ve been heavily on the CPTSD side of YouTube and such for a couple months. I heavily relate to all the experiences they describe of CPTSD sufferers but they lose me when they move onto the causes and how to heal because they focus on recognising the injustices you faced from the hands of your parents or someone else. But that wasn’t the case for me.
I was diagnosed autistic and ADHD this year and while that has been life changing in the best way, I still carry a very heavy weight of trauma from my experiences up until now.
I’ve been marinated to the core in the shame of social failure. I’m an outgoing, social person by by nature but by the end of my teens I had an inferiority complex because I’d spent my adolescence watching hundreds of people around me connect with other people and be valued while never getting that experience myself. People just didn’t like me and I didn’t know why so I absorbed it all into my sense of identity.
And that’s the issue I’m facing with all the CPTSD healing methods I’ve come across as they’re focused on injustices faced in childhood from the way others wrongfully treated you. But I have no one to blame except myself. I can’t delude myself into thinking a whole school of 1000+ were all out to get me or make me feel bad. I inflicted it on myself. While I can recognise that it wasn’t my fault, the problem still only existed within me. Has anyone come across any resources that might be good for me?

I recently got a bike because I wanted to exercise during the summer, and the bike I got came with a switch that had 8 settings which connected to the back wheel of my bike. It was labeled as 8-speed and when I searched up what it does on the internet, all the answers I came across were complicated and contradictory. I currently have it set to 4 since I don’t know what it does and 4 in the middle. Any help on this matter is appreciated!

Only looking for offers Credits &
Tw octanes or octane sets
If it’s got a ? Just offer hopefully we can work a fare price.
Willing to sell the certs but need the same colour wheel bk.
……….
RL Beach Blast Crate…..Quimby
Victor black
Tactician Crimson
Scorer purple
Goalkeeper Skyblue
Playmaker cobalt
Paragon Saffron
Guardian Fg
Sniper lime
Juggler orange
Sweeper regular
Thinking 💭 15k ?
…………
Playmaker Invader set….6k
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Neptune set mixed
Tactician Tw
Goalkeeper Cb
Acrobat Sb
Black Pink Saffron are Exo
Crimson Bs Fg Lime Orange Purple saff are uncommon.
Offer on the set ?
……….
Uncommon sets
Rat rod 5.5 k
Lowrider 5.5 k
Trahere 4 k
Octavian 6k
……………
Striker Truth beam set
Without striker burnt sienna & grey.
Comes With Scorer & Sniper burnt sienna
Uncert grey
Offer ?
Some one take this and finish it lol
………….
Gripstride inverted set
Scorer Tw
Scorer crimson
Scorer cobalt
Scorer Fg
Scorer saffron
Goalkeeper orange
Aerobat lime
Offer ?
……………
Striker None inverted Gripstride - offer ?
……………
Gripstride inverted
Grey
Fg
Cobalt
Saffron
Orange
Offer on them all ?
…………..
Limited rp sets
Striker Polyergic inverted offer ? Xbox or Psn
Striker 3-lobe infinite offer ? Xbox or Psn
……….
Muscle boy set
Playmaker Tw
Tactician black , Pink , Skyblue , lime
Striker Purple , Orange , Grey
Scorer Cobalt
Guardian Crimson
Goalkeeper burnt sienna
Sniper saffron
Offer ?
………..
Rad rock goal Explosion
Striker Tw
Striker fg
Tactician black
Sweeper skyblue
Goalkeeper crimson
Victor grey
Sniper cobalt
Offer ?
…………..
Original crate items
Tactician Crimson Jak’d Obverse - 600
Striker black Shortquarter None inverted ?
Fg E-zeke inverte - 350
Turbo roulette Fg , Bs , regular offers
……….
Dust cloud goal explosion set 2k
Missing grey
Xbox or Psn offer
……….
19 super manga bolts boosts
Acrobat Fg orange purple saffron
Tactician grey
Goalkeeper x2 purple
Guardian x2 orange
Playmaker grey
Juggler purple saffron bs
Showoff Fg lime
Uncertain purple pink orange bs
all together 1k Or Crimson octane & some credits

“We’re having a moment here” was her first time actually having a connection with David instead of being third wheel and ignored-before it was interrupted.
Also her death mirrored her brother, with the 3 repeated perspective camera angle shots.

TW: sui ideation, brief mentions of abuse, etc
Hi. I have struggled with mental health issues for most of my life following several events such as sexual assaults, being orphaned, foster care, child abuse, etc. as a result I have many disorders and issues that impact my daily life. for the most part I have been able to get through these issues as long as I am accommodated and comfortable. until I started working.
My job is not hard. I work in an amusement park doing retail at our gift shops. I spend most of my shifts blowing bubbles depending on where I’m stationed at, or standing in a half-empty shop. All I have to do is cashier, for around 25-35 hours a week, 12/hr, from 4pm-11pm. It has still managed to completely drain every part of me.
I spend my free time before work dreading work. I get anxiety so horrible that it presents physically and I get nauseated and sickly for several hours straight all the way up until I clock in. I am usually so tired from my night before that I spend my mornings just marinating in fear and a sad excuse for sleep. Every night I get home and either pass out, cry, or stay awake all night to compensate for my lack of free time.
When my job is not busy, I am standing around alone for 6-8 hours. Usually this would be heaven for me, but combined with my uptick in suicidal ideation and whatnot it has been nothing but horrible. I am alone for hours spiraling with my thoughts; I have no one to talk to, I have nobody around me. We have a no phone rule so I cannot reach out to anybody when I feel this way. I suffer from severe OCD so my mind will torment me by giving me intrusive thoughts of past trauma on a loop for hours. Fucking hours. No distractions. Only one fifteen minute break. No ways to cope. Nothing to keep me busy besides recleaning the same 5 items every ten minutes. It’s horrible.
When my job is busy, I have to mask all of my emotions to speak to every customer to the best of my ability. I get stared down for not being fast enough while counting change or folding clothes correctly while the line is out the door and I’m rushing as hard as I can. I have to keep up fake, superficial, meaningless conversations just to manipulate people into buying more things so I don’t get sent home early and lose money. Often times I am nonverbal and unable to communicate but have to force myself to regardless. It is awful.
And then, finally, after eight hours of that, I go home and wake up and do it all over again, for what? $500 biweekly? I can barely afford to treat myself with that, and then I have to imagine a future where I have to SURVIVE off of that. My coworkers work are grown ass adults working doubles from two jobs daily and are still barely getting by. And I’m just supposed to grow into and accept that? What kind of fucking future is that? And god forbid I complain because then everyone just tells me that’s the way life is. Well it shouldn’t be. And if it is why would I want to live it. I don’t indulge in my hobbies anymore. I don’t mentally find them interesting. I don’t talk to my boyfriend. I can’t spend time with my friends.
I’m sorry this post is very jumbled, I’m about to clock in and out my phone away. Let’s hope I make it!
ETA: I can’t afford therapy nor the doctor nor medication, please don’t recommend me any. due to my living circumstances I don’t have easy access to any of those things anyway. :(

I've been looking around on the internet lately to find a wheel/pedal combo around 400usd and have found that most recomend the t300gt or g923, however, can't manage to find anything that isn't obviously sponsored by either Logitech or thrustmaster. So I was wondering what recommendations I could get from this community. Also would it be wise to get a smaller monitor with the build to allocate more budget twords a wheel? Thanks in advance for all of the help.
Here is my current planed setup: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tPt3Kp (My overall buget is about 1750usd)