I work part-time on a small organic farm in Elma called Bee Organic Farm & Apiary that is looking to hire some folks to work the fields and/or farmers market stands. Like all of agriculture it's a crap job if you're just looking for a paycheck, however I'd recommend anyone who is interested in learning about small-scale, organic, no-dig farming give it a look.
My experience: I live in an apartment so I can't have a proper garden at home, however I'm very passionate about growing things and working on the farm has been both a valuable hands-on learning experience and a fabulous way for me to scratch the gardening itch (plus it's helping me stay physically active and weeding is great stress relief IMO). We grow a wide variety of vegetables, from tomatoes to squash to root veggies to legumes to leafy greens, which means I get exposure to working with all kinds of produce. It also means that the work is varied and every day is different. Farming is inherently physically-taxing work that exposes you to the elements, and unfortunately it's often highly exploitative of employees. However I've found the work environment at Bee Organic to be a good one: I like farmer Rob and my coworkers, the rural setting is beautiful and peaceful, we get to listen to music while we work, and we watch out for each others' health whether that means taking extra water breaks on hot days or mixing up tasks if one becomes too strenuous. I've also found it to be a safe and comfortable work environment as a woman, which can be a huge issue in manual labor jobs. Later in the season there are a decent number of opportunities to take home produce, especially good-but-not-market-quality produce, a nice bonus!
While I think the preference is for full-time employees (30-40 hrs/wk), the door is definitely open for part-time work. More details are available on the farm's facebook page. For what it's worth I'm posting this of my own accord because I originally heard about the job by word-of-mouth and wanted to pass it on to others who might also appreciate the opportunity... and because we're starting to fall behind a little and could really use more help. Feel free to post or DM me if you have questions and I'll do my best to answer.

I’m 21 year old kid about 5’9 400-450 pounds, havent weighed myself in years but the last time I did step on the scale was before I graduated highschool and I was creeping on 400 so I assume I’m past that now. I am large but I’ve been an incredible athlete for my size during my life due to a great high school football program and BMX riding in middle school and high school. for the past few years since I’ve graduated all I’ve been doing is smoking weed, playing games, and eating fast food. A basket of fries, 2 McChickens, and a large sweet tea is my favorite go-to on the McDonalds app for only $8 at least 4-5 times a week for a very very long time. I damn near live off McDonalds and shit food. It’s a complete addiction and I had that same McDonalds meal last night on my way home from work. I dont know what it was but this morning I cried at myself in the shower and decided today is the day. I have a gym membership that I havent used yet so today that’s what i’m gonna do. I’ll warm up on the treadmill with some walking/jogging for about 20 minutes and after that hopefully go back to my football roots and pick up some weights or do some explosive cardio work. I will do everything i can to make sure that what I eat is the best thing I can find until I get paid and I can go shopping for myself. I still live with mom and siblings but I have a job and pay rent here so I usually just eat whatever we have in the fridge for that week which is a disgusting amount of purely unhealthy food. I get paid this coming wednesday so i’ll have to keep eating only the best of what I can find here but as soon as I get paid wednesday and I’m going shopping for myself. I have about $100-$150 budget when I go shopping and I get paid every 2 weeks. I’m not super knowledgeable about diets but I think if I can meal prep myself some chicken breast, brown rice, cauliflower and plenty of green veggies that would be a solid meal for me after work. I’m a very simple man I’m not really looking for 100 different flavorful meals to have throughout the week to keep my tastebuds happy, after all it’s only mouth pleasure and i’m at a point now where i feel like fuck what it taste like or what i’m craving. Would a couple eggs and veggies every morning and a chicken breast meal prep like I just mentioned every day after work be a good diet? Obviously gonna drink absolutely nothing but pure water. Should I eat before or after working out? Just a couple tips would be nice. I’ve been around great coaches and athletes for a large portion of my life so i’m not completely naive about fitness but I also haven’t done much research and definitely need to learn more.

TL;DR: Should be titled rewriting the whole new trilogy. Basically felt I could do a better narrative job of the trilogy after watching a few in depth critiques on YouTube. Focus was on doing justice to new characters while giving. Epic send-offs to Legacy characters. With a healthy dose of action and wtf moments sprinkled in.
Huge Star Wars Fan as that's one of my fondest memories of my late Grandfather. That and Godzilla. We never missed a showing of any of the films. I wish he were here to watch the new trilogy with me but given how disjointed and incoherent the new films turned out to be, I'm glad he's happy in heaven. Anyhoo. Honestly, I don't think we need to even rewrite these movies too much because they had all the ingredients to begin with. However, here's my painstakingly thought out Re-Write. This took a good part of two hours to write folks. Off the top of my head on a Friday midnight with bare minimum effort. I cannot fathom how a billion dollar studio couldn't afford writers who did not even understand basic setup and payoff, consequences to actions and building suspense and grand setpieces. What an incredibly wasted opportunity. Let me know what you think of my re-write of the plot. Aight. I'm a go cool off my aching fingers in some ice now while you peruse my rambling poorly structured sentences. 😂
PART ONE: This remains largely the same. But Rey and Finn fall hard for each other eventually. Kylo is split between the dark and light and genuinely believes the Jedi were the ones in the wrong and wants to bring about balance by destroying both the Jedi and the Sith. Snoke is a major influence. Let him be present and not just a shadow. Good vs Evil yada yada. Kylo hesitates on the bridge scene with Han but something flashes in his mind and makes him grasp a Ruby bracelet on his wrist. Memories of a past he had suppressed. Han notices the turmoil in his son and says "Ben. . ". As he reaches out to embrace his son, the turbulent memories trigger the saber to ignite, killing Han Solo. Kylo accepts his journey to the darkness and gets shot by Chewie. Rey and Kylo stand-off near the end. Except Rey doesn't nearly win. Finn loses a leg or arm in his blinded rage for Kylo killing Han Solo. Kylo is freakishly strong. Rey and Finn are saved by the skin of their teeth as Poe saves their asses instead of some natural calamity. This cements their friendship further. Luke's history is detailed. How he retired. Blah blah. Rey then goes and finds Luke. The end. Oh and btw, Finn has a better relationship with Poe and deeper bond with Han Solo while Rey gravitates intensely towards Leia and is good friends with Poe (but only after Poe's skepticism that she can be a Jedi fades near the end of the plot) This will have a solid pay off later.
PART TWO: Luke begrudgingly allows Rey into his personal space. He also doesn't chuck the light saber but takes it back to his hut and begins to dismantle it. Rey fights him and in the tussle he breaks down and confesses about why he quit. The Jedi had to make a terrible choice in the past. To save younglings and mother's in a distant home base or protect the few hundred fighters they had remaining. The Jedi are left in this tough spot when facing the tyranny of the new order - something they presumed was a remnant of the Emperor's reign but in reality, was a slowly rising menace new to this time in the galaxy. Stuck in between a rock and a hard place, they chose wisely not emotionally. Which is what the Jedi are. They're pragmatic. Not the heroes. Kylo was a Jedi master at this time and not a trainee. He couldn't stand by the orders of the Jedi as his friends and padawans were being mercilessly slaughtered. They saved the future but at the cost of the present. Cue heart wrenching scenes of Kylo disobeying the Jedi, breaking off to save the kids etc., while the Jedi stand their ground defending the military locations. Luke chases after Kylo after feeling that the threat has been handled. He reaches the home base to find a Kylo kneeling in the ruins, ashen remains of younglings around and his padawan in his arms. Luke approaches Kylo as he's giving a monologue about how they had to make the tough choice and Kylo is seething in rage. He crushes the bones of the ashen body, his sadness turning to anger while the Ruby bracelet his padawan used to wear is left behind as the only memory of his closest friend in his hands. He blames the Jedi for this tragedy, calls them monsters and as Luke tries to stop him, a battle ensues between them with Luke almost killing him. This cements both of their positions. Luke, withdrawn and head held down, apologizes to Kylo and tells him that he hopes he understands someday. That great sacrifices are needed sometimes. And that you cannot always save Everyone. In fact. It's only the sith that think along those lines. Luke retires. Realising that this time, they've gone too far. The Jedi have paid a price that cannot be justified in the name of the greater good. He quits and exiles himself while Kylo, seeking answers from the dark side is eventually led to Snoke. Po and Finn (with his new arm/leg) go on more buddy adventures replacing the whole Rose animal saving arc. Snoke wants Rey really bad so we keep that arc and Kylo boards Leia's ship instead of flying around to capture Rey and bring her in. Po and Finn aren't on board so it's free game for Kylo. A standoff ensues with a big fight which ends with Kylo raging about and losing control of his force powers. Blowing everyone in the room out into space. . the shields come on but not fully and Rey is stuck near the edge holding on to Leia with her dear life stopping her from flying off into space. Kylo is climbing up towards Rey and about to put the restraints to capture her. That's when he notices Leia and she looks him in the eyes. She let's go to Rey's horror and as Kylo strikes down in anguish, Rey dodges but he's too fast and slaps on the restraints. Kylo immediately jumps through into space after his mom while calling in ships to rescue them and bring Rey in. Cue scene like the Guardians of the Galaxy Part Two where Quill fails to save Yondu at the end. Leia uses her hidden force powers: NOT to shield herself and Marry Poppins her way into the ship. But to save her beloved son, despite everything. Kylo sheds tears breaking down as he holds his mother, feeling her last breaths through the force. He mutters "Not you. . Not you too". . She whispers "There's still some good in you. . And I see it in her too. . Ben. . Save her, she's . ... .." . . Silence. . as Leia's hand freezes while caressing Kylo's face and she dies. Kylo gets saved by the troopers and they depart to Snoke's lair, letting Leia's body float away into the deep dark nothingness of space. Entombed forever. Rey is tortured by a Kylo who is slowly losing his cool but she resists and puts up a force fight against his mind. Both end up in Snoke's room and the SAME shenanigans ensue. Snoke senses the confusion in Kylo and goes about treating him like a child. Snoke CHIDING Kylo and punishing him now makes more sense. While Rey tries her best to be the good guy and take on Snoke to only be mocked and thrown about. Snoke starts killing the resistance ships in space one by one. His minions have also captured a few of the rebels and brings them to knee in front of them - shock and awe as part of the folks kneeling are Finn and Poe. Here comes a major change and I feel Oscar Isaac would personally love this one. Poe gets a brutal ass fucking death with limb dismemberment etc. while everyone else tries to stop it but gets fucked up by Snoke and his incredible powers. Similar to that Negan scene from The Walking Dead and also makes more sense here as Poe's death in Part One as per Disney's initial plans would've been pointless (insufficient character growth to justify a meaningful death) Even Kylo is not cool with this and tries to intervene because this is too violent and too much but gets ragdolled like a bitch. Snoke even claims that HE was the one who put that distractiom in Kylo's memory, making him pull the trigger on the saber that killed Han. He gave Kylo the perfect memory at the perfect time to give him that one push over the edge. He influenced Kylo's rage, blinding him and making him take his own father's life. Snoke jeers and Kylo and Rey, claiming they're far more pathetic than he thought and they're unworthy of his teachings and presence. Poe is almost done for but being the badass that he is, musters what little strength he has to wink to Rey as she force pushes the blaster into his hands. Born out of pure fucking desperation to save his friends, Poe focuses his last ounce of strength and shoots Snoke straight in the face, blinding him in one eye. Buying just enough time for both Kylo and Rey to reach for the sabers, however, Rey gets hers first and absolutely wrecks Snoke as Finn rushes to Poe Dameron, holding him as he breathes his last. Kylo fends off an entire room of the Red guys 1v6. Rey vs Snoke is going on. Rey taps into the dark side. Juices up. Chops up Snoke and blows him up and as he's dying she still keeps going apeshit on him while Kylo has to step in and restrain her. Even he has a difficult time but manages to reign her in. Snoke dies. So does Poe. Kylo apologizes, saying this isn't how he envisioned things. As he's about to walk off, a sinister voice rises from the darkness beyond Snoke's corpse. Laughter echoing in the chambers as Snoke's remains, a lifelesss mangled corpse floats into the air with electricity arcing from his fingers and eyes. . And the ICONIC DIALOGUE is whispered in a booming growl "Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side". . It's fucking Palpatine as a floaty ghosty mother frocker, grinning from ear to ear while Snoke's corpse collapses to the floor and this OMINOUS DEATH looking bastard rises into full frame. . movie ends. . Cut to black 🙄 Palpatine was the one controlling Snoke all along and he somehow survived the atomization and explosions. However, at least here, he is in Ethereal form and not Corporeal so it's easier to digest the fact that a Sith so fricking hungry with immortality and power would manage to continue his existence. . somehow. It's palatable. It's also palpable. It's also. . Wait for it. . Palpa-TINE. . Badum Dish. . Drumroll please. . I got puns for days 🤣
PART THREE: Movie starts off like The Two Towers. Zooming shots throughout Snoke's Palace while the sound bytes of the Part Two's climax play through with camera panning into the Throne room as the final moments of Part two play out all over again. Sheer panic and dread has set in. Poe is gone. Snoke is but a puppet in the true sense. Emperor looms over Rey, Finn and a befuddled Kylo who's now questioning everything he ever fought for. Emperor plays with them like they're little ants, frying them, flinging them and ripping off Finn's fake (arm/leg). He's toying with them and torturing them. And just as he's about to do finish them, the massive ass heavy doors to the throne room are flung apart like paper. Standing in the corridor backlit by green is a cloaked figure that whispers "I thought I threw you into the abyss". . As the lightsaber ignites in Glorious Green and the green light cascades onto an incredibly PISSSED OFF Luke Skywalker. "It can't be. You were in exile!" mutters a grumpy Emperor. A ridiculously immense "feat of strength" battle ensues similar to that of Dumbledore vs Voldemort. Both parties pulling out force powers out of their ass in magnitudes that are ripping the ships internals to shreds and endangering everyone else. It becomes a stalemate and they escape with their lives. And now, the "Somehow Palpatine returned" dialogue makes sense, especially when it comes from LUKE's mouth and not frickin Meriadoc Brandybuck. Luke explains to everyone else how Palpatine was an ancient evil he once fought and destroyed with his father Anakin. Everyone's shitting bricks because the Emperor clearly never died in the true sense of the word and has remained busy in the shadows as Snoke, rebuilding his empire, pulling all the strings. That's also WHY EVERYTHING LOOKS AND FEELS THE SAME WITH THE VILLAINS. MOTIFS, VEHICLES, DEATH STARS. BECAUSE ITS THE SAME BAD GUY ALL ALONG. 😅 Cue a final desperate adventure where Kylo comes to terms with his failures and how he was being misled all along. Sombre scene between him and Luke. He tells Luke "I don't know what to do. I cannot seek forgiveness. I allowed all this to happen. So many lives. I thought I was doing this for the greater good. For the balance. I knew there would be no coming back from this for me. But others could thrive in a new world". . Luke replies.."The greater good. Some of the worst things in the world were started with the best intentions. The Jedi were noble but they were also human. .and flawed.".... ... "All those lives I've taken .. " says an absolutely shattered Kylo Ren.. ..Luke replies. . "Lives that can never be brought back. But you can pay for theirs with the life you own now..We can put an end to it. It's not too late to see it through to the end. .".. ..Luke locks eyes with Kylo "Your mother and father loved you more than anything Ben. As do I". . Luke also tells Ben about how his grandfather, Darth Vader chose to be a father in the end and helped destroy the Emperor, eventually dying as Anakin Skywalker instead. This can lead to the scene where Ben breaks the Darth Vader helmet memento to bits and sheds his own helmet too. Tearjerker scene can follow where Ben Solo has a Skype call with mom and dad force ghosts who also give a cryptic message that he should talk to Luke because Luke has something incredibly important to tell him) - instead of the dumb scene with Han where he's a "memory"?. . Self forgiveness FTW? 😅 Rey comes to terms with Luke's warning about giving in to the dark side and TRAINS HARDER while Finn baby takes over Poe's mantle and fills in the Ace Pilot spot, wearing Poe Dameron's jacket and colors. Macguffin adventure with Luke Skywalker ensues.
THE GRAND FINALE. Finn leads the way to fight in space and stop the death destroyers. Rey, Ben and Luke go to the ground game to finish the emperor, once and for all. While enroute, Luke sits the kids down and tells them why The Emperor wanted both of them and their powers. They're brother and sister, born as a dyad, a strong bond in the force that was so United, it posed a threat to the fabric of the force itself. This happens once every few generations and they had to separate them during childhood once they figured out that Snoke had sent assassins to capture them. This also makes INCREDIBLE SENSE as to why Han and Leia could not be seen together and why Rey had been hidden away on a desert planet somewhere. Rey's parent is a LITERAL SKYWALKER. Someone she's been talking to all this time and only now finds out that it's her actual mom. Fuck me in the heartstrings. They both break down, mend their differences and get ready for the final fight. The Emperor has grown way stronger. The battle does not go easy. Ben's own soldiers, the Knights of Ren are a menace and nearly bring both Rey and Kylo to their knees. Except. Kylo calms himself down and in a moment of PURE CHEER WORTHY AWESOMENESS, he focuses himself to the point where his SPUTTERING LIGHT SABER BECOMES SOLID STATE LIGHT. A true saber but in all of its red glory. The brother sister duo tap into the force and start fighting together, blending their styles instead of doing their own thing while Luke faces off against the Emperor again. The knights are finished eventually but Luke is not winning at all. The Emperor uses some cheap tricks and tries to one shot Kylo and Rey but Luke gets in front of them taking the full brunt of the hit. As Luke is unable to stop the massive force lighting and starts to disintegrate, he looks back at his niece and nephew, smiles and tells them to look into the force, "You will always find us there". . Luke disappears, the Emperor falters, and his force lightning fades for a brief second. And that's all the siblings needed to make full use of Luke Skywalker's noble sacrifice. They attack with everything they have, exchange banter in between and just as the Emperor launches another Salvo of Force Lightning saying "I am ALL the Sith", Ben and Rey cross their sabers together and block the lightning. While they struggle to keep the lightning at bay, all of the force ghosts appear together as a result of the Dyad fusion, supporting them from behind. The force ghosts light sabers materialise into reality and the duo join them to their own sabers and reflect the lightning back to the Emperor, while saying this quote in return "And we are ALL THE JEDI". Emperor destroyed for good now 😤 . . SOMEHOW. . NO. NO SOMEHOW. HE'S DEAD FOR GOOD.
No awkward, out of the blue cringe fucking kiss scene like between Ron & Hermione after killing the Basilisk. All those ReyLo fans can weep in a dustbin. And the Dyad now makes sense. Every legacy character's death makes sense and has meaning. Each death also is in sequence. Han goes first. Leia follows. And Luke is the last to kick the bucket. Emperor's comeback also makes sense. Somewhat. The ending makes even more sense. Kylo (Ben). Rey. Finn. Reunited. They re-build the Resistance. And also teach a new philosophy of Balanced approach. Neither giving in to the dark side. Nor being blinded only by the light side. A new way forward. Led by the Skywalker genes through the combination of an Organa and a Solo in a new temple. Finn and Rey profess love for one another. And the last scene is her burying the force ghost's sabers in the ground until they're needed.
Years pass. Dry af desert planet. Rey and Finn are building their home. Random ass desert camel lady passes by asking "I've not seen you around here". . Rey replies "We're new here", as she looks down at her pregnant tummy and Finn working on their home in the distance. "What's your name, my dear?" asks the dry as a stick camel lady. . "Rey. . " comes a quick reply . . "Rey who?" Asks the annoying dust bag old lady. . "Rey Organa" . . Says Rey in a contemplative low voice. . Taking a look back at Finn, she smiles and says with a slight tremble . . "and that's my husband, Finn Solo".. "Rey Organa and Finn Solo, from the Skywalker Clan" . . Says Rey with Utmost confidence now in her voice.. The screen fades to black on a sunkissed Rey's face as she is now looking into the future, sure of the legacy she wants to carry ahead.
ORCHESTRAL MUSIC GETS LOUDER.
FADE TO BLACK on the Two Suns of Tattooine.

