I'm starting to start getting ready for the applying for residencies in the fall. I understand that MedPhys Match and MP-RAP are different application programs/softwares.
Is there any benefit to using one program for the main application process compared to the other?
I understand that there are certain programs that participate in one program and not the other, but a majority are on both.

WOH Month 5 Week 6
…..
Shotzi Blackheart and Diamante vs Pretty Empowered
Shotzi and Diamante take apart the young Paige sisters. Pretty Empowered are a talented duo, but here in WOH they dont have enough at this point. Diamante puts away Kenzie with a wicked looking Code Red.
Shotzi and Diamante hug after the win.. Shotzi grabs a microphone and invites any team in WOH to step in the ring with them!
…..
Kris Statlander vs Io Sky
Both competitors enter with their tag partners and full entrances even though it's a singles match this time out. Kairi Sane and Zoey Stark stare each other down, while Kris and Io prepare in the ring.
Statlander, known for her impressive power and agility, started strong, using her athleticism to keep Io on the defensive. Her explosive moves and strength-based attacks seemed to give her an early advantage, demonstrating why she is considered one of the rising stars in the wrestling world. It does seem early on, that her offense might yield the same shocking result that won them the titles at Revolution!
However, as the match progressed, it became clear that Io's experience would be the deciding factor. With years of wrestling at the highest levels around the globe, Io demonstrated a superior ring awareness and strategic acumen that Statlander couldn't match. She expertly countered Statlander's powerful offense with precise, well-timed maneuvers, turning the tide of the match with her high-flying, innovative style. Io's ability to adapt and respond to Statlander's moves showcased her deep understanding of in-ring psychology and technical prowess.
In the end, Io Sky's experience proved to be the difference. She capitalized on a momentary lapse from Statlander, executing a perfectly timed moonsault that sealed the victory.
If Io and Kairi can do that at Anarchy, we will be crowning the Sky Pirates as 2 time Tag Team Champions!
…..
Back from the commercial break we see Bea Priestley getting ready for her match against Toni Storm. It is a renewing of a rivalry that has spanned several years and many countries.
Her fellow Standard member, international champion Tegan Nox wishes her well. She also asks if Bea could leave her something of Toni to beat on at Anarchy. They then laugh. and Priestley heads out towards the curtain.
…..
Toni Storm vs Bea Priestley
In a highly anticipated main event, Toni Storm faced off against Bea Priestley in a thrilling encounter that kept fans on the edge of their seats for a full 20 minutes. Both competitors, known for their fierce in-ring abilities and intense rivalry, delivered an unforgettable match. From the opening bell, the energy was electric as Storm and Priestley exchanged a series of high-impact moves and counters, showcasing their technical prowess and athleticism.
The momentum swung back and forth throughout the bout, with neither wrestler able to maintain a decisive advantage for long. Priestley, with her relentless aggression and strategic mind, targeted Storm's weaknesses, attempting to wear her down with a variety of holds and strikes. However, Storm's resilience and determination shone through as she fought back, thrilling the audience with her signature maneuvers and near-falls that had everyone on the edge of their seats.
In the climactic final moments of the match, Toni Storm managed to shift the tide decisively in her favor. Seizing an opportune moment, she delivered a devastating Storm Breaker finisher, which left Bea Priestley unable to recover. With the referee's three-count, Storm secured a hard-fought victory, much to the delight of her fans. This win not only highlighted Storm's skill and tenacity but also solidified her position as one of the top competitors in the division, while Priestley's valiant effort ensured this match would be remembered as a classic.
…..
Renée Paquette has WOH World Champion Jamie Hayter in the ring for a final interview before Anarchy next week. Rene asks about how concerned she is about facing probably the greatest Women's wrestler of the last few generations in Charlotte Flair .
Jamie responds that facing the best is how she will improve. She has faced many challenges in her career and she has been victorious.
Suddenly the Standard appears with challenger Charlotte Flair right out in front. Flair laughs into her microphone. Says she is not a “challenge” - she is the mountain that can't be climbed. And at Anarchy, the Queen will take the title and a new Reign will begin in WOH!!!
…..
As the intensity of the moment between the pair goes up a few notches.. the rest of the Standard starts to slink around the ring.. looking for a chance to catch the champ unawares. As they make a move, Toni Storm and all 3 members of Onne-Musha..(Asuka and the Sky Pirates) race to the ring and a brawl erupts.
Hayter glances down at the carnage, giving Flair a chance to attack!! It goes badly though, as Jamie sidesteps her and levels Charlotte with the title!! Jamie Hayter stands tall, title held high above her head, as WOH comes to an end tonight.
…..

[Next]:
Part 2 The child.
Previous[Next]
“Uhm. I’m not sure what you mean, kid. I don’t know who your parents are.”
“C’mon! I watched you come out of that crypt! Maybe if I tell you their names it’ll spark your memory! My dad’s name was James Luceniel, and my mother’s was Talma Luceniel. Don’t you remember them?”
Internally, I groan. I never caught the name of that female elf, but one of the males was definitely named James. I can’t have this ten-year-old just wander into that crypt and find one of her parents brutalized by some monster. I need a distraction.
I notice the faint grip of the child release, and she backs away. I can see the blood from my robe mixing with the dirt already caught in her dress.
“Oh. I never thought you could get dirty, Mr. Reaper! I guess it makes sense given who you are, but the thought never crossed my mind! Would you like some help cleaning your cloak before you take me to see my parents?”
“Oh. Sure,” I say, confused and perturbed by this child’s readiness to just help a bloodstained stranger.
“We’ll get you all nice and cleaned up Mr. Reaper. Then you can help me!” She says as she begins leading me out of the graveyard.
“So, why do you keep calling me ‘Mr. Reaper’?”
“Because that’s what we’ve always called you. Is that wrong?”
“Yes. That’s not my name. My name is… Uhm…”
“Go on, I’d love to call you by your actual name! I didn’t realize I’d been using the wrong one!”
“I… Huh. I can’t remember.”
As we step out into the town proper, I can’t help but think that it looks terrible. Most of the buildings have collapsed, and the few buildings left standing are massively overgrown with various climbing plants. There aren’t many people in the street either.
“That’s okay. I’m sure you’ll remember eventually. You might want to turn down this alley though. People probably won’t like seeing you out in the middle of the street.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
As she leads me through the back alleys, I can’t help but stare at some of the cobblestone buildings we pass. I notice that where the stones would normally be held together with mortar, there are thick, dark green vines binding the stones together. It almost looks like the vines are moving. Yet, despite the strangeness of their construction, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been here before. Everything seems so eerily familiar, yet nothing concrete. Hesitantly, I ask, “So, what is the story of this place? I thought elves mostly stuck to treetop fortresses. Never knew you guys to build with stone.”
“Oh. Well, we didn’t build this place. We moved in a very long time ago. The Ancient Oak told me that the village was made by some creatures called ‘Hai-oo-mans.’ I don’t really know what those are, but apparently, they were really, really good at building stuff. I guess they all died off at some point. Don’t really know how, but when the Beastkin decided they were gonna fight us and we ran away, the Ancient Oak knew about this place and helped us move in and rebuild a bit.”
Hai-oo-mans… Does she mean Humans?
“Wait. You don’t know what humans are?”
“Not really. Why? Are there a lot of them where you’re from?”
“I mean… yeah?”
“Oh. Was it a lot of work for you when they died? I bet it was, Mr. Reaper.”
There she goes again with that moniker.
“I don’t think I ever asked your name, kid. What is it?”
“Oh. Sorry. I had assumed you already knew it. I’m Namaski! Namaski Luceniel. May I ask you another question?”
“Sure.”
“How did my parents die.”
Shit. Oh shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Shit. How’d she find out!
“What do you mean?” I ask, begging this to be some massive misunderstanding.
“I’m not sure how else to phrase it. I watched my mom and dad be set in the ground when I was fifteen. Nobody really explained it to me at the time, and people still refuse to tell me what exactly happened.”
“When you were fifteen?”
“Yeah. That would’ve been… six years ago.”
Oh thank Toyl. Wait… “You barely look ten years old!”
“Excuse me? I am not a toddler.”
“Toddler? At ten? I know I never interacted with elves much, but by Toyl you people take forever to develop.”
“Toyl? I don’t think I’ve heard of that god. Is he some sort of death god?”
“Death god? Why would… No. She’s my god.”
“How can she be your god, but not a death god, Mr. Reaper?”
“Why do you think I would worship a death god?”
“Worship? I thought you were the Grim Reaper. You know… Faithful servant and manifested embodiment of Death. Seemed pretty clear from your frame and complexion why some people thought you were a skeleton.”
“No. I’m… I’m just a human.”
“Oh. I get it. This is some weird death joke. You might want to work on that sense of humor of yours, Mr. Reaper. Anyway, we’re here!”
“It’s not… Whatever.”
What stands before us is quite possibly the shoddiest house in the entire town. I stand outside of the doorframe for almost a full minute wondering how the building hasn’t collapsed yet.
“Feel free to come in whenever you feel like it!”
Right. “I’m coming in!” I shout as I step through the doorframe.
Immediately, a wad of items is shoved into my arms.
“Sorry, I don’t have a tub, but here’s a towel, washrag, and some soap. There’s a secret section of the river just a few hundred meters out the back door. Also, there’s a set of my dad’s old clothes in there. I think they might fit you. Once you’re done, I’ll take those rags you’re wearing and clean them. Maybe try mending some of the tears too.”
“Thanks, but you really don’t have to do all of that.”
“It’s no problem! I like helping!”
Maybe I should just leave all this stuff just outside the door. Sneak away before she notices. I really don’t want to take advantage of some poor kid. Besides, what am I gonna do when her aunt, uncle, grandparent, or whoever is taking care of her shows up? It’s best that I just leave now.
But… For some reason, I don’t want to.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Reaper?” She pouts. “Is it not good enough? I’m sorry! I can get better soap! Soap that actually smells nice if that’s what you want! Or is it my dad’s clothes? Are they not your style? Why do you look so sad? What can I do better?”
“Please, calm down.”
“I’m calm! I promise!”
“It’s just that I don’t want to impose on you, and also I’m pretty sure your grandmother or aunt or whoever probably doesn’t want you inviting a stranger into your house and giving them your things.”
“You don’t have to worry about that! I’m the matron of this household! The only person I have to listen to is The Ancient Oak! Besides, you aren’t taking advantage of me! I offered!”
“But-”
“No buts! Now get yours in that river and start scrubbing,” she shouts as she begins to try and shove me out of the back door.
With a small chuckle, I let out a “Yes Ma’am.” and allow her to push me out of the door.
What a weird kid. She seems like a good one though. If only she wasn’t so trusting.
Previous[Next]

Author’s Note: Sorry for the long delay! Apparently all it took was a tornado ripping through my house to get me motivated again! Don’t worry, everyone is fine, and this is a nice distraction from the destruction. As always, thanks for reading, and I hope to see y’all again.

P.S. Feel free to join my Discord server here for stuff like shoddy character drawings and periodic updates!

Parliament is dissolved
Following the Dissolution of Parliament on 30 May 2024 there are no MPs and every seat in the Commons is vacant. As a result there will be no new laws or committee action and the weekly news will be rather ‘light’ until after the election and we have a new government in place following the general election on 4 July 2024.
 
 
Progress on key parts of the government’s disability benefit reform agenda is unlikely to be significantly disrupted by July’s general election, Disability News Service (DNS) has established
The Modernising Support for Independent Living green paper and consultation – which includes options for making it harder to claim personal independence payment and even replacing cash payments with vouchers or one-off grants – is due to close on 22 July.
 
And the call for evidence on fit note reform – which could see responsibility for issuing fit notes shifted away from GPs and towards “specialist work and health professionals” – is due to close on 8 July.
Although there have been suggestions that the consultation and call for evidence would now have to be abandoned, because of the election, that is not correct. Read the full news report from DNS at disabilitynewsservice.com
 
 
Diminishing notional capital detailed article published by Citizens Advice
If someone is found to have deprived themselves of capital they can be ineligible from means-tested benefits under the ‘notional capital rules’. This article looks at how these calculations work, and how they reduce over time. You can read the article ‘Diminishing notional capital’ at https://medium.com/adviser
 
 
Deaf man awarded £50,000 damages after mistreatment by jobcentre officials
The Guardian reported that a profoundly deaf man has been awarded £50,000 damages after a judge ruled he was subjected to a “character assassination” by hostile jobcentre officials, who refused to provide him with specialist help to find work. Read the full story at guardian.com
 
Later evidence and risk at the time of the decision
This new case law - JS v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2024] - was concerned with how tribunals must give a sufficient explanation about whether (and when) to consider evidence that occurred after the initial benefit decision, but that could shed light on the circumstances the claimant was experiencing at the time of the decision.
 
 
DNS reports that DWP staff tell MPs after years of deaths: We don’t have time to deal with safeguarding ‘carefully’ and ‘correctly’
As you may remember, a Safeguarding vulnerable claimants: Work and Pensions Committee inquiry was launched after the number of Internal Process Reviews (IPRs) carried out by DWP to investigate allegations of inadequate case handling that may have resulted in serious harm more than doubled in the three years from July 2019. There have also been a number of individual cases which have highlighted issues around safeguarding and the actions of DWP. One element of the inquiry was a survey of DWP staff and the survey results are now available.
DNS shares their view and provides a summary of the above on disabilitynewsservice.com Note: All committees (except some statutory committees) have ceased to exist pending the election. The information on the Work and Pension Committee online pages - including the inquiries that were in progress - refer to committees and their work before Parliament was dissolved. If there are Government responses to committee reports outstanding, these may be published in the next Parliament.
 
