This post also appears on my blog, but that version has links to my full reviews for everything, as well as the visual card.
My favorite reading challenge is winding down, and for the third consecutive year, I have completed a pair of Bingo cards. I’ll talk more about my themed card in a while (probably after April 1), but today, we’re looking at my first totally unplanned Bingo card. Sure, I went through the recommendation threads last April, because those were a blast, and I planned my themed card, but apart from that, I just read what I read and then checked this week to see if I could make a full card. And perhaps one or two squares are a bit of a stretch, but I did indeed make a full card.
Continuing the bit from the last two years, I have rankings, ratings, mini-reviews, and cliffhanger notes. Do keep in mind that the rankings are just for fun and shouldn’t be taken as gospel. After all, I intentionally excluded anything I rated below 14/20, so the worst of this card is very far from the bottom of my year of reading. And it can be hard to rank books with the exact same score. I have a 20-point scale and not a 50-point scale precisely because sometimes opinions can only get so fine-grained. Ask me again next week, and I may order 16 through 22—or 2 through 5—totally differently.
Anyways, I read some great stuff, let’s get to it:
1. “Falling Off the Edge of the World” by Suzanne Palmer, “Two Spacesuits” by Leonard Richardson, “In the Time of the Telperi Flower” by David-Christopher Galhea, “The Bone Stomach” by Ziawa Jande, “The Empty” by Ray Nayler.
Categories: Short Stories, Published in 2022, Book Club (hard)
Mini-Review: It’s common for Five Short Stories to end up on top of my list because I can just cherry-pick some of my favorites of the year. But all five of these are free—two will be discussed as part of the April 5 session of Fantasy’s Short Fiction Book Club—and I highly recommend checking them out.
Rating: 18/20
Cliff Severity: Short stories may have ambiguous endings, but they don’t tend to end on cliffhangers.
2. The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler.
Categories: Standalone (hard), Published in 2022
Mini-Review: The plot description may sound like Michael Crichton, with an undersea first contact intertwined with high-stakes hacking and an AI-run slave ship, but the storytelling is anything but. It’s extremely contemplative—on the nature of consciousness and of humanity’s treatment of the Other—and written in such a way that it only gets better upon reflection.
Rating: 18/20
Cliff Severity: There’s plenty of uncertainty at the end, but it feels like a story that’s meant to end on some uncertainty and not one that’s waiting for a sequel.
3. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura, translated by Philip Gabriel.
Categories: Published in 2022, Mental Health (hard), Standalone (hard), Indie Published (hard), Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey (hard), BIPOC Author, Family Matters
Mini-Review: The pacing of a school novel, but without the school, Lonely Castle in the Mirror stars a group of tweens whose individual traumas have kept them out of their local middle school but who find each other in a portal world. A slow read but an easy one, this dives brilliantly into adolescent mental health, making it not just my favorite YA novel of the year, but one of my favorite 2022 novels full stop.
Rating: 18/20
Cliff Severity: Another standalone?
4. Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
Categories: *Historical SFF, Standalone (hard), Revolutions and Rebellions (hard), BIPOC Author, Published in 2022, Family Matters
Mini-Review: This one is an actual school novel, set in a fantasy Oxford whose translation magic powers the British Empire, and provides an unflinching portrait of colonialism. And as fascinating as the linguistic magic was, the highlight for me was a lead character grappling with a place that has given him his heart’s desire but that will never fully accept him as one of their own—nor will they refrain from using his gifts against his native land.
Rating: 18/20
Cliff Severity: If I keep reading this many standalones, it’s gonna ruin the whole cliff severity bit.
5. Dust and Light by Carol Berg
Categories: Family Matters (hard), Book Club (hard), Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey (hard), Mental Health (hard)
Mini-Review: If you’ve read Carol Berg, you know to expect tight focus on a lead who will go through absolute hell before coming out on the other side. This one sets up a neat puzzle with a lead whose magic art gives him knowledge others would like hidden, and there’s no lack for danger along the way.
Rating: 18/20
Cliff Severity: This is a duology and should be read as such. The cliffhanger isn’t as bad as others I’ve read, but it still sets up a major step into the unknown.
6. Neom by Lavie Tidhar
Categories: Non-human Protagonist, Indie Published (hard), Published in 2022, Mental Health, No Ifs Ands Or Buts
Mini-Review: It’s a short novel that flits through a surprising number of perspective characters, feeling more like mythology in a futuristic context than like a traditional sci-fi (never mind the robot main character). But it’s a beautiful and touching read that deserves more attention.
Rating: 17/20
Cliff Severity: Reads like a standalone, even though there’s at least one other novel (Central Station) and other stories in this universe.
7. She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Categories: Book Club (hard), Revolutions and Rebellions (hard), Historical SFF (hard), Anti-hero, BIPOC Author, Family Matters
Mini-Review: This is Chinese historical fiction with a thin veneer of magic, but both the magic and the politics are secondary to an exploration of several characters who don’t fit into their culture’s expectations of their gender. It's intensely character-driven and altogether fascinating.
Rating: 17/20
Cliff Severity: This is a duology and leaves plenty to do for the second book, but there’s enough payoff in the first to make it feel worthwhile by itself.
8. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
Categories: BIPOC Author, Cool Weapon, Published in 2022, Revolution or Rebellion.
Mini-Review: Traveling companions swap larger-than-life stories during their time on the road. And then they experience some larger-than-life stories. Despite the mortal danger, this feels like a small-scale piece, and it’s a gorgeous one.
Rating: 17/20
Cliff Severity: This is the third book in a novella series that’s explicitly meant to be readable in any order. The main characters carry over, but there’s no cliffhanger.
9. The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
Categories: LGBTQIA List, Book Club (hard), Family Matters, Non-human Protagonist (hard), Mental Health (hard)
Mini-Review: And here is an undoubtedly small-scale piece, as a group of people from various non-human races have to deal with unexpectedly prolonged proximity after an emergency leaves them bunkered down together at a rest stop in space. Recommended for fans of character-driven sci-fi, especially ones who don’t mind the society-scale problems left unresolved while the small-scale problems are addressed.
Rating: 17/20
Cliff Severity: Again, this is part of a series, but many characters come and go—this one feels readable as a standalone.
10. A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
Categories: Award Finalist, Book Club (hard), Author Uses Initials, Cool Weapon
Mini-Review: How do you rate a very fun, fast-paced fractured fairy tale that you’ll blow through in no time but forget about in a month? It’s hard for me to call this an essential read, but it is so good at what it does, with a lot of humor and a few moments of real poignancy.
Rating: 17/20
Cliff Severity: Another novella series where each is meant to be readable as a standalone.
11. Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin
Categories: Weird Ecology (hard), Self-Published (hard), No Ifs Ands Or Buts, Family Matters.
Mini-Review: This is a giant hunk of epic sci-fi/horroromance, as a woman crash-landed on an inhospitable planet tries to find her brother, while a military leader and his squad seek to retrieve the secrets from a disappeared ship, and an even greater danger lurks underneath it all. This takes some patience, but the payoff is real—a well-deserving winner of the first SPSFC.
Rating: 16/20
Cliff Severity: The main plot resolves, but in a way that asks a whole lot of questions of the sequel.
12. The Last Gifts of the Universe by Rory August
Categories: Self-Published, Published in 2022 (hard), Standalone (hard), Family Matters, Mental Health (hard).
Mini-Review: A fun sci-fi story about excavating dead civilizations—to hopefully find the secrets behind their death—turns into an exploration of grief with a surprisingly touching romantic subplot. Strong (and short!) character-driven space opera.
Rating: 16/20
Cliff Severity: Standalone!
13. City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Categories: Antihero, Standalone (hard), Mental Health (hard), Revolutions and Rebellions (hard), Published in 2022.
Mini-Review: A mosaic novel about a revolution in a weird fantasy city, with a whole host of wildly self-interested characters working at cross-purposes. The writing is engrossing and the politics are fascinating, although there aren’t many characters who are especially sympathetic.
Rating: 16/20
Cliff-Severity: Another standalone!
14. Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Categories: Wibby Wobbly Timey Wimey (hard), Book Club (hard), Standalone (hard), No Ifs Ands Or Buts (hard), Family Matters (hard), BIPOC Author.
Mini-Review: The tight character focus on a trans violinist running away from home makes this worth the read, as do the lush Californian setting and outstanding descriptions of both music and food. A sci-fi subplot and an ending that’s more than a bit too neat detract from the overall package, but the strengths are enough to make this well worth the read.
Rating: 16/20
Cliff Severity: Another standalone!
15. The Magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy, March/April 2023, edited by Sheree Renée Thomas
Categories: Two or More Authors (hard), Five Short Stories (hard)
Mini-Review: 16 stories, along with some poetry and book reviews, and nearly all of them are good. The Black Mirror-like “Piggyback Girl” and the whimsical “The Weremouse of Millicent Bradley Middle School” stand out from the rest, but there are a couple entertaining fairy tales, an excellent piece of sword-and-sorcery, a novelette about a cat buying a dragon, and plenty more fun.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: More short stories—some of these actually connect to existing universes (including the Neom world), but they’re readable on their own.
16. The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
Categories: Urban Fantasy, Features Mental Health, Family Matters, Published in 2022.
Mini-Review: Pays off on so many of the seeds planted in the first two books, with more than one absolutely outstanding sequence featuring edge-of-your-seat tension and buckets of thematic depth. But it’s a bit uneven, with a slow and frustrating start and an ending that felt a little too neat. Definitely worth the read for fans of the first two but probably isn’t for anyone who didn’t enjoy A Deadly Education.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: Last book in a trilogy, so it ends things. You can’t really start here though.
17. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Categories: Published in 2022, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey, Family Matters
Mini-Review: I expected beautiful prose and excellent character work across all four timelines, and I got good prose and good character work. Some of the pandemic sections felt a hair too on-the-nose, but there was plenty to get me invested. The science fiction elements generally worked fine, though it’s not a book that really breaks new ground on plot. Overall, it’s a solid read, though not one where I totally understand the “best of the year” hype.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: This is readable as a standalone, but I have been told it is loosely connected to other books in the same world.
18. The Hand of the Sun King by J.T. Greathouse
Categories: Shapeshifters (hard), Author Uses Initials (hard), Family Matters (hard), Award Finalist (hard), Revolutions and Rebellions (hard), Book Club (hard).
Mini-Review: This is structured almost like four related novellas, with each section rising to its own climax before skipping ahead to the next step in the character’s journey. The main character progresses nicely, and there’s enough plot development to make for an intriguing setup, though there’s plenty left to do in the sequel.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: Another one that makes a lot of progress but leaves lots and lots of work for the second in the duology.
19. Dead Silence by S.A Barnes
Categories: Set in Space, Book Club (hard), Mental Health (hard), Standalone (hard), Published in 2022 (hard), Author Uses Initials, No Ifs Ands Or Buts.
Mini-Review: This promises a haunted house in space and delivers a haunted house in space. Even as a relative horror neophyte, I was able to predict most of the plot, but the atmosphere is good enough to make it a plenty engaging read regardless.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: Standalone!
20. Dead Star by Simon Kewin
Categories: No Ifs Ands Or Buts, Self-Published, Set in Space (hard), Revolutions or Rebellions (hard), Family Matters.
Mini-Review: This is a fast-paced, planet-hopping adventure about digging into the secret history beyond the sudden and mystifying rise of a small religious sect to galactic hegemony. The villains are a bit over-the-top, and I’d have liked to see more of the story in the first book, but it’s short and very hard to put down.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: This is the worst cliffhanger on the card. It reaches a waystation on the full trilogy arc, but so many of the driving questions are left for the sequels.
21. Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Categories: Revolutions and Rebellions, Book Club (hard), LGBTQIA List, Mental Health (hard).
Mini-Review: It’s a really touching found family story in which a horse-loving intersex protagonist finds a home in the portal world of the Hooflands, but with a rushed and uninspiring revolution filling out the plot. The description of childhood bullying and cultural expectations of femininity calcifying as early as elementary school are all too real and expertly done. And if the ending doesn’t maintain the level of quality, the beginning is still enough to recommend it.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: Deep into a full series, but I believe it’s meant as an alternate entry point. I’m not sure I buy it as an alternate entry point, but the story is mostly self-contained, with the inevitable connection to the rest of the universe.
22. A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Categories: Set in Africa (hard), Urban Fantasy (hard), Shapeshifters (hard), Book Club (hard), Author Uses Initials (hard), BIPOC Author.
Mini-Review: Stunning worldbuilding, mediocre mystery plot. Like many of the 15/20 stories, there’s a five-star element and a three-star element mixed together. Here, the magic-infused, steampunk alt history Cairo is the true star, carrying a mystery that’s otherwise the dashing protagonist jumping from action sequence to action sequence.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: It’s a detective story in a world where the same detective has other stories. No problem reading it by itself.
23. The Past is Red by Catherynne M. Valente
Categories: Author Uses Initials, Book Club (hard).
Mini-Review: This is an expansion of an award-winning novelette with a fascinating and unique narrative voice. It takes place on a floating trash island after climate disaster, and like many climate stories, relies heavily on worldbuilding. For me, the worldbuilding wasn’t enough to sustain full power over novella length, but the main character’s narration kept things interesting.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: This is an expansion of a previous novelette and can easily be read alone.
24. The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
Categories: Cool Weapon, Published in 2022, BIPOC Author, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey (hard), Shapeshifters, Mental Health (hard), Family Matters (hard), Revolutions and Rebellions (hard).
Mini-Review: Gorgeous prose and a stunningly creative narrative structure buttress a fairly straightforward central story long on violence and…well, long. Unlike some stories higher on my own list, it’s very easy for me to see why some have this as their top story of the year—it takes risks and has a few elements that are absolutely knocked out of the park. But it’s just too long to live on prose and structural experiments alone, and the characters and plot are competently drawn but not quite riveting. Put simply, there’s some exceptional work here, but there are too many slow spots.
Rating: 15/20
Cliff Severity: Standalone!
25. Rose/House by Arkady Martine
Categories: Name in the Title, Standalone (hard), Mental Health (hard), No Ifs Ands Or Buts.
Mini-Review: Apparently I haven’t read many stories with names in them this year, so I have to use the name of an AI house to fill out the card. It hurts me to squeeze out an entry that would’ve easily been top ten in A Desolation Called Peace, but unplanned Bingo can be capricious. At any rate, this one looks like a locked room murder mystery but reads more like a fever dream. It’s a beautiful fever dream with lots of meditation in personhood, but it’s also hard to know just what to take away in the end.
Rating: 14/20
Cliff Severity: Standalone!
Lessons from unplanned Bingo:

• I thought this would be easy, and I suppose I successfully completed the challenge with literally zero advanced planning, so pats on the back for me. But I had to stretch for a couple squares that I noticed in late March hadn’t been obviously filled—particularly Weird Ecology and Name in the Title. I think my choices fit the squares, but I hadn’t noted them down as fits in the immediate aftermath of reading.
• As usual, there were a couple subjective squares that could be filled by seemingly everything. Does anything I read not address mental health and family? Perhaps not. Or perhaps I wasn’t strict enough defining those squares (though my ultimate choices were excellent fits, if I do say so myself).
• On the other hand, I don’t read much urban fantasy, antiheroes, or books with cool weapons. Or a whole lot with shapeshifters, though I was surprised to see them arise more than once. Award Finalist was also tricky, as I read so many books that were currently up for awards—after all, I led the Hugo Readalong and judged for SPSFC—and I had no way of knowing at the time whether they would win.
• Unplanned Bingo didn’t really take away my enjoyment of Bingo. The logic puzzle at the end is fun, but it’s the brainstorming thread at the beginning that makes this my absolute favorite reading challenge.
• In using the same template as my recap post from last year, I was able to notice a few interesting coincidences. For instance, I had an R.F. Kuang novel 4th and my Self-Published square 12th two years running. But in general, my scores were higher this year. Either I’m getting soft with my ratings, or I’m finding more and more good books.

