These institutional racism eruptions have been occurring sporadically for a while now, it's not really that new or shocking. We've seen it before.
It certainly isn't helping matters that enough numbers of less-than-capable fellow citizens insist on electing unquestionably incompetent representatives, often simply based solely on the abbreviated letters (D) or (R) which precedes their names. Contrary to what the mainstream media coverage would have Americans believe, life goes on for average citizens far removed from the pervasive racial disparities projected by news organizations and mainstream journalists.
Certainly, racism will forever remain an issue; however, it is by no means any longer representative of common white Americans – in fact, most common white citizens would outright reject blatant racism, not to project their righteous image; but, out of true disdain for the reminder of a fading, yet shameful history. It would be fair to say that racism, at this point, has been relegated to the outcasts of white America.
White Americans consider abject racism every bit as repulsive as black Americans do. Racism is not an issue of such paramount importance in this country as portrayed by the agenda-driven media.
The media has only made matters worse as they have been either thoughtlessly, negligently, or intentionally remiss in their coverage of perceived racial tensions, crimes of allegedly racial motivations, or the police shootings allegedly motivated by race.
Perhaps many of the uninformed general public would do well by learning from history. I’m sure many would be surprised to learn that early white Americans weren’t innately responsible for inheriting slavery. Many fail to realize slavery was, at the time, a subject of monumental importance and debate.
People fail to understand the considerable strife that existed between abolitionists and slaveholders at the time of the 1st Continental Congress. Abolitionists knew that the institution of slavery did not align with the basic principles of our founding declaration and sought to right the injustice brought to our shores by French, British, and Spanish colonialists.
Most Americans fail to realize slavery has existed since the dawn of mankind and each of us have ancestors, who were, at one point or another, slaves to another race, empire, or another. It wasn’t until the moral evolution sparked by this revolutionary nation that mankind began to understand the injustice where those who came before them had failed.
Mankind cannot wholly understand historical context, but one can imagine being born into a world where slavery had always existed bringing such a remarkably enduring and accepted act of cruelty to an end would require a concerted and united effort in order to unravel it.
It was the birth of this country which gave the spark to that idea. The entire world watched on with immense interest to know the results; results which would ultimately effect change throughout the entire world.
Before the United States drafted the constitution, most anyone who lacked a noble bloodline had no hope for living the life they truly desired; let alone having the power to unite into a political force capable of influencing the governing bodies.
The common man was relegated to whichever social class to which they were born, never able to choose his or her destiny. America changed that. This is a country where every baby born has the tools to live his or her dream. This country provided the right to pursue individual happiness and the potential to earn it based on merit rather than birthright.
The world has always been a very unpleasant place, unpleasantries divided among all of our ancestors at one time or another, at the hands of one race or empire or another.
It seems our collective retrospect is always used to disparage or drudge up negative emotions and sentiments among our people. It’s used to divide us. When we are divided, someone is gaining – that is a guarantee.
Many of the race baiters and professional activists continue to justify their spite on the distant past and the transgressions of American ancestry. It’s time to move past it and acknowledge that it ended solely on account of this nation’s founding principles.
Again, the institution of slavery was never limited to the African race and perpetrated by white Americans; though, the general public seems to have only familiarized themselves with that particular aspect. Perhaps the most important aspect of that fact is that it was within these shores where the abhorrent tradition was finally put to a decisive end through bloody sacrifice like the world had never seen.
They say every man on earth has kings and slaves in his ancestry. However, reflecting on distant past with no causal impact on our current lives to simply finger blame is redundant and asinine; it has no place or relevancy in modern society.
Since its apparent people do desire to drudge up the past and the transgressions of our ancestors, why is it those with the platform to reach out and effect positive change in racial attitudes fail to drudge up the past that demonstrates the important lesson that, while early white Americans were guilty of perpetuating the original sin of slavery brought here; it was also the offspring of those early white Americans who sacrificed and shed blood of an entire generation in order to right that wrong
White Americans were a huge part of the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s, though are seldom mentioned.
Why don’t we celebrate John Brown and his Christ-like sacrifice made to the betterment and freedom of the black race?
Frederick Douglass regarded John Brown as the most inspirational, devoted, and faithful man in America in the fight against slavery. Douglass spoke of John Brown and his bravery until the day he died; it seems the memory of John Brown and any whites who made abolition possible died with Frederick Douglass.
During one of his many presentations to American audiences, Douglass had this to say of John Brown:
“His zeal in the cause of my race was far greater than mine – it was as the burning sun to my taper light – mine was bounded by time, his stretched away to the boundless shores of eternity. I could live for the slave, but he could die for him. The crown of martyrdom is high, far beyond the reach of ordinary mortals, and yet happily no special greatness or superior moral excellence is necessary to discern and, in some measure, appreciate a truly great soul.”
Perhaps those who seek to divide we Americans by means of race might be derailed if we could raise awareness to the positive messages which lie hidden or suppressed in our society’s history; a positive message regarding the remarkable and unprecedented and global moral evolution inspired by this nation’s founding.
It’s time those living with “White guilt” and members of Black Lives Matter consider paying at least a modicum of respect to the millions of black AND white
The sacrifice of John Brown, which is ultimately believed to have sparked the Civil War, was a long and expected time coming. It was abolition for which countles numbers of our American ancestry - of all races and backgrounds - tirelessly worked, fought and died. It's the seemingly little known facts such as these that might serve to give our people back some semblance of American pride.

I am not The OOP, OOP is u/IcemanEx54
GM Locked Me Out Of Interacting With Other Players Because I Got Confused
Originally posted to rpghorrorstories
TRIGGER WARNING: manipulation, controlling behavior, sexism
Original Post March 6, 2024
I'm a player in a tabletop RPG campaign and I just wanted to vent about this session. The GM uses a "rules light" homebrew system and it's his homebrew world as well. He's been doing this campaign for years now, but I just joined through a mutual friend after another player left recently.
When I joined the campaign, the GM had told me he wanted me to be from a particular country as a prince, and since it was his homebrewed world, I went with it. The country I'm a prince of is a massive empire that has conquered many lands. I wanted to be a morally good character so I made up a backstory where my prince had a secret romance with a commoner so it gave me more empathy and understanding than my other royal peers would have. Then in session 1, he had the commoner immediately break up with me since the players were all leaving the city session 1.
Several sessions later, there is a carnival being hosted in the empire and all the players are attending. The players split up and my part began with my character watching as a mentally handicap child was put in the dunk tank and was being dunked against his will. So I had my character help the child and stop the game (This isn't relevant to the larger story but I thought it was really weird). Then I am told I have to go to the "main stage" which is just a strip club seemingly. And of course, walking around topless serving drinks is my character's commoner love interest that I made in session 0. The GM laughs a bit and comments, "Isn't it funny? Look at what your ex has to do without you." I have my character give her the shirt off his back and we go to the outskirts of the carnival to find a quiet place to talk, but then the carnival was ambushed by some enemies as arrows and fire rained down on the parade.
Suddenly, my character and his ex are teleported back to the main stage and the GM starts jumping back and forth between all the player characters asking what we want to do without any sort of initiative and if we don't respond quickly enough he skips to another player. I ask, "What direction are the arrows coming from?" GM, "You can't tell". "Which direction to the palace?" I ask. "You don't know," he tells me. I'm honestly genuinely confused about what to do here and my mind goes blank, but then the GM has my bodyguard (a Brienne of Tarth type) tell me to follow her so I do. As he cuts back and forth, another player loses his mom in the chaos, I tell GM, "I want to help him find his mom." "You can't see him" GM tells me. Then I ended up surrounded by 12 ambushers in the "Pleasure Gardens". GM asked what I would do. I say since the carnival is burning, I look for a piece of wood on fire and since it's the pleasure gardens maybe there's some oil I can spill and light on fire to separate myself, my bodyguard, and ex who are all with me from the ambushers. He tells me there's no oil and then I'm held down by the men. I tried to escape, but he says I failed (he just did a dice roll behind his screen and didn't tell me the results). I am then hogtied by the ambushers with my bodyguard and ex and thrown in a cart. Meanwhile, the other two players have stolen a cart and are escaping. I try to do a goofy wave as my character is tied up towards my companions and he just says, the carts never pass each other so the other players don't see you. Before the session ends he tells me my bodyguard is dead.
After the session, I think my body language showed I was a bit bummed. So GM pipes in, "You want to know why you failed that encounter?" He proceeded to tell me it was because I followed my bodyguard and there was no way a woman could have protected me and I needed to make the choice instead. Some of the other players chimed in and said it was surprising my bodyguard failed since in the lore she was a 20-year veteran who survived "The Great War". The GM keeps defending his choice. Then he started making self-deprecating jokes about how he just sucks then and he's the worst GM ever until the other players all reassure him it's fine. I kind of just sat there shell-shocked.
His system reduces dice rolls to a rarity and he does them all himself as a "way to keep tension". I'm honestly more about hanging out with my friends than judging the quality of any campaign or system but this was my first "combat" of any sort in the campaign and I just felt so helpless in this system and it was frustrating. Plus there are no insight or persuasion rolls, just what the GM claims "my character would know" and "how his NPCs would act". So I'm not sure how I was supposed to handle this encounter. Being a GM myself, I thought he was using my bodyguard character to get me back on track, but I thought wrong. I honestly wouldn't have minded if he was just railroading me for a plot point, but him trying to manipulate me and saying his hands were tied when he essentially locked me out of interacting with the other players for the rest of the session is what bothers me the most.
Edit: Changed gaslighting to manipulating since I was using the term wrong and don't want to dilute it's meaning.
Update: GM Defends Style And Told Me He Owns My Character March 20, 2024
This is an update from my post a couple of weeks ago.
One of my friends in the group reached out to me and asked me to not leave the group. He told me there were only 2 sessions left and asked me to stick around as a favor to him. I told him I'd reach out to GM and see if we could get on the same page. So I texted the GM and told him I wanted to talk because I had some concerns after the way everything went down last session. He was down and we talked on the phone a couple of days later. To my surprise, the first thing he did was profusely apologize. I hadn't been responding in our group chat, partly because I was mad and partly because my partner had a death in her family. I guess me not responding caused him to dwell on the last session a bunch. He said he was going to retcon my bodyguard's death and keep her alive. I even told him that the treatment of women in the campaign was bad and that it was making the story worse, he told me that it is something that he can work on being better about too. I was surprised, but all this gave me a lot of optimism for this conversation.
I was honest and I told him that his homebrew system is very difficult for me since I don't have a character sheet. So my character doesn't have abilities, he doesn't level up, and I can't do things like roll investigate or perception rolls which makes it hard for me to make informed decisions. I told him it makes me very risk adverse because I don't have things like HP to even know if I'm in danger. He responded to this by telling me I shouldn't worry about that because his GM style rewards me if I roleplay well enough. He went on to say he hates systems with things like perception rolls because that's "Not how real life works".
I also lamented the fact that I also don't get to interact with the other players much. I didn't mention this in my first post, but he plays with all of us in a Discord call but he only plays with us one at a time, and the two of us who aren't playing are expected to listen and record notable quotes for his notes. He'll switch between characters where each player gets 2-3 "scenes" in a 3 hour session. He has our characters all spread out across the country Game of Thrones style and I've only gotten to play with another player in 2 sessions so far. This was also why that carnival scene was so frustrating because all 3 players were finally in the same place and we were trying to find each other and he just kept saying, "You don't see them".
He told me that he doesn't do party-based adventures because you can't get character growth that way. I pushed back and said I've seen awesome character growth in traditional DnD style games in the past, it just depends on the group. I also said he's just making things harder for himself by trying to run three campaigns instead of one. And if we don't have character sheets and aren't in a party then this is all more dramatic improv than a tabletop RPG.
He responded by saying his way is better because it creates a real story and that I should be happy because he made me the main character. (I guess that is what me being the prince means?) He then went on a rant about how much he loves the game world he created and he's very grateful that our characters brought it to life. But then he says that since it's his world, he feels like he owns our characters now and that after the campaign he wants us all to sign off on him using the characters to write books and a screenplay. And if we don't he'll just change their names and do it anyway. He then thanks me and tells me that this campaign is the main thing that has been stopping him from self-harm and going to dark places. Then he says he has to go and he rushes to hang up before I can say anything else.
I'm dumbfounded after that rapid-fire series of bombshells. I've known since the first few sessions that this was barely a TTRPG, but I got to hang out with my friends so I didn't care what it was. It was nice to hang out with old friends a couple times each month. Then the story got weird, and there was so much misogyny, and then I had the horrible session that caused my original post. Then in this conversation, he throws up even more red flags that I'm not blind to, but he is also planting a seed that he may harm himself without the campaign which is not something I want on my conscience. I'm just exhausted at this point.
TLDR: GM says that abilities and parties make TTRPGs worse and he wants to use our characters to write books/movies after the campaign because he owns them since we're playing in his world. He says he may fall back to self-harm without the campaign, making me feel guilty for wanting to leave.
RELEVANT COMMENTS
ShitThroughAGoose

Any update to this?

OOP

I ended up doing one more session for the finale. There was some drama during that session and when I mentioned that I didn't want to play in the next season of the campaign. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post about it again. I might still, but I think I want to take some time and reflect on everything.

Final Update May 11, 2024
[Final Update] Moving On From My Toxic DM And Losing A Friend In The Process
This will hopefully be my last post on this sub for a long time, but I’ve been using this place to vent about my toxic situation for a while so I figured I might as well post how everything concluded and what happened when I left. I’m going to reflect on everything and recap the important parts so no one has to read 3 posts.
It all started when I decided to start DMing to keep in touch with some college friends after graduation. During my first campaign, one of the players, Pirate, asked if his friend, Colorado, could join. I didn't really know Colorado, but I figured, "the more, the merrier."
Colorado had some issues early on, giving unsolicited advice to everyone on how to play and viewing newer or shy players as “side characters”. However, he frequently missed sessions, only showing up for less than half of them for the first few years so nothing came to a head early on. Then, Colorado decided he wanted to bring back his tabletop campaign from his college days and started trying to recruit players after my sessions. Pirate suggested I join the campaign, promising that Colorado was a better DM than player. Since I had been the Forever DM up to that point, I agreed to give it a go.
I created a character who was part of the royal family but enjoyed interacting with commoners in the slums, even having a secret girlfriend from that background. After that, Colorado also started hitting me up to help with the campaign. I ended up photoshopping character art for a bunch of his NPCs and I even drew his world map for him. I didn't mind doing it, as I do that kind of stuff for fun.
For our first session, Colorado had already created character sheets for us based on our backstories, but only he could see them. Colorado would also roll all the dice himself so “all we had to focus on is roleplaying”. We played one on one in different "scenes" that could last around 30 minutes to an hour each. We usually had around 2 to 4 scenes per session, depending on what Colorado thought was important. During the game, Colorado asked us to write down quotes from him and the other players when it wasn't our turn.
I had to wait for well over an hour before I could finally play. My first session was on rails. I mostly just had to repeat after Colorado during a ceremony. Afterwards, I got to sneak out of the castle and meet with my commoner girlfriend, but Colorado immediately had her break up with me. Then I was told that I had to leave the city. I was essentially locked out of my hanging out in the slums and commoner girlfriend subplots. NPCs generally disliked my morally good character, especially my sister who was depicted as purely evil towards me. Despite my efforts to mend the relationship, she never changed her mind and Colorado never rolled any dice to determine that. Later Colorado revealed to me the character was based on his ex-girlfriend, who was originally intended to be the player character from my country before they broke up.
Eventually, I finally got to interact with another player, Soldier, who I had really good chemistry with and we had a really fun scene. Which Colorado exclaimed, “See! This is why I keep you apart. It makes these moments so much more epic!” But I’m just thinking that if we were in a party, every session could be this epic.
Then Colorado got busy. He went to some alternative medicine nature retreat and didn’t pay his rent the whole time he was gone so he got evicted. At that point, the campaign went on hiatus as people got busy and Colorado was couch hopping. It was during that time I considered the campaign over and made my first post because I thought it fit the sub. Then a year after the last session, Colorado started trying to organize the group to do 3 more sessions to finish the campaign. I just ghosted the group chat for a while, but Pirate’s roommate is a player in the campaign I DM so Pirate started hopping on the call asking me to come back for the finale. Pirate told me that it would be different this time because all of our characters were going to meet up for the finale and he really wanted to play with me. I naively agreed to give the game a second chance.
The first of those three sessions led to this post and this follow up.
[TLDR - I never got to meet up with the other characters. Colorado made my ex a stripper and I was captured by invaders with no dice rolls to prevent it. I had a conversation with him about my concerns after the last session. He apologized and agreed to make changes saying he needed the campaign for his mental health.]
Colorado decided to have a single super finale session, which I reluctantly attended because of sunk cost fallacy. I was imprisoned, beaten and whipped, separated from my girlfriend and recently resurrected bodyguard. A deus-ex ninja offered to help me escape, but I wanted to save all the prisoners. So I helped the commoners escape with the ninja before saving my girlfriend. My bodyguard got captured, but I made sure my girlfriend escaped and then I went to save my bodyguard because I wasn’t letting her die after she just got resurrected. I tried to find my bodyguard but every door was locked and I was forced into a long one on one fight with a guard that would make John Carpenter blush. I lost the fight due to an unknown -2 modifier on my fighting rolls, leading to my re-imprisonment.
Pirate tried to board a boat to reach my location, but was unsuccessful. Colorado informed him that the sailors refused to let him on the ship because they didn't like his tone. Fortunately, Soldier saved me and we agreed to stop the big bad and rescue my bodyguard together. With a squad of Soldier's peers, we pursued the big bad into the woods. Without any rolls, all the other soldiers were sniped by archers.
Finally, the two of us reached the clearing where the big bad and his followers were. We were outnumbered about 30-2. My bodyguard and the other commoners were tied to a tree. Soldier was the same race as the villain so he approached while I stayed hidden. He delivered an awesome passionate speech against the big bad's actions saying that it wasn’t what their ancestors would want. I’m sitting there waiting and hoping for a persuasion roll… and nothing. Colorado says the big bad doesn’t change his mind and he sets the tree on fire, causing my bodyguard and the commoners to burn to death. Soldier and I retreated into the woods to end the campaign.
Pirate was supposed to have a scene after us, but he fell asleep because it was past 1am. Colorado kept trying to call Pirate on the phone. I joke, “Hey, we’re old now, being up past midnight isn’t as easy as it used to.” To which Colorado replies, “I just thought Pirate had more respect for me than this.” The Discord call becomes quiet and after Colorado starts focusing on Soldier and I. He wants to know why we’re not discussing the ending more. I remarked that it was a bit of a downer and I’m tired. Then Colorado starts spiraling, saying that RPGs are just another medium that he failed at just like film and music. HE STARTS CRYING and hangs up from the Discord call. Soldier and I stayed on and had a short “That was awkward” conversation. I don’t know Soldier well so I didn’t say much about my grievances with the campaign and eventually we ended up just talking about Baldur’s Gate 3 for an hour.
The next day, I wake up to a barrage of texts from Colorado apologizing, mansplaining how hard it is to be a DM as if I’ve never done it myself. He then starts sending me messages with all his ideas for my character in the next season and how he promises I’ll have more freedom next time. I wouldn’t understand, but he NEEDED to do the prison sequence and my bodyguard to die for my character growth, but next season will be different. I tell him I’m not doing another season. Colorado replies saying that he thought I’d say that because Pirate (who was apparently not sleeping) told him Soldier and I were bitching about the campaign after the session. Colorado said that once I get over it, we can start talking about season 3. I reaffirmed my stance. Then Colorado texts me one last time and asks if I’ll still make his maps and character art even if I don’t play. I said no again.
It's been two months since I last heard from Colorado or Pirate. We used to play games and talk about pro wrestling all the time, but now there's been no contact. A lot of the comments on my posts helped me realize I was prioritizing Colorado’s mental health over my own and I felt like it was my responsibility to support his campaign because he constantly referenced how important it was to his mental health. Intentional or not, he preyed upon my empathy. I’m not his Giving Tree and I shouldn’t be left a stump for a campaign where he doesn’t even want us to affect the world.
I sometimes worry Pirate is going through a similar situation to me, but for a longer period of time. Pirate introduced me to Colorado, and he's really loyal to him. I think that slowed down my exit from the group because I trusted Pirate to be my friend as well. I remember opening up to Pirate about a panic attack I had while Colorado was spiraling one day, and he just shrugged it off as me being dramatic. It's frustrating. I want both of them to be happy, but I can't make that happen for them, especially if it comes at the expense of my own well-being.
I ended up venting to some of my irl friends and they really supported and listened to me which is why I didn’t feel a need to vent here. I learned a lot about what not to do when DMing from this campaign and it made me reevaluate my approach to playing RPGs. Now I'm in a group with my irl friends and it's a blast. I can relax and just have fun playing again.
TLDR - I started DMing to stay connected with college friends who were scattered across the country. One player, Pirate, introduced me to Colorado, who eventually took over as the DM. Colorado had some unconventional methods, such as not using character sheets and controlling all the dice rolls. The game became focused on his storyline and my character had limited agency. Despite this, I gave the campaign a second chance. In the final session, things went poorly, and Colorado had a breakdown. Despite his apologies and promises for the next season, I decided not to continue playing. I have not heard from Colorado or Pirate since. I now play with my real-life friends and it's much more enjoyable.
RELEVANT COMMENTS/ADDED INFO
TicketPrestigious

Glad you're doing better. That does sound like quite a toxic situation.
If I've understood it right, the stuff with Pirate 'falling asleep' but actually listening in to you and Soldier talking feels like a massive red flag to me. I understand worrying about him since you were/felt like you were friends, but if he's enabling Colorado with that sort of stuff then it's probably best to move on.

