⚠️ WARNING: Maasverse Spoilers—Proceed with Caution ⚠️

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Part 1: Characters and Courts - YOU ARE HERE
Part 2: World Map, Items, Terms & Other
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Well, here we go. A master list of all things ACOTAR + the "real" world.

Now, do I believe every single name and location on this list was chosen by SJM with a specific real-world allusion in mind? Of course not. But when you look at the similarities, you'd be hard pressed to deny some of their very probable relations.
As far as this list goes, I've provided what was within my ability to find—coupling each with that which made the most sense relationally—though several definitions would appear to have zero connection to the story at large.
I can't promise perfection. Heck, I can't even promise 100% accuracy (though I did cross-reference the more obscure sources). And I will gladly welcome any missing pieces and/or additional insight you may have.
\Note: If a character or place/item is minor enough, I've included a reminder of their book roles.*

So come on, friends. Let's dive on in.

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UK + IRELAND

PRYTHIAN

A combination of Prydain, the old Welsh name for Britain, and Brython, which translates to “Ancient Britons” from Welsh.

HYBERN

A riff of Hibernia, the Classical Latin name for Ireland.

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Artist of Prythian map: P-dulcis on redbubble

*A continuing list of world map related locations is provided in Part 2 of this post (see link above)

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MAIN CHARACTERS

RHYSAND

Rhys (also Rhŷs) is Welsh in origin and means "ardent, enthusiasm." It has deep roots in Welsh culture and is the name of several famous Welsh kings and noblemen, including Rhys ap Thomas, a solider who rose to prominence during the Wars of the Roses.

FEYRE ARCHERON

Feyre is a variant of Feyre and is Old English in origin. It means "fair, beautiful." A similar name in Old Norse is Freyja (also spelled Freya), meaning "Lady," denotes a woman of nobility. In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, and war.
In Greek mythology, the Archeron is one of the five rivers of the Underworld and is often the principal river through which the ferryman Charon transports the dead. It said to be the River of Woe or the River of Misery.

CASSIAN

Cassian is Latin in origin, means "son of Cassius," and denotes one of the oldest families in Rome. Arguably the most well known Cassius was one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination plot.

AZRIEL

Azriel is Hebrew in origin meaning "God is my help." In some religions, Azrael is the benevolent angel of death who carries souls of the deceased to the afterlife.

MORRIGAN

The Morrígan is a Celtic goddess associated with war and fate and is seen as a guardian of the earth and its people. Her name means "great queen" or "phantom queen."

AMREN

Amram is of Hebrew origin and means "exalted people." It is the Biblical name of Moses' father.
Note: This tracks with Amren being able to interpret The Book of Breathings which is a play on the very real The Books of Breathing, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary texts.

NESTA

Nesta is the Welsh version of Agnes meaning "pure, holy." May also have potential connections to Nestor, a legendary Greek king who was known as a great warrior and for the sage advice he offered younger soldiers.

ELAIN

Elain is Welsh in origin and means "fawn." Elaine is associated with the Greek name Helen meaning "light, bright one."
Fun fact: Elain is an anagram of Aelin.

NYX

Nyx is the Greek mythological goddess and personification of the Night. She is the mother of Day (Hemera) and Darkness (Erebus). She often appears alongside other celestial deities such as Selene, Helios, and Eos.

ILLYRIANS

EMERIE

Emerie has Old German origins and means "home strength, brave, powerful."

ENALIUS

In Greek mythology Enyalius is a son of Ares but is also a byname for the god of war. He is often seen as the god of soldiers and warriors from the Ares cult.

DEVLON

Devlon is Gaelic in origin and related to the name Devlin meaning "fierce courage."

BALTHAZAR

Balthazar is Akkadian in origin meaning "God protects the King." It is a name commonly attributed to the wise man who gifted myrrh to the Christ child (the myrrh symbolizing the future death of a king). It is an alternate form of King Belshazzar who played a pivotal role in a coup d'état that overthrew a Neo-Babylonian king.
ACOTAR role: Balthazar helped Nesta during the Blood Rite.

PROTEUS

Proteus is a prophetic sea god in Greek mythology and means "versatile, mutable, capable of assuming many forms."
ACOTAR role: Proteus is Emerie's father and was killed in the war with Hybern.

BELLIUS

May refer to Belus, the Babylonian god of war.
ACOTAR role: Bellius is Emerie's cousin and was slain by Cassian during the Blood Rite.

KALLON

No clear references found, but kalon in Ancient Greek translates to "ideal perfect beauty."
ACOTAR role: Kallon incited the Illyrians against the Night Court leaders and was ultimately slain during the Blood Rite.

HEWN CITY

KEIR

Keir is Gaelic, meaning "dark," and is related to the Irish name Ciarán. In Greek mythology, the Keres (singular being Ker) were female death spirits who personified violent death. There is a suggested connection between the Keres and the Valkyries of Norse mythology, each representing opposite ideals; the Valkyries being benevolent deities in death, versus the Keres representing feasting destruction.

THANATOS

In Greek mythology, Thanatos is the personification of death. He is a minor figure, often referred to but rarely appearing in person (I see what you did there, SJM).
ACOTAR role: Thanatos is mentioned briefly by Keir during the alliance meeting with Eris.

THE LIBRARY

CLOTHO

In ancient Greek mythology, Clotho is the youngest goddess of the Three Fates and spins the thread of human life. Her name means "spinner."

MERRILL

Merrill is of British origin meaning "sparkling sea, sea-bright."

GWYNETH BERDARA

Gwyneth is Welsh in origin and means "blessed, happiness." In Irish mythology, the Lady Gwyn is a headless woman (cough, Catrin, cough) who chases wanderers at night. In Arthurian mythology, Guinevere has an evil half-sister—"False" Guinevere—who bewitches Arthur.

ANANKE

Ananke means "necessity, fate personified." In Greek mythology she is one of the primordial deities and is the personification of necessity and inevitability.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

DEIRDRE

Deirdre is Gaelic in origin and means "broken-hearted, wanderer." The name is associated with a tragic heroine in Irish mythology.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

ILANA

Illana is Hebrew in origin nd means "tree, bright light." It stems from the name Elena and is potentially related to the name Ileana, a beautiful young female fairy in various myths.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

LORELEI

Lorelei in German in origin and means "alluring, temptress." In German folklore, she is a siren-like seductress.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

ROSLIN

Roslin is Scottish in origin and means "rose, red-haired."
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

RIVEN

Riven derives from Old Norse meaning "to split, tear asunder."
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who avoids contact with strangers and whose background is unknown.

SIDE CHARACTERS

MADJA

Madja is Slavic in origin and may mean "splendid, noble one." In Arabic it means "the women with glory." It is related to the name Madeleine meaning "from Magdala."

NUALA

Nuala is Irish in origin and means "fair shouldered one." In modern Irish storytelling it means "born of the sea." It is considered a diminutive form of the name Fionnuala, a mythological figure who was the daughter of a sea god.

CERRIDWEN

Cerridwen is an enchantress in Welsh mythology. She is said to possess the cauldron of poetic inspiration and is regarded by many as the Celtic goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration.

RITA

Rita stems from the name Margarita and comes from the Greek word meaning "pearl." The Greeks promoted pearls as a symbol of honesty and integrity.
ACOTAR role: Rita owns the "how does the IC not know the clientele is gay" bar.

SEVENDA

No clear connection found, though venda in Latin means "sell" while sev means "strew, spread" and enda means "end." Could also potentially be related to the number seven.
ACOTAR role: Owns a restaurant the IC frequents.

NEVE

Neve is of Latin origin and means "snow."
ACOTAR role: The jeweler from whom Rhys buys jewelry for Amren in ACOFAS.

POLINA

Polina has Latin origins and derives from Apollo, though it could also be seen as a variant of Paulina/Paul meaning "little, the younger."
ACOTAR role: The faerie who owned Feyre's art studio before her untimely death.

RESSINA

Resina means "resin of the pine." Plants secret resin as a protective response, guarding them from insects and pathogens.
ACOTAR role: Ressina opens the art studio with Feyre. She has green skin and stood outside her shop in response to Hybern's attack on Velaris, protecting the terrified faeries inside.

ARANEA

Aranea is Greek in origin and denotes a genus of orb-weaving spiders.
ACOTAR role: Aranea is the weaver who created the Void cloth.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

TAMLIN

From the "Ballad of Tam Lin," a legendary ballad from the borderlands of Scotland. Reminiscent of the fairytale Beauty & the Beast where a mortal woman plucks a rose and encounters a man in the forest, later learning he is captive to faeries. She must hold onto him as he is transformed into various beasts and upon his rescue, the faerie Queen muses that she should have taken out his eyes (Lucien, anyone?) or capture his heart (Tamlin's stone heart) to prevent his escape.

LUCIEN

Lucien is French in origin and means "light." Lucian was also the name of a Hellenized Syrian satirist who was known for his tongue-in-cheek style is said to be the inventor of comic dialogue.

ALIS

Alis is a variant of Alice and translates to "noble, exalted."

SIDE CHARACTERS

IANTHE

Ianthe is Greek in origin and means "she who delights." In Greek mythology she is a water-nymph daughter of Oceanus and a companion to Persephone when she was abducted by Hades.

ANDRAS

Andras has Welsh origins and means "manly, brave."

BRON

Bron is Old English and means "brown."

HART

Hart has Irish origins and means "hero, brave, firm." A hart is also the term for a male deer and in Celtic mythology, the white hart is said to appear when one is transgressing a taboo (Tamlin's whipping of his other sentry comes to mind).

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MAIN CHARACTERS

BERON VANSERRA

Beron is French in origin and is a pet form of the name Bero meaning "bear."
Vanserra is a combination of the prefix van meaning "from, of" and serra meaning "saw, view from a high place" or "mountain range." Vanserra can be said to mean "of the mountains."

ERIS

In ancient Greek mythology, Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her Roman equivalent, Discord, is the goddess of chaos. She is associated with the war goddess Enyo who is frequently associated with the war god Ares.

SIDE CHARACTERS

JESMINDA

Jesminder is Indian in origin meaning "flower queen."

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MAIN CHARACTERS

TARQUIN

Tarquin is of Latin origin and means "ruler, strong soldier." Two of the seven kings of Rome bore the name.

VARIAN

Varian is of Latin origin and means "variable."

CRESSEIDA

Cressida derives from Chryseis and means "golden." She is a character associated with the Trojan War and is the archetype of a faithless lover.

SIDE CHARACTERS

NOSTRUS

Nostrum comes from the Latin noster meaning "our, ours." Nostos is an Ancient Greek literary theme concerning an epic hero returning home, often by sea. It is deemed a high level of heroism or greatness and focuses on the hero retaining or elevating their identity while often resisting temptation.
ACOTAR role: The High Lord prior to Tarquin who was slain by Amarantha after participating in a rebellion Under the Mountain.

BRUTIUS

May refer to the Latin name Brutus meaning "heavy, dull."
ACOTAR role: Mercifully slain by Rhys Under the Mountain after his attempted escape.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

HELION

Helios is the Ancient Greek god personifying the sun. He is often depicted with a solar crown and drives a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. He played a significant role in ancient magic and spells and is the son of the Titan Theia and brother to Selene.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

KALLIAS

Callias is Greek in origin and means "beauty, beautiful voice." He is a diplomatic and wealthy figure in Ancient Greece.

VIVIANNE

From the Latin word vivianus meaning "alive." Commonly associated with the Irish name Bébinn meaning "beautiful, fair one" and is the name of an underworld goddess in both Irish and Welsh mythology.

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THESAN

Thesan is the Etruscan goddess of the dawn. Greeks identified her with Eos, the goddess and personification of the dawn. She is sometimes depicted with wings.

NUAN

Nuan is Mandarin and means "warm, genial."

THE PEREGRYN

The peregrine is a falcon renowned for its speed.
Fun fact: The peregrine is the fastest member of the animal kingdom and can reach speeds of over 200mph.

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AMARANTHA

Amaranths is Greek in origin and means "unfading." The amaranthus flower, often deep red in color, is said to symbolize immortality as it blooms for so long.

BRANNAGH

Brannagh is of Irish origin and denotes a "beautiful female with hair dark as a raven."

DAGDAN

In Irish mythology, the Dagda is considered the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. His name means "the good god, the great god."

CLYTHIA

In Greek mythology, Clytia is a water nymph who loved the sun god Helios. Helios left her for another woman after coming under the influence of Aphrodite. Clytia exposed the affair to the other woman's father, but eventually lost herself in mourning for Helios's love. Her name means "glorious, renowned."
ACOTAR role: Amarantha's sister.

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HISTORICAL FIGURES

THEIA

Theia is a Titan and is the Ancient Greek goddess of sight and vision. She is the parent of Helios, Selene, and Eos. She is most known not for her own role, but for that of her childrens'. Her name means "goddess, godly."

SILENE

Selene is the Ancient Greek goddess and personification of the moon. She is the daughter of Hyperion and Theia and sister to Helios and Eos.

HELENA

Comes from the Green name Helen meaning "shining light." There are various Helens in Greek mythology: Helen of Troy, Helen a friend to Aphrodite, and Helene the Amazonian who fought Achilles.

FIONN

Fionn is of Irish origin and means "fair-haired." In Irish folklore, Fionn Mac Cumhaill was a leader of a band of young hunter-warriors.

PELIAS

Pelias is Greek in origin and means "rock pigeon." Pelias was the king of Ioclus while Peleus was the king of Phthia. Peleus was husband to Thetis, father to Achilles, and left several (men and women) dead in his wake, both through means of accident and betrayal, fleeing more than once to escape punishment.

OLEANNA

Oleanna derives from the Greek name Helene meaning "sun ray, shining light."
ACOTAR role: The High Priestess who dipped Gwydion in the Cauldron.

REPORTED DECEASED

CATRIN BERDARA

Catrin is Greek in origin and means "clear, pure." It's commonly used in Wales and is connected with the ancient goddess Hecate, who is the goddess of witchcraft, sorcery, and necromancy.

MINOR CHARACTERS

TANWYN

Tanwan is of Welsh origin and means "white fire."
ACOTAR role: Tanwyn was a Valkyrie and Cassian's former lover.

OSIAN

Osian is Welsh meaning "young deer" and derives from the Irish legendary poet and warrior Oisín, who was regarded as the greatest poet of Ireland and a warrior of the Fianna (small warrior-hunter bands). He was a demigod son of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Sadhbh.
ACOTAR role: The author of A Brief History of the Great Sieges

RABATH

Rabath is an anagram of Bharat, one of the names of India. Derived from the Sanskrit word bharata, meaning "to bear, be maintained" it can also mean "one who is engaged in search of knowledge."
ACOTAR role: Lord of the Western Wind and ancestor to Merrill.

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JURIAN

Jurian is Greek in origin and means "farmer, earthworker."

GRAYSEN

Graysen is of English origin and translates to "son of the steward/gray-haired man."

NOLAN

Nolan is Irish in origin and denotes a "child of nobility, champion."
ACOTAR role: Nolan is Graysen's father.

ISAAC HALE

Isaac is Hebrew in origin and means "one who laughs or rejoices." Hale is Old English in origin and means "nook, recess" and denoted someone who lived in a nook or hollow.

TOMAS MANDRAY

Thomas is Hebrew in origin and means "twin." No clear reference to Mandray, though Mandrew is Greek and means "man, warrior."
ACOTAR role: Tomas was Nesta's former betrothed.

CLARE BEDDOR

Clare is French in origin and means "bright, clear." No reference found for Beddor.

AUNT RIPLEIGH

Ripleigh is Old English and means "shouting man's meadow." It is connected to the name Ripley meaning "strip of clearing in the woods."
ACOTAR role: Aunt Ripleigh is the feigned aunt Feyre takes care of.

Ms. Laurent

Laurent is French in origin and means "from Laurentum" and "bay laurel."
ACOTAR role: Ms. Laurent is the mortal caretaker of the Archeron estate.

BRIAR

Briar is of British origin and means "thorny bush of wild roses, brambles."
ACOTAR role: Briar is the mortal woman rescued by Feyre and Azriel.

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HUMAN QUEENS

VASSA

Vasilissa is Greek in origin and means "queen, empress." It is also the name of a Christian child martyr who was left unharmed during her capture, but after her release was slain in a field as she prayed.

BRIALLYN

Briallen is a Welsh name meaning "primrose." Primrose comes from the Latin word meaning "first" and the primrose flower often represents youth and renewal (SJM, you dog—this may be my favorite tongue-in-cheek naming thing you did).
ACOTAR role: Briallyn is the first queen who enters the Cauldron and is rewarded with immortality as a withered old hag.

DEMETRA

Demeter was the mother of Persephone, an Ancient Greek goddess of the harvest and an emblem of growth.
ACOTAR role: Demetra was the golden queen who provided the mortal half of The Book of Breathings to the Night Court and was subsequently slain by the Attor.

ANDROMACHE

Andromache means "fighter of men." In Greek mythology, she was representative of the suffering of Trojan women during the war and was famous for her virtue and fidelity. Andromache was also the name of a famous Greek Amazonian who fell at Troy.
ACOTAR role: Andromache was the former mortal lover of Mor.

FAE CHARACTERS

DRAKON

Drakon is of Greek origin and means "dragon."

NEPHELLE

In Greek mythology Nephele, meaning "cloud," is a cloud nymph who is considered the goddess of loyalty, generosity, peace, and shyness.

THE SERAPHIM

A seraph is a celestial being regarded as belonging to the highest order of angels in Christian angelology.

HUMAN CHARACTERS

MIRYAM

Miriam of of Hebrew origin and means "sea of sorrow." She is the Biblical daughter of Amram and Jochebed and sister to Aaron and Moses.

URSTIN

No plausible connections found. Potentially an anagram for Rustin, an English name meaning "Rust's estate" or Surtin, a Middle English name meaning "reliable, trustworthy."
ACOTAR role: Urstin is a cousin of the Archerons via their mother.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

THE SURIEL

Suriel is a Hebrew name meaning "God's prince, divine authority." May also reference Sariel, an angel from Judais tradition, one of the seven holy angels. He is considered to be a primordial power invoked for his protective powers.

ATTOR

Possibly an altered form of the German tatter meaning "goblin, puppet." Likely inspired by the Ahool, a bat or primate-like winged cryptid said to live in the jungles of Indonesia.

DEATH GODS

THE BONE CARVER

Self-explanatory.

STRYGA AKA THE WEAVER

Stryzga is a female demon in Slavic mythology similar to a vampire. Stryzga stems from the mythological Strix of Ancient Greece, referring to birds of ill omen (and also witches) who fed on human flesh and blood.

KOSCHEI

Koschei is a common villain in East Slavic tales. He is often given the epithet of "the Immortal, the Deathless" and is said to hide his death inside nested objects for protection. He often takes the role of a malevolent rival figure who competes or entraps a male hero's love interest.
Fun note: The love interest trapping tidbit has interesting connotations for both Lucien (regarding Vassa) and Azriel (regarding Eris). For a breakdown of the Azriel x Koschei scene in ACOSF, see HERE.

PRISON INMATES

BRYAXIS

Bryaxis was a famous Ancient Greek sculptor. His name may mean "delight, lust."

LANTHYS

No information or connections found (and it is KILLING me).

LUBIA

In Albanian mythology, the lubia is a multi-headed, serpentine-like, female watestorm demon-dragon. Her irresistible taste of flesh leans toward that of young girls.
ACOTAR role: Also called Seven-Headed Lubia, imprisoned for preying on girls on the western coast of Prythian.

ANNIS

The Black Annis is a bogeyman in English folklore, depicted as a blue-faced witch with iron claws who has a taste for human flesh, especially that of children.
ACOTAR role: Also called Blue Annis, imprisoned for her craving of female flesh.

VESPERUS

In Greek mythology, Hesperus is the Evening Star. Her Roman equivalent is named Vesper.
ACOTAR role: Vesperus is the Asteri found beneath the Prison.

MINOR CHARACTERS

MIDDENGARD WYRM

Midgard is the realm of human beings in Norse mythology, ie Earth. Wrym is an Old Norse word and refers to a wingless and limbless dragon.

THE BOGGE

Bogge is a Middle English word meaning "frightening specter" from which the term bogeyman originated. Bogeyman have no specific appearance and conceptions vary drastically by culture.
Fun fact: A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore and also derives from the term bogge (Harry Potter facts, yo).

NAGA

Throughout various Asian religious traditions, Angus are a divine or semi-divine race of half-human, half-serpent beings residing in the netherworld.
Fun fact: A female naga is called a Nagi or a Nagini (more HP facts, yo).

MARTAX

A manticore is a Persian mythological creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. The martax describe in ACOTAR has a head like a lion's and three rows of teeth. A manticore has the body of a lion and eats its victims whole with its three rows of teeth. The term manticore stems from Latin and Ancient Greek.

PUCA

Púca is Irish for "spirit, ghost" while puca is Old English for "goblin." They were said to be shape-changers.

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MEALLAN

Meallán is Irish in origin meaning "small pleasant one."
ACOTAR role: Helion's pegasus.

ELLIA

Ellia is of various origins and can translate to "beautiful fairy maiden" with hints to the "Otherworld."
ACOTAR role: Mor's horse.

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For Part 2: World Map, Items, Terms & Other, click HERE

[ Notice: Not my article. Link: https://4womaninthewilderness.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-question-i-was-having-discussion-with.html ]
~A QUESTION:~ I was having a discussion with the brother that used to teach me the bible about 2 Thes 2:4 and he brought up Ezek 28:2, saying that it is the apostates. Can you please assist.
~REPLY:~ 2Thess.2:4

who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Eze.28:2:

Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: In the pride of your heart you say, "I am a god; I sit on the throne of a god in the heart of the seas. But you are a man and not a god, though you think you are as wise as a god.'

You might ask, "If the apostates are ruling on the throne, how is it that un-anointed elders can expel them?". 2Thess.2:4 contains the same trait, "~he~ ~sets~ ~himself up~". This Greek means that he comes into power over all, not just that he thinks of himself as above others. When Psalm 82:7 speaks of their downfall, it confirms that they were ruling. (see also Isa.14:13,14; 63:18) Isaiah 23:8 says about this same identity (ruler of Tyre):

Who has taken this counsel ~against Tyre~, the crowning city, Whose merchants are princes, Whose traders are the ~honorable~ of the earth?

Isa.23:8 brings out that they are "bestowers of crowns"/"crowning city". Do apostates have the power to give others position and authority among the people, as the GB gives it to elders? (Rev.9:7) Do they have "princes", and "merchants" of spiritual goods under them? (Eze.28:5,6,9; Rev.13:17). These identities fit exactly those of Rev.9 and Rev.13. There it is made very clear, that these identities are not rogue rebels, but false prophets with world-wide power and dominion, able to bring "all the earth", including all holy ones, under their power for "3 1/2 times" (Rev.11:2; 13:7; Dan.8:13; Isa.6:11), because rule over the "Temple Courtyard", has been given into the hands of these Gentiles (Jer.12:10).
Where did they receive their throne? Rev.18:7 speaks of the Harlot as also having this power, yet if all these are disfellowshipped individual "apostates"; who is the wild beast that they control and use to hurt the holy ones? Try to keep in mind that unless Yhwh draws someone to the truth, they will remain blind, no matter how well we may explain the truth to them (Rev.3:7; John6:44). All of us absolutely depend upon Holy Spirit to perceive any truth (Rev.7:10; Psalm104:29; John16:13). Think of the witness the Son of God gave mankind (Rev.3:14). Jesus raised the dead! And in response, the religious leaders sought to kill him (John11:44,46,47,53; 12:10).
This is the outcome for all those who stand for truth in our day (Rev.13:15). This is why Jesus told us,

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Mark 8:35

Rev.6:11 shows that all the remnant, ~need to be~ "killed/slain" (Mark 8:35; Rom.6:5), in order to get sealed. How exactly is that happening, to the anointed who are in the Organization, in the "spiritual paradise"? As long as Satan can convince the anointed that they have "peace and security" (1Thess.5:2,3), and they are not destined to follow in the footsteps of Christ (Luke22:28; Rev.14:4; Rom.6:3) Matt.16:21,22,23 then they will not rouse themselves from their drunken stupor. Isa.51:21,22,23; Matt.5:13 It is well worth dying for our reward, which is soon to come! (symbolic-death-by-means-of-world) Love, Pearl

