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I have this on another sub but a few people mentioned posting here. Plus I no can no longer get my water turned on and have no tip money to sustain us so fuck it.
I am so upset I am shaking. I have custody of my niece and our water got shut off. I have a full time job but recently picked up a second job as a server because I need cash to get it back on. I am living off the tips I get. I have to walk to work to save money and it was almost 100 degrees so I was sticky sweaty. I went into the public bathroom, there is no employee bathroom. I was freshening up with my wipes trying to be as quick as possible and I heard a “hi”. A kid had crawled under the stall. There is always obnoxious music blaring so I didn’t hear him come in.
He looked like he was old enough to know better, maybe 10 or 11. I had my back to the door because I have this fear that someone will look through the cracks, irrational and silly but still. I immediately started yelling at him to get out and the little shit was laughing like he knew it was wrong! I thought maybe his mom was washing her hands or in another stall but nope! This kid was in the women's bathroom alone. I have been SA’d in a bar bathroom before and my fight or flight kicked in.
I chased him out of the bathroom and started asking “who’s kid??” very loudly. He was still laughing thinking it was funny.
His mom runs up and yanks him towards her screaming “why are you talking to my kid!?”. I told her he had crawled under my stall while I was changing. He says “Yeah I almost saw her naked!”. The mom starts screaming at me asking “why were you naked in a public bathroom!?” and that I was a predator for “being in the mens bathroom”.
At this point my manager came over to tell everyone to stop yelling and making a scene. I admit I was a bit worked up but an unaccompanied child should be cause for concern, no?
I told her I was in the WOMEN'S bathroom and she looked at her son and asked if he went into the men or womens and he started to cry saying he was confused and didn’t know. The bathrooms are clearly marked. I told her if that was true (it wasn’t) then he needs a chaperone to the bathroom if he can’t read.
She threw a huge fit and I got fired because I was still in my probationary period. My boss said I couldn’t be freshening up at work or “getting naked” at work. Which I wasn't fucking naked! I was sweaty and gross about to start a double shift. We don’t have employee bathrooms or changing rooms but are required to change into a uniform.
Now I’m totally shit out of luck. I'm not sure if I have any wrongful termination rights because I was in my probationary period.

Today was my first time going to my home park with a friend since August of last year. I went with a high school friend who I hadn't seen since Memorial Day Weekend last year (also a trip to SFOT), and I let him use the first of my Platinum Pass discounted tickets (and of course now passholders get a $20 bring-a-friend ticket for the month of June). Our plan was to start with Titan and New Texas Giant and do a circle around the park, eventually winding up back where we started and marathoning our number ones (mine is NTG and his is Titan). Things started off incredibly smooth as we hit five rides in the first hour, but things would slow down after lunch as not everything would go according to plan afterward.
Titan - Even though my friend is not an enthusiast, he still ranks some of the coasters at the park, and Titan is his number one. We got the back row on the first train of the day and this thing was already hauling. I have fallen in love with the floater bliss that is the speed hill which will immediately be ruined next year by my first B&M hyper, and I grayed out in the second helix for the first time. This somehow keeps climbing my rankings, and is now competing with Mr. Freeze for my #2.
New Texas Giant - My number one until my upcoming reunion with Iron Rattler and my friend's number two prior to riding Mr. Freeze. We took the ninth row in order to get a walk-on, intent on getting a back row ride later in the day. The first half is great regardless of what row you're in, but riding in the middle versus the back can make the difference between floater and ejector airtime.
Chaparral Antique Cars - We did this as a meme but it turned out to be a nice, relaxing and surprisingly fun early day change of pace, but the best part was seeing some rare angles of Shockwave and New Texas Giant.
Shockwave - I was surprised to see this running single train ops as maintenance was working on the second train. Even so, it was still a walk-on, but we had to take the second-to-last row, again intent on returning for that back row ride.
Superman: Tower of Power - Amazingly, we only had to wait two cycles, and it turns out we timed our ride perfectly, as it started to get a line after we got off.
Newman's Cafe - I first tried these a week and a half ago on a solo trip because of Airtime Thrills, and knew right away I had to get my friend to try them. They're decent for theme park food, but the nuggets and fries could be crispier. Even so, my friend absolutely loved them.
Texas SkyScreamer - Is it just me, or did this get new seats since I last rode it last summer? Regardless, this was still a lot of fun to get back on again. Not very forceful, but the views are absolutely breathtaking, even if I couldn't clearly see the Dallas and Fort Worth skylines today.
Judge Roy Scream - This might actually be worse than some SLCs, though I wouldn't know since it's been 10+ years since I last rode one. We got a back row ride on this classic woodie, and this was the first time a coaster made me question my life choices. My friend and I both agreed that this thing was unbearably rough, and I audibly said that Six Flags should call up GCI.
Mr. Freeze - This was my friend's first time ever riding Mr. Freeze. Lesson learned: Ride this first on less crowded days. We waited anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour, and after waiting that long, we decided we were going to get the front row no matter what. Of course, the only people in front of us when they let us into the station also wanted the front row, and struggled with the restraints after returning to the station. The ride ops ended up reopening the air gates so my friend could get on the same train as me (in hindsight, we should've just gone through the air gates while the people in front of us were struggling and helped them out). So if you saw the ride ops reopen the air gates for one train today at around 2 PM after locking the restraints, now you know why (I'm actually surprised they did). I got stapled, which killed the airtime coming in and out of the inverted top hat, but it was kind of my fault, plus those lap bars are heavy as a brick. After getting off, my friend said that the wait was well worth it and that it very nearly overtook Titan as his number one.
Batman: The Ride - A single train wait for the back row when we got on. I don't know if we got the other train or what it was today since this thing was glass smooth when I rode it a week and a half ago, but Batman was ROUGH today. The B&M rattle was very noticeable and was accompanied with some occasional headbanging.
Catwoman Whip - I used to adore this thing as late as last summer (GP moment), but now that I'm a full-fledged enthusiast, I have come to realize how mediocre this ride truly is. You can definitely feel when you're upside down, but I wouldn't call it hangtime, and the positives when you're upright aren't that strong.
Pandemonium - Another I rode for the first time since last summer, and I was very disappointed by how little we spun. Operations were also iffy, as after we hit the final brake run, the ride ops took forever to start dispatching trains again and there was nothing wrong with the ride.
Runaway Mountain - This definitely deserves more attention. We were assigned to the front car and ended up taking the second row, but even so, it was still a great ride with decent airtime and swooping drops and helices that feel much faster than they actually are. This might actually be better than Batman.
New Texas Giant - Back for our back row ride, only for the ride to break down while we were in the station. We decided to wait it out, as I had seen the ride go down enough times to know that it's usually back up within ten to fifteen minutes. The people in front of us waiting for the back row decided to take another row for a shorter wait, so we got on one train sooner when it started running again.
Shockwave - After our back row ride on NTG, my friend was getting tired as his caffeine had worn off, so we decided to end the day early with a back row ride on Shockwave. As we approached the ride, we noticed that they were now running two train ops, and we walked on to the back row. I was left with plenty of leg room, but the lap bar came down one click on its own during the vertical loops, so I didn't get as much airtime in the second half as I would have liked.
JB's Smokehouse Barbeque - My friend wasn't yet hungry for dinner, but since I have an all season dining plan, I decided to grab a BBQ Brisket Sandwich on the way out. It was smaller than I remember, but was still good (I mean, come on. You can't go wrong with Texas barbeque). And the fries were actually crispy (looking at you, Newman's Cafe).
Overall, today was rather successful despite some setbacks and not getting to do our marathons. We rode everything we wanted to except El Diablo (I probably would have bashed it afterward), and I managed to get my friend on Mr. Freeze for the first time and it very nearly became his new number one.

The Be Abidan is/was a place where righteous non-Jews and those within the kehila would discuss manners pertaining of Torah and the nature of Messiah. Please read our rules and sources down below to be mindful. Please bear in mind that this is a place meant for Esav/Edom who are willing to learn Yiddishkeit as pertaining to them,so if you are Jewish or Christian/Messianic this please take sometime to read the following. In short answer we are promoting Torat Edom/Red Judaism Sotah 13a:10 חוּשִׁים בְּרֵיהּ דְּדָן תַּמָּן הֲוָה וְיַקִּירָן לֵיהּ אוּדְנֵיהּ אֲמַר לְהוּ מַאי הַאי וְאָמְרוּ לֵיהּ קָא מְעַכֵּב הַאי עַד דְּאָתֵי נַפְתָּלִי מֵאַרְעָא דְּמִצְרַיִם אֲמַר לְהוּ וְעַד דְּאָתֵי נַפְתָּלִי מֵאַרְעָא דְּמִצְרַיִם יְהֵא אֲבִי אַבָּא מוּטָל בְּבִזָּיוֹן שְׁקַל קוּלְפָא מַחְיֵיהּ אַרֵישֵׁיהּ נָתְרָן עֵינֵיהּ וּנְפַלוּ אַכַּרְעָא דְיַעֲקֹב פַּתְחִינְהוּ יַעֲקֹב לְעיניה ואחיך והיינו דכתיב ישמח צדיק כי חזה נקם פעמיו ירחץ בדם הרשע The Gemara relates: Hushim, the son of Dan, was there and his ears were heavy, i.e., he was hard of hearing. He said to them: What is this that is delaying the burial? And they said to him: This one, Esau, is preventing us from burying Jacob until Naphtali comes back from the land of Egypt with the bill of sale. He said to them: And until Naphtali comes back from the land of Egypt will our father’s father lie in degradation? He took a club [kulepa] and hit Esau on the head, and Esau’s eyes fell out and they fell on the legs of Jacob. Jacob opened his eyes and smiled. And this is that which is written: “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Psalms 58:11).
Be-Abedan's (Red Judaism) purpose is to push against the influence of Gnostic Christianity and Islamism while promoting the Romaniote Minhag of Judaism to Hebrew Messianists and explain beliefs in Jesus from A Judaic perspective. We encourage Christians and Muslims to abandon anti-Judaism in order to live as Hebrew Messianists learning Judaism from its official Jewish preachers
Hushim was a deaf and did not know what all the trouble was about. When it was finally explained to him, he grabbed a weapon and swung it across Esau's head. The mighty blow severed the head, which rolled into the Cave of Machpelah. Esau's men then took the headless body of their leader, and carried it back with them to Seir. Thus, Rebeckah's prophecy was fulfilled, for both Jacob and Esau were buried on the same day.
Jacob was laid to rest in the Cave of Machpelah, and after Shivah (seven days' mourning), Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt where they had left their small children and all their possessions in the land of Goshen.
Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Shabbat 16:6 Samuel, however, did not go to the house of Nitzraphi, but did go to the be-Abedan. Raba was asked why he did not go to the be-Abedan. En Jacob, translated by SH Glick, 1916 https://www.sefaria.org/Ein_Yaakov_(Glick_Edition)%2C_Shabbat.16.6?ven=En_Jacob,_translated_by_SH_Glick,_1916&lang=bi
Shabbat 116a:10 Yosef bar Ḥanin raised a dilemma before Rabbi Abbahu: With regard to these books of the house of Abidan, does one rescue them from the fire or does one not rescue them?...Rav would not go to the house of Abidan for conversation, and all the more so he would not go to the house of Nitzrefei, the Persian fire-temple....Shmuel, to the house of Nitzrefei he did not go, but to the house of Abidan he did go. The gentile scholars said to Rava: Why did you not come to the house of Abidan? William Davidson Edition - English https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.116a.10?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&qh=Abidan
Avodah Zarah 17b:11 The Romans said to him: And what is the reason that you did not come to the house of Abidan? This was a gathering place where debates on wisdom and faith were conducted. William Davidson Edition - English https://www.sefaria.org/Avodah_Zarah.17b.11?ven=William_Davidson_Edition_-_English&qh=Abidan
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41431612
Rules and regulations to follow
NOAHIDE LAWS 1. Not to worship idols. 2. Not to curse God. 3. Not to commit murder. 4. Not to commit adultery or sexual immorality. 5. Not to steal. 6. Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal. 7. To establish courts of justice.
Subreddit Rules 1. No inappropriate usage of the Divine Name (Tetragrammatron) 2.No spamming of any form 3. No doxing 4.No brigading 5. No NSFW content 6. No Antisemitism/racism in general 7.
Special rules -please respect the Shabbati approach -Do not promote Nathanist or Frankist approach -If Jewish please state your Yichus as to know if you are part of the Episcopate -If you are Christian or Muslims please respect the Jewish sources -If you are Muslim please be aware we do not promote the SIN (Standard Islamic Narrative).

