hey hey degens and #Prom community
Prom Testnet Stats Update Time!
Curious about the performance of Prom’s testnet? From unique wallets to total transactions amounts, these stats highlight the network’s growth and robustness.
Dive into the latest numbers and see the impressive progress🧵👇
Unique Wallets:
The Prom Testnet now boasts over 1,057,065 unique wallet addresses! This milestone highlights the widespread adoption and active participation within the #Prom ecosystem. Each wallet is a testament to the growing strength and diversity of Prom’s network.
Total Transactions Amount:
The Prom Testnet has surpassed 8.3 million transactions! This surge in activity highlights the growing traction and dynamic usage within the #Prom ecosystem. Every transaction is a testament to the expanding adoption of Prom’s technology. The future looks promising!
Daily Stats:
The Prom Testnet consistently handles an average of 125,301 transactions daily. This steady activity underscores the continuous engagement and robust participation within the #Prom ecosystem, reflecting the ongoing interest in Prom’s innovative technology.
Daily Peak Transaction Power:
Prom’s testnet hit a remarkable daily peak of 341,230 transactions, demonstrating the network’s scalability and robustness. This milestone highlights Prom’s ability to handle growing demand efficiently and reliably, showcasing its powerful infrastructure.
Building Blocks of Strength
The Prom Testnet has created over 890,000 blocks, reflecting the depth and resilience of Prom’s blockchain. Each block marks a step forward, showcasing the continuous progress and robust capacity of the Prom ecosystem.
Total Gas Units Utilized
The Prom Testnet has consumed a remarkable 350.42 billion gas units, highlighting the high level of activity and operational efficiency. This substantial figure demonstrates the network’s ability to support extensive usage and complex transactions seamlessly.
Prom Gas Consumption
The Prom testnet has expended more than 18,633 $PROM on gas, showcasing the network’s active usage and economic vitality. This figure highlights the ongoing interactions and the operational efficiency within Prom’s ecosystem.
Faucet Activity
Prom’s faucet has seen over 788,000 requests, indicating a high level of interest and active participation in the ecosystem. This strong engagement reflects the community’s enthusiasm and involvement with Prom’s testnet.
Faucet Rewards
Participants have redeemed over 380,000 $PROM tokens from Prom’s faucet, fueling transactions and testing within the dynamic ecosystem. This activity drives engagement and helps ensure the robustness of the testnet.
Prom Forge Milestone
The Prom Forge has seen over 450,000 tokens created, showcasing the creativity and initiative of the Prom community. This milestone reflects the proactive engagement and diversity of users, driving growth within Prom’s ecosystem.
Button Game Vibe
The Prom Button Game has recorded over 191,168 clicks, creating a fun and engaging way to interact with the testnet. With 48,148 unique users participating, the game adds excitement and competition, highlighting vibrant participation within Prom’s ecosystem.
The outstanding stats from Prom’s Testnet highlight the network’s growth and community engagement. With over 1M wallet addresses, 8.3M transactions, and 450k tokens deployed on Forge, the momentum is incredible. Exciting times ahead as we look forward to the mainnet launch!

I am far from the first to take a crack at debunking the video made by DeathBattle a few years back where they argued that Madara would clinch the win against the transcendental one himself. Many have called into question their reasoning and pointed out its flaws but I wanted to add a new perspective on the subject in an attempt to shut this case once and for all
I am going to break down this debunk into 3 parts to run down all things DB got wrong about Aizen and his scaling while providing counters which should make it far easier to read
For transparency, I will also be using this to debunk some arguments not made by DB directly but by fans defending the video, nobody specifically being targeted here just metas I have seen

Part 1: AP/Speed Scaling

1: In Death Battle’s analysis they used the Soul King Linchpin for their basis on scaling Aizen which is a common meta, where they booger’d this though is that they then proceeded to say that the only thing being held together by the Soul King Linchpin was the 3 main planets of the realms, rather than the dimensions themselves. This lowball interpretation of the Linchpin’s job is contradicted by 2 main things.
A: The Dangai is also stated to be affected, even in the scan they used, which would make no sense as it exists outside of the boundaries. For this to be the case the energy of the Linchpin would have to be skipping over all astral bodies in each realm, hitting the Dangai that exists between 2 of the dimensions, and then somehow only affecting the primary planets in each realm.
B: The novels clarify that the Linchpin is maintaining the “boundaries” of the realms as well, and considering we know Garganta (a massive empty void) exists outside of “the 3 worlds” that would have to mean all of the stars and galaxies we see exist within these borders as part of the dimensions, that is without even mentioning the realms being point blank referenced as universes or the newer 5D meta
2: They mention Aizen being stronger than Kenpachi and then use the feat of destroying the meteor to scale his striking power. What they fail to mention is that Gremmy (who Kenpachi also mid-diff’d) created a pocket of space containing multiple galaxies which would scale Kenpachi and therefore Aizen to at least Multi-Galaxy
3: They mentioned Yhwach and Aizen being matched in power after Yhwach absorbed the Soul King, but never mentioned Yhwach destroying or reforming the realms as a point. This was likely because they considered it equal in power to the Linchpin feat but we have statements of Yhwach also affecting the Garganta which exists outside of the realms themselves which would easily scale Aizen above the 3 dimensions
4: When scaling Aizen’s speed Death Battle used a databook statement saying that Ichigo and Byakuya fought “like lightning” to say that Aizen should only be marginally faster than light by EOS after considering multipliers.
This raises an obvious problem, well 2 actually
A: “Like Lightning” isn’t indicative of speed and is just a metaphor for “fast” meant to sound cool. If it wouldn’t work to upscale speed why would it work to downplay their speed?
B: By this point we had multiple databook statements that place other characters below SS arc Ichigo at FTL reactions at minimum, after the multipliers they mentioned this would scale Aizen EASILY into MFTL+ giving Aizen a massive speed advantage

Part 2: Hax

1: Death Battle says Aizen’s most effective spell is Hado 90, Kurohitsugi. This is one of the points that almost makes me wonder if they have more than a passing knowledge of the series because Hado aren’t numbered arbitrarily. They are numbered according to their difficulty and effectiveness, which means Aizen has 9 Hado at his disposal that are better than Kurohitsugi and he is able to cast even Hado 99 without an incantation.
2: This is going to be a hard pill to swallow for many but I will keep banging this drum until people stop saying it, ready? TRUTH SEEKING ORBS ARE NOT EXISTENCE ERASURE
Truth Seeking Orbs (TSOs) have never been shown to actually function as existence erasure and this description of them directly contradicts what we are told about them to begin with, which is that their purpose is to nullify Jutsu which would include a Ninjutsu like Edo Tensei and its regen properties. DB claims they are EE anyway and gave that as the primary win condition of Madara
Hell, we literally see Hiruzen get his entire upper body obliterated by a TSO, turning him to dust, yet later he is back and all is good. Sakura even tanks one straight to the chest. I know they are aware of these too because they used the clip of Hiruzen being destroyed by Obito in their “TSO are existence erasure” bit during the conclusion section of the video so you can’t even say they didn’t think that was a TSO that erased spirits (what is typically said when countered with this)
3: Aizen is granted Reliant Immortality from the Hogyoku and is the basis for his strongest form of immortality, this is not mentioned by DB likely because they believe he no longer has the Hogyoku, even though…
4: Aizen DOES have the Hogyoku after his defeat by Ichigo and Kisuke, it is confirmed in the novels. With this reliant immortality he survived being disintegrated at the cellular level even though Gin had stolen the Hogyoku. This means even removing the Hogyoku from Aizen doesn’t prevent him coming back to life stronger
5: As established, DB gave Madara the win condition that Aizen could be destroyed with Existence Erasure via the TSO, I already tackled the TSO themselves but for fun lets see if Aizen COULD in theory be killed with Existence Erasure.
Aizen was imprisoned in Muken after his defeat, the reason given for this is that “no executioner in Soul Society” can kill him. This is a statement coming directly from Mayuri who is likely the single most knowledgeable character in the Soul Society on their abilities. Naturally this would mean he would be aware of something like Hado 54 “Abolition Flame” which is literally an attack that “eradicates the very existence of a target”. It isn’t even a particularly hard spell, Bakudo 63 is 9 levels above Abolition flame and it is considered “mid level”. There is also the argument that Yamamoto’s Bankai could do the job as it is stated to be existence erasure.
If that isn’t enough, Aizen has also survived being disintegrated at the cellular level as already mentioned. There is absolutely no way that even the headcanon’d TSO should be able to eradicate Aizen
6: DB gave Madara the win becasue Madara’s “immense variety of abilities” should give Madara the ability to overwhelm Aizen. Madara has one hell of an arsenal but Aizen has literally Hundreds of abilities when considering both Hado and Bakudo as well as forbidden Kido and the ability to make new Kido on the fly.
7: Very importantly for their analysis they started both characters in base, having them power up during the fight and oddly… Gave Madara 6 Paths. This form is not something Madara just has at his disposal all the time, yet they had him randomly summon the ten-tails and absorb it after breaking Kurohitsugi. Aizen has the Hogyoku and can freely evolve to the form shown and beyond, meanwhile Madara doesn’t just have the ten-tails in his pocket
8: DB used an extremely biased take on Verse Equalization to say that Chakra and Reiyoku are close enough that Madara would be able to absorb Aizen’s Kido but then never considered that this would mean the constant flexing of Reiatsu done by Soul Reapers would mean Genjutsu would never be able to stick against Aizen

Part 3: Genjutsu vs Kyoka Suigetsu

1: Kyoka Suigetsu is NOT like a Genjutsu, and isn’t even close enough to be properly VE’d to be equivalent
Genjutsu: affects the brain, controlling the senses of the victim directly and can be broken by realizing you are under an illusion and disrupting your Chakra flow or having someone else disrupt the flow for you
KS: Controls the spirit to directly take control of your senses, Shinigami are constantly fluctuating their reiatsu and having their Reiyoku flow changed by borrowing from the powers of their Zanpakuto spirit yet none of this works to break Kyoka Suigetsu. Even knowing you are under an illusion doesn’t help you
They control via different methods with different ways of controlling the senses AND have different methods to break them, Verse Equalization should not allow blanketly saying that the same methods should work to break KS considering those methods are things people in Bleach actively do
2: The ultimate genjutsu Infinite Tsukuyomi doesn’t work on spirits, that is all
3: Aizen is not weak to illusions, people point out that Aizen was manipulated by Shinji and his Shikai which is an illusion and use this as an argument that Aizen has weak mental resistance to Illusions and to those people I have one response… Actually read Bleach
Aizen “fought” Shinji and was manipulated by his illusions , but we find out soon after that Aizen had all of them misinterpreting his actual location during this, even Aizen’s wound on the arm which he got during his “fight” with Shinji is gone when he reveals himself, before point blank saying “Since when were you under the impression I wasn’t using Kyoka Suigetsu?”
Aizen’s “fight” with Shinji was a ploy that culminated in them unknowingly attacking Momo and getting Ambushed by the real Aizen

Conclusion

It is no secret that the DB staff have a hate boner for Bleach, Liam is outspoken for his distaste for the series. It is clear looking at the evidence they presented and how they lowballed Aizen that they wanted to keep the stats mostly equal but the moment they started headcanoning things like Existence Erasure TSOs and Aizen being weak to illusions it became clear this was a popularity contest

Advanced server update released on May 16, 2024 (Server Time)

I. Hero Adjustments

Hero Adjustments

The following uses (↑) (↓) (~) to indicate Buff, Nerf, and Adjustment.

[Yi Sun-shin] (↑)
Although Yi Sun-shin has good growth, in the mid to late game, his damage relies on enhanced Basic Attacks from Passive, leading to a lack of a safe damage-dealing environment. In order to win, players must get Gold quickly to gain an economic advantage when playing as Yi Sun-shin. In this case, most Yi Sun-shin players spend a lot of time on repetitive "Gold farming" throughout the match.
Experimental Adjustments: We hope to solve this problem by reducing the damage of Yi Sun-shin's enhanced Basic Attacks from Passive in the mid to late game, while also giving him higher damage capabilities in the early game.
[Passive] (~)
First Enhanced Basic Attack Damage: 70%-100% Crit Damage (scales with Ult level) >> 80% Crit Damage at all levels
Second Enhanced Basic Attack Damage: 55%-70% Crit Damage (scales with Ult level) >> 60% Crit Damage at all levels
[Skill 1] (↑)
CD: 12-7s >> 12-9.5s
[Skill 2] (↑)
Slash & Arrow Damage: 240-340 + 80% of Total Physical Attack >> 300-425 +100% of Total Physical Attack
[Aulus] (↓)
After last week's adjustments, Aulus' strength has exceeded our expectations. Therefore, we are making further adjustments to him. We will continue to monitor Aulus' performance and ensure his strength remains at a reasonable level.
[Passive] (↓)
Attack Speed of Each Stack: 12%-18% >> 9%-15%
[Skill 1] (↓)
Damage Reduction: 50% at all levels >> 30%-50%
[Ultimate] (↓)
Basic Attacks' Physical Damage Increased from Blade Craft at Full Stack: 80 >> 50
[X.Borg] (↑)
We noticed that the nerf to Spell Vamp Ratio had a significant impact on X.Borg, so we decided to revert to the previous nerf and continue to monitor his performance.
[Skill 1] (↑)
Spell Vamp Ratio: 50% >> 100%
[Ultimate] (↑)
Spell Vamp Ratio: 50% >> 100%
[Atlas] (↑)
Currently, Atas' early game power is relatively weak, and he relies heavily on the mobility provided by Skill 2. We hope to see him get picked more often in high-rank matches, so we have strengthened his early game power.
[Passive] (↑)
Increased Physical & Magic Defense During Frigid Breath: 11-25 >> 16-30
[Skill 2] (↑)
Cooldown: 15-10s >> 12-10s
[Wanwan] (↑)
Due to Wanwan's unique "move after each attack" mechanic, her sustained damage is weaker than most Marksmen. We have increased her Attack Speed to compensate for this.
[Attributes] (↑)
Basic Attack Speed: 0.98 >> 1.13
Attack Speed Growth: 1% >> 2%
[Xavier] (↓)
Reverted some previous adjustments.
[Passive] (↓)
Skill Cooldown reduced for Ultimate by Stage III: 32s >> 36s
[Ultimate] (↓)
Cooldown: 52-48s >> 60-52s
Damage: 600-1200 +200% of Total Magic Power >> 600-1100 +180% of Total Magic Power
[Beatrix] (↑)
Slightly increased her damage in the late game.
[Attributes] (↑)
Physical Attack Growth: 9.5 >> 11

II. Battlefield & System Adjustments

Equipment Adjustments

[Malefic Gun] (~)
Experimental Adjustments: In Layla's Workshop, we noticed that the active skill of Malefic Gun can be difficult for some players to master the timing to cast. Players will often struggle with whether to choose Malefic Gun or Wind of Nature.
We have changed it to Passive in this patch. In order to compensate for the decrease in the upper limit by increasing the range, we added a simple trigger for this "new" Passive to ensure it is powerful enough and enjoyable to play.
[Price]
1940
[Attributes]
+45 Physical Attack
+25% Attack Speed
+15% Lifesteal
[Unique Passive - Malefic Energy] (Reworked)
Landing a skill increases Basic Attack range by 15% for 3s (6s cooldown).
[Unique Passive - Zeal]
Basic Attacks grant 15% Movement Speed for 1s.
[Wishing Lantern] (~)
[Unique Passive - Seeker] (~)
Passive Trigger: 500 Magic Damage dealt >> 800 Magic Damage dealt
Magic Damage: 6% of target's current HP >> 10% of target's current HP

Battlefield Adjustments

[Neutral Lord]
Some Junalers still prefer to spend their time fighting the Lord. Now the longer you fight the Lord. the higher the "price" you have to pay.
New Effect: When the Lord is aggro, increase Physical Penetration by 10% per second up to 10 times. (Reverted the Regen Reduction effect from the last patch.)
[Current of the Turtle]
The issue with Current is that just when players want to step on it to help their teammates, the Movement Speed bonus ends. Therefore, we decided to extend the duration of Current.
Duration of Current: 10s >> 15s
[Spawn Point]
Optimized the speed of Spawn Point's HP Regen. The Regen speed is doubled, but the amount of HP recovered each time has been halved (total Regen time remains unchanged).

[Bug Fixes]
1- Optimized the icons and skill visuals of some new equipment.
2- Optimized the display of the Fighters Stage Avatar Border from the KOF collab event.

III. Events

Free Heroes
Server Time 05/17/2024 05:00:00 to 05/24/2024 05:01:00 (Tap the Settings button in the top-right corner of the main page to check.)
8 Free Heroes: Granger, Hayabusa, Selena, Cecilion, Hanabi, Thamuz, Argus, Lolita
6 Extra StarLight Member Heroes: Fredrinn, Grock, Moskov, Karrie, Martis, Aldous

I'm making this post because of my constant upset of not loving the biggest mmorpgs on the market.
As we know, the most played MMORPGs right now are World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. They are much similar as they have MAGNIFICENT endgame dungeons/raid battles, mount/skin/reputation/achievements farming and PvP.
But my point is, the only really useful content I see from these is the part of the dungeons and raids. If I say this to any FFXIV or WoW player, prob they won't like it. But after the experience I had playing a specific MMORPG for 3 years in my childhood, my eyes just can't shine and I don't get the same dopamine hit while playing these current MMOs.
I've been thinking about this for a long, long, LONG time, and now, I think I found an answer.
The name of the game I played was Grand Fantasia. And the reason I think I used to love so much this game and can't like the actual ones is the RPG element. In MY opinion, you can't develop your character that much in these 2 games. In FFXIV, when you reach the max level, the only thing you can get to your character is the highest ilvl gear from raids, and that's it. In WoW, you have a little more customization, while you can select from different secondary stats on your gear, trinkets always have a special and unique effect, some other items have a cool special effect, you have set effects, you can insert gems to them, enchant, and you have the cool legendary weapons, always with special effects. You can also change your masteries the way you want. But as WoW is a competitive PvE game, all the customization I said might just be an illusion, as you will be always following an optimal guide for efficiency.
In Grand Fantasia you had an insane amount of stuff you could do to develop your character, and I think I should list every possible thing I remember to make here the best comparison I can.
With a level 80 character (max was 90) you had:
-> Many set options, every single one with different special effects. You had the orange crafted set, the PvP set, the legendary set (that was a kind of top tier crafted set), the GvG set, the alchemist set (that you had some peculiar ways of crafting it), the purple sets (detailed ahead).
-> Many legendary weapons options. Pretty much similar to WoW's legendaries, but with many options to EVERY class at every 5 levels after level 50. These weapons gaves a lot of personality to the classes who used them. Mages after lvl 70 were insane in this game, they got a staff that gave them permanent crowd control immunity, and a chance to activate his extra effect when hit, reducing all physical damage taken in 50% for 12 seconds.
-> Purple items, that was an option of gear who had no special effect, but had a bit more base stats in comparison to legendaries, and special gem slots, giving them complete exclusive and interesting effects at your choice.
-> Getting some equipments were hard, but it didn't end there. You had many extended progress you could do to them. You could manually open slots in you gear, 6 to two-handed weapons, 3 to single-handed weapons, 2 to body, and 1 to the rest of the set. You could RNG enchant the items, that would bring a good random effect from a specific selection. You could upgrade the items from +0 to +18 (after +7 was expensive, +18 players were like gods among men), ugprading them also added a visual effect, making them more and more badass. You could also level up your items untill your actual character level, selecting the specific stats you went to boost.
-> Different mounts. They didn't have always the same movespeed, who would make them a simply reskin. So you really liked when you get a +100% movespeed mount. You also had the combat mount, an insanely expensive mount that you could use in combat, and gave you +75% movespeed. The combat mounts also could be leveled up untill your character level, giving you boosts while using it.
-> RNG enchanting skins. You could fuse skins, giving one of your choice a random rarity color with RNG stats. Getting what you went, gaves an insane amount of dopamine.
-> Mastery system. You could prevent you character from gaining XP to give this XP to a list of special statuses, which varied from class to class. This list had around 16 statuses to develop, and after that, you could select about 4 to level until 15.
-> Talents system. Similar to WoW, but much less complex. They only gave you the stats you choose, and you could make a combo, giving a bit of extra effects. These talents also had many levels, so you had to farm them to the highest level you could.
-> Useful title system. The way of acquiring them was similar to WoW and FFXIV. It was after completing determined objectives. But in this game they gave you extra stats, while every title had a rarity color, making them another useful and rewarding farm.
-> Reputation system similar to WoW. But this gave you useful potions for combat, crafting pets, titles, pet skins, and some other useful things.
-> Collection system. You had an account-wide chest that could store skins, mounts, legendary and purple weapon/gear. After collecting many points of a determined category, you could select a bonus stat to use like a title. This system was hard, expensive, and gave you an INSANE boost to your character, so extremely rewarding.
Almost everything about the game you could accomplish with gold. So if you didn't like a dungeon farming for mats, you could simply buy them from the auction house. While there were MANY useful materials in the game, people had almost infinite ways to farm gold in AH, giving you an insane diversity in gameplay.
Even with all these collectibles, you could effectively FINISH your character. In this topic I need to mention another MMORPG, Black Desert Online. After all I said you could do to progress your character, you might had tought the game was just an infinite grind like BDO, but it was not. As you could get everything with gold, the hardest thing was creating an effective way to earn your gold. But after that, your life simply became much easier. Creating a high level gold maker character in this game to boost your low level character to the level 40 battleground ie was so much satisfying.
After all that said, let's talk about the answer I said I found after much thinking.
I listed above the positive aspects of the game to me. Don't get me wrong, the game wasn't perfect. His dungeons in comparison to WoW and FFXIV, were RIDICULOUS. While you have many mechanics to learn and cool stuff from the top MMOs, in Grand Fantasia you had bosses with patterns like: reflect all damage for 5 seconds, and that's it. PvP battlegrounds were massively unbalanced untill you got strong enough to solo carry your team or even compete with enemy players.
With this I concluded that the most fun thing in an MMORPG is the act of progressing your character. Even if the dungeons are simple and the PvP is just ok. These aspects are mere ways of checking how much you effectively progressed.
In WoW, the endgame is basically spamming M+ and Raids. That is much fun and it is works perfectly fine IMO. But if you want to login and do other useful stuff to progress your character, you simply have none. FFXIV works the same, but without M+.

