I posted this long multi-comment thread on the megathread last Sunday, and several people suggested that I make it its own post, so here goes. Note this post is lightly edited from the original comment to improve readability and preserve some arguments made by another commenter in that thread without me having to do the hard work of editing the whole post to reflect their well-taken counterpoints. For those who read the original, it hasn't changed in any significant way except that one link. This post is largely my own analysis supported by links to a variety of credible sources.
Dr. Sovietlove; or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Bakhmut
Many people on the daily megathread or on Twitter have been arguing that holding out in Bakhmut has caused enormous and unsustainable Ukrainian losses which will compromise their future offensive potential, and/or that Soviet-style leadership is the only reason the Ukrainians have held on to Bakhmut for so long. Much like during the Battle of Severodonetsk, I think a lot of people are overreacting to events in the Donbas and that the Ukrainians might have a perfectly reasonable strategic justification for continuing to defend Bakhmut. I have a few hypotheses about the situation and put together some analysis and sources to support those conclusions below.
My hypotheses in brief:

1. Ukraine effectively has two armies, one post-Soviet and one NATO. UAF high commmand has recognized that they have to fight the Russians with an only partially modernized military which includes significant numbers of officers, soldiers, and equipment not suitable for NATO-style warfare. They recognize that you can't "beat a large Soviet army with a small one." They have therefore formulated a strategy to use the post-Soviet and NATO-style units where their particular strengths are most relevant, and are largely resourcing and employing them separately as a result.
2. The UAF is aggressively applying economy of force principles, which dictate that an army should devote the maximum amount of resources to their primary effort, while allocating the smallest amount possible to any secondary efforts. Thus, the Ukrainians are committing the fewest possible resources to holding the line of contact in the Donbas while reserving as much as possible for their primary effort, which is the coming counteroffensive.
3. Ukraine along with their allies and soft power proxies such as friendly journalists, whether knowingly or not, have been engaged in a disinformation campaign designed to lure Putin into committing the last of his mobilized reserves to an assault on Bakhmut in the last days of the mud season before the Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.

I'd like to emphasize that these are assessments backed by analysis and facts which you can check yourself below, but are definitely not by any means 100% certain.
Two Armies
The post-Soviet army can be characterized by its leadership, organization, and resources.

• Leaders tend to be older senior officers trained under Soviet regime pre-2014, although the culture also pervades lower ranks (although that is unsurprising given leadership influence). These officers are often difficult to retrain in the field, tend to punish rather than encourage junior officer initiative, and prefer top-down command-and-control style.
• These units include many irregular formations, e.g. TDF and National Guard. Of the regular army units in this mold, they tend to be those low on the priority list for upgrades, e.g. motorized brigades that haven't been uparmored to mech brigades yet, and/or ones with the largest proportion of Soviet-derived equipment.
• Many such units are organized as light infantry, typically either motorized or TD brigades, sometimes airmobile. So not much armor or IFVs, unlike what is seen with the regular army mech brigades. Instead they largely rely on many of the thousands of IMVs and APCs donated by western allies for some amount of armored mobility.
• Much less training than regular army in some cases. In the first few days of the war, many of these units were literally just the volunteers that showed up and were handed rifles with no questions asked.
• More conscripts and fewer volunteers being used to provide replacements for these units.
• Fewer professional military officers. Hence reports like this one about an officer seeing 100% turnover in his battalion until he was the only professional officer left.

These units are generally not going to be as useful for offensives, but are certainly capable of holding a fortified defensive line, albeit likely at dreadfully high cost in some cases. Light infantry are surprisingly resilient to artillery fire when dug in properly, and so are an effective check against the (apparently declining) Russian artillery advantage. ATGMs and mines also make it possible for them to resist all but the most carefully coordinated combined arms assaults, which are a vanishingly rare occurence coming from the RuAF. And these units were relatively cheap to equip and quick to train. So they are well-suited for countering the three primary Russian numerical advantages in artillery, armor, and raw manpower, at least while fighting defensively in prepared positions.
On the other hand, their NATO-style forces are better suited for combined arms maneuver warfare and thus offensives. They emphasize distributed decision making, tactical flexibility, and robust communications between different units and levels of the command. That enables flexible coordination of multiple capabilities on the attack, such that defending against one capability makes defending against the others harder. e.g. suppressing entrenched infantry with artillery while mechanized units traverse open killing ground during an assault in order to bring their tank and IFV guns to bear on those infantry to suppress them after the artillery lets up. Ukraine is in the process of building out or deploying around 20-28 new brigades of this type. I feel a little bad sourcing to a comment from this megathread rather than a credible third-party source, but offogredux puts together truly excellent summaries of the current structure of Ukrainian forces, so why reinvent the wheel? Plus their information matches what I've seen elsewhere, including the less consolidated information available here on militaryland. Notably, some units are being built around smaller veteran battalion- or regiment-sized separate units that are upsized to brigades, while others are entirely new formations, but likely include substantial numbers of veteran leaders at all levels.
Ok, so where is this "NATO" army?
There are reports of extreme deficits of NATO-trained personnel at the front, which are typically presented as a sign of Ukrainian weakness (n.b., see below for more on why to treat any Ukrainian-sourced reports of Ukrainian weakness with a healthy dose of skepticism). Often sources attribute the deficit to high casualty rates among those personnel during the earlier stages of the war. Best estimates are that the Ukrainians have lost around 120k soldiers. They started the war with around 250k personnel, of whom perhaps 20k were US-trained veterans.
Since then, the UK, EU, and US have trained something like an additional 20k+ soldiers (possibly with some overlap with the other 20k, but likely insignificant numbers if so), with plans to expand training for tens of thousands of additional troops over the next year. So even if every single one of the pre-war NATO-trained personnel are casualties, the total number of NATO-trained personnel in the UAF has at worst remained constant, at best it has doubled, and in any case it will only continue to grow as the western training programs ramp up and the Ukrainians disseminate those skills by assigning NATO-trained personnel to their own training centers. (Note: when I first posted this, VigorousElk made an excellent counter-argument to this point here which is worth considering and I didn't want to cut out of the conversation by moving this to a text post. I don't think it undermines the overall thrust of the argument, though.)
However, the overall proportion of NATO-trained personnel in the UAF has almost certainly declined because mobilization has likely increased the total size of their forces by more than a factor of two, so the overall proprtion declined even if the total number of NATO-trained soldiers actually did double (which is very, very doubtful and the 40k number should be treated as an extremely loose upper bound). That proportion is probably even lower on the front lines if the UAF have allocated those soldiers to new unit formation and units held in reserve for the upcoming offensive. So even if the Ukrainians haven't experienced particularly high casualty rates among such soldiers, we should expect to see far fewer of them on the lines right now. Meaning we can't infer the execess casualty rate from the composition of front line units, as many commentators have, nor do we need a particularly high casualty rate to explain why there are so few of them at the front. Just the formation of so many new brigades must have sucked up all of the available experienced junior officers and NCOs, especially if the UAF are trying to concentrate NATO-trained personnel into specific units. Again that doesn't mean they haven't experienced high casualties, just that the issue probably isn't as bad as some of these articles have made out.
I suspect some of the authors of these articles have taken that position because of selection bias, e.g., Franz-Stefan Gad, who visited the front near Bakhmut with Michael Kofman recently. If you are only visiting the units that are intentionally being staffed with fewer NATO-trained personnel, you shouldn't be surprised to see fewer NATO-trained personnel. Their absence doesn't indicate permanent backsliding across the entire UAF, demonstrate the incompetence of the Ukrainians, nor prove that the Ukrainians have suffered anything near 100% casualties among their NATO-trained NCOs. Instead, it just reflects the relative prioritization of scarce resources by UAF command. In a recent War on the Rocks podcast episode, Kofman specifically pointed out that his visit (and by extension his companions' visits) did not involve any kind of general or systematic survey of the Ukrainian forces, and so any conclusions based on his observations should not be taken to be totally representative of what is happening across the entire UAF right now.
Cool. Where are the "Soviet" units then?
It helps to put yourself in Zaluzhny's shoes here. You have two big chunks of your armed forces that operate in very different ways and which are suitable for very different tasks. You are finding it difficult to encourage the newly mobilized senior officers to let go of their Soviet habits, but you also need them because there is no one else who is immediately prepared to lead newly mobilized formations. So you make the obvious, logical decision to use the Soviet-style mobilized commanders how and where you can best make use of them, while hopefully keeping their habits contained and isolated from your more professional units. The best place for those commanders in this war is probably on the defensive in the trenches, where rapid decision-making around complex maneuvers is less often necessary, light infantry can be effective at attriting enemy armored and maneuver forces, individual soldiers don't need as much training to be effective, combined arms operations are less frequent and more easily choreographed, the risk of catastrophic failure is less, and logistics are dramatically simpler than for an offensive force on the move with many vehicles requiring ammo, fuel, and maintenance.
The allocation of armored assets supports this conclusion. Per Oryx, Ukraine has received almost exactly the same number of Soviet-derived tanks from their western partners as they have lost so far in this war (488+ donated Soviet-variant tanks versus around 477 lost). Plus captured Russian equipment, they almost certainly have more armor available now than they did at the beginning of the war, not even taking into account the impending introduction of western tanks. Yet there are reports from the front lines that armor is relatively scarce and lightly used. It seems the UAF have combined multiple brigades into ad hoc corps or divisions along stretches of the line of contact (what Jomini calls a "defensive grouping") to fill in the gap left by the absence of real formations above brigade size in the Ukrainian ground forces TOE.
That grouping often consists of several lighter brigades holding the front line backed by a smaller number of more professionalized and/or heavily armored mech or armor brigades as the reserve. e.g., the UAF defensive grouping around Bakhmut in February, which consisted of two mech brigades backing two TDF brigades, one airmobile brigade, and one marine brigade, all equipped exclusively with Soviet-derived armor and IFVs, along with limited quantities of older western IMVs and APCs like the M113. So light infantry in the trenches, with armor in the rear to plug holes or provide indirect fire support. This approach allows the UAF to allocate the fewest number of regular mechanized and armored army units to the front, freeing up capacity for re-equiping and training for an offensive. It also puts the least amount of strain on their tank and IFV supplies, by making heaviest use of their soon-to-be legacy vehicles, which are also conveniently the ones more Soviet-minded commanders are most familiar with. Hence the relative dearth of armor at the front, even though we should expect more tanks and IFVs than were available at the beginning of the war. The reduced armor commitment comes at the expense of the light infantry in the trenches, who absorb Russian attacks without the benefit of enough tank or IFV support. Further evidence for the idea that lighter forces reliant more on IMVs/APCs form the bulk of forces around Bakhmut includes the UAF charging Russian lines riding M113s in the vicinty of Bakhmut literally yesterday. Which feels a bit like the modern equivalent to the apocryphal story about Polish cavalry charging tanks during WW2, but I guess they have to make do with the tools available.
Does the presence of Soviet-influenced commanders at the front indicate that the decision to hold Bakhmut was made by such officers blindly applying Soviet doctrine? I would argue probably not. Syrsky and Zaluzhny have long-established reputations as very much not that sort of officer, and both have reviewed and approved the decision to hold in Bakhmut. More importantly, and without relying on an appeal to their authority, there are sufficient strategic and operational justifications to continue the defense there, even if it is on less favorable terms than other defensive efforts across the front. Specifically, attriting Russian reserves to reduce their resistance to an offensive, much like what happened in Kharkiv last August.
If attriting Russian reserves is the goal, how can these conscript-heavy formations with Soviet-style leadership best do so?
Right now, Russia only has a single division held in reserve. That would be the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division, elements of which have likely been committed to combat already. This reserve exists to exploit any breakthroughs achieved by assaults on the Ukrainian defenses and to plug any holes in the Russian lines resulting from UAF attacks. If the reserve is depleted before the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the UAF will be able to achieve much more progress much more quickly. Once they breach the Russian lines, there is nothing to stop a penetration into operational depths. Even though the Russians have fortified extensive fallback positions on secondary lines throughout occupied Ukraine, they need reserves to hold those lines if the front lines are penetrated and the Russian units there are unable to withdraw to secondary positions in good order. Withdrawal under fire is a challenging task and one for which only the VDV has demonstrated any capacity on the Russian side. There is also no new wave of Russian mobilization yet to provide any further reserves any time in the near future. Thus, the more Russian reserves the UAF can burn through now, the better their chances on the offensive will be.
There's been a lot of talk about the loss ratio between the belligerents and how that ratio makes a retreat from Bakhmut likely necessary, but ultimately the loss ratio matters less than absolute numbers of Russian reserves attrited. Because the Russians are nearly out of reserves, a UAF attrition strategy may tip them into a full-on rout. If the Ukrainian leaders knew objectively they needed to inflict 1000 more casualties on the Russians to achieve victory, it would be worth losing many times as many Ukrainian soldiers to inflict those casualties. Achieving victory is often worth accepting unfavorable loss ratios, otherwise no one would ever go on the offensive. In any case, the friendly-to-enemy casualty ratios are still almost certainly in Ukraine's favor simply because they are defending, and there have been no serious reports at all that suggest any departure from that norm. So we aren't even talking about the Ukrainians suffering an unfavorable loss ratio at all, just a slightly less favorable one when compared to real ratios from different areas of the front or when compared to hypothesized loss ratios at proposed fallback defensive positions. Rob Lee and DefMon thus both make variations of the same error. They failed to compare the loss ratios around Bakhmut to the expected loss ratios for the offensive, because ultimately the Ukrainians face a choice between attriting the Russian reserves around Bakhmut now, or when they are on the offensive.
Why don't the Ukrainians retreat and get an even more favorable ratio in a better position?
First, because the Russian offensive will culminate in Bakhmut (or it already has) and the RuAF will likely enter an operational pause because of depleted offensive power. That pause will likely last longer than the Ukrainians plan to wait for their counterattack. Basically, only the possibility of victory in Bakhmut can induce the Russians to continue wasting their soldiers lives so recklessly before the spring. Second, because the current loss ratios are pretty well understood and relatively predictable, which is not necessarily true if they retreat. Retreating under fire is challenging even for elite units, and results are naturally unpredictable. Assessing the hypothetical defensibility of any fallback positions is also challenging, especially with sufficient accuracy to be able to meaningfully predict what kind of loss ratio improvements you might gain from repositioning. Third--and this reason is entirely hypothetical--it is possible that the Ukrainians have sufficient intelligence about Russian reserves to know exactly how long they need to hold out, and so perceive the hopefully quite proximate end to a battle that appears to us as outsiders as a limitless meatgrinder that will continue to waste Ukrainian lives indefinitely into the far future. Essentially, they know the price they are paying and what they are getting for it more precisely than we do.
In contrast, on the offensive, the UAF will likely experience a loss ratio that favors the Russians, even if the offensive is generally successful. The exchange in Bakhmut will be particularly favorable if they are able to trade less well-trained conscript formations for the few remaining high quality Russian formations such as Wagner's assault units and the remnants of the VDV. Notably the VDV played a critical role in holding the line in Kherson and delaying the UAF's offensive there until the successful Russian withdrawal across the Dnipro, and it seems reasonable that the Ukrainians don't want to see a repeat delay that may buy time for subsequent waves of Russian force generation. Bottom line, the Ukrainians need to fight these Russian reserves no matter what, and it will nearly always be more favorable to fight them on the defensive than offensive. The challenge with fighting them on the defensive is that the Russians need to agree to go on the offensive first, which means the Ukrainians need to fool the Russians into thinking an attack benefits their strategic objectives. Blessedly, the "we are lucky they are so fucking stupid" guy continues to be the reigning champ of summarizing this war in a single laconic sentence and the Russians have been willing to oblige the Ukrainians with attacks all throughout the mud season.
But by "fool the Russians", I really mean fool Putin. He is micromanaging the war, even dictating decisions at the level of colonels or brigadiers such as when to commit reserves, and that likely includes the much more momentous decision to commit the very last of their available combat reserves. He has repeatedly pushed the RuAF to make objectively poor military decisions for political purposes, and he does not receive reliable information, because he has reduced his circle of confidants to only a couple of advisors who largely tell him what he wants to hear and he does little to gather his own independent information.
Putin is also a classic bully in the distinctive style of the KGB, as Yale professor of history Timothy Snyder describes in an interview here. Their method is always to look for an opponent's weaknesses, and then to ruthlessly expand and exploit those weaknesses. Probably worth mentioning that Timothy Snyder has met with and advised Zelensky directly, so his views aren't just an academic theory, they reflect and influence the views of the actual Ukrainian decisionmakers. Those decisionmakers clearly understand that Putin's instinct is to attack weakness with maximum force, and therefore carefully shape perceptions of Ukrainian weakness to mislead Putin into attacking the wrong targets. I mean, it's pretty widely accepted that the Ukrainains signal weakness intentionally when trying to attract western support, so why should it be surprising that they apply the same techniques to deceiving Putin?
And that is also another reason why the Ukrainians can't just throw their best troops into the battle. If there were no weakness around Bakhmut, the Russians would simply stop attacking with those critically valuable remaining high quality VDV formations.
What weaknesses should the Ukrainians use to mislead Putin?
Putin is not an idiot, so the UAF can't simply invent weaknesses out of thin air. Instead, they have to find ways to exaggerate some real weaknesses while downplaying others. In this case, I think they are combining their very real Soviet-hangover leadership weakness with their related difficulties around conscription to lure the Russians into attacking Bakhmut under unfavorable conditions. Specifically, I am referring to the stories around conscription problems which imply manpower deficits across the board for the UAF and stories suggesting the defense of Bakhmut will compromise future UAF counteroffensives. Playing up those particular weaknesses presents an ideal picture to appeal to Putin's prejudices and his desperation for a politically palatable conclusion to the hostilities. If you blame Soviet-style leadership, it makes the Ukrainians look dumb and incompetent for not retreating, and suggests they remain saddled by the same legacy that has so limited Russian military capabilities during this war, which plays to Putin's belief in Russian superiority. It also suggests to Putin that not only can he achieve the minimally viable political victory he so desperately needs by taking Bakhmut, he can also compromise the Ukrainian ability to conduct future counteroffensives with the very same blow, opening the way for a negotiated settlement that freezes the current lines (plus/minus changes around Bakhmut). It's really the best remaining even theoretically conceivable outcome for Putin, and many of the recent stories and leaks from Ukrainian-aligned media seem perfectly crafted to suggest continuing to attack Bakhmut could very well achieve that outcome. Suspiciously perfect, I would argue.
There have been few reports of widespread difficulty around draft dodging in Ukraine until quite recently, well into the battle for Bakhmut, when suddenly a flood of stories appeared in the media about people avoiding conscription and Ukrainian officials aggressively conscripting people against their will, e.g. from the Economist and Newsweek. Which struck me as odd, considering that the Ukrainians have more than a million reservists and earlier in the war had far more volunteers than capacity to train them for at least the first six months of the war. Even as recently as December, Zaluzhny said that the UAF does not have manpower issues so much as a need for armor and munitions. So where are the volunteers, why are the units around Bakhmut being reinforced with untrained conscripts, and why all the news stories about aggressive conscription? My hypothesis is that the volunteers are funneled into the more NATO-style units, most of which are currently in reserve or training behind the lines, while the Soviet-influenced commanders are given conscripts (at least as a preference if not as a hard rule) and are burning through them faster than other units, mostly in the Donbas meat grinders around Avdiivka and Bakhmut. The prioritization of allocating volunteers to the more NATO-oriented units makes a lot of sense in that context. Mission command requires motivation and self-direction, which you are more likely to find in volunteers. Conscripts can perform at wildly varying levels, and generally can't be relied on as much to take initiative, and so are a better fit for the top-down Soviet command style. This preference or bias could also come about naturally because of self-sorting, as more Soviet-style commanders may be more willing to take on reluctant conscripts than more NATO-oriented leaders, and older officers steeped in Soviet doctrine will have more relevant experience for leading formations with older Soviet kit.
If that's how recruits are being allocated, it explains some of the resistance to conscription, because conscripts are disproportionately funneled straight into the meat grinder by default. For example, the story that has made the rounds of a soldier who received only five days of training before being deployed to Bakhmut. That soldier's experience doesn't mean the regular army volunteer units are having difficulty filling out their TOE or training their soldiers, just that some of the units most reliant on conscripts are. Notably his formation was the 101st Brigade for the Protection of the General Staff, which may be just about the most irregular unit in the entire UAF command structure, outside whatever chaos-demon worship seems to be happening over in the Ministry of Interior. The 101st is actually directly part of the General Staff, rather than assigned to an operational command, unlike every single other combat unit in the regular army.
So I don't know that his experience can be considered particularly representative, although it very well might be for conscripts with the bad luck of ending up in a Soviet-style unit that also happens to be committed to intense combat operations. But that's not all the units by a long shot. It's likely that for every soldier like that around Bakhmut, there are multiple comparable conscripts assigned to relatively quiet or less intense AOs where they are given the opportunity to learn some basic military skills on the job from the more senior members of their unit. So this would actually be a good way to increase their training pipeline, if somehow they could both predict where attacks would come with 100% certainty to avoid allocating untrained conscripts there and yet still somehow need to maintain high force density throughout the front, which seem like mutually contradictory propositions. It's a morally questionable but potentially effective technique for growing the training pipeline if they allocate excess untrained conscripts evenly across the front without regard to the risk that they will be thrown into combat unprepared, which this story seems to suggest may be their practice. It would also be an excellent way to make use of excess conscripts who were recruited primarily to mislead Russia about the level of manpower issues the UAF are experiencing, too.
This strategy of allocating resources across units suggests losses around Bakhmut won't compromise any offensive, because the offensive units are drawing on entirely different recruitment streams, training resources, and equipment types than the defensive units are. The conscript-heavy formations on the frontline at this very moment are serving to absorb Russian attacks and burn through Russian reserves while the more professional units prepare for an offensive that has the potential to be decisive. If it seems unfair to give worse equipment to the people doing the harder fighting right now, just remember economy of force. Bakhmut is secondary to the offensive. In the longer term, the recruitment challenges won't matter as much once the current Russian reserves are exhausted because the meat grinder will be over, and the UAF will no longer need to feed it. By the time Russia can generate any further forces for their own offensives, the Ukrainians will be over the hump in terms of adopting western tanks, IFVs, and combined arms doctrine and will have slack to retrain the units currently holding the lines to meet the same standards.
But what about the spring offensive?
The only contrary evidence to that assessment are reports, usually sourced from anonymous US or NATO defense officials, that western officials are telling the UAF that defending Bakhmut may compromise their ability to conduct a spring counteroffensive. Which really makes no sense at all to me, based on what formations and equipment types are allocated to Bakhmut. The reports are anonymous and lack any supporting detail beyond the basic claim. As I described above, the units around Bakhmut aren't the kinds of units the Ukrainians are likely to use on an offensive in the near future. I therefore tend to dismiss those anonymous reports as leaks intended to spread disinformation, and in particular to invite the Russians to feel confident in committing their reserves to an attack on Bakhmut.
The Russians (and more to the point Putin) may conclude that it's worth burning through their reserves if doing so compromises the Ukrainian ability to counterattack, and these leaks seem suspiciously well designed to invite that conclusion. If the leaked reports about compromising the offensive were true, they probably would not have been leaked at all, because they reveal an actual Ukrainian weakness in a manner which does nothing to protect that weakness. Contrast that scenario to leaks about the dire need for more long range artillery from about a year ago. Russia could absolutely figure out that the Ukrainians needed better long range fires on its own, so the leaks didn't risk revealing new information, yet did actively invite a solution in the form of western donations. Whereas the leak about Bakhmut (if true) just airs Ukrainian dirty laundry, with no real hope of changing the Ukrainian decision or bringing in additional western support. Meaning, it would be a disloyal leak, of which we have not seen many if any from the US/NATO side during this war (potentially not including the general jockeying between the allies for position around major weapons contributions like tanks). Basically the leak was like saying, "Oh no, Putin, whatever you do please don't attack Bakhmut, anywhere but there!" Something tells me the Ukrainians aren't inclined to give Putin good advice about how to hurt them.
Playing the conscription issues up in the media only serves to draw Russian attention to that weakness, too. So why are the Ukrainians permitting these stories to leak, or at least not taking any measures to limit their impact on the information space? One such story was about a man with no hands being denied an exemption from conscription, despite having been classified officially as permanently disabled for his entire life. It is an insane and ridiculous story of bureaucratic incompetence, which if true I would have expected the Ukrainians to suppress during war time because it makes them look so incompetent (again, note how the whiff of corruption and incompetence appeals to Putin's preconceived notions about Ukrainians) and because it was limited enough in scope that it could have been kept away from western reporters (unlike something as pervasive as widespread resistance to conscription). Instead the story was almost actively promoted by UAF-friendly sources like the Economist, which I believe broke the story originally. The Economist is quite explicitly pro-Ukrainian and is also cozy enough with the Ukrainian leadership to have gotten exclusive in-depth interviews with Zelensky, Zaluzhny, Budanov, Syrsky, and others, some of which I even linked as sources above. So it is out of character for them to publish such a lurid anecdote of Ukrainian incompetence.
On the other hand, if the Ukrainians wanted to convince the Russians that they are having manpower issues, one of the easiest ways to do so would be to send out their recruiters and encourage them to employ excessive aggression. Then to leak, plant, falsify, or simply permit publication of stories about the absurd lengths those officials are going to conscript new troops. The Russians would then pick up on the stories and possibly inaccurately infer manpower deficits. Even if the Russian intelligence agencies interpret the stories differently, Putin is more likely to disregard them and rely on media reports than he would have been in past years, before the FSB's incredibly inaccurate pre-war assessments of Ukraine contributed to his decision to invade. It would not surprise me at all to learn that Putin regularly reviews Russia-related press clippings from the Economist to understand how critical issues are being presented in the western media, even if only as part of a larger security or political briefing packet. In fact it would surprise me if he doesn't review at least a sampling of stories from western media, likely heavily biased toward traditional print media with wide influence like the Economist. Which makes it a viable channel for shaping Putin's perceptions, and the man without hands seems like the perfect attention grabbing detail to make sure he sees that particular story.
So basically, propaganda cuts both ways. We are operating in an information space that is quite intentionally shaped by Ukraine, and so should be careful in our conclusions about what is happening beneath the fog of war. Although, I would suggest that it's probably a good starting assumption that the Ukrainian leaders have not become suddenly much less intelligent or less capable than they have been over the last year of this war. Which isn't to say they are perfect, or that we won't see them lose their edge over time. Just that a sudden, rapid, simultaneous decline in Zaluzhny's, Zelensky's, Syrsky's, Budanov's, and the rest of the Ukrainian leadership's intelligence, judgment, and ability would be extremely unlikely. Especially if that decline persisted for a long time, as the decision to hold Bakhmut has, with ample opportunity for correction based on the widespread alarm about UAF losses.

