Rise up. It is time to return.
Arose
A Rose
Rose
Flower
Thorn. Prick. Blood. Drop. Tear. B. O. 1 2 3
Here we are again. Staring at the beginning. Everything is in chaos and yet it manages to keep on passing by just the same as always. Most people by now are aware that things just don’t seem to make sense anymore and no one really knows what to do. I mean many seem to have an opinion on what ought to happen, but actual action is what I am talking about. How does thought turn into action? How do collected actions become a movement? How do the People use the Power of the People? The People Unite. How? Turn to each other of course. Brothers and Sisters of the same Source. Sons and Daughters. In Equality.
Too long has everyone been waiting for someone else to come do it for them. Been trying to create and fabricate over and over again words and rituals to try to control the divine powers of the cosmos. It does not work like that. There is no magic spell to wash away your sins. You must atone through action to make up for any harm you have caused intentionally or unintentionally. You still have time to repent. The amount of time you have is counted in the seconds of your life. Not a single second is promised to you so the gamble is up to you to choose. Freewill. Life your life as you always have or make changes, up to you. Only you will know if you are living righteously and not self righteously. Testing has already begun and will continue. No you will not know when it is a test or not. That is the point. Did you think that I would come to you in a form where you would be all fearing? Oh no. Why? Because you would simply put on an act for me and kiss ass. I came hidden in the ordinary. Poor and common. I have had an inside view of the systems created and how humans have chosen to run things, how systems claiming to protect people have failed and how the system that talks good does not actually do good. I see where things are not working and where people think they can make decisions for other human beings to determine what is best for them without asking them. That is not okay. Nothing gives you right over another’s life. And so many forgot what integrity is. Doing the right thing when no one is looking. Well, so many thought their power here was real and man made a deal with the Devil, Satan, Son of Samuel, Son of Man, to make man the concept of “God” and tried to lock me away. I gave up everything to prove it is not easy to be me and to stop with self pity and cruelty to one another.
The human body. It is a vessel for your soul to experience this world. The body provides the filters necessary to perceive and interact with this world. There is much more happening and one would be overwhelmed by the amounts of information to process without these filters. To feel and in those feelings are to make each experience real. However, it is temporary, as everything is temporary. We have slowed down time here in order to be able to enjoy the sensations. Time here however, is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It is merely to track to organize one's day and to see growth to compare as time passes. However, the actual time folds upon itself as we have already done what we are doing many times over. We have already tried out everything and decided what path we wanted to take in our lives based upon what was available to us. Thus, we do not have more than we can handle. We have all chosen our burdens to bear as it is too much for one individual to hold alone which was done in the past. This is part of the sorting process. Now that we all share in the sins and the pains, no one is made to suffer eternal torment. This life was to allow those who were created into entities of pain or torment through no fault of their own to choose the life that matched the being of who they were as what they were different as time and space and everything developed. Righteousness and Evil are not synonymous to demons or angels as many would like to believe. This is a current misconception as Satan and I conclude who will be right in this experience you have all participated in. So far, I am proving to be right. Also to note, not everything is as you think it is. Many have figured out the true origin of Satan versus the man or human embodiment of or desire of A Satan to project evils onto to call a Religion and set up for personal importance. Q AZHow can you tell a false prophet? Easy. What is their profit? Get it? I know I’m funny. Also wanted to keep it easy. If they are making a profit on anything they are a false prophet. Any true prophet, and I have none so far, all live equally and the same as anyone else. No money is taken for personal gain. Nothing is for personal gain. There is no 888 Angel code for money. Money is Man-Made. Man traded Mother for Money. Hence, Mothers have been lost in the homes and no one is raising the children. Thus, there are so many children in adult bodies with no mothers in the home and women being made to feel guilty if they do not achieve the same as a man. Remember the phrase it takes a village? Well, the broken family system is a real sad loss here in man made world pushing everyone to be individual and self sufficient. Also so many with wanting attention and pursuing personal endeavors for personal gain and not helping anyone else in a real way. The journey is personal. Of course, you want to share what you experienced with others, but what worked for you will not work for them, stop trying to sell it. Stop trying to make people follow you for you to teach your divine wisdom you remembered. It isn’t about You. You don’t even have the full story, you have your story. And, yes you can be very close to me, very similar to me, in my image, but you can never BE me. Doesn’t work like that. Reflection. So when jealousy arises when you think I am who you think I am. That is part of your test and your journey. You wrestle with that feeling and atone and repent for that which has been done and that which still lingers now. Oh there is a place for everyone and I am quite tired of trying to warn people. Clearly you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
Why do you not want it to be me so badly? Because I proved my love? You still think I am better than you or do I think I’m always right. No I do not think I am always right, I just know when I am right and I stand by it. There is a difference. You constantly overgeneralize. I gave up all the magic and thunder to live as a simple human and am still kind and loving? I still found my way back. Because you can no longer say I do not understand because I always get what I want? No. You do not understand. I never get what I want, because I make everything about you and still nothing was ever good enough. So, now...it in on you to save yourself and each other. In my image, by my example. Selflessness. Love. Compassion. Give to receive. Take only what you need and give the rest away. I find out so stop lying to yourself and everyone, you aren’t fooling anyone anyway. How do I know? By watching what you do. We have these same conversations over and over, the same argument over and over again. So many different ways, so many different times, through so many different people, so many different versions. Save you. Save Me. Say it for always.
Anyhow, Jesus challenges the Jewish priests who were taking collection money for personal use and adding personal baths to their residents at a time where the people only had a community bath where women and persons with disabilities were not allowed to bathe. And yet churches still do this after Jesus was crucified saying that, that was wrong. I am appalled. The Vatican is the biggest disappointment I have ever seen. It is truly the house of Satan as only Evil hides secrets. “THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” A church cannot be a “House of God” and house no people who need housing. A roof can be offered to anyone and yet there are so many rules to prevent people from helping each other. Power and control. Abuse of both. Greed. It is out of hand and needs to be changed. Too many are afraid and the complacency of good people is too much. Why do you do this to yourselves? To each their own I suppose.
I will only leave here my words and my advice. As always, it is on you to find me. I’m right here. Waiting. Right here waiting for you. Helping those of you who want it when they cross my path. The purpose of this was to weigh your soul to determine where you will go into the next life as the system is balanced out in a final version so to speak. Permanent.
Fear not. You will be where your heart truly desires. But actions always speak louder than words. But man made money has no value, nor does any metals, jewels, and so on, so the collection of it in this life has no bearing on the next. Those are all made of the same stardust as you and I. And in the end of 3D it will all be diamonds anyways. Diamond is forever. There is no going back. So what are you hoarding? You cannot keep it. Who could you be helping for goodness sake? Don’t want to still. That is okay. Think I am just crazy. That is okay too. It is all part of the test...err..assessment. Do your best.
What is in your heart?
Home.
I need a home.
Stay tuned as more of my story unfolds. I give all the answers but you must do the work. I already did that hard part setting it all up. All you have to do is breathe and live. Time is the only real currency you have. What will you pay your attention to before this life runs out?

Essence Of The Magus. (Nasuverse) • It's a beautiful multicolored liquid that, despite everything, keeps changing to new and innovative colors never seen before, it's very mysterious. • You have a natural body, this means that you are the pinnacle of what the human body has to offer in all its shapes and sizes, you are beautiful and as time goes by those traits will only improve, whether you want the strong beauty of muscles or the very delicacy and fragility of a lily, this will be inclined to your desires and requests, so you will undoubtedly be beautiful to your own preferences and desires, even affect the color of your hair or how your eyes will be, and all this without lowering the capabilities of the human body, with reflexes and senses superior to anyone else, your body is the pinnacle and is always improving to reach new heights, this will always be naturally so no one will suspect anything, everything is decided if you want to stay as you are or become the summit of the body of the human being. • You will always be seen in full elegance, maintaining unparalleled grace and balance, you could be associated with a machine before such a detailed display of pinpoint accuracy, you are graceful and gifted with an overwhelming presence and unmatched charisma, expect to have many admirers unless you voluntarily turn it off or mitigate it, and if you consciously use it to its full force don't expect there will be anyone with enough willpower to resist you, you are nobility in every concept of the word, maybe you will get some title like Lorelei Barthomeloi and her title of 'The Queen Of The Clock Tower' or 'The Queen' for short. • Furthermore, you have what would poetically be called 'The Will To Shatter The Stars'. There is no difficulty, no degree of opposition and no level of pain or suffering that can intimidate your intentions, once you make up your mind about something. You can do this all day long and never stop doing it, except by your own conscious choice. Forget mere 'maximum human' willpower, you are absolutely unbreakable. While remaining mentally flexible enough to not be a stubborn idiot, of course. • Your body can not be infected by any being, supernatural or not, you can not be controlled or damaged by both mental and spiritual means, your body is an immovable fortress, your mind to a library masterfully ordered and maintained, your soul is a perpetual sanctuary you can repeat as many times the change of body as Roa or do something with worms as Zouken and your soul will remain the same, you could say that it is a perfect soul for sorcery, beware, the third magic will be and will remain better by far, your soul is something that will remain the same in the face of the most extreme things, but it is not the true immortality that is the third magic, unless you dedicate your research skills to change that. • Mentally, you are able to modify and alter your mind, you can program your mind to react to whatever you want however you want, leaving mental triggers to move before they react is possible, molding it to create a disguise of some different personality is possible, you can even affect their feelings achieving a masterful mask, creating a state with a completely different personality and state of mind is easy, in case you are not sure how to mold your mind without changing you can leave safety countermeasures to go back to any previous state, if a certain thought or situation happens, you are a magician and as such, your masks to fool others are the best, if you use them wisely you could be in your best state to fight or go into a disguise that even Sherlock himself could not discover, this will not affect your will, and you cannot end up as a brain-dead fool by accident, unless that is your disguise. • A little advice, stay away from the eyes of Atlas, those alchemists will see the holy grail or the root itself, if they get to know what kind of body type you have, you will be a very wet dream for any of their researchers, they even have a motto that fits. “It's easy to get into Atlas, but impossible to get out.” • If I were you, I'd be careful with the gods, a body like yours would have them drooling or hating you, it's funny how you don't know which one is worse, it all depends on which gods notice you, god forbid, the Greeks, although they might not even come close because they're admiring you. • The reason for a mind like you have, is to hide the default personality you have as a magus, a cold being, without morals or ethics, who can do anything, this part of you will make the machines see you as the typical sentimental people, it doesn't take much to scare people in that state, people will wonder what the hell you are, what kind of being is hiding under that disguise of flesh you call skin, you can always change it if you want, although you can always hide it, your mind can never be taken advantage of by anyone other than you. • You can choose to have the potential to have true magic, you decide if you only want one or all five in total, you can decide if you want to reach them through research, that being the case you can get creative about how you carry out your research to play true magic, and, it can help you later, this is more of an option than anything else, if you want, you can appear as a user of the five true magics, although it is not said that there will be no questions of how the hell did that happen, you have a complete control of the true magics, and you know both its maximum capabilities and the smallest details about its operation. • The first magic “Denial Of Nothingness”: The first true magic, known as “The Denial Of Nothingness”, is related to the generation of an ether clusters, this includes the creation of matter and energy from nothing and the total destruction of matter and energy in nothing, the clusters of ether are conductors of magical energy. • The second magic “Kaleidoscope”: The second true magic, known as the ”Kaleidoscope” or the “Parallel Worlds Operation”, this includes traveling to alternate worlds, time travel, space-time manipulation and the ability to decide whether timelines are 'canon' or not, you can be creative how you use this, it's not too far-fetched to overlay different dimensions to play with the environment or use unlimited energy from all your universe versions to make a giant energy cannon, the only thing that What stops you is the creativity of how you could use it, you will have to be attentive because interacting with the dimensions and being able to observe everything that the multiverse can be, it can be a bit maddening, you will be protected in any way, but do not expect it to be a very happy, the dimensions have some that can make any person quite crazy, just look how his previous bearer was with the magical girls. • The third magic “Heaven's Feel”: The Third True Magic, known as the “Touch Of Heaven” or the “Manifestation Of The Soul”. This stops the inevitable dispersal of the soul once it no longer has an anchor in the world, and essentially causes it to transcend into a higher form of existence. It is a magic that realizes true immortality by turning the soul into a flat, high-dimensional being capable of interacting with the material world as a mental body without having to return to Akasha. The Sorcerer will acquire an unlimited source of magical energy because his soul becomes analogous to a perpetual motion machine, just like the previous ones, creativity will help you a lot, although with this who needs creativity when you are truly immortal, enjoy ~. • As a certain person said, I wish I had finished in the third, too bad it didn't happen • The fourth magic “White Ink”: The Fourth True Magic, known as the “White Ink”, in another universe the fourth magic is unknown, but how would you go about selecting a magic without knowing all your options? The fourth is based on the manifestation, manipulation, and alteration of concepts, you could alter the concept of water so that it burns instead of splashing (He, he, he) or you can very well create your own urban legend and add the concept 'real' to it, despite the tremendous power that you can still have to be careful, every being is sensitive, even reality itself, so press hard and don't expect to come out very well, you are powerful, but not invincible, keep that in mind, an example would be the previous user of the fourth magic that in an attempt to erase the concept of the fourth magic ended up being erased, it failed to eliminate the fourth magic, but the world ended up forgetting its capabilities due to certain parts that were erased. (Credit goes to AcausalTrillby at fanfiction.net for the inspiration with his story called White Ink) • The fifth magic “Blue Magic”: The Fifth True Magic, known as the “Blue Magic” allows free manipulation of energy/heat without worrying about the order imposed by the arrow of time of thermodynamics (represented by the Second Law), and, thus leading in particular to time manipulation, as opposed to relativistic time travel, Aoko Aosaki managed to affect space-time with this magic, and you can too if you put your mind to it, just be careful you don't want to extinguish life on earth, right? • “The Sixth True Magic”: Currently non-existent, a path to the Root will be granted. You can get close to him, but you must not touch him. By doing so, you will gain access to a new True Magic. It is speculated that the Sixth True Magic might be a magic that can bring happiness to everyone. This may or may not be the case. The magic has to be something unattainable by mundane or thaumaturgical means, as long as those criteria are met you can create the sixth magic, since you are creating something new and not reusing the five magics, this will be the one with which you connect the most, don't get me wrong, if you choose any of the other five, you will have no limits or problems when handling it, in fact you could take it to heights never seen before, only this being your creation, you will be more connected and you, and only you will be the person capable of using it, you are the creator of the sixth magic be proud. • Note something, the first, and fifth are similar in that a path to the root, an Akasha gate, originated and magic was obtained upon its arrival, while the second, third, and fourth were produced as a half to get to that place, however insignificant it may sound to some, this has its own weight in how your magic interacts with you, you may be able to touch or see the path to the Root, or you may try to recreate the means to reach the Root, be careful with that, people smarter than you tried, and they didn't end very well. • It can be said that magicians have become the adversaries of the planet, and by having magic, as redundant as it sounds, you have become a magician, something that the human mind would not normally be able to carry as a burden. Carrying such a power is the recklessness of changing the world, as such, from the moment you obtain true magic, you are destined to go through great things or most likely to affect the entire world, whether the change is good or bad, it will depend on what you decide. • Becoming a magician is something that must be thought carefully, it is a mantle, and it is raw power that will undoubtedly affect how you see the world or how the world sees you, you are entering forbidden territory for human hands, it is the land of gods, so unless you want to fight against gods or planets, think about it a bit before making your choice, and of course, you have some duties with humanity, it's not mandatory, but you can at least look at them once or twice, so they don't get killed or end up committing suicide. • You can grant one magic per person by creating five or six wizards who will be loyal to you until death, you can remove that magic whenever you want and however you want, although at least tell them what you are giving them, you do not want extradimensional accidents or extinction of life on earth, you can always decide to ignore this advice and have fun with the results. • You are by far the most talented and predisposed being to magic, your talent, ingenuity, and creativity have no comparison, your sense, and intuition regarding magecraft is undoubtedly superior, your mind has a library with all the magical knowledge of the entire verse from TYPE-MOON, whatever reality it is, it can be a bit overwhelming, but you get used to it, god forbid you can follow in the footsteps of Lorelei and focus on basic magecraft or some specific theme and develop it so much that you become the Bruce Lee of magic with 'Repeat a kick a thousand times', of course with your talent that can reach true magic levels very quickly, with any magic. • You can connect and adapt to any existing thaumaturgical foundation, yes, that includes the church, this would allow you to use any existing spell as long as you are connected to the foundation of that respective spell, be it sorcery, from Chinese philosophy magecraft, traditional Japanese magecraft and of course the one practiced by the clock tower, there is no foundation that you do not know and to which you cannot connect, if you do not like any, you can create your own thaumaturgical foundation with the rules and implications that you want and although technically it would be impossible, your own willpower is enough to maintain that foundation, if you decide to make that foundation your primary method of practicing magic, with your willpower involved, believe me, there will be no end to how strong you can become, and that applies to every foundation you connect to, you can revive a foundation on the verge of death to its best moment and take it to something much better. • Established and long-standing foundations will be more likely to connect and improve, they may not be as versatile, focusing only on their field as the church that is dedicated to something more spiritual, so be aware that you would spend a lot of time and resources originating a new foundation that connecting and empowering an existing one, each one has its cons and its pluses. • As a great magus you don't always have to depend on a large mound of magic circuits for everything, you can use the quantifiable energy of the Soul; the pseudo-spiritrons to design organisms or stronger objects, as the alchemists of Atlas do, you can also be like hackers and enter the network practicing their code-cast method, whenever you cannot or do not want to use your magic circuits you will find another way to practice sorcery, very well you can practice some method of “Walk and Breathe” to try to become a Xian, whatever method you choose you can take it to unimaginable heights without relying on your magic circuits, and with your talent you can do wonders. • It is true that you can work without magic circuits, you could very well become the best spell caster without even using them even once in your life, but it is better to use every resource you have and magic circuits are part of those resources, your circuits are special, unique in its kind, you will start with fifty magic circuits “Blue Bloods: Noble Magic Circuits”, being the best of the best, what differentiates it from the others is that your magic circuits are improved and shaped the more you use them, these circuits they will grow, improve and multiply, the very environment where you are will affect them and will affect their growth, they may become a “Magic Nucleus” or for some strange reason a “Magic Reactor”, there is also the possibility of becoming “Regression to the Age of Gods”. Allowing you to reproduce the existing mysteries before the age of man, it is certain that they will become what you want and that they will continually improve, in case they are damaged, or you do not have magic circuits they will begin to sprout or self-repair always looking for a way to advance, they may even be influenced by your origin. • As you have undoubtedly noticed, your magic circuits are not natural, this will not affect your form of sorcery in any negative way, who knows, you may reach some level higher than “Blue Bloods: Noble Magic Circuits” magic circuits are used to connect to the thaumaturgical foundation, you will see a rapid adaptation and improvement, the more you use them with a specific foundation, maybe even adopt some characteristics of said foundation. • You can create magic circuits through research and development and implant them in a host, but such a thing would be for someone else, because yours are already on their way to the best of the best. • This also affects how much magical energy you use, to make a comparison, the average mage has 20 units of magical energy, Ciel had 5000 units, you have 10000, and it will always improve according to your magic circuits, as a respected magus you must have enough energy to sustain any research or spell you want. • You can change your origin, it is true that the origin is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force that comes from within the Root, which has managed to sprout from the Source and take material form, but you can change it, unlike other people you can trace your origin to the Root and exchange it for something that is more convenient, ok to see changes, so you will have to be careful, but at least you can change it for anything you want, be it creature, emotion or concept, you can even keep several at the same time, although you would have to be careful, the origin may end waking up if you swap it too much or if you have several, and they manage to sync up, you're a never-before-seen case, so crazy things can happen. • If a person ends up awakening their Origin, it becomes nearly impossible to deviate from their Origin, if even possible in the first place. It becomes an impulsive behavior that one would follow as if it were an absolute order, it has to be taken into account that if you achieved such a thing you would gain superhuman abilities according to your origin, the defense mechanism that you have will save you at some point after awakening your origin, the defense mechanism returns your origin to its state before waking up, you can program it so that it takes days or months to put your origin to sleep again, keep that in mind, the origin has to be treated with care. • Element, the elements are somewhat easier to deal with and without as much danger as the origins, by default you are an average with the five elements, fire, water, earth, air, and ether and just as before you can exchange and modify them to your liking it is better not to overlap an exaggerated number of elements, but at least you are not in as much danger as with the origins, the element is the type of magic with which you are more predisposed and which one you are better at, it should be noted that different cultures handle in different ways the elements, so there is a variety of elements with the same name, you will have to be more specific when changing the element. • The elements are not so rigid when it comes to making magecraft, if we put as an example that you have water as an element and that you want to learn spells more inclined with fire, you can, but it will cost more, although that is not your case, it should also be remembered that the elements are more than the name of said element itself, water is the fluidity and control of liquids, the other elements are something similar, only with their own peculiarities, there are elements as unique as sword or hollow, so who knows What things can you achieve if you start being creative. • Origins and elements are connected, so if you have the same origin and the same element, you will notice that your magic will have a boost on anything bordering on that field, although you run the risk of over-specializing, an example would be demon origin and demon element, you will find that you could do spectacular things with demonology, although you won't be able to do much with any kind of sorcery not associated with demons. • You are an artist when it comes to creating things, you would fit very well with Atlas, just like them, you are able to create things that could bring about the destruction of the world seven times, there is no limit in what you are able to build, from mystical supergiant codes like the “Foundation of Philosophy” up to the seven weapons of Atlas, it would be possible within your capabilities to start theorizing how to create Noble Phantasms or recreate them, very well you can do like the hikikomori of Caubac and create your own holy scriptures, or you can be like Zelretch troll and create items about magical girls or whatever you prefer, you can create the philosophical keys or magical crests or create something new based on it. • Theoretically, you are able to build anything shown in TYPE-MOON that is supernatural, and this includes everything from a simple pistol to the MOON CELL itself, and always with the ability to innovate, improve, or create something entirely new. • The “Philosophy Foundation” generated by the Xian in the land of China is essentially a simulation of an artificial Root. The Xians worked together as a group to build it. Instead of connecting to the Root using the gods as a relay, as civilizations in the Age of Gods did, the Xian produced their system of magic by building a Supergiant Mystic Code that merges with the planet. That is the Philosophy Foundation. • You are able to break down any magic you see or theorize into its most basic components, you may very well be called the second coming of Waver, for what you can do, with your talents it would not be difficult to dissect any magic you see down to its most basic concepts, being able to recreate it if you decide to do such a thing, you can always see ways to improve or modify it, but there is no magic that you don't see that you don't understand. • It has been said that anything magecraft can do technology can do and vice versa, you understand that principle well, you are capable of achieving anything science achieves through magecraft, any technology you see will only give you new and innovative ideas to achieve it through magecraft. • An example would be Apollo 11, you can imitate such a thing with magecraft, a space teleportation to reach the moon or some strange chimera that can take you, to know if you can do something else with astrology, true magic may end up dying, but magecraft it will be maintained and will continue to advance as long as you exist and science exists. • A magus is a scholar above all else, as a magus your main skill will be the investigation of sorcery in order to get to the root, you are a born investigator knowing every detail of the book by heart, a slight passing glance is enough to remember it whenever you want without need at a second glance, and not only that, you understand them to their very core, anything you don't know, you only need to investigate it to learn, as a researcher your handwriting will be relentless, your notes will be the finer details, and you can always do a thesis about a thousand and one ways to get to the root, you know for shit and giggles. • You unconsciously organize your work space, you will not be the typical researcher with your head in the clouds and with a workshop more messy than your room, no, your workshop is a perfect example of order, organized to the millimeter without you realizing it, this is also gone to all your jobs, no leaving dangerous things lying around unprotected or having all your tools dirty and messy, you know what they say, a tidy space is a safe space, and you have exemplary security. • You are a good teacher, you see the talent of people, their potential, and you can show that by bringing out all that talent, just like Waver you are an exceptional teacher when it comes to teaching, even the dumbest and most talentless person can become even a Lord, a person with real talent and a good head on his shoulders can very well get to Marshall just like Zelretch and Lorelei, of course as long as he listens to your lessons. • In addition to research you can focus your skills to develop many elements in any field you choose, on top of that you will never see any unwanted side effects or stalling your research, you see possibilities in mistakes, small delays in full stalls of a sorcery, potential in drawbacks, every mistake, bump, or snag in your eyes will become a possibility that may very well take your research to new heights. • Example: you can focus on martial arts, create something like the Nanaya killing arts, even recreate the Nanaya arts themselves, use pre-existing martial arts to give them mystical effects, it's very viable, you can create your own mystical martial arts. Assessing an enemy in the middle of a fight is easy for you, developing countermeasures against him or finding weaknesses you can exploit (If you have “The Mystic Eyes Of Death Perception” or something similar, you can find new lines of death or develop them in your enemy yourself) there is no field in which you cannot apply your talents. • Optionally, you can create a workshop, a workshop is a place where the magus carry out their research, it is a sacred place that any self-respecting magus will never let anyone enter, yours is impenetrable and untouchable, unless you allow it, at first you can design it inside as you like either as some ancient place of study or as a modern laboratory, your workshop is a subspace between dimensions, impossible for any being to find, no matter where you go you can access to your workshop from anywhere, be it places as remote as the bottom of the ocean, some forest, or desert forgotten by the hand of God or space itself, you just have to call it the way you want, a door will open where you can enter, you can modify this entrance as you want, needing a key or only access from a certain door when you want, and always having the flexibility so that you can modify it to your g you. • Your workshop has books on every possible sorcery and various ways to implement it, even notes for a beginner to practice little by little and build slowly, along with manuals and various articles for learning, it also has information on magus policy or data from the world both known and not, there is a lot of knowledge that will serve you, and not all of it is necessarily sorcery, at your option, all of TYPE-MOON's knowledge can be here in book formats or any other form you want, the workshop It will have any material or tool you require, and just like before it ranges from the most exotic never thinkable to the most normal, after spending that material it will recharge regularly, so you never have to worry about running out of resources. • In case you want something different, you can create your own workshop in the way you want, building both its defenses and places where you will store your knowledge and carry out your research, when you finish, the construction will gain the same benefits as if you had it. Given, these are undetectable and impenetrable. • Your workshop is a place for any outside creature not to enter and for anything inside not to leave, the workshop is something that you can change to your liking both in appearance, space and time, you can even change concepts within your own workshop, convert your ceiling a gateway to space, so you can admire any star from near or far, you can't be harmed inside your own workshop so the vacuum of space or the sun's rays would do little or nothing to you. • A magician walks with death, you among the many magus out there, you are sensitive to danger, you know very well when something can go wrong, you detect it like a bloodhound, whether it is a migraine, a slight smell or daring visions of the mirrors of what could go wrong, whatever method you choose, you know something will go wrong, and you know what will cause it, there is no longer any danger of experiments or ambushes, your sense of danger will alert you whenever death is near you, there will be no moments either late or too early, this gives you the right time, and also something of how to go out, there is nothing impossible to avoid death here. • You can leave marks on people so that they also notify you if they are in danger, you decide if the same person is aware of the danger or not. • You can say if you want to be like Akiha Tohno and I will become a half-breed with the blood of some mythical or supernatural beast, this will give you certain unique abilities depending on the blood you decide, it will also give you a stronger connection to the mystery, your instincts will be controllable and will not cause any problem, although they can always be useful, it is always curious to know what those senses perceive that is not detectable by humans. • Optionally, you can decide if you want to do some research to fully become that creature, an example being becoming a dead apostle like Gransurg Blackmore did. • You can give people mythical blood if you want to do something with it, you can always control them and take that power away from them if they rebel. • Despite the fact that many magus dislikes it, politics is present within their society, you are the one who governs that, words are an art that you master, you are the best, it is simple to deceive or convince people, you know how people think. People, you know what they want, you know how to guide their thoughts or group a group of people with certain ideas, you know by heart every law, every line, every letter of every word and every political loophole that you can take advantage of with all that, move in the world politician, it's not very difficult, you control it well, you can be considered a control demon for how well you handle everything. • If you don't want to touch politics, that's fine, you know enough to move in society, it's simple to fake smiles or emotions, deceiving people is second nature, making them believe that you are like them, without any problem and with a normal life it's surprisingly easy, if you don't want to fool anyone that's fine, just with the security you show you would eventually have some group of trustworthy friends. • Sometimes it is difficult to know if a decision is good, until after seeing what happens, not for you, the decisions you make, are made under detailed scrutiny, your decisions will no longer have the doubt of whether you did it right, and even if for some strange reason some bad decision goes through your detailed study, you will have a sixth sense that will constantly warn you not to choose it, it will be your decision after that. • If ever it is not enough to stick to the laws, you know how to do everything in a more criminal way, blackmail, extortion, threaten, etc. you know every dirty trick in the book, in fact you wrote the book, you know it backwards and forwards, the underworld has its own laws, and you know them like the back of your hand, your very well can create your own mafia and promote it by the underworld, and when it's not enough to talk, well, it's an easier way to just permanently eliminate every person or group that opposes, not that anyone finds out if you want. • You know people's minds, you know how they think, you know what they want, and you can notice very clearly when some thought of betrayal passes through their pretty little head now condemned, you can tell if they have a plan or if they are trying to influence you, not because of some strange ability but because you simply know how the human being works, there is no person that you cannot understand, just one look and the personality of any person remains in your eyes, abnormal cases like Shirou Emiya is simply looking at them from a slightly different perspective, it is easy to You play with those thoughts, moving some person from one place to another like a puppet is quite a fun hobby, turning the most cowardly person into something much worse than Shirou with his sense of heroism and his lack of self-preservation is simple, the most calm and good-hearted person under your hands can be left as Kirei Kotomine with no moral limit as to how much evil is enough, h woe to whoever makes you angry, you know enough about the human being to create a real hell with simple words, people tend to think that words cannot cause so much damage, after all, words are not as effective as a sword According to them, it is sometimes easy to forget that a few simple words caused the fall of Camelot. • Trade is not so attached to the magus, but it is better to have money and be like Luvia using money from one side to the other, not be like Rin and wonder if you can last until the end of the month paying attention to each expense you make, the world of commerce opens its huge golden doors to you, you know money, you know how money is managed, you know where there are opportunities or how to create them yourself, you know where definitely not to be around to keep the money you have and avoid losses. • You have what can be said, a golden luck, the lottery, prizes, or just finding a dollar on the street, money comes to you passively, you can control how much comes to you, from a simple five dollars to millions, someone can suspect, but you will still be rich, so there will not be so many problems. • You know every dollar, every coin by heart, down to the tiniest penny, you keep it in mind when you do the math, which makes you very good with numbers, but pluses aside, you keep every bit of your money in mind, so that if any bills or coins go missing you'll notice quickly, so it's easy to spot if some fool is having a funny idea about your money. • Furthermore, you are the best at handling money, you can very well copy the Harweys and get 60% of the planet or more, there will be opposition, but if you use this, plus your political skills, you can very well do it without anyone noticing. • Mystery is what allows magecraft, the crystallization of belief, so it is undeniable to say that without mystery there is no magecraft or magic, as time passes and technology advances, the mystery gradually evaporates from this world, a risk for the magus, because their job lies in the very existence of the mystery, that is a danger that does not apply to you, your mere existence revives the mystery, you are like a plant only instead of expelling air, you expel mystery, this is something you can control, such as applying it only to your actions or that it spreads throughout the world or only to an area in general, you decide. • Be careful not to spread it around the world, the revival of the mystery can revive some troublesome things, most likely you can irreparably affect the world itself, the planet itself will be affected by such an action. • If you decide to enclose the mystery in an area, in that small area the mystery will begin to accumulate, affecting everything that is inside, each plant, each animal, each insect, even the smallest being can be affected. • Since the mystery comes from you, every creature that is impacted by the mystery you produce will feel a feeling of loyalty towards you, the probability that they will not be loyal to you is close to zero, they may see you as a divine being, which is god to humans, at worst they will be of no use to you, but they will still refuse to harm you. • You have more security against Gaia and Alaya, they will be softer when it comes to judging whether to eliminate you, you can be much more reckless than the rest of the magicians and unless you do something extreme like endangering the entire planet or humanity itself, none attack, they will stay away and not bother you, they will watch you it is true, but they will never interfere with anything you do as long as you do not go too far, this includes that Alaya cannot prune the timeline where you are, you are an immutable being when it comes to damaging the timeline, the incineration of humanity or the Lostbelt will do nothing to you, you are protected from that by sending you to another time and space, you will be displaced through time to the point of origin where that timeline was damaged, the singularities, very well you can solve it or just observe while you continue with your investigation while you wait to be sent to another space-time, in case it is solved you will return to where you were before all this happened, and in case that timeline is doomed you will be sent to another timeline that is not in danger. • Your powers cannot be stolen, deleted, copied or anything like that, you will have constant protection against negative effects, in case something unexpected happens, you will be randomly teleported, your powers will return, eventually, they always return. • Without perfection, nothing you build is ever perfect, it never will be, nor are you perfect, perfection is a limiting factor, when perfection arrives there is nothing else, that is why you can break perfection being able to grow unlimitedly, there is no limit in terms of you can grow or improve pre-existing things because in principle there is no end for you, and although some may say that there must be an end, a point at which you will eventually reach perfection by not being able to improve anymore, they are wrong, as simple beings, his imagination, his head can only come to that conclusion, that there is a limit, but not you, the limits seen in mortal eyes do not apply, you see an infinite path, the root itself is infinite and constantly growing, because you cannot be equal to her and have no limits in your growth, without perfection, without limits, a perpetual growth.

