Hello all. To preface, my friend (we will call her Lisa) have been friends ever since high school. We became friends because we were both being cheated on by the same guy. We decided to become friends and kick that guy to the curb and have been close ever since. In retrospect, I can see how this friendship has been more of a trauma bond. But nonetheless, I have never been closer to anyone in life. We finish each other’s sentences, have had the most fun together that I’ve ever had, and have been through a lot together. We always joked and said we were soul mates. Now that we’re both older and life is taking us in other directions, I am more triggered by her than anything.
After my first boyfriend (the one that was seeing both me and Lisa) I got another boyfriend a few years later. We can call him Kane. Kane told me that he was going on a trip to NY to visit family, but what really happened is that he left, and never came back. That was his easy way out of our relationship. I only found out because I saw a picture of him and the girl he left me for (we will call her Alice). It devastated me. It triggered me in such a profound way, that I became too depressed to work, and I ended up losing everything. My apartment, my car, and my job. For about 3 years after that, I struggled. When my depression over this man started to disappear, I just settled into my new identity that felt worthless and bummy.
Fast forward. I find out randomly one day that Lisa and Kane slept together on a drunken night years back and I never knew. It is still unclear when exactly this happened because they both have conflicting stories. I was angry for awhile. But ended up forgiving her because I did not want to lose my only friend. This was stupid of me, but I figured this happened so long ago I might as well let it go. Wrong. Typing this out I am realizing whatever justification I came up with for this isn’t good enough.
After numerous talks, and numerous apologies and validation from her, we have kinda settled into a good place. But I just saw on Instagram that she denied coming to my little get together with friends last night because she was actually going to a different one- with the girl my ex left me for.
I’m really triggered by this. It seems like they have all moved on, have found fun friendships in each other, but I have no friends and no life really outside of work and school. It makes me feel worthless. I don’t know why I struggle to make friends that I connect with, but the people who have triggered such dark times in my life have seemingly great lives. I guess this comes from my ignorant sense of justice, and hope that somehow I will be victorious after people shitted on me. But really everyone has moved on and I am just stuck in the past.
I am in a new loving relationship now, my life is stable, I’m no longer in that dark place I once was, and I genuinely have no feelings for my ex anymore. But still, seeing my only close friend finding a community with them guts me and reminds me of how bad I was hurting during that time. She is friends with my ex. Everyone is civil. And she even attends my exes events when he throws them. I can’t help but think that there is something wrong with me.
She is with a new bf that she is really happy with. Of course, he is close friends with the girl my ex left me for as well. They’re also all apart of an artsy community. So it’s looking like eventually her life would be much easier without having to dodge certain people to appease me, which I certainly would never expect someone to do. But eh. Still hurts feeling like my friend who I love dearly does not think our friendship is worth not being friends with these people.
Not sure what I’m looking for. Advice is welcome.

Someone debate me on this (potential spoilers ahead)
I’m currently doing a rewatch of the show and stalking this sub to relive everything. And while a lot of people love Brooke, I must say, I’ve been surprised by the amount of posts talking about what a terrible friend Brooke is.
From what I’ve seen, Brooke puts the most amount of effort into her friendships when compared with Peyton and Haley. Yes, she’s done some terrible things as well (like making fun of Peyton’s mom’s death), but Brooke is a very extreme person - her high’s are HIGH and her lows are LOW. And in my opinion, Peyton has gone pretty low as well like punching Brooke in the face and giving her a black eye, tackling her to the floor, telling her “you’re dead to me”, etc. However, Peyton has never done anything as thoughtful for Brooke as Brooke has done for her, which makes me see Brooke as the overall better friend. Some examples:

• Letting Peyton move in with her twice so she wouldn’t be alone (presumably rent-free since Peyton was unemployed the second time)
• Redoing Peyton’s room in Brooke’s house to look EXACTLY like her old room. Can we just take a moment and acknowledge how long this would take to do? To repaint the room, move everything in and put it in the exact right place, etc.?
• Dropped everything and moved back to Tree Hill the second Peyton called her (yes, Brooke wasn’t happy in NY, but still. She didn’t make the move until Peyton said she wanted to move back)
• After Peyton’s mom died, Peyton said that Brooke spent every day with her for a long, long time and never let her be alone
• Organized an entire scavenger hunt for Haley and Nathan’s first date. Again, Brooke’s grand gestures are always shown as no big deal in the show, but honestly think about how long something like this would take to set up!
• Immediately broke up with Felix and cut him off after he called Peyton a “dyke”. She hated him so much for doing that, she never even missed him for a second
• Organized Haley’s entire wedding and bachelorette party
• Wrote Lucas a letter every single day for 3 months when they were apart

These were just off the top of my head, I’m sure there’s more. And I really can’t think of any of Brooke’s friends doing anything as major to show their love for her. It was always her doing all these grand gestures for other people without anything in return.
So Brooke slept with Nathan when he and Peyton were broken up. This isn’t a huge deal to me since Nathan and Peyton’s relationship was extremely toxic and it was obvious that it wouldn’t last. They clearly didn’t love each other. What Brooke did was still very fucked up, but Peyton had an ongoing affair with Lucas while KNOWING that Brooke was in LOVE with him. That’s far worse in my opinion.
People on this sub also love to say that Brooke stole Lucas from Peyton in season 1 because she went after him, even knowing that Peyton had feeling for him. I call BS on this. Brooke was the very first person who showed interest in Lucas by calling him hot, telling Peyton MULTIPLE times that she wanted him. Sure, Brooke may have been aware that Peyton liked him too because of all the longing looks between her and Lucas, but that was IT. There was no other indication that Peyton liked him. Brooke practically came out and said “I really like Lucas, so if you like him too, please tell me and I’ll back off.” But Peyton didn’t say a word so that’s when Brooke tried pushing her towards Nathan again.
People still say, “well Brooke was aware that Peyton and Lucas had something so she should have backed off”. But you could say the same for Peyton! They both really liked him so why should Brooke be the only one to back off if Peyton wasn’t going to do anything about it? Why shouldn’t Peyton have been the one to back off and let Brooke have him? It’s a murky situation for sure, but I can’t really say Brooke was in the wrong here because she really liked Lucas too. Why should she sacrifice her happiness if Peyton kept saying that she didn’t like him?
And after Peyton was assaulted the second time by fake Derrick, Brooke spent every night with her and did what she could to make her feel comfortable at home. But after Brooke was assaulted in S6, Peyton moved out the very next day because she wanted to go be happy with Lucas.
The only time Peyton has ever really done nice grand gestures for Brooke is when she’s trying to get into her good graces again right after she cheated with Lucas (like helping her win the cheerleading contest and signing over her artwork for Clothes over Bros). So these don’t really count for much.
And don’t even get me started by saying that Peyton was just trying to be honest by telling Brooke that she had feelings for Luke the second time. Peyton had already kissed Luke and told him she loved him by this point, yet Peyton neglected to mention it. Where was the honesty then??
In conclusion, the one and only really terrible thing Brooke did to Peyton is making fun of her mom’s death. I am not by any means making light of this or trying to excuse it. However, Brooke also went above and beyond in the other facets of their friendship, and she put more effort in than Peyton. Additionally, Peyton went almost as low as Brooke in other ways.
I’m not saying Peyton was a terrible friend by any means. I actually like Peyton too. But if we’re comparing who was the better friend, I think it’s Brooke hands down. Thoughts?

This is easily one of my favourite projects of all time. Odd Future was in their prime in this era and this is basically every member at their best in my opinion.
​
18, Hi. - Obviously, this track is super short, basically just an introduction but made in a funny way which is respectable. Funny to listen to but you can't compare it to the real tracks.
17, 50 - This track is solid. Very chaotic with a lot of shouting but most of this tape is like that, I just think this is one of the less enjoyable ones for me.
16, Ya Know - I love the production but the singing isn't for me. I definitely see this as a very good song but it isn't personally one of my preferred tracks on this tape.
15, P - Very good rap song, very entertaining instrumental. I like this song a lot but as most tracks, I just like the next one more.
14, Forest Green - Mike G doesn't show up as much as a lot of the other members in this era however he definitely did a good job with this track. I like this track a lot and I like the production.
13, White - Frank's vocals are amazing here, I just wish it had more going for it then it could be a lot higher.
12, Bitches - Very straight forward rap song. Minimal production but great delivery on the bars.
11, NY (Ned Flander) - This has the bass used in Rusty which I love a lot. I like the minimal production of the piano and synth and the bars are heated.
10, We Got Bitches - Probably my favourite joke song from Odd Future. Very chaotic but very enjoyable.
9, Lean - Very chill beat, Hodgy just goes off completely on this track, same as Domo.
8, Analog 2 - A nice track, continuing off of Analog. Analog is one of my favourite songs and I think I like the original more but I also really enjoy this sequel.
7, Hcapd - Damn this track goes so hard. Some of my favourite production ever on Odd Future and the rapping definitely lives up to it.
6, Doms - Domo has always been one of my favourite members to feature on a lot of songs, and his own track on this tape definitely lived up to his skill. The way the instrumental compliments his rapping is just amazing.
5, Oldie - A classic OF track. Obviously I think Frank's part is the best part and I'm not even a Frank rider. Everyone else did amazing too, overall just such an epic track, everybody should hear it.
4, Sam (Is Dead) - This and Oldie are definitely the most well known tracks on this tape. I like this one a bit more though. The way it ties into the whole story and the music video is so fun. The song itself is amazing, the part where T says "Bring in the horns" and he brings in the horns. Soooooo awesome. I love this song and some of the lyrics like "Motherfuck Gepetto he's a leader not a puppet" just go so hard.
3, Snow White - Hodgy and Frank, two of my top 3 favourite OF members. Both on the same track, it is just so good. AND we got Left Brain producing it. Such good production from Left Brain as always and the lyrics are awesome. The wolf sound effects just make it better. Amazing, underrated track.
2, Rella - Easily one of the most fun tracks on the whole tape. Domo, Hodgy and Tyler just rapping their ass off is such an awesome song and the music video is so entertaining. The production is so messy but so good as well.
1, Real Bitch - Wow, Hodgy goes god mode on this track. The slow beat and the echo on Hodgy's vocals are so good. I just love the singing so much. I love how Left Brain is also telling a story whenever it is just the instrumental. This also has some of Taco's best rapping imo, just all of this goes so well on top of the slow beat. Such a perfect track, peak OF.

