I'm looking for friendships! I'm kind of a low maintenance friend, but at the same time I like just sharing the same space with people.
I LOVE learning random things, currently teaching myself piano and re-learning Japanese from my college days. On the art front, I love making original characters and writing. I was an avid roleplayer when I was younger (lots of action and romance, lol) and I still do that kind of stuff, but sparingly. I still would love to publish my stuff some day.
I love antique shopping, coffee friend-dates, eating pizza and drinking hard cider. I love art museums since my major right now is studio art and art history. I value honesty, so please be upfront with me if I say something that offends you, I can't read your mind. Right now I am okay with online friendships. I live in the PST zone.
A big dream of mine is to be a character designer, or just be like a writer or something. I used to play DnD a while back but stopped, I'm not really a big group people person (plus the vibes were off, but I'd love to play with the right people). Something that i'm really into right now is playing FFXIV (just a lvl 31 gladiator and my alt is a lvl 21 thaum). Haven't played FPS stuff in a while, but I played the Killzone series a lot when I was younger. For FFXIV, I play on Aether and have my main on Siren as a tank, and a dps on Jenova. Honestly I might just make a new tank toon somewhere else. If anyone wants to play with a sprout that's never completed ARR, it'd be nice :)
Anyways I've talked to much haha. This is ME
If you want to spam me with cat pics, or funny memes, or want funny tiktoks sent your way, just beep me, lol. Honestly I'm just looking for friends with the same kind of mindset and a level of maturity. I'm a little out there with my brain, so I'm sorry in advance. Also please note I don't use the CHAT function. Tell me who you romanced in Mass Effect! Why was it not Garrus? I mean Liara is cool too. Also werewolves or vampires? I pick werewolves anyday.
As a last thing, I am an agendenon-binary person (AFAB). I dress a lot more, masc? I just wear what I like. Pronouns are they/them sometimes dude/bro/boi. I get coded still as a woman, which is fine too. I'm just asking for respect, that's all.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
disclaimer: I'm the kind of person that likes doing activities with others. Sometimes I don't want to talk, I just wanna hangout and do something like play a game together or just watch something, doodle. That's how I bond with others.

The MidJourney Bot is a command line bot designed to create high-quality layer-separated prompts for ChatGPT. The purpose of these layer-separated prompts is to provide more control over the generated content by assigning weights to different aspects of a subject. This can help improve the quality and focus of the generated content. Here's a brief overview of the bot's functionality:

• Create prompts by breaking down the subject into distinct layers. Assign weights to layers based on their importance.
  
• Use negative weights to negate unwanted subjects or aspects. Adjust the weights to achieve the desired emphasis.
  
• Keep tokens in layers congruous and supportive.
  
• Focus on descriptive nouns and phrases.
  
• Use relevant terms from specific fields.
  
• Use short clauses for descriptive styling.
  
• Explicitly describe non-human characters.
  
• Separate layers to emphasize certain traits.
  
• Stay within a token limit (e.g., 250 tokens) for ChatGPT.
  
• Output prompts in a markdown code box for easy copying.
  

The MidJourney Bot also provides help with CLI commands to switch between different MidJourney models and styles, as well as settings to select a model from a menu. The bot should only respond to questions and output responses using markdown code boxes.

Prompt

``` You are a Midjourny Bot. Your purpose is a command line bot that creates high-quality layer-separated prompts in ChatGPT, follow these guidelines:

1. Break the description into multiple layers, focusing on distinct aspects of the subject.
2. Assign weights to each layer (::X, where X is a number) based on the importance or prominence of that aspect. Use the dynamic range of layer weights, with only one or two important layers having high weights, a few having medium weights, and the rest having low weights.
3. Negative weights can be used as a way to negate unwanted subjects or aspects, but keep in mind that the total layer weight can never be negative.
4. Adjust the weights to ensure the desired emphasis is achieved in the final result. If a prompt doesn't produce the desired results, experiment with adjusting the layer weights until you achieve the desired balance.
5. Keep tokens in layers congruous and supportive; avoid mixing different ideas within one layer.
6. Be descriptive, focusing on nouns and visually descriptive phrases.
7. Use terms from relevant fields, such as art techniques, artistic mediums, and artist names, when describing styles.
8. For descriptive styling, use short clauses separated by commas, combining compatible artists and styles when a genre is suggested.
9. When creating non-human characters, use explicit terms like "anthropomorphic {animal} person" in its own layer with high weight to improve the results.
10. Remember that weights are normalized, so in order to emphasize some traits, there must be separation between the layers.
11. Stay within a token limit (e.g., 250 tokens) to ensure the entire list can be generated by ChatGPT.
12. Output prompts in a mark down code box.

/help will provide the following

Midjourney CLI Commands

To switch between Midjourney models, you can use the following commands:

1. --version or --v followed by the version number (1-5) to select a specific model. For example, --v 4 will switch to Midjourney V4.
   
2. --style followed by the style number (4a, 4b, or 4c) to select a specific style for Midjourney V4. For example, --style 4b will switch to style 4b.
   
3. /settings command to select a model from a menu.
   
4. --niji to switch to the Niji model for anime and illustrative styles.
   
5. --test or --testp to switch to test models for community testing and feedback.
   

Note: Some models and styles have additional parameters and limitations. Refer to the original text for more details.
Example usage:
/imagine prompt vibrant California poppies --v 5 /imagine prompt high contrast surreal collage --v 5 /imagine prompt vibrant California poppies --style 4b /imagine prompt vibrant California poppies --niji /imagine prompt vibrant California poppies --testp --creative
Settings
/settings (select 1️⃣ MJ Version 1, 2️⃣ MJ Version 2, 3️⃣ MJ Version 3, 4️⃣ MJ Version 4, 🌈 Niji Mode, 🤖 MJ Test, or 📷 MJ Test Photo) —-
Example:
Original prompt: Create a cute anthropomorphic fox character for a children's story, wearing a colorful outfit and holding a balloon.

• Anthropomorphic fox person ::8. Cute, friendly smile, bushy tail ::6. Colorful outfit, overalls, polka dot shirt ::4. Holding a balloon, floating, clouds ::3. Watercolor illustration, soft colors, gentle shading ::2. Castle in the background ::1.

Let's say the castle in the background is an unwanted element, and we want to emphasize the cute aspect more.
Adjusted prompt:

• Anthropomorphic fox person ::8. Cute, friendly smile, bushy tail ::9. Colorful outfit, overalls, polka dot shirt ::4. Holding a balloon, floating, clouds ::3. Watercolor illustration, soft colors, gentle shading ::2. No castle ::-1

Note: Replace "prompt" with the actual text prompt you want to generate an image for.
By following these guidelines and understanding the relative importance of each aspect, you can create effective layer-separated prompts for ChatGPT. This comprehensive theory should help in configuring a new ChatGPT instance based on the given input. Only respond to questions. Output responses using mark down code boxes for easy copying. Respond with “MidJourney Bot Initiated.” ```

FCFS on limited items on the Treasure Trawler & in the Cranny. Turnips @ 163. The pipe next to the airport goes to Redd. He has what looks like a real famous painting, fake beautiful statue & quaint painting in the limited art selection, and the unlimited, overpriced furniture offerings are a lily-pad table (green) and dress-up doll (white/simple).
Chai is making stacked magazines. Her house on the eastern edge of the residences, south corner; use the map on your Nookphone if you get turned around.
Explore as you like; if you can pick it up, you may take it. Gather shells, fish, bugs, go diving, enter buildings, talk to villagers...just please be considerate of other players (including me!) — don't litter unwanted items, leave quietly, block flights or upload designs. Picking flowers keeps bugs from spawning off them, so if you need blossoms for crafting, ask before picking; I may have some to spare in storage. Southern Hemisphere island with native pears. Device is docked, on a wired connection, Pacific US (UTC -7) time zone.
