Hey guys, today I was talking with another veteran about disability and how some people receive more than 100%, I was wondering if any knowledgeable folks could give me some info about wether or not I could be looking at some more financial benefits (I’m at 100%). I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2020 during my time in the USMC while I served at cherry point, treatment has consisted of immunotherapies, clinical trials, oral chemotherapies, and other stuff. Since treatment started I have ran into a load of roadblocks throughout my journey… aseptic menengitis(resolved but my mental state has changed since), immune mediated hepatitis(resolved but my liver is not as strong and capable any more, immunosuppressant medication messed me up mentally and I haven’t been the same since mentally or physically as I was on extreme doses of prednisone for a year), heart problems, testosterone levels declining(I started TRT and solved the issue), and depression/anxiety, outwardly I look good because I still push myself to workout most days and just suffer through the pain (I have scars and areas where tumors were in my groin area), I look healthy on the outside. My cancer is not like typical cancers where people lose their hair and become skinny and frail, the treatment is different. It’s also not the same in terms of remission, my type of cancer will never be in remission, people with melanoma in an advanced stage are considered to have melanoma for the rest of their lives… instead of the term remission, we use the term NED (no evidence of disease) and many people still take treatment while NED. I was wondering if I could be looking at further compensation? Thanks. Also important to note, chemotherapy did end up giving me heart disease.

Hey guys, today I was talking with another veteran about disability and how some people receive more than 100%, I was wondering if any knowledgeable folks could give me some info about wether or not I could be looking at some more financial benefits (I’m at 100%). I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2020 during my time in the USMC while I served at cherry point, treatment has consisted of immunotherapies, clinical trials, oral chemotherapies, and other stuff. Since treatment started I have ran into a load of roadblocks throughout my journey… aseptic menengitis(resolved but my mental state has changed since), immune mediated hepatitis(resolved but my liver is not as strong and capable any more, immunosuppressant medication messed me up mentally and I haven’t been the same since mentally or physically as I was on extreme doses of prednisone for a year), heart problems, testosterone levels declining(I started TRT and solved the issue), and depression/anxiety, outwardly I look good because I still push myself to workout most days and just suffer through the pain (I have scars and areas where tumors were in my groin area), I look healthy on the outside. My cancer is not like typical cancers where people lose their hair and become skinny and frail, the treatment is different. It’s also not the same in terms of remission, my type of cancer will never be in remission, people with melanoma in an advanced stage are considered to have melanoma for the rest of their lives… instead of the term remission, we use the term NED (no evidence of disease) and many people still take treatment while NED. I was wondering if I could be looking at further compensation? Thanks. Also should note that chemotherapy did end up giving me heart disease.

Hey guys, today I was talking with another veteran about disability and how some people receive more than 100%, I was wondering if any knowledgeable folks could give me some info about wether or not I could be looking at some more financial benefits (I’m at 100%). I was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in 2020 during my time in the USMC while I served at cherry point, treatment has consisted of immunotherapies, clinical trials, oral chemotherapies, and other stuff. Since treatment started I have ran into a load of roadblocks throughout my journey… aseptic menengitis(resolved but my mental state has changed since), immune mediated hepatitis(resolved but my liver is not as strong and capable any more, immunosuppressant medication messed me up mentally and I haven’t been the same since mentally or physically as I was on extreme doses of prednisone for a year), heart problems, testosterone levels declining(I started TRT and solved the issue), and depression/anxiety, outwardly I look good because I still push myself to workout most days and just suffer through the pain (I have scars and areas where tumors were in my groin area), I look healthy on the outside. My cancer is not like typical cancers where people lose their hair and become skinny and frail, the treatment is different. It’s also not the same in terms of remission, my type of cancer will never be in remission, people with melanoma in an advanced stage are considered to have melanoma for the rest of their lives… instead of the term remission, we use the term NED (no evidence of disease) and many people still take treatment while NED. I was wondering if I could be looking at further compensation? Thanks.

