In his first lecture here, Mr. Toda made clear the primary purpose of his visit, saying, "I came here to stamp out poverty and disease in Kansai and Osaka."

You don't say! With what?? Certainly not with medicine or money, THAT's for sure!

In this manner, all the leaders, the representatives of the chapters, are definitely proving that they have become healthy and rich just as Mr. Toda had predicted.
I sincerely hope you will follow the examples given by the five leaders. Trust them as your seniors and continue patiently in your belief in the Dai-Gohonzon for seven, ten, or twenty years, with a firm conviction that you can be cured of any disease and that you will surely become rich, as Mr. Toda has taught us. - Ikeda, "Open an Attack on the Tenrikyo" speech, May 8, 1960, Lectures on Buddhism Vol. I, The Seikyo Press, Tokyo, 1962, pp. 7-8.

Well THAT's certainly a big pile of LIES! This was during Japan's economic recovery, when the "rising tide" was "lifting all boats":

The Japanese economic miracle refers to Japan's record period of economic growth between the post-World War II era and the end of the Cold War. During the economic boom, Japan rapidly became the world's second-largest economy (after the United States). By the 1990s, Japan's population demographics had begun to stagnate, and the workforce was no longer expanding as quickly as it had in the previous decades despite per-worker productivity remaining high.
The U.S. was also concerned with the growth of the economy of Japan because there was a risk that an unhappy and poor Japanese population would turn to communism and by doing so, ensure Soviet control over the Pacific.
However, some scholars argue that Japan's postwar growth spurt would not have been possible without Japan's alliance with the United States, since the United States absorbed Japanese exports, tolerated controversial Japanese trade practices, subsidized the Japanese economy, and transferred technology to Japanese firms; thereby magnifying the effectiveness of Japanese trade policy. Wikipedia

Of course Ikeda insisted that the Sokagakkai members' economic recovery was "divine favor of the Gohonzon" or of the "Dai-Gohonzon":

receiving great divine favor from the Dai-Gohonzon. - Ikeda, "Gakkai Members! Be Lion-Hearted" speech, December 5, 1960, Lectures on Buddhism Vol. I, The Seikyo Press, Tokyo, 1962, p. 274.
Through our own efforts we can to some extent develop our destiny and alter our karma, but we alone cannot change them fundamentally⏤only through the Gohonzon can this be accomplished.
Now hopes arise when we wish to be happy and wealthy, when we wish to recover from disease, or when we wish to prosper in business. What enables these desires to be achieved is the Buddhism of Honnin-myo, the Dai-Gohonzon.

If wishes were horses...

The Dai-Gohonzon, therefore, has great power. Every human being must chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo to the Dai-Gohonzon. - Ikeda, "Organization of the Soka Gakkai" speech, November 11, 1960, Ibid., pp. 230-231.

Just not after 2014 😶
Oopsie 😬

The aim of the Sokagakkai lies in believing in and propagating the Dai-Gohonzon. We have no other intention. Nichiren Daishonin made His advent for the single purpose of inscribing the Dai-Gohonzon to save mankind forever. We cannot, therefore, be happy unless we believe in this Dai-Gohonzon.
Without the Dai-Gohonzon, there can be no meaning for the existence of Nichiren Shoshu, nor of the Sokagakkai, the Matsumoto Chapter, the Study Department or the Culture department. The baisis of all these lies in the Dai-Gohonzon. In order to attain true happiness, we have organizations, doctrines, instructions and various other actuviities. We should not misinterpret this point. - Ikeda, "A Single Body Dispelling Misery" speech, November 10, 1960, Ibid., p. 224.

Wow - things sure did change, didn't they??? 😄

In addition, Mr. Toda went to every part of this country, instructing the way to practice Nichiren Daishonin's teachings. He used to say, "If you never fail to observe the Goza [5-recitation/prayer morning gongyo ritual] in the morning and the Sanza [3-recitation/prayer evening gongyo ritual] in the evening and gain at least one family a month, then your troubles will surely be solved."
His guidance was given neither for certain past periods, nor merely for the general members, but it is applied to every member of the Sokagakkai including the top leaders and myself. Therefore, the best solution for one's tragic sufferings is to observe daily worship regularly (Goza and Sanza) and to gain [shakubuku] one family a month during the year, as Mr. Toda instructed us during his life time. If you do so, trouble will certainly be solved within a year. - Ikeda, "Daily Worship and Shakubuku" lecture, May 16, 1960, Ibid., p. 27.

Within a YEAR! IMAGINE!!
So this is why no one in SGI is getting better - they're not convincing one family to convert every month!
And they're doing the WRONG gongyo.

Let's try the faith to see whether we can receive actual proof or not⏤whether diseases are cured, whether we can improve our lives, and whether we can reach a state of peaceful stability in life. I say this because the Gohonzon has absolute power. ... Even though you don't understand Buddhistic theory, you can receive divine favor in your daily lives if you continue praying to the Gohonzon. - Ikeda, "Peaceful Stability of Life" speech, November 13, 1960, Ibid., pp. 235-236.
It is my earnest wish that you unite with each other under the leadership of your Chapter Chief, receiving boundless divine favor from the Gohonzon. In fact, I hope you will receive such great favor that one day you will complain of your richness, yearning to be poor again at least for a while. Thus when a person meets you, he will want to believe in this religion, being so impressed with your happiness. - Ikeda, "Five Impurities of Life" speech, November 4, 1960, Ibid., p. 212.

Yeah right 🙄
"Come slum in a crowded, noisy trailer park to be totally happy and upscale!!!"

No matter what may happen, wherever we may be, let us firmly keep our faith in the Gohonzon. If one can only pray to the Gohonzon seriously, the nation or the whole world, as well as the individual and his family, will be absolutely safe. - Ikeda, "Do Away With Formalities" speech, September 27, 1960, Ibid., p. 200.

Nobody tell the Ukrainians... Seriously, SGI members - what's WRONG with your prayers?? They're utterly USELESS!

Lastly, I will speak about actual proof (Gensho). Proof is better than argument. It is easy to merely mouth good opinions, but what is essential is whether the acutal [sic] proof of faith is acquired and whether the followers have become happier or not, whether their diseases are crued [sic], or they have realized the eternity of life, or if they have gained spiritual enlightenment and the peace of a happy state of life⏤these are the actual proof. There must be actual proof in daily life⏤this is the teaching of Nichiren Daishonin.
Buddhism is based upon the Law of Causality. You worship the Gohonzon and then you receive actual proof. This is cause and effect. A man who does not appreciate divine favor to the full is one who thinks only idealistically, or is not so earnest in faith. Everyone of us can gain actual proof of the supremacy of Buddhism. Personal experience⏤i.e.., whether one has been cured of disease or not, whether one has become rich or not, whether one has a prosperous business or not, or whether one has improved his life or not⏤is essential because it is the teacher of faith. Faith is life. Let's lead significant lives, receiving the great favor in full from the Gohonzon. - Ikeda, "Nichiren Shoshu, the Supreme Buddhism" speech, June 17, 1960, Ibid., pp. 138-140.

I think the Gohonzon broke...

Former President Josei Toda taught us that the revolution of religion is the revolution of character. Thus the poor become rich, the weak healthy and the stupid wise. In this way we can change our miserable lives into happy ones. - Ikeda, "Slanderers Will Incur Punishment" speech, May 26, 1960, Ibid., p. 42.

THAT's sure a big fat PORKY PIE!! Was Icky wearing his asbestos pants that day? Maybe THAT's why he looks so uncomfortable.
People who join SGI don't get better. They typically are struggling with the same problems, year after year. No miraculous transformations of the kind Toda and Ikeda were describing happen; if they did, then the SGI-USA organization would have a reputation of consisting of "the most upwardly-mobile Buddhists" instead of "attributed almost exclusively as a Buddhism of lower classes and minorities in the United States". And when lower-class people join the SGI, they remain lower class. They do not become inexplicably upwardly mobile; if they are able to do better, it's through their own hard work, no different from everyone else in society (who are typically doing better than they are).

...a fine headquarters building has been established. I hope you will make sincere efforts to build yourselves even more splendid homes than this headquarters as soon as possible, enjoying great divine favor of the Dai-Gohonzon to live pleasant and harmonious lives with your families. - Ikeda, "Pure Financial Affairs" speech, December 7, 1960, Ibid. pp. 280-281.

Avarice! GREED!!

We often hear of people who receive divine reward just one day after conversion, or who are completely cured of their diseases after only a few days' faith.