Im 6'5 200 pounds
As a child i remember getting my ass beat for the smallest shit, my dad used to uppercut me when i was 5 and he was bigger than how big i am now, my dad was psychologically and verbally abusive so that damaged me and my state of mind, now im a fricked paranoid malevolent antisocial.
My father was psychopathic and abusive to me and my mom he would put me through all types of situation to see if i was tough enough to survive, he gave me spagehetti and a fork and told me to make it last a week i was fucking confused as hell, he was such a psychopath he tried to set me on fire a few times one time successfully now hes serving 10 years for child abuse.
Heres my criminality, it all started from 9-14, i stole cars and girls, i grabbed girls, i fought and won every fight i got into, even with the big dudes, i did arson to big buildings and even houses, i did cyber crimes, i always got into trouble at class for assaulting another student, i was never caught because im a psycho-sociopath, i got expelled from 5 different schools, i brought knives to school, i made multiple death threats to everyone i know, i booby trapped my sister shoe...
now i am more toned down, im very manipulative i love bomb and play mind games and i isolate my targets, also make them fall under learned hopelessness, and i use aliases when talking to ppl.

11 June 1519 Promulgated in Brandenburg, Saxony, and the rest of Germany
Leo, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for eternal record:
Arise, O Lord, and judge your own cause. Remember your reproaches to those who are filled with foolishness all through the day. Listen to our prayers, for foxes have arisen seeking to destroy the vineyard whose winepress you alone have trod. When you were about to ascend to your Father, you committed the care, rule, and administration of the vineyard, an image of the triumphant church, to Peter, as the head and your vicar and his successors. The wild boar from the forest seeks to destroy it and every wild beast feeds upon it.
Rise, Peter, and fulfill this pastoral office divinely entrusted to you as mentioned above. Give heed to the cause of the holy Roman Church, mother of all churches and teacher of the faith, whom you by the order of God, have consecrated by your blood. Against the Roman Church, you warned, lying teachers are rising, introducing ruinous sects, and drawing upon themselves speedy doom. Their tongues are fire, a restless evil, full of deadly poison. They have bitter zeal, contention in their hearts, and boast and lie against the truth.
We beseech you also, Paul, to arise. It was you that enlightened and illuminated the Church by your doctrine and by a martyrdom like Peter’s. For now a new Porphyry rises who, as the old once wrongfully assailed the holy apostles, now assails the holy pontiffs, our predecessors.
Rebuking them, in violation of your teaching, instead of imploring them, he is not ashamed to assail them, to tear at them, and when he despairs of his cause, to stoop to insults. He is like the heretics “whose last defense,” as Jerome says, “is to start spewing out a serpent’s venom with their tongue when they see that their causes are about to be condemned, and spring to insults when they see they are vanquished.” For although you have said that there must be heresies to test the faithful, still they must be destroyed at their very birth by your intercession and help, so they do not grow or wax strong like your wolves. Finally, let the whole church of the saints and the rest of the universal church arise. Some, putting aside her true interpretation of Sacred Scripture, are blinded in mind by the father of lies. Wise in their own eyes, according to the ancient practice of heretics, they interpret these same Scriptures otherwise than the Holy Spirit demands, inspired only by their own sense of ambition, and for the sake of popular acclaim, as the Apostle declares. In fact, they twist and adulterate the Scriptures. As a result, according to Jerome, “It is no longer the Gospel of Christ, but a man’s, or what is worse, the devil’s.”
Let all this holy Church of God, I say, arise, and with the blessed apostles intercede with almighty God to purge the errors of His sheep, to banish all heresies from the lands of the faithful, and be pleased to maintain the peace and unity of His holy Church.
For we can scarcely express, from distress and grief of mind, what has reached our ears for some time by the report of reliable men and general rumor; alas, we have even seen with our eyes and read the many diverse errors. Some of these have already been condemned by councils and the constitutions of our predecessors, and expressly contain even the heresy of the Greeks and Bohemians. Other errors are either heretical, false, scandalous, or offensive to pious ears, as seductive of simple minds, originating with false exponents of the faith who in their proud curiosity yearn for the world’s glory, and contrary to the Apostle’s teaching, wish to be wiser than they should be. Their talkativeness, unsupported by the authority of the Scriptures, as Jerome says, would not win credence unless they appeared to support their perverse doctrine even with divine testimonies however badly interpreted. From their sight fear of God has now passed.
These errors have, at the suggestion of the human race, been revived and recently propagated among the more frivolous and the illustrious German nation. We grieve the more that this happened there because we and our predecessors have always held this nation in the bosom of our affection. For after the empire had been transferred by the Roman Church from the Greeks to these same Germans, our predecessors and we always took the Church’s advocates and defenders from among them. Indeed it is certain that these Germans, truly germane to the Catholic faith, have always been the bitterest opponents of heresies, as witnessed by those commendable constitutions of the German emperors in behalf of the Church’s independence, freedom, and the expulsion and extermination of all heretics from Germany. Those constitutions formerly issued, and then confirmed by our predecessors, were issued under the greatest penalties even of loss of lands and dominions against anyone sheltering or not expelling them. If they were observed today both we and they would obviously be free of this disturbance. Witness to this is the condemnation and punishment in the Council of Constance of the infidelity of the Hussites and Wyclifites as well as Jerome of Prague. Witness to this is the blood of Germans shed so often in wars against the Bohemians. A final witness is the refutation, rejection, and condemnation no less learned than true and holy of the above errors, or many of them, by the universities of Cologne and Louvain, most devoted and religious cultivators of the Lord’s field. We could allege many other facts too, which we have decided to omit, lest we appear to be composing a history.
In virtue of our pastoral office committed to us by the divine favor we can under no circumstances tolerate or overlook any longer the pernicious poison of the above errors without disgrace to the Christian religion and injury to orthodox faith. Some of these errors we have decided to include in the present document; their substance is as follows:

1. It is a heretical opinion, but a common one, that the sacraments of the New Law give pardoning grace to those who do not set up an obstacle.
2. To deny that in a child after baptism sin remains is to treat with contempt both Paul and Christ.
3. The inflammable sources of sin, even if there be no actual sin, delay a soul departing from the body from entrance into heaven.
4. To one on the point of death imperfect charity necessarily brings with it great fear, which in itself alone is enough to produce the punishment of purgatory, and impedes entrance into the kingdom.
5. That there are three parts to penance: contrition, confession, and satisfaction, has no foundation in Sacred Scripture nor in the ancient sacred Christian doctors.
6. Contrition, which is acquired through discussion, collection, and detestation of sins, by which one reflects upon his years in the bitterness of his soul, by pondering over the gravity of sins, their number, their baseness, the loss of eternal beatitude, and the acquisition of eternal damnation, this contrition makes him a hypocrite, indeed more a sinner.
7. It is a most truthful proverb and the doctrine concerning the contritions given thus far is the more remarkable: “Not to do so in the future is the highest penance; the best penance, a new life.”
8. By no means may you presume to confess venial sins, nor even all mortal sins, because it is impossible that you know all mortal sins. Hence in the primitive Church only manifest mortal sins were confessed.
9. As long as we wish to confess all sins without exception, we are doing nothing else than to wish to leave nothing to God’s mercy for pardon.
10. Sins are not forgiven to anyone, unless when the priest forgives them he believes they are forgiven; on the contrary the sin would remain unless he believed it was forgiven; for indeed the remission of sin and the granting of grace does not suffice, but it is necessary also to believe that there has been forgiveness.
11. By no means can you have reassurance of being absolved because of your contrition, but because of the word of Christ: “Whatsoever you shall loose, etc.” Hence, I say, trust confidently, if you have obtained the absolution of the priest, and firmly believe yourself to have been absolved, and you will truly be absolved, whatever there may be of contrition.
12. If through an impossibility he who confessed was not contrite, or the priest did not absolve seriously, but in a jocose manner, if nevertheless he believes that he has been absolved, he is most truly absolved.
13. In the sacrament of penance and the remission of sin the pope or the bishop does no more than the lowest priest; indeed, where there is no priest, any Christian, even if a woman or child, may equally do as much.
14. No one ought to answer a priest that he is contrite, nor should the priest inquire.
15. Great is the error of those who approach the sacrament of the Eucharist relying on this, that they have confessed, that they are not conscious of any mortal sin, that they have sent their prayers on ahead and made preparations; all these eat and drink judgment to themselves. But if they believe and trust that they will attain grace, then this faith alone makes them pure and worthy.
16. It seems to have been decided that the Church in common Council established that the laity should communicate under both species; the Bohemians who communicate under both species are not heretics, but schismatics.
17. The treasures of the Church, from which the pope grants indulgences, are not the merits of Christ and of the saints.
18. Indulgences are pious frauds of the faithful, and remissions of good works; and they are among the number of those things which are allowed, and not of the number of those which are advantageous.
19. Indulgences are of no avail to those who truly gain them, for the remission of the penalty due to actual sin in the sight of divine justice.
20. They are seduced who believe that indulgences are salutary and useful for the fruit of the spirit.
21. Indulgences are necessary only for public crimes, and are properly conceded only to the harsh and impatient.
22. For six kinds of men indulgences are neither necessary nor useful; namely, for the dead and those about to die, the infirm, those legitimately hindered, and those who have not committed crimes, and those who have committed crimes, but not public ones, and those who devote themselves to better things.
23. Excommunications are only external penalties and they do not deprive man of the common spiritual prayers of the Church.
24. Christians must be taught to cherish excommunications rather than to fear them.
25. The Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, is not the vicar of Christ over all the churches of the entire world, instituted by Christ Himself in blessed Peter.
26. The word of Christ to Peter: “Whatsoever you shall loose on earth,” etc., is extended merely to those things bound by Peter himself.
27. It is certain that it is not in the power of the Church or the pope to decide upon the articles of faith, and much less concerning the laws for morals or for good works.
28. If the pope with a great part of the Church thought so and so, he would not err; still it is not a sin or heresy to think the contrary, especially in a matter not necessary for salvation, until one alternative is condemned and another approved by a general Council.
29. A way has been made for us for weakening the authority of councils, and for freely contradicting their actions, and judging their decrees, and boldly confessing whatever seems true, whether it has been approved or disapproved by any council whatsoever.
30. Some articles of John Hus, condemned in the Council of Constance, are most Christian, wholly true and evangelical; these the universal Church could not condemn.
31. In every good work the just man sins.
32. A good work done very well is a venial sin.
33. That heretics be burned is against the will of the Spirit.
34. To go to war against the Turks is to resist God who punishes our iniquities through them.
35. No one is certain that he is not always sinning mortally, because of the most hidden vice of pride.
36. Free will after sin is a matter of title only; and as long as one does what is in him, one sins mortally.
37. Purgatory cannot be proved from Sacred Scripture which is in the canon.
38. The souls in purgatory are not sure of their salvation, at least not all; nor is it proved by any arguments or by the Scriptures that they are beyond the state of meriting or of increasing in charity.
39. The souls in purgatory sin without intermission, as long as they seek rest and abhor punishment.
40. The souls freed from purgatory by the suffrages of the living are less happy than if they had made satisfactions by themselves.
41. Ecclesiastical prelates and secular princes would not act badly if they destroyed all of the money bags of beggary.

