Feeling angry or hopeless over the latest school shooting, chip taken away at reproductive rights, the crushing institutionalized racism, or general lack of support Americans are provided by their government institutions? I’d like to share some thoughts on how to get more deeply involved in this fight- because it's only getting worse. Your individual vote (while necessary) is not enough, one protest is not enough, signing one petition is not enough. Every one of us needs to do more, and needs to do it today, tomorrow, next month and next year.
First: Join a Community

• You dont need to host your own protest march or build your own group from the ground up to have an impact. Trying to do this without experience will likely lead to frustration and burnout.
  
• Joining an already existing community makes wide scale action more achievable and gives your message greater impact than if you act alone. Additionally, activism is difficult and exhausting work - a community that supports each other helps lessen each individuals load.
  
• Pre-existing communities hold a wealth of knowledge. In particular - BIPOC & LGBTQ groups have been fighting marginalization, injustice, and theft of autonomy for so long, their experience is invaluable in this fight. If you are just joining the revolution, especially if you're a white woman (as I am) - look to these groups for leadership, & follow/support them as they see fit in their pre-established endeavors. Do prepare to confront your own internal biases and leave your fragility at the door.
  
• Even if you can't leave the house - try to find a group that meets online - I cannot overemphasize the importance of community in this fight.
  

Second: Get yourself Training

• Any idea for action is valid, but there are time-tested and proven techniques of organization that will build a movement that lasts. What type of actions get the most attention? Do you know how to structure a conversation to motivate someone else to get involved? How can you respond to police or counter protesters? These are some of the things you can learn with organizer training.
  
• It’s not difficult to find basic training. Many orgs provide free intro training to volunteers (links below), especially local political and labor (union) groups. There are also stand alone organizations that provide online training, such as Training for Change.
  
• DO persist in getting additional training/mentoring and integrating yourself into a community - this is a busy time in the organizing world and we can't always hold a new hand - my best advice is to show up and keep showing up until you're a familiar face.
  

Third: Mentally Prep For the Longhaul

• Prepare yourself for volunteer work that goes unseen & unthanked. A coalition may need someone to staff the office, order supplies, phone bank through hundreds of disconnected phone numbers to find 1-2 with a person attached, man a water station, text bank, etc.
• You don't need to make this a full time job - if each of us volunteer just a few hours each month, that is how we maintain our fight for the long haul.

So DO the Thing and Get Involved:

1. Social justice fights tend to be intersectional issue. For getting involved in making changes, that means you can choose to fight in a variety of areas and still have an impact. Start by choosing your focus, something you're really passionate about - abortion access, gun laws, reproductive justice, voting access, racial justice, labor organizing, LGBTQ rights, police/prison reform, etc.
2. Find a group organizing around this issue in your area. To find a group, try:
   A. Attend school board / city council meetings. Who's standing up for what you believe in? Connect with those people.
   B. Attend a march or rally and seek out organizers (sometimes those with bullhorns) or volunteers (like those manning water stations) and ask about their affiliations.
   C. Call or walk into your local library or a progressive business (such as those specifying that they are women operated, black-owned, a radical bookstore, etc) and ask them to share their knowledge of local groups doing organizing work.
   D. Do you belong to a union or are you in a field that is sometimes unionized (like service workers, teachers or nurses? If you have a union, become more active. Even better - find out if they have a progressive caucus. If you don't have a union, contact the NLRB in your area and see if there's any groups working on organizing.
   E. Internet search phrases like "my city social justice organizations", "my city progressive organizing coalition", or "my city activist organizing leadership training".
   F. Check out a progressive group's social media accounts (like Perfect Union or Push Black, or Unicorn Riot) to see which orgs in your area follow them... Then contact those accounts.
   G. Search for a local chapter of a national organization (links below).
   
3. Join that community by volunteering, in person if possible (building connections and trust is important!). Attend trainings whenever possible. Get your friends involved. Branch out to other groups if you want.
   

National Organizations

• If you can't find a grassroots local organization, try some of these national organizations that have local chapters, opportunities for volunteering, or ideas for getting started in your activism.

Online formal activism training
Abortion Access Front
Black Women's Health Imperative
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice
Planned Parenthood
ReproAction
NARAL
Center for Reproductive Rights (international)
Mom's Demand Action
Everytown
Swing Left
Vote Save America
Rock the Vote
Working Families Party
Democratic Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alternative
ACLU
National Labor Relations Board
Labor Notes
Organize your workplace

• If you can’t donate time, consider a recurring financial contribution - even $10/month provides predictable income for organizations which allows them to pay workers to do these tasks and continue to function.

If you've read this far, please comment and let me know which strategy your going to try to find a local group!
^{Note: post continuously edited to keep links updated and for clarity.}

Benjen Stark was, imo supposed to be Coldhands. I think George changed that between ASOS and ADWD because it was too obvious. Everyone and their dog was thinking of Ben Stark when Coldhands was introduced. I do, however have on bit of foreshadowing on what happened to Benjen Stark:

My uncle is not dead,” Robb Stark said loudly, anger in his tones. He rose from the bench and laid his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Do you hear me? My uncle is not dead!” His voice rang against the stone walls, and Bran was suddenly afraid. Old sour-smelling Yoren looked up at Robb, unimpressed. “Whatever you say, m’lord,” he said. He sucked at a piece of meat between his teeth. The youngest of the black brothers shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “There’s not a man on the Wall knows the haunted forest better than Benjen Stark. He’ll find his way back.” “Well,” said Yoren, “maybe he will and maybe he won’t. Good men have gone into those woods before, and never come out.” All Bran could think of was Old Nan’s story of the Others and the last hero, hounded through the white woods by dead men and spiders big as hounds. He was afraid for a moment, until he remembered how that story ended. “The children will help him,” he blurted, “the children of the forest!” Theon Greyjoy sniggered, and Maester Luwin said, “Bran, the children of the forest have been dead and gone for thousands of years. All that is left of them are the faces in the trees.” “Down here, might be that’s true, Maester,” Yoren said, “but up past the Wall, who’s to say? Up there, a man can’t always tell what’s alive and what’s dead.”

This is from Bran IV, AGOT.
Bran was thinking of the Last Hero when he says this about Benjen that the children will help him.
Unless Benjen died from cold or lack of supplies(very possible), I think he was helped by the children, whatever that means. He may or may not be Coldhands but Bloodraven's cave is not the only place where the children are.
Was that quote Foreshadowing?

So, as you may know, ds3 doesn't support 21:9 or other ultrawide aspect ratios normally. I looked around a bit, and i ended up going for the fix posted by the ytber "Ted Barrett". This fix involves hex editing the value of your resolution to force it to be able to display ultrawide aspect ratios.
After i did this, i tried it with one of my characters and it works perfectly, even online (since the fix essentially changes nothing, other than that it removes the black borders at the side of the screen).
So, my question, has anyone used this solution online recently, and will it result in a VAC ban if i play like this? I don't mind playing offline, but i like being able to see and leave messages online for others.
This is the tutorial i followed for anyone interested: https://youtu.be/1jP28z9H3Mg
Thx for reading.