• Ikeda, "Ha-Wagoso⏤Criticism of the Sokagakkai" speech, June 28, 1960, Ibid., p. 117.

After only a few DAYS of joining the Ikeda cult??? Nope. I don't believe that for an instant. I'll wager that the "Criticism of the Sokagakkai" was RICHLY earned through Ikeda being such a huge lying jerk!

I have often heard that the first president, Mr. Makiguchi, talked of "experimental proof." If men cannot attain happiness through worshipping the Gohonzon devoutly and working as disciples of the True Buddha, I myself would have given up the faith long ago. ... If they had not attained happiness, they would have dropped out along the way, thinking "This faith is ridiculous!" ...
However, as a matter of fact, we have firm belief in the Gohonzon because we have received great divine favor.

If the Gohonzon did not give any help or answer us in spite of our faithful and enthusiastic belief, we had better stop having faith in the Gohonzon. If the Gohonzon is powerless, you had better not believe.

• Ikeda, "Experimental Proof of Divine Favor" speech, November 24, 1960, Ibid. p. 253.

THERE's the problem of raising people's hopes too high like that, Icky.
Anyone who is NOT satisfied with their "benefits" from their SGI practice is fully justified in quitting - ICKEDA SAYS!!!
If our practice to the Gohonzon failed to yield the benefits we sought, we were CORRECT in quitting. Remember that.
By the end of that same year, though, Ikeda was already trying to walk it back - with regard to a poorly-attended meeting:

Somebody told me that only half of the expected audience is attending. There is nothing at all to worry about. This is neither a celebration for the president nor for the chapter leaders. Some will be late on account of business, and others will not come because they do not want to. If only the members come who are delighted about the formation of new chapters, and desire more favor from the Gohonzon it is enough.
It is the same with lecture and discussion meetings. Only those who seek true Buddhism will be granted divine favor and be able to change their destinies. This is the spirit in which the meetings of the Sokagakkai are held. - Ikeda, "Four Kinds of Hobo" speech, December 19, 1960, Ibid., pp. 287-288.

If you don't show up for the Ikeda cult activities, expect NO benefits! And it's all YOUR fault!
These were from the first months after Ikeda finally seized the presidency of the Sokagakkai, more than 2 years after Toda died. In these early lectures, he routinely invokes Toda and even Makiguchi as the "mentors" and authorities; it wasn't long, though, until he started replacing them with himself, putting himself into the forefront of all his speechifying. But for those first few months, Icky obviously felt it was necessary to defer to those others, particularly Toda, whom most of the members had been quite attached to, in order to keep their allegiance while he (Icky) was still new in the role.

Alright, so here's the deal. I've been wanting to do a full playthrough of a Zelda game for a long while now, but never really had the opportunity to do so until recently. I only had a PS2 growing up, and when I got to college I prioritized getting a PS4 over any other console, so I only had a few brief chances to play LoZ when either a friend or a roommate let me play for a few minutes or a couple hours. The furthest I've gotten in any game was the second dungeon of Ocarina of Time, the one where you fight that salamander thing as child!Link in fire mountain... but hell, I actually really enjoyed it, even if it felt a bit clunky here and there (due to being an older game).
So when I heard how great Breath of the Wild was, and how much of a game changer it was, it naturally went on my backlog of games I want to play. So when I FINALLY get a switch, BotW was one of the first games I buy/download. Here I was, excited to REALLY play a Zelda game and enjoy this series that I had been low-key fascinated with off and on since I was like six years old. I boot up the game, and begin playing... only to die over and over again of times just trying to get to the four towers and dungeons on the plateau where you start. The old man who wants to give you the paraglider is a bit of an annoying jerk that rubs me the wrong way, the robots snipe me when I'm just trying to find the quickest way from point A to point B, and my damn weapons keep breaking before I have a chance to really get used to them or do so right in the middle of combat when I have little or no other tools to replace them with, the environmental affects that require proper clothing are annoying (the number of times I died just trying to cross or work my way around that lake up in the freezing mountain area... grrrrrr!), etc. I've tried picking it back up every so often, only for me to stare at the screen and not even move my character, lose interest 5 minutes into my intended play session, and/or rage quit due to too many deaths or something annoying me just enough to go do something else. I REALLY want to like this game and enjoy it but at this point... I feel like it's, at best, a meh experience at best and can't bring myself to actually work my way through it. Its just not fun...
For context, I have ADHD and so its not uncommon for me to both become randomly and stubbornly engrossed in playing one single game for hours/weeks on end, and just drop one game randomly in favor of another game that I suddenly just randomly desire to play five minutes into a gaming session. It's also common for me to go days or weeks not playing anything, then splurge for weeks playing on my consoles. I don't mind open world games or platforming. I've EATEN up Days Gone, God of War, and the one Assassin's Creed game I actually played. I LOVE story games, as I've played the hell out of the first Last of Us. I ate up Sonic games when I was younger and still enjoy playing Sonic 3 and Knuckles. Strategy games? Played StarCraft II for half my life at this point, despite how rage inducing it can be. FPS? I'll play a casual game of Halo (if my buddy owns it and is willing to do multiplayer), or CoD Zombies despite the fact that I suck at them. Arcade games? Pacman and Tetris can keep me occupied for a good hour if I'm in the right mood, and Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate is literally the game I play the most on my laptop currently. As far as Nintendo games, I've regularly played Animal Crossing and Pokemon Shining Pearl the most (and Pokemon barely interested me until recently. What is wrong with me. !!!), with the occasional short dabble into Super Mario Maker 2 or Super Smash Bros Brawl in small doses.
I've stubbornly persisted with games that have annoying mechanics, or things that I "hate" before, and still ended up enjoying myself to some extent. Hell, the damn fairy in OoT is damn irritating as hell, arguably mores than old man paraglider. So why the is it that this particular Zelda game is so off-putting to me?

Epilogue

A brief, beautiful series of vignettes. We close the loop on some emotional beats, as well as receive promises/foreshadowings of further adventures.

Epigraph

The opening verses of Rumor Born, and possibly my favorite piece of poetry in the whole novel. It took me until this epigraph to realize that the title itself is referring to the city of Darujhistan and it's history. That said, given the fact that the work describes the events of the novel itself, and is written by the same guy who wrote Anomandris, then either Fisher was a Seer of incredible power or else has an immensely long lifespan. Possibly both, although the fact that Fisher's birth date is unknown implies the latter. Even at the end, answers only invite further questions.
The only other point of note is the reference to the "Gates of Nowhere" but I'm unsure what that might mean. The SCDAT?

The Epilogue Itself

The remaining Bridgeburners land back where they'd initially launched from at the beginning of Book 3, preparing to await their Moranth escort. Quick Ben and Whiskeyjack watch Moon's Spawn drift south, possibly to find another contest, this time against the Pannion Seer. Whiskeyjack's headaches have been lessening, possibly in response to his loosening heart, less guarded than the one he bore into Darujhistan. His cool reference to the loss of three members not being "that bad, considering" and Mallet's pained response shows the change has yet to take in full, but the Seargent has begun a slow road back to humanity. We leave the Bridgeburners with an ominous note, that Quick Ben has hatched another scheme, a big feint, one which might run over poorly with Whiskeyjack.
Captain Paran watches his men below on the beach, contemplating everything it cost him to get here. His... unique nature has granted new senses, and a growing awareness of Silverfox. Whether or not the romance between Paran and Tattersail was Oppon compelled or not, the two resolve to reunite in time. Mysteriously, they communicate over vast distances, although it seems to be an unreliable process. He has buried Lorn, now finally a soldier, holding in the position once held by the very man who warned him against this path, walking a path of ruin himself. Ganoes Paran, the gods have noticed you, and their gaze is unlikely to fall from someone who survived their use — what will you make of yourself?
Kalam, Fiddler, Apsalar, and Crokus sail west for Dhavran. The former claw is amused by the two youths and their naive innocence. Crokus asks after Unta, and they speak of leaving others behind, and moving forward. Kalam holds nothing against Apsalar, she's just a girl, after all. Crokus objects to this and discards the Coin, no longer in need of luck. Circle Breaker, even here barely noticed, decides to inform the Eel one last time that the Coin Berrer has freed himself, then looks forward, anticipating a new life. Also, the monkey's a demon, which probably means something that it decided to stick around.
And so, with beautiful prose and bittersweet optimism, so ends the first tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen.

