Hey, fellas. Been a while, huh?
Let's get this outta the way - High school, for me, is getting kinda wonky. I'm missing a lot of assignments that I should be catching up on, which is unfortunate. The good news is that the Xrd tournaments are back and better than ever with this new format I'm calling Strikedown.

• There are two teams with a symmetrical number of players.
  
• Each team gets seven points.
  
• Every round, a player can optionally spend up to three points to increase their health.
  
• The winning team keeps their player, and the losing team has to go to the next player.
  
• Repeat until one team loses all their players.
  

It was pretty fun, honestly, and made for some slightly in-depth metagames. Until the points ran out, then we just played regular Xrd with Squad Strike rules.
Jeremiah, a new contestant, burned all of his points from the start and blitzed through with Stylish Johnny. He was on Red Team, and only when meeting Adam was he able to be taken down (also he wasn't playing when he fought Adam but eeeh).
After Adam took down Jeremiah, he blazed through the remainder of the tournament. Except for me. I let him play Peter though, because I didn't want it to just end there and then. Blue Team won in that regard. (The one with Adam.)
The remainder of the games had the usual - rushdown at the start to burn a player's health, then retreating to fullscreen and walking forwards to approach. Eventually, they'll figure out how to dash, though. I know they will.
Here's the whole VOD if you're wondering: https://youtu.be/AvUADg0a5T4
Anyways, now that high school is almost over, I'm not sure if this will keep up, and I don't know how many more tourneys I can host before the end of the year. It's not as simple as counting the weeks, because sometimes we don't have enough students to play Xrd, and so I just put on Smash or something with four controllers and fool around. But I'm hoping I get to play more Xrd in the future. It's a fun game, and I'm glad I'm showing some other students the beauty of it.

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Hello all! It’s the offseason and for some reason (probably cuz I'm insane but I feel that's implied at this point) I got inspired to write up a history of my favorite figure skating discipline: ice dance. This is a project of love. I don’t pretend to be an expert in all things but I like to think my time as an ice dance fan has given me a good amount of perspective and the ability to view the current state of ice dance within the context of what has come before and what has influenced the current state of affairs. All of that said, I’ve decided to highlight eras in ice dance, mostly by Olympic cycle, to bring attention to ice dancers who have had tremendous impact on the sport as well as to appreciate how far ice dance has come in its 70-year history. I’ll be posting this on Tuesdays and Saturdays (in ET) for everyone to read and take in at their own pace to pass the offseason by. Without further ado, here’s to starting this passion project.
​
Part 1: Early Beginnings, 1952-1980
I debated back and forth whether to separate these years out further given the sheer amount of time covered. However, the complete lack of footage for a vast swath of the World Championships that occurred from 1952 to 1970 was the ultimate decider in realizing that those years simply needed to be included in this grouping of years in order to be worth posting. This, of course, also colors my assessment of this era. But I hope to bring an objective view to the early beginnings of ice dance.
The first World Championships for ice dance were held in 1952 in Paris, an addition 44 years in the making. Nine pairs competed in front of 7 judges for the honor of becoming the first ever World Champion in ice dance, an honor that ultimately went to the British pair of Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy. It’s unclear what exactly was competed at that first Worlds. The placing system simply asked the judges where they felt a couple should place, added the numbers up, and posted the standings. For example, if all 7 judges placed a couple first, the pair would have 7 points. So it’s hard to tell if more than one program was ever performed.
Although footage for this first Worlds does not exist, we are lucky that footage from Westwood/Demmy’s 1954 win in Oslo was preserved to some extent. The first thing to strike a viewer about Westwood/Demmy, beyond the fact that the music from the event was not captured, was the extended use of the Killian hold, an emphasis on synchronized leg movement and lines, as well as the slower and purposeful movement across the ice. This was early ice dance. The goal for couples in the 1950s and even 1960s was to translate ballroom of the time onto the ice as best as they could. On top of that, we see some early staples of the discipline, like close holds and synchronization, take root almost as soon as the sport could be judged.
The 1950s and 1960s featured a short period of British domination in ice dance, briefly interrupted by a 4 year span where the Czechoslovakian sibling pair of Eva Romanova and Pavel Roman took home 4 titles. Watching this pair, it becomes clear how the sport changed in a short amount of time. Romanova/Roman keep in the spirit of Westwood/Demmy before them but now feature quick changes in hold and more speed than their predecessors. Or at the very least, this is the first recorded instance where this is captured accurately. And while the music is not captured here, given the change in the style of dance, it is likely that music and tempo changes were a requirement at this early stage. This is corroborated by the first ice dance program whose music was captured, the winning program from Diane TowleBernard Ford in 1966. An interesting note in TowleFord’s program is the introduction of small lifts, spins, and Towler’s switching of positions over the ice, lying nearly flat on the ice at one point. The program features 3 music changes.
You may now be wondering how a discipline so intrinsically linked to the Soviet Union and Russia can have been left out of this write up for this long. Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. The reign of British dance came to a screeching halt in the 1969-1970 season, when an Elena Tchaikovskaya coached team of Lyudmila Pakhomova and Alexander Gorshkov earned their first world title at the 1970 Worlds. The 1969 World Silver medalists became the first in a long line of Soviet dancers to stand on the top spot.
Pakhomova/Gorshkov were primarily known for their more dramatic style. As seen prior, ice dance had been steadily becoming more athletic over the years, increasing in speed and difficulty as the years went on. Pakhomova/Gorshkov were among the 2 pairs (alongside America’s Judy SchwomeyeJames Sladky) who really emphasized the athleticism that the event could contain. On top of that, Pakhomova/Gorshkov often picked music that was dynamic and allowed Pakhomova to shine as a performer. Their style is especially apparent in the compulsory they originated, the Tango Romantica, where the dramaticism of the tango is just as important as the tango movements. This was the early stages of ice dance becoming not just a transition of ballroom onto the ice but also a performance in and of itself. SchwomeyeSladky meanwhile were a tad more traditional, adhering more closely to the origins of the sport and its roots to dance. The inventors of the Yankee Polka themselves (now I am conflicted on how I feel about them haha) featured numerous music and tempo changes in their program to cover multiple forms of dance in a short amount of time. Controversy started early in ice dance’s history, as many felt Gorshkov wasn’t as strong a skater as Pakhomova and the American pair of SchwomeyeSladky should have won in 1970. Alas, figure skating judging seems destined to generate controversy. Worth noting here, the first compulsory dance that has a record of being competed was in 1968, which makes Pakhomova/Gorshkov and SchwomeyeSladky among the first to medal with the new required dance. Also worth noting, the 70s saw a lot more variety in holds, with closed holds being the predominant hold but side by side hand holding also featured in programs along with parallel skating.
It's around this time that SchwomeyeSladky began to advocate for the inclusion of ice dance into the Olympics. In a New York Times article from 1972, Judy Schwomeyer was quoted as saying that ice dance was a different kind of sport that used different muscles but the athletes worked just as hard. The pair had skated on Olympic ice when ice dance was presented as a demonstration sport in 1968, with the IOC president in attendance to evaluate the validity of the sport for Olympic competition. They must have made a decent impression, as the IOC approved ice dance as an Olympic sport to be competed in 1976. Although SchowmeyeSladky didn’t make it to compete on the Olympic rings, their demonstration of the sport’s potential for the Olympic audience was hugely influential to the subsequent inclusion in the Olympics.
The 1976 Olympics marked the first time that ice dance would be viewed by the general public and the forerunners were Pakhomova/Gorshkov, who had won 4 world titles by this time, after not attending the 1975 Worlds. This didn’t stop them from standing on top of the Olympic podium for the first time in Olympic history. Their free dance featured numerous dance style, music, and tempo changes. These dance styles included blues/jazz and tango among others, with an emphasis on big movements that drew attention rather than necessarily strictly translating ballroom to ice. Rather, the “vibe” of the dance, so to speak, was of more import to Pakhomova/Gorshkov than performing movements that were reminiscent of ballroom choreography.
Although Pakhomova/Gorshkov were synonymous with 1970s ice dance at this point, it was the 1976 Olympic silver medalists coached by Tatiana Tarasova who appeared to have more of an impact on the dancers that came after them. Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov won the 1975 World title in Pakhomova/Gorshkov’s absence and swiftly won the 1977 World title after the Olympic champions’ retirement. Moiseeva/Minenkov were a striking pair and I feel like their programs were some of the first where really interesting stuff was happening choreographically. If Pakhomova/Gorskov emphasized the dramatic, Moiseeva/Minenkov cranked that up to an 11. If there was a time to point to when modern dance started seeping into ice dance, this is likely the pair to point to. Still under the rules of the time requiring multiple music and tempo changes, Moiseeva/Minenkov often opted for holding positions across the ice or repeating positions across the ice. Their balletic quality was in sharp contrast to the couple who had just retired as well as the other couples who had dominated in the same time. Where previous couples emphasized sharp movements, Moiseeva/Minenkov emphasized soft transitions. The style was interesting and exciting, but ultimately only won them 2 titles by the time they retired in 1982.
Instead of the aforementioned pair, it was a young Natalia Linichuk/Gennadi Karponosov, coached by Tchaikovskaya, who quickly rose up the ranks to claim 2 World titles and the 1980 Olympic title. Linichuk/Karponosov are who I like to affectionately name the most forgettable Olympic gold medalists in ice dance. Unsurprisingly given the shared coach, their style was similar to Pakhomova/Gorshkov’s, with the emphasis being on sharp, strong movements on ice and the required music changes being used to really draw attention to this (including…what I can only describe as rodeo music).
This era ultimately ended with a slight preview of what was to come. Krisztina Regoczy/Andras Sallay were the Olympic silver medalists in 1980 and decided to end their career at that year’s Worlds. The team coached by Betty Callaway had an inspired free dance, that incorporated music that was similar across the board with different speeds instead of drastically different music like their Soviet competitors. The stops necessitated by the switch in music were incorporated into the choreography to make the free dance more seamless. And while these are things we take for granted now, watching this program compared with the offering from Linichuk/Karponosov really draws these things into sharp focus as innovative for the time.
As if to emphasize a swift changing of the guard, as Regoczy/Sallay walked off the ice at the 1980 Worlds, ready to accept their sole World title and the first non-Soviet World title since 1969, a fellow student of Betty Callaway waited rinkside to congratulate Regoczy on a job well done. Her name? Jayne Torvill.

