hazardville - Tumblr blog

hazardville · 4 years

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Fuck You Facebook

So, in case anyone’s seeing this without coming here from my Facebook: Facebook removed this post because it was flagged as spam. I’m preserving it here because this information should be shared and Facebook’s attempts to obscure the sharing of health information should be condemned, widely and publicly. Enjoy. This is a long post addressing two underlying issues with the current response to the pandemic that leave me concerned. It’s the longest post I’ve ever written. The Medium version of this post (link below) has been viewed 1.2M in less than the last 24 hours as of 3/17/20. For those of you not taking action, or believing the pandemic to be “over hyped”, you can make fun of me as much as you want now or when this is over. You can make me the subject of memes and post it everywhere. I will pose for the picture. I am not trying to convince you, but I do feel compelled to share information that I deem critical to all of us, which is why I am posting this at all. WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE 5 MINUTES TO READ AND CONSIDER THE INFORMATION I AM SHARING: As of 3/15/20 at 9 am PST this post has been shared over 50k times since it was posted 2 days ago. So a lot of people find value in the post and although it's a long read, I believe you will find this information valuable too. For those of you who don’t know me well, I am analytical and metered. I don’t freak out nor do I respond emotionally. I also don’t post a bunch of bullshit or political or controversial stuff on Facebook. I founded and am CEO of a successful software company that provides SaaS based data, analytics, and dashboards to recruiting departments at companies we all know. As you would expect, I am data driven and fact based. Before founding my company I held executive roles leading very large recruiting teams at some of the world's fastest growing companies such as Starbucks and Google. At Google I was fortunate enough to report to Sheryl Sandberg before she took the Facebook COO role. I was a Chemical Engineering major in college and have a business degree from a top undergraduate business school. I am not one for hyperbole or histrionics. My bullshit factor is close to zero. I share all this personal information only to help solidify that this post may be worth reading and sharing with others. I would encourage you to forward or share this post at your discretion. Many people do not understand what is happening with the pandemic to the degree required which is why I took the time to write this and share this on Facebook. Now that I've gotten the introduction out of the way, here are two issues I want to bring to everyone’s attention. ISSUE ONE: SOCIAL NORMS ARE POWERFUL MOTIVATORS AND GETTING IN THE WAY OF PEOPLE TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC: One of the current problems with addressing the pandemic is the social pressures of taking action today. It's awkward, and feels like an over-reaction. The reason it feels like an overreaction is that most people OVERWEIGHT the currently reported cases and inherently UNDERWEIGHT the mathematics of how the virus is spreading and what will happen in about 30 days time. This is because our brains tend to think linearly as opposed to logarithmically. It’s the same reason many people don’t save for retirement or understand compound interest. To create a new social norm, human beings like to see behavior modeled. This serves as a signal that says, “oh, someone else is doing it so I should do it also.” SO HERE IS A SOCIAL BENCHMARK FOR REFERENCE - THIS IS WHAT I’VE DONE FOR MY FAMILY TO DATE: I have already isolated my family. We have canceled EVERYTHING. We have canceled previously scheduled doctor visits. Social get togethers. No play dates. Normal routine meetings. Everything has been canceled. It's difficult and socially awkward. Some of you think I’m crazy, but I’m doing it not because I am afraid, but because I am good at math (more on that in part 2). I had to have my 16 year old daughter quit her job coaching junior gymnasts at the local gym, with one day’s notice and also tell my kids they can't attend youth group at church. Both of those were tough discussions. I told a very close friend he shouldn’t stay at my house this weekend even though he was planning to and had booked his flight from the Bay Area. I canceled another dear friend’s visit for later this month to go snowboarding on Mt Bachelor. We are not eating out. Our kids are already doing online school so we don’t have to make changes there. I would not send my kids to school even if they were in public or private school. We have eliminated all non-essential contact with other people. We will only venture out to grocery shop when required. We will still go outside to parks, go mountain biking, hiking, and recreate to keep ourselves sane and do other things as a family, just not with other people. We have stocked up on food and have a supply for ~2 months. We have stocked up on other goods that if depleted would create hardship, like medicines and feminine hygiene products. We have planned for shortages of essential items. THE REASON I HAVE CHOSEN THIS ROUTE FOR MY FAMILY IS MULTI FACETED: 1. Although my family is considered low risk (I’m 49 in good health, Angi is 46 and in good health, and our kids are 14 and 16), we must assume that the healthcare system cannot help us, because the hospitals will become overwhelmed very quickly. Most American hospitals will become overwhelmed in approximately 30 days unless something changes. More on this in part 2 below. So although we are in great health and unlikely to become gravely ill, the risk is greater if you do not have access to the medical care that you need. This is something for everyone to consider. As a society we are accustomed to having access to the best medical care available. Our medical system will be overwhelmed unless we practice social distancing at scale. That said, the medical teams in Italy are seeing an alarming number of cases from people in their 40s and 50s. Triage tents are already going up in the parking lots at many hospitals close to the epicenters in the United States. 2. It’s not a matter of if social distancing will take place, it’s a matter of when. This is because social distancing is the only way to stop the virus today. As I will explain in part 2 below, starting now is FAR more effective than starting even 2 days from now or tomorrow. This has been proven by Italy and China (and soon to be France and other European countries who have been slow to respond.) [updated as of 3/14 France is now on lockdown mandated by the government]. Wuhan went on lockdown after roughly 400 cases were identified (and they had access to testing that America has systematically failed to do well to date). The US already has more than 4 times this number of known infected cases as Wuhan did when it was shut down, and our citizens are far more mobile and therefore spreading the virus more broadly when compared to Wuhan. Yet our response is tepid at best. If hand washing and “being smart” were sufficient Italy would not be in crisis. So I pray the draconian measures are coming from our government, because they are required to stop the spread of the virus. It’s better to start sooner than later as the cost is actually far greater if we wait. I pray they close all schools and non-essential services the way that Italy and China have done. 3. Spreading the virus puts those in the high-risk category at much greater risk. This is the moral argument. It’s a strong argument because there are only two ways, as of today, that the virus can be stopped: let it run its course and infect 100s of millions of people, or social distancing. There is no other way today. If you don’t practice social distancing, people downstream from you that you transmit the virus to will die, and many will suffer. 4. The risk of infection is increasing exponentially, because the quantity of infected people, most who will not show symptoms, is doubling every three days. So the longer you wait to self-isolate, the greater the chance of you or someone you love becoming infected and then you infecting others because more of the population is becoming infected. There are twice as many infected people today as there was on Tuesday. 5. The virus is already in your town. It’s everywhere. Cases are typically only discovered when someone gets sick enough to seek medical attention. This is important as it typically takes ~5 days to START showing ANY symptoms. Here’s the math: For every known case there are approximately 50 unknown cases. This is because if I become sick, I infect several people today, and they infect a few people each tomorrow (as do I), and the total count of infected people doubles every 3 days until I get so sick I get hospitalized or get tested and become a “known case”. But in the time it takes me to figure out I am sick 50 others downline from me now have the virus. So every third day the infection rate doubles until I get so sick that I realize I have the virus an am hospitalized or otherwise tested. Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital estimate that there are 50x more infections than known infections as reported (citation below). The implication of this is that the virus is already “everywhere” and spreading regardless if your city has zero, few or many reported cases. So instead of the 1573 reported known cases today there are likely 78,650 cases, at least, in the United States. Which will double to 157,300 by this Sunday. And this will double to 314,600 cases by this coming Wednesday. So in less than 1 week the number of total infected in the United States will quadruple. This is the nature of exponential math. It’s actually unfortunate that we are publishing the figures for known cases as it diverts attention away from more important numbers (like the range of estimated actual cases). [Update as of 3/15/20 - I've been sent more research that may add clarity to the ACTUAL cases vs CONFIRMED cases and will update this post with any conclusions] 6. Some people cannot, or will not, practice social distancing for a variety of reasons and will continue to spread the virus to many people. So everyone else must start today. The reasons above are why I have begun to practice social distancing. It’s not easy. But you should do it too. The hospitals will be at capacity and there are not enough ventilators. You will hear a lot about this issue in the coming few weeks... the shortage of ventilators. ISSUE TWO: MANY PEOPLE ARE FOCUSED ON THE WRONG NUMBERS: Yes, the virus only kills a small percentage of those afflicted. Yes, the flu kills 10s of thousands of people annually. Yes, 80% of people will experience lightweight symptoms with COVID19. Yes the mortality rate of COVID19 is relatively low (1-2%). All of this true, but is immaterial. They are the wrong numbers to focus on... The nature of exponential math is that the infection rates start slowly, and then goes off like a bomb and overwhelms the hospitals. You will understand this math clearly in the next section if you do the short math exercise. Evergreen hospital in Seattle is already in triage. I have heard credible reports from people on the ground that they are already becoming overwhelmed. And the bomb won't really go off for a few more days. Probably by Wednesday, March 18th (next week). In just a few days from now we will hear grave reports from Seattle hospitals. [update as of 3/15/20 - see the comments section below for an update from a staff member at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, WA] You should assume the virus is everywhere at this point, even if you have no confirmed cases in your area. YOU SHOULD DO THIS SIMPLE 2 MINUTE MATH EXERCISE (NO REALLY TAKE TWO MINUTES AND DO IT): To further understand exponential growth, take the number of confirmed cases in your area and multiply by 10 (or 50 if you believe Harvard and Massachusetts General estimations) to account for the cases that are not yet confirmed. If you have no confirmed cases choose a small number. I’d suggest 10 cases in your city, if no cases are yet reported. But you can use whatever number you like. This number of infected people doubles every ~3 days as the infection spreads. So literally take your number, and multiply by 2. Then do it again. Then do it again. Then do it again. Do this multiplication exercise 10 times in total. 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x (the number of estimated infections in your city today (not just the reported cases)). This result is the estimate for the actual cases in your area 30 days from now. The math will take 30 seconds to complete with a calculator and it’s worth doing the math to see how it grows. This end number is the number of cases in your city 30 days from today if a large percentage of the population do not practice social distancing. 2 to the 10th power is 1024. When something doubles 10 times, it's the same as multiplying by 1024. The infection rate of the virus doubles every 3 days. In thirty days there will be 1,024 times the number of infected people in your area as there is today if your community does not immediately put social distancing into practice. One thousand and twenty four times as many infected people as there is today, in just 30 days. Next, divide the final number (the scary big one) you just calculated by the current population of your city and you will be able to get the percentage of people THAT YOU KNOW PERSONALLY who will be infected 30 days from now. Next take 15% (multiply by 0.15) of that final 30 day number of total infected people (the number you calculated by multiplying by 2 ten times). This will provide an estimate of the serious cases which will require hospitalization, and compare it to the number of beds and ventilators available at your local hospital. Google the "number of beds" and the name of your local hospital now. It takes 2 seconds and the number of beds is easy to find. 65% of beds are already occupied by patients unrelated to the coronavirus. St Charles in Bend, Oregon where I live, has 226 beds and the town is roughly 100,000 people. Most hospitals have on average, 40 or fewer ventilators. 5% of patients require ICU treatment. There are very few ICU beds compared to regular beds in hospitals. There are very few negative pressure areas in any hospital to deal with the containment of airborne diseases. These numbers you just calculated are the Big Problem: Too many patients, not enough beds, and a serious shortage of ventilators (the biggest problem) if we don't immediately begin social distancing. More on this biggest problem related to the insufficient quantity of ventilators is below. COUNTRIES THAT GET OVERWHELMED WILL HAVE A MUCH GREATER MORTALITY RATE BECAUSE THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO ADEQUATELY CARE FOR THE SICK. And by sick I mean not just coronavirus patients. Your son or daughter that needs acute care surgery this May for his badly broken leg will be attended to by an orthopedic doctor that has been working at maximum capacity and working 18 hour shifts for 7 days every week for 6 weeks because it was required to care for all the coronavirus patients at her hospital. Or the orthopedic surgeon will be sick with the virus and your son or daughter will be operated on in a tent in the hospital parking lot by a non-expert or a member of the National Guard. Your elderly Mom that has diabetes and goes into acute distress next month may not receive ANY medical care because the doctors are consumed and have to prioritize patients based on triage guidelines based on success rate probabilities. Your sibling’s family that are all injured in a terrible car crash in June will have diminished care. If one of them needs a ventilator there will be none available because all of them will be in use by critical coronavirus patients. Your young friend with cancer and a compromised immune system from treatment will succumb even though the cancer was curable and the treatment was working, because their body was too fragile to combat the coronavirus due to the chemotherapy and they couldn't receive the customized, acute care required due to the hospital being overwhelmed. All of the above is currently happening in Italy, who had the same number of infections we have today just 2 weeks ago. You must start social distancing today. The count of actual virus infections doubles every ~3 days. The news and government agencies are lagging in their response. So we hear that the US only has 1573 cases today (3/12/20) [update as of 3/15/20: 3115 confirmed cases), ( see https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/) and it doesn't seem like a lot. It would be better to report the estimated actual cases, since reported cases don’t tell us much. However, we know from China that the actual number of cases are at least an order of magnitude greater than the reported cases, because people get infected and do not display symptoms. In math, an "order of magnitude" means ten times difference, or put another way, a factor of 10. 100 is 10 times greater than 10, so it's an order of magnitude greater. Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital just released their estimate (recording is here: https://externalmediasite.partners.org/Mediasite/Play/53a4003de5ab4b4da5902f078744435a1d) that the actual cases are 50x greater than the reported cases. So we likely have 75,000 cases in the United States already. The number of reported cases is not that important. But let’s assume the current number of cases is only 10,000 ACTUAL cases in the United States just to be conservative and model out what will happen: If we don’t stop the virus from spreading, in 30 days we will have 2 to the 10th power more cases of infected people because the infection count doubles every 3 days (the virus doubles every 3 days and there are 10, 3 day periods in 30 days). The math: 2 to the 10th power means 1,024 times as many cases as we have today (2 times 2 repeated 10 times). This number is a catastrophically big problem for all of us: We will have 10 million+ actual cases (10,000 actual cases today x 1,024) in the United States in just 30 days’ time if we continue without extreme social distancing. 