Thus, wounded, and less victorious than they might have preferred, but victorious nonetheless, the royal three returned to the Macedonian capital. The army returned to Philopolis in triumph, the trio at their head. Leonidas on a replacement for his slain mare, Cassandra astride a titanic black stallion which was exclusively used for parades, and Seramis in her full diluvian glory. Cassandra might have been disappointed that the battle hadn’t been as decisive as she preferred, but she wasn’t about to miss an opportunity for propaganda.
So the group returned to the cheers of their people, the cavalry shining in the summer sun, and the army marching in strict formation. Trumpets heralded their return. Banners flew from the corners of houses. The men sang bawdy songs, as is the tradition of soldiers. Not a spec of blood or rust nor dust was allowed, presenting the image of a spotless, unconquered army. It was all a magnificent production. It was all a lovely welcome home.
When Seramis had first seen Philopolis and Macedon, it had been a very different place. The realm had struck her as grey, very grey, and a place without much beauty. Then, under the rule of the wicked regent Tyndareus, it was a place of iron and blood, a totalitarian state dedicated primarily to a massive conscript army. The hills had been torn open by great pit mines for iron and copper. The forests had been cut down to fuel the fires of industry. The fields were endless, uniform masses of oats, grain, and hay, worked by uncounted slaves, or landless peasants just a bit better than slaves. Over it all, the ancient fortress of the Alexandrian dynasty had loomed as a great edifice; a leviathan of hewn stone and barred windows representing the absolute military power that held all of it in place.
Now, two years hence, it was more alike to how she had first found it than she would have preferred. But transforming a society was hardly a swift process, and the work done was already substantial. Once the place had been a land of iron and blood, and though industry remained, now the smell of olive oil, the sound of potters wheels, and the hawking of merchants filled the air. The monolithic collective farms had shattered into a patchwork quilt of small holdings. The men working them might still have brands, but they and the lands were their own.
Of course, there were still some great expanses of oats and wheat. Those were Cassandra’s lands. She’d been generous with the lands she’d confiscated from the nobility, and in turn with their wealth which now filled her treasury. But she hadn’t given up any of her own family’s territory, and had expanded them substantially. Something like a quarter of the land in the country was the Queen’s personal fief, and she managed it very carefully. The economies of scale she alone had access to provided much needed stability for staple food prices during the transition from a slave-based command economy to a citizen market economy. Beyond that, the lands also provided a substantial portion of government income.
Said income was further complimented by a wide-scale reform to the tax structure. Rather than outsourcing the work to tax farmers, or to any nobility, as that had been liquidated, taxes were collected from a variety of small, but inescapable requirements. The primary tax was simply the surplus tax, an in-kind tax taken from all production. Farmers gave a share of their produce, potters a certain number of pots for each produced, blacksmiths a certain number of finished goods, and so on and so forth. Only the merchants would return hard currency from the surplus tax, the rest a great cross-section of produced goods. These in turn went into great warehouses, which the government might release from to control prices, or sell abroad to bring in further profits. The majority of currency entering the coffers either came from selling such produce, Cassandra’s personal lands, or a variety of import and consumption taxes. No less than a tenth of the entire bureaucracy was funded by the consumption taxes on oil and salt.
Of course managing all this was a good lead more complicated, not least of which because Cassandra had liquidated the aristocracy. This required a rather extensive increase in the bureaucracy, which brought in quite the expense of its own. Overall revenue was vastly increased from the reign of Tyndareus, and indeed all former kings of Macedon. The problem was that expenses had increased in turn. Macdeon was a military stratocracy, and Cassandra was in the process of trying to reform that into a sort of enlightened bureaucratic autocracy. The amount spent on papyrus alone nearly rivaled the payments to the many new government servants, which were not cheap. Educated men and women, able to read, understand the laws, and understand mathematics were not common, and commanded higher prices.
Cassandra had responded both by working to increase the supply of educated citizens, and cut costs in other areas. Firstly, she enacted a massive increase in education, beginning with the orphans of Macedon’s many wars and educating them. Secondly, she had begun offering to pay for the education of the children of public servants as part of their compensation. This allowed her to cut down on salaries and ensure a future educated workforce. Third and finally, she had begun to subsidize educators throughout the kingdom, and begun work to gather and copy many books and tomes to further improve the kingdom’s educational outcomes. Unfortunately, this was work that would take years to bear fruit.
The second arm of this had been to cut costs in other areas, most notably the military. Under Tyndareus, the Macedonian army had grown to a terrifying, if bloated, leviathan. Between the use of conscription, and counting reserves, the former army could have raised nearly thirty thousand men under arms. Cassandra had slashed that, and abolished conscription for the regular army. After intensive cuts, purging Tyndareus’s loyalists, and serious reforms including the near complete reconstruction of the Macedonian Cavalry Corps, the Macedonian Army now numbered a mere nine thousand, with the ability to call upon a further ten thousand former soldiers, now spread out to create a variety of local militias.
Leonidas had taken charge of many of these reforms, bringing in military advisors from Marathon and Achaea. The young prince, in his role as Minister of War, set to work with vigor to refine the Macedonian army down to its purest and strongest form. His high standards might have earned him ire, if not for the personal virtue and discipline he showed to meet those standards. He demanded the best not only from himself and his soldiers, but even from his suppliers and quartermasters. Most of the Macedonian military exports were those arms and armor he found below standard, though many less discerning customers would gladly accept them.
More than simply focusing on the logistics, Leonidas sought to infuse in his army a certain esprit de corps and moral focus. He drew heavily on the legendary philosopher Aristotle, particularly regarding that philosopher’s education of Iskandar, the famed conqueror king who had defined Macedon for the past two centuries. Outside the direct military applications, the young prince kept an eye on the future, sponsoring the growth of sports leagues throughout the kingdom, particularly a great hunting association. The Hunter’s Guild was a particular passion project of his, and he worked tirelessly not only to cultivate skilled hunters to recruit for his scouts, but also to preserve what remained of Macedon’s wild lands, ensuring game populations remained stable, and dangerous animals were quickly eliminated. The prince’s skill at the hunt had even earned him the right to attend the games at Olympus, though it was his mastery of wrestling that had seen him returned crowned with the ultimate honor of the laurels.
Such participation with the rest of the Hellene world had been part of Sera’s work. The young dragonness had held no official position at first, as Cassandra worked to develop her talents. Seramis had loathed etiquette as taught as a set of rules to be followed, but Cassandra revealed their nature as tools and tricks as part of the great game of politics. Allowed to treat the illusion of statecraft as just that, Seramis thrived. Soon appointed as Minister of State, her talent for gathering information, forming schemes, and comprehending languages saw her unleashed as Macedon’s greatest diplomat. All the while, her true title was one that delighted her greatly. Master of Shadows, she wielded the diplomatic corps and her own personal stable of agents like a scythe, harvesting a hoard of secrets she feasted upon. They became as arrows in her quiver, aiding her as she stood alongside Cassandra to carefully guide the ship of state.
On a much less sinister note, Seramis had engaged in quite public work to revitalize Macedon’s stagnating cultural sphere. The dragoness was chiefly known not even as a diplomat, let alone a spymaster, but rather as a patron of the arts. She courted and drew playwrights, actors, bards, conductors, and composers from across the world, placing a great deal of personal effort into producing a cosmopolitan cultural sphere. Though diplomacy, culture, and her eternal scheming, she worked to put the sword of Iskandar in a flowered sheath, in hopes it would never need to be drawn.
The peak of her work in that regard was a mere week away, a grand festival of the arts such as had not been seen in Macedon before. It would be a great festival as if that of the Athenians, now long brought to ruin. For the first time since the wars of the Diadochi, Hellas would come together to celebrate the arts. Naturally, Macedon would be participating, represented by Sera’s own personal theater company: The Mount Ararat Company.
Seramis quickly moved through her remaining business for the day. She met with the Master of Investigations and also her deputy, who had been working to manage her department while she had departed on campaign. Pleasantries were exchanged, and reports given. There was little new, but there was confirmation that the Latins, a curious people from across the western sea, would come to attend the festival. This would have been of little concern, if not for how they were coming.
A long-standing problem of the western coast had been the pirates of Illyria. These seafaring brigands proved a routine nuisance for not only Hellene trade, but all throughout the seas. Achaea and Macedon had both extended offer to the king of Illyria to come and help remove the pirates, but had been rejected. However when the Latins offered, the king accepted. So, the Latins came in force, bringing with them a four mighty legions of men, and crushed the pirate havens by attacking from the land. The problem was, they didn’t leave. While three of the legions returned to Italia, the fourth remained to protect against the return of the pirates, and to protect their Illyrian allies from Achaean or Macedonian aggression.
This was already a provocative move, as the barbarian army now sat on Hellene soil, diplomatically shielded by the cowardly Illyrian king. However, now the Latins made a further move. They had informed the court at Macedon previously that they wished to send a delegation to observe the festival and improve relations. All this was well and good, and naturally they did request to send bodyguards to protect the delegates. This was agreed, but the unscrupulous Latins had interpreted the mention of bodyguards broadly, and deployed a third of the legion infantry as “bodyguards”. Seramis’s reports indicated that these were in fact the Triarii, the third and strongest line, composed of veterans. The remainder of the legion remained encamped alongside the Ilyrian-Macedonian border.