We all know that GT7 is not a perfect game, it has its problems that we always complain about, like rigged roulette tickets and lack of races with good payouts. However, what annoys me most about the game is not even the big fishes, but little things that could be easily solved with a few changes in the interface during races or even in the menu, and I would like to share with you to see if you have the same issues.
Pit Stops
This is a pretty common complaint I've seen around here. The fact that there is no way to cancel a wrong choice at pit stops has bothered a lot of people. Particularly I never suffered from this, but it's something that also makes me uncomfortable, mainly because it's something very simple to be solved, like simply putting a cancel button.
Livery tool
Creating liveries is still one of the things that I enjoy the most in the game, it's very intuitive and although I'm still quite inexperienced with it, I can already create several designs that I'm proud of.
However, the lack of some tools annoys me a little, like not having undo/redo buttons to use if I made a mistake, and also an eyedropper tool, so I can get the exact color from a logo, for example. Damn, even Paint has these tools, why not add to GT7?
Organize your garage
I don't know if you like to keep your garage organized, but for me it's almost essential. Something that would be very simple to add would be the possibility of adding "tabs" to organize your cars and help you find them quicker.
For example, I have a number of cars that are Fast and Furious replicas, others that are Initial D replicas, some JDM cars, some famous movie cars... And sometimes to find them among more than 300 is really a dull A simple option to be able to put them in these folders besides only add them to the favorites tab would help a lot.
Customizable Championships
Creating custom races can sometimes be a good thing when you want something different from the same WTC700, WTC800 races, with the same cars and the same fucking Miazono's, Beauvois', Hizal's... So why not add the option to create your own championship too?
As a FIFA player, I'm already used to seeing this kind of tools in games, and for me this is missing in GT7. I would like to create a mini Formula 1 Championship, or maybe a SuperGT championship, something more complex and longer than just a single race.
"You can join an online league." Yes I Can. But I'm not the biggest fan of online racing, for several reasons. I still prefer to play offline, and for those who are like me, I believe this type of option is also needed.
Using different liveries for the same car
Speaking of custom races, a nice change would be to add the option to use different liveries for the same car when you pick it up straight from your garage.
For example, if I wanted to create a formula 1 race, I would have to use 10 liveries from 10 different racing teams. If I wanted to be more precise, I would have to do 20 different liveries, to add the driver number as well. Which would imply that I would have to buy 10 or 20 Super Formula cars, spending 10 or 20 million.
Instead, I could just buy a single SF car and create 20 liveries for the same car, then choose which livery each car will have at grid time.
I know that many people try to do something similar by creating custom races, and have to buy the same car a hundred times. So it would be really nice if they added that option.
Increase the amount of collector levels
Simply 50 levels is pretty easy to beat. I must have hit that mark before I even got 100 cars in the garage. Now over 300, this feature has become useless. So why not add 200+ levels? or at least put the maximum according to the amount of points you would have if you bought all the cars in the game? It would be something much more interesting and would reward the player more committed to having all the cars in the game.
Daily marathon shouldn't be... daily.
We know the real reason for the daily marathon: to encourage the player to play the game every day. The point is that because the Roulette Ticker is rigged, this is quite demotivating. Who will want to run every day to earn the same 5,000 Cr.?
If changing the roulette system is out of the question, the best thing would be for the feature to stop being daily and could be cumulative. For every 42.195 km run, the player would win a new roulette ticket, being able to win more than one per day.
This would encourage the player to run more races per day, as well as compensate the player who does not have time to play every day, only on weekends.
So what do you think? Do you think my suggestions are valid? Please let me know.

Let’s say only +200 and better odds. Not the “Kyle Lowry to record 18 rebounds or more +40000”
I know the general consensus is they they never hit. And I’m sure they play on psychology. Especially the books that show how many people have taken the bet.
But I’m wondering if anyone has run the numbers to see if they actually hit less than comparable parlays of the same value.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!
I actually wrote up a post right after the 4th palace. Then I played a bit and they dropped so much more info that I had to toss it. Tomorrow is the trip to Hawaii so I thought this was a good point to stop and make another round of predictions.
The 4th palace is my favorite so far. There was so much symbolism to look into and I really liked the whole cursed gem bit. The end boss was a little annoying.
Things are really picking up pace. I had so many questions that were answered like 20 min later. They're really starting reveal some important details.
This is what I have as of now. In addition to my way off predictions there are also a few bits of info I'm that I'm not sure how they fit yet and some general impressions. I tried to keep it short (I failed).
Please no spoilers for any of the Persona games. This is my first and I plan on picking up 3/4.
After Palace 1 predictions : https://www.reddit.com/Persona5/comments/13odesi/first_time_playing_going_in_blind_my_horribly/
After Palace 2 prediction : https://www.reddit.com/Persona5/comments/13q3q9j/first_time_playing_going_in_blind_just_beat_the/
After Palace 3 predictions: https://www.reddit.com/Persona5/comments/13sl0vp/first_time_playing_going_in_blind_just_beat_the/
​
Futaba/Alibaba and somehow Morgana

• The squid girl from the movie finally gets a name.
• Futaba's mom is the curry lady (Wakaba)!
• the phone call Sojiro had about a printer not being the right one makes soooo much sense now. I knew he was taking care of someone but I thought it was an old lady. Honestly thought there were going for a cheap laugh were she kept on printing out pictures of snowball or something.
• translated some of the binary on the walls of her palace into ASCII looking for a secret message but they were just the same odd symbols that were on the doors and such.

---tinfoil hat time---

• Futaba picked Alibaba as her hacker alias. before we get to see the whole Egypt / pyramid theme of her palace it seemed like a really odd choice.
• It could be just a cool name that the writers picked but "Chekhov's gun" states that every element introduced in a story should be necessary to the plot. If the gun isn't going to be fired then the audience doesn't need to see it being loaded - or something like that.
• It got me thinking and for sure I remembered the name Alibaba but had forgotten the details of the story. I did a quick search and was able to find the story pretty easily.
• Short version : Alibaba was a dude who stole a bunch of riches from some thieves. Alibaba is living the good life when the thieves track him down and make plans to kill him. The plans are stopped by Alibaba's slave who kills the thieves.
• Alibaba's slave was named .... wait for it .... Morgiana! Mind effing blown! That's way too similar to Morgana not to be important.
• Morgiana was female. Early in the game Ann ask Morgana if it's a boy or a girl. It says of course it's a boy, but it also says that it is human.Morgana might be the Male version of Morgiana but this throws it's gender into question too. It's not like anyone had checked between it's legs as far as I can tell. (also where does it do it's business I haven't seen a litter box).
• Add to this the "birth" flashback that Morgana had
• Morgana is an unwilling servant (aka a slave) to the big bad which is trapped in the deepest part of mementos
• The big bad was able to squeeze through the crack in his prison just enough to deposit a small amount of it's power in the metaverse this power took the form of Morgana.
• The Morgana in the dream had yellow eyes. still going with yellow eyes = metaverse native.
• He was programmed to want to find the deepest part of Mementos at all cost so he could free the big bad.
• His attraction to human desires was not intentional. He got sidetracked from his mission and got caught by Kamoshida.
• Meeting joker was a stroke of luck.
• He keeps telling us that he's using us for his own goals and that he just needs pawns.
• We're made to think that this is just a defensive move to avoid talking about his real feelings but I see a perfect opportunity for a "I told you I was just using you all" scene after the big bad flips some switch later on.
• Most of Morgana's battle functions are getting replaced by other members. Makoto and Futba are both doing the combat calls now. Morgana will leave the party soon.
• Something will happen to Morgana that will flip his switch while the PT are in Hawaii
• Morgiana killed the thieves.... The big bad will take control of Morgana at one point and we will have to fight shadow Morgana or something to get the cat back.
• Was almost thinking Morgana could be the one who betrays us but no one can understand him and even Akechi would have trouble selling the whole "my informant is a cat" thing to Sae.

Kasumi

• A big problem with Kasumi is we know shes going to be a badass by the time the casino heist comes around but right now she's the complete opposite of the person who saves Joker. This isn't like Makoto who is a bad ass and was just holding back. Kasumi is 100% a wet noodle right now.
• Add to that the my weak self relied on you so much line and there is little doubt she has a split personality disorder of some sort.
• They also dropped a major clue for Kasumi after the 3rd palace. She had a sister who died.
• My fist thought was she never had a sister and just had two distinct personalities that were separate but equal to each other. Each would take control at different points and her mind created a fake sister to explain any inconsistencies with her memories. At some point one of her personalities (the sister) was repressed.
• The problem with this is her interactions with joker she doesn't seem like a totally different person just more sure of herself. like her week self is the Kasumi we know now and her complete self is the one we fight with.
• She could have really had a sister and the trauma of the loss sent her into a downward spiral of depression. So *someone* did something to her to repress the negative emotions.
• Her gymnastic slump is important. what ever was done to her was the cause of her slump. Shes missing something of herself which is why she says that her body doesn't move the way she wants it to.
• Current theory is some part of her is locked away. It's not separate, but a piece of the whole person that we fight along side with at the casino. At some point between now and then her two halves will join.
• This brings up the question of what's up with her dad? Unless your some sort bad person wouldn't you notice such a drastic change in your kid?
• Either dad works for the government and was ok experimenting on Kasumi or he somehow thinks whatever was done to her was for the best . Like her current state is better than what was before so this is the cure.
• explains why she transferred schools. He dad claims to work at a TV station (could be a cover). It's not like he would have to move for a new job. If she had a major personality change then her old classmates and teachers would notice. this would cause Kasumi to question her reality which could cause it to fail. moving to a new school removes this issue.
• This would have to go above standard therapy. Either hypnosis or cognitive psience.
• something is going to happen to her dad. we got the glasses shopping scene to show us how close they are. This will be her motivation for going into the metaverse.
• when her persona awakens the mental barrier will be taken down.
• She only has a 5 star confidant rank. It's not like Maruki who still has his card symbol but won't advance till the story does.
• The other 5 starts will be with her "other" personality. After whatever was done to her is undone she's going to be a mess and will turn to Joker.
• something will happen to her while we are in Hawaii. Only reason for her to let us know she was leaving the country of a bit. she might not actually be leaving the country and just be having more mental work done on her.

Maruki

• He want's to legit help people.
• Thinks that traditional therapy is not effective enough. Want to develop a medicine or medical procedure to actually fix people's negative emotions.
• with the introduction of cognative psience we now know the method that he's going to use to attempt this. (could be he already did a test run or two).
• Although his intentions are good things are going to wrong very very wrong.
• After the 2nd exams he talks to joker about not meeting peoples expectations. This comes right after some girls were gossiping about Kasumi in the halls.
• Total misdirection. Since the phantom thieves are making all sorts of waves, the Agency is putting pressure on him to complete his research. This will lead to mistakes being made.
• Eventually his logic will change to "It's better to feel nothing than to feel pain" - this will be his I still think I'm a good guy logic.
• Unless he is also a persona user then were going to visit his palace.
• The first time Joker goes to see Maruki he runs into Kasumi and she tells Joker that she has been seeing Maruki for some time.
• Add to that the line Sae's Boss says on 6/23 "This incident happened at the school you're supposed to be presiding over..." and we have a clear connection from Sae's Boss to the principle at Joker's school.
• He also seemed to be bothered that the Kamoshisa change of heart happened at Shujin like he was aware that something special was going on there.
• This set off all the alarms. The new girl who happens to be a badass persona user transfers to the school and a month later her doctor gets assigned to the very same school. He was hired by the principal who just happens to work for Sae's boss. Sae's boss knows of the metaverse and so does Maruki.
• Maruki was assigned to Kasumi's school to keep tabs on her and make sure whatever he did to her stuck. The Kamoshida incident was just the excuse they needed to bring him in.
• He either developed cognitive psience on his own or was giving Wakaba's research by the Agency.

Akechi

• he has to be the one who betrays the group.
• Keeps putting idea's in Sae's head
• At some point Sae will catch on that Akechi is messing with her.
• working with Shido but not for him. Has his own goals or works for the big bad.
• says he has to catch the PT "for the sake of my justice" combine that with the arcade scene where he ask joker what kind of justice he believes in and Akechi is def bad. He's not after "justice" but "my justice" which sounds a lot like revenge. Has something to do with his father. If the PT crew keep operating they're going to ruin his chance for revenge.
• He will frame the PT by sending a fake calling card and then killing that persons shadow.

Twins / Butterfly Lady

• The number of new confidants that unlock after the 3rd palace was a bit overwhelming but It did give me plenty of chances to watch the new confidant unlock scenes. It got me thinking about what it actually says. Just picked the fortune confidant for this but any would have worked.
• I am thou, thou art I - we are one and the same
• thou hast acquired a new vow. - you just unlocked a new confidant. to quote Jose "Good Job!"
• It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. - butterflies have wings also still talking about Joker "thy chains of captivity". We are like a caterpillar and when we obtain out true power we will become a butterfly (not literally). the chains could be a the cocoon that the butterfly breaks out of.
• With the birth of the Fortune Persona I have obtained the winds of blessing that - creatures with wings (like a butterfly) ride the wind. Is now referring to herself in this line "I have obtained..."
• shall lead to freedom and new power..." - It's over 9000!
• The butterfly lady is our persona or at the very least out power levels are connected.
• Part of the butterfly lady's power is sealed in joker. Was not intentional but will be the key to rejoining the twins.
• When there is a fusion alarm the twins do this adorable back stretch where one kicks her legs. They then do this weird like side stretch that looks like the fusion dance from Dragon Ball Z.