Gardens of the Moon

An excellent start all around! We've yet to see how fitting it may be for the rest of the series, but for now, I'm hooked! So much of this rode on Erikson's ability to pull off this massively ambitious departure from the commonplace, and he managed to pull it off far better than could be expected. While I recognize his inspirations in histories and anthropology, being able to port one form of literature to another, not only across genres but the fiction/non-fiction divide, is seriously impressive. While doing so without sacrificing much of the strengths of either format; even leveraging them to complement one another, is a staggering feat. I'll be breaking things down, although these categories are listed in no particular order, into Plot, Characters, Setting, Cosmology (encompassing the more fantastical elements from magic to races), and Prose/Format.

Plot

Favorite plots include the whole Jaghut Tyrant arc (for obvious reasons), Paran's Excellent adventure, and the whole Coll/Lady Simttal arc.
The deep lore cuts of all the Jaghut and T'lan Imass storylines are incredible, worldbuilding on a scope that allows for geological/evolutionary implications. The powers at play boggle the imagination and feel realized despite their incomprehensibility. Not necessarily "cosmic horror" although that plays a part, but a cosmic spectacle nonetheless. Ending, of course, with an apocalyptic battle feeling like the climax of a series of epics we barely get to glimpse. Looking forward to seeing so much more of this side of the Malazverse. I will say, the T'lan Imass gathering never really occurred, but I expect that's still coming.
Paran's whole plotline, beginning with quickly snuffed youthful aspirations, to political maneuverings, to being a pawn in the interplay between many gods and ascendants, to shaking free of the powers chaining him, if not necessarily free of what has happened to him, was great to watch unfold. It was the most straightforward "quest fantasy" of the book, touching on many cool places and meeting a wide variety of characters. Paran's brute "I'm already dead anyway so I may as well attack things head on" strategy was refreshing to watch, his relationships to Topper, Tattersail, and Toc were all great and helped to show his evolving character. Connecting with the Bridgeburners and helping them sort everything going on out was cathartic. And of course, the elephant in the room, the Dragnripur episode was fascinating and haunting and I need more.
Then there was the whole Oppon-infused plan regarding Lady Simtal and particularly its climax, was fantastic. I'm a sucker for plotlines that were technically successful yet have the characters involved come away regretting it happening in the first place. The solidarity between the Phoenix Inn regulars was great, as well as untangling their connections to one another. No there's no objective reason this one stood above the other Darujhistan plotlines, but I jive with it.
Other plots, such as all the Tiste Andii background intrigue, Crokus's whole ordeal, as well as Tattersail's plotline are great as well.
Most of the Tiste Andii stuff needs to be unpacked more fully down the road, as is we have only a brief glimpse into this massive, alien world on Moon's Spawn. Caladan Brood, Kallor, the unseen Prince K'azz, and Crone all seem to have their own intrigue going on, keeping someone reigned in. As for that someone, Anomander Rake's whole deal is a whole deal, I'm enthralled to see more of this obsolete great desperately try to get his people to care about anything again. The dragons are all tangled in this as well. Yea, I did just spend a lot of words just implying things without divulging much of what it meant, but so did Erikson and I'm hooked.
So Oppon's big plan seems to just keep nudging this one unwitting kid around via hormones and coincidence to drag the genuinely important players around. This is fascinating because it seems all Oppon wanted to do was mess with the Empire. For reasons that aren't quite clear yet, the gods seem terrified of this growing coalition of power on the part of the mortals and are doing what they can to slow this down. Even more interesting, they'd likely be able to curb-stomp the mortals pretty easily if they all weren't in their own cold war with one another. Oppon did seem to be multitasking a bit with messing with Shadow, but I'm less certain why they'd have beef outside of each operating in the "screw with stuff we shouldn't" domain.
Tattersall's (or now Silverfox's) arc is of course left wide open by the end of this, but is great. The Deck of Dragons is a fantastic narrative device, as we get assurance of the god's machinations in the background without having to pull the curtain back all the way. Also, one of the lingering questions I have is who the Ascendant that messed with the reading she did with Tayscheren was. I guess Shadowthrone? The whole soul-shifting arc and rebirth sequence are haunting and more than a but disturbing, but that speaks to the alternatives she could have undergone from her stunt in body-hopping. Her relationship with romance was a bit, odd, but there's a non-trivial element of divine meddling so it's cool ig.
The plotting is currently the strongest element of M:BotF thus far. That we had like 14 different plot threads splitting off and overlapping and drawing together over the course of the narrative is insane. That many of these plot threads managed to enliven and enlighten one another, narratively, thematically, and lore-wise, only makes the whole multiplicatively stronger than the sum of its parts. Everything felt pretty natural, with the threads that did overlap often doing so secondarily, as natural consequences rather than merging together into one mega-climax. I mean, we did get one mega-climax-sequence, but that was far more due to their proximity rather than each even being doomed to become defined by one another. Events that started separately for separate reasons stayed separate, but the shared pool of locations and characters helped to cause each of these to be deeply interconnected in the lives of those characters. Speaking of which...

Characters

My relationship with the characters of this novel is a bit interesting. They serve their plots wonderfully, and nearly every one of them has several standout moments in both word and deed. Yet, on the whole, they're, fine. I guess they're... exactly the sum of their parts? Don't get me wrong, these are extremely good parts they're made of. New character archetypes, old ones played extremely well, old ones given genuinely inventive twists. These are very good characters, but possibly the weakest pillar of the novel. The dialogue is weighty and meaningful, betraying a depth to the world and the people in it. Actions are (usually) thought out, exceptions to this rule are all true to a character or under extenuating circumstances. I want to see more of all of them. It's just, there isn't much of that "x factor" a lot of great character writers bring out.
I've already praised Paran, his attitude, and his motives. He's way over his head at the best of times and just has to bluff and namedrop long enough to survive to a point where he can effect genuine change. That effort changes him pretty drastically, and while he is somewhat better off for it, it is a sad thing to see the naive kid in him die off so soon.
Tattersail is interesting to me, I like her, but as a character she's on the weaker end of the cast. We do see her strong emotions and compassion explored a bit, but she takes a pretty hard left turn plot wise before that goes much of anywhere. We'll have to wait and see how Silverfox pans out.
Whiskeyjack fascinates me, we don't get too much of who he is, just all that's left of him of being ground into the dust. I can't wait to see Whiskeyjack the Old Guard thaw off more, as well as Whiskeyjack the man.
Quick Ben and Kalam probably stand as my current favorite Bridgeburners, their bromance being a highlight of the novel all while standing as fascinating characters on their own. Quick Ben has, all kinds of backstory running around, as well as secrets on top of that, but what we know of him so far is great. Kalam's just world-weary, yet he can't help but keep moving forward until he can bow out legitimately. The two of them are so much fun on top of being fascinating.
Dujek and Tayscheren, while not super present in the novel, are pretty great characters in their own right. Dujek, last of the Old Guard with any real power, just trying to do what he can for his men. And Tayscheren, not necessarily evil, but just a guy swallowed up in his own job.
Hairlock, while not making too much of a splash in the grand scheme of things, was an incredibly fun inclusion and a great initial antagonist. Just a power-mad goofy little guy who doubles as our first major look into this world's magic and cosmology.
Adjunct Lorn was one of the standout characters of the novel, a woman enslaved to her own self-justification. Torn between the scared girl trapped in the mines and the unfeeling super claw, unable to reconcile the two before the end. Her constant contradictions and tensions within her character were fascinating to watch.
And Toc, poor Toc man. A great guy who I'd loved to have seen more of, just being such an interesting character on top of being fun. I feel he's introduced some interesting concepts, from the "inner sight" superstition of Seven Cities to whomever his dad is, but the credits have rolled and my guy is still down for the count, so I'll be interested to see how these elements are brought back.
Crokus Younghand stands out in this novel as the one, lone dumbass. Stop being literally me Crokus, you're embarrassing us. His interactions with everyone are great, quickly vacillating between idealism and stubbornness, romanticism and a parody grimdark woe-is-me view of reality. Every interaction he has with a woman is golden, but not particularly a glowing performance on his end.
Magnanimous Kruppe the First is the indesputable highpoint of this esteemed tale, and I will not hear otherwise. He is of course, bestowed of many virtues, chief among so his delight in the many pleasures of this world, second among so his capacity to indulge in any virtue or pleasure at will. Cleverest of anyone we see here, able to run conversations by himself with faux humility (for what does Kruppe have a need to be humble about?) and keep the magnificent city of Darujhistan in his pocket. There is a power vacuum of sorts our dear Eel needs to fulfill, and there is plenty of the rotund mage to explore each new crevice.
Rallick Nom and Murillio are great as well, in many ways they act as foils of one another. Rallick does what he does because he sees this as his only path through life, holding onto the concept of his actions benefiting others to preserve his mortality. Murillio, on the other hand, has a moral code of sorts but will transgress it if he feels there is a way to benefit a friend sufficiently. In the end, they both wind up morally bankrupt.
Lady Simtal and Turban Orr were fun villains. Not particularly unique but pulled off extremely well.
High Alchemist Baruk seems to have a whole bunch of layers to him. We keep getting allusions to a whole bunch of relevant stories with this man, such as his ascendancy or close friendship to Rallick Nom, but we don't get to see much of it, which I feel is a shame.
Raest is an awsome force of nature villain, believably evil for the sake of it. Namely, his evil is specific which is what makes for great villains of this sort. Raest wanted control over the longterm development of his world, to fundamentally remake things after his own nature.
Anomander freaking Rake. Nuf said.