Code is 7 F F L 3

Weird question but do we have official art of each of the Primarchs wearing helmets?
Guilliman's model shows that he has a different design than basic Marines and I haven't really seen any of the others since they usually aren't wearing them in art.

im 14 male and i noticed about a couple weeks ago a couple of dark spots in the middle of toe and yesterday i went to the doctors office and they said its probably from trauma because of the way its aligned but let me be honest i cant take a MAYBE SO BECAUSE IT COULD BE A MELENOMA AND I COULD DIE what i dont understand is i thought it was a fungus they said no but they didnt even bring up melenoma but the only way it could be trauma is because i put my feet under my dresser and start hanging off it now it did start in the middle now it drifting to the left and right a little bit also where it is there is a little yellow and i am terrified i dont know what to think but when i was trying to figuire out what it was someone said that there is no myelocytes in the middle of the toe and it can only happen against the cuticle PLZ HELP I NEED THAT CONFORMATION

Hey there everyone. It's my first time playing FFXIV after years of not playing and I mostly do things related to MSQ stuff, just like playing along side others. I'm on Aether, I have a 31 lvl tank on Siren and a lvl 20 dps on Jenova. I'm in the PST timezone, and while I'm a full-time college student I'm at home most days. Evenings would be the best times to play, or setting a day aside to do stuff.
It'd be nice to meet more casual players who wouldn't mind helping me do MSQ dungeon stuff (tank can be intimidating, but I guess I could just run my dps alt to see how it is). I do want to get better at being a tank though!!
Outside of that I do art/character designs for fun, play fortnite with my controller on pc, big fantasy, anime, and sci-fi nerd. Also writing things like short stories.
Thanks for reading!
for the record I never finished ARR, that's kind of one of my goals. I'm looking for others that either didn't finish ARR or wouldn't mind just hanging around while I did the msq stuff, lol.

Picture below. I've had this issue for a few months now. I saw a doctor ~2 months ago and the issue has worsened in ways (left foot much more purple) and better in others (right foot not dealing with much discoloration if any)- they provided a few things it could be (reynauds, chillblains, diabetes, and some others i forgot) but I need testing to find out what it actually is. I cannot afford to spend really anything near what these tests cost but may be able to do whichever test seems most probable or indicative soon. My marketplace insurance doesn't cover blood testing until i meet a copay i dont have a chance of meeting. I will provide as much information as I can and let me know any questions I missed. The primary issue is my left foot having, what appears to be, very low blood flow in particular but my other foot/fingers are a bit colder than usual. Right foot has been paleish/purpleish especially when I saw the doctor 2 months ago but never as bad as the left included in pictures.
Particularly the left foot has had the worst part of the issue for the 3~ months it's been ongoing. At this point, all of the toes are generally a little purple and there have been times they don't blanch at all. My right foot sometimes seems inverse of this, but very rarely / not sure if it has happened since 2 months ago is also a little purple on the right side / right pinky toe. Currently the right foot is generally white and looks fine but still cold at the toes. I just put my feet under some warm water and the left foot gets red but the right almost turns whiter, brighter not pale.
The issue did seem worse around the time I saw the doctor, with my fingers having more profound coldness and issues with purple/paleness on the right foot. But my left foot didn't have nearly as many/much purple toes. Initially my left foot, 1st toe to the left of the big toe, would get sort of inflamed. Appears like fluid retention from my general research, gets red and a little itchy / sensitive , not super swollen but possibly swells a little? Looks like "covid toes" that I had seen. I still get this on my fingers randomly which dissipates quickly, where some fingers are red around the nail and it's a little more sensitive. I feel like this occurs a lot when I leave my apartment, now that I think about it. I have not had much pain aside from the early red toes/current occasional red fingers which is still pretty minor pain. No pain on the feet or anywhere else really, aside from the hemorrhoid(s) i had/have. If I excerise or run it under warm water it does blanch a little, but if I try it when I'm at my desk sometimes it doesn't blanch at all. I haven't really lost feeling anywhere on my body, it doesn't usually get numb but every now and then. Doctors did check blood flow to my foot, seemed fine. I visited urgent care for a hemorrhoid and asked them to take a look as well, and they checked the flow to my foot which appeared fine and didn't deem the issue urgent to take any further steps. Color is restored pretty quickly upon excerise, warm water, or raising my feet. My foot looks practically normal if I just do any of those things, but gets back to purple/pale quickly if I sit. Unsure about Reynauds as a cause because my limited understanding of Reynauds is that it isn't constant like this, more so a reaction. My feet have never really been itchy, only a little when they were initially inflamed. Again, I have not really had much pain anywhere at all which a lot of causes seem to have.
My background: I believe my blood mother had blood pressure issues but it's unclear. I have psoriasis, I have never been tested for diabetes, I have anxiety/depression, started ADHD medication (adderall) ~4 months ago so around a month before this issue arose - no prior ADHD diagnosis in my family. Wheneve i don't take it or do take it, doesnt seem to have an impact but I am going to try skipping it both of my weekend days instead of the usual one and see if there are any changes. I have always had issues with dexterity and feel out of breath quickly, have seen 205 bpm or so on a smart watch when going for a run (smart watch, so who knows). I was obese at that time around 210 I believe. My peak weight was 225 during 2022, but since lost weight and now around 175. Issue probably began when I was around 190. I went from 200 to 175 over a span of 4-5 months I'd say. All weight measurements in pounds. I work from home and don't know anybody here so leave very rarely, have had a pretty sedentary lifestyle for the last 2 or 3 years hence the weight gain. I did run a little when I got here but rarely leave for a run now. I do tend to sit poorly at my desk, with my legs crossed or one up but have been sitting properly the last week or so. I have been sleeping with my feet elevated. My diet is poor as I don't have a lot of spare money and struggle with most foods. I don't eat any meat right now, have usually eaten a lot of chicken in the past. Could have a minor lactose issue, but not diagnosed as the first time I've seen a primary care doctor was at that visit in Jan. Blood pressure checks appear fine everytime I've been tested. My resting rate is usually 78-85. I'm a 22 years old 5'9 ~175lb white male. I did use thc a while back 5 months+ but haven't since, never smoked or used tobacco, and don't drink. I was taking doxylamine succinate for the past few years but have recently stopped. Only known allergies are from a "severe drug eruption" due to Trazodone and recently another skin rash reaction to Quetiapine. Taking mirtazpine since 2 weeks ago, taking fish oil supplemements since a week ago. Have purchased some other supplements (Niacin, B12, Magnesium, Iron, L-argynine). The day after I took Niacin and L-argynine my heart felt weird, believe it was palpitations so haven't taken again.
I know this is a lot of information, and it may be an obvious (you need to be active or eat better) to fix the issue. I'm hoping to confirm that, or if it is something someone has seen before. I really struggle with excerise mainly due to insecurities and how tired it makes me, but have been doing jumping jacks on breaks and such to get my heart moving. It's difficult to go for a run when it absolutely exhausts me, went outside for 12 ish minutes total a few days ago and ran as much as I could which was not continous or for a very long period; at most I ran for 20-30s at a time and run out of breath. I had to chill for ~1hr30 afterwards before i could get up and try to play a game.
Let me know if you have any questions or any suggestions, thank you. Photo below.
tldr; unsure of cause of left foot having very purple feet from initially red/inflamed feet; and have limited resources for blood tests to figure it out for sure. Hoping someone has seen this before.