Beginnings. Illustrious. Vivacious. Monstrous. Scintillating. Star-Studded. Nautical. Creeping. Vainglorious. Luminous. Villainous. Venerable. Exuberant. Esteemed. Legendary…. Epic. Wonderful, Briliant, Victorious, Foundational, Iconic!!! Champions. Sixteen of them. One prize. One Ultimate Champion. Who will beat all other winners and become the ultimate winner themselves? As we get ready to close the curtain one last time on Bunny’s Big Brother, let’s find out who is the Shining Star of our champion cast in Bunny’s Pokémon Big Brother CHAMPION ROYALE!
Season Finale: CHAMPION ROYALE!!!
Meet the Cast:
Season 1 – Lance the Escavalier
Season 2 – Carlos the Pangoro
Season 3 – Nickels the Nickit
Season 4 – Xio the Meowscarada
Season 5 – Selene the Lampent
Season 6 – Candy the Wigglytuff
Season 7 – Splaatz the Stunfisk
Season 8 – Dirk the Kricketune
Season 9 – Echo the Arctibax
Season 10 – Mobee the Bewear
Season 11 – Professor Bane the Crobat
Season 12 – Lisette the Solrock
Season 13 – Maeva the Chimeco
Season 14 – Dayley-Jane the Dewgong
Season 15 – DJ Volt Switch the Emolga
Season 16 – Benedict the Chespin
Intro: We are reporting live at the site of Bunny’s Pokémon Big Brother Finale House! The crowd is thick and loud as fans from all over are excited to watch the sixteen champions enter the house LIVE! We stand in Poketopia, home of the Battle Revolution! The Shining Neon Colloseum, in a penthouse suite in the grand city is where the final bout will begin! Here come the Legendary Sixteen right now!!!! Lance the original winner is so stunning in his armor! Carlos has evolved and looks much tougher. Nickels is strutting in conifdent as ever next to Xio, who looks completely unphased by all of the winners around her! Selene fits right in with the bright lights. Looks like Candy is evolved as well and—OH—she tripped over Splaatz. That’s embarrassing and you can tell she isn’t happy even if she’s putting on a smile. Dirk and Echo are next, both eyeing up the competition already. Echo being evolved now already ups his threat level. Mobee gets an uproarious cheer from the crowd! And WOW the Professor gracefully glides over the crowd! He really did escape capture back in Mazda’s Season. Lisette seems to be meditating and Maeva is pumping herself up. She looks a bit snooty now that we know how she really is but we are eager to see how she plays. Dayley-Jane gets another huge cheer from the crowd. She really is a lovable gal ain’t she? DJ clicks a track on the DJ booth to keep one last song playing but then hops out to join the entourage. She’s still keeping up her day job too, so inspiring! Finally, Benedict walks up. Unlike the others, he looks somber. Wonder what his deal is? Oh well, let’s watch them all compete in the bright stadium for the first HOH!
First HOH: In this bright lights HOH, the houseguests all race to complete a task, with the first to complete it knocking someone out of the running. In the first heat, Maeva clears first and knocks out Bane because he came in second and is a huge comp threat. In the next round, Echo wins and takes out Maeva, who just won. Splaatz wins round three by accident and takes out Day, who was big on his original season. Candy wins next and takes out Nickels. Xio takes out DJ, followed by Benedict winning and immediately knocking Xio out. Candy wins again and takes out Dirk. Echo then wins again to take out Candy before she gets too much momentum. Carlos wins and takes out Lance, Mobee then wins and takes out Carlos, Benedict then wins and takes out Mobee! Splaatz wins again and takes out Selene as she is hiding in the background. Lisette wins the next round to take out Benedict. In the final three, Echo wins again and takes out Lisette, as she did a good job hiding til then. In Splaatz versus Echo, the fish surprisingly keeps up with the dragon and at the last second, takes over?!?!?! Splaatz is the first HOH!
Week 1: Splaatz is very confused how he won that last round but Echo comes up and congratulates him. The two get along well and Splaatz works up the courage to ask to be in an alliance, which the dragon happily agrees. Bane goes to Candy to tell her that the villains need to stick together, she agrees and they grab Maeva. She is initially reluctant, not trusting Bane, but she agrees eventually. Mobee goes to monitor the living room like before and DJ flies up to him. They end up chatting and realize they enjoy each other. At the nomination ceremony, Splaatz has decided to put up DJ and Dirk, saying how he doesn’t want to make too much waves and this seems to be the way to do it best. Dirk is unamused and DJ is frightened. Echo gets suspicious of Bane and shares his thoughts with Nickels, they pull in Carlos to form an anti-villain alliance. Benedict eavesdrops and plans his next move. He goes up to Nickels and makes up how Dirk must be playing the villain this time, because he is acting weird. Nickels considers his approach but ultimately decides to trust him as an alliance member. At the veto, Carlos, Echo, and Mobee all play but it comes down to Carlos and Splaatz. Splaatz ends up winning again but while actually trying and is exuberant! DJ pleads with him but he ultimately keeps his noms the same.
After the veto ceremony, Benedict tells DJ to do as he says and trust him, as Gigi did. She agrees and starts buttering up to the villains. She gets Candy to be even nicer to the house and apologize to Splaatz. She also helps Bane create a new game. Meanwhile, Benedict starts prodding Dirk and Day, causing them to be at odds with each other. Dirk eventually snaps and lashes out at Day, shocking everyone. Maeva can tell something fishy is happening but rolls with it since it is week one. At the eviction ceremony in the glittering colosseum, the two nominees tell why they should stay. Dirk is more bitter while DJ stays heartfelt, convincing everyone but a suspicious Maeva. In the end, by a vote of 12 to 1… Dirk, you have been evicted.
Week 2: The next HOH is a high flying roulette-themed obstacle course, based off of the Neon Colosseum’s roulette rules. DJ and Mobee work together to get to the end but Nickels keeps up with them. In the final stretch, Mobee sees Nickels catching up and throws DJ, giving her just enough of an edge to win the HOH! Nickels and Maeva both approach DJ to tell her their suspicions on Benedict’s behavior. At first, they fight, but realizing they have the same goal causes them to cut it out long enough to tell her. DJ is reluctant but Maeva reminds her how he betrayed Gigi and she is firm. Benedict and Carlos become the nominees. Day, Echo, and Maeva play in the veto and Echo actually manages to come out on top over Day. Echo talks with Nickels about saving Carlos but she is hesitant, telling him that Carlos makes a good pawn next to benedict because everyone likes Carlos. He ends up not using it. During the week, Benedict begins making breakfast early, irritating his roommate Carlos and causing him to be grumpier. Xio confronts Benedict for this, telling him he is purposefully making Carlos mad and it’s brutal. He tells her he doesn’t understand the problem if Carlos doesn’t like breakfast. She sneers but doesn’t have a comeback. The next day, Benedict holds a house meeting. He apologizes if he’s been rubbing people the wrong way but he is just trying to fit in since he is newer. Lisette says that everyone should give him a chance, which the villains, Selene, and Mobee agree with. Echo, Carlos, Nickels, and Maeva are all hesitant. At the eviction ceremony, Carlos is grumpy and bitter and doesn’t do much to defend himself. Benedict, again apologizes. In a 9 to 3 vote… Carlos is evicted.
Week 3: Several house membets are completely shocked by Carlos going home, including HOH DJ and his two allies, Nickels and Echo. Also surprised is Xio. The next HOH is an endurance comp called the floor is lava based off of the Lava Colosseum! Mobee, Splaatz, and Xio are the last three remaining. Knowing she was on the outs of the last vote, Xio fights hard to survive, fighting her pain. Splaatz eventually drops and Mobee remains with Xio. Eventually, Mobee drops and Xio wins! Xio already knows her noms. She puts up Benedict next to Selene, as she was one of the people vouching for him last round. Benedict chooses to stay back and not make too much of a scene this round, lest he blow up his cover. Meanwhile, DJ and Mobee plan how to move forward. Maeva is listening in to this convo and realizes how close they are. At the veto, a mental comp, Selene ends up winning by a landslide, saving herself. Maeva rushes to Xio about the DJ and Mobee situation, and points out how Mobee is a comp threat as well. Xio decides Mobee is a good replacement, as he is likeable and a good pawn next to Benedict. Mobee holds a house meeting and cries during it, thinking he was doing so much better at being friendly this time. Maeva calls him out for his crocodile tears and argues that he is putting on an act. Lisette calls out Maeva for being so harsh and chastises her for being such a villain. Maeva asks her if she is planning on voting for him to stay and she is silent, but says that shouldn’t matter. Maeva retorts and says it’s not jury so jury management doesn’t exist yet. At the eviction, Mobee is shaking next to a smug Benedict. Benedict’s speech touches on how Mobee doesn’t seem ready for the big leagues. The bear gets up angrily and almost picks up Benedict, shocking everyone. He stops himself and realizes what he did. The vote comes in and by a vote of 8 to 3, Mobee, you have been evicted.
Week 4: The next HOH begins as they houseguests must ascend a glimmering rock wall, themed after the Crystal colosseum. Day and Maeva take an early lead but are caught up by falling rocks. Lisette closes the gap and eventually surpasses Maeva. Day and Lisette race for the end and… Lisette win! Lisette in her HOH room ponders about who to put up and ally with. She turns to Xio, Day, and Selene as her allies. The Witch’s Coven, as they call themselves, wants to shift the focus, as Benedict is doing too well at not going home. Instead, Lisette targets Maeva, who is playing sneaky, as well as Benedict’s ally, Echo. Bane laughs at Maeva being on the block and she is enraged with him. He says “it doesn’t matter since it’s not jury yet.” Having her own words turned on her, Maeva storms out and swears she will get revenge on him and Candy. At the POV, the witches’ coven is playing with three members and Xio ends up winning! She chooses to keep the nominations the same. Splaatz goes to Lance to tell him how much it means to be there with one of his heros, but Lance mishears him and calls him out for calling him a rude name. The two get in a petty argument where Lance’s bad hearing keeps making things worse. Meanwhile, Maeva tries to get the vote off of her by spreading anti-Benedict propaganda around the house. Day has a change of heart about this and wants to vote out Echo, even while her alliance is targeting Maeva. Benedict, aware his name is still out there, pleads to DJ not to vote out his ally. At the eviction, Maeva thinks she has done enough work but the vote comes out and is a 5 to 5. The Coven is shocked, one of their own must have flipped. But Lisette gets to break the tie, and is all too happy to evict her target, Maeva.
Week 5: The next HOH is themed after the Sunset colosseum, and sees the houseguests racing to stack piles of rubble. Echo, DJ, and Xio make the highest stack but DJ’s crumbles before the time limit. Both wanting to take control, Echo and Xio try really hard to build the highest. The timer buzzes aaaand Echo is the winner! Benedict instinctively high fives Echo and celebrates with him. Later, Nickels is peeved that Echo is so publicly working with Benedict. Echo tells her she had the opportunity to have a good ally but she chose to burn that bridge and that’s her fault. Offended, she tells him to make that alliance with Benedict work out but she won’t be part of it. Echo is saddened, but doesn’t want to put Nickels up. Instead, he shifts the target to former villains, with Bane being the target and Selene going up next to him. Xio cheers that Selene could be going home, making the Lamp angry at her, since they were supposed to be working together. Benedict goes on to win the veto and vows to Echo not to use it. However, at the veto ceremony, he uses it to save Selene, shocking everyone as he winks at Xio. Echo then solidifies this by putting Xio up. Selene goes to her to tell her she is sorry for their misunderstanding but they work together. Candy turns to Lisette and tells her she is tired of working with Bane and if she helps her get the Professor out this week, she will work with her. Lisette agrees, knowing everyone wants Bane out anyways. At the eviction, Xio seemingly patches things up with everyone. The vote comes in, by a unanimous vote… Bane, you are evicted.
Double Eviction: Surprise! The Jury starts tonight and the next HOH is beginning right now with one more person leaving! A quiz colosseum is held in the Sunset colloseum, with one miss causing someone to be out of the running. It comes down to DJ, Nickels, and Lisette. But Lisette gets the last question right and the other two miss, with Lisette winning her second HOH. Lisette puts up Nickels and Day. Nickels because she is playing a lowkey game but making waves in the Benedict situation. Day because she wavered on her vote for Benedict. She doesn’t put down Benedict as he is good for drama and polarizing the house, which is good for her game. Nickels wins the veto and takes herself off. Lisette decides to put up Splaatz, because she is worried he will fumble his way to the end. Most people seem to share this idea except for Echo, who wants to wotk with Splaatz. The vote comes in. By a vote of 7 to 1… Splaatz, you have been evicted and will be moving into the jury house.
Week 6: The Next HOH begins as a race through the mysterious mansion in the courtyard colosseum. No one can tell where anyone is but Candy comes out first and wins! As HOH, Candy calls in Benedict. She tells him he has been playing a sloppy and obvious villain game and he is gonna get evicted too soon if he doesn’t simmer down and get some real allies. He is shocked and admits he just wants to win. She says they all do and the least they can do is help each other. She says she will help him if he keeps causing more chaos and also gets DJ on their side. He agrees and talks to DJ. The squirrel is hesitant but decides it would be a great way of getting revenge on Benedict if she gets the chance. Candy puts up Lance as the pawn next to her target, Xio, who has been against Benedict’s chaos this whole game. DJ goes on to win the veto and chooses to not give Candy any suspicion by not using it. Meanwhile, the witches coven fractures, with Day not agreeing with Lisette and Xio feeling not supported on the block by Selene. DJ infiltrates this meeting after storms out, telling them about Xio being the real target but she has a plan to keep her without drawing suspicion if they can get Day to play nice. Xio borrows an item from Lisette and breaks it. Lisette then goes to “rant” to Day, who is being nice with her, thinking they both will vote Xio. Echo, meanwhile, confirms his alliance with Benedict, and feels like he is finally gaining more traction. But the house takes this the wrong way. At the eviction, the vote comes in, and by a vote of 4 to 3… Lance, you have been evicted.
Week 7: The next HOH begins, a waterfall diving competition, based off of the Waterfall Colosseum. Whoever makes the biggest splash wins! With her natural watery prowess, Day dives in and wins the HOH! Day is approached in the HOH by Candy and Benedict, who ask her to work with them. DJ sees whats happening and goes back to Lisette and Selene. The two talk and realize that they can’t beat Benedict’s control of the house by just going against him, but they have to work with him. So the three of DJ, Lisette, and Selene enter the HOH “accidentally” and propose the six will control the house. They say they want Echo to go on the block, as he is getting too good at the comps. Benedict is hesitant but Candy nudges him, as secretly this will be great for her game. He agrees and tells Day he won’t be mad if this happens. Echo goes up next to Nickels. The two former allies face off in the veto, both bitterly making jabs at the other for turning on them. It comes down to just the two nominees and… Echo edges her out, winning the veto. Echo saves himself and puts the power in Day’s hands to put up a replacement. Her choice is the person not in her alliance who has made affronts to her, Xio. Lisette has the whole house do tarot readings to ease the tension which goes down well. Lisette gets the Sun, a symbol of positivity and creativity. Benedict draws the Moon, symbolizing Illusion and inner conflict. He shudders when the white moon of the card turns red in his hands. Echo draws the Fool, a card of new beginnings but also endings. Selene draws death, the card of change in the game. Nickels draws the Hermit, a card of isolation and reflection. Candy draws the Lovers, with the card representing connections and pairs, symbolizing her manipulation of Benedict. Day draws Strength, a card of inner strength and Willpower. Xio draws the Tower, representing sudden downfall and incredible sudden changes. She shudders and uses the moment to apologize to everyone, saying she wants to be a beacon of hope but got lost. The house receives this well. Benedict considers flipping to Xio because of her show of faith being bad but Candy reminds him that Xio is on the bottom of the pecking order on that side, likely meaning they don’t even have to take her out. He relents and the eviction goes through. The vote comes in and by a vote of 5 to 1, Nickels you have been evicted.
Week 8: The Next HOH begins in the Sunny Park colosseum, with contestants having to hunt for pellets and use them to knock out targets. DJ and Echo prove the most adept but in a last second victory, Echo wins. Benedict goes to Echo in the HOH but Echo has realized too late that Benedict is working with everybody, even causing him to turn on Nickels. Benedict doesn’t try to hide his smug smirk as he agrees and walks out, daring him to put him on the block. He feels this must be hiding something and starts asking around the house for their opinions. Xio reveals the existence of the Witches Coven, and how they have been together for weeks, including saving her last week. Knowing of this alliance, Echo saves Xio and puts up Selene and Day. At the veto, Selene wins. Selene approaches Echo, telling him she knows of someone playing both sides, revealing DJ trying to play double agent. After she pulls herself off the block, DJ goes up as the replacement. Candy works on ingratiating herself with the outsiders in Xio and Echo, trying to forge paths ahead. But is unsuccessful at breaking Echo. Echo is accosted by DJ for putting her up over Benedict. He asks her to say why she was double crossing and she says its because she was trying to sabotage Benedict. If anything, Day, Selene, and Lisette should be the real double agents. Echo goes to rage to Selene for how she tricked him but she swears it was the truth completely, and he chose to believe it in a negative light, not her. Day joins the fight and lashes out at Xio and Selene for being the reason she is on the block. Lisette stays out of it, knowing the time to jump ship is coming up. At the eviction, Dj and DayJay give their pleas, but the votes are tallied. By a unanimous vote… Dayley-Jane, you have been evicted.
Double Eviction!!: Second double eviction because you know we gotta! The HOH starts with a lightning round of dodgeball on wooden poles. Selene is knocked out first. Then DJ gets knocked out by Candy. Lisette falls off on her own. Xio goes after Benedict but is taken out by Candy. Then Candy expertly dodges and takes out Benedict, winning the HOH. She nominates the two people who are on the bottom of the pecking order, Echo and Xio. The veto plays out with Benedict winning. Echo pleads for Benedict to help him out, as they were friends. Benedict doesn’t even look him in the eye as he chooses to not play the veto. Echo pleads to the voters to let him keep playing and he will take out Benedict, but Lisette and Selene have basically already jumped ship and moved on. The vote comes in, and by a vote of 4 to 0… Echo, you have been evicted.
Week 9: With Six houseguests remaining, they are taken to the Gateway colosseum to have mock Pokemon battles. In the first round, Xio beats Lisette and Selene beats DJ, with Benedict drawing a spot in the top 3. In a first to win two times in a row scenario, Selene beats both and comes out victorious. Selene and Lisette decide that they have to cut ties and work with the more devious players to have a better shot at the end. Selene puts up DJ and Xio, with DJ being the target. Benedict is alone in his room when he hallucinates more blood on his paws. He shouts and Xio comes in to see whats up. She helps him calm down and he realizes he is down a bad path. She helps him calm down and he thanks her, even with him harassing her all game she still helped him. Candy witnesses the two help each other out and is beyond irritated, she goes to Selene, who is still iffy on Xio, to warn her. At the veto, Candy wins it. She takes off DJ and Selene spitefully puts up Benedict, who trembles going to the block. Lisette confronts Selene for making such a rushed decision, as the goal was to keep Benedict and his threat around longer. At the eviction, Benedict argues that he has realizes how the game has changed him and he wants to prove how he changed. Lisette doesn’t believe him but DJ seems to be enamored. The vote comes in, and by a vote of 2 to 1… Xio you have been evicted.
Week 10: Five stars remain and there are five points in the Stars of the Main Street colosseum, where the houseguests go to do a full BPBB quiz! Lisette misses one question and gets behind as the other get ahead. It comes down to a tie-breaker between Dj and Benedict and the winner is… DJ! Benedict goes to apologize to DJ for real and she forgives him, happy to see his true self back again. She feels played by Selene and Candy so they go on the block. Lisette is still suspicious of Benedict and starts watching him for suspicious activity, noticing him look at his paws a lot. She decides to talk to him with the ruse of working together. At the veto, DJ wins again and claims her game, choosing not to use the veto. Realizing the danger they are in, Selene and Candy go to their respective closest allies, Benedict and Lisette. The two touch base with Benedict telling Lisette he is fine voting Candy with her, as he doesn’t want to force DJ to have to break a tie. At the eviction, the votes are read and by a vote of 2 to 0… Selene, you have been evicted. Benedict looks over at Lisette with a shocked look, realizing she caught on to him.
Week 10: As the final HOH starts, the houseguest are in the Stargazer colosseum for an epic triathlon of quizzes, endurance, and races. In the first part, Benedict pulls ahead, with Lisette on his tail. He falls behind in part two, giving Lisette and Candy a chance to catch him. The three are neck and neck in part three but Lisette comes out on top! Benedict goes to Lisette on her HOH to grovel but she stops him, saying she misheard the vote last week and though the vote was for Selene anyways so its good he didn’t make poor DJ break the tie. He feels reassured and goes back out. Lisette puts up DJ and Candy as the nominees. Lisette reassures DJ about how Benedict likes her and she wouldn’t go home. Benedict touches base with Lisette, claiming that he knows DJ has too much social traction and needs to go next because of this. On his way out, Candy enters the room and chats with Lisette. She says that the noms should stay the same so DJ can be evicted for sure this week. Lisette doesn’t trust her and tells her to her face she is no better than Benedict, but is powerless without him. The two stare each other down. At the veto, Lisette wins it, and Benedict sighs a sigh of relief. But Lisette shocks everyone by saving Candy and puts up Benedict. Lisette calls him out for faking his turnaround to play with everyone’s emotions. He breaks down, claiming his intense want, no, NEED to win the game. He can’t get it out of his head and it burdens him with the thoughts of betrayal, including the allies he betrayed this season, with Nickels, Echo, and even Xio who showed him so much kindness leaving because of him. DJ is in tears and even Candy can’t watch. Afterwards, Benedict goes to his only real ally, Candy. He begs her for advice on how to get out of this, as she helped him so much. She looks him in the eye as she tells him that he did this to himself. At the eviction, Candy gets the sole vote to evict and casts it to evict, Benedict.
The Reunion: Folks we are live again right outside the Neon Colosseum for the Finale of Bunny’s Pokémon Big Brother Champion Royale! Our Sixteen winners have been whittled down to three and it is not what we expected at all! In a house where everyone wants to be the biggest truck on the highway, we have three mid-sized sedans who have slipped through the gaps and swept their way to the end. DJ VOLT SWITCH, Elesa’s iconic Emolga who created the jams we are listening to even right now! She plays up her social game very well with honesty and loyalty, but is no slouch in the competitions. Though she has been left out of some secrets in the game, she was well=liked in the house and leveraged her position between alliances to get information! Sweet Candy the Wigglytuff who played Sickly Sweet last but downright Sick this time. She got in close with all of the villains but managed to be the cherry flavored licorice that was easier to manage. She avoided detection aligning with big villain Benedict and hiding behind the scenes of his chaos, even almost controlling his moves at points. The Sunstone herself, LISETTE the Solrock, who foresaw victory once, but is this a double reading? Lisette bided her time throughout the game, getting whatever information she could and waiting to play it until the time was right. She was at the center of multiple alliances but always stayed just far enough away from the drama that no one was even targeting her. The Sun? No Lisette is after The World!
Joining us on stage now are the 9 jurors! Starting with Splaatz—Ope watch your step, you gotta be careful or else you’ll trip. Here comes Lance the OG! Though he is old he is still our knight in shining armor. Nickels struts up so casually ooh lala. Here comes Echo, kind of sheepishly, don’t be shy buddy! Day gracefully swims up on stage, still to audience cheering. Wait, the cheering is getting louder? Oh it’s Xio! She is surprisingly well-received. Selene keeps the applause growing. She seems to be goading the audience on with her behavior, not wanting to stay out of the spotlight hmm. And then—oh wow I can’t hear anything with the thunder of the crowd for… Benedict? Interesting outcome here that our little villain has become a real crowd pleaser. Even as he walks to his seat with his head held low.
The jurors speak with our lovely reporter. Lance speaks about how great it was to come back and how this game is way changed from when he won season 1. Xio and Nickels agree, but they still worked hard to adapt to the changes. Selene scoffs a bit, another early winner, she notes that herself and Candy were very well integrated, they just needed to change their approach. Xio says it was much harder playing from the bottom rather than the top and it was a fight, but she had a ton of fun doing so. Day mentions she felt the same way. A house full of winners is not to be underestimated for a second, as they all could be planning many different things behind each other’s backs. Splaatz is—oh he’s asleep… moving on. Nickels asks Echo about how he changed his game this time, and why he turned on her. He apologizes, saying he was blinded by seeing opportunities with Benedict because he didn’t fight with him, only told him what he wanted to hear. And he realized too late that that was a ruse. She accepts his apologies and all eyes turn to Benedict. He looks up, seemingly just noticing eyes are on him. He looks down at his paws. “All I’ve seen since last season is blood on my paws. The need to win never left me. I had to do it at all cost. I lost myself in that game and resorted to every trick in the book to make the winners trust me. And it worked… but I fell deeper and deeper down the hole. And now, I don’t feel like I deserved to win at all.” Xio jumps up and makes him look up. “You deserved your win as much as we all deserved ours. It’s a game, it doesn’t have to define you. You define you, so get up and prove it.” Benedict is in disbelief that Xio is still defending him. “You hear that crowd? They were entertained, we entertained them! Your devioushness entertained them! You gave them a show by tricking a bunch of winners, so own up to it and be the entertainer we know you are.” He gives off a small, barely noticeable,but definitely real this time, smile. Xio turns to the crowd “ARE YOU GUYS READY FOR OUR FINAL THREE???” The crowd erupts in excitement!! “THEN GET READY BECAUSE HERE THEY ARE!!”
Final HOH Part 1: The HOH opens on top of the rotating Roulette wheel in the Neon Colosseum, with the audience now filled and the three houseguests circling in the middle, holding on for dear life. At the same time, they are throwing dodgeballs at each other. Candy is targeting Lisette out of spite, putting on a performance for the audience about how Lisette is a traitor to their alliance. DJ is caught in the crossfire but expertly dodges. She manages to catch a ball that Candy threw and chucks it back, knocking her out. Lisette smiles at DJ but DJ knows she still has to win. She tells Lisette she is sorry but she is done working with people and has to take her game into her own hands, not relying on others to fail but herself to succeed. Lisette agrees, but she wants to be the one to succeed. Lisette lobs a ball at Dj and knocks her out, winning Part 1.
Final HOH Part 2: Part begins with Candy and DJ on the Rotating Roulette platform again, racing around to land the colored balls in order of the competitions and the winners of each one. DJ takes an early lead, having been very aware of the game the whole beginning. Candy struggles at first but when she catches up to leaving the villains alliance and joining Benedict, she takes off, knowing how well she played Benedict as her own puppet that she controlled votes for that she easily crushes the midgame part. Her lead takes her ahead on time going into the endgame. DJ misses a key vote and has to go back, but Candy remembers who saved Benedict countless times, and gets it right, winning part 2.
Final HOH Part 3: The crowd is in uproars as Candy and Lisette reach the stage for final quiz, again on our roulette platform (we paid a lot of money for that). Each juror question goes by, with Lisette and Candy answering in tandem, Both get question after question correct, eventually reaching the last question about Benedict. The crowd is shocked as they both answer together again and… get it wrong. Well, that’s anticlimactic. Benedict sighs, no one knew his true self. But the tie-breaker is revealed, how many rotations has the rotating platform made? With both answering two numbers away from each other, Candy goes just over, eliminating her, and crowning Lisette the final HOH. Lisette has both DJ and Candy in front of her. She doesn’t say much but looks at them. She says that DJ played an impeccable social game and is incredibly loved by the fans and the house. Candy, meanwhile, played a strategic game and almost fooled her a couple times. She turns to Candy “I made a gamble with bringing a social threat to the end before with Amni, but not this time. Candy, let’s give em a show.” And casts her vote to evict DJ.
The Jury Questioning: DJ isn’t shocked, she did a lot this time around and knew she made herself a bigger threat. She exits the house and gets cheers from the audience! She hops to the DJ booth and begins playing the final epic track for the showdown between Candy and Lisette. Both have been in this position before in the final 2 and both have won, but now, only one can become a two-time winner and be crowned the ultimate Champion! Lisette opens with her speech first. She pitches her game strong, how she gravitated towards groups in the early game without committing too strongly, so she didn’t go down with the ship. She still managed to control so many votes in the house by having reach with her Witches Coven and eventually jumping ship and siding with Benedict, as she knew he was under Candy’s thumb and she could infiltrate that alliance to get to the end and destroy it. The jury is impressed by her showing and all eyes turn to Candy. Candy starts saying how she knew her game was already known going into the house and she had to play different. Her main strategy was to fall into the background and connect with the players playing sloppier than her so she could be the puppetmaster and sneak to the end. And for her, that was found in Benedict, who she found it very easy to manipulate. She is the villain they all knew she was but she wasn’t targeted because of her great strategy. She saved Benedict’s game and carried him to the end so that she could have a guaranteed extra life in the endgame with him. Murmurs arise from the jury, Benedict looks incredibly hurt. Xio asks Candy what her biggest move was outside of controlling Benedict. Candy says that she made sure that the villains she worked with got cut before she could get too powerful, even working with Lisette to get out Bane and Maeva. DJ gets up from the booth and asks Lisette why she went to the end with Candy instead of her if she thought Candy was going to be tougher. Lisette clarifies that she thought Candy would be good at explaining her game, but she knows not to rely on other’s failing but on herself to succeed, and DJ has a great story and was well-loved and if she wanted to win, she had to cut DJ and masterfully explain her game to the jury. Benedict finally speaks up to ask Candy if he meant anything to her at all throughout the game. She hesitates, caught off guard, before replying in all honesty that, she wanted to mentor him to be a better player. He says he did well enough for making it to the end twice and didn’t need her to do all that. In their final speeches, Candy says that she used other people as her pawns and navigated a really good game to make it to the end hidden amongst the other players. Lisette says that she played a perfect game, not even touching the block and noting that she has not received a vote against her in either of her games, this one being perfect. She finishes by saying how she played more up front and aggressive to counter the sneakier players of the season and did not back down from the threats that all the winners possessed. The jury is impressed and goes to cast their votes.
Jury Voting: Splaatz says he had a fun time playing again and wants to vote for someone who played really good, even showing him more how to play. Lance says that while some people are old school, some people are REALLY old school, but can still play with the best of the best and be even better. Nickels says she is honored to be in the winners season but one winner played like how she thinks a winner should. Day says she worked with both finalists, but she always felt the house pulling towards one player, as the sun has a lot of gravity and control over the tides. Echo says point blank that he felt the manipulation from both sides, but one felt malicious, and another felt like game, and he knows which he respects more. Xio says that some lines shouldn’t be crossed. Selene says that she was honored to be so thoroughly outplayed, turning from the Queen to the Pawn who was merely a stepping stone in someone elses game, it was thrilling. Benedict silently casts his vote. DJ cues the final tune before hopping down with her vote, saying that it should be obvious. The votes come in… by a vote of 9 to 0… the winner is…
Winner: Lisette!
Runner-Up: Candy!
Confetti cannons and flamethrowers start lighting up the sky with neon streams shining bright all over the sky! Though it is the dead of night, it is as bright as the sun, and Lisette is feeling absolutely radiant. Candy sits in shock, in disbelief. Lisette throws her the Lovers card again. “You misread it the first time so maybe you can learn before you try to tell the fortune teller what her fortune is.” Candy throws the card on the ground in anger and pouts. The jurors go and cheer for Lisette, the ultimate champion and two time winner, STILL having never received a single vote to evict in two entire seasons. The fan favorite vote comes in and… IT’S A TIE???
Fan Favorites: Benedict and Xio!!!
Benedict goes up to Candy, still fuming, and looks her in the eyes. “You know what, you really did teach me something. You taught me that some people never change, but I don’t have to be one of them.” Xio comes up and takes Benedict back to the celebration, sticking her tongue out at Candy as she leaves. The party goes through the night. The sun eventually rises, as Lisette has risen to the top of the competition, as this era of Bunny’s Pokemon Big Brother has come to an end.
My Thoughts: I enjoyed this season a lot. It kept me on the edge as the winners played their games again, some way better than others. Gameplay-wise, I think I preferred last season but I think it’s more so because of the subtle moves made in the dark as no one wanted to be too big of a target. The villains ended up flopping early, which kind of was to be expected, given that everyone else is a relaly smart player to have won. Candy surprised me this time, sneaking in to take over Benedict, being a key player in his storyline, even a bigger villain than he tried to be. It really helped me tie up the storyline really well and I like how it happened. She also played a stellar game again, controlling things from the chaos in the shadows. The other side of the house was not slouching though. Lisette, Selene, Xio, and Day all played smart games, not committing too much to each other but still working well enough to not crumble. Lisette as a winner for this season is great! She put in work to keep her position, as it was in danger of falling apart so much. She leveraged every ally she had and every competition she had to get forward every week. And it worked as she got to the end without hitting the block AGAIN and played a PERFECT game, not receiving a single vote to evict and getting every vote to win. She did that in a winner season too, ultimate winner for sure!
So whats next? Well... that's the end. I knew since the beginning that Season 17 would be the end but it coming up still feels so weird. I am about to start a busy summer and don't have as much time for all of my hobbies but I still feel sad finishing this series. I think I am going to make a series epilogue soon so stay tuned for that but... otherwise that's it. I thank you all again so much for sticking with me the whole time, it's been a wonderful journey!

Hello and welcome to a very special installment of The Great Spice Off! What is The Great Spice Off?
I love the scent of Old Spice, so much so that it's the only aftershave I use as I don't really feel a need to splash anything else on. But, as we all know, Old Spice no longer makes shaving soap. They do still make a cream but that's hardly a great soap and it doesn't actually smell like Old Spice. As such my plan is to test out all the Old Spice options that are out there on as many bases as possible both to try out a variety of bases from different soapmakers and to report back to you on who really nails the scent.
I'll be shaving three times with each soap, using a variety of brushes and razors, and blades. Yes, I know that means it won't be exactly scientific but this is going to take a while and I want to use all my other shit too. Soaps will be rated on a few factors and given points from 1-5 for each.

• Oldness: How much does the soap smell like OG Old Spice. This is the more analytical scent analysis and I'm comparing to an OG Old Spice aftershave I have and the Shulton aftershave from India.
• Spiciness: This is the je ne sais quois of Old Spice. Does the soap make me feel the nostalgia, warmth, and whatever it is about the scent that works. Is there something special about it that makes it stand out? Does it invoke a memory or make a new one? The most subjective of this list.
• Lather: You know, can I make a shave soap out of it.
• Shave: How's it work on the ol' face while shaving.
• Post: How's the scent profile after the event. How does my face feel.

Crowne & Crane The Spice

And so we enter (for now) into a strange little corner of Old Spice dupery that I honestly wouldn't have even entered if I had read the description of The Spice before ordering it long ago. Also, if Crowne & Crane hadn't named the soap something pretty inaccurate. Also, also, if I hadn't accidentally picked up a second dupe of the scent recently. Yes, The Spice is not an Old Spice dupe but an Old Spice Limited Edition (LE) dupe.
Record Scratch. Double Take. Wuuuuuuuh!???
So you're asking yourself what the heck is an Old Spice LE. Well, despite what most think, Old Spice has had many scents over the years and almost none of them are riffs or new twists on their original Old Spice scent. Old Spice, the company/brand, made a plethora of scents throughout the history of producing Old Spice that, while all fell in the kind of old fashioned scenting category, had nothing to do with what we think of as Old Spice. Old Spice LE was one of these scents. From the dating I can find online, it was released sometime in the early 90s and stuck around for a chunk of that decade and possibly into the 2000s. It's also possible it was a scent released every couple of years as I can see a few different bottle versions. I don't actually know that much about it, have never smelled the original myself, and the Internet is not actually full of Old Spice product history let alone a defunct aftershave from the early 90s.
Whatever the history, what appears to be consistent is that it came in a clear bottle and was called Limited Edition. It also featured a base of amber, cedar, and woods with supporting notes of cardamom, lavender, moss, and jasmine, and citrus top notes. As you can see, aside from the citrus, it doesn't have all the much in common with Old Spice but that hasn't stopped a fragrance seller from selling a dupe of the discontinued scent for those who may still be looking for it. And so, there are soapers out there who pick this scent up for whatever reason instead of actual Old Spice. Actually, there are only two and Crowne & Crane are the only ones I can find doing it intentionally (more on that in a future review). They're also naming it The Spice, which is a little misleading considering the only spice scent in it is cardamon and given the lavender, citrus, and moss present its clearly intended to be somewhat of a fougère. The Spice, I think we can all agree, is not the name anyone would give a fougère.
So why then am I even reviewing it? That is like asking why do people climb Everest? Why do athletes push their body to the extremes? Why does the woodchuck chuck wood? If these questions could be answered then perhaps I could answer why I am reviewing this. But they can't be.
Crowne & Crane was founded in 2016 by Karl and Liz, whose last names I can't find so we'll call them Karl Crowne and Liz Crane. Karl was an enthusiast it looks like before going into the ol' soapmaking business and, being founded pre-2020, is officially an ol' timer in the artisan soap industry. Despite that longevity they aren't really all that popular around these parts with u/PhilosphicalZombie and u/loudmusicboy literally being the only two folks who appear to use them regularly if at all. I'd say that's maybe because they're not just a shave soap company but Stirling isn't either so that logic kind of flies out the window. Then again, we're a bunch of grown men and women telling other people how we removed hair from our bodies on a daily basis. Logic means nothing here.
Crowne & Crane have two bases, vegan and tallow. Most of their soaps are in tallow only and that's what The Spice comes in so that's what we're working with here. Of note is a commitment to organic, humanely-raised cows for the beef tallow, which is always a plus in my book (and sustainably sourced palm oil). The soap itself is kind of dry and chalky, not in a bad way and it wasn't hard or falling apart. It's a soft, dry soap, which are not contradictory things. The base is made up of Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Stearate, Aloe Vera Juice, Potassium Cocoate, Sodium Cocoate, Phthalate-Free Fragrance, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Shea Butterate, Kokum Butter, Sodium Lactate, Glycerin, Lanolin, Tussah Silk. Nothing to much to comment on here except I can't stop saying the word tussah over and over in my head. It's a weird word and now it doesn't feel real I've said it so much. Tu... ssah. Tooo suuuhhh...
The labeling is a nice vintage boat symbol, which, again, is a bit misleading given the LE branding was very much a modern (for the 90s) Old Spice look, not the classic schooner branding of the OG Old Spice. If you weren't paying attention (*cough* me *cough*) you might just order this thinking you got an Old Spice dupe and open the lid to find you most assuredly did not. Well, open the lid is a bad description as I bought their 3 oz puck option instead of the 5 oz jar and it came wrapped in paper. 3 oz, by the way, is a great mid-price option that gives you more than a tiny sample but not a full plastic tub. I'd be perfectly happy to have other shaving companies offer this... please... please... there's so much soap under my sink. So... much... soap.
(Sidenote: if you are looking to get their soaps, do it quick as they're going on hiatus during a move in two days!)
Oldness: 0
As a scent not designed to smell like Old Spice this one knocks it out of the park. In fact, it does such a great job not smelling like Old Spice I'd put it up there with some of the greatest scents that don't smell like Old Spice ever made. Have a scent that doesnt's smell like Old Spice that you love? This one smells as much not like Old Spice as that one does! If you're looking for something that doesn't smell like Old Spice but has the word Spice featured in its name and the words "Old" and "Spice" in the description next to each other than this is the soap for you.
Spiciness: 3
This is actually a pretty solid scent even if its called The Spice but isn't really a spicy scent at all. It's definitely a vintage scent, though, and reminds me a bit of Seaforth! Spiced but not as good. Because of that I'm going to say that it still captures a bit of that classic feel that Old Spice gives you even if its a scent from the 90s, a decade that has yet to fall into the "classic" zone and thus still feels like everything from it was cringe (including teenage me).
Lather: 5
What an absolutely brilliant lather The Spice kicks up. From the moment water hits it turning it into a thick prot-lather to the gloriously shiny conclusion, it's just a pleasure to lather. The soap is super thirsty, which can often lead to some dialing issues but I never had those aside from having to add a lot of water to both my larger scoop shave and my medium scoop. You don't need a lot of soap to get this going big and it's really easy to get there and looks great the entire time. If you were going to make an ad about shave soap -- as we all dream to do -- and needed a pretty lather to build up this would be a great choice.
Shave: 3
The Spice offers an incredible cushion of soap that can tackle even the most aggressive razor, making it feel barely there on your skin. However, it is, at best, mid-tier on its slickness with limited residual slickness too. As I reduced the amount of soap I used on each shave I figured I'd eventually hit a lather that was both full of cushion and slickness, but even on my final shave with the least amount of lather I wasn't too impressed with the glide provided. There's slickness there, it's not like dragging some sort of pillowy sandpaper over your face or anything but despite the copious amounts of water I added it never truly peaked.
Post: 2
The Spice's Old Spice LE scent isn't exactly complimentary with either my Indian Old Spice for the vintage one. It's not an afront to the nostrils or anything (sometimes I picture what nostrils being afronted would look like and it weird me out) but it ain't great. It probably plays a bit better with the more floraly vintage spice if I was forced to choose one by some deranged wet shaving person forcing people to shave with stuff. The soap also left my skin feeling a little sticky for some reason, like there was a layer of it still on there. That dissipated quickly but it was an odd sensation.
Final Verdict: 13
Crowne & Crane might be one of my favorite soaps to lather as it's easy to do, looks fantastic, lathers big, and just drinks up the water. It's just kind of fun working it into a lather and for someone who appreciates the process of wetshaving that's a big deal. The shave doesn't quiet live up to the lather, though, despite some really great cushion. Where it really disappoints is the post shave where it not only still doesn't smell like Old Spice (even if it was never trying to) but also left my face feeling a little icky. No one likes an icky face, just ask .
Previous Great Spice Offs:

1. 1940s Old Spice Shaving Soap in Vintage Mug (9)
2. 1973-91 Old Spice Shaving Soap (7)
3. Old Spice Shaving Cream (Original) (12)
4. Master Soap Creations Vintage Spice (19)
5. Black Ship Grooming Classic (17)
6. OSP Old Gold (19)
7. Chiseled Face Groomatorium Trade Winds (17)
8. Wholly Kaw Twice as Spice (17)
9. Barrister and Mann Barrister's Reserve Spice (21)
10. Mama Bear Aged Spice (10)
11. MERShaving Old Timer Spice (20)
12. Soap Commander Endurance (20)
13. Signature Soaps Novus Spice (17)
14. Hoffman's Shave and Soap Company Burn the Ships (19)
15. Phoenix Artisan Accoutrements Cold Spice (15)
16. Hendrix Classics & Co Commodore (20)
17. Ginger's Garden Old Spice Type (15)
18. Lisa's Natural Herbal Creations Mariner (10)
19. Stone Field Shaving Company Ltd. No. 37 (18)
20. Cooper & French Old Goat (19)
21. The Holy Black Artisan Line Shaving Soap (21)
22. Stirling Soap Co. Stirling Spice (20)
23. Van Yulay Spicy Man (10)
24. Pinnacle Grooming The Good Ship OS (15)
25. Mystic Water Soap Windjammer (14)
26. The Village Soap Smith Old Spice (Type) (14)
27. Cloud Shave "Unscented" (13)
28. Wet the Face Spices From the Sea (17)
29. Artifact Soapworks Old Spice (Type) (15)
30. DentonMajik Ole Fife (21)
31. Phoenix Artisan Accouterments Oud Spice (17)
32. Lativ Natural Skin Revival Shaving Soap Old Spice (8)

