The $1.3 billion Mega Millions lottery winner sued the mother of his child for revealing the win to his family, but now, his father is accusing him of going back on a promise to share the jackpot.
The family of the $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot winner is biting back in court, claiming he went against his word that he would share the lottery winnings.
"I told him... 'You are not the son I knew,'" the winner's father, a retired police chief in his 70s, said in a sworn declaration filed Friday in federal court. "He got angry, calling me a 'dictator' and an [expletive]. I have not heard from my son since, and he has not done any of [the] things he promised."
In February 2023, one lucky winner stepped forward to claim the then-fourth-largest lottery jackpot in history from the Mega Millions drawing on Jan. 13, 2023. He opted for the one-time lump sum payment of $723.56 million and would have received just over $404 million after taxes, according to the Jackpot Analysis tool from USA Mega.
Although Maine state law allowed him to claim the jackpot without revealing his name, the guarantee of his anonymity may very well change, depending on how future events between himself and his family unfold.
In November, he accused the mother of his child, who goes by the pseudonym "Sara Smith" in court documents, of letting news of the win slip to his own parents. His sister then discovered the news through the grapevine, and depending on how far along the game of telephone has progressed, it is possible more people know.
The winner, named "John Doe" in filings, said that she had signed an NDA two weeks before he claimed the prize, which stipulates she must keep the jackpot win a secret until their daughter comes of age in 2032 to keep his identity, his daughter's identity, location, and assets hidden from the public eye.
For allegedly breaking the NDA, he sued her and demanded she pay $100,000 for every person she's revealed the win to and must reveal every single person she has told.
His story has since taken a complete 180.
On May 10, "John's" attorneys filed a motion for sanctions against "Sara." He stated that she tried to publicly expose his identity, twist his image, and lie about his conduct, including accusing him of kidnapping their daughter, withdrawing her from school, and only returning her to her mother when a court ordered him to do so.
"Sara" filed an opposition to "John's" motion, supplemented by written testimony from "John's" father. Additionally, "John" had admitted to telling his father that he had won the jackpot, despite originally accusing "Sara" of going behind his back and letting the news slip.
"I made the mistake of telling my father that I had won the lottery without having him sign a confidentiality agreement," "John" said in his refiled sanctions motion.
In "Sara's" opposition, she maintains that she did not tell "John's" father, stepmother, or sister about his lottery winnings. The documents also allege that "John" had, in fact, told his father much more than just the lottery win alone.
"['John'] told him a lot more than the naked fact he had won the lottery, including the fact that he had won over a billion dollars (reduced after taxes to about $500 million), what he planned on doing with the money, and all the things he said he would do for his father (which he never did)," the filings state.
The lottery winner's admission that he was the one to reveal the win, compounded with his father's own sworn declaration in legal documents, "Sara's" motion says, is enough to shatter "the remaining shards of this suit." She believes his motivation for filing the lawsuit against her in the first place was to use his "limitless resources to bully and intimidate her to make concessions in the on-going family matter concerning their daughter."
She recalled being harassed by "John's" legal counsel and "security team," even when their daughter was not with her, calling the behavior "terrifying, invasive, intimidating, and downright creepy." She reports being constantly followed, having her and her visitors' every move tracked, finding unmarked cars outside her home, and suspects that her electronic devices are being monitored.
Her daughter's school has also asked the "security team" to stay off the school property after other parents complained about seeing them lurking about. For months now, she often hears "a clicking noise" while she is on the phone and has had "a number of unexplained dropped calls."
The final nail in the coffin, she says, is his father's supplemental declaration.
"In or around February or March of 2023, my son came to my house in [REDACTED], and informed me and my wife that he won a large amount of money in the Maine State Lottery," his father says in the documents. "I understand that my son has stated that he told me nothing about his money other than 'the simple fact that I had won.' That is not true."
He goes on to say that his son disclosed the amount he won and that he had given his girlfriend half, so they would have $250 million each. Additionally, he says his son promised on building him a garage, buying him some old hobby cars to fix up, and purchasing his childhood home from his parents, "even though I didn't ask him for anything."
"He said, 'Find out what they want for it, and I'll pay double,'" the winner's father recalls his son saying. "This is not something my current wife and I wanted to do."
According to the sworn declaration, "John" also promised to set up a $1 million trust fund for his father, which would provide a monthly stipend. He would have 24-hour care if needed so that he would never have to go into assisted living or a nursing home.
"I also understand that he has stated that ['Sara']'s speaking with me and my wife ruined the relationship between me and my son," the retired police chief continues. "That is not true. It was my son who insisted that neither I nor my wife have any communications or contact with ['Sara']. ['Sara'] is the mother of our grandchild and we have had a good relationship with her over the years. I thought she was a good mother and we did not want to turn our back on her as he insisted."
"['John'] may be embarrassed — and should be embarrassed — that the public will learn that his father effectively has called him a liar, that he filed this lawsuit because he didn't want his own family to know that he won the lottery, that he was motivated to punish the mother of his child after she rejected him notwithstanding his billion-dollar lottery winnings, that he tried to buy custody of his daughter from ['Sara'], and having failed on that score, then used his wealth to try to overwhelm ['Sara'] in this Stalingrad litigation and thus extort concessions in the on-going family dispute concerning their daughter," "Sara's" scathing rebuttal concludes. "While we understand why ["John"] would want to hide these facts from the public, the public is entitled to know why ["John's] complaint is baseless and was filed for an improper purpose."

So, I think I should start describing my kinda insightful thought in some way.
I've been a regular ARAM player for about 3 years, usually in a relaxed manner, but when I came across a more interesting champ than Zilean or other shit like this I liked to hunch down a bit and stay focused but today's situation was lowkey the last straw that breaks the camels back. I pretty much enjoy playing quite unconventional picks: ap viego, ad ahri, classic every possible variant of ezreal, but please tell me, when did riot games overloaded game with dmg that hard that if I'm playing any mage fucking ap kaisa is oneshoting me from like 1000 range in 6 secs (cuz ofc she has got resets :D). When tf riot games claimed it's good idea to rework adc items for making this role ain't flexible like ever before?? Thank god we got so much new skins!!! I dont even know how much money I've spent on this game and now being restricted cuz Ive told somebody he is fucking shit and he should never play this game (tl:dr pyke player started some crappy actions then running down whole ranked). Deleting vision potion from aram was so fucking bad decision too, who even wanted to see shaco or teemo as frequently as they are drawn in lobby, fucking nobody!! Riot thinks they make game more pleasent and easy for casuals but only thing they do is messing up with annoying shit, not listening to actual players, instead being open only for voice of fucking retarded cosplayers, skins collectors and other creeps without any other type of social life but the LoL. Give me fucking reperation for my maestry tokens I had been completing as you did when rebranding IP for BE (another "xD" change).
And the worst fucking thing ever, why tf any Chinese company is able to see every part of my PC's memory?? Why isn't it banned as the whole Google fighting with adblock was (at least in UE)? I don't claim it's not helping with scripters or something, ofc it does, but aren't there less invasive methods? ofc they are, but w/e.
My point is, riot games is making game less attractive to the most representated type of player, casual guy who sometimes watches some esports, sometimes plays ranked games for testing himself. I know there were like 1000 of posts like this and this is nothing new, I just wanted any rioter to read this: Your company fucking sucks, you cant balance your game, watching k'sante every fucking pro game and seeing him being fucking diff is disgusting, playing your game is disgusting too, it doesnt have any same feeling like for example 7 years ago, when game was srsly about some skill, where you could skillcheck enemy and win by this, not like today, skarner wins game cuz of his fucking overloaded skillset and shitty items, what tf was wrong about sheen giving mana?? Do less toxic designs, more where a player needs to think and train, delete most of these new champions, they are awful and nobody besides otp and tryhard abusers wanna see in this game, last good champion was Renata Glasc, so good skillset and stats, even the W isn't broken that much. W/e its too long

Kevin Walsh ranting about how worried he is about the Indiana Fever not 72 hours since he made the case for taking them to win the WNBA Championship. If you take advice from talking heads that have no accountability for their picks you'll lose money like the guy who just posted that he was done with gambling because he always loses. Maybe he watches Sportsgrid. lol

Big fat disclaimer: I'm not actively in danger, I'm not bleeding everywhere, I just can't walk.
Okay, some backstory and ranting about my feelings: So, a year (or two?) ago, I did something to my back. Still don't know what exactly because I was merely bending down to pick up a piece of trash, but my back popped and it's never been the same since. Ever since, I have periods of extreme back pain that gets so bad I cannot sit up. I did manage last year to get myself to some physical appointments about it (yay!) and got an Xray which confirmed nothing's broken, and they told me it was likely a herniated disc.
At the time, I didn't have any way to get myself to the physical therapy they referred me to, so I just.. didn't go to that appointment. I'm still incredibly angry at myself for doing that, but I'm also trying to accept that I'm fucking agoraphobic and also have trauma related specifically to physical therapy (from something unrelated when I was younger) which made me not try very hard to go...
I did just manage to get that appointment set back up. And I think that's a major win. I don't know how I'll get the courage to get out the door and fucking do it, but at least i stopped procrastinating and made the appointment??
The actual 911 part: I also have an appointment tomorrow to get seen and assessed for some pain meds. But I... I just realized how bad things have gotten today. I'm in so much pain I could barely pull my pants up after using the restroom. I haven't eaten or drank all day because it hurts too much to stand for that long.
I feel so sick. This is awful. It doesn't help that I also specifically have trauma related to my mother denying me emotions and pain. She tried to raise me without any feelings and if I was ever in pain, she just... told me... I wasn't?
This is really bad. I know this is really bad. I know I need to call 911 and get some urgent help if I can't feed myself. But at the same time my brain is reminding me of how terrifying it'll be to get wheeled out of here on a stretcher, and how actually earlier I took a few steps so that means I'm making it sound worse in my head...
I feel insane. I really appreciate that this subreddit welcomed me and related to me when I've posted rants before. Can someone please help encourage me? I'm terrified.