RAW BUSINESS IDEAS 1.Rental houses 2.Transport vehicles 3.Motorbikes business 4.Bars and pubs business 5.Dairy farming 6.Cattle runch business 7.Poultry farming business 8.Videos and cinemas 9.PS halls 10.Salons and kinyozis business 11.Music industry 12.Entertainment industry 13.Private schools 14.M-Pesa shops 15.Airtel money shops 16.Gym and sauna business 17.Purchase of land for investment and resale business 18.Tree planting business 19.Fishpond and fisheries business 20.Butchery business 21.Poshomills business 22.Security service industry 23.Petrol station business 24.Car wash 25.Cyber business 26.Gas cylinders business 27.Hardware 28.Driving school 29.Computer packages school 30.Broadcasting industries/Media groups 31.Making of posters business 32.Pool 33.Phone shops business 34.Rental rooms for business 35.Pharmacy/Chemistry 36.Private hospitals 37.Welding sites business 38.Supermarket business 39.Writing books for sale/publishing 40.Small shops business 41.Tatoo buildings business 42.Movie shops 43.You Tube channels 44.Online jobs 45.Kungfu,martial arts,boxing,tai kuondo halls 46.Shoe repair Business 47.Digital marketing 48.Drug dealing 49.Tents and plastic chairs supply 50.Solar panels business 51.Betting companies business 52.Beautiful scenaries eg parks business 53.Photography 54.Videography 55.Electronics shop 56.Ice creams business 57.Smokies and eggs vending/Kahawa and mandazis/mtura/soup/nyama china business 58.Necklesses business 59.Sales person 60.Dealing in clothes (Ready made/Second hand-mtumba) 61.Green houses 62.Dancing crue and hall business 63.Putting money in fixed deposit accounts 64.Saccos and chamas 65.Buying of shares in unlisted companies 66.Treasury bills and Treasury bonds 67.Develop an app 68.Shares in listed companies 69.DJ 70.Chauffer 71.Body(ear,nose etc) piercing business 72.Insurance and reinsurance company 73.Boutique 74.Cosmetics 75.Fighting equipments(guns,bullets,bombs etc)shop 76.Ships and boats 77.Furnitures shop 78.Agrovet business 79.Livestock farming (goats,ships,rabbits,pigs etc) business 80.Acting on trends 81.Agricultural factories 82.Warehouses business 83.Barkery 84.Restaurants business 85.School requirements shop 86.Garage 87.Private toilets/bathrooms 88.Giving out credits at an interest rate 89.Guide(business, education etc)books/PDFs business 90.Supplying industry/supplier 91.Flowers for export business 92.Daycare business 93.Airtime(Safaricom, Airtel, Telcom etc) Business 94.Bookshop 95.Gift services overview 96.Laundry business 97.Nails making business 98.Forex trading 99.Bitcoin 100.Fruit and juice parlour 101.Podcasting 102.Yoga studio 103.Catering services 104.Computer repair business/shop 105.Modeling 106.Purchasing existing website 107.Organic vending business 108.Virtual assistant business 109.Translation service 110.Online tutoring business 111.Content writer business 112.Web design 113.Career coach business 114.Start a blog 115.Amazon reselling 116.Coffee shop 117.Home food delivery 118.Currency trading 119.Event planning business 120.Interior design business 121.Selling of phone case and other accessories business 122.Property management business eg Chakra company 123.Drive for Uber or Lyft 124.Water supply services 125.Personal fitness traineInstructor 126.Tour guide business 127.Accounting and bookkeeping business 128.Caregiving business 129.Transcription 130.Data analysis 131.Fast food restaurant 132.Yoghurt business 133.Nail and eye brows parlour 134.Screen printing 135.Real estate 136.Human billboard 137.Affiliate marketing 138.Pool cleaning business 139.Designing and selling print-on-demand t-shirts 140.Junk removal service 141.Printing services 142.Custodian 143.Dropshipping business 144.Craft business 145.Landscaping business 146.Bicycle rentals/Bicycle repairs 147.Painting business 148.Flower shop 149.House cleaning 150.Grocery delivery 151.Resale store 152.Subscription box business 153.Import/export business 154.Laundromat business 155.Party bus 156.Staffing services 157.Antique dealer 158.Construction business 159.Used car rentals 160.Cafe/Sandwich shop 161.Logo design business 162.Shoe business 163.Marine electronics/waterproof electronics 164.Publicity business 165.Drone business 166.Gutter cleaning business 167.Garden center 168.Kitchen store business 169.Cookie business 170.Framing business 171.Mushroom farming 172.Vending machine for fruits 173.Laundry services 174.Agribusiness 175.Business in waste management 176.Urban transportation business 177.Fin-tech business 178.Urban logistics 179.Automobiles 180.Bee keeping (Honey,wax etc) 181.Study platforms for Students 182.Financial consultancy firm 183.Stationery shop 184.Appliance repair shop 185.Party decoration services 186.Sewing business 187.Handcraft business 188.Online travel agency 189.Samosa business 190.Pancake and Chapati business 191.Wrap up 192.Milk bashop 193.Mobile money agent 194.Farming 195.Cake baking business 196.Selling snacks 197.Selling computers and accessories 198.Internet connection to the customers living nearby 199.Selling fruits and vegetables 200.Brick making 201.Selling handbags 202.Cereal shop 203.Paxful's affiliate program and peer program 204.Invest in mutual funds or ETFs 205.Data entry 206.Popcorn business 207.Bead making and wire wax 208.Sell perfumes 209.Designing book covers 210.Dog walking 211.Tailoring 212.Sale of hair extension 213.Dry cleaning services 214.Stadiums 215.Candle making 216.Mobile repair shop 217.Tuition 218.Hauling service 219.Home staging business 220.Window treatment business 221.Dreadlock business 222.Fashion house 223.Oil business 224.Music sounds for hire 225.Start a football club 226.Blended education programs 227.Wholesale business 228.Ironing services 229.Swimming pool 230.Mandazis and donuts business 231.Seedlings for sale 232.Soap making 233.Selling soft drinks,fresh juice and snacks 234.Stationery supply to rural areas 235.Tuk tuk business 236.Selling baby diapers 237.Start a video game lounge 238.Manicure, pedicure and facial scrubbing business 239.Landscaping and gardening services 240.Land brokerage 241.Eggs wholesale 242.Spare parts(motorcycle, bicycle, vehicles etc)shop 243.Pork meet business 244.Charcoal and coal business 245.Gambling business 246.Agricultural value addition business 247.Camels 248.Facebook 249.Instagram 250.Chicken spare parts business 251.Shopify 252.Hawking business 253.Amazon FBA 254.Flipping collectibles 255.Tik Tok 256.Carpets 257.Curtains 258.Mutual funds investment 259.Precious metals business (eg gold, silver and bronze) 260.Sport shoes/jazies/balls etc business 261.Grow profitable vegetables and fruits 262.Invest in the capital market via Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) 263.Dealing in second hand goods eg furnitures, electronics etc 264.Candle production 265.Plantain chips and bhajia business 266.Errands 267.Lawn care 268.Miti shamba/Dawa za kienyeji/Herbals 269.Beddings eg Mattresses 270.Homemade gourmet foods 271.Flea market vending 272.Music Instructor 273.Making custom furniture 274.Banking services 275.Own a tap/boreholes 276.Flight services eg Air hostess 277.Clothing lines 278.Book publishing/ebooks 279.Start charitable business 280.Pet training and grooming services 281.Data entry provider 282.Start a pop-up shop 283.Rent your car on Turo 284.College admissions essay tutor and editor 285.Travel consultant 286.Tax preparation 287.Commision-only sales 288.Ebay sales 289.Fiverr Gigs 290.Airbnb 291.Patreon 292.Alteration Services 293.Professional organizing services 294.Aquarium maintenance 295.Home inspector 296.Review website 297.Home Appraisal 298.Sell Jericans from certain suppliers 299.Referral services 300.Recycled goods seller