 
Appeal statistics update
With thanks to u/hooliganmembrane for sharing this with the Mod Team… I've been looking for good statistics on percentage of appeals lapsed for months now, I'm sure it used to be on HMCTS' quarterly reports but it's not been on there the last few reports I've looked at. Anyway, I've just come across this report published in March this year which has loads of really useful information about statistics, particularly section 8 talking about customer journeys. It has some great ways of visualising the data and breaks it down by initial claims vs award reviews/change of circumstances, all of which is apparently what gets me excited at 10pm on a Wednesday evening (on annual leave, no less). Wanted to share it as something that may be a good resource to add to the wealth that y'all have collated for the community here. It also gives me my long-sought-after lapsed appeal statistics - 24% for initial PIP decisions and a whopping 47% for award reviews and change of circumstances. Will keep hunting for stats for other benefits. Love hooligan 🦇
*Note from the mods: this is what makes our community great - everyone sharing updates, lived experiences and supporting each other through the (often) challenging benefit claiming process. Thank you :)

Not sure which burner account I’m on and if I’ve posted on this sub Reddit before but could use advice on where I should apply. My LSAT score will be somewhere between 153-159 when I go to take it this next week (that’s what I’ve been averaging the last month with lowest vs highest but if it’s higher I’ll be happy😭). I have three really good recommendation letters! One from one of the lawyers at my T20 University in the world, a recommendation letter from a distant family friend who is at the top of her big law firm and is extremely respected and successful, and a recommendation letter from my high level philosophy professor. I have a 3.85 GPA at the moment but am taking full summer load of classes to raise it to a 3.9. I’m feeling stressed about what law schools I’ll get into especially since my LSAT score is subpar.

Opening**
A security guard is seen running from foxy the guard runs into Freddy and Bonnie and chica in the dining. Foxy raises his hook and slices the guards arm off and the guard is knocked down. He wakes up in a chair it is a torture chair with sharp saws going to his face he sees a screw and tries to unscrew it doesn't work. The sharp saws go threw his face as his skin and meat and blood scattered on the floor and you see his bone they get cutting so wide the cupcake sees this and bites his meat and eats it.
Scene 1**
Mike wakes up in his bed staring at the clock reading 6:00 AM. He goes to his job as a cashier getting paid 3.29 a hour he is planning to quit but he needs rent money. He sees a guy stealing something so he runs and tries to tell him to give it back but sees a child and he realizes he should let them go because they could be hungry. Mike gets called to his boss. The boss tells Mike you are fired pack up your things or we will call 911. Mike packs up and goes home. He calls number for a job council he finds one. 2 weeks later (4/8/2000).
Scene 2**
Number 27, number 27. Mike realizes he heard his number and goes to a office. Hello my name is Dave Miller I am ur councilor today so what is your deal Mike letting people just go after stealing something is just bad you know that right? said Dave Miller. Mike said I did the right thing mr.Miller. I know but you can't be doing that ok Mr.Michael Schmidt also do you want coffee for ur job. What job? Said Mike. Security at Freddy's said Dave. Mike said how is the pay. Not good but hours are worst said Dave Miller. I will take it ok said Mike. Okay said Dave Miller.
Scene 3**
[1 day later]
I am at Freddy's Mike tells Dave on the phone. Ok remember check the place top to bottom but do not look in the suits said the owner and no parts and service also the owner said Dave. Ok I said Mike. (20 minutes later) I am in my office goodbye said Mike. goodbye said Dave Miller. Mike saw a tape with his name he played it and it was the year 1987 of the tape. Hello and welcome to Freddy fazbear pizza place our wonderful staff will love you and if you cook good so will chica and beware of one thing FUN!!! And remember the animatronics should be taken with care ain't that right Henry said the staff. Yes said Henry. Let's see th- th- video tape ends. Mike hears a call from the phone and answers. Uhm hello hello hello and welcome to Freddy fazbear pizza place it is for fancy and fun come to life and remember do not like do anything bad that would get you an illegal trouble I know I know why am I reading this well our last night girl let's just say was terrible at his job and I mean it just make sure to not do anything bad and hopefully not like the last last last night guard he was a train wreck oh yeah guess what he did on his cameras he wrote he nobody like drew the middle finger on every single camera lens that's all I got to say is don't do that and take my warning animatronics are alive and remember close the door and check the lights I'm not going to tell you again because if you ever mess with them they will harm you or worse the last night card sadly passed away because of a glitch at least that's what we think basically we have to reopen this place so we need another car to clean up it and make sure to keep it clean that's all I have to say goodbye said phone guy. Mike said okay and proceeded to look around the place. And before he knew it it was 6:00 a.m. and he could leave ending his shift for night one.
Scene 4**
Mike drove home and he saw a card taped to his door it said that he could get evicted in the next two weeks or else he would have to pay a lot of rent and if he didn't pay it by that time he would lose his house and be forced to live on the streets. So Mike just went to bed waited for 11:30 so he can drive off to Freddy's and get started with his night. He woke up and it was 11: 37 he was 7 minutes late and it was a 30 minute drive so he's so he went a little over the speed limit for the start of it and then calm her down but luckily he knows on the road or else they could have gotten hurt or even killed and but by the time he slowed down those traffic so he got the place at 12:03 and well he just went to his office and checked on everything and cleaned and made sure nothing bad would happen but he heard a phone call. hello hello oh yeah it is me again I tried giving you that warning the last time but you're not going to take it so I'm going to tell you in the hardest way I can and that is damn electronics will try to forcefully stuff you into a Freddy suit but pretty much saw in your face and pretty much that's what happened to the last guard so just be careful I guess but yeah I'm finishing my last week cuz a matter of fact yeah the last card was the one before mine yeah I don't know I'm calling it your last one but it's a awkward just trust me with this I know you probably say I was crazy last time but I'm going to redeem myself but I'm going to send the VHS tapes the company said not to to prove to you that those animatronics are nothing but bad and they always will be so I recommend you just stop messing with them or else they will mess with you in the most Gory way possible they will make sure they rip you live from when they will make sure you do not survive trust me well that's the end of the call goodbye. I thought the guy was crazy. Mike continued his night and well he got curious and he went by the animatronics they smelled disgusting and he saw a drip of blood fall out Mike just cleaned it up thinking it was just water pipes or something but cuz he got Mike just cleaned it up thinking it was just water pipes or something but cuz he Mike just cleaned it up thinking it was just water pipes or something but he got told not to look in the animatronic so he just ignored him and just cleaned he cleaned up the place and finished his night and then he just left thinking that exact drop of blood he realized something was deadly wrong so hey just text again and again and again he couldn't find anything so he heard a knock on the door it was 2:00 a.m. so he didn't care he saw on the cameras it was a police officer her named is Vanessa Mike learned when she told him when he opened the door Vanessa walked in. Mike showed her to her office and he was told about kids went missing in 1987. They never found the bodies. She asked Mike why did you choose this job is this something you think of yourself being at 10-20 years. Mike said no. She told Mike I have to go. Mike said okay cuz it was 5:59 a.m. Mike had to go anyways and he did he went in his car and left and went home and disgust on the phone with his own with the house on her he lives in and they talked about if they can postpone his rent to be later the owner agreed and said we will but if you do this again I will charge you extra.
**Scene 5
It was 7:38 pm and teenagers thought Freddy's place would be a good place to party they went inside and set up everything at 9:54 pm a kid went in the kitchen and saw chica and laughed because he didn't think chica was alive and went by her mouth and chica opened her mouth and peeled his head skin the boy screamed but the speakers where loud. Chica pickled at his meat as she went more and more deep as the cupcake jumped at the boys stomach and ripped his guts and blood on the ground as the blood was gory and one of the girls went to check on him and the cupcake jumped at her biting her face open. One teen went behind the stage with her boyfriend and saw Freddy put his microphone down her throat deep and ripped it out of her neck inside her and he stomped on her face. The boyfriend got scared but Freddy put his arm in his eye holes as he rips his head from there. Another group of friends went in the janitor closet to tell each other the scary horror story of Freddy fazbear pizza place and the light went off and the door opens and closed and the light was back on and they saw Bonnie in there with them as he uses his guitar in one put it in thee boys mouth and putting it out of his back ripping his torso open the teens tried to escape but the doors where locked and bonnie toookk them out one by one. In the dining room foxy ran at them using his hook to kill them slicing there brains out and golden Freddy desposes the bodies.
Scene 6**
Mike went to his office and cleaned the pizza place but phone guy called. Hello hello yeah as you can see I'm back from the call I know you're probably thinking right now and this guy talking about where you found out either way I'm going to help you no matter what even if I am dead right now and probably am I get that because they don't like me they will get to know you and they will like you I will give you hints that I found out on the way they are ghosts children I mean if I was forced to sing songs for decades I would be mad too because that is kind of bad basically no one caught who did I found it out because I'm not dumb and I am actually very smart at least I think but probably not I know exactly will have the bite of 87 happen that's what we call it basically Mike it was dangerous basically this child got bit in the forehead by foxy yeah pretty crazy stuff foxy but the kid raising his suck at him yeah the kid at least yeah the kids did not survive sadly imagine having to write that note to the parents or the parents right now basically they gave him a discount to me that's pretty messed up in the brain like if your child I would you want to do that no I'm not saying that you don't have kids or if you do I don't know anything about you probably know you can be the owner's child right right yeah you probably are knowing your name and that's the same name that's his and he did change his name and it will be new in the public is a start with an s because someone tried leaking the full name I'll ask is if you are him do not try killing me do not be like your father because I found out he's the one and as soon as I get going with this job you know what I'm going to do I'm going to report it to the police station and they're going to find out all the evidence cuz I found the bodies but I didn't remove them because that's disgusting their children dead in the suits I know you I'm guessing you're only doing this because your father told you to let me tell you something why you can stop right now you can at least I mean you were 6 years old when you accidentally killed your brother and dwell changes your name and everything all I ask I don't remember what happened and the year 1983 that's all I have to say goodbye. What Mike said. As he thinks I don't even remember being a child before I was 12. Mike was confused it was 2:00 a.m. he realized Bonnie moved and moved and he got scared Mike right now if his office try to get the exit the exit doors lock so you run back to his office went underneath Bonnie's legs as Barney tried trapping him with his kneecap almost freaking Mike got loose and ran to his office door and closed it and he started realizing phone guy was crazy as he thought Mike knew he was wrong the whole time Mike thought he knew they where not alive but he was wrong bonnie slamed the door trying to get in but left. He closed all doors at 5:00 a.m. and waited it was 6:00 a.m. he left. Mike found Vanessa and told her their alive Vanessa. She said I know they are they are just kids you shouldn't mess with them like do not harm them in any way just quit your job and leave every one you know that is a child out of this place or else they will get dangerously hurt said vanessa mike went to bed.. to be continued next week
Up for part 2

So I reread all the 100 year quest chapters because I'm bored and waiting for something to begin in real life that will exhaust me.
Anyway I noticed at the beginning of the water dragon god battle, Lucy was scared of Natsu's fire and how he was drawn in the manga was very similar to how he looked when he was becoming END. Natsu doesn't remember what he said during the fight with the water dragon god and was going to kill him if Lucy didn't stop him. Now further along we get a few enemies going "I sense there is demon power in you" and this is happening as far along as when battling the earth dragon god (and a few minor characters after that). We also have Ignia zeroing in on Natsu strength increasing drastically when he thinks his friends are in danger. Especially Lucy. Which we saw during the gold dragon arc. Ignia also seems to be getting intel from somewhere like Zeref was and probably knows a lot about the core group and secondary people like Juvia and Gajeel.
Additionally, I think there will be a parallel between what happened with Ignia and Selene with Natsu and Lucy. I don't know how but there four characters look very similar and have very similar powers. (Natsu and Ignia are obvious but Selene and Lucy both have blonde hair. Have some form of celestial element (stars vs moon) and have magic that uses area/space/dimensions). I suspect as well there was a history between Ignia and Selene that we don't know about purely because of the similarities. They're too similar to not be a coincidence at this point. I also went to look up pictures of Lucy and Selene to show comparisons and someone has already drawn fanart of Ignia/ Selene and Ignia/lucy to further prove that point of similarities.
Pretty much, I think something will happen to Lucy because of Ignia and make Natsu lose himself fully to END like what kinda happened originally in the main manga. Then unlike the backtracking that happened there, I think Natsu will lose it so much he will start attacking everyone including Lucy. I don't think the arc we are on now will end very quickly. And I wouldn't be shocked if Ignia is like "nah you're still a weak punk of a kid. Let's make it interesting" to cause the above mentioned situation.
What is everyone else's thoughts on END and the weird but not so weird connection between Ignia and Selene. I really do think END will come back and in full force.

I'm a returning player with MR 81 and i'm trying to complete all the secondary missions first, i got full velkhana and teostra set and some decent builds, i don't have anything from safi'jiva or kulve taroth, i do almost every hunt in 20-25 minutes solo, i didn't farm decorations and i still need the rocksteady mantle. I play always solo if possible. Any tips or guidance?

