Games for sale or trade (wishlist = boardgamegeek.com/wishlist/kaelius). Located in Raleigh, NC 27617 (near Brier Creek, if you're in the area).
2 dogs, 1 cat. No smoking. Cash or paypal is fine. Shipping via pirateship, but up to a 5% increase over minimal cost due to shipping materials, gas costs, etc. If you're interested in shipping, feel free to ask for a quote, shipping is expensive, assume it starts at $12.
Games are sort of organized into groups. FORMAT: [CONDITION][BGG RATING, BGG COMPLEXITY] Game - Price - Short desc (I don't have ratings or complexity in for all of them yet)
Two versions of the post -- top has limited details, bottom has detailed description of condition, links to bgg for each and board game oracle for many, and comparison pricing. If it is too much, don't look at it. It also isn't in the same order as the top part.

1st version -- less details

----Highlights----
[4][7.9, 3.11] Yellow & Yangtze- \$80 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched
[4] Ora Et Labora- \$60 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched
[3+][8, 3.44] Star Wars Legion- \$60 -- Front page of manual was folded back, minor wear to cards
[4] Maracaibo- \$40
[3-4][8.2, 3.11] Obsession 1st Edition- \$40 -- Minor damage to 1 box corner. Includes 7 extra cards, 2 are clearly part of a promo, I don't know what the other 5 are.
[4][8.2, 3.44] Scythe- \$40 -- Opened, never played; includes custom 3d-printed insert
[4] Biblios- \$35 -- Out of stock
[3-4][7.3, 2.26] Mystic Vale- \$20 -- Over Dominion? Step up to 'card crafting'. Great shape, great game.
[(new/sealed)] Fort- \$15 -- Still in shrink wrap
-----Selling for friends---- [3-\4] Falling Sky - The Gallic Revolt Against Caesar (GMT) \$65 - Has 10 extra wood cylindrical warbands and 14 pawns that aren't shown on the component list. Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Paths of Glory, The First World War 1914-1918 (GMT) \$50 - Includes an expansion, I assume, of 8 cards that aren't on the component list. Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Churchill, Big Three Struggle for Peace (GMT) \$35 -- Lots of extra pieces included. A few off-center stickers; sale only, no trades.
[(new/sealed)] Munchkin Adventuretime \$75 -- slight sun fading on one side; sale only, no trades
[3-4] Circular Reasoning \$10 -- sale only, no trades
[3-4] The Target \$10 -- sale only, no trades.
[3-4] The Great Dragon Race \$15 -- Sale only, no trades.
[3-4] Crystal Clans \$15 -- Sale only, no trades.
----default----
[4] Quartz (Spanish language)- \$75
[4] Nacht Der Magier- \$40
[4] Floating Market- \$30
[4] Histrio- \$25
[3-4] Favor of the Pharaoh- \$20 -- Out-of-stock
[3:box,4:components][6.9, 1.7] Latice Hawaii- \$18 -- Minor bash to 2 box top corners, otherwise fantastic; our 2nd copy
[4][7.1, 2.29] Red Rising- \$15 -- Opened, played 2x, great shape. This is a reskinning of Fantasy Realms.
[4] Imhotep- \$15 -- Mar'23: 3min Boardgamer called this is runner-up for "Foundation" (gateway) game of the year
[3-4:box,4:components][7.6, 2.35] Dominion (1st Edition)- \$15 -- Based on card stiffness, may never have been played. Minor wear to bottom of box.
[3-4][6.8, 1.85] Hit Z Road- \$10 -- Great shape, incredibly thematic, cool design. Zombies, auctions, dice chucking, and death. Just wish it played better with 2p.
[3-4] Fund Manager- \$10 -- Has 93/100 of the consumable score sheets; missing Korean instructions
[(new/sealed)] Sellswords Olympus- \$10
[2-box,3-components][7, 2.39] Betrayal At House on the Hill 2nd Edition- \$10 -- Wear to box corners
[3-4] Just Desserts- \$8 -- Opened, great shape, probably played only 1x-2x
[(new/sealed)] Gentes Expansion: New Cities- \$3
----2p only----
[4] Naga Raja- \$20
[3:box,4:components][7.3, 2.35] Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small- \$20 -- Includes some extra meeples from Carcassone to use instead of player disks (disks included), minor box wear
[4] Curious Cargo- \$15 -- Probably not original bag. We should have loved this. Not sure what didn't click.
[2-3:box, 3-4:components][7, 2.23] Rivals for Catan- \$10 -- Components in great shape, box shows medium+ wear; plastic/acrylic trade/hero tokens, not wood
----Kids----
[box:2-3,components:2-3] Monopoly Vintage Edition- \$10 -- Missing manual and dice. Wooden bookshelf edition. Cards and box show wear.
[4] Jumanji- \$5 -- Punched, but looks otherwise new
----Party----
[2:box, 3-4:components] Compatibility- \$20 -- Box shows lots of wear, components all present. I really like this game, if you have a group of folks that are willing to actually talk. Selling 1 of my 2 copies.
[box:3,components:3-4] Mad Gab- \$5 -- all cards accounted for
[box:3, components:3-4] Ladies Night: The Game- \$2 -- Missing manual. Box has some wear (scratching, discoloration, a small crush spots), but components look unused
----War----
[3-4:components, 3:box] East Front: The War in Russia 1941-1945- \$15 -- Guessing complete based on source, but there's no detailed component listing
----Mass----
[(new/sealed)][7.4, 2.2] Catan Seafarers Scenario: Legend of the Sea Robbers- \$35 -- Still sealed
[2:box,3:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan (rare Mayfair #483 edition) + matching 5-6 player expansion- \$30 -- Mod-to-heavy wear to box, particularly corners; corner of 1 forest card is bent
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.12] Pandemic The Cure: Experimental Meds- \$28 -- Still sealed
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.9] Pandemic: In the Lab- \$25 -- Still sealed
[2-3][7.6, 2.4] Pandemic- \$15 -- Minor wear to all part, including a small taped tear on corner of box top
[2:box,3-4:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, including a <1" tear on 1 box top corner
[2:box,2-3:components][7.7, 2.32] 7 Wonders- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, big tear in insert but I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't remove it; possible misprint on the coins -- images aren't aligned
[4][7, 1.13] Imploding Kittens (Huge box edition)- \$7
[2-3:box,3-4:components][7.6, 1.27] Codenames- \$7 -- half of codename cards still sealed; components in great shape; moderate-to-heavy box wear
-- STOP HERE unless you want a ridiculous amount of detail

