At the world’s top college of magic and technology, every day brings a new discovery -and a new disaster. The advanced experiments of the college students tend to be both ambitious and apocalyptic, with the end of the world only prevented by a mysterious time loop, and a small handful of students who retain their memories.
Surviving the loops was hard enough, but now, in his senior year, Vell Harlan must take charge of them, and deal with the fact that the whole world now knows his secrets. Everyone knows about Vell’s death and resurrection, along with the divine game he is a part of. Now Vell must contend with overly curious scientists and evil billionaires hungry for divine power while the daily doomsday cycle bombards him with terrorists, talking elephants, and the Grim Reaper himself -but if he can endure it all, the Last Goddess’s game promises the ultimate prize: power over life itself.
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The last few notes of a Roxy Rocket song echoed through Vell’s dorm, and while scrappy and dissonant, they were at least coherent. An improvement from early lessons, especially.
“Well, that didn’t hurt to listen to,” Skye said. “You’re making progress.”
“You have such a way with words,” Vell said.
“Okay, fine,” Skye said. “You’re actually making good progress for a guy who only finds time to practice every couple weeks.”
The ever-encroaching responsibilities of being a senior, the leader of the loopers, and the focus of a godly game of fate had whittled Vell’s free time down to almost nothing. The occasional guitar lessons were some of his only islands amid the storm, and a welcome excuse to spend more time with Skye.
“You want to try a few more chords?”
“My hands are starting to hurt, actually,” Vell said. He pulled away from the guitar strings and shook tense fingers loose, revealing fingertips rubbed red and raw by practice. Skye stepped forward and took him by the wrist to examine his hands.
“I do not understand how a guy like you doesn’t have thicker skin,” Skye said. “Weren’t you an actual cowboy for a while? You did rodeos and everything.”
“I wore gloves,” Vell said.
“And for the rest of the weird shit you’ve done in your life?”
Vell took a long pause.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Vell said. “Good genes, I guess.”
“I’m not complaining, mind you, I just think-”
A loud dinging sound from Skye’s purse interrupted the conversation, and she released her grip on Vell to go answer her phone. Vell recognized those familiar chimes as the Dad Ringtone. While most contacts were set to vibrate, Skye’s father and a few other lucky high-priority contacts got their own ringtones. Vell was lucky enough to have his ringtone set to the theme song of a cartoon Skye had loved as a kid, but played at a much lower volume than the Dad Ringtone. Skye’s father didn’t call often, and when he did it was usually about something important, so she wanted to be sure to never miss a call.
“Hey dad,” Skye began. “No, now’s fine. What’s up?”
Vell set his guitar back on the shelf and relaxed while Skye continued the call.
“No, no, that’d be fine, great, even,” Skye said. “He might be a little busy, but- What?”
Skye’s delight and talking to her father shifted to mild concern.
“Dad we kind of need to- no, not tomorrow, dad,” Skye said. “Dad!”
A long silence followed as Skye held the phone frozen by her ear for a short time. She tucked it back into her purse, took a deep breath, and clapped her hands together as she spun to face Vell.
“So, good news, you’re going to get to meet my dad,” Skye squeaked.
“And the bad news?”
“Well, part one of the bad news is that it’s going to happen tomorrow,” Skye said. Vell would’ve like a little more notice, but that was far from disastrous. Part two was still waiting, though. “And part two is that I kind of maybe didn’t do a very good job describing the nature of our relationship, and he sort of a little bit thinks you’re...a hero.”
Vell waited for a part three, and there was none.
“Is that the bad news?” Vell scoffed. “I might let him down a little, but there’s worse things my girlfriend’s dad could think of me.”
“Yeah there’s definitely a few upsides, be sure to hold on to those,” Skye said. “But also, you know how I flunked out of mad scientist school?”
“Yeah?”
“Well my dad...didn’t.”
***
“Your girlfriend’s dad is a supervillain?”
“Former supervillain,” Vell corrected. He adjusted the suit coat he’d just put on. “He left the game after she was born and went white hat, now he only builds death rays and robot armies so relevant authorities can observe, learn, and prepare for the real deal.”
Having a genuine mad scientist to train with helped keep secret agents and spies ready for actual threats, and Skye’s father got to keep doing what he loved: threatening to blow up the world.
“Are you still really a supervillain if you don’t actually do any villain shit?” Hawke wondered aloud. “Isn’t he just sort a supertrainer? What would you call that?”
“I’d call it asinine,” Alex said. “We shouldn’t be condoning this behavior, much less inviting him to build a death ray on our campus.”
The Einstein-Odinson had been selected as the faux-mad scientist’s next testing ground, and due to a misunderstanding of his role on campus, Vell had been selected as his testing partner. He had to put on a tuxedo and everything, to better fit the classic secret agent trope Skye’s father was envisioning.
“Mad scientists are an important part of the scientific ecosystem,” Helena said.
“You’d know,” Samson muttered under his breath.
“Conflict breeds innovation,” Helena continued, either heedless to or deliberately ignoring his snide comment. “The arc of history requires both heroes and villains.”
“Yeah, well, as far as villains go, I prefer mine to be weird old dads with fake death rays,” Kim said. “Still, Vell, doesn’t it feel kind of weird that he doesn’t actually know you’re dating his daughter?”
“It’s fine,” Vell insisted. “It’s always awkward trying to talk to your parents about your relationship, and she just over-focused on me saving the day and helping people. Simple miscommunication.”
“And when are you resolving that miscommunication?”
“Later,” Vell said. “Skye and her dad don’t get to spend much time together anymore. They’ll take the day, and we’ll get this all sorted out later.”
A life of volcano lairs, alpine bases, and remote tropical islands did not exactly make it easy for Skye to keep up with her dad, so having him concoct a scheme right on her home turf was a good way for the two of them to spend time together. Right now, Vell’s only priority was allowing for some healthy father-daughter bonding time. And also preventing the apocalypse.
“Okay, I’m good to go,” Vell said, as he finished up the knot in his bow-tie. “Hawke, ready on comms?”
“Mission control good to go, Agent Harlan,” Hawke said. He enjoyed any apocalyptic arrangement that allowed him to stay safely behind a chair, but playing mission control was especially fun.
“Good. Samson, you’re on tech duty,” Vell said. “The rest of you, keep an eye on the island. There’s no guarantee our supervillain will actually end the world. Which feels like a weird thing to say.”
Big events usually invited big catastrophes, and a literal supervillain seemed like a prime spark for some apocalyptic fire, but Vell was not so sure. He couldn’t think of anything less likely to actually end the world than a deliberate attempt to do so. All the loopers agreed having some backup eyes on other potential disasters might be warranted.
“Let’s just get this over with,” Alex said. She was the first to leave, everyone else filtered into their respective roles to play soon enough. Samson walked alongside Vell as he left the lair.
“Hey, do I have to put up the whole mission control act like Hawke was doing?”
“Not if you don’t want to,” Vell said. “Play it up a little if Skye’s dad is around, maybe, but like, right now we can just talk normally.”
“Okay, cool. Got your shit right here,” Samson said, as he hefted a large bag of gadget. “Standard spy bullshit. Gizmo watch, secret cufflink radios, pen with a concealed laser cutter, got it all right here.”
“Thanks,” Vell said. “Where’d you find all this stuff?”
“I just asked,” Samson said with a shrug. “Island full of supergenius weirdos, most of them had this kind of stuff just lying around.”
“Convenient. Did you make a list of everyone you got this stuff from?”
“So we can keep an eye on them? Yeah.”
“So I can give it back later,” Vell corrected. “But yeah, actually, knowing about the laser pen guy might be a good idea.”
“We’ll know where to start with any laser-based apocalypses,” Samson said.
“Good instinct,” Vell said. The two of them walked out of the building and towards the docks. “Am I walking weird? I’ve never worn a tux before.”
“Little stiff, but I think it’s working in your favor. You look more serious.”
“Great, thanks,” Vell said. He stepped up to the edge of the docks and strapped on his gadget watch before checking the time on it. “Should be here soon.”
“You need me to stick around?”
“No, you’re good,” Vell said. “Thanks for the help.”
Samson excused himself before the chaos started in full. Vell felt like an idiot standing around in a tux for a minute or two, until he was joined by someone in an equally odd outfit. Skye joined him in waiting on the docks, wearing a dress with long sleeves and a short skirt over sparkling tights and some very high-heeled boots.
“Very gogo dancer,” Vell said.
“Yeah, dad’s really into that whole Cold War era 60’s style,” Skye said. “Apparently this is what a ‘proper villainess’ looks like to him.”
“Could be worse, could be the catsuit kind of female villain.”
“Ugh, don’t get me started,” Skye said. “Every time he took me to work conferences I had to watch grown women try to waddle around in pleather bodysuits.”
“Supervillains have conferences?”
“Oh yeah, surprisingly good ones,” Skye said. “Especially if you’re a little girl who likes genetically engineered sharks.”
“Oh, so that’s where you got your start.”
Skye nodded. Her penchant for genetic engineering had struck at an early age. Her father had initially been excited for her to get into the family business, but it turned out Skye just liked fucking with fish DNA, and didn’t have much skill in all the non-genetic engineering parts of mad science. He was proud of her anyway.
After shifting on uncomfortably high heels for the umpteenth time, Skye checked her phone and texted her father.
“He says he’s pulling up right now,” Skye said. Vell scanned the horizon and saw nothing coming across the ocean.
“Is he at the right-”
Vell was cut off, and forced to step back, as the ocean started to churn. The waves parted to reveal a jet-black submarine with a towering, jagged skull carved into the prow.
“Oh, right, supervillain,” Vell said.
The imposing submersible drifted to a halt, and a hatched on the side hissed open. Red lights beamed out from the darkness within, and a few seconds later, an armored killbot marched down a boarding ramp, flanked by a towering man in a long white labcoat. He had a jagged streak of black through his otherwise gray hair, and wore heavy glasses with thick black lenses that obscured his gaze and shadowed his face.
“Hi dad,” Skye said.
“Hello dear,” said the man behind the murder machine. He stepped off the boarding ramp onto the dock, as another killbot exited to flank him, and fixed his dark glasses on Vell. “And as for you...I am Doc-”
“Doc” stopped his imposing introduction to have a coughing fit. Skye stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Dad, did you take your meds today?”
“I did, I did,” the Doc said, between coughs. “Just a climate thing. I got on the damn submarine in Seattle, now we’re in the tropics, there’s pressure differentials, humidity.”
He let out a few more coughs and then cleared his throat loudly, before regaining his previous composure.
“Now, as I was saying,” he continued. “I am Doc Ragnarok!”
His boisterous shout failed to echo in the open air of the docks.
“Oh, good lord, that was terrible,” Doc Ragnarok said. “Can I try again?”
“I wouldn’t bother,” Vell said. “We’re by the beach, open air, the acoustics are terrible.”
“Oh, yes, you’re right,” Doc Ragnarok agreed. “Finally, someone who appreciates the details. You must be Vell, then, or is it Agent Harlan? Do you have a codename I should be using?’
“It’s just Harlan. Vell Harlan.”
“Yes, Skye has told me quite a bit about you,” Doc said. “You’ve escaped kidnapping attempts, outwitted undead thieves, stolen secret treasures.”
“Oh, he’s, uh, also a really nice guy, very helpful, top student,” Skye said, laying groundwork for the eventual boyfriend reveal.
“I expect nothing less,” Doc Ragnarok said. “I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to face off against someone with real credentials again, Mr. Harlan. For the past few decades it’s been nothing but greenhorns using me as a test run, well-trained but no experience, no sense of style.”
“Well, I am nothing if not experienced,” Vell said. “Stylish, however...well, this tuxedo is a rental.”
“I can tell,” Doc Ragnarok said. He let out a single boisterous bark of delighted laughter. “Ah, look at us, already bantering. I missed this.’
Doc cleared his throat again and regained his ominous supervillain demeanor, as he snapped his fingers to make the killbots flank him.
“I must begin my preparations,” he said, in a voice shockingly distinct from his earlier conversational tone. “Challenge me if you dare.”
“Excuse me a moment,” said a voice somewhere behind the killbots. Doc snapped his fingers, ordering the crowd to part again, and Helena hopped forward on her crutches. Skye glanced at Vell curiously, and he shrugged in confusion. She wasn’t supposed to be here, for multiple reasons.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, I was just reading your book earlier, ‘Practically Evil: A Guide to Classic Villainy’,” Helena said. “It’s a great read, but what really stood out to me is the section on classic henchman archetypes, specifically ‘The Igor’?”
She held up the book in question, which Vell noted had a picture of Doc Ragnarok holding a skull on the cover, and opened it to the section in question.
“Oh yes, I understand, completely,” Doc Ragnarok said. “As I said in the section opener, that information is presented for historical context, and I strongly condemn the typecasting of differently-abled persons like yourself into such roles. Regardless of my intent, I’m sorry if I caused any offense, and if you have feedback-”
“Oh, no, you misunderstand, I’m not offended, I’m actually intrigued,” Helena said. She turned the book around to quote a specific passage. “‘An outcast, often hunchbacked or otherwise misshapen in such a way to make them a pariah, physically handicapped but mentally gifted, driven to evil by the harsh treatment of judgmental peers’. I think it’s a very fitting role for me, and I’d love to give it a try.”
Vell had several very strong opinions about that, but kept all of them to himself.
“Well, it’s a bit short notice, but I’ll never discourage anyone from following the path of evil,” Doc Ragnarok said. “And this is a training exercise, after all, perfect time for you to train. Come along, minion! The more the merrier!”
Doc Ragnarok snapped his fingers again, and the killbots fell in line, this time with Helena in tow. A procession of smaller robots followed, carrying a worrying number of power cores, ray guns, and mutagens. Not for the first time, Vell began to wonder if this was a good idea. The recurring doubts got obliterated as Skye looked over her shoulder and winked. She was worth a lot more trouble than this.

I was not intending to make this into a series of posts, but through the discussions on the first one, it dawned on me that there is a major roadblock preventing the general public from understanding Terrence's point of view, even for those that are able to suspend their disbelief to consider his unintuitive ideas in earnest.
Namely, what exactly is Terrence fighting against?
What is the nature of his battle? Who are his opponents?
As Sun Tzu has said in The Art of War:
"Know thyself, know thy enemies, and you will not fear the results of a hundred battles.
Know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.
Know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."
Without understanding what Terrence is fighting against, it is then impossible to understand what he is fighting FOR.
If humanity cannot understand neither what Terrence is fighting for, nor what he is fighting against, then the outcome of this battle is surely not going to be in favor of humanity.
Thus, this post is less about illustrating Terrence Howard's position, instead, I will focus on what he is battling against.
And no, despite this being the Conspiracy sub, I am not talking about the Deepstate, or Alpha Draconians, or archons, or anything like that.
In this battle of ideas, where humanity's fundamental understanding of the universe hangs in the balance, Terrence is fighting against none other than the blatant logical fallacies underpinning the current theoretical models of all major fields of science. These logical fallacies are hidden behind complex equations and theoretical models, their traces further obfuscated by the invention of new concepts based on circular reasoning that revolves around the logically false axioms themselves.
In consideration of the length of the post, I will just go over one example today. Stay tuned for more as there are many such fallacies I wish to discuss with you all in future posts.
Hopefully by then we'd be able to better understand what Terrence Howard is battling against. Finally, it is my intention to pitch Terrence's theoretical model against current theoretical models in all the major fields of science, as he claims his unified model works universally, from the Micro, to the Macro, and that current models of Chemistry, physics, Astrophysics, Quantum Mechanics, and Biology, are ubiquitously wrong.
They are wrong, for the simple reason that the "Sciences" has been broken down into all the different fields of studies, sillo of information resulted in different fields each coming up with different theories to reconcile the theoretical models in their respective field with what is observed in reality. As each field gradually develop and diverge in sillos, it gradually becomes difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile all of the theoretical models back into a "Theory of Everything" that can explain all phenomon in the Universe.
The Universe is not divided into fields of sciences, but rather has one universal "Logic" (quite literally, a universal Logic!), and our "Sciences" has only but one goal, and that is to understand this "Logic".
Perhaps to understand this Universal Logic, humanity must first go through the division of sciences, multiplication of ideas, and only through the separation and eventual with the unification of these various fields of study, can our understanding finally reach the Universal Logic, and return to the source of all phenomenon. The "Theory of Everything". The Tao itself.
In this sense, mankind's way of making sense of the universe, is almost poetically identical to the way the universe operates under the model of a Toroidal Universe, which Terrence Howard also subscribes to.
It reminded me of this quote:
We are the cosmos made conscious and life is the means by which the universe understands itself.
-Brian Cox
Afterall, the Universe always follows the Universal Logic, even in its attempt to understand itself!
On second thought, this is actually a major logical fallacy in itself! Which I suppose means I have 2 fallacies to present you with today haha.
Logical Fallacy #1 - Division of Sciences
Done and dusted. It is time for us unify the sciences and return to ONE understanding of reality! Let's move on to fallacy number two.
My apologies for the long read in advance!
Logical Fallacy #2 - Dark Matter
Current theoretical models of physics worked itself into a dead-end, because the math simply does not add up without subscribing to the idea that the universe is 95% dark matter and dark energy, which by definition is not observable through any means of observation and it only leaves an affect on the physical reality that can be observed. The existence of dark matter and dark energy is basically the theoretical physicists only way to reconcile the observed results of a physical phenomenon with what their equations give them. One has to understand these concepts to truly understand what Terrence is trying to refute with his thesis.
I don't think most people truly realize how profoundly illogical it is to conclude that dark energy and dark matter MUST exists in our universe in abundance. So much so that it out numbers observable regular matter and energy by almost 20 to 1.
If you ask just about anyone what dark matter and dark energy is, they will give you an answer that is pretty close to what Google says: about 95% of the universe consists of dark matter and dark energy, which we cannot observe directly but we can see the affect it has in the physical universe. The wonders of the universe! With technological advancements, hopefully one day we will be able to observe them directly!
In fact, I just Googled it and this is the first answer:
"All the material we can see is just a small fraction of the universe. The rest, a full 95 percent, is invisible and mysterious. These are the enigmatic dark matter and dark energy."
Source: Nasa website
Makes sense, right?
No, not in the slightest!
Let's consider how they arrived at the conclusion that dark matteenergy must exist and is approximately 95% of the universe. Keep in mind, the very definition of dark matteenergy is that we are unable to observe them directly, but we can see it's affect on physical reality as plain as day. So we can only deduce it's existence based on the affects they have on observable physical reality.
Below is what that discussion would've sounded like in plain English, and it's not difficult to see how ridiculous it is:
"Hmm.. our math is almost always inaccurate when we look out to the universe or into the quantum realm using our current formulas... we must be missing something, Sometimes we are off by 1 percent, sometimes 10 percent, and in some instances we are off by 95 percent!
"Why is this happening? Let's see... our calculations are always different from what we observe in reality, and that difference can be from very small to as much as 95%! But there's nothing that should be causing that difference to occur! Not one that we can observe anyway!"
"That must be it! If our theoretical model can be off by as much as 95 percent in calculating what happens in the observable universe, then it can only mean one thing!"
"Of course! How could we have been so foolish! The ONLY possible explanation that our math is off by 95% in measuring the observable reality, is that 95% OF THE UNIVERSE IS ACTUALLY UNOBSERVABLE!"
"Precisely! 95% of the universe must be made up off matter and energy that we cannot observe! Which we will call dark matter and dark energy respectively! How else is it possible that our math is off by as much as 95%? Our math is correct! So that must mean that our math only correctly accounts for 5 percent of what actually goes on in the universe!"
And that, in its simplest terms, is the best understanding of the Universe we currently have. Hiding behind all the equations and complex theoretical models, are blatant logical fallacies and self-serving reasoning that boggles the mind.
Terrence is attempting to call out Academia for these blatant logical fallacies, and presenting an alternative theoretical model which can describe reality accurately without relying on the existence of Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny or Dark Matter and Dark energy, these things that we cannot observe.
Terrence is saying to Academia, could it be... that the universe is not actually made up of 95% dark matter and dark energy? Could it be that your math is just wrong?
He basically is calling out the entire Scientific community for their logical fallacies in their respective fields, and not one field of study was spared. He called out chemistry, biology, physics, and even math itself, for the logical fallacies inherent in the current understanding in these fields. His thesis is basically calling out all the various incorrect assumptions made in all the "Sciences" with 1x1=1 being the most fatal one (opportunity of a pun here that I will forgo, considering the seriousness of the topic at hand), since it underpins all other mathematical models built on our current understanding of Math itself.
Terrence proclaims that his theoretical model is consistently, and provably more accurate than the current models underlined by logical fallacies and circular reasoning. He challenges any expert in these fields to have a debate with him, so he can pick them apart and show the world the logical fallacies that plagues our understanding of the world, preventing us from making advancements in these fields of sciences, and ultimately understanding the Universe as a whole.
Thank you for your patience in getting this far! I appreciate you.
See you in the next one :)