The presence of the legion was concerning, to say the least. It numbered some four thousand five hundred men, about the size of a Macedonian army. The Macedonians held a local advantage, as they maintained two armies. One was directed northwards, towards the barbarians, and the other towards the east, to ward off their Selucid rivals. So they outnumbered the legion present two to one. However, the problem arose with the Latin’s ability to deploy a further three legions, which would reverse that advantage. With aid from Marathon, the Hellenes could match the Latin’s numbers, and with Achaean aid, they would outnumber them. Unfortunately, the Latins had spent much of their recent war with the Phoenicians of Carthage demonstrating an ability to raise new forces frighteningly quickly. Sera’s analysis suggested that if they wished to, they might be able to triple the might of their armies to twelve legions. The sheer military mass of the Latins would be enough to equal all Hellas, but Hellas was still divided, and some, such as the Illyrians, preferred them as allies to their fellow Hellenes.
The simple arithmetic of war indicated that if the Latins wished to conquer Hellas, they probably could. The simple arithmetic of war neglected to account for the power of dragons. But, Sera had observed, it was rare to lose money betting on the arrogance and avarice of humans. The fortunate side of dealing with the Latins was that for all their military might, they had a peculiar custom. They were permitted by ancient law and religious principle from launching a war of aggression, and so only declared war when they or their allies were threatened. This iron law of ancient Roman kings aught to have kept their swords sheathed, but in practice it often meant that an ambitious man of that city would seek to provoke an attack or aggression, that they might have reason for war. This incident with the “bodyguards” was likely such an attempt at provocation by a glory hound.
So, the trio met, and considered how to deal with this. It was decided that they would monitor the Latins closely, and place forces in such a way that they could not be aggressive, but would certainly be ready. The Army of the North was still recuperating from their recent battle with the Scythians, and would remain on standby in the capital to respond to any moves from the Latins or Scythians. At the same time, the northern militias would be stood up, and reinforced by militias from the south. These southern reinforcements would travel along the roads that would place them directly between the two parts of the Roman Legion, ensuring that if hostilities began, the separated legion would be able to be dealt with in parts. Unfortunately, Leon was unable to deploy as many of his scouts to that region as he would prefer, and Sera’s own intelligence assets were likewise pointed northwards. Better to deal with the actively aggressive barbarians, and then the imminently aggressive ones.
So, it was with great care, and no small amount of tension, that the Latin delegates arrived, joined by some three hundred of their Triarii. This was the first that Sera had seen of the Latins, and her initial impressions were somewhat mixed. They moved with distinct discipline, and were in all senses quite well ordered. The Triarii were older, veteran soldiers, generally more in their thirties. As such, they were somewhat more moderate, and avoided the wicked behavior common to many young soldiers. However, this rendered them with an increased air of unmistakable danger. Be wary of old men, even relatively old ones, in professions where men die young, and particularly of a soldier without an obvious vice.
The leader of the Latin delegation introduced himself to the court with a somewhat imperious nature. It likely would have been more imperious had Seramis not taken on her true form. It is difficult, even for a roman, to remain arrogant when there is a fourteen-foot-tall (measured at the shoulder) dragoness looking down at you. He declared himself as Military Tribune Gaius Mummius, representing the Praetor Lucius Cornelius in command of the IV Legion. Though the head of the delegation, he was simply that by right of his military rank. The actual diplomacy was handled by diplomats, not soldiers, though by their attitudes, Seramis might have taken them for sergeants in fancy togas. However, one who did catch her interest was distinct among the delegation, an old man, and truly old, dressed as a seer. He remained close by the ear of Gaius, and the tribune heeded him. Sera watched him warily, for she smelled magic on him, an old magician, and that would be trouble.
Despite her concerns, the Latins did not cause trouble, not even their old magician. They established a small camp for themselves outside the walls of the city, and largely kept to themselves. They came into the city only in small groups based around some member of their number who spoke Greek. They paid with honest coin, and seemed intrigued by the preparations for the festival. They seemed unusually preoccupied with finding barbers, as they were each clean-shaven, in contrast to the bearded Hellenes. Leonidas found this utterly hilarious, as he had spent more time than he would ever admit trying to find ways of improving his own facial hair. Now that it had finally come in, he spent more time managing his admittedly impressive beard than he ever had dealing with his actual hair. Sera, lacking any hair whatsoever, found the human preoccupation with it utterly confusing.
Bearded or otherwise, Hellene, Latin, and miscellaneous others soon came to attend the great drama festival. The idea of cancelling was briefly considered, and summarily rejected. Continuing to have a great celebration in the face of Latin provocation and Scythian Assault showed not only the power of the kingdom, that its people could act without concern, but also its prestige through mastery of the arts. The fact that many of the participants in the festival were from elsewhere in Hellas was politely overlooked. After all, Macedon had gathered them, and thus got credit.
The festival went on for three days, and proved to be a generally joyous, if somewhat chaotic time. Even the dour Latins eventually became swept up in the atmosphere. While this wasn’t technically a Bacchanalian festival, mostly due to the fact that Bacchus was very dead, it certainly carried some of that legacy. Of course the highlight, at least for men who considered them cultured, was the great drama productions. All manner of productions were put on display, from great recreations of the Athenian classics, to new twists, foreign productions, historical plays, retellings of myths, and of course many a comedic tragedy and initially tragic comedy.
Seramis’s own company had three productions, set into place over three days. The first two were well known, and practiced. Sera’s company had begun expediting the revitalization of the cultural scene with regular performances. Some of these had been well-worn classics, but the Mount Ararat Company would bring none of these to this stage. Instead, they brought two original, but already tested plays, and one of excellent ambition.
The first was a Satire, in the style of The Clouds which Sera had dubbed Tartarus. This piece was set in the depths of the underworld, that darkest pit where wicked men and monsters alike were tormented. These tormented souls took on the role of the choir, being intensely irritated by the antics of the four main players. Those four were of course the three great Greek philosophers: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and their own tormentor; Diogenes. The play largely consisted of the main three wandering through Tartarus, further tormenting the tormented souls with long winded and pedantic arguments about the torments they witnessed. All the while, Diogenes routinely appeared to torment them in turn. The play as a whole made light of philosophies, and generally teased out the problems with focusing overmuch on the world of the mind while actual suffering could be addressed.
This play was well received, for it was humorous and mocked philosophers, which few people cared for. The humor wavered between high and low brow, with both clever jokes sprinkled in amongst the arguments of the philosophers, and cruder humor delivered by the tormented souls and Diogenes. A certain degree of slapstick was involved as well, often involving a great paper-Mache boulder being rolled by Sisyphus.
The second of Sera’s plays was a somewhat grander production, though was likewise satirical. It turned the classic play Oedipus Rex somewhat on its head with The Choir’s Apologia. The original play was an archetypical tragedy, following the story of Oedipus, son of the King of Thebes. Due to a prophecy, his father cast him out to be slain, but he would live, and later unknowingly slay his father, and wed his mother. The play detailed how the gods smote the city with a plague as a result of this kinslaying and incest. Oedipus sought the answer to this, and in doing so discovered the terrible truth, and blinded himself for shame.
The Choir’s Apologia put a twist on this, as the Choir itself determines to get involved. This broke their usual role as mere background singers, and saw them take the stage to try and prevent the tragedy. The play played out as usual, but regularly, the mortal actors would freeze in place before a great event. The Choir would then step to center stage, and petition the gods for redress. First they asked Apollo, bidding him not deliver the ruinous prophecy, for without it nothing would come, but he rejected them. Next they implored Hermes to warn Oedipus against his folly, but Hermes declared he was helpless before Zeus. Finally, the Choir dared to approach Zeus himself, demanding that he cease to punish all Thebes for Oedipus’s mistake.
This proved a failure in the end, as Zeus rebuked them and struck the choir down one by one. The message was clear, that the gods were cruel and arbitrary, delivering unjust judgements. They did what they would, for they were strong, and the choir suffered what it must, for it was weak. At last only Oedipus remained, able now to see Zeus and his murder of the choir. Oedipus and Zeus contested one another in song, and while Zeus struck down the king, it was not before the hero doomed by prophecy delivered a defense and a prophecy of his own. Oedipus defended his record as king of Thebes, how he had overthrown a tyrant, protected his people, improved their lives, and sought their good even at terrible cost to himself. He, the one the gods judged, had been a better ruler than the gods. If indeed the gods would persist in their arbitrary wickedness, then one day this would be their doom, for the world would not abide such tyrants. Zeus struck him down, but went in dread because of the prophecy.
This production produced some degree of controversy. It always had, and such was the intent. It was well understood that the gods were dead, and Olympus was silent, but this play indicated such was not a bad thing. Given it was written by a dragoness, a natural enemy of the gods, the take was not unexpected. Beyond this, its use of another play as a framing device gave it a rather meta feel, and some found it pretentious. Others, by contrast, found the reframing of a classic play refreshing, and enjoyed the novelty of the choir acting as a major character.