Setting

While this is our first real look into Wu(?) as a whole, I'll mostly focus on modern-day Genebakis.
A great setting, with a bit of ecological and cultural diversity, although mostly hyperfocused on the city of Darujhistan. Perhaps a bit more could have been done in the set-dressing department. Genebaris received no real description, despite apparently existing in a different biome than the more southern cities. Similarly, he evidently passes through a forest, but of what kind? Touches like these could help further drive in the scope of the narrative physically in a similar manner to the temporal scope. It also is a bit disappointing because when Erikson did go the extra mile to do so, such as Kruppe's dreams or the like, two up-close descriptions of Darujhistan (besides just being big, blue, and copper from far off) were great. Actually, the lack of Darujhistan descriptions was possibly the biggest missed opportunity.
But what we do get in the City of Blue Fire is great and evocative. From the infrastructure to the politics to the culture and religion, it all stands out even among other great fantasy cities.
The Rhivi, Moranth, and Bhargast can all stand to be expanded on, but I get the sense that they'll be more than able to provide on that front once it becomes time. I'm curious to see how southern Genebakis contrasts to the northern reaches, but we'll get to that when we get to that.
Erikson's experience as an anthropologist really shines through, with the breadth, depth, and specificity of the world-building and cultures. I anticipate this element of the BotF rising to the top for me personally once we have more time to watch it unfold.

Cosmology and Magic

So my takes on these have been... rather well received, it seems. I love what tiny bit of the magic and cosmos of the world I've seen so far and look forward to understanding more!
In a lot of ways, it seems magic in this world is itself undergoing an evolutionary process, with all the Elder Warrens to Warrens ascendants and gods, and mortals evidently now being potent enough to overpower the gods themselves. If we expand on this analogy, then a lot of the confusion might be due to poor terminology. E.g. define a fish. Now define a Warren. There seem to be multiple related things all lumped under the same blanket term, despite their functional difference. The magic super highways and demi-planes and isolated pockets within objects (Dragnupir and the Finnest) are all roughly related (fish) while being intrinsically different and likely further classifiable as such (trout, squid, and sharks if you will).
But aside from that residual speculation and just generally saying its cool, I don't got much to say here.

Prose and Format

The prose of GotM was pretty good! Not the best, but serviceable, engaging, and evocative with a handful of really standout passages. I cannot wait to see this take a ten-year leap in Deadhouse Gates!
The formating was interesting. Many chapters were wonderfully interwoven PoV's all complimenting each other. Some could have conceivably been split into multiple quite comfortably, other blended. Makes me wonder why Erikson collected things as he did. Chapter 9 was basically 4 self-contained sequences each a chapter long, lol. ... It's because the Odessy has 24 chapters, isn't it? The book breakdown was terrifically effective, while Books 4, 5, and 6 largely blended together PoV-wise, they each still had their specific goals and arcs.
I'm a major fan of Epigraphs, and these were all great! (Despite my constant timeline and poetry scruples) A lot of my more out-there theorizing tended to be a bit more playful with the epigraphs than I think Erikson ever got, but that's more my own biases talking. I will say, if I ever get around to writing anything, I'd love to go ham on epigraph shenanigans.
All in all, this profoundly unique PoV structure (not so much unique in form as in just how broad and ambitious it is) works to elevate the whole experience. That Erikson so radically adheres to 3rd limited can get somewhat constraining at times, especially when we're not privy to info our PoV has, but overall, it works.

Final Thoughts

So, with all my nit-picking, critiques, and half-praise, did I even like this novel? No, I LOVE it. It is in many ways as advertised, a messy first step into a unique and wildly ambitious new direction, and I'm wholly invested in watching the rest of this unfold!
And now for one last pass through the ancillary goodies:
Dramatis Personae
Is actually quite funny in retrospect. But first:
Sorry is mentioned as a killer in the guise of a young girl. Obvious when you're in the know but it doesn't give the answer right away.
Dancer is mentioned as the advisor (right-hand, if you will) right out of the gate, D'oh.
Toc the Elder disappeared during Laseen's purges, interesting.
Kruppe: a man of false modesty, TRUE
Coll being merely listed as a drunk, technically true.
Chert: "an unlucky bully" lol
Mammot is listed as a High Preist of D'riss, D'oh.
The Eel is listed independently of Kruppe, good cover.
K'Rul is listed as the Maker of Paths, D'oh.
And that's more or less it. (I mean, I only skimmed it before, so its not like a missed anything)

Glossary

Not too much to say here, but a few notes:
Poliel, Missteres of Pestilence, and Soliel, Missteres of Healing have rather similar names, which is interesting.
The Warrens here are all listed as what their actual domains are, which is a nice aid. There don't seem to be any more than the ones named somewhere within the text, which is fine, but a couple odd notes:
Meanas is listed as the Path of Shadow and Illusion, Tattersail mentioned the two domains are connected, whereas Quick Ben (once a High Preist of Shadow) had seemed to regard the two as separate. There's a story there.
Also, Thyr, Tattersaill's Warren, is the Warren of Light, given the apparently... interesting relationship between Light and Dark, particularly Lights evident "corruption" I'd love to see the implications of all this.
The K'chain Che'maille's Elder Warren is not listed, either because it doesn't exist (once again proving them the worst Elder Race, nerds got soloed by some snow, lol) or it was simply never mentioned. Given we have seen at least one magic relic from them, likely the latter.
Also, the Azath is nowhere mentioned, which is interesting in itself.
Well, that's that! See y'all in a week or so, once I've gotten a test out of the way, with the beginning of Deadhouse Gates!