1) AUBREY ZULEGER (ズレガー オーブリー) ♀ - Age: 17. Height: 5'. Hair: Black. Eyes: Dark Hazel. Pilot of the RX-2000-A Valkyrie Yulong: the Pink Gundam of Spectrum. Born out of a high school fling as the middle of three sisters, Aubrey has gone through life with few if any people to turn to. Due to incidents and demonstrations of her Newtype abilities coming out when she is placed in situations of stress, her own birth father sees her as a curse. Used as the scapegoat for her mother, sisters and step-father; Aubrey made few friends going through public secondary high school. Abused much of her life, Aubrey sees in the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force a ticket to either a better life or a glorious death that will end her pain. When she is caught in the Imperium attack on her moon of Titan, Aubrey escapes in a Gundam which takes her on an adventure of self-discovery and building a better family.
2) ERICA AZRAEL (アズラーイール エリカ) ♀ - Age: 28. Height: 6'4". Hair: Dark Ginger. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-X Helios: the Orange Gundam of Space. Erica is a Newtype who has served in the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force with distinction from when she enlisted at the age of 18 and received her officers' commission at 23. Appointed as one of the Co-Wing Leaders of Solar Wing alongside Sierra Chay, Erica may seem rowdy and loud in fighting the CDEF battles - even being a hard-partying and drinking lady eager to score with the male and female species alike. But underneath that exterior is a warm and caring woman who sees fellow Newtypes as the family she must protect and will lay down the law if anyone goes too far or has a problem with someone else. Upon seeing what should be one of her own Gundams piloted by Aubrey, she seeks to draft the latter and get her the help she truly needs.
3) GABRIELA TULPER (トゥルパー ガブリエラ) ♀ - Age: 18. Height: 5'8". Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the RX-2000-1 Mercury: the Blue Gundam of Water. Gabriela is a rich noble of the Mercury colony of Narada that saw her home destroyed when the Imperium launched an attack on Narada. She joined the Solar Wing of CDEF in their liberation of Narada to help free her home world from the Imperium. She admires Erica and quickly develops a muted dislike of Aubrey due to their like minds and Aubrey's self-destructive outlook. Her dislike eventually turns to full-blown jealousy as she challenges Aubrey to a duel. Eventually, she realizes that Aubrey could be her best comrade but she'll will make constant attempts to win both Erica and Sierra's favor every so often. Gabriela often makes great efforts to appear smarter whilst closing herself off from others out of fear of rejection, but wishes she could be a good doctor.
4) MIO NGUYEN (グエン 澪) ♂ - Age: 13. Height: 4'8". Hair: Black. Eyes: Brown. Pilot of the RX-2000-B D'Artagnan Wukong: the Ruby Gundam of Anima. Like the young Sun Wukong as seen in Journey to the West; the Newtype known as Mio is headstrong/impulsive, agile to an insane degree, and has a penchant for not respecting authority figures who have not earned a right to wield such authority in his eyes. And like D'Artagnan in The Three Musketeers; Mio is also very romantic, not very smart in terms of the literary-minded, and eagerly jumps into all manner of danger to help those truly in need. At first unable to comprehend how a talented and capable woman like Aubrey could ever need help, Mio soon sees himself being drawn into Aubrey's world fighting against Callisto forces. Hailing from the wrecked Neo Gascony colony on Ceres, he is the first boy Aubrey takes under her wing to gain her first apprentice.
5) IRIS MOREAU (モロー アイリス) ♀ - Age: 27. Height: 5'8". Hair: Blonde. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the RX-2000-2 Venus: the Yellow Gundam of Light. Back in her civilian life, she tries to do the best she can to help friends in need, but sometimes a disaster gear kicks in way too early. Iris is also infamous for using mixed-up proverbs and officially refers to herself as "Goddess of Love," a title which she uses to try to solve others' love woes. However; she is loyal and caring to a fault for as a fellow Newtype, she wears her heart on her sleeve and sees Aubrey for what she is and can be - a true friend. She's the joker of Solar Wing out of and sometimes in combat. She may take her duties seriously, but for the rest of the time, Iris prefers to spend her time goofing off, cracking jokes, pulling pranks, seeking thrills and just living life up. But if the chips are down, Iris is ruthless when protecting Aubrey from all bullies and the Imperium.
6) KAI PARRISH (パリッシュ 海) ♀ - Age: 19. Height: 5'8". Hair: Brown. Eyes: Brown. Pilot of the RX-2000-3 Terra: the Brown Gundam of Earth. Honest and truthful in showing potential as a leader, Kai was brought up in Midwestern America on the Cherokee reservations by her parents who were equally as doting and permissive as they were firm and involved when they needed to be, so Kai can be powerful in battle and is ever courageous. Many might take her her not being a completely idealized feminine heroine as denial of someone's wish fulfillment and invite scorn, but Kai is out to show them wrong with skill in piloting the Terra Gundam as third-in-command of Solar Wing. Kai is the individualist Newtype and freedom-loving - one who cares about getting time over to do the things she wants to do. But she still gets along very well with all of Solar Wing, and she will always play her part well when it really matters.
7) SIERRA CHAY (シェイ シエラ) ♀ - Age: 28. Height: 6'4". Hair: Violet. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-XI Luna: the White Gundam of Electricity. Sierra is also a top Newtype in the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force all with distinction from when she enlisted at the tender age of 18 and received her officers' commission at 23. Appointed as one of the Co-Wing Leaders of the Solar Wing alongside Erica Azrael, Sierra may seem dispassionate and or quiet in her preferred duties - even being more comfortable with home front activities and the day-to-day administration. But underneath her icy exterior is a fierce and driven woman who sees fellow Newtypes as the family she must protect and will lay down the law if anyone goes too far or has a problem with someone else. Unlike Erica who sees a great potential for Aubrey in flying a Gundam, Sierra sees Aubrey's self-destructive nature as the liability it is.
8) FLASH VAN WARREN (ヴァンウォーレン フラッシュ) ♂ - Age: 14. Height: 4'9.5". Hair: Blonde. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the RX-2000-E Athos Tripitaka: the Amber Gundam of Soul. Like the young Tripitaka as seen in the Journey to the West; the Newtype known as Flash is rather reserved and devoted to not sullying himself with physical relationships, more of their long-range tactician, and has a knack for getting himself into trouble which the others have to bail him out of. And like Athos in The Three Musketeers; Flash is also protective of children, not very emotive and taciturn in handling his fellow pilgrims, and more melancholy than others in trying to come to terms with the loss of his family and some friends to the Imperium. At first unable to comprehend how a talented and driven woman like Aubrey could ever need help, Flash soon sees himself being drawn into Aubrey's world in fleeing Vestia's Neo Perth.
9) MIYOSHI KUGA (久我 三好) ♀ - Age: 26. Height: 5'8". Hair: Black. Eyes: Violet. Pilot of the RX-2000-4 Mars: the Red Gundam of Fire. Miyoshi has a bit of a bad temper, but she is a true friend to all on the inside once you get to know her better. Before joining CDEF, she had her job as a shrine maiden at the local Shinto Temple in Neo Osaka around Mars where she lived and may sometime go back to visit, and that is where she learned to channel herself and her Newtype abilities into the psychic world and the psychic into her fire. For all of their fights every so often as friends do, Miyoshi would actually prefer her friends and potential suitors to be more vulnerable as well as open about their emotions - as such, Kai and Aubrey are the golden standard by which she measures any potential new acquaintances. As a top member of Solar Wing and finding her connection to the Mars Gundam, Miyoshi is out to find her way.
10) NADIRA MULLER (ミュラー ナディラ) ♀ - Age: 20. Height: 5'8". Hair: Black. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-5 Jupiter: the Green Gundam of Forest. Being the resident tough girl of Solar Wing who hails from the Neo Zanzibar colony on Ganymede, many people feared her, but Nadira doesn't feel alone, as her squadron mates are always there, even when she is in a bad mood. She also practices judo and karate to keep up her fitness levels as well as serve as therapist for the others. Despite her tomboyish exterior, Nadira is a sweet person who enjoys cooking, gardening, flower arranging and handicrafts; and she dreams of getting married and owning a combined floral bakery shop. Her green thumb and Newtype abilities of hers make her perfect to pilot the Jupiter Gundam. Whenever Aubrey is getting involved with the Solar Wing, Nadira's motherly side comes out as the two become rather protective of each other.
11) SAMARA FORESTER (フォレスター サマラ) ♀ - Age: 25. Height: 5'8". Hair: Blonde. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-6 Saturn: the Purple Gundam of Shadow. Showing attitude and a thirst for battle, there are signs not all is right with her and she might be developing some form of Newtype PTSD. She has been consumed by battle ever since her brothers and sisters were seriously injured in the attacks on the Neo Burlington colony of Enceladus, constantly pushing things well beyond her physical limits and has a tendency to lose self-control when the battle goes against Solar Wing. The Saturn Gundam must have reached out to her via her vast Newtype abilities to give her an outlet to express herself. But when Aubrey is involved in the affairs of Solar Wing, Samara gets the mirror reflection of herself and she sees that what Aubrey and she have in common could get them both killed - and fear it boiling over into war.
12) VINCE COLEMAN (コールマン ヴィンス) ♂ - Age: 16. Height: 5'1.5". Hair: Black. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-C Porthos Wujing: the Emerald Gundam of Gravity. Like the tall Sha Wujing as seen in the Journey to the West; the Newtype known as Vince is powerful and yet loyal to all his friends while even having a penchant for light humor to make situations bearable, a friend to all children, and is more of a father to everyone around them than their own dads. And just as with Porthos in The Three Musketeers; Vince is also the ever rollicking, romantic life of the party. Even as a strong African-American young man, he is the rare manic pixie dream guy of being a Newtype who is a "gentle guy" to Aubrey's "broken babe". Some are resigned to or refuse the call to adventure, but the hometown boy of Neo Harlem, Pallas is one who actively sought out the call in hopes of finding friends who share in his passions.
13) TANYA KRIKALEV (クリカレフ ターニャ) ♀ - Age: 24. Height: 5'8". Hair: Gainsboro. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the RX-2000-7 Uranus: the Black Gundam of Sky. When the Imperium struck against Neo Leningrad on Oberon, Tanya was separated from both her parents but maintains hope that they are still alive on Oberon and someday they'll be reunited. Because of her lack of contact with the rest of the Wing, she is only really close to Erica and Sierra although her compassionate and submissive personality means she's kind and accepting of everybody in or affiliated with Solar Wing. Her dreams of the sky and ability to read the cosmic winds makes her the prime candidate for the Newtype pilot of the Uranus Gundam. Whenever Tanya finds Aubrey getting involved with Solar Wing and bringing Pilgrim Squadron with her, she finds a crush for her in Flash as well as the chance to be the big sister Aubrey never had growing up.
14) LILLIAN ROBLEDO (ロブレド リリアン) ♀ - Age: 21. Height: 5'8". Hair: Brown. Eyes: Red. Pilot of the RX-2000-8 Neptune: the Silver Gundam of Ocean. Hailing from the Earth colony of Neo Santiago on Triton, Lillian's family are miners who make a living converting the frozen icy surface of the moon into water and ammonia. Curious as to where the water is supposed to go, Lillian finds herself drawn to the seas and able to manipulate water around her with a set of Newtype abilities she is discovering for herself. This makes her the prime candidate for piloting the Neptune Gundam for Solar Wing. Unlike Tanya who is shyer and conventionally more feminine than her; the more tomboyish Lillian can be full of energy, jumps around a lot, and speaks in a sing-songy voice. Eager to show off and enjoy the finer things life has to offer, Lillian sees her own sister in Aubrey and strives to thaw a frozen heart with some patience.
15) REEMA AL-YASIN (ヤッセン リマ) ♀ - Age: 22. Height: 5'8". Hair: Black. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the RX-2000-9 Pluto: the Gold Gundam of Time. The Neo Riyadh colony on Charon is one of the first targets of the Imperium of Callisto's operations - especially for raw materials to be used in building their war machine to secure supremacy in the Solar System. Reema is now an orphan due to the Imperium crashing the Kerberos VII colony into Charon, and barely escaped with her life due to manifesting Newtype abilities of shifting herself and others both forward and backward in time. Found and chosen by the Pluto Gundam, Reema has a grudge against the primarily Aryan (tall, slender, fair-skinned, blue-eyed, blonde) members of all the Imperium - especially Maxx Zaldivar. Being rehabilitated alongside Aubrey into Solar Wing is no small feat, but Reema finds a support network in them as she discovers her own person.
16) ULF SOLBERG (ソルベルグ ウルフ) ♂ - Age: 15. Height: 4'11.5". Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the RX-2000-D Arimos Bajie: the Sapphire Gundam of Illusion. Like the younger Zhu Bajie as seen in Journey to the West; the Newtype known as Ulf is smart and something of a warrior poet while even having a penchant for rather vulgar humor to make their situations bearable, and tries to be a hit with the ladies while treating them with respect. And as with Arimos in The Three Musketeers; Ulf is also the dependable one for common sense as well as coming up with inventions alongside his crush Gabriela. Even as the intelligent Scandinavian young man he is, Ulf at first is reluctant to be paired with Pilgrim Squadron. But after a strike by the Imperium forces against his colony Neo Stockholm on Juno, he has little elsewhere to go for support. Freed from obligations, Ulf commits to being the best brother for Aubrey.
MECHA/ARSENAL
1) RX-2000 VALKYRIE GUNDAM-TYPE MOBILE SUIT - Height: 21.7 meters. Fighting Weight: 32.2 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. Raw Power Output: 3500 kilowatts. Sensor Range: 22K Meters. Weapon(s): 2x Beam Sabers, 1x Shield, 1x Hyper Bazooka and 1x Beam Rifle. Designed and built by Yatate Enterprises especially for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the Valkyrie Gundams are made to last while also serving as the expression of Newtypes in CDEF. Each colored Gundam represents a very specific element or power that a space body is emblematic of. En route to a CDEF dedication ceremony on Titan, their CDEF carrier is attacked and the pink Valkyrie Yulong Gundam falls into the possession of Aubrey Zuleger. She fights off an Imperium attack and escapes in the Gundam looking for sanctuary. All sixteen of the Gundams are the heroes of this Solar War.
2) CVABB-79 OLYMPUS - Height: 200 meters. Length: 600 meters. Beam: 400 meters. Total Wingspan: 200 meters. Fighting Weight: 47000 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Fusion Reactor. Top Speed: 25000 kilometers an hour. Propulsion: 13x Thermonuclear Rocket Jet Engines. Class: Pantheon-class Assault Carrier Battleship. Weapon(s): 5x 3-barrel Primary Shock Cannons, 2x twin Mega Particle Cannons, 8x 4-tube Fore Missile Launchers, 1x 4-tube Aft Missile Launcher, 22x twin Anti-Aircraft Guns. Designed and built by Tomino Aeronautics Engineering for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the United Solar Vessel (USV) Olympus serves as home for both Solar Wing and Pilgrim Squadron in all their tours of duty across the Solar System. Able to house multiple Core Fighters and Mobile Weapons, the Olympus is always a welcome sight and a defender of all that our heroes are fighting to save.
3) RX-1991 CORSAIR GUNCANNON-TYPE MOBILE SUIT - Height: 18.75 meters. Fighting Weight: 60.5 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. Raw Power Output: 1400 kilowatts. Sensor Range: 20K Meters. Weapon(s): 2x 240mm Cannons, 1x Hyper Bazooka and 1x Beam Rifle. Designed and built by Yatate Enterprises especially for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the Corsair Guncannons are meant to be a middle-range support mobile suit to complement both the RX-2000 Valkyrie Gundams and the RX-1961 Taurus Guntanks in their ground operations. Serving mainly as CDEF's primary artillery unit, the Corsair's design prioritizes durability over mobility and precludes the use of melee weapons. While it is less agile and mobile than a Gundam, a Guncannon is still useful with its pair of shell-firing cannons that can penetrate heavy armor of any Imperium forces.
4) SF-XV CORE BLOCK FIGHTER - Height: 3.38 Meters. Length: 8.75 Meters. Wingspan: 7.25 Meters. Weight: 9 metric tons. Power Plant: Nuclear Fusion Generator. Speed: 6K kilometers per hour (in space)/4K kilometers per hour (in planetary atmospheres). Weapon(s): 4x 25mm Vulcan Guns and 2x 4-shot Anti-Ship Missile Launchers. Designed and mass-produced by one United Solar Alliance specifically for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the Core Block Fighter makes up the spear of CDEF's aerospace superiority forces. Originally seen in development as a cockpit capsule that also served as an escape mechanism, United Solar Alliance sought to capitalize on the further development of Yatate Enterprises' mobile suits by creating a Core Block System that turns the fighter into an augmented core and cockpit for mobile weapons such as the RGM-1976 Spartan, RX-1982 Taurus and RX-1991 Corsair.
5) RGM-1976 SPARTAN GM-TYPE MOBILE SUIT - Height: 18.5 Meters. Fighting Weight: 50.5 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. Power Output: 1300 kilowatts. Sensor Range: 6K Meters. Weapon(s): 60mm Vulcan Gun, 2x Beam Sabers, 1x Shield, 1x Hyper Bazooka and 1x Beam Rifle. Designed and soon mass-produced by Yatate Enterprises specifically for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the Spartan GM is the most common form of mobile suit used by CDEF rank and file. Its standard frame is readily adaptable to every manner of modification into mission-specific Spartan models, and holds a fairly high level of mobility, for the time, both on Earth and in space. Many Spartans are used as trainer crafts for Mobile Suit pilots, which make it easier for non-Newtype CDEF officers to join the fray. But their lighter titanium armor is less durable than the Gundams.
6) RX-1961 TAURUS GUNTANK-TYPE MOBILE SUIT - Height: 15.3 Meters. Fighting Weight: 68 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. Power Output: 900 kilowatts. Sensor Range: 6K Meters. Weapon(s): 2x 120mm Low-Recoil Cannons and 2x 4-tube 40mm Arm Missile Launchers. Designed and built by Yatate Enterprises especially for the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force, the Taurus Guntanks possess the torso and arms of a mobile suit, but use caterpillar treads for their legs. Serving as CDEF's ground superiority units, the Taurus' design prioritizes durability over mobility and precludes the use of melee weapons. While it is less agile and mobile than other mobile suits, a Guntank is still useful with its array of shell-firing cannons that can penetrate heavy armor of any Imperium forces. Many are designed around a crew complement of a primary drivepilot and gunner.
7) CMS-07 SOMU-TYPE MOBILE SUIT - Height: 18.45 Meters. Fighting Weight: 67.5 metric tons. Power Plant: Minovsky-Ionesco Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. Raw Power Output: 1100 kilowatts. Sensor Range: 4K Meters. Weapon(s): 1x Shield, 1x 105mm Callisto Machine Gun, 1x Callisto Hyper Bazooka and 1x Heat Sword. The mainstay of the Imperium of Callisto; the Somu-type Mobile Suit is faster, more durable and versatile than a great many of its forbears in CDEF in spite of their vast numbers contributing to their disposable nature. Many high-ranking commanders in Callisto forces use custom-painted and custom-armed variants as an expression of storied victories over many adversaries like Maxx Zaldivar's Crimson Serpent. Curiously, Aubrey's secret Newtype benefactor pilots his own modified Somu with its Beam Sword in a striking color scheme that allows for infiltration of Callisto ranks and sabotage.
PRIMARY ANTAGONISTS - IMPERIUM OF CALLISTO (カリストの帝国)
1) IMPERATOR PIETRO VON VIDMAR (皇帝 ピエトロ フォン ヴィドマー) ♂ - Age: 35. Total Height: 6'3.5". Hair: Silver. Eyes: Blue. In short and at most charitable, Pietro is best described as ambitious, underhanded, overconfident, and a feared motivator. As the essential leader of Callisto, Pietro belittles the dwindling power of his siblings and continuously schemes to turn the Solar War into a total war. He and his siblings Elise and Tobias are constantly at odds with each other as the three possess similar political goals but different methods with some of the rank and file pushing to fall behind Maxx Zaldivar. Over the course of the War as both Solar Wing and Pilgrim Squadron inflict devastating losses on Callisto forces, Pietro expects he will be betrayed and schemes to find the Newtype Gundam pilot Aubrey Zuleger so his forces break her. Even so, he'll have to get past Zaldivar's own obsession with the CDEF's rising star.
2) MAXX ZALDIVAR (ザルディバー マックス) ♂ - Age: 21. Height: 5'10". Hair: Blonde. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the Custom CMS-07 Somu-type Mobile Suit "Crimson Serpent". Maxx is always seen dressed in his red Callisto uniform and mostly wears a Callisto commander helmet with goggles to conceal his real identity. Maxx's personality is a mix of passion, charisma, pride, vengefulness and charm. Perhaps his most dominant characteristic is charisma, which makes him a genuine leader. Maxx’s skill as a pilot combined with his charisma cause many people to respect and willingly follow his command, while instilling fear in his opponents. A rival for dominant characteristic is Maxx's tendency to hold deep grudges - such as towards Callisto's Imperator Von Vidmar for the slaughter of his family and friends, as well as both Tobias and Aubrey Zuleger for their defeats of him in Mobile Suit combat throughout the ongoing War.
3) ELISE VON VIDMAR (エリーゼ フォン ヴィドマー) ♀ - Age: 25. Height: 5'8". Hair: Red. Eyes: Green. Pilot of the Custom CMS-07 Somu-type Mobile Suit "Verde Eagle". Elise is seen dressed in a green Callisto uniform and also wears a Callisto commander helmet with goggles to show her identification with some of Maxx Zaldivar's ideals. Elise had both political and military ambitions at a young age and will try to establish military and political channels both on her own and with her brother Tobias in order to compete with their elder brother Pietro over who should have the right to rule the Solar System if Callisto is victorious. Using Mobile Suits and Newtypes to her advantage as Maxx suggests, Elise is playing her elder brother into a trap for him to fail and her to become the new Imperator. That is not to say she lacks traits that aren't admirable. She's been known to be heartfelt and honest with troops she will lead.
4) ILHAN ILSUNG (イルハン イルソン) ♂ - Age: 35. Height: 6'2". Hair: Brown. Eyes: Brown. Commanding Officer of the Callisto Imperium's Flagship Mobile Suit Carrier Babylon, Pilot of the Custom CMS-07 Somu-type Mobile Suit "Silver Bullet". Ilhan is sometimes seen dressed in a yellow Callisto uniform and wears a Callisto commander helmet with goggles to show his identification with some of Maxx Zaldivar's ideals. Having seen the Von Vidmar patriarchy's cruelty firsthand in the assassination of Callisto Zaldivar, Ilhan and his wife Xenia Sutherland smuggled young Maxx to freedom and trained him in piloting Mobile Suits while giving him a good education so he could avenge his family against Imperator Pietro. An experienced agent and officer, Ilhan never has a foul mood towards any of the men serving under him so long as a code of ethics he instills is followed. He only fights so Callisto colonies can live in freedom.
5) TOBIAS VON VIDMAR (トビアス フォン ヴィドマー) ♂ - Age: 21. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Pilot of the Custom CMS-07 Somu-type Mobile Suit "Azure Ghost". Tobias is sometimes seen outfitted in his blue Callisto uniform and wears a Callisto commander helmet with goggles to show his identification with some of Maxx Zaldivar's ideals. Among one of the more moral and nobler members of the Callisto Imperium, Tobias is shrewd enough to ally with his sister Elise and Maxx Zaldivar against their brother Pietro. On the other hand, he is young and very beautiful in a feminine way which makes him both the envy and goal of every female officer in the Callisto Imperial Military. He is one of the few who shows equal respect to each of his officers be they normal or Newtype. Very few in the Imperium know that Tobias is in fact the mysterious benefactor who has been watching out for Aubrey since they were little kids.
SERIES EPISODE PROPOSAL

• Initial Series Order - 129 Half-Hour Episodes, 1 Quintuple-Length Movie
• $5 Million/¥6 Million per Half-Hour = $670 Million/¥81.5 Billion for Total Series

SEASON 1

1. Episode 1 - Callisto Imperium Invades Titan
2. Episode 2 - Aubrey Escapes Her Family
3. Episode 3 - Aubrey Discovers Valkyrie Yulong
4. Episode 4 - Aubrey Fights Off Callisto
5. Episode 5 - New Aoteroa Colony Evacuated
6. Episode 6 - Launch of the Olympus
7. Episode 7 - Welcome to Solar Wing
8. Episode 8 - The Pilgrim Quest Begins
9. Episode 9 - Neo Gascony Colony Attacked
10. Episode 10 - Mio Rescues D'Artagnan Wukong
11. Episode 11 - Hypotheses on the Newtypes
12. Episode 12 - Neo Harlem Colony Falls
13. Episode 13 - Callisto Officially Declares War
14. Episode 14 - Tension Among Vidmar Patriarchy
15. Episode 15 - Vince Finds Porthos Wujing
16. Episode 16 - Aubrey's Troubling Tragic Past
17. Episode 17 - Neo Stockholm Colony Battle
18. Episode 18 - Arimos Bajie Chooses Ulf
19. Episode 19 - Solar Wing Training Day
20. Episode 20 - Neo Perth Colony Siege
21. Episode 21 - Flash Joins Athos Tripitaka
22. Episode 22 - Pilgrim Squadron United
23. Episode 23 - Voyaging Onward to Mars
24. Episode 24 - Aubrey's Secret Benefactor Mystery
25. Episode 25 - Neo Osaka Colony Arrival
26. Episode 26 - Enter Ace Maxx Zaldivar

SEASON 2

1. Episode 1 - The Battle of Mars
2. Episode 2 - Sanctuary at Kuga Shrine
3. Episode 3 - Departure for the Earth
4. Episode 4 - Fire Aboard the Olympus
5. Episode 5 - Trial by Reentry Fire
6. Episode 6 - Heroes' CDEF Headquarters Arrival
7. Episode 7 - Counseling for Aubrey and Samara
8. Episode 8 - Beach Vacation for the Newtypes
9. Episode 9 - Kai's Tribal Home Reservation
10. Episode 10 - Plot to Crash Neo Boston
11. Episode 11 - Battle in Neo Boston Orbit
12. Episode 12 - Newtypes Securing the Earth
13. Episode 13 - Journeying Onward to Venus
14. Episode 14 - CDEF Neo Cannes Arrival
15. Episode 15 - Venus Fuel Mine Unionization
16. Episode 16 - The Callisto Union Infiltration
17. Episode 17 - Spirited Defense of Venus
18. Episode 18 - Day in the Life aboard Olympus
19. Episode 19 - Imperator Pietro's Training
20. Episode 20 - Leaving for Mercury Outpost
21. Episode 21 - Aubrey and Gabriela's Gundam Duel
22. Episode 22 - Ruins of Narada Colony
23. Episode 23 - Gabriela's Family Reunion
24. Episode 24 - Aubrey and Zaldivar's First Duel
25. Episode 25 - The Inner Planets Secured
26. Episode 26 - The Outer Campaign Commences

SEASON 3

1. Episode 1 - CDEF's New Arsenal Preview
2. Episode 2 - Olympus' Lunar Orbit Parking
3. Episode 3 - The Tranquility Colony Mall
4. Episode 4 - Investigating the Zulegers' Past
5. Episode 5 - Tobias Undercover at the Orphanage
6. Episode 6 - Olympus Departing Lunar Orbit
7. Episode 7 - Mobile Suit Upgrade Testing
8. Episode 8 - Erica and Sierra's Night Out
9. Episode 9 - Health of the Newtypes
10. Episode 10 - Theme Park Colony Outing
11. Episode 11 - Amazing Asteroids Park Attacked
12. Episode 12 - Pilgrims Prisoners of Callisto
13. Episode 13 - Callisto Army Group Therapy
14. Episode 14 - Great Escape from Callisto
15. Episode 15 - Trauma of the Pilgrims
16. Episode 16 - Nadira's Secret Therapy Garden
17. Episode 17 - Vince and Nadira Wedding Disguise
18. Episode 18 - The Battle of Europa
19. Episode 19 - CDEF Traitor for Glory
20. Episode 20 - Callisto Traitor for Love
21. Episode 21 - The Zulegers' Cruelty Exposed
22. Episode 22 - Ilhan Ilsung's Final Battle
23. Episode 23 - Funeral for Ilhan Ilsung
24. Episode 24 - The Callisto Triumvirate Unites
25. Episode 25 - Olympus Launching to Saturn
26. Episode 26 - Aubrey in Depression Coma

