Redditors on the PCT Week 3 (26 MARCH 2023)

At this time we have over 50 hikers signed up to allow us to track their PCT 2023 progress. We have a handful of starters with progress to track and many more that are gearing up to start this week. Our furthest hiker is past mi 209 at the moment while many others are getting wet during this last bout of atmospheric river. We appreciate all of your updates from trail and wish you nothing but the absolute best as your embark on your PCT journey. HYOH and LNT.

VIBE OF THE WEEK: PEREGRINATING

to make one's way through, across, or over
​
JOIN THESE UPDATES
If you are hiking the trail this year (Thru or LASH) and would like to be added to these posts, please fill out the survey linked here or comment below and we'll get you added into future updates. These updates will come on a weekly basis and be put out on Sunday PM. If your social media link is private, you will get a follow request from this OP. My name is Rachel, hi :)
If for any reason you'd like to be removed from these updates OR if something does not look right, please message me directly.
Thread for hikers to post current trail conditions
Most Recent Trail Closure Updates
​

Hiker	Trail Name	Start Date	Current Location-ish	Update
u/jimmyjamhiker	JimmyJam	MAR 02 (NOBO)	Warner Springs	3/25: Riding out the atmospheric river in Warner Springs
u/Schrodingers-cat-30	Ditto	MAR 02 (NOBO)	mi 100-200	3/25: no update as of 3/22
u/trailhead42	Trailhead	MAR 10 (NOBO)	past mi 209 by now	3/25: Skipped up to Idyllwild and strapped on snowshoes and a little while after, switched those out for crampons. Looks like they're with a sizeable crowd. Snow camping! And then broke a tent pole, but hit mile 200!
u/minaretcrew		MAR 13 (NOBO)	past mi 41 by now	3/26: Officially on trail, forded Hauser Creek and got their first trail magic! Dr Pepper! Stunning photography. "Lake Morena to Mount Laguna, miles 20-41.5: A Song of Mud and Ice.™️"
u/Many_Yellow_1623	Half Pint	MAR 18 (NOBO)	past mi 40 by now	3/25: Had a rainy start, climbed LOTS to Mt Laguna where they waited out the storm in a cute little cabin
u/juliozz59, Link 2		MAR 20 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/thesearereddits		MAR 21 (NOBO)	Near the border	3/26: Foraging mushrooms in the SoCal desert (no, really) and being a literal chef on trail. Practicing LNT principals like a boss and harmonizing in bathrooms and walking in the rain. Is a wilderness first responder and seems to be posted up at Lake Morena
u/emdem55	Keys	MAR 22 (NOBO)	N of Mt Laguna	3/25: Trail cheffing for the first two days, had a big burger and fries at Mt Laguna and they're back off into the desert
u/Beefandsteel		MAR 22 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: Gear pic posted! No updates from trail yet
u/jacobburns		MAR 22 (NOBO)	On trail!	3/26: Day 1 Ten Miles, tent fell down the first night but still smiling! Day 4 woke up with frost inside the tent! Rolled into snowy Mt Laguna
u/ThrowAwayTheAT		MAR 22 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/Doetastic	Doe	MAR 23 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/7-legged-octopus		MAR 27 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/snoopeppers2819		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/frankiehikes		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/particularamphibian, Link 2		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/m, Link 2		MAR 28 (NOBO	Not Yet On Trail
u/yourgirlbribri		MAR 29 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/future_psychology_91	Dundee on the AT. on the PCT ???	MAR 30 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/shardpelt		MAR 31 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/chroniclesofvanlife		APR 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/nataliethisisnatalie		APR 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/phantom_dong		APR 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/rooo_22		APR 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/interestingtown		APR 6 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/shoebinn, Link 2		APR 7 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/evoncassier		APR 7 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/tomnomnom17		APR 10 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/wingman	Wingman	APR 10 (NOBO - SECTION)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Beccatravels	Pepper	APR 10 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/jesshikes		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/P1L9R1M	Pilgrim	APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Alone_Background5178		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/drwolffe		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/laurelindorenan, Link 2		APR 12 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/calithileth, Link 2		APR 12 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/woodsbearoutdoors		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/pollyf		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/stressok3401		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/hallroosevelt, Link 2		APR 15 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Bullish_Bear000		APR 19 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Just_karo		APR 20 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/alex_pct23		APR 24 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/FishingFrank, Link 2	Papa Roja	APR 26 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/mschoee		MAY 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Loombisaurus	Daisy	MAY 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/sharkdork		MAY 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/kinn0n14		MAY 13 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/spiderwinder23		MAY 15 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/niccolojoe		MAY 18 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/margot380		JUL 2 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/lilmisscactus		JUL 8 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/agreeable_ad_5423		JUL 10 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Sea_counter8398		JUL 18 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/canthinkofone9	Sweet Rinn	JUL 26 (SOBO - SECTION)	Not Yet On Trail

​

Redditors on the PCT Week 3 (26 MARCH 2023)

At this time we have over 50 hikers signed up to allow us to track their PCT 2023 progress. We have a handful of starters with progress to track and many more that are gearing up to start this week. Our furthest hiker is past mi 209 at the moment while many others are getting wet during this last bout of atmospheric river. We appreciate all of your updates from trail and wish you nothing but the absolute best as your embark on your PCT journey. HYOH and LNT.

VIBE OF THE WEEK: PEREGRINATING

to make one's way through, across, or over
​
JOIN THESE UPDATES
If you are hiking the trail this year (Thru or LASH) and would like to be added to these posts, please fill out the survey linked here or comment below and we'll get you added into future updates. These updates will come on a weekly basis and be put out on Sunday PM. If your social media link is private, you will get a follow request from this OP. My name is Rachel, hi :)
If for any reason you'd like to be removed from these updates OR if something does not look right, please message me directly.
Most Recent Trail Closure Updates
​

Hiker	Trail Name	Start Date	Current Location-ish	Update
u/jimmyjamhiker	JimmyJam	MAR 02 (NOBO)	Warner Springs	3/25: Riding out the atmospheric river in Warner Springs
u/Schrodingers-cat-30	Ditto	MAR 02 (NOBO)	mi 100-200	3/25: no update as of 3/22
u/trailhead42	Trailhead	MAR 10 (NOBO)	past mi 209 by now	3/25: Skipped up to Idyllwild and strapped on snowshoes and a little while after, switched those out for crampons. Looks like they're with a sizeable crowd. Snow camping! And then broke a tent pole, but hit mile 200!
u/minaretcrew		MAR 13 (NOBO)	past mi 41 by now	3/26: Officially on trail, forded Hauser Creek and got their first trail magic! Dr Pepper! Stunning photography. "Lake Morena to Mount Laguna, miles 20-41.5: A Song of Mud and Ice.™️"
u/Many_Yellow_1623	Half Pint	MAR 18 (NOBO)	past mi 40 by now	3/25: Had a rainy start, climbed LOTS to Mt Laguna where they waited out the storm in a cute little cabin
u/juliozz59, Link 2		MAR 20 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/thesearereddits		MAR 21 (NOBO)	Near the border	3/26: Foraging mushrooms in the SoCal desert (no, really) and being a literal chef on trail. Practicing LNT principals like a boss and harmonizing in bathrooms and walking in the rain. Is a wilderness first responder and seems to be posted up at Lake Morena
u/emdem55	Keys	MAR 22 (NOBO)	N of Mt Laguna	3/25: Trail cheffing for the first two days, had a big burger and fries at Mt Laguna and they're back off into the desert
u/Beefandsteel		MAR 22 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: Gear pic posted! No updates from trail yet
u/jacobburns		MAR 22 (NOBO)	On trail!	3/26: Day 1 Ten Miles, tent fell down the first night but still smiling! Day 4 woke up with frost inside the tent! Rolled into snowy Mt Laguna
u/ThrowAwayTheAT		MAR 22 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/Doetastic	Doe	MAR 23 (NOBO)	No update posted	3/25: No update from trail yet
u/7-legged-octopus		MAR 27 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/snoopeppers2819		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/frankiehikes		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/particularamphibian, Link 2		MAR 28 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/m, Link 2		MAR 28 (NOBO	Not Yet On Trail
u/yourgirlbribri		MAR 29 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/future_psychology_91	Dundee on the AT. on the PCT ???	MAR 30 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/shardpelt		MAR 31 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/chroniclesofvanlife		APR 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/nataliethisisnatalie		APR 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/phantom_dong		APR 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/rooo_22		APR 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/interestingtown		APR 6 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/shoebinn, Link 2		APR 7 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/evoncassier		APR 7 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/tomnomnom17		APR 10 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/wingman	Wingman	APR 10 (NOBO - SECTION)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Beccatravels	Pepper	APR 10 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/jesshikes		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/P1L9R1M	Pilgrim	APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Alone_Background5178		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/drwolffe		APR 11 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/laurelindorenan, Link 2		APR 12 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/calithileth, Link 2		APR 12 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/woodsbearoutdoors		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/pollyf		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/stressok3401		APR 14 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/hallroosevelt, Link 2		APR 15 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Bullish_Bear000		APR 19 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Just_karo		APR 20 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/alex_pct23		APR 24 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/FishingFrank, Link 2	Papa Roja	APR 26 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/mschoee		MAY 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Loombisaurus	Daisy	MAY 1 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/sharkdork		MAY 5 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/kinn0n14		MAY 13 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/spiderwinder23		MAY 15 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/niccolojoe		MAY 18 (NOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/margot380		JUL 2 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/lilmisscactus		JUL 8 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/agreeable_ad_5423		JUL 10 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/Sea_counter8398		JUL 18 (SOBO)	Not Yet On Trail
u/canthinkofone9	Sweet Rinn	JUL 26 (SOBO - SECTION)	Not Yet On Trail