Long post, non native english, mobile
I've loved my father dearly all my life. He divorced my mom when I was around 10 and left me with her. I never felt anything bad towards him due to that, I actually envied him. Mom was stay at home mom, due to disability also. My mom is a good person, but heavily mentally ill. She really has problems, she went to mental hospitals a bunch of times when I was a toddler and a kid, she experienced nasty side effects from heavy medications. She couldn't quite control herself, but loved me for real, so I suffered some unintentional emotional abuse, as I call it. Unhealthy behaviors, and even though she loves me with her whole heart, I had huge resentment, almost hatred, mixed with love and guilt. Anyway, I haven't talked to her in years, wishing her the best life but far away from me. Should have got me a therapist mom! I got one half a year ago and now I actually enjoy talking to her several times a week.
So, when I was around 14, my paternal grandma (now ~75f) got me to live with her (no custody battle, just an agreement). She is my most important person. She was watching me half of the time anyway through all my life. Sad to say, she was more of a mom to me then a real mom always. I live with her still and do not plan to leave her ever. She has poor health now unfortunately, she don't think she'll live another 2 years.
My father had another daughter, my sis T, in his new relationship (5f). He and another wife were together for 11 years but got divorced MONTH after sister was born, due to my father prioritizing himself. Imaging "wife, you are tired after full day and want me to watch a baby this evening? Sorry, I gotta run my daily 5k, ciao". I don't know for sure, but he can also yell if pressured, so I would divorce him to. Also, he was the one wanting a child.
I've always supported his ex wife, grandma too understood situation very well, but cut ties with her later for unimportant reasons. Now for reasons unknown to me communication between my dad and his ex is very tense, non-existent almost (it was better at some point I think). My sis spend every weekend with us (me father grandma grandpa). Somehow I became the only person speaking to dad ex, about T mostly. That's when I realized how low their communication is actually. I was saying "you know, how T always does this?" and her mom was like "no, she almost never does this in my place" and such.
So, I'm in a home with a little kid, my grandma is not healthy but always does something in a garden or something, grandpa always helps her. And dad... Not watches her to most of the time. And I'm the one communicating with her mom sometimes about important stuff. So months ago I found myself in unhappy position, where I was forced to watch my lovely sis. Dad would just tell me I don't have to, she can entartain herself alone. Yes, but not that much hours! She want attention and playtime.
To be clear, dad is not completely not paying attention, he walkes with her up to 1.5h a day, changes her clothes, lays to bed, manage her toys and things, wipes her. But he doesn't feed her, cannot play, and in the house mostly doing his own thing during the day. That's why I didn't even realize he lacks as a parent for a long time, he does important things by himself. But he doesn't take care for her for like 6 houst a day, and sometimes he loses his temper and bails out of situations.
Her mom is actually the one who helped me realize that and helped me set some boundaries (and talked to my dad too, pretty harshly I guess). My therapist helped too, I see her rarely. But like... Situation didn't change much, I stopped stressing.
And to complete the picture few words about my dear grandma: she can not accept help if her life depends on it. She doesn't have that skill. She always stress the f out of herself cause other person is doing all wrong and slow. She is quick to take responsibility. But her health declined a lot recently (doctors watch her regularly), and she is still adamant to spend all her day in garden just to lay in bed all next dat. She only stops when she feel absolutely awful, stubborn as hell.
So what motivated me to write this post. Today is Saturday, evening, grandma feels bad (as always honestly), but she pulls wonderful dinner for us (she actually couldn't enjoy it herself, she went to bed. Nobody is pressuring her, I swear, everybody only says her to chill all the time). When she was almost done, already feeling very bad, she went to a garden to got greens. She said to grandpa "I need greens, but I can't, I couldn't go that far", he said "I can, let me do it", I overheard and said "I can do it". She brushed him off, said to me I always bring way too little, and went herself. I went after her to help, my sis was playing outside and tried to help. Anyway, she sat in dirt a little, we laughed it off, I couldn't see any sticking to her butt. Grandma was like "we need to wash now, lemme..." but since she was feeling BAD already I cut her and said that's not our problem, that's dads problem.
We went inside, I told dad. He was tired today all day, in that condition his temper is so short almost inexistent, he gets irritated a second he is touched. I know the feeling very well, I got it from him. So I never have a problem feeling that mood of his, "do not disturb" one, since I have it exactly the same. But I know that doesn't mean I now have to deal with everything myself, it's still his responsibility, it is his daughter weekend. So when I told him to check if her pants are dirty he said "no do it yourself", I was like "what do you mean yourself, whose daughter it is", he declined to do crap again, I said "you bring her!", he said something declining again. Anyway I went inspect T's clothes myself, it had a few small insignificant wet spots, I said good enough and didn't do anything.
So just a little later dad was looking after T (his decline was an immediate reaction, out of irritation, not a continuous decision, so even tired he of course didn't abandon her), she changed clothes. He asked her to go upstairs for her inside pants, she declined, he said "may be L(me) will go get it" (not in a manipulative way, he just didn't want to go). I said "no, dOnT tOucH mE". I tried to repeat his phrase with which he declined the first time. So, he just sinhed quietly and went.
My problem is, after recently me noticing he does mess up in his caring for T, and a little speaking with T's mom (she tried her best to not badmouth him to me, I tried my best to not push for information, but some things she said stuck with me), I felt like rose tinted glasses were lifted from me. I absolutely despise how he handles his temper with his strong "no". Idk, he had so sort of therapy, is that why he states his wishes like this? I know in his first marriage with my mom he couldn't really do it, cause she would got hurt, he painfully avoided confrontation and put up with her. But he really could use some "meh... What happened? Can you do it please? One second then..."
And also, today I had this thought. I have naver actually thought about it ever. I don't remember much from childhood (not trauma, just bad memory), but I dont remember him taking me from my mom by himself, on weekends. My grandma did, all the time. I now know he was already with his second wife (T's mom), and I've just remembered she doesn't think children should meet parents new spouses. I met her years later. I think I'm hurt now, cause I suddenly realized, I could honestly expect more from my dad (and could have expected). I love him a lot, we go along really well, and those are really hard feelings for me. I suddenly feel almost betrayed after all these years of pure love and acceptance. Help pls

https://imgur.com/a/7s9XUE9
Reposting with significant price drops - I need the room. I am the original owner of these knives, all of them in factory uncut/un sharpened edge, and all with original boxes and paperwork. PPF&F and ships out in the morning.
Pics/vid
ACE Nimbus V2 - Green micarta and Elmax steel. Great looking knife however, it never appealed to me so here to find a new home. Carried once however has not cut anything and in very good to excellent condition with a pristine blade. Asking $130 SOLD
American Blade Works Model 1 V6 G10 Jade, 20CV steel with Ti pocket clip. All American made and an excellent flipper and comes extremely sharp. I’ve only flipped this one a few times and not carried it. Comes with pouch and LNIB asking $150 $125 SOLD
Spyderco PM2 Black - Blackout PM2 in very good condition/excellent condition. Knife has not broken in and has been in case till today to move clip to tip up carry and Asking $150 SOLD
Arcform Slimfoot in M390. This knife is LNIB, pure beauty and reposting with a reduction in price to help it find a new home. Asking $250 $225 SOLD
EMPDC Original Nymble 1st Production with zirc hardware. Including original hardware. Disassembled to install hardware but in pristine and unvaried condition. Asking $300 $275
Protech Terzuola ATCF Auto. First run with carbon fiber in light and black handle. Comes with original box and in excellent LNIB condition. Asking $400 $375
Thank you!