I don’t even know where to begin! For starters, myself and Jessica both had to work today and were unable to watch any of the lives that were held. (Thank you to those that have tried to keep me updated so I know what needs to be addressed) Unlike DD, I have priorities that require my attention and because of that, I don’t have the ability to go live for hours on end! I’m going to try my best to hit some bullet points with this post and I’ll be open to answering questions if further clarification is needed. I want to start by saying I DID NOT say that DD has taken thousands of dollars from people! What I said was she was probably not the best person to expose Kerrie when she’s taken money from people herself! Mandy being number 1 and she’s already admitted she’s taken from a couple others! Some of those debts were paid back (not by her) prior to exposing Kerrie so she would feel safe in doing so! Now let’s talk about this $700 that she claims to have said no to me over! First of all, I would have never even mentioned this situation, so she has herself to thank for this! Since this is a situation that involves dry begging, we can refer to this as example #1 of why her and Kerrie are much alike! 😉 DD repeatedly told myself and Jessica that she didn’t know what she was going to do because she “didn’t realize” that her tabs, inspection etc on her car had expired and she would need around $700 to get it legal again. I am not a rich woman! Who would be with a family as large as mine? But my dad had just passed away and I was left a “rainy day fund”. After seeing her stress over her car and knowing she was waiting on child support to go thru, I DID offer to lend her the money! Initially DD said no and we discussed other options for her to handle it. A day or 2 later, she privately called me without Jessica (most of the time it was all 3 of us) and mentioned that she may need to take me up on the offer and I told her the offer still stands and to let me know because I do not use the apps for money and I’d have to have one of my adult children send it for me when they returned home from work. Later that day, “God was good” and her child support cleared! Problem solved! (I will mention here that days later Jessica and I were confused when she said her mom and sister helped) but either way, she figured it out and didn’t require my help! Point in even explaining all of this is she likes to paint herself in a light where she is holier than thou and would never take from anyone!! 🙄
Next.. the wardrobe! On no planet did I ever offer to buy her a wardrobe! Like most mornings, myself, DD and Jess were on the phone! We were discussing the trip that they would be going on together in April. Jessica was talking about outfits she had gotten herself for the trip and texting us pics while we were talking. I felt bad for DD who I knew couldn’t afford to do the same, so I text her and said “pick a few outfits off Shein, send me screenshots and sizes and I’ll order them for you” I also put “shhhh” because no one needed to know that she didn’t get them for herself! Her response was not NO! It was “ok once I get home! Thank you Christine!” She immediately mentioned it on the phone call and I told her she didn’t have to. Her response was that she didn’t care if Jessica knew. At that point, all 3 of us were on SHEIN and sending pics in text of options for DD. (See how her story holds only partial truths?) I can also provide screenshots of this if necessary! Now in the end, nothing was ever ordered because she never officially told me exactly what she wanted and our friendship ended before I was able to fulfill the offer. Her part of that trip was also canceled due to Jess walking away when I did! Mikey and the homeless mission… the plan was Mikey was taking a train to somewhere in NY and DD was driving an hour to go pick him up from there! Morning of, DD texts Jessica and I and asks for $50 from each of us! We both said NO! I made mention of how expensive it would be, asked why she was no longer getting him, and couldn’t understand why Mikey needed money when he had previously been offering to help others get there! (All in texts 😉) The story seemed sketchy and I privately told Jess I would reach out to Mikey to verify. Mikey DID verify that there was an issue with the bus or train (I’m not familiar with transportation in the NY area) and he did verify that DD sent him $200. Jessica and I had both spent ALOT of money on the mission itself already and were not willing or able to contribute more, especially for something that wasn’t 100% necessary for it to be a success… though Mikey turned out to be an asset that day! I will add that I had no idea she received “blessings” from 2 people that were present and if my math is correct, she would have ended up with $250 from it. $100 from each of the 2 people and another $50 from someone who wasn’t there! 🤷‍♀️ (just going off what she said in her rambling) The PIZZA!! 🤣🤣 did I ask Luci (who’s name I promised I wouldn’t mention but DD did) if she gave her money for the pizza? Yes I did! Not so I could be like her and mention it publicly (in fact I told Luci I wasn’t going to) I only asked because that was sent by someone for me and DD went out of her way to talk shit on Luci and her wife to Jess and I and how they didn’t even offer to help pay for it! We were taken back by that because why should she care when she didn’t spend a dime on it? Weird right? It made Jess and I wonder all this time if they did in fact pitch in and DD kept the money.. I was happy to learn that they did offer but DD declined! Please take note that the biggest issue here was DD repeatedly complaining about Luci and her wife when they were there busting their ass to help with the homeless stuff!
** if you haven’t picked up on it yet, there were lots of little instances where we began to question her character**
Now to the Mandy business… I’m not here to speak for Mandy or be her mouthpiece! Mandy is NOT the reason that DD and I are no longer friends! DD was well aware of the fact that Mandy and I talk. In fact, she was the one that would run to me to go fix things with Mandy for her! I became quite the mediatocounselor between the 2 of them and was CONSTANTLY telling DD that she needed to make up her mind and quit stringing her along if she didn’t want a relationship of any kind! Twice I asked DD if she’s ever outright told Mandy that she only wanted to be her friend and nothing more.. her loud response was “she should know that” to which I replied “it’s a yes or no question. Maybe that’s what I need to talk to Mandy about” and she shut the idea down very quickly by saying it would send Mandy in to an anxiety attack and “she knows her better than anyone” here’s one of those moments that make you go hmmmm 🤔
My thumbs hurt at this point and my kid has a band concert in 45 mins so I’ll stop here for now! Please feel free to ask questions or bring my attention to anything else that she’s said about me that needs to be addressed!

Ever since August 2023, I have been feeding a friendly female feral cat and her skittish son. I have been wanting to spay and neuter these two, but multiple issues occurred in December 2023 when her son was of age to be neutered, which prevented the two of them from being fixed. I contacted a TNR organization called C5 that same month and was told I would be placed on a waitlist of 3 months, and have not been contacted ever since. I was naive to wait for a phone call because matters would get worse.
As of late March, the female feral cat gave birth to 5 kittens, but one unfortunately did not make it. Ever since the birth of these kittens, I planned to catch them and wean them off, so I could take their mother and older brother to get neutered and spayed, and not deprive the kittens of a food source with their guardians gone. However, I never saw the kittens come by with their mom.
On Thursday, May 9th, one of the kittens appeared in my front yard. Although I could not manage to catch it, I contacted another TNR organization named Las Vegas Valley Humane Society (LVVHS) by submitting a TNR Inquiry Form through their website. This organization focuses on TNR and adoption, but relies on fosters in order to house the adoptable animals, who bring them to adoption events. The next morning, I received an email to text a phone number, and this is where my troubles would begin.
I texted the number with my name, address, and the amount of cats I wanted to be fixed as instructed by the email. I explained to the phone number that I wanted the two oldest cats to be fixed, and maybe the kittens if they were of age. A cat coordinator for LVVHS responded to my messages and asked for pictures of the kittens to see their age. However, they would constantly make me repeat myself and would often dismiss my questions and concerns, just to give me extremely vague responses unrelated to my concerns. After exchanging texts for a while, the cat coordinator for the LVVHS made me aware that they could possibly come by Monday afternoon or early evening to help me catch the kittens, since they were extremely fast.
Flash forward to Monday, where I received no notice or text by the cat coordinator. Although this organization has no building, all of their websites state they close at 5. As the time neared 5 pm, I texted if the organization planned on coming to help catch and pick up the kittens and the cats. I would not receive a text until an hour later, where they stated they could not come and asked about my plans for the kittens, since they had no fosters available at the moment. I never once stated I wanted to foster the kittens, so this seemed quite absurd. I responded that my plans were just to take care of the kittens while their guardians would be fixed, but they decided not to reply to that text.
The following morning, I managed to catch the kittens with my neighbor’s help and notified the LVVHS coordinator about that. Two hours later, they texted me they would call me and never did. I texted them at around 6:36 pm expressing my concern for an update on when the organization would be available to pick up the cats, since I never received a call. The coordinator simply responded by saying “How many kittens?” after answering this question nearly 5 times with them. I had to reiterate my intention for nearly the third time, and was met with an extremely contradictory response. Apparently, this organization does not catch the cats themselves, and instead feral cat caretakers have to pick up a trap and take the cats to the clinic, which was not stated on their website and contradicted their text stating they could come by Monday to help catch the kittens. Also, when I asked where exactly I would go to pick up the traps and what the address of the clinic was, the coordinator simply ignored my questions and instead gave me the hours of the unnamed clinic. (Based on my own research, I figured out they were referring to the Heaven Can Wait Clinic solely based on the hours of operation given to me).
In addition, the LVVHS coordinator instructed me to text them Saturday or Sunday to help schedule a pick up for a trap, in order to catch the two adult cats, while also informing me that I was at the top of the foster list. I already made them aware of my plans, and they knew the kittens were only 6 weeks old and could not be separated from their mother. However, they directed a foster to contact me if they could come by my house to assess the kittens and see if they can take them the very same evening. So, although they made no effort to contact me over an update about the adult cats being caught, they instead vehemently wanted to separate the kittens from their mother at the age of six weeks?
I can understand that this is a small business, but clearly the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society throws out professionalism when it comes to TNR matters. The miscommunication, dismissal of my questions and concerns, and rather vague responses assuming I am aware of certain operations and addresses is quite infuriating, especially when not listed on their website. I just wanted to help control the cat population, but because of unprofessional organizations such as these, I am still left with unneutered and unspayed adult cats.
I am aware that there are several resources to help feral cats, but after contacting several organizations, I was met with more issues than solutions. For instance, the Heaven Can Wait Clinic only accepts feral cats in humane traps, which costs $125 to borrow, and as a mere college student, I can barely afford to borrow a trap and cover the cost of the operation itself. Furthermore, this clinic is only open in the mornings from Monday to Thursday, which can be quite limiting. This matter was extremely infuriating and overwhelming for not only me, but also the cats who had to wait for hours to be picked up, and never were.