And here it is, the final chapter. Somewhat short, as denouements tend to be. It WAS going to be two chapters but it'd feel bad to have the second half alone on it's own with how very short and silent it is.
[ [FIRST]
---
Memory Transcript: Douglas Parker, Firefighter
It was… Certainly too much. He could not deny, one thing Kerim was, was a hero, a bloodied one. But he could understand why he didn’t feel like it, not with what he once did. It was clear now why he was so capable with those knives and why he kept them hidden for so long “What a warcry for a suicide charge” yet somehow, recounting all of those sad memories, his friend seemed… Happier than he’d been those last two days.
Kerim had picked up his knives to talk about them, he unscrews a compartment on the handle, showing a greenish pill stored inside “Bit literal too.” he raises the pill up to eye level “Take one of those, and anything that eats you will die very painfully” he stores it back on his knife.
No matter how dreadful it seemed- Kerim was happy telling this story. It must have hurt keeping his truth hidden for so long, or maybe it was the memories of his ‘promised’ that he was finally able to look at again. “It must have been difficult to… Well, go on with life, after you landed”
“It was… But you wanna know the funny thing?” Kerim looks up at the ceiling “It felt like… I was in the Dominion” Kerim sounded like wanted to laugh.
“How so?”
“It shouldn’t be funny.” he shakes his head “Maybe the time in that re-education facility, wait, the ‘predator disease’ treatment center, actually did a number on me” a sigh, despite what he was talking about Kerim had no seriousness in his voice “But… Living in a Federation world felt… So much like my infiltration missions in the Dominion. Especially places like that” he tosses one of his knives up, picking it up as it falls “Like those two facilities”
“The Dominion would put the ‘defective’ ones in a small room with a ‘target’” he closes his eyes, seemingly to draw the memories to himself “Slowly electrify the floor tiles to force the ‘defect’, who’d been starving for days, closer to their target. And then force them with a shock collar until they gave in and killed” he opens up his eyes again “In that facility I was put in they did… They did the same, but with a group. At a point I thought, did they want me to attack them? Why?” he starts laughing “I didn’t realize they were trying to work on some weird… Herding instinct! It was the same way the Dominion forced their kindest to kill!” he was laughing, and it didn’t feel… It did not feel like that laughter was anything but amusement..
This man had seen too much. He moves closer and hugs his friend, who simply lays into the embrace. “Getting out was easy… At this point you realize I'm pretty good at acting, right?”
He chuckles “Not when I’m around. But with everyone else, yeah, you are” this just prompts his friend to get cozier against him
“Once I figured out what they wanted out of me, pretending it was true was easy. Good training, too, turns out simple politeness like looking at who you’re talking to was weird” he sighs wistfully as he closes his eyes “I was supposed to know when I would die. I was supposed to know to whom my death belonged. I was certain I would die in that ship” he tilts his head, nearly commanding Douglas to pet him “And there I was alive, for who knows how long. I was alive and I did not know why, I was alive with a life with which I did not know what to do”
“How’d it go?”
“I decided to do what I had always done. I took the tests to join the colonization corps.” it didn’t seem to him as if his friend was telling him a dark portion of his past, not with the way his voice sounded, not with the way his tail swished “I had twenty years of exploration experience, and who knew, maybe I could find a paradise, and find a way to send that map back home”
For just a moment, he feels his friend tense “But they’re like the Dominion even in that. I thought it was a fluke on the first world we landed, bad crew. I asked for a transfer and got it. I got in an argument with the captain on that one, had to use some ‘predator’s disease’ bullshit excuse to avoid even more trouble. I didn’t get on a third mission.” he relaxes, switching into english “If the Dominion are like piranhas, consuming everything that flows into their river. Then the Federation are locusts, consuming everything in their path.”
“But then you arrived” when he says that, Kerim curls up, making it even more awkward to hold his friend who was trying to put as much of his body against his “The humans, native to paradise.” Kerim tilts his head slightly to look at him “And then you, who told me with pride of your favorite food”
“Palm heart…” he lowers his head to rest his chin on his friend’s wool “He asked to be buried under the palm trees”
“I know this isn’t that planet. I know those aren’t the same trees. I know you’re not him...” Kerim closes his eyes “But it feels like fate to me”
—
It had been an entire month now, since the last refugee left the city. Some suspicious UN ships had arrived shortly afterwards, but when Shaza left with them he figured she’d gotten her deal. Afterwards, other ships arrived and the rescue group scattered to the winds. Most stayed on Earth like he did, even the aliens.
And today was a special day. He had managed to get an entire week off for himself and Kerim, long enough to book an international vacation. They were in an old rented car driving down an old road, down the countryside of his homeland.
He looks at his friend, who was simply taking in the fresh breeze until he spots something in the distance. That elicited a small smile from him, he didn’t want to give in the surprise yet but… When the first palm trees came into view he knew it was going to work.
He took the car down a side road, down to the palm plantation his cousin worked at. Kerim was silent the entire time he negotiated access to the plantation with his cousin, he never asked why they were there.
He walked with his friend down the row of trees until they found a particularly sizable one. He simply waited, and eventually Kerim ceremoniously kneels. He digs a shallow hole at the tree’s base with his hands, and draws the two black knives he kept hidden on himself. He lowers them into the hole, before covering them up again.
His friend stands up again, looks at him with a smile, and they depart.

First, nobody owes me anything and I get that.
I'm struggling. I've been no contact with my abusive mother for a while now but still have to deal with my sibling relaying all her bullshit to me. The only parental figure I now have is my dad. I moved to be closer to his side of the family and get away from my moms. I live 2 hours away from him and one of my siblings. I do live in the same town as many aunts/uncles/cousins but have only seen a couple of them twice in the past year since I moved. Almost any effort to connect with dad and sibling has been me traveling to see them. They have come here a couple of times whereas I have gone there at least 10 times. My grandmother moved away to live with her daughter right when I moved here which really crushed my heart. She talked about moving back but now she's moving farther. I was venting to my dad about how I thought I would have this great support system with moving back here and I feel awful and alone. He laughed at me. He told me if I want a support system to move to the town where he lives. I can't do that. My very abusive ex lives in that town. I was diagnosed with ptsd because of him. I have panic attacks if I go out in public in that town. I can't do it. I also have a kid along for this ride. I do everything I can to not let them know how broken their mom is. The abusive ex isn't their dad but their dad doesn't want much to do with them. Even if it's something for my kid, I have a hard time getting anyone to show up. My dad is remarried and everyone shows up for the step kid and their kid but not me and mine. This includes my own grandmother. My dad's wife has been downright awful to me in the past. She acts like I'm not part of the family. It hurts so much that my dad let's that happen. My kid had one phone call on their birthday, one of my siblings. I tried to make the day as special as I could. All the decorations. Letting them plan activities and dinner that evening. I hope they feel all the love in the world. I'm trying to make a stable home, I've never asked for help before. When I asked my dad for help he laughed at me and told me being an adult is hard. Yet he's paid for all of one of my siblings bills for months before and been very hands on and supportive. Like I said, I've never asked for help before in my over 10 years of adulthood. I'm exhausted. I'm in so much emotional pain. I feel lost. I'll figure it out, I always do but for now it's going to hurt.

Get the course here: https://www.genkicourses.com/product/freedom-accelerato [Get] Jonathan Montoya – Freedom Accelerator📷 What You Get: The Freedom Accelerator Program – Start & Grow Your Affiliate Stacking Ecosystem A Home-Study Program Designed To Take You From Fast Startup To Massive Scaling… Inside The Freedom Accelerator Program Is Everything You Need To Start Your New Online Affiliate Marketing Business Using My Unique Affiliate Stacking Ecosystem Method… The 5-Hour Fast-Start – A Done-For-You Funnel To Start Promoting A High-Converting Offer A Done-For-You Product & Funnel To Start Promoting Right Away… BONUSES: TikTok 0 To 10K Blueprint – Get Your First 1,000 Followers In 24 Hours In This Bonus, I’m Going To Reveal My Favorite Way To QUICKLY Get To 1k Followers,100+ Done-For-You Short Video Templates That Have Proven To Go Viral… I’ll Show You The Only 5 Types Of Videos You’ll Ever Need… And I’m Going To Give You A Detailed Calendar Showing What Types Of Videos To Post When… Top 15 Affiliate Stacking Niches – How To Find Hundreds Of High-Converting Offers My Expert Team And I Hand-Picked & Researched The TOP 15 Niches For YOU… Each Of These Niches Are Proven To Convert For Affiliate Traffic, So You Can Start Building Passive Income Quickly… Case Study: Daniel Chou’s 6-Figure Formula – Discover The Secrets Behind 6-Figure Business When It Comes To Making Money With Affiliate Stacking Ecosystem, You Can Learn A Lot From Someone Who… Went From -$35,000 In Debt (And Sued By AMEX) To Now Making $20,000 – $30,000 Per Month!! He Took My System And, On Top Of It, Developed His Own Secret System For Profiting On Facebook… Spilling The Secrets Of Reels – Get More Views From The Videos You Already Made To Help You Get Results With Reels, I’m Bringing Someone Who Got 1 MILLION Followers Using Them – Joshua Smith… Inside This Course, Joshua Will Show You His Strategies & Secrets For Turning FB Reels And Your Personal Profile Into An Absolute Traffic And Profit Goldmine… Instant Business In 90 Minutes – Pick One Of 10 More Done-For-You Offers To Promote I’m Going To Give You At Least 3 More Affiliate Stacking Business Models You Can QUICKLY Get Started With…

