Table Talk: 3 Different Types of Home Game Poker Chips

99Online Poker tells the story of one poker pro who tries to make it big in the world of holdem poker. As he enters the scene, the tables might be a bit shaky due to his overly aggressive play, and his overly aggressive style of playing is what lands him first in trouble. When the tables start to turn, so does 99Online Poker's winning streak. He wins more, until one night stands out above the rest. That night, 99Online Poker shows the world what he can do when he's playing holdem poker online against some of the top players in the world, and this leads 99Online Poker into earning millions of dollars.
This isn't done overnight, though. For the next three years, 99Online Poker slowly gains more players by the week. The holdem poker community at these times consists of hundreds, if not thousands, of players. This is because online poker allows players to play in large poker rooms where holding the actual poker cards is much easier for them. Many of these players join because they like the challenge of working their way up in the ranks from being a regular table poker player to being one of the top players at a known poker room. Others join simply because they love poker and would love to participate in online poker's high-stakes world.
It's understandable how these players feel. They've worked hard to get where they are, and now some online poker room is going to tell them that they're going to be cheated out of their winnings if they stick with their tables. This, of course, doesn't sit well with 99Online Poker players, who see no reason not to fight for their winnings, and aren't willing to give up the chance of seeing their name written all over the internet thanks to some new competition.
It's an interesting part of this story, however. 99Online Poker players treat competition like they do their friends. They respect their opponents, because they recognize that the people who frequent the tables on the site play just as good or better than the players at the big "table" itself. They do this even when they might lose a few wagers, because they know that their opponents can be just as consistent as they are. 99Online players treat their competition with respect for some reason, perhaps because they enjoy the challenge of working their way up through the ranks of the poker world, or maybe because they want to see other online poker players take advantage of the easy, low-stakes way of playing poker that 99Online offers. In any case, it works out pretty well for everyone.
While some players make a living playing poker online, there are plenty of others who lose money doing so. Some of these players simply quit because playing in the real world is just too hard, while others simply give up because they're not seeing consistent winning payouts in their online games. Fortunately, the players at 99ptions always have another room to play in if they lose, so there's really no quitting for these people.
The final reason why players at 99ptions are so successful is because the site is so user-friendly. 99Poker includes many different types of poker chips, including very tiny ones that you can't see with your naked eye. The nice thing is that these chips look and feel just like poker chips in the casino, so you know you're playing in a real casino. When you sit down at a table, you'll be greeted by flashy icons that indicate which game you're playing, and then by colorful buttons that allow you to put in more money to play. Everything is clearly labeled and easy to use, so even the most inexperienced players can quickly learn how to play the different games.

Tally Prime is one of the most sought after poker chips on the market, and many people have been trying to get their hands on these for years. You may be wondering why people want these chips. This article will show you what makes Tally prime so popular.
First, Tallyprime poker chips are made with top-grain solid wood. If you are like most people, you would never dream of buying regular poker chips made of particle board. These poker chips are handcrafted in the United States.
Secondly, Tallyprime poker chips come in a variety of sizes. This allows you to get your hands on all different styles of chips. The reason for this is because there are two manufacturers that make Tally prime poker chips. You can get the ones that are smaller, or you can even get the larger ones. Either way, you will still be able to find all of the sizes that you need.
Third, these poker chips are very affordable. The best part about them is that they are not expensive at all. In fact, they are cheaper than most other types of poker chips. You will be able to find these chips in every poker game that you play.
Fourth, you will find that the Tallyprime poker chips have a great design. This is because they are very unique. There are a lot of other types of poker chips out there, but none of them are as unique as these chips. This is because they are actually very well made, and you will be able to tell the difference from just looking at them.
Overall, Tally prime poker chips are some of the best chips on the market. No matter what type of game you like to play, you will love owning one of these poker chips. You can find them in the stores that sell poker accessories, as well as online.
So, you are probably wondering where you can get one of these poker chips to play in. Well, the best place to start looking is eBay. You can find one of these poker chips there almost anywhere. The only problem is that you may have to pay a high price to get one, especially if the dealer has it for sale.
Another good place to look is at the dealer's website. Many times, the dealer will be selling these chips that are a few months old. This way, you can find out about how good the chips are, and whether or not they are worth the price that you will be paying for them.
Happy gambling! !

I stress out about this stuff and could use your thoughts.
I don’t want to go because: A) it’s a weeknight. I want to go home, spend time with family, and be in bed by 10. B) I don’t particularly like this neighbor. He likes to be in the group of the last three so he recoups his ante. It’s lame because he waits and waits, then acts like he’s so clever that he was part of the last three. Really though, I just want to get the hell out of there because I’m bored. C) it’s so much effort for me to be social. Not so much social as like, nice and interested, blah blah. I really don’t care about baseball or fantasy baseball, I’m not invested in beer making, and I think you make the poker chip thing overly complicated with like five or six different types of poker chips. Keep it to three, dude!
I asked my wife to go to Target so I could give the excuse that I’m minding the kids. She happily obliged.

Background on me, BS, MS, and PhD in Biomedical Engineering/Neuroscience.
My PhD work most revolved around computer modeling of neurons and doing electrophysiology. Lots of data analysis in Matlab. Taught a number of courses and trained dozens of students on electrophys and computer models. Did pre-clinical animal work and in situ work with humans.
I've now consulted for a minor medical device company for a couple years. Worked on cardiac detection algorithms for a while worked up an algorithm that was 1000x faster and had better accuracy, then after project was canceled moved into test engineering working on automated test systems. Lots of LabView. I've touched R&D, Test, Quality, Manufacturing as I get shuffled to fill gaps and fight fires.
I'm a technophile. I love gadgets, science and technology. I started reading Anandtech when I was 15 (over dial up no less!). I daily read Slashdot, ArsTechnica, MacRumors, TomsHardware, and Bit-tech to keep abreast of Technology/Computer topics. I love the under the hood stuff. I could care less about GHz CPUs. The things I dig are hardware RNG, memristors, Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C creating unified general purpose high speed data ports. I read about Swift, Python improvements, when will PyPy get integrated into Core Python. I know tons about 3D printer technology, digital cameras and their sensor technology, drones. I wish Oracle would open source ZFS so we could enjoy the most updated version of it and secure out data from bit rot. I have TBs of data on every topic imaginable, from zen gardening to making your own solar panels.
I love ideation, give me a problem and let me figure out new ways of solving the problem. I have boxes of inventions that I've designed since I was a child. I also love board games and video games. I have a project on the back burner to make a iOS version of my favorite board games. I'm a jack of all trades and master of several. I can talk intelligently on most topics technology, medical, science. Give me topic and 6 hours and you'll think I'm proficient. Give me a week and you'll think I'm an expert. I will hyper focus to answer a question. I research anything I buy so that I get the best for my needs. It makes me impossible to shop for. I wanted nice poker chips and now know more about the different types of poker chips than anyone has a right to know.
I'm really good with people. I've been told I'm the center of morale for groups. I keep everyones spirits up, when I leave people miss me and tell me how things aren't the same when I'm gone. People confide in me with problems, concerns or when they need help. I guess I am a good listener and I give solid guidance. I'm good at delegating jobs out to people who can do it better than myself, but the key part is I understand enough about most topics to know when I should do that and whom I should delegate to.
The problem is I can't find a job that lets me excel at what I do. I feel like I'm ideally suited to be a technical advisor or some sort of technical fellow, but I can't find anywhere that will let you do that without 20 years of experience.
Can anyone advise me as to what I should do career wise?

First, consider this a template you can adjust to your needs. I knew the type of players in the group and what they were capable of, so I tailored the encounter to them.
Second, this fight is stupidly complex by normal 5e standards. I'm heavily influenced by MMOs, so I like crazy intricate boss fights. This is designed based on the assumption that the players will know everything she can do, so the puzzle is just executing rather than discovering how things work. I had a trusted lieutenant who'd been playing both sides for a long time, so he was my narrative excuse to give the players all the information.
Third, the environment was an enclosed tower, 45 feet across by 75 feet long by 80 feet tall. Four pillars stretched from ground to ceiling with torches of white flame on each, facing the center of the room. Torches were also spread evenly along the tower walls with flames of six different colors, two of each color. Here's a picture for reference (ignore the poker chips, we were just using them to track elevation): https://imgur.com/a/TJrSJoP. The use of these will be explained in the Lair Action section below. You can use whatever colors you want, but I used red, yellow, orange, pink, green, and blue.
The boss herself was Zariel, but I deviated quite a bit from canon lore. In my version, she was a mortal warrior who ascended to being a celestial before falling to become Archduchess of Avernus. As a result, she wavered back and forth between her forms, following a pattern of Devil, Mortal, Angel, Mortal, and then repeat. She has different abilities based on what form she is currently in, and the transformation takes place at the beginning of each of her turns. Rather than deal with minions to balance action economy, I just gave her four turns, one after each of the players.
Without further ado, here she is.
 
Stats
Size: Large
HP: 400
AC: 21
Speed: 90 feet (flying)
Primary Stats: Str +8, Dex +6, Con +10, Int +8, Wis +8, Cha +10
Senses: True Sight
Immunities: Devil form - fire, poison, necrotic. Angel form - radiant, poison. Mortal form - cold.
 
Passive Abilities
Note - When I say "round" in the descriptions, I mean a full set of turns, regardless of whether that is, for example, round 2 of combat or the second half of round 2 and the first half of round 3.
Regeneration: Zariel heals for 10 HP at the beginning of her turn unless she is at 0 HP or her healing has been disrupted. When Zariel takes on her Angel form, she will not heal if she has received necrotic damage in the last round of combat. When Zariel takes on her Devil form, she will not heal if she has received radiant damage in the last round of combat. When Zariel takes on her Mortal form, she will not heal if she has received force damage in the last round of combat.
Ascendant Rage: When Zariel takes damage, she gains one stack of Rage. She can only gain one stack per source of damage. (Not sure how to word this, but like Scorching Ray = 3 stacks, multiattack = 2 stacks, but attack + smite from a paladin = 1 stack. Generally, multiple rolls = multiple stacks.) Each stack makes Zariel deal 1 additional damage to any creature she damages and makes Zariel take 1 less damage from any source of damage. Zariel loses all stacks of Ascended Rage if she does not take damage from a hostile creature for a full round of combat.
Incapacitation Resistance: Zariel has advantage on any saving throws for which a failure would cause her to be incapacitated. (I did this to avoid her getting locked down too easily, but I didn't want full magical resistance to deny casters doing good damage.)
Legendary Resistance: The standard three uses.
 
Lair Action
Zariel expends the energy in one of the torches around the room, causing the torch to go dark and empowering Zariel in some way. The effect of each is as follows:

• Red: When Zariel is damaged by a melee attack, she can use her reaction to counterattack with Corrupt Soul, Soul Judgment, or Whack, as appropriate for her form at the time. (edited after someone pointed out I forgot to mention the reaction cost)
  
• Yellow: Zariel's AC is increased by 7.
  
• Orange: Zariel's attacks automatically hit the target, regardless of her roll (even a nat 1). She can still roll to try to crit.
  
• Pink: On a successful attack, Zariel's target must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target experiences the effects of the Confusion spell and can attempt the saving throw again at the end of each of their turns.
  
• Green: On a successful attack, Zariel's target suffers a -5 penalty to their attack rolls and spell save DC until the end of their next turn. This effect does not stack with itself if the same target is hit multiple times.
  
• Blue: Zariel casts the spell Sleet Storm, but she is not affected by the spell.
  

The effect can be dismissed by picking up the other torch of the same color and using it to color the 4 white flame torches in the center.* If successfully dismissed in this way, the colored torch the players were using goes dark, the white flames return to the center torches, and Zariel cannot use that effect again. If Zariel uses a subsequent lair action to change effects rather than having it forcibly dismissed, the power returns to the initial torch and it regains its colored flame.
 
* I allowed this to happen for free as long as they were adjacent to the white torch they wanted to color. This way, the players were only limited by their movement rather than action economy. Feel free to adjust depending on how much of a stickler you are for the rules.
 
Actions
Devil form

• Multiattack: Zariel can attack twice with Exploit the Defenseless, twice with Corrupt Soul, or once with each.
  
• Exploit the Defenseless: +12 to hit, 3d6+6 necrotic damage. This ability automatically crits if the target is Defenseless (see Angel form below).
  
• Corrupt Soul: +12 to hit, 2d12+8 necrotic damage. On a hit, the target becomes Corrupted. Corruption can be cleansed by splashing the character with holy water or any other means the DM feels like allowing.
  
• Wall of Fire: Just the standard spell.
  
• Immolating Gaze: 120 foot range, 4d6 fire damage and ignited (1d10 fire damage at start of turn until fire is put out), DC 18 Wisdom save for half damage.
  

 
Angel form

• Soul Judgment: +12 to hit, 3d8+6 radiant damage. This ability automatically crits if the target is Corrupted (see Devil form above).
  
• Safe and Secure: Zariel removes any temporary afflictions or conditions ailing her and teleports to an unoccupied location of her choice within 30 feet.
  
• Stupor: The target must make a DC 20 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the target is charmed by Zariel, falls prone, and begins worshiping her. They are considered Defenseless. The charm and Defenseless conditions can be removed by speaking to the target and reminding them of an important moment, as an aid for them to recall their true self. (This was put in as a way to make my players remember stuff the other people had done during the campaign for the sake of reminiscing. It seemed fitting for the final session.)
  
• Master of the Skies: Bolts of lightning arc out from Zariel toward all other creatures in flight. Targets must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked to the ground, taking 2d10 lightning damage plus any applicable falling damage. On a success, a target takes only half the lightning damage and is able to remain airborne.
  

 
Mortal form

• Multiattack: Zariel can use Whack three times, plus one additional time for each 100 HP she is missing.
  
• Whack: +12 to hit, 1d12+8 whatever damage matches the weapon you want her to have.
  
• Intimidation: Creatures within 20 feet of Zariel must make a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature had disadvantage on all attacks made on Zariel, and Zariel has advantage on all attacks against the creature. Creatures who fail this saving throw can attempt it again at the end of each of their turns.
  
