im kind of fed up with binders right now. i only go out 3x a week but im always pushing 12hrs. i dont get pain or other signals but i dont like doing it since i know its not good, and i dont have a choice in it, im massive, im barely flat apearing with my clothing choices with the binder that without it i wouldnt pass at all, as well as bras funilly enough being painful/uncomfortable. i really wish we could wear it for longer, i mean i have 4 days (usually) of not wearing it and i take it off as soon as i go home and never double bind or sleep in it but the time limit just isnt long enough. and im too large that tape wont even work, binders barely work to the point when i can afford a binder that ill consider tape under the binder just so itll hold. i hate how exensive it is, im already asking too much from my parents to pay for T whilst im doing college, dropping over $150 aud for 2 binders and shipping is just too much for us right now and i cant handle a job on top of all i have to do. my binders literally are falling apart and ive had to resew all the seams. i wish top surgery wasnt so expensive and was more accessible, hell id jump thru hoops to get it covered by medicare, i didnt ask for this but i have to quite literally pay for it and everything. its exhausting. on top of all the transphobia and shitty comments it makes it really hard, wish they would cut us some slack

For starters, this should be applicable to anyone who has the misfortune of owning anything by NordicTrack that has the ifit app installed. Ultimately, these are all powered by slightly different variants of the same android control board. So similar even, that if you crack open any of them, the boards have the same shape, mount points and locations of all the primary components and connectors. They all have the same design flaw.
All that being said, I've fixed a bike and two treadmill boards so far by re-flowing them. The problem wasn't the screen. It wasn't an issue of the board not getting power, etc. The issue was cold solder joints.
One of them had to be reflowed twice, but...again, I've got a pretty good track record going, and am now convinced that these are just cheaply made "not even half as good as an Amazon Fire" tablets with cold solder joints.
If you have a multi-meter, you can poke the 12v power header into the tablet to confirm that it's getting 11 to 13v power. If it is (and assuming it's also getting 2 amps then), you're probably looking at cold solder joints. If you don't have a multi-meter, but you're mechanically inclined, you can pick one up for under $10 USD. Takes about 10 minutes to learn how to use on on Youtube.
Anyway, fixing this is pretty much the same as what everyone used to do to XBOX 360's that had the red ring of death...cook the PCB until the solider melts again, but also try not to cook it so far that the components on the board literally burn and become unusable again.
To do this, you'll need to unplug the four cables going into the back of the tablet. On some machines, like my 9.5s, you might have to take a back cover off the whole unit to actually reach the back of the tablet, and its connectors. Once that's taken care of, you'll need to take out the (likely) 3 screws on each side that hold the tablet mount into the upper assembly that the tablet itself is mounted in. From here, the tablet should be freely removable from the unit.
Now you need to undo the screws in the back of the tablet to separate it from the touchscreen front. Warning: There are delicate ribbon cables going from the screen in front, to the board in the tablet. Damage one of them, and you may as well just buy a new tablet for the few hundred bucks NordicTrack will shake you down for.
Once you've exposed the board, you should be able to pull out the wire connectors and flip the pressure fit levers on the ribbon cable connectors for the tablet to remove the camera and touchscreen ribbon cables. Note that the wifi antenna is also relatively delicate, and should be pulled as upward as possible. You also need to be careful when reinstalling it, or you can crush the connector, and then....either you're good at incredibly small soldering by hand, or again, you're buying a new tablet with half the power and build quality of the cheapest Amazon Fire at quadruple the price.
Next, remove the screws securing the board to the inside of the tablet, and you should be able to freely remove it with ease. Now comes the Really delicate part.
***THE ACTUAL FIX ITSELF**
First of all, unplug the unit from the wall. The last thing you need is to end up electrocuting yourself or blowing something out on your machine because power was still being applied to it.
Ideally, you would be doing this in a precision controlled re-flow oven with a profile that walks the board through exact temperature changes....but you can get 90% of the way there, and have pretty excellent chances of fixing your board, nontheless. You just need an oven and a thermometer you can read from inside the oven.
Before prepping the board to go in the oven, remove the large metal RF shield covering the back of the board. Not the one that's postage stamps sized, but the one that's about the much larger one, about the size of two human thumbs. You can discard this - it's an RF shield and honestly it does nothing but trap heat that really shouldn't be trapped, in my opinion.
Using the "toaster oven method" to reflow a PCB, you will want to make a few loose (not very compacted) foil balls. Set them on a plate in a way where you can press the board into them, connectors side facing up. You should have the board be as level as possible - re-flowing a board at an angle can make the chips fall out of alignment, and then you pretty much have a dead, now-un-repairable board.
Once the board is level, put a thermometer you can read on the plate with the board and pop it in the oven. Set the oven to bake at 230C (About 445F) and once the oven has actually reached this temperature, count off two minutes. That is how long you want to let the board bake before you remove it. You don't have to be exact with this, but don't leave it in for only a minute and don't forget about it and come back after it's been cooking for 5 or 10 minutes. Try to be within a few seconds of that 2 minute mark. And the temperature gauge on the plate is so you can know that it really is within a few degrees of 230F. The temp gauge on stoves often lies, and if the board is below 220 it won't really re-flow, and above 240 you run the risk of cooking it to death.
Anyway, the final, and arguably most delicate part, is removing the board. You want to be as gentle as possible. No bumps, no jerky motions, and setting it down with great care once it's out of the oven. Also, set it down *away* from the oven so that the board can cool off faster. Don't put it in the fridge or anything, but let it sit undisturbed for about 15 minutes before trying to do anything with it. After that amount of time, it should be cool enough to touch. Once all of this is done, screw the board back into the tablet shell, but ONLY put the screws in along the two sides that have connectors coming out of them. This means you should have three of the four corners screwed down, and one or two additional screws along those two sides. Leave the fourth corner undone since it gives the board some wiggle room without constant straining & flexing. (The best option would be making silicone bushings to mount the tablet board to, much like portable had drives have, but that's just me trying to get as much life out of my tablet & treadmill as I can).
Now, reattach all the connectors. My preferred order for ease is: Camera cable, microphone cable, touch screen cable, wifi antenna, display cable (the largest flat ribbon cable in there). Then close up the two halves of the tablet, pop a couple screws in the corners, and reattach the four external cables to the tablet. Don't bother screwing it all back in yet because we're just testing to make sure it works at this point. You should be able to lay the tablet down, plug the machine in, and have the tablet power up. It should respond to touch and work just like it used to. If it works again, congrats! Now unplug it once more and finish reinstalling the tablet, plastic pieces, and screws.
If it didn't work, there's no harm in trying to reflow the board again. In fact, if the issue happens again later on, you can just try reflowing the board once more. That said, there's only so many times you can re-melt the solder holding everything together before the board will just plain out be toast. Usually it's somewhere around 3 or 4 times, but you could be unlucky and have 0 or 1, or be incredibly lucky and get away with it a dozen times over many more years of life from your machine, if you even need to.
All that being said, if anyone needs help with this, just reply here. I'm not on Reddit often anymore, but I'll try to get back to you within a week, and I'm much more responsive once we've started on a conversation.
Again, to date, I've fixed three NordicTrack devices doing this, and many MANY other PCBs in similar fashion. What's alarming to me here is that the units I've fixed all have usage times of under 100 hours for the machines. Honestly, I'm amazed this hasn't come up yet and that NordicTrack hasn't been litigated into free replacements like Apple and Microsoft have from similar mass failures out of warranty due to poor build quality. (Xbox 360, iPhone battery & back glass issues, etc...) I'm even more amazed that they'll sell the tablet for most models, but *not* the PCB....though, I guess that just goes to show that whatever lowest-bidder factory cranked these out for them, NordicTrack as a company has never even seen component level parts like that - just finished tablets, so it's not even something they *can* offer their ~~hostages~~ customers.
OH! And final word of advice! Put your units on a smart outlet that turns off after whatever the max time you use your equipment would be! Not only will it prolong the equipment life, but it actually makes it easier to use! For example, instead of waiting for the treadmill to wake up, I just say "Alexa, turn on the treadmill" and by the time I'm at it, it's happily waiting for me to click my name and go. And then if I forget to turn it off, the smart plug is programmed to shut it down after 2 hours anyway, so it won't be sitting there idly chewing away at the new life ~~breathed~~ baked into it.
If you want to make sure the temp if your oven is hot enough, but not going to fry something, try taking an old remote that you know works but that you don't care about. Disassemble it, reflow it, and make sure it still works when you put it all back together again. Now do it again and see if, once it reached temp in the oven, you can scrape parts off the board with relative ease. This will destroy the remote, but it's a good way to get comfortable with baking boards.
Anyway, that's about all. I wish I'd though to record videos of this process, but I hope this guide is enough to get most people back in business. And if you've already been through swapping the whole tablet and have a dead one you'd like to donate to seeing if my theory continues to hold true, I'd be happy to pay shipping to get it from you, or have you pay shipping if you want me to just take a crack at fixing it and sending it back to you.
If you're already skilled in these areas, it should take about 20 minutes to do, excluding actual bake and cooling time. If you're totally new at this but you can follow instructions with care and precision, you can probably have it done in under 2 hours. And hey - short of burning or electrocuting yourself (again, unplug before working on the equipment!) ....if you already have a dead board, the only thing you really have to lose by trying this is some of your time. =)

(New account because people around me follow the original account and I wanted to stay anonymous)
M[20]
The last time I thought about myself was 4 years ago. I used to work hard diligently and I was proud of myself. I was in the top 5 of my batch. Then covid started and I haven't studied seriously since. I did not have a smartphone of my own before that. After lockdown,everything went down hill. I didn't study at all in my senior years and I just managed to pass somehow. I felt like I was not capable of doing anything. All my loved ones wanted me to do engineering because they felt ithat it would make me independent. They got me enrolled in tier 2 university. I felt that I should do this for them because my parents will be senior citizens in 8 years and I have a brother 8 years younger than me. I love my parents and my brother. I don't want my parents to keep working. and I want to take care of my brother financially and help him finish school and get a degree.
My university has good placement opportunities. But I've been messing up since the first year of my university. I failed on subject in the first semester itself and lied to my parents that I've scored well. I cleared theat subject in the next sem. my second year of uni is going very bad. My score is below average and the exams I'm writing now are not going so well.
I want to study and I know that I have to study but I don't open the books at all. I know I'm miserable right now but still I won't start reading. I'm always on my phone. My screen time is 18 hours. I am tired of myself. Why am I not the same I was 4 years ago. What is happening to me. I feel dud all the time.
I think that I should study and then I imagine myself studying and that's it. The delusion makes me think I already studied but in reality, I haven't even touched the book.
There are long panic attacks the previous night of exam. but I don't do anything. I go in to write the paper. I feel like k word my old self and present self. I come out of exam and the cycle continues.
At this rate, what will happen to me? My family who is going to be dependent on me,what about them? I I really want to do something about myself. Why am I like this
I have to earn. why am I like this
Please be brutal to me. I have to know how bad I am