-- 2nd version -- includes details, links and comparison pricing

BoardGame Geekmarket prices don't include s&h and I try to only include prices within the last year.
Ebay prices are 'total prices' including listed shipping, and only for 'sold' items.
I try to call out any crazy Amazon marketplace pricing when I see it.
Board Game Oracle prices only include in-stock values and don't include shipping.
All compare prices were valid when I looked them up, but I don't re-validate each time I post.
[3-4][6.8, 1.85] Hit Z Road- \$10 -- Great shape, incredibly thematic, cool design. Zombies, auctions, dice chucking, and death. Just wish it played better with 2p. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/176083/hit-z-road * geekmarket: \$14-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/pO0UVrVjC6/hit-z-road \$28
[3-4][7.3, 2.26] Mystic Vale- \$20 -- Over Dominion? Step up to 'card crafting'. Great shape, great game. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/194607/mystic-vale * geekmarket: \$25 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/QmpAEqxmZI/mystic-vale \$36
[4][8.2, 3.44] Scythe- \$40 -- Opened, never played; includes custom 3d-printed insert * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169786/scythe * geekmarket: \$45-\$60 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/_OrBhXG6lP/scythe \$54-\$90
[4][7.1, 2.29] Red Rising- \$15 -- Opened, played 2x, great shape. This is a reskinning of Fantasy Realms. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/329465/red-rising * geekmarket: \$25-35 * Amazon: \$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Cr_6jeWfO7/red-rising \$20-\$40
[2-3:box, 3-4:components][7, 2.23] Rivals for Catan- \$10 -- Components in great shape, box shows medium+ wear; plastic/acrylic trade/hero tokens, not wood * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66056/rivals-catan * geekmarket: \$14-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/OCrjFvJ9-Z/rivals-for-catan \$20-\$27
[(new/sealed)][7.4, 2.2] Catan Seafarers Scenario: Legend of the Sea Robbers- \$35 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/223171/catan-seafarers-scenario-legend-sea-robbers * geekmarket: \$25-\$50 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/i5H2erupF-/catan-seafarers-scenario-legend-of-the-sea-robbers out-of-stock
[3:box,4:components][7.3, 2.35] Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small- \$20 -- Includes some extra meeples from Carcassone to use instead of player disks (disks included), minor box wear * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/119890/agricola-all-creatures-big-and-small * geekmarket: \$25 and up * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/nxGN1osq-_/agricola-all-creatures-big-and-small \$35-\$40
[3-4][8.2, 3.11] Obsession 1st Edition- \$40 -- Minor damage to 1 box corner. Includes 7 extra cards, 2 are clearly part of a promo, I don't know what the other 5 are. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/231733/obsession * geekmarket: unclear, most are in Euro or later release * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/VycvhsJXtI/obsession out-of-stock,
[4][7, 1.13] Imploding Kittens (Huge box edition)- \$7 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204053/exploding-kittens-imploding-kittens * geekmarket: \$17-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/91xaJ7ATmB/exploding-kittens-imploding-kittens \$15-\$20
[3:box,4:components][6.9, 1.7] Latice Hawaii- \$18 -- Minor bash to 2 box top corners, otherwise fantastic; our 2nd copy * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283542/latice-hawaii * geekmarket: \$18-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Ic5_6EXAwY/latice-hawaii out-of-stock
[3-4:box,4:components][7.6, 2.35] Dominion (1st Edition)- \$15 -- Based on card stiffness, may never have been played. Minor wear to bottom of box. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion * geekmarket: \$15-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/jUALVOARzP/dominion \$28
[3+][8, 3.44] Star Wars Legion- \$60 -- cards aren't pristine, but are in good-to-very good shape; minis look great, box looks great. Manual shows the most wear; the first page was clearly folded back/under for reading. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/233571/star-wars-legion * geekmarket: \$60-\$85 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/svONJkL3Wi/star-wars-legion \$96-\$120
[2:box,3:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan (rare Mayfair #483 edition) + matching 5-6 player expansion- \$30 -- red box "Settlers of Catan" version. box shows at least medium signs of wear, particularly at corners. One <1" tear on one box top corner repaired with tape. Components in great shape. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan * geekmarket: \$15+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/04ACtDMij8/catan \$40-\$65
[2:box,3-4:components][7.1, 2.3] The Settlers of Catan- \$15 -- red box "Settlers of Catan" version. box shows at least medium signs of wear, particularly at corners. One <1" tear on one box top corner repaired with tape. Components in great shape. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/13/catan * geekmarket: \$15+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/04ACtDMij8/catan \$40-\$65
[2:box,2-3:components][7.7, 2.32] 7 Wonders- \$15 -- Wear to box, particularly corners, big tear in insert but I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't remove it; possible misprint on the coins -- images aren't aligned * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/68448/7-wonders * geekmarket: \$9-\$34 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/ts7yMtMgDt/7-wonders \$45-\$60
[2-box,3-components][7, 2.39] Betrayal At House on the Hill 2nd Edition- \$10 -- moderate wear to box, particularly at corners; game is not pristine but components generally show only mild-moderate wear (some small monster tokens show more, but I think they are just not super high quality to start with) * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10547/betrayal-house-hill * geekmarket: \$12-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/wqhoVChD6O/betrayal-at-house-on-the-hill \$35-\$56
[2-3][7.6, 2.4] Pandemic- \$15 -- minor wear to manual, components and box, plus an ~1" tear on corner of box top that has been repaired with tape. Not in bad shape, but can definitely tell it has been played. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/30549/pandemic * geekmarket: \$25 and up * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/x3zmi090Le/pandemic \$31.60 - \$50
[2-3:box,3-4:components][7.6, 1.27] Codenames- \$7 -- half the codenames cards are still in shrink; component-wise, game looks barely played; box shows moderate wear though and has a crush point on the bottom of the bottom box half * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/178900/codenames * geekmarket: \$10+ * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/9tB3SAHmND/codenames \$12.60 - \$25
[4][7.9, 3.11] Yellow & Yangtze- \$80 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244114/yellow-yangtze * geekmarket: \$90-\$150 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/rNLWbsub39/yellow-and-yangtze out-of-stock
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.9] Pandemic: In the Lab- \$25 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/137136/pandemic-lab * geekmarket: \$30-\$70 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/As7KSd02ms/pandemic-in-the-lab \$32-\$45
[(new/sealed)][7.9, 2.12] Pandemic The Cure: Experimental Meds- \$28 -- Still sealed * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/207017/pandemic-cure-experimental-meds * geekmarket: \$25-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/5Xa4tzeKiz/pandemic-the-cure-experimental-meds \$38-\$55
[4] Naga Raja- \$20 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244191/naga-raja * geekmarket: No US listings * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Pr7hsx9nXB/nagaraja \$32-\$40
[4] Maracaibo- \$40 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/276025/maracaibo * geekmarket: Outlier at \$20, most \$40-\$65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/JrsCNCAZai/maracaibo \$54-\$75
[4] Imhotep- \$15 -- Mar'23: 3min Boardgamer called this is runner-up for "Foundation" (gateway) game of the year * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/191862/imhotep * geekmarket: \$20-\$24 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/yMVoGosSUu/imhotep \$27-\$40
[4] Floating Market- \$30 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170202/floating-market * geekmarket: \$15-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/lkRu2H9Y87/floating-market \$40-\$80
[4] Ora Et Labora- \$60 -- Box opened, but components sealed/unpunched * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/70149/ora-et-labora * geekmarket: \$49-\$65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/kikV4PtmzG/ora-et-labora \$70 (out of stock everywhere but 1 place)
[(new/sealed)] Fort- \$15 -- Still in shrink wrap * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/296912/fort * geekmarket: \$10-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/AHLFH70TzL/fort \$21-\$30
[4] Biblios- \$35 -- Out of stock * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/34219/biblios * geekmarket: \$35-\$50 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/mgkdl9_XvG/biblios OoS
[2:box, 3-4:components] Compatibility- \$20 -- Box shows lots of wear, components all present. I really like this game, if you have a group of folks that are willing to actually talk. Selling 1 of my 2 copies. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2604/compatibility * geekmarket: (no US listings) * Ebay: 65 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/hT4FyL2OTU/compatibility out-of-stock
[3-4] Just Desserts- \$8 -- Opened, great shape, probably played only 1x-2x * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18946/just-desserts * geekmarket: \$14 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/2YN0Df4ejG/just-desserts \$14-\$20
[(new/sealed)] Sellswords Olympus- \$10 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/199907/sellswords-olympus * geekmarket: (none) * Ebay: \$20-\$30 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/KXR8x2oD1G/sellswords-olympus \$40
[4] Jumanji- \$5 -- Punched, but looks otherwise new * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1751/jumanji * geekmarket: \$4-\$20 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/yam2j0hhPx/jumanji
[3-4] Fund Manager- \$10 -- Has 93/100 of the consumable score sheets; missing Korean instructions * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39191/fund-manager * geekmarket: (none) * board game oracle: (no entry)
[3-4:components, 3:box] East Front: The War in Russia 1941-1945- \$15 -- Guessing complete based on source, but there's no detailed component listing * bgg: (none) * geekmarket: (none) * Ebay: 15
[4] Curious Cargo- \$15 -- Probably not original bag. We should have loved this. Not sure what didn't click. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/312251/curious-cargo * geekmarket: \$10-\$35 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/DYm-qubmgY/curious-cargo \$18-\$35
[3-4] Favor of the Pharaoh- \$20 -- Out-of-stock * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/171011/favor-pharaoh * geekmarket: \$15-\$25 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/HLE4Vf7OEs/favor-of-the-pharaoh out-of-stock
[box:3,components:3-4] Mad Gab- \$5 -- both box and components in good shape; all cards present * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/764/mad-gab * geekmarket: \$8-\$15 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/6CC4Nrjkiy/mad-gab-card-game \$9
[box:3, components:3-4] Ladies Night: The Game- \$2 -- Missing manual. Box has some wear (scratching, discoloration, a small crush spots), but components look unused * bgg: (no entry for this version) * geekmarket: (no listings) * board game oracle: (no entry)
[box:2-3,components:2-3] Monopoly Vintage Edition- \$10 -- Missing manual and dice. Can't find a full component list, but (except for dice and instructions) it has the basic component list shown on the back. This is the wooden case edition. Both box and components show wear. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19616/monopoly-vintage-game-collection * geekmarket: (no single listings) * Amazon: \$110 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/7Um4geG5AJ/monopoly-vintage-game-collection (no listings)
[4] Histrio- \$25 -- All components verified present. 99% sure I was the first player of the game (the stage hadn't been assembled yet) and we only played 1x. With >2 people, I think this would be a keeper as a game of bluffing and deduction. We didn't care for the dummy player variant needed for 2p only. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/182120/histrio * geekmarket: \$34-\$45 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/Mb-rToUDJB/histrio \$48-\$55
[4] Quartz (Spanish language)- \$75 -- Spanish language version, has an english translation manual as well as some English language stickers that haven't been applied. Has 5 extra cards, unsure why. Fairly certain that this was never played. * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172881/quartz * geekmarket: \$90-\$100 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/LRKU_JKHt-/quartz out-of-stock
[4] Nacht Der Magier- \$40 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19996/nacht-der-magier * geekmarket: \$50-\$80 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/pi5dY-hRU8/nacht-der-magier OoS
[(new/sealed)] Gentes Expansion: New Cities- \$3 * bgg: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/234138/gentes-new-cities * geekmarket: \$5 * board game oracle: https://www.boardgameoracle.com/boardgame/price/o2RM9n_n2i/gentes-new-cities out-of-stock

I know it's not a catchy title but I'd love it if ya'll could help me out. I'm an American trans non-binary college student applying to Irish Medical schools (UCC, UCD, and UG). As a trans person, I'm very interested in learning what's available and what exists. To that end, (I think) I understand what the system is and that most people go thru GenderGP and some choose to go thru the national clinic.
As a medical practitioner (Nurse assistant in the Emergency room), I've been really involved in the education of our physicians as well as increasing the accessibility of inclusive care for LGBTQIA+ patients. Increasing access looks like approaching individual physicians and asking them to be on a gender-affirming provider list that's available in our queer community centers and in community groups.
As a future physician, I want to continue that work but I would like to know what the general attitude and culture is toward us in Ireland. I doubt our bodies are as highly politicized as in the US but I don't know. Then again, with Northern Ireland being part of the UK-are there negative attitudes there? Would I face resistance in speaking up about improving the care and education available? How are ya'll treated by your GPs? It seems like the attitude is generally good towards LGBTQIA+ folks but the system is very mired in (from what I can tell) self-imposed restrictions by only having one clinic for the entire country. I'm mainly wondering if I can bring up as something I am interested in pursuing/studying/researching during my education, will there be a negative response? I know there are always outliers but I hope it's better than the horrific attitude and anti-trans laws we are experiencing in the US right now.
Thanks, everyone!