Igor

• Not working for the thing that made Morgana.
• Morgana had no knowledge of the skill cards and his mind exploded when joker captured the pixie.
• Even though he's not bad he's still not good.
• Has some cosmic role to fill. His job is to prepare for the final battle. He doesn't care who wins just as long as the fight occurs.
• Gave Akechi the metaverse nav but Akechi betrayed him and went rogue which is why he went looking for a new recruit. He took on the twins after so the same mistakes wouldn't be make with joker.
• Says joker will fight someone with powers very similar to his (jokers) own. Akechi has the wildcard too?

Sojiro

• For the record Joker defended him and never once thought he was abusing Futaba.
• Met Wakaba when he worked for the government.
• Feels guilty that he didn't do anything when she said she was going to die. Was he in a position to do so? What did he do for the government?
• After Wakaba was killed he suspected his own government were behind it and left in disgust.
• Sojiro is just awesome. He would take a bullet for any of Joker's friends and die happy knowing he saved someones life.
• He will be the getaway driver after the PT crew breaks joker out. He's the only person we know with a car.

Sae's Boss / Shido

• They refer to it as the metaverse and not the cognitive world. could be the writers just didn't want to add a new term without context or they gained they're knowledge of the metaverse from an "other worldly" being.

​
Limo Girl.

• Is in the opening movie both the heist scene and the smash the city part. Will be joining up.
• Ran in to her in the hall at the star of the game she was labeled as a senior
• Riding in a limo. daddy is loaded.
• At the park cleanup she asked Mishima for the bottle cap so they can be used for medicine. She is seen watering flowers at the school also. What we should take away from this is she's a really good person. We need to know see that she's super duper good because her dad is bad like really bad.
• daddy's money is dirty money and she knows it or at least suspects.
• We will change daddy's heart and make him admit his evil ways.
• Her dad is the Shido.
• We don't know when she's going to join up or if the casino heist is her first. Stealing her dad's heart will prob be her first mission so the fact that shes on the comm at the start of the game isn't too much of a problem with her dad being Shido.

Opening Casino Heist

• on 7/29 Morgana says "But it's true that an observant criminal could have a true to reality city in their Palace."
• The opening casino heist wasn't in the real world but was Shido's palace. His palace just included a 1:1 of the city in it. He also says in the scene at the start of the game where joker has a flashback that he owns the cops. Would make sense that the shadows in his cognition would take the form of the police and security guards. The 2nd palace had two types of shadows (male and female) and the 3rd/4th had people/dogs. Multiple types of shadows is not unheard of
• Also looks like we did manage to steal his treasure but not sure if they were able to get it out.
• We don't actually see joker get taken in by the cops. It's possible that the traitor grabbed us after the shadow cops took us down and turned us in to the real world cops. Doesn't mean the world's can't be merging but my reasoning for it is off.
• One thing that bothers me is when they ask if everyone remembers where they have to meet up. Why was joker separate from the rest of the PT? The PT all leave the metaverse together so far. Could just mean where they're going to meet up near the exit (if there is an exit with the palace being the whole city). Hoping for more clues to clarify this.

Mashima

• not going to betray us. he almost fell to the dark side and I haven't seen the conclusion of his story but seems like he's not going to an issue.

​
Best Girl current rankings - Nothing is set yet no decisions have been made just the current rankings.

• Makoto - the scene where the lights go out and she grabs jokers leg just made her more endearing. Her driving skills saved the crew after Palace 4. Could beat Kamoshisa in 1v1 volley ball.
• Futba - who doesn't like a quirky redhead. Her being Boss's adopted daughter could be a good thing as he seems to like Joker at this point in the story so he wouldn't have to give him the whole "let me show you my gun collection" talk. Although I'm thinking shes more like the quirky best friend type then best girl material (so sorry Fatuba Fans plesedonthateme)
• Dr.Death - shes a doctor who really cares about her work. Cares more about helping the little girl then getting the credit for it. She basicly broke down when she thought the girl was dead. Also SP Adhesives are amazing.
• Kasami - 100% little sister vibe while Futaba has potential to move up in rank Kasami is stuck in the sister zone. Who knows maybe her "sister" is more interesting.
• Fortune teller- Still a nice person despite the way she was treated. A but gullible though. I could see her sending all of Joker's savings to a Nigerian prince.
• Chess Girl (I know it's not chess) - mid tier maybe she well get more interesting.
• Ann - Not even in the running really because She's going to end up with Ryuji. If Ryuji wasn't around I would say shes not the bightest bulb in the pack. shes not dumb and seems to at least have passed her exams but we have honor student Makoto and super genius Futaba to compare her to. She is empathetic and has a high emotional intelligence. No way shes going to make it as an Actress with her (lack of) skills I cringe every time she tries. She would make a great councilor though with how she relates to people and to seems to be able to get along with everyone. She could also make it in professional sports with how high she was able to throw Mona after the 4th palace.
• Kawakami - Yes she's ranked lower than someone who is not even in the running. First off she lied about her sister WTF! She just seems like a mess. Her clothes don't fit and her hair is never brushed. She is stuck in "the help" tier. Keep her around for laundry and coffee.

Best Bro current rankings.

• Ryuji - dude is our bro 100% He's the bad influence with a heart of gold and will stick with Joker to the end. He's the Ron Weasley to Joker's Harry Potter. He would be the most fun to go drinking with.
• Yusuke - you will only ever be his 2nd best friend. His true loyalty lies with art. If Joker was hanging off the side of a cliff and Yusuke had to make the decision to save Joker or paint the perfect sunset it would be a real nail biter to see what he decides.
• Mishima- Once he gets over himself he's going to be fine. He's like a more wimpy less fun Ryuji.
• Akechi - he's too full of himself. He always like "ugh I'm just sooooo popular I can't do the little people things like you do" Hanging out with him you would only ever be "Akechi's friend". His sweater vest is dumb.

Best Kitty current rankings.

• Snowball - he didn't deserve to go out like that.
• Morgana - is a spy and slave of the big bad. Also needs stop hitting on Ryuji's girl.

1. We would miss you.
2. It's not worth the regret. Either by yourself, if you failed or just simply left scars or the regret everyone else feels by not doing enough to help you.
3. It does get better. Believe it or not, it will eventually get better. Sometimes you have to go through the storm to get to the rainbow.
4. There's so much you would miss out on doing.
5. There is always a reason to live. It might not be clear right now, but it is always there.
6. So many people care, and it would hurt them if you hurt yourself.
7. You ARE worth it. Don't let anyone, especially yourself, tell you otherwise.
8. You are amazing.
9. A time will come, once you've battled the toughest times of your life and are in ease once again, where you will be so glad that you decided to keep on living. You will emerge stronger from this all, and won't regret your choice to carry on with life. Because things always get better.
10. What about all the things you've always wanted to do? What about the things you've planned, but never got around to doing? You can't do them when you're dead.
11. I love you. Even if only one person loves you, that's still a reason to stay alive.
12. You won't be able to listen to music if you die.
13. Killing yourself is never worth it. You'll hurt both yourself and all the people you care about.
14. There are so many people that would miss you, including me.
15. You're preventing a future generation, YOUR KIDS, from even being born.
16. How do you think your family would feel? Would it improve their lives if you died?
17. You're gorgeous, amazing, and to someone you are perfect.
18. Think about your favorite music artist, you'll never hear their voice again...
19. You'll never have the feeling of walking into a warm building on a cold day
20. Listening to incredibly loud music
21. Being alive is just really good.
22. Not being alive is really bad.
23. Finding your soulmate.
24. Red pandas
25. Going to diners at three in the morning.
26. Really soft pillows.
27. Eating pizza in New York City.
28. Proving people wrong with your success.
29. Watching the jerks that doubted you fail at life.
30. Seeing someone trip over a garbage can.
31. Being able to help other people.
32. Bonfires.
33. Sitting on rooftops.
34. Seeing every single country in the world.
35. Going on road trips.
36. You might win the lottery someday.
37. Listening to music on a record player.
38. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
39. Taking really cool pictures.
40. Literally meeting thousands of new people.
41. Hearing crazy stories.
42. Telling crazy stories.
43. Eating ice cream on a hot day.
44. More Harry Potter books could come out, you never know.
45. Traveling to another planet someday.
46. Having an underwater house.
47. Randomly running into your hero on the street.
48. Having your own room at a fancy hotel.
49. Trampolines.
50. Think about your favorite movie, you'll never watch it again.
51. Think about the feeling of laughing out loud in a public place because your best friend has just sent you an inside joke,
52. Your survival will make the world better, even if it's for just one person or 20 or 100 or more.
53. People do care.
54. Treehouses
55. Hanging out with your soul mate in a treehouse
56. Snorting when you laugh and not caring who sees
57. I don't even know you and I love you.
58. I don't even know you and I care about you.
59. Nobody is going to be like you ever, so embrace your uniqueness!
60. You won't be here to experience the first cat world emperor.
61. WHAT ABOUT FOOD?! YOU'LL MISS CHOCOLATE
62. Starbucks.
63. Hugs.
64. Stargazing.
65. You have a purpose, and it's up to you to find out what it is.
66. You've changed somebody's life.
67. You could change the world.
68. You will meet the person that's perfect for you.
69. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
70. If you end your life, you're stopping yourself from achieving great things.
71. Making snow angels.
72. Making snowmen.
73. Snowball fights.
74. Life is what you make of it.
75. Everybody has talent.
76. Laughing until you cry.
77. Having the ability to be sad means you have the ability to be happy.
78. The world would not be the same if you didn't exist.
79. It's possible to turn frowns, upside down
80. Be yourself, don't take anyone's shit, and never let them take you alive.
81. Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary. Be your own hero.
82. Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.
83. One day your smile will be real.
84. Having a really hot, relaxing bath after a stressful day.
85. Lying on the grass and laughing at the clouds.
86. Getting completely smashed with your best friends.
87. Eating crazy food.
88. Staying up all night watching your favorite films with a loved one.
89. Sleeping in all day.
90. Creating something you're proud of.
91. You can look back on yourself 70 years later and be proud you didn't commit suicide.
92. Being able to meet your Internet friends.
93. Tea / Coffee / Hot Chocolate
94. The new season of Sherlock
95. Cuddling under the stars.
96. Being stupid in public because you just can.
97. If you are reading this then you are alive! Is there any more reason to smile?
98. Being able to hug that one person you haven't seen in years
99. People care enough about you and your future to come up with 100 reasons for you not to do this.
100. But, the final and most important one is, just, being able to experience life. Because even if your life doesn't seem so great right now, anything could happen.

I am a fan of Henry ‘Hank’ Lockwood. I regularly consume his content and consistently root for his personal development and professional success. I cheered him as he learned to read on air, I supported him when he was simultaneously banned from every rideshare service, and I felt his despair when he was cucked by a coworker who routinely cosplays as a homeless man. But, whatever you feel about Hank, it is undeniable that his transformation from an uneducated drunken masshole into a legitimate corporate powerhouse is nothing short of amazing. I for one hold Hank in high esteem.
However, it is because of this high esteem that I must question Hank’s recent lottery ball “win”. Without mincing words, I do not believe that Hank’s recent “win” was legitimate, and I feel that everyone is overlooking obvious issues in order to gift Hank a victory. Moreover, I do not believe that this gift comes from a place of respect, but instead comes from a misguided sense of pity. To be clear, Hank does not need pity victories. He is not a charity case, he is not legally disabled, he can claim victories on his own.
On the May 12, 2023, episode of Pardon My Take, Hank was credited with correctly predicting the Lottery Ball. However, Hank only selected the winning number after receiving direct material assistance from another person. Specifically, Hank established specific intent to select a non-winning number, but another person interceded, taking this non-winning number, and allowing Hank a second selection. After receiving this help, Hank went on to select a different, and ultimately “winning” number. Selecting the correct number with help from another and effectively being granted two selections should not result in a “win”. Rather it should result in a rules violation and a general penalty. To use a sports analogy, this situation is akin to a violation of PGA Rule 10.2b – Other Help.
I do not know why everyone else discounts this line of thinking especially given that Hank agrees that his win is not legitimate. Upon “winning” Hank responded “you forced me into getting it . . . like if you could have, if you would just let me do my thing, I wouldn’t have gotten it . . . I thank you forever, that is one of the best things you’ve ever done for me”. Hank does not say I won of my own skill and merit, rather he says you’ve done it for me, you caused me to win. Hank is too good to accept “victory” on these terms he does not need the charity. The “win” is not legitimate, and it should be stricken.
I don’t know how everyone feels about this issue, but on the next episode of Pardon My Take I’d like BigCat ask each person on the show if they have gotten the Lottery Ball unassisted and see how everyone responds. I think that Hank will agree that he was unfairly assisted in his “win” and commit to proving himself by winning on his own.
You are better than this Mr. Lockwood. Do it. It’s easy for you. Do it on your own and prove the haters wrong.

