Please don't eat animals.

Oh that sounds great! Oblivion was my first Elder Scrolls game, so I definitely have a soft spot for Cyrodiil. I'll check it out at some point!

Are you playing Tamriel Rebuilt? I keep meaning to actually play it, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hell yeah donkey! I hope your animal friend helps you find the quests you're looking for!

Please don't eat animals.

If you'd like to learn more about the absolutely heinous shit JK Rowling believes in and the truly vile people she happily supports, I'd suggest Shaun's YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@Shaun_vids

He's done several deep dives on these people. Maybe start with "JK Rowling's New Friends". The 4-part series about the BBC's transphobia is informative too, and "Kellie Jay and the Neonazis" is about one of the absolute worst of this transphobic crew and someone JK Rowling has literally written supportive tweets about.

I applaud your desire to see the best in people, but it's misplaced here. JK Rowling's heart is not in the right place.

This comment is chock full of misogyny, with some transphobia sprinkled in for good measure. You should reconsider your beliefs. Feminists aren't the reason liberalism is the dominant political ideology in the US, come on, that should be obvious.

Oh, it is indeed super interesting! If you don't mind long YouTube video essays, watch Hbomberguy's video about Pathologic, that'll get you up to speed.

But let me say just a little more: in like, 2005 or something a development studio in Russia made a game called Pathologic. It's absolutely miserable to play and it's one of the best games I've ever played, an absolute masterpiece.

You play as one of three very different doctors who has come to this utterly bizarre town on the Russian steppe, right as a plague is beginning. Your job is to survive for 12 days in the town, and maybe make some progress towards fixing the plague in some way, either a vaccine or a cure, or hell, maybe a miracle.

But most of your day to day will be walking around the town, excruciatingly slowly, trying to scrounge up enough food and medicine and bullets so you yourself don't die. The townsfolk will lie to you for their own ends and they love wasting your time. The plot is sprawling and complex, but it's an absolute scramble every day to see it all, to talk to the people you need to talk to, while avoiding bandits and seemingly sentient clouds of plague and plague carriers, both human and rat. And all the while your exhaustion and hunger meters are rising and you have to take care of that, your body is fragile and its needs are always pressing, you will straight up die if you don't keep yourself fed and rested and healthy.

You choose one of three doctors to play as, although if you're serious about the game you play it three times, once as each character. These characters are The Bachelor (a doctor from the big city obsessed with trying to conquer death), The Haruspex (a local from the town who's been away studying medicine for the past several years) and The Changeling (I don't know what to say about her. She's less a doctor and more a, uh, miracle worker? A magical little girl who might have an evil twin sister? I can't explain The Changeling). All three doctors exist in the story, even the two you're not currently playing as. They still do their stuff, although, crucially, they're less successful than when you play as them.

The plot in this game is dense and fascinating. The whole game is, in some ways, a play, a theatre production. Kind of. It also frequently reminds you it's not real, it's just a game, in very weird, very interesting ways. And all the while the characters are deep and interesting and don't feel fake, even as the game takes pains to remind you that they are.

I could talk themes and ideas all day, but I won't. Suffice it to say there's more there than I could ever fit into a single comment, a lot more.

But, ok, that's a weird game from like 20 years ago, what does it have to do with a game coming out next year? Well, in 2019 (I think), Pathologic 2 came out, which is a remake of The Haruspex playthrough of Pathologic. And it's incredible, it's so fucking good! It's way harder and more punishing and less janky than the first one, the themes and ideas are just as rich, although with a slightly different focus (there's something odd happening with death here, that I really, really don't understand, I would bet money the next two playthroughs make it more explicit), and the mechanics are really dialed in and feel awful and satisfying in exactly the right way.

And next year (probably, hopefully) the Bachelor playthrough is coming out, as Pathologic 3. (Their naming conventions are terrible, but oh well.) And it's going to be so, so good. It's taken 5 years to make, which is long enough that I was really worried it wasn't going to happen, especially since Pathologic 2 didn't sell that well and the dev team is Russian, and, well, Russia is at war right now. But the Bachelor playthrough is nearing completion! It's truly happening, and I couldn't be happier! It suggests to me we'll probably also get a Changeling playthrough, even if we have to wait another 5 years. And I'm willing to wait!

So yeah, play Pathologic 2. Don't play 1 unless you really get bit by the Pathologic bug, it's hard to overemphasize just how miserable 1 is. 2 is also miserable, sure, but in a much better way, if that makes sense (it probably doesn't). And it's the same story, mostly. Broad strokes are the same, even though details are different. And Pathologic 2 is only 1/3 of the full story, although I would say it's richer than its counterpart in 1. Still, 1 is absolutely worth playing, because you do get all three stories, which is really neat, you get a much deeper and more complete understanding of the town and the people in it. But still, only play it if you really, really must, because it's miserable.

Haruspex is done, that's what Pathologic 2 is. They started with Haruspex instead of Bachelor this time for whatever reason. Bachelor should be coming next year, I hope. It's going to be called Pathologic 3, to really confuse people even more. There's a trailer out now, which has made me so extremely excited.

Also, while I understand the desire to wait until there are at least two completed playthroughs, I really don't think you need to. Pathologic 2 is very much a complete game right now. Sure, there's more to learn about the world, but like, we won't get all the answers until the Changeling route comes out, and that's years and years away. (Probably)

I think there's evidence Euclid himself was a bit uncomfortable with Postulate 5. The first 28 (I think) props in Book 1 were proven without using Postulate 5, as though Euclid wanted to prove as much as possible without bringing it in. What this also means is that the first little bit of Book 1 is valid in any geometry, which is pretty cool.