• Imposed Bloodlust: The target must make a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target flies into a blinding rage, losing concentration and the ability to cast spells. The target immediately assesses the situation and locks on to the nearest living creature. The target must use its next turn attempting to do as much damage as possible to the target it locked onto.
  
• Seismic Slam: Zariel flies down and strikes the ground with incredible force. Creatures within 15 feet of her impact position take 1d8 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet Zariel descended (e.g., 5d8 if she flew down from 50 feet above the ground) and must make a DC 20 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
  

 
I think that covers everything, so let me know what you think or if you have any questions. Just wanted to share what turned out to be a fun fight for my group.

Update
Omg, this sucks! I got really sick overnight so I went to the clinic after taking the kids to school. They think I have covid and have administered the test. So now I have to stay home
Aarrgh!
Some of you may remember a couple months ago when I found out my husband was gambling large amounts of money.
I was waiting for after the holidays to go to a divorce lawyer. I was lined up to go when the kids headed to school after break, but in a rush to get the kids out the door, I ended up slipping and falling down the stairs. I sprained my ankle and possibly got a mild concussion. I was so pissed! I couldn't walk to the bathroom, let alone drive, so I had to put it off again...
I have an appointment tomorrow morning. I'm nervous but it's general "new situation" nervousness.
He hasn't taken any of his psychiatric meds in two months at least (he has bipolar type 1), he sleeps more than I ever thought possible for an adult human to sleep, like 16-18 hours. He hasn't worked a single day since my last post, has not seen any mental health people, showers maybe every ten days. He has not been involved with the kids beyond playing a couple of board games in the last month. Does not cook, or clean, or do laundry, or pick up his own trash and dishes. The only thing he does is take the trash down to the curb every week. I managed to get him to half ass clean one of the bathrooms one time. Oh so helpful! But this isn't a drastic change from what he was like before. He was like a teenage son before, now he's like an old couch.
I've been spending the last couple of months trying to gather information and documents, though my husband has really been reluctant to let me see anything. He clearly forgot that he's given me the passcode to his phone and told me how he comes up with his passwords. He leaves his laptop in the living room permanently and sometimes forgets to take his phone with him to bed (we sleep separately). I have gotten everything I can get ahold of electronically. There's some things he has different passwords on but ladies, what I have seen only firms my resolve.
From what I can tell, he spent thousands gambling since my last post. Where the money comes from, I don't know. It's not really coming from any of his accounts that I could get into. I just see the emails confirming his purchases of poker chips. I've noticed him watching the crypto markets so that might explain some. After checking his texts, I know he's at least tried arranging to buy drugs on two occasions. He leaves the house late at night sometimes when he's sure I'm asleep, for late night fast food at the very least, because God forbid the man makes so much as a sandwich. He was also chatting with an ex gf, complaining about how stale our marriage is. She tried to get him to wake up and not be a shitty husband and he became so verbally abusive towards her she blocked him. That's not where I thought him talking to an ex would go, lol.
He knows I'm fucking pissed about the money he's lost. Other than that, when he's awake, I'm civil, even friendly when it comes to chatting about TV shows or politics. I don't want angry manic dude on top of total useless slob. The kids are very cold and rude to him and constantly complain about him not doing anything but snap at them when they try to get him off the couch. I try to temper it down but I won't gaslight them either. I've told him many times the kids are disappointed with and angry at him and he basically acts as if I'm talking about some stranger's kids, like it has nothing to do with him.
I'm just so fucking over it. When I met and dated him, he seemed like a unicorn. Hard working, handsome, generous, sweet, kept a clean place, cleaned and shopped for his disabled grandma, adored his niblings, had interesting hobbies, etc. Then we married and that guy went away almost immediately. At first I thought it was everything we had going on, working on a house, job changes, kids, just adjusting to being married. He's several years younger than me so I thought maybe a maturity thing. Then it was maybe his bipolar was the problem, but I don't care anymore. I don't care what happened to the man I fell in love with, it's obvious he's gone and never coming back. He only exists in memories and photos now, the same as the last man I loved, who died years before I met my husband.
Anyway, I'll be very happy to get out from under him.

I was asked to make a post about some stories within the Casino grounds so I thought I'd share. I have many so I'll do my best to pick the better ones.
Some back information: I've been a Casino Dealer for 11 years, I've been a supervisor for five years, and I've been a Surveillance Operator for one year. I've worked at three properties, none of which are connected or owned by the same company. I've worked on : Government/Private/Native American owned casinos.

1. From Hero to Zero.

At my first Casino, I was one of the first group of people who were trained to deal Roulette . After 4 weeks of working 6PM-3AM then doing roulette training from 3AM-8AM (Not paid) , I actually really enjoyed the game and after about six months I became extremely quick at the number game and the pace of the action was steady with very low margin of errors. Young man walks in, cashes in for $500. He buys in for $2 chips and just loads the board. After a few spins and pretty decent hits, he then changes his chips from $2 to 5$ then to $10 and racks his winnings up to $10,000. It was then, five spins in a row, he loaded the board with some pretty gross bets, and every spin I would hit the ONE number with either NO CHIPS on it, or maybe 1 chip , He lost all $10,000 in a matter of minutes. He leaves , and I go on break. After my break I was going back to the same table and wouldn't you know it, the same young man walks in and cashes in another $500. He tells me he just sold his car outside and this is all that he had left. So we do the same deal, buys in for $2 chips, then slowly starts betting $5 chips, $10, $25...and he makes $10,000 AGAIN. Within the next 25 minutes it was straight agony. Every spin, same thing, he would bet $2500 in chips, and win only $250, $400, and after about a half hour he lost it all . Never saw the guy again.
2) Man down
At this property, we are 24 hours for table games. It's currently 5AM , and I'm dealing some $25 Blackjack to this guy. He's probably early thirties , heavy guy. He's sober as can be, but right away I can tell he's been losing. We know how much you've bought in for, how much your down, or up, and I could see he was down $2000+. After about twenty minutes of pure losing, his temper starts to flare.At this point I now have two other guests at my table. Drinking coffee, not saying a word, just losing their money. After losing hand, after hand, this guy looks me straight in the eye, seized up, starts shaking, he can't move. He tries to punch towards me and smashes his stack of chips all over the place and falls backwards to the floor. I call for security, we cannot touch him due to liability . I can't move from my table because, well, liability / casino cash property, all I can do is try to talk to him. As I'm doing so, these other two woman who are sitting at my table just look at me and one says "OK, dealer, cmon lets go " as she taps the table telling me to start dealing and forget about the guy having a stroke on the floor. As security takes him to the ambulance out front, I had to stay behind for a couple minutes and give a statement. I go on break. I come back, and 45 minutes later, he comes right back in with a oxygen tank and keeps gambling for the remainder of the morning.
3) You get a dildo, and YOU get a dildo!
On a late summer Saturday night, we had a large event for these massive muscle guys/strongman competition type thing. After their show, I'm at the roulette table , and five of these boys come over to play. They were absolutely hilarious. They were feeling pretty good, cashed in somewhat large amounts and I could tell this was going to be a fun time. After about a hour of dealing to these guys, it's almost midnight, everybody is pretty hammered , I spin the ball, and all five of these guys take out these god damn (what I can only tell was) two feet purple dildos from inside their pants, and wiping them around in the air. The ladies were just loving it, one of the dildos landed in the roulette wheel and we had to shut the table down to re-calibrate the wheel to make sure nothing had been changed. I just remember that night was so much damn fun, I couldn't believe what I was seeing and I would never forget it.
4) Full Moon
On this day, I was actually training dealers / supervising them on small games like Three Card poker. We opened the table at 10AM, and this older man came and sat down . He played all day. The jackpot was $21,000 and that was pretty high for this table. He played, and played and played. He's one of the players where you know he's wearing a diaper because he's been drinking coffee/pop all day and hasn't moved in eight hours. As the day went on, this man never moved from his chair. Getting closer to midnight, he was aggravated and said "I need to go have a smoke, I'm getting killed in here". He left, and the very next hand, the lady beside him was dealt the jackpot . He didn't say much, but you could just tell he just hated life at that very moment because had he not gotten up, it would of been his hand. The man calmly took his cane , his hat, jacket, coffee, and left. The next morning I found out when he did leave he drove his car straight through his bank and was arrested.
5) Slick Robber
I actually give props to people who can actually pull this off. This story may confuse you so I'll try and explain things as best as possible. A lot of casinos have machines as soon as you walk through the front doors. A man walks up to one of these machines and sticks in HIS $100 bill. He doesn't gamble it, instead he hits the cash out button and gets a $100 TITO ticket where he then takes the ticket to the ATM machine to get his $100. Now remember, his Original $100 is in the slot machine. He then takes the $100 from the ATM and goes back to the same machine, and repeats this process over a hundred times. Essentially he's taking money from the ATM, and loading up the Slot Machine . Now he knows he can't do it too much because if the slot machine gets full of money, the machine will shut down and the slow attendant will have to take all the cash out. So he deposits over $10,000 , then has a small crowbar, he cracks the machine open and makes a run out the front door. To my knowledge he was never caught . But damn, that was pretty smart .
EDIT:
6) Mental Health is a thing.
10PM man walks in to play some high limit BlackJack. This guy knows the game and played well. Dressed nice, drank juice/tea , a little bit of a attitude, cashed in over $10,000. When this man was half way down his buy in, he said something a long the lines of "If I don't win here tonight, I'm going to go set myself on fire." I wasn't sure if he was serious because when people are down, they tend to say a lot of nonsense. I actually left early that night, and from a third party was told he did exactly that in the parking lot. The next day it was clear something terrible had gone wrong in the parking lot .
EDIT:
7) Nothing good happens after midnight
After a busy Saturday night, I was dealing a mix of games, and during this story I was in the middle of Blackjack. I had one young kid (probably 19) sitting in the middle, one older male probably in his later 40's sitting beside him on his right, and I had a really nice couple in their 20's sitting together at the other side. This young kid wasn't playing just sort of watching, and ever time the old man won he would give this young guy some of his winnings. The older man, was a wine drinker, and he had black between all of his teeth, I'll never forget. He's a little drunk but nothing terrible. As the night goes on, the older man goes and uses the washroom, at which point the couple asked the young guy "Oh was that your dad?" and the young guy says "Hah, no I wish!". The couple and I just looked at each other. This old guy, was in complete control over this kid. Absolutely disgusting. The night ends, and I find out the couple called a few of their friends, and they all waited outside by this old mans truck and beat the living hell out of him. 40 years old, sleeping with a 19 year old, completely brain washed . Very weird.
8) That one co-worker where you just wish they would quit.
One of our co-workers, nice guy but had a very big ego and we as employees just sorta left him alone. One day he had enough of the atmosphere and quit. Now usually when you quit, you cannot come back until you paperwork is finalized. How ever, HR was in that day, and he was given the paperwork the very next day. He came in, cashed in $1000, and made $50,000 in about a hour at the Baccarat table. My manager, was extremely annoyed, because now this guy is just mocking the casino and having the time of his life (Thanks for the big tip by the way :) ) and so he decides to call it quits. He wants to ban himself and he wants $50,000 in cash. The casino says Nope, we are going to give you a cheque. Now here's the thing, most business people will take the cheque, how ever you CANT CASH the cheque until the following monday because it's on that day where the funds are available. The casino on the other hand will cash their own check in anytime , because they want you to play. So this guy pretty much said go to hell I want my cash, and he called the police. Police show up, and management promptly gave him the cash.I though it was absolutely hilarious .
​
9) No good deed goes un punished
I was dealing Three Card Poker, and the jackpot was around $17,000. This old man (a regular) was sitting there all day grinding it out. Super nice guy, always a pleasure to deal to. Well, after hours of playing, he stands up and says "Hey john!, can you come here for a minute?" so his buddy John comes over. He says to John "I need to go take a piss real quick, can you play my card until I get back?" John agrees . John takes the chips and I stop him and explain he can't play his friends chips, he needs to cash in and play his own. And he does. Welp, second hand out and bam, doesn't he win it. The old man comes back and is so happy, he can't believe it. John, took his $17,000, didn't say a word to his "buddy" and walked away. I never felt so much hatred in all my life. Didn't give him a dollar, not a thank you, nothing. The old man sits back down again, the progressive resets to $2500, and he sat there grinding away again.
10) The Top Knot
I had this player , young guy, who was born into a fortune. One of his relatives passed away and left him a pretty big sizable amount of money, so he played poker every single day for the rest of his days. I will add, he IS a good player. I did not enjoy his company just because of the "Know-it-All" attitude, but he was good. We'll call him John. John is 5'10, and well build, with muscle. John also decided today was the day to show off his Top Knot. (google top knot if you're not sure what I mean) So he sits down, and he's absolutely KILLING the table. Every hand, after hand, after hand. And because he's in such a good mood, he's playing any two cards, calling any $500 bet, and he's just dominating. This one guy at the table decided he had enough. He got up, without saying a word and left. A moment later, he comes back in, walks behind John, and takes a pair of scissors , and cuts off his Top Knot. I for one couldn't believe it, dying laughing inside, and it just turned into one big brawl. That was a good day.
11) That one bad seed
One of my best friends who I haven't seen in YEARS ended up being part of the crew. Was kind of nice to catch up. We never really got along as we grew up because he has a very high picture of himself . He wanted that 10/10 woman. A mansion, and a new Corvette. So every month or so we would all go up to the other casino to play. I myself would bring no more than $500, but I couldn't understand how this guy (we'll call him Kyle) was spending THOUSANDS of dollars at the tables. So this wen on for a few months. Well, one day, as we're closing the casino, he and I are in the High Limit room and we're getting ready to close the tables. We are told to take the chips out, count them, put them back, sign this piece of paper and that's it. Well as the supervisor was locking the tray, the piece of paper fell to the floor, so she asked Kyle to grab the piece of paper. As he bends over, a great big $500 chip falls right out of his sock. Kyle was fired immediately , but it all made sense. They offered Kyle a deal where if he replaced all the stolen chips they would not make it public. Not sure how that turned out.
12) If I ever decide to write a book, this will be the last chapter: <3
After working at my first Casino for five years, I met a Indian woman who was visiting from another part of the country. During this time I was explaining a game to her, which honestly I don't think she even cared. She explained she was visiting and sight seeing , and that was that.Well, two years later I ended up moving to the other side of the country and transferred casinos, and low and behold she worked there as a Dealer. We got married , and it's been 5 years.
13) The Tip
One of our tables that we've had for a couple years had a progressive jackpot that had reached $100,000. The dealer at the table was sitting pretty lonely. Nobody really played the game because people knew it was extremely difficult to win the jackpot. My memory is a tad foggy, but you somehow needed to flop the royal flush. This young guy sits down and says to the dealer, we'll call him John. "John, if you pay me that jackpot, I will tip you $10,000" Well John started dealing, and about a half hour into his shift, he F*cking did it. He dealt him the royal. And you know something?This young lad, kept his word, and he made sure there was a audience, and he tipped exactly $10,000. That was a moment right there. That pay cheque was real nice. I think we all got about $500 more than usual. The moment that jackpot was awarded they got rid of the table because the money it was making was not near what the casino wanted. I'm sure there have been bigger tips at other casinos, but that was something special .
14) The Lawsuit
Now this story I'm going to have to beat around the bush a bit due to the nature of what happened. I can't won't answer any questions that you may have on this topic other than what I have to say because it had a lot of publicity . The waitresses at this casino had to wear very thin sexy clothes. Not borderline legal, but it was noticed. One day they called all the waitresses to come in and explained they were changing their outfit to something even more sexier. Now these new dresses were very very borderline legal . The staff said No way. We're not wearing that.So , friday night comes, and the staff work their whole shift, then at the end of their shift were called into a meeting and were all fired. Welp, one of those ladies father was a pretty big time lawyer. Brough the casino to court and won. They won big. Good for them. We had no waitresses for a couple days haha.
Thanks for reading along, I have many more I can add as the day goes on, those were just some off the top of my head. Feel free to ask any questions of the Casino industry. I don't really have many stories about the surveillance department because that's the one area where I can't really say a whole lot due to its privacy and contracts I was and still am under.