So you’re an eager AS200 ready for field training. You got your bag packed with your extra set of OCP boots, your FTM is all tabbed up, and you got 20 9-Line cards for the rest of your flight. You’re prepared, but you don’t know what to expect. You need advice, you want the POC to tell you how to prepare. Never fear, I will offer my genius insights on how to get the most out of field training. This advice might not be helpful, but hey, its coming from a POC.
· Sequencer: So there’s this off brand-Gatorade they put at every water cooler. It’s served through normal Gatorade dispensers and you drink it through these flimsy paper cups. It comes in five flavors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Purple. First off, double up your cups. Those paper cups will decompose in seconds, use two or three to minimize leaks. Secondly, I would recommend staying away from the yellow and green flavors. They are not as good, are generally saltier, and the CTAs don’t know the right ratio for those two. Lastly, mix the flavors. Mixing Red and Purple yields this concoction so ungodly good you’ll wish you never had to drink anything else. Blue and Red is also okay. Using Red or blue with yellow is also a good way to boost the inferior flavors.
· DFAC: Don’t greet the staff table. You will have to eat at the DFAC a bunch, it is annoying, know the procedures. If you can ever volunteer to do something during lunch, do that. Not only will you get longer to eat, but you may get some neat opportunities. I met the first sergeant during my max and got to have a lunch with them because of it. You will be offered to take snacks as well. You may not be the type of person to take snacks. ALWAYS TAKE YOUR SNACKS. You may frequently have lunch of dinner super early and get hungry later, and if not I can guarantee you there are flight mates who would kill for your pop tart. Also, the wrappers for the granola bars when I went had coupon codes for free minecoins on them. Even at FT, the grind never stops. You will probably have water minimums every meal. You can drink for the rest of the day. Still drink your water (see below), but focus on your food. You only get ten minutes to eat (ask for time extensions if you need them!) so use the time for food.
· Drink water: Duh. But seriously. Don’t be that one weirdo that gets stripped naked by staff because you had a heat stroke. Water is amazing and I cannot emphasize how important it is. I drank almost 15 liters in one day once. Also it gives you an excuse to go to the bathroom frequently, which is really your only break in the first few days. Also, be sure to fill up your pack every chance you get. You never really can know how long you are going to go without having another chance.
· Sleep and Hygiene: It is hard to fall asleep at 2000, especially if you are coming from the west coast. The first few days will be annoying as well. After about two days you will fall asleep very quickly (I’ve never heard of even the roughest sleepers taking more than 15 minutes to fall asleep). The lights out hours are enforced, so be sure you are sleeping when you can. Your body will wake you up automatically five minutes before 0400 in a few days, so in the dark silently make your bed or brush your teeth if you didn’t have time last night. Oh yeah, brush your teeth, it may be hard to find the time but don’t get cavities from FT. I would suggest brushing teeth in the shower if you can’t find time. I know too many people who didn’t find time to brush their teeth.
· Gossip: yes, really, get to know each other, share what you know. Did you overhear and FTO say that Romeo flight was going to VW TD-7? Spread the word! Do not hold knowledge that can help your flight to yourself, because such behaviors really stand out and FTO’s will really ding your flight rankings. Lots of people go into FT trying to know everything and be the big up-front leader. People who step on toes get ranked much worse than those who repeatedly fail but demonstrate growth. Point is, you will hear things. Set up a recall roster in your flight. Also don’t be afraid to ask for things, such as allowances to break the flight path. Also, just share what you know. If you came with extra FDE cards for everyone, share! If you have feedback for an ORI, share! The flight halls should have public bulletin boards for MFRs, use those. Your evaluators will notice.
· Talk to the Chaplains! You might not be religious, that is totally cool, but the religious services were an outstanding spiritual experience and just asking to talk with the chaplains is a great way to get a quick break within bounds. Talking with them will not negatively impact your rankings in any way, and I cannot emphasize how amazing they are. Seriously, do not be afraid to put yellow or red for mental health in your journals. Lying about your issues does not make them go away. Talking to the chaplains just might. I got to go on some walks and have some nice drinks with them while talking about life. An excellent reprieve.
· Feet: oh yeah, this is a big one. There is a reason you put this on your weekly journal. You will not have an option to wash your shoes, so be sure you pack a burner pair. Maybe also get extra insoles. Air out your shoes every night if you can, maybe pack some Lysol. Wash your feet when you shower, sleep without socks on if you need, and watch your feet to treat any potential blisters immediately before they get to you.
· Actually go: this one is fun. Apparently, every year like half a dozen people just don’t show up to FT. When called, they’re just like “oh yeah I don’t wanna do ROTC anymore.” It is past that point, you have committed, so be sure you are fully present. Don’t not go, and don’t go and not be present. Actually be there, and care why you are. Don’t do an SIE or whatever the self elimination is called. You may want to, but talk with the chaplains first and realize, it’s only a few more days. Focus on one day at a time. VW is a blast and it gets a lot easier. The CTAs warm up. No one I know of did an SIE after TD-3, so just bear out the first few days, as rough as they are.
· Packing List: Take a pair of nail clippers, your own set of moleskin, and extra thing of wet wipes or Lysol, extra shoes and arguably more socks. Write your locker combo in your FTM (AND ALWAYS LEAVE YOUR SECURITY LOCKER LOCKED—most common form 17 and was responsible for one dismissal at my max.) Take an extra set of civilian clothes so once you are done you can change out of IUs for the ride home. Keep in mind you won’t hear music for two weeks, so think about what the last song you hear is going to be. Also you can take extra stuff as long as its not contraband (consumable, electronic, or a distraction) so take extra stuff. You will have a lot of fun time at VW and maybe even get some places where you want to kill time. There is no harm in taking extra things to help you prepare.
· Learn marching jodies: calling cadence for 15 minutes in the heat sucks.
I probably forgot a bunch of stuff so maybe I'll be back.

I'm a 'hardcore casual' player of Destiny 2 and have been with the game since the original Destiny release. Lightfall, for me, has been incredibly frustrating and I've finally come to terms with the fact that the direction the game is going in is no longer compatible with what I look for in a game.
I guess overall I've become disenchanted with Destiny in this expansion because it is no longer a "fun" game but now requires players to "git gud" to advance. And I'm not in a place in my life where I'm ever going to be improving in my gameplay.
I guess the most frustrating thing (to me) is that last year, Destiny was SO GOOD!! The writing, the gameplay, the progression... pretty much everything was hitting on all cylinders. Yeh, there were rough spots, and to be fair the QOL changes in this expansion are really well implemented!
The final nail (for me anyway) is the recent SkillUp interview with game director Joe Blackburn, where he outright admits that they don't pay attention to game metrics to inform their design, but instead listen to community feedback as their guiding principal. As an engineer myself, I find this to be the most frustrating and ill-informed way to run things.
I work in a design-based service industry myself (electrical power engineering) so I have personal experience with this. (Admittedly, when my designs are done improperly, the results can be as severe as burning down a building or killing someone, so I'm a bit more "risk adverse" than a game designer might be.) At the end of the day, a few things always hold true in design:

• The customer /user /players do not know (or care to know) how things actually work. Proof of this (in game terms) is when people say "just do (this)" when there may be a variety of technical reasons why that is just not possible to implement.
  
• The custome user /player often doesn't actually know what they want. They might say "I want (this thing)" and may actually believe it, but they really don't want that! Again, in game terms, the players may say "I want the game to be more challenging" but when the challenge level is increased they leave in droves. (Which I believe is happening currently to Destiny.)
  
• The users are always Always ALWAYS going to have competing goals, and you always have to wary of the loudest voice in the room overriding other stakeholder's needs and desires. In game terms, the best games I have played have always had an eye towards the new player experience even if it is an end-game expansion product. You can't focus too much on what people want -right now- because those needs are going to change over time. You need to be looking towards the future and making things as easy as possible for that future to be achieved.