I have a feeling that 7 will literally begin where 6 left off, with the opening “kill” being a phone call to either Sam or Gail (or dare I say Sid) immediately after the unveiling of GF’s in act 3 of S6
In the interest of realism (in the context of a scream movie,) an immediate succession of attacks that are actually still apart of the world of 6, makes a new spree less unlikely and a potential cool twist, a “the one that got away/we never found out about angle.
To have the core four together outside of NY seems a bit far fetched,as well as Gale.
I think their is also more interesting stuff to be done with the shrine,
Starting immediately after 6 is certainly a random but potentially interesting idea that hasn’t been explored before, the series is certainly moving ahead with new ideas so who knows,
What do you all think 7 will comprise of? Or hope doesn’t?

Demographics

• Gender: F
• Race/Ethnicity: white
• Residence: south carolina
• Income Bracket: Upper Middle
• Type of School: public school
• Hooks: none

Intended Major(s): chemistry
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.88 UW / 4.32 W (top 4% of my grade)
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 5 AP credits, 6 IB credits, 5 honors
• Senior Year Course Load: IB HL history, english, and another; IB SL chem, math, foreign language; AP environmental

Standardized Testing

• ACT: 32 highest composite score, did test-optional for reaches

Awards:

1. 1st place school science fair
2. 3 theatre state awards (1st place)
3. 4 1st place state baking awards
4. 3 state foreign language awards
5. DECA state 1st place

Extracurriculars:

1. independent charity
2. president of my school's DECA
3. president of honor society
4. involved in theatre
5. volunteer at my local library
6. independent etsy shop + donated that money
7. really specific one that is very unique and cool but I don't want to doxx myself so just trust me lol i swear it's good
8. weekly volunteer at humane shelter
9. on council for better diversity at my school
10. transpose musical theatre music on ukulele

Letters of Recommendation
probably 8/10 for my english teacher's rec, he has taught me for a while and is easily my favorite teacher; maybe 6/10 on my chem teacher's rec, probably kind of generic
Interviews
cornell: pretty good!
duke: very good! she seemed super interested and it was just a really good conversation that I genuinely enjoyed having
Essays
I was super proud of my common app essay, and my counselor said it was one of the best he saw all year (my grade is very competitive too). The rest were pretty good as well, pretty unique and specific to me so I feel good abt that aspect of them
APPLIED TO: Alabama, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton, Ohio State, Purdue, Tulane (deferred EA), UIUC, Boston University, Vanderbilt (ED1), UNC Chapel Hill
STILL WAITING ON:

• Emory
• New York University
• Brown (test-optional)
• Cornell (test-optional)
• Duke (test-optional)
• Yale (test-optional)
• U of SC

personally i don't like the way this is going and need to know what other people think cause ya girl is getting scared