Special Editions

• Summer Break Soaps Remote Learning
• Spearhead Shaving Company Seaforth! Spiced
• Eleven Shaving Unscented/Hendrix Classics & Co Commander

I'm also looking for the below soaps if you've got any you're willing to sell/trade/donate:

• Wild West Shaving Co. Snake Oil
• Wickam Spice Trade
• Occult Grooming Essentials Modern Spice
• Fougare Salem

I already have these soaps that I have not reviewed yet:

• Bundubeard Reijger
• Bundubeard Drommedaris
• Bundubeard De Goede hoop
• Areffa Soap The Sea Son

I've always been bound to death.
On my eighth birthday, a shadow strode into my house and shot me and my family dead. I remember it vividly, every detail, every angle, etched and stained and carved into my memory.
I sat very still with my knees to my chest, my gaze glued to my siblings.
Lily and PJ looked like they were sleeping, and I could almost believe it.
I didn't look at the shadow.
From the comfort of my knees, I waited for my brother to lift his head.
But his body was so limp, so still, every part of him faltering. My sister’s head was nestled in his shoulder, thick beads of red running down her face.
They're just sleeping.
I could tell myself they were— as long as I didn't look at the splatter of scarlet staining the back of the couch and pooling at their feet.
BANG.
Mom’s body dropped onto the ground.
I lunged forwards, slamming my hands over my ears.
BANG.
PJ’s head slumped forwards, a teasing smile still frozen on his lips.
BANG.
Lily gently tipped into PJ, like she was going to sleep.
Before she closed her eyes, Mom told me to run.
I can't remember how long I stayed under the shattered remnants of Mom’s favorite table. The shadow was waiting for me to move, to make a noise.
I watched booted feet crunch through glass, getting closer and closer, and slowly, fight or flight began to take over.
Making it halfway across the living room, my palms slick with my mother’s blood, I thought I was going to live.
Cruel fingers wound their way through my hair and shoved me to my knees. I remember the phantom legs of a spider creeping down the back of my neck when the shadow with no face dragged the barrel of his gun down my spine.
“Turn around.”
The shadow had a voice.
When I didn't move, the protruding metal stabbed into my neck.
“Turn around, kid!”
I did, very slowly.
Behind him, my siblings still weren't moving.
They were asleep.
Lily was still smiling, strawberry blonde ringlets stained red.
I couldn't see PJ’S face anymore.
BANG.
I didn't feel the gunshot.
I didn't feel anything.
Looking down, I glimpsed slowly spreading red blossoming like a flower.
It felt like being cut from strings.
I hit the ground, just like my mother, my body felt heavy and wrong.
Paralysed.
I remember being unable to scream, unable to cry, the salty taste of metal filling my mouth. It was like being winded. Rolling onto my side, all I could see was flickering candlelight.
The air was thick, so hard to breathe.
I rolled onto my back trying to suck in air.
The shadow took a step back, opened the front door, and bled into the night.
I don't remember the pain, and I don't remember dying. I couldn't breathe, couldn't conjure words in my mouth.
I felt warm and sticky, lying in my own blood.
I think I tried to move.
But I was so tired.
I’m not sure what death feels like, because it's like going to sleep.
I remember my last shuddering breaths, a lulling darkness beginning to swallow me up. I don't know why I wasn't afraid.
Oblivion almost felt like I was sinking into lukewarm depths on a Summer’s day.
Oblivion wasn't pain, and there was a peaceful inevitability to it.
It was endless nothing, a nothing I found myself gravitating towards. But before I could envelope myself in that darkness, it was spitting me back out.
The next thing I knew, I was in a white room, a slow beeping sound tearing me from slumber. I had a vague memory of slow spreading roses blossoming across my shirt, like summer flowers blooming.
Everything was white.
The walls, the ceiling, and my clothes.
Sensation hit me in slow waves.
Exhaustion.
I felt it tightening its grip around my brain, dragging me back onto a mountain of pillows when I tried to jump up. My Aunt May was sitting next to me on a plastic chair, her warm fingers entangled in mine. Aunt May and Mom were practically twins, with the same thick red hair and pale skin.
Mom wore her hair in a casual ponytail, while May preferred a strict bun.
I had to bite back the urge to yank my hand away.
Aunt May was asleep, used tissues filling her lap.
There was a nurse pottering around, checking my vitals and prodding my arms. My eyes felt heavy. I had to blink several times to keep myself awake.
“Charlie?”
The nurse’s voice was like wind-chimes.
I pretended not to notice her forced lipstick smile, the way she stood with her arms folded, staring at me like I was one of my cousin’s experiments. “You were in an accident, sweetie,” the nurse spoke up. I could see her trembling hands. “Just, um, try and rest, okay?”
I wanted to ask where my family was, but I already knew the answer.
I think she knew that too.
“You died, Charlie.” The nurse’s voice was eerily cold. “You were dead for thirteen minutes.”
She took slow steps towards me, her eyes growing frenzied, like she couldn't understand me, like I was a puzzle she could not solve– and it was driving her crazy. I could see it in her twitching hands, her wobbling lips that were trying and failing to appear stoic.
“In fact, I just pulled you out of the morgue, honey. I opened up your body bag that I had just zipped up, and told your aunt that you were a miracle I just… can’t understand.” The nurse sounded like she was trying to choke down a laugh, or maybe a sob.
“Charlotte, you were pronounced dead at 3:02am from a gunshot wound to the chest.” Taking a slow, sobering breath, the nurse tried to smile. “The bullet went through the right ventricle of your heart and severely damaged your left lung, rendering you unable to breathe. Your heart stopped, and after four attempts to resuscitate, we called it.”
Something slimy wound its way up my throat when she began to pace the room. “I… did all the paperwork. It took me two minutes. Your death certificate was signed, and your body was taken to the morgue to be prepped for transportation. Then I had my lunch. Tuna salad with a protein milkshake. I’m not a fan of the chocolate flavor.”
She shook her head. “Anyway, when I came back to you, you were awake inside your body bag.” Her voice was starting to break. “You were…um, alive, and asked me for apple soda.”
The nurse moved closer, and yet kept her distance.
I could feel myself moving back, panic writhing through me.
“So.” The nurse spoke calmly. “How the fuck are you still alive, Charlie?”
I think I passed out after that.
When I woke up again, my head a lot less heavier, the nurse was gone.
Slowly, my foggy brain began to find itself and connect dots.
My mouth was dry, full of cotton.
There was a sudden tightness, a sharp and cruel sting in my wrists.
Something sharp was protruding into my flesh, and no matter how many times I violently wrenched my arm, it was stuck. It didn't feel right to be able to breathe so easily.
I knew the second I woke that my Mom was dead.
Lily and PJ were dead, and it was like losing them all over again.
As clarity came over me, I found my voice, a strangled cry escaping my lips.
“Get it out.” I whispered in a shrill cry.
Tugging at the IV in my wrist, I tried to yank the needle from my skin.
“Get it out!” I shrieked, my gaze glued to the tiny spots of blood staining the insertion point.
I could see it again.
So much blood.
Mom was curled up on the floor, lying in slow spreading red that wouldn't stop, seeping across her beaded rug.
She was all over me, slick on my skin and caked in my fingernails.
I couldn't wash her off of me.
“You're okay, Charlotte.”
Aunt May’s voice came from my right, stabling me to reality.
The world started to move again, started to make sense again, when she cupped my cheeks and told me to breathe. When I opened my mouth to ask where my family were, she lightly shook her head and I swallowed my words. Aunt May handed me a glass of water, and I drained it in one gulp.
She told me I was a miracle.
Aunt May didn't say much, and when she did, she broke into sobs.
Her eyes were raw from crying, clinging onto me, her shuddery voice reassuring me that I was going to be okay.
She told me I would be living with her from now on, before wrapping me into a hug and leaving to get coffee.
Once my aunt was gone, another nurse came to prod my IV.
I tried to sleep, but the uncomfortable tightness of the needle sticking into my skin and the sterile white lights in my eyes made it impossible. I waited for grief to catch up with me, drowning me in a hollow oblivion I wouldn't be able to claw myself out of. But I didn't feel sad. I didn't feel angry.
I wanted to know why my family were dead.
I wanted to know why I was breathing, and their skin was ice cold.
Rotting.
The sudden image of maggots crawling up my brother’s nose sent me lurching into a sitting position, my stomach heaving. Reaching for my glass of water, it was empty. The sensation of throwing up felt familiar, almost comforting.
Mom was always with me when I was sick, holding my hair back and lulling my hysteria with reassuring murmurs.
I was frowning at the trash can by the door, my cotton candy brain trying to figure out if I would be able to make it in time, when a small voice drifted from the doorway, startling me.
“I don't want you to come live with us.”
My cousin was peeking through the door, hiding behind a shock of dark brown curls. Jude was the only brunette in our family. The rest of us were redheads.
I wasn't sure why he was dressed up like a ghost, draped in a white cloak that was way too big for him. Jude was a weird kid. His mother, and my auntie, had inherited the family house, so in his mind, that made him superior.
Jude made it clear he didn't like his cousins, refusing to let us play with him and banning us from family gatherings.
When the adults were drinking cocktails and losing their awareness, Jude ordered us around. The times we did play with him, our cousin showed us his spider collection, or the raccoon brain he kept in a jar. PJ was convinced our younger cousin was a serial killer. Several months earlier, he'd happily showed us the roadkill he'd been growing bacteria on under his bed.
Jude’s ‘experiments’ were worrying.
He stuffed mushrooms down my brother’s ears while he was sleeping, to, and I quote, “Recreate The Last Of Us.”
When Lily had a nosebleed during Thanksgiving dinner, Jude collected all her bloody tissues and refused to tell us where he'd put them, and what he had done with them. Fast-forward two months, and I found them under a nest of spiders. Jude was trying to adapt the spiders to be able to feed on human blood. I was surprised my cousin hadn't immediately demanded to see my siblings’ dead bodies for autopsy.
Jude stepped into the room, shuffling his feet.
“I'm sorry about Lily, PJ, and Aunt Ivy.” He mumbled, glaring at the floor tiles.
My cousin made no move to offer real sympathy, instead speaking to the floor.
“But I don't want you to come live with us.” Jude lifted his head, looking me dead in the eye. “I don't like you, Charlie. I want you to stay away.”
Before I could reply, he stepped back like I was diseased.
“You should be dead.” Jude grumbled.
He scowled at me, getting my age purposely wrong as usual before running off.
“Happy 68th birthday.”
I was six months older than him.
In Jude’s eyes, I was ready for retirement.
Still, though, my cousin was right.
I was stone cold dead, and then I was somehow alive.
Which was wrong.
Growing up, I realized Death was not so subtly attempting to fix his mistake.
It started small. I'd choke on things I wasn't supposed to choke on.
Chips.
Candy.
Ice cream.
Aunt May had to perform the heimlich manoeuvre when I choked on a piece of chicken. I thought I was just really unlucky, but then I locked myself in a freezer that didn't have a lock, and almost drowned in the local swimming pool, catching my foot in stray netting.
At the summer fair, Jude convinced me to try apple bobbing, only for my head to conveniently get stuck underwater.
It started to make sense.
I was supposed to die with my family that night, and death was out to get me.
Death started to get clever, changing his tactic. Instead of using everyday things to try to kill me, he sent reinforcements.
I turned twelve years old, and my aunt threw me a huge party, inviting all my classmates. Aunt May was rich, rich.
Mom never explained it, but our grandparents left everything to May.
The house was like a palace, a labyrinth of floors I was yet to explore, and two swimming pools.
I was in the kitchen cutting myself a slice of cake, when, out of nowhere, a dead boy came rushing at me with one of my aunt’s favorite kitchen knives.
A dead boy who I immediately recognised.
Wren Oliver.
Several years prior, he'd gone missing from his parents' yard. The town launched a full investigation, only to find his body in a ditch a week later.
So, Death had sent a footsoldier.
Hiding under a hooded sweatshirt, Wren appeared older, like he had grown up with me. But there was a startling vacancy in his expression that drew the breath from my lungs, freezing me in place. Wren’s death was announced as an accident, though his wounds suggested the opposite, dried blood smearing his right temple and a cavernous hole in his chest, his clothes painted, stained, in bright red, glued in sticky mounds clinging to him.
The boy’s eyes were wild, feral, like an animal.
His hair was longer, a mess of reddish curls matted to his forehead.
Lip split into a demented giggle.
I remember taking a slow step back, my gaze glued to the knife.
Wren’s fingers were wrapped around the handle like he knew exactly how to use it, how to plunge it into my heart and kill me for good. He moved like a predator, zero self awareness or recognition, only driven to kill me.
The dead boy prided himself in slow, intimidating steps, shoving me against the wall and dragging the blade of the knife down the curve of my throat.
His eyes confused me, writhing with hatred that was artificial, programmed into him as Death’s official soldier.
He didn't speak, only smiled, revelling in my fear. I could tell it thrilled him, my trembling hands, my sharp, heavy breaths I couldn't control. Squeezing my eyes shut, I waited to finally die.
I waited for the pain, and to lose my breath once again.
But death was playing with me.
When I opened my eyes, the dead boy was gone, and I was on my knees, screaming.
“Wren Oliver is trying to kill me!" I managed to hiss.
My aunt knelt in front of me, her expression crumpling.
*Sweetie,” She spoke softly, squeezing my hands. Aunt May was trying to appear calm for my sake, but I could tell she was scared, her frantic eyes searching mine. “Wren Oliver is dead.”
The kids surrounding me started to giggle, whispering among themselves.
In the corner of my eye, my cousin was leaning against the door, mid eye roll.
When my aunt was ushering kids back to the pool, Jude came to crouch in front of me. Ever since I started living with him, he'd made sure to keep his distance.
This time, though, Jude leaned uncomfortably close, a sparkle in his eyes I had never seen before. Inclining his head, he rocked back and forth on his heels, prodding me in the forehead.
“If you see the dead boy again, can you tell me?” His lips curved into a smile.
“I did see him.” I gritted out. “I’m not lying.”
Jude shrugged. “I never said you didn't,” he lowered his voice into a whisper, “I wanna know when you see him again.”
“Why?”
His lips curved into a smirk.
“So, I can catch him.”
My cousin got closer, his breath tickling my cheek.
“I seeeeeeee dead people.”
After that incident, death left me alone for a while.
I was fifteen, walking through the forest with a friend, catching fireflies in bell jars. Aunt May was lucky to live so close to the forest, the entrance just outside her back door. When we were littles, PJ would drag Lily and I down the trail to escape Jude’s weird experiments.
I decided to invite Jem Littlewood on a summer walk.
Jem was cute, but in a dorky way. He was chronically clumsy, and dressed like he'd been spat out of a John Hughes movie. We hiked all the way to the end of the river and had a picnic, watching the sun set over the horizon. I was having conflicting feelings for this guy.
Jem was obsessed with fireflies.
Though he seemed more interested in photographing them than me.
The guy couldn't seem to sit still, jumping to his feet to marvel at tiny specks of light dancing in the air.
“I'm just going to take photos!” Jem beamed, holding up his camera.
I had to bite back the urge to say, “Don't you have enough photos?”
I nodded, and he turned and sprinted back down the trail.
Before his footsteps ground to a sudden halt.
At first, I thought he was snapping polaroids.
When I got closer, though, blinking in the eerie dark, I caught something.
Bending down, I picked up a bell jar still spilling fireflies.
Further down the trail, Jem was lying crumpled in the dirt, his camera smashed to pieces next to him, blood running in thick rivulets down his temple. There he was. Leaning against a tree, his arms folded, was the ghost boy. Wren Oliver was growing up with me. Now, a teenager, and yet his face was carved into something else entirely, more of a monster, slight points to his ears and too-sharp teeth, eyes ignited.
Wren didn't look like a ghost boy anymore.
Death had dressed him in shackles of ivy, a crown of glass and bone forced onto his head, entangled in his curls. Death was torturing him.
Wren’s body was its canvas, and every time I got away, he was punished, painting his failures across scarred skin.
I should have been running for my life, but I was mesmerised by each symbol cruelly carved into his neck.
The boy did a slow head incline, like he couldn't believe I was standing in front of him.
His slow spreading smile caught me off guard.
I remembered how to run, stumbling over my feet.
But I couldn't move.
The burning hatred that death had filled him with, was stronger, hollowing him out completely. I managed two shaky steps, before I felt him, an unearthly force winding its way around my spine. This time, he didn't hesitate.
I watched his mouth move, a single curve of his upper lip that wrenched my body from my control, slamming me against a tree. There was something around my throat, choking the breath from my lungs, a thick fog spreading over my eyes.
Following his mouth curving into silent letters, I could feel my feet slowly leaving the ground, my legs dangling.
I was floating.
Hovering off of the ground, suspended by his words.
Through half lidded eyes, I caught the glint of a blade between his fist, but I couldn't move, couldn't scream.
He was drowning me, bleeding into my blood, spider webbing and expanding in my brain without moving a muscle.
Instead, the ghost boy stood silently, running his thumb down the teeth of his knife while he ripped my lungs apart.
It was like suffocating, sinking into that peaceful oblivion I met at eight years old.
This time, though, the darkness was starving.
“Charlie?”
My eyes found daylight, a scream clawing out of my mouth.
“Charlie, it's past curfew!”
Wren flinched, his stoic expression crumpling.
The dead boy’s lips moved again, this time in a curse.
Fuck.
“Charlotte!”
Staggering back, Wren’s eyes widened and the suffocating hold on me severed.
His head snapped in the direction my aunt was coming from.
“Charlie, answer me right now.”
He hesitated, his bare feet pivoting in the dirt, like he was considering finishing me off. Wren studied me with lazy eyes, sucking on his bottom lip. When my aunt's footsteps got louder, branches snapping under her shoes, something contorted in the boy’s face.
Fear.
I guessed the boy wasn't expecting other humans to intrude.
Wren fell over himself, shuffling on his hands and knees, before diving to his feet. When he turned and ran, I was released, slipping to the ground, trying and failing to draw in breath. I barely felt the impact, only a dull thudding pain. I could hear the ghost boy’s footsteps, his uneven, shuddery breaths as he catapulted into a run.
Under a late setting sun, I watched his dancing shadow disappear into the trees.
Mission unsuccessful, I guessed.
When I was fully conscious, Aunt May was checking over Jem, helping him sit up.
“Where did he go?” I managed to get out, scanning the darkness for Wren.
“He's okay, just concussed.” May whispered, dialling 911.
My aunt applied a dressing to Jem’s wound, ignoring the boy’s hisses.
“Keep still.” she murmured, smoothing his bandaid. “What happened, Charlotte?”
“She pushed me over.” Jem groaned, shuffling away from me. When my aunt told him to stay calm, he straightened up, leaning against the tree. “The psycho bitch tried to fucking kill me!”
When my aunt's gaze flicked to me, I shook my head.
“It was Wren Oliver.” I gritted, teetering on hysteria. I could tell she didn't believe me, but I couldn't stop myself.
I prodded at my throat, clawing for the indentations where his phantom fingers snaked around my neck, squeezing the breath from my lungs.
But there was nothing.
I could feel my mind starting to unravel. I nodded to my disgruntled classmate trying to dodge my aunt’s prodding.
“Ow, ow, ow! That stings!
“He knocked Jem out.” I managed. “Then he tried to kill me.”
Jem surprised me with a scoff. “You're seriously blaming your psychotic break on a dead kid?”
Aunt May pursed her lips, motioning for Jem to be quiet. Judging from her face, however, she agreed with the boy.
May forced a smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. “Okay. Can you, uh, describe the boy to me, Charlotte?”
“He was wearing a crown,” I said, “And he looked my age.”
Aunt May cocked her head, and I saw real worry, like she was trying not to freak out. Jem made a snorting noise.
“I'm sorry, he was wearing a crown?”
“Yes!” I insisted, getting progressively more frustrated.
I tried to jump up, only for my aunt to gently lower me back down. “I know it sounds crazy, but death has sent Wren Oliver to kill me, just like my family. He tried to kill me when I was twelve, too!”
Jem let out a bitter laugh. “Your niece is a fucking wackadoodle.”
Aunt May’s eyes darkened. She grabbed my shoulders, her nails stabbing into my skin. “Charlie, I want you to listen to me, okay?” When my eyes found the rapidly darkening sky, my aunt forced me to look at her.
“Charlotte!”
She was as scared as me, her voice shuddering.
“Wren Oliver is dead.” My aunt said firmly, shaking me. Even then, though, I wasn't even looking at her. I was trying to find his ignited eyes lighting up the dark. “Wren died at eight years old in a terrible accident, and you can't keep using him as an excuse for your mental trauma.” There was something twitching in her expression I was trying to make sense of. When I risked a look at Jem, the boy was staring at me dazedly– like I really was crazy.
Aunt May pressed her face into my shoulder, and I could feel her tears soaking into my shirt. She was trying to hold it together, trying to understand.
“Charlie, I know you lost your family,” she whispered. “But you and Wren Oliver are not the same. You survived, and he didn't.” Her voice splintered.
“You need to come to terms with that, okay?”
When I didn't respond, she pinched my chin, forcing me to look at her.
“Charlotte.”
Aunt May’s voice turned cold. “I ignored this when you were a kid, but if you continue to use this poor boy as a coping mechanism, I will have no choice but to send you to a specialist.”
When Jem was taken away by paramedics, Aunt May held my hand, squeezing my fingers for dear life.
I caught her gaze scanning the tree's around us, delving into twisting oblivion. Every little noise sent her twisting around. She was looking for something.
“I'm going to get you help.” Aunt May said in a low murmur when we were back at the house. Jude was sitting on the kitchen counter, legs swinging. I could feel his penetrating gaze burning into the back of my head.
Aunt May set a cup of cocoa on the table.
“No more fairytales.”
By the time I was eighteen, I had bitten three therapists.
They refused to believe that death was coming to reclaim my soul, and was using a dead boy to do his dirty work.
For my 16th birthday, I braced myself to come face to face with Wren Oliver’s ghost.
I wasn't even in town, staying at a friend's house.
But dead boys, and especially dead boys moulded into Death’s personal soldiers, could materialise anywhere.
I locked every door in the house, and taped up my friend’s window.
Nothing happened.
On my seventeenth birthday, I was sick in bed with gastritis.
Still no ghost boy.
Death seemed to have finally left me alone.
On my eighteenth birthday, I was stuffing books in my locker when my cousin popped up out of nowhere, scowling as usual. After an unexpected growth spurt and losing a tonne of baby fat, my cousin had scaled the high school hierarchy, swapping his weird experiments for a varsity jacket and experimenting with his sexuality.
The two of us had come to an unspoken truce.
I kept quiet about his spider collection to his popular friends, and he tolerated my existence until I left for college.
“Your surprise party is cancelled.”
Jude leaned against my locker, running a hand through thick dark hair tucked under a baseball cap. Jude never admitted it, but he was definitely embarrassed of being the odd one out.
My siblings may be dead, but they were still redheads.
I pulled off his cap with a smile, throwing it in his face. “Sure it is.”
My cousin’s eyes widened. He lost his slick bravado, grabbing for his cap.
“Hey!”
According to my cousin, my party was unexpectedly cancelled every year.
I wasn't sure if it was his weird superiority complex, or just plain jealousy, but it was getting exhausting.
Jude followed me down the hallway, matching my stride.
“Can you just not come home tonight?”
I quickened my pace. “It's only a party. I'm having some friends over, and no, we won't go anywhere near your room.”
“No, I mean.” Jude stepped in front of me, and for the first time in a while, he wasn't trying to hide disdain for me.
His dark eyes pinned me in place for a moment, the world around us coming to a halt. Sound bled away, and all I heard were his slow breaths. There was something there, an unexplainable twitch in his eyes and lips, that twisted my gut.
Jude stepped closer, his lip curling. He shoved me back, losing his facade.
“Stay the fuck away from the house tonight.” He said, and his voice, his tone, was enough to send shivers creeping down my spine. Jude had always hid behind a ten foot wall in his mind. It was jarring to see something in him finally start to splinter. Fuck. I thought.
This kid had serious Mommy issues.
I blinked, and the world resumed, kids pushing past us.
Jude seemed to catch himself, slipping back under his mask.
“I'm having friends over,” he rolled his eyes, “Your presence will ruin the vibe.”
“It's my birthday?”
He groaned, tipping his head back. “Yes, I know. But–”
“I think you can deal with the attention off of you for one night, Jude.”
“Will Wren Oliver be there too?” Jem Littlewood hollered.
Jude didn't respond for a moment, his lip curling.
“Shut the fuck up.” He spat at Jem, who immediately backed down. With an audience this time, Jude forced an award winning smile. “Fine.” His lips split into a grin I knew he hated. My cousin clamped his hand on my shoulder, hard enough to hurt. I could feel his fingers pinching the material of my jacket. “Have it your way, dude.”
Jude backed away with a two fingered salute.
“Happy 78th birthday!”
In a sense, I wish I listened to my cousin.
My party was a success, sort of.
Four of us, a crate of beers, and no sign of my cousin.
I was mildly tipsy, sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling my legs in the water when my friend demanded more beers.
I was also hungry for cake, so I stumbled inside in search of the goods.
The house was dark, lit up in dazzling blue from the pool's lights reflecting through the windows. Aunt May was in her office on the ground floor, and Jude was getting high in his room. In my drunken state, I found myself marvelling my aunt's house, and how much of it was left unexplored.
For example, in the foyer, past the spiral staircase she’d had custom made, was an elevator I had never questioned.
There was a girl my age standing on the staircase.
She was frozen, mid run, dressed in ragged jeans and t-shirt.
Everything about her stuck out to me, bringing me to a sobering halt.
The girl reminded me of my sister– or at least, if my sister had ever grown up.
I wasn't sure if I was drunk or hallucinating.
Her flower crown was pretty…
Lily had grown wings.
I was slowly moving towards her, a sudden bang sounding from the kitchen.
The bang of something shattering on the floor.
Twisting around, I found myself gravitating towards warm golden light.
The first thing I saw was the refrigerator door hanging open, and someone, no, something, rooting around inside it.
Glued to the spot, I dazedly watched them grab milk, guzzling it down, and then soda, cracking open each can and sucking them dry, before carving their fingers into my birthday cake.
But I wasn't looking at the spillage of food seeping across the floor. Instead, my gaze found a crown of antlers, both human and animal bone entangled with dead flowers and human remains glued to a head of familiar matted brown curls. There was something sticking from battered and bruised flesh, twin gaping slits sliced through a torn shirt resembling glass wings that were not yet formed, reminding me of a butterfly.
Wings.
But not the wings I dreamed of as a kid. These things were unnatural mounds that both did and didn't make sense on a human boy. I could see the trauma of them slicing through his flesh, monstrous, looming things protruding from what was left of a human spine.
Human, and yet I couldn't call his beautifully grotesque face human.
Wren Oliver had grown up with me, now an adult.
Eighteen years old.
His clothes confused me, a single white shirt and shorts.
Wren’s feet were bare, battered and bruised, blood smearing my aunt's tiles.
Angel.
Death had turned his footsoldier, and my future killer, into an angel.
But there was nothing angelic about the dead boy, his body and mind sculpted and moulded into Death’s own.
The boy no longer resembled a human, feral eyes and a manic smile, choking down pieces of cake. His face had been contorted into a monster, gnashing teeth and sharp points in his ears, a sickly tinge to malnourished skin.
And that's when it hit me, watching him stuff himself with food.
Something slimy inched its way up my throat.
The boy didn't move. I don't even think he'd noticed me, gorging himself on anything he could get his hands on.
Chicken, raw bacon, leftover salad.
When he moved onto cupcakes, licking frosting from his fingers, I glimpsed markings on his arms, a language I didn't understand, carved into him.
His wrists were shackled, bound, in entangled iron and vine, iron that was ingrained into his skin, vines and flowers and ivy entangling his bones, that were part of him, polluting his blood. Slowly, my eyes found stab wounds splitting open his torso.
Raw flesh, where his skin had been torched, melting, and then merging, ripped apart and put back together over and over again.
I found his heart, the gaping cavern in his chest where it should be.
And it was.
Marked, carved, and branded with a symbol resembling an X.
Wren Oliver was not dead.
But, just like me, he should have been.
I remember saying his name, my voice slurred slightly.
I didn't drink that much, but I could barely coerce words, my head spinning.
Wren’s neck snapped towards me, his eyes narrowing with resentment I couldn't understand, hatred that seemed to puppeteer him. Slowly tilting his head, the boy’s lips split into a grin, eyes filled, polluted, with mania.
I could see where his lips had been stitched shut, and then ripped open.
“Hi.”
He held up his hand in an awkward wave.
When one of my friends stumbled into the kitchen, Wren reacted on impulse.
He picked up a knife from the counter, throwing it like a dart, straight through the guy’s throat.
Something shattered inside my mind.
Ignoring my friend bleeding out, Wren stumbled over himself, abandoning his feast. He took a single step towards me, backing me against the wall, coming so close, close enough for me to feel his very real breath grazing my cheeks. Just like when he was a kid, he traced the teeth of his blade down my throat. I wasn't expecting him to burst out laughing, trembling with hysteria.
His eyes were wild, feral and wrong, almost euphoric.
With what all I could only recognise as relief.
BANG.
I was barely aware of the gunshot.
The bullet went straight through his head, the winged boy hitting the ground.
Dead.
I saw the blood stemming around him in a halo before the bleeding pool faltered, seeping back inside his head.
Like rewinding a VCR.
Wren was dead, and then he was alive.
Wren’s body contorted, his chest inflating.
His gasp for air was painful, strangled, eyes opening wide.
Terrified.
“You fucking idiot.”
Jude’s voice sent me twisting around.
My cousin stood in the exact same robes he wore as a child.
The world tipped off kilter, and I was on my knees, then my stomach.
I sunk to the floor, my thoughts swimming.
Jude’s murmur followed me, creeping into the dark.
“I told you not to come home.”
I can't remember how long I was unconscious for.
When I woke, I was dressed in an evening gown, a dress that used to be my mother’s.
My vision cleared, and I found myself sitting in an unfamiliar room resembling an abandoned swimming hall.
The pool itself was empty, the bottom stained revealing scarlet.
There were symbols carved into each tile.
Like a game.
“Sit up straight, Charlotte.”
I was sitting at a banquet.
Jude was in front of me, sipping on wine.
He caught my eye for half a second before averting his gaze.
At the far end of the table sat my aunt May.
Kissing the rim of her glass, her smile was twisted.
“I've been waiting so long to give you your birthday presents, Charlotte. Your memories should be returning soon.”
“Mom.” Jude muttered, hiding behind his glass. “Calm down. You're embarrassing yourself.”
Ignoring my cousin, May tapped her glass with a fork, and in walked my birthday presents.
No, dragged.
By their hair.
Wren Oliver, the dead boy, was in fact my aunt's prisoner.
Behind him, was the girl who looked so much like Lily.
I think that's why my aunt chose her.
Aunt May cleared her throat.
“For a long time, our family has lived among creatures who live in the forest you played inside. In exchange for keeping this town safe, they only ask for small favors. Wayward children who disappear into the woods are good enough payment. Charlie, you and your siblings do not share our inheritance. Your mother never wanted fae children. She wanted you to be human.”
Aunt May’s smile faded.
“After losing my sister, and my niece and nephew, I made a deal to give my last surviving niece 100 years of life.”
Her words were white noise, my gaze glued to my birthday presents. I couldn't call them human anymore.
I couldn't call Wren human, when his face was so beautifully grotesque, painfully hypnotising.
The monstrous things sticking from twin slits in his back were supposed to be wings, except they looked wrong, cruelly protruding from his exposed spine. Under the influence of alcohol earlier, the girl made me smile.
Her wings, to me, looked like one of a real fairy.
In reality, they were torn and shredded apart, bigger than the girl herself.
When she dropped onto her stomach, she was dragged back to her feet, her knees buckling under the weight. Her tiara of flowers and bone looked pretty to me when I saw her on the stairs.
Now, though, I could see the pearly white of a human child's skull forced onto her head, dead flowers threaded through cavernous, gaping eye sockets.
The two of them were violently shoved into the empty pool.
“Jude. Please demonstrate, sweetheart.”
Jude stood, pulling out a gun, and aiming it at the winged girl.
BANG.
The girl’s body hit the tiles, her blood seeping across stained white.
“Now, of course, our king did not give you life for free.” May continued.
“The King demanded a debt, as well as two heirs to join him in his court once your hundred years were complete.”
Her lips quirked into a smile.
“The king is smart. If a child cannot be stolen from the human world, they can, however, be made, moulded and shaped from their human forms, skinned of their humanity through their suffering, leaving a hollowed out shell in the child's place.” She was speaking so casually, ignoring Wren’s whimpers.
“The conversion takes a while. 100 years to birth a fully blooded fae heir, who will lose their human memories, in preparation to join their new family.”
Jude shot Wren in the chest, his eyes empty.
This time, he dropped his weapon, using finger-guns instead.
“Bang.” He deadpanned.
Then the neck.
I watched Wren come back to life, and then die.
Over and over again.
I think at one point, he screamed and cried.
But not now.
He was their puppet on display, dancing for their entertainment.
Half lidded eyes drowned in oblivion found mine, and I understood his hatred.
Before he was shot again.
Stabbed.
Branded and burned, and ripped apart.
At some point, I screamed at them to stop. I couldn't breathe, slamming my hands over my ears and begging them.
Aunt May didn't listen, ordering for my hands to be tied down.
“The King required two human sacrifices to suffer in your place.” She concluded. “For one hundred years.”
Aunt May’s smile was suddenly sad, and she lifted her glass in a toast.
I was watching their blood trickle down each tile in the pool, like every death, every time they suffered, my body became progressively less human.
I felt disgusting. I wasn't supposed to be alive. Every single year of my life, every breath I had taken, was stolen.
Aunt May nodded at me, her lips forming a proud smile. She stood up, and was handed a sacrificial knife.
Climbing into the swimming pool herself, she strode over to Wren.
The boy slumped to the floor, trembling, his knees against his chest.
Aunt May grabbed him by the hair, forcing his head up, and sliced the blade across his throat.
His eyes flicked to me, and I swore he smiled.
Spots of red dotted yellowing tiles, a river trickling under my aunt's heels.
“Happy 78th birthday, Charlotte.”
Last night ended with me being locked in my room.
It's been almost 15 hours, and the door is still locked. Please help me. I'm fucking terrified of what my aunt is planning.
I can't stop shgajing. FycjbfucibFUCK
If she is telling the truth, I shouldn't be here, right??
And I can't stop thinking.
Is Wren Oliver trying to kill me, or himself?

