The US has an infamously high gun ownership rate; 120%, by one measure, although that is clearly and flagrantly absurd (unless there are 75 million armed illegal aliens...). An individual ownership rate of 25-35% and a household ownership rate of 35-50% are more accurate (and legitimate) statistics.
Our violent crime rates are relatively moderate, though; a relatively high homicide rate, compared to most other "advanced" nations, but rape, robbery, and even casual violence are far less common in the US than in most of the world. For all the infamy of cities like Detroit or Chicago, you are unlikely to be the victim of any sort of crime as long as you stay out of the handful of bad neighborhoods at night, which is not something you can claim about London, Paris, Rome, or most any other major First World city.
Better yet, we can compare our history of violent crime to our history of gun control, and they simply do not map to one another, at all; there is no correlation, either way. Up until 1934, you could walk into a hardware store and buy pretty much anything you wanted, even fully automatic rifles (machine guns) and explosives, with no law against it (which didn't mean that the proprietor wasn't going to ask some hard questions and maybe choose not to sell them to you). On the other hand, walking down the street of pretty much any town with a loaded weapon on your person was a crime, but that's how much things have changed.
The 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) ostensibly came in response to the gangland crime of the Prohibition Era... which ended in 1933. The stated intent was to regulate concealable weapons by requiring a Federal Firearms License (FFL) to deal in them... but it only covered short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, and silencers, specifically excluding pistols and revolvers, which have represented the overwhelming majority of gun crime since the 19th century.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) was supposedly motivated by the assassinations of JFK and MLK (the bill itself was stalled in Congress until the RFK assassination, after which it went through quickly), but its primary focus was to restrict interstate sales of firearms between private individuals... which had nothing to do with any of the assassinations.
In 1986, the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) had the stated purpose of addressing harassment of FFL holders by the ATF, but actually further restricted firearms, outlawing any civilian ownership of automatic weapons manufactured after 1986, and requiring ATF approval of transfers of any firearm restricted under the NFA, giving them even more tools to interfere with lawful firearm owners.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady) was enacted in 1993 in response to the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, and restricted firearm rights of various groups of people, including convicted criminals, those dishonorably discharged from the military, etc... which notably would not have prevented John Hinckley, Jr. from acquiring the weapon he used to attack Reagan.
This was followed in 1994 by the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB), which even the people who wrote the bill have been unable to definitively state which firearms were banned under, as the definition provided was ambiguous. In any case, these weapons are the least commonly used in crime, by a wide margin.
2004 and 2005 saw the Law Enforcement Officer's Safety and Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Acts, one of which expanded the gun rights of current and former law enforcement officers, and the other protected firearm manufacturers and dealers from liability for negligence... even if they break the law.
And most recently, in 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, this time driven by recent mass shootings, but again, did nothing that would have prevented any of the events that supposedly motivated the law; instead, it focused on making it easier for gun rights to be restricted under "Red Flag" and domestic violence laws (which are already grossly abused), weakened Constitutional protections for investigations of firearm-related crimes, and opened up juvenile records to background checks.
None of these laws have ever had any kind of effect on crime, in any shape, form, or fashion, for reasons which are perfectly obvious, when you stop to think about it.
Automatic weapons are not useful for criminal purposes; as a military function, their purpose is to force the enemy to take cover, preventing them from shooting at your soldiers while they maneuver, and various alternatives - bumps stocks, forced-reset or 2-stage triggers, etc - will provide similar rate of fire with less reduction in accuracy.
"Assault weapons" are not even properly defined; an AR-15 is an "assault weapon," but a Mini-14 is not, despite having virtually identical capabilities. They use the same ammunition, can have the same magazine capacity, similar barrel length, size, weight, etc. The AR-15 is sleek, black plastic, though, while the Mini-14 is wood and metal; that is the only real difference, how they look.
Explosives are useful for criminals, but are so easy to make at home (no, I'm not telling you how) that restricting them is absolutely impossible.
None of these laws addressed handguns, at all, despite two of them having the stated intent of addressing concealable firearms and these weapons being used in the overwhelming majority of gun crime.
Background checks were a good idea, but the "private seller" loophole (often mislabeled the "gun show" loophole) is so big that criminals have no problem acquiring firearms, and without any kind of registration, there is no way to hold sellers accountable.
And even background checks become abusive when any opinionated doctor or vindictive ex-girlfriend can have your gun rights eliminated on a whim, when your protections against overzealous law enforcement have been curtailed, and when the system is so rigged that trying to fight for your rights will only result in even harsher punishment.
100 years ago, pretty much anyone could own pretty much any weapon, but you couldn't carry it around with you; today, there are massive restrictions on the types of firearms you can own, but most places allow you to carry them around. How does this make any sense, at all?

Heyo everyone,
First of all, thank you wonderful people for joining me here. Firstly a short Overview of the setting, some ideas for the story and then i will throw a few extras in at the end. Would be happy to hear everyones thoughts to all of this, what you love or hate, what kind of cool and crazy ideas you have for me and yeah thats it actually :D Lets get into it.
System: i will be using the Cypher system, as it gives me the Narative focus with plenty of customization and adaptiblity. I havent been doing too much with it yet, but i really like it already from readying and listening a bit to plays.
Setting: This is where it gets mythical. So imagine a world just like ours. Actually exactly our world. A few years in the future some archelogists and divers find Pandoras Box hidden on a greek island in an underwater cave with plenty of warning. and even logbook with it. Its Odyseus's logbook, in which he mentioned he trapped all the gods and magic in that box with the help of Circe and a few of the other more benevolent gods. Thus started the golden age of humanity where they didnt have to worry about annoying a bunch of superpowerful self absorbed mythical assholes on Olympus.
Surprisingly, the archelogists actually listened to Odyseus warning and decided that some mysteries might be better left unsolved. The box was left open to allow the world the speculate. Not long after that, the box was the most important and most talked about object in the world. It even went on a world tour through the biggest museums. That was until it arrived in America. In the years since 2024, interest in Social media and influencers only increased, causing people to do anything for clicks and likes. And one particular idiot went as far as sneaking a gun into a museum to shoot open pandoras box live on Stream.
Not long after that, 90% of the world population died. As the contained magic exploded forth and spread across the world in light speed, it wrecked havoc across the whole world, changing the land, the animals and the people. Monsters reappered, The gods made their anger at their imprisonment clear to anyone they could and the world offically ended on that day.
Now, 40 days in the future, North America is a wasteland generally regarded as inhabitable due to the high concentration of Mana there, which is toxic to Humans. Most people live in Europe, Africa, Asia and australia, or whats left of it anyways. Famine and war are standard. Some people are training to use magic themselves, others devote themselves to hunting the new monsters for their rare parts, others integrate magic into technology for wonderous creations and most just try to survive in small communities. Most people avoid the gods at all cost, some have formed into cults for them while the rare few attempt to rebel (which often ends in gruesome deaths).
Now the players find themselves in a familar yet unknown world, Magic everywhere to be found, Horrible creatures ready to feast on them around each corner, Ruined cities promising loot and danger, Technology growing rapidly thanks to magic and Powerful beings toying with them for their amusement.
Adventure: So I want to sent the players to North america as part of a huge strikeforce to retrieve a part of pandoras box for study to maybe capture the gods again. obviously this will be a huge secret, they will think its to retrieve vital knowledge to fight a spreading plague as will most of the expiditions members to avoid the eyes of the gods. They will be teleported to America through a new device, but will be forced to travel back on their own accord. Which will lead them to a container ship that holds their strikeforce and some survivors they will find to travel back over the ocean. TIME FOR AN ODYSEE. Everything will go wrong on the trip, i wanna challange the players with impossible emotional choices like maybe during a famine on board some passangers will eat the dead. Should they be punished? Or when the ship is hit by a monster, should we seal a part of the ship to prevent more of the ship taking in water, even if most people couldnt evacuate yet. Here id be happy to hear your ideas.
I will add more things in a moment, just laptop empty so i wanna switch to phone now.

I hope you all had a magical MIL free mothers day just like I did!
A couple of months ago I went VLC with my MIL when she lost her ever loving mind at me after I (politely) brought up something that had been bothering me. I've been cordial at family gatherings if I'm forced to see her, but I refuse to put any more effort into trying to maintain a decent relationship with her. I also refuse to encourage a relationship between her and her son, or her grand daughter.
In a very uncharacteristic manor, this woman hasn't had an outburst since. I know she's biding her time, waiting to see if I come around and apologize/see the error of my ways (don't hold your breath). But I know this peace with only last for so long before she lashes out again, playing the woe is me/professional victim card. Especially since her anniversary and mother's day went ignored this year because I didn't facilitate a card/gift for the first time.
Luckily my husband is finally starting to see her for who she is. So when the next outburst comes, which it inevitably will, maybe he'll go LC as well. I know she'll try to punish him, but at this point the only person she's making miserable is herself.