Are two claws better than three? That is one of the many questions I’ll be attempting to answer as we delve into X-23’s cards! Here I will go over her cards in great detail, try to predict which aspects and archetypes she will like, as well as estimate where she’ll rank in terms of power.
Disclaimer #1: X-23 has just been previewed. I have not played her, this is all simply theoretical and done for fun!
Disclaimer #2: This is my longest deep dive yet! Skip to the conclusion if you want a shorter read! Just read the bullet points at the end for the quickest read.
But let’s cut to the chase.
Identity Card - Alter-Ego
X-23 or Laura Kinney as she’s called in alter-ego is, in many ways, much like Wolverine. She has a giant REC of 6 and has a setup ability to put her claws into play. And while yes, she is high damage and has plenty of healing, the similarities really do end there. She functions entirely differently.
So let’s hit the boring stuff. She’s got 10 hp and the standard hand size - 6 in alter-ego, 5 in hero form. Not great, but not bad - distinctly average. She also has the Mutant alter-ego trait and X-Force hero trait as you'd expect.
As mentioned, she has 6 REC and this is by _far_ her best stat. 6 REC is monstrous and shouldn’t be underestimated - she doesn’t automatically heal when starting the turn in her hero form, meaning there’s no opportunity cost for going alter-ego to use it like with Wolverine.
Given how dangerous it can be to drop to low hp in the pursuit of not missing value from a large REC stat, she will like any well-costed increases to her hit points. So far, we haven’t seen an equivalent of Adamantium Skeleton, but you can bet that Endurance, the unannounced but probable Honorary X-Force card, or even Symbiote Suit are all on the menu as potential cards for her deck-building.
Increasing her hp will help her in other ways - but we’ll get to that.
Like Wolvy, she has a setup ability to put her claws in play. Unlike Wolvy, she has a second ability that she can actively use throughout the game. It’s an action to shuffle either the Honey Badger ally or the Sisterly Bond event from her discard pile into her deck and then draw a card. The shuffling of either card is a cost, so you are only able to use it for the sweet card draw if either is in your discard pile.
Unfortunately, it appears X-23 only has one copy of Sisterly Bond and she seems heavily incentivized to keep her signature ally around on the board at all times. Which is to say, her alter-ego ability won’t always be online to use. But it's much better than not having one. ...Like Wolverine.
But let’s get to the good stuff.
Setup Ability - Shhnk!
The ability is very simple. Put X-23’s Claws into play. So let’s talk about those.
Her claws have the weapon trait, the permanent keyword, and have a hero action that reads: Exhaust X-23’s Claws and take 2 damage → X-23 gets +2 ATK until the end of the round.
As you can see, suddenly her 6 REC is looking a lot more useful. And she has other sources of healing which we’ll soon cover. She also has multiple sources of readying, and thus you can really start to get excellent value from these. If anyone has ever played Quicksilver with Maximum Velocity, multiple readies with a +2 ATK boost is incredibly good! And she can pull the trigger every turn - as long as she has the hp!
Identity Card - Hero Form
Her form is, quite frankly, amazing - and her entire kit has fantastic synergy with it. As do a lot of aspect cards.
She’s another 2 THW, 1 ATK, and 2 DEF hero. The same as Cyclops and Angel - apparently this has become popular! But like both of those heroes, she has a ready source of damage. In this case, the claws we just talked about. By taking 2 damage, suddenly she’s a 2 THW, 3 ATK, and 2 DEF hero.
2 damage might seem steep, but remember those readies I talked about? They’re here. X-23 has an ability called Living Weapon. It’s a response which says after she takes any amount of damage, ready her (Limit once per phase.). So, at the most basic level on our turn, we can always thwart for 2, ready by taking damage from our claws, and then use our basic ATK for 3 damage (or even just another 2 thwarting!).
If she attacks twice, it’s 4 total damage (1 and then 3). If she thwarts twice, it’s 4 threat removal total (2 and 2). She has to take 2 damage to do so, but restoring 2 hit points is generally considered to be roughly the equivalent of one resource.
Remember Captain America? He's pretty good. By discarding one card (read: one resource), he too can ready to potentially attack twice, thwart twice, or some combination. And he too hits a maximum of 4 damage or threat removal, but even he can’t hit 3 damage and 2 threat removal like this while X-23 can.
What I’m trying to say here is that X-23 is going to be incredibly, incredibly consistent. Notably in solo play but still amazing in multiplayer. Even before you look at your cards in hand, you can basically guarantee defeating any one of most minions or clearing most side schemes. That versatility and output from Turn 1 is rarely talked about from Captain America but I believe it is one of his greatest strengths. Now? One of X-23's.
Lastly, I need to bring attention to the fact that the Living Weapon response, the thing that readies her, is once per phase. You can defend with her on the villain phase and, should she take a point of damage, she’ll ready straight back up. Nice. Cap can’t do that either.
In short, if you’re being compared to Captain America, you’ve done good. Right now? X-23 is looking very strong.
…But maybe all her other cards are bad? Heh.
Signature Ally - Honey Badger
…Who names these characters?! Anyway, Honey Badger is a key weapon in your arsenal. Why? Because she readies you. She’s a 1 THW, 1 ATK, 2 HP ally with a printed cost of 2. She also, curiously, has the X-Men trait. This is weak, but her ability is very strong.
Her Hero Response reads: After Honey Badger takes any amount of damage, ready X-23.
This is very good because X-23 has great stats and we’ve yet to scrape the surface of how high her ATK can really go. If you’ve ever used the Web-Warrior ally of Peter Parker, you know just how good allies that ready you can be. Since consequential damage works for this, the timing will be largely comparable to Peter Parker except she’ll be defeated first before you can use her response if you spend her last hp on an ATK or THW.
With a great ability comes great potential to boost her hp and/or keep her healed. Or even recur her with something like Make the Call, Chance Encounter or Regroup.. See, you are going to want to keep Honey Badger in play as much as you can. Because readying is awesome. And we have other cards that benefit from her sticking around.
By readying you, she effectively has a THW stat of 3 or an ATK stat of 4+. And, since she delivers 1 of either the ATK or THW herself, it’s in some ways able to be split and she can definitely pop Toughs for you. So she’s already a solid ally before you factor in boosting her hp and/or keeping her alive. And all those other cards that synergize with her.
Remember the X-Men trait on her? Every aspect has a Training upgrade that adds hp. Expect to see one or more of these in all her best decks. Maybe a little X-Mansion to heal her, or Game Time, etc. Med Team, Command Team… There are a lot of options. And all of them end in Honey Badger readying you a LOT.
…In short, if your signature ally is being compared to the Web-Warrior version of Peter Parker, you’ve done good.
…But maybe, just maybe, all her other cards are bad? Hehehe…
Let’s check out her events.
Claw Mastery
A 1-cost event with the caveat that it’s “max 1 per round”. What does it do? It’s a hero action that says, until the end of the round, X-23 gets +2 attack - and, if Honey Badger is in play, her attacks gain overkill.
This is super good.
If you don’t ready her again, it’s not so hot. But if you do even once? That +2 attack becomes four damage between two attacks. Combine this with her claws’ +2 ATK bonus and she us hitting 5 ATK and is really going to love more ways to ready. If you make a basic ATK, ready, repeat a few times? We’re in Quicksilver territory. And between Leadership shenanigans with Honey Badger, or Protection shenanigans with all its direct readies? You can deal massive damage here.
Battle Fury isn’t quite in the same league, but it’s starting to make sense why it was reprinted with Wolverine now. She’ll love that too.
This is easily one of her best cards, you just need to combo it. And I say it’s one of her best cards before we even discuss the potential overkill it gives you. Note the overkill is for all her attacks, not just her basic ATK. You could drop Into the Fray on a 1 hp minion and, in addition to removing 5 threat, deal 5 overkill damage. Nice.
Sisterly Bond
A 0-cost event that is a Hero Interrupt - when Honey Badger thwarts/attacks, add X-23’s matching power to Honey Badger.
So, despite Honey Badger having 1 ATK, if you have just played Claw Mastery and used your Claws? This 0-cost card basically gives her a total of 6 ATK for one use. And even without Claw Mastery, it’s still very good at giving either 3 damage or 2 threat removal for 0-cost.
This is like Leadership’s Teamwork card in reverse, except nobody has to exhaust either. If you boost Honey Badger’s hp and/or heal her, this card is a must-play. And her best builds are almost certainly doing this.
It’s very efficient and super flexible with serious combo potential on top. And remember her alter-ego ability? Once this is in your discard pile (looks like only one copy), you can shuffle it back into your deck.
…This is easily one of her best cards too.
Regenerative Longevity
A 1-cost event and an action, meaning it can be used in hero or alter-ego form, that heals you and Honey Badger for a total of 4. It’s reminiscent of Wolverine’s healing card and is one of her two previewed cards to have the Superpower trait.
So, for two resources (1-cost + the card itself), we get 4 healing. This is basically what we should expect for our money for identity healing. However, the ability to heal Honey Badger as well is extra valuable given how ridiculously good Honey Badger is for us.
Is it one of her best cards? You’re going to have to draw it at the right time (after you’ve played Honey Badger), but then? Kinda. Keeping Honey Badger alive and healthy is incredibly valuable. Every hp restored to Honey Badger is another ready, and your readies hit HARD.
Next up? Upgrades and supports.
Sisterhood
If all three of her events and her setup ability, her claws, all combo-ing with Honey Badger wasn’t enough of a clue, here’s the final card that cements the theme: Honey Badger is vital and you absolutely desperately want to put her in play and keep her in play.
X-23 is the first hero we’ve ever seen who works so closely with their signature ally. Wong, Mantis, Vivian and maybe even Gambit come close, but not quite like this. Though, to speak of Vision, keep his Hickory Branch Lane card in mind here. This is her version of it.
Sisterhood is a 2-cost support that has an action (alter-ego or hero form) that says to exhaust it, discard an X-23 card from your hand, then search your deck and discard pile for Honey Badger and add her to your hand.
In other words, wherever you are and whatever is happening, you can always find and thus play Honey Badger once Sisterhood is in play. Whoa.
Now, I generally think beefing up Honey Badger’s hp (and, ideally, other stats) is going to be the best move, but recurring her with this? This can be a great option if you lean into it. Notably, in leadership, the Team Training card is going to do huge work here by giving Honey Badger +1 hp every time you play her. This will also combo really well with Danger Room. Just grab her, play her, and use Danger Room to immediately find and put a Training upgrade on her. And repeat as necessary.
This card is basically infinite copies of Make the Calls for your best ally. As long as you have another signature card in hand that you don’t mind swapping for her.
Nice.
This card? Easily one of her best - for the right build. Otherwise, it’s probably dead to you if you find Honey Badger first and have built the deck to keep her alive forever. However, even with such builds, this could be pretty valuable to find Honey Badger sooner if you happen to draw this first. Honey Badger is just that good.
Puncture Wound This upgrade is basically a delayed event and is reminiscent of Nebula’s techniques. Play it, benefit from the passive bonus, wait, and it goes off in the next round.
And I love it.
It’s a 0-cost card that you can only attach to an enemy that X-23 or Honey Badger have attacked this turn. The attached enemy gets -1 ATK. And then, as a forced response that triggers after the player phase begins, you must discard it - but for doing so you deal 3 damage to the attached enemy.
So, first things first - 3 damage for a 0-cost card is great. This is Turn the Tide levels of efficient. The downside is that it's conditional, also like Turn the Tide. Given X-23’s crazy damage, minions are unlikely to survive - you’re mostly putting this on the villain aside from a few edge cases and mostly in multiplayer (Surprise Contender? Dragon? Sleeper? That Future Past guy I forget the name of?). Normal minions won’t live long at all.
But for a hero who hits hard and fast, hitting the villain is going to be something you want a lot of the time, especially in solo where she can definitely melt through their hp. And if you’re focusing down the villain, you don’t want to be putting a ton of resources into your defense. And this is where the -1 ATK comes in useful.
The slight downside, the anti-synergy here, is that if you reduce the damage you take too low while also defending? You won't take any damage and so won't ready back up with your hero ability. It's going to be a fine line to balance that will vary with each scenario.
We believe she has two of these in her kit and they do stack, so for a total of 2 effective resources you can put both of these on the villain, take -2 from any attacks they make, then they take 6 damage. That’s crazy.
What’s even better is when you consider multiplayer. First of all, this is an upgrade. Cyclops is going to be able to Optic Blast off of it. Secondly, every single attack the enemy makes will be affected by that -1 ATK. So you’re really helping to protect the whole table.
The combo I’m most excited for is with Cyclops (again) and Storm, two of the best multiplayer heroes already. If Cyclops attaches Practiced Defense and Storm changes to her Blizzard Weather, you can play one Puncture Wound too and now the villain has -3 ATK for that entire villain phase. Or -4 if you draw into both of these.
But a lot of other characters will love the -1 as well. Spider-Ham might not need the help, but this will help him take lower chunks of damage for efficient toon counter generation. Drax? Now, when he takes attacks, he takes less damage too. The Groot ally? Suddenly it’s surviving a lot longer. The same goes for Spider-UK.
There are probably even more multiplayer combos I have yet to think of. There are a lot of handy little interactions.
What’s also good about this is that it makes “taunt” cards a lot better as well - cards that make the villain attack. Traditionally, cards like Toe to Toe and Bait and Switch haven’t been worth it. Whether they are now is still debatable, but certainly they get better if you can factor in the villain having -1 ATK. And remember the new card with Angel, actually called Taunt? That works great here as well.
There’s theoretically a situation where, in 4-player where everyone has their own copy of all the content, you have X-23, Storm, Cyclops and Drax, all running 3x Taunt or 3x Toe to Toe, with the first three using their -1 ATK abilities to weaken the villain throughout the game while everyone grabs massive value from these cards.
I love this card.
Grim Resolve
And now for a traditional upgrade. So traditional, in fact, that it’s basically just Clarity of Purpose. The main difference? Its cost arrow says you must TAKE 1 damage rather than DEAL 1 damage, which is relevant with the new 1.5 rules when it comes to potentially blocking the damage.
If you block damage (let’s say with Energy Barrier) from a cost which says TAKE, then you have not actually taken the damage since you prevented it. But if you block the damage from a cost which says DEAL, the damage was still dealt - you don’t have to take it to have fulfilled the cost.
(If this is confusing, while I will try to help in the comments, I recommend looking for some youtube talks on it or scouring the pages of the new 1.5 rules reference!)
Like Clarity of Purpose, it’s a 1-cost card which you exhaust to generate a resource. Clarity of Purpose has you also deal a point of damage to yourself as an extra cost. Grim Resolve has you take a point of damage as its extra cost.
