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In preparation for the Winds of Winter, I am creating a list of plot lines in each region. This post covers The North and its many troubles. Feel free to leave any comments, analysis, predictions, or ones I missed!

1.) House Thenn and the taking of Karhold

After the marriage of Alys Karstark to Sigorn, Magnar of Thenn, 200 well armed Thenns plan to march on Karhold. According to Jon, Alys believes that "Karhold will open its gates to her." Karhold being taken over by House Thenn will have many implications. Firstly, it will be the first location south of the Wall actually ruled by the Free Folk. Additionally, House Karstark has only feigned support for Stannis and in the sample TWOW chapter,Stannis vows to execute Arnolf Karstark, his son Arthor, and his grandsons which would leave House Karstark without clear leadership besides Alys and newly created House Thenn

2.) Settlement of the gift

The gift is land officially owned by the Night's Watch. In the old days, the Gift was once populated by villages and holdfasts that paid taxes to the Night's Watch. However, after a few millennia of Free Folk raids on top of a harsh northern climate, the villages disappeared and the holdfasts turned to ruin. In ASOS, Stannis offers to allow the Free Folk to resettle the New Gift if they swear loyalty to Stannis and his cause. Jon Snow as lord commander reluctantly agrees with this plan. It appears that the settlement has not began yet, but it will be quite interesting to see the interaction between the Northern Leadership and Free Folk Settlers.

3.) Ironborn occupation of Torrhen's Square

In ACOK, Dagmar Cleftjaw led the first failed taking of Torrhen's square. After the host at Torrhen's Square left to try to take Winterfell from Theon, Dagmar Cleftjaw returned and successfully took the castle for good and has been held up ever since. There has not been any serious attempt to retake the castle and the Ironborn have sort of just held it in the background while the Lady Eddara Tallhart has still remained captive. However, with Asha and Theon Greyjoy as hostages of Stannis, maybe this longstanding occupation will have implications.

4.) Davos In Skagos

Davos was sent to Skagos by Wyman Manderly to find Prince Rickon Stark. Skagos is a group of islands shadowed in mystery with plenty of rumors of cannbialism being circulated. All we really know definitively of Skagos is that it is lead by three clans: House Crowl, House Magnar, and House Stane. Furthermore, we know that there has been historical relationships between East-watch and Skagos though the nature of the relationship is not clear. More interestinly, Janos Slynt may of actually been in Skagos for a while because the ship he used to travel to the wall apparently had a stop in Skagos.

5.) Manderly Alliance

“Oldcastle and Widow’s Watch will take their lead from me. My bannermen include a dozen petty lords and a hundred landed knights. I can deliver King Stannis the allegiance of all the lands east of the White Knife, from Widow’s Watch and Ramsgate to the Sheepshead Hills and the headwaters of the Broken Branch. All this I pledge to do if you will meet my price” - Davos IV ADWD

Wyman Manderly remarks on his true plans; he is creating a large amount of ships, he is feigning loyalty to the Iron Throne, and he is a staunch Stark Loyalist. An important detail is that Wyman has two named house of equal lordly status that will take his lead: House Flint of Widow's Watch, and House Locke of Oldcastle. But with Lord Manderly critically wounded and Stannis believing him to the killer of Davos, the future of this alliance in relation to Stannis is in question.

6.) The Neck

Many interesting characters and plots are coalescing in the Neck. Hallis Mollen and his escort are carrying Ned's bones in the Neck. Lady Maege Mormont and Master of Deepwood Motte Galbart Glover, both witnesses to King Robb's final will, are presumably in the Neck as well. With these important characters in the Neck, it's possible that there is something being planned in the Neck with the aid of the mysterious Howland Reed.

7.) The Northern Mountain Clans and Bran's Identity

"But the nights are colder now, and doors are closed. There's squids in the wolfswood, and flayed men ride the kingsroad asking after strangers."
The Reeds exchanged a look. "Flayed men?" said Jojen.
"The Bastard's boys, aye. He was dead, but now he's not. And paying good silver for wolfskins, a man hears, and maybe gold for word of certain other walking dead." He looked at Bran when he said that, and at Summer stretched out beside him. - Bran II ASOS

To most of the north, Bran has been long dead, killed by treacherous Theon Greyjoy. House Manderly and House Bolton are really the only two houses that know Bran is still alive. However, this man identified only by his affiliation to House Liddle knows about Bran's identity. Since this meeting, House Liddle has declared for Stannis Baratheon. Perhaps this man from House Liddle will be used by Stannis to confirm the Manderly story?

8.) Siege of Winterfell and the Battle of Ice

Stannis is currently beseiging winterfell with a modest host of loyal southerners and disgruntled northmen. At the end of ADWD and in the TWOW sample chapter,>! we learn that the Frey host and Mandarly host have been sent outside of winterfell to meet Stannis' host in battle, but due to Crowfood Umber's traps, Aenys Frey was killed and Hosteen Frey lost his horse. !

9.) Conflict Within the Walls of Winterfell

There are many mysteries and conflicts within Winterfell itself. On the surface level, there are many political tensions. Many of the houses have a tenuous loyalty to the Boltons and only remain loyal because their kin are captive after the Red Wedding. There is good reason to believe Lady Barbery Dustin, Lord Rodrik Ryswell, Lady Jonelle Cerwyn, Lord Ondrew Locke, and Lord Harwood Stout are likely to betray the Boltons. On top of this, Mance Rayder, under the guise of Abel, is allegedly a captive of Ramsay, and there is a serial killer stalking the halls killing any unfortunate soul who comes their way. Lord Wyman Manderly also has a critical injury and is being treated at Winterfell while his host marches out.
On a higher magical level, one of the largest mysteries is Jon Snow's persistent dream of the crypts:

Somehow I know I have to go down there, but I don't want to. I'm afraid of what might be waiting for me. - Jon IV AGOT
He dreamt he was back in Winterfell, limping past the stone kings on their thrones. Their grey granite eyes turned to follow him as he passed, and their grey granite fingers tightened on the hilts of the rusted swords upon their laps. You are no Stark, he could hear them mutter, in heavy granite voices. There is no place for you here. Go away.... Up above he heard drums. They are feasting in the Great Hall, but I am not welcome there. I am no Stark, and this is not my place. His crutch slipped and he fell to his knees. The crypts were growing darker. A light has gone out somewhere. "Ygritte?" he whispered. "Forgive me. Please." But it was only a direwolf, grey and ghastly, spotted with blood, his golden eyes shining sadly through the dark - Jon VIII ASOS

It will be interesting to see what lies in the crypts.

10.) Captives at the Dreadfort

A few characters are currently captive at the Dreadfort according to Theon and the AFFC Appendix:

• Lady Beth Cassel, current head of house Cassel and daughter of the late Rodrick Cassel
• Turnip, the son or daughter of Winterfell's head cook
• Palla, daughter of Winterfell's kennel master
• Bandy and Shyra, twin daughters of Winterfell's master of horse
• Old Nan, one of Winterfell's most senior servant who knows the story of the last hero along with many other important stories about Northern History.

The status of these captives is unknown because Ramsay has stated that he enjoys hunting captive women for sport, but if House Bolton falls during the Battle of Ice, then these captives could be liberated

1. Take an ink pen on your carry on. You’ll need this for your entry paperwork that you’ll receive just prior to landing. The airlines do not provide pens and although there are kiosks with pens once you exit the aircraft, the pens at those kiosks will have many passengers vying for the few that work. Bringing your own pen will speed up your entry into Mexico.
   
2. Do you need a rental car? Most often, no. Taxis, shuttles and Uber are plentiful in Cabo. It it recommended that you book your round trip airport transfer in advance. There are numerous private coach options, usually in a Suburban or Denali SUV. Or, Gray Line Los Cabos is another and less costly option. Bear in mind, with Gray Line, you have the option of a shared shuttle, which means that you will be dropped off in order of where your resort or accommodations are relative to the other passengers.
   