In the quest to prove how men are disposable and erased and being victims of the women-are-wonderful effect and gynocentrism in society, most of the so-called evidence from real-life I hear rely on a supposed higher empathy for women - more empathy for female victims of violence or other forms of suffering, lenient treatment for female violent offenders (Gender Sentencing Gap) and the affirmative action programs designed to help women. While the first two parts are already dead wrong, as I said many times, the third part is worth eviscerating too.
There are some things that are called "affirmative action." Some of them are real, some imaginary. Some people believe that colleges have quotas for women or that women need lower scores to being allowed. It's not true, but well, some believe it, so let's leave it here as "example." There is financial help for women-owned small businesses, and while that's technically not affirmative action, many use it as another example. And there are some government organizations that are focused on helping women (like the Office on Women's Health), the singling out of women in these cases is sometimes called "affirmative action" too. These are the examples on how affirmative action proves the disposability of men and the gynocentrism in society, according to the ones who believe in these views. But then: Does that mean that society is afrocentric too? Affirmative action quotas in college are not really a thing, but if, there is definitely more "evidence" for quotas for blacks than for women. The U.S. government does give financial help for small businesses owned by ethnic minorities too, not only women. There are also some other things that could easily be seen as society being centered around blacks and treating whites as disposable (like Black Lives Matter, or the fact that you can say "White People are the problem" in newspapers and not get a backlash).
I personally don't think that affirmative action proves a higher empathy for the groups that benefit from it, as these are like subsidies, not discrimination of others. The fact that farmers get subsidies and programmers not doesn't mean that programmers are disposable and we leave in a farmer-centric society. The fact that unemployed people get welfare benefits and millionaires not doesn't mean that millionaires are disposable and we live in an unemployed-centric society. It literally means that some groups successfully lobbied in the government, that has hundreds of different interest groups. But still programmers and millionaires have tons of influence in society (and in government too, although probably not as "representatives" of "the programmer class" or "the millionaire class"), more than farmers and unemployed.
But I guess people can have different opinions on this. What's your stance? Do you think that affirmative action policies for blacks prove that we live in an afrocentric society? Is there a blacks-are-wonderful effect?

There's no secret that the games are pretty trial and error in nature. When first playing a stage you don't know what it's throwing at you besides the initial wave, even as a first time blind player, you have no idea what the hell the enemy is until it shows up on the screen and the new enemy notification pops up. It's just a line of text afterall.
A game like orcs must die reveals all of the enemies that are coming in a particular stage, although you can only roughly guess what they do just like in kingdom rush where you won't know how to deal with them until you encounter them. Iron challenges reveal what enemies to expect for the entirety of the stage but not the amount (which is fine by me if the total amount of enemies is hidden) Why doesn't do so for the other modes? How am I supposed to know this stage has a highly physical damage resistant demon who can multiply itself indefinitely. I'll tell ya, with a restart and wasted time that's how or looking up a guide beforehand. Did I have fun playing up until that point where I had to restart to adapt for the reveal the stage had? Depends on the map.
​
The solution? Revealing all of the enemies in a particular stage which would also reveal them in a manual.
​
A counterpoint to this I may see is that it ruins the surprise element. That is true that sometimes scary looking enemies or a brand new lane or spawnpoint being revealed can cause a panic which will force the player to improvise. Those moments can be fun for some while annoying for others (former for me). Those secret lanes and level gimmicks can be a secret with them maybe being hinted at in the level select pre-stage text. However from what I can recall, those didn't spawn new enemies, and if they did it's done so sparsely in the game and the secret path is near the start of another one that it almost doesn't matter.
I'd still like to know about the enemies beforehand however. Sure you can sell towers and buy new ones in quick reaction, but that's almost never optimal in the harder stages of the games, particularly in the first game. I don't think this has anything to do with challenge, I'd like to see who did some of the tougher stages like fungal forest or pit of fire first try blind and without the more broken heroes either. Revealing the enemies and their basic functions at least saves time, and stages can take a decent while too. A speedrun for pandaemonium for instance is in the range of 9 minutes or above, and that's with people playing for speed (calling almost all waves waves early, not caring if certain enemies pass) and not playing to three star or to lose no life. A setup you may have built late into the stage may not have been good enough, potentially causing a restart and losing all that time, which leads me to a next potential trial and error fix
​
Checkpoints after certain waves, and letting you choose at what checkpoint you want to restart or even the beginning of the stage
​
Another thing which doesn't truly impact the difficulty and saves time. I'm surprised it's never been a thing, not even for the casual centered vengeance. So how it'd work is after a select waves there is a checkpoint which remembers the gamestate when that wave starts (or at some other point if it's better). You aren't making any progress, the waves don't get easier except you get the knowledge of what's coming up (which is like, how's it any different from learning the stage normally or through a guide?).
The one problem I can potentially see is that players would rather reload the last save more often even if it might be a save where they're doomed to fail. But isn't that what sort of happens if you're playing the stage from the beginning? People would eventually quit doing their bad ideas and try something else. This time however they'll be less tempted to use guides or use items to win (the latter being actual cheating don't @ me).
RTS games have completely manual saves (with more recent titles adding autosaves at keypoints in case the player forgets to save). Imagine how frustrating some of those would be when you're forced to truck through the hard parts all over again or try your same strategy which is doomed to fail but you just don't know it yet.
There's one more thing which could definitely use improvements
​
The ingame manual needs a lot more improvements to be far more specific
​
The ingame manuals just sort of list the bare basics, useful if you forget a specific enemy's resistance, if you forgot and don't want to look up a guide, without replaying a stage to get to the point where the specific enemy spawns. Overtime this feature got worse and worse, from being absent during a mission (I understand UI clutter but give me the option at least, didn't stop you from having the item logo fully visible just fine), to being absent entirely. What the hell?!
Now it doesn't need to go entirely into every specific detail like the wiki tends to be or how some players have charts of every detail they'd need. But it gives the bare minimum (where it's even present) information. I don't want to go to the wiki whenever I forget how an enemy works.
What do some of the attacks even do, what's the exact armor rating of an enemy (three bars aren't very helpful), how do some abilities even work, why is a fair amount of information completely inaccurate!?!?
If more useful information was readily available ingame instead of third party sources, not only would that save much more time but it'd make players mostly have educated guesses more often. It could even help with deciding when to purchase a tower or hero (cause hey just because they cost money doesn't mean they are automatically good or broken). Give out useful tips and advice (Like Oni being immune to the on death explosions the demonic enemies have, I mean makes sense kind of he's a demon but who could've guessed that. Or that artillery partially ignores armour).
Some info is in the menu loading hints (but let's be honest, who even pays attention to those)
It doesn't need to be wiki level accurate, but it'd be nice that it was close enough at least.

Chicago Bulls (33-37) @ Philadelphia 76ers (48-22)

• Game Time: March 20, 2023 @ 07:00 PM EDT
• Venue: Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
• TV: Chicago: NBCSCH, Philadelphia: NBCSP
• Radio: Chicago: WSCR, Philadelphia: WPEN
• NBA Game Summary / Charts

Matchup History

Date	Location	Result
01/06/2023	Philadelphia	Loss 126-112
10/29/2022	Chicago	Win 114-109
03/07/2022	Philadelphia	Win 121-106
02/06/2022	Chicago	Win 119-108
11/06/2021	Chicago	Win 114-105

Season Stats

Team	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG%	3P%	FT%
Bulls	113.5	42.7	24.3	7.6	4.5	13.1	0.491	0.366	0.812
76ers	115.5	40.8	25.2	7.8	4.8	12.7	0.488	0.39	0.834

Team Leaders

	Bulls	76ers
PTS	DeMar DeRozan (25.4)	(33.5) Joel Embiid
REB	Nikola Vucevic (11.3)	(10.2) Joel Embiid
AST	DeMar DeRozan (5.1)	(10.8) James Harden
BLK	Nikola Vucevic (0.8)	(1.74) Joel Embiid

Eastern Conference Standings

Rank	Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Conf	Home	Away	L10	Strk
1	Milwaukee Bucks	51	20	0.718	-	30-15	29-7	22-13	7-3	W 1
2	Philadelphia 76ers	48	22	0.686	2.5	29-15	26-10	22-12	9-1	W 8
3	Boston Celtics	49	23	0.681	2.5	29-16	26-9	23-14	5-5	L 1
4	Cleveland Cavaliers	45	28	0.616	7.0	29-15	29-8	16-20	7-3	W 1
5	New York Knicks	42	30	0.583	9.5	28-17	20-16	22-14	7-3	W 3
6	Brooklyn Nets	39	32	0.549	12.0	26-18	19-14	20-18	5-5	L 3
7	Miami Heat	39	34	0.534	13.0	20-24	24-13	15-21	6-4	W 1
8	Atlanta Hawks	35	36	0.493	16.0	21-23	19-15	16-21	4-6	L 1

League Scoreboard

Away	Score	Home	Status
Indiana Pacers	-	Charlotte Hornets	7:00 pm ET
Minnesota Timberwolves	-	New York Knicks	7:30 pm ET
Golden State Warriors	-	Houston Rockets	8:00 pm ET
Dallas Mavericks	-	Memphis Grizzlies	8:00 pm ET
Sacramento Kings	-	Utah Jazz	9:00 pm ET

^{Posted: 03/20/2023 06:00:00 PM EDT}

Can I get a Monopoly on your time? Our meeting is an Elder Sign. Maybe we can Settle for Catan. Yahtzee! Sorry. It was worth the Risk.
Hey ladies! My name is Kevin, I’m thirty and looking to chat, connect with and hopefully form a long-term relationship with a lovely woman. I am very left leaning, non-religious, emotionally available and child free. I am not looking to rush into anything, or put expectations on anyone.
My ideal date would be either staying in with a nice meal, socializing over a game, movie or other shared activity, or visiting a local museum/art gallery. I’m very into giving (and receiving!) massages, and generally feel the most content when I can help my partner relax and enjoy themselves. Snowed in, cuddled up by the fireplace? Heaven!
Physically I’m a tall, chunky and bearded Caucasian guy; totally rocking the lumberjack/teddy beaSanta Clause physique! I am currently working on certification for work as a mental health mentor, while volunteering as a long-term or palliative care giver for foster cats. I currently have two very shy/scared fosters that are the last of 5 of their litter born outside to be properly socialized. I’m making progress, having even gotten the blessing to pet the torty’s belly, but everything is at their own speed!
My dream would be to open up an animal sanctuary that doubles as a therapy center for humans. I have an unbreakable love for animals, and faith in their ability to help us heal. I think seeing a battered, scarred or withdrawn animal come out of their shell, seeking love, attention and comfort is one of the most rewarding things on the planet.
Some other things I enjoy:

• Tabletop (Board, Card, Miniature…) Gaming
• Trashy Reality TV
• Actually ‘good’ TV and Films (The Last of Us is so good!)
• Animals, obviously!
• A good mystery!