My sister and I rushed to the veterinarian and ended up getting there earlier than our appointment; the vets rushed to stabilize him the moment we walked in. I agreed to do lab work because I needed to know what was wrong with him. I guess I just needed to know that this time if wasn’t a close call like all the rest, that this was it. His kidney disease had progressed tremendously and his values were double the usual and one of them couldn’t even be read by the machine because of how high it was - my guess was his kidneys were failing. After asking the vet for her professional opinion, it was decided euthanasia was the best course of action. All throughout this process my sister and I were crying. In trying to come up with a decision, cremation vs burial, at home or in the clinic. So many decisions to make and such little time, it was stressful in the strangest ways. Unfortunately, the vet came into our room to tell us that his breathing was failing him and becoming weak.
The next course of events took place very fast. We entered the room where he was hooked onto a ventilator, an IV, and a heater. His temperature had dropped to 95 degrees Fahrenheit... he was so cold. The moment we touched him and he heard my voice and Isis voice, he started trying to get up and his heart started picking up. Seeing him struggle with all those wires, while he was hurt, he was trying to come to us and comfort us, it was so painful and so kind for him to do. We ushered to him “It’s okay. You don’t need to fight anymore. We’re gonna be okay. Please just rest. It’s okay to go now. It’s okay.” And although I meant those words, it was so hard to say them with conviction. He laid back down and his heart beat started slowing. I wrapped him in my green neon sweater; he had always loved sleeping on my clothes and basking in their scent. I had hoped it would comfort him and make him feel safe. We pet his head and comforted him. He soon started seizing.
We made the choice then to euthanize him at the hospital and we would take the body back with us to bury him in our backyard. We picked him up on a pillow and walked into a small room that was dimly lit with electric candles...it was a thoughtful touch. The injections for euthanasia were three. After the last one, he was gone. My sister and I stayed in his view while it happened and stroked his fur one last time. I gave him a last chin scratch before he took his last breath. We told him it was okay and that he was going to a better pace where he would no longer be in pain. That he was a good boy. The best boy. The best companion one could have. My sister and I cried. Our cries vibrating through the walls, following the loss of our best friend and sibling.
The ride home was horrible. My sister and I cried the whole way while carrying our dead best friend in the pet carrier. Just a few days ago he was full of energy running around... okay more jogging, but still. How did he deteriorate so rapidly in three days? I just couldn’t understand it and the whole existential question of how fragile life was and how things rapidly unfold crossed my mind. I started to resent my job and I still do. I felt that time was robbed from me and that somehow it was the jobs fault. I still think it is.
I had already called my parents beforehand and so they were prepared to hug and kiss us while my right hand felt the weight of my dead boy. We quickly got to work, my sister, parents, and one of my mom’s friends who had the unfortunate luck of seeing us bury him. We all took turns shoveling the dirt and created a deep hole to bury him. My sister and I, in tears. My dad cried some and my mom was sad. We decided to bury him with his collar, a memento of us. I picked him up from the black carrier bag and felt how stiff he was. I was already prepared for it, but it still broke my heart to feel his body so cold and stiff. I walked to the hole and slowly and delicately lowered him into the grave. Although I knew he was dead, I did not want to drop him into the bottom, he was still my fragile baby. I laid onto my stomach and put my head into the grave until I felt his body lay onto the dirt below him.
My sister and I bawled. We picked up our individual shovels and began pouring dirt into the grave. As dirt began to cover his small body, a jingle came from the bell attached to his collar, almost as if it was his final farewell, the final jingle we would ever hear from his bell. My heart broke and I kept pouring more dirt onto him until I could no longer see his small face and big ears. My beautiful grey, green eyed friend.
Everything in the basement reminds me of him. The day before, we had cleaned his room, his blankets, his litter box... and he chose to die after we cleaned everything as if to make it easier. However, the places he frequented curse or bless us? I half expect to see him in the hallway, next to my chair at the dinner table, I expect to see him on his bean bag...to sneak into my room.
Wherever you are, just know that I love you. We love you. You are...were my best friend. I hate myself. I regret not spending enough time with you, not giving you more chin scratches, not taking time off from work for you, and most of all I’m sorry that I didn’t get to sleep in bed one last time with you. I’m so so sorry.
I just hope I made the right choice. I don’t know if I believe in an after life, but I really hope there is one for you. I really hope you’re happy now. I hope you’re no longer in pain, I hope that wherever you are, you are thriving. I hope you get all the Purina food you want, fresh tap water, and Delectables treats. You deserve that and so much more. Thank you. Thank you for being my best friend. Thank you for being by my side from the age of 6 to the age of 27. Thank you for a wonderful 21 years. I just hope you know how much I loved you... how much I still love you. I hope you know how much the family loves you. You will forever be in our lives. I will never forget you. Fly high my beautiful, pretty boy.
Forever yours ☀️

I was flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville about 20ish years ago (any quotes I make are a reasonable facsimile of what was actually said 20 some odd years ago. Your Mileage May Vary. Batteries not included. See dealership for details.) Small regional airline, puddle jumper plane. Single seats down one side, double seats down the other. This was back before airlines charged you for the audacity of desiring to breathe while in their tin cans, and since I was booking pretty far ahead of time, I was able to select a seat on the left side (single seats) of the aircraft.
Now, being 6'4" and having flown numerous times, I know that the exit row is the primo seat unless you're paying for first/business class. And I also know that arriving early, and asking politely at check in more often than not gets you that sweet extra legroom as long as it's available. So I show up a couple hours early (unfamiliar airport and this was shortly post 9/11 so security was a much longer process to get through). Go to check in counter, ask the nice lady if there was any chance of getting the exit row. And sure enough, polite won again. And doubly so, because I not only got the exit row, but I also got to stay on the same side of the plane, which means no one to bump elbows with. Jackpot!
Make my way down to the gate, and soon enough it's time to board our flight. Preboarding passengers first, then the rest of us cattle (single class cabin, so preboarding was supposedly only for those needing extra time). I make my way down to my prize, only to find someone is sitting in it. I'm annoyed, but not overly so. Could just be an honest mistake.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I think you might be in my seat." and show him my boarding pass.
"Fuck you!" - not exactly the reply I was expecting. Except it came out more like "fux yuj".
Ah. So not only belligerent, but *drunk* and belligerent. Well, I know the rules. And drunk enough to slur speech means no exit row for you!
Catch the attention of a FA and talk to her quietly about the situation and my concern regarding Mr. Drunk and Belligerent in the exit row. Nevermind that it's MY exit row seat, dammit!
She approaches the gentleman, but barely gets a word out before receiving an even louder "FUSHU!"
*heh*. I know what's coming next. Sure enough, she heads off to the front of the plane. Mr. D&B smiles smugly, thinking he's won. Meanwhile I'm grinning like the cheshire cat because I know what the next act is. Sure enough, here comes the Captain with the FA in tow. Now, this gentleman is big. He's got at least 2 inches on me height wise, and I suspect if he ever gets bored with being a pilot, he could play defensive back. Clearly the kind of person who gets out pent up energy by picking up and putting down very heavy things repeatedly.
"Sir, what's the issue?"
Now, Mr. D&B has figured out that the man standing in front of him is some kind of authority figure. But he doesn't quite seem to be able to pin down what kind of authority figure. But in a slightly less drunk corner of his mind, he knows "uniform" and he knows "big". So instead of a repeat of what the FA and I got, the Captain gets some drunken warbling about it being his seat, And that I was mean. Or something. Because I wanted to take it away from him. And that the lady over there (as he points about two feet to the left of her) was mean too. Or something.
The Captain, meanwhile, takes one look at the FA, then back at Mr. D&B. "Sir, have you been drinking?" "TWO BEERSH!".
As an aside, I really want to see these mystical "two beers" some time. I imagine they mean kegs. Two *kegs* of beer. But I digress.
Captain tries to be polite. "Sir, could I see your boarding pass?" Captain knows that this flight is full, so doubtful he can get this guy into any kind of a decent seat, like a bulkhead seat, to try to bribe him. But he wants to know where this guy is actually supposed to be.
"Sir, your seat is back there..." As he points to an empty seat in the very back of the plane. Just forward of the galley and lavatories. Not a primo seat.
"NOishnot. Dish my sheet."
With a sigh, the Captain turns to me - "Sir, could I see your boarding pass."
Back to Mr. D&B - "Sir, this seat belongs to the gentleman standing here. Please get your belongings and move to your assigned seat."
That slightly less drunk part of his brain lost hold of its grip on his mouth. The "two beers" bellowed out, "NO! DISH M'SHEETS! FUSHKALSYOU!"
I'll be honest, the Captain was not expecting this. And then I see a vein throbbing on the Captain's forehead that could have doubled as a garden hose. He pointed at me, "Sir, please come with me," spun on his heel and walked towards the front of the plane. At this point he just wants to separate Mr. D&B from those he thinks are "mean".
Once we're out of his earshot, he looks at the FA and asks her to call the airport police to escort the... "gentleman"... off the aircraft.
I glance back, and Mr. D&B is smiling smugly again, thinking he's somehow won. That smile lasted about 7 more minutes until the local gendarmes arrived to inform Mr. D&B that he can either walk off the plane under his own power or he could be cuffed and "assisted" off the plane.
I will credit the cops, they had much more patience than I had. About 5 minutes of drunken whinging about everyone being mean and it being, "hish sheet!"
Eventually they too lost patience, and then the silver bracelets came out and off they went, with our drunk friend now protesting loudly that the cops were mean.
OOP original post:
https://www.reddit.com/EntitledPeople/s/aWMoUmGNOI
Edit: I’m so mad at myself for misspelling “passenger” 😆

Just a shout out to the devs for making the fenris set. Full set of fenris armor, making me fast as fuck, with the flesh rippers has made me the ultimate deer hunter... like if Marvel's Wolverine became a hunter vs a lumberjack.

I hope the devs will see this one, IMO the mafia update is one of the best updates for the game but in its current state, its severely lacking.
Add illegal business
The crimes tab is bit of lacking as of now, and the way the "ranks" within a mafia family are partaking in those illicit activities are kinda awkward, Caporegimes stealing cars? the Godfather personally extorting a business? that's unrealistic, I suggest that "wet work" types of crimes should only be reserved for the associates and the soldiers, while the the Caporegimes can start or set up illegal business', like the following:

• Gambling Den
  
• Prostitution ring
  
• Pornography Studio
  
• Drug Trafficking
  
• Loan Sharking
  
• Smuggling
  
• Arms Trafficking
  
• Labor Racketeering
  

In setting those business' up, a legal front will be needed (lesser profit but reduces heat from the police/feds) or you can have the option to secretly operate those business' (bigger profit but attracts more attention from the police/feds).
Second, the Capos can set up the business' independently or the higher ups orders a certain business to be operated.
Third, a maximum of 5 business' should only be allowed for each Capo (if the player Capo has 5 gambling dens but the higher ups wants to set up a drug trafficking business, one of the gambling dens should be demolished.)
Fourth, the generating income for the player Capo from those business will be similar to how the family takes cuts from the crimes tabs
Fifth, a maximum of only 3 (+1 if you reach the Capo rank) capos for a mafia family and 5 (+1 if you reach the Capo rank) Capos for the Sicilian Mafia.
Sixth, each business will have varying "sizes", for example before you can set up the business you have to choose how big the operation would be, a small gambling den? a large drug trafficking ring? and each "sizes" will correspond to generated profit, a small gambling den will generate less profit compared to medium size one etc. and each "size" will also generate "heat" for your character Capo, the smaller the operation the lesser "heat" generated.
Lastly, like I said in the beginning, the associates & soldiers, each of them will be assigned in to a Capo, and the Capo can delegate "wet work" types of crimes for each of them.
Rank Options:
Associates
The typical stuff from the crime tabs:

• Bank Robbery
  
• Burglary
  
• Extortion (no "whack" option)
  
• GTA
  
• Pickpocket
  
• Porch Pirate
  
• Shoplift
  
• Train Robbery
  

Associates should never perform hits, this should be reserved for his/her "initiation"
They will also get random orders from a made guy (not necessarily from a Capo.)
Salary: similar to how the players take a cut from performing crimes
Soldiers
Aside from the typical stuff, the Soldiers should be able to have "perform a hit" crime in the crimes tab, it can only be done thrice a year and each hit will be difficult than the last, it has high chance of getting caught but if successful it will improve your standing within the mob by a large degree (the payout should also be good, no pay cuts you take the full amount of the money being rewarded)

• Ability to recruit Associates (if a current associate dies or have been promoted into a made man, you can able to recruit a associate to fill in a spot)
  
• They will also get a random orders from the Capo only
  

Salary: similar to how the players take a cut from performing crimes and if successfully performed a hit, he/she will receive huge sums of money and his/her standing within the family will exponentially increase.
Caporegimes

• Set up illegal business
  
• Bribe city officials (another way to reduce police attention, success depends on the character's notoriety, the higher the notoriety the lesser chance of success)
  
• Assign work (this is for the associates & soldiers) ​
  
• Propose/recommend an associate (the capo recommends an associate to be made, the success depends on the relationship of the player capo to the underboss & the godfathegodmother)
  
• Settle disputes (this will improve the income of your crew, settle any disputes among the soldiers & associates or sort out any grudges)
  
• Do favors (you can grant favors to to local people, like a school teacher, a lawyer, a small business owner or even a municipal judge etc, you can later "cash in" with these favors, may it be monetary value for the family, legal protection or personal wealth etc.)
  

Salary: takes a cut from the illegal business
They will also get a random orders from the Underboss or rarely from the godfathegodmother.
Underboss
In the mob, the Underboss is sometimes called the streetboss, because they oversee the entirety of the operations of the mob on a daily basis, he directly reports to the boss/godfather, so basing on that, the following options should be added into the game

• Collect contributions/tribute (this is for the illegal business', this is only available once a year)
  
• Add a business (You'll order a Capo to operate a certain business)
  
• Propose a Soldier (same with the "propose/recommend an associate" option in the Capo rank but this time when a Capo dies a Soldier will be promoted to a Capo)
  
• Delegate a hit (when the godfathegodfather orders a hit the underboss will delegate it with one of their capos, the success depends on the capos intellect & willpower)
  
• Perform charity (at the behest of the godfathegodmother, you'll perform charity works to lower down the police attention of the family, lesser sting operations, lesser rats popping up. Just like the "bribe a judge" option, charity foundations will also be reluctant to accept funds if your heat/notoriety levels are too high)
  
• Bribe a judge (to protect family members from prosecution, depending the amount of money being given, the maximum years of legal protection will be 15, for example a soldier got caught murdering a rival family soldier, if the Underboss bribed a judge, the family soldier will not be convicted. the success of the bribe depends on the Underboss' "Heat"/Notoriety level, the higher the heat/notoriety the lesser chance the bribe will be successful, if yo fail to bribe a judge, you can be also arrested and tried)
  
• Procure weapons (Distribute weapons to each of the crews, it may be small handguns, shotguns or even assault rifles, this will increase protection of the business' and of the members of the family from the rival family during mafia wars, this option should available during peace time & mafia wars)
  
• Will also get a random orders from the GodfatheGodmother
  

Salary per year: 5 to 7 million
The GodfatheGodmother

• Wage a mafia war against your rival family, there will be two sub options for this part, the justifications will either be "eliminate competition" (total destruction of the rival crime family) or "take over their business"(a "skirmish" type of conflict, instead of eliminating the rival family you instead take some of the "turfs") AI GodfatheGodmother should be able to wage a mafia war
  
• When a mafia war is ongoing, there will also be options for the GodfatheGodmother to pick, like "destroy rivals business", "take out their soldiers", "raid a rivals business" (unlike the destroy one, your soldiers will only raid for money), "order the hit of the boss of the rival family", "call for political support" (this basically calling on the police to take your side against your rivals, this is only available when you have a political ally, and depending on the position of your political ally if your political ally is a senator he/she can instantly imprison majority of the members of the rival family, if your political ally is the mayor of the city the only thing he/she can is increase the sting operations of the rival family), "ensue peace" (this can go both ways, when you lost the war you can still ensue peace, but the consequence will be either you're will be removed as the boss or worse be killed, and when you win, depending the choice you made for the cause of the war, you will be rewarded handsomely and a chance your rival family will be wiped out)
  
• Form alliance (Instead of going to war, you can also have the option end the rivalry between the families and start an alliance, work together in terms of business, this will generate bigger profits for your family but the downside is the police/feds will be now more active to take you down, more sting operations, more rats popping up)
  
• Support a local politician ( sub options are "fund a his/her election campaign" (or you can go to a more devious plot like rigging the elections), "eliminate his/her political enemies", "give a gift" etc, after gaining a political ally, you can now use him/her for your own ends, like "ask for political protection", "clean criminal records" etc.
  