No one of sound mind is ignorant how destructive, pernicious, scandalous, and seductive to pious and simple minds these various errors are, how opposed they are to all charity and reverence for the holy Roman Church who is the mother of all the faithful and teacher of the faith; how destructive they are of the vigor of ecclesiastical discipline, namely obedience. This virtue is the font and origin of all virtues and without it anyone is readily convicted of being unfaithful.
Therefore we, in this above enumeration, important as it is, wish to proceed with great care as is proper, and to cut off the advance of this plague and cancerous disease so it will not spread any further in the Lord’s field as harmful thornbushes. We have therefore held a careful inquiry, scrutiny, discussion, strict examination, and mature deliberation with each of the brothers, the eminent cardinals of the holy Roman Church, as well as the priors and ministers general of the religious orders, besides many other professors and masters skilled in sacred theology and in civil and canon law. We have found that these errors or theses are not Catholic, as mentioned above, and are not to be taught, as such; but rather are against the doctrine and tradition of the Catholic Church, and against the true interpretation of the sacred Scriptures received from the Church. Now Augustine maintained that her authority had to be accepted so completely that he stated he would not have believed the Gospel unless the authority of the Catholic Church had vouched for it. For, according to these errors, or any one or several of them, it clearly follows that the Church which is guided by the Holy Spirit is in error and has always erred. This is against what Christ at his ascension promised to his disciples (as is read in the holy Gospel of Matthew): “I will be with you to the consummation of the world”; it is against the determinations of the holy Fathers, or the express ordinances and canons of the councils and the supreme pontiffs. Failure to comply with these canons, according to the testimony of Cyprian, will be the fuel and cause of all heresy and schism.
With the advice and consent of these our venerable brothers, with mature deliberation on each and every one of the above theses, and by the authority of almighty God, the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own authority, we condemn, reprobate, and reject completely each of these theses or errors as either heretical, scandalous, false, offensive to pious ears or seductive of simple minds, and against Catholic truth. By listing them, we decree and declare that all the faithful of both sexes must regard them as condemned, reprobated, and rejected . . . We restrain all in the virtue of holy obedience and under the penalty of an automatic major excommunication….
Moreover, because the preceding errors and many others are contained in the books or writings of Martin Luther, we likewise condemn, reprobate, and reject completely the books and all the writings and sermons of the said Martin, whether in Latin or any other language, containing the said errors or any one of them; and we wish them to be regarded as utterly condemned, reprobated, and rejected. We forbid each and every one of the faithful of either sex, in virtue of holy obedience and under the above penalties to be incurred automatically, to read, assert, preach, praise, print, publish, or defend them. They will incur these penalties if they presume to uphold them in any way, personally or through another or others, directly or indirectly, tacitly or explicitly, publicly or occultly, either in their own homes or in other public or private places. Indeed immediately after the publication of this letter these works, wherever they may be, shall be sought out carefully by the ordinaries and others [ecclesiastics and regulars], and under each and every one of the above penalties shall be burned publicly and solemnly in the presence of the clerics and people.
As far as Martin himself is concerned, O good God, what have we overlooked or not done? What fatherly charity have we omitted that we might call him back from such errors? For after we had cited him, wishing to deal more kindly with him, we urged him through various conferences with our legate and through our personal letters to abandon these errors. We have even offered him safe conduct and the money necessary for the journey urging him to come without fear or any misgivings, which perfect charity should cast out, and to talk not secretly but openly and face to face after the example of our Savior and the Apostle Paul. If he had done this, we are certain he would have changed in heart, and he would have recognized his errors. He would not have found all these errors in the Roman Curia which he attacks so viciously, ascribing to it more than he should because of the empty rumors of wicked men. We would have shown him clearer than the light of day that the Roman pontiffs, our predecessors, whom he injuriously attacks beyond all decency, never erred in their canons or constitutions which he tries to assail. For, according to the prophet, neither is healing oil nor the doctor lacking in Galaad.
But he always refused to listen and, despising the previous citation and each and every one of the above overtures, disdained to come. To the present day he has been contumacious. With a hardened spirit he has continued under censure over a year. What is worse, adding evil to evil, and on learning of the citation, he broke forth in a rash appeal to a future council. This to be sure was contrary to the constitution of Martin VI and Julius II our predecessors that all appealing in this way are to be punished with the penalties of heretics. In vain does he implore the help of a council, since he openly admits that he does not believe in a council.
Therefore we can, without any further citation or delay, proceed against him to his condemnation and damnation as one whose faith is notoriously suspect and in fact a true heretic with the full severity of each and all of the above penalties and censures. Yet, with the advice of our brothers, imitating the mercy of almighty God who does not wish the death of a sinner but rather that he be converted and live, and forgetting all the injuries inflicted on us and the Apostolic See, we have decided to use all the compassion we are capable of. It is our hope, so far as in us lies, that he will experience a change of heart by taking the road of mildness we have proposed, return, and turn away from his errors. We will receive him kindly as the prodigal son returning to the embrace of the Church.
Therefore let Martin himself and all those adhering to him, and those who shelter and support him, through the merciful heart of our God and the sprinkling of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ by which and through whom the redemption of the human race and the upbuilding of holy mother Church was accomplished, know that from our heart we exhort and beseech that he cease to disturb the peace, unity, and truth of the Church for which the Savior prayed so earnestly to the Father. Let him abstain from his pernicious errors that he may come back to us. If they really will obey, and certify to us by legal documents that they have obeyed, they will find in us the affection of a father’s love, the opening of the font of the effects of paternal charity, and opening of the font of mercy and clemency.
We enjoin, however, on Martin that in the meantime he cease from all preaching or the office of preacher.
Martin Luther’s theology is condemned by the Catholic Church. Luther himself will be given 45 days (or until July 26th, 1519) to repent on his errors. If, by that time, or during his grace period he continues to preach his heresy, he will be excommunicated.