Lesson 5: The Emperor's Authority and The Emperor Card
Our journey unfolds with The Emperor, a card embodying authority, structure, and the power of disciplined leadership. Let's explore the themes of order and governance in both external and internal aspects of life.
Discussion Questions: 1. How do you currently embody or respond to authority in your life? 2. Reflect on instances when structure and discipline were beneficial. How did they contribute to your success? 3. In what areas do you feel the need for more order or leadership, both within and outside yourself?
Guided Meditation: Picture yourself in a regal setting, symbolizing The Emperor's authority. Envision a crown atop your head, representing your own leadership qualities. Feel the sense of control and stability that comes with responsible governance. Observe any sensations or insights during this visualization.
Exercise 5: Pull The Emperor card and consider the role of authority in your life. Identify areas where establishing order and structure is beneficial. Create a plan for implementing disciplined approaches in these aspects and document your experiences as you embrace leadership.

DISCLAIMER: I'd like to note that I do not consider myself an expert on many of the topics he talks about or even economics in general but a lot of what I'm about to say is pretty easily verifiable and basic, and I'll try to be clear that I'm expressing my opinion and not fact when I'm doing so. Given my lack of expertise, none of what I say here should be considered as the final authority on these topics, it's a reddit post for fucks sake, I encourage everyone to search up the relevant data and information on the topics they are interested in or claims they find dubious. It's really not that hard and all the links and data I'm gonna cite here took me less than five minutes to find for each piece of information. If you're not familiar with where to find this data it might take you longer but I promise that anyone with access to the internet can do the same thing I'm doing. Finally, for those looking for some opinionless, academic argument, that's not what this is, this is gonna sound like a rant because it is, I'm posting this for nothing more than my own satisfaction, take from it what you will.
Ok I'm writing this after I finished the whole thing and I said that I'd try to be clear that I'm expressing my opinion and not fact when I'm doing so and the basically entire second half of this is my opinion and I don't make that very clear so sorry about that.
Honestly I'd love to be wrong because I really do think that younger people are at a disadvantage compared to previous generations at the same age but the arguments he makes and the data he uses throughout his talk just sound like such bullshit to me.
https://www.ted.com/talks/scott\_galloway\_how\_the\_us\_is\_destroying\_young\_people\_s\_future?
https://www.profgalloway.com/war-on-the-young/
Scott Galloway recently did a Ted talk titled "How the US is destroying young people's future", as well as an accompanying blog post. He's made some fair points about how young people have been put at an inherent disadvantage and that they have it harder than previous generations. That's most likely true and I personally support that point of view, but the a lot data and numbers he makes this argument with seem to be cherry picked, misleading, or just straight up wrong. So let's break his talk down. u/JustTaxLandLol made a pretty good post about him comparing median wages to the S&P500 (https://www.reddit.com/badeconomics/comments/1cc3rs8/scott\_galloway\_compares\_median\_wage\_to\_sp500/) but I think that Galloway's mistakes are much more comprehensive than just that particular slide.
The first slide with data makes a claim about how pre-tax income, adjusted for inflation, has decreased across generations from grandparents to parents to kids, and that cost of public colleges and home prices have increased significantly across generations too. First of all, categorising generations by whether they have children or grandchildren is kinda nuts. That's a very wide, overlapping, range of ages. If he has actually fixed age ranges for each generation that don't overlap and just made these categorisations for the sake of understandability to a nonacademic audience, I still think that's the wrong choice but fine. However, his claim that real income has decreased across generations is weak at best. This working paper (https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2024007pap.pdf) from the Fed Reserve was published February 2024, and from the figures that start at page 35, shows that by almost every categorisation they could think of, GenZ earns more at the same age than every previous generation before them. There's some conflict here with Raj Chetty's work but I don't have the time or knowledge to reconcile the two perspectives but at best, the pre-tax income numbers Galloway presents are questionable at best. Furthermore, he doesn't provide anyone a chance at even checking the sources he gets this information from. Not once in his entire talk does he cite a single source. He couldn't even have some tiny text at the bottom of his tables or diagrams saying what organisation he got this data from. Ok so that crossed out bit is wrong, he does have sources they're just very very faint and you can see them if you squint hard enough at the bottom left corner of his graphs. But the source he gives for this slide is a joke. Here's the link https://www.profgalloway.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Table-01.png
His "source" is his own analysis. Ok so by his analysis, the average cost of public college is 56000*0.43 = 24080. I'm gonna use numbers from this US News page (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/paying-for-college-infographic), which might not be the most reliable source in the world, but it's probably somewhere in the ballpark. So according to US News, average tuition for the 2023-2024 school year for out of state students going to a public school is 23,630 and 10,662 for in state students. If these numbers are anywhere near accurate, the only conclusion I can draw is that Galloway has cherry-picked his data by only including the cost for out of state students in his analysis. First of all, public schools in the US are there to provide affordable access to higher education FOR RESIDENTS OF ITS STATE. Using only out of state numbers is absolutely ridiculous. Secondly, even if he used only the in state numbers, 10662/56000 is approximately equal to 19%. So if I use his very very questionable pre-tax income numbers, cost of public college for in state students has still increased across his categorisation of generations. It's not like his point would have been invalidated if he had used the in-state numbers, a trend of tuition increasing as a percentage of real income across multiple generations is still very bad. This is my opinion but I guess that he just wanted to find a nice shocking number. I didn't catch this but in their post, u/JustTaxLandLol notes that later on Galloway says "real median income from labor is up 40% since 1974" so he's also contradicting himself in the same talk.
I couldn't be bothered to look into the house price to income column he has so I don't have any comments on that.
His next slide is a point about how the percentage of 30 year olds earning more than their parents did at 30 has been decreasing very significantly over time. This is from a paper in 2016 by Raj Chetty (link: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aal4617). I've seen some counterarguments about the methods used in the paper but there are counterarguments for basically every inequality paper in existence so I'd take them with a grain of salt. Those points are more complex than the scope of this post and I lack the expertise to be making them anyways so I believe this slide. I'll admit that Galloway makes a good argument for this slide.
Right after this slide he says "As a result, people over the age of 55 feel pretty good about America, but less than one in five people under the age of 34 feel very good about America. This creates an incendiary, righteous movement...". He supports this with data on the percentage of US adults who feel "extremely proud" to be American.
Before I talk about the data on this slide, I'd like to be a little anal about things and pick apart his wording and causal claims he makes. When Galloway says "as a result" he's making a causal claim about the relationship between a young person's earning ability and their national pride. Leaving aside the econometric issues of making random causal claims, this is a ridiculous marginalisation of all the other critically important issues in the US. It seems pretty clear to me that reduced national pride amongst younger individuals is a combination of a lack of social mobility (or however you want to word your version of the fading American dream), the continued existence of systematic racism and sexism, US response to ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, bodily autonomy (abortion), and many other issues. Not to say that the economic disadvantages of young people doesn't play a role in causing this lack of national pride but come on. He also says "this creates an incendiary righteous movement...". Ok if the "as a result" from the last sentence could be interpreted as the economic disadvantages of young people play some part in their dissatisfaction with the government, it should be obvious to anyone not living under a rock that many of the political conflicts and movements that have erupted in the US over the past few years have little, if anything, to do with earning ability. In the slide after the poll data he shows three photos, one of a MeToo protest, one of a BLM protest, and another of a pro-Palestine protest. I can only interpret this as him making the claim that the younger generations economic difficulties are causally linked to those movements, which is totally bananas.
Now lets talk about the data. He got this from the Gallup polls (link: https://news.gallup.com/poll/394202/record-low-extremely-proud-american.aspx, there's a link to download the pdf with the poll numbers at the end of this article). There are 5 options for the Gallup poll: "Extremely proud"; "Very proud"; "Moderately proud"; "Only a little proud"; or "Not at all proud". So Galloway is cherry-picking again. To be fair, it's true that even including the rest of the answers, a quick glance at the data suggests (very strongly) that young people are less proud than older people. There are also more young people who choose "Not at all proud" (11% for 18-34 and 1% for 55+). Though there is probably some argument to be made about whether "extreme" pride is a good thing. Furthermore, "pretty good" and "very good" do not reflect the extremity of choosing, well, the most extreme option.
As an introduction to his next slide he says that "a decent proxy for how much we value youth labor is minimum wage". I've never heard of this before and am very very skeptical but I'm willing to attribute this to my own ignorance so I'll leave that sentence alone. So on this slide there's a graph with two lines, one is minimum wage across time adjusted for inflation, the other is whats supposed to be minimum wage if adjusted for productivity (also adjusted to inflation I assume). Galloway got this data form the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) (https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/), which shows that this gap between productivity began around 1979. This was when Carter was president and right before the Reagan administration. Those who know about the economic history of this time probably won't be surprised since a lot of the policies of this time were rather inegalitarian and heavily favoured the wealthy. I agree that many of the policies of the time contributed heavily to the inequality America faces today and though I haven't read any studies about how this affects minimum wage workers, I believe that minimum wage workers or low income workers in general today have significantly lower purchasing power relative to a few decades ago.
What I have a problem with here is the idea that productivity and minimum wage should increase in tandem. According to the EPI, "Productivity measures how much total economywide income is generated (i.e., for workers, business owners, landlords, and everybody else together) in an average hour of work" and "pay is defined as the average compensation (wages and benefits) of production and nonsupervisory workers. The pay for this group is one appropriate benchmark for 'typical worker pay' because production and nonsupervisory workers have made up roughly 80% of the U.S. workforce over the entire period shown in the figure and because the data for production and nonsupervisory workers exclude extremely highly paid managerial workers like CEOs and other corporate executives". Before I try to break down my complaints with the measures used, my immediate reaction when I saw this was that it seems rather stupid to compare the relationship between average productivity and minimum wage in an industrial economy against the same relationship in a service oriented one. There are just more jobs now that let you make an impact on the economy far beyond what you are paid and it is so so difficult to quantify this change. Using a similar argument, I really have no clue how macro people make models or do estimates for things like productivity but I'm quite skeptical about the reliability of using such a measure of productivity because of the increased prevalence of second, third, or n-th order effects that would be present in a measure of something like total gdp but pretty much impossible to identify for any employer. For those who want to read more about this difference between productivity and compensation I think this is the most relevant paper from EPI (https://files.epi.org/2015/understanding-productivity-pay-divergence-final.pdf). There are some points I'm not satisfied with in this paper like them attributing the entirety of the difference between median hourly compensation to average consumer hourly compensation but that would take more time than I want to spend on this.
Now we're still on the same slide. Galloway says "we've kept it [minimum wage] purposely pretty low" twice in three sentences. Now he's suggesting that there's some collective out there that has the political power and desire to keep minimum wage low. By "we" I think he means to suggest that the old-timers have banded together to screw the young people over. Ok buddy. I'm stepping outside the bounds of what's considered strictly economics here a little but pinning the injustices of society on some ethereal enemy whose existence can never be disproven is the same as taking "advantage of the flaws in our species with medieval institutions, Paleolithic instincts, and godlike technology" (Galloway's words, same TED talk) to me. Maybe there really is some cabal of scheming geezers out there who have some twisted desire to keep the minimum wage low, but I'm more inclined to believe that a lot of these "injustices" are a result of our existing political and societal institutions being poor and inefficient aggregators of our desires as a society, rewarding selfishness instead of cooperation. This certainly makes the problem harder to solve than if there were just some evil 'others' we could get rid of and be done with. Having a target to direct our outrage at, believing that I am good and they are bad, is easier than facing the reality that everyone is born with the selfishness that creates the injustices we live with but that's not gonna make people more agreeable. As an economist, I study the theory of incentives to use the same human selfishness that creates all the problems Galloway talks about to create solutions that hopefully improve our quality of life. This is what I believe is the beauty of being human, all the good and bad that happens stem from the same desires, it is our job to create institutions and systems that allow us to channel our desires in a way that benefits everyone, but I digress. The point is, this enemy that Galloway creates is an effective tactic at convincing people of his argument, but I don't believe such a perspective benefits society at all. Mistakes should be corrected, that doesn't mean they're always the result of ill intentions.
His next slide compares the difference between percentage increase in median household income against percentage increase in median home price, as well as a comparison of the median monthly mortgage between 2019 and 2024. I have nothing to say about the graph, I agree that over time, home prices have increased to an unacceptable level. The Fed funds rate went from 2.4 percent in Feb 2019 to 5.33 percent in Feb 2024 (https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/fedfunds). To his credit, Galloway does attribute this increase in mortgage payments to "an acceleration in interest rates" but what's the alternative? Don't increase interest rates? Then if I was Galloway I'd make the same TED talk and talk about how the continued low interest rates contributed to rampant inflation that made all the poor people even poorer. It seems like he's decided to take whatever bad economic event that seems somewhat relevant and made it to be the result of some group's dogged determination to keep the younger generation down. Why is the increase from pre- to post-covid prices on anything surprising. I'd like to meet the genius who saw covid coming and intentionally created this increase in home prices.
He also says "the most expensive homes in the world, based on this metric, are number three, Vancouver. Why? Because 60 percent of the cost of building a home goes to permits...". I have no idea what point he's making here. Based on what metric, median home price? Monthly mortgage payments? Why do I care about Vancouver, a Canadian city, being number three? Then he talks about how "the incumbents that own assets have weaponized government". Either he's switched to talking about oligopolistic lobbyists in general without saying so or he's still talking about Canada. I dunno. Someone please explain. Then he says "this is the transfer I'm going to be speaking about". Also, everything he just said is talking about how there exists a group of people trying to PREVENT transfers of wealth to new entrants. And there was huge applause after that sentence. Nutsos, all of them.
Ok next slide. Galloway presents two pie charts, comparing the share of household wealth by age in 1989 to 2023. So he's talking directly about inequality in wealth now. Inequality in the US is really really bad, that's a fact. I'm a big fan of the work of Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, and Thomas Piketty. These people have been at the forefront of research on inequality for many years now and though their work is not flawless, I'm convinced by the data they present and the methods by which they have aggregated the data and what they show is that inequality is worse than even what the pie charts Galloway presents suggest. However, this is not to say that Galloway makes a valid argument. Please note the grey bits in the pie chart. If Galloway has shown the numbers for everyone under 40 and above 70, the group that's excluded are those between 40 and 70. So those in the age range of 40-70 owned 100 - 19 - 12 = 69% of household wealth in 1989 and 100 - 30 - 7 = 63% in 2023. I could probably go and find how the age demographics of the population have changed over time and I think that with declining birth rates, the percentage change in age demographics would be pretty close to the percentage change in household wealth but I'm tired of beating every slide to death so I'll leave that to someone else if anyone's motivated enough to do that (if my hypothesis is wrong here just comment and I'll make that change). My first thought when I saw this though was again, this guy has paid no regard to structural change in society. Given the increased accessibility of buying stocks over the past three decades is it really that surprising that older people who have had more time and cash at the start of the digital age to invest in companies that are now massive mega-corporations have experienced a higher return on their capital. This is not to say that none of this change in the share of wealth held by those under 40 is due to some inherent unfairness in our society and I have neither the time nor knowledge to separate these effects out but to say that this was a "purposeful" effort to cut their wealth in half is complete and utter bullshit. Also, this guy makes another causal claim WITH NOTHING BUT A CHANGE IN SHARE OF HOUSEHOLD WEALTH. Congratulations everyone Scott Galloway has just made every econometrician in the world redundant, I always knew my professors were just trying to confuse me with funny symbols and Greek letters, someone get this guy a Nobel Prize.
Then while introducing his next slide Galloway says that his analyst's presence in the audience "brings the average age of the entire conference down in 11 days". So he's saying that TED knows exactly who's showing up to their event before it happens and that they have the exact birthdates of everyone in the audience too and that they've given this information to one of their speakers. A friend of mine has told me he's just making a joke and that I should let this point go because I'm being too anal about things but yeah I become anal about things when someone suggests sweeping institutional changes in a talk viewed by millions of people so thought I'd include it anyways just as another example of the bullshit this guy has been spewing.
When he moves on to the actual content in the slide the first point he makes is about lower acceptance rates in schools. So I don't have data on this because I couldn't be bothered to go find any so again, I'll change my statement if anyone has reliable data indicating otherwise but I think its pretty safe to say that way less people used to apply than before and combined with an increase in international student applications and enrollments the competition is just way higher than before. The most obvious explanation would be that higher education institutions have made the mistake of not increasing enrollments at a rate quick enough to meet demand. However, according to US News (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/how-many-universities-are-in-the-us-and-why-that-number-is-changing) there were 3982 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the US. and UCLA is ranked 15th in national universities. So why is it surprising now that university education is becoming more popular that higher ranked universities are harder to get into. So instead of expanding enrollment I think that a well thought out plan of affirmative action would be a much better option of giving "unremarkable kids and giving them a shot at being remarkable" (what this well thought out plan may be I don't know, I honestly didn't even search up any statistics about affirmative action this was just the first solution I thought of that didn't involve ignoring the crowning achievement of statistics). To his credit, Galloway does include a point about income-based affirmative action at the end of his talk, though he overwhelmingly emphasises increasing enrollment in schools. I don't have any data about that but I think that class sizes at public universities are large enough as it is.
The rest of the slide gives numbers on college debt of house price compared to first year income. College debt is ridiculously high and many people struggle because of it. I don't have the solution and neither does Galloway because he doesn't really mention it. I think that house price-to-first year income is a poor comparison because it doesn't take into account average rate of income increase and no normal person from any generation is looking to buy a house with first year income but there's probably a more appropriate metric out there that shows a similar change anyways so I'm ok with that.
Then he talks about him and his "colleagues" who "artificially constrain supply to create aspiration and scarcity". I would like to meet the professors who have control over enrollment rates because none of mine did. Then he says "to my colleagues in higher ed: we're public servants, not fucking Chanel bags". The marketing professor from NYU says he's a public servant...ok.
The slide after that compares Harvard's increase in endowment compared to their increase in enrollment and he calls them a "hedge fund offering classes". I see no issue with this point, he made a great argument, can't really criticise anything here.
Don't worry though he makes up for it by immediately making one of the most egregious statements in this whole talk. We're looking at his next slide, the one titled "Grand Bargain" now. He says that the government should take some of the money that's supposed to be used to forgive existing loans to about 500 of the top public universities to reduce tuition by 2% and year, expand enrollments by 6% a year, and increase vocational programs to 20% of the degrees granted. Then the slide after that, claims this will double freshman seats and cut costs in half in just 10 years. Ok so he thinks that most of the money "earmarked to bail out the one third of people that got to go to college on the backs of the two thirds that didn't" should go to future students instead because, I assume from the tone of his words, he doesn't think they need or deserve all that loan forgiveness. So why bring up the increase in college debt previously (the slide I talked about three paragraphs ago)? Anyways that's not the crazy thing. Let's see what happens if you reduce tuition by 2% a year for 10 years. So the calculation goes like this 0.98^{10} is approximately equal to 0.81. So with the number he puts up, tuition decreases by 19% in ten years. If everything before this slide could be attributed to cherry-picking, stupidity, or lack of good data, then fine he's just ignorant even though he shouldn't have been if he went up there to make that talk. But now this is just a FUCKING BAREFACED LIE. I cannot think of a greater insult to the audience's intelligence than the fact that this guy didn't think anyone would pull out a fucking calculator and do the calculation themselves. I won't blame the audience for not saying anything because I'm not sure I would have wanted to do that either but at least from youtube and reddit comments there are a decent number of people who didn't realise this. A similar calculation shows that expanding enrollment by 6% per year increases seats by about 80% total (1.06^{10}). Not sure how that translates in terms of freshman seats but at least this is closer than the tuition claim.
Then his next slide compares wages to the s&p500. This is the point of u/JustTaxLandLol's post and I think his post and the discussion in the comments covers most if not all of my thoughts so you can just read that. https://www.reddit.com/badeconomics/comments/1cc3rs8/scott_galloway_compares_median_wage_to_sp500/
Ok next slide, "The Transfer: Purposeful". Oh yay he's about to make another causal claim with nothing but a graph on the change in top marginal tax rates for corporations and individuals. And if we skip ahead to the next slide we'll realise that this claim is that the gradual decrease in top marginal tax rates for corporations and individuals results in lowered senior poverty and child poverty either remains constant or increases. Yes everybody the newest advancement in economic research has just been released. Lowering top tax rates decreases senior poverty and increases child poverty. And Scott Galloway made that argument in 24 seconds (transcript on TED website has time markers).
Man I really set out with the intention to keep the tone of this post as neutral as I could but I'm just writing out my internal dialogue with less swearing now. I apologise to those who would have preferred a more careful and less emotional knee-jerk response of an analysis but this is a reddit post, its not like there are standards.
Now he moves on to talking about social security. Galloway says "it would cost 11 billion dollars to expand the child tax credit. But that gets stripped out of the infrastructure bill". So zero explanation about why it would cost 11 billion dollars to expand the child tax credit, why not more or less, no comment about how many children it would affect, how much money it would mean for each child or family, just some number that you have to accept. Most of the time there's no why to the amount of funding that the government allocates to policies but at least there's some breakdown to how its going to be used, Galloway doesn't even have that. This is before we even consider the fact that child tax credit was expanded this year (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/child-tax-credit-2024-who-qualifies/). Maybe he's talking about some other issue that I'm not aware of but I don't think so. He says he got the social security spending data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which is a think tank. I don't want to sort through their website to fact check so I'll accept it as the truth but as far as I know the actual social security administration releases their facts and figures for the year August of next year so I'm not sure why he didn't just use the 2022 numbers from a more reliable source.
His next few couple slides are about the increasing age of politicians. I think this is a great point but he probably should have used a better example of a younger politician than Justin Trudeau.
Then at around the 10 minute mark, using his slide titled "Generational Theft", Galloway claims that "we pumped the economy" during covid so that the Nasdaq would gain value, causing "intergenerational theft". I don't know if he thinks it was intentional or not but how is he going to completely ignore the fact that the stimulus checks were primarily for households that were struggling due to the greatest unemployment rate we have seen in our lifetime (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/06/11/unemployment-rose-higher-in-three-months-of-covid-19-than-it-did-in-two-years-of-the-great-recession/). I'm really kind of tired of this so I'll let those at the CBR make my argument for me. "Within the first 10 days, households spent an average of 29 cents from every dollar received. The bulk of this spending was on food, rent, and bills" (https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/how-effective-were-stimulus-checks-us). Damn so turns out struggling families did need these stimulus checks pretty urgently. Shocker. I also think that most people in finance would agree that tech stocks surged over covid because people needed fucking technology... People built PCs to play video games, used online shopping services because they couldn't go to malls, all that.
The next slide is supposed to support his point that the increase in stock prices doesn't allow young people to find "disruption". What. The only thing that matters to any investor is the percentage increase in value of the stock price after you've invested. It doesn't matter if 7 dollars is 1 share of apple or 0.04 of a share of apple. Its stock price going up by 100% means you get 14 dollars either way. I think this guy's arguments are getting dumber as the talk goes on, I actually had to go and find data to refute his points earlier on. Now arithmetic does the work for me, I should have hired a grade schooler to do my analysis.
His next point is about how algorithmic content selection is bad. Yeah its bad. Its bad for everyone, turns everyone into psychos. Though I think there's a very good argument to be made about how such content could affect developing brains. He makes a point about age-gating social media at the end of the talk. This is actually the only drastic measure he proposes that I agree with so I'll leave this alone too.
After a couple slides about Zuckerberg and TikTok (which I agree with, though I think Zuckerberg's damage probably leans more towards older people than young now), he gives a bunch of graphs showing upward trends in all sorts of terrible things happening to young people. Every single one is an issue of critical importance in the US, but importantly, no comparison to older people. For all we know, the trend on every graph could be the same or even worse for older generations. If I had written about this first then I'd go and find the data for it but at this point I just want to be done with this but can't stop without getting to the end so I'm just gonna slap this slide with lack of comparisons and move on.
His next slide shows the difference in 30 to 34 year olds who have at least one child, some of that is probably due to family planning but I still think its a great indicator of people not wanting to have children because its not affordable. Great point, I believe in it.
Next slide, oh god it's a happiness report. I think happiness reports are a fun conversational tidbit but I see no way for it to be reliable enough to be used as an argument in any semi-serious setting. That said, I have no idea how they do these measurements so maybe I'm wrong.
As if the happiness report wasn't bad enough, Galloway is gonna compare the biggest one-day market cap gain (in an unspecified time frame) to the budget of several policies implemented by the government. Oh man. This is too stupid, there's so many things to pick from it'd take too much effort to sort through them. Someone else please make the argument for me.
Then he says universal basic income should have been called negative income tax. Wow the frequency of good points is going up, though I think this is accompanied by an increase in the frequency of absolutely idiotic arguments.
Then he says we should eliminate capital gains tax deduction. The issue of taxing capital gains is a very serious one, but I don't think it actually matters that much how much we tax realised capital gains. Again, not an expert but here's my understanding. If you have a high net worth with a lot of it in stocks and you need cash, you don't have to sell them and get taxed on the realised gains. You go to the bank and say I want to borrow money, I'm going to put these stocks up as collateral so if I can't pay you back you can take these stocks which are somewhere around the value of the principal amount plus total interest over the course of this loan. Because the bank is now convinced they'll get the money back regardless of if you make the payments or not, they say ok here's the money you asked for at a nice low interest rate. Then you take the money, you keep your stocks, which will probably gain value at a rate that exceeds the interest rate by a pretty decent margin, and you can probably make your interest payments pretty easily because hey, you were rich to begin with. If you're really strapped for cash a couple years down the line, you can sell some of the stocks that are now worth more than they were before and cover your payments and not have to pay taxes on the rest that you don't have to sell. Free money. There's plenty more ways to avoid taxes if you're rich but you get my point by now. Now that's a lot of problems without a solution. Luckily we have some economists far more skilled than I am who work very hard to find solutions to these problems. Here's one example of a policy that may help (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/03/opinion/global-billionaires-tax.html). This is an opinion piece written by Gabriel Zucman (famous economist), for the New York Times. If you don't have an NYT subscription, sorry for giving a link you can't read but if you search Gabriel Zucman billionaire tax, you could probably get a decent idea of what this talks about. Here's Zucman tweeting his proposal for his suggestion (https://twitter.com/gabriel\_zucman/status/1763253132572729623). It probably requires a little more thinking than the NYT article but he did present this at the G20 so that might sound more exciting to you than some news article.
Then Galloway says "we need to remove 230 protection for all algorithmically-elevated content". Zero mention on what 230 protection is so here's an explanation (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230). Basically that was a fancy way of saying that companies should be held accountable of the content on their platform, even if it's posted by an unrelated third party. I'm not sure getting rid of it in its entirety is a great idea (though I have no arguments against that except Orwellian ones) but I certainly agree that most if not all social media platforms have abused this protection and it should be at the very least restricted. To what extent? Again, I have no clue.
Then he goes "break up Big Tech". That's the whole suggestion. This is a terrible idea but the fact that he doesn't elaborate more on how to do this, the ramifications of doing so, or really provide any explanation at all makes me automatically ignore this. Then he makes his point about age-gating social media, like I said before, I agree with it.
His next suggestions are universal pre-K, great idea, then "reinstate the expanded child-tax credit". Not sure what he's going on about here, child tax credit exists and like I said before, was just expanded. Then it's income-based affirmative action. I don't know what kind of affirmative action is best and that sounds like an interesting idea so I won't criticise it. I think the rest of his suggestions are pretty normative arguments so I'll leave those alone too.
Don't get me wrong, I wholeheartedly agree with the overall theme of his talk. I believe that young people in the US (and many places worldwide) are at a massive disadvantage when it comes to accumulating wealth, buying homes, inter-generational transfers, etc. But you cannot go up on a popular platform like this, make claims as sweeping as he has, and make suggestions as radical and drastic as he has, with garbage arguments and data like this. Saying the right things for the wrong reasons is arguably worse than just saying the wrong thing because it makes it easy for those who want the status quo to remain to make counterarguments. Given how divisive opinions have become over the past decade or so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how many people are eating this up but it kinda scares me how easily people will eat up this shit as long as its for a cause that sounds like its going for some kind of radical change for the good of all and has some imaginary "them" as the common enemy to everyone.
So that's it, I've finally covered all his points. I'm free, thank fuck. I should really proofread this but this has been my past eight hours and my back is breaking from all this sitting, I'm just gonna post this and read it over tomorrow. Maybe do a tl;dr, fix some formatting.
EDIT: As u/myphriendmike and u/Mordoci have pointed out, my dummy corp example was just tax fraud, that's illegal and so it's a bad example, I've removed it. Zucman has some estimates on the "real" tax rate wealthy people (mostly billionaires) pay, maybe I'll include that at some point.
I also corrected my wording in some places.

Disclaimer: Be polite and amenable with everyone (especially Titus, Hugo and President Smolak) and follow the steps of the guide in the order shown.

Introduction and Goals:

Remus is a man who believes that Rizia needs to modenize and respect all of it's citizens. He personally studied in University in order to revitalize Rizia and is determined to consolidate Rizia peacefully and promote world peace.
After his wife's death he found solace in Wruheism and his precious daughter but still respects other religions and wants a Rizia inclusive to all, where everybody is free to think whatever they want.
He plans to build up Rizia's infraestructure, tourism and power projection (especially culturally).
Ultimately, his dream is to reform the monarchy and give power to the people of Rizia without a revolution and with the noble's permission.

Prologue:

(the \ symbol means it doesn't matter)*
A Prince is Born: It was your calling.*
Summer Choice: Visit family in Zille.
Father Cermony: Ask about protests and doubt him.*
Pabel Choice: Be close friends.
Career Path: University (+1 Budget)
Pales Conflict: You thought it was a lost cause and demanded that he crack down on traitors. (+1 Authority)
Kidnapping: Fight back.* (you will get a cool scar)
Father Whelen Reponse: Thank him for restoring order.*
Monqiz Decision: Rebuild. (+1 Budget)
Meeting Lena: Kissed her hand, was right.*
Family Man: Family got in the way. (better relations with Vina)
Immigrants: Celebrated diversity.*
Su Omina: Didn't attend the meeting.
Boat Accident: Happily Came Along.*
Faith: Find solace in Faith (it makes religious people happy)
Hugo Return: Believed things could be better*
Royal Focus: Gold Production & Tax (+2 Budget, +1 Budget per Turn, -1 Public Opinion, -1 House Azaro Relation, -1 House Sazon Relation)
Axel Meeting: Go to the meeting, thaw between Rizia and Pales. (better relations with Pales)
Pales Trip: Lie to your father, keep your mouth shut. (better relations with Pales)
Kings Death: Rushed to him.*

Strategic Focus:

Reform, Diversify (+1 Budget), Third Way (+1 Pales Relation, +1 Derdia Relation, +1 Morella Relation), No military focus (+1 Budget).