The third play was a new production, and meant to be the one to blow the sandals off the audience. It was a bigger, grander, and of much more spectacular production values. All of this was in theory. In practice, it was put on at the end of three days of performances and partying, and became more of a farce than an epic. The Davidiad told the story of the legendary Hebrew king David, of both his rise to power and fall from grace. It was told in three acts, and all three had some manner of disaster.
The first act told of the heroic youth of David before he was king, and how he defeated the giant Goliath. Goliath himself was a complicated costume made by having three already tall men standing on one another’s shoulders. When struck by a sling, he was to topple over onto his army, which would catch the performers and prevent any harm. Unfortunately, due to an earlier scene involving David being anointed with oil, there was a slick patch on stage. Goliath’s lower third slipped, and the towering giant fell flat on his face and collapsed into himself in the middle of a monologue. This was considered absolutely hilarious by the audience, and Seramis, upon seeing this, physically shrank from embarrassment.
The second act saw the conflict between the good future king David and the wicked king Saul. Saul was meant to begin more coherent, but gradually jealousy and fear would twist him into wickedness. Unfortunately, Saul’s actor had been out late, and showed up to the production very hung over. This made Saul’s descent far more predictable and robbed the second act of much of its drama. Unfortunately, the actor in question attempted to remedy this by using a hangover cure involving undiluted wine. This made him less hungover, and more drunk, so Saul went from being scowling and sickly to very obviously drunk. This became a minor peril during a later scene where Saul threw his spear at David. Not only did Saul miss, as intended, but he proceeded to hurl the (thankfully fake) spear into the audience, where it proceeded to hit a man in the chest. He was unharmed, but believed he had been slain and fainted, causing a minor panic.
The third act was nearly canceled, but went ahead anyways. The cursed production continued to be cursed, as a major set piece exploded earlier. The third act was meant to show how the throne gradually corrupted David, and led him to murder a man to cover up an affair with his wife Bethsheba. This would climax with the death of a son produced from that affair, and the collapse of a great temple edifice David had been constructing. The play would end with David weeping, but repentant, and turning to begin rebuilding the ruined temple, representing his disgraced morality. Instead of this, the temple collapsed immediately the moment David and Bethsheba locked eyes, which somewhat gave the game away.
Sera did not bother to see the audience’s reaction when the curtain closed. She’d already left from sheer embarrassment. She was helping the troupe pack up, so the lot of them could scatter to cope with this catastrophe in their own way. Once the curtain closed and the actors departed the stage, she handed Saul his last payment, a polite, if curt, farewell, and departed. She avoided the rest of the festival, marinating in her disappointment at the bottom of a nearby lake.
Eventually, evening did come, and Sera slunk her way back into the city. She spoke briefly with her troupe, congratulating them on the work they did, and laboring to encourage their spirits. The production of the Davidiad had gone horribly wrong, but these were technical and production errors, not fundamental flaws. They would try again, after taking time to rest, recover, and focus on building back up to such a grand production with greater skill and experience. Their reach had, quite simply, exceeded their grasp, and ruin had come because of hubris. They would recover from this, and move forwards.
Much as she managed the speech, she felt like she was having to put on her own performance to manage that. Privately, the failure on such a massive stage hung over the young dragoness. She quietly made her way into the palace, and made her way to where Leon and Cassandra were. Unfortunately for her, the pair were currently in the process of discussing the festival. Glumly, she sat silently, nursing a large bowl of wine as Casandra and Leon deliberated a victor.
“The first step is that we can scratch off any troupes that simply re-enacted an existing play. Those were simply derivative, and giving a victory to that in our first festival sets an unfortunate precedent.” Cassandra remarked, working off a clay tablet listing the various performances. Lines went through about a third of the participants. “We can also do away with anything that tried to relate to Iskandar or my own dynasty, and especially that gods-awful recreation of our little scheme to destroy Tyndareus.”
“I personally found that one funny.” Sera piped up, remembering the comically inaccurate play. “Though they did manage quite the trick with their costume for me, I’ll need to get in touch with their costume department to see how the internals worked.”
“It was funny, mostly because it was inaccurate enough we could probably bring a suit for slander, libel, and slanderous libel against them.” Leon grumbled with arms folded. He had been made the butt of many a joke in that production, with the comedy of the valiant warrior being utterly surpassed by two women being a common refrain. “Beyond that, we don’t want to give the wrong impression about what exactly is acceptable to say about a queen.”
“The Corinthians have something of an irreverent streak, that much is for certain. Unfortunately we can only bring slander, libel, and slanderous libel and not treason, as they are presently foreigners.” Cassandra demurred. “Still, delivering sanctions on the Ember Island Company could be an effective way to get the message across to Corinth that a more peaceful Macedon is not a pushover.”
“With regard to the reproductions, what about The Choir’s Apologia?” Leon asked, throwing Sera a metaphorical bone. She ate literal bones as well, but if Leon threw her one he’d soon find out what it was like to skydive before the invention of a parachute.
“Disqualified as well. It deviates from the standard formula, but relies on you already understanding it. Really, if you didn’t know much about theatre to begin with, at lot of it would be lost on you. It ultimately came off as pretentious, and despite its inherently kind of ridiculous premise, was more depressing than anything. This sort of meta-commentary might work better for the sake of humor rather than trying for serious drama. Trying it here simply made the play exhausting and the sort of thing Tartarus really felt like it was mocking. That said, its pretention and grim character could give a good impression that the Macedonian theatre scene is serious and educated, but then I’d have to watch so many more like it. I don’t have enough absinthe to get through more than about one of those in a single festival.” Cassandra replied to that, and drew a second line through Apologia to emphasize her point. Seramis shrank into her cushions.
“Ah, so you enjoyed Tartarus then?” Leonidas asked in turn, trying to navigate the conversation to something less liable to torment the dragoness.
“Oh I most certainly did, but we can’t give it the win. As amusing as it is, it’s ultimately a very limited production. I like it, but giving it the victory would indicate a degree of “small scale” theatre in Macedon. I don’t want to give anyone else opportunity to degrade the work that’s been done here by suggesting that the Macedonian theatre lacks ambition.” Cassandra said with a sigh, and began crossing out any plays of similar scale.
“Which would be possessed by the Davidiad, but we all know how catastrophically wrong that went, so pray spare me whatever salt you were going to pour into that wound. I know that with all the bacchanalian delights available, you probably have managed to find someone who enjoys being tormented, but I am not that someone. So please, if you’re going to continue trying to murder me with words, use the ones that summon that lightning ball that nearly splattered me across the wall. It was a gentler execution.” Seramis grumbled, finally speaking up for herself.
Cassandra realized she’d gone to far, and put down the tablet. “I’m sorry Sera, I meant to tease, but not be cruel. I actually would agree that the Davidiad’s ambition was most impressive, and if not for some production hiccups, I think it might have had a chance at winning. I do tease, but I really do appreciate all the work you’ve put in to this, not just your company, but allowing this whole festival to go off. So, please forgive me if I’ve stepped too far from jest into mockery.”
“It’s fine, simply a very fresh disappointment. I’m afraid I missed most of the festival as I was busy running things or, well, pouting in a lake.” Seramis replied, waving away the problem with her tail. “So aside from everything you’ve disqualified, what do you think actually won?”
“I do have a personal preference.” Cass admitted, though she seemed a touch embarrassed by it. “The Court of Autumn.” The other two looked at her carefully with that. The Court of Autumn had been a much more romantic retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone, focused on the courtship of the pair, and the conflict that arose from a disapproving and overbearing Demeter. Neither of the pair had expected Cass to favor a romance, and their expressions showed it plainly. Cassandra merely shrugged. “We all desire what we cannot have, and it comes to a question of character whether we become envious of those lucky enough to have it, or delight sorrowfully that another is so blessed, even if they might not realize it.”
“I mean, I can’t deny that it was very well done. If I didn’t know better then I’d say that the two leads actually were a couple.” Leon replied with a nod. “It certainly doesn’t lack for ambition either, nor courage to speak the names of the Dread Queen and Lord With Many Guests so commonly.”
Cass smiled at that. “The fact that they do so is also part of why I like it. Persephone and Hades are dead, all the Olympians are. The reverence shown to corpses is illogical.”
Seramis processed this information, and considered her memory banks. “The company behind it, they’re one of the Theban companies, the Men of the Muses, correct?” She asked, and Cass checked, then nodded. “Ah, then yes, the two leads are actually husband and wife, they’ve got something of a specialty for romances as a result.”
“Write, or as the case may be, act, what you know.” Cassandra said with a shrug. “So we concur, The Court of Autumn is the victor?”
“I can’t argue against it.” Leon replied.
“Nor can I, but that’s more due to the aforementioned lack of context. One can make arguments without information, but I have a bit too much respect for the pair of you to engage in full sophistry.” Seramis admitted begrudgingly.
“Well, that absence may actually work to our advantage, returning from these pleasant distractions to the business of rule.” Cassandra said with a smile. “The Latins were particularly delighted with Tartarus, and actually wished to see the director. Said director was currently indisposed, but they have extended something of an open invitation. I think that accepting would provide quite the opportunity. It isn’t often one has a chance to walk right into the midst of a potentially hostile camp and see what they’re up to under guest-right.”
Seramis rose in interest at the idea, and cracked her neck. Cracking such a long neck was a process, creating a rippling crackling sound as vertebrae popped along the serpentine trunk. She grinned in anticipation. “I’ll melt myself a new dress.”

