So, this is really long but I think it's worth the read as there has been nothing else like this in the Gtag community before. I have been working on this almost every day since Valentines Day Update 2022. I have changed it, restarted it, and updated it for every new Gtag update. I will make Updates to the in the future as it seems like we are getting more updates and more maps in the future.
Updates are not always literal, for example, the Human Tag Update only shows that humans exist or once existed in the Gorilla Tag world. The Monkes are not literally wearing masks that resemble humans. This logic applies to every update unless it's just cosmetics or a new map. Also, it's really weird at the first few Chapters so just stick with it or skip ahead. Ask any question in the comments about why I put the things I put and if you want evidence.
Most recent Updates to this are in Chapters 8, 14, 15, and 16
BI = Before Infection AI = After Infection
Prologue: Gods
4,500,000,000 BI - 212,001 BI
When Earth is formed, two gods form with it to rule over the planet. Mother Nature, the god of life and nature, and the Illuminati, the god of chaos and ice. Mother Nature usually takes the form of a 3,000-foot-tall tree called the Tree of Life, while the Illuminati takes the form of an ice pyramid with an ice eye in the center. Mother Nature creates life to populate Earth while the Illuminati constantly tries to kill it.
Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall of Humanity
212,000 - 200,001 BI
Humans, the most powerful species on Earth has cut down the Tree of Life and taken Mother Nature out of control. This leaves the Illuminati to slowly creep into the modern society. Some Humans form a cult around it, and they are the most powerful people on Earth. That means, the Illuminati can tell them to do something, and they can affect the most powerful nations on the planet.
Eventually, the Illuminati tricks the humans into fighting each other. The biggest nations on the world begin to go to war with some of the biggest possible nukes. They destroy the surface of the Earth causing it to go into a nuclear ice age. The Illuminati, an ice god, now has full control over Earth. Anytime life appears, it almost instantly dies. However, some humans were able to survive and eventually, the ice age comes to an end, and no god is in control of Earth.
Chapter 2: Monke
200,000 BI - 1,001 BI
After hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, Humans have evolved into a new species called Monkes. Monkes are gorilla-like apes that can survive the harshest of conditions. Their diet consists of grass and bugs. Some bugs and patches of grass have survived over the past few million years.
Mother Nature has started to take back control of the world as she creates the Tree of Life and a whole forest around it in a crater from a nuke. Many Monkes travel to this crater and end up being trapped as the forest is on a lower level then the rest of the crater.
Chapter 3: Rise of the Monkes
1,000 BI - 601 BI
All other Monkes go extinct meaning that the only remaining Monkes are in this crater. One day the Monkes decide to finally make the jump as they all jump down into the forest. Most of them die, but the few that survive are left without legs. About 100 Monkes are alive and they quickly learn to use their arms like legs.
Unfortunately, just like there Human ancestors, the first thing they do is cut down the Tree of Life and use its wood. This leaves Mother Nature powerless again. The wood from the Tree of Life will last them for thousands of years. They build bridges, tree houses, ramps, and a gazebo in the forest. All the children of the surviving Monkes also don't have legs making it now a fundamental part of their species.
They hollow out the inside of the Tree of Life's stump and start to build tunnels out of it. These tunnels reach out to all over the crater. One tunnel leads to a small set of canyons covered in sand. Another tunnel leads to a massive flat, rocky, landscape in the other side of the crater. The final tunnel goes straight down into the ground until it hits a large cave filled with crystals.
They build mines underneath the cave and harvest the large crystals. These crystals are radioactive because of the ancient nukes. The Monkes harvest the crystals and start to use them in technology. They create lamps, litghtposts, lights, signs, and even their greatest accomplishment a computer.
Chapter 4: The City
600 BI - 30 BI
The large, flat, rocky landscape they discovered has a lot of useful recourses in it. Over the next few hundred years they build an entire city with large skyscrapers and new technology that is widespread. There are thousands of Monkes now living in The City. The forest and canyons have become vacation places for most Monkes, and the homes of the most rich or important Monkes.
The Monkes decide to have a leader, so a rich family decides to step up and become the royals of the Monkes. There king is named Yorick, and their queen is named Lucy. They both live in a basement-like area rights next to the main entrance into The City. Queen Lucy also turns the canyons into an industrial area and improves quality of life for the main populous.
King Yorick and Queen Lucy have a son named Blue. By the time Prince Blue was 13 he already starting his dream job of being a scientist.
Chapter 5: The Hunt War
29 BI - 21 BI
A tunnel is dug in city after, and they dig all the way until the edge of the crater. The walls of the crater look like large mountains from down below and they are extremely cold. They accidentally cause an avalanche, and the base of the walls are filled with snow and ice. From this avalanche comes the god of chaos and ice, the Illuminati. The Illuminati causes many snowstorms and causes a sort of Ice Age.
Queen Lucy tries to keep everyone calm and civil. However, the Illuminati is able to influence the Monkes minds and causes chaos and destruction to happen all throughout Monke society. After years of pure chaos, the Monkes are able to split into two factions, The Monkes, and the Smiles. They also are helped by newly discovered species that came with the Ice Age. These species are Penguins, Polar Bears, Snow Owls, and many other species that live in the cold. These species were the only survivors of the ancient human war that nearly killed Earth. Over the past few hundred thousand years, they have all migrated across the world, and have worked together even if they were from different poles of the Earth.
The royal scientist, Prince Blue has created many new technologies before. During the war, he creates a Hunt Watch. A Hunt Watch is a watch that targets the nearest enemy to you. Once you touch that enemy with the watch on, they turn into an Ice Monke and can easily be shattered to bits. Over time, this technology allowed them to win the war and bring somewhat order back.
Chapter 6: The Ice Monkes
20 BI - 1 BI
Many Ice Monkes were not killed in the war, usually they were turned into Ice Monkes but were able to get away before being shattered. The Ice Monkes are still just regular Monkes except they are made of ice, can't go near heat, and are fragile. Even though the war was over, the Ice Monkes were still treated horribly. In this already hard time period, the Ice Monkes had absolutely nothing. Many veterans of the war still had their Hunt Watches, causing many more Ice Monkes to be formed.
Meanwhile the Illuminati builds snow castles for itself in the forest. This means that the mountain base was safe to enter now. To lighten the spirit of this dark time they built a large waterslide in this new area. Many murders and crimes still happen throughout The City, but one day it gets out of hand. King Yorick is assonated, his head was chopped off in the middle of The City. The now lonely Queen Lucy keeps his skull in her home.
Chapter 7: The Infection
0 AI - 3 AI
Ever since the bombs dropped hundreds of thousands of years ago, a volcano has slowly been forming in the crater. Now, the volcano has fully formed and is erupting. All the snow and ice are melted, the Illuminati is gone, the caves are flooded, and the mines are caved in. The base of the walls still has snow but lots of it melts and reshapes its surface.
In the lava was an extremophile virus that can survive the lavas heat. It is radioactive and spreads very quickly. This virus is called the Infection, and many Monkes get it. The infected Monkes get resistant to lava, they get stronger, they get faster, there skin is replaced with lava, and they have an uncontrollable instinct to hunt down normal Monkes and infect them.
The infected spread everywhere but The City is able to be kept safe and nobody can enter or leave The City. After a few years the volcano stops erupting, but the Infection stays around.
Chapter 8: Calming Down
4 AI - 6 AI
Prince Blue finds a cure for the Infection, some Monkes are given jobs to specifically leave The City and cure a ton of infected Monkes. They start doing this and it actually works. The cure is called Kai Juice. Anytime someone enters The City, they are given Kai Juice just in case. It is no longer dangerous to leave The City as if you get infected you can immediately drink some Kai Juice and go back to normal.
The caves and mines are drained and dug up. The old caves and mines completely caved in and revealed even more caves underneath. They start mining again and find loads of dinosaur bones along with a 40-foot-long crystal. Prince Blue has a son named Pink, but unfortunately during such great times, Queen Lucy dies of old age. Blue becomes King Blue and Pink becomes Prince Pink. There is a massive funeral for Queen Lucy that spans from The City all the way to the forest. They burn her body and put her ashes in a vase beneath a grave.
Chapter 9: Exploration
7 AI - 17 AI
A large tunnel is found on the forest walls, they follow it, and it leads out of the crater. Just on the other side of the crater is a beach covered in ancient, broken, human buildings. King Blue sees this and is the first to figure out that there was a complex civilization before them.
A few years later, they have made boats to sail out into the ocean and have built shops to supply the ships on shore. The ocean and beach are also home to many new animals. Meanwhile, King Blue discovered that if an infected Monke stays infected for multiply years, they harden and become rock. When they harden, they can't infect anything, but they can't be cured either. They also get even stronger, even faster, and their rock skin is almost impenetrable.
Chapter 10: The Tree of Life
18 AI - 47 AI
King Blue has been studying everything he can since he became king, and he has noticed that it is possible to revive the Tree of Life. For hundreds of years the Tree of Life's stump has been sitting in the forest, so King Blue is going to be the first one to do anything about it.
Over the next decade they nurture the stump and help it constantly until the Tree of Life has fully grown back. The only problem is that the Tree of Life is almost a mile tall, and they can't climb up that. King Blue and his engineering team spend the next few years building a rocket. When they are finished, they put it in the middle of The City and launch it. On the rocket is a team of explorers and engineers to work on top of the Tree of Life.
When on top of it they build large platforms along with massive rocks wheels and other things powered by winds. When they come back down, months later, they tell everyone what they built. The rocket becomes the main form of transportation in between The City and the Tree of Life’s top. The public uses that rocket to get up there because now people live on top of the Tree of Life in a place called Cloudtown.
Chapter 11: Calm Before the Storm
48 AI - 54 AI
King Blue and his team start to develop a new rocket after realizing how well they built the first rocket. The second rocket they build is not in The City and much larger. They build this rocket for years before eventually, it is done. It launched, flew out of the atmosphere, and took a 3-day journey through space until they landed on the Moon.
The Illuminati has created a being named Humbug. Humbug appears as a 30-foot-tall snowman. Humbug also has the abilities to change size, change the size of other things, transform, and transform other things. He takes the form of an old Monke named Santa Claus. In the form of Santa, he would give out presents to everyone and create ridiculously large birthday cakes for everyone. Everyone loved him and had no idea of his true form. He would use his powers every now and then to shrink people down and kidnap them. Over time he would slowly transform them into children's toys that he would give out to the people. However, the Santa form broke down over time. His red clothes and white beard becoming gray. But the public still loved and cherished him.
Chapter 12: Humbug
55 AI - 62 AI
Humbug reveals his true form and takes over The City. He shrinks down King Blue and Prince Pink. He then mutilates and transforms them into monsters called the Monkeyes. He traps them in a miniature maze and throws Monkes in there to be killed by their previous leaders. Everything is covered in snow once again by the Illuminati, but he still is not fully in control. Humbug takes over everything the Monkes have made before climbing his way up the Tree of Life. Humbug makes it up there and destroys Cloudtown in an attempt to take control over the Tree of Life. This does not work.
Over a few years, the Monkes have been able to create something called a Tesla Coil. The Tesla Coil is a machine that can take away Humbugs powers and use it against him. Humbug's powers are stripped away, and the Monkes take back control. Humbug is shrunken down and trapped in a miniature maze. The Monkes also start to use his powers to make themselves super big. However, with King Blue and Prince Pink turned into monsters, and Humbug overthrown, the Monkes have no leader.
Chapter 13: The Giants War
63 AI - 75 AI
The Monkes have been living peacefully for a few years, but eventualy, the different sizes start to look down on each other. This leads into the Giants War, where the different Monke sizes fight for 9 years. Eventually, the Monke population dwindle so much, that the war ended. The Monkes that did not change their size did not interact with the Monkes that changed their size. Now, tiny Monke skulls and giant Monke skulls are littered everywhere, and the only surviving Monkes are the ones that never changed their size.
Chapter 14: Peace
76 AI - 90 AI
The Tree of Life grows massively and repairs the damage done by Humbug years ago. Countless new branches and huge leaves sprout from its trunk. This allows the Monkes to make their way back up to the treetop with a newly repaired rocket. Cloudtown is rebuild, slowly, but rebuilt nonetheless. This is called, New Cloudtown.
A year after the Giants War ends, the skulls and bodies are cleared out. The City was practically empty as most buildings were either destroyed, damaged, or tilted over in the war. Many Monkes just went to New Cloudtown to survive as going anywhere else other than The City would mean being attacked by Infected Monkes. Also, during this time, the mutated monsters that were once King Blue and Prince Pink were killed by another Monke for sport. Their souls go on to become ghosts that wander the city. King Blue's soul becomes a ghost called the Ghost Wanderer, and Prince Pink's soul becomes a ghost called the Ghost Lurker.
The population has grown more, and the Monkes have created sports to celebrate the era of peace. These sports are Hockey, Watersoccer, and Paintbrawl. This happens during the fall where Lucy's spirit flies out from her grave and starts playing with some random civilian Monkes. She then reunites with the souls of her son and grandson in the forms of the Ghost Wanderer and the Ghost Lurker.
Chapter 15: Advancements
91 AI - 100 AI
A new type of plant is found in New Cloudtown. This plant sprouts large leaves with handle-like stems. These plants are called Glider Vines. The leaves of Glider Vines are used as gliders to fly around New Cloudtown.
The Monkes are unable to explore anymore. The ocean is too vast, they never got back from explorers they sent into the ocean, and the crater walls are too high to climb. So, they spend a few years creating an artificial environment that they can change on a will. They do this by using a Tesla Coil that harness Humbug's powers. In the first testing of it, they try to bring back the vast cave systems they found hundreds of years ago. It was an attempt to make infinite recourses. It turns out as a failure, everything is extremely broken and blocky. After much testing, they have it so it could be a tundra, a swamp, an ancient temple, and basically anything else. This underground, artificial environment is called Rotation.
They decide to excavate a larger area for Rotation. They then finish their original plan of recreating that same ancient cave system. This time it works, and it looks just like how it did hundreds of years ago. However, during the excavating of the larger area, the long dead Queen Lucy's vase finds itself in Rotation. Minor Monkes enter this cave and start mining, but when they discover Lucy's vase, they open it. From her long dead ashes rises the confused, lost, and insane spirit of Lucy. She has been trapped underground in the dark for almost a century now and has gone insane. The minors call her the Burnt Lucy, a dark reflection of their long dead Queen.
Chapter 16: The Return of Humbug
101 AI - ??? AI
The usage of the Tesla Coil attracts Humbug. He is able to escape the miniature maze the Monkes trapped him in, and slowly make his way to Rotation. When he arrives, he is able to get some of his powers back from the Tesla Coil, but he is noticed by the Monkes.
One of the first things Humbug does is kidnap three Monkes and turns them into small monsters called Monkeyes. He places them in the tiny maze that he was once trapped in.

