Welcome back to another Pick'Em thread!
This post can be used to discuss your picks for 06/10/2023. If you have any feedback or suggestions on improving the thread further, drop a comment below or message the moderators.
Don't forget: picks must be submitted during the twelve-hour window before Noon EDT on game day, you can only make one selection per day, and missed days count as losses, so choose wisely and don't delay!
Games for Saturday, 06/10/2023:

Matchup and Team Records	Probable Pitchers (Season ERA)	Estimated Win Probability
Arizona Diamondbacks (37-25) @ Detroit Tigers (26-34)	Ryne Nelson (5.40) / Matthew Boyd (5.23)	55% / 45%
Miami Marlins (35-28) @ Chicago White Sox (28-36)	Sandy Alcantara (5.07) / Michael Kopech (4.33)	48% / 52%
Cincinnati Reds (29-34) @ St. Louis Cardinals (26-37)	Andrew Abbott (0.00) / Miles Mikolas (3.74)	40% / 60%
Minnesota Twins (31-32) @ Toronto Blue Jays (36-28)	Joe Ryan (2.76) / TBD (-)	43% / 57%
San Diego Padres (29-33) @ Colorado Rockies (26-38)	Ryan Weathers (5.09) / Kyle Freeland (4.06)	60% / 40%
Kansas City Royals (18-44) @ Baltimore Orioles (38-24)	Brady Singer (6.45) / Cole Irvin (10.38)	36% / 64%
New York Mets (30-33) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (32-29)	Kodai Senga (3.75) / Johan Oviedo (4.29)	55% / 45%
Los Angeles Dodgers (36-27) @ Philadelphia Phillies (30-32)	Bobby Miller (1.06) / Aaron Nola (4.30)	53% / 47%
Texas Rangers (40-21) @ Tampa Bay Rays (46-19)	Nathan Eovaldi (2.24) / Taj Bradley (3.60)	42% / 58%
Washington Nationals (25-36) @ Atlanta Braves (38-24)	MacKenzie Gore (3.66) / Jared Shuster (4.99)	30% / 70%
Oakland Athletics (14-50) @ Milwaukee Brewers (34-29)	Paul Blackburn (6.00) / Julio Teheran (1.56)	32% / 68%
Houston Astros (36-27) @ Cleveland Guardians (29-33)	J.P. France (3.44) / Triston McKenzie (0.00)	52% / 48%
Chicago Cubs (26-36) @ San Francisco Giants (32-30)	Kyle Hendricks (4.70) / TBD (-)	42% / 58%
Boston Red Sox (31-32) @ New York Yankees (37-27)	Tanner Houck (5.46) / Domingo German (3.69)	40% / 60%
Seattle Mariners (30-31) @ Los Angeles Angels (34-30)	Bryan Woo (27.00) / Patrick Sandoval (4.14)	46% / 54%

1. All columns are Away / Home. Records are typically current as-of the time of posting, and do not always contain the matchup results from the day of posting.
2. A bolded matchup means that there is a "Probability of Precipitation" greater than 50% in a non-domed stadium at the time of this post.
3. An italicized matchup means that it is Game 2 of a doubleheader, which for Pick'Em purposes will not be applicable (only Game 1 is counted, but Game 2 is still included above so that you can be aware that pitching management may be different than a non-doubleheader game day).
4. Probable pitchers and stats sourced from mlb.com (via the MLB-StatsAPI); weather data soured from the OpenWeather One Call API.
5. Estimated chance of winning percentages sourced from FiveThirtyEight’s 2023 MLB Game Predictions, an ELO-based, easy to understand ratings system.

Details such as probable pitchers, winning odds, and match certainty are subject to change. Note that a pick for a team in a cancelled game (weather or otherwise) is automatically counted as a correct guess.
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Prices for me (amazon): Space A40 -$79 Liberty 3 Pro - $66 (renewed) X10 - $56
Okay so currently I’m looking for earbuds for the gym. After looking at reviews and comparisons I am still very on the fence about most A40 vs L3P, with the considering of the X10s. Assuming I’m getting renewed ones, I would probably lean towards L3P but I keep seeing that they don’t fit as well as the space A40s which seems important for working out. However, I am seeing conflicting comments that the ANC and sound quality is better than the A40s, while at the same time people saying it is also worse. Is there one I should get over the other (considering the A40s are actually more expensive)?
As for the X10s, I’ve just had some people recommend but idk if they are on the same level as the L3P or A40s. I heard they are just sport branded A40s catered to the demographic but it’s also a lot cheaper so I’m not sure. I don’t think the IPX7 matters much over IPX4 and also idk if the hooks really make it more comfortable compared to the other two when it comes to staying in.