Prekindergarten Eligibility for Free – Military or Armed Services
"A copy of a letter from the US Department of Veterans Affairs indicating that the service member has a service-connected disability and is eligible for disability compensation is also acceptable."
References:
https://tea.texas.gov/academics/early-childhood-education/pk-eligibility-overview.pdf
https://tea.texas.gov/academics/early-childhood-education/militaryorarmedforcesguide2020.pdf

First of all I used to play exactly like the majority of players do, mercs, loans, allies from Iberia, promise land and so on, then one day a person on reddit suggested to make a different choice, which I thought foolish, then I tried it and never went back.
I tried again recently to play the standard way but I just cannot see any advantage
What I do now is to declare war on Scotland on December 1444 avoiding the surrender of Maine event, forcing truce on France and I use the time until it ends to conquer the rest of Britain, Iceland region, drop rivalry with Burgundy in the meantime, then when the truce expires I either force union with France aided by Burgundy if I go down the Angevin path or maybe just release Gascony and conquer its french cores if I play GB, or I just ignore Europe if I feel like going full colonial
But it does not seem to be a popular strategy, some people immediately sell Maine, it costs prestige which is low at start, for just a few ducats and it's a good province, probably not worth losing, and what is the advantage? If one declares immediately on Scotland the event does not fire anyway, France is called into the war, because it guarantees Scotland
Other people fight the HYW, which is bloody and also difficult when you begin playing the game, but it's not as a veteran, meaning a few loans and just 2 mercenaries may exploit the large English fleet and relieve the sieges on Calais, Caen or Labourd depending on the number of units sieging these forts, draining french manpower until it cannot fight anymore, no ally required.
Anyway winning the war does not really achieve anything, forcing the union with France is the biggest possible result, even assuming no coalition forms because of diplomatic activity during the war, Burgundy relations are ruined anyway, it starts as a rival most games and the AE from the PU is huge, and if one goes for France it's safe to assume he also wants BI, meaning after PUing France or winning the HYW you have to probably declare a war on Burgundy to lose the rivalry and triple the effort to compensate the AE from the PU
So much effort can be easily avoided by changing the priorities
A unified great Britain I think is one of the first goals one wants to achieve no matter the path, fighting the HYW before vassalizing Scotland delays it
BI is a great opportunity in every Europe game, fighting HYW delays it or makes it impossible altogether
And by the way I hate restarting games because I cannot handle RNG so don't propose restarts to lose rivalry with Burgundy, I prefer to work around the game conditions instead of forcing them by restarting 10 times
About that, if one wants BI there is no need to restart the game even if Burgundy declare England rival which it does most times, because improving the relations while fighting Scotland and delaying any peace deal after the war of the roses make them just drop the rivalry, perhaps helping it with an insult on one common enemy, usually Denmark, and economy when they just don't want to drop it.
About war of the roses, it's another powerful tool for England, if fought early it reduces AE for all the wars fought in the age of discovery, which is huge not because of AE per se but because it helps keeping relations with Burgundy high
So keep 0 stability, don't raise it via parliament at start, name a heir on November 1444 losing a little legitimacy and it fires as early as April 1447, which I think is the earliest possible date and before signing any peace deal it will be over, bringing stability to +1 as a result of the mission, the 2 popup events, one ends the war and the other which names Tudor the heir.
For the above mentioned reasons, I cannot see why one should prefer to fight the HYW waiting for the surrender of Maine event