Most of these are cross posted in both eBay and Mercari. I’m always open to reasonable offers.
All comics come bagged and boarded. I always ship comics in a box or Gemini mailer, never in an envelope. Shipping within the US only. 1-2 comics = $6 3-9 comics = $11
Buy 5 or more comics and take $0.25 off each $2 comic and $0.50 off each $3 or higher comic. I’m always open to reasonable offers.
52 Weeks (DC Comics) 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 - $2 each 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 47, 50, 51: - $2 each 3 (1st Adrianna Tomaz, Isis) - $8 7 (1st Kate Kane, VF) - $5 7 (1st Kate Kane) - $8 9 (Cameo Batwoman) - $5 11 (1st Batwoman) - $15 12 (1st Isis) - $15 16 (Black Adam) - $5 23 (1st Osiris) - $5 45 (Black Adam) - $10 front back 46 (Black Adam) - $5 48 (1st Renee Montoya as the Question) - $8 52 Weeks - $5 Comics 52 Weeks - $8 Comics 52 Weeks - $15 Comics
Absolute Carnage Lethal Protectors 1 (2nd Print - 1st Shriek as Demagoblin)front back - $6
Absolute Carnage Miles Morales: 3 front back - $2
Absolution (AWA Upshot) 1 front back - $1
Action Comics 689 - 1st Black Suit Superman front back - $4 780 front back - $4
Age of X-Man Alpha: Blank Variant front1 front2 back1 back2 - $5
Alias Hardcover Volume 1 (Collects Issues #1-9) - $15 shipped via USPS Media Mail front back 1st page notes
Alpha Flight: 111 front back - $2
Amazing Spider-Man 195 - 2nd Appearance and Origin of Black Cat - $50 265 - 1st Silver Sable- $50 30 (Legacy 471) - 1st Ezekiel Sims, 1st Morlun - $50 34 front back - $8 37 front back - $8
Astonishing X-Men (AoA) 1-4 complete set $7
Astro City: 11 front back - $1
Authority 23, 24, 25, 27 - $4 each
Avengers Annual: 18 front back - $2
Avengers Spotlight: 30 front back -$1
Batman Fortnite Zero Point: 5 front back - $5 6 front back - $5
Bishop The Last X-Man 3 front back - $3 4 front back - $3
Black Panther (2022) #3 CGC 9.8, 1st Tosin front back - $180 shipped w/ insurance
Blue Devil: 10 front back - $1
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: 2 front back - $3
Butcher Knight: 1 front back - $1
Cable 23 front back - $3
Cage: 1 front back - $3 1 newsstand front back - $3 2 front back - $2
Captain America 290 - 1st Sin as Mother Superior - $40
Captain Marvel 16 - Cameo of Phyla-Vell - $50
Daredevil 185 front back - $8 186 front back - $6
DC Comics World War III 1-4 DC 52 Weeks follow up with Black Adam. Complete set $8
Deadpool (2014) 31 - 1st Full Ellie Camacho, Deadpool’s daughter $25 33 - Deadpool’s daughter appearance - $5
Empire: 2 front back - $2
Flash: 774 cover A front back - $3 774 Cover B front back - $3
Gamma Flight 3A front back - $3 3B front back - $3 4A front back - $3 4B front back some color rub on front top staple - $3
Geiger: 3 - $5 6 - Cover B, C, D - $10 each
Generation X: 2, 6, 9, 18, 22, 23, 32, 33 - $1 each
Ghost Rider and Blaze Spirits of Vengeance 1 (polybagged) front back - $5
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero (Image): 3 front back - $3 4 front back - $3
Green Arrow (2001) 1-12 - $65 shipped (#1 CGC 9.6, #2-12 raw) Issue 1 is an old 1st gen CGC case with the old red label. These cases aren’t sealed completely and the sides can be slightly separated. See pictures and also CGC forum discussion
Green Lantern 46 front back - $2 46n front back - $2 52 DC Universe Logo front back - $5 53 front back - $2
Guardians of the Galaxy: 27 front back - $1
Gun Honey 1, Adam Hughes FOC Cover front back - $10
Hail Hydra: 1 Blank Variant front back - $5
Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special front back - $5
Hellcop 3 Sketch Cover 3 (Sketch Cover) front back - $4
Hotell Volume 2 1 front back - $3
Huntress (1989) #1, 1st Helena Bertineli - $10 front back
Incredible Hulk: 210 - $10 230 - $6 458, 459, 467 - $3 each
Iron Man 281 - 1st Cameo - $20 281 Marvel Legends Reprint - 1st Cameo - $15
JSA 23 front back - $6 53 front back - $4
Just a Pilgrim (Garth Ennis): 1 front back - $3
Maestro: 3 front back - $3
Marjorie Finnegan Temporal Criminal: 1 front back - $15
Maximum Security: 1 front back - $3
MCMLXXV 1 front back - $2
Midnight Nation: 2 front back - $3 7 front back - $3 8 front back - $3
Morbius the Living Vampire: 2 front back - $2
Nevermen: 1 front back - $1
New Think (AWA Upshot) 1 front back - $2
New Warriors: 6, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29 - $2 each
New X-Men Academy X: 25, 35, 37, 43 - $3 each
Nice House on the Lake 2 front back - $8 3 front back - $8 4 front back - $5 5 front back - $5 6 front back - $5 8 front back - $5 9 front back - $5
Obergeist Ragnarok Highway 1 front back - $3 1b front back - $3 2 front back - $3
Objective Five: 1 front back - $1
Peter Parker Spider-Man: 32 front back - $3 34 front back - $3
Rai: 6 front back - $5 7 front back - $5
Red Star 3 front back - $3
Rogues’ Gallery 1 Cover A front back - $12 1 Cover B front back - $8
Scorched: 1, 1:50 sketch cover front back - $15 (note color rub on rear cover) 1, 1:50 sketch cover front back - $5 (note color breaking spine ticks on rear cover)
She-Hulk 10, Titania cover- $12 11, Titania cover - $8
Silver Sable: 4 front back - $2
Solar Man of the Atom (Valiant) 12 front back - $3 33 front back no card - $3
Spider-Man 25 front back - $6
Spider-Man 2099 1- Origin and 1st? Appearance of Spider-Man 2099 - $40
Spider-Punk 1 - 1:25 Del Mundo Variant - front back - $40
Star Wars 18 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Rebels - $25 24 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Luke & Leia front back - $4
Star Wars Bounty Hunters 17 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Thrawn & Grand Inquisitor - $25 23 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Emperor Palpatine front back - $4
Star Wars Darth Vader 17 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Darth Maul & Savage Opress front spine back - $10 21 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Moff Gideon front back - $5 23 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Bad Batch front back - $10
Star Wars Doctor Aphra 13 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Jango & Boba Fett front back - $4 19 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Bo Katan front back - $8 21 - Sprouse Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary Variant - Fennec Shand & Boba Fett - Damaged (cut in cover) front damage back - $2
Suicide Squad 3 front back - $2 28b front back - $2
Supergirl Rebirth - Adam Hughes Cover front back - $5
Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen: 11 front back - $3
Teen Titans: 33b Garner Variant front back - $3
Thor #411 1st New Warriors, 1st Night Thrasher - $30 (needs a press, some vertical color breaking lines on back cover)
Ultimate Marvel Team-Up: 1 front back - $3 7 front back - $3
Ultimates 1 front back - $5 2 - 1st time Nick Fury is depicted as Samuel L. Jackson - $15 6 front back - $3
Uncanny X-Men: 286, 302, 306, 307, 319, 340, 355 - $2 each 396 front back - $3 310 w/ Fleer Ultra insert front fleer back - $5 400 front back - $5
Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 & 2 - $20
West Coast Avengers: 2, 6, 8, 11, 13, 22, 28, 29, 58, 59, 64, 65, 66, 67, 73, 74, 77 - $1 each 75 front back - $2
Wonder Man: 13n front back - $2
X-Factor: 73, 76, 77n, 78, 84, 89, 113, 114, 116, 117, 118, 119, 131, 133, 134, 139 - $2 each
X-Force: 7, 9, 13, 14, 17, 20, 21, 28, 48, 55, 58, 63, 66, 70 - $2 each
X Lives of Wolverine 1 & X Deaths of Wolverine 1 Connecting Mr. Garcin covers - $25
X-Men Unlimited 19 front back - $3
Youngblood: 0 front coupon back - $4 2 Green Logo - 1st Prophet, 1st Shadowhawk - $15
Youngblood Yearbook 1 front back - $1

She is not a bitch first off. That's just the saying. But she will do anything for me. Sexual or not. She trust me with her life and I will fucking kill anyone who so much as thinks of hurting her. Idk what tf I did to get such a sexy loyal girl but God damn I love her!!! I have no one to talk to about her so I'm posting it on reddit. But God damn I love her so much. Omfg

Today, I found some really fucking bad news. Won't say what happened, I wanna keep her "secret" away. What she said hurt me a lot. I'm trying so god dam hard for her. She sees that but im still not enough. She says she can't get over what I did. That's understandable. I guess what she did was karma. Like it's weird. Didn't think it was gonna happen. Back if my mind always had that thought back there. The fact it happened kills me on the inside. I'll explain a bit. We're taking a break. She's seeing guys to smoke with. (I don't smoke) Maybe if I did none if this would happen. She wants someone to smoke with, I understand that but I don't and I'm sorry. I would let her smoke around me. I really would but she doesnt believe me. I don't know what to do. I have posted this in the suicide reddit not just to vent but to say I think I've made my final decision in ending it. Maybe something will change my mind. But knowing I'm not enough, knowing she might never be mine again. Knowing nothing will go back to normal hurts way too much. I had all my firsts with this girl. Yes I'm only 16 but when you have your first date, cuddle session, sleep session, lose your virginity to her. It's fuckin hate to let go. I would rather let go of my life than her. She's my world, she's my everything. Seeing her with other guys hurt. Knowing she did shit hurts too. I don't know how long this in will last and I really don't care at this point. Even before this I was laying in bed not doing shit. Crying everyday, wanting to cut myself. If I really was enough none of that would happen. She would still be with me and heal with me. If only I didn't fuck up. That shit wouldnt happen. Maybe within the next few days or months I might end it all. Maybe someone or something will stop me. I have no clue at this point. I'm full of sadness and anger. I have absolutely no clue how to let it out. I wanna cut my arms again maybe cut my sides or punch a wall. I'm honestly so done. My thoughts never leave my head even if I play video games. Video games are no longer an escape. She was my escape but now she's gone. I think she might be too far gone. I told her I will never give up on her. So as long as I'm alive I will try my hardest with her. I would rather her hurt me a thousand times than anyone else. If I am gone just know I never gave up on you. I gave up on myself. I don't know if I'll have a suicide letter, I guess I'll know once I get closer to doing it. This is almost a warning but also a confession that im actually thinking about it and actually coming up with a plan. Before I leave this earth I hope I spend time with her so I will finally be at peace. I'm tired of hurting, I just wanna be numb. Hopefully once I'm dead, you'll move on. Maybe you'll find the perfect guy. I am forever sorry for not being the one nor being the perfect guy. I'm sorry for what I've done in the past and karma has officially gotten me. I'm done with life. I'm sorry if this is the last reddit post I post. I'm so done. Keep me alive in your memories.