Hello gents,
I'm trying to save up to get me some games, I only started sending referral links recently so all of them are fresh, if you use my codes you'd be helping me out a lot and you'd be saving yourself 25%.
It's a win win. I'm going to write down my list of games feel free to pick, I wish I had known about these links earlier on. It'd have saved me a ton of money lol:
• £23 (UK) Device Referral (If you're a new user, feel free to send me a message and I'll happily help you setup your Quest and pick games) - https://www.meta.com/referrals/link/KFCisLIFE
• Bonelab - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4215734068529064/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (I played Boneworks years back, Bonelab isn't the same game.
However it's still an incredibly polished and fun game. With by far the largest modding community on the Quest platform.
Developers are porting entire games to Bonelab. Buying this is like an investment which keeps getting better. You get bored? Download some more mods. I can't rate it high enough)
• Blade and Scorcery - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2031826350263349/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Breachers - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5740397619319389/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Only recently just bought this, takes some time getting used to but it really is a fun game)
• Contractors - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2436897736439055/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Into the Radius - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5817243991680545/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Words cannot describe how much shit there is in my pants after playing this game, 10/10. Fallout if Fallout made you shit your pants.
• Onward - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2677344882310094/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Pavlov Shack - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2443267419018232/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 1 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2180753588712484/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/3682089508520212/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Playing this game should be a requirement for all Quest 3 players, the graphics are beautiful and the storytelling will leave a lasting impact afterwards.)
• Stride - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4901911359882668/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• The Walking Saints and Sinners - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2897337400373711/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Ghost of Tabor - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/7614022262006379/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=3&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Asgard's Wrath 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2603836099654226/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Assassin's Creed Nexus - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5812519008825194/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
https://linktr.ee/kfcislive?utm_source=linktree_admin_share (Feel free to follow my link tree for future codes and high quality memes 👌)
This is all, if any of you gents wish to trade links for Arizona Sunshine 2, Vail, Eleven table tennis, Espire 2 or Beat Saber I'd love to hear you out in my messages. I really want to get these games, and I will be using the credit I get from my codes to get them. I love referral codes, literally everyone wins!
I hope you enjoy your codes, and your discounts. Once the codes are used up I will edit them, please notify me in the comments about this as it will be helpful!
Also, Device Referrals are region locked. All games aren't however, if you need to get a Device referral link remember to pick ones with your countries name in it. Example, I live in the United Kingdom. So I picked a code that was in the UK!
Have a good day all,
• Memememeguy

Hello gents,
I'm trying to save up to get me some games, I only started sending referral links recently so all of them are fresh, if you use my codes you'd be helping me out a lot and you'd be saving yourself 25%.
It's a win win. I'm going to write down my list of games feel free to pick, I wish I had known about these links earlier on. It'd have saved me a ton of money lol:
• £23 (UK) Device Referral (If you're a new user, feel free to send me a message and I'll happily help you setup your Quest and pick games) - https://www.meta.com/referrals/link/KFCisLIFE
• Bonelab - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4215734068529064/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (I played Boneworks years back, Bonelab isn't the same game.
However it's still an incredibly polished and fun game. With by far the largest modding community on the Quest platform.
Developers are porting entire games to Bonelab. Buying this is like an investment which keeps getting better. You get bored? Download some more mods. I can't rate it high enough)
• Blade and Scorcery - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2031826350263349/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Breachers - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5740397619319389/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Only recently just bought this, takes some time getting used to but it really is a fun game)
• Contractors - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2436897736439055/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Into the Radius - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5817243991680545/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Words cannot describe how much shit there is in my pants after playing this game, 10/10. Fallout if Fallout made you shit your pants.
• Onward - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2677344882310094/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Pavlov Shack - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2443267419018232/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 1 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2180753588712484/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/3682089508520212/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Playing this game should be a requirement for all Quest 3 players, the graphics are beautiful and the storytelling will leave a lasting impact afterwards.)
• Stride - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4901911359882668/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• The Walking Saints and Sinners - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2897337400373711/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Ghost of Tabor - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/7614022262006379/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=3&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Asgard's Wrath 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2603836099654226/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Assassin's Creed Nexus - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5812519008825194/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
This is all, if any of you gents wish to trade links for Arizona Sunshine 2, Vail, Eleven table tennis, Espire 2 or Beat Saber I'd love to hear you out in my messages. I really want to get these games, and I will be using the credit I get from my codes to get them. I love referral codes, literally everyone wins!
I hope you enjoy your codes, and your discounts. Once the codes are used up I will edit them, please notify me in the comments about this as it will be helpful!
Also, Device Referrals are region locked. All games aren't however, if you need to get a Device referral link remember to pick ones with your countries name in it. Example, I live in the United Kingdom. So I picked a code that was in the UK!
Have a good day all,
• Memememeguy

Hello gents,
I'm trying to save up to get me some games, I only started sending referral links recently so all of them are fresh, if you use my codes you'd be helping me out a lot and you'd be saving yourself 25%.
It's a win win. I'm going to write down my list of games feel free to pick, I wish I had known about these links earlier on. It'd have saved me a ton of money lol:
• £23 (UK) Device Referral (If you're a new user, feel free to send me a message and I'll happily help you setup your Quest and pick games) - https://www.meta.com/referrals/link/KFCisLIFE
• Bonelab - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4215734068529064/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (I played Boneworks years back, Bonelab isn't the same game.
However it's still an incredibly polished and fun game. With by far the largest modding community on the Quest platform.
Developers are porting entire games to Bonelab. Buying this is like an investment which keeps getting better. You get bored? Download some more mods. I can't rate it high enough)
• Blade and Scorcery - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2031826350263349/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Breachers - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5740397619319389/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Only recently just bought this, takes some time getting used to but it really is a fun game)
• Contractors - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2436897736439055/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Into the Radius - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5817243991680545/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Words cannot describe how much shit there is in my pants after playing this game, 10/10. Fallout if Fallout made you shit your pants.
• Onward - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2677344882310094/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Pavlov Shack - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2443267419018232/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 1 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2180753588712484/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Red Matter 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/3682089508520212/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral (Playing this game should be a requirement for all Quest 3 players, the graphics are beautiful and the storytelling will leave a lasting impact afterwards.)
• Stride - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/4901911359882668/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• The Walking Saints and Sinners - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2897337400373711/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Ghost of Tabor - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/7614022262006379/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=3&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Asgard's Wrath 2 - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/2603836099654226/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
• Assassin's Creed Nexus - https://www.oculus.com/appreferrals/KFCisLIFE/5812519008825194/?utm_source=oculus&utm_location=2&utm_parent=frl&utm_medium=app_referral
This is all, if any of you gents wish to trade links for Arizona Sunshine 2, Vail, Eleven table tennis, Espire 2 or Beat Saber I'd love to hear you out in my messages. I really want to get these games, and I will be using the credit I get from my codes to get them. I love referral codes, literally everyone wins!
I hope you enjoy your codes, and your discounts. Once the codes are used up I will edit them, please notify me in the comments about this as it will be helpful!
Also, Device Referrals are region locked. All games aren't however, if you need to get a Device referral link remember to pick ones with your countries name in it. Example, I live in the United Kingdom. So I picked a code that was in the UK!
Have a good day all,
• Memememeguy

Every time a person posts, “oh we should get this guy” most of the fan base says how bad of a fit it would be on some level…on a 14 win team. How is that even possible?
Actual question, who do we actually want and might get that will get us even close to a 50-50 season or is that just unreasonable? Don’t want to look at Houston or the Magic because that’s obviously out of the question
I only watch the Pistons but I skipped this year after we went on the losing streak, plus I don’t work for them anymore.
Also I don’t think the 5th pick is going to fix this shit show unless we somehow get a steal while Weavers team is still scouting and probably won’t be fired until after the draft

2024-187 / Zedd MAP: 67.42 / MLZ MAP: 73.84 / Score Gap: 6.42
Wikipedia?wprov=sfti1#) / IMDb / Official Trailer / Our Collection
From IMDb - Adventures of Huck Finn - In Missouri, during the 1840s, young Huck Finn fearful of his drunkard father and yearning for adventure, leaves his foster family and joins with runaway slave Jim in a voyage down the Mississippi River toward slavery free states.
2024-188 / Zedd MAP: 55.68 / MLZ MAP: 40.50 / Score Gap: 15.18
Wikipedia / IMDb / Official Trailer / Our Collection
From IMDB - The Sandlot - In the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
I rolled out of bed, took a few minutes to wipe the sleep out of my eyes, get that cup of coffee every new sunrise offers, and sat down in my trusted armchair - Mrs. Lady Zedd pushed play and The Adventures of Huck Finn hit the screen. I guess we’re doing this now - Morning Movies, well - I can bring the movie on whenever.
MLZ is a woman possessed - she’s been driving the big numbers we’ve been making this month: these two make #30 and #31 for the month ((damn)), we’re moving right along. If I’m being honest, I always associated movie watching with myself but Mrs. Lady Zedd is a cinephile’s cinephile. You’d have to get up pretty early in the morning to actively engage motion pictures like she does. She’s interested in any genre and I can’t even make that claim.
Neither of us had seen this incarnation of Huck Finn and it’s pretty much a pedestrian look at the life and times of a kid from a very different walk of life and time… but aren’t we just the same? That seems to be the message of any movie pushing Americana at its core. Nothing wrong with that (per se) but my “propaganda” button goes off at times like these.
“I don’t know why,” I say, “but this movie feels like *The Sandlot - the way it’s put together, the syrupy dialog and the clarity of the picture.” MLZ hmms and ya, see thats as I’m talking. It’s not about the story but the way the story is being told. Wide-eyed look back - that overwhelming feeling that the good old days were then, not now. Maybe it’s just me but I suggest we watch The Sandlot next and she readily agrees.
It’s while I’m filling in The Sandlot’s particulars that I spy (with my little eye) both films are from 1993. Ain’t that just the way. I’m filling in my form and am halfway through the cast when I wonder when each were in the theater? If I had to guess, I’d say Sandlot is pure early summer - Huck Finn could be fall?? I check: Sandlot is April 1, 1993 / Huck Finn is April 2, 1993. ((Blink-blink)) I just stare off in space… guess we picked well, from a date standpoint.
I pull up 1993 in the MCC because I wonder - there’s another motion picture I’d throw into a “feels like this” pile, and there it is: Matinee. “Huh” I say out loud - MLZ says, “Sounds about right.” and that’s when all hell broke loose.
The doorbell rang (despite all sorts of signs asking delivery drivers not to) and the dogs straight up go berserk. There are scratch marks above the top of the door - these pups are serious where the doorbell is concerned. The delivery? The very last Disney Movie Club order (this time for real). I’ll post pictures.
As we come to the end of the second film, I have to ask myself - how would either of these movies landed on me if I was 8 in 1993 (instead of 1979). I’m not sure - both movies share an insipid “the way we were” element, a fake history that I’ve always had a mild allergic reaction too. The kids in ‘79 were all hopped up on the future - NASA, and men walking on the moon, and Star Wars, and Tron… everyone I knew couldn’t hardly wait for what the future would hold… if I could broadcast a message from now to then, I’d simply say, “Live for the moment, the future is pretty shit.”
I asked Mrs. Lady Zedd what she thought and she said, “I think you get way too philosophical about everything.” A long blank stare later, I say about the movies. She said both were “fine”. Elijah Wood was more that cute as Huck, you can see he was already developing as an actor.
As for The Soundlot she gave me that fake smile she gives when something didn’t sit well with her. “The over the top of the movie narration just popped my movie bubble - every - damn - time.” She said it was so awkwardly done, so poorly written, so defectively slapped in there, it’s a brown patch in an otherwise “meh” apple.
I’m left to scratch my head. Things can change over time and my MAP dropped significantly since our last viewing in 2021. I normally look up past write ups to make sure I’m not just restating what’s already been said but I know for a fact that won’t be the case. I’d developed some nostalgia for the movie based on our neighborhood’s regular July 4th block party. The guy down the street played The Sandlot on his garage door every year before the fireworks got started.
Our neighborhood had changed a great deal since the pandemic. People moved on, new (less friendly) people moved in. I hate to say it but politics have transformed things as well. I think many of you will recognize what I’m saying. No more 4th of July (or any other) block parties.
What’s the opposite of nostalgia? Sad sentiments, I guess. We’ll be gone from here sooner than later, I hope something positive will come of our time in Texas - some hidden cause to smile, later, when I think back.
Movie on.