Hi all - I can't seem to find a definitive answer anywhere on the internet... are biometric pistol cases considered TSA compliant? Has anyone had issues getting these checked in baggage on an airplane? From what I'm reading everywhere, it seems I should be good to go. Here's the safe I am hoping to use to transport my Glock to Montana from Georgia with: https://www.amazon.com/WINCENT-PRO-Elite-Biometric-Safe/dp/B0B1TT8H3G/ref=sr_1_17?crid=2IUSL7A2FMRQY&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DM941C7YmG9QZNWwTXvHzoxd4hTzB9ETtT42xtk1zGEfB6jFe-gqDTwg--KtV6XVjhG-o9e-Uklr_ZrCcrqd-iWE_mwja9j9lCb9ObuM8CHBeJLMA0uvqA0FqAik9BDXsoa6wCivXgGOShaIx24UDky368ZVzVXGNHEJ6nN2ixP87Mzh26AWoB_-QfHYNMS3iwki6MA-AJ62DVOyPpbe3MiTZSKzF5M5I29RGCC8tm_pJ7bGDJCb55OUktPAsUKlcAA5wxAe1OWuYQhrxCoBmkgGbPVbfqS3q06zNsErXxU.SRfnIN9cnWkElbbP5TS8DhUy1zIxW_u2wQAkrdHPI4A&dib_tag=se&keywords=biometric%2Bpistol%2Bsafe&qid=1715887345&sprefix=%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-17&th=1

Introduction
Someone reading this book may wonder what sort of audience is being targeted here. They may also be confused as to what the endgame is behind such a book. The aim of this book is to parallel the different religious & mystic traditions & connect them to the tropes that we find near death experiences propagate. They often are reconnecting us with what ancient texts have said but in the modern secular world where materialism is the norm we have become numb to the meanings & impact behind such text. These texts are often considered archaic & primitive. Unable to contribute much to the modern world they may only be useful in prayer chants.
Thus I aim here to revitalise the spirit of these traditions and connect them to what many call the modern day scriptures. The study of near death experiences, neuroscience, consciousness & other paranormal phenomena.
The endgame of the mystic is to connect, achieve union, knowledge and self growth. Thus by approaching all these texts and the various evolving thought that emerged from it, we can explore the parallels and connections that bridge the gap between traditions. The beauty of mysticism and perennial philosophy is the freedom it offers in interpretation.
This book doesn't focus on the question of whether scriptures are divinely inspired, man made tools written for sociological and political agendas or some sort of corrupted divinity. That discussion is a debate that will never end. Rather the focus here is on the possible wisdom & theological beliefs which parallel and mesh together well in forming a higher meaning & connection to the divine. Whether it be a higher power, an all pervading source or a metaphysical truth. You aren’t required to literally believe the divinity of these texts. A simple level of curiosity & intrigue is sufficient.
However one may contend that it is easy to parallel traditions when they are in harmony but when they differ they directly contradict rendering these connections meaningless and superficial. Therein lies the limitations of this book. Therefore the following concepts won’t be discussed in here. These are mainly :

• Unverifiable supernatural claims such as ancient miracles for instance Moses parting the sea, Jesus walking on water, resurrecting etc. For someone expecting this book to be a source of evidence for a specific religion it unfortunately won’t be. However there are multiple correlations and connections and these may act as subtle signs of evidence for a specific faith or multiple of them.
  
• Reconciling contradictions between belief systems and scriptures. For example whether the Divine is a trinity or a unity. Whether a certain sage was superior to another. For instance comparing the personality of Jesus with Muhammad, whether the Bible is morally perfect or not & a plethora of other beliefs that may not agree with one another. The book simply assumes they all are imperfect systems.
  
• The scientific debate on whether NDEs are classified as hallucinations or genuine supernatural occurrences. Whilst an interesting topic in itself, it is out of the scope of this book with many other books discussing the science behind ndes. However when necessary nde claims will be contrasted with naturalistic explanations.
  

The primary focus is in following a don't throw the baby out with the bathwater approach. Some may also contend that this book follows a shopping cart style of cherrypicking from texts and discarding beliefs from texts one subjectively finds inappropriate. To this I would simply say that the approach here is one of finding the parallels that align well together and acknowledging when a belief doesn't align well. Not necessarily a pick and choose system. An approach I would call the rational mystic.
The rational mystic is one who is simply open to what may be beyond their senses. They may be mystically inclined, fascinated and open to the plethora of supernatural ideas. However they will not blindly believe any and all beliefs. They will discern using rational faculties what of mysticism is most compatible with reality, what the data or evidence shows & what is more probable than not. I believe people of all beliefs or no beliefs can fit this definition. Whether you identify by a religion, as spiritual but not religious, non religious, atheist, deist or agnostic. Thus a skeptic or believer may able to gain an appreciation for these belief systems.
This book dives into the verses and parallels of ancient texts such as the Old Testament, Gospels, Quran, Hadith, Bhagwad Gita, Dhammapada, Tao Te Ching & Gathas of Zoroaster. Other older parallels such as from Vedic India, Ancient Egypt, Greece & Mesopotamia may be referenced.
Alongside that are the testimonies of NDEs and how they may parallel or differ to these texts. This book also attempts to provide commentary on major philosophical themes & elaborate on various exegesis, mystical traditions such as Kaballah, Sufism, Advaita Vedanta, Neoplatonism & Chinese thought. Since mysticism is ultimately about experience it relevant and useful to enhance these discussions by contrasts to various scientific ideas, philosophy & pop culture.
NDE Filter Methodology
One of the problems with ndes is the fact that they are subjective experiences which we cannot objectively verify or replicate. This makes them a weaker form of evidence compared to empirical studies which can replicate the results. These present a challenge. An individual nde may therefore be subject to embellishment, fabrications & delusions. Therefore in picking our choice of NDEs here we can only look at ndes as a whole in terms of statistical patterns that form. This is the methodology used in NDE literature by various academics including neuroscientists & philosophers researching the phenomenon.
To elaborate we therefore will discard testimonies that appear embellished with fantastical details. These fantastical details may also be subjective from person to person. Calling an otherworldly journey fantastical is simply irony. However in following the certain patterns that appear cross culturally in ndes it is much easier to identify reports that are considered fantastical. The following tropes appear the most across multiple nde studies.

• Out of Body Experience
• Tunnel of Light
• Meeting deceased relatives or unknown beings
• Perceiving a highly luminous pervading light
• Feelings of absolute peace, comfort & love
• Arriving at an otherworldly place ie a meadow, garden etc.
• Life Review
• Border of no return
• Pluralistic message about love & wisdom

There are of course other concepts that ndes reference which appear from time to time. These allow ndes to be flexible and not rigid experiences. After all no two nde experiences are the same. However using these motifs listed we can filter through unreliable ndes. These include

• NDE reports that are highly coloured with religious fundamentalist tropes particularly tropes promoting an exclusivist attitude to religion.
• NDEs that appear too detailed, fantastical & unrestricted appearing more like a science fiction or fantasy novel. For example nde claims of multiple lives on other planets or large scale prophecies & apocalyptic predictions & generally things that differ wildly from the core themes
• NDEs that talk too much about one specific spiritual concept, portraying themselves as special, prophets or mediums turning their nde into a narcissistic or monetary agenda through spiritual coaching, multiple books etc.

Finally one may say that the chapters of this book attempt to hint at the veracity of a religion & this book is a subtle attempt to proselytize that faith. I will reiterate that this book isnt trying to prove any specific religion. There may be subtle signs from one faith that fit better with the nde phenomenon than others. The following theories I would say explain these subtle signs. I leave it up to the reader to decide what they feel is the best explanation.

• Universal Divine Theory : This is the idea that prophets, mystics & sages from different cultures have been inspired through revelation from the same source & this explains the shared insights of a religion & ndes.
  
• Mystic Wisdom Theory : This simply means that certain religious writers and founders were simply wise spiritual men, mystically inclined honing on their intuition & knowledge.
  
• Intertextuality Theory : Each new religious founder simply built of older religious ideas assimilating it into their theologies.
  

Whilst these theories may suggest a subtle spark of corresponding truths, generally NDEs dont explicitly point to any religion. Some say its simply the case that a Christian will see Jesus, a Muslim will see Allah, A Jew sees Yahweh & a Hindu sees Krishna. This of course is not entirely true. The portion of ndes that claim to see Jesus form a minority & interestingly they too dont point at specific doctrines. NDE experiencers may simply describe a sentient light they perceive to be God. This being doesnt tell anybody that I am Yahweh or Allah. Experiencers will say that religious texts fall short of describing this being. It is beyond what people are taught in religion.
Those who are familiar with NDE reports and studies will know that NDEs tend to be very religion agnostic and at best subtly imply a religious correlation but rarely do we find massive amounts of nde reports cross culturally presenting exclusivist dogmas such as follow holy book x or you will burn, believe Jesus died for your sin or you will burn for eternity. When an nde does present this its seen as a red flag since this doesn't occur with the majority of other ndes. The most we have are subtle religious correlations. However NDEs do present us with certain philosophical dilemmas when it comes to religion.

• If NDEs are vague about religion how are we to interpret these religions ? Are we to see them as man made socio-cultural constructs ? Are we to see them as inspired by God but limited to their time ? Are we to see them as partially divine partially man made scriptures ?
  
• If NDEs prove that religions are man made we must ask what purpose the creator has behind the nde. If the creator has allowed man made cultures to negatively influence and control the world throughout history and has not intervened or communicated with humanity one must wonder what point there is in a nde being a message in the 21st century. So on one hand the NDE presents us with a deistic God who doesnt intervene and let false religions begin and on the other hand the God of the NDE seems very personal, involved in human lives, keeps tracks, feels love and joy for humans etc
  
• If one, many or all religions are truly divinely inspired why do NDES never directly point to this ? NDEs seem more concerned in lessons but not in pointing people to a religion.
  

Some may ask what difference does it make that it doesnt point to a religion. if anything NDEs show us that God is far beyond the narrow confines of religions. It makes an immense difference when we factor the fact that religions have influenced entire cultures and civilisations in good and bad ways. Religions have been used to wage war, cause destruction, control the masses, brainwash, confuse and build fear into the human subconscious. And on the good side religions have given hope to the world that suffering isnt in vain, that life has meaning & that justice and ultimate happiness exists.
For alot of people the need to connect to the transcendental is insatiable and religion provides a whole structure of beliefs that one can organise themselves on. For some this is very restricting and enforces a cultural dogma on to everyone. They may prefer a shopping cart version of religion where they take whats good for them and discard what they disagree on. For others they prefer to deny all religious concepts as dogma and cultural beliefs. One could argue that humans need the cultural clothing of customs and traditions to keep their lives going, something which they can use to relate with to the divine. Not everyone can believe in an abstract deity that they cannot conceive of in the absence of symbols such as scriptures.
Religious texts provide at the very least a gateway to which one can relate through stories of heroes, morals and metaphors of the divine. Of course none of this leads us to whether said divine being has revealed these texts, whether they are inspired but corrupted by man or fully man made. These symbols act as aids in feeling like we have a piece of the divine soul with us thus giving comfort and hope. Thus whilst some have no need for religions, for the masses religions have immense value.
So why dont NDEs prove religion ?
There are no clear answers to this (unless somebody has an nde and asks whoever they speak with to tell them in specifics what religion is from God and whats not) all we can do is speculate. The ndes that do ask or do mention a scripture are so few that we cannot form any conclusion on this.

• The simplest answer is that all religions are man made for good or bad intentions but this would of course lead us to the philosophical deist dilemma.
• Perhaps the NDEs message focuses on the lessons and ideals itself and sees scriptures and religions as redundant (even if there is a divine hand behind some) After all these are mainly symbols and cannot compare to a direct mystical experience (something fundamentalists struggle with)
• Perhaps an attempt to promote any specific faith would lead to an assumption that the nde message is about exclusivist salvation and leading to the worship of scriptures/religions (something fundamentalists struggle with)
• Perhaps this proves that religions are limited to their century and context and that we should only look to them for the universal timeless message they offer not the specifics. After all all major scriptures teach the core values that NDEs have revitalised ie love, mercy, kindness etc

Do NDEs support materialism or not ?
While the aim of this book isnt to debate the afterlife or brain hypothesis, I will say that at the time of this being written, my view on ndes is to say that I consider them a plausible source of evidence towards consciousness surviving death & the afterlife existing. This view of mine may change in time towards either side. The following are some reasons I would argue for them being plausible.
1 Veridical NDEs : Numerous NDES report out of body experiences including witnessing of events in an environment when this should not be possible. More than 100+ veridical cases have been documented. Not to mention veridical cases from across different countries which further strengthens the case. We would have to be radically skeptical to consider all of these testimonies fabricated.
2 Lucid narrative : NDERS experience a highly lucid narrative that usually doesn't end in the middle or chaotically unlike dreams or hallucinations. Their ndes tend to be structured with a beginning, middle and end where they are either told, know or are sucked back into the body. This is quite a strange experience compared to delirium, delusions, hallucinations etc.
3 Deceased Relatives : Most NDES claim to see deceased relatives rather than alive people supporting the afterlife hypothesis. We should expect a mixed cocktail of alive & deceased people appearing in ndes if this was a case of dreams or hallucinations. The population that do claim to see a mixed group of alive and deceased is quite a small proportion of total ndes.
4 Intuitive Reality : NDERS are very convinced that they are in a hyper real reality that makes this world seem black and white, like a dream/illusion as some would say. They are intuitively convinced they are in something real the way we might be talking in person, as opposed to it being just a dream. In one study its believed that nders brain recollect their nde as if it's a real world memory.
5 ESP claims : NDERS may perceive no time at all, may experience a life review such that they can feel the feelings of others and recall memories long forgotten. They may feel like they intuitively know things without needing to learn. Some may report greater vision and detail than waking life, ability to hear thoughts, instantaneously appear, be in two places at once or pass through solid walls.
5 Religious Expectations : NDES often may contradict the beliefs of many Christians, Atheists and Muslims who have varying beliefs about the afterlife. Some may be surprised to experience the things they see & are particularly surprised at the ESP abilities as these are not predicted by religions. Particularly interesting are religious conservative ndes with more exclusivist beliefs who are surprised and end up becoming more pluralist and liberal.
6 Clinical Death Scenario : The best NDE studies focus on scenarios whereby the person undergoes cardiac arrest and thus clinical death. At this time a person has no heartbeat, no breathing, dilated pupils, no light reflex, no gag reflex and EEG reading of little to no brain activity. This is consistent with unconsciousness as no blood and oxygen can fully reach the brain. Furthermore the fact that most undergoing clinical death dont report any experiences means NDEs are odd occurrences & consciousness should not occur.
7 Transformation : NDERS often are transformed in their beliefs with less to no fear of death, detachment from the material, more interest in altruism and spirituality and are impacted by their NDE for decades, remembering it far more than a hallucination or dream. They see it as the most important experience of their life.
8 Double edged sword : The fact that not everyone has an nde may support the idea of nde being more than brain activity. After all if the nde simply was some evolutionary dying mechanism we would expect everybody to have one. This point could also support naturalistic hypothesis (See below)
However there is still uncertainty regarding the nde phenomenon and further data, & studies are required to build a case that is greater than just plausible. These are some opposing reasons to consider doubt in them valid
1 Embellishment : NDEs are unverifiable and therefore we cannot verify which ndes are authentic or which ndes are embellished over time with the nders own thoughts, interpretations or exaggerations. This makes it easier for fabrications and frauds to claim an nde experience.
2 Brain Activity : Since NDES happen during clinical death or unconscious states where a persons brain can be returned to living we cannot be sure that there isnt some deeper brain activity that causes an nde. We also cant be sure than an nde isnt happening in the window where cerebral blood flow hasnt ceased or in the window where CPR leads back to cerebral blood flow. EEG machines also have certain limitations such that they cannot detect deeper brain regions due to the skulls electrical resistance. EEG spikes may occur due to muscle twitches & electrical noise which can often make it harder to differentiate whether this is due to the NDE or not.
3 Cultural/Religious Contradictions : If we keep an open mind, its entirely possible that a Western nde could see Jesus, an Indian nde see Buddha or an Indian nde see Jesus & a Western nde see Buddha. It seems this can be reconciled by the idea that ndes are customized to fit what comforts people subconsciously. Japanese NDEs for example see a bridge/river symbolizing journey to another world, Westerners a portal/tunnel. Westerners relate best to Jesus, Easterners to other figures. However some ndes provide conflicting metaphysical views. This can be an issue with some ndes if nde 1 says they were told to keep reincarnating until they reach nirvana, nde 2 says something more fitting to abrahamic faith. nde 3 says hell doesnt exist and nde 4 says they saw hell realms.
4 Double edged Sword : This point can be argued for ndes (See above) but also against ndes. Only a small percentage 10-20% of those under cardiac arrest are said to have experienced an nde. This point leaves questions as to why aren't all people experiencing an nde. Should we not expect a larger proportion say more than half of people to experience an nde ? If there is a realm beyond the material should we not expect every person to experience an nde. A low proportion may mean that the nde is some sort of brain anomaly. We only have speculations as to why all dont get an nde.
5 Future Science : Current materialistic explanations may be inadequate to explain ndes but this doesnt mean that future understanding of the brain may not yield a new theory/explanation that explains it away. Thus it remains a potential argument.
All of these points are worthy discussions on their own and can be found in various other valuable books. The above points are simply a valuable framework by which the reader may be able to take away what they value out of this book. Everything written is simply my own research into the subject & I always advise people to take it with a grain of salt unless it makes rational sense to you & appeals to your intuition.
Diving into the depths
Spirituality & mysticism can be thought of as two sides of the same coin with philosophy the ring that runs the circumference of the coin. While spirituality deals with the human aspects such as soul, spirit, ego, morality & purpose, mysticism deals with the divine aspects of things such as essences, attributes, metaphors, realities, realms, entities, space, time, substances etc. We aim to dive into the following themes in this book.
The Divine Source : Everything relevant to defining the higher power & source of existence including essences & attributes.