10 million people with the virus. And it will keep doubling every 3 days unless we practice social distancing. 15% of cases require significant medical attention, which means that 1.5 million people will require significant medical attention if 10 million people get infected (15% of 10 Million total infections = 1.5 million people requiring hospitalization). 1.5 million hospitalizations is way more than we have beds for at hospitals in the United States. And 65% of all beds are already occupied in our hospitals. But many patients (5%) with the virus need ICU beds, not just any old hospital bed. Only about 10% of hospital beds are considered intensive care beds. So we will have a huge bed shortage, but that is not the biggest problem, as we can erect temporary ICU shelters and bring in more temporary beds, as Italy has already done, and California and Washington hospitals have already done. Evergreen Hospital in Seattle has already erected temporary triage tents in the parking lot as of 3/13/20. All regular beds are full at Evergreen Hospital as of yesterday. Once the government of China, Norway, and Italy came to understand this math, they reacted accordingly and shut EVERYTHING down. [update as of 3/15/20 now France has done the same lockdown]. Extreme social distancing is the only response available to stop the virus today. The United States is not responding well nor are other countries like the UK. Countries that do not respond well will pay a much larger, catastrophic price. But hospital beds are not the big problem. The lack of ventilators is the big problem. Most estimates peg the ventilators in the United States at roughly 100,000 to 150,000 units. See the study from last month: http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/resources/COVID-19/200214-VentilatorAvailability-factsheet.pdf The primary and most serious comorbid (comorbid is a medical term that means co-existing or happening at the same time) condition brought on by the Coronavirus is something called bilateral interstitial pneumonia which requires ventilators for treatment of seriously ill patients. So if 1.5M people of the 10 million infected 30 days from now require hospital care (15% of the 10M estimated total infections), 1.3M may not get the care that they need because we don’t have enough ventilators, beds, and ICU beds in the United States. And remember, this is only if ALL OF US EFFECTIVELY start social distancing by April 11th (30 days from today). This increases the mortality rate significantly. BUT IF WE START EXTREME SOCIAL DISTANCING BY MARCH 23 (12 days from original writing), WE AVOID OVER 1.4 MILLION PEOPLE GETTING CRITICALLY ILL AND OVERWHELMING THE HOSPITALS: If everyone takes extreme measures to social distance, and the United States can dramatically reduce the spread of the virus 12 days from now, the math is very different, as the exponential growth will only be 2 to the 4th power (12 days divided by the doubling rate of every 3 days equals the exponent of 4): 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16 So instead of 10 Million cases in the United States if we wait 30 days, if we act 18 days sooner, we will have only 160,000 cases (16 times the estimated 10,000 actual cases as of today), of which 15% are likely to require hospitalization. This is 24,000 critical patients (a huge difference compared to 1.5 million acute patients). The difference between taking extreme measures now, versus waiting even a few days, is very large due to how exponents work in math. THE OUTCOME IS EVEN BETTER IF WE TAKE ACTION IN THE NEXT 6 DAYS: If the vast majority of the population self isolates and implements social distancing in only 6 days from now the exponential math is 2 to the 2nd power (6 days divided by the 3 days it takes the virus to double means the exponent is only 2). In math this is "two squared". 2 x 2 = 4 Multiplied by the estimated 10,000 ACTUAL cases as of today (3/12/20) that means only 40,000 total cases will develop, 15% of which may be critical which is 6,000 critical patients. This is why you should share this post broadly. If people begin social distancing in the next 6 days it will greatly reduce the impact on all of us. It's why they say a "post goes viral". SOCIAL DISTANCING WILL REDUCE THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY: Finally, the longer everyone waits to practice significant social distancing the greater the economic hardship will be on all of us. Lost jobs. Mortgage defaults. Closed businesses. Bankruptcies. All will be minimized if you start social distancing today. Some of the reasons the economic impacts will be reduced are worth mentioning: If we stop the virus now the overall duration of the outbreak will be far shorter. The stock market will normalize more quickly and recover more quickly. Businesses and people will be able to survive a shorter duration outbreak vs a longer duration outbreak. More companies will avoid bankruptcy if we begin to practice social distancing now. This is a big financial reason to begin social distancing if you are employed by any company: if companies see that the virus is being slowed, they will be less likely to conduct layoffs. You will be more likely to be laid off or experience a job-related event if we don’t practice social distancing immediately. As an HR executive, I’ve been involved in many, many layoffs. It’s the last thing companies want to do. But if they see that the pandemic will be shorter lived vs long and drawn out, they are less likely to make the permanent decision of laying off staff. The overall economic impact that hits your bank account will be greater if you wait or you don’t practice social distancing. This is why Norway acted now, because it’s less economic impact to take drastic measures early than to do them later, and it saves a lot of lives and suffering by doing so. And Norway has only one confirmed death as of this writing. Many people have suggested they want to support local restaurants and other businesses, who have seen sales drop by 50-90%. Stopping by and visiting them won't save them. What will save them is social distancing and what you do after the pandemic is over. If you are concerned, call them and buy a gift certificate over the phone. START TODAY. I CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH. YOU MUST START TODAY. Finally, the article that I posted yesterday written by Tomas Pueyo has been read 30M times in the last few days and has been updated with new information. It’s worth reading again. Here’s that link. https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca Other up to date data I frequently consult regarding the pandemic is here: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ I hope this is helpful and useful. My brain focuses on the math and I try and be fact based in my analysis and interpretation of how I should respond. THERE IS MORE INFORMATION IN THE COMMENTS BELOW WORTH READING AND I WILL BE UPDATING THIS POST, AND THE COMMENTS, WITH MORE INFORMATION, (AS OPPOSED TO CREATING NEW POSTS). MY FINAL PARTING THOUGHT: Please share or forward this post at your discretion. If everyone shares this post and two of your friends share this post and so on, we use the power of exponential math to work in our favor, which seems appropriate given the virus is using that same exponential math against us. HOW YOU CAN REALLY HELP: If you know people who have large numbers of followers, or people in the media, please leverage your personal relationship with them and ask them to amplify this post by sharing it or the Medium Post (link below) For people not on Facebook you can email or text the link. It would be useful to get the post on Twitter and LinkedIn by sharing the Medium post. If you know people in government this fact-based post may help inform them to make the best decisions. It's time for us humans to go on the offensive against the virus. We must fight back. There is only one way to do so: Social Distancing. Do it today. NOTE: Anyone, including the media, is free to use this post, any related content, in all or in part, for any purpose, in any format, with no attribution required. Please direct message me if you have other ideas for how to raise awareness. Finally, I can no longer keep up with friend requests given how much this post has been shared. To receive updates or follow me, please use the "Follow" button on Facebook. 3/16/20: I am preparing a second post, now that 4 days have gone by since the first post. To receive it please follow me on FB. I can not keep up with the friend requests. https://medium.com/@Jason_Scott_Warner/the-sober-math-everyone-must-understand-about-the-pandemic-2b0145881993 https://www.facebook.com/jason.scott.warner/posts/10163742243430144