Managers,
10 days ago, I made a Reddit post explaining the 'Corners of Europe' FM24 challenge concept. Here is that post. I would strongly recommend reading that to get a grasp of the idea - it is really interesting.
Following on from that, and 10 daily uploads since then, I thought I would do a post on here following up from that, as a way to invite you to watch my videos over at youtube.com/@mattovfm , and also to be able to show new viewers, and anyone who wants to try this career concept for themselves, the progression of the career itself. This is my first time doing it and I believe it is a unique concept (as far as I am aware), so it is all realistic and anything can change in the future, but this is how the first season and a half went. Enjoy the read!
I took the job over in Santa Clara with the aim to achieve the first goal of the challenge - win promotion. A newly relegated team, this proved to be the perfect job for it. We started the season well, picking up 6 wins in 9 games. We also made the Round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup... until Benfica came to the western most place in European football.
A great start to the season meant some inevitable bad form was on the horizon. 1 win in 6 games in the League put our unexpected (for me, personally, but maybe not the board) but welcomed title pursuit in jeopardy. And with two huge games to decide if we take that title coming up, a trip to P. Ferreira, the team we trailed at the top by 6 points going into the game, and a visit from 2nd placed Benfica B proved definitive for our season. Episode 5 was make or break.
A 1-0 win against the Benfica B team was a huge result to get the mental edge over a team who couldn't get promoted, no matter what (due to league rules). The momentum was carried early on into the P. Ferreira game...
Until a 94' equaliser denies us the chance to catch up in the league. For now.
With 10 games left and only our best efforts acceptable if we want to win the league, we went on to win 8 out of the 10, and drawing the other 2. However, was this enough? Even though promotion was pretty much expected after a great end to the season for us and was an expectation for myself and from the board, that title was still there to be won, and who wouldn't want that.
In P. Ferreira's final 8 games, 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss. A bit of magic needed to deny them of the title.
Final 2 games for the opposition; Benfica B, Porto B. Two teams who we lead 2-0 and both managed to do a comeback on us this season, possibly the games that, on reflection, may have lost us the league, showing why their teams, no matter the level, are the leaders of the country as they are.
And they proved once again why they are the elite of Portugal. Benfica away proving too tough a test for P. Ferreira, we steal first place on the penultimate day of the season. One final game to wrap up our season in the final episode of the week.
And we end the week as league champions! From 6 points behind to winning by 4, the episode ends a great week of football with a trophy lift to conclude.
Overall, an eventful week of football in the first season of the 'Corners of Europe'. Most importantly, we achieved the goal to win promotion, ticking off the first of 10 goals set out from the start. We also used the first of our 5 tactics to do so; counter-attack. Although not the most fun and effective, it was still nice to learn for a season. The perfect start to the challenge.
As stated in the first post, the ideal jobs are not going to come that easily. We start the 24/25 season with Santa Clara, and after coming up with lots of money from the Second Division generated from player sales, we spent some in the summer. It took a while to steady the ship in the First Division, until we played one of the greats of the country, Braga. A 2-1 win against the struggling giants got us our first win after 6. But it didn't just stop there. A historic 3-2 win after flying two hours in to the town of Lisbon, we were able to defeat the 20x reigning league champions in their own back garden, none other than Sporting Lisbon. A historic episode topped of by a win in the Portuguese Cup against a team who we played last season in the league, but now found ourselves two leagues apart, in Penafiel.
And after weeks of insecurity around the KA job, the offer finally came up. Leaving on a high with 3 huge wins, lots of money and a Second Division title, one very warm door closes to open to a new chilly one, some 3000km to the northwest of Europe. As our time in the Azores islands, in the middle of the Atlantic, draws to a close, the full Santa Clara playlist, in numerical order, can be found here.
Time for a new chapter in the 'Corners of Europe' challenge, over in Iceland with Knattspyrnufélag Akureyrar (I think KA is enough, though).
Here's the first video in Iceland from a few days ago, and if it interests you, make sure to come and check out this week's daily content (5PM UK time) - it's already looking to be another great season!
Thank you for reading. Hope to see you on the channel, and thank you for all the support so far. It's been my pleasure. youtube.com/@mattovfm

So I've just been thinking back to what could have been. Yes it's the age old "what would you change" post however I'm going to rethink from the 2012-13 roster from this reference btw
https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/2013.html
So damn near to scraps. However first big change I'd make. Nixing the Miller trade and Pomminvile/Foligno and Vanek. Not for attempting to win. For giving better mentors to Girgensons and Grigorenko. Instead of either touching the NHL I'd play them in the AHL for 2 seasons(assuming similar results for 13-14 and we fall to 3rd pick in the 15 draft). Instead of Lemiuex we instead take Thatcher Demko and still grab Jonas Johansson hoping Miller can guide one of them to being a legit starter.
Our big signings amount to mostly 1-2 year stop gaps in this time, however it's because we keep the relic that is Regier until 2015 when he retires willingly admitting he hasn't got what it takes to get them out, but he leaves happy so we have Pomminville, Foligno, and Miller still alongside rookie breakouts from Girgensons and Grigorenko leading the team. New GM Jason Botterill(yes I'm saying he gets the job due to some things still being likely) doesn't play Reinhart in 2014-15 knowing he wanted to tank, but gets a surprise in Girgensons and Grigorenko being about 65 point players and the extra wins gained move us to 3rd so no McDavid, but also no Eichel. Girgs and Grigorenko sign max 8 years for 7m each. No clauses added though it is viewed as overpaying based on 1 year.
In 2015 since we don't get Eichel we take Noah Hanafin as Botterill assumes his forward group has the pieces to be great. However due to some luck we first round exit in 15-16 as the bottom seed(so first pick of playoff teams), but Botterill is encouraged to send it to Florida for this Lawson Crouse rookie alongside Robert Hagg.
This however doesn't translate and in 2017 the draft is the same except we don't take Casey Mittlestat having our current 1C and 2C being Reinhart and Girgensons. Instead we go for forward Martin Necas to improve our scoring, but also now have a fairly different roster.
In 2018 the lineup is
A fossilized Thomas Vanek-Sam Reinhart-Mikial Grigorenko Random stop gap-Zegmus Girgensons-Jason Pomminville Lawson Crouse-JT Compher-Martin Necas Marcus Foligno-Johan Larrson-Joel Armia
Adam Sekera-Rasmus Ristolainen Nikita Zadorov-Mark Pysyk Noah Hanafin(rookie year)-Free Agent
Ryan Miller Thatcher Demko Jonas Johansson(plays 15 games due to injuries)
From her the story goes somewhat the same. We do get Dahlin, Skinner, Power, Cozens, Quinn and Peterka, however Vegas doesn't send Krebs. However when Vanek Retires that's why we pick Cozens as Girgensons goes to the first line, Necas shifts to Center on the 2nd, but we want a pure center for it alongside needing to replace Pomminville. Crouse replaces the stop gap while Skinner or Crouse plays their opposing wing with Necas.
Here's where the fuck ups start. We miss like normal and in 2021-22 we trade Necas to Vegas for Tuch and Krebs, but coaching has been very different.
We don't have the revolving door. Botterill just has balls and tells the Pegulas to give a bit more time and somehow doesn't get fired until 2020. Coaching is only changed in 2015 where we do take Bylsma and again in 2020 with a new GM. Not Adams, but I think this is getting long. How we get to today is mostly dumb luck getting us Power, we legitimately finish too high to justify anything else.
Roster to start this current season
Skinner-Reinhart-Grigorenko(reminder this is speculation that the altered development makes him a good goal scoring power forward) Girgs-Cozens-Crouse Peterka-Krebs-Quinn(no injury) Foligno-Compher-Armia
Dahlin-Sammy(assuming no injury) Power-Zadorov(assuming we don't get Joker) Bryson-Clifton
Demko Johansson
Definitely forgot some players and trades, but this is flipping around and just straight deleting some trades and signings because of Girgs and Grigorenko making some kinda pointless. Like O'Rielly doesn't make sense for us because he was meant to be 2C for Eichel because Girgs never developed. Drafting UPL would probably still happen, but he would either replace Johansson or be traded. Skinner still makes sense because Vanek aging out and I mean we paid nothing for him, but yes still would be on that shitty contract because of the blowout year and playoff hopes.
Powers draft year would just be winning the lottery, but can be altered to either pick 14-16 or even 2 if you want it to follow the actual draft order. Regardless. It also means we aren't in the longest drought. Just in year 1 or 2 of Adams and fuck it I'll say Ruff with a team built extremely differently based on changing 2 players development and ownership choices

I know this is an iPod subreddit, but it's the most active subreddit dedicated to mp3 players (I think). I know there are some fans of these players around here but let me know if you want this gone though.
After a few frustrating weeks of trying to upgrade my Creative Zen Micro to 128gb, I finally succeeded on upgrading it. Here is a step by step.

