Through out their history the Jedi functioned primarily as counselors, diplomats, and philosophers. Though trained in self defense with a lightsaber, they've never sought roles as military constant, much less were trained in warfare.

So with the advent of the Clone Wars, who decided leadership of the armies would fall to the Jedi? And not, say, any number of military or militia commanders that existed within the Republic? Who among the Jedi Council accepted the responsibility, or even advocated for it?

Yes, we all know *why* leadership fell to the Jedi, we know the conspiracy enacted by Palpatine. What I'm asking is, how did it practically develop?

Just had another sleep study. And after rounds of tests, it's been determined that:

• I have severe Central Sleep Apnea

• AHI during sleep studies averages 97 AHI, worsening to 118 when on my back

• Scans show no brain damage, lesions, or tumors

• Healthy heart

• No known neurological disorders

• Currently taking no medication

• No history of opioid use

• Not treatment-emergent

• Worsening over the last two years

• I'm certainly not living at a higher altitude

It's been determined I'll need to use a BiPAP with ASV, but further testing is required.

I've also been informed there's no guarantee it will help; air can be forced into my face at high pressure all day, but my brain has to decide it wants to take a breath, and it seems thoroughly disinclined to participate.

Understandably enough, I'm desperate and scared. I'm looking at supplements like resveratrol and CoQ10.

I suspect my brain simply isn't appropriately sensitive or responsive to CO2 levels, or there's some faulty chemo-receptor somewhere in need of the world's smallest engineer.

(Maybe my lifelong struggle with anxiety and panic attacks have altered my brain's relationship with CO2 levels? Brain, I need you to deal with your avoidant relationship style with these molecules.)

The strangest thing is how much variability there is in my day-to-day energy levels. Some days I'll be the walking dead and will call out of work because I don't trust myself behind the wheel. Other days I feel refreshed and amazing and like a Real Boy again.

Oddly, after discontinuing Fluoxetine several months ago, I slept amazingly well for 4 weeks, but then the same variable energy level pattern returned. I want that neurochemical Black Swan cocktail back.

I don't really know what the point of this post is. Partially venting and giving voice to my frustration and anxiety, partly an open journal entry. A small irrational part of me hopes a neurology prodigy will stumble across this and say, "I know exactly what's happening, and here's the treatment!"

Some people fantasize about expensive cars and ruling the world. I fantasize about breathing in my sleep. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tl;dr: No matter how hard I study, I can never seem to pass. 

STORY SECTION

For the last few years my quality of sleep has dipped drastically. At the advice of my doctor I pursued a sleep study to assess whether or not I had apnea. The first one was a limited success: while it confirmed I had central sleep study, little else could be confirmed, I only slept for about 50 minutes combined. 

I just had my second study performed last night, with a worse outcome: I slept for maybe 25 minutes before ending the study early. No matter what calming rituals I performed, no matter how much melatonin I ate, it was all for naught. 

I really thought it would be different this time, but I was wrong. The tubing, the profusion of EEG and EKG cables, the pulse-ox on my hand, the varying air pressure of the CPAP/BiPAP(ST), the uncomfortable bed, the status indicator lights of all the equipment. 

I felt my muscles gradually tighten up as one thing after another was affixed to my body. My fingers and toes started contorting and clenching on their own. My jaw wouldn't, couldn't relax. Eventually, shuddering waves went up and down my body. 

It was absolute sensory hell.

I am trying so, so very hard to not feel guilt or shame, but it is the hardest thing. I feel as though I've committed some kind of transgression that betrays a deep moral failure in me. So much time and money has been spent toward this, and I -- my mind, my body -- messed it all up. 

SEEKING ADVICE SECTION

Has anyone, ANYONE, had success in evaluating and treating sleep apnea? Have you gotten through a sleep study, either at home or in the clinic? Does anyone have experience with Central apnea? I'm pretty dang desperate.

PS
On the plus side, I feel like I finally have definitive proof of autism. (That's a joke, I'll be right back to feeling like I'm cosplaying in a week.)