The powers that be at door dash are so stupid it hurts. What sense does it make to deactivate someone who had a high acceptance rate, tons of good reviews, and a quick delivery time? Do you just wanna let the newbies in that are gonna ruin your reputation?
Here’s the kicker: I know why my account was deactivated. My license has been suspended for 3 months. I haven’t been able to afford all the costs that come with reinstatement. Last month, door dash started asking me for verification of my identity. Since I didn’t have a license, i photoshopped a fake one and sent it to them. The dumbasses fell for it and I continued unbothered up until now. I’m not mad, because it was inevitable…but I am slightly frustrated as this was essentially a second job to me.
Anyways, now that I don’t and can’t dash anymore, I just wanna say door dash is the biggest fuckin joke I’ve ever seen. I’ve run my car into the ground doing these deliveries and I’m given a middle finger as a thank you. I hope these new drivers eat every crumb of food they deliver and tank the whole business because people won’t order from the app anymore.
To the new drivers: get out while you can. Find a job that offers more stability, if at all possible. Don’t let this company work you to the bone for crumbs. I wish all of you that rely on DD for income the best. Godspeed, fuck door dash.

Some of the best parts of summer are all the amazing, beautiful women in bikinis. Curves bouncing and glistening for your viewing pleasure. Diamond Banks’ round juicy ass bouncing on cock. Kayla Kayden’s drool covered tits squeezed around dick. Combined, this is one of the hottest Brazzers threesomes to start your summer off right! A three part teasing gonzo experience of anal fucking, riding, sucking, moaning, slurping, eye-rolling intense sex that will leave you relaxed, drained, and thirsting for more!"

I play with the head boom mp and I’m looking for string and tension recommendations for it. I watched tennis nerds review of this racket and he said it’s a very string sensitive racket so it’s important to get the right strings for it. So if anyone uses the boom mp or has ever played with it, I would really appreciate if you let me know what string/string combination you use or worked well on it. Thanks!

Hi, I'm looking to get a new set of tires (size 215/45/18) for my 2019 Mazda 3 sedan, with my main criteria for the tires being that they provide a quiet ride, long tread life, and good fuel efficiency (at least not worse than what I've been getting with the OEM Toyo Proxes A40's). In light of that, what tires would you recommend getting?
Most of the tires that have been coming up in my searches with the above tire size are of the Ultra High Performance (UHP) variety, which I feel is kind of overkill in my case since I don't drive in a very spirited manner. Plus my guess is that I'll be taking a pretty major hit in fuel efficiency because of their higher rolling resistance. Has that been true in your experience with UHP's and fuel efficiency? I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on that with regard to the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's and the Yokohama ADVAN Sport+, which I would consider getting if I were to go the UHP route.
I did see this previous post in this forum where someone was saying that they did indeed notice higher fuel consumption with the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's, but then someone else who responded said it wasn't the case for them. So I'm just trying to gather a few more data points on this.
One grand touring all season tire that came up in my search is the Vredestein Quatrac Pro, but from some test reviews, they also seem to have quite high rolling resistance. Does anyone have those tires and can speak to what kind of fuel efficiency they get with them? And also to their tread life and noise level?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

For those who have gotten LHR from a clinic, what type of laser did you get? I’ve been looking into getting professional LHR for a while now, I was recommended for it by my dermatologist. And considering the many positive reviews based off it I’m gonna give it a shot. But, I’ve been wondering what type of laser is best for HS. If I’m gonna drop a large sum of money on LHR I hope to at least invest in a good laser treatment. I know the Nd:yag has had study relating to HS before. I have also looked into the Triton and Diolaze xl. Has anyone had previous experiences with these lasers? Plus, drop any other laser type recommendations.
I do have an at home laser but it’s difficult to do the Brazilian with that, which is why I’m keen on getting it professionally done.