Keanu Reeves’s Movie! Here are options for downloading or watching John Wick 4 streaming the full movie online for free on 123movies & Reddit, including where to watch the latest installment in the John Wick franchise at home. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) available to stream? Is watching John Wick: Chapter 4 on Peacock, HBO Max, Netflix or Disney Plus? Yes, we have found an authentic streaming option/service.
Watch Now: John Wick: Chapter 4 Online Free
As the fourth installment of the John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 4 brings back Keanu Reeves as the titular character. While the movie was pushed back nearly two years because of the pandemic, it’s finally here — and we have you covered on how you can watch it.
John Wick: Chapter 4 opens in theaters today, which means it’s once again time for another delightful Keanu Reeves press tour. And that also means it’s time to rewatch the action movie franchise that’s spanned nearly a decade.
John Wick: Chapter 4 follows the professional hitman as he works his way toward defeating The High Table. However, he must first contest a new enemy — who has “powerful alliances across the globe.”
When Is John Wick 4 Release Date?
John Wick: Chapter 4 is scheduled to hit cinemas worldwide on Friday, 24 March. Wick’s fourth outing was initially set for a May 2021 release, but the COVID pandemic and Reeves’ commitments with another project — The Matrix Resurrections — pushed the premiere date back a year.
It will not be available on any streaming platform, nor will it be available to rent or buy via any digital or VOD service such as Peacock.
Where to watch John Wick 4:
As of now, the only way to watch John Wick: Chapter 4 is to head out to a movie theater when it releases on Friday, March 24. You can find a local showing on Fandango. Otherwise, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available to rent or purchase on digital platforms like Amazon, Vudu, YouTube or Apple.
John Wick 4 is not currently streaming online, and we don’t yet know when John Wick 4 will be on VOD. While previous Lionsgate theatrical movies like Plane came to VOD after about one month in theaters, we’d guess a big release like John Wick will likely stay in theaters for longer. If you want to see the film before the summer, your best bet is to catch John Wick 4 in theaters.
When Will John Wick: Chapter 4 Be on Streaming?
While a digital release date for John Wick: Chapter 4 has not yet been announced, we can make an educated guess based on a previously released Lionsgate movie.
Plane, which premiered on Jan. 13, came to digital platforms on Feb. 3 — about three weeks after it was released in theaters. If John Wick: Chapter 4 follows the same trajectory, we could be watching it from the comfort of our living rooms by late April or early May.
Will John Wick 4 Be On Netflix?
No, John Wick 4 will not be available on Netflix — at least not anytime soon, since it will be heading straight to Peacock after its theatrical release. In the meantime, you’ll just have to wait for it to become available on the NBCUniversal-owned streaming platform.
While John Wick: Chapter 4 could potentially come to Netflix in the future, there has been no announcement about any plans for it to join the streaming giant following its theatrical run. In the meantime, you’ll just have to head out to a movie theater or wait for it to become available on digital.
Will John Wick 4 Be On HBO Max?
No, John Wick: Chapter 4 will not be on HBO Max since it’s not a Warner Bros. movie. Last year, the company released its films in theaters and on the streamer on the same day. However, they now allow a 45-day window between the theatrical release and the streaming release.
John Wick 4 is a movie theater exclusive, which means it is only playing on the big screen. To watch, you’ll need to go to your local movie theater. Now, the movie will be available on streaming at some point, but will it be HBO Max? Unfortunately, no.
Is John Wick 4 Available On Hulu?
Viewers are saying that they want to view the new movie action John Wick 4 on Hulu. Unfortunately, this is not possible since Hulu currently does not offer any of the free episodes of this series streaming at this time. It will be exclusive to the MTV channel, which you get by subscribing to cable or satellite TV services. You will not be able to watch it on Hulu or any other free streaming service.
Is John Wick 4 Available Streaming on Peacock?
Lionsgate struck a massive distribution deal with Peacock that gives the streaming service exclusive rights to its films’ “Pay 2” streaming window (via THR). The agreement means that after Lionsgate’s films have their initial streaming releases on Starz, the movies, like John Wick: Chapter 4, will later be available to stream on Peacock. Since Lionsgate hasn’t even confirmed the official streaming release date for the John Wick sequel on Starz, don’t expect to see the movie land on Peacock until at least winter 2024 after the deal officially kicks in.
Pay 1 windows typically last between a year to 18 months, meaning that if John Wick: Chapter 4 begins streaming on Starz in September 2023, it isn’t likely to join Peacock's movie library until September 2024 at the earliest. Peacock and Lionsgate's deal confirmed that releases like John Wick: Chapter 4 would start streaming on the service in 2024, so the latest movie will most likely be on Peacock in fall 2024. By this time, John Wick: Chapter 4 will be available alongside the entire John Wick franchise for streaming on the platform.
Is John Wick 4 streaming on Prime Video?
Amazon Prime Video subscribers might be disappointed because ‘John Wick 4’ is not a part of the streaming giant’s library. Alternatively, you have the option to turn to similar films using your subscription, including ‘Smile,' 'Bram Stoker's Dracula,' 'Let the Right One In.’
The bad news is that the movie is not likely to come to Prime Video. Lionsgate movies used to head to Amazon Prime Video about a year after the theatrical release, but that’s changed with a lot of movies recently. Instead of heading to Prime Video, they’ve gone to Peacock.
How To Watch John Wick Online:
Soon to be four entries long, the John Wick franchise continues to deliver crowd-pleasing and action-packed times for audiences. So, with the newest installment being released very soon, now is the perfect time to head back to the beginning and relive John’s journey!
Whether you’re already a superfan of the series or want to watch them all for the very first time, you’re in luck because the films are easy to find. The original John Wick (2014), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), and John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) are all available for streaming right now on Peacock. However, they are all set to leave the service on April 1, 2023. If you don’t want to sign up for Peacock or if you miss your chance to see them there, the films are also available to rent or buy on online stores such as Amazon and Apple TV.
How to Watch John Wick 4 Online For Free?
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There are a few ways to watch John Wick 4 online in the U.S. You can use a streaming service such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video. You can also rent or buy the movie on iTunes or Google Play. You can also watch it on-demand or on a streaming app available on your TV or streaming device if you have cable. ((((((STREaming)))))

I’ve been really struggling lately with this feeling of loneliness, it really eats me up sometimes. I’ve had a consistent friend since high school and really what I would qualify as my only friend. The only person I would hang out with outside of any job, person I’d be able to talk to without inmate fear of judgement. A sense of lasting friendship for a long time.
Recently that feels like it’s shifted. Perhaps I’m biased here, I just feel taken for granted. Hardly hang out anymore, when we talk it seems more in line with getting me to do something they’d rather do rather something we’d both enjoy? It’s not like the things being suggested aren’t ones I’d enjoy but there’s no compromise. I’ll suggest something and rather than either say they’d rather not do it all or try for another day, it’s just blatant dismissal.
There’s no back and forth, it just feels really empty and the only time my time is wanted is either for benefit of the other person or to do what it is they suggested and never what I’ve suggested. Maybe I’m being over sensitive and need to get over it and move on. I just feel really shitty. I recently lost my uncle and grandpa who I was reasonably close too and to say it shortly it’s been hard. But it’s like this person doesn’t even see that or recognize that those events might have messed me up a bit.
I know I have some blame in there too with maybe not be so forth coming about things or even guilty of the rescheduling myself. It could be I’m just the to blame due to not voicing any of this or reaching out more? Perhaps it’s karma and I’m the one facilitated to be what it is through my own neglect and ignorance of how they feel. That’s probably has a more likely chance than anything else I feel.
I just feel really disconnected and alone. I have some family and my Fiancée but I can’t help dwell in this empty void of what used to be fulfilling friendship where it was fun. Now I feel judgement and maybe some resentment when we speak. It makes it really hard to want to have any of these concerns cause I feel it’ll go from talking about what my perception is and why, and shift to well here’s what you did to make it this way only fueling the blame train of I’m the problem when I think both sides are at play.
At that rate I’d rather just fade out let them develop on their own let it die. I am just tired of trying all the time and feeling like it’s going no where then dealing with the let down of what could have been a fun time.
I don’t know, I’ll say it again though this all could very well be my own fault and I’m not looking through the proper lens. Perhaps I’m I am the one who pushed away and before realizing ended up here. I just really wish I could somehow get those words out of how I feel but just seem to can’t do it. It somehow seems pointless, all of it does really.

What is actually happening here? This season had been fascinating to me since Bowness was hired on July 1, 2022. Players bought in and then reverted back to last year's team.
My thinking is that Bowness hammered them early on about what they have to do to be successful. The players bought in initially and found success. Injuries happened and more Moose players and waiver wire pick ups got a chance to play and ran with it. Then the injured players came back and took the team back to where it was last year. Call it a rotten core or whatever, but the Jets don't have a core or any veterans who have won the Cup. They had one in Buff, but he's not here anymore. Even Lewis was a cup winner and served a purpose on this team during the Covid year.
There have been so many highs and lows this season and I want to know why!

The Glass Unicorn, Atlas City, 1952 Ante Shattering
It was dark in this room. And Cinder Fall knew exactly what that meant.
Cinder's heart pounded in her chest as the door shut and locked behind her, hope fleeing. There was no chance that it would open again until whatever training her stepsisters did was done. Not that anyone knew the supposedly upstanding hotel manager Amara Tremaine had her daughters doing anything besides run the Glass Unicorn, the most noticeable crown jewel of Amara's quiet little empire.
"Move."
The voice was cold, sharp, so much like her mother's. That was Stacia. Cinder looked around as she took a tentative step forward into the room, desperately trying not to bump into something. Or someone. She balled her hands, for what little it was worth.
"Too slow." Zelleia giggled, and Cinder's sightless eyes went wide before the collar around her neck pulsed with electricity, the coursing pain almost sending her to her knees. 'No! I have to stand, or they'll do it again!'
She weathered the shock, stepping forward into the darkness with a firm resolve. The stepsisters liked it when she struggled. Maybe she'd get lucky and make it so that one of them would have to 'bow out' of the party she'd inevitably be cleaning up after.
She didn't know how long it took for her to finally fully touch someone, passing grazes of fingers tracing, slicing along her arms, back, and stomach almost more terrifying than the knife blades they could have been. But it was someone. Maybe Zelleia? She liked her tasseled cloak.
Then, a jab, the sharp, familiar sting of one of Zelleia's needles, the tools of her trade, and the burning sensation that always came with them. Poison.
Her head became a riot as an explosion of colors that she was sure weren't there bloomed in front of her, and she stumbled back, her arms swinging wildly as her vision swam, somehow getting sharper. Everything stank more sharply than it usually did down here in the basement, and she could feel her clothing rubbing against her skin almost like sandpaper.
She could have sworn that she saw them step forward, basking in their sadistic glee. "New mix, Zee?" Stacia asked.
"You know it!" Zelleia chirped. "This one's more about disorienting than anything, overloading the senses. Let's you do what you do best, Stacy. The dose should be right to keep her alive if my experiments are right."
"I hope so." Stacia sighed and rolled her eyes as she easily stepped out of the way of Cinder's clumsy attack. "You know how mother annoys us when we aren't doing something productive."
Stacia followed up with a devastating series of near-surgical strikes, her knees, stomach, and shoulders blooming in pain as Stacia twirled around her, getting her in an arm-lock as she put a dagger just under Cinder's neck.
"That's enough." an older voice said coolly, the door opening and letting light in at last. Her stepmother entered from behind them as Stacia pushed Cinder to the ground. "Zelleia, administer your antidote. The gala is tomorrow, and I don't want our serving girl stumbling around like a drunkard."
Zelleia sighed quietly. "Yes, mom."
Again, Cinder felt the stab of a needle, heard the three of them walk out of the room, and shut the door behind her. It didn't lock this time, so they expected her to go and wash herself up once she'd come down from whatever cocktail Zelleia had shot into her.
Cinder Fall, useless, alone, lay on the floor as she had so many times before, and stoked within her that coal of anger and jealousy that seemed to be the only thing keeping her alive these days.
. . .
The Next Day
Cinder Fall knew that the outfit that had been given to her, a simple gown of burgundy and hairclips of bronze, wasn't hers, as much as she liked the color of it. After all, it was a marked difference from her simple, plain clothes of a shirt, pants, and apron that was, as Stepmother put it, her right. But Stepmother needed another server and decided that, instead of hiring someone, she would do for just a single night.
Here, the elite of Atlas gathered, politicians and businessmen, celebrities, and even a few of the more high-born members of the Hunter Academy were in attendance. None of them paid her any mind as they took from her tray of finger foods, then the glasses of champagne.
It was a wonder that Stacia and Zelleia hadn't decided to draw Stepmother's ire to her. They must have been told to be on their best behavior. Cinder glanced over at Stepmother as she conversed in a corner with someone in a fancy suit. Probably a politician. Stepmother liked working with politicians. She could imagine what Stepmother might have been saying.
"Yes, that's our price, in hard lien. No bank transactions. We're a premier service, after all. My daughters are the best in the city at their job. The fact that there's no competition should speak to that."
"We have a spotless record. No job has gone uncompleted to our client's satisfaction, and no investigations have turned up any involvement from either us or our customers."
"Rest assured. Whoever your problem is, we will make them disappear."
"Hello? Young lady?"
Cinder blinked, looking up at someone who was looking at her with discerning brown eyes. He was a well-built man, likely in his 20s, with long brown hair in a tail that draped over a similarly earthy suit that he looked somewhat uncomfortable in. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes?" Cinder said, hating how meek she sounded.
"Are you sure? Those burns look pretty nasty."
Cinder's eyes went wide. He'd seen them. She'd need to adjust it now. If Stepmother knew...
"It's fine. Really," she said with a forced smile, hurrying away to try and find someone who needed another glass.
Rhodes Haephesos looked on at the strange girl in the serving dress with the scars around her neck. She couldn't have been more than 12. Even with the family business laws in place in Atlas, that was young. And... she was in trouble.
He needed to help. But he didn't fully know how yet.