Hey all,
My fiance and I recent got *really* into Nerf (and off-brand "Nerf"). Around a year ago, we were playing with our nephews (4 and 5 y.o.) who have a bunch of blasters, and when my brother-in-law told me that they have basically standardized the dart size for most blasters, it piqued my interest. Also, I thought the bolt action on the Adventure Force Alpha Rogue was really cool, and given that they were super cheap, I went out and bought two of them for my fiance and I to play with.
Fast-forward to this Christmas when my fiance got us the Disruptor twin pack. I was so impressed with them that I decided to see what Nerf reviewers on YouTube would think. That very quickly exposed me to a variety of blasters that I was interested in. Now, through a combination of driving (sometimes up to an hour away) around to stores and sellers found on craigslist/Facebook Marketplace, we have amassed over 50 blasters that shoot darts, mega darts, discs, and rounds. I love them all. The only thing I've been avoiding is battery-operated blasters (I'll explain if anyone cares to know why).
We reached a point fairly early on where I decided I had to *do* something with these things aside from buying them exclusively to play in our relatively small living space. So, I came up with a some rules (many, I'm sure, are widely used already) and plans to host Nerf games once this whole pandemic thing is well-enough under control that it would be safe to do so.
Who Will Be Playing
I created a private FB group and invited our personal friends and family, and I'll encourage them to invite people provided we don't exceed our capacity (TBD, but I have a rough idea).
Where We Will Play
This is probably the trickiest part. The two local rec centres will not be available; one does not do private rentals, and the other requires cost-prohibitive insurance coverage. However, there are a number of "halls" that are possibilities. I spoke to the person who does booking for one of these places, and she thought it sounded like a great idea, and probably workable at her location. I also just learned that schools will rent out their gymnasiums, but I'm not sure what limitations or requirements there might be. I happen to work at an elementary school, so I might be able to work something out if I talk to to principal. This thing won't be happening for a while, so I'm not too concerned about nailing this down now. I'm just happy to know that there are local options. I do not want to play outdoors, mostly because I'd like to be able to collect as much ammo as possible, and also not have to worry about weather.
What Rules We Will Play With
This is where it gets a little weird. I have a few different ideas, but I'm most interested in one: Pooled Health games. I've been fortunate enough to run a few games like this with the kids at the after-school daycare program I work at, and it's been a blast, even though we're limited to using the small gym. It works like this: Each team must stay on their side of the gym (like dodgeball, but I split the gym longways due to the blasters being relatively weak (the one's I bring to daycare). At the back wall of each side is a pile of poker chips (red team and blue team). When you get tagged, you put a hand up (so nobody shoots you), get a poker chip, bring it to the designated "out" area, then tap on your back wall to re-enter the game. This prevents players from ever having to sit out, which is great for kids because they can be impatient. I'll probably also do "elimination" games where each player keeps a number of poker chips in their pocket, and is "out" when they loose their last one. When I'm able to have my bigger games, I'd like to have either mats or even large cardboard sheets (folded) for cover.
Which Blasters We Will Use
I admit that I'm almost definitely setting my expectations too high for the level of complexity people will tolerate when it comes to game prep, and I'll come up with some simpler rule set at least for the first few times that we play. Still, I can't help but to over-think this and try to find a way to make almost every kind of blaster fit in somehow. Basically, I'd like to use a "shop" system where I'll decide upon a limit for how many "points" can be spent on blasters and ammo. My system is far from perfect, but I want it to be something that can be applied with relative ease to any blaster. A blaster's "cost" is determined by its ammo type, it's "ready to fire" capacity, and its storage capacity. A basic Elite-sized dart is worth one point, mega darts are worth two (getting hit with one counts as two points of damage), discs count as half a point (because they are slow... but I love them), and rounds count as 1.5 (because of their speed), and missiles are five (five points of damage, plus I have a rule with them regarding taking down cover). Any "storage" ammo is calculated by dividing the total point value in half-- a recent modification that I was avoiding, but felt compelled to deal with once we got the Heracles (5 ready, 10 storage) as it would have had the same value as the Roundhouse (15 ready) which doesn't make any sense. Additional ammo can be "purchased" for the storage value. I need to consider that it's unlikely that most other players will be as reckless in their spending on a vast Nerf arsenal as I have been, so they may need to make up points by having an excess of ammo. Also, I'd like to use a variety of blasters, so I don't want to make games strictly "dart", "rival", or "disc", although I do have enough blasters to share with quite a few people. Side note: All of these considerations have been for springers only. I want to allow players to use flywheelers if they want, but I'll need to come up with a way to balance them so that they aren't the only viable blasters.
When I first came up with this system and started using it with my fiance at home, our highest capacity blaster was the X-Shot Crusher (maybe my favourite blaster) which has a 35 dart chain. So, I was setting our max point limit at 40, allowing Crusher users to have a side-arm as the chain is a little cumbersome to reload. Then, about a week ago, we scored a fully-loaded Rival Hades for $50 (CAD), which, according to my system, has a point value of 90-- way above any maximum we've been using. Rather than increasing the maximum, I decided that you can go over the max under two conditions: 1) You only use one blaster, and 2) You take a 1HP penalty for going over, then an addition 1HP penalty for every 10 points that you go over. We've done a few of our living room games like this, and it has felt reasonably fair.
To mirror our living room games, I'm envisioning that each team will have a boxed off (with cardboard walls or mats) corner where spare blasters will be kept. These will be blasters that are part of each player's current "loadout", so players can go back there to swap out as they want or to take ammo from their stockpile. The only limitation is that only one player can go back there at once.
If all of this sounds ridiculous, that's fine. For what it's worth though, I've been slowly patching together an app that will streamline the "shopping" process. My fiance and I have just been using a white board to do the math by hand, referring to a spreadsheet I made on my phone, and it doesn't take too long. Realistically, I'll probably end up telling players to bring whatever they want (stock only), and then I'll divide the teams to make things a fair as possible. It's just fun to come up with this stuff. What do you think? Totally nuts? Any suggestions for tweaking my system? I feel like I'm going a little nuts with this Nerf craze while having very few outlets to get that energy out-- daycare with the kids and 1-on-1 living room games with the fiance is pretty much it. I'm interested to hear the thoughts of anyone who bothered to read through any of this wall of a post. Thanks for your time, folks!