Turn 1: A(8) B(11) E(3)

Proceed with the coronation without a speech and greet subjects with Vina. (she will be the future queen)
Allow Vina to join the council meetings. (she needs to learn, also she would become a malenyevist otherwise)
Small Parade in the Porte Drazon (there is no need for it and we need the budget for other things).
Listen to Hugo but don't drink with him. (It is too hot of a day to do so)
Enact Sovereign Transition and Clemency A(-1) (makes nobles Happy and makes you seem like you care about traditions)
Attend the economic meeting. (make a good first impression with everyone, including Manus)
Host a Concert. B(-1) (it makes the nobles happy and helps to avoid late game protests)
Let people protest, recite a Wruheist proberb, stand your ground, give no funding to the sanctuaries, participate in the Ceremony and accept the burden of God. B(-0) (we can afford the religious discontent if we don't legalize illegal substances)
Construct Zpana Hydroelectric Dam A(-2) B(-5)
Expand the Esenqiris Offshore Gas Field A(-1) B(-3)
Extensive Geological Survey A(-2) B(-2)
Raise Base Income Tax A(-2) (+1 Budget per Turn)
Listen to Lucita rant about military. (You will build her new shiny factories)
Invest in football autoskips due to lack of budget. (We will avoid the consequences of not paying)
A(0) B(0) E(3)

Turn 2: A(3) B(7) E(4)

Enact Housing for the Poor initiative A(-1) B(-1) (Avoids Housing Crisis)
Build Qalus Gold Mine A(-1) B(-3) (It unfortunately will damage the environment, but it will be very beneficial for our budgets)
In the Foreign Affairs Meeting say that you want to seal new economic pacts with other Merkopan nations and don't found the ATA.
Include Elena in the trade talks and accept the alcohol trade deal (after saying is there another way we can rephrase this?), accept the Resort deal after confering with Elena and asking if it has to be as gaudy as the one on the picture. (+2 tourism without angering the nobles too much)
Commission statues for the entire Toras family A(+1) B(-1)
Mourn Liza with Vina, reassure her that she will be the heir to the throne and you will only propose options for her to marry (not drag her to the altar). Pabel will ask to come bring you a towel, he will tell you about your father's assassination, tell him you will investigate it. (you will be getting the true murderer)
Donate to Arufelde. B(-1) (this makes you have to pay less when you do the Morella deal)
Go meet Titus with Hugo but don't mention intimacy or possible murder (do not drink).
Ignore Propaganda. (banning it angers Valgsland and Morella)
Be polite with Smolak, don't interrupt him and make a speech about cooperation and peace (protect Estela).
A(2) B(1) E(4)

Turn 3: A(5) B(8) E(4)

Fund the Golden Guard and investigate Su Omina B(-3) and tell him you would like him to investigate your father's death leaving Pabel out of it.
Denounce and distance the crown from Su Omina.
Construct the Monquiz Port and Shipyard Expansion. A(-1) B(-3) (Makes Rumburg deal possible)
Construct the Sallabes Consumer Park. A(-2) B(-2) (Industry +2, increases living standards)
Accept the maximum energy trade deal with Rumburg. E(-3) (+2 Budget -2 Energy per turn)
Visit Iza, get an old-fashioned rifle and let Vina and Rico interact, tell your uncle that they are cousins, "miss intentionally" and tell Hugo to go with his son.
Deny the Police Transfer. (Rico is a fascist and doesn't calm down the situation)
In Sallabes listen to Manus, agree to reforming Rizia and allow him to dance with your daughter.
Allow passage for goldocondist pilgrims. (makes Derdia and Goldocondists happy)
In the meeting with Rusty, be polite to him, refuse his offer and stay for lunch.
Tell Lucita you apreciate her house and want her to speak her mind, let her send agents to Pales and don't let her fall. (This guide isn't designed for a relation with her, but it is possible)
We avoid losing budget with the decline of football because we have no budget.
A(2) B(0) E(1)

Turn 4: A(6) B(9) E(0)

Disperse protestors by force A(+1) (you will need the authority)
In the meeting about the Pales dispute say you want to talk to Axel and do not initiate the blockade.
In the meeting with Axel say Rizia is prepared to let Pales keep the claim to the field, tell him you do want something in exchange, tell him not to let the hostility between our families to colour the negotiations, be understanding and say that your predecessors were out of line. Tell him that he will be caught up between superpowers and ask him about the parachute.
Pay the amount and tell him about your daughter. B(-5) (-3 Budget per turn) (+3 Energy in the future)
Send extensive military equipment to the Confederacy of Vendonesam. (-500 Military Equipment and -50 Support Vehicle)
Tell Alvarez to fuck off. (He is trying to turn Rizia and Pales against each other)
Attend the final session of the House of Delegates.
In the meeting of the house of delegates, try not to interrupt and be polite. Overturn the decision and give rights to all workers. B(-2) (-1 Budget per turn) (-2 Industry)
Accept cooperation with Wehlen in investigation. (Necessary to get them into the Intermerkopum)
Vine exports soar B(+2)
Build Tank Factory A(-3) B(-4) (+2 Industry, the first step to expanding the "forge of Rizia" Folce Dator)
During the AN meeting, be silent when Smolak anounces the delay of the Zille handover and aplaud him politely, don't applaud to Lespia and don't confront Hegel (he will be a convenient ally).
Say it's an honor to adress the assembly, focus on unity, say that what Smolak did is understandable and you will count with his transparency, say that it's understandable that Morella looked east and offer assistance, say that a compromise can be reached about religious travellers, regarding Pales say that you are in a new golden age and want to end the cycle of violence. (don't address Hegel)
Public Transportation Inefficiency Crisis Notice (We will stop it before it hits, don't worry)
During the vine launch event do a speech like this; celebrate the fruits of our land, this vine will inspire reverence to even sords, doubts about stability, with your help Rizia will be stronger than ever, proud son of Valenqiris, have faith in you and you will be richly rewarded, rising a glass to a reunited Rizia, you are here to drink wine, invite Lucita Azaro to open the bottle. (it makes them have a bit of a boost in relations) (go upstairs after the party)
(A relationship messes with how this guide works and passing decriminalization of homosexuality instigates protests on Montaklar)
Investing into Sordland is autoskipped (I won't use it because I want this guide to be possible with the default file).
A(4) B(0) E(0)

Turn 5: A(8) B(5) E(0)

Build the Military Equipment Factory. A(-1) B(-2) (Second step of our plan, it improves Azaro relations)
Build the Support Vehicles Factory. A(-2) (-3) (+1 Industry, final step of our expansion plan)
In the bilateral agreement with Wehlen be polite to Smolak and do the following:
-Import everything from Wehlen.
-Export Wine and Small Arms. (not Gold or Gas)
-Promise Aid against the BFF.
-Do not implement a Ban.
-Grant Wehzeks Equal Right to Work.
Agree to give him Rico. (you won't do it) (He will agree to the agreement)
Fund neither organization. (There is no need for it)
In the MITZ meeting be polite to everyone and vote against nationalization but say that you are willing to negotiate.
Don't fund campaign of the RNC. (we want the RPP to win)
In the Security meeting order the investigation into Su Omina to continue. Ask about the situation in Iza and say that this needs the intervention of the crown (assign the extra police forces to Lucita). A(-1) (Don't frame Rico, this way we avoid imprisoning him and Smolak won't demand him)
Tell Titus to keep looking into Sal. (he is the true murderer)
Football tries to rob you of 1 Budget. (it fails because you have no budget)
Accept cutting Lespia out in exchange for a ship. (you have to complain about the late hour to Hegel)
Sell First Batch of Military Equipment. B(-2) (-500 Military Equipment)
Be polite in meeting Alma and don't eat the cookies, split the shares 50-50 between Rizia and Morella.
For the conditions on the plane: Agree to speak to Derdia on Morella's behalf, Energy agreement and pollution reparations. B(-1) (it's 1 budget because you donated to the cause previously)
Say that you will talk to Vina about being a diplomatic envoy.
Send sordish tourists to Sordland to avoid a trial. (This doesn't damage tourism or relations)
In the visit to the Gas Field say that Vina has to go to a diplomatic mission first of all, refuse to bless their relationship and say that Axel will want her single. After that say that you like the naturalization idea and say that you don't want him dating your daughter. A(-4) B(-1) (This will make them win the elections but without spending a lot of authority)
Scrap and sell the boat A(-1) (You don't have any authority to lose anyways)
A(0) B(0) E(0)

Turn 6: A(4) B(7) E(4)

Enact the investment in Public Transport Infrastructure A(-2) B(-3) E(-1) (to avoid the infrastructure crisis)
Excavation of Topes Ancient Rezenid City A(-2) B(-2) (+2 Tourism in 2 turns)
Don't fund global media campaign. (There is no need for it)
In the meeting with the council they will tell you that the RPP has won the elections, there is no energy crisis and PaleStream will be finished soon.
Send an Infantry Division to support for Vendonesam. (-1 Infantry Division)
During the False Flag Operation maintain calm and go talk to Axel:
Shake Axel's hand, don't interrupt him, say you are there for peace, say you want a peaceful resolution, assure him of your peaceful intentions, let the soldiers leave immediately, I do not underestimate the gravity of the situation, what would we gain from this?, I am starting to suspect that, tell him you think someone else is behind the incident, Lespia, this is precisely the point, why wouldn't he?, anything for peace. B(-1) (Lucita is a better councilor and Duke than Taddeus, no need to get her imprisoned)
Tell Sal you wish to secularize Rizia.
Fund no charities A(-1) (you are unable to lose authority because you have none)
Talk to Lucita, she will tell you that House Azaro is happy with your reign and prepared to back reforms if you don't go too far.
In the official signing of the Aureus Agreement I talked about cooperation and friendship between Pales and Rizia. E(+6) (+6 Energy per turn)
Be kind to your daughter and mother during the memorial commemoration.
A(0) B(1) E(9)

Turn 7: A(4) B(9) E(16)

Abolish the Goldocondist Blasphemy Law A(-3) (Needed to negotiate with Derdia successfully)
Build the Havas Coal Mine A(-1) B(-2) (There is no negatives and it makes sense)
Don't invite Sal to the House of Representatives. They will tell you that the common people is unhappy. (we will solve this soon)
Don't fund any organization in Zille. (no need for it)
During the visit to Derdia say you want Titus to participate in the duel of generosity and let him prepare, say nothing to him.
Speak to him about mediation with Morella and to strengthen the ties between our nations. (trade deal) (-2 Energy +2 Budget per turn)
Send Naval Forces to help in Vendonesam. (-1 Ship and -1 Submarine)
Be polite to your uncle and he will tell you that House Toras is happy with your reign. (don't assassinate Mason Sazon)
Don't pardon Angelica Sazon. (She is a nuissance, also she doesn't support the reforms funnily enough)
During the visit to Iza strip Rico of his powers, put in power a democratic council and incorporate the city to Brennas. (It makes sense and will be popular)
Hugo will come to protest but he will ultimately accept your decision. (do not put Rico in charge of the police)
Improve environmental protections. B(-3)
Refuse Beatrice's offer to use the BFF. (There are no benefits, just drawbacks)
Take down the offensive painting before Axel arrives, say you want to go further and offer him to enter a grand alliance in South Merkopa and to reunite Pales and Rizia through marriage. (although only with Vina's consent)
In the family dinner propose Axel's offer to Vina but say that the choice is hers. (when she asks you if this is the best for Rizia say yes, she will be convinced)
Continue the Toras lineage through Vina. (She only possible heir anyways)
A(0) B(1) E(16)

Turn 8: A(7) B(15) E(16)

Improve Health and Education Subsidies. A(-2) B(-3) (This will make living standards even better)
Energy Subsidies for Industries. A(-3) B(-2) E(-2) (-3 Energy per Turn) (This makes the nobles happy and energy is abundant in our country now)
Invest in Renewable Energy. B(-3) (+1 Energy per Turn)
Due to the collaboration with Wehlen, Lespia's actions are known. Do not do anything about it, Wehlen will return Zille.
Host public banquets in honor of the victory in Vendonesam. A(+2) B(-2) (+2 Budget per Turn)
Welcome back our brave sailors.
On the meeting with Lespia, do not agree to anything. (they are a terrorist state)
Invest minimal efforts to the mediation between Derdia and Morella. A(-1)
In the Royal Council meeting, talk about forming a new regional alliance and proceed with it, Elena won't mention any problems with the economy. (Recession won't happen due to the high production and tourism investment)
Agree to create a constitution with Manus.
Allocate 3 Budget to the new alliance. B(-3)
Enact tenant protection laws. A(-2) B(-1)
Trade grows within GRACE. (+1 Budget per Turn) (Unfortunately it will only last 1 turn)
In the meeting with Manus Sazon be diplomatic with the nobility; design the constitution by remaining the head of state, giving powers to the government, centralize the government, a bicameral parliament with a house of lords with no legislative powers and judicial independence. (We need to find an agreement with the nobles to get no protests and this is an acceptable compromise)
In the negotiations with Wehlen be very polite to Smolak and he will return Zille only in exchange for your family's home.
Support Derdia and Wehlen mediation with minimal effort. A(-1) B(-1)
Vote Nay to Agnolia's recognition of Helijland. (Wiktor will give you back Zille)
Titus will come and tell you that Sal killed your father. (arrest him)
Low Global energy prices happens. B(-3) (I don't know if this can be avoided, but we have no budget anyways) (In my opinion, this should be avoidable if you don't export energy)
Enjoy the wedding and beginning of the reunification between Pales and Rizia.
A(1) B(0) E(14)

Turn 9: A(5) B(9) E(12)

Remove regional police. A(-4) B(-2) (-250 Military Manpower)
Launch Anti-Narcotics Campaigns A(-1) B(-1) (This will help mitigate the drug trade situation) (It is enacted now because it is only effective for one turn)
Derdia-Morella meeting: Offer to send a company of the armed forces to enforce the corridor. (-250 Military Manpower)
Derdia-Wehlen meeting: Offer a sea route and when Smolak asks for more say that you will offer extra budget. (-1 Ship) B(-1)
Aprove the new MITZ proposal. (50% of the zone is now ours)
There will be a meeting about the formation of the Intermerkopum, offer a joint energy stockpile. E(-5) (The Intermerkopum is formed and you gain 10 authority)
Enact: Remove provincial levy obligations, Permanent Work Permits to Working Hands and Lower Conscription Age to 18. A(-9) B(-4)
Accept aid from Valgsland, we will be expelled from GRACE anyways. B(+2) (This also makes them friendly with us with no negatives)
Meet with Beatrice and do whatever you want. (I chose to be diplomatic, middle, outer and inner spoon)
When Zille is returned you can choose to give it to Brennas or separate it into it's own province. (I chose to create a separate province)
Reform Conversations: Reassure the nobles, centralize, give the nobles power over constitutional amendments, give the nobles a seat in the Supreme Court and promise to give the prime minister position to Daria de Rava. (only Lucita will oppose it) (you will later appoint Manus regardless of the promise with no consequences)
Agree to the Pales Unification plans. B(-2)
A(1) B(1) E(7)

Turn 10: A(15) B(8) E(6)

Enact: Residence and Work Permit, Remove state religion, Impose gender pay equality, Remove death penalty. A(-12) B(-5) (-1 Budget per turn)
Expand Border Guards. A(-2) B(-1) (This would lower tourism in two turns, but now it gets rid of a red modifier)
Sign the new constitution and appoint Manus Sazon as Head of Government. (This will have no consequences, except for a more satisfying epilogue and RP)
Say goodbye to your councilors. (They may be assholes, but they are your assholes)
Meet with Axel and agree to integrate Pales into Rizia.
Enjoy your great unification and successfully reformed Rizia.
A(1) B(2) E(6)

Conclusions:

The military is small but it demonstrated it's power in Vendonesam and is self-sufficient in their equipment due to the new Folce Dator factories.
We have created a modern Rizia, the state is centralized under a bicameral parliament, there is separation of powers, woman's rights are respected, royal traditions are upheld and Rizia is a proud heterogenous society.
Tourism is booming, new businesses are rising, we have an efficient transport system, we have increased production and we are extracting more resources than ever. There are a few problems but most are unevitable.
We have a strong welfare state, acceptable worker's rights and great living standards.
The drug problems our nation suffers are partially dealt with and the new government should be able to end them with our new resources.
The police is now centralized, House Toras has its dignity and every religious group is neutral towards us.
The Intermerkopum has a bright future, as does our now 6 provinces; Brennas, Cardesse-Montaklar, Pales, Rizia Imperii, Valenqiris and Zille.

Combining a TON of sources of information to try to make sense of the Creation War events.
A TIMELINE OF TEMERANT
​

• Aleph creates the world, or just discovers names.
  • KVOTHE: In the beginning, as far as I know, the world was spun out of the nameless void by Aleph, who gave everything a name.
• Humans don't exist yet, but Knowers do. They are singers, name-knowers, naturally born with magic, live thousands of years, and don't require fathers for reproduction.
  • FELURIAN: long before the cities of man. before men. before fae. there were... old name-knowers... there were never any human amyr.
  • SHEHYN: Once there was a great realm peopled by great people... They were what Ademre was before we became ourselves. They sang songs of power and fought as well as Ademre do...
  • PENTHE: Sometimes a woman ripens. It is a natural thing, and men have no part in it.
  • KVOTHE: Felurian wasn’t the mine of information I’d hoped. She knew stories of the Amyr, but they were thousands of years old.
  • CINDER: Who keeps you safe from the Amyr? The singers? The Sithe? From all that would harm you in the world?
• The Knowers have hundreds of cities called the Ergen Empire.
  • FELURIAN: once, sitting on the walls of murella
  • SKARPI: Belen, Antus, Vaeret, Tinusa, Emlen, and the twin cities of Murilla and Murella. Last was Myr Tariniel... hundreds of proud cities scattered through the empire... called Ergen... the world has never seen an empire as grand...
  • SHEHYN: These people had a great empire. The name of the empire is forgotten. It is not important as the empire has fallen
• The capital of the Knower empire is Myr Tariniel, led by Selitos.
  • SKARPI: Selitos was lord over Myr Tariniel... It sat among the tall mountains of the world like a gem on the crown of a king... Myr Tariniel, greatest of them all.
  • SHEHYN: The one city was destroyed as well, but its name remains. It was called Tariniel.
• The Shapers arrive or are discovered, and they seek mastery that Selitos does not approve of.
  • HESPE: One day, a tinker came down the road to Jax’s house.
  • FELURIAN: then came those who saw a thing and thought... of mastery. they were shapers. proud dreamers... the old knowers realized no talk would ever stop the shapers.
• The greatest shaper tricks the greatest Knower, Selitos.
  • HESPE: “She doesn’t belong to me. She belongs only to herself.” “Only the moon will do,” Jax said.... “If you were fond of it, you shouldn’t have gambled it away.” The tinker scowled as he handed over his hat.
• Selitos tricks Iax into making the fae and stealing the moon, and accidentally starting a war.
  • BAST: Iax spoke to the Cthaeh before he stole the moon, and that sparked the entire creation war
  • FELURIAN: they made... the faen realm... . a place where they could do as they desired....one shaper was greater than the rest... he stole the moon and with it came the war...
  • HESPE: "I should make the moon come to me." “That’s not what I actually said,” the old man murmured. But he did so in a resigned way. Skilled listener that he was, he knew he wasn’t being heard...... And that is why the moon is always changing. And that is where Jax keeps her when she is not in our sky. He caught her and he keeps her still.
  • SKARPI: The war was called the Creation War
  • TRAPIS: There were many wars and other bad things in this time
• Ludis falls in love with Iax. She is brought with the moon to Iax, or the moon is brought with her.
  • HESPE: He poured out a sweet song into the clear night sky... “One body,” the moon began, stepping forward eagerly.
  • LAURIAN: (symbolic) He bound me with kisses and cords of chorded song. He robbed me of my virtue and stole me away
• One Temerant day equals half a year in the Fae, so that Ludis' son ages rapidly:
  • CRAWLS AT 6 MONTHS : The day after he was born, Menda could crawl.
  • WALKS AT 12 MONTHS: In two days he could walk.
  • APPEARS 17 AFTER 18 YEARS: So everyone gathered together on the first day of the seventh span... Menda looked to be a young man of seventeen.
    • NOTE: SPANS WERE 7 DAYS THEN: No, wait—there wasn’t any Mourning yet
• After years of war, only eight cities survive.
  • SKARPI: The war had lasted so long that folk could hardly remember a time when the sky wasn’t dark with the smoke of burning towns... But eight cities remained.
  • SHEHYN: In the empire there were seven cities and one city.
• The final major battle of the Creation War happens, the battle of Drossen Tor.
  • SKARPI: at Drossen Tor there was the largest and most terrible battle of this large and terrible war.
• Lanre kills the beast
  • SKARPI: Lanre stood alone against a terrible foe. It was a great beast with scales of black iron, whose breath was a darkness that smothered men. Lanre fought the beast and killed it.
• Lanre dies and comes back to life thanks to a new name, Haliax.
  • SKARPI: From beyond the doors of death Lanre returned.... Mine is a new and terrible name. I am Haliax
  • TRAPIS: You are no longer Rengen, now you are Wereth, the forger of the path.
• Iax is put beyond the Doors of Stone
  • SKARPI: After the battle was finished and the enemy was set beyond the doors of stone
  • FELURIAN: the first and greatest of the shapers... I will not speak of that one, though he is shut beyond the doors of stone.
• 7 YEARS: Lanre joins the Amyr and is separated from Lyra.
  • SKARPI: Years passed... We considered you beyond reproach.
  • TRAPIS: At the end of seven years, Tehlu’s feet had carried him all through the world.
  • SAVIEN: six years with the Amyr means he came back to Aloine on the seventh year... Three years proving himself, three years training.
• The kings and queens of seven of those cities become traitors.
  • TRAPIS: In the end, seven stayed on the other side of the line.
  • JAKE: They were the first six people to refuse Tehlu’s choice of the path, and he cursed them to wander the corners
  • SHEHYN: He poisoned seven others against the empire, and they forgot the Lethani. Six of them betrayed the cities that trusted them.
  • JAKE: They were the first six people to refuse Tehlu’s choice of the path, and he cursed them to wander the corners—
  • MARTEN: King Scyphus said, ‛Cowards! I will battle Taborlin with wizardry and best him!’
• DAYS 1-6: probably actually the same years just mentioned... six years Lanre/Savien is with the Amyr. The enemy convinces seven leaders to become traitors. Six leaders betray their own cities and the cities are destroyed.
  • SKARPI: six cities destroyed
  • TRAPIS: For six days Encanis fled, and six great cities he destroyed.
  • SHEHYN: The enemy... poisoned seven others against the empire... Six of them betrayed the cities that trusted them. Six cities fell
• DAY 7: One city is saved by a traitor who remembers the Lethani (Lanre, or Lyra who dies and is replaced by Lanre.)
  • SKARPI: But that meant all was not lost. One city still remained... They defended Belen from a surprise attack, saving the city from a foe that should have overwhelmed them.
  • TRAPIS: But on the seventh day, Tehlu drew near before Encanis could bring his power to bear and the seventh city was saved.
  • SHEHYN: One remembered the Lethani, and did not betray a city. That city did not fall.
• Day 8: Lanre returns to Lyra just before she dies. Lanre seeks even greater power to save her but fails, then kills himself, but can't stay dead.
  • FELLING = cutting down (confirmed in Portuguese DIA DE SEGA = day of sickle)
  • SKARPI: Deceit and treachery brought me to it, but her death is on my hands... But just as Lyra’s love had drawn him back from past the final door before, so this time Lanre’s power forced him to return from sweet oblivion.
  • SHEHYN: Rethe lived only three days after that, with the grief-stricken Aethe tending her.
  • TRAPIS: But on the eighth day Tehlu did not pause to sleep or eat. And thus it was that at the end of Felling Tehlu caught Encanis. He leaped on the demon and struck him with his forge hammer. Encanis fell like a stone
  • SAVIEN: Savien, how could you know It was the time for you to come to me?... I cried for Sir Savien and Aloine, for love lost and found and lost again.
  • DAEONICA ACT THREE: Felurian! What have I done? The adulation of my peers below has been a waste of hours. Could I recall the moments I have careless cast away, I could but hope to spend them in a wiser way, and warm myself in light that rivals light of day.’
• Day 9: Cinder and Lanre take Myr Tariniel and bind Selitos.
  • REAVING = plundering (confirmed in Portuguese DIA DE SAQUE = day of looting)
  • CTHAEH: Maybe this Cinder did me a bad turn once.
  • SKARPI: Lanre arrived in Myr Tariniel. He came alone, wearing... a second skin of shadow. He had wrought it from the carcass of the beast he had killed at Drossen Tor.
  • TRAPIS: and on the morning of the ninth day he came to the city of Atur... Though he had taken no rest nor a morsel of food, all through the ninth day Tehlu labored. While ten men worked the bellows, Tehlu forged the great iron wheel.
• Day 10: Lanre burns Myr Tariniel.
  • CENDLING = burning (confirmed in Portuguese DIA DE PIRA = day of pyre)
  • SKARPI: Myr Tariniel was burned and butchered... For a night and a day Selitos stood helpless
  • TRAPIS: when the first light of the tenth morning touched him, Tehlu struck the wheel one final time and it was finished.... Tehlu laid the body of the demon on the wheel.... Tehlu sent men... to kindle a bonfire in the bottom of the deep pit
  • DAEONICA ACT FOUR: ...famine and a fire. Till all around him desolation rings And all the demons in the outer dark Look on amazed and recognize That vengeance is the business of a man.
• Day 11: Selitos overpowers Lanre and banishes him.
  • MOURNING = grieving (confirmed in Portuguese DIA DE PUTO = day of mourning)
  • SKARPI: When the next day dawned on the blackened towers of the city, Selitos found he could move
  • TRAPIS: When the morning of the eleventh day came, Tehlu went to Encanis a third and final time... and threw Encanis in... Both of them burned to ash in the pit in Atur.
  • DAEONICA EXORCISM SCENE: Begone!... Trouble me no longer! I will set fire to your blood and fill you with a fear like ice and iron!... Leave this place clean of your foul presence... By the power of my name I command it to be so.

​
​
This timeline suggests:
LUDIS = LADY PERIAL = LADY LACKLESS = ALOINE = NIGHTINGALE (NIGHT SONGSTRESS) = EMPEROR'S-OLDEST DAUGHTER / LADY IMPERIAL = SYMBOLICALLY NETALIA LACKLESS

• Perial was touched (sexed) by a God (Iax) in a dream (the fae) and had a baby that aged quickly (raised in fae)
• PERIAL: Lady Perial is just a character. Lady Lackless is a real person
• ALOINE: Aloine was like a nightingale
• LADY: I wasn’t sure if there was a female counterpart to the title of Maershon.... Anything you wish to say to me you can tell my lady wife... The Maer’s new lady wife sent you this?

​
LADY REYTHIEL = RETHE = LYRA = PERIAL'S YOUNGER SISTER = SYMBOLICALLY MELUAN LACKLESS

• Rethe and Reythiel sound like 'wraith'. Lyra is dead...
• REYTHIEL: is in a play with Fain, who is in another play with Perial.
  • KVOTHE: you played Lady Reythiel in The Swineherd and the Nightingale.
• KILLED BY THE MAN WHO LOVES HER
  • RETHE: Rethe lived only three days after that, with the grief-stricken Aethe tending her. He gave her control of the school
  • LYRA: Deceit and treachery brought me to it, but her death is on my hands.
• MELUAN: I know of her sister. Her family’s tragic shame. Run off and love a trouper. How terrible

​
GOD TEHLU = IAX = FAIN = SYMBOLICALLY ARLIDEN

• Tehlu was unhappy.
• Jax... never laughed.
• Some said the problem was that he never had any parents.
• How is it any different than parts of For All His Waiting? Like when Fain asks Lady Perial about her hat

​
MENDA = MAN TEHLU = IAX'S CHILD = CINDER = TABORLIN = MASTER ASH = SYMBOLICALLY KVOTHE

• The day after he was born, Menda could crawl. In two days he could walk.
  • Menda/Tehlu had no mortal father and could crawl after 1 day, walk after 2 days, and looked 17 after 36 days... all of which makes perfect sense if one Temerant day = fae half year.
• He stood proud and tall, with coal-black hair and eyes
• his expression grew concerned behind his matte-black eyes.
• I saw pity staring at me with hollow eyes.
• But Tehlu stood forward saying, “I hold justice foremost in my heart (i.e. Tehlu isn't god)
• Possible hair color misdirection due to black turning gray, or due to soot hiding the gray: I would have bet a solid mark your hair was black.

​
ENCANIS= SELITOS/CTHAEH = TINKELISTENER

• ORACLE
  • CTHAEH: "you're an oracle"...
  • SELITOS: he could see any attack long before it came...
  • TINKERS: are oracles (Offers boot wax, boots get wet. Offers strawberry wine, misses romantic Denna opportunity. Offers rope, hands get scraped from climbing.)
• SEE'ER
  • CTHAEH: the Cthaeh does not lie. it has the gift of seeing... I am Cthaeh. I am. I see. ..... I can see ten feet through you.... Cthaeh can see the future. All futures.
  • SELITOS: the story of a man who lost his eye and gained a better sight... Selitos could see its hidden name... Such was the power of his sight that he could read the hearts of men like heavy-lettered books... Using the power of his sight he kept watch... Selitos, I name you. May all your powers fail you but your sight... Now I see truer than before and my power is upon me.
• KNOWER
  • SELITOS: Selitos knew that in all the world... Selitos knew with certainty... Selitos knew that Lyra was dead.
  • CTHAEH: I am. I see. I know.
  • LISTENER: It’s tricky, proper listening. But once you have it, you’ll know the moon... Skilled listener that he was, he knew he wasn’t being heard
• SPOKE TO IAX:
  • CTHAEH: Iax spoke to the Cthaeh before he stole the moon, and that sparked the entire creation war.
  • TINKER: One day, a tinker came down the road to Jax’s house.
• SPOKE TO LANRE:
  • CTHAEH: Lanre spoke to the Cthaeh before he orchestrated the betrayal of Myr Tariniel
  • SELITOS: They often kept each other’s council, for they were both lords among their people.
• BITING / SERPENTINE
  • CTHAEH: I thought I saw a sinuous motion among the branches... “Kyxxs,” the Cthaeh spat an irritated noise... it has not bit you, and your eyes are clear, so all is well.
  • ENCANIS: “What then?” Encanis hissed, his voice like the rasp of stone on stone... scratching and biting...
  • SELITOS: Selitos’ words were cruel and biting

​
Haliax isn't the shadow or the knife-voiced, he is hamed to the shadow and has the knife in his mind.

• HAL-IAX: I am no longer the Lanre you knew. Mine is a new and terrible name.
• VOICE LIKE A KNIFE:
  • ENCANIS: whose voice was like a knife in the minds of men.
  • IN HALIAX'S MIND: the power he had taken up lay like a hot knife in his mind.
• DARKNESS:
  • ENCANIS: the swallowing darkness... whose face was all in shadow.
  • IN HALIAX'S MIND: bears the shadow's hame

AETHE = LANRE?

• Full of anger, Aethe shot his arrow. It struck Rethe like a thunderbolt.
• Deceit and treachery brought me to it, but her death is on my hands.

​
​
TLDR:
HESPE'S STORY: Iax wants Ludis, Selitos' oldest daughter and heir to the Ergen Empire. Iax tricks Selitos. Selitos gets revenge by tricking Iax into creating the fae and taking Ludis there, so that he could claim she was stolen. Ludis goes to the fae because she likes Iax and his music. Selitos starts a war using that as the excuse, since other nobles wouldn't agree to a huge war over a petty dispute.
TRAPIS'S STORY: Ludis returns from the fae with Iax's son Tehlu who appears 17 from being in the fae for 36 days. Selitos explains this by claiming Tehlu is a child of their God Aleph. Tehlu is tricked by his mother's father Emperor Selitos into being an Amyr and fighting against Iax, unaware Iax is his father. Tehlu fights against demons/faens in the mortal realm. Tehlu chases the faens across the realm, killing them and banishing them, until he learns the truth and does Selitos 'a bad turn', helping save one innocent city and destroying the guilty Myr Tariniel instead.
SKARPI'S STORY: Lanre was the King of the Humans. They had no cities, no magic, no skill in naming. They were ravel, barbarians, with no civilization. They had man-mothers. They didn't have songs of power, so they sang openly and publicly. Selitos tricks Lanre into being his Amyr soldier to fight against Iax, when really Iax didn't do anything wrong. Lanre dies defeating Iax. Lady Lyra feels guilty for betraying Lanre, so she gives her immortality as a Knower to Lanre, making him Haliax, and bringing him back from the dead. Her immortality now gone, she passes a few years later of natural causes. Lanre kills himself in grief for 'taking her life' but finds that he cannot stay dead. However, while in the underworld, Lanre meets Iax learns the complete truth about Selitos's trickery. Lanre accepts the gift of Iax's additional power, and escapes hell and wreaks havoc on Selitos and the human-enslaving Knowers of Myr Tariniel. Selitos manages to save himself by stabbing his own eye and using the blood as a source and link to overpower Lanre and banish him and the other Chandrian. This leaves Selitos alone on Temerant as witness to events, and Selitos uses this opportunity to frame the Chandrian and keep them hunted, and similutaneously destroy all historical references to the truth. Ultimately, he creates Tehlinism and laws to arrest any who blasphemed by spreading true history, and 'human amyr' secretly infiltrating noble houses and universities and libraries to destroy copies of banned stories.
SOMETHING LIKE THAT. I'll keep working on this.
​

Hello!
I'm new to religions outside of the one I was raised in (That being Baptist Christian), so bear with me!

[If you wish to skip over the blah blah- scroll down to the line of #####!!!!]

And I have been obsessed with the Greek Pantheon since I was a young kid, despite believing what i was raised in. I had such a fascination with the Greek Gods and how everything was covered under different beings, instead of one big collect-all-one.
For the past three years I have began slowly moving away from Christianity, and at first I was lost and afraid to fully let go of the religion. I was heavily influenced that doing so would equal eternal hell-fire and that whole blah blah stuff. I started exposing myself to other spiritual aspects of stuff, witchcraft mostly, and started to slowly fall in love with it. Although recently (the past year) I have decided to fully embrace it and let go!
I have, of course, gravitated towards the Greek pantheon and have found myself in both a worship/working relationship with Lord Hades and Lady Persephone. I used to love learning the stories of the gods when i was young, and felt pulled to worship Lady Persephone which lead to Lord Hades as well- it blends nicely together and i love the way it flows.
---------------------------
Now (closer) to my question of Athena. Im talking about signs in this portion
I began receiving these things that i consider signs, the only issue was something felt different. I'm used to getting deer as things from Lady Persephone, as I've connected them with her. But the other night when I was out collecting clover flowers to make a flower crown, i was heavily energetic that night and decided to take my earbuds out to listen to nature as the sun was setting.
There was a deer that was walking closer to me from the field near my house, as time went by she was getting closer and closer- they can be so curious sometimes ^^
I heard a bird call that almost sounded like a honk? So me being from the country and used to flocks of geese flying around, i looked up in search of the goose/geese. Instead i was met with a slender and sharp figure flying ahead. It took me going through the different birds around where i live and i finally figured it out when it was directly above me- It was a heron. And not only that, i felt something with it. Something felt almost off? It was a strange feeling, I've never felt it before.
So me being me- I was curious, and got on my research.
I learned that ancient Greeks believed heron's were messengers of the Gods, and more specifically Aphrodite and Athena.
My partner has recently gotten involved with worshipping Aphrodite, as of the last year or so, and i have been helping him with steps to take (more so helping him find the best way to research, since I'm not well-versed). So I was wondering if she was possibly the one sending it to me. i was not even CONSIDERING Athena at this point.
I did a small tarot reading, and ended up with The High Priestess and The Star- so at first I was thinking it could've just been Persephone (the high priestess) but realized they fell at the same time, and The Star doesn't make sense for her. I researched and found that Aphrodite could be associated with The Star card- so i was somewhat convinced it could be her? As i went to sleep that night, I asked for any signs in my dreams from her or whoever it could be. The next morning, i couldn't remember anything, so i was disappointed. The same thing happened the next night.
So i did more tarot readings, asking specifically for a card to give me a clue as to what deity it was. These were the cards, and who i associated them with (with the help of research):

• The sun: Apollo, Artemis, Athena

- Strength: Athena, Hestia
- 10 of swords: unable to pin a deity name to it, Except that Swords is "Athena's suit" because of it's meanings.
---------------------------
After a few more questions being answered by tarot cards, i got these answers (targeted as "whoever you are" to the deity/entity)
- "What is it you want from me?": Six of Pents (generosity, giving and receiving, gratitude)
**- "How can I do this for you": Page of wands (fearless, fresh ideas, energetic) [**it being reversed i read also: Having the passion to succeed but may be afraid of the unknown]
***- "***What card represents you?": 1st card, The sun. 2nd card, didnt write it down but it was directly Athena according to my notes of research?