• Crypto Affiliate Stack
• Real Estate Affiliate Stack
• Weight Loss Affiliate Stack

So I decided to branch out recently and start trying new brands other than my standard ones. I read a lot about Musgrave, esp the Tennessee Reds and Harvest Pro, and loved how they look so I took the plunge and ordered two single Reds online, well-aware of the potential wood inconsistencies. I’ll cut to the chase: absolute garbage. I sharpened the first one with a kum two-step sharpener - the graphite tip was crumbly and the wood was separating and pulling away from the core. Decided to start writing and, as expected, immediately the tip breaks. No bother, maybe. It was too sharp. About 10 words in, the entire graphite core that was exposed and some underneath just falls out. I assumed it was my sharpening skills so I next sharpened with my Blackwing one-step sharpener and made sure not to make it too pointy and long. Same EXACT issues. This time I saw the tip wobbling like a loose tooth, so gave it a little tug and 1cm of the core just pulls right out. Must’ve been this one pencil, maybe from a bad batch. So I take the other one and very carefully sharpen it, this time with my Uni-KH20 hand crank, set to a dull point. This pencil was better for little bit, so I get excited and start working with it - simple note-taking. Apparently that was too much work and boom, tip starts wobbling. So I frustratingly write the vendor as I was ordering a batch of other pencils, he kindly through in another Red that he personally sharpened. It arrived and worked fine, finally. So I wrote until it dulled, and sharpened. Worked great, success!! So I continued working and resharpened when needed. Aaaaaaaand again, same problems.
At this point I just gave up altogether on their cedar pencils and ordered a box of the Ceres 909. Aesthetically I love the Musgrave designs and figured since they’re not cedar, I can’t go wrong. Wrong. Ceres had the same issues, mostly, just less. The frustrating part now is that I’ve had 2 ceres pencils be just fine but 3 others be horrible. Oh also, the imprint on the Ceres start flaking off after only one or two days of light use - even my bargain basement Dixon Ticonderoga's don't do that.
This leads me to the ultimate question(s) - Does anyone else have these problems? I really want to try the Harvest Pros, but they're also cedar. I like the look of the Harvest 320 #1 and #2, but don't want to order a box of those if they're going to be the same. And I've had cedars in the past and all the BW's are California cedar and all just fine, never had issues
And lastly, the erasers SUCK - on both Red and Ceres. Are the erasers on the Pro or 320's different at all?
This is all pretty disappointing from a company like Musgrave that should have far better quality control. And before you suggest that it must be my sharpening skills or tools - not once have I had this problem with the hundreds of Blackwings, Dixons, Mitsubishi (high uni and lower grade), Tombow, Faber Castell, Staedler, etc. You're making it hard to love you Musgrave!

Sunday, March 19 - Saturday, March 25

Top 10 Posts

score	comments	title & link
135	6 comments	Joy of children hearing a fiddle for the first time
133	11 comments	Doc Watson & Tony Rice (Merlefest, April, 1999) Wilkesboro, NC
114	19 comments	Bluegrass goldmine today!
94	30 comments	Local Record Store passed on these!
79	7 comments	Watchhouse at The Caverns tonight y'all 🔥
48	10 comments	Nickel Creek - Where the Long Line Leads (Live on Jimmy Kimmel)
47	8 comments	Eddie Barbash plays Tony Rice solos 🎷👌
45	2 comments	Dailey & Vincent - Rocky Top
41	18 comments	Hillberry 2023 initial lineup
40	6 comments	Some of the best video I’ve ever seen of Earl’s right hand.

 

Top 5 Most Commented

score	comments	title & link
25	24 comments	Interesting Bluegrass search trends. curious about what happened in Dec 2019 that made Billy jump to Jam band popularity levels.
9	20 comments	What’s y’all’s favorite strings
12	17 comments	Ever have issues where you get paid less than you were offered?
3	13 comments	[Discussion] Wondering what instrument I should try next?
11	9 comments	Fiddling Powers n Family

 

Ok, this is kind of a long story of what happened to me yesterday, i’ll try to give a short backstory before i jump into it.
Around November 2022 I (20F) met this guy (20M) on tinder, he was sweet, ready for commitment, basically overall husband material. We went on a few dates, hung out a few times and texted constantly (he lives over an hour away and our schedules are opposite so we only hung out maybe 7 times in person). He’s military, and told me he’s getting moved around and I explained military life isn’t one I see myself in (as I’ve had similar situations in the past and they haven’t ended well) and I don’t think we should have a serious relationship even though we’d be perfect together, for the reason i’m still in school the next two years and he’s moving states away. Both of us were hurting and we really wanted to stay close, since we’d gotten along so well. I haven’t seen him since then, and I have a few of his belongings and we made plans to meet up and hang out and give our stuff back to each other. Both of us were completely understanding that we were no longer in a relationship or together.
Yesterday he came over to get his stuff, relatively unannounced. He had mentioned maybe coming that day on Friday, but I knew he was leaving for a trip with his friends that night in the other direction, so it was fine with me to reschedule. He ended up texting me that he was in my town, and I can’t lie, I did get a bit excited, we hadn’t seen each other in months and we ended on good terms. He came over and we were talking and just overall enjoying each others company, we kissed a little bit and things got a bit more intense.
We had sex once when we were together and we realized we didn’t have a condom, so we ran to the store and picked some up and came back to my dorm. i thought it was really mature of him to get in the car and drive to pick up some, he was concerned about my birth control not being the best method of protection and i agreed fully, as i’m not great at remembering to take it regularly on time. I felt really safe and cared for and it was overall a great experience.
When we were together yesterday, we were both undressed and i explained to him that i switched birth controls and was having issues with spotting and cysts and that we probably can’t do anything. i offered to do stuff for him, and eventually he put it inside. i was caught off guard but didn’t argue, as i had missed him and i wanted him to feel good and i trust him. as we were doing i was a bit unsure because i never have sex without a condom. i didn’t say anything, and let him keep going. a few minutes later he pulls out, and i look at him expecting him to switch positions or something. instead he goes “wow that was fast”, and i just felt my heart skip a beat in my chest and i asked “what do you mean”. he looks down and says you know, to finish. and i just remember looking up at him in horror asking finish??? where?? and him telling me “inside” i immediately felt sick to my stomach and looked at him in orror and he said “it’s no big deal, you’re on birth control, so i can”. i just pushed him off to and ran to the bathroom. i sat there shaking and crying for a few minutes. after about 10 minutes he knocks and asked if everything was ok. i just went back to my bedroom and put my clothes back on still shaking. he just looked at me with like no remorse, no affection, no feeling. i just held my phone in my hands but i was shaking to much to even turn it on. he tried to hug me, and i saw dating app notifications open on his phone.
i sat there pushing him away and then finally told him i needed to be alone, and that he should leave. it was raining so i drove him back to his car and told him to get home safe. he said “sorry. i’ll text you”
i broke down the second he drove away, in disgust. i felt so nauseous and betrayed. he didn’t ask if it was ok, nor did he show any sympathy once i was upset. i spent the remainder of the day crying and shaking uncontrollably, and didn’t sleep much last night. he hasn’t texted or called
is this my fault?? am i being dramatic? did i ask for this? should i reach out and apologize for asking him to leave?

At first I (32/F) thought it was a bruise that I don't remember getting. I awoke one morning after a night out with extreme pain in my right mid-calf. At that point there was no obvious signs of brusing. No redness, swelling or anything. After a few days I noticed a raised, red patch surrounded by a barger boarder. Pain was less intense but the redness and slight swelling remain. It's now 2 weeks later virtually no pain. I can move my leg just fine and run my hand along the bump without feeling any pain or pressure. Only issue is the bruising has not gone away and I have this in knot under the skin. I am a past DVT patient and was treated with elequis for 3 months. At that time the cause of the blood clot was suspected to be caused by a large fribroid uterus that was putting extra weight on my abdomen and impacting blood flow. I've since had a myomectomy 2 years ago and was told that it was unlikely that I'd experience another run-in with a clot. IMO, the clot felt more like a Charlie horse, where this bruise feels quite different so I'm a little perplexed and really hoping it's just a bruise. I'm generally quite active although I do work from home. I run 9 km 4x weekly plus yoga twice a week. Weight 194, height 5'10, nonsmoker, not on any medication.
Hope this is enough info. Picture ein the comments. Thank you for your time!