Ok here's the deal.. and this is 150% TRUTH!! I was shopping at Gabe's clothing store as I got to the VERY back corner of the store to the clearance shoe section, I saw a pocket book sitting in the floor beside the bench where ya try on shoes, so I obviously glance around to look for a woman near by and saw NOBODY. The next thing I did was bend down pick it up and sat it in the front of my buggy right beside my purse, and I then did like I thought any decent person would without hesitation, I turned and started walking to the VERY front of the store where ALL their employees were standing at the registers, which are lined across the front of store. I didn't look shady, I wasn't acting nervous, and was not trying to sprint to the door! I walked normal heck even stopped for a second and looked at a few more items as I walked to the front. I was simply trying to make my way to an employee of Gabe's so i could give them the pocket book and inform them someone had left it back the shoe section probably trying on shoes and sat it in the floor when they sat on that bench I spoke of, and left the purse sitting in the floor. I am seen clear as day on the stores camera doing EXACTLY like I have described to you all. Here's where my world goes all to hell though.. Before I could even get to an employee or the registers, two officers came in and walked straight to me (still don't understand how) and they treated me like a dang criminal not letting me even tell them I was on the way to give it to the employees at the registers, they were very mean and cuffed me right there in front of everyone, then dumped my purse out, for what reason I have no clue, then of course found nothing illegal considering I am not a criminal, and they made me leave the buggy and walked me outside. We got out there and it's dark but i over hear them talking to the owner of the purse that I tried to turn in so nobody would take it. I didn't know this at first because I never looked in her purse but she had like 600.00 and a bunch of change and credit cards. She laid everything on the hood of the car made sure all was there, oh she also had a prescription for xanax in her purse, so she counted them and they were all there. She then looked over at me and thanked me so much and apoligized the cops were doing me like they were. So that alone says I DID NOT STEAL ANYTHING RIGHT? Huh, you would think.. well she got to go home and get out of the cold, while now the cops have me standing at the hood of the police car and they are going through my purse again. WHY!!! The lady just jumped for joy while thanking me for trying to turn her bag in and therefore protecting all her money and meds, so what the hell were they doing that to me again! I had my own money and its ironic but I also had my prescription for xanax. Kinda crazy ya know it lol! Anyway, I had nothing at all illegal and as I have mentioned I STOLE NOTHING AND WOULD YOU NOT THINK THAT THE COPS SHOULD KNOW THAT BY THIS POINT? I was starting to think they would take the cuffs off any minute now, but instead they shove me into the back of the cop car!!! FOR FREAKING WHAT!? I HAD NOT COMMITTED A DANG CRIME OR EVEN CAME CLOSE TO BREAKING THE LAW!!! Of course I start crying not because I am sad or scared but I was PISSED AT THAT POINT! To make it even worse, I had my 22 year old applehead chihuahua with me and I begged them to let him just sit there for like 15 min max it was Oct. so not too hot, and my fiance was going to hurry and pick him up with my car, they would not even do that for me.Instead they took him to the freaking pound!!! And even when I bonded out I had to leave my baby in there all night long. Just don't forget, I HAD NOT BROKEN A SINGLE LAW AND WAS PUT THROUGH ALL THIS CRAP! So to shorten this up sorry my fiance had to leave his job and spend 300 bucks to bond me out from being arrested for what!!! Hell the bondsman didn't know why i was even there! They left me sitting in booking probably because it was all bs, and made no sense! I had never ever been in any trouble my whole life. I just finished the medical billing and coding program through Penn Foster, and I was sick when I finally found out what they were trying to charge me with.. THEFT UNDER 1000.00 AND SIMPLE POSSESSION/CASUAL EXCHANGE!!!! Is that not so messed up? I didn't steal anything so how the hell can they do this to me and a dang drug charge! I AM BEING CHARGED WITH THE POSSESSION FOR THE PRESCRIPTION THE STRANGER LADY HAD IN HER FREAKING PURSE WTF and IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW CASUAL EXCHANGE IS A DRUG DEAL!!! HOW THE HELL IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME? So now we are out the 300 bucks, 2500.00 for a lawyer that has not talked to me once outside of court, and court costs that will be outrageous! WHAT REALLY RIPS MY HEART OUT IS IF I CAN'T BEAT THESE BOGUS CHARGES ON JUNE 10 IT WILL SCREW ME OUT OF MY BRAND NEW CAREER THAT WAS ABOUT TO START. I WON'T GET A JOB IN THE MEDICAL FIELD WITH A THEFT AND DRUG CHARGE. This is all true not blown out of proportion at all and it is so unfair. My step dad is a cop in that county and my mother works for the sheriff himself who is best friends with my step dad and they don't like me and make my life hard every chance they can. So of course mother got into my business which should not be allowed and ran straight to my son, who I had finally started rebuilding a relationship with which made her mad, she told him I stole from someone and made a drug deal so he has not spoken to me since october and will not let me come to my only childs graduation this year and get to see my baby boy walk across the stage all because my mother ran her mouth to my child. I need advice on if and how I can maybe sue them for defamation or slander and get order of protection because this has went on for over ten years with her. She has broken laws etc and used the fact that step dad is a cop and they have went on motorcycle rides to Sturgis etc with the one and only judge who happens to be over EVERY case I have went through because of them. They took my little girl before we were even discharged from the hospital and she forged my name on the birth certificate. I can go on for days and have paper documents to prove every single thing I just don't know what to do about it. Most importantly I NEED HELP OR ADVICE VERY BADLY ABOUT THE POLICE TRYING TO STICK ME WITH COMPLETELY BULL CRAP CHARGES THAT WILL END MY CAREER BEFORE I EVEN GET TO BEGIN AND ALL THE HARD WORK IN SCHOOL WILL BE FOR NOTHING. I AM ALL TO HELL. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME
S