1936, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
It is the year 1936. Joseph Stalin acts as Chairman of the Communist Party and Premier of the Soviet Union carefully bides his time. Ever since his failed bid to remove the Central and Left Oppositions in 1927-28 seized him the Premiership, he had carefully spent nearly a decade rebuilding his influence and network to the point that he can try a second attempt to dispel his political rivals and not a moment too soon. Within a years time, the Man of Steel predicts the Congress of the Soviets would gather to reexamine and most likely replace the old 1924 consitution with something that would give the lethargic titan purpose. If the premier gets his way, this new document will be a Stalin Constitution.
Meanwhile, Leon Trotsky stews in exile from his current residence in London, the famous Bolshevik a guest of the likeminded Oswald Mosely. In fact, he has spent a great deal of time writing theory for a new socialist system to, in his words, 'Provide a Total answer to the schism between the Bolshevik east and the Syndicalist West.' However, the Revolutionary is not content to rot away in western Europe. He too has been patient, he too has rebuilt his influence and recruited supporters within the Soviet Union knowing that the window is closing for him to return triumphantly within the halls of power and direct the Permanent Revolution towards crushing the forces of reaction.
Perhaps he is confident in his return as his supporters back home have informed him about the shaky foundations of the Central Opposition. Officially, this political bloc was led by the 'Troika' or the alliance between Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamanev, and Grigory Zinoviev. In reality, this triumvirate was primarily under Stalin's control, who only retained the other two when it became clear the Right Opposition would not be easily uprooted. Neither men, however, forgot Stalin's betrayal and how close they came to being removed from power. Gigory Zinoviev, General-Secretary of the Comintern, has drifted (in secret) closer to elements of the underground Left Opposition. On the other hand, Lev Kamanev has quietly reached out to elements of the Right Opposition, more out of necessity and a shared hatred for Stalin.
Speaking of which, the Right Opposition. Partially born out of Nikolai Bukharin's admiration for the New Economic Policy and admiration of the successful French and British Revolutions. With the rise of Syndicalism in the west, the concept of a partially decentralized economy has seemingly been vindicated. With Bukharin's popularity and Alexei Rykov's experience both in politics and economics, the Right Opposition was transformed into the 'Bolshevik Syndicalist' wing of the Party. Crucial in defeating Stalin's first seizure in the late 1920's, Bukharin and Rykov have represented the opposition to Stalin's Center Tendency. Perhaps by the end of the year, they will finally overcome Stalin's decade long reign as Premier and mend the rift between Paris, London, and Moscow.
Lastly, there is the odd man out: Ivan Smirnov. A strong supporter of Trotsky, rabid enemy of Stalin, and General-Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. After his expulsion from the party in 1927, Smirnov was eventually reinstated not just as a member of the party, but put in one of its most powerful positions for one simple reason; he could be trusted not to play favorites. He disliked the Right Oppositions sway towards Syndicalism, despised Stalin and most of the Center, and the man he actually did support was a continent away, his supporters scattered. What's more, Stalin believed he controlled Ivan, the man being one mistep away from being exposed as a Trotskyite and expelled from the party again or worse. However, Ivan is not broken. Though he has sworn off Trotsky he still speaks quietly with likeminded men of the Left Opposition, his friendship with Grigory Zinoviev still holds strong, and Bukharin and Rykov are far less infuriating then Stalin ever could be. Smirnov will play a vital role in the politics of the coming months. Whether Trotsky returns, the Center bucks Stalin, the Right ascends, or the Man of Steel reigns triumphant, Smirnov will play a pivotal role in that outcome.
The Issues They Face
The NEP vs Five Year Plans - One of the most divisive issues plaguing the party is whether or not to commit to either a fully reorganized NEP, or to double down on the system of Five Year Plans to increase the Soviet Unions heavy industries. Ever since Joseph Stalin rose to Premiership, the Soviet economy has been pulled in two separate directions. One is championed by both the Left Opposition and Stalin himself, that being the collectivization of farmland and an economic focus on heavy industries. The opposite is Bukharin's 'Reorganized New Economic Plan', a full rework of the NEP along more Syndicalist lines. In years past the Soviet Union has partially adopted both economies with surprisingly positive effects, but now the economy and bureaucracy is stumbling under the weight of the two systems and a choice has to be made; Full-send on collectivization, or stay the course with the NEP?
Socialism in One Country vs Permanent Revolution - Perhaps one of the prime failures of Stalin was his commitment to the concept of Socialism in one Country, in which the Soviet Union must look inwards to build its strength before reaching out to the wider world. This was made under the assumption that no other nation would collapse to revolution, with or without the Soviet Unions help, so Stalin and others like him looked quite foolish when the Italian Federation and British Empire collapsed and Syndicalism rose in its place. Under Stalin, the capital of the world revolution was not in Moscow, but in Paris. Under Stalin, rather than uniting against the common threat of reaction, the socialist world divided between the anarchist Internationale and the Bolshevik Comintern... and the Comintern is losing. Either Stalin must overcome the red portion of western Europe or swallow his pride before his failings become someone else success...
The Ost Wall - The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a great shame Lenin had to accept to ensure peace between Russia and Germany. With the Civil War still raging and Germany only getting stronger, the writing was on the wall. While in the end very little ethnically Russian land was lost, the Soviet Union was not built on an ethnic model. The shame of Brest-Litovsk still burns, and while peace was achieved, more and more voices find the call of revolution and war burn brighter in their hearts. The Soviet Union's industry is growing at an exponential rate, and the Red Army expands and modernizes with every year. What's more, the cracks in Germany's eastern armor have finally begun to show as it's eastern 'allies' struggle to appease their disgruntled peoples. For the men who lead the Union, their experience all tells them the same thing: War is coming, whether they want it or not.
Soviet Union Paths
The Man of Steel (Totalism) - Despite all efforts to stop him, Stalin is finally ascendant within the Soviet Union. Trotsky, Bukharin, Smirnov... all of these men are now gone, politically (and soon, literally). The Foundation of the Cult of Stalin has already been laid, and lists are being written. Lists of names, hundreds of names, thousands, hundreds of thousands of names. Soon, Stalin will clean house. Soon, no one shall be safe from Stalin and his megalomanic paranoia. Soon, Russia will have a new religion, the creed of Stalinism.
"The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Return of the Triumvirate (Radical Socialist) - Though Trotsky and Bukharin's lot were finally subdued, Stalin cannot deny that he could've done it alone. Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev (Or one of them and Smirnov) have entrenched their position as Stalin's right and left hands. Stalin has won, but he must contend with his old rivals and allies as equals once more. Perhaps in another ten years, Stalin could revisit their necessity as allies but for now, the Troika reigns supreme.
"Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey once more rule the Third Rome."
Heir of Lenin (Totalism) - After a decade in exile, Trotsky has returned has crossed the Rubicon and ousted his enemies. The triumphant revolutionary can now reshape the Soviet Union along the path it was truly meant to take, and serve as a shining example of Marxism-Leninism-Totalism. Already the Red Army begins to mobilize and the factories churn out guns as Trotsky plans in tandem with his socialist allies in France and Britain and the German Empire shudders as the Russian Bear awakens.
"The Ghost of Lenin stirs in his grave."
The Siberian Dark Horse (Totalism) - Much like the man who occupied the office before him, Smirnov has managed to play everyone off one another until he alone remains standing. The Right Opposition is in chaos, Stalin and his lackey's are gone or turning their coats to the winning side, and without Trotsky the Left Opposition has rallied around his natural successor. Ivan Smirnov was never in the cards to come out the true winner, and yet now he sits at the top of the pile under the mantle of Marxism-Trotskyism. Smirnov will honor his predecessor by continuing the Permanent Revolution, and bring revolution to the west as he did to the east.
"First, Kolchak. Next, the Kaiser."
Defender of the Peasantry (Syndicalism) - With Stalin finally removed from power, Bukharin can begin the process of De-Stalinization and directing the Revolution onto the right track. Under Bukharin, the well-being of the working class and peasantry shall come first, as will their liberation and empowerment and the only way to achieve that, as shown in the west, is through the Syndicate. Lenin once called Bukharin the 'Golden Boy of the Party', and though Lenin did have his criticisms of the man none could ever deny his well-earned popularity. He will ensure the people of the Soviet Union do not run the risk of other autocratic Stalin's or ambitious Trotsky's taking the reigns. He will mend the gap with the Internationale not because he is a sycophant of some would-be dictator with a funny moustache, but because all of socialism must come together to challenge the warriors of reaction. He will build a new Soviet Union, not one born out of his blood, sweat and tears alone, but by the blood of soldiers on the field of battle, the sweat of factory workers on the production line, and the tears of mother and fathers. Not because Bukharin ordered them to do so for the 'Greater Good'... but because they united as one to stare the dragon of reaction in the face and tell it that its time was past.
"Democracy of the People, by the People, for the People, Shall Not Perish from the Earth."
The Fading Star (Radical Socialism) - Once, Rykov was not too dissimilar to the likes of Stalin or Trotsky, who championed 'the end justified the means'. They were not one of the architects of War Communism, and the blood that policy, however necessary and effective, stained Rykov's hands to this day. He is not Bukharin, he does not have his drive nor his charisma. But what he does have is experience and focus. Perhaps the Soviet Union will not become as revolutionary or radical under Rykov. Perhaps Rykov cannot be Bukharin. But what Rykov can do is ensure the Soviet Union he leaves behind is strong, united, and ready for a younger man to take into a new age. This will be the second time Rykov has acted as Premier of the Soviet Union, and he will not let it slip out of his fingers like the last time.
"The Reaper now Sows the Seeds of Tomorrow."
Other Snippets