I (28F) have been a smoker for 10+ years, and a serial quitter. But this time it's going really well. I'm on day 3 of cold turkey, no nic replacement or anything like that. It's just me, regular chewing gum, a plan to stay busy, and Jesus. The thing that made this time different than last time is a dose of shrooms the day before my quit. I didn't even plan on quitting. I just finished my pack and was thinking about buying another, but something in me said "nah, I'm good." Something about that trip really set me straight on my path, and the determination has stuck around (which is surprising, I've always had the willpower of a wet noodle.) It's only day 3, but I've had no withdrawal symptoms, no horrible cravings. Maybe a little anxious, but nothing unbearable. It's crazy how easy this is so far, and the only thing I've done different are the shrooms.
I'm morbidly obese (340lb) and I'm on a fitness journey as well, and I was really worried that quitting smoking was going to make me an insatiable monster (it has every time I've tried) but I've truly been putting mind over matter for the first time ever. If I'm STARVING I can eat cucumbers or celery, a handful of almonds or if I'm desperate an avocado, and I feel much better. I've been working out and detoxing, trying to be productive in every way possible. Even when I sit down for the day and get on my laptop, I set my sights on something productive. Reading, writing, researching. I've had a really rough year, but I'm about to invest in some hobbies that have me excited to live again. (I'm buying a 3d printer and some resin molds. I have lots of ideas, but I'm initially starting in making chess sets because I'm a chess nerd lol.)
Day 3 isn't much to celebrate, but I'm just really happy with how smooth it's going and that I'm staying strong. Haven't made it three days in years. Right now I'm going to do some Bible study and then take a long glorious nap lol. It helps with cravings, and I recently researched that a midday nap can help with weightloss. I'm so hype that I can count a nap as productive 😂

Hi have a problem with the Westek Optical switch/hotkey no longer working. Creating a new charakter and using it works but my current playtrough does not accept the imput to switch modes. Dont know if this correleate but the honeybadger mod doesnt reload in first person only in 3rd person or wenn magazine is empty. Hope somebody can help.
My loadorder is:
# Automatically generated by Vortex
*Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch.esp
*ArmorKeywords.esm
*XDI.esm
*HUDFramework.esm
*WorkshopFramework.esm
*Arbitration - Resources.esm
*CROSS_CosmeticFramework.esm
*M84FlashBang.esl
*TacticalReload.esm
*TheSewers.esm
*tooun_Animationpack.esl
*Arbitration - 3rd Person Gun Up by Default.esp
*MK18.esp
*MWIIChimera.esp
*Armorsmith Extended.esp
*BOCW Outfit Pack.esp
*[BOCW] SEAL Team 10.esp
*Sneaky Kills.esp
*Bashing killmoves enabled.esp
*SlowTime.esp
*CastleWallsRepaired 3.esp
*RED.esp
*Underground RailroadALLDLC.esp
*W.A.T.Minutemen.esp
*MikeMooresMCAM.esp
*Vivid Weathers - FO4.esp
*UniqueUniques.esp
*Backpacks of the Commonwealth.esp
*RansackedRelay.esp
*CROSS_InstituteExpeditionarySuit.esp
*Arbitration - Button Lowered Weapons.esp
*CROSS_Jetpack.esp
*AnimatedRadaway.esp
*CROSS_Uni_Scarf.esp
*CharCustomizationOptions.esp
*Clean Water - Tropical.esp
*EasyHacking.esp
*EasyLockpicking.esp
*MWvalpha.esp
*Escape from Boston - M200 Intervention.esp
*MWR_SAS.esp
*battlebrother13_HangmansHouse.esp
*LeeEnfieldNo4MkI.esp
*Locksmith.esp
*PIP-Pad.esp
*LooksMenu Customization Compendium.esp
*MoreMeat - DLC Addon.esp
*LooksMenu.esp
*NukaWorldMeat.esp
*AzarPonytailHairstyles.esp
*PortableRecycler.esp
*MoreFuckinMeat.esp
*shipment_biggest.esp
*RichMerchantsLessCaps.esp
*RightHandedHuntingRifle.esp
*Metro Gas Masks.esp
*CBBE.esp
*KSHairdosExtra.esp
*AnimChemRedux.esp
*HK_MP5.esp
*MKIIGrenadeReplacer.esp
*3dscopes.esp
*NSA All-in-One.esp
*Splinterz.esp
*USP .45_by_tooun.esp
*fn five-seven v3.0.esp
*WestTekTacticalOptics.esp
*TAC.esp
*LegendaryModification.esp
*LegendaryModification Enhanced.esp
*AnimatedIngestibles.esp
*DarkerNights.esp
*DarkerNightsDetection.esp
*Craftable Armor Size - Fix Material Requirements.esp
*Craftable Armor Size.esp
*The Eyes Of Beauty.esp
*Weapons of Fate.esp
*LegendaryModification2LM.esp
*LegendaryModificationCSA.esp
*LegendaryModificationGroknak.esp
*LegendaryModificationMisc.esp
*OpsCoreFASTHelmet.esp
*GPNVG-WestTekPatch.esp
*Vivid Weathers - FO4 - Autumn.esp
*Vivid Weathers - FO4 - Far Harbor.esp
*Vivid Weathers - Nuka World.esp
TAEPE - MWStriker.esp
TAEPE - RU556.esp
*PIP-Pad_LMCC.esp
*StartMeUp.esp
*StartMeUpFarHarborPatch.esp
*StartMeUpNukaWorldPatch.esp
*RED-StartMeUp.esp
*EnhancedLightsandFX.esp
*Pip-Boy Flashlight.esp
*PIP-Pad_Pip-BoyFlashlight.esp
*SatelliteWorldMap.esp

This seems to be a bit of a thing now and I got bored, so screw it, here's mine. This isn't gonna be like Marvel where there's distinct phases with films in those phases leading up to a massive crossover event like Endgame, it's more gonna be about making good stories that are in the same universe without having to link it to whatever huge threat. I'm also not really gonna go into the villains that much, more focusing on the major main character events that will happen. This will cover 10 years with 3 to 4 films a year which I think seems reasonable.
Justice League 1 (2025): Barry Allen's Flash, Aquaman, Black Canary, Hal Jordan's Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter team up to stop Starro, creating the Justice League.
Batman 1 (2025): Bruce becomes Batman and builds a trust with Gordon. The League of Assassins test him by sending Lady Shiva after him.
Flash 1 (2025): Wally West becomes Kid Flash.
Superman 1 (2026): Clark meets Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane and publically debuts as Superman, making the suit with the help of Ma and Pa Kent and getting the name from Lois. Clark and Superman meet Lex for the first time
Green Arrow 1 (2026): Oliver takes in Roy Harper, training him to become his sidekick, Speedy.
Wonder Woman 1 (2026): Diana wins Hippolyta's tournament, winning the right leave Themyscira and act as champion to stop the impending war between Circe and Ares, taking her mother's WW2 mantle as Wonder Woman. She stays in Man's World, going to university to learn more about it where she meets Etta Candy.
Green Lantern 1 (2027): Hal fights OMAC, stopping and incarcerating his handlers, the Global Police Agency. He can't find or deactivated the Brother Eye Satellite but does manage to arrest Buddy Blank, handing him into the DEO.
Aquaman 1 (2027): Aquaman takes in Garth, an escapee from Idylis, an Atlantean penal city housed within Xebel. Together they free the denizens of the penal city from Black Manta, saving Manta's son, Kaldur'ahm, in the process. They prepare to move against Atlantis with Garth become Aqualad.
Teen Titans 1 (2027): Dick Grayson's Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash come together as the Teen Titans.
Superman 2 (2028): Clark saves a dog from Metropolis' Suicide Slums and takes him to the Fortress of Solitude to heal. Krypto begins exhibiting Kryptonian powers revealing that he had been altered by the Fortress' AI known as the Eradicator. The Eradicator plans to restructure Earth into Krypton but is stopped by Clark.
Batman 2 (2028): Bruce is confronted by Ra's al Ghul who has been watching him since his debut and wants him to take over the League of Assassins. Bruce has a night of passion with Talia. Jason Blood is called in by Bruce to explain the history of the League of Assassins and the mystical properties of the Lazarus Pit.
Aquaman 2 (2028): Mera falls in love with Arthur and joins his fight for Throne of Atlantis which he does get.
Green Lantern 2 (2029): Hal is on Earth for reasons that will be shown in a future film, so Guy Gardner and John Stewart are brought in as replacements. Guy breaks his leg resulting in him getting benched until he's fully healed
Justice Society 1 (2029): In 1951, the Justice Society includes Alan Scott's Green Lantern, Jay Garrick's Flash, Al Pratt's Atom, Hourman, Wildcat, Wesley Dodds' Sandman, Gavyn's Starman, Johnny Thunder, Shiera Hall's Hawkwoman, Hawkman, and Janos Prohaska's Blackhawk. The team becomes trapped in Ragnarok where they are in a never ending battle where they don't age. Most members die leaving only Flash, Hawkwoman, and Hawkman. Alan Scott escaped a long time ago and has been trying to find a way to get his friends out. He meets Ray Palmer in present day seeing he has the power to get his friends out resulting in the remaining Society members getting freed.
Wonder Woman 2 (2029): Diana leads Etta Candy, Barry Allen's Flash, and Hal Jordan's Green Lantern to Themyscira to stop Felix Faust from siphoning the magic from the island. The quartet are able to stop Faust and free the Amazons but Diana is banished for bringing men on the island. Donna Troy tags along with Diana in her banishment becoming Wonder Girl.
Green Lantern & Green Arrow (2030): Hal starts traveling across the country with Oliverwhere they encounter social issues as well as the villain Major Disaster who the two defeat.
The Flash 2 (2030): Professor Zoom threatens Iris' life and Barry nearly kills him. Zoom attempts to kill Iris but Barry saves her by sending her into the future before he sacrifice himself to stop Zoom, the Speedforce absorbing the two.
Justice League 2 (2030): The Justice League now consists of Aquaman, Black Canary, Hal Jordan's Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Atom, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Red Tornado, and Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein). The satellite is destroyed by Despero and Red Tornado sacrifices himself to save to save the rest of the League, his consciousness being uploaded into the League Database. During the battle, Firestorm's connection is ruptured, forcing Ronnie and Stein to limit their time as Firestorm.
Green Arrow & Green Arrow (2031): Oliver and Hal are still traveling, meanwhile Dinah discovers that Roy has a heroin addiction and helps him work through it, he retires as Speedy.
Teen Titans 2 (2031): The Teen Titans has expanded and now includes Nightwing, Wally West's Flash, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, Wonder Girl, Terra, and Jericho. Terra betrays the team and helps Deathstroke defeat them but Jericho attempts to stop his father resulting in his death at his father's hand. Terra is killed and the Titans disband.
Green Lantern 3 (2031): Hal, Kilowog, and Ch'p travel to the forbidden sector to investigate a murdered Lantern where they meet Bro'Dee and battle Atrocitus and the Red Lantern Corp. Ganthet gives Bro'Dee a Blue Battery to become Saint Walker, the Blue Lantern of Hope.
Green Arrow 2 (2032): Oliver's relationship with Dinah becomes more serious after her mother's death. He begins working with Huntress, teaching her how to use a crossbow.
Aquaman 3 (2032): Black Manta kidnaps Arthur and Mera's sin, Arthur the 3rd and kills Mera. Arthur quests to save his son with the help of Dolphin. He loses his hand and has it replaced with an Atlantean war-hook.
Captain Marvel 1 (2032): Billy Batson is guided to the Wizard Shazam by his father's ghost, he becomes the Wizard's champion Captain Marvel, battling Black Adam.
Teen Titans 3 (2033): Betty Kane, inspired by the Titans, creates her own Titans team called Titans West as Flamebird, recruiting Argent, Kid Devil, Bumblebee, Herald, Mirage, Phantasm, Hawk, and Dove. The team bite off more than they can choose while trying to stop Cheshire from blowing up Quarac. They fail in their mission and most of the team is decimated leaving only Flamebird, Argent, and Bumblebee who are saved by Roy Harper (now a government agent named Arsenal), Beast Boy, and the Doom Patrol.
Justice League 3 (2033): A new Justice League had been formed featuring Booster Gold, Ted Kord's Blue Beetle, Fire, Ice, Guy Gardner's Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Bloodwynd, and Maxima. The team battles Doomsday in Metropolis and doesn't stand a chance with Blue Beetle getting beat into a coma. Booster Gold tries to fight Doomsday but only Superman can really stop him, resulting in the death of Superman and Doomsday leaving Booster feeling responsible. Bloodwynd, Fire, and Ice leave the Justice League.
Superman 3 (2033): Superman had been killed by Doomsday but his body can't be found. It was taken by Eradicator to the Fortress of Solitude where it can be bombarded with solar radiation in to restart his life-signs. Pa Kent learns to his son's death and dies of a heart attack. Clark finds himself in purgatory with dark forces that wish to claim the soul of the Champion of Earth including the Demon Etrigan. Jonathan is able to save Clark with the help of the Spectre who spares Clark's soul, allowing him to return to the land of the living while Pa stays dead and ascends to heaven. During that, John Henry Irons builds his armor and becomes Steel to honor the fallen Superman and Superboy, a teenage Superman clone, breaks out of Cadmus Labs. Steel and Superboy teamup to stop Mongul and Cyborg Superman from turning Earth into Warworld, assisted when Superman returns.
Green Lantern 4 (2034): Hal Jordan, effected by the destruction of Coast City by Mongul and Cyborg Superman, goes crazy and becomes Parallax, destroying the Oan Power Battery leaving John, Guy, and the other Green Lanterns without their powers.
Wonder Woman 3 (2034): With Diana exiled from Themyscira, they decide a new warrior to become Wonder Woman, Artemis. Artemis is taken by Ares and Diana comes fo save her, sacrificing her life for Artemis. Hippolyta, hearing of her daughter's sacrifice, sacrifice's her life to free Diana from the Underworld. Diana briefly gets Godlike powers to fight Ares and banish him from the mortal plane. Diana is called the Themyscira to serve as queen but she turns it down, allowing Hippolyta's sister, Antiope, to become queen instead.
Suicide Squad 1 (2034): The team includes Bronze Tiger, Nuklon, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Enchantress, Catman, and Plastique. Barbara Gordon begins operating as Oracle for the Suicide Squad and Bronze Tiger is the leader.
Batman 3 (2034): Bruce takes in Tim Drake as the new Robin and Barbara begins helping the BatFamily as Oracle. Jean-Paul Valley is rescued from the control of the Order of St. Dumas.