With a Virtual Machine

Given that the software part can get very frustrating, I suggest that you first focus on creating a working environment based on your stock mp3 player. This will limit the number of things that can go wrong.
This was tested on a Windows 11 machine (called Host from now on).
Download Virtualbox. Use your own Windows XP SP2 image or find one (google: archive + WinXPProSP2ENG). Download the Windows Media Player 10 updater from archive.org Download the Creative Zen Micro drivers and upgraders from archive.org
Install Virtualbox. Install Windows XP on Virtualbox - this can be a big step if you don't have much experience in this field, but there are plenty of tutorials on how to do it - check the references below.
Now that you have your Windows XP VM (called Guest from now on) up and running, go to the Devices tab on the top of your screen and click on "Insert guest additions CD...". This will insert a virtual CD containing some Virtualbox drivers and you'll get a pop up on your Guest machine. Install them and reboot your machine.
Turn off your Guest machine.
Connect the Zen Micro to your Host machine. Your Host machine should recognize the player with no trouble.
In Virtualbox, click on your VM machine and go to settings > USB > USB2.0 > click on the 'plus' sign and add your device there. The name should be "Creative...".
Now, in the same settings menu, go to the tab "shared folders" and click on "add". Now, choose the folder you want to share between the Host and the Guest machines. Give it a name and a mount point. I picked "sharewithxp" for all the fields, including the name of the directory on Host. Check 'auto-mount' and 'make permanent' (if it exists).
On your Host machine, copy the files MP10Setup.exe, ZenMicroPDE_PCFW_LB_1_11_01.exe and JB3MV2_PCWDRV_US_2_01_00.EXE to the shared directory you just created. Also copy MP10Setup.exe.
Turn on your Guest machine and go to "My Computer". You should see your shared folder in there. Copy all the files from there to your Guest's desktop.
Install MP10Setup.exe - this upgrades the Windows Media Player from 9 to 10. By experience, Windows Media Player 11 was problematic and apparently 9 isn't ok either. Stick to WMP 10. This was key for me. It really didn't work without WMP10.
Install JB3MV2_PCWDRV_US_2_01_00.EXE - these are the drivers for the Zen Micro.
Disconnect your Zen Micro from your computer. Connect it again. Go to devices > usb on the top menu and make sure your device is selected.
Execute ZenMicroPDE_PCFW_LB_1_11_01.exe If everything went according to plan you should now see an "Upgrade" button. If you see said button - congratulations because this was the most painful part of the process. I realized that when the device is correctly loaded, the executable won't open right away - It takes a few seconds. If the device wasn't fully recognized, you'll see a message saying "Your player is not connected, please connect your player".
(If you got the dreadful second message and no "upgrade" button, try to reboot your Guest machine. Disconnect and connect your player again. Make sure it appears on the devices menu.)
Now that you have a working environment, let's move to the fun part.
Format your micro sd card (fat32 if I'm not mistaken) - I used a Sandisk Extreme 128gb (the golden ones) and it worked fine. Insert the micro sd on your CF-to-SD adapter. I got the the only adapter I could find (red one).
Disassemble your Zen Micro - there are tutorials and videos around that show you how to do it better than I possible could - check the references below.
Remove the CF card from the mp3 player and insert the adapter. Pay attention to the position of the old CF card. CF cards don’t have a big distinguishable difference on one side like sd cards do. It's really easy to get mistaken and connect it on the wrong side. The only differences are the slots/openings on both sides of the CF card/adapter - one is larger than the other. When the adapter is connected and in place, its label should be visible (pointing upwards). Take a picture of the original CF card if needed or check the video in the references below.
Assemble everything back but do not insert the battery right away.
Toggle the power button to the left and hold it that position. Insert the battery. You should now be in recovery mode. Navigate to "format all" and click ok. Navigate to "reboot" and click ok.
Connect your player to the computer and, in the Guest machine, make sure it is selected on the devices > usb menu.
Open ZenMicroPDE_PCFW_LB_1_11_01.exe If everything went according to plan, the upgrade button should now be visible. Click. Wait. Enjoy.
PS: Inside the Creative Zen Micro link, there is also an upgrader for the most recent version - 2.21. I haven't tried it because I don't think it brings anything that interesting to the player. There are also 2 older drivers in there - also untested.
References: https://www.reddit.com/ipod/comments/18e1698/creative_zen_micro_upgraded_from_5gb_hdd_to_a/ https://www.instructables.com/Upgrade-the-Zen-Micro-5gb-to-8gb-on-the-Cheap/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=VERkcCTJFyI https://www.intowindows.com/how-to-boot-and-install-from-iso-in-virtualbox/

Without a VM (native Windows XP running on a modern computer)

^Soon.

top streamer is by far my favorite story ever the plot and the choices you can make are amazing and I 100% recommend it.
⚠️little bit of spoiler⚠️ (female main character)
About you're a streamer, an influencer, and a "perfect" girl. you and many others are trying to rank up to the top 10 streamers, you and this other guy compete to get there first. during one of your streams, you announce that the top 5 donators will get a video call with you and the one the audience picks to win gets a date with you. but the guy you were competing with joins.
my own opinion
this romance story is super well thought though, it feels like I'm living it myself. this story pulls me in and gives me something to be interested in. i love the way i can see the story and the art that comes with it i love the way my mind folds when something interesting happens.
pros the only gem choices is to but extra points to the game if you didn't earn them, to get extra scenes or to donate gems to the creator. you get to customize your character, the love interest and a couple others, plus you get to change them every couple of episodes which makes it nice if you don't like how they look. you can choose your outfit for most of the things, plus hair and lipstick
cons every four chapters you have to wait 2 hours for four more episodes, or you can pay 8 gems.
but of course, this is my own opinion you might have a different one and that's fine. this story is amazing though

Dates: Friday 11/17/2023-12/08/2024

• chose these dates because her next leg of Eras goes til Dec 2024

Prompt: Make this whatever you need or want it to be! Since she has 10 albums (not including re-records) you could choose 1 product for each album based on its theme, colors, vibes it gives off, something personal to you, etc! You can also choose products based on specific songs and I please share the song name and product and why you chose it! You could do a mix of specific songs and albums! You can also make this a rolling project if that’s your jam!
*you do not have to pick 10 products if you’d rather do less! Make it fun and make it YOU!
Check-ins will be the 13th of every month (because Taylor’s birthday is coming up and it’s her lucky number).
How is everyone doing? ✨🪩

This is a straight to the point buyers guide for people that are wondering if any of the AL ships are worth buying or not. I am here to give you an idea of what's worth, and what's not. I will rank them in descending order for convenience. Keep in mind that these are from my own opinions on the game: my word is not law. These are just my recommendations from my personal experience and a spur of the moment deal personally.

Best Pick: AL Montpelier

This is a premium version of Cleveland, the USN tier VIII CL. However, unlike the later AL premiums, AL Montpelier was unique in at least, a very minor way: She has tighter shot grouping due to a 2.15 sigma versus the standard 2.0 at the cost of slower reload at 0.5 sec slower (7 sec vs 6.5 sec). The result is overall consistent salvos, at the cost of just a little DPM that can be fixed with Adrenaline Rush and Top Grade Gunner, depending on how you build her.
Besides that, she also has un-nerfed version of radar, at a 30 sec vs 27 sec on Cleveland. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you run Consumable Enchantments and or Surveillance Radar Mod 1, you have a larger number that the percent based changes will take affect on. Essentially, with both the commander skill and 2nd slot upgrade, you get 39.6 sec vs 35.6 seconds on duration. So a radar build is not bad compared to Cleveland. Besides that, she doesn't have access to the catapult fighter consumable, but that is super seceded by radar and anyways so who cares.
And above all else, it is a Cleveland, which is IMO, a very competitively viable cruiser at tier VIII, with it's very small citadel, thin profile / narrow beam that leads to a lot of over-penetrations, good DPM, good concealment, and good AA. It really only lacks in the speed, gun range, and shell flight time problems, which can be remedied with skill and positioning.
As far as the commander voice acting, Rie Takahashi voices Montpelier. If you do not know who that is or do not care, and just want to know if the commander's voice is annoying or not, then be happy that she isn't overtly grating compared to some of the other commanders you can get. I find her rather composed, cool, and relaxed, fitting the trope of kuudere, if you even know what that means.
TLDR: Premium Cleveland with higher sigma, slightly lower RoF, Longer lasting radar.

Runner Up: AL Sovetsky Rossiya

This is a premium version of Sovetsky Soyuz, the VMF (Soviet Navy) Tier IX BB. Like Montpelier, she is slightly unique to her tech tree counterpart, bar being premium, by having standard battleship dispersion (USN, Royal Navy, German, etc.) instead of Russian BB dispersion formula that gets way better inside 15km. She does also have 1.8 sigma versus 1.7 sigma, for slightly tighter shot grouping. So, while Soyuz excels at mid range, Rossiya excels at long range, which does reasonably well considering the average high tier meta these days.
Other than that, you retain all the upsides of Fast action Damage Control Parties, the tough hull design of the Sovetsky Soyuz. The only other thing you DO NOT get is the AA, as she has the Hull A of Sovetsky Soyuz, and in turn has worse AA overall. In fact, she has such bad AA that only Musashi beats her out in having worse AA for Tier IX battleships. So yeah, CVs that know their targets will have free reign on you, so stick close to allies in CV matches.
Now a I'll be honest with you, Rossiya is not a super competitive BB at tier IX, so this choice is really just down to being different in few ways instead of blatant copy paste. Really, only AL Montpelier is the only super competitive option here. So above all else, Rossiya is a side grade if anything and you should not fear of having FOMO for not getting her. Besides, she's not an historical ship that is going to get removed because it was OP, so fret not (COUGH COUGH MUSASHI, COUGH COUGH ALASKA, COUGH COUGH MISSOURI).
Lastly, the commander is voiced by Manami Numakura. I can really only characterize her as cool, tough, deep voiced anime woman archetype. I dunno really how to explain it that well, so I apologize for anyone that likes her due to my poor description.
TLDR: Premium Sovetsky Soyuz Hull A with 1.8 sigma and standard battleship dispersion.
OK, with those two out of the way, I want to put a disclaimer here that the next ships are purely optional and not super worth it IMO and really only selected for being different than the rest, I.E. not something that is currently offered in other ships / premium ships already in-game.

Optional 1st Pick: AL Prinz Heinrich

This is a premium version of Prinz Heinrich, the tier VII german battlecruiser of the Ersatz Yorck class. She is a 1 for 1 copy of Prinz Heinrich: no special differences here besides premium benefits.
Now, while she is not unique in any way, she is not a bad battlecruiser for tier VII standards. This mainly comes down to the 50mm deck plating she has in a tier wrought with battleships with just 26mm of plating on their decks. Really, any tier VII battleship that has more than 27mm of plating is really competitive in this tier, simply because they don't get overmatched or full-penned by HE. It's sort of why Scharnhorst '43 is so popular and good, since she doesn't get chunked for 10k when hit by 15 in + guns (380mm guns for ya'll metric nerds).
Besides that, she's not slow as hell, going at a decent 28 knots, has 15in guns herself, has fast acting DCP, and is the first ship in the german battlecruisefast battleship line that gets that sweet improved secondary dispersion formula, which despite the 9km max range, means that she has free DPM to let the game play itself essentially. Combined with torpedoes, she can bum rush many slower and weaker battleships that the german battlecruiser line is famous for. And on top of all that, she also has hydro for better pushing to see torpedoes earlier, or push smoked up ships.
Now for some cons, the guns, while using battlecruiser dispersion have an awful 1.5 sigma, so your shot grouping is... bad. Do not be surprised if a lot of your shells in your salvo get a mind of their own. Besides that, she's on the below average end of HP for tier VII, at 56k. Also, she does have 25mm bow and stern. She does have a 30mm extended belt (colloquially known as an ice breaker), which is followed by 120mm extended belt, that protects the lower portion of the ship from overmatch bar 18in guns that she MIGHT face in the likes of Georgia, Sun Yat Sen, Musashi, and Tsurugi, and Adatara. Still, that doesn't mean she is immune from overmatch, as the odd shell can still get through her bow and stern and chunk you, so do not bet on it 100%.
Now that is for the most part, the review. However, for any true fans out there, they know that Prinz Heinrich from AL is actually a P-Class cruiser, AKA Schill in this game. Since Schill was a limited time ship that required whaling for her, and that wargaming dropped the ball and just did "Oh this ship has the same name! Here ya go!" then you know how much this kind of sucks. If you just like Prinz Heinrich, and want her as a premium, you can ignore this tidbit, but for any true fans that DO NOT have Schill, you're shit outta luck.
As far as commander goes, the voice actor, Hiyori Nitta, does a wonderful job characterizing a carefree and bubbly character. As previously mentioned, I recommend putting her on Schill if you really care about game accuracy, that is, if you even had Schill to begin with.
TLDR: Premium Prinz Heinrich copy-paste. Get it only if you really like Prinz Heinrich (the ship) which is actually pretty good for its tier, and want a premium version of it, or Prinz Heinrich as the character.