3. Relative to both items above, once you pass through customs and immigration, and after you clear the final (random) inspection area, you will enter a room known as “the gauntlet.” This room is full of salespeople who will promise you everything from free transportation, to free golf, free sunset cruises, free fishing, etc. They may also claim to be your transportation/transfer company, which they are NOT! Do NOT engage any of these individuals. Their only goal is only to get you tied up in a timeshare presentation. The legitimate airport transfer and shuttle companies will be outside the airport, under the umbrellas/canopies and will be waiting for you there.
   
4. Do you need pesos? No, although you’re obviously welcome to pay and tip in pesos. U.S. currency does work just fine. Most resorts have ATM’s onsite and they are also plentiful in the marina. You generally will need to choose between ATM’s that dispense either U.S. currency or pesos, if using those in the marina.
   
5. Is Cabo safe? Absolutely. It’s far safer than many American cities.
   
6. Is travel insurance for potential medical issues important? Definitely. It’s important that you obtain travel insurance for any emergency medical needs, but it’s more important that you scrutinize the policy to see what they will cover and how they will pay any claims. Some travel insurance companies for example, will require you to pay out of pocket, and reimburse you later. It is also important to have medical evacuation coverage as part of your policy. It is recommended that tourists avoid St. Luke’s Hospital in Cabo as there are numerous allegations of price gouging and an overall lack of professionalism.
   

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Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. The Tent. Local Time: 0500 Hours.
Emma Booker
I fucked up.
Big time.
And I had no one else but myself to blame.
You know that feeling when you dive head-first into a project that you had zero doubts would somehow work itself out in the end?
The sudden surge of confidence that comes when you let the indomitable human spirit take the wheel?
Well that was me at 0300 hours when my eyes landed upon the hygiene module, and pictured the inevitable outcome of a steaming hot shower after an entire day of nonstop grinding.
I couldn’t help myself but to fall into the same trap as every other would-be DIY-er. I couldn’t stop the excitement, the sudden surge of energy, and the absolute hyperfixation that came with completing a project that promised nothing but endless positives, at the expense of some time and effort that would prove minimal in the grand scheme of things.
And just like every would-be DIY-er, I was this close to completing the task at hand, before finally reaching a roadblock that inevitably brought everything to a screeching halt.
FINAL STEP: REFER TO [UNDESIGNATED WATER SOURCE] FOR ATTACHMENT OF INTAKE PIPE [EIP23] TO EXTERNAL PUMPING MODULE [EPM-1].
That one, final instruction, decimated me.
Especially as I got to that final step at just shy of 0500 hours, when I finally had the entire damn module set up, only to realize that I had missed out on a vital pre-procedure checklist that I’d purposefully skipped because I’d assumed it would be a non-issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL PREREQUISITE: LOCATE, EVALUATE, AND SECURE A RELIABLE WATER SOURCE.
And that’s why I only had myself to blame for this fiasco.
Because I’d assumed that the availability of a water-source in the dorms would’ve been an open and shut case. It only made sense for me to make that assumption though, as I saw that Thacea had clearly used the dorm’s en-suite to shower just the night before.
It was because of this that I didn’t even bother checking the bathroom to begin with. I thought that whatever was in there could’ve easily fit the hyper-modular fittings of the source-intake pipe.
Things couldn’t have been further from the truth however, as what I saw within that bathroom made me question the very fabric of my own reality.
As within those four marble walls, was nothing.
Nothing, but a series of dull flat marble surfaces, and some strange wall-fittings that looked like something out of a 21st century ‘modern’ art exhibit.
There was nothing here that resembled a tap, or even hinted at the fact that there were even any pipes carrying running water behind those four bare walls.
The only other thing of note here was an unseen light source keeping the bathroom lit.
Aside from that, there was literally nothing else here.
This meant I had only one option available to me.
The most logical and straightforward option, of simply nudging the avinor princess awake just so I could ask where I could find a fucking tap.
Whilst it was the most straightforward thing to do, I just couldn’t get myself to do it.
I’d thought about going up those stairs to nudge the avian awake, to then apologize profusely for disturbing her sleep… but given everything Thacea had done for me thus far, and considering the fact that I was responsible for almost all of the headaches we were currently experiencing, it just felt wrong for me to disturb here at that hour.
So I was left with the inconvenient truth of my circumstances, and decided to just embrace the suck, toughing out the folly of my hubris…
At least, until morning came around.
At that point, I could rest easy in actually asking the princess for pointers on the enigmatic machinations of the bathroom.
Until then, I would sleep.
And hopefully, my shortsighted adventure would bear some fruit when morning rears its ugly head around.

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1000 Hours.
Emma Booker
Good news: Half of my hard work actually paid off.
Bad news: Only half of my hard work actually paid off.
Upon waking up three hours later, forcing my carcass up and back into the suit, I’d managed to flag down Thacea just as she was getting out of bed.
The princess’ reactions to my questions were nothing short of the politeness I’d expected from her.
Which managed to put me at ease as I was getting worried I was starting to get on her nerves with my constant flurry of questions.
The bathroom turned out to be yet another demonstration of the Nexus’ completely unhinged philosophies. As it relied entirely on a mana user’s manipulation of the room to operate. Apparently, whoever designed this place took the whole concept of a modular, personalized room, and just ran with it. Making it so that every aspect of the room relied solely on the mana user to work, as they had to shape, form, and structure the otherwise blank slate before use. This was supposedly done so that the room could be made to fit the precise criterion of a person’s liking. To me however, it just felt like another bizarre concept pulled straight out of the Nexus’ seemingly endless idea-pool of zany, overkill, and mana-addled solutions to problems that sort of existed.
Thankfully, the bathroom didn’t require constant intervention from a mana-user to operate, as certain elements could be permanently turned on.
This included the water mains, which I immediately hooked up the pipes to, as the mana-contaminated water was quickly siphoned into a series of filtration units, all with the express purpose of extracting and removing every ounce of mana present within the water.
This process took about two hours to do.
But by the end of it, I was rewarded for all my troubles by one of the best showers I’ve ever had.
All of the stress, even the constant ticking of the bomb which constantly gnawed at the back of my mind, seemed to fade away for a few short minutes as the warm water washed everything away.
But that about wrapped up the good news.
The bad news however, came in the form of the little MREDD experiment from the previous night.
As I opened the triple-airlocked compartment on my side of the tent, I was met with what could only be described as ‘food’ in name and aesthetics alone.
The soft, white, fluffy loaf of bread had literally become a baton. Whilst the pancakes were now more reminiscent of a mini-frisbee that cracked and crumbled the moment I laid my fingers on them.
My immeasurable disappointment grew the longer I stood there next to the MREDD, and the longer I stared at the small stack of dust that was once a perfectly cooked stack of pancakes.
Beyond this however, I could feel a bit of anxiety seeping in, as the results of the experiment did make me a bit anxious as to the long-term food security of this mission.
Then again, I should’ve expected this result.
It was the first calibration test after all.
“I should’ve expected this, shouldn’t I?” I spoke to no one in particular, but quickly garnered the attention of the EVI who remained within the power armor that currently stood imposingly just a few feet away from me.
“That is correct, Cadet Booker. As you are already aware, the MREDD is designed with multiple calibration protocols in-effect, each which correspond to the type and densities of the foodstuffs to be desaturated. In addition to this, the systems are designed to test the maximal extraction threshold against the subjective palatability gradient with the food safety variable as an integral aspect of these tests. Thus, the first-round extraction procedures dictate that the MREDD will attempt maximal extraction settings, in order to both stress-test the components and systems, as well as to garner data on the mana-extraction process at the maximal setting.”
I blinked rapidly upon hearing the EVI’s explanation being blasted from my suit’s speakers. It felt somewhat jarring turning around to face my armor talking to me. But then again, I should’ve expected it, as I’d yet to set up any other speaker systems within the tent for it to speak through.
“I know, EVI. They already ran everything by me during the briefings. Though I would be lying if I didn’t say I sort of hoped that putting the food under full blast for 7 hours would’ve somehow miraculously resulted in something edible.” I managed out with a sigh.
“Cadet Booker, it is logical to assume that since the extraction of mana from both food and water is indeed viable, that the only point of contention is now the palatability of the foodstuffs rendered through the MREDD.”
“Yeah, well…” I trailed off as I began tapping on the loaf of bread that sounded like styrofoam when I hit it against the armor. “I think you and I have different definitions of palatable.”
“I am confident that the mana-extraction process can be optimized, Cadet Booker. It is at this point that I must ask that you assess the palatability of the designated foodstuff marked CONSUMABLE GROUP A, ITEM 1, for the purposes of data-gathering and analysis.” The AI spoke in a no-nonsense fashion, as I turned around, giving it a look of utter incredulity.
“You want me to try to eat this?” I shot back, tapping on the styrofoam bread for added effect.
“I require data on the palatability of foodstuff A-1 [BREAD] as it is a subjective dataset relying entirely on the input of the human subject.” The AI continued.
I couldn’t help but to shudder at that last line, especially with how it was delivered.
Popular media back home was currently going through another AI-apocalypse phase, with a lot of movies, both immersive and traditional, diving deep into the uncomfortable topics of human-AI relations post AI-takeover.
Being stuck in a bare, white tent, with a monotone, somewhat disgruntled-sounding VI talking to me through a suit of armor several heads taller than me all the while suddenly referring to me as subject really wasn’t doing my movie-binging gremlin brain any favors.
I hesitated for a few seconds, tentatively staring at the bread, then the armor, then back to the bread again, before finally just going for it...
CRUNCH
It did not end well.
“Cadet Booker, I did not require that you actively consume a foodstuff you consider inedible or are uncomfortable eating. I merely needed a dataset for the purposes of this experiment, even if that data-set is a refusal to consume the foodstuff in question.”
I stared back at the VI with unamused eyes and a mouthful of hard-tack currently turning my mouth into the Greater Sahara.
“Damnghit Aeevi.” I managed out with a mouth full of bland, stale bread, before reaching for the water dispenser which thankfully still had some mana-free water inside of it.
“Shall I log A-1 down as unpalatable then, Cadet?” The AI spoke with a hint of disappointment in its voice.
Though I was probably just imagining the actual tone of its voice.
Projection was a heck of a thing after all.
“Yes. And make sure you clarify your intent next time.” I snapped back, as I finished up what limited bits of housekeeping I needed to for now. Which included punting the balled-up undersuit into the washer, getting the wash and dry cycle started, before grabbing a fresh undersuit from the cargo airlock and quickly putting it on.
“I guess the next test with the MREDD includes extracting mana at a slow, sustained rate?” I spoke as I began recalibrating the different electronic components within the undersuit.
“Correct, Cadet Booker. Provided of course, that the foodstuffs are of a similar type, and contain similar properties to GROUP A.”
“Acknowledged.” I responded promptly, shuddering a bit as the haptic feedback finished its calibration cycles. “Alright then, we got a lot of work ahead of us, so let’s get going. System status, SRR?” I asked as per protocol, steadying my hand on the suit’s ‘backpack’.
“Diagnostics running… pending… All systems nominal, Cadet Booker. Status: Ready for standard operations.”
“Operator acknowledges system status after pre-mission diagnostics.” I replied dryly, and with a few final breaths I pulled myself back into the armor. “Current objectives? Preferably the ones I listed before dozing off last night?” I continued, as my eyes quickly readjusted to the constant assault on the senses that was the HUD.
“Priority Objective: Locate and Secure Container 10. Current time remaining until activation of the Denial of Sensitive Assets to Unauthorized Parties Protocols… 36 hours, 34 minutes, and 47 seconds.”
“Alright then, let’s pay a visit to our dear old friend… hopefully she’s alive and lucid enough to get us to the bottom of this little predicament.”