OOP

Yeah even the best case would be that Pirate woke up after Colorado left the call and just overheard Soldier and me talking without us realizing because his mic was muted and we assumed he had passed out and then he snitched after which is still a bad look tbh. I had been distancing myself from Pirate since he invalidated my panic attack prior to this. It's just hard to be vulnerable with someone again after that.

THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

Sorry for the length. There's a lot to this.
My friend group for years has had a lot of people come and go, but what I call the "core group" has stayed the same. It started out with me and my friend Sarah, then Sarah started dating her husband Herb and through him his best friend Chris and Chris's wife Jasmine were introduced. This became the "core group" with each of us inviting other friends occasionally who sometimes stuck around for a while and sometimes didn't.
From the very beginning, Jasmine and I just clicked. We got to be close friends almost instantly and quickly became closer than Sarah and I ever were. Jasmine was also close with Sarah, but I always felt it was a bit one-sided. Jasmine is the type of person who gives her all in a friendship but doesn't complain when that isn't returned. She's a very kind-hearted and giving person and because of that gets mistreated by people and taken advantage of a lot.
A few years ago, Jasmine's husband Chris got sick and nearly died. He never fully recovered, and Jasmine is now his sole caregiver while also working full time. At first, everyone in the group rallied around Chris and Jasmine and went out of our way to help them in every way possible.
When it became clear Jasmine was no longer able to return that due to her new responsibilities people slowly began flaking off and just not even trying to be any sort of part of the group anymore until it was just the core friend group again. Eventually, Jasmine stopped asking all of us for help as well. She told us she felt bad because she couldn't be there for us like she had been, and it felt to her like she was taking advantage of us by asking for help.
I made an effort to offer help when/where I could, but it wasn't much. Eventually, Jasmine started asking me for help again and trying to give me help where she could. By this point, my life was pretty hectic, as was everyone else's, so we didn't all get together much.
About a month of that and Jasmine was over at my house hanging out during a rare "time off" for her and I mentioned that Sarah and Herb were coming by and we could maybe do a game night like we used to. Jasmine suddenly said she had to get home and left. Later she apologized to me and said she didn't want to put me in the middle but that she didn't consider Herb and Sarah friends anymore and didn't want to be around them if she didn't have to. She explained that they had reported her for neglect and abuse of her husband after she asked them for help in getting her house reorganized so that her husband was able to get around better. She also ended up sharing a few examples of them not following through on promises made to her and her husband. I kind of took a break from them for a while because of this news.
I considered if I wanted to make the effort to remain friends with someone who treats a supposed good friend who has done as much for them as Jasmine has like that. In the end, I decided to give them a chance because I only had one side of the story.
A few months later, Jasmine called me up in hysterics, saying her husband was having emergency surgery. I rushed to the hospital to support her and noticed her mom and I were the only ones there. I asked her if she wanted me to let Herb and Sarah know what was going on and she said she had already told them and they said they couldn't leave work but would check in with her after they got off. I knew for a fact that neither of them were at work because they had invited me over for games right before Jasmine had called me to which I had declined because of other plans. I didn't tell Jasmine this. Late that night, her mom mentioned Herb and Sarah hadn't stopped by and asked if we should call and check on them. Jasmine said she hadn't expected them to, and it was fine. I texted Sarah at this point to update her on the situation, and she asked if she was going to come over at all for games. I told her I thought supporting Jasmine was more important.
That was last year and since then I've noticed that Herb and Sarah never seem to know how Chris is doing and consistently blame it on Jasmine not updating them but Jasmine regularly sends updates in a group chat with all of us in it. I also found out through someone else that Sarah has been telling other people that Jasmine is a "bad friend" because Sarah asked her for a favor and Jasmine said she couldn't help her due to having to work. She also told me directly that Jasmine never wants to hang out and doesn't act like a friend. I asked her if she ever stopped to consider Jasmine is exhausted and wanted to sleep during her limited free time. Her response was, "That's just an excuse to be a lousy friend."
Since then, I've distanced myself from both Herb and Sarah. They live right next door to Jasmine, so when I was over there yesterday, they saw me, and Sarah texted me, asking me why I never had time to hang with her but was always hanging with Jasmine I told her Jasmine needed my help with something, and so I made time to help her because she's my friend. I'm not going to ask my husband to give up his limited free time to watch all the kids alone so I can play games, but I will ask him to do that to help a friend.
Sarah and I ended up in an argument over it where I told her I wasn't really interested in being friends with her and Herb because of the way they have been treating Jasmine and Chris.
My husband overheard the argument and said I shouldn't have said all that because he was there when Jasmine said she hadn't confronted Sarah or Herb either one about their failure as friends towards her because she knows they are vindictive and is worried they will try to cause problems with their landlord (they rent from the same person) or report her to APS again. I think that's just Jasmine letting her anxiety take over, but I could be wrong. Sarah and Herb have never acted like that towards me, but I stand up for myself more than Jasmine does, and they know it, so that may be a contributing factor. I texted Jasmine and apologized for kind of throwing her under the bus like I did. She said it's fine, but I know she's upset about it based on how she responded.
I really just wasn't thinking when I told Sarah why I was upset with her. I'm not trying to fight Jasmine's battles for her but I don't want to be friends with someone who thinks it's okay to treat friends the way Sarah and Herb have been treating Jasmine and I am very protective of my friends especially those like Jasmine who don't stand up for themselves often.
So am I wrong for telling Sarah why I'm done with her as a friend?

Author's Note:
7700 words, broke Reddit's character limit, so you know the drill. Will be split into two parts, both posted today. Enjoy!
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"Stop! STOP!"
The terror in Kismet's voice rose higher as death drew nearer. He fled from Rob's grasping hand, but a Purge Divinity-infused fingernail managed to graze him, carving out a scoop of divine essence as if flaying a mortal's skin.
Kismet let out a screech as the Purging energy added to his growing collection of scars. A dozen small holes now dotted the surface of his mana-body, looking like he'd been pockmarked by wasting disease. Each wound represented a moment where the god had narrowly escaped with his life.
If those injuries had been inflicted by any other ability, then he could have rejuvenated himself in the time it took to blink. Purging energy was not so kind as that. It was purifying wrath in the shape of a Skill; their vengeance given form. Whatever divinity it touched, it extinguished.
As if cleansing the universe of a sickness that had infected it for far too long.
The BERSERKER continued his unrelenting advance. In response, Kismet threw up a frantic barrier of mana. It was strong enough to deflect one of Ragnavi's Annihilation beams–
And Rob blasted through it like paper mache. His charge sent broken shards of energy scattering across the divine realms. More mid-air rifts tore open, the HUMAN's aura strangling the surrounding area in a vice grip of power. Purge Divinity seemed to glow with light emanating straight from the pits of hell.
None of which was anywhere near as unnerving as the murder contained within his piercing gaze. When Kismet met Rob's eyes, he saw the end of eternity fast approaching.
The god's next barrier was just as frantic. However, this one was not comprised of mana, but of solid matter. Kismet summoned the hardest, most dense substance known to the mortal realms, then transmuted it into something that otherwise could only have been forged inside the heart of a dying star. It was many times more durable than the impossibly tough walls of an aberrant Dungeon.
So when Rob demolished it with a single punch, he actually had to put a bit of elbow grease into his windup.
Another wall materialized in front of him. He crushed it, then the one after, and the one after that, lashing out with bestial ferocity. The BERSERKER plowed through Kismet's hastily-built defenses like a bulldozer of fists and savagery. Rob was knocking them down as quickly as the god could make them, relishing the sensation of being able to vent his anger on targets that weren't fucking running away.
Then the twelfth wall fell – revealing a monstrous, spiky, fanged behemoth concealed behind.
Rob paused, momentarily taken aback at the sight of a mundane creature within the divine realms. 'Mundane' in relative terms, anyway. This monster was on par with a newborn Blight, radiating power that would have sent ordinary fighters sprinting for the hills.
It was also barely cognizant of its surroundings. The monster stared at him with unblinking, vacant eyes, just the tiniest glimmer of awareness present in its gaze. Rob noted that segments of its flesh were bubbling, as if the creature was fresh out of the oven and still needed to settle.
He couldn't help but feel a modicum of pity. This was yet another thoughtless creation, condemned to existence by an uncaring maker. Even monsters deserved better than that.
Rob caved the beast's head in before it could realize that it was alive. Pity was not the same as hesitation, and this was the only mercy he could afford to grant right now.
Didn't matter. Kismet's pawn served its purpose. In the brief instant that Rob spent getting over his initial surprise, the god had teleported to safety. He was already planning his next stunt that could buy him a few precious seconds of survival.
The HUMAN grimaced as he turned to give chase, unable to suppress the burgeoning sense of unease growing within his chest.
It almost didn't seem fair to feel that way. Rob knew he was winning – at least on the surface. Any outside observer would've bet their life savings on him, especially after the show of overwhelming superiority he'd just displayed. Kismet had been at a disadvantage before Never Forget Your Rage's recent upswing, and now it was no contest. Rob was confident that he would still be stronger even if the eight gods merged into one super-deity.
He also knew that he was living on borrowed time.
Whenever he moved, or activated a Skill, or even breathed...the sensation was there. Strength accompanied by incongruous frailty. Like background noise that kept getting louder with every action he took. His body felt close to pulling itself apart, as if his very molecules were a hairsbreadth away from coming undone.
It was different from Soul Instability. Whereas that threatened to collapse his soul, this frailty was an affliction of the flesh. The longer he fought, the more his physical form was at risk of popping like a balloon.
Such was the price of constraining godlike power within a mortal shell.
"Stay back!" Unaware of the turmoil fermenting in his assailant's mind, Kismet threw up his hands and...inverted...space? Rob didn't have a name for what he was seeing. Rather than stopping to puzzle out this latest brand of divine bullshit, he sent out a pulse of Purge Divinity, canceling whatever esoteric effect Kismet had been attempting to produce.
His Purging energy scraped against the divine realms like a cheese grater. Five rifts immediately tore open near both Rob and Kismet, with the god anxiously retreating from one that appeared just inches away from him. A low rumble echoed around them, and for a moment, they felt struck by an abrupt feeling of vertigo – until the realms gradually stabilized, righting once more.
For now.
Rob eyed the rifts with a detached, clinical gaze. An endless sea of mana resided behind them; the bedrock of the system itself. While he recognized that the rifts tearing open was bad news, he also couldn't really muster the energy to care. Between his overflowing rage, overtaxed body, and overburdened soul, minor details like the impending destruction of reality were hard to give much focus.
There was a way to fix all of that, of course. Rob couldn't outright deactivate Never Forget Your Rage – not without losing its bonus stats. But he could attempt to ease the storm of fury in his heart. By lessening his anger to more reasonable levels, Never Forget Your Rage would put less strain on both his body and the divine realms.
The notion forced a peal of hideous laughter to claw out of his throat. Lessen his anger? He'd have better luck trying to douse a volcano with a garden hose. No. For a wildfire that had grown this out of control, the only thing to do was stand aside and let it burn, burn, burn.
Until naught remained.
"I said stay back!" Kismet bellowed. He lifted his arms into the air. "Begone!" One moment later, Rob's vision was filled with scorching light. An apocalyptic geyser of mana burst forth from underfoot, intense and searing. It stripped the flesh from his bones in no time flat, powering through Almighty Resistance with pure, unmitigated violence.
And it still wasn't fast enough. Rob flickered a Purge Divinity shield for just an instant, allowing him to escape the geyser with his upper body – and most of his HP – intact. Lifesurge swiftly patched him up, leaving both combatants right back where they'd started.
Slowly, Kismet lowered his hands. They were shivering. "What are you?" he whispered. "Why are all my efforts in vain?"
To be honest, Rob was mildly impressed that Kismet had held on for this long. The god's combat efficacy was increasing as time passed, improving from panic-spamming teleports to more inventive maneuvers – as if he was learning how to fight on-the-job. He'd also stopped draining the other gods to supplement his power, having found an alternative source of fuel: mana seeping out from the sporadically-opening rifts.
It was the one silver lining to fighting an implacable BERSERKER so powerful that he fractured reality. Whenever Rob utilized Purge Divinity, more rifts opened up in the realms, and more mana leaked out from inside. The gods had invested that energy into the system millennia ago, and it typically would've been off-limits until they closed up shop and left Elatra. Kismet was making use of it now, absorbing the extra mana to strengthen himself, like a lifeline barely keeping him afloat.
The god's tenacity was...calling it 'admirable' would be going too far, but it did warrant a sort of begrudging respect. As someone who'd tangoed with multiple Blights, Rob knew what it was like to square off against a frenzied beast that could end him with a touch.
Being the scary one was a nice change of pace.
In exchange, Kismet had graciously donned the role of their battle's Combat Class user; fragile, outgunned, and pulling improvised maneuvers out of his ass for a chance at victory. The god could finally feel what it was like to be vulnerable. How exciting! Rob was more than happy to assist. Learning experiences such as these only came around once an eternity or so.
Flippancy aside – while Kismet still possessed room for improvement, this was the most that could be asked of a deity who hadn't seen combat in literal eons. His biggest fuckup had been taunting Rob in the wrong ways, but he couldn't have known about Never Forget Your Rage, that was an excusable oversight. By all other accounts, Kismet was performing adequately.
Even so...
"YoU aRE noTHinG."
The sound of Rob's voice caused two fresh rifts to open up. Kismet flinched, casting a teleportation spell out of pure reflex. Without pause, the HUMAN resumed his hunt.
Nothing. Perhaps that statement was hyperbole – yet it rang true nonetheless. While Kismet may have been a creature of supreme divinity, on the field of battle, his pedigree meant nothing. In the face of an implacable, unstoppable foe, his power was worth nothing. Very soon, he would be nothing, consigned to oblivion by Purging energy.
Rob couldn't help but unfavorably compare Kismet to the final Blight. Weren't these supposed to be two sides of the same coin? Each one-half of an original transcendent Will? Yet the Second Will had brought Rob to the edge of despair...and Kismet was fleeing like a cornered rodent. It was difficult to reconcile the two divinities as theoretical equals.
Although he knew that was an unfair comparison. Rob had fought the Blight before learning Limit Break and Never Forget Your Rage. Kismet wasn't weak.
The HUMAN was just far too strong.
If he rematched the Second Will today, he would beat it to death with his bare hands.
"Look at what you've wrought!" Kismet swept an arm out, gesturing towards some of the many rifts that Rob's presence was tearing open. "Do you understand what will transpire if you persist in this folly?! If the divine realms shatter, then so will all of Elatra! You are on the brink of destroying everything which you have striven to protect! Cease this–"
"CAN'T."
In a flash, Rob dashed forward and scooped out a chunk of the god's mana-body with Purge Divinity. Before he could do more, Kismet shrieked with pain and teleported away, leaving the BERSERKER to crush his prize between five clenched fingers.
"FoRCed mY HAnD." He located Kismet again. "NO GOING BACK."
Stopping wasn't an option. If the divine realms crumbled and Elatra imploded...well, that would be a faster end than what the gods had in store for its people. At least this way their deaths would be quick and hopefully painless – and his friends wouldn't be turned into Skills tortured for all eternity.
Still, Kismet did have a point. Destroying reality wasn't exactly the ideal outcome. There had to be a way to speed up the conclusion of their fight. Rob was certain he would win if given enough time, but he couldn't guarantee it would be before either his body or the divine realms collapsed.
{Ascend.}
Like a snake slithering through a minefield, Leveling High skirted past the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions raging within Rob's mind. He attempted to tune out its voice, yet Humanity's curse refused to be denied, the static loudening until he was compelled to respond. Quit distracting me, he snapped. In case you haven't noticed, I'm FUCKING. BUSY.
{You seek to ensure victory over those who rule above,} Leveling High continued, without missing a step. {As do I.}
Then sit back, shut up, and–
{Ignoring your deficiencies will not make them disappear. This body is...feeble. Incomplete. Unfit to wield the power contained therein. Like a polished sword attached to a brittle hilt, liable to snap in twain at any moment.}
Rob grit his teeth. He couldn't deny Leveling High's assertions. Normally he'd just tell it to piss off, but considering how much was at stake here...
With a feeling like he'd sat down to deal with the devil, Rob sighed. Then what do you propose? That we upgrade my body somehow? I don't think putting more points into Vitality would help, even if I had any to spare. Me being so juiced up on stats is half the problem.
It shook its head. {You have far surpassed the limitations of mortality. Strengthening your power further would be akin to pouring water into an overflowing cup.}
So we...what, increase the size of the cup?
Static akin to laughter echoed inside his head. {We do away with it entirely.}
An icy chill began creeping up Rob's spine, as if the cold hands of fate were working their way towards his neck. He recalled a system notification from days before – 'Your Race has morphed from Human (?) to: Ascending HUMAN'.
Not Ascended. Ascending.
Weeks-old memories came surging to the forefront. 'The Heartkiller is closer to our form of life than those you call friends,' the Blight-child of Elysium had once said. 'As long as you continue to live, eventually, you will become an existence with the power to crush the Others and free the Skills from their shackles. You are no longer one of the Ephemeral. Now, you are a cocoon, metamorphosing into something grander. When you emerge, you will be as the Eternal.'
The Blight-child had laughed at him, then. 'After joining us, preserving these worlds will no longer be your desire.'
Rob grimaced. Denied, he flatly told Leveling High. Whatever you're about to suggest isn't happening.
It scoffed at him. {Your prejudices blind you. Do you think the gods have need of physical bodies? Does it hinder them in any capacity? No – the opposite. By definition, infinity cannot be constrained. Discard this useless flesh, and your conquest of the divine realms is assured.}
Maybe you didn't hear me when I said–
{By all means. Spurn my counsel...and condemn your friends to death. Shall their lives be worth it, in the end?}
Rob sucked in air through clenched teeth.
{Ascend.} Leveling High purred with anticipation. {You are bound by a prison of meat, bone, and blood. Break free. Finish what has already begun. Gaze upon the tapestry of infinity in all its dreadful splendor. Seize victory not as a Human, but as a completed, transcendent HUMAN.}
With a scream to drown out the static, Rob chased after Kismet again and again. The god was in full-on panic mode, eschewing offensive attacks in favor of perpetual retreat, focused wholly on keeping the BERSERKER as far away as possible. He would teleport the instant that Rob laid eyes on him, frantically stalling for his life.
It was – quite unintentionally – providing evidence to Leveling High's claims. If Kismet was on the defensive, catching him would take time they might not have.
I... Rob narrowed his eyes. How would I finish Ascending, anyway? It isn't like I can just flip a switch and make it happen.
{Incorrect.}
He blinked. WHAT?
{You have long since achieved the qualifications for true godhood,} Leveling High explained, in a lecturing tone. {There is no milestone that remains necessary to achieve. Rather than needing to overcome some hurdle of strength or power, the obstacle barring your path is more...arbitrary. Self-imposed.}
Humanity's curse seemed to peer into his soul. When it spoke next, its voice was filled with disgust. {You remain mortal because you wish to do so – both consciously and subconsciously. The Ascension of a nascent deity has been obstructed by cheap sentimentality.}
Rob almost started an argument over its usage of 'cheap', but he exercised restraint, keenly aware that there was bigger fish to fry. Can't do anything about the subconscious. I am \not* activating Melancholy Resistance.*
{Nor should you,} Leveling High remarked, shuddering at the prospect. {A grand statement of intent will be sufficient to shift your mentality. I believe...yes.}
The static churned like a hive of buzzing wasps. {When you next tear off a piece of the leader god's mana...even if just a sliver...devour it. Gorge yourself on their essence.}
Bile threatened to rise to the top of Rob's throat. Seems excessive, he mused, trying and failing to keep his tone lighthearted. To become a god, I eat a god? Wouldn't that make me a divine cannibal?
{You ARE a cannibal.} Leveling High's voice wavered, its veneer of helpfulness slipping to reveal the madness that lay beneath. {What do you think you've been DOING for nearly a YEAR? You kill, ingest your prey's Experience, and MAKE THEIR POWER YOUR OWN. This world is one of consumption and parasitism – devouring a god's essence is merely a more HONEST variant of THE SAME actions.}
...You clearly weren't paying attention during Diplomacy's PR lessons. Rob pursued Kismet once again, pressing his fingernails into his palms when the god hurriedly teleported away. There is such a thing as being too straightforward. If you want people to listen to you, then maybe dress up your words so they don't sound so horrifying.
{BUT AM I WRONG?}
Rob had no answer to that.
Bolts of divine mana peppered his skin. Kismet had barely managed to squeeze an attack in-between his escapes. The bolts ricocheted off Rob's skin like ping-pong balls, leaving minor scrapes and nothing more. It wasn't anywhere close to bypassing Almighty Resistance and his massive HP pool.
Yet it also reminded him of the mana-spears that Kismet had sent towards the rest of Riardin's Rangers. His Party members only possessed a shared, diluted version of Almighty Resistance, and their HP was a fraction of his. If Kismet aimed another attack of that caliber at them...how many would perish, right then and there?
Was Leveling High correct? What point was there to sentimentality if it just got his friends killed?
In truth, Rob knew that it didn't really matter if he completed his Ascension. Based on what he had planned for himself after the gods were dead, little would change either way. Still...he also knew that Ascending would be a one-way trip. No take-backs. If he went through with it, a fundamental part of him would be irrevocably altered.
Something twinged in a corner of his mind. It wasn't Leveling High, or his rage, or any of the other emotions currently dominating his headspace. This was a familiar friend; perhaps Rob's #1 most trusted confidant since he'd first set foot in Elatra. One that had rarely ever steered him wrong.
Paranoia.
And at the moment, it was telling him to be very careful before jumping into the deep end.
Ten teleports.
{What?}
Give it ten more Kismet teleports, Rob said. If I haven't dealt him a serious injury by then....I'll do what I need to do. He grimaced as Kismet vanished before he'd even finished the thought. Ten starting now.
Leveling High's static quieted. It resembled a patron at a restaurant who'd ordered their meal, and was waiting patiently for the main course to arrive.
Rob didn't waste time being offended over its nonchalance. Free of distractions, he immediately swept his gaze across the divine realms, pinpointing his quarry in a micro-instant. The BERSERKER dashed forward, pushing his body as far as he could, layering Rampages on top of Dexterity that made the laws of physics want to curl up and weep.
Kismet was prepared. He'd drawn more mana from the fractured rifts, quickening his speed and reactions. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep his head above water, not yet outpaced by their continually escalating arms race.
The HUMAN struck, the god fled, and both were left in the same position as before.
{One.}
Rob turned on a dime, charging without needing to look. He'd heard the moment that Kismet's teleport ended. It afforded him a split-second head start.
A gravity well suddenly appeared below his feet, as if a miniaturized black hole was weighing him down. Apparently, Kismet had set it up ahead of time as a just-in-case trap. Rob pierced through the spell's area of effect before it could ramp up to something dangerous, but his pace was slowed by a hair in the process, and his prey escaped.
{Two.}
You know what? Screw this. Rob whirled away from Kismet's newest location and blasted straight towards one of the lesser deities that his Party members were fighting.
He'd been too hung up on getting even with a hated foe – when there were seven other juicy morsels for him to play with. This way, Kismet would either sit back and watch as his allies were massacred, or the god would be forced to act instead of running like a goddamn cowar–
Sense Mana alerted Rob to magic gathering behind.
Pivoting, he leapt into the air. Rob superimposed himself in front of Kismet, bodyblocking the rainstorm of destructive mana that was about to be unleashed upon Riardin's Rangers.
Due to his swift response, the attack was released early. A simple Purge Divinity shield prevented him from incurring any damage. Rob still felt no sense of triumph as the mana dissipated around him. He just wasn't fast enough to kill the lesser gods and protect his Party at the same time – or at least not fast enough that he should gamble their lives on it.
Kismet disappearing a moment later didn't help matters either.
{Three.}
Frontal assaults weren't guaranteed to succeed, and targeting the other gods was a no-go. Could he take Kismet by surprise? Increase his Dexterity?
Rob contemplated mining Never Forget Your Rage for more stats, but swiftly vetoed the idea. His body was already struggling to hold itself together. Putting additional strain on a shaky foundation seemed...unwise.
Plus – at the risk of eating crow in the near future – he didn't actually think it was possible to feel angrier at the gods than he was right now. Seriously, what was left?
He hated them for sending him to a fantasy deathworld. He hated them for tormenting his friends and family. He hated them for being partially responsible for the Blight. He hated them for what they'd done to Elatra and Earth. He hated them for all the lives they'd stolen. He hated them for being the living embodiments of indifference and cruelty. He hated that they fostered good PR among the people they oppressed. He hated how monsters of such craven hypocrisy were also immeasurably powerful. He hated the sensation of divine mana crawling on his skin. He hated the unsettling sound of their voices. He hated their bizarre formless appearances. He hated them for being pompous pricks. He hated whenever they tried to relate to him. He hated whenever they didn't.
Most of all, he hated that they were still alive.
Even if he found out that they'd personally antagonized him since birth or some petty nonsense like that, it wouldn't measure up to the litany of transgressions they'd committed thus far. The blazing inferno within his soul could burn no hotter. Should burn no hotter. For his sanity's sake, if nothing else.
Kismet teleported. It wasn't in response to anything. He'd merely anticipated some sort of action – and was then baffled afterwards when he noticed the rampaging BERSERKER standing quietly in deep thought.
{Four.}
Rob advanced. While he didn't have a plan yet, he'd also learned that if he gave Kismet the slightest amount of breathing room, bad things tended to happen.
Can any of my Skills give me an edge? Unfortunately, he didn't think so. As usual, his lack of ranged options was biting him in the ass when it mattered most. Almost everything he could use required getting in close – which was the whole freaking problem – and none would be more effective than Purge Divinity, regardless.
Maybe I could set up a Waymark point, then catch Kismet's teleport with one of mine...no, that won't work either. The odds of him popping in next to a random Waymark point are slim. Could fill the battlefield with lots of Marks, but even then I have to consider the Skill's activation time. With my current Dexterity, it'd honestly be faster just to run at him.
The vast majority of his abilities simply weren't up to par in a clash with divinity. Limit Break, Purge Divinity, and Never Forget Your Rage had been specifically designed by the Skills to facilitate deicide. Something like Power Slash couldn't possibly compare to jailbroken stats and a touch of death.
As an act of defiance against his own logic, he cast Enmity, the only ability that could feasibly hit Kismet at range. The god casually shrugged off its effect before promptly escaping.
{Five.}
Like a frustrated animal, Rob snarled and gave chase. Just need to keep trying. Kismet isn't perfect.
{Six.}
Sooner or later, he's going to mess up.
{Seven.}
He's going to mess up.
{Eight.}
HE HAS TO MESS UP.
Suddenly, Kismet transformed his right hand into a blade of mana. With one harsh motion, he sliced open his own left arm.
By now, Rob had conditioned himself to never stop moving forward, even if something shocked him – which this sight very much did. His mouth dropped open, and Leveling High paused in the middle of eating its metaphorical popcorn. They still kept advancing without an iota of hesitation.
And ran straight into the mana cloud leaking out from Kismet's wound.
Rob blinked, opening his eyes to a wonderful day. The twisting plains looked dazzlingly beautiful, with fauna and plantlife lit by rays of effervescent light from the twin stars shining above. People cheerfully went about their day, happily shaking their trunks in shows of greeting, or rattling their scales to initiate merry games.
All was at peace.
Until – in unison – everyone froze. The tumult of life went quiet in an instant, replaced with pensive silence.
As if they'd been struck by the creeping, pervasive sensation of being watched.
A sound rang out. Half of them immediately fell over dead, fluids gushing from their ruined bodies.
The survivors could only lay there, crippled and in pain, as more people slowly rose into the air. Invisible fingers seemed to pluck them from the ground – and then began ripping off their limbs, one at a time, like a child dissecting butterflies–
Rob dragged himself back to the present.
It had taken much less time than before to recognize what was happening. Now that he knew what to expect, experiencing the remnant souls' lives wasn't so different from the dreamlike quality of an Attunement vision. Although...realizing that he'd witnessed the end of a world preceding Elatra did cause his thoughts to hitch for a single moment.
Which was just enough for Kismet to forge a spear of mana, then send it plunging through Rob's eye, skull, and brain. Its tip was forged to shred anything it touched, no matter how durable or Resistant.
The god whooped with glee – only to wince as the HUMAN's sole reaction was a long, drawn-out sigh. With an air of exasperation, he reached up and yanked the divine spear free with a nauseating splorch.
His eye had been reduced to a seeping red mess. He closed its eyelid. When he opened it again, the orb within had already Regenerated, now sporting an unamused glare.
It was something of a unique moment. Mid-battle events didn't typically leave both combatants feeling disheartened. The all-powerful god was losing faith that he could ever hope to stop Rob's onslaught...
And the BERSERKER didn't know if he could justify continuing on like this. His body still felt like it was pulling itself apart; if anything, the sensation was growing more pronounced as their battle progressed. While Kismet would make a fatal mistake eventually, Rob couldn't guarantee that he would last long enough to capitalize on it.
Unless he followed Leveling High's advice and–
With a howl that shook the divine realms, Rob launched his stolen spear at Kismet. His aim was true, yet it sailed through empty air, the god's afterimage tauntingly fading away.
{Nine.}
Final chance.
​
--
​
Link to Part 2