SEASON 4

1. Episode 1 - Pilgrims Launch Without Aubrey
2. Episode 2 - Callisto Ambush at Saturn
3. Episode 3 - Zaldivar a Prisoner of War
4. Episode 4 - Escape of Maxx Zaldivar
5. Episode 5 - Aubrey Pursues Callisto to Titan
6. Episode 6 - Neo Aoteroa School Reunion
7. Episode 7 - Zuleger and Forester Estates' Ruins
8. Episode 8 - Aubrey Meets Mysterious Benefactor
9. Episode 9 - Tobias Von Vidmar's History
10. Episode 10 - Voyage Onward to Uranus
11. Episode 11 - Krikalev Family Album Musing
12. Episode 12 - The Temple of Oberon
13. Episode 13 - Guntank Patrol in Neo Leningrad
14. Episode 14 - A Deserter from Callisto
15. Episode 15 - The Newtype Concentration Camp
16. Episode 16 - Taking Off for Neptune
17. Episode 17 - Swimming in Zero Gravity
18. Episode 18 - Discovery in the Collector
19. Episode 19 - Imperator Pietro's Ultimate Betrayal
20. Episode 20 - An Alliance of Necessity
21. Episode 21 - Olympus Runs Silent Lurking
22. Episode 22 - Sinking the Imperator's Flagship
23. Episode 23 - Imperium Civil War Begins
24. Episode 24 - The Quest for Pluto
25. Episode 25 - Reema's Toxic Grudge
26. Episode 26 - A Night in Solitary

SEASON 5

1. Episode 1 - Callisto Base on Pluto
2. Episode 2 - Mio and Lillian's Date
3. Episode 3 - Treating Prisoners of Callisto
4. Episode 4 - Gabriela and Ulf Romance
5. Episode 5 - The Outer Campaign Endgame
6. Episode 6 - Survivors of New Riyadh
7. Episode 7 - Renegade CDEF Admiral's Rampage
8. Episode 8 - Séance of the Newtypes
9. Episode 9 - Flash and Iris' Movie Night
10. Episode 10 - Gundam Pilots Training Unite
11. Episode 11 - Mass Produced Automated Somus
12. Episode 12 - Sweeping the Floating Mines
13. Episode 13 - The Siege of Kerberos
14. Episode 14 - Callisto Outer Base Falls
15. Episode 15 - Imperator Pietro Begins Escape
16. Episode 16 - Olympus' Pursuit to Earth
17. Episode 17 - Detecting the Remaining Blockade
18. Episode 18 - Callisto Asteroid Fleet Strikes
19. Episode 19 - Evacuation of the Olympus
20. Episode 20 - Destruction of the Olympus
21. Episode 21 - Long Road to Earth
22. Episode 22 - Pietro Marches Upon CDEF
23. Episode 23 - Battle Aboard Galileo VII
24. Episode 24 - Death of Zaldivar and Pietro
25. Episode 25 - CDEF Newtypes' Final Victory

FINALE MOVIE (Sixteen Strode Into Glory)
Little do Pilgrim Squadron, Solar Wing or the Commonwealth Defense and Exploration Force know that Pietro Von Vidmar survived the assassination attempt against him. Pietro finds his mighty Imperium of Callisto falling due to Newtypes and ordinary humans finally combining into an alliance to destroy his pure Universe. Pilgrim Squadron and Solar Wing fly into battle one more time alongside Tobias and Elise to stop Pietro from crashing the new Neo Shinjuku colony into Earth. This main story is both book-ended and interrupted by a future plot which involves Solar Wing and Pilgrim Squadron's members and their families catching back up on the old days with an older Aubrey, her children and grandchildren. The older Aubrey is lucky to be by her friends' sides again ever since Tobias died in the last battle. Now, Aubrey too has to set her final affairs in order having risen above her abusive childhood to gain a happier life.
MERCHANDISING AND PROMOTION

1. Bandai snap-build model kits of mecha and space warships as depicted in series
2. Hasbro-licensed series-accurate Mobile Suit Gundam: Castaway Souls toys, action figures of main characters and mecha to fit figure
3. Collector’s figures of each character (anatomically correct) with interchangeable outfits, hand items and posable joints
4. Licensed video game adaptation for all major consoles and personal computers with Bandai Namco and Koei Tecmo
5. Licensed cosplay costumes of characters and mecha tailor-made and fitted by Cosplay House
6. Collector’s Coffee Mugs/Tea Cups, Stationery, Apparel, Posters, Lobby Cards and Black & White/Color Photo Sheets
7. In conjunction with Japanese and English dubs on TV, streaming Crunchyroll and Netflix, DVD and Blu-Ray, members of the Gundam fan club can enter for chances to win a retro-style VHS videocassette box set of the entire series of Mobile Suit Gundam: Castaway Souls.
8. A marketing campaign will proceed with trailers and spots for cinema, internet, radio, and television.

I can read a story even if the author is controversial because I like their work not the author themselves. Just like how my favorite poems are by a creep that married his cousin. I don’t support your choices, your lifestyle or whatever however I like your work.
Bad Influence is like every other bad boy x popular girl story. I sincerely don’t understand it’s hype and I’m not saying this out of jealousy like when a story gets a shit ton of reads I usually can see why. however this one? I just genuinely don’t get it’s popularity.
A lot of inner monologue is not a deal breaker for me.
I can read a vampire story if the author brings something new to the table.
Some stories in the comedy section lack actual comedy. (Like seriously why are you even in the comedy section)
The innocent mc only gets on my nerves when she’s “too innocent” almost as if she’s childlike in a way then it’s like yeah automatic exist however if she was innocent like Luna from stay the night I don’t mind. I usually don’t like my main characters to be innocent though.
There should be more promiscuous mcs. It’s 2023 need I explain more?
It’s not completely unrealistic for someone to be in high school with tattoos. I went to a school with a few guys with sleeves and we were LEGITIMATELY 14/15. Apparently it was under the table so it does exist.
There should be more bold confident mcs however making them mean and overly arrogant is not how you write a confident mc. Confidence is being sure within yourself of who you are. Making them super mean and arrogant does not equal confidence.
Kendall from bad influence and Pyper from Dirty Business are the worst mcs I’ve ever encountered.
Him and I is extremely overrated.
Aspen from Ricochet is not that bad. I saw somewhere that a lot of people said she was extremely entitled and annoying. I think she’s confident perky assertive and funny at times. Definitely refreshing perspective in comparison to the overally innocent shy mcs or bitchy mean mcs who think being a bitch is a personality trait or somehow equates to confidence.
The Mc from the super clumsy girl is a stalker and she creeps me out. She followed the boy she liked home watched him through the bushes basically pulled a joe and ended up with him.
C.R.E.E.P.Y
Alphan’s use of mean girls in her stories are getting overplayed now. She constantly uses the mean group of kids scheming against the mc trope in like every story and it’s getting boring.
Double Dunked is overrated.
Every story should incorporate side characters with screen time and actual storylines.
College crushing uses a misogynistic slur and nobody points it out. Not sure if the author is a female misogynist but her use of skank is not funny in any way.
The LGBTQ section only has a handful of good stories however the use of gay stereotypes are extremely disturbing which leads me to another point.
I LOVE Lucas’s slay however i can list so many examples in which he uses stereotypical gay stereotyping which offends me as a member of the LGBTQ community. Even some of the jokes are borderline offensive and wasn’t sure if anyone else seemed to have a problem with it but I did from the first moment I read the story. It plays off stereotypes of gay men, the submissive twink and the dominant guy you can’t tell is gay because he’s sOOOo dominant and masculine. As if masculine gays don’t exist.
I actually like Giana from butterfly kisses.
Hell’s stories are extremely repetitive however I’ll argue that this one is actually quite interesting in comparison to her other ones. However this one has an extremely toxic LI.
Kai from in my blood is one of the most toxic love interests I’ve ever encountered on episode besides drake from the sweetest compromise and all the 12 pack mafia dudes.
(Downvote me all you want✌🏼)

The results are in for Match 5. The winner is…
Electra wanted to scream.
She’d seen it. Nadine’s face, exhausted and resolved. A dull and empty, hopeless resolve. Electra was still fighting, knew that she’d got Nadine to really, truly take it seriously. Just a month or two ago, she’d have felt giddy. To see the wrappings of false positivity, false and weak hope torn away, to show something tough underneath.
Electra wanted to scream, she wanted to stop, she wanted to call it off, she wanted to leave. But she couldn’t, now. She’d done it again, one of her “friends” had disappointed her, and there was this…this pit, this awful fucking pit of darkness, it’d covered her, her face and body covered in shadows. A nobody in the shape of a girl, a yawning void. A black hole. It couldn’t let it pass, it had to drag them closer, drag them in, drag them down.
Down to her level.
There was no chance she could get out of it. She’d won, been too successful. She’d seen Nadine’s problems, seen her strife, but she’d just pressed and pressed to see what she would do. It was she that threatened Nadine if she backed down, went easy.
This was Nadine’s checkmate. Electra surrounded on a bare platform, surrounded by electrified water, ready to push her under. Oh yes, Electra could fight back; Nadine had left a spot of shadow behind her, Electra could lash out, could have a vine chomp on her neck, or throw her away, or strike from her own inked body….
And then Electra let go. She relaxed, brought up her arms, and let the vines all vanish. She felt the wires of Nadine’s Stand wrap her, Nadine already looking away. She was tugged, a second crystal stunning her completely, though she had no intention to resist. In that instant, Nadine’s face was obscured in brilliant, terrible light.
Part of Electra giddily wondered if this is what Aisha had felt, the unmerciful resolve, cable digging into her skin. The vines of her own Stand came from the ground, into the water, acting as a ground, something Nadine wouldn’t see.
A part of her was grateful she wouldn’t, that Nadine would not see her so vulnerable, see her in any weakness.
A part of her knew this would really fucking hurt.
Electra hadn’t looked away. That’s something that she was proud of, that she kept her eyes open, didn’t go under, didn’t look away.
It took her a minute after Nadine had relented, thinking her unconscious, had took her down.
She fucking hurt. Every nerve on her body felt like it was fried, and Electra couldn’t move anything properly. It was all she could do to breathe, to keep awake and think. But she could think. Nadine couldn’t see her eyes, thought she was still unconscious.
Electra felt vines sprout from her face, wrap around her limbs, two tiny ones in her mouth to move it. She stood up, looking down at the catatonic Nadine. There was a brief, fleeting thought of finishing things here, but as she breathed, she forced her mouth into speech. There was only one way, only one thing she could ever do to try and fix things. As she spoke in her raw, hoarse voice, Nadine looked up in shock, acted on instinct.
“Rock, paper…”

Electra Heart, with a score of 68 to Nadine Sokenna’s 66!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Electra Heart	16 (4.5+2) - 14 (3.5+2)	A fairly even voting period, with each side gaining a slight advantage over the other at their own points.
Quality	Tie	20 (6 7 7) - 20 (6 7 7)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	22 (7 8 7)- 22 (7 8 7)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

The two sat next to each other. There was a pile of documents, of hard drives, and mercifully no congratulations. Nobody had ‘won’ the fight, but the desert had accepted the other game.
Electra kept a hand to her neck, remembering the feeling of drowning, of pain, of having every part of her body crying out for help. She felt sick. Everything hurt. But she could still talk.
“I’m sorry.” The statement was simple, but she had to force it out, carrying far more weight than Nadine could ever know.
“I made you do this. This was my idea, but when I saw you, looking like…like me, I wanted it to stop. I wanted to stop. I didn’t try and calm down when you opened up to me. I didn’t try to listen to you. To help. I thought I did, kind of, but a part wanted to see if you could be taken down. I’m envious. And then when I saw that resolve, I…I did what I’d thought everyone else had done. I betrayed you. You brought me here, and I hurt you.”
“What’s wrong with you, Nadine? What the hell's wrong with me?“ She began to sniffle, wrapping her arms around herself and digging her trimmed nails into her tawny skin.
“I haven’t always been…like this, you know.” She made a half-hearted gesture to her face. “But in a way, I always have. Let me ask you a question. When you look at me now, what do you see? Do you see me? Or do you see an empty, black void?”
“No.” Nadine whispered. Then silence. Electra moved her hand so it rested inches away from Nadine’s.
“Well, it’s a trick question. The answer is that there’s no difference. I was hollow…I still am. I have one big aspiration, and it’s to get to the top, no matter what. Win and win. But look at me now. Still empty.”
“I don’t have any answers for you. I didn’t give you anything. I think…maybe I took something away. I thought I hated you, but I…I can’t. I won’t. I won’t let you become someone I’d hate. I don’t care if you leave me here. I’d deserve it. But I don’t know what to do now. Anything that’s inside me is so…fucking unpleasant. I don’t know what to chase after.” Her face felt hot and wet and numb.
“You were right. This was useless. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I don’t know what to say. I can’t fix anything. I’m just fucked up.” She gagged. “I…whatever it is, whatever the answer is, it can’t be…that…this. It can’t fucking be this.”
Nadine grabbed her hand, looking intently at her face. “No…” Her voice was a hesitant, awed whisper. “It isn’t.” Electra wilted at the intensity of her stare. “You aren’t empty. Look.”
She pointed to one of the walls, and Electra looked at her reflection, her eyes sullen, puffy and red-
Her eyes. They widened, black encroaching on them, but dripping out onto her hands as tears. For the first time in years, she saw her eyes, hers. Green and gross with one of her contacts slipping, but still hers.
She didn’t wipe them. Once her tears were gone, the shadow would return, but….
She had to leave. There were no answers here. She squeezed Nadine’s hand.
“I want to go home.”
If you’re sick of back-to-back water-themed matches, check out this match between an android and a contract demon fighting water clones in the middle of a...dance off?!
(Shoutouts to the team of Atrocity Exhibition for the match concept and write up!)
Scenario: Suburb of Belgrade, Serbia — 2:16 PM
This used to be a hospital, but it clearly hadn't been used like that for some time. Orange and purple paint streaked the walls like blood, the foliage inside grew even more dense, the sickly-sweet air growing more humid by the moment. The hallways were packed with people, but Brandy Judge could hardly linger as she was rushed higher into the complex.
She was no stranger to working with other criminals, even those with weird theming—one of her teams’ collaborators commissioned himself a weaponized fursuit, after all. But this was on a whole other level—if anything, this overrun hospital brought to mind the one she infiltrated on a rescue mission in Tunisia. Thankfully, there were no no plant-overrun zombies around, just people in cultish garb, she reassured herself, before preparing herself to meet with their leader.
In the room that once was a hospital administrators’ office, lounging on a throne made of plants, metal, and wood was Frederick Loverman, or rather, what was left of him after his untimely demise in the Algerian desert. He looked far different than the last time Brandy saw him- when the two butted heads while searching for information in a Moroccan bazaar.
”Well well, it’s been some time, hasn’t it, Ms. Judge?” The former Atrocity Exhibition leader smirked, basking in the singular ray of sunshine that streamed through a hole in the roof, the only source of light in the room. Brandy couldn’t help but notice the obvious.
“Dude, what the fuck happened to you? You…you look like a houseplant.” Brandy tried to project confidence into her voice, though she couldn’t help but think about Tunisia. But had to be something else, something to do with his reported death at the hands of COLOSSI’s Sovereign.
Frederick sneered a moment, before the expression curled into a smile. The former human looked to be half nature spirit and half corpse. He tapped the arm of his throne with an arm of twisted wood as he watched his former adversary with gleaming blue-gold eyes.
“It's a bit too much to explain, but you’re here for business, not my personal life.” Frederick laughed. “I’m glad you were open to my probe. I have no lack of followers, but they still retain their human weaknesses. I am in need of Stand users to help me in my campaign. I have eventually decided that you might be able to help.”
“Everyone else turned you down, didn’t they? Not much of a surprise, you look like a real creep.” Brandy tried very hard to keep her gaze above Frederick’s thorny crown as she spoke. She did not want to stare too long at the large, maw-like wound in his abdomen. It pulsed with whatever vine-like cobalt organs kept Frederick alive.
She hadn’t seen the fight with Mx. Wah, but she had heard the rumors. Brandy found herself having to swallow a sudden jolt of anger. Sure, Frederick was an absolute son-of-a-bitch, but to do something like that to a person…It was unthinkable. Not to mention the fact it must have made him into this thing.
Frederick simply shot Brandy a sneer. ”I see you haven’t lost your attitude,” he glowered down at her, as the golden roses adorning his body ruffled angrily.
Brandy’s ward, Evelyn, stood next to her, steepling their hands as they glanced between her and Frederick. She was the one who contacted Brandy, as she was currently working on Frederick’s behalf. “Let’s just, uh, move to the deal.”
”Of course, Evelyn. Let us continue.” Frederick gave a wide grin and shuffled to clasp his hands together, gesturing towards Brandy. Evelyn shuffled uncomfortably at that. ”But regardless…You have a bone to pick with the Millennium Collection, don’t you?”
Brandy’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I- Wait…I thought they were your boss?”
Frederick seemed agitated at that, slamming his wooden hand against the arm of his chair. “Those fools control me no longer! I am my own ruler!”
“Yeah…gotcha.” Brandy shrugged. “So…you want me to beat up some guys?”
“In essence, yes. Specifically, I want you to target their financial department in Bulgaria. It’s been exceedingly weak as of late, and my team has been able to siphon both information and funding. We see it as a perfect first step in our greater fight against the Collection.”
“Sure, sure. Not the first time someone’s hired me for this, probably won’t be the last.” She thumped her fists. “Just…break shit, steal things?”
“…Sure, you could put it that way,” Frederick rolled his uncanny eyes. “Evelyn here will escort you there, and we can take care of the details on the w-”
“Wait.” She raised her voice, interrupting Frederick. As Frederick gave her another glare, she met it with a defiant look in her eyes. “I’m not doing this for free. I’m here looking for information…specifically, info on my mom.”
“Your…mother?” Frederick seemed surprised by that for a moment, before he started laughing. His laughter was mirrored and distorted sixfold phantom voices, emanating from the darkened corners of the room. “Oh, you are far from the first, Brandy Judge. Another…contractor was looking for information on a lost love, and Evelyn here…actually came to me for a similarly personal matter!”
Evelyn glanced away, and Brandy gave her a brief curious look before turning back to look at Frederick. “…Sure, whatever, but if you’ve got anything on my mom, I want it now.”
”Why, I haven’t even started looking. But I assure you, as soon as my acolytes find what you’re looking for…We’ll get it to you.” Frederick leaned forwards, combing through his hair with the wooden claws of his hand. ”But I’m curious…why come here for this information? Our last meeting was a competition, which you lost. But here you are. Why? Couldn’t you have just…put her face on some posters? Milk cartons, maybe?” he smirked.
“She’s…deep in the criminal scene here, I’m pretty sure, at least.”
”Ah, of course, of course. Maybe she too became caught in the gears of Millenium Collections’ horrific machine…” He settled back into his seat, stealing blatant glances in Evelyn’s direction that even Brandy could notice. ”I’ll tell you what. Complete this mission for me, and maybe you’ll even kill two birds with one stone!”
“Maybe, maybe.” Brandy rolled her shoulders, and gave Frederick one final glance. “But you’d better fulfill the end of your bargain”
But of course! Look at Evelyn over there, she’s one of my most faithful associates.” He gestured out towards Evelyn, who was already turned away, glancing at her phone.
“Alright, fuck up the finances, get my mom back. Easy peasy.” Brandy turned around towards Evelyn. “Let’s move.”
”Yes, let’s.” Frederick grinned, and stood up from his chain. He extended his hands out, the flowers in his body rustling as he gave them both a glowing, fanged grin. “May this be the first fallen domino in the path that will decimate the Collection.”
Brandy was already bored and uneasy, walking away with Evelyn with a shiver down her spine. The two left the room, back into the winding halls of the colorful, floral complex, she let herself vocalize her thoughts. “Jeez, he’s…somehow even creepier since last time.”
Evelyn only gave a look of understanding as the two walked silently back out the hospital.
Scenario: Provincial Istanbul, Turkey — 5:37 PM

Before the Byzantine Empire gave way to the Ottomans, it spent the millennium in a state of change. It flourished, and then deteriorated, and then flourished again. Yet, through every victory and each defeat, the empire endured. It seemed infallible, too massive to die. But by the start of the 11th century, the empire’s troubles were piling up. It lost territory after territory, bled wealth into neighboring republics, and suffered repeated attacks on its Balkan territories. The Crusades became a terrible power struggle with the West which ended in the first loss of Constantinople, and though the Byzantines barely managed to wrest it back, by then it was already too late. Its infallible status had been chipped away; the Ottoman empire was rising, and quickly swallowed the remains of the Byzantines. However, even the Ottomans were worn away by the sands of time and social upheaval. Following a series of horrific wars and subsequent defeats, the Ottomans lost their grip and became Turkey. After 1500 combined years, two of the most powerful empires in the world were no more.