Yes, this is the 5th year in a row I'm doing a Wrestlemania Haters' Guide. Why? Because the subject of pro wrestling hasn't been banned from the subrebbit, so loopholes ahoy, baby!
Anywho, this year's event is at SoFi Stadium in California. The last Wrestlemania in the state of California? Wrestlemania 31. A mostly well regarded PPV with one of the most shocking main event outcomes in Wrestlemania history. Remember when Wrestlemania shows had SEVEN matches on the main card? Apparently, since everyone needs their Wrestlemania payday, and two nights pay better than one, that is a reality that can no longer exist. Nowadays, Wrestlemania weekend means that for four consecutive days from Friday Night SmackDown to the Monday Night RAW the night after, your eyes are to be glued to the squared circle with zero deviation. With that in mind, and considering how batshit crazy WWE's behind the scenes drama and shift in power balance has been over the past year, we actually made it to Wrestlemania 39. Let's see the 13 matches vying for ultimate immortality.
​
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos (with MVP)
Try to act surprised when I tell you that this matchup is rumored to be a Vince concept. It seems HHH has given Vince the one match to book, and thankfully nothing more.
That being said...guys...we need to take this time to particularly talk about Omos. This dude isn't getting over. He's fallen off ever since he lost the tag titles, and ended his feud with his former tag partner, AJ Styles. What's he been doing since? Mostly matches with Bobby Lashley again. Yes, Lashley vs Omos was a match at last year's Wrestlemania, and that loss has proven to only hurt Omos' relevance, and especially his TV time. Over the past year, his matchups have pretty much been exclusive to house shows. Either squashing much smaller men, or jobbing to Lashley in order to make The Almighty look better. The one time WWE actually chose to use him in any meaningful situation was a matchup against Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel. Which of course he lost that match.
Bottom line, He's just not that much of a presence anymore. I know that WWE under the HHH regime has seen the end of mass talent layoffs, but this guy is a waste of a matchup. He's got to go. His career is going absolutely nowhere, even with MVP at his side. Who in their right mind believes he can hang with Brock Lesnar?
Granted, Brock's the perfect opponent for him. A typical Omos match does not exceed 10 minutes, which is perfect for Brock's aggressive, fast-forward style. Furthermore, in terms of overall size, Omos is outside Brock's normal range of opponent. It's gonna be a Wrestlemania moment on its own when Brock lifts Omos up for the F-5, but after that... you're left with Omos getting tossed back into the toy chest until the next house show rolls around. Take the hint, WWE. Give Omos another loss, and send him back to his home in Nigeria. He misses his family dearly, and I think his fellow Omo-sapiens will understand how homesick this man is. (It's really bad when The Great Khali has done your act better).
​
Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Ok, you also get ONE celebrity based match, too, but that's it.
In all honesty, Logan Paul has lived above expectations as far as his in-ring performances are concerned. He's not the most compelling and relatable character, but he's able to put on matches that are at least good (vs Roman) to above average (vs Miz). I like to think of him as the male equivalent to Ronda Rousey, where WWE is just using his name for brand recognition. Although unlike Ronda, his name is not exactly lighting up the mainstream media, just social media. And it's not translating well to ratings and awareness that he's living in WWE City. I know that WWE saw how well Logan adapted to the sports entertainment scene. That's just what the Paul brothers tend to do. But here's the kicker. People don't want to see a Paul brother succeed. They want a Paul brother to get knocked on their ass via a huge crushing piston called "reality". Here's an example. When Jake Paul won a boxing match, it was whatever. When he lost to Tommy Fury just recently, now THAT is where the entertainment value was. And Jake did say to judge him by his losses, not his wins. We are prepared to do the same to Logan. Because all he has done so far in WWE is lose. Match quality aside, he has put the "L" in Logan. Let's see if this showdown with Seth gives him his Wrestlemania triumph.
Speaking of which, there's so little to say about Seth Rollins in this equation. At least he knows who his opponent is this year. At least he had the spectacular Cody Rhodes feud before the wrestling gods gave Cody time off (and a hell of a match to go out on). He did kinda get stuck trying to put Matt Riddle over before Riddle succumbed to his own vices, but this is the most over Seth Rollins has been. Most of it is the fancy new "sing me to the ring, and never stop singing" entrance, but it's the little things that make you a big star around these parts. And really, I can't picture anyone else in this scenario. The Visionary vs The Influencer. This should be a fun contest, and bragging rights for weeks to come if Rollins walks out the loser. However, if it means more of Logan Paul appearing in WWE... honestly, every wrestling fan loses. I know Logan says his contract is up after Wrestlemania, but somehow, I'm not a believer WWE will let him slip away that easily.
​
Trish Stratus, Lita, and Becky Lynch vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai, and Iyo Sky)
Let's take you back to Summerslam 2022. Bianca Belair standing tall over an obsessed Becky Lynch, and then out comes Bayley. Away from the WWE for over a year to rehab a freak accident during training for the return to live events. But the twist no one was expecting is that Bayley didn't return alone. She brought back two women to form a stable that would be ever present across RAW ever since. Dakota Kai, previously handed her pink slip a few months prior, was given a second chance at her WWE life by Bayley. As well as Iyo Sky, who already had one foot out the door while living in NXT limbo. Thus, they formed the group Damage CTRL, and while neither member was successful in capturing singles gold (Especially Bayley.), the Women's Tag Team Championships... that was a different story. Aside from one week being without the titles, Kai/Sky have held them for 5 months. It's only recently that Becky Lynch and a returning Lita have come into possession of said titles, with a little help from Trish Stratus, who much like Lita, is never REALLY retired.
And now we have an interesting 6-woman tag contest that's been put together as a result. Becky Lynch and two Hall of Fame legends combat a group that needs a decisive Wrestlemania victory as a trio. Becky's been fighting Damage CTRL longer than anyone else, so it is safe to assume this will be the beginning of the end of this neverending war. Especially if Damage CTRL can finally walk away from their battles against Becky with heads held high... hopefully.
​
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
Yeah, this match was pretty much a foregone conclusion. I feel like they could have done this match at any Wrestlemania possible, but first we need someone to be heel in this contest, and it's sure as hell not gonna be Rey Mysterio.
So... Dominik... I'm a bit mixed on his career trajectory. Because right now, across the board, he's just good, but not great. He's trying to be on the same level as his father, sometimes even emulating him either for heat or grasping the Mysterio name for some miniscule level of credibility... but at this point, it's been more than a minute since his career started, and the excuses are running out. Hell, that promo where he declared he's the next Eddie Guerrero... yeah, that definitely ruffled a few feathers online. btw, still using Eddie's name as a vehicle in your Wrestlemania matchup build in 2023... come on, guys. And yes, Eddie came a long way as shown by his WCW work, and the level of promo that Guerrero was cutting at the time. So maybe it's better we get this shit version of Dominik out of the way now, so he can eventually become WWE Superstar Dominik Mysterio, with a celebrated World Championship reign of... 2 months.
What is actually happening here is that Rey Mysterio is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, so his career clock is running out. So this match is immediately happening before Rey's knees collapse into themselves, and thankfully, the way this match was booked ensures that Wrestlemania will be the point where this feud has absolutely peaked. God, the pop on Rey finally striking his son. I haven't seen him get that much pleasure out of beating his kids since he got his copy of WWE '13.
​
Hell in a Cell Match
Edge vs "The Demon" Finn Balor
Ladies and gentlemen, your neverending feud. It wasn't too long ago that Edge formed The Judgment Day, a heel stable dedicated to taking the younger generation under Edge's wing. First, it was Damian Priest, a lost soul looking for guidance, looking to escape his never ending punishment. Then, it was Rhea Ripley, a individual whose presence in the group took on a life of its own (more on that later). And somewhere along the way, they even added Rey Mysterio's son, Dominik, into the fray, which he sorely needed. But none of those additions compared to their last member... Finn Balor, who immediately led a coup overthrowing Edge as their leader. It could be because Edge opposed the direction that The Judgment Day was going, but don't let rumors and heresay dissaude you from the fact that the preceding battle of Finn Balor leading The Judgment Day in a crusade to make Edge's life a living hell has been happening for a couple months too long. Even Edge's own wife had to pay the price for her troubles, and because Edge taught them too well. It feels like we've gone just about everywhere these two can go together... except Hell in a Cell. Oh, and Finn Balor's "Demon" persona is listed as the opponent, but hey, 3-4 hours in the makeup chair will absolutely be worth it to bring back a character he said he discarded in his second NXT run. Of course, wrestlers say a lot of things, but Finn's such a professional, we figured that declaration would stick.
At least this way, these two can guarantee a great Wrestlemania match... for about 15 minutes until Damian gets involved in some way. Plus it's probably Edge's match to lose. Unless he makes another agreement, this is his last year on his WWE contract. And of course The Judgment Day has nowhere to go but up. Even though it could possibly be a splintered group if Rhea gets the job done at Wrestlemania (again, more on that later.)
​
Men's Wrestlemania Showcase
Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) vs. The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar)
Since the Tag Team title match later on is a 2 team affair, we need to show the world that, yes, we do indeed have other teams in reserve, and no, our tag team division is NOT dead why would you even say that!
These are, admittedly, the usual suspects. The Viking Raiders have been a "pushed one week, not pushed the next" team over the past couple years. More importantly, they haven't been consistently healthy. Finally getting their chance to make their mark, and a new face among them in Valhalla who's career is probably gonna last longer than theirs, perhaps they get a credible win this time around?
The Street Profits... still exist. WWE, in their endless quest to not pull the trigger on a Montez Ford push, has him continued to be weighed down by Angelo Dawkins, a guy who is good, but not AS good. Even if they win, let's be real. It's not going to improve their standing as a tag team.
Alpha Academy... is also still here. Despite WWE not knowing exactly what they are going to do with Otis, and Chad Gable continuing to be another jobber to the stars, we still have a team, miraculously. It feels like nowadays these two would be better off apart, which is weird to say considering they were mostly on top around this time last year.
The underdog in this scenario is the makeshift team with no name... Braun and Ricochet. Braun has seen success in the past, but Ricochet... the mountain he climbed wasn't nearly as tall. You look at this team, and you look at a duo that just doesn't belong. Individual success in singles, cannon fodder in a tag match. If anything, they might be the team to surprise everyone, and secure a victory here. It all depends on what their future holds, as well as the future of the tag division, considering what lies ahead.
​
Women's Wrestlemania Showcase
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya and Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville
Supposedly, Becky Lynch & Lita were supposed to defend their Women's Tag Team Championship at Wrestlemania on top of the 6-woman clash with Damage CTRL. Now that is crazy. And clearly, WWE wasn't crazy enough to have Lita wrestle 2 nights in a row. So we have a Women's Tag Team showcase. And what a tag team showcase it is. Including tag teams that... aren't really tag teams. I could give you writeups on where each of these women are in their career prior to this tag team extravaganza, but let's cut to the chase. Ronda Rousey is in this match. Considering all the other women in this mix, Ronda Rousey is not walking away with an L at Wrestlemania (forget Wrestlemania 35, one of the most celebrated wins in women's wrestling). Her and Shayna Baszler would have more than likely become Women's Tag Team Champions had things been a little different, and I believe they will be by the end of the year, so if anyone needs this win for bragging rights and for the rocket to propel them towards the gold, it's Ronda and Shayna. Any other win is a waste of time. I will say I am surprised to see Chelsea Green at Wrestlemania. I feel like I just saw her in Impact Wrestling 6 months ago. She was absolutely gonna team with Carmella, but it appears the wrestling gods aren't done bringing maximum misfortune upon Carmella, so Sonya Deville, you're here. You're not doing anything. The rest of you... one of you is more than likely eating the pin. Natalya, thank you for your 15 year long service to WWE, and your service will continue with a Ronda exclamation point. You understand, of course...
​
Still, what would Wrestlemania be without title defences? A legit question I hope that WWE never answers.
WWE United States Championship
Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena
John Cena has not wrestled at Wrestlemania in 3 years. And hasn't wrestled at a live Wrestlemania in 5 years. And it was an Undertaker match that wasn't even properly advertised (Is a 2 minute match at Wrestlemania even a REAL match?)! It's so weird to see the hero of the Ruthless Aggression era absent from Wrestlemania. Not even talking about a match, just... not even a cameo? But it's fine. John Cena has his noteworthy career in Hollywood, and has to stop being Peacemaker to become WWE Superstar for one night only. His opponent?
​
Austin Theory. Austin Theory is absolutely living up to his potential, at last. Over the past year, he has become a superstar that you can slot into pretty much any situation. Get your cheek bashed in by Tyson Fury? Done. Keep the US Championship relevant? Oh yeah. Main event for RAW? Done and dusted. While Roman is mostly King of SmackDown, it's RAW that is lacking in a World Title to call its own, and it feels like Austin Theory has done his damndest to take up the mantle. It's a shame that he has yet to receive that one victory to cement his place on the upper card. That match could very well be pinning John Cena at Wrestlemania, which is more than likely going to happen because Cena has so few Wrestlemania matches left in him, and the torch needs to be passed. Not that such a torch passing achievement is a sure thing, because Kurt Angle passed the torch to Baron Corbin in 2019, and... yeah. Should be a better match than people are thinking considering I don't think Cena has lost a single step post-Hollywood, and Austin Theory will no doubt be not only pulling out all the stops, but ripping them out, to boot. I assume there's a lot of certainty behind this stop ripping, because it's going to be the opening match of Wrestlemania on Saturday. Best of luck, Theory. Admittedly, this isn't the Austin vs Cena match I wanted, but we haven't fully invented time travel yet.
​
WWE Intercontinental Championship
Gunther (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre
Damn. Just... damn. If there was a singles match with any combination of these 3 men at Wrestlemania, you are guaranteed ****1/2 star minimum. The evidence speaks loudly. Drew and Sheamus wallop each other, and it's 4 stars. Gunther and Sheamus take lumps of flesh out of one another at Cardiff, it's considered a match of the year candidate. I feel for the human bodies in this war. Through Gunther's own impatience, what would have been a competitive 1v1 brawl turns into a Triple Threat clusterfuck, said in the nicest terms. There's only so much unique text I can type being envious of everyone in this match. It's not THE main event, but it's my main event.
Sheamus has spent the past year or two putting the heavy in heavyweight, being the hard hitting bruiser he always knew he could be. Teaming with The Brawling Brutes and being an overall menace in the 6-man division (Ha! You thought there was a Trios division in WWE, didn't you?).
Drew has been all over the card. World Title shot one month, feuding with Karrion Kross the previous months, and now he's got his chance at gold he can realistically carry for at least a couple months. If only said gold wasn't held by Gunther.
Gunther... the walking weapon of WWE (get well soon, Josh Alexander). I petition this man should absolutely get his name changed to Midas, because everything he touches is gold. All I have to do is point directly at his NXT matches with Ilya Dragunov, and say that such excessive violence is the peak of WWE content. And his match quality has stood strong even when he leapt up to the main roster. It's been that way for the past 9 months ever since he won the IC title. Body after body falling before his presence. The best IC Champion in a long time. If he loses this match, it's because WWE looked back at his... well, it's less of a true one-on-one match, and more of a "last two guys in the Royal Rumble" match against Cody, and realized that Gunther is that guy. And hopefully, he does not fall between the cracks in the process. This match has potential to be match of the year. Watch out, grab a bucket of popcorn, and hold it tight.
​
RAW Women's Championship
Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
Bianca, congratulations on your year long success. I'm all for you breaking down barriers, and making history (herstory's too cheesy, and I don't want to devalue her accomplishments), but what awaits you at this Wrestlemania is a challenger to your title unlike any other before her.
Asuka.
Asuka has transformed into a figure better representing her previous life as KANA. This is an Asuka not hindered by wacky dancing and horrendously awkward promos, this is an Asuka that plays with your head. Make you fear NOT what is coming, but why it hasn't already appeared. We've seen so little of this Asuka in WWE, and we've seen very little of these two in a one-on-one setting. Maybe a match here and there on RAW, but this pairing have yet to see a long term rivalry. At last, WWE have realized to, as the Fighting Game Community used to say, save that shit for nationals. Well, Wrestlemania is your nationals.
Asuka is a dangerous customer all her own. If she hasn't knocked your head off with precise kicks, or ripped you limb from limb in one of her many submissions, then beware what awaits you if she opens her mouth. And heaven knows how this new persona has affected her typical approach.
Bianca, you also know the score with her. Stamina to spare, and power for miles. She's been holding that RAW Women's Championship ever since last year's Wrestlemania, and has worn that title to the fullest, decimating any and all competitors who think they can hang with her. Including against Asuka at Hell in a Cell, with a little help from Becky. Now Bianca and Asuka need only focus on each other. This is a fresh new Asuka against a Bianca who is prepared to weather this tsunami threatening to take her title. Another classic Wrestlemania encounter awaits.
As for who will walk away with the cherry championship, I feel like Asuka wins, just because Bianca isn't ready for Asuka. Not to seem cliche, or desperate to squeeze in a catchphrase or two, but I feel like one of Asuka's newest unknown tricks is going to be the deciding factor. And it's also definitely not going to be the last time these two square off with a championship at stake. Here's hoping.
​
SmackDown Women's Championship
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
You know, when this match took place 3 years ago, I hoped Rhea would win. A rising star straight out of NXT with the boost she needed to be at the top of the mountain. But that's not what happened. Charlotte outperformed her. Back then, I figured Rhea winning was a must. The momentum of WCW Lex Luger after his world title win over Hollywood Hogan, and with a loss, it would be turned into WWF Lex Luger with no title to his own. That's also not what happend. Rhea climbed her way back up, scratched and clawed for every achievement. For a while, she was at the top of RAW's Women's Division. It's clear now she didn't need the boost, she just needed to plant her feet above ground level, and the business would work for her from there. And then something happened. She became a part of The Judgement Day. She got the kudos, she got the tutelage, and she got herself a Royal Rumble win. And a ticket to a championship opportunity. The roles are reversed. Now it's not Rhea insisting Charlotte use her Rumble win to challenge her for the NXT Championship, now it's Rhea using her prize as a chance to correct history, and become SmackDown Women's Champion.
There is debate on whether or not this match is worthy of a Wrestlemania main event slot. Considering how white hot the storylines are in the last two matches being covered, and the potential of just having women main event a Wrestlemania night for PR backpatting, it's definitely a match with a case to state. A Royal Rumble winner being in the last match of the show isn't a sure thing, and the build might not make the match seem as hype as others, but if these two think they are worthy of closing the show... then I hope they tear the roof off SoFi.
These two are top of the line. Charlotte can turn her offensive focus on a dime, Rhea is prepared to play dirty to realize her dream, and Rhea is facing the daughter of the dirtiest player in the game. This isn't gonna be a pretty contest. A heated, brutal slugfest is a much better descriptor. I believe Rhea will leave behind any shred of doubt that she is on Charlotte's level. But Charlotte's not just gonna lie down, and let her title slip away. Look forward to this match being talked about for the next few months afterward.
​
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) (c) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
The year is 2023. The Usos continue their eternal stranglehold on the WWE Tag Team division. It's been due to The Bloodline's dissention being one of the most compelling storylines in recent WWE memory, and at the center of that discourse is Sami Zayn. We've been watching him over the past year align with Roman, damn near become the second-in-command of The Bloodline, fight against his best friend Kevin Owens (which to be fair, is neither the first nor the last time that's happened), and then have Sami reach his boiling point with a payoff betrayal of Roman Reigns being a deafening roar of heroism, to Sami getting squashed underneath Roman's boot. But now Sami knows his true target; The Usos. But he can't do it alone. He needs help from his former best friend, Kevin Owens. Owens wants no part of Sami's personal war, considering that Sami joined in on any and all Bloodline beatdowns of Kevin Owens. However, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so friends turned rivals turned friends again believe they have the best chance of finally overcoming The Usos and their umpteenth day reign as Tag Team champions.
And the bond of The Usos is stronger than it's been. Jey Uso, with a small drop of uncertainty, spent a whole month absent from WWE itself, uncertain if the direction of The Bloodline was one he was willing to follow. In the end, blood was thicker than water. And rather than Sami and Jey be the duo to get it done, Jey kicked those dreams away, picking family over personal glory. Just be glad the titles haven't been given the proper Freebird rule, because there was a house show or two where the part of Jey Uso was played by Solo Sikoa. Ah yes, Solo is finally a part of WWE's main roster proper. Spent the first 6 months of his career undefeated (just had his first loss to Cody on Monday. Still looked strong). If the Usos start to, in any capacity, show signs of losing, expect this enforcer to interject.
In reality, you know how strong The Usos are as a unit. Slick teamwork, lethal attacks and combinations to double up their mighty blows... they've been holding on to those titles legit, even without interference. Will this reunited twosome of Kevin and Sami be any different? I don't think so. Sami's been on the inside until recently, and Kevin's been fighting them longer than anyone. In my mind, they might just be the force to catch The Usos slipping, and become the new Tag Team Champions. Of course, that depends on if the wrestling gods have grown tired of seeing The Usos hog the tag titles for over a year plus. I think most of us are.
​
---
With the dirty dozen of Wrestlemania clashes chronicled, we now come to the final contest; The Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. You know the first name, but the second one is a name seeking glory that his generation could never grasp. Let's get the obvious one out of the way first.