New babies: https://gyazo.com/f25a320db3d23fcdaf4a60a9a72fedbc

that ugly red building around the corner from Rosauers comes up online as a grappling class. my question is then why are there multiple offices in there, seemingly a day care center (I’ve seen 10+ toddlers let out and dropped off,) and a middle school age sports practice building?wouldn’t they have had to go through some kind of checks and balances to be training/caring for children? it seems especially gross considering this is a christ church place

Can I get a Monopoly on your time? Our meeting is an Elder Sign. Maybe we can Settle for Catan. Yahtzee! Sorry. It was worth the Risk.
Hey ladies! My name is Kevin, I’m thirty and looking to chat, connect with and hopefully form a long-term relationship with a lovely woman. I am very left leaning, non-religious, emotionally available and child free. I am not looking to rush into anything, or put expectations on anyone.
My ideal date would be either staying in with a nice meal, socializing over a game, movie or other shared activity, or visiting a local museum/art gallery. I’m very into giving (and receiving!) massages, and generally feel the most content when I can help my partner relax and enjoy themselves. Snowed in, cuddled up by the fireplace? Heaven!
Physically I’m a tall, chunky and bearded Caucasian guy; totally rocking the lumberjack/teddy beaSanta Clause physique! I am currently working on certification for work as a mental health mentor, while volunteering as a long-term or palliative care giver for foster cats. I currently have two very shy/scared fosters that are the last of 5 of their litter born outside to be properly socialized. I’m making progress, having even gotten the blessing to pet the torty’s belly, but everything is at their own speed!
My dream would be to open up an animal sanctuary that doubles as a therapy center for humans. I have an unbreakable love for animals, and faith in their ability to help us heal. I think seeing a battered, scarred or withdrawn animal come out of their shell, seeking love, attention and comfort is one of the most rewarding things on the planet.
Some other things I enjoy:

• Tabletop (Board, Card, Miniature…) Gaming
• Trashy Reality TV
• Actually ‘good’ TV and Films (The Last of Us is so good!)
• Animals, obviously!
• A good mystery!

New babies: https://gyazo.com/f25a320db3d23fcdaf4a60a9a72fedbc

WHAT??? Our founding fathers put forth a structure of checks and balances that ensure nothing Authoritarianism ever happens. While Authoritarianism has never happened, we have seen constitutional failure that resulted in a Civil War. If a Civil War can happen, why is it not possible for the rise of Fascism, or an Authoritarian leader to rise to power. We have already seen an attempt to overthrow the system and keep a leader who clearly lost an election. Since then, we have seen others try to follow that framework. Things like January 6th don’t just happen.
Let’s dive a little deeper into some of the most troubling and signs that our Democracy is fractured and could be in trouble.
A Growing Distrust in Science
I start with this one very purposely due to recency bias with COVID. There has always been an anti-vax movement. In the 1860’s Britain found its first anti-vax movement after the smallpox vaccine was made mandatory with penalties for refusal. In the 1870s, a British anti-vaxer came to America and started the movement. That fizzled out. There have been movements here and there since. The modern movement however can be traced back to 1998 and a British doctor named Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield recommended and falsified data for the MMR vaccine suggestion that the vaccine caused autism. With the newly popular internet, the growing media, and the growth of rapidly growing access to information we end up with a massive conspiracy with legitimacy due to false information. There have always been circles that distrust science, but this one was different. It was mainstream, celebrities got on board, we still live with the fall out and here this one. Wakefield admitted that he did not do a full study, falsified information, and served prison time. He set the cornerstone for a lot of the distrust in science we see today however. His study has helped turn the world into an anti-intellectual society.
There is a lot more we could dig into between Wakefield and COVID but I feel this is enough background at this point. We could get into the science of mRNA, and false perceptions. We could get into the fact that it was identified in the 1960’s and has been in use for medical applications, including vaccines and cancer treatments since the 1990’s and the science has been proven safe for decades. We could get into the fact that 90+% of the ingredients are more or less inert and in use for other vaccines and medicine and has been for decades, but that’s enough of that. Let’s get into COVID and the crippling blow for science that was dealt during COVID.
Rudy Gobert and the NBA shuts the country down. In the US, we watched as Italians sang off balconies during the lockdown. Venice canals turned pure blue due to lack of boat traffic. China was sealed into their houses, sometimes by bolting their doors. We all knew it was coming, then Rudy tests positive for COVID. The NBA cancels games and the rest of the country follows suit. We were in lock down. We know we had a new Coronavirus that was different, easily transferable, and had the potential to be very serious.
Quickly we picked sides. We used the same data points to prove the other side wrong. We used scientists and a shifting understanding of the virus to prove/disprove our feelings about how COVID works. I use the term feeling deliberately. This is the key here. True science does not pick sides, but we pick the sides that best fit our political beliefs. This in turn created a massive influx in false data and further eroded the trust in our scientific community. We had our President as one of the main anti-vax influencers (link: https://www.psypost.org/2021/06/study-indicates-donald-trump-was-the-main-anti-vaccination-influencer-on-twitter-in-2020-61032) while pumping billions to accelerate a vaccine. A president who was fueling the anti-mask movement while wearing one himself (link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53378439). The face of the scientific community for this issue was not much better. Dr. Faucci starts comes out and says masks don’t work, only to back track and say it was because the masks were needed for health-care workers (link: https://www.cnn.com/factsfirst/politics/factcheck_e58c20c6-8735-4022-a1f5-1580bc732c45). I use CNN on purpose here as it’s the left calling out the left. This statement had a big effect on the movement as well and further eroded our trust in science. Even more troubling, 36% of Republicans distrust science. If you look at these survey links from 2/15/2022, you can see the results (pew link: https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/02/15/americans-trust-in-scientists-other-groups-declines/ and https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/10/25/americans-value-u-s-role-as-scientific-leader-but-38-say-country-is-losing-ground-globally/). Another troubling shift, is the declining trust in education, you can see where that is going. You can also point to this study and overlay it with how Trump planed the steal the election claim. I feel this is a good stopping point and time to move on to the media. If you want me to detail the timeline of how Trump set up his ability to claim election fraud, I would be happy to spend some hours putting it all together.
The Media
We live in a time where the media is as much of the news as the news is. We have massive cooperation with a 24-hour news cycle which needs constant content to stay afloat. They have their sides and vision for what this country should be. We have less reporters and journalists than people who push propaganda and agendas down our throats. We do not have state or party funded media, but we have media that is attached so much to the parties, there is barely a difference. We have very few fact reporting centered news organizations (link: https://libguides.com.edu/c.php?g=649909&p=4556556). It is our fault though, very few if any media outlets are not for profit. They are feeding us what we want to hear, not what we need to hear. That’s what sells, and with the race for content and the growing competition, what else can we expect? Then we have the internet which has become media by meme, YouTube, and TickTok (link: https://www.pbs.org/newshounation/in-the-age-of-memes-how-are-young-people-getting-their-news). With that we have bot farms, hackers, and other foreign agents sponsored by other governments and companies hired by politicians (see Cambridge Analytica) working fairly successfully to undermine our Democracy. We have made a shift to alternative news sources, unreliable news sources, or news sources that are created to mislead the rest of the world. We are fed a stream of propaganda, we eat up, and repeat the misinformation until it becomes true. Fascist and Authoritarian leaders have known for decades, if you can create a big enough echo chamber, anything can become true.
Fringe Groups/People in Places of Power
There are a couple categories here. There are the fringe politicians who take mainstream ideas to the extreme and there are the fringe politicians who are just conspiracy theorists. A.O.C., MTG, Lauren Bobert, Ilham Omar, Trump, and many more. If everything is good, we do not elect fringe politicians. It is a sure sign a shift has happened and it's not good. We are unhappy, we are believing the conspiracies. The propaganda is working. Something is rotten in Denmark. There are many things this can be attributed to including Rapid technological changes, groups feeling marginalized, the two-party system that has been stagnant for decades and has been engaged in tit-for-tat politics since for most of the last century. The A.O.C. group who push the boundaries of mainstream ideas is not necessarily unhealthy. It can be healthy if in the right conditions. Testing the boundaries helps you grow and evolve. You get new ideas, new perspectives. The MTG conspiracy theory group is dangerous. Two things happen with this group, it gives further legitimacy to the conspiracy, and they use the conspiracy to expand their power base. You can trace the great Jewish conspiracy through Europe for centuries and see this. Look at all the “Devine” monarchs. It is all over in history. Typically, there is a group that is pointed at including Jews, LGBTQ+, women, Africans, and Islam to name a few. If there is a them, it's easy to create a us.
Targeting groups
We are seeing this in many areas. It is rapidly becoming more and more prevalent. We have politicians in South Carolina who are trying to pass legislation for women who get abortions. We have politicians in Florida trying to pass legislation so women cannot talk about their periods. We have all kinds of legislation passed against the LGTBQ+ community. We have laws on the book that disproportionately affect various races, and when they bring it up, they are snowflakes. We are building laws and banning citizens from numerous countries. Give us your poor, your week, your huddled masses, as long as they fit the bill. Books are being banned, including some that are formative and important for people to learn how to understand the world, all under the guise to protect our children. We would not want our children learning our true history, we would not want our children learning to accept THEM. We don’t want equality. If THEY have more, WE have less. In a country with 3.5% unemployment, high paying tech jobs that can only be filled by H1V1, we have a good part of the country that would be capable of filling these jobs if we just thought differently. There is enough to go around, but instead of upskilling and getting our citizens into these high paying professional jobs, we are making America great again. America has always been anti-immigrant to a degree but when you start seeing laws passed, the gap between us and them accelerates. As the divide becomes greater, the easier it is to rule based on fear. Historically, this is the gateway to genocide.
Militarization
This one is often overlooked but it is an important one. A sure sign that your country is becoming nationalized is when your military is beyond reproach. Now I am not saying we should not be grateful and kind to those who served. I am saying we should examine our military and hold them accountable when they do something wrong. As we fail to do this, the nation starts to come before all. If someone speaks out against injustice, disrespects the flag, the office of the president, they are ostracized. It starts with militarization. Once the military becomes beyond reproach, civil servants are next. You can see this throughout history. Look at Vietnam, look at Nazi and the Kaiser's Germany, really almost any authoritarian regime.
I am not saying we are at the tipping point. I am saying the signs are there. Unless we can start to find a way to come back to the middle, the divide will continue and we may end up in an authoritarian state.