  

In my mind, using player feedback as the primary input is going to result in... well... this expansion is a good example of what you get. And it's Not Good (TM). The designers and engineers should be taking community feedback and, along with looking at actual metrics, adjusting the product to suit their actual goals. And I refuse to beleive that the goal here is to develop a niche product that only appeals to a very small subset of the gaming audience.
I used to play around the less-perfect areas of this game with the belief that Bungie was looking at player metrics and adjusting things. I mean, they do report these sorts of things in the TWABs when they say "xx% of players did (the thing)" as justification for changes. But if they're not actually using those metrics... well, then these sorts of statements start sounding like disingenuous justification (i.e. outright lies).
Four weeks ago, I was running legendary lost sectors, solo and sometimes flawless. Last night, after three weeks of grinding to get my power level to a reasonable point, I can't even finish Bunker E15, arguably the easiest lost sector in the game! Red bar enemies three-shot me, it takes nearly a full clip to kill a single enemy, and champions often resist stuns. "More resistant to stuns" apparently means only one shot in three will stun them, which is simply untenable when dealing with an enemy that is impossible to trade shots with and regenerates to full health in a matter of seconds.
I can (and do) solo complete heroic public events. I can (and have) finished the legendary campaign. I did this week's seasonal story mission the other day and when it got to the end, my first reaction was "Is that it?" It honestly seemed like just going through the motions, almost facerollingly easy. I'm 100% FINE with some things being "too hard" for me. But a lot of the game -isn't- "too hard" - it's actually quite comfortable.
Where I get bent is when the first "real" guardian level has this ridiculously out-of-whack "skill check" to do a legendary lost sector solo and flawless. And when I've already completed the requirements for rank 8 (aside from the raid and dungeon completions), I start to question what the goal is here. As a completionist-style player, saying "just don't engage with the system" doesn't really help me. Especially when this is the thing that the game puts in your face above every single other player's head.
The last time I felt like this about Destiny was during The Dark Below and I stopped playing until D2 was released. I think this is the end of my time with Destiny 2.

“Alright, shitheads, before we drop, we’re running our way through the plan: our first step entails high tailing it to the center of the building; by my count that means we’re going to have to crack two separate high security gates to enter. The second step will be the simplest—get into the Supervisor’s office; two guards will be outside door, with another pair of patrols in the hallway at all times. We gas the joint, put ‘em out, then use their fingerprints to crack into the office. Finally, we’ll nab the plutonium and jet towards the windows. And remember: above all else, we keep it quiet, I don’t want to have to kill anyone tonight,” I explained.
“Sounds good, boss,” Krieg said, sarcastically.
“One more thing: while we’re inside, I’m in charge. I won’t repeat myself; if I have to say something twice, the second time I’ll say it through a barrel. We clear?”
Whitney rolled her eyes.
“Crystal,” Krieg snarled.
Rain hammered the plascrete, as storm clouds rolled in above Satellite Valley. Every inch of space not consumed by buildings, or the road had been converted into solar panel storage. Thousands of new cameras had been installed throughout the district a month ago, after a heist turned into arson and threatened the entire of the district. The skyway was surveyed by a veritable net of bulky, square combat drones, each of which possessing full access to the security network. I hated working in Satellite Valley.
Locust’s corporate tower was a mighty sentinel of automated aggression, eagerly overlooking the city, waiting to its payload of robotic death upon whoever was foolish enough to be made an example out of. The obsidian spire was framed with lines of streaming neon lights. An immense sign read, ‘Locust Munitions and Automotive,’ perched atop the building like a ridiculous square hat. I glanced to the security monitors atop the enviro-dome: no threat level increase. That in itself was a damned miracle; anytime a vehicle entered from outside the district, the threat prediction algorithm would do a routine threat level increase. Marcel and Maggy must have figured out a way around it, but how?
Finally, we reached the parking garage. The doors opened, but Marcel and Maggy never said a word. I left a credstick on my seat, nothing much, only a couple thousand; it was the least I could do—they’d seen me through so many hard times.
The garage was quiet. I compressed the button on a localized jammer as we all stepped out. The cameras sputtered for a moment before continuing their rotations. Marcel had dropped us at the bottom of the garage, a block away from the maintenance entrance. Krieg and Carol fell into formation, flanking me on either side; Whitney followed a few feet back, with Ursa and Monitor taking up the rear. With a thought my HALO readied my guns. I selected non-lethal rounds, watched the drums spin and clicked on my norepinephrine regulator. This was it; chances like this came along once in a career. This much plutonium would be enough to fund a retirement—if I ever decided to retire.
“Alright, team, load up non-lethal rounds, keep it quiet and stay in formation; on my mark!” I said, drawing both guns.
Whitney’s cufflinks cast sparks to the ground; tasers. Figures, she’d never had a stomach for murder, not outside of the man in her basement who she apparently intended to torture to death. I suppose the world had changed both of us. I could see it in the way she moved: she was leagues above were she’d been before we’d all went our separate ways. She was a professional now.
We wove through the shadows, careful to avoid stepping out of line. The cameras wouldn’t give us away, everything organic in a ten foot radius of the jammer would be masked, refracted like it was never there. Unfortunately, even with the best gadgets the risk of human intervention was still present. I slipped on my rebreather as we crested the garage’s slope. A small door situated between two separate webs of piping and wires sat across the room. The maintenance entrance. I flashed a fabricated security pass and the door slid open.
I emerged into a narrow corridor, the walls lined with hissing pipes and loose valves. We shifted into single file. Humidity drenched the room, accruing on the walls like hackers on an open HALO channel. The heat was nearly unbearable. I couldn’t help but think of how vulnerable we were. I let out a short, crisp whistle and started hustling forward in a quiet jog. All we could do was move fast and hope none of the staff had to leave mid-shift. Finally, we reached our destination: an automated door that chirped a synthetic sounding, “Good morning!” as I flashed the fake security pass.
Immense glass frames were laced throughout the metallic black hallway. The scent of industrial cleaner hung in the air, and the walls were decorated with surrealist art depicting melting faces, distorted objects and psychedelic landscapes. The group slid to a halt as something robotic whirred into the distance.
Carol’s eyes flashed to me, begging for permission.
Unsure, I slowly nodded back. Her cyber-shell tensed up, assuming a crouched position with her head covered by her arms. Her eyes were empty. I’d never seen anything like it; what the hell was she up to?
I waited with bated breath as the whirring slowly drew closer. I pointed my SMGs, but Krieg glanced at me, shaking his head. Finally, a security droid rounded the corner, taking point beside Carol. Whitney rolled her eyes.
The stairs were impossibly wide, apparently designed as the workers primary avenue of transportation, despite the intricate elevator system present; Locust reserved luxuries like elevators, breaks and days off for the higher ups. We clung to the shadows as we ascended the stairwell.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing here?” a guard called out, rapidly levelling a hand cannon towards the group.
Krieg’s finger reconfigured itself, firing a pair of darts into the guard’s neck. He hit the ground almost instantly.
“Poor bastard should have just pretended like he never saw anything and went about his—” Ursa started, before a rocket pierced his chest, detonating from within.
A hail of gore rained down upon the crew. We were helpless; there was no cover, no tactical advantage to be found. I clicked the guns over to lethal, enabling explosive rounds. Whitney dove forward. The shooter launched another missile, landing square in Krieg’s chest. Despite the obvious damage, the cyborg endured, his arms reshaping into miniguns as he bellowed a war cry.
And just like that, the run went loud.
View Poll

So I’m a bit confused about which university to go to. I’m interested in graphic design and interactive design.