In the most recent video, as the Subject is cutting through the cemetery, he happens upon a car, door ajar. He hops in and considers it; we see an overhead light lit, indicating an active battery. And yet he hesitates, eventually turning to the camera and saying, "I don't know..."

We, the audience, naturally fill in the blank: "It feels like a trap."

He then focuses the camera on a Nester just around the corner. Waiting.

In the beach episode it's strongly implied Nesters can influence electronics. Their radio emissions are more than just communication, it's an ability that can be used as a weapon --

I think some Nesters are strong enough to kill car batteries.

That in itself is more than enough to kill somebody, the car hurtling forward without control. Even if somebody can react fast enough, pulling the e-break, they still need to open the door and stagger out, disoriented, giving forward-thinking Nesters more than enough time to ambush and descend on the driver.

Cars are traps.

The "bad guy", and it comes down to the Trolley Problem.

The trailer introduces Steve Rogers in a very eerie way: Thor has a look full of misgivings, warning lights are flashing red, and the music doesn't switch to a hopeful note. This clashes with Steve's friendly smile and Mjolnir confirming his identity.

So what's going on?

Before Thor or anyone else in the Avengers cast encounter Steve, I think Dr. Doom contacted Steve and explained his solution to the crisis, a plan that would save the greatest number of lives. Unfortunately, that excludes everyone in the MCU and X-Men timelines. Dr. Doom may have also arranged it so Steve and his family will be saved.

Mjolnir still responds to Steve because he's working to save as many people as possible; Doom's plan is *objectively* the best solution. But that still puts him at odds with the rest of the Avengers.

In the end, I think the Avengers will succeed in disrupting Doom's plans, leading to Doom attempting to salvage the situation and create Battle World. At the conclusion of Secret Wars, the Avengers will have to admit Doom was right, and they'll have to make their own "impossible choice" -- many will lose their lives, their very universe, in crafting a new one. Steve Rogers will survive, and he'll have to carry the guilt of his choices with him.

Hello! I'm wrestling with a magic system of mine, Shu Nyada. I've been much more interested in addressing its philosophical, thematic, and visual foundations rather than the mechanics of the system itself, but consider it high time I fix that.

In line with a core theme of ecosystems, Shu Nyada magic and the psyche are intimately connected -- specifically, the internal, psychic ecosystem of a caster directly influences their relationship with magic. (I'm imagining an inner psychic world of plants, predators, prey, the whole shebang.) As such, I'm playing around with the possibility of Internal Family Systems, or Parts Work, as having a role in its implementation and usage. However, I don't want to reduce it to a Persona-style system of archetype summoning and familiars.

At the moment, for story purposes, the only use-case it needs to allow for is transferring the awareness of a conscious being from one vessel another. (It doesn't have to be a "clean" transfer, either, it could simply be a duplication of memories.)

One "cost" I'm exploring could be based in casting being directly fed by an emotion, psychological pattern, or a Part. For example, if a spell is cast in anger, it is fueled by that anger, and so for a time anger leaves the caster; if a Part of them that contains grief or loss fuels a spell, the associated pain shall leave them for a while, too. Which could lead to interesting story arcs based in things like addiction, self improvement and identity stasis; what would it be like for a society of mages to simply "get rid of the bad feelings" through casting magic? What safeguards would they develop? What would that culture look like?

Could irresponsible and repeated use of those Parts of self lead to their eventually erasure, like the desertification of a once-fertile land?

Or maybe those emotions and Parts are strengthened? Maybe there's a through line with the idea of "feeding your inner demons"?

And what spells, specifically, would such a system be founded on?

Any thoughts, ideas or insights?

I just finished the anime adaptation and was blown away. Naturally, though, I have a lot of questions, but I want to focus on one:

What was the deal with the arms extending from portals and unleashing the deadly Pink Mist?

Where did that come from? The leader of YUF said it came from yet another alien species, one stronger than the Invaders. Is this ever explained?

Was it just the government of the Invader homeworld getting rid of humanity in order to repopulate the Earth? The Invader homeworld was over populated, so they tossed the undesirables into the sabotaged Mothership and sent them to Earth to die. This suggests they're capable of such callous and genocidal action.