at the start of the year, I decided I wanted to run a campaign for some friends, and to save myself some effort, I thought I would run a pre-written game. I looked up Eberron adventures, and the convergence manifesto looked like it would suit the quick, very-slightly-casual-ish campaign I wished to run. While I haven't finished the campaign yet, I want to write out some thoughts about it.
WHAT FOLLOWS WILL SPOIL THE CONVERGENCE MANIFESTO CAMPAIGN. DON'T READ IF YOU INTEND TO PLAY IT.
ALSO, PARTS OF THIS MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ OR RUN THE ADVENTURES BECAUSE I'M BAD AT EXPLAINING THINGS.
To start with, I'd like to say that some of my criticisms of the campaign are probably problems with me. I have focus issues, and I'm a picky perfectionist, and to be fair to all the writers involved, they have done better jobs than I would in their shoes.
A note on my group: our party consisted of a human wild magic sorcerer (ex-skycoach driver), human wizard (aundairian expatriot), a gargoyle barbarian (used the rules for a Hadozee), an eladrin eloquence bard, and a goblin rogue (retired Conquerer champion looking for something new to do)
The Campaign As a Whole:
The premise of the Convergence manifesto is that Nigel Faurious, Provost of Morgrave university, wants a bunch of relics that are each attuned to one of Eberron's planes. Each adventure is a mission to some location on Khorvaire to retrieve or create such an item.
Each of the adventures is written by a different author, and as a result I think they vary pretty wildly in quality.
Adventure 1: Fired and Forgotten.
Synopsis: PCs go through hazing ritual to join adventuring guild in Sharn, get sent to pick up bespoke Fernia-linked magic item from a forge in the Cogs, discover forge has been shuttered due to warforged workers protesting - they have to convince the owner to be less of an ass. Then Daask show up.
This one was good! A strong start. Everybody enjoyed the hazing ritual, and I decided to use the optional NPC with the aberrant dragonmark manifesting (for reasons I'll explain further down). The warforged union situation was a very good introduction to what is special and different about the Eberron setting. This might be an issue with me as GM, but I found that the PCs dealt with the non-combat parts of the adventure VERY easily through use of skills and illusions, never thought about leaving the immediate vicinity of the forge (and thus missed some content), and I felt kind of bad having the forge owner not immediately cooperate in the face of 20+ results on Persuasion and Intimidate.
The daask Ettin bruiser being toned down for a bunch of level 1s was a very nice touch, but throwing that at the players right after the fight with the mephits made that bit rough.
Adventure 2: Live Another Day
Synopsis: PCs get air-dropped into Droaam so they can find a hidden valley with an Irian manifest zone, so they can charge up a crystal. On the way they may encounter some ogres, have to navigate a hidden set of tunnels, and then on arriving discover a clan of harpies is living in the valley, as they are persona-non-grata in Droaam. When Droaam monsters follow the PCs into the valley, they have to fight them off before the harpies will let them complete their mission
So, slight issue with this one, probably unique to my party - the adventure calls for a lot of Survival rolls for the overland travel and nobody in my party had survival. They were a bunch of city-slickers. Seemed a little odd the adventuring guild picking the party to do this.
While the adventure was somewhat rail-roady, it at least makes sense in that the PCs are following in the footsteps of a prior explorer. My main issue was the last portion - once the PCs get to the valley, there will ALWAYS be Droaamite monsters on their heels. Firstly, this discounts the possibility that the party had been religiously using Pass Without Trace or doing other things to make them untrackable. My party didn't, but a party with a ranger and/or druid might have. Secondly, the fight as written is a bit boring. It's two Gnolls. Two gnolls shouldn't be a threat to a clan of harpies. Once the gnolls are dead, three goblins show up. After that, two half-ogres show up. You can optionally add some more scenes fighting gnolls and chasing anything trying to get away. I revamped the fight a bit by making all of these fight scenes one long drawn-out battle with reinforcements arriving, and I re-contextualized the Harpies wanting the PCs to fight the monsters without their help - the Harpies could probably run rings around the ground-based humanoids, but the Harpies both thought this was the PCs fault they were here, and didn't want to show themselves in case any stragglers got away to report on the Harpies' presence.
Weird thing my party did: when they encountered the ogres at the start of the adventure, the group came up with a plan to pretend to be fellow Droaamite monsters if they failed to sneak past - they then snuck past the ogres without any issue, and were disappointed that they couldn't use their disguises... so they used them when the encountered the harpies, not knowing the harpies were enemies of Droaam. This very nearly turned into a combat situation, but the bard managed to talk everybody down and explain why they had been lying.
Adventure 3: Rime or Reason
Synopsis: Nigel sends PCs to Icewhite island to get a Risia macguffin after another expedition failed to return. They have to contend with a blizzard, find a tower of ice in the middle, and defeat ice monsters, a puzzle/trap, the possibly backstabby survivors of the failed expedition, and then deal with the tower collapsing once they find the item.
Some parts of this one were good - my party really seemed to enjoy trying to find a solution to get through the blizzard despite their lack of survival skill proficiency. Two of the casters were constantly casting prestidigitation to keep the Constitution 8 rogue from succumbing to hypothermia, and even then it was a bit touch and go.
Now, I had some issues with the ice tower as presented. First, the adventure says it's an ancient dwarven ruin, dating back to when the dwarves came down from the Frostfell. Personally, that didn't make great sense to me - why would you willingly make a building in a risian manifest zone? The whole of Icewhite island is freezing cold, and the manifest zone is worse.
Second problem - there is door, with a puzzle. The puzzle is so easy that I worked out the answer the instant I looked at the handout at the back of the adventure, before even reading the description - there are four columns of symbols (a book, scroll, wand, potion - again, not terribly dwarf-y?), and each symbol rotates a certain number of octagonal faces from one row to the next, and you just have to make the last row match the pattern. If you mess it up, it will spring a trap that will potentially either tickle the PCs a little, or cause a TPK if they're messed up from any prior fights because anybody reduced to 0 HP by the trap is frozen solid until freed by greater restoration, which no PC at this level of adventure will have.
Third problem - the tower is only four storeys tall. As described, it more cube-shaped than tower shaped. Also, as described, a PC with misty step standing on the shoulders of another PC of above average height could potentially teleport to the top of the tower and avoid 50% of the adventure content.
Fourth problem - the top of the tower is described as a garden made of icy plants... which doesn't make sense with Risia's canonical loathing of life.
my fixes: I changed the backstory of the tower, rather than being a dwarven relic, it was an Aundairian Magical Congress research facility, set up during the war to try to draw weaponizable power out of the Risian manifest zone - a wizard tower felt more right than a dwarven one. I then changed the solution to the puzzle - the symbols still had to be rotated, but what columns they were in had to be swapped, to represent the Congress sharing magical knowledge. I had the other expedition that was there explain they had tried the obvious solution and it hadn't worked. I also made the tower taller, mostly as an aesthetic thing, and so that the stand-on-shoulders-and-teleport trick only got the party Eladrin up to a balcony, rather than the roof. I kept the set-piece of the tower collapsing, saying that the magic the Aundairians had been trying had kept the manifest zone coterminous and removing the macguffin broke the spell holding the ice tower together.
Adventure 4: Living Legend
Synopsis: the party goes to Darguun, hunting a legendary hobgoblin hero. They get to see the fact that bugbears take slaves, follow a guide to a Thelanis manifest zone, and undertake several trials to prove they are worthy of claiming the hero's weapon to bring back.
So... the premise is cool. The execution is anything but
Even setting aside the fact that some parties might get entirely side-tracked by fighting slavers, the issue I had was that the trials in the adventure didn't seem to really key into the fact that Eberron goblinoids are supposed to have some different and interesting cultural mores.
The trials aren't bad, per se, but they don't feel goblin-y at all.
Worst of all, though, there is a Hobgoblin you encounter during the trials who is one of the Dhakaani fallout-vault people who is set on passing the trials to claim the weapon herself. As written, she is quite easy to befriend, will readily tell the PCs that she is from a hidden vault of survivors of the goblinoid empire, and if they DO befriend her, doesn't leave the room she's in despite the fact she's here for the same cultural relic the PCs are. WHICH FEELS INSANE. Every bit of canon and kanon lore I've encountered about the Dhakaani suggest that they distrust non-Dhankaani at best, and outright loath them at worst, and are trying to keep their presence secret. She should be either fighting to the death or keeping her origin secret then betraying the PCs, or not here at all.
Between the un-goblin-ish trials, and the insanely cooperative yet unhelpful NPC, this one needed the most fixing to satisfy my tastes. As I didn't have the time and brain juice to do that before the session, I decided to skip this adventure, and have the PCs collect a Thelanis macguffin as part of the later adventurer where they go to a Feyspire (adventure 12: Lost in Dreams).
Adventure 5: Perfect Timing
Synopsis: PCs get on a lighting rail intending to jump off it as it goes over a bridge, so they can appear in Daanvi to acquire the macguffin. twist: there's emerald claw terrorists on the train, and one of them has stolen the thing the PCs need to get into Daanvi, intending to go himself. Once in Daanvi, it's a race against the Emerald Claw guy to fill out all the paperwork to get the macguffin first
So, over-all, this one is really good. The premise is good. Situation is hilarious. It's very Eberron
Minor issues: the train has SO MANY COMBAT ENCOUNTERS. the PCs start at one end, and have to fight their way to the other, with one fight in every single train car, one of which is purely due to a misunderstanding. It took two sessions to get through the train half of the adventure, and that is with me having skipped two of the fights. In hindsight, I would have maybe also varied the stats of the enemies a bit more.
Also, while I comprehend the drama of having the thief jump out of train with his accomplices during a fight, this presumes the PCs don't kill every single one of his accomplices. I had to pull some shady DM shenanigans to get the guy out of the train in one piece, and give him new allies to help in the final battle at the end of the paperwork race.
My players enjoyed this one a heap, but one did comment that he thought it should have come later in the campaign, as it was such a departure from the others.
Adventure 6: Night's Gambit
Synopsis: PCs have to infiltrate Fort Bones in Karrnath and steal a mabaran macguffin from under the nose of the military there.
Another really good one, although not without it's issues. The adventure presents interesting characters in the form of the fort's up-tight commander and relatively chill head necromancer, a timeline of what they will be up to at various times of day, and has options of all kinds of approaches: sneaking in, joining up with what is basically the Karrnathi Foreign Legion, or acting as bodyguards for a visiting inspector. I loved that it gave all these options.
my only complaints were that the timeline was a little hard to make sense of as presented, and the map of the fort seemed... a bit too small and simple for the facility as it's described. I feel like you'd expect one of Karrnath's most important border forts to be at least a two-storey building (I fixed that by describing the fort's upper levels as being still under construction after the last time it was sacked).
How my party handled it: so, my group aren't terribly sneaky on the whole. They also do not look like adventurers - to glance at, they are a Gargoyle, the hottest and floweryest elf you've ever seen, a depressed cab driver, the least magical aundairan wizard ever, and a goblin grandmother. So they couldn't really sneak in, wouldn't blend in as recruits, and I felt wouldn't really be the kind of people the inspector would hire as bodyguards....
...so they decided to BE the inspector. Eladrin lady was the inspector herself, gargoyle got dressed up as weird undead bodyguard, aundairian wizard was silent note-keeper, grandmother was a servant, and cabbie became the coach-driver. The group arrived a day early ("surprise inspection"), and were given a tour of the fortress. They executed everything perfectly. In the end, the only fight they had was an ambush on the necromancer in his own bedroom at 3am, wherein they beat him senseless, put him to sleep with a spell, and healed him back to full HP, so when he woke up in the morning he had no physical proof that anything had happened and was questioning his own sanity. They even fashioned a replica of the macguffin (it's a conqueror piece - the goblin rogue had her own set, which the wizard imbued with some necromantic energy), so the alarm wasn't raised for several hours after the PCs had left the fort.
Adventure 7: The Silvered Edge of Twilight
Synopsis: PCs go to Thaliost to pick up a Lammanian macguffin from a silver flame priest - when they get there, it's been stolen. They do some investigating, track the theives to the railway station, and chase them down to the Eldeen reaches where they fight Ashbound druids and lycanthropes.
Kind of middling adventure - nice premise, but very railroady. For starters, there's an NPC (who I edited out) who gets sent with the PCs for all of the investigation portion who basically seems to exist to keep them on track and/or provide lore about Thaliost and also to force them into a fight they might otherwise be able to avoid. Even outside of that, the investigation seemed a bit being-led-by-the-nose, although maybe that came down to how I was running it.
The issue, for my run at least, was once they were on the train. As written, the PCs need to track down the missing item on the train - it's written with there being a few red herrings as to who might be the thief, but it's a magic item. I have never seen a group of PCs who didn't have access to detect magic, so my PCs just bypassed all the red herrings with a single spell.
Next, there is supposed to be a set-piece fight where the were-tiger with the item jumps off the train, and leaves here were-rat minions to fight the PCs. I can't really criticise the adventure writer for not forseeing what my PCs did: the eladrin bard walked scootched up to the were-tiger, went "hey, I gather you're a nature-themed terrorist? I am too! I hate civilization. Can I tag along and then borrow your item when you're done with it? Also are you single?" and then rolled a 27 for persuasion.
The PCs came along and jumped the lycanthropes a day later. To be fair, the adventure never explained how the were-tiger was supposed to get to the final battle before the PCs as she jumped off a moving train and is slower than it is.
Adventure 8: The March of Madness
Synopsis: PCs go to an ancient dungeon in the Shadow Marches, go on a vision quest before being allowed inside by the druid guardian, and then have to contend with/repair the wards inside the dungeon before they can get their Xoriat macguffin. Depending on how it plays out, they may or may not end up accidentally killing an ancient orcish guardian inside the dungeon, and may or may not be betrayed by an insane warlock.
The adventure is very solid, great even. The map that comes with it is... very uninspiring, so I re-mapped the dungeon and added a bit of extra flavour to one room (there's a weird trap that doesn't make much sense, so I made it a weird manigest zone effect rather than a deliberate thing), but that is basically the only changes I made. 4.5 stars!
Adventure 9: Weathering the Storm
Synopsis: PCs get sent to the Lazaar principalities to receive a Kythri macguffin that is being imported. Ship doesn't arrive, investigation leads to sky pirates, which in turn leads to an attack on a skyship.
So, again, really nice premise. Some issues with the execution, though - see, the synopsis in the adventure itself makes reference to the Chaos Fleet, a concept introduced in 4th edition, where there was a pirate fleet in the principalities that were basically Davy Jones' crew from Pirates of the Carribean, if they went all elemental-y rather than all fish-y.
Except, the Chaos Fleet never actually show up in the adventure at any point. All the opposition in the adventure is Wind Whisperer pirates. ALL of it. Literally, it's only the one statblock for everybody except the final boss.
my fixes: when the PCs are inspecting the wreck of the vessel that had their macguffin on it, rather than Wind Whisperers returning to the scene of the crime, I had a Chaos fleet ship turn up chasing the scent of the macguffin that they were lusting after - I used weirds from the Ravnica book, and some mephits. After that, I fed the PCs info of sightings of Chaos Fleet ships chasing after a skyship in the heart of a storm - the Chaos guys I described as not usually a threat because they're terminally incapable of cooperating with each other, but this was concerning because the Wind Whisperers seemed to be trying to use the macguffin to draw all of them into their wake and then force them into Regalport.
In the adventure as written, then PCs are airdropped onto the macguffin-holding skyship with some friendly Regalport sailors to help them (and to keep the fight against the Wind Whisperers manageable). I gave the wind whisperers some more variance in statblocks (scounts, thugs, deck wizards from ghosts of saltmarsh), and had the ship under attack by elementals at the same time, rather than give the PCs allies.
I also had the aberrant dragonmarked NPC from adventure 1 show up in Regalport, saying she had been given a grant by Nigel to continue her studies somewhere other than Sharn.
Adventure 10: At Death's Door
Synopsis: PCs sneak into the upper level of the Lair of the Keeper to get a Dolurrh macguffin while the (alleged) Keeper is out having a meeting with some minions. It's a dungeon crawl.
This is the best one. Almost every encounter can be fought or talked through (with varying difficulty). The Rakshasa is great. The demon and the bodak are great. The Orcs are great. I loved it. No fixes. No notes. 5/5 stars.
Further Adventures:
This is as far as we've gotten at time of writing. I'm currently gearing up to run A Heart in Mourning, and am running into some of the same issues as Rime or Reason - the adventure site feels too small, the approach to it a bit too rail-roady due to being a tower, combined with the fact it doesn't really feel like it's Shavarath-ish enough. Also, ending with a collapsing tower seems repetitive at this point.
I need to read Lost in Dreams in more detail. It looks complex, so I'll report back on that one.
As for the last adventure - a read-through revealed some really neat set-piece fights and the stupidest twist I've ever \***ing heard of*. As written, the adventure reveals that Nigel Faurious has secretly been... a gnome woman from zilargo who the PCs have never heard of and who wants revenge on Sharn for her sons dying in the War.
...What???
I at least have a fix for that: Nigel Faurious is... actually Nigel Faurious. Nothing secret going on there. He came to Morgrave university in his 20s in hopes of studying to help his fiancé - the fiancé had an aberrant dragonmark that meant they would create spontaneous manifest zones temporarily. One day they had a bad flare-up, and got killed by a mob, just like the NPC nearly is in adventure 1. After that Nigel as spent the last 20 years trying to reverse-engineer the manifest-zone creation effect with the intention of destroying the city that killed the love of his life.
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Thanks for reading all this way, I know this has been a really long post. I appreciate the effort.

I've been trying ot figure out the song but nothing has been showing up. I can't find anything similar really either, anybody mind helping?