My name is Arkanos, and I am a Phoenix of the Clan of Eternal Flames. Once, we roamed the Heavenly Realms, proud and immortal, our feathers ablaze with hues of orange and red, a stark contrast to my own blue and white flames. But that was before the betrayal.
The Dragons, Demons, and Angels, jealous of our power and fearful of our immortality, conspired against us. They ambushed our clan in a fiery battle that shook the very foundations of the heavens. In the end, we were outnumbered, outmatched, and outgunned. Defeat was inevitable.
As punishment for daring to challenge their authority, we were banished from the Heavenly Realms, cast out into the vast expanse of the cosmos. But the punishment didn't end there. Our clan was torn asunder, scattered across thirty different realms, each more treacherous than the last.
And so, my quest began. Alone and filled with a burning desire for revenge, I set out to reunite my clan and reclaim our honor. But it wouldn't be easy. The journey ahead was fraught with danger, and I knew that only the strongest and most cunning would survive.
The first realm I stumbled upon was a desolate wasteland, where the sky burned red with the fires of eternal damnation. It was here that I found the first member of my clan, a fellow Phoenix named Shiki. She had been hiding among the shadows, her once vibrant feathers reduced to a mere flicker.
Shiki was a sight to behold, her feathers a blend of fiery orange and crimson red, a stark contrast to my own blue with a hint of white. Despite the harsh environment, she radiated a sense of resilience and determination, qualities that resonated deeply with me.
Together, we braved the dangers of the wasteland, facing off against hordes of demonic creatures hell-bent on our destruction. The air crackled with the heat of our flames as we fought side by side, our wings beating in perfect harmony.
But with our combined strength and cunning, we emerged victorious, our flames burning brighter than ever before. As the last of our enemies fell before us, Shiki and I shared a triumphant glance, a silent acknowledgment of the bond that had formed between us.
As we journeyed onward, we encountered all manner of trials and tribulations. In one realm, we were forced to navigate a labyrinth of twisting corridors and deadly traps, each step bringing us closer to the brink of disaster. But with Shiki's keen intuition and my ability to see through illusions, we were able to overcome every obstacle in our path.
In another realm, we battled against an army of ice giants, their frozen breaths threatening to extinguish our flames. But with our fiery determination and unwavering resolve, we stood our ground, our flames melting the icy barricades that stood between us and our goal.
But through it all, we remained undaunted, our determination unwavering. For we knew that with each trial we faced, we grew stronger, our bonds forged in the fires of adversity.
As we continued our journey, I couldn't help but marvel at the strength and resilience of my fellow clan members. Each one brought something unique to the table, their skills and abilities complementing one another in ways I could never have imagined.
And so, with each new member we encountered, our clan grew stronger, our flames burning brighter with the promise of a brighter future. For we knew that together, we were unstoppable, our bond as unbreakable as the flames that danced within our souls.
But little did we know that greater challenges lay ahead, challenges that would test the very limits of our strength and courage. But one thing was certain: no matter what obstacles we faced, we would face them together, united as one in the face of adversity.
It was during our travels that I met her, the one who would change everything. Her name was Aria, a fierce warrior with a heart as fiery as her red hair. At first, I tried to push her away, fearing that my quest for revenge would only bring her harm. But she refused to be deterred, her unwavering loyalty melting the icy walls around my heart.
Aria was unlike anyone I had ever met before. She possessed a strength and determination that matched my own, yet beneath her tough exterior lay a heart of gold, a heart that yearned for nothing more than to see justice served.
Together, we fought side by side, our flames intertwining in a dance of passion and desire. With each battle we faced, our bond grew stronger, our souls entwined in a fiery embrace that burned brighter than the sun itself.
But our happiness was short-lived, for betrayal lurked around every corner. In a moment of weakness, I revealed our plans to a trusted ally, only to discover that he had been working for the Dragons all along.
The sting of betrayal cut deep, tearing at the very fabric of our newfound love. I watched in horror as Aria's trust in me wavered, her fiery gaze clouded with doubt and uncertainty.
But even in the face of betrayal, our love remained unbroken. Together, we confronted the traitor, our flames burning with a righteous fury that could not be extinguished.
In the end, justice was served, but the scars of betrayal remained. Yet through it all, Aria stood by my side, her unwavering loyalty a beacon of hope in the darkness that threatened to consume us.
As we continued our journey, our love grew stronger, our flames burning brighter with each passing day. And though the road ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty, we faced it together, united in our quest for revenge and redemption. For no matter what trials lay ahead, we knew that as long as we had each other, we could overcome anything that stood in our way.
As we neared the end of our journey, the three clans grew desperate, their forces converging upon us like vultures circling their prey. But we were ready. With the full strength of our clan reunited, we launched a final assault against our enemies, our flames burning hotter than the sun itself.
The battlefield was a symphony of chaos and destruction, the clash of steel and roar of flames echoing across the realm. Dragons soared through the skies, their fiery breath scorching the earth below. Demons emerged from the shadows, their eyes burning with a hunger for destruction. Angels descended from the heavens, their divine powers unleashed in a torrent of holy fury.
But we were not alone. With Shiki, Aria, and the rest of our clan by our side, we fought with a ferocity and determination that could not be matched. Our flames danced and flickered, casting a brilliant light against the darkness that threatened to consume us.
The battle raged on for days, the skies painted red with the blood of the fallen. But in the end, it was the Clan of Eternal Flames who emerged victorious, our enemies scattered to the winds like ashes in the breeze.
As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, I looked out upon the battlefield, my heart heavy with both sorrow and triumph. The price of victory had been steep, and many had fallen in the name of our cause. But their sacrifices had not been in vain.
And so, with the three clans vanquished and our honor restored, we rebuilt our clan from the ashes of our former selves. Together, we vowed to never again be swayed by the temptations of power and greed, our flames burning bright with the promise of a new dawn.
As for me, well, let's just say that I finally found my purpose in this vast and chaotic universe. For I am Arkanos, leader of the Clan of Eternal Flames, and I will stop at nothing to protect those I hold dear.
And as we stood together, united as one, I knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, we would face them together, our flames burning brighter than ever before. For we were not just a clan, but a family, bound together by the unbreakable bonds of love and loyalty.

A game as unique as this shouldn’t be on the dying end of the spectrum. As old as this game maybe, it should be recognized but we currently face a problem with this game, several to be exact.
Team Balance:
Team stacking plagues many games and this game shows how bad that can be. Teams shouldn’t have double or triple population over other teams.
What is team stacking?
It is an action and state in which players will move over to a “winning” side or more populated team to gain advantages making it harder for the oppositional team(s) to a fair fight.
what can we or developers do?
Possibly have a team balance system, punish team changers, or maybe both. Balance systems are a bit complicated but should be implemented. Maybe new joining players entering the round may not join an all ready populated team and are suggested into the other teams that are less populated, if population is equal they may not join that team.
Another method but most unpopular idea is population caps. In 100 players join cap each village as 25 max. Along with this there needs to be a system that prevents a bunch of high levels from stacking into one team. It’s pretty straightforward but I can also see problems with this method.
People team changing in the middle of the game is also a nuisance, there needs to be a punishment system for it for example, removing win rewards and exp if you change teams after _ amount of minutes have passed during the round. Jail liberation via forced team change should half rewards or reset rewards though this might be abused by warden thieves without some sort of draw back for this.
For now this is all I got. If you have any other ideas, post it below.