• If Trotsky fails to return to the Soviet Union or survives assassination attempts, members of the Third Internationale will have events involving Trotsky. In particular, he will visit the Combined Syndicates of America and, depending on choices made by the CSA and how close the CSA is to being defeated, stay to support the revolution. This can range from either acting as a National Spirit and possible Advisor to actually acting as a Field Marshal/General for the CSA. His presence also increases the popularity of Totalism. He can provide similar buffs to either the SRI, The Commune, or the Union of Britain.
• If Stalin is exiled from the Soviet Union, he will eventually end up in Mexico. Trotsky or Smirnov can choose to send assassins after Stalin where upon he will be found murdered in his study, killed by an ice pick and becomes a Martyr for anti-trotskyite/Smirnovite socialists. If he is not assassinated, Stalin eventually suffers a stroke in the late 50's, but is saved by the quick actions of local doctors but was rendered mentally impaired, and fades into relative obscurity.
• If Stalin is not exiled, he will merely be removed from the party and retires to his villa on the black sea. Again, Trotsky or Smirnov can have him killed much to the same effect, but if not Stalin spends his days living a relaxing and peaceful life, writing books and essay's in both Russian and Georgian and on all manners of subjects including Stalin's views on Christianity, and acting as the Patriarch of a growing family. His daughter, Svetlana, eventually joins the Communist Party.
• While Stalin, Trotsky, and Smirnov can all turn the Soviet Union Totalist, their flavors vary somewhat wildly. Stalin turns the Soviet Union down its OTL path of Stalinism of course. Marxism-Leninism-Totalism is rather similar to Stalinism but much more zealous and aggressive in doctrine. Marxism-Trotskyism is essentially bog-standard Marxism-Leninism but more heavily militarized, and Smirnov takes on Stalinist and Trotskyist attributes eventually culminating in a Cult of Personality forming around the Siberian Lenin.
• Bukharin's paths will either end with Bukharin ceding power to the Supreme Soviet/Congress of Soviets of which he will remain a prominent voice, or one where Bukharin accidently forms a Cult of Personality around himself, though one that's more benign in nature. Both endings are seen as positive but radical. Rykov is still a positive ending, though more pragmatic and moderate compared to Bukharin's radicalism.

Ok so i have this creepy dungeon under my patio that has my water meter in and water shut off.. in order to get down there i have to remove a heavy steel plate and drop a ladder down there to climb down... this area is not accessible say if a water line burst in the house, no way my wife or kid could get down there to ever turn the water off and there's no other water shut off, and if its winter and there's snow out there... just even worse.
So i decided im going to hammer drill through the basement wall into the other side and run the pipe through there and install a shut off valve that's accessible from the basement also.., the basement is cinder block but this part is also cinder block so its a stretch to get through, i have a 16" bit and wasn't able to get out to the other side and was drilling from a broken piece of cinder block in that pit.
The thing im curious about now is i figured these 2 parts were flush, they have to be very close to being flush at least but as i started getting through more now i have lots of gravel coming out. House was built in 1949, not sure about the patio and other stuff, we just moved in a few years ago. Is it normal for cinder block to be filled with gravel? Am i going to mess anything up if i just keep drilling through to the other side? I mean i dont even know how much gravel is there.. if its inside the brick, they are staggered so only so much can come out?
Thoughts?? Thanks
https://i.imgur.com/BgpH6Mv.png

Hello,
I had Playnite installed for quite some time and today I've reinstalled my windows. Unfortunately I forgot to backup my Playnite settings. Usually whenever I clicked on a game the title, description, etc. were all listed on the right side whenever I did that. Now the right side just stays empty. How do I get that information to be displayed again? Thank you in advance.

My car is slowly dying. 191 000 km. Master power window switch only rolls down windows. Need to use the door switch to roll it up. I took apart my door and cleaned up what I could but I Can’t find a replacement. My keypad no longer works too.
Some mechanic messed up my lights. I had to pull one of the relays/modules so I no longer have day time running lights or high beams. But both headlights work. If I put the module in only the passenger light turns on and I get high beams for that one headlight too. After that headlight fix my cruise control stopped working. I hope I figure it out but all these electric problems are more annoyances.
My passenger door will only lock automatically but will not unlock. Im greatful the others are all good still. Really thinking of installing remote start which will allow for keyless entry.
My transmission feels like it’s slipping. I got a relative who works for a dealership to change the fluids but it hasn’t done much. From a stop car goes through gears no problem. But once I break and reaccelerate feels like it’s stuck in 4th and struggles to downshift.
My mileage is crap too. Ever since I got this car I’ve been using 91 just like the original owners did. But I’m only getting 150km for half a tank. Use to get around 220km half tank.
My suspension is done. I wanna get it replaced but having hard time finding springs. Found some places who said they only have suspension parts for the SE and that they have nothing aftermarket for the gxe sonar suspension. I have some OEM g35 rims on it right now and sometimes they rub sometimes they don’t so yah my car is probably leaning to one side.
My power antenna no longer works (need a new mast). The motor is fine and it still ‘lowers the arena’ when you shut off the car but I kinda just wanna pull the antenna and install a new one, and plug up that hole. For a clean look.
Body is slowly rusting. It’s been stored in a garage and maybe driven in the winter 30 days max in the decade+ of me owning it. Clear coat is good but paint showing its age…superficial scratches everywhere. Couple dents but nothing major.
A relative took a look at it and he believed I need to do a head gasket job and I’m guessing it’s probably time to replace the original timing new belt too. I’ve changed the wiper arms myself and feel like I did a crappy job. Seems like there is only one speed.
I installed an after market sound system (old one I had lying around) so sometimes the clock and climate control screen go dim so I can’t read it I probably need to add a capacitor or something my amp is probably drawing too much power?
I think my exhaust is rusting into non existence. I got an old flex pipe leak patched up (car sounded like a beast!) and I dunno if these cars even have catalytic converters.
Junk yard don’t seem to have anything in canada. Parts maybe exist in southern Carolina last time I checked maybe 3 years ago. ++++++
So what’s the good? I have the original A/C blowing cold. My mechanic charged me $10 to fix it. $20 diagnostics. No check engine lights. Randoms will still ask me about the car in parking lots or sometimes roll down their windows I n traffic.
I love the car but someone convience me / guide me how to keep it going. Maybe if I could make it electric or turn it into AWD or Frankenstein it into something. I dunno. Just tell me I can keep her going for another few years

Krummi svaf í kletta gjá,
Crowbrid swefed in cleaven bight
kaldri vetrar nóttu á,
cold winter, in the night
verður margt að meini;
Allerwight wiln marren him
verður margt að meini;
Allerwight wiln marren him
fyrr en dagur fagur rann
Foren dayer, fair gerun,
freðið nefið dregur hann
Frithlig, nebnose, draggled hine,
undan stórum steini.
Under stouren stonen
undan stórum steini.
Under stouren stonen
Allt er frosið úti gor,
All sind frozen out a-yond
ekkert fæst við ströndu mor,
Nothing wot at strandenmound
svengd er metti mína;
Swerehunger is mine maw
svengd er metti mína;
Swerehunger is mine maw
ef að húsum heim ég fer,
If towards the home, Ich fare
heimafrakkur bannar mér
Homenfrackhound abbanth *mer
seppi´ úr sorpi´ að tína.
From the trash to thenen
seppi´ úr sorpi´ að tína.
From the trash to thenen
Öll er þakin ísi jörð,
All sind thatchen in icegard
ekki séð á holta börð
Nought geseen at hollowberg
fleygir fuglar geta;
That the fowl can weeten
fleygir fuglar geta;
Tha the fowl can weeten
en þó leiti út um mó,
Though laited Ich emb the moor.
auða hvergi lítur tó;
Eþe all-hweryin litten so.
hvað á hrafn að éta?
Hwat will hraven eaten?
hvað á hrafn að éta?
Hwat will hraven eaten?
Á sér krummi ýfði stél
On seen, Crowbrid snorteth steel
Einning brýndi goggin vel
It brandeth his gar-beaker well
Flaug úr fjallagjórtum
Flown from fellenyoten
Flaug úr fjallagjórtum
Flown from fellenyoten
Litur yfir byggð og bu
Litten over biggen and bue
Á bæjum fyrr en vakna hjú
On barn before waken hew
Veifar vængjum skjortum
Waver wingen scootlong
Veifar vængjum skjortum
Waver wingen scootlong
Sálaður á síðu lá
Soullesslig on the side lay
sauður feitur garði hjá,
Sheep fattes on yard away
fyrrum frár á velli.
Formerlig from feldling
fyrrum frár á velli.
Formerlig from feldling
'Krúnk, krúnk! nafnar, komið hér!
Caw, caw! Neven, come hither!
krúnk, krúnk! því oss búin er
Caw, caw! For we're boren here
krás á köldu svelli.
Crunch on cold, swellende
krás á köldu svelli.
Crunch on cold, swellende
Hattip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dxMYvmKXwo