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Thacea and Emma’s Bedroom. Local Time: 1020 Hours.
Emma Booker
Transitioning from the tent to the marble and cobblestone world of the Academy was always jarring. Opening those external protective flaps to reveal something that wasn’t more bare white paneling and drab gray composalite would probably be something I’d need to get used to.
I got into the swing of things quick enough, as I was met with the likes of Thacea who was busy reading on one of the many ornate seats that formed the mini-living room within our loft.
“Was the water to your liking, Emma?” Thacea asked with a clack of her beak.
“I managed to squeeze in a couple minutes worth of a shower, so that’s a win in my book!” I beamed out. “But with a constant stream of filtered water filling up my reservoirs now, I should be able to get something more substantial later tonight.”
The princess nodded slowly at that. “The lengths to which you need to go, just to attain what we take for granted on a daily basis, is quite remarkable Emma.”
“It is what it is, Thacea.” I shrugged in response. “The very air I breathe needs to be filtered. This whole world, or heck, even your worlds are actively hostile to human life. These measures are something that are cumbersome, and seriously draining to deal with, but it’s necessary. Besides, it’s not as if these measures are something new where I come from. My people have had a history of intrepid explorers, brave pioneers, and foolish thrillseekers who all surge forward into inhospitable domains just so they can crest the next wave, or see what’s over the next hill.” I paused for a moment, as I was tempted to strike a pose, but quickly decided against it. “I’m just furthering a legacy that’s already been established. Or at least, I hope I’m doing that. Heck if I know if I’m actually doing things right. Nine times out of ten, I feel like I’m just making the best of my situation.”
“I can’t say I can understand the appeal of this legacy of actively seeking hostile-domains.” Thacea responded with an equal mix of curiosity and genuine concern. “And I do not know what manner of civilization would result from such a culture, though I do harbor a morbid curiosity to inquire further… However, I can most certainly resonate with your latter statements, Emma. Half of the court politics I contend with simply amounts to making do with the hand you’ve been dealt, of making best of one’s situation, and doing whatever it is in your limited scope and power to maintain life, security, and perhaps some waning semblance of your own personal liberty. It’s a great game, where doubt comes naturally as a result of being a player and not the host.”
There was a small pause that followed Thacea’s response as one point in particular caught my attention more than any other.
It was unfortunate that it was so topical as well, given how if things had turned out any differently, this conversation would’ve moved right on into an hours-long exchange of life and culture.
Thacea mentioning the concept of a great game, immediately brought me back to the conversation with Ilunor the previous night.
“Thacea… would you mind if I consulted you on something?” I began, as the gears in my head began turning now at the first major issue of the day.
The princess seemed to catch on as she leaned forward in her seat intently, and nodded. “By all means.”
“Something happened last night at the workshop, and it wasn’t anything to do with the armorer… though, we can talk about that later.” I took a deep breath as I shelved that topic for another time. “Did you happen to pay any attention to Ilunor’s whereabouts after I left for the workshop?”
“Not particularly, no. Lord Rul-, erm, Ilunor had seemingly remained in his room until Thalmin and I retired to our respective rooms. After that, I simply have no recollection of anything beyond my own domicile.”
“Well, Ilunor followed me to the workshop.” I stated plainly, pausing for a moment to gauge Thacea’s reaction. Of which there really was none as she managed to keep that signature poker-face that was probably second nature to her by now.
“And I’m assuming since you managed to uncover this, that his meddling had failed in some way shape or form?” Thacea shot back coolly.
“Correct. However, here’s where things get complicated. I’ll save the bulk of the events for later, but long story short, that discount kobold decided to use some sort of a projection spell to spook me just as I was in the middle of the weapons inspection with the armorer, and the projection used wasn’t just something a random monster or anything… he purposefully chose to bring out a carbon-copy version of the null.”
Thacea’s face shifted at this, which given how difficult it was to phase her, probably meant her mind was going through the full implications of this revelation.
I pressed on as Thacea urged me to continue with a single nod. “Well, I shot it. And, no, nobody was hurt. Fast forward a chase sequence later, and the armorer eventually managed to corner and capture Ilunor. However, when we pressed him for answers about why he was there to begin with? Well… I think it’ll be better for you to see for yourself.”
It was with this that I brought out my data-pad, and began replaying the relevant scenes for Thacea to see.
Starting from the brief spats between Ilunor and the armorer, all the way to my confrontation with the diminutive lizard, Thacea’s gaze remained completely transfixed. She did flinch a bit when the footage finally went over my dealings with the lizard, and Ilunor’s sudden shift in persona as I pulled out the library card and began talking his language.
Yet despite being inundated with this sudden flood of information, with a completely unexpected tangent, she soon responded cooly and without much in the way of a delay. “This complicates matters.” She began slowly. “This entire situation calls for a complete reevaluation of the dynamics of this peer group, and how we need to approach Lord Rul-, Ilunor.” Thacea promptly corrected herself before continuing. “There’s a great number of layers to this unexpected development, each of which hints at a greater game being played here, and points at the fact that there are a great number of interested parties beyond just Ilunor.” The princess took a moment to let out an exasperated coo, her eyes finally moving away from the tablet and back to me. “You must understand as well as I, that Ilunor’s actions do not constitute a scheme of his own making, correct?”
“That I do.” I nodded simply. “The fact that he’s even bothering to do this in the first place is outside of his whole I’m above you persona. I’m not sure if the same rings true here, but where I come from, becoming a spook is not something that most people in high and mighty positions would ever stoop down to. Besides, I think we have a lead. I don’t think a student would actively defer a bit of punishment from a lower level administrator, in order to fast-track it to the highest authorities if they weren’t in cahoots with them.”
“This coincides with my observations of these developments as well, Emma.” Thacea responded with a resonant chirp. “To add to this, his knowledge of the null is most certainly not circumstantial, and considering he was absent from our adventures the previous day, his knowledge of this creature would hint to either the feeding of information via a higher benefactor, or a direct observation of our activities from afar. Either way, this does not bode well.”
“This leads me to what I wanted to consult you on, Thacea. If Ilunor’s out there waiting for us right now, would it be best if we confronted him outright in front of Thalmin or-”
“No.” Thacea interjected sharply, and with a certainty that was almost uncharacteristic of her. “Confronting Ilunor out in the open, in front of others not privy to you and the Vunerian’s current game, would be outright suicide to the dialogue you’ve managed to broker with him the previous night. You’ve managed to prove yourself as not just another pawn, but a player in the game, at least in Ilunor’s eyes. It would be wise to maintain that momentum, Emma. By continuing this line of dialogue with him in private, there is a higher likelihood the Vunerian will divulge more information as he speaks to you frankly, beyond what his current facade will allow. This is now a matter between you and the Vunerian, as Thalmin and I are not privy to these political transactions.”
I couldn’t help but to mimic the princess by gripping my forehead as well, letting out a sigh as the dread of complex court politics had begun seeping in faster than I expected. “That shouldn’t be too hard to do. I’ll just let that situation slide for now, making sure not to mention my dealings with Ilunor when he’s around, and focus instead on our other problems. It’s not like we have a shortage of other things to worry about after all.” I sighed sharply.
“That is an acceptable plan. ” Thacea responded promptly as she stood up and began straightening out her uniform. “Right then, shall we proceed?”