Background:
So, the title is honestly a bit of an oversimplification. When I was 14, I was stalked, catfished, gr00med, SA’d, and overall HEAVILY manipulated by an upperclassmen to the point where at the time, I didn’t know what was even real anymore. He even hit me once. Let’s call him D.
Even after the ab/se was over, he still did everything he could to keep me isolated. He knew that this was hard for me to talk about, and that only a few of my closest friends knew the details. He tried to get to my best friends, and it almost worked with a few of them. Unfortunately, one of them also ended up being ab/sed by him before she came around. But thankfully, I ended up either keeping or getting back all of my BEST friends by the end of it. So when he realized that wasn’t gonna work, he started working on close friends that weren’t my best friends if that makes sense. People who I loved dearly, who I trusted with a lot. But people who I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to about THIS.
He went to them before I could. Told them that I was the ab/ser. That I was the stalker. That I was just lying about him because I’m transphobic (he happens to be trans, FTM. Please don’t misgender him. I will NOT tolerate transphobic comments PERIOD. I don’t care that he’s a scumbag. Trans people are people, which means that they have the ability to be good or bad people like any other human being on this planet. Correct pronouns aren’t just for “nice” trans people. You wouldn’t call an ab/sive cis man a woman, and this is no different.) which is SO far from the truth. I’m non-binary myself (and ironically enough, he refuses to acknowledge that and was actually very transphobic towards me), and I’ve always gone out of my way to be an advocate for trans rights since long before I even figured that out. As you can see, I wouldn’t even misgender a POS like him. There’s no point in it, and it just hurts the trans community as a whole. I bring this up only because he used this as a manipulation tactic, and it was successful because the people in my life take that kind of shit very seriously.
I could see him using the same damn tactics on these girls that he did with me, and it made me sick. D got REALLY obsessed with one of them in particular. We’ll call her S. I didn’t care that she hated me at that point and thought I was a POS. I could see this ramping up, and I just wanted her to be safe. I needed proof of the kind of person he was to get her away from him (all of them really, but ESPECIALLY S). But what could I do? I didn’t have any proof. D had manipulated me into deleting all of the concrete evidence I had against him while I was in active ab/se. That’s when I remembered the catfishing. He used to do it for multiple different reasons. Mostly just to manipulate me, tear down my self esteem, and warp my sense of reality. But another big thing he used these personas for was to get information about me that he could use. So, I decided to give him a small taste of his own medicine.
The Revenge:
I set up a fake Instagram profile. Picked a girl he would have been into. She was a model, but a very underground one that wasn’t even from our country. This allowed me to get several pictures to make it look real, without running the risk that he would recognize her. I said something in the bio about how she got locked out of her old account to make the fact that it was created recently seem less sus. I said she was a college student from the other side of the country. I followed the school, several organizations within it, and several students. Then, I started following a bunch of LGBTQ accounts that I knew he interacted with. I posted several “selfies”, pictures of the campus, some random quotes, and some other stuff to make it look real. I spaced them out over the course of several days, interacted with a bunch of the accounts I followed, waited for several of them to follow me back. Then, after a few days, I followed his account. I made sure to make it seem like I had just found his account because we followed several of the same accounts. Then, I finally started interacting with his posts. I made a few comments that I knew would fuel his ego, and waited for him to reach out to me. It didn’t take long. He direct messaged me asking to be friends within hours of my last comment.
I fed into every lie he told me. Acted like a friend (just like he had done to me with his personas), and the dude just wouldn’t shut up! He went on and on about the sexual relationship he supposedly had with S (this was NOT TRUE! He’s always done this. When he has an obsession with someone, and is trying to manipulate them, but it’s taking a while, he will talk about his fantasies as if they’re a reality). The way he talked about her (and several of the other people I was also worried about, but mostly her) was absolutely VILE. I kept up the act for a few weeks until I was 100% positive I had enough evidence. And I discovered a lot more than I even anticipated… I don’t want to get into the other stuff too much, but it was BAD. This dude was also obsessed with one of our lunch ladies. It was to the point where she was scared for her and her children’s safety, but she didn’t know what to do about it because she didn’t have proof… but after what he said to me? I did.
After I had everything I needed, I screenshotted EVERYTHING and then deleted the account. I sent the screenshots about S to a mutual friend of ours (since at this point, me and S were no contact), explained the situation, and she was horrified. She sent all of the screenshots to S, and S was clearly even more horrified. She blocked him on everything, and apologized to me profusely for believing him over me.
Then, I sent my mom all of the screenshots I had about the lunch lady. I didn’t know how to go about sharing these with her because, well… she was my lunch lady. Lucky for me though, my mom is a hairstylist, and just so happened to be HER stylist. So my mom spilled ALL the beans at their next appointment. (This is when it came out how scared this poor woman had been of him).
The screenshots got around, and everyone I had been worried about managed to get away from him. By doing what I did, EVERYONE around him finally saw his true colors, and he lost pretty much everybody he had under his control at the time. If you keep playing with fire, eventually you’re gonna get burned. Every time I think about it, I smile. I managed to protect so many people from going through what I went through, or worse. And in the process I gave him a tiny sliver of a taste of his own damn medicine. I like to hope that he was paranoid for a good while after that. Just like i was.

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Cons

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Did you know Algomo can do this? How could these features help you?

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Overview

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Question: Does working on our own projects turn us all into the Honorable Judge, Judgy McJudgerson, or is that just me? Perhaps, it's a me issue, since the older I get, the less likely I am to waste time on something I don't enjoy (ran out of F's long ago, and have no more to give)... If you're judgy too, tell me what you love vs what you hate about the recent books you've read.
Explanation: This past week was a little rough, and the weekend was Memorial Day weekend in USA. With so much going on, I decided to take the weekend "off" from my WIP to let my brain "breathe."
During my brain break, I hit my TBR list. One was a struggle (possible DNF, or I might retry later-haven't decided) and I sat it aside. The second was okay plot-wise, but I have complaints. It was difficult to get through, but I was invested enough in the plot to finish it to find out how it ends. After the disappointment, I revisited a book I've read before which I enjoyed again, just as much as the first read through.
Anyway, the point here is... I guess... Reading is no longer the "brain break" it used to be. I feel like I read everything as if I'm proofreading/editing. The more I write, (or the older I get?) the more I find myself being unforgiving of spelling/grammar errors, flow disruptions, poor characterization/pacing, and just general confusion happening in published works.
I used to be a lot more accepting, and just kept pushing forward. I read books that sucked start to finish because "maybe it gets better," and "I still want to know how it all plays out," and even a bit of guilt: "I bought it, so I have to read it."
Now, I have a clear limit, and I will absolutely DNF if it sucks. I'm wondering if others feel the same, and if so, what are some things you've noticed in recent books that you love/hate?
Hated:
Example 1: The first book, which I sat aside, introduced the main character and immediately had him attend a sort of parade. His friend walked up to him and was described physically. Then they immediately jumped into a meaningless conversation with zero dialogue tags that dragged on for multiple pages, and you had no clue who was talking until the very end when the MC had an internal thought that let you know which stance he took. Here is what it looked like (not quoting actual text, and much shorter than it actually was):
[She walked up to him. Her brown hair was tied back, and she wore a green dress.
The two watched the parade for a while. A blue float passed, followed by a red float.
"The blue float was nicer."
"I don't know, I prefer red."
"I always liked blue best."
"Blue is boring."
"Red is ugly."
"I don't understand the draw you have to blue. You see it all the time."
"So, what's your point?"
"Red is more interesting."
"What makes red interesting?"
"It stands out more. It catches your eye."
"I guess that's true."
He smiled, thinking Red has always been my favorite. He knew she still preferred blue, but he was proud to have made her understand his opinion. Then, all hell broke loose.]
😮‍💨 I had no clue who was speaking. And even after rereading, all I did was wonder why I wasted the time on such pointless dialogue. I continued for a while, but much of the story was like this, meaningless dialogue... When I got sick of trying to care, I skimmed a bit ahead, and still find myself wondering what the damn point was of the vast majority of dialogue. The friend he had this discussion with hasn't even reappeared, so I almost feel like that entire character introduction was a waste of my time... The discussion ending with "I guess you're right," wasn't even a solid win for the MC as far as I'm concerned... And I want meaning. Was all of that dialogue there just to show that the MC was stubborn, liked to argue, or that he was the type to "agree to disagree," but was proud when he could find common ground with someone? Was it there as an attempt to show that he values what he believes is rare over what is common? So far, there's been nothing to support my attempts at creating a meaning for the scene (same goes for multiple early scenes). So now, I'm just annoyed. I understand there was some downtime at the parade before all hell broke loose, and maybe the only point was to let us know there was a calm before the storm.... But, if I had been an early reader of this story, I would have recommended the author to cut it completely. OR if there was meaning, save the reader multiple pages of confusing, exhausting dialogue and replace it with something like:
[She walked up to him. Her brown hair was tied back, and she wore a green dress. The two watched the parade for a while, commenting on the floats that passed by. They stubbornly argued at length about which color float was nicer. She preferred the blue, while he preferred the red. Red had always been his favorite color because it stood out. Though he knew she would always prefer blue, he was proud when she finally agreed that red does catch your eye.
Then, all hell broke loose.]
Example 2: My biggest complaint with this story is the repetition and timing. There is a tiny room off the kitchen of the house her family just moved into, which was a maid's bedroom. The way it is described makes it sound like a tiny space. Yet for three days, every time the MC wakes up or comes home from the store, or whatever, the mother is still working on unpacking and arranging things in the upper and lower cabinets of the kitchen, and she tells the MC to clean the maid's room. The first day, the MC mostly just stands there and imagines how she would like to have the room arranged since they don't have a maid and it will need to serve a different purpose. She doesn't do any cleaning that day, so fine.. She returns the next day, and it takes her ALL DAY to simply sweep the little room? Then the next day, it takes her and her friend hours to endust the wood floor? Please, please make them do something else! And Mom's not working, but the first day, she gets all the plates, bowls, and cups arranged in the top cabinets, then spends the remainder of the week putting pots and pans in the lower cabinets of the kitchen? How many pots and pans do these people have? How big is this kitchen?
My second complaint with story 2 was that every character seemed to have the same voice and the same personality. Everyone blushed if the MC got a little snippy, even the adults. At one point, the MC discovers a neighbor omitted some truth in a discussion with MC's father. Later, the neighbor greets her...
Neighbor: "Oh, hello. It's great to meet you. I heard all about you from your dad. He was right to brag about you. You seem like a beautiful and intelligent young lady. How's your mother doing? I'd like to meet her too."
MC: "My mother is an honest person and always tells the truth."
And the woman blushes timidly and practically runs away... from a 16 year old girl... Everyone around the MC has the same mousy personality. I hate it. And yes, all the dialogue was that clunky. 🤦‍♀️
Loved:
Example 1: (A) The idea-The plot should have been enough to keep me going the whole way through, but it just... wasn't. (B) The descriptions, especially when involving gore-These were done well enough that I understood the pit-in-the-stomach sense of fear and panic the characters would be feeling, however the way their reactions were described fell flat. It was clear the author wanted to relate that sense of fear and panic, but it was poorly done, which baffled me after having read the scene description.
Example 2: The plot. While I did predict the outcome too early, I wasn't sure my prediction was correct until just before the MC found the final puzzle piece. So, it worked to keep me going despite my number of complaints.

So there was a recent thread that got me to look back on the original plans for the 2.0 expansion material and I ended up digging through it a bit more than I ever had before. I figured it might be fun to write up a full breakdown of what I was able to gleam from my digging.
Before I begin, I should mention that the information available is spotty and inconsistent in places. For example, according to the TORCommunity database, a lot of these files were added in version 1.3 and 2.0. However, going back to the files that are in those patches (I love you Jedipedia), a lot of those files are not present in those versions. I assume this is internal marking, and is based on the dev's versions and not the live versions. In fact the Sith Warrior dialogues only show up in live in 5.0.0. I have no idea why those dialogues just suddenly popped into existence there.
Generally speaking I have four types of files available to look through.

• The first are the cnv (conversation) files, which are the most useful as they give the actual dialogue thereby telling us what the plot was. We have these for Bothawui for all republic classes, Ziost for Sith Warrior, "open world" (term used for quests between planets or for small instanced planets) for all five of the above, and one random Imp World arc file for Yavin IV. There are some that are blank, but the majority have something.
• The second are quest files for the quests. We have quests for all of the classes on Bothawui, Ziost, and Open Worlds. We have quests for Jedi Knight on Sleheyron. We have world arc quests for Yavin IV for both factions, and side quests for every planet. Unfortunately, these are a bit more hit and miss in their usefulness because some of them are missing strings. So sometimes we can get what all the steps of a quest were going to be, other times the only things we can learn are a name the quest used to go by and how many steps the quest was supposed to have. Even the ones that have all their strings aren't necessarily useful. For example, we have all the steps for the Sith Inquisitor quest, "A Warm Welcome." Step 1, " Take a Shuttle to Your Estate." Great, now we know the SI has an estate! Step 2, " Talk to the Sith Lord." And the usefulness is gone.
• The third type are creature files. These tell us who was planned to show up where, but they are of limited usefulness without context as to what the NPC was doing. For example, I can't immediatly tell the difference between a friendly, an enemy that starts friendly and turns hostile after a conversation, or someone that appears via holo-recording.
• The fourth "type" are "phantom files" that are listed in TORCommunity's databases, but are missing from what I am able independently datamine. I trust that TORCommunity's listings are correct, but there also isn't much to gain from these files since they are all empty (included in these are some of the missing cnv files).

Overall Plan

So to begin, it should be noted that all of these cnv files are located in the directory cnv.exp.01. This is the same naming convention used for the released Rise of the Hutt Cartel files. This makes it difficult to tell what Makeb's original role in the expansion was. It appears that it was intended to be part of the expansion as there is the following line from the Supreme Chancellor that appears to vary based on whether a Smuggler did Makeb before starting Bothawui.

(Did not do Makeb) "Of course I am. The Voidwolf's defeat is the only reason I can ignore being referred to as "Madame Chance. "
(Did do Makeb) "Of course I am. Your success on Makeb bought you considerable leeway with me--but "Madame Chance" is pushing it. "

Additionally according to TORCommunity's "added in patch" data, the majority of Makeb's cnvs were initially added in 1.3, which was the same patch that most of the other files were added for the cut content.
So in addition to Makeb, the planned planets appear to have been Bothawui (Pub), Ziost (Imp), and Sleheyron (Both). These three planets were intended to have class stories and side quests (no evidence of a world arc, but I don't know if none was planned or if they just didn't get to it). There is no evidence that Makeb was ever meant to have any class stories on it. Additionally, there is one conversation file for Imp Yavin IV. It was early on in development when they stopped working on it since the dialogue is just a summary of what happens in the scenes (e.g., a shuttle crashes), but there are quests and NPCs for both Pub and Imp world arcs, so there was more planned.
So in summary the plan appears to have been something like:

• Makeb (Shared Planet with World Arcs)
• Bothawui/Ziost (Faction Exclusive Planets with Class Stories)
• Sleheyron (Shared Planet Class Stories)
• Yavin IV (Shared Planet with World Arcs, placement uncertain but has to be before or after the class stories as an NPC that is kidnapped in a class story is a quest NPC)

Now before I start on discussing the content from each planet, it is worth mentioning that I have little context for most quests and NPCs, so I'm just going to be putting them in alphabetical order.

Bothawui

The overall setting for this Planet seems to have been that the Republic is going on the offensive and the Imperials are going scorched earth while they get pushed off planet.
Something that is well known (I think) at this point is that Dantooine on live is a modified version of the map that originally made for Bothawui. From the dialogue files that I've looked through, I'm betting the dam in the portion of the map we are on was originally called the Bosnar Dam, which was a set piece for one of the JK missions. Also probably worth noting that the there are multiple mentions of Bothawui being an important source of food, which probably factored into their choice to reuse the area since Dantooine is also a farming planet.
Quests

• Storm of Destruction
• The Butchers of Bothawui
• The Stone Ray's Lair
• Wet Work
• (Bonus)
  • Search and Rescue

Ziost

I'm really not sure what the state of Ziost was supposed to be. SW seems to be dealing with Pubs having taken over the planet defense grid. SI and IA seem to be dealing with internal politics. And I have no idea of what BH is up to.
Quests

• [HEROIC 2] Battle of Xeno District
• Caged
• Gateway to the Empire
• [HEROIC 4] The Horror at Black Forge
• (Bonus)
  • Cathar Fury
  • Counter-offensive
  • The Ritual of Naga-Sadow

Sleheyron

Honestly I have less of an idea for Sleheyron than Ziost since Sleheyron is either the least finished planet or the planet with the least files that has slipped into live.
Quests

• (Pub General Quests)
  • Castles in the Skies
  • Devotion to Duty
  • The Battlefield of Tomorrow
  • Tibanna Exchange
• (Imp General Quests)
  • Doomsday Virus
  • Master Logrus
  • Quantum Javelin

Yavin IV

I have very little idea on the Pub side of things. There are some clues for the Imp side though. While he lacks a creature file, the Imp quests make mention of reporting to Servant One. So that means Imps were probably here on a mission for the Emperor. My first instinct is reviving the Emperor, but I don't have enough info. General Heskar also made a return. Oh Imps also spoke to Naga Sadow's force ghost as part of their world arc.
Quests

• (Pub World Arc)
  • Crossing the Guard
  • Kagan's Endgame
  • The Interceder's Vengeance
  • Triumph by Fire
  • Under the Stone
  • (Bonus)
    • Endgame For All
    • Preparing the Temple
    • Prison Camp Sabotage
• (Pub General Quests)
  • Unforgotten Deeds
• (Imp World Arc)
  • Doom
  • Extraction
  • Into the Jungle
  • Meeting the Massassi
  • Rise
  • The Cursed Legacy of Naga Sadow
  • The Empire's Last Stand
  • The Fate of the Empire
  • To Face a Dark Lord
  • (Bonus)
    • A Shrine to Defeat
    • Friendly Competition
    • Marching Orders
    • Old Idols
• (Imp General Quests)
  • For the Emperor
  • Slash and Burn
  • War Games
  • (Bonus)
    • Burning Legacy

Jedi Knight

So the JK's overreaching plot for seems to have been working together with the Protectors (the rescue team we met on Makeb) in order to help evacuate people.
There are multiple mentions of a place called Talravin, which I'm guessing is where the story would start as the JK helps evacuations there. From reading between the lines, it appears that the JK would be sending the refugees to a new world called New Euphrades...and of course the story finishes with us fighting a Sith in orbit as he is trying to destroy it.
Based on quest names, it seems we were meant to go to Alphelion Six, which does not have a wookiepedia article so I guess it was a new planet, at some point. Since the finale seemed to be New Euphrades, I'm guessing this happened between Bothawui and Sleheyron. Whenever it happened, the Protectors were apparently going to join you there.
Seems that there was an ending choice for the JK between joining the Protectors full time or becoming the Battlemaster. There is a lot of dialogue regarding the role of Jedis, so this seems like a conclusion to that arc as the JK chooses whether to be a protector or a warrior? Scourge also mentions that he had additional visions, but doesn't provide anything useful just kind of says "yeah I totally knew you were going to make that choice" after you made it.
Rough Map