500 years ago, a war among the gods left the Heavens and Hells destroyed, Aleira desolated, and the world without its gods. As such, Clerics, Paladin*, Tieflings* , and Aasimar* are unavailable to play.
*exceptions can be^easily made.
However, in the centuries since the death of the gods, the peoples of Aleira have rebuilt at a rapid pace, mostly due to the discovery of Wellstones. These Crystal like gems, once thought dangerous, are relatively safe when refined and hold an incredible amount of arcane potential. (Mechanically, this is my excuse for not requiring spell components for most spells)
With the use of refined Wellstones, the continent was launched into an age of technological and arcane advancement, the Kingdom of Ainadel at its helm. As such, In the nine days leading up to the new year, The Kingdom of Ainadel hosts "The New Dawn Festival" in its capital city. The festival serves to celebrate and recognize the great arcane achievements of the past year while ushering in the bright minds of the future. The final day of the 135th New Dawn festival is where we will first meet your characters. Are you a renowned artificer excited to show off your latest creation? Or a bright young mind giddy at the prospect of being among the greatest Arcanist? Or perhaps you’re a wide-eyed observer, only here to see what inventions look the wackiest? Or perhaps your only goal here is to profit, selling stolen blueprints and papers to the highest bidder. Whatever your purpose is, the New Dawn festival is the place to be.

ABOUT THE GAME

• Above all else, be kind and have fun. We're playing make believe. Please.
• BIWEEKLY Fridays 7pm CST. Around 3.5hr sessions. We will be using a mix of Discord and FoundryVTT (no download required)
• Although the amount of sessions are up in the air, I do expect this to be a longer campaign. Players start at level 3, campaign ends at level 12.
• Most of the lore in this campaign is homebrewed. So, that being said, I want my players to have a chance at being creative as well. For example, at the start of the campaign all players will have an uncommon item. If you want to Homebrew your own item, feel free! Obviously I'll have to approve.
• I'm looking for 1-2 players age 21+ to round out our current party of 3. Preferably someone in their 20s! (Unless you're Brandon Sanderson, then welcome to the Campaign!)
• Although I do have a storyline that I hope you all follow, I'll be adding more sandbox-y elements as the game progresses.
• Lastly, For the people we end up choosing, I will be holding a one-shot that takes place with characters DURING the god war. This is just a fun way for you all to get a sense of my dm-ing style and the general vibe of our group.

CURRENT PARTY MEMBERS

Name:	Glaz Baume	Bayull Vestus	Quinn Mornwalker
Age:	?	95	20
Race:	Firbolg	Warforged (HB)	Human
Class:	Druid	Monk (HB)	Paladin

​
DM me your name, age, and a potential character with a short bio! (no need to include a location yet, we'll work together to incorporate you into the world) I'll ask for a full length backstory if things go further!

TLDR: In-Laws are creating a lot of issues since the wedding, we used to be close. Seeing them soon and need advice on how to have a conversation with them to fix things.
I'm not really sure how to use reddit as this is my first post. I usually only look at the Reddit posts on Instagram and stuff, but my husband is an avid Reddit user and suggested I ask for advice here. That said, please excuse any mistakes. My husband and I have been married just under a year and throughout this year his family has been getting progressively worse in their treatment of me. Before the wedding they were incredible and I really began to view them as family. My own mom was extremely toxic growing up and I have PTSD and anxiety from it (I have seen a therapist for the PTSD, but its still hard) so them being so welcoming and loving was everything I could have dreamed of. This has made them becoming rude towards me extremely hard to deal with. Thankfully, we live six hours away from them, but we still have to see them relatively often.
The issue started last summer a couple of months after our wedding. They came and stayed at our tiny townhome for a visit. They were welcome to stay as we were still on good terms at this point, but the visit was very rough for me. They love to make jokes about how they have always waited for the day my husband would move out so that they could trash his place (He isn't the cleanest, but he has never trashed their home and treats it with respect. Also, in my ILs marriage dynamic they both work and share chores, I am the primary homemaker in our dynamic and do all of the cleaning. Husband doesn't have to lift a finger but only helps out sometimes. This makes it especially annoying that they trash our house to bother him, but he doesn't actually care about the mess as it isn't his job). Which they completely stayed true to. During several different visits to our home they treated it like garbage. They also brought an immense amount of stuff for a two day visit and *literally* covered every inch of available space in every room except our bedroom. They had zero respect for our rules and boundaries. For example, our landlord doesn't allow pets at all but they brought their dog and allowed him to sit up on the couch to look out the window, which is an activity that dog will do for hours. Our landlord stops by frequently to mow the lawn and stuff so I asked them to please not make it so obvious we had a pet here and to also keep him downstairs as the upstairs is carpet. His dad laughed out loud in my face and told me no. SIL also went through all of my bathroom cabinets and used some of my stuff. I am a private person and did not appreciate her doing that without asking. There were also several other things during this visit, but this is getting long and I have a lot more to discuss.
The next issue came up when we visited them for Christmas. I was already stressed going into it because of everything mentioned before, but I was willing to move on without it being a big deal and just tried to enjoy the visit. However, it was really my families turn for Christmas but we negotiated with the families that we would drive 6 hours on Christmas day to be able to see everyone. We stayed with the In-Laws for a week and would only see my family for a day. When we arrived the first day to my In-Laws they told us SIL had the flu, which they'd known before and decided to not tell us. I have two young nephews I was excited to see and my dad was recovering from surgery, so getting sick was not an option as I would not be able to see my own family. I told them I would be doing my best to avoid getting sick (nothing serious, just hand washing and keeping some distance physically. I didn't even expect the same from them). They took this as extremely offensive and rude. FIL came and sat ON MY LEG on the couch later that night and made a comment about me getting sick and turned and "jokingly" coughed in my face. I was too stunned to speak and let my husband handle that. MIL and SIL were texting back and forth with each other gossiping all week. Which we discovered because MIL came home from work and got mad at me for "isolating" myself all day (I took a 30 minute nap because I was starting to feel sick and came back down immediately after my nap, but they are a family that hangs out 24/7 and gets mad at me for being a little more introverted). She wouldn't have known this if SIL hadn't been texting her. MIL had also previously agreed on the time we would be leaving on Christmas but changed her mind and texted at midnight Christmas Eve saying we better stay all morning and not take away any of her precious time even though we'd been there a week and would only have a few hours with my family. This felt like they had absolutely no respect for me and my time with my family. All week it felt like all they cared about was them and their time with their precious baby boy, my family and I did not matter at all.
Also, when we visit them they have no boundaries about entering our room whenever they please even though we are married. I'll go in the room to find stuff moved around sometimes that I know wasn't my husband. They also barge in all hours of the night. Again, I am a private person and an introvert so this makes me very uncomfortable but I have to put up with it or I am seen as rude and its viewed as me not wanting to participate in the way their family operates. When we stay for long visits I feel like we can't do anything marriage-wise, even if its just having a discussion because everyone will know about it. I know its their house and their rules, but we aren't in a position to afford a hotel when we stay for a week and my husband loves to see them. There have been times his sister will be mad the next morning because she thinks we've been having sex or arguing even if we haven't. Its also just none of her business and no matter what we are doing, we always try to be as quiet as possible.
A month after we got home they texted and asked if they could come down and stay at our house for a tournament BIL was in. We said no as it was my 21st birthday weekend and I had a bunch of different plans all weekend and did not want the stress of them staying at my house and being a host over my birthday weekend (oh, they also did not know or care that it was my birthday). We politely declined and offered a weekend of one of BIL's other tournaments but this pissed them off a ton. His mom blew up his phone with calls and texts saying we were "holding a grudge from Christmas" which was not the reason and also they had never apologized for Christmas. Husband took a night to think about how to best discuss everything with her and told her he would call her the next day. The next night they had a phone conversation where she completely bulldozed all of our points and said that we needed to have empathy for her as she was going through some life struggles and that we had hurt them too. We are broke newlyweds in college, we have our own struggles and are receiving no empathy from them. I have had more than enough empathy for her. Husband asked her to elaborate on what we had done to hurt them but she refused, so we have no idea if we actually did anything wrong. I think it was just a way for her to deflect, but he said he was sorry if we had done anything. She refused to apologize for anything and said that they were only making themselves at home (the way they treated our home was not at all how they treat their own home). She claimed that we're family and I need to be okay with SIL using my things as "that's what sister's do". I grew up with a sister, my sister would beat my ass if I went through her stuff without permission. MIL told husband that I was creating too many rules for the house and that no one would like us or visit if we kept doing this. We have friends over all the time and my family has stayed with no issue. We haven't had to create "rules" for anyone else, they all know how to reasonably treat someone else's home. Also, when visiting ILs home, I am expected to help with cleaning, dinner prep, and other chores. They also have their own house rules we are expected to follow so this seems like a double standard to me. She said I hadn't grown as a person because over Christmas I decided to allow my husband to handle the discussion with his family and stayed upstairs during a discussion about the Christmas issues. I simply prefer it to not be me vs 3 other people laughing at me and would rather have a mature 1 on 1 conversation. She also brought up me "isolating" myself again, but I just don't see the reason I (an introvert) can't take a few minutes to myself during an extremely uncomfortable week. I had confided in MIL some of my family issues when we were close before the wedding and she used all of my trauma against me in the discussion. She acted like I didn't know how a real family acts with each other and that I just need to change who I am and become like their family because who I am is wrong. I also know MIL talks trash behind my back because she does the same to BIL's girlfriend. (BIL and his GF are the only nice ones still and we are close with them). MIL also cried and told husband that he needs to call her during his rides home from work and stuff and talk to her more about his life (we have one car and I drive him home, also how many grown men do this??). Which, he already participates daily in a family group chat but that isn't enough apparently. Husband also has ADHD and if someone if out of sight, they're out of mind. I remind him all the time to call and reach out to them, which he does. We also used to visit way more often than we could afford financially, which again, was not enough for her. They are almost never the ones to reach out first. All of the siblings refer to MIL as a high school mean girl and this behavior is very common for her, I just was never on the receiving end before our marriage.
SIL is still young and lives at home. She has expressed discomfort at us being married and also has said that she doesn't want BIL to ever get married, and I am sure she feels the same about my husband. She hates that they aren't "her boys" anymore and that she has to share them. SIL cries when husband mentions that parents house is not his home anymore or that husband and I are our own family now. Honestly, most of SIL and MIL's behavior just seems to be icing me and BIL's GF out so that they can have the boys back. BIL's GF started some drama two Christmases ago but has grown immensely as a person and has apologized for it all. They still trash talk her and refuse to forgive. In-Laws are overly involved in their relationship as BIL is the golden child and also has some mental heath issues, but he is perfectly capable of making his own choices. It is a very "close knit" family. Only BIL and husband seem to see how toxic it can be in their family as they have had the chance to move out and live on their own. I try to have a lot of sympathy for SIL as she is a teen and hasn't lived away from home or gotten much life experience yet. I know most of what she does is because of MIL. I had a 1 on 1 conversation with her about all the issues, which I thought helped everything and it did for a few days, but then she started icing me out again and even ignored my birthday message I sent her. I don't think anything will improve with her until she moves out or we fix things with MIL.
I should also add that my husband has been completely on my side throughout this and has been incredible, there's no need to comment anything negative about him. We have had some issues in the past before our wedding because he would take their side on a lot of stuff, but he knows now that I am his priority as his wife. He is 100% supportive of any route I want to take with this, even if it means going low contact despite how close they all are.
All of this to say, we are going to be seeing them again in a few weeks and we haven't seen them since all the tension built up. I know I will have to take part in a discussion with all of them and I am terrified about it. I know we will be laughed at and bulldozed over. BIL and his GF will not be visiting with us so it will just be us VS the family. I need advice on how best to handle this to resolve the issues without making anything worse. I truly do love his family, and they were incredible before all of this. I just want us to get back to being a close and loving family. I hate girl games and this has been crippling for my anxiety. I want them to see that I am not a threat, I want them to be able to be close with my husband and spend time with everyone without all this awkward tension. I know this post makes them out to seem bad, but they were really great before all of this went down. The only thing I can think of that could have caused this is us getting married and me entering the family. This has gotten really long so if you've read this far, thank you for letting me vent and get my frustrations out! Any advice or stories of similar situations are welcome. Thanks!