TRIGGER WARNING! This post will go into topics relating to mental illness, mental health and other related topics, including autism, bipolar disorder and PTSD, along with other trauma based things, as somebody who (Likely?) has these too, im going to be as tasteful as i can be, infact this post is being made to hopefully make discussion about wheatley a bit more tasteful, as ive found that discussions about him can (as a neurodivergent person myself) feel a little bit ableist. and if you have these too and feel like you have your own pov, or if ive gotten anything wrong, please let me know, id love to hear your opinions (:
Howdy! I'm Alice, I've been a fan of portal 2 for as long as I can remember, it still is one of my favourite games of all time. and for the longest time i have always related myself to the character of Wheatley, it started since we were both British and had blue eyes lol, but i feel since I'm older, i feel like that connection goes deeper.
first off, as almost all neurodivergent people have experienced, bullying, in portal 2 Wheatley has dropped hints of him being bullied, as other cores saw him as too different, and getting lied to and mocked, for example other people telling him turning his light on and getting off your rail would kill him, I've experienced this type of bullying before, too, where people would tell me not to do a certain thing, which is completely harmless, probably to make me look stupid, now as somebody who experienced excessive bullying throughout my childhood, the negativity and badness rubbed off on me, to the point where i likely have ptsd from the bullying i had endured, for a long time, and still now, i get extremely paranoid amongst new freind, as im scared they will hurt me as others had before, or alternately, that my annoying nature will push them away, sound familiar?
now i want to go onto Wheatley's betrayal, and where i feel the most passionate to get my opinion out, when Wheatley betrays chell he says that she "bossed him around" which, obviously through the course of the game, never happened, i feel as if many people misinterpret this scene, as him revealing himself to be "evil" and while Wheatley has and will do very objectively bad things, mental illness or not (we will get there later), i see this less as a evil awakening and a ptsd induced mental breakdown, again as i have said, my past experiences with bulling, lying and misdirection, very commonly make me paranoid that the people closest to me have ulterior goals that I'm not aware of, I've been bossed around too, and i wouldn't be surprised if Wheatley's main trauma point is him being "bossed around".
The evidence for him being bossed around are mostly work related, which i find to be interesting as neurodivergent people do have it hard in the work space, at the beginning he is confined to a job that he doesn't like, forced into it, but with no way to quit, i feel as if a lot of neurodivergent people would relate to this, feeling bound by societal pressures to stay at the job they don't like, after his "murder" by glados, he seems to have gotten a new job, specifically to aid chell, but he makes a accident, hitting part of the elevator, where his boss then fires him on the spot, this is also something that slot of neurodivergent people can relate to, getting heavily punished for making an accident.
with that in mind i want to discuss why i don't think Wheatley himself was ever "evil" nor had "evil motivations", since the beginning of the game his only goal is to escape with chell, it only goes downhill when he accidentally wakes glados up, if Wheatley was actually evil im sure he would've purposefully talked about "hacking into the mainframe" from the start or something, which he only does later on as a final resort, even then the two of them didnt really know what to do except, defeat glados, then escape, hell, even when Wheatley gets in control he still talks about wanting to just escape, but then the mainframe get too in control of him, where he succumbs to its will.
The mainframe muddies things up, but in the context of this lets say it feeds the host bad thoughts, bad thoughts that put the host in a stable mindset to test sufficiently i think it is expanding Wheatley's paranoia and wanting to belong, with it expanding his paranoia to levels that make him want to get revenge on people who wronged him, taking it out on people who didn't even do anything to him, this is also another think neurodivergent people can relate on, as due to the bullying we feel as if we should become as bad as the bully, even if it is wrong.
thats it for me! i hope this can inspire some people to be a bit more thoughtful while discussing the character, and i hope if there's a portal 3 that Wheatley will return and hopefully be as cool of a character as ever (:

I'm going to make this a quick post so its not full of detail.
So I(18M) have a younger brother (12M) has been a trouble maker in school almost everyday for years now, its been affecting my parents (especially my mother) and in response I asked my Dad (the only parent who lives with us) to enforce more strictness on him and to do punishments like takeaway his phone for a day or ban him from playing games for a day so that he will be encouraged to not get in trouble that much, but I'm always told that it wont work (despite him never trying) and instead my parents always just have a talk with him and expect him to change but he wont. I swear I'm the only one thinking logical that little punishments will force him to change his behaviour somewhat, but they never listen.
I'm not even sure if this is the right subreddit to be posting this in but I just need to know is there anyone who knows of a better way I can deal with this or a better way to push discipline on him, just something that my parents would listen too.

So caveat right off the bat that this is just my current concept that I'm still workshopping, and this won't be one size fits all for all tables and parties etc etc.
I really like the campaign, I think it lays out a great foundation for a truly memorable campaign that I can't wait to start. That said, I also really hate how it's Central Hub and then a series of fetch quests with little to motivate the players, especially since the fetch quests are to get an item that's not even needed to destroy Vecna, so it can feel punitive unnecessarily. I know a lot of folks have put forth their own ideas on how to improve these things, this is just my take after having read the book and speaking with a bunch of folks.
Prologue/Setting:

• Evernight is cool, but the book wants you to complete that portion, give the players the Vecna Link, and then do a time skip. Instead I plan on running that chapter as part of Tomb of Annihilation, which my party will be running to go from levels 1-10 before Vecna truly starts. The players will be unaware of their Vecna Link until they're summoned to Sigil.
• Most interplanar travel is limited due to Vecna's unraveling of the universe but powerful NPCs aren't yet sure why. Alustriel deduces that she can still travel due to being a Chosen of Mystra, but rather than go hopping around the Multiverse herself, she's secretly using her Sanctum to collect other powerful beings to try and empower and stop Vecna. The players can travel because of the Vecna Link, and Kas can also travel because the Dark Powers give him the power to do so. This is why the players must take on the quest rather than the Wizards themselves, Kas has to pretend he's Mordenkainen and Alustriel is using all her power to keep a window open.
• The Dark Powers want Kas to defeat Vecna so that he can be their pawn and they can feed off of the souls he enslaves.
• MordenKasnen will suggest the players find the pieces of the Rod as it is rumored to be the key to unlocking a vault holding the Sword of Kas, which can defeat Vecna. This way the players aren't totally wasting their time trying to find it and they still have the Sword as a goal.
• If players die, they can resurrect with the power of Vecna but at a cost. They will gain a new element of madness and Vecna will become aware of his power being sapped. From this point on, he will keep an eye on the party, growing increasingly concerned as they grow in power. He can't leave his base due to the ritual, but he will start haunting their dreams, sending members of his Cult, and generally trying to impede them if he sees them as a potential threat.

Underdark:

• Honestly no major notes, I like how this is laid out and always enjoy running around the Underdark. The players will get their first piece and then excitedly return to Sigil to start on the second. I plan to keep this portion short since it's not as exciting for many players as going to other worlds.

Spelljammer:

• The players go to the Astral Sea to try and retrieve their first piece, although I'm going to have them sail the high seas for a while first so they'll need to actually navigate to the dead god and all that.
• The rod piece is locked in a chest that only Inda can open. She is willing to help the party if they fix her prosthetic wing. Unless your players have an artificer in the party, consider pushing them to find one in Eberron, which may be where Inda first got the wing made. My plan is to actually keep the players from getting this Rod piece until after Eberron.

Eberron:

• This will be the first world wherein the players run into members of the Cult of Vecna. I plan to replace the Lord of Blades' followers with Cultists, or at least have them work together. The cult will try to steal the rod piece before the Party can.
• I'm giving Mercy an engineer in her party of pilgrims that could repare the angel wing (see Spelljammer notes). They'll agree to do so if the party assists with the Cyran veterans.
• Kalyth and the Cyran veterans meanwhile will know where the players can find a decent Docent.
• The host of Landro should be a vast supply of knowledge, but not infinite. Maybe he can tell the party of the rumored Hand and Eye of Vecna (which I'll have in Avernus and Greyhawk, respectively). He may also have heard of the Amber Temple in Ravenloft or some other important info.

Ravenloft:

• I have a lot of ideas to change this portion and I haven't fully settled down on one yet. Here are a few of my thoughts which I may combine or select from:
  • Rather than fight at Death House, I may start my party in the village of Barovia where they meet Ismark, who suggests that if they seek guidance they find Madame Eva. She then conducts a Tarroka reading that points the party to the Amber Temple.
  • Madame Eva may also read that they can find allies in Vallaki or Krezk (or wherever you want) where they can meet Esmeralda and van Richten who tell them lore of Kas and the Domains of Dread.
  • The rod piece would be located in the Statue to the God of Secrets (Vecna) in the Amber Temple, protected by the Arcanaloth.
  • As the players leave, they're confronted by Strahd, who has been watching their actions. If for some reason the players have deduced that they're fighting Kas, then Strahd would be willing to let them leave Barovia and take the Rod piece to punish the other vampire lord, whom he finds annoying. Otherwise he tries to claim the piece, they have to fight him, upon his defeat they can leave the mists.
  • I think I'll have Sarusanda be a member of the Vecna Cult disguised as an Inquisitor. She might lure the players into Death House to try and have them killed amongst its traps, thus allowing the cult to steal their assembled rod pieces.
• Like I said, my thoughts here are still messy and I'm figuring out what would fit best for the party.