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Good luck!
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I think he has to be the most well developed character in the entire series. To be very honest, I cant say his character technically developed but more of that his character becoming clearer to the audience. When he was initially introduced in the series, the show made us view Roman as an unhinged character with mental problems and out of touch with his emotions. Like the one word I would specifically describe him as would be insane. But as the seasons go on SPECIALLY SEASON 4. His actions and behaviour start making so much more sense and he seems like the most sane person in that insane environment. Like the insane behaviour he has been showing in the past seasons is just a way to keep up with the shitty people he is surrounded by. Whether it be wanting for WAYSTAR to be sold and the deal to be brokered to keep EVERYONE happy or calling himself, along with the other 2 "bullshit" (while sitting on the table) in the finale really redeem his character. He was the only one amongst the main cast to be emotionally affected by Logans death. Not saying the others werent affected but I felt as if Roman was the only one depicting TRUE true grief. Like roman was my comedic favourite in the series till S4 and i was riding Kendalls side but this season Roman was just impeccable. He seemed the only logical character and his self awareness in the latter half of the season is amazing. The entire reason he tried so hard for CEO was just to feed his attachment issues. He genuinely wanted a connection with his siblings which is why he almost ALWAYS gave in to their ideas. Even during the vote, as much as he wanted to say yes he fought his own wishes to satisfy someone else. I think he has had the hardest time growing and just a 10/10 character arc.

I want to start with a disclaimer that Wildcat's Revenge is NOT somehow definitely better than your favorite RMC. The three RMC hypers have clearly earned their place in the discussion for "the best" and will likely retain their spot in many of your rankings. I have only ridden Iron Gwazi of the big three but what WR is able to pull off with only 140 feet of height, a mere 62 MPH and 3500 feet of track is unreal. It is not as brutally fast or intense as Gwazi and doesn't have that elite signature element like the death roll. Somehow though, after 13 rides on Wildcat's Revenge, I found myself increasingly wanting to rank it higher than Gwazi. On my final night ride in seat 15, it narrowly earned my personal #2 spot formerly occupied by Gwazi. I am keeping an open mind since I need to get a Gwazi night ride.
First, my spoiler free review:
WR is very well paced. There really is no downtime on this coaster but I also understand that applies to a lot of RMCs. On paper, WR doesn't seem like anything special in the height category. Ultimately, WR feels like exactly what it is: the result of years of RMC iterating on and perfecting elements and stringing together a highlights reel of the best examples of classic RMC wave turns, off axis hills, double downs and whippy inversions but incorporating new and different forces into them. I'll get into the nuts and bolts in the spoiler section. As a result of this not being a super intense "stat monster", this is a very re-rideable coaster. Today was a brutal, humid 90 degrees in full sun but I watched all ages, kids clearly younger than 10 and even a lady who appeared to be in her 70s get ride after ride after ride and very few were leaving for breaks. WR isn't trying to be the best at anything and as a result element after element just string together so well.
Another unexpected thing about WR is just how much the ride varies row to row and even left to right. It feels like each row has "its element" and a simple back or front seat ride is not enough to really experience everything this ride has to offer. While I haven't gotten 24 rides to experience every seat, I was easily 10 rides in and still being wowed by the extra "pop" or "whip" certain elements had in certain rows. I really got the impression that the profiling of each element was specifically designed to add more violent air or whip to a different cars and really give every rider at least one elite element. If you get an opportunity to ride more than once, please do yourself a favor and try multiple rows. If you only have time for one ride, I recommend seat 15 as you get a nice mix of violent ejector, strong whip, hang time, and laterals.
--Spoilers--
Prelift: The prelift is quite good in the back car and does give some good airtime. Even in the front, it's decent enough to not feel like "filler"
First drop: Very good, very sustained ejector in the back car getting weaker towards the front. It's a very good drop, not elite like Skyrush's drop but still a strong #2 in the park.
Underflip: This is where the row you sit in really begins to matter. Towards the front, there is strong whip and it enters and exits the inversion quickly and aggressively. Towards the back, its far less whippy but you get the consolation of a really nice weightless feeling. Not quite hang time but also not pushed into your seat either.
Airtime hill: It's a solid, sustained, ejector hill. Nothing fancy going on here, just good old-fashioned airtime.
1st Wave Turn: This is a good, RMC playbook wave turn. On my rides, it seemed to hit a little harder towards the front but still enjoyable in every seat. It's not large enough to be sustained like Lightning Rod's 1st but still pops and taken fairly quickly.
Zero G Stall: Another element where row choice matters. The back row gets a similar weightless feeling to the underflip just far more sustained. The profiling is such that this would be a sustained floater hill, except you're upside down. IMO, the back wins this element but once again, it feels different in a good way the further you are front. I want to get a true front row ride because my row three ride (furthest front I rode) almost got to true hang time and I'd imagine row one is the whole way there. Grain of salt and all if I'm wrong
2nd Wave Turn: Noticeably punchier than the 1st and doesn't feel like a repeat of the first. This is the element where the ride transitions from larger, sustained elements to rapid-fire, punchy elements that seek to keep upping the ante.
Double down: HOLY SMOKES is this ever an unexpectedly good element. You come in with a decent pop of airtime (ejector towards the front, milder in the back) then immediately into violent unbanked laterals and an ejector pop at the end. In seat 15, I was still in mid air when the laterals hit and never fully returned to my seat until the element was over.
3rd inversion: Great whip, better in the front. Solid inversion and definitely not like anything I've seen on an RMC yet.
Turn around: Really the only dull element on the ride. They had to turn the train around quickly somehow. I wish it did something more than just turn you but it's still faster and better than Candymonium's hammerhead turn.
4th inversion: This is even whippier than the previous inversion, not quite Gwazi "death roll" level or Mosasaurus Roll level but definitely a top tier, well-profiled inversion. Side note here: the inversion is a head chopper directly above the lift hill. There is an opportunity for a perfect "duel" by dispatching early into the pre-lift/lift block but it requires nearly perfect ops. Despite the controlled circumstances of media day and the director trying to get the duel on camera, I didn't see them get the timing quite right.
Airtime finale: It's a classic RMC finale. Off axis airtime hills taken quickly 1-2-3. The airtime gets more extreme as you go and that last pop into the brake run in some rows is the single most forceful on the ride.
Night ride: WR has a night light package which adds to the experience. It's not an elite night ride by any stretch but it's definitely worth visiting after dark if you can as the experience does go up a notch at night.
TLDR; Wildcat's Revenge is a must ride. If you can, get rides in multiple rows. If you only can choose one, seat 15 is a real winner and my personal favorite.

In this post as the title states, I'll be recapping and giving my analysis on what I noticed with the Connecticut Sun, as that's the team that won my poll with the most votes, in today's game against the Minnesota Lynx.
​
Part #1 - Offense:
Alyssa Thomas: Thomas was most definitely the MVP of today's game. She led the team in points, rebounds, and assists with a stat line of 16 points, 16 assists, and 9 rebounds. Her impact on the offensive end for the Sun is invaluable. Not only is she a more than capable scorer, she also has very high IQ and court vision when it comes to playmaking. She was able to get her teammates involved on the offense early on and had 7 of her 16 assists in the first quarter alone. Furthermore, she is an efficient shooter from the floor. Almost all of her shots today were high probability shots from inside the paint which is very good. The one drawback from Alyssa Thomas which I saw from here today however was that I think the whole idea of the assist record got into her head in the 4th quarter. For background, the single game assist record for the WNBA is Courtney Vandersloot with 18 assists. Going into the 4th quarter, Alyssa Thomas had 14 assists so she needed only 4 more assists to tie the record and 5 more assists to beat the record. I'm pretty sure that Alyssa Thomas was well aware of this record going into the 4th quarter as the talks about the assist record were being talked around by literally everyone in the stadium from fans, media, and maybe even the coaches / players. So back to the game, the Sun were up 69-59 at the start of the 4th quarter with a semi-comfortable 10 point lead. Alyssa Thomas ends up getting another assist in about a minute of play in the quarter leading her total to 15 assists now (3 away from tying the record and 4 away from beating the record). For about the next 5 minutes of the game, it seemed to me that Alyssa Thomas was playing to get the assist record. On almost every play for these next 5 minutes, she was always calling for the ball from her teammates and then dishing a pass to whoever she found open. She didn't end up taking a shot in the 4th quarter until around the 6:20 mark, which missed. After this shot, she takes her next shot at about the 4:34 mark, which got blocked. Now at about the 4:00 mark, the Lynx caught up in the score and tied the game at 79-79 after going on a run. This is the moment where I think Alyssa Thomas knew she had to abandon aiming for the assist record if she wanted to bring the win for the team. Over the last 4 minutes of the game, Alyssa Thomas takes 4 shots, going 3-4 (75%) from the field scoring 6 points to seal the game away for the Sun. Furthermore, these shots weren't just simple shots for her. She was taking the initiative to call for the ball from her teammates and take the ball into the paint by herself to score the buckets. Now once again, we didn't see this at all from Thomas for a majority of the 4th quarter. We only saw this from her once the game got tied and the Sun were on the brink of losing the game. One this note however, this was a good thing to see from Alyssa Thomas. She put her team and getting the win as a priority over getting a potential WNBA record in terms of a solo player. I think the only reason Thomas playing like this to start the 4th quarter is because she knew she was very close to the record and the Sun at that moment of time had a 10 point lead. Regardless, she made the right decisions during the final minutes of the game and helped to close out the game and bring her team the win.
​
DeWanna Bonner: Bonner had a decent game today in my opinion. She ended the game with 13 points, which was the team's 3rd highest scorer. She made a couple shots in the first half of the game but was practically nowhere to be seen in the second half of the game on the offensive end. The thing that I wished Bonner did more was attack the paint this game. For the most part this game, Bonner was playing from behind the arc. She attempted a season high 7 threes in today's game and ended up making only 2 of them. With how badly the Lynx were getting dominated in the paint by the Sun, especially in the first half, I would have expected Bonner to have taken more shots in the paint. She only took 3 shots in the paint and made 2 of them in the first half. The Sun as a whole went 10-10 from the paint in the first quarter alone. In the 2nd quarter, the Sun went 7-12 from inside the paint. So overall in the first half, the Sun went 17-22 from the paint and yet Bonner only had 3 of those shots. If Bonner attacked the paint more, I definitely think she could have gotten much more than 13 points today.
​
Rest Of The Team: I thought the rest of the team complemented Bonner and Thomas well today. Brionna Jones scored 12 points today, all from inside the paint and the free throw line. Natisha Hiedeman was the leading scorer with 19 points today and Tiffany Hayes scored 9 points. The bench of the Sun also did fine getting some points here and there. Overall, everyone contributed offensively and that was a good sign to see. The Sun do have quite a few very capable scorers on the team so someone will almost always step up when another player isn't doing to well. For example in the last game for the Sun, Tiffany Hayes was the leading scorer for the Sun with 22 points while Hiedeman was struggling and scored only 11 points. In this game it was the opposite. Hayes was struggling and Hiedeman was able to step up and contribute. For the most part for the Sun, they will always have someone who is capable of stepping up and scoring to complement Bonner and Thomas.
​
Part #2 - Defense:
DeWanna Bonner: Bonner had a decent defensive outing playing the paint in my opinion. However, there was nothing really today from her which screamed to me "defender". She played mostly around the paint and her presence in the paint was alright but the Lynx players were not afraid of taking the ball in the paint with her there. By the end of the game, Bonner ended with both a block and a steal and five rebounds.
​
Brionna Jones: I thought Jones was better on the defensive end today than Bonner. Jones also ended the game with a block and a steal but the Lynx players were having trouble attacking the paint with her as a defender. Jones' presence in the paint was good enough to where the Lynx had to find different shot opportunities when they failed to score on Jones a couple of times. She's not someone who the Lynx could easily back down in the paint and she stood her ground well. Furthermore with about 45 seconds left in the game and the Sun only up 3 with a score of 85-82, Jones had a very nice steal on a pass from Jessica Shepard which essentially sealed away the game there for the Sun. Had Jones not gotten that steal, the Lynx could have potentially tied up the game again or cut the lead down even more.
​
Rest Of The Team: I thought the rest of the team did alright on defense. In terms of paint defense as mentioned with Jones and Bonner, it was decent. In terms of mid-range and beyond the arc, the defense was once again decent. Most of the players did their job to limit good look opportunities for the Lynx. The one thing I'd say the Suns need to work on is the fouling. The Suns got the Lynx into the bonus during crucial moments of the game, allowing them to make a run and slowly come back. The Lynx ended up shooting 26 free throws today while the Sun only shot 11. Furthermore, I don't think it was that great for the Sun to allow the Lynx, who may arguably be the worst team so far this season, 84 points. This was the most points that the Sun have allowed so far for any team this season. Even in the Liberty game, the Sun managed to keep them at 81 points.
​
Connecticut Sun's Defensive Shot Breakdown: I've mentioned this in a couple of posts but I've noticed a pattern in the WNBA which I call the 50-30-20 rule. Essentially, this means that 50% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are in the paint, 30% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are in the mid-range, and 20% of all shots taken and points scored by a team are from behind the arc. Therefore, I'll be listing how the Connecticut Sun's defense affected from where the Lynx were forced to take their shots and score their points from just like in my previous game analysis posts.
​
Paint: 14 - 29 - 48.33% of all shots taken and 45.16% of all points scored (not with free throws)
Mid Range: 5 - 12 - 20.00% of all shots taken and 16.13% of all points scored (not with free throws)
3 Point: 8 - 19 - 31.67% of all shots taken and 38.71% of all points scored (not with free throws)
​
From this shot breakdown, we can see how the Sun kept the Lynx from the floor. The first thing noticed immediately is how the Sun forced the Lynx to take more three pointers. For WNBA teams in general, three point shooting revolves around 20% of all shots and 20% of all points scored. Making a team to shoot more and score more from beyond the arc is a big win. This is because it relies on the other team to take longer and tougher shots. In this game, the Sun did a great job at forcing the Lynx to take more shots from beyond the arc. Part of the reason was because the Sun were leading for the most part of the game so the Lynx had to shoot more threes to catch up in the game. Next thing we see is the Lynx didn't really use the mid-range game much. The Sun were able to keep the Lynx limited in shooting the mid-range and have them rather take the longer shot beyond the arc. Now in terms of the paint, the Suns did fine as they held the Sun just under 50% in terms of points scored and shots taken. This is a good thing since paint points and shots account for most of a team's total points on average. Holding any team under 50% from this area is a good thing. However, the Lynx's percents were at 48.33% of all shots taken and 45.16% of all points scored from inside the paint so it wasn't that far off than from what was expected. The biggest takeaway from the defense for the Sun this game is that they forced the Lynx to shoot more threes in order to catch up and that prevented them from better looking and higher quality shots.
​
Final Recap: Overall, I thought the Sun did fine in today's game. Alyssa Thomas was the key player today with Hiedeman stepping up big time today on the offensive end. Bonner did alright on both ends of the game today and the rest of the team stepped up to what they can. I am a bit surprised that the Lynx were the team which the Sun allowed the most points to so far this season. It could have been maybe that the Sun took the foot off the gas pedal in the beginning of the fourth with a decent led but then were forced to step on the gas again to finish the game out. I do think however that the Sun have much more to offer defensive wise than what was shown in today's game. Their offensive side of the game was what kept them in the lead for most of the game. The Sun play the Wings next game (coincidentally the team which I support) in 3 days. I think the Wings actually have the best in-paint defense statistically in the WNBA so it should be interesting to see how the Sun match up. The Sun are now 5-1 to start the season so that's a great start.

