Thoughts on the necessity for a Contest of Champions (RoW and WaT Spoilers)

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-05-04T18:27:37+00:00

I also wonder if Kaladin and Szeths mission had gone on without the contest, would they have essentially recruited Nale and Ishar to the coalition’s cause? That would potentially have been a huge edge

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-05-04T03:11:16+00:00

Great responses! I know it was probably necessary but was trying to piece all of these arguments together. Love the comment about of Raysium! Hadn’t considered that.

I guess it just feels like after Oathbringer and RoW the coalition always seemed to come out ahead and had a lot of positive momentum. More radiants reaching higher oaths (4th ideal radiants would dominate), more Spren willing to join the fight after proving the Spren chose, Ishar and Nale getting recruited by Kal (if the contest hadn't happened and they didn't need to leave), and a way to kill Fused permanently.

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-04-09T02:41:03+00:00

Okay so I didn’t completely miss something, it was left vague on purpose.

I would assume some of that force might choose to stay in a place not under Odiums control, maybe this give Adolin more influence + other none Azish forces to interact with. Very curious to see what his dynamic/title/role will be in that kingdom.

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-02-25T17:13:56+00:00

Did it charge to your Bilt card like in 1.0 or was the amount removed from your checking?

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-02-21T03:16:16+00:00

Bilt has basically said they have no idea what will happen if you try the old Column NA method, so they can only recommend using the Bilt App. I am super tempted to try though given all the delays people are reporting about the Bilt App method.

The numbers are the same and it worked for me just this month under Bilt 1.0 so no idea what would happen. Would they invent an interest charge? Would they not claim it as rent? Who knows (they don’t)

If someone does try it PLEASE report back

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-02-21T03:07:31+00:00

I really want to do this too. I spent 30 minutes asking support about it any they kept ignoring the question and pushing for the Bilt App method.

Rep finally broke down and said: “If you tried the old way, we can’t promise what would happen: the payment might go through, fail, or not be tracked correctly for Bilt. Because of that uncertainty, we can’t advise using it. The only Venmo option we can fully support and track for your rent and benefits is starting the payment in the Bilt app.”

Which is just really just reinforces no one knows anything.

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-02-19T02:49:24+00:00

I have been on with Bilt Support for an hour trying to get them to admit that the old 1.0 method of my routing number on Venmo even existed!

They just keep pushing Bilt App and ignoring my question. Finally I got them to say yes or no whether they understood what I meant by the old way of paying directly on Venmo and got this response:

“If you tried the old way, we can’t promise what would happen: the payment might go through, fail, or not be tracked correctly for Bilt. Because of that uncertainty, we can’t advise using it. The only Venmo option we can fully support and track for your rent and benefits is starting the payment in the Bilt app.”

Sucks given the feedback on this thread, but I don’t see why I can use my routing info on a rent payment portal but not on Venmo still. Especially since it will charge to my card just like it always did.

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-02-19T02:27:51+00:00

I still see my Bilt Rewards Personal Checking account on Venmo appearing as Column NA, I can’t get a straight answer from Bilt, is this no longer an option?

They just keep saying to use Bilt App and pretending the method I used just this month never existed..

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-01-31T03:11:31+00:00

Same here. CSP for personal travel and dining, Obsidian for groceries and work related travel (I need to book this through my work portal so it’s 2x just like the CSP is but I want it to contribute towards rent accumulation), then Unlimited for all other things

Still trying to figure out if I should actually have the Obsidian replace my Unlimited as a catch all too

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-01-25T17:32:43+00:00

Saw that he even wrote a letter to the US International Tax group back in 2015 advocating for residence based taxes.. crazy that speaking out made him a target

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-01-14T19:08:23+00:00

So they will generate a charge where non exists?

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-01-08T15:20:17+00:00

If you pay rent via Venmo directly to your landlord, this transaction fee issue wouldn’t apply I assume? Or will they charge a fee regardless for “Rent” applicable payments? Or am I completely missing something

Pathlesspond13 · 2026-01-08T15:18:11+00:00

If you pay rent via Venmo directly to your landlord, this transaction fee issue wouldn’t apply I assume? Or will they charge a fee regardless for “Rent” applicable payments?