Sionia
Chapter 14
Map First Previous
“Lord Wyatt, you are needed” Called Lars that shook me out of my fascinating reading about dragon neuts.
“Yes.” I said as I pulled back the curtain.
“The city guard requests to speak with you. They are restricting entrance to Avalon given the latest attack by Mardor at Black Gate of Rowan.” Lars explained with a salute and chest bump
With a sigh, I handed my book to Gus and exited the carriage and was very impressed with the massive three story gatehouse and huge stone block readouts connected on each side. I was met by a forty something looking man of average build with black hair and dark eyes flanked by six fully fitted out soldiers.
“I am Rhys Redith captain of the guard here in Avalon. You must be Count Ryan Wyatt.” Rhys introduced himself with the question.
“Yes, I am Ryan Wyatt.” I responded with a frown and knotted brow.
“We have been expecting your arrival. The king has ordered us to assist you and provide hospitality. I am to escort you to the fortress and the rest of your party to Duggan's inn.” Said Rhys with a salute and formal bow.
“That will not do! I have several wards under my care which several are nobility.” I objected to the plan given.
“I was not aware. I will of course take you to the fortress where Lady Ludmilla will address your concerns.” Replied Rhys with a salute and bow then motioned for me to follow.
“Follow him, Jace .” I said to my new driver and climbed into the carriage.
The bridge over the north side of the Paradise River to the island of Avalon was very long at around a quarter mile or so. The readouts of the gatehouse extended a good ways into the river which had several firing positions. I suspected that the river rose and fell with a possible rainy and dry season which was why the readouts could prevent an army from getting behind the gatehouse or access to the bridge from land. The island side gatehouse was flush with the city walls and protruded into the river was equally as impressive with a descent sized recessed portico and draw bridge porch extension.
Thinking back to my travels through Europe, I decided Avalon looked like the city of East Looe, Cornwall in England but not as topographically elevated and with more renaissance style architecture than back on earth. The Roman style arched bridge was very much what we just rode across. The fortress of Avalon itself was at the highest point which was off to the left on the far east side of the island and most up stream point on the islands.
The Fortress keep was decent but still half the size of Duke Boasag's Buanna. I realized that the reason for putting my servants at an inn was because of the lack of space. However, I was determined to stay with my wards no matter the violation of etiquette it might cause. As my carriage pulled up to the entrance with the fortress that had both iron gates and metal reinforced wooden doors that were a good six feet wide and twelve feet tall each. These doors were set into no less than a three foot thick wall.
Passing through the gate was a small bricked paved courtyard that was about forty to fifty feet wide in a more or less oval shape. I saw a host of servants and two well dressed ladies waiting at the main doors to the fortress's central keep.
“Lord Wyatt, welcome to Avalon. I am Viscountess Ludmilla Skafhoggr and this is my mother Baroness Grogda Wode.” Stated a quiet plump pretty faced brown haired woman in a gaudy yellow with purple accented dress with unicorns all over it and a matching unicorn hat whose horn protruded a good foot from her forehead.
“Yes, it is a very deep pleasure to meet you as well.” Stated Lady Grogda a good looking woman who seemed to be in her mid to late thirties with black hair and unusual olive colored eyes. Her lite brown dress was quiet plain compared to her daughter's which was kind of comical in their contrast.
“The pleasure is mine for sure in meeting you ladies.” I said pouring it on a bit thick with a formal bow and sweep of my arm.
“I do not understand. Why are all your people with you?” Lady Ludmilla asked looking toward Captain Rhys but speaking to me.
“I have many wards under my protection. Thus, it is impossible to leave them alone without my presence as there are many who would try and take advantage of helpless young girls.” I stated but that failed miserably when Freya and the other three Asgardians approached fully armed with their swords.
“I would hardly call them helpless!” Spat Lady Grogda with a bit of contempt as the Asgardians were better looking than her.
“Despite appearances, they need my protection. After all, I am their guardian as I freed them from captivity.” I responded with a bit of admonishment in my voice.
“Yes, we have heard the tale. You are quiet the knight in shinning armor.” Lady Ludmilla said with obvious sarcasm.
“It is what it is. The wards will be with me wherever I am. If that is at an inn or camping on the side of the road, so bit it.” I stated with irritation.
“Do not be silly. We can host your wards and personal attendant. However, we must insist that the rest stay in the inn over there.” Lady Ludmilla said pointing to a three story building that was about fifty yards away.
“That is closer than expected. However, I accept. My people can stay at the inn while you host me and my wards.” I stated with another formal bow.
“Good, now come and we will see to your comfort.” Lady Ludmilla said with a bit of a laugh with Lady Grogda giving a small laugh and a wicked grin.
I immediately turned to Lars, Razor and Meowth and ordered that they maintain a watch on the carts and carriage around the clock as I did not want any lapse where someone would try to take advantage. I called to the wolf kin brothers to continue to protect the girls inside the fortress. Pointing to Lars, I told him to take our prisoner Andros to the adventure's guild office and turn him over and letting them know he was caught trying to steal from me. Tell them know I will see them on morrow to see if Andros was telling the truth or just lying. Turning with a smile and motioned to Freya and the girls to follow me with Gus right behind me.
The inside of the fortress was decently furnished though it had more of the appearance of a military outpost than a holding of wealth as it looked quiet spartan. I was led to an upper chamber where Lady Grogda had already ordered a bath filled by the time we had arrived.
“I will see to you personally” Lady Grogda stated with that same wicked grin again.
I suddenly felt as though I was a piece of meat put on display before a hungry wolf. I steeled myself to not recoil as I just felt off with this lady.
“See to your master's baggage.” Lady Grogda ordered Gus who was surprised by the command.
Gus gave me a slight shaking of his head and left the chamber. Lady Grogda then proceeded to strip me with efficiency. Once I was naked, she suddenly took her time looking at my nakedness. She even traced my scars on my back with a click of her tongue. Walking over to the tub, I climbed in and sat down.
“Spoil sport” Said Lady Grogda as she grabbed a wash cloth.
“Do not get my wounds wet.” I said warning Lady Groda of what the doctor had told me.
“Why? Your wound is almost well healed. The stitches can be pulled out except here” Stated Grogda and tapped me on my left shoulder blade.
“I have been using a special salve from the high elves. I did not realize it was healing that fast. However, I was warned that getting my wound wet would effect my healing.” I repeated what Doctor Zalzwarth told me.
“Very well.” Groda conceded.
Lady Grogda began washing me where she was absolutely taking her time. It was obvious that she was deliberately feeling me up for her own pleasure. When she grasped my manhood. I stood up and said, “The water is cold and I am tired and hungry!”
“Humph” Pouted Lady Grogda her displeasure but began to rinse me.
Just as I was stepping out of the tub, Gus entered slightly out of breath as he had run to get my clothes with Lukas my footman helping. I sighed with relief as Gus helped me don my dressing gown.
“Old Maude will be here momentarily to apply your salve.” Gus said with a salute.
“Very good.” I replied to Gus then turned to Lady Grogda and said, “I was told you are a Dowager Baroness. Is that not so?” I blatantly asked appearing as innocent as I could.
“I will see you at the dinner bell hour.” Lady Groda said with a sort of half wave salute and stormed out of the chamber in a huff.
“Thank you, Gus. I actually thought I would have to literally fight to save my personal honor.” I remarked with a laugh.
“It was my pleasure, Lord Wyatt.” Gus responded and joined me in laughing.
Old Maude came about twenty minutes later and applied my salve and chatted about how excited she was to be in Avalon and wanting to visit one of the apothecary shops. I gave her permission but have one of the guards accompany her.
About an hour later and I was fully shaven and dressed, I heard a large bell ringing from a bell tower not far away from my chamber. With that, I headed down to the great hall that was just off the main entrance way. I was met by Lady Ludmilla who escorted me to Viscount Skafhoggr chair where she seated herself to my left. Lady Grogda appeared wearing a new pink dress and seated herself to my right. The one missing was the Viscount.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr?” I asked Lady Ludmilla with a raised eyebrow.
“He is meeting with one of the military commanders. I believe they are deciding on how large a levy they must raise to battle the bastards of Mardor.” Replied Lady Ludmilla as she clapped her hands for servants to begin serving the evening meal.
Four exhausting hours later, I was back in my chamber with my nerves completely shot. The constant fawning and mindless chatter from Lady Ludmilla as well as the constant groping from Lady Grogda under the table had stained me to the max. I was ready for bed and was glad to sink into the lavender scented sheets. Gus grabbed a thin pallet and two blankets. Blowing out the candles he stepped into the hallway closing the door behind him. He would outside my door as custom demands while traveling.
A little over a half an hour later after Gus left, the door opened and closed quickly. I could not see in the darkness but relaxed when Freya spoke softly and slipped into bed with me. Freya did her magic on me as she mounted me taking me to new heights of pleasure. I quickly forgot all about the overly eager pursuit of the Dowager Baroness as I shared the pleasures of being with Freya. After we had sated ourselves completely, we slept peacefully in a loving embrace.
The morning came with a knock on my door that woke both Freya and I. I moaned but Freya nudged me on the chin.
“Time to wake you lazy bones.” Freya said with a laugh.
“I am not a morning person.” I said with a groan.
“Don't I know it! You were quiet the beast were you not?” Freya teased then laughed at me.
The knock on the door was more instant as I rose and put on my dressing gown. Opening the door slightly was Gus and the Dowager Baroness.
“It is early, what is it?” I asked.
“We have prepared a very special meal for you this morning.” Said Lady Grogda with a frown while she tried to look around me into the chamber.
“I see. Well, give me some time to properly dress and I will be down shortly.” I stated and continued to Gus “Have Lukas bring my shaving kit.”
“Right away, Lord Wyatt.” Gus said as he motioned down the hall where I assumed Lukas was.
About forty five minutes later and having snuck Freya out of my chamber, I was fully shaved and dressed in my dark red outfit and black beret hat that actually looked really good on me. Upon entering the great hall, I saw Lady Ludmilla seated. Lady Grogda taking me by the arm led me again to the Viscount's chair where she seated herself next to me.
“Where is Lord Skafhoggr, Lady Ludmilla?” I asked her directly.
Lady Ludmilla was quiet for a moment then said, “I guess he is sleeping. The meetings with the military commanders drag on for hours and hours. I hardly ever see him these days.” Lady Ludmilla said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Is that so. Very well as it can not be helped. Please send my regards to Lord Skafhoggr for his hospitality. I was informed that the king would have a messages for me that Lord Skafhoggr was to give me. Could you ask Lord Skafhoggr for them?” I asked as I suspected something was just not right.
“Oh. Ah. I will of course ask my Lord Vincent for the king's message once morning meal is finished.” Lady Ludmilla said and looked discombobulated.
“I see. Please do so. The king ordered me to arrive in Camelot immediately. I can not dally and spend extra time as I normally would do. I hope you understand.” I said making extra emphasis on the king's order part.
“Yes. What the king commands we all must obey.” Lady Ludmilla said sourly but not looking at me.
Lady Ludmilla then clapped her hands and the servants brought in the morning meal. What surprised me was my meal was different from everyone else. Looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda something in the back on my head screamed warning warning.
The silver plate before me was a type of stew with a strong overpowering spice scent. I frowned and began to think hard and fast.
“This is a specialty from the High Valley region. I hope you like it.” Lady Grogda said with no expression at all.
My alarm bells went off even stronger this time. A footman came over to fill my cup which I deliberately knocked over and profusely apologized for my clumsiness.
“You know, I am from the High Valley region too. I have never been a fan of overly spiced foods. Lets see how spicy it is.” I stated and took a scoop with a spoon and handed it to the footman to taste.
The footman was surprised but more than happy to taste the food as it was obvious that food for the staff was very plain and simple.
“You should not do that! It is not right!” Lady Grogda said as she stood up showing more alarm than outrage.
The footman had already consumed the sample where he at first looked like he liked it. However, he suddenly started to choke as his face turned bright red and falling to his knees. Lady Ludmilla stood up in horror as the footman was gagging begging for water. I handed him my silver chalice with what I assumed was apple cider where he chugged it down then begged for more.
Finally, after three more cups of water given by another footman, first footman just lay on his back almost in a stupor. It was as if his mind was blank.
“What is this?” I asked as I pointed to my meal looking at both Lady Ludmilla and Lady Grogda.
“I do not know!” Said Lady Ludmilla looking at her mother with a strange look.
“Do not give me that! What did you do?” I demanded with a my voiced raised and now pointing my finger at them.
“It was a love potion. It was to make you like me.” Said Lady Grogda meekly and looking sheepishly at the ground.
“Seriously! That was more than a simple love potion!” I yelled my outrage.
“I swear that is all it was. I had to hide its not so pleasant taste with spice.” Lady Grogda stated her defense but still not able to look me in the eye.
“Lady Ludmilla, I must now ask that you bring me the king's message as I am now leaving Avalon.” I commanded with rage in my countenance.
Lady Ludmilla fled the great hall without replying. Lady Grogda just sat down with her head down looking at the floor saying nothing.
With exasperation, I called out to my people. “House of Wyatt, Ladies and girls we are leaving! Quickly gather your things and be out front within a little span!”
With that, I stormed out of the great hall to the shock of all present. Up in the guest chamber, I changed clothes into my bluejeans, a blue shirt and a tan leather vest. Pulling on my boots and strapping on my weapons belt, I looked over seeing Gus and Lukas already packed up my discarded clothing and was ready to leave as they were staying clear of my angry outbursts.
Down at the carts, I ordered my guards to ready themselves to leave. I sent Lukas to call all the servants in the inn to be ready to leave immediately. Razor and Meowth jumped down from their perch on the first two carriages with questioning looks.
“They tried to poison me! Can you believe it?” I said angrily as I swept my arm to point at the fortress.
“Meow Lord Wyatt, that is clawful. Do you want meow to use them like a scratching post?” Asked Meowth as her tail went straight in what I assumed was either surprise or anger.
Razor just gave a low grumbling growl with teeth bared as he looked at the fortress.
Forty minutes later as my people were loading up, Lady Ludmilla approached with her head down.
“I am sorry Lord Wyatt. It seems you do not have any messages from the king.” Lady Ludmilla said never once looking me in the eye.
“I see. Send a message to the king that I left Avalon today and as commanded traveling as quickly as I can. The king is expecting my update so make sure it is properly sent!” I said with a warning.
I ordered a florse saddled for I needed fresh air as I was still furious. I actually led our people out and toward the main north south road which Nick panicked a bit and settled with riding next to me. As we approached the main crossroads of the city, I saw a large dinning hall and ordered a halt for all of our people to have breakfast. The meal consisted of roasted mutton, eggs, apple pancakes and apple jam. They also had fresh chilled milk and apple cider which really went well with the sweet dishes. Our group apparently cleaned them out and they had to turn away a few customers until mid day.
After breakfast, I went to the adventurer's guild that was a few buildings to the south. It was a four story building of decent size. I allowed Old Maude with a one of the house guards to go to the apothecary shop across the road along with the two Alphardian servants Aura and Sylvia. Inside the adventurer's guild, I asked for Marine as instructed. It was then I learned that Marine was Zack Talley's girl where they were to marry soon as she proudly let me know her good news.
“Zack said to tell you this is a level one escort. Whatever that means.” I repeated what Zack had told me to say.
“Thank you. It simply means Zack thinks there would be no problems and just being present is enough to discourage any potential thieves. The total is two hundred fifty denari for basic escort with an A ranked adventurer.” Marine said with a smile
After paying the fee for the job request, I asked Marine to speak to someone about Andros that was brought in by man guard Lars.
“I am Supervisor Etan Borg and assistant to Guild Master Henry Stewart. It is a pleasure to be at your service Count Wyatt.” Stated Etan with a salute and bow.
“Pleasure is mine.” I replied with a salute and nod of my head.
“We have investigated Andros. His party the Finders of Avalon specialize in retrieving lost items or stolen goods from thieves. It appears his party was specifically requested to recover a lost ventu volpis. We do not have any more details for the job other than this.” Etan stated as he read from a page in his hand.
“Who hired them to steal from me? Make no mistake, they were hired to steal from me!” I said as I was showing my anger and frustration.
“Normally, we would not disclose who posted job requests to those not apart of the contract. However, given the circumstances, I was instructed to tell you it was Viscountess Lady Ludmilla. It seems she contracted and paid a merchant from Xanadu for a ventu volpis. It is our understanding that merchant was placed on a Quenya trade ship where he will go on trial for his many crimes in Svarta. The Finders of Avalon should not have tried to take your ventu volpis. Nor should they have taken on the job given the crimes of the merchant without more information.” Etan explained what the guild knew.
“What will happen to Andros?” I asked frankly.
“The Guild Master will hold a hearing with S and an A ranked members who will advise on the issues. I expect he will be found guilty but will escape the ten year punishment. More like one to two years of labor for the guild doing low ranked jobs that no one wants while being supervised by myself or a C ranked or higher adventurer. His pay will be one third of normal with the rest going to repay the guild and costs associated with his lapse in judgment.” Etan replied with a shrug of his shoulders.
“I see. The thing that irks me is they attacked my people and wounded one of my guards with a slinger's stone.” I explained my outrage.
“I was not aware of this fact. Master Stewart will compensate you as the law requires. Unfortunately, Master Stewart left for Camelot for meetings with the war counsel on Astria's response to the Empire's latest invasion. I will send a filoxis to let Master Stewart know that there was injury, offense and honor requirements. I understand you will be traveling to Camelot and am certain Master Stewart will seek you out to give you a formal apology and see you are properly compensated.” Etan stated with a salute and bow.
“Good enough. Let me know the outcome of the hearing for Andros. I do not like loose ends and a potential enemy looking for revenge.” I said mater of factually.
“Understood. I will relay your concerns to Master Stewart. Etan replied with another salute and bow.
Leaving the adventure's guild, I decided to visit the tradesman's guild and merchant's storefront while Old Maude was still busy across the street. The girls came with me as they had been requesting things like combs, brushes and scented oils plus a few other special feminine items they needed.
Once all the girls got what they were needing and getting those items stowed with their baggage, Old Maude came back with a small crate filled with items to make medicines. While the baggage was being loaded and sorted, I went to see the information broker's desk and inquired about Chamberlain Robert Duffy. I paid the requested fee of one erythro given his status in the city. I was shown a file which listed the qualities, character and known habits of Robert. There was a section about vices and food preferences. The only vice was seeing a woman who was a widow listed as a paid mistress. Basically, Robert was a straight as an arrow honorable man. I smiled as the report made me feel better about who I was helping.
Finally, with everyone loaded up, we headed out of the city of Avalon over the southern main bridge and gate that was just like the north one but slightly longer with a guard tower protected draw bridge section to let ships pass. After about two hours, I had calmed down enough that I rode in the carriage as was expected of a person of rank. I just looked out seeing nothing but the vast wheat fields of the Capital Region realizing how lucky I had been to escape the evils of the ladies of Fortress Avalon.