Hello everyone, Pride here with another edition of Market Movements where I analyze the biggest market movers both in terms of TCG supply decreases and/or Card Kingdom (CK) buylist increases of the past week(ish). As always if you want live updates I encourage you to follow me on Twitter @Prid3MTG because almost everything you see here today will have already been posted there (and usually a whole lot more). Note that because I post these on Saturday/Sunday I tend to exclude anything covered by the Weekly Winners MTG Stocks article since I assume that most people will have already read it and would prefer to see new content.
Starting this week I'm trying something new; I'm going to put the % TCG supply decrease (week-over-week) in front of the card to limit the amount of repeated + superfluous information. E.g. 75% means the card experienced a 75% decrease in TCG supply over the past week. Anything with an "Other" means I either don't have the exact data and/or it's not relevant but I still think that the card is worth highlighting for various reasons.
On a secondary note this is a weak week for specs so you're probably better off ignoring most of them. For the most part I would just wait for MOM spoilers as they're starting next week on the 29th.
91% [[Reckless ImpulseDBL]] is already shaping up to be the Expressive Iteration replacement in Legacy UR Delver with many of the Japanese grinders switching over to it already while also being a must have 4-of for Pauper Kuldotha Red. The card has experienced significant drain over the past few days and looks like a great card to snag if you can find any at old prices but the ship has mostly sailed sadly.
39% [[Soldevi Excavations]] this reads like a typical Reserved List (RL) "buyout" that has no real basis in reality. I've seen both Rudy and MTG Mox Man mention it on Youtube so this isn't the first time it's been targeted in recent years but the problem is that the card isn't actually good so it inevitably retraces once the speculators start dumping their bags back on to the market. Toss 30% [[Halls of Mist]] into this bucket for basically the same reason.
29% [[Femeref Enchantress]] still mostly RL nonsense but this one has some legitimate applications given it's at least playable in Tom Bombadil decks and/or the upcoming Enchantress Precon being released in Commander Legends. Wedge had a recent vid calling it out as a good spec which never hurts either. I personally think that this card is marginal at best but it is playable and RL so I'm happy to sell into hype and I think this card will do well once the Enchantress deck is actually released later this year.
27% [[Lightning GreavesSLD]] pet Secret Lair Drops (e.g. cats and dogs) always seem to do unreasonably well and case-in-point is the Doggo Lightning Greaves which sold through ~30% of its supply week-over-week and is pushing $35 on TCG. Probably tough to action at this point but this is more of a PSA to "buy pet-based Secret Lairs" if you want easy money. I personally bought a of the Foil 90s Binder Experience drop which is still on sale for another 13 hours because it looks like free money to me.
26% [[Apex Altisaur]] really got nothing for this one but supply is way down and it's pushing $10 on TCG Direct so someone is moving it and I really don't think it's something as simple as "we have another Ixalan set coming out soon." I'm guessing there has to be a Youtube video or whatever out there showcasing it. The card is fine but it's nothing special, Dinos probably wants it but nothing needs it, so I'm just flipping these while the getting's good because I imagine whatever this is will pass in short order.
25% [[Marrow-GnawerCHK]] all versions of Marrow-Gnawer are showing significant movement on TCG with the CHK nonfoils (the only nonfoil version) having sold 40% of its supply since last month. No surprises here given the back-to-back Rat lords in [[Ashcoat of the Shadow Swarm]] and [[Karumonix, the Rat King]] since both are reasonably powerful Commanders who need it for the 99.
25% [[Wedding AnnouncementDBL]] the card continues to be a force in Standard with a dash of Pioneer on the side. Monowhite Control, Esper Legends, 5CC and more are all playing the full 4 copies in Standard whereas in Pioneer it's mostly White Weenie and Transmogrify decks fielding copies. Much like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker it's been a premier "unfair 3 drop" since it was printed with most decks that can play copies fielding the full 4. Classic "does way too much for way too little" undercosted threat. Doesn't die to traditional spot removal either. I can't really imagine that changing with MOM so it should probably be a safe bet until the next rotation, but, granted, the next rotation is only 2 sets away so you wouldn't want to sit on these. Until then it could be a fine flip.
22% [[Brought Back]] + [[Emeria, the Sky Ruin]] (both cards) are showing significant movement on TCG as they're both being played in "new" Brought Back builds in Modern that can recur 2 Fetchlands as early as turn 2 to power out bombs like Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines in ETB/Elementals builds. Spike recently played the deck which never hurts since it looked quite strong in his hands. I actually like these specs more than most of the others listed today because I like anything that I expect to have sustained demand for more than a few weeks.
Other [[Exalted Flamer of Tzeentch]] while I mostly focus on supply changes I actually look a multitude of factors such as monthly revenue generated and Card Kingdom buylist increases and I think this is one of the strongest specs available right now when you take everything into consideration. Weekly supply decrease tends to be around 20% which is nothing special but it's one of the best W40K cards at generating revenue on TCG and is constantly out of stock (both regulars and foils) over at CK. I haven't seen a single copy of either for sale in the past 2 months because they're immediately purchased. As such the buylist price is constantly ramping up and has been for months. I like that this card is not only a standalone value engine for UR spells decks in EDH but it's also another [[Curiosity]] enabler which tends to be a staple combo for the archetype. Drawing 3 cards every time you cast a spell in a 4 player EDH game is absolutely bonkers and that's never going to change.
Other [[Machine God's Effigy]] a combination of organic demand, the Reddit treatment and a compelling plug from @ChiStyleGaming on Twitter is taking a significant toll on Machine God's Effigy's supply on TCG. I'm a big fan of flipping into hype and this seems like a prime candidate for quick returns. It's an artifact, clone, mana rock, etc. so it hits a lot of high notes in EDH as a flexible value spell. It also has some combo applications with creatures like [[Devoted Druid]] (infinite mana) but I've never seen or heard of anyone actually using those. Solid card either way.
Other Foil [[Neoform]]; [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] cannot stop doing busted things in most formats and it's looking like Pioneer Neoform is one of her strongest homes. Neoform foils are rapidly draining from TCG as a result so they look like solid specs to me. Regular copies are also experiencing significant reductions in supply and could be worth exploring as specs at some point but the easiest money (IMO) will be the foils.

