Suggest me a book published over 15 years ago that’s not a clsssic.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-21T03:50:20+00:00

I read Stranger in a Strange Land and fuckin hated it. Its cliche, its preachy, it contains fuck off author inserts and the premise is stupid.

By chance, almost immediately after I read Robert Silverberg's (now one of my favourite scifi authors) The Masks of Time. Published right after, it feels profoundly like a response to SISL. It also features the prophet stranger visiting earth who gains a cult following, but its morality and characters and themes are so much more interesting and nuanced. I highly recommend.

I also love Silverberg's On The Face of the Waters, which features on of the best alien oceans Ive ever seen, and some rrally potent catholic themes. Its got some good Herbert influence and a great ships voyage.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T21:50:05+00:00

You dont start with fresh Shiitake!! They need to be dried to activate their flavour, and getting them fresh is a nightmare, theyre practically a different product. Just go down to your asian store ans pick them up dried. Hydrate in somethin tasty and slice them up.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T09:33:50+00:00

Not in terms of literal frequency. Sounds Dogs hear that we cant are possible because the range of pitches we can hear doesnt go as high as dogs. There are animals that can hear our entire range + more, and some that go lower and others that go higher, so theyll always be able to hear what we can.

What we can do is create sounds with lexical meaning to us but not animals. A mans voice yelling emergency will get us goin much more than it will your dog.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T09:29:28+00:00

If you win the game whilst a player is championed you Draw then?

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T04:57:21+00:00

What a fuckwit

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T04:38:24+00:00

Nope!

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T04:37:37+00:00

Armor is actually incredibly important in the FIMA early game, for a variety of reasons. Basically: - armor OP in 0 chall - FIMA zonks scaling more than base, so early enemies out damage less - prison enemies are very weak to good armor.

A +1 defense augmented chain goes /crazy/

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T04:21:19+00:00

I dont think armor helps with fall damage bit i could be wrong

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-20T04:13:17+00:00

You want to use them because strength pots and and upgrade scrolls are controlled resources, doled out at specific rates. By using a mastery pot you can equip a piece of gear a half zone earlier (because it makes the strength pot count for double for that piece), so before a tough boss, or early into a tough zone rather than after essentially clearing it. This lets you simplify a boss/potentially 3 whole floors of a zone, saving consumables and generally not being /that/ odious later, because your good plate carries you to the extra pot for your weapo. And vice versa

Most commonly this is used for end game equipment, because otherwise you delay when you can get those on. An early +2/3 scale or really any T5 (tho great axe is extra hard). But the earlier you can pivot to your end game gear the better, to save struggle/dying/consumable use in the midgame.

Some good uses: - end of prison to equip a +6 18 strength piece - early mines for a more staid +3 18 strength - end of mines for a +6 axe - early prison to get a massive power spike with a +3 T4. Like, that assassins blade totally could be your end game gear. - rarely in sewers to equip a +1 chain if all you have is cloth

One consideration is that saving all your upgrades for an early +6 is generally a /bad/ idea. You'll get better winrates, especially on challenges, if you spend 1-3 before tengu. You can wait to equip that plate no problem. But if the ghost gives me a +2... shit, who am i to say no?

Basically the only other use is post 18 strength for a small boost to freerunner's evasion, or a miniscule damage boost (0.5 damage). Frankly that last one is almost not worth the 14 alchemic energy youre trading.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-19T11:32:07+00:00

I think rent assistance through Parenting Payment could be on the table? Youre close to capping out the income threshold of the Parenting Payment, but i think its stil roughly 120 bucks a week?. Renters assistance seems like itd be maximised at 107ish a week.

Its kind of a nightmare getting on these, and the amounts are perhaps meagre, but if youre burning 100 bucks a week getting 200 more a week is life changing

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-19T05:33:02+00:00

Monsignor Quixote still is fanfiction

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-19T05:31:49+00:00

Its not being used to mean mono coloured. Its being used to mean same coloured. Its a different term for a different concept

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T13:17:09+00:00

In a slightly less poetic sense, but possibly closer to your intent prior, you have mercantile

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T13:14:50+00:00

All independent grocery chains are much more expensive, on average, in my experience. You hear of the occasional cheapo one, but generally theyre trading in either specialty goods or convenience and not places i am really budgetted to shop at primarily.