Krynn:

• After their defeat in Ravenloft, the cult will move back and try to refocus their efforts not on the Rod, but on trying to reclaim the Hand and Eye of Vecna. As such, they will be mysteriously absent from Krynn in such a way taht should make the party paranoid.
• I plan to move the Rod piece to Dargaard Keep and have the characters showdown with Soth. I like Teremini and her plotline, but I think it might work better as a precursor to the main event.
• The players will find MordenKasnen speaking with Soth in a heated argument, trying to get the Death Knight to give him the rod piece and join his side. When discovered, Kas will attempt to flee, but he leaves behind his amulet that goes to his homeworld (Oerth). Before he goes, he destroys the portal to Sigil, leaving the players only one option to escape Krynn.

Oerth:

• Oerth is the homeworld of Kas, Mordenkainen, and Vecna himself, so this will be a chance for them to learn some lore. I plan on the players being transported to Kas's old stronghold, which still has some broken down statues of Kas in his hey day. They will have to navigate to the Tomb from Keoland. This way, when the players go to the unreality, they see the same setting but with vecna statues, etc.
• Acererak will have already made an appearance in my game, since we're going through Tomb of Annihilation first. As such, Acererak will be the final boss of this setting.
• Acererak will have gained the Eye of Vecna during his travels, but his distrust of Vecna means that he doesn't like carrying it on his person. As such, he has put the eye into Rerak. The cult will navigate the dungeon along with the players, forcing occasional run ins. the final fight should be large and epic and have 3-4 competing factions (Players, Cult, Acererak, and Rerak if he's turned against Acererak)
• Once Acererak does fall, he makes an escape through a portal to Avernus, leaving the Rod piece behind. The cultists will try to convince the players to take the Rod and they'll take the Eye.

Avernus:

• Avernus will be home to the Hand of Vecna, in possession of Arkhan. The cult is desperate to get the Hand and is willing to work with the players to get it. Arkhan will offer the players access to Tiamat and the Rod piece if they side with him and destroy the Cultists. The players will have to choose either side or attempt to fight both of them at the same time.
• Once again, the cult is willing to let the party take the Rod if they get the Hand.
• Keep Windfall and her motivations, as they're great in the game. If the players aid Arkhan, he'll bring them to Tiamat but in chains.
• There's a spelljammer in the casino that an unlucky patron gambled away in the past, the players can use this to get back to Sigil after claiming the last Rod piece.

Betrayal:

• Once players return to Sigil with the completed Rod, Kas reappears in the Sanctum and attempts to steal it. Big fight, Alustriel and Tasha join the party, Kas escapes quickly into Pandemos, ideally with the Rod.
• Alustriel and Tasha suggest the players follow him so that they can still regain the Sword of Kas and defeat Vecna. They go to Pandemos and there I go back to book to pretty much run as written, apart from beefing up Vecna's stat block significantly, especially if he does regain the Hand and Eye.

Again, it's not for everyone but I think I'm going to try and go about it in a similar vein to this. My notes on this are still scattered and I'm purposely not trying to iron out every detail, since of course the players will have a lot of agency on how precisely this all turns out. Still, feel free to offer some feedback on what you think may or may not work.

YOOM-TAH! Alright, it's time for a Pokemon that's been famous for a bunch of reasons, absolutely none of which have to do with battling - well, not Pokemon battling, anyway. Jigglypuff being a character in Smash Bros with a rather infamous attribute is a fun thing for the little pink puffball, but sadly, we are talking about competitive singles and not Super Smash Bros.
Ninetales, the previous day, had a very clear winner - Gen 7 RU was just so clearly the best Ninetales tier of all time that it wasn't even a close match. This may have been because I excluded gen 5 OU...but Ninetales isn't even good there anymore, so it's for the best.
​
Now then, for Wigglytuff, our metagames:
​
Gen 1 NU: For a long time, Wigglytuff was considered in the shadow of tier queen Clefable, with similar attributes in the Normal typing and access to Thunder Wave and Sing, while having solidly worse stats in basically everything except HP. It still saw play as a secondary, more limited Clefable, with the old VR placing Wigglytuff at a respectable B-rank. With Clefable's recent rise to RBY UU, there's a solid possibility of Wigglytuff rising to a somewhat worse but still valuable version of its role. We'll have to see, of course, but I'd love to see the pink fluffball succeed.
​
Gen 2 NU: With the addition of Leftovers making Wigglytuff's bulk and longevity significantly more notable, and Curse giving it the ability to set up and pose an offensive threat, this thing might not be a Snorlax, but there's definitely some comparisons to be made! Curse, Body Slam, RestTalk Wigglytuff is a notable threat if it manages to come in and start to setup once Gastly and possibly Rock-types are removed, and it also can be used as a lead to absorb sleep and start to set up. Some talk has been made of the Wigglytuff mirror being potentially problematic - albeit only a little bit. The VR places our round friend at A tier.
​
Gen 3 PU: It is kind of difficult to find any information about ADV PU using the Smogon forums, seeing as it's not a particularly popular tier, but as far as I can tell, Wigglytuff is decent there. Wish gives it use as a cleric, and its movepool is Gen 1 level expansive, and by the standards of ADV PU it's decently bulky with its huge HP stat. It does have to compete with Lickitung and Furret as a Normal-type, but with the best Fighting-type in the tier being Combusken, I imagine that Normal-types' defensive advantages are pretty nice. This is, I want to note, speculative - discussion of Wigglytuff's role in ADV PU is scarce, but the VR places Wigglytuff in B rank.
​
Gen 4 NU: Unfortunately for our friend, Wigglytuff is completely unviable in Gen 4 NU. Her offenses are bad, her Normal typing does her few favors when Tauros exists as one of the best mons in the tier, and Lickilicky exists as a superior bulky option. It's got options, maybe, but it's just not good. Wigglytuff isn't ranked in DPP NU's VR, and arguably should be considered untiered. DPP NU will be excluded from the poll.
​
Gen 5 PU: And the bad news continues, even with an extra lower tier existing, Wigglytuff still can't carve out enough of a niche. All of the problems with Wigglytuff in DPP NU continue to plague it in BW PU, but even worse - while there are things that distinguish Wigglytuff from Lickilicky that could be argued to create something like a niche, BW PU includes Audino. Audino is, in every regard, Wigglytuff's superior. While its Wishes are a little less meaty, it has MUCH better defensive stats and it has the supportive movepool that Lickilicky lacks. In other words, there is even less reason to use Wigglytuff in BW PU than there is in DPP NU, and Wigglytuff is unranked yet again. BW PU will be excluded from the poll.
​
Gen 6 ZU: In Generation 6, Wigglytuff was one of a few mons to gain access to the Fairy type - and uniquely, the only evolution line to keep the Normal typing alongside it. The games also buffed Wigglytuff's Special Attack from 70 to 85. They also gave Wigglytuff a powerful new offensive ability in Competitive! All of this was enough to...give it a solid niche in ZU, a tier that has only recently become official. Thankfully, the low power of this tier forces Audino and Lickilicky out of it, and being the sole Fairy-type in the tier gives it actual unique defensive presence, allowing it to function as a cleric, a stealth rock user, or even an offensive threat using Competitive and its new special STAB move in Dazzling Gleam, punishing Defog use the way Bisharp does in higher tiers. Wigglytuff is ranked as B+ on the VR, and after the last two gens, we'll take it.
​
Gen 7 ZU: I have bad news. Wigglytuff isn't just unranked in PU. Wigglytuff is unranked in ZU. Even in a tier without Audino, Clefairy, and Silvally-Fairy, Wigglytuff just cannot cut it. Lickilicky is back to outclass it as a bulky Normal type, Granbull and Shiinotic are relevant Fairy-types, and Wigglytuff has been left high and dry. Gen 7 ZU will be excluded from the poll.
​
Gen 8 ZU: And the bad news keeps coming. Not only is Wigglytuff's bulk insufficient for a defensive pokemon, two of the best pokemon in the tier are Miltank and Alcremie, bulky slow pokemon with similar defensive profiles, better defenses and offenses than Wigglytuff, and access to support moves that Wigglytuff formerly jealously hoarded. Wigglytuff is unranked in Gen 8 ZU, and will not be included.
View Poll