just wanna note that my unfortunate event happened in december 2021 so i’ve had some time to heal, get some therapy, and work on my mental health. but now i’m ready to move up in my career
i failed medsurg in nursing school.. being the only class i needed to graduate at the very last semester. i was in the final stretch and failed medsurg the first time miserably. passing grade is a 78 and got about a ~69 GPA. second time i took the class, i put all of my energy into it, falling short with a GPA of 77.6 — the professor does NOT round up the score; no ifs, and, or buts due to “school policy”
i was removed from the program and my appeal got rejected TWICE. both appeals had valid documentation and letters stating the downfall of my mental health and a situation of a sick loved one in my family. and with no explanation, my appeal was not granted.
almost 2 years have gone by and i’m certainly lucky to say i have healed and processed everything i went through. i currently work as a medical scribe at an urgent care center, wanting to move up in my career as a health care worker. i’m in the process of applying to nursing programs. i live in NY and every single school will not be able to transfer my nursing school credits, leaving me to start nursing over from scratch. on top of that, most programs state that they do not admit students who have failed out of a previous nursing program, which makes my chances of being accepted somewhere else extremely low.
i feel like i’m at a crossroads and i’m feeling discouraged and lost. any advice and kind words would be greatly appreciated

Presenting a chapter from what will eventually be the full 1st Volume of the Multiversal Manuscript, a catalog of all sorts of new characters, places, and things drawn from all piles of notes and random writing I've done for my D&D games and setting work. While generally written for a Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder style setting, its contents can be setting agnostic and made to fit any world.
This chapter contains entries for 19 Organizations as well as sample NPCs for each. It also includes the 20 page Appendix of minor entries that are referenced by both the Organizations in this text and what will eventually be the full product. Consider them a sneak preview.
They are intended to serve varied roles in many settings, from allies to enemies and anything in between. These organizations and their members are meant to be both inspiration and foundation for more, providing hooks and conflicts that can be tailored to your own worlds.
​

• The Aggrieved - Covert - Grudge Bearing Dwarves
• The Bedlam - Mercenary - Chaotic Shock Troopers
• Black Iron’s Sixth - Military - Entrenched Goblinoid Remnant
• Celebrants of the Corpse Gods - Cult - Worshippers of the Divine Dead
• Crownfall Initiative - Covert - Resurgent Spy Masters
• The Dead Fish - Criminal - Infamous Harbor Gang
• Dustbringers' Market - Guild - Ghostly Wandering Merchants
• House Garsese - Noble - Hoard Takers and Ruin Delvers
• House Nemosar - Noble - Psionic Power Brokers
• The Manifest Order - Druid - Totemic Hybrid Shapeshifters
• Onyxfang Syndicate - Criminal - Werebeast Controlling Crime Families
• Order of the Unbound Tome - Mercenary - Arcane Tactical Operators
• The Reclaimers - Cult – Paranoid Artifact Destroyers
• The Ruinous Dawn - Divine - Seekers of Deific Rebirth
• School of the Last Gasp - Monk School - Rogue Trap Masters
• Thurandic Earthguard - Military - Alchemically Enhanced Elemental Warriors
• Typhon’s Revenge - Military - Rebels With A Dreadnought
• Wakeners - Arcane - Spreaders of Magical Knowledge
• The Zolothron - Mercenary - Loot Hungry Orc Artificers

​
It is Free on DriveThruRPG - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/430677/Multiversal-Manuscript--Volume-1--Organizations
Slowly working my way through editing everything and in refining the Organizations the size of the overall project has gone gone up about 25 pages. Looking at working on either my Monsters or Gods chapters next.
There is also my more general Preview version I posted here about 4 months ago if it is of interest; it gives an idea of the full scope of the project and what the final think is headed towards, content wise.
Any comments or suggestions to edits on either doc is welcome!
Below are 3 examples from the set -
-----Examples-----

Aggrieved, The

Covert - Grudge Bearing Dwarves
A clandestine organization of dwarves spread across the world. For a fee, they take on the grudges and hatreds of any dwarf or clan, storing them in massive iron tomes. They dispatch specialists to ensure that the targets of the grudges suffer or repay what is owed, be it in blood or gold. The group actively recruits dwarves who have nothing left to lose, such as exiles, criminals, lone survivors, or those who cannot fit into normal dwarven society. The Aggrieved provides them with purpose and an outlet for pent-up frustrations, especially against surface dwellers or their eternal foes in the depths of the world. While the group is something of an open secret in most dwarven communities, they are keen to keep their existence from outsiders. Chief among the grievances they are sought to satisfy is the reacquisition of ancient dwarven treasures that have been stolen and the punishment of those who currently possess them, even if they are many owners removed from the original thieves. Rumors persist of a Grudgebearer who has spent over a hundred years systematically tracking down every subsequent owner of a long-dead dwarven mountain lord’s treasure, leaving hundreds of dead in their wake. The Aggrieved also fulfills more indirect grievances, such as ensuring that a particular human noble family will forever see their fortunes ruined for cheating a clan elder in a trade deal in a prior generation, or that the elves will never expand past the mountains that once belonged to a now-fallen dwarven city for failing to come to their aid when needed. Additionally, a few of their members, more unstable and violent than the rest, are sent on Bitter Hunts to forever seek out and slay the sworn enemies of the dwarves until they wipe them all out or die in the process.
Kerganosk the Brazen: An Aggrieved hunter who has made it his mission to seek revenge against fire giants. He has become a legend among the giants, who fear him greatly. The dwarf is known for his scorched and pitted brass armor, which he refuses to take off until he has seen to the utter decimation of his enemies. Despite the fact that the greater dwarven kingdoms have publicly disavowed Kerganosk's crusade, they do nothing to stop him. In fact, many younger dwarves who are eager to earn a name for themselves or reject the withdrawn nature of their forebearers have joined his cause. These dwarves are cult-like in their devotion to Kerganosk and have expanded their hatred to include all giants, no matter where they may be. Although Kerganosk remains focused on his mission, he is more than willing to share his martial tactics and specialized weaponry with anyone who wishes to see the giants destroyed, even non-dwarves who show some talent. Together with his allies, he has been able to vex his enemies for years, often laying low for extended periods as they plan simultaneous strikes against multiple targets, or emerging suddenly for an overwhelming attack on a valuable target before quickly disappearing once again. Through bounty hunters and smaller allies. the giants have attempted to track down Kerganosk and his hidden lairs throughout the Underdelve. Thus far they have only found fleeting traces of his passing and no small number of cleverly hidden traps in the broken halls of dead dwarven fortresses that the Brazen and his followers rotate through.
Gallkag Brimrift: A grim dwarf who has claimed a stretch of mountains that were once settled as part of a collaborative effort between dwarves and humans to establish a long-lasting trade city. However, the short-lived humans and their tumultuous politicking soured the venture, leading to tensions that eventually flared into skirmishes, then war. In the end, the dwarves were forced to cut their losses and retreat back into the depths of the earth to their homeland. Gallkag, left for dead in the last days of the conflict, was "rescued" by the Aggrieved. After he recovered, he eagerly took it upon himself to make the humans of the region pay for their transgressions. He now ceaselessly stalks the mountain passes of his former home, waylaying any human travelers that have the misfortune of crossing paths with him and his pack of beasts. Operating out of the half-built trade city, Gallkag's territory is honeycombed with tunnels that only he knows about. Many have tried to ferret the vicious dwarf out, but his mastery of the landscape allows him to evade interlopers with ease, picking them off one by one or tricking them into the many hazards present.
Urist Dastordruk: An undercover liaison for agents of the Aggrieved in one of the largest aboveground cities of the realm. He owes an extensive debt of both coin and honor to the organization for avenging his extended family's death many years prior. Though few are sure what exactly he does as an occupation beyond being a perennial socialite, the dwarf has earned a reputation throughout the city and beyond for his uncanny knack for making friends across all strata of society and getting them connected. If he doesn't know someone or something, he certainly knows who does and can get in touch for a nominal fee, of course. However, Urist hates every second of it. Every handshake, every fake smile, and every cheering toast. He wants nothing more than to be back in the mountainhome of his kin and away from the petty, meaningless lives of all the small-minded people on the surface. To maintain his composure, Urist's handler in the Aggrieved has supplied him with a steady stream of alchemical concoctions that serve to both suppress his incredible hatred of those peoples tangentially responsible for the downfall of his family and enhance the charming facade of his public personality. Over time, the doses have had to become more and more potent to maintain their effect, and the dwarf has begun experiencing strange fugue states. When he emerges, Urist is often standing at the edge of a roof looking out over the city below or back in his home covered in blood that is not his. He is both terrified of what has been happening and hopeful that it might lead to an end of his torment, honor be damned. The Grudgebearer that owns his debt cares little for Urist's plight. While the dwarf has been exceedingly useful in feeding the organization information and the whereabouts of targets, the cost of maintaining his persona has begun to outweigh the benefits, especially if it possibly draws attention to the existence of the Aggrieved.
​
-------