Roman Reigns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZwTHoHI8cQ
Roman Reigns wanted his Head of the Table gimmick realized, or he would walk out on WWE. The fans believed in their Tribal Chief becoming the face of WWE. Over the past 900+ days, that's what happened. The fans got their reward..... their eternal reward. Roman has stood on top for far longer than any human being in the Wrestlemania generation. Male or Female. Singles or Tag Team. In fact, walking into this match, this is the 3rd straight year that Roman is defending his world championship. No one else can make such a claim. Not even Hulk Hogan, who felt like his time at the top of the mountain lasted far longer.
It's not hard to see why Roman is breaking as many records as he is. It's because of how far he has come. You look back at his time even 5-10 years ago, a time where the crowd wanted absolutely none of Vince's personal project. His promo material was awful, his matches were against people who were either leagues above him in wrestling ability, or they were far too immobile to be of any help. Roman Reigns was everything except over with the crowd. You can throw him in as many main events as you want, he will never be acknowledged. The fans despised him because of the simple fact that he was "The Guy". The guy in the big Wrestlemania matches, the second man ever to have defeated The Undertaker at Wrestlemania, the guy who got chance after chance at the spotlight when many other favored sons received diddly-squat in comparison.
With that, Roman worked smarter. Seeking his family entourage to grant them guaranteed success, his wise council in Paul Heyman being the Don King to his Mike Tyson, his general improvement and diversity in his offense beyond just spears and superman punches, as well as limiting when and where his title matches take place to make them the big deal that they deserve to be. Roman has been used in a significantly smaller capacity over the past year, to the point of some considering him a part-timer, which is a dangerous role around these parts. The continuous rumors over Roman taking time off were constant, and everpresent. They felt more like a tease that the oppressive era of The Bloodline was coming to an end. In actuality, it meant that the other members of The Bloodline got their chance to shine on equal terms.
Roman has been at the center of damn near every major storyline going on in WWE. Whenever Roman appears, whether making his way to RAW, or defending his title at a Premium Live Event, it is a big deal. A must see for any and all eyes on the product. He is what he, and the people who believed in him all those years ago, wanted him to become. The face of WWE. His actions as of recent have made him anything BUT face. Him destroying Sami Zayn at Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber have secured his place as the top heel of the company for the near future, and it has been reflected in how he achieves his Ws. One way or another, he has pulled win after win out of his ass, either through capitalizing on chaos, or outpeforming the opposition. But there is one man he has never been able to defeat in a meaningful encounter. That is Roman's Wrestlemania opponent. A man, who as of 4 years ago, was All Elite.
​

"The American Nightmare" Cody Rhodes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i36tXq7yK6c
​
This really is the embodiment of never say never. Cody Rhodes left the WWE in a huff, shamed and embarrassed at his personal exit. But he didn't linger for long. He went back on the grind.
So.. what do you wanna talk about? Well, let's talk about Cody's post-WWE life.
You name a wrestling promotion in the United States, the likes of the NWA, the likes of Ring of Honor, he has swam to the top of it. Creating and forging his own legacy and identity. Not afraid to speak his own mind, not afraid to step above his station, and especially not afraid to fight his ass off, and put on matches well above his own average. As a result, a special thing happened in 2017. Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer felt that Ring of Honor would not sell out a 10,000 seat arena any time soon. Cody took him up on that declaration. In an event known as "The Bet", such a PPV exceeding that crowd capacity was called All In, and it planted the seeds for what is now the #2 wrestling promotion in the United States. It's crazy to think way back when that THAT Cody Rhodes would be partially responsible for helping to create the first promotion to take a sizable chunk out of WWE's audience since the WCW days; All Elite Wrestling.
But what no one else was expecting in the early days of AEW was Cody's career trajectory. The first to challenge for the AEW World Title held by Chris Jericho under the condition that if Cody can't beat Jericho, he will never challenge for that title again. It would be Cody's one, and only, shot at that title. He failed. From then on, Cody would obtain a title worth fighting for; the TNT Championship. Challenger after challenger vanquished every single week for as long as Cody held that title. With the exception of getting mauled into submission by the late Brodie Lee, Cody would stay the course. The only thing that would stop him... was discourse. Among the AEW fans. They felt that Cody only had his success because it was his company. And it was that stigma that eventually caused the fans to turn on him. Through a combination of that bitterness, as well as clashing with his fellow EVPs, Cody felt the time was right to leave AEW to its own devices. Unthinkable at the time, but by January 2022, it became reality. Cody was a free man once again.
From there, it was a matter of days. The day... was Wrestlemania last year. Speculation on Seth Rollins' mystery opponent had the rumor mill swirling. Perhaps Gable Steveson, maybe Shane McMahon? But Cody Rhodes? Come on, there's no way. And then the lights went black come match time.. to the tune of "Kingdom". And a crowd reaction that broke the sound barrier. My god... it actually happened. Cody Rhodes returned to WWE.
It must have come with a hex on Cody's body, because a couple months later, Cody tore a pectoral muscle meaning his WWE return would be short lived... if this were a man of logic and discretion, perhaps. Cody wrestled a classic Hell in a Cell encounter despite his pec looking incredibly sore against Seth Rollins to cap off that rivalry. And then the recuperation began.
Not a peep on Cody's return until the Royal Rumble. After putting on another clinic with Gunther to fight over the Wrestlemania main event, Cody stood tall. And thus, the match was set in stone. It's Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes. WWE's golden boy, vs AEW's exiled founding father. Cody Rhodes attempting to realize a dream that his father, The American Dream, was never able to make reality. A matchup that didn't even seem possible 2 years ago is now suddenly the main event of Wrestlemania. Wrestling is a special thing, sometimes.
In short, this matchup is indeed main event worthy. It's an even bout from top to bottom. Roman's power and authority vs Cody's acumen and knowhow. A godlike force vs a man seeking wrestling immortality. It's either going to be jaded WWE fans swearing to never watch again as long as Roman's still the champ, or AEW fans seething and coping that Cody is standing tall in enemy territory. A main event for the ages that one man has to lose. A duel of the fates that will be spoken of in documentaries and future montages to come. The quest to decide the undisputed WWE Champion.
Who will it be?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aST-5fzb1Iw
\A DYNAMITE PREDICTON**
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_HFnIGszr4
All things considered, I think this match is a lot closer than people think it is. Cody has been fighting to no end, and he's confident that he has Roman's number. He has a reason to be champion other than just being the top guy in the company, but to Roman, that is his only reason. And that is his driving motivator. And such an obsession will be his undoing. All it will take is one mistake, one spear off the mark, and Cody will strike with an unforeseen fury and desire. This is Cody Rhodes' night. He will raise both titles, and discard both physical championships to bring back the golden World Heavyweight Championship that his father once wore proudly. Don't deny me this moment, WWE. Don't deny your fans someone new at the top for fucking once. And please keep away from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. The morality of your fanbase depends on it. Not like morality has stopped any of your poor decision making in the past. Speaking of poor decisions, enjoy your weekend of bodyslams and crossbody splashes to the outside. Ring the bell, fuckers!
​
---
https://youtu.be/4CUXV3BfeD4?t=184
Thanks for reading. Have fun with Nick Khan saying the quiet part out loud.
Nick Khan: Just one note on that, I don’t run the WWE. There’s only one person who actually runs the WWE, Vince McMahon. A lot of folks help me to help run the WWE.

I read this book 7-10 years ago. It is a thrillehorror story. A couple, maybe honeymooning, are staying in a hotel on a mountain at a remote ski resort. I think it in Europe not the USA. They wake to find all the people gone. When they try to explore they have issues with vehicles and mobility because of the amount of snow. There are no people and no bodies either. Then there are shadowy black figures that haunt, hunt, and taunt them? They flee and hide in surrounding structures...I think. Or there was a scene where they tried to flee and maybe wound up back at the hotel? I cannot remember the ending either....but I want to say they don't make it out.
I feel it's appropiate for most ages. I was in my late 30s early 40's when I read it. It was scary but not overtly sexual or obscene. The cover was black and white...snowy scene with trees and hotel off to the side. I really liked it and want to reread it!

I recently acquired a Pioneer CLD-2090 LaserDisc player that works fine except for an issue where it fails to switch back to the "A" side of the disc after playing "B" side.
When it tries to switch, there is a loud grinding noise. Sometimes it resolves itself, but not always.
I opened up the player and observed the mechanism in action.
When the player is switching back to the "A" side, the laser head mechanism travels to the far rear end of the rack. The pinion gear loses contact with the last couple of teeth, causing the grinding noise and failure to switch back to "A".
I found that if I applied very light pressure to the rack, the player would switch back to "A" seamlessly. I wrapped a tiny zip-tie around the rack to hold it in place, and voila! Problem solved!
When I have time I will disassemble, inspect, clean, and apply fresh grease. There doesn't seem to be anything broken or missing, so maybe just needs lubrication.

Hi,
For the basic info, I live in the UK. Height 5'10, weight around 50 kgs last I checked, race: white/latino, duration of this 11 years but getting progressively worse over time. Reposting this because I didn't get any replies from docs last time and hoping someone could help me shed light on this issue.
Existing medical issues: Dust mite allergies, depression, anxiety, ADHD, infertility.
Medication: Antihistamine nose spray for allergies, works okay but could be better.
Okay so onto the issue, ever since I've turned 18 I've been tired all the time. It used to come and go then but with the years it's gotten worse to the point where now I'm too tired to even get basic tasks done, have slow reactions, and it takes me hours to get out of bed. I just lay there falling back asleep because I can't bring myself to get up. I wake up more exhausted then when I went to sleep. My entire body feels heavy like lead. If an alarm goes off before I'm ready to get up in my half asleep daze I will keep pressing snooze. I've pressed snooze for FOUR HOURS before, every fifteen minutes. If I have to get up early for classes, forget it. I won't be able to. I've almost gotten expelled from college for missing all my morning classes even though I knew I had to go.
Last night I slept for FOURTEEN HOURS from 2 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I woke up at 9 a.m., so damn tired I went right back to sleep then kept waking up and falling back asleep every two hours. It's 11 pm now. I have been tired as hell ever since like 6 p.m to the point I could go back to bed and probably sleep again.
I have CONSTANT brain fog to the point that some of my ADHD symptoms are probably part of this issue rather than even having ADHD. I have muscle weakness to where if I'm sitting up for a long time my entire body starts vibrating. My hands have a slight tremble. If I bend down for a while my legs start shaking and even an hour later my legs are still shaky, then I get sore the next day. I go to the gym sometimes in hopes to get stronger but I can't even lift my own body weight while I see other newcomers lifting the same or more while I've been at it for a while. I get out of breath when doing cardio much faster than others and start seeing black dots, feeling faint to the point I have to sit down or I'll pass out. Same thing happens if I get injured. My long term memory is fine, short term horrible.
I can't gain weight no matter how much I eat, have been like this my entire life when I ate 4 meals a day and mcdonalds multiple times a week. I try to be health concsious nowadays with what I eat but it does nothing. I have zero appetite, progressively worse for the past 3 years and eating is an exhausting chore. I don't enjoy food at all. I am aging too fast, started getting grey hair at 23 and fine lines at 24. Both my parents started going grey in their mid 30's-early 40's. None of them even have wrinkly skin now despite being in their 50's-70's. My grandparents are youthful looking too.
I have circadian rhythm issues where even when I try to fix my sleeping schedule it keeps shifting to an 8 a.m-4 p.m. schedule. I have considered this to be the issue but I sleep better and deeper when it's during the day. When I've fixed my sleeping schedule to sleep at night I've been even more tired during the day. I constantly dream at night, more than most and I don't think I even go into other sleep cycles aside REM. I dream so much that I feel I've slept for much longer than I actually have. When I have 15-20 min naps I start dreaming, that's not supposed to be possible. Same when I sleep for any other time.
Tests I have done: STD test (negative), sleep apnea/breathing study (all came back fine), full blood test(came back iron and vitamin D deficient. I fixed that, pushed them up to normal and did another blood test, still felt constantly tired and it changed nothing), liver and kidney function(liver fine, have phosphate a bit higher than it should be and a few things that could indicate kidney problems), hormone test (all fine), muscle function test or something similar I don't know the name (all fine), COVID screening (negative), heart exam and ECG (fine), blood pressure (low/normal), ENT exam for deviated septum (don't have one). When asked about my inability to gain weight doctors just said I have a fast metabolism. Thyroid screening (normal), lyme disease(negative), HIV (negative).
Irregularities worth mentinoing are that in blood tests I always come back having a nonexistent basophil count. It's bolded and 0.00 but nobody has ever talked to me about it. Despite allergy meds I usually wake up with one nostril blocked. I wake up once every two hours but idk why when I don't have sleep apnea. I have horrific dark circles under my eyes that never go away no matter how much I sleep. When left to my own devices I sleep 10-12 hours a night. I have a lower body temp than most (around 35 C). Get ill less often than most adults. I am infertile and have almost nonexistent libido. Have to pee more than most people and get up at least once a night to pee. Have pelvic muscle issues.
I know this is a horribly long post but I would really appreciate it if someone could help me because I am at the end of my rope. I waste so much time sleeping and it does nothing. I can't do ANYTHING, this tiredness is ruining my life. I have no energy or motivation and I'm going to get expelled from uni if I don't go to class. I've told endless doctors about this, had endless tests done and nobody knows what the issue is. I used to have so much energy as a teenager, I got bored and antsy if I stayed inside even for a day and loved being busy. Now I simply don't have the energy to do anything two days in a row. I'm unemployed because I don't have the energy to work. I would do anything to get that back.