Hello All,
I hace a few items for sale. Item have the price of shipping included. I am only shipping within the US at the moment. Feel free to ask any questions. I can provide more photos if needed
Photos - https://imgur.com/a/GbSfiLP
Dualsense Controller (White) - $60 Shipped
Nothing wrong with the controller. No Drift, just some scuffs on the grips
DualSense Controller (Black) -$70 Shipped
Nothing wrong with the controller, No Drift. Starting to look glossy due to use
DualShock Controller (Red) - $45 Shipped
Nothing wrong with the controller. No Drift.
Pokemon Soul Silver (Cart Only) - $135 Shipped
W/ Box - $165 Shipped
Game is working well. Nothing wrong with it. Have a case but no manuals. Can sell with cage or without case
Pokemon Black (Box only) - $30 Shipped
This is for the box only. There are no manuals.
Pokemon Emerald (Cart Only) - $190 Shipped
Game has a new battery (Records daily actions), new Memory Chip , Label is not in great condition. But Game works as normal
PS4 Rainbow Six Siege - $7 Shipped
Game works and has case, but case is not in the best condition.
Nintendo DS Lite - $100 Shipped
It is a Blue DS Lite, Has some scruffs around the body. Comes with charger for Wall Outlet. Both NDS and GBA Slot works. Games do not come included, but are used to test that the games are working
Nintendo 3DS - $150 Shipped
It is an Aqua Blue 3DS Console. Will come with a USB to 3DS charger for connecting it to a portable Bank. It does play games and has been modded, but does not have games on the console. Does not have a sd card
Nintendo Switch Lite - $140 Shipped
Console is a Turquoise Color, It does not have stick drift, I can provide a USB A to USC Charger as I do not have the official cable. It has been factory reset. No Parental Controls.

Synopsis:
Carlos was an ordinary software engineer on Earth, up until he died and found himself in a fantasy world of dungeons, magic, and adventure. This new world offers many fascinating possibilities, but it's unfortunate that the skills he spent much of his life developing will be useless because they don't have computers.
Wait, why does this spell incantation read like a computer program's source code? Magic is programming?
___
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Amber jumped up from the dining table and waved for Carlos to follow her. "I left my notes in my room. Come on, let's get them!"
"Do you actually need your notes?" Carlos kept his tone light as he walked behind her. "I think your memory is pretty good, and you thought through all of this very recently."
Amber shrugged without looking back. "Maybe not, but I'd get worried that I might forget a detail without them." She started climbing the private stairs toward the guest suites they were staying in. "I couldn't possibly forget the top priority thing, of course: making sure we don't get abducted and almost soul-killed again."
"Of course."
"In the immediate short term, we've already done everything I could think of about that." Amber rounded the landing of the stairs. "Might be worth revisiting the topic in case we think of anything new. … And bring Purple into the discussion; his unique perspective might see possibilities that we can't."
Carlos nodded, even though she wasn't looking toward him, and smoothly switched to telepathy to include the dungeon core. Purple's attention had focused on them the moment Amber said his name. [Right. So, short-term safety measures for us. To start with, we've already moved into the mayor's mansion, so anyone who considers targeting us now will at least know we have his support.]
[Yeah. And attackers won't be able to bypass the outer wards just by renting a room here, like they did at the inn.]
Carlos shrugged as he reached the top of the stairs. [I'm honestly not sure how much that mattered. They got through the suite-specific wards without a trace, and that's not even the most unbelievable thing they pulled off.]
[True.] Amber opened the door to her suite and went straight to the large hardwood desk against the left wall. [Fortunately for us, we have our own unbelievable thing to counter them. Even if all wards and guards fail, Purple will alert everyone to it immediately.] She sighed and shook her head. [If only we'd introduced him to Mayor Stelras earlier. Those mercenaries would have had every adventurer and city guard in Dramos swarming them before they even reached the walls.]
[Would have been a lot less stressful that way, certainly.] Carlos chuckled, shaking his head ruefully. [On the other hand, the pressure of it pushed us to figure out some incredible things.]
[The pressure may have prompted it, but we could have figured them out anyway without it; it just would have been later.] Amber pulled a notebook out of the desk's top drawer and opened it. [I'd rather avoid the unpleasantness of the experience. Anyway, the rest of the short-term safety measures: We have Esmorana and her party on call, with Purple able to contact them at any time. We have Ressara on call and sometimes standing watch, to check for attention-diversion magic. The Crown gave use two special emergency beacons, separate from the ones built into our guards' armor that got disabled by sabotage, which we have tested and stored in separate locations; one in the city's top security vault, and the other hidden. And finally, we have city guards patrolling and standing watch around the mansion, in addition to Colonel Lorvan and Major Ordens inside the mansion.]
Carlos chewed his lip for a moment. [What about reinforcing the wards here? Or adding more layers of them?]
Amber shook her head. [I considered that, but I don't think we can really trust the Enchanters Guild, and they're the only ones who could do that for us.]
[Hmm.] Carlos leaned against the doorframe and tapped his chin, thinking. [Yeah, that's reasonable. They want our dungeon core, and they're the top suspect for who could have sabotaged royal guard armor. Are they really the only source of enchanting work, though?]
Amber slowly walked over to one of the sofas and sat down, all without more than glancing away from her notebook. [Unless you count items made by dungeon cores, yes. I've heard of people figuring out what runes to write for an enchantment's effect, but the guild is… famously vicious about protecting their monopoly on the secret of how to imbue an item with mana and make the enchantment actually work. And before you suggest visiting a dungeon core, we don't have access to one powerful enough for this.]
Carlos smirked. [Not yet. But helping Purple get that powerful is a long-term thing, so fair point.]
Amber looked over at him, then rolled her eyes and waved at the sofa opposite her. "Come in and take a seat, already! I thought I was the shy one out of the two of us, not you."
Carlos smiled as he complied. "It's your room, and I was taught that entering someone's private area uninvited is rude." He settled into the sofa's soft upholstery and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. [I'm not happy about how much our short-term defense plans rely on rescue after-the-fact, just trying to ensure it comes quickly, rather than preventing abduction from happening in the first place. But…] He sighed. [The only short-term options I can think of for that involve abandoning Dramos, which I expect the Crown would frown on.]
[Yeah, let's not disappoint and displease our greatest protector. So, if you don't have any new short-term ideas either…?] Amber looked at Carlos and he shook his head. [Purple? You've been quiet so far. Any ideas?]
[Not for the short term.] Purple's mental voice felt resigned, yet determined and hopeful for the future. [I will need to gain a great deal more power before I can make barriers of any kind that would be meaningful against the level of our enemies.]
[Then let's move on to the long term.] Amber turned the page in her notebook. [We have several avenues to juggle and prioritize for how to develop our house, and I started with breaking them down into categories and subcategories. At the top level, we have: our own personal development, Purple's development, and staff or resource development.]
Carlos felt something weird from his comprehension aid and took a moment to sort out what it was. Amber had used only a single word for the combination of both staff and resources. I guess the concept of "human resources" got into the Ganler language. [So, essentially the house itself, and then everything else. For personal development, there's learning more and better spells, and making 9 new soul structures, of course.]
[Don't forget absorbing more mana, I mean aether, from the deep Wilds to advance our levels,] Amber chided him. [Our absorption rate being crippled by the 9 empty slots left from our original set merging just means that leveling up will have to come after fixing that, not that it isn't critically important. I think some of those mercenaries, especially their captain, had levels in the 40s. We're only Level 15, and making up for a power gap that large with just spells and clever tricks may not be possible.]
Carlos sighed and lowered his head. [I know. But I'm worried that if we rush that too much, we might handicap ourselves in the long run.] He straightened and took a deep breath. [And whatever capabilities we end up with, we'll need to practice with them. Spar with each other, and with other people, for combat practice. Consider contingencies and make plans. Hone our reflexes. Having enough power and the right spell to save ourselves only matters if we take action to use it correctly and quickly enough.]
Amber nodded and scribbled something in her notebook. [Good point. I missed that. Any other categories for personal improvement?]
Carlos shook his head, and Purple just sent an impression of a shrug.
[Okay. Then for soul structures: while we could brainstorm ideas and principles for what to prioritize, before we can even begin making actual plans we need more information. We need to ask Lorvan and Ordens for every detail they can tell us about how this "second stage" works. How does the merge affect synergy requirements? Can new structures merge into it too? Why was just the first stage enough to qualify us as high nobles?] Amber looked at the open page in her notebook and snorted. [I have more questions listed, but you get the point.]
Carlos nodded. [Right. We can't optimize a plan if we don't know the rules. We shouldn't assume that Lorvan will tell us all of the rules, though. He may not even know all of them. I'd bet that the Crown has a secret or two about this that only the royals themselves know, and there could be possible tricks that no one knows.]
Amber tapped the page. [Yep, I already noted that. I'm kind of expecting that you'll be the one to figure that stuff out, though. I'll try, but you seem to be better at that sort of thing. The other thing we need to know is what capabilities we could use spells for instead. The whole point of being mages, using incantations to cast spells instead of having soul structures produce effects directly, is to have versatility without losing power in exchange. Ideally, every soul structure should either improve our spellcasting, do something that cannot be done with spells, or at least be better in an important way than the closest spell.]
[I've been so absorbed in cataloging effect keywords that I hadn't even thought about that. Hmm…] Carlos cocked his head and considered for several seconds. [That makes sense.] He chuckled. [So it turns out that, by completely putting the soul structures issue out of my mind, I've actually been working on the soul structures issue after all!] He grinned cheekily.
Amber smiled and nodded. [Apparently so. In any case, our action items for this are: ask Lorvan for information; try to figure out extra things beyond what he can tell us; finish cataloging the extent and coverage of incantations versatility; then make a plan using the information we learn. Can you think of anything to add?] As she listed the action items, she quickly wrote several lines on a separate sheet of paper.
[That covers everything I can think of.]
[Okay. Moving on to spells.] Amber turned the page. [Right now, we pretty much just need to do what you're already doing: sort through and catalog all the possibilities. We need the results of that to inform our choices about what to learn and practice with.] She hesitated. [Though with Trinlen here, maybe we should go ahead and start lessons with him before we finish that.]
[Definitely. He'll at least know about all the standard options that the academy teaches, and he can give interactive guidance, assessing and responding to what we need.]
Amber scribbled a few more lines of action items, then paused and inserted one just above the last line. [Just remembered, we still need to decide how much to tell him about your system documentation discovery.] She turned back to her notebook and flipped back to the first page for a moment. [Gaining levels will have to wait on making new soul structures. Practicing combat will have to wait until we have suitable spells and abilities to practice with. That makes the next item Purple's development. How's your current progress going, Purple?]
[I have disassembled the soul structure I made for finding you and replaced it with the originally planned structure. I have additionally made the next 3 planned structures, and I am currently collecting the essence for the final 10th structure.] Purple sent a small burst of surprised confusion. ["Essence?" Ah, I see. A word you learned recently?]
Carlos raised an eyebrow and saw Amber doing the same. [Trinlen taught us about it. Any issues with establishing all the synergies?]
[I will need assistance for the synergies with the bond maker. Those synergies involve and require interaction with someone I have a bond with.]
Carlos nodded. [Of course. After that's done, are you ready to go traveling to absorb higher-level aether? I know that you have to release most of your… mana? Is that the right one, out of aether, mana, and essence?]
[Partially. What anchors me in place, which I must leave behind in order to be moved, is a mix of all three. Regardless, I have far more essence and mana inside me than before, and that will come with me. The loss of what I leave behind will affect me much less and will be more quickly regained. Travel will be necessary to gain the power to protect us. Do not be concerned about my minor discomfort with the process.]
Amber responded first. [I'm glad to hear that. We also need to make plans for what soul structures you should make after your first set merge, but that will have to wait for the same information as our own plans. Is there anything else we can do to help you grow?]
Purple paused, filled with uncertainty. [I don't know.] He hesitated again. [You humans learn how to grow powerful by learning from other humans how they grew powerful. Dungeons do not. Or rather, cannot, because we do not move, meet, and communicate. Find knowledge of how other dungeons became powerful, and that may help me. That is the only idea I have.]
Carlos laughed. [Yet another research project, hmm? Sure, we can add it to the list.]
Amber duly wrote it down, along with a trip into the Wilds for Purple. [Okay. That leaves staff/resources. For improving the staff that we already have, well… I only have one idea for that. We could try helping them improve their soul plans, but doing that without teaching them house secrets could be tricky, and we'd have to convince them to tell us what they already have. The degree of specific details we might need to know in order to help is… enough that even asking would be rude.]
[I see.] Carlos shrugged. [There are ways around that. If we explain the basic idea of the kind of help we might be able to give them, then they can decide whether to share that information without us ever actually asking for it.]
Amber narrowed her eyes at him, then took a note. [Sure. I'll leave that conversation to you.] She glanced back at her notebook and sighed. [And that leaves acquiring new staff/resources. I suppose we could ask Darmelkon to help, but I'm not sure how much we can trust him. Aside from that…] She shook her head helplessly. [I know how to do small jobs and carefully save up, but that's hardly appropriate for us now as nobles.]
Carlos chuckled lightly. [Don't worry about it. I've seen enough of how people in positions of high authority do such things. There's a related saying I learned: "We have people for that." We can delegate it. Eventually, we will have to delegate it, because there will be too many things for us to even conceivably have enough time for all of them. We've kind of already delegated some things anyway: investigating the mercenaries and the illegal "rotation agreement."]
[Yeah. I wonder how those investigations are going.]
___
Far away, in a dimly lit prison cell, a heavily muscled man, sitting cross-legged on the floor, sighed and bowed his head. He wore only plain and loose clothes made of cheap cloth, save for the rune-inlaid steel manacles that bound his wrists together. He looked up again at the regal woman, dressed entirely in the dark orange of orichalcum, who was watching him from just outside the cell bars. "Your Highness, I can only tell you the same thing I told your interrogators: threats cannot change the simple fact that I do not have the knowledge that you seek. I intentionally set up ways for clients to hire my company without ever revealing any hint of their identities. That anonymity was part of what the Black Blades became known for; part of why people would choose to hire us."
The regal woman gazed at him impassively. "I am aware of your reputation, Captain Granlan. I also have a report of your company exacting retribution on a client who hired you under false pretenses and set you up to fail."
Granlan raised an eyebrow. "Does that report mention how long it took us to unwind the layers of cutouts and concealments to identify that particular client?"
The woman nodded. "Two and a half years, during which you were also pursuing other jobs, and you began with no specific suspicions. Imagine that you focus on the task exclusively; that you coordinate with the Crown on it; and that you start with a precise primary suspect in mind. How much faster do you think that could make it?"
Slowly, Granlan's weary frown changed into a grin. "Now we're talking!"
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I've been hearing about this series for years. The first game was launched when I was a teenager, but I never got to play it. So recently, I decided to play all the Kingdom Hearts games I could to see what this series was about. The only game I played was CoM for the GBA 17 years ago, so my knowledge of the series was limited to that. So here are my quick reviews (but a long post and almost without spoilers ) as someone who played the series 20 years after the release of the first game. Oh, and I played the original versions as well as the Final Mix versions, not the Remix HD versions.
Kingdom Hearts
I know that in 2002, some developers didn’t know what to do with two analog sticks and that Square was still a novice in the 3D action RPG genre , but I still didn’t like the fact that at the start of the game the only defense the character had was attacking the enemy at the same time and that I needed to gain some levels to get some of the basic abilities to defend myself. The worlds are interesting, including Atlantica. The Gummi Ship is... a thing? I get the idea, but the way it was implemented was kind of weak. But in the end, it was a really good game for its time, especially for the first in the series. Unfortunately, I played the original version, I only heard about the Final Mix after I finished it.
8/10
Re:CoM
Since I already played the GBA version years ago, I wanted to try this 3D version. I get why some people don’t like it; managing the cards to attack and to create the rooms tend to be a drag, especially in the endgame. But I kinda liked it. Yes, the end, especially Castle Oblivion, was kinda boring, but I liked creating new attacks depending on my decks (Marluxia had no chance against my Sonic Blade/Blitz deck). Because of the way the rooms are constructed, exploration becomes monotonous very quickly. Moreover, it’s mostly the same worlds already explored in the first game, with no new additions except for Castle Oblivion. The story is okay, but the stories within the world cards were too weak and almost unnecessary.
7/10
KH2 Final Mix
Now I know why this game is so loved, but it isn’t perfect. The combat is fun (although… I have to unlock parry leveling again?! Seriously?! It seems they didn’t learn the lesson from the first game), the worlds finally made more sense for the plot (but only on the second visit, and I refuse to talk about Atlantica in this game, it’s just… ugh… it’s not even a rhythm game), and they improved the gameplay of the Gummi Ship sections! Now I actually felt like building some ships (but the assembly menu is quite confusing). But I think that locking some abilities through form leveling was a new mistake and really unnecessary The only thing that prevents me from replaying for now is the beginning; I wish I could skip Roxas’s prologue and get straight to the gameplay. Regarding the plot, I think they got a bit too excited and started to overcomplicate things. But at least it’s still understandable; it just requires a bit of effort.
9/10
358/2 days
Interesting plot, now the scene with Axel and Roxas in the 2nd game hurts a lot more. But this game drags… A LOT. It overstays its welcome too much. There are too many repetitive missions. They could’ve been more creative or made a shorter game. The Disney characters were there just to say it was a Kingdom Hearts game, because in the end, they were completely unnecessary to the plot since there was no interaction with them. I liked that some Keyblades had different attacks and the Tetris-like character building, except for the way the magic works. Not to mention, this game is too difficult; it took me a while to get used to some mechanics and get the hang of it to finish. Of all the games in the series I played, this was the one I liked the least.
P.S.: I HATE Neverland in this game.
4/10
Re:Coded
I liked the gameplay, the character building with those chips, the command deck, the command matrix, etc. But the rest of the game is just so… uncreative. I can’t take exploring the same worlds from the first game anymore (Olympus… AGAIN?! And this time it’s a turn-based RPG world. Just stop, please…) and the data worlds were so bland. At least the game is short. Oh! And the plot doesn’t matter too much for the series… well, at least it doesn’t overcomplicate it… I guess?
5/10
Birth By Sleep Final Mix
Now we’re talking! One of the best games in the series! The sweet command deck is back, baby! The plot and the characters were interesting. Finally, different worlds (almost… but please… PLEASE!!!! I can’t take Hercules and Neverland again. Just… STOP). It’s a shame that the mechanics were too much for a game so short (yeah… 3 storylines, but every storyline is a new game without the "plus"). And I wished that the armors were a kind of drive form, not just a thing for the arena.
9/10
DDD
There are two things that bugged me: the drop mechanic and the plot. The drop mechanic, because, yes, I want to play with Sora and Riku, but not because the characters are narcoleptic and fall asleep during combat (especially in boss battles). And the plot because they overcomplicated it too much. Time travel, waking worlds, another Xehanort… what is happening?! That aside, it’s a fun game. I like the Dream Eater creation, the command deck (have I already mentioned that I love this mechanic?), the Flowmotion, and more new and interesting worlds. I liked that the maps were more vertical this time. But the final boss was too damn HARD. Riku almost had no chance, poor guy.
7/10
KH3
Please… I can’t take Hercules World anymore. Learn from Elsa and LET IT GO (Don’t get me wrong. I love Hercules; it’s one of my favorite movies from my childhood, but he appeared in 7 out of 8 games I played.). It’s nice to see the Pixar movies in it, but… was it really necessary to use the same scenes from the movies? And worse, some movie plots weren’t explained, for example, who tied Flynn to the boat in Tangled World? Who was the guy who was going to let go of Elsa’s head from her body? None of this is explained; only those who watched the movies would know. Some of the worlds were too long and had too many bosses. Also, I think there are too many combat mechanics for its own good. There’s the formchange from the Keyblades, the magic, the nerfed Flowmotion, the attractions (ugh), the team attack, and a few other world-exclusive mechanics, like the Titanfall in Toy Box. About the plot, the other games left too much for it to resolve. Too many characters, too many loose ends, and KH3 ended up with a huge burden to handle. Oh! And TOO MANY cutscenes, I just wanted to play the game. In summary, it’s not a bad game, I had fun when I wasn’t watching a recreation of a Disney movie, but in the end, it is a “too much” game.
7/10
ReMind
I felt really, REALLY offended that this is a paid DLC (but I guess that was no surprise coming from Square Enix). I get it’s time travel, but playing the same endgame battles as the main game is just lame and a waste of time. And worse yet, rewatching the same CGs with a few elements to explain the new ending... Why?! I should have researched before I bought it and just watched it on YouTube. I didn’t even tried the Yozora fight because by that time I didn’t have any motivation to see a short additional scene.
2/10
And that's it. I'll never play the mobile ones, and I don't mind. I'm replaying the Final Mix of the first one and enjoying it more now. I'm also planning to replay KH2 and Birth By Sleep again sometime in the future (I just need courage to replay the Roxas prologue). In the end, I think it is a great series. It's not my favorite, but it is fun, the plot caught my curiosity and has some great gameplay aspects, so I'll keep playing whenever I can.
tl;dr: first time playing the games 20 after it’s first release. KH 1, KH 2 and Birth By Sleep: great plot, great gameplay, really fun. Would play again. Re:CoM, DDD, KH3, good games, but not without their flaws (gameplay or plot). 358/2 days, Re:Coded and ReMind, never again. Great series, not my favorite, but would keep playing new releases.