Hello everyone. I read reddit everyday but very rarely come here to post about my problems, and I know there's a possibility that this story might be misconstrued because there's a lot of subtleties that even I don't understand, but I really need a new point of view.
I (21F) started dating my boyfriend (25M) two years ago, and we were friends for one year before that. Because we were friends, I knew that I could trust him, and we moved in together three months after we started dating, and the first year and a half of our relationship was great and normal.
But in August he stopped paying rent. He never gave me a reason as to why, but I suspect that his parents stopped sending him money. He didn't tell me that he wouldn't be able to pay rent anymore, he would just listen to me ask for the money, then just, not do anything about it. I started to keep a record of all the money he owed me for rent, internet, and groceries. After several months of him not paying me back he finally admitted that he had no money and would need to get a job to pay me back.
The only issue is that he is an international student, and graduated last year. Which means that he would need to apply for a work visa to be able to work in the country. He told me that it is a very long and arduous process that isn't worth it, and I believed him. Then a couple of days ago I found out that he could have gotten a work visa specifically for students who recently graduated, and just chose not to. His reasoning was that with that visa, you needed to work in the field that you studied in, and he didn't want to be 'forced' to work by the government and just wanted to live 'normally'. So all in all he owes me about 10,000 dollars.
But this to me is fine. We are in the process of applying for permanent residence, where I will be his sponsor, and as soon as you submit the application, the government gives you a work visa so that you can work while they are making their decisions. We were going to submit in a month or so, and he promised to get a job and start paying me back, which by my math would take about a year.
The main issue is with emotions. I came from a very abusive household, where my parents would tell me lies constantly and I never knew what was going on because I was either too young, or kept in the dark. For example, when I was 11 I hurt my knees at summer sleepaway camp and asked my mom to take me to the walk in clinic. She promised she would when we got home (camp was a two hour drive from home) but when we got home and I asked to go, she told me that doctors cannot fix knees and that there was no point in going. I stupidly believed her (something I hate myself for everyday), and I didn't get proper use back in my knees for six years. (I'm keeping this vague for word count)
My boyfriend knows all of this and knows that I have a hard time understanding people's intentions unless they state explicitly what they mean. (I am being assessed for autism btw, so that might explain it) The biggest issue is when he tells me I did something wrong, I believe that he is upset at me, and I start to feel bad about it, but then he criticizes me for thinking that he is upset when he is not. I've learned throughout my life how to read people's emotions because of my difficulties, so I thought that I was right to think he was upset when he would: Raise his voice, furrow his brows, put his hands on his hips, etc. But when he told me that I was wrong I would get incredibly confused, and I've had to learn to ignore what I thought I knew about emotions and just trust him when he says he isn't upset.
He has recently been telling me more and more all the little things that I do that make him upset at me, and last night was the final straw. We were laying in bed, and in the span of a couple of hours, he brought up five different things that annoyed him, which each conversation lasting about 15 minutes. With the things being: I pushed him away playfully when he gave me a really wet kiss and it made him 'feel like shit', how he brought up having sex twice tomorrow and I said I couldn't do it that many times in a day and he 'became concerned' because I've done it before, so we had a 30 minute conversation about how I shouldn't say things like that if it isn't true (which it was true). I told him that I didn't want him to keep telling me all the little things that I do wrong over and over because the conversations make me tired. He looked like he felt bad about it, but immediately continued the conversation.
I should say that a couple of months ago we would argue every day. Big, explosive arguments, that I'm honestly surprised the neighbors didn't call the police. During those fights, which would sometimes occur in public, he would yell at me, call me names, tell me I was stupid, and wouldn't end the conversation until I was in full agreement with him. Sometimes I would just pretend to agree with him so that we would just stop arguing, because every time I asked to take a break he would yell at me more and make me feel bad until we continued the conversation. Then one day I decided to stop engaging in the conversation, and he yelled at me and grabbed my head and shook me, telling me to talk to him. I had never been more scared of him in my life, and wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could so that I could call a help line. He wouldn't let me leave. I was stuck in the room with him yelling at me for hours, until I couldn't take it anymore and told him that I thought he was abusing me. He immediately started crying and said "this makes so much sense". He didn't realise that me not engaging was because I was scared, he told me that he thought I was trying to make him angry (which I know is classic abuser thought patterns).
After that conversation though, he really showed remorse and fought to be better to me, he stopped yelling at me, never touched me in a mean way again, but I made the mistake of falling out of love with him. After that day we stopped having sex, and not a day has gone by where he doesn't remind me of it.
Logically, he has explained how I should be fine now because he apologized and got better, and I agree. We talk everyday about what I can do to make myself want to have sex with him. But he gets angry when I tell him I don't know how to fix it. He tells me that I'm giving up, and says things like "So you're fine just being broken forever? What is wrong with you?" He's a very logical person, so it's hard to argue with him when I just have my feelings to back me up.
Yesterday, we talked about how I haven't wanted sex about four different times, and the last time he brought it up I told him that maybe if he stopped trying to initiate every day and give me some time to come to him that it would help. He started talking about how initiating sex is the only way he can show physical affection to me and that my idea wouldn't work anyways. When I brought up that he can just hug and kiss and cuddle me without initiating sex, he started talking about "So I leave you alone and then you initiate sex once, how is that a long term solution? It isn't a good idea." I was hoping that a couple days of space from being constantly pressured into sex would help me find a way to love him again, but I couldn't tell him that. The argument ended with me wanting to sleep by myself, but he wouldn't let me. I stood my ground and made him leave, but he kept coming back into the room every time he had something he wanted to say to me. He would come in, ready to lecture me more about how I hurt his feelings, then he would see I'm still upset and start being nice to me and trying to make me feel better. All of that was just so confusing to me. I can't tell if he is really trying to be nice, or if he is just doing that because he knows that I don't trust him anymore. The last thing he said to me last night was that I owe him an apology for making him sleep by himself and that I "need to work to build his trust back up after tonight".
I want to leave him, but I can't tell if he is really trying to be better and he is just doing a really bad job, or if he will always be like this and I just need to cut my losses.
There's a lot that I left out including several incidents of public humiliation, but I don't want to go into every single little detail.
TLDR My boyfriend makes me cry everyday, I can't tell if it's my fault or his, and I need to know if I should give him another chance.

Just got a second-hand Wii U yesterday, other than a few minor hiccups such as crashing once during a game of MK8, the system was functioning flawlessly.
Anyways, after I was finished playing with it I unplugged it for the night and plugged the system back in around 10-12 hours later and... nothing. The power indicator light won't even come on, I've tried just about everything. I've tried leaving it unplugged for a few minutes to reset the power supply, different wall sockets, swapping the fuse in the plug, I've even swapped out the CR2032 battery with a brand new one and it's still dead as a doornail. The only thing I'm unable to fully check is the power supply so I'm considering ordering another one to see if that's the issue or if it's the console itself.
Has this ever happened to anyone else? Would anyone happen to know what the issue could be? I've never seen a console die just from being unplugged for a few hours so I'm at a complete loss for words right now.

Am I reading this right?
Turn 6, you have this card and 6 fairy cards, and probably one other card.
You drop this card, play 3 fairy and they burn bringing out the beast and rayne while it's at it. You have probably 4 cards in your hand, rayne doesn't count because it wasn't in hand yet so you heal 4.
You drop 3 more fairy, they burn and you get a 5/6 rush that draws 2 cards on strike.
You drop rayne with your spare 1pp and evolve the beast, giving you a 6/6 rush.
In the end it's a 5/6 rush, 6/6 rush, 3/3 rush, and a 3/3 do nothing. 3 evos, 2 card draw and after everything inevitably gets erased for 2pp by portal it's 10 forest cards leaving play in a single turn, feeding that wincon.
It also does anything your fairy have attached to them like fanfare 3 damage to enemy or 2 damage to face on death
Leaves you 4 cards to work with on your next turn, so it doesn't totally kill your momentum.
Before turn 6 though brick right?