I have been having this weird issue with my Dell S3422DWG. It seems to happen randomly, but the screen will turn black for a few seconds and then come back. This happens more frequently when I stand up or move in my chair, but has happened when I have been sitting still. The issue happened infrequently at first, but has been happening more frequently. This started when I first purchased the monitor a few months back, but I assumed it might have been a cable issue and didn't have time to fully troubleshoot until now.
I currently have it connected by display port to a 3060.
I have tried: - swapping out cables (using display port currently, used HDMI previously, and swapped out powe cable and changed power strip location I plug into) - changed monitor settings (disabling the built in amd freesync and disabling Nvidia G-sync, changed refresh rate from 144hz to 60) - used another PC (running a different GPU, 1050 or 1060 I forget, through HDMI) - Factory reset - remove all cables and hold power for 15 seconds
Any ideas what can be causing the issue? I didn't see many useful things in my research, and I'm currently going through the hoops to register the product with Dell so I can reach out to them.

My husband (at the time) and I had been married about a year when one of his friends told us they were buying a house. Their rental house would be available and the rent was very reasonable. His wife’s parents knew the owner of the house, and he was fine with us moving in. We said yes, since we were happy to leave our small apartment. Husband told me the house was pretty nice; he and his friend’s band practiced there all the time.
Weird stuff started happening right away. I worked and went to school during the day, while husband was a working musician, so was gone until late. I woke up in bed one night, and heard the front screen door springs squeak open. “Husband’s home,” I thought. He put the key in the lock, opened the door, and quietly let the screen door shut. I was still in bed as I heard him walking across the living room, so I called out hello to him and told him he doesn’t need to be quiet because I’m awake.
He didn’t answer. I called out again. The house was quiet. I looked at my cat, who was in bed with me, and she was on high alert sitting straight up, eyes wide, staring at the bedroom door.
I don’t know how long we hid out on the bed, but some time later, the screen opened again (it was all louder) and the door unlocked, by husband this time. These events happened quite a few times, but sometimes it was just footsteps.
There were often crashing sounds in the house, like a broom handle hitting the floor. Cabinet doors would be open, and small appliances turned on, for no good reason. (We started unplugging everything when not using it.) Guests and later, roommates also experienced these things. The house also had a reputation with the neighbors, who called it “Tragedy House.”
Once, I was sitting at the table in the kitchen, and a tall black thing (figure?) flew from the wall behind me on my left, through the kitchen, and out the outside wall. It happened in a second, but I remember thinking it would hit the wall; it just went through.
The houses’ owneour landlord told me his wife had died while they were on vacation years earlier. She fell down some stairs, leaving him with 3 small children. He said, that she loved this house, and “I can still feel her here when come in.” You and me both, buddy.
I’m happy to answer questions. This was a long time ago, but it’s not something you forget.

I'm an Android Engineer with 6 years of experience across mutliple Fortune 500's (that's to say that I feel my resume/experience is desirable). On 03/27/23 the current company I contract with let me know that 04/30/23 will be my last day because of company-wide budget cuts (I'm a contractor trying to convert full-time); they said as much that they value me and the work I've done but due to [insert long story about company finances here], they can't afford to keep me. They said they wanted to give me ample heads up so I can start finding a new job, but I'm feeling uneasy about the lack of repsonses.
I know it's been less than a full working week, but I apply to at least 30 jobs/day, all in the 4-6 year range of experience. I'm applying on Linkedin, Google, Dice, and ZipRecruiter but the only communications I've received are by Indian scammers; people who are resume harvesters or merely pushing 'applications' for commission. The type of 'recruiters' that will never actually turn into anything other than an initial email and then never contacting you again.
Anyone have any tips? I'm in Utah but I'm trying to target work from home (which has never been an issue before). Usually my phone is ringing off the hook and emails are flooding in, but I cannot seem to find anyone legitimate who is willing to talk to me. Depsite having ample experience. My previous experience is that recruiters and companies are usually hounding me to interview with them, but something feels off this time and I am stressed because I only have a month to get it right.

​
The smell of the bakery led you from nearly a block away. There is a line of patrons but it is moving quickly and before long you reach the counter. Roll a d120 to see what the special is for today.

Roll	Result
1	Monkey's tail is a coil of thin pretzel-like bread that is boiled in soda ash, topped with salt and pepper, and then baked. [camtarn]
2	Cochito, a soft gingerbread in the shape of a pig [D3WM3R]
3	Bacon and Leek Hand Pie, pastry the size of a human hand filled with bacon and leeks [u/FlyingHorseduck]
4	Puffed pastries cooked in meat drippings (think Yorkshire puddings) [dysonrules]
5	Little volcano is a cone shaped jam donut using chilli jam [Micaramel]
6	Small chocolate bars that were prepared using healing potions. When you don't have a druid and want goodberry. [Scumbutcher]
7	Lifeleaf Wafer are small disks of flour, water, salt and finely chopped lifeleaf that are baked till hard. Naturally restorative, unnaturally salty. [MCiph]
8	Twice baked travelers bread provide of tough but crisp foodstuff that is perfect for trail rations. [I_walked_east]
9	Prism dough is a bread that is risen to look like a triangular based prism. It tastes sweeter at the top of the spire and sourer nearer the base. Can feed 2-4 people. [AfternoonBaboon]
10	Sawyers flat, a horrid, matzo-like crispbread cut with maple (best), birch (ehhh), or pine (oh gods) sawdust. Often eaten by unskilled laborers, or during famine/drought. [Norwejew]
11	Fruit Pies (apple, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry, strawberry, etc) adorns with ornate patterns in to top crust. [World_of_Ideas]
12	Pumpkin pie, a creamy orange desert that is best served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream. [World_of_Ideas]
13	Amaranth biscuits yield a subtle nutty flavor that goes well with many spreads. [I_walked_east]
14	Angel food cake, a light and fluffy cake made using angel blood instead of eggs. Often glazed with a light lemon and sugar glaze. Tastes heavenly..... [supersnes1]
15	Cheese Cake, a simple creamy filling of egg, sugar, and cheese within a fluffy pastry crust. Some variants have a coating of fruit jam on its top for added flavor. [World_of_Ideas]
16	A frangipane style baked custard that uses a flour made from exotic, far away seeds. [Norwejew]
17	Almond croissants are flaky croissants sliced in half and filled with dark chocolate spread. [MJspringer & LookITriedHard]
18	Spider bread that was baked by drow. Don’t ask. Seriously. [ElZoof]
19	Nut breads, sweet or savory, baked with whatever nuts are locally grown. [dysonrules]
20	Meat pies, stuffed with various local game, give off wisps of steam and heavy aromas. [supersnes1]
21	Fairy's heart, a pastry twisted into the shape of a heart, with a (magically?) glistening jam centre. [-peachmilk-]
22	A pound cake coated in a sugary lemon drizzle. [supersnes1]
23	Mushroom Muffins, a small savory muffin preferred by halflings. Traditionally served after a larger sweet muffin. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
24	Penis-shaped doces fálicos frosted sweet bread [I_walked_east]
25	Tiny frosted cakes full of spices, nuts, or fruits [dysonrules]
26	Black Molasses Nutbread, made with the strongest molasses and served with salted butter [u/FlyingHorseduck]
27	Small boxes of traveler's biscuit - similar, but more palatable due to the addition of lard and salt, and with a shelf life of only a year [camtarn]
28	Fried funnel cake with sprinkled confectioners’ sugar. [WontLetMeCurse]
29	Stone bread is perfect for adventurers as it will never go stale due to it already rock hard. It can double up as a rather effective improvised weapon. [Daggerbones8951]
30	Dwarven ale bread is a very dense but flavorful bread made from ales and stouts (generally of dwarven make). Despite being baked, the potency of the drinks used in its making can still provide the eater a slight buzz when consumed. Often used as a desert in many northern kingdoms and tribes. [supersnes1]
31	Peasant's breakfast, a barely-leavened flatbread that is split and stuffed with curried chickpeas and a chopped boiled egg [camtarn]
32	Arcane party muffins are chocolate and hazelnut muffins with magical blue sugar (that sparkles) sprinkled on top of them. When consumed you can change your eye colour for a minute. [AfternoonBaboon]
33	Piles of pale-yellow buttery shortbread that are imprinted with various coats of arms [camtarn]
34	Tartines made with spicy sausage and blistered tomatoes. [Norwejew]
35	Chocolate zucchini cakes coated in powder sugar and crowned with strawberries. [supersnes1]
36	Gnomish sourdough made from 4000 year old yeast culture [I_walked_east]
37	Melting Buttermilk Biscuits, savory and tender, served with seasonal jams [u/FlyingHorseduck]
38	Siren’s Tack, a dry and dense bread, that is as hard as a brick. When eaten alone, this hardtack is basically a rock that sits in your gut. They are surprisingly filling, but a bit hard to keep down. It’s traditional to boil them in broth (to soften and flavor it) and serve under fish and gravy in port towns. [MCiph]
39	Six Copper Pie (based on the Sing a Song of 6 Pence song/rhyme) [wynryprocter]
40	Dragon Eggs, large, fluffy puffs filled with sweet custard. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
41	Buttered Crumpet, best served warm to ensure that the butter soaks into the soft and spongy crust. [World_of_Ideas]
42	Miner's pasties, are made with meat and potatoes in one end, jam in the other, and a thick crust 'handle' on one side that is designed to be grabbed with coal-black hands and thrown away after. [camtarn]
43	4 and 20 Shrieker Mushrooms baked in a pie. The pie is baked in a dutch oven and set inside a firepit. When cut a few soft screams escape through the crust. [wynryprocter]
44	Gelatinous cube flan, despite not being made from the creature, is a recipe of Calisham original that is traditionally made in square baking pan. The addition of gelatin helps the dish hold its signature shape. [supersnes1]
45	Red rolls are bread made with pig's blood instead of water, and stuffed with boiled pig stomach or intestine. Very nourishing, if a bit smelly. [camtarn]
46	French-style plain complet with a golden brown egg-wash. [supersnes1]
47	Turtle bread, a round loaf that is hard on the outside, and super soft on the inside [shamanspiff]
48	Fresh cornbread & butter served with a side of honey, maple syrup, and/or fruit jam/jelly. [World_of_Ideas]
49	Vagrant’s Cake, a recipe passed down from Druid to Druid; barley flour, berries, sugar, eggs, goat butter and water, mixed finely and baked until golden. The cakes are sweet and nutritious, perfect for short, day-long journeys. [MCiph]
50	Fruitcake! Can also double as a doorstop or makeshift weapon. [Super_Solver]
51	Tiny dense black rye rolls that are studded with cloves [camtarn]
52	Illithid Brain Pies appears like a common pie, with an uncommon filling. Whether the brains are from or for the Illithid is up to the skill of the adventurer wanting to bake this dish. [MCiph]
53	Jötnbrød (YERT-n-breh), a massive boule of dark rye bread enriched with bone meal, resulting in a beefy, slightly crunchy bread. A large handful is equivalent to a trail ration, but produces horrid constipation. [Norwejew]
54	Bacon, sharp cheese, green onion, and hot pepper scones. [AnGabhaDubh]
55	Flower bread is made from various types of powdered flowers giving it light floral taste and aroma. [AStupidAnnoyingVoice]
56	Goodberry Pie, made with the eponymous berries, grants 5hp when consumed, but must be eaten within a day. [ElZoof]
57	Digger's Delight, a Dwarven bread that is dense and filled with meat, potato, and cheese. Varies by region and season, but always sturdy enough to be kept in a miner's pocket during a morning's work without falling apart. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
58	Small rhubarb pies, made with thin crunchy hot-water pastry [camtarn]
59	Pumpernickel rye baked into rounded loafs that are adorned with caraway seeds. [supersnes1]
60	Fairy fingers are merengue treats, piped in a thinly oblong shape. Often coated in confectioner’s sugar but some recipes call for actual pixie or sprite dust. [supersnes1]
61	Plump-Helm Roast is a unique pie, filled to the brim with minced and liquefied Plump-Helmet mushrooms. The subterranean fungus is rather sweet (which allows it to be brewed into alcohol, among other things), which makes the pie a rather addictive mix of sweet and savory. Often served with Plump-Helmet Wine and fine dwarven cheeses. [MCiph]
62	Goodberry Biscuit are, a light, flaky, buttery biscuit infused with goodberry juice and drenched in a sweet sugary glaze. Eating two has either the healing or satiating effect at random. You can eat four but you are sickened for d4 rounds. [Chalkyteton]
63	Ankheg burrows, a thin but crispy chimney cake made by wrapping a thin strip of dough around a spool and coating the outside with oils and sugar before baking. Often filled with chocolate, nuts, or various fruits. [supersnes1]
64	Mushroom breads, sometimes with unexpected medicinal or recreational properties [dysonrules]
65	Barkskin biscuits have a tough, almost woody, exterior that are often soaked in milk or tea to soften. [supersnes1]
66	A single, dusty, halfeaten cracker just laying on the floor [NickHerag & DenialBirds]
67	Raisin dotted pastries of choux rolled into spirals and heavily glazed. Topped with pistachios. [Norwejew]
68	Rhubarb shortbread bars are a sweet confection made from shortbread coated in rhubarb custard and topped with brown sugar. [supersnes1]
69	Elf's Bread, legendarily filling dense bread that will stay fresh for weeks [u/FlyingHorseduck]
70	Troll Rolls are warm basil rolls, jarred with melted honey butter and sugared flesh (non-human). [BEZERK0xD]
71	Conchas are white, brown, or pink dusted sweet breads with a shell pattern on them [D3WM3R]
72	Small balls of fried bread that are soaked in pistachio-flavoured syrup. [camtarn]
73	Penny treat, a finger-sized roll of brown bread drizzled with blackstrap molasses or watered-down maple syrup [camtarn]
74	Roll and stew is a wooden bowl containing some thin stock (fish, goat, squirrel, etc) and a bread roll to dip in it. [camtarn]
75	Tuppenny treat, like a Penny treat, but topped with a sliver of dry cheese [camtarn]
76	Dwarvish baguette are short and stout like its namesake. [I_walked_east]
77	Swampweed Loaf, an uncommon and generally disliked type of baked good made from a dried aquatic kelp found in swamps. It's unknown who first invented the swampweed loaf or for what reason, but what is known is that it's absolutely dreadful. [Deadly_Bread]
78	Carrot Cake, a moist layered cake covered in a thick layer of freshly made cream cheese frosting. [World_of_Ideas]
79	Fragrant caraway seed buns display a golden brown top glistening with butter. [camtarn]
80	Empanadas and pineapple, apple, or pumpkin turnovers provide a sweet, yet filling treat. [D3WM3R]
81	Fist-sized cups of hard bread, filled with cold pease pudding [camtarn]
82	Devils food cake, a dense and heavy cake made using the blood of devils that is fortified using ground bone devil horn. This cake has a sweet fiery cinnamon aftertaste that leaves the eater wanting for more. [supersnes1]
83	Dragon donuts are twists in the shape of a dragon's horn with a thin sugar glaze and a surprisingly spicy kick. [supersnes1]
84	Fruit Dumplings (apple, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry, strawberry, etc) that have been boiled or fried and coated in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. [World_of_Ideas]
85	Braids filled with minced and roasted fruits. Apple filled braids are particular popular in this season [supersnes1]
86	Seawater bread is a notable staple of coastal markets and bakeries [I_walked_east]
87	Salt-roll are small round rolls of chewy brown bread, topped with a truly alarming amount of flaky sea salt. [camtarn]
88	Churros are long tubes of fried dough coated with cinnamon and sugar [D3WM3R]
89	Gelatinous Pudding - a very, very sticky treat. [ElZoof]
90	Golden pear bread, shiny and egg enriched, contains a generous filling of wine-stewed pears, cinnamon, and brown sugar. [camtarn]
91	Assorted Bagels (asiago, whole wheat, multigrain, blueberry, cherry, goodberry, etc.) are stacked on a nearby platter. [World_of_Ideas]
92	Meat Dumplings, dumplings filled with various meats. Some enterprising creators crimp them to resemble a fat large lizard or dragon. [World_of_Ideas]
93	The Wrong Bread, or the "you weren't supposed to buy THAT one.", is a half-stale loaf of bread containing a plot hook baked into it. This item could be a small magical trinket with a larger meaning, such as a ring, a wand, a small piece of a very powerful spell-scroll, or something more mundane but equally powerful. For example, the item could be a signet-ring or seal of a noble or royal (maybe it's a high-end fake, maybe it's the real-deal that was recently stolen), or perhaps just a small bag of very valuable gems. No matter what it actually is, you have it now, and boy are there people who are going to try to make you regret it. [Neknoh]
94	Halfling Sweetpie, a staple of Halfling dessert that is traditionally filled with some variety of apple and berry. The best examples are to be found at harvest festival sweetpie competitions. [u/FlyingHorseduck]
95	Sourdough rolls glistening with freshly applied butter and a garnish of parsley. [supersnes1]
96	Bowlcaps are a type of round, dense bread rolls made to be crusty on one side but soft and steamed on the other. Typically eaten by laborers, the soft side is usually pressed down over the rim of a wooden bowl to act as a lid, containing and preserving the contents, until mealtime. [_Dthen]
97	Crates of ship's biscuit, barely edible but capable of lasting years at sea [camtarn]
98	Gingerbread Warrior, a hard gingerbread that is heavily spiced, slightly bitter, and covered with icing armor [u/FlyingHorseduck]
99	Black moss cupcake, a jet-black appearance belies an earthy almost charcoal-like flavor that transitions to matcha aftertaste. [[deleted]]
100	Peanut butter cookies, a simple cookie adorned with fork marks and granulated sugar. [AfternoonBaboon]
101	Copper cookies are small sweet cookies that cost 5cp each [shamanspiff]
102	Honey bread, bread but with honey. [Last-of-the-Akbars]
103	Towering bread creations formed in the shapes of fantastical beasts, castles, or scenes, usually for festivals or special occasions [dysonrules]
104	Mutton-bread, a double-fist-sized roll of steamed bread, that is filled with minced mutton spiced with plenty of pepper. The mutton is cooked inside the bread, so its juices leak out when bitten into. [camtarn]
105	Black ooze bread pudding is an acrid smelling, albeit surprisingly sweet, bread pudding that tastes of cinnamon licorice. [supersnes1]
106	Chicken Bread, it's got the chicken baked in! So it's great for those on the go. Developed by humans, of course. [felagund]
107	Owlbear Claws are delicious pastries made with honey and fig. They are a foot across with large ‘claws’ cut out on one side. Will feed a party of five. (Or one certain Dragonborn in my campaign). [aMusicLover]
108	Sweet Potato Pie is a staple of many households during holiday celebrations. Often topped with a powdering or hardened glaze of brown sugar. [World_of_Ideas]
109	Muffins of various flavors--apple, banana nut, blueberry, etc.--,are heaped in a basket on a nearby table. Some are topped with powdered brown sugar, powdered sugar, and/or sesame, poppy, or pumpkin seeds. [World_of_Ideas]
110
111
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114
115
116
117
118
119
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Initial list built by d100. See it here.
Some of my entries were inspired by the Heroes' Feast official D&D cookbook