Hey Sportsfans — it's time for Week 9 of baseball Power Rankings: It may be Tuesday, but still thought about how much we dislike your favorite team 8 Days a Week. Also pool side blackjack is now my favorite part of Las Vegas. John Fisher, please ignore.
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:

"To an extent determined individually, you must take into account how strong a team is right now and likely to be going forward. You must, to some degree, give weight to the events and games of the previous week."

TRANSPARENCY: This link will show you who voted each team where and has added neat statistics!
New Voter Chance: Are you a fan of the Dodgers? Why? We have a new voter oppening. Please check this comment for details.
If something is a little messed up, feel free to pester me let me know.
Total Votes: 28 of 29. So close.

#		Team	Δ	Comment	Record
1		Rays	0	Everyone's favorite myliobatiformes played another good week of baseball with the return of Tyler Glasnow. The Rays took an exciting series against the Dodgers after recharging during a weird mid-series rest day against the Blue Jays. Wander Franco is making his case to be starting SS in the All-Star Game, just make sure you don't accidentally vote for one of his brothers. It's still super weird to watch the offense carry while the bullpen struggles, but with guys coming back it should be f--, wait, Fairbanks is hurt again.	39-17
2		Rangers	+1	Series wins against both the Pirates and Orioles the last week has the club holding the 3rd best overall record in the majors. Go Stars. We're still having fun.	34-19
3		Braves	-1	3-4 last week and we started this week off with a loss against the Oakland "Triple A's" which is not good Bob. On the VERY brightside, we saw Soroka pitch from an MLB mound for the first time in almost 3 years. He pitched well and we need him to perform as we are absolutely depleted by injuries. Riley is starting to come to life. We hold a 4 game lead on the scond place MARLINS. Our division doesn't want to take advantage of our recent struggles, that's fine by me.	32-22
4		Dodgers	+1		33-22
5		Orioles	-1	A few weeks ago, I said if the Orioles can go at least .500 in May then they are for real. They wrapped up a winning month yesterday and have three games to go. They continue to play well, even though they lost the series against the Rangers, and seem to play better away from Camden Yards. They did, however, send Grayson Rodriguez down this week to AAA. He just has some stuff to figure out. He was getting crushed in his past few starts, and it was the right move to make. This solidifies the fact they need a frontline starter if they are going to make a serious push to get to and make noise in the post-season.	34-20
6		Astros	0	Jose Abreu finally hit a home run. All is right with the world. Unless the world's name is Lance McCullers Jr., who had another discomforting setback and we have no idea when we will see him this year. I still blame his hair. Anyway, our other Jose hit a grand slam at MMP this weekend. Where have we heard that before?	31-22
7		Yankees	0	It certainly would’ve been nice to take 2/3 from Baltimore, but it’s very hard to be mad at the Yankees’ month of May. Since May 1, the Yankees are 18-9, a huge turnaround from a .500 April. As we enter the dog days of summer, the top of the AL East is tightening up, but the Yankees don’t face either of the teams ahead of them again until July. The Yankees have to keep playing at this pace, and a Stanton (and maybe Rodon??) return could seriously help that.	33-23
8		D-Backs	+1	The Diamondbacks had a decent week, barely missing out on a sweep of the Phillies before dropping a series to the Red Sox. The offense gets on base but has been allergic to driving in RISP, and the starting rotation continues to be a merry-go-round, as none of the rookie pitchers on the team seem to be able to string together several good starts in a row without getting blown up once or twice.	31-23
9		Blue Jays	+1	The Jays' first series win since May 14th pulled us out of a bad-vibes tailspin the likes of which this fanbase hasn't seen since, well, the last time everybody freaked out over a losing streak. The usual suspects' continued confounding slow starts (Manoah, Kirk, Varsho, etc) have dropped us 10 games back from TB, last place in the best division in baseball. And YET, hope springs. Berrios (3 or fewer ER in 8 of his last 9 starts) finally appears to be pitching to the level expected of him when he was signed, and is pumping out quality starts along with Gausman and Bassitt. Kikuchi has slipped as Kikuchi does but has been very solid for a #5. We don't have the depth to send Manoah down for some needed alone time, but he's pushing it. Vladdy has been scuffling, Springer is heating up, and Bichette is an MVP candidate. With a little bit of lucky regression to the mean with abysmal RISP numbers, this team is just a few turns away from being very good. As long as we don't have to play too many games vs AL East teams. That should be fine.	28-26
10		Twins	-2		28-26
11		Mariners	+4	Just what the doctor ordered - 6-1 in the homestand so far. Some momentum is just what this team needs before two big series with teams they're chasing for playoff spots. If the M's can handle business over the next week, they'll be right back in the thick of it. Bryce Miller, do your thing. Up next: 3 vs. Damn Yankees, 3 @ Globe Life ParkFieldStadiumGardensArenaDomewhatever they're calling it these days	28-26
12		Red Sox	-1	Scoring four runs total while getting swept by the Angels isn't a great look. This team is in many ways aggresively mediocre, always making sure that every win streak is followed up by an equally painful gut-punch. This is mainly due to the reliance on the offense to carry us to victory (2-17 when scoring <=3 runs), when the bats get cold, you're safe to turn off the game. Whitlock returning from injury and Bello/Sale both stepping up their game in May (2.74/2.42 ERA respectively) are good steps towards this team becoming Actually Good™ though. We'll see what June brings us...	28-25
13		Brewers	-1	Taking two of three from the Astros was nice. Barely avoiding a sweep from the Giants was not so sweet. Milwaukee has some issues with hitting in "close" situations. The Brewers either lose after having multiple opportunities to tie it up, or get absolutely blown out.	28-25
14		Angels	0	Did I travel out of state and all the way to Anaheim just to watch the team get swept by the Marlins? Perhaps. Was that objectively worse than what the Reds voter is going through? It's impossible to say.	29-26
15		Mets	-2	The Mets, who I proclaimed to be "good at baseball" last week, ended up dropping 2 of 3 against the Cubs and doing the same against the Rockies. I just don't know what to believe anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that Francisco Alvarez has got that fucking dawg in him, he's GOATed, he's him, he's on fleek, he's poggers, he's a proper legend, he's got an .885 OPS, he's a top bloke, he's got swag, he's fresh, he's Gen Z Mike Piazza, he's lit, he's making me feel old because he was born after 9/11, he's Francisco Alvarez.	27-27
16		Gigantes	+4	The Giants won yesterday, but strictly talking about last week, they went 5- 2 on an extremely acceptable road trip without any off days. Defeating two competent teams like the Twins and Brewers should feel good. On both losses, they gave up 7 runs, on every win they gave up 3, 1, or 0 runs. So, they threw two games out of 7 – that’s allowed. In the bad news department, Joc, Joey, and Thairo all not expected back until June 6th. I think we’re okay with more Bailey Patrick and this also means another look at unpredictable slugger David Villar. Slater continues covering for Joc. Let’s look a the numbers: 13th in MLB in Run Diff (+6 spots), 12th in RS / G (+6), 15th in RA / G (+2), 23rd in Bullpen ERA (+5). All of that is good and especially the bullpen is promising recently. The Giants continue at home vs the Pirates and wrap the homestand with 3 against our orange and black brothers in Baltimore.	28-26
17		Pirates	-1	Would I have been happy to learn on Opening Day that the Pirates would be around .500 at the end of May? Yes. But if you told me they got there after starting 20-8 I would be pretty disappointed. Here's hoping the pendulum swings the other way in June.	26-27
18		Marlins	+3	Yet another appearance of sweepy, the meme that was promised. After a rough series against the rox, we sweep the angels to settle into the third NL wild card spot. Our starting pitching is coming along after a bumpy start to several of our starters. Eury perez is gonna be a stud, just wanna remind yall. Also, shout out to Jorge Soler, who has been crushing baseballs the last week and change. In other miami sports related news, boston is the first city ever to lose two game 7s at home in both the NHL and NBA playoffs in the same year. Go Heat and go Panthers!	28-26
19		Phillies	-2	After losing 2 to the Diamondbacks and going down 5-0 in the 3rd game, the Phillies season looked as bleak as it could in late May while only being 4 games under .500. However, the team rallied and Trea Turner tied it in the 9th before going onto win it in 10. Then, they went down to Atlanta and split a 4 game series. It could've gone far worse. The Phillies most pressing need is now seemingly a 5th starter who isn't a guaranteed loss, as this week they trotted out Dylan Covey, who hadn't started a game since 2019. He got 2 outs and gave up 7 runs. He took the spot of Bailey Falter who, after a surprisingly productive 2022, started the season 0-7. Falter is the far better option, but Dave Dombrowski will likely be looking to upgrade until Andrew Painter can finally return. This week, the NL East road trip continues with their first 3 games against the Mets and 3 in Washington. Here's hoping June Schwarber shows up again this year.	25-28
20		Padres	-1	My Dad tells me it’s ok that the Dad’s lost 2 / 3 to NY; the Dodgers lost 2 / 3 to the Rays! The Pads aren’t in the same stratosphere as the Dodgers right now, though. 5 games under .500, 10th in the NL standings, 3 games out of the last wildcard slot. Of course there’s quite a bit of time to change it, there’s plenty of time to go on a run, or a slow and steady good month to gain ground. With every day that passes however, that goal becomes a bit harder to reach; I don’t think Pads fans were hoping for a wildcard spot by the end of this season, but that’s the position the team has to get to before even thinking of catching LA. The Padres are 4th in the NL West, and only a half game out of last.	24-29
21		Cardinals	-3	2-2 @ CIN; 1-2 @ CLE; 0-1 v KCR; another struggle week for the Cards. The fandom's been a bit kneejerk because of two good weeks before this. Their mistake. I'll say it a third time, the Cards playing at or beyond their expected level doesn't change the rotten FO. Yeah Marmol's pretty close to being fired, that's not a fix when the problem is John Mozeliak.	24-32
22		Tigers	+2	The most fun part of this past week has been watching the resurgence of Akil Baddoo. His energy is infectious and adds an exciting dimension to the lineup. As we head into the last few days of May, Baddoo has sported a .302/.405/.508 slash and a 155 wRC+ this month. Although he's still been hitting mostly in the 6 hole, if this keeps up he might find himself much higher in the order real soon. This week: 2 more vs. TEX and 3 at CWS.	25-27
23		Guardians	0	The Guardians won a series this week. I would like to see them win some games by more than one run, but it's clear this season, we have to take what we get.	24-29
24		Cubs	-2	Another terrible week for the Cubs, as a promising series win against the Mets was followed up by an embarrassing sweep against the Reds. The starting rotation was terrible, and the bullpen was somehow worse. Fans have had enough of David Ross, and Jed Hoyer is starting to come under pressure. Barring a dramatic turnaround, the Cubs will be sellers for the 3rd trade deadline in a row	23-30
25		Reds	+1	Okay guys, I’m here to be calm this week. I have been told by my wife’s attorney, Tom, that they are “aware” of my online activity regarding our impending divorce, so today let’s have a nice, calm, relaxing, perfectly fine, good old fashioned talk about Reds baseball. The Reds are just sorta middling. They’re not great but they’re not horrible. Unlike my marriage. Our starting pitching has resgressed, just like my marriage, and it’s very unfortunate to see, because our bullpen has been quite reliable unlike my wife. We still can’t hit home runs for some reason, but overall unlike my marriage the Reds on the upturn. There, are you happy Tom? I didn’t mention all the crap that’s been going on lately. I didn’t mention how I had to leave the Motel 6 I was at because I found a used needle in the bathroom, and by the way Tom, I know that you’re trying to use that as evidence that I can’t take care of my kids. I don’t even know who’s needle it was, it was like wedged behind the toilet. Believe me, I only found it because I dropped my phone while using the toilet. It wasn’t even visible, I had to like get on my hands and knees and crawl behind the toilet to grab my phone. So it puts the image in my head of some heroin addict or whatever sitting behind a toilet at a Motel 6 trying to get high, which honestly that just seems like an even worse situation than the one i’m in. Do I think it’s a coincidence that the day after I left the Motel 6 because of this, you’re requesting a drug test from me before I can see my kids? Huh Tom? How did you know about this incident Tom? The only people that know are the Motel 6 staff I notified, I don’t think any police showed up, so either you questioned them like i’m some criminal, or you’re following me. I know you’re reading this Tom, you’ve made several references to my posts on the baseball power rankings insinuating it’s me writing them, and yeah Tom you’re right it is me, can everybody in the comments give praise to Tom for being a regular Sherlock Holmes? Yeah everybody come on, Congratulations Tom! You’re the man! I’m gonna let you go home and fuck my sister, oh wait Tom I forgot, YOU ALREADY ARE. When you get home tonight tell Caitlin her brother says hi. Alright, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway, I think once more of our prospects are called up, probably around June or July, we may get hot and finish more closely to .500 than initially thought, and if this division stays like it is, and those prospects can deliver on their promise, it's entirely possible we could be in contention for the division. But a lot of this is gonna depend on if our Starting Rotation can get things back under control. Also we swept the Cubs so lol.	24-29
26		Nationals	-1	Week after week, I expect this Nats team to take a nose dive. I expect them to crumble and slip into a double-digit losing streak but it just isn't happening. They lead the NL in batting average (.267), are third in OBP (.330) and have the lowest strikeout rate in MLB. They still have their own troubles, but this team is alive (4 games out of a WC spot)	23-31
27		Rockies	+1	I don't have time to write a real blurb this week so you don't have to print this. Actually, you probably don't read these, I'm not sure anyone really reads them anyways besides the Reds guy's life breaking down, and this will probably get printed regardless.	24-31
28		White Sox	-1	Liam is back. I can't overstate how great that is to hear. He is one of the best people in the game and it's nothing short of amazing for him to be pitching in May. If you missed it, it was recently revealed that he had stage 4 lymphoma, not an early stage. He started treatment just over 3 months ago! Nothing on the field matters for this team, but at least there's that silver lining.	22-34
29		Royals	0	As of the time that this blurb is being written (Monday at 11:39 AM), only two teams in the majors have a record below .400. Yup, the Royals are there with the A's. I suppose the positive is that the team figured out that they can get rid of useless players in Hunter Dozier, but they still have a lot more work to do.	17-38
30		Atléticos	0	The A's have given up 10+ runs in a game 7 more times than they've won. It's a mix of bad roster building (the bullpen), under-preforming vets (Ramon Laureano 74 wRC+, Tony Kemp 38 wRC+), injuries (Seth Brown and Paul Blackburn are just now returning), and no fans in the stands since 2019. It's soul crushing to watch and the national media's constant condecention toward this particular poor team and it is even more annoying this year.	11-45