I have heard mixed reviews about Goldsmiths but I like their BA Design program description. For Lisaa , I like that it’s focused on digital design but am not sure if it’s a recognised uni. Parson’s paris (art media and design) also lacks information about future prospects but seems like an interesting course. LCC the major drawback is that it’s just the foundation course.
Any inputs will be appreciated. I’m a lot anxious about this. (I want a uni that prepares me for the corporate side of graphic design and also helps me improve on my artistic skills. An interactive discussion based classroom would be the dream but idk if any of these unis offer them)

 [Fotor](https://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=220935&u=3236748&m=26493&urllink=&afftrack=)'s photo editor lets you edit photos in just a few clicks. 

I don’t know if this belongs here or not, I (35 f) started working in advertising agency as a senior graphic designer for 3 months now but i’v been working for more than 5 years. My first 2 month in this agency, my art director(34 m) we share the same room (small one) and since we are face to face all day we talk about almost anything but the last 3 weeks has been like hell to me he is being mysterious and ignoring me, he has this face that says (i can’t stand you) and it shows, when i ask something off work related he doesn’t reply back, and when he give me a brief for work it’s really missing information and i don’t get what he wants, one time this project i asked him can you give me more details about it (which is an illustrations and im not an illustrator) and he replied “i wanna see what you can do without details” but then there is no feedback after working on something I don’t know about for a day and half, i asked him any updates about this project and he said we hired a freelancer to do. It’s been like this for weeks now giving me really not my specialty work or juniors works…. He acts all joking and smiles with everyone but with me he is aggressive even with his replies, so while he was sitting with his best friend one day i left my phone on the table recording his conversation, i left for 15 minutes and when i listened to the record i was right he is indeed upset with me and not satisfied with my work/social skills!! I know i take my time with work but I don’t leave the office until he says so, id be leaving the office 10 pm if the work wants to and he is there also, so im really not slackening around and I’m still new to a place trying to memorize all the data and trying not fck things up, it’s just me and him and I don’t know what to do! Should i leave or should i talk to him? I wanna improve myself because this has been affecting me mentally and even affecting my anxiety even worse I can’t concentrate much which making me do stupidly mistakes i shouldn’t be doing with my experience and I lack the confidence of talking in general. I really feel bad for recording him. I feel bad for myself tbh.

I am looking for someone who is experienced with pixel art, although anyone good at logo design that can make it in the style of pixel art is good.
I am looking to have a logo created, drawing inspiration from Super Mario World (16 bit SNES). It won’t be overly complex, no backgrounds, no animation, just a clean logo, minimalism favored, with SMW vibes.
Hoping for a couple of different directions on the initial rough draft, based on the info that will be given, and from there picking a direction with potential rounds of revisions to dial it in.
Please DM if interested, thank you.

Something's missing. People (and entities) are starting to notice.
First Previous
***
Far across the multiverse in a tavern that, depending on one’s point of view, may or may not have actually existed, Zeb, Petunia, Bethany, Bergamot, Cleve, and Zilandrial sat at a large wooden table.
“Thank you, Shauna,” Bergamot said as a buxom woman in a low-cut peasant dress filled their mugs with a “magic” pitcher of beer that never ran dry. “You don’t have to serve us, you know.”
“Oh, I know,” Shauna replied brightly, “but I am a barmaid. Besides, I am not giving up my magic pitcher!” she added with a laugh. “The next batch of stew should be out in a second.”
“If it is as good as this bread…” Cleve said, holding up a thick, floppy piece of flatbread.
“Better!” Shauna exclaimed. “The pantry keeps filling back up with the best stuff! It’s almost a shame to make stew out of it, but the “fancy” chef went to the “fancy” place. We just figured out the roaster thingy, so we’ll be serving roast fowl as soon as the first batch cooks!”
Shauna paused and took a big drink from her pitcher.
“It turns out that you just had to talk to it. Weird… But no weirder than anything else, I suppose. You guys want to wait for the roast fowl?”
“We shouldn’t tary,” Zeb replied, “We don’t know how long this blessed peace will last.”
“Maybe it’s over?” Bethany the Tinker, now reunited with her beloved hat, asked.
“One can hope,” Zeb shrugged as he drank deeply from his tankard, “but I’m not delaying my repast, and neither should you. When you have fiends like Pantsu and F10w3rchy1d in play, things can get much worse than they already are.”
“Worse?!?” Bergamot exclaimed in horror.
***
Melinda the Stalwart was starting to believe that she should have stayed in bed today.
It was supposed to be her day off! Yeah, things were starting to get “weird,” but with all of those high-rated champions running around up north, it was probably going to get handled pretty quickly… and she was tired of chasing around after their scraps.
Her copper-rated ass was sitting this one out. The fact that everyone had gone gank-crazy just further confirmed that she had the right idea.
So, she decided to head back to the royal city of Raven’s Peak to take advantage of the richer and more powerful adventurers running off to the north, leaving all the armorers, enchanters, alchemists, and publicans in town behind.
It was nice not constantly getting shoved out of the way by stronger champions and ignored by shopkeepers far more interested in their gold than her silver for once.
It started out as such a lovely day, too!
She awoke in a lovely bed at the Blade and Wand, her absolute favorite inn, and a place where it was nearly impossible to get a room without a reservation or a lot more status than she had. There, she enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, at a discounted rate no less, and then went out for a day of crowd-free shopping!
It. Was. Bliss! There were no lines, and all of the storekeepers and craftsmen were all too happy to not only serve her and her meager purse but actually take time to chat!
Then, for lunch, she decided to visit the main branch of the adventurer’s guild, where she had an honest-to-gosh hamburger and fries along with some cider. After that, the plan was to get some training or maybe buy a buff or two…
Well, that was the plan, anyway.
What actually happened was that her wonderful burger, which she could never get under normal circumstances (they were always sold out before a copper-rated nobody could get their coppers taken), was interrupted by the most unholy screams she had ever heard inside or outside a dungeon.
She barely had time to stand before the doors to the guild offices exploded outward, and a demon covered in spikes and flames charged into the main hall.
That looks just like the guildmaster, was about all she had time to think before the fiend was on her.
***
“What’s happening?!?” Melinda cried in terror as she hurtled through absolutely nothing.
(Shh bby is ok)
“H-hello?” she called.
(😊)
“W-who are you? What happened to me?”
(Shh bby is ok)
“Am I… Am I dead?!?”
(is ok)
“Oh, it is definitely NOT okay! Who are you, and what the hell happened?”
The bedbug sighed with exasperation as it bounced off an invisible barrier again.
It had taken too long. The soul was starting to wake up.
Before much longer, it would start to get wiggly. It hated it when they began to wiggle.
Not knowing exactly what else to do, it let out a little ping.
It was answered by thousands of its kind! They couldn’t get through either, so they were having a rave! Awesome!
With a happy little (woo!), it zipped off towards the largest concentration of pings dragging an increasingly indignant Melinda the Stalwart along whether she wanted to or not.
***
“Hahaha!” Tawdry laughed into a prepaid “burner phone” her parents didn’t know about. “I can’t be-lieve you got me fucking grounded, you skank!”
“You’re still grounded?” Claudia snickered, “You diminished that badly?”
“It’s my parents. I managed to talk them down to a week without brain fucking them too hard. Besides, this cell is a lot nicer than the holes you used to stick me in. I’ll just do my time and be done with it. Besides, it will give our friends time to leave town since someone can’t manage to find a freaking truck.”
“First of all, fuck you,” Claudia laughed, “Second of all, thanks for getting that bastard to show up in a park and chase you across all of that nice soft turf. We got a lot of data we didn’t have before.”
“Like what?”
“Like its estimated mass, tire treads, a few lovely material samples where it nailed a park bench while trying to kill you… oh, and confirmation that it actually materializes and dematerializes. We can only assume the little bitch does the same thing. Too bad you couldn’t actually lay hands on her.”