LPs

• Metro Boomin - ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE OST (w Future, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Don Toliver, Nas, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, WizKid, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Offset, BEAM, Lil Uzi Vert, Swae Lee, James Blake, JID + more) [Soundtrack]
• Moneybagg Yo - Hard 2 Love [Memphis Trap, CMG]
• Toosii - Naujour (w Future, 21 Savage & Khalid) [R&B, Capitol]
• Ashnikko - WEEDKILLER (w Ethel Cain)[Pop Rap, Parlophone]
• Jelly Roll - Whitsitt Chapel (w Yelawolf, Struggle Jennings + more) [Country Rap, Broken Bow]
• BOJ (🇳🇬) - Gbagada Express Vol. 2: Moving Mad (w Knucks, Arya Starr, Tay Iwar + more) [Afrobeats]
• Futuristic - We Made It
• HAŁASTRA - Kombinatoryka [Polish Rap]
• DJ Smokey - Nuked Out Dance Party (w RXK Nephew, Rx Papi, Evilgiane, David Shawty + more) [Cloud Rap]
• Cisco Swank - More Better
• RealYungPhil - Victory Music (w Gud + more) [Plugg]
• BOA Hunxho - Behind Enemy Lines (w Lil Darius + more) [Trap]
• CJ Fly - HEALING FROM OUR WOUNDS (w Topaz Jones, T'nah, Millyz + more) [Blog Rap, Beast Coast]
• Speakers Corner Quartet (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿) - Further Out Than The Edge (w Sampha, Confucius MC, Kae Tempest + more) [Electronic, OTIH]
• Factor Chandelier - Moving Like a Planet (w AJ Suede, Eligh + more) [Producer Album, Fake Four]
• YSR Gramz & Enrgy Beats - So Much Enrgy (w BabyTron, RMC Mike, KrispyLife Kidd & Baglife Tree) [Michigan Trap]
• McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (w Ghais Guevera, Anjimile + more) [Hip Hop, City Slang]
• Keyze AriZona - i wonder! IS GOD REAL? (w Lord Apex, MARCO PLUS + more) [Christian Rap?]
• Blak Madeen – Rhyme Dawah: The Best Of 2005-2018 (w Tragedy Khadafi, Planet Asia, Lord Jamar, Gift of Gab + more) [Boom Bap]
• SD - Day to Day [Chicago Drill]
• Jamil Honesty & Krazyfingaz - The God's Honest Truth* (w Elzhi + more) [Boom Bap]
• Kelly Moonstone - I Digress... [Indie Rap]

Deluxe

• V Don & Eto - Omertá: The Film [Griselda-core, Serious Soundz/New Crack Era]

EPs

• Fivio Foreign - Without Warning* (w Kanye West) [NY Drill]
• Ugly God & EH Beats - Two Piece* [Meme Rap]
• Na-Kel Smith - Free Pops Fr [Cloud Rap, OF Affiliate]
• Eddie Fresco - BRING IT BACK!: THE PLAYLIST
• MC Bin Laden - Descontrollado [Baile Funk, GR6]
• Sickboyrari - Born in a Warzone [Cloud Rap]
• Young Roddy & Trademark da Skydiver - The Coterie [Weed Rap]
• quinn - Interstate185 [Digicore]
• Yung Bambi - Bexar County Club [Plugg]
• KP SKYWALKA - The Preacher [Cloud Rap]
• Dark Lo - Blood in My Eye [Griselda-core, Next]
• Zoomo - Riezu [Beat Tape, RRR]
• GeneralBackPain & Ecto-84 - Caldera* [Underground Rap]
• Filthy Heir - Not All Who Wander Are Lost* [Underground Rap, NJ]

Singles

• The Weeknd - Popular (feat. Playboi Carti & Madonna)
• Latto - Put It On The Floor (Remix) [feat. Cardi B]
• Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - The Hillbillies*
• Shafiq Husayn - Crush You (feat. Anderson .Paak)
• Jon Baptiste - Be Who You Are (Real Magic) [feat. JID, NewJeans & Camilo)
• Machine Gun Kelly - Pressure (feat. SlimXX)
• PGF Nuk - Bounce (feat. G Herbo)
• LUCKI & Bhristo - NO BAP
• Trapland Pat - Spoof (feat. Tee Grizzley)
• ASM Bopster - Choose Up (feat. 03 Greedo)
• Dody6 - Not Average (Remix) [feat. ASM Bopster]
• Zya & DRAM - Conflicted
• Kenny Mason - DRACULA
• Domo Genesis & Graymatter - Proceed / Change My Mind
• Baby Smoove - Slim Shady
• Sentheen - Golden Rose (feat. Matt Hartke & Dom Kennedy)
• Nowahh The Flood - Akbar Pray Day (feat. Mach-Hommy & D-Styles)
• Teni - No Days Off (Remix) [feat. PsychoYP]
• Rah Dolla - Switches (feat. Rowdy Rebel)
• UnoTheActivist - Comfy
• DJ Williams - Soldier of Love (feat. DJ Harrison & Kanika Moore)
• Big Yavo - Pape
• YGTUT - IDFW Them
• CJGana - Thru The Rain (feat. Acito)
• Nappyhigh - WhatItFeelsLike (feat. Your Old Droog & Blu)
• Peso Peso - Still Slidin' (feat. Dee Mula & DracBaby) / Options
• LaRussell & UglyMarco - OH DEAR
• Def Soulja - Green Light (feat. Jae Skeese)
• EBK Jaaybo - Kasino Mode
• Lil Migo - U Played Freestyle
• T.F. & 2 Eleven - Pill Form (feat. Rome Streetz)
• DooDat600, 1100 Himself & PayQTheLoot - Coach Carter*
• Dimzy - People
• J.Wood$ - Go Getter (feat. Big Sad 1900)
• Fly Anakin & Foisey - Things Change (feat. Demae)
• Fatpocket - Shaq & Kobe (feat. Wizz Havin)
• Curtybo - Craig and Dae Dae (feat. EBK Bckdoe)
• SUN97.5 - CANT GET IN (feat. POLO PERKS <3<3<3)
• TC4 - Hall Of Fame (feat. Pacman Da Gunman)
• RXKNephew - Doir Socks / Homeless since 2 Yrs Old* / Critical (Cyberspeed Mix) / My Daughter Got Amiri On
• Poloboy NuNu - 4 Boy
• Deetranada - EASY / NEVER RESTING
• JAHMED - 777
• HUGHIE (aka Mr Muthafuckin Exquire) - Namaste
• Esham - Bro!
• Bolo - Homicidal (feat. P Thrizzle & Javn2900)
• Mez - Fire In the Booth
• Sparkheem - Membershipp (feat. CruddyMurda)
• D4NNY - Goodbye 2
• RubberBandRalph - Why You Mad*
• A.P. Da Overlord & TekBeatz - Negro Theory*

Bold songs drop at midnight
Songs in bold came out at midnight
* means not on Apple Music or Spotify
Sorted by Spotify Monthly Listeners

Old Drop Watches

Full Calendar

This comes from PBS' "Newshour", and may be an upcoming program, on PBS' "Frontline":
The railroads are coming under more and more scrutiny, partly because of the East Palestne, Ohio; disaster, along with several other derailments. First responders have long complained, that "parked trains", and trains, slow to clear crossings; have caused serious problems, especially as trains have gotten longer, and longer.
According to "Newshour", tonight (June 1, 2023); railroads are now allowed, to assemble trains, of almost 4100 tons (about 8,200,000 pounds, or 3,727,200 kilograms), and up to 2 miles long (almost 3.2 Kilometers). The "upshot" of all this, is that fire equipment, ambulances, and police vehicles; are being seriously delayed in situations, where any significant delay, because emergency vehicles have to "go, around" these trains, at the nearest clear crossings. The delays; cost lives, and allow fires to get more "out of control. In Hammond, Indiana; southeast of Chicago, school children are forced, to climb onto, crawl under, or otherwise endanger themselves, around "parked" trains, to get to school; there is no warning, that the train may "start up"; maiming, or killing them; and the nearest "clear" crossings may be, more than a mile, away.
This is a very serious problem, and needs to be addressed; by either Congress, or The Biden Administration, by Pete Buttigieg's Department of Transportation. If The Supreme Court acts to "block" any actions, they need to be held to account, as well. The regulation of the railroads, has been an ongoing problem; going all the way back, to the 1880's; and the days of the "Robber Barons". Some regulation of the railroads, had been done because of the abuses of those times, but those have been "watered down", or "done away, with" by recent Administrations, and Congresses, mainly at the hands of the Republicans. I cannot provide further documentation, because it was done quietly, and out of public sight; at the commission level, or by Congress, at committee levels, or attachments to bills.