So obviously first up on the list according to encyclopedia dramatica is Alexander Jahans; aka Alexander Gordon Jahans; aka Gordon Jones, aka the Farsh-nuke, aka Alasdair Jakes.
Please note that all the links to his public accounts are going to be linked in the end in a google doc.
​
Youtube: Alasdair Jakes - farshnuke
Notes: channel has no content outside of one video titled "The channel is ended. Stop stalking me"
6.6k views and 1.91k subscribers.
Last video is from July 26th, 2020.
​
Twitter: Alexander Jahans - alex_jahans
Notes: Joined December 2016 - 23 Following - 12 Followers
Last post: January 4th, 2018
Last reply to someone: May 16th, 2018
Unsure if this is actually him but feels like a pretty decent chance it is.
“@bluntdesu
man i just want to rub my balls all over that northern chin of yours”
His account is full of wild tweets.
​
Instagram: Alexander Gordon Jahans - alexanderjahans
Notes: 145 posts, 68 followers, following 74 people.
Last post 187 weeks ago.
Mostly food, a few selfies.
​
Linkedin: Alexander Jahans
Green Productions
Jones high school
“By bullet or by ballot I will defeat UKIP”
Experience: Autistic Political Activist - Green Productions - “idk dicking around”
Alexander Gordon Jahans - YouTube - “idk”
Education: Jones high school - Standard - “How to doo doo on niggas and shit”
Notes: I am unsure if this is actually him but It was still pretty funny and I wanted to include it anyway.
​
Soundcloud: Alex Jahans
Notes: 9 followers, following 10 people.
Last active 8 years ago.
He only has two tracks uploaded, both over an hour long. I will give my thoughts on them in another post in case anyone is interested.
​
Facebook: Alexander Gordon Jahans
Joined august 2007
Birthday: June 20th, 1992
Other names: Gordon Jones - Alasdair Jakes
Single
Notes: His facebook is pretty much on total lockdown, I can't see anyone on his friends list.
Updated his profile photo on August 15th, 2021. I think this might be his most recent online activity.
​
Stage32: Alexander Gordon Jahans
“Screenwriter, Sound Editor, Voice Artist and Author - Woking, United Kingdom”
Member Since: February 2012
Last online: > 2 weeks ago
“Alex is a Creative Writing and Film studies student, working part time on 6 series across youtube and deviantart, from vlogs and reviews to scifi and soap. He also volunteers as a writer, presenter and editor on WCRFM.”
“Adapting my web series scripts to a series of short novels. The space opera novel series I really want to write needs that web series to provide readers with valuable knowledge so they aren't utterly confused by the novel.”
Notes: Last post was made 9 years ago.
George Rodrigues wrote on his wall saying “Thanks for the connection Gordon!” - I am unsure what this is? What possible connection could Alexander have given George?
I have also found his resume on this website, I will not be posting it since it does contain sensitive information but I have saved it to my device just in case I need it for future reference.
​
Deviant Art: farsh-nuke
“Nothing is ever easy!”
“Writer of weird fiction”
37 Watchers - 0 Deviations - 39.9K Pageviews (wtf?) comments made 3.7k - Received 174
Notes: Last post was November 7th, 2014.
He has so so many posts, I’ve linked them above.
I glanced through the comments but didn't see anything very interesting.
​
Blogspot: Alex’s Blogspot - Green nothing productions
“I dabbler of many things and already my dabbling has spread far and wide but this solitary blog covers my dabbling in writing”
Last post: November 18th, 2021
Notes: He has posted many stories, some of which have content warnings of rape, abuse, mentions of suicide, depictions of attempted suicide, depictions of violence towards women and men, bullying, gore and lastly Severe content warnings for rape potentially - transphobic content.
I have not personally read them yet but I can and will if there is any interest.
​
Bitchute: JahansArchive
Notes: Seems like someone else has saved all of his youtube videos from when they were public and reuploaded them here. Not sure if every single one of his videos has been posted but there's still quite the collection here. I have only watched a handful as there are so many but I will be slowly making my way through them before my final info post on Jahan.
Everything else I am seeing online appears to be others posting about him, or his accounts that have absolutely 0 information. I am not really seeing any other accounts that might be his but if I have missed any then please let me know.
TLDR: These are some overviews of all his accounts that I could find.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gx2P-PxRypsyMwPzdCXJt6XVkLRLS1WZYTQxM3YEqfs/edit?usp=sharing
This is just the beginning, I plan on going more into depth in other posts.