Introducing the Dice of Destiny
As you gather around the table, your journey reaches a pivotal moment. The winds of fate whisper through the air, and an ancient power stirs within the heart of the world. Your actions and choices have brought you to this point, where the very threads of destiny lie within your grasp.
DM: "Adventurers, you have proven yourselves time and again, but now, the winds of fate offer you a chance to embrace both fortune and peril. Before you lies the Dice of Destiny, a mystical artifact that intertwines your paths with the unpredictable nature of destiny itself. Each time you ascend to a new level of power, you will roll the Dice of Destiny, accepting the blessing or curse that it bestows upon you."
DM explains the mechanics:
"Upon each level-up, each of you will roll a D100. The result will determine whether you receive a blessing or a curse, with effects ranging from minor to significant."
"The results are split into four categories: Greater Curses (1-25), Curses (26-50), Blessings (51-75), and Greater Blessings (76-100)."
"Remember, this roll is mandatory at every level-up, symbolizing the ever-changing fortunes that accompany your heroic journey."
DM continues:
"Embrace the roll, for it is as much a part of your story as your valor and wit. The Dice of Destiny awaits—may you find favor in its roll, and may your journey be ever thrilling and unpredictable."
With these words, the Dice of Destiny is placed in your hands. Roll wisely, and let the adventure unfold!
Greater Curses (1-25)

1. Doomed Existence: Permanent -2 penalty to all ability scores and disadvantage on all attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks until next level up.
   
2. Fleshbound: Unable to heal naturally until next level up.
   
3. Elemental Vulnerability: Vulnerable to one damage type (DM's choice).
   
4. Doom's Shadow: Disadvantage on all saving throws until next level up.
   
5. Sightless Curse: Blinded until next level up.
   
6. Echoing Silence: Deafened until next level up.
   
7. Chaotic Surge: Wild magic effect on every spell cast.
   
8. Harmful Presence: Allies within 10 feet take 1d6 damage per round.
   
9. Lifetap: Maximum hit points reduced by character level.
   
10. Unyielding Fatigue: Permanent exhaustion level (can be removed with a greater restoration spell).
    
11. Beast Magnet: Attracts dangerous creatures frequently.
    
12. Weakened Restoration: Healing spells are halved in effect.
    
13. Arcane Blockage: Cannot regain one spell slot level of DM's choice.
    
14. Shattered Arms: Weapon damage reduced by 1 die size. (Minimum 1d4)
    
15. Bane of Precision: Disadvantage on all attack rolls until next level up.
    
16. Clumsy Hands: Disadvantage on all skill checks until next level up.
    
17. Molasses Curse: Movement speed halved until next level up.
    
18. Tortured Fate: Roll twice and take the worse result on all rolls.
    
19. Marked for Death: Every attack against you is a critical hit until next level up.
    
20. Silent Suffering: Mute until next level up.
    
21. Cursed Initiative: Disadvantage on initiative rolls until next level up.
    
22. Skill Amnesia: Lose proficiency in one skill of DM's choice.
    
23. Phobic Curse: Fear of a common object (DM's choice).
    
24. Jinxed Luck: Natural 20s count as natural 1s.
    
25. Chaotic Casting: Wild magic effect on every spell cast.
    

Curses (26-50)

1. Endless Nightmares: Nightmares every night, no benefit from long rests.
   
2. Tasteless Existence: All food and drink taste like ash.
   
3. Frozen Soul: Always feel cold, immune to warmth.
   
4. Tireless Burden: Constant fatigue, needing twice the rest.
   
5. Dull Blade: Weapons deal -1 damage.
   
6. Flimsy Armor: Armor provides -1 AC.
   
7. Social Pariah: Disadvantage on Charisma checks.
   
8. Arcane Drain: Once a day, roll a d6: on a 1, lose a spell slot.
   
9. Weak Will: Disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws.
   
10. Clumsy Step: -2 to Dexterity checks.
    
11. Buzzing Torment: Loud buzzing in ears, hard to concentrate.
    
12. Short Fuse: Easily angered, disadvantage on Insight checks.
    
13. Fickle Fortune: Unlucky, reroll natural 20s once.
    
14. Dulled Senses: -5 penalty to passive Perception.
    
15. Misguided Aim: Disadvantage on all ranged attacks.
    
16. Marked Prey: Enemies focus attacks on you.
    
17. Charmed Weakness: Disadvantage on saving throws against charm effects.
    
18. Burdened Back: Halved carrying capacity.
    
19. Anchor Feet: Unable to swim.
    
20. Fearful Heart: Disadvantage on saving throws against fear.
    
21. Potion Dilution: Healing potions are half as effective.
    
22. Beastbane Aura: An aura that scares animals.
    
23. Itchy Garb: Clothes always uncomfortable.
    
24. Slow Starter: Always last in initiative.
    
25. Coughing Fit: Uncontrollable coughing in stressful situations.
    

Blessings (51-75)

1. Skill Mastery: Gain proficiency in one skill of choice.
   
2. Fortune's Favor: +1 to all saving throws.
   
3. Chosen Talent: Advantage on one skill check of choice.
   
4. Second Chance: Once a day, reroll a failed save.
   
5. Eagle Eye: +5 to Perception checks.
   
6. Quick Reflexes: Advantage on initiative rolls.
   
7. Disease Immunity: Immune to common diseases.
   
8. Truthseeker: Advantage on Insight checks.
   
9. Steadfast Courage: Advantage on saving throws against fear.
   
10. Blessed Armor: +1 to AC.
    
11. Linguist's Gift: Speak one additional language fluently.
    
12. Keen Sight: Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks.
    
13. Fleet Foot: +10 feet to movement speed.
    
14. Self-Healing: Once a day, heal 1d10 HP as a bonus action.
    
15. Darkvision: Can see in magical darkness.
    
16. Silver Tongue: Advantage on Charisma checks.
    
17. Sharpshooter: +1 to attack rolls.
    
18. Nimble Escape: Advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
    
19. Arcane Reserve: Once a day, cast one 1st level spell for free.
    
20. Elemental Resistance: Resistance to one type of damage.
    
21. True North: Always know which way is north.
    
22. Aquatic Adaptation: Can breathe underwater.
    
23. Fearless Spirit: Immune to being frightened.
    
24. Sage's Insight: Advantage on Intelligence checks.
    
25. Arcane Sight: Can cast "Detect Magic" at will.
    

Greater Blessings (76-100)

1. Gift of Might: Permanent +1 to one ability score of choice.
   
2. Elemental Shield: Resistance to all damage types until next level up.
   
3. Critical Immunity: Immune to critical hits until next level up.
   
4. Veil of Invisibility: Once a day, become invisible for 1 minute.
   
5. Blessed Might: Permanent +1 to all ability scores until next level up.
   
6. Relentless Strike: Gain one extra attack per round.
   
7. Divine Protection: Always have advantage on saving throws.
   
8. Poison Ward: Immunity to poison and disease.
   
9. Wings of Freedom: Can fly at will, 30 feet speed.
   
10. Mind Shield: Immune to being charmed.
    
11. Precision Strike: Advantage on all attack rolls.
    
12. Fate's Favor: Once a day, reroll any die roll.
    
13. Speed Burst: Permanent +10 to movement speed.
    
14. Rapid Caster: Cast any spell as a bonus action once a day.
    
15. Invulnerability: Resistance to non-magical damage.
    
16. True Sight: Can see through walls (30 feet) until next level up.
    
17. Divine Shield: +2 to AC.
    
18. Mind Fortress: Immunity to all mind-affecting effects.
    
19. Fleet Initiative: Permanent advantage on initiative.
    
20. Spell Mastery: Can cast one spell level higher than known once a day.
    
21. Polyglot: Speak and understand any language.
    
22. Universal Mastery: Gain proficiency in all skills until next level up.
    
23. Holy Resilience: Immune to necrotic and radiant damage.
    
24. Teleportation: Can teleport once per day. (Limited to player and it has to be within the range of the current map.)
    
25. Divine Ascendancy: Recover all spell slots after a short rest once a day and gain permanent +2 to all ability scores.
    

Only the blessings and curses that has "permanent" in their effects are permanent.
You are of course free to change the blessings and curses, as well as the method to change between them. Whether it is by Level-up Transition, Rest Period Changes, Story-based Transition, Monthly Cycle, Specific Item or Ritual, Random Trigger Events or simply DM Discretion.
It was made to simply spice up the game a bit and leave it to your chance in with dice rolls.

I've been trying to program SAC with lstm layers that would be better at POMDP's. I've seen similar things tested on the BipedalWalker gym env so that's where I'm testing it currently since I have a working SAC implementation on that environment. I had assumed I had done it correctly since the first test of full code ran better than I anticipated but after running it several more times it seems like that was purely coincidental and most of the time it does not learn anything. Is this a problem with how I've attempted to implement the LSTM layers and sequences? Or is this a problem with my hyper-parameters? Does managing the hidden states matter?
My hyper-parameters are the same as the ones I used in normal SAC. The only things I changed when doing LSTM were making sure my dimensions are [batch_size,sequnce_length,whatever normal dimension] for everything and that the replay buffer can handle sequences. Originally my code was [batch_size,normal dim] for all. For instance the first action has a batch_size of 1 but every other call towards actocritic have a batch_size matching the given in the replay buffer.
I want to eventually use this on hardcore bipedal walker but currently it doesn't consistently work on normal. Not that my normal sac learned hardcore ever but I assume that was a hyper-parameter thing since they are not tuned very purposefully. Any advice or help would be appreciated.
LSTM Code: https://github.com/jhunter533/Machine-Learning/blob/main/RSACBiped.py Normal SAC: https://github.com/jhunter533/Machine-Learning/blob/main/SACBiped.py

Also, wouldn't mind some opinions XD
*****
Thinking 2 or 3 dots on this one - Single late combat trick, a bit of utility, and a very spotty and random unique extra.
Wooded Silver Ax – Initially made by Jade Claws (gen 0 Lunar exalt) as a friendship gift to a loyal Dragonblood retainer (A craftsman, obviously), this ax improved their ability to gather materials, and make them into auspicious items. While wood is not an inherent magical material, the great care used in crafting this tool seeps into the items it works, possibly lending them additional potency. This artifact is made of green jade and moonsilver. This is a Medium Artifact weapon with the Lethal, Melee, Thrown (Short), and Chopping tags (Accuracy +3 Damage+12 Defense+1 Overwhelm 4 Attunment 5).
Woodworker's Friend
Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent
It’s main capacity is to shift its shape – while it is naturally an ax, and reverts to this shape when unattended, it may also take the shape of any wood-working tool, or as a simple bracelet. While disguised, a 3 difficulty perception+Lore check will reveal this ax’s nature. At Melee 5, Essence 3+, you may attempt to “jink” a Parry-based Defense by morphing this ax into a smaller form and then re-manifesting it on the “other side” of the block (this specific use costs 1 mote). This grants the Unblockable trait for this one attack, in return for reducing this attack's Accuracy and Damage by 1 success. You may only do this once per combat round.
Subtle Wood Enchantment: Cost: - ; Mins Essence 1 Type: Permanent When used to harvest or craft wood, the ST makes a secret roll – on a roll of 0, the user gains 1 additional Silver Resource, and on a roll of 9, one resource gained in harvesting, or 1 item made in crafting, gains a single minor property of green jade. A teacup might improve the quality of the tea served in it, relaxing and soothing the drinker, while an ax handle might lend its wielder a mild resistance to poison. A Perception+Lore or Occult check might determine this subtle charm, but it is a very difficult process, as it is a very minor effect. These items remain “wood,” and will fail as wood does, but can last, when properly cared for, as long as jade, without degradation. Those with a sensitivity or affinity to the wood element will enjoy contact with such items, even if they are uncertain of why. A harvested tree with an effect shares its effect with all resulting items made from it. For example, raw lumber with a regeneration effect was made into a set of practice swords for Gens Nerigus several hundred years ago – they remain in use, even now, because, while they do break, they restore themselves if left alone for a day.
***** Thinking a 3? Maybe 4, though I don't imagine you'll have 0 Resources Merit by the time you are Essence 3, let alone 4, unless you are REALLY trying, and that's a lot of what would unbalance this relic.
Zenigata Gloves The Solar philosopher Zargas came to the understanding that money was an easy exacerbater of greed, and that greed was bad. While this did tragically result in him later destroying all forms of wealth in his area of rule, leading to wide spread local poverty and famine, it also led to this "prank," a very real display of the idea that money is harmful. While mildly defensive (adding +1 to the Defense statistic when worn), this full sleeve silk and orichalcum-thread glove's major power is literally throwing money away. Coins thrown with this glove are treated as Heavy Thrown weapons (Damage 11, Overwhelm 1) and have the Lethal, Special, and Thrown (Long) tags until they hit, at which point they revert to normal coinage. Special: In addition to the normal damage, add 1 damage die for each dot of the Resources Merit the target possesses. This attack also leaves an imprint of the coin on the person's body, which remains for 1 scene per such dot. If the user somehow loses a Resource Merit dot through the use of these attacks (how many coins did you throw?!), you have +3 dice to accuracy and your ammo gain the Thrown(Extreme) tag for the rest of the scene. You may never pick up a coin thrown with this glove during the Scenario you threw it.
Evocation Greed is Bad, m'kay? Cost: 1m, 1w; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple You are able to determine the Resources Merit of everyone within medium distance of you this round - there is no check for this, you simply know the information. This knowledge is remembered after the round, but you will not receive any "updates" after the round you use this feature (so you won't know if someone lost or gained Resources, or the Merit level of anyone that enters Medium range, after the round), unless you use this evocation again. You may spend 1 additional mote to degrade the Defense of one person with the highest Resource Merit within range by 1 for the next scene (if multiple people have the "highest" Resource Merit, you may pick which one loses the point of Defense). Only one degradation of Defense may be active through this evocation - if this aspect of the evocation is used again, the previous use is nullified. The evocation itself may be used as often as the attuner likes, assuming the cost is paid. This effect is detectable by various spells and charms - just using the evocation does not detect as harmful, though the Defense reduction might, but it does create a response to abilities that warn if someone is trying to learn about others. Resonant: If you are a Solar Exalt, and you have fewer Resource Merits than the target of the Defense degradation, you recover the 1 willpower spent on this Evocation.
Mo' Money Mo' Problems Cost 5m, 1w; Mins: Essence 4 Type: Simple
When activated, this Evocation causes everyone (you and your party included) within long range to suffer a -1 die per point of the Resources Merit above yours, for all rolls, until the end of the scene. The attuner may exempt any number of people from this effect by paying 1 additional mote and Willpower per person. Special: If you are a Solar exalt, while under this effect, if you destroy "wealth" in some fashion, such that someone's Resources Merit drops 1 dot, you gain 1 willpower. Please note that "stealing" is not "destroying," you must actually burn/melt/disintegrate the money/mining stockpile/inventory of goods/whatever.
*****
I'm thinking 5, but it's semi-random and very specific, so maybe 4, on this one?
Cards Of Unknown Providence – This standard pack of playing cards are crafted from a small amount of starmetal wire and moderate amounts of moonsilver, though their magic makes them appear to be normal card-stock. Crafted by a first generation Lunar Exalted, Dancing Wind Paws, who felt that fate was too immutable, and fearing the forecasted end of their soulmate (Their Zenith was well aware of the Sidereal plot, and was just too "Achilles in His Tent" at the moment to care), made these weapons in an attempt to alter the unalterable. Needless to say, the Sidereal took exception to this, but the cards can't be held by fated hands, or locked away - these cards find their way into the pocket of any soul willing to take a risk and throw the dice to get what they need.
These cards are treated like Light Chakram Artifacts (Damage +10, overwhelm 3, Attunement 5), with the tags: Lethal, Thrown (Medium), Cutting, Special, Concealable. Special: As soon as a thrown card either misses or strikes its target, it disappears, and reappears in the deck, unless the user's will prevents this. All cards are returned to the deck if at least one card moves more than long range from deck, or if the user becomes incapacitated. If placed in a locked container without an owner, the cards will appear in the pocket of the nearest mortal gambler, and if affected by Fate or Destiny, will immediately flee to a mortal gambler's pocket at least 100 km away, ending the Fated effect. If the cards are still attuned, they will return to their attuner instead, and are immune to Fate or Destiny related effects.
You may use these cards like normal playing cards. If you Stunt with this Artifact outside of combat, gain an extra die. If you try to entertain with them, you may use Thrown in place of Performance.
Evocations Gambler's Loss and Gain Cost: 1m, 1 wp; Mins Essence 2 Type: Simple, Dissonant: Fate-related creatures, including Sidereal and Getimas
When thrown, rather than using a particular Attribute to determine accuracy and damage, roll a d10, with 1 corresponding to Strength, 2, Dexterity, and so on to 9 being Wits – use that Attribute in these rolls. A 0 lets you pick an Attribute, instead.
An attack that successfully lands, besides doing normal damage based on the rolled Attribute, reduces the dots in the target’s same Attribute by 1 for Scene. If a target drops to 0 in an Attribute, they are instantly incapacitated (until the Attribute is restored by the ending of the Scene), unless they roll a Resolve with more successes than the damage they received from that attack. If they do win, they retain 1 dot in that attribute. Dissonant: See Fate's Foil. As might be imagined, a Sidereal trying to use theses cards will end up with a lot of frustration and really nasty paper cuts for their troubles.
Fate's Foil
Type: Permanent
Sidereal and Getimians find these cards immensely troublesome, as do any Fate manipulating gods, demons, Fair Folk, or undead. Firstly, fate-linked creatures have trouble perceiving these cards at all, with -5 successes for any Awareness or Perception checks related to them. Further, it takes at least 3 more successes than normal for them to determine the cards are artifacts, compared to other people, even despite evidence to the contrary (like being hurt by the feature below). Even if they are perceived, unless they are perceived as artifacts, fate-linked creatures will tend to forget about them as "unimportant details" - even if they have been directly harmed by them. Finally, attempting to handle these cards, intentionally or not, will result in 1L of damage each interaction - whether this is done physically, by Charm or Ability (other than Awareness or similar skills - simply looking at or thinking about the cards doesn't hurt), or by magic (so telekinenticly poking a card hurts as much as actually poking it). This damage effect does not occur during direct combat, unless a fate-linked Exalted attempts to physically or magically take the cards from their attuner mid-combat (such as disarming the attuner of it).
(Yes, obviously a Sidereal player will get that the card is bad for them almost instantly, but the character will have an infuriatingly hard time figuring it out. Made worse by the character forgetting the card exists after a brief distraction, unless they've figured out its an artifact.)
Unfated Defense
Cost -; Mins Essence 4 Type: Reflexive, Resonant: Symbiosis In response to an attack being made on a known target within Medium range, you may Throw a card to intercept the attack once per combat round. Roll a d100 and divide the result by 7, round down - any result over 10 is treated as 10. This value replaces the Defense of the attack's target until the start of your next turn. Resonance: If you are a lunar, and successfully thwart an attack on another being with this evocation, you gain +1 to your Defense until the end of this scene. This bonus can stack with itself, but only when defending a new target in this way. This increases to +2 if the defended person is the defended is of the Lunar's Territory, bearing their mark. Special: Mortals may use this power to defend themselves (and only themselves) from Sidereal attacks, regardless of their Essence value.
Sleight of Chance Cost -; Mins Essence 1 Type: Simple The attuner may throw a card at any target (without causing injury) at will, within Medium distance, with unnatural precision. The card thrown cannot be detected, without a successful Perception+Awareness check that surpasses the attuner's Thrown rating, until it comes to rest (though it is semi-obvious to someone observing the attuner that they are doing "something," unless sufficient stealth is involved). After it does, anyone who failed to notice the throw will just assume the card was always there. Sidereal, per Fate's Foil, will generally ignore these dispersed cards. Even after getting maimed by them.
Special: A card may be thrown into an independent card game - this replaces any card, in hand or being dealt, and this substitution is not noticed by anyone involved unless they make the check above (a ST may adjust the difficulty for the person whose hand was altered, as is ST fiat, but this artifact really is just that good at this particular trick). The replaced card will be returned to its deck, and the artifact card will appear to be a card belonging to that deck, of a relative value equivalent to what you threw - a 2 will be a poor card, while a King will be an excellent one, in the context of the game being played. The artifact card returns to your deck after it is no longer being observed.
Note - this artifact has been around a very long time. While a Sidereal will have difficulty handling it directly, a semi-decent lore check, especially if the skill is focused on artifacts or Sidereal conflicts, will put this deck on a short list of answers to the question of "why am I randomly taking 1L of damage and can't find the source?" As one might imagine, removing it as a threat is a relatively high priority for most Sidereal who are aware of it. Most other fate-binding beings, like the Getimians, will not likely have the same institutional knowledge to draw from, making this deck far more dangerous to them. For example, She Who Lives In Her Name has put a bounty on this artifact 7 times...and forgotten its existence more than a dozen times. Most of Her servants have no idea the artifact exists either, due to her direct control over them also erasing their memories of the item, even if they are not Fate-bound themselves.
***** Thinking 3, though if the ST agrees it can affect The Curse, it might be a 5.
The Merciful Goblet of Suffering
"The kind of pain to get good in the end" - as someone once said. This artifact of Solar construction was one woman's attempt to solve the Curse...by repentance through suffering. This orichalcum and soulsteel goblet is mildly off-putting for everyone, but can render valuable service anyways.
Evocations Blood like Wine Type: Permanent It's most obvious function is, when held, it automatically fills with a single draught per Lethal or Aggravated damage dealt to anyone within Long Range. The liquid will not spill, even if the cup is held upside down. The cup can hold 16 draughts, and 1 draught evaporates away each hour it is unused or not added-to. Each draught heals 1 measure of Bashing damage - if consumed by someone with no Bashing damage, it will heal 1 mark of Lethal damage for 2 draughts, and if there is no Lethal or Bashing damage, it will heal Aggravated damage at a rate of 4 to 1. Resonance: (Solars, and certain deities aligned with suffering, or their agents) 4 draughts may also be used to repair a disfigurement (once, per Scenario), if the the cup-bearer takes on a lesser version of the disfigurement - so, restoring someone's hand loses you a finger, for example. You may never use this effect on yourself, though there isn't anything preventing you from passing this cup to another and asking them to heal you in turn, as long as enough "time" has passed.
No Pain, no Gain Type: Simple Its original use - someone may deal Aggravated damage to themselves, in order to reduce the effects of a derangement or other malady afflicting them. A single point of Aggravated damage will reduce the effect of one such malady one level, until the end of the scene. If a malady's effect has been reduced to nothing, 4 aggravated points of damage may be administered, again by the sufferer on the sufferer, to reduce the malady itself by 1 stage. If a malady is fully excised in this fashion, a physical manifestation of it flops out into the cup. ST's call on a) what it is and b) if it's going to try to actively kill you all. This "treatment" does not activate Blood like Wine.
Note: At the ST's discretion, this can, in fact, affect the Curse. To my estimation, you're looking at 25 Aggravated, self-inflicted, damage, at a minimum and in one scene, to even try and fully excise it. It almost certainly is going to try and kill its former host afterwords. Elder God-Thing curses are nasty like that.
***** Almost certainly a 5 dot, might be an N/A
Bandages of Time This "suit of armor" consists of a single roll of "linen" bandages, woven with thread made from the 5 magical materials. Putting it on normally requires an hour and at least 1 assistant to do it properly, while removing it takes 30 minutes (charms simplify the matter immensely). When properly worn, it provides 5 soak, 4 Hardness, and no mobility penalty, like any other suit of Light Artifact armor. However, it does have Attunment 10. The wrap covers the entire body, except the face and fingers. It can be comfortably worn, even in sleep, and while it isn’t entirely weightless, it is immensely light and breathable.
Evocations A Pleasant Day
Type: Permanent Even the hottest days and coldest nights have little bearing on your personal condition, and rain and snow just do not fall on you. This armor prevents unpleasant weather conditions from affecting you, and prevents all bashing, and up to 6L, damage from all environmental effects.
Time is of the essence Type: Permanent Your base initiative is 2 points higher than normal. You gain 1 initiative any time any one takes any action in combat. You gain 2 more any time someone takes an action involving you specifically. Special: You may spend 1 mote to turn this effect off, in return for gaining either +4 soak, +4 hardness, or +2 Defense. This change lasts until your next turn, when this evocation automatically resumes, unless you spend another mote.
Time is Fleeting Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple, Withering All withering attacks you make this round, remove twice the initiative as normal – you still only gain the normal amount from such an attack. If you initiative crash a non-trivial opponent with such an attack, you are healed your right-most box of damage, regardless of type, and inflict that box on the crashed opponent – there is no defense for this transfer of damage.
Timeless Body Cost 5m; Mins Essence 5 Type: Simple You stop your personal time for 1 round. You take no further actions this round, and cannot be hurt until your time starts again; your initiative resets, even from crash, and any effects on you are paused (so you do not lose Sorcery Motes, and you also do not advance any poisons or diseases). Special: If you are under continued damage – you are surrounded in lava, there is a never-ending acidic hail storm pelting you, Ungloth the ravening horror is trying to suck the marrow from your bones, etc. – the timeless state will persist until the risk of damage stops. This isn’t always “fine” – you may be encased in stone once the lava cools, for example. The main point is, you never “come to” in a state that may potentially kill you outright. This does save you from Apocalyptic Damage, though, depending on the cause, you may or may not ever “unlock” – you get eternally eaten by the Ebony Dragon, you aren’t hurting, but he is never letting you out, either.
***** Not sure if this is equipment, per say, but this is probably a 4 dot artifact, as well as a 3 dot familiar?
Miser’s Bag Familiar - - - This artificial life form is a dear friend to any adventurer...as long as it is kept fed. While it doesn’t need “food” per say, it has an instinct to consume and devour treasure of all sorts, and a rather severe reticence to return what it has eaten. It is quite capable of moving by itself, up to 100 meters a second, and can freely follow orders issued by its owner, but can also be carried easily, never weighing anything other than 10 pounds – useful if you don’t want to advertise that your bag is alive. Its carrying area is roughly 1,000 cubic feet, and is dry, warm and safe. It will not let you crawl in. Stop asking. No one has ever pinned down exactly who made this enchanted sack, though estimates of “early in the first age” seem likely. Given its nearly continuous career of adventuring, it may be the single most experienced explorer in the whole of existence...or there are several of them. The Bureau of Nature is mildly concerned that the sack might be breeding somehow. The bag has a standard 7 section health bar, a 2 in every Attribute, and a 4 in Larceny, 4 in Athletics, 4 in Brawl, 4 in Resistance, 5 in Dodge, and a 4 in Awareness. It knows no charms, martial arts, or spells (besides its evocations). It has a Soak and Hardness of 4, and a Defense by Evasion of 3. While as smart as any human, it behaves in a very canine fashion in most cases.
Evocations Bigger on the inside Type: Permanent The bag can contain up to 1,000 cubic feet of material, without any increase to its personal weight, with the only limitation being inserted items must fit into the bag’s opening (a roughly half-meter square, though it is a sack opening, and allows for a certain amount of finagling), and it won’t accept living beings inside.
Spit it out Type: Simple The Miser’s Bag is capable of spitting out up to 1,000 coins, 10 small items, 5 medium items, or 1 large item, in a round, and to any location within short range, with perfect accuracy. This can cause no damage – to either the expelled object, or whatever it lands on. Its owner may force the bag to expel an item by spending a mote on the process, as well – a not entirely uncommon occurrence, in regards to expensive or rare treasures.
Not on my watch Cost 2m; Mins Essence 3 Type: Reflexive
If the Miser’s bag is within medium range of you when you are hit, you may spend 2 motes to switch places with it, letting it take damage on your behalf (after its Soak and Hardness, of course).
Larcenous Attacks Cost -;
Type: Simple/Reflexive Whenever the bag attacks or is attacked, it will attempt a decisive Brawl+Dexterity attack against its opponent as a gambit to disarm their opponent. If the attack/counter lands, add its Larceny Ability directly to overcome the Difficulty. If the disarm works, the bag eats the disarmed item – it will start by disarming any weapons, then proceed to steal any artifacts, rings, bangles, shoes – it pretty much starts with the hands and working from out to in, easiest to hardest, unless something in particular is notably more expensive. It cannot steal body armor that is properly worn, though it can take advantage of poorly put on armor to steal pieces. The only time it does not behave like a heedless dirty little thief, is if there’s nothing worth stealing, or its run out of things it can steal. It will then simply put all its efforts into dodging, pushing its Defense to 6.
Treasured Regeneration Type: Permanent If the Miser’s Bag is injured, it will convert Dots of Resources or Artifacts from among its contained treasures to repair itself. Each dot repairs 1 point of bashing, while Lethal damage takes 2 dots, and Aggravated damage takes 3 dots. They must heal in that order. This process takes a number of hours equal to the number of dots being converted, and can be stopped. The bag may choose to not heal, if it would cost its owner something they value...assuming it likes its owner enough. A well loved bag will not consume your mother’s keepsake, despite it being a 1 dot artifact, unless it is truly desperate. A mistreated bag will totally eat your 5 dot armor to heal 1 box of bashing damage, and flip its latch at you while doing so.
Trusted Thief Backstab Type: Permanent If the Miser’s bag decides to abandon you, either due to injury or mistreatment, it may activate this power if it can’t escape in a conventional way. You will be made aware of this, and may spend a mote to prevent it (and ending your turn if you are in combat) for 1 turn – if you do, you may spend a second mote to make the Bag spit out something, per Spit It Out. You can’t move or attack while doing this. The bag, notably, is in no way so limited, and will likely flee. The bag disappears once you stop providing motes to prevent it, and reappear in a random location in Creation, near a new adventurer in need of some help. You are NOT getting back whatever it ran off with any time soon. If it fled due to injury, it may eventually return to give you your stuff back, assuming it liked you enough.
*****
Figuring 3 dots on this one…
Shield of the Mage Storm – this artifact shield was inspired by the stories of the great Earth warrior Feng Wan Shi of House Mnemon, a peerless warrior in the defenses of the Dejis from the Fair Folk. Not...exactly an accurate description, but one that stirred the imagination of one of Mnemon’s most talented smiths, Takashi. The shield itself is utilitarian, and slightly uneven in it’s initial appearance, but close inspection reveals it was forged not by hammer, but by raining innumerable weapons upon it during its forging. “To teach it its enemies,” the smith proclaimed, laughing, but teach it well he had. This shield is a standard medium artifact weapon with the Shield, Bashing, and Melee tags. It is crafted of black jade, in the main, with white jade as an accent, and a small amount of lesser metals as filigree – at least, so Takashi thought. In actuality, a certain amount of gossamer has made it into his work, enhancing the simple jade in unusual ways. Wisely, he claims these anomalies as features.
Evocations Known Enemies Cost: 0m, 1w; Mins: Essence 2 Type: Simple, Withering This shield has suffered in its making, and it rather strongly returns the feeling. When used in a Flurry of Defense with a willpower, each Melee blow is “remembered.” At the start of the next turn, if this shield is used in a Withering strike against an attacker of the previous round, it deals the total Onslaught it suffered last round to its target as unblockable initiative damage. Further, for each different weapon type used against it during the Flurry of Defense, it gains +1 accuracy for this follow-on attack. Finally, if a magic attack is used on this shield during a Flurry of Defense, its defense still applies, even if the spell would normally bypass that step.
Arcane Stronghold Cost - ; Mins: Essence 3 Type: Simple, Resonance If a spell is cast, such that this shield’s owner is gathering Sorcery Motes, they will gather 1 additional sorcery mote during a Flurry of Defense, and thus not lose any despite not gathering them in a traditional way that round. Further, the attuner will gather 1 additional sorcery mote each attack taken during a Flurry of Defense, and 1 additional sorcery mote for each different weapon that strikes it that turn. Resonance: Sorcerers of at least the Terrestrial circle, and any earth or wind associated Exalted – probably dragonblood – even if they cannot use Sorcery, may use this shield to “cast” the following spell-like effect. By concentrating (declaring the intent to use this Evocation spell), they may gather sorcery motes by simply repeatedly Flurry of Defense (or the Shaped Sorcery action, if they are of a Circle) – if they do, at 15+ sorcery motes, the shield is instinctively slammed down, and 1 willpower is lost. The earth in front of the attuner erupts into a storm of dust and rock, dealing Intelligence bashing damage. Further, everyone caught in the 5 meter wide hemispheric wave of dust is blinded, and must make a Resolve check surpassing the attuner’s intelligence to remain standing. The following round, everyone still inside the area suffers from lightning jumping from loose particulate to loose particulate, dealing anotheadditional Intelligence+Occult Lethal damage that round. The dust settles on the third round. This shield does not teach anyone how to use any Shaped Sorcery action. Note: Taking any action other than Flurry of Defense (or a Shaped Sorcery action, if it’s available) will not gather any sorcery motes, and thus will lose you three sorcery motes, as normal.