Optional 2nd Pick: AL Shimakaze

Hoo boy, this one might be controversial. This is a special ship (NOT a premium ship) of IJN DD, Shimakaze.
Shimakaze really needs no introduction. It is the old school torpedo boat that coined the phrase "Torpedo soup" or at least contributed to that phrase. It can put 3x5 23k damage, 12km Type 93 long lance torpedoes into the water. It has some of the best concealment for her tier, getting down to 5.6km surface detect, and good speed at 39 kts (42 kts when speed boost is active). It has been here since the games launch, and well, admittedly, or at least in my opinion, has seen better days.
Still, while some other DDs might have powercrept her a little, you can't mistake the fact that a well played Shimakaze can terrorize a team that lacks the tools to pin her down. Even if that is seldom the case most of the time (48% win rate on NA out of 8 million battles), the ship still has strong tools when played to it's strengths. 23k damage torpedoes are no joke... if you get hit by them at least, as they have a pretty awful average reaction time of ~9.35 sec (according to wows ship builder). Now, this can be sort of remedied with building for torpedo speed, getting torpedo tubes mod 1 and swift fish to decrease that time to ~8.5 sec, but that's still far above the average of 7.8 sec most torpedoes have in other nations. Still, if you get the right angle, devstriking a full HP battleship is not uncommon if you get a perfectly lined up shot. Thing is, it takes WAY more skill and positioning than you think it does, especially considering that most top tier players sort of know what they're doing, and that a lot of top tier ships can run hydroacoustic search these days.
Combined with the fact that she has some of the worse gun DPM of any tier X DD, and has fairly low HP for the tier, it can be fairly hard to play this ship unless you get just the best matchmaking ever. It's a real feast or famine type ship, which I would say summarizes most of the IJN Shimakaze line in general, bar maybe the mid tiers. All this really means is that Shimakaze is NOT the most competitive DD at tier X, as arguably many other nations have better torpedo boats, or better yet, opt for hybrid boats that can defend themselves fairly well, such as the Pan Euro DDs. Still, as mentioned earlier, if played to her strengths, she can be a good ship, but all I am arguing for is that she is not a meta ship, at least in my opinion.
Now, onto the whole Special Ship thing. Yes, this IS a tier X ship that can be bought for money. And YES, this is like the ARP Yamato deal, allowing noob whales to skip to tier X and forgo all the blood sweat and tears that goes into grinding to top tier. And YES, IT'S A SHIMAKAZE, THE TIER X NOOB MACHINE. I DO NOT HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR MANY AL SHIMAKAZE PLAYERS EITHER. With that out of the way, what benefit do you get for getting a special ship version of Shimakaze?
Well, to start, Special ships essentially have the premium bonus package already baked in, I.E: +50% Credits, +100% Ship XP, +100% Commander XP, +100% Free XP. On top of that, you also have a reduced repair cost compared to a standard tier X. Besides that, you can freely swap commanders onto this ship like a premium ship with no retraining required, making it a good trainer. These are the ONLY 2 reasons that make this ship more economically viable compared to Shimakaze. While the bonus package on Shimakaze can achieve 1 of these 3 effects, the other two, reduced repair cost and free commander swapping, puts this above standard Shimakaze as a result.
So, unfortunately, This is a slightly better Shimakaze. So if you REALLY like Shimakaze, and want a premium version of it, well, here it is, for a lot of goddamn money. Like $100+ expensive. Go figure ya know?
Also, the commander is voiced by Saori Hayami.
TLDR: Special Ship verison of Shimakaze. Take if you are a whale have a lot of expendable income to burn, AND really like Shimakaze (The ship), and or really like Shimakaze (the AL character).

Optional 3rd Pick: AL Yukikaze

AL Yukikaze is a similar version of the IJN DD Kagero, but with F8 torpedoes and no option for torpedo reload booster.
Now, this is the last of the semi-unique AL ships, as every other one has been copy-paste. Yukikaze at the very least is different in that she has F8 torpedoes. These differ than Kagero's choice by having less range, (8km vs 10km), higher damage (21k vs 20k), faster reload (104 sec vs 112 sec), and higher speed (76kts to 67kts) which also leads to a better reaction time of ~8.8 sec vs ~9.45 sec.
Now, does this make Yukikaze better? No, not really, as 8km is rather short range for high tier standards. It does make them almost break past ~8 sec reaction time with a full torpedo speed build, the best of any type 93 torpedo, but combined with the fact that it has no other differences in gun handling, DPM, HP, and consumables, I find this shorter ranged torpedo to be a high risk high reward setup, which already exacerbates high tier IJN DD gameplay further than it already is, being so heavily feast or famine.
I can really only recommend this ship if you really like Kagero for whatever reason and really like the 8km F8 playstyle. That and if you like the history of the ship and or like the character of the ship, voiced by Kana Yuuki, despite how annoying and self aggrandizing her character is made out to be.
TLDR: Kagero but 8km F8 torpedoes.
OK, now for the ships I really do not recommend at all for varying reasons. The reviews are going to be more brief from here on out.

Skip 1: AL Cheshire

Only get this if you really, REALLY want to get Cheshire right now. Currently, regular Cheshire is off sale, and cannot be obtained. For whatever reason you think you might need Cheshire, this is the only way to obtain her at the moment in AL form. Which more than likely means that if you want her, you are more than likely a fan of the AL character, as the ship itself is pretty bad. Kind of polarizing given that Cheshire in AL is pretty meta, and her in WoWs she's pretty solidly in D tier for competitiveness.
She is essentially a worse Albemarle, having no Spotter Plane, and garbage DPM for the tier. Really, the 9.2 in guns really only offer 59mm of pen vs 34mm, and better AP pen with overall flatter flight times, but not by much. The armor is Okayish, but trust me when you will get smacked through your bow and stern often, as you have a stepped citadel that if you get overmatched through either direction, you WILL get citadelled. While you get that 50% cit and hull repair party, it really doesn't matter that much when it happens so often, or you just get straight up dev striked. Combined with the lack of spotter plane, that 16km gun range will feel really short, especially when you are bottom tier.
You can at least be happy that the AA she has is up to par in how she is in AL, as it's best in class for her tier. Well, mostly, but her Flak Count is above average at 6+1, and combined with always having defensive fire, I recommend getting the commander skill Focus Fire Training, so you get that +1 flak cloud for 8 in total, which combined with Defensive fires flak buff, those flak bursts will do 7k a pop, Which is the equivalent to instantly destroying about 7 to 3 planes depending on the type if they run into it while DF is active.
Besides that, the commander is voiced by Shizuka Ishigami, and well, pretends to be a catgirl.
TLDR: Get this if you really really, REALLY want Cheshire and you don't have one, or because you really like the AL character.

Skip 2: AL Hornet

This is just Hornet. You can get her cheaper with a 25% discount coupon. It's also a CV, which I imagine is not everyones cup of tea.
The commander is voiced by Nozomi Yamamoto, and personally, I enjoy the happy go lucky characterization she has. This might be the ONLY reason you want to get Hornet, that or because you like the cool skin the ship has, and or the free 10 point commander.
TLDR: Get regular Hornet with 25% discount. ONLY buy this if you love AL Hornet (the character) to pieces.

Skip 3 & 4: AL Azuma and AL Agir

These two are just Agir and Azuma, coal ships, that you can get absolutely for free. They are also not really the best Tier IX cruisers anyways, as Azuma is super vulnerable to battleships, and Agir doesn't match up to the likes of other large cruisers at this tier.
That said, I can only imagine you getting these ships for the same reasons for Hornet, and that is because you are a fan of the AL characterization of these ships, as Azuma is voiced by Kiyono Yasuno, and Agir, Ayane Sakura. Or you just like the ship skins.
TLDR: Get Azuma and or Agir for free with Coal. ONLY buy this if you love AL Agir / AL Azuma (the characters).

BONUS: Commander Pack

Hahaha no. Unless you really love AL and don't mind by dropping... looks at price... 100$+ USD and getting a ton of fully voiced commanders, then go for it. The only other reason would be because you are a fresh player and need 10 point commanders for most of the nations in this game, which is really only useful if you need say concealment expert on destroyers for example, then sure, go for it if you find that to be an OK option.

EDIT: BONUS BONUS: AL Littorio

I forgot AL Roma, I mean AL Littorio is also a thing, and on an 80% sale.
Anyways, Roma herself sucks.
The guns have so much muzzle velocity that you will overpen targets 50% of the time. Combined with the Italian / french dispersion, which is one of the worst battleship dispersion formulas for battleships. So, they are fairly inconsistent guns as a result. Still, if the guns behave, they are pretty mean, as they have a lot of penetration for 15 in guns, on par with some of the best penetration for tier VIII battleships. They also have the best damage for 15 in guns for the tier as well. The gun handling is at least not total crap, as they have 30 sec 180° rotation time, which is above average for most BBs. The forward gun angles are decent too, at 31°, but her rear angles are worse at 40°.
Speaking off, the armor is fairly good at a first glance, with 45mm deck, 70mm deck sides, and a fairly small superstructure which has extra protection from her 90mm dual purpose guns 40mm barbettes and the conning tower. The citadel is slightly above water, but it is not a turtleback, so you WILL get punished for being broadside, considering the armor is 375mm + 40mm of armor or protection. The 40mm inner plate is not overmatchable at least, which is a small plus. At least, compared to the tech tree Tier IX and Tier X that have 25mm plates under their turtleback.
She also gets points for good concealment for her tier, being among the best, at 13.39km base, 11.7km max.
Overall, she's... a tough and sneaky nut to crack, unless she shows broadside. The guns themselves are a massive dirce roll each time, and kind of suck. When they behave though, usually at range, they are amongst the best 15in guns at tier VIII.
Oh and Roma is voiced by Yui Kondou.
Oh wait. This supposed to be Littorio. Whoops. Then that would be Shizuka Itou that voices her. And Yes, if you didn't know, this is for all intensive purposes SHOULD be AL Roma. The simple version of this is that the Vittorio Veneto class all had striking unique features that set them apart at a glance. There was a controversy a while ago about AL Littorio literally being Roma with a skin, as if you demout the camo, the Roma nameplate is still there. Same goes for our Tech Tree Vittorio Veneto, as it is too, just Roma. In fact, the upcoming Spanish Tier IX premium Victoria will be the first version of Roma that is somewhat different. But honestly, it doesn't count.
TLDR: It's a freaking Tier VIII BB on 80% off. Get it while it's hot I guess. Besides that, she has poor gun handling and accuracy, but strong armor (when angled), and good concealment.