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hazardville · 7 years

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I couldn’t say this any better (though I’m not a white heterosexual, so, there’s that).

Creating a Better Magic Community

Like many of you, I was shocked and horrified on Saturday when I learned that Christine Sprankle decided to step away from the community due to repeated and targeted harassment from Jeremy of MTG Headquarters/Unsleeved Media as well as continued harassment from other toxic members of the community.

I was shocked, but I wasn’t surprised. Talk to enough women in the Magic community and stories about harassment inevitably crop up. It’s not so much an open secret as a low-grade headache that can turn malignant.

Regardless, I was thrilled to see the community almost entirely united in its support for Christine. On Tuesday, a large group of pros responded to the situation by writing an open letter condemning MTG Headquarters’ actions and pledging to act as allies and advocates for victims of harassment at future events. I’m proud to be part of a community where so many high profile people are taking active steps to ameliorate this situation.

There isn’t much I can add to this specific situation at this point. I’m not here to write more about why Jeremy needs to be banned from YouTube and WotC sanctioned events—other people are doing that already, and they know more about this situation than me. I suspect that this particular dragon will eventually be slain, most people will consider the matter resolved, and we’ll seek to move beyond this dark chapter in our game’s long history.

But MTG Headquarters has more than THIRTEEN THOUSAND followers on Twitter. Unsleeved Media has A HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR THOUSAND SUBSCRIBERS. Not all of them supported his overt harassment campaign, but overt harassment is only one part of a larger, systemic problem in the Magic community. Taking down an obvious villain is commendable, but if that’s all we do, than we’ve failed to properly learn from this situation. If we truly want to create a more inclusive community, we all have some work to do.

Before getting into the meat of this thing, I want to be very clear about who I am and why I’m writing this. I’m not here to tell stories of harassment or otherwise step on the voices of the community members who fight those battles on a daily basis. Those aren’t my stories to tell. I’ve already heard similar stories to Christine’s pop up on social media over the past few days, and it’s important that we magnify those voices and believe them.

As a heterosexual white man in a position of relative power, (at least in terms of being someone that the greater Magic community has more or less heard of) I’d like to use some of my power for good. We can’t place the burden of action entirely on the victims of harassment—we all have to step up and take some of it on ourselves. This is my best effort to help in any way that I can.

While the open letter pros are doing a commendable job of keeping the watch at large events, this is an issue that starts at the roots—at FNM, in our living room, on Magic Online. We can’t just leave things up to Brad Nelson and Sam Black—we all need to step up.

To that end, I’ve written a lot of this post in second person, using a lot of “you” and “we.” I feel like it’s important to say straight off that the “you” I have in mind are people who look more or less like me. I’m not trying to lecture marginalized members of the Magic community about an issue that they already understand all too well. This is a message for geeky white guys like me.

If you scroll down any Reddit thread about this issue, or you check the mentions on the right Twitter account, or you read the right Facebook page, you’re going to see more than just solidarity. You’re going to see a lot of confusion, and bitterness, and outright hostility over this situation. Some guys are a little bit ambivalent about what the heck our role is in all of this and how we can help. Others feel attacked and feel like “both sides” should be considered. Still others are unconvinced that there’s a problem at all.

I’ve been around the internet long enough to know that my message is going to fall on a whole lot of deaf ears, but I want to do my best to try and reach everybody I can. At the very least, I want to write this post to remind myself what I can do to help. When I say that we’re all somewhat complicit, I’m including myself. We all have to do better. All of us.

“I haven’t sent any harassing DMs or made any horrible comments on anybody’s videos or articles. Why are you putting me on blast?”

The harassment problem in the Magic community is systemic and multi-layered. I can count at least three different problems, and you don’t have to be actively harassing anyone to be involved with two of them:

1) Active, toxic harassers. These are the people doing the worst, most heinous stuff. These are people who troll women in comments sections, spout racist and anti-Semitic comments at tournaments, and worse. Most of recognize that we shouldn’t be these people.

2) Enablers, both active and passive. The problem is that most of us are guilty of enabling those harassers at one point or another.

Sometimes we downplay it. (“He’s harmless. He’s got a good heart. He’s just a little awkward.”)

Sometimes we justify it. (“We wouldn’t be able to get a draft going every week without him.”)

Sometimes we straight-up defend it. (“He shouldn’t have said that, but do you have to be so sensitive?”)

3) People saying or doing hurtful stuff that they didn’t think about very much. You could also call these microaggressions, but I know that some of you are put off by the language of social justice, so I want to spell out this problem as clearly as possible. The point is that there are lots of phrases, gestures, and actions that (either inadvertently or on purpose) create a barrier between the dominant voices in the community and those who feel like outsiders. You might not sense it, but they do.

These smaller offenses can be tough to pin down, but the only way to do it is by listening to the people who are affected by these actions, believing their stories, and changing our behavior accordingly.

For example, talk to almost any woman who has ever played a game of tournament Magic and she’ll tell you a dozen stories about being disrespected at Magic tournaments due to her gender. It’s usually not as simple as someone walking up to her and saying, “you’re a woman, stop playing Magic” – it’s hearing stuff like, “did your boyfriend teach you to play?” and “I thought you’d be easier to beat!” over, and over, and over again.

If you’re a white guy like me who has never experienced this, try to imagine how disheartening this must feel, especially on days when you’re running bad and your deck just isn’t behaving. A lot of us play Magic because we like to experiencing that feeling of mastery, especially when the rest of life isn’t going so hot. Now imagine a wry smirk of recognition on the face of your opponent when he beats you because of a lucky top deck. I knew I’d beat the girl. This match was never in doubt. Would Magic still feel like an escape for you? Are you sure?

“I’ve been a member of the Magic community for years, and I don’t see why I should have to hide who I am or censor myself! This is my home, and I should feel safe to communicate however I want.”

I can’t convince anyone that empathy is important. If you don’t believe that it’s worth making small sacrifices or accommodations in order to make another person feel safe or comfortable, that’s on you.

For the rest of us…well, these requests are so small, and they mean so much. Nobody’s asking you give away your Scarab Gods, stop attending FNM, or only talk on alternate Thursdays. It’s basic stuff like not using “gay” as a slur and leaving your half-naked Anime girl playmat at home. You’re not being asked to hide major parts of your identity, and you don’t have to “hide who you are.” You just have to stop acting like an abrasive jerk and maybe stop using a couple of problematic words.

In return, the payoff is massive. We’re always talking about how Magic’s player base isn’t growing like it used to. Well, I know at least a dozen women who stepped away from the community because they didn’t feel welcome. Imagine if we all tried a little bit harder to make our little corner of geekdom a little bit friendlier?