• Support a national politician, same as the "support a local politician", besides the basic benefits, the benefits you receive if your national political bet wins (senator or presidency) your heat will be erased, no sting operations, no rats, if caught by the authorities the charges will be dropped and lastly if your character is engaged in a mob war, this political ally can instantly imprison the majority of the members of the rival family, thus increasing your chance in winning in a mob war. Downside is its much harder for your political bet to win, if you want a successful results or chance to win, either rig the elections (high risk of getting caught) or contribute 250 million into his/her campaign
  
• Order a business to be operated (same as the Underboss option)
  
• Put out a hit/put a contract (you can choose anyone from relatives, enemies, random people, friends and anyone in the family)
  
• Promote an underboss (when the current underboss dies, you can instantly promote any Capo for that position)
  
• Policy making (The GodfatheGodmother dictates on how the family runs its "business'" and passes certain "laws" within the family, for example, you can outright ban the drug trafficking business to reduce heat from the authorities or only men can join the family vice versa)
  
• Appoint front boss (appoint a "front boss" to insulate yourself from the feds/authorities, if your political bets didn't win the election you may choose this option instead, it lowers your heat/notoriety levels, lesser sting operations waged against you, and even if a sting operation is successful, the front boss will be the one who takes the fall & and rival family will have a hard time assassinating you during a mob war, The disadvantages are, it doesn't lower the chances of having rat in your family & no political backup during a mob war)
  
• Distribute funds (when a crew is an dire straits you may give them necessary funds to operate, the Capo will automatically owe you a "favor", you can later "cash in" these favors in terms of personal wealth, like cars, planes, boats, rings, or even properties)
  
• Go legitimate (This option will only be available when you're already the godfathegodmother for more than 15 years and have the enough funds (around 100m), this will dissolve all the illegal business of the family and turn you into a CEO of a legit company)
  
• Step down (retire as the GodfatheGodmother, to let the younger generation to take over, this option will increase health & happiness for the player character, and erases the notoriety/heat levels completely & you will also receive 250 million dollars, random events will pop up like a Caporegime from your family paying respects to you, a soldier seeks your advice/wisdom, or the underboss visits you to reminisce the good "old days" etc. these events will either increase your happiness or health)
  

Salary per year: 65% of annual earnings of the family (I.e the family earned 15 million during a year, 65% of the earnings will be your salary)
Day job
This option should be included, this will also be a good way to avoid police attention in-game or decrease your "heat", its awkward to see a unemployed schlep making millions of dollars every year and not get caught by the IRS or something lmao,
"Heat" system
For every crime you commit there a corresponding level of heat added to the character's overall "heat", the more serious the crime the more likely the police/feds will target you
Bodyguard system
As I observed in the game, you can easily whack anyone in your family, this should not be, by adding bodyguards, the chances of your success will decrease exponentially

• Associates - 0 bodyguards
  
• Soldiers/"Made Guys" - 1 to 3 bodyguards
  
• Caporegimes - 5 to 10 bodyguards
  
• Underboss - 15 to 20 bodyguards
  
• GodfatheGodmother - 20 to 40 bodyguards
  

The "put a contract" option should only be available for the the godfathegodmother
The only sure-fire way to "whack" a family member is using the "put a contract" tab, the bodyguard system will not be in effect, because as the Godfather, every family member would obey you no question.
Mafia Wars
During a mafia war, business will generate lesser profits (or will even close down), the heat from the police will be much higher & funds will quickly diminish.
There will be only two ways to win a mafia war depending on the justification you chose, these will be:
Eliminate Competition

• Rival family business are wiped out
  
• Rival family members are all dead or imprisoned
  

Take over their Business

• Rival family business' are in ruins (this is determined on how much of their illegal business were destroyed)
  
• Rival family members are in disarray (this is determined on how much of their soldiers/"made guys" were killed/imprisoned)
  

If you win the "eliminate competion" option, your family will receive 500 million cash, your illegal business' will triple their profits, consequences are the police will now target your family more (double the sting operations, more rats popping up etc), seeing that your organization is now the most powerful mafia family in the city.
If you win the "take over their business" option, your illegal business will triple their profits, the rival family will be weakened, the police will be more wary of your crime family there's a big chance of rats & stings operations.
If other Crime Families sided with you during the war & you won, you will have to compensate them for 40 million
Ways to lose a mafia war

• You've run out of funds
  
• Got arrested and convicted during a mafia war
  
• All of your family members are dead
  
• You willfully surrender to your rivals
  

Consequences for losing the war, you will be removed from being the boss or outright be killed by your rivals.
Some Factors in winning a Mafia War

• Capos/Soldiers that have high Intelligence & Willpower have the higher chance of killing/wiping off enemy Soldiers/Members & Businesses
  
• Your family's number of Soldiers vs the enemies number of Soldiers, if you have a higher troop count, you have a bigger chance of winning the war, if both syndicates have the same amount of soldiers you may have a tougher time in winning the war.
  
• Number of political allies, having a political ally may also increase your chance in winning the war.
  

Character interactions
Your family and friends should be wary of you being a mobster, for example, you mother or sister found out that your character is actually a mafia soldier, this will make them disown you, your relationships with them will instantly go to 0 & your happiness will also take a dive.
And the interactions within the mafia family should follow the hierarchy (For example, no associate should be able to directly access the GodfatheGodmother and ask him/her out to go and watch a concert of Lady Gaga lol)
Random Events
Random events should be according to your rank, for example, you're the current Mafia Godfather random events should be in line to your rank, a random guy suddenly insults you on the streets, there should be an option like putting a contract on his/her life or have your soldiers whack him/her or a celebrity starting a "beef" with you, you can either order your men to kill him or just order them beat him up.
Rival Gangs
If you choose to be in the Italian Mafia, your rivals should be the other gangs like Russian Mafia, Yakuza, Triad, Lating Mafia etc and If you're in Sicily, the rival family will be another Sicilian Mafia (i.e You're family is the Visconti Family your rivals will be another Sicilian family)
There should be also family rankings, for example, the Italian Mafia is the current most powerful crime syndicate in the city, followed by the Russian Mafia, followed by the Latin Mafia etc the rankings can change yearly depending on how much muscle (number of soldiers) & income of the families earn, you can also be the most powerful crime family for 10 years if you won a mafia war. If you choose to start a Mafia War the other families can join sides, for example the Italian Mafia waged a war against the Yakuza, the other families will join which side they want, or if you formed an alliance with another mafia family, they will side with you during the war no matter what.
So what do you guys think? You guys can add more of your ideas here.

10th: Jessica “Sugar” Kiper 1.0 (Gabon - 3rd)