• Talravin to start the plot?
• Bothawui to rescue civilians from the fighting
• ??? (Alphelion Six?)
• Sleheyron to ??? (probably rescue more civilians)
• Area where Talaravin gets the shield codes for New Euphrades
• Battle over New Euphrades
• Report to the Chancellor where you get the choice between joining the Protectors and Battlemaster

Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • Crisis at Alphelion Six
  • Improving Performance
  • Soft Targets
  • The Parting Blow
  • The Price of Eternity
  • Welcome Captain Maddox
  • Welcome Doctor Kantos
  • Welcome Tefani
• Bothawui
  • A Rude Welcome
  • Blight of Bothawui
  • Double Time
  • Not a Drop to Drink
  • (Bonus)
    • Double Time
    • The Road to Vellik
• Sleheyron
  • A Hot Lead
  • Emergency Detour
  • Project Sever
  • The Ortis Problem

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Captain Maddox - Leader of the Protectors that are joining the JK. He joins you on your ship (like members of the Rift Alliance did for the JC?). Also dies, so I assume you might be taking his role if you joined the protectors.
  • Doctor Kantos - Head medical officer for the Protectors. She also joins the JK's ship. You could flirt with her, and she seemed to be receptive to both genders. There are confrontations at the end of the story for both Kira and Doc where you have to choose between your LI or her. So I guess she was planned as a continuous love interest...not sure how that would have worked since she wasn't a companion.
  • Tefani - Tech head for the Protectors who also joined the JK's ship.
  • Darth Legius - Praetor of the Dark Council's army (no idea how that is different than the normal army). He appears to be the main villain for the JK. He had sworn vengeance over us for "lying" about killing the Emperor. Also he had two apprentices that get the one-off villain treatment on Bothawui. Our final battle would have taken place aboard his flagship, the Vindicator after he pissed off the Dark Council. One dialog implies that at some point he becomes the first Sith to publicly acknowledge the death of the Emperor.
  • Darth Marr - No idea what his role was (probably holo-call with Legius?), but he is in the JK files
  • General Var Suthra - He could reappear during the Aphelion Six quest
  • Master Orgus Din - He appears in the Soft Targets files, so I guess we were meant to get more force ghost lessons from him?
• Bothawui
  • Garith - Local resistance fighter who is your initial contact when you arrive
  • Colonel Blight - Villain and probably part time Captain Planet villain. He is an efficiency expert who has been brought in to kill as many civilians as possible as the Imps retreat.
• Sleheyron
  • Agent Galen - Our old cybernetic buddy could show up

Jedi Consular

The JC's arc seems to be the most clear cut. The JC gets a vision of the galaxy burning because of Torwin Vehls and then sets out to find them and stop them. On Bothawui, the JC discovers that Torwin has the power to give power to others, and this includes giving force sensitivity to non-sensitives (and also to animals).
The JC fails to catch Torwin on Bothawui and must continue chasing after him before he find "the Shrouded Ones," which were something related to the Rakata. "The Shrouded Ones were built to be the end of everything. A solution, to our empire's final problem." Not sure if they were something new or something that already exists given a mysterious name. There are talks about them that makes them sound like they are machines powered by the force, but I'm not sure how that solves the Rakata's final problem or meshes with Torwin's power. Then again the Rakata were evil jerks, so maybe their solution was to just murder everyone so they didn't go down alone?
I feel like there is a good chance that this unused arc is the inspiration for at least part of the current arc since one of the powers Darth Nul is mentioned as having is awakening force sensitivity in those unaware they had it (slightly different, but if anyone starts mentioning Shrouded Ones, we know that is not a good sign).
Rough Map

• Get a vision somewhere (Voss diplomatic mission?)
• Bothawui to hunt down Torwin
• ??? (Remnants of Natukar? You work with Darth Kallomena to find a Rakata map to the Shrouded Ones)
• Sleheyron to hunt down the Shrouded Ones
• ???

Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • Remnants of Natukar
  • The Shrouded One
  • The Stack
  • Unforeseen Circumstances
  • (Bonus)
    • Clearing the Stack
    • Meeting the Delegates
    • Remnants Resistance
    • The Droids Within
• Bothawui
  • A Man of Vision
  • Broken Shield
  • Interpretations
  • Long Left Behind
  • (Bonus)
    • Healing the Land
    • Lured Beasts
    • Plowing the Fields
    • Skirmish at Narless
• Sleheyron
  • Conspicuous Consumption
  • Falling Sky
  • Groundbreaking
  • Into the Eye

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Darth Kallomena - A masked Sith that the JC encounters on Bothawui. She is also seeking Torwin because he is her charge or something along those lines.
  • Gnost-Dural - Shows up in the Unforeseen Circumstances quest
  • Voss - Several Voss also appear in the Unforeseen Circumstances quest, seems to be a diplomatic conference about the Voss wanting to send their commandos home to deal with the Gormak. No Gaden Ko though
  • Hallow Voice - Has some dialogue talking about the Shrouded Ones
• Bothawui
  • The Custodian - A Rakata that was made force sensitive against his will by Torwin in an attempt to bribe The Custodian into giving info on the Shrouded Ones
• Sleheyron
  • (Nobody that I recognize)

Smuggler

Trying to describe this plot feels like a fever dream, but maybe that is appropriate for a continuation of the OG Smuggler story. So the Smuggler gets dragged into the story after an attack on Port Nowhere by a criminal gang.
The Smuggler tracks them down to Bothawui where you learn they are the Womp Family and that they have gotten ahold of a Superdreadnaught, which they refer to as a "space mansion." And they aren't just called the Womp Family, they actually are a family. The plot is essentially that a bunch of hillbillies got their hands on a...fully automated aircraft carrier(?) and are now going around launching air strikes on people that tipped their cows. They literally launch an orbital bombardment on the Smuggler at one point. Not his ship or base that he is at. Just the Smuggler after the Smuggler corners one of their members. They are also trying to extort the Republic. I don't know how things ended, but I imagine the dark side ending has the Smuggler getting a larger ship.
Rough Map

• Port Nowhere is attacked
• Bothawui to look into who was behind the attack
• ??? (Bothawui ends with Risha going to research Barabbula, so I assume we followed up on that lead next)
• Sleheyron to ???
• ??? (Probably the opportunity to steal the Superdreadnaught, but I don't have that dialogue)

Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • Confidence and Influence
  • Days of Infamy
  • Decontamination
  • Party Down
  • Spoiling the Surprise
  • (Bonus)
    • Securing Valuables
    • Threat Recognition
• Bothawui
  • Bothan Beatdown
  • Camp Shatter
  • Clean Sweep
  • Harsh Introductions
  • (Bonus)
    • Hidden Reset Phase (probably not actually a quest)
    • I Was Never Here
• Sleheyron
  • Celebrity Spotlight
  • Lab Samples
  • Public Spectacles
  • The X Particles

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Master Sumalee - She would have returned! And she had a fade to black! Also revealed that Satele dropped the prohibition against romance off screen. She seems to serve as the Smuggler's contact with the Republic (which was her job for one of the Smuggler endings).
  • Beryl Thorne - Don't know what she was up to, but she apparently reappeared in Party Down
  • Barrabula the Hutt - Owner of the superdreadnaught that was somehow stolen. Also the Supreme Mogul of the Cartel three hundred years ago.
• Bothawui
  • (Nobody I recognize)
• Sleheyron
  • (Nobody that I recognize)

Trooper

Trooper is leading the front lines of the battle on Bothawui with a reporter in tow. Had a scene that would have been interesting to see where the Trooper was to get airdropped in a bomb modified to serve as an entry craft. The reporter mentions having enough footage on Bothawui, so I'm not really sure where the expansion long arc was supposed to go from there. Immediately after Bothawui, you are the guest of honor at a party held by the Chancellor, so I guess the Sleheyron mission pops up there.
Rough Map

• ???
• Bothawui to liberate the world and get footage
• Be the guest of honor for a party the Chancellor is holding
• Sleheyron to ???
• ???

Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • Elements of Surprise
  • Freedom from Fear
  • Mercy Mission
  • (Bonus)
    • Surprise Party
• Bothawui
  • Battle of Liahstarn
  • Firing Solutions
  • (Hidden) Speak with Jonas and Chall (Chill?)
  • Reversal of Fortunes
  • Tactical Payload
• Sleheyron
  • Grasp of Shadows
  • Picking Up
  • Sleep Wake Cycle
  • Two for One

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Rylo Kann - Journalist that joins the Trooper for at least part of the expansion.
  • Jaxo - So I guess she was meant to reappear if alive.
• Bothawui
  • Jonas Balker - He would have returned. And he would have had a fade to black...something he still doesn't have on Live yet.
  • Dagger Wing - They would have returned from Belsavis to provide support on your campaign. They have an interesting choice where they ask you how to handle the reporter as he wants to interview them (unaware of the whole accidently war crimes backstory?).
  • Raven Squad - You were supposed to meet them on the battlefield, which would have included them calling bombers on your position. No idea if their current iteration is meant to be the same as this group, but they almost certainly reused the name since it wasn't otherwise being used. Their commander in this iteration is named Varis.
• Sleheyron
  • (Nobody that I recognize)

Sith Warrior

Sith Warrior is the only one of the Imp classes that I have dialog for. On Ziost, the SW is in charge of getting the planetary defenses back after Pubs take them over. However the planetary defenses might only be a distraction because there is dialogue referring to the Sith Warrior saving the Voice who is a necessary component for reviving the Emepror.
The overarching plot seems to be a conflict with Gnost-Dural who seems to be looking into ending the Emperor for good. While the SW is dealing with Ziost, Gnost-Dural prepares to attack the hidden fortress where the Hand resides. The attack starts while the SW is reporting on their success in protecting the Hand. Once here Gnost-Dural captures all of the Servants except for Servant Twelve who goes to the SW for help. Servant Twelve drops the tidbit that if the hand was severed than (in this timeline) the Emperor can no longer revived. Gnost Dural seems unaware of this as he puts the Servants in stasis and carefully probes their minds to get information about the Emperor without hurting them.
Interesting to note that one of the quests is called Showdown on Ossus, so that might have been the inspiration for Gnost-Dural being on Ossus in Jedi Under Siege.
Also there is a dialogue that mentions the Sith Warrior putting down two Dark Council members. Not entirely sure which Dark Council members they were though. Checking the NPC list for all the Sith Warrior locations, the only Darths that are mentioned are Darth Baras and Darth Vowrawn. So I guess they were including Baras. I'm thinking that Vowrawn might have actually sided with Gnost-Dural? There is a line in a conversation during the Hand's Fortress that states, "His source remains a mystery--not even Darth Vowrawn or Zujen Vale knew our location." Zujen Vale is mentioned to be a traitor in a different conversation. So I guess Vowrawn being opposed to the Hand on Rishi might have been inspired by the original plan to make him opposed to the Emperor? And now I have Emperor Vowrawn on live instead. Funny how these things work.
There is also mention of the Sith Warrior making a speech during/after Ziost, which appears to have been about reform and appears to have been directed at the Dark Council. So I guess a LS option to try and put the fear of Wrath into the Dark Council after the Wrath did some house cleaning.
Rough Map

• ??? (The Final Revenge of Darth Baras?)
• Ziost to take back the planetary defenses and save the Voice
• Hand's Fortress to save the Hand
• Sleheyron to track down Gnost-Dural by following a data drop off
• ??? (Track down Gnost-Dural for final confrontation? Showdown on Ossus?)

Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • End Times
  • Fracture
  • Showdown on Ossus
  • The Blood Splattered Talz
  • The Emperor and His Wrath
  • The Final Revenge of Darth Baras
  • (Bonus)
    • Breached and Boarded
    • Shattering the Jedi Seal
    • The Emperor's Secrets
• Ziost
  • Armageddon Approaches
  • The Fires of Ziost
  • The Hunt Begins
  • Voice in the Darkness
• Sleheyron
  • Echoes of Gnost-Dural
  • Hook Line and Sinker
  • Shutter
  • Solar Spear

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Servants 1-11 - Whole family reunion in this one
  • Servant 12 - Only one of the Servants to not get captured. Spends some time on your ship after the Hand's Fortress is raided. She is completely uninterested in the SW's attempts to flirt. Unlike the Protectors for the JK or Rylo for the Trooper, Servant Twelve does not have a creature file for the ship, so she might have been cutscene only.
  • Master Gnost-Dural - Seems to have been the main "villain"
  • Darth Vowrawn showed up in Fracture
  • Darth Baras could show up in The Final Revenge of Darth Baras
  • Lord Qet - Vowrawn's apprentice shows up too
  • Zujen Vale - A Sith you meet on Ziost. Secretly works for Gnost-Dural
• Ziost
  • Armageddon Battalion - They return to assist the Sith Warrior
  • Voice of the Emperor - Here to be rescued
• Sleheyron
  • (Nobody that I recognize)

Sith Inquisitor

I have very little idea of what the SI was supposed to get up to. The SI seems to be hobnobbing with the Dark Council on Ziost, but beyond that I'm not quite sure what is going on. You did apparently get your own estate on Ziost though. So neat?
Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • A Party to Remember
  • An Empire Divided
  • The Sanctum
  • (Bonus)
    • Crast's Betrayal
• Ziost
  • A Warm Welcome
  • Convergence
  • Lost Army
  • The Emperor's Tower

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Dark Council - Between An Empire Divided and a Party to Remember, I think we have a good chunk of the Dark Council showing up. I don't remember who was on the Council at this time, so I'm just listing all the Darths in the two quests and hope I'm not giving anyone a promotion. Arkov, Marr, Soverus, Acina, Mortis, and Ravage.
  • Lord Qet - I guess Vowrawn is represented by his apprentice while he's off doing things (and being killed?) in the SW story?
• Ziost
  • Moff Pyron - Everyone's favorite lackey showed up
• Sleheyron
  • (no NPCs in files I have)

Imperial Agent

At least part of the IA storyline seemed to be focused on cleaning up after Malgus's rebellion as there are NPCs with Malgus in their name. I'm not sure whether that was the focus of the entire expansion or if you stumble onto something else while dealing with "the betrayer's spymaster."
Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • The Beast Awakens
  • The Broken Colonel
  • The Nightmare
  • The Player of Games
  • The Vigil
• Ziost
  • The Betrayer's Spymaster
  • The Grandfather of Terror
  • The Hidden War
  • The Secret Compact
• Sleheyron
  • Doppleganger
  • The Catcher and the Cage
  • The Highest Authority

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Ardun Kothe - Every IA's best friend can return! Although I guess it makes sense as I assume he becomes your handler if you give him the Black Codex
  • Shara Jenn - She would have returned...and gone by the name Nexus? I'm really not sure where that comes from. Weird thing is that her creature file is named shara_jenn, but for whatever reason IA has some NPCs with names. Had her creature file just been named Nexus, I would not have known it was her
  • Colonel Niar - This seems to have been a recurring character who even joins you on your ship (no creature file for him though). I've seen someone say that the IA storyline got converted to be the Imp Makeb storyline, and I suspect this NPC is where that idea originated from. I don't have any dialogue associated with the NPC, but I feel confident is not Katha Niar from Makeb since this NPC is a male (and the gender attribute is properly assigned on other unfinished NPCs). Sort of off topic, but it seems Katha Niar was originally named Kiar Onila.
  • Darth Marr - No idea what his role was, but he shows up
  • Ocean - I guess this is a code name for someone? You bring them to an escape shuttle at one point
• Ziost
  • (Nobody that I recognize)
• Sleheyron
  • Saresh - Not sure what her role here was

Bounty Hunter

I have no context to make sense of the info I have for BH. An NPC named Zedania seems to be important. I can't tell what his role in the story was though. I think in one mission we are saving him though? So a client I guess? Also someone named Brand that we get a lot of holocalls from, so either an ally or a very mouthy antagonist?
Quests

• Off World/Multi World
  • Meeting the Board
  • Nebula Station
  • Socio Pathfinding
  • (Bonus)
    • Resorting to Violence
    • Security Shakedown
• Ziost
  • All or Nothing
  • Biding Time
  • Poised to Strike
  • Set the Sky on Fire

Notable NPCs

• Off World/Multi World
  • Darth Tormen - You don't get to lose your boss off screen in this timeline
  • Darth Marr - Dude was busy in this expansion. I'm guessing he was meant as an alternative for Darth Tormen
• Ziost
  • (Nobody that I recognize)
• Sleheyron
  • (Nobody that I recognize)

Random Observations and Quotes

• HK-51 and the ship droid both got reactions to the content in this 2.0. I think HK actually has some in vanilla that is no longer available since 4.0, but Ship Droid has none except for maybe some environmental reactions on Makeb?
• Smuggler (romancing Risha) after getting buried alive
  • If we only have a little air left, I say we use it up vigorously. How's that for a plan?
  • Like all your schemes, it's poorly thought-out and likely to end in violence. I'm in.
• Treek was not originally in the plans for this version of 2.0 as she is missing from the majority of companion reactions, but a small number of lines that mention her appear so I think they had decided to add her in the future before the scope was cut
• Servant One to the Sith Warrior
  • We also bore witness to your speech. The Empire's transformation does not concern the Emperor, but others may prove less tolerant.
• Kira to JK who has been flirting around
  • I'm starting to think that's true. I've been having all these violent urges lately... usually whenever I see you, or Doctor Kantos. And when I see you together? I mean, wow... kind of makes me want to hit you upside the head, you know?
• Elara after a flirt option (not sure if it is a kiss or fade to black since I only have dialogue) while waiting for a shuttle
  • I'm going to file an official commendation for the Bothan shuttle scheduling authority.
• Smuggler talking to someone he saved on Coruscant
  • Randomly shooting Imperials is one of my trademark moves. Glad you enjoyed the show.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed looking at this what if. If anyone has any questions about what is in the files, I can try to answer, but I can't make promises that the answers to your questions exist in the files.