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block. Job Description
About Bitcoin Platform
The Bitcoin Platform team develops infrastructure for Block to send, receive and custody bitcoin by operating a stack for both cold, hot, and lightning wallets. Our goal is to bring bitcoin to people around the world, unlocking previously impossible use cases to accelerate a world built on better money. The team is composed of two engineering teams, Custody and Trading, who specialize in backend, security, and blockchain engineering.
Our Senior Software Engineering position sits on the Custody Engineering team, which is responsible for managing and improving our hot and cold Bitcoin wallets, handling transfers in and out of our wallets, and working on next generation Bitcoin technology and features like running a Lightning network node. You will be responsible for designing, building, troubleshooting and improving Bitcoin platform features, services, and infrastructure. We are scaling quickly and are excited to grow the team! Qualifications
You have:

8+ years of relevant experience Bachelor's Degree or Diploma in Computer Science, or equivalent experience. A strong motivation to contribute to a meaningful product that will fundamentally change the way people interact with financial institution Experience working with Bitcoin/Lightning or the desire to learn. Experience working across teams and disciplines. Experience building backend systems at scale, involving modern eventing, database, and infrastructure tooling A pragmatic approach with a focus on delivery. Ability to excel in macro and micro elements of software design. Willingness to contribute to the growth of those around you. Demonstrated technical initiative and leadership on previous projects. 

Technologies we use and teach:

Java, Kotlin Go Docker, Kubernetes Jaeger, Prometheus, Datadog JUnit Hibernate, Vitess, Guice Bitcoin, Lightning 

Additional Information
Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.
Zone A: USD $180,000 - USD $270,000 Zone B: USD $171,000 - USD $256,600 Zone C: USD $162,000 - USD $243,000 Zone D: USD $153,000 - USD $229,600
To find a location’s zone designation, please refer to this resource. If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information.
Full-time employee benefits include the following:

Healthcare coverage (Medical, Vision and Dental insurance) Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account Retirement Plans including company match Employee Stock Purchase Program Wellness programs, including access to mental health, 1:1 financial planners, and a monthly wellness allowance Paid parental and caregiving leave Paid time off (including 12 paid holidays) Paid sick leave (1 hour per 26 hours worked (max 80 hours per calendar year to the extent legally permissible) for non-exempt employees and covered by our Flexible Time Off policy for exempt employees) Learning and Development resources Paid Life insurance, AD&D, and disability benefits 

These benefits are further detailed in Block's policies. This role is also eligible to participate in Block's equity plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies, and may be eligible for a sign-on bonus. Sales roles may be eligible to participate in a commission plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.
We’re working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.
We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible.
Additionally, we consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.
Read more / apply: https://www.golangprojects.com/golang-go-job-gnv-Remote-Senior-Software-Engineer-Bitcoin-Platform-San-Francisco-Block-remotework.html

Lately, I've been experiencing a significant uptick in challenging customer interactions at work, and I'm curious if others have noticed a similar trend. Typically, I might encounter one unpleasant customer a week, but recently, it feels like the floodgates have opened, and I'm dealing with these customers seemingly all day.
These people seem to embody an irrational, entitled, and sometimes downright hostile attitude, making each shift feel like navigating a minefield. From having objects thrown at me to being subjected to a barrage of insults, the level of disrespect is disheartening, to say the least.
I want to emphasize that I genuinely love my job and find it rewarding. We are compensated fairly for our work, and part of that compensation is expected to cover dealing with these brainless excuses for human beings. However, the surge in negativity I'm experiencing is unprecedented, and it's taking a toll on both my mental well-being and my ability to provide quality service.
As someone relatively new to the retail industry, I can't help but wonder if this surge in negativity is a seasonal occurrence or if I've simply been sheltered from it until now. Have any seasoned retail veterans noticed a similar shift in customer attitudes recently?

Hello, I'm 33F and I have been dealing with a pain when speaking for 9 months now. The thing that seems to confuse doctors is that I haven't had any decline in my vocal ability. My voice sounds the same. Literally had a nurse say, "we got a weird one over here," when she thought I couldn't hear her. At its worst, the left side of my throat would go numb by the end of the day. I have also had pain in neck and shoulders due to the tension I'm holding from speaking through the pain. At its best it is a lingering uncomfortable feeling on the left side where the left vocal chord is.
Its a major issue as I am a teachetutor so I talk all day for a living and even my hobbies include speaking and singing. While it seems a bit better now, I am also able to get more vocal rest due to a reduced schedule.
I have seen multiple doctors, nurses, speech therapists, and ENT (including a surgery expert). At first I was diagnosed with bad allergies but my allergies weren't any different than usual and the additional measures I took didn't make a difference. Then, they suspected it was due to acid reflux (which I have but have) so I began taking Prilosec in addition to the TUMS and Gaviscon. It didn't make a difference. I got an endoscopy done and they didn't see anything concerning on my vocal chords (no nodes or anything like that). They referred me to vocal therapy because my vocal chords didn't fully touch and they theorized that this was due to muscle tension. They told me to drink more water because my mucus was a bit thick and could be irritating my throat as well. When speaking with the speech therapist she noted that I already knew almost everything she was telling me and I had already been implementing good practices due to my singing background. After implementing a couple extra exorcises for vocal relaxation, but after month there was still no progress.
Finally I was referred to a ENT surgeon specialist and another speech therapist. I was given some new advice and exorcises from the new speech theraist which seemed to help more but ultimately didn't help in the long run. The ENT said they saw that one of my vocal chords was a bit thinner than the other and theorized that the stronger vocal chord may be overworking itself to compensate. He gave me a intralesional shot in the neck of a steroid. This didn't help. The next step was to laryngoplasty with medialization injection of Juvederm. This was a couple weeks ago and it does seem to have made a difference but that may just need more time. I have an upcoming check-in appointment.
I don't know if any of this will matter but I also have TMJ and a slight head tilt to the left.
I'm just so tired of being in pain and constantly worrying about the ability to perform my job and continue with my hobbies. Thank you.
Post