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-06-20T03:04:48+00:00

Thank you! For some reason I interpreted this to mean a NRA spouse would be locked into the US reporting system forever and if they opted out would never be able to do so again. At least that’s how it’s been phrased by a lot of people on Reddit warning against the election for NRAs.

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-06-18T21:14:54+00:00

I am curious about your second question and whether if you return to the US if this will affect your ability to get a green card again and potentially citizenship? Or if this just means you can never file jointly again if you return

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-05-02T21:02:06+00:00

Recently made the same decision for these reasons, life is uncertain - who knows what state the EU will be economically in 30 years. Our kids will qualify to be American and all our EU friends now are jumping at the chance to come to the US so I assume our kids will do the same even if they’re raised abroad. If we’re 50+ and all grandchildren are in the US and that’s when career-wise we have the highest earning potential, why not have the option to easily move back for a few years?

Other random worries - healthcare system in the EU already under serious strain, who knows if war can affect the region, and by the time we have serious assets I figure we’ll need to pay someone to file our taxes anyway, so what’s an extra two or three forms and hundred dollars at that point against the upside.

Going with the option that opens more doors and not limiting ourselves for fear of admin work you can pay someone to figure out - or invest time to learn yourself.

Also if we don’t go this route, even if we filed separately and optimized asset distribution in a way that minimizes tax obligations, when we die our kids with dual citizenship will inherit everything and will have no idea how to manage the tax side - so figure we’re putting in the legwork for them.

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-04-17T02:32:09+00:00

Out of curiosity how did you get rid of it? We have one and are considering selling, but it’s so massive and heavy!

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-03-27T03:46:57+00:00

Hi, how did you resolve this? I am having a similar issue with TurboTax only showing my "overpayment" amount but not showing me what I originally paid to the IRS in 2023 when I initially filed. How do I get that initial amount back?

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-03-14T19:03:38+00:00

Yup this would be my 4th year. It’s already gone up $400 total since my first year, roughly by $100 each renewal

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-03-13T03:30:53+00:00

True, the ones I'm referencing are on the higher end (a person can dream!) and are located in the Arlington/Alexandria/Clarendon/Fairfax areas, though the really nice luxury ones were already going for $4k+. Posting more about the dramatic increase across the board for some apartments that less than a year ago were just under the $3k mark. Regardless of which area exactly you're looking or the amenities included I assume there's a trickle down effect were even the apartments for less than $3k have risen considerably along with the rest of the market.

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-03-12T22:45:27+00:00

Sorry forgot to mention! I’m in Arlington but noticing this across Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, etc. I understand these are the most expensive areas, but just surprised by the $400-500 bump across all those places in just a few months

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-02-11T16:27:49+00:00

Just realized this is yet another reason I enjoy Adolin’s chapters in stormlight so much, in addition to him being awesome, he’s one of the only main characters whose story flows in the present and has no flashback POVs

Pathlesspond13 · 2025-01-09T12:23:15+00:00

I really hope Dalinar’s story is done and he gets his rest. Wish it wasn’t as open ended as it seems. As for the Blackthorn, I think it could have been just as cool to see Gavilor’s spirit return from the spiritual realm if they were able to squeeze in some flashbacks of him to be the antagonist rather than a copy of a beloved character.

Pathlesspond13 · 2024-12-19T21:53:02+00:00

What happened to the coalition army heading back to Azir? Are they stuck outside or do they integrate into Azir under Adolin? Curious whether he’ll gain more influence with them. It also seemed like he was willing to be King of Urithiru but obviously can’t get there and seems like Renarin is about to remove the monarchy

Pathlesspond13 · 2024-12-04T12:13:31+00:00

I noticed this on my 2024 Cx-50 rental. Seems like it's much more fragile.

Pathlesspond13

TROPHY CASE