Consciousness & Spirit : Everything relevant to the nature of consciousness, qualia, perceptions, the spirit & soul.
Reality : Everything relevant to the nature of perception, illusion, concepts, space, time, substances, modes, forms & realities.
Spirituality & Purpose : Everything relevant to the nature of human meaning, objectives, purpose & suffering.
Morality : Everything relevant to values, ideals, ethics & morals.
Knowledge & Truth : Everything relevant to the nature of seeking truth, seeking knowledge & attaining wisdom. These include concepts such as beliefs, truths, axioms, speculations, nature of inspirations & revelations.
Awakening & Dark night of Soul : Everything relevant to the nature of materialism, spiritual awakening, seeking inner peace, anxieties, depression, remorse, angst & layers of the psyche.
Divine Sorrow : Everything relevant to the nature of the eschatological souls corruption, redemption, purification, punishment, divine justice & mercy including modes & forms.
Divine Bliss : Everything relevant to the nature of the souls destiny, ultimate peace, happiness, bliss & divine love including modes & forms.

UPDATE: They moved it to Monday, June 3rd. I can't change post title.
This is rushed by their standards of meeting announcements. I guess this is to head off D.C. Council's CT Ave budget language at the pass while the Council moves toward final votes on the FY25 budget. Expect DDOT senior staff and the consultant team to fear-monger that Council's budget language will prevent even a dollar spent on this 3-mile corridor for even a fresh coat of paint on the crosswalks. Believe none of that.
From what the Director described during budget testimony, they intend to present a "road diet" in only nominal terms: making the curbside, 3rd lane in each direction permanent parking, with little consolation prizes for people walking and riding the bus (curb extensions, probably floating bus stops, some "stick and paint" turn hardening and daylighting) and a LARGE increase in on-street parking numbers. That means D.C. would plan to spend millions of dollars on a project that advances none of their own plans for transit and bike improvements. They would deny that claim, but a curb extension does not a bike corridor make (see: 14th St NW, from Thomas Circle up to U St NW).
Show up loud and proud on June 4 and remember to contact your Councilmembers (Ward-based and the five At-Large members) to support the Frumin/Allen Budget Support Act language for Connecticut Avenue NW.
Announcement in full: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/DCWASH/bulletins/39cf655

Public Meeting Notice: Connecticut Avenue Multimodal Safety Improvement Project

(WASHINGTON, DC) —The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a virtual public meeting for the Connecticut Avenue Multimodal Safety Improvement Project. The purpose of the meeting is for DDOT to update the public on the current concept for the project. DDOT staff will be available to answer questions and gather comments.
For more information about the public meeting, contact us at [connave.multimodal@dc.gov](mailto:connave.multimodal@dc.gov) or (202) 716-5302.
ABOUT THE EVENT :
WHEN: Monday, June 3, 2024
TIME: 6:30 - 8 p.m.
WHERE: Virtual Meeting
LINK: tinyurl.com/ConnAveJune3
Webinar number: 2313 505 1119
Webinar password: 5wVZg4bEbW6 (59894423 from phones and video systems)
Join by phone
+1-202-860-2110 United States Toll (Washington D.C.)
1-650-479-3208 Call-in toll number (US/Canada)
Access code: 231 350 51119

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Following the previous post here’s a recap of the 3rd day from the 3rd week of the "World Wide League 07" project (full playlist of it can be found here).
Some notes:
You can find descriptions of each division as well as the teams participating in them on the Week 1 posts previously submitted in this subreddit.
Every time you see a team with their name in bold, it's a team of which every match will be recorded.
For ordering the leaderboard table, I simply use whatever the game displays (when there are full ties, it simply orders the teams at random) and then do some correlation since once the week of matches is done, the first match of the next week happens automatically offscreen.
WEEK 3 DAY 3
15th Division (Morning)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
P. de Ferreira	0-2	Beveren
Rot-Weiss Essen	0-2	AIK Solna
Gueugnon	2-2	Germinal Beer.
KVC Westerlo	1-2	W. Burghausen
Ejido	2-0	Excelsior (NL)
Bristol City	1-1	Colchester Utd
Chivas USA	1-3	Wisła Płock
Lorca Deportiva	1-3	Eint.Braunschweig
Heracles Almelo	2-4	Incheon United
Stade de Reims	1-0	Vicenza
Sp. Rotterdam	2-1	SC Beira-Mar
FC Wacker Tirol	1-1	Daegu FC

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Rot-Weiss Essen vs AIK Solna
Home team created more chances but none of them were good enough to get a goal. Their opponents on the other hand made a much better use of theirs.

Rot-Weiss Essen	Stats	AIK Solna
0+0=0	Goals	1+1=2
6+11=17	Shots	4+6=10
3+5=8	On Target	3+3=6
11+11=22	Tackles	19+4=23
0+1=1	Fouls	0+3=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+1=1
3+2=5	Corners	1+0=1
0+0=0	Offsides	1+0=1
68%->68%	Passing	60%->63%
55%->55%	Possession	45%->45%
50%->47%	Accuracy	75%->60%

Rot-Weiss Essen	Events	AIK Solna
	'30	Goal (Hulsker)
	'47	Yellow (Sandberg)
Sub (Wehlage->Paulo Sérgio)	'55
	'58	Sub (Figueiredo->Burgic)
	'85	Goal (Hulsker)

Match 3: Gueugnon vs Germinal Beer.
Very entertaining match that had a bit of everything happening in it. While the away team had a strong 1st half, by the end of the match both teams couldn't be separated, despite several close calls.

Gueugnon	Stats	Germinal Beer.
1+1=2	Goals	2+0=2
8+6=14	Shots	7+6=13
1+2=3	On Target	4+4=8
14+15=29	Tackles	10+18=28
2+1=3	Fouls	2+1=3
1+0=1	Bookings	1+0=1
0+1=1	Corners	0+2=2
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
75%->76%	Passing	73%->74%
52%->53%	Possession	48%->47%
12%->21%	Accuracy	57%->61%

Gueugnon	Events	Germinal Beer.
	'6	Goal (Sterchele)
Goal (Carlier)	'30
	'40	Goal (Cavens)
Yellow (Correia)	'44
	'45+1	Yellow (Sterchele)
Goal (Carlier)	'56	Sub (Cruz->Milenkovic)
Sub (Tsoumou->Le Frapper)	'76

Match 4: KVC Westerlo vs W. Burghausen
The away team took some good opportunities and built a 2 goal gap by the middle of the 2nd half. The home team scored in a set piece but couldn't do anything more, losing a player during a desperate moment afterwards.

KVC Westerlo	Stats	W. Burghausen
0+1=1	Goals	1+1=2
7+6=13	Shots	6+6=12
2+6=8	On Target	3+2=5
14+14=28	Tackles	11+9=20
1+1=2	Fouls	1+1=2
0+1=1	Bookings	0+1=1
3+1=4	Corners	0+0=0
0+0=0	Offsides	0+1=1
67%->67%	Passing	67%->71%
48%->46%	Possession	52%->54%
28%->61%	Accuracy	50%->41%

KVC Westerlo	Events	W. Burghausen
	'29	Goal (Krejči)
	'58	Sub (Hertl->Rosin)
	'62	Goal (Nicu)
Sub (Delen->Dirar)	'63
	'71	Yellow (Wiesinger)
Goal (Van Imschoot)	'72
Red (Wagemakers)	'78

Match 5: Ejido vs Excelsior (NL)
The home team took the lead early with a pretty funny goal and their keeper made sure that said lead stayed there. On the 2nd half they doubled it with another silly goal to sentence the match's result.

Ejido	Stats	Excelsior (NL)
1+1=2	Goals	0+0=0
5+7=12	Shots	1+4=5
2+3=5	On Target	0+1=1
11+13=24	Tackles	19+17=36
0+1=1	Fouls	3+0=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+1=1	Corners	0+1=1
1+0=1	Offsides	0+1=1
73%->71%	Passing	62%->66%
59%->55%	Possession	41%->45%
40%->41%	Accuracy	0%->20%

Ejido	Events	Excelsior (NL)
Goal (Toedtli)	'7
	'69	Sub (Guijo-Velasco->Hertog)
Sub (Ortiz->Moreno)	'72
Goal (Toedtli)	'78

Match 6: Bristol City vs Colchester Utd
1 goal a-piece on the 1st half, but not much else happened for the remainder of the match.

Bristol City	Stats	Colchester Utd
1+0=1	Goals	1+0=1
7+8=15	Shots	5+5=10
3+3=6	On Target	1+0=1
15+17=32	Tackles	21+16=37
0+2=2	Fouls	0+0=0
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+0=0
1+2=3	Offsides	0+0=0
73%->72%	Passing	70%->72%
49%->54%	Possession	51%->46%
42%->40%	Accuracy	20%->10%

Bristol City	Events	Colchester Utd
	'12	Goal (Iwelumo)
Goal (Jevons)	'36
Sub (Orr->McCombe)	'59	Sub (Cureton->Garcia)

Match 7: Chivas USA vs Wisła Płock
The away team dominated the match taking good care of their chances and having a keeper making many great saves. They could even afford to concede a silly goal and still keep a comfortable lead.

Chivas USA	Stats	Wisła Płock
0+1=1	Goals	2+1=3
8+6=14	Shots	9+3=12
6+4=10	On Target	4+2=6
12+27=39	Tackles	12+13=25
1+0=1	Fouls	0+0=0
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
2+1=3	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
69%->72%	Passing	74%->74%
49%->49%	Possession	51%->51%
75%->71%	Accuracy	44%->50%

Chivas USA	Events	Wisła Płock
	'13	Goal (Sobczak)
	'19	Goal (Dosek)
	'49	Goal (Sobczak)
Sub (García->O’Brien)	'59
Goal (Palencia)	'66	Sub (Geworgian->Grizonic)

Match 8: Lorca Deportiva vs Eint.Braunchweig
It was pretty even for the 1st half, but later on 2 goals in immediate succession quickly sentenced the match.

Lorca Deportiva	Stats	Eint.Braunchweig
1+0=1	Goals	1+2=3
6+1=7	Shots	8+8=16
5+0=5	On Target	1+3=4
12+12=24	Tackles	18+16=34
3+2=5	Fouls	1+1=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+1=1	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
70%->69%	Passing	72%->70%
50%->47%	Possession	50%->53%
83%->71%	Accuracy	12%->25%

Lorca Deportiva	Events	Eint.Braunchweig
	'17	Goal (Rische)
Goal (Chando)	'36
Sub (Ramos->Iker Begoña)	'63
	'70	Goal (Koejoe)
	'72	Goal (Koejoe)
	'80	Sub (Kastrati->Kuru)

Match 9: Heracles Almelo vs Incheon United
Very eventful match. The home team took the lead early on but then were subject to a complete blowout by their opponents, even after the latter lost a player. They did manage to score a second time, but it did little to change the fate of the match.

Heracles Almelo	Stats	Incheon United
1+1=2	Goals	3+1=4
5+9=14	Shots	8+8=16
1+4=5	On Target	4+4=8
12+10=22	Tackles	19+10=29
2+3=5	Fouls	2+2=4
0+0=0	Bookings	1+1=2
1+4=5	Corners	0+2=2
0+0=0	Offsides	1+0=1
67%->70%	Passing	66%->67%
52%->54%	Possession	48%->46%
20%->35%	Accuracy	50%->50%

Heracles Almelo	Events	Incheon United
Goal (Hirayama)	'11
	'14	Goal (D. Radoncic)
	'23	Goal (Bang Seung Hwan)
	'41	Goal (Bang Seung Hwan)
	'44	Red (Kim Chi Woo)
	'49	Goal (D. Radoncic)
	'62	Sub (Kim Hak Cheol->Lang Kyung Jin)
Sub (de Vries-> Schilder)	'71
Goal (Hirayama)	'74
	'84	Yellow (Lim Joong Yong)

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(↑2)	Wisła Płock	3	3	0	0	7	2	5	9
2(↑3)	AIK Solna	3	3	0	0	4	0	4	9
3(↑3)	Sp. Rotterdam	3	2	1	0	8	3	5	7
4(↓3)	Colchester Utd	3	2	2	0	6	1	5	7
5(↑3)	Incheon United	3	2	1	0	8	5	3	7
6(↓2)	Daegu FC	3	2	1	0	5	2	3	7
7(↑4)	Ejido	3	2	0	1	5	2	3	6
8(↓6)	Chivas USA	3	2	0	1	6	5	1	6
9(↑7)	W. Burghausen	3	2	0	1	4	6	-2	6
10(↑7)	Beveren	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
11(↓4)	Rot-Weiss Essen	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
12(=)	Bristol City	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
13(↓4)	Lorca Deportiva	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
14(=)	Germinal Beer.	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
15(↓5)	SC Beira-Mar	3	1	0	2	5	4	1	3
16(↑3)	Eint.Braunschweig	3	1	0	2	5	5	0	3
17(↑3)	Stade de Reims	3	1	0	2	2	3	-1	3
18(↓5)	P. de Ferreira	3	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
19(↓4)	Vicenza	3	1	0	2	2	6	-4	3
20(↑1)	Gueugnon	3	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1
21(↓3)	Heracles Almelo	3	0	1	2	3	7	-4	1
22(↑2)	FC Wacker Tirol	3	0	1	2	2	6	-4	1
23(↓1)	KVC Westerlo	3	0	0	3	1	4	-3	0
24(↓1)	Excelsior (NL)	3	0	0	3	0	5	-5	0

14th Division (Afternoon)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
Kalmar	1-2	St Mirren
Zagłębie Lubin	1-0	Bursaspor
Sturm Graz	2-0	U.D. Vecindario
Triestina	3-0	Castellón
Kielce	0-1	Amiens SCF
Real Madrid B	0-1	Treviso
Inverness CT	2-2	Ulsan Horang-I
Motherwell	0-1	Istres
Lech Poznań	1-1	Austria Magna
FC Superfund	1-0	RKC Waalwijk
KSV Roeselare	0-3	Hércules
Kickers Offenb.	0-0	Odense Boldklu

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Zagłębie Lubin vs Bursaspor
1st half had a good save early on and a super silly goal just before half-time where the away keeper decided to go buy milk or something instead of defending his goal. The 2nd half was boring until the very last play of the match, where everything went from 0 to 1000 in an instant.

Zagłębie Lubin	Stats	Bursaspor
1+0=1	Goals	0+0=0
6+2=8	Shots	1+5=6
2+1=3	On Target	0+2=2
19+17=36	Tackles	14+17=31
0+0=0	Fouls	0+2=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+1=1
3+1=4	Corners	0+0=0
0+0=0	Offsides	1+0=1
67%->65%	Passing	72%->73%
43%->45%	Possession	53%->55%
33%->37%	Accuracy	0%->33%

Zagłębie Lubin	Events	Bursaspor
Goal (Chałbiński)	'43
	'47	Yellow (Bekiroğlu)
Sub (Szczypkowski->Bartczak)	'57
	'70	Sub (Acar->Alemdar)

Match 3: Sturm Graz vs U.D. Vecindario
Home team was in control and created the better chances throughout the match, so it's not too surprising they won comfortably enough.

Sturm Graz	Stats	U.D. Vecindario
1+1=2	Goals	0+0=0
3+5=8	Shots	4+4=8
2+3=5	On Target	1+1=2
17+18=35	Tackles	10+12=22
0+0=0	Fouls	1+2=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	1+0=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->72%	Passing	71%->73%
43%->44%	Possession	57%->56%
66%->62%	Accuracy	25%->25%

Sturm Graz	Events	U.D. Vecindario
Goal (Salmutter)	'24
Goal (Salmutter)	'51
Sub (Tsimba->Krammer)	'56

Match 4: Triestina vs Castellón
A match full of action throughout. The home team made their chances count and built a 3 goal lead by the early 2nd half, then the away team was constantly on the offensive but the home defenders did a superb job and no ball went in.

Triestina	Stats	Castellón
2+1=3	Goals	0+0=0
10+7=17	Shots	7+6=13
3+5=8	On Target	2+2=4
14+25=39	Tackles	13+12=25
3+3=6	Fouls	0+1=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	3+4=7
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
75%->68%	Passing	74%->71%
47%->46%	Possession	53%->54%
30%->47%	Accuracy	28%->30%

Triestina	Events	Castellón
Goal (Piovaccari)	'10
Goal (Eliakwu)	'38
Goal (Eliakwu)	'60
	'61	Sub (Héctor Bosque->Marqués)
Sub (Marchini->Gorgone)	'64

Match 5: Kielce vs Amiens SCF
It took a while, but eventually a goal was finally scored, and it proved to be crucial to the final score.

Kielce	Stats	Amiens SCF
0+0=0	Goals	0+1=1
5+3=8	Shots	0+6=6
2+1=3	On Target	0+2=2
18+20=38	Tackles	24+16=40
0+2=2	Fouls	1+1=2
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
80%->76%	Passing	60%->67%
58%->54%	Possession	42%->46%
40%->37%	Accuracy	0%->33%

Kielce	Events	Amiens SCF
	'63	Goal (Raynier)

Match 6: Real Madrid B vs Treviso
The early goal was vital in the end, as every other good chance in the match was wasted.

Real Madrid B	Stats	Treviso
0+0=0	Goals	1+0=1
3+6=9	Shots	6+1=7
2+2=4	On Target	5+1=6
6+19=25	Tackles	17+19=36
0+0=0	Fouls	1+0=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	0+0=0
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
65%->67%	Passing	73%->73%
55%->53%	Possession	45%->47%
66%->44%	Accuracy	83%->85%

Real Madrid B	Events	Treviso
	'6	Goal (Fava)
Sub (Palencia->Santacruz)	'51
	'76	Sub (Vascak->Anderson)

Match 7: Inverness CT vs Ulsan Horang-I
After a goalless 1st half, the 2nd half was filled with activity, with several goals, saves and a heart-stopping final stretch.

Inverness CT	Stats	Ulsan Horang-I
0+2=2	Goals	0+2=2
4+7=11	Shots	6+7=13
1+4=5	On Target	3+3=6
10+12=22	Tackles	21+11=32
1+2=3	Fouls	1+0=1
0+2=2	Bookings	0+0=0
1+2=3	Corners	2+3=5
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
66%->65%	Passing	67%->65%
49%->47%	Possession	51%->53%
25%->45%	Accuracy	50%->46%

Inverness CT	Events	Ulsan Horang-I
Goal (Wyness)	'56	Sub (Lee Jong Min->Hwang Sun Il)
	'70	Goal (Vinicius)
Goal (Wyness)	'74
Sub (McBain->Morgan)	'74
Yellow (Dods)	'78
	'80	Goal (Jang Sang Won)
Yellow (Golabek)	'85

Match 8: Motherwell vs Istres
Not much happened in the match, but the only goal in it was a very well hit header.