My husband (58 M) and I (56 F) recently met my son’s (24 M) girlfriend for the first time. He’s been crazy about her. Apparently they’ve been dating for a year before he decided to have her meet us officially.
What he’s told us about her all seems great: she just got her degree, was enjoying her job, family-oriented, etc., I’m honestly just glad he’s happy with her. My husband and I don’t think he’s ever been this into someone before, so I feel pretty bad about what I did.
Last weekend, he brought her over for dinner. By now we’d been anticipating meeting her with how much our son has been gushing about her. How perfect she is, that she’s ‘the one’, in his words.
They ring the doorbell. We open the door. She looks exactly like her pictures, which is a great start. My son is grinning ear to ear - another great start. We invite them in. She accepts my hug and a firm handshake from my husband, and then she opens her mouth:
“I’m the one your son puts his penis in.”
To be frank, I was appalled. I expected my husband to laugh (both he and my son are jokesters, and as annoying as it can be I love it) but THIS was just too much for me. Maybe I’m reserved, but of all things she could have shared about my son she told us THAT. One look at my face and my husband knew how much I disapproved.
Maybe I let my expectations get too high, and it’s unfair to have them, but I reiterate: of all things to say to her boyfriend’s parents - whom she’d never met - she chose THAT? My son was amused at first but when he noticed my reaction his face dropped.
I felt like he’d sold me the full package, everything he’d always been looking for in a girlfriend. I was too disturbed by the visual it put in my head, and it translated into anger. I told her to get out, and I wanted to say more about how gross it made me feel but I fortunately left it at that. My son didn’t want to go, insisting I give her another chance, but I was too fed up and uncomfortable by this point. Even my husband, who’s enjoyed his fair share of raunchy jokes, wouldn’t let up.
They left and I immediately felt guilty. This was something my son had really looked forward to and I feel like I took that away over a dumb joke. I tried calling to apologize but he hasn’t responded. My husband thinks she’s the one who should apologize. I’m considering giving her another chance, but before I do, was I the AH?

I want to give a little bit of background here.
I'm NC with my nmom. And I've been trying to reduce contact with edad as it has become more and more clear that he isn't any better.
Edad has always been happy allowing me to endure abuse just so he wouldn't have to be the one who endures it. I've been referring to him as a coward; the pathetic kind you see in movies who after the danger is over is found using a child as a human shield nervously trying to justify themselves by insisting they were doing everything they could to make sure the child was safe.
Then I started thinking of more recent examples.
The last time he was up here, he was pretty much bragging to me about how nmom makes him fork over hundreds to buy my gc brother and his family dinner every time they visit. But she would get mad if he so much as bought me lunch so he wasn't going to do that for me.
The last time I saw him was for a funeral. The plan was for me to drive down to his place, it was a 12 hour drive each way. Then we switch to his car and drive 2 hours to gc brother's place and switch to his car which is actually large enough for all three of us. Then we drive another 8 hours to where the funeral will be. Just before the trip, GC starts whining about having to spend any money at all on the trip, and edad immediately leaps over himself to offer to cover all of gcs expenses for the whole trip. I then asked if edad was going to do the same for me because he always says when he gives one kid a gift he supposedly always gives the other the same amount as a gift to make sure there are no fights over inheritance. Well, he tells me no. He's not going to uphold his own rule because he doesn't consider it a gift if the money is going to be spent on something. You know, the one and only thing you can use money for? Turns out he's been lying about that rule of his for years.
Speaking of lying, a couple months after that I confronted him about his role in everything I went through, and his specific behaviors which were not okay. That event got brought up. Here was his excuse. According to him, the reason why he said "no" when I asked was because "You never asked, and if you had only asked my answer would have been yes instead of no". I don't know if he thinks I'm stupid enough to not notice, if he thinks I'm beaten down to where he doesn't need to care, or if he just doesn't respect me enough to bother investing the effort into coming up with a plausible sounding lie.
A few weeks ago we had gotten talking about when I was a kid. He had always promised that when I entered high school, I'd get a computer just like my gcbrother had been given. Except he was given his the summer before he became a freshman, and I was given mine a few weeks after I became a senior. Not only that, the main thing I wanted, which I had been begging for, was to be able to play some of those cdrom games we had. So when he finally had no choice but to actually follow through with his promise, he went out of his way to make sure my system wouldn't be compatible with any of them, and for some damn reason he installed Linux on it specifically so I wouldn't be able to install or run any programs on it. He actually admitted that at the time. Well, recently he decided to feed me that same lie again, dictating to me that he somehow knew that if I was given the one thing I wanted more than anything, that I would destroy it somehow. He had no concerns about gcbrother doing the same, having taken the position that if gc were to destroy his own computer then he doesn't have a computer anymore. But for me, it was different. For me, it was about control and preventing me from being able to use in all but the most basic functions.
I could go on. But, anyway.
For the past few months, edad has been hinting that he plans to come up. I've been grayrocking this, and at a couple points suggesting that he shouldn't bother. Each time I did this, he would come up with some excuse to delay his planned visit. Yesterday however, he sends me a message with a pdf of his ticket. He picked out the travel dates and bought the tickets without even giving me the decency of offering any input. And surprise, surprise, the dates he picked on his own are right smack in the middle of the most busy time for my work of the entire year. Gosh, imagine that, out of all the dates he could have picked he settled on the dates he knew my work was most busy and I had the best chance to get good pay. But nope, he expects me to take time off in the busy season to entertain him.
So, i'm not gonna. Simple as that.
I was on the fence about if I wanted to see him before, but the fact that he didn't think I deserved any kind of say in the matter has sealed the deal. I won't be seeing him. I've told him this. And I took the ticket info he gave me, and canceled his ticket. I've told him that he can come up if he wants; it won't bother me one bit because I won't be seeing him. If he comes up, he has to figure out his own transportation, his own lodging, and what he's going to be doing the entire time until he can use his return ticket. I won't be involved in any part of it.
It is pretty clear to me what the trip is actually about. He needs a break from nmom. And he uses these trips up to see me to get that break from nmom whenever he needs a break. With me not there to take her abuse, he's become the main target she zeroes in on. It's exactly what he deserves. He used to call me every week to use me as his emotional support dog and lament about how miserable she was making him because he knew I'd understand. These days I don't let him do that. While I used to get a sort of schadenfreude hearing exactly how he was now the target of everything he refused to protect me from when I needed him, I've realized that's not a healthy approach. I don't let him talk about her anymore.
He can stay with her.

Female, 25, 5’6”, 141 lbs, ~20% body fat. Not too heavy of a smoker (no dabs, concentrates). I have been smoking (flower), not daily, but maybe 1-2 bowls 4x a week since 2019 with some cart usage and low MG dispensary edibles sprinkled (very rarely) here and there (edibles that truly didn’t have much of an effect on me, if we are being honest).
In 2019, I had a urine test after smoking at around the same rate as I currently do, but obviously for fewer years than now. It took me around 12 days of abstaining from THC to get a faint line and pass an at-home test and soon after the lab test. Back then, I probably weighed 6 lbs less but did not make an effort to increase my water intake or exercise.
Fast forward to 2023, 4 years of regular, non-heavy smoking (i.e., 1-2 bowls 4x a week, likely not more than 1 gram/day), light cart usage in 2021-2022 (Torches), and minor edible usage. I’m officially 7 days THC-free. I have increased my water intake immensely and have been doing 30 minutes of cardio (bike) for the last 3 days. I'm using at-home tests and still testing positive.
Be straight with me, do you think I can test clean with another week of abstaining from THC and continued water intake increases + cardio? Or should I start looking for a detox kit or synthetic urine? I know everyone and everybody is different, but any personal experiences would be great in assessing whether I have a chance. I’ve perused this subreddit and I’m half hopeful, and half not. I think I have a very slow metabolism, but my body fat isn’t too high…
The test type is 6405N. I’m super nervous. This is enough to make me not want to ever smoke again…

First of all this is my PERSONAl opinion after playing this game for quit some time now ^^ i only count the negativ parts , cause there are to much positiv´s :D
-CONS - ( the following points get more anoying the higher skill the lobby has
- the gadget "prop" is way to usefull in its current state. it should be used as a disguise but the way people use it right now is to start a fight and insta prop urself to reset the "cover meter" this should not work if you prop yourself infront of 6 guards in the middle of the room xD i mean come on :D in addition you can also use it to COMPLETLY duisguise yourself from the package carrier "vision/wallhack" , you see this alot in high level lobbys were people just prob themself and camp the different extracts xD overall this gadget could need some small changes ^^
- if you play this game you quickly realize that the "guard" duisguise is BY FAR the most usefull , there is little to no reason NOT to be a guard , so what happen´s is if you see some "guard" ? you just shoot it ,because the chances of this being a player is kinda high :D ^^ if not ? just prob yourself in the place and your good XD
-"squire´s" third gun is simply not fun , and i dont say this because i think its OP . the reason behind it is , if you get hit by it your ENTIRE camera freaking shakes like crazy :D i get it ... some weapons are better and some are weaker and thats FINE ^^ but why does this feature even exists ? dosnt matter how good your aim is , if you get hit by it your monitor is an earthquake . not fun at higher levels
- ammo efficiency is not fun ? lets say you pick a gun with a higher fire rate but lower dmg (chavez 2. or xui third) for example, you have way higher ammo problems :D you should´nt get punished for picking another gun :=) same as you should find less ammo for a gun that makes way MORE dmg :) i think that would just make sense
-larcin´s last passive is not working as intended (i think) ? because it deals NO DMG but if you hit somebody like a npc , you get insta revealed ?? kinda shitty and this makes it kinda useless xD
-madame xui´s second active should be a defensive powerhouse but its just bad overall ? her first and third can be used to escape fights , but ALSO to chase people . the second one is completly useless because it only last a few seconds and also needs some preparation ^^ it should not have a timer but instead a way higher cooldown or some range limitation from your "marked" target :)
- and some OBVIOUS problem´s i bet your already heard of ;) : nps guards are bad ;; cavaliere´s pistols go BRRRRR ;; pc perfomance is BRUH ;; ace is kinda s*hitty
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Aggain is have a ton of fun with deceive and im hyped for the future of this game :))
Edit: sry for bad london im deutschland

Hi all,
I'm in need of some advice/direction because job search is bringing me down.
I have some experience with SAP SD and MM as I've worked in order management (was promoted to key user but didn't get in-depth training) and took part in implementation of Business Objects in another company (short contract during working holiday).
Unfortunately, after that I had to move back to my home town due to personal reasons. I turned to freelancing as an Excel consultant which was supposed to be a temporary solutions but I have been doing that for the last three years.
I have been looking to get back into the field of Sap and find a remote position for about 5 months now. No luck. I taught about certification but the prices are just too high for me. There aren't even many positions offering remote work and when I do find one it requires many years of experience. I've had an interview with recruiter for a consultant position recently, resume got rejected by manager due to the gap in sap work. Took that one hard.
I really don't know what to do now and how to increase ny chances of getting hired. Is there even a chance of getting hired remotely or should I give it up completely?

Not enough time and clearly not enough budget. The team was too small.
6 months is a decent amount of time to prepare new characters and maps. Devs won’t have to worry about servers and daily complaints. They will have one last chance to make this game shine.
I don’t get my hopes too high even though I was really enthusiastic at the beginning of the beta. Pace has been managed poorly and community (like all community) has been divided, making gameplay decisions hard.
Some people are pissed about their money “I paid but now I feel robbed”. I know, it sucks, but the game is coming back. I am sure that a lot of people would be pissed if the game died too… so the break is not that bad

Feels good! Appreciate this space - stories for the inspiration and some great study tips. I wasn't expecting to end at 125 - but, it sure felt good!
Quick Background: over 20 years in IT. Picked up S+ last fall. Started studying for CISSP late January. Originally targeted end of May to work thru materials, courses, etc but then Peace of Mind came along and figured it was worth it to me to either pass ahead of schedule and move on to next target....or, fail and understand exactly what the test is.
Strategy: For me, it requires the daily ground. Get up early and focus on CISSP for a few hours before the day begins. During the day, quiz myself in down moments instead of consuming general web nonsense (news, social media, etc. ).
Material Used: 1. OSG. Yes, it's a slog but actually well done. Kinda taught me how to focus and really read again. Used to be able to do that much easier before the invasion of the screens. End of chapter tests. Re-read when I would catch myself not really understanding. Maybe consult other resources (youtube, AIO, etc). First run took about 5 weeks....daily reading. 2. Learnzapp & OSG test bank. Exactly like the test - nope? But - very good questions and excellent prep. 3. Destination Certification - Mind Maps and new Book. For me, can not recommend the book highly enough. More than a few concepts crystallized for me when looking at the illustrations. Pure Gold. Really well done. Nowhere near the slog OSG. 4. Study Notes and Theory. Luke is the boss. Subscribed for 3 months to his course and materials. Bought the book (think like a manager). Both well deserving of all the kudos it gets. Great stuff. 5. Cram series on you tube. Nice pace and the deep dives are also good.
Thanks again to everybody here and good luck to those preparing to take it!