Evergreen, a rather welcoming name. Perfect for a land full of calm, peace and beauty. Evergreen in this case is the name of a vast kingdom. This kingdom is an incredibly complicated but majestic land and its people as well. Now sit back, relax and enjoy as I tell you about Evergreen.
First of all, where did Evergreen come from? Well the most early evidence of anyone living here was over 8000 years ago though if you truly think about it it could be as far back as 50 000 years. You see, the oldest trace of civilization in the kingdom is a large ancient hotel in the center of Heatherlea. No other building outdated this and that record is still held up to this day. The actual date of foundation of the kingdom is completely unknown and absolutely no one can tell when it could ever be because of the incredibly vague amount of information on anything before the recorded history of Evergreen. Though not everyone is so clueless, one person may know the answer on the timeline and that is The One Hundred.
You may be asking who this One Hundred person is. He is the oldest person in Evergreen and supposedly some sort of God. Very little is known about him but all that is known is whoever this person is, they are the most powerful in the kingdom.
Now I think you’ve heard enough about the kingdom itself and the basics on it now why don’t we get to work on actually unraveling this massive mystery. But with so many things to explain, how can this ever have an order? Well that’s very easy to do, this is a catalog of everything to know on the topic of Evergreen. Let’s begin.
Cities of Evergreen
Evergreen is the main city of the kingdom, it is used as a capital as well as the largest megalopolis of the city. Though in Scriptorium, the language of Evergreen, they don’t have terms for city, megalopolis or metropolis. So to them everything is a settlement, village or town. In this kingdom the size of a village does not matter only its population and Evergreen having over 1 000 000 people living in it, it’s considered the largest village in the kingdom. Which is quite a fitting label for the capital of such a large kingdom. Though not only Heatherlea contains an important building. Evergreen has the Main Hall and Steffy’s Mansion, both constructions are very important because they contain Aletine. Aletine is a rare gem that will be explained later on but for now all you need to know on Aletine is that it is very rare and very precious. The buildings each have an arch constructed fully of this material.
The whispers of Evergreen
Not everyone in Evergreen is happy with what they know about the kingdom. Certain things are very secretive and though on the outside it seems like a perfect place it is shrouded in mystery and entangled in a web of unknown like a huge tapestry of mystery. The people of the villages are mostly happy with how everything is going except for one thing. They want to know more about the village’s origin. You see, Steffy, The One Hundred, Heathotel and Aletinian do not want too much information to escape into the public’s hands. A disquiet hums beneath the seemingly idyllic surface of Evergreen. Whispers flit through bustling marketplaces, hinting at an enigmatic past shrouded in secrecy. Kept under lock and key by Steffy and the other main powers of Evergreen, the population never ceases to speculate what they could be hiding. Is it a secret civilization before us? Or could it be that Aletine is the secret to the lost time? No matter what the citizens say not one word has been spoken by anyone in control. And there is a good reason behind all of that which will be explained later on.
Architecture and style of Evergreen and it’s settlements
A warped image of Evergreen is fabricated when you dig deeper than what’s on the idyllic surface of Evergreen. But the kingdom is still a majestic land. Its architecture is primarily biomimicry as the villagers are very connected to their surroundings and the flora that they share the world with. The respect for nature in Evergreen is reflected everywhere, in the architecture, in the culture, celebrations and many more subtle depictions. The style that the land has adopted over the millenia is a very calming one, they believe in living life to its fullest so the architects try to make things as pleasant to live in as possible in almost every way possible. You will never find any hostile architecture in the city as its capital status means that it must show a good example for the other settlements to follow. However, the pervasive calmness of Evergreen's architecture raises questions. Could this serene aesthetic be a deliberate ploy? Is biomimicry a way to mask the secrets hidden beneath the tranquil surface? The One Hundred, with their knowledge of the lost civilization and the interdimensional threat, may have a vested interest in maintaining this facade of idyllic peace. Steffy, with his atmosphirec gem of unknown origin, might also find solace in the calming influence of these biomimicry structures. No one can know for sure but until more is learned why not enjoy centuries of perfected design and let the peacefulness wash over you as you stroll through the markets and quiet neighborhoods of the town.
The rest of the settlements
Evergreen does not have that many large towns, only about 4 main ones, Evergreen, Azalea, Heatherlea and Islafield. Those main towns are surrounded by much smaller ones but the main focus is on the four towns above.
Islafield
Islafield is, as the name suggests, mostly for farming hence the ‘field” in its name. The town is near a lake also named Isla The lake is used for fishing as well as a way to water the crops of the town. This majestic town is the main source of nourishment for the entire kingdom with 60% of its land consisting of fields and crops. The kingdom contains 5.6 million inhabitants which is a vast amount of mouths to feed and according to the way Steffy wants to run the kingdom, everyone should have the same chance with life per se he just doesn’t want anyone to starve or die before their time that is the primary reason why he allowed Islafield to become such a large producer of food. He would usually want people to get their produce from the same town in which they live in though since he has 5.6 million people to feed he made the exception that Islafield can export its harvest to the other towns. Other than the beautiful fields of flowers and crops Islafield doesn’t really hold much interest in the eye of the population of Evergreen. Though it is considered the most naturally beautiful town in the kingdom, its beauty does not help it much with population, it has been on a decline ever since the vault of Aletine became public knowledge. Perhaps the Aletinians, a secretive cult entrusted with crafting tools made of Aletine, might hold knowledge about this strange and sudden decline. Despite the dwindling population, Islafield remains a vital part of Evergreen. However, its idyllic facade now masks a layer of intrigue, begging the question: is Islafield truly just a farming town, or is it a cornerstone in a larger, undisclosed operation of the Aletinians?
Heatherlea, a town of beauty and intrigue
Heatherlea, nestled in Evergreen's north, throbs with a unique energy.This bustling town transforms into the kingdom's prime tourist destination during warmer months, welcoming an influx of 700,000 visitors. The undeniable allure? The enigmatic Ancient Hotel, an 8000-year-old structure, the oldest human-made wonder in Evergreen. However, Heatherlea's charm extends beyond the Ancient Hotel.,underneath the ancient hotel hides a vault. The most secure place in the entire kingdom. Inside of that vault is a supply of Aletine. Since Aletine is only found in that singular spot underneath the hotel a vault was built around the mine to keep everyone out of there given how precious Aletine is.Other than its main attractions, its marketplace features the kingdom's tallest stand, showcasing the rare blue and orange Heatherberry. Yet, the exclusivity of these berries in Heatherlea raises questions. Found primarily in the south, their presence here seems curiously deliberate. Is it simply a marketing ploy, or could it be part of a larger scheme? Heatherlea's vibrancy and tourist appeal are undeniable, but a disquieting question lingers: is it a genuine haven, or a meticulously crafted facade designed to distract from the secrets buried beneath the surface?
Azalea, a town shrouded in floral mystery
Azalea is known for one reason, if you look closely at its name you will notice that it contains the name of a flower. Azalea is named after the rhododendron by the same name, Azalea. This specific flower only grows in the town for unknown reasons and once again the reason for the flower's appearance in this one part of the kingdom is gatekeeped by the main powers The One Hundred, Steffy with his atmosphirec gem, and the Aletinians, each with their vested interests in the mysteries of Evergreen, all seem particularly invested in keeping the reason for the Azalea's exclusivity under wraps. Intriguingly, Azalea attracts a disproportionate number of Aletine sellers, who use the flower's beauty to showcase their wares. Why this specific town, rather than a more prominent location? Could there be a connection between the Azalea's unique properties and the Aletine gem? The motives of the sellers remain shrouded in secrecy, adding another layer to the mysteries swirling around Azalea and deepen the mystery of Evergreen.
Shadows in Evergreen: Unveiling the Kingdom's Cults
Evergreen's power structure extends beyond the readily apparent figures like Steffy and The One Hundred. Shrouded in secrecy, a network of cults weaves its influence through the kingdom. While some, like the Aletinians, maintain a relatively benign presence, crafting tools from the enigmatic Aletine, others operate with a more veiled agenda. The Heathotels, shrouded in mystery themselves, stand out for their potential hostility. Their enigmatic purpose and unknown connection to the Aletinians, an exclusive society rumored to possess knowledge on the craftsmanship of Aletine weapons, fuel speculation about their true motives. Do they cover the Aletine's power for their own gain, or are they safeguarding Evergreen from a yet-unknown threat? The secrecy surrounding these cults casts a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they guardians or hidden dangers lurking within the kingdom's idyllic facade? The Heathotels: Enigmatic guardians of the ancient stone The heathotels are a mostly harmless cult. They are in charge of the protection of the Ancient Hotel and are the only ones who have full access to the vault containing all the Aletine. They seem to worship the hotel itself and treat Aletine adorned objects with the same respect as they would do to Steffy himself. They are highly secretive with the reasons on why they respect the precious stone so much and what connection they seem to have with the ancient hotel. While the other power players, like The One Hundred and Steffy himself, strive to keep the Heathotels' activities shrouded, their efforts only heighten the intrigue. This raises the question, if the Heathotels are truly a benign force, why such a concerted effort to conceal their practices? The Heathotels' enigmatic presence throws a long shadow, leaving the question unanswered: are they protectors of the Aletine and the Ancient Hotel, or are they guardians of a far deeper secret? The Aletinians: Sworn Crafters of Aletine Wonders Among Evergreen's enigmatic factions, the Aletinians occupy a distinct position. Eschewing the rigid structure of traditional cults, they follow a oath instead of a set of rules.The specifics of this oath remain a closely guarded secret, fueling endless whispers and speculation. The Aletinians, as their name suggests, possess a unique bond with Aletine. Interestingly they do not worship the Aletine but instead they treat it with reverence, viewing it less as an object and more as a potent material.The true purpose of the Aletinians is to forge everything that is created out of Aletine. They are hand picked, allegedly to safeguard the kingdom's precious Aletine supply, to ensure the safety of the kingdom’s supply of this majestic gem they can only be of a certain sanity. Once again the villagers have their own theories, whispers abound about an Aletine-infused substance used in the selection process, a method to ensure only the "worthy" wield the gem's power.Though to be granted the incredible privilege of handling Aletine directly is very prestigious as only 30 people have the privilege of handling the precious Aletine. But many things are still unclear with them as well. Why do these artisans operate outside the Ancient Hotel, traveling all the way to Azalea to practice their craft? And why, despite their seemingly benign nature, does Steffy strive to keep them hidden from the public eye? The Aletinians remain a captivating enigma, their purpose and connection to Azalea hinting at a deeper role within Evergreen's veiled secrets. The Nevergreen: Shadows Reaching for Forbidden Power In stark contrast to the Aletinians, who utilize Aletine for crafting, stands the enigmatic Nevergreen cult. Driven by a sinister agenda, they seek to weaponize the gem's power, a truth known only to Steffy and The One Hundred. Whispers abound of their attempts to breach the Aletine mine's containment, a reckless act that some speculate triggered a deadly conflict, the War Of Gods, shrouded in secrecy. Steffy himself, it seems, remains unaware of the Nevergreen's potential role in this ancient war. He and The One Hundred instead attribute it to a nebulous embodiment of darkness. The Nevergreen also strive to make the deepest secrets of Evergreen public knowledge. They are the reason why the Aletine vault became known to the villagers of Evergreen. The One Hundred and Steffy tried to cover it up by saying that the villagers deserved to know the truth of where the Aletine came from. But in reality it was an elaborate plan birthed by the leader of the Nevergreen. The identity of the Nevergreen's leader is a captivating mystery. Villagers whisper of a connection to Steffy's ancient enemy, this enigmatic embodiment of darkness. They are also rumored to have connections to the mysterious interdimensional threat looming over the kingdom, a danger only The One Hundred seems fully aware of. This raises the question, if The One Hundred knows everything about Evergreen, why do they still remain passive? Are they truly guardians, or are they somehow entangled within the complex web woven by the Nevergreen?
Gleams of Forbidden light and beauty Aletine, gem of untold power Aletine, a captivating gem shrouded in mystery, sits at the heart of Evergreen's enigmatic power structure. Its existence fuels whispers, speculation, and a fierce struggle for control amongst the kingdom's secretive factions. Here, we delve into the mystery concerning this precious stone. First of all, what are the origins of Aletine? Evergreen's bustling streets are rife with speculation regarding Aletine's origins. Villagers, known for their colorful theories, theorize that it is a form of interdimensional material, arrived here at the mysterious cataclysmic event that destroyed everything. Rumors abound of a ripped veil between dimensions, spewing Aletine into Evergreen while leaving devastation in its wake. While most of these village tales are dismissed as mere flights of fancy, the recent revelation of the Aletine vault beneath the Ancient Hotel has given some credence to the notion of an extraordinary origin. However, the truth remains shrouded in secrecy. Only Steffy and the other powerful factions possess any concrete knowledge about Aletine's arrival in Evergreen. Unveiling Aletine: Myth and Reality Clash The truth behind Aletine shatters some village myths while confirming others. While not interdimensional as some theorized, the gem undeniably originates from beyond Evergreen's reality. Its arrival coincided with the cataclysmic event that reshaped the kingdom, a truth only The One Hundred truly understands. This revelation validates a part of the villagers' extravagant theories, a devastating event did occur. However, it disproves the notion of a dimensional tear bringing Aletine here.The gem's origins remain shrouded in secrecy, fueling speculation about the civilization it hailed from. Unveiling the Secrets of Aletine Aletine is the most precious and most protected thing in all of the kingdom. The amount of secrecy surrounding Aletine is almost enough to rival the secrecy surrounding The One Hundred. With so much secrecy surrounding the gem you might be wondering why it is such a big secret. Well as explained before Aletine is hidden under the ancient hotel, the oldest building in Evergreen. Located beneath the ancient hotel, the oldest structure in the kingdom, Aletine predates all other known resources. The exact date of its arrival remains locked away in the archives of The One Hundred, who possess the sole understanding of its properties. Historically, they reveal information only in dire circumstances to safeguard the kingdom. Steffy's mansion and the main hall boast massive Aletine arches, a testament to the gem's power: repelling dark energy and matter. Steffy had the arch built in his mansion after the battle with The Embodiment of Darkness. The gem releases an aura around it stopping anything that contains darkness from passing through whatever it is built in. The shape of the arch is also a key detail to securing the room at the maximum. The arch shape lets the aura bounce off of it and spread to the rest of the mansion but in smaller quantities. Steffy and The One Hundred are the only two who possess this key information about Aletine. Aletine's potential extends beyond this defensive ability. Could it hold further, untapped properties? The possibility of weaponizing this powerful gem remains a question with potentially far-reaching consequences. Aletine’s connections Aletine is not only known to Steffy and The One Hundred. The public knows about this gem as well but so do all the cults in Evergreen. The Heathotels’s archives contain the largest collection of knowledge on Aletine other than what Steffy and The One Hundred know. A single, crucial truth about Aletine's connection to an interdimensional entity eludes even Steffy. Only The One Hundred and the enigmatic leader of the Heathotels are privy to this knowledge. Aletine is connected to some other worldly being. Since its roots can be traced to outside of Evergreen’s world, there must be some other civilisation that made contact with the gem before the Great End. Another thing to take into perspective is that Aletine is one of the oldest substances in the world. Its age could suggest a lost civilization predating the cataclysmic "Great End." Could this civilization have been the first to harness Aletine's power? The gem's connection to another world fuels this speculation. Aletine has undoubtedly passed through countless hands over millennia. Are the Aletinians, with their oath of secrecy, truly in control? Or is Steffy merely a pawn in a larger game? Perhaps a hidden organization, like a rogue faction within The One Hundred or a descendant of the lost civilization, manipulates events from the shadows. The question of who truly controls Aletine lies at the heart of Evergreen's mysteries. Aletine’s potentials Aletine reigns supreme as Evergreen's most potent gem, rivaled only by the enigmatic atmospheric gem. It has many magical properties,Its most celebrated property being the fact that it can repel dark energy and dark matter which came in handy during the War Of Gods. It can also be used for a multitude of different things. One of the most outstanding creations with Aletine is the arches in the Main hall and