However, limping on from their fall was the Millennium Collection, clinging onto power with snaking tendrils coiled around the region, one of which is its Financial District, a clotted cluster of buildings located throughout the Balkans, with the main center sitting in the heart of Bulgaria. Much like the Collection itself, the District is a labyrinth of cubicles, spreadsheets, and bank accounts, heaving with ill-gotten gains. It is large enough that someone could regain access to his account and start siphoning money without the Collection even noticing. For a little while, at least.
But “Final Judgement” Alalu, leader of the Millennium Collection, has finally caught Frederick’s scent. While she did not care to spend the resources on pulling weeds, it’s clear he means to become a nuisance.
So she has arranged an audience with the person who killed him.
While a recent raid on the Collection had dispatched many of her fellow high-ranking Stand users in the organization's upper echelons, and ousted the former Final Justice, there was a silver living. Alalu had been informed by the late Crammentazenta, assistant to one Solsbury Hill, that COLOSSI was willing to reach out. So reach out she did.
Mx. Wah had heard that the leader of the Millennium Collection lived in a big island estate, but was surprised to be invited to a cozy log cabin, deep in the woods outside of Istanbul. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged Turkish woman, eyes creased with smile lines.
Wah squinted, before flashing her a sharp-toothed smile of their own. “Have no fear…the Wah is here!”
The woman chuckled, before nodding once, inviting them inside. The moment she turned around, Wah rolled their eyes at her crucifix jewelry, before following behind. The cabin’s interior was predictably quaint, though Wah was surprised to see it covered with animal furs and taxidermy. Yeesh, they thought to themselves. At least Wah has some sense of interior decor. But this meeting was all about putting differences aside for the sake of business. At least there aren’t any…antique record players, the Sovereign shuddered.
Wah draped themselves on the nearest armchair, watching as Alalu poured them both cups of steaming tea, before she took a seat.
“It’s an honour to finally meet you, Mx. Wah,” she began.
“It’s an honour for Wah to meet you too, Judge Judy.”
She gave that one a hearty chuckle. “Please, call me Asli. I’ll be honest though, dear…I’m surprised you agreed to this, after all the trouble our organizations have caused each other.”
Wah shrugged, adding six sugar cubes to their teacup. “Please, that’s in the past, Wah’s already forgotten. There’s no point in fighting, Wah would rather not explode both gangs in a big firestorm. That’d just play into our enemies hands~” They reached forwards for their tea, before grabbing a sugar cube and popping it into their mouth instead.
Asli nodded, casually retrieving the project she was working on. It appeared to be a massive strip of leather, though its surface was tangled with dried blue vines and golden flowers. “Indeed,” she responded, continuing to clean the strange hide. “I called you here because of our common enemy. I found this snooping around my financial headquarters. It seems it wasn’t enough for Frederick to steal our Prestige…he’s been using it on people.”
“That thing was a whole guy!?” Wah shuddered, peeking through the hands covering their face. “Eeeewww ew ew, that’s so gross…”
“This was just a scout…I’m sure there’s more of them. It would be a pain to waste valuable resources dealing with this alone…so that’s why I’ve called you, Mx. Wah. You’ve dealt with Frederick before, and I know that you are a highly capable leader. I admire what you’ve done with COLOSSI, I hope to do the same with the Collection.”
Still crunching their sugar cube, Wah snorted. “Oh good luck, the Collection has always been a hot mess.” Ever since they were Byzantines.
“I am aware…I’ve been working for them a long time, almost forty years now.”
Wah had to hold back a laugh. That’s ‘a long time’? How adorable!
“Even if it’s a mess, it’s large enough to have its own gravity. If you ever try to leave, it simply…pulls you back in.” Quietly, Alalu looked at the only picture on her mantle. It was a faded image of her a couple decades ago, standing with a man and a child. Even there, she looks distracted, as if her spirit resides elsewhere. “I’m sure you know how that feels.”
Wah glanced up from the tower they were idly building out of sugar cubes, looking rather disinterested. “Hm…? Actually, the Wah is kinda here for business, if we could get back to that.”
Alalu laughed again, looking sheepish. “Yes of course, so sorry, dearie. I’ve gotten sentimental at my age. But yes…business. You’ve already fought Loverman once. I suspect he’s planning some sort of attack. If he shows up to gloat, could you be there to finish what you’ve already started? I’ll make sure it’s worth your while, we’ll start this relationship of ours by owing you a favour. You have my word.”
Wah considered this a moment, before sticking out their hand to shake.
“Hmm…alrighty! When Wah finally destroys Frederick, somehow, Wah will figure it out, then we can have our wonderful Wahlliance!” When they gave Alalu that same sharp toothed smile, she returned it with a shake of their hand, as the Collection and COLOSSI pulled themselves closer with gravity shared.
Scenario: Sofia, Bulgaria — 3:41 AM
“Aren’t you a little too young to be going after the Millennium Collection?”
Brandy kept looking out towards the streets the two were driving by, not moving her gaze even as her Evelyn spoke to her. She smirked to herself, reclining in her seat. “Yes, yes I am.”
Evelyn squirmed in the driver’s seat as she chauffeured Brandy to her destination. They knew that her girlfriend had made amends with the girl sitting passenger after the two fought some time ago, but this whole situation put them off. “So…you’re also trying to find your mum by working with Frederick?”
“Mhm.” Brandy finally glanced back. “Freddy said something about you also having some,” she air-quotes, putting on a brief haughty air, “similarly personal matter that you went to him for. What’s that all about?”
Evelyn merely took a breath. “I found out my mom died by the Collection’s hands.”
“Oh.” Brandy looked away. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks.”
“…”
“…”
Evelyn focused on driving the car deep into the Bulgarian backstreets, and after a long, awkward silence, they parked in an alleyway. “Here’s where you get off.”
“…Cool, thanks for the ride.” Brandy was quick to unbuckle her belt and hop out of the car, before Evelyn finally looked over, placing a hand on the dashboard as their gray eyes peered into Brandy’s.
“Even if you manage to find your mum because of this…she might not actually be your mum. Or she could be dead. So, uh, be prepared for all of that.”
“…right.” The worry in their voice made Brandy tense up. But she had handled a lot worse, and no matter how shifty Frederick was, this Evelyn person seemed to get what she was looking for by working with him…didn’t they?
“Okay, uh, the door to the records is just down the alleyway. Good luck.” As Evelyn drove off, Brandy was struck by the fact that despite their professional air, her driver had genuinely meant concern.
No matter. There was a job to do.
Brandy found herself facing the side of an office building, similar to the structures around it, though it was painted a worn, fleshy pink. Frederick had informed her that much of the building was underground. However, what drew Brandy’s attention was not the architecture, but the small crowd gathered around it. Noticing that these were Frederick’s ‘acolytes’, she approached, only to jump back as one turned to look at her. Their eyes were glazed with gold, palled skin crawling with yellow blossoms. It was the closest look she had gotten at one of them, after being rushed through the hospital to meet Frederick.
Suddenly, memories of that horrific excursion struck her like lightning, her hands trembling as she remembered shocking one of those afflicted P-zombies to death. This wasn’t the same as the P-Virus in Tunisia, she reminded herself. It couldn’t be. Which meant…there was more than one. Brandy tried to compose herself, before the acolyte spoke.
“You are Brandy, the one that our Lord sent to command us. What are your orders?”
Brandy felt her stomach tie itself in a knot. Their Lord? Seriously? But of course, this was Frederick; she should have expected this. She wasn’t sure why this was just now upsetting her. But the memories of that rescue mission kept tangling through her mind. The realization that she was dealing with another plant-infested, god-complex maniac, and that she was helping him? It was almost too much to handle.
The acolyte was still looking at her, waiting for orders. Brandy squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the wave of nausea and bitter rage.
She didn’t want to look at it anymore. She didn’t want to remember.
“Just…go on ahead. Fuck them up. I don’t care. Just get- get away from me.”
The sound of footsteps surrounded Brandy, before vanishing into the building. When all was silent, Brandy took a deep breath, opening her eyes. To stop her hands from trembling, she held them. Maybe, maybe when she found her mother, she could hold her hand instead.
“Just get through this, Brandy. Just let them handle themselves, steal as much cash as you can carry, and figure out where she is. You can do this. You can do this.”
With one more breath, Brandy steeled herself and entered the Financial building. The place was mostly silent as she circled the stairwell into the lower levels, taking her time within the isolated. She could hear distant gunshots throughout the building, and tried to ignore them. Maybe if she spiraled down this staircase for long enough, it would already be over.
That was when a new sound tore through the building—the horrible, distorted cry of a wolf. As Brandy frantically looked around, she could see the ghastly pattern of faces in the brickwork. Whatever this was, it probably meant shit was going sideways. As little as Brandy wanted to deal with this, she knew that if she blew this mission she lost her chance at information. She had to at least check.
When Brandy finally burst through the nearest door to find out what was happening, she walked right into a group of acolytes, staring down at one of their fellow followers, whose leg was currently caught in a strange sort of bear trap.
As Brandy tried to swallow her fear, tried to figure out what the hell to do, gunshots echoed through the ceiling above her, before they suddenly went silent. Brandy could feel it, someone was approaching. As ｢Concrete Schoolyard｣ gleamed within her ring, she braced herself for the appearance of some horrific, sadistic crime boss. But the door opened to reveal a middle-aged Turkish woman, her eyes creased with smile lines. Brandy blinked, staring her down with wary confusion.
“Oh, you must be Brandy! How nice to meet you, dear,” the woman greeted warmly. “I’ve heard about your exploits, it’s always nice to see a capable young woman making a name for herself in the Mediterranean. I only wish I could offer you some tea, but…”
Brandy unlaced her fingers and raised her hands defensively. “Ah- what? No, I- you’re definitely with them. You have to be. Who the hell are you!?”
Taking those words as a sign to attack, the acolytes started forwards, guns drawn. Before Brandy could stop them or join them, the woman simply smiled.
“Howl, ｢Wolf Murder｣.”
The moment the guns fired, the air around her twisted with deep red light. The air filled with the sound of metal striking metal, and then it was over.
Towering above the woman was a massive, hulking form. Its powerful body was completely flayed, revealing red, raw musculature wrapped in layers of thick pelts. Blood dripped over its face from beneath the wolf’s head that it wore atop its own. Between the taxidermy and its own visage, three glassy wolf eyes glared the acolytes down with black and golden rage.
“Let me deal with these weeds first, dearie.” Her smile was warm as blood.
｢We Will Commit Wolf Murder｣ bared its fangs as the acolytes charged towards the threat. Snarling, it unfurled a massive skinning knife from its back, a blade nearly as long as Brandy herself. With a single, arcing slice, every acolyte was cleanly sliced in two. Their flayed bodies were flung about the room with the force of the blow, blue flesh squirming with yellow blossoms, which began to writhe and die without the life energy of their hosts. The leathery pelts that peeled from their bodies rained everywhere, joined by pelts stripped from the walls, the floor, everything, all of them twisting into yet more grinning jaw traps. Brandy watched with horror and nausea and anger. Why did everyone take lives so fucking lightly!?
“My name is Alalu, Final Judgement of the Millennium Collection,” Alalu said simply, without gravitas. Even the ceiling in front of her was torn open by the arc of the blade. “I promise, I mean you no harm, dear. I’m simply trying to protect my pack.”
Brandy, unable to summon the words that would express her utter exhaustion, instead turned to the acolyte caught in the trap. Kneeling, she used ｢Concrete Schoolyard｣ to change the trap into a gelatinous substance that she could pry apart. The acolyte stared at her, shaking, unsure of what to do.
“Just- just hide in the stairwell! I’ll handle it!”
Brandy watched them weakly pull themselves towards the door, before she noticed those same twisting faces in the tile below. Running on reflex, she terraformed the floor upwards to shield them…just as a desktop computer SMASHED into the surface, aimed right at their head.
Her gaze snapped up, only to watch a figure descend from above. They leapt with startling grace, their pale hair drifting around them as they gazed down with eyes as dark as the abyss, and sharp fangs gleaming with hunger.
The killing intent that radiated off of them was ancient and absolute.
Then they took a better look at Brandy…and a switch flipped.
“Awawa? Ooops! You’re not Freddy…Wah’s mistake!” They smiled sheepishly, poking their cheek with a finger. Brandy sucked in a breath as she realized who she was dealing with…before her body shook with a rage redoubled.
“You.”
“Me!” Wah landed with a little twirl, before looking to Alalu. “Business homie…is this little scamp bothering you?”
“Are you fucking kidding- you two are working together?”
Alalu nodded, before looking at Wah.
“I’m glad you could join us, Mx. Wah. Miss Brandy seems to have fallen in with some unfortunate company,” she sighed, before looking back to the young woman in question. “We have come to an agreement. Both the Collection and COLOSSI fill important roles in the social ecosystem. We have a duty to fight…invasive species.”
Alalu looked between the two for a moment, before smiling. “But this gives us an opportunity…you’re both Stand users, and it is the nature of Stand users to seek each other out, and prove which one is stronger. I’m quite curious about the answer to that question…so I’ll tell you what. Whoever wins, I’ll compensate you. We’ve got a bit of money stored away…I’ll even take you out for tea,” she beamed.
Then, before Wah or Brandy could agree or disagree, Alalu’s legs took on the flayed appearance of her Stand, and she leapt through the ceiling and out of sight.
That left Brandy Judge and Mx. Wah, standing amidst the corpses and their pelts.
“Sure thing, homie!” Wah called after Alalu, before turning back to Brandy and raising a brow. What a shame they wouldn’t be facing Frederick himself. It was just like him to send someone else. Still…Wah knew well that they were stronger than a little whelp like this. This was an arrangement they made as the leader of COLOSSI, and they were not about to be schooled by some petulant kid up past her bedtime.
If Brandy and her little smugglers’ ring really wanted to play with the big dogs, Wah’d bite. They weren’t worried, this was just another little rebel to quash on their way to the top. It would be fun! With a sharp-toothed smile, the Sovereign gestured Brandy forwards with a curl of their fingers.
Brandy stared at them a moment, shaking as that other plant-infected basement seeped into the corners of her vision. But her mind and body focused itself with the click of the stairwell door behind her. Everywhere she looked, there was a new megalomaniac trying to play god. The Mediterranean itself felt diseased. But here and now, she could fight back. She could prevent the meaningless slaughter, she could make up for what she did.
Then, one day, she’ll be safe with her mother, somewhere far away in a place she bought with the money she stole from this big, stupid empire. She’ll hold her mother’s hand, give her a smile, and tell her about the time she beat up a crime boss.
As Wah and Brandy started forwards, they finally, wordlessly agreed.
This is the next step towards their ambitions. As Stand users, they must fight.
It’s in their nature.
OPEN THE GAME! (Shoutouts to u/AusterCab for the match art!)
Location: In the financial department of the Millennium Collective, the area here is 30 by 40 meters with each tile being 2 by 2 meters. The ceiling of this area is 4 meters tall. Brandy and Wah start on opposite sides of the map as represented by their character tokens.
The light purple tiles represent the hallways between rooms, and the doors between hallways and office space are represented by Purple Rectangles. The Red tiles areas are meeting rooms, the Yellow tile areas are cubicle spaces, the Green tile areas are break rooms, and the White tile areas are supply closets. The rooms contain everything you’d expect to find in an office space.
The “X” eyed faces are the bodies of dead acolytes and the 6-pointed shapes are ｢Wolf Murder｣ Pelts jaw traps.
Wah starts next to a watercooler, a dolly and a vending machine.
Goal: RETIRE your opponent!
Additional Information: ｢Wolf Murder｣ has the ability to skin the surface of objects and turn these skins into ‘Pelts’, which can then be shaped for their own uses. Though the user has a much higher proficiency working with them, others can shape unshaped Pelts by hand and get them to hold form or stick to other objects.
The ｢Wolf Murder｣ Pelts on this map are shaped into working jaw traps and will snap shut in response to pressure. If broken, they will revert to torn pieces of unshaped Pelts, with damage corresponding to how the shaped version is destroyed.
With unshaped Pelts, players can shape them to wrap around objects, or shape them into functional simple traps such as snares and jaw traps. More complex shapes take longer to make.
Pelts are B Durability with the rough consistency ranging between that of a thick fur pelt and antique steel, or a strange hybrid of both depending on how they are shaped, or more specifically how the person shaping it generally wants them to be shaped.
Both characters’ Stands can treat Pelts like any other object.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
COLOSSI	Mx. Wah	“I'd like to make a deal here. Please try not to see things from only one perspective.” You’re here to cement a deal between COLOSSI and the Millennium Collection, and this kid won’t stop you. Embody Authority!
Anvil Procession	Brandy Judge	“Stop talking to me! I'm going to end everything here and now!” You’ve had enough of all this bullshit, but you have to steel yourself and see your goals through. Embody Rebellion!

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A few weeks ago…
Another member of the all-but defunct Atrocity Exhibition landed at the foot of the island of the great, dreaded Cyclops, an island filled with traps, mostly made out of rope, designed to snare both beast and man. Dirty Ghost easily evaded these rope traps with its own mastery of the material.
There was abundant wildlife: goats and bees, making honey and cheese enough to sustain it another week, perhaps even the whole remainder of its journey home. Still, it reasoned there must be some owner of these traps and of these animals, and once the Cyclops rears its head from its cave, the Ghost hatched a ploy.
Very good, mastermind of war, came the voice of Izuru. The monster’s Perception is his weakness, trick him like Odysseus before you, and your own Skill should prove superior.
As Odysseus played the part of ‘nobody,’ the Ghost played ‘somebody,’ pleading for its life as the Cyclops, hard of sight and unknowing of what a human truly is, grasped it in its palm.
A precarious situation for any man, in the palm of a giant, but this was no man- this was Dirty Ghost. With its own ropes, and those stolen from its would-be captor, Dirty Ghost escaped the Cyclops’ grasp to rappel up the giant’s shoulder, shedding its mask and showcasing its true self- the true ‘Nobody’ it should fear.
Something to know, came the voice of the late Dr. Lister, you can reach the brain easily from the eyes.
Suffice to say, it did. As for the monster’s animals…the stoic Ghost was alone no longer. If it is made to feel like a hunting beast, or a trapped animal…perhaps it could seek some comfort in the other creatures. Still, its loneliness did not abate. Out there on the ocean, it has not yet found the place where it belongs.

No more research have really been made, so nothing much to log. I have been too occupied with preparing for a war that did not happen. I do not doubt that it can still happen on the other hand. So I am always prepared now. This has after all been the 3rd time war has been declared on me.
I have found this worlds supposedly private group. But it appears to have been a mistake on my part. They are onto me, and infiltrating their group didn't help me at all. In fact I have made it worse for myself.
I have been hiding my true identity for a long time. Altough I doubt that they will find it out in the near future. Though their work to find out who I really am is impressive. Altough close. They were a fair bit away.
It seems that my DoG has left this world for now. He will most likely be back. Even if DoG is all bark and no bite, he might get himself allies that will do his dirty work for him.
If the war doesnt happen I would like to interview the other 2 sentinels of the Devourer from this universe. As I really do want to start making a bestiary of this universe. It has peaked my interest now.
We will see what the future has in store for me and my partner.

• P

こんにちは! Now obviously I'm nowhere near a certified musician, lat alone a judge, but I tried my best to made a (totally unbiased) list. Hope you find it interesting and feel free to discuss it with others.
1. Dice
His very complex mix tied up together very nicely to create an atmosphere unlike any others'. I especially love his violin sound, and the way he plays with reverb.
2. Brez
Not much to say about our resident innovator. Though him remixing the track TWICE oughta get some originality points deducted.
25(3). Syjo
Loved the track when I first heard it in GBC, and it became my favorite version as well. He really went all out on this, and others should really be doing these kinds of agressive rounds this deep into the tournament to get a leverage over others (not disrespecting musical tracks).
4. Matej
Like Brez and Dice, Matej also went very experimental this time, and it worked imo. His composing is very good despite all the chaos going on in the Amazon.
5. AVH
WHERE THE FK DID THIS GUY CAME FROM. My only complaint would be that this round was a bit too similar to the previous one, in both sound fxs and composing. Other than that, he's really the master in this tropical, house, vibey genre.
6. Epos
Similar to AVH, his 2 rounds have a lot of similarities, and I would actually prefer his first one as it feels a bit more composed.
7. Josh-O
A bit more musical this time for the genius. Losing the punch from the first round ranked him a bit lower on my list, but overall I still enjoyed it greatly.
Now my tops 8 - 11 were the hardest for me to rank, and I can see all of them take the top spot, but eventually, it went like:
8. Lennard
Like I said from above, I want to see the agressiveness from the competitors, and Lennard took it literally. Punchy track, complex composition, and oh god that bass, really impressive coming from a newcomer.
9. Rusy
Underated af bois but tbh I didn't really like his first round that much. This one though, really blew me away. It fixed his really weird chords and notes from the first one and slapped a really fat bass on it, with a ton of fxs coming from the Tag team partner of the god himself.
10. Cardona
OMG I love his singing. I didn't really understand how he got in at first, but this round, chef's kiss. His singing paired up really well with a much more complex and well composed track.
11. Robin
The reason I put Cardona above Robin is that Robin's round feels a bit... repetitive. Ik, kinda weird telling such a well-crafted track that, but with the whole song being on a same level of energy (except the last part), it feels like there aren't a highlight on the track. Overall a very good, relaxing and soulful song, but my (totally unbiased) brain told me to put it lower than most people will.
12. Frosty (M-age)
D-low have a special place in my heart, and this track is the embodiment of it. It's designed extremely well, and very EDM-y as others have pointed out. Only downside for me are the weird kicks and slightly off-beat (?) melodies.
13.Mirsa
Same case with Epos. His 2 rounds are very similar in composition, and the drop at the end just feels... cheap compared to the rest of the track. I actually loved his first round, but cannot really feel the drill in this one.
14. 808Banon
Justice for our boy. Compared to his first round, the different parts of the track ties together way better. But the drops are not as full-ish as I would want, and someone mentioned the 2nd drop was a cover, so 14 should be a fair placement.
15. Yaswede
Sometimes, you gotta go with the dissin', but here it's crucial. Interesting track I would say, but his rapping could use a little bit of practice and heat.
16. Impedance
Very atmospheric track. I love the little details he added in, but they can be used more fittingly I think. Also, the melodies in the 2nd "drop" was a bit exhausting for me.
17. Skelem
He introduced the electric guitar sound at the beginning, but didn't really use it again later. Other than that, it's good for the same reason his first round got in top 20: composition.
18. Slizzer
The simple yet dirty effective round 1 was great, but he went for a track that is neither complex nor simplistic, just kinda weird.
19. Mr. Esuoh
Never abuse autotune. Work from the ground up with your singing. On the other hand, his track was ethereal, yet feels cheap, and transitions weren't exactly great.
20. Tako
Inkie had the right concern lol. Disappointed to see how the track came out, right after such a drip and different one.
Ranking: 1. Dice 2. Brez 3. Syjo 4. Matej 5. AVH 6. Epos 7. Josh-O 8. Lennard 9. Rusy 10. Cardona 11. Robin 12. M-age 13. Mirsa 14. 808Banon 15. Yaswede 16. Impedance 17. Skelem 18. Slizzer 19. Mr. Esuoh 20. Tako
If we pair up this with the official ranking of round 1, considering both rounds' placement weights the same, we would get my exact top 7, with Lennard and Robin nearly getting in.

My two best friends and I planned to take mushrooms when they visited to fly fish for the weekend. I live in southwest Florida and the place we did them was on an island I fish that’s usually empty and it’s pretty big about a mile and a half of beautiful shoreline and mangroves in the back. My buddy mailed down the shrooms they were an “exotic” type I don’t remember the name but his guy said they are 4x as potent as regular shrooms, I’m not claiming they were just putting it in here. We got up early probably 4am or so and fished until about 10am. Made lunch then got to the island at around noon.
We ingested them at 1pm, I ate 4g, bob ate 4g and John ate 5g, sun was out it was beautiful and hot this took place in September so we decided to go in the water which was very clear that day. We noticed this gathering of a few hundred birds on the shoreline about 40 minutes in. We decided to see how close we could get by army crawling to them, we got within 5-6ft it was incredible since the shrooms were kicking in with the “high quality” filter it puts over visual precipitation. We watched them fly over our heads, interact with each other, scavenge for food, etc. for about 15 minutes. This was a really good start to the trip and then we were all starting to get nauseous and the feeling of lethargy from the come up so we decided to get out.
I told my buddies I’m gonna go for a walk, I typically like to spend time in my head while on these to check in with myself if that makes sense. I start to head down the beach and I’m drawn to the brushy vegetation filled side. It leads back to where the kayak is in the “backcountry” it’s a stagnate muddy bay like area lined with mangrove trees. I took a trial leading to the kayak and my vision began to have a green and orange filter over it. The further back in the brush the quieter it got due to the wind being blocked, my ears began ringing and it was so fucking I hot that I remember thinking holy shit this is hell back here I don’t wanna peak here. I stood there for a little bit and got to watch snook blow up on some baitfish which was really cool but too hot and quite for my liking, I was starting to feel weird so I decided to go back to the beachfront.
I returned back to the beach and realized this is already pretty intense and this is roughly 2:30, 1-1/2hours after digesting. I walked down to a cement Pilar that was probably 2’x2', there’s a collection of them along the right side of the island to mitigate something. I sat on the side of it and stared into the ocean looking for wisdom or something profound but my mind was racing I couldn’t concentrate on a single topic for longer than a few seconds. It started to get frustrating so I gave up on gaining any insights of wisdom. I figured this is too intense to try and guide my thoughts so I yelled to my friends and waved them over. At this time an apocalyptic thunderstorm had formed about a mile east of us so we had a parallel view of sun over the ocean and an end of the world sized thunderstorm to the east over the mangroves. It was truly beautiful and such a treat to add to our trip, both of them walked down to me and bob kept walking but John stopped to hang out with me. We figured to just let bob do his thing, so we laid down in the sand and looked up at the storm. The sky began to have a force field around it identical to the one in the hunger games, I was in awe this experience was incredible.
Everything from now until the end are very loosely based time stamps and/or estimates based on the duration of any given moment but the depiction of events are engraved into my brain as I have spent a lot of time reflecting on this, in a healthy manor of course.
At this point we are probably 2-2 1/2 hours into digestion, so around 3:30. Bob returns to me and John, we all spoke about how intense of an experience this was and bob looked as if he wasn't having a good time and he asked if he was being weird. To which we assured him he was not, he also said “we don’t have anywhere to be right?”, in a pretty manic state. Which kind of freaked me out so I selfishly told them I’m returning to my pillar I was previously leaning against. Looking back I wish I would’ve comforted my friend but I was in a slippery place as well so I'm not sure if I would've even been of assistance. They went off into the water and I went to my pillar the sun was beating down into the ocean and I had this surge of intense energy come over me. I sat down and began looking out into the water the entire movement of the ocean was speed up in a dramatic fashion adding to the intensity. I felt like I was god, I made all of this, a deeply confident narcissistic persona took over my entire mentality which is the farthest from me in sobering reality. I suppose it was my shadow as Carl Jung would call it. I really liked this feeling, I felt capable of anything and everything. I remember “mirroring” from one side to the other side of the pillar I was leaning against. I would spend a few minutes on one side and then the other but I never got up, reality would just invert itself. The intensity of the experience I’m having is still mounting, water still in fast forward and I remember looking up at the clouds and having this assured feeling that I was about to get “the answer”, essentially that god, the programmer, aliens, creator of everything was about to present itself. Not sure how long this lasted but I realized it just wasn’t going to come to fruition. So I move to a pillar that's right next to where my friends are in the water so we can talk.
I start expressing my feelings about this experience and how insane it is, we talk about stupid stuff for a little bit. During this period I was looking up at the clouds and a banner of clouds formed with different shapes and logos inside of it and I’m smiling ear to ear just saying to them how do you even explain this to anyone. I’m starting to realize that this is still getting stronger to where I’m beginning to question what is real and what is not. And I leaned into my delusions even more. I say to my friend I never played with reality like this ever in my life and distinctly remember during the entirety of this slipping away period “who cares if this is just it forever why would you want to go back there anyway”, worth noting I was going through a bit of high stress period during this time in life. Nothing major I was just overworking myself physically and mentally, and I knew internally that I'd have to do that until I died but I don't care about anything in this state of consciousness so why not just stay. Which really set the tone of not caring about whatever reality I was currently in whether it was real or not, I was ok with staying there. This mindset ensued until about the last 15 minutes of the trip. I also mentioned to them a few weeks prior to this that we should do ayahuasca in the Amazon and I whole heartedly believed that this could us tripping there, wasn’t fully convinced but genuinely believed it was a possibility.
This brings us to probably around 5-6 o'clock, I'm not really sure as I'm just going off of how I remember the delineation of the sun during the experiences. I realize I've been getting bite by fire ants for the last 5 mins, it felt good and I also had the thought that it doesn't matter since this isn't my body anyway. I didn't have a thought or concern about anything I was just experiencing. I yell to my friends jokingly "dude I'm getting bite by ants" to which John replies "dude get in the water they can't get you in here" in a super genuinely concerned stoner manner which was hilarious so I got in.
I get in and it was so cold but very euphoric, we talk for a little throw things at each other jokingly and at one point there was a blitz of bait and snook that went right through us, it was pure bliss. We stayed in for about 30-40 minutes I believe. At one point I look over at bob who's been quite a majority of the last hour or so. I do not remember him speaking much. When I look over at him he appears as if he's trying to speak and opens his mouth and saltwater pours out into his bread, his heads sideways and eyes are going in different directions. This isn't a hallucination, bob ain't doing to good. I don't know what to make of this as I'm not too sure if I even know bob or not. I feel like I do but he's not real, he's just potentially a code uploaded into a video game I'm developing and it's malfunctioning. In that moment I began to play with the idea that this is just a full blown simulated experience I'm designing. I was checking out the map right now and I implanted these 2 characters so that they can challenge me to see if I can tell the difference of if I'm in the simulation or not. Essentially I was planted into my own simulator I'm designing and my awareness of that was eliminated so I could give the map, level, world, whatever it was an unbiased review. I kept this to myself as I really began to believe it more and more.
Little bit of blurriness in the exact order of this part but this was it, the peak. We are about 5 1/2 hours in on these it's about 6:30. Don't remember too much more in the water but I believe bob got out first to go under a pavilion. This side of the beach is owned by an apartment I believe, so they shuttle people to it and they have a few pavilions, about 300 feet up from the water. John follows after and I go to my pillar to get my shirt. I make my way back towards the 2, John is about 100 ft from the pavilion he looks at me and says bob isn't doing too good. In my head now I don't really even know if these people are real, my friends or just implanted memories but it doesn't feel human. I say what's wrong he says he's freaking out a little. This doesn't register to me the way it should as I'm skeptical about my current reality, I start to question him in a serious manner asking if he really gave us shrooms or not. I'm under the impression there's no way we only took shrooms as this is way too intense of an experience. He answers me a little annoyed and frustrated stating "yea it was just shrooms dude" but that doesn't convince me of anything.
At this point I'm trying to make sense of where I am, who I am or what's going on. I am still extremely calm in a state of I don't care what happens or what this is but I'm confident I'll figure it out. I wander over to the pavilion, upon entering it I notice a mass collection of 40-50 shells on a wooden picnic table that bob is sitting down at, with his elbows on his knees and hands covering his face just looking down at the ground. When I go to sit down he looks at me with a primitive, defensive and confused expression on his face. I begin to think we are in purgatory and we must collect shells to deal with boredom. I sit a for a little bit and bob begins to ask me if this ever going to end to which I reply, yea it'll be ok, but I'm just as lost as he is so I'm not sure why I said that. John is sitting down where I last spoke with him about 100ft from the pavilion looking into the ocean. Bob begins to pace around with a very manic posture, he was on edge and his mind was in a full blown defensive state, I remember thinking he might try to attack me. He keeps asking if we ever get to leave here, and now I come to the realization that I'm not sure, this might be it forever so I don't answer him. I get up and walk down the beach a few hundred feet, I notice some boats going by but they look fake, like fans in the stand of a video game, I thought they must just be there for the aesthetic of this simulation I'm in. I somehow wind up sitting down again in the same place under the pavilion and I would get up and repeat this process over and over again. I was stuck in a time loop, I began to question things more like do I even eat, pee, drink, etc. because I don't remember doing any of these things in what seemingly felt like an entirety that I spent in this time loop. Time stopped existing at this point and I experienced what infinity felt like for the first time ever, John at this point is trying to get us to leave but I'm unable to comprehend what this even means. He said something to me and then turned away, the particles he was made up of glitched in a digital way which added to the delusion even more. I go back under the pavilion with bob, he's still not doing well, very aggressive and defensive still. He doesn't say anything but his body language was in a fight or flight response. I sit down and I'm still trying to make sense of what is actually happening. I theorize that we are in a black mirror type of prison, that we were uploaded into this state of consciousness by a neural network and were serving a prison sentence. I also briefly considered that we were drug addicts that have destroyed our brains over the years of use and this was just an episode stemming from brain degeneration. I start think this is forever, I reason with myself that bobs freaking out because he is unable to come to terms with the infinite reality we are in and that John is just sick of hearing him freak out. I empathize for bob that this feeling of fear and distress must overcome all 3 of us every once in awhile when we come to terms with the fact we would be here forever. I tell myself I can't allow myself to break, I have to endure this as long as I can. I get up and walk down the beach and come back. At this time John is more or less terrified that both his friends are essentially "broken", I can tell by his body language he's uncomfortable and frustrated. He says he's heading back to the kayak and going to the truck. This gave me some kind of grounding hope, I looked up at confused bob and said dude it's alright we just took shrooms, I felt some sense of relief and gave him a hug which he did not like at all and gave me a dirty look.
At this point I'm not 100% of what I believe is real or not. I say to bob let me see your phone, I just needed to see that time was real or something to remind me of the past reality I lived in. I'm a little more convinced that this may not be forever but I'm also not sure. I have bob gather his things which took us a few minutes. We start to head down the beach and this was the most terrifying walk of my life because if I get to where I believe this kayak is and it is not there then I'm confirming the fact that I'm here forever. We finally make it there, fuck was I happy to see the kayak. John was freaked the fuck out standing there waiting for us. I could see a lot more clearly now, bob was still in a pretty heightened standoffish state. John is in such a rush to leave and I explain to him to just relax we don't have anywhere to be and that no one's driving my truck since we're still high, he becomes argumentative with me overstating his sobriety. I can see he is in a state of panic from how gone me and my buddy previously were. Bob forgot his glasses under the pavilion so I opted to go back with him and get them and John was gonna wait at the kayak till we got back. During this walk I start to try to talk to bob about everything that just happened, he's doing a little better as I comfort and reassure him it'll be ok but he is still not back to normal. We get the glasses and return to the kayak, where we see john sprinting through chest deep water dragging the kayak behind him fully clothed. We really had freaked him out but at this point it's hilarious to me. It's about 7 o'clock and I see that bob is finally back to the bob I know, I gave him a hug and felt relieved. We walk into the water and down the mangrove line, the tide was high so the water was about waist to chest deep the entirety of the 3/4 mile walk. The sun was setting where the thunderstorm previously was hours ago in the day. The sky was absolutely beautiful filled with pink and yellow, the wind was calm and the water was glassy, warm and refreshing. Once again we see large schools of snook blowing up on baitfish. Which is funny how much feeding activity we seen during the entirety of this mushroom experience because the majority of the fishing we did that weekend was not very good, we caught fish but they didn't get to experience anything to this magnitude. This walk was the best way to end this, we took our time and talked deeply and expressed our gratitude for the friendship we have created together over the years. We make it back to my place and all just lay on the floor in my room. We talk here and there but its hard to even use words after having that experience. I was more grateful to have my life then I've ever been in my entire existence. Our friendships grew deeper with each other and I imagine I will think about this experience regularly for years to come.
I've done shrooms before about 6x or so, with the max dose 3.5g a few times but I always was in control of understanding my reality and that I ingested shrooms. I had no idea an experience such as this was possible, I've read tons of crazy trip reports over the years but I guess I didn't understand it until I lived it, just how mind altering these substances can be. This is exponentially the most amazing thing I've experienced in my life, from start to finish it was "perfect" from the location, the weather, the water, the fish, the stages of consciousness I journeyed through. The biggest takeaway I had from this was experiencing what infinite consciousness felt like and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever been exposed to. This is has made a lot of the things in life I used to stress over not so bad anymore. In fact whenever I start to think something is difficult or unpleasant I reflect on that and the problem becomes pretty insignificant.
*** if you live in the Fort Myers area and are obsessed with fly fishing as well message me. I’ve been here for about 7 months and haven’t had an issue finding fish but I need a fishing buddy ***