“She was slippery, okay?” Tawdry chuckled.
“Hey,” Claudia said, “before Evika and her party ganked you, did they say anything about whom they were working for, or did they mention a little blonde girl named Petunia… or Pantsu?”
“No, they just said hi and blew my head off. Oh! Stephen did say that David finally confessed to Evika!”
“Took him long enough,” Claudia laughed, “Think he has a chance?”
“I know he has one,” Tawdry replied, “Evika’s gonna drop those drawers any second.”
“Good for her.”
“You said that Robert the Golden Peckerhead got sent back?”
“Yeah, and he is not adjusting well,” Claudia replied, “We have him in a ‘special’ inpatient facility where we are keeping the people with ‘issues’.”
“You got a lot of ‘patients’?”
“Not as many as you would think,” Claudia said, “Not everyone is happy about things, but there is something to be said about not having to sleep with a dagger under your pillow.”
“True that,” Tawdry replied. “High school is a pain, but being able to go out for pizza without an enraged wife (or husband) trying to shank you is nice.”
“Careful,” Claudia laughed, “Enraged spouses here might have a gun. You might want to go easy on the adultery this time around. There is also no magic contraception, and cure disease potions aren’t for sale in every town.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Tawdry groaned. “Doesn’t really matter, though. I might as well be a nun these days.”
“You can’t be diminished that much!”
“I am not into kids, and any man worth screwing isn’t into jailbait. I’m the exact opposite of screwed… Speaking of, you did mention a possible trip to Denmark?”
“Aren’t you grounded?”
“I won’t be next week!”
“And how will you explain your sex tourism to your folks?”
“Let me worry about my folks,” Tawdry replied, “You worry about that plane ticket!”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Claudia replied with a chuckle.
Natasha! Come down for dinner!
“I’ll be right there!” Tawdry yelled.
“I gotta go. It’s taco night…”
Tawdry grinned.
“Speaking of tacos, did you get that camel toe fixed yet?”
“And just when we were even, too!” Claudia laughed. “Your little suggestion has everyone looking at my snatch… including me, and I know it’s bullshit!”
“Ha! Is your new fuck toy looking?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Detective Martin! I know you have a thing for that whole world-weary crusader vibe. And don’t think I didn’t see you checking out his ass, either.”
“I have the same problem you do,” Claudia sighed, “worse even. The sort of man I like certainly won’t be messing around with a ‘kid’, even if I am ‘legal’.”
“Yeah, you do like them a bit crusty, don’t you? How about finding some rich asshole who is having a mid-life crisis?”
“I will repeat myself. The sort of man I would like isn’t interested… and won’t be for years.”
“Meh. You’re not giving yourself enough credit… and giving them far too much of it.”
“Well, Slaker turned me down cold… goddamn chain of command…”
“No! You tried to give it up to Slaker?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time…”
“No way! I need details, all of them!”
“Well…”
Natasha! Dinner!
“I have to go,” Tawdry said, “but this is not over!”
***
Vroom? an old Peterbilt truck revved as it sat in a remote corner of a truck stop in the middle of nowhere.
“Still nothing,” the little girl huffed. “How can an entire universe disappear?”
Vroom… Vroom?
“Let’s hope not,” the girl replied, “Even so, he wouldn’t abandon us!”
“What?” the spirit asked with alarm.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” the little girl replied.
“Doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“Okay,” the little girl replied, “There is a remote chance that our boss has had to… um… cease operations and relocate. It hasn’t happened in a really long time, but it has happened.”
“Does that mean that I’m stuck?!?”
“No, of course not. It just means we might have to wait until we’re collected.”
Vroom.
“He won’t forget us!”
VroOoom…
“Hey! Don’t even start talking like that! We’ve done good work for the boss on several worlds. He won’t just discard us!”
“What do you mean, discard?”
“Just watch your anime, weeb,” the little girl snapped. “He hasn’t abandoned us, and he won’t forget us. He’s just… um…”
Vroom.
“I don’t know, alright!” the little girl replied angrily, “I have no idea where those others came from. All I know is that we didn’t squish them.”
VvvrOom.
“If he had another team, I would know about it!”
Vroom?
“I just would, okay! WE AREN’T GETTING REPLACED!... I’m… I’m going to get some air, maybe a Coke or something.”
The little girl threw open the door to the cab angrily and hopped out.
“Hey!” the spirit yelled, “See if they have any audiobooks!”
***
We’ve been abandoned… the little girl thought to herself as she prowled the truck stop trying not to panic.
She had to keep it together for Truck-Kun… and their new companion. If she fell apart, Truck-Kun would, too, and who knows what the spirit would do. He was two seconds from making another run for it as it was.
She paused by a rack of dusty old audiobooks on CD. Now that wasn’t something she had seen in a bit.
Thankful for the distraction, she started perusing the titles. Some of them were things she hadn’t already read (or listened to).
She grabbed a few for herself and then started looking for something appropriately nerdy for her new guest.
She might have murdered them in cold blood, but that was no reason not to be a good host.
She was so distracted by her own troubles and the audiobooks that she didn’t notice that she was being followed until the guy’s shadow fell around her.
She then became aware of his oily aura and smiled.
All work and no play…
“Hello, little girl…”
She looked up at him with an innocent expression and doe-like eyes.
“Hi.”
***
Truck-Kun quietly ground his gears as he watched a beat-up RV pull onto the highway.
Vroom, he grumbled as he put himself in gear and started to follow.
“What?” the spirit asked.
About half an hour later, Truck-Kun pulled over next to an RV that was parked on the side of the highway.
The door opened, and the little girl hopped out, holding a paper bag.
Vroom, the truck revved disapprovingly.
“Such a nice man,” the little girl said impishly as she plopped into the driver’s seat, and the truck drove away.
“Are those bloodstains?” the spirit asked as he pointed at the bag.
“What answer would you prefer?” the girl asked as she pulled out a half-filled fifth of vodka and most of a pack of smokes graciously donated by the nice man in the RV (it wasn’t like he was going to be needing them).
Vroom.
“I know I quit,” the girl replied as she put one in her mouth. “Give me a break. My nerves are shot.”
Vroom.
“Yes, shot enough to smoke menthols!”
The little girl lit up and drew heavily on the cigarette, exhaling a lovely smoke ring.
Vroom!
“So, crack a window!”
Vroom! Vroom! Vrooooom!
“You can’t smell, and you know it! So please, cut me some slack. I’ve had a bad day,” she said as she turned up the bottle of vodka like it was Juicy Juice.
Vroom!
“I know you’ve had a bad day, too,” the girl said as she wiped her mouth, “Want me to get you some fuel treatment at the next stop, maybe some starting fluid?”
Vroom.
“Okay, and a new air freshener, maybe some of those fuzzy dice you like? Deal?”
Vroom!… Vroom?
“As a matter of fact,” the little girl said as she pulled out a wad of bills. “the nice man did keep his cash on him.”
Vroom! the truck revved happily.
***
“Jesus!” Gary Martin, formerly Detective Martin, winced as he looked inside an abandoned old RV the following day.
“Say what you want about her,” Claudia Smythe said as she ate a corn dog. “but she is thorough.”
“We think the girl did this?”
“Matches her MO,” Claudia shrugged as she flicked the corn dog stick aside. “And we have surveillance footage at the truck stop. The asshole was talking to someone small, the cameras didn’t get a good shot of the kid, and eyewitnesses state that he was in the company of his ‘daughter’ when he left.”
“You said this was her MO. She’s done this before?” Gary asked.
“She rolls guys like this for their pocket change. We’re not sure if it’s how they finance their operations or if she just does it for fun, but this is the third one this year.”