The "we're not dead" chapter from u/eruwenn and I. No promises on how fast the next chapter arrives, but it is underway.
First / Prev / Next ------------------------------
Sam Jakobs strode through the lobby of Umgrol Tower with all but one of his most trusted friends. Black suits slipped through the crowd; much like a shark’s fin through waves, they simply parted without a ripple of effort. Faces were grim, eyes focused, and a tension sat on their combined shoulders like a weight they all knew too well.
“I could make an excuse,” Duong offered, deciding to try and break the mood. “No need for you to attend this meeting in person.”
“It’s fine,” former Colonel Jakobs answered with a resigned sigh.
“But, shouldn’t you be with Britney?” Lopez attempted to change his mind with an appeal to his emotions. “She was looking forward to taking you on a roller coaster.”
“I’m doing this for Britney,” the loving father replied without hesitation.
“Avoiding conflict is a good lesson,” Jabari offered his advice.
“True.” Sam conceded the point.
“Knowin’ how to punch a Wachoto so their heart fails is also a good lesson,” Snake said drily.
“Also true,” the group’s leader said, allowing himself a brief chuckle.
“Sam!” Lopez struck his shoulder with the back of her open hand. “Don’t even joke-”
“We’re not killing Hopper’s replacement,” Sam confirmed, allowing himself an almost imperceptible shrug. “Not today, anyway.”
The small ripple of laughter that had passed between them had helped alleviate some of the tension that had been building. Duong paused as one of the tower assistants came jogging up to them, and he held up a hand to stop the others. As the young man approached, the terror was visible in his face. "Your order, Sir." He held up a white box from Pierre's, large enough to require both hands to hold, and instead of saluting he simply bowed his head and extended the package towards them.
“Thank you,” Sam replied, accepting the box and tucking it under his arm. He saw the others staring in confusion. “A gift,” he explained.
“From you…” Jabari said slowly. “To?”
“Did Choco make an exploding cake?” Duong jokingly asked.
“Another exploding cake,” Jabari clarified. “There was that thing in the Whethan Sector.”
Elevator doors opened, and their conversation fell silent as they entered, only to start up again once it began to move.
Jabari had found that humorous antics, or the mere memory of them, often eased tension before combat. He tried the interrupted tactic again. "Remember that time he stole a light cruiser from the Odesza Fundamentalists?" After a brief pause to allow the memories to flow, he added, "What happened to that thing, anyhow?"
“Who knows,” Duong hastily replied, nudging his large friend in the side and nodding to the camera watching them. “Lot of stuff goes missing in war, you know-”
“Cameras are off, dumbass,” Choco’s voice came in over their earpieces.
“Better safe than sorry,” the handsome man replied, flashing a smile to their Erinal in the machine, and began fixing up his hair in the reflection of the camera lens. The elevator stopped, and the conversation paused with practiced precision as the doors parted. The black suits marched silently through the underground military base of Umgrol Tower basement level three, eventually reaching a set of secure doors. Two black armoured soldiers stood either side.
“Death’s Head?” Snake muttered the question to the others, nodding to the unmoving men and the smooth black mirror that made up the face of their helmets. “I thought we were playing nice with the locals?”
“Purely for the new general’s personal security.” Choco supplied the answer over their secure comms channel, as they passed into the room beyond. “Seems he’s the nervous type.” He slurped loudly on something, causing the others to wince at the noise. “Can’t figure why, ha.”
A dozen more of the faceless sets of black armour waited in the room, weapons ready. Near them stood full body scanners, as well as deep, metal trays.
“Weapons,” one of the Death’s Head Dragoons said, gesturing to the waiting receptacles.
The War Rats glanced at each other, smiled, and began unbuttoning their suit jackets. Things began to be deposited at an alarming frequency by everyone present, aside from one. Sam shook his head at the others as he held his box of confections. “I thought I said unarmed?” he asked.
“This is unarmed,” Snake replied, tossing a sixth knife into the tray.
“Oh, you meant unarmed unarmed.” Jabari’s deep voice was full of humour, and he failed to stifle his rumbling laughter as he tossed a large, brightly-coloured grenade into his tray.
The closest guard flinched at the sight of the explosive, and immediately asked, “Is that an Oracle?” He took several steps back, despite knowing that the explosive could vaporise several floors of even this reinforced building. Something whose very name spoke of being a message from god, a literal invite to hell. “Isn’t owning one of those a war crime?”
“In Triumvirate space, sure,” the big man answered, shrugging off the obvious obfuscation. “No local laws are being broken. Besides, I’ve been working on making a better version.“ He smiled at his reflection in the man’s visor. “This one lacks the wow factor.”
Two of the other guards were muttering back and forth, clearly nervous, and Sam stepped in to ask, “Do we have a problem?”
“Err...” One of the indistinguishable soldiers glanced nervously at Lopez, who had stepped through the scanner. "Her arm, Sir. It's been augmented with-"
"You want me to take my arm off?" Lopez laughed, well-acquainted with the multiple warnings her Choco-manufactured appendage had set off. "I guess you really did mean unarmed unarmed.
Sam took control of the situation, his voice calm and even. “We’re all on the same team here. General Midysus requested this meeting himself.” He gestured back towards the door. “I can head up to my office, and he can-”
“It’s fine,” Maria gently interrupted, reaching up to start unfastening her shirt so she could remove the artificial limb. “No me importa, we just need to-”
“No.” Sam’s voice was iron, an infinitesimal amount of the rage that was brewing inside him seeping into that singular syllable. “I care.” His eyes had not left the dragoon who had made the request, and they took a faltering step backwards. “My men brought weapons, which I will punish them for later” -his subordinates grimaced at those words- “but, bad jokes aside, we are allies.” He turned to look at the elevator doors, then asked, “Unless you would like to alter the terms of our agreement?”
In response to his words the elevator doors slid open.
Duong was swept up in the moment, and he leaned in close to one of the dragoon’s. “That’s right. Los-”
“Let’s go,” Sam commanded, and his group straightened, following him through the now open doors.
“Sorry,” the others began as the doors closed.
“I’m not so-” Snake began before being elbowed roughly by Lopez’s metal arm. “Damn it, that hurt.”
“Can we all focus?” Sam's reminder was audibly weary. "Remember why you're here," he said.
"To stop you from killing him," Duong swiftly answered. It was most certainly not a recreational outing they were on.
“Exactly,” the colonel answered, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
Jabari looked at the group gathered, and muttered, “We should have brought more people.”
“Numbers never stopped him before,” Maria said, leaning in close and using her non-metal shoulder to lean into Sam. “We just need to keep reminding him of the reason he chose peace.”
“Speaking of which,” Choco’s voice cut in over the comm’s channel, “guess how many kids threw up on the bumper cars?”
-------------------------------------
Haruki Sasaki stood in front of a large cartoonish castle, talking with several members of the park staff. They were gathered on a wide drawbridge over a moat, in which many waterfowl of different colours and sizes swam. The crenellated wall was tall, boasting minarets at all four corners, and an impressive keep at the centre. Flags and banners of an eye-searing myriad of hues flapped colourfully in the breeze. As the wind slowed down, the colours suddenly shifted, becoming an even mix of red and blue. It was historically inaccurate, strategically flawed, and the children had all loved it.
“All of the suits are working correctly?” the tailored lawyer asked, maintaining fixed eye contact with a pale and perspiring park worker in an orange jumpsuit. “I want them to enjoy this more than they did the bumper cars.”
“The enjoyment comes from the acceleration, and sudden deceleration,” the sweaty lead park engineer began. “It is very fine tuned, and the intra-species variation in tolerances is something we need to work on.”
“Kids get sick.” A junior worker shrugged off the issue. “That’s why we have the cleaner bots, and disinfectant hoses.”
“Brian… we’ve talked about this,” the lead engineer warned her underling. “If a Gr’darian was to vomit on a Peil, during their mating season, what would happen?”
“Errr..” Brian paused, having no idea what the answer might be. “Failed mating season?” he guessed.
“No!?” Her angry response contained both shock at his flippancy, and incense at his poor knowledge base. “How many times have I told you to study the secretions of the gelatinous races? Combining those two xeno bodily fluids would create chlorine gas, do I have to remind you why that is a bad thing?” Barry hung his head in shame, his long blonde hair covering his increasingly red face. “My apologies, Sir,” the lead engineer said as she returned her attention to the man in the immaculate black suit. She held up her thumb and forefinger with the slenderest of gaps between them. "I am this close -- this close! -- to shipping him back to Disneymoon seven. A few cycles of repairing the Star Wars Lightsaber Academy animatronics would serve him right.”
“We don’t have either of those species present, Ms. Bizhan,” the lawyer was relieved to point out, feeling a small hint of sympathy for the now cowering Brian. “And we are getting a lot of useful information, which is the purpose of this park.”
“Most definitely.” The head engineer nodded emphatically, adding, “And please, call me Fariba.” She pulled a small tablet from a large pocket on her leg, quickly skimming her notes. “In addition to the expected biology-based observations, we've definitely found several potentially lucrative markets to expand into.”
Haruki nodded. “The Triumvirate will find a way to make you their prey,” he murmured. “Physically or economically.”
“Preferably the latter,” Fariba said with a well-practised smile. “But we must know our enemies better than we know our friends, even if we don’t know which of them will choose which path.” She tapped her tablet once more. “They were all shocked that we could manufacture inertial dampeners small enough to fit in the bumper cars, so we can open up a lot of trade with that minor technology.” She used her thumb to point over her shoulder without looking back. “With those we deem our friends, of course. Helping them get a step ahead of those who choose to be more resistant.”
“Resistance is futile,” Brian added with a grin, having spent an entire summer assembling Borg animatronics for a Trekkie battle arena experience.
“Ignore him,” Fariba quickly said, flapping a hand behind her back to shoo the junior engineer away. “I can assure you, the full dive VR suits are calibrated to the lowest tolerance levels known for each species.” Her sweet smile was pasted onto her face once more. “You will have nothing but positive things to report to Mr Jakobs, I assure you.”
“Of course,” Haruki nodded, realising all eyes were on him, and they were afraid. “I take responsibility for the earlier incident, I should not have allowed them to follow a Britney diet.” He saw them visibly relax, and continued, “I will make sure to monitor their food intake more carefully.” He stepped to one side, and began walking into the castle, giving a polite bow of his head. “I’ll go to the observation room, and see how they’re getting on.”
“They’re still being scanned,” the head engineer answered swiftly, wanting to prove her usefulness. “The match will begin once they’re all ready.”
“Fine, fine,” the lawyer replied, waving over his shoulder as he left them standing on the drawbridge. His swift stride carried him through the portcullis, and away from the engineers.
Fariba let out a huge sigh of relief, and she sagged like a deflated balloon animal found a week after a birthday party. This physical response was soundlessly mirrored throughout the group, except for their newest member. The head engineer rounded on Brian, glaring furiously. “What the hell were you thinking?” she demanded. “You don’t make jokes around people like that!”
“Lawyers?” the slightly slower member of the group innocently asked.
“No. Not lawyers,” Fariba replied sarcastically, waving her hand yet again and dismissing the rest of her team. “Well actually, you shouldn’t make jokes around the Triumvirate lawyers either, but especially not around that lawyer.” She leaned in close, and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. “You served?” she asked, although his presence here meant the answer was a foregone conclusion.
“Thirty-Seventh Avionic Engineer Battalion,” he rattled off his unit immediately, standing a little straighter. “Assigned the Illustrious, maintaining the X-7 Raptors, and the old Higgins Orbital Landers.”
“Well even a wrench bender from Ol’Lusty should have heard of the War Rats.” She eyed his youthful face, waiting for the moment things fell into place.
“Pfft,” he derisively scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It may be that I was sent to requisition clear black paint, and I went without question. I might also have spent two hours at the quartermaster's station when I was ordered by the rest of my team to requisition a Long Stand." He shook his shaggy blonde head in disbelief at his earlier naivety. "But, I never fell for those stories." His claim was punctuated with a guffaw of contempt. "Pure propaganda, to keep the systems in line. There's no way that even half the shit they're supposed to have done could be true.”
Fariba’s eyes were wide. Her mouth opened and closed several times as she stared into the stupidity of his youth. “Why don’t you go home for the day,” she gently instructed him, deciding that someone who could stand next to a shark, and not see its teeth, was not a person who should be around apex predators.
—-----------------------------
“It tickles,” Fah’Zi squeaked as he walked through the full body scanner.
“It’s reading your skeletal and muscular structure, and mapping your neural paths,” Penny explained. “Completely harmless, and necessary for the synapse translators to perform correctly.”
“And we just lie in the pods,” Pu’Sha hesitantly asked, looking over to the devices plugged into the wall. “And then we’ll be in the game?”
“Exactly.” The tower assistant was pleased they were paying attention.
There was a vibration felt in everyone’s bones, and Britney replied to Ung, “You’re not allowed to have them at home.”
“That’s right.” Though Penny hadn’t understood the question, the response made the enquiry clear. “Full-dive VR is heavily restricted, due to its highly addictive nature.” Always keen to add context to a rule, so that it was seen as protective rather than punishing, she elaborated; “A long time ago there was a group called the Neo-Utopian Transitioners, who believed humanity’s future was inside the machine. They fully embraced the virtual world, leaving behind automated systems to take care of the world around them." She took a deep breath, rapidly deciding on the best way to end the tale for these school children. "It... didn't end well. To prevent any future mishaps, the Triumvirate set up a strict regulatory body.”
“This thing’s dangerous?” Inaue asked. The small red Yaou was prodding the machine with his prehensile tail. “And you want us to get in there?”
“The machines are perfectly safe,” Britney replied. Choco had told her all about the N.U.T.’s, when he showed her his highly illegal home VR setup. “They just took it too far. Hooked themselves up to life-support systems, and fully lived in their own world.” She smirked as only a child about to reveal a disgusting factoid could. “Even had tubes to remove-”
“Nobody needs all the details,” Penny interrupted.
“I do,” Fah’Zi insisted.
“Fine,” the mischievous young girl relented, skipping the poop-shoot joke for Penny's sake even though the gag was one of Choco's favourites. "Everything worked fine for a long time, and eventually people stopped going round to check on them.”
“Unfortunately,” Penny interjected, once again taking over the narration of this tragic tale, “with everyone in their own world, nobody was performing basic maintenance. The bioreactor tasked with producing many of their key proteins had been running for decades without issue, but a forced update added advertisements, as well as something called a Captcha to stop them and run the program as intended. There was nobody to select which squares contained traffic lights, and so the bioreactor was effectively disabled.”
“I don’t understand many of the things you just said,” Mike249 said, putting into words what was on the mind of all of the students present.
“They starved while pigging out on imaginary food,” Britney bluntly blurted out, as if this was the worst thing imaginable. “Inside their utopia people started going crazy, then vanishing.”
“Prolonged life in VR requires a medical team to bring you out,” the older human explained. “So they were stuck. Unable to escape. Not knowing why their friends, and family, were acting increasingly bizarrely.”
“What the j’rak?” the green-skinned Zilithian, Todd, exclaimed, looking at the pod and then to the humans who were now suggesting they enter this device for fun.
“Humans have to eat very regularly,” Pu’Sha explained to the newer members of their group who had not spent a great deal of time around Britney. “Without food they become less rational, and aggressive. They even have a special word, hangry, and you don’t want to deal with a hangry human.” She spoke with a very serious tone, as if this single piece of advice was a vital life lesson. Finally, with even greater emphasis, she added, “Always keep your human adequately fed.”
“I’m not a pet,” Britney argued. Realising the advice actually worked in her favour she also added, “But, it’s not a bad rule.”
“So, what happened to the V.R. people,” Mike249 asked, a trembling in his voice accompanied the sagging of his worried antennae. “Were they rescued?”
“Unfortunately not,” Penny gently informed him. “It was actually many years before anyone even noticed.”
“Years?” Aekara whimpered.
“How did nobody notice,” Fah’Zi asked incredulously, thinking practically about dead bodies. “Wouldn’t they notice the smell?”
“People died,” the tufty-tailed Emsalio, Li Gorblek, began. “And nobody noticed?” She seemed angry on behalf of these forgotten strangers of another race. “How many?”
“Seventeen billion,” Haruki answered her, as he entered the room. “They had dedicated their entire world to their Neo-Utopia.” He lowered his voice, to make sure they were listening. “Starvation does strange things to our people. Even our brain chemistry alters, and this eventually disconnected them from their VR… forcibly. The shock of reality was enough to kill the lucky ones. The unlucky ones were trapped in their withered, dying bodies. Locked in their pods until they died. Rejecting the real world, and those who lived in it, meant that there was nobody to save them. There’s an important lesson for all of you.”
“Don’t get in that thing,” Inaue guessed, retracting their red tail from the pod it had been prodding.
“Everything in moderation,” Aekara murmured.
“Have a back-up protein thingy,” Fah’Zi said, his hand raised excitedly, hoping to get praise from his senior Sirius comrade.
Britney repeated the mantra Choco had drummed into her as he recounted the story in gruesome detail. “Don’t allow updates on essential equipment without a qualified engineer present. Oh, and VR lovin’ ain’t real lovin’.” She quoted her Erinal teacher directly.
“Not sure that last part is relevant,” Penny said, her cheeks flushing red. “Anyway…” She raised the lid on the first VR pod. “Who’s going first?”
All of the students took a step back, except for two. Britney immediately leapt into the pod. Ung also moved towards the next pod, having a burning passion for human video games.
“Come on,” the energetic blonde human encouraged. “You’re not scared are you?” Her taunts were enough to get Fah’Zi and Li to start moving.
Pu’Sha looked over to where the human in the suit was observing them, and she sighed. Scary stories and indulgent food aside, the humans would never put them in danger. “Fine,” she said, stepping forward. “Come on, Mike249,” she called, waving him to the pod beside hers. “And you, Aekara.” The Verg was already clambering inside her pod when she looked at the nervous newcomers. “You scared to do something the Bubbles are doing?” she asked, taking a cue from Britney in provoking them.
“Never,” the large grey Runuck – Fraskar – grunted, taking a cautious step forward. He turned and glared at the others from the non-bubble classes. “Get in, let’s put them in their place.”
“Oh?” Britney’s eyes glinted happily. “You want to play teams?” She smiled happily. “Fine by me. Six vs six. O.G.’s against Newbies.”
“If you include Ung, there are seven of us,” Mike249 politely corrected his fearless, if forgetful, leader. “Pu’Sha, Aekara, Fah’Zi, Kenra, you and I.” He held up a claw for each name, demonstrating to the human how that added up. “I could join the others? I am always happy to make new friends.”
“Fine,” the human agreed, though she was annoyed to have lost one of her teammates.
There came a high level vibration, accompanied by thunderous drumming; Ung was clapping her hands excitedly. She was on Britney's team! The vibrations continued as the Da descended a reinforced set of stairs and clambered into an enlarged pod that had been sunk into the ground.
The small human listened carefully to her guildmate, then shook her head. "No, this is definitely not a friendly match," the O.G. leader said. Her eyes locked on to Li's fierce gaze and held steady.
—------------------------------
​
Next