Boys: Harold, Zee
Episode 13: Lies, Cries, and One Big Prize
"Previously, on Total Drama. Zee, Scarlett, and Harold created their own challenges!"
"Zee went with balancing, which bit big time for Scarlett and gave Harold the shock of his life."
"Harold's treetop race was more entertaining than a sawing monkey. Surprisingly, Scarlett won the challenge, and Harold fell from grace and the trees."
"So, it all came down to Scarlett's challenge: a trivia challenge about the former competitors. Zee didn't have too good a start, but quickly earned himself a spot in the finale."
"It all came down to a final question, and one that Scarlett ironically got wrong. Bye-bye!"
The montage ended with a flash, showing a close-up of Chris in front of a bare rock wall. "Down to two from three," he said, holding up three fingers but lowering one of them, "cause now we're Scarlett-free. But," he lowered another finger, "it'll still be neat to see who gets beat," he punched his open palm. "So! Grab a seat. There's one million bucks on the line," the shot cut to a robotic arm lifting up the open suitcase full of prize money against a radiant orange-and-gold background. "Iiiiiit's finale time!" Chris said as the shot cut back to him.
"On Total! Drama! Paaaaaahkitew Island!"
(Theme Song)
A deep note played as the episode opened on the bunker, the sky dark and the crickets chirping. A deep sigh issued forth from it, and the camera soon cut inside to show Harold tossing and turning in his bed. He got up and grabbed a pillow from the bed above him and closed his eyes with a smile, only to open them and sigh again.
Confessional: Harold
"It's no use," Harold sighed in the confessional. "I just can't get to sleep. I'm too anxious about tomorrow. I don't know if Zee is having the same trouble as I am..."
“It’d be cool if I win the last challenge. Just think about how much better my life would be. No more wedgies, wet willies, and toilet face plunges, my peers would respect me more as a million dollar winner, and I can invest the money in a way that’ll make me more than the show has to afford.”
Confessional Ends
The static cut away to show Harold turning his back to the camera with another sigh, then the shot cut to the inside of the barn to show Zee sleeping peacefully and snoring rather loudly.
Confessional: Zee
"This is a high stress situation, but I’m able to get some rest in order to ease it," Zee explained. "Even if it’s a million dollar competition against Harold."
Confessional Ends
An angelic sound played as the shot returned to a close-up of Harold, his eyes blinking blearily to sleep as the light of dawn streamed in through a window high on the wall above him.
Just as he and the music seemed to reach a peaceful rest, the wail of an airhorn pierced the walls and forced Harold back into wakefulness, his eyes snapping open wide and bloodshot. "Harold and Zee," Chris announced over the camp loudspeakers, the screen splitting in two with a shot of the good vibe guy blearily waking up sliding in on the left. "Meeting area, now!"
The scene flashed to Zee and Harold standing before Chris in the open meeting area. "Yes! Today, I fire one of you from a cannon," he greeted excitedly. "And then start my vacation."
"Plus you'll hand one of us a million dollars," Harold added with a grin.
"I haven't forgotten, dude," Chris said in annoyance. "I'm just focusing on the parts that bring me the most joy. Okay?"
"What's the challenge?" Zee asked. "Is it physical or have you decided on something else?"
Harold grinned. "Total Drama finales are always physical," he said. "And while I am classified as a brain, I'm afraid I have more fighting skills than you."
"Don't get too overconfident just yet," Zee warned. "I might surprise you."
"If I may continue?" Chris interrupted, his annoyed expression soon dropping. "Your final challenge is so demanding, the lawyers insisted each of you get a helper. Ehh," he shrugged, "it's not a horrible idea. I mean," the shot cut to the finalists as they watched him, "maybe they'll be able to help us find your bodies!" Zee and Harold shared a brief but wary look. "So, which of the past contestants would you like as a helper?" Chris asked, stepping over to them.
Confessional: Zee
"I'd prefer Julia," Zee told the outhouse camera. "She's really rad, and we work well together. But I wouldn't be too upset over having anybody else as a helper. Well, except for Scarlett."
Confessional: Harold
"It's no surprise that I'd prefer Leshawna over anyone else," Harold confessed. "She can handle her own battles and objectively speaking, she is the most physically attractive girl this season. I just wish that we were able to talk to each other before she left."
Confessionals End
"I choose Leshawna," Harold said with a smile as the static cut away and a triumphant tune played...for a few brief moments.
Chris chuckled. "'Choose'?" he repeated, laughing again. "Nooo, no no no no no no no...," he told the finalists.
"But you just asked us-," Zee pointed out in confusion.
"I know," Chris conceded, "I asked you who you wanted, I did that to be mean." He laughed again as the sound of squeaky wheels approached. "Your helpers-" the camera pulled back to show Chef pushing a large widescreen monitor up to the host on a cart- "will be selected thusly! When you press this button," he held up a remote control with a single red button on it, "the possible helpers will flash across the screen." A game show jingle played as the shot cut to the monitor, now showing the portraits of the eliminated contestants rolling down across the screen as if on a reel. "Whoever's face it stops on, is your helper."
The reel stopped on an image of Scarlett after drinking Juggy Chunks. "What happens if we land on someone we don't want?" Harold asked.
"You each get one chance to pass and spin again," Chris answered with a wide grin as the sound of a helicopter grew louder. "And just to make things even more interesting," he added, growing more and more giddy with each moment, "I've brought all the helpers out to watch!"
"RELEASE ME, YOU CRETIN! I DEMAND IT!" shouted a familiar voice.
Harold and Zee gasped as the music spiked, and the shot cut to the same dual-rotor military helicopter that Chris and Chef had taken shelter in during the island's malfunctioning as it flew in overhead.
Then the camera panned downward to show the twelve eliminated campers dangling under it tied up in ropes – Max on the far left, then Amy, Sammy, Duncan, Ella, B, Lightning, Scarlett, Julia, DJ, Leshawna, and finally Jo on the far right.
"What's the big idea, McLean?!" Jo shouted hatefully, the shot cutting in close to her and Leshawna.
"Yeah," Leshawna chimed in, "why do I gotta be hanging next to her!" The two girls locked eyes and glared.
"I don't think that's the issue here..." DJ said, the camera panning onto him.
"I personally don't mind being tied up like this," Julia said in a positive tone, the camera pulling back to show her smiling. "I'm just happy to see my boyfriend in the finale."
"I didn't even want to show up, but I would appreciate it if I was actually seated," Scarlett said in a grumpy tone.
"Sha-yeah!" Lightning agreed as the camera panned onto him. "Chris, these ropes might cause Lightning some bruising. Can we get them loosened a bit?"
Scarlett gave Lightning an incredulous look. "You do realize that if the ropes are loosened, you'll fall?"
"Lightning will just get back up again," Lightning told her obliviously.
The camera cut back to B. It lingered on him for a few moments as he awkwardly looked from side to side, then directly at the camera as he smiled coolly.
"Despite this drastic situation we're in," Ella sang after the song panned to her, "I still want either Zee or Harold to win~!"
Another pan to the left showed Duncan watching her. "My money's on Harold," he said, shrugging.
“And how come?” Ella asked.
"Zee's cool and all, but I just know the dork better," Duncan answered.
"Really?" Geoff asked, raising a eyebrow in disbelief. "Are the shows in Jersey really that terrible to watch?"
"They are if ya don't have tickets!" Anne Maria answered happily.
Yet another pan put the focus on Amy and Sammy. "Are you still not going to apologize for how you've treated me ever since we were little?" Sammy asked.
"And why should I?" Amy replied in slight irritation.
"Because I put you in your place and pointed out your own flaws," Sammy explained. “The least you can do is be humble a bit.”
"You may have gotten further than me, but you still didn’t win the season," Amy bragged. “You're a bowl of mush, and I'm a parfait, which is French for perfect.”
“So what's French for bossy blonde cow?” Sammy taunted with a smirk. “I know! Vache blonde autoritaire!”
"You are so going to get it," Amy growled.
The camera pulled back to show Max clenching his eyes shut in pain. "Would you two identical ladies cease that annoying racket?!" he finally yelled with another force to startle Amy and Sammy into looking at him. "Thank y-" he began to say plainly before Amy smacked him in the head. "Hey!" he said, cringing at the hit.
"Okay," Chris said, the music turning slow and plodding as the camera cut back to him, Zee and Harold. "Now that the Peanut Gallery has had a chance to reintroduce themselves, let's move on."
"Whoa, hold on a minute," Zee held up a hand to interrupt. "Why? How? When?"
"Uh, you're gonna have to be a little more specific there," Chris told him, raising an eyebrow.
"He means why are they all tied up?" Harold translated.
Chris let out a long, irritated sigh. "Fine," he said. "I'm keeping them tied up and in plain sight so we don't have them float towards the sun, okay?"
"No," Harold said bluntly.
"Not really," Zee replied.
"Whatever," Chris told them, his brow creased in annoyance. His expression then changed into a smile. "Who goes first will be decided by a coin toss," he explained, taking out a coin and flipping it towards the campers.
It hit Zee in the eye. He yelped in pain, rubbing where he'd been hit.
"Zee wins!" Chris happily announced. "Let's see who you get," he said as the game show jingled played again.
The shot cut to a close-up of the monitor as the portraits began to scroll past, Zee uttering a series of grunts as she watched off-screen – some hopeful, some annoyed. "Okay, stop," he said after a few seconds, the camera moving to him as he pressed the button on his remote.
The simulated reel stopped on Jo. "Not who I wanted at all," Zee said in disappointment as a triumphant jingle played, "but I got what I got and I'm not gonna throw a fit."
"Harold," Chris said, the camera moving back to the finalists as the dweeb pursed his lips, "you're up."
The game show jingle played, and the portraits started flashing across the monitor again – until they stopped on Scarlett. "No..." Harold groaned.
Confessional: Harold
"I knew the odds of getting Leshawna were slim," Harold confessed. "But I want a helper who would actually assist me."
Confessional Ends
An odd note played as the shot cut back to Zee, Harold, and Chris, the latter two sharing a look. "I'd like to spin again," Harold said.
"Have at it," Chris replied, the shot briefly cutting to the pictures flashing across the monitor again.
Harold pressed the button, and sagged in defeat – and the camera cut to the monitor to show that it had landed on Scarlett again. The camera moved in front of Chris as he gave her a mischievous look. "Scarlett again?" he asked in fake shock. "What are the odds?"
The camera pulled back as Chris turned to the right and nodded at Chef, who returned the gesture and walked away. "Okay, looks like Zee gets Jo and Harold gets Scarlett," Chris said, nodding toward the helicopter. The ropes tied around the two chosen helpers abruptly came loose, causing both to fall, but while Scarlett landed in an awkward flop, Jo simply tucked her legs in and rolled as a light but triumphant tune played.
She got back onto her feet just as Zee walked up to her. "Hey Jo. I know we haven't gotten along-" Zee said.
"-but since we're partners, we're gonna have to try and tolerate each other," Jo replied. "Yeah, I know."
Confessional: Jo
"I'm not in the game any more, which still sucks," Jo explained. "But Chill Pill managed to subvert my expectations. He lasted longer than I thought he would have. And if I have to work with him, then so be it."
Confessional Ends
The camera panned to the right as Scarlett snorted and stood up. "I strongly refuse to partake in this," she said, the shot cutting in close as she brushed the dirt off her shirt then turned around.
She took a step, and walked right into Chef, who snickered and locked a thick metal collar around the quiet brainiac's neck.
"Let me guess. You're going to shock me if I don't play along, right?" Scarlett asked in annoyance as she tugged at the collar.
"You'd think that," Chris said with a mischievous smile, "but this is actually something different. In case you somehow ended up as one of the helpers, I had a special collar made that'll tranquilize you if you don't play along," he finished with a smug look.
Scarlett groaned in annoyance. "Fine."
"Hey, as long as you don't just bail, I'm cool," Chris told him.
"I'm not," Harold interrupted with an angry look.
Confessional: Scarlett
"Unless I want a voltage surprise like the ones I received in episode four," Scarlett told the confessional camera with disgust, idly tugging at the collar around her neck, "I'll help Harold with his goal of winning the one million dollars. That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."
Confessional: Chris
"Am I full of good ideas or what?" Chris chuckled in the outhouse camera.
Confessionals End
"So," Chris said, the static cutting away to show him walking towards the two pairs. "Reunion's over? Good! It's time for your final challenge. I have endearingly titled it, 'The Double Duo of Deadly Dying Death'!" A dramatic spike in the music, reverberated voice, and zoomed-in and angled shot all combined to make the revealing of the title particularly dramatic.
"That sounds dangerous...," Zee said worryingly.
"It's supposed to be dangerous, Dodo Brain," Jo groaned.
Confessional: Zee
"Now I'm wishing I did use my second chance like Harold did," Zee confessed.
Confessional Ends
"Now since Blaineley snuck back onto the island and changed it completely by wreaking havoc in the secret underground control room..." Chris began to explain.
"Umm, hold on," came the voice of Julia, the camera panning back up to the still-loitering helicopter. "What did you just say?" she asked in confusion.
"Wait, you didn't know that?" Duncan asked. "I knew I was forgetting something."
"Host!" Max interrupted, drawing the focus to the other end of the line. "I demand you explain this!"
"No," Chris replied in a deadpan tone. "As I was saying," he continued, putting his bland smile back on as the background music became deep and tense, "we've yet to explore all the wonderful and bizarre new dangers the island's new landscape has to offer. Until now. Harold and Zee," the shot cut back to the two pairs, "with assistance from your helpers-" Zee and Jo shared a frown while Harold and Scarlett shared a glare - "you will race across the island. First one to cross the finish line will receive," Chris turned to the side and grabbed the prized suitcase from Chef, the music building up grandly as he opened it to reveal its glowing contents, "One! Millions! Dol-lars!"
All four teens started cheering.
"All you have to do is survive a 2000-foot plummet from an ice cliff," Chris joyously explained, the camera cutting to the slender peak of a snowy mountain before quick-panning away, "successfully learn to breathe while submerged in mud," the camera panned across a bubbling lake of mud before quick-panning away again, "and then sprint two miles across a wide-open field where," the shot now panned across a seemingly ordinary and empty field, "I'm absolutely sure no harm will come to you."
The shot cut back to the cast as Chris began to laugh raucously for an extended period of time. "The point I'm making," Chris said once he'd finally finished, "is that there's a decent chance you may not survive this."
Both finalists and helpers groaned warily. Then they were each tossed an orange helmet.
"For the first part of the challenge," Chris explained, "the lawyers insisted you wear helmets to protect your brains." The shot cut to him and Chef. "I mean who knows. Someday, you may start using them." The roar of the nearby helicopter suddenly increased, the added wind whipping up a cloud of dust around the men. "When you get to the top of the mountain, it'd be a good idea to build a bobsled," Chris instructed, "or, it'll be a very rough ride down!"
The show's smaller red helicopter was shown flying over, the larger military one flying away with the rest of the former campers still attached. "Grab a rope!" Chris said, the camera panning down the four ropes hanging from the helicopter to show them dangling just above the finalists and helpers. "Your challenge begins...NOW!"
The four grabbed the ropes in front of them, and to a sudden bit of challenge music and a blast of the host's airhorn, the helicopter flew off dragging the startled teens along with it.
"Good luck! Stay safe!" Chris called out after them. "Are things I'd say, if I cared!"
The footage flashed ahead to the top of the snowy peak, several boxes and barrels of various junk – including what looked like several sets of skis – already waiting at the top. The small helicopter arrived momentarily, and the shot cut to its four passengers landing in the show – Jo and Zee on the left, Scarlett and Harold on the right.
"We're supposed to build a bobsled out of this junk?" Jo asked in disbelief.
"No," Zee corrected as he grabbed a pair of skis, "Chris just said it would be a good idea." He tossed the skis onto the ground and stepped on them, a tense challenge tune playing in the background. "I have a different one, so hop on."
The shot cut to a close-up of Jo grinning, then to her jumping onto the skis behind Zee. "Let's do this!" she said as they began to slide forward down the slope and left the scene.
The camera panned onto Scarlett, holding a pair of skis of her own. "We should get moving!"
"What's to stop me from believing that you won't shove me off the skis?" Harold asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.
"I have this wretched collar on. Shoving you is the last thing I want to do. Now get on!" Scarlett told him angrily.
"Fine," Harold said, rolling his eyes and walking over to where Scarlett was already waiting on the skis and got ahead of her. The challenge music rose up again as they leaned forward, and started to slide.
The shot cut to Zee and Jo looking back over their shoulders with grins on their faces. They promptly skied through a tall mogul, slowing them down a little and covering Zee's eyes in snow. "I can't see!" he shouted, clawing at the packed snow as they began to swerve.
"Quick, to the left!" Jo shouted, one hand around Zee's waist and one point ahead of them as they swerved away from the camera around another mound of snow. "Now right!" Jo directed, the two swerving back towards the foreground. "Left!" She shouted, but they just sped through another mogul earning a scream from the jock-ette.
Confessional: Jo
Jo was blue from the cold and shivering heavily.
Confessional Ends
"Well isn't that the best thing that's happened today!" Scarlett taunted as the scene cut back to her and Harold.
"Yeah, well, we're gonna be next if we don't keep dodging these things," Harold pointed out as they began to swerve around the moguls as well. "And I want to try and get ahead of them while we can."
The music ramped up dangerously as the dweeb and brainiac slid towards another mogul. "Left!" Harold shouted.
"No, right!" Scarlett replied, the two leaning to the opposite direction, swerving nowhere, and plowing right through the mound. "Aagh!"
"Scarlett!" Harold growled as they started swerving wildly, snow covering both their eyes. They clipped the side of another mogul, sending themselves into a screaming spin, hit a third mogul, and came out tumbling end over end.
The shot cut to the bottom of the slope, the music leveling off as what looked like a mogul on skis slid down. The camera zoomed in as two patches of snow fell away to reveal Zee and Jo inside, the two moaning and blue in the face. "Zee, we need to move," Jo weakly told her partner, "before-"
A massive snowball suddenly ran them over, breaking the snow but leaving the good vibe guy and jock-ette lying in a puddle of melting snow. A crash was heard off-screen, but the camera lingered in place as Jo groaned and stood up. "Let's go," Jo told her partner. "You're still in this..."
"...yeah," Zee said as he caught his breath. "Yeah!" he said, more energetically this time. "I've got this!" he declared before charging forward, the shot cutting to Jo as she smirked softly then raced after her partner.
The camera followed them along for a few seconds until they reached a heap of snow, skis, and dazed-looking teens, which the shot immediately focused on. "What happened?" Harold shot at his partner, the dweeb lying upside-down half-trapped in the snow. "I told you to go left!"
"And I told you to go right!" Scarlett countered, her head sticking out the right way up but her legs sticking out over it.
"Yes, but I'm the one in charge!" Harold replied. "You're supposed to be helping me!"
"I was steering!" Scarlett said before the snow holding her up crumbled away, causing her to fall over with a startled gasp.
Harold sighed in aggravation before a small pile of melting snow collapsed onto his face.
The scene cut away to show Chris and Chef sitting in lawn chairs eating popcorn as they watched the challenge feed, the host promptly pausing it with a beep and looking at the camera. "This finale's out of control!" he said excitedly as the capstone theme began to play. "Zee and Jo got run over! Harold and Scarlett can't stop arguing! And all of them just plowed through like a ton of snow!"
"Stay tuned, "he continued, the shot moving away but the host quickly popping back up in front of it. "Someone is leaving here a millionaire. It's the finale of Total! Drama! Paaaaaahkitew Island!"
(Commercial Break)