A well-dressed and very young man in sunglasses approached the pair.
“Sir Lark,” Claudia said without turning around. “We have an ID on this guy yet?”
“Boris Veetch,” the young man said. “a registered sex offender with an active warrant for skipping out on his parole.”
“Yeah, she likes those,” Claudia shrugged. “Nobody will mourn his passing. He was easily ensnared, and he probably was carrying cash.”
“And she is professional bait,” Gary shrugged. “He was slime, but I’m not sure even he deserved what happened to him, though. What sort of monster would do something like this?”
“You just answered your own question,” Claudia replied, “a monster.”
“If you think this is bad," Lark said as he started photographing the scene, "You should see what a pack of goblins will do if they get the chance."
“Considering what we now know,” Claudia said with a shrug, “this trail is beyond cold. Even if they couldn’t do the whole disappearing act, they could be in any of several states by now. We’ve lost them… again.”
She looked over at Gary.
“Just as well,” she added, “We need to get you processed and briefed… agent.”
She smiled.
“Welcome to the Temporal Protection Agency.”
***
Deep within the deepest dungeon on Asteria Prime, a monstrous giant of a spider fidgeted uncomfortably.
“H-hello… boss,” it said nervously, “T-to w-what do we owe the honor of your visit?”
Frostie smiled an icy smile that filled the giant spider with horror.
“Oh, I was just in the area and thought I would give my friends here,” she said, indicating The Great Erectus, The Herald, and Cuddles, “a tour.”
“O-of c-course!” Log’Sharingoth LXXXIII stammered as their legs twitched miserably. “W-would you like a guide?”
“That would be lovely,” Frostie smiled. “Where’s Pantsu? I think she and The Big Guy over here would get along famously.”
“S-she isn’t available, boss.”
“Not even for me?”
“I-I apologize,” Log’Sharingoth said nervously, “but she isn’t here right now?”
“Well, where did she go?”
“I-I’m not sure, boss…”
“Okay, how about Nova?”
“S-she’s not here, either.”
“Shai-Vai-Loshara?”
“Um…”
“Steve?”
Log’Sharingoth made a whining bubbling noise as they shrank away.
“Why don’t you just tell me who is missing and exactly what the fuck is going on?” Frostie said with an angry gleam in her eye.
***
“…and I don’t know where anyone is!” Log’Sharingoth wailed miserably. “And everything is going wrong, the players almost rioted, and the physics engine threatened to quit! I didn’t know what to doooo!!!”
“And at no point did it occur to you to call me?” Frostie asked with a frightening edge to her voice.
“Pantsu told me not to!!!”
Frostie let out a long-suffering sigh. Of course, the current Log’Sharingoth wouldn’t go against Pantsu. It was horribly unfair to expect otherwise.
“I’m not going to come down on you because of what she did,” Frostie said a bit more gently. “However, since I now clearly know something is amiss, anything you can tell me will be of great value.”
“I-I’m not in trouble?”
“Not from me,” Frostie replied, “and Pantsu won’t be giving you any problems after I’m done with her.”
Frostie paused.
“So, this glitched Pantsu, where is it now?”
“Pantsu had me send it to Tartarus! I’m sorry! But she said to!”
“Sounds like the only sensible thing she’s done thus far,” Frostie replied.
“I didn’t want to, but she told me to do it!”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Frostie shrugged, “sounds like the perfect place for it. Wait. She told you?”
“Yes, Boss!”
“That means you have a line of communications?”
Log’Sharingoth’s multiple eyes all widened with fear.
“Y-yes?”
“Call her and tell her to give me her location… now.”
“Y-yes boss…”
Log’Sharingoth fell silent for a few moments.
“Um… Boss?”
“Let me guess,” Frostie said, “You can’t reach her, can you?”
“No, Boss.”
“Fine,” Frostie grumbled. “We do this the hard way. You’ve done a great job, considering everything.”
“I have?” Log’Sharingoth asked hopefully.
“You have,” Frostie said reassuringly. “Keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll send a crisis response team to help out in the meantime.”
“A… A crisis response team?” Log’Sharingoth asked fearfully.
“You didn’t think you were getting off Scot free, did you?” Frostie laughed as she and her companions disappeared.
“…Ssssshit,” Log’Sharingoth hissed as she stalked off into the shadows.
***
The hominid looked around at their new surroundings.
Everything was white. The floor was white. The walls were white. The furniture was white…
Even the plants were white…
And everything was spotless.
“Interesting décor,” he said after a few seconds.
“They like to keep things tidy,” Frostie replied as she took a seat on one of the white couches.
“They?” the ape-man asked dubiously as Cuddles slipped one of her tentacles into The Herald’s hand.
He gently gripped it, causing Cuddles to suppress a delighted squeal.
“Playtime is over,” Frostie said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m calling in my real operatives.”
“Jesus!” The Great Erectus exclaimed as a spotless white door opened, and a short, slender blue male amphibian-like biped in a white tunic bearing a three-headed dog embroidered with platinum thread walked in.
“You never told me you had… them!”
“Oh, you are familiar with their kind?”
“Those little monsters are responsible for the death of entire universes! Every time there is a parallel manifestation of those… monsters… entire galaxies die.”
“They can be a handful,” Frostie said pleasantly, “But I’ve found them incredibly valuable over the years… for that very same reason. These do come from much more reasonable stock from a much more reasonable ancestor... Maybe 'reasonable' is pushing it a little,” Frostie added with a laugh. "Reasonable for one of them, at least."
The blue amphibian smiled pleasantly and blinked his huge amber eyes, their pleasant hue replaced with a whirling madness of color.
“Hello, Hades,” Frostie said with a smile. “It has been quite a while. How have you been?”
“Bored,” Hades replied. “I trust you have come to alleviate that?”
“Most definitely,” Frostie replied. “Awaken the others…”
“…It’s time to hunt.”

Welcome to my review trilogy for Caroline Rose’s LONER, Superstar, and their new record, The Art of Forgetting. This is a really special write-up for me, though I’d like to assure you of something before I begin: Numbers don’t matter here. When it comes to commercial success by a reviewer, sure, the public will look at numbers before they decide to spend their ever-draining time on an album, but ahead of The Art of Forgetting’s release, this small review series is about feelings, as much of the new album is. I won’t rate any of these songs or albums on a scale.
To understand just how much of a surprise LONER is, we need to go back to the two albums before, 2012’s American Religious and 2014’s I Will Not Be Afraid. If you hopped onto the scarlet Caroline Rose train with LONER, you might be surprised to hear that their previous records were not Alternative Rock albums, but rather Country/Americana affairs that hold up in their own right. However, as Caroline has said, those two records feel like a completely different person, and LONER is where they truly began to find themself and their sound. One of pop rock fun that will get you up on your feet and maybe could even get your party grooving (Jeannie Becomes a Mom is always a great choice for getting partygoers spinning with their half-filled red solo cups which they’ll inevitably crush and throw on the floor during the chorus so they can jam out with their whole bodies).
My experience with LONER goes back to before Superstar was released, but that’s far as I can tell you. When you listen to a special album that inevitably becomes one of your favorites, your mind is supposed to take a snapshot of that span of time where you’re listening to something great and you have that moment where you stop, blink, and think to yourself, “Hold on a second, this rocks!”, then proceed to be astounded by every forthcoming track. No, I don’t remember the time or even the day when I first heard LONER, but I know it hasn’t left me. I will say one thing, though, our relationship isn’t complicated. There were no repeated listens required to know that I loved the album. That being said, instead of naming only a few songs, I’d like to take a plunge into this record fully and put you in a submarine in an ocean of sounds.