“But political correctness has run amok!”

Whenever I have a conversation about political correctness with someone who dislikes the concept, it usually devolves into some grand hypothetical conversation about freedom of speech in stand-up comedy or edgy TV shows or whatever.

I’m happy to have that discussion with any of you fine folks the next time we’re at an event together, but it’s not pertinent to our conversation today. I feel like we’re all mature enough to recognize that a Magic tournament is not the same as a comedy club or an R-rated film.

“We shouldn’t be nicer to people because of the slippery slope!” is a bad hill to die on.

“I’m sick of being called a sexist all the time. I’m not a sexist!”

Extreme binary thinking is one of the biggest obstacles to self-improvement, and it’s a paradigm that you’re going to have to break free from if you want to experience any sort of meaningful growth.

Think back to the last time someone accused you of saying something racist, sexist, or otherwise harmful. If you’re anything like me, chances are your initial reaction is to get super defensive. I’m not racist, you think, your mind instantly flashing to a hooded KKK member. I can’t be racist because of <insert justification here>, I didn’t really mean any harm by my comments, and I’m certainly no KKK member, so this person must be overreacting!

This is an understandable reaction, but it’s important to learn how to move beyond it. As a society, we are TERRIBLE with this sort of nuance. We assume that there are “good” people (non-racists), and “bad” people (racists), and nobody wants to be lumped in with all the Hitlers. Instead, we blame the people leveling the accusations at us for overreacting, or for being too politically correct, or for jumping to conclusions based on “one stupid joke.” Some of us even double down on our suspect behavior, believing that it’s important to stake out some sort of “middle ground.”

But the problem isn’t them, it’s us. There are no good guys and bad guys. We can ALL do better. It’s okay to feel that initial stab of shame and defensiveness, but then it’s important to really look inside you and realize that what you said was hurtful. In fact, it hurt them so much that they felt the need to speak up and say something to somebody THAT THEY KNEW WOULD REACT DEFENSIVELY. That’s not an easy task for most people, and it’s extra hard for a marginalized person in a community where they don’t feel safe.

Look—I’m no exception to this rule. When I go back and watch some of the videos I recorded back in high school and college, I can’t help but cringe at some of the language I used and the jokes I made. In ten years, I’ll probably feel the same way about some of what I say now. It’s not like I was a horrible sexist back in 2007 and a totally enlightened person now—it’s that I’ve made (and continue to make) an effort to learn, grow, and improve. Being a good person is about constantly seeking to improve, same as being a good Magic player.

“All of this harassment talk makes me sick to my stomach. What can I do to help?”

First, listen to the people telling their stories of harassment. Internalize them, validate them, believe them.

This is pretty easy when the harasser is someone like Jeremy, who is well-known to be a toxic member of the community. It’s harder when it’s someone beloved. It’s even harder when it’s someone who you know personally. Your initial reaction may be defensiveness—it often is for me—but there’s a time and a place for that, and it’s not now.

Remember: we are mature enough to handle these situations with poise and nuance. Some people just need to be sat down and told to stop behaving badly, while others need to be banned and ostracized. We won’t be able to call out either type of harasser without creating an environment where people feel safe coming forward.

Second, you need to get more comfortable calling out the harassers in your own life. It’s MUCH harder for victims of harassment to call it out than it is for us bystanders, which is why it’s important that we not let any of this toxicity stand even when it doesn’t directly affect us.

Don’t just say something at FNM—speak up during your kitchen table drafts, too. “We don’t say stuff like that here,” is a good turn of phrase to keep in your back pocket. It’s important to sweep away that “boy’s club” atmosphere for good, because it can permeate out from late-night hotel room games into the community at large.

A lot of these people aren’t evil, they’re just prickly, misguided, and socially awkward. Some of them will double-down on their bad behavior and are unreachable, but I have to believe that at least some of them really do mean well. The only way to find out is by changing the climate and calling out the unacceptable stuff whenever we can, wherever we can. Otherwise, they’ll keep driving people away.

Of course, there are some actions that require a harsher response. Jeremy has an entire platoon of followers who will be harder to pin down. And these guys aren’t outsiders, they’re members of the community. They’re guys that you and I both know.

If you know about someone who likes to troll marginalized members of the Magic community on social media, you need to do everything you can to get them to stop. “It’s just a joke” should not be an acceptable defense at this point. These people need to understand that their actions have consequences.

To this end, try to get more comfortable appealing to authority figures like LGS owners and judges about stuff like this. It’s easier for people like us to speak up about harassing language when we hear it, and most of it is a disqualifying offense in sanctioned play. In smaller or casual events, remember that store owners are too busy running the shop to know what’s going on in the back room. Feel free to enlighten them.

This is especially important when dealing with constant, repeatable offenders. These are the people who lower the attendance at local events because large swaths of the player base don’t feel comfortable gaming with them. We need to do a better job of weeding them out and letting them know that they need to choose between being a productive member of the community or no longer being a part of the group.

Lastly, never assume that you are above it all. I’m certainly not. Remember that making mistakes in the social arena are like misplays in Magic: each one is a chance to improve, to become more precise, to grow as an empathetic person. The important thing is to acknowledge it, apologize, and do your best not to make that mistake again.

I’m sick of hearing “Magic is awesome, but the community kind of sucks.” The community is all of us—you, me, and everyone else who has ever picked up a Magic card and felt that instant, powerful connection. We all have a right to thrive within it, to feel comfortable slinging spells in shops and tournaments around the world. I’m willing to fight for that right. Are you?

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Ruby Chapter 6: Perseverance