I’m using a burner account, because I know people in my chain use Reddit.
I have always been open about mental health and always have advocated for awareness and compassion in the military regarding the topic. My leadership, the other airmen - everyone knows this about me. I have recently made rank, and I’ve been seeing a therapist for about a year now. I take about 75mg of Zoloft to manage anxiety and depression. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD properly, and “unspecified depressive disorder” and “unspecified anxiety disorder” are in my doctor’s notes - don’t know really what that means in terms of diagnoses.
I’ve always had a huge heart - never wanted to see anyone or anything in pain, can’t find it in myself to be genuinely vindictive or malicious, and never want a negative relationship with anyone around me. I’m also a big cryer. Often times, for no reason at all, I’ll feel tears come on when I’m alone, and I just need to lock myself in a room alone and pray to god (despite being nonreligious) and just plead that there is some overarching purpose out there for me, that I will understand why things are the way they are, one day.
I guess where the Air Force comes into play… I care about my coworkers and work deeply - almost to a fault. Things at work feel very real to me. I know there’s stupid bullshit about the Air Force that we can never get around. Paperwork, bullets, politics. But, despite it, I really do good work and put in as much effort as possible, and despite being an E4, I do take my work home with me if I need to. Work is almost always on my mind, even on the weekends. I feel like I owe my commander and my SEL and my shirt everything I can give them, because the Air Force has given me so much in life. Proper healthcare. Funds for education. Employees and leaders who genuinely care about me. It feels like a family.
Despite that, I am just so fucking exhausted. My eyes feel heavy, like the bags are weights on my face, and I just feel so numb and muted. I’m not suicidal or anything… and I’m not a hinderance to the Air Force. It’s just all the inside. Which is what makes this so hard, because it’s almost like if my mental health isn’t negatively impacting my work, then… it doesn’t matter. I can still keep going, so I will, and they will keep me and milk me dry and spit me back out in 2026 like it’s nothing.
And it makes me sad. I’m not the same person I used to be in 2020. My existence feels heavier, and my future feels blank. Like, there’s nothing ahead or behind.
I always get the same advice. “Take leave.” Or “Try to detach at home from work.” But it doesn’t help.
I’m starting to get migraines with visual distortions now, and I think it’s because of the stress. I don’t eat well, and I don’t sleep well at all. I just want out. I feel like at this rate, these six years of my life might as well not happen at all. It’s that fucking blank and dull and stale to me. It’s just… sad.
I just wish I was happy. And it feels like the culture in the Air Force is, “well, no one is happy. That’s just the way it is.”
If I could snap my fingers and be in any other timeline where I wasn’t active duty, I would. Maybe it’s because I am a young woman, and I enlisted when I was 20, so it’s like my prime years are being completely spent in this indifferent government vacuum that is sucking my spirit and soul dry. And no one takes me seriously because everyone else feels this way too… and I don’t get how they do it.
How do you all do it? How do you cope when you feel so trapped?

My life has been very easy and privileged compared to most people. I live in a first world country, have my university paid for, and have gone through no major loss in my life. The only thing I could somewhat complain about is not having any close friends from High school up until now, but I've learned to cope with it. When I see others circumstances whether it been being abused as a child, living in poverty, going through family deaths or living in a third world country plagued with war, I feel sort of guilty that my life is so easy and yet I still fail to follow God properly by constantly giving into sins of lust. I'm curious if we know how different we will be judged due to the blessings we have in this life vs those who are less fortunate, and if anyone finds this relatable

all prices are negotiable, especially if buying multiple.

any fees on you. region lock, if any, will be US region. i have available:

• curse of the dead gods - $3.5
  
• grime - $2.5
  
• honey, i joined a cult -$1.5
  
• turbo golf racing - $1
  
• meeple station - $0.5
  
• wwe 2k battlegrounds + brawlers pass - $2
  

$0.50 for below

• strider
  
• epic chef
  
• railroad corporation
  

games and paypal are US region, any fees are on you.
thanks for looking!
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/adnx8g/goosewhammys_igs_rep_page_4/

all prices are negotiable, especially if buying multiple.

any fees on you. region lock, if any, will be US region. i have available:

• curse of the dead gods - $3.5
  
• grime - $2.5
  
• honey, i joined a cult -$1.5
  
• turbo golf racing - $1
  
• meeple station - $0.5
  
• wwe 2k battlegrounds + brawlers pass - $2
  

$0.50 for below

• strider
  
• epic chef
  
• railroad corporation
  

games and paypal are US region, any fees are on you.
thanks for looking!
https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/adnx8g/goosewhammys_igs_rep_page_4/

Hey guys,
It’s Alan here, bringing you another DestinyMeta2Day update. Last time, I talked about the new design for my site and its integration with the Bungie API. If you missed it, here’s the link to that post.
Today, I’m excited to report that I have updated the meta builds. As you can expect, this will be a continuous process, meaning the meta builds will continually be updated with the addition of new ones.
By the way, thanks to your comments, I’ve fixed a bug concerning incorrect build descriptions. Right now, I’m working on adding explanations on how each build works.
This is where your feedback is crucial for this project. So, why not send me the builds that you believe to be (or should be) meta, as well as provide feedback on the ones I’ve already added? There’s a (shit ton?) massive number of builds circulating in the community, and it takes a huge amount of time to describe how each of them works. If you all could help me with that, it’d be awesome!
Another thing I wanted to discuss is potentially adding a section for Transmogs. The fashion wars in Destiny 2 are real and you know it! I’ve seen lots of awesome-looking transmogs on TikTok and Reddit. So, how would you guys feel if I added a transmog presets section to DestinyMeta2Day? It would be neat if we all could share, discuss, and rate our transmog presets!
Speaking of rating, looking ahead, I plan to add a system that will allow everyone to contribute their builds to DestinyMeta2Day and a rating system for people to vote on their favorites.
As always, I greatly appreciate all the feedback and comments you’ve provided so far. It would also be a tremendous help to me and the DMT if you could spread the word among the community and friends by sharing the link to my website.
Thank you all for supporting my passion project, and I’ll see y’all in the next post!

Hey guys,
It’s Alan here, bringing you another DestinyMeta2Day update. Last time, I talked about the new design for my site and its integration with the Bungie API. If you missed it, here’s the link to that post.
Today, I’m excited to report that I have updated the meta builds. As you can expect, this will be a continuous process, meaning the meta builds will continually be updated with the addition of new ones.
By the way, thanks to your comments, I’ve fixed a bug concerning incorrect build descriptions. Right now, I’m working on adding explanations on how each build works.
This is where your feedback is crucial for this project. So, why not send me the builds that you believe to be (or should be) meta, as well as provide feedback on the ones I’ve already added? There’s a (shit ton?) massive number of builds circulating in the community, and it takes a huge amount of time to describe how each of them works. If you all could help me with that, it’d be awesome!
Another thing I wanted to discuss is potentially adding a section for Transmogs. The fashion wars in Destiny 2 are real and you know it! I’ve seen lots of awesome-looking transmogs on TikTok and Reddit. So, how would you guys feel if I added a transmog presets section to DestinyMeta2Day? It would be neat if we all could share, discuss, and rate our transmog presets!
Speaking of rating, looking ahead, I plan to add a system that will allow everyone to contribute their builds to DestinyMeta2Day and a rating system for people to vote on their favorites.
As always, I greatly appreciate all the feedback and comments you’ve provided so far. It would also be a tremendous help to me and the DMT if you could spread the word among the community and friends by sharing the link to my website.
Thank you all for supporting my passion project, and I’ll see y’all in the next post!