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An ocean of red surrounded him, stretching as far as the eye could see. The landscape was featureless, just a constant crimson that engulfed even the horizon. Picking up a foot he took a step forward, then he felt it, the feeling of something breaking beneath his feet. It reverberated through his leg, the ripples from the disturbed crimson surface spread outwards from him as the feeling spread inwards. He gritted his teeth, the feeling wouldn't relent, the ocean was draining away, a sense of dread filled him, he didn't want to see, he didn't want to know what he stepped on, but it just kept draining. He would see it soon, he would know, he didn't want to, he didn't want to, he didn't want to, he didn't want to, he didn't...
David woke with a start, he was breathing heavily and shaking uncontrollably in a cold sweat. He took a few deep breaths and rubbed his face to wake himself. Just a dream. He brought his breathing back down to normal and looked at the clock on the wall, It was early morning. David sighed and laid his head back down, he would doze a bit till it was a more appropriate time to wake. At least he tried to, he couldn't seem to get even a nap in. Cursing it all he just grabbed the controls for the entertainment system to find something to preoccupy himself.
He swapped through a series of shows over the next couple of hours. He watched recent news for a bit, then a couple of different nature documentaries on various planets, and then a brutal version of football where the players were all remotely piloting heavy robots they could slam around with impunity. Eventually the hospital came to life again and the Vildune doctor entered into his room.
It gave him a quizzical look before speaking. "Oh, you're awake, didn't expect you to be up this early."
David gave a smile in return. "Yeah I guess I'm just an early riser." He turned the entertainment system off so he could properly listen.
"Well since you are up, we could start your final examination so we can get you cleared to leave."
David perked up a bit. "Sounds like a plan to me." The doctor started testing his body, poking, prodding and recording his reflexes. He shined a light in his eyes and questioned it's reflective properties, to which David gave a summarized explanation. The doctor was intrigued but didn't push him for more details, instead continuing with the examination. He finished by having him stand and conducting a basic mobility test. David went through a range of motions and stretches to make sure everything was working as intended.
Content with the tests the doctor had David sit. "Looking good, everything seems to be in order. Do you feel that something's off or otherwise not operating as it should?"
David just shook his head. "No everything feels fine."
The doctor nodded. "Alright, once I submit this form you'll be cleared to leave, if you could just sign here, thank you, any questions?"
Something popped into his head that he had forgotten. "Actually yeah, where did my stuff go?"
"You mean your pants? We were keeping it stored for you after we had it cleaned."
"Was there a blue scale in one of the pockets, do you still have that?" David was getting concerned.
"Yes I believe there was, we stored it with the pants if that's what you are wondering about."
David let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, I would like that returned to me please."
The doctor nodded. "Of course, a nurse will bring your effects as well as a new printed shirt and pair of shoes."
"Appreciate it doc, thanks again." The doctor gave him a smile then left to file the paperwork. David sat down on the bed again to wait for everything to be processed. It was maybe ten minutes before a nurse showed up to deliver his clothes. The pile was deposited on the bedside with a polite nod, then they left.
David noticed the scale on top and picked it up to examine it again, It still had its luster but the edges were scuffed and scratched now, a testament to its use in his escape. He smiled to himself, I should make this into a necklace or something. He set it aside while he stripped down and got his clothes on. After he was properly dressed he slipped the scale into one pocket and the credit chip into his other before exiting his room.
Stepping into the hall he inhaled deeply, enjoying the freedom that he had missed. A call from down the hallway got his attention as he turned to see Sky and Solomon sitting in some chairs, evidently waiting for him. He smiled and approached to pair who stood to greet him. "Morning Sky, Solomon, were you guys waiting for me?"
"Not for very long." Solomon responded. "We decided it would be appropriate to congratulate you on your release from the hospital."
David chuckled a bit. "Thanks, but it was just one night, no need to stand on ceremony."
Solomon did a 'shrug'. "Well it was that, and Sky here doesn't seem to want to let you out of his sight." Sky snapped to Solomon with a look of betrayal before looking at the ground embarrassed.
David laughed and ruffled his head feathers a bit. Sky actually flinched a little at that, and a needle of sadness pierced David's heart. "Don't worry Sky I'm not going anywhere fast. I got to contact my boss and let them know the situation, then I have to get a new ship, supplies, equipment and a general sense of what I'm going to do next." Sky just nodded and continued staring at the floor. "Well, I'm going to go send a message, so you guys can wait for me at the front if you want."
With a nod they left to wait and David went off at a brisk pace to the public terminals. Following the signs on the walls he found them fairly quickly and signed in to his account. Labeling the message as an emergency situation update, he summarized the events of what transpired to the best of his abilities.
Before he hit send, he hesitated as he thought about something. His boss technically did belong to a branch of the government so maybe they could pull some strings for him. He added a p.s. to his letter asking for a favor and sent off the message. With that done he signed out of everything and left to meet up with Sky and Solomon.
He found them waiting in the lobby and with a wave joined up with them. "Sorry to keep you waiting. So, what's the plan for today then?"
Solomon responded. "I was going to research where I may be needed as a doctor or if there was a hospital that could use my services."
"Well wherever you go they will be lucky to have you. I think I'm going to get a new ship first, if you find out where you want to go, I can give you a lift so you don't have to hire a shuttle."
Solomon raised a manipulator at him. "I don't want to impose on you more than I have already."
David scoffed. "Impose? Come on, you're not imposing. We can just take a jump gate and be anywhere with another orbital station, and even if there wasn't a jump gate it would still be no big deal. Just accept the offer already, you might hurt my feelings if you don't." David got him with that one, his manipulators slumped a bit as he was caught between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it.
"Twist my tentacles why don't you. Fine, I will graciously accept your offer."
David smiled a devious little smile at his success. "Excellent, lets meet up later tonight to talk about things. If I remember correctly, I think there is a bar on level 23 called Zarg's bar 'n grill, sounds plain but they fix up a damn good drink. Lets meet around seven, standard Terran time, tonight for a bit of celebration and planning."
"Sounds good. I take it you are going to stay with David, Sky?" Sky was still embarrassed and just nodded. "Well then, I will see you both later." With that he turned and left leaving the two of them alone.
David turned to Sky who looked at him finally. "Well we should get going and find a new ship." Sky nodded and followed slightly behind him as they walked. They found an unoccupied lift and David set in a command to take them to the market level. Sky was being quiet the whole time and David felt kind of awkward with the little guy just standing there like some kind of attendant.
David decided he should try and start a conversation. "So how are you doing?"
Sky looked up at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"
"I mean with everything that's happened. You doing alright?"
Sky looked back down apparently thinking about it. "I'm not sure, I guess I'm a little nervous. I've never been anywhere but the Dread Throne before, I have no idea what to expect or do."
David bobbed his head a few times. "I see, well don't worry, I think you'll like freedom more than you know." A soft chime sounded in the lift and the door opened to reveal the market, bustling with life as people went to and from different shops and stalls talking to the various vendors selling goods from their planets. The diversity of life in the crowd was always exhilarating. Many different species walking, sliding, crawling, and flying all over the place while talking to the vendors, haggling and buying what they wanted, was energizing to say the least.
David was about to step out of the lift when he felt a hand grab onto his pocket. David looked down to see Sky, wide eyed, staring at the crowd of people like a deer in headlights before blinking a few times and noticing what he did. His hand quickly shot back down to his side and he mumbled a quick "I'm sorry."
David gave him a soft smile. "It's ok, just stay close and you'll be fine." Sky nodded and they exited together. David started weaving through the crowd Sky kept close to his side as he did. David found Sky's reaction to be quite funny as he stared at everything, mouth slightly agape like a little kid. Sky's gaze lingered on a vendor who was selling some hefty looking alien fruits, and David thought he might have saw Sky gulp a little bit at the sight of them.
Why not. David weaved his way over to the vendor with Sky in tow. Stopping in front of the stall the vendor gave him a warm welcome and insisted they buy his merchandise. David, not one to disappoint, scanned over the fruits for a moment before he saw one with good size and color to it. Selecting it from the pile, the merchant presented a device to pay with and David inserted his new chip into it, then scanned his hand. A second later a green light came on and the vendor gave him a polite bow in thanks for the patronage.
David turned back to Sky and presented the fruit to him. His eyes went wide as he stared at it, mouth hanging open, and David thought he might start drooling. He reached for it but stopped part way, hesitating. He looked up and David and asked "Can I?" Icy cold needles of sadness were everywhere in his heart now.
David managed to keep smiling and replied. "Yes, go ahead." Sky grabbed hold of the fruit with both hands and looked upon it like it was the most valuable thing in the world. He opened up and sunk his beak into the fruits flesh, slicing into it with an ease born of his natural affinity towards it's consumption. A look that could only be described as ecstasy flooded across his features as he practically melted on the spot, savoring every ounce of flavor.
David just smiled at his friends, but the sadness ate at his insides. This was probably the first real fruit Sky had eaten since he was a little kid. Anger at the snake bitch rose from the grave, but with nowhere to go, it evaporated into the ether. "Can you eat and walk Sky?" Sky snapped out of his own personal rapture and took a moment to process the question before giving him a quick nod. David smiled and started walking again, making sure he kept an eye on Sky as he ate his fruit so he didn't wander off.
He found a directory at a junction and looked over it for the shipyard. Target located he headed in that direction and into an interior lift which he keyed the correct sub level to go to. Sky had managed to finish an impressive amount of the fruit by the time they stepped out.
The entire level was dedicated to the creation and selling of ships of all shapes and sizes. The reception lobby was all clean polished metal with a large desk manned by three individuals of various species. David walked up to the desk with Sky behind him taking in the sights as he munched on his food.
A polite greeting was had and they asked how they could be of service. "Yes, I'm in the market for a high end exploration ship, powerful scanners, good for long journeys, and preferably a method of self defense." No way was he gonna be caught with his pants literally down again.
The individual talking to him gave him a once over before replying. "Such a ship would be quite expensive sir."
David felt a twinge of irritation, he knew he didn't look great in his plain white shirt and worn pants, but he adopted a smug grin. Pulling over the credit scanner he inserted his chip into it. "Is this enough?"
David watched with immense satisfaction as their eyes widened in surprise and they tripped over themselves trying to apologize. "M...my apologize sir, please follow me we will get you a custom ship to your exact desires." They proceeded to lead the pair down a hallway and into a private room.
The doors money opens, David mused. He sat in a really nice leather chair, Sky just finished the last of his fruit as he sat next to him. The receptionist excused themselves to retrieve a representative that could help them. They waited in the room for a few minutes before the door opened again revealing a four armed biped, Quallexen David believed the name was, fifth seat of the alliance. The light green skin on its body was indicative of the foliage of its planet, it had skin that looked like a lizards, its slender form was incredibly flexible putting even the best of earth contortionists to shame.
It entered and raised an eyebrow at the two of them for a quick moment before adopting its practiced business face. "Hello, my names Cathol, I heard you would like to order a custom ship?"
David nodded. "Indeed, I'd like to see all your options if you wouldn't mind." Cathol walked over and handed them a data-pad prompting a holo-display to appear in the middle of the room, and then sat across from them. David examined the information on the pad, a complete list of ship types, features, and cosmetic preferences. David looked across at the dealer who was apparently not expecting much from the pair. David fought to keep the smug look under control and began to make his selections.
Selecting the newest line of Venture series ships he sifted through the options and saw an impressive list of function and comfort items. He began selecting some of the options such as, nice pilot seats, lounge, gym, fabricator, and fully stocked kitchen. This got another raised eyebrow from Cathol but David wasn't done yet. Moving on to the functional features he specified complete control of the ship from the cockpit, Biometric scanners, Reinforced doors, localized environmental controls for each room, customized suites with one set to the preferences of Aoulooron's and the others defaulted to human preferences, shields as heavy as were allowed on a civilian vessel and equally heavy armament, then finished it off with a few cosmetic changes.
Cathol was now quite surprised by all the selections, but to their credit they did a fairly good job at hiding it. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Well sir, if you are done with your selections I can give you a quote." He used a data-pad of his own and input a few things, then a number appeared that was quite large. David had the money most definitely but his mother would strangle him if he didn't at least try and haggle it down.
"Seriously? I know its custom but I could probably get this same ship at a discount at Atlas station."
Cathol's brow furrowed a bit "Sir I assure you this is an accurate estimate of the price."
Tough cookie huh. "Alright Sky come on, we'll try at the next station." Sky looked slightly confused at what was going on but got up anyway and followed him towards the door.
"Sir, please wait, I can maybe adjust the price a bit for you." He tapped on his pad again and the number was shaved down a little bit.
David walked back into the room a little bit but didn't sit down. "You have my interest, but not my business yet."
"Sir you must be reasonable, this is a tall order to fill."
"I'm not asking for much Cathol, just a price that we can both be happy with at the end of the day." Cathol stared at him for a moment but David was putting on his best poker face. With a sigh Cathol tapped once again on the pad and the number dropped a little again. David gave a smile at the new price. "There we go, that is a more acceptable number." He sat back down in the chair. "Now how soon can I expect this to be done?"
"We have a ship in this model ready, we would just need to add all your preferred features. It should be done by tomorrow afternoon."
"Sounds good to me, where do I sign?" A image appeared on his pad, standard agreement for this kind of deal. He gave a quick once over of the forms and then signed his name at the bottom. Cathol now smiled and stood to offer him a hand, which David took.
"Pleasure doing business with you sir. Your order will arrive at hanger C on the 54^th floor after midday tomorrow."
"Thank you Cathol, I will expect it then." Cathol escorted the pair to the exit and saw them off with a polite bow as the lift door closed. David released the tension in his body with a sigh. Sky was looking at him with a questioning look.
"What just happened?" He finally asked.
David chuckled a bit. "It's called haggling Sky, some places let you negotiate on the price, and sometimes you have to be aggressive about it." Sky just thought on it for a second before shaking his head apparently giving up on the concept for the moment. David chuckled again but turned his mind towards stocking his new ship and getting equipment. Time for some shopping.
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As usual let me know what you think down below and of anything that could improve my writing.

The results are in for Match 2.
Jade had been building, and building, managing to shrug past the bullets sent their way and just eating the chips in their quite literal armor, able to easily replenish it with yet more mud. The mud had stopped Dread from chasing them, and she had gone off and burned the place to scare the people off. Whatever. It complemented what it was they had desired…
All it would take now was this finishing touch, this last gesture of nonaggression towards Sentient Oona, who they were certain simply wished not to be bothered, did not care for any of this commodification of its very existence.
It was crass. It was sickening. It drove Jade, who just wished to live their own life, mad to think about, and now, nobody would follow, soon as they were a short swim through the basin away. The shrine itself would be a sinking island of concrete silk soon. All that would be left then was to use the cover of the dirtying water to avoid the bullets of the fan club, the last guard unit perched within the shrine.
Yet bullets never came, and above them, Jade felt instead a terrible heat, noted the appearance of spiked rubber on their mud-caked back. Something with an exoskeleton like an insect’s stood above them, they careened their head to see who was above them. It was Dread, barely swerving her body past dragonflies which had caught on to her malicious intent and meant to fry her.
“You again… I said fall down… Off.” They spoke with guttural contempt. “How did… You even…”
“You ruined my new boots, Antlerhead, but I am afraid that as much as the ground by which we did our battle had been soiled… You miscalculated in, I think, a fateful way, to utilize that ghastly terminology.” Briefly, indicatively, she looked to her side, and Jade understood as their opponent continued. “You didn’t destroy the bridge first. All I needed to do was walk across, watch your movements… And hop on.”
“You... still talk… too much.” Jade grunted, then, and spat at her, putting on their strongest face.
Then they saw so many dragonflies, flying towards both of them as fell bladed arms raised and descended.
The winner is Dread, with a score of 73 to Jade’s 71!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Tie	15-15	The first two matches in a row, up to the final moments, saw decent turnout while resulting in a tie by deadline.
Quality	Red Carpet Renaissance	24-21	Reasoning
JoJolity	Black Hill Estate	24-25	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10