As an avid reader of martial arts and cultivation novels, I have the question: what if there is a game where you create martial arts, own a dojo and sell these to customers?
Game Concept: Martial Arts Mastery Shop
Premise: You are a martial arts master with a unique talent for observing and learning from nature. You run a dojo/shop where you create custom martial arts techniques inspired by the movements of animals and mythical creatures. Your goal is to become renowned for your mastery, attract students, and grow your business.
Core Gameplay Loop
Exploration and Learning: Adventure: Venture into various biomes (forests, mountains, rivers, mystical lands) to observe and learn from animals and mythical creatures.
Observation: Use a system similar to a "skill tree" where you unlock new moves by observing specific animals (e.g., Monkey Fist, Tiger Claw).
Challenges: Complete challenges to learn new techniques. This could include stealth segments (sneaking up on animals), combat trials, or puzzles.
Technique Creation: Customization: Combine different moves to create unique martial arts techniques. Where you have a 'base' move, say 'basic punch' it have a square grid (2x2) and it benefits from 'offensive' attribute that you can customise. Say you successfully obtained tiger claw, its going to be an L shaped attribute, and rabbit leap is a single grid attribute, for visualisation:
Punch: [T][R] [T][T] Using these inspiration you can create a basic punch with: 'tiger claw : (+10 damage, + 10% penetration rate) +20% compatibility (Str attribute) 'rabbit leap': (+2 agility + 5% dodge rate) -20% incompatible (agility attribute)
-)You can get new and better 'base' move that have more grids and maybe bonus attributes by buying, disciple quest, events, winning turnaments, etc
-)There are a total of 4 attribute, 'Str', 'Endurance', 'Agility', 'Neutral (which could be used in all moves without compatibility issues)"
Naming and Lore: Name your techniques and write a brief lore or description to give them personality and context.
Dojo Management:
Training: Train students in your dojo using the techniques you've created.
Quests: Students may go on quests and report back with items, money, or new inspiration for techniques.
Tournaments: Host or participate in martial arts tournaments to gain fame and attract more students, get prizes, etc.
Shop Management:
Sales: Sell scrolls of your techniques, training manuals. Customers can be wandering martial artists, nobles, or even royalty.(*you gain patent on your moves so other don't just yoink them). some may commission martial arts Reputation: Gain reputation by selling effective and innovative techniques. High reputation increases fame level and attracts more and wealthier customers.
Customization: Customize your dojo/shop with decorations and equipment that improve training efficiency / attract more customers.
Fame: With increased fame, more customers visit your shop, buying scrolls and training sessions, allowing you to expand your dojo and explore new areas.
Key Features Dynamic Environments:
Seasons and Weather: Different animals appear in different seasons and weather conditions, adding variety to exploration.
Mythical Creatures: Rare creatures offer powerful and unique moves but are harder to find and observe. Skill Development:
Instructor Skills: Develop your skills as an instructor, improving how effectively you can teach students and manage your dojo.
Narrative Elements: Rival Schools: Compete against rival dojos, each with its own unique style and story.
Mysteries and Legends: Discover ancient martial arts secrets and mythical artifacts that enhance your abilities. Interactive Combat:
Real-time Combat: Engage in combat using your custom techniques, either in training scenarios or against rivals and wild animals.
Tactical Choices: Make tactical decisions in combat based on your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.
Visual and Audio Design
Art Style: A vibrant and stylized aesthetic, drawing inspiration from traditional Asian art and nature. Sound Design: Authentic sounds of nature, combined with traditional music and sound effects that enhance the martial arts atmosphere.
Further ideas 1:

Diverse Learning Methods

*Observation:*

• *Basic Method:* Observe animals in their natural habitat to gain experience points (XP) towards learning their moves.
• *Proficiency Boost:* Prolonged observation of specific animals increases proficiency in similar types (e.g., successfully observing rabbits gain exp in the observation of agility-based creatures, say the first level is 0/3, after leveling up subsequent observation of agility based creature will start with 1 observation exp).
• More than one 'inspiration' from certain creatures, for example you may learn tiger claw(str move) 0/5 but you can also learn tiger's patience (Neutral move)0/3

*Interaction:* other than 'observation' which gain 1 exp to the move you are trying to acquire there are different ways to hasten this process:

• *Sparring:* Engage in combat with aggressive animals to understand their fighting techniques better. This is the fastest way to learn moves; during the turn based fight, you will have an inspiration guage in which you gain +1 exp for that move every time the guage is filled. restriction: only applies to 'medium' to 'large' size animals as small animals like rabbits will run from you, and there is a risk of dying and injuries(based on severity, Permanent disability> Severe > Mild > Slight) death equates to going back to the last save location. Success grants more XP and resources (like food or pelts)
• *Hunting:* Attempt to hunt small/ agility based animals (rabbits, deers, etc). Same concept and guage, success grants partial XP and resources (like food or pelts). Failiure equates to wasted time and stamina for 'small' creature, and injuries for mid to large size animals.
• *Dodging and Detecting:* Dodge and detect attacks from stealthy animals to learn defensive and counter-attacking moves, with similar inspiration guage. failiure equates 'poisoning' status or injuries, depend on the type of creature. (*same thing with combat) success grants more XP and resources (like vials of poison or other material)

*Training and Practice:*

• *Student Sparring:* Practice newly learned techniques with your students to refine and master them.
• *Personal Training:* You dont need this as you 'mastered' the move but your disciple could use dummies, training equipment, and personal drills to learn the moves faster. As the creator of the move you have 'perfect' understanding of the move, however your disciple have to start from scratch. progression: 'Beginer'(20% attribute)->'proficient'(50%)->'Perfect(100%)'->Limit break(150% attribute + 1 unique trait) you yourself couldn't achive 'Limit break' state as this state is only achieved by your disciple's own understanding and is unique to them, inspired by the quote “poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master.”

*Mystical Learning:*

• *Ancient Scrolls:* Discover ancient scrolls and artifacts that provide insights into rare and powerful 'base' techniques.
• *Spiritual Meditation:* Engage in meditation or rituals at sacred sites to gain unique abilities from mythical creatures.

Conclusion of Gameplay Mechanics for Learning Moves

*Observation XP System:* - *XP Accumulation:* Each animal has a required XP to unlock a move (e.g., Rabbit Leap requires 4 XP). XP can be gained through multiple methods, not just observation.

• *Proficiency Synergy:* Observing related animals provides partial XP towards similar moves. 2.. *Training Integration:*
• *Student Engagement:* Train students using newly learned techniques. Successful training sessions increase their mastery and understanding of the technique, this could be in the form of a minigame like a rythym game perhaps?
• *Sparring Matches:* Hold sparring matches where you and your students practice techniques, gaining minor XP boosts and refining skills.

*Mystical and Spiritual Elements:*

• *Quest for Scrolls:* Embark on quests to find ancient scrolls in hidden temples or caves. Each scroll grants a unique move or boosts existing ones.
• *Meditation Retreats:* Visit sacred sites for meditation, allowing you to learn from mythical creatures through visions or spiritual encounters.

Visual and Interface Design

• *Learning Progress Bar:* A clear progress bar for each technique showing XP accumulation and methods used. - *Method Indicators:* Icons or symbols indicating how XP was gained (e.g., eye for observation, sword for combat, rabbit for hunting).
• *Training Logs:* Keep logs of training sessions and student progress to track how practice impacts learning.

Further ideas 2: ### Genius Students

• Your dojo have a limited number of disciple, say 5 at lv 1
• All students have traits positive and negative but with rarity, base stats, and 'understanding' level( 'better quality students(genius)' learning things faster, like an %exp increase. 'dissapointment(50%)'bad(80%)-> average(100%)->good(120%)->excelent(150%)->Genius(200%)->Heaven defying(300%)
• Traits could range from: +exp gain for certain moves type(offense(punch, kick) , defense(block, parry), evasion), different rarity may equates to higher exp gain. some traits are negative for example 'sickly' improves the chance of getting sick, 'perverse' could reduce the reputation of your dojo, 'weak body' reduced health, etc, some are unique and is benificial in other ways for example 'lucky', with the highest rarity being 'son of destiny', inexplicable good encounter during quests. Finally there are ungraded, 'unique' traits like 'Madman' gain 50-200% exp during the study, etc

*this could make thing interesting, say we at a lv 1 dojo we could only have 5 disciple, will we kick our 'old' disciple in favour of a 'better' quality students
*Genius Students:*

• *Attraction Mechanism:* As your dojo's reputation grows, you attract more genius students. This can be tied to your achievements in tournaments, the fame of your techniques, and your overall dojo reputation.

further idea 3: romance?
romance who? the rival dojo? i have no idea
HEY! if you have read this far, it shows that you are genuinely interested. Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for your time, and I am open to any suggestions for improving this concept. If you are passionate about creating this game, PLEASE DO SO(i aint doin this). I am a bit torn on how to implement the combat, should it be similar to punch club? i genuinely have no idea. Nevertheless, that's all, Thank you for reading and adios fellas.

Hey all, I just passed my practical and thought I’d do a write-up on getting my UK license as a foreigner. For background, I’ve had a US license for 15 years and had previously driven in the UK, but couldn’t drive anymore since I’ve been a resident for over a year. I started the process in January and had a target to get my license by June to enable summer road trips with visiting family.
*****
TLDNR: Budget 3-8 months and ~£450. Yes you need to study the theory, and yes you need lessons even if you’re an experienced foreign driver, probably 6-10 hours worth. Good luck!
*****
Time from initial application to practical: 3.5 months, and I was trying to speed run the process. If you aren’t super flexible or need multiple theory / practical tests this can easily turn into 8+ months!
· One month from initial application to theory test based on lack of test center availability in London (skated by on my first attempt)
· One month from theory pass to start of driver instruction (was impossible to find an instructor with availability)
· One month of instruction (Four 2-hour lessons across 4 weeks, so 8 total hours of instruction)
· Booked a cancellation practical test out in the boonies (the East Midlands) and luckily passed the first time. I was under time pressure to get my UK license and wasn’t willing to wait the quoted 6 months to get a slot at my home test center.
Cost: ~£450 not including trains to the practical test center. Bananas now that I’m looking at this.
· £34 application fee
· £13 theory test prep materials
· £23 theory test fee
· £310 for 8 hours of driving instruction + a test reserve hour I didn’t use
· £62 practical test fee
· £70 Arnold Clark dual control hire car since I booked a test outside of my instructor’s coverage area
· Plus £240 round trip train from London to Chesterfield for two people (you need an accompanying driver), where I picked up the hire car and drove onwards to the test center
General Thoughts and Tips:
Theory Test: definitely invest in the official materials to prep and take the time to prep until you can reliably pass official practice tests. I scored 2-3 points over the fail threshold after probably 7 hours of casual studying. The bit that really required prep is getting used to the video simulations. You can get cooked pretty quickly if you aren’t quick at recognizing hazards as presented in the sim. Example theory questions I missed:
· Caravan (trailer) minimum tread depth
· Visually impaired person stick colors indicating other disabilities
· Something about horses
· Various obscure Highway Code technicalities
The point is that this test was pretty difficult; the stats say only 45% of sitters pass. When I first saw that stat I just thought that everyone else is a bunch of morons, but it turns out the test includes a fair bit of obscure minutia from the Highway Code.
Driving Lessons: You need these as there is a specific way you need to drive to pass the practical, but what a mess. I called probably 8 independent instructors and everyone was booked up except one. I initially booked 2 hours with him, but by the time I realized I needed more instruction his diary was fully booked and he ended up ghosting me. I then found a guy through a larger org that had availability within a week and ended up tubing across London to meet him since he was in another zone. I booked 6 hours up front with him, which was a better strategy than booking as I went given how busy these people are.
In general I found the lessons highly valuable but tedious. Here’s what we did in each lesson:
1. 30 minutes of assessment, an hour of neighborhood driving, then 30 minutes of main road driving
2. An hour of neighborhood driving (junctions specifically) and another hour of main road
3. 30 min of dual carriageway and an hour of roundabouts big and small, along with 30 min of maneuvers
4. An hour of dual carriageway and a mock test near his preferred test center
I think I needed the full 8 hours, but your mileage may vary. The thing is that the way you need to drive during a practical test is very different from how you drive normally. No coasting, specific process orders for making observations and making maneuvers, wheel control, junction approach speed, strange lines on UK roads, making sure you stay on the left; it takes a bit of time to get used to. I’d consider myself an excellent drive back in the US but if I took the practical without instruction I would have failed with multiple serious faults just based on old habits.
By the third lesson I had a sense that I needed only one or two more to be ready, and went ahead and started searching the DVLA website for practical test slots.
Practical Test: This is where things got annoying. I live in London and every time I checked the DVLA website the nearest local test date was in October, or 6 months away. If you have to take a test locally, you basically have to wait and maybe hope for a cancellation slot to open up sooner. Otherwise you can pay for one of the cancellation apps, but I never figured out if those actually worked. Or, you can do what I did and expand your geographic horizons. Checking the DVLA website every few days I eventually found a test slot a week away that was A) in the middle of nowhere and B) near a car hire that had dual control cars. Note that if you need to hire a car for a test, it must have dual controls. If you bring your or a friend’s car, it only needs L plates and a second mirror (not sure how insurance works for that option). Turo struck me as a grey area, but I didn’t want to roll the dice.
The test itself wasn’t so bad; the grader was initially pretty to the point and not conversational, but once he realized he wasn’t going to die with me at the wheel we ended up chatting. I thought I goofed up in a roundabout in terms of picking lanes but ended up walking away with 6 minor faults and a shiny blue Pass paper. The key I think for the practical test is to be EXTREMELY conservative. Drive like your grandma is in back and she’s carrying a stack of China plates with eggs balanced on top. Look both ways multiple times. Approach junctions at a crawl. Keep plenty of distance between you and the car in front. Etc. One of my minors was for speed control; in London the urban speed limit is generally 20, but in the countryside, it was 30 when going through town. Not seeing any signs though I kept the speed at 20 because I figured it was better to drive 20 in a 30 than 30 in a 20 if I had it wrong. Apparently, the guy agreed and just commented at the end that I drove way under the limit.
What I would have done differently: I would have planned this better and been more organized. I didn’t appreciate just how hard it is to schedule all of the components, from theory, to drive lessons, to practical. I had a ton of flexibility as a student but if I had a day job I would have been screwed. Start booking things as soon as you are allowed, and make sure you do adequate prep for each step, leaving buffer as needed. It’s not an easy process, but if you have a good instructor and are patient then you’ll be fine. Good luck!

This is only in terms of the character's lore and personality, I'm not considering gameplay.
first up, Acheron - a pretty easy one.
-She deals lightning damage, which seems to be within her authority either as an emanator or as the wielder of "Naught".
-She follows the path of Nihility, which makes sense as she is an emanator of the aforementioned.
Argenti
-deals physical damage. Makes sense for his normal attack and ultimate, since he is just hitting the enemies with his spear. As for his skill, since there is no nature element, plants presumably also deal physical damage.
-follows the path of Erudition. This doesn't match the canon and, at first glance, doesn't appear to match his relatively dramatic personality. However, based on his remarks about the express crew, we can deduce that he's actually pretty perceptive.
Arlan
-deals lightning damage. We can assume this is simply a function of his weapon as it appears quite high-tech.
-Follows the path of destruction. This path is a weird one in gameplay, with many players pointing out that many of the characters who follow it are innocent and would never hurt a fly. However, Nanook isn't only physically destructive, but also seems to harbour some degree of self-hatred due to the destruction of Advilun. This is reflected in characters such as Arlan who, while constantly looking out for others, neglects to take care of himself.
Asta
-deals fire damage. Is an astronomer. The stars she observes are more or less big balls of fire, so this checks out just fine.
-follows the path of Harmony. This doesn't require much explaination- she coordinates the space station, making sure everyone is working smoothly and together.
Aventurine
-deals imaginary damage. I refuse to talk about the tree because frankly HI3 lore is a mess, but basically, in this situation, "imaginary" is something that subverts the laws of physics with a high authority like that of the Aeons. Aventurine's power comes from Diamond, an emanator of Preservation. Speaking of which,
-Aventurine follows the path of Preservation. While he doesn't seem to give a crap about the fate of civilisation, he is a high-ranking executive of the IPC, which is reason enough to follow this path.
Bailu
-deals lightning damage. While most of the power she inherited from Dan Feng was not destructive in nature, minor authority over lightning isn't too much of a reach. Plus it's in line with her role as a doctor, since it seems she uses this power to restart her patient's hearts at times
-Follows the path of Abundance. Is a doctor. Not much else to say here.
Black Swan
-deals wind damage. None of the characters for this element really make any sense, but I'll try to come up with something nonetheless because that's what the post title says. In this situation, I'll say it's related to wind chimes, which are said to hold memories.
-follows the path of Nihility. Since the remembrance is preparing for the end of the universe, this fits any memokeeper well.
Blade
-oh joy, another wind character. This one makes even less sense, but the wind could be related to his spider lily motif, since, as Ruan Mei likes to say, every petal will eventually be torn away with the wind.
-Follows the path of destruction. Like Arlan, is very self-destructive due to guilt and a yearning for peace, but unlike Arlan, also very literally destructive on the battlefield.
Boothill
-deals physical damage. With metal bullets. No surprises here.
-Follows the path of the Hunt as a galaxy ranger.
Bronya
-almost three wind characters in a row??? Well, might as well get them all out of the way quickly. Since her bullets are very fast, they disturb the air and this counts as wind.
-Follows the path of Harmony. Although canonically a pathstrider of Preservation, Bronya's role as supreme guardian means that she has to ensure her people live peacefully as well as protecting those weaker than her.
Clara
-deals physical damage. Or rather, Mr svarog deals physical damage. This is fine for the punches, and I guess for the lasers too since if we throw in some quantum physics (and, spoiler alert, this isn't the last time I do this) the lasers are particles and therefore also physical.
-follows the path of destruction. Since she want to protect everyone too, and is always fixing her robots before checking herself for injuries, we can confidently throw her into the self - destructive category.
Dan Heng
-deals wind damage. If we counted Bronya's bullets as fast=wind, we can do the same for Dan Heng's spear moves.
-Follows the path of the Hunt. At this point in the story, despite his reluctance to fight, he is still metaphorically chained down by the Xianzhou and his past, so he is unable to free himself from the path they chose. He also follows Boothill's two bottom lines- never harm the weak, and never kill the innocent.
Dan Heng, again
-deals imaginary damage. Hes directly connected to an Aeon, and the fact that THEY are dead doesn't appear to make a difference to his ability to more or less crush the laws of physics underfoot.
-Follows the path of destruction. Alright, it's time to introduce yet another destruction archetype (last one I promise). Dialogue during the swarm disaster heavily implies a connection between Nanook and Akilvili, with the former potentially having consumed the latter. This makes Dan Heng the perfect destruction character - physically destructive, self-destructive and a member of the nameless. If we read into this a bit more, we can say that the change of path represents him being able to completely free himself from the past and commit to his future with the express crew.
Dr Ratio
-deals imaginary damage. Although Ratio is not blessed directly by an Aeon, this is probably a reference to the concept of imaginary numbers in mathematics.
-Follows the path of the Hunt. ~~well he sure hunted down those Genshin fans~~ This reflects his unwavering desire and conviction to eliminate idiocy.
Firefly
-deals fire damage. Not imaginary, despite being specifically created to fight the swarm? No wonder Glamoth was wiped out. It seems they decided to design their mechs with a lot of fire and explodey things.
-follows the path of Desctruction. We all did the SAM fight. This needs no explanation. She has a prominent talent for, and seemingly enjoys, blowing things up.
Fu Xuan and Qingque
these characters are kind of two sides of the same coin, so I've decided to include them togther.
-deals quantum damage. Fu Xuan and Qingque are likely to be a metaphor for the differences between classical and quantum physics- In classical physics, everything can be calculated precisely, but in quantum physics, one can only calculate probability and likelihood, leading to a myriad of potential outcomes.
-Fu Xuan follows the path of Preservation, as she is responsible for divining a safe route across the stars for the Luofu.
-Qingque follows the path of Erudition because she is smart, being able to intentionally get the exact same mediocre score on all her tests and realising that working hard is unlikely to get her anywhere.
Gallagher
-Deals fire damage. Could represent the intense flavour of his drinks.
-Follows the path of Abundance. It's rather paradoxical for someone with his personality to be a healer, and therefore perfect for a follower of the Enigmata.
Gepard
-deals ice damage. His gauntlets and guitar case ought to deal physical damage, but since it's so cold in Belobog, they might become frozen enough to deal ice damage.
-Follows the path of Preservation. For a captain of the Silvermane guards, this hardly needs explaining.
Guinaifen
-Dealing fire damage? with pyrotechnics? No Way!
-Follows the path of Nihility. Despite having an upbeat personality, Guinaifen's way of life can be seen as optimistic nihilism (defined as "the ability of a person to create his own meaning after fully accepting that the universe is a large place of meaninglessness."), as she takes each day for what it is, doing the best she can with what she has.
Hanya
-deals physical damage. Since all her damage is based around some kind of magic, I don't have any point of reference, so I'll take the game's word for it on this one.
-Follows the path of Harmony. Since the Ten Lords commission is partially responsible for maintaining order on the Xianzhou, this makes sense, even if their methods are pretty screwed up.
Herta
-deals ice damage. Since she's so smart, she can almost certainly modify her hammer to do this. Plus it reflects her cold personality.
-Follows the path of Erudition as a member of the Genius Society.
Himeko
-deals fire damage. Like Herta, she's smart enough to modify her weapons to deal a damage type other than physical. As for the orbital laser, that's definitely fire.
-Follows the path of Erudition. This should come as no surprise since Himeko is a distinguished and educated lady.
Hook
-deals fire damage. Her diggertron is a mining tool, so it probably contains explosives.
-Follows the path of destruction. Who thought it was a good idea to give a small child explosives? Well, either way, as long as the enemy is the one dealing with consequences it's fine by me.
Huohuo
-deals wind damage, despite her tail literally being on fire. We'll say that she relies on the wind in order to use her banner and talismans.
-Follows the path of Abundance. Yoashi seeks to prevent suffering, and Huohuo wants to protect her friends in the ghost hunting squad.
Jade
-deals quantum damage. We really don't know anything about this character other than that she's a loan shark. Her "all for the amber lord speech" mentioned a lot of contradictions, such as poison in the guise of sweet wine, which is comparable to the dual nature of particles and waves.
-Follows the path of Erudition. In order to squeeze all the money out of people she would have to be an adept manipulator.
Jing Yuan
-deals lightning damage. With the power of the Arbiter General granted by Lan/Hua, he is able to command the lightning-wielding thunder-clapping spirit-squashing lord, which very obviously has lightning-related powers.
-Follows the path of Erudition. This requires little explanations as he is a reputable military strategist.
Jingliu
-Deals ice damage. The moon sword granted by the Aeon whose gaze she forcefully drew is made of ice, and it appears that she uses this same power to keep her body and mind in stasis so that she doesn't fall to mara.
-Follows the path of destruction. Is both self-destructive due to her guilt at not being able to stop Dan Feng's defying the Xianzhou and the chaos and suffering it caused, and physically destructive on the battlefield when consumed by mara.
Kafka
-deals lightning damage. Her shock DoT represents how her enemies fall further and further into her web until it's too late.
-Follows the path of Nihility. Her inability to feel fear causes her to find little meaning in life, although recently her desire to protect the Trailblazer and her fellow stellaron hunters seems to have changed this somewhat.
Luka
-deals physical damage and presumably causes internal bleeding simply by hitting his enemies really hard.
-Follows the path of Nihility. Although he devotes himself to helping others, he finds little meaning in his own existence.
Luocha
-Deals imaginary damage. Jing Yuan calls him an abomination and he's powerful enough to have caused multiple named incidents, so it's entirely possible that his power comes directly from Yaoshi.
-follows the path of Abundance. Again, Yaoshi. Although Luocha declares THEM his enemy, there is little doubt that THEY are also the source of his power.
Lynx
-deals quantum damage. With the size of that pill, there could easily be some degree of quantum shenanigans taking place.
-Follows the path of Abundance. Her medical knowhow seems questionable (see: big fucking pill) but she would definitely want to use what knowledge she does have to prevent the suffering of others.
March 7th
-deals ice damage. Although we don't know where her six phased ice power comes from, there's no doubt that it is, in fact, ice.
-Follows the path of Preservation. She doesn't seem to have any particular inclination towards the persistence of civilisation, but she does preserve memories with her camera.
Misha
-deals ice damage. This probably represents how he's a part of Mikhail's childhood that has been frozen in time.
-Follows the path of destruction. This is cut and dry: Mikhail was a member of the nameless, and Misha always dreamed of following in his footsteps.
Natasha
-If Boothill's bullets deal physical damage, so can Natasha's.
-and it's not exactly surprising that a doctor, especially one as caring as Nat, follows the Abundance.
Pela
-deals ice damage. She is a member of the silvermane guards, responsible for the defence of a cold planet, and has a similarly cold and analytical mindset on the battlefield.
-follows the path of Nihility. Her pessimistic attitude while in battle ("do we... still have the upper hand?") can be interpreted as nihilistic.
Robin
-deals physical damage. Her only attack is summoning birds to ram the enemy, which could actually finally be a sensible instance of wind damage, but physical also makes sense here.
-Follows the path of harmony. She perfectly embodies the desire for the strong to protect the weak, and for everybody to make their own choices.
Ruan Mei
-deals ice damage. This is related to her work as a biologist where samples of biological matter have to be kept at very low temperatures.
-Her path is also related to her work, as, in the natural world, all organisms exist in a symbiotic and therefore harmonious system.
Sampo
-deals wind damage. Again, fast=wind, and he's famously speedy when it comes to making an escape from his scam victims.
-Follows the path of Nihility. Elation is basically "nothing matters, so why not enjoy ourselves?" which, while a positive outlook, is still technically nihilism.
Seele
-deals quantum damage. This references the idea of the quantum butterfly effect, wherein a small change can greatly influence a much larger system- Seele, while only being one poor girl, still strives to make a change for the future of the whole underworld.
-Follows the Hunt. While Gepard protects Belobog with the mentality of Preservation, Seele takes a much more head on approach, taking it into her own hands to bring evildoers to justice.
Serval
-deals lightning damage. Flashy, electric-style effects are often associated with rock and roll, and electricity is also associated with engineering.
-Follows the path of Erudition, being smart enough to be regarded as one of the best mechanical engineers in Belobog.
Silver Wolf
-deals quantum damage. Probably meant to represent her Aether coding abilities which allow her to "edit" the classical laws of physics.
-Follows the path of Nihility. Her worldview is similar to that of a masked fool- life is like a game, and the most important thing is not the meaning or even the outcome, but whether or not you enjoy yourself.
Sparkle
-deals quantum damage. Since she likes to subvert rules and regulations, even quoting the legendary galactic baseballer, it's no wonder she uses the damage type associated with breaking laws thought for centuries to be absolute.
-Follows the Harmony. Although elation is inherently Nihilistic, the Harmony is also an advocate of free will, and Sparkle enjoys taking advantage of the ability to do whatever she wants.
Sushang
-deals physical damage with a big sword and a chicken. Not much else to say here.
-Is a cloud knight, and therefore follows the Hunt.
Tingyun
-deals lightning damage. If this is Phantylia-Tingyun, this we know she deals lightning damage her second phase, which, since that's the Destruction phase, is a power inherent to Phantylia and does not come from the Arbor.
Topaz and Numby
-deal fire damage. Numby is a trotter. Destruction trotters deal fire damage, although it's possible that trotters can deal any damage type. Topaz's gun fires coins, which probably deal fire damage when they get hot enough.
-Hunts down those is debt to IPC with a ruthless approach, reminiscent of Lan's attitude to Yaoshi.
Welt
-deals imaginary damage. While not granted by an Aeon, the authority of the 9th herscherr is the same in essence- the ability to manipulate reality in ways that shouldn't be possible via conscious thought.
-Follows the path of Nihility. While Welt does seem to find a meaning to his life, his power over black holes is reminiscent of the appearance of IX.
Xueyi
-deals quantum damage. Robot=science=quantum I suppose? This one's a reach though, I'd love to hear if anyone else has a better explanation.
-follows the Destruction, destroying both the criminals she arrests, and usually her own body in the process of doing so.
Yanqing
-Deals ice damage. His swords, while having the ability to fly, don't appear to have any ice related abilities, but this could reference how he is essentially Jingliu's successor.
-Follows the Hunt, is a cloud knight.
Yukong
-deals imaginary damage. She has no direct connection to an Aeon, but I suppose the Xianzhou is technically advanced enough to make weapons that deal any kind of damage.
-Follows the path of the Harmony. Like Asta, she's responsible for administration and making sure everything is working smoothly.
​