It’s good! Now, you can pop your Claws to get +2 ATK first before using X-23 at all, then make a big basic ATK, then use Grim Resolve to ready then and make a second one. It gives a lot of flexibility in the timing of when you want to ready with her hero ability.
But it’s also just an ever-so-slightly worse version of Clarity of Purpose. Still, Clarity is a powerful card and X-23 has a lot of healing. You can totally run both, whether to just to find one earlier or even put both into play.
Pain Tolerance
Last but not least, we have X-23’s consistent healing card. This upgrade is 2-cost, Superpower traited, and has a Response - meaning it works in both hero and alter-ego form. It says “After you play an X-23 card (including this one), heal 1 damage from your identity.”
Any rules followers will immediately recognize the reminder text being something absent from Sky-Destroyer, another card that triggers upon playing itself, so that is a welcome addition here that should help a lot of players out who otherwise might not realize it. And so we can, in some ways, also consider this to immediately include a 1 hp heal before we even really start using it properly.
So - three effective resources for 1 hp, then 1 hp every time you play one of your signature cards. I can tell you right now that, given how ridiculously good her signature cards are, you are going to want to play them already. And not just that but, as you may have spotted throughout the preview, all X-23’s cards are cheap. So, not only do you want to play them already purely because they’re so darn good, but you can play a lot of them because they’re so darn cheap.
In short, this thing is going to give a TON of healing. Outside of an unlucky hand, this is likely a minimum of 1 and sometimes up to 3 or, if the stars align, 4. And it will likely trend on the higher side if you thin your deck or build for card draw or some kind of recursion (Mutant Education, etc! And her alter-ego ability).
It’s not mind-blowing, but she’ll benefit more from the healing than most heroes will.
And that concludes the signature cards previewed so far - let’s take a quick look through some deck-building options for her.
Basic Cards
With the Mutant trait, she’ll love a lot of the X-Men supports. With an X-Men signature ally who is key to her entire deck, she’ll also love the X-Men supports.
X-Mansion? Heal Honey Badger. Danger Room? Beef up Honey Badger who you can easily recur, and thus get multiple uses from Danger Room on just her. Cerebro? Perhaps find her faster.
Weapon-X? Find more signature cards because 1) they are awesome and 2) she will heal the damage from Weapon X with the card drawn thanks to Pain Tolerance. This can also find Honey Badger sometimes.
X-Gene? Maybe. Definitely if you run Mutant Education.
Endurance? 110%. Symbiote Suit? Honestly, she is clearly one of the better characters for it in the entire game.
Professor X is also a stand-out ally. She lacks confuses and doesn’t always want to thwart. The confuses will help her go alter-ego and use her massive REC, cycle cards back, or heal Honey Badger with X-Mansion.
Oh yeah. And Game Time for Honey Badger. That should really speak for itself. Readying yourself through readying and healing an ally? All for 0-cost? Incredibly good.
Perhaps most importantly, the new basic side scheme she brings that rewards the linked cards will be super powerful for her. It’s called Specialized Training, and she really wants the Combat Specialist reward most of all in most decks. I’m not going into great detail on the new cards here but if you haven’t already, please please check these out. +1 ATK and card draw in any aspect is immensely helpful. It has a decent cost to get it, but if you do? It's superb.
Aggression Cards
X-23 has a plan. Boost her ATK and ready. Aggression can help with both.
In terms of ATK boosting? In addition to new card “Now I’m Mad”, there is the classic Combat Training and even Fluid Motion. I don’t see her loving Brute Force, but I’m sure there’s a novelty meme build where you boost her ATK to insane levels.
For readying, there is largely only Battle Fury. She doesn’t really need another source of incoming damage, but she loves readying so much I can’t see her not using it. Expect this in a lot of decks.
I also think Hand Cannon has her name written all over it. Certainly, she can get Overkill from her Claw Mastery event, but it’s not consistent every turn. Hand Cannon will boost your ATK further and make sure none of your damage goes to waste.
Skilled Strike definitely fits with what she wants to do. With the Weapon trait on her claws, she can technically use Mean Swing and Fusillade far more reliably than most heroes - but I think she’d rather focus on keeping her hp high to just use her claws directly. Better to block with allies or stun the villain than exhaust her claws for something else, in my opinion.
She will actually possibly like Quick Strike. One of the first heroes to genuinely do so without niche builds?
And let’s not forget Papa Wolverine. Who also, like Honey Badger, wants Attack Training which X-23 110% wants to run here.
And do you know what Skilled Strike, Wolverine, Hand Cannon, Combat Training, Now I’m Mad, and Attack Training all have in common? The physical resource. Drop Kick and Jarnbjorn are both on the table. And I think she’ll like them both.
While you might not want to use all of them, that is potentially a whole deck there that just wrote itself into existence. Just add Sunfire and Psylocke like almost every modern Aggression deck.
She is going to be strong in Aggression and hit very, very hard. With the thwarting to make it very solo-viable (if you don't just speed to victory with huge damage!).
Justice Cards
X-23’s plan here is in good hands. She can’t boost her ATK, but what if we, say, gave her Heroic Intuition and just readied her for thwarting? Or split her focus? Perhaps mixed in Making an Entrance to heal? Seems good, right?
Justice also has the best access to confuse. Which means the most reliable access to heal Honey Badger through X-Mansion. And, you know, use her massive REC. And she can find Honey Badger quickly with Chance Encounter if she needs to. One Way or Another? More card draw for her amazing cards, and more healing per turn on Pain Tolerance from those cards. Having a side scheme out to thwart also sets her up well to ready with her claws even if the villain only added a measly 1 to the main scheme. Thwart→Claws→Attack.
Everything here is going to run very smoothly. And she is going to want the cards Psylocke comes with. Something she doesn’t appear to have are any status effects and Upside the Head solves that very efficiently. And with great confuses, comes great ability to use Float Like a Butterfly. With her own ready and Honey Badger’s, she is getting a bunch of damage from it.
Mission Training? That’s Honey Badger’s Justice ticket to Game Time town. That goes in every Justice deck she ever has, surely.
I don’t see any other incredible cards for her here. Just lots of very solid cards that work for most heroes, and will for her too. While it won’t play as fast as Aggression for the most part? With fantastic threat removal here, great access to alter-ego healing, and her innate damage, it’s looking hard for X-23 to actually lose in this aspect.
Leadership
Good ol' Leadership. Where do I start? X-23 is the hero who, as mentioned, resolves the most around her signature ally. And Leadership is the ally-centric aspect. I could probably write a whole deep dive on the possible combinations here.
Let’s hit the basics. Danger Room Training to enable Game Time, X-Mansion, and just get more use from Honey Badger? Auto-include.
And if you’re bringing Danger Room Training, why not bring Beast along?
Pixie can grab Honey Badger for you, or Beast or Professor X, or anyone other X-Men should you bring more.
Inspired is great if you go for the voltron angle and keep her alive forever.
Rapid Response? Eh. This actually immediately gets us a ready from Honey Badger when it deals damage to her after reviving her - but it’s not optimal for her here. Regroup is obviously a great option in multiplayer, but when is it not?
Make the Call is going to be particularly exceptional for Honey Badger recursion decks. And is always an S-tier card in general for any ally you need at any time.
The Leadership side scheme we’ve seen so far, Call for Backup, will be another way to find Honey Badger.
Team Training, so Honey Badger gets an extra use every time you recur her? Super good.
Innovation to heal Honey Badger? Why not.
Then there is Command Team to ready Honey Badger and thus yourself. You might even run it with Lead from the Front given that both you and Honey Badger will get a lot of value from it. If Honey Badger attacks twice, and you attack four times, that’s 6 damage before you factor in other allies and potentially more readies from Game Time or anything else.
There is Clarity of Purpose which I’ve already talked about. You could totally put it on Honey Badger though if you plan to heal her and buff her HP! Is it worth it? Not sure.
And of course Kaluu. As a combo-centric hero, you’ll love it when he grabs you Claw Mastery when you have a bunch of readies lined up in hand. Or vice versa.
Leadership is, at the end of the day, Leadership. It’s incredibly strong on its own and, with all the support for Honey Badger, it’s going to be one of her most popular aspects.
Protection
And finally we have Protection. My initial instinct for X-23 was Aggression or Leadership, and I was already wondering if Justice might exceed them for its consistency, but Protection? Protection might just out do them all. At least for solo play.
Picture the scene.
You’ve used your claws and played Claw Mastery. You have 5 ATK. You wink at Drax, knowing you both share the same devastating damage now. It’s time.
Suddenly you use Leading Blow. What Doesn’t Kill Me. Then Counter-Punch.
BOOM.
And let's not overlook the potential with Repurpose.
The sheer amount of readying or cheap damage based on your ATK stat here is incredible. And with Repurpose, you potentially have more than 5 ATK for all those other readies and Sisterly Bond.
Energy Barrier can help you defend the villain attack and ready without taking too much excess damage. Perfect defense? Not here. She wants to ideally defend but still take at least 1 damage. And this, of course, is the best card to combo with Repurpose. And then that brings Electrostatic Armor into the mix for a splash more damage and another Repurpose target.
Protective Training goes straight onto Honey Badger. It’s basically an auto-include like all the other X-Men Training upgrades in the other aspects.
Med Team and provide extremely consistent healing for Honey Badger and can help you in a pinch.
Iron Fist and Tackle are going to help her keep the villain under control and still help her pile on the damage quickly.
But really, I cannot overstate the value of those readies/ways to use her basic ATK. Using X-23, her own ready, the ready from Honey Badger, and let’s say drawing 2 of them alongside Claw Mastery? That’s 25 damage. And all you had to play first was Honey Badger.
More with that Combat Specialty upgrade from the new basic side scheme. More from Repurpose.
She is potentially going to run faster than Quicksilver and hit harder than Drax.
Rush has never looked so good in green. And even if you don’t love rush strategies like me, it’s hard to deny the potential. You can try to go slower, use these tools to clean up the board, and still do extraordinarily well!
Conclusion
Overall, X-23 looks amazing. She is basically a fusion of Wolverine and Quicksilver that came out looking like Captain America with a tiny pinch of Drax who really, really likes their version of the Peter Parker basic ally. And if you like any of those heroes, or you’ve ever enjoyed readying a Web-Warrior with Peter, I think you will really like X-23.
At least if you can also enjoy working closely with an ally. Some people don’t like allies, and that’s okay. But, for X-23? She can be good without Honey Badger, I think. If you broke the official rules and removed the ally from the deck, she wouldn’t be the weakest character in the game by far still. But she does lose a lot.
Unrelated to the ally, I will say I am predicting her to be the least popular of the X-Force from a general standpoint. I think many players will just see her as a clone of Wolverine - which is only true in terms of her story, not her gameplay. I also think she is a combo-centric character where it’s hard to see the value of her cards individually/without playing her. But, like Drax, will likely become a fan favourite over time.
For me personally, and this goes beyond the bounds of a hero kit deep dive, I think the biggest strike against her is the card art. It might just be me, and I mean no disrespect to any of the artists or whomever is responsible for the creative decisions, but it doesn’t work for me. We have various greys and blacks on a grey/black background. Her alter-ego art is off-center, her identity card just had a plain brown background.
I like the art for Claw Mastery, Sisterhood and Pain Tolerance. But I do think she has the worst-looking cards of all the heroes from this wave so far, and perhaps the X-Men and Web-WarrioChampion waves too.
But you know if I’m picking on the art as my first and only negative, it’s a very good sign for the rest of her. In terms of fun? I think she’ll score high and pleasantly surprise people.
In terms of power? She has a lot of strengths, but also a couple of weaknesses. But her strengths definitely outweigh the weaknesses by a landslide. So far, I have mostly focused on her strengths. So let’s cover her weaknesses quickly.
Her only true source of resource generation or card draw we have seen so far is Grim Resolve. And it’s a good card! But it’s not quite like those heroes who can draw extra cards every turn, or have a couple of extra double resources, etc! So her economy, while fine, isn’t great. I don't believe her alter-ego ability is reliable enough to contribute much.
Fortunately, it’s partially offset by her low costs and she gains a lot elsewhere in areas many high economy heroes do not.
The biggest obvious weakness is that she has no status cards - but in a game where we are getting an increased amount of steady and stalwart, it’s less of a factor. Likewise, we’re getting more access to status cards in the aspects. The exception to both arguments are Toughs but, as a hero who wants to take damage, they are less desirable for her in many situations compared to the average hero.
Cyclops doesn't have any status cards, nor does Wolverine. They get get by. But it's still worth noting!
And lastly, she is somewhat fragile. She is a 10 hp hero who wants to take damage, just like Wolverine, but Wolverine has two advantages. One, his healing is automatic from Turn 1. And two, he has Adamantium Skeleton in his signature cards - a +4 hp upgrade. Now, she can defend and ready immediately with her hero power, but it’s not guaranteed. Against weaker villains, notably on standard, she might not take enough damage to ready. And against stronger villains, particularly on expert, she might still take a significant amount of damage despite defending and readying.
It is of course a great perk of her ability that she can ready in the villain phase, but putting her in the line of fire when she already wants to take damage on her imminent turn and likely did on the previous turn can surely be rough, especially if you haven’t got her healing upgrade out yet.
But smart deck-building can cover everything. As alluded to, we have a good few status cards accessible in most aspects now. She has access to X-Gene as mentioned earlier as well as things like Weapon X, and we have plenty of “fragile” characters who do very well with a healthy supply of allies or stuns built in - plus her healing when she finds them - plus her epic 6 REC.
Another small weakness is that she’s draw-dependent to a degree. Her stats are great with just the use of Claws, but she’ll have quiet turns and large turns. Drawing Claw Mastery? Her damage goes up a lot. Drawing it with Sisterly Bond or other readies? It spikes. But you’re not going to get all those pieces together all the time, and some turns none at all.
Fortunately, as kind of mentioned, her base output is veeery good. And if you build into Honey Badger, keeping her out and alive means every turn will still be huge.
The final weakness I see is her reliance on her signature ally. With some bad luck, Honey Badger (and Sisterhood) could be hard to find. There are ways to help find her - but again, you also have to find them to find her, and most of them have costs of some kind. It's possible for this to sometimes be difficult.
But that was just a look at what I think are her weaknesses, and I hope I have not hurt your impression of her. The rest of the article is strength after strength - and all in all? She is looking brilliantly powerful. Here’s a quick summary:
Strengths:

• Incredibly high damage
• Super consistent thwarting
• Very low setup
• Very low cost curve
• Mutant traited
• Lots of deep aspect synergy
• …Did I mention incredibly high damage?

Weaknesses:

• Low-ish economy
• Semi-draw reliant
• Reliant on her signature ally for full power
• No status cards
• Somewhat fragile

And I will say that the "weaknesses" aren’t really that bad while the strengths - particularly the top four - are especially good! She will hit hard, hit fast, find thwarting while she needs it, and have it all basically at her fingertips from early on.
So, where would I rank her overall and next to the other X-Force heroes? Great question. Of all the X-Force heroes, she has been my toughest one to rank. I will also say all five X-Force heroes revealed so far are ones I am predicting to be in the top 20 of what will then be 48 heroes.
For her specifically, I think the scenario is going to make the biggest difference compared to the other few X-Force heroes. She is damage incarnate, and I think tougher scenarios that can slow her down, that prevent her from winning too quickly, could see her notably fall off when she runs out of steam. On the other hand, she’ll glide through low hp villains like a hot knife through butter.
But I do think, with her best builds and some optimization, she will truly be a force to be reckoned with. So I’ll peg her to fall somewhere between the 7th best and 17th best, with my best guess right now specifically being 12th-ish. She hits very hard and can deal with pretty much anything from Turn 1, and I think that versatility is huge. But I also think that, for the most part, she’s fairly honest.
But, since she has so many combos and I've not played her at all with any of them or any approaches to Honey Badger, I really wouldn't put money on this exact placement. Just know she is going to be amazing.
In some ways, despite being so different to Wolverine, they are still very similar. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. He too is high damage, low setup and - especially early game - can be a little fragile unless you build otherwise or ignore his claws. And while it will probably depend on the rest of her cards and whatever X-Force support we get, I will end by saying I do think she will be the better of the two. In my opinion? X-23 > Wolverine - for fun and for power!
Whew! We got there. Thanks for reading and I’d love to know your thoughts! Am I way off the mark? Do you agree? And is there anything I missed? I am sure there are some great aspect cards I overlooked!

These are my go to’s for washing and retwists, I’m about to be a year in and I’m ready to switch it up. What do y’all use?

So the older I get, the more it comes to dawn on me that other people, lots of other people, in fact, most other people, don't have the same experiences I do. This is true with pretty much everything. I have posted about my specific, singular experiences with everything from STAR WARS to Heroclix on various other online forums. Now I'll spend a few minutes telling you about my experiences with the work of Stephen King.
I am currently 61 years old and by slightly odd coincidence (it doesn't really matter, it's just a number thing) I was born in late 1961. The first Stephen King novel I ever read was THE SHINING. I read the trade paperback with the shiny silver color and the blank faced boy image on it. I enjoyed it a great deal and when one of the very few other student in my high school who read for pleasure saw me with it, she mentioned she liked the author a lot and offered to loan me his two other books. In the end she welshed – I was to discover she wasn't very reliable or trustworthy – but it got me interested enough to go looking for other stuff by King at the public library and that was where I first got copies of CARRIE and SALEM'S LOT – both mass market paperbacks as well. I don't remember the cover of the CARRIE book I read but the SALEM'S LOT had a black cover with an embossed child's face that had a single drop of red blood at the corner of the mouth.
I enjoyed both books even more than I'd liked THE SHINING. In King's forewords to his various different collections, he often contradicts himself as to events of this time period, but one thing that does come through very clearly, and this is obvious from the fiction he's writing too, is that he has always seriously seriously yearned to be a literary writer, rather than a commercially successful genre writer. He tells a story about his agent at the time warning him that if he does a haunted hotel book after the psychic teenager book and the vampire book, he's going to get 'typed', and how he laughed that off and said it was perfectly fine, and I tend to think that's a romanticization of what happened, because King is clearly, as my daughters would say, 'thirsty' for highbrow approbation. He wants the New York Times literary critic to praise his work. He wants to win a Pulitzer and all the other la di da prizes. It just kills him that he's the most successful author in the world in a 'trashy' genre. (When he parody/pities himself in MISERY, his fictionalized self is a writer of trashy romances. That will tell you right there how much respect King has for the genre fiction that has made him an unprecedented and nearly unimaginable success, and the fans of that fiction. He thinks horror is essentially the same thing as trashy romance.)
I think by the time THE SHINING came out King was anxious to be taken more seriously, and that's why THE SHINING seems so much more 'literary' than CARRIE or SALEM'S LOT. It's characters are more grimly realistic, the 'issues' it confronts (alcoholism! Child abuse! Bad parenting!) are all deeply serious. There is no Father Callahan character reviling social consciousness and yearning/demanding for a darker, more supernatural, occult, and 'unrealistic' evil to confront. Jack's alcoholism is the root of all the evil in THE SHINING, and in the end, his even momentary ability to take control of himself again is what allows the 'good guys' to triumph.
There's no such tedious grappling with real life problems in CARRIE or SALEM'S LOT. Oh, CARRIE is obviously centered around the cruelty of bullying, but King is hardly preaching about it or proposing any kind of real life action be taken; in CARRIE, some kids are absolute assholes, they pick on the wrong girl, and they get Blowed The Fuck Up. Nothing literary there. In SALEM'S LOT, King makes the occasional head fake towards tedious real life social problems – Parkins Gillespies tiresome speech about gory drive in movies is one such passage – but mostly he's all about getting this dumb little town in Maine eyebrows deep in vampires as quick as he can. He's obviously having a good time with the narrative and so are we. Again, nothing particularly grim n gritty, no real literary social issues to grapple with. None of the major characters are drunks or gay; Teen Mom is a child abuser but boy does she get hers, so that's okay. And as mentioned previously, Father Callahan is right in there talking about how much grim n gritty reality sucks balls and what he really wants is to fight True Evil.
And then THE SHINING comes along and it's a terrific book, wonderfully well written, but it seems very much to be King trying hard to get some serious reviews from the literary outlets. And ROADWORK, the trudgingly realistic novel he also wrote at this time and published as Richard Bachman, is just soporific.
But after THE SHINING comes THE STAND, which at the time seemed like a hugely ambitious undertaking that King nonetheless pulled off with aplomb. We had no idea exactly how huge an undertaking it really was as we would not see the sprawling, undisciplined monstrosity that was THE UNCUT STAND for decades to come. With THE STAND it seemed very much as if King had given up his quest for literary stature and gone back to just telling a really rockin' action-horror story. Twenty years later we'd find out that this was mostly an illusion; it's just that wise editors, knowing what mass audiences wanted, cut all the horrible real life social issue happy crappy (like the endless weeping and whining about Frannie's pregnancy and her fraught relationship with her psycho mom – King's good books always have a psycho mom in there somewhere – and the homosexual rapes embodied by The Kid and all that other lugubrious nonsense). After THE STAND came THE DEAD ZONE – a more down to earth narrative, absolutely, but still a damn good story with great heroes and villains and a central doomed love affair that proved, for the first time, that King really could be a top notch romance writer if he wanted to. And after THE DEAD ZONE came FIRESTARTER, one of my all time favorite King books. Like THE RUNNING MAN, FIRESTARTER is nothing but high velocity heavy impact action action action, and I loved every word of it. Wonderful heroes, truly villainous villains, and all of it painted with King's deft touch for characterization and atmosphere that made it all seem very believable. FIRESTARTER is, really, almost a remake of John Farris' THE FURY (which is also very much worth reading) but the rule of rip offs is, if you gotta steal, make your version better, and King absolutely accomplished that.
Yeah, and then came CUJO which made me want to barf, it was just SO bad. A killer St. Bernard! An adulterous affair! An advertising guy! OH THE LITTLE KID DIES! And maybe, who knows, we can't say, really, but maybe it had something to do with that crazy cop from DEAD ZONE? Maybe? Holy shit what a terrible, terrible book, and again, yet another one where King was obviously desperately jumping up and down and waving his arms, saying “hey big literary critics! Over here! I'M GRAPPLING WITH HUMAN FRAILTY AND VITAL TRENDY SOCIAL ISSUES!”
DEAD ZONE had come out when I was a senior in high school; FIRESTARTER came out when I was a freshman in college, and I bought it in hardcopy because that's how much I liked Stephen King. I still have that volume on my shelves; on the inside flap of the badly tattered dust cover you can still make out that cover price – $13.95. A lot of jack for a kid who didn't even have a work study job, but I doled it out and was not disappointed.
But once CUJO hit, I got warned off by another student who liked King. So I didn't buy it in hardcover or paperback, I waited until I could get it out of the library, and it blew moist chunks. And that was a very weird time for King's stuff. Next thing was the non fiction DANSE MACABRE, which interested me not at all, and then a lot of strange shit started bubbling up. King had just started to get his swagger on, with like eight best sellers under his belt, so he did CREEPSHOW and CYCLE OF THE WEREWOLF and they were pretty terrible, other than the pretty pictures. Hollywood had discovered King by then and that just added to his strut. He was starting to realize he could hand a stack of old dish towels to his publisher and his publisher would do their best to turn that into a new horror novel by Stephen King. I think it was about then his substance abuse issues really started to get their claws into him, too. Whatever the case, I stopped being an avid fan, and started being a 'maybe I'll read this when I can get it out of the library, if someone else tells me it's any good'.
Around this time – the early 80s – a lot of King material started bubbling up in various places. His first Gunslinger short story came out in THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION, and I was very disappointed by it. Another story followed in the next issue of F&SF, “Night of the Tiger”, and it was pretty bad too. I had absolutely loved pretty much everything in King's first collection NIGHT SHIFT, so between CUJO and this nonsense, I was really starting to rethink how much I liked King.
Then DIFFERENT SEASONS came out, and it was all great, especially “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”. But I wasn't swayed; King's own introduction told me all four novellas had been written earlier in his career, when he was still doing fine work. When CHRISTINE came out I was like “haunted car? No thanks”. But a guy I was living with at the time said “No, it's good, give it a shot” so I did and I loved it. And as it turned out, it was the last book by Stephen King I would ever wholeheartedly love, but to this day, I think CHRISTINE may be one of his finest works every. Great characters. Great villains. Will Darnell, Wretch In Residence. The awfulness that was Roland D. LeBay. And of course, that central doomed romance... not between Leigh and Arnie, or Leigh and Dennis, but between Arnie and Dennis.
CHRISTINE was an absolute masterwork, King back fully in control of his talent and his craft. And it was the last time he ever was, as far as I can see. Every thing he's put out since has just been one disappointment after another. Some are worse than others – there's really just no excuse at all for his two exercises in towering self pity, MISERY and THE DARK HALF – but none of them manage to ever get better than, well, kinda interesting. There's a real story somewhere in INSOMNIA, but King would have needed to work to polish it and he didn't want to and no editor was going to make him. SCENES FROM A BUICK 8 has a lot of interesting stuff in it. DESPERATION and THE REGULATORS were certainly a cool idea he had no idea how to make work. It's all just a flow of trash, junk, and mediocrity. NEEDFUL THINGS seemed like some kind of gleeful revenge fantasy where he got to dole out horrible, EC Comics style come uppances to thinly disguised versions of everybody he was mad at. TOMMYKNOCKERS and DREAMCATCHER were just bewildering.
Over the past few years I've seen bits and pieces of King's work I liked, but mostly it is still disappointing. THE INSTITUTE is pointless junk. REVIVAL seems silly but that ending is pure raw high octane Lovecraftian terror and almost worth sludging through the rest of the narrative to get to. DR. SLEEP is offensively stupid; King's characterization depends on presenting narrative events from the third person-first person viewpoint of his characters, and we spent far too much time behind Jack Torrance's eyes to be willing to believe he'd ever had an affair, much less one that knocked the girl up.
One of the sections of HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, about the kid who gets involved with the guy who escaped from the Dark Tower and is being pursued by Low Men In Yellow Coats, is actually really enjoyable; it inspired me to write one of my own novellas.
Still, for the most part, if you haven't read CARRIE, SALEM'S LOT, NIGHT SHIFT, THE SHINING, THE STAND (not the uncut edition, if you can avoid that, do it, King badly needs gifted editors), THE DEAD ZONE, FIRESTARTER, CHRISTINE, and DIFFERENT SEASONS, you haven't read King's best work, or probably the finest horror novels produced in the 20th Century. I would also throw in there two Bachman books – RAGE is a much better book than it is given credit for and deserves far better treatment than to be taken out of print because it predicted a contemporary social evil, and THE RUNNING MAN is one of the best things King has ever written.
Once you get through those, though, the pickings get very slim. There's some glitter in the dirt, but it is mostly fool's gold and often it's buried in big piles of shit.
Still, a lot of great writers publish really bad books. My other favorite writer ever, Roger Zelazny, has written some truly unreadable tripe. But he also wrote LORD OF LIGHT and I'll forgive him any number of DAMNATION ALLEYS for that. King wrote SALEM'S LOT and FIRESTARTER and CHRISTINE and “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” and I can forgive him a great deal of fucking nonsense for giving the world those stories. (It is more difficult to forgive the truly terrible TV and movie adaptations his works seem to near universally inspire, but that is another long post entirely.)