Also, what was The Source, exactly? A digital afterlife created by the Invaders?

I had a turbinate coblation and lateralization performed a few weeks ago. Two days later the effects were immediate and dramatic - I could breath easily through my nose! I didn't know breathing through your nose WASN'T supposed to be a struggle!

The best part: I began sleeping AMAZINGLY well. I would maybe wake up once during the night, but that was it.

After so long, I've started feeling like a REAL human being. I can't express just how incredible it's been.

But then .. several days ago, I started feeling a little stuffy. And today, breathing through my nose takes effort. Not as much of a struggle as it was before, but close to. I also woke up repeatedly last night.

I was under the impression tissue regrowth took months, if not years.

Is this a normal part of the healing process? Can swelling occur so hard and fast as to counter the benefits of reduction surgery?

And no, it's not Empty Nose Syndrome.

As we travel to Unity Hospital, we find an outpost with a voice recording. A feminine voice tells us she's reached the end of her Vocation (read: usefulness) and is activating the "Talos Protocol".

In Greek myth, Talos was a man of bronze forged by Hephaestus to guard Crete. We don't get any elaboration on the Talos Protocol, but I think I know what it is.

The Talos Protocol is where a Traveler is broken down into a nanobot swarm to construct an Outpost. But there's more to it than that.

Yes, outposts act as safe points, armories, and R&D centers. But I think there's a metaphor to be found here; it's communism eating up the individual "for the common good". Moreover, I think it acts as a microcosm for the Collective; it devours energy and strictly rations resources for our use. Finally, it is always watching us on behalf of the Collective proper.

Out of desperation, I recently discontinued Prozac to see if it would help my sleep apnea. After tapering off, I slept amazingly well and felt energized for about three or four weeks. I thought, "Great, it was the SSRI causing the CSA, I can have a life now!"

But the apnea seems to have come back with a vengeance; these last couple weeks have been terrible, some of the absolute worse nights I've ever had, consecutively.

Are there things that can worsen CSA? Does melatonin have an impact on severity? What other factors can make it worse?

I'm due for another sleep study to be fitted for a CPAP in about two months, but in all honesty, I almost feel like I won't make it that long without something to keep me going in the meantime.

Hello! When I found out a new Easy mode was available, I tried giving Cronos another go. Unfortunately, I'm finding I'm still running into an issue; some assets (walls, rocks, textures) are missing. I can see clear through a cliff side because parts of it are simply missing.

Has anyone else had this issue? Are my files corrupt? If so, why would uninstalling and re-installing it months later not resolve the issue?

Well, Guardians, it's been a wild ride.

Destiny has rarely been forthcoming with answers, so we've had to come up with our own.

So, as the years passed, we pored over every line of dialog, analysed every lore entry, and dissected environmental designs, all for an idea as to what the HELL was going on.

What are some of your favorite theories you've come up with or read about, whether or not they wound up being true?

As for me, I always loved the idea that Ghosts were a combination of the Traveler's Light and the Witness's plural consciousness. I also used to think each Pyramid "ship" was actually a Finalized timeline, each universe rendered into a utalitarian Final Shape. 😂

I have a turbinate surgery scheduled for next month, and a second sleep test the following month. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, I'm almost done with this crap...

BUT THAT DOESN'T HELP ME RIGHT NOW 😞

How do you cope?

Especially on the worse nights, leading to feeling like a zombie the next day? When coffee just doesn't do anything? What do you do to make life bearable? How do you get yourself to function? What are your tips, tricks, hacks, and indulgences?

I've been reviewing my life story as I start working with a new therapist.

As with most people raised by neglectful parents, it's sometimes hard for me to identify things that they did (and didn't do) that effected me. Sometimes when approaching a particular topic, I'll feel this "psychic pushback", as though there's a wall of some sort preventing me from fully feeling or addressing or acknowledging something.

And I think I may have identified one of those walls and what lies beyond it.

I feel shame for even addressing it; I don't know if I have the "right" to feel frustrated at this, to have had it effect me the way I think it has.