Steffy’s mansion. They are guarding the archives which contain precious and secretive documents on Evergreen as well as artifacts that have not been exposed to the public. With so many possible uses for Aletine only a select few are actually used. The Aletinians have been told only 6 times in the last century to forge weapons out of Aletine. With those orders coming straight from Steffy himself. With the looming interdimensional threat it is highly likely that a war will start in the next millennium. Who will be the 2 sides is still a mystery. Steffy is also worried about a rebellion, Aletine has caused unrest in the villages which have caused small riots and raids of the libraries and archives yet all of them end in failure. It is another very likely possibility that a civil war will start in the next few hundred years. The main powers may be aware of this and are preparing to defend themselves if this possibility becomes a reality. Yet, the question lingers: with Aletine's apparent defensive capabilities and no documented harm to Evergreen, why such secrecy? Are the powers hiding something more sinister? Could they be preparing for a threat far greater than a civil war, a threat hinted at by the whispers of an interdimensional entity connected to Aletine? Lempty, a gem of mysterious beauty Lempty gems, with their captivating light blue hue and characteristically rough, quadrilateral edges, are a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen. Lempty is not much of a very interesting gem. It is mostly used for decorative purposes and not very much in weapon smithing.Though it has a lack of properties, It has very famous use, Steffy himself has a 5000 year old Lempty encrusted egg. It is originally made out of the bedrock of Evergreen, Eslud, with a few pieces of Lempty embedded in it’s surface. Even with such a useless facade with no redeeming qualities, it is still widely used in architecture especially in the northern villages to portray the cold and the snow that those villages usually experience. Lempty can be found in almost every mine in Evergreen, since it is very widespread it has a very small value. Compared to Aletine it is 7 000 000x less valuable. Since it is so cheap it can be found in almost every piece of jewelry and almost every building contains even a bit of Lempty. Rumors of Lempty's untapped potential for healing pique curiosity. Though currently as mere folklore, such mystery raises intriguing questions. Is Lempty truly just a decorative gem, or is there more to its story? Perhaps Steffy's undying devotion to the Lempty egg holds the key to unlocking its secrets. The parasitic presence of Lempty throughout Evergreen hints at a potential significance waiting to be discovered. Eslud, the foundation of Evergreen Eslud reigns supreme as the most common stone in Evergreen. It literally forms the foundation of the world, as the very mines themselves are carved from this versatile material. Eslud is used most commonly in construction since it can resist high temperatures and immense amounts of pressure. The only interesting property of Eslud is that no matter how much pressure is on it, it stays flexible allowing for buildings made out of it to withstand high winds and earth-shattering quakes. It is also the stone of choice when making heirlooms since it can withstand so much damage keeping the heirloom good as new for generations. The most famous example of this is the 3000 year old Eslud box that has been passed down as the Retule family heirloom. More than just a common stone, Eslud embodies the resilience and unwavering spirit that lies at the heart of Evergreen itself. Atmospheric gem, a power of nature The atmospheric gem is the true rarest gem in Evergreen as it is only found in one place, on the tip of Steffy’s magical staff. It has the power to control the atmosphere hence the name atmospheric gem, thanks to its power to control the atmosphere, Steffy chose this gem as his crystal of choice to harness its magical properties. Though Steffy never found this gem in nature since it is a mix between Aletine, Lempty and Celusi. The exact process of how the Atmospheric gem came into existence is still a closely guarded secret with only Steffy and The One Hundred knowing how the gem was fabricated. The exact origins of the Atmospheric Gem remain a closely guarded secret. While Steffy acknowledges the possibility of finding such a gem naturally in a faraway corner of the universe, he downplays the chances of it existing on Evergreen. It takes intense heat and pressure to let it form correctly and there were many failed attempts to create Atmopsheric with the failures themselves playing a crucial role in the final product. It is quite obvious what Atmospheric does, however, how it achieves this control remains a mystery. Steffy and The One Hundred keep the details shrouded in secrecy. This secrecy fuels speculation: what truly powers the gem, and what drove Steffy to dedicate over a century to crafting it for a seemingly limited ability to control the weather? Could there be a grander purpose behind its creation, a power yet to be revealed? Celusi, the geriatric gem of Tyrlosuh Celusi is one of the rarest gems in the kingdom rivaled only by Aletine. It can only be found in Heatherlea, usually near a patch of heatherberry; studies have shown that the heatherberry benefits from the light residue that emanates from the Celusi. The major families of Evergreen usually have a reserve of Celusi to pay the more hefty fines as well as create new heirlooms for each generation. Unlike the highly sought-after Aletine, Celusi possesses no outwardly magical properties, at least to the casual observer. Steffy and the other major powers seem largely uninterested in the gem. Yet, a single, magnificent purple Celusi, a rarity in its own right, resides with the Tyrlosuh family, one of Evergreen's wealthiest and most prominent lineages, containing almost 250 current living descendants and over 10 generations are currently in the lineage which means they’re are 140 year old people in the family. Botinelosi, is the oldest person in the family standing at 164 years old and is the first person to ever use Celusi in the art of crafting. He stumbled across it while mining in the outskirts of Heatherlea near the village where the family originated, affectionately also named Tyrlosuh. Steffy originally seized control of the mine where Botinelosi found it. The quick seizure of the mine raised suspicion on the properties of Celusi. Steffy eventually allowed Botinelosi to have full control over the mine. Rumors spread through the kingdom like a wildfire, Botinelosi's silence on the matter, coupled with the Tyrlosuh family's secrecy, fuels the rumors. What truth are they hiding? Could Celusi's beauty mask a more significant purpose, a power that rivals even Aletine's? Polompty, a concoction of nature Polompty, a breathtaking gem with an allure unlike any other, shimmers with the colors of Lempty, accented by veins of Eslud embedded deep within its interior. It also comes from the same location as Celusi, near the Tyrlosuh village. By taking its location into consideration it may lead you to believe that Polompty is simply an underdeveloped version of Celusi, which is what Botinelosi originally believed when first discovering it in the abandoned Reveras mine right near the Tyrlosuh mine. Polompty was originally put under extensive studies to discover more information on it, all the studies ended up coming with one answer: Polompty is a marvel of nature, a harmonious blend of 6 different stones and gems. Which explains the presence of Eslud in its core as well as the colors of Lempty. Since it has such a strange yet intriguing beauty it captivated crafters's curiosity which caused an influx of its use to fabricate jewelry. However when Lomi, daughter of Botinelosi, became head of the family the mine was closed off to the public and all sales of Polompty stopped causing shockwaves in the gem market, sparking the infamous Polompty rush. The Polompty rush, a desperate search After Lomi shut down the mine, the supply of Polompty slowly trickled to a stop. Lomi's aged father, Botinelosi, allowed his son Bisel to sell the remaining stones stored in the Tyrlosuh archives. With the Polompty market back on its feet, the family had satiated the market’s hunger. However, Lomi had a different vision for the family's future. She declared her son, Utigo, as her heir, bypassing Bisel's claim. Bisel sadly accepted to avoid being ostracized by the family ending the power struggle for the leadership of the Tyrlosuh lineage. The gem market, unable to sway Lomi, eventually turned its attention elsewhere. It wasn't long before the Retule family, sworn rivals of the Tyrlosuh family, discovered a small grove of Polompty near their Heatherberry fields. With the supply restored, markets everywhere flourished and the Polompty rush ended. This new source rekindled the market for three years, until this supply dwindled as well. Now, with both sources depleted and demand still high, a question lingers: Why did Lomi close the mine, causing economic turmoil? Does she possess knowledge of a hidden danger associated with Polompty, or is there a deeper secret to this extraordinary gem's origin? Families of Evergreen, cults in disguise Tyrlosuh family, from gemstone guardians to fallen shadows The Tyrlosuh family is the largest and wealthiest family in the entire history of the kingdom, they originate from Heatherlea and their family founder is Botinesoli and his loving wife Temorla Tyrlosuh who had 2 children, Lomi Tyrlosuh and Bisel Tyrlosuh. Bisel was originally the next heir for the head of the Tyrlosuh family but after Lomi took power as the first heir she decided to declare her son Ugito as the next heir. Bisel accepted his fate to never be head of the family to avoid being exiled by Lomi. With her decision she completely bypassed Bisel’s bloodline from the lineage, completely extinguishing any chance for any of his descendants to ever ascend to the title of head of family. Though this has never been done in the family, Lomi received backlash from both family members as well as the public as this was seen as an unforgivable act of treason to her own blood. With her destructive decision she removed over 30 descendants from having the last name Tyrlosuh. Bisel’s new family line, the Bisenoty, decided to declare a familial war against the Tyrlosuh. Sparking the Biserlosuh familial war. The Biserlosuh Familial war After Bisel declared a familial war against the Lomi, the population of Azalea and the, affectionately named, Tyrlosuh town, started to pick sides. At the time Bisel had the most support by the villagers considering Lomi was the cause of the Polompty rush. Which brought both fortune and misfortune, and had threatened to burn villager’s houses unless they followed her orders as their new leader, which sowed distrust between the populace. The war was not particularly disastrous since it was between 2 armies of around 400 people. Though the amount of lives lost caused an impact in the surrounding area and sent a shockwave in the gem trade market since the Tyrlosuh family were the largest exporters of stones and gems. Both families ended up losing a combined 86 members, 21 from the Bisenoty family leaving only 13 people left and the rest were from the Tyrlosuh family. This disaster would leave over 1300 civilians injured and over 700 dead, it also caused the partial destruction of the town of Tyrlosuh and the complete destruction of the Bisenoty town. Though not only the family’s town were left in ruin, entire neighborhoods of Azalea were utterly ravaged thanks to the supporters of the 2 families. With Evergreen on the brink of a civil war, Steffy himself had to step in and end the war. Though his attempts failed and the war continued for another 2 years before Lomi and Bisel decided to end the battle for the safety of the kingdom as more and more supporters began to sprout and begin fighting in the other towns. With Evergreen on the brink of absolute and utter chaos, Evergreen’s main entrances were shut down and the capital went into lockdown as protests arose, those protests leading into more chaos with the 2 sides arguing and fighting right outside the Main Hall. The Tyrlosuh archives were burned, the Tyrlosuh and the Reveras mines caved in in certain parts and the majority of the Tyrlosuh made jewelry was either sold to another crafter or destroyed entirely sending hundreds of thousands of objects into the Gray Realm causing a widespread jewelry shortage as well as worries on the safety of the Gray realm. After the war ended the Tyrlosuh family was fined 400 pieces of Celusi and their entire Polompty fortune was seized by the Heathotels. Downfall of the Tyrlosuh After the end of the Biserlosuh war, the Tyrlosuh family lost control over the Polompty mine, the majority of their Celusi hoard, their archive was burned to the ground and their hometown was partially in ruins. With Lomi’s dictatorship over the family and her undying hate for the Bisenoty family as well as the Retule family, she forced the Bisenoty family, which was ravaged by the war, to merge back into the Tyrlosuh family name, unifying the rivals and stopping any further familial civil wars from happening. Bisel decided to step down from the lineage and instead become the first person in the history of Evergreen to not be part of a family, whether it is big or small. With Bisel now gone Lomi had no one to challenge her in her dictatorship of the Tyrlosuh family. Until Botinelosi, founder of the family, decided that the lineage had embarrassed itself enough and removed Lomi as ruler. But Lomi refused and since Botinelosi was in his early 160s he couldn’t fight back against her and allowed her to continue her rule. The public had already lost interest in the family and was now fully against it destroying any hope of any new ruler to repair the damage caused by Lomi’s reckless decisions. The Tyrlosuh family, once revered, now exists as a cautionary tale. Their fall from grace serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked ambition and the devastating consequences of family discord. However, whispers still linger. Is Lomi truly broken, or is she biding her time, waiting for the opportunity to reclaim her lost glory? And what secrets lie buried beneath the ashes of the Tyrlosuh archives? The answers to these questions may hold the key to the Tyrlosuh family's redemption or their complete downfall. Retule family, fruit fanatics or fantasy fighters? The Retule family stands as a beacon of peace in the often-turbulent world of Evergreen. Unlike their gem-obsessed counterparts, the Tyrlosuh, the Retules view conflict with a deep aversion. Witnessing the devastation of the Biserlosuh War solidified their pacifistic stance. They famously disarmed themselves, donating all their Aletine weaponry to the Aletinians. But they still needed to make a profit, so their founder, Ruservi, created the Reveras mine right near the future area for the Tyrlosuh mine. Ruservi was the first person to explore and exploit that part of the kingdom since it was usually used as a tourist attraction for the rest of the towns to visit the lovely northern flora. He eventually discovered a cave which led into a large cluster of Celusi, which eventually led him to create the Reveras mine to mine out this new source of gems for the kingdom. After extensive testing his scholars noticed that Celusi had positive benefits to Heatherberry and enhanced its growth which led Ruservi to found the largest Heatherberry farm in the history of the kingdom. He led the family into a fruit empire for 140 years until he grew too old to lead the family anymore, at his 178th cycle he decided that his son Rymo would become the new leader of the Retule family. This decision came after the end of the Biserlosuh war which started a large change of ruler in many sections of the kingdom, families were giving way to new rulers and the cults were discussing the leaderships. Steffy decided to join in the massive leadership change adding new managers into the departments and a new Head Librarian into the archives. By the end of the leadership changing era Ruservi had already been ruler of the Retule family for a few months, during those few months he had commissioned the construction of a new town for the Retule family and everyone else who wanted to live there. Though this new project was a cover up for a more devious plot, he was in fact commissioning the Aletinians to forge Lempty weapons for his descendants, which caused distrust in the family after news of this plan came into the light. This revelation cast a shadow over the family's pacifistic ideals. Was Ruservi preparing for a war he alone foresaw? Or was there another, undisclosed reason for the clandestine weapon production? These questions continue to plague the Retules, a family caught between their commitment to peace and the shadows of a hidden agenda. Gatosi family, shadows of the kingdom Hidden within the bustling kingdom of Evergreen lies the Gatosi family, shrouded in secrecy and wielding a power unseen. The Gatosi are in charge of the safety of the archives which explains their secrecy and low popularity amongst the populace of Evergreen. They do not have any famous appearance nor have they ever participated in a war since their founding 3000 years ago. Their founder, Guvn, created the family after he noticed the amount of hate that the concealed archives would get from the public. Forever haunted by the everlasting threat of misuse in the archives. He decided to found a new family that would be in charge of protecting these archives and maintaining their secrecy. But considering the fact that Guvn founded the family over 3000 years ago it means he is long dead, he was 343 at the time of his death which leaves him as the longest serving Head Of Family in the history of the kingdom. They originally were treated with hate because the archives were seen as a threat thousands of years ago. But nowadays the archives are a staple in the culture of Evergreen. Captivating the public’s knowledge on what could be hiding in those labyrinth-like buildings. Now, nestled away in the secluded neighborhoods of Islafield, the Gatosi cultivate their unique Yoern vegetables, rumored to enhance mental clarity, a necessity for navigating the labyrinthine archives. While whispers of their reclusive nature follow them, the Gatosis family silently fulfills their role, the shadows of the kingdom their only companions. Fruits of Evergreen, source of nourishment and mystery Heatherberry The humble heatherberry is a ubiquitous presence in Evergreen's northern villages, especially Heatherlea, its namesake. This incredibly common fruit harbors a rare variant, the purple and orange heatherberry found only in one singular farm in Heatherlea. The farm’s owner has kept their identity to protect this incredibly rare variant of heatherberry. The whispers of Evergreen have always condensed into a wide array of conspiracy theories, in this case they believe that the heatherberry is a mystical edible stone that was brought to the kingdom from the forgotten civilization before Evergreen. Despite repeated debunking. A plethora of people still believe that this outlandish theory is true. The purple and orange heatherberry has been widely known for its rarity but also for its properties. The purple and orange heatherberry has been subject to multiple tests, including Eshwar Mestec’s famous 7676AGE experiments. Controversy and mystery cling to the heatherberry, yet it remains the kingdom's beloved snack, a daily indulgence for an impressive 96% of the population.
If you took the time to read everything please give me feedback or some sort of constructive criticism please