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Chapter 15: For What You’ve Tamed
“We’ve come a long way, Vikri. Let’s finish your story,” Rayner said as he sat down in the same chair, crossing his legs in the same way.; small consistencies that made the task of talking about my past seem a little more routine. “I understand you lost someone important to you that day.”
I shifted slightly where I sat. “Yeah,” I answered coarsely. I grabbed at the poncho hanging over my shoulders. I remembered what it felt like in my dreams. Radiant warmth always seemed to emanate from it. Not necessarily the poncho itself, but Tenga’s memory. I realized that as long as I had those, then he was still here in a way. I’d much rather have him here than his memory though.
Rayner nodded. “I know what that’s like,” he said in a near whisper.
I shook my head. “It’s not just that I lost him. I…I failed,” I rasped. “I could’ve saved him. Maybe if I’d gone back I could’ve gotten the equipment before the fire did. I was too afraid.”
Rayner nodded slowly. “And now you feel responsible.”
I remained silent as I clutched my tail on the couch beside me. Rayner already knew the answer. He pursed his lips. “Yeah…I know exactly how that feels.”
I looked up at him. For the first time, his eyes weren’t on me, but on the adjacent wall as he seemed to ponder something. “You think about all the things you could have done differently. Things that are so obvious in hindsight,” he sighed and adjusted his glasses. “If only it were that clear in the moment.” He looked up at me, clasping his hands together. “So walk me through what happened.”
I could still vividly remember the moment Tenga got shot. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. So quickly in fact, that it even took Tenga a moment to realize there was a hole in his torso. Minutes of continuous tension shattered with a hail of gunfire lasting less than a second. The echoes continued to howl through the mountains long after the bodies met the snow. My friend was fatally wounded, the snow around him dyed bright red with his blood. And I had to leave him.
The entire time I was in the belly of the federation destroyer with danger lurking around every corner, all I wanted to do was to get this done as quickly as possible and get back to him. I was enraged that they’d done this to him and to billions just like him.
“Tenga was all I thought about the entire time,” I croaked. “And I…I was willing to kill everyone onboard to get back to him, even if there was no way I ever could. I… did things I could never have imagined myself doing even just days ago. I tore a chunk out of my leg just to be able to get to the Krakotl pinning me down with a crowbar.” I inhaled deeply, staring down at my reflection in the water, recalling my bloodshot eyes in the reflection of the ship's monitor. The grimly colorful bloodstains in my fur from several different species.
Rayner nodded. “It was a desperate situation. Many don’t see themselves doing things like that until they’re put in a situation where it's necessary. A situation where it's do or die. No one can fault you for that, especially not with all that depended on you.”
“I guess I just…It’s just worrying knowing that there’s a part of me capable of that.”
The doctor tapped his pen on his notepad as he seemed to think for a moment. “Do you worry that you may have violent outbursts?”
I scoffed. “Well, the events of a few days ago provided good grounds for worry.”
Rayner nodded. “Aggression is common for PTSD victims. It can be difficult to manage intense emotions when your mind is already dealing with so much.
I shook my head. “That’s not the person I want to be.”
Rayner nodded. “I know Vikri. That’s why it's so crucial for you to talk about this stuff. The less all of this weighs on you, the better you’ll be able to control those emotions when they arise.”
He finished writing on his notepad before taking off his glasses and leaning forward slightly. “So what happened to Tenga?”
The question made my heart sink. My mind went quiet. The second hand of time sounded like the footsteps of a giant marching toward…something. My body seemed to go cold and numb. “He died…” I croaked, staring down at the table. That was the first time I’d admitted that to myself verbally in such a direct way. “And I tried so hard,” I choked, tears now streaming down my face. “I did everything in my power to save him. I even put Querek’s life in danger.”
I felt the heat. I could feel cold water dripping from my paws as the burning ship melted the frost accumulating in my fur. I remembered the terrifying hopelessness that gripped me as I gripped Querek and pushed him into the snow. He tried to sacrifice himself for Tenga. What if I had let him? Would it have even worked? Could Tenga accept that?
I recalled the story to Rayner, battling to keep my composure. “I…I watched him die,” I choked. “And I was furious. Reese had to pull me off of him. I wanted to do…something, anything, but…he told them not to bring him back. I think he…” I winced at the thought of him considering this. “I think he’d rather have died sacrificing himself over…going rabid.”
Silence perforated the room for what felt like several long minutes. Rayner sat with his legs crossed, his hand propped up against his mouth. He seemed to become lost in thought for a moment before speaking. “I know how that guilt feels,” he admitted quietly.
I looked at him, somewhat surprised. “You do?”
Rayner nodded, rubbing his hands together. “My son,” he said plainly, taking a long pause before he continued. “He and Jesse were very close as kids. Practically brothers.” He tapped on his clipboard with his pen. “I was…not so available in those days. I was a very different man than I am now. I was still in school. I was always busy, always stressed. I hadn't even considered becoming a therapist. I was deadset on becoming a neurosurgeon.” He scoffed at himself, his head gently shaking back and forth as his gaze grew distant. His delivery lacked that matter-of-fact candor I was so used to by now. He was much quieter; less animated. His eye contact was sporadic and he never stopped fidgeting with his pen. Everything about him seemed suddenly mired in an emotion that was difficult to read. That was when I saw everything we'd done over the past few days for what it really was. Rayner wasn't invincible. He never claimed to be. He was hurt; I could hear it in his voice. He wasn't a person reaching down into the mud and yanking me out by the nape of the neck. He was man covered in mud himself. He wasn't an untouchable hero. Merely a guide.
He continued as that realization struck me. “I loved him as much as a father could. But I was so busy that…well I wasn't there as much as I'd like to have been. That put a big strain on our relationship.” He removed his glasses and wiped the lenses a few times before he continued. “One night we got into an argument. He’d just gotten his license. He had an old beat-up car I'd bought him for his birthday,” he chuffed. “A teen’s first car is always…eccentric. Thought it was a great deal at the time.” He sighed and nodded slightly before continuing. “He left the house enraged, speeding down the road. After a few miles, he lost control, swerved off the road, and hit a tree head-on. The airbag never deployed. The car crumpled like a soda can.”
I stared at him, speechless as he concluded in a near-whisper. “He was declared dead at the scene.”
The room felt hollow for a few long seconds. I searched for a reply but couldn't fathom the right words to say. Fortunately, Rayner didn't stay silent for long. “Like you, I blamed myself for a long…long time.” He sighed. “And it nearly destroyed me.”
I stared at the floor, fidgeting with my tail. “How did you…overcome that?”
“Well it didn't happen overnight,” he replied, flashing a brief smile. “It takes time but, at some point, you have to carry on living. You have to continue loving.” His eyes creased slightly as he looked down at his own hands. “You have to keep loving,” he repeated in a low whisper.
Loud silence claimed the room again as his words sank in. He was right. It was either accept what happened or live like this forever. Looking at it that pragmatically, the choice seemed easy. Emotions are never so logical though. It wasn’t as if he relieved himself of that burden either, it was obvious he still carried it. It just…didn’t weigh as much now. Not because it got lighter, but because he got stronger. I eased into speaking again. “I…I'm sorry. About your son.”
Rayner nodded. “I'm sorry about your friend.”
We both stewed in silence for a minute before Rayner spoke up. “We’ll send you home today.”
“You…really think I’m ready?”
Rayner nodded slowly. “I think so. The medication seems to be working, you haven’t had any breakdowns since you’ve been here. You’ve gotten much better at discussing these things. I think you’re equipped to face this now.”
“...I’m afraid,” I croaked.
“Of what?” Rayner asked, leaning forward
“Of…seeing Lucky again. I'm doubting whether I even should. I was never prepared to be her master. I’m just a danger to her.”
“Vikri,” Rayner exhaled and leaned forward. “You made a mistake. We all do. But you have a responsibility to her. You should at least see her and face that mistake, or you’ll never have closure. What you decide after that is your choice, but I don’t think it’ll be as bad as you think.”
“I hope so,” I sighed.
Rayner clicked his pen and set his notepad aside. “We’ve made you some medication to take home, same stuff you've been taking. The plan is to keep lowering the dosage until you’re sleeping without it. We’ve made you some sheets with all the daily doses on them and when to take each one. It’s enough to last you two weeks, then once they’re out, you’ll come back here for another session, then if you need it, we’ll get you more and keep weaning you off them.”
He leaned forward, emphasizing his next words. “And I cannot recommend enough that you go to Jesse’s support group in between our meetings. Those will help you tremendously, I’m sure of it.”
I nodded. “I have his number. I’ll…I’ll give it a shot.”
“You won't regret it,” Rayner assured me. “Jesse was in the same chair as you not too long ago for similar reasons. He has knowledge from first-hand experience. I can vouch for him, he’s a great guy.” He inhaled. “Well, is there anything else Vikri? We won’t be seeing each other again for a while, so if there’s anything else, now’s the time to talk about it.”
I thought for a second. We’d covered almost everything. I’d never discussed those days in so much detail. It felt like being submerged in icy water. It was miserable at first, but over time it became easier, even comfortable. I’d relived so much pain over the last three days, but here at the end of the whole story, It felt less like a nightmare, and more like reality. “No, I don’t think so,” I finally replied.
“Then I’ll clear you to go home. Andrea is here, she’ll give you a ride, I’m sure. Here.” He reached over and handed me a small business card. “That has all my contact information on it. I’m usually here in my office until late at night, so feel free to call if you need anything. If the sedative gives you any issues at all, any side effects, make sure to call and let me know. We followed the recipe to a tee, but it’s wise to be cautious.”
A familiar silence flooded the room as Rayner and I seemed to, for the first time, have nothing left to say. Finally, the doctor spoke. “See you in two weeks, Vikri.”
///////////////////////////////
Golden strands of light danced between the digits of my paw as I moved it in front of the brilliant summer sun. An intense beacon of warmth floating in a sky as blue as Earth’s oceans. The rumble of Andy’s car occupied the air as we cruised down the highway. Vivri was sound asleep in the backseat. The gentle white noise and vibration seemed to knock her out cold. I watched the sunrays dance as I waved my paw in front of me, before turning it around. Several spots on my paw still had obvious scars. I even still had burn scars from the electrical systems aboard the crumbling Cardinal.
I curled my paw closed into a fist and rested my head against it, watching the lush, green mountains pass by in the distance. After three days I was set loose into the world once again, hopefully better armed than I was before. Even after all the weight I doffed from my shoulders in Rayner’s office, a crushing mass still rested on my chest. Lucky.
The weight only became heavier as the car slowed, and rounded a corner into the parking lot of a large animal hospital. Andy gently brought the car to a stop in a parking space in front of the entrance. Occasionally people would walk in and out with their pets, many of which were dogs on leashes.
Vivri stirred awake after we stopped. “Oh…We’re here,” she muttered nervously. “There’s…a lot more animals here than I was expecting.”
Andy chuckled. “It’s an animal hospital girl, there’s gonna be all kinds of critters here.”
I turned around to face her. “You don’t have to go in there. You and Andy can wait here.”
Andy scoffed. “You might wanna tell Rayner they screwed up those meds, ‘cause you’re delusional if you think I’m letting you go in there by yourself.”
“Well I don’t want her to be alone out here,” I argued.
“I’ll go in, just…stay close, please?” Vivri interjected.
I looked back at her, ears tilted. She was dead serious. I sighed and shook my head. “This is gonna be a disaster,” I groaned.
Andy opened her door. “I’ll wait with her in the lobby, you go talk to the vets. It’ll be fine.”
I looked back at Vivri one last time as Andy stepped out. “Alright, just stay away from the cats.” I opened my door and began stepping out into the summer air.
“C-cats?”
“Small felines. They're demons with mind control,” I replied just before closing the door.
Vivri scrambled out of the car and followed right on my heels. “Well don’t just leave me!” she squeaked.
I laughed. “I’m kidding. Well, mostly.”
Walking into the building, I realized that Lucky had been in a very similar place as me over the past three days. The lobby felt eerily similar to the one at the medical center. Everything went silent as Vivri and I walked in. Immediately I could feel dozens of eyes on us. Vivri hid close behind me as Andy gestured for me to follow her to the desk.
I doubted any of the humans there meant any harm, but dozens of binocular eyes snapping onto her in an instant had Vivri more unsettled than she already was. It didn’t help that several dogs were either on leashes or in carriers in the lobby, which were no doubt just as curious. I grabbed Viv’s paw. “They don't see many Venlil,” I whispered. “Just ignore them.”
I approached the desk with Vivri still hiding behind me. “E-excuse me?” I stuttered. The woman at the desk looked up, clearly caught off guard by two venlil standing before her. “O-oh! Excuse me, you must be Lucky’s owner, right?”
“Yeah. Vikri.” I could feel Vivri shivering behind me.
“I’ll let Doctor Gavin know you’re here.”
“Thanks,” I muttered before turning to Vivri. “Are you sure about this?” I whispered.
“Of course! It’s just for a few minutes, right?” Her body language gave an entirely different answer. She seemed like she might faint at any moment.
I looked up at Andy. “Keep her close, would you?”
Andy wrapped her arms over Viv’s shoulders. “Of course. I’ll keep little Vivi safe from all the big, bad puppy dogs and mean kitties,” she said in baby speak, twisting her side to side. She giggled. “We’ll be fine.” Her tone suddenly shifted as she locked eyes with me. “Will you?”
I stood there in silence for a moment. This entire time my heart felt unbearably heavy. Standing there, I felt nauseous. So much so that I made it a point to know exactly where the bathroom was when I walked in. The weight on my chest made breathing a laborious task. I heaved in a deep breath. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in there but…I have to do this. For both of us.”
Andy exhaled and nodded, seemingly just as nervous for me. Right on cue, the door at the back of the room opened with a heavy click. “Vikri?” a male voice called out. An older gentleman in burgundy scrubs surveyed the room. It didn’t take long for him to find me. He nodded toward me as he adjusted his glasses. “Right this way, please.”
“We’ll be right here,” Andy whispered, her hands still resting around Viv’s shoulders, who agreed with a tail flick.
I nodded and walked toward the man, leaving the cozy waiting room behind, and entering a long, sterile hallway. The doctor’s shoes clicked against the tile as he walked just in front of me. The weight bearing down on my chest only got heavier with each step. After a few agonizing seconds, the man finally spoke up as he stopped outside a door. “I’m Doctor Gavin,” he said breathily, extending a hand. “I performed Lucky’s surgery.”
I took his hand with my paw, which he could no doubt tell was trembling by this point. “Vikri,” I choked. “S-so…How is she?”
“She’s good,” Gavin answered in a higher pitch. “She’s recovering remarkably fast. Really lived up to her name.” He opened the door and stepped through into a kennel area as he continued. “The bullet hit one of her ribs and shattered. A couple of fragments pierced her lung, one of them was just inches from her heart. There’re still a few very small ones lodged in her tissue, but we’d be doing more harm than good by trying to remove them. They shouldn’t cause any issues and come out on their own after some time, but we’ll keep track of them with x-rays.”
As he spoke we passed by kennels, some empty, some with dogs that barked or jumped up on the cage as we passed. I scoured each one for Lucky, my dread building with each one we passed. Suddenly, the doctor stopped in front of me. He inhaled deeply. “I should mention…Given the…circumstances of how she got these injuries, me and some staff will stay with you just in case she becomes aggressive. That’s not to say that I think she will,” he added hastily, “she’s been great with everyone here but…you know, just to be safe.”
“I get it,” I breathed. It made sense. If Lucky attacked me, it would be far more deadly than it would be for a human. And I was confident even a human wouldn’t last long against a half-wolf her size. Fittingly, a group of four humans were gathered at the end of the hallway, catchers in hand.
Time seemed to slow as I approached the pen. The staff members all looked over at me with the same anxious expression. I felt like a prisoner walking toward my judgment, and that perhaps it was me that belonged behind these cages. I swallowed and took a long, slow breath as Gavin opened the gate. He walked in ahead of me. “Hey there big girl,” he said in a chipper tone. I heard the familiar thumping of Lucky’s tail against the floor. Gavin chuckled to himself as the remaining four staff calmly and quietly filed into the pen. Once they were all inside, the final human leaned around the corner, looked me in the eyes for a long second, and nodded once.
A new reality awaited around that corner. My sentence was about to be read. It felt so cripplingly helpless; wanting so desperately to finally be reunited with my best friend, yet trembling at the thought of rounding a corner to run face-first into the consequences of my actions. I steeled myself one last time. I nodded back at the catcher and took slow, deliberate steps toward him. I finally rounded the corner, and for the first time since the incident, I saw Lucky.
She lay on a large, fabric bed, with food and water bowls close by. Her right front leg was bound in a cast, tied up close to her body. A large patch of fur had been shaved away around her chest and halfway up her neck. She seemed thinner than I remembered. It reminded me of the scared, hungry pup I’d met so long ago.
Her eyes tracked onto mine instantly, and I felt an ache that defied all imagination. The same gaze that would send almost any other Venlil scrambling down the hallway instead gripped some inner part of me in a cold, numb stasis. I couldn’t move. Part of me wanted to run to her and spill out how sorry I was. Another wanted to curl up on the floor right there and sob, returning to that familiar numbness that seemed akin to the ancient enemy of life itself. The cold. That bitterness that pierced through fur, through flesh, through bones, and any ideal held by the naive child that sat next to Tenga’s corpse that day. It ran through until there was nothing left.
Then, I felt a warmth as if someone had draped a blanket over me. I gripped my poncho around my shoulders, grabbing it tightly. I made a quiet promise to myself there and then. Not a promise to my sister, or my parents, or Andrea. Me. I wouldn’t lie down in the cold. Never again. One more hill.
“Hey Lucky,” I said, my voice coarse and breaking every syllable.
The silence was abruptly broken as Lucky, though seemingly frail, shot to her feet. Everyone in the room shifted, prepared for the worst. I didn’t dare move, but I could feel my heart pounding in my legs, my body preparing to bolt. The staff watched her carefully, their grip slightly tightened around their polls. Lucky made no sounds, only stared at me, her nostrils flaring as she gathered my scent. Her right front leg was useless, immobilized against her body. She shifted her footing to steady herself. Then I saw something that replaced fear with tears. She was shaking like a leaf, never taking her eyes off me. She could care less about the others. She was scared. Of me.
I felt myself fall off a ledge in a sensation I’d become all too familiar with over the last few weeks. Tears streamed down my face, my breath hitching as I brought my paws up to my face. I fell to my knees, the presence of the staff had become irrelevant. “I’m…I’m sorry,” I exhaled between gasps. “I’m so sorry.”
So there it was. My new reality. It wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but it was what I expected. I didn’t know what I’d do then, and I didn’t know now. Could I go on without Lucky? She was the one fortress in the turbulent seas of my broken mind. She was the one I could always count on. The one that I knew would always be there, no matter what. Now I was convinced she was terrified of me.
I sat there a shattered mess for a long moment, tumbling off that cliff and reaching out for anything to catch myself, but found nothing but jagged stones. I felt a hand on my shoulder, Doctor Gavin attempting to comfort me, I assumed. Until I felt something touch my knee. I looked up, thrown out of the spiral abruptly. Lucky was now just in front of me, licking my leg. I froze, confused. She gently laid down, careful of her bandaged leg as she rested her head on my leg, looking up at me. That was the same leg she’d broken months ago. Finally, I got it. “I hurt you, and you still loved me.”
A wave of relief rushed through me and I looked down at her, eyes glossy with tears. I bent down and rested my head against hers. I laughed, though it sounded more like a sob. For the first time in days, I felt whole again.
Lucky still loved me.
First Prev [Next]