Fletch gently pushed open the large and lavishly decorated bronze doors of the university administration building and ambled out into the portico. He set his cup of coffee down on the pedestal of a granite pillar and pulled his cigarette case from the breast pocket of his tan trench coat. The old chief inspector plucked a cigarette from the ornately engraved case with slender fingers and wondered why the Kael let him come at all.
Something felt very off with the whole thing. The more he thought about it, the more he questioned the story he got. Mike Anderson was certainly depressed, but as far as Fletch could tell, he had not displayed any suicidal behavior. And why now? Fletch thought. Things were on the upswing for the kid. His grades were excellent, his family situation was good, and he was out of the house more this term than the last. Fletch scratched his mustache. Why would the seals hide the autopsy and the gun? He brought the cigarette to his lips, snapped the filigreed case shut, and slipped it back into the breast pocket of his coat. Fletch flicked open his lighter and sighed as he lit his cigarette. Murder.
It was a hopeless case. These days, warrants were approved by the seals, and even if they weren't, he doubted that he could get one anyway. His suspicion of foul play was backed by nothing but his instinct.
Fletch watched students hustle and bustle through the plaza in front of him as he puffed away at his cigarette and pondered his theory.
But why kill him now? They could have done it in complete secrecy while he was a POW. And it couldn’t be to keep what happened in Philadelphia under wraps. His death brings more attention to it. And he wasn’t a rebel. So why? Fletch sipped at his coffee as he flicked ash from his cigarette. Vengeance? Did he kill some noble brat during the war?
Fletch scratched at his grey mustache and glanced at his watch. I’ll have to follow that thread. He tossed his half-smoked cigarette into a puddle as he briskly walked down the steps and through the university plaza.
The withered investigator was deep in thought when he entered the parking lot. What do I tell that Enrique chap? He unlocked his car and crawled in. I certainly can’t tell him that his mate’s been clipped with no evidence. Fletch turned the key, and the engine of his little Volvo sputtered to life. It’s no bleeding use. I’ll just tell the lad they weren’t interested in sharing and keep my suspicions to myself.
As he reached for the shifter, Fletch noticed a delightfully thick manilla envelope stuck in the gap between the center console and the passenger seat.
He pulled the envelope from the crack. Gingerly, he opened it and pulled out a small note. It read We’re even now, prick.
Fletch smiled and couldn’t help but mutter, “The game is afoot,” as he flicked through the stack of documents inside.
Isabella poked her head into the large office and saw Professor Dret’la with a ball of dark green yarn on her lap and bone darning needles beset with carvings in her hands.
Isabella was struck with confusion. What? She crochets!?
The professor looked up from her labor, spotted the confused girl outside her door, and called, “Come in.”
Isabella walked into the office and took a seat. She gestured to the yarn in the professor's hands. “What are you making?”
The professor smiled as motherly as one could with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. “It will be a hat for my son. He just received his commission as a junior biologist, so he has to rummage around in freezers to get samples for his whole research team.”
Isabella blinked. This was not characteristic at all for the quick-tempered professor with a penchant for launching chalk across lecture halls at the mildest provocation.
Isabella shook off her shocked expression and gave the tall professor a dimpled cheek smile. “That’s so sweet! I’m sure he’ll love it. One of the best gifts I’ve ever received was a thick wool sweater from my mamma during a training exercise off the coast of Norway.”
The professor, still smiling, sat up straight. “I hope that’s the kind of reception I get.”
The professor’s demeanor hardened as she stowed the yarn and needles in the desk drawer. “Now, let's get down to business.”
Isabella gulped.
“To start, congratulations. You’ve passed our testing and been selected for officer training.”
Isabella asked, “Who else was selected?”
“There are nine others: Robert Rhodes, Elena Pavel, Hal Jellico, Zheng Li, Brooke Halsey, Colow Aden, Magnus Tordenskjold, Bill Lee, and Kazuya Yamamoto.”
Isabella didn’t recognize all the names.
“Should you choose to accept, you will be taking a prep course taught by Colonel Ocidea and I starting next week and lasting all through the summer. If we deem you ready, you’ll ship out for basic training and then off to the Royal Military Academy, where you can earn your commission.” Dr. Dret’la leaned in close to Isabella. “Do you accept?”
Without hesitation, Isabella answered, “Yes.”
“Mike, come over here. You’re going to want to see this.” Calty voiced from her seat in the front of the cockpit.
Mike rolled off the couch and walked into the front of the cockpit as the captain shouted, “Decelerate!” Mike couldn’t help but grab onto the back of Calty’s seat as the FTL drive kicked into gear. The cockpit glass dimmed just before blindingly bright blue jets of fire from the front-facing engines came into view. A bright green circle flickered onto the glass surrounding a marble-sized dot darker than the rest of the now dim screen. The dots and circles expanded at an extreme pace until they took up most of the display. Another dot appeared—minuscule compared to the other—surrounded by a red circle. The growth of the shadowy dots and the circles around them slowed and then stopped entirely as the engines sputtered out.
The HUD faded out of view, and the tint of the glass slowly lightened, revealing a vast planet embraced by blue-green ice with a colossal foundry in its orbit. The planet, a gas giant called Drassus, was orbited by four rings. One was made of containers, and the other three were made up of loose ore gleaming in the nearby star's light. Exhaust chimneys spewing gas and fire sprouted from the otherwise spherical foundry, giving it a sea urchin-like profile, which, together with the weave of pipes bringing fuel from beneath the icy surface of the planet below, made the foundry resemble an old naval mine.
The captain strode up to the front of the cockpit. “One-third ahead and steer 14 degrees left. We’re unloading in bay three.”
Six mech suits and a tug exited a plasma-shielded hanger as the ship came to a halt. The mechs glided to the front of the ship and started dismounting the external cargo bay from the Broken Fin while the tug hitched onto the opposite end of the ten-kilometer-long rack of containers.
A little while later, the tug pulled away with the load of containers, and the comm system blared to life. “Broken Fin, you are cleared to leave. The UO corporation thanks you for your business.”
The captain replied, “Our pleasure. Broken fin out.” as the ship pulled out of the loading bay.
He turned to the navigation officer and said, “Lock in coordinates for jump to Kael Prime.”
The captain went to the central control board and pulled up traffic control. “Tower 1, this is the Broken Fin. We request a jump slot to Kael Prime from Drassus.”
“Broken Fin, request granted. Your departure slot is at 16:33.”
Mike glanced at the top right of the ship's HUD and looked at the time. 16:21.
Better get my stuff together…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ship shuddered ever so slightly despite the inertial dampeners as it exited FTL. Mike was lounging on the couch with his bag at his feet. He was ready to get off this tub.
Mike idly watched flames lick at the cockpit window as the ship descended into the atmosphere of Kael Prime. He looked at Dreki, who was sitting on the other couch. His muscles bulged through his clothes despite wearing a white sweater so large it could be mistaken for the sail of an average-sized boat. Mike asked, “Do you know anything about what’ll happen to me now?”
The big Kael shifted in his seat. “Technically, I’m not supposed to tell you anything, but what the hell.” Dreki pulled the collar of his sweater down, revealing an angry white number burnt into his iron-gray skin just below the collarbone. “First, you’ll get branded.” He released his shirt and pointed to a small scar on the side of his head. “Then you’ll get an AR implant.”
“Where will I be getting that?” Mike asked.
“The Imperial Science Academy. We’re going to be staying there for a few days. They’ll run a bunch of tests and get you fitted for equipment there. After that, I’ll drop you off at the spaceport, and you’ll be off to Tlaxcalssus for basic training. After that, I don’t know.”
“Thanks.”
The ship shook as it touched down on the landing pad. “Time to go.” Dreki shouldered his pack and walked out the door. Mike fiddled with the straps of his bag as he followed Dreki down the ramp and to the far side of the ship, away from the rest of the passengers. Mike's nose was immediately assaulted with the acrid smell of sulfur from where the fiery exhausts of engines had melted asphalt. The spaceport was swarming with vehicles and filled with the constant roar of ship engines and a symphony of smaller equipment. Power loaders and mechs loaded and unloaded heavy cargo, shuttles bustled to and fro with passengers, baggage carriers snaked through the crowded landing pads, and vehicles that looked like floating garage doors zipped through the air at ankle height, bringing pilots and crew to their ships. Mike couldn’t help but chuckle a little at the absurdity of it all. Here he was, in the heartland of the enemy, walking through what was essentially a ten-acre parking lot.
Dreki plopped his bags on the ground and yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. “Our skiff will be here in a minute.”
Mike tuned out the beeps and whirrs of the tank-sized forklifts and mechs unloading the ship and gazed out beyond at the horizon. You’re not in Kansas anymore, bub. Mike thought as he studied the skyline of the imperial city basked in the glow of the early evening sun. Some of the buildings wouldn’t look all that out of place on Earth, but the skyline was assaulted with abominations that pissed on the laws of physics as Man understood them. Tusk-shaped skyscrapers defied gravity with their seemingly unsupported curves, and even more absurd were pyramids stacked atop another point-to-point like hourglasses. Any delusion of normalcy that Mike could come up with was shattered.
Dreki picked up his bag and pointed to a slab of black marble speeding towards them at ankle height. “Here’s our skiff.” A railing popped out of the center as the skiff came to a gliding halt. Dreki boarded the skiff and took hold of the rail, and Mike followed suit.
They sped through the spaceport and stopped outside what looked to Mike like a train station. Dreki shouldered his bag and stepped off the skiff. Mike stepped off and quickly fell in pace with Dreki. The big Kael led Mike into a grand station bustling with people. Most were Kael, but there was a smattering of other species. Some stared at Mike, others glanced, but most completely ignored him as he followed Dreki through the hall and onto a platform. Unfamiliar aliens clearly weren’t an uncommon sight here.
The walls of the station were covered with mosaics depicting Kael warriors from the distant past. Dreki noted the human's curiosity and said, “The founders of the clans.” He leveled a massive hand toward an opulent, towering mosaic of a Kael warrior wielding a bronze falx. The imposing figure's body was made of blue gemstones, the eyes rubies, one tusk silver, and the other gold. “That’s the founder of my clan, Drekalla Gold Tusk.”
Mike asked, “How’d he manage that?” As he followed Dreki into a mostly empty train car.
Dreki plopped down on a bench. “He was the war priest of Hroptaug the Conqueror during the unification wars. After the wars were won, Hroptaug granted us the Steam Hills.” Dreki pointed through the train window at the mosaic of another warrior whose body was made of milky white pearls. “That one,” He paused and spat on the floor, “Tiblan the Terror, challenged Drekalla to a duel for most of that land. Drekalla was cutting him to pieces, but the craven poisoned his blade. Just before Drekalla could deliver the final blow, the poison reached his heart, and Drekalla died. The only wound on his body was a cut across his forearm that barely drew blood.” Dreki rolled up his sleeve, showing a scar that reached from his elbow to the middle of his forearm. “Every K’alla is cut the same way to remind us of the blood feud.”
Mike inwardly sighed. Kael and their damned feuds… “How long ago was this.”
“Seven thousand four hundred and fifty-one years ago.”
Mike held back a snort. The absurdity of it all. The first human law codes came about to stop blood feuds, and out here, they have feuds that have lasted longer than Earth's recorded history.
“How’s that feud been going as of late?”
Dreki’s face sagged, “Not good.”
They both grew quiet. Mike shuffled uncomfortably.
Mike glanced at the route display and broke the silence, “What's with the middle city, inner city thing?”
Dreki relaxed slightly. “Oh, so the city used to be a fortification. The inner city is actually a volcanic island. The middle is built over the river, and the outer city was built on the banks.”
“I see.”
The doors closed, and the intercom sounded, “Next stop, the inner city.”
Dale Robert’s wrinkled face was unreadable, and his highly decorated black and blue dress uniform immaculate as he led a horse through the street. He felt the eyes of thousands of onlookers on him, and he hated it. The pure black horse had a black leather saddle on its back. Two tall, glossy black boots were placed backward in silver stirrups, and the elaborate hilt of Mike’s basket-hilted broadsword jutted from the top of a black leather scabbard buckled to the saddle. Roberts followed the horse-drawn caisson bearing the flag-draped coffin of his old commanding officer. Not much farther now, he thought. The sounds of the cartwheels rolling and the horse’s tack jangling were wholly drowned out by boots stamping the ground in unison. Almost all of the 1800 survivors of the 801st regiment were there, resplendent in their dress uniforms, marching behind Mike one more time. The local police and fire departments joined them.
Roberts was unsure about it all. He felt that the poor kid's family would have preferred a smaller service back home in Colorado instead of this damn near royal procession. And Roberts was damn sure that the seals did not give their permission for this, no matter what the police chief said.
A reporter ducked through the police barricade and tried to ask the marching soldiers questions, but they remained stone-faced as the procession marched nearer to the gates of Philadelphia National Cemetery. Roberts handed the reigns of the riderless horse to another man in uniform and joined seven other members of Charlie platoon in pulling the casket from the cassion. They silently began their march to the grave, closely followed by General McCarthy, the man who was Joint Chief of Staff, and the color guard. Bagpipers began to blare, “Going Home.” Roberts heard the sound of gravpulse engines and looked up in dismay as a Kael gunship broke through the low clouds and descended to just barely above the cemetery. A loudspeaker blared, “Disperse at once.”