Perseverance Sorry, I left this for kind of a while and I’m two posts behind, so I’ll be posting two pretty much right in a row. Let’s go! ----------------------------------------------------- That night, as Asshole lit funeral pyres for Lysa and Robert, she contemplated what she was doing. Everything she had accomplished so far rang hollow when she thought of her dead friends. They were two more in the list of friends and allies she had lost to get where she was, and that thought frightened her. Was she truly so callous as to deliberately sacrifice loyal companions like them just to achieve fame and glory for herself? What kind of person would that make her? She just didn’t know anymore. Asshole buried her head in her hands as tears dripped through her fingers. Suddenly, Asshole realized she wasn’t alone. Sansa had nuzzled up to her while Eddard and Rickon stood alongside. She looked up and saw Arya perched in a tree, keeping a steely-eyed watch over the group. As she looked from each of her friends to the next, Asshole realized that, unlike her, they had not lost faith, even when Lysa and Robert had fallen. They still believed in the cause, and in her. As she gazed into their eyes, Asshole knew that they believed so deeply that they would follow her to the end. Lysa and Robert’s deaths were those of martyrs, not victims. Suddenly reinvigorated, Asshole stared into the fires and made her friends a promise. She would write their names in the stars when she went to the Hall of Fame and carved out her place in Pokemon history. She would not falter again, and she would not fail. The flames of the funeral pyres leapt and danced into the sky as Asshole said her final goodbyes to her fallen friends. The young Trainer left early that morning to continue her journey. Asshole knew her next goals lay to the east, and she met the rising sun with a renewed sense of purpose. Her first order of business, she knew, was to ensure the stability of her team. Lysa and Robert’s deaths had left a gaping hole in her group, and it was her responsibility to set it right. At first, Asshole set out for Route 105, hoping to find a new ally there. She did quickly find Baelish, a lonely Tentacool wandering the sea. However, as she turned to Surf further south, something stopped her. The sea was calm, and nothing seemed to be amiss, but Asshole sensed somehow that she should return to this route later. Going back the way she came, she made a beeline to the east. This change of plans proved fortuitous, as a Pelipper named Asha crossed Asshole’s path on Route 118 and eagerly attached herself to the cause. Asshole decided to carry Gregor with them to fill Robert’s role as a tough fighter, and the team was off again. However, the sailing would not be all smooth. Gregor, contrary to his rocky appearance, proved rather frail, and could not handle combat the way Robert could. Asshole had high hopes for him, and once he evolved into Graveler it seemed possible that he could compete, but he continued to struggle, and she started to fear for him. As the party revisited the Trick House and continued on their path, Asshole needed to bail Gregor out of trouble time and time again, and it seemed inevitable that he might fall along their path. Asshole had little choice but to keep him with her, however, and so they soldiered on. After making landfall on Route 118, Asshole came to a fork in the road. She opted for the direct route east first, and visited briefly with the Berry Master. However, just past his home, she found the route blocked by low walls. Maddeningly, they were too smooth for her to climb, and she was forced to turn back and travel north towards Fortree City. It was in the tall, thick grass on this route that Cersei the Oddish jumped at the chance to join Asshole’s quest. Many of Cersei’s wild former compatriots did not take so kindly to the young Trainer, and she found herself having to fight them off numerous times. Arya Stark suffered a bout of Paralyzing Stun Spores in one battle. However, before Asshole could cure her, Arya attacked with a renewed strength and wiped out her opponent with ease. Asshole noticed that, although Arya could not move as quickly while afflicted by the spores, she fought ever the harder in spite of them. Asshole decided to save the cure for a later time and instead used several Potions to keep Arya in fighting shape while she decimated all in their path. Eventually, just west of Fortree, Asshole came to a large building labelled the Weather Institute. She intended to move past a place that sounded, frankly, rather boring, but found two Team Magma grunts blocking the bridge to Fortree. Asshole turned back and took a closer look at the Institute and noticed that none of the vanes or dishes on the roof seemed to be moving. Suddenly curious, she decided it might be best to check out the Institute to see what was happening. Inside, she discovered several members of Team Magma had seized the building. They seemed to be after a rare Pokemon the Institute had, and Asshole and Asha made short work of them, forcing them to flee. One of the last battles proved too much for poor Gregor, however, and he fell to the attacks of the Team Magma leader. Knowing that he had died trying to prove himself to her, Asshole sadly burned his body before continuing on. The head of the Institute advised Asshole that the Institute’s Castform was Team Magma’s goal, and she took it for safe-keeping. With Cersei now in Gregor’s place, Asshole continued on towards Fortree, reflecting on her possibly misplaced faith in Gregor and resolving to be more honest with herself in order to protect the rest of her friends. --------------------------------------------------------- Well, that was kind of my fault. I greatly overestimated Graveler’s toughness and it cost me. Well, maybe next time. Sorry, commentary is a little sparse at the moment, as it’s pretty late and I’m pretty tired. Team: Eddard the Swampert lvl 36 Sansa the Linoone lvl 29 Arya Stark the Swellow lvl 30 Rickon the Spinda lvl 29 Asha the Pelipper lvl 28 Cersei the Oddish lvl 26

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Ruby Chapter 5: The Prodigal Daughter

When last we left our hero, she had just defeated Flannery of Lavaridge Town and was about to set out for Petalburg Gym and a confrontation with her father, the Gym's leader. Surveying her team, Asshole realized that, strong though they were, she was uncertain of her chances. Her father, she knew, trained Normal-type Pokemon, and none of her friends had any particular advantages over them. Granted, they weren't especially weak, either, but she knew that without a natural advantage, strength and strategy would be needed to overcome her father. Confident in her command of the latter, she set out to develop the former.

As she left Lavaridge, she came across Brendan, who helpfully handed her the Go-Goggles for protection in adverse weather. Realizing that she might now be able to handle the trek through the desert on Route 111, Asshole quickly made her way there. Although the blowing sand made it difficult to see where she was going, Asshole discovered that her intuition about the goggles was correct, and she could manage to make some progress. She found the local wildlife to be tougher than others she had faced, but still quite manageable, and set about the task of further raising her team. She gave particular focus to Eddard, intending to use him as her fall-back plan in case her other companions were not up to the task. To that end, she decided to use him as a brute attacker, hoping to overpower her father if it came to that.

As Eddard shredded through the local Pokemon and trainers, Asshole discovered a strange rock formation in the southern end of the desert. A large rock mound loomed out of the desert sand, with several smaller pillars surrounding it in a ring, almost enshrining it. It seemed almost as though the central mound was some sort of temple. However, upon inspection, she could not see any sign to the mound's purpose, nor any way inside it. With one curious glance backwards, Asshole left the strange structure behind and ventured back out into the wider desert.

In the northeastern corner of the desert, the young Trainer found two rocks jutting out of the sand. Checking them over closer, she realized that the two rocks were not mere rocks, but fossils of ancient Pokemon! Asshole suddenly remember something one of the researchers at Devon Co. had told her. Something about a machine that could revive extinct Pokemon... Thinking that machine might be able to do something with these fossils, Asshole reached for one with a Plant-like creature on it and stuffed the fossil into her bag. Before she could grab the other, however, it sunk into the desert sand and was lost.

A quick detour back to Rustboro City brought her fossil back to life as a Lileep. She named him Luwen and went back to the desert to see how effective he could be. Sadly, Asshole quickly realized why Lileep went extinct and sent her new friend back to her reserves. The rest of her team was now as ready as she could make them, and it was time to face her father.

Asshole trod carefully through her father's acolytes. She knew she would need every edge to defeat her father, so she decided to face all of his disciples, hoping to gain both experience for her team as well as some insight into the strategies her father might employ. The young trainer used more cautious strategies than she had previously employed, using status-based attacks and Potions to keep her team up against her opponents' powerful strikes.

Her father's trainees were worthy opponents, and their item-based strategies proved devastating to Asshole's team. The trainer in the One-Hit KO room was one. While Asshole tried to employ Lysa's Stun Spore to slow down her opponent, he patiently raised his Attack with Swords' Dance. Finally, with the enemy Zangoose on the brink of death, he rallied and delivered a powerful Slash to Lysa. Lysa's eyes flashed a look of horror and surprise as she fluttered to the ground. As Sansa rushed in to vengefully annihilate the Zangoose, Asshole rushed to the side of one of her most loyal friends. Lysa looked up at her and squeaked sadly. Her wings flapped slowly, shuddered once, and the Beautifly was still.