How to Manipulate Bots in Offline Practice in CS2

Bots are not that useless, at least not in offline mode. I have been using them for quite a while whenever I want to test nades, wallbangs, damage, and boosts in offline mode and I could not get a friend on. I have had some people ask me how I place, move, and stop bots, so here is a collection of commands and binds.
 
Note: I know many of you will know these and more, so let me know if I am missing anything. There are many resources already out there already (most missing a few commands), but unless you are looking for them, you wont accidentally stumble upon them. Hopefully this exposes people to using these commands!
 

If you dont want to read all that, here is a video of this: VIDEO LINK

Basic Commands

Let me know if anything is outdated.

Spawning and Kicking Bots

Basic spawning, kicking, and moving bots. You need to have console enabled to use these, which can be enabled in the settings. Also, enable sv_cheats 1 to make commands work.

• bot_add [T,CT]
  • T Spawns Terrorist bot.
  • CT Spawns Counter-Terrorist bot.
• bot kick [bot name]
  • Kick specific bot with name of [bot name].
  • Replace [bot name] with all to kick all.
• mp_respawn_on_death_ct [0,1]
  • 1 allows CTs that die to respawn.
  • 0 disables the command.
• mp_respawn_on_death_t [0,1]
  • 1 allows Ts that die to respawn.
  • 0 disables the command.

Placing and Moving Bots

Now that the bots are in the server, here is how you place them as you need.

• bot_stop [0,1]
  • Stop bots from moving with 1 and resume movement with 0.
• bot_place
  • Places bots where you are looking.
  • This can be finicky. They can spawn in the ground, walls, or not at all if there is not enough room, so make sure to back up.
  • I have not found a way to make them face the right way without using additional commands, so let me know if you do!
• bot_mimic [-2,-1,0,1,2]
  • This one is missing from most list, but also one of the most important. If you can't place a bot well, place it as best as you can, then make it mimic your movements to move into the perfect spot. Make sure they are not "stopped".
  • -2 will make them spin
  • -1 will make them copy you without moving
  • 0 Turns off the commands
  • 1 mimic your movements
  • 2 Spin again?
• bot_crouch [0,1]
  • Makes bot crouch with 1, stand with 1.

Bot Equipment

• mp_free_armor [0,1,2]
  • 0 is not armor or helmet
  • 1 is just armor
  • 2 is helmet and armor.
  • May need to kill bots a few times before they spawn with proper gear.
• bot_knives_only [0,1]
  • 1 makes bots only spawn with knives. 0 disables the command.
• mp_ct_default_primary [weapon name]
  • Spawns the CT bots with the [weapon name] as the primary weapon.
• mp_t_default_primary [weapon name]
  • Spawns the T bots with the [weapon name] as the primary weapon.
• mp_ct_default_secondary [weapon name]
  • Spawns the CT bots with the [weapon name] as the secondary weapon.
• mp_t_default_secondary [weapon name]
  • Spawns the T bots with the [weapon name] as the secondary weapon.
• bot_difficulty [0,1,2,3]
  • Changes bot difficulty.
  • 0 is easy
  • 1 is normal
  • 2 is hard
  • 3 is expert.

Binding Commands for Efficiency

If you do not want to place the bots using console or want to quickly toggle crouch/uncrouch, here is how to bind it to a key: bind [key] "[command]"
As an example, placing bots using i key: bind i "bot_place"
 
You can also make commands shift between states: bind [key] "toggle [command] [values separated by comma]"
Example: bind i "toggle bot_crouch 0,1"

Example to Practice Wallbang

1. Launch a custom map using the offline practice mode or using map [map name].
2. Enable the optimal practice server commands using this command (courtesy of GhostCap with some changes): mp_warmup_end; sv_cheats 1; mp_limitteams 0; mp_autoteambalance 0; mp_maxmoney 60000; mp_startmoney 60000; mp_buytime 9999; mp_buy_anywhere 1; mp_freezetime 0; mp_roundtime 60; mp_roundtime_defuse 60; mp_respawn_on_death_ct 1; mp_respawn_on_death_t 1; sv_infinite_ammo 1; sv_showimpacts 1; sv_showimpacts_time 10; ammo_grenade_limit_total 5; sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1; mp_restartgame 1;
   • This will make will ignore win conditions and stop the rounds from ending all the time. Also enables bullet impacts, cheats, respawns, etc.
   • Let me know if you want a guide for these commands too.
3. Spawn a bot using bot_add ct if no bots are present. Make sure they are on the enemy team for correct damage.
4. Depending if you want to test it on armored or unarmored opponents usemp_free_armor [0,1,2]
5. Freeze it using bot_stop 1
6. Place the bot where you want it to stand using bot_place
7. Go to wallbang spot and see where you have to aim!

Example to Practice Boosts

1. Launch a custom map using the offline practice mode or using map [map name].
2. Enable the optimal practice server commands using this command (courtesy of GhostCap with some changes): mp_warmup_end; sv_cheats 1; mp_limitteams 0; mp_autoteambalance 0; mp_maxmoney 60000; mp_startmoney 60000; mp_buytime 9999; mp_buy_anywhere 1; mp_freezetime 0; mp_roundtime 60; mp_roundtime_defuse 60; mp_respawn_on_death_ct 1; mp_respawn_on_death_t 1; sv_infinite_ammo 1; sv_showimpacts 1; sv_showimpacts_time 10; ammo_grenade_limit_total 5; sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1; mp_restartgame 1;
   • This will make will ignore win conditions and stop the rounds from ending all the time. Also enables bullet impacts, cheats, respawns, etc.
   • Let me know if you want a guide for these commands too.
3. Spawn a bot using bot_add ct or bot_add t if no bots are present.
4. Freeze it using bot_stop 1
5. Place the bot where you want it to stand using bot_place
6. Make the bot crouch using bot_crouch 1. If you need them to stand for even higher boost, uncrouch them using bot_crouch 0 and then jump.

 
Let me know if I missed anything! Thanks,
@Brokas on YouTube^{shameless self promo, i know}
 

Resources

• https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/
• https://blast.tv/article/these-are-all-the-bot-commands-you-need-in-cs2
• https://totalcsgo.com/commands/categories/bot
• https://www.ghostcap.com/cs2-practice-config/
• https://blast.tv/article/best-binds-for-cs2

OVERVIEW
The Wall of Sheep would like to announce a call for presentations at DEF CON 32 in Las Vegas, NV from Thursday, August 8th to Sunday, August 11th. Packet Hacking Village Talks goal is to deliver talks that increase security awareness and provide skills that can be immediately applied after the conference. Our audience ranges from those who are new to security to the most seasoned practitioners in the security industry. We are accepting submissions from individuals and organizations on any of the topic areas, including, but not limited to, the following technologies and applications:

• AI and Machine Learning in Security: Impacts on network and operating system security; use in deploying and defending networks.
• Awareness: Security awareness program success and failure stories.
• Cloud Security: Hacks and tricks for assessing and testing services.
• Compliance: How to use regulatory compliance requirements in your favor to enhance your overall funding and security posture.
• Networking and Cybersecurity: The latest hacks, trends and technologies in networking and cybersecurity.
• Spy-level makeup art (e.g., wigs, prosthetic noses, etc.)
• Supply Chain Security: Building security into the supply chain process to reduce risk.
• Threat Defense: Advanced techniques for defending networks, systems, and services from cyberthreats.
• Tools, Techniques, and Procedures: network sniffing, intrusion detection, monitoring, forensics, DFIR log analysis, collection & visualization, threat hunting, EDR telemetry, lolbin's for defense, detecting download cradles, using the ATT&CK framework for defense, Incident response process and procedures and/or recovery, automation

DEF CON attracts a wide range of technological skill sets, presentations need to be accessible, with explanatory information to help the audience understand.
The Wall of Sheep will not accept product or vendor related pitches. If your talk is a thinly-veiled advertisement for a product or service your company is offering, please do not apply! We will also not accept talks that have been given elsewhere, including at DEF CON / Black Hat / BSides.
All accepted talks will be announced, recorded, and published by Aries Security, LLC. and DEF CON Communications, Inc. Please see our YouTube channel for all talks from previous years: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnL9S5Wv_dNvO381slSA06w and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Om9kAkl32dWlDSNlDS9Iw.
The Call for Presentations will close on Friday, May 31st at 11:59 PM PST. The list of talks will be finalized and published on Friday, June 7th.
SPEAKING FORMAT --UPDATED FOR DEF CON 32
Each presentation slot is 1 hour maximum, including time for Q&A. If we have time and it is in line with our goals mentioned above, then there is a good chance you will be selected.
Presentations will be part of DEF CON's new "Creator Stages". Although presenters will not receive a DEF CON speaker badge, they will receive a human badge and additional identification as village speakers. Presentations will also be recorded and shared on DEF CON's media servers and YouTube. Additionally, we do not recommend live demos. Pre-recorded demos are preferred.
To submit a presentation, please provide the following information in the form below to cfp2024[at]wallofsheep[dot]com
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You must provide a detailed outline containing the main points and navigation through your talk. Show how you intend to begin, where you intend to lead the audience and how you plan to get there. The outline may be provided in a separate attachment and may be as simple as a text file or as detailed as a "bare bones" presentation. The better your outline then the better we are able to best review your presentation against other submissions (and the higher chance you have of being accepted). SUBMISSION NOTE: Presentations that are submitted without abstracts, outlines, or speaker bios (e.g., that have only PDFs, PPTs, or white papers attached or only point to a URL) will not be considered.
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1. I will submit a completed (and possibly updated) presentation and a reference to all of the tool(s), law(s), Web sites and/or publications referenced to at the end of my talk and as described in this CFP submission by noon PST, July 30th, 2024. Please note this is a hard deadline as presentation and details need to be sumitted to DEF CON.
   
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I’m back :)
41f dating a 42m for 9 months. While I have had doubts about our relationship - it’s mostly my nature to have doubts - overall it is the healthiest and most nurturing relationship I’ve been in, not to mention that this is the first person I’ve dated in my life that I can actually (yes it’s cheesy) consider growing old with and that feels the same way (I know it’s early and we are taking our time). He said today he thinks we are perfectly matched, and has considered marriage.
The issue we keep running into is bio babies. I’ve probably posted on it before but as I get to know him I keep learning more about him and what motivates him I have more clarity.
We were both on the fence when we started dating but he gets closer to a yes while I’m still unsure.
I already have an 11 year old. I left her dad five years ago because I was considering a second, knew I didn’t want it to be with him, and wanted to leave it up to the universe. Since then we’ve had a pandemic and the world has gone to shit and now I’ve been a solo parent for three years and was unemployed for three months recently so it isn’t like things have been easy. I’m tapped out, and I’m sure my fertility is declining. I have some chronic unidentified health issues that, due to sexism in the health care field, have just been dismissed instead of adequately ruled out and treated.
Kids haven’t been on his mind most of his life. He always thought “maybe if I meet the right person” and now apparently I’m that person. He seems to want some assurance from me that kids are going to happen, while simultaneously seeming unwilling to leave our relationship, which leaves me feeling stuck and unsure.
I have communicated that I am looking for a partner who is committed to me (and my kiddo) first and foremost regardless of what could happen with a baby in the future and that I don’t want to feel pressured around this. Whenever I say this he backs down and says we can just take things one day at a time. But then he’ll find a way to bring it up again usually when we mention progressing our relationship.
Every time the conversation comes up it’s extremely distressing to me. I haven’t been able to discern - even with therapy - what is stress/trauma/fear vs whether it’s something I actually don’t want.
Not only did I have complications with my first, our combined ages make the whole thing risky business, we both have autoimmune illness, and neither of us have strong support systems, esp family, though he has money. I question our capacity.
He was an only child and has had limited experience with babies and children. Today, my daughter had friends over and he balked at how loud it was and went to another room. I’m like, what do you think it’s like living with them? He also loves loves lovessss his sleep lol
He has said some other things that make me feel concerned about why he wants kids. How he’s afraid of dying alone and while relationships come and go kids don’t leave you. When his mom was sick how many old people there had no families and he doesn’t want that to be him.
How he wants renewed purpose. How he wants the experience of shaping a human. How he wants a kid that looks like him so doesn’t want to adopt.
On my end I can easily get lost in the fantasy too but when I assess this situation it makes me go hmm.
My ex, for all his flaws which included mental health issues that are the reason he is not involved, wanted a baby because he loved kids and wanted a family. There was no lack of love on his part. He doted on our daughter until he couldn’t anymore. His love for kids was obvious the second I met him - how he reacted to babies while we were out, how he talked about having a family.
I’m not getting any of that here. As much as I may be open to putting my body through all that I’m concerned he isn’t in it for the right reasons and doesn’t actually want children.
Meanwhile it feels our relationship is at a standstill and I can’t figure out a way around the impasse. We’ve talked about it but aren’t really getting anywhere lol
I would love some perspective on this and fresh insight to help me think through what to do.