Hello!
I hope we're all doing well!
7/12 correct last time around which was a lot better than i expected, but most importantly, our secondary parlay landed! (Secondary Parlay: Aldrich/Hardy o1.5/2.5 or R3 Start + McKinney/Ribovics ITD + Woodson/Caceres o1.5/2.5 or R3 Starts + Lewis/Nascimento ITD)
Full detailed breakdown here: https://www.reddit.com/MMAbetting/comments/1csfr9o/ufc_fight_night_barboza_v_murphy_fight_predictions/?
Lets hope for another successful event! Tough one though.
(c) - Champ
D/DWCS - Debut/Dana Whites' Contender Series
FLS - Fight Lose Streak
FWS - Fight Win Streak
NS - No Streak
(#x) - Rank in Division
x/3 - Confidence Levels
Lets go!!!
Prelims
Women’s Strawweight
Emily Ducote (-275) (13-8-0, NS) v Vanessa Demopoulos (+220) (10-5-0, NS)
Striking: Ducote throws a lot of volume when she fights, she’s fairly tenacious and is great at stringing together combinations. Demopoulos isn’t too much of a striker, she’s more of a collision waiting to happen, usually throwing heavy then going for takedowns. Because of that, I do think Ducote will be able to easily read those initial attacks coming and retaliate accordingly. Ducote has the mild advantage here.
Wrestling/Grappling: Demopoulos’ main style is grappling, she’s quick to set up submissions off her back, she’s got great flexibility and I think it’ll be dangerous for Ducote to even try to grapple with her. Demopoulos is the more effective grappler here in my opinion, at least in terms of submission aggression.
Cardio: Both are decent but Ducote seems to have the better cardio, especially since she looks relatively okay as the rounds go by, even after throwing a lot of volume.
Prediction: Ducote via UD (1/3)
Bantamweight
Alatengheili (+150) (16-9-2, NS) v Kleydson Rodrigues (-185) (8-3-0, NS)
Striking: A tale of two styles, Alatengheili throws heavy, explosive attacks but usually only when he counters, and he tends to try to lure in his opponents to explode once they make their attack. Rodrigues seems to be more calculated and more diverse with his boxing, often countering and making the right reads and the right attacks to land cleanly against aggressive opponents. Rodrigues is also most likely going to add a lot of kicks in this fight, as that has been quite effective when Gutierrez fought Alatengheili. Both have their own little advantages here, but I like how clean Rodrigues has been, compared to the heavy inaccuracy of Alatengheili, which has been highlighted in the main write up.
Wrestling/Grappling: I mean, Alatengheili is a very good wrestler, but he doesn’t really use it as much as he should. He has the advantage here on paper, but I just don’t know if he is going to be using it in this fight. If he does, then he could absolutely get a win here.
Cardio: It’s a bit hard to say, I kind of want to say Alatengheili has the better cardio here given his style, but it’s just so hard to tell. Make your own judgement on this one perhaps, but it could be a 50/50.
Prediction: Rodrigues via UD (1/3)
Women’s Strawweight
Piera Rodriguez (-175) (9-1-0, NS) v Ariane Carnelossi (+145) (14-3-0, NS)
Striking: Rodriguez has clean strikes in her arsenal and she does string together combinations well, her long jab is awesome and she uses it over and over again, which could then help lead to a takedown. But overall, she seems a lot more educated with her striking than Carnelossi. Carnelossi just has power and a bully kind of style, nothing really clean about her striking at all. Perhaps a tale of two different styles here.
Wrestling/Grappling: It has been clear since the moment I saw this fight was announced, that Rodriguez is going to employ her wrestling against Carnelossi, I don’t think Carnelossi is any good on the ground, and Rodriguez has been shown to time her entries very well. Rodriguez is clearly better in the wrestling department in my opinion.
Cardio: Eh, I’d say Rodriguez has the better cardio here, she’s a lot more experienced in the UFC than Carnelossi so we have seen her in those long, drawn out fights.
Prediction: Rodriguez via UD (1/3)
Middleweight
Abus Magomedov (-250) (25-6-1, 2 FLS) v Warlley Alves (+205) (14-7-0, 3 FLS)
Striking: Whilst Alves is well known for his ridiculous punching power and explosive attacks, I do think the reach advantage of Magomedov stifles a lot of that, as well as gives Magomedov the additional advantage of being able to see things come his way, considering that he fights decently well at range, whereas Alves needs to enter the pocket to land his attacks.
Wrestling/Grappling: This is where Alves should take the fight to win, it’s perhaps the path of least resistance and Alves does have quite a few submission wins under his belt, plus the wrestling could exhaust Magomedov, who has a questionable gas tank (which has hopefully been improved upon).
Cardio: I don’t trust Magomedov’s cardio here, I think he’s still a 1.5 round fighter, so the advantage here in my honest opinion falls to Alves here. This is going to be an interesting aspect of the fight though, because if Magomedov has fixed all of his cardio and pacing problems, he could very well be a dangerous man.
Prediction: Magomedov via KO R2 (1/3)
Women’s Bantamweight
Tamires Vidal (+300) (7-2-0, NS) v Melissa Gatto (-410) (8-2-2, 2 FLS)
Striking: Vidal has a bit of a power and explosiveness advantage here, especially very early on, but Gatto is a bit more well versed and a bit more cleaner when it comes to striking.
Wrestling/Grappling: This is a clear advantage to Gatto, she is very, very good on the ground and if she can completely lock down the movement of Vidal, it could be a long, drawn out fight but ultimately a victory for Gatto.
Cardio: it’s been quite a while since we’ve seen Gatto fight, but we do know that she’s been in decision bouts before, so her cardio isn’t exactly a big issue, whereas Vidal has that style where she needs to get a quick finish or she is going to slow down substantially. Gatto should have the slightly better cardio here, but that time away could prove otherwise.
Prediction: Gatto via UD (1/3)
Light Heavyweight
Oumar Sy (D) (9-0-0, 9 FWS) v Tuco Tokkos (D) (10-3-0, 3 FWS)
Striking: I frankly have no clue who the better striker is here, Sy has a longer reach and that could assist in his striking, but it’s a double debut, I won’t actually know until the fight happens.
Wrestling/Grappling: What I am confident in when it comes to wrestling is the fact that Sy is going to look for takedowns, that’s his bread and butter, he loves getting those takedowns, locking in a body lock or a getting his hooks in, and raining down blows from above, he is vicious once he is able to maintain a ground and pound position.
Cardio: Tokkos is coming in on short notice, so he probably doesn’t have the gas tank for a full blown fight, so expect him to come out swinging in the first round, but after that, it should mostly be Sy being the fresher fighter, considering he’s done all the cardio and conditioning training.
Prediction: Sy via KO R1 (2/3)
Lightweight
Tom Nolan (-450) (6-1-0, NS) v Victor Martinez (+340) (13-5-0, NS)
Striking: The main attraction for Nolan is his striking, he is a dangerous boxer who has a sneaky strong left hand, and Martinez tends to leave that side exposed when he retreats or circles away, which makes Nolan and his reach advantage a bit of a dangerous combination. Martinez is great on the feet too, but he’s been hurt before and is a bit susceptible to follow up shots, something Nolan does well also.
Wrestling/Grappling: I think Nolan is well rounded enough to have the edge in wrestling here, but I only say that before I haven’t seen Martinez grapple yet… so Nolan probably has the advantage here.
Cardio: Tough one to tell… I’m gonna keep it safe and say its possible even, but since both fighters are finishers, I don’t know if it matters too much.
Prediction: Nolan via KO R1 (2/3)
Main Card
Women’s Strawweight
Angela Hill (#12) (-160) (16-13-0, NS) v Luana Pinheiro (#13) (+130) (11-2-0, NS)
Striking: Hill is overall the better and more competent striker, as well as the more pace effective one, whereas Pinheiro is only known for that R1 KO power kind of striking style, so I do think Hill has the advantage here, plus, her Muay Thai is fun to watch so keep an eye on those fun clinch strikes!
Wrestling/Grappling: This is Pinheiro’s only way to win, she’s a very good grappler with awesome throws in her arsenal, but we have been seeing Hill do well at avoiding a lot of the throws that her opponents attempt, her whizzer is fairly good and her instincts to get back to the feet are great. Advantage still falls to Pinheiro here, but Hill shouldn’t be underestimated with her grappling and wrestling.
Cardio: Given that Hill has been in 5 round fights before, and that she rarely fades even after a 3 round war, I think she has the better cardio here, and I mean, we just saw Pinheiro absolutely gas out when she fought Ribas, so there’s that.
Prediction: Hill via UD (1/3)
Bantamweight
Adrian Yanez (-350) (16-5-0, 2 FLS) v Vinicius Salvador (+275) (14-6-0, 2 FLS)
Striking: Yanez has the cleaner boxing, he is awesome at angling away and firing away outside of his opponents effective cone of attack. He could perhaps be in trouble if he gets too reckless and starts hanging around in the pocket too much, but if he’s sticking and moving, he has the advantage here… so, I suppose the advantage is circumstantial but Yanez should be the more effective striker.
Wrestling/Grappling: I mean, since Yanez doesn’t grapple, I’d be inclined to think that Salvador has the better wrestling here, but it kind of feels like a slightly irrelevant thing to talk about. Both fighters are mostly strikers so… this particular category doesn’t matter that much.
Cardio: Again, a tough one to figure out since both fighters are finishers somewhat. I do think Yanez has the ability to do well in all three rounds, but that’s about it.
Prediction: Yanez via KO R2 (1/3)
Welterweight
Ramiz Brahimaj (+170) (10-4-0, NS) v Themba Gorimbo (-205) (12-4-0, 2 FWS)
Striking: This is all Gorimbo here, since Brahimaj both has a massive reach disadvantage, and really is just a good grappler. Gorimbo is also coming off a KO win so that feeling of knocking someone out could be a feeling he might chase this weekend.
Wrestling/Grappling: I’m inclined to say it’s pretty even here, but there is concern on my end surrounding the injury of Brahimaj… is he able to wrestle and grapple as effectively as he could prior to the spinal injury? That will most likely be answered this weekend. Gorimbo is a great wrestler though, he’s solid on the ground and could effectively shut down any submission attacks Brahimaj tries to set up.
Cardio: Two years away, nursing an injury like what Brahimaj has been doing could hamper his cardio in some way. That’ll also be answered this weekend so at the moment, I suppose Gorimbo has better cardio, but still i’m not too confident in saying that.
Prediction: Gorimbo via KO R1 (2/3)
Co-Main Event
Welterweight
Khaos Williams (-125) (14-3-0, NS) v Carlston Harris (+105) (19-5-0, 2 FWS)
Striking: This is all Williams, he is an incredibly powerful striker who is so explosive… I do think he has the possibility of properly testing Harris’ chin this weekend, so keep an eye out on KO props for him.
Wrestling/Grappling: On the other end of this fight, you have Harris who has a grappling advantage and honestly needs to use his grappling in this fight or he’s probably going to eat devastating punches.
Cardio: It kind of depends on who executes their gameplan better… If Williams lands heavy punches and wears down Harris, Harris’s cardio could be seriously sapped. Same as if Harris grapples and removes the explosive output of Williams, it would only drain Williams’ cardio.
Prediction: Harris via Sub R2 (1/3)
Main Event
Featherweight
Edson Barboza (#14) (+125) (24-11-0, 2 FWS) v Lerone Murphy (-150) (13-0-1, 5 FWS FWS)
Striking: This is going to be a fantastic striking fight, first and foremost. You have the power and pure kickboxing technique of Barboza versus the brilliant boxing and fluidity of Murphy. I don’t think there’s a major advantage in this fight either way, we don’t quite know where the ceiling is for Murphy, but we do know that Barboza is one of the best strikers in the division.
Wrestling/Grappling: Whilst both fighters are mainly strikers, both fighters are also extremely good on the ground, with perhaps Barboza having a slight edge given his experience in MMA compared to Murphy who has only recently added some strong wrestling into his skill set.
Cardio: I know that age is a factor here, but I believe Barboza going 5 rounds against Yusuff is proof that he has good enough cardio to push a serious and consistent pace into the championship rounds. We don’t know if Murphy can do that just yet, i guess we’ll find out in this phenomenal main event!
Prediction: Barboza via UD (1/3)
Primary Parlay: Ducote/Demopoulos o2.5 or GTD + (optional Gatto/Vidal o2.5 or GTD) + Nolan/Martinez ITD + Hill/Pinheiro o2.5 or GTD + Barboza/Murphy R3 Starts
Locks of the week: Optional Sy + Nolan + Gorimbo
Alt Bets: Alves KO R1, Pinheiro Sub R2 or 3, Williams KO R1, Murphy KO R1 2 or 3 (combo rounds)
And that's it!
Prediction accuracy as of 2024: 64.6%
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Lets have a fun and friendly discussion down below about this weekends card!
I hope you all have an amazing day, look after yourselves, and enjoy this awesome event!

I took a couple years off Rust, but came back for a little bit recently, and I noticed the bi-weekly server I play on most doesn’t hold its pop like it used to. There’s still wipe day queues, albeit not what they used to be, but generally the need for VIP queue skip on the server is gone. It used to be 3-4 days of 50-100 player queues and now by day 2 you can get in pretty easily with no queue. The 200 pop server drops down to around 50-70 pop within a week and 20-30 for the final 4-5 days. It used to stay around 80-100 right up until wipe. It just doesn’t feel the same.
Since I play exclusive to a server I can’t say if this is a common issue as it doesn’t seem to be discussed often. Do you guys notice this?
If so: I think it’s time devs consider server longevity as it relates to the current meta. I think the current raid imbalance plays a big role in this. I say imbalance because it’s pretty clear that raiding is far easier than protecting your base/loot.
In the current meta, it’s feasible for a team of 2 with proper farming strategy to bring in 1500-1800+ sulfur per minute. Most bases I raid on a trio servers require less than 40 rocket (56,000 sulfur) for a near-full raid. This is about 30 minutes of dedicated farming. Often the bases give a sulfur return or even profit, allowing you to continue just raiding endlessly. Let’s say you get back 50%, another 15 min of farming and you’re good to raid another 40 rocket base.
Personally, I think It’s simple to understand how imbalanced this is. Ore teas, jackhammers, minicopters/cars, increased awareness of snow farming, industrial systems for automation, e-furnaces…so many things to make raiding easier. No amount of clever bunkers or well thought out YouTube design can beat this. On the contrary, we’ve only had bunkers get patched, and a measly 20% buff to armored doors to counteract the changes which made raiding so much easier.
Can this be fixed with something as simple as decreasing sulfur yield? Say a 33% reduction to 200 per node or 300 with a tea? (As well as an equal adjustment to excav and sulfur quarry yields). I think it’s time this be considered to get us back to some form of balance here.
tl;dr: I think server(s) are dying too quickly as a result of raid imbalance due to the current meta, which has seen many changes increasing efficiency of raiding. I believe a solution as simple as a reduction in sulfur yield per node could be positive for server longevity and also making raids more costly and meaningful.

I really need to thank you all for making me realise just how golden my parents and relatives are! I got 89.88% and my parents are so fucking happy like they took me out for dinner, they praised me and were feeling proud. Not only them but my whole extended family is also really happy and are praising me even those relatives whose child scored more than me are really happy with my result and only said “you’ll only do better than ever now. Keep working harder” like…I can’t imagine having parents or relatives like you guys describe. The ones that mock others and ones who only thinks numbers on a piece of paper is everything. My parents (specially my father) before reuslt even said to me that even if I scored low they would still be happy. All and all I really need to thank you all, my family is really one of a kind and I will cherish and only make them more prouder.