I've needed someone to talk to for days, but I'm kinda a loner so I'm finally just going to type here...
Our compatibility is off right now. The relationship ended 3 days ago and I wasn't ready for the pain. It was all my fault too. I'm not a cheater and I would never lay hands of a woman, but the arguments were just getting too heavy and so I said those call it off words and I don't think I'll regret anything more. I really don't think be able to get her back and it's really scary. I hate myself more than ever. Look, I completely agree with anyone who agrees with her and says it's best to call it off. I also agree that when people say they will change that it doesn't happen or just doesn't last long. I guess I'm just writing because I need to talk to someone. I need kind words or advice (I'd rather have get her back advice lol)...We share a lease and it was so heartbreaking to see her go sleep at a friend's yesterday. I barely noticed 10 hours went by. Couldn't eat or watch TV. Can't sleep. It's just all thoughts and memories...then ugly crying or a panic attack.
It was a five year relationship so it's easy to see that I absolutely don't want this to die. We just understand each other so well. Before her I was in a previous relationship that lasted five years, but when it ended it felt nothing like this. After that I did the whole "this will be my last relationship and if it ends I'll be fine because I won't let the feelings come out like before" yeah...that was a complete five year lie. Like I definitely understand the concept behind 'just leave if it's not working', but I really do love her. So much, and I don't want to have to miss her (oof crying again). When I first saw this beautiful woman, it was around 8 or 9 years ago and she was singing a song online while her ex husband was playing guitar. I was basically in love with her from that moment. I just knew that dude was so lucky. Years later and we're both going through break ups. I found a way to get her to move across states for me. I know I broke it. I'm so ashamed. I want a chance to change my bullshit attitude and just be someone she wants to be with. I never should have been lazy in love. She was my only friend and I was very okay with that...so now I'm just typing