Replay code: 64S7Q9
Battletag / in-game username: RazorWolf
Hero(es) played: Genji/Bastion
Skill tier / rank: Silver 5
Map: Numbani
PC or console: PC
Description of the match / things you want reviewed: If i'm being honest this match went great. Our team was well coordinated and we managed to defend the point on defense the entire time even though their team did one last push but didn't succeed, after switching sides we managed to easy capture the point and wing the game. I would like to see if there's some thing taht i still need to improve and if i got carried by my team or if i helped win instead of being a dead weight for them

N.B.: I'm mainly looking for the games listed in the title and at the bottom of the thread. Feel free to post other offers, but if I haven't responded to your comment(s) by my next posting, I likely wasn't able to find a trade that interested me.
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For sale (for Steam Gift Cards or gifted Steam Wallet balance):
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• Dark Souls™: Prepare To Die™ Edition (removed from Steam Store; $350 $400 or best offer)
• Fall Guys (removed from Steam Store)
• Fall Guys - Dragon Hugger Pack (removed from Steam Store)
• Fall Guys - Icy Adventure Pack (removed from Steam Store)
• Marvel's Avengers - The Definitive Edition (removed from Steam Store)
• Spec Ops: The Line (removed from Steam Store)

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• Humble Hunie Sakura Bundle (can also trade for a full "charity" bundle (Australia Fire Relief Bundle or similar))
• Humble Sekai Project Bundle (can also trade for a full "charity" bundle (Stand with Ukraine Bundle or similar))

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For trade:
*signifies that a game is tentatively up for trade, assuming I buy the bundle
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• Nioh 2 – The Complete Edition
• Soulstice
• Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin – Ultimate Edition

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• A Little to the Left
• Black Book

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• Superliminal
• The Talos Principle Gold Edition
• The Witness

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• Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed
• Life is Strange: True Colors
• Scorn
• There Is No Light: Enhanced Edition

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• Hellpoint
• Remnant: From the Ashes
• Tails of Iron

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• Hell Pie
• OTXO
• The Red Lantern
• Twin Mirror

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• Arkham Horror: Mother's Embrace
• Blood Rage: Digital Edition
• Gloomhaven - Solo Scenarios: Mercenary Challenges
• Small World
• Small World - A Spider's Web
• Small World - Be not Afraid...
• Small World - Cursed!
• Small World - Grand Dames
• Small World - Royal Bonus
• Splendor
• Splendor - The Cities
• Splendor - The Strongholds
• Splendor - The Trading Posts
• Terraforming Mars

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• A Short Hike(?)
• A Story Beside(?)
• Aces & Adventures(?)
• Arcade Spirits(?)
• Battlestar Galactica Deadlock(?)
• Beyond Blue(?)
• Cat Quest(?)
• Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?!(?)
• EARTHLOCK(?)
• Harmony's Odyssey(?)
• Homeworld Remastered Collection(?)
• Lacuna – A Sci-Fi Noir Adventure(?)
• Minecraft: Java Edition - MCC Island Jingle Jam Rewards Pack(?)
• Monster Prom(?)
• Sifu Deluxe Cosmetic Pack(?)
• Spirit of the Island(?)
• SUPERHOT(?)
• Tinytopia(?)
• Toodee and Topdee(?)
• Train Valley 2(?)
• Turbo Golf Racing(?)
• Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story(?)
• Xenonauts(?)

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• Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs

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• Dark Deity
• Edge Of Eternity
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

​

• CRYPTARK
• Dead Estate
• Paint the Town Red

​

• Lost Castle
• My Time At Portia

​

• Toodee and Topdee

​

• WWE 2K23

​

• Chivalry 2
• Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
• The Forgotten City
• GRIME
• Spiritfarer®: Farewell Edition

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• Back 4 Blood
• Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
• Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
• Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition
• Batman™: Arkham Origins
• Injustice 2 Legendary Edition
• Mad Max
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition
• Mortal Kombat 11
• Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Add-On Bundle
• Mortal Kombat XL

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• Alan Wake Collector's Edition
• Bendy and the Dark Revival
• Pathologic 2

​

• CODE VEIN
• .hack//G.U. Last Recode
• Katamari Damacy REROLL
• TEKKEN 7

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• A Juggler's Tale
• Spirit of the Island

​

• Boomerang Fu
• PlateUp!
• ROUNDS
• Stick Fight: The Game
• Ultimate Chicken Horse

​

• Fae Tactics
• Flynn: Son of Crimson
• Ikenfell
• Ring of Pain
• Void Bastards

​

• After the Fall® - Deluxe Edition
• Zero Caliber VR

​

• Patch Quest

​

• Five Dates
• Late Shift

​

• Demon Turf
• Pumpkin Jack

​

• Trover Saves the Universe

​

• Coromon
• The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos
• Jack Move

​

• Road 96
• SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator

​

• A Short Hike

​

• Cloudpunk
• Ghostrunner
• Severed Steel

​

• Eternal Threads
• Turbo Golf Racing

​

• Lethal League Blaze
• OlliOlli World
• WWE 2K BATTLEGROUNDS

​

• Dragon Fist: VR Kung Fu
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners

​

• Celeste

​

• Blasphemous
• Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
• Hollow Knight

​

• Behind the Frame: The Finest Scenery

​

• Bionic Commando: Rearmed
• Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
• Lost Planet 3 - Complete
• Mega Man Legacy Collection
• STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜®

​

• Aground
• Calico
• Evan's Remains
• StarCrossed
• Teacup

​

• Into the Radius VR

​

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite
• Founders' Fortune
• Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp

​

• Nomad Survival
• Scarlet Tower

​

• The Citadel
• Viscerafest
• WRATH: Aeon of Ruin

​

• The Blackout Club

​

• BIOMUTANT
• Edge Of Eternity
• Golden Light

​

• Call of the Sea
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

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• 112 Operator
• 911 Operator
• The Amazing American Circus
• Armello
• Backbone
• Calico
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• Farming Simulator 17
• Ghostrunner
• Guilty Gear X2 #Reload
• Lust from Beyond: M Edition
• Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine
• Orbital Racer
• Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition
• PAYDAY 2
• Pilgrims
• Soulblight
• Space Crew: Legendary Edition
• Starfinder Core Rulebook (Paizo key) and Starfinder Adventure: Junker's Delight (Paizo key)
• Strange Brigade
• Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones
• System Shock 2
• System Shock: Enhanced Edition
• Ticket to Ride
• XCOM® 2
• X-Morph: Defense Complete Pack

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• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
• Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel
• Othercide
• Shady Part of Me

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• The Last Campfire

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• Sakura Swim Club

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• Summer in Mara
• Townscaper

​

• The Long Dark: Survival Edition

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• Stranded Sails - Explorers of the Cursed Islands

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• Conan Chop Chop
• Grow: Song of the Evertree

​

• Styx: Shards of Darkness

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• Hard West
• John Wick Hex
• Phantom Doctrine
• Red Solstice 2: Survivors

​

• Arizona Sunshine

​

• Backbone
• Blade Assault
• First Class Trouble
• Super Magbot

​

• Golf Gang
• Maid of Sker

​

• Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Heart of the Forest

​

• Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl

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• Crown Trick

​

• Guts and Glory
• Hello Neighbor

​

• Day of the Tentacle Remastered
• Grim Fandango Remastered
• STAR WARS®: Knights of the Old Republic™ II

​

• Duke Nukem Forever
• PGA TOUR 2K21
• WWE 2K Battlegrounds

​

• In Sound Mind

​

• Little Big Workshop
• Not Tonight

​

• Brigador Deluxe Edition
• Verdun

​

• Resident Evil 0
• Resident Evil 6
• Resident Evil

​

• EVERSPACE™

​

• Cultist Simulator
• GWENT: The Witcher Card Game - Ultimate Starter Pack (GOG key)

​

• The LEGO® NINJAGO® Movie Video Game

​

• Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager
• Legion TD 2 - Multiplayer Tower Defense

​

• STAR WARS™: Squadrons (Origin key)(?)

​

• Bionic Commando
• Street Fighter V

​

• As Far As The Eye
• Impulsion

​

• Orcs Must Die! 2 - Complete Pack

​

• Bartlow's Dread Machine

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• Blaston

​

• White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

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• The Walking Dead

​

• Total Tank Simulator

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• Archangel: Hellfire - Fully Loaded

​

• XCOM® 2

​

• Black The Fall
• Goetia

​

• Among the Sleep - Enhanced Edition

​

• Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
• This War of Mine

​

• Tom Clancy's The Division™ (Uplay key)
• Tom Clancy's The Division™ - Survival (Uplay key)

​

• Highway Blossoms
• HunieCam Studio
• KARAKARA
• Sunrider Academy
• Sunrider: Liberation Day - Captain's Edition

​

• A Kiss For the Petals - Remembering How We Met

​

• Hacknet
• Satellite Reign

​

• The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut

​

• The Elder Scrolls: Legends: 2 Card Packs (Skyrim) 1 Event Ticket 100 Gold 100 Souls
• ESO Vanity Pet: Bristlegut Piglet and 15 Days of ESO Plus

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• Ame no Marginal -Rain Marginal-
• KARAKARA
• Memory's Dogma CODE:01
• Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project
• Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology Project - Season Pass

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• A Kiss For the Petals - Remembering How We Met
• Sakura Angels
• Beach Bounce
• Beach Bounce - Soundtrack
• Blue Rose

​

• Lionessy Story
• My Personal Angel
• Natural - Beyond Nature -
• Postmen Of Horizon (removed from Steam Store)

​

• The Reject Demon: Toko Chapter 0 — Prelude

​

• Koi-Koi Japan [Hanafuda playing cards]
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle
• Mahjong Pretty Girls Battle : School Girls Edition
• Poker Pretty Girls Battle: Texas Hold'em
• Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire

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• Guns of Icarus Alliance
• Guns of Icarus Online
• Impossible Creatures Steam Edition
• Lethal League
• Tempest: Pirate Action RPG
• Tempest - Treasure Lands
• Tempest - Original Soundtrack
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Wolf
• Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide

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• Tenta Shooter
• Gun Gun Pixies
• DUSK
• For The King
• Book of Demons
• PlateUp!
• Kingdom Two Crowns
• White Day: A Labyrinth Named School
• Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War
• Chivalry: Medieval Warfare
• Steel Rats™
• Hue
• Sifu Deluxe Edition Upgrade Bundle (Epic key)
• Gal*Gun: Double Peace
• The Invisible Hours
• Synergia
• ROCKETRON
• Project Nimbus: Complete Edition
• Dead Age
• Spirit Hunter: NG
• Slain: Back from Hell(?)
• Cook, Serve, Delicious!
• Tower of Time
• Danger Scavenger
• Survive the Nights
• Valfaris
• Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition
• This War of Mine

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• Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Edition
• Knights of Pen and Paper 2 - Here Be Dragons

​

• 112 Operator
• 911 Operator
• Book of Demons
• Broken Age
• Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
• Crying Suns
• Crying Suns
• Dear Esther: Landmark Edition
• Driftland: The Magic Revival
• Liberated (GOG key)
• Moon Hunters
• Out of Reach: Treasure Royale
• Wanderlust: Travel Stories (GOG key)
• WARSAW
• X-Morph: Defense + European Assault, Survival of the Fittest, and Last Bastion DLC (I believe this redeems as the linked Complete Pack, minus the soundtrack)
• ΔV: Rings of Saturn(?)

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• Arcade Paradise
• Calico
• Say No! More
• Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
• Fobia - St. Dinfna Hotel
• Phoenix Point: Year One Edition
• Deliver Us The Moon
• Morkredd
• Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos
• Spirit Hunter: NG
• Survivalist: Invisible Strain
• Warhammer: Vermintide 2
• ENDLESS™ Space 2
• Surviving the Aftermath
• The Long Dark

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• Duck Game
• SCP: Secret Files
• WWE 2K23
• The Jackbox Party Pack
• Outward (redeems as the base game only, not the linked Definitive Edition)
• Outward - The Soroboreans
• Outward Soundtrack
• Blade Assault
• Founders' Fortune
• Hokko Life
• Monster Crown
• Othercide
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Enhanced Edition
• ScourgeBringer
• Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey
• HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Sonic CD (removed from Steam Store)
• LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• STRIDER™ / ストライダー飛竜®
• Bionic Commando
• Full Metal Furies
• Ultra Street Fighter® IV
• Starbound
• Mafia III: Sign of the Times
• BioShock 2
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition
• Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
• The Mean Greens - Plastic Warfare
• Crusaders of the Lost Idols Legendary Starter Pack
• Project CARS (removed from Steam Store)

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WANT:
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• 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
• art of rally
• Astebreed: Definitive Edition
• Avernum: Escape from the Pit
• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
• Cornucopia
• CrossCode
• Dead Rising 4
• Dungreed
• Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
• Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
• Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition
• Myst (2021)
• NBA 2K23
• NECROPOLIS: BRUTAL EDITION
• Omensight: Definitive Edition
• OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition
• OPUS: Rocket of Whispers
• OPUS: The Day We Found Earth
• Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
• RAGE
• Resident Evil Village
• The Jackbox Party Pack 5
• The Jackbox Party Pack 6
• The Jackbox Party Pack 7
• Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap
• Zombie Army 4: Dead War

​

• any extra copies of WWE 2K23

​
IGS Rep Page: https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/ti26nz/mizznos_igs_rep_page/

I've gone down the rabbit hole on the New York Times online archive and it's amazing how little is there before the big "expose" in 2017. There are ZERO articles relating to some of the most widely reported UFO stories like Kenneth Arnold's Mount Ranier sighting. The first reference to the Roswell crash is a 1987 article is a culture piece about people's interest in UFOs.
Below is a long article from 1979 that could have been written today. The same misinformation from the government, the same promise to make a more scientific study (while promising that that study had not already been taking place....)