Everytime I go on erkul to look for the best weapons components for my ships theyre rarely if ever actually sold on Hurston, the weapons manufacturing planet, instead its mostly space stations or fucking Orison (which I hate). What's the deal CIG? This doesn't make much sense to me. It feels like it'd make more sense for Hurston to be THE PLACE to get good ship weapons. How can a company with a planet not dominate the market in the system it resides in? They control a planet for pete's sake you'd think that'd give them an advantage of some sort wth.
EDIT: it's even worse then i thought, HD Showcase = 9 weapons CR Showcase = 2 bombs, 19 missiles, 18 missile racks, 4 mounts, 24 weapons NB CenterMass = 19 missiles, 19 missile racks, 9 mounts, 65 weapons Area18 CenterMass = 19 missiles, 18 missile racks, 9 mounts, 47 weapons
HOW THE HELL DOES HURSTON ONLY HAVE 9 WEAPONS, WHAT! THEYRE A WEAPONS MANUFACTURER. AT THE LEAST THEY SHOULD HAVE A SHOP LIKE CENTERMASS WITH A GENERAL INVENTORY FROM OTHER CORPS. CIG literally have made Hurston the worst planet in every way but one, its location. It doesnt have a weapons shop, it has the worst tram system in the game, (did I mention this already) it doesnt have a weapons shop (ugh), leaving its residence block you will be slowed down by a sandstorm most of the time, and it has no FPS armor shop either. Why do they hate Hurston so much? The only thing keeping me here is the Bladerunner minus the neon aesthetic they have going. It desperately needs some love.
To hammer my point home Orison has Cousin Crows which direcly overlaps in offerings with Crusader's official Showroom W. Both the showroom W and Cousin Crows offer weapons and mounts. All I'm saying is that Hurston should have the same setup, have the HD Showroom in the business district and then have a CenterMass or Cousin Crows equivalent in the city.

Okay. I love Star Wars, I love the sequels, however, I’d like to stretch my brain muscles and think of a rewrite. This is not a “They should have adapted Heir to the Empire”, nor an attack on Disney. This is merely an in hindsight rewrite. What aspects of the new canon could have been implemented to make a more solid and cohesive story? I will use the current story as a baseline, so here goes, The Force Awakens:
I’ll keep the title, mainly because I can’t think of an alternative, lazy, but I figured maybe you guys could think of one.
Opening Scrawl: Mostly the same, just remove “the last Jedi” and mention that the Republic is supporting Leia’s resistance.
The opening can be mostly the same, but instead of some random guy, have the old contact be Han, have him be the contact who tracked down someone special, R2 frozen like the original movie. Inside R2 are the last known coordinates to Luke.
Hotshot pilot Poe Dameron (who is much younger) eagerly takes the droid, when suddenly, the village is attacked by new troopers. Also, a return of battle droids to bolster their forces. Led by a masked man, who Poe shoots at, and when the beam is frozen, Han exclaims “You can’t be a Jedi?” To which Kylo Ren replies “Not anymore” and captures the two rebels and R2.
BB-8 escapes to the established rendezvous spot to try and get help. Meanwhile, Finn’s escape happens in the usual manner, but this time the three of them try and steal a shuttle, not a TIE fighter. A few hijinks occur and as they fly off, the ship is hit and the three escapees launch escape pods and land on separate parts of the planet (which is mostly mountainous, not a desert). R2 is in the possession of the First Order. Finn takes this chance to escape and rushes to the nearest port.
In space, Hux appears and berates his men, who say the traitor won’t escape them. A screen blinking as Finn moves to a space port.
Cut to a run down town nearby, where a stranger is hanging around, some people giving him a strange glance. An alien approaches “New Republic folk aren’t welcome here, the Coalition of Planets earned their independence from you dogs.” To which the older one, a man with green hair, replies “Sorry, we aren’t exactly on the best terms with the Republic either.” And we see a flash of something on his holster.
A commotion is heard, a woman’s voice calls. The man rushes to the Pantoran’s aid as they try and wrestle BB-8 from junk dealers. “You don’t need this droid.” The man waves his hand and the dealer hands them the droid, going along his way.
“You need to be more careful Rey, I know you’re anxious, but we have to have patience.”
“I know, Master Jacen, but rumours of attacks, and now BB-8 being all alone, it can’t be good for Dameron.”
The two then freeze and sense something, darkness, but also familiar. They rush towards it and find themselves at a space port, where a fight has broken out, Troopers and battle droids, have surrounded a “Traitor” as one yells out, brandishing electrostaffs. Without hesitation, Jacen ignites a blue lightsaber and duels a Trooper, Rey following suit with her green saber.
Finn cowers, but when tossed a staff from Jacen, he defends himself with temporary courage. Finn notices BB-8, and tries to explain the situation with Poe, but the group is attacked by a ship and they take off in a generic ship (not the falcon). A small dog fight occurs, then some exposition.
Jacen was Luke’s first true apprentice and Rey is…well, she’s Jacen’s apprentice, basically a sister. They explain that, after the last great battle with the Imperial remnant (the equivalent to “You fought in the Clone Wars?”, just this time the Mando-Verse), the Republic lost its standing and many planets left for their independence, becoming a loose collection of like minded groups (like how Nevarro is doing), called the Coalition of Planets. Protecting each other from pirates and gangster influence.
Bound by dwindling Republic bureaucracy, corruption from within (as seen in Mandalorian), as well as having her lineage revealed (Bloodline) Leia split off from the New Republic and did the same as the new Jedi Order, help anyone in need, regardless of red tape. Establishing a Resistance against galactic corruption. Or just Resistance.
Luke disappeared 3 years ago, supposedly looking for the ancient homeworld of the Jedi. But only R2 would know his location.
Finn is overwhelmed, revealing some backstory, he never knew his family, he lived and trained for the First Order, “but seeing combat…I can’t do it.”
A message comes through, Poe and Han are alive and well and want to arrange a meet up at “her place”, outside First Order eyes. Jacen says “Sorry Finn, looks like you’re stuck with us a little longer.” And they zoom away.
Meanwhile, throughout this whole thing, we cut back to a modest fleet of ships, led by Hux, who tolerates the presence of Kylo Ren. All the while, the latter is attempting to unlock R2. “You’ll never get it to open, even with your magic…maybe try your brute strength.” Kylo force grabs Hux, soldiers living and droid aim their blasters at him. “The last known location is hidden in this droid, Luke Skywalker is the only one who can threaten the Supreme Leader’s power.” He puts Hux down.
They wrongly believe there is a key of sorts amongst the escapees and they follow “him” to find it.
The heroes land at Maz’s place, and Finn amazed with the diverse aliens, “I’ve only been around humans, General Hux is very serious about that”. The group introduce themselves to Maz, who gets all mystic about the 3 of them.
Jacen should not fear living up to his parents’ legacy, Rey should be more confident in who she is and Finn should find something to do with his life rather than run. He says that “You can’t fight the First Order.” And tries to leave, but not before Maz discovers a homing beacon imbedded into Finn’s neck.
The First Order attacks and Finn, begins to run as the Jedi fight off the squad of Droids. Then, he runs into Kylo Ren. “Seems Hux’s failure paid off…now where is the key?” Petrified, Finn is left at the hands of Kylo Ren, until blaster fire can be heard, and the Calvary arrives.
Poe and Black Squadron, led by the Millenium Falcon defeat the First Order soldiers and droids and as Kylo follows the Falcon closely, Finn pulls a blaster out and without looking, Kylo rips it from his hands “Foolish trooper, how simple minded.” He then freezes Finn and surrounded by battle droids, he takes him back for interrogation.
However, as everyone reunites with Han, Leia and Poe, Rey realises Finn was still missing. Sensing a dark, yet familiar, presence, Leia points to their location “Han, it’s him, he’s alive!” At these words, Han and Jacen rush to save Finn. Han takes out the droids and Jacen has a duel with Kylo. The two are relatively matched, but after Han and Finn escape, Jacen feigns defeat and is taken instead.
Whilst everyone is worried (including red-armed Threepio) Maz reassures them that they need not worry, holding a tracker. Revealing that in the battle, she gave it to Jacen as a “Surprise they wouldn’t expect.” With it the group head back to Resistance headquarters.
Finn and Han bond, the latter explaining how he knows all too well about fleeing an institution and just wanting a life of adventure (Solo). But that “You can’t live like that, one day, you have to make a choice.”
Meanwhile, Leia and Rey discuss how the Jedi’s ranks barely reach 100 and how thin they have been spread. “And without Jacen, who can rally them? Leia, it may be time you came back to the Order-“ “No, I can’t, you know that…you also know that they’d listen to you.” But Rey shakes her head, “No, I’m not worthy, especially since causing my mother and…and his death.”
Leia then sighs and says solemnly “He’s alive, Rey, my son is alive.”
Elsewhere, Jacen and Kylo confront each other a back and forth, one taunting the other about their heritage. Then finally “You were always one step behind me, is that why you turned? Power? Huh, Ben!?”
Ben removes his helmet. “You have no idea what I have seen these last 3 years…the Supreme Leader is my master, I am Ben Solo no more.” His eyes well up, just for a second.
Kylo then enters the ships bridge and undermines the staff, much to Hux’s dismay. Kylo calls up Supreme Leader Snoke, they discuss how they found the tracker and destroys it, but reveals that Jacen knows nothing of how to awaken R2. Snoke reassures him that he no longer fears Skywalker and Kylo asks if that means“The Weapon” is ready.
Snoke says no, but soon, however he feels the conflict within Kylo and remarks “Has the Light corrupted you? Your grandfather would be ashamed.” As the call ends, Hux smirks at Kylo’s expense and the masked man returns to his chamber (feel the pull to the light, etc. Vader’s helmet).
Arriving at the Resistance base, they discuss how the tracker went silent, but they managed to get a lock on a transmission in the general area and believe it’s the First Order fleet. They plan an attack. Poe will lead Black squadron and Wedge will lead Rogue Squadron to distract the fighters. The Falcon will fly to Hux’s Star Destroyer and infiltrate.
Poe wishes Finn luck as the former excitedly goes to his ship. Leia and Han say their goodbyes and Rey gets nervous, having failed to contact the Jedi.
The attack begins, they notice the fleet is less impressive at a glance, two run down Star Destroyers and a single pristine one. Either way, they fight through the fighters and the Falcon crashes into the hanger. They fight and Han asked where Jacen and Finn says “I’ve never been on General Hux’s ship, Can’t we just follow the Force, create a map or something” “THAT’S NOT HOW THE FORCE WORKS!!”
Rey looks around and focuses, noting a dark presence above them. “It’s him, Ben will want to keep an eye on Jacen.” They run to save him. Meanwhile, a battered and bruised Jacen uses the Mind trick to escape in the confusing, but fears not having his saber.
As Hux looks at one of the Star Destroyers being defeated, he sweats. “Where are those reinforcements, we’re are not ready for a full scale battle.” But Kylo ignores him, feeling a presence.
The group manage to reunite with Jacen, who notes that R2 is still on the ship. Before they can devise a plan, R2 comes crashing towards them. “The Supreme Leader has recanted the search for Skywalker, for his weapon is nearing completion.” Kylo is holding Jacen’s Saber.
You then have the scene, just not over an endless pit, Han is killed, Chewie knocks Kylo back with his Bow caster. But this time Jacen pulls the saber from the air and has to remind them to grieve later and run, the ship is falling apart.
Hux evacuates and swears Kylo’s name, for ruining 3 ships. But as we cut to Poe celebrating like an idiot, a fleet much more impressive jumps in, a voice over all channels speaks in Hutteese calls out. Rotta the Hutt, Jabba’s son has come to Hux’s aid. The Hutt’s Second Order, attacks en masse.
The Star Destroyer begins to collapse, and as they reach the Falcon, Kylo flings debris at the ship. With Jacen too weak to fight, Rey finds the courage to confront Kylo. They duel and even with his weakened state, Kylo easily overpowers her, Rey’s only ally is jumping through the debris. Of course there is taunting.
“You fight good for a fraud.”
“I’m no fraud, I’m a Jedi, like my mother and my…father.”
“You can’t even admit you’re nothing like him, you are weak Rey and undeserving of his name. Unlike me, you have no ties to his legacy.”
“Shut up!”
“You are nothing but an orphan pitied on by your so-called ‘father’.”
“I said shut up!!”
“You will never be worthy of the name SKYWALKER!!”
(Yes, he is projecting)
Rey lunges at him, but even her anger isn’t enough, only managing to scar his face. Jacen and Chewie start up the Falcon, but debris is blocking the way and Jacen can’t focus, they need Rey to move it. He begs Finn to go help.
“But I don’t have a weapon!”
“Yes you do!”
Jacen hands him his Saber and Finn rushes in and attacks, but is defeated all the same, but this has given Rey enough time to throw the debris at her cousin and save a comatose Finn.
The small group of Fighters prepare to fly off, Poe still eager to fight the Hutt’s fleet, but stopped by Wedge.
Now for the ending.
Leia, Rey and Chewie mourn Han’s death, Jacen and Finn are taken into intensive care and the Resistance calls for its remaining forces across the Outer Rim for aid.
Leia takes a look at R2 and brings Threepio over, who is sad his friend is frozen and unmoving, but at hearing Threepio’s voice, R2 awakes noting that he’d only awake at his best friend’s voice. Transmitting the coordinates to a mysterious part of the galaxy, to the planet Acht-To, Rey takes the Falcon to reunite with her father.
On the bridge of Rotta’s ship, Hux is reprimanded by the former gangster, much to Hux’s embarrassment. Though he does cheer up at the knowledge that the oh so powerful apprentice of the Supreme Leader was defeated and licking his wounds. And with the knowledge that the weapon is nearing completion, he looks on in awe when they jump from hyperspace. As Starkiller base comes into view.
Arriving at Acht-To, Rey climbs the shore up the mountains, until she meets with a hooded figure, looking over a makeshift grave. He turns and the two merely look at each other and the camera pans out.
Credits.
Few. That took longer than expected. As you can see I made some changes, having the Jedi be around, just with significantly smaller stature.
The First Order isn’t a pointless name, it’s merely a wing of a greater organisation apposing the current regime, a Rebel Alliance, if you will.
I made Rey a Pantoran, because we needed more aliens and it’s part of a larger reference. Star Wars is all about family and that’s the main focus I want to aim for, this is a new generation wanting to either prove themselves to the previous generation, or surpass it.
But instead of having a traditional family via blood, I’d have it be that Luke’s child, is adopted. Show the struggles an adopted child would face if brought into a famous family. But also, it’s honouring George, who played a Pantoran in Revenge of the Sith, alongside his daughters and have this new character a young Jedi, like George’s son was in RotS.
All of whom were adopted, but they are all still Lucas’ the same as George. I think that is a nice connection and honour Star Wars’ creator.
Also, yes, I will eventually reveal that Jacen is Jacen Syndulla. Have Rebels be a companion piece that reveals his origin. Also, I leave the other Jedi’s identities open ended. Is there Ahsoka? Ezra? Cal? Maybe even Omega? Ooh, who knows, I smell (profit!) spin off material!
Anyway, let me know what you thought and I’ll get to The Last Jedi, eventually. And a reminder, what should the title be for my version of Episode 7? Not sure The Force Awakens works anymore.