Saint Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling, and with Saints Anthony the Great (January 17), Macarius the Great (January 19), and Euthymius the Great (January 20), a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.
Saint Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt). His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education. From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.
When Pachomius reached the age of twenty, he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine (apparently, in the year 315). They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers. The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.
When the young man learned that these people acted this way because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor, this made a deep impression upon his pure soul. Pachomius vowed to become a Christian. Pachomius returned from the army after the victory, received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit, and began to lead a strict ascetic life. Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon. He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.
Once, after ten years of asceticism, Saint Pachomius made his way through the desert, and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi. Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place. Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this, and they both regarded the words as a command from God.
They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell. The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory. But soon Palamon departed to the Lord. An angel of God then appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life. Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.
Saint Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man, but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.
Gradually, followers began to gather around Saint Pachomius. Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work, which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks. He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance, and he tended to the sick.
Saint Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. Saint Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer. He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule, and he chastized slackers.
His sister Maria came to see Saint Pachomius, but the strict ascetic refused to see her. Through the gate keeper, he blessed her to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this. Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered. The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile. Nuns also began to gather around Maria. Soon a women’s monastery was formed with a strict monastic Rule provided by Saint Pachomius.
The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly, and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity. The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of Saint Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and administered them. At the same time Saint Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk, who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.
Severe and strict towards himself, Saint Pachomius had great kindness and condescension toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. One of the monks was eager for martyrdom, but Saint Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride, and training him in humility.
Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery. He was set upon by brigands, who threatened him with death and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery. Saint Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day, keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude. The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.
The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others, and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.
Saint Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love. He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God, and put their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health. Once, in the saint’s absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks, assuming that the brethren loved to fast. Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats, something which Saint Pachomius had not told him to do. In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.
Saint Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge. The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.
The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism. The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, Saint Pachomius wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, “Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk.”
Toward the end of his life Saint Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region. His closest disciple, Saint Theodore (May 17), tended to him with filial love. Saint Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.
Source

Saint Pachomius the Great was both a model of desert dwelling, and with Saints Anthony the Great (January 17), Macarius the Great (January 19), and Euthymius the Great (January 20), a founder of the cenobitic monastic life in Egypt.
Saint Pachomius was born in the third century in the Thebaid (Upper Egypt). His parents were pagans who gave him an excellent secular education. From his youth he had a good character, and he was prudent and sensible.
When Pachomius reached the age of twenty, he was called up to serve in the army of the emperor Constantine (apparently, in the year 315). They put the new conscripts in a city prison guarded by soldiers. The local Christians fed the soldiers and took care of them.
When the young man learned that these people acted this way because of their love for God, fulfilling His commandment to love their neighbor, this made a deep impression upon his pure soul. Pachomius vowed to become a Christian. Pachomius returned from the army after the victory, received holy Baptism, moved to the lonely settlement of Shenesit, and began to lead a strict ascetic life. Realizing the need for spiritual guidance, he turned to the desert-dweller Palamon. He was accepted by the Elder, and he began to follow the example of his instructor in monastic struggles.
Once, after ten years of asceticism, Saint Pachomius made his way through the desert, and halted at the ruins of the former village of Tabennisi. Here he heard a Voice ordering him to start a monastery at this place. Pachomius told the Elder Palamon of this, and they both regarded the words as a command from God.
They went to Tabennisi and built a small monastic cell. The holy Elder Palamon blessed the foundations of the monastery and predicted its future glory. But soon Palamon departed to the Lord. An angel of God then appeared to Saint Pachomius in the form of a schemamonk and gave him a Rule of monastic life. Soon his older brother John came and settled there with him.
Saint Pachomius endured many temptations and assaults from the Enemy of the race of man, but he resisted all temptations by his prayer and endurance.
Gradually, followers began to gather around Saint Pachomius. Their teacher impressed everyone by his love for work, which enabled him to accomplish all kinds of monastic tasks. He cultivated a garden, he conversed with those seeking guidance, and he tended to the sick.
Saint Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. The monks were not allowed to possess their own money nor to accept anything from their relatives. Saint Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer. He also demanded from the monks an exact observance of the monastic Rule, and he chastized slackers.
His sister Maria came to see Saint Pachomius, but the strict ascetic refused to see her. Through the gate keeper, he blessed her to enter upon the path of monastic life, promising his help with this. Maria wept, but did as her brother had ordered. The Tabennisi monks built her a hut on the opposite side of the River Nile. Nuns also began to gather around Maria. Soon a women’s monastery was formed with a strict monastic Rule provided by Saint Pachomius.
The number of monks at the monastery grew quickly, and it became necessary to build seven more monasteries in the vicinity. The number of monks reached 7,000, all under the guidance of Saint Pachomius, who visited all the monasteries and administered them. At the same time Saint Pachomius remained a deeply humble monk, who was always ready to comply with and accept the words of each brother.
Severe and strict towards himself, Saint Pachomius had great kindness and condescension toward the deficiencies of spiritually immature monks. One of the monks was eager for martyrdom, but Saint Pachomius turned him from this desire and instructed him to fulfill his monastic obedience, taming his pride, and training him in humility.
Once, a monk did not heed his advice and left the monastery. He was set upon by brigands, who threatened him with death and forced him to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods. Filled with despair, the monk returned to the monastery. Saint Pachomius ordered him to pray intensely night and day, keep a strict fast and live in complete solitude. The monk followed his advice, and this saved his soul from despair.
The saint taught his spiritual children to avoid judging others, and he himself feared to judge anyone even in thought.
Saint Pachomius cared for the sick monks with special love. He visited them, he cheered the disheartened, he urged them to be thankful to God, and put their hope in His holy will. He relaxed the fasting rule for the sick, if this would help them recover their health. Once, in the saint’s absence, the cook did not prepare any cooked food for the monks, assuming that the brethren loved to fast. Instead of fulfilling his obedience, the cook plaited 500 mats, something which Saint Pachomius had not told him to do. In punishment for his disobedience, all the mats prepared by the cook were burned.
Saint Pachomius always taught the monks to rely only upon God’s help and mercy. It happened that there was a shortage of grain at the monastery. The saint spent the whole night in prayer, and in the morning a large quantity of bread was sent to the monastery from the city, at no charge. The Lord granted Saint Pachomius the gift of wonderworking and healing the sick.
The Lord revealed to him the future of monasticism. The saint learned that future monks would not have such zeal in their struggles as the first generation had, and they would not have experienced guides. Prostrating himself upon the ground, Saint Pachomius wept bitterly, calling out to the Lord and imploring mercy for them. He heard a Voice answer, “Pachomius, be mindful of the mercy of God. The monks of the future shall receive a reward, since they too shall have occasion to suffer the life burdensome for the monk.”
Toward the end of his life Saint Pachomius fell ill from a pestilence that afflicted the region. His closest disciple, Saint Theodore (May 17), tended to him with filial love. Saint Pachomius died around the year 348 at the age of fifty-three, and was buried on a hill near the monastery.
Source

If you are part of the Demon Army Campaign, quit reading now, I know some of you are on reddit.
So I have a campaign where demons have taken over the world (200 years ago) and my players have stopped a warlock from summoning some demons into human territory and are taking him across the country to face justice. They know his patron or a demon lieutenant at least is in the west, but they don't really know where.
This travel arc should last weeks of in game time and I'm trying to subtly guide them to find the mini-big bad, but it isn't going that well. He is supposed to be in an underwater temple in a big lake. It is a big world, so it is kind of hard to leave clues, especially when they don't seem to be looking for them themselves.
So far I've foreshadowed it by having them find an underwater temple near their starter town where a demon was hiding, but I haven't reminded them of it (since that would give it away). They also have a modified sending stone that goes straight to this big bad. Originally they were going to taunt him, but they forgot I guess... The prisoner they have is supposed to be there hint giver, but they essentially haven't asked him anything. Maybe I need to give more obvious opportunities?
Finally, the warlocks patron is an arch fey. I have given him a very strong Beef with the demons (invading the faewild), but I haven't made much else explicit. He does give dream visions and I'm thinking of making him scarily threaten the warlock to kill demons, but I'm not sure what is appropriate. I don't want to punish players of course. The warlock knows his patron seems a little bipolar, getting quite fervent about demon killing, but otherwise trying to joke around.
The problem I feel is that they don't ask questions, they don't try to explore or look for evidence of demons explicitly. It feels like I have to railroad them to the next plot point. It doesn't bother me in most of the game, but otherwise I'm not sure they will find the big bad. he doesn't want to be found either, so they won't if they don't look.
I have KIND of made the demon exist on the way with a whole arc around the lake he resides in, but I don't want the players to be forced to go there, I want them to at least THINK they found clues leading them to this place.
Part of this is just ranting, but does anyone have some ideas I've missed?
The only thing I've thought of is for the Demon to send a message that they want the prisoner and the players will have to either give him up and let him go, or try to follow/ambush whatever is coming. They are still far away from the Big Bad overall, so if they chase the demon bird, only the druid can do that (and imps will attack him in hawk form stopping him). What will go wrong with this plan? What else could I do?