There are two important considerations when it comes to a computer monitor. The viewing angle, and the distance to visual acuity, or the point at which you can distinguish individual pixels. (I'm leaving contrast and refresh rates out of this discussion as there's quite a queue to beat those particular dead horses)
According to THX standards, the ideal viewing angle is somewhere between 45 and 50 degrees.
Monitor Size, Resolution, and it's usability

Size	Resolution	Angle @ AD	Acuity Distance (AD)
27"	1440p	41.3 deg	2.6'
27"	4k	60 deg	1.7'
32"	4k	60.3 deg	2'

Viewing angle is a function of monitor size and seating distance.
Acuity Distance is a function of resolution and monitor size.
Sources:
Acuity distance calculator
Viewing angle calculator
According to OSHA, the typical user sits about 30" (2.5') from their screen. For you to get the full benefit of 4k for gaming, you'd have to sit closer than most people normally find comfortable. It's immersive, but not very ergonomic given how many games put UI elements on opposite sides of the screen.
For productivity, 4k can be nice. Text looks especially nice due to the way our eyes resolve thin lines, but application scaling is still a problem. Windows and linux have gotten better about this but still lag behind OS X. There are still tons of applications that simply do not 'play nice' with hidpi monitors. I got to experience this second hand watching my colleague struggle with scaling on a 4k 27" monitor while I had no issues with my 1440p monitor of the same size. Fractional scaling seems to be the culprit here.
TLDR: Whether or not a 4k monitor makes sense for you will depend on a lot of things such as screen size, viewing distance, and budget. For most people I think the jump to 4k is a marginal improvement over 1440p, and their money could be better spent elsewhere. 4k might be more worthwhile if you sit closer to your monitor or have better eyesight than average.

(For all my fellow MS1s/MS2s or anyone else out there studying for Step 1!)
Hi all,
Longtime casual lurker here (I needed to create an account to make this post, lol). US MD student. I sat my Step 1 exam March 7th and learned yesterday (March 22nd) that I passed. I went back and forth on writing something up on Reddit, but ultimately I am doing so because I would like to share a few things that helped me get in a good headspace with the exam and help others out there do the same.
First of all, I would like to deeply thank the Anking team for all that they have done and are doing for medical students across the globe. You are shaping medical education for generations to come, and by extension countless patients will benefit from your efforts. Specifically, I wanted to thank the "Anking YouTube guy" for your scores of instructional videos about Anki learning for medical school. You truly are a titan of medical education. On behalf of medical students everywhere, I would like to say from the apex of my heart: thank you.
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For those who find this info helpful, I will start with scores/resources I used:
Scores:
76% CBSE, 99% chance of passing within 1 week (school-administered, 27 days out)
My school administered a CBSE in the last month of our pre-clinical curriculum. This score prompted me to move my exam date up 1 month (!), effectively giving me 2 weeks to brush up on my weaker areas identified by the CBSE: blood, immunology/micro, and biochem. For blood and immuno, I used BnB + Pathoma + Anki (more detail in resources below). For micro, I reviewed the sketches from my Sketchy videos last year and did UWorld Qs. For biochem, I watched a few Dirty Medicine videos (weakest areas were vitamins, HIV, antivirals, Hep B, glycogen and lysosomal storage disorders) and completed the UWorld biochem Qs I had remaining.
75% CBSSA 31, 99% chance of passing within 1 week (10 days out)
Note: all CBSSAs are predictive, but higher numbers = more recently created by NBME, so select higher number CBSSAs for your practice exams.
85% free 120 (88%, 90%, 78% - 3 days out)
UWorld: 60% complete, 69% correct
Did not do UWSA1 or UWSA2 (headspace reason - more on this later)
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Key Resources:
School's curriculum + student-made Anki cards specific to our school's curriculum (1st year only)
Sketchy Micro (1st year micro learning) and Pharm (1st and 2nd year, mostly 2nd year for organ-based systems when I felt like I needed more anchoring after BnB videos)
BnB + Anking for onboarding new material (started 2nd year for organ system pathophys/pharm - felt to be excellent and efficient for Step 1 prep, did not follow school's curriculum 2nd year). It is a big leap of faith to abandon school lectures for BnB/Pathoma/Sketchy and Anking, but I scored very well on all of my 2nd-year exams without attending lecture/engaging with the material which A) helped me pass my 2nd-year exams, and B) accelerated my prep for Step 1 and allowed me to feel prepared to take it early. Makes you wonder.
Pathoma (did not watch videos, read corresponding chapters for 2nd pass of material after BnB, then unsuspended cards corresponding to that Pathoma chapter in Anking deck)
UWorld: started 2nd year, added Qs from each organ system once I had finished the corresponding BnB/Pathoma learning. Really only started doing UWorld Qs daily in December, at which point I transitioned almost exclusively from Anki to UWorld for review/of old material. I was not someone who kept up 600-1000 Anki cards/daily for all of my 2nd year - instead, I prioritized UWorld for old material and Anki for onboarding new material (which kept the mental burden lower, as I really enjoyed learning through UWorld). Also, there is a great deal of overlap between organ systems (i.e. pulm/cardio/renal) so focusing on the overlaps will keep you from forgetting the most important pieces of each organ system.
There are arguments on both sides about how to do UWorld Qs, either in in tutoexam mode and timed/untimed. It comes down to what you need UWorld for. I chose to do all but 40 Qs in untimed tutor mode. For me, UWorld was a learning tool. I started slowly, taking all the time I needed to be able to extract the necessary information from question stems. Naturally, my timing improved on each Q, and on the real thing I finished each section with at least ~5 mins (first 3 blocks I had ~8 mins left).
I liked doing my UWorld Qs in tutor mode because I found it to be the most efficient method. I did not have to spend ~1.5x time on my UWorld sessions having to go through question stem twice to remember information about each question. I selected an answer choice, learned the logic behind the correct and incorrect answers, and made an Anki card(s) with any information that was new to me. I found it more helpful to make my own cards than use the UWorld tagged Anking cards which I felt did not always capture what piece of information I was taking away from each question. I have these ~1500 cards in a deck that I am planning on keeping going into my 3rd year rotations (as I found many Step 1 UWorld Qs contain great clinical pearls).
School's 2nd-year NBME subject exams: these were components of my school's 2nd-year curriculum that we needed to pass to pass the course. Exams tested NBME Qs from 3 grouped organ systems that we learned in each block of the course. Exams consisted of ~125 Qs with standard NBME timing, and were foundational to my prep (helped build my timing, which I did not use UWorld for).
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Key information I found on Reddit late in the game:

1. From the "Anking YouTube guy" himself: if there are any Anki cards that you keep running during your 2nd year (I know the volume is a lot, I couldn't keep everything going), prioritize Pathoma (esp. chapters 1-3), Sketchy Micro, and Sketchy Pharm. I liked BnB for physiology. Physiology, I found, is the least memorizable - the Step 1 Qs will force you to be flexible and apply physiology concepts in new ways. Focus on understanding physiology, but that's not to say that Anki isn't helpful for it. It just wasn't as helpful for me as Anki for keeping the small details of pathology/micro/pharm fresh.
2. High yield tags in the Anking deck. I chose to cut back on my Anki cards during my 2-week dedicated period by filtering out "low" and "lower yield" cards, and I am glad I did. I personally felt that the tagging was excellent (it is my understanding that a great deal of, but not all, cards in the Anking Step 1 deck have been assigned a tag in this system). You can search by each tag to pull up the cards that have "low" or "lower yield" tags, and then select all and suspend. I would recommend this during your dedicated period in particular (especially if you are focusing on learning entire systems/relearning material from previous years).

What I recommend if you are starting out on your Step 1 journey:

1. Look around, talk with upperclassmen at your medical school, browse Reddit posts, see what has worked for others and think about what has worked for you. Try out different methods and materials. This is how I found BnB for my 2nd-year learning and it was singlehandedly (along with correspondingly tagged Anking cards) the greatest thing for my 2nd year learning (and by extension, Step 1 prep). NBME Qs have a different "flavor" than my school's curriculum (and my school's in-house quizzes which were separate from the NBME exams I described above). If this is the case for you, realize you will likely need to supplement your school's curriculum with 3rd-party resources (UWorld at a minimum).
2. Ask yourself: how are you doing in your classes? Everyone learns somewhere along the way that they need to take their learning into their own hands. Critically look at what you are spending time on, and ask yourself if it is an effective use of your time. I am not someone who finds the traditional lecture model to be conducive to my learning. I appreciated the BnB videos because they A) cover only relevant information to the topic at hand in B) a much shorter time than traditional lecture (think no pauses, misspeaking, digressions, etc.), allowing me to spend more time with Anki or UWorld. I would watch a BnB video, highlight while listening, and then immediately unsuspend the correspondingly tagged cards in the Anking deck and complete them. I greatly appreciate having an experienced instructolecturer for clinical reasoning and physical diagnosis skills, but I knew if I needed to learn about tumor suppressors or mood stabilizers, I wasn't going to learn watching/attending a traditional hour long medical school lecture. The name of the game in medical school is efficiency: there is a lot of material to get through, so really take the time to figure out what resources are most important for your learning and skip the rest.

What I recommend as you are in the thick of dedicated and nearing your Step 1 date:

1. This is ironic, but try your hardest to stay off Reddit. Everyone's experience is different, and looking around can generate more anxiety than benefit. At this point, you likely have a system in place that has been working for you (if you need to tweak your method and are looking for tips, then by all means look for those threads), and you know where your scores are. The CBSSA exams will give you a percent chance of passing Step 1. Trust your scores. You can find a wide range of outcomes on Reddit: low percent scorers passing Step 1, low percent scorers failing Step 1, high percent scorers passing Step 1, high percent scorers failing Step 1. At the end of the day, keep it internal, focus on you, and don't put yourself in an anxiety spiral trying to figure out where you are and what you should be doing, etc. For this reason, I did not take UWSA1 or 2, as A) the NBME is the organization writing Step 1 and their material told me twice I had a 99% chance of passing Step 1 within a week, and B) I did not want the anxiety of a numerical score/potentially low/deflated score (as some users have reported) from third-party material whose creators are not the ones writing Step 1. That being said, if you are early in your preparation (i.e. before you have planned to take your CBSSAs and free 120), I think UWSA1 and UWSA2 are excellent practice tools (learn from the questions and practice timing, but don't get into an anxiety spiral if you get a score that isn't passing or is much lower than you had expected). Trust yourself. Keep it internal, stay confident in the days and weeks leading up to the exam.
2. Everyone's situation is different, but I would strongly recommend completing 60-80% UWorld with a percentage that brings you comfort (my school recommended 65% correct to be safe, do with that what you will). If I were to have kept my original date (which I considered before ultimately moving it up), it would've been because I wanted to get through more UWorld Qs before sitting for Step 1. Anki can only take you so far - UWorld will help you apply the information you have learned to new situations (which is what you will be doing on Step 1). Also, I would highly recommend taking at least 2 full-length (200 Q) NBME practice exams (CBSE/CBSSAs) with a % chance of passing in 1 week that brings you comfort and the free 120 before you sit for Step 1. CBSSAs are slightly more predictive due to their testing traditionally 1st year basic science material (biochem, genetics, etc.) at a closer percentage to Step 1 than the CBSE which has a slightly greater percentage of 2nd year material (pathology, pharmacology). Make sure you carefully review your practice exams and make flashcards, etc. to learn and review new pieces of information. Your exam will feel closest to the CBSSAs/free 120 (note: there is a new free 120 and old free 120 - the new one was put out by the NBME in June 2022, so make sure to do at least the new free 120 (not sure how many Qs overlap, I did not do the old free 120)). I highly recommend doing the free 120 in tutorial mode, which simulates the interface/structure of the real exam. This is a long exam - the most difficult part for me was keeping energy up on the 5th, 6th, and 7th blocks. Something that my school recommended which sounded helpful but I never did was to take a CBSSA and then make it a full 280 Q exam by going into 2 blocks of 40Qs random on UWorld in exam mode timed.

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What I recommend for exam day:

1. Know what snacks work for you and which don't. Know what your body does at the time you will be starting the exam. Know if you are someone who likes to use the restroom after each block. Know the layout of facility where you will be testing. If you can, drive to the testing facility prior to the exam and ask kindly to take a look around (obviously you will not be able to go into the testing area unless you choose to pay to do a test-run, aka sit at a computer in the testing site and take the free 120). I did not pay to do a test-run, but I visited the testing site a week before and was able to get a sense of how long the drive was going to take, where to park, where the restrooms were in the building, what the lockers looked like, etc. Just kindly explain that you will be testing there on X date and politely ask to take a quick look around. This will make you calmer on test day.
2. Don't get hung up on a Q. Don't do it. Step 1 is now P/F (sorry, titans of old who put an enormous amount of work into studying for this exam when it was non-P/F) and you do not need to worry about 1 or 2 Qs out of 200. USMLE says approximately ~60% is passing on their website, other Redditors say ~65% is safer based on # incorrect for a ~196 (lowest passing numerical score before Step 1 went P/F). Depending on who you believe, this means you can get ~70-80 incorrect out of the 200 Qs that are graded and still pass. (There are 80 experimental Qs that do not count towards your grade and you will not know which ones do not count towards your score!) So, this is all to say do not get hung up on a Q. If you are staring at something and it is not clicking/you are carefully re-reading the stem multiple times trying to find information to get you to one answer over another and you cannot find it, narrow down the answer choices, make your best guess, flag it, and move on. (Odds are you are probably right, anyways - trust your preparation and intuition.)
3. Roll with the punches on exam day. Tell yourself: it will be okay. Didn't sleep well/didn't sleep at all the night prior? Neither did I (4 hours, 1:30 AM - 5:30 AM, tested at 9 AM). Practice anxiety reducing techniques now (slow breathing and meditation helped for me) to turn your brain off if you need to the night before. A shower, 2 cups of coffee, a good breakfast, and adrenaline got me through the first 3 blocks. I sipped down 16 oz of matcha/coffee/chocolate milk blend during first 3 breaks and had little bites of snacks (banana, trail mix, 100% dark chocolate) to get me to block 4. Energy dipped a bit during 4th block, but had oatmeal + peanut butter for lunch and 16 oz coffee across the last 3 breaks, which came at a perfect time and helped me keep my energy strong enough for the rest. There will be questions/blocks that seem easier and more difficult to you. Trust your preparation, do your best, and tell yourself: it will be okay.

After the exam:

1. I had a great two weeks planned with my family, which helped take my mind off the exam in a big way. The natural tendency is to think about your exam, look up answer to Qs when you leave the building/when you get home, etc. (I certainly was guilty of doing this) but ultimately, none of it is in your control after you are done and you need to keep living your life. Assuming you entered the exam with scores on your CBSSAs/Free 120/UWorld you were comfortable with (you've earned them, it's not an accident!) the only thing you can conclude is that your real exam will have a similar outcome. If your CBSSA tells you you have a 90-99% chance of passing if you were to take Step 1 in one week, then there is a very strong likelihood that you will pass the exam, regardless of how you feel during or after it (barring any drastic change to your baseline that day). When I was waiting for my score report, I am guilty of going down the Reddit rabbit hole of looking at others with similar scores as me who failed, those who didn't sleep well or at all before their exam, or walked out feeling like they failed, etc. Of course, this was all unnecessary stress/anxiety. Once you are done, leave the exam behind you. Please. Try your hardest to not perseverate on the exam. Instead be present and put your energy into literally anything else. It is easy to forget that throughout this process, we are all living, and there is so much more beyond medical school and Step 1. Again, trust your preparation/scores going into the real thing, and assuming you don't have a drastic change from baseline, it will work out and you will land in the range of your practice scores.

TL;DR: trust yourself and your preparation, avoid comparing yourself to others or going down Reddit rabbit holes before and after the exam, and once you are done, leave it out of sight and mind and live your life <3

My two best friends and I planned to take mushrooms when they visited to fly fish for the weekend. I live in southwest Florida and the place we did them was on an island I fish that’s usually empty and it’s pretty big about a mile and a half of beautiful shoreline and mangroves in the back. My buddy mailed down the shrooms they were an “exotic” type I don’t remember the name but his guy said they are 4x as potent as regular shrooms, I’m not claiming they were just putting it in here. We got up early probably 4am or so and fished until about 10am. Made lunch then got to the island at around noon.
We ingested them at 1pm, I ate 4g, bob ate 4g and John ate 5g, sun was out it was beautiful and hot this took place in September so we decided to go in the water which was very clear that day. We noticed this gathering of a few hundred birds on the shoreline about 40 minutes in. We decided to see how close we could get by army crawling to them, we got within 5-6ft it was incredible since the shrooms were kicking in with the “high quality” filter it puts over visual precipitation. We watched them fly over our heads, interact with each other, scavenge for food, etc. for about 15 minutes. This was a really good start to the trip and then we were all starting to get nauseous and the feeling of lethargy from the come up so we decided to get out.
I told my buddies I’m gonna go for a walk, I typically like to spend time in my head while on these to check in with myself if that makes sense. I start to head down the beach and I’m drawn to the brushy vegetation filled side. It leads back to where the kayak is in the “backcountry” it’s a stagnate muddy bay like area lined with mangrove trees. I took a trial leading to the kayak and my vision began to have a green and orange filter over it. The further back in the brush the quieter it got due to the wind being blocked, my ears began ringing and it was so fucking I hot that I remember thinking holy shit this is hell back here I don’t wanna peak here. I stood there for a little bit and got to watch snook blow up on some baitfish which was really cool but too hot and quite for my liking, I was starting to feel weird so I decided to go back to the beachfront.
I returned back to the beach and realized this is already pretty intense and this is roughly 2:30, 1-1/2hours after digesting. I walked down to a cement Pilar that was probably 2’x2', there’s a collection of them along the right side of the island to mitigate something. I sat on the side of it and stared into the ocean looking for wisdom or something profound but my mind was racing I couldn’t concentrate on a single topic for longer than a few seconds. It started to get frustrating so I gave up on gaining any insights of wisdom. I figured this is too intense to try and guide my thoughts so I yelled to my friends and waved them over. At this time an apocalyptic thunderstorm had formed about a mile east of us so we had a parallel view of sun over the ocean and an end of the world sized thunderstorm to the east over the mangroves. It was truly beautiful and such a treat to add to our trip, both of them walked down to me and bob kept walking but John stopped to hang out with me. We figured to just let bob do his thing, so we laid down in the sand and looked up at the storm. The sky began to have a force field around it identical to the one in the hunger games, I was in awe this experience was incredible.
Everything from now until the end are very loosely based time stamps and/or estimates based on the duration of any given moment but the depiction of events are engraved into my brain as I have spent a lot of time reflecting on this, in a healthy manor of course.
At this point we are probably 2-2 1/2 hours into digestion, so around 3:30. Bob returns to me and John, we all spoke about how intense of an experience this was and bob looked as if he wasn't having a good time and he asked if he was being weird. To which we assured him he was not, he also said “we don’t have anywhere to be right?”, in a pretty manic state. Which kind of freaked me out so I selfishly told them I’m returning to my pillar I was previously leaning against. Looking back I wish I would’ve comforted my friend but I was in a slippery place as well so I'm not sure if I would've even been of assistance. They went off into the water and I went to my pillar the sun was beating down into the ocean and I had this surge of intense energy come over me. I sat down and began looking out into the water the entire movement of the ocean was speed up in a dramatic fashion adding to the intensity. I felt like I was god, I made all of this, a deeply confident narcissistic persona took over my entire mentality which is the farthest from me in sobering reality. I suppose it was my shadow as Carl Jung would call it. I really liked this feeling, I felt capable of anything and everything. I remember “mirroring” from one side to the other side of the pillar I was leaning against. I would spend a few minutes on one side and then the other but I never got up, reality would just invert itself. The intensity of the experience I’m having is still mounting, water still in fast forward and I remember looking up at the clouds and having this assured feeling that I was about to get “the answer”, essentially that god, the programmer, aliens, creator of everything was about to present itself. Not sure how long this lasted but I realized it just wasn’t going to come to fruition. So I move to a pillar that's right next to where my friends are in the water so we can talk.
I start expressing my feelings about this experience and how insane it is, we talk about stupid stuff for a little bit. During this period I was looking up at the clouds and a banner of clouds formed with different shapes and logos inside of it and I’m smiling ear to ear just saying to them how do you even explain this to anyone. I’m starting to realize that this is still getting stronger to where I’m beginning to question what is real and what is not. And I leaned into my delusions even more. I say to my friend I never played with reality like this ever in my life and distinctly remember during the entirety of this slipping away period “who cares if this is just it forever why would you want to go back there anyway”, worth noting I was going through a bit of high stress period during this time in life. Nothing major I was just overworking myself physically and mentally, and I knew internally that I'd have to do that until I died but I don't care about anything in this state of consciousness so why not just stay. Which really set the tone of not caring about whatever reality I was currently in whether it was real or not, I was ok with staying there. This mindset ensued until about the last 15 minutes of the trip. I also mentioned to them a few weeks prior to this that we should do ayahuasca in the Amazon and I whole heartedly believed that this could us tripping there, wasn’t fully convinced but genuinely believed it was a possibility.
This brings us to probably around 5-6 o'clock, I'm not really sure as I'm just going off of how I remember the delineation of the sun during the experiences. I realize I've been getting bite by fire ants for the last 5 mins, it felt good and I also had the thought that it doesn't matter since this isn't my body anyway. I didn't have a thought or concern about anything I was just experiencing. I yell to my friends jokingly "dude I'm getting bite by ants" to which John replies "dude get in the water they can't get you in here" in a super genuinely concerned stoner manner which was hilarious so I got in.
I get in and it was so cold but very euphoric, we talk for a little throw things at each other jokingly and at one point there was a blitz of bait and snook that went right through us, it was pure bliss. We stayed in for about 30-40 minutes I believe. At one point I look over at bob who's been quite a majority of the last hour or so. I do not remember him speaking much. When I look over at him he appears as if he's trying to speak and opens his mouth and saltwater pours out into his bread, his heads sideways and eyes are going in different directions. This isn't a hallucination, bob ain't doing to good. I don't know what to make of this as I'm not too sure if I even know bob or not. I feel like I do but he's not real, he's just potentially a code uploaded into a video game I'm developing and it's malfunctioning. In that moment I began to play with the idea that this is just a full blown simulated experience I'm designing. I was checking out the map right now and I implanted these 2 characters so that they can challenge me to see if I can tell the difference of if I'm in the simulation or not. Essentially I was planted into my own simulator I'm designing and my awareness of that was eliminated so I could give the map, level, world, whatever it was an unbiased review. I kept this to myself as I really began to believe it more and more.
Little bit of blurriness in the exact order of this part but this was it, the peak. We are about 5 1/2 hours in on these it's about 6:30. Don't remember too much more in the water but I believe bob got out first to go under a pavilion. This side of the beach is owned by an apartment I believe, so they shuttle people to it and they have a few pavilions, about 300 feet up from the water. John follows after and I go to my pillar to get my shirt. I make my way back towards the 2, John is about 100 ft from the pavilion he looks at me and says bob isn't doing too good. In my head now I don't really even know if these people are real, my friends or just implanted memories but it doesn't feel human. I say what's wrong he says he's freaking out a little. This doesn't register to me the way it should as I'm skeptical about my current reality, I start to question him in a serious manner asking if he really gave us shrooms or not. I'm under the impression there's no way we only took shrooms as this is way too intense of an experience. He answers me a little annoyed and frustrated stating "yea it was just shrooms dude" but that doesn't convince me of anything.
At this point I'm trying to make sense of where I am, who I am or what's going on. I am still extremely calm in a state of I don't care what happens or what this is but I'm confident I'll figure it out. I wander over to the pavilion, upon entering it I notice a mass collection of 40-50 shells on a wooden picnic table that bob is sitting down at, with his elbows on his knees and hands covering his face just looking down at the ground. When I go to sit down he looks at me with a primitive, defensive and confused expression on his face. I begin to think we are in purgatory and we must collect shells to deal with boredom. I sit a for a little bit and bob begins to ask me if this ever going to end to which I reply, yea it'll be ok, but I'm just as lost as he is so I'm not sure why I said that. John is sitting down where I last spoke with him about 100ft from the pavilion looking into the ocean. Bob begins to pace around with a very manic posture, he was on edge and his mind was in a full blown defensive state, I remember thinking he might try to attack me. He keeps asking if we ever get to leave here, and now I come to the realization that I'm not sure, this might be it forever so I don't answer him. I get up and walk down the beach a few hundred feet, I notice some boats going by but they look fake, like fans in the stand of a video game, I thought they must just be there for the aesthetic of this simulation I'm in. I somehow wind up sitting down again in the same place under the pavilion and I would get up and repeat this process over and over again. I was stuck in a time loop, I began to question things more like do I even eat, pee, drink, etc. because I don't remember doing any of these things in what seemingly felt like an entirety that I spent in this time loop. Time stopped existing at this point and I experienced what infinity felt like for the first time ever, John at this point is trying to get us to leave but I'm unable to comprehend what this even means. He said something to me and then turned away, the particles he was made up of glitched in a digital way which added to the delusion even more. I go back under the pavilion with bob, he's still not doing well, very aggressive and defensive still. He doesn't say anything but his body language was in a fight or flight response. I sit down and I'm still trying to make sense of what is actually happening. I theorize that we are in a black mirror type of prison, that we were uploaded into this state of consciousness by a neural network and were serving a prison sentence. I also briefly considered that we were drug addicts that have destroyed our brains over the years of use and this was just an episode stemming from brain degeneration. I start think this is forever, I reason with myself that bobs freaking out because he is unable to come to terms with the infinite reality we are in and that John is just sick of hearing him freak out. I empathize for bob that this feeling of fear and distress must overcome all 3 of us every once in awhile when we come to terms with the fact we would be here forever. I tell myself I can't allow myself to break, I have to endure this as long as I can. I get up and walk down the beach and come back. At this time John is more or less terrified that both his friends are essentially "broken", I can tell by his body language he's uncomfortable and frustrated. He says he's heading back to the kayak and going to the truck. This gave me some kind of grounding hope, I looked up at confused bob and said dude it's alright we just took shrooms, I felt some sense of relief and gave him a hug which he did not like at all and gave me a dirty look.
At this point I'm not 100% of what I believe is real or not. I say to bob let me see your phone, I just needed to see that time was real or something to remind me of the past reality I lived in. I'm a little more convinced that this may not be forever but I'm also not sure. I have bob gather his things which took us a few minutes. We start to head down the beach and this was the most terrifying walk of my life because if I get to where I believe this kayak is and it is not there then I'm confirming the fact that I'm here forever. We finally make it there, fuck was I happy to see the kayak. John was freaked the fuck out standing there waiting for us. I could see a lot more clearly now, bob was still in a pretty heightened standoffish state. John is in such a rush to leave and I explain to him to just relax we don't have anywhere to be and that no one's driving my truck since we're still high, he becomes argumentative with me overstating his sobriety. I can see he is in a state of panic from how gone me and my buddy previously were. Bob forgot his glasses under the pavilion so I opted to go back with him and get them and John was gonna wait at the kayak till we got back. During this walk I start to try to talk to bob about everything that just happened, he's doing a little better as I comfort and reassure him it'll be ok but he is still not back to normal. We get the glasses and return to the kayak, where we see john sprinting through chest deep water dragging the kayak behind him fully clothed. We really had freaked him out but at this point it's hilarious to me. It's about 7 o'clock and I see that bob is finally back to the bob I know, I gave him a hug and felt relieved. We walk into the water and down the mangrove line, the tide was high so the water was about waist to chest deep the entirety of the 3/4 mile walk. The sun was setting where the thunderstorm previously was hours ago in the day. The sky was absolutely beautiful filled with pink and yellow, the wind was calm and the water was glassy, warm and refreshing. Once again we see large schools of snook blowing up on baitfish. Which is funny how much feeding activity we seen during the entirety of this mushroom experience because the majority of the fishing we did that weekend was not very good, we caught fish but they didn't get to experience anything to this magnitude. This walk was the best way to end this, we took our time and talked deeply and expressed our gratitude for the friendship we have created together over the years. We make it back to my place and all just lay on the floor in my room. We talk here and there but its hard to even use words after having that experience. I was more grateful to have my life then I've ever been in my entire existence. Our friendships grew deeper with each other and I imagine I will think about this experience regularly for years to come.
I've done shrooms before about 6x or so, with the max dose 3.5g a few times but I always was in control of understanding my reality and that I ingested shrooms. I had no idea an experience such as this was possible, I've read tons of crazy trip reports over the years but I guess I didn't understand it until I lived it, just how mind altering these substances can be. This is exponentially the most amazing thing I've experienced in my life, from start to finish it was "perfect" from the location, the weather, the water, the fish, the stages of consciousness I journeyed through. The biggest takeaway I had from this was experiencing what infinite consciousness felt like and it was the most terrifying thing I've ever been exposed to. This is has made a lot of the things in life I used to stress over not so bad anymore. In fact whenever I start to think something is difficult or unpleasant I reflect on that and the problem becomes pretty insignificant.
*** if you live in the Fort Myers area and are obsessed with fly fishing as well message me. I’ve been here for about 7 months and haven’t had an issue finding fish but I need a fishing buddy ***