Recently just finished a C&P exam 4 weeks ago pertaining to pain in my left knee. I tore my left ACL before joining the service, received a medical waiver to get in the service, did 4 years in service but towards tail end of my contract I noticed a lot of changes in my body. I explained to my examiner the ways its affected me and the challenges I face dealing with it. I explained how my left knee gives out every once ina while, swelling pops up, standing for long periods of time aggravates my leg, and how I sometimes use my right leg to over compensate for what my left leg cant endure. Examiner did a great job taking notes and even added their 2 cents(ina good way). We took measurements and saw how my left leg was slightly shorter in length and smaller in width in comparison to my right. Also did a range of motion test and seen my right leg could bend further than my left. I also mentioned that my left hip constantly makes snapping sounds depending on what types of movements I do and can become real stiff and bring slight pain from time to time. I also mentioned how I went to sick call multiple times for my hip and leg but how they just only told me to do certain stretches, gave me a resistance band, and told me those should solve the problem(which is has not). Overall I think the exam went pretty well but as weeks go by I get anxious thinking I could get completely denied, but talking to friends/veterans has kept me with a positive attitude as well. Just wanted to see peoples opinions, questions, tips, and thoughts on how they think Im handling this and what I should expect. Wish everybody the best who’s currently in the same position and hope this post can help the next person!

I'm not real experienced with everything VA wise.I'm currently an Afghanistan Veteran 09-10 who currently sits at a 50% PTSD/Anxiety disorder rating. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer about 6 months after returning home from Afghanistan in 2010.
I have a 0% service connected rating for that. I filed once again after the Pact Act was signed and they kept me at 0%. Although the Pact Act has testicular cancer listed as a presumptive condition. Am I missing something here or did I mess something up? I'm not sure.
I've read about people recieving SMC-K compensation for the losing a testicle. I'm just confused by everything and need some advice. Any input would be appreciated.

So I am not real experienced with everything VA wise.I'm currently an Afghanistan Veteran 09-10 who currently sits at a 50% PTSD/Anxiety disorder rating. Shortly after returning from Afghanistan I was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2010.
I got a 0% service connected rating for that. I filed again after the Pact Act was signed and it returned at 0% again. Even though the Pact Act has testicular cancer listed as a presumptive condition.
I've read about SMC-K compensation for the losing a testicle. I'm just confused by everything and need some advice. Any input would be appreciated.

About GameChanger:
We believe in the life-changing impact youth sports have on and off the field because they encourage leadership, teamwork, responsibility, and confidence—important life lessons that have the power to propel our youth toward meaningful futures. We recognize that without coaches, parents, and volunteers, organized youth sports could not exist. By building the first and best place to experience the youth sports moments important to our community, we are helping families elevate the next generation through youth sports.
So if you love sports and their community-building potential, or building cool products is your sport, GameChanger is the team for you. We are a remote-first, dynamic tech company based in New York City, and we are solving some of the biggest challenges in youth sports today.
Why We’re Different
Whether this is the first job description or the hundredth one you’ve read, that’s what you’re thinking: is this just the same old senior analyst job description….zzzz. Well it’s not because at GameChanger we have TACOs! At GameChanger, we love our virtual tacos**; it’s how we show appreciation to our teammates (50K+ tacos given!) for the great work they’re doing! Here are some 🌮worthy actions:

• Building a subscription level MRR model so we know what channels are driving new MRR…P Rao and Steffi in Finance will lob you a 🌮!
  
• Helping build out and analyzing a pricing and packaging experiment on an optimal trial length…Chase and Kyle on Growth will make it rain 🌮s!
  
• Building out automated refunds reporting to see what kind of users are requesting refunds…Sam in Accounting will credit you a 🌮!
  
• Telling a good dad joke…I’ll give you a 🌮 and enter it into our dad-abase!
  

Now let’s 🌮bout the role!
T: Tracking and Technology
We’re looking for somebody who’s excited to continuously help improve and optimize our tech stack and tracking. Some examples of this:

• Working cross-functionally with Data/Analytics Engineers, Growth, and Finance to improve our subscription data quality from our payment processors (App store, Play store, Recurly) and consolidate them into a unified data model.
  
• Partner closely with our Growth engineers and product manager to set up subscription funnel related experiments.
  
• Providing guidance on Snowplow front-end tracking for our web and mobile app subscription experience.
  

A: Analytics and Advise
GameChanger analysts are versatile and technical, but their mission isn’t to just serve up dashboards, set up tracking, or run experiments. This work is done as a prerequisite to advise our business partners on a course of action. Here are some projects you’d work on:

• Building and enhancing a subscription level MRR Model (using that higher quality data you helped set up) to help us answer questions like: how often do paid users move between subscription plan types?
  
• Helping ideate, execute, and measure experiments designed to understand what drives new user subscriptions, churn, retention and CLV.
  
• Creating user-level statistical models to help identify users who are likely to churn and recommending tactics to reduce churn.
  
• Working with Finance to build models to forecast revenue and KPIs by key dimensions and proactively diagnosing and providing hypotheses around unexpected changes in performance against forecast.
  

C: Communication
At GameChanger, data is becoming our lingua franca and you’ll help spread the word of data by:

• Establishing a common vocabulary by defining metrics and dimensions and teaching others how to understand and use that shared vocabulary.
  
• Actively listening to others so you can continuously build and improve our data knowledge and know-how.
  
• Sharing what you know by educating business stakeholders and other analysts.
  
• Owning the prioritization process for Subscriptions and Finance analytics projects.
  

O: Organizations
At GameChanger, our people and culture are our differentiator, so it’s important you know who you’ll be working with on a daily basis:

• Growth Team: Our Growth team owns the GameChanger subscription funnel and the experimentation process. It’s made up of a special group of product managers, designers, engineers, and QA.
  
• Finance: Yes they care about $$$ and funny acronyms like EBITDA and ARPU. But they’re also strategic operators who understand GameChanger’s core business levers and work closely with teams to ensure we’re optimizing our business and customer experience.
  
• Data and Analytics (DNA): Our team has established processes and infrastructure that allow analysts to focus on doing the work rather than constantly dealing with data fires. Plus we’re really fun, love tacos and karaoke!
  

Who You Are:

• Experience in subscription analytics in a B2B and B2C SaaS subscription based environment
  
• Deep experimentation experience
  
• Expert in SQL and working with relational databases (window functions, CTEs)
  
• Experience with BI tools and data visualization
  
• Experience with programming languages like Python or R
  
• Experience working with Snowplow or other tracking solutions
  
• Experience with engineering development processes (Git, code review, version control)
  
• Written and verbal communication skills with technical/non-technical colleagues
  
• Comfortable with answering unstructured business questions.
  
• Ability to work independently and be self-directed while also working within a collaborative team environment.
  
• Experience in a cross-functional and stakeholder-focused data role
  

Bonus Qualifications:

• Proficient in our current data tech stack: Snowflake, Hex, Snowplow, dbt, Statsig, Looker
  
• Experience working directly with raw payment processing data
  

Perks:

• Work remotely throughout the US* or from our well-furnished, modern office in Manhattan, NY.
  