Instead of punishing players that spam toolboxes/bone scraps with a red proxy, they need to be punished the same way if you would spam a locked door. Force them to complete the stealth portion or else they don’t get the toolpick/bone scrap.
Also if they spam bone scraps, not only will it lock them out but they will use up 1 out 3 from the pile and lose resources.

I didn't grow up with a father and my mother was narcissistic, I had many autistic traits but I would constantly get punished and yelled at for them so I started to force myself not to do them out of fear. It makes it almost impossible for anyone to believe I am because I got so good at masking, and don't know how to stop it. Along with C-PTSD, making my autistic symptoms in later years look like it's just trauma. But I have a lot of other very obvious autistic traits as well. Anyway, I just wanted to see if anyone could relate.

If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. Just three dollars a month makes a huge difference! No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces publicly no matter what - paywalls suck.
You can signup to receive a monthly email with links to my posts or subscribe to Keep Track’s Substack (RSS link).

Kansas

Despite voters overwhelmingly rejecting a constitutional amendment that would have allowed abortion restrictions in the state, Kansas Republicans passed several anti-abortion bills into law late last month, overriding the governor’s veto.
The first bill, HB 2436, makes it a crime to “coerce” someone into having an abortion. Democrats attempted to widen the scope of the bill to include all kinds of reproductive coercion, like pressuring someone to become or stay pregnant and prohibiting their access to birth control, and enshrine a right to “reproductive autonomy.” Republicans voted down the amendment.
The second bill, HB 2749, requires medical facilities and providers to (1) ask patients their reason for having an abortion and (2) report the data, including personal information about the patient, to the legislature every other year. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) agreed with the objections of Democrats and reproductive rights advocates, saying when she vetoed the bill that there is “no valid reason to force a woman to disclose to the legislature why she is seeking an abortion.”

• Democrats offered numerous amendments to HB 2749, including one to require men to report to the legislature their reasons for having a vasectomy and another requiring men to report why they are seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction. Republicans rejected all of them.

Finally, the Republican legislature overrode Kelly’s line-item veto allocating $2 million to the Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program, created last year with a different veto override. The program is run by an anti-abortion group called the Kansas Pregnancy Care Network, which refers pregnant people to crisis pregnancy centers designed to use misleading information to discourage them from obtaining an abortion.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s legislature is doubling down on its anti-abortion laws, passing bills to increase criminalization and refusing to add exemptions to its abortion ban.
Earlier this month, the Louisiana House took up a bill passed by the Senate that would make it a crime, punishable by jail time, to possess abortion-inducing medication. SB 276, sponsored by 23 Republicans and one Democrat, was initially written to create a punishment for coercing someone into an abortion without their knowledge or consent (e.g. spiking a drink). However, House legislators recently added an amendment to the bill that classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV substances alongside some opioids and benzodiazepines. A pregnant person possessing the drugs for their own use could not be charged, but others who intend to distribute them to pregnant people seeking an abortion or store them for their own potential future use would face up to ten years in prison.

“Neither is a drug of abuse or dependence, and that is what the controlled drug schedule is for,” said [emergency room Dr. Jennifer] Avegno of the abortion drugs. “It makes no scientific or medical sense to put these drugs in the same category as Xanax or Valium.”
Mifepristone is a drug that blocks a hormone called progesterone, which is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol causes uterine contractions, causing the body to expel the pregnancy tissue. Mifepristone is also used to treat Cushing’s disease, a hormonal disorder. Misoprostol is also used to induce labor, manage a miscarriage and in the treatment of ulcers. Neither are addictive. “People do not go around taking them and getting dependent and having bad outcomes because of it,” said Avegno. “It’s like saying your blood pressure medicine or insulin is a drug of abuse.”

A week later, Republicans on the House Criminal Justice Committee voted 7-4 to reject a bill to add rape and incest exceptions to the state’s total abortion ban. House Bill 164, written by Democratic Rep. Delisha Boyd, would have allowed girls younger than 17 to have abortions if they became pregnant as the result of sexual assault.

“That baby [in the womb] is innocent … We have to hang on to that,” said committee member Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, who voted against the bill. Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Spring, also voted against the legislation, saying the proposed law would be difficult to enforce. Teenagers who had consensual sex might feign rape or incest in order to get access to abortion services, she suggested…
Dr. Neelima Sukhavasi, a Baton Rouge doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, also implored the lawmakers to approve Boyd’s proposal. She and her colleagues have delivered babies for pregnant teenagers, including mothers as young as 13, since Louisiana’s abortion ban went into effect two years ago. These young pregnant people can experience health complications that affect them for the rest of their lives, Sukhavasi said, and sometimes don’t have the mental capacity to handle the births. “One of these teenagers delivered a baby while clutching a teddy bear,” she told the committee.

The Committee also killed three other bills: HB 56, to allow abortions in cases of spontaneous miscarriage or nonviable pregnancy; HB 63, to clarify that the removal of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion under state law; HB 293, to add protection for physicians who do not intend to induce abortion by prescribing certain medications.

Texas

Meanwhile, in Texas—a state that pioneered the war on women and reproductive rights—a man initiated legal action to sue people who helped his former partner obtain an out-of-state abortion.
The man, Collin Davis, filed a petition in a state district court seeking permission to launch legal depositions to collect evidence for a potential lawsuit under a Texas law that contains civil liability for anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion. According to his lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell (who crafted the anti-abortion law), Davis is seeking to sue “co-conspirators and accomplices…involved in the murder of [his] unborn child.”

“Fathers of aborted fetuses can sue for wrongful death in states with abortion bans, even if the abortion occurs out-of-state,” he wrote. “They can sue anyone who paid for the abortion, anyone who aided or abetted the travel, and anyone involved in the manufacture or distribution of abortion drugs.”
Molly Duane, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, described Mitchell’s statement and general approach as misleading “fearmongering.”
“People need to understand that it is not a crime to leave Texas or any other state in the country for an abortion,” said Duane, who is working with lawyers from the firm Arnold & Porter to represent the woman and others targeted in the Davis case. “I don’t want people to be intimidated, but they should be outraged and alarmed.” Duane described the woman’s relationship with Davis as “toxic and harmful.”

Mitchell also represents a different man who pursued a similar claim last year: Marcus Silva engaged Mitchell to sue the friends of his estranged wife for allegedly helping her obtain abortion pills. Evidence later revealed that Silva knew about the plans beforehand and did not intervene, likely intending to use the threat of legal action as a way of forcing his partner to halt divorce proceedings.

Monday’s counterclaim illustrates, in painstaking detail, exactly how Silva—aided by Mitchell—allegedly deployed this tactic. It was only after Brittni’s abortion was complete that Silva revealed he knew about the plan and, according to the lawsuit, threatened to turn her in if she didn’t submit to his continued abuse. He even showed the police photographs of messages discussing the possibility of an abortion. “Once I finally got home with the girls he had been drinking and he told me that he knew,” Brittni texted one friend. “He’s using it against me.” In another message, she wrote, “Now he’s saying if I don’t give him my ‘mind body and soul’ until the end of the divorce, which he’s going to drag out, he’s going to make sure I go to jail for doing it.” […]
The counterclaim points out another flaw in his argument: Silva himself “is responsible for the alleged injury for which he seeks to recover.” He “knew that Brittni planned to terminate her alleged pregnancy and acquiesced in accepting Brittni’s actions,” so “it would be unconscionable to permit him to benefit by changing his position now.” His claims, in short, are barred “by unclean hands,” because he effectively entrapped his estranged wife—covertly discovering her plan to terminate the pregnancy, then allowing her to go through with it for the express purpose of blackmailing her into staying with him.

Indiana

A three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals last month unanimously recognized a religious freedom challenge to the state’s complete ban on abortion.
The case, brought by Hoosier Jews for Choice and four anonymous women of various faiths, alleges that the ban interferes with “their sincere religious beliefs that require and direct them to obtain abortions” criminalized since the law took effect in 2023. According to Jewish law, a fetus does not have personhood until birth, and abortion is required if the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother.