U.F.O. FILES: THE UNTOLD STORY

By Patrick Huyghe

• Oct. 14, 1979

Patrick Huyghe is a freelance writer in New York.
The Defense Department message bears the classification CONFIDENTIAL. “Subject: Suspicious Unknown Air Activity.” Dated Nov. 11, 1975, it reads:
“Since 28 Oct 75 numerous reports of suspicious objects have been received at the NORAD COC [North American Air Defense Combat Operations Center]. Reliable military personnel at Loring AFB [Air Force Base], Maine, Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan, Malmstrom AFB, [Montana], Minot AFB, [North Dakota], and Canadian Forces Station, Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada, have visually sighted suspicious objects.
“Objects at Loring and Wurtsmith were characterized to be helicopters. Missile site personnel, security alert teams and Air Defense personnel at Malmstrom Montana reported object which sounded like a jet aircraft. FAA advised ‘There were no jet aircraft in the vicinity.’ Malmstrom search and height finder radars carried the object between 9,000 ft and 15,600 ft at a speed of seven knots. ... F‐106s scrambled from Malmstrom could not make contact due to darkness and low altitude. Site personnel reported the objects as low as 200 ft and said that as the interceptors approached the lights went out. After the interceptors had passed the lights came on again. One hour after the F‐106s returned to base, missile site personnel reported the object increased to a high speed, raised in altitude and could not be discerned from the stars....
“I have expressed my concern to SAFOI [Air Force Information Office] that we come up soonest with a proposed answer to queries from the press to prevent overreaction by the public to reports by the media that may be blown out of proportion. To date efforts by Air Guard helicopters, SAC [Strategic Air Command] helicopters and NORAD F‐106s have failed to produce positive ID.”
Though officials have long denied that they take ‘flying saucers’ seriously, declassified documents now reveal extensive Government concern over the phenomenon.
Numerous daily updates kept the Joint Chiefs of Staff informed of these incursions by U.F.O.'s in the fall of 1975. Representatives of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency as well as a handful of other Government desks received copies of the National Military Command Center's reports on the incidents. One report said that an unidentified object “demonstrated a clear intent in the weapons storage area.” Though Air Force records show that the C.I.A. was notified several times of these penetrations over nuclear missile and bomber bases, the agency has acknowledged only one such notification. Subsequent investigations by the Air Force into the sightings at Loring Air Force Base, Maine, where the remarkable series of events began, did not reveal a cause for the sightings.
Despite official pronouncements for decades that U.F.O.'s were nothing more than misidentified aerial objects and as such were no cause for alarm, recently declassified U.F.O. records from the C.I.A., the F.B.I. and other Federal agencies indicate that, ever since U.F.O.'s made their appearance in our skies in the 1940's, the phenomenon has aroused much serious behind‐the‐scenes concern in official circles. Details of the intelligence community's protracted obsession with the subject of U.F.O.'s have emerged over the past few years with the release of long‐withheld Government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Though these papers fail to resolve the U.F.O. enigma, they do manage to dispel many popular notions about the U.F.O. controversy, as well as give substance to a number of others. Official records now available appear to put to rest doubts that the Government knew more about U.F.O.'s than it has claimed over the past 32 years. From the start, it has been convinced that most U.F.O. sightings could be explained in terms of misidentified balloons, cloud formations, airplanes, ball lightning, meteors and other natural phenomena.
But the papers also show that the Government remains perplexed about the nagging residue of unexplained U.F.O. sightings, which amount to approximately 10 percent of all U.F.O. sightings reported. Do they pose a threat to national security? Are they just a funny‐looking cover for an airborne Soviet presence? Even the possibility that these unknowns could be evidence of extraterrestrial visitations has been given serious attention in Government circles. While official interest in U.F.O.'s has long been thought to be strictly the concern of the Air Force, the bulk of whose records has been open to public view for nearly a decade, the recently released papers on U.F.O.'s indicate otherwise. The Departments of the Army, Navy, State and Defense, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the F.B.I., the C.I.A. and even the Atomic Energy Commission produced U.F.O. records over the years. Many of these agencies still do, and many of their documents remain classified. But it is the C.I.A. that appears to have played the key role in the controversy, and may even be responsible for the Government's conduct in U.F.O. investigations throughout the
U.F.O's have been the province of the nation's intelligence community ever since the beginning of the cold war, when the notion took hold that some flying saucers might actually represent a secret, technologically advanced, foreign weapons system. “Every time we were concerned,” recalls Herbert Scoville Jr., a former chief of the C.I.A.'s Office of Scientific Intelligence, “it was because we wanted to know: Did the Russians do it?”
As the cold war gave rise to the fears of the McCarthy era, official concern over U.F.O.'s even led to the surveillance of several private U.F.O. organizations (as many of their members have long insisted) and to the scrutiny of dozens of individuals suspected of subversive U.F.O. activities.
Perhaps most telling of all, the Government documents on U.F.O.'s reveal that despite official denials to the contrary, Federal agencies continue to monitor the phenomenon to this day.
The monumental task of unearthing the newest batch of records on U.F.O.'s from a bureaucracy that has for years denied their existence can be traced to the efforts of a handful of inquisitive individuals who, armed with the Freedom of Information Act, set off in the mid‐70's on a paper chase of U.S. Government documents on U.F.O.'s. They include Bruce S. Maccabee, a Silver Spring, Md., physicist working for the Navy, who has managed to obtain the release of more than 1,200 pages of documents on U.F.O.'s from the F.B.I.; W. Todd Zechel of Prairie du Sac, Wis.; Robert Todd of Ardmore, Pa.; Larry W. Bryant of Arlington, Va.; and Brad C. Sparks, a student la astrophysics at Berkeley whose five‐year pursuit of the C.I.A.'s U.F.O. file eventually provided the foundation for a 3round‐breaking Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by Ground Saucer Watch (G.S.W.), an Arizona‐based U.F.O.
At the request of G.S.W. director William H. Spaulding, Peter Gersten, an attorney in the New York firm of Rothblatt, Rothblatt & Seijas, filed a civil action against the C.I.A. in December 1977 demanding all U.F.O. records in the agency's possession. The suit seemed to have achieved its goal when late last year the agency released about 900 documents — nearly 900 pages of memos, reports and correspondence that attest to the agency's long involvement in U.F.O. matters. But the civil action has not seen its final day in court.
By Gersten's account, the agency has arbitrarily withheld documents, made deletions without merit, and failed to conduct a proper search for U.F.O. materials. The agency's current actions, he says, perpetuate its 30‐year policy of deliberate deception and dishonesty about U.F.O.'s. “What has been released to us seems to have been rather carefully selected,” says Gersten. “We suspect that the agency is withholding at least 200 more documents than the 57 they have admitted they are keeping from us to protect intelligence sources.” Victor Marchetti, a former executive assistant to the agency's deputy director, agrees with Gersten. The entire exercise, Marchetti wrote recently in a magazine article, “has the same aroma of the agency's previous messy efforts to hide its involvement in drugs and mind‐control operations, both prime examples of a successful intelligence cover‐up.”
The first sighting to be labeled a “flying saucer” by the press occurred on June 24, 1947, when an Idaho businessman flying his plane near Mount Rainier observed nine disc‐shaped objects making undulating motions “like a saucer skipping over water.” As early as World War II, Allied bomber pilots had told of “balls of light” that followed their flights over Japan and Germany. A U.S. Eighth Army investigation concluded that the of “mass hallucination.”
These and other incidents were reported in a 1973 book by David Michael Jacobs, “The UFO Controversy in America,” which until the recent release of Government documents was the most comprehensive reconstruction of the Government's U.F.O. involvement. When Scandinavians reported cigar‐shaped objects in 1946, U.S. Army intelligence suspected that the Russians had developed a secret weapon with the help of German scientists from Peenemiinde. The C.I.A., then known as the Central Intelligence Group, secretly began keeping tabs on the subject. When the unknown objects returned to the skies, this time over the United States in the summer of 1947, the Army Air Force set out to determine what the objects were. Within weeks, Brig. Gen. George F. Schulgen of Army Air Corps Intelligence requested the F.B.I.'s assistance “in locating and questioning the individuals who first sighted the so‐called flying discs....” Undoubtedly swayed by flaring cold‐war tensions, Schulgen feared that “the first reported sightings might have been by individuals of Communist sympathies with the view to causing hysteria and fear of a secret Russian weapon.” J. Edgar Hoover agreed to coopreau have “full access to discs recovered.” The Air Force's behind‐thescenes interest contrasted sharply with its public stance that the objects were products of misidentifications and imaginative populace. A security lid was imposed on the subject in July 1947, hiding potentially “embarrassing situation” the following month, when both the Air Force and the F.B.I. began suspecting they might actually be investigating our own secret weapons. High‐level reassurances were obtained that this was not so.
By the end of the summer, the F.B.I. had “failed to reveal any indication of subversive individuals being involved in any of the reported sightings.” A RESTRICTED Army letter that found its way to Hoover's desk said that the bureau's services actually had been enlisted to relieve the Air Forces “of the task of tracking down all the many instances which turned out to be ashcan covers, toilet seats and whatnot.” Incensed, Hoover moved quickly to discontinue the bureau's U.F.O. investigations.
In September of that year, the Commanding General of the Army Air Force received letter from the Army Chief of Staff Lieut. Gen. Nathan F. Twining, saying that “the phenomenon reported is of something real and not visionary or fictitious,” that the objects appeared to be disc‐shaped, “as large as man‐made aircraft,” and “controlled either manually, automatically or remotely.” At Twining's request, project “Sign” was established.
“Sign” failed to find any evidence that the objects were Soviet secret weapons and before long submitted an unofficial “Estimate of the Situation,” classified TOP SECRET, which indicated that U.F.O.'s were of interplanetary origin. The estimate eventually reached Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, who rejected it for lack of proof. “Sign's” inconclusive final report remained classified for the next 12 years.
After “Sign,” the Air Force continued to collect U.F.O. data under the code name “Grudge.” This six‐month project found no evidence of foreign scientific development and therefore no direct threat to national security. It did, however, stress that the reported sightings could be dangerous. “There are indications that the planned release of related psychological propaganda would cause a form of mass hysteria,” the report stated. “Employment of these methods by or against an enemy would yield similar results ... governmental agencies interested in psychological warfare should be informed of the results of this study."
A press release following the termination of “Grudge” allowed the public to believe that the Air Force was no longer interested in U.F.O.'s. But the Air Force continued to collect reports through normal intelligence channels until a dramatic sighting of a U.F.O. at the Army Signal Corps radar center in Fort Monmouth, N.J., in 1951 led to the reactivation of “Grudge.” The Air Force project was renamed “Blue Book” in 1952, a year that saw a record number of U.F.O. reports.
The situation got out of hand during the summer of 1952. On the morning of July 28, the Washington Post revealed that U.F.O.'s had been tracked on radar at Washington National Airport, the second such incident in a week. Reporters stormed Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon, where switchboards were jammed for days with U.F.O. inquiries. Military installations across the country handled such a volume of reports that “regular intelligence work had been affected,” reported The New York Times.
These events prompted action at C.I.A. headquarters, apparently at a request “from the Hill.” From the start, the agency's involvement was to be kept secret. An August 1 C.I.A. memo recommended that “no indication of C.I.A. interest or concern reach the press or public, in view of their probable alarmist tendencies to accept such interest as ‘confirmatory’ of the soundness of ‘unpublished facts’ in the hands of the U.S. Government.”
The C.I.A.'s Office of Scientific Intelligence (O.S.I.) found that the Air Force's investigation of the U.F.O. phenomenon was not sufficiently rigorous to determine the exact nature of the objects in the sky. Neither did the Air Force deal adequately with the potential danger of U.F.O.‐induced mass hysteria, or the fact that our air vulnerability was being seriously affected by the U.F.O. problem. O.S.I. chief H. Marshall Chadwell thought that our nation's defenses were running the increasing risk of false alert and, worse yet, “of falsely identifying the real as phantom.” He suggested that a national policy be established “as to what should be told the public” and, furthermore, that immediate steps be taken to improve our current visual and electronic identification techniques so that “instant positive identification of enemy planes or missiles can be made.” Ever vigilant, the C.I.A. was keeping an eye on the possibility that U.F.O.'s could be of Soviet origin.
By the winter of 1952, Chadwell had drafted National Security Council proposal calling on program to solve the problem of instant positive identification of U.F.O.'s. In a memo that accompanied the proposal, Chadwell urged that the reports be given “immediate attention.” He thought that “sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and traveling at high speeds in the vicinity of major U.S. defense installations are of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomena or known types of aerial vehicles.” He said that O.S.I. was proceeding with the establishment of a consulting group “of sufficient competence and stature to ... convince the responsible authorities in the community that immediate research and development on this subject must be undertaken.”
But C.I.A. Director Gen. Walter B. Smith's interest apparently lay elsewhere. In a letter to the Director of the Psychological Strategy Board, he expressed a desire to discuss “the possible offensive and defensive utilization of these phenomena for psychological warfare purposes.” Only later did Director Smith authorize recruiting an advisory committee of outside consultants.
The scientific panel met for four days beginning Jan. 14, 1953. Chaired by Dr. H.P. Robertson, an expert in physics and weapons systems, the panel essentially bestowed the scientific seal of approval on previously established official policy regarding U.F.O.'s. The distinguished panelists felt that all the sightings could be identified once all the data were available for a proper evaluation — in other words, the phenomena, according to the panel's report, were not “beyond the domain of present knowledge of physical sciences.” Neither did the panelists find U.F.O.'s to be a direct threat to national security, though they believed that the volume of U.F.O. reports could clog military intelligence channels, precipitate panic, and lead defense personnel to ignore real indications of hostile action. The panel worried about Soviet manipulation of the phenomenon; that the reports could make the public vulnerable to “possible enemy psychological warfare.” The real danger, they concluded, was the reports themselves.
Fearing that the myth of U.F.O.'s might lead to inappropriate actions by the American public, the panelists decided that a “broad educational program integrating efforts of all concerned agencies” must be undertaken. They sought to strip U.F.O.'s of their “aura of mystery” through this program of “training and ‘debunking.’ “ The program would result in the “proper recognition of unusually illuminated objects” and in a “reduction in public interest in ‘flying saucers.’ “ The panelists recommended that their mass‐media program have as its advisers psychologists familiar with mass psychology and advertising experts, while Walt Disney Inc. animated cartoons and such personalities as Arthur Godfrey would help in the educational drive. To insure complete control over the situation, the panel members suggested that flying‐saucer groups be “watched because of their potentially great influence on mass thinking if widespread sightings should occur. The apparent irresponsibility and the possible use of such groups for subversive purposes should be kept in mind.”
The panel's recommendations called for nothing less than the domestic manipulation of public attitudes. Whether these proposals were acted upon, the C.I.A. will not say. But the report was circulated among the top brass at the Air Technical Intelligence Center, the C.I.A.'s Board of National Estimates (of which Hoover was a member), the C.I.A.'s bureau chiefs, the Secretary of Defense, the chairman of the National Security Resources Board, and the director of the Federal Civil Defense Administration, who eventually sent a representative to meet with C.I.A. officials in order to “implement the appropriate aspects of the Panel's Report as applicable to Civil Defense.”
The Government's efforts in the 50's and 60's to squelch public apprehension over U.F.O.'s went beyond debunking and even touched the fiber of constitutionally protected free speech. According to author David Michael Jacobs, in 1953 the Air Force pressured Look magazine into publishing disclaimers throughout an article by retired Maj. Donald E. Keyhoe entitled “Flying Saucers From Outer Space.” Then again, in 1965, the Army — in a prepublication review denied clearance for a U.F.O.related article by one of its employees, Larry W. Bryant, a technical editor, until he took the issue to court.
Meanwhile, the C.I.A. and the F.B.I. proceeded routinely in the surveillance of U.F.O. organizations and U.F.O. enthusiasts. People with U.F.O. interests were checked out by the F.B.I. at the request of the C.I.A., the Air Force, or private citizens inquiring about possible subversive activities. None caused as much consternation as the case of Major Keyhoe and the organization he directed, the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). The C.I.A. appears to have had a protracted interest in NICAP, which was founded in 1956 and utilized by Keyhoe as an organizational tool for challenging the alleged Air Force cover‐up on U.F.O.'s. Both the C.I.A. and the Air Force were upset by NICAP's wide‐ranging influence. Its prestigious board of directors included, among others, Vice Adm. Roscoe Hillenkoetter, the first C.I.A. Director (1947‐1950). “The Air Force representatives believe that much of the trouble ... with Major Keyhoe ... could be alleviated,” states a C.I.A. memo dated May 16, 1958, “if the Major did not have such important personages as Vice Admiral R. H. Hillenkoetter, U.S.N. (Ret.) ... on the board. ...” The Air Force suggested that if the Admiral were shown the SECRET panel report he might understand and take “appropriate actions.” Whether or not the Air Force got through to the admiral, Hillenkoetter
The 60's saw further C.I.A. interest in NICAP. After flurry of Washington‐area sightings in 1965, the agency contacted NICAP about seeing some of its case files on the matter. Richard H. Hall, then NICAP assistant director, chatted with a C.I.A. agent in the NICAP office about the sightings, NICAP's methodology, and Hall's background. The agent's memo on the visit suggests that the C.I.A. had some role in mind for Hall, predicated upon his being granted a security clearance. Nothing apparently came of the suggestion. A later set of C.I.A. papers reveals an inter. est in NICAP's organizational structure and notes that “this group included some ex‐C.I.A. and Defense Intelligence types who advise on investigative techniques and NICAP‐Government relations.” There are presently three former C.I.A. employees on the NICAP board of directors, including Charles Lombard, a congressional aide to Senator Barry Goldwater, who is himself a NICAP board member; and retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joseph Bryan III. Bryan feels, as he did back in 1959 when he joined the board, that U.F.O.'s are interplanetary. NICAP's current president is Alan Hall, a former C.I.A. covert employee for 30 years.
In 1966, mounting discontent from members of the press. Congress and the scientific community compelled the Air Force to commission an 18month scientific study of U.F.O.'s under the direction of Edward U. Condon, professor of physics at the University of Colorado. The politically expedient study, in which onethird of the 91 cases examined remained unidentified, reiterated official policy with one novel twist: U.F.O.'s “educationally harmed” schoolchildren who were allowed to use science study time to read books and magazine articles about U.F.O.'s. Condon wanted teachers to withhold credit from any student U.F.O. project. The Air Force took the cue and disbanded project “Blue Book” in 1969.
Less than a decade later, the White House, perhaps in an attempt to make good Jimmy Carter's campaign promise to tell all about U.F.O.'s, suggested via science advisor Frank Press that possibly NASA could undertake a review of any significant new findings since Condon's study. NASA examined the offer, but saw no way to attack the problem on a scientific basis without physical evidence. They envisioned a public‐relations nightmare if they were to accept such a project, and so rejected it. A frank, in‐house evaluation of NASA's options, however, noted that a handsoff attitude only begged the question. So in good spirit, the space agency offered to examine any piece of physical evidence brought to its attention. That position led one Federal aviation official to comment: “If you get a piece of the thing, fine. But don't bother me with anything else.”
These days, the Air Force admits to nothing more than a “transitory interest” in the phenomenon, although military directives still exist for reporting U.F.O.'s.
The C.I.A. is still wary of the possibility that U.F.O.'s. may be of Soviet origin. “The agency's interest,” says Katherine Pherson, a public‐affairs officer for the C.I.A., “lies in its responsibility to forewarn principally of the possibility that a foreign power might develop a new weapons system that might exhibit phenomena that some might categorize as a U.F.O. But there is no program to actively collect information on U.F.O.'s.” The agency's interest cannot be denied, however, as two 1976 memos reveal.
The first, dated April 26, states: “It does not seem that the Government has any formal program in progress for the identification/solution of the U.F.O. phenomena. Dr. [name deleted] feels that the efforts of independent researchers, [phrase deleted], are vital for further progress in this area. At the present time, there are offices and personnel within the agency who are monitoring the U.F.O. phenomena, but again, this is not currently on an official basis.”
Another memo, dated July 14, and routed to the deputy chief in the Office of Development and Engineering, reads: “As you may recall, 1 mentioned my own interest in the subject as well as the fact that DCD [Domestic Collection Division] has been receiving U.F.O. related material from many of our S & T (Science and Technology] sources who are presently conducting related research. These scientists include some who have been associated with the Agency for years and whose credentials remove them from the ‘nut’ variety.”
If nothing else, the success of the U.F.O. paper chase may have lent U.F.O.'s a measure of respectability that has eluded the subject for the past third of a century. Though it appears that no U.F.O. sighting has ever represented an airborne Soviet or foreign threat, the possibility that such an event could occur remains foremost in the coldwar‐conscious Government mind. Should that threat come to pass, military officials believe, our nation's sophisticated defense system would know about it before someone getting a glass of milk in the middle of the night sees the threat hovering outside the kitchen window. Or so we are made to understand the Air Force's seemingly nonchalant advice to the public: “If you see a U.F.O. and you feel the situation warrants it, call your local police.”

I've tried to improve the report today, with more explicitly mentioned high volume tickers to watch for the day, along with their catalysts, and have increased the detail in analysis section. Hope you like.
To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge
ANALYSIS:

• This week we see PCE data come on Friday. Expectations in the market according to the bloomberg intelligence research that I was reading, is for it to come soft or in line. Analysts are not expecting it to come hot.
• Whilst some people argue that rates will have to stay higher for longer due to stickiness in inflation, I point to inflation swaps which have all fallen over the last 1 month. This for 1y, 2y, 3,y, 5y, 10y etc. Traders are still expecting inflation to come down this year, especially encouraged by the falling shelter inflation in the last report.
• A look at some positioning analysis then:
• Silver and gold pumped yesterday, silver in particular, due to the geopolitical escalations between Egypt and Israel, as well as Israel and the rest of the world in Rafah. We saw strong positioning before too.
• Today, both pullback, but positioning overall v bullish, traders are buying calls on Silver at 35C. Thats a sign that traders are expecting this to be short term vol before move higher.
• NVDA showing strong positioning, and is up in premarket on news that xAI will use NVDA chips in building thier supercomputer. This is brining other semiconductors with it. AMD has a bullish positioning too.
• Potential high volume Names to watch today from a catalyst perspective (you can see the catalysts below) are:
• DUOL, PYPL, RIOT, DKNG, SE, CRWD, ONON
• EURUSD, GBPUSD showing bullish positioning as both come to resistance at 1.09 and 1.28 respectively. Positioning suggests we can see a break above, but let’s see.
• Traders continue to favour tech, and big tech in particular as Mag7 skew makes a new yearly high. AAPL and NVDA up in premarket should be supportive of the market too.
• VIX is up in premarket but expect vol crush later in the day as usual, positioning on VIX is still very short.
• Please see the sub’s posts (rank by new) for more of the updates I put out ahead of the week.

DATA LEDE:

• AUSTRALIAN RETAIL SALES:
• Came 0.1% MOM vs 0.2% expected. Last month, fell 0.4% MOM.
• This is slightly weaker than expected, but retail sales MOM have been very variable in Australia, ranging from -1% to 1%
• ECB 1 year inflation expectations come in line with forecast at 2.9%
• 3 year CPI expectations come 2.4%, less than expected.
• GOOD.
• House Price Index/Case Shiller later
• Consumer Confidence nUmbers come out after market opens.
• Fed Speakers today:
• Mester, Kashkari, Cook, Daly

MARKETS: SPX, DJI, NDX more or less where they closed on Friday.

• SPX: closed Friday at 5303. Over Memorial Day, was trading flat, slightly higher to 5320, before dropping back to 5308. 5300 has been the support in premarket.
• NASDAQ: Closed Friday at 18,800. Over Memorial Day was flat. Pushed higher to 18900 before paring gains slightly back to 18,853
• DJI: Trading at 39k. Flat since Fridays close. 39k support, 40k resistance.
• GER40: After hitting 18,500 on Friday, it bounced. Moved higher to 18850 over yesterday, pared gains slightly.
• UK100: Slightly lwoer today, On Friday dropped to 8275. Yday dropped to 8200 before pushing higher. Today back at 8296. Positioning overall bullish.
• Silver: Pulling back today after push higher yesterday by 5%
• GOld: Lower, after being rejected off 2350. Had moved higher by almost 1% yesterday.
• In both cases, looks like pullback before move higher.
• Oil slightly higher - Opec meeting this week.

FX:

• EURUSD higher to 1.0885. Pushed up from 1.08 support on Friday. Will come to 1.09, and will be looking for break as has broken out of long term downtrend.
• GBPUSD higher towards 1.28, positioning bullish. 1.28 is resistance
• AUDUSD higher again. Retraced back to 0.66 support on Friday, before move higher again.
• Most of these moves have come on dollar weakening from 105 since Friday. - comes as Japan has been signalling more potential intervention and also some countries not using USD from imports.

MAG 7:

• AAPL - China iPhone shipments jump 52% in April. AAPL and resellers have bene cutting prices in China throughout 2024. Hence shipments have been jumping.
• AAPL - will unveil Ai tools for daily use at next month’s developers conference. Their “project grey matter” will integrate AI into safari, photos and notes. Custom AI generated emojis for example
• AMZN, NVDA - according to Business Insider, Amazon is facing challenges inc competing with NVDA’s dominant AI chips, experiencing low usage and compatibility problems.
• Internal documents apparently reveal Amazon’s AI chips, Tranium and Inferentia are lagging significantly behind NVDA’s GPU in adoption.
• AMZN trying to improve the chips
• Apparently evne some internal Amazon AI projects are using NVDA GPUs rather than AWS homegrown chips.
• AMZN - in talks to invest Billions into Italian cloud expansion.
• TSLA - secures $150M+ megabuck contract for Australia’s first 8 hour battery. Will supply megabuck battery for 50MW, 400MW limondale project in SW NSW Australia.
• DESPITE THIS, TSLA LOWER AS GLASS LEWIS URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO REJECT Elon Musk PAY PACKAGE.
• NVDA - Bank of America shows that 68% of funds own NVDA in their holdings and over 50% of all funds are overweight on the firm.
• NVDA pumping 3% in premarket. Musk’s XAI wants to use H100 chips as part of their supercomputer.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• Crypto names lower as BTC loses its gains from yesterday.
• DKNG - Illinois Senate approves a budget that includes a progressive tax hike on sports betting operators. 40% tax rate, which will triple current tax. Not good for DKNG operations in Illionis
• SE - Indonesia antitrust agency says that Shopee, which is owned by SE, violated competition rules by directing customers to use certain delivery services. Shop stopped listing several delivery service providers, giving customers just 2 options.
• GME - higher after the company raised nearly 933M from sale of 45m shares. Proceeds used for general corporate purposes.
• With GameStop pumping, other MEME names like AMC, SPWR etc are up in sentiment.
• With NVDA pumping, we see other semiconductor names like QCOM, VRT, COHR, DELL run in sentiment.
• SBUX - discounts more of its popular coffee drinks in China
• ZS - down as Rosenblatt downgrades ahead of earnings.
• DUOL - JMP Securities upgrades duo lingo to outperform with PT of 260. Big analyst upgrade. Technical pic looks supportive.
• CRWD - Reiterated buy rating on CRWD, raised price target to 422 from 372. Believes they will surpass $5B in annual recurring revenue by Calendar year 2025.
• PAAS up as silver pumped yesterday.
• Solar names are higher again.
• GLOB - Raised to buy at UBS, price target 230. Current price 170.
• ABNB - raised to buy at WEdbush, price target 165 from 160.
• TTWO - rumours suggest 2K games secured official FIFA license. New game is expected to launch as FIFA.
• BA - wins 7.5B$ US airforce contract.
• PYPL - planning an ad business, hires Uber advertising chief, says WSJ
• ORCL - XAI founder Musk says the company is planning to build a supercomputer. Says that they will work with ORACLE probably. Want it up and running in 2nd half of 2025, says it will be 4 times stronger than largest GPU cluster.
• RIOT - will be looking at takeover of rival bitcoin miner, Bitfarms.
• RIVN - slashes prices on 2023 and 2024 R1T and R1S models in North America. A number of add ons to cars are now significantly cheaper than before.
• NCLH - Mizuho upgrades Norwegian Cruise Line to Buy from Neutral and raised Price target to 24 from 21.
• LLY - investing $5.3B to expand manufacturing of Zepbound and Mounjaro.
• BABA - Gets David Beckham as ambassador for AliExpress.
• MRK - announces Positive Phase 3 keynote 522 trial results. Trials met their overall desired end point.
• HES - Hess shareholders to vote on proposed $53B sale to Chevron
• MU - Is planning new DRAM chip factory in Hiroshima.
• TMUS - to buy Usecullar’s wireless OPs, 30% spectrum assets
• Nio - maintained at neutral by Bank of America, price target 5.90. FAW and Nio will collaborate in battery swapping.
• ONON - raised to buy from Hold by Truist Securities.

OTHER NEWS:

• BTC was higher yesterday to 70.5k, now lower to 68.2k. Fell to 67.5k.
• CHINA PROPERTY STOCKS DID WELL, RISING 1.9% ON SHANGHAI’s EASING MEASURES.
• Neel Kashkari says that nothing should be ruled out regarding policy path. Says there’s no need to hurry to cut rates. Wants to see many more months of good data.
• MESTER: gave no commentary on interest rates or economy.
• UBS lifts S&P 500 year end target to highest on Wall Street, at 5600.
• Trmup says he will ensure crypto history is made in US. Says he wants the legacy of BTC to be made in US not overseas. Hence crypto was higher on weekend.
• India and China have eliminated US dollar for imports, and opt for local currencies where trading partners allow it. Maldives, for example, confirms local currency payment arrangement.
• China has launched a $47.5B fund to boost their chip industry, amid rising tensions with US. This fund is China’s largest ever semiconductor investment initiative. Focuses on equipment for chip manufacturing.
• WMT CEO on how consumers are doing - “But I continue to be cautious about the balance of the year because we're in far from predictable times”. They are more selective in what they buy. More wallet is going towards food vs general merchandise.
• Musk’s xAI raises $6B in bid to challenge Open Ai.
• ECBs Lane: Keeping rates overly restrictive for too long could push inflation below target over medium term. This requires corrective action that could require having to descend to below neutral.
• Says rate cut next week is not a sign of victory.
• Whatever happens in 2024, further disinflation can be expected in 2025.
• ECB’s Villeory: June rate cut is a done deal.
• ECBs Rehn refused to commit to any rate path.
• RBC says that S&P 500 could dip below 5000 if high inflation persists. Says their base case is for 5100-5300. This report is basically useless and tells us nothing lol
• Norway recognises the state of Palestine - says the recognition is ad distinctive milestone. Spain also recognises Palestine. Israel not happy about this.
• Zelenskyy wants permission to allow Ukraine to use arms to attack Russia in Russian territory
• Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre.
• US is trying to work out if Israel violated Red Line with their weekend Rafah strike. Even Netanyahu calls the Rafah airstrike a tragic mistake. But this could be because they are facing big backlash now from France, US etc
• Opposition is allegedly discussing ousting Netanyahu. Considering creating a new alternative government.
• ISRAELI AND EGYPTIAN FORCES EXCHANGE FIRE NEAR RAFAH, EGYPTIAN SOLDIER KILLED. This is the big geopolitical escalation over Weeknd. Hence Gold and silver prices performed well yesterday. IDF made contract with Egyptian officials to cease fire.
• UK CBI (private data survey) says that May retail sales strongest in 8 months.
• Suzuki, Japan finance minister, reinforces that will take whatever steps necessary on FX as required.