In the Late Cretaceous of a fairy tale world much like our own live critters, familiar yet strange. Dinosaurs and mammals kill and die like animals, but think and speak like men. One devours the other, but might chat a bit before. In this society of physiological unequals, the mammals form the downtrodden. And, like in our world, where there are downtrodden, there is music.
Subtropical forest covers what will someday be New Jersey. A hollow earthen mound four meters high and twelve across nestles among the flowering trees. A sign sits out front announcing the mound's name, The Dugout, and purpose, as a venue for bands. Inside lies an elevated stage lit by torches and a skylight and fronted by six logs for seating. The seats are quickly filling up with dozens of mammals of various sizes and diets. On stage are four didelphodons, mammals of contemporarily large size.
The stage mammals are each nearly a meter long from the top of their head to the tip of their tail. Right now, they stand like men, eighty centimeter tall men. Three brothers and a sister, they are both siblings and bandmates. One brother, Eddy, is the singer for the band and the star of our tale.
Eddy is the youngest and the shortest but has a voice that could make a T-Rex swoon. A crop of long blonde hair sits atop his head, contrasting his otherwise brown fur. His clawed hands pluck and tune an acoustic guitar of exceptional quality. On its back are inscribed these words, "For our little rock star, Eddy, love Mom and Dad."
Eddy looks around at the other members of the band.
There is his brother Tommy, their lead guitarist and second oldest. He wears both a bandana and a bad attitude but Eddy knows the kindness and patience he can show when giving a guitar lesson.
His brother Sparky, their drummer and second youngest, gnaws on his sticks with a crazed look and spiky hair. After all these years, he is still charged with energy from the lightning strike.
His sister Lucy, their bass player and oldest sibling, stands nearest. Her flowing blonde hair hides her face but he knows she is always watching. She has been the siblings' rock ever since Mom and Dad's death.
All six logs are filled to the brim, a crowd of nearly a hundred. A full moon hangs in the meter-wide skylight. Eddy steps forward to the wooden funnel which serves as a microphone.
"Thank you all for coming out tonight," he says. "We have some great music ahead, but first let me introduce you to the band. There's my brother, Tommy, my brother, Sparky, and my dear sister, Lucy. Together, we are Bad Litter!"
Eddy then steps back for a second, closes his eyes and imagines the faces of his parents.
"Mom, Dad," he says, "if you're watching from heaven, I love you."
Then, he begins to sing:
"When the sun comes out, and I see you there. My heart begins, to burn again. In this big world, it's just you and me. With you at my side, I'll always be free—"
"Dryptosaur," screams someone from the crowd as a shadow passes across the stage. Perching in the skylight, blocking the full moon, is a five meter long raptor-like dinosaur with a red and white coat of feathers indicative of a female.
Eddy stops singing. Tommy and Lucy stop playing. Sparky, slow to the uptake, keeps banging his drums. The dryptosaur puts an end to it by crushing him with one taloned foot.
Tommy, never quick to anger, charges at his brother's killer and strikes the dryptosaur on the shin with his guitar. The guitar breaks at the neck. The dryptosaur breaks Tommy's neck.
Lucy shields Eddy behind her, determined to protect her youngest and only remaining brother. His eyes transfix on her long hair as he watches her rise into the air by way of the dryptosaur's clawed hand.
With the other hand, the dryptosaur casually snaps Lucy's neck. Her struggling stops and her body becomes as limp as her hair. Then into the jaws of death she goes. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The dryptosaur sits down on the stage beside Eddy, her collossal legs stretching out to the third row of the now empty seats.
"Hey," she says.
Eddy says nothing.
"That's okay, I understand, you've been through a very traumatic experience. We'll have plenty of time for conversation later."
With bloodstained fingers she pulls Eddy to her side.
"Congratulations, Eddy, you just enrolled in my school of life."
BREAK
The sun rises over the forest, its rays poking through the dense foliage to pattern the ground. Bad Litter's devourer slumbers on a pile of fallen leaves, her head tucked into her arms and her tail wrapped around her whole. A beam of light prods her eye and she wakes with a yawn.
Not seeing Eddy anywhere, she briefly panics before remembering that she is sitting on him, gently, like an egg, so way he cannot escape.
"Sorry if it was a little hard to breathe," she says, "I haven't incubated in years."
Eddy lies face up and spread out. He takes one, deep, grateful breath but is otherwise stoic.
"I wish I'd suffocated," he says at last.
"Poor Eddy," says the dryptosaur, peeling him from the ground and cradling him in her arms. "What misfortune has befallen you? No, wait, I remember."
She laughs in Eddy's face, but loosens her grip enough for him to fall back onto the ground.
"What do you want from me?," says Eddy.
"Your company. I have business to take care of in the Appalachian Mountains. It's a five day journey and I could use some entertainment."
"Then play with yourself."
"I'd much rather play with you. Really, what happened to the little song rat from last night?"
"He died with his band," growls Eddy.
"Well," she growls mockingly, "whomever I'm speaking to currently should get ready to set out."
"You expect me to travel with a stranger who murdered everyone I love?"
"Stranger? That's right, I never properly introduced myself. My name's Tava."
A pause ensued as she obviously wanted him to ask what "Tava" meant.
"What does that—"
"I'm glad you asked Eddy. The name is Tave 'cause I'm hot like lava (tsss). Just replace the 'l' with a capital 'T.'"
Tava pinches Eddy's cheeks and moulds them like putty.
"Say it with me, Tah-vah."
"Trrr-vrrr," says Eddy.
"Close enough. Let's go."
Eddy's guitar sits in its case at the trunk of a nearby tree. Eddy shuffles over to grab it as Tava starts along the path. By the time he has the case in hand, she is ten meters away—far enough for an escape. In a flash of action he drops the guitar case and sprints away on all-fours. He gets some distance before a shadow blots out the sun and a feathered tail slaps him down.
"Eddy," says Tava, now holding him to the ground with one hand, "how could you attempt an escape without your guitar?
Tava opens the case and picks up the guitar with her other hand. Held between her thumb and forefinger, the instrument looks like it is meant for a doll.
"What a work of craftsmanship," says Tava. " And look, something's written on the back. 'For our little rockstar, Eddy. Love Mom and Dad.' How sweet. Maybe you can take me to see them once my business in the Appalachians has concluded."
"They're both dead," says Eddy.
"Any other relatives?"
"I'm all that's left."
"A one-of-a-kind treasure! And I will treasure you."
Tava retracts her grip on Eddy but presses her snout into him. Her yellow eyes drill yet further.
"Don't even think about escaping," she says. "I'm faster, I'm stronger, and, most importantly, I'm smarter than you."
Tava recedes to let oxygen refill Eddy's lungs before clasping him again in her free claw. She places him in the valley between her neck and arch of her back.
"I'll tote you for a while. You know, as a favor. After all, what are friends for?"
Eddy does not answer, nor does he speak much over the next three days. He and his guitar are mere passengers on a walking, feathered prison. He dismounts only to eat, a terrible process in which Tava forces bugs and water down his throat, and sleep, again with her sitting on him like an egg.
The scenery changes throughout the third day from a coastal forest to one more suited to hills. Trees are more spaced out, undergrowth lessens and streams cut ravines several times deeper than Tava is tall. Eddy begins to have morbid daydreams in which Tava slips and he falls off into a ravine, hitting head first onto a boulder strewn streambed.
His daydream stops when they encounter a large duck-billed dinosaur blocking their path. The creature is a sessile herbivore and there are many other paths, but Tava is in a fighting mood.
"Move your ass duckface!," she yells.
"There are plenty of other routes around me," responds Duckface in speech garbled by a mouth full of leaves and stems.
"But I like this one. Remove yourself or I'll remove you, one piece at a time."
Duckface's tail swings at Tava. She dodges but flings Eddy and his guitar case in the process. Tava leaps about before finally tricking Duckface into headbutting a tree and knocking himself unconscious. Tava grabs Eddy and his guitar and passes through.
The encounter makes Tava cheerful and keeps her so into the night. Instead of smothering Eddy, she decides to sleep on her back and let him rest on her heaving chest.
"The moon is starting to wane," says Tava. "Pretty soon the stars will practically explode out of the black sky. Some see pictures in the stars, caricatures of creatures drawn onto the sky. Would you like me to show you?"
Eddy moans lowly.
"I'll list them then," she continues. "There's the raptor, the rat, the fish, the seabird, the crocodile, the caterpillar. It's all a fantasy to make life more than it is, to project ourselves onto an immensity we cannot know. I hope you're turning this rant into a song. Hey!"
Tava grabs Eddy who curls tighter. She then pries him open and flattens him out. Tears and snot reflect on his face in the moonlight.
"Why?," says Eddy.
"Why what, dear?"
"Why do you torture me?"
"Isn't it obvious? Because you were born weak and I strong. Because life is torture."
"No, no," he says, shaking his head, "life is beautiful."
"You of all people should know better than that."
"Life can be ugly but can also be love, and family, and music, and—"
"Enough! Let me tell you about life, my delusional little friend. Life, for all creatures, is the struggle not to starve, to consume anything and anyone you can fit in your mouth and swallow without choking. We are but walking digestive tracts, gnashing teeth on one end and excreting waste out the other."
Eddy curls back up and begins to whimper.
"You'll see soon enough," says Tava, rubbing her gurgling stomach.
Night turns into day accompanied by the chirping conversations of treetop birds. The ancestors of orchids bloom all around. Eddy sits a few meters from a stream with his guitar in hand. He carefully replaces a broken string then tunes the whole guitar. Tava, who had "a matter to attend to," emerges from the bushes.
"I had feared that our little rumble might have ruined your guitar," she says. "I underestimated your talents."
Eddy remains silent.
"How about a song to celebrate its repair."
"Sing away," says Eddy
"Stoicism is the enemy of musicians everywhere. But I have the cure. Get up and follow me."
Eddy follows Tava into the underbrush.
"I think you'll like what I've cooked up," she says. "I'm surprised that it took this long, but I suppose I'm not young anymore."
Eddy and Tava come to a small clearing with something steaming at its center. As he looks closer, a red bandana becomes visible. His face contorts into a look of pure horror as he realizes what it is that he sees.
"The band is reunited!," says Tava.
"M-my family."
"Oh that's right, it's also a family reunion too."
Tava leans over and shares Eddy's eye level.
"Do I spot a family resemblance?"
Tava walks away in a fit of laughter while Eddy collapses into tears.
BREAK
On day five, Tava hikes through the ever thinner tree cover with Eddy and his guitar tied to her back with a piece of vine. She climbs atop a rock outcrop and spies three dryptosaurs standing near a pond a few hills over.
"Well, well," says Tava. "How would you like to go for a swim, Eddy?"
"I would like you to drown me," he responds.
"No can do, my macabre little friend. But I think I'll show you off to some admirers of mine. Get ready to sing."
Tava makes footfalls softer than the rustling of her feathers. She is mere meters away from the three dryptosaurs by the time they are aware of her. Smaller than Tava, their colored feathers distinguish them as males. Tava unties Eddy and his guitar case as the group ahead starts to run away.
"Don't bother," says Tava, "you know I'm twice as fast as any of you. Besides, I come in peace. Eddy, may I introduce my friends, Alexander, Montgomery, and Laurence."
"Don't think we forgot what you did to poor Laurence two months ago," says Alexander. "He still walks with a limp."
"It's true!," says Laurence, shrinking into himself.
"We're not your friends," says Alexander, "and you're not welcome here, Lucille."
"My name's Tava now."
"Tava?," says Alexander. "Let me guess, you changed the "l" in lava to a 'T.' Lava is hot so Tava is 'too hot.'"
Tava twitches.
"You're lucky I'm already pregnant, otherwise I'd give you a limp too, Alexander."
"Pregnant?," whispers Laurence.
"Then what do you want, Tah-vah?," says Alexander.
Tava holds Eddy out like a new toy, shaking him mildly.
Behold," she says, "my new song rat. Give them a sample Eddy."
"That couldn't be . . .," says Laurence.
"Would any of you be kind enough to kill me?," says Eddy in a monotone voice.
"A real vocal icon you have there," says Alexander. "Does he dance too? Perhaps the Stand-Still Boogie?"
Tava sets Eddy down and storms up to Alexander, who shrinks a little. Montgomery backs him up but Laurence slips away.
"Perhaps you'd like to dance," says Tava. "I'm proficient at the Bruised Danube."
Eddy looks up to find Laurence standing over him.
"I don't believe it," giggles Laurence, "you're Eddy, the lead singer of Bad Litter! I am a huge fan. W-where's the rest of the band?"
Eddy points to Tava.
"Shat out," he says.
Laurence looks at Tava then jerks his gaze away in horror.
"She, she, she ate them? But why did she leave you?"
"I don't know. I wish she hadn't. Could you kill me? I don't care to live anymore."
"Y-yes. Yes, of course, anything to help. But since you're the only surviving member, could you sign this t-shirt for me first?"
"If that's the price of relief, sure."
"Thank you so much. It really means a lot to have—"
"Get away from my pet, Laurence!"
Laurence turns to see Tava a nose length away. He grabs his t-shirt and runs away.
"Because you three were so rude," says Tava, "I'm not letting you hear a single note from my song rat."
Tava hangs Eddy over her shoulder like a rag and starts to walk away before turning her gaze back to the three dryptosaurs now huddling together for safety.
"But don't worry, boys, I'll be back to take what I want from you."
Eddy watches the three dryptosaurs shrink in his vision, knowing they might be his last chance at freedom, or at least the release of death. On Tava's back and in motionless despair, he rides into the mountains. Vegetation becomes scarce and bare rock erupts everywhere. The path winds through limestone which formed before either dinosaurs or mammals even arose.
The fifth day transitions into the sixth without Tava stopping for rest. She marches through the night under the light of a three-quarters moon. Eddy is able to take short naps because Tava is as soft as a feather bed and more than a match for anything that would want to harm him.
"Geeeyaaat!"
Eddy wakes to the sight of a blazing noon sun. Tava is kneeling on a granite plateau, holding her abdomen and screeching in pain.
"Oh, oh ho ho, right on time!," she says. "Get off, I could use some help."
Tava loosens the vine holding Eddy and his guitar case and both slide off her back. She then walks over to a pair of dry, dead bushes and snaps most of their branches off.
"What are you—," Eddy begins.
"Shut up. They're coming. Gotta build a nest."
She weaves the branches into a rough circle, collapses on top and pulls Eddy close.
"Now, keeyeeyeep your eye on the birdie."
A blood-soaked egg peeks through. Eddy places his hands on it, though remains baffled as to what Tava expects him to do. She enlightens him by giving a hard push and ejecting the egg on top of him. It is fifty centimeters long and weighs almost as much as Eddy.
"It's beautiful," he says.
"Glad you like it 'cause there're two more coming."
Sure enough, the process repeats twice more. Eddy corrals the triplets into a triangle.
"Yeah. It will make a good trade."
"What?"
"Since we're so close I'll tell you. I made a deal with a monastery up ahead. I give them a child to raise, I get some sacred knowledge. Only one child is part of the deal, the other two are extras, just mouths I'll have to feed. Plus they're Laurence's. End their pathetic existence before they hatch into this hellhole of a world."
Eddy rolls one toward the edge of the plateau. It is a ten meter drop, more than enough to kill the unhatched dryptosaur. But he shakes his head and backs away.
"Now, Eddy!"
"I can't kill a child, even yours."
"For God's sake, I don't have time for your moral bullshit."
Tava kicks the egg off the cliff and twists around to Eddy. Their eyes lock as the sound of cracking shell reverberates up.
"Poor Eddy," says Tava, "his conscience won't let him kill the offspring of his family's devourer. I'll raise the other spare if you like, raise it to eat only your kind. I and it will go back and swallow every one of your concert's audience. We'll shit them out and stick your nose in it."
"You can't shock me anymore."
Tava bares her teeth in full.
"Help me, Eddy," she says softly. "I'm still alive in here."
"What are you doing?"
"Reciting what your dear sister Lucy said as she slid down my throat."
"No, I watched you snap her neck before eating her. She was dead."
"That's what I thought too. But she was alive. I heard her inside of me. I felt her squirm."
"Liar!," screams Eddy.
He leaps at Tava who dodges easily. He gets up and tries again. This time she rolls onto her back and catches him between two toes. She flings him across the small plateau. He hits hard and suffers a broken nose. He slowly stands up but waves any new effort away. He looks at her with tear-filled eyes.
"Why won't you just kill me?," cries Eddy. "Please, please, please. Just let me join my family."
"Poor, delusional Eddy. I have no intention of killing you. You have and will provide me with entertainment. You'll be my prisoner for the rest of your natural life."
The monastery bell starts ringing. A bolt of lightning flashes behind Tava, turning her into a black silhouette.
"Back to the subject of your sister," she says, "Lucy was probably still conscious when she fell on top of her dead, digesting brothers."
Eddy launches himself at Tava, landing on her lowered face.
"That's right, Eddy! Go for the eyes!"
He tries to gnaw one of her eyes out. But she is still too quick and very much in control. The flick from a single finger knocks him off. He recovers in an instant and tackles her gut. It, of course, has little more effect than just sending him backwards.
"Now this is more like it. Where has this Eddy been the whole time?"
He ignores her and refocuses on a new target. A serpentine pattern gets him around Tava and to the two eggs. In an adrenaline-fueled feat of strength, he hoists it onto his back and runs toward the plateau's edge.
"Yes, yes, yes!," cheers Tava.
Eddy heaves the egg over the edge. Panting through gritted teeth, he runs back to grab the other one but Tava swats him down with her tail.
"That's enough destruction for now, my pet. We have an appointment to keep."
Eddy calms down. Tava allows him to walk beside her as she concentrates on carrying the egg.
A storm gathers in the distance as they walk into the monastery courtyard. Cloak-wearing monks of every species move calmly across the paving stones. Mammalians who would normally scatter at the sight of Tava take no precautions as their dinosaur brethren have sworn to defend them.
A single monk emerges from behind the bell. He is of Eddy's species but larger and at least three times as old.
"You have what we asked for?," says the monk.
"Right here, Elder," says Tava.
She places the egg on the ground and allows the Elder to inspect it with a tenderness its mother could never show.
"We thank you for the addition to our ranks," says the Elder. "I wish you peace and—"
"No games, I want my reward."
"Certainly."
A stone tablet is brought to the Elder Monk who then hands it to Tava.
"That is the culmination of tens of millennia of observation and study by hundreds of generations of monks who dedicated their lives to—"
"I'm leaving but feel free to continue your monologue."
Eddy and Tava return to the rocky plateau where the last few rays of sunlight shine down. She reads the tablet aloud but Eddy does not comprehend.
"You don't understand the significance of what I'm reading, do you?," says Tava.
"Dig sites, cross-reference, live specimen; sounds like gibberish."
"It talks of a past world very different from our own and promises a future that is likewise."
"Things change, and saying so doesn't add anything."
"It's more than that. The world we live in is much much older than anyone realizes—millions of our lifetimes old. How many people have come and gone before us? A million million? A million million million? And for what purpose did they live and die?"
"To become someone's next meal."
"Yes! The boy learns at last! But that's just the past and present, there's still the future. Another million million million suffering and dying for nothing. To eat or be eaten, this is our fate forever and ever."
The rain starts coming down in large and heavy droplets. Eddy stares up with hate in his eyes.
"You're cruel, sadistic and beyond evil," says Eddy.
"Oh, Eddy, you do know how to flatter a girl. But am I not right?"
Eddy hangs his head. His tears mix with the downpour.
"You're right."
"It's about time you wised up. I ate your family in front of you, abused you in every way I could imagine. Honestly, you should be ashamed that it took this long."
"What should I do now?"
"Sing," says Tava caressing Eddy's chin with her forefinger.
Eddy breathes deeply ang begins:
"Here on the mountain, I am repentant. Resplendent in transcendent notion, that life is incident. Birth and death, ignorant to our animal sorrows. So conscience I set ablaze, and put away my hippy days."
"Splendid!," says Tava, nuzzling Eddy.
The thunderstorm dies down enough to hear the distant monastery bell ring its somber tone.
"Hear that, Eddy? It is our wedding bell. You're mine forever."
BREAK
Tava and Eddy descend the eastern slopes of the Appalachians in half the time it took to get up them, not only because it is easier, or that Tava is no longer laden with eggs, but because she has won.
They reach the three dryptosaurs' pond in a day. Alexander, Montgomery and Laurence are nowhere to be found.
"Smell that air," says Tava, gulping down oxygen as if giving chase. "The weaker sex of my species has a certain revolting stench. If I hadn't needed that egg, I would never have touched Laurence."
Eddy giggles while making a snow angel in her feathers.
"It's too bad your reputation is now so tarnished," he says.
"Maybe not. The trio isn't likely to go around spreading Laurence's shame. We can kill them, easy, and eat the bodies. Have you ever had dryptosaur?"
"Would love to try it."
"I'll save you some breast meat, that's the juiciest part."
Small birds and mammals watching from the few trees climb to yet higher branches on hearing Tava and Eddy's awful plans.
"We have an audience," says Tava. "Why don't you pull out your guitar and play for them."
"Any requests?," says Eddy.
"Something morbid, I suppose. I really don't care. I'm taking a dip in the pond to wash off the blood still caked on my ass from the eggs."
"I'll make our audience fall from the trees in despair."
"Atta boy."
Tava submerges herself in the crystal clear water as Eddy tunes at his guitar to create a more melancholy sound. Something crashes into the nearby bushes and stops his work. A long feathered tail, caked in mud, now sticks out of the far side while a snout, also caked, pokes out near him.
"Psst," says the snout. "Over here. Come on, while she's busy."
Eddy, lacking any desire for self-preservation, stumbles into the bushes. There he finds Laurence, covered in mud from head to toe.
"Masking your scent was a good idea," says Eddy.
"I had to come back and save you," says Eddy.
"Because you're the voice of Bad Litter—"
"They're all dead if you haven't noticed."
"Sorry, sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to dig that sorrow back up."
"No sorrow. I accept the fate that our weakness brought on."
"Lucille's had nine uninterrupted days to mess with your head. That's more torture than anyone should receive. But come with me and I swear we'll reverse the damage."
"You know, Tava and I were just talking about you. Let me go get her."
Laurence turns Eddy back around. Though gentle, he still manages to take a chunk of the didelphodon's fur off. Laurence now sees how patchy his former idol's coat is, how bloodshot and crazy are his eyes, how little flesh clung to his bones. Eddy was a walking corpse.
"There's no saving you," whispers Laurence to himself.
Eddy's neck snaps even easier than Laurence had expected. The dryptosaur weeps as he wraps his idol's little body in the Bad Litter t-shirt and buries him in a hastily dug grave. Atop the dirt clods he lays Eddy's guitar so that "For our little rock star, Eddy, love Mom and Dad," faces upward and serves as epitaph.
"Go now," says Laurence, "be with your family in heaven."
Splashing water sounds Tava's emergence, but Laurence tiptoes away without raising her alarm. Ten minutes later and far away, he hears her roar in defeat.
(END)