Out there - Patreon (for all those curious or wanting to support :))
At the Beginning
Adventure Arc - Arc 2
Wilderness Arc - Arc 3
Academy Arc - Arc 4
Previously on Leveling up the World…
Book 2 is out! :D
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTFY44MG
Audible Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/Leveling-Up-the-World-2-Audiobook/B0BXYB7DMR
Hope you enjoy! :)
 
MAJOR HEAL
Your health has been increased by 50%
​
Dallion thought he saw a red rectangle hover before his eyes. After he blinked, it was gone. Still, he was starting to feel a lot better. The dartblade was on his chest, surrounded by a layer of blue flames.
Are you okay, boss? Lux asked from within his realm.
This wasn’t a question that could be answered right away. For several seconds he lay there, trying to figure out if all the pain had left his body. Then and only then he stood up. The door remained open a few steps away. It was pointless closing it at this point, so Dallion didn’t. Rather, he proceeded to collect all his gear and belongings.
Back into the fray? The armadil shield asked. I have to hand it to you. You manage to make even school life dangerous and exciting.
“Go me,” Dallion replied. He would have very much liked to say it had been fun. Sadly, he’d be half lying. “Is Ruby okay?”
Dallion looked at his shoulder. The shardfly was there, as usual, only now the chips on its wings were gone. On the surface, all the damage seemed to have been healed, and yet there was an unmistakable feeling of bitterness emanating from him.
“Nil, where’s the nearest exit?” Dallion asked.
Nearby, the echo replied.
“Is there one close to the novice administration building?”
Yes, I supposed there is.
“Good.”
Running the corridor, along with a bit of combat splitting, Dallion made his way to the administration building. On two occasions he was briefly stopped by an apprentice, determined to send him back to the “safety” of his room. A bit of music skills, and the situation was quickly resolved in Dallion’s favor.
“Lock,” Dallion whispered at the building’s door. “Is anyone inside?”
Naa, the lock guardian replied. Everyone rushed out somewhere. No one’s here now. Want inside?
“Sure.”
Yaa. A faint click followed.
Making sure no one was looking his way, Dallion entered.
Creature cages are near the entrance, Nil said as Dallion went up the wooden staircase. Riddles are further away.
Good advice. Dallion intended to deal with creatures—they were quick to deal with, especially now that he’d obtained some practical spellcrafting experience.
The warehouse room was just as packed as before. One had to admire the amount of vortex cages the Academy had. The question where they were getting them remained, but for another time.
“I can only boost up to level twenty?” Dallion asked as he picked up a purple cube.
That is the general idea. From twenty onwards, you’ll need the real thing.
Dallion moved a cube to an empty area of the room and put it on the floor. Done, he placed his hand on top and extended his magic.
​
VORTEX CAGE – LEVEL 1
​
The cube extended, surrounding him with glowing purple.
​
You are in a VORTEX CAGE.
Defeat the guardian to ABSORB the vortex.
You have 20 minutes before the VORTEX becomes too weak to absorb.
​
A smaller version of the aether lion emerged a short distance away. Last when Dallion had faced such a creature, it had taken the combined effort of four people to defeat the monster. Of course, that guardian was linked to the realm of a Moon.
The harpsisword appeared in Dallion’s right hand. Without hesitation, he slashed the air, letting out a series of spark infused line attacks. The fingers of his left hand blurred as he cast the Iksa’s aether projectile spell.
​
COMBAT INITIATED
​
The vortex guardian barely had time to react. Its fur glowed with symbols, casting a series of aether shields in an attempt to save it from the savage attacks.
The first two line attacks sliced through the protective barriers as fast as they appeared. The third one passed through, striking the creature.
​
FATAL STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 500%
​
A red rectangle emerged. It was shortly followed by half a dozen more as projectiles bombarded the unfortunate lion. By rough calculations, the damage was supposed to be sufficient to earn Dallion the win. However, he didn’t take the chance, dashing forward and engaging in a multi-attack. Dozens of strikes pierced through the lion’s fir.
​
AGGRAVATED STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 100%
​
More rectangles stacked up, joined shortly by a purple one.
​
AETHER LION has been defeated.
​
For half a second, Dallion continued attacking until his conscious self told him it was time to stop. The guardian had been defeated. The only reason it hadn’t vanished was because of the exception magic granted.
“Nothing personal.” Dallion took a step back.
The lion growled before unraveling into a cluster of magic threads. The rest of the vortex cage followed, streaming towards Dallion. All that was left not was for him to consume them.
​
MAGIC ABSORBED
Your magic trait is now 19
​
A wave of warmth and strength filled Dallion, as the new magic merged with his. There was no amount of energy drinks back on Earth that could come anywhere close to what he was experiencing now. In the back of his mind, there remained a voice warning him not to get used to the high. It was quickly ignored, as Dallion rushed to grab the next vortex cage by the door.
Suddenly, the room shook violently. More than a rumble, it felt as if an outside force was trying to tear the Learning hall apart. Dallion’s first thought was that he might have caused this. Logic and rationality quickly expunged the thought. More likely than not, the shardflies in the area had started attacking everything in sight. The learning hall, despite its magic defenses, remained a building, and as such was a prime target.
You better hurry up, Nil stated the obvious.
“How long does the building have?” Dallion leapt to the empty spot.
The Hall is fine, but if things get any worse outside, you won’t be able to escape even if you leave the building.
Dallion activated the second artifact.
​
VORTEX CAGE – LEVEL 1
​
You are in a VORTEX CAGE.
Defeat the guardian to ABSORB the vortex.
You have 20 minutes before the VORTEX becomes too weak to absorb.
​
Initially, when the vortex formed, there was nothing inside. A sense of dread swept through Dallion. He had no time for riddle challenges, and waiting twenty minutes for the trial to be over was out of the question. Thankfully, a guardian soon appeared in the form of an aether shardfly.
“Gleam?” Dallion asked, unable to proceed with the attack.
The creature was hiding its info box, adding just enough doubt that it could be a version of Dallion’s former familiar. The seed of doubt kept Dallion from attacking. Splitting, he approached it with one instance. The shardfly didn’t react, flapping its wings gently in the air, waiting. Its appearance was a lot more delicate than the standard shardfly, as if it were created from fine layers of purple light. Eight wings slapped in a complicated sequence, just enough to keep it in the air.
It’s not her, Ruby said from Dallion’s shoulder.
“I know.” Dallion reached for the creature. But I need to be certain.
Just before his finger came into contact with the being, the aether shadfly sprung into action. One of its wings grew ten times its usual size, then slashed through an instance of Dallion, cleanly severing his fingers, arm, and head as if it were a laser beam.
​
COMBAT INITIATED
​
The pain only lasted for a moment, but it made it perfectly clear that this wasn’t the creature he hoped it would be.
Splitting again, Dallion charged forward. Using the approach of his previous fight, he cast a projectile spell, while slashing through the creature with a spark attack.
To his astonishment, the attack succeeded, slicing the shardfly in two. However, no red rectangle emerged.
Illusion, Ruby said, darting off Dallion’s shoulder.
Another two instances of Dallion were shredded to pieces before Ruby engaged in the invisible enemy. Red and purple sparks filled the air.
One moment Ruby was fighting nothing, the next, a second shardfly with amethyst wings appeared. No longer the aethereal Dallion had initially seen, the creature resembled Ruby, though with slightly prolonged wings. Looking closely, Dallion could see hundreds of minuscule mana threads all over its wings. While engaged in a wing fight with Ruby, the guardian constantly attempted to create a spell, only to have the symbols systematically slashed midair.
Holy crap! Dallion thought.
Despite all his skills, spells, and experience, he remained hopeless against creatures capable of creating high-level illusions. If it weren’t for Ruby, there was a very real possibility that he would have lost the fight. That wasn’t the case, but now Dallion was presented with a new problem. During the fight, the guardian had changed appearance, becoming a copy of Ruby.
“Just great,” Dallion hissed.
He didn’t think he’d have an issue killing any one of the shardflies, or even both of them. However, there was no way of telling which was Ruby and which not. If he were able to maintain combat splitting for more than a few seconds, maybe he could try killing either and then waiting to see which was which. In theory, it was possible he found out before that, but Dallion had no intention of taking the risk.
It was an interesting stalemate. Neither Ruby nor the guardian had any advantage. Meanwhile, Dallion was free to perform any attack he wished, but could do so; to top it all, if he were to order Ruby to disengage, that would give the aether shardfly the chance to cast spells again.
Of all the creatures, why did it have to be this one, Dallion clenched his fist.
In his mind, he went through dozens of options. Filling the vortex cage with water was risky, since it could affect Ruby as well. In equal fashion, using Raven’s magic draining spell was also dangerous. Using Cheska’s chain magic sounded like a passable option, but shardflies were the last creatures that would capture.
That remains one of your great weaknesses, Nil said. You have no way of fighting illusions on your own. It was fine while Gleam was with you. Without her, though…
“What about the spell you taught me?”
Try it f you like. It won’t work. The creature’s spell is too intricate. If your magic trait was a dozen levels more, I could teach you a spell that would help you out, but not at your current level.
“Harp?” Dallion asked, only to get no answer. He didn’t feel her being mad or even upset at him. Her silence, rather, suggested that she agreed with Nil on this point: Dallion had to figure out a way to shield his vulnerability and do so on his own.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became he’d never be able to distinguish between the creatures. Illusions at this level changed reality itself. Although, there was one thing that the vortex guardian was unable to change.
Nox, I’ll need your help, buddy, Dallion thought. I won’t lie to you. It’s going to hurt a lot. Will you help me out?
Okay, the crackling replied. There was no trace of annoyance or rebellion in his voice. When it came down to important things, Nox remained unwavering, just as he was back when Dallion had first obtained him.
“Thanks.” Dallion pulled out the Nox dagger and struck the floor.
The entire vortex cage trembled as black cracks formed around the point of impact. Simultaneously, flickers ran up the dagger, inflicting an equal amount of pain and damage to the crackling as well. Dallion felt the pain pulse within his realm, and yet Nox didn’t make a sound.
Gritting his teeth, Dallion struck the floor again. The cracks spread until an entire quarter of the floor was affected.
“Can you handle one more?” Dallion asked. “It’ll be the last.”
Hey, it’s me, the crackling said with his typical confidence.
“That’s what I thought. Thanks, Nox.” Dallion struck the floor.
Beneath the cracks, several strands of magic snapped.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, consider joining my patreon or check out my other stories on redditserials:
The Scuu Paradox (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Cassandrian Theory (a Space Opera Sci Fi)
The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon (Dungeon Core Adventure Comedy)

Pretty soon drivers throughout Georgia and South Carolina should be getting quests for the Master’s Tournament. Some of y’all will be asking about whether it is worth it, and some of y’all will be asking about strategies for working the tournament, so I’ll try to cover both in this post. For reference, I have been an Uber driver in Augusta since 2017. I did two Master’s Tournaments as an X driver pre-pandemic and one Master’s Tournament as an XL driver last year (the two tournaments during the pandemic were closed to the public and were for members only). Sorry to the Uber Black drivers who are looking at this post, I don’t really have much experience to share with you about your platform, but hopefully some of this guide will still be helpful. I don’t do Eats, but they should do well here, too.
Market basics:
Augusta is a rate-card market. It pays UberX $0.60/min and $0.09/mile and pays UberXL $1.45/min and $0.22/mile. Those who are coming from an upfront market (and new drivers who decide to start during The Master’s) will be accepting trips blind (unless Uber goes upfront within the next week). You have to have a SC vehicle inspection to pick up rides in North Augusta, SC, so unless you are a SC driver, or you come from a border town and did the SC vehicle inspection, you might want to avoid that side of town (near downtown, Augusta). Alternatively, if you do have a SC vehicle inspection done, this is a great location to get trips that other drivers (including most taxi drivers) cannot get. Outside of the tournament, the Augusta market only has UberX and UberXL. The platforms that I remember from last year during tournament week included UberX, UberX Diamond, Uber Comfort, UberXL, Uber Black, and Uber SUV. I know Lyft (which normally only does Lyft and LyftXL) also has Lyft Lux, but I’m not sure of their other platforms.
Tournament basics:
The rideshare waiting lot for the Augusta Nationals (the name of the golf course which hosts the Master’s Tournament) is on Washington Rd about a mile East from Exit 199 of I-20. Most tickets can only be used twice for entry into the tournament. The entrance to the rideshare lot is just after the taxi lot entrance which is just after the Olive Garden restaurant if you are coming from I-20. The tournament starts at 8 am and ends when all the players are done on the course, typically around 5pm-ish. Those who attend to watch the tournament but are not members are called patrons. A lot of patrons will only come to see a particular golfer (Tiger Woods draws a lot of attention) and will leave when their golfer leaves (especially during practice rounds). Some patrons will sit at a single hole and will leave when all the players that they want to see for the day have come across that hole.
The women’s amateur tournament already began on Wed March 29, 2023, at Champion’s Retreat. The women’s tournament players get a practice day on Fri March 31 and will compete on Sat April 1 at the Augusta Nationals. Mon, Tues, and Wed April 3-5 will be the practice rounds. A lot of your middle-class fans will be here on one of these days as they will have a hard time getting tickets to the actual tournament; most of these patrons will only be here for a single day. Thu-Sun April 6-9 is the actual tournament. Most of your better-off patrons (and very lucky patrons) will be here during the actual tournament. They will often be here all four days. April 6-9 will be, by far, the busiest times of the tournament.
A lot of businesses arrange for tickets. Outside of C-suite employees, most of these tickets will be given out to customers and awarded to employees for a half-day visit (as they can be used twice) to get the most bang for the buck. This is good for UberX & UberXL drivers as a lot of these patrons who are there for half-day help fill up some of the time between the start time rush and the end of the day rush and are more likely to use Uber (or taxis) to get around.
Try to get along with the law enforcement and the workers at and around the Augusta Nationals. The Augusta Nationals has a reputation for banning and trespassing those who don’t follow their fairly stringent rules, although most of the workers there just work for the week. The Augusta Nationals have stripped members of their membership for things we might feel are small infractions; they certainly don’t care about trespassing a random Uber driver.
Airports:
Augusta has two airports:

• The regional airport (AGS) will be mad crazy during tournament week, but many, many, many drivers will be hanging around the airport, including taxis, Uber Black, limos, hired drivers, shuttles for the master’s, hotel shuttles, etc. Unless you are Uber Black, I honestly don’t recommend hanging out at AGS (but do what you feel is best), although I personally would accept any requests that I got from the airport if I were outside the queue as there could be a hidden surge attached to it. AGS also closes their cellphone waiting lot to rideshare during tournament week. Be wary of picking up at AGS. There are six whole legal spots to pick up at AGS (six more spots at departures), and the Marshalls (GA’s police department responsible for airport operations at AGS) will probably take up two of them for some stupid reason. One of those six spots is also technically a shuttle pickup spot that the Marshalls may or may not be enforcing. Speaking of enforcement, the Marshalls will come out with a new policy several times a day during the tournament, so be polite, follow their immediate instructions, but don’t count on it being the same the next day. Also, the pickup spot in the app is the pedestrian crosswalk that goes between arrivals and departures (smack dab in the middle of the front of the airport). Make sure you pause for several seconds at that spot to start the cancelation timer before driving down towards the exits for arrivals. If you don’t, you have to go all the way around the airport to start the timer. Many knuckleheads will be ordering Ubers while sitting on the tarmac, so you might be collecting a few cancelation fees. A side note: you can always turn left into the rental parking lot and park along the sidewalk if necessary…this includes if you need to run into the airport to use the restroom or when there are not enough places to wait for your rider. This is about the only other place that the Marshalls will not harass you for stopping besides the designated pickup area and the cellphone waiting lot (when not closed). You technically need Uber stickers displayed to pick up at the airport, but I’ve never seen this enforced. If you want to see arrivals and departures, go to flyags.com and certainly don’t rely on the Uber app.
• At AGS, there is also an FBO (some riders will call it “Aviation Services” or “The private terminal” or “The executive terminal” or “The civil part of the airport” or something similar). Unfortunately, passenger auto-pins from here gets lumped into the general commercial pickup location. You will get mostly pilots coming from here as anyone who can charter a private plane will likely have a private ride already scheduled. You can legally pick up from the FBO (and also drop off). When you enter AGS, you’ll see a blue sign pointing to the cell phone waiting lot. Turn right into that lot and then turn left at the next street. Try to pick up under the awning, although you might have a line of grey Mercedes Sprinter vans in the way as those drivers feel they get special privilege (which they kinda’ do because the Augusta Nationals has a TON of political clout in Augusta).
• The other airport is the civil airport in the middle of the city named Daniel Field. Unlike AGS, this airport is typically underserved by Uber but is also extremely busy during the tournament. Despite there likely being a huge line of taxis there, you’ll likely get rides from here if the riders order the Uber before they see the taxis. These riders will likely leave their phone in their plane, so you might not see their blue location dot update. If you see them not have their phone with them (phones are not allowed in the tournament), let them know that there is an Uber representative that can order them a ride back on their account in the parking lot that you drop them off. (You probably won’t get their return trip, but they’ll help contribute to any surges later that you’ll benefit from.)

Quests:
Last year, the quests were for $15/trip originating from the rideshare parking lot at the Augusta Nationals between 3pm and 7pm. This sounds great, but I only got a total of 7 trips during that quest time for the entire four days of the quest (and one of those trips was a “high priority” return after a very short trip). The big issues are that the tournament might end before 3pm for bad weather or might go beyond 7pm (usually because of weather delays). Also, every driver is trying to cram into the rideshare lot to get in the queue for that quest. Even if the tournament gets out during the quest hours, you will be fighting traffic out of and back into the rideshare lot. The lot seems to be designed for about 20 vehicles, but there were at least 60 vehicles crammed in most of the time last year. Drivers can also park at the Publix parking lot near the Augusta Nationals to get in the queue, but then you must crawl through traffic to get to the pickup. As a strategy, it might be worth it to jump into the Publix lot, though, to get your position in the queue to get one more quest for the night. The quest is what brings drivers to Augusta, but it isn’t really where drivers make their money….
Tips:
Stories abound in and around Augusta about $100 tips that patrons give out during their visit to the Master’s Tournament. In the three years that I drove for the tournament, I only got some of these tips one year (last year) and none the other two years, but I received four of them last year for the following reasons: (1) being a military veteran, (2) returning binoculars that were left in my vehicle, (3) going through a Chick-Fil-A drive thru, and (4) making a half-dozen stops for one rider for cigars and alcohol and ice and other items. The first two tips were easy money; the second two tips cost a lot of time during high surges (although I would have still had a hard time doing better than the $100 during that time). If you are a young lady that is easy on the eyes (not sure of a better way to put it), you will have a much easier time getting the $100 tips, but you’ll likely also face some very stereotypical frat-guy behavior from the mostly older male crowd. Most people giving out these types of tips are not taking UberX or UberXL, though.
Surges:
As an upfront market, real surges are hidden, but you’ll still be able to see sticky surges. The best time for surges (aka, the times when riders exceed drivers) are in the early hours of the morning, the closing hours of the tournament, and during late night. The event starts at 8am (watch out for weather delays), but the rides easily start before 5am. There are a lot of moving parts to get the tournament started, and a lot of the rides that you’ll give as an UberX or UberXL are to those who support the tournament rather than the patrons. Parking lot attendants, traffic control, hospitality, camera crews, etc., are all heading to work. Uber shines at this time as the other modes of transportation have a hard time capturing this traffic unless prescheduled. A lot of patrons will start coming in soon after the workers to try to get the “ultimate” spot, and patrons will keep coming in for several hours. At the end of the tournament, there is no magical place to be except as close to the Augusta Nationals as possible. Patrons, workers, etc. are all streaming out of the same location.
Hot Spots:

• The rideshare lot for the Augusta Nationals: obviously
• Hooter’s: I swear a third of my mid-day trips went between Hooters and the Augusta Nationals. A very short trip.
• Other common restaurants that I would sit at (most of these have other restaurants close by that will be busy, too, but not necessarily as busy): Twin Peaks, T Bonz Steakhouse (in Augusta, not so much the one in Evans), Abel Brown, Beck’s, Cork and Flame (in Evans) and Frog Hollow (and other downtown Augusta restaurants).
• Hotel Clusters: For patrons, these hotels include those on Steven’s Creek Rd (aka Claussen Rd), Gordon Highway off of Exit 3 of I-520, downtown Augusta (one of which is in North Augusta, SC), Wheeler Rd off of Exit 2 of I-520, Jimmie Dyess Pkwy off of Exit 194 of I-20, and Lewiston Rd off of Exit 190 of I-20. Workers will primarily stay at the “cheaper” hotels (which will still be relatively mad expensive) throughout the city, especially around Washington Rd, Wrightsboro Rd near the Augusta Mall, and all the old hotels that litter the rest of Gordon Highway (good locations to pick up 5-7am).
• Underserved house rental clusters:

1. Don’t bother around Washington Rd as patrons will be primarily walking (not worth fighting the traffic for such low fares to the tournament either, imho, unless you are very, very close already).
2. West Lake is a huge location for pickups. It is a gated community, but if you tell the guards you are picking up at 3556 W Lake Dr (the Club House), they should let you right through the gate. You can even type this address in your app to get directions to it (without using your precious destination filters) and have your app look like you are actually going to there for a pickup.
3. There are several subdivisions near Washington Rd and William Few Pkwy in Evans, GA, that are commonly underserved.
4. Whole blocks within River Island Pkwy are rented out by Mercedes Benz and other corporations and is a good source of rides.
5. River North Dr in North Augusta, SC, is a great source of rides for patrons for those drivers who have submitted a completed a SC vehicle inspection to Uber.
6. Otherwise, workers and patrons will be staying in housing all over the city.

Roads to Avoid:

• Traveling down John C. Calhoun Expy/Washington Rd between downtown Augusta and the Augusta Nationals when patrons are going to/from the tournament. If coming from downtown or traveling to downtown, take Riverwatch Pkwy (erroneously labeled River Watch Pkwy on some GPS apps). Both Greene St and Reynolds St become Riverwatch Pkwy if you travel West on them long enough. At Alexander Dr, you will turn left, and then turn left again on Washington Rd (about ½ block from the rideshare entrance). To go downtown, turn left from the rideshare parking lot (not technically allowed, but most people still do so), turn right on Alexander Dr (the next light), and then turn right on Riverwatch Pkwy.
• Berkmans Rd (which becomes Alexander Dr at Washington Rd and becomes Highland Ave at Walton Way) will be closed by the Sherriff when the tournament ends. Until then, feel free to use it although it will be congested at the start of the tournament. The best way to avoid it is a long way around which is to take Walton Way to Walton Way Ext (a right turn), turn left onto Wheeler Rd, and then turn left on Marks Church Rd, to go West onto I-520, then to go East onto I-20, then get off at Exit 200 to Riverwatch, then turn right onto Riverwatch, and then turn left onto Alexander. If you do this with a rider in the car though, they might get really upset for all the extra miles they are paying for although it is much, much faster.
• Boy Scout Rd, which is technically the alternate route for Berkmans Rd when Berkmans Rd is closed. Just about all northbound traffic heading toward the tournament (or to Hooter’s or other nearby restaurants/hotels) that do not use the expressway will be stuck on this road when Berkmans Rd is closed. If Berkmans Rd is closed, you’ll likely regret taking Boy Scout Rd. Otherwise, Berkmans Rd is almost always better.

Law Enforcement:
The LE that you come across in Augusta are overworked outside of the tournament and will have had some really long hours by the time the tournament even starts. If you do something stupid enough to warrant the LE to actually bother going after you, expect at least a ticket. Be polite to LE because their fuses are already short. If you screw up, the best thing to do is to just apologize and accept the chew out if they are yelling at you from the road. Arguing will likely get you swarmed by police in Augusta.
Some notable things to point out:

• The North Augusta Police (in SC) have a reputation for giving out tickets for minor speeding infractions (and North Augusta has some of the lowest speed limits in the market). If you cross the bridges, stay at the speed limit until you get back to GA.
• Georgia State Police (GSP) have a reputation for giving you a ticket if they pull you over, even during non-tournament weeks. Most of their cars are the telltale grey on blue, but they do have a few stealth cars in the Augusta Market (black writing on black paint).
• Speaking of stealth cars, the Richmond County sheriff also have stealth SUVs and a TON of unmarked police cars.
• Georgia Public Safety (GPS) officers come out in numbers and single out a lot of commercial vehicles during tournament week (along with GSP). Note that Ubers are technically commercial vehicles. This is especially true on Doug Bernard Pkwy (the road going to/from the regional airport) and on I-520 and I-20. Doug Bernard Pkwy is easy hunting for GSP & GPS as the road is built like a 65-mph highway but only has a 45-mph speed limit. Everyone I’ve seen pulled over were exceeding 60 (I believe), but that is all the choice of the officers.

Competition:

• Other rideshare drivers: Not as bad as you would think. During the big money-making times, it won’t really matter. The market is flooded with rideshare drivers, though, which means that the surges are less common. Uber Black and UberX/XL surge separately, so there were times that Black was cheaper than X/XL according to several locals. Any stories about the Master’s Tournament driving the surges up to massive amounts all day long comes from 2016, which was the first time that Uber came to Augusta. The subsequent years have been much milder.
• Taxis: Taxi drivers come from all over GA and SC to drive during the tournament. I saw more taxis sitting at Daniel Airfield (our small civil airport in the middle of the city) during a slow time during tournament week last year than I’ve seen in all of Augusta during the rest of the year! At the Augusta Nationals, the taxi lot is next to the rideshare lot (but with a separate entrance), and patrons will have to walk past the Ubers to get to the taxis. At AGS, the taxi lot has its own beautiful exit coming out of the terminal, so the taxis often get riders before riders resort to Uber.
• Limos: Limos come from even further out. I saw limos from Myrtle Beach, Tampa, Kentucky…. LOTS of them all over the place. They are moving around the Daddy Warbucks type patrons and are getting most of those $100 bill tips. =P Limos and shuttles share a lot on Berckmans Rd.
• Hotel vans: Every decent hotel has at least a shuttle or two that they run during the tournament. Many of these hotels park their shuttles for the other 51 weeks out of the year. >.> These shuttles are not supposed to be in the rideshare lot, but some of them were last year.
• Private shuttles: A ton of companies, home-rental companies, and even the Augusta Nationals hire private drivers and use the grey Mercedes Benz Sprinter shuttles to get around. These shuttles are moving around the players, the CEOs, the big sponsor employees, etc. They are getting the rest of those $100 bill tips (many of them get a much higher single tip at the end of the tournament as a percentage of the shuttle cost).
• Public transportation: public transportation (the buses) suck in Augusta and are not really very relevant during the tournament.

Traveling from Other Markets:
One of the mistakes many drivers make is not recouping the costs of traveling from/to their market and missing the surges that result from other drivers leaving their market. I assume that a driver is not going to stay overnight in Augusta as the hotel costs are prohibitive. I also don’t recommend sleeping in your car because the local LE already have short fuses with the extra hours and the extra work brought on from patrons during the tournament (patrons routinely include heads of states and billionaires). If you are over 2 ½ hours away and don’t have a place to crash in Augusta, I wouldn’t bother.
Here is what I would do if I were in these other markets (but your reasoning or circumstances might be different):

• Aiken, SC: Technically the same metro although Augusta & Aiken drivers rarely overlap trips. I’d definitely be outside the Wilcox early to get one of the many patrons needing a ride.
• Athens: I might as well come to Augusta if I didn’t have a game going on. Still a four-hour round trip that I’d have to overcome. Brownie points if I could finagle a ride from the Thompson civil airport on the way to or from Augusta. Sadly, I know more about Atlanta than I know about Athens, but I would guess there are some (relatively) cheapskate patrons staying at hotels in Athens that would need a trip to Augusta early in morning. If so, I’d jump on that if I came across one (probably give them my number to get their return trip, too).
• Atlanta: A five-hour roundtrip is nothing to take lightly. I would only come to Augusta if I had a long-distance trip here (which many patrons will go straight from ATL or even a hotel). Atlanta does well during the tournament as a lot of drivers go to Augusta deadheading both ways, some drivers get pulled to Augusta thanks to long-distance trips, and Augusta ends up sucking up all the rental cars in the SE. A combination that is really, really good for drivers in ATL during tournament week and especially for airport drivers. If I got a long-distance trip back to ATL at any point (likely mid-day or at/near the end of the tournament), I’d take it in a heartbeat and call it a great day while finishing up in Atlanta if I had any more hours to burn.
• Columbia, SC: As I’d only be about an hour away, I’d definitely head over to Augusta. I’d also sit downtown Augusta during the few times that I would sit. I’d try to begin the day with a trip from the hotels in downtown Columbia as lots of international travelers will stay in Columbia (last year a lot of patrons from Ireland stayed in Columbia as the Augusta hotels were full, international travel to Columbia was easier, and the patrons came for a specific Irish player that qualified for the tournament fairly close to the tournament date).
• Macon: I don’t think that I would bother. Very unlikely to find trips along the way either way. To head directly to Augusta takes lots of state highways through small towns, too.
• Savannah: Even worse than coming from Atlanta. No interstates to travel up/down. I’d only do it if I got a patron staying at a hotel in Savannah (and give them my number to get their return trip, too).
• Statesboro: Quite a bit closer to Augusta than Savannah, but still traveling down state highways with little chances of getting a ride between the two metros. I would be surprised if any patrons stayed in Statesboro and ubered back and forth, but I’d accept a ride to Augusta if it came up (again giving my number to get their return trip).