okay so i know the title is weird. basically we met through a friend of mine & he is his cousin. he’s cute but not my type, im trying to not go based off looks so i gave it a shot. he & i spoke over the phone & there were a few things that rang bells but but nothing major. shit happens in life he learned from it whatever. but then he starts going off about how he such a good guy & he’s not like other dudes. but how he knows he has a problem with how he speaks to other people. anywho he goes on to say the following:
(copy & paste of his messages since i can’t post pics here)
“Yea I’m not there guys who see a women drunk as fuk and try to sleep with her
For me if it happens it happens it’s just sex I’m sure it’s a mutual thing between both party’s
Yea lol I had a bad experience with a homegirl like me and her were best friends and she though I raped her but we started to have sex then she passed out so me being the guy I am I stopped and left her naked alone in the room she woke up scared and tripping out and though I did something to her
So after that whenever i get drunk with a girl I see how it goes if I see she gets too drunk I just take care of her until she’s good again
Don’t want that scare again , after that she never talked to me again until we saw each other but wasn’t the same”
i don’t know if i’m overreacting. thoughts?

On a full rewatch of the series, Angelina becoming the mad false prophet y’all hate is so much clearer now:
We start to see this first in 308, after Angelina creepily wear Olive’s prom dress, Cal’a volcano starts to erupt, the connection between these two things are that Angelina is starting to seek love, now on the surface this isn’t bad at all, her seeking love and all but it’s how she seeks love is the most telling, let me explain: in 309 Angelina blatantly says when Olive catches her with her with dyed black hair just like her hair and in her red shirt, “I wanted to be just like you” these 7 words tells us all we need to know about Angelina’s approach to love, to get the Stones to love her she tries to be like Olive, to get Eden who she believes is her guardian angel for a while, is kidnapping her and pretending to be her mum, Mother Gothel style, and how she gets love from The Passengers is gaslighting herself and them into being the chosen one, and again with her being brought by Christian extremists, who is a Christian herself, the signs are there for her becoming mad.
Where the madness peaks in in 310 + 313 when Angelina accidentally burns the curtains, thinking that Eden will protect her because she’s her guardian angel, leading to her being rightfully kicked out by Grace, and at the end of the episode, Cal’s volcano starts flowing lava out of it, this signalises two things: one how much further Angelina is sinking into darkness, and two, how what Angelina believes and how her actions are going to affect the world.
In 313, Adrian funnily enough, even though he tells himself and everyone that he won’t be ‘an agent of the apocalypse,’ he becomes the main cause of the apocalypse, and tells us the thing that if any of The Passengers do, and Angelina does do it, will damn everyone: “we were chosen by God, but if we abuse his favour, it could mean doom. Not just for The Passengers, but for all mankind.” And near the end, he tells her to go find her guardian angel. What’s even more ironic is that Angelina parallels Adrian so much in season 4: he was a false prophet in season 2, she become a false prophet, he lead a cult, she leads a cult, he is convinced that he’s a gift from God, she is convinced that she’s a gift from God, it’s freaking insane!
And she foreshadows her events so much: in 307, she tells Olive “my parents are right about me, what I am, all I do is bring harm to people around,” and after Olive tries to convince her that being her friend is good, but she responds with, “well maybe it’s only a matter of time before that hurts you to.” And she creates so many fucking problems for Olive and the rest of The Stones, and the most prominent one is in 419, when Eagan leaves her, she promises that he will have a slow and painful death, but um… I think we all know how that goes 😬
Jeff Rake and the writing team did such an amazing job of Angelina’s character, actually having her character arc planned from the beginning, and instead of making a boring one off side character, they made her one of the most interesting and complex villains, I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching, and yes actually rooting for, I know I’m insane, but still, her madness arc is one of the best arcs I’ve ever seen on tv and one of the better done one, and Holly Taylor’s performance is so captivating, someone get this women an Emmy!

I’m considering the Bosch 500 counter-depth refrigerator. The 500 has one compressor and exterior wateice dispenser. My space is only 70” tall, otherwise I’d get the 800 (dual compressors/interior water dispenser) in a heartbeat.
My main question is this: most of the good reviews for Bosch fridges are for the 800. Is the 500 similar enough? Sometimes different lines have completely different interior builds and are even subbed out to different manufacturers.
2nd question: I see a lot of sales for the 500. Do you know if it’s being discontinued? Or if they are rolling out new models?