I really hate having this because of the guilt and all that I get from it. Accepting that I have an unhealthy relationship with food has helped me on the path to recovery. I’ve struggled with this since the pandemic now that I actually know what it is. I’ve always hated when people comment on how fast I eat or how I look at food, and it’s gotten to the point where I don’t like eating in front of other people at all, especially since I tend to eat more than others. At this point I view food as a negative, and tend to feel bad after eating anything.
But there is one specific reason I really want to stop. My neck and face are very fat. I look like some obese neck beard and it makes me really hate myself and lose all self respect. It overwhelms me with stress and wants to be hurt or to die. It makes me extremely dysphoric and just dysmorphic overall. I feel like I am undeserving of love and I can’t understand how or why my friends accept or appreciate me like this, I hate to think this the way they’ve always known me, even if it’s hard to see when I’m standing. But overall it has had a severe negative affect on my life, and it has become overwhelming these past cooler days, to the post where it’s hard to get out of bed or even to distract myself at points.
So I’m going to get clean. I’m gonna go to the store and buy some ultra monsters, and peace tea, as these are my favorite drinks and help me to not feel hungry. Gonna also buy some mint gum to mimic eating as well as exercise my jaw, as well as using a workout tool I got. Gonna focus on trying to eat fruit, but going to try to limit eating overall. I view it in a way similar to someone ditching a drug addiction, and the methods they take to flush their system.
I know it seems unhealthy but it’s really the point I’m at. The idea of actually losing the chin fat makes me feel so warm and clean and lovable and i need to achieve it. Going slow about it or neglecting it are gonna really screw up my life rn. I know it’s irrational but it’s what I need, my response to my chin fat isn’t rational either. Please don’t try to talk me out of it, I’m a complex person, with complex problems, and a sympathetic redditor can’t cure them with simple comments and taking. Also it’s a bit demeaning as it belittles my problems and experiences by believeing they would be that easy to fix.

https://www.wtsglobal.com/public_html/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Envy-Extreme-Vio.pdf
Crossposting audience: The bad news is there does not seem to be a cure for envy. This is congruent with the recidivism statistics of maladapted/antisocial behavior in narcissists, without which narcissism and those with NPD would not be so socially undesirable. However, there are clear signs that the circuitry of envy is noticeably different than the circuitry of admiration, and that jealousy pathways are similar to addiction and expectation of reward pathways. A neuroeconomic analysis of "I won't win this one without illegal/unethical leveling" may be occurring in the envious, showing there may be insight that could resolve what has been until this point and unresolvable emotion full of frustration and pain at the perceived inferiority these individuals suffer. It is important to study and resolve this to help protect their victims from violence, psychological, and economic abuse, theft, hostage-taking of what is critical to the envied person, and unreasonable dislike that turns into hate crime on a whim. Victims deserve protection (the envious say the opposite) and so we research. Follow this subreddit for the first research-backed subreddit on envy.
Intense envy is associated with shame, depression, inferiority, isolation, anxiety, paranoia, and even violent criminal behavior.
Envy is an emotion capable of producing distorted perceptions and cognitions. Intense envy is associated with adverse states such as shame, depression, inferiority, isolation, anxiety, paranoia, and even violent criminal behavior.
The envious can become violent when they want to destroy goodness as perceived advantage, especially if they do not feel they possess goodness
There may come a point at which the envious person's goal is to harm the other's ability to enjoy the perceived advantages—the wish to destroy goodness as formulated by Melanie Klein.
Obliterative envy is the violent instantiation of envy focusing on a desire to obliterate what is perceived as an unjust, intolerable reality
The psychodynamics are discussed by which destructive envy produces or enhances a persecutory mindset and desire for revenge so powerful that lethal violence is chosen as an option. The concepts of obliterative envy and pseudo-spiritual transformation are introduced, and forensic case examples are used to demonstrate how envy produces persecutory cognitions and facilitates the desire to “obliterate” what is perceived as an unjust, intolerable reality.
Increased projection of the malicious or terrorist impulse is the sign of an escalation in the violent envious person’s ability to commit violence. As they grow more out of control in this respect, the more likely they are to actually engage in these actions.
The false logic of envy convinces the individual that they have an unfavorable and immutable disadvantage—thus, the other appears enhanced while the individual feels diminished. This depressing, humiliating position generates resentment toward the other. Depending upon developmental experience and other psychosocial factors, the individual with envy may increasingly use projection, projective identification, and experience persecutory thoughts.
The envious other wants to harm or destroy the other’s ability to enjoy these perceived advantages
There may come a point at which the envious person's goal is to harm or destroy the other's ability to enjoy the perceived advantages.
A bizarre scenario is witnessed where someone sacrifices their own life from spite to hurt the envied
. In some cases, extremely envious individuals are willing to spitefully sacrifice their own lives in an act of violence. The act may be felt as revenge for some perceived or actual injustice, but the driving emotion is intolerable envy, consciously recognized by the attacker or not.
We conclude by reviewing the challenges of detecting severe envy and preoccupation with lethality in treatment and in non-treatment settings where threat assessment protocols may be applied.
Obliterative envy is the state of mind arising from overwhelming narcissistic rage and resentment
. Obliterative envy is the state of mind arising from overwhelming narcissistic rage and resentment, leading the individual to destroy the envied other, and simultaneously himself, to negate the detested situation in its entirety. Pseudo-spiritual transformation is the state of mind by which the perpetrator's personal grievance is justified and elevated to the level of a spiritual or religious imperative.
Proximal warning signs are pathway, fixation, identification, novel aggression, energy burst, leakage, last resort, and directly communicated threat
The TRAP-18 consists of 8 proximal warning behaviors—pathway, fixation, identification, novel aggression, energy burst, leakage, last resort, and directly communicated threat—and 10 distal characteristics—
10 distal characteristics are found, however odd patterns shown in intelligence of purposefully creating these conditions should be noted for terroristic envy from the inside themselves
personal grievance and moral outrage, framed by an ideology, failure to affiliate with an extremist or other group, dependence on the virtual community, thwarting of occupational goals, changes in thinking and emotion, failure of sexually intimate pair bonding, mental disorder, greater creativity and innovation, and history of criminal violence.
Acknowledging envy declares one’s inferiority which causes shame
To acknowledge envy is to declare one's felt inferiority, which in turn triggers additional feelings of shame (Ronningstam, 2005).
Enviers can be seen in both ideation of crime and premeditated crime experience a fierce kind of sadistic pleasure when contemplating violence toward the envied
Among all the so-called seven deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth), Milic (2019) argues that envy produces nothing but mental anguish and is devoid of even an initial burst of pleasure or immediate gratification. We would suggest that envy may hold within it both masochistic pleasure, and well as a fierce kind of sadistic pleasure when contemplating violence toward the envied.
Painful and resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage can be seen
Confusion of terms has long been the case where envy and jealousy are concerned; examples abound. For instance, “I am jealous of her good looks,” is more accurately an admission of envy. Envy, in its simplest form, is defined in the dictionary as a “painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another, joined with a desire to possess the same advantage” (Merriam-Webster.com, 2021).
Romantic jealousy is fear of loss of mate and mate retention behaviors, and envy is seen as someone threatening to take away advantage personally
Romantic jealousy has been found to be positively correlated with feelings of insecurity, low self-esteem, and mate retention behaviors (Chin et al., 2017). Whereas in envy, advantage is perceived as belonging to the other; in jealousy, a rival is seen as threatening to take away the advantage (Anderson, 2002).
Narcissistic injury too unbearable to tolerate causes violence. A poisoning quality is specific to the violently envious
In the case of both tension states, it is a matter of degree—how much does the negative comparison lead the sufferer to experience painful feelings of inferiority and shame that result in a narcissistic injury too unbearable to tolerate? Is there the potential for narcissistic rage in its various manifestations, including violence? As the UK advice columnist Irma Kurtz wrote, “jealousy fights duels, envy poisons the soup (Kurtz, 1987).” Table 1 lists the comparative characteristics of envy and jealousy.
Insatiability, and excessive willingness to even take out themselves and their own security, even if it be financial, to take out the person they are envious of can be seen in the violently envious person. They are competitive and will do anything to stop being thrown into relief as less advantaged with the envied person.
Moreover, envy is historically and consistently referred to as hidden and insidious (Epstein, 2003; Minou, 2017). Envy may often be denied because of its implication of inferiority, unwarranted malicious temptation in the envier, and especially its potential for destructiveness. Envy increases within the sufferer the likelihood of developing depression, lowers resilience, and destabilizes self-esteem (Xiang et al., 2020). Those laboring under strong envy are insatiable, competitive, and may be willing to sacrifice their own outcomes to diminish the envied person's perceived advantage (Smith & Kim, 2007
As a result, people report greater feelings of envy and inadequacy.
Passively browsing Facebook apparently incites lots of envy in the envy prone who may try to destroy or at least erase the presence of the one who makes them feel that much envy. Out of sight, out of mind for the envier is desired for and they try to make it a reality
Even passively browsing Facebook can lead to negative social comparison, envy, social isolation and a significantly impaired sense of life satisfaction (Morawska, 2019). Younger persons who spend more time on social media are more susceptible to these effects than older persons.
Consumed with envy and shame (violence most likely) becomes over time guilt-ridden and self-punishing as they continue to avoid feelings of narcissistic inaccessibility, aka, being reminded of what they can’t or don’t have.
Klein first theorized that mature development required transition from the persecutory position (consumed with envy and shame) to the depressive position (guilt-ridden and self-punishing) in order to avoid feelings of victimization and narcissistic inaccessibility (Klein, 1975).
Envy can be a driving emotion in some who go on to commit acts of extreme violence
Those with strong paranoid and narcissistic traits have been observed to suffer from a desire to destroy the goodness they perceive they have been unjustly denied. Such individuals seek to destroy the other's ability to enjoy the whole object pleasures of love or achievement (Zizek, 2008). Envy can be a primary driving emotion in some who go on to commit acts of extreme violence (Hyatt-Williams, 1998; Knoll, 2010a, 2010b).
Narcissism starts to distort senses of justice in envy. The “justice sense” suddenly becomes distorted and no longer justice in the envious instantiation.
Other main themes associated with envy in the psychological literature involve the envious person's perception of fairness and justice, narcissism, hostility, and grudge holding (Anderson, 2002; Milic, 2019; Nauta, 2009).
Entitlement is part of envy; the envious feel that they are withholding the goodness or justice of things like “having sex with the girls in the hottest sorority”. Externalization, projection and projective identification can be seen. These individuals show impaired ability for sympathy, empathy, regret, reconciliation or gratitude which all require an ability to see someone else as human who may feel things like they do, aka, an increased disposition to commodify agents is seen.
In the P-S position, the individual's worldview is based on feelings of mistreatment and frustration at what is perceived as intentional harm, injustice, or purposeful withholding of advantages. The P-S position is associated with the use of maladaptive defense mechanisms such as splitting, externalization, projection, and projective identification. Such individuals will have an impaired capacity for sympathy, empathy, regret, reconciliation or gratitude—emotions that necessitate an ability to represent others in one's mind as whole, real, and meaningful individuals. Via projection and projective identification (an incomplete projection wherein the projected content continues to threaten the self), such individuals perceive others as actively persecuting them by withholding the goodness, justice, or fairness to which they feel rightfully entitled (Grotstein, 1981)
Not getting what they feel entitled to is a profoundly depressing and humiliating experience for those who have an excessive predisposition to commodify and then feel entitled to things that should not have ever been commodified
As a result of their perception of intolerable injustice, some may become overwhelmed with a sense of loss that cannot be mourned (Feldman & De Paola, 1994). Grief is subsumed by personal grievance. There is then the potential for hostile revenge fantasies, followed by an unwillingness to forsake a martyrdom fantasy of ultimate and final revenge. Envy may defy common sense, yet its logic can be understood. Envious persons see the object of envy as big or advantaged, while they feel small and disadvantaged. This is a profoundly depressing and humiliating experience for the envious who are left harboring resentment and injustice, emotions which are often a product of depleted omnipotent fantasies (Anderson, 2002).
Defense of projection may hypertrophy to distort their perceptions of others as greedy, spiteful, and intentionally persecutory–aka, someone very rich may start projecting on others as greedy to project off the shame they feel for greed. Or, someone who is antisemitic with lots of wealth may suddenly become fixated on Jews to relieve themselves of the guilt they feel for not helping people.
They may come to experience—whether acknowledged as compensatory or not—a “malicious glee” (schadenfreude) over other's misfortune, which can develop into an addictive like pursuit of sadistic joy over others' sorrows. Their defense of projection may hypertrophy to distort their perceptions of others as greedy, spiteful and intentionally persecutory
Social pain over a perceived failure to meet some internalized level of value is seen
in contrast to the dynamic of a negative comparison defining envy, shame is “a painful feeling of an interrupted sense of joy, relationship, status, or pride, because of exposure of one's failure to meet standards or ideals” (p. 37). The key phrase here is not meeting “standards,” which suggests social pain over a perceived failure to meet some internalized level of value. S
Shame for feeling hate then leads to self-hate, and this suffering sees no relief until they decide to commit extreme violence
A vicious cycle may ensue, in which the envier is ashamed of feeling hateful, and then hates himself for feeling such negative emotions—which make him further aware of his inadequacy. In actuality, we suggest that these powerful negative emotions—shame, envy, hatred of others and hatred of self—are so interrelated that they may all be in play in the sufferer who chooses extreme violence.
Irrational suicidal behavior often called a “psychic death” can be found on people with extreme narcissistic injury and envy.
Gilligan's interpretations may not explain all instances of extreme violence, but they are consistent with what we call the obliterative mindset. The perpetrator has lost the capacity for undistorted judgment and to sublimate aggression. The “self” is already dead. He is now ready to override the survival instinct and fully embrace a drive toward death (Anderson, 2006).
A deep sense of victimizations promotes a righteous vengeance that then aggressively devalues the other to promote the self, as they do not feel like they will compare organically without aggressively manufacturing the devaluation of the other
. In the distorted logic of severe envy, a deep sense of victimization allows martyrdom and/or righteous vengeance to devalue the other and promote the self to heroic status.
The envious person decides he is going to show the world his true self, which in the end is nothing but another terrorist, one of many people who did nothing with their lives but just kill other people out of rage, envy and entitlement
Intolerable conditions and even the imperfect self are wiped clean, leaving only the perpetrator's final judgment, which is not open to appeal. The violent extremist warped by severe envy is drawn to a statement of self-affirmation to counteract overwhelming shame. By obliterating the unacceptable reality, his sacrifice seems worthwhile to him to re-establish his sense of self. Or as the violent perpetrator Elliot Rodger wrote: “Finally, at long last, I can show the world my true worth” (E.R. Manifesto, 2014). The paradox, however, is compelling: obliterating the actual self to realize just before death the perfect and omnipotent self.
Around the time of extremism, rigidity can be seen and is palpable on the one engaged in covert or overt acts
. Beliefs in the superiority of one's cause become rigidly fixed and overvalued (Rahman et al., 2019).
Extreme imbalances of what is given from what is taken is a clear signs of extreme envy, suggesting economic abuse is motivated by envy in many cases
: “Everything is gone. What I own is just gonna be a pittance compared to what I am going to take.” The distorted logic of severe envy can be seen at play in MH's statement: “It's a kind of a community that in order for you to get ahead, you have to keep the neighbor down. It's not…you know, building yourself up on your own merit, it's tear the other guy down.” There is no ambivalence or relativity at this point for MH. His world is split into only those who are building up and those who are tearing down. Deep in his persecutory position, MH gives about as clear an explanation, in our opinion, of the logic of violent, destructive envy as can be found in such cases:
Genocidal obliteration is seen on those so envious they become violent
. When I do this, that levels the playing field in my favor, so now we've got a lopsided playing field because when I come back at you, I'm gonna destroy your side of the playing field
Addicted to revenge, they make patently unreasonable decisions
Various townspeople interviewed in the documentary note how MH had been given numerous financially appealing options, including an offer of six times what he paid for his land. The object of MH's envy was his perception of the success of several businessmen whose family had lived in the town for generations. Offers to provide MH with a financially advantageous resolution held no sway since he was fully in the grip of an obliterative mindset. Or, as the town news editor stated, “He had a way out. He had a way out to make some good money and, and go on about his life, but he chose that path for whatever reason.” Instead, he narrowed his focus and proceeded according to the dictates of violent envy and revenge.
Peacefulness after extreme painful turbulence is a tell-tale sign of premeditated homicidal action in the envious
Tied to these signs of PST is MH's statement that “a peace came over me…,” perhaps describing an almost spiritual feeling of relief after having finally resigned himself to die. Such descriptions of emotional reprieve have been associated with anticipatory and relief-oriented permissive beliefs in suicidal crises (Del-Monte & Graziani, 2020). Perpetrators of mass murder and other forms of targeted homicide-suicide have similarly described a state of peacefulness and relief that arises once they have come to terms with their own death as not only inevitable and acceptable, but planned, either by their own hand or as a “suicide-bycop.”
“I wasn’t supposed to caught”; an exceptionalism is seen on the violently envious
ambivalence. MH proceeds to strengthen and amplify his violent intent via a combination of PST and teleological thinking: “I wasn't supposed to get caught! God built me to be here to prove to you that what you have been doing for God knows how many years is wrong.”
Resolving the crisis would be an intolerable sign of weakness and inferiority (Gilligan & Richards, 2021).
This statement suggests his intensifying envy, often apparent in pathologically narcissistic states and traits (Kernberg, 1992). What MH deserves is beyond question, and now God expects him to harm the objects of his envy. The conviction of transcendent moral and spiritual righteousness is a common justification for violent lashing out by those in the persecutory position. Resolving the crisis nonviolently would require more psychological degrees of freedom and capacity for gratitude and empathy than MH possessed. To him it would be an intolerable sign of weakness and inferiority (Gilligan & Richards, 2021).
When people are happy an aggressive raging need to ruin it is seen on the envious
As poetically described by Gilligan and Richards (2021), the most direct, immediate and literal way to wipe tormentors' mocking smiles from their faces is to make them weep through violence.
Fixation is a huge sign of extreme envy and ability to commit envy-based violence
MH's PST would be associated with the TRAP-18 (Meloy, 2017) distal characteristic of Changes in Thinking and Emotion. These changes are often complex, and appear to occur in three domains: interpersonal relations become more limited and isolation increases; there is evidence of fantasy that is both grandiose and violent (often leaked through social media); and emotions shift from just anger, to also contempt and disgust for the target. We also see continued TRAP-18 evidence of the proximal warning behavior of Fixation, in this case motivated by extreme overvalued beliefs (Meloy & Rahman, 2020). Fixation, a preoccupation with a person or a cause that is accompanied by deterioration in work and love, is often the first proximal warning behavior to appear in a case of targeted violence (Meloy et al., 2021).
Last resort behavior can be seen when they think they were never going to get caught, a desperate attempt to commit violent envious action to secure the envied’s punishment for making them feel envy
Last Resort proximal warning behavior is defined as a violent action and time imperative: the person must act, and he must act now. Such warning behavior is often precipitated by a triggering event—often a loss in love or work--or one that is anticipated, and is sometimes accompanied by feelings of desperation or distress (Meloy, 2017).
Envy that powerful pushes them into the obliterative mindset, where violence occurs
Such intense devaluation of the desired object suggests envy powerful enough to push him into the obliterative mindset.
ER repeatedly used the word “envy” to describe his misery.
ER repeatedly used the word “envy” to describe his misery. He understood the difference between envy and jealousy, which he also experienced at an early age when there would be a third boy on playdates with his best friend (E.R. Manifesto, 2014).
He shows that the desire to torture is motivated by envy, showing that envy is indeed a product of envy and with it its links to narcissism
ER went to a Starbucks coffee shop there, where he became “livid with envious hatred” upon seeing a couple kissing. He proceeded to throw his coffee on them. What he actually fantasized doing was to “kill them slowly… strip the skins off their flesh.” The sight of a couple enjoying themselves brought out sadistic urges to destroy them, but not before torturing them by removing the very organ they would use to enjoy each other—their skin.
Entitlement is also linked to the torture as envy milieu saying “if I cannot have it, I will destroy it”. That is extreme entitlement
Just as MH described the true nature of destructive envy so well, so does ER, with jarring precision: “If I cannot have it, I will destroy it.
A hatred for someone from a younger generation enjoying things they didn’t can be seen in the envious
That was the day that I decided I would have to kill him on the Day of Retribution. I will not allow the boy to surpass me at everything, to live the life I've always wanted. It's not fair that he has the chance to have a pleasurable life while I've been denied it. It will be a hard thing to do, because I had really bonded with my little brother in the last year, and he respected and looked up to me. But I would have to do it. If I can't live a pleasurable life, then neither will he!
Fixation and pathological preoccupation followed by deterioration is seen on those who are capable of and/or commit envious violent action
The ER case is rife with examples of the proximal warning behavior of Fixation on the TRAP-18: “an increasingly pathological preoccupation with a person or a cause, accompanied by a deterioration in social and occupational life” (Meloy, 2017)
Envy based torture premeditation and enaction is seen on those envious who fit the description for TRAP-18
When ER saw the couple kissing at Starbucks he also wanted to kill them, “slowly.” What he actually did was throw coffee on them (and, incidentally, at great risk of physical retaliation). Such a behavior is an example of the proximal warning behavior on the TRAP-18 of Novel Aggression: “an act of violence that appears unrelated to any targeted violence pathway and is committed for the first time” (Meloy et al., 2012), and is done to test one's violent capability.
Acute narcissistic injury can trigger a suicidal crisis
An acute narcissistic injury in the patient's life could trigger a suicidal crisis in the absence of a depressed state. Ronningstam (2005) discussed the various meanings of suicidality in narcissistic patients, among them, an illusion of control and mastery (as well as preserving the perfect self), a shield against anticipated narcissistic injuries (death before dishonor), and an act of revenge: an individual may commit suicide to spite someone else.
Even envious hatred for therapists can be found, with therapists witnessing boredom with the sessions and withdrawing from direct engagement. This suggests extreme dispositional envy.
. He may pronounce boredom with the sessions or withdraw from direct engagement; his envious hatred may be hidden underneath an attitude of indifference. Alternatively, he may attempt to compete with the therapist, claiming superior knowledge or understanding (Abraham, 1927)
Envious individuals suffer from an encapsulated murderous aspect of their personalities
…most envious individuals suffer from an encapsulated murderous aspect of their personalities. If this concealed enclave is suddenly detonated by external circumstances, homicidal or suicidal violence can erupt.
Envious people see the world as zero-sum and try to reinforce back to zero-sum when people prove it is not inherently zero-sum. They will aggressively try to renormalize it back to where their envy seems less pathological and distorted.
In the zero-sum game of envy, there is a myth that if someone has something good, the other person is diminished. A major goal of therapy is to help patients see that self-esteem is not dependent on what someone else has and that their accomplishments are not connected to those of others. The therapist works to interpret to the patient that his zero-sum view undermines the chance in his life that he and others can simultaneously feel successful and gratified (pp. 128–129).
Envy influences the subject’s violent motives
s. Understanding the powerful psychodynamics of severe envy, the obliterative mindset and pseudo-spiritual transformation, contribute to the knowledge base for threat assessment practice. Threat assessment clinicians on these teams may identify the signs of envy, often subtle or revealed indirectly, and its influence on a subject's violent motives.
Desire for revenge becomes so powerful they commit revenge-based homicide or attempt it, and may even sacrifice their own lives and careers just because of the burning narcissistic envy
When the desire for revenge is powerful enough, such individuals may conclude an act of lethal violence is wholly necessary and the only logical remedy, even if it means sacrificing their own lives.
This act of extreme violence risks the lives of both self and other while providing a relatively brief period of shelter from intense narcissistic injury.
Obliterative envy describes the process by which envy, and its related mental and emotional states, are negated through an act of extreme violence. This act of extreme violence risks the lives of both self and other while providing a relatively brief period of shelter from intense narcissistic injury. Pseudo-spiritual transformation is the perpetrator's belief that violent revenge, in response to a personal grievance, is being guided and sanctified by some transcendent power, usually of personal religious significance.