I would bet money Euler (and likely other mathematicians at the same time) were thinking hard about Postulate 5 and coming to the conclusion it doesn't have to be true and there might be geometries where it isn't.

Huh, apparently I still think geometry is cool, even after getting my PhD in it and feeling pretty dead inside about the whole thing. That's neat. Now if only this PhD would help me get a job...

I really like it, although I'm not going to sit here and say you're wrong for not liking it more than you did.

What I will say though is that The Big Lebowski contains the funniest scene I've ever watched in any movie, TV show, what have you. And that's at the very end when they're scattering the ashes. For whatever reason, that scene gets me every time, I can't help but crack up every single time. Even when I'm anticipating it and thinking "it can't possibly be as good as I remember", it always is.

I also really like the vocabulary it builds up in the form of catchphrases. The obvious one being, of course "the rug really tied the room together", but there are others. I can imagine if your friend group is obsessed with the movie that those catchphrases repeated constantly would get really, really old, but luckily I was never in a friend group who felt the need to do that, so they've stayed pretty fresh for me, and I always enjoy watching the movie and being drawn into its world.

Also, when you're high as hell (the best way to watch it), the plot seems pretty convoluted. Like sure, objectively it's not that difficult to follow, but when you're super duper high it sure seems complicated, and oddly enough, I think that's part of the draw too. At least it is for me.

English is my first language and I kind of pride myself on my reading ability (I can also write, but I like it less, and please don't trawl my hexbear account for proof I'm a good writer, you won't find it), and I have no idea when you're supposed to add a -cal suffix! Every one of your examples there I'm like, huh, I don't know. I'm sure there's some rule about it, I bet you could look in a style guide and find the answer, but most native speakers don't know it, we kind of just say one or the other based on a whim (or at least I do). It might also be that there's not one correct answer, I wouldn't be surprised if different style guides had different advice about this.

It's a very reasonable pet peeve for you to have, all in all!

I agree so much! Sure, there's some "friction" when you want to open your menu in a narrow hallway and have to spin your character around a little to actually see it, but honestly? I find it great and immersive and cool. Dead Space is just really good, really

Getting an IUD placed is on up there with most unpleasant experiences of my life. At least it was quick, the doctor who did it was clearly very practiced, and I'd had a valium and some pretty strong ibuprofen beforehand, so that helped, but my god was it awful! I'm just really glad I got my uterus removed so I never have to get another IUD. It's a special kind of pain, having stuff shoved through your cervix, that's for sure.

I'm sorry you had to go through it, hopefully you can take some time to recover and won't have to do it again for several years!

Federation (and which instances to federate with) is a sticky topic for sure! For what it's worth, I really enjoy your instance and I'm glad you're federated with hexbear, it's nice to have a fully vegan, relatively active instance federated with us. And the frequent food posting is great! I love to look at all the tasty things people cook!

That other commenter really doesn't know what they're talking about (yes I did wander to the vegantheoryclub mod log to read it because sopuli isn't federated with hexbear). I'd eat the shit out of this, especially with some green peas or spinach tossed in when reheating and maybe a dash of hot sauce (I do love hot sauce)!

Seriously, cooking is sometimes such a struggle when everything else massively sucks and you've found a very hearty and healthy meal that very much is something I'd enjoy eating. It looks great!

https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/12/understanding-implications-talibans-opium-ban-afghanistan

I found this page on their website, it's real.

Which leads me to an important question: who the fuck are these assholes?

I've looked at their "Experts" page, I don't recognize anyone, I've looked at their "About" page, it's surprisingly low on info. Oh, their building in DC is "an iconic building that faces the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and that symbolizes our nation’s commitment to peace." Ok, but like, why is that on your "About" page, you fucking weirdos?!

So I'm at a loss. I'm sure (absolutely positive) there's info to be found here about this deeply shitty organization, but I think I'd have to spend hours and hours looking for weird connections, because they seem oddly reticent to tell casual visitors to their website anything about anything. And that weirds me the hell out. Who are these fucks?! Who is reading these (deeply shitty) articles they're writing?! Who funds them?! Why don't they have any board members listed where I can find them?!

I'd suggest you try it! Actual "irreversible" (I hate that word, thanks Abigail Shrier!) physical changes won't happen for a couple of months, but you'll feel different, like, your emotions will hit different, pretty immediately (probably a week or two) and that will likely help you decide whether to stick with it.

I wasn't sure about hormones when I started. I wanted to stay on long enough for my voice to change (I'm transmasc, that's a thing that happens with T), but other than that I was very much like "eh" about all the rest of the physical changes. But once I started it was pretty clear that T is indeed the answer for me, I felt better, a lot better, in indefinable, hard to explain ways. And even the physical changes I was pretty apprehensive about (bottom growth?! facial hair?!), yeah, it turns out they're cool, I don't mind them in the least.

Long story short, hormones are good for me, and I only really truly understood that after taking the plunge and starting them. I suggest it. Give it a go. If it doesn't feel right after a week or two, then stop, that's fine, no harm done.

That is great! I hope that catches on! I know I will do it from now on (on all the many, many videos I post (I think I've posted only a single one in all the time I've been on hexbear, I am making a joke (I don't post videos (really I don't post, I'm a commenter at heart))))

Oddly enough, I had the same experience with Dark Souls! It took dozens of hours on both 1 and 3 before it actually finally "clicked" for me, but now I love them (even 2) and do replays not infrequently (thinking of doing another one soon, actually). I am basically entirely a singleplayer gamer, so we have opposite experiences there, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a multiplayer game (well, unless you count Untitled Goose Game which I played through with my sister, you can cause so much extra havoc with two geese! Very fun!)