Woman looking for some other woman players - hoping to maybe make an outfit or a server? I know there’s more than me lol. I play primarily NC but willing to play any faction. Would love to have an awesome community. All genders are welcome too - it’s just hard to find women specifically who play - but at the end of the day all I’m asking is for respectful, nice folks. I’ve not super competitive but not completely casual either. Must be open to someone who has been playing for a couple of years but still learning as I go. Thanks!

Being this abrahanic inspired faith, the Imperial Cult if full of saints, some declared after death, some still living. We know of Saint Sabbath, we know of Saint Celestine, and how even Cain got a planet that worships him as one.
But, how does someone is declared a saint, and how they are worshipped? The following excerpts give insight on that, as well some rather unusual saint, a psyker one.
The holy
“Though they did flay her body with their blades, rend her bones to dust with their fists and consume her organs with their hungry maws, they possessed nothing that could touch her faith.” —
Excerpt from the Blessed Suffering of Saint Elana.
The Calixis Sector is full of saints, men and women who have given their lives to the glory of the Emperor. Some are very minor, only revered in a single city or town, while some can be found wherever Imperial rule extends. Large or small, saints form the human face of the Ministorum, giving worshippers something to relate to and aspire toward. Saints are also often associated with certain aspects and particular causes, such as stellar travel or guilt. Some saints are even more specialised, watching out for those that work with ill-tempered Grox for example. This means, regardless of your situation, there is always a saint watching over you and to whom you can offer a prayer of protection. The truly devout take no chances and festoon themselves with the symbols and tokens of many saints. Saints also have a prominent place in Imperial culture beyond their religious connotations. Their names can be found on everything from worlds and stellar craft to streets and children. Often something that is akin to a saint’s cause bears their name, such as a warship called the Saint Drusus (of which there are one hundred and thirteen so named to date), so it might embody some of the fierceness of its namesake. Taking all of this into account, saints form an important part of a citizen’s life, as prolific and ever-present as the Cult of the Emperor itself.
Drusus the Wrrior
Without a doubt the greatest of all the saints within the Calixis Sector, Drusus stands at the right hand of the Emperor in the hearts and minds of most Calixian citizenry. From early childhood, millions are taught the tales of the great general Drusus and his relentless armies. They learn of how he brought the light of the Emperor back to the sector and swept away the vile masses of xenos who had taken root. It is because of his efforts that the Calixis Sector exists today. The Ministorum makes sure that no one forgets his deeds and, wherever temples and shrines to the Emperor are raised, so too are statues of this saint. Likewise, few saints can boast a cult as large or powerful as Drusus and none can deny the influence that the cult has over all Calixian affairs.
Though a mighty and cunning warlord, Drusus is best remembered and revered as an honest and courageous warrior. It is this purity of faith in the Emperor and the Imperium that soldiers will pray to before heading into battle. To invoke the name of Drusus is to ask for the righteous might of the Emperor to guide your hand. On some worlds entire regiments of Guardsmen are dedicated to the saint’s name, such as the 23rd Drusus Dragoons of Clove, who spend their days in prayer to the saint when they are not battling the enemies of the Imperium. Many combat training facilities have a likeness of the saint above their entrance and cadets are required to ask Drusus for his blessing before they enter.
The greatest shrine to Drusus can be found within the Cathedral of Illumination on Scintilla. This is also the headquarters of his cult, where his followers gather from across the sector to discuss cult business. It is also the place where prospective cultists are brought to pledge their devotion to the saint, often in mass blessings many thousand strong. Within the cult, Drusus is second only to the Emperor and comes even before the leaders of the Ecclesiarchy. Of equal importance to the grand shrine on Scintilla is Maccabeus Quintus, sight of the near death of Drusus during the Angevin Crusade. Then there is Sentinel, an obscure shrine world, located in the Drusus Marches. Exactly why the world is holy to the saint is unclear; thousands make the pilgrimage there, often to die in the shadow of Drusus’s monument. It is also important to the cult, and any who would rise to the higher ranks within it must travel to the world and ask the saint’s blessing. Due to the dangers involved, reaching the world and returning safely is usually considered as “proof ” of the saint’s favour.
Vidicus the Forlorn