Hi. I have an old computer that I would like to upgrade its memory, 3GB to 8GB (I'm upgrading from Windows Vista 32-bit to Windows 10 64-bit, it has an AMD Phenom 9500 processor). It also has an ASUS Narra3 (M2N68-LA) motherboard. The manual says it can support up to 8GB (DDR2 800/667MHz SDRAM) and in dual channel. However, in the instructions for memory installation or removal it says, "You may install 256MB, 512MB, and 1GB DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs into the DIMM slots," and "This motherboard does not support 16-bit double sided DDR DIMMs." At the moment the computer has four 512MB DDR2 667MHz DIMMs (I'm not sure how that's 3GB of memory). The sticker on the DIMMs says 1Rx16; I think they are single sided and 16-bit. I was wondering if I could install four 2GB DDR2 800MHz (2Rx8) DIMMs, as that is what I have found to buy? Thank you.
Note: About the "double sided" warning, I think 16-bit double sided means 16-bit dual rank, which may be identfied as R2x16. However, I think 8-bit double sided should work with this motherboard as it is less than 16-bit double sided.
EDIT: Upon further investigation, I realised only two of the four DIMMs are 512MB DDR2 667MHz (1Rx16) and the remaining two DIMMs are 1GB DDR2 667MHz (1Rx8). So, 3GB of memory now makes sense.
EDIT: Upon further investigation, aftermarket sources state that the DIMM slots can support up to 2GB. So, the manual may have an error in it.
Note: Upon further research, I have decided to purchase two 4GB DDR2 800MHz (2Rx8) DIMMs. This should still support dual channel and it is less than 16-bit dual rank (double sided). I cannot find single rank memory in the form of 2GB DDR2 800MHz (1Rx8 or 1Rx16); it may have been the most optimized set-up for speed and bandwidth. I may be incorrect, but from my research, older AMD processors may not like high density memory such as 1Rx4. Also, the IMC in the processor may not like four dual ranked DIMMs as it requires more power. So, hopes in greater bandwidth (four DIMMs versus two DIMMs) may only lead to reduced performance.