Dragon’s Heart Tower, Level 23, Residence 30. Living Room. Local Time: 1025 Hours.
Emma Booker
As we exited the bedroom, we were once more met with a similar sight reminiscent of the previous day’s. As there, on the couch, were the bickering pair that had seemed to have carried over their arguments from the previous night.
Except this time, the context seemed to have thankfully shifted to something new.
“Every minute I waste in this room for the sake of that Earthrealmer is another minute that I grow increasingly more famished. It is unbecoming of a noble to sit in waiting for a commoner. In fact, it should be the other way around. Or perhaps this is yet another one of your Havenbrockian reforms that test the Nexus’ patience, Prince Thalmin?” I could hear Ilunor snapping at Thalmin just as we made our way into the living room proper.
Thalmin, amazingly, resisted responding in kind as he got up as soon as we made our way towards the pair.
“We were waiting for the both of you, but it should be fine. Should we miss the breakfast, there is always an a la carte menu we can-”
“I have met the criterion for your unlawful detainment, mercenary. Thus, I shall take my leave.” Ilunor promptly jumped off from the couch and began trotting his way over to the door, his little legs were clearly attempting to generate some sort of a forceful series of thumps as he did so, but only resulted in a light series of taps given his diminutive size.
“Hold on a minute there! That wasn’t our agreement! You agreed to-”
“I agreed to wait for the Earthrealmer and the tainted one. I have no other reason to be here. Now, I must resume my extracurriculars. You lot can do whatever it is you get up to. I will be having none of it.” Ilunor turned to face the Lupinor one final time, before slamming the front door shut, and skittering off.
This made things so much simpler as it meant we were in the clear for now.
“I’m sorry princess.” Thalmin turned to face Thacea. “I thought we might be able to squeeze something out of him yet, but the Vunerian continues to be as squirmy as a prairie rodent.”
“It’s quite alright, Thalmin.” Thacea began, as she turned towards me as if to confirm whether or not I wanted her to proceed on my behalf. To which I did. “There are a few matters we must address regarding Ilunor, which I suggest we do over a short breakfast, as we have even more pressing matters following this.”
After a reluctant pause, the lupinor prince nodded in agreement, leading to both of us sitting down-
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 275% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
-and a privacy screen being brought down soon after.
“So, shall we talk about this over a brunch platter?”

The Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts, En Route to the Healing Wing. Local Time: 1050 Hours.
Thalmin’s reactions were nothing short of what I’d expected.
There was absolute outrage, followed by an unrepentant series of growls, capped off with barks of seething anger at the same clips I’d played for Thacea earlier.
The mercenary prince was perhaps even more uncomfortable than I was at my entry into this game, as it was clear Thalmin despite his noble heritage, wasn’t really one to dabble in it at all.
“I’m telling you Emma, this is a dangerous path forward. Are you certain you are making the wisest choice?” He spoke once again, continuing the conversation from earlier, underneath yet another privacy screen Thacea was maintaining as we approached the medical wing.
“I don’t like it either, Thalmin. There’s nothing more I hate than playing politics, but it’s unfortunately a pill I have to swallow if we’re going to get to the bottom of the issues surrounding Ilunor. I mean, I overheard you guys arguing late into the night. I really don’t think confronting him normally is going to get us anywhere.”
The lupinor let out a sigh of defeat at that, as he lowered his head in my general direction. “I can’t fault that logic, Emma. Perhaps… speaking his language, as you put it, would bring us some resolution to this frankly irritating problem. However…” The Lupinor’s voice lowered, just as we were about to reach the doors to the healing wing proper. “I know how these games work, Emma. It’s dangerous, so make sure you tread lightly, and just know that I, as part of your peer group, am here to support you should the need arise.” The prince reassured me with a smirk, as we pushed past the double doors and into the medical wing proper.
Or at least, that’s what I thought, as we entered what looked to be a massive circular room with multiple branching hallways connected to it like spokes on a wheel. In typical Academy-fashion however, the room really wasn’t at all modest with its size. As it went up a solid twenty or so stories, with high pillars piercing straight up into a marble-lined rotunda with moving murals painted on it like some grand cathedral. Between these pillars were little outcroppings where several gargoyles were perched.
Gargoyles which I could swear were looking straight at us.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 425% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
My gut was proven right again, as it only took a few seconds after our entry for these stony beasts to come to life, with multiple bursts of mana-radiation accompanying what could only be described as the sounds of cracking concrete.
Soon enough, several large gargoyles made harsh, heavy landings right in front of us. The two closest to us held out their arms, before zapping two stony spears into existence, crossing them in a clear display to stop us from going any further.
“Halt!” A voice commanded from above, as a shadowy figure landed right in front of the two gargoyles blocking our path. The figure’s face was hidden underneath an unnatural shadow casted by his hood, revealing just two trapezoidal lights where his eyes should be. “The healing wing is currently off-limits to visitors. So state your ailment, or leave where you came from.” The voice boomed, echoing throughout the large open space, as all eyes within the room now landed squarely on us.
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(Author’s Note: Hey guys! We see more glimpses of Emma's quality of life getting set up here, and we're now making our way over to the apprentice! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Chapter is already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 33 of this story is already out on there!)]