Looking to sell a bunch of back issues and trades I still have, all in fantastic shape and recently discounted; read once and then bagged and boarded (where they've been sitting in short-boxes since). I’m certainly open to offers but would otherwise just need to add some shipping to the prices below. All issues are bagged and boarded. Planning on keep the number 1 issue lot together for the moment.
DC Comics – Floppies:
-Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow 1-8 $50 (#1 signed by Tom King)
https://i.imgur.com/oqxUW5J.jpg
https://imgur.com/eroqpj5
-Adventures of the Super Sons 1-12 $30
https://imgur.com/Sh5xmUB
https://imgur.com/MTLatF0
-Hanna Barbera Future Quest 1-12 $40
https://imgur.com/m1t9ZJ4
https://imgur.com/BurklUJ
-Justice League Dark 1-29, Annual 1, The Witching Hour (1, Wonder Woman 56-57, JLD + WW 1) $99 (#1 signed by Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno)
https://i.imgur.com/Sa7V3kV.jpg
https://imgur.com/qr3cEoQ
https://imgur.com/CRGdAYF
https://imgur.com/pk5blDG
https://imgur.com/UDzk4oH
https://imgur.com/NFAJyNf
https://imgur.com/VRqsNFO
-Strange Adventures 1-12 (A covers) $50
https://imgur.com/yXv960j
https://imgur.com/xWiSTt1
-Strange Adventures 1-12 (B covers) $50
https://imgur.com/vmyzaj9
https://imgur.com/l9Oc6m0
(Lot of both covers) $80
-All-Star Superman 1-12 $35
https://imgur.com/7yi5YUP
https://imgur.com/LlKiqnk
-Wonder Girl #1-6 $25
https://imgur.com/xFKkTFM
-Martian Manhunter 1-12 $20
https://imgur.com/Y2pcu8R
https://imgur.com/YwHZqYV
DC Comics – TPBs:
-Starman Omnibus v1 $20
-Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes v1 $10
-Superman/Batman: World’s Finest $8
https://imgur.com/40pqHuY
https://imgur.com/PWcwPsr
Marvel – Floppies:
-Black Panther #1-4 (vol 2) $16
https://imgur.com/YKpuHim
-World of Wakanda #1-6 $15
https://imgur.com/mwSDFcP
-Captain America White $15
https://imgur.com/UXAlbAq
-Hulk Grey $25
https://imgur.com/dWjVd32
-Annihilation Conquest: Starlord #1-4 $20
https://imgur.com/CLkOsYr
-The Unworthy Thor #1-5 $20
https://imgur.com/CDbSwxj
-Hawkeye 1-16 (Kelly Thompson) $60
https://imgur.com/ACExXIp
https://imgur.com/HYCU2JU
-Iron Fist 1-7, 73-80 (Brisson) $40
https://imgur.com/XMStmj9
https://imgur.com/I6AjeEW
https://imgur.com/YkzRx1K
-Way of X 1-5, Onslaught Revelation 1, Legion of X 1-3 $30
https://imgur.com/6e9IU2e
https://imgur.com/ae8tKFd
-Invaders 1-12 $30
https://imgur.com/ZZ5Afq2
https://imgur.com/oTitsu1
-Jessica Jones 1-18 $60
https://imgur.com/1WMkByx
https://imgur.com/cOruQ7i
https://imgur.com/dk7hMMn
-Savage Avengers 1-28 (plus Annual 1 and 0) $99
https://i.imgur.com/J3s5lw2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZwrPIwU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/g5lLLxu.jpg
-Star Wars Bounty Hunters 1-26, War of the Bounty Hunters 1-5, War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha $99
https://imgur.com/x0QfuGG
https://imgur.com/eCrY1mr
https://imgur.com/uPfVUOZ
https://imgur.com/5NjlzUd
https://imgur.com/0ZiPKxe
https://imgur.com/AJb6xwK
-Earth X 1-12 + 0/X $40
https://imgur.com/M6gpFin
https://imgur.com/4dRO4xs
-Sensational She-Hulk 1-8, 31, 33, 35, 38, 50 $99
https://imgur.com/nqxWNuO
https://imgur.com/xtalGb0
Marvel – TPBs:
-Taskmaster Unthinkable $40
-Invincible Iron Man: Stark Disassembled $10
-Ghost Rider Resurrected $10
-King Thor $10
-X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills $18
https://imgur.com/PWcwPsr
https://imgur.com/40pqHuY
Indie Single Issues:
-Mech Cadet Yu #1-12 $40
https://imgur.com/dPcD5wb
https://imgur.com/ieNyx7h
-The Blue Flame 1-8 $15
https://imgur.com/3Zi83XS
-Frontiersman 1-5, Lock-Up Special 1 $15
https://imgur.com/UGlPbPN
-SW Adventures: Ghosts of Vader’s Castle 1-5 $15
https://imgur.com/xGr7BQy
-Jonna and the Unpossible Monsters 1-4 $15
https://imgur.com/e6Kd0uy
-Empress 1-7 $25
https://imgur.com/zxWoAF6
-Coda 1-12 $45
https://imgur.com/nVhLrWo
https://imgur.com/pMdpMSs
-Captain Victory 1-13 $99
https://imgur.com/t5utg2J
https://imgur.com/II1AXoS
-Crossover #1-6 $30
https://imgur.com/HgmOOJR
-Death or Glory #1-11 $25
https://imgur.com/wMjvTPP
https://imgur.com/svxxGhj
-Hollow Heart #1-6 $12
https://imgur.com/GArmXT0
-Money Shot #1-15 $30
https://imgur.com/smIaNlN
https://imgur.com/owsTwcZ
https://imgur.com/Y5hWThi
-Robocop Versus Terminator #1-4 $25
https://imgur.com/IuQFk9S
Indie TPBs:
-Fear Agent Vol 1-6 $70
https://imgur.com/aTtCKBH
https://imgur.com/wlUmozB
https://imgur.com/xL7mPvH
-Invincible Vol 10-15 $40 ($8 each)
https://imgur.com/RAVa4jT
-Ex Machina Vol 1-5 (complete) $65
https://i.imgur.com/CSnsW4z.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2UJ3XrX.jpg
-DescendeAscender (complete TPBs) $99
https://i.imgur.com/Cp3VsDW.jpg
Blank Cover lot -Blank covers lot $30
-Wonder Woman Blank
-Infamous Iron Man
-Reborn
-Empress
-Weirdworld
-The Unworthy Thor
-The Avengers
-Black Panther
-Seven to Eternity
-Lando
-Doctor Strange
https://imgur.com/CbTZWBx
https://imgur.com/6zsTzsW
Number 1’s Lot $300
-Omac 1
https://imgur.com/mGuUt6S
-Kamandi 1
https://imgur.com/GawSoBT
-Catwoman 1
-Demon Knights 1
-Justice League International 1
-Vigilante 1
-Hex 1
-Champions 1
-Damage Control 1
https://imgur.com/y0Rlp4L
-Hawkeye 1
-Animal Man 1
-The Spectre 1 (Moench)
-The Spectre 1 (Ostrander)
-Jungle Action 1
https://imgur.com/9tJ0ivM
-The Nam 1
-Lazarus 1
-Batman: The Long Halloween 1
-Metal Men 1
-New Gods 1 (Evanier)
https://imgur.com/XrTnCzi
-The Man of Steel #1B (Byrne)
-Legion of Superheroes #1 (Waid)
https://imgur.com/5KwrlCO
-Robin & Batman #1
https://imgur.com/U3qEKAV
-Naomi (s2) #1
https://imgur.com/XlZnI0J