I just a letter from my leasing company from Namur council stating that I had to pay a fine as I did not have a parking ticket displayed. It was my car as stated in the letter at the street and time.
However, I did put a valid parking ticket from the machine, and I even double checked as it stated 23:59 for that Sunday (i.e free whole day parking). I also checked the date on it to be sure. I remember it clearly as I was showing my kid how to do get the ticket from the machine and we messed up the 1st ticket so I had to make another correct one.
Clearly without any evidence, picture of the my car with the ticket, I will not be able to contest it.
Three questions:
1) Can I ask them to prove that I didnt have a ticket? If they took a photo of my windscreen, it will be possible to see the ticket but I doubt one can read it.
2) If I did find my ticket, will it make a difference? As having a ticket doesn't mean it was displayed correctly. It should still be in my paper recycling bin in the garage but dont want to go through it all for nothing.
3) If I just paid the fine now, can I claim it back later if proven incorrect? I have the feeling that this is one of those infuriating mistakes that you cant win.
Thanks.

So this is a dumb question, and maybe in the wrong place, I know, but I don't want to get into any trouble about it. I love playing card games. I'm also an artist and like making designs.
I liked a couple of card types from a card game I'm very fond of. A very famous card game. Rules say I can't name them, so I won't.
So I went through the effort of designing these cards I like from one style into another style of the same game, same company, specifically so I could add them to my card deck and play with them. I was VERY accurate and meticulous with making them accurate so they would fit perfectly into the existing cards.
Now the problem. How do I print them nice enough to fit in the deck as well?Upon some research, the legality of printing custom cards associated with brands can be tricky and not so legal at all. And since these are as identical as I could make them to the real thing, I feel like that's a problem.
I don't want them poorly made on basic paper at home, I want them to be sturdy and last, but I also don't want to be fined. I'd like to know the legality of it, what the best way to do it may be, or if I can do it at all. These will never be sold, only for personal use.
I don't want to be in trouble for some cards. And this is a very famous card game from a big company. Would they hit me with fines? I'm just worried, is all.
I apologize if this is not the place to ask this, I just didn't know if a card game subreddit could help properly with brand related legal things.

This is a rant about my stuff.
I took everything to my ex's place, was rushed, and one bin of stuff never fully dried and I opened the bin, today. Now I have to rewash everything inside and see what's salvageable.
I want to properly do the Kon Mari method, but clothes have been such a sore issue and I'm waiting to actually fit into stuff again. I have alot of hangups around clothes I am trying to work through first while trying to consolidate my stuff from 3 locations into mainly 1 location. Also, I am in a program with personal property restrictions that I could only bring a couple of bins at a time, and the Kon Mari method says to make a pile of all of your clothes, pick your favorite things and use that as a guide to figure out what does or doesn't bring joy.
I have gotten rid of mediums and larges because I never liked how I looked in adult six small clothing and up. I was always children's sized, gained a bunch of weight (And not in a good way), then gained more weight, then gained more weigh. I know for a fact that nothing above a size small brings me joy except for 2 items worn as a set which I want to try on again and will likely give away within a year from now.
The only adult clothes above an adult small I am keeping besides maybe the 2 named items are 1 shirt which is otherwise the same as 1 I have for regular wear and can be used for crafting matching items; and I have video game swag I imagined being given away at a need event I used to attend that the host used to give away things from a friend who used to hoard as prizes, or I can sell them now that some of this stuff is limited videogame stuff you can only get if you attended a certain convention, and that's been separate this whole time.
I gained a ton of weight and lost a ton of muscle simultaneously during the pandemic which sucked. Was eating really shittily, and am finally eating 3x a day from a meal provider and I calculate about 2 lbs of weight loss per month between my work commute and work assuming my body gets used to the eating every day and makes that my baseline. Unfortunately it could take me 4 to 16 lbs to go down to my prepandemic dimensions, and I have bin of clothes I can add to mg every day wardrobe and more clothes I can try on.
All in all, I have 6 bins of clothes. 1 is work clothes, 1 is half crafting and half winter clothes I am waiting until October to give away to unhoused people (This city is sweep heavy, so it is better to hold onto the clothes and give them out when it is needed.). I regret not going through go my clothes for like months after putting stuff back in storage because I could have given the winter clothes out. Someone who does food distribution has to see people shivering with blue lips. The current season clothes I am ready to give away fit in a damaged backpack which is OK for someone to use in their tent to keep things together or separated afrer a rain, just not aesthetically pleasing. The every day clothes I have right now fit in 1 bin.
1 bin is regular casual clothes I can wear. Another is winteseasonal. 1 is adult venue suitable, and another is in a similar vein. We're at 2% positivity right now which is almost 100k total cases in my city since the only data being provided right now is the test positivity rate in the hospitals. I am waiting for the test positivity rate to go below 0.1% which is 100 cases per 100k.
Going through my stuff today, I see summer and fall stuff I am currently ready to give away, however I am waiting for the season to approach so I am giving things away when people actually want/are looking for those items. For example, I have several pool floats and I have 1 July themed 1. I don't get to swim, I don't like being around top less men cis or not, and I'm probably never going to get to go to a pool party. I have 1 pool float I am probably going to hold onto, and 2 which still hurt because I am a fighting fetishist and they make for blow up weapons.
I looked through my craft supplies and brought out a bunch of stuff I didn't know if I would never use up because I recently found myself making a bunch of pet toys put of supplies left over from last holiday season. There are alot of unhoused people with baby animals right now, and pet toys are something people can use but cannot budget for if they are poor, so I am making suff and then giving them away. And I am glad to say that I won't be hoarding ribbon and faux suede indefinitely, that much of it is actually going to get used.
Over the next year, I will probably start using up my beads in different crafts and I have a couple of specific projects coming up.
Bad news, I still have 2 full bins worth of papers I need to digitize. I am trying to NOT bother with the ex anymore because I just can't, and I have a giant box of papers in his place from when I made a huge effort to downsize my storage unit. Maybe this weekend, but I don't want to see his face or hear from him.
The good thing about spending time at his place was it allowed me to wear things I would wear for him but wouldn't wear at mine, and it allowed me to get rid of a bunch of things I would have otherwise kept holding onto. It took wearing those items regularly to realize I didn't like them after all. And one item I didn't like wound up fitting me better over time and matches something as did keep, but I might still get rid of it in a year.
I would have liked to bring more items over to wear while there, but I am finding I would much rather stay at my place now that I have an ESA and the food situation has gotten better (I am in an interim housing program which is supposed to provide 3 meals a day and accommodate my dietary restrictions. They switched food providers and now I am generally able to get 3 meals a day, but there is still no laundry services on site which is an issue.). I habe exactly 1 outfit at their place which is specifically to wear at their place because I don't mind wearing it there but would never wear it where I currently live.
Once I go down in size to prepandemic clothes, I'll have more shirts, pants, and under clothes I can wear from the bin of casual wear (Which is really like a half bin worth of clothes), but I would rather get down to the lower end of my prepandemic employed weight as those pants are not as comfortable until they're in the oversized due to sensory issues.
Good news, I went through my electronics box and I found a bunch of stuff which is his. Bad news, I still have project items for him to fix along with holiday lights which went out. Good news is he might teach me how to fix the holiday lights. Bad news, he's a dick about working on electronics and had been promising me since 2015 to work on electronics together only to never actually show me anything and get angry.
Oh, and I still have my sentimental iPad which he broke. He promised me he would replace the screen. Also, a laptop screen. I might be picking up work this year which will allow me to purchase replacement screens and get him to fix it as I seem to keep breaking my devices further when I try to fix them myself. I have a phone which is simpler to fix and breaks alot. It's enough for me to know how to fix that, I guess. Even if I tried to do the iPad and laptop repairs myself, the good thing about not being complete 0 contact right now, is I don't have to spend hundreds on repair plus parts if I fuck up.
There was more, but that's about it. My holiday stuff year round is 2 bins worth of stuff and I only have 1 designated bin. ☹️ Did I say I really like Halloween? I guess I have to wait for this holiday season to do what I can while also holding back on supplies. It ultimately comes out to a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, though.
I have a a whole foods bags of pom poms I tried to make last holiday season, and it looks like I will be finishing and giving away pom pom garlands and/or ornaments this year because I ultimately ran out of time last year except for what I finished for a community mural. And 1 bag is technically things I will be selling. So theoretically I have a bin and a bag worth of potential keeps past this winter, so that's less daunting than it sounds.
I think I might be ready to give away my felt Halloween bags, and I am ready to give away a bunch of smaller fall items I didn't think I could let go of last year, but I am waiting for Fall when people actually want that stuff. I'm sad that St. Patrick's Day passed and I had a supplies I wanted to use but didn't because my stuff was somewhere in storage. Same with Easter stuff. Now everything is consolidated.
Also, I found a pickle plush I have been stuck with because the ex bought it for me almost a decade ago and was a huge dick. My main memory from that night was us sitting in some carnival ride feeling like crap because he was belittling me and I was wondering to myself what the point of being there was while he treated me like shit. I could wash it and give it away, or I can wash it and give it to him because he loves food themed stuff. And he can be simultaneously sentimental and cruel when it comes to objects. I don't want to see the pickle at his place, and I don't want to think about him holding onto it in some weird way for years, but I don't want to look at it, and he has a ton of food themed stuffed animals. Idk. But Mr. Pickle has to go.