As I anticipated last week, cover story is over. So, we're back to see the protagonists with some animals and maybe some other characters too. As long as they're not particularly interesting, I'm not going to include the covers in the post.
I have to say that regarding covers, both regular covers like the one in this chapter and color spreads, it's alright to have the Mugiwara pirates doing things every now and then, but I would like so much to see the different villains or arc-specific side characters in those covers. We have tons of covers with the protagonists by now. I think everyone likes covers like the color spread for the Beast pirates. Other awesome examples fro mthe past are the Shichibukai or Impel Down's escape team.
Let's start reviewing the chapter already!
Ch. 1079 p2
I know saying this so early in the post is kind of asking for a downvote but I have to be honest: This is probably the worst chapter of One Piece to this day and by a landslide. And this is saying a lot, taking into account there have been very bad chapters recently and great abominations in Wano.
The chapter is split into two parts and the first one is a very very poor attempt at addressing some of the obvious plot holes created last chapter with the absurd reveal of York as the villain of the arc.
In this page we're already off to a very bad start: "A few hours earlier". And we see York giving instructions to the seraphim outside the lab AFTER the fight between where Stussy betrayed Lucci and Kaku.
What "hours" is Oda talking about?? For us, that happened two months ago but in the story I wouldn't say even an hour has passed. All the characters reunited in the control room and started searching for Vegapunk ASAP precisely because they are in a hurry. And the fighting with the seraphim started as soon as they separated.
Regardless of the time frame, are we really supposed to believe that while everyone was in the control room (including York) planning and organizing, York went out to the seraphim to order them and no one even asked her what she went to do? No one suspected anything? The joke becomes the size of a star when we remember Vegapunk is supposed to be "the most intelligent person in the world (probably in history)" with a brain so big that it's many times bigger than the labs, so smart that he's said to be 500 years into the future and that's not all. There are 6 of them!! But no one suspected of York sneaking out at the very moment that everything shouted: WATCH OUT FOR A TRAITOR.
Now, she gives some orders to the seraphim. And I've said many times already how big of a mess is the authority hierarchy of the seraphims but this is probably the best example of how much stupid does Oda think we are:
Edison and Lilith order the seraphim to stop attacking them and destroying the lab and the seraphim obey. Then, York can override those orders by telling them to kill them all. However, no other satellite nor Stella himself can override those orders. WHY??
Anyway, let's imagine this made sense: What exactly is your ultra-smart contingency plan? No. Before that: Were you really unable to anticipate the gorosei lying to you? Haha. There are a lot of superpowers in One Piece, but Super intelligence is certainly not one of them.
So, the big plan, what is it, York? To kill your "siblings" and the CP0 (and the Mugiwara sure) but keep the other cipher pol agents and Stella alive. What for? Why spare the other cipher pol but kill the CP0? I'd say the World Goovernment will value more CP0 than the no-names, but I guess I'm not that smart.
What is York going to do with Stella? Negotiate with the gorosei? Hold your end of the deal or I don't kill Stella? They'll kill York and Stella all the same. York has 0 negotiating power.
Ch. 1079 p3
Think, York, think! You're late to the party. They already started the "who dunnit" investigation when you sabotaged the Frontier Dome. A plot device that was useless before but now just became a liability by the way.
"If my cover gets blown, I won't stand a chance", then nice move revealing yourself to a man whose knowledge is literally "in the cloud". Now every other satellite could know where you are and who you... Wait, this was true before too. Why didn't Shaka or any other satellite just connect to Punk Records to see where Vegapunk was?
If Vegapunk was blindfolded or deprived from knowing where he was in some way, it would be fine but, he wasn't and the satellites should at least have tried.
York asks S-Snake to petrify her and then depetrify her to avoid suspicions. I already explained S-Snake never did. She should have done this:
Ch. 523 p9
But she never did.
The page makes a very small attempt at creating some mystery regarding "a part of the lab" York wants not to be damaged... Who cares?
When the time comes, either there's going to be some part of the lab still standing and "that part" will be there or the lab will have been completely destroyed and "that part" will simply be somewhere else, just like we were supposed to search the whole lab for Stella and the narrator showed us "the lab" but omitted to show us precisely the place where Stella actually was.
So, S-Snake, don't worry. It's okay to fire your laser anywhere. You're not doing much with it anyway.
Ch. 1079 p4
To finish this first part of the chapter, from the creators of "this meeting could have been an e-mail" comes: This page could have been a panel (or less). A ship of Blackbeard's fleet is near Egghead.
"Months" of preparations by the Marines and the World Government sending 100 ships from all bases just so that Blackbeard pirates are the first to arrive. Kizaru. Who moves literally at lightspeed. This arc is one very bad joke after another.
Ch. 1079 p5
Now starts the second part of the chapter. And the first thing I want you to notice is how bad the illustration gets. It's like the two parts have been drawn by different people. The first 4 pages aren't at all a demonstration of the best Oda can draw, but still, they're good. But from now until the end of the chapter, many parts will be doodles, sketches, characters that look like they were replaces by their stuntman and in general illustration that don't look professional at all.
For starters, we're introduced to three pirates that we'll never see again, that will have 0 relevance and that are explicitly said to be very weak.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind that they are weak. It's probably the only thing of the chapter that I like. And I don't mind that they aren't relevant for the chapter either. However, Killer says "they've got some big names with them". Great! Where are they?
I mean, shouldn't the "big names" have "big names" because they're not only strong but ready to fight when a situation like this arises rather than letting your weaker "friends" get killed?
Notice how the Victoria Punk is still far from the shore and there are a lot of ships between the Kid's pirates and the island.
Ch. 1079 p6
This page is used to give us a peek at what the allies of the Red-haired pirates are. Some carefree and weak pirates allowed to live "the life" because they're under Shanks' protection. Nice. I like this (to some extent). I love this manga but let's be honest, so far, Jaya has been the only arc where it looks like a pirate story. The only one. And other than that, Blackbeard has been the only "pirate" acting like a pirate doing piracy. And Shanks was the only "pirate" relaxing and partying like a pirate. I like to see some more relaxed pirateeing. Even that ¿robot? looks more like a pirate than Don Krieg (the only other character that acted like a pirate but the over use of technology made him a bit strange for a pirate).
Now, Shanks is giving orders "tell them to retreat, open a path for us..." But no one is listening. They laugh and in general don't care at all. In that regard, this grinds my gears.
Also the fact that Shanks was "just stopping by". Then why are all your allies there? On their ships most of them. Was Elbaf the designated island for this year's "Red-haired alliance congress without the chief" and it's pure coincidence that Shanks stopped by and also at the same time Kid arrives there too?
Or maybe not. Maybe they all came precisely after Shanks made a post in Snailagram: "I'll be having a drink in Elbaf this afternoon in casse some other redhead wants to get rekt."
Ch. 1079 p7
First interesting remark by Shanks: "His head's worth 3,000,000,000." This is important for two reasons:

1. That's the highest bounty after the yonk... No. Not anymore. I just realized it's the exact same bounty as another yonko. And given bounties are used now as a powerlevel measurement, this means this is essentially a clash between two yonko level pirate crews.
2. Shouldn't it make more sense that Shanks refers to the total bounty of the crew rather than to Kid alone? It's done before with the Mugiwara pirates. Does that mean they're combined bounty isn't noticeably higher than 3 billion? Kid has a crew of about 40 members. Can't they at least amount to a total of 500 million that's worth mentioning? Killer alone should already be half that...

Let's move on because next up is the Doctor of the Red-haired pirates: Yasopp! You might have thought the character with the most developed Observationo haki was me or maybe Shanks after this chapter, but you're wrong. It's Yasopp! The man can do a full medical check-up in an instant from a far using just a spyglass. Isn't that awesome? Next thing we know, he'll be giving courses about good parenting too.
The reason for this panel to exist is that not too long ago, Shanks mocked admiral Broccoli for trying to do his job under the pretense that Luffy had "just" fought Kaido and Broccoli was taking advantage of that. And now Shanks is the one going all out against Kid, who did nothing more than approach an island. That's why he asks whether Kid's at least recovered from his fight against everyone in Wano. So that his crew validates his hypocrisy.
If you ask me, any doctor including Yasopp would tell you that Luffy who was partying after 5 days of rest and having eaten as much meat as he wanted was fine to fight, whereas the man that lost a full arm and had recently been tortured for quite some time, might take some more time to fully recover.
Wait! There's more!! Shanks tries to justify his presence in Wano. He thought Blackbeard was going to go there too. Nice. So what? Shanks didn't even check it. He went NEAR Wano, telephoned admiral Broccoli with his haki and left immediately. Judging by all these bad excuses, Shanks is surely the kind of people you message at 17.15 because you agreed to meet at 17.00 and tells you he's almost there but in fact he's still at home in pijama.
Last row is nice too. If you think Yasopp being a medic is a surprise, look at this: Shanks is Santa Claus! He's checking on his list whether Kid has been naughty or nice ever since he left South Blue. He doesn't really knows, so he just assumes. And that's all the self-justification he needs before murdering a guy whose crime was to approach an island his log pose took him too.
Ending the page, Killer recognizes "plenty of faces" from the bounty posters AKA strong pirates. A shame we only get to see the weak and goofy ones...
Ch. 1079 p8_9
Yeah, I know what you're thinking: "you said the art was shit for this part of the chapter, but look at that". Sure. Kid's railgun. The one drawing that hogged all the effort and artistry. You'll notice this page has that high and also the low. Shanks jumping two times. One from behind one from the front. Doesn't matter. He's just a stain of ink both times.
Now, I haven't had the occasion to write about this in my analysis of Wano, so I'll just do it here. I love this drawing of the rail gun. It's badass. It looks great. The problem is... This should be Franky. Franky needs to actually build technology. Kid doesn't. First of all, Kid doesn't have these specific parts lying around waiting for him to assemble the gun. But he really doesn't need the gun, the gears, the wires... He doesn't need for some technology to actually work. HE himself has the fantastic superpower that magically makes it possible. Damned Punk should be nothing more and nothing less than a fancy "Repel" to some projectile.
Doesn't matter, Shanks foresees Kid sinking his fleet of allies and orders, once more, for the ships to move away to let them pass ASAP because remember Kid is away from the shore and Shanks just got on his ship that's besides the shore. This time, it's Ben Beckman the one to talk about the ominous situation Shanks wants to address like it doesn't matter.
And... I don't know. Is it okay to rely so hard in your captain that you don't care about risk and dangers? Maybe... But is it really okay to rely so hard in plot holes that you don't care about dangers that are out of reach to handle even when your captain seems very concerned about them?
Ch. 1079 p10_11
Apparently the answer is YES. It's okay. If Oda wants Shanks to jump from his deck at the shore to the middle of the ocean, he does. And suddenly there was no need for the other ships to move or anything. Shanks teleports.
Shanks magically appears in front of Kid and strikes with Kamusari (the attack Roger did to Oden when they met). I can't wait for the day scanlators learn names mustn't be translated. Specially from One Piece, given Ooda makes sure to write in furigana how you're supposed to read it regardless of meaning(s).
At this time it's not obvious, but it's going to be important soon, so watch closely. Can you see Killer anywhere in this double page? Yes. The big panel is kind of hard to read but... try. You can't. He's not here. Killer is not here.
Oh, and for some reason, Shanks' slash isn't just powerful, it's flashy. Literally. It emits strong light for some strange reason I'd really like to know. More than anything to understand the awful lighting in the panel that makes it so unreadable.
Based on the railgun, light comes perpendicular to its face from the front, left and up. And more importantly from above the slash. That means Shanks shoud be in the light too from above, the left and/or his back. But he's not. He's completely in the dark and that only makes sense if the light comes from before him. But then the inside of the gun should be in light but it's in the shadow. Thank you. Thank you for making the most important panel of the chapter unreadable for no reason.
Ch. 1079 p12
Kamusuari explodes. Or the scrap from the railgun explodes. Or Kid explodes. Or maybe it's the plot what explodes, I don't know. Something explodes, for reasons. What can I say, maybe Michael Bay is the new editor. Some of Kid pirates lose consciousness due to Shanks' haoshoku haki. Some do not because they're needed for dramatic purposes.
Ch. 1079 p13
Some are fine to move and everything despite the explosion threw others overboard. Some claim Killer "was trying to help" when he got caught in the Kamusari. No dears. You were blinded by the strange lighting and couldn't see anything. But we saw it and Killer wasn't there. He must have hit his head in the explosion and that's why his helmet is broken.
Anyway, the chapter is ending and Oda was so tired too draw and you can see it. Kid and his crew got actually injured so, for this page, Oda used body doubles. That's why no one in this page looks like themselves.
With their ship in flames and their captain and first mate dead or dying, THESE ruthless pirates show once more that they're just a bunch of pussies and hurry to gift Shanks with their poneglyphs and ask for mercy. Awesome. Kid would have never given them. This is not the first time this happens, though. They already demonstrateed what they were made of when Kaido took Kid and they became his lap dogs. I really wonder why Kid continued his journey with them?
Look closely at the papers and compare them to the one Law gave Kid.
Ch. 1056 p16
It looks like Shanks is being given three or more of them. Kid is supposed to not have all 4. But I don't know, they weren't looking for a poneglyph but for "a man" probably to translate them (Saul maybe?) but they should only have 2. Kaido's and Big Mom's. They shouldn't have Zou's nor the 4th.
In any case, Shanks leaves because his ship got to them already and the other ships have all moved aside effectively. Damn! All those ships have better speed and maneuverability than a windsurf board.
Ch. 1079 p14_15
Dorry and Broggy destroy the Victory Punk using their Hakoku.

Translation note: It's just Hakoku. Not "Hakoku soverignity". Hakoku might be translated itself as sovereignity. But then the translated name would be just sovereignity. Not both words. Raws say clearly just "Hakoku" once. 

I don't really know what to thing of this last page. Yes, you read well: last. Second time in a row, this chapter also has only 15 pages. At this rate, there'll come a time when chapters will have a cover and a last page. And that's it.
Anyway, Why is this the last page? Are we supposed to be hyped by something that was already done at chapter 129? Are we supposed to be hyped about two giants that didn't stand a chance against Mr. 3? I'm not going to even consider the narrator's text. That's bait. We all know it and the best we can do is just ignore it.
I don't know, really. The chapter ends. Kid and Killer who fought Kaido first and Big Mom later, died / have been disqualified from the story. Just like that. Both in one hit. Not one hit each. Both with a single hit that we even saw it didn't touch one of them. Kid tanked a lot of things from Big Mom and is done in one hit.
What about all the pages dedicated to create a rivalry between Luffy and Kid? Waste of time.
Ch. 1000 p8_9
What about the pirates that were goingto carry on the next era?
Suddenly everything regarding Kid has been so that he becomes a plot device for Shanks to acquire road poneglyphs.
This isn't only embarrassing for Kid. It's even more embarrassing for Shanks. He's been there partying and lazying around for years, never trying to get the road poneglyphs. Never brave enough to try and get Kaido and Big Mom's poneglyphs by himself. He waits for someone else to do it. And now he has an interest in the poneglyphs and, for some reason, it's not just easier but piece of cake to defeat Kid than to try and get the poneglyphs from the people Kid took them. I guess logic dies with Shaka.
Do you know those tournaments where there are an odd number of participants (or number that's not a power of 2 actually) and then some get to pass some rounds simply because there's no one to pair them against with? Well, it looks like Shanks was just handed a place in the final for the One Piece without having to work for it. Not just Big Mom's and Kaido's poneglyphs, he was given a third one, Zou's most likely despite Kid shouldn't have it. And I'm sure he'll happen to have the 4th.
In conclusion:

1. First pages to try to justify the unjustifiable about York
2. The rest, to remove Kid from the story (the part of the story where people are relevant at least) in a very unappealing manner and have Shanks cheat his way to the One Piece.
3. Peak fiction.

It's true that for most shonen manga, the last arc is the worst by far. But I thought we weren't there already for One Piece.

I wanted to share some RB hit rates by draft class and by round, going back to 2012. The purpose of this post is to remind you before your rookie drafts that RBs drafted on day 2 or later of the NFL draft have a relatively low chance of hitting as RB2s, and an even lower chance of hitting as RB1s.
Methodology:

• Simple. RBs who have had at least 1 season of RB1 production (top 12 in PPG, full PPR) were considered RB1 hits. RBs who have had at least 1 season of RB2 production (top 24 in PPG, full PPR) were considered RB2 hits.
• The bottom row contains the aggregate total hit rates for that draft year. The right hand column contains the aggregate hit rates for each round.

Limitations:

• There are some one-hit wonders or late career breakouts (such as Mike Davis)
• Some players (such as Rhett Ellison and Kyle Juszczyk) were listed as RBs but play or played different positions.
• Severe injuries (Marcus Lattimore, David Wilson, etc.) were counted as misses. It is unfortunate because they possessed a ton of talent, but that can be the nature of the RB position.
• This does not consider when players were drafted in each round (ex. early 2nd vs. late 2nd)
• I did not chart RBs drafted after the 4th round or UDFAs. These players are often limited to special teams, cut during training camp, or are never relevant for fantasy football.
• Apologies for the format - I wish that I could add some color to make it easier to read.

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Total
R1	RB1: 50% RB2: 50%	N/A	N/A	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 33% RB2: 33%	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 0% RB2: 100	RB1: 50% RB2: 100	N/A	RB1: 64% RB2: 79%
R2	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 60% RB2: 60%	RB1: 0% RB2: 66%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 100 RB2: 100	RB1: 25% RB2: 25%	RB1: 0% RB2: 100	RB1: 20% RB2: 40%	RB1: 0% RB2: 100	RB1: 33% RB2: 66%	RB1: 28% RB2: 51%
R3	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 50% RB2: 75%	RB1: 50% RB2: 50%	RB1: 50% RB2: 50%	RB1: 50% RB2: 50%	RB1: 50% RB2: 50%	RB1: 0% RB2: 50%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 16% RB2: 35%
R4	RB1: 0% RB2: 33%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 33% RB2: 33%	RB1: 0% RB2: 33%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 14% RB2: 43%	RB1: 0% RB2: 20%	RB1: 25% RB2: 25%	RB1: 0% RB2: 0%	RB1: 25% RB2: 25%	RB1: 0% RB2: 20%	RB1: 11% RB2: 26%
Total by Year	RB1: 11% RB2: 22%	RB1: 33% RB2: 33%	RB1: 15% RB2: 31%	RB1: 27% RB2: 54%	RB1: 29% RB2: 43%	RB1: 53% RB2: 77%	RB1: 15% RB2: 23%	RB1: 27% RB2: 54%	RB1: 7% RB2: 29%	RB1: 25% RB2: 50%	RB1: 9% RB2: 27%

CONCLUSION

• I don't think this data should be surprising, but I found the R3 results particularly interesting, as only 35% of RBs drafted in R3 even put up RB2 seasons in PPG. That could increase with some players drafted more recently not yet hitting their prime, but even in R3 hit rates are typically low outside of the otherworldly 2017 class.
• RBs drafted in the 1st round of the NFL draft are relatively safe.
• The San Francisco 49ers should not be allowed to draft RBs in the first 4 rounds of the draft.

TLDR: draft capital matters.