I'm stuck in a loop making a decision on what hardware to pick for my homelab upgrade.
Currently, it consists of a rpi 4 with 8GB, and an odroid hc4. I run k3s, with the rpi as the master. The odroid is used for storage (NFS) and backups, not just for the PVs, but also for media and other stuff.
I run the following on this cluster:

• home assistent (with quite some stuff on it), with the eufy side containers
• victoria metrics cluster (with the data on the odroid directly, that's also the only pod there)
• grafana, with a renderer side container
• unifi controller
• argocd
• some static, very low traffic websites
• node exporter (daemonset)
• sealed secrets provider

Now the rpi4 isn't maxed out on cpu, although it's load is usually around 6 (iowait, usb attached sata disk). But the apps feel sluggish. And if I do anything with argo, update an app for example, the whole rpi grinds to a halt. I use around 4GB on the rpi.
​
Now I was looking for a better alternative for the rpi. Something that isn't an SBC, and amd64 compatible. I first looked into HP BL460c g9 blades, as I found a place to get them cheap, until I found out that it was so cheap because they only sell to companies. Other sites were quite more expensive. Also, I found that it runs 50W on idle, which would cost me around 100 euros per year. So I backed out of that idea (even though someone offered me to help me buy it as a company), mostly because of the energy costs, and it being way more power than I need (10 cores, 20 threads).
Next I found the HP prodesk / elitedesk desktops. Quite nice little things, and not too expensive! After filling up a google sheet with all the local options I could find, I find myself stuck. I narrowed it down to:

• prodesk 600 G2 SFF, 240GB SSD, 8GB mem, i5-6500, 4c/4t, for 145,-
• elitedesk 800 g2 mini, 128 GB SSD m.2, 8GB mem, i5-6500T(!), 4c/4t, for 155,-
• elitedesk 705 G5 SFF, 256 GB SSD, 16 GB mem, Ryzen 5 (pro) 3400G, 4c/8t, for 217,-
• elitedesk 705 G3 mini, 120 GB SSD m.2(?), 4GB mem, AMD A10-8770E, 2c/4t, for 88,-

Now I think it could make sense to have more than 1 node in the cluster (specially for that last one, as it's very cheap - I don't think I would run just one to fit my needs). But then again, if the nodes are beefy enough, the extra's are just going to sit there burning money. Like that ryzen looks like an excellent bang for buck, but I don't want to by more than one for that price. I'm not even sure why I'd want multiple nodes in the cluster. It could be nice to run longhorn on it for storage, and have it distributed. And maybe distribute the etcd (as opposed to built-in sqlite). But that's all the reasons I can come up with. Right now, you could say that I actually have a single node cluster, as the odroid is only doing storage and one pod related to that.
What's also a thing is that the SFF's run at around 15W idle, whilst the mini's do about half that. And related to that, my space is limited. It's going to have to fit in a small cabinet (where our energy meter and fuse box is), where it's also pretty warm (we have city warming that terminates there into the heat exchanger).
As it's a homelab, I do want to use it for experiments as well. I like to explore new tech, to see how it works and if it could fit my professional life as well (I work as a tech lead / architect for an semi-ecommerce store). Playing with tools like proxmox, maas.io, is fun - just because you can. But then running proxmox on some of these machines..?
Who can help me tip over the scale, or come up with things I didn't even think of or take into consideration?

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Misc

• The Wellspring: beep boop failed to fetch Weapon:
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Guns & Materials

Banshee's Featured Weapons

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Today I learned that you can never assume
I was booked for drop ins by one of these long-time regulars for this weekend. I'm watching two dogs, a cat, and a bearded dragon - how fun! The dogs have a large backyard area and a doggy door, so my job is to feed them and take them on a short walk morning and evening. None of my responsibilities involve the backyard.
Yesterday went by great - the dogs were happy, I had to feed the bearded dragon a roach, which was gross but entertaining!
This morning, when I arrived, one of the two dogs was missing. I checked the whole house before checking the backyard, and then I saw it - a side gate was open. The gate had been left open from before they went out of town. I never checked the sides of the house because I assumed the backyard was safe and secured. (My mistake!)
I immediately checked the house and backyard again, and called the owners. I got both dogs' harnesses and took the other dog through the backyard, trying to follow his scent trial. I called local police dispatch and made a report with animal control. I was asking and exchanging info with anyone walking around the neighborhood.
Meanwhile, the owners checked the camera. He was last seen in the house at 7am, and I had arrived at 8am, so he hadn't been gone for long.
After 45 min of searching, and 15 min after the police report, I got a call from police dispatch that he had been found. He hadn't gotten far, he wandered next door and the neighbors took him in and reported him as found. They got me in touch with the neighbors and after 2 hours of being missing, he was reunited home safely!
It was an awful, scary experience. I was in tears and can only imagine how scared and helpless the owners felt, being out of the country and not able to do anything. We are extremely lucky the neighbors did the right thing and made sure the dog was safe.
Sharing to trauma dump and share two lessons -

1. Always check to make sure all areas the pets will be in are secured!

2. Local police and animal control are here to help! We would have not been reunited so quickly if it wasn't for the police report

Bryan Caplan, a noted libertarian economist, wrote an interesting criticism of Georgism that I'd like to address; unfortunately I cannot find my source anymore (I believe it was a blog post) and all I have is a single quote but I'd like to analyze it anyway.
Caplan proposes a thought experiment:

If you’re the second person to arrive on an island, and the first-person has already farmed the best land, it seems very odd to claim that you’re “entitled” to half the surplus value of his land.

"Alone on an island" is a popular thought experiment to underline the fundamental characteristics of various economic schools.
In this case I agree with Caplan and would consider this thought experiment to be somewhat of a strawman. However, I like the idea of thought experiments as a mean to present an argument, so I will entertain Caplan's idea and expand on it.
Let's say that a person is stranded on a deserted island. Over time, they work to improve its land so it will bear food; after a while a second person arrives on the island. We will assume that the produce of the land is enough to sustain both, else there's be no way to reconcile the needs of the two.
Doesn't it seems unfair to simply divide the produce in two? After all, it is only the first person that made improvements and worked on the land, and without their intervention, it wouldn't be as productive. On the other hand it also seems unfair, at least to me, to leave the late-comer at the mercy of the first and state that the first has no obligation to share the resources. In an extreme proprietarian setting we'd say that the first-comer has homesteaded the land and it now belongs to them and if they want they'd leave the late-comer to starve. Of course, if such a condition were to present itself in the real world, I suspect the first man would be all too happy to simply see another human being and he'd be more than willing to cooperate; but this is not the point of the experiment.
I believe Caplan is mistaken in his assumption of the georgist response. I, personally, wouldn't claim that the second person is entitled to the work of the first, they are only entitled to the land. If we assume that both men have equal rights to the land then the solution to the puzzle becomes more straightforward: the first-comer can surrender to them half of the land or, alternatively, pay a price to the late-comer (presumably in produce) that they agree on, in exchange for the exclusive right to continue managing all of the land (taking into account the land improvements made by the pioneer). If the late-comer agrees to work the land himself he will surrender a part of his produce to the first as payment for the improvements made by them in the past.
I am sure someone will think that it's impossible to perfectly divide the land in two equal parts as land is heterogeneous in nature. But we're not here to determine the "true" value of something (there is no such thing); the only real concern in this case is to divide the land in a fair way. This can be done easily, and indeed there are ways to fairly divide a resource between any n number of parties. The first person will divide the land in 2 part that they deem equal (as in, they do not prefer either one or the other), then the second person will decide how the two parts are to be assigned. The first cannot complain no matter what since they're the one that split the land to begin with, the second also has no complains since, if they thought that the division was unequal they would have simply assigned the better one to themselves.

Hello everyone, yesterday I got into a small accident while driving back home in the evening. I accidentally hit a cyclist, I instantly got out to check on him and he was all fine however his bike was slightly dented. We talked for a little and we both agreed to get it repaired out of pocket and not involve the police or any insurance. We are now talking about how much it’ll cost and I have no problem paying for it but I’m worried he might report it to the insurance or police after I pay him to try to get more money out of me. He also told me he was all fine once again but I’m just kind of lost and don’t know what to do, anything would help. Thank you so much!
Just wanted to add photos of the damage were taken and we exchanged ids plus he took a photo of my license plate.