Targaryen names fascinate me. Of all the ones they could pick between, it seems they like to choose from about five. Well, I’m working on a writeup of names that did get reused and to what extent (and sometimes where it stopped), but in a family so determined to repeat names, the ones that aren’t probably have a reason for it. Without speculating too much, I wanted to lay them out and provide possible explanations for the ones that I could. I classified them into six possible categories, each by where the name most likely came from (in my opinion.)
Disclaimer: I only took the name exactly as it is. If it’s one letter off, or the genderflipped version of the name, it counts as not being reused. I did this for consistency so my personal interpretation wouldn’t influence anything. I’ve also chosen to include the first generation of Blackfyres.

There Hasn’t Been Time To Reuse This

Any name that was used for the first time in the past few generations doesn’t count as there hasn’t really been time for it to come up again. I took it back to Jaehaerys II, meaning the ones here are Rhaegar, his stillborn sister Shaena, Rhaego, Queen Shaera, and Princess Rhaelle.

Named After Specific Non-Targaryens

Jon: Technically Jon has come up on the Targaryen family tree, but only as Jon Longwaters. As they’re a Velaryon branch, and Jon is named after Jon Arryn, I’m counting Snow as the only one.
Alyssa: Alyssa, daughter of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, is almost certainly named for her grandmother Alyssa Velaryon.
Duncan: Is named after Duncan the Tall. Case closed.

Named Using a Different Family’s Conventions

I only counted people who had at least one Targaryen parent, but despite all the inbreeding sometimes other Houses did get to sire a kid or two. Sometimes they even got to pick the name. This is the category for anyone with a non-repeating name who seems to be following a different House’s way of naming. It covers Jocelyn Baratheon, Aemma Arryn, Alyn Velaryon, and Brynden Rivers. One could make an argument for Laenor and Daenaera Velaryon to be here too, since Velaryons are still Valyrian so the similarity without repeating could stem from that.

Namesake Sucks

Aerion: Was crazy. Drank wildfire. Kept Maegor from going in this category. Need I say more?
Rhaenyra: I’m going to get angry comments for putting her under this category, but take it in-universe and remember that the Dance almost destroyed their whole house. Aegon only gets away with it because the person he was named after was better than him. Since her kids ‘with Laenor’ also didn’t have their names reused, probably because of association, we can throw in Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey as well (though really Joffrey should be with the “named after a specific non-Targ”; I just wanted to keep him with his brothers.)
Aemond and Helaena also fall victim to this on the Greens side, as they were never used again post-Dance either. Neither was her son Maelor, which could be for similar reasons to Rhaenyra’s kids or even just because renaming a kid after what happened to him could be bad luck or something.

Obvious Inspiration

Sometimes the parents got creative and used another, usually more common, namesake as the basis and tweaked it a little. I tried to keep these very limited as most Targaryen names tend to be similar, so I’m really only taking the most obvious direct influences.
Aegor Rivers is practically Aegon. So are Vaegon and Haegon. Rhae is similar to both Rhaelle and Rhaella. Jaehaera is just female Jaehaerys. Gaemon is Aemon with a G.
Shiera Seastar and Saera have two almost-namesakes each in the too-recent generation, so while those are there, we’ll count these here as the inspiration for them. Rhaegel for Rhaegar as well.
I’m also counting Aelor and Aelora here, even if the first time it was used was whichever twin was born first. The second was still obviously inspired by it.

Less Direct Inspiration

Names that are a little farther from the established ones, but still are well within the Targaryen norms. You’d still instantly recognize it as being a Targaryen and not a different Valyrian (or Andal or First Men!) House. Basically, everything borderline from above.
Baela: Could be from Baelor or Baelon, or even them + her mother Laena.
Daena and Elaena both have the same pattern as their sister Rhaena.
Viserra: Female Viserys, I think, but not as clear as the other genderswaps so it’s here.
Daenora and Naerys clearly are inspired by Daenerys, and possibly Daeron too.

Why Not Reuse It?

So, in the end, we’re left with nine names that are creative, distinguished from the others, and yet never were given to a second baby.
Gael: Had a tragic life, so I can understand not renaming a kid that.
Aerea: Similarly to Gael, I think her fate might dissuade happy parents.
Maekar: He was a good king! I don’t know why none of his kids named any of their children or grandchildren after him.
Calla: Only used for a Blackfyre, which probably does not make it particularly high up on the baby name list.
Valarr and Matarys: Don’t know why these didn’t get reused; Breakspear seems respected enough, and despite dying young they didn’t seem particularly tragic. I’d like to see these pop up again tbh.
Valerion: Probably too confusing, with them being Valyrian, the House Velaryon, and the dragon Balerion.
Maegelle: No clue why this didn’t come back. She seemed to be a sweet and devout Septa.
Alysanne: Another one I’m lost on. She’s regarded as “the good queen,” so her lack of a namesake seems pretty glaring.

Targaryen names fascinate me. Of all the ones they could pick between, it seems they like to choose from about five. Well, I’m working on a writeup of names that did get reused and to what extent (and sometimes where it stopped), but in a family so determined to repeat names, the ones that aren’t probably have a reason for it. Without speculating too much, I wanted to lay them out and provide possible explanations for the ones that I could. I classified them into six possible categories, each by where the name most likely came from (in my opinion.)
Disclaimer: I only took the name exactly as it is. If it’s one letter off, or the genderflipped version of the name, it counts as not being reused. I did this for consistency so my personal interpretation wouldn’t influence anything. I’ve also chosen to include the first generation of Blackfyres.

There Hasn’t Been Time To Reuse This

Any name that was used for the first time in the past few generations doesn’t count as there hasn’t really been time for it to come up again. I took it back to Jaehaerys II, meaning the ones here are Rhaegar, his stillborn sister Shaena, Rhaego, Queen Shaera, and Princess Rhaelle.

Named After Specific Non-Targaryens

Jon: Technically Jon has come up on the Targaryen family tree, but only as Jon Longwaters. As they’re a Velaryon branch, and Jon is named after Jon Arryn, I’m counting Snow as the only one.
Alyssa: Alyssa, daughter of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, is almost certainly named for her grandmother Alyssa Velaryon.
Duncan: Is named after Duncan the Tall. Case closed.

Named Using a Different Family’s Conventions

I only counted people who had at least one Targaryen parent, but despite all the inbreeding sometimes other Houses did get to sire a kid or two. Sometimes they even got to pick the name. This is the category for anyone with a non-repeating name who seems to be following a different House’s way of naming. It covers Jocelyn Baratheon, Aemma Arryn, Alyn Velaryon, and Brynden Rivers. One could make an argument for Laenor and Daenaera Velaryon to be here too, since Velaryons are still Valyrian so the similarity without repeating could stem from that.

Namesake Sucks

Aerion: Was crazy. Drank wildfire. Kept Maegor from going in this category. Need I say more?
Rhaenyra: I’m going to get angry comments for putting her under this category, but take it in-universe and remember that the Dance almost destroyed their whole house. Aegon only gets away with it because the person he was named after was better than him. Since her kids ‘with Laenor’ also didn’t have their names reused, probably because of association, we can throw in Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey as well (though really Joffrey should be with the “named after a specific non-Targ”; I just wanted to keep him with his brothers.)
Aemond and Helaena also fall victim to this on the Greens side, as they were never used again post-Dance either. Neither was her son Maelor, which could be for similar reasons to Rhaenyra’s kids or even just because renaming a kid after what happened to him could be bad luck or something.

Obvious Inspiration

Sometimes the parents got creative and used another, usually more common, namesake as the basis and tweaked it a little. I tried to keep these very limited as most Targaryen names tend to be similar, so I’m really only taking the most obvious direct influences.
Aegor Rivers is practically Aegon. So are Vaegon and Haegon. Rhae is similar to both Rhaelle and Rhaella. Jaehaera is just female Jaehaerys. Gaemon is Aemon with a G.
Shiera Seastar and Saera have two almost-namesakes each in the too-recent generation, so while those are there, we’ll count these here as the inspiration for them. Rhaegel for Rhaegar as well.
I’m also counting Aelor and Aelora here, even if the first time it was used was whichever twin was born first. The second was still obviously inspired by it.

Less Direct Inspiration

Names that are a little farther from the established ones, but still are well within the Targaryen norms. You’d still instantly recognize it as being a Targaryen and not a different Valyrian (or Andal or First Men!) House. Basically, everything borderline from above.
Baela: Could be from Baelor or Baelon, or even them + her mother Laena.
Daena and Elaena both have the same pattern as their sister Rhaena.
Viserra: Female Viserys, I think, but not as clear as the other genderswaps so it’s here.
Daenora and Naerys clearly are inspired by Daenerys, and possibly Daeron too.

Why Not Reuse It?

So, in the end, we’re left with nine names that are creative, distinguished from the others, and yet never were given to a second baby.
Gael: Had a tragic life, so I can understand not renaming a kid that.
Aerea: Similarly to Gael, I think her fate might dissuade happy parents.
Maekar: He was a good king! I don’t know why none of his kids named any of their children or grandchildren after him.
Calla: Only used for a Blackfyre, which probably does not make it particularly high up on the baby name list.
Valarr and Matarys: Don’t know why these didn’t get reused; Breakspear seems respected enough, and despite dying young they didn’t seem particularly tragic. I’d like to see these pop up again tbh.
Valerion: Probably too confusing, with them being Valyrian, the House Velaryon, and the dragon Balerion.
Maegelle: No clue why this didn’t come back. She seemed to be a sweet and devout Septa.
Alysanne: Another one I’m lost on. She’s regarded as “the good queen,” so her lack of a namesake seems pretty glaring.

I am nearly at my wits end here. I have a computer which I have built a year ago which has been a nightmare to deal with on a constant basis. Here are my woe and specs
Windows 11 Home x64
MS-7D25 Morbo
13th Gen intel core i9-13900k
RTX 4090
2x 32gb dominator corsair ram
Samsung SSD 98 2tb NVMe
I have been having constant issues with this PC and every time i do something it seemingly makes it worse. There are constant BSODs and random program crashes along with many display errors and other issues.
Constant BSODs:
Critical Process Died
irql_not_less_or_equal
Kmode_exception_not_handled
Among numerous other errors which i cannot remember
Reading the minidumps the driver was nsktrol something most of the time which tells me fuck all
Apperent CPU overheat or some mannor as the CPU seems to be at a constant 80 or higher.
Display issues include the desktop bg randomly turning completely black, or black when i click and drag over it and any shortcuts on the desktop
For whatever reason the start/boot screen of my pc flickers and the keyboard/mouse lights flicker with it.
Random program crashes. For some examples some games in particular crash extremely often while others crash not at all. Discord seems to crash the most however for some reason. Along with any art program such as CSP or photoshop
Seeing all these problems i have tried many tests and solutions to absolutely no effect.
I changed my GPU for a new one
Ran many sfc and DISM scans
Ran memtests, no errors apperently detected
Tried installing new graphics drivers
Updated BIOS to latest
Ran a chkdisk
Fuck i even formatted my computer and tried a fresh install via boot usb but i kept having issues with the install screen constantly going back to the beginning. Then even after i "fixed" the issue by skipping naming my pc (for whatever reason) the fresh install has fucked over my PC even more. Exasperating the issues i was having before and now my pc randomly freezes up for a few seconds. EVEN IN BIOS.
I am nearly at my limit of just chucking this god damn piece of junk out the window. What the fuck am i missing!?!?!?

I'm 26F and my mom is a single mother and immigrant from a Carribbean country. My dad died when I was young so it has always been the two of us. She's your typical immigrant parent, conservative, sheltering, expects me to live at home till I get married, doesn't have any personal identity outside of being a mother. On top of that she has never been financially stable. She has always worked my whole life but in various part time jobs and while she did everything she could to pay the bills in the house while I was growing up, there was no room for anything extra. I had to take out loans to go to college, I had to buy my own car, and I just graduated from law school. While I'm really happy to have achieved such a goal for myself, my mom now expects me to save her from her financial woes and buy her house from her (which has fallen into total disrepair) so that I essentially become her landlord and not the bank. This stresses me out though because she is always getting onto me about applying for a loan for her so I can buy the house but I don't feel financially secure at all yet. I literally just graduated and as you all with poor parents know- I feel like I'm constantly running trying to keep my head afloat.
I feel like I'm living paycheck to paycheck even with a big salary because I have to pay my loans back and all my other bills. I live alone currently but I am now planning to move back home even though it will really impact my mental health (because my mom is so suffocating) just because I want to start saving as much as possible. I am good about paying my bills on time but I just feel like I never have enough money to take care of myself and now her but also enjoy life (take a vacation, treat myself to something nice, etc. And don't get me wrong I want to take care of my mom because I love her, but I feel like she doesn't understand 100k is not the same as it was back in the day. And yes I have this big degree but that also came with big loans. And because I had no one to teach me financial literacy I am trying to navigate this all by myself, trying to find a financial advisor, build credit,etc.
It's just so frustrating because she's always getting on to me about how I need to save or why I use my credit card and it makes me so angry because other kids didn't have to go through this! I have a credit card because it helped supplement me throughout college because I didn't get an allowance like all my other friends. And on top of that, I don't even have a high limit and I pay it every month! You are only concerned with my finances because you see it as your way out when you don't even stop to consider how TIRED I am of always having to take care of myself like this. I don't even feel like I'm starting my young adult life at level 1 I feel like I'm 10 steps behind where I should be. And I feel like since I'm almost 30 the responsibilities are only going to increase and I am never going to get a chance to just breathe and feel financially stable because women are pressured to start a family by a certain time as well. Anyway, I just wanted to vent because I feel extremely overwhelmed and I have no idea where my life is going because I'm consumed with responsibilities while I watch my friends who came from families of means get to really live their lives for themselves.

Hi! We recently bought a Philips LatteGo 5400 superautomatic coffee machine. I’ve had a Starbucks Athena Barista from back in the day, & more recently a DeLonghi Dedicated Deluxe, which died during the pandemic. I made really good drinks on the Athena & decent drinks on the Dedica, but the Dedica died during the pandemic. We thought maybe a superautomatic would be fun & save my getting-older hands a bit of work.
So far, the Philips is underwhelming. The espresso produced is a bit flat, & maybe watery? It’s not tasty & full-bodied. IDK if that’s b/c it dispenses an 11-gram dose of espresso as opposed to other machines, if it’s b/c the Philips‘ automatic grinder doesn’t grind as fine as my burr grinder or if we just haven’t found the magic combination of buttons & beans to produce a decent espresso.
The rinsing before & after every drink is okay, but when another drink then begins to brew, a little bit of water goes into the cup before espresso or milk.
The milk drinks I’ve made have produced okay foam, but obviously part of it being all automated is that there isn’t much variance. It’s..one size of foam. That’s it.
I’m going to try again tomorrow with beans that are definitely espresso roast, in cause my regular medium-dark roast isn’t robust enough.
Does anyone else have a Philips LatteGo 5400 who likes it? Are there setting nuances we haven’t gotten to yet?
& also, if you have a different superautomatic - or not, why limit ourselves - espresso/coffee drinks machine that you love, what is it, & why do you love it? We’re still in the return period for the LatteGo so..your input is appreciated, & TYSM in advance. I’m also Googling reviews/watching videos

im 19 man. green day was the first band i ever fell in love with. this is gonna make 12 year old nick so damn happy. it makes me wanna cry just thinking about how its gonna feel to be screaming every word in the pit. its been such a long time coming, i cant even describe the feeling of completion this will give me.
i can still remember air guitaring in my kitchen to green day songs when i was 12, and eventually working up the courage to ask my dad to teach me how to play guitar. 7 years later and now music is my entire life. i play guitar, drums, bass, i sing, and im in a band. and it all started with green day.
this the typa thing that makes you buckle your seatbelt in the car and drive the speed limit. like “i can NOT die before september 1st.”
im just so goddamn excited man. im gonna feel like a kid again. ive had a really difficult couple years with a breakup and stuff and this is gonna be the most cathartic night of my life. im gonna be full on scream-crying in the pit. cant wait.
love you all, you are all my family