I'm Jay, 18M. So, for starters, i'm probably going to be homeless by the 1st. I'll explain how I got here.
I am not the primary income holder for the household and neither is my mother, her boyfriend is. Like a lot of people, he lost his job due to the pandemic and during that time because of his loss of income, we were unable to pay rent and since then he has gotten jobs, lost jobs, gotten jobs, lost them and got them again. Initially the issue started from the pandemic and quickly became about her boyfriend simply being an idiot and changing jobs as often as you change pants because there's always something he doesn't like about a job and wants to leave and find something else.
Well, recently, he did that same thing again when we were slightly* stable, and this time our landlord had enough with us not giving rent. We (more like they) owe the landlord over $15k in rent and so the landlord, like the very patient and tolerant woman she is, told us we didn't have to pay rent this month and she would NOT be evicting us as long as we vacate by April 1st and agreed to a payment plan to pay the rent back, we were told this last month. We are now about a week away from being homeless and so far haven't found any place to live due to credit (not mine) and not enough money for the ridiculous fees and desposits that are being required to move into a shitty ass apartment in our area (westchester ny). We've contacted relatives about temporary shelter, a no-go. Since the pandemic we've contacted and applied for section 8, emergency housing, welfare, basically every agency that could possibly help and we were denied every time.
Now you might be thinking, "OP, why don't you get off your ass and get a good paying job and contribute more to the household funds?!" I would do that if I was mentally and physically stable enough, but i'm not. I've been receiving SSI since I was 14 for my disabilities and of course as of July 2022 when I turned 18 they cut my check by almost $400, yes we fought and we lost.
Cherry on top, recently an employer reported false wages to my social security number and we called, they sent me a letter to sign which tells them I never worked or earned any wages everything seemed all set until this month I received a letter stating they were going to be taking almost $100 out of my check every month until my "overpayment" is paid off. I called, they claimed that they have no record of me speaking to any agent or them sending me any letter to sign or them ever recieving the signed letter and told me I needed to reappeal. So I reappealed, that was almost 2 weeks ago and I haven't gotten any call or letter from anyone at Social Security. So I plan on going to SS on Monday and probably fight with an employee and try not to have a stroke while doing so. My mother is also disabled and receives SSDI, well not anymore I guess, because yes, another cherry on top, they decided that they aren't going to give her anymore payments and now no longer has access to medicare and medicaid. That's what the letter we got today stated, with no explanation as to why of course.
Triple cherry on top, my therapist and case worker have been extremely unsupportive and seem to have literally no idea how to help me in this situation even though helping me, especially in situations like this, is literally their jobs. My therapist has gotten significantly worse over the years I barely speak to her anymore, she ghosts me, schedules appointments and never calls and her excuses are either her phone got wet and stopped working (??), she lost her phone, she went out or on vacation and didn't have good service (???), or her previous one that really baffled me; her birthday was coming up (the next week) and her coworkers wanted to celebrate and take her out in advance and so she decided that was a good enough reason to cancel a therapy session with her very clearly struggling and distraught very MENTALLY ILL patient. It's so disappointing, cause initially she was the best therapist I'd ever had and now when I need her the most she's unable to do her job. And my case worker, she's really sweet but virtually useless.
Last June of 2022, I graduated highschool a year early as Valedictorian and I genuinely believed that things would go well from there after the hell I had been through in the school system and the trauma and abuse of my childhood, but I was wrong, so wrong.
This isn't everything but just what I could write out right now.
If you read to the end, thank you.
And to anyone who is or has ever been one of those people wondering why young adults these days are depressed, stressed, anxious, suic*dal, etc and that we "have it made" this is the reality of today's world and how we "have it made".
I've contacted many agency's already (DCMH, OPWDD, etc). But if anyone has any ideas about how the hell I could get out of this situation (with or without my mother and her idiot) without temporarily being in a cardboard box on the street or a shelter (wouldn't be suitable with my conditions), I'd appreciate it.
Thank you again if you read to the end. Sorry for any typos or if anything's confusing.