Motherwell	Stats	Istres
0+0=0	Goals	1+0=1
5+7=12	Shots	5+3=8
2+4=6	On Target	3+1=4
24+18=42	Tackles	7+18=25
0+0=0	Fouls	1+0=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
2+2=4	Corners	0+0=0
1+0=1	Offsides	0+1=1
73%->75%	Passing	76%->67%
51%->55%	Possession	49%->45%
40%->50%	Accuracy	60%->50%

Motherwell	Events	Istres
	'40	Goal (Viale)
	'55	Sub (Maurel->Bru)
Sub (Craigan->Quinn)	'67

Match 9: Lech Poznań vs Austria Magna
2 bad defensive mistakes meant the match went level at 1-1 by half-time. No more goals were scored on the 2nd half despite several attempts from both teams.

Lech Poznań	Stats	Austria Magna
1+0=1	Goals	1+0=1
6+4=10	Shots	5+7=12
2+1=3	On Target	3+1=4
14+20=34	Tackles	13+18=31
1+1=2	Fouls	0+1=1
0+1=1	Bookings	0+1=1
1+0=1	Corners	1+2=3
0+1=1	Offsides	3+0=3
68%->67%	Passing	74%->70%
48%->52%	Possession	52%->48%
33%->30%	Accuracy	60%->33%

Lech Poznań	Events	Austria Magna
	'25	Goal (Wallner)
Goal (Scherfchen)	'38
	'55	Yellow (Troyansky)
	'55	Sub (Schicker->Mila)
Sub (Wachowicz->Wilk)	'62
Yellow (Scherfchen)	'65

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(↑1)	Amiens SCF	3	2	1	0	9	5	4	7
2(↑3)	Hércules	3	2	1	0	7	3	4	7
3(↑4)	Triestina	3	2	1	0	5	1	4	7
4(↑4)	St Mirren	3	2	1	0	4	2	2	7
5(↑4)	Istres	3	2	1	0	3	1	2	7
6(↓5)	Kalmar	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
7(↑7)	Treviso	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
8(↑5)	FC Superfund	3	2	0	1	4	3	1	6
9(↓5)	Inverness CT	3	1	2	0	5	3	2	5
10(=)	Bursaspor	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
11(↓8)	KSV Roeselare	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
12(↓6)	Castellón	3	1	1	1	3	5	-2	4
13(↓2)	Kielce	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
14(↑2)	Lech Poznań	3	0	3	0	1	1	0	3
15(↓3)	Motherwell	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1	3
16(↑7)	Sturm Graz	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
17(↑5)	Zagłębie Lubin	3	1	0	2	2	3	-1	3
18(↓1)	Austria Magna	3	0	2	1	4	5	-1	2
19(↓4)	Real Madrid B	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2
20(↓1)	Kickers Offenb.	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2
21(=)	Odense Boldklub	3	0	2	1	1	3	-2	2
22(↓4)	RKC Waalwijk	3	0	1	2	2	4	-2	1
23(↓3)	U.D. Vecindario	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3	1
24(=)	Ulsan Horang-I	3	0	1	2	4	9	-5	1

13th Division (Night)
The results of the 12 matches from this division’s 3rd week were the following:

HOME	RESULT	AWAY
FC Sion	1-0	Dundee United
Viborg FF	2-0	Houston Dynamo
Mantova	0-0	Naval
Estrela Amadora	2-1	QPR
Fortaleza	0-1	Viking
Greuther Fürth	0-4	Belenenses
FC Lyn Oslo	0-1	Deportivo Aves
Stoke City	1-2	Elfsborg IF
Chonbuk Motors	3-4	New England
Kansas City	4-0	Créteil
Plymouth Argyle	1-1	FC Augsburg
Modena	0-3	KSC Lokeren

Now for a short description of the 8 recorded matches and their facts (stats and events):
Match 2: Viborg FF vs Houston Dynamo
A match with not many chances, but the home team made good use of a few of them, mainly thanks to the away keeper doing a poor job in those occasions.

Viborg FF	Stats	Houston Dynamo
0+2=2	Goals	0+0=0
8+6=14	Shots	6+5=11
3+3=6	On Target	2+2=4
14+16=30	Tackles	13+10=23
0+0=0	Fouls	0+0=0
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+2=2	Corners	1+0=1
0+0=0	Offsides	+0=0
71%->71%	Passing	71%->73%
51%->48%	Possession	49%->52%
37%->42%	Accuracy	33%->36%

Viborg FF	Events	Houston Dynamo
Goal (Mota)	'53
Sub (Rasmussen->Rask)	'53
	'57	Sub (Serioux->Goldthwaite)
Goal (Højer)	'72

Match 3: Mantova vs Naval
Neither team managed to create many good opportunities, and the keepers were there to stop the few that went on target.

Mantova	Stats	Naval
0+0=0	Goals	0+0=0
3+4=7	Shots	4+4=8
2+2=4	On Target	1+2=3
22+17=39	Tackles	15+12=27
0+0=0	Fouls	1+0=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	2+0=2
0+1=1	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->72%	Passing	70%->68%
48%->50%	Possession	52%->50%
66%->57%	Accuracy	25%->37%

Mantova	Events	Naval
Sub (Altinier->Rizzi)	'70

Match 4: Estrela Amadora vs QPR
The strikers were very inaccurate but the keepers did a poor job when it mattered and 3 goals were scored during the 1st half. After half-time the bad shooting continued but no more good chances were created.

Estrela Amadora	Stats	QPR
2+0=2	Goals	1+0=1
6+5=11	Shots	6+7=13
2+1=3	On Target	1+1=2
17+9=26	Tackles	13+15=28
2+1=3	Fouls	0+1=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+0=0
1+0=1	Offsides	1+0=1
71%->70%	Passing	74%->71%
53%->51%	Possession	47%->49%
33%->27%	Accuracy	16%->15%

Estrela Amadora	Events	QPR
Goal (Cleiton)	'6
Goal (Cleiton)	'30
	'38	Goal (Blackstock)
	'60	Sub (Gallen->Furlong)
Sub (Marco Paulo->Rui Borges)	'62

Match 5: Fortaleza vs Viking
Despite all the chances the home team created, it was a mistake from their defence that caused the only goal of the match.

Fortaleza	Stats	Viking
0+0=0	Goals	1+0=1
7+7=14	Shots	4+3=7
2+6=8	On Target	2+0=2
13+14=27	Tackles	21+14=35
0+3=3	Fouls	0+2=2
0+1=1	Bookings	0+2=2
1+2=3	Corners	2+0=2
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
71%->72%	Passing	64%->64%
53%->50%	Possession	47%->50%
28%->57%	Accuracy	50%->28%

Fortaleza	Events	Viking
	'23	Goal (Ijeh)
	'55	Sub (Abelsson->Lundqvist)
Yellow (Rinaldo)	'66
Sub (Michel->Lúcio)	'75	Red (Nygaard)
	'80	Yellow (Stokholm)

Match 6: Greuther Fürth vs Belenenses
The match was a nightmare for the home team, with all their mistakes being punished and all their attempts being thwarted, and the gap just kept increasing.

Greuther Fürth	Stats	Belenenses
0+0=0	Goals	2+2=4
10+7=17	Shots	9+6=15
2+6=8	On Target	3+4=7
13+18=31	Tackles	15+9=24
0+1=1	Fouls	1+2=3
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	1+2=3
2+0=2	Offsides	0+0=0
73%->72%	Passing	67%->68%
54%->51%	Possession	46%->49%
20%->47%	Accuracy	33%->46%

Greuther Fürth	Events	Belenenses
	'17	Goal (Kelhar [OG])
	'24	Goal (Zé Pedro)
	'59	Sub (Mancuso->Pinheiro)
	'62	Goal (Manoel)
	'80	Goal (Rodrigo Alvim)

Match 7: FC Lyn Oslo vs Deportivo Aves
Filled with midfield sluggishness and uninspired shooting, it was a very boring match apart from the one goal that the away team miraculously managed to score eventually.

FC Lyn Oslo	Stats	Deportivo Aves
0+0=0	Goals	0+1=1
3+1=4	Shots	1+5=6
1+0=1	On Target	0+3=3
20+14=34	Tackles	22+25=47
1+1=2	Fouls	1+0=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
1+0=1	Corners	0+0=0
1+0=1	Offsides	0+0=0
72%->71%	Passing	70%->68%
53%->55%	Possession	47%->45%
33%->25%	Accuracy	0%->50%

FC Lyn Oslo	Events	Deportivo Aves
Sub (Ortiz->Parr)	'61
	'66	Goal (Jocivalter)

Match 8: Stoke City vs Elfsborg IF
The home team scored an early goal but their opponents quickly pulled themselves together and turned the score around, then spent the 2nd half defending their lead.

Stoke City	Stats	Elfsborg IF
1+0=1	Goals	2+0=2
6+10=16	Shots	4+5=9
2+2=4	On Target	3+3=6
18+18=36	Tackles	27+14=41
0+0=0	Fouls	0+1=1
0+0=0	Bookings	0+0=0
0+1=1	Corners	0+2=2
0+0=0	Offsides	0+0=0
73%->75%	Passing	69%->72%
52%->53%	Possession	48%->47%
33%->25%	Accuracy	75%->66%

Stoke City	Events	Elfsborg IF
Goal (Sidibe)	'3
	'9	Goal (Sjöhage)
	'31	Goal (Svensson)
	'51	Sub (Arvidsson->Augustsson)
Sub (Chadwick->Harper)	'63

Match 9: Chonbuk Motors vs New England
A match packed with goals, the home team started strong getting a 2 goal-lead, and after their opponents scored they went for a 3rd goal. It seemed like a safe gap but the away team didn't give up and overcame it just in the nick of time.

Chonbuk Motors	Stats	New England
2+1=3	Goals	1+3=4
4+3=7	Shots	8+7=15
3+2=5	On Target	4+5=9
9+15=24	Tackles	17+17=34
1+1=2	Fouls	0+1=1
0+1=1	Bookings	0+0=0
0+0=0	Corners	0+1=1
0+0=0	Offsides	1+0=1
74%->71%	Passing	70%->70%
50%->49%	Possession	50%->51%
75%->71%	Accuracy	50%->60%

Chonbuk Motors	Events	New England
Goal (Choi Young Hoon)	'10
Goal (Jose Carlos)	'14
	'43	Goal (Twellman)
Goal (Jose Carlos)	'55
	'60	Goal (Dempsey)
	'63	Sub (Parkhurst->John)
Sub (Kim Hyung Bum->Lee Hyun Seung)	'75
Yellow (Kim Jeong Gyeom)	'85
	'86	Goal (Dempsey)
	'90+1	Goal (Dempsey)

With all that in mind, the leaderboard after this division’s 3rd week of matches is as follows:

POS	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1(↑1)	KSC Lokeren	3	3	0	0	6	0	6	9
2(↑2)	New England	3	3	0	0	7	4	3	9
3(↑3)	Viking	3	2	1	0	8	3	5	7
4(↑3)	Viborg FF	3	2	1	0	6	1	5	7
5(↓4)	Fortaleza	3	2	0	1	3	1	2	6
6(↓3)	Chonbuk Motors	3	2	0	1	8	7	1	6
7(↑5)	Elfsborg IF	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	6
8(↑2)	FC Sion	3	2	0	1	3	2	1	6
9(↑4)	Estrela Amadora	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	6
10(↓5)	Greuther Fürth	3	2	0	1	2	4	-2	6
11(↑5)	Kansas City	3	1	1	1	5	2	3	4
12(↓3)	FC Augsburg	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	4
13(↓5)	Houston Dynamo	3	1	1	1	2	3	-1	4
14(↑10)	Belenenses	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
15(↓4)	Stoke City	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
16(↑7)	Deportivo Aves	3	0	0	3	1	2	-1	3
17(↓3)	QPR	3	1	0	2	4	7	-3	3
18(↓1)	Mantova	3	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2
19(↑1)	Plymouth Argyle	3	0	2	1	3	5	-2	2
20(↓1)	Naval	3	0	2	1	2	4	-2	2
21(↓6)	Modena	3	0	2	1	2	5	-3	2
22(↓4)	Dundee United	3	0	1	2	0	2	-2	1
23(↓1)	FC Lyn Oslo	3	0	0	3	0	3	-3	0
24(↓3)	Créteil	3	0	0	3	1	7	-6	0

Last but not least, here’s a highlights video of Week 3 Day 3, a compilation of the best goals, saves and fails from the 24 matches that were recorded.
Next post will be a recap of Week 3 Day 4 on Friday 24th.

Hello all health and fitness enthusiasts. I'm a female in early 40's that is 5'4" tall and weighs 128 lbs. I work in a medical facility and my daily activity level at work consists of about 65% time of desk work and 35% time of walking or otherwise moving / standing. My diet is healthy most of the time (I cook at home and eat out only once in a while, no fast foods, no processed foods, etc). In the last 7 years I have taken up light exercise such as biking, jogging, and aerobic workouts usually 3-4 times a week, except for the last year. My usual weight is about 120-125 Ibs but in the last 2 years I have steadily gained weight to 128 lbs. So after a year of almost no exercise I am going back to my usual cardio routines + more. As we age, we lose muscle and our bodies become more and more "flabby." While I am not overly flabby (yet) I know that I am on my way there. My goal is to lose weight to 120 lbs AND build lean muscle. I want my body to become more toned (but not bulky). I know that I can't get muscle only lightly biking, jogging, or aerobic exercise. I do know that I need to incorporate some kind of strength and/or resistance training into my routine. My questions are the following:
(1) Do I need to be lifting weights at the gym or are resistance training exercises at home enough? (For example: using dumbbells and resistance bands) (2) If I do need to lift at the gym, how many times a week should I do it? (3) If resistance training at home is enough, then how many times a week should that be done? (4) How many times a week should I continue doing my cardio workouts? (Ex. how many days of cardio and how many days of strength or resistance training?) (5) How long does it take to tone a body trying to lose 8 los at the same time?
Any answers, suggestions, and help are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

⁷I do not know the thing I am, and therefore do not know what I am doing, where I am, or how to look upon the world or on myself.(ACIM, T-31.V.17:5-9)

⁸Yet in this learning is salvation born. ⁹And What we are will tell us of Itself.
Where there is no separation and no division, there is no sickness. (ACIM, T-11.VIII.10:1)

• ³Sickness is a retreat - from others and a shutting off of joining.
• Sickness is isolation - reenacting the separation and keep the mind in solitary prison
• sickness comes from confusing the levels. (ACIM, T-1.I.23:2) (ACIM, T-2.IV.2:2)

The world obeys the laws that sickness serves, but healing operates apart from them.
⁶The sick heal themselves, for the truth is there already. (ACIM, T-12.II.1:6-7)

• Healing is freedom.
• ³Healing is shared.
• ⁵Healing is strength.
• Healing, forgiveness,

Yet having obscured it, the light in another mind must shine into theirs because that light is also theirs. (ACIM, T-12.II.1:6-7)

What Could Go Wrong?

Peace will encounter many obstacles extending from deep inside yourself to embrace all the Sonship and give it rest

1. Some of them we impose, e.g. false idols of self-concept
2. ³Others will seem to arise from elsewhere; e.g. Brothers, and from various aspects of the world outside.

²Some of them we impose.

Self concepts are “man-made” ²and bear no likeness to GodSelf at all. ³It is a false idol, made to replace the Truth that we are a Child of God. (ACIM, T-31.V.2:1-3)

• Concepts are learned. (ACIM, T-31.V.7:1)
• Concepts are meaningless (ACIM, T-31.V.8:1)
• Concepts of the self change as learning goes along.

²Each Concept will show the changes in relationships as perception of our Self is changed. (ACIM, T-31.V.16:1-7)

• ³There will be some confusion every time there is a shift as the learning of the world is loosening its grasp upon our mind.
• ⁴And be sure and happy in the confidence that it will dissipate altogether, and leave your mind at peace as GodSelf is revealed

⁷The Face of Innocence trap

• smiles and charms and even seems to love.
• ⁸It searches for companions and it looks, at times with pity, on the suffering, and sometimes offers solace.
• ⁹It believes that it is good within an evil world. (ACIM, T-31.V.2:6-9)
• ³This aspect never makes the first attack. ⁴But every day a hundred little things make small assaults upon its innocence, provoking it to irritation, and at last to open insult and abuse. (ACIM, T-31.V.3:3-4)
• ³The Face of Innocence stands condemned because of that which this Self Concept hides.” (ACIM, T-31.V.5:3)
• The Truth of Love is obscured but willing to be dislodged

The lesson teaches I AM that I AM - I AM God created by God and I dream as a perfect emanation of God together with my Brothers together in the Sonship
⁵The main advantage of the shifting to the second level from the first is that we enter in the choice by decision. (ACIM, T-31.V.13:5) Adding mindfulness

Brothers as Accusers

• ⁵The role of the accuser will appear in many places and in many forms and serve many functions
• ⁶But each One will accuse in us that which is not us and must be swept aside (Blessed are my accusers for they reveal my Godself)
• ⁷And God’s plan is done

Brothers in Divine Love

• My Brother, you have taken charge of everything in me at my request, to the truth we share.
• ²No illusion can be shared but only substituted
• ³Love is shared among all Brothers in God’s perfect love.
• ⁵Here we are joined in God, as much together as you are with God. (ACIM, T-18.I.9:1-5)
• ⁴Brother, we heal together as we live together and love together. (ACIM, T-11.VIII.11:4)
• Look only to the God of love for healing, away from the False Idols of sickness and separation (ACIM, T-10.V.8:1-5)
• Forgive me my errors as I forgive you so we are without shame, for shame causes all ills in the world.

My Brother’s Divine Gift: Mirrors of the Soul (ACIM, T-18.I.13:1-6)

• ⁵When every concept has been raised to doubt and question by my Brothers, then is the truth left free to enter in its sanctuary, clean and free of guilt.
• We are called together, Brothers all, to the most holy function this world contains.

²It is the only One that has no limits, and reaches out to every broken fragment of the Sonship with healing and uniting comfort.
.

I (25)M am experiencing hair loss, hair thinning and dandruff usually itching and skin flaking that too on face near nose and chest area. My doctor mentioned I have high hemoglobin and suggested blood donation to lower it. However, I'm unsure if these symptoms are related or if donating blood is the best course of action, at first I though it was due to my low levels of ferritin but he exclaimed that it was normal level and no need for supplementation . These are my Blood test report

• Ferritin: 30.7 ng/ml
• Iron: 65.61
• UIBC: 248.02
• TIBC: 313.64
• Transferrin Saturation: 20.92%
• Vitamin B-12 : 356.69 pg/mL
• Vitamin D: 29.54
  
• Sample Type: WB EDTA
  
• Blood Cells Parameter
  
  • Haemoglobin (Hb)
    • Value: 15.9 g/dL
    • Reference Range: 13.0-17.0 g/dL
    • Method: Photometric/Non Cyanmethemoglobin
  • RBC Count (Red Blood Count)
    • Value: 6.0 H x 10^6/uL
    • Reference Range: 4.5-5.9 x 10^6/uL
    • Method: Optical Flowcytometry
  • Packed Cell Volume (PCV) - Hematocrit
    • Value: 48.4 %
    • Reference Range: 30.0-55.0 %
    • Method: RBC Pulse Height Detection
  • Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV)
    • Value: 80.1 fL
    • Reference Range: 80-96 fL
    • Method: Automated/Calculated
  • Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)
    • Value: 26.4 pg/cell
    • Reference Range: 28-33 pg/cell
    • Method: Automated/Calculated
  • Mean Corpuscular Hb concentration (MCHC)
    • Value: 32.90 g/dL
    • Reference Range: 31-36 g/dL
    • Method: Automated/Calculated
  • Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Coefficient of Variation (RDW-CV)
    • Value: 13.8 %
    • Reference Range: 11.7-14.4 %
    • Method: Automated/Calculated
  • Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Standard Deviation (RDW-SD)
    • Value: 38.6 fL
    • Reference Range: 35.0-46.0 fL
    • Method: Automated/Calculated
• White Blood Count (WBC) PARAMETERS
  
  • Total Leukocyte Count (TLC/WBC COUNT)
    • Value: 7.80 x 10^3/uL
    • Reference Range: 4.00-10.0 x 10^3/uL
    • Method: Automated optical Flow cytometry/Manual

Is my iron and ferritin really normal or should i get supplements ? is it related to my hair fall and dandruff?