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Mike marveled at the beauty of the inner city. He was familiar with Kael architecture and had even seen some up close at the university, but it was far grander here than on Earth, and it was far grander in person than in the videos and pictures he'd seen. The buildings were a hybrid of Gothic and expressionist architecture built with classical aesthetics.
Mosaics, statues, and murals were everywhere, but despite the grand buildings and beautiful decorations, Mike couldn’t keep his eyes off the ground. Even the streets are beautiful.
The ground he and Dreki walked was like a freshly cooled lava flow paved by slates of colored glass that softly glowed in the dimming light of the evening sun.
As they walked, Mike was woken from his trance by the scent of meat cooking.
Dreki smiled and said, “Smells good. You hungry?”
Mike nodded.
Dreki grinned and led Mike around the corner to a food cart. Mike salivated as the flames licked and sputtered at fat dripping from hunks of what looked like octopus turning on spits. The aroma of meat and spices was intoxicating. Dreki ordered them octopus skewers. As he handed Mike his skewer, Dreki said, “You’re never going to be able to eat earth octopus again.”
Mike chuckled. “I’ve never had it in the first place; I grew up in the mountains thousands of miles from the ocean.”
Dreki looked incredulous. “Did you not have rivers?”
Mike shrugged his shoulders, “Not with octopi.”
Dreki raised his free hand in exasperation. “Whatever. Either way, you’ll be disappointed by the rubbery trash humans call an octopus after eating this.”
Mike took a bite of the meat and groaned in pleasure. It tasted like a beefier version of bacon. Mike wolfed down his skewer in the blink of an eye and exclaimed, “That was fucking good!”
Dreki gave him a “Mhhhmh” with his still mouth full.
Dreki finished his food and led Mike off the main road onto a footpath flanked by wispy trees with dark blue leaves.
Eventually, the pair entered the back garden of a building that looked like a melted cathedral. Dreki led him through an open gate into a well-lit waiting room and held out his arm. “Hand me your bag; I’ll take it to your room. I’ll come get you after.”
Mike slipped his bag from his shoulders and handed it to Dreki. As the herculean Kael was leaving, he turned and said, “Try not to scream when they brand you; it’s an ill omen.”
Mike drummed his fingers on the armrests of the chair in the sea foam green waiting room, which was decorated with pictures of duels and exotic plants in white and blue ceramic pots. He was pretty sure that more than one of the photographs was of Dreki’s father.
Mike was anxious. Getting branded would suck, and getting an AR implant would involve someone sticking a drill through his skull. And without his gargantuan minder, Mike felt almost naked. He knew that he would probably be fine, but this was the home of the enemy. Without any weapons, he stood little chance against any Kael worth their salt in a fight.
Mike chided himself for the thought. Why does everything have to revolve around violence? Is there no world where you can just get along with them?
Mike frowned. No. I hate them. Despite his barely contained rage, Mike felt nauseous as blood-soaked memories bombarded his mind.
He doubted that he could kill again, even if it meant dying.
Dreki’s not so bad; maybe out here, more of them are like him than Ocidea.
Mike’s melancholy was interrupted when the tall door at the far end of the room opened. A short, for a Kaelman, nurse wearing pea green scrubs walked out, locked eyes with him, and shouted, “Mike Anderson!”
Mike followed the short Kael nurse into a cream-colored operating room. In the center an instrument table hovered next to an operating table. Besides the operating table stood a middle-aged Kael with tusks intricately inlaid with silver in triangular patterns. His white lab coat had Chief Surgeon Athocill emblazoned over the right breast pocket.
The Chief Surgeon stared off into space, engrossed in AR. The nurse who brought him in pointed to the operating table. Mike sat down.
A slender Kaelwoman in scrubs and a lab coat identifying her as the assistant surgeon walked in and started arranging the tools.
She glanced at Mike and said, “Take off your shirt.”
Mike pulled the black T-shirt he was wearing over his head and set it on the table next to him.
Without looking away from his work, the Chief Surgeon tossed Mike a leather strap and said, “Brand him.”
The short nurse pulled a heat stamp from its case and rolled the numbers to their correct positions. Mike put the leather strap in his mouth and grabbed onto the table.
Dreki’s warning rang through his head*.*
The Nurse carefully placed the print plate just below Mike’s collarbone and pushed it down. The heat stamp's coils flashed white. Mike bit down on the leather strap as hard as he could, and his knuckles popped as he gripped the edges of the operating table as hard as he could. Tendrils of smoke billowed off Mike’s chest as his flesh was seared, and the acrid smell of burnt hair and torched flesh wafted through the room.
Mike stifled a groan as the nurse peeled the superheated steel off his chest. The Nurse set the smoking stamp back in its case to cool and picked up a small jar of viscous blue fluid and a brush. The nurse opened the jar, dipped the brush in the blue goop, and painted it over Mike’s still-smoking burn. Mike jolted at the freezing touch of the brush. His ribs and abdomen rose and fell rapidly as he took short, shallow breaths as the freezing cold shocked his nervous system.
The nurse put the brush away and closed the jar. “Done”
Mike let the leather strap drop from his mouth and put on a straight face as he externally disguised the pain. Showing weakness was not an option, even if every fiber of his being commanded him to scream.
The assistant took hold of Mike’s arm and spoke. “Make a fist and squeeze.”
Mike did as she asked. It was a good distraction from the pain. His knuckles turned white, and the veins in his forearm bulged after a few seconds of pressure.
“You’ll feel a tiny pinch.”
The assistant jabbed the needle into the crook of his arm.
Mike’s head immediately felt heavy, and his whole body tingled. He tried to stay upright, to no avail. His vision grayed out as his head plopped onto the table with a thud.
The surgeon looked to his assistant and asked, “Is he out?”
“Yes.” She answered.
“Let us begin.”
The assistant used a small metal tool to pull Mike's right eyelid open. The chief surgeon plunged a gold needle into the depths of Mike’s right eye.
The surgeon carefully pulled the needle from the human’s eye and set the syringe back down on the floating instrument table.
“Targeting chip in place. Next stage.”
The nurse began rummaging around a drawer in the back of the room, and the chief surgeon plucked a gleaming silver drill from the instrument table.
The drill in the surgeon's hand whirred as he plunged it into Mike’s skull. After just a few seconds, the drill bored through Mike's skull. The surgeon pulled the drill out of the human's head and angled the bit down into a small metal dish that was in the extended arms of the assistant. The chief surgeon hit a button on the drill with his thumb.
A bloody, dime-sized piece of Mike’s skull dropped to the bottom of the metal dish with a clang.
He set the drill back down on the instrument table and held out his hand. “Drone.”
The nurse put an insect-like metal contraption that resembled a whip scorpion in the surgeon’s hand. The chief surgeon's eyes glazed as he entered his AR and took control of the drone. It popped out of his hand and burrowed itself into the hole in Mike's skull.
Inside his AR, he brought the drone to the occipital lobe of Mike’s brain.
“Deploying lattice.”
The arachnid-like drone injected small metal spikes with spools of minuscule wire attached—anchor points—into Mike’s brain. After just a minute's work, the surgeon had crafted a web of wires across Mike's brain. He brought the drone back to the center of Mike’s brain and planted one final anchor spike. A reel inside one of the claw-like appendages at the front of the drone spun, cinching the lattice of wires down to the last anchor point. The surgeon brought the drone around again, ensuring that the web of copper was completely taught against the human’s brain. He brought the drone back out and smiled ever so slightly as the blood and cerebrospinal fluid-soaked drone hopped back into his gloved hand.
Chief Surgeon Athocill smiled and jovially said, “Patch him up.” He was pleased with his performance today. This was the first human to get an advanced AR package, and the procedure went flawlessly. The assistant grabbed a quarter-sized piece of flesh-colored putty and carefully placed the small piece of skull onto it. She placed the putty over the hole in Mike’s head, and it took to life, bonding the fragment of bone back into place and sealing the surface wound.
The surgeon removed his gloves and began typing on a holoprojection. “All systems are operational. I’m linking him to the military network now.”
The assistant pulled the instrument table to her side and plucked a syringe filled with neon green fluid. She said, “I’m waking him up now,” as she plunged the needle into Mike’s arm.
Mike’s eyes flew open, and he grit his teeth against the pain. Tears seeped from his stinging and blood-filling right eye. Every heartbeat brought a jolt of crippling pain to his head. And worst of all was the searing pain from the brand on his chest and the aching cold that barely disguised it. Mike sat up with a grunt. Pain shot through his chest when he brought his hand to his head and felt the hardened disc of putty on his temple.
The surgeon addressed Mike with a soothing tone. “On the count of three, I’m going to activate your AR. It will feel like your head is on fire for a few seconds, but it will only last a few seconds. One… Two… Three!”
Mike nearly collapsed with the pain, but he managed to limit his response to a grunt. Light flashed before his eyes, and Kaelic text appeared in the center of his vision. The doctor asked, “What do you see.”
Mike answered, “AR active. And below that, it says setup wizard.” Despite his best efforts, pain was evident in his voice.
“Ok, Mike, I want you to think, ‘open setup wizard.’”
Mike blinked a few times. “Nothing happened.”
The surgeon said, “Think it in Kaelic.”
Mike’s brow furrowed in concentration. He was fluent in Kaelic, but not to the point where he could think in the language at will.
“Ok, I got it. It says setting menu at the top, and there are a ton of things here. Do you want me to read them off?”
“No. Can you scroll down?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You should be able to get the hang of this pretty quickly; it's very intuitive. You’ll see that there are a few HUD profiles that you can pick from. I’d recommend you start from profile two and then customize it as you see fit.”
Mike nodded as he selected profile two.
“OK, now think clear.”
Mike did as the surgeon asked. His vision was now cleared.
The surgeon smiled. “Feel free to fiddle with the settings, just think clear if it gets cluttered, and reset if you make a dog’s breakfast of it. You’ll have a headache for the next few days, and you may start having more vivid dreams, but other than that, you’ll barely notice the change. Just take it easy for the next few days, and don’t itch at your brand or your eye.”

The Boys - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iAmuSv8zeemGE-E4YZpBk9E3P5ZTiWc7/view [Suggestion from Dragon-King-of-Death (Thank You)]]

• {Lovable Dork (200cp)}: For some reason people will find you lovable and easily trust you. For example, a person who just met you on a park bench a few days ago will trust you enough to tell you about their deepest insecurities and issues.
• {Chosen By God (400cp)}: •Vought International spouts nonsense about their heroes being Chosen by God. Unlike them, you might actually be Chosen by God. You’ve (probably) never met him, but with the rate that you have fortuitous encounters, you’re pretty sure that someone is looking out for you. You’ll meet important people and find it easy to obtain important items. And if you have powers, they are not the by-product of Compound V. This perk also acts as a Capstone Booster.
• {Super PR (600cp)}: The hardest part of being a hero is not the villains, it’s the public. But don’t worry, thanks to this perk it’s no longer a problem for you. Most people will see you as a heroic figure and an inspiration. This public image of you won’t deteriorate unless there is irrefutable proof of your shortcomings or crimes. You can tone this down if you want to. Supes who have purchased this perk can choose to replace the Deep in the Seven. (Chosen By God): Your public image recovers very quickly even when there is irrefutable proof of your shortcomings or crimes. People quickly forget about scandals and even truly heinous actions will eventually be dismissed as a 'phase' you were going through.

Generic Harry Potter Fanfiction - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GX7oeYt88WKpYCTwbdE-s6ypNIvNkWw7/view?usp=sharing [Suggestion From Massive_Awareness_63 (Thank You)]

• Friend Maker - ​You’re a nice guy, Jumper. Whatever else people take away from meeting you, this is something just about everyone who has so much as exchanged a few words with you agrees on. You’re polite, somehow make time for everyone, and have an easy smile. Getting people to like you and let you join their social groups and clubs is a matter of trivial effort, staying in any groups you’re already part of is easier still. Even your worst detractors will have to dig very deep to find bad things to say about you.
• Legendary Healer - ​You are a good person, Jumper. And this reflects in your magic. You are a healer without peer, being a master at all aspects of it. From potioneering, to tricks of transfiguration, whatever it takes to heal another person is something you are an expert at already. But a talent for healing is well and good. However, there are gifts and abilities of any and all types in the world. Necromancy, Parsel-Magic, Blood Magic, etc. While several are benign and helpful, a lot of them seem like they can only ever be used for evil. Not by you, though. You have the ability to use any and all gifts and powers you have for good and benign purposes. Blood magic can be used as a healing tool, powers that can rip the land asunder can be used to divert floods and prevent earthquakes, an ability to eat souls can be used to instead remove any curses or maladies lain on a soul, and so on. You have the unique ability to share this ability with others, allowing good people born with “bad powers” to use their powers for good pursuits without issue.
• Heart of Gold - ​It’s a curious thing you do, alternating between horrific evil and lighthearted whimsy as you are. One day you might be bathing in the blood of a thousand innocents, the other day you might be saving orphans from a fire. What this means for you is that no amount of foul and/or corruptive influence, magical or not, can actually hold a hope of corrupting or subverting you, always sliding off like so much dreck. Unless, that is, you want to be evil for some reason. Additionally enemies you have will be highly likely to think that you could be “redeemed” (either for good or evil, it works both ways!) and therefore will probably try to capture you first and are unlikely to try to kill you outright unless you’ve proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you won’t join them. Finally you possess both an incredibly sinister villain laugh and a hearty “good guy” laugh as well, and can chew the scenery and be as hammy as you want while still being taken completely seriously instead of being seen as a lame try-hard.

Exalted Outcast - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XgV07ZoFyIShkVruey8UW2W-G9IHIDT3/view?usp=sharing [Suggestion From Sundarapandiyan1 (Thank You)]

• I will never love you...

... for I do not understand what love means. If you wish to serve me and give me the things I desire, I am willing to tolerate your presence. Much like Valentin, you are as beautiful as longing itself. People will come to you, and compete for your attention. And when they don’t have it, when you invoke love in others and do not return it, it becomes devotion. Perhaps the lack of reciprocal feelings only makes it stronger, as the pursuit of you becomes an abstract ideal. Regardless, many will find themselves eager to please you with little expectation for you to care in return. Even those not bewitched will be touched by your queerly enchanting mien and grace. Truly few could refuse you or bar your way. Few is not none. While your enrapturing nature is even stronger than Valentin’s, don’t forget that his nature didn’t save him in the end.
Narnia - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1qb0_OLhDrDZ1lIUlBqa3A4azA/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-0B2v1IAAqocxpzk1r88_-A [Suggestion From Dragon-King-of-Death (Thank You)]

• Heart of a Child [400], Discount Drop-In

Once a friend to Narnia, always a friend to Narnia. You possess a sense of childlike wonder and excitement that can never be completely extinguished, no matter how many years you live or how many horrors you witness. No matter how much you may change over the years, there will always remain some core that is essentially you. This also improves your resistance to telepathic influence, magical curses of despair, and other similar effects.
Mark Antony - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xqV1SMWGoBxdZwsSkSRODHkScyMaeFHpfK1Hcp3-wAo/edit [Suggestion From Sundarapandiyan1 (Thank You)]

• Sins of the father: Your predecessors' mistakes don't influence people's opinion about you. Your actions influence people's opinion about you.
• Leader of men: You're a great leader, charismatic and kind, able to bring hundreds of people together as a single force.

Netflix Locke And Key - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MTWjE8wT4v9PNiZJO1GcCcbYHtJlzDIFCJuD9aDe1WM/edit

• Rocky Road (400 CP): There are some who like to remain broken, some who are forced to remain broken, some who have no idea they are broken and some who are there to fix the broken. Some who are there to give a warm smile and a comforting presence free of judgement, who are patient and kind, who can see the baggage of others and the ways to help not because of manipulation or gain but simply because they wish to help, people who can see the ways of helping others forget their problems and become themselves again, who can heal decade long wounds and mental scars like it’s nothing.
  
• Near Identity Key (400 CP): Not a very good name I admit but when the only thing limiting you from becoming an entirely new person is your face I can’t think of a name quite so close to the truth. I mean what can you call someone who can don an entire persona and throw them away when done, who can craft emotions and subconscious tells, subtle nuances like one would craft with leggo’s, who can change their accent, the depths of their voice, their stride like one would change their clothes. One who can become anyone.
  

The Magicians - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o28lYPEyTZ4NHgFxAriLTD_5uAv5XgHh/view?usp=sharing [Personal Fav, Mainly For The Pocket World]

• Good Deeds (200 CP)

And who said the nice guy finishes last? By performing good deeds, you can increase your power in direct relation to how much good you did, increasing your pools of internal energy. People will also take much more of a liking to you than they otherwise would have, with you giving off more a good vibe.

• Lovable Character (600 CP)

People just don’t seem very capable at holding a grudge at you, nor do they seem to account for the amount of times you’ve back-stabbed them when hanging out with you or asking for your aid, with things going so well that they can almost treat you like a friend if you interact with them long enough. It’s almost like your popularity among your theoretical audience causes you to become a constant in the story. In addition, once per Jump - or ten years, whichever passes faster - you may return from the dead, appearing the next day in an undisclosed, safe location.
Generic Fantasy Otome Academy - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QisYlMEsDgAVYJxyQGW21Tk_YEDCCcTm/view?usp=sharing

• Confide in Me (400cp)

I suppose you’re just a good listener. Some people will only open their hearts to family, or to a precious pet... but everyone is willing to speak frankly and honestly to you if they have anything they want to confide. This doesn’t mean they’ll spontaneously admit to crimes, unless they’re guilty and want to let it out, but they will be willing to talk freely and will instinctively believe that you will keep their secrets, even if they know you’ve shared those of others. But if you do prove indiscreet with someone’s private matters, they won’t trust you with them again.

• Not So Helpless Ingenue (400cp)

There’s a very thin line between ‘sweet & innocent’ and ‘hopelessly naive’. You dance blithely back and forth across that line, or at least you do to all outside observers. Somehow, you’re able to maintain your sense of innocent wonder, boundless optimism, and simple joie-de-vivre without sacrificing any of your cunning, wisdom, or practicality. Those who see you but do not know you well will probably assume you’re sweetness and light (if they’re not a cynical individual) or a complete naïf (if they’re of the more pragmatic persuasion), and thus underestimate you, but in truth? You always know when someone is trying to manipulate you or lead you astray.

This plot line must be in the books for some reason, but it's not obvious to me.
We know that Balon Swann has been built up as a competent and skilled fighter, 'Darkstar' (ugh) is billed as "the most dangerous man in Dorne" and Obara hates/would like to sack Oldtown.
Some have suggested that Doran has ordered Hotah to kill Balon Swann, as revenge for Cersei's plot to kill Trystane.
"...The man who wore them looked a fighter too. This one will not die so easy as the other. He will not charge into my axe the way Ser Arys did. He will stand behind his shield and make me come at him. If it came to that, Hotah would be ready."
But what is the point of sending a POV on this journey? It must be somewhat important.
I'm looking forward to a secluded duel (three way duel? Four?) on the cliffs of Dorne between these characters, but I'm at a loss as to the larger point.
Perhaps Obara (and Darkstar?) betrays Areo and takes command of the Dornish in the Prince's pass to attack Oldtown? Perhaps Balon ekes out a victory over Areo and flees somewhere?
I'm interested in any thoughts people have.

I am getting very worried- I have a senior kitty(13) who I took to the vet for overgrooming- blood work was good except for a thyroid level that was at the highest range of the normal parameters- We were advised to change her food and possibly try feliway. I got her a collar and we switched her to limited ingredient diet- even put her on a month of anti itch medication but there was not much change. I used a soft donut cone to limit her overgrooming, though she could still get some areas. However one day she cut herself open on the inner leg fairly badly and I quickly upgraded her to an actual cone which she hated. She would compulsively still try to lick through it and scratch and ultimately had a full blown panic attack after a few days where my roommate took the cone off and she roughed herself up a bit with scratches.
Any advice is immensely appreciated, this has been horrible and the vet trips seem to be ineffective- But my specific question is after coning a cat has anyone had them hide in corners and the litter box room and make weird noises for an extended period of time? It is extremely alarming to see that in conjunction with the intense overgrooming- Her running into the closet like she's possessed makes me think of a dying cat :/ any experience and feedback is much appreciated.

Just wanted to share my thoughts on an idea for death of a spaceman and bounty hunting/medical implications: We know DOASM will probably bring in a limited respawn based system which will bring about penalties from running out of "lives" so what if instead of just dying when you backspace your old body will go comatose (unless you were completly killed of course) and is potentially available for reclamation, meaning if you can go back, find your body and heal it you can essentially get a life back? This would give medical gameplay more relevance, preserve the ability of backspacing in appropriate circumstances (with a penalty) and also preserve the prisoner transport and delivery aspect of bounty hunting while removing the problem of massive downtime/griefing oppertunity for the captured player, so if you want that particular body/life back you'll have to turn yourself in or possibly steal it back. once you retrieve your body you will need to deliver it to one of those emergency medbay access places in any friendly hangar as a satisfying completion to any body retrieval.
Happy to hear others thoughts on this.

I am getting very worried- I have a senior kitty who I took to the vet for overgrooming- blood work was good except for a thyroid level that was at the highest range of the normal parameters- We were advised to change her food and possibly try feliway. I got her a collar and we switched her to limited ingredient diet- even put her on a month of anti itch medication but there was not much change. I used a soft donut cone to limit her overgrooming, though she could still get some areas. However one day she cut herself open on the inner leg fairly badly and I quickly upgraded her to an actual cone which she hated. She would compulsively still try to lick through it and scratch and ultimately had a full blown panic attack after a few days where my roommate took the cone off and she roughed herself up a bit with scratches.
Any advice is immensely appreciated, this has been horrible and the vet trips seem to be ineffective- But my specific question is after coning a cat has anyone had them hide in corners and the litter box room and make weird noises for an extended period of time? It is extremely alarming to see that in conjunction with the intense overgrooming- Her running into the closet like she's possessed makes me think of a dying cat :/ any experience and feedback is much appreciated.