For much of my life my mother was ill. In my early years she was diagnosed with cancer and diabetes. (I'm also certain she had untreated depression, and probably CPTSD from a bad childhood of her own.) Fortunately these were both addressed; diabetic management became routine, and the cancer treated and went into full remission.

But I recognize now a pattern emerged that she used more and more: she'd prevent me from doing things, from seeing friends, from placing boundaries, from trying to gain independence, from taking advantage of life-changing opportunities. And a common thread and threat was this:

I need you. I'm sick. I'm going to die soon, and you're selfish to steal my time away from you.

And of course, I couldn't say no, I couldn't disagree. Because she was right. Trying to be my own person was self-centered of me, especially when she couldn't take care of herself. I was supposed to be there and take care of her, no matter how increasingly dysfunctional she became. No matter how much she increasingly lashed out at me as I grew up. No matter the fact she said I was selfish for going to college, that in "leaving her" I proved to her I should have died instead of my father. For doing things even a trauma therapist asked me to stop talking about.

I couldn't say no. Right?

There are so, so many things that happened, this is but one thread in a tapestry of trauma and hurt and shame. So many things eroded my love for her over the years until one night it simply vanished...

One night, several years after my father's passing, my mother admitted something to me. She admitted to "choosing" to become dysfunctional. Years before, my father opted to take one job opportunity over another, and it didn't work out. This angered my mother to no end. So in retaliation, as she phrased it, she just "stopped". She stopped taking care of me. Stopped taking care of the house. Stopped trying to find a job. Stopped taking care of herself. She said, and I quote, "I blamed your father for our financial situation. If we were going to get out of it, it would be under his own power. And if we stayed there, it would be because of him, too."

Left unspoken and unaddressed, of course, was how that would effect me. A child.

In that moment, felt what little lover I had for her flicker out, like a candle in the wind.

Even today, I question everything she admitted to me. How much of her dysfunction was "planned"? How much of that "confession" was a desperate attempt at claiming power over her circumstances, creating a narrative where she was in charge of her life and body? How much of what she said was true, and what does that mean for the kind of person she truly was?

Even now I feel like I'm grasping at straws, looking for excuses, trying to paint myself as the victim of imagined circumstances. That I never had any right to complain or pull away. That I truly am, and was, selfish, and that I'm deranged for even thinking to blame her for using her health against me.

EDIT

Ugh, I'm sorry, I meant for this to just be a simple question and it turned into a rant.

I just finished The Beast (damn, that last fight is probably the most annoying one I've ever had) and anticipated a long epilog tying everything up neatly. And...

Nope.

So now I have to ask, in case I missed a note or dialog somewhere: >!who was Olivia's father?!<

>!What happened with him? I feel like so much attention was brought to him as part of Olivia's backstory that we'd get a reveal of some sort -- maybe he was a character returning from a previous game, maybe the Baron executed him, maybe he'd serve as a sequel hook -- but I found absolutely no answers.!<

What did I miss?

I loved Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop and have been itching for more. Under the Whispering Door also scratched that itch. Any other suggestions?

I'll be leaving on vacation shortly and am looking for a book to keep me company. I revisited my love for Project Hail Mary and am hoping for more: something heartwarming; maybe a focus on exploration, wonder and awe; something smart. While I normally don't shy from heavy material, I'm hoping for a book that will leave me feeling positive.

I usually read sci-fi and fantasy, so that's my preferred genre, but I'm not too opposed to venturing outside it.

How do the player characters from Diablo 1, 2, 3, Immortal, and 4 compare against each other?

Is the D3 Nephalem still considered the strongest of the player characters? Has the D4 hero surpassed them? How does the party of D2 compare to them?

Hello! I've had an academic interest in alchemy and how its processes have influenced esoteric traditions, myth, and even psychology.

Now please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems a great deal of attention is given to the process of purification and distillation, the goal of which is to leave behind only that which is pure. But little attention seems to be given to that which is unwanted.

Is any attention ever given to the dregs of that process? The chemical and physical leavings, the spiritual castoff (especially as related to Behmenism mysticism), the psychological impurities?