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Overview of Custom Vinyl Signs

Custom vinyl signs are versatile, durable, and cost-effective advertising tools that businesses use to promote their brand, convey information, and direct customers. Made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film, these signs are designed to withstand various weather conditions and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Their customizable nature allows businesses to tailor the signs to their specific needs, ensuring they effectively communicate their message.

Importance for Businesses

In today's competitive market, effective signage is crucial for businesses to stand out and attract customers. Custom vinyl signs offer a unique blend of visibility, durability, and affordability, making them an essential investment for businesses of all sizes. They help enhance brand recognition, guide customers, and promote products or services in a visually appealing manner.

Purpose of the Article

This article aims to explore the numerous benefits of custom vinyl decals for businesses. We will discuss the different types and categories of vinyl signs, their benefits, the design and production process, applications in various industries, and how to choose the right sign for your business. Additionally, we will cover installation and maintenance tips, present case studies, provide expert insights, and look at future trends in the industry.

Types and Categories

Types of Vinyl Signs

Indoor vs. Outdoor

Vinyl signs can be categorized based on their intended use location. Indoor vinyl signs are typically used for interior decoration, promotions, or directional purposes within a building. They are designed to be visually appealing and complement the interior design of the space. Outdoor vinyl signs, on the other hand, are made to withstand harsh weather conditions. They are often used for storefronts, banners, and large billboards to attract attention from a distance.

Permanent vs. Temporary

Another classification of vinyl signs is based on their intended duration of use. Permanent vinyl signs are designed to last for years without significant wear and tear. They are often used for long-term branding, such as storefront signs or business logos. Temporary vinyl signs are used for short-term events or promotions, such as sales or special events. These signs are easy to install and remove, making them ideal for temporary advertising campaigns.

Categories Based on Usage

Promotional

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Informational

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Directional

Directional vinyl signs help guide customers and visitors through a space. They are used in various settings, including retail stores, offices, hospitals, and event venues. Examples include exit signs, restroom signs, and wayfinding signs. These signs improve the customer experience by making navigation easier and more intuitive.

Benefits of Custom Vinyl Signs

Versatility

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Cost-Effectiveness

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Customization Options

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Design and Production Process

Initial Concept and Design

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Material Selection

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Printing Techniques

Once the design and materials are finalized, the next step is printing. Modern printing techniques, such as digital printing and screen printing, allow for high-resolution images and vibrant colors. Digital printing is ideal for detailed designs and small print runs, while screen printing is suitable for large quantities and bold colors. The printing process ensures that the design is accurately transferred to the vinyl material.

Finishing Touches

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Applications in Different Industries

Retail

Custom vinyl signs are widely used in the retail industry for advertising promotions, sales, and new products. They help attract customers into stores, highlight special offers, and enhance the overall shopping experience. Retailers often use window decals, floor graphics, and hanging banners to create a visually appealing environment.

Real Estate

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Hospitality

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Healthcare

In healthcare settings, vinyl signs provide important information and guidance. Hospitals, clinics, and medical offices use them for wayfinding, safety instructions, and policy notices. Custom vinyl signs help create a safe and organized environment for patients and staff.

Education

Schools, colleges, and universities use custom vinyl signs for various purposes, including branding, event promotion, and wayfinding. They help create a cohesive and professional environment, enhance campus navigation, and promote school events and activities.

How to Choose the Right Vinyl Sign for Your Business

Assessing Your Needs

The first step in choosing the right vinyl sign is to assess your business needs. Consider the purpose of the sign, the target audience, and the desired message. Determine whether the sign will be used indoors or outdoors, and if it needs to be permanent or temporary.

Considering Your Budget

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Choosing the Right Material

Select the appropriate vinyl material based on the intended use and location of the sign. High-performance vinyl is recommended for outdoor signs due to its weather resistance and durability. Standard vinyl is suitable for indoor signs. Also, consider the type of adhesive backing needed for the sign's placement.

Designing for Impact

Design plays a crucial role in the effectiveness of a vinyl sign. Work with a professional designer to create a visually appealing and impactful design. Use bold colors, clear fonts, and high-quality images to ensure that your sign stands out and effectively communicates your message.

Installation and Maintenance

Proper Installation Techniques

Proper installation is essential for the longevity and effectiveness of vinyl signs. Follow manufacturer guidelines for installation, and use the appropriate tools and techniques. For large or complex signs, consider hiring a professional installer to ensure a flawless setup.

Maintenance Tips

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Longevity of Vinyl Signs

With proper installation and maintenance, vinyl signs can last for several years. Outdoor signs made from high-performance vinyl typically have a lifespan of 3-5 years, while indoor signs can last even longer. Regular cleaning and maintenance help preserve the appearance and durability of the signs.

Case Studies

Successful Business Implementations

Numerous businesses have successfully implemented custom vinyl signs to enhance their brand visibility and attract customers. For example, a local coffee shop used vibrant window decals and sidewalk signs to promote their daily specials, resulting in increased foot traffic and sales. Another case involves a real estate agency that used large outdoor banners and yard signs to advertise properties, leading to a significant boost in inquiries and sales.

Impact on Brand Visibility

Custom vinyl signs play a crucial role in enhancing brand visibility. A clothing store used custom vinyl banners and window displays to showcase their latest collections, which not only attracted customers but also reinforced their brand image. The consistent use of branded signage helped the store establish a strong presence in the local market.

Expert Insights

Quotes from Industry Professionals

Industry professionals highlight the importance of custom vinyl signs for businesses. According to John Smith, a signage expert, "Custom vinyl signs are one of the most versatile and cost-effective marketing tools available. They offer endless customization options and can be used in a variety of settings to attract and engage customers."

Best Practices in Signage Design and Use

Experts recommend several best practices for designing and using custom vinyl signs. These include keeping the design simple and readable, using high-contrast colors, and ensuring the sign is placed in a highly visible location. Additionally, it's important to regularly update the signage to keep the message fresh and relevant.

Challenges and Solutions

Common Issues with Vinyl Signs

While custom vinyl signs offer many benefits, they can also present some challenges. Common issues include fading due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, peeling or bubbling of the vinyl, and difficulty in removing adhesive residues. These problems can affect the appearance and effectiveness of the signs.

How to Overcome Them

To overcome these challenges, businesses should invest in high-quality vinyl materials that are UV-resistant and weatherproof. Proper installation techniques, such as ensuring a clean surface and using the right adhesive, can prevent peeling and bubbling. For removable signs, opt for adhesive options that are easy to clean off. Regular maintenance, such as cleaning and inspecting the signs, also helps prevent and address these issues.

Future Trends in Custom Vinyl Signs

Technological Advancements

The signage industry is continuously evolving, with new technologies enhancing the capabilities of custom vinyl signs. Advances in digital printing allow for more intricate designs and higher resolution images. Additionally, developments in UV-resistant and weatherproof materials extend the lifespan of outdoor signs, making them more durable and reliable.

Eco-Friendly Materials

As businesses become more environmentally conscious, there is a growing demand for eco-friendly signage options. Manufacturers are developing biodegradable and recyclable vinyl materials, reducing the environmental impact of custom signs. These sustainable options appeal to eco-conscious consumers and help businesses demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Interactive Signage

Interactive signage is an emerging trend that combines traditional vinyl signs with digital technology. By integrating QR codes, NFC chips, or augmented reality features, businesses can create engaging and interactive experiences for customers. These technologies allow customers to access additional information, promotional offers, or interactive content by scanning the sign with their smartphones.

Comparative Analysis

Vinyl Signs vs. Other Types of Signage

When compared to other types of signage, custom vinyl signs offer several advantages. Unlike traditional painted signs, vinyl signs can be produced quickly and affordably. They are also more versatile, as they can be easily customized and applied to various surfaces. Compared to digital signs, vinyl signs are more cost-effective and do not require electricity or maintenance.

Cost-Benefit Comparison

In terms of cost-benefit, custom vinyl signs provide excellent value for money. They offer long-lasting visibility at a relatively low cost, making them an attractive option for businesses with limited marketing budgets. While the initial investment may be higher for high-quality materials, the durability and reusability of vinyl signs result in long-term savings.

FAQs

What are custom vinyl signs?

Custom vinyl signs are advertising tools made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film. They are used to promote brands, convey information, and direct customers. These signs can be customized in terms of design, size, and shape to meet specific business needs.

How long do vinyl signs last?

The lifespan of vinyl signs depends on the quality of the material and the conditions in which they are used. High-performance outdoor vinyl signs typically last 3-5 years, while indoor signs can last even longer with proper maintenance.

Are vinyl signs weatherproof?

Yes, vinyl signs made from high-quality materials are weatherproof. They can withstand various weather conditions, including rain, wind, and sunlight, without deteriorating.

Can vinyl signs be reused?

Yes, vinyl signs can be reused, especially if they are made with removable adhesive backing. This makes them ideal for temporary promotions or events where the same signage can be used multiple times.

How much do custom vinyl signs cost?

The cost of custom vinyl signs varies based on factors such as size, design complexity, and material quality. Generally, vinyl signs are cost-effective and offer excellent value for money compared to other forms of advertising.

Conclusion

Summary of Key Points

Custom vinyl signs are a versatile, durable, and cost-effective marketing tool that businesses can use to enhance brand visibility, convey information, and guide customers. They offer numerous benefits, including customization options, long-lasting durability, and affordability. By choosing the right design, materials, and installation techniques, businesses can create impactful signage that effectively communicates their message.

Final Thoughts

Investing in custom vinyl signs is a smart decision for businesses of all sizes. Whether you need permanent storefront signage, temporary promotional banners, or informational signs, vinyl signs can meet your needs and deliver excellent results. With advancements in technology and a growing emphasis on sustainability, the future of custom vinyl signs looks promising.

Call to Action

If you are looking to enhance your business's visibility and attract more customers, consider investing in custom vinyl signs. Contact a reputable sign manufacturer today to explore your options and get started on creating high-quality, impactful signage for your business.

Ibn Khaldūn

27 May 1332 - 17 March 1406
Today in Philosophy of History
Ibn Khaldūn and the Introduction to History
Monday 27 May 2024 is the 692nd anniversary of the birth of Abū Zayd 'Abd ar-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn Khaldūn al-Ḥaḍramī, better known to posterity as Ibn Khaldūn (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406), who was born in Tunis, under the Hafsid Sultanate, on this date in 1332 AD. His dates in the Islamic lunar calendar are 732 to 808 of the Hejira Era.
Ibn Khaldūn was a Tunisian Arabic philosopher and historian who wrote a singular treatise, The Maqqadimmah, which discusses politics, history, sociology, philosophy of history, and related problems. A contemporary philosopher of history, Hayden White, wrote of Ibn Khaldūn:

“Readers of Toynbee’s Study will know that Ibn Khaldun has been acclaimed as the producer of ‘the greatest work of its kind that has ever been created by any mind in any time or place.’ Toynbee enshrines Ibn Khaldun in a pantheon which houses Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius, Josephus, St. Augustine, Gibbon and Turgot; and of that group, Ibn Khaldun seems, at least at first glance, the most modern of all. Evidence of his modernity is reflected in the dispute between historians and sociologists for the honor of claiming him as their own.”

White is correct that historians and sociologists have both sought to claim Ibn Khaldūn as their own, but he further notes, “Ibn Khaldūn cannot be classified as either historian or sociologist with any sort of terminological accuracy.” Here is some of Toynbee’s fulsome praise for Ibn Khaldun, which includes the bit quoted by White:

“In his chosen field of intellectual activity he appears to have been inspired by no predecessors, and to have found no kindred souls among his contemporaries, and to have kindled no answering spark of inspiration in any successors; and yet, in the Prolegomena (Muquddamat) to his Universal History he has conceived and formulated a philosophy of history which is undoubtedly the greatest work of its kind that has ever yet been created by any mind in any time or place.”

Ibn Khaldun’s great book is The Maqqadimmah, which means prolegomena, which means that it was intended as an introduction to the study of history, sort of like Jean Bodin’s Method for the Easy Comprehension of History. Some call The Maqqadimmah a history; some call it a work of historiography; some call it a philosophy of history; some have called it the first work of sociology. It could be said that The Maqqadimmah contains elements of all of these. We’re probably best off sticking with Ibn Khaldun’s original intention, which is that it an introduction to history rather than history itself. This sense of being an introduction to the study of history comes out clearly in an early passage from The Maqqadimmah:

“The (writing of history) requires numerous sources and greatly varied knowledge. It also requires a good speculative mind and thoroughness. (Possession of these two qualities) leads the historian to the truth and keeps him from slips and errors. If he trusts historical information in its plain transmitted form and has no clear knowledge of the principles resulting from custom, the fundamental facts of politics, the nature of civilization, or the conditions governing human social organization, and if, furthermore, he does not evaluate remote or ancient material through comparison with near or contemporary material, he often cannot avoid stumbling and slipping and deviating from the highroad of truth.”