Dustbringers' Market

Guild - Ghostly Wandering Merchants
Hailing from an abandoned marketplace in a long-dead city where the Veil between the realm of the living and the dead is nearly non-existent, several lingering dead have managed to leave the city and establish wandering markets in derelict sections of distant cities. They have achieved this through the use of mortal ‘handlers’, ragged humanoids who have forged a sort of pact with the dead of the city to serve as anchors for the ghostly merchants. Visitors to one of these markets, whether in its original city or one of its wandering offshoots, can trade their knowledge of the living world or more ephemeral wares such as memories and emotions in exchange for the long-forgotten knowledge of the dead city's people or whatever other secrets they've garnered from beyond the Land of the Dead. The Dustbringers have somehow managed to craft or acquire ghostly goods that provide boons to the living when it comes to dealing with or fighting the undead. Some are even willing to cut long-term deals and pacts with the living to acquire resources for their strange deathly economy.
Morof and Echessar: This pair is the most widely known members of the Dustbringers, accompanied by their ever-cloaked and silent human servant. They have come to reside in a city of the living, but the authorities take exception to their very existence, forcing them to stay on the move within the city walls. They set up their ghostly shop in different abandoned buildings or dark alleyways each night and simply wait. They are content to let the rumor mills bring customers to them, as they always seem to have something that entices prospective buyers, even with the strange prices they demand. The most common items they sell, if anything of theirs could be considered common, are lead coins stamped with a closed eye. Swallowing one of these coins renders the imbiber undetectable to the undead until it passes. Their usual fee for most purchases is measured in minutes of life per day, in perpetuity, from what remains of a customer’s natural lifespan. The portly Morof eagerly assures prospective customers that they won’t miss such a paltry sum of time. However, each night when the toll comes due and the disturbingly gaunt Echessar appears to collect, many feel they have chosen poorly as the shade’s icy hand reaches into them and pulls away threads of their soul. Such is the power of the Dustbringers’ deals that they are able to reach their customers wherever they may be on any plane. Should a client attempt to hide out elsewhere, the ghostly merchants are not above hiring others to retrieve them, so that they may collect what they are due, plus interest.
The Urn: One of the most powerful members of the Dustbringers, it has a cadre of lesser member shades of the guild bound to it by contracts etched upon large scrolls of thin lead sealed within ivory cases. These pacts seemingly predate the deaths of the Dustbringers’ mortal forms in centuries past and raise questions as to just how the demise of their city came about. The Urn itself is a massive vessel of cloudy black marble, weighing hundreds of pounds, with patterns traced in gold that subtly shift and flow. It has a brass cover at its top, with several fluted pipes emerging from it, curving upwards. Although it rarely moves, when it emerges from its vault-lair, it is carried on a great palanquin by a dozen mortal handlers. Through the deals it has struck with entities from the Land of the Dead, The Urn has extensive power over souls that have passed into that realm, summoning them forth for interrogation, torment, or to bind them back onto the mortal realm. It is even able to shape these recalled shades into physical objects with particular potency and protection against both the living and the dead. While The Urn allows its servant Dustbringers to conduct their deals in their own way, what it desires above all is vast quantities of physical wealth, such as gold and other valuable metals, along with gems of all kinds. Why The Urn would seek such extensive and mundane riches instead of the more ephemeral things like emotions or life force, which its kin typically traffic in, is a mystery. Some speculate that it aims to perform a ritual on behalf of a Power that it has contracted with, utilizing the symbolic connection and meaning of wealth to enact some drastic change to the mortal plane. Others believe that it is working towards building a powerful construct body through which it can personally enact its will. However, The Urn freely allows such conjecture, confident in its power to control other souls with minimal effort. The Urn does not manifest its ghostly form directly to interact with its servants or prospective clients. Instead, it emerges from the brass pipes at its apex as a sickly mist before occupying the body of one of its ragged mortal attendants. Even then, it rarely does so, instead relying on the fanatical devotion of its Dustbringer seneschals to negotiate on its behalf. It stirs to action only when it needs to call forth and shape a soul from beyond.
Zaunfe: Once a respected member of the Dustbringers, renowned for her ability to craft and transmute strong metaphysical sympathetic energy into physical objects and vice versa. However, fleeting traces of mortality constantly slipping through her spectral fingers began to torment her with fragmented memories of the life she once lived. Now, Zaunfe desires nothing less than to become mortal again. Despite not being formally expelled from the guild, it has been declared that none are to interact with her or allow her back into the city of their origin. If it became known just how many of their secrets she has been sharing in her pursuit of a new life, and the crimes she has committed against other shades, it is likely that they would actively hunt Zaunfe down and return her to the Land of the Dead by force if necessary. Unlike others in the guild, Zaunfe forms symbiotic pacts with the suffering mortals she comes across, giving them a longer lease on life than they might have had without her help. Unfortunately, she constantly leeches away her pact bonded associate's emotions and personality, mingling with hers until they are difficult to distinguish from one another. More than just keeping her partner alive, she is able to extend her spectral transmutation power through them, turning emotional connections into physical boons and weapons. With such objects, she reverts back to the mercantile nature at her core, wheeling and dealing with them to gain the allies and resources she requires. Given her knowledge of how the Land of the Dead and the mortal realm interact, she feverishly pursues leads on how to contact the Powers of that plane to forge whatever deal is necessary to be reborn. This pursuit for knowledge and those who possess it has proven exceedingly dangerous, and over the years she has led a number of her mortal partners to their own deaths. When untethered, Zaunfe is forced to rekindle and perpetuate her own essence through the consumption of powerful emotions, either elicited from nearby mortals or through the destruction of physical mementos that bear a great deal of sentimental value. In desperation, she has even consumed lost ghosts that she has encountered. These shades, often confused and trapped in the Veil of the mortal realm, are easy prey for one of their kind that possess full awareness and sentience. All of this consumption of emotion and personality has not come without a cost. Zaunfe now resembles little of the unique entity that she once was and is now an amalgamation of all the different beings she has fed upon in one way or another. While these conflicting impulses can sometimes drive her into fits of mania, what has remained a constant tethering influence to her soul is the overwhelming drive to attain life once again.
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Ruinous Dawn, The