oh yeah, jessica kiper from gilmore girls
u/SMC0629:
Sugar has had such a weird history when it comes to her reception among the fandom. It feels like she either didn't get the respect she deserved, or was super misunderstood. I think she has one of the best journeys throughout the entire show, it's almost unparalleled. She goes from being a seemingly insignificant member of Kota, to becoming so much more scrappy on Fang, showing her truly entertaining personality and how she doesn't take shit from anyone. She's even pretty intelligent, and reads people well, something that is CRUCICAL throughout the season in terms of the strategy. I also really appreciate how the show doesn't shy away from showing her emotional moments, as someone who is the same way I think it's super relatable. She's also just got so many quotables, it's ridiculous, even more than Crystal if you ask me. All in all, a near-perfect character who goes toe to toe with Randy in terms of being my favorite on Gabon.
~
u/DryBonesKing:
Like with Shane, I really wonder how Sugar passed her psyche evaluation to make the cast, but I’m so grateful she did. Sugar is contention for having one of the best stories of all time, filled with religious metaphor, deep story moments, and just plain old simple “fucking hilarious scenes”. Sugar simultaneously gives too many fucks and not enough fucks at any given point, and she’s able to balance both mindsets at any point to a literal perfect degree.
I’ve seen some takes that praise Sugar for single-handedly making the narrative of Gabon about herself, and while I do think the story does revolve around her, I do want to pushback just ever so slightly since I think there is sometimes a soft implication that Sugar might be acting. I think it sometimes is not acknowledged how fragile of a state Sugar really was in this game and how truly emotionally devastating the events of the game were. It’s especially notable in her relationships this game with Ace, Kenny, and Bob, and how tight she is with all three of them and how betrayed she ends up feeling by the first two. There is just a natural spontaneous energy within her as she wrestles with her actions and what she needs to do to make peace with herself and it’s just so engaging.
u/Schroeswald had an amazing write-up that I recommend everyone read when you all get the chance. I’d love to add my own deeper thoughts on her as well, but I’ll just leave it at this for now. So glad she made it back to Endgame.
Overall Rank - 11/821 ~
u/Zanthosus:
I’m not the biggest fan of Gabon. I’ve made that clear throughout the rankdown. But one thing I will say about the season is that Sugar is absolutely incredible and singlehandedly saves the entire thing from being an overly negative and pessimistic slog. She wears her heart on her sleeve, plays with her emotions first, and creates a lot of fun chaos both intentionally and by accident. She’s spectacular. Simple as that.
~
u/Regnisyak1:
Sugar, Sugar! Sugar is a woman of many characters, but more importantly the main character of Gabon. Sugar’s emotional outbursts can be a lot, but I think they are tied very nicely to the story about her playing for her father, and it creates a variable season like Gabon that thrives off of its emotions and allows people to be themselves. Her relationships with Crystal, Bob, Matty, and Ace were incredible, and the pin-up model, one that would expect to be underestimated, eventually ran the season like the Marines, though in a chaotic way to the end. Love her, when I rewatched Gabon she flew to my endgame.
Personal Rank: 13/821. 10/10.
~
u/ninjedi1:
Sugar is unique, as there is multiple ways to look at her story. She could be the girl out there dealing with her emotions and managed to grow as a person, someone who was dragged along and once had power abused it to get her way, or many others. No matter what way you choose to interpret Sugar, there's something interesting about each perspective of her and is another person that helps make Gabon as great of a season as it is.
~~~~~
Tommyroxs45:
Sugar Kiper 1.0:
Sugar, a substance often known as sweet, good to the taste, bad for the health. Does sugar taste good in the moment? Yeah, but overtime it rots the teeth, becoming a negative presence on your life. Had good intentions and felt good but too much hurts.
You know exactly who this definition also applies to… Sugar Kiper.
Sugar has one of the top 3 best stories in the history of Survivor. Period. Paragraph. Her complete control of the game, while being a complete mess made for some of the most complex emotional gameplay ever seen on the show. Every single person she interacted with, had a relationship with her and usually was betrayed by her due to her emotions getting in the way of her gameplay, and I absolutely love it.
At the start, she's just seen as this pin-up girl, but as the game goes on, she becomes more and more wrecked with her emotions and doesn’t even play for herself. She wants to play the hero, by letting all of the good guys get to the end while blowing up her own game, but when she tries to play hero we get everyone else seeing her as “evil”. Becoming one of the most emotional and well told stories of the downfall of a person who was ultimately grieving and trying to play to help others.
We almost never see a hero get a downfall arc, because what is there to give, they are the selfless ones they should always be on the rise. But the great thing about Gabon, is that when someone is a hero, everyone else sees them as a villain because everyone is the villain and they feed off each other.
She throws everything away, her relationships, her game, and even her morals to make sure that the bad guys don’t win and someone she likes does. She will do anything to let that happen. And what makes it so tragic is that she doesn’t get rewarded for it ultimately, she is panned and driven to breakdowns over the feelings everyone else has for her. She was trying to make everyone feel good but it doesn’t work out because of the way she does it, and it’s a dark story but it’s what makes her so amazing.
This is present all throughout her story allowing for her to build as she goes, making it so deep. With her idol find on Exile Island and then her relationship and eventual betrayal of Ace. The premerge does a great job of setting her up, while not having a particular breakout moment. We see how her emotions and grief are impacting her and how it just gets worse and worse as the game goes on. While her story and overall memorability ultimately ramps up a lot at the merge. The premerge sets up a really good tone for the post merge portion to follow.
You can tell she has such good intentions and a big heart but just doesn’t know how to show it and is struggling with grief at the same time. She wants to be loved, and give everyone else the best chance they can get and have an optimal outcome but she can’t do that without pissing everyone off. You know it’s not coming from a place of malice, while her comments towards people like Corinne, Randy, and Crystal were negative, they weren’t wrong, they were bullies, and she called them out on it and sent them home so the nice people like Susie, Bob, and Matty could all get to the end.
That’s what makes her rivalries with these people so legendary, especially Randy obviously. While she has great dynamics with everyone on the season, and we see them explored to their fullest potential, by far her most notable ones are with 6 people, YES 6 PEOPLE! That’s how damn good her influence is that she single handedly in a key point in 6 peoples stories. (7 if you include Ace pre merge)…
Bob, Matty, Kenny, Crystal, Corinne, and Randy. So much of these people’s stories revolve around Sugar and her antics. Every single one of them is legendary, through either her grief, her quips, her heart, or her strategy she makes these stories what they are, none of these people would be the same without her.
Bob:
Bob and Sugar’s relationship is the seasons close. Her seeing him as her father, after her father had just passed before she came out, is such an impactful and honestly kind of beautiful storyline. It’s riddled with darkness but you see a light there, that she sees him in that light and throws away everything to pave the way for him to win and take control over his moves so he could win in the end. I’ll go into this moment later but one of my favorite scenes in the whole show is when Sugar is about to cry as her vote for Matty is read at the final four vote. It’s just perfect.
Matty:
Another one of the good guys just like Bob. They were close out there and you could see a family bond growing between them. Like brother and sister, and they dictated so much of the game together when Crystal and Kenny started to be too big for their britches. Her having to vote him out at the final four vote is tragic, powerful, beautiful, and symbolic of everything Sugar had done up to that point. You can feel her heart being cut in half after Matty loses, it’s like choosing between her father or her brother, and she completely breaks. The music in the background as Matty loses, knowing it was at the hands of Sugar, someone who he thought he could count on as a best friend and wouldn’t hurt him like that, it’s definitely in my top 10 favorite scenes of Survivor. It just sums up the season in a more impactful way than I have seen anything ever do prior or since.
Kenny:
Ah Kenny, what’s there to say about Kenny and Sugar. Their relationship is complicated, and that is probably an understatement, but damn is it good. Ken in a way, manipulates Sugar, often in her head about what to do and trying to play for the underdog. She knows what he is trying to do, but her heart won’t let her break away from it until the final 6 where she puts her foot down and flips on them. She realizes he’s a villain but doesn’t want to break his heart until he just gets too powerful to where he’s interrupting her journey, her path, her game to make the good guys win, and she can’t have that happen.
Her idol play was more of an act rather than a play. She wanted everyone to see that Kenny was evil and that she was doing this for the greater good. Now did everyone else see it like that, no, and that’s what makes it so great, she has great intentions, but it just doesn’t come off that way. Kenny is ultimately left heart broken and felt entitled to her heart, and for her to take that away from him left him pissed. To where we get a very funny one on one end but also a very telling jury speech from Kenny explaining his feelings for Sugar and how she took away his heart.
Crystal:
Sugar is the reason for Crystal’s downfall. Her relationship with Kenny just got too big for the game and were intruding on Sugar’s perfect story of getting the good guys to the end. Her jury speech to Sugar also represents Sugar’s mishandling of her emotions and calling out Crystal as a bully did not help that. Crystal was somebody on Sugar’s side and laughed with her at Randy’s misfortunes, being turned on definitely left a bad taste in her mouth, just crumbling Sugar’s mental state further and further. Showing how she’s pushing away everybody, even the ones who she aligned with and kept with, because of her motive and her grief.
Corinne:
Before I start I just want to say, fuck Corinne. Okay, now that is out of the way, Corinne is actually really good for Sugar’s story. Corinne is a bitch, a bully, and a terrible person, no bullshit, that’s who she is. However, she really plays up Sugar’s role on the season, being this opposition to her and everything she does. Someone who just has pure hate at the heart that owns it. She underestimates Sugar, until Sugar flips the game on its head for her and is all “woe is me!!” It’s really funny. She falls at the hands of Sugar and it is oh so satisfying.
Of course though what else could I bring up other than her jury speech. It’s awful towards Sugar, and one of the worst things ever said to somebody on the show. However, it really sums up Sugar’s story, with everyone’s opinions on her, her emotions, and her heart just trying to be full while being stomped on at every corner. I hate it as a moment for Corinne but as a moment for Sugar, it’s really works and is a dark way to bring Sugar’s story to a close but it was the only way that was gonna close.
Randy:
This is THE relationship of the season. Their rivalry is one of the most iconic of all time. It’s a lot like Jane and Marty where they just hate each other, do anything to bring out the worst in each other, and do not hold any personal punches back. Randy’s boot episode is in my top 10 favorite episodes of all time because of these two. The auction shenanigans where Randy gets pissed because of Sugar. Then, she tells Bob to give Randy the fake idol, and then laughs after Randy plays it. It is the funniest episode of all time and it’s not close.
They are so iconic together, it’s why Gabon is looked at the way it is today, because of these two and their relationship, or lack thereof. I mostly adore it for entertainment reasons but it also greatly lifts up both of their stories as well. Randy is a grumpy old man who has very little in his life and just spews his hatred out on others, and Sugar doesn’t see it as a lonely old man, she sees him as a complete asshole and someone who just has too much pure vile for no reason. He plays up her role of the “protector” and she plays up his role as “the old ass”. It works perfectly for the season both from a story perspective and especially an entertainment perspective, it’s T.V GOLD!
Sugar’s Final Tribal
I mentioned it previously, but her final tribal is the summation of her character and all the things she did during the game. She has a huge heart and is struggling so much with her emotions and breakdowns, to where this is just the huge snowball crashing into the tree. She is absolutely panned and it’s tragic, dark, but the perfect and most satisfying way to end her story. She is mentally broken at this point being out there for 39 days and just to be beaten down again and again for her chaos even if she had the heart behind it. It's sad but it’s serious and the way it should end.
Final Thoughts
Sugar is an absolutely phenomenal character. Her struggle with grief vs emotions vs game is an iconic story that has never been done as well ever in the history of the show. She genuinely has no faults as a character and has so many of the iconic moments that make Gabon what it is. She has such a sweet soul but it became damaging overtime as too much of her antics intruded on others peoples games.
In any other season, Sugar would be loved, and appreciated and supported, but in Gabon she’s hated and that’s why her dynamics are what make Sugar, Sugar! She works off everybody around her perfectly making some of the most iconic storylines ever seen. She’s such a deep and complex person that anybody that she interacts with is automatically made into a great story because she just has these relationships that feed into her emotions and her grief that are shown and told fantastically by the edit.
I adore Sugar, she is easily in my top 10 of all time and will always be there. She has a story unparalleled by anyone else and for that, I appreciate both her and the edit for being able to pull off one of the best stories of all time. Just like sugar, Sugar is a sweet character but one that has side effects but I still love her anyways.
SMC0629: 12
DryBonesKing: 10
Zanthosus: 8
Tommyroxs45: 5
Regnisyak1: 10
DavidW1208: 17
ninjedi1: 14
Average Placement: 10.857
Total Points: 76
Standard Deviation: 3.394 (5th Lowest)
Won Tiebreaker

I was flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville about 20ish years ago (any quotes I make are a reasonable facsimile of what was actually said 20 some odd years ago. Your Mileage May Vary. Batteries not included. See dealership for details.) Small regional airline, puddle jumper plane. Single seats down one side, double seats down the other. This was back before airlines charged you for the audacity of desiring to breathe while in their tin cans, and since I was booking pretty far ahead of time, I was able to select a seat on the left side (single seats) of the aircraft.
Now, being 6'4" and having flown numerous times, I know that the exit row is the primo seat unless you're paying for first/business class. And I also know that arriving early, and asking politely at check in more often than not gets you that sweet extra legroom as long as it's available. So I show up a couple hours early (unfamiliar airport and this was shortly post 9/11 so security was a much longer process to get through). Go to check in counter, ask the nice lady if there was any chance of getting the exit row. And sure enough, polite won again. And doubly so, because I not only got the exit row, but I also got to stay on the same side of the plane, which means no one to bump elbows with. Jackpot!
Make my way down to the gate, and soon enough it's time to board our flight. Preboarding passengers first, then the rest of us cattle (single class cabin, so preboarding was supposedly only for those needing extra time). I make my way down to my prize, only to find someone is sitting in it. I'm annoyed, but not overly so. Could just be an honest mistake.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I think you might be in my seat." and show him my boarding pass.
"Fuck you!" - not exactly the reply I was expecting. Except it came out more like "fux yuj".
Ah. So not only belligerent, but *drunk* and belligerent. Well, I know the rules. And drunk enough to slur speech means no exit row for you!
Catch the attention of a FA and talk to her quietly about the situation and my concern regarding Mr. Drunk and Belligerent in the exit row. Nevermind that it's MY exit row seat, dammit!
She approaches the gentleman, but barely gets a word out before receiving an even louder "FUSHU!"
*heh*. I know what's coming next. Sure enough, she heads off to the front of the plane. Mr. D&B smiles smugly, thinking he's won. Meanwhile I'm grinning like the cheshire cat because I know what the next act is. Sure enough, here comes the Captain with the FA in tow. Now, this gentleman is big. He's got at least 2 inches on me height wise, and I suspect if he ever gets bored with being a pilot, he could play defensive back. Clearly the kind of person who gets out pent up energy by picking up and putting down very heavy things repeatedly.
"Sir, what's the issue?"
Now, Mr. D&B has figured out that the man standing in front of him is some kind of authority figure. But he doesn't quite seem to be able to pin down what kind of authority figure. But in a slightly less drunk corner of his mind, he knows "uniform" and he knows "big". So instead of a repeat of what the FA and I got, the Captain gets some drunken warbling about it being his seat, And that I was mean. Or something. Because I wanted to take it away from him. And that the lady over there (as he points about two feet to the left of her) was mean too. Or something.
The Captain, meanwhile, takes one look at the FA, then back at Mr. D&B. "Sir, have you been drinking?" "TWO BEERSH!".
As an aside, I really want to see these mystical "two beers" some time. I imagine they mean kegs. Two *kegs* of beer. But I digress.