I have a voucher and I am looking at 2 units today which accept section 8. My worker says I can wear whatever I want.
Thing is, I'm Autistic which means I cannot pass an interview to save my life. Neurotypicals instinctively think there is something wrong with Autistic people even just hearing their voice or seeing them move within a split second. They won't know it is Autism, just that something is off and feel perturbed.
Also, I am not even allowed to apply for these units until the viewing. So it's basically an interview and then they can ask disqualifying questions and then make things up to keep me from applying, correct?
Also, how do I answer the income question. Every landlord so far wants me to make $6k per month after taxes even WITH a voucher. That comes out to about $100k per year as an employee or $120k per year as an independent contractor for a $2k per month unit.
My voucher is with $2407 and these units are only $2100. One unit is utilities included. Another one is not. My voucher covers at least 4 years of rent increases. It literally covers everything for one unit and the entire rent for another. My income should not matter, but here we are.
How do I answer questions about income? I have Autism and am disabled. I was determined by The Regional Center to be economically disabled. I make less than $500 per month, and I am at least a year out on getting disability, but I get back pay back to 2021 if/when I do. I also have about $15k held in a trust from a settlement.
What they don't know is that I blew through $20k in 3 years, but that is because I literally have not had employment since 2021 because Autism and the only jobs I could get without having an interview disappearing during the pandemic. Like I said, I am socially disabled. I cannot pass an interview due to my disability and this viewing is basically an interview from what I am hearing. What do I do?
And how do I answer or skirt around questions? I am socially disabled and in practice interviews I say the wrong thing by answering the question, I say too much, or I fall into interviewers' trick questions...

Welcome (Back?) to Fallout 76

I have seen tons of new players coming in to the game lately, and even more returning to the game much like myself. I won't say I'm the smartest and best informed Fallout 76 player, but I have had tons of help from some people I can say probably are some of the smartest and best informed in the game. So I've decided to compile this handy yet vauge-ish leveling guide to some things you might be curious about, or might find helpful, or whatever! First off, however, let's go over some things the new players might not know: Etiquette in Fallout 76!

Etiquette of Appalachia

While this is a game about lawless chaos in a hell-like wasteland, there are some rules you really should follow!

1. If you don't want to engage in PVP, turn on pacifist mode in the settings and read the popups on your screen about contesting workshops!
   
2. Don't start events until the very last ~30 seconds! Give other players a chance to make it to the event so it's easier to complete and everyone gets loot/xp from enemies!
   
3. Don't go overkill and destroy everything in public events! Killing everything before anyone gets a chance to do any damage to the enemies makes it so nobody else gets any XP or loot.
   

AFAIK those are the big three rules of this game, some people have their preferences and morals and such but IMO, to each their own beyond these big three.

Leveling Up

This is probably your main way of getting poweutility; through leveling up and collecting those sweet, sweet perk cards. I'm just gonna tell you how it is and say hey, don't shoot the messenger. Unless I told ya wrong, then shoot me a message so I can correct it.

How to Increase Your XP Gain

First off, lets go over how XP Bonuses are calculated. First, there is the base XP of an enemy. Then your INT stat will add to that base at 2.072% per point of INT you have. Then the resulting number is multiplied by the percentage base XP buffs you might have active such as the Leadership Bobblehead, Lunchboxes, or Well Rested. Here's the formula:
(Base XP + (Base XP * (INT * 2.072))) + ((Base XP + (Base XP * (INT * 2.072))) * %Buffs)
CALM DOWN!!! To make it easier on you folk out there who aren't running Egghead IRL, your INT stat essentially makes your base XP reward higher so your lunchboxes can give you way more XP.
So how does a fella max their INT? Well I'll tell ya! Other than the obvious idea of maxing it out by respeccing your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat allocation, you have armor slots that can all roll legendary star stats such as boosting your INT by +1 per piece, and if you don't mind running a low health build while power leveling, the Unyielding affix that can roll on any non-power armor can give players a whopping +15 INT at +3 INT per piece equipped (body, arms, legs.) Also, you can wear the Casual Shielded Underarmor OR the Flannel Shirt for another +3 INT. Also, there's chems and foods that can temporarily boost your INT, though you can have only one of each type active at the same time. Some of the best ones to run for boosting INT are Brain Bombs for food and Berry Mentats for chems. All of these things can be purchased from other players too! Also, if you run mutations like Egghead and Herd Mentality, the Charisma Perk Card Strange In Numbers can boost your INT by another +4 so long as you're in a party. Which you should be, because forming a bond with 3 players in a Casual team will net +4 INT as well! And last but not least is the Mechanical Derby Game some players have in their C.A.M.P. which boosts your INT by +2 for 30 minutes!
Now how about boosting XP via percentages to multiply that huge INT boosted base XP you worked so hard for? I've got you covered! Same as before, some things stack but some don't. In this usage case, the Live & Love 8 (+5% XP) magazine doesn't stack with Live & Love 3 (Boost Effects of Food), for example. Same with the Intelligence Bobblehead (+2 INT) and the Leadership Bobblehead (+5% XP). Lunchboxes can stack only up to 4 times and if you pop a lunchbox around other players, the other players all get a boost too! Same if someone pops one near you, free XP boost! Lunchboxes grant +25% XP per box popped, so with four popped, that's double XP! You can also get a whopping +15% XP boost from the Charisma Perk Card Inspirational, and the event going on now, the Mothman Equinox, gives you another +15% XP for an hour if you interact with the purple eyed moth at the end. Also, the easiest bonus to get is your Well Rested/Kindred Spirit/Lover's Embrace buff that gives you +5% XP and is obtained by simply resting in a bed for a bit.
In conclusion and to wrap up this part I want to clarify that you will typically get MUCH more XP in a Casual Team over an Events Team because for a majority of the events, you will be killing tons of enemies and missing out on a +8% boost to the BASE XP of all enemies, ya know, before the multiplier boosts which adds up to be much more XP than you get from the completion reward, even when its doubled. Daily Ops is a different case because you are typically trying to run it fast and skip over fights if possible, but otherwise don't sleep on Casual Teams.

How to Farm XP

So now that we've written a small book on how to boost our XP, how are we going to actually GET the XP? Well the best ways is to kill enemies with a high base XP reward, and lots of them. For example, the super mutants at the famous WesTek Research Center provide a high base xp reward and so do glowing enemies, like ghouls, which can be more or less "made" by dropping a nuke on Whitesprings. Events are great for this as well, especially Radiation Rumble and Eviction Notice, but typically all of the events have a good amount of enemies to kill and reward you with exclusive rewards, so its typically savvy to hit the events as they come up unless you know what it has to offer and just don't need it.
Now hold on there, pardner! You don't actually have to do all the work when it comes to killing the enemies to get their XP. And to squash any rumors going around, doing more damage does not, in any way, net you a higher amount of XP!!! You simply have to do 1% of the damage to an enemy to get its FULL XP reward, and yes this applies to every single enemy, even bosses. Really all you have to do is shoot each enemy maybe once or twice and you'll be drowning in XP during those big events. A great weapon for this is the Tesla Rifle because it chains to nearby enemies when you hit something, allowing you to tag multiple enemies while only having to aim at one! Also, Nuka-grenades have a massive AOE, just make sure you aren't boosting explosive damage or anything so you aren't one shotting everything (and yourself.) And try to make sure your party is there doing the event with you because if they happen to get a kill you missed, you still get a little bit of XP which is better than nothing.
That's all for now though, and do let me know if I missed anything or messed up any info!

I met an old ex-collegue of mine for coffee last week to catch up, and mentioned the Roblaws boycott. This friend was a senior VP at Sobeys in the 2010's - so this information is not coming from someone at the operational or managerial level and it's not based on speculation or rumour This is executive level, long range strategic planning type stuff he was privy to during his tenure and he was most certainly aware of his competitors strategies and business policies. "So Loblaws claims they only make 3% profit net on their grocery stores. How is that even possible?" I said.
The howls of derisive laughter could be heard all around the coffee shop. His answer didn't shock or surprise me - but the depth of it did.
"Yes, they report 3% net profit on groceries.But what they don't tell anyone is how they are off loading onto their vendors all the costs of running their business. It's a huge profit centre for them. Like, huge."
We both worked together in the apparel industry for a while, and were very used to companies like The Bay putting punitive charges on vendors for not adhering to their frequently outrageous demands for order fulfillment. Loblaws has taken this to extremes. For example, large companies often demand vendors ship "100% complete,100% on time". As in if I ordered 100 cases from you to ship May 1st, don't be sending me 98 cases on April 31st or May 2nd. Because if you do, there will be a double digit penalty they will charge the vendor. Sometimes this gets so onerous and ridiculous, that vendors will frequently OWE THE RETAILER ! i.e. they are making zero profit because of the reverse charge penalties.
So y'know.... nothing new there. What *was* new to me was that he divulged Loblaws now off loads capital expenditures on their vendors. As in.... "We're building a new Lobular fulfillment centre, or mega store, and btw, we're not paying for it. YOU are, Proctor & Gamble / Kraft / Unilever etc."
This blows my mind. I don't know what percentage capital expenditure is for Loblaws as a line item in their annual budget but it's got to be huge. And to off-load that on their suppliers is brass balls of the highest order.
As for the vendors ? I'm sure they are resentful and ticked off. How could you not be? And yet I'm sure the senior execs at P&G etc have their eyes glaze over when they see the open-to-buy dollars LOblaws devotes to their brands. So ! Much ! MONEY !!!! So they grit their teeth and suck it up, and watch the bulldozers break ground for Galen & Crew to open another 1 M sq ft facility and be smug af about the fact they aren't even paying mice nuts for it.
So consumers AND vendors - Bend over and grab your ankles while Loblaws drills you a new asshole - and they won't even put a rose on the pillow first.

Hi, I’ve been thinking on getting a medium format camera. The issue is that in my country the prices are huge, and if a decide to buy one from eBay the import tax is 50% of the item plus shipping (from what I saw shipping goes from 70 to 150usd)
I don’t have a set format, I would prefer a 6x45 or a 6x7 due to lack of experience with square format, but I am not against getting a 6x6. The “best” deal I found is a bundle of a mamiya c330 with 4 lenses (180, 80, 65 and 55), filters, a grip and 3 viewfinders (waist level, prism and chimney) for 750$. I say “best” because that camera alone in other listings goes for 450$ to even 700$.
A camera I really liked are the Zenza Bronicas, but a ETRS with a waist level viewfinder and 2 lenses (zenzanon 75mm 2.8 and 250 5.6) goes for 650$
Another ETR with a AEii light meter prism, speed grip E, 2 lenses (zenzanon 75mm 2.8 and 200mm 4.5), lever for advancing the roll, and a Polaroid back (no real use for that) for 750$ (this seems like the other “best” deal.
A Bronica TL with a Nikkor 75mm 2.8 goes for 470$
A Yashica mat 124 g goes for 490$ though I found another for 300$
A Yashica 635 goes for 253$
A Yashica EM mat goes for 338$
A Yashica 12 goes for 300$
A Yashica 124 goes for 350$
A Yashica A goes for 150$
A Yashica MAT goes for 230$
The only Pentax medium format that is any close to my maximum budget is a 67 with a grip and a 105mm 2.4 with a broken chain for the light meter for 800$
And lastly a mamiya rb67 pro-s with a 90mm lens for 750$.
I am not desperate for a medium format, so maybe I can wait to travel abroad and buy one for “reasonable” prices if none of this are recommendable.
Also, forgot to add that most if not all of the Yashica cameras are from Facebook marketplace and will need a service, while some of the others seem to be in working order as they are currently being used.
Thank you for reading!