Note: This guide contains minor spoilers.
Brogue is a challenging game and many players never manage to “beat” it, despite months or even years of attempts. This guide is intended as a framework for optimizing your gameplay so that you too can join the ranks of glorious heroes who’ve ascended the Dungeons of Doom with the Amulet of Yendor held high.
Part 1: Mindset
In his book Outliers, the journalist Malcom Gladwell makes the case that plane crashes aren’t usually caused by a single event, but an accumulation of small factors that eventually become unmanageable for the pilots. This is a useful analogy for dying in Brogue.
In most cases, a monster won’t simply walk over and kill you. Rather, you’ll use an unidentified potion that causes you to catch on fire and in the course of walking to the water, you’ll trip over a confusion trap and end up getting stung to death by eels and toads. Things start off fine, a minor accident happens and then problems pile up and suddenly you’re dead. How did this happen?
Most deaths in Brogue can be attributed to underestimating the dangers that surround you and not having contingency plans ready. Winning, therefore, is largely a matter of isolating threats and dealing with each individually, while meanwhile collecting as many contingency plans as possible. It’s much easier to kill a single pink jelly by backing yourself into a nook, for instance, than it is to stand in the open and fight eight of them at once. Your odds of survival are much greater if you have several weapons and means of escape at hand.
As you play, constantly assess how much danger you’re in. You should do this each time you descend to a new level, but also periodically throughout each level. It helps to be somewhat familiar with the game’s monsters and other hazards and to know on which levels they typically appear. By the time you reach depth 6, for instance, there’s a good chance you’ll start encountering ogres. Don’t wait until one is standing in front of you to come up with a means of killing it. Have as many plans as possible ready before you can even see her.
Tip: A common place people die is around depth 7 or 8. It’s by this time that, barring some great luck in early gear, you’ll need to begin committing to a build. The first few levels of the game will forgive a player who wanders around without much of a plan, but around depth 8, more difficult enemies appear and you need an efficient way to kill or avoid them.
Upon each descent to a new level, ask yourself, “How much am I risking by keeping this item unused in my inventory? Will using this now keep me alive on this level or am I simply wasting something that could be put to better use later?” Greedily hoarding six enchant scrolls because you still haven’t found the perfect weapon is a common precursor to death. Always just trying to stay alive for one more level is an ideal strategy if you can sustain it deep enough.
This leads us to the most underrated asset a player can wield in Brogue: information.
Part 2: Information
Like many roguelikes, Brogue is made more challenging because the player has incomplete information about his surroundings. The map is dark. There are hidden traps and enemies. Items and equipment are not identified. They could be cursed or harmful. And even if you know which items are harmful and which are helpful because you’ve used a detect magic potion, if it’s the first time you’ve encountered an item, you still won’t know precisely how it’s helpful or harmful.
Mere information is enough to keep you alive in many situations. That you could easily die with an unidentified teleport scroll in your inventory is evidence of this. The difference between being overcome by a group of furies or jackals and easily dispatching the group is knowing just where they are on the other side of that door. Waiting a few moments might save your life, if only you know well enough to do so.
You should not attempt to kill every monster in the dungeon. If you can clearly see that you can kill a monster and you’re sure that no other monster will approach during that fight, it’s generally a good idea to kill it so that it doesn’t later happen upon you at an inopportune time. But if there’s a dragon alone in a small room, it’s generally a good idea to leave him alone.
Scrolls of magic mapping, rings of awareness, rings of clairvoyance, telepathy charms and detect magic potions are incredibly valuable. Awareness gives your character free searches with each move, reducing the chance of stepping on a trap that could trigger a fatal chain reaction of events. Clairvoyance ensures you won’t miss hidden rooms and gives you advance notice of monsters. Telepathy shows you the locations and movement patterns of enemies. Detect magic ensures you won’t read a cursed scroll or equip a piece of equipment that could weaken your character long enough to kill him. Magic mapping ensures you and your allies don’t step on traps and it helps optimize your route, saving on food costs and aiding in tactical awareness for fights.
Your goal with regard to information should be a complete view of everything. This is not possible, but recognizing how much you can’t see and know is a useful step toward mitigating the risks that those information gaps present.
Tip: If you don’t have gear to help you detect hidden things, search often. (But not too often or you’ll run out of food and starve, perhaps the most ignominious of all Brogue deaths.) Clairvoyance and awareness rings are underrated — strongly consider taking them from vaults unless there’s a regeneration ring, which is perhaps the most powerful, or a ring you need for your build, like stealth or wisdom.
Part 3: Gear
Flexibility is key to survival in Brogue, because the environment is chaotic. Fires spread, clouds of noxious gasses unexpectedly fill the rooms and enemies grow greater in number as the player descends. Whatever your gear preference, the best way to survive is to decide on a build based on what’s available. Stubbornly clinging to the hope a broadsword will appear could mean an early death if you fail to use what gear is actually available.
A wide range of builds are viable. The key is to experiment, iterate and constantly assess how your selected loadout is faring against the dungeon’s threats.
Some seeds contain altars that allow the player to swap the enchants of one item to another, allowing the player to use one build in the early game and another for later levels.
Broadly, there are two strategies for gearing up. One is to put most or all enchants into a single item. The other is to spread the enchants around. Both can be viable depending on the seed.
Going all-in on a teleportation charm is a viable strategy with a bit of luck, and made more viable by armor that blocks dragonfire.
Fully enchanting a regeneration ring works best if the seed also happens to contain powerful weapons and armor with some level of innate enchantment.
Putting most or all enchants into a stealth ring can work if you have a war hammer, which is a slow weapon and otherwise difficult to use.
Many of the staves work well as the centerpiece of a build, as well.
There’s a table online that shows the amount of damage each weapon does. Consulting this can reveal tradeoffs in putting yet another enchant into your weapon versus diversifying and putting some enchants into a staff or ring, instead. It’s generally not worth enchanting armor unless it has a runic you’re using in your build.
Part 4: More tips to win Brogue
Even those who are good at Brogue die a lot. The No. 1 tip is to not give up. Replay each death, either in your mind or literally using the game’s recording function, to figure out what you might have done differently to survive. Eventually, you will prevail. It’s tough, but far from impossible.

• Consult the in-game “discovered items” menu to see which items you’ve discovered. This can help make risk-reward assessments when using unidentified items.
  
• Using unidentified items in batches (away from enemies) is a good way of mitigating the danger of that activity. Using a hallucination potion or fire potion is much less dangerous if you can follow it up immediately with a life potion.
  
• Stay away from eels.
  
• Avoid equipping unidentified gear unless you’re desperate or have a way of removing cursed gear, such as a scroll of remove curse, scroll of protect armor, scroll of protect weapon, or an enchant scroll. The latter is wasteful but better than being dead, and many cursed items can make a run fatally difficult.
  
• Remember helpful landmarks. Bloodwort stalks, pools of lava and chasms can all be used to help you navigate tricky situations. Bloodwort pods can heal. Luring enemies upstairs and then jumping down through chasms can eliminate threats. Lava can be combined with beckoning or entrancement to kill most enemies in a single turn.
  
• Try not to miss hidden rooms. They might contain food, life potions, enchant scrolls or other gear that would make a big difference between success and failure.
  
• Negation kills golems instantly.
  
• Don’t get cocky. No matter how powerful you get, getting paralyzed in the wrong place will kill you, as will many other things.
  
• Consider the multiple uses that items may have. A little forethought and creativity, combining items with the environment, can yield powerful outcomes.
  
• You can use an item from a vault and then return it to get a new item.
  

There’s a lot more to know, but the fun of the game is figuring these things out yourself and maybe even trying item combinations others haven’t considered.
Godspeed.