I'm Jay, 18M. So, for starters, i'm probably going to be homeless by the 1st. I'll explain how I got here.
I am not the primary income holder for the household and neither is my mother, her boyfriend is. Like a lot of people, he lost his job due to the pandemic and during that time because of his loss of income, we were unable to pay rent and since then he has gotten jobs, lost jobs, gotten jobs, lost them and got them again. Initially the issue started from the pandemic and quickly became about her boyfriend simply being an idiot and changing jobs as often as you change pants because there's always something he doesn't like about a job and wants to leave and find something else.
Well, recently, he did that same thing again when we were slightly* stable, and this time our landlord had enough with us not giving rent. We (more like they) owe the landlord over $15k in rent and so the landlord, like the very patient and tolerant woman she is, told us we didn't have to pay rent this month and she would NOT be evicting us as long as we vacate by April 1st and agreed to a payment plan to pay the rent back, we were told this last month. We are now about a week away from being homeless and so far haven't found any place to live due to credit (not mine) and not enough money for the ridiculous fees and desposits that are being required to move into a shitty ass apartment in our area (westchester ny). We've contacted relatives about temporary shelter, a no-go. Since the pandemic we've contacted and applied for section 8, emergency housing, welfare, basically every agency that could possibly help and we were denied every time.
Now you might be thinking, "OP, why don't you get off your ass and get a good paying job and contribute more to the household funds?!" I would do that if I was mentally and physically stable enough, but i'm not. I've been receiving SSI since I was 14 for my disabilities and of course as of July 2022 when I turned 18 they cut my check by almost $400, yes we fought and we lost.
Cherry on top, recently an employer reported false wages to my social security number and we called, they sent me a letter to sign which tells them I never worked or earned any wages everything seemed all set until this month I received a letter stating they were going to be taking almost $100 out of my check every month until my "overpayment" is paid off. I called, they claimed that they have no record of me speaking to any agent or them sending me any letter to sign or them ever recieving the signed letter and told me I needed to reappeal. So I reappealed, that was almost 2 weeks ago and I haven't gotten any call or letter from anyone at Social Security. So I plan on going to SS on Monday and probably fight with an employee and try not to have a stroke while doing so. My mother is also disabled and receives SSDI, well not anymore I guess, because yes, another cherry on top, they decided that they aren't going to give her anymore payments and now no longer has access to medicare and medicaid. That's what the letter we got today stated, with no explanation as to why of course.
Triple cherry on top, my therapist and case worker have been extremely unsupportive and seem to have literally no idea how to help me in this situation even though helping me, especially in situations like this, is literally their jobs. My therapist has gotten significantly worse over the years I barely speak to her anymore, she ghosts me, schedules appointments and never calls and her excuses are either her phone got wet and stopped working (??), she lost her phone, she went out or on vacation and didn't have good service (???), or her previous one that really baffled me; her birthday was coming up (the next week) and her coworkers wanted to celebrate and take her out in advance and so she decided that was a good enough reason to cancel a therapy session with her very clearly struggling and distraught very MENTALLY ILL patient. It's so disappointing, cause initially she was the best therapist I'd ever had and now when I need her the most she's unable to do her job. And my case worker, she's really sweet but virtually useless.
Last June of 2022, I graduated highschool a year early as Valedictorian and I genuinely believed that things would go well from there after the hell I had been through in the school system and the trauma and abuse of my childhood, but I was wrong, so wrong.
This isn't everything but just what I could write out right now.
If you read to the end, thank you.
If you've ever been one of those people wondering why young adults these days are depressed, stressed, anxious, suic*dal, etc and that we "have it made" this is the reality of today's world and how we "have it made".
I've contacted many agency's already (DCMH, OPWDD, etc). But if anyone has any ideas about how the hell I could get out of this situation (with or without my mother and her idiot) without temporarily being in a cardboard box on the street or a shelter (wouldn't be suitable with my conditions), I'd appreciate it.
Thank you again if you read to the end. Sorry for any typos or if anything's confusing.

Hello! Welcome to yet another culling of great games I'll never have time to play 😩. Y'all have been good to me, so I am posting here 2 days before taking this all to the FB market. All games are pristine (4.5+), and most never played. I went (and am going) through a sleeving craze as well and sleeved a bunch while watching TV or whatnot, so some games may be sleeved that I forget to note here.
Smoke and pet free environment. I use Pirateship, buyer pays shipping (cont-US only), also willing to meet if you're in Boulder County and buying at least $50 worth. No trades offers please. PayPal or Venmo and PLEASE use Goods and Services so we're all safe.
Comment before sending DM, y'all know the drill 😊
----------------------------------------------------------
Bundle Discount!!: 10% off when buying two, 15% off three, 20% off 4 or more. Discount applied to TOTAL with shipping! 🥳
----------------------------------------------------------
MIND MGMT Deluxe + secret missions (latest Kickstarter) - $90 - Shrinkwrap off and opened box, otherwise untouched/unplayed. Great looking and unique game, just an impulse buy I'll never play.
GlenMore II Chronicles ALL-IN + Dicetroyers insert (base game only) - $120 - Base game, Highlands expansion, all promo tiles and metal coins (promos 1-5). Base game insert replaced with Dicetroyers wood insert, expansion is still in its original box and insert. Opened and all sorted into chronicle boxes. Never played. Sold only as this set.
Transmissions Deluxe KS Edition - $85 - Opened and played once.
Oak Deluxe KS Edition - $80 - Opened and played once.
Tindaya Deluxe KS Edition - $75 - Opened and played once. All cards sleeved.
Parks + both expansions - $65 - Parks base game played once. Includes Nightfall and Wildlife expansions, both never played (Wildlife unopened).
Whistle Mountain + e-Raptor custom color insert + PNP solo deck - $65 - includes the licensed color insert from e-Raptor and I printed and sleeved the solo PNP mode and deck. This will not fit in the game box and will be packed separately in shipping box.
Boon Lake + Folded Space insert - $60 - Opened and sorted, never played.
Hamlet Founder's Edition (KS) - $60 - Opened, assembled insert and church pieces. Never played.
The Hunger + High Stakes expansion - $55 - Base game opened but untouched, cards still sealed. Expansion is brand new, never opened.
Origins: First Builders + Ancient Wonders expansion - $55 - Opened, never played. Includes expansion, added in base box. Updated official "UFOBOT" Solo PNP sheets printed on cardstock. I'll also leave my DIY plastic tackle organizer in there. I've heard the expansion really helps the game at lower player counts.
Castles of Burgundy Anniversary Edition + BGG silk bags - $50 - Played once. Includes 7 custom tile bags from BGG Geekup Market.
So You've Been Eaten (KS Deluxe) - $45 - Includes Dyspepto mini-expansion. Opened, never played.
Terracotta Army - $45 - Opened, never played. Includes official PNP solo instructions printed on cardstock.
Vivid Memories KS Deluxe - $30 - Opened, never played.
---------------------------------------------
NOT part of bundle discount - $25 each/$80 for all 4, OR add to any order for $20 each: Mercado de Lisboa, New York Zoo, Living Forest, Small Islands. All played once.
I've researched my prices and I don't haggle, BUT if you feel I'm way off on a price, feel free to ask about it. All offers will be handled in the order they are received. Thank you!

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[REQ] ($100) (#Brooklyn, NY, USA) (Repay $110 on 1/12/2022) (Cashapp)

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Hello, Reddit. Looking to cover an expense ( and help my mother out as well ). Can possibly repay tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Hi-Res Imgur Post
Selling a pair of K2 Wayback 106 186cm with Demo Kingpin 13 bindings and Pomoca OEM Precut skins specifically for the skis. I bought the skis from GearTrade last year (link to post) and purchased the skins brand new this season. I included the receipt for the skins as well. The bindings are demo bindings so they should fit any boot. I've used them on no more than three tours. The only issue with them is purely cosmetic which you can see in the photos above one of the bindings; the tech that mounted them started drilling the front mounting holes more forward than the designed mounting position. It's only on one ski and doesn't affect how they ski at all.