Since today is my 256th post, I'll be writing about stuff that involves the incredible number two and its powers.
Of course, I cannot write this post and forgot to mention the incredible fact that a byte consists of eight bits and therefore it has 256 possible combinations of values. Is it a coincidence that I'm mentioning this fact in my 256th streak? I think not. I call this "the argument of the fine-tuning of my posts." There's clearly an intelligent force guiding me on all this.
But anyway, if I remember correctly, we have to use a binary system for our computers and smartphones because of something about electronics. voltage, current, and something about them that makes us have to use 0s and 1s. But then we have quantum computers, which changes all that because you know QUANTUM stuff.
Now changing the topic a little bit, when I was young, a silly method my cousins used to measure intelligence was to ask "What is 2+2" then "What is 4+4" and so on. Whoever was able to answer faster and correctly was the most intelligent. As you can see, this game consists of powers of two, basically. At that time, I was able to impress my older cousins because I was able to go deep into this game. But I actually didn't do any calculations most of the time, I just memorized the answers. Of course, when they asked me I acted like I was really struggling to find the answer when I actually knew it all along.
There's also a cool videogame involving the powers of two called "2048." It basically consists of a grid with some blocks. Each time you roll a block, the game gives you a new block of two and, on a few occasions, a block of four. You can merge the blocks together, but only if they are of the same value. For instance, you can join two blocks of eight together and that will give you a new block of sixteen. The goal is to reach a block with the value of 2048. When I first played this game I struggled a little bit to reach 2048 but eventually, I was able to do it. Then I found a simple method that guarantees you to always win. Like, you can reach 2048 in five minutes. The max I got was about 16,384 or 32,768 (I don't remember exactly) but since there was no more struggle it got boring and I stopped playing.

I like this game but the game for me is about 40% liking it to 60% frustrated hatred for it because there's several things that can make the game slightly less frustrating that will help make this game succeed long run.
The game functions more like overwatch and fortnite than a fighting game which I kinda guessed it would seeing the trailers for it a long time ago where they were mostly shooting at eachother and that's exactly what it was. That isn't a big issue but there's several things I've noticed that either makes the game annoying to play, could be better, or characters could use adjustments to make the game really shine more but ill number each suggestion or problem the game has.
1- Please increase health- i feel most of the issues could probably be forgiven or ignored if the health increased to at least 600 instead of 300. You can also get more of an engagement with fighting with more health as well but even with guard points and health it still feels like you won't survive most encounters very long without needing to retreat everytime you get hit a minimum of 2 to 3 times and with teams of 3 you'll easily get hit 2 to 3 times till you need to retreat and recover guard points and health. If majority feels health and guard points are fine then I'll get into the other stuff then. (Alternative option: lower everyone's damage or specific characters damage by maybe 25%)
2-working in random teams for beta- i think the developers should have included teams of 2s or just free for all because new players are obviously trying to play but its like league of legends or overwatch, when you have a bad team, you'll know it...and that may put some people off the game. If you have mics you would have a huge advantage but playing with randoms and hoping you have a good team is like winning the lottery. I think it would have been better to give the option for people to play as an individual than work in teams because working in teams can be extra frustrating in my opinion, especially if everyone is still learning how to play the game.
3-Fat Guy Jump- every character should at least be able to jump over a brick wall without needing to climb over it. The jump for most characters in this game is so small i know grandmothers that can jump higher than they do...
4-No Momentum jumping forward- running and jumping should have more momentum jumping forward so you can easily avoid getting shot more or to jump across large gaps. If you play with the character Tsu (frog girl) she jumps very high but it doesn't make sense why when she jumps while running she doesn't really go that far because there's no momentum when running and jumping. If you play the character with the jets on his legs, Tenya Ida, he can do a dash jump where the 2nd jump will push you with more momentum, every character should jump like that when running and jumping.
5-Dodging and running-please make it to where you can dodge while running because everytime you dodge you have to press the sprint button again. That wouldn't be an issue normally but the problem is that if you get shot, you stop sprinting (which is good because you can chase down your enemies) but then you have to dodge incase they may have follow up shots and then you have to press the sprint again and hope they don't shoot at you long enough to get further away, which they usually will keep shooting till they empty the clip and go on cooldown pretty much. Its a small adjustment but I think it would be very effective in helping characters who can't escape easily without getting shot.
6-Execution uninterrupted- I don't know if its related to specific characters or the level of their abilities but either way can you guys please make it to where shooting someone during an execution stops them completely. The amount of annoyance i got trying to save an ally because he's too far away so I shoot the enemy to stop him from executing my guy only to just watch him eat the shot and execute my teammate is beyond annoying.
7-Make carry teammate ability instant- so this is basically a shooting game and the problem with carrying a teammate ability is that its very slow to pick up the teammate off the ground. You're better off waiting to let the player die and hopefully rezzing them later than to actually go out in the middle of 3 opponents beating them up and trying to swoop them away from dieing. Tsu is the only character with the ability that is useful in saving your teammates in a game like this. All characters with carry ability should either do what Tsu does, or have the pick up be instant at the very least.
8-From the floor to the door- if you didn't know this there is a point in the animation of the character being knocked to the ground where you can still shoot them and they CANNOT recover off the ground until you stop shooting them. This makes it to where if you have full guard points and full health, just 1 knocked down onto the floor can be an instant death depending on which character does it and if your teammates join in as well. I don't know if that was intended to happen or not but I don't think its something that should stay and if you have a team with mics you can absolutely abuse this to win almost any matches you'll play.
9-more revive cards in boxes- when the ring gets shorter or in a location where there's only gold and regular boxes there's no opportunity to try to rez your teammates because you aren't going to get rez cards unless you kill people and hope they have some. So far I've only seen rez cards from civilians, the big loot box, or from killing enemies. There should be more opportunities to get rez cards so people have incentives to stick around if they die rather than just give up and go to the next game by the time the ring gets away from zones with higher chance of finding rez cards.
10-changing abilities in the future- in the future please think about making to where characters can choose certain types of abilities they want to use in the game because currently some characters function like rock papers scissors, for example if you play Tenya Ida and fight Dabi 1v1, you're going to lose because Dabi can just use his fire mine explosion and stay on top of it, making it to where if you hit him, you'll get hit too, or he can just dodge and let you take all the damage. Tenya has no projectile attack so he has no choice but to attack with his body and and get up close, making it to where Dabi can own you. Now you're probably thinking "well thats why teamwork is important" it is, but you won't have your teammates in all of your matches and thats kind of the point.
11-Connecting- you already know how slow this is...just moving from tab to tab is a pain. I can't tell if some people don't ready up because they not ready yet or if they are stuck connecting trying to get back to the screen to ready up if they were on another part of the tabs like trying to change their costumes or something. Please make that smoother in the future if possible.
-Now we get into some characters abilities-
12-Cementoss- is the most underpowered character I've ever seen. He has 1 attack (R2), the L1 button is just dumb (yes I know you can stack it on your pillar, still dumb) his only main way of attacking is either combo or throwing pillars, even then you could annoy your teammates because if they're trying to shoot enemies and you keep make pillars or building walls it makes it hard for them to attack the enemies. He's definitely good at blocking enemy attacks and shots but thats about it from what I've seen and played so far.
(I was going to say some characters are overpowered but there's not many you can't deal with by just shooting them from a distance honestly)
That's about all I could think of at the moment. The game is fun once you stick to a specific character, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and understand the game functions more like a shooter than brawler so hit and run tactics are key to survival. The game obviously has lots of potential but the game just needs a little more tweaks to make everything smooth and chaoticly fun.
I'm not sure if the players of this game prefer the fast kill shooter style play of the game like overwatch but it feels like if you could only play genji, reinhardt, Sombra, junkrat, and Widow. Or if the players want more opportunities and prefer the fights to last longer to where you can have a fun back and forth engagement with enemies without needing to run and heal every few hits. Depending on that answer for the audience the game will mainly need to make adjustments to damages, health or both.