For selling your pre-owned Nicks Handmade Boots. This is not a place to sell any other brands or products.
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This thread operates as an area where we can alert each other to potential deals and unusual finds in the land of tweeds.
Self-advertising for tweed shops, and items that a user are selling are welcome here, though you need to state that you are the person selling it.
The Post format will go like this:
A link, what it is, clothing size, a description of whether it's an unusual find, or a great price or both. And lastly a Currency sign saying how expensive it is. For example in USD:

• $ - Economical options anywhere from 5$-50$ USD (15£-35£ GBP)
  
• $$ - Lower Mid-range options 50$-150$ USD (35£-100£ GBP)
  
• $$$ - Upper Mid-range options 150$-500$ USD (100£-350£ GBP)
  
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Here's an example of a post:

www.link.com - Blazer Thing - 44R - Unusual Find and Great Deal - $$$$
This is an amazing tweed thing and it costs a lot, but it's got amazing buttons.
In regards to what constitutes cheap: Everyone here is working with different budgets, please understand that others may not be able to afford what you can, and are perfectly fine for it, we're all in different places in life. Simply list the price and carry on.
Good Luck with finding something special!

I kicked a wrapper off of my coffee table and summoned the entire carton of chocolate milk out of my fridge, then put my feet up and flicked the t.v. on to search for something to watch.
But what? ‘I’m in the mood for some fangy bitey girls.’ I thought, and a little while later I was watching generic useless boy gets a harem by being nice and wholesome but really has eyes only for the vampire girl who keeps biting him because she likes his blood… yeah, yeah, there’s a title, but who cares what it is? I just wanted shenanigans, and shenanigans I got.
Jin, in my view, is a good boy, like a little brother who takes himself far too seriously. Ever since I moved in, he’s sort of been that way, happy to do stuff, happy to work hard, grateful for the opportunity to work for someone else…
Kind of a sucker, really.
But a good boy, and now that I knew he had some problems…? I yawned and stretched out my limbs while the protagonist got thrown around like a rag doll, “I’ll keep a closer eye on things.” I muttered and then laughed as I recalled the stunned bunny look of the brat that smacked him around.
I sort of doubted the secret would stay confined to the three of them. People gossip, like…a lot. They say that two can keep a secret if one of them is dead, but from what I have seen of people?
They both have to be dead and the ashes scattered in the sea because even dead men do tell tales if you’ve got a body to examine. And there were three of those idiots. One of them would say something sooner or later, no matter how ashamed they were of losing. Before long? I smiled a little as I watched the protagonist get rescued by his vampire vixen, ‘He’ll have a reputation as a badass without any work whatsoever, and even have a helpful bodyguard out of it?’
I wondered about that, but it wasn’t any of my business, the way I saw it, Jin got a pretty good deal out of some grocery shopping and a little cleanup work.
I chugged from the jug, gulping my milk down… a little clumsily, I lost some on the sides of my mouth, and I cleaned up by wiping the stuff away with my sleeves.
Jin returned about three hours later with a bunch of clean clothes in a big green trash bag over his shoulder, and a pair of big reusable grocery bags in the other, both bags were filled with the snacks I so desperately craved.
I salivated over them, hungry…wanting. Like fangy bitey vampire girl, whatever her name was, hungered for the blood of generic male protagonist, I in turn hungered for the taste of sweets!
My feet stamped on the floor as I moved to stand up and reach for the bags.
“Ooooh no.” Jin said with a boyish grin on his face, “I did all that, but before you start eating it all… did you eat anything this morning that wasn’t a snack?”
My stomach growled.
“Did you eat anything at all?” He asked and raised a dubious eyebrow at me.
“Not exactly… I drank milk.” I said and pointed to the now empty jug that I’d let fall onto the floor when I stood up. Good thing it was empty, otherwise…what a waste.
“Chocolate, too.” He half walked, half waddled with all that stuff toward my kitchen area. “Just… sit there and do nothing.”
I wasn’t about to complain about that.
I flopped myself down on the couch while he disappeared into my bedroom after depositing the groceries on the table.
“What ever did I do to deserve such an inept big sister?” he sighed melodramatically as he mocked my NEET lifestyle and put away my laundry.
“Hey, I solved your problem today, you could at least not refer to me as inept.” I huffed and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I knew he didn’t mean it, and I didn’t either, but even so…
“Yeah… thank you, but I have to ask… how exactly? What did you do?” He asked, raising his voice a little since he was out of view.
“What does it matter? Yesterday you had a problem. Today I did ‘a thing’ and now you won’t have that problem anymore. Don’t over think it.” I said, briefly pausing my show, I shouted, “And don’t go rifling through my underwear either, hentai!” I shouted.
“I’ll blindfold myself when I get to that drawer!” He promised.
“How will you know what drawer it is?! Wait, do you already know?! Are you peeping on me, hentai?!” I shouted again.
“No and… I assume you’ll tell me!” Jin shouted back.
“Oh, there isn’t one, just throw things wherever!” I explained, and heard him groan at my answer.
“You’re impossible!” he declared.
“And you’re possible.” I declared in return. It didn’t make sense, but it didn’t have to. There is no obligation to make sense when you’re with your friends.
“Uh huh, listen, you just wait there.” He said, then after a hesitant moment added, “Wait… yeah, like I need to tell you to not trouble yourself with doing stuff.”
I stuck my nose in the air and huffed while he came out of my bedroom a few minutes later and began to deal with the groceries. “You know, I just cleaned up over there, how is it you manage to get things so damn messy so quickly?” He asked while he put various things away out of the bags, storing ice cream in the freezer and chocolate milk on the upper shelves, frozen premade meals stacked neatly in the bottom and various jellos and other things in the fridge…
I shrugged. “Stuff happens?” I said as if I had no idea how I caused such debris to just ‘pile up’.
It was even sort of true. After all, do I seem like the sort of girl to keep track of shit I don’t care about? I hope not.
No sooner than I’d answered than he was fiddling around with my microwave. “What’ya doing?” I asked, watching him out of the corner of my eye.
“Getting you something to eat other than snacks. I swear, how did you ever become an adult?” He asked.
“Did nobody ever explain to you how time works, Jin?” I asked, as if that was an answer to his question, I knew what he meant, of course, but he also knew when I was teasing.
He blew air out of his nose and dragged his right hand slowly down the length of his face. As far as he knew, I was a high school graduate and college dropout who moved to the town of Sakura and just… enjoyed being the do-nothing neighbor.
I cracked a little knowing smile. There were a lot of rumors about me, of course. I had fun with that one. Some said I was in witness protection from the Yakuza, and that’s why I don’t work. Some said I actually am Yakuza, or at least part of a Yakuza family. That one’s crazy because I don’t look at all Japanese.
Some say I’m an American or European rich girl just hiding out from life, or that I have a Japanese ancestor and I’m here getting in touch with my roots and that’s why I have a Japanese name or… it goes on, some are wild, some are rational, none of them are close to the truth. And as to what I say? I haven’t told anyone anything concrete, of course. The less lies you tell, the less you have to remember.
I could see the curiosity in his eyes though, when Jin looked over at me while he prepared something to eat. Humans… they love their mysteries. A single mystery is worth ten thousand truths, at least to them.
Nobody knew how I paid for anything, but the truth was both the same as them and… very different.
I got paid per job, and I got paid well. Since Earth isn’t part of the interstellar community though, I would buy gold. Gold is really common in the Universe, so common it’s useless as currency, and it doesn’t have much use beyond decoration or some technological hijinks. So it’s dirt cheap, then, I go back to Earth on my vacation, sell bars of it for cash, then put the cash onto prepaid debit cards. It’s a little bit roundabout, but I can’t exactly file taxes here.
Jin approached and handed me my card, then set the dish down in front of me. “I hope you don’t mind, but I got a few extra things that weren’t on the list, some spices, things to make your food taste better. I’ll pay you back if that wasn’t OK.” He said, and then handed me a plastic fork.
“Nope, it’s fine!” I said and set the card on the table before chowing down and shoveling the pot pie stuff with…whatever was concentrated deliciousness that he added to it, into my mouth. “Thank you!” I said and beamed up at him as I ate.
He snorted and shook his head. I earned a lot of snorts, and I cherished every one of them.
“See you later, Kayobi.” He said with a smile that took up most of his face.
“See you later, Jin. Tell me how it goes at school tomorrow, alright?” I asked, and out of the corner of my eye I saw him nod as he walked past and I unpaused my show.
“Will do.” He said as the door closed behind him.
But he didn’t.