• Unlimited vacation policy.
  
• Paid volunteer opportunities.
  
• WFH stipend - $500 annually to make your WFH situation comfortable.
  
• Snack stipend - $60 monthly to have snacks shipped to your home office.
  
• Full health benefits - medical, dental, vision, prescription, FSA/HRA., and coverage for family/dependents.
  
• Life insurance - basic life, supplemental life, and dependent life.
  
• Disability leave - short-term disability and long-term disability.
  
• Retirement savings - 401K plan offered through Vanguard, with a company match.
  
• Company paid access to a wellness platform to support mental, financial and physical wellbeing.
  
• Generous parental leave.
  
• DICK’S Sporting Goods Teammate Discount.
  
• TACOS!
  

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
The target salary range for this position is between $130,000 and $150,000. This is part of a total compensation package that includes incentive, equity, and benefits for eligible roles. Individual pay may vary from the target range and is determined by several factors including experience, internal pay equity, and other relevant business considerations. We constantly review all teammate pay to ensure a great compensation package that is fair and equal across the board.
*DICK'S Sporting Goods has company-wide practices to monitor and protect us from compliance and monetary implications as it pertains to employer state tax liabilities. Due to said guidelines put in place, we are unable to hire in AK, DE, HI, IA, LA, MS, MT, OK, and SC.
**We have a 🌮-nomy, a place where tacos can actually buy you something real at our Taco Shop like a Starbucks or Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card. Though we’re 100% remote, when we meet in person, somebody might actually give you a real taco for you to sink your teeth into because they’re so happy to see you.

I'm gonna tell the setup then cut to the chase. This was my second campaign and my first time DMing ever. I thought that this was gonna be my long time group because we were all supposedly good friends and got eachother but I was mad Wrong. The party consisting initially consisted of an Artificer who was our groups original DM, A Monk, A kobold Barbarian, an owl person Druid who was the Problem Player, and a dragon-kin (I think) Rogue. The setting Dark Fantasy kind of inspired by Majoras Mask, Bloodborne, & Legacy of Kain. Over the course of the campaign weve gained and lost players unrelated to the drama but I feel its important to add because this campaign was going on for a few years and one of the new members assisted in my growing distaste. So first player to go was Rogue. They had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. Later we gained a kobold Wizard... Who lasted two sessions cuz scheduling conflicts. (They were great I wish they lasted longer.) Then the last two players were a Veteran Player who chose another Artificer, and a Newb who had the potential to be a Murderhobo. Other tidbits to include were that the original Artificer was assissting me with some DM functions because they are a Veteran DM and that Druid was very obnoxious with many of his interactions particularly with me. Murderhobo was kept in check by pretty much everyone else, they were constantly switching from being in and out of character but because they were contained they were generally good. With the stage set it's time to jump in.
Year two of the campaign. The party has finally made it one of the main objectives after adventuring around, doing sidequests, and story adjacent adventures. They have finally entered the domain of the mysterious "Lord of The Vampires" and have gotten themselves trapped within a caged off hallway of his mansion, as well as slayed a group of mutated hommunculi guardians. End of session everything is fine so it seems until I come back from a bathroom break. I hear Druid ranting to Monk and Barbarian about Original Artificer. I have no idea what sparked this but it was related to interactions they had outside the campaign and in his words it was why he was suppisedly interacting less and less unless he was spoken directly to. Monk and Barbarian had entirely checked out at this point and because this was supposed to be a group of friends who talk out and about our problems, I state my case for Artificer and reccomend that they maybe should talk about this amongst themselves.
Druid flat out refused and kept insisting that Artificer was fully in the wrong and somewhat manipulating to get things his way both in and out of game. As DM I can say Artificer wasn't. He like every other player who was genuinely interacting with the world and story was getting some agency. Druid got agency too when he was interacting, but a lot of his problems in game were because despite knowing eachother for years he seemed to have forgotten that math wasn't my strongsuit so i needed some calculating height and distance in game. He also had a problem with me having to compensate obstacles for his race's ability to fly. I never zeroed him out specifically but I had to keep some adventuring balanced which is difficult to calculate for when everyone else in the party is a non-winged humanoid and I'm new to figuring all of this stuff out. Despite all this I called it a night and couldn't think things couldn't think things would get worse.
They did. After a week somehow Artificer found out about Druid's ranting, and firmly quit the campaign. Knowing this would feed Druids ego I avoided interacting with them as much as possible and got some chances to talk with Monk and Barbarian in private about it. To say this whole affair left a bad taste in my mouth is an understatement. Later that week I had enough and I made a post saying im not feeling good about playing, and that I needed a break much to the displeasure of everyone else in the group. I also got chances to talk with Artificer after the fact and he wasnt willing to interact with Druid especially after all of that unless they apologised to him. All of this further fed my discomfort and my break extended unsure what to do. So I kept to my break trying to figure things out.
A month of avoiding Druid later, circumstances led him to reach out and apologize to me about causing the drama in the first place. I, just wanting to move on from all of this,forgave him but still kept to my break though this didnt stop Druid from bringing up the drama to me specifically when we were in private, especially after telling them i wish to move on from that twice. He kept insisting and not in a patch things up with Artificer way. I avoided him again for a few weeks and it was brought up amongst some of the party members after then but things now have kind of fizzled out thankfully.
Cut to now. Things are mellow, I've gone back to talking to everyone when I can, and now I talk and interact with Artificer and Druid separately. Things feel awkward in my own head to say the least. I've honestly lost all appeal for D&D after this, and I dont feel comfortable saying this to anyone in my group. I dont even feel comfortable at thought of playing a new campaign as a player. Between that random drama and the few players genuinely interested in the game I set up plus the peeps to help reign the Murderhobo in, Im kind of done. Me writing this was spurred by somone looking for players in a discord server I'm in and I had to turn them down because this distaste has reached a new level.
I loved my group, I loved the last campaign which was my first I got to play in, and I was hyped to be a new DM but it ultimately feels like shit thanks to very little people caring about my campaign combined with this friend drama that split the group. Im conflicted now and am leaning on quitting D&D forever because of this. I was even drafting out a couple other campaigns in different settings for later, but now I dont feel comfortable engaging in it. I dont know what to do and thats about it.
Tl,DR: My first time DMing a campaign was ruined by interpersonal friend drama, and now I feel like quitting the game for good.

I’m not real experienced with everything VA wise. I’m currently an Afghanistan Veteran 09-10 who currently sits at a 50% PTSD/Anxiety disorder rating. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer about 6 months after returning home from Afghanistan in 2010.
I have a 0% service connected rating for that. I filed once again after the Pact Act was signed and they kept me at 0%. Although the Pact Act has testicular cancer listed as a presumptive condition. Am I missing something here or did I mess something up ? I’m not sure.
I’ve read about people recieving SMC-K compensation for the losing a testicle. I’m just confused by everything and need some advice. Any input would be appreciated.