Asshole was heartbroken to lose her friend, but she knew she had to go on. Unfortunately, the next room held only more loss. In the Attack room resided a foe Zangoose who utilized the same strategy, this time exploiting the item X Attack in addition to Swords' Dance. Asshole thought she had prepared for this strategy and intended to use Robert's Encore to lock her opponent into Swords' Dance. However, she was one turn too slow, as the Zangoose surprised her by attacking a turn early, with horrifying effectiveness. This Zangoose's Slash attack left gaping gashes on Robert's side. His Poison blood oozed from him as he sagged, and his eyes went dark. Sansa again honored her fallen friend by finishing his killer.

Asshole could hardly believe the depth of her failure as a leader, and fell to her knees. She may have won the last two fights, but she felt utterly defeated, having lost two more of her friends. As tears fell silently down her cheeks, Sansa came to her side. Nudging Asshole's hand, the Linoone calmly licked up her Trainer's tears and then looked into her eyes with steely determination. It was then that Asshole realized: her team felt the losses too, and they wanted to avenge their friends. The last thing they wanted was for Lysa's and Robert's deaths to be in vain. Rising slowly to her feet, Asshole nodded to Sansa and stepped forward into the Gym Leader's room to face her father.

Asshole and her father Norman exchanged pleasantries, then began their grim business. Norman, for his part, knew of his daughter's losses, and felt for her, but he could not show her lenience or mercy. Asshole, meanwhile, knew she needed to use everything at her disposal to win this fight, and Lysa's and Robert's honor depended on her success. Fortunately, Asshole had an ace up her sleeve: she knew Norman's team almost as well as her own, and she had a strategy to beat them.

Norman's Slakings were fearsome threats, and an unprepared challenger would likely have fallen to them. Asshole, however, was ready. She sent out Sansa, her avenger, for this fight. As Norman's Slakings went on the attack, Asshole cunningly took advantage of their major weakness. Sansa's speed allowed her to strike first, landing several devastating Headbutts on the enemy in an effort to get them to flinch. She succeeded several times and was able to handle their attacks when she did not. Since Slaking bored easily and could be expected to waste every other turn as a result, Asshole used those windows to either heal Sansa or to have her Rock Smash and weaken Slaking's defenses. This plan worked even more successfully on Norman's second Slaking, who continually tried to Focus Punch her and was met with nothing but failure in the face of Sansa's constant Headbutts. By the time Norman brought his Vigoroth to bear, Sansa had started to fade, so Asshole went to her fall-back plan of Eddard. Now a monstrous Swampert, Eddard shrugged off Vigoroth's attacks and struck back fast and hard, dropping him with a minimum of fuss.

Emerging from the Gym, Asshole wearily trudged to the Pokemon Center to revitalize her team. On the way, the parents of Wally, the young boy Asshole had helped catch his first Pokemon, gave her HM03 as a thank you for her efforts. Asshole barely registered them. All she wanted at the moment was to rest. Her grief had drained her, and the fight had taken the last bit of her strength. Her party now healed, Asshole slumped over on a couch at the Pokemon Center and shut her eyes, her tears once again washing away the pain of her losses. She was victorious, but she hated the price she'd had to pay.

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Well that blew. I honestly don't know how I'm going to fill the two holes in my team now. I guess we'll cross that bridge a bit later. It does occur to me that my team is now all members of the Stark family.

Hopefully you enjoyed the more narrative focus. I didn't do much in this segment, but it filled out a lot more than I'd expected.

Team:

Eddard the Swampert lvl 36

Sansa the Linoone lvl 28

Arya Stark the Swellow lvl 29

Rickon the Spinda lvl 27

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Ruby Chapter 4: A Growing Threat

Having raised her team to a level she felt confident would best any opponents in the near future, Asshole set out from Fallarbor Town. The next town on her map was Rustboro City, which she'd already visited, so she hoped the journey there would yield some clue as to how to continue her quest for the Pokemon Championship.

Her chosen route took her through Meteor Falls, and a long route it was. Many Trainers stood in her path, but the intense training she had put her team through paid off in spades, and her crew made short work of their opponents. The road to the Falls was passed without incident, and Asshole's heart rose at her team's accomplishments. Her new team member Rickon had proven to be a highly capable Special Attacker, and the rest of her squad was growing nicely. Despite her recent losses, she was growing more confident as she approached the entrance to the Falls. From deep within the cave, she heard a mighty roar of some unknown creature. For a moment, her breath caught in her throat, and her step faltered. As a precaution, Asshole quickly sprayed a Repel over herself before crossing the threshold into Meteor Falls.

Inside the cave, rays of light pierced the darkness from crevices in the walls and ceiling. The roar of the waterfall echoed off the cavern walls. As she began to explore, Asshole heard a commotion coming from one of the chambers ahead, shouts just audible over the rumbling water. Cautiously, she inched forward and peeked over the ledge to see what was going on. In the room below, she saw two Team Magma members arguing with a scientist. Asshole quickly leapt into action, rushing down the stone steps to confront the villains. Just as she stepped into the light, several men in blue bandanas ran into the chamber, shouting at the Team Magma peons. Calling themselves Team Aqua, the new arrivals demanded the Team Magma members stand down. Laughing, the Team Magma henchmen simply turned and ran, shoving over Asshole as they went. The men from Team Aqua rushed after them. As they left, Asshole jumped up and shouted at them, puzzled as to what Teams Magma and Aqua were doing there. The Team Aqua leader, Archie, quickly explained that Team Magma was organizing something at Mt. Chimney and Team Aqua vowed to stop them. As Archie rushed off, it dawned on Asshole that the Team Magma men blocking the lift to the top of the mountain must have been involved in the plot. Anxiously, Asshole rushed ahead towards the far exit of the cave, determined to find out what was going on.

As she emerged into the light, Asshole wasted no time. Stopping briefly to check in with the head of the Devon Corporation, who rewarded her with an Exp. Share for her help with his errands, Asshole set out for Mt. Chimney. With her new ability to utilize Rock Smash, she made for Rusturf Tunnel, quickly busting past the barriers that stood inside. She charged ahead and found the tram to the top of Mt. Chimney unguarded. She paced her way around the car on the way to the top, and upon arriving immediately found herself in the middle of a pitched battle. Team Aqua members, badly outnumbered, dueled Team Magma members. Asshole made her way past them to find Archie holding off three Team Magma henchmen. She quickly continued up the peak, defeating several Team Magma guards on the way, until finally she saw Maxie, the leader of Team Magma, inserting a Meteorite into a machine just at the edge of the volcano's crater. Running up to him, Asshole commanded him to stop. Laughing as he turned to face the young Trainer, Maxie explained Team Magma's plans and goals. Rolling her eyes a bit at the strangely cliched monologueing, Asshole sent her friends to subdue Maxie. Robert made quick work of Mightyena and Golbat, and Eddard cleaned up Maxie's Camerupt in short order. Stunned by his defeat, Maxie stepped back as Asshole removed the Meteorite, shutting down the machine and stopping Team Magma's plans. Maxie vowed that Team Magma was not finished yet, and he and his goons departed. After a quick word of gratitude from Archie, Asshole set out back down the mountain to continue on her journey.