(New account because people around me follow the original account and I wanted to stay anonymous)
M[20]
The last time I thought about myself was 4 years ago. I used to work hard diligently and I was proud of myself. I was in the top 5 of my batch. Then covid started and I haven't studied seriously since. I did not have a smartphone of my own before that. After lockdown,everything went down hill. I didn't study at all in my senior years and I just managed to pass somehow. I felt like I was not capable of doing anything. All my loved ones wanted me to do engineering because they felt ithat it would make me independent. They got me enrolled in tier 2 university. I felt that I should do this for them because my parents will be senior citizens in 8 years and I have a brother 8 years younger than me. I love my parents and my brother. I don't want my parents to keep working. and I want to take care of my brother financially and help him finish school and get a degree.
My university has good placement opportunities. But I've been messing up since the first year of my university. I failed on subject in the first semester itself and lied to my parents that I've scored well. I cleared theat subject in the next sem. my second year of uni is going very bad. My score is below average and the exams I'm writing now are not going so well.
I want to study and I know that I have to study but I don't open the books at all. I know I'm miserable right now but still I won't start reading. I'm always on my phone. My screen time is 18 hours. I am tired of myself. Why am I not the same I was 4 years ago. What is happening to me. I feel dud all the time.
I think that I should study and then I imagine myself studying and that's it. The delusion makes me think I already studied but in reality, I haven't even touched the book.
There are long panic attacks the previous night of exam. but I don't do anything. I go in to write the paper. I feel like k word my old self and present self. I come out of exam and the cycle continues.
At this rate, what will happen to me? My family who is going to be dependent on me,what about them? I I really want to do something about myself. Why am I like this
I have to earn. why am I like this
Please be brutal to me. I have to know how bad I am

UNMARKED SPOILERS BELOW, I will sadly go into spoiler territorry so often the post would look like a bad SCP Foundation article if I tried to black out every single one.
First thing I thought upon finding out about the Wizard Three in Sigil was to notice an opportunitty to include more iconic characters. As we learned more about their role I noticed several complaints about them. Like, "why are we having epic level NPCs relegating the work to mid-level party"? Or "isn't Tasha evil? What is she doing here?" Or "how the hell did Kas fool Tasha, who knows Mordekainen very well?". And so an idea to fix these issues all at once presented itself to me.
In this version of adventure, the PCs are summonned not by Wizard Three, but Wizard Nine. Nine iconic, high-level wizards or other magic users from across D&D worlds or even beyond. They were all summonned to Sigil, to each tap into one of Outer Planes of appriopriate aligment and channel that power into Wish, so the Will of the entire multiverse wishes of Vecna's death. Once it fails, the wizards realize it means one of them must nto be who they claim, possibly an agent of Vecna. So they immediatelly lock themselves in Sanctuary - only PCs can enter and leave because they weren't i nthe room doing the casting of that super Wish. And every time they return with next piece of the Rod, they find Wizards in most disfunctional game of Among Us ever, often probably erupting into violence - this is nine geniuses working AGAINST each other as everyone suspects everyone.
Now, you could keep the original reveal, where Mordekainen is the imposter. If you do, I would advocate against bringing any magic users who know him, like Tasha, Elminster, Storm Silverhand or Dalamar the Dark. If you decide to change the imposter's identity, you can happily bring in some of them, but I would avoid those who know each other (so if you want Elminster, then no Mordekainen or Dalamar).
Evil characters can work with this group because of several reasons, which they should be open about. They may vary from "You think I don't realize Vecna is going to screw ME over alongside everyone else", through "uppity gods need to be put in their place, especially this one" to "I would love what the guy is promising to do to all creation, but I'm not bending my knee to NOBODY!".
Below is a list of proposed characters to use from as many worlds I could think of. I will be comign back to this post to add more names and more worlds with further research, potentially going even beyond strictly D&D settings. You ca drop your own suggestions, I will happily add them to the list with next edit. All requirements are that the character is able to cast 9th level spells, if you have any notes for potential DM willing to use them, please provide them as well.
Eberron - I noticed most of suggestions for Eberron are of evil variety, due to the setting's lack of high-level heroic NPCs (with two exceptions that cannot leave their seats of power), but we'll work with what we have

• Mordain the Fleshweaver is the most popular suggestion, being a rare Chaotic Evil 18th level Wizard in Eberron. An issue is that Mordain is often used, and even recommended by Keith Baker to be used as Eberron's stand-in for Vecna. If you wanna run adventures with Hand or Eye of Vecna in Eberron, they are hand and Eye of Mordain. This may disqualify him, but you could alternatively play into it. Have Mordain rant Vecna is "ripping him off" or call the lich "a pale immitation of true dark sorcery".
• Hektula is Keith Baker's personal choice for a standin for Tasha. She is a pwoerful Rakshasa Archmage, with passion for collecting forbidden tomes of dark magic, serving one of the Overlords and firmly Lawful Evil. I certainly could see some laughs when wizards realize there's an impostor among them and all eyes turn towards Hektula, who goes "Of course, blame the shapeshifter!".
• I have seen floated idea for Sora Kell or her three daughters. The Daughters canonically in 3rd edition had levels 10 or 11 on top of being half-fiend Hags. You could maybe handwave that they get to cast 9th level spells as a coven, Sora Kell is more ambigious, with no statblock and her lore giving vibes of Baba Yaga, fans compare her to Demon Lords in power level. Personally I feel she would stand out too much.

Exandria (Critical Role) - I noticed most Exandria characters don't reach this high level - even Circle of Brass from Calamity were level 15. However, I found two options to provide a bit of fanservice for any critters at your table, both Chaotic Good:

• the Mighty Nein Reunion got us level 20 versions of Caleb Widogast, so he's great excuse for a DM to do their best Liam O'Brian impression of angsty bi diseaster wizard who really wishes he was back with his boyfriend, instead of being trapped here with all those asshole wizards.
• Not a wizard but a Bard, but if you want to bend a defintion a bit, Scanlan Shorthalt could be pulled out from a moment in time before he lost an ability to cast Wish. Considering this happens in final episode of Campaign 1 and their final enemy was Vecna, it would be thematically appriopriate.

Krynn (Dragonlance)

• Raistlin Majere is by FAR msot iconic character of the entire Dragonlance, the go to if you want to include an iconic Dragonlance character. Dragonlance Saga 15 anniversarry lists his aligment as Neutral, while 3rd edition book Legends of the Twins lits him as a Neutral Evil - the latter is after he becomes master of Time and Present and so powerful enough to be included.
• Dalamar the Dark - after Raistlin's demise, Dalamar was touted as new most powerful wizard, he was paired with Mordekainen and Elminster to form original Wizard Three. He is also listed as Neutral Evil, but I would argue he could be Lawful Evil.
• Fistandantilus - the greatest wizard before Raistlin, he is also Neutral Evil, but I woudl argue he's more CHaotic Evil, due to his tendency to backstab other wizards to steal their power. I honestly cannot see this guy working in this adventure, he seems like he would try to bodyjack someone and get 8 Desintegrates to the face.
• Phalin Majere - if you want a good-aligned representative of Krynn, Raistlin's nephew, Phalin is basically a magical prodigy and chosen one and firmly Lawful Good. The issue may be that it may be hard to find a time where he is powerful enough to be here, but before Wizard magic on Krynn went away (because all Gods, including Gods of magic, f*ed off to space and then had the whole planet stolen from under their noses) and he had to reclass to Sorcerer, starting all the way from the bottom.

Magic the Gathering - there are many worlds in this franchise, but they're often very shallow, so I will group this stuff together.

• My first pick would be Liliana Vess, originally from Dominaria, nowadays hanging out on Arcavios, home world of Strixheaven. Strixheaven book lists her as true neutral, and she has a history full of twists and turns where this character development from original evil could be justified. Personality-wise she could be the easiest quick replacement for Tasha, even if you don't feel like putting in the whole group of nine wizards. Also if you have player bringign back a Curricullum of Chaos PC for this game I can only imagine their jaw drop upon seeing "Provesso Vess" among greatest wizards in the Multiverse, snarking at all of them.
• Teferi Akosa, originally from Dominaria, now his homeland of Zalfir became a separate plane. He was always extremely powerful, what if accidentially phasing his whole country out of time and space, he was always heroic and good intended, but often prone of getting unwaranted suspictions from others, which makes him good for this kind of plot.
• From Ravnica we could pull either Jace Beleren or the dragon-mage Niv-Mizzet, during their respective time as the Living Guildpact, representative of all 10 Guilds of Ravnica. In this position their could fit well for neutral-aligned places of aligment chart, Jace leaning towards Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral somewhat more.
• Speaking of Dragons, here is a crazy idea - Nicol Bolas, one of greatest villains in Magic as Chaotic Evil representative. Okay, it may be not a good idea, I cannot imagine a situation where he doesn't try to hijack the plot and take Vecna's place or just kill everyone when the problem of potential traitor arises. Still, the idea of this really evil demigod-drgon being his petty, snarky self towards other iconic characters is kinda funny.
• For a reach more into Magic's past, we have Urza, original protagonist. He would fit well into Lawful Neutral or even Lawful Evil role, considering last time he dedicated himself to stop multiversal-level threat, original Phyrexia, his means quickly "begun resembling Phyrexian ends". This is the guy who honestly tried to outeugenics a wizard nazi "for greater good". Seriously, so much of Magic lore can be summed up with words "Local Man Ruins Everything" and picture of Urza.
• A different type of Magic candidate is Jodah, ultrapowerful Archmage who is not a planeswalker like others, but had often maneuver around them, so he is used to having to outsmart powerful people. He represents all colors of mana so he would fit for any of middle collum positions.
• Jodah old associate, Jaya Ballard, could also work very well, considering she did eventually ecame so powerful some planes confused her with a diety and established religions to her. She strikes me as a Neutral Good candidate.

Mystara - one of my beloved classic worlds, poses an issue because it never conformed to classic 9-types aligment, isntead opting for lawful (defined as "altruistic") and chaotic ("selfish"). A rare exception, 2e book Glantri: Kingdom of Magic, was a big help here.

• Prince Haldemar of Haaken - protagonist of series of short stories "Voyage of Princess Ark". Daring explorer, captain of flying ship Princess Ark, hero of Empire of Alphatia. Champions of Mystara describes him as good and heroic but having "typical Alphatian chaotic thendencies". As such I'd lean towards Chaotic Good or Neutral Good.
• Bargle the Infamous - Chaotic Evil, if D&D ever had something close to the Joker, it was Bargle. Bargle was originally an evil wizard who kills mentolove interest of the player in introductory adventure of Red Box, but this made him enemy #1 of whole generations of players and elevated to first iconic evil wizard. I would be wary of using him, as any D&D veteran or grognard may forget about Vecna in favor of trying to strangle the guy with his bare hands.
• Demetrion Karagentreropolus - most powerful Archmage in Empire of Thyatis (think: fantasy Roman Empire), he is of lawful aligment and described as sometiems working secretly to undermine Emperor's decisions that he finds to be bad for the Empire and its people. As such he could slot as Lawful Good.
• Empress Eriadna the Wise of Alphatia - current Empress of Alphatia, canonically of Neutral aligment, she rules msot powerful empire in the world and probably haven't conquered all of it only because her subjects care more for magical research and getting high. She's 80-years old.
• Prince Zandor - 40-years old son of empress Eriadna, described as "chaos personified", his aligment is "Chaotic (very)". Thanks to Mr. Welch it became popular to play him as wizard version of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. Use him if you want a comic relief.
• Master Terari - former Emperor of Alphatia, he abdicated in favor of Eriadna and disappeared, he now runs magic school in a small kingdom of Karameikos, he is working to ascend to Immortality (basically godhood without calling it so).
• Principalities of Glantri have multiple Princes of various all kinds of aligment. The country got 2e book which gave them classic aligment., I will list them below, but two I would avoid are Eitienne d'Amberville and Jaggar von Drachenfels, since they are actually Immortals (Rad, patron of magic and Diamond,, discount Bahamut, respectively). Immortals officially aren't Gods, but this is often a distinction without difference, so I cannot see them showing up in Sigil without Lady of Pain nuking the whole building.
• Princess Carnelia de Belcadiz y Fedorias (Lawful Neutral, extremely beautiful, known for her horrible temper) and Princess Carlotina Erewan ((LG, basically discount Galadriel) rule two Elven principalities, the latter rules more traditional Elves, the former's subjects are...Spanish Elves. Yes, really. They do not like each other.
• On the evil side we have Prince Morphail Gorevitch-Woszlany (wizard Nosferatu, which is like Vampire with less weaknesses, he's Strahd on steroids), Princess Dolores Hilsbury (actually a Night Dragon, undead dragon-shaped mosnter, in disguise) and Prince Brannart McGregor (lich, he's actually from real-world Scotland, I kid you not). All three are Chaotic Evil and hide their true nature, though considering Morphail looks like he walked out of set of Dracula, they aren't trying very hard.
• Rounding Glantri princes we have Prince Jherek Virayana (Neutral, master of illusions, he deflected to Glantri from their mortal enemies, Ethengar Khanates, so he is used to being under suspiction for treachery) and Prince Harald Haaskinz (LG, he's kinda new guy in the club).

Oearth (Greyhawk)

• I don't want to spend much time on Oerth since I suspect anyone using this will use either Mordekainen and/or Tasha, who are already in the module. But some alternatives could be any of wizards who have spells named after them - Bigby is neutral, Tenser is Lawful Good, Leomund is Lawful Neutral or Lawful Good, Nystrul is Neutral, Rary is Neutral Evil

Toril (Forgotten Realms)

• Alustriel was already included. She and her five sisters (not counting Dove Silverhand, who is a Ranger and a Ghost) all fit similair role as "big good immortal sorcerress". With exception of Alassra Silverhand a.k.a. Simbul the Witch-Queen, who is Chaotic Neutral, they're all Chaotic Good, so I see little point switching Alustriel for another one if you want CG spot to be fit by someone from Toril. I would also be wary of using Storm Silverhand, who, according to Ed Greenwood, helped real Mordekainen recover after his role in Curse of Strahd and has a "friends with benefits" relationship with him.
• Elminster is also Chaotic Good, I don't get why WotC shy away from using him. I get he is controversial, but his exclusion has been kinda awkward here. They really don't think Kas can fool Elminster, but he can fool Tasha? As far as I know only one of them slept with Mordekainen, like come on! Anyway, if you want to use him, Elmisnter is also Chaotic Good, so kinda redundant with other Choosen of Mystra.
• Larloch the Shadow-King or Szass Tam could each work as a powerful lawful evil lich, that allies with the good guys out of spite against interloper god that dared throw their weight around and claim godhood over THEIR world. Larloch in particular is no stranger of going against gods and their servants, who seek to rewrite rules of magic that is basic of his power - just ask Shar and her servants at Shade Enclave.
• While characters from Baldur's Gate 3 end their adventure around 13th level, Book Minsc & Boo's Journal of Villain contains statblocks of multiple characters from previous two games. Edwin Odesserion, infamous Red Wizard of Thay, is among them, powerful enough to fit in the group.