After a few futile moments trying to commune with the alien, Dread stepped over that bridge once more, back onto land and stood over the lake where they had left Jade. After that final confrontation, the dragonflies had all dissipated, Sentient Oona either sated or exhausted after that final exchange of blows, and for a few days, slumbering.
Both of the fighters had been covered in blood, covered in gore, covered in wounds. The fire raged on even as the trapped god’s rage quelled, heat counteracted by the cool of the muddy, bloody lake, which Dread, feeling theatrical, turned herself away from.
“How quaint! A beast such as yourself thinking you had a chance beating a woman of my stature. Cute, really. Your malodorous challenge was something indeed, and I will admit that you… That you…”
Dread’s lip began to quiver. Her trip was RUINED!
She didn’t even get a single souvenir! Her train of thought lost, tears well in her eyes. Joywave fell, and she turned away from Jade, beginning to sob. She needed to go hug someone.
To this end, then, she ran and ran, tromping across the edge of the marsh towards the direction of the evacuating town she’d last seen her friend head, who surely would be not judgmental over such a platonic request as consolation. Mr. Jones was surely-
Ah. He’d already left, huh?
All he had left behind, then, was the Green Flying Man, clutching a massive gash in his flickering, transformed torso, hand feebly fumbling with a rotary phone in one of the few buildings not on fire yet.
“H… H-hello? Matilda? It’s… Nngh, it’s an emergency situation! The… The Estate is empty, and the closest member’s here with me in Sentient Oona and I’ll try and get back with them, but a guy cut his own leg off and died and everything’s on fire and Memory… He grabbed Memory Management, and said he knew how to kill her, that he would if she doesn’t-”
Click!
A fell claw hung the phone up, then severed the line, and Green collapsed, having been tripped and sent to the floor.
“Y-you! But if you’re here, th-that means-” Green whined. “No… No, no, no…”
“Do not irritate me with your whining!” The crying Dread, using Joywave, brought her hand down, then the other, then raised them, then brought each down again, and repeated this, and repeated this. “I! Am in! A very bad mood!”
The Green Flying Man was not long for the world anyway thanks to the distinctive sabre wound which had gouged him (a normal man would have been dead already), despite what he had said to assure whoever he was on the phone with, already fading from being, but he practically disintegrated seconds into Dread’s onslaught, and she hardly registered this until she stood, breathing heavily in the aftermath of her tantrum.
If… If what he said was true, then the reason Mr. Jones has left me here, messy and with no souvenirs to my name… Still sniffling pathetically, Dread quivered, trying to stiffen her posture. Then he, at least, had his success…
There’s only a few hours left, as of posting this match, to vote in its predecessor, a duel between a cactus-mancer and a clone-summoner in a clock tower.
Scenario:
Elephant Bones 2 - Afternoon
The empty former diner and tax shelter, adjacent to the legitimate restaurant to which it was a sequel, had constantly had people watching after it since the incident before, when ANVIL militia members had occupied it with the intention of using it to raid and capture the restaurant proper. For Fira B, the place made for a fine space to do paperwork and generally not be easily found when she wasn’t outright needed, also serving double duty in how it kept hooligans from their hooliganry.
“I raise you better dental. It’s a top-secret dental plan - people like us normally don’t get to know about it. But... you gotta risk 8% of the raise you earned so far.”
Byte, sitting at the table opposite her, pondered it over, not typically the type to end up in poker games, but having wanted a raise and found himself very easily swayed by Fira, basically, implying he was afraid to handle it this way, worried he would lose. Sure, Fira was probably blatantly cheating, but hey, so was he, and as it was, his pay was about to go up 10%.
Thanks to his Stand, he already had everything he needed to make a perfect game… All saved in spades, card-counted to hell for the perfect moment, and this forbidden dental plan for teeth beyond compare had been his ultimate goal this entire time.
“Alright, I’ll call.” The final hands were dealt and played to, then, tensely, before he declared, putting it all down on the table, “royal flush, all spades! Those secret teeth are as good as-”
Fira, grinning, displayed her own hand, then, having prepared her own forbidden technique for this exact eventuality, this moment. Not one, two, three, or four Aces in her hand, nor even something so hackneyed as an errant fifth Ace. She had gone beyond Poker, and displayed a devastating, never-before-seen six Aces technique, all in different suits. Everyone in real Poker knew that that was even better.
“No way… Dammit, that’s cheating! No way you seriously got-”
“So were you. Don’t forget this loss, Byte. Work hard, and maybe one day you’ll be able to get any teeth you want. Even mine, if you’re ruthless enough.”
He was about to raise an objection, then, when another figure walked through the faux-restaurant doors, carrying with them a face-obscuring massive gift basket full of assorted soaps and candies that look like soaps. More troublingly, as both parties present immediately narrowed their eyes at, though, was the uniform the figure was wearing.
They were clad in body armor, aqua and blue with white accents, the unmistakable colors of VALKYRIE and its members, complete with the sidearm all were known for carrying idly resting at their side.
“What do you want.” Fira asked sternly, about to stand up.
“Oh, the boss asked me to drop these off to sweeten the deal!”
“Deal?” Her voice lowered, and she stood tall, Byte almost wanting to grin at the sight of what was to come. “I don’t know anything about a ‘deal’.”
“Oh, right, uh, probably should’ve led with that!” Awkwardly, the recruit, young-looking, Byte surmised, put the gift basket down on the table. “See, uh, he wants you to swing by the address on the card later, says he’s sure you could help with-”
Effie Linder was sitting outside, fiddling frustratedly with the wi-fi as she tried to remember exactly what the new password was, only to see the man who’d walked in in a VALKYRIE uniform literally thrown out, crying out and hitting the pavement like a ragdoll. It made her smirk, despite herself and her contempt for the boss.
Fira brushed her hands off, seething and staring before letting the doors shut. Byte, meanwhile, looked over the gift basket, smelling one of the soaps, and one of the candies, within.
“Not bad, actually… Whoever picked this out has some taste. Always bugged me how soap doesn’t taste like it smells…”
“Eugh, I swear… VALKYRIE is acting chummy with us now... It’s one thing for their enemies to fight us because of some bad timing, but we are not people VALKYRIE sends gift baskets to!”
“Never even heard of Ugo McBaise sending gift baskets to anyone…” Byte quipped, curious.
“Exactly. It’s a passive-aggressive thing, clearly. They’re trying to tell us to play nice.” Fira cracked her knuckles, turning to him then. “You can admire soaps later. What’s the address on that card? Let’s go there and beat the hell out of Ugo. Send a message that we’re not friends, and his bones should be broken right now.”
“Hey, alright, I’m down,” Byte said, finding some amusement in the situation as he stood, slowly, opening up the card. “Besides… I know, different branches and all, but you know what happened to Zebra… All because he was backing Peres up in her fight against this company. Like, dammit, I was on that trip, too… Like half of us were, and people risked their lives and died trying to get that Ocean Soul caught alive in the first place, and then some guys from this company show up and then it’s all for nothing. Maybe I’ll feel better calling this a sort of revenge.”
The Black Hill Estate - Afternoon
Inch Nine paced around her room rubbing her temples. Ever since the fight she’d had with Byron Oxbow, everything in her life had gotten more complicated. She’d brought it up with Klein once, and the conflicted expression in his face had stuck with her. Pretty much any friends she had made with connections to the Industrial District reacted that way, to various extents. Inch was a cool headed person, but even though she struggled to show it, it affected her.
Thoughts rushed through her head on who was at fault for this… Cairo, Fira, Byron, that commander of his. Even with all of that a thought kept flowing through her head. Maybe herself, even. If she had only been able to talk Byron down, been more forthright about where she stood, it might have been avoided. She could have worked something out and her relationships would all be fine and so much hurt could have been avoided.
No. No, that was stupid, too.
It was that bastard, Ugo McBaise, and that horrible company he ran. He couldn’t help but keep pushing and pushing forward, turning a security company into a household bogeyman. Of course everyone would have been less on edge, never would have been at war in the first place, had it not been for that lot.
Yes, saying that, Inch felt at peace again, if only for a moment.
As that thought finished a small knock came at the door. Soon enough, she heard a voice she recognized well - that of her teammate, Cabernet Sauvignon, who came through the other side of the door. “Hey, we just got a letter and a gift basket from these VALKYRIE guys… Actually quite a nice fellow at the door, said it was specifically for us.”
“Hm.” Inch tilted her head. It had an… Assorted smell to it, and everything did look quite delicious. To test the mettle of this goodwill, she thought to grab something, take a bite…
She was glad that nobody could see the lower half of her face, the expression on it, at the random item within that she had taken, the soapy taste overwhelming her senses now. With a continued coolheadedness as Cab sat there surely unawares, she asked, “did he say what occasion this was for? I am to understand that this is not a company known for actions such as this, even if many of us have helped ODIN.”
“Said he had somewhere to be, then ran off before I could possibly entertain him,” Cab answered, “though I suspect perhaps that he was intimidated by my attempts to strike up a conversation about the exotic cheeses and scented candles which would best pair with the provided basket…” His face darkened a moment, then, as he added in a suspicious, perhaps self-importantly quiet tone, “and aside from that, probably whatever this is is suspicious as hell.”
“We are in agreement, then. No matter how polite they act towards us,” Inch said, her eyes narrowing at the deceptively tasty looking contents of the basket, towards the letter within, apparently from the head of the company urging them to come, “we can not abide by working with a man like that, or even being seen as his allies.”
“You know, I don’t know much about this Mcbaise guy, except by the reputation you all gave him, and this may be an old hobby of mine talking, but…” Cab gestured for the card, then, to glance, for himself, over the address. “If they’re going to roll out the red carpet for us, what do you say we head over there just to knock some heads?”
“I could not have thought of a better message myself. Perhaps you are not all culinary knowledge and trivia, Cabernet.”
Business District, Noon
As one would naturally do when receiving a “suspicious as hell” gift basket, Inch and Cab soon decided to investigate further, going to the address mentioned in the card the next day, driving Cab’s truck over there.
That was a mistake; the two of them must have spent almost an hour trying to find any available parking spot afterwards. The odds were stacked against them, but they eventually managed to find an overpriced spot fifteen minutes from their destination that they could stay in for a while, and went on their way.
Inch and Cab made their way through the hustle and bustle of the district, but after a couple minutes of walking, Inch spotted something out of the corner of her eye that gave her pause - a teal-haired woman walking angrily through the street, whom she’d fought for her life alongside not long ago. Fira.
Inch casually walked over, Cab following along behind her, and made her way to Fira, waving. “Hello there, Fira!” She said, actually sort of pleased to see her.
She didn’t expect to see a friendly-ish face here, so it was a welcome sight. Per usual Fira’s expression right now wasn’t one many people would call “friendly,” which is to say that she seemed even more pissed off than she usually did.
“Oh, Inch. You’re here. Hello.” Verbose as ever, Fira B.
“I am. What brings you here, Fira? You live and work quite far west of here, non?”
Before Fira said anything, Byte stepped in, taking over from there. “Those VALKYRIE assholes sent us some kind of gift package filled with soap and candy... wanted to win us over, I guess, make us do something for them, so we’re heading over to tell them to fuck off and beat that Ugo asshole up.”
“Oh! We received a similar package too... I had just thought of what candles I might buy while out here to combine with it all, offer the perfect ambiance for some aged Caciocavallo Podolico, but we agree - something’s suspicious about this…” Cab said, Inch nodding along.
Inch spoke up again then. “If all of us are heading towards the same place… I suppose it is best for us to all go together, non?”
“Guess so.” Fira, though not exactly overjoyed at the idea, seemed receptive enough to it, and neither Byte nor Cab objected either, so the four stand users went on their way. Each, though imagining different melodies, were totally all picturing the scene as being paired with some kickass background music or another.
Making their way towards the address, they noticed that there seemed to be less and less of the tall skyscrapers common to the district surrounding them, and more and more buildings directly associated with VALKYRIE - that made sense, given that this was their part of the district.
As they went along, Byte kept looking around, even more so than the rest of them, always looking and commenting on whatever came to mind for him - “hey, that building seems like a pain in the ass to work in,” “oh, that dude actually looks kind of strong, I bet he could take those other guys over there. Not me though, obviously,” and other inane comments. Soon enough, everyone else simply started tuning it out, paying them no real heed and going on along their way.
Eventually, they reached the address - a building, larger than most others in the area, marking the entrance to a VALKYRIE training ground. Getting near the building, Byte noticed something - a man in a VALKYRIE outfit, walking towards them. He seemed quite well built, enough so that Byte figured he might even have to use BRB to beat him were things to come to that. “Hey, that VALKYRIE guy over there seems like he wants something with us, no?”
No response. The man got closer.
Byte wondered to himself how he could get the attention of Fira or the other two without pissing them off. Eventually, he decided to give Cab a light slap on the shoulder to grab his attention - he didn’t seem particularly threatening, especially when compared to Fira or Inch.
Cab, who seemed to be lost in thought looking at the building, turned to Byte with a sour expression. “What do you want, and why would it necessitate hitting me?!”. He seemed angry, but Byte simply shrugged in response. “Well, you weren’t responding to what I said, and-”
“Uh… excuse me? You’re the ones we called over, right? Inch Nine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Fira B, and-”
“What do you want from us.” Before the man, who seemed to be surprisingly docile considering his build and appearance, could finish, Fira interrupted him, and he found himself angrily stared down by all four of the stand users. The man stammered for a bit, unsure of how to respond or what to say...
“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey… let’s all calm down, yeah?” The intense staredown was interrupted when a voice came from afar, one that was familiar to Fira.
“Hey, wait a sec…” She cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, grunting and adding as she turned, “no way… Is it seriously-”
A man clad in a dark suit colored like VALKYRIE’s armor, adorned with cute shapes had emerged now, clad professionally head-to-toe, dress shoes to black sunglasses, and lord, that hair.
Such long hair, vertical and striped.
Rushen Smith stood before the lot of them, strutting around like he’d owned the place or something. She’d beaten him once, but hadn’t been expecting to cross paths with him again.
“What do you want.”
“No need to be so hostile, yeah? We’re not calling you here to start trouble or nothing, so-”
“We’re?” Fira interrupted him. “You’re with VALKYRIE?” Well, if he was with VALKYRIE, at least Fira knew very well that she could still beat the shit out of him, given that she already had a good track record against him. Then, she’d move on to Ugo.
“So you’re like a… Miniboss, now.” Byte interjected, disappointed, yet ready to fight nonetheless.
“If I may finish.” Rushen sounded impatient
“To make a long story short… Ugo’s out. CEO fired him for everything he’s done. You’re not talkin’ to some crony to an NFL reject. You’re looking at the new head of VALKYRIE. For security and PR reasons, Allday has been been keepin’ quiet about it for now, preparing for just the right moment to tell the public, make sure I get revealed to the public with a good positive splash, but it is what it is. So… ready to talk now? Because I’m thinkin’ we can use your help, and we can definitely make it worth your while.”
Deeper within the premises - An Open-air training facility
Everyone had been disarmed by their confusion, and by Rushen’s goodwill, and by the thought that, just like that, one of the most threatening people in the city could just be fired like it was nothing, which made for Rushen a convenient situation. They were in line, following his lead, and as he did so, he brought them to a state-of-the-art training facility, one wherein dozens upon dozens of security officers in armor were walking around, shooting the shit, running, chatting by vending machines stocked with overpriced health food and sports drinks, and almost always giving Rushen a respectful nod and salute as he passed by, always meeting it with a cool, “at ease.”
“I still do not understand why we are here…” Inch, after some time being led around, spoke up. “I assume you sent those gift baskets to us, but even then, beyond wishing us here quickly, you did not say what you expect of us. Or even sign your name, beyond ‘the boss of VALKYRIE.’”
“Yes, like I said, my step into the private sector ain’t public knowledge yet… Trying to keep a lot under lock, ‘cuz I’ve inherited a backlog of things to take care of. Need-to-know basis… You know how it is.”
Fira nodded, saying bluntly, “so you’re planning something big. Want us to have a part. What? And why? Better not be wasting our time…”
“All Ugo ever taught people far as tactics went was a bullheaded, aggressive push forward… Rush, and rush, and rush, and just overwhelm opponents before they can think their way out.” Rushen explained. “It hasn’t been working, it got a lotta people on all sides or no sides hurt and killed who didn’t need to be, and while he used to have a man for handling stuff that took a brain, long story short… He’s no longer with us either. We’re trying to work on a way to save the people of this city from what’s up ahead, and no point in doing that if there’s no one to save, yeah? VALKYRIE needs to be better… We need to reorient, pick and choose better battles, get better at fighting them. No more bullcrap about raiding bars or stealing cows, yeah?”
“So you want us to… Help you retrain this security company?” Byte asked. “Why us?”
“The four of you felt right for it,” Rushen answered, looking each of them over in turn, “Byte, I know the part you played in that shipyard incident, and while I still ain’t pleased at what you were working for then, and it really messed Jesse up in a bad way, that’s all over now. The Ocean Soul business is done and in the past, and you’re real good at what you do.”
He was quiet, then.
“Fira,” he continued, “you’re another career criminal in this city, and you and I both know it, but we need someone who can think like that, someone with fight in her, for what I’m trying to get these guys ready for. Now ain’t the time to get picky… Long as you keep minding your business.”
“I try. Some people make it so hard.” Fira snorted, folding her arms.
“Inch, you used to be seen with Cairo a whole bunch, until right around when a certain incident happened… You know what I mean, don’t you?” She and Fira sneered, and Rushen raised a hand. “I’m not here to criticize, mind. I like your style, and that cool gator power thing you got going for you, hear you’ve got some real good learning techniques, and most important of all, I hear the two of you managed to survive bein’ in the dead center of Byron Oxbow at his angriest in thirty years.”
“You are… Praising me. It is appreciated, thank you.”
“And Cab,” Rushen continued, “you are the whitest man I have ever met, and I’ve got family in the same neck of New York as Douglas Jones. But hey, you’re a friend of Jesse’s, and these guys around here, they remember you at the battle on Capital Island, hurt and just popped outta this magic bottle, and still fighting with ‘em and helping people escape. You’re good people, and you got a particular edge to you I need too.”
“I saw I think a better side of VALKYRIE than most, by good circumstance,” Cab started, flattered by the mixed praise, ultimately happy to recognize it as stroking his ego, and a part of him warmed up for what was being praised turning out to be something besides the hobbies with which he’d filled the void. “Though I was just as willing to knock these guys’ heads in as everyone else here, you know… I certainly don’t mind this turnaround, though. And I think I’m starting to guess who it is you want to fight here, why you want a group like this in on it… Might you be planning to stake out the-”
“Not a word. Can’t let this get leaked.”
“Of course, of course,” Cab answered, quite confident in his mental answer nonetheless. “You mentioned this being worth our while… Can I ask what you mean by that?”
“The CEO’s gonna be watching this training sesh too, if you didn’t already guess… We’ll make sure all four of you are rewarded handsomely for this, of course, but if you really go above-and-beyond, she’s said she’ll throw even more bonus on top of all the dough. I recommend you shoot for that.”
“So we need to help train your guys better than these two, huh?” Fira answered, jerking her thumb at Inch and Cab.
“I mean, it probably is better for you to work with the person ya know primarily, but it’s not really a comp-”
“We are gonna blow whatever you guys are doing out of the water,” Byte interrupted, looking towards the Estate residents with a fiery look in his own eye. “We’ll show you the kind of training you can normally only see for a total premium at Dukes!”
“Yes, let’s one-up each other,” Cab agreed with an amused smirk, well aware that this competitive streak was unnecessary, but beginning to feel a certain fire in him, “what do you say, Inch? You up for the task of whipping these guys into crimebusting shape?”
“I suppose I am.” Inch herself was beginning to feel the air of competition, feel her blood pumping, “no hard feelings to either of you, if you are not selected for this… But we are simply going to do a phenomenal job.”
Rushen sighed, shaking his head. “Least you ain’t trying to kill each other… Alright! I’ll roll with it.” He clapped his hands, perking up quite a bit. “Both of y’all are in charge of sixteen recruits who need retraining fast, and we’re gonna compare what you did at the end. Just don’t kill ‘em or nothing, or do nothing stupid, and for four hours, soon as you got a plan together, what you say goes. Got it? Good.”
Man, now I’m feelin’ the competitive spirit a bit… Really is contagious, huh? Probably gonna make ‘em do a better job… Ah, hell, now I’m feelin’ a certain urge. I’m gonna say it. I’m gonna!
“Open the game.”
(credit to magistelles for the awesome art!)
Location: A VALKYRIE training facility in the middle of the business district.
The area consists of track fields, indoor gymnasiums, shooting ranges, training equipment storage, training towers and practical training buildings as well as other training sites. There is also general equipment storage and a small infirmary on site.
Essentially any sort of equipment or facilities you’d expect to find in a military style boot camp can be found here. Things like body armor and helmets, large tires, guns (both handguns and rifles), training dummies, etc. If you aren’t sure if something can be found here, just ask the judges.
There is also a large amount of spare wood used for building obstacle courses.
Goal: Train your group of recruits better than your opponents in a 4 hour training session!
Additional Information:
You can assume there is minimal downtime from getting area to area within the full facility.
Each team has a group of 16 VALKYRIE recruits to be trained. Each of them has 333 physicals and a 2 in gun handling and a 2 in hand to hand combat. While your session is a full 4 hours, you may still need to consider the stamina of the recruits and schedule breaks for them accordingly. They are in full uniform, with helmets, combat boots, and body armor as well as a pistol and baton each. They also have equipment that lets them see stands. They each have spare uniforms and can be refitted with training equipment from the equipment storage as needed. They also have assault rifles and walkie talkies in the equipment storage.
For the purposes of training they will generally agree to whatever you put them through short of anything that has significant risk of resulting in actual harm.
Teams are allowed to use/take anything from the facilities for the purposes of training.
In terms of Voting and Quality we are looking for a few different things:

• Having effective training: This can mostly be boiled down to how well their training either strengthenings their bodies or helps them learn muscle memories or techniques that improve fighting.
  
• Using your time effectively: Similar to having effective training, minimizing wasted time that could have been otherwise useful is also important.
  
• Having your recruits last for as much of the training as possible: Having guys needing to be sent to the infirmary for injuries or overworking them before the 4 hours is up will affect your score negatively. While accidents can happen through say sparring or other mishaps, you should try to minimize any lasting damages to the recruits.
  
• Having varied and well rounded training: Having them build skills in multiple areas, full body exercise over focusing on one or two muscle groups, and preparing them for a variety of scenarios.
  
• Discipline: While your recruits will be following your orders for training, being able to command their attention and respect can go a long way on making an impression and bolster training effectiveness. On the flip side, doing things that make the recruits not take you or training seriously can defeat the purpose of training.
  

In terms of training, you can also consider anything security personnel should be trained in, not just strictly combat. That can include rescuing, defending people, perceptiveness, team coordination, etc.

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
The Graveyard Shift	Fira B.	“This pain-in-the-ass pillar is a reflection on that woman's personality...” You know, if you are going to be training these people, might as well make this fun for yourself. Personalize your training regiment as much as you can to make it unique with your abilities!
The Graveyard Shift	Byte	“Climb to the top of the pillar with just your hands. That's the only exit. If you can't climb out, you'll stay there until you die.” Anybody could just sit back and train people, that’s why you can’t bring yourself to do that. Be active and hands-on in your training!
Black Hill Estate	Inch Nine	“Climbing with something other than the ripple is not appreciated by the pillar... This "Hell Climb Pillar" only likes the ripple and knocks down everything else... Don't forget that.” No point in relaxing while they do all the training, might as well brush up on your own skills. Be active and hands-on in your training!
Black Hill Estate	Cabernet “Cab” Sauvignon	“It's the fault of the person who built that trap... whoever built this was really fucked up! Making me fall for that” While you could have them do just normal training, that is defeating both the point of the exercise and would be a complete waste of everybody’s time. Personalize your training regiment as much as you can to make it unique with your abilities!

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<<2021-01-31 / 2200 (UTC)>>
>>A.K.A. 1400~PST, 01-31<<
<> 3-5
<> 3-5
<> Las Vegas, Pueblo Corporate Council
<> Player Scaled/ Extraction / Semi-Prime
<> Le Jus Basique, SR5 CRB
A single poker chip emblazoned with a logo of a pair of dice rolls through the host, colliding with the jobs board and embedding itself that as it begins spinning, its features taking on the kaleidoscopic whorl of a roulette wheel.
<>
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OOC:
[HARDCORE CONTENT WARNING] GM DOCUMENT HERE!
I cannot rightly disclaim any content from my run. Fading to black will be mandatory for all sexual content beyond social roll calculation. I will do my best to avoid offending players with unnecessary descriptive quality, but the world of Shadowrun that I create is dark, cruel, and brutal.
Please detail: Time since last run, your Discord handle if it is different than your Reddit, and the character sheets/info regarding runner pertinent to running(special interest groups, vendettas). IC responses are not necessary, but should be in the form of a calling card or referral memo from your Fixer to the Johnson.

Hey all, bit of a long post here. I'm doing a little mental hand history as per the recommendation of Jared Tendler in his book The Mental Game of Poker. The idea is to improve a flaw in my game, in this case overcalling river spots. Thought I'd share my process as it will help me to do so, and maybe others. If not, I don't think I'm doing any harm. If you have comments, corrections, additions, I'm interested to hear them as always.
I start by naming the problem. Then questioning what mental reasoning/emotional ties create that problem. Then for each of those, I work out the flawed logic underpinning it. Finally, I create a few key statements to refer back to. This time I really dug deep, because I think the problem merited it. So without further ado..
The problem:
I call with hands I know I should fold on the river against opponents who are unlikely to be bluffing.
The reasons:
1) I am attached to the strength of my hand.
-> Hand strength is relative to all five board cards and the opponent's range. It changes with every street, and with every action by the opponent. Simple example: TT starts as a relatively strong hand, but changes in relative strength the moment someone cold 4bets. More complex example: AsJh on board Ac 3c 9s 5c 8d. Villain checks turn and overbets river. My hand is relatively strong when he checks, but when he overbets, it's strength suddenly polarizes.
2) I am attached to the size of the pot, the bigger the pot, the harder the fold.
-> The size of the pot has no bearing on whether or not I have odds to call, the decision should be based on pot odds and the information I have available. If anything, the relative strength of a Villain's hand increases with their bet size and the size of the pot. Even though this shouldn't be case, it generally IS.
3) I want to see the opponents cards to see if I was right/wrong
-> Being "right" in Poker is not about knowing exactly which two cards an opponent is holding. It's about knowing what their entire range is, and whether or not you had odds to call. Calling and seeing a hand shows you one tiny part of their range, and doesn't tell you whether you were right or wrong to call.
4) I want to see my opponents cards because I would rather lose and know, than never know at all
-> That's the game ;) But seriously, we can find another way to "know", which is to see their aggression on various streets using the HUD, and eventually gather enough information to make those calls when it makes sense to do so. Also, we already know! The pool underbluffs, and we can determine their range on that basis. The range is what we (should) care about, not whether they have or don't have a specific part of their range.
5) I don't like the feeling of being bluffed
-> No one does! However, opponents are actually unlikely to be bluffing. If they are bluffing and I fold a better hand, that's credit to their ability and is part of the game. I am only being exploited if I am being bluffed more often than I am being value bet. I am exploiting the opponent by overfolding, and denying them value. When they exploit that fact and begin bluffing huge pots, I can think logically about counter adjusting if it makes sense to do is. At the moment it is far me likely I am being targeted/exploited for overcalling, and opponents may even be betting larger sizes because they know I am likely to call!
6) I feel frustrated that I got so far into a hand with something marginal, and don't want to cut my losses
-> Betting or calling with marginal hands is done because they have enough equity or future fold equity to do so. That doesn't mean their equity or fold equity is always going to materialize. They should only materialize a certain percentage of the time, probably less often than I believe. Both of those types of equity can also change in an instant.
7) My thought process is halted by the emotionally charged nature of big pots
-> This relates to Unconscious Competence. I haven't practiced enough hand reading to be able to do it even when I am under stress, meaning it is not yet an Unconscious Competence. Meaning: More study needed off-felt for river decisions especially.
8) "Its only x amount more to call, and I can win the whole pot!" - thinking this would somehow avoid losing what I have already put in
-> Money/chips were put in the pot as a bet on equity. The second that bet is made, that money is gone and a new round of betting takes place. The decision is equity vs. pot odds, nothing else. Also.. in a vaccuum, folding is actually a 0EV decision. No matter how many times I catch someone bluffing, the fact of doing so may have been -EV anyway.
9) I think the opponent will overbet as a bluff because I do that myself
-> Everyone thinks differently. Part of the skill of Poker is using empathy to understand the thought process of other players. Underbluffing makes a lot of sense. Not everyone is rolled properly. Most people don't hedge their bets on an opponent folding to a large sizing when they have nothing, especially when they been burnt before by opponents who station them with 3rd pair! It is very hard to make big bets as a bluff that are +EV in the long run but feel terrible the times they are called. Most people are not capable of doing it even if they know it is correct. Its possible thats the reason they are playing the stakes they are and haven't moved up.
​
Short term: Logic injections
Hand strength changes with each action.
Decisions should be made using odds vs equity.
We are interested in range, not specific hands.
You're not being bluffed, you're being exploited for value.
Is it scary to bluff for this player on this board?
Long term:
Study more river spots to make decisions and hand reading an Unconscious Competence.
Recognize which of these emotions/thought processes are occurring every time I'm in a hand and make a bad call on the river. Write them down after the hand.
Anticipate that a stressful river decision may be approaching every time I reach the turn.

I had a free mindset mentoring taster session recently with Karim Chelli AKA Karimxche. Never had anything like this before so it was a new experience.
We talked about a few mental game issues I have had:
1) I find it hard to adjust to playing in a wide variety of games.
In the last 18 months I have played:
1/1, 1/2, 2/5, 5/10 and 10/20 NL live 50NL-1KNL online / on apps. Online MTTs from freerolls to 250 BI. Live MTTs from 200 up to the $10K WSOPME. 100 PLO4 online, and 25PLO6-400PLO6 online and on apps. SNGs from 10-200 BI.
This presents a few issues. Obviously this is a massive range of stakes and games and they play very differently. I find that I cannot easily switch on a dime from playing eg. 100PLO6 online one day to playing live 1/2 the next, the games are just SO different and the mindset is completely different. I am incredibly impressed by people who play nosebleed mix games which must be an absolute mindfuck to play.
It is also incredibly brutal to play a month of 100nl online then go play a 10k comp, or a 5/10/20 game and then get rekt for like 100 BIs in your normal game. Playing a very wide variety of stakes is quite hard.
2) I think I have a better thought process when studying and reviewing hands than I do in game. I think this is fairly common, when we have 5 minutes to review a hand and think about it in depth it is a lot easier to understand what is going on vs if we have 20 seconds of timebank in game when there are a bunch of other tables popping off. It is frustrating to make a call in game in what is a close spot, then reviewing it after and realising the call loses almost the entire value of the chips i put in. I think one of my larger leaks is underestimating how passive the pool is, especially on rivers. I think in part this is because I myself am regularly bluffing rivers and bluff raising rivers, so its seems natural to assume villains also do this. In reality, the pool of almost every game I have ever played in is massively underbluffing rivers.
In terms of solutions we talked about a few strategies:
Regarding switching games, he suggested trying to play cycles of one type of game eg. this month I am playing almost exclusively 6-max 100NL online. Maybe in eg. August I play exclusively live NL. How long a cycle should be IDK (a day, a week, a month?), though I have already made a rule for myself that I only play either live or online on a given day, as playing both hurts my brain.
Another idea is having a kind of mental warmup before I go play live when I'm on the tube, which is very different to my online warmup. This signposts to my brain that I am playing a different kind of game.
We also both agreed that I should be talking more about mental game in general on /poker and with friends. I think there might be kind of a macho thing where people don't like to admit that they tilt or play B/C-game, or that they are uncomfortable playing x stakes. What helped me a lot, somewhat surprisingly, was Garret Adelstein's pokerlifepodcast where he admits that he sometimes gets super depressed, feels tilted, makes plays he isn't sure about, and is generally just a human.
We definitely didn't find all the answers in a single hour, but I think we did at least start to ask the right questions. If anyone has any thoughts on these issues / mindset in general definitely leave a comment. I'm not writing this to tell people how to think, I am writing this because I don't know how to think and want to improve.
Shoutout to Karim who is doing mindset mentoring taster sessions atm, if you are interested then hit him up.
I cant promise he will make you play better but I did win like 14 BIs at 100NL over the weekend after chatting with him on Friday afternoon, so there may be some post mentoring rungood.
GL boyos.