I'm a long-time Bravo fan and have watched LVP in everything - even her spin-off dog show. I'm not a huge fan of hers but in comparison to the people on RHoBH, she is a shining star. Awful but not as awful, but with awesome lifestyle porn. But take away the comparisons and she is pretty awful.
I want to talk about the things from this Reunion - Part 1 and 2, and the final episode of Season 10 that I have found problematic so far. And please feel free to add or correct me as needed.
1.) I know that she has to be scarred from her brother killing himself, but capitulating to that awful scene that Tim enacted in the last episode was awful. He should have gone for a career in scripted soap operas since he can cry on cue.
2.) Lisa acting genuinely offended that Ariana would treat her differently - keep her more at arms length if she kept associating with Scummy. Lisa thinks she is above everything. She isn't
3.) The issue from the second episode that makes my blood boil, and I know it's going to sound stupid but it is indicative of what I don't like about her, is when LVP told Lala that she can come off as being aggressive or was being aggressive. As if that was the worst thing! Oh no!!! An aggressive woman - Lala needs to curl up in shame. Also, Lala is the last person to try to shame - that woman has NONE even when it is warranted, which it was not in this case. I loved how shocked LVP looked when Lala responded. LVP acts as if this entire cast are still a group of early 20 somethings and should bow down to her.
4.) Lisa saying calling Scummy dangerous was going to far is so on brand for her it is pathetic.

Ibandr, during the morning and afternoon so full of life and sound and laughter, slowed as the sky darkened above. The sun had set for some time and the shadows of the city were erratic and scattered in the evening torchlight. There were many lit throughout the city at sundown, many in the city center, some south by the riverbank to ward off animals, and some in the west by those who grew cotton and made goods. Shadr held one of these torches now. He was a young man, having grown up in Ibandr and never knowing the starving times, although his father always spoke of them. He had also talked to him about the day the city spilled its own blood. How he had been part of the fight to retake Ibandr from the Zivold and how he barely survived, losing an arm for his efforts. When the eastern man had come - Barnam had been his name - his father jumped at the chance to sabotage the man who stole their lives, even if it had been so long. Shadr’s father was too old but Shadr himself was not, the young man eager to serve his family however he may. So now he stood as the sun set, stick alight with flame, looking at the large pile of dried grass and hemp and cotton. Waiting.
Over a hundred men on horses galloped toward Ibandr. Barnam rode at the head, taking one last glance over his shoulder at the men riding behind him, Shahadr’s Point falling further in the distance. It was getting darker by the gallop, the sun having set to their right. Up, down. Up, down. Up, down. The rhythm of horseback calmed Barnam. He felt at home, at peace on horseback now. His life with the Albayet had been good to him, prepared him for his duty. He looked at the sky as he rode, the first twinkling stars shining in the dusk. He blinked. What was that? Another! A streak of light shot through the blackening blue of the heavens. Some time passed then, another!
“Vastatn blesses us on this night!” Barnam called to the riders behind him, pointing to the sky at the shooting stars making their way across the world. He gripped the spear in his hand tighter. Good fortune was to come.
Ibandr was more difficult to see as they rode on the flat plains between Shahadr’s Point and the city, but in the darkness he could just make it out. Flames. The old boys have done it then, he thought. When last in the city, he found an old friend of his father and that man’s son, Shadr. There were a handful of others but all too old or afraid to move against the Zivold. Shadr, though, was eager. Setting fire to the cotton in Ibandr’s west had worked well enough, if he could see the flames from here. The sky darkened as they neared the city. It was almost time.
He was close enough to hear shouting over the sound of the horses around him. Then, a great bellow louder than he’d ever heard. A bellow sounding across the city, the plain, again and again in long, slow bursts. An alarm? A call for help? Someone must have seen them. A hundred men on horseback would be hard to miss, but Barnam did not care. “It’s time, Albayet! Ride to our glory! Ride for Kalliza!”
Shouts of Kalliza, victory, to war called out behind him as the hundred split into three groups, one stayed straight behind Barnam while the others spread out in two directions, one to the west to the fire and the other to the east.
“Victory!” Barnam heard himself shouting as he burst into the city, the vastness of the plain suddenly replaced by houses and canals and patchwork fields of sorghum. Men, women, children had come out of their peripheral homes to answer the commotion, and Barnam looked at their terrified faces as they saw him and his horsemen ride toward them.
A scarred, weathered, bearded man, in billowing clothes carrying a spear in his right hand and a scythe tied to his hip, screaming as he charged on a horse. A sight to see. A last sight to see. He did not want to kill innocents, he did not mean to kill them, but you have to be realistic about these things. In the heat of war, Barnam would not stop to question each and every life he took. Today was a day of new beginnings, of a cleansing of the city and washing it in a new path. The stars streaking above were the ushering of a new dawn on the Luzum and Barnam would be damned if he would get in the way of that. He thought all these and more as his horse ran down the man who stood defiantly in front of him. As they made their way to the city, the screams confirmed that the first man was only one of many. You have to be realistic about these things.
The city had no way to prepare for what was coming. Through his whole life Barnam scarcely had heard of any meaningful raids on the city, or great battles between one city and another. Ibandr and its people had not been tried and tested as Barnam and the Albayet had.
With that Barnam could not have expected the first fighters they saw. Ten men burst forward down a street between two larger houses, two had spears and the rest holding hoes or scythes. They came so suddenly Barnam and the horseman next to him, Gudenle, had no time to move. Bunched up as they were they had no time to fight. One with a spear burst it through Gudenle’s horse, throwing him to the side. Another ran to finish Gudenle off but was stopped by a second spear bursting through him, Barnam having flung his own to defend his man. The defenders stood shocked for an extra breath, and Gudenle, with Kalliza watching over him, landed well and was on his feet. He swung a scythe from his hips into his arms and Barnam did the same. Barnam, Gudenle, and the other horsemen fought through the men then, losing two more horses but no tribesmen.
Having bested their first challenge, they trudged on. Barnam and the Albayet fought for quite some time as they made their way to the city center. Those who came to defend the city were few and far between, but they fought fiercely and bravely. By the time they reached the great storehouse of Ibandr and the Temple of Kutenr, only Barnam, Gudenle, and eleven others remained. Barnam dismounted from his horse to confront the sight before him. He and his Albayet stood opposite a tall, lean man dressed in cotton and some foreign leather clothing, with others around him. All stood fierce and tall, with either spears or blades of copper or stone. The tall, lean man held a copper blade in his right hand. Beyond, dozens of citizens were running either into their homes or making a dash to leave the city. Flames blazed in the west and a cacophony of screaming, neighing, and yelling filled the air.
“Where is the Zivold?” Barnam bellowed above the clamor. “I am Barnam, son of Huttl, a righteous man who walked in the light of the Paroxl. He was murdered by Attarnap, a coward and a thief, and I demand his presence in front of me today!”
The tall man raised his eyebrows and gasped. Behind him, the storehouse glowed in the light of the flames, encroaching closer and closer. “Barnam? Is that really you?” He started to laugh. “The little boy who lived on the edge of the furthest part of the city. Amazing, even the dung can come back to haunt you. And here I thought I was being punished for killing my father.”
“Your…” Barnam couldn’t believe what he had heard. “You killed… Attarnap? You killed the Zivold?”
The man who Barnam knew as Belis only nodded. “My father was complicated, Barnam. He was complicated and he was a fool. He thought he could take more and more, demand more and more of the people, and everything would be fine. This temple, those canals, that lake to hold the flood waters for a drought? Do you know how many died for those Barnam? Too many. Too many times there were riots like the one your father tried to start and I fear that if he stayed alive that would be the end of our,” he gestured to the men around him, “position in the city.”
Barnam could not believe what he was hearing. The men around Belis moved forward, and Barnam’s men did the same. “No!” Both men shouted at once. “He’s mine,” Belis said, and Barnam grunted in agreement. How dare he?
Barnam let out a roar. “How dare you take what was mine by right?” Barnam took a step forward, Belis almost stumbling to step back, keeping his distance. “Your father took the life of my own. Theft in its many forms is the only sin worthy of punishment by Marryagai the thief, is it not?” He held out his right arm, scythe in hand, rounding it on those who stood by to watch. Then, pointing at Belis, “and your father Attarnap stole the life of Huttl, stole a husband from a wife, a father from a son. and now you steal my revenge from me? You, Belis, lowlife of lowlives, believe you can take your father’s place. You, Belis, murderer of your own kin, your own father believe you can steal vengeance from me?” Bantam raised his arms, “Look at what you stand against! I am Barnam, son of the union between Mauair and Huttl, chosen by the Albayet to lay waste to what you claim, summoned by Samvastatn to bring glory to this earth. You call yourself Kutenr, as your father did?” He stepped closer. “Do you remember who Kutenrs nemesis is? Do you know the story of Kalliza, Paroxl of horses and creator of the plains, champion of the world when the greed of Kutenr and his grains grew too great. Look around you, Belis. I am Kalliza manifest in flesh and bone.”
Barnam cackled as he looked around him once more, taking yet another step toward Belis, and pointed with his scythe. “The gods have forsaken you, murderer! Dezmedetem rages behind you laying waste to all that you were. Samvastatn courses the sky with light, laying waste to all that you will be. And here I stand, I, Barnam of the Albayet, Barnam of Mauair and Huttl, Barnam the bane of Belis, Kalliza reborn, true lord of Ibandr, to lay waste to all that you are!”
With a guttural cry, the would-be conqueror flew at Belis. It was all Belis could do to raise his copper blade in time, a loud clang misshaping both scythe and sword as the two men connected. Barnam came at him with the fury of gods, whirling his scythe on Belis faster than he ever had. Belis stumbled back with each strike. Barnam was practiced, experienced, weathered from his life in the east, while Belis had only ever killed those around him with treachery, not skill. Belis was slower, weaker and more fatigued with each strike he had to block. But there was a chance. Barnam was the more skilled fighter, yes, but the fury of the gods which coursed through his veins made him move faster, think less. The maddening smile on Barnam’s face blinded him to any outcome but his victory. The Zivold’s eyes darted around with every chance, desperate to unearth some victory.
As the two men moved in their melee, Belis saw his chance. Barnam arced high and Belis, in one move, turned to yank a torch jutting from the ground, grabbing it with his left hand. The blade in his right flew at Barnam’s scythe while his left burst forward, torch in front, at Barnam’s face.
A howl of pain burst through the chants around them. Shocked by his own success, Belis stood there, mouth agape, torch and blade in hand. Barnam reeled from the strike, face almost smoking, and when he looked at Belis the right side of his head was a scarred and seared mass of red and pink flesh. Barnam stared at Belis, right eye almost blocked by the puffing of his face, and muttered something to him.
“What did you say, brute?” spat Belis at the hulking man in front of him.
“Burn me,” Barnam repeated, “and you burn the world.” The words of the Paroxl Kalliza, when he struck down Kutenr in their battle for the heavens. Barnam leapt at Belis once more. They fought again but this time there would be no mistake on Barnam’s part, and Belis felt it. Barnam pushed him further and further back toward the great storehouse. As they stood at the entry way, Belis’s arm outstretched with his balde in hand, Barnam brought his scythe down hard on the man’s wrist. A second howl of pain and a clang as Belis’ blade fell to the ground and his wrist was carved through. His hand was still attached but he’d be getting no use from it any longer.
“Stay back!” Belis screamed, waving the torch in front of him. On the floor in front, his shadow danced in the light of the growing fires in the western district. The flames were nearing them now, the heat coursing through the air. “Stay back you demon! You’ll get no more from me, you and your horseback brutes will not take this city while I live!”
Just as Barnam was to respond, “Then die,” Belis turned and ran into the storehouse. Barnam raced after him. “Take this monster!” Belis yelled as he shoved the torch onto an open pile of grain. The dry sorghum burst into flame, sparks flying and fires licking the roof. “Take this as your payment for your father’s death,” Belis was screaming now as he ran further in the storehouse, laying fire to piles of cotton, throwing off jar lids and burning the seeds and fibers within. Barnam could do nothing, impotent with his scythe, as a wall of fire separated him from Belis. Enraged, he bellowed and ran outside and around the storehouse to the Temple of Kutenr. Belis stood there now at the base. Behind him the storehouse was just beginning to burn as a whole. In front of him the temple, and behind the temple the fires of the western districts were finally upon them.
“So Barnam,” Belis stood at the base, torch flames licking the air and wrist dripping with blood, “is this was you wanted? Is this what you wanted to claim as your own?”
Barnam ran at him, raising his scythe and in one motion bringing it down on Belis’ neck. His face froze in horrified surprise and the scythe dug into his shoulders and neck, blood spurting from the wound. “Let it burn Belis. Let it all come to the ground from which we sprouted.” He brought his scythe out of Belis, who fell to the ground, gurglilng, and brought it back down to hack again and again. “Let it burn!” He was shouting, hacking, laughing, “Let it all burn! You stole my vengeance so now I shall have it back twelve-fold! Let it burn! We shall rebuild! We shall rebuild! We… shall… rebuild!” And with the final cut Belis came apart, head, neck, shoulder, and arm separated from the rest of him, face still looking on in horror at Barnam.
He was panting now, the man turned conqueror, his old and rutted copper scythe dented and broken from the fighting and the effort. He tossed it aside with a clang. His face burned from the torch, his lungs burned from the flames beside him, his muscles ached from the battle.
But above? Above the sky was a light with the streaks of a thousand stars, coursing through the sky as though it was Samvastatn and Niovollin creating the earth once more, sending stars from the heavens to course their energy through the world as rivers. Thousands and thousands of stars streaked across the sky, heralding the rise of a new man. A new Zivold. A new God.
“Barnam!” He looked behind him. Gudenle was coming from one of the round homes next to the storehouse, dragging a small, frail man behind with him. “Is this him?”
The man fell in front of Barnam, wrapped in bundles of cotton and hemp, thick matted hair gray and white with age. “Hadr,” Barnam breathed and knelt at him, putting his hands on the man’s shoulders.
Hadr brought his face up to look at Barnam. One thin, shaking hand came to rest on Barnam’s cheek, and he breathed a staggered breath. “Is that you Barnam? Is that you my boy?” A tear welled in his eye and he started to shake his head. “No, no, no,” Hadr muttered, “no, no no. Do not give me your empathy, my dear boy. I have wronged you.”
Barnam could not understand. Gudenle was saying something about needing to leave as the fire was only growing, but Barnam waved his hand and stared at Hadr. “It was me, Barnam,” the old man said through tears, “I betrayed your father, your uncle, everyone that day. I told Attarnap when i got you and your mother out of the city. It was me Barnam! I’m the reason your father is dead,” and he shook in his sobs, muttering, “let me die, boy, let me die.”
Hadr fumbled with his hands in his rags, but Barnam could barely see for the red that covered his vision. Hadr had betrayed his father, his family. Hadr had betrayed him. He grabbed Hadr by his hair and yanked his head up, putting the two men face to face. “You don’t die yet old man,” and he spat in his face. “You come with me. When the fires abate, you will proclaim me Zivold of Ibandr. You will proclaim that I am the vessel from Kalliza on this world. You will put me higher than any Zivold has ever been, and only then will you be allowed to die. I will do it myself.” He spat in his face again and pulled him to his feet by his hair.
“Let me DIE!” Hadr screamed as he was yanked up. His hands fumbled through his rags and they emerged gripping a small blackshine [obsidian] blade from his rags. He pulled his arms out and thrusted into his belly, but Barnam grabbed his arm like a vice, inches from death.
As he twisted the blade from Hadr’s hands, Barnam only repeated, “You do NOT die yet old man,” and threw him forward. He nodded to Gudenle, and the company walked away from the flames of the city center.
Flames swallowed Ibandr. For two days and two nights, Barnam, the Albayet, and the prisoner Hadr waited at Shahadr’s Point as they watched the city burn on the riverbank. Refugees fleeing from the burning and seeing where the conquerors had gone had come to be with them, either to curry favor or through sheer terror of seeing their home burning. Others stayed by the farms in the homes that survived or camped by the great reservoir.
When the fires abated, the survivors, the conquerors, and Hadr the prisoner walked into the city, faces of terror and horror and grief staring back at them. Some houses stood, others charred, and still others broken and brittle. Barnam had tried to stop the pillaging of the city but you have to be realistic about these things. He was Kalliza on earth. The city needed to be burned before it could be rebuilt.
When he arrived at the city center, the storehouse was a charred ruin and the temple behind it stood charred and blackened. The fires had raged and the once great city of Ibandr now stood charred but still proud. The Albayet went and corralled those who remained in the city center, and still others had come to the core now, refugees in their own lands, fleeing the fires that burned without remorse. Many had come to Barnam and the Albayet but others had stayed in the city, finding refuge in this or that district that survived the fires.
Barnam announced who he was, why he had come, and what the future held for Ibandr. “Belis was a fraud! Attarnap was a fraud!” He brought up Hadr. “A fraud held up by this man against the Paroxl, against our gods!” He walked to the ruins of the storehouse. “I am no fraud. I am Barnam, Kalliza reborn. Kutenr is nothing to the light of Kalliza and it is in his name which this city will be rebuilt.” In one year Barnam promised they would be returned to their former glory and poised to reach greater, grander heights than ever before.
The conqueror’s bloodthirst had been quenched. Knowing Attarnap was dead, killing his son, and laying waste to Ibandr had been revenge enough against those who wronged his father and those who stood by and done nothing.
Barnam the conqueror became Barnam the rebuilder. Over the year he convinced the Albayet to move west, abandoning the Duf river in a great migration to Ibandr, calling the union between the Hortens of Ibandr and the Hortens of the Albayet the Hemoph Hortens, or Union of the Hortens. He replaced the storehouse with one of similar grandeur, but on the side walls and pillars were carved intricate images and forms of Barnam as Kalliza, striking down Belis of Kutenr. The Temple to Kutenr was stripped bare and its walls adorned with images of Ibandr, or stories of the Paroxl, and above all of Barnam the Magnanimous, images carved to tell his story and his journey from refugee to god.
At the year’s end, Barnam held the Festival of Kalliza. It was here that he brought out the imprisoned Hadr, old and shriveled and frail. He had not been kept in a prison or in solitude or tortured. Barnam let the man walk free under supervision. “Let those who died by his hand torment him,” Barnam once said. They had forbidden him from holding weapons of any kind lest he take his own life, but the sight of the free Sinnamit, free by the mercy of Barnam the conqueror alone, did much to grow the new Zivold’s legend.
Hadr announced Barnam as a god reborn, lord of the new world and Zivold of Ibandr, son of a man and woman wronged and champion to all those that had been wronged. Never mind that Barnam had created so many wrongs when he burned the city. No, never mind all who died for one man’s vengeance. You have to be realistic about these things.
At the height of the ceremony came Barnam’s final act for the new city. As Hadr finished proclaiming him god of a new dawn on the Luzum, Barnam repeated all of Hadr’s transgressions. His slights against his father, against his city, against the gods. His cowardice and failures as Sinnamit. Barnam called Hadr a necessary sacrifice to give for the life of Ibandr, and slit the old man’s throat on the steps of the new temple, bringing all of the Sinnamit’s powers into his own.
Ibandr rose back to its prominence prior to the Albayet Sacking, and rose further still. Barnam learned of the projects built by Attarnap, of how Ibandr had risen from its people and its lands and by harnessing the power of the river Luzum to control the fate of their crops. To defend against the dry seasons and the wet. Ibandr was rebuilt and Barnam ensured that it was he who was credited. He played his factions of the loyal Albayet families and those who felt were allies within the city, against those who wished him to be gone. Barnam kept ownership of the grain but for other goods he allowed families to hold their own. His reign was tenuous in reality but the image of Barnam as greater than he was, as a god among mortals, a step in a new direction, the rosy fingers of the coming dawn, cemented any fears against his hold and guaranteed he would not often be tested.
Barnam had three daughters and two sons with his wife, married from the time he was with the Albayet, and when he died his son, Askalladr, was appointed the Zivold by the strong families, the Illir as they were coming to be known. The Zivold was now the strongman of the city, emblematic of the gods on earth, priest-king, god-king, father-king, all were encompassed by the great and powerful Zivold.
Attarnap and Belis were nothing. They were glorified tribesmen who hoarded wealth. Barnam was something else, a ray of heaven on the ground. Askalladr’s ascension was only further proof that now, indeed, there was a new Dawn on the Luzum.
Context: Was a lot of fun writing all this. This last piece may not be as strong for evidence of statehood but in connection with the other r rp posts I hope this is enough to establish season 5’s first true city state! There’s a lot more to develop in the next week but hopefully this is solid enough ground for Ibandr to gain prominence on a larger stage. I will definitely be sticking to shorter pieces in the future lol