Out there - Patreon (for all those curious or wanting to support :))
At the Beginning
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
 
Nil used to say that even the greatest challenge became simple once the logic behind it was unraveled. At the time, the old echo was referring to awakening trials, but vortexes were surprisingly similar. Given enough resources and information, even life could be treated in the same fashion. Dallion had a while to go before reaching that level. The current vortex, though, was a different matter.
Creating potions wasn’t an easy experience. Aside from everything else, it required a good understanding of nymph magic methods and the ability to perform them. Thankfully, Dallion’s randomly esoteric interests had prepared him for such an eventuality.
After his protective layer of magic threads was complete, he approached the sea. Same as before, a dozen tendrils shot out in his direction. Summoning his thread splitter dagger, Dallion sliced the tips off, encasing the free elements in aether spheres of his own. That was another thing about magic—it always went towards those that were stronger. One careless move and even a high-level mage might have his magic stolen, by a creature, rival, or even the vortex environment itself. However, with enough skill and ingenuity, the opposite was also true.
One by one, the bubbles of captive magic were consumed, then released again, only this time forming an entirely new set of spells.
Swords? Onda asked. That’ll hardly work.
“Think of it as a meat grinder,” Dallion replied. All he needed was a makeshift drill to let him make his way through the sea. Having his own liquid spells fight the rest of the sea was only going to grant him a bit more time. Between that and the protective magic layer, it had to be enough.
No, I mean it won’t work. The moment you—
Let him learn his own mistakes, Harp interrupted. Her tone was calm, even pleasant, but it had the effect of lightning from a clear sky. It’s the only way he can progress.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Dallion kept collecting magic threads for a few more minutes, then did another point attack. The start of a tunnel opened up on the sea’s surface. Quickly, Dallion threw all of his liquid spells inside, then followed. Same as before, the mass of the sea attempted to fill in the void, but this time it was hindered by the liquid wall of swords.
​
VORTEX BREACH
Overall stability 99%
​
Spells clashed against each other, filling the air with hundreds of purple rectangles. The damage was minuscule, and still a constant reminder of the eternal struggle between invader and realm. It was no wonder that mages were so cutthroat: there was only one thing certain upon entering a vortex: someone was going to absorb the other. The Academy’s main role was to teach novices how to survive.
Just like hunting, Dallion thought. On the other hand, he had never been the typical hunter. When it came to vortexes, there could be no offer of draw or surrender.
Twisting around, Dallion performed another point attack, drilling further into the sea. The number of rectangles doubled. Meanwhile, the size of the hold was reduced by half. The amount of spells Dallion had poured in—seemingly cast initially—was now wearing thin.
Maybe you should have spent a bit more time fathering threads, the armadil shield said.
“It’s all a formula.” Dallion did another point attack. “If the stability of the tunnel is decreased, I just need to go faster.”
All of his instincts shouted for him to split into instances, or at the very least create a few echoes to help in. His wisdom told him not to. All he had to do was remain calm. The emblems and artifacts he was wearing ensured that he’d be ejected from the vortex. Of course, there was never a guarantee. The higher the vortex level, the greater the danger it posed.
Summoning his hammer, Dallion did a double point attack, up and down, to keep the tunnel collapsing above him. He had gone so deep that the opening was the size of a coin.
“I told you it’ll work, Onda,” he said with a touch of glee. “It’s all logic and magic principles.”
No sooner had he said that than a mass of magic pierced through Dallion’s wall of spells, ending up in the tunnel. Believing his wall of swords to have been breached, Dallion unsummoned both his weapons and cast a new series of spells to plug the hole. That proved to be a mistake.
​
MODERATE WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 20%
​
What the heck? Dallion pulled back, summoning his harpsisword again.
Five feet away, the mass of magic had changed into a creature.
​
VORTEX MINION
Species: AETHERCORN
Class: MAGIC
Health: 0% HP
Traits:
- BODY 20
- MIND 20
- PERCEPTION 20
- REACTION 20
- MAGIC 40
Skills:
- ATTACK
- GUARD
- SPELLCRAFT
- ENTANGLE (Species Unique)
- RAIN OF BLADES (Species Unique)
- CHARGE (Species Unique)
Weakness: HOOVES
​
A unicorn? Dallion deflected the creature’s next attack with his weapon.
Looking at it, the minion was no different from a bladicorn, only created entirely out of threads of magic.
Tried to warn you, old man, Onda said from his realm. Vortexes adapt. You make a counter, they counter your counter.
Dallion was too busy fighting the creature to respond. Magic adaptability was well known. Having loose threads spontaneously create a creature, that was something new. No doubt there was some tome describing the theoretical process in vast detail. Seeing it in practice, though, was a lot.
Without wasting any time, Dallion flew down, then infused his harpsisword with spark, as he did an upward strike. Knowing what such a creature was capable of, his only course of action was to kill it as before it could start casting spells. The difficulty was not destroying his own spells in the process. For all the power of point and line attacks, they were going to do as much damage to Dallion’s own spells, resulting in him winning the encounter, but losing the overall fight.
The aethercorn quickly caught on, moving away and to the side of the tunnel. As long as it increased the distance and remained close to Dallion’s wall of blades, it would have the upper hand.
Sneaky bastard. Dallion cast several aether barriers.
Magic symbols covered the minion’s entire body. As they appeared, Dallion went through all the memorized spells in real time. Normally, he could tell easily what someone was casting once several of the major symbols had formed. In this case, the creature planned to create an aether explosion. In the real world, Dallion wouldn’t even bat an eye. Explosions were a lot less efficient against mages as one might think. Here, though, things were different; the minion wasn’t targeting him, but the wall of blades itself. If there were an explosion, the entire tunnel would collapse, leaving Dallion to rely on his “second skin”.
A new aether barrier appeared next to the aethecorn, then shoved it into the wall before the spell could be completed. The threads—representing aether blades in liquid form—mercilessly sliced into its body, causing the being to lose stability. The entire form burst like a popped balloon, spilling magic threads everywhere.
The moment Dallion saw that, he knew that his time was running out. Although inefficient, the vortex had found a way to breach his protective barrier. The only solution was to pass through the sea before the overall collapse.
Want a boost, boss? Lux asked. The firebird knew better than to assist uninvited.
“No!” Dallion said firmly, casting a new flight spell. “Return to my realm.”
Several more breaches occurred along the tunnel. Aethercorns emerged in front and behind Dallion. Some attacked him directly, others started casting spells to weaken the tunnel. At this point, dealing with them was an impossible task. Still, Dallion did several more point attacks, clearing out as many as possible. Unfortunately for him, that didn’t prove to be a lot. The minions were both fast and intelligent enough to keep to areas that were difficult to hit. Only the ones that attempted to outright block Dallion’s progress ended up being destroyed.
Gritting his teeth, Dallion started casting the flood spell. It was a move that verged to desperation, but the only thing that could help him right now. Within seconds, the portal emerged, then vanished behind Dallion. With a bit of luck, it was going to keep the minions occupied a bit longer.
Behind him, the top of the tunnel collapsed. The threads he had used to create his wall of swords was too thin to coat the entire space created by the point attacks. The purple sea splashed in, mixing with the water coming from Dallion’s portal.
​
MODERATE WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 20%
​
Another alicorn managed to stab Dallion’s leg with its horn as he flew by, effectively halving his health.
Leave the vortex, Harp said.
“I can do this.” Dallion had unsummoned the hammer, focusing on doing point attacks forward, while using his left hand to boost his speed. “I’m close to the end. I can feel it.”
You’re not ready for this vortex. You’re close, but you still aren’t there yet.
“I am.” Dallion insisted. It wasn’t that he had become complacent, but the last few months his progress had crawled to a stop. He might have learned a vast number of magic symbols and spells, but his magic trait remained at twenty-three. There was no way he was giving up a level four vortex, especially this one. “I am there,” he whispered.
Purple water kept seeping in. The top of the tunnel had completely collapsed. Spells created by vortex minions darted past him. Some even made contact, repelled by his protective layer of magic threads.
“Just a few seconds more,” Dallion said, more to himself than Harp.
He had been going through the sea for quite a while. As far as distance was concerned, it had to range in the dozens of miles, if not more. While space in any magic realm was an illusion, there was a limit to how much something could be stretched. Sooner or later, the sea had to come to an end.
“Ruby, create some wind,” he ordered.
Keeping firmly to Dallion’s shoulder, the shardfly flicked its wings, sending a flurry of wind slashes forward. This was by no means an elegant way to breach the tower, but as long as it worked Dallion had no intention of complaining.
Further and further down he went. His speed had increased to the point that he couldn’t see new aethercorns emerge. And yet, it all kept on going. It seemed that he had entered a bottomless pit. The sensation of doubt emerged. Was it a good move to keep persisting? If he quit now, would it all go to waste? There was no telling how long the vortex would remain. Maybe it would last for a few more hours. If he was lucky, it might appear again in another week or so.
No! Dallion told himself. If he couldn’t complete this, what chance did he stand against Grym and the traitorous battlemages? They had accumulated their magic for decades. If he didn’t take advantage of every opportunity presented to him, he might as well become a clerk at the Academy.
Point attacks kept pushing the tunnel further and further down until suddenly they didn’t. It only lasted a fraction of a second, but Dallion was able to catch it. The devastating amount of force had been effortlessly pushed to the sides, like water being poured on a mirror.
That was it—the end of the sea. Dallion had finally reached the solid barrier. At this point, he’d usually take the time to find a weakness, then slice through it and create a portal leading to the other side. With time being a luxury he didn’t have, Dallion resorted to the second best thing. Increasing the number of point attacks, he cast the magic depletion spell he had learned from Raven.
Lightning shot out in all directions, instantly ending Dallion’s flight spell as well as causing all magic threads to pull back.
“Shield!” Dallion summoned the armadil shield. “Cocoon me!” He performed one final point attack with his harpsisword.
The armadil shield expanded, becoming a metal sphere around Dallion. Half a second later, the impact tossed Dallion to the inside of it.
​
MINOR WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 5%
​
BREACH ENFORCER
(+2 Body)
Inertia and the force of will helped you breach into the tower’s core. You were lucky you didn’t go splat.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, consider joining my patreon or check out my other stories on redditserials:
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)
Uncharted Waters (An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir)
Book 3 will be available on Amazon from midnight tonight :D There will be an official post tomorrow, but here's a heads up to all impatient ones :D

My (16, f) mom (45, f) is dating a man who tried to groom me (28, m). I came on here because I don’t know what to do anymore I’ve tried to speak to my mom, dad, brother, many other family members but it just seems like no one cares and nobody is taking my side. Back when I was 13 my mother just went through a break up with a man who verbally abused her and physically and sexually abused me. Although she only knew about the physical abuse not the sexual abuse. (He is now a husband to a new woman and has a child and I blame myself everyday for not telling anyone about because now I feel like if this child goes through anything it’s my fault but this isn’t what the story is about.) Anyways at the time my mom was a cult like christian and we went to church very often where we met my mom’s now bf. Since day one he was always creeping on young teenage girls until I became one of them he would ask for my number and ask to hang out. At the time I was honestly flattered because I had extreme daddy issues and any male validation or attention meant a lot to me. He began to try and win my mom over so that dating me wouldn’t be a problem. Again I was 13 he was 24 which is a year older than my oldest sister. This went on for a year where he constantly flirt with me at church and ask if I was single he even one time back me in a corner at a wedding in front of my cousin. At this point I began to see how weird and creepy he was and began to distance myself. I just began high school at this point and began crushing on this guy. I told my church friend that I had a crush at school and he over heard and got extremely upset and he began lecturing about how high school relationships are puppy love and is stupid. Anyways one day we noticed he stopped coming to church and we also did because we had an altercation with one the church members and we left and never came back. Years later he reached out to my mom to confide in her of why he left the church. He said he was being accused of grooming a girl the daughter of the church member we had an altercation with so already my mom was biased and believe everything he said me on the other had already knew what the real true story was. He had said he was being nice to the girl she fell in love and he rejected her and she told her parents who confronted him. But I knew that he groomed her and she fell in love and he got caught by the parents. My mom began inviting him to hang out with me and her. One time we were going swimming and we stopped and a gas station where I was in the back seat asleep my mom got off to pay for gas and he pulls my blanket off of me where I was just wearing shorts and a tank. I pulled the blanket back and covered myself and gave him a dirty look. The whole he kept staring at me and kept being weird when my mom wasn’t around. He called her to ask me out on an ice cream date and my mom obviously was weirded out and said no. She was very weirded out and annoyed until he contacted her again and said he was just joking and she believed him. All of a sudden my mom and i stoped hanging out being she was always “busy”. I somehow found out they were hooking up and she invited him to thanksgiving where my dad was. My parents constantly try to coparents but my dad is an alcoholic and constantly tries to argue with her. He noticed her and her bf being flirty and began cussing her out. He also noticed him staring at me and went crazy on him cussing him out left and right. He was intimidated by dad and left and that’s when my mom went with him and left me and brother. I broke down and my brother asked what happened and I told him everything my brother is a very closed off person and doesn’t like to show any emotion towards me so he ended up leaving the house as well. The day after my mom and I got into it where I told her everything and she completely dismissed me. After that my mom began inviting him to family events and began to talk about me saying how I was rebelling against her just like my oldest sister did at my age and everyone in the family keeps telling me so stop being selfish because my mom always did everything to put my happiness before hers so I should do the same. It hurts me so deeply because I genuinely have a good and trusting relationship with my mom but this one thing is really ruining it. I keep telling her what he did to me but she refuses to listen. It feels like no one is listening or taking my side. This has genuinely been taking a huge toll on me and at such a young age began using alcohol as a way to cope and it hurts that after years of keeping quiet after being sexually abused by her ex because I saw how happy SHE was I have to keep getting hurt by her just to keep seeing her be happy. I don’t know what to do anymore all I do is cry at night and just want to leave this earth. I think the betrayal of a mother hurts more than any other.