Semi-Boilerplate text:
I always secure the 1000 cc and generally finish top cut or at least near top cut. I know a lot of people struggle with this mode so I'm going to make a little guide here for those who may want to ape my path and team I'll be using this season. I tend to construct fairly cautious teams with double (or more in some cases) healing to help protect against bad RNG. With all that said you still need to understand how your units and opposing units operate to complete a run without things potentially going awry, so just consider this an outline.
Game Theory:
I follow a very careful theory under the current rules which is as follows:
Up until fight 15 when the bonus points really start stacking the only thing that really matters is keeping your team healthy. Even after that keeping your units alive, especially the Z-tier ones who gather your points is the most important thing. This means that even if you just have them riding the bench all the way up until the last few battles it's okay. As long as you have your z-tier units participate in fight 25 where the insane bonus points drop everything will be okay.
Every 5th fight of your win streak the point bonus has a special bonus multiplier, but under the current scoring system this really doesn't mean too much until fight 15. Keeping that in mind, up until fight 25 I'd prioritize taking the easier path over any batch of bonus points if you're debating the worth of a battle.
Board Overview:
The board this season is one of the more difficult ones in recent memory. Definitely a few real "Sophie's Choice" situations this time around. I do however feel I picked the easiest route available overall. Normally I do double healing teams, but this time I feel like we need to lean a little harder on damage output so Super Baby 2 will be carrying the healing load alone. Luckily he's up to the task.
Team: Regeneration
Units below are my recommended units listed by their points tier for this season.
Z tier -
EX Nail (Purple) - He buffs the regen tag so that's nice, but he's basically just here to collect points while stapled to the hip of Super Baby 2.
S Tier -
Baby Vegeta (Green) - Fast attacker with good self sustaining ability. Good for chipping out a weak enemy at the start of a round.
Boohan (Red) - One of the premiere units in all of ToP. He has some opportunities to really shine during this map.
A Tier -
Z7 Piccolo (Blue) - We face a whole lot of red units again this map so he's as valuable as ever.
Z7 DKP (Yellow) - With the other Piccolo units I'd prefer over him stuck in B-tier this season we have to dust off DKP and bring him along. He's still pretty decent and being a strike based unit can come in handy here and there.
Z7 EX Cell (Blue) - With the abundance of reds on the board he'll prove useful with his okay damage, can't attack, and, quick attacking.
B tier -
Z7 Janemba (purple) - Sucks that he's in B-tier this season, but we still need to bring him along.
C tier -
Z7 Super Baby 2 (blue) - As always the MVP. Absolute must run for this team.
Substitutions:
Z-tier - Hard to imagine someone not having Nail, but an alternative is EX Omega Shenron (Blue) - Very few people have this guy and the way his kit reads it's highly conditional. You need to be running some combination of 4 GT or Powerful opponent characters (himself included) in battle or he doesn't receive his primary buff of 70% damage inflicted, -15% damage received and, +60 ki recovery. He doesn't directly buff the regen tag either, but he will buff the powerful opponent/GT members. That said it's not that hard to manage if you have most of the optimal units in this lineup, though you may want to re-jigger the lineup a bit at that point since it'll be too blue heavy IMO.
S-tier - If you like most people don't have Red Boohan I'd suggest dipping into A-tier and getting Z7 Perfect Cell (Red). He's a great damage dealer but a slow attacker. He's not nearly as good all-around as Boohan but he fills the role best of the available choices.
If you're lacking green Baby Vegeta you have a few options. Normally we'd look to the green sparking first form Cell, but he's in b-tier this season and absolutely not worth running from that position. The character who most similarly fills the role this season is the green Boohan in A-tier. He's not as useful as green Baby Vegeta IMO but he does have a nullify against the first strike or blast he faces and beyond that he does directly buff the tag at least. You could try and fill the void with Z7 Green Piccolo who is a much more powerful unit than either of them in many respects but is a notoriously slow attacker and that changes the makeup of the team a bit. He certainly hits harder and has a special cover change against enemy special moves to set him apart in a positive light.
A-Tier - If you're missing one of the blue units I listed you could take a chance on Bootenks. He's pretty situational these days so you'd have to really pick your spots to bring him, but his turn 1 guaranteed special attack is very potent; particularly with the amount of red units we will see on this board. He's just so frail though that I don't like bringing him anymore. Another option you could try is to climb up into S-tier and take the Z7 EX Evil Boo. He's a super slow but powerful attacker. He does buff the tag (just blast) and his Zenkai ability helps blue regen units unlike the EX blue Cell who's Zenkai ability only buffs other extreme blue units. The problem is that this guy is so slow that it negatively impacts the makeup of the team in the fights where you would need him most against many red units, so generally I'd take the EX Blue Cell first even though this guy hits like a truck and has some actual damage cut of his own.
B-Tier - Not having Z7 Janemba will make this board a bit rougher for you IMO. Transforming purple DKP is in A-tier, but he's garbage for the first two turns of the battle. I guess if you're desperate enough to try him I'd keep him stapled to the hip of Super Baby 2 and/or damage cut tiles to help him out.
C-Tier - There is no replacement for Super Baby 2. Don't run the team if you're lacking him.
MAP: Visual aid Part 1 Visual Aid Part 2
FORMAT: Row-Column, (difficulty of fight measured in fists), (enemy color breakdown), Listing of enemy LL or Ultra units, notes, mention of useful bonus tiles (i.e. not the crit rate tile) other than the special move tile that's always there.
01-03 (3 fists) (2 purple, 2 yellow, 1 red, 1 green) Death Buff Warning: Krillin gives death buffs to allies and extra buffs to Goku on top of that so don't take him out early. Green 17 will nullify the first blast attack (or beam type special move). 1 health recovery tile, 2 ki recovery up tiles.
02-05 (3 fists) (2 blue, 2 purple, 1 yellow, 1 green) Death Buff Warning: Blue 13 is powered up each time an android battle member is defeated, so take him out early.
03-05 (4 fists) (2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 purple) 2 damage cut tiles. 1 strike damage tile.
04-05 (5 fists) (3 yellow, 2 green, 1 red) Green Boohan will nullify the first strike or blast arts he faces. 2 damage inflicted tiles and 1 health restoration tile.
05-05 (4 fists) (3 red, 2 green, 1 yellow) LL SSJ3 Dragon Fist Goku (2 stars), LL Genki-Dama Goku (3 stars), LL UI Goku (2 stars), LL Futurehan (3 stars) Genki-Dama Goku will nullify the first blast attack he faces as will UI Goku. 1 ki recovery tile.
06-05 (5 fists) (2 blue, 2 yellow, 2 red) Ultra Omega Shenron (2 stars) The first strike attack that Eis Shenron faces he will nullify and inflict can't attack status on the attacker. Nuova will nullify the first strike or blast attack directed towards him. In any case I'd save these two for the end to avoid tripping yourself up.
07-04 (4 fists) (3 green, 2 red, 1 yellow) LL Droids (5 stars), LL Futurehan (2 stars). Death Buff Warning: Green EX Trunks gets buffs for each defeated battle member at the start of the turn. Don't let him hang around until the very end, but don't sweat it too hard early. Warning for my fellow Regen users: Red Future Trunks has a built in 30% bonus damage inflicted against regen. Two damage inflicted tiles and two special move charge rate tiles.
08-04 (5 fists) (2 green, 2 red, 1 purple, 1 blue) Death Buff Warning: Blue Pan grants mighty death buffs upon her defeat. Don't take her out early.
09-04 (3 fists) (3 red, 2 green, 1 yellow) LL SSJ3 Dragon Fist Goku (2 stars), LL Genki-Dama Goku (3 stars), LL UI Goku (2 stars), LL Futurehan (3 stars) Genki-Dama Goku will nullify the first blast attack he faces as will UI Goku. 1 health recovery tile.
10-03 (4 fists) (5 red, 1 blue) LL Droids (4 star) At the start of turn two Tapion drains the special move gauge of whomever he is facing down to 0%. When turn 3 comes around Super Android 13 will cancel his attribute downgrades and launch a guaranteed special move. Two special move charge rate tiles. Two health recovery tiles.
11-02 (5 fists) (2 red, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 purple, 1 yellow) Green Broly will nulify the first strike or blast art directed towards him. Gohan WARNING: This blue Gohan will jump in front of every attack your team makes on the first turn. Your team will resume its assigned attack order at the start of turn two. Red Boohan if you have him can work around this- he will cancel the buff effect that lets Gohan do this and your team will immediately resume their assigned attack order afterward. Green LL Trunks can do this as well. It's not really a big deal in this particular variation of the fight, but I figure it's worth noting for those of you out there who have the applicable units. One ki recovery til and one damage cut tile.
12-02 (4 fists) Death Buff Warning: Krillin gives death buffs to allies and extra buffs to Goku on top of that so don't take him out early. Green 17 will nullify the first blast attack (or beam type special move). One ki recovery tile.
13-02 (4 fists) (3 yellow, 2 green, 1 purple) LL Evo Vegeta (4 stars) LL SSGSS Vegeta (4 stars) Death buff warning: Purple Vegeta gives mighty death buffs. Save him for the end. 2 damage cut tiles and 1 strike damage tile.
14-02 (3 fists) (3 yellow, 2 green, 1 purple) LL Evo Vegeta (4 stars) LL SSGSS Vegeta (4 stars) Death buff warning: Purple Vegeta gives mighty death buffs. Save him for the end. 1 damage cut tile.
15-03 (3 fists) (2 purple, 2 yellow, 1 green, 1 red) At the start of Turn two Tenshinhan will inflict "can't attack" status. He will also get a guaranteed special move this turn. At the start of turn three Yadjirobe if at 50% or less health gets a guaranteed special move. Purple Yamucha will nullify the first blast attack that comes his way. One strike damage tile.
16-03 (3 fists) (2 purple, 2 green, 1 blue, 1 red) 2 special move charge rate and 2 damage cut tiles.
17-03 (3 fists) (2 green, 2 purple, 1 blue, 1 red) LL DBS Broly (4 star), LL Blue Boys (4 star) 1 ki recovery tile.
18-04 (4 fists) (2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 purple) 1 blast damage tile.
19-05 (4 fists) (2 green, 2 purple, 1 blue, 1 red) LL DBS Broly (4 star), LL Blue Boys (4 star) 2 special move charge rate tiles. 1 ki recovery tile.
20-05 (5 fists) (5 red, 1 blue) LL Cooler (3 stars) At the start of turn two Tapion drains the special move gauge of whomever he is facing down to 0%. 2 damage inflicted tiles.
21-05 (5 fists) (3 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple) ( LL Jiren (5 stars) RNG Warning: LL Jiren will inflict can't attack status on one of your units at the start of turn one. Completely unavoidable. RNG Warning: GoD Toppo will inflict can't attack status on one your units at the start of turn one. Completely unavoidable. EX Toppo gives the entire enemy team a 20% crit rate boost every turn so I'd advise making sure he's your first target to prevent things from getting out of hand. One blast damage tile, two special move charge rate tiles.
Going more in-depth: This is the most difficult fight you'll face on this path so I'm going to give a little more info here- if you want to use it feel free: Depending on the color alignment of your units you might be better off leaving LL Jiren alone for a bit- he doesn't reach his maximum damaging potential until he drops below 60% health while other units on this team can cause you some trouble. The EX Toppo really needs to go first IMO since he can cause things to get out of control. With that in mind the Red Dyspo at the end of turn two gets a 30% damage buff. You'll probably want to leave the Green Dyspo alone for the first two turns since he has a built-in 30% damage cut. Just keep those factors in mind along with the color of your units when picking your attack order here.
22-04 (4 fists) (2 red, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 purple, 1 yellow) Green Broly will nulify the first strike or blast art directed towards him. Gohan WARNING: This blue Gohan will jump in front of every attack your team makes on the first turn. Your team will resume its assigned attack order at the start of turn two. Red Boohan if you have him can work around this- he will cancel the buff effect that lets Gohan do this and your team will immediately resume their assigned attack order afterward. Green LL Trunks can do this as well. It's not really a big deal in this particular variation of the fight, but I figure it's worth noting for those of you out there who have the applicable units. Two damage cut tiles and one special move charge rate tile.
23-04 (3 fists) (2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 light) Gohan will get a special move charge whenever an ally dies so take him out first. Beerus will inflict "can't attack" status on a unit at the start of turn two. 1 blast damage tile and one health restoration tile.
24-04 (4 fists) (5 red, 1 blue) LL Cooler (3 stars) At the start of turn two Tapion drains the special move gauge of whomever he is facing down to 0%. Two damage cut tiles and one ki recovery tile.
REMINDER: If you're confident your team can survive the final battle bring in your max points lineup to ensure the highest possible final score.
25-05 (5 fists) (2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 yellow, 1 purple) LL Droids (2 stars) At the end of turn 2 Mai will inflict "can't attack status" one one of your units. Yurin will apply a second round of health restoration debuffs (-30%) at the start of turn 3 if she's still around. 2 health restoration tiles and 2 damage cut tiles.