Still, The Maqqadimmah belongs to a number of unclassifiable works that touch on many aspects of human life and experience. Unclassifiable books are difficult to assimilate, and The Maqqadimmah presents additional problems for us. We all have difficulty understanding a work written in a fundamentally different historical era, with its alien presuppositions. For westerners, as well, there is the difficulty of reading a work conceived within a distinct civilization. But these barriers can be overcome.
The Islamic Golden Age is in some respects less alien to us than the European middle ages, since it is, like classical antiquity, and like our own times, a time of cosmopolitanism, of aspirations to universality, of plenty, and of routine travel. We can read writers like Ibn Khaldūn, Ibn Fadlan, and Ibn Battutah as though they were contemporaries, whereas the works of Wolfram von Eschenbach and Gottfried von Strassburg strike us as strange, even when we find in them much that is familiar. Perhaps the virtue of being readable to posterity comes at the cost being alienated from one’s own time.
Barbara Stowasser wrote of Ibn Khaldūn in “Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History: The Rise and Fall of States and Civilizations”:

“…Ibn Khaldun’s ideas were in some ways too realistic and hence revolutionary for the intellectually stagnant society in which he lived and worked. There is very little evidence that he had any impact on Arab thought in the late 14th or early 15th centuries. It was only in the 16th and particularly in the 17th centuries that an Ibn Khaldun rediscovery got underway, and the people who rediscovered and read and commented upon him were the Ottoman Turks. The Ottomans, as you know, concentrated much of their intellectual interest upon history and political thought, and they were fascinated with Ibn Khaldun. In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the study of Ibn Khaldun constituted an important segment of Turkish intellectual history. It was only in the 19th century that Europe joined the Turks in reading Ibn Khaldun.”

It is the fate of many substantive thinkers to be unappreciated in their own time. We know that no prophet is accepted in his own country, just as we know that the past is a foreign country. We could add to that that the future is a foreign country to the past. So therein lies the rub: later generations are arguably less well equipped to appreciate a work neglected in its own time, being further removed from the lived experience that was the inspiration of the work. Also we project our own concerns into a past innocent of the world we take for granted.
To a certain extent, this is unavoidable. Most of the terminology that we have today for discussing historiography and philosophy of history did not yet exist for ibn Khaldūn, so in order to see the relevance of his work we often have to translate his ideas into a modern idiom, and there are certain hazards in doing so. That’s why Hayden White wrote that Ibn Khaldun can’t be called an historian or a sociologist with any terminological accuracy. But what about conceptual accuracy? Say we agree that Ibn Khaldun is not an historian in the modern sense of the term. How then is he to be mapped onto the conceptual space of history?
I would argue that the hazards increase as we approach foundational concepts, and it is the nature of a work like The Maqqadimmah to engage with foundational concepts. The idea of history is itself a foundational concept, and the idea of knowledge is a foundational concept, and science, and so on. When we read Chapter VI of The Maqqadimmah we find a catalogue of knowledge (or sciences) that sets alchemy next to logic, and Sufism next to dream interpretation, which, to the modern mind, seems like a category error. In this sense, Ibn Khaldun reads more like St. Thomas Aquinas than a contemporary.
If we want to extract from The Maqqadimmah the perennial lessons it has to teach, we have to take it out of the context in which it was formulated. Its context is a world now lost to us, which can only be recovered with great difficulty. Part of this difficulty, for example, is that there is a lot in The Muquaddimah about magic, divination, and sorcery. Take the following, for instance:

“In the Ghayah, Maslamah . . . mentioned that when a human being is placed in a barrel of sesame oil and kept in it for forty days, is fed with figs and nuts until his flesh is gone and only the arteries and the sutures of the skull remain, and is then taken out of the oil and exposed to the drying action of the air, he will answer all special and general questions regarding the future that may be asked. This is detestable sorcery. However, it shows what remarkable things exist in the world of man.” (Sixth Prefatory Discussion to Chapter II)

It’s worth observing that this is a falsifiable methodology, but it is unlikely to have been tried a number of times sufficient to get statistically significant confirmatory or disconfirmatory evidence. I do wonder how many readers of Maslamah did actually attempt this. On the one hand, Ibn Khaldun seems to credit this sorcery as possibly efficacious. On the other hand, his scientific detachment is evident from his final remark: he notes that this is detestable, but it remains interesting as testimony to the remarkable things that we find in the world of man. And we do find remarkable things in the world. Ibn Khaldun is absolutely right about that. I suspect that the scientifically detached Ibn Khaldun would have been ready to discuss the possibility of confirmatory or disconfirmatory evidence for sorcery. It is this scientifically detached Ibn Khaldun that we must extract from the intellectual and cultural context in which sorcery is commonplace.
While we do an author a certain degree of violence by thus extracting his ideas from their human, all-too-human context, it is not at all unusual. Reading Saint Augustine is not all that different: there is much that I have extracted from Saint Augustine that I find to be of value, despite his many digressions to profess his faith. Augustine, too, like Ibn Khaldun, is interested in divination and demonology, and since we don’t credit this today we tend to gloss over these sections, although they were a large part of Augustine’s world, as they were also a large art of Ibn Khaldun’s world. Do we sacrifice this world in order to derive the perennial lessons, or do we keep Ibn Khaldun (and Saint Augustine) whole and intact, treating them as mere historical figures whose work no longer bears upon our world?
I touched on this previously in my episode on J. G. A. Pocock and contextualism, since the context of Ibn Khaldun’s work is almost unrecoverable to us, and I said that we have to strip away this context to get at what is perennially true in his work. What do we have if we don’t strip away the unfamiliar context? Robert Irwin in his book Ibn Khaldun: An Intellectual Biography had this to say:

“It is precisely Ibn Khaldun’s irrelevance to the modern world that makes him so interesting and important. When I read the Muqaddima, I have the sense that I am encountering a visitor from another planet—and that is exciting. There have been other ways of looking at the world than the one we mostly take for granted today.”

Some years ago a correspondent said something not unlike this to me. The society that Ibn Khaldun described no longer exists. As such, we could say that his work belongs to historical sociology, but that isn’t an adequate way to understand the book. Understanding the book in the fullness of its historical, social, and cultural context alienate the work from us and our concerns, and this meaning can only be recovered by means of the patient contextual methods pursued by Pocock and others of the contextualist school.
Despite the strangeness, there are moments within The Maqqadimmah when Ibn Khaldun seems to affirm the categories of our thought and his argument makes perfect sense. For example:

“People who grow up in villages and uncivilized (thinly populated) cities and who have an innate desire for scientific activity, cannot find scientific instruction in those places. For scientific instruction is something technical, and there are no crafts among the inhabitants of the desert, as we have stated before. These people, therefore, must travel and seek scientific instruction in cities where (civilization) is highly developed, as is the case with all crafts.” (VI, 8)

This quote highlights a theme that runs throughout Ibn Khaldun, and that is the contrast between sedentary life in cities and the nomadic life of the Bedouin of the desert. As we can see in from the previous quote, Ibn Khaldun gives cities their full measure, acknowledging that craft specialization is only to be found in cities, but he also sees the problems with urban life, which are distinct from those of village and desert. He makes some interesting observations on urban juvenile delinquency:

“The city, then, teems with low people of blameworthy character. They encounter competition from many members of the younger generation of the dynasty, whose education has been neglected and whom the dynasty has neglected to accept. They, therefore, adopt the qualities of their environment and company, even though they may be people of noble descent and ancestry. Men are human beings and as such resemble one another. They differ in merit and are distinguished by their character, by their acquisition of virtues and avoidance of vices. The person who is strongly colored by any kind of vice and whose good character is corrupted, is not helped by his good descent and fine origin. Thus, one finds that many descendants of great families, men of a highly esteemed origin, members of the dynasty, get into deep water and adopt low occupations in order to make a living, because their character is corrupt and they are colored by wrongdoing and insincerity. If this (situation) spreads in a town or nation, God permits it to be ruined and destroyed. This is the meaning of the word of God: ‘When we want to destroy a village, we order those of its inhabitants who live in luxury to act wickedly therein. Thus, the word becomes true for it, and we do destroy it’.”(IV, 18)

For Ibn Khladun, then, civilization and its cities are a mixed blessing, and while the Bedouin of the desert do not possess craft specialization, they are also free of the vices and luxury of urban life. Ibn Khaldun also discusses this contrast as it touches upon law:

“When laws are (enforced) by means of punishment, they completely destroy fortitude, because the use of punishment against someone who cannot defend himself generates in that person a feeling of humiliation that, no doubt, must break his fortitude. When laws are (intended to serve the purposes of) education and instruction and are applied from childhood on, they have to some degree the same effect, because people then grow up in fear and docility and consequently do not rely on their own fortitude. For this (reason), greater fortitude is found among the savage Arab Bedouins than among people who are subject to laws. Furthermore, those who rely on laws and are dominated by them from the very beginning of their education and instruction in the crafts, sciences, and religious matters, are thereby deprived of much of their own fortitude. They can scarcely defend themselves at all against hostile acts. This is the case with students, whose occupation it is to study and to learn from teachers and religious leaders, and who constantly apply themselves to instruction and education in very dignified gatherings. This situation and the fact that it destroys the power of resistance and fortitude must be understood.” (II, 6)

One can see in passages like this why many have identified Ibn Khaldun as a sociologist, or a theoretician of culture. In Muhsin Mahdi’s book-length study, Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of History: A Study in the Philosophic Foundation of a Science of Culture, Mahdi characterizes Ibn Khaldun’s effort as being toward a “science of culture.” He finishes off his book by taking a swipe at Hegelian philosophies of history:

“Ibn Khaldun did not turn to history to find his standards and goal, or to see how the Idea progressively realizes itself and learn its future course so that he could join the predetermined course of history. For him, future action cannot he determined by any science. It continues to be the product of an art which requires the knowledge of the end of man and society, and the knowledge of the actual circumstances supplied by history, but which must he perfected through experience. Having equipped himself with such knowledge, it remains the responsibility of the wise man to decide what is best under particular circumstances. He is not relieved of the task of making right choices. History, even when ascertained and explained in the light of the new science of culture, may help the wise man to make a better choice, but it does not and cannot choose for him.”

I suspect many people would agree with this, whether or not they have read Ibn Khaldun, or whether or not they have any interest in philosophy of history. Although Ibn Khaldun did not seek his standards and goals in history, he did understand the importance of understanding history on its own merits. Hence the need for an introduction to history.
It is worth reflecting on the idea that an introduction to history may be more difficult than history itself. Insofar as an introduction to history is a guide to the understanding of history, we can see why this is the case, though it seems counterintuitive that an introduction should be more difficult than that to which it introduces us. Anyone can memorize names, dates, and places, and anyone can follow a narrative, but understanding what is happening and why is much more difficult. The Maqqadimmah attempts to assist us with this difficulty.
There is a lot in The Maqqadimmah, but when I think about Ibn Khaldun, I keep coming back to the image of the man in the vat of sesame oil. I can imagine, in my mind’s eye, Ibn Khaldun being told about this, and hearing about it in his travels, he is invited to actually witness this sorcery or something similar. I can see the whole thing in flickering lamplight, being led to some hole in the wall in a dingy part of a city, passing the kind of disreputable characters that Ibn Khaldun wrote about inhabiting cities, and then the door opening onto to bizarre scene of a partially dissolved man being decanted from a barrel of oil. I imagine it like a scene from a Sinbad movie from the 70s.
What would Ibn Khaldun have to say about this? What would he do? How would he respond? For this, I draw on an historical analogy, which might seem a bit strained, but hear me out. When as Westerners we read accounts of the witch craze we start to get a feel for the relative scope of the rationality of the individuals involved. If you read enough, you go beyond the words and you get a sense of the man involved. The man whose words you read is a man of his time, since we all are, but there were different temperaments then as there are today, and some temperaments are skeptical, some credulous, some rational, some practical. And some of these temperaments are more consistent with what we would recognize today as rationality.
Some men confronted with witches and spectral evidence were all in. The kind of man who would be all in for a moral panic in the 16th or 17th century is the same kind of man who would be all in for a moral panic in the 21st century. Some men were skeptical, but willing to listen. We know their type today. Some were pragmatic, uninterested in claims about demons and spirits, only seeing the situation for what it is. These too a familiar characters for us. And, of course, there are men with an intuitive sense of scientific detachment, sometimes skeptical, sometimes pragmatic, always interested, even if horrified. I take ibn Khaldun to be a man like this.
So, to return to the man in the vat of sesame oil, I think Ibn Khaldun confronted with this scene would have been angry about the practice of sorcery, indignant about the treatment of the subject of the experiment, and dismissive of the claims of the sorcerer, whom we can imagine waving his hands and protesting how he has an explanation for everything. Change a few details and this could be any of us today. I’ve seen some strange things in my time—nothing as strange as what Ibn Khaldun describes—but strange enough. Here, I think, we find our connection to Ibn Khaldun and The Maqqadimmah. Circumstances change, but men are what they are in every age. This is the introduction to history that we need, the human side of history, but it’s not the introduction to history we usually get. This is part of what makes The Maqqadimmah both difficult and interesting. It is unfamiliar, but it is a necessary unfamiliarity.

Video Presentation

https://youtu.be/Z54QH1LVEdg
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7flz_-tjM5/
https://odysee.com/@Geopolicraticus:7/ibn-khald%C5%ABn-and-the-introduction-to:6

Podcast Edition

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/tF8P49ncXJb
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/a31b8276-53cd-4723-b6ad-a39c8faa4572/episodes/46636f67-3142-49f4-98f3-82c7daaa4c63/today-in-philosophy-of-history-ibn-khald%C5%ABn-and-the-introduction-to-history
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-today-in-philosophy-of-his-146507578/episode/ibn-khaldn-and-the-introduction-to-180274520/
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# Today In Phishstory - May 28th Brought to you by tiph-bot. Beep.
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Phish

Phish, Saturday 05/28/2022 (2 years ago) The Wharf, Orange Beach, AL, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 2022 Spring Tour
Set 1 : Sigma Oasis , Possum , AC/DC Bag > Reba , Roggae , My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own > The Final Hurrah > Free
Set 2 : A Wave of Hope > Mr. Completely > Walk Away , Golden Age > What's the Use? > The Moma Dance , If I Could > Run Like an Antelope
Encore : I Am in Miami , Izabella
Jamchart Notes:
Sigma Oasis - In a string of strong openers, Sigma Oasis gets the extended treatment for the second time. Soaring play from Trey kicks the jam off, which gives way to a breakdown jam. Mike is inventive and creative throughout.
Free - Some dirty chord work from Trey nudges the jam out of the usual bass-guitar duel into a into a full-on barrage of synths and effects creating a killer atmospheric groove. Filthy, filthy version.
Golden Age - Takes a little bit of time to get going, but then resolves into a funky and bouncy jam not far away from "YPC", grows in power slowly and steadily, and nicely peaks before heading home. As with the 8/11/21 "BOAF" or 11/23/97 "Gin", finds its pocket and stays in it to very nice effect.
Show Notes:
My Mind's Got a Mind of its Own was performed for the first time since October 25, 2013 (285 shows). Page teased Frankenstein in The Final Hurrah. Fish teased Mr. Completely in Walk Away.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Saturday 05/28/2011 (13 years ago) Bethel Woods, Bethel, NY, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 2011 Early Summer Tour
Set 1 : Theme From the Bottom , NICU , Cities , Halley's Comet > Runaway Jim , Gumbo > Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) > Limb By Limb , Horn , Bathtub Gin -> Manteca > Bathtub Gin
Set 2 : Down with Disease ¹ > Free > Backwards Down the Number Line > Makisupa Policeman ² > Harry Hood > Cavern > David Bowie
Encore : A Day in the Life
1 Unfinished. 2 With lyrics referencing several band members' houses (and Trey's favorite show, House).
Jamchart Notes:
Cities - Nice little extended outro with a good Trey-led peak.
Halley's Comet - Percussion driven, exploratory version that manages to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short time.
Bathtub Gin - "Gin" -> "Manteca" > "Gin." The "Gin" sections, although largely straightforward, include improvisational playing by Trey. "Manteca" includes "Golden Age" jamming, with fans thus dubbing this version the "GoldenGinTeca."
Manteca - -> in from "Gin." The jamming just before and during this "Manteca" includes teases of "Golden Age," causing fans to dub this version the "GoldenGinTeca." > back to "Gin."
Bathtub Gin - > in from "Manteca" to end this fine version.
Backwards Down the Number Line - The band incorporates a lot of "DEG" teasing/jamming into the standard format. The mood shifts back and forth from bright to dark several times, with "DEG"-like playing at various times throughout, before returning to "BDTNL." A very cool version.
Makisupa Policeman - An energetic, funky jam emerges at around 5:30 after some chanting on "House." This is a fun, well-played version.
Harry Hood - This "Hood" has a really nice jam that sounds similar to "Faht" at times. Returns to "Hood" to close.
Show Notes:
Gin included a mash-up jam of Golden Age and Manteca and later closed with a Manteca quote from Trey. Disease was unfinished. BDTNL featured a DEG tease from Mike. Makisupa included lyrics referencing several band members' houses (and Trey's favorite show, House ).
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Saturday 05/28/1994 (30 years ago) Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, CA, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1994 Spring Tour
Set 1 : Rift > Sample in a Jar , Foam , Bouncing Around the Room , Stash , The Horse > Silent in the Morning > The Sloth , Maze , Cavern
Set 2 : Axilla (Part II) > It's Ice > Tweezer > Lifeboy > Reba ¹ , Fee ² > Llama , You Enjoy Myself ³
Encore : Poor Heart
1 No whistling. 2 Trey sang verses through megaphone. 3 Les Claypool on bass and Fish on vacuum; no vocal jam.
Jamchart Notes:
It's Ice - Wild, electro-rock jam!
Reba - Super version. Trey drives a great, dark, direct yet swinging groove, with Page providing really colorful fills. Mike is on-point, his play incredible, and, with Fish, inciting a sort of charge from Trey who creates an electric solo through an incredible conclusion.
Show Notes:
This performance was part of the Laguna Seca Daze Festival that also included Sausage, Gin Blossoms and Freddy Jones Band. Trey teased Sailor's Hornpipe in Tweezer. Reba did not have the whistling ending. Trey sang the verses of Fee through a megaphone. YEM featured Les Claypool playing on a second bass guitar and Fish on vacuum, and included a band-accompanied bass duel between Mike and Les and a Gimme Some Lovin' tease from Page, Dueling Banjos teases in the jam segment, and a Yankee Doodle tease. YEM ended without a vocal jam. Dueling Banjos was also teased before and during Poor Heart.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Monday 05/28/1990 (34 years ago) Jack McConnell's House, Hilton Head, SC, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1990 Tour
Set 1 : Blue Monk , Autumn Leaves , Donna Lee , How High the Moon , My Funny Valentine ¹ , Take the 'A' Train , Sweet Adeline , St. Thomas , Caravan , Carolina , Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home? ² , Piano Boogie Woogie Jam ¹ , I've Got You Under My Skin ¹ , Satin Doll , Lawn Boy , Contact
1 First known Phish performance. 2 First known Phish performance; with Dr. Jack McConnell.
Show Notes:
This was a private one set jazz show at Page's parents' housewarming party. It is thought to have happened on Monday, May 28th, but could possibly have taken place Sunday, May 27th. This show featured the first known Phish performances of My Funny Valentine, Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home, Piano Boogie Woogie Jam and I've Got You Under My Skin. Page's dad, Dr. Jack McConnell, joined the band for Bill Bailey. The source of this setlist is phish.com.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, Sunday 05/28/1989 (35 years ago) Ian McLean's Party, Connie Condon's Farm, Hebron, NY, USA
Gap Chart, Tour: 1989 Tour
Set 1 : Divided Sky , Run Like an Antelope , Colonel Forbin's Ascent > Fly Famous Mockingbird , Fee -> Slave to the Traffic Light , Esther , Suzy Greenberg , You Enjoy Myself ¹
Set 2 : Fire , Mike's Song > I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove , Bathtub Gin , Sanity ² , Ride Captain Ride , Peaches en Regalia , Take the 'A' Train ³ , Possum , Contact ⁴ , Funky (Breakdown) ⁵ -> The Price of Love ⁶ , Funky Bitch , Split Open and Melt ⁷ , The Mango Song , Harry Hood
Set 3 : Jam -> La Grange Jam , The Sloth , Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley > Ya Mar ⁸ , Jesus Just Left Chicago
1 Poop Vocal Jam. 2 Fast version. 3 Unknown saxophone player named "Paul." 4 Trey wished the crowd "Merry Christmas" several times. 5 First known Phish performance; Ninja Mike on vocals and Magoo on guitar. 6 Ninja Mike on vocals, Magoo on guitar and Fish on vacuum and trombone. [7] Fish drum solo. [8] Lyrics referenced wild pigs and Paul.
Jamchart Notes:
Slave to the Traffic Light - Although this version begins with spacey elements similar to 5/6/89, it also peaks in a more customary and shredding manner, reestablishing a more conventional approach to the jam.
Esther - > from "Slave to the Traffic Light," this too is slow, patient, and well-played. Trey is particularly on point, deploying a series of "jazzy" chords before offering up a great solo.
You Enjoy Myself - Very good early version with hilarious "POOP" VJ!
Jam - A somewhat dark, low-key jam opens Set III at Ian McLean's Party, builds intensity, and -> to a brief "La Grange" jam.
Jesus Just Left Chicago - Machine Gun Trey in combat action in the latter half of this jam.
Show Notes:
Trey dedicated the Divided Sky opener to "the spirit of the pig." Trey briefly teased TMWSIY before Antelope. This YEM featured the infamous "Poop Vocal Jam," followed by a set-stopping keg run. Mike's Song included a tease of the HBO theme song. Sanity was the fast version and dedicated to Eric Larson. 'A' Train featured "Paul," an unknown audience member, on saxophone and included a Dixie tease from Trey. During Contact, Trey wished the crowd "Merry Christmas" several times, quoted Blue Bayou (with slightly altered lyrics) in a falsetto voice and teased Auld Lang Syne at the end of the song. This show featured the first known Phish performance of Funky (Breakdown). Funky (Breakdown) and Price of Love featured guest appearances by Ninja Mike (vocals) and Magoo (guitar). Fish intermittently played trombone and vacuum during the latter. Melt featured a Fish drum solo. The vocal jam at the end of Sneakin' Sally included Changes (David Bowie) and My Sharona (The Knack) quotes. Ya Mar's lyrics included references to wild pigs and Paul.
Listen now at Phish.in!
Phish, 1988-05-28 Wedding Reception, Waitsfield, VT, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/phish-may-28-1988-wedding-reception-waitsfield-vt-usa.html
Tour: 1988 Tour
Show Notes:

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio Band, 2020-05-28 Thompson's Point, Portland, ME, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-band-may-28-2020-thompsons-point-portland-me-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: This performance was cancelled as a result of the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
Trey Anastasio Band, 2019-05-28 Jannus, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-may-28-2019-jannus-landing-st-petersburg-fl-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes:
Trey Anastasio Band, 2017-05-28 Three Sisters Park, Chillicothe, IL, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-may-28-2017-three-sisters-park-chillicothe-il-usa.html
Tour: Not Part of a Tour
Show Notes: This performance was part of Summer Camp Music Festival and took place on the Sunshine Stage. This show featured the TAB debut of Midnight Rider. Money, Love and Change contained a San-Ho-Zay tease.
Trey Anastasio Band, 2003-05-28 Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-may-28-2003-electric-factory-philadelphia-pa-usa.html
Tour: TAB - The Dectet Summer 2003 Tour
Show Notes: Trey performed "The Inlaw Josie Wales" and "Secret Smile" solo, acoustic.
Trey Anastasio Band, 2002-05-28 Open Air Theatre, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/trey-anastasio-may-28-2002-open-air-theatre-san-diego-ca-usa.html
Tour: TAB - The Dectet Summer 2002 Tour
Show Notes: The cover of Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing" was a TAB debut. Trey performed "Thunderhead" acoustic.

John Fishman

Jazz Mandolin Project, 2004-05-28 Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Setlist: https://phish.net/setlists/jon-fishman-may-28-2004-theatre-of-the-living-arts-philadelphia-pa-usa.html
Tour: Fish - Jazz Mandolin Project Summer 2004 Tour
Show Notes: Al and the Transamericans opened. "What Is and What Should Never Be" featured Al Schiner on guitar. "Ballad for Trio" featured Gordon Stone on pedal steel guitar. "Dark Eyes" featured Mark Guiliana on box drum.

RE: "You destroyed me" post in here.
My ex and I broke up because one day out of nowhere he told me I was unattractive to him, that he didn't want me and never loved me. He told me it was all a lie, our future, our plans to have kids, etc. We had years of friendship before this. This shook me to my core and I begged and begged to know why, he refused to answer and ghosted me. When I finally came to terms with this and backed off, he blew up my phone constantly. More than 300 calls in a specific day when I went to get dinner with my friend after work. All sorts of things about how I was *effing* him and how "it" was his. He called me dozens of times daily belligerently drunk, some days it would be hundreds. I told him I didn't want to be with him because of what he'd done and his dishonesty, and so he started telling me the "truth", Which was; He lied to his family about me because we were long distance and he was embarrassed, he told his friends I abused him, he was following and *paying* for 48 OF accounts, he had THOUSANDS of pictures of women in his phone, basically his entire camera roll.. then he told me at the end that he cheated on me by getting a (quote) "hummer" in an alleyway. I absolutely couldn't take anymore so I decided to leave, and when I was doing so he told me that the cheating was a lie to "strengthen the relationship". By this point this had been going on for weeks, I was missing work, not eating, not sleeping, not FUNCTIONING. I had to step away. I couldn't take it anymore. I loved him but he would verbally abuse me and not stop blowing up my phone, and I walked away because I had to, Now, he's harassing me. He's gone through friends, facebook friends lists, group chats from years ago, multiple accounts hes made, 3 phone numbers and more. He is verbally abusing my friends and threatening my safety. I've spoke to the police and they've threatened him with criminal harassment, but he does not care. He calls multiple times a day, and posts about me on here (reddit) every single day- and it is all victim mentality. If you read his post in here earlier, do yourself a favor and go through his comments. He deleted all the actual posts. He is abusive, he is scary.
To clear some things up too; he wrote about how I "cheated' on him while he was in the hospital. He went to the hospital with food poisoning and had diarrhea, he went for about three hours. We were broken up for a month by that point and I'd found somebody. Everything he writes is absolute lies. I can't stand it anymore.
EDIT: This person is so unhinged he would literally smash his head off the floor on phone calls because I wouldn't come back to him, he has holes punched into his walls- he would leave me voicemails screaming at the top of his lungs at me, and threatens to *unalive* himself to me and all my friends because I won't come back.

Okay so I had the landscaper out about 3 weeks ago for an initial consultation and I very very briefly told him what I wanted. I wasn’t super specific and just vaguely pointed him in the direction I’m thinking. He said he’d get me a quote. He then sends me a quote for everything we talked about down to every detail, but he never once like made sure it was exactly what I wanted or talked about which plants I’d like to plant in any of the 3 beds he will be working on. So I sign the contract and pay the deposit stupidly thinking that there would surely be another meeting or conversation at the least about what plants we’d like and to make sure the things we talked about initially are still good with us. One very big thing I already contacted him to change and never heard back last “I’ll see what that costs!”, and the other thing I really wish he had given me more options or something. But I’ve decided on something different.
The biggest thing to me though is that I don’t just want whatever plants or flowers he picks out. I am a plant-loving, gardening-loving, semi-knowledgeable planty person and I’d like to have a say in what goes in my yard and I was under the impression that I would get that. It bothers me that it’s been nearly a month and the work is less than a week away and he hasn’t even asked me how tall I want the hydrangeas I requested to grow in my yard when they’re mature. Like isn’t that a big deal since some hydrangeas are 2’ tall and some are over 10’ tall! He doesn’t even know what color blooms I’d like. All of these things matter to me hugely and I’m starting to regret hiring someone.
I’m not mean by any way, and I would 1000% do all of this on my own if I didn’t have multiple spinal injuries currently and I’m unable to even stand up for long let alone do all of this work because it’s a lot. I don’t want to have a confrontation with him, but I feel that this needs to be addressed. I typed some stuff out that I may send to him. Then for kicks I tossed a few ideas at ChatGPT and got some good possibilities there haha
I may just text him and tell him to forget the plants. Just fix up the beds like I asked then I’ll plant them on my own. It’ll take time and it won’t feel good physically, but maybe it’s best if I deal with it on my own despite my spinal injuries. I just don’t want to be annoying or rude or anything. I hate this so much. I want to crawl in a hole. 😔
bonus comment- he wants to put weed fabric under my mulch and I don’t really want that. 😕

Is this a brand new build, or an upgrade to an existing build?

Brand new build

Please list any existing parts or monitor(s) you have that you would like to re-use with this build. For upgrades, a PCPartPicker list of your full build is extremely helpful. Be as specific as you can be here, including links or exact model numbers of each component whenever possible.

This is for a friend, who isnt very..technology inclined, but theyll be re-using a 1080p monitor, keyboard and mouse.

What will this PC be used for? Examples include things like gaming, general/multimedia use, photo/video editing, coding, AI/ML, etc. Include specific games and applications you intend to run, and any particular performance goals you have, as each may have different specific hardware needs.

Gaming, general media use. VR gaming, Fallout 76, Helldivers 2, (modded) The Simes 4, Blade & Sorcery (VR), Pavlov, Contractors

What country will you be purchasing in? If you are in the US, do you live near a Micro Center? For other countries, please check if your country is supported by PCPartPicker by using the country selector dropdown on the top right - if not, please provide some links to reliable local vendors you are comfortable ordering from.

US, No micro center

Do you need one or more monitors included in the budget? Please list how many and any size/resolution/refresh rate preferences if needed.

No

What is your preferred and maximum budget range for this build, in local currency? Parts lists may sometimes have additional shipping costs. Please note whether prices in your country include sales tax or not, and adjust your budget accordingly. Typically VAT countries will have it included in the part list prices, whereas regular sales tax countries like the US and Canada will not.

Maximum is $1200 USD, preferred being $1000 USD (this is before taxes, taxes are not a big deal)

Do you need WiFi, or do you have a wired ethernet connection available?

Wifi

Do you have any specific size or noise requirements for the build?

ITX preferred, mATX acceptable

Do you have any aesthetic preferences for color or lighting? Describe what you're looking for, or feel free to provide some links to examples that may help. Some people prefer an inobtrusive stealth build, while others may prefer a case full of rainbow RGB.

To quote him "I like white, it looks cool, as much white as possible"

Any other specific requests or requirements? Examples might include a specific minimum amount of storage, or a particular CPU socket for a future upgrade path, etc.

Would prefer a AM4 CPU, but willing to go intel if theres a better deal
( I will follow the instructions )