Industries enjoy a vital position in surrounding the economic landscape of nations worldwide. They encompass a huge array of groups, each causing the production, manufacturing, and circulation of goods and services. From automotive and technology to healthcare and agriculture, industries kind the backbone of economies, driving growth, employment, and innovation. This article considers the significance of industries in fostering financial development and features key aspects of their functioning.
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Industries are the engines that propel financial growth. They create jobs, make wealth, and donate to a nation's disgusting domestic item (GDP). By harnessing assets and transforming them into important items and solutions, industries develop a ripple influence through the economy. They stimulate need for fresh products, spur development, and give opportunities for investment and entrepreneurship.
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One of the fundamental benefits of industries could be the creation of employment opportunities. As industries develop, they might require a skilled workforce to meet their manufacturing and detailed needs. That results in job creation across numerous sectors, ranging from production and structure to analyze and development. The current presence of booming industries frequently contributes to a increase in employment rates, improving the entire normal of living and reducing unemployment.
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Industries are hotbeds for development and technological Industries advancements. In order to remain aggressive, industries constantly strive to produce better procedures, products, and services. They invest seriously in research and growth, driving the boundaries of technology and technology. Innovations in industries have far-reaching effects, not merely within the itself but additionally across other areas, resulting in increased output, increased quality of life, and transformative breakthroughs.
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Industries are key people in international trade, operating export growth and improving a nation's competitiveness in the world wide market. Industries that exceed in production, technology, and specific companies frequently get a competitive side, getting foreign opportunities and expanding their achieve internationally. Powerful professional sectors subscribe to a country's industry stability, strengthen diplomatic ties, and promote economic cooperation.

Hi everyone! This sub was so incredibly helpful to me in the planning process - I was deeply grateful for everything I learned, so I thought I'd post a trip report now that we're back!
About us: We're a 30s couple from the Midwest US. We're pretty experienced travelers (South America, UK/Ireland, Europe, lots of places in the US), but this was our first visit to Asia and first visit to Japan. As travelers, we love getting out on foot, local food/drink (especially street food), live music, nerd shit, weird art/vending machines. Also, my partner is a cis guy, but I am a trans masc person who is visibly trans (post-op in a few ways, but not passing/not stealth).
Dates: May 13 - May 29
What we did: Tokyo Kyoto Osaka Hakone Back to Tokyo
Tips and tricks:

• Definitely get your walking training in ahead of time! We walked 10 miles a day on the trip. We're pretty avid backcountry camping/hiking fans who regularly put in 8 - 10 miles on the trail (not to mention taking our dog for multiple walks a day in the neighborhood), so I figured we'd be good - but it was A LOT, especially since you're also trying to translate and navigate at the same time. Japan is not generally a super accessible place from a disability perspective; benches and public seating areas are not common. I found myself wishing I'd packed a collapsible seat of some kind, tbh!
• Good shoes a must! Merrell Moabs are my go-to for hiking, but for this trip I went with Nike Dunk 6 high-tops, which rocked. My partner went with Onitsukas and didn't do as well - he wound up buying inserts partway through the trip, which helped.
• Work on a little Japanese ahead of time! We came in with about a dozen words/phrases, which was honestly truly helpful. So many people are so kind and thoughtful anyway, but it was an appreciated gesture that we had planned ahead and were trying our best. Google Translate's camera feature (Google Lens) was a life-saver for translating written words on signs!
• We had a great experience with Ubigi for an eSIM. The days of purchasing an actual SIM card or even a burner device (like we used to do when backpacking in Europe) are long past. We hooked up our Ubigi eSIMs beforehand, flipped the switch when we got there, and we were golden. Just in case, we'd set up our Verizon coverage to include a Pay-As-You-Go international plan, but we didn't end up using it. We also didn't use half as much data as we thought we would - we both came home with extra GB on our Ubigi plan still. We didn't do a PocketWifi and I don't think we needed it - Ubigi did most of the heavy lifting, and free WiFi at various places did the rest.
• Fly into Haneda, not Narita - way closer to Tokyo city center.
• Get your Suica right away at the airport - our beloved Suica got us through so many things! We also withdrew some cash and split it up between us - we withdrew a few more times on the trip and it worked like a charm. (Just make sure it's an international ATM that includes your card type - not all of them do. Also, notify your bank you'll be traveling, so your card doesn't throw a flag!) We used our credit card as well - the Chase card was accepted pretty much all places CCs are, but many places remain cash-only, especially bars and restaurants.
• Had a great experience using the Friendly Limousine Airport Bus service straight from Haneda to our hotel area.
• I booked shinkansen tix ahead of time, so I got nice discounts on weekday Green Car tix for two - but I really needn't have worried, there were plenty of seats available day-of.
• Don't bother with shinkansen for Kyoto to Osaka - we wound up just hopping on a local with our Suicas and it was fine.
• Don't bother with the Romancecar from Hakone back to Tokyo - it's fastemaybe a nicer seating experience, but just hopping on a local with your Suica is an order of magnitude cheaper.
• Look things up in Japanese if using Google Translate; use Tabelog for restaurants if possible. Google Maps in English is more touristy reviews/reactions.
• Tokyo Skytree was hit-or-miss - only real letdown of the trip.
• Tokyo teamLab PLANETS was completely worth it - absolutely worth the hype in my opinion.
• Queer and trans travelers - I felt completely safe, but as a plus-size trans masc nonbinary queerdo, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn't feel in danger, but I was absolutely aware that I did not fit in. Stares were common, especially from older men and young kids. (Weirdly, local women seemed more friendly and curious about me!) Just be prepared for it and remember you're not in any danger physically - it's all just curiosity.
• I have to thank this subreddit for recommending Hakone, especially for the tip to book a ryokan with private onsen access. We had an absolutely beautiful experience at Yamanochaya in Hakone, which included both a private "onsen" soaking tub in our room and private 1:1 access to a larger, actual hot spring onsen on the property. I otherwise would not have been able to experience a real hot spring onsen at all, as they are gender-segregated. Thank you, /JapanTravel!