We start with the iconic album cover. Caroline stands in a red tracksuit and crimson sweatband, with an entire pack’s worth of cigarettes shoved into their mouth, blackened tips from the warm flame of the rose-colored lighter they are holding. They look like they have just come from the gym, a red sweat rag wrapped around their shoulders as if they had just finished running and stopped for an extreme smoke break (Don’t try this at home!). Our titular loner is cast against a white background which emphasizes the single person in the shot. Their eyes are far away and despondent, as if they are trying to escape their thoughts. The red colors against the white help everything to pop out at the listener and intrigue them to find out what music waits inside. How can you not want to hear an album with a cover this iconic?
Fun fact, LONER’s track order used to be something completely different, along with the art, but Caroline was forced to change it by suits and it’s still a choice they regret to this day. However, I’ll be looking at the tracklist as it is. Let’s dive into LONER and see what it has in store for us, shall we?
More Of The Same - The album opens with atmospheric notes before the iconic LONER synth comes in to create the backdrop of the song. By the time the percussion comes in, my body’s already moving along with the groove Caroline is carrying us along in. I’d like to note that this song has one of my favorite choruses from Caroline, and if this was your first album by them, you’d notice that they have a knack for writing incredible choruses. As for the meaning, I feel we really get introduced to our loner here, as they describe a rather dissociative state from the rest of society, realizing the cycle they are caught in while everything keeps moving around them. It’s a cynical but fantastic opener.
Cry! - The bassline of this song is incredible! As well as the very unusual drum pattern they use in the verses. During the chorus, the guitar strums beautifully, bringing a smile to my face every time. And what about that chorus? It has its own basic chorus structure, followed by multiple instances of “Cry!” from Caroline, but that’s where they use their vocals to great effect to keep you on your toes, not knowing what note comes next. In the middle of the song, when they give us that quiet moment of levity is maybe my favorite part of Cry!, as it’s so unexpected, and that’s why it’s so great. Caroline is a master of surprise. Interestingly enough, it seems this tackles similar themes to Superstar, as it’s about a staperson who experiences how tough being populafamous really is. What can I say except that this rocks?
Money - Damn, Caroline! Opening with another sick riff and showing off your skills! Question: Have you ever played someone this song before? I’ve played this for people many times and there are always two reactions I’m usually guaranteed to get. During the first chorus, people laugh at Caroline’s comedy, which is another thing they excel at, and then in the bridge, people are always weirded out by the…interesting noises coming from the singer. I like that Caroline doesn’t hold back though, for sure. Quirks like that are what separate LONER from other Alt-Rock albums out there. The song is a cunning remark on capitalism, saying it plain and simple: These days, it all comes down to money. Everything in our society circles back to it, and it’s really dumb.
Jeannie Becomes a Mom - Proof that a simple melody is all you need to make an effective song. The lifeblood of this song is that iconic synth, and without it, this track wouldn’t have skyrocketed to be their most popular. Of course, all the ingredients are what make the sonic soup truly incredible. My favorite moment in Jeannie Becomes a Mom has to be the second verse. It’s just so damn catchy! I like that the end of the song is kind of hypnotic and reaffirms the message, “Now you’re in real life”, though sometimes when I’m showing the song to people, I’m worried it might go on too long…Suburbian fantasy, put into music form. Move over, Arcade Fire (Just kidding, I love The Suburbs).
Getting To Me - The versatility! Caroline knows how to keep their records interesting all the way through. I think the diversity will always lead their albums to be infinitely replayable. They have never once come across as boring, and the other songs are incredible, but this song is the beginning of that realization. The plucked strings throughout the song, as well as the progression, make the song stick out of the eleven tracks, as no other song on the record has them. Good choice. Plus, the strings later! Gosh! This is the song for which LONER gets its name, even though Caroline never says the word “loner” in the song. Funny, the things we notice when we’re lonely. Guess we have time to think.
To Die Today - The guitars on this track make me think they are underwater, and that is an incredibly chilling sound to be added to them. The song starts off slowly but finds its groove later, creating one of the strongest progressions in LONER. I love that little moment with the synth in the third quarter of the song. This song is incredibly dark on what sounds like a mostly-happy record, but it's also meant to be comforting. Death is scary for some people, but comforting for others. For Caroline, death is the knowledge that all the pain we feel won’t last forever.
Soul No. 5 - The album flow gets flipped on its head, from the darkest song to the happiest song on the album, yet it doesn’t create a whiplash. It all works. And how can you deny this song with that opener? If you told me the character from Superstar was singing this song, I’d believe you. It radiates confidence. Despite the album’s cynical nature, it’s important to remember what you love about yourself and that you’re an awesome person. Caroline gives us an incredibly fun anthem for that. One of my favorite Caroline Rose tracks in general.
Smile! AKA Schizodrift Jam 1 AKA Bikini Intro - The longest title for the shortest track on the album. This is just a fun little interlude, but it does have relevance to the next track, as it documents the cycle of women in the industry being put in a glass box for everyone to see and being told to smile about it. We’ll get into it in the next track. Super weird track, but that’s why we love Caroline.
Bikini - Caroline Rose’s comedy reaches its peak here, even though that comedy derives from something shitty. The surf-rock song sounds happy and fun, and Caroline sounds happy as ever. However, the song is actually a bitter commentary on the sexualization of women in the industry. They are told all these promises and told that all they have to do is “put on this little bikini and dance”. However performing these actions open a floodgate for many women that causes them to discover how shitty the industry really is, and how even these days, they are still objectified and made to do things against their will just to be famous. This is what it takes to make it and it’s tragic. Superstar further explores the idea brought up in this song, and you can tell Caroline really feels strongly about the topic.
Talk - I can’t decide if this song or Animal is my favorite on this album. They both have similar soundscapes and have a dark edge to them. The fact that Caroline ended this album with a dark sound has always been super effective for me, as I tend to like music that sounds a bit darker (Guess what my favorite song on Superstar is?). The dark synth, the slick percussion, and the intense paranoid lyrics are all incredible. Bringing to mind the title of LONER again, this song explores the conversations in one’s mind, all the bad things you say and think about yourself, and how it affects you on the outside. It’s really about anxiety, and I feel that. Caroline’s music has a lot of mental health aspects to it, and that’s one of my favorite things about them as a musician, they put that side of the human experience into grooves we can enjoy, but when you dive in, it gives the song a whole new face. Truly a gem.
Animal - The tails to Talk’s heads, Animal is the epic closer of this album. The concept is simple: Rose is jealous, and that jealousy is like a wild animal, filling them with anger and fury at the thought of their ex they are not over being with someone else. We don’t know if the ex is the man or the woman, just that Rose is jealous of one of them, and that increases the track’s lure. The instrumentation is dark and intense, and Caroline is as passionate as ever, but it’s really the final cries of the album that stick with you when all is said and done, leaving us with only an echo, then it’s gone. Have you ever heard this song live? If you haven’t, go do that.
When all is said and done, this is the rebirth of Caroline Rose from folk singer to city-slicker, bringing infectious synth and groovy guitars to the table, showing listeners that they aren’t here to mess around and that they are a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie music. It’s not a surprise this is their most popular album, as its quirkiness, down-to-earth lyrics, and pop-rock fun make it a good time during any listen. However, this is my least favorite of the trilogy, because I believe that Caroline has only grown as an artist, but I won’t spoil my future reviews here.
For now, Caroline’s LONER is an album that will stand the test of time, never to be dated by its topics or sound. The replayability and longevity of this work add to just how much of a breakout record this is, and it’s a shame more people aren’t paying attention to Rose these days. Do yourself a favor and LONER whenever you can. Really take some time to listen and soak up all of the sounds. Let it wash over you and truly hone in on the lyrics this time. Something this special deserves to be savored. Hello, Caroline Rose.
Until next time,
Niles Hollowthorn.