Hello!
We now have 6 slots open for new members!
We are a group of mature, friendly clashers that love to war. We are looking for daily players that want to have fun, learn, and do some wars!
We would love for you to join and grow the clan together!
What We Offer:

• Clan wars all the time
• 89.8% win rate in Clan Wars (as of 6/6/24) (133 wins, 15 losses, 0 draws) Currently on a 8 war win streak!
• Friendly, helpful atmosphere (even for newbies!)
• Tips and tricks for grinding and improving war attacks
• Discord Server
• Occasional nerdy references
• Max clan games every time

What We Are Looking For:

• Daily clashers
• People who are willing to grow and learn with us
• Rushed bases OK as long as you're willing to learn/grow/fix *TH11+ but lower level minis are okay

What We Require:

• Participate in Clan Games (at least your main account)
• Use both attacks in war if you're opted in
• Participate in Raid Weekend (all accounts)

How To Find Us:

• Name: Elegy
• Clan Leader: Dysis
• Tag: #2LV029QLU
• Discord: rwTGzSt4Vp
• Please put in join message that you found us on Reddit!

Hey guys,
It’s Alan here, bringing you another DestinyMeta2Day update. Last time, I talked about the new design for my site and its integration with the Bungie API. If you missed it, here’s the link to that post.
Today, I’m excited to report that I have updated the meta builds. As you can expect, this will be a continuous process, meaning the meta builds will continually be updated with the addition of new ones.
By the way, thanks to your comments, I’ve fixed a bug concerning incorrect build descriptions. Right now, I’m working on adding explanations on how each build works.
This is where your feedback is crucial for this project. So, why not send me the builds that you believe to be (or should be) meta, as well as provide feedback on the ones I’ve already added? There’s a (shit ton?) massive number of builds circulating in the community, and it takes a huge amount of time to describe how each of them works. If you all could help me with that, it’d be awesome!
Another thing I wanted to discuss is potentially adding a section for Transmogs. The fashion wars in Destiny 2 are real and you know it! I’ve seen lots of awesome-looking transmogs on TikTok and Reddit. So, how would you guys feel if I added a transmog presets section to DestinyMeta2Day? It would be neat if we all could share, discuss, and rate our transmog presets!
Speaking of rating, looking ahead, I plan to add a system that will allow everyone to contribute their builds to DestinyMeta2Day and a rating system for people to vote on their favorites.
As always, I greatly appreciate all the feedback and comments you’ve provided so far. It would also be a tremendous help to me and the DMT if you could spread the word among the community and friends by sharing the link to my website.
Thank you all for supporting my passion project, and I’ll see y’all in the next post!

For background, I am furious about Reddit’s actions toward third-party apps and have fully pushed the going dark next week. I have been posting to people’s Facebook pages and sending out texts telling them to stay off Reddit for the three days and suggesting they stay off it even longer. I believe that the third-party apps like Apollo and RIF have played a major role in raising awareness about serious social issues by presenting all the news content in an easy-to-use format to millions of people who would otherwise avoid the site due to ads, and as a result I strongly feel that if the site has its way it could lead serious harm to America and other countries.
One of my coworkers doesn’t seem to appreciate this, though. She has friends from Ukraine and has been very anxious about the war there, which I sympathize with. I think the dam breach this morning really got to her though. I was reminding her and some others to remember to avoid Reddit this coming week, and out of nowhere she snapped at me “I’m tired of you ramblings on about your trivial issues day in and day out! Don’t you have anything better to worry about! There are tho of Ukrainians who are getting flooded right now, for crying out loud!”
I was startled by her outburst, as she’s never gone off on someone like that. After a few seconds, I tried to calmly explain to her that while I greatly sympathized with the people of Ukraine, as Americans I and tons of other people rely on third-party Reddit content apps to bring me news from all the different sources, and that if it weren’t for them we wouldn’t know much about what was going on in the country and know what to speak up about, and for any of us this issue is as big as the war right now because we can actually do something about it. She sighed angrily and left the room. Things we’re awkward the rest of the day and now some of my coworkers think I am the AH for telling her this. AITA?

Not going to lie, back when I heard we getting a new show runner for season 6, I was initially optimistic. I was hoping that Eric Wallace knew what he was doing when he promised dividing the season into story arcs. For seasons 3 to 5, my friend and I noticed a major problem for those seasons was pacing. The big bad had plot armor. Unfortunately, I feel Wallace failed to deliver.
Season 6’s first arc “Blood and Truth” I think was a solid storyline. I felt that Ramsey Russo/Bloodwork was a serviceable antagonist. He was Barry’s foil in how they handled the knowledge of their deaths. Barry was preparing his friends and family for a post-Crisis world without him, while Bloodwork was too busy in preserving his own life by any means. While both characters’ approaches are understandable, Bloodwork resorted to killing to advance his goals. After eight episodes, Russo is defeated. Just the perfect amount of time needed to devote to a big bad meant for only one arc. “Blood and Truth” was Eric Wallace’s best arc (from what I saw). After which is where I feel he dropped the ball.
“Reflections and Lies”, the second story arc of season 6 and first arc of season 7 felt narratively thin. Eva was not a threatening villain, I’d say she wasn’t enough of a villain. While “Blood” set up Team Flash for the inevitability of Crisis, “Reflections” didn’t seem to want to be devoted to the fallout of the Crisis. There was barely any “connective tissue,” for lack of a better term, between the two arcs for season 6. No thematic similarities or contrast, the second arc’s big bad wasn’t even connected to crisis. And then the rest of season 7 happened.
It was at 7 when Barry started talking to the villains to get them to stop their evil ways. Now, hear me out: redemption is a powerful thing. Having the hero convince their enemy to give up on their villainy is no small feat. And honestly, the Flash is the type of hero who would do that. However, I believed Eric Wallace handled it poorly. It was every villain who was getting a shot at redemption. Granted, some refused (like Godspeed), but considering how season 9 ended; it was something that Wallace was dedicated to.
In speaking of Godspeed, his arc was only four episodes long (just like the Cobalt Blue storyline, if what I read is true). How did Eric decide how the season was going to be divided up? Why did he think only four episodes was enough. The “interlude” in between “God Complex” and “Godspeed Imperative” could have used its episodes to set up the latter. But nope, for some reason Eric Wallace didn’t want to do that.
While I personally believe story arcs could have worked, they should have been thematic or narratively connected throughout the season. And they should have been paced better. I can give an example of how I would have done season 5 to demonstrate: - Arc 1: Orlin Dwyer Cicada is our antagonist for the first eight episodes. He is apprehended in the 100th episode. However, the arc ends with a new Cicada saving him from captivity. - Arc 2: Future Grace Gibbons Cicada is our villain for about seven or eight episodes. She proves to be more ruthless than Orlin. While the two Cicadas work together, Orlin ends up folding once he realizes Cicada II is his niece. Especially since Future Grace would be forming a cult of personality or gang devoted her (maybe to draw parallels to Cicada’s cult in the comics). And like in the real season 5 we got, Future Grace kills Orlin when he reconsiders his hatred of metas. - Arc 3: The last few episodes would be devoted to Thawne. The real season 5 was building up to him as the real big bad, and they dedicated only half of an episode to a fight with him. Maybe we could have had seen Thawne trying to revive Eddie in an effort to restore himself to the timeline properly?
Of course, this is all hindsight, something the writers wouldn’t have due to time crunches and the like.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the idea of story arcs season 6 and onwards could have worked. But Eric Wallace just didn’t know how to handle these arcs or pace them well.

So this is strictly opinion based and not meant to be an ideal class system by any means. That said, there are a few areas where i would have liked some changes and maybe even some additional class options. So without further ado:

1. Infantry Lance units. Three Houses has exactly three infantry Lance classes. There is Soldier, and there is Dimitri's two personal classes, High Lord and Great Lord. So let's change that. First of all I would suggest changing the existing Armored Knight and Fortress Knight classes to being Lance classes instead of Axe classes. This will make it harder for Gilbert and Dedue to class into these classes, but they still both have Warrior as well, and as far as I remember, Gilbert at least does have a Boon in Lances. In addition to this, it would also be nice to have some regular Lance units. I would call these Lancer and Halbadier respectively, and their stats would likely be similar to the Mercenary and Hero class, with a little less speed and more Dexterity. Halbadier would probably recieve Lancefaire and maybe Lance Crit +10 or something similar. For class masteries, I imagine Lancer might recieve Vantage and Halbadier could have a unique combat art, along with the Swordbreaker ability. The final addition I would make, and the reason for changing Armored units into Lance units, would be the addition of the Dragoon class, an Armored Lance master unit that also excels in Faith. I imagine Sylvain in particular would excel in this class, and it would be an interesting unit to see in combat. I would give this unit Lancefaire and Faith Tomefaire, as well as the skill Armsthrift from Three Hopes, which reduces the cost of using Combat Arts by one.
   