Domains of Dread (Ravenloft) - I put this one last because of unique use we could have out of Domaind of Dread in this campaign. You see, we know that characterstrapped in Demiplane of Dread cannot leave that easily, they need Dark Powers' permission. And Dark Powers are backing up Kas. I have also seen multiple complaints how both main antagonists of this campaign - Vecna nad Kas - are absent from most of it, with many ideas being thrown around about having Kas as an active rival that competes for pieces of the Rod. It occured to me that he may play that role, while we still have an impostor - another character trapped in Demiplane of Dread could be working with Kas and the Dark Powers in exchange for their freedom. This way we could even allow PCs to sherlock holmes who the traitor is between collecting different pieces of the Rod, and still can have Kas show up with hordes of monsters to steal the Rod later. All that matters is they do not impersonate a character of the same aligment. Here are some candidates for this role:

• from Forgotten Realms, we could reach for semi-official suppliment minsc and Boo's Journal of Villainy, written by lead writer of first two Baldur's Gate games. It suggests an alternate fate for main villains of Baldur's Gate II - Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi - that places them in Demiplane of Dread, leading their own evil cult working towards their escape. He is neutral evil, she is Chaotic Evil
• From Mystara we have Meredoth, main antagonist of classic Ravenloft module Ship of Horrors, condemned to Demiplane of Dread afre his negligence caused his subjects to die of starvation. TWICE!. He is cursed to be unable to discover new magic on his own and having to steal knowledge, so he would be itching, as a mole, to steal from other eight wizards in the room. He's Chaotic Evil.

That's for now, but rest assured, I shall be returning to this post to update it with more characters, potentially more campaign worlds even. Your suggestions whom to add are always welcome.

So I had a dentist appointement today. It was sir until he saw my vital card with the wrong marker and then he tried a "madam ?" before I told him off.
It made me think. How do they believe it works ? It's the same for my workplace, they won't allow me to change in the men's despite me having facial hair. I pass. Every day. All day. But because there is a F on my ID they want me to change in the women's.
Do they think you magically get a new ID once you pass ? Once you are a year on hormones ? That you are called for a passing test and if you succeed you get your marker changed ? Making the paperworks for court to get my papers is taking forever and once I can start the actual process it will take forever again because french asministration is that slow.
Like for real some cis people seem to think changing your ID is the first step in transition when it actually tends to be one of the last steps.

“Well…..frak.”
Those were the only words Corporal James Diogenes could think of to describe his current situation. Behind him, he watched as his comrades turning tail and running away.
“Cowards. Cowards one and all.”
He spit into the dirt towards his former allies then turned towards the other part of his problem.
Xenos. A large army of Xenos, one that was far more disciplined and had far more bodies than command had assumed. He couldn’t remember what they were called or even remember the name of the planet he was on. He couldn’t care for either topic. He wasn’t surprised that the Intel he and his colleagues had been fed was wrong, it often was, but never to this degree. The enemy outnumbered the imperial army forces at least 7 to 1 if not far more. Their tactics were similar to those employed by the imperial army but their population meant they could do more tactical maneuvers, on more fronts, at the same time.
Why the imperial navy didn’t annihilate those armies from orbit, James would never understand. Given his current situation he most likely wouldn’t get a chance to ask. He checked the magazine on his auto-gun, the rifle being rather old by the standards of the current imperial army but its age held up as it punched through most body armor he came across.
“…..Frak.”
He cursed again as he inspected the magazine. Three, maybe four rounds left before he was out? He looked over his shoulder and sighed. The cowards took the ammo with them along with any other supplies they could carry, leaving an empty trench and a few rows of rusty flay-wire.
And James but he chose to stay behind.
A low chuckle escaped him as that thought came to mind. He shook his head as he took his spot in the trench. He wouldn’t win this fight, he was sure of it, but by Terra and in the Emperor’s name he would make them bleed. He would make them hurt.
The few rounds he had in his magazine were gone in no times at all. Four enemies laying in the dust and being trampled by their friends was proof of that. He smiled grimly as he watched his enemies march towards him. They had all bowed their heads slightly, seemingly expecting more shots. That got him laughing. A few bullets and a whole army was shaking before him. He wondered if this is what the primarchs, the emperors daughters, felt like whenever they were on crusade.
He tossed his empty rifle to the side. His smile grew as he held his knife, gripping it tightly as he watched the advancing line of xeno scum. The leather of his glove strained as his hidden knuckles grew white from how tightly he gripped his knife. He considered for a moment what he’d do when the enemy came into the trench. He knew he would fight and die, but he wondered how many of them he’d kill before they took him down.
He reached back behind him, grabbing the Krak grenade he had attached to his belt. He held it tightly and used the middle finger of his knife hand to pull the pin. He held close, holding the striker lever down to ensure it wouldn’t go off until he let go of it. Then he waited.
The world closed in. Darkness tinted the edge of his vision as he watched his enemy march ever closer. Nothing existed save for him and the enemy. He knew what this was. Adrenaline, anticipation, and fear all coming together to activate his fight-or-flight response. He whole body felt charged and he had to stop himself from jumping out of the trench and running…..where? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t guarantee his body wouldn’t turn tail and follow the rest of the imperial army back to the transports.
He adjusted his cap, scratched his bearded cheek and continued to watch. Watch and wait. That was all he could do now. His breathing grew heavy and erratic, his teeth barred, and a low growl escaped him.
The marching stopped.
He stared and waited.
A ploy? A chance to surrender maybe? Were they simply calling in artillery on his position?
That last thought stopped him. Artillery. Would they call artillery or an orbital strike or some other long distance attack on his position?
No. No, no, no, no they wouldn’t escape him that easy.
He scowled and climbed out of the trench, charging the Xenos line with a roar. The knife was raised over his head, holding it in an upside down fashion, as he sprinted towards his enemy. He refused to die to some cowardly artillery strike, he absolutely refused to be turned into a red smear on some backwater planet that no one would ever remember or care about.
The enemy….ran. They ran! He laughed as he chased after them. It didn’t make sense and he didn’t care. He couldn’t care, he was beyond caring.
“Get back here you throne damned bastards! GET THE FRAK BACK HERE!”
He slowed down long enough to toss the Krak grenade, laughing loudly when he saw it go off and take a handful of Xenos down.
The blood….was blood always so beautiful?
He continued running after the enemy before he stopped again. He stopped running cause something had stopped him. He didn’t understand, his legs were still under him, he was still alive, he could still fight!
“Kraking, bastard, filthy xenos, kill you all-“
“Shut up.”
He stopped talking, the voice snapping him out of…..whatever that was. He regained control and realized why he stopped running. Something had picked him up. He stared down at the ground only to realize how high he was above it.
“Hnngh, let go of me.”
He turned towards whatever was holding him only for his eyes to grow wide.
There stood….a woman. A very big woman with metallic dreadlocks poking out of her skull, her armor exposing skin and flesh in the fashion of a gladiator of old. He stared at him with a raised eyebrow and a silent growl as a twitch of pain or anger made her right eye close for a half second.
“Excuse me….heh….corporal.”
She said his rank as if it was an insult, even going as far as spitting on the ground after she said it. She held up by the back of his flak vest like he was little more than a lost puppy. She treated him like he wasn’t worth even talking to and that he was some stupid grunt who was simply in the way.
Space marines raced past both of them, ignoring them in favor of chasing after the retreating Xenos. They….were gonna steal his glory.
“Let me go damn you, the fights over there!”
The woman laughed loudly. Her head held back as her laughter echoed over the battlefield. A part of him thought her laughter was the most horrific and beautiful sound he ever heard, but it was overshadowed by his growing rage.
“You wouldn’t do-hnngghh-do anything to those alien freaks by yourself. Go home boy. Run with the rest of your fri-“
He swiped at her and smiled widely when he saw a small, paper thin cut open up on her cheek. A small trickle of blood dribbled down her skin as her smile disappeared. Her free hand came up and wiped at the cut. She studied the small swipe of blood on her finger. The cut was nothing, it wouldn’t even scar and she had lost far more blood then this in the blood pits. But something about this man taking a swipe at her, daring to cut her, daring to even consider killing or harming her…..
She smiled widely and put the man on her shoulder.
“You. I like you. You’re mine now little man.”
He tried to jump off but she held firm and turned away from the battle. Her sons would handle the fight. He roared on her shoulder and struggled against her grip, his rage growing as he did everything he could to get into the fight and kill. He wanted to, no needed to spill blood. He needed to kill, he needed to make them bleed.
But this goddess in bronze wouldn’t let him. She walked away and set him down in a space marine Rhino. He didn’t know her, he didn’t know why she took him, and he didn’t care. Instead he sighed and hung his head as he lit a iho stick.
“Don’t worry Corporal, there will be more glory to be had.”
He stared at her. His eyes were bloodshot, his body covered in dust and he felt exhausted.
“Hnngh…frakking….throne damn you….”
She smiled widely at that and pulled the trigger on her chainaxe. She then turned towards the driver.
“On second thought, hmm let’s go. I wanna see what you got little corporal.”
He smiled at that and stood up, popping his neck. He exhaustion was forgotten for the time being as the thought of killing those damned Xenos got his blood pumping and made him want to move.
“By the way.”
The giantess spoke as the rear hatch opened, revealing the same battlefield he had just left.
“My name is Atalanta.”
Please note: I’m not a writer and this whole story came to me while I was in a shower and from my lack of artistic skill. Sorry if it’s trash.

Decklist
My first Pauper EDH games were against skilled players running decks like Gretchen Titchwillow, Arden Blue, and Crackling Drake. Needless to say my Syr Konrad deck didn't do so well, but a large part of that was due to my making that deck based on a flawed idea of what the CPDH meta was like. Originally I was going to try and refine Syr Konrad, and I still might do that, but the big issue I noticed was the lack of consistency vs. other T1 decks.
So I made a thing. Then I wrote a primer for the thing to help me better understand how to play the deck, which led to some fine tuning and what I feel are some interesting card choices. The deck is untested as of now and I'm genuinely not sure if it resembles existing Lagomos lists too closely, but I REALLY like how this looks on paper and the intended playstyle/win lines involved.
So...what do YOU think?
I have a feeling someone is going to point out that the deck doesn't have a way to become the monarch or take the initiative on it's own. This is by design. Either my opponents aren't running those cards either and it won't matter, or I'll be able to take it from them through combat. Beyond that, the cards in Rakdos that do those things have too high of a mana value to justify running them over traditional value cards IMO.

I'm looking for a device that would support a high volume of handwritten notes, mostly in English but occasionally in Russian, and converting these to text. It would need to have a paper-like screen texture and a larger screen is important. I would also want an e-reader with the ability to highlight and annotate pdfs, but that appears standard with all the better options.
At present, the best option seems to be the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C. The Pro has nothing I need to justify the extra price and seems to have some issues with the screen being rather fragile, I don't know if this extends to other Boox products, I've only seen it mentioned for the Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C Pro. The extra storage and battery life would make the Tab Ultra C preferable to the Air. I like that Boox pens have relatively inexpensive replacement tips.
​
But ...
​
I have heard some worrying things about security for Boox devices. I don't intend to store or send personal details over it, but it would be connected to the internet from time to time and there would be the possibility of having to purchase something from the Appstore..
​
The Onyx Boox Tab Ultra C seems to be almost impossible to get, is unavailable at the Boox shop, has no sellers at present in Australia, and no eta on when it is likely to become available.
​
Is there a reasonable alternative, preferably available in Australia? Does the Boox Tablet Note Air 3 C stand up function-wise and tolerance to use? The smaller storage isn't a particular problem with microSD cards. I'm also confused about which version of Android it uses, 11 or 12? If 12, it would likely be preferable to the Tab Ultra C.
I've seen some good things about Supernote A5x, but the next version seems unlikely to be out for some months and Supernote doesn't seem to be available retail in Australia, which isn't a deal-breaker but is inconvenient. Their ceramic-tipped pens do look nice.
​
It would be very useful for me if anyone could give me their impressions of how e-ink devices in general stand up to a fairly high volume of handwritten use - in the range of 1-3k words a day at times. A device able to facilitate this would be of enormous benefit to me, but if they have yet to move beyond a novelty, I can't justify the purchase.
​
Thank you to anyone who has the time and patience, a response to even one of my questions would be helpful.
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Lets learn strategy for How to Prepare For UGC NET Paper 2 in 2024. To know more in detail, Read this Blog till the end to know UGC NET Preparation Tips/Strategies for paper 2
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