Divine - Seekers of Deific Rebirth
A group of former heroes and remnants of a forgotten age of the multiverse. Their all-consuming desire for the rebirth of their divine patron has driven them to transcend mortality and resort to abhorrent methods to carry out their 'sacred' task, one that fervently believe will ultimately redeem the multiverse. Uzarial was one of the earliest celestial deities of the sun, life, and purification of evil, and their death in a catastrophic final conflict with an unknown Elder Entity is something the founders of the Ruinous Dawn have never truly accepted. Their goal is to resurrect Uzarial, seeing its return as the catalyst required to cleanse the wretched planes of what they consider to be pervading and all-consuming evil. Each member has vowed to use whatever means necessary in pursuit of the knowledge and power they need to breach the Vale of Dead Gods and usher forth Uzarial's return. Despite this, they believe that their actions constitute the ultimate good, a concept that exceeds the grasp of most mortal minds and is superior to the 'morality' of ordinary individuals. The current Gods of Light are viewed by the Dawn as either ineffective pretenders at best or complicit in the multiverse's defiled state through their inaction at worst. They aim to subsume all such false gods into the reborn Uzarial when the time comes, reclaiming their deific essence and putting it to proper use. The six elders of the Ruinous Dawn are scattered throughout the planes, each pursuing the 'Endeavor' in their own way. They meet every fifty years to pool their knowledge and make arrangements for the future. These summits often result in an ambitious act against perceived foes, as well as the setting in motion of complex plots towards their ultimate goal. Their schemes can range from the acquisition of required relics and artifacts to the realignment of several planes towards a configuration more suitable to their cosmic aims. Most founders of the Ruinous Dawn have long since ceased feeling remorse for their actions, no matter how questionable or amoral they may become. Those that do bear regret for all the lives they have spent seeking the God's return fully intend to suffer the judgement of their patron or scour themselves from existence as unworthy to reside in the paradise that will result. Several have attracted followers that share their cynical view of the planes and desire to resurrect Uzarial, or founded obscure faiths across the planes with the same intent. However, such allies are often seen as fleeting or expendable and are tested regularly, for the Ruinous Dawn is ever paranoid of infiltrators and those that would despoil their sacred Endeavor.
Alithrienne: Uzarial’s most devout mortal agent and an Exalted of demi-god like power, she took the celestial deity’s fall most severely and was a driving force towards the formation of the Dawn. Bearing a large portion of the fallen God’s power after their passing, she set about holding together what was left of their divine realm. Alithrienne fought to stave off planar usurpers and scavengers that sought to pick over its remains. If that was not enough, she was also forced to stave off other celestial entities and divine servitors that balked at a mortal claiming such a role. Despite considerable effort, even she and her allies were not able to prevent the gradual dissolution of Uzarial’s realm; infusions of celestial essence and sundered relics only delaying the inevitable. In a moment of despair and anguish, she plunged the God’s final relic, a great spear of pearlescent stone and golden light, through her own heart. She intended to give the last shreds of power in both herself and the weapon to the divine realm in a bid to halt its decay and ensconce it as a memorial within the Astral.
The inherent desperation of her act mixed with the unstable divine energies of the plane, the relics, and the Astral instead merged her soul with the last of Uzarial’s divine power. Alithrienne, the realm, and the great spear became one, an untethered demi-plane out of phase with the rest of the multiverse. Other members of the Dawn, still holding on to a semblance of their connection to the dead God, were able to locate it in this state and commune with the transcended Exalted. In her new form, she quite literally became the foundation of the Ruinous Dawn. While the further deterioration of Alithrienne’s realm has halted, it remains in a shattered state. It is composed of several dozen floating islands of broken marble-like rock covered in golden grass. Spires and temples of an opaque white glass are scattered across the islands, cracked, and crumbling but still held aloft even in pieces. The only structure that has remained whole is a grand temple of the same shimmering glass in the realm’s center, the seat of Alithrienne’s power and the meeting place for the rest of the Ruinous Dawn during their infrequent conclaves.
Nearly a true God herself, Alithrienne has been able to create minor servitors to watch over the realm, though they are little more than bird-like beings of light. The spear that was integral to her transcendence was once held in a reliquary of stained glass at the apex of the central cathedral. Still a greater relic in its own right, Alithrienne discovered that her consciousness and will reside in it as well. When wielded by a mortal, she would be able to freely traverse between the rest of the multiverse and her realm and assist the rest of the Dawn in its plot to resurrect Uzarial. Over the ages, Alithrienne, in her spear form, has been wielded by countless mortals; many willingly chose to bear her power and enact her will, but not all. When an accord could not be made with a bearer to serve, she would bring the full force of her semi-divine might down upon them. Such recusants are left as little more than puppets hollowed out by her terrible light; even if they were to be freed from Alithrienne spear, it would take a greater divine power to make them whole again. Through these wielders, legend and infamy has been carved across the multiverse by her actions, each a small part of the greater Endeavor. As the Ruinous Dawn’s plans grow ever closer to fruition, Alithrienne hopes deeply to serve as the cradle from which Uzarial may be reborn, even if she may be utterly consumed in the process.
talshir: A zealot in the service of Uzarial, he had spent his entire life operating in the shadows cast by the celestials’ divine light. Brought up from birth to eradicate enemies of the faith, Talshir remained steadfast in his crusade, even after the fall of his God. In fact, he saw the death of his deity as validation of his actions, as it demonstrated that anything was killable. However, Talshir's methods went beyond merely ending the lives of his adversaries, he went so far as to master the tools of his enemies, including forbidden mystical arts that would have marked him a heretic under normal circumstances. When he eventually joined the core founders of the Ruinous Dawn, Talshir discovered a newfound sense of purpose as part of the Endeavor. It was his destiny to be the left hand of the reborn God and usher in the demise of the hopelessly corrupt planes.
To achieve the longevity required for such a destiny, Talshir delved into the darkest secrets of soul magic and combined them with the knowledge of life provided to him by other members of the Dawn. Rather than consuming the souls of others, he chose to shatter his own soul into hundreds of fragments and scatter them throughout the multiverse. Although the results were unpredictable, the vast majority of his soul fragments were able to take root in mortal hosts. After Talshir's original body was placed in stasis in a hidden tomb, his will was able to manifest within those who bore his soul fragments, even across generations of their descendants. Spread across various planes, the Talshirs form a unified cult with a common purpose, and dozens of them are active on different mortal realms at any given time. While the personality of each Talshir may vary due to their diverse experiences, they are essentially simulacrum of the original, sharing his mind if not his physical body. The Prime Talshir is the singular host in which the full consciousness of the original Talshir is able to manifest, representing the Talshirs at the Ruinous Dawn's conclaves and issuing orders to the others. During the years between conclaves, the Prime Talshir takes it upon himself to visit each of the other Talshirs individually, in order to ensure their continued adherence to their mission. Any Talshir who has strayed too far from their task is dealt with in a manner that Talshir himself refers to as being 'returned to the source'. In such cases, a new incarnation is sent to take their place, even if it takes years for one to manifest.
Shephard of Eternity: Once a grand paladin of an inter-planar order, sworn to Uzarial, their name has been deliberately purged from history. They made a glorious sacrifice in order to obtain the power necessary to bolster the martial forces of the Ruinous Dawn. By rending open their own soul, they established a direct conduit to the Plane of Life, a realm of positive energy from which all nascent souls originate. Using this raw creative energy, they have created a legion of homunculi to serve the Endeavor. Over the centuries, in order to sustain the portal within their body, this individual, having come to be known as the Shephard, replaced most of their body with sanctified metals and sacred stones, effectively becoming a construct save for their heart and a few other organs.
Embracing their role as the forgemaster of the Dawn, the Shephard is driven to perfect their creations to better serve the cause of their allies. While they often lament the necessity of forcing pure and untainted souls into new forms, the Shephard sees it as a necessary act to preserve the planes in the long run, confident that Uzarial will purge them of any suffering they might experience once the rebirth of reality comes. Although most of their creations are humanoid in appearance, with stone-like opaline flesh and silver armaments, the Shephard aspires to create artificial angels to serve as the ultimate shock troops in the eventual siege of the Vale of Dead Gods. However, they have thus far met with limited success, as their pseudo-angels of condensed soul-stuff prove to be highly volatile and prone to mutation, resulting in horrific forms with too many limbs and eyes. Nevertheless, even in their malformed state, these creations have proven useful against the enemies of the Dawn and those who have stumbled across their secret existence. Despite the accolades of their comrades, the Shephard has grown increasingly despondent over their failure to create a true angel. They have begun to engage their private homunculi forces to delve into the primeval ruins of the First War between the Gods and Primordials in search of the secrets that led to the first angels' creation.
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I have reached my breaking point. My current family has incredibly high expectations for how clean everything needs to be. They don't let the kids get dirty bc they want to resell their clothes online but refuse to buy cheaper play clothes so I am doing laundry - every day. They will leave the playroom a mess and complain when I am not fast enough at tidying up after the kids (mind you, when I am there, the NKs help me clean so it takes longer because they are - you know - small children (f3 f5)) They don't pay for gas even though it is required for my job to drive them to preschool/swim/dance and now they want to start paying me under the table (so I don't get overtime) for watching the kids all weekend long. The parents are selfish and self centered and to be honest I think I am the main reason the girls have manors and are humble and sweet. Maybe giving myself too much credit but i don't know how these two wonderful girls came out of these two awful people.
For whatever reason, today was the last straw. F3 had an accident on friday (shes having a hard time potty training... maybe its her parents constently telling her she needs to be smarter and faster and better than her preschool friends???) So I did a load on friday afternoon and told the parents I needed to leave before it was done - and they left it. They moved it out of the way so they could do their own laundry, but left her clothes in a pile for me to fold and put away. This isn't even the first time they have done this or left other chores for me to do when I get back on mondays. But today is the day. I am heartbroken at leaving these two girls becuase they are the best. Really receptive to boundries, listen to directions, advocate and look out for each other - I feel better leaving knowing they have each other but I am done. I think I need to be done with nannying for a while too. I am ready to only take care of myself for a while.

Hi all! First thing's first, congratulations to everyone who matched. I know not everyone got their desired specialty or location, but the horror that is residency applications is now past us and the only thing to do now is keep moving forward. Things will eventually fall into place. For those who didn't match, I'm so sorry. This process is brutal - emotionally and financially - and I hope you're holding up alright.
This post is for my fellow IMGs (honestly US students too if you vibe with it). I understand that the anxiety of going through this whole process eats away at you when you're feeling overwhelmed and underprepared, so I'd like to detail my journey from the beginning until now for those that may find solace in reading others' stories, especially if you identify with it. Those that hyperfocus on timing of exams and USCE, and the 'who what where when why' of things might appreciate this; I'll explain my strategy when approaching different parts of the application. What I ultimately hope to convey is 1. even the mediocre students can make it, and 2. there's no one 'right way' to do things. And I hope that this is able to encourage you to continue pushing forward, especially if you feel you're at a standstill in your own journey.
Growing up I was never the most academically disciplined. I sometimes joke that I was the only Asian in school that took majority regulars classes. I was fortunate in that my mother had the singular requirement that I simply not fail any classes, so that's pretty much what I did. I coasted through school while I saw friends beat themselves up over grades better than I ever even strived for. The way everyone stressed over getting into great colleges? High SAT scores? Foreign concepts to me. That same attitude carried through to med school.
I ended up not applying to colleges in the US and instead decided to go to Latin America to study for XYZ reasons. My grades were decent first year, worse second year, and even worse third year. When I say I was mediocre, I mean mediocre. It was to the point where I had to get >25/30 on final exams to pass classes, and I spent all three years stressed out of my mind because I was always in danger of failing something. It wasn't because I was dumb. Laziness is powerful, and I just never cared enough to sit down and study properly for anything.
Rotations were better; I'm better working with my hands than with my face in a book. I had fun in the hospital, as crazy and fast-paced as it is. Grades were still meh, because I still wasn't actually studying. I essentially spent my clinical years learning empirically instead of academically. This also doesn't mean I didn't know anything. No life was ever in danger because of my lack of knowledge. I simply do horribly on written exams and never cared to strive for A's.
Graduation came and went (2020) and I moved back to the states in 2021 to begin preparing for Step in July. I took Step 1 November 2021, OET January 2022, and Step 2 end of May 2022. Step 1 was average, and I don't actually know my Step 2 score lol. I wrote two incredibly detailed posts (1,2) about my Step 1 experience. This means there is a gap in my CV from October 2020 to November 2021, but I decided Step studying and 'moving my entire damn life back to the states' was good enough of an excuse to bullshit my way through if asked about during interviews.
My approach to apps in general were: do everything on time and completed before September, fill up my CV as much as I could with extra US associated stuff by September (and afterward in case I didn't match and had to update my CV for the 2024 cycle), and network as much as possible, which included joining online Psych caucus meetings and going to annual Psych conferences.
USCE was done in:

• May 2022: IM, private clinic. Through connections, and I got an LOR from the doctor. She specifically mentioned I want Psych in the letter. LOR strength maybe 7/10.
• June 2022: IM, big name hospital. Also through connections. He also mentioned I want Psych in the letter. Strongest LOR by far. 9.5/10.
• July 2022: Psych, private, remote. Googled the man, had to pay for it. Horrible bedside manner, etiquette a solid 0 in all aspects. The epitome of the type of psychiatrist not to be. Got an LOR, didn't even use it.
• July, August 2022: Psych, private, remote. Through connections. Loved this guy. Was the only Psych LOR I used, even if it was painfully average, short, and generic sounding (but still sincere in a way). 7/10.