Because I'm a nerd, here's the actual breakdown!
DAY 1 ARRIVAL 📍 Flew into Haneda; made it to our hotel (lovely experience at Hotel Plaza Sunroute); had our first world-famous konbini 7/11 experience; walked around Shinjuku; went out for dinner at Ryu no Miyako Inshokugai - talk about jumping in the deep end 🍣 Onigiri and vending machine green tea; little whipped cream treats; Nagahama ramen and sesame mackerel donburi 👣 10,400 steps 🏁 4.8 miles
DAY 2 SHIBUYA 📍 Meiji Shrine and Gardens - got goshuin and omamori; Harajuku, went to 7/11; back to the hotel for a nap; Shibuya, including Don Quijote, Center Gai and Dogenzaka Street; Nonbei Yokocho for late night 🍣 7/11 (plum onigiri and corn/mayo sandwich, some kind of spam musubi situation, matcha roll); Ichiran coin-op ramen with extra chashu and a matcha tofu custard thing; banana shock smoothie at Shibuya109 in Center Gai; chicken and pork belly yakitori with beers at Morimoto; brown sugar shoju and shoju-infused Oolong tea cocktails at Tight Bar (strong recommend for this joint!); grilled squid, octopus, and okonomiyaki for afters at Tsukishima Monja Kuuya Shibuya 👣 32,000 steps 🏁 14.5 miles 😮‍💨
DAY 3 SHINJUKU 📍 Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden; Shinjuku area (including Disk Union, Disney, Onitsuka); Kabukicho and Kabukicho Tower; GODZ metal bar; Golden Gai; Omoide Yokocho 🍣 7/11 (onigiri, matcha filled roll thing, royal milk tea, tomago sushi, strawberry donut, cafe latte); many types of dango (sesame oil, soy sauce, and apricot mochi were our favs); McDonald's (weirdly good chicken sandwich with yuzu radish topping, vanilla custard chocolate pie, white grape soda); yummy little warm imagawayaki filled with adzuki bean paste + royal milk from depachika); a couple of Asahis at GODZ; simple yakitori snacks at Golden Gai (including some… mystery offal items); back to 7/11 for drunk matcha ice cream and waffle snacks 👣 28,800 steps 🏁 13.0 miles
DAY 4 ASAKUSA 📍 Went out for coffee; walked around Kinarimon Gate and Nakamise; toured Asakusa Shrine, Senso-ji Temple, surrounding Shinto and Buddhist shrines; stopped for sushi and mochi; went for a walk up Sumida River; dipped into Shoden and Imado shrines; crossed Kototoi Bridge to Tokyo Skytree; went up Tokyo Skytree; back to Senso-ji for night photos; capped off evening with gyoza 🍣 Lattes at cute puppet theater coffeeshop (espresso, dandelion tea); 7/11 for breakfast-y fuel; strawberries from a street stall at Nakamise; sushi lunch; beautiful mochi + tea dessert; grilled gyoza, soup dumpling gyoza, shoujo Oolong tea cocktail for afters 👣 25,500 steps 🏁 11.66 miles
DAY 5 JIMBŌCHŌ, AKIHABARA 📍 Train to Ichigaya - notable French-inspired neighborhood; breakfast at local French café; Yasakuni Shrine; Kanda River walk by Hosei University; Tokyo Daijingu Shrine; Jimbōchō Old Book Town; walked from there to Akihibara; hit up noodles, arcade, nerd shops (comics, TCGs/CCGs, retro video games systems, TTRPGS, etc); gachapons; hit up the bizarre rare vending machines 🍣 Vending machine coffee and milk tea; yummy French pastries (bacon and sour cream roll, quiche, sour cream raisin custard thing); had to try some avocado and cheese Doritos; cold udon with duck broth soup, curry rice for Chris; fish-shaped taiyaki with custard cream dessert treat; dope gyoza place ("weekday" version with pork and cabbage, shrimp and chili mayo, yakitori with tare, and shogayaki with onions) 👣 Forgot watch at hotel - we’ll say 10,000 steps 🏁 Guessing about 5 or 6?
DAY 6 TEAMLAB PLANETS, TRAVEL TO KYOTO 📍 Hit up teamLabs, had an amazing time exploring the exhibits - the infinite light crystal room was our fav; train to Tokyo Station; lunch at underground Ramen Street restaurants under the station - went with Soranoiro, one of the few veg/vegan ramen shops in Japan - delicious; shinkansen to Kyoto; out for nightlife in Kiyamachi-Dori and Pontocho 🍣 Quick 7/11 snacks; train snacks (pocky, coffee, little teriyaki cutlet sandwich); Soranoiro ramen bowls; killer yakitori we fried right at our table in izakaya in Pontocho (honestly probably a meal highlight of the whole trip); brown sugar shoujo; 7/11 for ice cream on the way back 👣 18,900 steps 🏁 8.63 miles
DAY 7 KINKAKUJI, NISHIKI, GION 📍 Kinkakuji Temple; bus back to Kiyamachi-dori; spent whole afternoon walking and eating street food at Nishiki Market; back to hotel for rest, laundry, rooftop drink; out for nightlife in Gion 🍣 Family Mart for coffee and doughnuts; Nishiki Market Street street food delights - seared yakitori style crab stick, little octopus chuka idako on skewers, kara-age on skewers, sea squid croquettes and beer, strawberry and adzuki bean mochi balls; mimosas and red wine; Kyoto Gion Okaru - geisha-decorated izakaya with insane curry udon bowls and beers; picked up box of mochi dango for dessert 👣 20,200 steps 🏁 9.07 miles
DAY 8 SHRINE DAY 📍 OK, this is a lot:

• Yasakajinja (we happened to be here while a young couple was having a Shinto wedding ceremony!)
• Yasui Kompira-gū (built 1170, shrine for ending bad relationships and starting new ones, has special stone that you pin your wishes to - many young girls will crawl through the stone to mark a breakup or wish for love)
• Kennin-ji (built 1202, large grounds - among the oldest in Kyoto);
• Reigen-in (part of Kennin-ji grounds, a Zen teahouse with a tea garden where they served adzuki bean buns with tea made from the actual hydrangeas of the tea garden outside!)
• Zenkyoan (boar shrine which we initially thought were cute hedgehogs)
• Kyoto Ebisu Shrine (dedicated to fishermen - we happened to be here during the shrine's annual mikoshi festival - a battalion of locals in traditional clothes, hoisting and dancing with the mikoshi around the neighborhood)
• Kodai-ji (built 1606, gorgeous grounds - we skipped the tour)
• Hōkan-ji/Yasaka Pagoda (dating back to 589 and rebuilt in 1400s, huge black 5-story pagoda featuring massive shakyamuni pole inside and reliquary of a bone of the Buddha in the foundations)
• Ryōzen Kannon (built 1955 after WW2, massive Buddha statue and active Buddhist temple)
• Of course the world-famous Kiyomizudera (built 778, enormous Kyoto-red temple with beautiful buildings spiraling up into the forest)

🍣 Hotel coffee, tea, cream puffs; adzuki bean buns with tea made from the actual hydrangeas of the tea garden at the shrine; dope bento box lunch; got takeout fast food donburi and fizzy lemonade 👣 22,800 steps 🏁 10.39 miles
DAY 9 FUSHIMI-INARI 📍 Fushimi Inari, the famous shrine of over 1,000 torii gates - super amazing (and intense!) summit of Mt Inari! Back to Nishiki Market for reward street food and drinks; back to hotel for a rooftop drink and soak; finally out for soba at Kawamichiya Ginka in Pontocho. 🍣 Snack pack on our hike (sausages, cheese, some kind of fish meat/cheese stick, and surume - sweet chewy dried squid stuff); orange smoothie; conveyor belt sushi; strawberry mochi roll; whisky highball and red wine; massive soba spreads (chicken seared with wasabi/yuzu/horseradish dipped in ponzu sauce, fried soba noodles in a rich soup, cold soba noodles dipped tsukemen-style in a really amazing umami soy sauce soup, tempura shrimp and veggies, a hot soba noodles in a clear broth soup) 👣 27,600 steps 🏁 Supposedly 12.3 miles, but that hike to summit Mt Inari was something else 😤
DAY 10 TRAVEL TO OSAKA, SHINSABASHISUJI, AMEMURA, DOTONBURI 📍 Beautiful brunch on the bank of the canal in Kyoto; local train to Osaka-Umeda; checked into Osaka hotel; walked around Shinsaibashisuji and Dotonburi a little bit; scoped out Amemura ("Ameri-mura") for dope American-inspired Japanese streetwear; wandered up and down street food stalls in Dotonbori; swung by Namba Hips (mostly pachinko); found a couple of fun little hole-in-the-wall places (little Japanese craft beer brewery, retro video games bar) 🍣 Brunch at Kawa Cafe (croque monsieur, ramen, tea and delicious apple tart); takoyaki, cheesy waffle shaped like a massive 10yen coin, sweet chili hotdogs from stands in Dotonbori; dashi gose craft beer (by Derailleur Brew Works) from Umineko, shots at Space Station bar 👣 19,500 steps 🏁 9.01 miles
DAY 11 NAMBAYASAKIJINA, DOTONBURI 📍 Morning Japanese breakfast at a wonderful little 24-hour diner; Hozen-ji (moss shrine); Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum across the street (focusing on Osaka woodcuts celebrating Dotonburi's kabuki and entertainment history); Nambayasaka-jinja (lion head shrine); Den Den Town (Osaka's Akihabara); ended up at a cozy little kushikatsu bar which actually was playing the Tigers game (away game vs the Swallows at Tokyo); street food waffles for dessert; hit up a late-night batting cage - ended up at Round1 (a big multi-floor arcade complex) and did the rooftop batting cage! My partner won a giant plushie for me from a claw machine! 🍣 Dope traditional japanese omelette and fish breakfast; cute macarons from market stand; Family Mart for snacks before nightlife; skewers, beer, and highballs from Dotonbori kushikatsu place; ridiculous nutella, whip, and strawberry stuffed waffle from Waffle Khan 👣 29,100 steps 🏁 13.31 miles
DAY 12 KUROMON ICHIBA, OSAKA CASTLE, DOTONBURI 📍 Kuromon Ichiba Market for street food; Osaka Castle Park and Nishinomaru Gardens; toured Osaka Castle and museum all the way up to the top; subway to Tanimachi-9-chome subway station for amazing live jazz at Sub Jazz Cafe. (This was amazing! Akira "Ro" Hasegawa (sax) and Yukie Fujikawa (keys) - Ro is also the owner and was bartending on this particular night too.) Out to Don Don for killer yakiniku and beer; found our way to Oboradaren, an Tokunoshima-themed island vibes bar and music spot where there was a great live band playing fun island vibes beach rock - big crowd of 40s+ Japanese women who knew all the songs, wound up drinking passionfruit chuhai and joining them in the conga line around the bar 🍣 Oden hot pot, wagyu skewer, otoro sashimi, crab gratin in the half-shell, bracken green tea soy cakes at Kuromon Market; ice cream sandwiches at Osaka Castle; milk tea, little roast beef sandwich, and cheesecake at Sub Jazz Cafe; yakiniku-style wagyu, ribs, ox tongue, assorted mushrooms; passionfruit chuhai and red wine at the island vibes spot; taro and brown sugar boba teas 👣 23,000 steps 🏁 10.42 miles
DAY 13 KAIYUKAN, SHINSEKAI, DOTONBURI 📍 Fun trip to Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan; quick pass through Shinsekai; lunch at spot where you can fish your own catch from an indoor fishing boat pool; out for one last Dotonburi night - wound up getting konbini snacks and sitting on the waterfront talking and people-watching for hours 🍣 Not a banger food-wise, but interesting little spread at the fish-your-own place - huge prawn for grilling, kara-age, and fatty tuna nigiri for Max, tempura veggies and whitefish with doteyaki for Chris; from Family Mart, fruit smoothie, ice cup, and KitKat for Max, onigiri and lemonade for Chris 👣 19,100 steps 🏁 8.64 miles
DAY 14 TRAVEL TO HAKONE, HAKONE SHRINE 📍 Bombed to Shin-Osaka for an early shinkansen to Odawara; trained to Odawara to Hakone; dropped luggage off at ryokan, then bus to Motohakone; saw Hakone Shrine and Onshi-Hakone Park (as well as a segment of the actual Old Tokaido!); returned to ryokan for the night, where we were treated to a gorgeous 1:1 kaiseki from a Michelin-star chef, private hot spring onsen, and private in-room hot spring bath 🍣 Konbini snacks before shinkansen; snacks and coffee on train; late lunch in Motohakone (curry and soba, pork cutlet); incredible, massive multi-course kaiseki and sake for dinner, plus strawberry cake, champagne, and more sake for dessert 👣 13,900 steps 🏁 6.26 miles
DAY 15 HAKONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM, TRAVEL TO TOKYO, LAST NIGHT IN SHINJUKU 📍 Woke up in gorgeous ryokan; leisurely kaiseki breakfast with leftover cake; final soak in the private onsen; Hakone Open Air Museum - very cool; had kind of a challenging trip back but finally made it from Museum back to ryokan to bus stop to Hakone-Yumoto to Odawara to Shinjuku to the hotel 😮‍💨 Considering the last night as our real "last night" of the trip, our final night out in Tokyo was all just extra icing on the cake - went out for yakitori skewers and Asahi Superdrys in cozy alley in Omoide Yokocho, found really wonderful cake and tea dessert open late also in Omoide, hit up 🎵 Donki! 🎵 for a final round of bulk snacks and souvenirs, ended up on a late-night excursion to find Park Hyatt Hotel (featured in Lost in Translation); finished night at hotel watching the city go to sleep from our balcony 👣 22,700 steps 🏁 10.3 miles
FINAL SCORE 📸 Pics: 1,929 👣 Steps: 337,700 🏁 Miles: 153.78 (we averaged 9.6 miles per day, every day, for 16 days) 🇯🇵 “Nihongo jōzu!”: 4 (I know more proficient Japanese speakers are insulted, but it's honestly a pretty nice comment when you're at my level) 👶 Comments on how young we look/how we can’t possibly be celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary: 3 ✨ Gratitude: Infinite.

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