Captain tries to be polite. "Sir, could I see your boarding pass?" Captain knows that this flight is full, so doubtful he can get this guy into any kind of a decent seat, like a bulkhead seat, to try to bribe him. But he wants to know where this guy is actually supposed to be.
"Sir, your seat is back there..." As he points to an empty seat in the very back of the plane. Just forward of the galley and lavatories. Not a primo seat.
"NOishnot. Dish my sheet."
With a sigh, the Captain turns to me - "Sir, could I see your boarding pass."
Back to Mr. D&B - "Sir, this seat belongs to the gentleman standing here. Please get your belongings and move to your assigned seat."
That slightly less drunk part of his brain lost hold of its grip on his mouth. The "two beers" bellowed out, "NO! DISH M'SHEETS! FUSHKALSYOU!"
I'll be honest, the Captain was not expecting this. And then I see a vein throbbing on the Captain's forehead that could have doubled as a garden hose. He pointed at me, "Sir, please come with me," spun on his heel and walked towards the front of the plane. At this point he just wants to separate Mr. D&B from those he thinks are "mean".
Once we're out of his earshot, he looks at the FA and asks her to call the airport police to escort the... "gentleman"... off the aircraft.
I glance back, and Mr. D&B is smiling smugly again, thinking he's somehow won. That smile lasted about 7 more minutes until the local gendarmes arrived to inform Mr. D&B that he can either walk off the plane under his own power or he could be cuffed and "assisted" off the plane.
I will credit the cops, they had much more patience than I had. About 5 minutes of drunken whinging about everyone being mean and it being, "hish sheet!"
Eventually they too lost patience, and then the silver bracelets came out and off they went, with our drunk friend now protesting loudly that the cops were mean.

Thank you guys for all your nice comments on my previous post! Here's my followup post walking through the anthology - I apologize for the delay, but I wanted to sit with this half of the album a bit longer. This analysis will be slightly different: first I’ll go through themes present throughout the anthology, and then walk through each song individually, since it’s not as consecutive of a story as the first album. As with my first analysis, I tend to also stay away from literal details as proof that a song is about a certain subject or muse – to me, it’s easier to understand the album when you think first about what the song’s overarching meaning is, rather than getting caught up in literal details (and I think Taylor often throws these in as red herrings). Moreover, it’s important to note that it’s likely that the literal detail she’s thrown in is one that only she and the muse will understand (i.e. her referencing a lilac skirt in imgonnagetyouback is unlikely to be one we’ve ever seen her wearing in public, so it’s useless to paternity test based on that detail!).
Firstly, the word anthology means a collection of assorted literary works. As a result, I think there are more themes scattered through this album, and it’s meant to be a little harder to parse than the first one. I think this album is what TTPD would have been before it crystallized into a tighter theme – similar to the 3 AM tracks for Midnights, the majority of which were written prior to the standard edition’s tracks.
There are a few themes throughout this album. From a romantic context, to me, this album is primarily about Joe. I’ll walk through why I believe that, but this album feels less muddled to me in terms of its muses, and I think that is in part due to the fact that her self-described mania from the standard edition is not a theme on the anthology. This work also covers her own relationship to celebrity and fame, and how that affects her romantic relationships and her personal life in general. And finally, I think the final theme throughout this collection is the idea of childhood, of formative experiences, and how our author goes about processing events that happen to her.
The Black Dog
What happens when you intimately know someone, when you share every aspect of your life with someone, and then it's over? Six weeks after their breakup, she’s barely holding it together (“I move through the world with the heartbroken”). She even tried to rebound her pain away (“I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary”), and wasn’t able to succeed. Meanwhile, she sees him go to a bar, and she has the sudden realization that he may be able to do what she failed to do – he might be able to move on, with someone new. Reckoning with that realization is horrifying. If he is able to pull it off, what does that mean about the love they shared? When he had told her for years that he was who he was for her, and her alone?
You said I needed a bravе man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
And it kills me
How could they go from being so intimate that they shower together, that she’s aware of his every move, to being so distant from each other that she wonders if making her fall in love with him was a hazing? And the cruelest part of it is – she doesn’t want either one of them to be able to move on, and give validity to the fact that they weren’t right for each other, even though she knows they have to. Moreover, she’s already *tried* to move on at this point, and failed – she tried to manufacture a counterfeit version of their intimacy, but what if he’s able to perfectly replicate it? And to really drive in the knife, what if it’s with someone younger than her?
And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Given that a theme throughout the first album was her feeling like she’d given him so much of her youth, so much of her childbearing years, with nothing to show for it, what does it feel like to know that he can essentially reset time, by being with a younger woman, but she’ll never be able to get that time back?
imgonnagetyouback
We know that her and Joe took a break or two while they were together (see: Hits Different, The Great War, in addition to PR articles). To me, this song is about when you do take that break from your partner, and you’re trying to make a point to them that they’re not going to find anyone better than you (I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean) – the two of you are too intimately intertwined to find a suitable replacement. You know what to wear, what to say, what to do to bring them back to you:
I, I hear thе whispers in your eyes
I'll make you wanna think twice
You'll find that you were never not mine
This song also has a lot of similarities to So Long, London, which is why I attribute it to Joe. To me, it provides a deeper story to some of the lines she touches on in So Long, London:
I didn't opt in to be your odd man out
I founded the club she's heard great things about
And to some of the lines in Hits Different:
I washed my hands of us at the club
You made a mess of me
I pictured you with other girls in love
Then threw up on the street
//
Bet I could still melt your world
Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
imgonnagetyouback is a story of one-upmanship – of trying to out-jealous your partner, of proving to them that nobody knows them better than you do. And maybe this time when they’re both playing this game, it works:
Push the reset button, we're becomin' something new
Say you got somebody, I'll say I got someone too
Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leavin' here with you
//
We broke all the pieces, but still wanna play the game (Oh)
Told my friends I hate you, but I love you just the same
Pick your poison, babe, I'm poison either way
The spacing to me is a deliberate red herring (the 1975 very famously made a song called fallingforyou), and a way to illustrate that the subject of the song wants space from her – but she’s not going to give it to him. This is another theme that calls back to Joe – in So Long, London, she describes him as constantly pulling away (Pulled him in tighter each time he was driftin' away). Matty didn’t pull away – he was all in for two weeks, until he chose to ghost her, and leave abruptly. There was no slow death, no push and pull to her relationship with Matty – it was a meteoric rise and fall.
The Albatross
This song feels like a sister song to “peace” – she describes what it’s like to love her. It’s a little more twisted, however, as she describes her love for her partner as both a danger, and a rescue from the danger she’s imposing on him by being involved with him:
Wise men once said
"Wild winds are death to the candle"
A rose by any other name is a scandal
Cautions issued, he stood
Shooting the messengers
They tried to warn him about her
She’s described herself as wind and liquor in her relationship with Joe previously, in Mastermind:
I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails
And the liquor in our cocktails
She has empathy for the narrator, but disdain for herself. There’s also acceptance though: she knows that she tried to prevent it, and tried to warn him about the danger she posed. In the end though, he chose this life with her, and he chose the danger – there’s only so much she can protect him from.
The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel
I'm the life you chose
And all this terrible danger
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
This song feels like another sister song to The Black Dog – how does she cope with the idea that her long-time partner might move on? How does she cope with the fact that if she chooses to leave, she also chooses the future in which they both move on? A future in which they don’t know each other? It also touches on her wondering if she should move on with Matty, and how feasible it would be to know someone else instead of her partner:
If you want to tear my world apart
Just say you've always wondered
This song, more than anything else, illustrates that moving on with Matty was nothing but a way to move past Joe – what she really wants, more than anything, is a response greater than indifference from Joe:
As the decade would play us for fools
And you saw my bones out with somebody new
Who seemed like he would've bullied you in school
And you just watched it happen
There’s also the realization that Joe may never love who she is now – who she was at the beginning of their relationship will always be who he prefers:
If you want to break my cold, cold heart
Just say, 'I loved you the way that you were'
She’s trying desperately to find some way to make up for the fact that she had to leave Joe, that there was nothing she could do to stay – she tried changing everything about herself, but still, the need to leave him eventually caught up with her:
I changed into goddesses, villains and fools
Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules
All to outrun my desertion of you
And you just watched it
And she wonders whether despite his indifference, and the distance between them, she should still stay:
Could it be enough to just float in your orbit
Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses
Cooler in theory but not if you force it
To be, it just didn't happen
But now, they are merely ghosts of who they once were – it’s not possible to force the relationship anymore.
How Did It End?
When a long-term relationship ends, you can point to the factors that led to its demise: a difference of opinions on money, on marriage, on children, and so forth. It is easy to determine the “what” and the “why” of an ending. But what is harder to diagnose is how you both became the versions of yourselves that weren’t on the same page, that were unable to discuss these topics, that couldn’t move past these dilemmas. That is much, much harder to pinpoint, and this is the question Taylor asks in this song. She knows what killed them:
We hereby conduct this post-mortem
He was a hot house flower to my outdoorsman
//
We were blind to unforeseen circumstances
We learn the right steps to different dances (ohh)
And fell victim to interlopers' glances
Lost the game of chance, what are the chances?
But what she still doesn't know is how it happened – how did it end? She also finds the empathy from the media and from the public to be false and selfish – they only want to know what happened to feverishly spread the news like wildfire.
Come one, come all
It's happenin' again
The empathetic hunger descends
We'll tell no one
Except all of our friends
We must know
How did it end?
//
Soon they'll go home to their husbands
Smug 'cause they know they can trust him
Then feverishly calling their cousins (ohh)
//
Say it once again with feeling
What the feeding frenzy wants more than anything is gossip, and they don’t care that she is utterly lost – lost as to why this happened, and lost physically and mentally:
Guess who we ran into at the shops?
Walking in circles like she was lost
How does she give an answer to quell the empathetic hunger, when she herself doesn’t understand exactly how it happened?
So High School
In an album that touches so much on feeling like she’s running out of time to have the future that she wants, and running out of youth to give the various men who come into her life, it is interesting and heartwarming that the song about Travis on the anthology is one that describes being with him as regaining her youth:
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly
Moreover, another detail to note in this song is the difference in how she describes alcohol and drugs – in nearly every other song on TTPD, alcohol is a vice she uses in her moments of despair, and drugs are what her previous partners turn to in their moments of strife (she also describes the influence of drugs on her partners as something she detests – “sinking in stoned oblivion” and “you needed me but you needed drugs more”). With Travis, she’s not imbibing in any substances – instead, his thoughts and jokes are enough for her:
I'll drink what you think, and I'm high
From smoking your jokes all damn night
Travis is giving her back her youth, making sober promises, and the impression that we get is that they’re building this dreamlike reality together – it’s wholesome, all-American, and high-school-inspired, yet still grounded in something tangible, unlike the promise of fate and destiny, which powered her relationship with Joe and her entanglement with Matty.
I Hate It Here
More than anything, I think this song illustrates how Taylor sometimes uses escapism and maladaptive daydreaming to ignore the reality of the situation she’s dealing with. She recognizes that it’s not possible to stay where she is, locked inside this prison of stagnation and boredom:
If comfort is a construct
I don't believe in good luck
Now that I know what's what
She recognizes that this isn’t what she used to be, and that she never intended to choose this life of secrecy, perhaps alluding to all those years she spent “locked inside her house”:
You see I was a debutante in another life but
Now I seem to be scared to go outside
She describes herself as finding hope in the places her mind creates (seemingly alluding to her creation of characters and places for folklore and evermore):
I hate it here so I will go to
secret gardens in my mind
People need a key to get to
The only one is mine
I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child
And her escapism into her past, and imaginings of what could have been:
I hate it here so I will go to
Lunar valleys in my mind
When they found a better planet
Only the gentle survived
I dreamed about it in the dark
The night I felt like I might die
All throughout the song, there’s recognition that she doesn’t want to be here – she doesn’t want to feel as if the only place she can be free is in these imaginary worlds she creates. But there’s also concession – is she perhaps only destined for an eternal consolation prize? For loneliness? For imagined romanticism? For the fantasy of how she imagined her life and her love to be?
I'm lonely but I'm good
I'm bitter but I swear I'm fine
I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life and I'll get lost on
purpose
This place made me feel worthless
Lucid dreams like electricity, the current flies through me,
and in my fantasies I rise above it
And way up there, I actually love it
​​thanK you aIMee
This song, along with a few others in the latter half of the anthology, discusses the loss of innocence she felt in key moments of her life. This one quite obviously alludes to Kim Kardashian, and their infamous feud. I will make a separate post on this, but I think people describing this song as petty may not remember the depth of the hate aimed at Taylor in 2016. Kim and Kanye organized a revenge porn music video for Famous, and held a museum exhibit so that people could take pictures with the naked dolls. The night the snapchat videos were released, every Kardashian family member descended upon social media to gleefully celebrate the #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty. The amount of hate Taylor got was so unprecedented that Instagram actually built their comment filtration system because of this incident. It really was that bad.
And every baby step Taylor took (for example, even just posting that she had a good 2017 was met with immediate media backlash) was quite literally mocked across the internet. People thought the reputation era was cringey, that she was over, and that she deserved everyone’s ire because she was “proven” to be a liar. She describes this in the song:
Each time that Aimee stomped across my grave
And then she wrote headlines in the local paper
Laughing at each baby step I'd take
And it was always the same searing pain
But the whole time, despite the pain and blood, she was dreaming of the day that she would heal, and dreaming of the day that she would climb her way back to to the mountaintop:
And our town, it looks so small from way up here
//
So I pushed each boulder up that hill
Your words were still just ringing in my head, ringing in my head
What still irks her though, is that this bully who created this entire hate train and organized her downfall will pretend as if it never happened – she will undoubtedly reframe things to make our subject seem overdramatic, petty, and unable to move past the incidents of years ago. Taylor, however, has always been clear about one thing: sometimes, no amount of time can heal you from something that deeply traumatized you.
I Look in People’s Windows
This song to me feels like a sister song to The Black Dog, but a few months after the official end of a relationship. A sub theme that runs through Taylor’s songs about the Joe breakup is the loss of being understood – when you are no longer with a long-term partner, how do you cope with the fact that you move the world knowing everything about this person, but at the same time, not knowing them anymore? Would you peek into their windows just to get a glimpse of what their life looks like now? As anyone who has gone through a breakup knows, the hardest part is often not being privy to the mundane details of that person’s world – their dinner parties, their wine, their friends, and so on.
I look in people's windows
Transfixed by rose golden glows
They have their friends over to drink nice wine
I look in people's windows
In case you're at their table
What if your eyes looked up and met mine