Recent post about them blaring "Set Fire to the Rain" during the rain delay got me thinking of a few things I noticed this season. They were examples of announcers/graphics/media people being funny (maybe unintentionally?) this season.

1. Washington has been showing flashbacks of great moments in Husky softball history to celebrate thirty years of the program. When Utah and their assistant coach Paige Parker came to Seattle this season, UW made sure to show the clip of Parker giving up a homer to Julia DePonte in the 2018 WCWS. Not sure if anyone noticed but I got a laugh out of it.
2. In the super regional between Utah and San Diego St, the play-by-play announcer was talking about how the players were really hungry and competitive. Next up was Mac Barbara (the girl who nicknamed herself "Tank"). He proceeded to say "Another athlete with an insatiable appetite, Mac Barbara..." I mean, come on man.
3. This was the worst one. Washington vs. Oregon St. The Beavs had a bunch of important players out with injuries this season. At least five down, including their ace and leadoff hitter. Whatever jerks run the Pac-12 Network put up a graphic that showed these five girls' pictures with the caption "Banged Up Beavers." We were all speechless. They had to know what they were doing.

this rant is going to be long and all over the place, sorry in advance
I just swept the whole house (hallway, twice the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room), removing old dog plates, as well as tidying up the living room by dusting off the dirt, folding blankets, removing empty bottles and pistachio shells left by my parents, scrubbing the stains of mayo out after my mom spilled her sandwich, and organized my papers on my art desk. I also brought her extremely heavy laundry in from the garage because she couldn’t be bothered to do it herself.
After my mom got up from her nap, I asked if she could just clean the kitchen table as it’s not too daunting of a task. What does she do? She sweeps all the dirt off the table onto the floor and makes me clean it again. My dog, as cute as he is, easts like a pig, yet again forcing me to clean the same area. This mess was created in less than 10 minutes by the both of them, so you can get how annoyed I was. She then says that I wasn’t doing much as there was still dirt on the floor (I don’t care if it was a joke, but I just spent almost 2 hours cleaning).
I ask what’s for dinner (I forgot her response 10 minutes ago because I was doing laundry). She then insinuates that I’m a retard (one of her “funny” little jests seeing as she can’t do basic addition, nor pronounce basic words of a high school level). I asked her to set up the steamer for the floors so I can steam, but she then takes over and accused me of doing next to nothing. Fun fact, she sits on her ass all day and cooks me one slightly-edible (barely seasoned) meal a day and acts like she just came back from the battlefield.
In summary, I’m pissed that she accuses me of doing nothing, and being an all out bitch when I said I’m tired (her famous words after doing nothing all day).

I have been working remotely for the almost all my 10 years with the company. I am working 1 day a week in the office, the rest from home. Now they want me to come in full time, or they will put me on contract work. Can I refuse to come in full time? What would that refusal constitute? Could they fire me with cause for that refusal?