Long story short was enjoying my day off just watching the new ep of kaiju no.8. I hear someone knocking loud and go answer the door to a cop. Apparently somehow my (manual trans) car rolled out the driveway, into traffic and rolled itself back into a pole near my driveway entrance. No one got hurt thankfully and my car didnt get run into somehow. But it did scrape the driver side doors into the light pole and theres a light dent in the drivers door.
I intend to take it to a shop when i get some spare cash and have them find out why the handbrake stopped holding. For the time being i have been making sure to keep it in 1st gear, turn the wheel all the way to the side so it wont roll straight back. I also wonder how much it might be to fix this damage? This really sucks as i have had it 3 months and it looked really clean before for a 10 year old dart.

TL;DR

"I'm not reading all that, get to the point!"

Yes you should buy one, check ProtonDB to see if the game will work on the Deck and how to run it, yes the LCD is fine but also yes the OLED is better, don't go overboard with accessories or tweaking unless you know you need it, and we've already recommended games / given advice for the specific situation you're asking about so please search the subreddit first before you ask your question!

Purchasing / Accessories

"Should I buy a Steam Deck?"

Do you have the money? Yes.

"Should I buy a Steam Deck, or a ROG DoodooPeepee, or a Lenovo PoopooDookie?"

Look where you are. We're going to tell you to get the Deck, and we're going to be right. It's not perfect, it's a little janky, but it's absolutely amazing.

"Should I get the OLED or LCD?"

It depends. If money is an issue, or someone is offering you one at a huge discount, the LCD is perfectly fine! It's still an amazing system, and any FOMO is misplaced unless you really need better battery life.
The OLED is strictly better (better screen, better battery life, etc), but the overall experience is not that far off and they can run all of the same games at ~effectively the same fps.

"Should I get the official Dock?"

NO. It has a horrible bug with HDMI that will haunt your dreams. There are plenty of alternate docks that work perfectly, just Google "steam deck docks" and pick one. The JSAUX one is spoken of highly, and I can attest that my old UGREEN USB-C hub works perfectly as a dock.

"What accessories should I get?"

Overall... You don't need much, the Deck is great the way it is.
If you plan to play on a TV, definitely get a nice dock/hub.
A standard power bank with at least 45w charging is great for long plane/train rides.
A "ground loop isolator" is nice for getting rid of the loud buzz on wired headphones when charging.
Beyond that, just search the subreddit for "accessories" and you'll get tons of answers!

"What controller should I get?"

Do you want gyro?
If not, just any old controller is fine. XBox controllers seem affordable and high quality these days, and are well-supported.
If so, then check out DualShock 4, DualSense, 8BitDo Pro 2, and Switch Pro.
If you want back paddles and gyro, you'll want to check out the 8BitDo Pro 2 and the (pricey but amazing) DualSense Edge.

"What games should I buy?"

Search the subreddit! This is probably the most-asked question we get here, and there are literally thousands of threads full of great answers.

"I have a long flight coming up, what games should I buy?"

Search the subreddit! (Balatro.)

"What games are good for keeping battery use low?"

Search the subreddit! (Balatro. And/or streaming via Moonlight or Remote Play.)

"What games are good for playing in bed that don't spin the fan too loudly and wake up my partner?"

Search the subreddit! (Balatro. And/or streaming via Moonlight or Remote Play.)

"I'm on a really tight budget, what games can I buy for the deck?"

Search the subreddit! (Holocure. It's free.)

"I just bought my Deck, how long will it take to arrive?"

It depends, but 1-2 weeks is a safe bet.

Tweaking / Compatibility

"What should I tweak before I start playing games?"

Nothing. Don't change things until you're clear why you want to change it.

"Will run on the Deck?"

Check out ProtonDB.

"How can I get better performance on ?"

Check out ProtonDB.
Google it! "steam deck performance " will get you so many great threads and spreadsheets. If it runs, someone has tweaked it.

"Should I overclock my Deck? Should I enable PeePeePooPoo Ultra Performance Utils?"

No.

"How can I run my games from Epic/GOG/Ubisoft/EA?"

Check out ProtonDB, and search the subreddit/Google.
The answer is likely going to be Lutris or Heroic Launcher. Once you have the game set up there, both launchers have an "Add to Steam" option that should work perfectly.

"How can I use the Nintendo button layout?"

You, as a supreme ultrachad of taste and elegance, should simply go to the main menu, look under Controller, and select "Use Nintendo Button Layout".
(Note: this should work out of the box for essentially all games using Steam Input, and will swap the button glyphs in-game for most games. The only issue you'll have is that the Steam Deck UI will still show the actual physical button glyphs, instead of the superior-layout buttons that you expect (so X/Y and A/B will be backwards from what you want).)

"Can I swap the physical buttons to match the superior Nintendo layout stored in my galaxy-sized brain?"

Unfortunately not, or at least not without getting custom buttons. The buttons on the deck are differently-shaped, and would feel very weird out of position.

Tips & Tricks

"How do I bring up the on-screen keyboard?"

STEAM + X.
(Or, for those giga-brained among you using the Nintendo layout, STEAM + Y.)
Note: the on-screen keyboard won't work in Desktop Mode if Steam isn't running in the background!

"The left trackpad scrolling doesn't work right in Desktop Mode!"

It's a scroll wheel. Rub counterclockwise to scroll up, clockwise for down.

"That's dumb. How do I change the controls for Desktop Mode?"

Open up Steam, then Settings > Controller > Desktop Configuration.

"I want to play Red Dead Redemption 2 or on a plane!"

LAUNCH THE GAME BEFORE YOU GET ON THAT PLANE, MY FRIEND. Make sure you can get all the way to the game itself. Many games require you to be connected to the internet either the first time the game launches, or the first time you've launched the game in a while.

"I hate trying to aim / use the mouse with the joysticks/pads!"

USE GYRO. USE GYRO. USE GYRO.
Go into the controller settings for your game, turn on gyro "As Mouse", and set it to activate on "Right Stick Touch" and/or "Right Pad Touch". Your console gaming life will never be the same.

"How can I type faster on the on-screen keyboard?"

Try using the trackpads. The left pad controls the left half of the keyboard, the right pad controls the right half. Takes some getting used to, but it's decently quick and doesn't require taking your hands off the sides to type on-screen.

"How can I switch the controls to gamepad mode (or back) in Desktop Mode?"

Hold the menu [...] button!

"I want custom menus, more button options, perfectly-tweaked joystick/gyro controls, etc."

Go to the controller settings for your game and look through community layouts!
If that's not good enough, customize one of them or make your own. Steam Input is ridiculously flexible.
(My favorite thing to do is to create an Action Layer called "util", set one of the back paddles to "Hold Action Layer - util", and then rebind a bunch of buttons in that Action Layer to essentially 2x the number of buttons on the Deck. Just hold down the paddle, press whatever buttons you need, and let go when you're done.)

"I want to open up my Deck to replace the . Anything I should know?"

TAKE OUT THE SD CARD FIRST.

Troubleshooting

"It's hanging forever after a reboot, what do I do?"

Either connect it to Ethernet with the dock, get near a known wifi network (doesn't always work), or turn it off and then hold the [...] button while you press the power button and then select the second option in the list that appears on the screen.

"After an update, I'm seeing an error that says 'Something went wrong while displaying this content'!"

Decky, or one of your Decky plugins is not updated yet and is broken. If you can open Decky, try to update your plugins or disable them one-by-one to figure out which one is broken. If you can't open it, go to desktop mode and update/uninstall Decky by running the installer again. If you're still struggling, search the subreddit for "decky broken" and see what other people have done to fix it.
This can also happen if you're using the Beta channel. I believe Decky has their own beta/prerelease channel that makes this happen less often.

"When streaming on my OLED deck with Moonlight or Steam Remote Play, I randomly get periods of really intense lag!"