Please excuse me for any stupidities I write.
We had a betta fish in a smaller tank; during some illness in multiple members of the family and during the shutdown, cleaning became irregular. I decided our poor little dude should get a better tank, and I bought one - he went from 2 gallons to 10 with lots of stuff to explore. Happy fish. However, as an inexperienced fish owner (and someone who was completely overwhelmed by life in general) the tank was overrun by algae really quickly. After an entire weekend of cleaning it and getting things back in order for the fish, I thought, "Hey - why don't I buy little helper snails to clean the algae?" No, they said at the pet store. Your betta might get nasty and eat their eyes off and the snails will suffer, as their eyes will continually grow back (and be eaten off) and they will starve to death. Why not buy some plants?
So plants it was. Long story short - very soon after adding the plants, transparent-shelled snails - hitchhikers on the plants - appeared and then multiplied exponentially. I do not believe anyone had their eyes eaten. One of the plants turned awfully frothy and it forced me to remove my betta when he became trapped. To make matters worse, the night after I bought him a new smaller tank and set it up for him the next day... he was killed by my cat. I was devastated, more so because it was my fault the door had been left open as I was sick and just dragged myself to bed that night. The cat got him while I was sleeping hard from NyQuil. So the new tank sat clean, and empty of fish, for a while until I decided to get a new betta. I could hardly look at the either tank.
New betta is not doing well in the smaller, boring tank. He's "listing" on the bottom sometimes, and I think maybe it's actually boredom since the tank is sparsely decorated (unlike the big tank which is much more interesting). True, he might have some illness (haven't ruled it out) but he looks spry enough when I go to the tank and look at him (he comes to the glass to look back at me). Thought, hey - maybe I can get big tank back up and running since the snails must be dead now, right?
Wrong. I see many are still alive, sucking along the glass. The tank is surprisingly clean, despite having had the pump and lights turned off for more than a month. When I started up the pump again, it did kick up a lot of crap which has now disappeared and the water looks quite clear. One plant looks close to dead but still has green; the other looks healthier. There are empty snail shells littered on the bottom. So what should I do?
Keep the snails as little helpers or find a means to take them out?
Leave the empty shells where they are or remove them?
Complete water change/clean or just use water from the current tank to add to the big one?
Remove the dead leaves of plants/remove entire plants/leave plants as-is?
Again, please forgive me if some of these questions are stupid. I'm doing by my best!

I know I need a pro to look at my swing but I am always looking for drills to get my swing in order. Right now it's "okay", but there is a swing result where it will go hard slice right or even straight right. It's so bad that I'm 70 yards right of middle at times.
I do believe I know why this is happening. I am not turning my hips during the shot. I am "leaning" and therefore my club comes in and its completely open. So open that it might even be at a 45 degree angle open when my club hits the ball.
I have a problem with my down swing. I do believe I am not turning my hips during that swing and instead I sway to the left as I shift my weight. What is a good drill to help me with how I shift my weight and turn my hips properly during the down swing? Perhaps there is something during the backswing I should be looking at as well.
​
Thank you!

I've recently been to get my thoughts in order for personal reflection, so please bear with me if this text flounders a lot.
I'm a mid 20's male with what I'd say is a pretty "successful" life - went to a top 10 University, came out with a decent degree, then spent two years working my way into a top-tier tech job. I also have a "decent" social life - no consistent girlfriend, but with some difficulty I've always been able to talk my way into joining some club or other social function. I also have a good relationship with my direct family (living at home rn). Physically, I've always been overweight - peaked at nearly obese during COVID, and slimmed back down to within 20 pounds of normal weight with a good amount of muscle to back it up.
However, I feel like all of these marks of success - this job, my social relations, my physical fitness, my family relationship has taken a massive amount of effort on my part, and the struggle for success has completely broken me psychologically and now physically. My entire life has currently been a balancing act between doing ever larger quantities of work (feeling that tech crunch), dealing with some family crisis, dealing with my own loneliness because of some social BS, or handling periods of serious depression. I was able to keep the act going when I was younger and had a lot more mental ability to play a role, but now that I'm in my mid-20s, I feel my emotion-mental abilities slipping a lot more than it used to. I say dumbemore embarrassing things, can't keep track of conversations as well, and miss out on jokes, or say jokes at an inappropriate time. The end result of this is that I shut up now in situations where I used to be a really fun guy to be around with - people around me constantly talk to me like I'm a government bureaucrat, some boring nonperson who's better left on the sidelines. Shit, sometimes I act like a drill sergeant too - I constantly judge others, spew out sarcastic remarks, might even enjoy deflating some egos.
I've been trying hard not to be a Negative Nancy for the past few months, but that aforementioned mental retardation puts cracks in a facade of positivity. People are subconsciously hyperaware that I'm pulling my punches in code review or giving out a fake smile. Then, when I do screw-up (which is nearly once a day some reason), I get either stressed or depressed over the mistake, which makes the rest of the interaction worse. So this constant struggle with being positive without any feedback leaves me mentally exhausted. But this struggle does provide some incremental progress in my social life, so I keep pushing forward.
Not sure what to do anymore. I need all of these states - physical, mental, familial, and social to continue improving in order to be happy, but my current personality and mental stability won't let me progress.

So I’ve been rapping for four years, never put any music out other than a high school diss track. But I want to take it a little more serious and make more than just snippets, although I’ve came across an “issue” I’m having.
So the issue is that I don’t know which style of rapping to put out my first few songs with, I try to perfect every song I put out detail by detail. And I’m good in all different styles, but I don’t know whether I should stick to one style (I’m good at Punchy Rap, melodic rap, drill rap, and I can also sing relatively well.)
Do you think it would do harm to focus on just one, or just be more versatile and produce songs of all different styles? Why or why not?

So I’ve been rapping for for years, never put any music out other than a high school diss track. But I want to take it a little more serious and make more than just snippets, although I’ve came across an “issue” I’m having.
So the issue is that I don’t know which style of rapping to put out my first few songs with, I try to perfect every song I put out detail by detail. And I’m good in all different styles, but I don’t know whether I should stick to one style (I’m good at Punchy Rap, melodic rap, drill rap, and I can also sing relatively well.)
Do you think it would do harm to focus on just one, or just be more versatile and produce songs of all different styles? Why or why not?

I inherited ~300 drill bits and sockets when my grandfather passed awhile back, and am trying to put together a cohesive set for myself, and offer up the rest to family/sell. I've organized them all by manufacturer. Includes many different brands (crescent, , Dunlap, craftsman, national, standard tool co, cle-forge), some stuff stamped with a staff sargent-rank ribbon and "NY", an "N" inside a banner, many just stamped "made in USA, Japan, Taiwan, etc.", and many unmarked.
Was wondering if there's any particular maker that's widely regarded as better than others for these tools, that I should definitely keep in my set. Generally best steel between USA/Japan/Taiwan? Any rare companies? Or in the end, does it not matter?
Thank you.

So I know a bunch of people have been posting meme versions of this on YAPms, but I'm going to write a serious version regarding what I would do if elected as DNC chair. If I have the time, I'll do a Republican version as well. I'm going to assume I have total control over the party as DNC chair, even though in fact this obviously isn't the case.
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On day one, I would endorse Protasiewicz for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Assuming this is legal, which I think it is in Wisconsin, I would funnel several million dollars into an on-the-ground political network in Dane County and Milwaukee. I would treat the election as though it's as important as a gubernatorial election and would focus on sky-high urban and suburban turnout. Republicans in Wisconsin can't build a network because their voters are rural and impossible to organize, whereas Democrats are geographically concentrated in two cities and therefore easy to mobilize at the polls.
Assuming the Dems win the Court election, I would focus on candidate policy, but I would avoid any appearance of party disunity, so I wouldn't attack any incumbents in Senate or House races in 2024. I would put the focus on Biden as a relative moderate and minimize Democratic Party calls for progressive legislation in the buildup to November 2024. The idea is to create the image of the Dems as a national unity ticket, and yes that is familiar isn't it? In this case, that national unity ticket would consist of Democrats and Independents. I would particularly focus on improving Biden's image with Independents by avoiding potentially damaging situations. I would advise the White House to avoid major international tours or highly publicized events that could be used by the GOP to attack Biden's policies or personality. The risk of a gaffe is too great.
I would focus campaigns for Biden on only a few key urban centers and ignore the rest of the country. I would put no resources into Florida, North Carolina, Texas, or Iowa as there is no chance of winning the states nor any significant gains to be made. These states aren't important in the road to 270, so ignore them.
That said, I would spend in Ohio, but only to promote Sherrod Brown. Token spending on the behalf of Biden would be made to lift Democratic turnout and help Sherrod Brown, but my focus would almost entirely rest on a belt of key cities in which I would look to boost turnout:

• Metro Detroit
• Grand Rapids
• Pittsburgh
• Philly
• Scranton
• Milwaukee
• Madison
• Metro Atlanta
• Maricopa
• Tucson
• Las Vegas

This is regardless of the candidate, Trump or DeSantis - or both. These are the cities where you need to run up the margins to win as a Democrat. Additionally, many of the key Senate and House races depend upon these urban or suburban areas. I would spend in House races, particularly surrounding New York city, in the hope of ousting Santos and other vulnerable House incumbents in order to retake the House. I wouldn't focus on the Senate as I think the financial resources needed to keep the Senate are too great and the Presidential and House races provide better value for money given probability of success.
I would promote right-wing, weak, and Trumpy Republican candidates, as Democrats did in 2022, in swing states in order to sabotage the Republican Party's competitiveness and pick up seats at state and federal levels wherever possible.
Here would be my spending targets in the House:

• CO-3, Boebert
• AZ-6, Ciscomanni
• CA-13, Duarte
• CA-22, Valadao
• CA-41, Calvert
• OR-5, Chavez-DeRemer
• WA-3, defend
• MT-1, Zinke
• NV-3, defend
• MI-10, James
• OH-9, defend
• NY-19, Molinaro
• NY-17, Lawler
• NY-3, Santos
• NY-4, D'Esposito
• NJ-7, Kean
• PA-1, Fitzpatrick
• AK-AL, defend

I would focus only this list. These are enough seats to retake the House. Financial resources would be spent on finding quality candidates for these seats. I think almost all other seats are not worth the resources to contest heavily. Sure, contest them, but don't do so heavily. More focus would be crucial to the battlegrounds.
I would focus on fairly moderate candidates. Progressive policies just don't appeal to enough Americans to win a nationwide election. You have to espouse moderate policies to win swing states in the U.S. unless you can incumbent candidate with massive personal appeal like Sherrod Brown.