Hey all! Just trying to clear out some space in my garage with extras from my collection. Everything has been tested and working. Happy to post pics of anything that you would like to see. Shipping is not included, but will be reasonable when calculating it. Thanks!
NES (Cartridge Only)

• Adventure Island $10
• Anticipation $5
• Championship Bowling $5
• Circus Caper $10
• Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers $15
• Cobra Command $5
• Contra $20
• Excitebike $10
• Goonies II $10
• Gotcha $5
• Heavy Shreddin $5
• Jackal (x2) $10
• Jordan vs. Bird $5
• Legend of Zelda $20
• Lunar Pool $5
• Marble Madness $5
• NES Play Action Football $5
• Ninja Gaiden (x2) $10
• Othello $5
• RBI Baseball (x2) $5
• RC Pro-Am $5
• Sesame Street 123 $5
• Strider $10
• Super Mario Bros. $10
• Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt $10
• Super Mario Bros / World Class Track Meet / Duck Hunt $10
• Super Mario Bros 3 $20
• Tetris $10
• Track & Field II $5
• Wrath of the Black Manta $5

SNES (Cartridge Only)

• Choplifter III $15
• Desert Strike (x2) $10
• F1-Roc II: Race of Champions $10
• Fatal Fury 2 $15
• Jurassic Park $10
• Lion King $10
• Mortal Kombat 2 $15
• Mortal Kombat 3 $10
• NHL Stanley Cup $5
• Pro Sport Hockey $5
• Star Fox $10
• Stunt Race FX $5
• Super Battleship $5
• Super Empire Strikes Back $10
• Super Mario Kart $30
• Super Mario World $20
• Super Off Road: The Baja $5
• Winter Olympic Games $5

NINTENDO 64 (Cartridge Only)

• Banjo Tooie $30
• Jet Force Gemini $10

GAMECUBE (Disc Only)

• Star Fox Adventures $10

WII (CIB unless noted)

• Call of Duty: Black Ops $5
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess $15
• Madden 12 $5
• Mario Kart Wii $35
• MLB 2K8 $5
• NBA 2K12 (Case and Disc) $5
• Need For Speed: The Run $5
• New Super Mario Bros. (x2) $30
• Rayman Raving Rabbids $5
• Rec Room Games $5
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 $30
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 $15
• We Ski (Case and Disc) $5
• Wii Fit $5
• Wii Play $5
• Wii Sports (Disc Only) $20
• Wii Sports Resort (Disc Only) $20
• Your Shape (Disc Only) $5

NINTENDO WII U (CIB)

• Just Dance 2016 $5
• Minecraft: Wii U Edition $20
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U $15

GAMEBOY (Cartridge Only)

• Bo Jackson $5
• Game & Watch Gallery $10
• In Your Face $5
• Monopoly $5
• Tamagotchi $10
• Tetris $10

GAMEBOY COLOR (Cartridge Only)

• A Bug's Life $5
• Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4 $20
• E.T. and the Cosmic Garden $5
• Frogger 2 $5
• Game & Watch Gallery 3 $5
• Harry Potter $5
• Mickey's Racing Adventure $5
• Monopoly $5
• Rugrats: Time Travelers $5
• Tarzan $5
• Toy Story 2 $5
• Wario Land 3 $15
• Worms Armageddon $10

GAMEBOY ADVANCE (Cartridge Only)

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $5
• Pac-Man Collection $5

NINTENDO DS (CIB Unless Noted)

• 50 Classic Games $5
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin $25
• Age of Empires: Age of Kings $10
• Age of Empires: Mythologies $10
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartridge Only) $15
• Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush (Cartridge Only) $5
• Civilization: Revolution $10
• Diner Dash: Flo on the Go $10
• Insecticide (Cartridge Only) $5
• Lego: Pirates of the Caribbeans $5
• Madden 08 (Cartridge Only) $5
• Madden 09 (Cartridge Only) $5
• Major League Baseball 2K11 (Cartridge Only) $5
• My French Coach $10
• Quest Trio $5
• Scribblenauts (Cartridge Only) $5
• Sim CIty DS $5
• Zubo (Cartridge Only) $5

NINTENDO 3DS (Cartridge Only Unless Noted)

• 3DS XL console (Blue/Black) w/charger $115
  
• Fossil Fighters Frontier $10
  
• Lego: Jurassic World $5
  
• Lego: Lego Movie Videogame (CIB) $5
  
• Lego: Lord of the Rings (Case and Cartridge) $5
  
• Lego: Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril (CIB) $5
  
• Miitopia $30
  
• One Piece: Unlimited World $10
  
• Pokemon: Omega Ruby (Case and Cartridge) $35
  
• Pokemon: Super Mystery Dungeon (Case and Cartridge) $15
  
• Pokemon: Y (Case and Cartridge) $25
  
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Case and Cartridge) $5
  
• Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns $20
  
• Tomodachi Life $20
  

SEGA DREAMCAST (CIB Unless Noted)

• Dreamcast Generator Vol. 2 (Case and Disc) $5
• F355 Challenge Passione Rossa $25
• Metropolis Street Racer $20
• Monaco Grand Prix $10
• NFL 2K1 (Case and Disc) $5
• Sonic Adventure $30
• Test Drive Le Mans $15
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (Case and Disc) $15

PLAYSTATION 1 (Disc Only Unless Noted)

• Clock Tower $80
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation $10
• Dune 2000 $20
• Final Fantasy VIII (CIB) $15
• Gekido: Urban Fighters $15
• Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko $10
• Gran Turismo (CIB) $10
• Grand Theft Auto 2 $10
• Jet Moto 3 (CIB) $10
• N2O $10
• Ridge Racer Type 4 $15
• Rollcage $10
• Soul Blade $10
• Spyro: Year of the Dragon $10
• Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi $10
• Tenchu Stealth Assassins $10
• The King of Fighters '99 $10
• The Smurfs $10
• Wild Arms 2 (New/Sealed) $100

PLAYSTATION 2 (CIB Unless Noted)

• Adventures of Darwin $10
• Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Jet Fusion $10
• Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood $15
• Burnout 2: Point of Impact $10
• Champions of Norrath (Case and Disc) $30
• Darkwatch $25
• Def Jam: Fight for NY $90
• Devil May Cry $10
• Escape from Monkey Island $10
• Final Fantasy X $10
• Freedom Fighters $10
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy $25
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Case and Disc) $10
• Gun $10
• Jak 3 $10
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Case and Disc) $10
• Jak II $10
• Madden 11 $10
• NBA Street (Case and Disc) $10
• NBA Street Vol 2 $20
• NCAA Football 09 $10
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 $10
• Psychonauts $25
• Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando $10
• Shadow of the Colossus $15
• Silent Hill 2 $70
• Singstar Pop Vol. 2 $10
• Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory $10
• Taz: Wanted $15
• Tekken 4 $10
• Tekken TAG Tournament $10
• Twisted Metal: Black $10
• War of the Monsters $15

PS4 (CIB unless noted)

• Dragonball Z: Karakot (Case and Disc) $25
• Injustice 2 $15
• Minecraft: Playstation 4 Edition (Case and Disc) $20
• Sniper Elite 3 (Disc only) $10
• The Hunter: Call of the Wild 2019 $15

PSP (CIB Unless Noted)

• NCAA Football 10 $20
• Tekken: Dark Resurrection $15

XBOX (CIB Unless Noted)

• Atari Anthology $10
• Blitz: The League $5
• Mechassault $5
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted $5
• Sega GT 2002 (Case and Disc) $10
• Sega Soccer Slam (Case and Disc) $10
• SSX Tricky $10
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars / Tetris Worlds $5
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon $5
• Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Case and Disc) $10
• Turok: Evolution $5
• Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions $5

XBOX 360 (CIB Unless Noted)

• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Case and Disc) $10
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II $15
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion $10
• F1 2010 $10
• Fable II $10
• Facebreaker $10
• Fight Night Champion (Case and Disc) $15
• Grand Theft Auto V $10
• Halo Reach $10
• Karaoke Revolution $10
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 $10
• Left 4 Dead (Game of the Year Edition) $10
• Left 4 Dead 2 $15
• Madden 17 $25
• Qubed $10
• The Bigs $10
• The Price is Right: Decades $10
• Tomb Raider: Legend $10
• Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings (Case and Disc) $20

Intellivision (Cartridge only unless noted)

• Intellivision II console w/ controllers and cords $45
  
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (CIB) $15
  
• Bowling $5
  
• Burgertime $10
  
• Football $5
  
• Frogger $5
  
• Kool-Aid Man $10
  
• Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack (CIB) $5
  
• Major League Baseball $5
  
• Mission X $5
  
• Shark! Shark! $15
  
• Skiing (CIB) $5
  
• Thunder Castle $30
  

Hey all! Just trying to clear out some space in my garage with extras from my collection. Everything has been tested and working. Happy to post pics of anything that you would like to see. Shipping is not included. Thanks!
NES (Cartridge Only)

• Adventure Island $10
• Anticipation $5
• Championship Bowling $5
• Circus Caper $10
• Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers $15
• Cobra Command $5
• Contra $20
• Excitebike $10
• Goonies II $10
• Gotcha $5
• Heavy Shreddin $5
• Jackal (x2) $10
• Jordan vs. Bird $5
• Legend of Zelda $20
• Lunar Pool $5
• Marble Madness $5
• NES Play Action Football $5
• Ninja Gaiden (x2) $10
• Othello $5
• RBI Baseball (x2) $5
• RC Pro-Am $5
• Sesame Street 123 $5
• Strider $10
• Super Mario Bros. $10
• Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt $10
• Super Mario Bros / World Class Track Meet / Duck Hunt $10
• Super Mario Bros 3 $20
• Tetris $10
• Track & Field II $5
• Wrath of the Black Manta $5

SNES (Cartridge Only)

• Choplifter III $15
• Desert Strike (x2) $10
• F1-Roc II: Race of Champions $10
• Fatal Fury 2 $15
• Jurassic Park $10
• Lion King $10
• Mortal Kombat 2 $15
• Mortal Kombat 3 $10
• NHL Stanley Cup $5
• Pro Sport Hockey $5
• Star Fox $10
• Stunt Race FX $5
• Super Battleship $5
• Super Empire Strikes Back $10
• Super Mario World $20
• Super Off Road: The Baja $5
• Winter Olympic Games $5

NINTENDO 64 (Cartridge Only)

• Banjo Tooie $30
• Jet Force Gemini $10

GAMECUBE (Disc Only unless noted)

• Mario Party 6 $60
• Sonic Mega Collection $10

WII (CIB unless noted)

• Call of Duty: Black Ops $5
• Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess $15
• Madden 12 $5
• Mario Kart Wii $35
• MLB 2K8 $5
• NBA 2K12 (Case and Disc) $5
• Need For Speed: The Run $5
• New Super Mario Bros. (x2) $30
• Rayman Raving Rabbids $5
• Rec Room Games $5
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 $30
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 $15
• We Ski (Case and Disc) $5
• Wii Fit $5
• Wii Play $5
• Wii Sports (Disc Only) $20
• Wii Sports Resort (Disc Only) $20
• Your Shape (Disc Only) $5

NINTENDO WII U (CIB)

• Just Dance 2016 $5
• Minecraft: Wii U Edition $20
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U $15

GAMEBOY (Cartridge Only)

• Bo Jackson $3
• Game & Watch Gallery $10
• In Your Face $3
• Monopoly $3
• Tetris $10

GAMEBOY COLOR (Cartridge Only)

• A Bug's Life $3
• Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4 $15
• E.T. and the Cosmic Garden $5
• Frogger 2 $5
• Game & Watch Gallery 3 $5
• Harry Potter $5
• Mickey's Racing Adventure $5
• Monopoly $3
• Rugrats: Time Travelers $3
• Tarzan $5
• Toy Story 2 $5
• Worms Armageddon $10

GAMEBOY ADVANCE (Cartridge Only)

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire $5
• Pac-Man Collection $5

NINTENDO DS (CIB Unless Noted)

• 50 Classic Games $5
• Advance Wars: Days of Ruin $25
• Age of Empires: Age of Kings $10
• Age of Empires: Mythologies $10
• Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartridge Only) $15
• Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush (Cartridge Only) $5
• Civilization: Revolution $10
• Diner Dash: Flo on the Go $10
• Insecticide (Cartridge Only) $5
• Kirby Super Star Ultra (Cartridge Only) $15
• Lego: Pirates of the Caribbeans $5
• Madden 08 (Cartridge Only) $5
• Madden 09 (Cartridge Only) $5
• Major League Baseball 2K11 (Cartridge Only) $5
• My French Coach $10
• New Super Mario Bros. (Cartridge Only) $10
• Quest Trio $5
• Scribblenauts (Cartridge Only) $5
• Sim CIty DS $5
• Zubo (Cartridge Only) $5

NINTENDO 3DS (Cartridge Only Unless Noted)

• 3DS XL console (Blue/Black) w/charger $115
  
• Fossil Fighters Frontier $10
  
• Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance $10
  
• Lego: Jurassic World $5
  
• Lego: Lego Movie Videogame (CIB) $5
  
• Lego: Lord of the Rings (Case and Cartridge) $5
  
• Lego: Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril (CIB) $5
  
• Miitopia $30
  
• One Piece: Unlimited World $10
  
• Pokemon: Omega Ruby (Case and Cartridge) $35
  
• Pokemon: Super Mystery Dungeon (Case and Cartridge) $15
  
• Pokemon: Y (Case and Cartridge) $25
  
• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Case and Cartridge) $5
  
• Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns $20
  
• Tomodachi Life $20
  

SEGA DREAMCAST (CIB Unless Noted)