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for the Nature of Predators universe. Rain World is a video game developed by and property of Videocult. I claim no ownership over either.
Sorry for the wait. Life happened but I just finished my semester, so I’m hoping the next chapter will be finished sooner rather than later. Please let me know if I missed any typos or made any editing mistakes. It’s greatly appreciated.
–
Memory Transcript: Sefril, Farsul First Contact Officer
Date [Standardized Human Time]: July 15, 2136
When I came to, I just laid still. I wasn’t sure what had happened though what was certain was that I was both still alive and still in this dingy box of a room. The predators were you of sight in one of my few blindspots. Jinsul and Dornucl were still alive, with Dornucl understandably agitated and Jinsul seemingly lost in thought.
Stranger yet, no one seemed to be hurt. Maybe Jinsul had gotten them?
Careful, I sat up, only to be greeted by the predators grooming each other. They stared back at me as I froze once again.
“Finally,” Jinsul said, causing me to jump, “I need to ask you something.”
“Oh not this again,” Dornucl said, annoyed. “Ignore him, he’s gone mad.”
“What?” was my only response. The predators seemed to perk up, shifting their reclining posture slightly, ears standing on end.
“You’re supposed to be a scientist, and as such you understand the meaning of overwhelming evidence, yes?” Jinsul said.
“What you’re suggesting is not only the most unscientific conclusion I’ve heard but is also something I’d expect to come out of someone with terminal predator disease,” Dornucl interjected.
I glanced back terrified at the predators, who had not yet chosen to strike and instead decided to lay there. Menacingly.
I pressed myself against the back wall, hoping to fall straight through and away from them.
“Why haven’t you done anything about…them?” I said waving my tail toward the predators. “You’re an exterminator, so…exterminate.”
“With what?” Jinsul shot back and began waving his pistol with one paw while shaking the flamer laying beside with the other, “The handgun that won’t fire with damp ammunition or the flamer that will kill us all in this tight space? Besides, they won’t attack us.”
Dornucl groaned and rubbed his tentacles into his face, while my mouth was agape in shock.
“What do you mean ‘they won’t attack’?! Their bleating predators!”
“Gods, that’s what I’m trying to tell you!” Jinsul practically screamed in frustration. He took a breath, “OK, sorry, just listen alright? Have you been having weird dreams?”
I stiffened, “I had a dream last night where I almost drowned, but I don’t see what that has to–”
“So, you're telling me you didn’t almost drown?” he said with a knowing look.
I considered it with dawning horror, “But that’s–”
“Impossible,” Dornucl spat out, “And ludicrous.” He turned to me, “As I said, he’s snapped.”
“Then how else do you explain it? My brothers and sisters in arms have confided in me the same: dreams, visions, and inescapable feelings of familiarity in the unfamiliar. Those who heed them escape danger, while those who don’t, don’t.”
As Jinsul spoke, a true zealotry was imbued in his voice.
“I’ll give you this, by all means, these visions should be impossible and unexplainable by science.” Fervor glinted in his eyes. “But when science fails, we must turn to faith to guide us.”
A knot formed in my stomach as I got a sneaking suspicion of where he was going.
“It is my belief and that of my lieutenants and clergy that the gods have sent us these visions.” He announced this without a shadow of a doubt in his voice. “They’ve been guiding us from the moment we’ve entered the orbit. The delusions the crew had in orbit? Also the visions.”
It doesn’t make any sense, but he’s right on one thing. These premonitions are impossible, yet they happen and help us avoid danger. However, there has to be a more rational explanation. There just has to be.
“But why?” I ask. “To what end? If your gods are doing this, to what end? If they are behind everything, the visions and maybe the crash, then why what would justify so much suffering? It just doesn't make any sense.”
“That’s the nature of the divine,” he said somberly, “We can speculate why they would send the visions and make us…feel them and their pain all we want, but we are imperfect creatures, and they are things of perfection. We simply need to trust they are leading us to where we need to go.”
As I considered his words, Dornucl once again spoke up condescendingly.
“I can’t believe you even have to CONTEMPLATE what he’s saying!” He slumped down and motioned towards the predators. “Fine then, what do they have to do with your ‘gods’ plan’? Your duty as an exterminator is baked into your religion? What do you have to say to that?”
Jinsul involuntarily flicked his ears, betraying a rising irritation. “I don’t know, I don’t like it, and I don’t have to. They haven’t given us visions of them attacking us and they’ve decided to disable our best weapons. I don’t need to understand why, all I need to know is that there is a reason they would do so. Besides, they haven’t even tried to attack us. You're a biologist, do you consider that normal?”
“Do you even hear yourself? You sound like a lunatic! I could have you put away for this!”
Unlike his normally cool, level-headed, and almost jolly demeanor, Dornucl’s features were twisted in barely veiled rage. It was terrifying to see him on the verge of doing something awful. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the predators.
The one with the grey fur was still lying down, but the other with the dark green fur had stood up and began stomping around in exaggerated and dramatic steps. All while growling and barking.
It was terrifying. However, it was dulled by the sheer surrealness of the situation. Its entire demeanor was less intentionally threatening and more childish mocking, right down to flailing its limbs in much the same way Dornucl did unconsciously to emphasize his point. It may even be funny if we could understand what they were saying.
Wait a minute…
I paused to think about that absent-minded thought, the gears and pistons finally shaking off the shock and beginning to fire and spin. I listened closely to its vocalizations and began to pick out a form of structure in how they were articulated and gestated. I recalled the predators' behavior and came to a grim conclusion.
“We have a problem,” I said so quietly it could barely be considered a whisper.
“Oh, what tipped you off genius?” Dornucl responded sarcastically.
I stumbled a little at the insult but continued.
“No, I mean a bigger problem,” I took a deep breath, “I think they’re sapient.”
The silence was deafening. Even the predator had stopped its mockery and began exchanging words with the other grey-furred one.
Dornucl glanced at the and sighed. “In hindsight, that does explain their behavior.”
Somehow, despite this revelation, Dornucl regained his composure and his cool demeanor.
“Well, in a certain sense, this simplifies things somewhat. We just have to wait for the translators to complete processing their language, then we can hopefully negotiate with them.”
I gawked at what he just said, while Jinsul broke down into laughter.
“And I’m the crazy one!” Jinsul managed to get out between the cackles, “Do you even hear yourself? Mindless animals are one thing, but this? We have the next the Arxur right before us!”
It was at this point that Plako decided to wake up. One can only imagine what was going through his head when he was greeted by 2 predators, a hysterical exterminator, a biologist trying not to show his frustration, and an anthropologist doing her best to fall through the wall.
He began to stammer. “Wh-what h-happened? Why haven’t they eaten us?”
Dornucl leaned over to him and deadpanned. “The predators are sapient.”
Plako froze after he processed this information.
Jinsul calmed down enough to speak more coherently, “Gods, it all makes sense. They must’ve bombed themselves back in the stone age, and have only recently been reclaiming their former technology.”
I spoke up. “I don’t think that’s the case. Remember, the worm showed us an image of that other creature. These predators likely evolved sometime after the civilization's collapse.”
“Well,” Jinsul said while deep in thought, “Now I can say for certain the gods must be involved.”
“Wh-what?” Plako asked trambling.
“Think about it. This whole situation is so astronomically unlikely, from being in an uncharted system in the middle of nowhere at the same time as a single Arxur ship to surviving the crash, and then meeting these predators, and them not attacking us. The gods’ intend for us to purge these creatures before they can spread and save the remnants of this civilization from–”
“No, I’m pretty sure it was laughing at you, not with you.” A masculine said from the back of the chamber.
“Fine, but I think I’m finally getting somewhere.” A feminine voice responded.
Jinsul went quiet as our gazes fell upon the predators. The translators finished translating. No one knew what to do, so we ended up just staring.
They both stared back with their unnerving abyssal eyes.
“I do wish they’d stop staring though. It’s starting to get weird.” The female said with a tone of unease.
“Let’s bring them to the village and have Oracle translate. It’s probably just a misunderstanding,” the male responded.
“Right, there's nothing we can do about it now.” She plopped beside the male and both began to get ready to sleep the best one could on the hard floor.
I felt something poke into my side, causing me to jump. Dornucl had crawled over to me and began to speak in a whisper. “What do you want me to do?” I asked.
His frustrated look returned. “You're the first contact specialist, go first contact.”
“And their predators!” I said, raising my voice a little louder, “They’ll eat me!”
He groaned and put on a forced calm. “While I disagree with Jinsul’s reasoning, they haven’t eaten us yet and we all want it to stay that way. Now if they decide they do want to eat us, we don’t have any weapons that wouldn’t be suicidal to use. If we want to get out of this alive and well, we’ll have to at least communicate with them.”
Jinsul, who had been effortlessly eavesdropping on us, muttered something under his breath. Dornucl ignored him as he continued, “So please at least try. Even if you fail, we’re likely doomed anyway.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I just wish it wasn’t me who had to do it or that I was the only one remotely qualified to do so. Haf was still unconscious, Plako looked on the brink of tears, Dornucl was just a scientist, and Jinsul wasn’t in the mood.
I gathered my strength and began running through what I could say. After a minute of idle thought, I came up with the only thing I could say. I stood up on quivering legs, took a brave step forward, and called upon the translator’s imparted knowledge.
“J-just so yo-you know, we’re not very tasty…and we’ll give you in-indigestion, so you shouldn’t eat us.” I felt like I was about to throw up.
The predators just stared at me, jaws agape and revealing menacing fangs. Jinsul nearly collapsed in renewed laughter. Dornucl buried his eyes into his tentacles and muttered something to himself.
“What was I supposed to say?” I said to Dornucl.
“ANYTHING BUT THAT!” he shot back.
Before I could snap back in frustration, the grey predator spoke.
“You speak our tongue the entire time? Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
We paused, and even Jinsul stopped laughing like a madman. Wordlessly, Dornucl shoved me forward.
“N-no…” I stammered, “We have an implant in our heads that translates languages in real-time while allowing us to speak stored languages. It only just figured out your language just now.”
“So it’s a Mark of Communication?” It asked.
“I don’t–”
“No no,” the green one interrupted, “If they had one, then we wouldn’t be able to understand them.”
The grey one nodded sagely.
I had been expecting an equally long-winded and terrifying conversation about the plausibility of a universal translator and whether or not it was magic, not such a matter-of-fact statement. Before I could shake off the confusion, Dornucl suddenly spoke up, “What’s a mark of communication?"
“Definitely from beyond the wall,” the green one said to the grey.
The grey one nodded and turned back to us.
“A mark is a special gift, given only to one who reaches the top of Pebbles and meets with him, wherein he provides the mark and the knowledge necessary to complete the Pilgrimage. Did you receive your ‘translator’ from another like him?” They both seemed oddly interested in the answer.
“We made them,” I said, then quickly added, “The Federation did. We didn’t build them personally. Just to reiterate, you're not going to eat us, right?”
“Of course not.” The green one said, its voice rife with disgust. “Why do you–”
Jinsul swiftly cut it off.
“Do you think you win us over with such obvious deceptions?” Jinsul stood and sized up the predators, “I know this game. You’re just keeping us around till you get hungry. When I get off this rock, I’ll ensure the god’s wishes are seen through and this entire planet is burned from orbit!”
The predators seemed confused about what was said. The green one stepped too close to me, with nowhere to go, I froze and closed my eyes.
This is it Sefril. You knew this was coming. Don’t resist and maybe it will be–
“Is he okay?” it asked, feigning concern and pointing to a still-ranting Jinsul, “In, y’know…” it said as it tapped its claw against its head.
Jinsul paused momentarily as he took in what was just said, then began fuming again. “I DON’T HAVE BRAIN DAMAGE!” he shrieked.
It took a step back at the outburst. It put its arms out, but instead of lunging toward him, it seemed as though it was trying to shield itself from him, or at the very least keep him at a comfortable distance.
“I didn’t mean to offend,” It said, the translator framing it apologetically to my confusion, “I have a cousin who fell off a pole as a pup and landed on his head. You sorta act like him.”
Jinsul reached a new, as of yet unknown level of hate. He stood there for a second, simmering not unlike a faulty water boiler. Dornucl stepped behind him, raised some robust science thingy above his head, and brought it down on Jinsul’s.
Jinsul flopped to bring like a rag doll beside Haf. Everyone, including the predators, was speechless. Everyone except Dornucl.
“Everyone shut up!”, he said in a practical growl, “This is confusing for all of us, and antagonizing each other isn’t going to make this situation any better. Here’s how this will go: We’ll have a polite conversation, get to know each other, and then figure out what to do.”
He turns to the predators. “My name is Dornucl, and this is Sefril, Plako, Jinsul, and Haf. What’s your’s?”
“My name is Stone,” The grey-furred one responded, “And this is Light.” He said pointing to the green one.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Light said, not skipping a beat, “Where are you from?”
Oh boy, getting right into it.
“So…” I began, but Plako jabbed me.
“You can’t,” he whispered in a panic, “There are predators, if they find out about the federation it’ll be the Arxur all over again.”
I look nervously at Dornucl, who nods reassuringly. I take a deep breath. “I know, but they’ll find out sooner or later. Besides, they may be predators, but they are also primitives. We have a natural advantage, if not physically than technologically and intellectually.”
I returned my attention to ‘Light’ and ‘Stone’, who did their best not to look like they were eavesdropping. “As I was saying…this is a little complicated. You know the stars, right?”
They nodd.
“We are from the stars.”
They blinked at us. They glanced around at us, trying to read our expressions.
“What do you mean?” Stone asked hesitantly.
I took a deep breath and launched into an explanation. “You know how we are currently in this world? There are others like, very, very far away. So far away that if you spent your entire life running as fast as you could you’d never even glimpse it.”
“Then how did you come here?” Light asked, “Did you use magic like the Ancients did?”
I took a mental note to inquire more about these Ancients, then resumed. “No, we, and the Federation as a whole, use large machines called ‘spaceships’. Each is equipped with a device called a subspace drive, which allows for faster-than-light travel. With this, we can travel between stars in days, weeks, or months depending on the distance between the stars.”
“Hey, I’m pretty fast, but I don’t think that going faster than me would make much of a difference if it’s that far away.”
Stone let out a good-natured snicker. “I think she meant light from a lantern or the sun.”
“Ah,” she remarked, ears pressed back in mild embarrassment. She tilted her head in confusion, “But that sounds like magic to me.”
“It’s not, ok? It’s just science.” I say with a sigh. Surprisingly, the word science seemed to translate without much of a fuss and they even nodded along. Something else to look into.
Stone asked the dreaded question: “Then how does it work?”
“I don’t know but I’m sure Plako could give you a basic…” I began to say when Plako started to make wild motions, trying to communicate he had no idea how it worked without drawing attention. He succeeded in trying to tell me that while failing to stay incognito. The predators turn their piercing eyes on him.
“Don’t worry about him,” I say hastily before they can speak, “It’s not his specialty.”
“What’s his specialty?” Stone asked. Plako visibly cringed, but this time Dornucl saved him.
“Let’s save the more technical discussions for tomorrow. It’s late, and we’re all tired.”
Light gave Stone a look before turning back to us. “Agreed. We both had a rough cycle. We even died a few times.”
They settled down while we were left to ponder the absolute bombshell they had dropped on us. Plako seemed checked, while Dornucl and I just shared a look. I recalled what Jinsul had come up with and felt a pit form in my stomach.
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked dumbfounded.
Stone looked up from where she was cuddling up next to Light. “What do you mean? Was it something I said?”
“Yes, it was something you said,” I said while trying not to hyperventilate, “You said you died. What do you mean by that?”
Both predators looked confused. “You know, the Cycle. Wake up, Die, wake up. Don’t you have the Cycle where you’re from?”
“...no…” I say in an empty voice. “By any chance, you wouldn’t happen to remember these deaths as dreams?”
The predators gave me a look of confusion, before Light nodded. I stared for an eternity, and this time the predators were the ones to give us uncomfortable looks. They whispered between themselves, occasionally shooting glances back towards us though taking no other action.
Unfortunately, our solace from their gazes didn’t last, as Stone turned back to us. “I can see that there are certainly…things that need to be sorted out between us, but I think Door-Knuckle had the right idea.”
I nodded, barely registering what he was saying. The others muttered in half-hearted agreement. Satisfied, the predators continued to snuggle up beside each other. Within moments, they were fast asleep.
We stayed quiet for a long while. Plako crawled closer to Dornucl and me. “They’re lying, right? I mean, they have to be. It’s what predators do.”
I couldn’t muster myself to answer him. Dornucl seemed flustered.
“Say something…please…” Plako pleaded, raising his voice above the whisper he had it at before. Thankfully the predators didn’t wake. We just sat there, letting it all sink in.
“It’s…let’s…” Dornucl started to say, before settling on “Damn it.”
[First] [Previous] [Next]

As the last orange light of day drained from the sky, the living dead in Club Vlad rose. Max the skeleton and Jessie the…not skeleton…sewed up the gaping Y-shaped incision on Dom’s chest under Merrick’s direct supervision. Dom sat there, feeling nothing, thinking nothing. He’d woken with a headache and a feeling of cold, and even now, he could feel the dull throb above his left eye. It felt like someone was tearing his brain apart with a fork. He had told Merrick, and Merrick had nodded sadly. “Is my brain rotting?”
“Most likely,” Merrick had said.
There was a certain peace in the idea of losing his cursed humanity. As Merrick had said, he would feel no pain, know no quandaries. He would live only for the night and for his master. On the other hand, watching someone like Matt sit and stare into the distance, drool coursing down his chin and nothing happening behind his dead eyes, scared Dom. He didn’t want to be a braindead idiot. He didn’t care about keeping his emotions, he just wanted to function.
Like Merrick.
There wasn’t much he could do, however. He was dead and that was the end of it.
Once Dom was patched up and dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, Merrick called his children before him. “I have done my best to love and protect all of you,” he began. “Jessie, you were miserable with your grandmother, were you not?”
“Yes,” Jessie said tonelessly.
“You were depressed, bipolar, and cut yourself. Now you’re happy.”
“Yes,” she replied again.
“Joe, you were a two bit nobody staring down a ten year stretch in jail.”
“Yes.” Thin yellow liquid dripped from his nose.
“But now you are free.”
“Yes.”
“You appreciate what I’ve done for you.”
“Yes.”
Merrick flashed then, slamming his fist onto the arm of his wheelchair. “Then why do you keep fucking up? The police were here earlier. They have messages between you and Jessie. I told both of you to delete those. Then I find out that you bit someone and turned them despite my orders. We have an endless supply of blood here but you still went off on your own. How many are there?”
“Just one,” Joe said.
“Are you being honest with me?”
“Yes.”
Merrick sagged back in his chair, looking somehow older. “Joe, take Matt and go to her. Bring her back here before she causes any more problems. God alone knows how many people she’s changed. Too many vampires without a father will bring heat on us, and you know what happens in that case? We get pieces of wood shoved in our chests.”
Turning to Dom, Merrick said, “I have a job for you and Jessie. We’re nearly out of embalming fluid. You haven’t had your first dose and the rest of us are starting to get ripe as well. I have a contact at a funeral home. He texted earlier that the order he placed on my behalf has come in. I want you to pick it up and to pay him.”
Dom had never been picked for anything in his whole life. No one had ever wanted him on their team and no one had ever placed their trust in him the way Merrick was now. He was honored, proud, and would do anything to not let Merrick down.
“That cop who came here might be a problem,” Merrick went on. “We may have to deal with him, but we’ll leave that for another night. In any case, I want this place cleaned from top to bottom. If the police come, I want them to see nothing out of the ordinary.”
Now that everyone had their marching orders, they dispersed. Merrick handed Dom an evelope stuffed with cash, and Dom slipped it into the pocket of his hoodie. The other team - Joe and Matt - left, while the remaining vampires began tidying up.
A fleet of vehicles waited in the parking lot behind Club Vlad. Dom and Jessie took a black pedo van with no back windows. They drove in silence, the radio off. Dom did not want to hear music, nor did he wish to speak to Jessie. Their kinship was one of blood and circumstance, not one of words and emotions. He had no questions for her and wished to answer none of his own. The only thoughts he had were of the mission ahead and of the growing pain in his skull. He thought of the staring stupid Matt, of the decayed Max, and a shiver went down his spine.
What was left of his humanity recoiled at the idea of becoming like them.
The pain grew hotter, more intense. He forced it away and focused on driving.
The funeral home was on North Allen Street, next to a restaurant called Pepperjack’s. A tall, white house with dark shutters and a sign out front, it looked like a quiet, peaceful place. “Pull around back,” Jessie said.
Dom pulled the van around back and parked under a balcony, killing the headlights. They got out and went to the back door, Jessie in the lead. He assumed that she had done this before and that the seller would recognize her. She knocked, and a few moments later, the door opened. A youngish man with a shaved head appeared, wearing an apron and gloves. He saw them and tensed a little. Dom could smell, rather than sense, his fear, and his throat panged with thirst. “Come on,” the man said quickly. He stepped aside and allowed them to enter. Dom noticed that he walked behind them, wary of putting his back to them. “Do you have the money?”
“Do you have our order?” Jessie countered.
“Yes,” the man said, “I’m really risking my neck for this. They don’t just give embalming fluid away, you know. They keep track of it and if they realize I’m over ordering, someone from the state’s going to come down here and check.”
He led them into an embalming room. Three boxes sat on a table. Dom gave the man his money, and he and Jessie carried the boxes outside, loading them into the van. The whole time they were there, the man was edgy, like he was afraid they were going to attack him. Dom would be a liar if he said that the hot smell of the man’s blood didn’t excite him. Perhaps once his brain rotted away, he wouldn’t be able to control himself, but for now, he could.
A lightning bolt of pain shot through his head and he nearly dropped the last box onto the ground.
Once the man was paid, Dom and Jessie drove back to Club Vlad. In fifteen minutes, they were drinking side by side from two passed out partygoers, their reward for a job well done.
Meanwhile, across the city, Joe and Matt weren’t doing as well. They were standing outside of Heather’s apartment. Joe, slightly annoyed (anger being another emotion vampires could feel, along with fear) pounded on the door. He knew she was in there; he could smell the putrid odor of decay. “Let us in,” he said. “We won’t hurt you.”
Joe could barely remember changing her. He didn’t mean to, it just…happened. Like an unwanted pregnancy. You can bite someone as much as you want and drink as much as you want, but if you take too much at once and they die, you get the vampire equivalent of a baby. Joe liked the hunt. It was exciting. Having his meals brought to him Club Vlad didn’t arouse the same level of excitement. It was like shooting an animal tied to a tree. Or hiring a prostitute instead of wooing someone. No real satisfaction to it.
That was probably his greatest downfall. He had lured Jessie the same way, though Merrick was indeed interested in rescuing her from her grandmother. People you have saved obey just as well as people with no brains.
He felt fluid on his upper lip and sniffed. “Come on, let us in,” he said.
No response.
He looked at Matt and nodded to the door. Together, they rammed their shoulders against it. It shook in its frame. They were both dead and weak, but modern American architecture is even weaker, and the door eventually slammed open. The apartment beyond was dark, messy, and reeked of death. They searched high and low, and eventually found Heather huddled in a corner, trying to hide. She was naked save for a pair of panties, her body bloated and beginning to turn black. Her skin hung from her frame and her eyes were filled with blood and fear. It was a wonder no one had called the police yet. The smell was overpowering. “We’re here to help,” he said. “You have to come with us.”
She shook her head and trembled. Maybe she remembered that he was the one who did this to her. Maybe her memories had rotted away. Those were usually the first to go. Then your emotions, then your personality. Finally, your capacity for higher reasoning. “I’m sorry I did this to you,” he said. That was a lie. He was not remorseful. Nor was he proud, for that matter. It just happened. Like rain. “But I want to help you. We can fix you.”
No amount of coaxing or conjoling could induce her to move. Joe weighed his options. He doubted anyone would call the cops even if they heard the door coming down - people who lived in places like this rarely called the cops, which helped Joe and his cause immensely. Even so, there was the possibility. Every minute they spent here was a minute that something could go wrong, and Joe had a lot to lose.
So, too, did Merrick.
Giving up, Joe took out his cellphone and called Merrick. “She refuses to come,” he said simply.
The line was quiet for a moment, then Merrick’s voice came back. Cold. Calculating. “Then do what you must.”
That was the go ahead.
Hanging up, Joe looked around the apartment and found a wooden chair in the kitchen. He lifted it over his head and slammed it on the counter, shattering it into a million pieces. He selected the longest, sharpest, and sturdiest looking one. He went back into the room and directed Matt to hold her down. She fought, kicked, and spat, but she was weaker than even they were. They had been embalmed. She hadn’t.
Matt pinned her hands above her head and Joe straddled her. Animal terror filled her eyes and she whipped her head from side to side. Joe lifted the makeshift stake with both hands, and brought it down as hard as he could, driving it deep into her heart. Her eyes bulged from their sockets and a high, otherworldly scream ripped from her throat. She bucked, thrashed, and kicked her feet. Her resistance began to ebb away until she was twitching…until she was still.
Heather from OKCupid was dead.
Truly dead.
Joe couldn’t help wondering what it was like.
Pulling the stake out, he tossed it aside and got to his feet, Matt doing likewise. A soul petrifying scream might be cause for even the tightest of lips to start talking. “Let’s go,” he said. And together, he and Matt fled, leaving the poor, dead body of Heather behind.
***
As it turned out, one of Heather’s neighbors did call the cops. At 10;13pm, Vanessa Rodregiez arrived with two patrolmen and found the front door of Apartment 237 knocked down. Guns drawn, they entered, Vanessa at the head. The first thing she noticed was the smell. It jammed itself into her nostrils, shoved its tongue down her throat, and violated her - all without even buying her dinner first.
Vanessa hadn’t been at this as long as her buddy Bruce had, but she knew a dead, rotting body when she smelled one. They searched the premises, and sure enough, they found a vic in the bedroom, lying in the gap between the bed and the wall; it looked like the former had been moved, perhaps in a struggle. Vanessa knelt down to check the vic’s pulse, but stopped.
There was no need.
The vic - who looked like a female but could have been an overweight male - hadn’t had a pulse in a very long time.
Examining the body, Vanessa found a wound in the chest, just above the heart. Black, stinking goo leaked from it, and Vanessa gagged. She fisted her hand to her mouth, retched, and then ran for the kitchen sink. Her partner for the night, Jim Walsh, stared down at the stiff before him, and his face turned a sickly shade of green. He avoided puking because he didn’t nose fuck the wound like Vanessa had, but he wasted no time in getting out there, dry heaving in the hallway where the air was somewhat fresh.
After leaving her lunch in the sink, Vanessa radioed back to headquarters, and before long, the place was crawling with cops. The assistant medical examiner - who had taken over after Ed Harris quit the previous night - knelt over the body and studied it. A solidly built black man with a mustache, his name was Leon and he knew death just as well as his old boss, so when he said the vic had been dead nearly two weeks, Vanessa accepted it.
That begged the question: Who broke in and screamed just now? A relative? The caller clearly heard screaming and peeked out her door to see two males fleeing on foot. Maybe they found the vic and freaked out? Or maybe they were the killers returning to the scene of the crime. After all, the vic had clearly been murdered.
In fact, they found a likely murder weapon. A long sliver of wood soaked in black goo. Blood turns black after a while, but there was something different about this stuff. “What is it?” Vanessa asked Leon.
“I’m not sure,” Leon said and pulled off a pair of Latex gloves he’d donned to examine the vic, “could be blood or…”
“Or what?” Vanessa asked.
“Or something,” Leon said. “Give me a few hours.”
And a few hours it was. Just before 1am, Leon called Vanessa at her desk. “I think you should come down here,” he said.
Fifteen minutes later, Vanessa stood over Leon as he pulled the vic’s chest open with a pair of tweezers. “That’s the heart,” he said, “whoever stabbed her scored a direct hit, but this…this is what concerns me.”
He prodded a furry lump with the tip of his scalpel.
“What is it?” Vanessa asked.
“I don’t know,” he said, “it looks like mold.”
That word - mold - triggered a memory in her brain. “Ed said something about mold last night. He found it in -”
“The Mason boy,” Leon finished.
“Yeah. The one who got up and ran off.”
Leon turned away from Vanessa and looked at the dead woman - for it was a woman. Vanessa got the impression that he didn’t want her to see his expression. “I’ve known Ed ten years. I know something happened last night, but a stiff getting up and walking off? I thought he was confused. Now…I don’t know. That makes two bodies in 24 hours. And get this. The chest wound? It was done post-mortem. I can’t find a cause of death anywhere. Except maybe blood loss but it’s hard to tell at this point. And speaking of blood…”
“What?” Vanessa asked quickly.
“When I opened her stomach up, a whole shit load of blood spilled out. And a lot of it was a lot fresher than she is.”
Vanessa furrowed her brow in confusion. “You mean…?”
“It’s not hers,” Leon said. “I can’t be 100 percent sure until I run tests, but I’d put money on it.”
Vanessa’s head spun with information both new and old. You know that full, heavy feeling you get when a poo is brewing in your guts? That’s kind of what Vanessa was feeling, only in her head instead of her stomach.
Leon was just as mystified by the whole thing as she was and stayed up late to run a few preliminary tests. By sunrise, he had confirmed that the blood inside of Heather’s stomach was not hers. In fact, it had come from at least three different sources. “Is it human?” Vanessa asked over the phone.
“Yes,” Leon said, sounding troubled, “it’s human.”
In the cobalt hour before sunrise, Vanessa sat at her desk and tried to piece this whole thing together. They had:

1. A corpse that (allegedly) woke up and dipped out
2. A dead girl who’d been stabbed in the heart with a piece of wood after somehow ingesting the blood of three different people.
3. Some missing kids
4. Oh, and both bodies - the girl’s and the runaway corpses’ - had the same weird fungus in their heart cavities.