Nettie Peterson has known me at my best and at my worst, and after everything that's happened lately, I think I can finally say the same. I'm admittedly not very good at comforting her, though. I haven't had much practice, is all. Historically speaking, she's always been the one to take care of me. My introduction to earth was a confusing, horrifying time for me, and she had dealt with all of it. She'd handled every panic attack, brought me back from every low. When I woke up one night to a drilling pain in my stomach and blood soaking my panties, she managed to keep me calm while explaining that this would now happen every month.
What I'm saying is that the woman is insanely skilled.
Me, not so much. After we had gotten out of the cave, I tried to provide emotional support by petting her hair and talking soothingly. Seeing as I was also distressed, she was doing the same to me, so we were basically sitting on the beach holding each other. To the outside observer, we must have looked rather strange. I was relieved to finally get back to her house. We sat down in front of the TV and ate cupcakes. We have a special system for eating cupcakes. I peel off the frosting and give her rest. It's messy and I have to keep hand wipes nearby everytime, but it's how we do it. We both eat cupcakes whole when we're by ourselves, so it doesn't make much sense either, but when we share, it's always like this.
Once I was sure she was alright, I left her to go off to bed while I made my way back to the hotel, bracing myself for what I expected to be an extremely uncomfortable conversation.
The lobby was dim and quiet. The large, bright ceiling lights had been turned off with only a couple floor lamps illuminating the hall. I walked past the unmanned reception desk and up the stairs, then rapped my knuckles against the door to Frankie's room. After a couple seconds, he opened up. Upon meeting my gaze, he let out a soft gasp, but it wasn't followed by a smile this time. He made way for me to step inside, wordlessly, and I entered without breaking the silence. I sat down on the sofa where he joined me after placing a glass of coconut water in front of me.
For a beat, we both stared at the drink. I didn't take it.
"What you did felt really off earlier," I began. "You were trying to embarrass Nettie. If you were testing your boundaries, if you were trying to see how I'd react, you got your answer. Don't ever make me choose between you two. You'll lose."
"Yes," he said quietly.
"If you don't get along with Nettie, that's one thing. You don't need to. But she was needling you and you made a real effort to be cruel." I paused. "You act so strange sometimes. All bossy and cagey."
"Yes," he repeated, briefly falling silent as he worked away on his gum in slow, contemplative motions. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I did it. I wanted to unsettle her. It's not that I don't like her, she's fine, but at that moment, I simply loathed her. I couldn't tell you why. But I wish I'd kept quiet. I feel gross for spouting off like that."
"Then… why?"
"I don't know! There's this weird feeling, it comes over me and makes me remember stuff that's in the past… Then I get caught up and confused. I run my mouth, but I don't want to make you upset. I swear I won't do it again. I'll rein myself in."
"Will you? This doesn't seem right." I took a deep breath. "Frankie, I have no idea what you are. Even though you know everything about me."
"Not everything," he argued. "You never said a thing about what life was like where you're from. Or who you were before. Yes, that's not what this is about, but I'm just speaking technically."
"You shouldn't have to rely on technicalities to make a point."
"No. Look, I keep wondering what I'm even doing here. I like you a lot. But I haven't thought this through and by now, I'm scared to."
"Stop talking in riddles," I implored him.
He huffed out a chuckle. "I'd have to stop thinking in them first." Before he could add anything else, his phone started vibrating on the TV table. "Oh, dammit," he muttered. Shooting me an uncertain gaze, he reached out for it, his hand hovering above the screen. "Can I?"
"Sure." I let go of a long breath, snatched up the glass and leaned back in my seat as Frankie answered the call. I pick up on a woman's voice talking on the other end.
He kept glancing over at me almost sheepishly as he mumbled words of affirmation into the phone. "Yes… Yeah, I remember… Well, it's not a good time, but I'll do it. Bye." Dropping the device into his lap, he gave me a twist of the mouth. "That was Mae-Lynn. She works at—"
"The diner with you," I cut him off. "I do take note of the other staff there, for your information." I took a sip of my water. "Occasionally."
"I promised to do some shopping for her. She's come down with the flu. Store's closing soon, though, so I'll have to go now."
"Well, that's convenient."
"I was going to ask you to come along."
I agreed. Having lost track of the conversation, the drive was a grim, quiet affair. Frankie took us to one of the more expensive stores in the area, saying that he wanted to treat Mae-Lynn.
"Take a cart," I ordered, and once he had acquired one, I had him hold it still while I climbed inside. He regarded me with a bemused expression but refrained from commenting as he began to roll me down the aisles.
Grocery shopping at night is something else. Eighties music was playing over the radio at a low volume, but the otherwise quiet space made it sound decidedly louder. There was almost the hint of an echo. Safe for two of three singular, tired-looking individuals, Frankie and I were the only people in the store. I had nestled against the back of the cart, my head tipped back to watch Fran's face from below as his eyes roamed the shelves. Occasionally, he'd stop to check the list Mae-Lynn had texted him on his phone.
"If you want anything, speak up," he told me.
"I'm out of cereal," I said, just as we passed the respective aisle. He turned the cart back around, let me pick out a carton of cornflakes and took up walking again. After five minutes of stoically regarding him from my mobile vantage point, I piped up again. "Go back. Wrong ones."
"Well, which ones do you want? I'll get them, it's faster than pushing this thing around."
I shook my head. "No, no, I have to look at them. Go back."
He shook his head to himself but obediently maneuvered the cart back to the shelf with the breakfast items. I took my time picking out a different box, then settled back down.
"Happy?" Fran asked.
"Delighted."
After fifteen minutes, we were getting close to finishing Mae-Lynn's list. Frankie was starting to move towards the cash register, only for me to tug on his arm. "Turn back," I told him, holding up the box. "I don't want them after all. I need different ones."
He stifled a groan. "Sure, Sunshine." I let him roll me all the way back to the cereal aisle where I studied the colorful boxes intensely. "Nevermind," I said, turning back to him. "Let's go."
He started making his way over to the register again when I cleared my throat. "Actually, I think I might have another look."
"Are you kidding me?" he squeaked, only for me to hold his gaze with a smile. "You are," he choked out. "I oughta send you rolling right into that stack of cans."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Is that a challenge?" He glanced about himself, finding that we were alone. Then, he pushed the cart, and it swerved, sliding across the shiny floor. The thrill of the launch washed over me and I started laughing. He lunged for it, grabbing it just in time to prevent the collision.
"Do it again!" I demanded.
He indulged me, sending me swerving and spinning a couple more times. Eventually, he took a running start and pushed me down a long, empty aisle at a breakneck speed. The giggles died in my throat when, seemingly out of thin air, someone appeared at the end of the aisle. My jaw dropped and I reflexively gripped the sides of the cart to protect myself from the impending crash, but the person simply reached out and caught the cart by its edges. Within the blink of an eye, they had managed to steady it. My vehicle had come to a standstill. It all happened incredibly fast, and for a moment, I found myself unable to react. One of the other person's hands had come to rest over mine in the process. Still at a loss for words, I raised my head to meet their gaze.
Those eyes.
My heart, already thundering in my chest, dropped entirely into my stomach. There were pupils filling the void in that formerly uninterrupted pale vastness this time, but I recognized them either way. Seeing them sit in an actual face instead of behind a nondescript black mask was strange, but there was not a doubt in my mind. It was them.
The cultist had jarringly pleasant features that struck me as neither overtly feminine nor masculine. Their tawny skin had an almost bronze sheen to it and short locks of platinum blond hair stuck to their smooth forehead, slick with the same sweat that formed stains beneath the armpits of their light gray t-shirt.
It was like time stood still. The interaction could not have been longer than two seconds in total, but it felt like a full hour. From me staring at our linked hands, to locking eyes with them, to the cold, raw realization, it seemed to me as though forty minutes or more had gone by, followed by another twenty when I watched the crude smile forming on their lips. Their fingers clamped down on my own, and before I knew it, it had happened.
The lights in the store had changed color, taking on a dimmer, sickly green tint. The shelves around us had emptied and the gentle, melodic hum of the radio had been replaced by a deep, droning buzz of static. I was still sitting in the shopping cart, and the cultist was still leaning over me, but their expression had morphed into one of shocked disbelief. Seeing fear on the face of the person who'd stabbed me might have been a great satisfaction to me in any other situation, but right then and there, I was equally as terrified.
I had switched dimensions and was now alone with my attempted murderer.
The thought took a while to sink in, but the clearer it became, the more I felt the need to scream. And yet, not a sound left my lips. My own saliva had turned sour, filling my mouth with an acidic taste. Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach like icy, chilled water and tears were stringing the corners of my eyes. I blinked them away in a hurry, redirecting my gaze at the cultist. They were staring past me in a daze, taking in our changed surroundings before fixing me with a sharp glare.
"Seriously?"
"What?" The word somehow slipped past the lump in my throat.
The cultist made a sweeping gesture at our surroundings. "Where are we? What the hell is this? You don't even have your dimension hopping under control? Not gonna lie, I had higher expectations of you."
"What?" I repeated eloquently.
"You just switched dimensions on my ass. And seeing as you literally crashed into me, I don't think you planned on doing that."
"I didn't," I confirmed.
"That's what I'm talking about."
"You know about dimensions?"
The cultist palmed their face, emitting a deep, low groan. "Clearly."
I scrambled back in the cart, trying to bring some distance between the two of us. I bared my teeth at them, both rows elongating and curving outward. At least I was getting the hang of my physical transformation. "If you come any closer, I'll rip your hand off," I hissed, spittle flying out between my fangs.
"I believe you," they replied, narrowing their eyes at me. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"That's hard for me to believe."
"Yes, sure. I did and I would again, but not here. Not now. You understand?" they asked pointedly, their voice cutting like a razor blade.
"I'm not sure I do."
"Well, without you, I won't get out of here, and I've stuff to do on the other side." They stepped behind the cart and grabbed onto the handle.
I hastily twisted around to face them. "You know about the finer details of dimension hopping but you can't do it yourself?"
They let out a soft sigh as they began pushing the cart, with me inside, down the empty aisle. "I managed to do it once. Just once. Never again. It's not a great surprise to me that you should be able to switch to the other sides, but I'd thought you'd be able to control it. I think I have your number. I'm pretty sure I know what you are, and we have more in common than you could have probably guessed. That boy you were with on the other hand… I won't lie, he freaks me out. He's got the strangest face and he didn't react to my eyes at all."
"What are you?" I queried, quick to steer him away from the topic of Frankie Preston even though I didn't really expect an honest answer. "How'd you do that the other night? Your… your eye thing?"
"That unsettled you, didn't it? It's not anything I do per se." They shrugged leisurely. "I could just as well ask you where you're hiding your tentacles."
"So you're not human. I didn't think you were," I stated. "What's your business with the Collective? What are you after? Are any of you normal people?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one who's not." They steered the cart around the corner with a swift, forcible yank and I bumped painfully against the side of the cart. Stifling a yelp, I kept my face straight, looking over the shelves as we passed them. I noticed that some of them weren't entirely empty—there were a couple jars, cans and bags of various goods standing scattered throughout. They looked almost lonely. The cultist, registering my wandering gaze, stopped and grabbed a random plastic jar that looked like it could be containing peanut butter or something of the sort. The label was faded and partially peeled off. They inspected it from all sides before thrusting it into my hands. "Here, open it," they commanded.
"I certainly won't," I replied, a mix of rage and apprehension bubbling in my chest.
"Aren't you curious?"
"No. But if you are, go on and open it yourself."
They grunted, grabbing the jar and unscrewing the red lid. They dropped it to the floor where it bounced off once and rolled away into the darkness. Peering in, their expression remained unchanged. "Nothing. Look." They held it out to me and sure enough, it was empty. I let them hand it to me, intrigue winning me over as I started examining the small container. It was completely unremarkable. I reached two of my fingers inside only for the digits to suddenly be stricken with a searing pain. It flashed through my bones like lightning and I cried out, withdrawing my hand. Suddenly, the floor seemed to quiver. The lights in the store flickered, seeming startlingly bright for a split second only to turn dimly green once more. The cultist let out an involuntary shriek, staggering back before managing to steady themself as everything went back to its former solid state.
"What the fuck was that?" they wheezed.
"An earthquake?" I suggested, not quite knowing what else to say. My pulse was thrumming in my ears, hard enough to split my head in half. It took me a minute to regain a relative state of calm.
"An earthquake? In another dimension? You're messing with me."
"I don't know! Maybe it was… maybe I was nearly jumping back, I have no idea." I shook my head, ignoring the throbbing pain shooting through my temples. "I don't have it all figured out yet, but it's an emotional response. Whenever my flight instinct gets triggered, these dimension switches happen. It was the jar. The jar is painful inside."
"What do you mean?" they asked, eagerly reaching for the jar and sticking their pinky finger into it. They pulled it back out with a howl, letting the jar drop to the floor. "What the hell is up with this place?"
"How would I know?" I argued hotly.
"Yeah, well. Anyways." All of a sudden, their hand was in my hair, tugging on my braid. They yanked my head to the side, and before I could break out my tentacles or try to snap my jaws at them, I could feel their hot breath on my nape. A scream died in my throat, equal parts painful and shocked. My eyes burned, my vision swimming when the cultist dragged their teeth across my skin, leaving a trail of warm saliva. And then, fast and without mercy, they bit down.
The lights turned bright white. The static buzzing that had been hanging in the stale air changed to the familiar eighties music tunes. Squinting into the sudden brightness, the colors of the countless types of packaged products filling the shelves almost seemed to be screaming at me.
We were back.
The cultist disentangled themself, quickly stepping away from me. I looked up, still dazed, to see why. Frankie Preston had come up behind us, snatching the cart away from the other person and pulling it out of their reach. I immediately scrambled up to wrap my arms around him. "That's them," I breathed. "From the Collective."
"I know," he said tonelessly. His eyes, trained on the blonde, spelled murder. "You should get out of here," he added, addressing them. "The shelves here are rickety, they might fall on you."
The cultist's expression was a frozen mix of suppressed uncertainty and confusion. Still, they held the server's gaze. "You should maybe not… do anything stupid," they uttered, their voice almost equally as flat as his.
"I'm all about stupid."
"Then I guess I ought to leave. See you guys soon. It was a pleasure." They threw us a smile that was faker than Frankie's when he waited tables before marching off, leaving the two of us alone in the aisle.
"Are you alright?" Fran asked, running a hand over my mussed braid. "What happened? I'm so… one minute you were here and the next…"
"We switched dimensions."
"I pieced that together. You weren't gone for long… just a couple minutes." He nervously twisted his wet bubble gum around the tip of his finger, drawing nervous strings.
"Were you worried?"
"Out of my mind," he said in a low voice, not meeting my gaze. "I mean, I knew you'd be okay on your own, I wasn't saying that—"
"I wasn't. I'm not," I interrupted him. "I got out alright, sure I did, but I'm not okay right now." I swallowed. My throat was bone dry. "I need to call Mary Markov. She should hear about this."
Frankie nodded along. "Do you want me to do it for you? I'm certain I can give her an accurate description."
I declined and sat back in the cart. Per my request, Fran brought me home after we'd paid for everything. I needed some time alone to relax and pretend everything was normal. I cleaned my room and then looked through job listings, which I admittedly haven't done in a little while. When I couldn't find any other way to procrastinate, I made the call to Mary Markov, which went about as well as could be expected. She wants to see me tomorrow, though. I wish she'd told me about what. For a newsreader, she's really not very forward with her information.
X
1
2: deadbeat roommate
3: creepy crush
4: relocation
5: beach concert
6: First date
7: Temp work
8: roommate talk
9: a dismal worldview
10: warehouse
11: staircase
12: explanation
13: hurt
14: hospital
15: ocean
16: diner
17: government work
18: something in the caves