One more time
The Prophecy
The prophecy is devastating. More so than any other song Taylor has ever written, it is full of desperation and longing. All she asks for is to be known, to be understood – to not be perceived as an idea of a woman, or a starlet with no humanity:
Please
I've been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don't want money
Just someone who wants my company
Let it once be me
Who do I have to speak to
About if they can redo
The prophecy?
It’s striking especially considering how much she laments that leaving Joe means she’s giving up being known – it’s also striking given the fact that in the epilogue poem, she states that neither Joe or Matty ever truly knew her:
He never even scratched the surface
of me.
None of them did.
What she desires beyond fame, beyond notoriety, beyond money, is to be loved and to be known. The song also alludes to her being in therapy, and to finding some sort of consolation that she will find someone to share her life with:
I'm so afraid I sealed my fate
No sign of soulmates
I'm just a paperweight
In shades of greige
Spending my last coin so someone will tell me
It'll be ok
Cassandra
This track is a sister song to ​​thanK you aIMee, and continues exploring the theme of fraught public womanhood we see in Clara Bow and Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me. In this song, Taylor discusses how the validation of women is never publicized in the way that the crucifixion of them is:
When the first stone's thrown, there's screaming
In the streets, there's a raging riot
When it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking
When the truth comes out, it's quiet
Moreover, when women speak up about an issue, they’re often viewed as overdramatic, and unserious. Cassandra, in Greek mythology, was cursed by Apollo to always predict the future accurately, but never be believed. We see this happen every day to women in politics, in the media, and in pop culture:
So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst
And tried to tell the town
So, they set my life in flames, I regret to say
Do you believe me now?
And for Taylor, it’s reminiscent of all the times she’s been the first to speak out about something in the industry – for example, against Scooter Braun and his well-established pattern of bullying, or of the exploitation of artists on streaming services – but never been supported broadly by her peers. They believe her later, but at that point, very few people give her the credit for speaking up in the first place. It’s reminiscent of the Kimye scandal. When the news broke originally, the hatred she received was widespread. But when she was acquitted by the long-form video that leaked, it didn’t receive anywhere near the level of coverage that the original scandal received.
Peter
Peter is another song that touches on both the male muses for this album, and in turn, on the promises various men have given her over her life (we’ll circle back to this in The Manuscript!). It also touches on the theme of waiting that’s seen throughout this album, especially on her songs about Joe – how much time is enough time to give?
Both Matty and Joe were 25 when they met her, and it’s abundantly clear that both men made promises to her: promises of marriage, of children, and of a future. But how long can she wait for these promises to be fulfilled? To Joe, she gives six years of her life and youth, and to Matty, she gives him a chance to prove that he was reformed from the time she knew him last: both men eventually fail. Neither man is ready to give up their childish whims, and she has no choice but to lose hope that either of them ever will.
And you said you'd come and get me but you were 25
And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired
Lost to the lost boys chapter of your life
Forgive me Peter, please know that I tried
To hold onto the days when you were mine
But the woman who sits by the window has turned out the light
Another thing to note is the interesting double meaning of the song title. To peter also means to diminish gradually – much like her faith in both men’s promises.
The Bolter
A lot of the songs Taylor has written about Joe in this album deal with the question of “when is the right time to leave?” When you know that things are stagnant, and you know that you’ve given everything you have to a relationship, you know that you have to leave – but it’s easy to convince yourself if you have a history of “leaving before you get left” that you should ride out this wave, and that this pain might just be temporary.
The Bolter, to me, reflects on Taylor’s history – it seems like she prided herself on being able to see the warning signs, and being able to get out in time.
She's been many places with
Men of many faces
First, they're off to the races
And she's laughing drawin' aces
But, none of it is changin'
That the chariot is waitin'
Hearts are hers for the breakin'
There's an escape in escaping
It’s relevant to TTPD, because likely, she saw not bolting as a sign of growth and maturity. You know that you’ve grown as a person when you don’t abandon ship at the first sign of trouble, but what if there are so many signs of trouble that the truly mature thing to do would be to leave?
Robin
Robin leads into this theme of childhood and innocence that we see further in The Manuscript. The track name is also the name of Aaron Dessner’s child. She ponders how beautiful and sweet it is that we work so hard to protect childhood naivete:
Strings tied to levers,
slowed down clocks tethered,
all this showmanship
To keep it, for you,
In sweetness
And there’s an element of wistfulness to it – don’t we sometimes wish that we could also be protected from the worst the world has to offer?
You have no room in your dreams for regrets
You have no idea
The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean
You'll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline
But now we'll curtail your curiosity
The Manuscript
This song is perhaps the most climactic song on the album. It covers her romantic history up until that point, and starts at the moment she feels everything went awry – and it predates Joe and Matty. Instead, it calls back to the first time she experienced a proper heartbreak, and the first time she lost her childlike innocence in the world – her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal (a time she described as her transition from childhood to womanhood). She describes how they compared licenses, and how he told her that if they had sex, and it was as good as the conversation was, then they would get married, and have a family. He was the first man to make her these promises:
He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was
Soon they'd be pushin' strollers
But soon it was over
He tells her that it’s ok that they have an age gap, because she’s so advanced for her age:
She thought about how he said since she was so wise beyond her years
Everything had been above board
She wasn't sure
While dating him, she desperately wants to be older, and starts emulating his behavior:
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty
And made coffee every morning in a French press
And when it’s over, she regresses, and turns back into a child – unable to sleep alone without the comfort of her mother, and unable to eat anything substantial besides the sugary cereal of her youth:
Afterwards she only ate kids' cereal
And couldn't sleep unless it was in her mother's bed
She forces herself to date boys her own age, to not rely on the maturity of an older man to guide her through adulthood, but she can’t help but feel disappointed in their youth:
Then she dated boys who were her own age
With dart boards on the backs of their doors
Finally, as she creates the All Too Well short film, she recognizes the damage he did to her, and how the consequences of that affair have shaped her life since:
And the years passed
Like scenes of a show
The Professor said to write what you know
Lookin' backwards
Might be the only way to move forward
Then the actors
Were hitting their marks
And the slow dance
Was alight with the sparks
And the tears fell
In synchronicity with the score
And at last
She knew what the agony had been for
Everything calls back to this first man, and these original promises – everything she’s been chasing since is reminiscent of this first scar. And just like how releasing All Too Well transformed and healed her, she hopes that by releasing this additional manuscript into the world, it will heal her again. As she describes in the epilogue poem, she is entering all her thoughts, emotions, and pain into evidence – she now asks the audience to process it with her, and thus conclude this process of healing.
The only thing that's left is the manuscript
One last souvenir from my trip to your shores
Now and then I reread the manuscript
But the story isn't mine anymore
If you read all of this - thank you! I enjoyed writing it, and I'm excited to discuss with you all in the replies :)

I have several friends who don't own this game, but come over to play casually.
So far, we've just been playing my favorite scenarios from various expansions, but I figured it might be interesting to combine some of my favorites into a custom campaign, & paste on some unifying theme:

• Tragedy strikes! After the events of MTS, a group of villains make a concerted assault on Odin's vault & take back the Infinity Gauntlet. However, since these villains do not trust each other, no one was willing to give all the Stones to 1 person. So they decided to give one to each villain to rule in their own area of time & space. Fortunately, you can track each Stones' electomagnetic signature, so you know their locations. You just need to wrest them from the villains who have them.

You can do the following 6 scenarios in any order (*I picked scenarios that I thought my friends would like):

1. Soul: Green Goblin* (or Venom Goblin)
2. Power: Juggernaut* (or Nebula, Ronan)
3. Reality: Zola* (or Red Skull)
4. Mind: Mr. Sinister* with Focusing In as the first Main Scheme 2A (or Stryfe, Mysterio)
5. Space: Hela* (or Magneto, Collector, Mojo Mania, Dark Beast)
6. Time: En Sabah Nur* (or Kang)

If you win the scenario, you keep the Stone.
If you lose the scenario, the Stone will added to the Infinity Gauntlet mod of the final scenario. And if you own a lot of heroes, those heroes are killed & cannot be used again in the campaign.

• Final scenario: Apocalypse*, who backstabbed all of the villains who were still holding Stones (scenarios the heroes lost). He has the MTS Infinity Gauntlet mod, except that placeholder cards take the place of any Stones the heroes have.
• With the regular IG mod, all 6 Stones take effect over 12 activations. For example (after shuffling): X-2-X-4-X-3-X-6-X-5-X-1 (X = no effect). With this campaign, for example, if you won scenarios 1, 2, & 4, you would shuffle 3 placeholder cards in the Infinity Stone deck instead of Stones 1, 2, & 4. So after shuffling, you have something like X-X-X-X-X-3-X-6-X-5-X-X (3 Stones take effect over 12 activations).
• So you are incentivized to beat the first 6 scenarios. Otherwise, the final boss could be difficult with a full Infinity Gauntlet.

With my friends I'll probably just do Option 1 below, but I'm thinking about other possible options for when I play solo:
OPTION 1: Keep it simple; just play as stated above.
OPTION 2: Use the appropriate MTS Infinity Gauntlet mod card & use counters to make it trigger about every (P+3) rounds (P = number of players), except for Power Stone, which is used as is.
OPTION 3: Use a custom Infinity Stone mod for 6 villains & their respective mods, which, like the MTS Power Stone mod, can pass back & forth between villain & player. Possibilities:
Soul: All minions (for villain) or allies (for a player) gain Tough.

• Switches to player when they defeat a minion they are engaged with.
• Switches to villain when they defeat an ally of the player with the Stone.

Power: +1 ATK; cannot be stunned (or just use the MTS mod)

• use same requirements as MTS mod

Reality: If villain has it, they get 1 facedown boost card at beginning of villain phase. If a player has it, once per round they may play an upgrade or attachment for 1 less resource.

• Switches to player when they discard half of their printed hero hand size (rounded up) from hand.
• Switches to villain when the encounter deck runs out.

Mind: +1 SCH/THW; cannot be confused.

• Switches to player when their identity (not allies) thwarts for 4+ from main scheme.
• Switches to villain when they SCH for 4+ against the player with the Stone.

Space: If villain has it, their attacks gain ranged & they allies cannot defend against their attacks. If player has it, their attacks gain ranged & are unaffected by guard.

• Switches to player when they spend a physical + mental + energy resource.
• Switches to villain when the encounter deck runs out.

Time: If villain has it, +1 Acceleration icon per player. If player has it, they may ready their identity after a basic action (once per round).

• Switches to player when they perform no actions during the player phase (skips a turn, in other words).
• Switches to villain when the encounter deck runs out.

OPTION 4: Add a related mod, such as:

1. Soul: Down to Earth
2. Power: Super Strength or Symbiotic Strength
3. Reality: Dystopian Nightmare or Legions of Hel
4. Mind: Personal Nightmare &/or Whispers of Paranoia (or Enchantress until defeated)
5. Space: Add Badoon Headhunter to every future scenario, until they're defeated
6. Time: Add Master of Time or Future Past to every future scenario, until they're defeated

OPTION 5: During setup, put a Mojo Mania Environment in play, such as:

1. Soul: Fantasy
2. Power: Horror
3. Reality: Sitcom
4. Mind: Crime
5. Space: Sci-Fi (or Blue Moon from Dark Beast)
6. Time: Western (or Savage Land from Dark Beast)

OPTION 6: Use the GMW Market to get cards. To unlock the Market, you must either have a Guardian hero, or the Space Stone, or have won a Mojo Mania scenario (so maybe this campaign has 8 scenarios).
I just started thinking about this, so I'm open to any comments or feedback (especially Option 3, since I haven't playtested anything yet).

Hello Skibiders! Welcome to Diversity UHC S5. Diversity is a ultrahardcore recorded round organized by BuildingBard300 and CAMKART100! For this season, we will be having awful upload rates and it will be a Random To3
The scenarios for this season are...
• Upside-Down Crafting - All the crafting recipes in the game will be flipped upside down.
• Dead Biomes - Every 10 minutes, a new biome will be announced as a "Dead Biome". If players are in that biome, they will receive Slowness 1 and Weakness 1 and for every minute they stay in the biome, they will lose 1 heart.
• Monsters Inc. - Once a player places down a door and walk through it, they will be teleported to another door that is connected within the world.
• Piggyback- If you right click on your teammate, you can ride on top of them!
• Vengeful Spirits - When a player dies above Y:64 a ghast will appear. You must kill that ghast in order to receive the player's head. If they die under Y:64 a blaze will spawn and you must kill it to get the player head.
^{*Bold = Highlighted}

Team	Color
Team 1:	Red
Biobbytheturtle	Not Uploaded
ethodog	Not Uploaded
QuillisLost	Not Uploaded
Team 2:	Light Gray
Colozi	Not Uploaded
Erdql	Not Uploaded
MildlySusFootage	Footage Corrupted?
Team 3:	Light Green
1mmortal	Playlist
CAMKART100	Not Uploaded
CodeJoshua	Playlist
Team 4:	Purple
Blarkslol	Not Uploaded
GuyNamedKreo	Episode 1 + Episode 2 + Episode 3 + Episode 4
Viatic_	Not Uploaded
Team 5:	Light Blue
Bornyo	Lost Footage
Evxn101	Not Uploaded
Julia0401	Not Uploaded
Team 6:	Orange
GitpaT24	Not Uploaded
MinimanTurtle	Not Uploaded
Stravilight	Lost Footage
Team 7:	Blue
BlueIceCrown	Not Uploaded
broccoliar	Full Footage
WishyNathan	Not Uploaded
Team 8:	Yellow
BlueIceCrown	Not Uploaded
L1GHT1NG	Full Footage
Shqkster	Episode 1 + Episode 2 + Episode 3 + Episode 4 + Episode 5
Team 9:	Pink
Markedbooboy	Lost Footage
MercuryParadox	Playlist
omchris	Episode 1 + Episode 2 + Episode 3 + Episode 4 + Episode 5
Team 10:	Gray
BoltsInCharge	Full Footage
Codwhy	Not Uploaded
CommanderK22_	Playlist
Team 11:	Cold Blue
MrJerrison	Lost Footage
LucaK_gaming	Not Uploaded
rae0vr	Full Footage
Team 12:	Dark Red
BuildingBard300	Playlist
Cloversss	Full Footage
Kaismartypants	Full Footage
Team 13:	Cyan
ArcticSeagul	Not Uploaded
AshRiolu100985	Not Uploaded
ZebraPantz	Full Footage
Team 14:	Light Red
Fcrm	Playlist
Fireeypvp	Not Uploaded
Ninetals38	Playlist

IntroLink

Credits

Organization - BuildingBard300 & CAMAKART100
Host - ArcticMC
Intro - Ninetals38
Logo - AR10

Swiatek vs Potapova :

Swiatek had to have been happy with her third round matchup after waking up from the nightmare that Naomi Osaka presented. She made quick work of Bouzkova, who was outmatched in every department. Bouzkova did manage to battle back in the first and make the set close, and she served surprisingly well, but she just doesn’t hit hard enough to beat Swiatek. It was one of those matches where Swiatek looks a bit impatient because she’s supplying all the offense, and it seems like when it takes 3-4 shots to get an opportunity to hit a winner, she tries to just infuse extra pace or spin instead and unforced errors appear. Trying to make the ball explode doesn’t really work, and extra force applied tends to fall short when compared to smooth technique. I watched Rune and Zverev have similar trouble today against their opponents. Players wind up pushing because they hit bigger than their opponent, but don’t want to make errors. It’s accuracy that’s missing, and it’s something for Swiatek to work on in the off-season. I would say that accuracy is the main problem with her serve as well. It has plenty of pace and spin, but the ball lands towards the center of the box way too often. Less pace, and more location will go a long way.
If it feels like I’m levying criticism today, yes. Your turn, Potapova and Wang. Potapova was down 5-0 in the first set, and won 7 games in a row. Wang has a tendency to just go big on her forehand, and she doesn’t stop when she misses. Potapova was an uphill battle, but Wang doesn’t actually need to hit clean winners to score. Her forehand is one of the biggest in the game, and once she locks into a cross-court rally she usually can win provided the ball lands inside the court. Landing the ball inside the court proved difficult, and it felt a bit like watching Struff. All the ability in the world but a sense of urgency that doesn’t really match the moment. Yes you want to stay aggressive, but the weight of shot buys you time in the rally, you don’t need to escape a rally you’re in control of.
Potapova wound up losing the second, and down a break in the third. She dug in admirably, but there were some really poor decisions late in the match. After getting to triple break point by rallying with Wang and keeping the ball deep until Wang missed, she got a simple backhand return off a serve. She went for a clean winner down the line for some reason, and then suddenly the next point mattered. She lost it, and suddenly the “oh F I had it and now it’s gone” fears rose. The game ended up at duece, and she went to tactic B : screaming on every shot. You can’t scream your opponent off the court, so this didn’t really work. In the end, Wang coughed up errors and Potapova won, but it was a match that was managed poorly by both. Potapova was very reactive to misses and makes, which is fine but wastes a bunch of energy and tends to affect your decisionmaking in a readable way. You want to maintain some mystery, and at a minimum not give your opponent any inspiration or hope to work off of while you’re out there.