All of this - even the missing kids, Vanessa felt - was related. She just didn’t know how. The only answer that half way fit was that both of those bodies were vampires. Like…what’s a vampire but a dead body that gets up and walks around at night? And how do you kill a vampire? Why, you drive a piece of wood through its heart.
The idea that vampires were real was dumb, but the more she turned it over in her mind, the more she became convinced that it was at least an option. A lot of things people thought were fantastic and made up turned out to be real, so why not vampires too?
Shortly after 8, Bruce came in. He was just sitting down when Vanessa came in and slapped her report on the desk. “Buckle up, bitch,” she said, “things just got weirder.”
He stared up at her with one of those grumpy - but cute -expressions he was so good at putting on. As he read, however, his brow knitted. “Jesus,” he muttered to himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a weary sigh.
“I have a theory - kind of,” Vanessa said, “but I don’t want to say it.”
“You might as well,” Bruce said. “It can’t be more kooky than reality these days.”
“Okay,” Vanessa started, “what if - and I’m just thinking out loud here - what if there are vampires in Albany?”
She expected Bruce to give her a dirty look, but he chewed it over, actually taking it seriously. “And those missing boys are victims?” he asked finally.
“Yeah,” Vanessa said. “That girl’s been dead two weeks. Maybe she bit Dominick Mason and he came back for revenge after realizing he was cursed to be a goddamn shit sucking vampire forever.”
Bruce nodded. “Yeah, but who turned her?”
“I don’t know,” Vanessa said, “I don’t know.”
***
Before dawn painted the eastern sky, Merrick Garvis sat in his chamber like a withered king, a mess of IVs hooked into his arms and neck. The vault was silent save for the soft noise of the machines as they filtered out the old embalming fluid and replaced it with new embalming fluid. Embalming fluid always made him spacy, like a drug. The others had gone first, and even now lay near comatose around him like addicts in an opium den.
As far as he knew, Merrick was the oldest vampire in the world, perhaps, even, the oldest vampire to ever live. Though he was not fully honest with Dom, he was not lying when he said that vampires rotted like any other dead thing. Conditions considered, you had a few weeks tops if left untreated. There may be living vampires in remote corners of Egypt or the northern most reaches of Russia, where the climate preserved dead things, but unless you made it to one of those places, you were pretty well fucked.
Merrick was not a proud man, nor was he concerned with saving face - the dead have no need for that. He was being truthful when he said that he feared death. What’s more, he feared being helpless. Deep down, vampires are people, and people don’t exactly have the greatest track record with caring for their infirm. He read once that the first sign of a civilization was a broken leg that had healed, as it showed that someone stayed with and cared for a fellow human long enough for them to get well again. In Merrick’s opinion, that was true…and thus there was no civilization. Merrick was fifty-one when he died in the year 1982. In his lifetime, he had seen The Great Depression, World War II, and a million small acts of cruelty and selfishness in between. He’d seen beggars starving in the streets, abused children shuffled out of sight and out of mind, and disdain for the poor and the weak.
The living were awful, and the living dead were no different. Once their humanity rotted away, they cared only about filling their stomachs. They were like ticks - they would drink until their bellies literally ruptured…and then keep on drinking.
That left him in a precarious position. He was old, his body was weak. He couldn’t stand unassisted and if left to fend for himself, he would decay into a pile of bones within days. He would be cursed to lay in one spot for all eternity, aware and hungry, little more than a ghost tethered to a black and still beating heart.
He refused to let that happen to him. Thus, he had created a family, a clan of vampires loyal to him and to him alone. He did this through acts of simple kindness and understanding…but also through deception. He knew, for instance, how to preserve the brain. He’d figured out how to do it early on - you pickle it. Like a fetus preserved in a jar. He sawed off the top of his own head and filled it with a special solution that kept his brain - and his intelligence - intact. It slowly drained out through the nose and ears in a thin, yellow liquid, but it worked well enough. He couldn’t save everything, however, and had lost vital things in the process, such as most of his human memories, his sense of humor, and some motor functions. He shared this secret with only Joe, and a few others before, because he needed a strong captain. He kept the others in the dark because vampires - like people - are easier to control when they don’t think for themselves.
Right about now, however, Merrick was beginning to regret sharing the formula with even Joe. Joe had brought him nothing but grief. Joe, you see, could think for himself. He could make decisions. He could go behind Merrick’s back. Joe had something called free will, and free will is a worse affliction than vampirism. Free will is messy, free will is dangerous.
Free will could very well turn Merrick into a pile of bones.
That was, of course, if they weren’t discovered first. Joe had made several mistakes lately, not least of which was the turning of Heather. Sitting there in the predawn hour, attended by Tony, his gay bartender and human familiar, Merrick decided to have Joe killed. There are only two ways to kill a vampire: The stake and the flame. The latter seemed somehow appropriate in this case. After Joe, there would be no more captains, only him, one father with absolute power. That was how it had to be. One man, one vision. Democracies didn’t work. That was especially clear today. Everyone was so divided and nothing ever got done. If the humans had one strong leader, they might go in the wrong direction, but at least they would go somewhere. Instead, they stagnated.
Merrick didn’t particularly look forward to killing Joe, but it had to be done. To protect the family. To protect him.
And Merrick would do anything…anything at all…to protect himself.
***
Vampires.
Bruce kept coming back to that single wor, hoping each time that he would chuckle at the absurdity of it.
But he never did.
Did that mean he believed it? Not necessarily, but damn it, he considered it a possibility, and that alone was enough to make him feel like a fucking clown. All the evidence he had pointed to vampires, but then again, it might point to other things as well. Like aliens.
But let’s say the whole vampire thing was real. Who, like Vanessa asked, was patient zero? Who started this whole mess?
A name came to mind.
Merrick Garvis.
He had not had time to check into Garvis the previous day, but by God, he was going to do it now. He ran his name and social through the system and everything seemed to check out. Merrick Garvis was born on June 31, 1963 in -
Wait a minute. Weren’t there only 30 days in June?
Bruce checked, and there were, indeed, only 30 days in the month of June. Hm. Bruce did a little digging and found something out. Before 1987, social security numbers weren’t issued at birth. You had to sign up, using other forms of ID. Merrick Garvis applied for his in April 1984 and the date of birth on his state issued driver’s license was June 31. Bruce spent an hour on the phone with the DMV and learned that they had never issued a license to a Merrick Garvis. He then spoke to the Social Security Administration, and after much wrangling and frustration, he managed to get a photocopy of the license Garvis used to get his social security number. It was dated 1983.
The face staring back at him was almost exactly the same face he’d seen at Club Vlad, except maybe a touch less stiff and waxy. Though not as rough looking, there was no way in hell Garvis was 20 in that picture. It had to be a fake,
Bruce thought back to the events of the previous two days. Missing bodies, staked corpses, hearts that still beat after death.
Vampires didn’t seem like such a crazy explanation.
And if anyone was a fucking vampire around here, it was Merrick Garvis.

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Back to Black Thursday Comps/Predictions: $0.35M/$0.37M

• abracadabra1998 ($0.35M Thursday comp. Probably looking at EA around $100k from these numbers, it's limited to Dolby only though so it's quite tiny (May 15). Yikes bikes (May 12).)
  
• crazymoviekid ($0.39M Thursday and $1.21M Friday comp. We're back up to $.3M-$.5M Thursday while Friday is pretty consistent, still around $1.15M-$1.4M. Estimated OW: $4.5M-$5.5M (May 16). Knocking this down to $.25M Thursday. Despite relatively strong sales, comps are low around $1.25M for Friday (May 15). Not great. Let's say $.3M (May 14).)
  
• el sid ($0.38M Thursday comp. Average tomorrow will probably be around 400k (May 15).)
  
• filmlover (Looking at the sales even for the early shows on Wednesday it's on the anemic side (and nothing that's likely to boost it over the next days). Feels like we're about to see how low a biopic about a famous musician can go (May 10).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex ($0.38M Thursday comp.)
  
• Relevation ($0.26M Thursday comp. And for how shitty IF did, Back to Black cratered even harder, and likely would've been the worst selling movie I've ever tracked had I not run numbers a little late. Sub-$300K THU and a $2.5-4M OW (May 15).)
  
• Rorschach (Zero tickets sold on Thursday and only four on Friday. I don't think I'll be missing much (May 13).)
  

IF Thursday Comps/Predictions: $1.72M/$1.80M

• abracadabra1998 ($1.5M Thursday comp. Really good update here, FINALLY! Been waiting for this. This is encouraging for sure. With this growth now maybe shooting for a finish near 1.75 or maybe even approach 2. Eek. Zero sales day only a few days before previews, when you're dealing with a very low baseline. I'm not sure what's happening here (May 15). Most comps did move the right direction. If it keeps trending up perhaps I can see a finish around $1.5M Thursday. One thing to peep at: the MTC1 ratio (59%) is unusually large compared to other family releases. At T-2, other releases' MTC1 % was at: KFP4: 51%, Migration: 34%, Wonka: 59%, Wish: 35%, Trolls: 24%. So much more comparable to Wonka and KFP4; maybe something to think about when looking at keyser's numbers and thinking of the ratio there (May 14). My model has been pretty good for animated/family releases in the past, hence why every comp is so eerily similar. Still, looking at others' numbers and how much lower mine are, I am wondering if summer break might be something to consider here; from what I am aware, here in Minnesota most school districts don't start break until June (May 13). Hoping for some real acceleration this last week but not looking good (May 12). One week out, not impressed in the slightest (May 9). Rising against comps as expected, due to the short release window, but I am still failing to see anything that suggests the numbers given by some other outlets (May 5).)
  
• AniNate (All I can say is if you look at Tinseltown Canton presales the IF projections ($30M+) seem pretty reasonable. I will grant they might've booked more screens than necessary for it (May 16). I'm gonna guess that Nick IP spot for IF this morning ratcheted up interest, Fri-Sun sales at Canton now close to 200. Also of those 200 about 50 were for XD. Not the usual overwhelming presale split but not insignificant for a kids movie also playing on two standard screens (May 13). 45 sold at the five nearest Cinemarks for Thursday previews so far, so yeah there's evidently some kind of regional variation (May 13). I definitely haven't seen as much of a rush here with Garfield as with IF (May 11). I dunno, I have no comps but I feel like local presales is a pretty sizable haul a week in advance for an original non-Disney kids movie (May 9).)
  
• crazymoviekid ($2.43M Thursday and $8.49M Friday comp. Not a great day. Back down to $1.75M-$2M Thursday but pretty good day for Friday, bumping up to $7M-$7.5M. Estimate OW: $27M-$29M (May 16). Comps mostly are up. Adjusting up to around $2M-$2.25M Thursday. Unless this plays like Elemental, we're aiming around $6.5M-$7M Friday. Estimated OW: $25M-$27M (May 15). Definitely looking around $1.75M Thursday for now (May 14).
  
• DAJK (Selling pretty well so far here (May 4).)
  
• el sid ($2.4M Thursday comp. Friday up so-so 116% since last Monday. I chose Jungle Cruise, Dolittle, Elemental, Minions 2 and Sonic 2 as comps (always counted on Monday of the release week for Friday) and the true Friday number for IF would be 6.6M at the moment. In this case the comparison numbers were very similar, around 6-7M. Overall it was a boring counting today which lasted too long for so few action. And judging from some random samples Garfield also saw no significant jumps (I also didn't expect much, it's still too early IMO). Thursday up 92% since last Monday. I hoped for a bit better jump till today :( but it's also not too bad. So for Friday no big numbers but up 75% since last Monday (and the jump must have happened pretty recently) (May 13). Up 73.5% since Monday (where it had 143 sold tickets). Best sales in California, not doing too bad between the coasts. The number today is ok to me (May 12). Not really signs for a breakout for Friday so far, but very solid. It will not really get 4-6M Thursday e.g. compared to Migration but from most comps the number could be pretty decent (May 7). Looked good for the film, both on Thursday and on Friday (May 6).)
  
• jeffthehat ($1.90M Thursday comp. Slipped a little vs. comps. Sub-20% growth seems bad at this stage and opening size for a family film. But maybe walkups are better than presales suggest. Thinking $1.8m +/- $0.2m tomorrow (May 15).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex ($1.62M Combined SizeAdjusted+GrowthModel Thursday comp. $1.50M Santikos Thursday comp. Sticking to the 1.5m - 1.75m range. I'm looking for a +40% final day that would finish at 1.8m avg comps and 1.62m growth forecast. I'm not ruling out 2m, but it would need to have a very good day (May 16). Raising my expectations to 1.5 - 1.75m range. I don't really have a good feel for what age this is playing to (May 15). Thinking somewhere in the 1.2m-1.5m Thursday range despite a couple of higher comps (May 14).)
  
• keysersoze123 (Friday pace is promising (May 16). Dont think even if it doubles the gross, 2m is locked. But even if it does, it would barely do that much. Let us see how walkups go tomorrow. Pace is really meh for T-2. $1.75m ish for previews. OW should be similar to what I saw yesterday for now (May 15). I would say it should hit 2m previews or even more if walkups are strong. OW probably in mid to high 20s for now. Its Friday sales are not that much higher than thursday for crazy IM like say Panda 4 (May 14).)
  
• Relevation ($1.18M Thursday comp. IF completely tanked here, brutal comp average with no good comparisons at all. $1.2-1.5M THU and something in the ballpark of an $18-24M OW? (May 15).)
  
• RichWS (15 screen theater near me is giving IF peak Marvel number of showings. I know it's short and the market is quiet, but damn (May 14).)
  
• Rorschach (Good growth for IF, especially after Tuesday's abysmal sales (May 15). Even with no comps to go off, this growth seems pretty weaksauce. I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow (May 14).)
  
• Shawn Robbins (The pre-sales I'm seeing in multiple markets are little better than I think some expect here. I wouldn't be shocked with a number between 2 and 2.5 for Thursday, as well as big jumps on Friday and Saturday. The flip side of that coin is the reviews... although kids won't care. Could see 40 happening if this plays super strong in family markets and outside coastal cities like I suspect it could, but I'm surprised the studio didn't low ball it a little more to be safe... especially since we had been very publicly keeping our range in the high 20s/low 30s from the bottom end (May 15).)
  
• TheFlatLannister ($2.39M Thursday comp. Really not much going on. Don't think walkups will be super strong either (May 13). Not much growth (May 10). Pace is collapsing a bit. Continues its downward trend (May 7). After a strong start, this has cooled off quite a bit (May 4).)
  
• Tinalera (Pretty quiet Vancouver and Calgary area (May 13).)
  
• vafrow ($0.6M Thursday comp. Well, we finally got something. It still lags behind comps, and if I could be bothered to track walk ups, I'm guessing this will do okay. But it's still lagging some very reasonable comps by a large margin here (May 16). It's going up, but slowly. The thing that hit me looking at the numbers is that the most popular format so far is the VIP theatres, which are 19+. With such low sales, you can't read too much into anything, but it kind of speaks to how this isn't grabbing the family crowd (May 14). Some marginal movement, but we're running out of time for this. At this stage, I expect my market is an anomaly, but I still hope and expect it will close the gap in the final few days (May 13). Still nothing (May 12). Still nothing happening. I did check Friday sales, and it was a lot stronger with 51 tickets sold. That's better, but still not tremendous. I also checked the wider radius, where it's pretty much exactly where Haunted Mansion was, which hit $3.1M opening (May 11). Still nothing really happening here (May 10). Since the last update, they released full showtime sets, and it actually lost two showtimes rather than gain. From the sound of it, it might be doing better in other Canadian markets, particularly BC (May 8). Numbers are still really low, making the standard track fairly useless. I did do a larger 100km radius track, encompassing the broader southern Ontaro market (~8M population, MTC4 being about 70-80% of the market). Even against Haunted Mansion, which underindexed here, it's not doing well (May 4).)
  
• YM! (So far in the four Wisconsin theaters I’ve tracked, IF is at about 45% of where Wish was at in the two theaters I’ve tracked 30 minutes before previews. Think it could get to something similar before preview time (May 16).)
  

The Strangers: Chapter 1 Thursday Comps/Predictions: $1.49M/$1.37M

• abracadabra1998 ($1M Thursday comp. Perhaps this will follow the Nun and the Exorcist comps, but I am not fully convinced. I'll just go with the average here and call it a day with my prediction: $1 Million, +/- 0.2. Not much movement here (May 15). Not a good update at all but I am wondering about the summer break deal here as well. For Back to Black it shouldn't affect it much I would think (May 13).)
  
• crazymoviekid ($1.24M Thursday and $4.35M Friday comp. Decent day. Feeling an inch past $1.25M Thursday but much better comps for Friday, aiming now between $4M-$5M. Estimated OW: $14M-$17M (May 16). Comps leveling off. Adjusting up to $1M Thursday and wouldn't trust Friday comp ($10.05M) (May 15). Weird comps. Let's go for $.5M-$.75M Thursday comp.)
  
• el sid ($1.9M Thursday comp. Nice surprise. Up very nice 67.5% since Monday (May 15). From what I saw, it had an ok jump till today but the jump till Wednesday will be way more important. But so far, decent presales (May 14).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex ($1.54M Combined SizeAdjusted+GrowthModel Thursday comp. $1.82M Santikos Thursday comp. Keeping on track to match IF tonight (May 16). We could have a preview battle on our hands! (May 14).)
  