Alternate titles: Pasture FC, Retirement FC, Sunset FC
Pitch to the manager:
Are you tired of running the same wonderkid save year after year? Time to flip the traditional FM save script & build a Powerhouse retirement home for the legends of the game.
​
Pitch to players:
Not just a Club but a lifestyle. An exclusive retreat where the worlds most refined & accomplished model pro's are invited to savor last drops of their career. Given the recourses to age like the fine wine they are. No longer will legends of the game be allowed to flounder in the ignominy of Russia, Turkey, & Saudi Arabia. No longer will their vast experience be wasted playing at levels of football that are far beneath the quality that their pedigree deserves. Obscurity will not be forced upon the world's proven greats for them to receive the pay packets they deserve. Testimonial FC will pay you your worth. Testimonial FC will slot you into a system that takes advantage of your incredible mental & technical abilities. This is your final chance to pad your trophy cabinet. At Testimonial FC the most prestigious club trophies are an absolute guarantee.
​
At Testimonial FC legends of the game will experience 5 star training facilities, & the best fitness coaches/physios/sport scientists money can buy. Testimonial FC's standards are just as high as yours. We will endeavor to wring out every single ounce of physical longevity that your natural fitness can provide. You will be offered your selection of coaching badges. You will be given the opportunity to mentor some of the finest young talent the world provides. Affording you not only the pleasure of mentorship, but the opportunity to hand the baton to the next generation of stars. Its your chance to show young whipper snappers how real pros go about their business. Affording you hands on coaching experience providing you a smooth transition on next step of your illustrious careers. Who knows perhaps building relationships with the world brightest talents will be helpful in leading you to success in future management positions. Success at Testimonial FC doesn't just mean trophies on the field. It means our management graduates landing roles at top clubs around the world. Perhaps even among the storied coaches of Testimonial FC.
Trophies, competition at the highest levels, the best support & facilities money can buy, the generous pay packet you deserve, unparalled opportunities for professional development. If you are a legend find a forever home amongst a like minded community of the worlds greats.
​
Save Tenants:
Elder Player selection: **Age combined with world reputation is everything**. **Personality** & future coaching potential is highly sought after. **Natural fitness** is a key stat. MONEY IS NO BARRIER.
​
Youth Player Selection:
A limited number of the world premier young talents will be brought into the club. **Max 4 per year all 18 & under**. OPTIONAL: "Make those players of your clubs nation. Becoming a national talent factory, that is perhaps nationally funded & supported. " **Troubled personalities** are encouraged in purchased young players. Youth players will be brought in with specific elder players in mind. The Model professionals of Testimonial FC will be given the rewarding opportunity of setting them down the right path for future glory. Affording our aging savants the opportunity to take credit for their future successes. Youths of Testimonial FC need at least 2 years of invaluable mentorship before they are allowed to be sold & considered a graduate of Testimonial FC's prestigious "Troubled youth program".
**Youths will be given an immediate transfer listing & sale after the age of 20**. This will enable the club to be self sustaining under the prodigious pay packets our legends deserve. **No player under 33 will be given minutes or squad status greater then squad player.** **No more than 3 youth players will be allowed on the field at any one time. **One player 36 or above must be captaining the side at all times**. This club isn't about giving youth the spot light. Unless of course they return to the club in the sunset of their careers after enjoying outside success that Testimonal FC enabled them to achieve.
Tactics: Provide Trophies at highest levels of the game while utilizing a system that enables success for elder statesmen with limited physical tools. All the while highly managing both fatigue & injuries. The legends of our club wont be forced to levels of intensity their legs cant handle. We protect our stars first, & will not shorten their careers under any circumstance.
Staff: **Former superstar coaches under 45 will be sought after**. They have the same relatability of life experience that our players need. Having already made the professional jump they will enable our players to have the smoothest & most successful transition possible from legend of the game to legends of management. **Fitness coaches/physios/sports scientist will be the best in the world**
Training: Training loads for our stars will be kept to respectable levels. Preventing physical decline through physical training, while monitoring levels of training for elder players & preventing injuries is of paramount importance.
Mentorship: **Each elder of Testimonial FC will be assigned a 1on1 youth mentorship group. The youth will be of similar position & role** **If youth players step out of bounds of code of conduct they will be highly punished.** Discipline is paramount to shaping the worlds future stars at Testimonial FC. **Repeat youth offenders will have their contracts terminated.**
​
POST: I'm going to try something like this. Hopefully this provides some inspiration to someone looking for a new save. At the moment I'm not sure if I want to build Testimonial FC from a small club & struggling old persons home like Tottenham (jkjk) or use the immense recourses of another retirement home like PSG to do it right from the start.

i have a feeling my semester 2 grades will be a bit lower than 1st semester and i was wondering if it would hurt my chances at getting into a good college. for context i’m a sophomore at a rigorous selective public high school. my 1st semester gpa was like 95.7, 2nd semester will probably be around 93-94. my ap world grade dropped from 94 (1st semester) to 91 (2nd semester) and although 2nd semester isn’t over yet, there’s very limited opportunities for me to fix my grade. similarly, in other classes my grades are like 1-2% lower than last semester😭 last week was a rlly bad week and somehow i made it a year and a half without getting any bad test grades mostly 80,90,100s and then sophomore year ap chem i got a few 70s and stuff but ended up with an 88 first semester and anyway last week was rlly bad and i got almost failing grades on my algebra, ap chem, and ap world exams and i definitely failed my chem quiz (prolly got 0/6😍😍😍). i’m flopping fr but anyway idk what this post is at this point it’s just a long rant i’m sorry for posting this but like how screwed am i for college. oh also while i’m at it, i hate history, but should i take apush…? i’m tempted to sign up for it but ap world made me hate history. actually it might be just my teacher cause last year i loved history. i think i should shut up at this point 😭

Later in the week, Tim texts me "WYD?". I tell him editing some photos. "Can I stop by after school?". "Sure". I guess Tim's getting comfortable with me, he doesn't knock, just walks in. "What's up?" I ask. "I don't know, I was hoping I could talk to you, I'm all confused and don't have anyone else to talk to like this". I tell him to sit on the couch and I get us each a bottle of water. He starts right in "I've fallen in love with Ant and it's driving me crazy. I can't stop thinking about him. I knew I was catching feelings, but when we fucked last week and he spit in my mouth, that sealed it. I have to jerk off in the locker room before wrestling practice because I know I'd get a hard on wrestling him. It killed me when he told you he likes you watching us because he feels like an actor playing a part. I'm not acting! Everything I do is because I want to. It's so awkward because at school I have to act like we're just friends". Does he know you're in love with him? I ask. "No, I'm afraid it will freak him out. He's still seeing Crystal sometimes. That's driving me crazy, too. College scouts have been coming around watching us practice, I'm really afraid we'll end up at different colleges". "Don't tell him your feelings, I agree, it could freak him out. I know he's crazy about you, but you don't want him to feel pressured, you might lose him. Try to keep things as they are, maybe he'll give you some signal, I know it's hard". God, I wasn't prepared for this, giving an 18 year old love advice, it's not like I've always made the right decisions in that area. "Do you see him outside of school?" "Sometimes if he can get his mom's car he'll pick me up when I get out of work at 10. We drive around back where it's dark and get high and make out and jerk off or blow each other. They can tell at work I'm really distracted, all I can think about is getting him in the backseat of the car". I put my hand on Tim's knee and say, "Let's go through some of the photos we did last week, we can pick out the best ones". "Thanks, it helped just to talk about it, I really appreciate it and knew you'd understand what i'm going through".
We pull chairs up to the monitor and start going through the photos. Tim says he knows Ant is hot, but the photos are out of this world. "We both look like buff hot porn stars!" I scroll past the shots of Ant's butt as he's fucking Tim. Tim says "That thick hair in his butt crack drives me insane". "You've got me horny again, looking at us fucking, I can't go to work like this. Get your camera, I'll rub one out."
I get my camera, Tim stands against the wall slowly undressing, smiling into the lens. He undoes his belt and drops his shorts. He pulls off his t-shirt. He bends over and unties his sneakers and throws them on top of his pile of clothes. Then he hooks a thumb on each side of his boxers (they're black with red chili peppers on them) and pulls them down, the waistband catches on his dick, which is already hard. He's standing there in just his white socks. I keep taking pictures. He's standing there stroking his dick, and smiling into the camera. He grabs a chair with one hand and sits down, never stopping stroking his dick. He's got his legs spread wide. He tells me to put the camera down and grab a chair and sit across from him. I do as I'm told. It's no use hiding my hard-on. He tells me to unbuckle my belt and pull my dick out, he wants to watch me jerk off to him jerking off. He puts his feet up on the edge of my chair, on either side of my legs. We're both staring at each other. I'm not looking at his dick, I'm looking in his eyes. He's not smiling anymore, just looking at me. "Dude, I'm gonna cum!". He shoots thick ropes of cum on his abs and chest. He tells me to cum on his stomach. I stand over him and with a few more tugs shoot creamy liquid all over him. He rubs it all in with his hands, all over those beautiful abs and chest, now coated with a thin layer of our cum. "What time is it? I've got to get to work." "Almost four, you gonna shower?". "Nah, I love having cum on me, at work I just have to rub my hand across my abs and it all comes back. Sometimes I'll wet my finger and moisten the dried cum so I can taste it." I head to the bathroom to piss. Tim follows me and stands next to me and starts pissing ,too, playing swords with our streams of piss. I used to do that with my brother when we were kids.
"So long Bro, the burgers are waiting for me".
"We still on for next Tuesday?"
"Yup, Ant said he can't wait for another session. This is the only place we can fuck."
"Lucky me."

Thanks to Connect-Abalone3863 for doing my job for me, but here's the full info for folks that want it...
When: 3pm-7pm every Thursday from March 30th (THIS THURSDAY) to November 2nd
Where: Tipperary Park - next to City Hall
How: the 106 bus stops nearby, we're quite central if you fancy a walk (weather should be really... oh... no... mustn't jinx it), cycle (we have bike racks!) or, if you must, drive (there's parking on Queens, Royal and 3rd)
What: well, that changes every week. You'll see some of your favourite vendors with us every week of the season and some others will come and go according to the season. But I CAN tell you that this Thursday will be our big Season Opener Block Party!
"Season Opener Block Party?" you ask.
Yes! Season Opener Block Party!

• We have FREE COOKIES for the first 100 customers!
• We have LIVE MUSIC from Sue Breton!
• We have Food Trucks!
• We have face painting and balloons from 4-6pm!
• We have a living statue performer!
• We have Member Appreciation Day discounts!
• Free music classes for under 5s by Music Box at 4 & 5pm!
• Lawn games!
• Crafts!
• Oh... so much! So much!

Seriously, there's too much happening for my little fingers but, if you wanted to know about everything every week then the best thing you could do would be... you know don't you because you've already done it... ok... sing along with me... sign up for our newsletter by clicking the banner on our website at https://newwestfarmers.ca/ - that will get you an email a week with our vendor list for that week - a full day before we announce it to other less-lucky folks. And go find us on Facebook and Instagram for more prettily formatted news postings.
On the subject of Instagram, we're also holding an Instagram contest. Tag @newwestfarmers in your market haul pics on Instagram for your chance to win $20 in Market Money! Make sure to post your pic and tag us within 24 hours of the market and we'll draw a name to pick up at our following market on April 6th!
But wait... what was that about Member Appreciation Day discounts? Well, if you're a member of the Farmers Market you get MONEY SAVING DEALS!
Where?

• Gary’s Kettle Corn- $1 off large bags
• PuppyPower SuperTreats - 10% off
• Homemade by Harris - 10% off
• Mandair Farms - 1 free jar of plain jam or pickled brussel sprouts with each purchase of $20 or more
• Occasionally Honey - $1 off frozen desserts
• Outwest Ranches - $2.00 off beef roast 3.5 lb+
• Sweet U Macarons - 1 free macaron per purchase for the first 100 customers
• Hett Creek Sourdough - Buy 2 loaves and get 10% off
• Rockweld Farm - Bone in, skin on chicken quarters are 25% off
• Spark Foods - 10% off

How?
Become a member! It's easy... hand over $10 at the pretty green info tent and you'll get a card and you'll get discounts at our monthly Member Appreciation Days for a whole year (usually first market of the month but not 6th April because we're bringing it forward a week). You also get other things like the ability to vote at our AGM but I know you're really here for the discounts.
OK, one last thing... this week's vendor list (and remember: mailing list... early access etc etc)
Artisans and Pet Products:

Artsy Candle Bonorlea Hearth and Home MeNom PuppyPower SuperTreats 

Bakeries:

BAK'd Cookies Gabi and Jules Hett Creek Sourdough Homemade By Harris Occasionally Honey Sweet U Macaroons Twins Donuts Waffled 

Beverages:

Festina Lente Gingeraki Mainland Whisky Studio Brewing Top Hat Kombucha 

Produce/Flower Farmers:

Mandair Farms Whistler Harvest 

Dairy:

Golden Ears Cheesecrafters 

Prepared Foods:

Angkor Harvest Anne's Kitchen Churchkela Empanada Gal Gary's Kettle Corn Mamma Musey Pierogi Mandi's Mickles Origo Pastaggio Pretty Bird Kitchen Spark Foods Tamaly Shop With/On Kimchi 

Meat & Fish:

Island Jerky Outwest Ranches Rockweld Farms The Butchers Guild Vancouver Smoked Foods Wild West Coast Seafoods 

Food Court: (Moved to Queens Ave for this season)

Bread and Cheese Crema Ice Cream and Desserts 

PS. Yes I know there's not many farms. We get asked that every year in March :) They'll be along in good time. The strawberries are always worth the wait.
PPS. Yes, I know we're a little smaller than last year but never fear... come the summer we'll expand again and take over the world the park as we did last year.
PPPS. And yes we have a portaloo. Huh? You think it would be nice if there was a permanent set of washrooms in Tipperary Park? Hmmm - us too!
PPPPS. If you got all the way through you deserve a prize. You don't get one but you MIGHT if you enter our Instagram contest.