Hey everyone! I'm back again to make a better sendoff to Ben's Survivor! When I dropped Haiti in my post, that wasn't a satisfying ending even though you guys took it very well. This is the kind of badass way that I want to leave the series off instead, a Legends season! Forget HvV, it's time to see 24 of the most iconic players fight it out in a bloodbath to see who's truly the best of the best! Who will come out on top?
First off, I want to give a huge thank you to u/Gemini_B . Without Gem, I wouldn't have been able to do this as easily, and we were able to cast the season and plan together which was really nice. So huge thanks to Gem! I would give out my other individual thank yous, but I have one more little secret planned after this, so nows not the time. But let's stop stalling, time to get to the season!
MEET THE LEGENDARY CAST!
Asteri Tribe

• Alek "Vorona" Vlaclev, 45, Vanuatu (Winner**)**
  • Most Known For: Being arguably the sneakiest winner of them all, he forged a strong bond with the zany Yung Deef and pulled off many blindsides with him. Despite entering the merge down in numbers, using his signature spy shacks and intellect, he was able to secure an endgame where he couldn't possibly lose. Can he become our second two time winner?
• Amory Blake, 26, **Haiti (**3rd)
  • Most Known For: Our most recent fallen angel who was likable and smart, voting correctly at almost every vote, taking aside idol plays. She had a bit of a ruthless streak, flipping with Mandeep and idoling out Taro to secure her path to the endgame. However, Mandeep realized at the end how big a threat Amory posed, cutting her right before FTC. Now gunning for a spot at the end, nothing will stop her.
• Chelsea "Sass" Virge, 28, Cote D'Ivoire (2nd)
  • Most Known For: Causing one the most controversial final tribal council result in Ben's Survivor history, Sass was a villain through and through. She was an obvious bright spot on the season... for the viewers, as her personality made her lose votes. Although she couldn't beat Nicole's stats, she's here to show that she's the best first alternate around!
• Erik LeFort, 38, Guatemala & Finland (2nd, Winner)
  • Most Known For: Being a real game changer, finding the first ever hidden immunity idol and breaking up Latim in the endgame of Guatemala. Even though he wasn't lacking in flashiness, he ultimately lost the game, however in Finland he corrected his mistakes and with the help of a killer blindside of Sandy and top tier final tribal council, he left as the victor. With nowhere else to go but up, will the Storyteller Extraordinaire leave our second two time winner?
• Isabella "Izzy" Sutton, 43, Moon Islands & All Stars (6th, 11th)
  • Most Known For: The ultimate underdog, Izzy was the last member of her tribe left in the game in both of her outings. Known as the only good part of Moon Islands, she sadly left when the majority did not budge at the final 6, and in All Stars, after surviving three draining rock draws, all her allies were gone and she had nowhere else to turn. Now hoping to be the last standing from her tribe as the winner, Izzy is more determined than ever to win!
• Justine Tyung, 29, Cook Islands & Finland (7th, 5th)
  • Most Known For: Being the true goth queen of Survivor, she became a quick target in Cook Islands after people saw her strategic prowess and willingness to mutiny. However, she was an ultimate favorite, and proved that on her second outing, where she proved to have learned from her mistakes and stayed more under the radar, forming one very notable relationship. Although she was sniped at final 5, she's still a very consistent player, and plans to keep that consistency here.
• Kim Juri, 39, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Winner)
  • Most Known For: Having an ice cold grip of the game, she was able to utilize people's flaws against them as well as her powerful poker alliance to get herself to the end and win in a perfect game. A master at bluffing and willing to do whatever it takes to win, will anything get in this Queen of Spades way?
• Mandeep Ahuja, 42, Haiti (2nd)
  • Most Known For: As the most recent runner up, Mandeep did not have the typical journey. Winning more than half of the immunity challenges of Haiti, the most in one season, he played hard and fast, but pissed off the jury in the process, narrowly costing him the win. He's unleashed the beast before, but does he have what it takes against fellow legends?
• Shoto Daisuki, 28, Borneo & All Stars (Winner, 15th)
  • Most Known For: The first ever winner of Ben's Survivor, he set the tone for the whole series. Despite getting unlucky on All Stars, Shoto had a general dominance over the game and worked closely with Jolene and Claire to get the Tagi 4 out of the minority and have 3/4 make the final 3. Does the OG still got it?
• Taylor Ross, 28, Mayotte & All Stars (8th, 3rd)
  • Most Known For: Being the original princess of manipulation and lies, she's now the queen! Despite her shockingly early exit on Mayotte trying to blindside her showmance, she came back to All Stars with something to prove, and proved it after convincing Ray to flip, ensuring her survival in the swap, as well as succeeding in her blindside attempt at the final 4. Ultimately, she was too big a threat to get to the end, but can she solidify a win against the greats?
• Waleed Noor, 21, Gabon (5th)
  • Most Known For: The snobby villain of Gabon, Waleed impressed with his flashy gameplay. Playing two idols in a row to survive and using his manipulation to turn the tribe against Elijah at the final 10, Waleed was evil and took pride in it. As the obvious threat he was taken out in 5th, however is it possible for him to get even meaner?!
• Yoshi Yamada, 31, China & Finland (4th, 6th)
  • Most Known For: Being the threat no one saw coming in either of his seasons with his strategic, social, and even challenge prowess. He was taken out right before the end in China for this, and after his return in Finland, he was rocked out with a 50% chance in an equally good position. Now he's ready to to prove that Mario's got nothing on Yoshi and finally get a win!

Thrylos Tribe

• Chelsea Song, 26, China (Winner)
  • Most Known For: Crowned in the closest count yet, Chelsea's ready to prove that her win wasn't a fluke. Using her strong connections, she was able to successfully flip and make it to the end by dumbing herself down and striking at just the right moment. She's the brains and the beauty, and any tough situation is just water off a duck's back, including being faced with 23 other legends.
• Cornelius Von Helton, 54, China (Co Runner Up)
  • Most Known For: Being one of the most lovable players ever, Cornelius knew how to use his charm for good in Survivor. Being on the non dominant tribe, he was never targeted because his tribemates loved him despite being on the bottom, however the jury thought that just that strategy alone could not be awarded. Our favorite cowboy hat lover is back to prove he can earn the win he narrowly missed!
• Dante Coleman, 39, Democratic Republic Of The Congo & Finland (7th, 8th)
  • Most Known For: The calm within the storm of his original season, Dante is known for his consistency. In DRC, he used this to keep his mess of an original tribe together, although that ultimately did not pay off as he was picked off by the opposing group. On his return, his more abrasive side came out in arguments with Tim and Erik, clearly opposing them any chance he could, however nothing can stop us from loving our favorite Survivor lawyer!
• Edmund "Eddie" Zachariah, 38, Mayotte (Winner)
  • Most Known For: The first winner to play a perfect game in Ben's Survivor, Eddie rose to power quickly and efficiently. While not the loudest one in the room, he may have been the smartest, as he convinced Cattleya to flip on her original tribemates, drilling the final nail in the Raad majority that imploded on itself. At the end he won against Megami, who the jury saw as not playing hard enough, and handily won. Can the OG horse girl of Survivor do it again?
• Jacob "Jake" Sullivan, 34, Haiti (Winner)
  • Most Known For: Being the most recent winner, Jake has a lot to prove. While not as strong as Mandeep or as strategic as Amory, he had a special charisma and wit to him that made him encourage Mandeep to burn jury votes and earn a narrow victory. He's here to make sure everyone remembers him as the legend he is, and to prove his win!
• Jenna Sunshine, 26, Finland (2nd)
  • Most Known For: The fan that turned to a favorite, Jenna made her name in the game! Going to tribal council constantly pre merge, she relied on her social connections and adaptability to get her through, especially her notable connection, Justenna. At the final 4, she even turned close allies Erik and Sandy against each other. It's no doubt that this fan has turned to a legend, and now she's after a win!
• Jolene Gibson-Achazaki, 29, Borneo (3rd)
  • Most Known For: Being the original fallen angel, Jolene was one of the biggest fan favorites of the franchise. After organizing a successful powershift on the Tagi tribe after her friend and ally Avril left, she went on to socially traverse the merge of Borneo with no votes cast against her despite the frequent ties. Being cut right at the end, Jolene is back after 9 years to prove that she's still got it!
• Juliette Emery, 54, Pearl Islands & All Stars (2x Winner)
  • Most Known For: Having an unbeatable record for Ben's Survivor, there's no dispute on our queen. She has nerves of steel, the smarts to get her what she wants in the game, and is a surprising challenge beast. Despite her huge target and success on All Stars, her target has just grown... double the size. Can the ultimate queen mother pull it off one more time?
• Lana Alexandrov, 27, Guatemala (Winner)
  • Most Known For: One of the most underrated winners as her season was airing, no one saw her win coming. Having a good pre merge, dominating with her showmance in Tim, come the merge, her good fortune didn't keep up and she was left on the bottom with Erik at the final 8, however she didn't let that stop her, and with her shields strategy and quiet manipulating of the game, she got to the end and won. You can take the pink out of the Lana, but can you take the Lana out of the legend?
• Luis Santiago, 28, Cook Islands (Winner)
  • Most Known For: Having a god tier social game, Luis knew how to use his charm in his favor. Almost never in danger, Luis took out threats left and right that stood in his way to get the crown, and although faced with a big challenge at the final 6, fate took his final opponent, Nicole out of the game. Can he paint his path to the end yet again and win?
• Ryan Brown, 34, Albania & All Stars (Winner, 10th)
  • Most Known For: Being the greatest investigator of Survivor literally and figuratively, he was no alligator wearing a vest! Being the co founder of Orphans R Us, Ryan kept the peace and kept his game fluid and strategic, earning him a narrow win against his counterpart Phoebe in the end. He came back and did everything right once again, however a surprise swap screwed him over. Was it just a fluke, or has Ryan lost his touch?
• Sandy Evans, 25, Ecuador & Finland (2nd, 4th)
  • Most Known For: In a true Sandy moment, she was a true game changer in Ecuador, being a part of the first lesbian showmance of the series! Her attitude was appreciated by the fans, however the jury did not reward her for it. In Finland, she did a complete 180. She had strong social connections and kept her strategic prowess, to the point where she was turned on by her closest ally just shy of the end. Will Sandy finally get her win, or are her dreams of Jules Jewels in vain?