The first rays of sunlight splashed on my face waking me up for the day. But I didn’t want to get out of bed. The alarm finally sounded and I quickly turned it off. “Just five more minutes,” I muttered.
“Mark, wake up, it's time for breakfast. Mark? Mark get your butt down here before I come up myself.”
I got up so fast I almost fell flat on my face. “Mom, I’ll be there in 20 minutes,” I yelled, panicking. “I need to brush my teeth and take a shower.”
“Hurry up then,” she responded.
Thank god. She can be really scary when she’s angry.
I turned to face the dashboard in front of me.
“Assistant, turn on the lights and tell me the weather,” I ordered. Unfortunately, I had no response. Oh right, that broke yesterday. Now I have to pay to fix it. I should hurry up and shower. So I headed for my own bathroom. After brushing my teeth I stripped and threw my clothes in the laundry bin. I have to buy more detergent for the washing machine. Why do I have to pay for so many things today?
Cold water caught me off guard in the shower. Unfortunately, I forgot we haven’t paid for this month’s hot water. So I was in a rush to wash up because I hate bathing in cold water. I toweled off and opened my drawer. I grabbed a fresh pair of boxers, a t-shirt and I wore my school uniform on top. It was a black blazer with blue highlights and black plants with black shoes. It had the initials FT for Future Tech, the school I’m enrolled at. However, there was a gold pin that only I had the right to wear with a V imprinted on it for Victor. It was proof that I was number one in my school. It was also like a homing signal for bullies.
After turning on the lights I could see my room clearly now. My hoverboard was strapped to the corner of the wall. My bed was in a mess with sheets and pillows spread all over. My virtual reality set along with my computer was arranged together at my left. With my hoverboard and backpack I walked out the door.
Delicious aromas from my mother’s cooking attacked me when I walked into the kitchen. I smelled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. A big pitcher of orange juice was also on the table along with several clean plates for eating.
“Hello, Mom,” I said. “What’s the occasion? This is a nice spread.”
My mother turned around and sort of smiled. She wore a green shirt with blue sweatpants that had food stains all over. My mom was beautiful. She was caucasian with brighter skin than mine with blue eyes and blond hair. My dad was African American so my skin was a bit darker. However, I inherited her eyes that were brighter than any diamond and her beautiful blond hair. She was 45 but looked 30 and I was lucky to have her.
“So, now you want to get out of bed. I just got paid so I wanted to whip up something special. Eat up because I predict it’ll be a while before you can eat like this again. I’m almost done here, go and eat with your father.”
I gave her a hug and walked to our dining table and sat right next to my father. He’s six feet tall, with strong arms and had a big beard he was super proud of. He was almost 47 but still looked 30 just like my mother. He had a suit and tie on for work and had a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I did the same and my plate was filled with a heap of delectable delicacies.
“Hey, son, how are you doing?” my dad asked in his deep voice.
“ I’m doing fine,” I said in a garbled voice because I was stuffing my mouth with pancakes.
“So, how’s work,” I asked.
“It’s been fine. I'm receiving a pay raise this week,” he said.
“Really?” I almost jumped out of my seat. “That’s great. Recently, some things haven’t been working. I ran out of detergent, my Assistant isn’t working and the hot water stopped running. But don’t worry I’ll pay for all of that stuff by myself. And if there’s anything you need help with-”
“Mark!” my mom cried out.
Oh crap.
“You’re only 16 and you’ve been taking those illegal jobs. What if the government finds you and arrests you. They could imprison you and us or worse. And what about your friend Thomas. Does his mom know about it? Should I contact her?”
“Mom! We need the money and so does Thomas. It's risky but we’re smart enough to not get caught. “
“Mark,” my father said.
“We know that it's difficult for folks like us to make sufficient money to live in District 3. But we moved here despite the difficulties to offer you a better education and better environment.”
“I know!” I yelled.
“But I bet 250 years ago it wasn’t this hard to just live as a normal citizen!”
“They say that the descendants of the Enhanced still live,” my father countered. “They still live in our society planning the destruction of the rest of the world. The people are scared. The government is paranoid. If they discover someone with powers they’ll be hunted down. If they discover if you are associated with one without reporting you could be executed. And if you’re caught in unauthorized territory they’ll execute you.”
“Is that what you want?” my mom demanded.”For both our family and Thomas’ to die! I can’t lose anybody else.”
It kills me to see my mother cry. It also killed me to have to lie to my family. They do so much so I can go to one of the best schools in the country so I can get a good education and a high class job. And live a cushy and luxurious life but I know just how much debt they have even if they don’t know I do. And Thomas’ family is doing even worse than us.
“I’ll stop then and I’ll go to school. Today is our mandatory physical check-up. I’ll meet up with Thomas but don’t worry we won’t do anything illegal.”
My parents both looked at me with total distrust in my eyes.
My mom finally caved in. “Fine, make sure you’re prepared and take the train to school. Make sure you’re careful and follow all instructions!”
“Don’t worry mom,” I grumbled. “It's not like any of us have superpowers anyway.”
I finished my food, grabbed everything I needed and rushed out the door.
Living here is expensive but it sure is amazing if you can succeed.
Even if the world was almost destroyed 250 years ago we sure were able to come a long way in that time. It was great enough that me and Thomas’ parents would try so hard to be able to live here.
At first glance it was beautiful like a dream. Sector 3 was one of the best Districts except 1 and 2.
It buzzed with life with people on their way to work and wherever they needed to go. Cars hovered over the ground at speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.They made a sort of buzzing noise that was music to my ears. The smells of food cooking in fancy restaurants attacked my nostrils hoping to draw my attention and buy their food. Good thing I had a hearty breakfast because I don’t think I could afford any of them right now. Teenagers like me hung out with their hoverboards doing all types of tricks that could easily backfire in a nearby park. They had neon colored hair, mohawks along with other choices in fashion that my school and I just don’t agree with. Other businesses such as hospitals, hair salons, movie theaters also seemed to attract crowds like a magnet. I even passed by the hospital my mom worked at. It was a huge dark skyscraper with a spacious parking lot with its name Healing Haven Hospital in bright colored letters at the top.
Sector 3 was a great place to live if you could afford it. Although If you looked hard enough you noticed the people that failed to make ends meet. In the slums people slept in man made houses of trash and boxes. Others smoked and did drugs which was kind of illegal. Either they weren’t caught or the soldiers didn’t care enough to check. Children wearing dirty rags who were so skinny you could count their ribs rummaged through trash and fought over any spoils. It wasn’t fair that this greedy government would place laws and taxes that would force them to suffer this horrible fate. I need money whether or not it's legal as long as it can keep my family fed and happy.
15 minutes after I left the house I finally reached the train station. I got off my hoverboard and got in line and thankfully it wasn’t that long. When I reached the doors, I almost had a heart attack. Guarding the door where two sentinels armed to the teeth carrying large guns and dressed in their signature white bulletproof armor.
“Pay up please,” the one on the right said as he stretched out his hand. He held a device that would collect the money you need to take to ride the train.
“Okay,” I agreed with a nervous voice.
I took out my own phone and paid. I was able to get a seat on the train I was keeping all to myself with no troubles.
After we started moving I finally was able to let myself relax. I thought I was this close to being arrested before I could do anything illegal today.
Sentinels are usually stationed in places such as banks and homes of important people like governors. But this is the first time I’ve seen them deployed at a train station. I remember when I wanted to be one when I was a kid and go to District 2 to make lots of money but my parents made me give up that dream. District 2 specializes in military and security. That was where soldiers trained and lived. Higher Ups also had access to a luxurious life in a fancy mansion and more money than what they actually needed. This is where the hovercrafts that soared the sky providing surveillance were built and maintained. Where Epizon’s forces that would protect our country from its threats could prepare for any possibility. Prepare for what I always ask. Most of the world has been destroyed. Africa has never shown any hostility to us. No, they’re just here to enforce this tyrannical government and eliminate any that may possess abilities.
I grabbed my headphones from my backpack and played my favorite songs. At least I can enjoy the view.
It was like I was flying as the train soared through the sky on a railway that snaked throughout the city. Never actually touching since the train was connected through powerful electromagnets saving both energy and money. The city looked even more impressive when you had a bird’s eye view.
Couples and families enjoyed picnics on tables at the Liberty State Park. People walked in and out of the Interpretive Center where history from about 300 years was taught. It still had memorials dedicated to remembering events like what happened centuries ago at 9/11. Now there’s a huge memorial dedicated to those who fought to save us from the Enhanced. It's still so hard to believe that people with super powers exist. I’ve learned about them in history class but they seem so unreal. I’ve never seen somebody shoot fire or fly so either the military is really good at their job or this is all made up.
District 3 of the great utopia Epizon. Named after the Greek word for survivor. When the continents Australia, Europe, South America, and Asia were destroyed in World War Three. By the Enhanced who gained powers that almost destroyed the world. Thankfully, the remnants of North America were able to stand up and defeat all the Enhanced people and create the amazing paradise we live in.
It sounds so unreal it has to be propaganda to control the Sectors.
We flew over the Hudson River Walkway. It was my favorite view on the train ride because I loved the way sunlight would reflect off the pristine turquoise waters. It's a shame we don’t really get to swim or fish though. That’s probably for the best.
The rest of the train ride went fast and before I knew it I was at my stop. I grabbed my hoverboard and raced to school because the Victor can’t be late.
While this District has its downsides it could really get a lot worse from here. However, District 1 was the real paradise. It was where the most important people with the most standing lived. The President, his wife, and other high ranking government officials lived there. In enormous mansions separated by acres where all the other people who enforced laws and taxes that made it difficult for my parents to live and provide for us.
But District 3 was the best place where people who are more fortunate like me could live. As long as you were skilled enough and worked hard enough. My mom was a somewhat prominent doctor at one of the biggest hospitals in this District. District 3 specializes in a lot of fields but the one it specializes in is medical science. Medicine, prosthetics, you can get the best of them from here. And my dad was vice president at a company that released some of the best virtual reality games. Entertainment is just as important as health in Epizon. Which meant I sometimes received popular games before everyone else. I remember so many times my parents and I would play together exploring outer space, fighting monsters. My parents are so cool, right?
You’d think that our life would be a little more luxurious and it was. Unfortunately, the selfish government increased taxes and fees from school started to pile up. As the victor in sophomore year I was exempt from those rules as long as I remained Victor. But my parents have yet to completely finish paying all those debts.
It's dangerous to get lost in your thoughts when you’re traveling 3 feet off the ground at 15 miles per hour on a hoverboard because you might end up running into a moving car. Thankfully, I managed to stop just in time.
“So, the Victor almost crashes to a fatal stop. It would be sad, you know. I’d hate for my best friend to die like that.”
I knew that voice.
I turned around and noticed that mischievous grin with sharp teeth I was so familiar with. With his strong red eyes and messy black hair he could’ve been a criminal. Well he technically should be but we’re too smart to get caught.
“Thomas, how’re you?” I asked as I got off my hoverboard.
“Oh, nothing, just waiting for you,” he replied. “I knew you’d show up here to catch the levitrain.”
He gave me a hug and somehow managed to pick me up and spin me around like something a kid would ask their parents to do.
“How’re you doing my best friend? Did you actually get a huge extravagant meal because I just did. My mom just got paid and she didn’t save a single epi.”
“Yeah, I actually did and so I can actually keep my breakfast and not throw up let me down.”
“Sure!”
“How’re you so strong anyway? I know you work out but are you seriously that strong. Don’t tell me you actually have super strength.”
“I hope I don’t. Life sucks as is but it would get even worse if I suddenly awakened superpowers.”
I feel the same. It’s rough but we can make it better.
“Fistbump!”
We always managed to read each other’s minds.
“Are you ready for these physicals?” I asked.
“I’m so sick of those things,” he replied. “Oh, it’s time for us to cross.”
We both got on our hoverboards and raced towards school.
“Don’t worry about it, you're strong and you’re pretty muscular,” I assured him. “But, I hope you’re not strong enough to throw a car or something.”
“Don’t worry about it, I've already tried. Nah, I’m kidding.”
“So, are we doing that job today,” Thomas asked with a mischievous grin.
“You know it,” I said.
CHAPTER 2
Now you have to admit our school was pretty impressive.
First of all, it was gigantic. It sort of resembled a castle but really high tech in blue, red, and white colors. In the middle FutureTech was printed in red and blue and was highlighted in white. The dorms were on the left side. And the rest of the other facilities and equipment was in the other half. This was FutureTech, a place which was probably the best school a student could ask for. Less than 20% of those who apply here make the cut. And the majority of them were rich kids who could afford to pay the tuition. Me and Thomas barely made it and it was really tough. But we both worked hard and eventually I became the Victor. One of the perks of being a Victor that must’ve been in place for people like us was that the Victor could choose anyone who didn’t have as much money as the others to be their second in command. They would be exempt from the tuition and other crazy rules. Did you know you have to pay a security fee after a year?
Crazy.
But those only applied if the other guy had good grades and a clean track record. But only as long as I’m the Victor and if either of us do anything that breaks the rules we’ll both be kicked out. Talk about pressure.
But this was the best place to learn anything really. Law, business, art, engineering and other sciences. And it could all be done here.
The school had defenses in place to protect the lives of students and staff. An electromagnetic barrier surrounded the entire establishment. Stretching out a few acres across outside the building. If you wanted to get in you had to get through the one gate in the front. At the gate there were security cameras, x-rays, and 10 armed Sentinels just for extra security. The security was just as intense inside making it nearly impossible to do anything that violated the rules. They didn’t waste a single epi.
“Man, the security of this place is unnerving as always,” Thomas complained.
“It never fails to show me just how out of place we are.”
“Of course the security is advanced. The children of really important people receive education here. This helps them make sure they aren’t kidnapped. I do agree it's unnerving but at least it’s secure. Besides you and I both deserve to be here”
We walked through the sliding doors and saw just how beautiful the school was inside.
The place was illuminated by golden lights. Robots made clunky noises while drones wizzed over my head. I could barely hear myself think over the voices of other students. Girls argued over petty things like their hairstyles and whose boyfriend was better. While boys competed to see who’s stronger or more handsome. Rainbow colors flashed from the lab to the right. Future doctors practiced their skills on mannequins in the lab at the left.
“Hey, look, it's the Victor!”
Soon, the whole school had their eyes on me.
Girls and boys waved and applauded. Even the ones on the second floor whooped and jumped around. Not everyone felt the same though. Some students snickered and sneered while others glared with hatred and jealousy. Even when you work hard to be at the top not everyone will appreciate it.
“You’re popular,” Thomas remarked.
“Too bad not everyone is a fan. You still got the ladies cheering for you. You think you could give them a good word about me?” Thomas joked.
“You know that’s not how it is. We’re on different levels in society. I lose my title as Victor and I fade into the background.”
“Besides, you're smart and strong. Try hard enough and you could get a girlfriend. Just don’t let anyone catch on to our extracurricular activities.”
“Look at that smug smile on his face,” a voice rang out.
“It must be nice to be the Victor's lap dog. I could use that so explain why it is getting wasted on that idiot.”
“ He thinks he’s so strong and mighty just because of that stupid pin. Wait till I get my hands on it, fool.”
“He should watch out. It’d be unfortunate if an accident were to happen. No one would miss some commoners who couldn’t support themselves without that Victor title.”
“Who is that?” Thomas demanded.
“If I find out who they are they won’t have to worry about creating any accident.”
“Chill out Thomas. None of them have the guts or smarts to try anything. Besides, together there’s nothing they can do to either of us.”
“You’re right. We have brains and muscles,” he said as he flexed his arms.
I don’t blame some of them though. Kids who weren’t super wealthy but still made it could use the privileges I got from this title. There were also the selfish rich kids who had more money than they really needed. But I couldn't bear to see someone work hard to achieve something they couldn’t. It makes me so sick sometimes. Our parents do our best just to put a roof over our heads and pay taxes. But I became Victor and that’s a problem. I apologize but I’m not giving it up anytime soon.
“ So what’s first on Victor's schedule?”
“First, we have History class. Then, I have to give a report on quantum physics. Then we have lunch right before the physicals.”
“Well, while you’re doing your fancy report on quantum psychics I’m doing one on the state of this Sector. There’s so many children and families without homes. If I simply beg them nothing will happen. I’ll convince them why they should lend money and support to those who really deserve it. They can train adults to help reinforce the Walls. Add them to the military. Children can also be useful for things. Think about all the new medications they could try by using sick children. They could also put extremely smart children to work in engineering. Even the government can’t ignore the potential of children if given the right environment.”
Good old Thomas is always thinking of ways to help those in need. He takes every advantage and tool he can if it means he can improve the lives of his mother’s and others. More reason for me to fight to stay the Victor.
“Thomas, I have a question.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“Let’s say if you can do what you plan. What if some of those who you’re helping have powers?”
Thomas' face darkened as he stopped his stride.
I hate to do this to him but what if some of those he’s trying to help are Enhanced. People who have done nothing wrong superpowers or not don’t deserve to be hurt out of fear and hatred. Especially if it was because my best friend was only trying to genuinely help.
“I’m not sure. I can already imagine what the government would do if they got their hands on Enhanced people. But if I can only help people with no powers who actually need it. Am I wrong to try even if it could hurt others?”