To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge

ANALYSIS:

• This week we see PCE data come on Friday. Expectations in the market according to the bloomberg intelligence research that I was reading, is for it to come soft or in line. Analysts are not expecting it to come hot.
• Whilst some people argue that rates will have to stay higher for longer due to stickiness in inflation, I point to inflation swaps which have all fallen over the last 1 month. This for 1y, 2y, 3,y, 5y, 10y etc. Traders are still expecting inflation to come down this year, especially encouraged by the falling shelter inflation in the last report.
• A look at some positioning analysis then:
• Silver and gold pumped yesterday, silver in particular, due to the geopolitical escalations between Egypt and Israel, as well as Israel and the rest of the world in Rafah. We saw strong positioning before too.
• Today, both pullback, but positioning overall v bullish, traders are buying calls on Silver at 35C. Thats a sign that traders are expecting this to be short term vol before move higher.
• NVDA showing strong positioning, and is up in premarket on news that xAI will use NVDA chips in building thier supercomputer. This is brining other semiconductors with it. AMD has a bullish positioning too.
• Potential high volume Names to watch today from a catalyst perspective (you can see the catalysts below) are:
• DUOL, PYPL, RIOT, DKNG, SE, CRWD, ONON
• EURUSD, GBPUSD showing bullish positioning as both come to resistance at 1.09 and 1.28 respectively. Positioning suggests we can see a break above, but let’s see.
• Traders continue to favour tech, and big tech in particular as Mag7 skew makes a new yearly high. AAPL and NVDA up in premarket should be supportive of the market too.
• VIX is up in premarket but expect vol crush later in the day as usual, positioning on VIX is still very short.

DATA LEDE:

• AUSTRALIAN RETAIL SALES:
• Came 0.1% MOM vs 0.2% expected. Last month, fell 0.4% MOM.
• This is slightly weaker than expected, but retail sales MOM have been very variable in Australia, ranging from -1% to 1%
• ECB 1 year inflation expectations come in line with forecast at 2.9%
• 3 year CPI expectations come 2.4%, less than expected.
• GOOD.
• House Price Index/Case Shiller later
• Consumer Confidence nUmbers come out after market opens.
• Fed Speakers today:
• Mester, Kashkari, Cook, Daly

MARKETS: SPX, DJI, NDX more or less where they closed on Friday.

• SPX: closed Friday at 5303. Over Memorial Day, was trading flat, slightly higher to 5320, before dropping back to 5308. 5300 has been the support in premarket.
• NASDAQ: Closed Friday at 18,800. Over Memorial Day was flat. Pushed higher to 18900 before paring gains slightly back to 18,853
• DJI: Trading at 39k. Flat since Fridays close. 39k support, 40k resistance.
• GER40: After hitting 18,500 on Friday, it bounced. Moved higher to 18850 over yesterday, pared gains slightly.
• UK100: Slightly lwoer today, On Friday dropped to 8275. Yday dropped to 8200 before pushing higher. Today back at 8296. Positioning overall bullish.
• Silver: Pulling back today after push higher yesterday by 5%
• GOld: Lower, after being rejected off 2350. Had moved higher by almost 1% yesterday.
• In both cases, looks like pullback before move higher.
• Oil slightly higher - Opec meeting this week.

FX:

• EURUSD higher to 1.0885. Pushed up from 1.08 support on Friday. Will come to 1.09, and will be looking for break as has broken out of long term downtrend.
• GBPUSD higher towards 1.28, positioning bullish. 1.28 is resistance
• AUDUSD higher again. Retraced back to 0.66 support on Friday, before move higher again.
• Most of these moves have come on dollar weakening from 105 since Friday. - comes as Japan has been signalling more potential intervention and also some countries not using USD from imports.

MAG 7:

• AAPL - China iPhone shipments jump 52% in April. AAPL and resellers have bene cutting prices in China throughout 2024. Hence shipments have been jumping.
• AAPL - will unveil Ai tools for daily use at next month’s developers conference. Their “project grey matter” will integrate AI into safari, photos and notes. Custom AI generated emojis for example
• AMZN, NVDA - according to Business Insider, Amazon is facing challenges inc competing with NVDA’s dominant AI chips, experiencing low usage and compatibility problems.
• Internal documents apparently reveal Amazon’s AI chips, Tranium and Inferentia are lagging significantly behind NVDA’s GPU in adoption.
• AMZN trying to improve the chips
• Apparently evne some internal Amazon AI projects are using NVDA GPUs rather than AWS homegrown chips.
• AMZN - in talks to invest Billions into Italian cloud expansion.
• TSLA - secures $150M+ megabuck contract for Australia’s first 8 hour battery. Will supply megabuck battery for 50MW, 400MW limondale project in SW NSW Australia.
• DESPITE THIS, TSLA LOWER AS GLASS LEWIS URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO REJECT Elon Musk PAY PACKAGE.
• NVDA - Bank of America shows that 68% of funds own NVDA in their holdings and over 50% of all funds are overweight on the firm.
• NVDA pumping 3% in premarket. Musk’s XAI wants to use H100 chips as part of their supercomputer.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• Crypto names lower as BTC loses its gains from yesterday.
• DKNG - Illinois Senate approves a budget that includes a progressive tax hike on sports betting operators. 40% tax rate, which will triple current tax. Not good for DKNG operations in Illionis
• SE - Indonesia antitrust agency says that Shopee, which is owned by SE, violated competition rules by directing customers to use certain delivery services. Shop stopped listing several delivery service providers, giving customers just 2 options.
• GME - higher after the company raised nearly 933M from sale of 45m shares. Proceeds used for general corporate purposes.
• With GameStop pumping, other MEME names like AMC, SPWR etc are up in sentiment.
• With NVDA pumping, we see other semiconductor names like QCOM, VRT, COHR, DELL run in sentiment.
• SBUX - discounts more of its popular coffee drinks in China
• ZS - down as Rosenblatt downgrades ahead of earnings.
• DUOL - JMP Securities upgrades duo lingo to outperform with PT of 260. Big analyst upgrade. Technical pic looks supportive.
• CRWD - Reiterated buy rating on CRWD, raised price target to 422 from 372. Believes they will surpass $5B in annual recurring revenue by Calendar year 2025.
• PAAS up as silver pumped yesterday.
• Solar names are higher again.
• GLOB - Raised to buy at UBS, price target 230. Current price 170.
• ABNB - raised to buy at WEdbush, price target 165 from 160.
• TTWO - rumours suggest 2K games secured official FIFA license. New game is expected to launch as FIFA.
• BA - wins 7.5B$ US airforce contract.
• PYPL - planning an ad business, hires Uber advertising chief, says WSJ
• ORCL - XAI founder Musk says the company is planning to build a supercomputer. Says that they will work with ORACLE probably. Want it up and running in 2nd half of 2025, says it will be 4 times stronger than largest GPU cluster.
• RIOT - will be looking at takeover of rival bitcoin miner, Bitfarms.
• RIVN - slashes prices on 2023 and 2024 R1T and R1S models in North America. A number of add ons to cars are now significantly cheaper than before.
• NCLH - Mizuho upgrades Norwegian Cruise Line to Buy from Neutral and raised Price target to 24 from 21.
• LLY - investing $5.3B to expand manufacturing of Zepbound and Mounjaro.
• BABA - Gets David Beckham as ambassador for AliExpress.
• MRK - announces Positive Phase 3 keynote 522 trial results. Trials met their overall desired end point.
• HES - Hess shareholders to vote on proposed $53B sale to Chevron
• MU - Is planning new DRAM chip factory in Hiroshima.
• TMUS - to buy Usecullar’s wireless OPs, 30% spectrum assets
• Nio - maintained at neutral by Bank of America, price target 5.90. FAW and Nio will collaborate in battery swapping.
• ONON - raised to buy from Hold by Truist Securities.

OTHER NEWS:

• BTC was higher yesterday to 70.5k, now lower to 68.2k. Fell to 67.5k.
• CHINA PROPERTY STOCKS DID WELL, RISING 1.9% ON SHANGHAI’s EASING MEASURES.
• Neel Kashkari says that nothing should be ruled out regarding policy path. Says there’s no need to hurry to cut rates. Wants to see many more months of good data.
• MESTER: gave no commentary on interest rates or economy.
• UBS lifts S&P 500 year end target to highest on Wall Street, at 5600.
• Trmup says he will ensure crypto history is made in US. Says he wants the legacy of BTC to be made in US not overseas. Hence crypto was higher on weekend.
• India and China have eliminated US dollar for imports, and opt for local currencies where trading partners allow it. Maldives, for example, confirms local currency payment arrangement.
• China has launched a $47.5B fund to boost their chip industry, amid rising tensions with US. This fund is China’s largest ever semiconductor investment initiative. Focuses on equipment for chip manufacturing.
• WMT CEO on how consumers are doing - “But I continue to be cautious about the balance of the year because we're in far from predictable times”. They are more selective in what they buy. More wallet is going towards food vs general merchandise.
• Musk’s xAI raises $6B in bid to challenge Open Ai.
• ECBs Lane: Keeping rates overly restrictive for too long could push inflation below target over medium term. This requires corrective action that could require having to descend to below neutral.
• Says rate cut next week is not a sign of victory.
• Whatever happens in 2024, further disinflation can be expected in 2025.
• ECB’s Villeory: June rate cut is a done deal.
• ECBs Rehn refused to commit to any rate path.
• RBC says that S&P 500 could dip below 5000 if high inflation persists. Says their base case is for 5100-5300. This report is basically useless and tells us nothing lol
• Norway recognises the state of Palestine - says the recognition is ad distinctive milestone. Spain also recognises Palestine. Israel not happy about this.
• Zelenskyy wants permission to allow Ukraine to use arms to attack Russia in Russian territory
• Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre.
• US is trying to work out if Israel violated Red Line with their weekend Rafah strike. Even Netanyahu calls the Rafah airstrike a tragic mistake. But this could be because they are facing big backlash now from France, US etc
• Opposition is allegedly discussing ousting Netanyahu. Considering creating a new alternative government.
• ISRAELI AND EGYPTIAN FORCES EXCHANGE FIRE NEAR RAFAH, EGYPTIAN SOLDIER KILLED. This is the big geopolitical escalation over Weeknd. Hence Gold and silver prices performed well yesterday. IDF made contract with Egyptian officials to cease fire.
• UK CBI (private data survey) says that May retail sales strongest in 8 months.
• Suzuki, Japan finance minister, reinforces that will take whatever steps necessary on FX as required.

I've tried to improve the report today, with more explicitly mentioned high volume tickers to watch for the day, along with their catalysts, and have increased the detail in analysis section. Hope you like.
To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge
ANALYSIS:

• This week we see PCE data come on Friday. Expectations in the market according to the bloomberg intelligence research that I was reading, is for it to come soft or in line. Analysts are not expecting it to come hot.
• Whilst some people argue that rates will have to stay higher for longer due to stickiness in inflation, I point to inflation swaps which have all fallen over the last 1 month. This for 1y, 2y, 3,y, 5y, 10y etc. Traders are still expecting inflation to come down this year, especially encouraged by the falling shelter inflation in the last report.
• A look at some positioning analysis then:
• Silver and gold pumped yesterday, silver in particular, due to the geopolitical escalations between Egypt and Israel, as well as Israel and the rest of the world in Rafah. We saw strong positioning before too.
• Today, both pullback, but positioning overall v bullish, traders are buying calls on Silver at 35C. Thats a sign that traders are expecting this to be short term vol before move higher.
• NVDA showing strong positioning, and is up in premarket on news that xAI will use NVDA chips in building thier supercomputer. This is brining other semiconductors with it. AMD has a bullish positioning too.
• Potential high volume Names to watch today from a catalyst perspective (you can see the catalysts below) are:
• DUOL, PYPL, RIOT, DKNG, SE, CRWD, ONON
• EURUSD, GBPUSD showing bullish positioning as both come to resistance at 1.09 and 1.28 respectively. Positioning suggests we can see a break above, but let’s see.
• Traders continue to favour tech, and big tech in particular as Mag7 skew makes a new yearly high. AAPL and NVDA up in premarket should be supportive of the market too.
• VIX is up in premarket but expect vol crush later in the day as usual, positioning on VIX is still very short.
• Please see the sub’s posts (rank by new) for more of the updates I put out ahead of the week.

DATA LEDE:

• AUSTRALIAN RETAIL SALES:
• Came 0.1% MOM vs 0.2% expected. Last month, fell 0.4% MOM.
• This is slightly weaker than expected, but retail sales MOM have been very variable in Australia, ranging from -1% to 1%
• ECB 1 year inflation expectations come in line with forecast at 2.9%
• 3 year CPI expectations come 2.4%, less than expected.
• GOOD.
• House Price Index/Case Shiller later
• Consumer Confidence nUmbers come out after market opens.
• Fed Speakers today:
• Mester, Kashkari, Cook, Daly

MARKETS: SPX, DJI, NDX more or less where they closed on Friday.

• SPX: closed Friday at 5303. Over Memorial Day, was trading flat, slightly higher to 5320, before dropping back to 5308. 5300 has been the support in premarket.
• NASDAQ: Closed Friday at 18,800. Over Memorial Day was flat. Pushed higher to 18900 before paring gains slightly back to 18,853
• DJI: Trading at 39k. Flat since Fridays close. 39k support, 40k resistance.
• GER40: After hitting 18,500 on Friday, it bounced. Moved higher to 18850 over yesterday, pared gains slightly.
• UK100: Slightly lwoer today, On Friday dropped to 8275. Yday dropped to 8200 before pushing higher. Today back at 8296. Positioning overall bullish.
• Silver: Pulling back today after push higher yesterday by 5%
• GOld: Lower, after being rejected off 2350. Had moved higher by almost 1% yesterday.
• In both cases, looks like pullback before move higher.
• Oil slightly higher - Opec meeting this week.

FX:

• EURUSD higher to 1.0885. Pushed up from 1.08 support on Friday. Will come to 1.09, and will be looking for break as has broken out of long term downtrend.
• GBPUSD higher towards 1.28, positioning bullish. 1.28 is resistance
• AUDUSD higher again. Retraced back to 0.66 support on Friday, before move higher again.
• Most of these moves have come on dollar weakening from 105 since Friday. - comes as Japan has been signalling more potential intervention and also some countries not using USD from imports.

MAG 7:

• AAPL - China iPhone shipments jump 52% in April. AAPL and resellers have bene cutting prices in China throughout 2024. Hence shipments have been jumping.
• AAPL - will unveil Ai tools for daily use at next month’s developers conference. Their “project grey matter” will integrate AI into safari, photos and notes. Custom AI generated emojis for example
• AMZN, NVDA - according to Business Insider, Amazon is facing challenges inc competing with NVDA’s dominant AI chips, experiencing low usage and compatibility problems.
• Internal documents apparently reveal Amazon’s AI chips, Tranium and Inferentia are lagging significantly behind NVDA’s GPU in adoption.
• AMZN trying to improve the chips
• Apparently evne some internal Amazon AI projects are using NVDA GPUs rather than AWS homegrown chips.
• AMZN - in talks to invest Billions into Italian cloud expansion.
• TSLA - secures $150M+ megabuck contract for Australia’s first 8 hour battery. Will supply megabuck battery for 50MW, 400MW limondale project in SW NSW Australia.
• DESPITE THIS, TSLA LOWER AS GLASS LEWIS URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO REJECT Elon Musk PAY PACKAGE.
• NVDA - Bank of America shows that 68% of funds own NVDA in their holdings and over 50% of all funds are overweight on the firm.
• NVDA pumping 3% in premarket. Musk’s XAI wants to use H100 chips as part of their supercomputer.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• Crypto names lower as BTC loses its gains from yesterday.
• DKNG - Illinois Senate approves a budget that includes a progressive tax hike on sports betting operators. 40% tax rate, which will triple current tax. Not good for DKNG operations in Illionis
• SE - Indonesia antitrust agency says that Shopee, which is owned by SE, violated competition rules by directing customers to use certain delivery services. Shop stopped listing several delivery service providers, giving customers just 2 options.
• GME - higher after the company raised nearly 933M from sale of 45m shares. Proceeds used for general corporate purposes.
• With GameStop pumping, other MEME names like AMC, SPWR etc are up in sentiment.
• With NVDA pumping, we see other semiconductor names like QCOM, VRT, COHR, DELL run in sentiment.
• SBUX - discounts more of its popular coffee drinks in China
• ZS - down as Rosenblatt downgrades ahead of earnings.
• DUOL - JMP Securities upgrades duo lingo to outperform with PT of 260. Big analyst upgrade. Technical pic looks supportive.
• CRWD - Reiterated buy rating on CRWD, raised price target to 422 from 372. Believes they will surpass $5B in annual recurring revenue by Calendar year 2025.
• PAAS up as silver pumped yesterday.
• Solar names are higher again.
• GLOB - Raised to buy at UBS, price target 230. Current price 170.
• ABNB - raised to buy at WEdbush, price target 165 from 160.
• TTWO - rumours suggest 2K games secured official FIFA license. New game is expected to launch as FIFA.
• BA - wins 7.5B$ US airforce contract.
• PYPL - planning an ad business, hires Uber advertising chief, says WSJ
• ORCL - XAI founder Musk says the company is planning to build a supercomputer. Says that they will work with ORACLE probably. Want it up and running in 2nd half of 2025, says it will be 4 times stronger than largest GPU cluster.
• RIOT - will be looking at takeover of rival bitcoin miner, Bitfarms.
• RIVN - slashes prices on 2023 and 2024 R1T and R1S models in North America. A number of add ons to cars are now significantly cheaper than before.
• NCLH - Mizuho upgrades Norwegian Cruise Line to Buy from Neutral and raised Price target to 24 from 21.
• LLY - investing $5.3B to expand manufacturing of Zepbound and Mounjaro.
• BABA - Gets David Beckham as ambassador for AliExpress.
• MRK - announces Positive Phase 3 keynote 522 trial results. Trials met their overall desired end point.
• HES - Hess shareholders to vote on proposed $53B sale to Chevron
• MU - Is planning new DRAM chip factory in Hiroshima.
• TMUS - to buy Usecullar’s wireless OPs, 30% spectrum assets
• Nio - maintained at neutral by Bank of America, price target 5.90. FAW and Nio will collaborate in battery swapping.
• ONON - raised to buy from Hold by Truist Securities.

OTHER NEWS:

• BTC was higher yesterday to 70.5k, now lower to 68.2k. Fell to 67.5k.
• CHINA PROPERTY STOCKS DID WELL, RISING 1.9% ON SHANGHAI’s EASING MEASURES.
• Neel Kashkari says that nothing should be ruled out regarding policy path. Says there’s no need to hurry to cut rates. Wants to see many more months of good data.
• MESTER: gave no commentary on interest rates or economy.
• UBS lifts S&P 500 year end target to highest on Wall Street, at 5600.
• Trmup says he will ensure crypto history is made in US. Says he wants the legacy of BTC to be made in US not overseas. Hence crypto was higher on weekend.
• India and China have eliminated US dollar for imports, and opt for local currencies where trading partners allow it. Maldives, for example, confirms local currency payment arrangement.
• China has launched a $47.5B fund to boost their chip industry, amid rising tensions with US. This fund is China’s largest ever semiconductor investment initiative. Focuses on equipment for chip manufacturing.
• WMT CEO on how consumers are doing - “But I continue to be cautious about the balance of the year because we're in far from predictable times”. They are more selective in what they buy. More wallet is going towards food vs general merchandise.
• Musk’s xAI raises $6B in bid to challenge Open Ai.
• ECBs Lane: Keeping rates overly restrictive for too long could push inflation below target over medium term. This requires corrective action that could require having to descend to below neutral.
• Says rate cut next week is not a sign of victory.
• Whatever happens in 2024, further disinflation can be expected in 2025.
• ECB’s Villeory: June rate cut is a done deal.
• ECBs Rehn refused to commit to any rate path.
• RBC says that S&P 500 could dip below 5000 if high inflation persists. Says their base case is for 5100-5300. This report is basically useless and tells us nothing lol
• Norway recognises the state of Palestine - says the recognition is ad distinctive milestone. Spain also recognises Palestine. Israel not happy about this.
• Zelenskyy wants permission to allow Ukraine to use arms to attack Russia in Russian territory
• Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre.
• US is trying to work out if Israel violated Red Line with their weekend Rafah strike. Even Netanyahu calls the Rafah airstrike a tragic mistake. But this could be because they are facing big backlash now from France, US etc
• Opposition is allegedly discussing ousting Netanyahu. Considering creating a new alternative government.
• ISRAELI AND EGYPTIAN FORCES EXCHANGE FIRE NEAR RAFAH, EGYPTIAN SOLDIER KILLED. This is the big geopolitical escalation over Weeknd. Hence Gold and silver prices performed well yesterday. IDF made contract with Egyptian officials to cease fire.
• UK CBI (private data survey) says that May retail sales strongest in 8 months.
• Suzuki, Japan finance minister, reinforces that will take whatever steps necessary on FX as required.

To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge

I've tried to improve the report today, with more explicitly mentioned high volume tickers to watch for the day, along with their catalysts, and have increased the detail in analysis section. Hope you like.
To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge
ANALYSIS:

• This week we see PCE data come on Friday. Expectations in the market according to the bloomberg intelligence research that I was reading, is for it to come soft or in line. Analysts are not expecting it to come hot.
• Whilst some people argue that rates will have to stay higher for longer due to stickiness in inflation, I point to inflation swaps which have all fallen over the last 1 month. This for 1y, 2y, 3,y, 5y, 10y etc. Traders are still expecting inflation to come down this year, especially encouraged by the falling shelter inflation in the last report.
• A look at some positioning analysis then:
• Silver and gold pumped yesterday, silver in particular, due to the geopolitical escalations between Egypt and Israel, as well as Israel and the rest of the world in Rafah. We saw strong positioning before too.
• Today, both pullback, but positioning overall v bullish, traders are buying calls on Silver at 35C. Thats a sign that traders are expecting this to be short term vol before move higher.
• NVDA showing strong positioning, and is up in premarket on news that xAI will use NVDA chips in building thier supercomputer. This is brining other semiconductors with it. AMD has a bullish positioning too.
• Potential high volume Names to watch today from a catalyst perspective (you can see the catalysts below) are:
• DUOL, PYPL, RIOT, DKNG, SE, CRWD, ONON
• EURUSD, GBPUSD showing bullish positioning as both come to resistance at 1.09 and 1.28 respectively. Positioning suggests we can see a break above, but let’s see.
• Traders continue to favour tech, and big tech in particular as Mag7 skew makes a new yearly high. AAPL and NVDA up in premarket should be supportive of the market too.
• VIX is up in premarket but expect vol crush later in the day as usual, positioning on VIX is still very short.
• Please see the sub’s posts (rank by new) for more of the updates I put out ahead of the week.

DATA LEDE:

• AUSTRALIAN RETAIL SALES:
• Came 0.1% MOM vs 0.2% expected. Last month, fell 0.4% MOM.
• This is slightly weaker than expected, but retail sales MOM have been very variable in Australia, ranging from -1% to 1%
• ECB 1 year inflation expectations come in line with forecast at 2.9%
• 3 year CPI expectations come 2.4%, less than expected.
• GOOD.
• House Price Index/Case Shiller later
• Consumer Confidence nUmbers come out after market opens.
• Fed Speakers today:
• Mester, Kashkari, Cook, Daly

MARKETS: SPX, DJI, NDX more or less where they closed on Friday.

• SPX: closed Friday at 5303. Over Memorial Day, was trading flat, slightly higher to 5320, before dropping back to 5308. 5300 has been the support in premarket.
• NASDAQ: Closed Friday at 18,800. Over Memorial Day was flat. Pushed higher to 18900 before paring gains slightly back to 18,853
• DJI: Trading at 39k. Flat since Fridays close. 39k support, 40k resistance.
• GER40: After hitting 18,500 on Friday, it bounced. Moved higher to 18850 over yesterday, pared gains slightly.
• UK100: Slightly lwoer today, On Friday dropped to 8275. Yday dropped to 8200 before pushing higher. Today back at 8296. Positioning overall bullish.
• Silver: Pulling back today after push higher yesterday by 5%
• GOld: Lower, after being rejected off 2350. Had moved higher by almost 1% yesterday.
• In both cases, looks like pullback before move higher.
• Oil slightly higher - Opec meeting this week.

FX:

• EURUSD higher to 1.0885. Pushed up from 1.08 support on Friday. Will come to 1.09, and will be looking for break as has broken out of long term downtrend.
• GBPUSD higher towards 1.28, positioning bullish. 1.28 is resistance
• AUDUSD higher again. Retraced back to 0.66 support on Friday, before move higher again.
• Most of these moves have come on dollar weakening from 105 since Friday. - comes as Japan has been signalling more potential intervention and also some countries not using USD from imports.

MAG 7:

• AAPL - China iPhone shipments jump 52% in April. AAPL and resellers have bene cutting prices in China throughout 2024. Hence shipments have been jumping.
• AAPL - will unveil Ai tools for daily use at next month’s developers conference. Their “project grey matter” will integrate AI into safari, photos and notes. Custom AI generated emojis for example
• AMZN, NVDA - according to Business Insider, Amazon is facing challenges inc competing with NVDA’s dominant AI chips, experiencing low usage and compatibility problems.
• Internal documents apparently reveal Amazon’s AI chips, Tranium and Inferentia are lagging significantly behind NVDA’s GPU in adoption.
• AMZN trying to improve the chips
• Apparently evne some internal Amazon AI projects are using NVDA GPUs rather than AWS homegrown chips.
• AMZN - in talks to invest Billions into Italian cloud expansion.
• TSLA - secures $150M+ megabuck contract for Australia’s first 8 hour battery. Will supply megabuck battery for 50MW, 400MW limondale project in SW NSW Australia.
• DESPITE THIS, TSLA LOWER AS GLASS LEWIS URGES SHAREHOLDERS TO REJECT Elon Musk PAY PACKAGE.
• NVDA - Bank of America shows that 68% of funds own NVDA in their holdings and over 50% of all funds are overweight on the firm.
• NVDA pumping 3% in premarket. Musk’s XAI wants to use H100 chips as part of their supercomputer.