Brief of Hoosier Jews for Choice (and other plaintiffs): As indicated by the declarations of numerous rabbis, Judaism teaches that a fetus becomes a living person only at birth, and prior to that is considered part of the woman’s body, without independent rights. Abortion should occur and is mandated to end a pregnancy that may cause serious consequences to a woman’s mental or physical heath. Judaism also recognizes that physical health risks are not limited to those likely to cause substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Judaism stresses the necessity of protecting the physical and mental health of the woman—a life—over the potential for life present in a zygote, embryo, or fetus. Therefore, restrictions that prevent a woman from obtaining an abortion where compelled by Jewish law, which mandates that the woman act to protect her physical or mental health, impose a substantial burden on that person’s religious exercise.

Under Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), “a governmental entity may not substantially burden a personʹs exercise of religion,” defined to include “any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.” This means that arguments about whether plaintiffs are strictly observant are irrelevant; the law protects sincerely held religious views regardless of whether that view is idiosyncratic or unorthodox. However, even a law that imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of religion can be enforced if it is “the least restrictive means of furthering [a] compelling governmental interest” (the strict scrutiny test).
The state argued that abortion does not carry “religious significance” and, even if it did, the abortion ban satisfies strict scrutiny because it is “sufficiently narrowly tailored” to “further the State’s interest” in “protecting human lives in the womb.” Throughout Indiana’s brief, the state attempts to use science to back up fetal personhood, extending developmental physiology to make unfounded claims that protected life unquestionably begins at conception:

In lower courts, the State’s compelling interest is not up for debate. In Cheaney v. State, the Indiana Supreme Court held that the State’s interest in protecting unborn children is “valid and compelling” from “the moment of conception.” …A basic understanding of biology supports these holdings. “That human fetuses are human beings is a scientific fact, not a theological claim.” Regardless whether an individual person believes this, “the scientific consensus” is that “[d]evelopment begins at fertilization,” after which the newly created “unicellular zygote divides many times and becomes progressively transformed into a multicellular human being through cell division, migration, growth, and differentiation.” …. Science thus tells us that “[t]he act of performing an induced abortion during any stage of pregnancy, from fertilization up to birth, ends the life of an innocent human being.” The State’s interest in protecting unborn fetal life at any stage from intentional destruction accordingly is nothing less than “compelling.”

A panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals—made up of a Republican appointee and two Democratic appointees—unanimously ruled against the state, upholding a lower court’s injunction against the abortion ban as it applies to the plaintiffs. In the process, the court laid out a path for religious freedom challenges to abortion bans in other states and at the federal level.

The trial court found that absent a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs would be irreparably harmed by the loss of their religious freedoms guaranteed by RFRA. A loss of First Amendment freedoms, which include the right to free exercise of religion, “for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”... Without a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs will suffer the loss of their right to exercise their sincere religious beliefs by obtaining an abortion when directed by their religion and prohibited by the Abortion Law. They also have shown their sexual and reproductive lives will continue to be restricted absent the injunction and as a result of the Abortion Law.

• Briefs can be found under case number 22A-PL-2938 on Indiana’s Appellate docket

....
https://zenodo.org/records/6210570
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She looks like Jennifer Doudna, literally:
https://ibb.co/gD5rPy9
What if?
What if the lipo-nanoparticles and the ACE2 gene-silencing CRISPR RNA-gene-drive 'inoculation' program are part of Club of Rome's Odum's "reduce America's population by 2/3rds hopefully voluntarily by 2030?" What if this was and will become Utopia? What if Deagel's 2025 population statistics that accounts for this 2/3rds population reduction, which was sponsored by Kissinger, the Rockefeller foundation and Edwin Deagle Jr., knows more about this?
https://ibb.co/Pr9YffM

"The analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 structure in light of the functioning of the CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12a and CasX mechanism suggests that the virus is man-made through genetic modification. [...] Covid is not acting like other viruses and many various symptoms in human body have been observed. [...] The modifications in the backbone’s phosphate group induced by CRISPR engineering create a highly imbalanced state. The entropy and therefore the repulsion forces strongly dominate in this type of virus."

What if they gave you AIDS and sterilized you? What if the optimal CRISPR-Cas9 lock-on markers out of any nGG, ie markers for future gene editing, was part of the plan? And hopefully none of this is sexually transmissible. Sticking a peen in an Extinction Level Event... is it worth the risk? We should ask Ian this. He did look grayer after screwing Jessica.
https://ibb.co/bvcf1F7
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Utopia (UK):

• "SARS doesn't exist."
  
• "The planet can support only 1 billion."
  
• "We leave 5 to 8% unaffected."
  
• "Janus consists of protein and an amino-acid." (CRISPR)
  

I chose my own people."

Spikeopathy’: COVID-19 Spike Protein Is Pathogenic, from BOTH Virus and Vaccine mRNA

https://mdpi.com/2227-9059/11/8/2287

The modification of mRNA with N1-methylpseudouridine for increased stability leads to the production of spike proteins for months.'

Uncanny similarity of unique inserts in the 2019-nCoV spike protein to HIV-1 gp120 - withdrawn (January 2020)

https://biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.30.927871v1

Amino acid residues in all the 4 inserts have identity or similarity to those in the HIV-1 gp120 or HIV-1 Gag."

What's the common denominator? European DNA. The injection is ethnically adjusted to deplete ACE2-expression of European DNA but not those carry k26r polymorphism, ie. Ashkenazi J's and the Amish.
https://ibb.co/2KNmdCH
Where is ACE2 located? Also in mitochondria, the cell's battery. Why cancer? CRISPR, mitochondria and p53 disruption, oxidative stress. Once modRNA gets into cells, they're released to hijack cell's machinery to produce full-spike proteins, endlessly. Spike proteins downregulate ACE2-protein expression of mitochondrias and silence p53 the guardian of genome. And the CRISPR Cas9/Cas12a awaits for gRNA to act.
An idea of giving cells the instructions to synthesize pathogenic spike-protein to develop immunity is imbecilic in the first place. But urging people to get one without a prescription promising getting back to normal (that's been destroyed for this purpose) - a crime.
But Rockefeller's (Rockefellos) Cub of Rome would never think of doing anything like this. The network in Utopia is fictional, right? Read Kissinger report, read the Jaffe memo!
Rockefeller's Population Council:

"fertility control agent' designed to lower fertility in the society by 5 to 75% less than a present birth rate; to be included in water supply in urban areas." (1969).

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You see, just like women refused to smoke in public until they saw it as a form of liberation. Covid is our liberation. If things go to plan. We won't know for many years.
The public would never support the most powerful men working to reduce the numbers of the "lower class" until we saw OURSELVES as a deadly virus to the planet. That's been the goal from the get-go.
In the population control document that Rockefellers sponsored it suggests multiple methods of involuntary sterilization such as adding “fertility control agents” to water supplies, temporary sterilization of all young women “via time-capsule contraceptives,” and compulsory sterilization of men with three or more children.
Those are just ideas they floated, it's not like they ever funded or implemented them. It's not like they made an anti-fertility vaccine! They did.

Its not like they ever went thru with an actual involuntary roll out of this tho, we woulda heard about it!

You might have seen this 2014 story "debunked." In 2014, Kenyan doctors found traces of HCG in Tetanus vaccines being distributed by WHO/funded by Gates. Why is this important?
HCG is the same pregnancy hormone that is used in conjunction with Tetanus in that SAME ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION FUNDED INDIAN INFERTILITY VACCINE. Doctors in the Philippines and Mexico also claimed to have found HCG in their WHO distributed Tetanus vaccines in the 90s (they did). The WHO didn't fund the development of that Indian vaccine (BECAUSE THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION DID)!
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It is important to note that this Anti-fertility vaccine has been in development since 1988 thru 2014 to this day.
It does appear as if the Rockefellers have implemented their "involuntary fertility control" and have used Tetanus vaccines as cover to test this pet project of theirs, but that's speculation.
The goal of the network also reminds me of "Children of Men," originally published in 1992 and set in England in 2021.
https://ibb.co/V3fyDKH

"Armageddon Begins - Russian Detonates Nuclear Bomb, Kazakhstan Annihilated." The newspaper reads in opening of the film.
Children of Men' (2006) Plot - In the year 2027, after 18 years of total human infertility, war and global depression have pushed society to the point of collapse as humanity faces extinction.