Vidicus lived many hundreds of years ago and had a life plagued with misfortune and disaster. According to the tales, he was a Rogue Trader—unusual stock for a saint. He is said to have explored great areas of the sector single-handedly, pushing back its boundaries. During this time, it is said he was a greedy and petty man, who sought only to exploit the worlds he discovered and expand his wealth and power. Like many men in such stories, an unfortunate event taught him the error of his ways and brought him into the light of the Emperor. In Vidicus’s case it was the abduction of his daughter by alien pirates. He became driven to find her and scoured the sector in his search. He also turned completely to the worship of the Emperor and beseeched him for His guidance. What Vidicus received, however, was one disaster after another. First, his crew tried to mutiny and he was forced to lure them into a hold and vent them to the void. Then, his ship became lost in the warp and he was almost overcome by madness before he could return to realspace. Later, he was captured by Orks and only escaped by eating his own hands in an effort to impress his captors. The tales of Vidicus’s quest for his daughter are long and numerous; however, they have two important morals. The first is that no matter how forlorn the hope that he would ever see his daughter again, he never stopped searching. The second is that no matter what adversities the galaxy threw at him, he never lost faith in guidance of the Emperor. Years after Vidicus had vanished in his quest to find his daughter (whose name has oddly never been recorded), a group of clerics wrote an exhaustive treatise on his journeys and deeds. It was from this that the Ministorum recognised his deeds and devotion to the Emperor and raised him to sainthood. Even today there are few worlds in the Calixis Sector that do not have a tale of Vidicus and the time he visited their world seeking his lost child.
Though he has no cult, Vidicus has many worshippers. Most people have been touched by tragedy at one time or another or have embarked on a risky or foolish course of action. At these times, they look to Saint Vidicus to preserve them and give them hope. Likewise his shrines can be found throughout the sector, often tucked away in the corners of larger cathedrals, littered with small offerings and prayers. Travellers also often pray to him to guide them safely to their destinations and makeshift shrines exist to him on many vessels. The saint’s name also appears in many common phrases such as, “a Vidicus hope”, meaning something with a very small chance of success, or “following Vidicus”, meaning to obsess about something unattainable. Acolytes have also been known to invoke the name of Vidicus in their missions, sometimes scratching prayers to the saint on the inside of their armour. It is often joked (though out of earshot of any Inquisitors) that Vidicus would have made a good Acolyte.
Rybel Gorth the Watcher in the Dark
Rybel Gorth is unusual among saints because in life he was a psyker. Shunned by the Ecclesiarchy at the time and held in deep suspicion by much of Imperial society, Gorth was seen as a “necessary” second-class citizen. It is written that in his early life he worked aboard a warp-faring vessel, aiding the Navigator and helping to protect its passengers and crew. His story begins, however, during the evacuation of Canopus during the Heresy of Numbers. At this time, the world was being turned to ashes by bitter civil war and a great army of heretics had turned upon the Ecclesiarchy. Formerly a haven for religious learning and scholarly study, Sylor was filled with thousands of prominent and learned members of the Ecclesiarchy. Rybel Gorth’s ship was the only one to reach the world before the end and took aboard hundreds of Ministorum officials and scholars before making a hasty retreat into the warp. Tragically, however, the ship became lost in the warp and years dragged by as it searched for escape. During this time, the crew and passengers began to die. Fearing the loss of the wealth of knowledge he had been part of rescuing, Gorth used his powers to draw out and store the minds of those who died, keeping them safe within his own. When the ship finally broke free and found its way to safe harbour, Gorth was half mad with a brain brimming with a hundred minds.
Before he died, he transcribed the gathered knowledge of the scholars of Canopus, ensuring its survival. For his sacrifice, the Ecclesiarchy at the time blessed his memory and raised him to sainthood.
Rybel Gorth has few shrines and statues erected in his honour. Even now, centuries after his death, a certain distaste of him exists within the Ministorum. Even the majority of citizens who know of him, see him more as a malevolent presence rather than a source of comfort and guidance. They associate their fears about psykers and the warp with the saint, seeing him as the embodiment of this evil.
There are those, however, that do not have their vision clouded by such fears. These are mostly scholars, adepts and, of course, psykers. These people see Gorth for what he was—a powerful psyker who was able to use his gift to hold the warp at bay and keep safe those around him. He has become a protector of those who would deal with the forbidden and the unknown, especially psykers who try and divine secrets from the warp or use it to send messages across the stars. Psykers often say prayers to Rybel Gorth when they use their powers, hoping that he will protect them from the perils of the warp. Scholars who seek ancient secrets also pray to him lest they unearth or awaken the unnatural. The tale of Rybel Gorth is also often taught to Imperial psykers during their training, impressing upon them the importance of their devotion to the Emperor and the Imperium.