The Season: https://brantsteele.com/survivoau2019/r.php?c=QiDCwiQ8
The Charts: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19jjCmIPcgFjCNxVRxLL8l48gPscVJWn7jqAoaxwqoIs/edit?usp=sharing
My thoughts:
24th:>! Eddie leaving here is honestly disappointing as he is the first ever perfect game winner. The vote was probably due to Jake being the new kid on the block while Eddie hasn't been the best connected after not appearing on the show for years. In the new school era of the game he didn't catch up the everyone strategizing around him and sadly it cost him, but that doesn't take away his legacy.!<
23rd: Vorona definitely got Tony'd. Sadly, not the Winners at War Tony but the Game Changers Tony. Being a huge threat I see why, and I definitely see why Mandeep was the only one who voted to keep him. He probably ran to find an idol since they didn't exist back when he played, and then trying to throw Kim under the bus was his only real chance and that didn't work.
22nd: Juliette leaving at this point is crushing! As much as it sucks, it does make sense. She's the queen and has a huge threat level going into this, everyone is going to want to dethrone her. Jake in my opinion was smart for trying to keep her because he knew that she would be a bigger target than him, but no matter what, she'll forever be the queen
21st: Jake sadly didn't have a lot of leeway left when Juliette left. The fact that the vote was unanimous does say a lot to his position. Being on the outs for being the newest winner was on everyone's minds and sadly there was nothing much he could do to remedy that, despite him trying which is really respectable.
20th: Mandeep getting idoled out by Izzy is honestly crazy! But I could see it play out where Izzy was less connected for being the only Moon Islander and being an easy target that way, however Izzy and some of the girls are annoyed by Mandeep's attitude and reverse things onto him. I'm sure he would have been so much fun if he lasted longer
19th: Waleed lasting this long is impressive enough lmao. Like I love him but he was going to drive everyone crazy at one point and this was that time. He thought that the tribe was going to vote out Izzy again as the easy vote, however his behavior got him on the receiving end of a blindside. He's so smart, just socially didn't catch up here.
18th: Cornelius going here is so sad to see. Poor him and Sandy got majorly swap screwed here, and between the two, Cornelius doesn't have the challenge strength and connections that Sandy had. Sass fighting with Amory definitely convinced her to vote against her. However, it was nice that he at least made the swap
17th: Sass left right behind Cornelius which sucks. She was someone so many people wanted to see back, me included, after Cote's winner was sort of lackluster and we preferred Sass. Taylor trying to keep her makes perfect sense with my fantasy, I'm sure they loved each other, and Erik wanted Taylor out first, but it just didn't work out.
16th: Kim leaving in this way is devastating! At the very least, she's leaving from the game and not because she was voted out, so she can keep her title of never being "voted" out. Dante was the easy vote, but a faction of the tribe saw Amory as a smart and untrustworthy player that couldn't be taken farther, Kim included. After the revote fiasco, Kim paid the price, which was sad to see.
15th: Dante was a very easy vote after all of that, but it was still sad to see him go, seeing both DRC castaways leave in a row. The only one who sided with him was Amory since Taylor flipped on her too fast for her liking and she knew that Dante was a good shield for her, keeping him would keep a target off of her.
14th: Luis leaving here sucks, especially being idoled out. He was certainly playing a more messy game than he was on Cook Islands, but it was working for him. The duo of Lana and Ryan were fed up at this point though, and armed with the idol, they had Luis in their sights. He made it far and that's something to be proud of.
13th: Sandy going here is especially crushing to me. This reminds me of the Tim vote, which Erik and Sandy majorly screwed up as well. I think what happened is that the Finland 3 thought they had Shoto on their side and that they could split the vote, but that was not the case. Sandy making it as far as she did after being swap screwed is amazing to see, but I wish she made the merge.
12th: Izzy got a taste of her own medicine, but her leaving one placement before the jury is so crushing after waiting to see her again since All Stars. The merge happened to be equally split, with both Taylor and Izzy knowing the threat that the other posed to each other, however Taylor had the idol this time.
11th: Taylor sadly could not survive after that flashy play she just had, but at least she made it to the jury. Justine and Amory voting for each other was so petty which was fun to watch, even though it almost cost Jenna her game. Original Thrylos decided that it was time for a power shift and took the princess of manipulation and lies out.
10th: Amory making it this far is commendable because I thought she was leaving so many times. She was sort of always on the outs, especially considering Justine did not particularly like her and she was a very easy target throughout the season for being from Haiti. However, she lasted longer than Mandeep and Jake and made her mark on the season for sure.
9th: Shoto going out like that seems like the only acceptable way for Shoto to go. I'm so proud of him after his run on All Stars, this is some major redemption for him. Everyone had their own plans and wanted to be selfish, and with two idols in the game, they thought they could just use their idols and get what they wanted, which resulted in Shoto leaving with just Chelsea, Jenna, and Ryan voting for him.
8th: Jolene following Shoto out the door is really sad, but she really proved that she was worth the wait. She only had 3/8 votes and yet she still left, with so many secret plans the vote was a mess and ultimately Chelsea, Lana, and Ryan banded together at the right time to get what they wanted. However, Jolene found 3 idols and for someone that was from season one, that's some iconic behavior, so props.
7th: Jenna had such a journey this season, specifically this past few votes. First, she gets idoled out when Lana finds another idol and decides to split up the Justenna relationship for good. Then she wins her way back into the game and thinks she has the votes to get rid of Ryan, but Erik and Yoshi flip when Lana threatens to play another idol for him. Jenna is such a sweetheart and made me proud here.
6th: Justine leaving here is honestly poetic even if it's definitely sad. Lana really ate with this though. She knew that Ryan wanted Yoshi out, but she wanted it to be Justine, and since she knew that she was getting the votes, she used her idol on herself, and forced a tie between the two, and knowing that Chelsea and Erik were closer with Yoshi, she got her way.
5th: Yoshi played an amazing game, but sadly he was the last non winner to get his torch snuffed. Getting 4th, 6th, and now 5th shows his consistency in the game, like Justine, however Lana and Ryan convinced Erik that Chelsea and Yoshi were going to take each other to the end... and they likely would have. Great game to Yoshi
4th: Lana leaving here is tragic, but she is just amazing. Demonically good at Survivor, I have to say she was my personal favorite for this season. She provided the entertainment and messiness we wanted and I love the change where Lana was the biggest threat of this final 4 and that caused her to leave, where originally she was looked at like the least likely to win in Guatemala. Love it.
3rd: Ryan being so close but so far sucks to see! But he has the biggest redemption in my eyes and makes me so proud after All Stars. I loved the duo that he and Lana had. However, like All Stars, Ryan, (the Taylor in this case) betrays Lana (the Sync here) and then gets voted out right after because of the threat level both had. However, Ryan played amazingly, it was great to have a whole season with him.
2nd: Erik is just... legendary. That's the season name, but there's no other way that I could say that. It's just god tier that he's never been voted out and he's played 3 times now. He almost beat Chelsea, however the perception that he was manipulated just as much as he manipulated others left some on the jury with a bitter taste in ther mouth, narrowly costing him the second crown.
1st: Chelsea is so amazing... ALL HAIL OUR CO QUEEN! Or maybe I should say Princess? You decide! Chelsea knew what got her the win in China, using her social connections to stay in the know and narrowly escape being the vote. The way she improved that from China was how under the radar she was this time, only receiving 3 votes across the whole season. Not being a huge target on a season full of Legends, she took full advantage of that by staying close to Lana and Ryan and had Erik convinced he would beat her, but that was not the case. Congrats to our new queen!
Season thoughts: This season just felt action packed every step of the way, perfect for Legends. But at the same time it wasn't filled to the brim with too many idol plays, it had a nice balance. The way the relationships bounced off of each other and the constant blindsides in the merge that happened due to the different plans. And the parralels like the final 4 betrayal and turnaround that happened with Lana and Ryan and other moments just made my nostalgic heart flutter. Such a great season, I couldn't be prouder.
Once again, thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. But I still have one thing in the back of my mind, so the individual thank yous will come with that. Until then, love you guys!