• "Are you wanting to work with me, y/n?": yes

- "Are you wishing to be worshipped, y/n?": no
- then a card that agreed to me asking if it was Athena, something of the swords suit
- ***"***Does this have something to do with me starting my studies soon (college)?": 1st card, yes- 2nd card, yes
- ***Then i asked, to clarify a somewhat neutral card from the previous question- "***Are you wanting to be worshipped at all alongside working?" AND THE TOWER FELL OUT- so needless to say i heard her very clear NO.
---------------------------
I've been thinking about it none stop for the past week, and I've considered it- and have come to the conclusion that I would be okay with working with Athena. ESPECIALLY because I am beginning college in a few months! I want to be as respectful as I can to my CURRENT deities and also to Athena herself!!
I NEED HELP WITH THIS. I am currently living in my parents household, as I cannot live on my own yet. I am a legal adult, so i know i have the legal aspect in my favor- But i DO NOT want my household to know im religious at all (all they know is i have stepped back from Christianity for my own personal history and reasons, and the trauma i endured relating to it.)
I have made a tall prayer-candle and dressed the outside of the vessel with her symbol AND an owl symbol. On the back i have written a prayer to Athena, just as my usual touch for deity candles in this style.
Does anyone have advice on how i can go about working with Athena? I want to gain her help with my studies and such, and i want to do this in the best way possible.
Will Hades and Persephone be upset with me for doing this? Can they exist in the same space as each other (same room, not shelf).
Im anxious about all of this, and i dont want to make a mistake. Any advice or help is appreciated!!!!!

Hello!
I'm new to religions outside of the one I was raised in (That being Baptist Christian), so bear with me!

[If you wish to skip over the blah blah- scroll down to the line of #####!!!!]

And I have been obsessed with the Greek Pantheon since I was a young kid, despite believing what i was raised in. I had such a fascination with the Greek Gods and how everything was covered under different beings, instead of one big collect-all-one.
For the past three years I have began slowly moving away from Christianity, and at first I was lost and afraid to fully let go of the religion. I was heavily influenced that doing so would equal eternal hell-fire and that whole blah blah stuff. I started exposing myself to other spiritual aspects of stuff, witchcraft mostly, and started to slowly fall in love with it. Although recently (the past year) I have decided to fully embrace it and let go!
I have, of course, gravitated towards the Greek pantheon and have found myself in both a worship/working relationship with Lord Hades and Lady Persephone. I used to love learning the stories of the gods when i was young, and felt pulled to worship Lady Persephone which lead to Lord Hades as well- it blends nicely together and i love the way it flows.
---------------------------
Now (closer) to my question of Athena. Im talking about signs in this portion
I began receiving these things that i consider signs, the only issue was something felt different. I'm used to getting deer as things from Lady Persephone, as I've connected them with her. But the other night when I was out collecting clover flowers to make a flower crown, i was heavily energetic that night and decided to take my earbuds out to listen to nature as the sun was setting.
There was a deer that was walking closer to me from the field near my house, as time went by she was getting closer and closer- they can be so curious sometimes ^^
I heard a bird call that almost sounded like a honk? So me being from the country and used to flocks of geese flying around, i looked up in search of the goose/geese. Instead i was met with a slender and sharp figure flying ahead. It took me going through the different birds around where i live and i finally figured it out when it was directly above me- It was a heron. And not only that, i felt something with it. Something felt almost off? It was a strange feeling, I've never felt it before.
So me being me- I was curious, and got on my research.
I learned that ancient Greeks believed heron's were messengers of the Gods, and more specifically Aphrodite and Athena.
My partner has recently gotten involved with worshipping Aphrodite, as of the last year or so, and i have been helping him with steps to take (more so helping him find the best way to research, since I'm not well-versed). So I was wondering if she was possibly the one sending it to me. i was not even CONSIDERING Athena at this point.
I did a small tarot reading, and ended up with The High Priestess and The Star- so at first I was thinking it could've just been Persephone (the high priestess) but realized they fell at the same time, and The Star doesn't make sense for her. I researched and found that Aphrodite could be associated with The Star card- so i was somewhat convinced it could be her? As i went to sleep that night, I asked for any signs in my dreams from her or whoever it could be. The next morning, i couldn't remember anything, so i was disappointed. The same thing happened the next night.
So i did more tarot readings, asking specifically for a card to give me a clue as to what deity it was. These were the cards, and who i associated them with (with the help of research):

• The sun: Apollo, Artemis, Athena

- Strength: Athena, Hestia
- 10 of swords: unable to pin a deity name to it, Except that Swords is "Athena's suit" because of it's meanings.
---------------------------
After a few more questions being answered by tarot cards, i got these answers (targeted as "whoever you are" to the deity/entity)
- "What is it you want from me?": Six of Pents (generosity, giving and receiving, gratitude)
- "How can I do this for you": Page of wands (fearless, fresh ideas, energetic) [it being reversed i read also: Having the passion to succeed but may be afraid of the unknown]
- "What card represents you?": 1st card, The sun. 2nd card, didnt write it down but it was directly Athena according to my notes of research?

• "Are you wanting to work with me, y/n?": yes

- "Are you wishing to be worshipped, y/n?": no
- then a card that agreed to me asking if it was Athena, something of the swords suit
- "Does this have something to do with me starting my studies soon (college)?": 1st card, yes- 2nd card, yes
- Then i asked, to clarify a somewhat neutral card from the previous question- "Are you wanting to be worshipped at all alongside working?" AND THE TOWER FELL OUT- so needless to say i heard her very clear NO.
---------------------------
I've been thinking about it none stop for the past week, and I've considered it- and have come to the conclusion that I would be okay with working with Athena. ESPECIALLY because I am beginning college in a few months! I want to be as respectful as I can to my CURRENT deities and also to Athena herself!!
I NEED HELP WITH THIS. I am currently living in my parents household, as I cannot live on my own yet. I am a legal adult, so i know i have the legal aspect in my favor- But i DO NOT want my household to know im religious at all (all they know is i have stepped back from Christianity for my own personal history and reasons, and the trauma i endured relating to it.)
Does anyone have advice on how i can go about working with Athena? I want to gain her help with my studies and such, and i want to do this in the best way possible.
I have made a tall prayer-candle and dressed the outside of the vessel with her symbol AND an owl symbol. On the back i have written a prayer to Athena, just as my usual touch for deity candles in this style.
Will Hades and Persephone be upset with me for doing this? Can they exist in the same space as each other (same room, not shelf).
Im anxious about all of this, and i dont want to make a mistake. Any advice or help is appreciated!!!!!

When I remember that day, there’s still one part I can’t figure out. Why the library? There were a dozen other places that would have better suited the occasion of a meeting between a king and his eventual heir. The expected venue would have been the palace of course, an entire block of the city combined into one massive building. A bit more dramatic would have been the city’s great lighthouse, the buildings and bay all spread out before you. But no… he chose the library. I still remember the smell. Not quite wet, not quite dry. The moment you opened your mouth it would rush in til you could taste it. Dust I think, maybe a tinge of mold. Old dust, older than I can bring myself to imagine. The smell of history herself...
I walk quietly through the stacks, lofting my dim candle. The guard insists that I’m to go ahead without him. His heavy armor clinks as he gestures, the sound at odds with the silence that fills these rooms. Inside, I’m still afraid of men like him. They used to have such disdain for rats like me. Now everybody treats me with a mix of respect and fear. But I know it's borrowed, a gift from my adoptive parents.
The stacks ahead are crowded and tall. One day I hope to be tall enough to reach the top shelves. I’ve always wondered if my father was tall. My real father. I used to ask myself questions like that every time I looked in the river. What did they look like? Is my cowlick from my mother? Are the freckles my dads?
A sound from ahead brings me back to the present. Paper sliding against paper, moved with a leisurely hand. Holding my breath just a bit, I turn the corner. Sloughed over a reading desk is an old man. His back is bent over with age & a few low candles provide a dim backlight. He wears thick robes, an elder fighting against the chills of winter. He could have just been a professor, preparing for a class on some ancient text. But the crown gives him away. Carved of driftwood, inset with Ambergris, gold, and pearl. A king’s crown, the symbol of office for the Lightbringer, He-who-keeps-the-sea-at-bay, Ivyland’s Wolf. My adoptive great-grandfather, Paul Mahonic.
He smiles in the dim light, but his old muscles don’t quite let it reach his eyes. “Phineas! My great-grandson. I’ve been anticipating this day for a long time.” He slowly stands and we face each other, still. “Come here son, you don’t have to be afraid, we’re family!” I shuffle forward a bit, and he grabs me into a hug.
“What do you think of this library? I’ve spent a lot of time and about as much money restoring it to what it used to be.”
“It’s… old.”
“Quite true. According to some records, it's over a thousand years old at this point.”
I don’t quite know what to say to that. The dust hangs thick in the unsteady light.
“And yet, young Phineas, this place was built by mortal men. Like you and me, they committed to building something greater than themselves. It took sacrifice, bravery, and vision. Their work was often uncertain. And yet, here you and I stand, inheriting their work.”
The Lightbringer leans down and stares straight at me, as I shiver in the cold.
“Phineas. Do you think you can build something? Something grand? Something that will last throughout time?”
“I… I don’t know. I’ve never built a building.”
“I’m speaking of more than just construction, son! Sit, let me tell you how building is really done.” He drags a second chair over and returns to his seat at the desk. He slides a candle around to chase away some of the shadows. “I’m old now, but I wasn’t always. I hate to talk about myself, but it's illustrative. What do you know about my early days?”
Part of being adopted meant being subjected to a battery of tutors. I’d managed to pay decent attention in some of my classes.
"You… were forced to recant as a young man, but secretly held to your beliefs. You served the Mayflowerist as a knight & a lord, fighting off raids from up north. When the old King…”
“Colonel. The Americanists call their Kings ‘Colonel.’”
“Oh… uh sorry.”
“It’s ok, easy mistake. The difference is not as big as they like to make it seem. Continue”
“When the old Colonel died, you were elected to the office. You led an invasion south into New York, but had to also fight off American’s from Old Dominion. At the battle of Raritan, you defeated their troops led by Colonel Ironwrit, including personally taking one of his eyes.”
“I still remember the look on his face. If there was one moment in all my life that was unexpected, it was that one. Unexpected for him too.” I found myself staring at this old man, wrapped in furs. I had heard so many stories, he was a warrior & a leader of men. And yet, here he was, admitting surprise that he had won his greatest battle. The king looked at me, an eyebrow raised.
“Oh, sorry. You then marched triumphant into New York. Once your position was strengthened, you & your allies revealed yourselves to be true to the Lights and overthrew the Mayflowerists. You organized the light keepers and they proclaimed you the Lightbringer, the anchor of reality, standing against the Deep Ones. You led wars against the Lobstermen, the Hemlockers, and even the Torontoists.”
“That I did, bloody & freezing cold those wars. I didn’t much care for them. Do you remember how those ended?”
“With the marriage of adopted parents.”
“Yes. Remember that, we’ll come back to it. And what of today, what events take place in the south?”
“You’re at war again, with the Americanists?””
“Yes, excellent. Against old Ironwrit again, if you can believe it. Seems good vision isn’t one of the qualifications for being their President. He and I are much older than last time, now we have the young men doing our fighting for us. I wish I could be there, to see his face when I stride into their precious National Mall…”
The candle was slowly shrinking, long runs of wax forming esoteric shapes as they flowed downwards.
“Your tutors did well. Young Phineas, we talked earlier about building. I’ve sponsored many building projects, including the restoration of this library. But do you know the greatest thing I built? This Kingdom. It’s lands, it’s rulers, it’s alliances, it’s soldiers. This is what I’ve built to stand against the chaos of the ocean. But do you know how I built it?”
“... With determination. And faith. And courage.”
“A good answer, if a bit textbook. Young Phineas, you are my great-grandson. Do you know what that means?”
I nod, eyes fixed on the crown he wears.
"One day soon, the sea’s chaos will claim even me. And one day it will be your turn to rule. To build a kingdom to last. So it’s important that you know how to do that. All those virtues you mentioned, they will only bring you so far. Let me tell you something. I didn’t take Ironwrits eye.”
“What?”
"It’s a myth, everyone just believes it even though I never claimed to. It was one of my champions. The battle was heavy upon us, our lines were almost broken, the Americanists all around us. Seeing my soldiers close to breaking, I rallied what I could of our minutemen, and led a charge toward the enemy banner. That fight was glorious. I can still remember the snapping of spears and bones and we forced our way up that hill. We got close to the enemy command. I tried to fight my way to Ironwrit, but we were forced off the edge of the hill. I thought we had failed, but one of our bands, led by a knight named Ian-Flemming managed to rush the royal guards. It was Ian’s spear that claimed the eye.”
“Oh…”
“Lesson one of building: Just because they say it, doesn’t mean it’s true. You need to learn that. Let's try again. Coming back to your mother, tell me about her.”
The true answer came first, that I didn’t know anything, that she had abandoned me at birth, that I dreamed about her every night… But I’d endured enough beatings for that answer. I begin to lie, “She’s the first daughter of the King of Gagnon of Maine. She’s married to your Grandson, Paul II, Duke of New Haven. She currently rules over the tribes and coasts of Maine.”
“And why did she become the Queen of Maine?”
“Because all her brothers died.”
“Yes, tragic mishaps. The oldest after taking a poleaxe to the head. The second choked to death at a feast. And poor young Lowell fell from the tower of his ancestral home. This is the sad history. And yet young Phineas, what did we just learn?
“That… that just because they say it… doesn't mean it’s true…”
Paul smiled with his strange, strained grin and I felt the library’s cold grip my stomach. My adopted mother… the circumstances that led to her taking the throne, just a few years after her marriage. What part had this man played…
"My Grandson and his wife never managed to have children. That's why they adopted you."
The murderer leans forward and grabs my shoulder, crushing it with a surprising strength. He’s staring straight into my eyes, so close I could see my own reflection in them. Fear traps my traps my breath in my throat.
"I've worked hard to build this Kingdom, Phineas. I've spent my youth being humiliated by Americanist fanatics, my middle age campaigning in distant mountains, my old age making alliances with fools. I have twelve children, only six of them are left to me. I've sacrificed more than you will ever know, all so that you can be twice the King I am. It is your responsibility to learn what it takes to grow it."
Something finally releases. I manage to push my feet up, toppling my chair backwards. I scramble to my feet. The fear takes hold then and I find myself running away into the stacks.
The old man calls after me. "Good talk my boy! We'll chat again soon, you have much to learn."
That was the only time I met the man who called himself my great-grandfather. He died just a few days later. He never did get to bath in the pool of Lincoln like he wanted.
I've tried so hard to avoid the path he set for me. But even dead, I can't escape his schemes. My adoptive father recently passed away. Today, I received my second crown, The same one I remember from that library. As I look in the mirror to admire it, all I can see is his face, the Wolf, still grinning…

So far we have seen what the Bible reveals about God and God's attributes, and here we briefly see what the Bible reveals about God's attributes that are also mentioned through other attributes of God and very often are inseparable from some others or from some other attribute.

1. God is invisible

We talked about the fact that God is a "Spirit" and as such He does not have a physical body that we know and that we can see with the naked eye, so we can say that God is invisible to us.
Here are some verses where it says that God is invisible.
"Look, he's walking past me, but I don't see him; it passes and I don't notice it."
Job 9:11
.. Behold, if I go forward, He is not there; if back, I do not find Him; If he works on the left, I don't see Him; if on the right, he took cover, I can't see him."
Job 23:8-9
"No one has ever seen God: the only begotten Son who is in the arms of the Father, He announced Him."
John 1:18
"Who is the form of the invisible God, who was born before all things."
Col. 1:15
,, And to the Eternal King, Incorruptible, who is not seen, to the only all-wise God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
1 Tim. 1:17
,, Who himself has immortality, and lives in light that cannot be approached, whom no man has seen, nor can see, to whom honor and eternal state. Amen."
1 Tim. 6:16
"He left Egypt with faith, not fearing the king's wrath; because they clung to Him who is not seen, as if they saw Him."
Hebrew 11:27

1. God is immeasurable and omnipresent

We said that God is not limited by earthly laws, nor can the essence of God be grasped. In addition, God is everywhere present and immeasurable in everything, such as e.g. creation, knowledge, giving, forgiveness, salvation, etc.
"But will God really live on earth? Here, the sky and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You, let alone this home that I am building."
1 King 8:27
"For His eyes are turned to the ways of man and He sees all his steps. There is no darkness or shadow of death where those who commit iniquity can hide."
Job 34:21-22
"Where would I go from Your spirit, and where would I flee from Your face? If I go to heaven, You are there. To go down to hell, there you are. To rise on the wings of the dawn, and move to the end of the sea: And there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will hold me. To say: Yes if the darkness hides me; but the night is also like light around me. Even the darkness will not be darkened by You, and the night is as bright as the day: darkness is like light. For You created what is in me, You formed me in my mother's womb. I praise You, that I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and my soul knows it well. Not a single bone of mine has hid from You, even though I was created in secret, woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my embryo, all that was written in Your book, and the days were recorded, when there were none of them yet."
Ps. 139:7-16
"The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, seeing the bad and the good."
Proverbs 15:3
"Am I God from near, says the Lord, and am I not God from afar?" Can someone hide in a secret place so I don't see them? Speaks the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth? Speaks the Lord."
Jer. 23:23-24
"If they bury themselves in the lowest part of the earth, from there my hand will take them; and if they go up to heaven, I will take them down from there; And if they hide on the top of Carmel, I will find them and take them from there; and to hide before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them"
Amos 9:2-3
"And there is no substance unknown before Him, but everything is naked and exposed before the eyes of the One to whom we speak."
Hebrews 4:13

1. God is reasonable and wise

From the presentations so far, we could conclude that God is reasonable and all-wise, because only such a God can control all events in our visible and also invisible (to us) world.
"In Him is wisdom and strength, in Him is counsel and understanding."
Job 12:13
,, Hear that, Job, stop and look at the miracles of God. Do you know how He arranges them and how He shines with light from His clouds? Do you know how the clouds hang? Do you know the wonders of Him who is perfect in all knowledge? How do your clothes get warm when you soothe the land from the south?"
Job 37:14-17
"How many are Your works, Lord! You have created everything too wisely; the earth is full of Your treasures."
Psalm 104:24
"Great is our Lord and great is His virtue, and there is no measure to His understanding."
Psalm 147:5
"He made the earth by his power, established the earth by his wisdom, and scattered the heavens by his understanding;"
Jer. 10:12
"And to the Eternal King, the Incorruptible, the invisible, the only all-wise God, honor and glory for ever and ever." Amen."
1 Tim. 1:17

1. God is great

God is great because His works prove it and we have those proofs throughout the entire human history.
"Now I see that the Lord is greater than all the gods, because as soon as they pride themselves on him, he surpasses them."
Exod18:11
"Because the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, a great, mighty and terrible God, who does not look at who is who or who accepts gifts;"
Deut.10:17
,, That is why you are great, Lord God, there is no one like you; and there is no God but You, according to all that we have heard with our ears."
2 Sam. 7:22
"For the Most High Lord is awesome, the king is great over the whole earth."
Psalm 47:2
,, God! The way is Your world; what God is so great as our God?"
Psalm 77:13
"The Lord is great, and He should be praised, and His majesty cannot be reached."
Psalm 145:3
"No one is like You, Lord; you are great and great is your name in power."
Jer. 10:6
"And I prayed to the Lord my God and, confessing, I said: O Lord, great and terrible God, who keeps covenant and mercy to those who love You and keep Your commandments;"
Dan. 9:4

1. God is just

We have already mentioned this before, only to say that God is absolutely just, unlike people who do not have justice but like to boast about it.
"The work of that Rock is perfect, because all His ways are justice; God is faithful, without injustice; he is just and true."
Deut. 32:4
"For the Lord is just, he loves justice; the righteous will see His face."
Psalm 11:7
"The Lord is good and just; that's why he shows sinners the way"
Psalm 25:8
"Gentleness and justice are the footstool of Your throne, mercy and truth go before Your face."
Psalm 89:14
"There is a cloud and darkness around Him; gentleness and justice are the footstool of his throne."
Psalm 97:2
"The Lord is good and just, and our God is merciful;"
Psalm 116:5
"You are righteous, Lord, and Your judgments are true."
Psalm 119:137
,, Announce, and bring, let them deliberate together: who said that from ancient times? Who reported back then? Was it not I, Lord? There is no other God besides me, there is no righteous God and Savior other than me."
Isa. 45:21

1. God is patient and slow to anger

We touched on this topic when we said that God is merciful.
"For as the Lord passed in front of him, he cried out: Lord, Lord, God is merciful, compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in mercy and truth."
Exod. 34:6
"The Lord waits for a long time and is abundant in grace, forgives iniquity and sin, but does not justify the guilty, but punishes the iniquity of the father on the sons to the third and fourth generation."
Numbi.14:18
"But You, Lord, God, merciful and gentle, patient and rich in goodness and truth,"
Psalm 86:15
"The Lord is gracious and good, slow to anger and very gentle"
Psalm 103:8
"The Lord is pliant and merciful, long-suffering and of great mercy."
Psalm 145:8
"And tear your hearts, not your clothes, and turn to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and repents of evil."
Joel 2:13
,, And he prayed to the Lord and said: Lord! Didn't I say that when I was still in my country? Therefore I would rather flee to Tarshish; because I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in mercy, and you repent of evil"
Jonah 4:2
"The Lord is slow to anger and has great power; but by no means justice to the guilty; the way of the Lord is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are dust from His feet."
Nahum 1:3

1. God is good and gentle

And we talked about this to mention that God does not punish according to what we deserve, but is merciful and gentle and out of great love gives us new chances to repent so we don't perish.
"The Lord is good and just; that's why he shows sinners the way"
Psalm 25:8
"Because You, Lord, are good and merciful and very merciful to all who call on You."
Psalm 86:5
"Because the Lord is good; His mercy is always, and His truth from generation to generation."
Psalm 100:5
"The Lord is good, the city is in trouble, and he knows those who trust in him."
Nahum 1:7
,, And Jesus said to him: Why do you call me gentle? No one is gentle but one God."
Mark 10:18
,, But love your enemies, and do good, and lend without hoping for anything; and you will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to both the ungrateful and the wicked."
Luke 6:35

1. God is full of love

Because God is full of love, he is also good and gentle and merciful and slow to anger and patient with us, giving us new chances for life.
"The Lord has been appearing to me for a long time. I love you with eternal love, that's why I do you the same favor."
Jeremiah 31:3
"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, so that no one who believes in Him should perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"But God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Rom. 5:8
"And further, brothers, rejoice, be perfect, be comforted, think alike, have peace: and the God of love and peace will be with you"
2 Cor.13:11
"And he who does not have love does not know God; for God is love."
1 John 4:8
"And we know and believe in the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who stands in love, stands in God and God stands in him."
1 John 4:16

1. God is full of generosity

Everything we receive from grace and grace to the material things we use is a gift from God who takes care of us.
,,Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and I will have mercy on him, and on our God, because he forgives a lot."
Isaiah 55:7
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that no one who believes in Him should perish but have eternal life. Because God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."
John 3:16-17
"John answered and said: A man cannot receive anything unless it is given to him from heaven."
John 3:27
"Because he says to Moses: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and on whom I will have mercy, I will have mercy"
Rom. 9:15
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, it comes from the Father of light, in whom there is no change or change of light and darkness;"
James 1:17
"Ilia was a mortal man like us, and he prayed to God that it would not rain, and that it would not rain on the earth in three years and six months. And he prayed again and the sky gave rain, and the earth brought forth its crops."
James 5:17-18

1. God is true

Everything we have said so far makes sense only if God is true, and here is the confirmation that God is true.
"The work of that Rock is perfect, because all His ways are justice; God is faithful, without injustice; he is just and true."
Deut. 32:4
"Into Your hands I entrust my spirit; you delivered me, Lord, true God!"
Ps. 31:5
"Whoever blesses himself on earth will be blessed by the true God; and he who bows down on earth, swears by the true God; because the first troubles will be forgotten and will be hidden from my eyes."
Isa. 65:16
"Then Jesus cried out in the church teaching and said: you know me too and you know where I am from; I did not come of my own accord, but there is a True One who sent me, whom you do not know."
John 7:28
"And this is eternal life to know You, the only true God, and whom You sent Jesus Christ."
John 17:3
"For they make known for you what kind of entrance we have to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the Living and True God."
1 Sol. 1:9
,, And we know that the Son of God came, and gave us understanding to know the True God, and to be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God and Eternal Life."
1 Jov. 5:20

1. God is faithful

What God promised was being fulfilled, is being fulfilled before our eyes, and will be fulfilled in the future.
,, God is not a man to lie, nor a son of man to repent. What does he say he won't do, and what he says he won't do?"
Numb. 23:19
"And so know that the Lord God is your God, a faithful God, who keeps his covenant and his mercy to a thousand knees to those who love him and keep his commandments."
Deut. 7:9
"And he raises the horn of salvation for us in the house of David his servant, as he says through the mouth of his holy prophets from the ages that he will deliver us from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us; To show mercy to our fathers, and remind ourselves of our holy covenant, the Curse with which we swore to Abraham our father that he would give us"
Luke 1:69-73
"God is faithful who has called you into the community of his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord."
1 Cor. 1:9
"No other temptation shall come upon you but that of man; but God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make an end with the temptation, so that you can bear it"
1 Cor. 10:13
"He who called you is faithful, and he will do it."
1 Sol. 5:24

1. God is supreme or supreme

God is omniscient, does what is best and can never make a mistake, that's why He is the Most High or the Most High
,,And the Lord said to him: I will cause all my good things to pass before you, and I will call out by name: Lord before you. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have pity on whom I have pity."
Exod. 33:19
"Our God is in the heavens, he creates everything he wants."
Ps. 115:3
Whatever He wills, the Lord does everything, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all the deeps."
Ps. 135:6
"At that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said: I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You hid this from the wise and intelligent, but You told the simple. Yes, Father, because it was Your will.
Lk. 10:21
"Having shown us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure which He had previously shown in Him,
For the ordinance of the executor of the times, that all things in the heavens and on the earth may be gathered together in Christ; in Him, through whom we also became heirs, predestined beforehand by the order of God who does all things according to the counsel of his will."
Eph. 1:9-11
"For it is God who works in you that you will and do as pleases Him."
Phil. 2:13

1. God is zealous - a jealous God

,, Do not have other gods beside me. Do not make for yourself a graven image or any image of what is in heaven above, or on the earth below, or in the water, under the earth. Do not bow down to them or serve them, because I am the Lord God yours, zealous God, who visit the sins of the fathers on the sons to the third and to the fourth generation, those who hate me;"
Exod. 20:3-5
"Because you should not worship another God: because the Lord is called a zealot, God is a zealot."
Exod. 34:14
"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire and a jealous God."
Deut. 4:24
"Don't have other gods besides me. Do not make for yourself a graven image, or any image of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth below or that is in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to them or serve them, for I am the Lord your God, a jealous God, who I visit the sons of the iniquities of their fathers to the third generation to the fourth generation, of those who hate me."
Deut. 5:7-9
"Because God is jealous, the Lord your God in the midst of you, so that the Lord your God does not become angry with you and destroy you from the land."
Deut. 6:15
"And Jesus said to the people: You cannot serve the Lord, because he is a holy God, a jealous God, he will not tolerate your unbelief and your sins."
Joshua 24:19

1. God is full of majesty

,, To Israel! There is no one like God, who goes through the sky to help you, and in his majesty on the clouds."
Deut. 33:26
"Lord, our Lord! How glorious is Your name throughout the earth! You have raised your glory to the highest heavens"
Psalm 8:1
"Enter the rock, and hide yourself in the dust from the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty."
Isa 2:10
,, Yours, Lord, is majesty and power and glory and eternity and honor, and all that is in heaven and on earth; Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted, above all the Head;
1 Chron. 29:11
"Praise Him according to His power, praise Him according to His high majesty."
Ps. 150:2

1. God is full of glory

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the works of His hands."
Psalm 19:1
"And they will sing the ways of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord is great."
Ps. 138:5
,, And above in the sky that was above their heads, it was like a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone, and on the throne it was like a man in appearance. And I saw like a strong light, and inside it like fire all around, from the thighs up, and from the thighs down I saw like fire and light around him. Like a rainbow in a cloud when it's raining, so was the light all around to the eyes. It was the sight of the glory of God in the eyes; and when I saw, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of Someone speaking."
Ezekiel 1:26-28
"God came from Teman and the Saint from Mount Faran; His glory covers the heavens and the earth is filled with His praise. His light was like the sun, rays came out of His hands, and His power was hidden there"
Habakkuk 3:3-4
,, And the word became flesh and moved into us full of grace and truth; and we saw His glory, the glory, as the Only Begotten of the Father."
John 1:14
,, And he said: People, brothers and fathers! Listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he moved to Haran."
Acts 7:2
"Waiting for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ,"
Titus 2:13
,,Saying: Amen; blessing and glory and wisdom and praise and honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Rev. 7:12
"And after this I heard a great voice of many people in heaven saying: Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power to our Lord;
Rev. 19:1

1. God fills heaven and earth

,, But will God really dwell on earth? Here, the sky and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You, let alone this home that I am building?"
1 Kings 8:27
"And who could build a home for Him when the sky and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain Him?" And who am I to build him a home? But only to burn incense before Him."
2 Days 2:6
"But will God really live on earth? Here, the sky, and the heavens above the heavens cannot contain You, let alone this home that I am building."
2 Dnev. 6:18
"Can someone hide in a secret place so I don't see them?" Speaks the Lord; do I not fill heaven and earth? Speaks the Lord."
Jer. 23:24

1. God saw

"And He was seen shining in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake Him."
John 1:5
"Bless, my soul, Lord!" Lord, my God, you are very great, you have clothed yourself in majesty and beauty. You put on light like a garment, spread out the sky like a tent;"
Psalm 104:1-2
,, You will no longer see the sun by day, nor will the bright moon shine on you; but the Lord will be your light forever and your God will be your glory."
Isa. 60:19
"His light was like the sun, rays came out of His hands, and His power was hidden there."
Habakkuk 3:4
,,Who himself has immortality, and lives in a light that cannot be approached, whom no man has seen, nor can see, to whom honor and eternal state. Amen."
1 Tim.6:16
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, it comes from the Father of light, in whom there is no changing, no changing of light and darkness;"
James 1:17

1. God is immortal

"It will pass, and You will remain; they will all wear out like a dress, you will change them like a dress and they will change. But You are the same and Your years will not expire."
Psalm 102:26-27
"And he changed the glory of the eternal God into the form of mortal man and birds and four-footed animals and beasts."
Rom. 1:23
"And to the Eternal King, the Incorruptible, the invisible, the only all-wise God, honor and glory for ever and ever." Amen"
1 Tim.1:17
,,Who himself has immortality, and lives in a light that cannot be approached, whom no man has seen, nor can see, to whom honor and eternal state. Amen."
1 Tim.6:16
"She will pass away, and You remain: and they will all grow old like a dress, And you will fold them like a dress, and they will change: and You are the same One, and Your years will not disappear."
Hebrews 1:11-12

1. God is a consuming fire

,, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from a blackberry. And he looked, and that blackberry was burning with fire, but not burning."
Exod.3:2
"And Mount Sinai is all smoking, because the Lord descended on it in fire; and smoke rose from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook very much"
Exod.19:18
"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire and a jealous God."
Deut. 4:24
"Know therefore today that the Lord your God, who goes before you, is a consuming fire; He will destroy them and He will strike them down before you, and you will drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord told you."
Deut. 9:3
"Sinners in Zion will be afraid, they will tremble at the hypocrites, and they will say: Who among us will be left with the consuming fire? Who among us will remain in the eternal heat?"
Isaiah 33:14
"And I saw like a bright light, and inside it like fire all around, from the thighs up, and from the thighs down I saw like fire and light around it."
Ezekiel 1:27