• Relevation ($1.85M Thursday comp. The Strangers: Chapter One sold surprisingly well here, even somehow knocking IF for best selling movie of the weekend. Comps are hovering in the $1.5-2.2M range and I don't have a clue how walkups play here, but I suppose the $1.85M THU average my comps spit out sounds pretty right, combined with a $15Mish OW (May 15).)
  
• Rorschach ($1.09M/$4.68M/$5.23M Thursday/Friday/Thursday+Friday comp. Decent day for Strangers. Didn't quite continue off yesterday's big bump, but still holding well against the Tarot comp (May 15). More than double from yesterday's count. Curious to see if it keeps up the momentum going forward (May 14). Tarot had more tickets sold for Thursday compared to its Friday showings when I checked the Monday before it came out; hence, why the comps are so all over the place at the moment. The Thurs + Fri comp does appear to be a reasonable middle ground (May 13).)
  
• TwoMisfits (TMobile deal for May - $5 ticket to The Strangers Chapter 1 next Tuesday (May 9).)
  

Furiosa Thursday Comp: $4.31M

• abracadabra1998 ($5.46M Thursday comp. GxK obviously really propping the average up but for now I could see that settling at around $5 Million, still good pace! (May 12). Really good stuff in this market (May 9). Reallyyyyyy good day 1 here. I want to note that: NO I do NOT think preview numbers will be that high; it's just highlighting the fact that this is likely a movie that will be running hot in my market, as cinephile blockbusters usually do. Next update I will have T-14 comps, which will be a lot lower due to the short release window (May 8).)
  
• AniNate (Encouraging to see the weekend fill out a bit. Been seeing a lot of promotion during the basketball playoffs so general awareness has to be getting there now. (May 15). Skimmed through ThuFri and Valley View (Cleveland vicinity) has sold roughly 60 Furiosa tix so far while Tinseltown (Canton) has sold 40. I'm guessing the upfront audience does lean more toward the urban/cosmopolitan sensibilities (May 9). Presales show there's definitely some hype for this. Regal gonna irritate trackers again, offering no upcharge IMAX for Furiosa (May 8).)
  
• Charlie Jatinder ($3.05M Thursday comp.)
  
• el sid ($5.8M average Thursday comp (without Exorcist 2) (May 12). Furiosa continues its strong performance in "my" theaters. The movie yesterday had already 1.310 sold tickets (for Thursday, May 23). Up 15% in ca. 24 hours which isn't bad at all after the first rush. Already comfortably in front of The Fall Guy's final sales (it had 1.071 counted on Thursday for Thursday) and almost on par with Civil War's final sales (1.357) and also the Apes finally had not more than 1.657 sold tickets in my theaters (May 11). I also can't complain about Furiosa's presales in my theaters, not at all. Already 1,138 sold tickets (in all of "my" 7 theaters) for May 23. 14 days left. Promising start. Civil War on Thursday of the release week for Thursday had 1,357 sold tickets and The Fall Guy finally had 1,071 sold tickets (May 9).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex ($3.51M Thursday comp.)
  
• keysersoze123 (Definitely chugging along. I am feeling good about 5m+ previews (May 15). It has way stronger sales than Garfield and that is expected. I am thinking of 5m previews for now (May 14). I think this is a solid OD presales. With a short PS window its probably looking at 5m+ previews (May 9).)
  
• TheFlatLannister ($4.44M Thursday comp. Keeps climbing at a strong pace (May 11). This continues to grow at an excellent rate (May 10). Really strong day 2. The short presales is for sure a factor (May 9). Not seeing much of a breakout. Still pretty solid start to presales (May 8).)
  
• vafrow ($2.9M Thursday comp. Comps are showing as steady since the last update, but it actually dipped quite a bit this week before rebounding today. Advance ticket buying has been so off in this market recently for some reason. Holding pace with Apes is a good sign (May 16). It had a good day (May 12). Mediocre day 2 (May 10). Not the hottest start. IMAX is the format of choice though, so, ATP will be high (May 9).)
  

Hit Man

• vafrow (Getting a theatrical release up here in Canada, and early signs are that it might get a pretty decent screen count. Not super wide or anything, but a pretty decent amount for a weekend that has a lot of other releases (May 14).)

The Garfield Movie EA+Thursday Comp: $2.24M

• abracadabra1998 ($0.76M EA comp and $1.19M Thursday comp. Still not really accelerating, and the EA is falling against comps (May 12). Good EA numbers, but many of these comps were PLF-only EA, which this is not, so I think the ATP will be quite lower and that should be adjusted for (May 9).)
  
• AniNate (EA sales look decent now, but this does feel rather weak compared to the IF presales. Not 100% certain what's going on here but based on this I buy the trades' opening estimates over the forum vibes (May 15). I definitely haven't seen as much of a rush here with Garfield as with IF (May 11).)
  
• el sid (The very even sales are a good sign (May 7). For Sunday, May 19, I can already report that also in my theaters it looks very good for Garfield. They will for sure add shows soon. It has so far only 1 show/theater and the shows are almost sold out, between 1 and 4 seats are still available. So my guess still is that this movie if it's not totally bad (and first reviews here were quite positive) will become a (big) hit. Seems not much on Thursday but it's a step in the right direction (May 6).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex ($2.52M EA+Thursday comp.)
  
• keysersoze123 (Its definitely weaker than even Elemental. That said these movies tend to finish strong and so I am not writing it off so early. Just that the long PS window is irrelevant for them. They could rather start presales like a week before release and it would be all the same. Meh. We have to wait until next week to gauge where its going to finish. It has very low ATP as well and actual would be even lower as its going to see tons of kids tickets (May 14). Early shows are regular digital shows at 1PM this sunday. So ATP will be very low. I think 500k ish at best. Preview let us see how things go in the final week. Presales at this point are almost non existent (May 13).)
  
• TheFlatLannister ($2.14M Thursday comp.)
  
• vafrow ($0.4M Thursday comp. Comps don't paint a pretty picture though. EA shows are doing okay (May 11). Still no sales for my core sample for previews. But I did the larger sweep, which shows the interest right now is the Sunday early access shows. Looking at sales patterns, it's mainly blocks of 3/4 tickets, so likely families grabbing some. It's worth noting that the May holiday in Canada is the weekend of May 17-20th, not the weekend after with Memorial Day. I can see families prioritizing getting out the holiday weekend when they have more time (May 4).)
  

The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Re-Releases (June 8-10)

• BoxOfficePro (Fathom Events has also announced that select Regal Cinemas will present the films in 4DX on June 22/23/24 for Fellowship/Towers/Return respectively (May 14).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex (Up to ~1,400 shows now with new locations picking it up and others adding a second showing. LotR1 has sold 831 seats OD, LotR2 sold 715 seats OD, and LotR3 sold 735 seats OD. For comparison, Phantom Menace didn't break 800 tickets until T-3 and we're still over a month out. JW3 comp is currently around 9m (it was at 1,670 tickets sold at this point!) (May 6).)
  

Inside Out 2 Average Thursday Comp: $8.14M

• abracadabra1998 ($3.67M Thursday comp. Holy numbers of shows and seats! Multiplexes are really expecting a lot here. Sales off the bat not amazing here sadly, but we shall see where it goes (May 15).)
  
• AniNate (It is encouraging that Canton is already giving me something to work with with 12 Thursday preview sales. Same number for Fri-Sun. I do see nine sales for first Thursday at Canton now and I think that's a pretty solid start (May 15). I do see a few 1-2 spots for Inside Out on Saturday. Think some M-F workweek adult fans might be putting down money for that (May 14).)
  
• charlie Jatinder ($11.84M Thursday comp at MTC2. $16M Thursday comp for Kung Fu Panda 4 (May 15).)
  
• katnisscinnaplex (Already at 180 shows for previews in my areas and still has a few theaters left to post. For comparison, Godzilla x Kong finished with 197, Kingdom of Apes 190, and Kung Fu Panda 205 (May 14).)
  
• keysersoze123 (At least the show counts show Plexes are expecting a big OW. I dont remember when we last had a animation movie start with so many shows. I wont count Mario as that was a fan driven movie. Definitely not great presales but this is not a fan driven movie. Let us see where things are in the final week (May 15). Too early to judge presales as ticket sales just started early this morning. Families dont book tickets on weekday mornings. Wait until evening today to judge it. From a release perspective its way bigger than all animation movies seen recently including Panda 4. Easily the biggest I have seen in a long time. Only movie which is not comparable is Mario but that was not just a family flick (May 14).)
  
• Porthos (VERY BAD COMPS: $8.83M Thursday comp. I really do not have good comps for this movie. Like, at all. Especially for D1. With that in mind, I did some digging and did manage to get the Elemental D1 numbers out of the old Tracking thread: IO2 = 5.45946x Elemental on D1 [13.10m]. Now will Inside Out 2 be as backloaded as Elemental? Well it's tough to literally sell 5.5x times the amount of tickets on the final couple of days that Elemental did, so perhaps not. But it does show how fracking backloaded purely kids animation is. Anyway, this is 30 days out and it isn't a CBM film (like AtSV) or CBM-adjacent film (like Incredibles 2). The Sonic 2 comp is perhaps a little concerning. On the other hand, nearly a weeks more of pre-sales so not exactly a great comp. 3.5% of presales are 3D and 40.1% are PLF (May 15). On the Saturday of release weekend (ie NOT EA) there is a special event screening for IO2: INSIDE OUT 2: FUNKO FAMILY EVENT! (2024) Sat June 15th. Might boost the OW slightly, depending on how wide this event is and how much more these tickets will presumably cost (May 11).)
  
• TheFlatLannister ($8.20M Thursday comp. This is a super super strong day 2. Probably just Orlando overindexing, but yeah starting to lean towards something big brewing. Florida presales are somehow even crazier. Sold 2357 seats and is getting a blockbuster rollout in terms of showing allocations. Kung Fu panda comp day 2: gives me $8.50M (May 15). Well, I can't really tell if this is a breakout or not yet. Looks very good especially in the first few hours. These are probably terrible comps, but might as well try something (May 14).)
  
• TwoMisfits (I'm kinda shocked at the opening set from my Cinemarks... 2 screens (1 PLF, 1 not) and 6 showings at my PLF 14 for Thursday (and 11 showings on the same screens once it runs full day - 7 PLF b/c 1 is 3d on the reg screen, 4 not)... 3 screens (.75 3d, 2.25 not) and 9 showings at the non-PLF 12 for Thursday (and 12 showings on 2.25 screens once it runs full day)... So, 2 and 2.25 screens for the weekend presale sets... Disney must be charging a huge % for themselves b/c this is an Elemental opening set at my PLF...a little more generous for Thursday at my non-PLF, but then they too drop to an Elemental opening set after the adult Disney base Thursday rush... (May 14).)
  
• vafrow (No new sales. Whatever glitches in the system on day 1 didn't push sales to day 2. I still think the lack of base ticket options will push families to wait. Cineplex has jacked up the cost of premium formats, plus they're throwing in an increase for opening weekend of major releases. It adds up quickly for families (May 16). With the site glitching yesterday, it might account for the slow start. But, what's interesting is the format breakdown. Nothing is being made available in anything close to a regular showtime. The one non 3D showing in Dolby is a matinee showing. Everything else is carrying a hefty premium. They'll likely release regular showtimes closer to release, but right now, it's priced to get eager fans to pay the premium formats (May 15).)
  
• YM! (In fairness it's only been an hour but yeah sales are softer than I expected. However, it is a month out and will largely skew more towards kids than say TLM/Across so wasn't expecting a blitz like them. Here at Marcus theaters are going all out for IO2 with it having the lion share of PLFs with it getting both screens when there is two PLFs with tentpole like levels of screens (May 14). Was taking a look at Marcus Cinemas to see that they have preloaded Inside Out 2 showtimes which seem to start at 3:00 pm on a Thursday. It seems like Marcus is going all out on it as judging from showtimes it's taking away all of Bad Boys’ PLFs in that theaters that have two+ PLFs are giving all to IO2 (May 11).)
  

Domestic Calendar Dates (last updated May 3):
MAY

• (May 16) Presales Start [Bad Boys Ride or Die]
  
• (May 16) Thursday Previews [Babes + Back to Black + If + The Strangers: Chapter 1 + The Blue Angels IMAX]
  
• (May 17) Presales Start [Ezra]
  
• (May 19) Review Embargo Lifts [Garfield 9 PM EST]
  
• (May 20) Opening Day [Monday: Spider-Man Homecoming Re-Release]
  
• (May 22) Presales Start [The Watchers]
  
• (May 23) Thursday Previews [Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga + Hit Man + The Garfield Movie + Sight]
  
• (May 26) Presales Start [Bikeriders]
  
• (May 27) Opening Day [Monday: Spider-Man Far From Home Re-Release]
  
• (May 30) Thursday Previews [Ezra + Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle + Robot Dreams + The Young Woman and the Sea]
  

JUNE

• (June 3) Opening Day [Monday: Spider-Man No Way Home Re-Release]
  
• (June 5) Presales Start [Despicable Me 4]
  
• (June 6) Thursday Previews [Bad Boys: Ride or Die + The Watchers]
  
• (June 8) 1-Saturday Re-Release (1st day) [The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition]
  
• (June 9) 1-Sunday Re-Release (1st day) [The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition]
  
• (June 10) 1-Monday Re-Release (1st day) [The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Extended Edition]
  
• (June 13) Thursday Previews [Inside Out 2]
  
• (June 15) 1-Saturday Re-Release (2nd day) [The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition]
  
• (June 16) 1-Sunday Re-Release (2nd day) [The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition]
  
• (June 17) 1-Monday Re-Release (2nd day) [The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Extended Edition]
  
• (June 20) Thursday Previews [The Bikeriders + Janet Planet]
  
• (June 27) Thursday Previews [Blue Lock The Movie -Episode Nagi- + Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 + A Quiet Place: Day One]
  

JULY

• (July 2) Opening Day [Wednesday: Despicable Me 4]
  
• (July 4) Opening Day [Thursday: Possum Trot]
  
• (July 4) Thursday Previews [MaXXXine]
  
• (July 11) Thursday Previews [Fly Me to the Moon + Untitled New Line Horror movie]
  
• (July 18) Thursday Previews [Twisters]
  
• (July 25) Thursday Previews [Deadpool and Wolverine + Didi + Fabulous Four]
  

AUGUST

• (August 1) Thursday Previews [Harold and the Purple Crayon]
  
• (August 8) Thursday Previews [Borderlands + Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us + Cuckoo + The Fire Inside + Trap]
  
• (August 15) Thursday Previews [Alien: Romulus + Horizon An American Saga Chapter 2 + Ryan’s World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure]
  
• (August 22) Thursday Previews [Blink Twice + The Crow + The Forge + Slingshot]
  
• (August 29) Thursday Previews [City of Dreams + Reagan + They Listen]
  

Presale Tracking Posts:
April 23
April 25
April 27
April 30
May 2
May 4
May 7
May 9
May 11
May 14
Note: I have removed most tracking data that has not been updated for 2 weeks. I think there is value in keeping data for a week or two but at a certain point they start to lose their value and should not be treated the same as more recent tracking data.

Context: I have recently started being proactive in my credit card rewards/points/cashback programs. Prior to the past 5 months I have always been fairly lazy about it. However since the new year I decided to take all of the expenses my wife and I have to see if I would actively keep it up. So far I have already maxed out my Amex's BCE 3% on U.S. Online Retail Purchases and now at 1%. I am closing in on maxing out groceries and gas. I have also been keeping up with the additional offers: total rewards earned so far in 2024: $510. However after doing this it looks like I could be doubling up and better maximizing my rewards. I just got the CSP this week and I am looking to for advice about pairing credit cards/applying for new cards that would work best for me while optimizing my return. Based off what I can see it looks like CFF or CFU are the best cards to pair with CSP? But I am also wondering what I should do about the Amex. Should I upgrade to BCP or Gold and pair that with the Wells Fargo AC as a catch all? Recommendations/advice would be great! (Also I think that Amex platinum would have been good if I was not straddled with toddlers and travelled more like I did pre-kid. Anyone with kids that travels less now I would love to hear your opinion on the Amex platinum).

• Current credit cards you are the primary account holder of: (list cards, limits, opening date): (example: Chase Freedom $X,XXX limit, 12/2019 - be sure to mention if any are business cards)
  • CSP, $15.3K limit, 05/2024
  • AMEX BCE, $19.3K, 4/2016
    • Prior to that I had the Costco Amex which I opened in 2014
    • Moved to BCE when Amex and Costco split.
  • Usaa Platinum Visa, $12K ,8/2013
    • This was the first card I could get. Not in love with it, but if I could upgrade it instead of having a hard pull on my credit I wouldn’t mind keeping it as a back-up for emergencies.
• * FICO Scores with source (see note on FICO score sources below): Experian 739
• * Oldest credit card account age with you as primary name on the account: 12 years
• * Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 6 months: 1 (CSP)
• * Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 12 months: N/A
• * Number of personal credit cards approved for in the past 24 months: N/A
• * Annual income $: ~$150K, Household $300-350K

CATEGORIES

• * OK with category-specific cards?: (Answer YES if you're OK using one card for 3% back on groceries and another for 4% on dining) YES
• * OK with rotating category cards?: (Answer YES if you're OK using a card that has different bonus categories each quarter, e.g. 5% on gas from Jan - March, then 5% on groceries April - June) Maybe never had a card like this.
• * Estimate average monthly spend in the categories below. Only include what you can pay by credit card.
  • * Dining $: ~$500
  • * Groceries $: ~$1,500
    • Hungryroot: ~$800
    • Costco: ~$680 total,
  • * Gas $: (If at Costco or Walmart, please specify)
    • ~$400
  • * Travel $: ~$100
  • * Do you plan on using this card abroad for a significant length of time (study abroad, digital nomad, expat, extended travel)?: No with the exception of one trip to Mexico for a wedding later this year. We do not travel abroad regularly anymore due to kids and probably will not for another 6-8 years. We do travel probably 10 times a year domestically average trip length 3-4 days. However we only fly probably 3-4 times a year.
  • * Any other categories (examples: phone/internet, insurance) or stores (example: Amazon) with significant, regular credit card spend (the more you specify, the better):
    • Amazon: ~$650 (I think my wife orders groceries from here sometimes? I am not sure).
    • Internet: $80
    • Phone: ~$100
    • Insurance: ~$280
  • * Any other significant, regular credit card spend you didn't include above?:
    • Netflix: $22.99
    • Apple Music: $16.99
    • Sunday Ticket (in the fall that I split with my cousin… Thank you Youtube for allowing two screens). ~$44
    • NFL+ (in the fall): $7
  • * Can you pay rent by credit card? If yes, list rent amount and if there's a fee for paying by credit card: No

MEMBERSHIPS & SUBSCRIPTIONS (delete lines that don't apply)

• * Current member of Amazon Prime?: Yes
• * Current member of Costco or Sam's Club? Costco
• * Currently paying $13.99/month or more for Disney Bundle (Disney+ / Hulu / EPSN+) or other Hulu services?: Yes
• * Current member of Chase, US Bank or any other big bank?: Yes
• * Are you open to Business Cards?: (these are an option if you have any kind of side gig, such as selling on eBay or Etsy): Not at the moment.

PURPOSE

• I need advice on which cards are best to pair with each other based on what I currently have and/or what I should do going forward?
• Any cards recommendations are welcome.
  • Based off this sub I was looking at the following:
    • Pairing CSP with CFF or CFU?
    • Upgrading BCE to BCP or Gold and then pairing with Wells Fargo AC?