Swiatek Potapova should be another safe match for Swiatek, but Potapova has good power off both wings and she hits her backhand down the line decent. Swiatek will need more than she brought against Bouzkova, and chances are this won’t be a blowout. Potapova won their last meeting 6-0 in the third on clay, but it was in 2016 at the juniors. Swiatek in 2.

Danilovic vs Vondrousova :

Olga Danilovic has made the 4th round of a major. This changes her career in a major way. Tons of points, at least $250k, and a chance to win more. It’s even sweeter I would imagine because she probably shouldn’t be there. Her match against Donna Vekic was filled with many fumbles. Both players have enough power to hit past the other. Vekic was able to hit inside out forehands to great effect. Danilovic’s pendulum swing on her backhand was able to force errors from Vekic quite often. Her forehand down the line was almost a clean winner anytime she made it. In between all that though, they missed constantly.
The first set was a 6-0 beatdown from Vekic. She played excellent, and likely should have won the second. In the third, she went up a quick break. She gave that back, but broke to serve for the match. Immediately, she threw in a handful of forced dropshots and errors. Luckily, she broke again to serve for the match at 6-5. This gave her the opportunity to come up with a few more bailout dropshots and errors. If you watch highlights, this was an incredible match. If you watched the match, you saw two players whose games were affected by the situation. Vekic forced the issue and missed anytime she got control of the scoreboard, and Danilovic went through bouts of not missing at all followed by sending every ball wide. The tiebreaker was vaguely like watching a junior match. Every miss brought a huge reaction from the player. There were constant gestures and faces made to their boxes, and it was a little difficult to watch two great players struggle to focus and execute. Vekic managed to go up again 6-2 in the tiebreaker, but froze at that point and began hitting most of her shots long. She had trouble serving first serves in for the second half of the entire third set, but she really was unable to respond defensively once Danilovic got a full swing in.
After watching Danilovic down Collins and sort of defeat Vekic, it’s hard to count her out against Vondrousova. Marketa is a clear favorite against most players on clay, but the scorelines of her matches can be hard to predict. Against Paquet she was up a set and cruising up a double break in the second, and wound up back on serve. She closed out, but Vondrousova doesn’t hit that big and mostly thrives by defending and earning errors, so Danilovic will be able to compete. They played in the BJK cup and Vondrousova won in 3, and I’m guessing slower clay will give Vondrousova more of an edge. Vekic’s lack of speed really hurt her, and I think Vondrousova being able to put extra ball consistently in play will make Danilovic’s rough patches more of an issue. The emotional and physical output of Danilovic over the last few rounds has to take a toll, and I think she’ll fall a game or two short here. Vondrousova in 3.

Gauff vs Cocciaretto :

This is an excellent draw for Gauff so far. She’s playing great players, but stylistically they’re not a lot of trouble for her. This round is another good spot. Elisabetta Cocciaretto is a good server and has nice power, but she’s not the fastest around the court and she can make some unforced errors if she’s rushed. This means Gauff’s defense and power give her a great shot to win without trouble. Cocciaretto beating Samsonova was a surprise to me, but Samsonova doesn’t have the speed that Gauff does nor the consistency. This is a criminally short analysis but Gauff in 2.

Tauson vs Jabeur :

Great champions are able to elevate their games. This round, Ons will need to elevate hers. Clara Tauson is playing some great tennis, and coming into this match hers is the higher level. Jabeur was projected to have trouble against Fernandez and she did. It was another match where I felt like a good coach could have gotten their player across the finish line. Fernandez didn’t have a great chance in the first, but Jabeur was very willing to give the second away. Fernandez was able to dig in on defense and rally with Jabeur until she made errors or gave Leylah opportunities. Rather than keep rallying and really punish Jabeur, Fernandez went for winners … and missed them all. I’m not exaggerating here, in the second set she missed almost every offensive shot she went for, and it didn’t feel like she had to go for them. Jabeur hits bigger than Fernandez, so on the court it may have felt like she needed to do a lot, but most of her points come from consistency, so Leylah’s team will want to focus on having her focus on the mental battle going on in her opponent’s head rather than trying to be a big hitter. Physically, it’s just not in the cards for her to be slinging offense. Maybe she landed those same shots in an earlier round, so going for them was fine, but awareness on court is important, and Jabeur was trying to give the set away. After winning, Jabeur celebrated a bit which left me puzzled. It’s natural to be happy when you win, but I feel a little odd about these matches sometimes. Fernandez didn’t land a first serve for the last 20 minutes, threw in a ton of errors, and tried to hit an overhand winner for some reason off a return at 5-5 in the tiebreaker. It was a nice win, but Jabeur made this match hard on herself. I might be in hater mode today and I apologize, but it feels like sometimes players tap their head or pump their fist after overcoming challenges that they themselves created.
Positives for Jabeur were the times she put one extra ball back. She has had a middling season, and seeing her dig in is great. Her racquet skill is some of the best on tour as well, so the gets aren’t just a boost, they’re downright effective. She has the ability to stretch to her forehand and put squash gets back extremely low, and to flick cross-court forehands that seem impossible from how extended her arm is. Jabeur’s depth of talent is why she is still slightly favored in this match, because again, Clara Tauson is coming in at a high level. Tauson beat Ostapenko, and followed it up by putting Kenin through the ringer. Kenin had no chance in the first, but in the second she was able to reel back a break of serve and apply some decent pressure. Frustratingly, she just wasn’t able to execute in the big moments. At 15-30 5-5, Tauson hit a lob that was going a few feet out (to the side). While running backwards, Kenin seemed unaware of where she was in the court. She tried to play it overhead and missed. It was a momentum killer, and she ended up missing the remainder of her offensive opportunities.
Throughout the match, the big difference in the two was Tauson’s ability to score quickly. When she lands first serves, or if you give her a moment to get a full swing anywhere inside the baseline, you are toast. She has the type of power that Anisimova/Collins generate on their backhand, and she has a heavy forehand. That is why I suspect Jabeur will have a tough time winning this quickly. Jabeur has the endurance and variety to frustrate Tauson, but this feels like a battle of two big offenses, and Jabeur’s is a bit less consistent at this point. I want to believe Jabeur wins in 3, but she will need to step up her game and avoid the type of letdown she had in the second against Fernandez. Tauson is several tiers above Leylah and Osorio in terms of offensive opportunities, and both those players were able to get in winning position in at least one set. I’m still going to go with Jabeur in 3. Tauson has beaten some offenses, and some defenses, but Ons is the most complete player she’s faced so it feels very much like “prove it” territory for me.

Arnaldi vs Tsitsipas :

The story in Arnaldi’s match seems to be Rublev’s temper, but don’t let that overshadow Arnaldi’s performance. For me, Rublev’s temper is partially his fault, and partially his team’s. I’m especially sensitive to this after watching the last round, but being reactive to the outcome of points is a bit of a leak. If you are easily moved by events, then you are always able to be moved. It compounds, because if you are really good at something, there is no reason to believe that minor failures will continue, or even matter. It gives your opponent motivation, it wastes your valuable reserves of adrenaline and dopamine (depending on good/bad outcomes), and it’s honestly fairly distracting for an opponent. Just generally speaking, if my opponent is smashing his head with a racquet, I don’t really want to beat him. I’m still going to, but I want to compete and win, I don’t really want to add suffering to someone else. It’s unprofessional, it’s a detriment to his game, and it puts his opponents and umpires in an uncomfortable spot. Of course, he knows this, but it should hit home in this moment that he lost this match because of his lack of composure, and lost it to a player who thrives because of his composure.
Matteo Arnaldi plays steady consistent tennis. He works hard, he constantly works on his game, and he isn’t reactive out there aside from hyping himself up. He beat Fils because of deviations in his level of play and because he made it clear he wouldn’t miss. Fils forced shots and missed because he was unwilling to do the work. He beat Rublev because despite Rublev opening the match hitting clean and crushing winners, he just stayed the course and kept competing. When Christmas disappeared, Rublev noticed, and he did not like it. The crux of the issue is, he did not accept it. If I am upset about the way things are, that is natural. If I grit against the way they are, I suffer. If I accept the way things are, I am (counterintuitively) instantly free to begin working on changing them. It doesn’t mean we celebrate errors or loss, but resetting to the present moment is a major key to winning in professional sports and tennis players in particular have a difficulty with this.
I’m not trying to dump on all these players or attack them here either. All of them are tremendous athletes and are mostly excellent ambassadors and competitors. All of these struggles are natural and we all experiences the highs and lows of competition, but Rublev wants to win and this is something he needs to work on to do that consistently. If his coaches aren’t working on this with him, they’re doing him a disservice. If they are and he isn’t buying into it, he’s doing them a disservice. Everything is fine with Rublev’s game but the holes are clear. He needs more reps at net, he needs to develop dropshots, and he needs to not smash racquets.
For now, it’s Arnaldi vs Tsitsipas. Stefanos has been excellent this event, and he opens as the favorite for a reason. Zhang played solid in round 3, but he was helpless against Tsitsipas. Stef is holding serving quickly, and the speed with which he’s finding a forehand to the open court off of players’ returns is the catalyst of this. His stamina is a major weapon in these conditions and in this format, and his serve/forehand is one of the best left in the event. If Arnaldi wants to win, the plot is simple. Isolate Tsitsipas’ backhand, and get deep in sets. In the late stages of a close set, Tsitsipas is still prone to some shanks. I really do think Arnaldi needs to win the first set to have a shot here, but had Rublev been playing Tsitsipas I think we’d be expecting a somewhat close match so there’s no real argument for Arnaldi to get blown out here. He has a complete game, and he has good discipline. He’s lanky so he might be able to return well, and he can send his backhand down the line so Tsitsipas can’t just camp in his backhand corner. Forehand to forehand though, I think Tsitsipas wins. Losses to Ruud, Jarry, Medvedev make me think that Arnaldi has a bit of a ceiling, but all those were close affairs so Tsitsipas should have his hands full here. Tsitsipas in 4-5.

Alcaraz vs Auger-Aliassume :

Shelton and FAA was fairly hyped, but only Felix delivered. Shelton wasn’t really that bad, but FAA just showed he’s more comfortable on the surface. He faced no break points, and won comfortably in straight sets. His next match will be a lot more difficult, as he plays a version of Carlos Alcaraz that is cruising through the draw without really playing his best tennis. Alcaraz vs Korda was a strange contest. It reminded me a bit of Zverev or Rune playing matches they know they’re going to win. They don’t want to play extra sets, so they play a bit more carefully and just make sure to outlast their opponent. What ends up happening is the score stays close, and the stronger players needs to win a tense tiebreaker or break late in the set. Sure, they still win, but I think that an all-out assault from an earlier moment would allow them to fatigue their opponent.
These guys are all in tremendous shape (even Kotov), but there are levels/paces that they can’t hang at for long. Someone like Alcaraz can push the pace and wear Korda down, and once he breaks from that level, the odds of him winning the next sets easily are more likely. We watched Nadal and Djokovic do this to opponents for a long time, and the late sets were almost always blowouts after frantic openers. We watched Federer do the same thing mentally to opponents with a constant onslaught of offensive shots and tricky slices. If you don’t push the pace to a level your lower-tier opponent can’t hang at, they end up playing at a pace they’re comfortable with and then you play the same level of Korda in set 1 as you do in set 3.
Hater mode continues, but in this case I think it’s all assuming that Alcaraz is totally healthy. If he’s saving his arm for later, he played Korda perfectly. Sebastian continues to battle even with the best players on tour, and in the big moments he doesn’t change his game. 4-4 in a tiebreaker isn’t the time to force anything, but if you’re the underdog and have nothing to lose, it might be a good choice to ratchet up the pace a little, or take some chances. Instead, he seems to throw in rally ball errors. The two forehand misses he had in the tiebreaker were rough, but worse was that they weren’t even shots that were going to score. He was just guiding the ball in straight over the net. I guess in the end, beating Alcaraz, or even playing him even for a time, is a huge ask. It was a great match.
FAA will have his best chance to beat Alcaraz here. Alcaraz’s arm is potentially not 100%, and Korda probably should have won a set. I think the pace alone that Felix brings will wake Carlitos up a bit, and he has beaten FAA the last few times they’ve played so he’ll know which shots to employ and when. Even with his arm a question mark, Alcaraz’s speed around the court and ability to extend rallies are the right assets to score on FAA. Auger-Aliassime’s main issue on tour is that he can overhit forehands and cough up unforced errors. It should be noted also that FAA Shelton was played under a closed roof, which helps Felix’s serve a bit. The weather in Paris looks pretty nice for the rest of the tournament, so it’ll be warm and ideal for Alcaraz to wear him down and isolate his backhand when he can. FAA is good enough to compete at this level, but hasn’t been doing it regularly enough for me to think he can do so here for 3 whole sets. Alcaraz in 4.

Hurkacz vs Dimitrov :

Dimitrov leads this h2h 5-0. All the matches have been close, but you don’t get to 5-0 against Hurkacz unless you can reliably return serve. If you can reliably return serve, you can beat Hurkacz, and on clay it should be even more beneficial. Hurkacz has played excellent in this clay swing considering his status as a servebot, and leading into Wimbledon and the North American swing I think his baseline improves have him primed for some titles. He had a hard test with Shapovalov in round 3, and the new and sort of decent Shapovalov put up a good fight. Dimitrov had an easier time with Zizou Bergs, despite dropping a set. Bergs broke Dimitrov a bunch in this match, but Dimitrov’s slice gave him a lot of trouble. Grigor was content to just keep hitting the court, and it was enough in the end. Bergs had trouble lifting his forehand inside in off of the slice, and it meant going mostly inside out which Dimitrov was only too comfortable with. The quick turnaround is a concern here, but I don’t think the Bergs match was as labor intensive as it could have been. There were numerous rain delays, and the scores were close but only because Dimitrov didn’t redline. He served with control, he hit to big targets, and he secured the bag.
I don’t think Hurkacz gets beaten quickly here, and I don’t think Dimitrov is automatic just because of the h2h. He should win, but Dimitrov lost to Rune/Mensik/Fritz recently and those are all players right around Hurkacz level. If this goes to a 5th, I’d be pretty worried for Dimitrov’s chances. Picking Dimitrov in 4 feels tough, because Bergs got to a 4th and he wasn’t really playing his best today. The h2h is hard to ignore, so I’ll go with Dimitrov in 5. The quick turnaround might leave him tired but he should be able to outduel Hurkacz in most volleys and the low slices will be tough for the big dude to get down on.

Sinner vs Moutet :

Nothing like a seemingly simple one to end a full day of criticizing professional athletes for not being perfect <3. Moutet has been the most entertaining player in this event. He has won and lost lopsided sets, he has gone for every shot possible, he is chatting with the crowd, and he is giving the home country something to believe in. Considering he couldn’t even hit a two-handed backhand for a good chunk of the past year due to wrist surgery, it’s pretty impressive for him to get his game back to a really high level. Ofner was beating him early in the third round, but he was also sweating profusely. The workload of defending against Moutet’s big forehand strokes and his clever dropshots is exhausting, and Ofner’s game dipped as the match went on. It’ll be fun to see Sinner trading with Moutet, and it’ll be another look at his physical ability to see how quickly he moves to the frontcourt and how he defends Moutet’s forehand inside out. Generally with a hip injury, it’s sprinting forward and leaning wide to that side that becomes an issue.
Sinner has sort of entered a big however many group in terms of his results. He is able to beat the lower tier players for the entire match, and is consistently able to do so. There are no holes in his game, and aside from his hip issue there is no reason to think he loses here. Moutet has the game to make this the match of the day, but it feels like he’s spent a lot more time and energy on court and that’ll cost him. Sinner in 3.