Did you know that "Children of Men" was written by Phyllis Dorothy James, referencing Pat Frank's "Mr. Adam" and "Alas, Babylon" written back in 1950s?
Given the quality of sperm declining due to fluoride, chemical exposure and such, and mRNA-medicine affecting fertility of men and women, that's the exact match.
Joel E Cohen, the Rockefeller University Professor on Population heavily acknowledged the significant drop in fertility rate of white populations in US and EU, explaining driven immigration to sustain the level and boost 'economic prosperity.' As the saying goes, Just as the Egyptians made G‑d’s firstborn (the Israelities) suffer, G‑d punished - measure for measure - the Egyptians’ firstborn. All the firstborn would lose the life-energy that until then kept them alive." This is the 188th Mitzvah and accompanies the gene drive which is Janus to a T. Bye, bye!
https://ibb.co/y41N4NK
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Angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE) play a dominant role in fertility (2013):

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24152441/
To solve population bomb, just sterilize the entire world with:

• release bioengineered disease binding and exploiting ACE2
  
• silence gene expression through CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA
  

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Presented for your viewing:
https://ibb.co/wrz03dk
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CRISPCas9 gene drives in genetically variable and nonrandomly mating wild populations (2017)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28560324/

A drive targeting Ace2 might therefore conceivably be used for direct population suppression.”

DARPA invests $100m in gene-drive technology - new gene-editing technology, which many people fear could lead to deliberate and unintended damage on a huge scale (2017):
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/12/darpa-invests-100-million-in-gene-drive-technology/…
Harvard, Wyss Institute - CRISPR-Cas9: Gene-drive:
https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/crispr-cas9-gene-drives/

Little is known about the role of p53 in the regulation of ACE2. An earlier study reported that p53 suppresses the replication of coronavirus through ACE2 degradation in humans.”

https://researchgate.net/publication/350180861_A_tissue-_and_gender-specific_regulation_of_the_SARS-CoV-2_receptor_ACE2_by_p53_in_pigs
https://ibb.co/wzxtjHh
https://ibb.co/8mJ455t
And to conclude, Epstein associate George Church, who said arranged marriages using gene sequencing as Haredim have been doing is ideal; Epstein associate Martin Nowak - Evolutionary dynamics of CRISPR-Cas9 gene drives (2016)...
https://biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/057281v1.full
...with Matthew Liao, want to design humans using gene editing.
https://ibb.co/QdqsfyJ
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https://ibb.co/jDQkB7x
https://ibb.co/TR023k6
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bioe.12519

The Rockefeller Foundation - Bionics, Transhumanism, and the End of Evolution (2019):

https://foresightfordevelopment.org/video-library/bionics-transhumanism-and-the-end-of-evolution
Here's the end; how fun it will be, how fun, indeed:
https://ibb.co/8rbdNzY
In Grant's drawings it says they put the ghost cell in the buffalo and the man eats the buffalo and rots. People won't physically rot from consuming the food, they'll just be sterilized when they take the vaccine, or they will, because Prions.
Like I'm crazy so don't take too much of what is posted here that seriously, but do if your life depends on it.
Utopia experiments manuscript was the plot for 2025. I'm shaking in my socks.

Have recently had a change in management where I work and prior to this change, if we finished early we would either get paid to when we clocked out or we would get the full shift pay because everything was done. Now the new management is forcing us to stay till our contracted finish time even if we finish everything.
We are not salaried employees so we are paid the hours we work and there’s no point us sitting on our ass in the break room (which I should also point out the new management is apparently fine with us doing). Are we technically allowed to clock out early if we finish everything early and can they punish us in any way or do we have to stick around?
EDIT: No one has asked to be topped up either so it’s not as though we’re finishing early and expecting full pay

To preface, I was raised in a somewhat Christian household, but I left after being hurt by all the churches I attended.
As a child, I wanted to believe in God. I really did. I went to Sunday school, looked forward to socializing in small groups, and was excited to finally join the youth group. I tried to be a good Christian, read the bible, and prayed whenever I felt lost and all alone. But then, as time passed, I decided that Christianity just wasn't for me. And, if there was a God, he would never want anything to do with me.
I have nothing against religion itself. I genuinely thing a lot of good has come from religion, as it gives people faith and hope in the darkest of times. However, what turned me off was the people I met at my old churches.
Though, to be fair, at the time I attended church, I myself was in my darkest hour and lashed out, cursed, and pushed away people left and right. I just did not want to be noticed, I did not want to be treated kindly, and if I was, it felt like everyone as just tolerating me. Everyday, I felt like I deserved to be hated and beaten down, both as punishment and because I felt like I just got in everyone's way. Why? Because there was so much turmoil in my family -- A father who claimed to be Christian yet had no qualms verbally abusing his wife in front of his children, an aunt who claimed to be Christian, yet bullied my mother, an uncle who claimed to be Christian, yet constantly made condescending remarks to me, another uncle who claimed to be Christian, yet kept trying to kiss me when we were alone. Basically, everyone in my family who claimed to be Christian kept doing things that were the opposite of what I thought Christians were supposed to do. Then, there were the people at my old church. Because of everything above, my depression and suicidal ideology was at its peak, and I did and said things to try and get people's attention. To signal to someone that I needed help, help that I was too afraid to ask for outright.
At some point, I brought up the fact that I'd been diagnosed with clinical depression, and what I did not feel comfortable being touched/hugged. I made comments about how I wanted to die, how I had depression, and how I thought people were their real selves when they were angry/full of hatred. Because in my family, the truth only ever came out when people were shouting at each other. That's why I believed that people were only their true selves when they were angry. But I never had the chance to explain that part, because one by one, people at the church began to ostracize me. To their credit, they did try to welcome me, but it felt like they were doing it out of obligation. We were just so different, I saw no reason why they would want anything to do with me. Call it a contradiction. I tried to seek help, yet I kept pushing people away. That's my own fault. But I thought God was supposed to love everyone, so I held out hope that I could keep my mouth shut, and that maybe then my youth group would accept me. But then, I kept saying and doing things without thinking. I didn't mean to do them, but the damage was already done.
Then, once it was clear that everyone in the youth ministry wanted to distance themselves from me, I decided to just leave. I knew that I'd never be accepted by the church. However, because my father was a member of the adult congregation, he forced me to attend church. He even threatened to take away my devices if I didn't obey. That confused me even more. If Christianity is about faith, then why force it? I don't know anyone who would believe in God if someone was threatening them to go to church. So, once it reached that point, I just gave up.
A handful of people from the youth group told me that depression isn't real and that it's just a ploy for attention. They said I was annoying, that I was a loser, and most of all, that no one liked me. Nor would they ever. And I believed them. Because no one wants anything to do with the depressed.
Once they told me that no one liked me, all my faith in Christianity withered away. Because if they were what it means to be Christian, then would there ever be a place for me? What does it even mean to be Christian? Does someone with depression like me even deserve to be loved? Even after I left the church, I still wonder if God is real, and if he is, would he ever love a loser like me? Will I ever have a place in Christianity? Or will no one ever like me as my youth group said. I just don't know what to believe anymore.
To avoid getting mixed up in religion, I just tell people I'm atheist, but the truth is that I just don't know what to believe. My entire childhood, I was raised in a church where I kept seeing so many two-faced people, who acted as if it's okay to abuse others because God will cleanse all their sins, but I'm not sure if Jesus died on the cross just for that.
I wanted to believe in God because I thought Christianity would help me get back on my feet. . .But each church I attended shattered my hope left and right. Maybe it's all just in my head and maybe it is my fault. Maybe it's not and they weren't actual children of God. I don't know. I don't know what to believe. And quite frankly, I never understood what it means to be Christian.
If you read my story until the end, please tell me what it means to be Christian. Because I want to believe, but at the same time, I don't want to attend a church and get hurt all over again. I'm just scared that if I try to join Christianity, then I might get ostracized all over again after losing control over my depression.
If you think I'm annoying, I think so as well. I've always thought I was annoying and that people just tolerated me, so I just keep to myself now. In fact, it's been years since I last hung out with anyone aside from my family. My dad was killed in a car crash several years back, and I cut contact with his side of the family (aunt and uncles were from his side) and just focus on doing all the household chores, frequent cooking, and work. I try not to cause any trouble and just do what needs to be done around the house and so forth. I'm doing online college on a scholarship/fafsa, so I don't need to worry about getting a job until later. In fact, getting a job and having an income will ruin my chances of getting Pell grants, so I was actually advised to wait until I get my bachelor's. Then, I'll have some credentials to land a decent job. I'm also thinking of searching for a church to join, but I'm still haunted by what happened in the past.
I guess I'm just venting at this point.
I don't know.
What even is Christianity supposed to be like? Please, tell me.