1. God is a just judge

We have mentioned many attributes of God, but the completeness of everything is when we mention that, in addition to everything, God is also a just judge. That he is a just judge comes from many features that we have studied, and simply some features would not be complete if God were not a just judge. This is one of qualities that many ignore, thinking that God is only love or mercy, but in the Bible we find very serious warnings that tell us that God is a just judge and that he will judge every sin that is not covered by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and that is acknowledged and forgiven. that's why God gives us so much grace, giving us a little more time to educate ourselves and turn to the right path, which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to him: I am the way and the truth and the life; no one will come to the Father through me."
John 14:6
And because we have a way, God gives us a little more time to repent, because he does not like death and does not want anyone to perish, and he warns us about this:
"The Lord is not late with His promise, as some think He is late, but He is patient with us, because He will not let anyone perish, but all come to repentance."
2 Peter 3:9
And if someone persistently refuses mercy and grace, then God will be his righteous judge
"Do not do this, nor lose the righteous with the unrighteous, that it may be to the righteous as well as to the unrighteous; don't; will not the judge of the whole earth judge justice?"
Gen.18:25
"When man sins against man, the judge will judge him; but when someone sins against the Lord, who will pray for him?"
1 Sam.2:25
"God is a righteous judge, and God is ready for wrath every day."
Psalm 7:11
,,And people will say: Truly there is fruit for the righteous! Indeed, God is the judge on earth!"
Psalm 58:11
"Because the Lord is our judge, the Lord is the one who sets the laws for us, the Lord is our king, He will save us."
Isaiah 33:22
,, Further, therefore, a crown of justice has been prepared for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day; but not only to me, but to all who are looking forward to His coming."
2 Tim. 4:8
"There is one legislator and judge, who can save and execute; and who are you to judge another?"
James 4:12

1. God is perfect

Based on all the characteristics of God studied so far, we can only conclude that God is absolutely perfect, and this is confirmed by the verses from the Gospel. Also, everyone should strive towards the goal that the perfect God recommended to us.
"Be therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"
Matthew 5:48

It’s time. Eighteen Legends await. We have done introductions and revelations. These houseguests have unfinished business and one of them will finally get to finish it. Let’s not keep them waiting. Bunny’s Pokemon Big Brother Season 16: The LEGENDARY Sixteenth begins now!
Season 16L The LEGENDARY Sixteenth
Meet the Cast
Tiny the Lanturn – Season 1, Season 6
Styles the Quaquaval – Season 1, Season 6
Krishna the Copperajah – Season 1
Gage the Toxel – Season 3, Season 6
Mazda the Scolipede – Season 4, Season 6, Season 11
King the Pikachu – Season 5
Lora the Ledian – Season 8
April the Meowstic – Season 9
Whimzamina the Lunatone – Season 9
Chess the Reuniclus – Season 10
Lissia the Lurantis – Season 10
Benedict the Chespin – Season 10
Nanuq the Swinub – Season 12
Princess Amni the Yamask – Season 12
Violet the Weedle – Season 13
Whelan the Dhelmise – Season 13
Adelynn the Lopunny – Season 13
Gigi the Garchomp – Season 15

Intro: 18 Legends line up in front of the Legendary Mt. Silver in the Kanto-Johto region, blistering wintery winds stinging their scales, feathers, fur, leaves, etc. In front of them stands the entrance to a cavern, carved with a myriad of spectacular adornments and stone sculptures. A door stands in the cavern. A massive golden door with a maze-like pattern leading to a master ball symbol in the middle. This door leads to the most-majestic house we have built yet. Adelynn shivers, not used to the cold on these heights. Violet shakes off the snow, used to it on her home of Mt. Coronet. Styles eyes Tiny, all too aware of his old ally’s developments in the years between their last time playing together. She eyes him back, aware that he is just as eager to play difficult as she is. Lissia and Krishna sense each other’s caretaker presence and know what to watch out for. Chess and Benedict smile, knowing their previous alliance potentially re-uniting. Whelan looks over at Gage, wondering what he is scheming while scheming up ways to game these gamers. He is watched by King, who is observing everyone’s behaviors. April is keeping careful watch on Mazda, ready to act if he tries any criminal moves. Whimzy stares at the moon above them, looking to it for guidance. Nanuq and Lora are silent, mentally preparing themselves for the titanic games they have to play. In the middle of the pack, Gigi stands stalwart, looking at the door. He reaches out a claw and…
First HOH: The door opens on its on and the houseguests are ushered into the grand central chamber where the set for the First HOH stands waiting for them. A replica of the Season 1 house with a silver statue of Lance the Escavalier in the center. 18 Swords are jutting from the pedestal of the statue and the houseguests each step on them. The swords begin to rotate and this endurance competition has begun. Violet gets dizzy and drops first. She is followed by Styles, Benedict, and then Whimzy. The swords begin to rotate faster, causing Adelynn and Chess to drop. Shortly after them, Lora, Amni, and April fall off. Suddenly, the swords slow down and stop, causing Gage and Nukka to lose their balance and fall. The swords begin to retract into the walls, providing less space for the final 7 to stand on. They begin to move as this happens, causing Lissia, Whelan, and Mazda to fall simultaneously, Krishna runs out of space to stand and falls as well. King, who has lasted surprisingly long, drops shortly after, leaving Gigi and Tiny facing off. They go on for a while longer getting dizzy but eventually, Gigi loses his footing and gives Tiny the victory and the First HOH!
Week 1: The houseguests move into the house, celebrating Tiny and her victory. Styles congratulates her for how far she has come from Season 1. Krishna piles in and hugs her as well, having not seen her since then. More reunions are had between Amni and Nukka, and the Season 10 trio. A quick duo that immediately forms is when Krishna sees Amni like a little sister and they bond. Lora makes a strategy to bond with some of the more dubious players in the house and gets in close with Mazda, Styles, and Whelan. Chess does the same with Gage but Nukka catches on and latches on to the trio, knowing it will help him in the long run. Styles is posturing, feeling safe with his former number one Tiny as the HOH. But she knows his threat and isn’t willing to risk anything. Tiny sees Lora’s gaming and tries countering it by nominating Styles and Whelan, shocking the duck. The veto picks are strong, with Mazda and Nukka competing as well. Mazda and Whelan end up going head-to-head, with Mazda scheming to save Styles. But Whelan, knowing the pressure of the hot seat, prevails and wins, getting to save himself.
Chess goes up to Amni to propose they work together to sneak through the game, picking off bigger names. She agrees but the conversation is overheard by Gage, who, not wanting to be undermined, tells Tiny to watch out for Amni, who might be repeating her Season 1 game. Whelan, arrogant in his victory, starts beef with Violet, who got more famous than him after their initial season. Lissia begins defending Violet and getting heated with Whelan. Styles enters the picture and, trying to pull his old tricks, brings Amni into the conversation. Lissia, not playing mama bear to the girls, calls out Styles for his old tricks. She is aided by Krishna who is very defensive of the small. At the eviction ceremony, Amni and Styles both make pleas to stay in the game. Amni ends up coming off more sincere and Styles is still distrusted. Tiny calls him out for using outdated tactics on the newest season. The vote comes out to 11-4 and Styles is the first Legend evicted.
Week 2: With Styles gone, everyone knows that no Legend is safe, no matter their legendary status. A bronze statue of Carlos the Pancham rises from the floor and the houseguests compete in Carlos’ HOH: a physical comp involving punching a punching bag back and forth through a maze. Violet ends up impressing everyone but Whelan with her strength. While Lora and Krishna keep up with her. Lora falls behind and at the last second, Krishna pulls ahead, taking the HOH. She goes to shake Violet’s hands but realizes she has to be gentle not to crush her. Krishna is pondering the noms with Amni when she brings in Chess. Chess offers that he isn’t working with the rest of the Season 10 members and is willing to lose Benedict in an effort to further his game. Krishna sees this as a chance to get out a very dominant player early and puts up Benedict next to April, who she feels everyone is overlooking. Benedict immediately knows something is up when he is put up but doesn’t cause a scene, knowing that would put the target on his back. The veto starts and he ends up in the top 2 with Lissia. She knows something is up as well since she saw Chess working with Krishna and throws the comp to Benedict. He saves himself with the veto! Krishna sees that the seasons with large numbers are bigger targets and she can trim her target if Tiny leaves, having already established her threat by winning HOH. Amni and Violet connect as the smallest competitors and know that the big names have to go first. They agree to vote Tiny. But Mazda begins pushing to get April out of the house because of the crazy eye she has on him. At the eviction ceremony, the votes comes out 10-4 with Mazda’s push to the villains being successful, and April goes home.
Week 3: A statue of Nickels comes out of the floor and the lights turn off. The houseguests are now hiding from detective Nickels, with the last one found winning HOH. The competition comes down to Mazda, who is used to hiding from detectives, Nukka, who has already analyzed the whole house, and Lora, who is very adept at hide and seek. Mazda gets caught and Nukka is found shortly after, crowning Lora the HOH. Nukka’s performance at the competition puts a target on his back as a perceptive player. Lora consults her alliance with Mazda and Whelan and they both agree. Amni goes into the HOH room and tells her that Gigi is a sleeping threat right now. Lora decides the best course of action is to put up Gigi and Nukka. The veto competition comes up next, playing to Nukka and Lora’s strengths again. They face off again and history repeats with Lora winning. She confirms the nominations stay the same. Gage, who is safe, is flaunting his ego around the house, rubbing the rest of the legends the wrong way for thinking he is better than them. Lissia, who is making an effort to play nicer this time around, goes on to befriend more people, including Amni. Nukka tries to go on damage control, offering to those who will listen that Gigi is intentionally sandbagging. Gigi thinks it is wiser to not campaign too hard, as that will make him look worse. Amni bites on Nukka’s idea and helps him campaign. At the eviction ceremony, the vote comes out to with Nukka’s gaming making him seem like he’s playing too hard, causing him to be evicted.
Double Eviction: An early double eviction starts with a jade statue of Xio rising up from the floor. The contestants have to swing across vines to get through a course first. Adelynn, Chess, and Mazda are the frontrunners. Adelynn slips on a vine and falls behind. Chess, really wanting to make a big move here and capitalize on the chaos, swings one big jump and beats Mazda to become the HOH. His noms are Whelan and Krishna, shocking the elephant, thinking they were working together. Adelynn, Amni, and Gage are picked for veto and Adelynn wins it! She keeps the nominations the same. Whelan pleads for them to keep him as he hasn’t been double crossing or floating around, planning to play a more trustworthy game this time around. Krishna says she is playing honestly and wants to go to the end for her sisters back home. The vote comes out to 11-1 with Lora being the odd vote out. Whelan is evicted.
Week 4: A golden statue of Selene rises from the ground, illuminating the whole room. The houseguests minus Chess are competing in a quiz where if they get a question wrong, a candle goes out. The top three comes down to Lora, Whimzy, and Adelynn. Lora stumbles with multiple questions and Adelynn follows behind. Whimzy wins the HOH! Lora confronts Mazda for not doing enough to sway votes in her favor. He calls her out for playing too hard, saying she needs to cool it down a bit. They continue their dispute, choosing not to work together. Whimzy is joined in the HOH room by Amni and Lissia. Gage is obviously rubbing everyone the wrong way and Amni pleads for him to go up. Whimzy agrees and he goes up next to Krishna, whose story is getting too strong. Lissia and Amni are both drawn for the veto as well and Amni ends up winning. During the next few days, Krishna makes an effort to bond with Amni and touches her heart with her story. Meanwhile, Lora lashes out at King for defending Mazda. He tells her she is getting way too worked up over Mazda. At the veto, Amni saves Krishna and Whimzy, seeing an excellent opportunity here, puts Mazda up. Gigi begins going around the house trying to undo Nukka’s damage last week and people tell him not to worry. At the eviction ceremony, the two greatest villains of the series sit next to each other. Mazda spins tales of his importance to the game and how he is really deserving of staying. Gage apologizes for his behavior, confusing the house. Lora switches her vote last minute to Gage, seeing his threat level with his manipulation. The vote comes back 6-5, the closest yet, with Mazda eliminated. Lora smacks herself in the head for her risk.
Week 5: The houseguests are told that jury starts this week, but the jury house will gain two players by the end of the week, foretelling a double eviction. A statue of Candy rises from the floor with Opal eyes. The contestants vote a player out every round based off of superlatives. Violet, Tiny, and Lissia end up the final three. Tiny and Lissia vote out Violet, with everyone casting their votes between the two. Lissia, whose butt-kissing has paid off, is crowned the HOH. Lissia consults her closest allies with Amni and Whimzy who continue to push for Gage. When Whimzy leaves, Amni pulls in Violet. Violet tells her that they have to go after people who are playing under the radar and Whimzy is doing that while slowly making moves. Lissia agrees and Whimzy goes up next Gage, shocking her. When she gets Houseguest choice for the veto, Lissia selects Violet. This pays off when Violet wins the veto, solidifying her trust in her new allies. She keeps the nominees the same, hoping that Whimzy gets taken out. Whimzy knows she is in hot water so starts branching out. She goes to Gigi, Benedict, and King, who have also avoided suspicion so far, and tells them if she goes, they could be targets next. Gigi and Benedict think about this and decide working with her could be a good idea in the future. She even goes to Violet and Amni and mends the relationship. The two small ones realize that keeping Gage is too much of a risk as well. At the eviction, Whimzy successfully saves herself and Gage is evicted unanimously.
Jury Double: A copper statue of Splaatz rises from the ground, with the houseguests playing an endurance round of Muddy Water. Adelynn holds firm next to Krishna and Tiny, hoping to win something finally. She almost gives up but trips and falls fully into the water, giving her just enough time as Tiny and Krishna leave. Adelynn is the double HOH. Thinking quickly, she puts up the Season 1 legends because they are some of the biggest names in the house so far. At the veto, Lissia and Benedict give Adelynn a run for her money, but she continues to show her worth by winning the veto. The noms stay the same and Krishna and Tiny look at each other sadly, knowing one will go home. At the voting ceremony, they don’t even go after each other out of respect, instead both hoping the one who stays will go on to win. In the end, it’s a close 5-4 vote with Krishna joining Gage in the Jury house.
Week 6: An emerald statue of Dirk rises from the ground. The HOH is a musical competition, with contestants having to match the song to its track. Chess and Amni excel at this because of Amni’s musical background and Chess being very calculated. In the end, Chess wins. Gigi and Benedict go to Whimzy to confirm working with her from last week. They suggest branching out to find new allies. Benedict pulls in Tiny who could be a shield for them and doesn’t have season 1 to rely on anymore. Chess puts up Tiny on the block because of her threat level, and wants to nominate someone else who has been laying low. Amni goes to speak to him as an ally and, trying to save Whimzy, offers up King. King goes up next to Tiny. Chess selects Benedict for houseguest’s choice, trying to extend an olive branch. However, Benedict knows this is a calculated move from his friend and him and Lissia throw the comp. Amni wins it and, satisfied with the noms, keeps them the same. Gigi and Tiny bond, solidifying their alliance. King goes on a rant to Violet, thinking she is part of the reason he is up. Seeing she has no chance of convincing him, she goes to Lissia instead for support. Benedict extends the olive branch to Lissia to counter Chess and she, along with Violet, joins his alliance. At the eviction, Lissia and Amni throw stray votes at Tiny, but the alliance has successfully moved the vote to King, evicting him.
Week 7: A white marble statue of Echo rises from the floor and chilling icy winds enter the house. The houseguests must build snowforts to survive a snowball fight with the last one standing winning. Lora and Adelynn go head-to-head as the key throwers but Lora wins it, gloating over the latter’s frustration. Adelynn goes to complain to Whimzy about Lora and Whimzy agrees that her ego is getting too big. She consults with Benedict and Gigi and they decide to pull together the alliances as well as add in Amni and Adelynn. Lora tries to consult Violet about nominees, but the Weedle is hesitant to work with her or give her names. Lora is infuriated by this and puts her on the block next to Tiny, who keeps surviving. At the veto, Whimzy tries to give a dejected Violet a chance to win, but she is not focused, so Whimzy takes the veto. She and Amni go into defense mode and work throughout the week to convince Lora that Chess is the bigger threat. She seems to bite and this is confirmed when Whimzy saves Tiny and Chess goes up as the nominee. Benedict pretends to work with Chess by bad-mouthing Tiny. Chess thinks he is safe with his buddy and makes a comment about it to Violet. Violet, irritated about the whole week, lashes out at him for his playing the game with too much math and ignoring the thoughts of people. At the eviction, Chess is completely blindsided by a unanimous vote. Lora seems to realize something is up as well as she thought at least one vote would go to Violet.
Week 8: The next HOH comp starts with a sparkling statue of Mobee rising from the ground. A bunch of balloons also rise and each player is assigned a color. Whoever’s color is last left, wins. Gigi and Violet work together to eliminate everyone else leaving just them. Violet uses her agility to get his last balloon, crowning her HOH. She immediately flips the script on Lora by putting her on the block next to Tiny, who she knows has nine lives in this game. Lora panics, knowing she is at the bottom of the house. Amni goes on to win the veto and goes to Violet to ask her about saving Tiny and making sure its okay. Violet appreciates the gesture and the two bond. Tiny is saved and Adelynn, who Violet knows is a threat from her first season but isn’t her target, goes up. Lora, knowing she’s toast, begins to have a breakdown. Adelynn goes to her and comforts her, reminding her this game doesn’t have any standing on her as a person. The bug thanks her for her kindness even though they’re both on the block. Benedict is complaining about Tiny being saved again which Tiny overhears and confronts him on. The conversation turns bitter when she implies that he wouldn’t be saved from the block like she is. At the eviction, Lora accepts it as she is unanimously evicted.
Another one?: SURPRISE! Someone else is leaving tonight! An amethyst-laden statue of the Prof descend from the ceiling, starting a quiz competition sponsored by—no just kidding we aren’t doing the sponsorships anymore. It comes down to a tiebreaker between Gigi and Adelynn and Adelynn accidentally smudges her answer, causing her to write the exact right choice, winning it! Knowing that her big alliance was only meant to counter Chess, she begins to turn on it, putting up Whimzy next to Violet. Tiny goes on to win veto and, knowing that she has been saved, and it was a big mistake for people to underestimate her, she doesn’t use it. Violet makes a case for her being a great ally while Whimzy talks about her leaving being a catalyst of doom? In the end, by a vote of 4-1, Benedict and Gigi water at the mouth to send home a titan, and Whimzy is evicted.
TRIPLE EVICTION!: SUPRIRSE ONE MORE PERSON IS LEAVING!!!! A topaz statue of Lisette rises up and the contestants have to sort through tarot cards to get a full deck. Amni remembers her deck from the season and takes an early lead. But she doubles up on cards by mistakes, causing the game to continue with Tiny winning it! Tiny puts Violet back up but also knows how pivotal Benedict, Lissia, and Gigi are in the house and puts Benedict up because of his comments to her that week. Benedict powers through and wins the veto. Tiny is sad that the chance to get out Benedict has passed but puts up Lissia in his place. At the eviction, Lissia makes a good case for her game that causes Gigi some concern. He votes for her and it causes a tie. Tiny uses this tie to cut out a key member of the house structures by evicting Lissia.
Week 9: The final 6 are brought to a room with a pearlescent statue of Maeva. The HOH is a fast paced bell ringing competition to remake the sounds of her chimes. Violet, knowing she is on the outs, goes hard. But Gigi tries to reclaim his game and does so by winning the HOH. Amni consoles Violet, who knows she is toast. Adelynn gloats to the worm, knowing she is going further this time. Amni defends her, making them a pair. Gigi puts the small gals next to each other on the block. Violet and Gigi know they have to win veto to save themselves. Benedict and Gigi talk during the week about who goes up if one of them goes down. Benedict pushes for Tiny because she has a massive threat and somehow keeps surviving the block, but maybe she can get backdoored. He has to wait until veto though. Amni and Violet are the top 2, but both have a game to win and they respect each other for it. Amni wins and saves herself. Gigi, receptive to Benedict’s influence, puts Tiny on the block. Adelynn proposes an all-girls alliance to Tin and Amni, tired of laying low and wanting to flip the script on Benedict and Gigi. Tiny agrees to save herself. At the eviction, Adelynn and Amni are enough but Benedict also knows he has no shot at getting out Tiny, and Violet goes home unanimously. Amni hugs her on the way out.
Week 10: A statue of Day rises from the floor along with 4 rocky outcrops over a pit of water. Last one standing, wins the final 5 HOH. Amni and Benedict don’t l ast long, reducing the game to Tiny and Adelynn. Adelynn wants to take her game into her hands and Tiny is refusing to drop, irritating her. Eventually, Tiny does drop, making Adelynn the HOH. Adelynn goes to Tiny about the all-girls alliance but the fish doesn’t seem serious about it. Adelynn pivots and decides if they won’t work with her, they are against her. Amni and Tiny end up as her nominees. At the veto, Adelynn and Tiny are so focused on beating the other that they don’t realize how well Benedict is doing, wanting Tiny out so bad. He wins and keeps the noms the same, now going to Gigi about the vote. However, Gigi, who feels used by Benedict and not treated like an ally, decides to try and flip up the vote. At the eviction, Gigi turns on Benedict by voting Amni, causing a tie. Adelynn is all too happy to be the one who finally gets to end Tiny’s game.
Week 11: A statue of DJ descend from the ceiling, which Gigi turns away from in shame. The contestants have one last music match where they have to dance dance revolution! Adelynn is sad she can’t play in this. Gigi, distracted, messes up early. Between Benedict and Amni, Amni knows she is up against the three of them, and Benedict wants a big move on his resume after losing out on the Tiny vote. Turns out, Amni learned dance between Season 12 and now and she smashes the competition, securing herself a spot in the finale! She sees Gigi and Adelynn as the bigger competitors in the finale competitions, so she saves Benedict. Benedict confronts Gigi about his flipped vote the week prior and the dragon tells him how he feels like Benedict is trying to control him, rather than see him as a friend. He says he learned his lesson his season that he should have treated DJ as a friend rather than an ally. Adelynn and Amni watch, Amni tearing up while Adelynn brings popcorn and smirks. Tragically, Benedict rebuffs Gigi for this, saying he needs to finally win and why can’t he see that. Gigi tells him he is playing for himself too, not for Benedict. The fight ends coldly with everyone saddened. Benedict wins veto and doesn’t use it. At the eviction, with the sole vote to evict, Benedict uses it to turn on his number one through the whole game, and evicts Gigi!
The Reunion: Outside of the house, the jurors are all sat on the grand icy stage. On top of the mountain, a rainbow dais stands ready for the final HOH competitions. The blizzard blows more angrily than when the 18 houseguests stood before the house at the beginning of the season. This time, only three remain. Amni, walks up the steps, lagging behind the other two, reflecting on her game. She played a really good social game, slipping under the radar around people who were intentionally slipping under the radar. She managed to avoid detection yet still make moves and get herself to the end. Next to her is Adelynn. She struts confidently, knowing her endgame has been immaculate. She knows she has played more cutthroat than her first time and has even beat her rival, Violet. She smirks right before she trips over the top step. Benedict helps her catch her fall and continues upward. He had to betray parts of himself in order to get this far. He wants more than anything to win this game and has played too well strategically for it all to crumble now. Betraying Chess, Whimzy, Lissia, and Gigi, he looks down and hallucinates blood on his paws, shaking his head to dispel the illusion as he climbs the stairs. They reach the top and the 11 jurors greet them.
The three are led to part 1 of the HOH, an endurance chamber underneath the dais where they can’t hear the jurors talk. The round starts and the three hold on tight to their platforms. Krishna and Gage go first in talking about their games. Gage talks about how this game was not one where old tricks work, and his social game was rusty from the early seasons. Krishna says everyone was much more distrustful around other legends and she wasn’t able to find someone solid. Tiny tells Gage that he needed to adapt like she has done everytime, evolved her game and herself, which he never did. Chess asks how many people were secretly aligned and most of the jury reaches up. Gigi rightfully gives credit to Whimzy for promoting the idea and rolling with it. She thanks him but acknowledges his and Benedict’s role in tearing it apart from the inside out. Lora stares off into the icy horizon, saying she knew it was coming but wasn’t able to see. Suddenly, Chess points below them where Amni has dropped from her perch, leaving Adelynn and Benedict competing for part 1. Lissia comments how sweet Amni is and how she felt like she changed who she was because of her integrity. Violet says she always had a partner in her, no matter the circumstances. King pipes up saying he thought he had that in Benedict but was left out of a big alliance in the end. Violet speaks again about Adelynn this time, noting she has much more confidence this time around and slipped past everyone’s detection. Whimzy says she played the game they all wanted to play but a little bit better. Suddenly, Benedict drops and Adelynn is the winner of part 1.
Final HOH part 2: Adelynn cheers as Benedict and Amni are taken to the center of the house again where the darkness obscures an empty pedestal. They have to race to complete a days competition to build up the statue to be of them before the other. Both pay a ton of attention and have been preparing for this, both having been runner-ups before. Though Benedict takes an early lead, Amni catches up quickly. They trade pieces back and forth but eventually someone comes out victorious. Adelynn and the juror watch from the top of the mountain as the winner of part 2 walks up the steps. Benedict.
Final HOH part 3: Adelynn and Benedict face off in a quick fire jury quiz round with the sound of howling winds behind them. Adelynn answers with arrogance as she gets answers correct. Benedict is stone-cold, with a determination to win that has transcended his emotions. At the final question, with them tied up, both give different answers. Benedict’s answer is…incorrect. Adelynn is the final HOH. Amni comes back up and she gloats over the two of them about her victory and taking control of her game. But she puts it bluntly and says she has a much worse chance competing against a social butterfly than a traitor, and evicts Amni.
The Jury Questioning: Amni joins the jury, leaving Adelynn and Benedict to face them. Adelynn is eager to begin and confidently owns her game. She knew from the beginning the big names would go out early and the small names would target the big names so they could slip by. But she felt like she was firmly in the middle and could easily play dumb and avoid detection and she did just that, outplaying all of the sheep to be the top lion. She is asked by Violet who her closest ally was in the game and Adelynn bruntly replies that she only had herself, as being too close to someone else cost her the game last time. Benedict gets his turn to speak and with glazed over eyes, starts up. He says he wants to win this game more than anything else and had to play much tougher to do so with such a great cast. He says at each turn in the game, he flipped on an ally who stood in his way and learned that to win, he also had to rely on himself. He owns that his game differs because he was strategic from the beginning. He formed a backbone for him to work from and took out the pieces who most got in his way. He knows he has blood on his paws but if he wins, it’ll all be worth it.
Jury Voting: Gage comments that you either lose the hero, or see yourself live long enough to become the villain, and that’s pretty cool. Krishna says she knew a legend season would be tough, but has no qualms voting for the legendary winner. King smirks when he votes and smugly comments how Mazda needs to open up two new spots for his next villain cast. When Chess votes, he says he calculated everything but betrayal in his game, but it was intriguing in how well it worked…just not for him. Lora says she has to vote for someone who will own their win. Whimzy says she knows she was outplayed and is ready to commend it. Lissia comments that her character development was cut short, but both finalists developed their characters in an…unappealing way. Violet says she isn’t happy in this vote, but at least one person here played better and deserves the win. Tiny says she know her vote won’t change the outcome, but maybe an imperfect record will teach someone a lesson. Gigi says he may not have won but he became a better person, hope the win was worth losing a friend. Amni says she has lived on this world for a very long time and watched this series ton, and is honored she got to play with such legends. The votes are tallied and the winner is…
Winner: Benedict
Runner-Up: Adelynn
As Benedict is crowned the winner, he wants to cheer, but he realizes that this moment isn’t as satisfying as he though it would be. Adelynn gets up disappointed but pats him on the back. He doesn’t notice but instead stares down at his hands, the falling snow turning red in his illusions. With the jury cheering around him, he feels alone in this moment. Adelynn finally shoulder checks him and snaps him out of it. “You won” she says “At least pretend to be happy.” He stares at her a moment before forcing a smile. They full cast cheers the night away as the night falls over Mt. Silver, ending this Legendary Season as the blizzard peters out.
Fan Favorite: King
My Favorites: Amni, Tiny, Krishna, Chess, Whimzy, Lissia, Violet, Mazda. So many honestly this cast was fantastic.
My Thoughts: This season was absolutely as Legendary as the name implied. These were gamers ready to play and they all came in knowing how they would play and how they would react to the world around them. The strategy revolving around big targets but then small targets but then just being a free for all was fantastic and no alliances were truly solid, even the final 3 were not solid with each other. The storylines were also Legendary. Lemme name a few. Tiny, wow, Tiny. She is my favorite player of the whole series since season 1 and her coming back to play another season and do really well again was just phenomenal. She was the block warmer yet she never really felt in danger of going home because she knew how to survive the block. She lived up to her legend status. Amni and Violet both were the small fish but created paths for them to the end! Whimzy was a strategic genius who masterminded a plan to the end. If she wasn’t betrayed, she easily could have won. Gigi made a big come back, learning his lessons from last season and going far because of it. Same appies to Lissia who had much stronger footing this time around. Chess and Lora both started strong but ended up lost in the rush. Adelynn was so strong this time around, really controlling the narrative in the end game and ensuring she was not caught in the crossfire. I’m impressed by her comeback. And Benedict. He was robbed on his first season and we all knew it. But he came back with a fire that really tore through this game. He knew he wanted to win and did whatever it took to do so. He betrayed so many allies and played very cutthroat, staying on top of the game and dominating how we knew he would without having to win a single HOH but…at what cost. The statue of him stands built in the house, representing the 16^th and final main winner of the series.
Thank you guys again for the amazing characters and amazing season. But one last season remains…

(As always, flyers are out Wednesdays, most store sales for the new flyer start on Thursdays)
Adonis

• Chicken breast (boneless skinless) - $5.99 per lb -- Fair price for chicken breast and a common price at Adonis. Lower is definitely possible, where $4.50/lb is a "best target".
• Chicken legs - $2.49 per lb -- Fair price for chicken legs and a common price at Adonis. The stock-up price target is about $1.50/lb.
• Fresh Sea Bass (free cleaning) - $6.88 per lb -- Nice! Fresh fish!
• Red Sea Bream (free cleaning) - $9.99 per lb -- Ohh, more bream this week! Nice to see!
• Shrimp skewers - $0.99 each -- Ad is a little unclear, but if these are 99c a skewer, that ain't bad!
• Red vine tomatoes - $0.99 per lb -- Excellent price for tomatoes!
• Flat cabbage - $0.99 per lb -- Good price for cabbage.
• Cucumber - $0.99 each -- Great price for a cucumber, but watch out for other deals.
• Blueberries - $2.99 full pint -- Good price for a full pint.
• Boursin cheese - $4.99 150g pack -- Nice!
• Jarlsberg - $9.99 300g -- Decent. We've seen Jarlsberg go as low as $2/100g.
• Camembert (Le Rustique) - $9.99 250g -- Fair price if it's really good camembert. You can score deals on soft cheeses like this that can swing that price down to about $2.50/lb, but it's rarer and rarer these days.
• Brie, triple cream (l'Extra) - $9.99 300g -- Fair price for really good brie.
• Deli - Havarti (Casetelo) - $1.99 per 100g -- Great price for havarti. Tasty stuff in a nice sandwich!
• Deli - Beef bologna (Solmaz) - $1.49 per 100g -- Cheap deli!
• Deli - Chicken breast (Alzahraa) - $1.29 per 100g -- Cheap deli!
• Deli - Turkey breast (Schneiders) - $1.99 per 100g -- Great price for medium-brand deli.
• Deli - Prosciutto (San Daniele) - $2.79 per 100g -- Great price!
• Produce Price Rating: Medium, but always has well-priced chicken, the deli meat sale rotations are always fantastic, and just the overall variety of goods is refreshing. Personal favourite store.

Farm Boy

• Atlantic Snow Crab - $7.99 per lb -- Fun seafood option. Definitely a treat, but might make for a nice dinner!
• Bacon (Leadbetter) - $3.99 375g pack -- Not the cheapest option in bacon, but it's a step up from value-brand bacon.
• Vidalia onions - $1.88 per lb -- Ouufff, that hurts my feelings. Vidalias are my favourite onion, but at nearly $2/lb when regular ones shouldn't go over 80c/lb, it's a tough one to swallow...
• Cucumber - $0.99 each -- Great price for a cucumber, but watch out for other deals.
• Deli - Black Forest Ham (Brandt) - $1.99 per 100g -- Good deal on good ham!
• Deli - Chicken breast roast (Maple Lodge) - $2.49 per 100g -- Good deal on nice deli.
• Produce Price Rating: High

Farmers Pick (can be a little late on their flyer) (https://www.farmerspick.ca/flyer-specials)
Food Basics

• Chicken breast (boneless skinless, Maple Lodge) - $4.98 per lb -- Good price for chicken breast!
• Bacon (Leadbetter) - $3.88 375g pack -- Like the Leadbetter's at Farmboy, it's step-up bacon, and it's a good sale price.
• Atlantic salmon - $10.88 per lb -- Fair price for salmon.
• Carrots - $1.25 2lb bag -- Awesome!
• Onions - $1.25 2lb bag -- Awesome!
• Broccoli - $1.25 per crown -- Great price!
• Mini cucumbers - $1.99 6-pack -- Nice! Good price!
• Apples (various) - $2.98 3lb bag -- Fair price for apples, but mind the type you buy. Some varieties bruise up easily and you could easily lose a few soldiers if not careful.
• Lemons - $2.98 2lb bag -- Fair price for lemons.
• Oranges - $1.88 3lb bag -- Great price for oranges!! That's 60c/lb!!
• Blueberries - $1.88 half pint -- Good price for blueberries. About 1.50-175 for a half-pint is good.
• Mango - $0.67 each -- Wow! Haven't seen a 67c mango in months!
• Cantaloupe - $2.98 each -- Good ol' $3 melon.
• Mini watermelon - $3.98 each -- Great price for a small watermelon!
• Corned beef (Hereford) - $2.98 340g can -- Not the most exciting ingredient, but it's good to have one or two cans in the pantry.
• SPAM - $2.98 340g can -- Same as the corned beef.
• Smoked ham (Selection) - $8.00 675g toupie -- That works out to just about 1.18/100g, which is a good rate on ham for sandwiches, or frying up for a meal.
• Tofu (Fountaine santé) - $5.00 For 2x 400g packs -- Good price for tofu. $2.50 for 400g is "nice average". If you're paying $2, it's a good deal. $3+ and you're either outside of town, or you're paying for a special brand or dessert tofu.
• Silk plant bev - $2.88 1.74-1.89L -- Excellent deal on the Silk stuff. This is commonly $4-5 per jug, Under $3 is a good deal.
• Produce Price Rating: Low to medium low

FoodLand

• Pork chops (loin cut) - $2.99 per lb -- Fair price for decent cuts of pork. Given these are boneless, you're a meat gavel away from schnitzel.
• Chicken breast (boneless skinless) - $5.88 per lb -- Fair price for chicken breast. Lower is definitely possible, where $4.50/lb is the a "best target".
• Beef cross-rib roast (AAA) - $7.99 per lb -- Fair price for beef, but not my price-point. I prefer to see at least $6/lb before I start entertain these cuts and products. Though, I'm maybe a poor judge as I'm not really a fancy steak kinda guy. But, that's also how I save tons of cash. As the saying goes, the customer is always right in matters of taste!
• Atlantic salmon - $10.99 per lb -- Fair price for salmon.
• Brick cheese (Compliments) - $5.49 400g bar -- Not the best price for cheap brick cheese, but it's ok. It's at least 50c my standard go-to rate. But Foodland isn't an "in-town" brand, so the price scales higher as you move out of dense city areas.
• Luncheon meat (Holiday) - $1.99 340g can -- I think this is similar to SPAM, but I've never had it personally.
• Produce Price Rating: Medium-high to high.