2. New abilities. There's not a lot here, and what I do have for changes is mostly geared towards advanced classes. For starters, Hero. The class is infamously terrible, not only does it recieve Swordfaire and Vantage as it's skills, but it requires a C in Axe of all things to certify into it. This makes it one of the worst classes in the game. I would have Hero require a C in Authority instead, and instead of having it be a Sword Class only, I would swap out Swordfaire for an original skull I call Master of Arms. This skill would give the unit access to the Weapon Triangle and grant the unit that has weapon advantage +10 Avo while granting the unit with disadvantage -10 Avo. This would go both ways so players would have to be careful on how they place their units. In addition to this, Swordmaster, Warrior and Halbadier would each have Weaponbreaker abilities included in their class mastery, giving them a bit more utility, and a reason to class into them even if it is not a unit's final class. The same would go for Sniper, Grappler and Warlock. They would make up their own Weapon Triangle and recieve Fistbreaker, Tomebreaker and Bowbreaker respectively as part of their class mastery. I would also get rid of genderlock entirely for the grappler line. Also, I've been using some of these terms already, but I would combine Black Tomefaire and Dark Tomefaire, as well as Black Magic Uses x2 and Dark Magic Uses x2, into Reason Tomefaire and Reason Uses x2 respectively, and completely get rid of the male exclusive Dark Mage/Dark Bishop class line. Finally, I would have Gremory/Sage be available for both genders. The male Sage could reuse the now obsolete design from Dark Bishop. And I would also give the Heartseeker ability to Mortal Savant. Poison Strike would go to the Thief class and Lifetaker could be a mastery ability for Dragoon or some other class.
   
3. Special classes. I would get rid of these altogether. Most of them are redundant (Valkyrie and Trickster especially) and offer little as far as actual utility goes. I would like to keep Duelist Blow and Uncanny Blow though, which I would give to Mercenary and Brawler respectively as their new class mastery abilities. War Monk/Cleric would be the only class I might keep, likely as a Axe and Faith class instead of a Brawling and Faith Class. The Trickster class I would change somewhat and have ot be a Sword/Bow/Faith Master class called Ranger. It would recieve Locktouch, Heal +10 and Stealth, so nothing particularly special, but it could be an excellent class to give the Lucky Seven skill to as a mastery ability.
   
4. Mounted units. So here comes the big change. Now that we are through with the infantry classes, a few changes need to be made to the mounted units. First of all, Lance units are way overrepresented in mounted classes, with the only classes that don't require Lance being Wyvern Rider and Great Knight. Let's fix that. Traditionally, Cavaliers in Fire Emblem have been Sword or Lance units, so I would suggest equipping them with Swords instead of Lances. This change would also apply to Dark Knight and Holy Knight as well, and I would completely remove the Lance/Axe requirements from Bow Knight and Great Knight, in favor of giving Bow Knight access to Bowfaire and Great Knight to Master of Arms. I would also suggest giving both Pegasus Fliers and Wyvern Fliers access to both an intermediate and an advanced class. These would be called Pegasus/Wyvern Rider and Pegasus/Wyvern Knight respectively. I would then replace Wyvern Lord with Malig Knight, which would recieve Transmute as it's mastery ability, and Falcon Knight would recieve access to Faith Magic. While I would not open Pegasus classes up to male flier, I do have another solution that might work just as well. Introducing the Griffin RideKnight could offer an alternative to the female exclusive Pegasus Knight, and it would still work even if it weren't male exclusive. Allow me to explain. I would introduce a stable system, wherein players are able to raise mounts, Horses, Wyvern, Pegasi and Grifffins to be exact. In order to class into a mounted class, a unit would need a given support rank with their mount, C for intermediate classes, B for advanced classes, and A for master classes. Only female units would be able to raise Pegasi, but both could raise Griffins. A unit can have only one mount at a time, but would still be able to raise a second if so desired. In order to prohibit female units from mastering the same class twice. Any class progression made in Pegasus classes would also count towards Griffin classes, this way the player can choose which mount they want. Altogether, I feel like this is a solid solution to the Genderlock issue, and also gives an added level of difficulty when classing into a mounted class. These changes would however mean that the current Wyvern Lord and Falcon Knight classes, as they currently exist, would not be included in the game, and instead the strongest purely physical Flying units would be Wyvern/Pegasus/Griffin Knight, with Malig/Falcon/Seraph Knight being Hybrid classes.
   
5. Unique Classes. While I wouldn't change much, there would be some small changes I would make. Firstly, Dimitri should have been a Cavalier unit. Additionally, all of the final Lord classes should have had access to magic at the very least, even if they didn't have any skills to support this.
   

If I missed anything or wasn't clear enough, feel free to ask questions or share your opinion! I welcome all forms of constructive criticism!

So i think there’s some misconception about how the player should be able to join Lilith. Most people agree that her main stated goal of not letting humans become pawns of angels and demons is correct; i agree with that. The status quo of invincible near-gods and their mortal playthings needs to change.
However, look at Lilith’s interactions throughout the story. Neyrelle’s mother is corrupted by Lilith and used as a literal blood source for a ritual. Donan’s druid friends and his own son are just stepping stones for Lilith to get what she wants, and she seems to enjoy spiting Donan for refusing her deal.
Taissa is used as a waypoint to summon a lesser evil. Elias didn’t matter to her. And it’s only at the end of the story once our main character is clearly a threat that Lilith finally stops to offer us her alliance.
Lilith is a great villain because she does seem genuinely sad and angry about the eternal war and humans’ fate, but she also is a manipulative demoness who clearly sees humans as possessions rather than children or actual people. Her and Inarius both maybe loved humans once, but they started to just use them as fodder to reach their own goals.
I’d like to see Neyrelle pursue a way to change angels and demons’ immortal status, or to elevate humans. If they bring the nephalem from D3 (the main character) back, i could see them giving up their power in some kind of huge ritual.
How did you all feel about the story and where would you like things to go?

I need to make it clear that not everyone’s experience is the same at Walmart and their are good employees and managers out there you know who you are. Id also to clarify that realistically the job itself is not bad for most of the time but it’s the people that are the “bosses” and run things and shape the work environment that are not real leaders and are usually most likely people on a power trip and or what bigger bonuses for themselves.
The same problems are generally at all of the Walmarts and nothing ever seems to be done about anything. They put bandaids on everything, hire cheap labor to fix their equipment and utilities only for it to break down the following week. They use the blanket approach to solve all the issues instead of individually and effectively fixing an issues. There’s 0 accountability for team leads, coaches, associates and I’m sure beyond, this workplace has the worlds leading worst communication culture.
Walmart treats it’s employees like dirt and they don’t give two shits or a damn about them. You ask for time off and they deny it instantly. There’s a huge lack of support and Human Resources are never around always on vacation same goes for store managers, coaches and leads. They preach how there is no favoritism in the workplace which is complete rhetoric and lies and everyone knows it. Corporate would rather fuck people over and stress them out consistently rather than promoting a better and healthier work environment for their employees.
It certainly seems to be a common situation within this company to reward the shittiest workers for a majority wise and absolutely fuck over the good employees. The team leads want associates who step up and take on the most responsibility to micro manager for them while they go sit somewhere like the ad office and do nothing. The term Team “Lead” is actually ironic a lot of the time because (most) of them are the worst kind of people to lead a team. I’ve heard of these kinds of scenarios playing out and I’m sure some of you have as well.
This is a comparison example of the chaotic disciplinary action system that Walmart uses. You use some pronouns incorrectly and get a coaching(strike against you) if you forgot a few times they can call it hate speech and you get in trouble but God forbid someone sexually assaults another employee they need a fuckin text book worth of information to prove the obvious shitty person (clear as day to all of their co workers) who does these crimes to prove them guilty of actually doing so.
This company is sued constantly and I’m not surprised one bit, they should be sued daily. I ask corporate one question, before you go to Reddit.. let’s hear some feedback.
-PS nobody hands out your shitty surveys or asks customers to do them, waste of time. Maybe try giving people bonuses for being part time salesman instead of just for your own pockets.