With the Jagged footpath down Mt. Chimney now open to her, Asshole made her way down the Pass towards Lavaridge Town. She knew that Lavaridge Gym and its leader Flannery awaited her. Her losses on Route 113 still fresh in her mind, she anticipated a major challenge. However, it quickly became clear that Flannery and her followers, all using the Fire type, could not defeat Eddard even if they could handle Lysa and some of her more offensively-minded friends. Although Flannery's Torkoal hit very hard, careful use of Super Potions got Eddard and Asshole through the battle. Emerging from the gym singed but overall unharmed, Asshole realized that her journey to be Pokemon Champion now brought her inexorably on a collision course with the man who had inspired her to set out in the first place: her father, the leader of the Petalburg City Gym and her next opponent.

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A much cleaner segment here. No losses and good progression. The team is still light on defense, but doing alright so far.

Team:

Eddard the Marshtomp lvl 31

Lysa the Beautifly lvl 26

Arya Stark the Swellow lvl 26

Rickon the Spinda lvl 25

Robert the Gulpin lvl 25

Sansa the Linoone lvl 25

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Ruby Chapter 3: The Uphill Road

This is a LONG one, so get comfortable. Here we go!

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Having sent her friend Margaery to The Pyres, Asshole and friends ventured forth into the endless day once more. The young Trainer knew now how important training was and vowed she would not be caught at a disadvantage in preparation again. She also knew, grimly, that without Margaery, her team had a hole that needed filling.

The latter need quickly resolved itself, as Robert the Gulpin emerged from the grass and joined up with Asshole. She continued to search the small patch of grass in Route 110, defeating numerous vicious wild Pokemon and strengthening her team. On a pit stop in the city, she also delivered the Devon Goods to Captain Stern, defeating more Team Magma members who attempted again to steal them. Asshole was not sure why the Team seems to intent on these minor crimes, but she made a mental note to watch out for them and their activities in the future.

Soon ready to head out, Asshole continued her journey north to Mauville City. Her training has left her with a much stronger connection to her squad. Robert, she has learned, pairs nicely with Lysa to form a solid defensive duo that can rely on either their typing (for Lysa) or their defenses (for Robert) to shrug off attacks from their weaker opponents. Asshole still remains concerned, however, for how they will fare against tougher foes. She also discovers that Pycelle is a deceptively strong attacker, laying out tough punishment very quickly and being immune to many of the utility moves her enemies have wielded against her. His defenses, she noted, were very weak, and bear some concern. Finally, in battling several trainers and the Trick House on Route 110, Arya Stark evolved into Swellow and took up a prominent role as the party's main fast attacker, devastating foe after foe, including the Winstrate Family in a row (with some minor help from Lysa).

On her way to Mauville, Asshole met up with Brendan, and quickly dispatched him in a brief duel. The Itemfinder they were (apparently) dueling over proved useful, as between it and Sansa's habit of Picking Up everything she ran across, Asshole filled her backpack quite quickly. Upon reaching Mauville, Asshole set out for new routes to find more allies to bolster her team, but alas only Route 117 held grass and wild Pokemon. The Marill named Yara that she found there quickly fell trying (rather overzealously) to defeat the Pokemon of an opposing Trainer, leaving Asshole's heart a little heavier and her team still incomplete.

Still somewhat bereaved from the loss of her new friend, Asshole set her jaw and vowed to wipe out Mauville's Gym Leader, Wattson. She wasted no time, knowing the weaknesses of many of her prime party members, and sent Eddard to dispatch the Gym. He did so with extreme ease, never truly being threatened in any serious way by Wattson or his minions. Although it appeared that some of her friends could use the Shock Wave TM that Wattson rewarded her with, Asshole decided the prudent course would to be hold it for the perfect match. Now free to advance past the cracked rocks that previously blocked her path, Asshole pressed onward. Route 111 held another friend for her in the form of Viserys the Numel. He quickly proved his worth as a strong attacker, but still lacking in defenses. Asshole was starting to become very worried about her team's ability to weather hits, but there was little she could do about the problem for the time being. Her concerns were abated some when Sansa evolved into Linoone, gaining considerable bulk in the process. She attempted to enter the desert, but the raging sandstorm made it impossible to proceed, and she was forced to find a different path. She tried to proceed up the tall mountain trail, meeting a Geodude she named Gregor along the way. Noting with some curiosity the Team Magma guards blocking the way up the mountain by lift, Asshole went into the Fiery Path, hoping to find a way through.

On her way through the mountain, Asshole encountered a Koffing, naming it Lorch, and sent him off to her PC for safekeeping. Emerging on a sooty mountain path, she set out for the town she saw in the distance. Along the way, a Spinda jumped out from the soot-filled grass. Calling him Rickon, she found his spunky approach appealing and decided to give him a try once she reached the Pokemon Center.

She would soon have need of Rickon's services. Walking through the grass on her way to town, Asshole walked just too close to a large pile of ash, and a Ninja jumped out of hiding at her. Unafraid, Asshole sent Viserys to handle the Ninja's attack. Surprisingly, the Ninja sent out Koffing, who immediately Self-Destructed, obliterating Viserys! Shocked by her cohort's violent death, she sent Pycelle to continue the fight. Her Whismur, however, met another Koffing and the same fate. Panic crept over Asshole as she nervously searched her team for the right matchup to combat this Ninja's devastating assault. Gripping the last Poke-Ball in her bag, Asshole doggedly resolved to win this for her two fallen friends, and summoned Eddard to take on the enemy. Her strongest teammate wiped out the last two Koffing, although in both cases he left a window for them to blow up in his face. Luckily, they did not, and Asshole prevailed, but at a heavy cost.

Trudging sadly into Fallarbor Town, Asshole took a moment in the grass just beyond and met a Seedot she dubbed Ser Loras. Although she was glad of this new friend, she was still crestfallen as she returned to the Pokemon Center to pick up the shattered remnants of her team and burn her two lost friends.

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FUCK. SELF. DESTRUCT.

Seriously, that was bullshit. Didn't even fight the other Ninja out of fear I'd lose someone else.

I was really hoping to avoid having as many casualties this time around. I guess we won't be doing that.

I'm legit concerned about getting wiped. Let's try to play better.

Also I'll try to break it down into smaller chunks going forward so the post isn't so long.

Team:

Eddard the Marshtomp lvl 26

Arya Stark the Swellow lvl 22

Sansa the Linoone lvl 22

Robert the Gulpin lvl 20

Rickon the Spinda lvl 14

Lysa the Beautifly lvl 22

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