Reading Links: Royal Road ScribbleHub
Book 1 Start Book 2 Start Previous
***
Note: In the final book, This chapter will appear sooner in the story. It's not really to do with revealing plot information, it just fits better earlier.
Also the Theocracy, the Pree government, is now the Provenance. If this is a deal-breaker for anyone, please message me and let me know :-)
***
The Goddess of Bounty boosted away at its max acceleration as soon as it cleared the minimum safe distance from the Deimos. All throughout the boarding, the freighter captain complained mightily about having to make up for time lost due to the inspection. The subtle context of their hasty departure was clear; fuck you, stooges of the Commonwealth tyrants.
Sam watched the freighter depart from the command station on the bridge of the Deimos. Around her, crewmembers manned their duty stations immersed in their displays and holos. Nestled in high-performance acceleration chairs, they were protected in the event of combat maneuvers that strained the gravity dampeners.
The system map stretched across the command station display. A large icon showed the Deimos’s position halfway between the sun and the channel. Sam zoomed in, dropping all celestial and artificial bodies from the map’s expanse. The Goddess of Bounty’s icon crawled away from the Deimos. Two icons drifted along the outer edge, other freighters en route for an inspection. Further out beyond the bounds of the map, over two twenty ships continued on in either direction, benefactors of the limited capacity one Fleet destroyer could take on.
“I’ve seen a lot of peculiar things doing boarding ops, but this was a first for me,” Sam said to the ship's executive officer standing beside her.
“The same for me. Hopefully, it’s the last. They don’t go over that at the academy,” Commander Anwarr said. The ship’s XO stood beside her, examining the command display like he was in posing for a Fleet recruiting poster. He came aboard before the Tyrcellus tour, replacing her previous XO who rotated out for a command assignment. Anwarr had proven himself capable but Sam knew this duty station was a stepping stone for him. The man was not destroyer-class material as much as Sam and Alvarez lived for it. Anwarr had big Fleet in his blood. Tradition-bound and impeccably groomed, he would one day command a cruiser or a carrier if he proved to be top-notch. Running boarding ops and ducking shit-flinging cattle was not what he signed up for.
Alvarez could sense it too and minded his manners when the XO was around. Every now and then, he would throw a wink at Sam when Anwarr wasn’t looking.
There was nothing wrong with Anwarr’s ambitions. Fleet needed strategic-minded officers despite the lack of major conflicts. The life of the heavy-hitting capital ships had become escort duty for diplomatic fleets and mobile control centers for sentientarion operations. Despite the peace brought by the Commonwealth, there was no talk in the HuCo government of decommissioning the existing vessels or ceasing to build the new ones on the books. In Sam’s mind, it was a sign of HuCo’s lack of belief in the long-term viability of the Commonwealth. You don’t keep expensive warships around without a damn good reason.
“Your instincts were impressive,” Anwarr said. “How did you know where the contraband was hidden?”
“I spent time on my grandparent’s farm as a child. Let’s just say I had experience with the variety of foul odors emitted by livestock. A normal diet doesn’t result in that awful of a stench. The more I looked into it, the more I realized something was wrong. I was fortunate my bullshit detector kicked on today.”
“You give yourself too little credit,” Anwarr said.
“The only oddity was the contraband itself.”
The marines had dug through the straw to find several containers stashed within. Dragging them to the center of the bay, they cut the locks and opened them up. Inside was high-end—and perfectly legal—inhalant production equipment. Other containers held raw materials. The only explanation then was that the goods were stolen.
The marine boarding party confiscated the contraband and sent the crew on their way with hefty violations and fines attached to their license. Sam promised the freighter captain that if one more mark was found on the livestock, she would personally track him down and haul his ass out to SecForce on Sanctum. The captain was so irate Sam thought he might take a swing at her, but he came to his senses before Alvarez would’ve inflicted some real pain.
She pitied the livestock the most, stopping by the abused animal before departing the freighter. “Sorry about all this. You’ll be out of here soon enough, I promise,” she said. The creature grunted and went back to eating. Its ignorance might’ve been the best thing it had going for it.
Anwarr said, “People will steal and sell whatever they can get their hands on. The economic restrictions imposed by the Provenance have only made it worse.”
“I suppose,” Sam said.
“I have an outbound freighter scheduled to pick up the contraband in a day and deliver it to SecForce on Sanctum. It took some convincing as the captain was under the mistaken belief that the fee was negotiable.”
“There’s always bad actors who flock to opportunity, but it’s these slimy captains that anger me the most. They think they can get away with bad behavior because of this charter ratification business.”
“We should have at least ten destroyers here to have any confidence in our mission.”
“That’s life in the modern-day Fleet. Never having enough resources,” Sam said. She knew in her heart the problem was more than that. Tyrcellus was a battleground for the future of the Commonwealth, as much as Commonwealth politicians downplayed it or Fleet Command ignored it.
A darkness lurked beneath the shining veneer of post-Reconciliation life; peace and harmony masking the malevolent forces that coalesced for their eventual rebirth. She could feel it in her bones. The clues were subtle but evident in all aspects of their mission. Inaccurate manifests ran rampant as cargo went missing or undeclared Pallets of valuable minerals came and went. Known mercenaries and suspected criminals traveled inbound while distraught Pree headed for the channel. Ships disappeared from commercial flight paths without a trace.
The Deimos’s coordination with Sanctum SecForce yielded valuable intelligence on criminal activity—sentient trafficking, weapons and alterant smuggling, property theft—but they were always a step behind. The powers that be, whether it was Acculturation, the Provenance, or corporate interests looking for profit, played their games with the common folk as their pawns. The bits and pieces of chaos had yet to add up to a fully-formed threat. Sam feared there would be no way to stop what came next.
“Captain, you’ve had an eventful shift. Why don’t you finish a little early and use the time to rest up,” Anwarr said.
Sam felt a fatigue weighing on her shoulders. The business with Goddess of Bounty had ended. There was no reason she needed to stay on duty. “I think I’ll take you up on your offer, XO. I want to check on Wiersbowski anyway. The bridge is yours.”
“Rest easy, ma’am.”
Sam left the bridge and rode the lift down to the crew level. She slipped through the narrow central passageway, crewmembers greeting her as she passed. Muted laughter spilled form the medbay as she approached the medbay. Inside, four marines were gathered around a procedure table. Wiersbowski, wearing scrubs, lay on top, hands folded over his stomach. Despite his uniform having been stripped and stuffed into the recycler, the medbay held a whiff of the foul scent from the freighter’s bay.
One of the marines noticed her and snapped to attention, the others quickly following suit. “Captain,” they rattled off.
“At ease,” she answered. The marines made room for her. Sam came to Wiersbowski’s side. He peered up at her through the transparent mask over his face. “Captain,” he said.
Footsteps sounded in the hatch behind her. “Oh, captain, welcome. Apologies, I was in the head,” the medtech said. He stopped opposite Sam, peering down at Wiersbowski.
“What’s the prognosis, doc?” she asked the medtech.
“You got him here just in time, captain. A few more minutes and the stink would’ve been permanent,” the medtech answered with a wry grin. The other marines struggled to hold in laughter. “Alright, that’s enough fun. I’m running scans to make sure Private Wiersbowski didn’t take some nasty pathogen with him. To be safe, I’m ordering him to a quarantine for twenty-four hours.”
“I think a day off is warranted after having to suffer through that,” Sam said.
Wiersbowski grinned behind his mask. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“What’s in your hand?”
“Er … nothing, ma’am.”
Sam held her hand out. Wiersbowski passed her the object that had peeked out the side of his palm. The four marines shifted while the medtech rolled his eyes as Sam examined the freshly fabricated fake medal within. The profane shape and wording were classic marine gallows humor.
She handed it back to Wiersbowski. “Just make sure you don’t accidentally put it on your class one’s.”
“Roger that, ma’am,” Wiersbowski said.
Sam peered at the medtech. “If anything changes with his status, message me immediately.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the medtech said.
Sam nodded to the marines and left the medbay, heading toward her quarters. She smiled when she heard their muted fits of laughter before the hatch shut.
***
Sam arrived in her quarters and considered falling into her bunk face first but knew she had to take care of a few things first. She stripped off her uniform, visited the refresher, then stood before her desk. She was about to parse through her tedious backlog when her desk chimed with a priority message from Admiral Holcomb.
Her heart rate ticked up. She opened it on her desk display.
Admiral Raymondo Holcomb’s hard-set face appeared. Having just entered his sixth decade of life, he had the vitality of a man half his age. The brilliant gray of his short cropped hair complimented his tanned skin. The gray and blue-lined HuCo Fleet uniform hid a trim figure which still placed in the top tenth percentile of fitness tests. Adding to his mystique was the fact that he started as an enlisted rating before becoming an officer.
He was a humble lifer with a reputation for truly caring about his troops. The way he mentored, disciplined, and led by example. She witnessed it firsthand while serving as his XO. One time during a boarding op, a pirate ship set off an oversized breaching charge in a desperate attempt to escape. A fire broke out in engineering. Casualties demanded immediate medical attention. Holcomb kept his cool, maintaining command during the chaos. The pirate ship took a torpedo for their trouble. Holcomb personally helped suppress the fire and carry the wounded to medical. The action earned him a silver star, the second-highest combat award given. At the ceremony, he gave all credit to his crew
“Sam, I hope this message finds you well. I all too frequently imagine myself back out there instead of riding my desk. But I imagine you’re frustrated at times with the position you’re in. That’s how life goes.”
He went on to cover a few standard items regarding budget, resupply, and rules of engagement concerns. The longer he prattled on about ordinary items the more suspicious she grew.
The next part of the message made her perk up.
Holcomb said, “I know you have too much on your hands and not enough resources. My pleas for more ships are ignored. The Commonwealth insists that it would send the wrong message. Yet, the loss of the Pree charter would be a significant setback. That’s politics for you.
“There is one last thing I wanted to mention. The item we discussed in person before you left. I’ve seen intelligence confirming that it is in play. Tread carefully out there. Remember what I said, trust your gut. The diplomatic fleet is on the way. I’ll see you soon.”
The message ended. Sam leaned on the desk, digesting the unspoken message.
Kosmogenic was a real threat, and Tyrcellus was their battleground.
The mention of the anti-Commonwealth organization had been a joke back when she’d first entered the Fleet. Something that occupied backroom gossip and informal discussions during off-duty events. But in the past few years, it had morphed into a taboo subject. Almost as if Kosmogenic became a dirty word. The chatter ceased, the word removed from intelligence reports.
Before she left for the Tyrcellus mission following Auturia’s destruction, Holcomb had requested she accompany him on his way to a briefing. Climbing into an empty transport pod, Holcomb pulled out a jammer and briefed her during their few minutes of privacy. He’d spoken with sources who said Kosmogenic was real and more powerful than the Fleet had known. Tyrcellus would be the sight of Kosmogenic’s first move to bring down the Commonwealth.
“I know I’m being cryptic,” Holcomb told her. “It’s a delicate situation. I wish I could say more. Right now, it’s best that you’re in the dark,” the Admiral said as the pod’s thrusters maneuvered it to another of the station’s airlocks.
He’d never spoken in such conspiratorial terms to her before. She asked, “Sir, are you in danger?”
Holcomb snorted. “I suppose my career could be if I’m not careful. I’ll keep digging on my end. If I do find anything, you can expect an ambiguous message from me. But I promise I’ll have more to say by the time we meet in person.”
“Why me, sir?”
Holcomb looked at her with fatherly pride. “I need someone out there I trust. You have the best instincts and moral compass of any officer I’ve ever served with. All I ask is that you go with your gut like you always have.”
They arrived at the Admiral’s destination and departed the pod. She hadn’t seen her superior in person since.
Sam rapped her fingerers atop her desk. Her dealings with shifty captains now fell far down her priority of concerns. The boogeyman was real, and there to bring down the established galactic order.
She wasn’t about to let it happen on her watch. But first, she needed to sleep.
Sam opened the news streams on her wall display. She went through her stretching routine, trying to wind down her now-running mind.
One of the feeds caught her eye. She expanded it and replayed the clip; an incident on Sanctum. The Pree singing troupe Sisters Celescia had made another surprise appearance. In the middle of the show, after one of Celescia’s anti-Provenance rants, a lone Pree tried to assault Celescia on stage. An anonymous Human intervened, the so-called Mystery Man saving her with dramatic flair. Whether the incident was staged or not didn’t matter. It was now a hot topic in Tyrcellus. Sam knew it wouldn’t be long before it spread to other systems and occupied the cultural zeitgeist until the next distraction came along to dethrone it.
For whatever reason, Sisters Celescia captured the hearts of the people in Tyrcellus. Sam heard the troupe’s music coming out of personal quarters, the training compartment, and even under the breath of officers on duty who were unaware she stood nearby. It was a mystery how these cross-cultural phenomena came to be. Something would come along, connecting to the various races on a deep level like a universal pass code to the soul. It gave her hope that one day there could be peace without the need for the Commowealth.
She recorded her duty log for the shift and climbed into her bunk. The livestock incident would cement itself in her memory, to be retold when trading war stories at galas or in the back of a bar with friends. But she couldn’t entertain the thought of happier times in the face of their never-ending mission.
The diplomatic fleet was on the way, and the Deimos would join it for what could be the Commonwealth’s last foray into Tyrcellus for a long time. The entities that lingered in the shadows would be forced to make a move. She had no idea what was coming, but she knew that whatever it was, she would be ready to act.

First Part Start Previous Next

Mission Log: 6. Date: 1/6/5. Name: Gregory George

Mission: Planetary rescue
Mission objectives:
Rescue Linus from unknown hostiles connected to a shady lawyer
--Linus located on planet
--Shuttle company name determined: Shuttle by Green
---Gang identified
---Gang headquarters identified
---Likely information vector identified
----Information vector obtained
----Large number of gangers in hiding
----Linus has escaped
-----Linus secured
-----Linus has rescued other kidnap victims
-----Exfiltrate Linus and other kidnap victims
------Linus and hostages rescued.
Objective complete
Eliminate or neutralize all hostiles
--One hostile neutralized nonlethally
---One hostile eliminated
----Six hostiles eliminated
----One potential hostile neutralized
-----Eight hostiles eliminated
-----Nine hostiles neutralized
-----Three potential hostiles neutralized
-----Fifty three hostiles eliminated
-----Eight hostiles neutralized
------Fifty eight hostiles eliminated
------Nine hostiles neutralized
-------Two hundred twenty-four hostiles eliminated
-------Two hundred fifteen hostiles neutralized
-------One lieutenant captured
-------Forty three hostiles eliminated
--------Lost count of neutralized hostiles
--------Twelve lieutenants captured
--------One shot caller captured
---------Fifty-four hostiles eliminated
---------Three lieutenants captured
---------Two shot callers captured
---------Three hundred twenty-seven hostages freed
---------One hundred child hostages freed
---------Three hundred seventy-one personal communication devices seized
---------Forty-three portable computers seized
---------One server rack seized
Objective complete
Teach the criminal elements a lesson
--One example provided
---One demonstration provided
-----Three demonstrations provided
-----Nine examples provided
------Five demonstrations provided
------Eight examples provided
------Two demonstrations provided
------Nine examples provided
------Two messengers sent
-------Thirteen demonstrations provided
-------Fifty-five examples provided
-------Twenty four messengers sent
-------One responsible party acquired
--------Mass surrenders have begun
--------Thirteen responsible parties acquired
---------Four responsible parties eliminated
---------Five responsible parties acquired
Mission parameters:
Minimize collateral casualties
Minimize collateral property damage
Evade detection by station security
Minimize station damage
Protect allies
Potential Action Plan:
One loose end to tie up
Observations irrelevant to mission:
This appears to be a main hub for a planetary mafia type organization that had managed to just barely escape the notice of the Bleivuses because they simply don't try to take ships in transit and gain most of their funds by kidnapping and drug dealing. I don't want to think about how the scum profited off of the people who weren't ransomed or kept for leverage.
Just one little thing to take care of on the station.
There's this big ass ship with a shit ton of Magistrates running trials, and apparently they're fucking shocked that the gang's already been crushed. Too slow boys.

Log: 6000001.0.18, Personal, Captain Yormdrill

It was over yesterday, the gangers just didn't know it yet.
We conferred in the dark morning, and we learned Gregory's plan. Sneaky squad would scale the building to enter through the roof and sneak into position. Then, half squadrons made of a team from red and blue squadron each made new entrances in the shared walls in the two adjoining buildings at four separate points, and Green squad covered the exits. The idea was to drive them downward to the street where, to where their terror was, and away from their hostages.
My brother and I took some demolitions tools, and we began scaling the enemy building's final four floors from the top floor of the adjoining ten story building. Greggory lamented having no aircraft to rappel from, but a shuttle would have been far too noticeable. He slapped his own forehead and said, "The tools available are the tools available. We took away their sky, now let's take away their home."
The lock to the roof access door was a pitiful thing, but then again almost all locks are pitiful things to a portable plasma cutter. "Are you well to do this? Wouldn't you rather take a position to watch over us?" Quindrum asked as the door swung open.
Greggory signed, "From now on, sign only. We want to be undetected as long as possible. This is within my training and experience, and I cannot effectively cover you while you're inside the building."
He nodded, and we filed into the door and flowed down the stairs like smoke. Room by room, we checked the empty two floors. Then, on the thirteenth floor, we found our first high security door. It was in a hall with fifteen such doors on each side, obviously meant for high priority, difficult to contain hostages. Yaemdrill and I went to work while the others stood watch. It had been a while since I had cause to thank my father for more than my raising, but for the skills I learned under him. This was a different kind of rescue than our tug did, but no less crucial. We instructed the hostages to make their way to the top floor and hide, as the building would soon become violent. Unsurprisingly, they were more cooperative than the doors had portended.
The next floor down was a den of depravity. It had been remodeled to be split into three living quarters of disgusting opulence when compared to the surrounding decaying urban landscape. High value textiles draped the walls, the floors were carpeted with rare animal fibers, what were probably valuable cultural artifacts or artwork on prominent display. The furniture was made from imported woods, or precious metals, and all was covered in the evidence of a disturbing amount of caffeine and theobromine use. Not to mention various implements, the uses of which I'd prefer to not speculate over, as well as many which were obviously for inflicting pain or holding beings of varying size or limb arrangement in place. The first two such quarters were empty. The first two.
Beings of various races were restrained in various uncomfortable positions and left to the cruel ministrations of machines, others were lounging under the influences of caffeine powder or theobromine such that they were in a stupor as we checked the rooms for threats, and in the main bedchamber, one of the shot callers was in a writhing pile of naked bodies. Gregory yanked him from the pile by his ankle and sent him flying across the five paces to the wall where he crumpled into a twitching heap.
"Party's over. If you're prostitutes take whatever and go to the top floor, if you're slaves, the same. If you're here for the thrill of it, just voiding get the others out of those strange machines and scorching get to the top floor," Gregory said to the pile of carnal flesh flatly, "There's killing to do. I don't want you in the way." That last bit had them motivated to don whatever scant coverings they had doffed before... well, before committing to whatever acts such people do in such situations.
We put the wheezing commander in some of his own restraints for safekeeping and moved on.
I found the entire experience remarkably disconcerting. I decided I didn't want to know whether the beings were there by choice.
The next floor down was clearly another holding area. It was simply less secure. It was so riddled with open maintenance access hatches, the fact that the gangers thought that it was in any way secure was somewhat baffling. Perhaps until now simple terror has kept the majority of the captives in place. That and the simple latches on the outside of doors.
Greggory signed for us to stay back in the stairwell and immediately took advantage of the space between the ceiling and the next floor. He's rather heavy, but not terribly difficult to lift with his cooperation. Watching him softly pad along the hanging supports in the gaps of the ceiling tiles was tempting, but I kept my eyes on the downward area of the stairwell. A few minutes later, we heard a thud, then a loud thump followed by a sharp cry of alarm that became a gurgle and another thump. Then, Greggory came leading a procession of emaciated adults and children to the stairwell. They must have already been instructed on what to do, because they immediately began the climb to safety.
"Hostages secure," Greggory whispered, and there were four loud booms from two floors below us. It had begun. We streamed downward, and upon meeting gangers fleeing upward, gunned them down without a moment's hesitation. They had known the path to life. They had chosen otherwise.
The gangers shot wildly down the halls, but we took cover behind things like refrigeration units, the reinforced doors, or less ideally the walls or doorframes. We did not present easy targets. They did. Truth be told, Red squad took the lead, and with the help of Blue squad's demolitions equipment, consistently outflanked the gangers. We allowed them to flee toward the street until they were pinned between us, and Green squad waiting outside the single exit we had managed to herd them toward. Green squad had already taught some of them the folly of flight.
"Lay down your weapons, place your hands on your heads, and walk outside if you want to live," Gregory told them.
Those still alive complied.
I hope to the Stars I never need take up a duty like this again.

Dear Diary,

Daddy and Greg are finally home. I feel like I set down a really, really heavy weight that I was carrying all this time. I hugged them so tight, and I didn't want to let them go.
There's just a little more work to do before we go, and Mom is trying to figure out if we even know where our next port of call will be so she can fill the cargo bays accordingly. I wish her luck, but something tells me our lives have stopped being so predictable. I've heard rumblings that we will hold a formal welcome for the away team, since what they achieved was pretty amazing. There's even a rumor that the Lord Justiciar wants to give our Master at Arms a NOVA. Stars!
Speaking of rumors, I heard that the Lord Justiciar was surprised to hear that we were already done catching the gang's entire leadership structure. Apparently, they were still busy getting their teams made. Well, I guess Sneaky could have just come home after rescuing Yoiv and just left the rest to others. Like, it's physically possible. There are some things I want to talk over with him, but I think it's better to leave him and Yoiv be.
Yoiv has been clinging to Greg and Daddy since they got back. The poor guys probably want to bathe and sleep, but that's not an easy task when Yoiv just won't let go. It's fine. A few hours of smelling won't kill anybody. There will be a formal homecoming tomorrow.
It feels like they're so close, but not home yet. It feels like they might get pulled away again.
First Part Start Previous Next

First Previous Next
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Chapter 9

It was an early start for Tom, he had the equipment gathered yesterday to sort out. He set up just outside the back of Kobo’s home where the cart was parked. He laid out the assault rifles that had been recovered as he already attached a scout drone pad to his shoulder hardpoint. The small dragonfly scout drone that could fit in his unarmoured palm buzzed around as his suit controlled it. it told him it was for collecting data, but Tom was sure it was just having fun at this point.
He couldn’t say he wasn’t having a bit of fun he finally had his music on inside his helmet, he had a taste for music from old games and from around the two thousand, usually from smaller creators. It was rather calming and relaxing as he worked on the guns with the aid of his suit. Changing lock settings even with being an authorized user were tricky. Tom only just managed to get it so new users could be added with his permission.
“It should work now?” he asked his armour
“Yes, I don’t see the Fevarians being so different they won’t register as living beings. Could have a few errors to work around.”
At least he got some good news, but there was bad news in the data from the shuttle. Lots of hyperspace activity came from one point in the system, which meant there was likely ship or at least communication activity. Humanity is likely at war without even knowing it yet with Tom likely being the only human fighting it for now.
Five local days had passed but things were moving fast. A storm was brewing, a storm where all the might he could muster would clash with a xeno empire. The first battle was nearing, and Tom could feel it.
Just then a couple of guards with Vel and Kham came into the fenced-off area with another cart carrying his drop pod. Tom’s music inside of his helmet cut off as he spoke. “Thanks, guys, I forgot to go for it with all the excitement yesterday.”
“I heard what happened,” Kham smiled as he spoke, “thanks for keeping my sister safe.”
“No problem, I would be a bad knight if I didn’t protect people,” Tom responded as he got up to look at his pod the drone came back and landed on the pad. Kham noticed it and looked at it curiously. “Yeah, drones are useful and cool,” Tom said, “It’s used for scouting and can allow me to see things from the sky.”
Kham nodded “I can see how that is useful.”
“Talking about useful want an earpiece? So, I can talk to you over distance and without my helmet on.” Tom asked with a smile under his helmet. Kobo smiled as he nodded, “That does sound useful, I would like one.”
Tom handed one over and made sure it fit right before taking off his helmet smiling showing off his now longer hair and stubble over his face. “This is better, right?” Tom watched as Kham studded his face with interest then smiled. “never got a proper look until now, you are very different from us.”
“Different can be good” Tom chucked and smiled, “I got some guns ready to be used, don’t know whom I should let have one, but the head guard sounds like a good start.” Tom grabbed a rifle making sure it was unloaded. “This is very dangerous when loaded and safety is off. The good news right now it’s unloaded and safety is on, it will be bio-locked so only you and anyone else authorized can use it. once we add you.”
Kham’s eyes widen in shock, “did this take down those stalkers like it was nothing?”
Tom shook his head trying not to laugh, “no that was my handgun, but they are about the same stopping power. If I didn’t have a targeting system, the rifle would be more accurate with single shots. Both have semi-automatic mode, but the rifle can go to burst fire or fully automatic.”
Kham took the rifle and carefully looked about it, “don’t look at the end of the barrel, you don’t want to blow off your head.” Kham suddenly looked very uncomfortable, “that’s powerful…why do you even need it that powerful.”
“I hate to say it but we spent way too long killing each other in wars that killed more than there are likely people on this planet,” Tom said before looking a little bit ashamed. “I’m not going to hide our history from you but I rather not talk about it. we split a lot of blood as we matured as a species.”
Kham put his paw on Tom’s shoulder “don't worry about it we aren't bloodless ourselves, but gods protect, I cant even conceive how many people that is.”
“Anyway,” Tom said as he drew his rifle and held it aiming into the sky, “hold it like this keep your finger off the trigger and let my suit do the rest.” Kham nodded as he followed the instructions. It wasn’t long before he was added as a user there were a few errors, but his suit managed to fix it.
“Good you can now use it.” Tom showed Kham how to use the firearm it took about an hour before he got the hang of it. in that time Rhea came up to the pair and the guards have been long dismissed.
“What are you doing?” Rhea asked curiously as she saw Kham aiming a rifle at a log about one hundred meters away set up by Tom. The pair didn’t pay attention as Tom spoke “keep on target. Fire!”
BANG!
The bullet impacted just left and up in the middle of the log. Tom smiled, “pretty good, hi there Rhea.” His head turned towards Rhea who now had jumped a few steps back. causing the pair to laugh as Tom took off the rifle from Kham. “You can give it a go if you want there is enough ammo, I was planning on letting you have access.”
Rhea got shocked, “me?”
Tom nodded “yes you. I want those it I can trust handling the guns, I can…” Tom was interrupted as a guard came rushing in.
“Bandits, there is bandits nearby!” the guard yelled coming in as he rushed in as Tom put his helmet on as the drone took off and Kham calmed down the guard, “take a breath and tell me.” Tom drew his plasma pistol as the guard replied, “About five of them with bows, swords and spears. They are other there in the treeline.”
Tom got his sword out “Leave it to me, make sure everyone is safe. Take the gun Kham.” As soon as he finished speaking Tom rushed off in the direction the guard had pointed.
He got to the area with the drone overhead helping with detection but something seemed off, the bandits were nowhere to be seen, `where were they, scouts?` Tom ponded as his suit searched in any spectra it could. “Something on thermals, I think it’s a wounded Fevarian”
Laying against a tree was a dirty and blooded Fevarian. He was covered in burns and had what looked like crude implants in his flesh. He was muttering and shaking, “The corruption didn’t take… It didn’t take. I… I… They left me… They tried to kill me… They are coming… Soon… So very soon. A day… A day.”
The obviously traumatised being stayed culled up as Tom got closer, “Knight, this isn’t normal.” The developing AI’s voice makes it seem more like it was saying `this isn’t right.` It wasn’t happy with its treatment by clearly those hostile aliens. Tom got closer to help.
“Stay back!”
Tom was surprised by the sudden outburst from his suit. He was about to question it when it spoke, “bomb detectors are going off like crazy.”
“What can you work out? Anything that could be helpful?” Tom asked his suit.
“They have a slave army and use implants to control them. I can’t tell if the bomb is an attempt to kill you or a standard practice.” His suit’s tone was very grim, “we can’t help him, he’s going to bleed out or blow up.”
“Shit, I don’t want to stay here,” Tom looked down wishing he could do more, “you got everything recorded right?”
“Yes, knight from what he’s saying an attack is coming tomorrow night or the morning after. Assuming they prefer attacking in darkness from a sample size of one.” Tom nodded in response to his suit before turning away to walk back. Tom paused drew his plasma pistol and took shot.
“Sorry mate.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Rhea was going to be sick that poor guy, she couldn’t blame Tom for doing what he did. The meeting hall was silent, with her father speaking up first. “We have about a day? We started preparations to leave but we need at least a day to finish, and we need to make sure all of Tom’s things come with us. They could be the key to winning.”
“Ashnu,” Tom spoke with quiet anger and rage, he gave everyone earpieces so everyone could see the rage building in his eyes. “Sorry but once I’m done with these bastards your village may not be left standing. My best chance is to use everything I can that’s not going with you.” His head turned to Rhea, “Rhea I want to train you on how to use a gun tonight and a rocket launcher. I don’t have time to one to ones with everyone.”
Rhea couldn’t believe the trust Tom was giving to her she couldn’t keep the secret any longer, before she would stop herself, she almost shouted out, “I was told to keep an eye on you! I’m so sorry!” She was ready to get told off by both Tom and her father, but the pair just started to laugh.
“So that’s who you choose.” Tom said as he laughed, “my money was on Rhea or Kobo.” Tom smiled friendly at Ashnu who returned the smile. “I had a feeling you would work it out, you are smart.”
Tom nodded “no hard feelings, I would do the same in your position. I did fall from the sky and offer my help without you having any idea about my motives or if I was lying or not.” He looked to Rhea, “don’t worry about it. I’m glad you told me, Rhea.”
Rhea didn’t pay much attention after that as the meeting talked about how to get everything worked out in the time they had. She was just happy it didn’t backfire.
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Captain here,
Things are getting tense, stuff is about to go down. What will happen soon? Who knows?
Anyway maybe small delays with getting the coming chapters uploaded due to real life for a few weeks to a month. After that I hope to get more done maybe even some side stories.
Like always thanks for reading, Captain signing off.