Conditions: Hendricks and Walker are off the board and at least Wallace or Black are available. The only thing that can entice a team trading up, other than big wings, which are what we are thirsty for as well, is PG. Wallace and Black, at this juncture, are the only names that I could see teams getting nervous about losing and ready to trade up aggressively. Hendricks and Walker are the only top-10ish names that I want in Dallas (discounting the obvious top 3). In our situation, where we need to squeeze every possible route of long-term improvement and we cannot do anything just for the kicks, I don't think it is advisable at all to draft a guy like Wallace, Black, Dick or even Whitmore. We have an extremely tight window to maneuver around and we need to be clean, precise and assertive in our moves. We need to get what we need, not what is cute.
Condition #2: we are not packaging this pick for a veteran. I will have a stroke if we use this to get Ayton, Grant or whatever guy on a bloated contract to make us lose in the 2nd round and get stuck in a roster with Luka, Kyrie, said guy and a bunch of G-Leaguers because the CBA will rekt hard teams with a lot of big contracts. I do want us to get a veteran, but with the 2027 FRP and trying to balance the contracts going out and coming in, specially length-wise.
Partners (going in a crescent order):
a) Toronto: #10, Timmy for #13, Boucher
I still get a bit iffy about that one because we all know Masai loves trades where either he wins or the other partner loses. He doesn't play fair if he is selling, so this would rely hard on him not wanting to pay FVV and wanting to get younger with Wallace or Black. Wallace is smaller than his usual but I'm shocked people are not talking more about Black. A 6'7 PG that cannot shoot? This is Masai's personal dream /s
Jokes aside, I have a little hard time seeing this happening, but more than one Raptor fan told me this would be realistic and within the Raps' MO. A small trade down, although not getting us another FRP, would net us Boucher, an amazingly solid PF/C hybrid, that can either start or come off the bench and contribute now alongside Maxi. At #13 we can still make other moves trading down further or we can even have some flexibility in our choice, specially if we are eyeing a C with the 27 FRP package (we would need to involve Bullock, though, and this starts to snowball in a way that I'm too tired to think right now). Boucher can eat up 25-28mpg from the 4 and the 5 right off the bat. As I said, I think this is a price too steep for what Masai usually likes to spend, but I trust Toronto fans more than myself on their own FO.
b) Utah: #10, Timmy for #16, #28, Olynyk
I always thought that one for Bertans but then I thought "This is Ainge, why in the world would he accept Bertans?". The fact that I like Bertans doesn't mean the league does and the league does not. To get Olynyk, I believe we would need to offer Timmy, which is at least a neutral asset. Olynyk doesn't require explanations, I believe. He would be our starting C right off the bat, he can play the 4, he can get boards, he can set screens, he can pop. He isn't great, he should not be starting, but as an expiring making just 12M? Hell yes. I love Timmy, but he is probably the most expendable guy in the roster with some trade value.
Utah has #9, so we would need to believe here that they would take Hendricks or Walker at #9 and then want to get back at #10 to get their PG of the future. If they get Black at #9 or something like that, there's no incentive at all for the trade-up. Sitting down at #16 will get them in the Hood-Schifino territory, but Wallace and Black will be far gone, specially with Toronto at #13 and teams wanting to trade up. If they do not get their PG at #9, they will want to get one and, if they do not get a PG, they're getting a big wing, which makes Olynyk expendable.
At #16, with #28 available, we are in solid footing. All the 2nd tier bigs (Lively, Clowney, Murray, TJD, Nnaji) and good wings (Miller, Coulibaly, Howard, Cissoko) should be on the board even at #28. We could very well walk out of the draft with a starting-caliber veteran frontcourt guy on a good deal and two young guys ready to contribute now and to be part of our core later. Pretty much one of our best possible scenarios IMO.
c) Brooklyn: #10, Bertans for #21, #22, Doe, Sharpe (maybe)
Best case scenario for emotional reasons. I want Doe back. Yes, he was starting to show some physical decline, yes, he was not the same, yes, he had a hard stint with the Nets...don't care. Doe is the Mavs. I would be extremely thrilled about having a Finney-Smith wearing 10 again, he would make our wing rotation back to a good level with Green and Bullock splitting minutes with him. The Nets actually want to get rid of him (losers), so I would be more, more than up to get Doe back home. I read that, since it is a new season, we can trade for Doe right back at the draft night, but if we cannot, this idea goes down the sink. O'Neale is too rich of a price, Sharpe alone is too poor of a price. Doe is the perfect price for both parties. Going from the 20s into the lottery isn't cheap, after all, and the Nets needs an actual, real PG. A Wallace-Dinwiddie-Bridges-Cam-Claxton starting 5 will rob more wins than people will give them credit for.
At #21 and #22, most of the guys from above would still be available. Lively and Murray should be off the board (people are severely underrating the desire that contenders will have over Kris Murray, a plug and play 3/4, 3-and-D guy), but all the others should be on. If Nico can make some magic and get Sharpe back as well (a tall, tall order), we could walk out of this with Doe, Clowney, Sharpe and Miller (I'm trying hard not to let my love for TJD do the writing, but make of that what you will). The Kyrie trade would pretty much be: Dinwiddie, 2023 and 2029 FRP for Kyrie, Sharpe, 2023 and 2023 FRP. We would see it under way better lights.
I usually had Indy as other option, but I cannot convince myself. Sure, they want less rookies and getting another lotto piece would be neat, but...what are they trading for? They already have a starting PG and a bench PG. Sure, they could trade Nembhard in a splashy move for OG, but I would believe they would be using 26 and 29. If they want 10 to package with 7 for a star, they would be giving up pretty much their whole depth.
I don't believe this would happen, I think they will stay put and actually rebuild the proper way, but if they get too anxious and, for some reason, want to move up, I could see something like this:
#10, Timmy, Bertans for #26, #29, Isaiah Jackson and Duarte
A hefty price, but a sufficient one for trading pretty much two SRPs to get into the lottery. If they need #10 to make a move for OG or whatever, they could pull the trigger here. For us, it would be very, very good. First, considering it would clean up 30M from our cap space if I'm not mistaken, considering Jackson and Duarte are on their rookie deals. This would allow us to actually have something other than the TPMLE to offer in the FA market, which could allow us to bring in some wing or even overpay a C. Second, Jackson and Duarte are two young and good players. Duarte is not that good of a defender, yes, but a solid shooter with the tools to not be a revolving door, that has the potential to be a really special shooter. This is just a cherry, though, I think it is forcing the issue. My real prize here would be Isaiah Jackson. A rugged defender, big body, good rebounder, that can play down low on both ends of the court. He doesn't work as well as a PF without a stretching 5, but he is thick enough to be a C in the NBA. Intelligent, good BBIQ, solid instincts, he would find minutes right away and he is riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight there in order to breakout. This is the move that we need to make: get guys that are about to breakout, not after they broke out and are demanding big-time money. Could we ask for a future FRP here? I think it is forcing the issue too much, but who knows.