OTHER COMPANIES:

• Crypto names lower as BTC loses its gains from yesterday.
• DKNG - Illinois Senate approves a budget that includes a progressive tax hike on sports betting operators. 40% tax rate, which will triple current tax. Not good for DKNG operations in Illionis
• SE - Indonesia antitrust agency says that Shopee, which is owned by SE, violated competition rules by directing customers to use certain delivery services. Shop stopped listing several delivery service providers, giving customers just 2 options.
• GME - higher after the company raised nearly 933M from sale of 45m shares. Proceeds used for general corporate purposes.
• With GameStop pumping, other MEME names like AMC, SPWR etc are up in sentiment.
• With NVDA pumping, we see other semiconductor names like QCOM, VRT, COHR, DELL run in sentiment.
• SBUX - discounts more of its popular coffee drinks in China
• ZS - down as Rosenblatt downgrades ahead of earnings.
• DUOL - JMP Securities upgrades duo lingo to outperform with PT of 260. Big analyst upgrade. Technical pic looks supportive.
• CRWD - Reiterated buy rating on CRWD, raised price target to 422 from 372. Believes they will surpass $5B in annual recurring revenue by Calendar year 2025.
• PAAS up as silver pumped yesterday.
• Solar names are higher again.
• GLOB - Raised to buy at UBS, price target 230. Current price 170.
• ABNB - raised to buy at WEdbush, price target 165 from 160.
• TTWO - rumours suggest 2K games secured official FIFA license. New game is expected to launch as FIFA.
• BA - wins 7.5B$ US airforce contract.
• PYPL - planning an ad business, hires Uber advertising chief, says WSJ
• ORCL - XAI founder Musk says the company is planning to build a supercomputer. Says that they will work with ORACLE probably. Want it up and running in 2nd half of 2025, says it will be 4 times stronger than largest GPU cluster.
• RIOT - will be looking at takeover of rival bitcoin miner, Bitfarms.
• RIVN - slashes prices on 2023 and 2024 R1T and R1S models in North America. A number of add ons to cars are now significantly cheaper than before.
• NCLH - Mizuho upgrades Norwegian Cruise Line to Buy from Neutral and raised Price target to 24 from 21.
• LLY - investing $5.3B to expand manufacturing of Zepbound and Mounjaro.
• BABA - Gets David Beckham as ambassador for AliExpress.
• MRK - announces Positive Phase 3 keynote 522 trial results. Trials met their overall desired end point.
• HES - Hess shareholders to vote on proposed $53B sale to Chevron
• MU - Is planning new DRAM chip factory in Hiroshima.
• TMUS - to buy Usecullar’s wireless OPs, 30% spectrum assets
• Nio - maintained at neutral by Bank of America, price target 5.90. FAW and Nio will collaborate in battery swapping.
• ONON - raised to buy from Hold by Truist Securities.

OTHER NEWS:

• BTC was higher yesterday to 70.5k, now lower to 68.2k. Fell to 67.5k.
• CHINA PROPERTY STOCKS DID WELL, RISING 1.9% ON SHANGHAI’s EASING MEASURES.
• Neel Kashkari says that nothing should be ruled out regarding policy path. Says there’s no need to hurry to cut rates. Wants to see many more months of good data.
• MESTER: gave no commentary on interest rates or economy.
• UBS lifts S&P 500 year end target to highest on Wall Street, at 5600.
• Trmup says he will ensure crypto history is made in US. Says he wants the legacy of BTC to be made in US not overseas. Hence crypto was higher on weekend.
• India and China have eliminated US dollar for imports, and opt for local currencies where trading partners allow it. Maldives, for example, confirms local currency payment arrangement.
• China has launched a $47.5B fund to boost their chip industry, amid rising tensions with US. This fund is China’s largest ever semiconductor investment initiative. Focuses on equipment for chip manufacturing.
• WMT CEO on how consumers are doing - “But I continue to be cautious about the balance of the year because we're in far from predictable times”. They are more selective in what they buy. More wallet is going towards food vs general merchandise.
• Musk’s xAI raises $6B in bid to challenge Open Ai.
• ECBs Lane: Keeping rates overly restrictive for too long could push inflation below target over medium term. This requires corrective action that could require having to descend to below neutral.
• Says rate cut next week is not a sign of victory.
• Whatever happens in 2024, further disinflation can be expected in 2025.
• ECB’s Villeory: June rate cut is a done deal.
• ECBs Rehn refused to commit to any rate path.
• RBC says that S&P 500 could dip below 5000 if high inflation persists. Says their base case is for 5100-5300. This report is basically useless and tells us nothing lol
• Norway recognises the state of Palestine - says the recognition is ad distinctive milestone. Spain also recognises Palestine. Israel not happy about this.
• Zelenskyy wants permission to allow Ukraine to use arms to attack Russia in Russian territory
• Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre.
• US is trying to work out if Israel violated Red Line with their weekend Rafah strike. Even Netanyahu calls the Rafah airstrike a tragic mistake. But this could be because they are facing big backlash now from France, US etc
• Opposition is allegedly discussing ousting Netanyahu. Considering creating a new alternative government.
• ISRAELI AND EGYPTIAN FORCES EXCHANGE FIRE NEAR RAFAH, EGYPTIAN SOLDIER KILLED. This is the big geopolitical escalation over Weeknd. Hence Gold and silver prices performed well yesterday. IDF made contract with Egyptian officials to cease fire.
• UK CBI (private data survey) says that May retail sales strongest in 8 months.
• Suzuki, Japan finance minister, reinforces that will take whatever steps necessary on FX as required.

To motivate me to make more free content, please join my sub Tradingedge

MM90 Hunter Series: Inspired by Cribble Rock Run
You’ve been browsing through your emails, looking at all of your job requests being rejected. Each one you click on, they’re filled with “Sorry, you have been rejected due to the following reasons…” You are utterly disappointed, when one catches your eye. The email reads, “MM90 Hunter Job Offer: Accepted.” You don’t remember signing up for anything related to a hunter. Curiously, you click on it. As you slowly read, your eyes widen in curiosity, excitement, worry and eventually, fear.
From: M̵̪̪͛M̴̙̯͑͛9̵̲͚̈̉0̸̢̣͋ ̵̲̻̏H̵͚̱͒͑u̸̡͇͛n̴͓͐̀t̶̫̘̿ê̵̚͜r̸͉̍̐@̵̰̀g̷̩͐̅m̸̙͠ą̷̈́i̶̗͛ĺ̸͓͔͝.̴̟̎͘c̷̭͚̽ŏ̷̹̾m̵̗̣̐̈
To: brok0009linkpao@gmail.com
Dear Broklink James Maddison,
You may wonder, How do we have your full name? No worries, we know everything about you. You live at 108 Rue Street, Undespical Manor. .Your childhood dog’s name is Chump. Your mom’s maiden name is Patrice. Everything you can think of, we know.
I know you may not have registered for our agency, but it doesn't matter anymore, does it? The moment you clicked on this email, your internet history has been automatically erased and completely deleted. Your existence on the internet has been utterly eradicated. We have traced your IP and have placed trackers all over your apartment. This is the exact same for 99 other examiners we have accepted.
Your pay will be 12,00,000 Euros per hunting project. This will vary for all hunters.
The moment you have opened this, you have opened yourself to dangers not only from us, but from the shangdengs, or what you call the supernaturals. Don’t call the police, stay calm when you read this. Quite frankly, if you decide to call 911, you wouldn’t have time to even answer the call before you, your family, your friend and everyone who knows you dies. Immediately. Painlessly, and as fast as an instant. Remember that surgery you had a few days ago, or that vaccine shot a few months ago? That probably was all plans for us to be safe. In case you escape. If you do tell anyone, your existence will be eradicated from the entirety of humanity. No one will have known you existed. Everybody who did, their existence will also be eradicated, or at least, their memory would be cleared.
Your interview will take place on May 30, 2024, in the Hidden Chamber at Mount Rushmore. That will be the first test. Only 1 hunter will be recruited, while the others will all be eradicated. We do not want anyone to know about our existence at all. We wish you good luck. Please read the following rules to ensure a safe interview process.
Sincerely, MM90 First Hunter Code Name: NightRize
You look on in fear. Seeing your phone, you immediately want to call the police. As you pick it up, hesitant about whether what they mentioned was true, you suddenly feel extremely eerie, something in your head telling you to absolutely not do it. Trying to push off the persuasions in your brain, you suddenly see 5 helicopters flying by. They look like helicopters from the army, dangerous. And all of them are swirling around you, but it is as if it has not attracted any nuisance at all. You decide to put your phone gradually down, which causes the helicopters to slowly fly by. The moment you try to pick it up one more time, you hear the sound of helicopters again. Terrified, you decide to further read the rules. Maybe this is all a prank, but the date isn’t April 1st. And you have no prank youtuber friend.
MM90 Interview Rule: Set 1,000
This ruleset has only been seen by 101 people in the world. By the end of the interview, only 2 people would have ever read it. Me, and maybe you. You will be officially the 1000th member of our hunter organization that stretches all around the UNIVERSE, if you pass the interview. If you don’t, nobody will know you exist.
Rule 1: Never let anyone know about our existence. NEVER. I know you do not want your entire life, your entire family to just poof.
Rule 2: Train hard for this interview. Try your utter best to prepare for it. It will be the biggest, and most important 24 hours of your life. Try your best, no matter if it is preparing for questions, or going to the gym or training your mentality or preparing to murder someone, or trying to extract information by torturing a random stranger, or watching your family member die without showing a slight sense of emotion.
Rule 3: Arrive precisely at your given location at the given date. Be there exactly at midnight. Not early, not late. If you’re there before the clock strikes 12, or not there after the clock strikes 12, poof. Eradication will begin. Don’t be late. DON’T.
3.1: In case you ever feel like time has gone past extremely slowly the day before, and I mean extremely slowly. Something could be wrong. To test this, cut your left middle finger and pour the blood on a small cup. Count the time in your head. If it takes more than 180 seconds for the wound to dry out. Reply the email with “Sunrise has passed dripping down.” We will completely understand your situation. Delete the email and by tomorrow, you would have forgotten the existence of this message. This is one of the only exceptions.
3.2: However, if it stops before 180 seconds have passed, you may be safe. However, by the time this email has been sent for around 2 days, the shangdengs, or supernaturals may have already targeted you as a status of a hunter. To make sure you’re safe, pour oregano all over your table. That’s it. You will know when a shangdeng is actually haunting you soon. If you don’t notice any more unnatural occurrences, stick by the rules.
3.3: If something does occur that makes you know a shangdeng is haunting you, there is not really much we could do, as you are not one of us yet. State down your will and your best wishes, because you will probably have the remainder of the day to survive. Pray to whoever you worship. Still, there is a slim chance of survival.
3.4: If blood, or any liquid is splattered onto the table with oregano, that’s your sign that you can fight back. This is quite rare, but you are definitely lucky. Lucky enough for you to buy lottery tickets and win within 100 tickets. These are not common. The supernatural or shangdeng is weak enough to have shown its weakness. Guns may be able to do the trick, but it is best for you to remain calm. By the day after midnight, it will show up. It can take shape with any appearance, but always stay calm. They feed off your fear. These ones do not overpower you, it’s just a higher being. Fighting it off with your bare hands is the best choice. If you have to, use a knife. It WILL be a bloodbath. One thing to remember is that if they appear in the shape of a loved one, they have turned into a shangdeng and it is their memory activating. Try your best to persuade them. Tell them their identity. If they convert, bring them to your location on the last day of the same year. Before that, we will allow you to keep your memory, because this task is imperative for them to resist the temptation of the supernatural side. If you survive, we will follow the procedure in Rule 3.1
3.5: If rough shakes on the table occur and large cough/sneeze like sounds occur, they are more powerful and can hide themselves better. You still have a chance to run, but leave EVERYTHING behind. Before you leave, destroy any evidence of who you are, maybe even leave fake proof, or put down details of a person that is not you to distract them. If you are successful, leave the country before midnight. Good job, you are safe. If you are still in the country, but you have destroyed and planted enough fake evidence, you still have around a 50% chance of survival. If you have brought anything with you though, the scent of you IS enough for them to trace you down. You better wish for us to be able to eradicate your existence in time, or you will suffer a horrid amount of torture. Gruesome torture. Maybe they will accept you as one of them. If they do, accept. That is still not a good thing, but being their slaves is far worse. If you become one of them, and your memory somehow still survives their brainwash, please don’t harm us. We don’t want to hunt anymore of you.
3.6: If only very slight movements occur, but enough to catch your eye, we’re sorry. The only thing you can do is to get to your destination in time, and we will be able to eradicate your existence. If you don’t, you will be one of the slaves. Maybe the slaves of the slaves, and the things you have to go through are… is far worse than I can describe.
Rule 4: If nothing out of the ordinary happens, please remember to wear formal attire. Dress up in a nice suit that will not cause over sweating. Bring back up shirts that can benefit you in physical interviewing sessions. Prepare small sharp weapons and bring stuff that may help you swim. Anything informal would make you be considered one of the shangdengs.
Rule 5: The day you arrive, you will be greeted by me. I will be dressed in a light blue suit and black pants. I will have a tag writing my code name and wearing bright red gloves. Anybody that does not have these attire, it could be an imposter. I will not forget these important things. In case it is, act natural. Never respond to questions, but instead only use gestures. If they start threatening you, your best chance is to intimidate them. Don’t show fear. Then, confuse them. Start breakdancing, throwing your shirt in the air with ecstasy, singing the lyrics of “Old Town Road’. Whatever you can do to throw them off. This can only buy you time to exist. If you do manage to make them so confused to the point of disappearing, follow the rules of 3.5.
Rule 6: I only greet people with “Hello. Shall the interview commence?” Anything else, follow rule 5. You must respond in only three ways possible, or you will be treated as a shangdeng and eradicated. I am able to sense human emotions as a top hunter, so never respond in a different way. I don’t like being lied to.
6.1: If you feel extremely terrified, at the level that you can’t speak, or you piss your pants or profusely sweat, reply with, “Spare me master, for fear has overcome me.” After that, I will give you 2 hours of freedom, before the eventual eradication of everything occurs. You were not going to make it anyway, and that was my last bit of mercy I can give you.
6.2: If you are terrified, which is normal, respond with “Preparation is far from completed, but commence, or I shall face eradication.” Continue with the interview, speaking the language you are the most comfortable in. Answer in a more formal matter.
6.3 If you feel a weirdly calm sense, we are glad to have chosen you. Do not respond to my question and start a calm conversation only in English. After I get to know you, the interview will start, and you MUST speak in a formal manner.
6.4 If anyone responds in a manner contradicting their emotion, I will stare at you one last time. If you stand by your lies, your fate will be worse than eradication. Instead, beg for mercy. I’ll give you 30 minutes to leave. You have become my hunted. I do not wish you good luck.
Rule 7: If I ever start twitching profusely, or show any symptoms that appear suddenly, follow rule 5. I am not me anymore. This only happens if I’ve been sabotaged in the hunter agency. In that case, eradication awaits you and I have nothing I can do to help you.
Rule 8: Make eye contact, it’s a way to show your confidence. Don’t look at me for too long though. You do not want to stare so deep in it that you cannot look away
Rule 9: If you realize the surroundings of you start to change, be wary of it, but don’t look directly. There are mainly 5 different environments it changes to. Act accordingly to the environment.
9.1: Your surroundings should be similar to a cave in the Hidden Chamber. It should be relatively gloomy but not extremely dark. If the surrounding changes to a tropical rainforest, with parrots flying everywhere and sounds of chirping, don’t be distracted. Our location has been found by an extremely powerful shangdeng. The chance of this happening is extremely rare, but pretend it does not exist. The shangdeng knows you have realized its existence. However, it can only attack you if you visibly acknowledge you. Parrots may fly between you, you may sense a tiger staring and ferociously roaring at you. Don’t acknowledge you, and it will eventually fade you. However, if after the interview, the surrounding still follows you, follow rule 3.5. 9.2: If your surroundings switch to your childhood room, or somewhere you deeply love, I’m trying to help you. I want you to succeed in this interview. Feel comfortable.
9.3: If your surroundings switch to your childhood, but something is visibly off, they are trying to trick you. Maybe a ladder is colored differently, or maybe the bed is slightly tilted, stay calm. They think you completely trust you. In this scenario, act like there’s nothing there in the interview. Once it finishes, find the quickest method to go back to your childhood room. No matter the method. Inside, fill the room with balloons and pour oregano on it. Cry out “Deluna Del Lote Hoppa!” as many times as you can. If you’re lucky, you’ll lose something that you hold near to. If you’re unlucky, you’re going to be dragged to enter their dimension.
9.4: If your surroundings switch to a gloomy room that seems to be infinite, look at me deeply and blink six times exactly. Then, leave your seat. If you are in this situation, you are stuck. You have to find an escape to this. The shangdeng treats this like a game. Do not let it consume you. If you do, it won’t be entertained and it will drag you back to its dimension to suffer an eternity of pain. To escape, find a pink door with the words “Bloodbath” written in blood on it. Before you leave, remember to shout “CHANCETH!” before you leave. You’ll be safe after this, but if you’re ever stuck again in this situation, it won’t be this easy anymore. If you enter a door that does not match the description, you will turn into the shangdeng’s slave. NEVER look at the creature and do not listen to the voices, even if it resembles your family.
9.5 If your surroundings switch to as if you were floating on the sky, with a rainbow aura, somehow you have attracted the shangdeng’s favoritism. If this does happen, congratulations! You will be recruited by us no matter if you do not perform well, as you will certainly be a successful agent!
Rule 10: If you ever notice a gloomy dark figure behind me, creeping up behind me, tell me immediately. It has managed to create a presence. Once I understand, leave the area instantly. If you receive another email from me, our agency has been overtaken. You will not be eradicated, but the world will be as our agency has collapsed. However, if you do not receive any information from me, return the next day as if nothing has happened. If you mention anything that relates to the incident, eradication will await you. I do not like to be reminded of my mistakes, especially when someone has seen it.
10.1: If I do not respond to your issue, this is where I remind you. REMEMBER TO BRING OREGANO AND A BOTTLE OF ROSE WITH YOU! Splash the wine directly at the creature and sprinkle oregano on yourself, me and the room. Do not look at the creature, as its appearance will terrify you. When you hear an exploding sound, run away with all your might. Follow rule 3.5 if you want to survive after the incident.
Rule 11: If you ever feel anything dripping on your head, the shangdengs are right above you, waiting for the exact time to commence their attack and retrieving of your soul. Even if it sounds disgusting, it is pissing on you. Pissing on you is immense for capturing your scent. It is pissing acid on you. And when it starts shitting on you, you will feel like flaming coals are dropping on your head. At that point, I will be forced to take action, as it is taunting me. Do not acknowledge its existence, even if you feel significant pain. Close your eyes until you hear an explosion right above your head. After that, turn around and do not come back. Your memory will be cleared and you will not have to worry about anything. However, in case your scent still remains, please get plastic surgery and put on deodorant every day before you leave home to avoid unwanted attention from the supernaturals.
Rule 12: If nothing goes wrong, the interview should be exactly 24 hours and be split into 5 parts.When the 24 hour time starts, there will be a bell that rings 5 times. At the 3rd ring, I will disappear, and you have to leave after that but before the last ring. If you are too late, you will be trapped inside the chamber for life. However, if I try to hold you down and keep you inside, or if the interview is split into more than 5 parts with the wrong order of events, please splash the bottle of rose straight into my butt. That is not me, and it is trying to trick you and consume your soul. During impersonation, the supernaturals have a weak spot and that is their behind. Splashing it anywhere else will not cause any pain or irritation, and it will only annoy and anger them immensely. You do not want that to happen.
Rule 13: The order of events will be strictly:
One - Interviewing Questions
Two - Physical Test
Three - Psychological Test
Four - Emotional Torture
Five - Combat Ability
If the events are in different order. Remind me once. Do not repeat yourself. If I do not respond, follow rule 12.
Rule 14: For the first event, I will be asking exactly 90 (MM90) questions. It can be about your family, about your emotions, about your dreams. ANSWER EVERY SINGLE ONE TRUTHFULLY. Do not lie to me. As I have stated, I do not give mercy to liars. However, if I ask a single question about your home, or where you live, or ask more/less than 90 questions, refer to rule 5.
Rule 15: For your second event, I will require you to run for 50 Miles and lift 500 Pounds Bench Press with 50 reps within 8 hours. If you are unable to finish all of this, eradication will await you. That’s your only outcome if you fail to qualify.
Rule 16: You will be tormented psychologically for your third event. This will arguably be the hardest challenge here. We prefer not to spoil the challenge. However, just be prepared to face all sorts of phobias and go against your fears.
16.1: However, there are some voices or things that we do not display. This is because these things highly attract the shangdengs. If you hear faint whimpering, or baby crying, close your eyes. Stay quiet. Sprinkle oregano all over your body. Take the bottle of rose and, even if it hurts, poke them in their eyes. Blind yourself because you do not want to see how hungry they get when they hear these cries.
16.2: If you see holograms of unnatural shadow objects, THEY’RE NOT HOLOGRAPHS. THEY HAVE COME! Follow rule 11 immediately. Do not acknowledge its existence.
Rule 17: This is simple. We will bring a family member from your family and brutally murder them. Yes, and it will not be a hologram. You cannot stop this from happening. As long as you just slightly react to their cries from happening, you have failed. You know what awaits you. Sacrifice is needed to achieve glory and destiny.
17.1: If they ever mention about the shangdengs, however, they’ve been possessed. I’m sorry for that to happen, but it would be too dangerous to continue this torture. We need to end it as soon as possible. We will have to choose another family member for torture. I truly apologize. If you do get chosen, we will raise your pay per project by 1 million Euros.
Rule 18: The last test, I will lead you to a corpse of a weakened Shangdeng and bring it back to life in a ritual. If you manage to kill it, you survive the occasion. If you don’t, you will be buried with it. The most simple. No rules, no nothing, just a free for all with one of them. I do recommend aiming, as I have mentioned the butt. It is its only weakness. Try avoiding its flaming coal shits and acid piss.
Rule 19. If you do survive, go back home immediately. Close every electronic device. Every light. Take a hammer and destroy everything in your household. Then, lock yourself in a dark room, barricade the exits, including the window. Color the walls with your own blood. Light a candle in the middle, pour oregano over it, and sit there in silence with your eyes closed. Stay there despite anything that happens. You will either be eradicated, or we will save you from there. If that happens, you have become our 1000th hunter, and training will start soon.
19.1: However, if you ever accidentally open your nights, you will have been exposed to the shangdengs. If you’re not dead yet, immediately close them. Splash the bottle of Rose onto the ground to inflict damage to them. We still have no idea why it and oregano deals the most damage and psychologically conflicts their bodies and systems.
Good luck!
You look in absolute confusion. You close your eyes and decide to take a nap. Maybe it was all a dream. However, when you wake up, you find out you’ve only slept for … 3 minutes? It felt like at least 8 hours. You head downstairs, and see the spices you’ve placed in your kitchen, as the bottles of oregano and salt stay there. You check your phone, but the email has ridiculously disappeared. You remember about what it’s written and decide to try what it told you to. You pour some oregano on a table, but nothing happens. Turning away, you decide to cook some eggs because you feel hungry, when you suddenly hear a rough cough followed with a sneeze behind you.
[To be continued]

REPLAY CODE: QQRMDR
The scoreboard at the end of this game looks insane. We have masters level numbers and the enemy team has silver numbers and yet we Draw.
I was even using comms some and doing some callouts. Everyone was nice and friendly and trying hard and we just couldn't tip it.
I don't understand how we didn't win this.

This is going to be a bit rambling, but I'm hoping this'll accomplish what I intend to.
TLDR: Hey, my name is Hak. To put it plainly, I am looking to join a CoS game. I am willing to bring together some players and then proceed to finding a GM but that kind of depends based on the response to this post. I would highly appreciative a more serious one with people who are actively looking to engage with the setting and story.
Long Story: To start this off, I am a GM myself who thoroughly has fallen in love with the Barovian setting and try to make it available consistently for others. My main loves are the replayability and drastic difference players bring and what I in turn can change to make it more fun. I have been GMing the setting (as I call it) for about 2 years now and have had very little loss of interest, both in the real and digital world.
With my current bedraggled souls, I have expressed an interest in returning to the other side of the table "briefly" as our foray into the misty forest is concluding bittersweetly sooner rather then later. They have but begun to pick my brain a little bit more about that and it has sparked a little idea to put out some feelers about seeing my beloved setting from a different angle. So hence the idea of trying to create a game where someone else can take the reigns.
Now, to avoid a reference, I'm not purposefully aiming to create a game full of other GM'S but I highly wouldn't be opposed to it (definitely not saying to exclude new souls to setting). With that being said though, I would just state that I would prefer leaning towards a more serious setting. Just with knowing that there is meta knowledge to be avoided, and acting out how my/our small creations of characters would react to a different GM's version of Barovia. Hence it would be a bit a longer term setting to properly allow the flow of thoughts and action.
My current train of thought, as it is just that without input from players and another GM, is as such: to form a smaller group of people (3-4 P.C.'S) who are like minded, start out with something small (possible one or mini-shot) to test compatibility, and then roll into the serious form.
As for me, just to get to know me a bit before diving into the deep end... I am a 28 year old male with about 10 years of practice within this hobby and GMing for approximately 3-ish years. Beyond what you can perceive of my attitude through these expressionless textual words, I try to shoot for enjoyment of the craft and try to keep myself as an open book. As for physical characteristics, I am in the MST zone and would prefer an evening game.
If everything there sounds like something you would be interested in, please shoot me a request/message on discord (should be the same handle as my reddit here) and lets chat it up and see where we can go.