Quivvarr Nog of Fedrid
Few primitives have ever achieved sainthood, though Quivvar Nog is one of the rare exceptions. Hailing from the feral world of Fedrid, he was a warrior of one of the great plains tribes who told stories of long ago, when men were star-walkers. It is said he was present to witness the first failed attempt by the Imperium to recover his world. A group of missionaries came to Fedrid to spread the Emperor’s word and bring it back to the fold. No sooner had they made planetfall than they were set upon by the locals and almost wiped out. It was Nog’s tribe that gave the survivors shelter and listened to their tales of the Imperium. So inspired was the young warrior, he knelt beneath the stars and swore an oath to the Emperor that he would bring Fedrid back to him. For sixty long years, Nog made war on the tribes of Fedrid in the name of the Emperor, finally as an ancient and scarred old man unifying his people. It was not until two hundred years later that the Imperium returned, prepared to once again turn the wayward tribes of the world to the light of the Emperor. What they found was a world more devout than most, which honoured both the Emperor and his saint—Quivvar Nog. When tales of the primitive that had brought faith to the world reached the ears of the Ecclesiarchy, a delegation was sent to investigate. The results were that Nog was recorded as a hero of the Imperium and made a saint.
Shrines to Quivvar can be found dotted throughout the sector, especially on primitive or feral worlds where the inhabitants identify with him. There has been some dispute over the best way to revere Nog. On civilized worlds, marble or granite statues are built to him depicting the saint as a cleanshaven giant dressed in primitive but well-made armour with strong and handsome features. On primitive worlds, clay or wooden idols made in his likeness show him as a squat ugly man with dirty hide armour and a ragged cloak. It is argued that the former is a fantasy concocted by the Ministorum to make him more palatable to more civilized citizens, but one that ultimately betrays the saint’s memory. This has lead to the unpleasant practice of befouling statues and shrines that promote this “false” image by those who claim to honour the “true” Nog. In either case, Nog enjoys a broad following as the saint of perseverance and final victory through faith. He is often revered by those with long, thankless tasks ahead of them. Nog is also associated with those too stubborn or too stupid to give up, an aspect many Acolytes can readily relate to.
Elana the Unshaken
A missionary, Elana made it her lifelong goal to bring the word of the Emperor to the dark places of the Imperium. In her time, she travelled far and wide across the sector, often choosing planets noted for their unruly populations or deadly indigenous life. It is written that she bore a scar for each world she visited. From the swamps of Ichovor, where she suffered a disfiguring filth-fly bite, to the wilderness of Dusk, where she was savaged by predators, she stoically accepted these “scars” as part of her service the Emperor. More than once, Elana was captured by natives to be maimed or tortured in the name of heathen gods. In all such stories, however, despite the horrors inflicted upon her, she never faltered in her faith. In the end, after travelling to scores of worlds, Elana was captured by a foul Daemon-worshipping cult on a remote, unnamed feral world. The natives tied her up and threw her into their master’s cave as an offering. Over the next month the Daemon tired to break her faith. Each day it would come and devour some of her flesh and offer her release. Each day she would refuse. Eventually the Daemon consumed her completely because she would not turn from the light of the Emperor. Elana had a final vengeance, however, as, in eating her flesh and spirit, the Daemon ingested that part of the Emperor that resided within her. The Daemon died screaming as the holy light burned its essence away and freed Elana to her final reward. Clerics like telling this story to prove that faith in the Emperor can overcome anything.
Elana is a much loved and widely accepted saint within the Calixis Sector, and shrines to her can be found on many worlds. This is no doubt because she embodies many of the most desirable qualities in revering the Emperor, namely duty and devotion above personal safety. It might also be because hearing even a little of the saint’s suffering can make someone feel infinitely better about their own woes. Those that care for the sick commonly invoke the name of the saint in their work. They preach that Elana watches over all those who suffer in the Emperor’s name but who do not lose faith. In some places this line of reason has led to self-flagellation to honour the saint, though the more mainstream elements of the Ecclesiarchy agree that this is probably misguided. Acolytes may find solace in the worship of Elana when they suffer grievous wounds, praying to her to remind them that all that they do, they do for the glory of the Emperor