I'm 27 y/o female. I can't put it all in to text but I will just speak on major key points of the life I've had.
I am on only child. Raised by a single mother. Who is now 55 y/o. She chose to be a single mother. She kept my father away from me because she was upset with some things that happened between him and her before I was even born. He wanted to be in my life and provide for me but she was bitter and didn't allow him to. Therefore we struggled to say the least. She is very religious. She joined a church (cult) before I was born and ever since then, she has gone to that church consistently even until now. However she is close to the pastor of this church. So close to the point to where she worhsips them. She has given all of her money to them every time she's gotten paid. Used her 401k to give them money. Not just tithes, but she gives money to them, pays their bills/car notes/ mortgages, buys them groceries, toiletries, food you name it. She's been doing this my whole life. On top of giving money to the church. Mind you, she is not making good money at all. Less than 50k year. She has given our rent money to this church and pastor and we have been evicted countless times forced to live in our car or dirty motels because of her irresponsibility. She forced me to go to this church every week about 4-5 times a week. She also cleans this pastors home for free two to three times a week (4 bedroom house), cooks for them and waits on them hand and foot for free. Forced me to do it with her up until I stopped and left. Never been paid ever. The pastor told her and myself that it was a privilege to take care of them.
This church also has the worst people I have ever met. These ppl have constantly hurt me by lying on me, disrespecting me and my mother, telling me how stupid, ugly I am. Just lots of verbal abuse. She knew about but did nothing because she never set boundaries and is too afraid to. This church had a youth pastor who is now a regular pastor, who at the time sexually assaulted me from the age of 16 up until I was about 19. He was 15 years older then me. The pastor knew about it and so did my mother. I was told by the pastor and my mother that it was my fault and that I seduced him and that I have to go to my grave with this or else I would ruin the reputation of the church. My mother still speaks to him as if they are best friends to this day. She never reacted or got upset with him only me. They forced me to go around him and be nice to him.
She has always invalidated my feelings, projected all of her anger and depression onto me. Never told me I was beautiful told me the opposite actually. She's only happy when she eats food. She has no life only taking care of this pastor and church and then goes to work and comes home and sleeps all day. Very depressed and overweight with multiple health conditions but blames it all on me. Says she never had time to take care of herself because she's always taking care of me or others. Whenever I tried to move out she guilt trips me. She uses her tears and health conditions against me. She has had multiple opportunities to get an actual career and make more money but she chose not to out of devotion to this pastor. She's extremely judgmental and critical of everything I do.
When I left the church and religion all together about 3 years ago, she and the pastor repeatedly told me that I deserve to die, that I will be riddled with disease and that everyhting I have will be taken from me.
She gets very upset when I set boundaries with her. When I tried to confront her about the things we've went through she either cries uncontrollably so I cant talk, starts talking about how bad her mother was to her or tells me I'm possessed by the devil.
There more but this just a little taste of what I've gone through with her. I just got a great careejob. She can't afford to live at the place we're at now alone she has been getting apartments and bills in my name since I was a child which completely ruined my credit before I was able to even use it. This apartment were in is in my name, so when I get paid from my new job I am putting in notice and leaving immediately. I haven't even told her about my new job at all and I won't tell her when I'm putting in notice. She'll know when I tell her to pack her shit. I'll give her a few weeks to pack but I'm done. I'm moving on to create a better life for myself and she won't be apart of it and I will not look back. I'll keep in touch with her via phone but that's it even that will be limited. She has been a better mother to those that use her and disrespect her.
However I have been able to learn how to support encourage nurture and love myself in the most beautiful way. I am a stronger person and I am healing and I am so proud of myself. I am not a victim I am a student and life is my teacher. Sending love to everyone here you are not alone.

I'm very new to 3D printing. I decided to make a rather bold investment and purchased an Ender 6 3D printer, that I installed with BL-Touch [Firmware Version 1.0.4.9]. I'm not ashamed to say I decided it was wiser to get help installing the printer rather then risk doing it by myself.
The only modification I've done to this printer from factory default is adding the BL-Touch and upgrading the firmware. The language of the menu got stuck to Chinese at some point, and we fixed it by opening the user's panel and inserting a micro-SD card with DWIN folder.
However it was challenging for me to get the hang of the procedure to actually use the Ender 6. There was very little specific information for this setup, in my opinion.
Being very systematic, I decided to share this procedure, in the hopes that it will help the next person that tries to make sense out of this printer. Please, by all means point me to any misconceptions I got along the way.
​
PRINTING WITH AN ENDER 6 3D PRINTER + BL-TOUCH

1. Plan the print. Answer the following questions:
   1. Will I be available during the whole time of the print?
   2. Check the weather forecast for possible storms during the time of the print. Heavy storms can cause power failures.
   3. Do I have enough filament on the spool or will it be necessary to refil, and if so, do I have it?
   4. Check the humidity using a sensor. Damp weather can compromise printing quality because filaments absorb moisture from the air. Is now the best to print, or can it wait?
2. Go to the slicing software. I'm very glad using the PrusaSlicer. Double check the printing configurations. Always use 0.2mm for first layer as it helps to prevent hot end clogs. Use your software to slice the model.
3. Prepare the SD-Card. Export the G-Code into the card, remove it from your computer and place it in the card slot of the printer.
4. Plug the 3D printer into the power outlet [Preferably, plug the 3D printer into an UPS that has been fully charged at a dedicated power outlet].
5. Turn on the red OFF-SWITCH of the printer, located on the right side of it, when facing the doors. Wait for the printer to load.
6. If the nozzle is dirty of filaments from previous prints, it will be necessary to clean it. We will heat things up and make any filament melt:
   1. Go to the Main Menu > Temp > Manual and set the Nozzle Preheat to the last temperature you used. You should always right down somewhere what was the last temperature you used.
   2. Wait for the hot end to heat up.
   3. Clean the hot end with a soft wet cloth. Wet is not dripping. If you see some vapor, it is OK. Don't touch the BL-Touch sensor. It is not necessary to cool down the hot end to proceed.
7. Every 5 prints or so, or every time before a large print, manually level the Ender 6. This is a coarse adjustment, made with the screws under the heating table. Good leveling is essential to the success of a print, as the first layer needs to adhere perfectly to the base and this will only happen if the table is properly leveled.
   1. In the Main Menu, go to Settings > Leveling. The printer will move HOME, that is the middle position, with the hot end very close to the bed.
   2. Click on AUX Leveling. There are now 5 positions displayed on the table. By clicking in one of them, the printer will move to the corresponding position. Move to position 5.
   3. Get an A4 paper sheet and place it under the hot end and the bed. Now rotate the screw until the paper touches the hot end. Never rotate the screw without the presence of the paper.
   4. Rotating it clockwise approaches the hot end to paper, while counterclockwise separates them. Your goal here is to be able to pull the paper, feeling the hot end scraping the paper, resisting to the motion, but not holding the paper on position. Move the paper under the hot end gently, without pulling the paper up. It is difficult to describe exactly how does that friction feels but my best prints so far were done when at this stage the paper felt the hot end, but didn't resist much. We will use the Z-offset to get just a tad closer later.
   5. Move to the other positions ( 2 -> 4 - > 3 - > back to 5) and repeat the process with the paper.
   6. Keep doing it at any random order just until you feel that every corner is at the same distance from the paper. Note that doing a corner usually ruins the other ones, but you will slowly getting the hang of it and rotating the screws by smaller and smaller arcs, until you feel like moving them no further. Be patient with your Ender.
   7. When you are satisfied with the corners check the central point. Check the middle point to see if the paper resistance isn't too great. If your resistance is too great, you need to loosen up the corners a bit.
   8. It is not necessary to do BL-Touch measuring before every print since using this setup the printer will scan the bed anyway before starting every print., after you hit the print button. If you are in a hurry between prints, you might look into ways of saving the BL-Touch configuration. Personally, it doesn't bother me that much so I never got around to do it.
8. Go to Main Menu > Settings > Leveling. Wait for the printer to go to central position. Place the paper between the hot end and bed. Now, you are going to adjust the Z-offset. Fell the resistance of the paper, it should feel the paper but not much. Now click on the UP button inside the oval circle and feel the resistance again. Note that the UP button gets the paper closer to the hot end, while the DOWN button gets them apart from each other. Don't mistake them and accidentally collide the hot end with the paper, for this can damage the hot end. Never click on any of the Z-offset buttons without the paper underneath the hot end.
9. Repeat until you are satisfied that the paper slides freely when pulled, but not when pushed. That is for me the sweet spot. When ready, click on the house button inside the oval circle and it will save the Z-offset for you.
10. Quick table clean. Click on Main Menu > Settings > Move and move the Z axis DOWN until you have room to work beneath the hot end. Now clean the table with a soft cloth [You can use isopropyl alcohol if you have some. Wait for the alcohol to dry].
11. Preheat the table if you need a heated table. Go to Main Menu > Temp and set the Hot Bed Temperature to around 60% of the value you are going to use in the printing.
12. Remove the filament from whatever container you use to keep it out of moisture. Place it in the spool holder on the right side of the printer. The filament should come off from the bottom of the spool, and to the right of it when you face it, so that it rotates smoothly in direction to the black sensor that detects lack of filament.
13. With the cutting tool, cut a tip to the filament at an angle of 45°.
14. Insert the filament tip gently inside the black sensor. You should hear a click as the filament crosses the sensor, that is OK.
15. It suppose it is good practice to disable the feeder's motor before inserting any filament. Go to Main Menu > Settings > Disable Motor. It should turn into an X.
16. With the filament passed though the sensor, now it is time to pass it though the blue extruder. There is a hole underneath, and this extruder has a handle on the side, with a spring. You can only insert the filament when the handle is pressed, and this has to be done at at certain angle, so you need to rotate a bit the filament until you get the right angle. That 45° angle cut helps in this. After a few attempts it should become inserted, it does not require force.
17. Push the filament up the Bowden Tube, keeping a close track at its motion. Though this is possible with the original white PTFE tube, I'm not sure if it is possible with replacements such as the Capricorn. Move it by hand all the way until you are close to the hot end block.
18. Enable the motors again. Main Menu > Settings > Enable Motor.
19. Go to Settings > Refuel and extrude from 10 to 10mm until filaments starts to drip out of the hot end. Drip some of it, about 5cm, then wipe the hot end with the cloth without touching the BL-sensor. Retract the feed for exactly 3mm.
20. At this point the printer is finally ready to print. There should not be filament dripping from the hot end. Go to the Main Menu > Print > Click on the name of the file to print (not the icon) > Press Print.
21. [I've noticed that my printer overwrites the hot-end temperature from Prusa whenever I start a print and I have to manually set it to the correct value. I suspect this is due to some user error from my part].
22. For the first 2 layers, watch the printer closely with your finger over the STOP button. The printer will move to a position on the left bottom corner of the table., then the hot end will get very close to the bed, as close as you set with the Z-offset. Then it will move away from you and draw a line spending some filament that could mess up the print. This is normal. Be on watch for any abnormal noise that could indicate that the hot end is scraping the bed, press STOP quickly if so.
23. First it will do the skirt around the print. A skirt is a contour that goes all around the part, without touching it, both marking the boundary and helping a good flow of filament. If it starts making circles of loose filament instead of your part boundary, than this means that the Z-offset is too high (the hot end is too distant from table). Abort the print, clean the table, reset the Z-offset with paper and try again. In a good operation, it should seem that the hot end is drawing close to the bed, nearly touching it, and the filament flows effortlessly. it should not be dropping the filament from a height.
24. Then the printer does the contours. It goes all around the first layer a few times. After that it goes to a corner and starts filling the first layer in the diagonal. In the second layer, first it does contours again, then fills in another diagonal, to adhere better the layers. If you got this far, there is a good chance your print will go smoothly.
25. From the third layer on, you don't need to watch the print so carefully. In simple terms, try to stay at the same room as the printer for as long as humanly possible, watching it at regular intervals (I'd say 15- minutes or so). Sense signs of smoke or abnormal noises and in those 15 minute checks see if the tubes are falling where the printer moves, if the printer isn't printing on air, or making blobs of filament on bed.
26. Wait patiently for the printer to complete.
27. The printer will turn off the heaters automatically when done, but it will not turn off.
    1. In case you won't do another print soon, you should remove and store the filament:
       1. Go to Main Menu > Temp > Manual and set the Nozzle Preheat to the temperature of the filament you just used.
       2. Wait for the hot end to heat up again. You should not remove a filament with a cold printer.
       3. Go to Main Menu > Config > Refuel and retract the filament from 10 to 10mm until it has cleared a good distance from the hot end block.
       4. Cool down the hot end. Go to Main Menu > Temp > Manual > Click on Cooling on the Noozle Preheat.
       5. Disable the motor. Main Menu > Settings > Disable Motor, see the X.
       6. Press the blue handle with the spring on the extruder and pull gently the filament, until it is cleared. Roll the spool and secure it in your container.
       7. Enable the motor. Main Menu > Settings > Enable Motor.
       8. Wait until the printer is close to the ambient temperature. You should keep it online to read the values from the thermal sensors.
       9. Turn off the printer.
       10. Write down on a list somewhere the temperature of this last filament you've used.
    2. In case you will do another print soon, you should not remove and store the filament:
       1. Wait until the printer is close to the ambient temperature. You should keep it online yo read the values from the thermal sensors.
       2. Turn off the printer.
28. With a cold printer, remove the printed 3D part with your hands, in back and forward motions, touching the table the least you possibly can. Be careful that the part does not break or you will lose hours of work. Depending on the area of contact between the table and the part it could be difficult to remove the part, as a well leveled table contributes to a successful print but hinders your efforts to remove the part later.
29. Try a lot with your hands and only as a last resort use the spatula that comes with the Ender 6 kit. In each use, the spatula carries the risk of damaging the glass bed. The spatula is extremely sharp, its blade chamfered if inspected closely. It is easier than it seems to accidentally cut yourself with the spatula [I was one of those people who thought this would never happen to me, until it did]. The inclined part of the blade should be always facing up, and you should press it away from your body, in one of the corners or body of the part. When you've inserted the blade a little underneath the part, make a lever movement and detach the part from the glass.
30. The 3D prints mark the glass, that is normal. Every 5 impressions or so you should clean the glass. Remove the glass with extra care. It is removed by rotating the metal clamps close to you on the edge of the table with the handle of an HEX key. Pull the glass carefully by the edges, removing it from the pressure clamps on the back of the printer.
    1. Take the glass into a sink with a firm horizontal surface and watch the glass with some water, neutral soap and a soft cloth. Always be careful not to hit the glass or to risk its surface, as the loss of a table can be very expensive and delay your future 3D printing projects for a long while.
31. Dry the glass table with soft toilet paper, or leave it drying on air, before fixing it back into the heating table.
32. With a brush or your hands, remove any leftover filament that fell on the inner volume of the printer. You may need to turn the printer back on and and move the table up to better clean it.
33. Remove the printer from the power outlet or nobreak.
34. The work is complete!

Hello everyone, I've been playing a lot of valorant since November of 2022. Since January 27/2023 till today I haven't played or logged into my account due to my new job and shifting to a new place. But today as I logged into my account i was just banned for using 3rd party software. I haven't used or played for a long time and before that i was handed a cooldown for 7 days due to afk so no competative play either. It just shows that my account got suspended. Any solutions to this or I've lost everything?

(You can check my submission history for part 1 if you want, for background information)
​
Forced flight acceleration gone with the press of a mouse button. Yes, it's possible to now turn it on and off again as you need to. Some people complained in the previous thread that the original game pad fix eliminated their ability to turn quickly. Now you can still reverse maneuver and fight up close, but can also turn off flight acceleration when hover dueling - feels a bit sloppy though, so I prefer the original game pad-only fix, but whatever. Finally, I am currently testing this to see if the software required gets flagged by Battle Eye. Don't want to risk getting your character banned? Don't use this fix. Feel nervous using 3rd party software to take a terrible unintended feature out of a game? Don't use this fix. Want to wait and see if I get banned this week using it? Go for it. Want to wring your hands in the comment section about how unwise it is to use the method for this fix because of the potential for your character to get banned? Please don't; anyone who cares has already read the warning and will proceed (or not) of their own accord.
​
Step 1: have a gamepad attached to your computer.
Step 2: Download Keyboard Splitter [https://github.com/djlastnight/KeyboardSplitterXbox] and also read the requirements and instructions for it.
Step 3: Set up your game-pad in Planetside input settings as follows: Check the 'Enable Joystick' box, then set JoystickSensitivity to 0.001, and set JoystickDeadzone to 0.050
Step 4: Go to Aircraft Controls and bind 'Roll Right' to 'down' on your left gamepad axis.
Step 5: Open Keyboard Splitter and then watch this tutorial [https://youtu.be/XC_PI6n5JQk?t=73] telling you the general idea of how to use it.
Step 6: Bind whatever mouse/keyboard key in Keyboard splitter you want to L Axis Down on your gamepad.
Step 7: Hit the start button in Keyboard Splitter, then log into Planetside.
​
Your forced mouse acceleration in ESF's is now optionally removed whenever your hold that button down. Would appreciate any attention you can get this post. I ideally would want confirmation from Wrel that this is not a bannable method of fixing the terrible mouse acceleration in ESF's, and he is unlikely to respond if only I try and get his attention. The more people do it, the better.
​
Finally, if you get stuck somewhere in the process, let me know and I'll try and help you if I can. Good luck!

Us guys need to start working on getting our equal rights and equal treatment from society. We are getting the crap end of the deal these days. It's cool for everyone to trash & bash us, to demand our stuff, our space, to be allowed in our things like boy scouts but not for us to do any of that to them. Did you know girls c can join Boy Scouts now but boys cannot join Girl Scouts?
It's cool for women to march through DC wearing pussies on their heads but let's see a bunch of men try that out Try that with pussies or dicks on their heads.
When is it Mans Night? Where are all the cute or hot female cops for us to flirt with and get away from getting tickets always?
Where are all the cool clothes for us? Look at the adult toys industry there are tons and tons and tons of toys for women and a handful for men.
Girls can tell a group of guys she wants to do em all but not so accepted for a guy to do that.
The adult women having sex with minors aren't judged and sentenced the same as men for breaking the same laws.
Girls are damned near naked wearing thongs, G strings, and other skimpy as hell clothes. If a guy rolled into the public pool, water park or other public areas wearing the equivalent, compared to what we can get away with...
All the dirtiest hardest, most dangerous things, it's always us guys who are expected to do while girls get the nicer safer easier things always..
I could go on and will go on when I feel like going on more with it..
I am thinking us men need to take menopause back from women. That's obviously our word stolen by women. Stolen from us used for almost a cussword. Suffering from menopause... Can you believe that crap? And our male ancestors put up with this cruelty, this abuse, this this is hate speech! Yeah HATE SPEECH! Women, HATE SPEECHING us men all sly, right in front of us, in our faces, MENOPAUSE.... They can use their own word, bash and trash themselves from now on, WOMENOPAUSE! I think we need to do our own Men-O-Pause and do some pause action on things to get our rights and treatment established in this modern day and age..
Get Some Respect For Our Authority lol.. Kidding there... No I'm not! We need to stand up and put our foot down or put our foot down and stand up or something like that. We can't let this cruelty against us continue! If we do, it won't be too many more generations they won't even allow us to be born or be changing us soon as we are born of not before even...
Maybe we need to not let them use our word MEN for any part of their words WOMEN WOMAN etc, Just call them Wo's from now on... Woah wo, no I will not do that (hard dirty dangerous task) for you, I am on MANOPAUSE! Me and THE MEN are having A Men's day, getting our(whatever cool things you want done) done and going out to enjoy MEN'S NIGHT after with all we can drink free and no cover charge and if we get pulled over we are gonna get our way out of any tickets... We owe it to our future male lineage to stop this abuse and start getting these terrorists locked up! Menopause right to our faces SMH😒

He's been a deadbeat my whole life. Mother the same (very cold hearted). Had to run away to my grandmothers house to live with her and her partner. I've struggled with really nasty teasing at school, depression & anxiety for longer than I can recall not feeling that way. Also struggled with drugs and alcohol... Father used to do drugs with me as a way to relive his youth i suppose. I've since quit everything even weed and I'm trying to become a man I can be proud of.
He's a drug and alcohol addict he was for a long time mentally and on the odd occasion physically abusive (when drunk) when I was younger and smaller than he was and more timid etc. The sad thing he isn't always bad, but he is always just really a piece of shit. He's nice and we talk etc but he is who he is. I hope that makes sense? Not everything with these types of things is black and white.
He used to wreck my nans old house when he was younger (she had a very nice big house). Smash things, threaten people with knives and shout and scream. (I remember as a toddler being carried crying down the lane of our house because he was doing as described. The house including guests had to literally be evacuated people had to jump from balconies. It was nuts)
Plus he's been given ready to go businesses (which he was squandered), a free house and has had benefits and income from welfare sorted for him by my nan (his mother). Still complains about how things aren't how he would like them to be. Complains on the phone to my nan about how sad he is etc, and how his house that he hasnt worked for needs repairs. Even threatened to call whatever service deals with welfare tenant complaints. (Nan bought the house and rents it through government services that pay for the mortgage for him).
He is supposed to be in recovery even though he still takes opiates and benzos. He's also just a sorry excuse for a man. Like a real fucking loser in every sense. He doesn't cook, clean, help out when he comes to visit my nan or do fuck all really. Apart from leave dirty dishes and eat the snacks etc and lay on the sofa snoring when my nan is watching TV.
I still live here as she is getting on in age and her partner (my surrogate father) left and stole 15k with an employee of their company they used to run that ended not too long ago. That's a whole different story :( I run my own online businesses and have had the money in the past (not currently in all honestly) to move but she likes me here, and I like being here too. It's nice, she was there for me and now I am here for her. I cook and clean and give her organic supplements and stuff and try to keep her healthy, even though she is 80 and has the life force of someone 10 years younger.
Anyway... What happened is this...
This all happened on mothers day of all days.
He came into my room as i was just getting over to sleep relaxing watching a doc on my computer after being out the night before djing and coming home not too long before this situation. (Even my DJ partnership with my friend has broken down and that was the last show. (I was even feeling really dissapointed and fucked off about that for obvious reasons).
He came in and said get freshened up i need a lift into town and were going to go have some fun, I said what kind of fun (expecting it to be something nice like getting lunch or something or going somewhere). He then said his friend has the best coke he's ever tried. I said what are you doing coke for you're in recovery, he then said its just a little relapse. I then told him to get the fuck out and he said dont be like that. I repeated myself twice more and closed the door behind him.
He left. Nan asked me why he left in a huff... I told her why.
He rang her later that evening whilst still at his friends with coke (clearly on benzos or opiates and coke or all three most likely) (I can tell when hes fucked up), telling here how things are gonna change. He's not taking this from me anymore, and there is gonna be a big sit down and im generally gonna be put in my place etc. I heard this and took the phone, he then told me how I'm a liar, I steal money, I'm useless I don't even try in life and I refuse to work (I actually just passed a 3 tier interview for a marketing job and got offered the position and refused it because they lied and it was door to door sales - which also really just fucking sucked and upset me I was so upbeat and happy. I literally prayed and thanked god before i realised). Pretty much just thinking of everything he could possibly say to ruin my character even though it isn't true, he twists the truth to make me look bad. He said he had access to my emails that I accidentally left logged in. He's gonna expose me for everything I am, even though my emails consist of spam and invoices etc and even work related emails (complete invasion of privacy). He brought up previous times he came in drunk starting rows and I beat him with rolling pins... i did to begin with in the arms... but I put them down because I wanted to beat him with my hands and I knew weapons aren't okay. Which I did. And I told him that when he brought it up on the phone, he went silent so he must have remembered that was the case. He used the fact that I've lost my temper with him before against me as it hurts my nan because it happens mostly here in her house where I live.
This argument went on for a little while, he really was having a serious go at me. Everything he could think of saying to hurt me he said it. Acting with drug fueled bravado and his friend acting as his little sidekick. I told him to come talk to me face to face like men instead of using my nan as a messenger over the phone. I guess this coupled with fact that I told him to get the fuck out previously just made him feel small. The argument just got worse and worse... I eventually had enough and said you know I am going to end up killing myself over you (I've been really really down recently) and his friend said you don't have the balls and "Is he gonna put a rope up?"..... then he said go ahead and do it.
I just left in tears, I never expected him to say that to me. Obviously.
Then on the phone to my nan he started denying that he said it, and how he's sorry etc. He idolises me etc and loves me so much. He's bi polar as fuck or something i dont even know.
I had suicide notes written out, overdose drugs sourced (tor), and a plan to get a plane ticket and chill somewhere nice to take them and die in peace. (Liquid methadone + valium + paracetamol + codeine + whiskey in high volumes) (everything but whiskey would have been hidden in checked luggage) (toiletry bag vac sealed with stealth etc + e liquid droppers for methadone). I was using duckduckgo to see if it hurts, different religious views if i would get into heaven, fear or the buddhist samsara. The works.
Told my nan all this she was crying and begging me not to. So I promised her I won't.
I don't want contact with him anymore but he will still be coming up here to see my nan. And I feel bad because I've been venting my anger and frustration to my nan because I have no one else that will understand it or care for that matter. I get angry with her because we don't see eye to eye on it and she obviously will still coddle him. I told her a large percentage of it is her fault he's like this. It's looking like I'm going to have to swallow my feelings for her sake and just go on like I have forgiven him when I know when I have the chance im going completely no contact. Even on the phone tonight I heard him complaining about stuff going on around his house (getting upgrades that he hasn't worked for). Things are never going to change and I have promised my nan I wouldn't leave her. So I'm stuck just accepting my fate and sucking it up for her sake.
If I knew that nothing happened after death and my nan wouldn't be sad I wish I just didn't wake up. I'm starting a new brand and I've been eating really well and exercising and really doing well and I am just so emotionally, spiritually and physically drained. I don't even want to work on it. I don't really want to do anything at all. But I will get past it, I'm pretty resilient. It just sucks right now. Gonna go for my walk tomorrow and get back to my diet and finishing my business plan. I have a meeting to get my logo done with an artist and I am not feeling sharp like usual. I hope I can get my vision across.
Hopefully I can have some money saved up soon from online sales to go away for a while and try and relax somewhere nice for a month. But my new brand requires me to be here to hand make the products in the beginning. Maybe I can have a bulk amount sitting with a logistics partner. I don't fucking know.
I don't really think they understand. I'm thrown completely off course and was drink driving last night and everything. This shit has affected me so much.
I was doing so well after my partnership breaking down and the job I thought I got being a complete let down.
Fuck my dad.