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Hello all,
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In an effort to mitigate the amount of repetitive questions that have been asked recently, we have set up this thread as a reminder on how certain things in the game works. As of now, this reminder is planned to be posted weekly for visibility.
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0. FAQ Wiki Page
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• There is both a FAQ and general guide page on this subreddit, please read through those resources before asking a question as it may already be addressed there.
  • FAQ
  • General Guide

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1. Monthly Challenges
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• This is a system separate from the regular song challenges that require you to score 10k higher than your max score (6.2m being the cap)
• They are MONTHLY score targets you need to reach to obtain various tiers of rewards. The more you complete the more rewards you get.
  • Progress and reward tiers can be found via: Song Select > Bottom Left where WMR is > Check Challenge Success Reward
• MONTHLY challenge scores and progress will be reset MONTHLY. If you obtain 201 challenge success in the last day of February, it will be reset to 0 in the following first day of March. Your original high scores for each song will not reset.
• Rewards will be in your inbox following the completion of the first game maintenance of the month
• If you see that your monthly challenge success progress has been "reset" when it is not supposed to, restart your game as it's a visual glitch.

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2. Artist/Group Tickets
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• Artist Ticket - Select a group = random card from that group
  • Select EXO-M = one random card for either Xiumin, Lay or Chen
  • Select Red Velvet = one random card for either Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy or Yeri
• Group ticket - Select a group = random card for each member in that group
  • Select EXO-M = random card for Xiumin, Lay and Chen
  • Select Red Velvet = random card for Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy or Yeri
• All Group Tickets are currently not obtainable by any means
• Only A/S/R Artist Tickets can be obtained, C and B are not obtainable by any means
  • A/S/R Artist Tickets can be obtained from monthly challenge rewards
  • R Artist Tickets can be obtained from world record rewards
• The exchange rate of ticket:cards is not 1:1. 20/10/5/3/1 tickets are required for each S/A/B/C card, respectively.

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3. Account Related Concerns
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• ALWAYS have your account linked/bound to any of the services that are available to you -- Dalcom ID, Google, Facebook, etc.
  • Linking current account to a service does not erase current game data; it does the exact opposite. It ensures that your game progress will be saved at all times. If you get a new device, simply use that same login info and your account will be loaded.
• If you wish to attempt restoring your account, please do not post any account details here as no one here can assist you with it.
• If you have issues with Dalcom ID, please try reading through this thread
• Please email [email protected] instead. In order to expedite the process, be as concise as possible in your initial email to them such as providing: account email (if not a guest account), in-game purchase receipts (if applicable), IGN, in-game profile picture, current league ranking/bracket, etc. You are not guaranteed to have your account recovered so in the case where they are unable to do so, your account has unfortunately been lost.

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4. Coupon Codes
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• There is a wiki page for all existing coupon codes and it is updated ASAP when the codes show up. Please do not ask for coupon codes.
• https://www.reddit.com/superstarsmtown/wiki/couponcodes

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5. Shortest Song(s)/What song(s) to Grind/What songs are easy to FSP
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• There is a 4 year old song stats spreadsheet resource that is still updated to date which has all information on songs from their length to recommended for FSP or not. Please utilize this resource instead of making a separate post that otherwise has no basis to it.
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HW3AzrqYZs7orEnPNhfbd1N1k1dQ0iEGoqd1tRcrui0/edit#gid=803692104

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6. Powering Up/Rating Up tips
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• There are recommendations provided in the general guide for what material cards to use at which grade. Further, there is a separate spreadsheet that lists out the % of success of your material card if used on your card of choice. Please utilize this resource instead of making a separate post.
• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EMSQt56wlLKGkWnEyJaZoi2LleFj5T1RSy2JuXMD_xE/edit#gid=481517504

I wrote this after a brief exchange here and wanted to share it. It is my hope to bring some peace of mind to the community. Amongst you there will be eyerolls and those who just cannot accept this philosophy, I expect that. But, in the spirit of this entry, meh. I hope some of you see the value.
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Meh is regimented Apathy.
It’s a method of acceptance and effortless living.
If you find yourself in an unfortunate situation, or emotionally hurt or rejected, fall back on the 10 year rule of Meh. If it’s not going to be important enough to affect your life 10 years from now, then it’s not important now. Flunking out of college will affect your future, throw a little effort at it. Some girl at the bar turning you down, meh. In ten years you won’t even remember that she existed.
Only 3 things really matter at the end of the day.
Hospitals, Homelessness, and Prison.
Avoid those 3 things and the rest is window dressing.
Your wardrobe isn’t important. High fashion is high effort. Dress comfy, the only people that care about your shoes are people who spent too much on theirs. Have fun, doing the things you enjoy doing, and don’t make anyone's day worse in the process.
This isn’t nihilism. This isn’t saying “nothing ever matters”.
Those 3 things matter most and a great many things go into avoiding them therefore matter by association.
For example, in the case of Homelessness, your job.
Your job matters because it helps to prevent you from becoming homeless. In most cases, Income is necessary for housing. Therefore, maintain hygiene, go to work, and play the silly game where you pretend that your coworkers are interesting and you enjoy being there. Then you go home and forget the job until you have to remember it again. Turn off your phone, get a faraday bag if you have the means. They can’t bug you if you disconnect. If your job demands you be available 24/7, it’s not a job. That’s indentured servitude.
A cleanish house matters because filth can lead to an infestation which can lead to eviction. If your landlord does inspections and sees a pile of dirty take out containers overflowing the trash can beside the couch, they may not renew your lease. Don’t leave food lying around.
Familial relationships can also be important for preventing the loss of housing. If possible, be at least on friendly terms with some family members. If the universe tries to knock you down(it will), have a couch to fall back on.
Avoiding hospitals can be more difficult because emergencies happen. The universe may decide to relabel out of date sushi, or hit you with an SUV, but those are things that you can’t control and must be endured. Meh doesn’t have the power to overcome a shattered spine, you’ll need to care about that one.
Avoiding hospitals is more about not doing unnecessarily hazardous things.
“I wonder if it would be fun to go for a jog through this dog park wearing a meat suit?”
Don’t do stupid dangerous shit. Don’t try to beat the yellow at the intersection, or jaywalk across a 5-lane. If you see an angry mob coming your direction, get out of the way. Those people have no Meh.
Staying out of prison should be the easiest of the big three to manage.
Just, Don’t do crime.
No one really cares if you smoke weed.(depending on location) Very few people consider that crime any more. But know your limits. Don’t smoke while on a stroll through the park or at the grocery store.
Don’t do REAL crime. If it’s not your stuff, leave it alone. Don’t hurt people that don’t hurt you first(Physically. emotional harm falls under the umbrella of meh.) Just stay off of the radar and out of the system as much as you can. When the cop randomly runs your ID, try and make his screen come up blank or boring.
Particularly avoid doing things that double or triple up.
“Imma spend all my money on this car, race it at 150mph through town, and plow it into a tree.” You are now in the hospital, broke and without transportation which will leave you homeless, and the cops want to have a talk when you wake up...You did this to you.
Beyond those scenarios, Meh.
Don’t waste effort, physical or mental, on things that don’t matter.
A coin is the ultimate expression of meh.
What do I want for lunch, Mexican or Burgers? *plink* Heads, Mexican it is. I keep an old Eisenhower dollar coin I found in my wallet at all times just for meaningless decisions.
If you don’t make anyone’s day worse by being you people may not flock to you but they’ll probably accept you. “Yeah, that’s Dave, he’s alright.” is superior to “Ugh, Dave's coming, let's go.” It takes more effort to ruin someone's day than it does to just nod, smile, and walk on by. You don’t need to make small talk, just look busy enough to be left alone.
Once you’ve fulfilled the bare minimum requirements to avoid being homeless, hospitalized, or imprisoned, you’re good. Do fun stuff. Whatever your fun stuff is, games, museums, clog dancing with dogs, it’s all good. As long as you are harming no one with the results of your actions, Meh. Find the places where the fun stuff lives. Go to those places. No more effort is required. Go to those places often enough, the other people there will come to know you. Once they’ve come to know you, do something to make their day better, no matter how miniscule, and they’ll come to love you.
Go to the craft aisle for a second while you’re at the store already, get a cheap bulk sheet of peel and stick googly eyes. Cut it up into pairs, and just hand 'em out at work or school. It will brighten peoples day for an insignificant amount of effort.
Is it buying friends? Kinda, but for .05 per person, it’s pretty affordable to see who sticks around.
They may not bang you, but you won’t be alone.
We live in an era of unprecedented connection, yet feel entirely disconnected. Meh, let the good times roll and see who they bounce off of.
It's philosophy that has served me well for 30 years. I recently read about Bai Lan(let it rot) and had to laugh. Many Chinese youth have weaponized Meh as a way to invoke social change. When I first read it I thought, "I've been doing that for decades. Mehehe"
I hope this helps someone here.