• Dreamcast Generator Vol. 2 (Case and Disc) $5
• F355 Challenge Passione Rossa $25
• Metropolis Street Racer $20
• Monaco Grand Prix $10
• NFL 2K1 (Case and Disc) $5
• Test Drive Le Mans $15
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (Case and Disc) $15

PLAYSTATION 1 (Disc Only Unless Noted)

• Clock Tower $80
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation $10
• Dune 2000 $20
• Final Fantasy VIII (CIB) $15
• Gekido: Urban Fighters $15
• Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko $10
• Gran Turismo (CIB) $10
• Grand Theft Auto 2 $10
• Jet Moto 3 (CIB) $10
• N2O $10
• Ridge Racer Type 4 $15
• Rollcage $10
• Soul Blade $10
• Spyro: Year of the Dragon $10
• Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi $10
• Tenchu Stealth Assassins $10
• The King of Fighters '99 $10
• The Smurfs $10
• Wild Arms 2 (New/Sealed) $100

PLAYSTATION 2 (CIB Unless Noted)

• Adventures of Darwin $10
• Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Jet Fusion $10
• Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood $15
• Burnout 2: Point of Impact $10
• Champions of Norrath (Case and Disc) $30
• Darkwatch $25
• Def Jam: Fight for NY $90
• Devil May Cry $10
• Escape from Monkey Island $10
• Final Fantasy X $10
• Freedom Fighters $10
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy $25
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Case and Disc) $10
• Gun $10
• Jak 3 $10
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (Disc Only) $5
• Jak II (Disc Only) $5
• Madden 11 $10
• NBA Street (Case and Disc) $10
• NBA Street Vol 2 $20
• NCAA Football 09 $10
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 $10
• Psychonauts $25
• Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando $10
• Shadow of the Colossus $15
• Silent Hill 2 $70
• Singstar Pop Vol. 2 $10
• Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory $10
• Taz: Wanted $15
• Tekken 4 $10
• Tekken TAG Tournament $10

PS4 (CIB unless noted)

• Dragonball Z: Karakot (Case and Disc) $25
• Injustice 2 $15
• Minecraft: Playstation 4 Edition (Case and Disc) $20
• Sniper Elite 3 (Disc only) $10
• The Hunter: Call of the Wild 2019 $15

PSP (CIB Unless Noted)

• NCAA Football 10 $20
• Tekken: Dark Resurrection $15

XBOX (CIB Unless Noted)

• Atari Anthology $10
• Blitz: The League $5
• Mechassault $5
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted $5
• Sega GT 2002 (Case and Disc) $10
• Sega Soccer Slam (Case and Disc) $10
• SSX Tricky $10
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon $5
• Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Case and Disc) $10
• Turok: Evolution $5
• Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions $5

XBOX 360 (CIB Unless Noted)

• Call of Duty: Black Ops (Case and Disc) $10
• Call of Duty: Black Ops II $15
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion $10
• F1 2010 $10
• Fable II $10
• Facebreaker $10
• Fight Night Champion (Case and Disc) $15
• Grand Theft Auto V $10
• Halo Reach $10
• Karaoke Revolution $10
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 $10
• Left 4 Dead (Game of the Year Edition) $10
• Left 4 Dead 2 $15
• Madden 17 $25
• Qubed $10
• The Bigs $10
• The Price is Right: Decades $10
• Tomb Raider: Legend $10
• Witcher 2: Assassin's of Kings (Case and Disc) $20

Intellivision (Cartridge only unless noted)

• Intellivision II console w/ controllers and cords $45
  
• Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (CIB) $15
  
• Bowling $5
  
• Burgertime $10
  
• Football $5
  
• Frogger $5
  
• Kool-Aid Man $10
  
• Las Vegas Poker & Blackjack (CIB) $5
  
• Major League Baseball $5
  
• Mission X $5
  
• Shark! Shark! $15
  
• Skiing (CIB) $5
  
• Thunder Castle $30
  

<<2021-02-02 / 2359 (UTC)>>
>>A.K.A. 1559~PST, 02-02<<
<> 3-5
<> 3-5
<> Las Vegas, Pueblo Corporate Council
<> Player Scaled/ Extraction / Semi-Prime
<> Le Jus Basique, SR5 CRB
A single poker chip emblazoned with a logo of a pair of dice rolls through the host, colliding with the jobs board and embedding itself that as it begins spinning, its features taking on the kaleidoscopic whorl of a roulette wheel.
<>
<>
Please consider a small donation with your purchase today to your local Knight-Errant Widows & Orphans fund. Tickets to your next Lone Star Security Officer’s Ball are also available from your local Safeway-MixtecaMarketon & participating Kroger-Raley’s franchises, and patrol officers may also have tickets! {{PLEASE DO NOT ACCOST OFFICERS DURING SECURITY PROCEDURES}} Your safety is our service!
OOC:
[HARDCORE CONTENT WARNING] GM DOCUMENT HERE!
I cannot rightly disclaim any content from my run. Fading to black will be mandatory for all sexual content beyond social roll calculation. I will do my best to avoid offending players with unnecessary descriptive quality, but the world of Shadowrun that I create is dark, cruel, and brutal.
Please detail: Time since last run, your Discord handle if it is different than your Reddit, and the character sheets/info regarding runner pertinent to running(special interest groups, vendettas). IC responses are not necessary, but should be in the form of a calling card or referral memo from your Fixer to the Johnson.

So, I will preface this by saying that I don't go on Reddit much, but do read a lot of stories (mostly in youtube compilations). Also, I don't know anything about QAnon. But in describing... everything that happened with my stepdad, my fiancée told me I should post my story here. So that's what I will do. It's a long one.
So I have a lot of baggage. My parents (mom and stepdad; dad has been out of the picture for a long time now) were emotionally, mentally, and verbally abusive. Never physically, though. To this day, they gaslight and try to manipulate me, and I am sure this has contributed to my lost memories. I have trust and relationship issues now too.
It really started when my stepdad came into the picture. My father was angry, drunk, and did hard drugs. Refused to work or parent, just played Call of Duty and online poker. My mom was miserable, playing the buffer between us and him, worked the shit shift at a shit job to provide for us, and did her best to find time to be a parent to me and my 3 siblings around all that.
Then the divorce happened, and she was a single parent of 4 kids with an addict ex-husband who refused to (and still has not to this day) pay child support. Shortly after she meets my stepfather. He brings us all to his church (which he has since quit for being too liberal and money-hungry). It is all well and fine, for a while. He is really nice, mom is happy, we have a man taking up a fatherly role in our lives for the first time ever. Then things start feeling... off...
He starts making arbitrary rules and disciplining us with his fucked up mind games. I remember one time, to make me and my brother stop bickering, he threatened to make us stay in each others' bedrooms. Sleep in each others' beds. Not be allowed back to our own room. For a few days. Another time, he took my brother's door off the hinges and gave him zero privacy for backtalking him. Dishes HAD to be done by hand, no more using the fully functional dishwasher, for no reason other than he said so. We had to do it in a super specific way he showed us too. One time he sent me and my brother into our rooms for an hour to each come up with a written list on how we would punish ourselves if he ever caught us bickering again, and pray he approved it, because we didn't want to know what HE could come up with.
He had all of us pick out our 3 most favorite things we owned. Then told us that if we ever pissed him off too badly, he would throw away everything we owned besides our beds, clothes, our bible, and those 3 items we picked. He would steal small toys and trinkets we had from us so he could "surprise" us as adults with them unexpectedly. I have gotten a few long-lost beloved toys back already. I once got caught hanging out with a friend at her house one day. College classes let out super early and I wasn't keen on going home to my toxic house, so I hung out at my friend's until the usual time to go home. My cousin had spotted me leaving the college by chance and called my house to make sure I was meant to be out that way (it was a ways away from home, I was with someone he hadn't met, and he didn't know I was in college). When I got home, I was tasked with writing down every lie I had ever told, or else I would lose everything I owned besides my bed, bible, clothes, and 3 favorite belongings.
The stories go on and on, and I don't even remember a lot of them because I have apparently repressed a lot of memories.
We weren't allowed cell phones or videogames. Computer was for school work only and he would monitor all the stuff you did it administratively from his computer. If you were even one second late coming home, heaven help you. Not allowed to buy a car before the day I moved out. He would brag about planning on kicking my younger brother out on his 18th birthday. If you "messed up" and did anything wrong within a week of spending time with a friend, they were a "bad influence" and were never allowed to see them again outside of school. Unless the friend was useful to them, like one friend who gave me rides to and from college (I did a program where I took college classes while in high school).
He believed, and outright stated, that since he was a teenager once upon a time that he knew everything we thought. We made an innocent mistake, like forgot to check to see if any dishes needed to be washed before watching TV? No, we chose to do it intentionally as an act of rebellion just to piss him off. And we were liars if we claimed otherwise. Whenever anything bad happened and it involved us at all, we would get in trouble if we did not accept 100% of the responsibility and blame. Example: if there was an unexpected change in plans and it left us in a tight spot, it was our fault for not planning better. If we ran out of something we needed (for like cooking or school) it was our fault for not letting mom know before her last trip to the store.
He would use his religion as an excuse to rule over the whole family, including my mom, with an iron fist. What he says, goes. I remember one time he started screaming at me for wearing the same shirt to church every week (we were forced to go) and I said it was because it was the only nice dress-shirt-type of shirt I had. Mom defended me and said I didn't have any other "nice" shirts to wear. He called her a bad wife for arguing with him. To him, the man of the house was the leader. The wife and children are meant to be obedient, and obey everything he says without question. In turn, it is man's duty to lead and provide for the family. He, and my mom, believe that mental illness (such as ADHD, ADD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc...) are all made up by people who want attention and the only "real" mental disorders are the super bad ones like schizophrenia. Super convenient for a narcissist, right?
My stepdad is not only a narcissist, but also one of those crazy conspiracy theorists. Anti-vaxxer, flat-Earther, the whole 9 yards. We've never been to space or the moon. "They" are spraying chemtrails in the sky all day every day from airplanes. "They" (meaning "the bad guys" which may mean some or all of the following: the USA government, the satan-worshipping illuminati, the sheeple, the World government, the evil ultra-rich bazillionares who sold their souls for their success and run the world... you get the picture). The Catholic church is actually secretly the illuminati and the Pope is their leader. The Coronavirus is just a massive lie made up by Them so they could hard-reset the world economy and train us to follow orders and so They can see how far They can push us before we even notice or take action. The vaccine is evil and poison and may or may not contain a microchip. The "Mark of the beast" in the bible will be a government-issued microchip used to track you and assign you a social score and all that shit. They want to take out guns so we have no way of defending ourselves against Them when They send the military out. All of these conspiracies he gets from a mix of websites. I won't name any, but I know of a few. Because growing up, we were forced to "research" and read "news articles" off these websites daily. He flip-flops between singing Trump's praises and berating him as just another corrupt government official who lied his way into office with false promises to the "woke" people. But I guarantee you that he would applaud the insurrection that happened on the news today.
He started pushing all of his views onto my mom and siblings. With... mixed reception. All of us shrug off some of the really crazy ones, like how all celebrities make deals with demons for their fame. But my mom and 2 of my siblings have started believing a lot of what he says. Now they are also flat-Earther anti-vaxxers who point at clouds and cry "chemtrails!" I just try to avoid politics and any of these crazy theories whenever I spend time with my family. I don't do a lot of talking with them at all, actually. I am either lying and deflecting to keep them from prying too deeply into my life, or sitting quietly while my stepdad goes on a rant.
My stepdad can be really creepy. When I still lived there, I would occasionally sit on his knee (a habit I picked up as a kid, and I would still do it to be "affectionate" and fly under his radar, he loved and encouraged it), but when I got older he would start to rub my thighs, my back really close to my ass, and my sides close to my chest. Made me super uncomfortable so I quit doing that. Never went any beyond that, and I am not sure it was even intentional. I ask my sister (who still lives with him and my mom) every time I see her if he has ever done anything inappropriate or made her uncomfortable, and she says he hasn't. Also he has this weird obsession with my, my sister's, and my mom's feet? Mainly mine though, since they are the softest. That also weirds me out.
They have put me through Hell and back. This all kept up until I moved out at 19, and they tried every tactic under the sun to get me to move back. Mainly my stepdad was the problem, but my mom isn't innocent either. She let this happen. She went along with it. And she became part of the problem when she started supporting the abuse from my stepdad, and believing in his crazy conspiracy theories. Plus, she was homophobic and racist to begin with. Throw in a hefty dose of believing in and pressuring me and my sister into gender stereotyped roles (expects us to be homemaker housewife baby machines) and she adds her own problems into the mix. Also, she straight up ignored me and accused me of lying and saying hateful things out of anger the one time I told her that I hated my stepdad and what he put me through. I told her all this after the incident I described above, where I went to a friend's house instead of home when college let out early. She gaslights and manipulates me too. Mainly to feel small, scared, and like I need to run to them for advice and help. She wants me back under her thumb. She wants me to move away from my current house, because I am living with a roomate she hates (a "bad influence" friend and one whose house she is not welcome at).
Despite all of that, I don't cut contact with my family. I don't even argue with them. I spot manipulation when I can and acknowledge it internally. I don't call them out on it. I don't challenge or argue about politics, or these conspiracy theories, or their racism or homophobia. I don't rock the boat. Because at the end of the day, I still love my mom and siblings. Despite all their flaws. I would be devastated if they were no longer in my life. But it chips away at me, every minute I spend with them. Every homophobic comment I have to just swallow, because I know I could never tell them I am a lesbian and am engaged to a woman. It kills me to have to hide her away, like a dirty secret, and I know it hurts her too. But I don't know what to do from here. I feel awful not challenging my family, but I feel it is a lost cause. I could never change their minds, only lose them from my life. I know it is inevitable anyways, but I still don't cut my family out. Partly because the fallout would be NUCLEAR, and partly because I want to put it off as long as possible so I still have them in my life.
Anyways, I doubt anyone will see this. But it feels good to get this off my chest a bit. Thanks to anyone who did take the time to read this.