It's a long-running networking bug that has inexplicably never been fixed. Just restart Moonlight, or turn wifi off and on again.

"My wifi is slow on the Deck!"

Check that you're using the 5Ghz band, if possible.

"Game downloads/updates are really slow!"

Go to "Downloads" in the main settings menu and make sure "Download region" is near you.

"I can't connect my Deck to my TV via HDMI with the official dock, it just shows a black screen and doesn't connect!"

You will need to _unplug every cord_ except HDMI from the dock, connect to the TV, and then plug everything else back in. Every single time. I'm so sorry. You may want to just get a better dock. They still haven't fixed this and I don't think anyone knows why.

"Oh God my Deck shows an error when I boot what do I do?"

Search the error, but the likely answer will be to do a full system recovery: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/1B71-EDF2-EB6D-2BB3

EDIT: This is an opinion. My view on how kindle could become more advanced to improve the overall experience because if you take a look at the posts here, they all mention software issues. It is common, it is frustrating. You all have completely turned this into something it didn’t need to be. If you are an avid kindle user, I personally read 5-6 hours daily on mine, you cannot say that you have noticed these issues and gotten frustrated with the lagging keyboard and searching through recommendations. You probably use your little iPhone or android to manage your library just like majority of kindle users because the technology is behind. Attack me for being “blind of direct competition” or uneducated, no statistics. If you’re active in the kindle community, you see these topics every single day. I apologize for having an opinion that didn’t seem valuable to you and that some of you clearly lack in reading comprehension. Maybe you should pick up the kindle more often to improve your comprehension and then you will understand the point of this post.
If you’re content with your kindles software and it’s never crossed your mind that they have so much more potential? That’s fine. This post will be in the back of your mind and bring awareness to the issues and you’ll reflect back on it.
My theory with the oasis being impossible to find new through Amazon, is that a new model of kindle will be released this year or next and I expect it to be huge.
I started working in wireless sales last year and since then I have learned a lot about the industry, specifically referring to the technology that the top competitors make for the other brands. They often gate keep the newest version of the technology for themselves and allow the other brands to use it the following year.
An example of this is that Apples OLED display Is provided by Samsung, and you again see Samsung gate keeping the best version of display and using it on their own devices. If you can, set a new Samsung and iPhone next to each other and open up a bright, colorful game or play a 4k movie. Samsungs display is unmatched and Apple relies on their technology to keep up.
Another example is that Samsung s24 series is MORE compatible with google applications than Samsung own developed applications. They have always had 2 pre-installed versions of message, email, browser, app stores on all models but recently the functionality of the Samsung apps is actually so far behind google that Samsung message app is not sufficient enough to consistently send and receive messages. Also the AI system is modeled AND powered by Google.
The reason I bring this up is to point out that Amazon originated as an online book store and to compete with Barnes and Noble storefronts and the time it takes to pack, ship and deliver their products, They introduced a digital reader to allow customers to have instant gratification. Which then became more convenient than driving to Barnes and Noble.
Amazon created the technology by themselves.
EDIT TO CLARIFY. I’m not saying Amazon DEVELOPED e-ink technology, I’m saying that they created the kindle design, software, hardware and manufactured it themselves.
They engineered, designed and produced the entire product from start to finish, and still do which would explain why new generations and models do not have consistent timelines of completion.
I think that Amazon is starting to realize the competition is gaining momentum and enough to completely destroy their ability to compete.
Koba and Boox are the too largest competitors, they have adopted android technology to provide multiple platforms, such as Libby and hoopla. That is huge considering Hoopla is not compatible with Kindle! Boox is also compatible WITH the kindle app from the play store, while Kobo is not and has their own store which would be their weakness considering price and availability.
Kobo and Boox have introduced Colored e ink / e paper display which is consistently converting kindle users.
Kindle is still gatekeeping tens of thousands of books, which would lead e-reader users to still hold onto their kindle in some cases while using both.
So it’s clear that Kindle has to make a big leap in technology to compete, which could mean they now parter with android, google or Samsung to provide processors and software.
They could take it even further by introducing data compatibility, meaning that you could install a SIM card from your provider on a low GB plan to use your kindle anywhere, anytime. This would be incredibly profitable. I would love this, especially since I work for a provider.
Another thing they need to implement is a color e ink display, I’m sure this will be either the first update we see to increase desire of purchase. But I hope that they partner with a brand to build and MAINTAIN their software. Increase refresh rate, increase quality, increase reaction speed and consistently improve software with updates.
Now, I’m not sure who Amazon would partner with because they thrive on being a monopoly of online retail and struggle to accept they have weaknesses.
I would love to see Samsung work on the e-ink display and allow use of their chips and processors and google to create the software. It would be huge for Amazon and even more beneficial to kindle users.
I WILL SAY ONE THING THO, GOOGLE AND SAMSUNG BETTER STAY AWAY FROM KINDLE BATTERIES. MAYBE they should take some notes from Amazon and their battery life😂 although that is impossible to justify, considering the amount of work a smartphone manages in the background while kindle gets to take a fucking nap😂
I would love to hear your thoughts!

Race Information

• Name: Steel Rail Marathon
• Date: May 19th, 2024
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Pittsfield , MA
• Website: https://steelrailraces.com/the-races
• Strava: https://strava.app.link/BvTTuv6xJJb
• Time: 3:25.31

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 3:40	Yes
B	Sub 3:30	Yes

Splits

Mile	Time
1	7:20
2	7:19
3	7:40
4	7:15
5	7:21
6	7:20
7	7:19
8	7:20
9	7:30
10	7:32
11	7:25
12	7:16
13	7:23
14	7:39
15	7:53
16	7:58
17	7:49
18	7:52
19	7:58
20	8:05
21	8:15
22	8:36
23	8:34
24	8:38
25	9:09
26	8:55

This was my first marathon. I've run two half marathons in the past and decided to take the plunge. I went with Pfitzinger 12 week up to 55mpw plan. I had to modify the schedule a bit, but never fell short of the weekly required mileage. I actually averaged 5-10 miles more per week than the plan called for whether that was the right or wrong decision I don't know, but I felt recovered from each week. The plan called for two 20 mile runs, but I opted for an additional 21 mile run instead of the 17. I did the midweek long runs too, but there were some tempo runs that I would consider on the long side that I ended up breaking into two separate workouts for a total of running six times a week. This was mostly because I have kids and couldn't get the time to do more than 2 long runs per week.

The race was an hour away and I've had some bad experiences from day of packet pickups so I opted to pick up the day before which allowed me to "sleep in" on race day. I actually slept really well the night before, I don't know how, but it worked out. I ate an english muffin with peanut butter and a coffee. Drank 12oz Gatorade on way to the race.

Fueling: I trained with SiS isotonic gel. Brought 8 gels for the marathon, but only used 6 (3caff/3reg). I took the gels at 30 minute intervals, I know some have mentioned every 20 minutes, but that would have messed me up. After six I felt a bit queazy so opted to skip the last gel. They had GU Brew at the hydration stations, but I've never tried it so went with water the whole way. Also used salt stick tabs. Gear: Saucony Pro 3, Injinji toe socks (my favorite purchase and godsend after many blisters), Rabbit Speedsters, Flip Belt. Race: This was an out and back marathon. Miles 1-14: I would consider this a smaller race with only 800 participants, 180 in the marathon. Race went out in waves with the marathon first. They grouped us in target times and the gun went off. Immediately the whole front of the pack were out with the lone guy targeting a sub 2:20 time. After about a minute I looked at my watch and dialed it way back. My plan going into this race was to bank early milage below marathon pace and gut out the finish so I settled on a 7:30ish pace early on. I found a guy in the local runners club and ended up chatting with him for the first 4 miles or so to avoid getting caught up going to fast again. In the taper week leading up to the marathon I did something to the tendon on the front of my ankle and rested it the best I could, but knew it would flair up on race day and it did at mile 6. I pushed through and it ended up subsiding or I just forgot about it by the half marathon point. Miles 14-17: This was billed to me as a flat course, but that was not the case. There was a 2.5 to 3 mile continuous up hill climb. With it being an out and back I knew this was coming and planned to dial back my splits to conserve energy, ended up running those 3 miles at 7:50 which was still below my target marathon pace. 17-26: after the long hill I settled in to a slower pace going over 8:00 for the first time in the race, I did my best to keep it close to marathon pace for as long as I could, but the wheels started to come off at mile 24 in which I ran a 9:09! This was the hardest mile I have ever run in my life. I trained without music, but brought headphones as a motivational boost for the tail end of the race, but of course they crapped out and I was left with my thoughts. As I passed fellow marathoners walking down the stretch I wasn't sure I could do this and questioned my choices, but was able to finish out the race in the end.

This was the best part of the race. It was awesome to have family cheering for me at the finish line and a moment I will cherish for all time. I don't normally drink, but the race purchase came with a free tech shirt and beer so I said what the heck. Definitely the best beer I ever had! I already know that I want to try this marathon thing again in the future. Definitely made some mistakes I can improve upon and want to pick a more destination type marathon, but overall I am over the moon with my results. A huge thank you to this community for the amazing tips and tricks you have shared with me. Thanks for reading.

Made with a new race report generator created by herumph.

I used my X220 since launch until buying the T480, so I was hoping this one would last longer than "just" six years. While the performance is growing mediocre from it's i5-8250u, the biggest issue I'm facing is the display. In addition to being a college student, I do photography on the side. I saw others replacing their displays in this subreddit, but most of the posts are full of dead links. I could really use a comprehensive suggestion on where I could source a new LCD panel & how to install it. Additionally, the OEM batteries have completely died. I replaced the external with a no-name Chinese battery, and now use it without an internal battery. This yields about 5-8 hours of screen-on-time, but I'd really like to have the internal battery again. Regarding the LCD panel, color accuracy is my primary concern. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, as I really cannot afford an M2 MacBook Air right now.

We moved into our new home just over 4 years ago. The house came with a Lennox 13ACX - 036-230-17. Serial number says it was manufactured in 2013. The listing when we bought the house claims it was installed in 2015.
For the first few years, the AC ran great. Last summer, it started having trouble keeping up during the hotter months. We had a local place come out and they ended up topping off the system with about 2 lbs of refrigerant. After that, the AC worked like a dream the rest of the summer.
Fast forward to this year. As the temps start to raise, we finally caved and started turning on the AC. However, it was having trouble keeping up right off the bat. I went to go check out the evaporator coils, but where they are positioned, there is no way to actually see them without cutting a hole into the walls of the furnace (the tech who ended up coming out said it was "one of the weirder things he's seen"... but I seem to keep running into that with this house) However, I could see under the coils and there was water running down the side of the inside of the furnace, as well as a leak outside. I also heard the sound of slush falling off and hitting something. Based on this, I don't see how the coils aren't freezing up. Anyways, the tech determined that between last year and this year, we are already down 4 lbs of refrigerant.
Right now, we are debating how to proceed. They said for $200 they can run a dye test to find the leak, but its 99% going to be in the evaporator coils and they didn't want to run it unless we absolutely wanted them to. They can replace the evaporator coils for $2,500. Or, they can replace the whole system for $6,000 to $9,000 depending on SEER rating on the outdoor unit. This would include moving the evaporator coils to a location that makes more sense. Per the tech, the coils are rather far from the blower, which is causing turbulent air to blow over them and limiting their ability to cool the air. He recommended the new coils be placed closer. We are in NE Ohio for reference.
Just wanted to get some insight on if all of the above passes the sniff test or any insight on which option to proceed with. At face value, it seems that with the system already being 9-11 years old, does it really make sense to do a patch job of just replacing the evaporator coils? Or do we bite the bullet and upgrade to a newer, more efficient system?
Thanks!