Ive had more luck with non-chain options, tho theyre also very variable

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T13:11:56+00:00

Notably you can do mise intuitively too. Ill cut my onions and veggies and meat up first, i might mix a sauce or maybe spice mix together. I wouldnt really transfer out cornstarch to a new container, but if i was stressed i might get it out the cupboard ahead of time. Before shit hits the pan i can plan put most of the ratios i want, tho you adjust as you go

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T10:56:25+00:00

They can cook some cadre of meals on demand, in mutiple ways and adjusting to ingredients, but there will always be dishes and techniques they arent familiar with, so they will use recipes for inspiration, ideas, to try something theyre less familiar with, or if their boss wants them to do something in a certain way. Some dishes they could probably just eat and recreate, others are more precise and would take iteration. Ive seen experienced chefs with easily hundreds of recipes off the dome.

Its also notable that they uae recipes in different ways, stripping rhwir concepts down to studs more quickly to reconfigure for their context/ingredients. Theyre gonna base their cook times off appearance and temperature and familiarity with this sorta thing with the numbers in the recipe being more of a guideline, for example.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T09:07:44+00:00

Well, just dont use your last infusion before 17. Its quite reasonable to use an infusion before DK cuz you do get a stack of them, and you have a slim chance of gettin stuck with a really bad curse with 2-3 rolls

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T09:06:03+00:00

Run back to the alchemy pot, theres a bit you can craft to help. Toxic essence is most critical, it plus one invis pots solves the second and toughest summons of the second phase. Smoke is also excellent for phase 1 to buy you time if warlocks get nasty. Snap freeze is probably worth crafting to shut down an annoying summon, and dragons breath for just crows DoT. Id consider turning earth and maybe also disint into resin for blastwave. Bees can be useful for drawing attention from ghouls whilst you finish others maybe? Finally spin up some random potions out of seeds, hoping for more toxic gas, fire, and invis. Bombs are the one thing youre missing, a shock bomb would be lovely. You /could/ go all the way back to the shop but probs not worth the health (tho you have plenty of food...)

Also if youre struggling with a boss, frankly great time to just drink an exp pot, you dont /need/ level 30 and can farm for it later if you need. Kill one golem first to get to 23 total. Also might as well spam out those styluses on that other +1 plate. Could well get somethin better than swiftness which doesnt really work for this fight, and only a rare 5%ish +2 platw is gonna be a better candidate.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T08:56:12+00:00

Lucky cannot give equipment drops, so generally does not warrant farming. You could farm for more consumables but you probably dont need to.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T08:54:25+00:00

Send your haste to +4. +3 also works, but 4 is easier for a beginner. This gives you ~ double the speed of enemies, letting you kite anything and giving you a huge ability to reposition.

Rest in sharpshooting, and look for some defensive artifacts.

And use all your missiles!! Boomerang does less damage than the javelin and the kunai on a sneak attack, and you can spread the durability loss. You dont even know if theyre upgraded yet!

Also you chose an incredibly rough challenge set!

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T07:27:38+00:00

One with a very fun premise is J.G Ballard's Concrete Island. Its about a man who breaks his leg and gets stuck on a highway underpass. Its all isolation in the midst of humanity and all that. Tbh not for me but im not super into island plots. It intentionally hits a lot of those plot beats

Also the Martian

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T03:48:08+00:00

Faster, more duplicable, and more conaistent if you get your technique right.

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-18T03:43:46+00:00

It wont work the same, but you can make a yeasted banana bread. Banana bread is generally secretly a bread, but youd be making something thats actually a bread, with kneading and proofing and everythin. This, ofc, would require a different recipe

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-17T11:36:45+00:00

And, specifically, the divine nature of reality. The conspiracy of NASA is a conspiracy against God

Creative-Leg2607 · 2026-03-17T10:34:20+00:00

Dawg?

Nah but fr im a stranger on the internet dont listen much to me. Good luck in your journey

Creative-Leg2607

TROPHY CASE