Plots that I have - victorian era: vampire X vampire hunter, or demon X demon hunter. Victoria has been alive for many many years after being blessed with vampire blood. Recently however a group of human hunters have shown up in England, her home and it has displeased her greatly. Since she is one of the wealthiest households around money is never a problem. But most humans won’t fight their own. So she’s going to have to take matters into her own hands. After taking out most of a hunting party she takes one of them back alive to get information out of them and ends up being charmed by their personality and decides to let them live… a little more - Vikings- Astrid had been trained to fight her whole life. She was a force of nature and the gods protected her. She had never lost a fight, so she was ready for battle. But battle is always far bloodier than you can imagine. After a particularly violent raid she returns home. Though missing many of her fellow Vikings who died along the journey. Her childhood friend is waiting for her to get back, having finally worked up the courage to confess her feelings and yet. The person who came back was different than the Astrid she new - Avatar- Rinaí was the chiefs daughter so she had many responsibilities that others did not. She had spent many many years in the forests of pandora taking care of her tribe and the nature around it, protecting it from the sky people. When her father told her she is to marry the daughter of a water chief from miles away, to unify the tribes once and for all. Well she was shocked, the water tribes are so different from us, sure we were much closer to the coast than other tribes but why her? Why not her brothers? She and the other chiefs daughter will have much to teach each other. They are very similar and yet very different. - the last of us: that was it, she couldn’t run anymore. She was too tired to keep going. There was a hoard not to far back and if she wanted to live she was going to have to think of something fast. As she hears the screams and clicks getting closer she suddenly hears shots going off. She looks around and then up and sees flashes coming from a building beside her. It was a tall apartment building which had vines growing all over it. She uses the last bit of energy she has to run into it, slowly but surely making her way up the stairs to the sound of gun fire. Finally she gets to the room she can hear it coming from. She opens the door and sees the woman swing around, pointing the gun at her. She opens her mouth to say something but her vision goes black and before she can help herself she’s slumped over on the floor, passed out. - mafia: Ari was a waitress at a bar, and she enjoyed it too. She got to meet lots of people. She made good tips, her boss was always polite and respectful to her. It was perfect for her. Then one day a woman walks in she doesn’t recognize, and she’s got body guards with her. ‘Who the hell brings body guards to a bar?’ She thinks with a sigh as she goes to serve her. The woman seemed very interested in her when she went to get her drink order. So Ari asks her boss about the woman, little did she know is that woman ran the largest crime syndicates on this side of the country. She did know however that the woman wanted her, she had made it very clear. - Hades(f) and Persephone: all the other gods have always been jealous of their eternal love for eachother. Constantly sending them trials and challenges to test their love. The gods of the underworld prevail every time much to the other gods annoyance, as does their love. (Very lovey dovey rp)
Hi! I’m nicki and these are some prompts that I’m looking to play out! I am only looking for F or someone playing F at the moment, and I’m happy to rework the plots of these into something that we both would enjoy if you aren’t feeling any of these. I am looking for someone who can respond AT LEAST once a day or just let me know if you will be busy for a few days. I like to have fun, and I want you too as well I don’t have minimums cause this isn’t an essay but as long as you put effort in your responses I will be satisfied. Romance and what comes with it is necessary for me not to get bored so if you don’t like that it’s okay, we might just have different styles. I can write in third person and first which ever works. Finally all I ask is if we are Rp and for whatever reason you aren’t feeling it instead of ghosting just be mature and let me know, I’ll do the same!

I’m a single dad of 4: 14M, 12F, 9M and 9F with primary custody. We’ve/I’ve never been able to afford to buy a house in a decent school district and as such, have relied on an amazing K-8 charter school where our kids have thrived, truly. We live in a decent neighborhood in the city but the schools aren’t great. Our 14yo son got into an all boys college prep school for high school with almost a full scholarship. He is finishing up 8th grade at the charter school, where my younger children also attend.
I’m worried about the social divide. This school is located in a neighborhood we definitely could never afford to live in, and it seems that quite a bit of the students there are from that neighborhood. It’s a great school, academically challenging and athletically competitive (both of which was important to him). He has dreams of attending one of the service academies and many graduates of this school go on to do that each year.
We are middle class. I’m just worried about him feeling “less than” or out of place. He’s just so excited to go there and has been watching all the videos on YouTube that he can find about the school. I don’t want to ruin that for him. Black kids are also like 3% of the entire student population and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it (we are a Black family).

so I was toodling around with Inferkit, and decided to try and write an Unhhhh story. it went about as well as one could hope.

"Hi I'm the social faux-pas you made in middle school that haunts you to this day - Trixie Mattel" said Trixie.
"And I'm the self-loathing you feel at the core of your need for improvement - Katya" cheered Katya.
"And welcome to Unhhhh!" They said in unison
"The show where we talk about whatever we want!" exclaimed Trixie
"Because it's our show." uttered Katya
"And Not Yours." squawked Trixie
So where's the fan fiction blog?" asked Trixie.
"When I was in middle school I had a HUGE crush on you and started to write fan fic of our relationship and it was very disturbing and called Star Trails which is what my character "Diamond Haze" calls you." Katya revealed.
"I see. So it's safe to assume that you are a villain? Also why were you dressed up as an 80's school girl?!"
"I thought my character had to be dressed up as a very relatable character since she's really down to earth and just wants to fit in" giggled Katya.
"Wait why did you start that?" asked Trixie.
"Because I was a normal girl that did normal things in a small town and I remember you telling me it was "painful" and that you were sad when you wrote it."
"Hey I did not hate you at all it's just that you are in love with this one girl in the fandom who is my WORST enemy."
"Oh okay that makes sense I didn't realize that. Well let's talk about this new guy in the fandom."
"There's one guy in the fandom, ZEBRA BEAR MAN."
"You have no idea how hard it is to type ZEBRA BEAR MAN" Katya cried out
"Just listen to the show I'll shut up and tell you about ZEBRA BEAR MAN."
"It goes like this: he's unshaven with wiry black hair that sticks up around his head and his head is shaped like a rhino's ass."
"It's kinda funny to look back on it now because they were probably kids and were just being kids but the awful things people said about him. Like on his main blog in the fandom" Katya continued.
"Oh! You wrote a blog post about him?"

I had to type out the intro out myself, so i tried to sound like them. so lets see what you can come up with.