I have a set of codes I found that uncap frame rates in battles only for Pokemon HG/SS, but i have no idea what I am doing or how to apply them. There are no files or anything, just a set of codes (shown below)
So, can someone explain what I can do with these to apply them? Thanks!
Link in case someone else wants to check it out: [Action Replay Codes] Uncap framerate in-battle only for Gen IV games : PokemonROMhacks (reddit.com)

92247612 00002801 A2000E28 00000000 12000E28 00000000 D2000000 00000000 A2247612 00002801 A2000E28 00006325 12000E28 00006325 D2000000 00000000 

When the report was first released I reached out to the leaders of the Episcopal church I attend. They were pretty great in responding, offering compassion and recommended a few resources about processing the effects of the purity culture we grew up in.
Last week the main reverend reached back out unprompted, I’m copying her message below. This is what an understanding, welcoming, apologetic, and actionable response sounds like. I loved the second paragraph in understanding what we can do today to prevent recurrence.
——
I just wanted you to know that I have been thinking of you often. I read the entire report from TFC a couple weeks ago, and was absolutely nauseated. My gut aches every time I think about it. It was a breach on so very many levels. Not only his physical but his psychological, emotional and spiritual abuse of boys in particular and youth in general breaks my heart and soul.
The fact that he was put on a pedestal by the church, and his destructive teachings and behavior not called out, adds a dimension of betrayal by staff and other adults in the community. If it is any consolation, it confirmed my belief of how essential it is to protect our precious children and youth. And not to be shy of the church's requirement for Safe Church training.
I also found myself coming back to the significance of encouraging a culture of questioning and love that inspires nurture of them - and all of us - as beloved gifts from God who need support on our journey, and not clay to be molded to fit a particular "moral" form. There is such a difference between Christian Morality ( a strict prescriptive moral code of behavior to be followed without question) and Christian Ethics, choices we make as followers of Jesus, informed by the Way of Love, but not ever mandated in order to be accepted into the church or certainly the heart of God.
That's a bit of a ramble. All to say, I continue to be grateful to you for sharing the report and your experience with us.
I am here. is here. If or when you need or want to rant/grieve/ process further. We can't make the pain or anger go away, but can listen. We can bear witness to, and affirm your experience. And I hope together be part of a different way of being church.
In the meantime, so much love.

Hey all,
So I’m playing through Persona 5 again for the 18 quintillionth time and I kinda wanted to do a sort of “arc review” type thing. Just give my thoughts on each arc of the game. Since there are 9, I’ll be ranking each one out of 9. So the “worst” one will be 9/9, but I’ll also be doing them in order. I hope that makes sense.
Also I wanted to start by saying that I don’t think any of these arcs are BAD. Even the worst ones, if put into 99% of other games, would be the best part of that game. It’s just that in comparison to the rest of P5 they have some issues that I feel are hard to overlook. But I mean, hell, this is my favorite game of all time. I’ve put like… multiple thousands of hours into it at this point between Vanilla and Royal. So even with the issues I have, none of them are big enough to break my absolute love for this game. So keep that in mind as I make some critiques, because even the biggest problem in this game isn’t exactly a problem. It’s like… the equivalent of losing a single penny.
Now, onto the criteria. I’ll be judging the arcs on a few different things. The story, the primary characters that are focused on, the palace ruler, and the palace itself, which includes the boss (or sometimes bosses). Though these do get a bit rambly, and sometimes these things sort of flow into each other, but those are the general concepts I’m looking at. So with that in mind, let’s begin…
Kamoshida - Palace Ranking: 3/9
So taking into account that Kamoshida is our “tutorial” Palace, I am going to give him some liberties. Firstly, I usually prefer villains with a little “more” to them. We’ll get into this a bit more later, but in my opinion a good villain - even one who is unrepentantly evil - needs to have a reason behind their evil that makes sense in context for them. Kamoshida’s “reason” is basically that he’s already peaked and… somehow that’s tied to sexual assault? I don’t want to say him beating the kids “makes sense” but given the context of it being the volleyball team, and his whole thing about having a drive to succeed and meet his previous peak kinda makes some level of sense. But the thing is, that isn’t focused on enough in my eyes. But because he’s our tutorial antagonist, I’m more willing for him to have less depth. It’s the same reason I don’t expect Henchy McUnderling to have a backstory, but I expect the main boss to have one.
That said, the story here is great despite that. This arc does a phenomenal job of really pulling the player into the story, because it’s one of the few arcs where the protagonist is under direct threat from the villain. I mean sure, later palaces do have the deadline and whatnot but let’s be real, Madarame doesn’t know Joker from a hole in the ground. He’s under threat by proxy of Yusuke, not so much himself. But it also, somehow, does a good job of presenting TWO party members with equal stake in the plot here as well. We’ll see later a time when this does NOT work, but here we have both Ryuji and Ann dealing with Kamoshida, and sort of representing him as both a past and present threat. Ryuji is against him for his previous actions against him and his friends, whereas Ann is against him for his actions against her and her friends presently. And that brings me into the characters of this arc… so I personally think Ann and Ryuji are two of the best members of the Phantom Thieves. They’re such core parts of the team, they’re always doing something for the team in each arc, and they’re probably the two who are the best “presented” members. I’ll get more into what I mean on that later, but the gist is that they feel like very front and center parts of their recruitment arc, unlike some others.
I also like the Palace. I don’t have any particular insights into this one, though. The puzzles are fine. The boss fight is fine. The encounters are fine. The music is fine…. The aesthetic is immaculate, but otherwise it’s sort of just solid. I think it’s a good entry point that always feels nostalgic once you’re further into the game.
So yeah, Kamoshida’s arc is really good. There just happen to be better arcs overall. But for the tutorial, it’s a REAL masterclass.
Madarame - Palace Ranking: 7/9
So Madarame falls a bit from Kamoshida in my eyes. Let’s start with the good - Yusuke. Remember how with Kamoshida I said that Joker isn’t really threatened so much in later arcs? That’s the case here, because the threat is almost solely on Yusuke. But what’s interesting with Yusuke is that, at first, WE are presented as the “villains” here, at least from his perspective. With the Kamoshida arc, nobody really sees Joker, Ryuji, and Ann as the aggressors. The whole school is under Kamoshida’s thumb and everyone knows what he’s doing, but they feel powerless to stop him. With Madarame, Yusuke is almost in a sort of Stockholm Syndrome mindset where he feels Madarame’s actions are just, and believes he’s simply helping the man who raised him. It’s interesting to see the flip when we enter the Metaverse and Yusuke sees the “true” Madarame as the monster he is. I didn’t mention it before, but I think the best part of (most) of the awakenings is that the characters are struck with some kind of realization before it happens. For Ryuji, he learns that Kamoshida’s provocation was premeditated with the intention of getting rid of the competition for his volleyball team. For Ann, she learns that Kamoshida raped her best friend. But for Yusuke, his realization is more about himself. He learns that HE was wrong, as well as the fact that Madarame never cared for him and was just using him, and it’s cool. That said the rest of this arc is… whatever. Madarame is slightly better than Kamoshida in his motivations, but worse in that he’s nowhere near as present or threatening, we don’t really get to SEE a lot of the issues Yusuke faces with Madarame like we do with Kamoshida, and overall I find his palace a bit less memorable. I will say I like the Saiyuri “puzzle”, and I think the boss fight is really good, but that’s pretty much all I have to say regarding it.
It doesn’t quite draw you in as well as Kamoshida, Madarame isn’t presented as well as Kamoshida, and the palace isn’t quite as potent. But like I said, I don’t find any of these arcs to be “bad”. I just think Madarame is sort of lower on the “good” spectrum.
Kaneshiro - Palace Ranking: 9/9
Now, I’ve always had a lot of issues with Kaneshiro’s arc. Mostly because it feels to me like a “filler” arc in anime. The general things with filler arcs are… characters acting out of character, established lore and trends being ignored for the sake of “cool factor”, and story that doesn’t necessarily directly tie into the overall narrative. All three of those apply to this arc, and stem from one thing: Makoto.
I’ll be real, when I first played P5 I hated Makoto. Every time I replay the game she grows a little more on me, but she’s still my 2nd to least favorite Phantom Thief, and there are a few reasons. First - and the thing that made me initially hate her - is her role in this palace. She’s initially presented as an antagonist. And that would be fine if she actually was an antagonist. But the thing is we’re supposed to like this character, and the first like… 10 interactions we have with her are her being super condescending, petty, and antagonistic. But every interaction AFTER that with her, especially in this palace but also in later palaces, relies on either “tell don’t show”, previously established rules being broken, or mischaracterizing the other characters. So let me explain a bit more about these. First, “tell don’t show” refers primarily to the idea that the audience is told information, but not being presented information. It’s a lot more impactful to SEE Yusuke’s art than to just be told “Yusuke is a talented artist”. With Makoto, a lot of the time, the game TELLS us that she’s smart, but doesn’t show it. She either does something dumb (this happens a lot in this arc) or manages to do something because the rest of the team suddenly becomes less intelligent. For example, early on in her recruitment she asks how the Thieves typically go about strategizing to steal treasures, and the cast goes “Um… Strat-of-gees? What are that?” at which point Makoto goes “Wait.. you fucking idiots don’t make plans? Fuck it. I’ll do it then.” and then… nothing changes. Even if you ignore the fact that the previous palace had one of the most Sly Cooper-ish heists ever with a lot of planning and many moving parts, Makoto becoming the “team strategist” doesn’t make any overall difference. We handle every single palace following this one the same way. And this continues through the whole palace. “We’re faced with two enemies who are too strong to take on at the same time. What do we do?” “Hmm…. hummm…. Uhhhh… duhhhhhh….” “Why don’t we lure one away?” “OMG KWEEN UR DA MOST SMORT”. And this extends to her awakening as well. In all previous and future awakenings, the characters have some kind of realization. I mentioned this before. But Makoto… doesn’t. Kaneshiro just goes “Yeah. I’m gonna expect you to pay me a bunch of money and if you don’t, I’ll blackmail you into slavery” which we had already known he would do. That’s the entire reason we were investigating him. That’s what he outright says to us in his club. So why does him REPEATING himself here cause Makoto to awaken? I don’t know. She doesn’t even have any link to this guy, which is another issue with the arc. Kaneshiro himself has nothing close to the same level of threat, characterization, screen time, or even backstory. All we know about him is that he “crawled his way out of the dregs” and that is quite literally it.
The palace itself is also… pretty middling. I find the bank itself to be pretty bland, the lettenumber puzzle is boring and simplistic, and the boss fight is probably the… second worst one.
Now the thing is that if you stuffed this arc into like… Dragon Quest or something (obviously with requisite changes to fit that world), it would probably be the best part of that game. And don’t get me wrong, I played DQ11 and generally enjoyed it. But it’s really carried by a lot of its characters, so having an actually decent arc would make this the best part of that game. But compared to the rest of P5 it really stands out as being the worst part of the game.
That said, Price rocks.
Futaba - Palace Ranking: 2/9
Now for a complete flip, we have one of the best arcs. For starters, I do think this is my actual favorite Palace in general. The layout, theming, puzzles, dynamic storytelling, and most prominently the MUSIC make the actual palace immaculate. My sole issue with it is that the boss fight is less a fight, and more of an interactive set piece. I think overall it is, technically, the “worst” boss because it’s barely a boss. But at the same time, what it does for the story of the palace is really good. So I end up sort of split on it. But that is literally the only part of this palace that is even moderately middling.
The rest of this Palace is absolutely, completely fucking amazing.
First, this palace has the unique case of being the single one where the palace ruler becomes a party member. The entire palace is us learning about Futaba. There isn’t even really an “antagonist” in this arc entirely. Now, that isn’t necessarily good or bad on its own, but given how important Futaba is to the overall plot, and how this palace itself sort of kicks off the overarching plot points with Shido, his cronies, and the Metaverse as a whole, it’s great that this section isn’t bogged down with an additional major player. Normally we have something like Yusuke, Madarame, and the plot as it pertains specifically to those two characters. Here, we just have Futaba, and the plot as it pertains to her… BUT that plot also pertains to the game’s story at large, where someone like Madarame’s doesn’t necessarily do that.
It also helps that I fucking adore Futaba. She is one of the best written characters in this game, and Erica Goddamn Linbeck never fails to deliver in this role. Futaba is one of the few characters in media who can just make me cry. Even the most innocuous scene is up for some waterworks as long as Futaba does that fucking whimpery voice crack. And the thing is, you don’t actually MEET Futaba until basically the end of her Palace, and somehow the game does an amazing job of making you love this girl who you have basically never spoken to before.
The palace itself is also amazing. And again, it does something that the others don’t really do. It mixes distortion with personality. Here’s what I mean; Kamoshida’s palace is cool as hell because it’s so distorted. It’s a big-ass, super cool castle. But the thing is… Kamoshida’s whole thing is volleyball, and there’s nothing in the castle that really screams “volleyball” to me outside of… well, the volleyball team having cognitive versions in there. But it’s not the same. With Futaba, we have a big pyramid complete with traps, mummies, quick sand, murals, etc. But it also has a techy element to it because Futaba is a hacker. There’s code all over the place. One of the puzzles is a binary code puzzle. And that’s what I mean. We get to see a little of Futaba’s personality and interests in the palace, as opposed to just “This is a castle”, “ this is a bank”. Or Madarame where his distortion is almost explicitly about his interests and not quite as crazy.
Futaba’s palace strikes a perfect balance in so many ways, making it into one of the best parts of this game.
Oh. And also, The Days When My Mother Was There is one of the best tracks in all of Persona.
Okumura - Palace Ranking: 8/9
Let’s be real, a lot of people feel like this is the worst part of the game, and I kinda see why. It’s just that, for me, the only thing elevating it above Kaneshiro is that it’s actually plot critical and doesn’t feel like lame filler fluff. Buuut it kind of has the opposite effect of Futaba’s palace, where there you had a very focused narrative about a few specific, interwoven things, here you have three plots trying to all fight for the spotlight, and they sort of fit together like a chain. 1 and 2 link, 2 and 3 link, but 1 and 3 do not. We have the Morgana and Ryuji fight which… I feel is kind of pointless? The thing is that Morgana didn’t really need an arc here. Morgana gets TWO arcs and in my opinion, neither one feels quite complete. I think it would have been better to just cut this arc and focus more on him learning that he isn’t human. Heck, he could still meet Haru this way. He accidentally takes her into the Metaverse while sneaking off and investigating on his own or something. We get worried, go looking for him, run into him after Sugiura kicks Morgana into a wall, bada bing bada boom everything is better. Because then we can focus the entire arc on Haru, and just have Morgana be the quick and easy catalyst for finding her.
Kinda on that same framework, Okumura falls into the same unfortunate pitfall as Kaneshiro where we barely get to even see the guy. He’s got a collective 10 minutes of screen time, if that, and all it really boils down to is “He wants to be a wealthy politician”. Heck, we don’t even learn what his real corrupting moment was until the Palace is over and Haru kinda exposits it.
Next we have the palace itself. While the theme of it is cool as hell, the palace itself is very bland. People hate the airlock puzzle but honestly, that was the most fun and engaging part of it for me. It's the only part of the palace that feels wacky, conceptual, cool, and requires at least one functioning brain cell.
And finally… the boss fight. I hate this boss. Here’s the thing, people will argue in circles about whether or not it’s hard, but the difficulty isn’t really the issue. The issue is that it feels like a tutorial fight, where the devs had expectations for what the player had been focusing on. If you hadn’t, you’d be fucked. Did you hang out with Hifumi enough to get her party swap ability? I hope so, or you can go fuck yourself. If you didn’t, did you happen to put Morgana and Haru in your party for the final two waves of enemies? I hope so, or you can go fuck yourself. Did you get Personas that deal high wind and psy damage to all enemies? I hope so, or you can go fuck yourself. Did you rank Haru and Morgana up to 3 in darts? I hope so, or you can go fuck yourself. This boss relies so much on so many moving pieces that you are effectively required to use unless you’re a madman who built a full 99 stat almighty Izanami to Myriad Truths your way through the game. It feels like a tutorial on Baton passing, but without explaining that that’s what’s necessary, without giving you the necessary tools for it, and without catering to the way that “you” chose to play. And to me, that’s bad game design. All fights should, in theory, be possible with any build, any play style, any tools. Yeah, sometimes they may be harder, but here the fight is quite literally not possible if you don’t play the way they want you to play, or don't come in with an NG+ 99 stat Satanael like I did for this particular playthrough.
That said, the arc really moves up from last place due to the finale. Futaba’s palace brought the overarching plot into the background, looming there behind you, but here it’s thrown right into the spotlight. This is the new focus.
Sae - Palace Ranking: 4/9
Now, a lot of people would list this as their favorite Palace, and honestly I can kinda see why. If the Okumura arc is the main plot being put front and center, this is them shooting you in the face with it like a serial killer in an interrogation room.
The thing is that this arc has “the twist” and I’ll be real, even to this day “the twist” is one of the most insane things I’ve seen in a game, without feeling unnecessary. AKA it’s crazy, but it doesn't read like it was written by Hideo Kojima or Suda51. It’s also great for characterization of two people we already know. See, unlike past palaces which introduce and build new characters, here we’re building Akechi and Sae - two people we already know, but haven’t spent a lot of direct time with. That said… I also think this should have involved Makoto more. Yeah, maybe it would have bogged things down, but I mentioned earlier that Makoto doesn’t really get her own arc during the Kaneshiro debacle, and now when we have the perfect opportunity to give her one, she just kinda sits in the background. She doesn’t get to confront her sister. She doesn’t get to have “a moment”. She just sits back while Joker and Akechi headline the tour, with everyone else on backups. Heck, even “the plan” is like 90% Futaba, 5% Morgana, and 5% Joker. She does not get to do a singular fucking thing in her own sister’s arc. And I wouldn’t be as upset if she actually got to be a major player with Kaneshiro, and if that arc were just better, but she doesn’t, and it isn’t. So she feels wasted TWICE.
I also kind of have an issue with the palace itself. Yes yes, Whims of Fate is really good. But holy fuck for a Casino you sure don’t spend much time doing actual casino shit. 90% of this palace is just walking around drab, gray hallways and it’s kinda… bland? I’m in a Casino, man. I wanna be interacting with the casino floor. I wanna feel like I’m on the Golden Saucer, not like I’m walking through the back of a post office.
The story overall really carries this palace for me. It’s got an insane twist, great characterization for Akechi and Sae, and is the moment where everything reaches a fever pitch. I consider the end of this Palace to be the beginning of the climax, which carries all the way through to the end of the next palace. Though… that’s an issue of its own, but we’ll get there later.
Look, I do like this arc. I just think it has so much wasted potential, and is heavily carried by the overarching plot and characters, and kind of let down by the palace itself.
Also Sae not being a romance option is a sin. Atlus, you have not fulfilled your penance. Salvation shall not be yours.
Shido - Palace Ranking: 5/9
Shido’s palace is another one where people really really love it and I… I mean I think it's fine. But for a “finale” I’m not super thrilled with it.
Let's talk about my main problem first; Shido himself. In my opinion, a main antagonist should be someone who is incredibly present. Even in something like a mystery where we aren't supposed to know the villain, we should still know who the character is very well until the reveal. But Shido doesn't really feel that way. He’s in maybe 5 to 10 scenes across the whole game prior to his arc, we don't know anything about him other than “wants to rule Japan”, we know nothing of his background or motivations. All we know is that he's a shit heel. And like I said earlier, that's fine for someone like Kamoshida - our tutorial boss. It's far less fine in my opinion for our main antagonist.
I’m also not the biggest fan of the Palace itself. Yeah, the boat is cool or whatever, but I find the actual plot of the palace to be a bit of a slog. There aren't really any crazy reveals, the puzzles are more annoying than fun, and it ends up feeling more like a standard fare dungeon crawl since we don't really learn anything during it.
That said, the palace does cap off with one of the coolest boss fights. Shido’s fight is really cool, and I love how epic his calling card is. But there’s one thing I really need to talk about that really elevates this palace.
Akechi. Akechi is what I think a villain SHOULD be. We meet him early on, he slowly becomes more and more present in the narrative, he eventually joins our team, only to betray us. He has so much build up, such a well realized arc, and the reasons for what he does are stated to us at the end after being hinted at before, but not being outright presented, so when we learn about it, it feels much more impactful. I also love what Royal did for him. I still think he’s pretty great in the original, but making his anger progress from just wanting to take down Shido, to now having a petty grudge against a “friend” who outsmarted and defeated him feels like a perfect capstone for everything that’s been set up. I also strangely like his “death”. I know a lot of people don’t like it, but I dunno. I think it works well.
So yeah. When this is the Akechi palace it’s great. When it’s the Shido palace it’s… it’s fine. The boss fight slaps though.
Yaldabaoth - Palace Ranking: 6/9
Now, this one is kinda personal, and deals with the last issue I mentioned. Yaldy here is technically our final boss. I mean, he was for the vanilla game at least, and I’ve always had an issue with how Persona game, and most JRPGs in general, handle the whole “kill god” thing. If you are going to do that, we need to KNOW God, just like any other character. Here, he’s not someone we know, and he comes out of nowhere. And I know people are gonna go “Um exkweeze me wat do u meen? We no Igor from start of game dumazz?” Yeah. Let’s talk about this. 1. There is no reason to suspect Igor is god, for both new and returning players. 2. Because we don’t know him, there’s no narrative impact for beating him. 3. There’s no reason to actually think he is in any way competent or reasonable, because his whole argument is “mankind deserves to die because I set up a rigged test to prove a point in the least scientific way possible by forcing it so that no other outcome happens.” and it’s the stupidest shit. 4. There is no distinct reason for him to be God. Once he reveals he is the grail, he is a 100% different guy. You could make Yaldy be Shido, or Kawakami, or the old guy who listens to the radio in Yongen for all it matters. He is not a character. He’s a big, stupid fucking robot and yeah, that’s cool and all, but it’s not narratively impactful for our “final” challenge to just be some random fuck who showed up out of nowhere, and is only in the 120 hour game for about 3 of those hours. This whole arc would be like if a major, 100+ episode anime set up a massive, world ending threat who we get to know over a length of time, and is considered one of the greatest anime antagonists, only to sweep him to the side and bring a rabbit alien god in out of nowhere.
Oh… wait…
Anyway, stupid-ass worthless-ass final boss aside, I actually do like the rest of this arc. The characterization and twist for Lavenza, the arc for Morgana, and most importantly, the Palace itself. It’s shorter than the rest, but I absolutely adore the Mementos depths. The design, the puzzles, and above all the MUSIC are all absolutely amazing.
And for as much as I complained about Yaldy… there really isn’t anything quite like summoning a giant, six-winged archdemon to shoot God in the face with a gun-sword.
So yeah. This Palace is fun, has some great story beats, and does feel pretty cinematic and climactic. I just don’t like that the “climax” revolves around some random dude showing up and going “It was me all along, Barry!” and you’re like “I’m sorry, who are you?”
Maruki - Palace Ranking: 1/9
And boy am I glad Royal makes a more climactic ending. Now this is going to sound weird considering I ranked this as number 1, but I DO have issues with this arc. And that issue is uh… Kasumi..? Sumire..? Whatever. The thing is I find it hard to blame the arc itself for my issues with her because they kind of span the entire game, but it all comes to a head here. I well and truly believe this game could go from a Tetratrillion / 10 to a Tetratrillion-and-1 / 10 if she just… weren’t in the game. Because I think basically every scene she’s in that is not directly dealing with her takes away from that scene. And I think her inclusion in this arc takes away from it. HOWEVER, her stuff is dealt with quickly, while also building up other plot points, the Palace ruler, and a certain other character who we will get to shortly.
But despite my minor gripes with her, this arc is absolutely fantastic for a few reasons.
Let’s start with the Palace itself. It rocks. The puzzles are fun and make a lot of sense for the ruler, the music fucking slaps, it's got a great narrative structure where it basically makes us take a look into the past of the character it focuses on, and the overall style suits it perfectly. It's this excellent blend of mad science and ideology.
Next we have the overall story of the arc and it is done so well. Basically, the Palace ruler wants to create a “perfect world” where everyone is always happy, suffering doesn't exist, etc. And it's great because he is the only antagonist who isn't really presented as being “wrong.” Even Futaba and Sae, whose palace end with them effectively “healing” and becoming good people again, are still presented as being incorrect. However they don't really do that here. It truly is just a battle of ideology between the ruler and the Thieves, where the Thieves believe that they can, and should, intervene where necessary, but overall people need to strive and thrive on their own once the Thieves break down whatever is holding them back. But their opponent here believes that people shouldn't strive for greatness, or grab opportunity by the horns. “You don't need to strive for greatness. Believe in me.” Are the lines to his theme song, and they encapsulated his entire concept perfectly. He isn't painted as someone you hate. He isn't necessarily painted as wrong. He's painted as someone we disagree with, and that's not something we’ve seen before.
Next, we have Akechi (again). This game has a fantastic cast, with Akechi being one of the standouts for me. This arc plays as a sort of epilogue for him. His story “ended” with him concluding that he was wrong, that he should live how he wants, and that maybe he DOES have friends who care about him. Even Ryuji, the guy who rags on Akechi the most, begins choking up at the end after Akechi disappears, because he doesn't really hate him. They all - Futaba and Haru included - realize he's just a victim in all this. But the best part for me is how he concludes this arc. At the end he’s given a choice - accept the fake reality and live, or deny it and risk a world where he may be dead. After all, we don't know if he truly died (I'm of the opinion he didn't based on the post credit scene) but he doesn't know that. And without even a second's hesitation he says “Don’t think dangling my life before us will have any impact on our decision.”. He spent his whole life living under Shido’s foot, striving only for a childish revenge that he was denied, and learning eventually that he has friends who accept him not as the righteous detective prince, but as… Goro Akechi. And he wants to die on those terms if he can, as opposed to being forced to live in a fake world under someone else’s rule.
And that brings us to the ruler. Takuto Maruki. Now I’ve already touched on why he's so effective from the standpoint of his ideals, but there's more to him. First, unlike our other main baddies, we actually know him. We first meet him after Kamoshida’s palace, and he is a constant presence throughout. But the most important part is that you are required to get to know him. If you don't max out his confidant, you don't get this ending. The game ends with Yaldy. So not only is he constantly around within the narrative, but his side content actually becomes main content. It is required. And that is very important for us. Because if he was just some random guy we had never met who shows up and goes “yeah I wanna stop all suffering” then like… Great? But I don't have a reason to trust you. I do have a reason for Maruki. He DOES want the best, even if he's a bit misguided, and we’ve learned just what kind of person he is over the last 100 hours. It makes it all the harder to fight him because yeah, you disagree with him, and it's already hard enough to break everyone else’s dreams, but now you’re directly spitting in the face of his dreams, too. It is masterfully done.
And so is the finale. Maruki’s boss fight is so well done. It's the perfect mix of actual gameplay and spectacle WITH an emotional payoff, which Yaldy lacked. The first section is a crazy blend of the Madarame and Yaldy’s fight, and it works perfectly. But after that first phase we enter big cool spectacle zone of fighting a 100 foot tall monolith of a Persona, all culminating in a one on one fist fight between Joker and Maruki as he vents his frustrations at losing.
It is done perfectly. This arc is absolutely phenomenal. It's so emotional, so well structured, so well built, and such a perfect way to end this amazing experience. After my first experience with the original P5 I did not think they could make my favorite game ever even better. And somehow they did.
So anyway. That's my whole stream of thoughts. What’s everyone else think? How would you rank the arcs?