Freshco (price matcher)

• Chicken breast (boneless skinless) - $10.00 4-pack -- Marge Simpson grunts, these products are deceiving. Throw these on the scale and make sure they're at least 2lb.
• Smoked sausages (Compliments) - $7.99 900g pack -- These come in a couple of different flavours, including "bacon cheddar". Works out to $4/lb, which ain't bad. I think these are pre-cooked as well. You can score good raw sausage for about the same price or just a bit more, but it'll be much tougher to find.
• Sweet peppers - $3.99 4-pack -- Fair price. Not the best, but not the worst either.
• Hothouse tomatoes - $0.99 per lb -- Excellent price for tomatoes!
• Corn - $2.00 for 5 ears -- Excellent! 40c an ear!!!
• Celery - $2.99 per head -- Ok price for celery. Lots of places charge $4 for nice big heads of celery...
• Bok choy, Napa, Flat Cabbage - $0.99 per lb -- Amazing price for choy and napa, fair for cabbage. The other day, I made a choy salad with a little light dressing. Super tasty.
• Green onions - $0.99 per bunch -- $1/bunch is basically the new normal when it comes to green onions.
• Ginger - $1.99 per lb -- Good price. You'll often find it more in the $3/lb range.
• Garlic - $1.29 5-pack -- Nice!
• Asian pears - $1.88 per lb -- Nice! Not bad for a fancier fruit. In season, you can score these easily under 1.50/lb
• Apples (Gala) - $1.49 per lb -- Not bad for a good apple, though it's still a bit high. 1.25/lb would be the better rate. But, short of sending your kids off to school with a head of bok choy in their lunch, I don't know what we're supposed to do here...
• Brick cheese (Armstrong) - $4.44 400g bar -- Nice! Sub-$5 brick cheese!
• Silk plant bev - $3.49 1.74-1.89L -- Nice little sale price. Down from about $5 this week.
• Carole's Japanese Cheesecake - $8.88 500g cake -- All I can think of is Charlie from It's Always Sunny, in the mail room freaking out about Pepe Silvia, and how there's no Carole in HR.
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Ristorante) - $4.49 whatever -- Dude, what happened to these?! They used to be, like, $2-2.50 in 2020.
• Produce Price Rating: medium low (more on the medium side)

Giant Tiger (*note the VIP prices; sales begin today) (price matcher)

• Chicken breast (boneless skinless) - $6.97 500-818g -- Aaahhhh boyyyy! Freakin' lotteries again. Limit of 5. Assuming there's 650g in a pack, that'S 1.5lb for $7, which is about 4.66/lb, which is good. Find a scale and check the weights!
• Bacon (Olymel) - $3.88 375g pack -- Like the Leadbetter's at Farmboy, it's step-up bacon, and it's a good sale price.
• Breakfast sausage (Olymel) - $3.88 375g pack -- Not feeling bacon, you can swap out to sausages.
• Celery - $1.88 per head -- Great price, but careful, these are often smaller heads. Two of these is about the same as one big $4 head at Basics, for example.
• Iceberg lettuce - $1.88 per head -- Good price for lettuce!
• Green onions - $1.88 per bunch -- This may sound pricey, but I found the bunches have suffered some shrinkage. Last I went to GT, these were bigger bunches. Mind your step when it comes to green onions, I guess.
• Salad kit (Dole) - $1.97 340g bag -- Great price for a salad kit. These can range easily into the $4 range. In fact, Basics has them for $4 this week. So, consider these half-price salad kits.
• Mini cucumbers - $1.97 6-pack -- Nice, $2 is a good rate. We were seeing $4 6-packs some weeks (though, I doubt we've seen the end of those days...)
• Apples (Royal Gala) - $2.88 3lb bag -- Good rate on galas. On that $1/lb target.
• Lemons - $2.88 2lb bag -- Fair price for lemons.
• Clementines - $2.88 2lb bag -- GREAT price for clementines!
• Cream cheese (Lactantia) - $2.47 250g bar -- Great price! Can often range into $4 for the same bar.
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Ristorante) - $4.97 whatever -- What the... How did it get worse from Freshco to GT....
• Produce Price Rating: Generally on the low side.

Green Fresh Supermarket (Vanier) (check https://greenfreshottawa20.wixsite.com/greenfreshottawa) * Produce Price Rating: Usually very competitive, catering to Asian cuisine. Warning: their newest sales start on Fridays - so this is a late advertising of their sales.
IGA (price matcher)

• Lobster - $8.77 per lb -- Scene Member Price.
• Bacon (Mere Michel) - $3.99 375g pack -- More $4 mid-range-ish bacon going around.
• Greenouse tomatoes - $0.99 per lb -- Nice! Another great $1/lb tomato deal!
• Blackberries - $1.44 half pint -- Scene Member Price.
• Brick cheese (Armstrong) - $3.99 400g bar -- Awesome!
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Ristorante) - $3.47 whatever -- Bon, criss! And even then it's still too pricey for show shitty these pizzas are. What's a walk-in special at a pizza place these days?
• Produce Price Rating: Medium

Independent

• Beef brisket - $4.99 per lb -- Awesome price for beef brisket.
• Chicken breast or thighs (boneless skinless) - $4.99 per lb -- Good price. Go for the chicken and get out.
• Pork tenderloin - $3.49 per lb -- Fair price for tenderloin.
• Avocado - $2.49 each -- You know, you wanna give them the benefit of the doubt, but at 2.50 for an avocado, it better be big enough to kill a man, whether eaten or via bludgeoning.
• Blueberries - $2.77 full pint -- Awesome price!
• Brick cheese (Black Diamond) - $4.88 400g bar -- Sub-$5 cheese is always welcome.
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Loblaws

• Pork tenderloin - $3.49 per lb -- Fair price for tenderloin.
• Asparagus - $2.99 per lb -- Not bad for asparagus. We've seen better, but it's also not $4/lb we can commonly see.
• Salad Kits (PC) - $11.00 for 2 300g-ish -- We had mentioned earlier that GT has Dole-branded kits, same size, for $2. At $2, Dole could spit in my salad, and I still wouldn't look at these PC kits.
• Bok choy - $2.99 per lb -- Freshco has theirs for 99c/lb.
• Strawberries - $1.99 454g shell -- Awesome price for strawberries! Let's hope the quality is there. Sometimes cheap is cheap for a reason.
• Brick cheese (Black Diamond) - $4.88 400g bar -- Sub-$5 cheese is always welcome.
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Provigo

• Atlantic Lobster (live) - $7.99 per lb -- Good price on lobster.
• Beef striploin steak - $7.88 per lb -- Good price on steak, but no indication of the grade.
• Chicken legs - $2.49 per lb -- Faiaverage price for chicken legs. Same as Adonis.
• Strawberries - $2.44 454g shell -- Not as good as the 1.99 deal, but still quite good.
• Brick cheese (Ptit Quebec) - $4.88 400g bar -- Sub-$5 cheese is always welcome. Took some digging, but I found out that it's the same owners as those of Cracker Barrel, hence the easy-same-price swap between Provigo and Loblaws.
• Produce Price Rating: fairly high with few exceptions

Maxi (price matcher)

• Whole chicken - $1.99 per lb -- Awesome price for chicken! Learn to carve up a chicken. There's real savings there!
• Pork chops - $2.88 per lb -- Fair price for pork chops.
• Atlantic Salmon - $8.99 per lb -- Good price for salmon, under that $10/lb target.
• Small potatoes (Yellow, Russet) - $0.94 3lb bag -- Wow! 31c/lb! That's really good!
• Celery - $2.49 per head -- Good price for celery. Let's hope the heads are big and nice, and not "size-scaled according to price".
• Beefsteak tomatoes - $1.49 per lb -- Good price for tomatoes, but we're seeing some $1/lb sales. But if the quality is there, don't hesitate.
• Sweet peppers (green and red) - $3.99 4-pack -- Fair going price for peppers.
• Blueberries - $1.87 full pint -- WOW! Insanely good price for blueberries.
• Apples (Imperfect) - $6.00 6lb bag -- But is it 6lb?! Weigh the bag on a scale and check. Too much funny business in the fixed-weight products lately.
• Brick cheese (Ptit Quebec) - $4.87 400g bar -- Sub-$5 cheese is always welcome. Took some digging, but I found out that it's the same owners as those of Cracker Barrel, hence the easy-same-price swap between Provigo and Loblaws.
• Flour (Five Roses, Robinhood) - $13.99 10kg bag -- Hmm, these bags have seen a small increase from $11-12...
• Dry pasta (Primo) - $1.33 750g packs -- Great price! Stock-up a little!
• Produce Price Rating: Generally medium low pricing! This store can post some impressive deals at times.

Metro

• Beef prime rib roast and steaks (AA) - $8.99 per lb -- I want to like this sale. It's prime rib, which is a nice cut, but I wish it was AAA grade. Best go in with options in mind, and make your decision when you see the meat. Give it a poke, check the fat lines, make sure it's going to be nice and tender.
• Pork loin chops or roast - $2.99 per lb -- If the beef doesn't look good, you've got a pork parachute.
• Chicken breast and thighs (boneless skinless, Prime) - $5.99 per lb -- Not the best price, but definitely a little lower than regular.
• Strawberries - $1.99 454g shell -- Awesome price for strawberries! Again, always mind the quality at these prices.
• Burrata - $20.00 2x 250g balls -- This cheese is stupendous. It's a treat and priced accordingly, but worth trying. Think of super-fresh mozz balls or fior de latte, but with a mozz-cottage-cheese thing going on inside.
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Ristorante) - $3.49 whatever -- How is it that we go from $5 for these, to $3.50... That's such a huge swing...
• Produce Price Rating: High. Kinda like Sobeys. You can see a 50% average mark-up compared to a lot of other stores. It's nice produce, but it costs you.

No Frills (price matcher)

• Chicken drumsticks - $1.87 per lb -- Good enough price for chicken drumsticks. I'd rather see legs at this price, but this is fair.
• Smoked sausages (No Name) - $6.99 900g pack -- Goodness these look a LOT like the Compliments bag at Freshco lol...
• Peameal bacon - $2.88 per lb -- Interesting. Sometimes it's hard to find peameal for less than $4. Meanwhile, I've never bought the stuff, and I don't think I've seen many put it in their cart. I don't get it lol.
• Atlantic Salmon - $9.77 per lb -- On that $10/lb target.
• Corn - $0.33 per ear -- Great price for ears of corn!!
• Potatoes (Red, Yellow, Russet) - $4.99 10lb bag -- Fair sale price for potatoes. Regular prices can float easily over $7 now...
• Blueberries - $1.99 full pint -- Another fantastic blueberry sale!
• Pears (Bartlett) - $0.88 per lb -- Awesome price for pears!!!
• Milk (Neilson) - $4.88 4L bagged -- Great sale price on milk considering it's about $6-7 at the very least.
• Canned tuna (Ocean's) - $0.99 170g -- There's some funny business in the flyer this week. There's, like, 3 different cans of tuna. This one for 99c, a Clover Leaf for 2.99, and another Ocean's for 2.99.
• Produce Price Rating: Generally quite low, selectively amazing for some items.

Produce Depot (usually a little late on the flyer) https://producedepot.ca/

• Ground beef (medium) - $4.99 per lb -- Not bad. Not a stock-up price, but this would be good burger material.
• Beef top sirloin steak - $7.99 per lb -- No grade mentioned, so mind your step. But if the quality looks good, it'd make a great treat!
• Cod fillet (fresh) - $11.99 per lb -- Fair price for fresh cod.
• Cucumber - $0.49 each -- WOW WOW! That's a DEAL! Meanwhile, Loblaws and affiliates can't sell us a cucumber for less than $1 on average, or 2.49 for a fancy organic one...
• Flat cabbage - $0.99 per lb -- Nice! Great to see cheap cabbage. I think we're going to see a resurgence of hardier, self-stable veg like this becoming popular.
• Sweet peppers - $1.99 per lb -- Great price for peppers. It's hard to find off-season peppers for less than $3/lb.
• Oranges - $1.29 per lb -- Not amazing, but still pretty good. $1/lb is really the better target. But, a couple of oranges won't risk the coop.
• Strawberries - $1.69 454g shell -- WOW! Produce Depot coming around to prove a point! These won't last, so plan your trip if you want these!
• Cheese counter - Fontina (Castello) - $2.79 per 100g -- Nice cheese for a good price. It's not cheap per se, but it's on point with prices for artisanal cheese.
• Deli - Pastrami - $2.39 per 100g -- Great price for nice deli meat!!!
• Produce Price Rating: Medium-low with very competitive specials on a shortened flyer. The small flyer is nice because it doesn't uselessly feature $6 heads of cauliflower and extremely high-price items that are either a confusion on the consumer, or an insult on the injury of not being able to afford supreme quality items.

Real Canadian Superstore (price matcher)

• Beef sirloin tip roast or steaks - $4.99 per lb -- Great price! I wonder about the grade, and I think I'd sooner do the roast because I know could get a tender bite out of the cooking method, versus fighting a tough steak that'll never rest into anything tender.
• Chicken breast (bone-in, skinless) - $3.99 per lb -- Good price for chicken breast, and bone-in is not bad. Boneless chicken loses out on a lot of flavour and moisture from the bone. And, there's so little bone along the breast that you don't really face the issue of undercooking it like you would with a leg (which requires higher temps or longer cooks, which can dry out if left too long in the oven or on the grill).
• Smoked sausages (No Name) - $9.99 900g pack -- From No Frills to RCSS, it'll cost you $3 to be in the store to get the same sausages...
• Asparagus - $2.99 per lb -- Good price for asparagus. When the crop-outs come through, we can see this dip to $2/lb, but out of that you can see as high as $4/lb.
• Mini cucumbers - $4.00 11-pack -- Well, considering we're seeing so many 6-packs go for $2, you've lose a cucumber with this 11-pack.
• Sweet peppers - $3.50 4-pack -- Great deal on a 4-pack.
• Vidalia onions - $5.99 3lb bag -- Sigh... $2/lb onions... Good onions, but damn...
• Potatoes (Imperfect) - $6.00 15lb bag -- Excellent! Great potato deal here, don't skip these! Pro tip: prep/cook whole potatoes in advance. Steam or pressure cook them, and keep them in the fridge. They slice real easy, and they fry/sauté really easily. Great for breakfasts, and a great alternative to bread.
• Grape tomatoes - $6.00 907g shell -- Great price for grape tomatoes. Freeze the ones that you don't use, and use them for stocks or to throw into soup to stew a bit before serving.
• Strawberries - $3.98 2lb shell -- Great deal. $2/lb, basically. That aligns with other great sales we see on strawberries.
• Pineapple - $3.00 each -- Good price for pineapple. $2 is the better target.
• Cantaloupe - $3.00 each -- Easy to find cantaloupe for $3, $2 occurs here and there. For the amount of melon you get, I don't think it's worth chasing that $1.
• Honeydew and Mini Watermelon - $4.99 each -- Meh prices for these melons. Not terrible, but not the greatest.
• Brick cheese (No Name) - $4.99 400g bar -- $5 brick cheese!
• Deli - Ziggy's Beef deli - $2.50 per 100g -- A consistent returning item and price for decent deli meat.
• Canned tomatoes (PC Blue Menu) - $1.59 796ml can -- Good price for canned tomatoes. Sometimes you can score canned tomatoes for as low as 1.25, 1.50 is still a very good price. $2 is not that great. 1.25 is the real stock-up price.
• Flour (Robinhood, Five Roses) - $11.99 10kg bag -- More and more I stand by having a 10kg bag in the pantry along with a jar of quick rise yeast. Making your own bread is not difficult. It's a fantastic skill to have. And after a dozen loaves, you'll get the hang of it.
• Produce Price Rating: Generally medium-low pricing, selectively amazing for some items.

Sobeys

• Chicken breast or thighs (boneless skinless, Compliments) - $5.88 per lb -- Upper-end fair going-rate for chicken breast. It's regular Adonis pricing, and more expensive than some of the better sales we see floating around.
• Chicken breast or thighs (boneless skinless, no antibiotics, Compliments) - $6.99 per lb -- Interesting to see the no-antibiotics version be $1/lb more. I wonder how that scales across all stores and brands... Seems to me $1/lb extra isn't bad.
• Pork tenderloin - $2.99 per lb -- Scene Member Price.
• Pork back rib - $2.99 per lb -- Scene Member Price.
• Beef brisket - $5.99 per lb -- $6/lb for AA grade ain't bad. Independent has the better deal on brisket, but choices must be made.
• Beef eye of round - $6.99 per lb -- It's a big cut of beef, but if you know how to spot and cut around the grain, you could get beef cubes, strips and marinating steaks out of this very easily.
• Scallops - $21.99 per lb -- Now, I usually don't recommend scallops, but I saw some scallop prices range of $28-32/lb. Farm Boy is just charging $3 for 2 scallops. LOL. And then you can score 300g frozen for $10 at Super C. Or get Metro bay scallops for $10/lb. No wonder I always go cross-eyed with scallop pricing.
• Cucumbers - $0.99 each -- Great price. Not the 50c sales we're seeing come up, but certainly better than some historical pricing we've seen.
• Red vine tomatoes - $0.99 per lb -- Awesome price for tomatoes!
• Brick cheese (Compliments) - $4.99 400g -- Good ol' $5 brick cheese!
• Cooked and frozen pork ribs (Compliments) - $13.99 680g pack -- I bring this up not because it's a valid suggestion. I bring this up because the same 1.5lbs of pork rib can cost you as low as $4.50 at the same store with the Scene pricing. You could get 4.5lb of rib. That's at least 2 big racks, which easily feeds 6 people with sides. Take that in. It is non-trivial! Manufactured/prepared products like this suck us dry.
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Giuseppe) - $4.94 whatever -- Here we go again...
• Produce Price Rating: Generally a high price store, especially for produce. Some items are 50% more than more value-oriented stores. Kinda like Metro, some of the deals can be quite good.

Super C

• Chicken legs - $1.29 per lb -- WOW! Stock up! Fire up the BBQ! Marinate those legs over morning in some lemon juice, a little wine, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper. Makes a great dinner main!
• Ground pork (extra lean) - $2.49 per lb -- WOW! Excellent price for ground pork!
• Tomahawk beef steak - $13.75 per lb -- Now, I'm not one to often suggest steaks like, this, but this is actually a tremendous cut. It might make a nice main for a special dinner!
• Bacon (Mere Michel) - $3.77 375g pack -- Good price for decent bacon. Lots of these sales going around.
• Asparagus - $2.77 per lb -- Great price for asparagus!
• Red vine tomatoes - $0.84 per lb -- WOW! Cheapest in town!
• Cucumbers - $0.99 each -- Nice! Let's hope these cucumber sales keep lowering!!
• Sweet potatoes - $0.99 per lb -- Great price! We're often seeing loose sweet potatoes range into the $1.30+/lb range.
• Blueberries - $0.99 half-pint -- Great price for blueberries!
• Lemons and limes - $0.99 for 3 -- Wow! Awesome price for citrus!
• Cantaloupe - $1.84 each -- Awesome! There's that $2 cantaloupe I was hoping to see!
• Oka cheese (and others!) - $4.75 170g pack -- Fantastic sale!!! Includes Monsier Gustav St-Paulin, Agropur Grand Cheddar, Notre-Dame brie, l'Extra Camembert. That's a lot of nice cheese at a nice price!
• Cheese Sale - $18 for 3 - varies -- Super cheese deal! Lots of varieties avialable, and you can score a lot of different products for basically $6 each.
• Earth's Own plant bev - $7.00 for 2x 1.75-1.89 --
• Dr Oetkey pizzas (Ristorante) - $3.47 whatever -- I think we can agree that these should be about 3.50 these days. Not $5...
• Produce Price Rating: Generally low, but can creep into medium for some items. But, there's always something decent available!

T&T Supermarket https://www.tntsupermarket.com * Produce Price Rating: Usually very competitive, catering to Asian cuisine. Warning: their newest sales start on Fridays - so this is a late advertising of their sales.
Walmart

• Whole chicken - $1.94 per lb -- Nice! I love $2/lb chicken! It puts us more on par with those loss-leader cooked chickens.
• Bacon (Great Value) - $2.94 375g pack -- Another bacon sale!
• Dinner sausage (Your Fresh Market) - $4.97 500g 4-pack -- Good price for raw sausage, but it's also close to the fresh-made price you can find at some stores ($6/lb). Note: precooked sausages and wieners are not something we should eat too often. They're packed with extra salts and fats, especially nitrites, which are used as a preservative, and it keeps meat pink. It's found in basically any processed meat you find on the shelf. In small quantities, it's fine, but North America is big on consuming these sorts of products, and some reports suggest 1/2 a hotdog a day, along with the bun and condiments, is linked to a 20% hike in rates of intestinal cancers. Raw fresh-made sausage often do not have nitrites. Just some food for thought and a reminder to check the ingredients listed on the package.
• Vine tomatoes - $1.94 per lb -- Not that great considering the sub-$1/lb sales we've seen.
• Green peppers - $1.94 per lb -- Fair and good rate on green peppers.
• Zucchini - $1.94 per lb -- A little high, but on par with other stores this week.
• Eggplant - $1.94 per lb -- A little high, but on par with other stores this week.
• Green onion - $0.94 for 2 -- Ouuu that's good for green onion. I was just saying $1 was the going-rate. This is half that! Excellent deal!
• Cilantro bunch - $0.94 for 2 -- Oh wow, that's really good for fresh cilantro. Bunches can be 99c, 1.50, or even $2.
• Mango (Red or Ataulfo) - $0.94 for 2 -- Awesome price for mango! There's an opportunity here for a mango salsa!!!
• Brick cheese (Armstrong) - $4.94 400g bar -- Good ol' $5 brick!
• Frozen veg (Great Value) - $2.47 500-750g -- More of a reminder to look out for this sort of pricing on frozen veg. Bags of corn, peas, string beans, these can all be had for about this price. And, they're perfect nutritious, if not more than "fresh" on a shelf as it's frozen after being picked when ready, instead of picked early and thrown onto a truck for a thousand kms.
• Olive oil (Sapurito) - $11.94 1L bottle -- Wow! $3 off the average doesn't sound like a lot, but 20% is 20%. It's kind of like "buy 4 and get 1 free".
• Butter (Gay Lea) - $4.94 454g bar -- $5 butter. Still expensive as all heck, but it's not $7-8.
• Produce Price Rating: A little all over the place. Some really good prices between a lot of average pricing.

Costco (Note that these are the online/shipped prices - reduce each item by $3 for in-store pricing)

• NOTE: NEED TO REVISE - --
• Paper Towel (Kirkland) - $27.99 12-roll pack -- 2-ply; 160 sheets
• Paper Towel (Bounty) - $27.49 12-roll pack -- 2-ply; 86 sheets
• Toilet Paper (Kirkland) - $25.99 30-roll pack -- 2-ply; 380 sheets
• Toilet Paper (Cashmere) - $24.99 40-roll pack -- 2-ply; 250 sheets (on sale)
• Dish soap (Dawn Platinum) - $18.99 2.66L -- Food Basics often has this jug for $10!
• Laundry detergent (Purex) - $24.99 9.24L -- 250 loads
• Garbage bags (30 gallon; large) - $15.99 100-pack -- Amazon has Glad standard 74L bags, 100-packs for $23, sometimes less if on sale
• Countertop green bin liners - $21.99 125-pack -- Amazon has Glad Compostable green bin liners 100-packs for $18, sometimes less if on sale
• Produce Price Rating: I need to do a proper check to be sure, but I find it's pretty average. There's an illusion of getting a good deal because of the bulk. Just be careful.

Jean Coutu (new sales start Fridays)

• Produce Price Rating: I have to start checking these just in case...

Shoppers Drug Mart (new sales start Fridays)

• Produce Price Rating: Sometimes they have cheap butter, eggs, and milk on weekends.

Some additional references!

• Grocery Review Google Drive Location https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xhLvBP1smXb1eSnxAW5yyBjO2aYFLJHC?usp=sharing
• Cooking Tips and Recipes https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TCcHm9y0kWIa3x18hznKN2ix0BPcUv-m?usp=drive_link
• Google Maps list of the Grocery stores in Ottawa https://maps.app.goo.gl/YT7cZmv8vMQWU4J59

Last time on Party Roll

We follow Krimbim's story arc for a bit to open. We find out that he's alive! And when the shit went down, this slick rick decided to tunnel his way to safety.Making his way out of the desert, Krimbin just happens to come into the settlement of Drybed unbeknownst to the party.What's coo coo crazy is that, after his long journey, he goes looking for an inn to rest his wary feet, only to be thrusted into a battle with our party and some baddies! Talk about luck eh? Let it be known, Krimbin has a thing for sand. Do with that as you will...
We manage to get a hostage out of this battle and we begin to get a clearer picture of what's going on here. Basically, the "cultist" see Alabaster the child, as the rightful king and they are willing to do anything to achieve this goal.During this waterboarding, Otto, are almost useless boy squire, Otto.... decides that he would take a random wand off our hostage and hold it next to her head...Yup, A fireball explodes. LOT'S of damage is taken; Sarn is near deaths bed and our hostage almost makes an escape! but somehow, we dust ourselves off and try to find a place to recoup with one hostage in tow
Party Roll to beat: 4
Matt 5 Cory 3 Jose 12 Dusty NAT 1 Mark Vanessa
Hambone eats all the party Burritos while Jose does a traditional Mexican dance around Matt's throw up.
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Back to the Party!
Hokay, so the Inn is looking pretty much like a disaster from all that's been going on. The bartender is totally dead btw. We gotta get outta here. We put the unconscious Sarn on the back of a horse, the same goes for our hostage Wizburr. Oh! we loot the dead bartender to grab some change and a key. We look into the backroom and see a safe...maybe this key goes to that? Hmmm....We check it out and it works! The safe clicks open and we find 100 gold and the deed to the bar.
Krimbin tells us there is an oasis nearby where they can go to rest and interrogate more of this hostage. Leading the way, it's ye 3 hours away, but things are uneventful. We arrive, it's quiet. There are some shotty wooden structures and they head inside. We begin to interrogate our elf wizard and find out some interesting things. The baddies are still looking for the staff (But the unconscious Sarn still has), while we don't know the King's motives, we do find out that the orders are coming from Sir Onn'd who's in the castle within Storms End. These orders are given to them in the guards station outside the castle...and there is a password to get in... "World eater"
Donoub clues in that this is a reference to their insignia and shows her flakey tattoo of the snake symbol (the ouroboros) upon her breast towards Wizburr the hostage.The elfen wizard pauses and asks, "are you one of us?". Donoub plays off this and goes along with the flow, currying enough favor to basically win Wizburr into trusting us. Wow...Waterboarding DOES work.
Wizburr asks to be released from her bonds, but the group isn't just about ready to do such a thing. Krimbin says it's best for her safety that she stay this way...
Sledge, Roll for persuasion 5, fail
Krimbin, Roll for persuasion 11, pass
She just lays there hesitant and lazy

"Well it's because the false king, he allows the walls to stay up and just lets the desert and everyone else in it consume themselves. The true king tho, the true king and his hand will open the wall and will let everyone to freedom." - Wizburr

So we kinda get a better picture of what's going on. The crown has the ability to control the people, while the staff along with the crown opens up the storm wall. Hmmm well....which King is the right King now?! Hmmm well on that note, we finally get some rest within this shack at the Oasis.
We wake up, spell slots regained, but Sarn is still knocked out. Unwilling to take Wizburr with us, we place her in a hut, where she will be protected from the wilderness.Welp, it's early morning and we have to trek back the 3 hours towards the settlement town, free of our hostage and onwards with the story!
We devise a plan where we'll head back to Drybed, go through the poop tunnel (what is with our Party and Poop tunnels?!) and if we catch any trouble, bribe our way in.Donoub will cast, 'mask of many faces' to mimic Wizburr, while donning her clothes which had to be tailored to Donoubs body to be passable.
As we get closer to our destination, we can actually smell it. The place looks like an old western town.
It's kinda what you'd expect a shit pipe to look like. The waste and fecal matter of the town is plopping out of this pipe, at a pretty consistent rate. Garbage floats to the top of this bog water. To the side of the pipe is the city wall, where people with carts come and go. We walk on over to the gated wall and are stopped by a guard. Upon seeing Donoub's robe, which is a complete replica of Wizburr's, we are given a glance and a nod to carry on.We are now in the Slums of Storm's eye!
Now just to recap...
We were sent out by the King to find a scouting party that went MIA. En route to checking them out, we were also tasked to find parts to repair the King's royal sandcrawler, which has surely broken down and come to a standstill now. We however got ambushed, lost our horses, got side tracked a bit and find ourselves back in the city. Which isn't too bad, seeing as the parts we need are actually somewhere in this forsaken place.
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Krimbin tells us of the royal repair station, a place that will surely have what parts he needs. There, they can get a cart, load it up and head on out. As we arrive we notice that the shop is right next to the guard station. Krimbim notices a few fellers from his crew, who begin to look busy, seeing as their boss is now back. Ushering one of his grease monkey's into his presence, Krimbim tells his worker that he needs these parts for the King's sandcrawler; keeping things as vague as possible. The worker is a tad confused...because the King is here in the city....EEEEeeeee! Krimbim, quick on his toes, informs his curious worker that this is a separate thing, for the king, where he'll have two crawlers.
The workers are a little wary, esp cause Krimbim came outta nowhere, with a bunch of randoms, with an even more random project. The workers band together and ask to have a word with Krimbim. Donoub heads into the shadows and eavesdrops/readies for any action if needed....
Krimbim, Roll persuasion to convince his workers to do what he says and get the parts 8, Fail The worker doesn't bend and heads off to find someone with authority to confirm this work requisition.
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The party is feeling the heat here. They wanna just grab the parts and book it, but it seems the remaining workers aren't going to help them. Looks like they have been taken care of in Krimbim's absence and don't wanna fuck that up. Krimbim doesn't know how to give up.
Krimbim, Roll persuasion to convince his workers to fill his cart with the parts 12, Pass Some workers start filling the cart, but not all.
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The process is taking longer than expected. Steven rolls a d20 to see what the result of this waiting...but he rolls poorly, so nothing happens. However, just as they are about to depart, we hear one of the workers bringing Sir Onn'd over to confirm the work order. Donoub enters into the washroom undetected and disguises herself as Wizburr the female elf. Sledge manages to find a good hiding spot with a 18, Otto with a 4, not so well. Kinda just around the corner. Into frame, comes the jet black oiled hair, fine mustache wearing Sir Onn'd. Looking dapper as per usual. He looks around and just sees Donoub, who has disguised herself. Sir Onn'd approaches her, as he's never seen her before. A tense banter of words between Sir Onn'd and the disguised Donoub passes smoothly when he remembers her name. Turning his attention to Krimbim, he questions the work order here and how this order doesn't make sense. Kimbrim does a lot of bullshitting here and kinda gets lucky. He passes off any inconsistenices with the fact that everything he is doing is for the rightful King Alabaster. Further more, Krimbim doubles down and lies, telling Sir Onn'd that the old King is dead and they are out there looking for his body. The workers back Krimbim with a cheer and the good feels put Krimbim in a position of a promotion. Sir Onn'd depart and the entire party slowly let out a nervous flat fart.
Free to leave, we head towards the main gate, covering up their cart with tarp to avoid prying eyes, towards the dunes.
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Quotes
"I've seen a few out west...it's insane, like the apocalypse is coming or something" - Dusty's Haboob experiences
"He's gunna show you his haboobs" - Dusty
"Someone taped over my tape...ugh...with um...I dunno...'Sand eye for the straight sand'...I dunno..." - Another Failed Matt joke
"...The question is...when you close the door, what remains?" - Steven's deep thoughts on NPC's
"UGGGGGHHH!!!" -Dusty, when Steven says "You come upon..."
"Of course I cum fast, I got fishing to do!" - Dusty
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Trivia
-Dusty rolled a 20 on the last party roll. For this episode, he rolled a Nat 1. I'm calling it a 'Michigan Cheesesteak'
-There is a joke at timestamp 5:57 said by Dusty, but I can't make it out. Does anyone know what he says? The guys really crack up over it. "Matt style" I think.
-Krimbin's horses name is "Sandy"
-Master Qui Gon, what's an Haboob? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haboob
-Sir Onn'd claims to be from beyond the desert storm walls.
-Rory and Matt played with an idea of opening a bar called "Bottom's up"
- Matt wants you to check out this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sewC255u304
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