Huh. Well that definitely was a pretty explosive and exciting finale wasn't it? And earth shattering finale I should think, considering. It seems to be a turning point, too. But we'll talk about that in a moment.
​
First, we go back to the Ebou Dar party for one last hurrah before the book ends. I'm surprised that we jumped back to them at all, to be honest, considering we were in the middle of a FUCKING KIDNAPPING, but what do I know. I suppose we're easing the tension a bit before addressing it.
​
Briefly we go back to Mat who is told that Elayne and Nynaeve snuck out of the palace. Again. They seem to be really good at that. So he goes to prepare to find them and defend them. More importantly, Olver, the kid that Mat adopted, has been doing horse races as a jockey, which is pretty cute. And funny that Mat didn't know he was doing it. Also funny how he starts flirting with a woman who's been babysitting him and Mat wonders where he got it. Um hello? Mat? No self-awareness? Alright alright.
​
There's a lot of descriptions of Rahad as the bad side of town as Elayne, Birgitte, Nynaeve, and Aviendha go through it. It really just could be the poor side of town in any city ravaged by capitalism now, but in this setting it would be ravaged by feudalism. This is one thing about these fantasy epics that often gets unaddressed, how the main characters won't actually try to fix the systemic issues that lead to poor people being poor, they'll just address the giant world ending threat. It's the classic Marvel problem: thanks Captain America for stopping the world from ending or whatever, but you want to push for universal healthcare? In reality, I could see Rand trying to fix it, considering he came from a non-noble place as a Two Rivers person. But I don't know if the books ever will. Considering we're pretty directly bringing it up here and throwing it in the reader's face, maybe we will?
​
They witness a brawl followed by a woman, Asra, coming forwards to heal the person who lost and got stabbed. She tries to use the power to heal, but it doesn't work. And she tells the person who won the brawl to go tell the dead man's wife that he killed him. However, they're after the bowl, not a random wilder woman, so Birgitte tells Elayne not to talk to her since Elayne will probably get herself into trouble doing it. All this to set up the next book, so we'll see how all this Ebou Dar stuff goes next time. Considering we introduced Asra as a powerful wilder, I assume she'll come into play here at some point.
​
Egwene goes to see Logain where he's being shielded. There's some nice foreshadowing here where she suggests tying off the weave for the shielding, but it's seen as taboo to do that. By tradition six Aes Sedai shield a man at all times and never leave the shield unattended.
​
Egwene weirdly asks Logain what he thinks about Rand's amnesty, which is a weird thing to ask. Like obviously he's not going to be a fan of where he is now compared to going to someone who will let him continue to channel. Understandably, Logain is pissed that there's still any question of whether they will gentle him after everything he's done for them. He's cooperated at every turn. There was also that debate earlier that I found interesting: that gentling a man actually looks incredibly bad if you want to get Rand on side.
​
The Salidar party is indeed on the move and Gareth Bryne's forces have been growing while Mat's forces have been following. Egwene has been using the tension of two armies following each other who clearly are at odds with each other to trick nobles into pledging fealty to them. Which means that they're going to have to be in it until they can topple Elaida or those nobles will also get executed in addition to all the Salidar Aes Sedai.
​
Egwene then goes to Tel'aran'rhiod and reports to Elayne and Nynaeve what's going on and they report back to her. This conversation isn't super interesting, it's just stuff we already know. Just that they can't find something with "need" again, which is how they found the bowl in the first place. Finally, when Egwene awakens, Siuan is there to report that the plan to free Logain has been started. It's the correct thing to do, since the Hall will gentle him if they don't free him and send him off to Rand. I like the conversation here. Siuan, as the former Amyrlin, tells her that she's often found the stole to be heavier than ten men and doesn't leave a lot of easy decisions.
​
Finally, we see Myrelle and Lan finally has made it to her. Moiraine passed Lan's bond on to her when she died/disappeared. Interestingly, this has political connotations because Myrelle is in Sheriam's inner circle and she's accepting Moiraine's former warder.
​
Finally we get back to the kidnapping. The next two chapters, especially Chapter 54, that lead up to the final battle aren't very exciting to be honest. Mostly because they're with Perrin. Perrin not only sucks, he's also just really boring as a character. The most boring of the main three that's for sure. But we're stuck with him. Again, there's a reason why he was exiled from the previous book and the majority of this one. And there's a reason why I started to actually like these books with the previous one. I'm not gonna say it's just because Perrin was gone, but it definitely was a factor, I think.
​
So we're in the middle of the Feast of Lights where everyone's partying in the streets shirtless, even the women, and Perrin is shocked out of his mind. I loved the little statement that the Tairen men took one look and joined in and the Tairen women took one look and said NOPE, went back inside and put armed guards on the door.
​
There's a nice little meeting with all the people in Rand's inner circle including Perrin, Faile, Loial, Dobraine, Berelain, Sulin, Rhuarc, and Sorilea. Quite a rogue's list of characters. We find out that Colavaere has been taking advantage of the chaos of the partying in the streets for the Feast of Lights to assassinate some of her political rivals, to make her way to the throne. And now that Rand is gone, she possibly could take it. Berelain comes in and Perrin, being Perrin, immediately assumes she's there to flirt with him. Instead of, you know, showing the things that Rand left behind after he's been gone for so long. Sulin immediately recognizes that Rand has been kidnapped because they're things that Rand wouldn't have left behind and she decides she's done enough time as a servant, thank goodness.
​
Berelain apparently also got pressured by the Aes Sedai to go home because they're trying to make the city and country more friendly to the Tower and Rand's inner circle is not likely to be, particularly after they KIDNAPPED HIM. Obviously. Dobraine was also pressured into leaving. This political pressure is what convinces Perrin that Rand was kidnapped and so he takes off with an army at his back to fight the Tower Aes Sedai. What's even more wild here is that the Wise Ones agree to take part in the battle since they can channel. It's cute how Sorilea lights a fire here to show that she can channel, but she's not very powerful in the power as we've made clear. She's powerful politically, so she can convince a lot of the Wise Ones to fight.
​
Back with the kidnapping Aes Sedai, we learn that they've also kidnapped Min. That's apparently where she was when the Aes Sedai kidnapped him. When Rand found out that Min was also kidnapped, he managed to kill a Warder with his bare hands and injure another who died from the Healing. And both Warders belonged to an Aes Sedai named Erian, so she's insanely pissed at Rand and wants to punish him. Which she gets to do. She gets to whip him over and over again.
​
Interestingly, Rand actually works with Lews Therin. If they tie off the shield, then Lews Therin can break through. One thing that made me think Lews Therin was really there was when he asks who are you or some such to Rand. It made me wonder if there actually is a real connection there, through time, to Lews Therin. What if the two are actually hearing each other in their heads talking to each other? Perhaps after the tainting of saidin. Because if that's the case, that's huge. They can communicate what's happening to each other and literally work together to solve what's happening in their own time periods.
​
Sevanna, the Wise One of the Shaido that they allied with, just wanted to see Rand as part of the deal. The other part of the deal is that the Shaido kill Gawyn and the Younglings. Presumably they're too much of a bother or unwieldy to deal with or some such. I'm not sure why. I do think I remember earlier in the book the Aes Sedai in this party complaining about them. But again I'm not sure why. Seems like a bad idea to have your only defensive force offed, but then I'm not a Tower Aes Sedai. Sevanna intends to turn on the Aes Sedai, though, and take Rand for herself to marry him. The real Car'a'carn instead of her fake Car'a'carn that she supported, Couladin. Rather abruptly she has Desaine murdered because, according to the app, she opposed Sevanna being made a Wise One. She also tosses away a little cube she had been given at the beginning of the book that she was supposed to use when Rand was taken captive. Not sure of the significance of that.
​
And then the Perrin chapter where they're tracking him. This is the least interesting part. It's kind of funny how they have to push through all the festivities of the Feast of Lights to get a boat to cross the river, though, and it's a struggle to get the people on the boat to do anything. Understandably so.
​
Perrin slowly builds up his force here as more and more troops join: Dobraine's men, Mayeneres from Berelain, Rhuarc's Aiel and Maidens, ninety four Wise Ones ready to break with tradition and actually get involved in a battle, the wolves that Perrin talks to, his Two Rivers men, and finally the rebel Aes Sedai using Alanna's Warder bond to track him down.
​
We open up the final chapter with Gawyn getting warning that thousands of Aiel are about to attack. He tells Galina that they should actually be cautious for once and prepare for the defense. She, amazingly, relents her arrogance and agrees. Inside the trunk, Rand can tell that Alanna is getting closer, but obviously doesn't trust her since he doesn't trust any Aes Sedai at all anymore.
​
When Perrin's forces arrive they see a battle already in place, the Shaido are besieging the Aes Sedai and Younglings, trying to take Rand for themselves. The Shaido also have a few channeler Wise Ones, most of whom probably killed Desaine in the other chapter. There's all kinds of magic being cast on both sides: lightning, fireballs, earthquakes. The usual battle magic. Perrin realizes that the Shaido will probably eventually overwhelming the Aes Sedai position and take Rand, so Perrin leads the charge. They don't have a plan other than to get Rand out. There is a plan, though, the Two Rivers men and Mayeners are supposed to go in two squads with the Wise Ones with one group and the Aes Sedai in another group. They're supposed to be pincers to attack from both sides. Except they don't actually follow this plan and Aes Sedai do whatever the fuck they want because of their arrogance, I guess. Perrin sends wolves out to be the initial charge, attacking and surprising the backs of the Shaido ranks. It's also shocking that the Aes Sedai are fighting offensively in this battle at all. According to the three oaths, they're not supposed to take part in battle except in self-defense. All of a sudden, a bunch of gateways start appearing all over the battlefield as Asha'man from Rand's Black Tower appear and start fighting.
​
In the meantime, Rand manages to break free from the chest. He feels the shields tied off because the Aes Sedai holding him have to go take part in the battle. With Lews Therin's help, Rand is able to exploit that, pushing through the ties, like untying a shoe, and weakens the barrier enough to break through and burst out of the chest in an explosion of wood and splinters. Very dramatic and cinematic, I love it. He also might have accidentally stilled and killed some of the Aes Sedai holding him.
​
Rand finds Min and Min wants him to create a portal and get the fuck out of there, but Rand doesn't want to abandon the people who came to save him. Plus he can't because he doesn't know the place well enough. Presumably he could use the other method, the one where you have to know the place you're going, but you don't have to know the place you're at and then you have to sit in blackness for hours. But he doesn't use that. Instead, he starts knocking out Aes Sedai and shielding them from behind cover. The Aes Sedai don't know who's doing it, because they can't feel Saidin like Rand can feel both sources.
​
Gawyn rides up briefly but leaves because Elayne loves Rand and Egwene doesn't want anything bad to happen to him. Plus Gawyn couldn't kill Rand if he tried. Instead, he simply runs out of the battle with the few remaining Younglings that are still alive.
​
Mazrim Taim appears and offers to heal Rand, but he doesn't accept it. Rand doesn't want anything to do with anyone wielding the Power at all anymore except himself. Understandably so. There's an Asha'man who tries to attack Rand and Taim stops him. AGAIN, this seems to be a consistent problem: the Asha'man not knowing who Rand is. I can very easily see this being a long running problem throughout the books, actually, to the point of a big political crisis or something. Rand is not around them often enough for them to know who he is. They don't recognize him.
​
Taim and the Asha'man secure the campsite with a dome of air. They manage to secure the Aes Sedai as well, shielding them and binding them. That, in itself, is fucking wild. The Black Tower is holding prisoners from the White Tower. That has huge political implications. The White Tower is not as powerful as it once was and is being brought low by MEN who can channel for the first time in a long time.
​
Perrin begs Rand to open the dome of air because most of their force is still out there fighting the Shaido. Taim doesn't want to open the dome, he'd rather learn the place well enough to escape. Loial's idea to slip out and let the rest of the force know that Rand is alright reminds me of the tactics Perrin used in the fourth book when Loial slipped out and closed the Waygate during the battles in the Two Rivers. Instead, Rand just orders Taim to open the dome of air and unleashes the full might of the Asha'man in what can only be described as absolutely fucking insane and horrifying.
​
"Asha'man, KILL!" shouts Taim and the line of Asha'man start doing just that. Shaido bodies literally just explode. Lines of bodies just explode in guts and gore. The first line, then the second, everyone dies in an instant and the Shaido can't escape fast enough. It's absolutely horrifying. Everyone retches, understandably. The Asha'man are so insanely powerful that they can decimate an entire army. They are very much the superior fighting force. Not only did they make an entire army explode into mists of blood and guts and gore, they have captured and are holding prisoner Aes Sedai from the Tower. Again, this all has massive political implications. With an army of Black Tower Asha'man behind Rand, it's going to be damn near impossible NOT to conquer the rest of the world.
​
The Salidar Aes Sedai come to Rand and, he is understandably spooked by Aes Sedai. He doesn't recognize any difference anymore between Tar Valon and Salidar. They are all Aes Sedai to him and absolutely all not to be trusted. Especially when the Salidar Aes Sedai were told they could bring six and they brought nine, breaking the little trust Rand had left for them. He's been distrusting Moiraine this whole time, he distrusts anyone who can channel including Wise Ones, and then he was understandably spooked by Alanna forcibly making him a Warder. Then the Salidar Aes Sedai tried to intimidate him, there were suddenly thirteen and he left, only to be kidnapped by the Tower Aes Sedai. He's been fucked around with by Aes Sedai for the last time. He demands fealty so that he can finally feel safe around Aes Sedai. He demands that they bow to him and Taim backs him up. "Kneel to the Lord Dragon, or you will be knelt."
​
"As stories do, the tale spread, across Cairhien and north and south, by merchant train and peddler and simple traveler gossiping at an inn. As stories do, the tale changed with every telling. The Aiel had turned on the Dragon Reborn and killed him, at Dumai's Wells or elsewhere. No, the Aes Sedai had saved Rand al'Thor. It was Aes Sedai who had killed him- no, gentled him- no, carried him to Tar Valon where he languished in a dungeon beneath the White Tower. Or else where the Amyrlin Seat herself knelt to him. Unusually for stories, it was something very close to truth that was most often believed.
​
On a day of fire and blood, a tattered banner waved above Dumai's Wells, bearing the ancient symbol of Aes Sedai.
​
On a day of fire and blood and the One Power, as prophecy suggested, the unstained tower, broken, bent knee to the forgotten sign.
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The first nine Aes Sedai swore fealty to the Dragon Reborn and the world was changed forever."
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The politics of the world are forever changed. The Aes Sedai, who never kneel to anyone, EVER, at least nine of them, have been forced to kneel to the Dragon Reborn. What will happen in the series going forward now that that has happened, that the Aes Sedai have been humbled so? Time will tell I'm sure. I'm also realizing, now, that the cover of the book is this scene: Rand standing with the Aes Sedai kneeling to him. And with that, the story comes to a close in what I can only describe as an epic and exciting and fantastic ending. What a great ending to one of the best books in the series so far. This series really does get better with each book, that is for sure. I'm so glad I wasn't completely turned off by Eye of the World and kept reading. There will be one more post for the final thoughts for the book as a whole, so look out for that!
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Only we do have a brief Epilogue to consider with some disparate scenes. Falion, a Black Ajah Aes Sedai from the last book, had been given a secret task by Moghedien and we find out that it is to go to Ebou Dar to find a cache of angreal. Only, Moghedien hasn't talked to her in awhile on account of being captured so Falion is enjoying her time without being harassed by a Chosen. If she can capture Nynaeve and Elayen, though, Moghedien might be very grateful.
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The scholar who hardly ever noticed that Rand was there, Herid Fel, gets killed by something called a gholam, something we've never seen before.
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We see a rider leaving Ebou Dar saying something about it being ripe for looting. And he thinks that the Return is coming soon. Which, I have to assume, means the Seanchan. Again, it's that Seanchan activity that we saw in Pedron Nial's chapters. The Seanchan have taken over Tanchico, I'm almost certain of it, and are going to start spreading across the continent, possibly in the next book, but at some point in the future.
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Moghedien gets rescued by Aran'gar, the resurrected Forsaken that had been hiding out in Salidar. Aran'gar is using saidin to channel as Moghedien never felt saidar being channeled. Which confirms my suspicions, that Aran'gar is one of the male Forsaken that died being resurrected. That had to have been the case, because none of the female Forsaken died before this book. So Moghedien finally escapes after having spent the whole book as a prisoner.
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Egwene felt the necklace come off. Somehow she's able to know that a man did it, something about a particular stab of pain. I'm not sure why she's able to recognize that. She has already let Logain go free and so naturally wonders whether Logain let Moghedien free as well, though it's doubtful he would do that.
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And finally, we see Demandred in the pit of doom, where this whole story started, kneeling to his Dark Lord.
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"'Have I not done well, Great Lord?'
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The Great Lord's laughter filled Demandred's head."