Hells Reach RP Xbox
Hells Reach is a fairly new Hardcore RP community looking to provide YOU with a new place to call home and provide a place that allows you to be creative as possible with your roleplay. At Hells Reach our aim is to provide the Xbox community with a safe & unique place to roleplay, while also being able to enjoy DayZ itself as well! Without going on a whole spiel as to why you should join, below are somethings to expect when entering Hells Reach!
•Immersive & Realistic RP -Unique & Realistic Server Lore
•Black Market & Civilian Market Trader -We encourage players to trade amongst themselves though!
•Customized Loot Economy -Nothing is impossible to find but everything is fairly balanced!
•Up and coming settlements! -Opportunities to apply for jobs to earn in game currency!
•Unique ways to earn money and custom in game rewards! -Server wide quests -Server wide events
•Fair & unbiased staff that will listen to feedback & criticism!
•Welcoming to all new RPers & veterans!
https://discord.gg/hreachrp

Welcome to the Cliffhouse gaming network, an LGBT+ friendly hangout space for adult (18+) gamers! We're here to help you kick back, relax, and enjoy some quality gaming time with new friends in Minecraft, D&D, Wartales, Star Citizen, and more!
For the best modded Minecraft in 2023, join our Interstellar Adventures server! Interstellar Adventures is the latest and greatest sci-fantasy pack for Minecraft 1.18.2. Enter a world of magic and technology populated by a diverse array of NPCs and structures, and discover the secrets of interplanetary travel to journey to new worlds. With Discord Integration, Minecolonies, and FTB Teams and Chunks, chat with our tight knit community of staff and players, visit your neighbors’ colonies and cities, and talk to our local experts on mods like Mekanism, ProjectE, Create, and Botania to get started on your journey learning modded Minecraft! Tame dragons, found colonies, master the art of equivalent exchange, conquer infinite procedurally generated dungeons, and more in this expansive adventure, with new content being added and developed continuously since the launch of 1.0 in 2022!
Launching 5/19, Interstellar Adventures 1.2 brings new tech, magic, and monsters to encounter and master across over 20 different dimensions! Expand your options to create, construct, and automate your imagination with Immersive Engineering, and check out the larger world with Dynmap!
Want to take a break from the game? We have text based games, live D&D games, and plenty of players interested in FPS, strategy, and RTS gaming, waiting for you to message our LFG channel and squad up! To get started, join our discord server and download the pack linked above. Download the latest Release version and join the live server at adv.cliffhouse.games, or join the latest Beta version to try out upcoming features on the test server at dev.cliffhouse.games!!

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 64%. (I'm a bot)

ANKARA, May 28 - President Tayyip Erdogan appeared to be headed for victory in Turkey's runoff election on Sunday, with data from both state-run Anadolu agency and opposition ANKA news agency giving him an edge with about 93% of the ballot boxes counted.
Victory would extend Erdogan's two-decade reign, securing a mandate to continue his increasingly authoritarian rule which has polarised Turkey and strengthened its position as a regional military power.
Erdogan supporters gathered at his Istanbul residence in anticipation of victory, chanting Allahu Akbar, or God is Greatest.
Victory would reinforce Erdogan's image of invincibility, after having already redrawn domestic, economic, security and foreign policy in the NATO member country of 85 million people.
Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for two decades, appeared on course to win a new five-year mandate despite a cost-of-living crisis and a series of currency crashes largely brought on by his unorthodox policies, which the opposition had pledged to reverse.
Ahead of the first-round presidential election on May 14, Erdogan - a veteran of a dozen election victories - said he respected democracy and denied being a dictator.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Erdogan^#1 victory^#2 Turkey^#3 election^#4 new^#5
Post found in /worldnews, /neoliberal and /europe.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

Are you tired of having no one to discuss your triumphs and frustrations with? Would you like an awesome friendship that grows into a serious relationship? Want a cute voice messages and cuddles partner? If you answered yes to one or all of these, then keep scrolling!
GET TO KNOW ME:

1. My name is Mira. Everyone calls me this but my full name means princess.
2. I am a 5'5, ADHD functioning intelligent and intense African woman.
3. I love reading translated fiction, cooking and the terrifying aspects of the sci-fi genre.
4. The best description of my style and appearance would probably be 90s JCPenny catalog model meets intense hippie queen but with lots of sophisticated eyeliner, perfect lipstick and a dainty nose stud to match.
5. I am a cheery, considerate and sweet woman looking for somewhere to put all this love( because it's getting heavy)!
6. My last long term relationship ended platonically seven months ago and in that time, I've done all the mental/emotional heavy lifting required to be in a new and healthy relationship.

HELLO FUTURE FRIEND/PARTNER:

1. A sense of responsibility: I am looking for someone with a strong sense of responsibility. You are ideally a man who takes his words and actions seriously, like me... sorry short termers and flakes.
   
2. A great sense of humor: you are able to laugh at the silliest of situations, occasionally yourself and don't mind a woman who explains some of her jokes to you.
   
3. Attractive: Physical appearance is important for a good relationship, but I'm looking for someone who makes an effort with their health, hygiene and appearance.
   
4. An emotionally mature individual: I am hoping you are the kind of man who is too old and too mature for mind games and knows how to communicate his feelings. This means no passive aggressiveness, stonewalling or ending arguments in a tantrum.
   
5. Looking for a relationship/friendship: I would like to meet a man who is also ready to properly be in a relationship. Building a friendship first is good but I'm looking for a partner, not a chat buddy. Strictly in the market for a one woman man. Let's give each other cute nicknames and sign it on every cheesy thing we do.
   
6. Stability: I am currently juggling a job as an assistant with my goal of pursuing a masters' degree abroad early next year hopefully. Because of this, I am interested in a man who also enjoys his work and any hobbies. Let's learn from each other as much as possible.
   

BONUS POINTS:

1. Men with accents! I have been really into accents recently, with my favorites being Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian and really any others.
2. Distance is no obstacle: While I do not mind long-distance, I would also really like the goal of meeting sooner rather than not to exchange hugs, passionate kisses and compliments. I'd like to meet someone with a similar mindset.
3. You are white (umbrella term here so all welcome), Jewish, East Asian or South Asian I love men with beautiful eyes and a big smile.
4. You are older. I have been bitten by the bug and unfortunately only like men older than me even by a few years. Age is just a number but please don't be creepy or condescending.
5. You have a thing for women who are gentle natured, thoughtful, interesting and rubenesque (which is my favorite word currently, GOOGLE IT!)
6. You are intelligent, well travelled and an all round joy to be with.

Please tell me a bit about yourself with a picture of you attached. I look forward to your message and hope to build something amazing. XO