I didn't want to have any gaps in my CV now that post-Nov 2021 I emerged from Step hermit land and there was activity again, so I took up volunteering at a health center September 2022 and started tutoring high school students in Spanish. I've also been doing Psych related research since May 2022 with a well known CAP PD, and I was able to fill my CV with stuff I've done since meeting her.
My PS was written painstakingly slowly between July and August 2022 and sent to 10+ people to edit. Too many? Yes. But I had an idea of how I wanted it to look, and my FOMO meant the more eyes, the better. I knew which edits to accept and which to reject. What I looked for in edits were things I was missing that I wasn't noticing, better wording, and order of information (what to mention in which paragraph?). There were enough edits that my PS was improved substantially, but not so many that I lost my voice. I asked non-medical, medical non-Psych, and Psych people to read it, because I wanted perspectives from all sides.
What I lacked in academically I made up for in other areas. I filled up every single character in the hobbies section. I put mainly non-medical things in the supplemental application. I complemented an experience in PS with one of the entries in the supplemental (as well as an entry in my main CV), so things were connected throughout my entire application and explained in detail in different ways. My strategy here was for them to see I didn't only care about medicine and that I've done and do more things with my time that are enriching to my person and would contribute to my formation as a psychiatrist. Sounds corny, but it worked. Instead of filling my app with medicine, medicine, and medicine (understandable for more academically competitive specialties), I focused on everything outside of it and somehow made a type of association with medicine in the end. Besides the common questions asked in interviews, people mainly focused on my extracurriculars and asked what I did outside of medicine. I suppose I'm fortunate in wanting Psych since it's easier to do that than in other specialties, so obviously take this all with a huge ass grain of salt.
Applications were sent out the moment ERAS opened. I edited my CV with a friend (another applicant) the day before so she could catch errors I glossed over, and also for moral support. But I asked a non-medical friend to help me write my CV beforehand because she's chef's kiss for these kinds of things and I am very much not.
Before each interview I took propranolol cause I shake like no other when under pressure. I had an entire Word doc with every question from the Psych spreadsheet (and my answers in bullet points) on one half of the screen, and the video call on the other half. I made sure I was in a well lit and quiet area, with minimal visual contamination behind me. If I didn't know how to answer a question, I would stall in the most natural way possible. The way you look on paper gets you the interview. Once you're in the interview, social skills come into play and are in large part what determines if and where they rank you, so it was imperative for me to shine through with how I sat, how I spoke, how I answered, and damn, even how I breathed.
I sent out my LOI at the end of January, written with the help of two friends, and got a hopeful response from the PD. Didn't read too much into it, but I rode the wave of confidence until Match Day. Ended up matching there, and here we are now.
My point with all of this is:

• There's no magic recipe for success. People will tell you IM rotations for Psych are a bad idea. Others will tell you 0 publications = 0 IVs. What matters is how you frame these experiences in your application and IVs. I said I did IM rotations because IM's important. When is it not? It doesn't take away from the type of physician I'll be in the future, but rather adds to it.
• Prepare for everything. Do things on time. Strategize. I started networking at the beginning of last year, and even if I didn't get IVs in places I had connections, these are all people that know me now, and they have seen my progress since meeting them a year ago. I started forming these relationships preemptively because I didn't want to start residency at 0.
• Your attitude matters. The way you see yourself matters. Have confidence in yourself! You've made it this far. But don't be cocky. It is possible to consider yourself intelligent and still be humble. It is also possible to consider yourself intelligent and have it backfire because arrogance gets in the way of adequate progress. And the more negative the mindset, the worse the outcome. Not always, but the people I know with such a negative view of the world and negative approach to Step and applications have had the worst performance since beginning this entire process. Understand that you are objectively capable of doing what everyone else is doing. Own your shit.
• You can match with Step attempts. You can match with CV gaps. You can match with YOGs > 5y. You can match no matter what your credentials.
• Basically, understand how to play the system. Work smarter, not harder. Work hard regardless, but ensure that the return on the work you put in is worth it in the end. Understand what these programs want. Understand that the way you present yourself to them matters. Learn how to catch their attention, and be prepared when it's your turn to speak.

Thank you if you've read this entire thing. And as always, AMA.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Trying to get better performance out of my rig. Gaming mostly with some light streaming on the side and a little bit of audio production- BF 2042, Phasmo, Modded minecraft, Apex, other FPS.
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
probably around 500$ish
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
in the next week
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
I'm thinking a processor + ram upgrade would give me the most performance for the money. i know that the MB socket should accept a better one.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location? USA, about 1.5 hours from MicroCenter. it's doable.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
Any that are possible
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
probably not.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
Nope
What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.
I use a direct connection with Ethernet.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
I have a pretty large case that has served me well, dont really care about size and as you can see in the part list, i like to tinker.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
nope
Extra info or particulars: PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	$254.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	-
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	-
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory	$49.99 @ Corsair
Storage	Kingston SSDNow V300 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Storage	Samsung 840 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$147.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Video Card	Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB Video Card	$639.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cooler Master HAF 912 New ATX Mid Tower Case	-
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000 Platinum 1000 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$309.99 @ Amazon
Optical Drive	Samsung TS-H353C DVD/CD Drive	-
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit	$169.00 @ Amazon
Wireless Network Adapter	Rosewill N600PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCIe x1 Wi-Fi Adapter	$45.00 @ Amazon
Case Fan	Cooler Master XtraFlo 93.74 CFM 120 mm Fan	-
Monitor	Acer XG270HU 27.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor	$282.89 @ B&H
Keyboard	Corsair K55 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard	$99.49 @ Amazon
Mouse	Razer DeathAdder V2 Pro Wireless Optical Mouse	$59.99 @ Amazon
Headphones	HP HyperX Cloud II 7.1 Channel Headset	$94.99 @ Amazon
External Storage	Western Digital My Book Essential 1 TB External Hard Drive	$208.57 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2362.88
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-20 17:01 EDT-0400

I know it’s obvious, but I wanted to share my story.
I’ve owned an entry level Paradigm 7.1 system for over 23 years. Music sounded wonderful, but as many experience in their own setups, dialogue was weak during movies. We would always have to turn it way up…then some explosion would happen and damn near blow our eardrums 🤣
Well, at the end of last year I decided to go ahead and start a complete system overhaul, beginning with the center channel. This will ultimately be ‘my final system’ so I’m not cheaping out - and since I’m 44 and we’ll into my career, I can afford to step my game up much higher than I did with my original system.
My original setup was a mix-matched system consisting of Monitor and Cinema series speakers, including a 10” sub. Over the years I’ve powered it with different Sony and Onkyo receivers - most recently being an Onkyo TX-NR696. I never knew that when manufacturers advertise their watts per channel that it was only for 2 channels driven. So up until somewhat recently I always thought I was getting 100 watts to all 7 speakers… 🤦‍♂️
When deciding what to upgrade to, I was so happy with my Paradigm experience I went back to them. I saw the Founder Series and began researching and liked everything that I was reading. Although not their top-of-the line offering (which was WAY out of my price range), they definitely weren’t cheap. I decided to give them a try and see how much of a difference this level of speaker made in my room.
I got the 90C from a local dealer who gave me 10% off a display model. When I got it home and cabled up, I threw on a movie and was immediately pleased at the clarity of the dialogue. Music was substantially fully and I was pleased. So I decided to continue with building out a Founder Series set. Next up was the L/R channels to finish the front stage and I pulled the trigger on the 120H towers. I found an out-of-state dealer that could take better care of me than the local guy, and although I got a great deal…I never thought I would spend this much money on speakers in my life. This hurt the bank account…
The 120’s came in and I hooked them up…holy shit. Going from a set of Studio V3 bookshelves to these was a MASSIVE step up. I couldn’t wait to put them through the paces with Ford Vs Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow etc. Music sounded crystal clear and effortless at high volumes. I was pleased.
Next I was going to do the sub. However after talking with my new dealer he told me the biggest upgrade I could do for my system wasn’t any specific or set of speakers - it was to get rid of the Onkyo and upgrade my receiver. I was skeptical and talked myself in and out of an AVR upgrade multiple times. I mean, how much better could a next level AVR actually make my system sound over my trusted Onkyo? But he convinced me it should be my next step, and eventually I listened.
I was going to wait but there was a sale recently at Anthems website for their AVRs and processors so I jumped on it and scooped up an MRX1140. I figured this will give me access to 16 channels and let me grow into a large ATMOS setup over time along with the ability to go 8k when prices eventually become reasonable.
The MRX provides 130w of amplification for 5 channels driven and 60w to the remaining channels. When this thing arrived and I hooked it up….Holy Fucking Shit!
This AVR woke these speakers up to a level I didn’t even know was possible. I FaceTimed my wife and I was just laughing - I told her about my experience and how stupid I felt. When she came home I played a song for her that she’s heard multiple times already on the new speakers and she goes “Oh my God!”
It was so loud. My house was shaking like never before. And again, I just began to laugh uncontrollably. Now I’m working my way back through all the movies and music I watched and listened to while testing out the new speakers 🤣
Now the sub will be next (most likely with Christmas bonus money cause I’m still paying off the 120’s for a bit, lol)
I never knew what I was missing out on by using an entry level AVR.
TLDR: the level of gear you purchase makes a huge difference.