Parts 1-18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32
Part 33
“Psst! Psst! Mr. Hard-Sell! Wake Up!”, I heard Bob say, waking me up.
I groggily opened my eyes, and lifted my head off the pillow, to see Bob and the Seeker standing side by side in front of my dresser.
I quickly rolled on my back, and sat up, turning my head to look at them
I then looked to my left to see Donna still sleeping.
I looked back, and asked, wiping my eyes, “Bob? What are you two doing in our bedroom?”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hard-Sell! It is time!”, Bob said coldly.
The Seeker just smiled.
I then took a look at my arm… 14 minutes, 37 seconds, and counting.
I put my hands over my face, and let my body fall back onto the bed.
I knew this day would come, I was just hoping that with all the wild and crazy adventures we had together, they forgot. They didn’t.
I guess the sudden jolt of the mattress, jarred Donna awake.
“Michael! What’s wrong?”, she asked, half asleep.
I just sighed, and pointed toward the dresser.
Donna then raised her head, leaned up on her arm, and looked in that direction.
“Bob? Old Man?”, she said surprised, pulling the blankets up around her neck, “Why are you in our bedroom?”
“Donna Dear! I’m afraid… it is time!”, Bob answered again.
“Time for what?”, she asked confused.
“You didn’t tell her, Mr. Hard-Sell?”, Bob inquired.
“Tell me what?”, Donna asked worried.
I just sighed, sat back up, and looked at Bob.
“Tell me what?”, she asked again, more intense this time, and pulling on my arm.
I turned to look at her, as she let go of my arm.
“Um! You see, Babe. Um! Seven years ago, I met the old man in the bathroom at the mall. I was wearing that jacket of mine that you like so much. He asked me if I would sell my soul for Rock and Roll like the jacket said.
I foolishly said yes, thinking he was just some random old man fucking with me. He wasn’t. He was, and still is, a Soul Seeker.
I inadvertently sold my soul, which allowed me to get anything I wanted for the next seven years, but at the end, I had to spend eternity in Hell.
There’s a counter on my arm that tells me how much time I have left.
I wanted to become a Rock Star, and I did, but now my time is up.”, I said, “I have to go to Hell now! Well, in 9 minutes and 42 seconds.”
“I don’t see anything on your arm?”, Donna said almost in tears.
“You won’t, only Bob and I can see it.”, I answered.
I then turned to Bob, and asked, “Why didn’t you just let the timer count down, and take me while I was sleeping?”, I asked
“I like you, Mr. Hard-Sell, I really do. I do not want to do this, but a deal is a deal.
I normally would have done just that, but like I said, I like you. I feel I at least owe you the opportunity to say goodbye, after all you have helped me do!”, Bob answered.
I then turned to Donna, who was fully in tears at this point
“No! I don’t want you to go. What about the baby? I wish this wasn’t happening!”, she said, through falling tears, with her hands covering her face.
I put my arm around her to try and console her, but she pulled away.
I couldn’t really blame her.
Her words were tearing through me, like a Langolier through time past.
But it also got me thinking, “Want? Wish?”
“Wait a minute… maybe there IS a way out of this”, I thought.
I closed my eyes and whispered, “God! I hope this works!”
“I have 2 minutes and 7 seconds left, I can still get anything I want, and you still owe me a wish!”, I said pointing at Bob.
His eyes grew wide, and a smile loosely formed on his face, like he knew where I was going with this.
I quickly began listing off all the things I wanted, in rapid fire style.
“I want to grow old with Donna . I want our baby to be healthy.
I want to keep all the money.
I want to keep the house.
I want to keep the cars.
I want to keep the ability to get anything I want.
I want to own the bus that Mr. Bellington gave me.
I want Ricky and Tony to be successful.
I want Derek and Corey to succeed.
I want Stephen to find happiness.
I want Rebecca and Donna to remain best friends.
I want Edgar to learn how to play the keyboards.”
I then hesitated, breathing heavy.
15 seconds…
I then took the deepest breath I could.
“AND I WISH I HAD MY SOUL BACK!”, I yelled, and looked down at my arm.
10 seconds...
“You can’t do that!”, the Seeker yelled.
“A wish is a wish! Now grant it!”, I yelled to Bob.
Bob just stood there.
5 seconds…
“You owe me that wish!”, I yelled.
3 seconds…
2 seconds…
1 second…
That loosely formed smile then formed into a happy one, as Bob snapped his fingers.
In mid snap, time ran out, as flames began bursting up from the floor.
I then heard Donna scream.
I turned to look at her, as her face and body quickly began melting into a large pile of a flesh colored goo on the bed.
I screamed, and looked at Bob and The Seeker. They were just standing there, in the midst of the flames.
I then felt the bed give way underneath me.
I felt my body falling… falling into the firey pits of Hell.
I felt every molecule in my body slowly breaking apart, starting with my hands and feet, floating like embers at a campfire, right in front of my eyes, just like it did, when Bob transported Tony and I from the basement to the alley.
The pain was immense, and the heat was unbearable.
I could hear flames crackling, and blood curdling torturous screams from below, as my body disintegrated.
I screamed again.
Suddenly, a huge bright white mist, resembling the one that the Seeker sucked out of me, when I first went to hell, and he took my soul, appeared out of nowhere, and was barreling at me fast. It slammed hard into my chest, just as my upper torso was beginning to break apart.
Everything went black.
The next thing I knew, my body slammed back together again, and I was ascending upward through the flames, engulfed in the white mist.
I closed my eyes.
The moment I did, I felt my body slam down hard on the mattress.
I bounced off the bed, and onto the floor, still screaming.
“Michael! Are you ok? What happened?”, I heard Donna say.
At least it was her voice.
I opened my eyes, as I got up on my hands and knees.
I then looked at my arm.
There was nothing there.
I stayed there, on my hands and knees, thinking.
“I’ve always heard that Hell is a repetitious loop of the one thing that you fear the most.
Mine was losing Donna and the baby.
Am I going to relive that moment over and over again for all of eternity?”, I thought, “Is that my Hell?”
I closed my eyes, sighed, and opened them again.
When I did, I saw the tips of Bob’s Black wing tipped shoes come into view.
I then looked up.
“Ta-da!”, Bob said… “Well played, Mr. Hard-Sell… Well played!”, as he extended his right hand to me.
I hesitantly grabbed it.
He then helped me to my feet.
The bedroom was completely intact.
“Am I in Hell?”, I asked Bob.
“No, Michael! You are here in the real world, in your house, with Donna, and your unborn child.”, he replied smiling.
Donna then came running, well, briskly walking, 4 months pregnant, remember?
Anyway, she came around the side of the bed, in her nightgown, and bear hugged me, almost knocking me over.
I hugged her back.
She then let go of me, and punched me in the arm, hard.
It hurt a little, reminding me not to piss her off again.
“You are an asshole, Michael! Don’t you do that to me again!”, she said, then kissed me.
After the kiss, I touched her face, to see if she was real. She was.
I then looked at Bob.
“You called me Michael!”, I said, “Why?”
“That is your name!”, he replied.
“You have called me, Mr. Hard-Sell, for the last 6 and a half years, no sense in stopping now.”, I retorted.
“Very Well! Mr. Hard-Sell it is.”, Bob said smiling, “Now, Let’s talk!”, he said.
“Can we get dressed first?”, I asked.
“Absolutely! Do you have any Red wine?”, he asked.
“No, Bob! We don’t drink!”, I answered.
“Very well then!”, Bob said, “I shall meet you in the dining area! Which way is that?”
“Down the hall, down the stairs, make a right, and you’ll run right into it.”, Donna answered.
“Thank you!”, Bob replied, and walked out of the bedroom door.
We both then got dressed, and walked downstairs to meet Bob.
We arrived to find him, sitting at the table, twiddling his thumbs.
I then looked out of the dining room window, to see our bus, sitting in the driveway, next to my Mustang.
I smiled.
I then turned to Bob, “Where’s the Seeker?”, I asked.
“He was upset, that I gave you your soul back, and used some rather distasteful words, directed at me, so I gave him a few go rounds on my little rollercoaster. That’s should calm him down.”, Bob answered.
“Okay, Bob! Um! What’s up?”, I asked, sitting down, while Donna went to make a pot of coffee.
“Mr. Hard-Sell! I am so glad it ended up this way. I did not want to do that to you. But let me ask you this, Did you know what you were going to do with that wish when you said you would, and I quote, I’ll reserve my wish for another time, end quote?”, Bob asked.
“No! Not really! I just knew it would be good to have in my back pocket, but I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, until today!”, I responded.
“You know, Mr. Hard-Sell, through all my many years of existence, there have only been two people to ever beat me at my own game… the first was Jesus Christ, and the second was you!”, he said, “Not to say that you are Christ-like, because you are not, but I am glad you succeeded in getting your soul back.
Donna then returned, “Coffee’s going!”, she said, as I got up, pulled out the chair next to me, for her, then sat back down.
Bob then continued, “Now, as I have said numerous times before, I like you, I really do, so I assure you both, that you’re little girl, yes, it is a girl!”
Donna then smiled from ear to ear.
“Yes!”, she said.
“Your little girl, will want for nothing. If you can not provide it for her, Good ole Uncle Bob will. I promise you that.”, Bob said.
“Thanks, Bob!”, we both said in unison.
“I’ll go check on the coffee!”, Donna said, getting up and walking to the kitchen.
“Is this the end, Bob? Will I ever see you again after this?”, I asked.
“Oh, yes, Mr. Hard-Sell, and, No, it is not the end. I plan to keep a close eye on all of you! I will not interfere with your lives, but I will always be there, if you ever need me!”, he answered.
Donna then returned with three cups of coffee, a pitcher of cream, and a bowl of sugar, with a spoon.
“Would you like some coffee, Bob?”, she asked.
“Is it hot? I like hot!”, he asked.
“Yes”, she replied.
“Then, Yes! I have never had coffee before. But there is a first time for everything!”, he said laughing.
“How do you make it?”, he asked.
“We have a coffee pot! You know what a coffee pot is, right?”, I stupidly asked.
“Yes, Mr. Hard-Sell, I have equipped many different vehicles with one for your enjoyment, and watched you make it many many times.”, he answered, “I meant, how do you prepare it?”
“Oh! I put a little cream, and 2 sugars in mine!”, I answered, “Donna likes it black with sugar!”
“I’ll take it like that!”, he said.
Donna then prepared my cup, her cup, and his cup, and placed them all in front of us.
Bob then took a sip.
“Oh, this is most excellent! I love it! It burns, and is soothing at the same time!”, he said, “I’ve done the music business, now I think I’ll get into the coffee business. But what to call it! Help me here!”, he said.
“Um, Hell’s Brew!”, I said.
“For a songwriter, you are bad with words. No, nothing Hell related! I Got it! Keurig, which means excellence in Dutch. What do you think?”
It’s catchy!”, Donna said.
“I can create my own machine, offer single serve portions, in little plastic cups, I think I will call them K-Cups, charge an outrageous price for them, humans will go crazy to get them, and every coffee company in the world will copy my cup design, and offer their own brand of coffee to be used in my machine, for a price that is. It’s brilliant.
Oh, I must get started on this right away. I really must be going. Thank you for the coffee. I bid you both ado”, then he left.
How did he leave?… C’mon, you remember!… Keep thinking!…That’s right!…
He snapped his fingers, and disappeared into a cloud of gray smoke.
I knew you’ve been paying attention.
Two weeks later, human time, I saw the first Keurig commercial on TV.
Anyway, Bob gave us an endless, lifetime supply of K-Cups, any flavor, gets us all the new machines, as well as let’s us be the taste testers for any and all new coffee blends. It’s great.
Donna likes the iced coffees, I prefer it hot.
Anyway, Donna gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl, about 5 months later.
We decided to name her Robyn, after Bob, who’s first name is actually Robert, remember?
Robert… Robyn… Get it. Good.
Everyone was there at the hospital, except Derek and Corey, obviously, and Stephen, who was off touring the country.
Edgar and Rebecca informed us that they too were going to have a baby, and that Bob was a proud grandpa.
They decided to name her Calypso, meaning she who hides.
We brought Robyn home about a week later.
About 6 months after that, human time, there was a knock on the door. I opened it up to see Edgar and Rebecca standing there, with Rebecca holding a 3 month old, human time, bouncing baby demon succubus girl.
I don’t know how old she was in Hell time.
With them were two humongous Great Danes. Edgar explained that they were Hell Hounds, and were specifically trained to protect their person, or persons.
One was named Bill, and the other was named Janice.
Donna and Baby Robyn then joined me at the door.
“Rebecca!”, Donna yelled.
“Bestie!”, Rebecca yelled
They then ran to each other and hugged, trying not to squash the babies in between them.
When the hugfest was over, Donna, Rebecca, and the babies went inside, leaving Edgar, myself, and the two dogs, standing on the front steps.
I asked Edgar why the dogs had people names instead of animal names.
He said, “Imagine you are at home alone! Someone breaks in, and threatens to kill you. If you call out, Demon, or Hellion, they are going to know you’re calling dogs, and they will prepare for dogs. But if you call, Bill, or Janice, followed by their “GO” word. They are going to think that you’re scared and calling your overweight uncle, or your petite little girlfriend, and blow it off. They won’t be expecting 2 200 pound pissed off Hell Hounds coming at them”
It kinda made sense.
He then told me that they were a present from Bob to the two of us, and Robyn, as he leaned up, cupped his hand next to his mouth, and whispered in my ear, “Their “GO” word is OPPUGNATIO, which means attack in Latin. Remember that word… OPPUGNATIO! I don’t want to say it too loud. I don’t want them to hear it, and kill us all.”
I mouthed the word to myself, and said, “Thanks! I’ll tell Donna later.”
I then asked who was going to protect him and Rebecca.
He said, “If anyone breaks in, Rebecca will use her seduction abilities to draw them near. When their guard is down, I will rip their heads off, and feast on their flesh, chewing and chomping their bones, inner organs, muscles, and fatty tissue, until there’s nothing left of them, but a burp!”
He got real intense at the end there. It scared me a little, especially when he laughed.
“Oh! At least you have a plan!”, I responded.
“Yeah! We’ve been talking about it for a while. Here you go!”, he said, handing me the leashes.
One of the dogs then barked, I think it was Bill, followed by a tiny puff of gray smoke exiting his mouth.
“Thanks Bob!”, I whispered.
I then invited Edgar inside, leading the dogs in as well.
We found Donna and Rebecca sitting at the dining room table, and the babies in the play pen nearby.
The dogs sat in the corner watching us.
We then resumed our conversation.
“What about Axel?”, Donna said, looking at the dogs, “Won’t they kill her?”
“No! Hell Hounds do not see cats as a threat, like normal canines do. They will probably get along really well!”, Edgar responded.
And they did.
Bill and Janice were very emotional the day that Axel passed, and even to this day, lay out by the tree we planted over the spot where we buried Axel.
Axel is still around though.
Occasionally, we’ll hear that little bell that comes on most cat toys ring, or hear the sound of a cat meowing as we’re eating dinner, or walking down the hallway.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “It’s probably just a cat outside!”
And that could be possible, when we hear a cat meow while eating dinner.
But I seriously doubt, if we’d be able to hear a bell from outside, or be able to hear a cat meow from outside, while we’re walking through an upstairs hallway, with no windows in it, and all the doors shut.
Explain that one!
Plus, Bill and Janice have been seen on multiple occasions, chasing “nothing” around the yard, or staring at the tree.
They know she’s here too.
Anyway, Edgar said all we had to do, was feed both dogs a tiny drop of blood, from each one of the three of us, just once, and that will tell them who their person, or persons are.
Now, before you go thinking that we stabbed Robyn to get her blood, or something crazy like that.
The hospital gave us a small vile of her blood, when Donna and Robyn were released. Why, I’m not really sure, but this town is a little different then most, if you haven’t heard.
Donna and I finger pricked ourselves, and dripped a little on their dog food, as well as some from Robyn’s vile, when we first fed them, and they have been loyal to us ever since.
In case you’re wondering, the Hell Hounds only eat Royal Canin Dog Food, from France.
Axel ate Royal Canin cat food, from that day on, until the day she passed.
Bob sends us a monthly shipment, even to this day.
Now, according to Rebecca, succubus births are almost immediate.
No contractions!
No epidural!
No Pain!
Nothing!
One second you’re pregnant, the next second it’s plopping on the floor. Don’t worry, the baby is protected by a Heavy duty, Gel-like webbing, when it comes out, so the baby doesn’t get hurt when it falls.
There is no time to gather family and friends, so we didn’t even know about the birth, until they showed up on our doorstep.
Now, before you start thinking that Bob freaked out, and threw them out of hell, that was not the case.
Apparently, Edgar and Rebecca, were staying with Bob, in one of his spare rooms.
Bob has a mansion in Hell, being he’s the devil and all.
They had gone out to spend time together, leaving Bob to babysit.
Now, I don’t know what there really is to do in Hell, but apparently there’s something that interests them.
Anyway, Edgar had installed surveillance cameras in their room, unbeknown to Bob, to keep an eye on the baby while they were occupied with other things.
They both checked the footage when they got home, and saw Bob dancing around in a diaper, with a bonnet on his head, and a pacifier in his mouth, trying to entertain the baby.
I cried with laughter when Edgar told me that.
Anyway, Edgar blackmailed Bob with the video, saying he would show it to everyone in Hell, if he didn’t allow him, Rebecca, and the baby, to live in the real world, and lead normal lives, also so that Rebecca could hang out with her bestie Donna.
He agreed, and even bought them a house three houses down from ours.
Rebecca got a job at the Hooters in the next town over. Sales went straight through the roof. It was always packed, and still is to this day.
The food is good, but Rebecca is the main attraction. Guys from everywhere, and a few ladies, mostly truck drivers, come to see, well, excuse my language, but… “Tits and Tail”, as they say.
She makes a killing in tips.
There’s a sign posted when you walk in, that reads, “No Tail Touching! Offenders Will Be Whipped.”
Rebecca said that she has only had to whip a couple overzealous patrons, with her tail, a couple times, in the past 30 years, and that some guys even offer her money to whip them for no reason.
She always says “No!”
Ricky gave Edgar a job at BB & T Music, as a stock clerk. He got to be really good friends with Tony, and they even perform together, Tony on the accordion, and Edgar on the keyboards, every Sunday Night, at the store, from 8 until 9, with Ricky and I sometimes joining in on guitar, but we don’t want to take the spotlight away from them. We had our time. This is theirs.
It’s amazing how many people actually show up to see them.
They decided to call themselves Accordaboard.
They do 80’s Metal covers on keyboard and accordion, just like Apocalyptica does with Cellos.
Bob offered them free use of his studio to record a demo tape, if they ever want to try and go professional.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Why doesn’t Bob just sign them to Hellfire Records.”
Well, you see, as I mentioned before, Bob is now in the coffee business, and has no interest in returning to the music business, as far as I know.
Hellfire Records is closed until further notice.
Robyn has grown up to be a very caring, loving woman. She’s now in her early Thirties, and working at the local ASPCA. She loves animals. She is also dating a guy named Jimmy, who works at the ASPCA as well.
Calypso had to be home schooled, for obvious reasons, and is now in her thirties as well.
She is very mild mannered, not flirtatious at all. She likes being single, and intends to stay that way.
She assists Robyn at the ASPCA.
Robyn believes all the cats and dogs accept Calypso, as one of their own, because she has a tail, just like they do.
Robyn and Calypso share an apartment together, in the next town over, and have been best friends since infancy.
Tony joined The Richard Simmons Workout Club, back when he teamed up with Ricky. I don’t know the real name of it.
Anyway, he appeared in one of Richard’s “Sweatin’ To The Oldies” Videos, and has lost over 130 pounds.
He’s kept the weight off, and goes to the gym 4 nights a week now.
Bob stops by every now and then, to check up on everyone, and to say Hi!
Business is going good, Hell business that is, as I’m sure you can figure that out for yourselves, with the way the world has been going lately.
The coffee business is going good as well.
I never saw the old man again though. Bob said he’s still upset about me ruining his perfect track record.
Donna and I are still going strong.
She never worked, because I could afford her not to.
She does volunteer work at the local homeless shelter, now that Robyn is grown.
A few years back, she became very obsessed with something she calls, “Pioneer Woman”.
The whole house is decorated in “Pioneer Woman” stuff.
She has a massive collection, collecting multiples of each thing.
Numerous Rolling pins, numerous salt and pepper shakers, numerous plate and dish sets.
She’s even got “Pioneer Woman” towels in the bathroom, and has every comforter and sheets set that there is to offer.
Right now she has a “Vintage Floral” Comforter and sheet set on the bed. It’s her favorite design of hers.
It’s really not my style, but it’s her house, so she can do with it what she wants.
I haven’t really used my “gift” too much over the past 30 years, except for in the moment kind of things. If I’m too tired to get up and make a cup of coffee, I’ll “want” a cup of coffee, or if I don’t feel like going to the gas station and filling up the cars, I’ll “want” a full tank of gas, things. like that.
I started writing again a few years back, not songs this time, but stories, some true, some not.
This one is 100% true.
I discovered a forum called Reddit, and have been posting my stories on various subreddits there.
Damn… Someone just knocked on the door… hold on a second. I’ll be right back…
Hey ya’ll. I’m back. That was Bob!
He just showed up, in an even longer limousine this time.
Now! Have I got some good news to share with you.
Bob just informed Donna and I, that 80s Metal is making a comeback, as multiple bands from our era have started touring again, and that they are selling out each show.
Def Leppard, Guns & Roses, RATT, Motley Crue, well, Motley Crue never stopped touring, but you get the idea, Right?
Anyway, He said he wanted, no pun intended, to see if we would be interested in touring again, and possibly recording another album, at Hellfire studios, if the tour goes good, since he has people to run his coffee business, and that he kinda missed the old times.
“Hell, Yeah!!”, we said in unison.
Bob promised, no soul sucking box behind the drum kit this time.
He also said that he already talked to Edgar and Rebecca, as well as Robyn, Jimmy, Calypso, Tony, and Ricky, my old friend Ricky.
Bob got his phone number when he came to play on the album.
Bob said that the original Ricky said No, saying that his Pops was now in his 80’s, has had some major health issues, and that he did not want to leave alone him in that condition, but promised to keep us all informed.
We all completely understood.
I hope everything is okay, Mr. Bellington.
Anyway, everyone else agreed, and are all waiting in the limo for us.
Jimmy is Robyn’s boyfriend, in case you forgot.
Anyway, He also said he contacted Stephen, I don’t know how, and that he’s all in as well, but only if Cindy can come along for the ride.
Apparently, Cindy is the name of his girlfriend.
Bob agreed, everyone else did too, including us.
We’re heading to Kansas to pick them up, as soon as I’m finished here, then we’re off to Washington DC, to try and find Derek and Corey. It won’t be hard, as long as I “want” to find them.
Wish us luck anyway!
Yeah, Baby! We’re getting the band back together. I’m so excited.
I’ll tell everyone you said Hi.
Rock and Roll!
I threw up the horns when I said that.
I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.
Oh, Hey Janice.
Shit! The dogs! What are we going to do with the dogs?
Are any of you interested in watching the Hell Hounds for us while we’re gone?
Never mind, we’ll take them with us. I don’t think anyone will mind. Their good dogs!
C’mon Guys. Bill! Janice! Let’s go bye-byes.
Are you ready, Babe?… Here, I’ll take that.
I gotta go y’all.
Axel! We’ll be back.
Later, Dudes And Dudettes!

I know it’s nothing new to talk about how toxic parts of this fandom have become, but lately it’s been bothering me more than it should. Obviously, anyone who discusses the books online is passionate about them. Like, yeah, who wouldn’t be?! Rereading and theorizing before new releases has honestly helped me through some really tough times in my life, as I’m sure these books have done for many of you, too. I think that’s the core of why I’ve been increasingly bothered by the bullying and entitlement within the fandom. I feel like we’re doing these stories, characters, and what they mean to people a disservice. I know a majority of the fandom is full of beautiful and kind people, but it sucks that the few who don’t treat others with kindness have the loudest voices. All of this comes from my intense passion for the series and my love and hope for the fandom. ❤️
I’m just going to break up the things I want to talk about into different sections, but the two overarching themes are really the incessant entitlement and inability to be realistic.
~
ACOTAR 5 & its release date:
• I know people were upset that we won’t get the next book until after Feb. 2025, but did people actually think we would any sooner? That honestly seems realistic. If it were coming any sooner, we would’ve already had some sort of promo. I get it’s a bit disappointing, but why can’t we have a “good things take time” attitude? I know Sarah has really limited her online presence, and I honestly don’t blame her. With any piece of art, there are bound to be critiques. But honestly, I’d never want to write ACOTAR 5 if I were her, simply because of the backlash it’ll undoubtably receive from plots and storylines not playing out exactly the way some fans want.
• This leads me into how some fans feel that it’s okay to be outright mean to others who have different opinions on the plot of ACOTAR 5 and what characters it’ll follow. Can’t we just enjoy it for what it’ll be? Why do we need to tear each other down demanding WE somehow know better than another fan about what it’ll be? No one can know for certain. I’ll use ACOSF as an example, as we were all led to dislike Nesta prior to her book. And, at least the majority of us, even if Nesta isn’t everyone’s ride-or-die favorite character, appreciated her story and growth. If we were just reading about a horrid, emotionally manipulative friend and sister for 700+ pages, yeah, that would’ve sucked. But of course that wouldn’t have ever happened. So, until we know whoever ACOTAR 5 follows, can we just be respectful toward everyone’s predictions, since it won’t be the end of the world if our predictions are wrong?
• I guess I’ll throw in my two cents on the topic since I’m already here, and usually never post in this sub. If you’ve read HOFAS, it gives a decent look into at least one of the plot points for ACOTAR 5 but I’ve been too scared to bring that up in the sub because of how aggressive and mean some fans can get. Like, we can’t just pretend certain things didn’t happen because it doesn’t align with what you, specifically, want. I truly think it’ll be a multi-pov, similar to how the TOG books are written. After reading HOFAS as someone who reread, tabbed, and annotated each SJM book, in addition to an obscene and obsessive level of in-depth research prior to the HOFAS release, I can confidently say there are MANY valid reasons for why ACOTAR 5 can follow multiple characters with interconnected plot lines. That being said, there are also so many valid reasons to support each of the main ships often discussed in here and the ACOTAR sub. Even though I’d love to, I really don’t want to get into what the plot will be/follow on here given the arguments that would undoubtably ensue. That’s kind of the entire point of all this, I wish this could become a fandom open to exploring these different ideas.
~
Harassing and bullying artists:
• I don’t even need to explain any more on this.
~
Graphic audio outrage:
• I was shocked to see that people got so angry at the Graphic Audio team when they pushed back the TOG release dates to record CC1&2, first. Graphic Audio literally said that it was the author’s decision, so why do fans feel the need to be so rude to them, when it literally wasn’t their decision! I get people pre-ordered the TOG graphic audio…but cmon guys, let’s do some girl math. You already spent the money, it’ll still be released eventually, it’s basically a free audiobook anyway. I’d also rather have the TOG ones sooner than later, but the delayed gratification is gonna be so good! Just think positively! And I just started listening to the HOEAB graphic audio and it bangs, so we can’t act like we’re just getting scraps until then.
~
These characters are not real people:
• Parasocial relationships are one thing…but these characters aren’t even real. Listen, for the sake of honesty, I truly think I have one with Dorian (lol). Honestly, I’ve reread TOG so many times because I simply love his character so much. With that being said, I’m fully aware he’s not real a real person with real feelings, and, therefore, there’s no need to defend him with my life to actually real people (i.e., other SJM fans) as if he were. And guess what? Dorian didn’t get the ending I wanted, and I have my own grievances about that. But I keep them to myself, because, even though these books mean the world to me, that’s all they are - books. And I’m still able to recognize the beauty of the story and appreciate the way it all played out.
~
Ships… I’m not going to get into much as I know so many people have already discussed it, and I’ve never had the desire to debate on who’s right and who’s wrong:
• We need to make a concerted effort to distinguish between canon and fanon. I feel like this would help the fandom be kinder to one another. We haven’t even had POVs from most or all of these characters yet. And, again, these characters are not real, unlike the person on the other side of the screen. All ships have some sort of validity, let’s not be mean to one another because we feel our preferred ship is more valid than another. What is being right at the expense of someone else’s feelings really going to do for you? Let’s just be open to exploring each character’s story as we read.
• I’ll just say now to prevent an attack for being “vague” or whatever - I have no Azriel ship; I honestly support them all. I just want the man to be happy. I just want Gwyn to be happy. I just want Elain to be happy. I just want Lucien to be happy. I just want everyone to be happy! If anything, I want Azriel to end up with Eris simply to rattle the entire story - like c’mon how fun would that be!!
~
Getting mad when the plot doesn’t play out exactly how you wanted/predicted:
• Like I said, Dorian’s storyline didn’t end how I wanted in KOA, and I was honestly really upset the first time I read it. But I didn’t let that ruin the rest of the story for me. If anything, it just fuels my cracktheories for a future Manorian book/novella (!!!!!). Because no one can predict what SJM will do, and that’s the beauty of it.
• I’ll use HOFAS as a case study to further this point. Again, for the months leading up to the HOFAS release, I reread all 15 books twice while tabbing and annotating. Trust me, I had PLENTY of theories for what would happen, as so many of us did. Were some of the theories I wanted to happen the most also some of the most unrealistic things to happen in a Crescent City book? Absolutely (usually because they required the heavy involvement of TOG characters and/or TOG history to be discussed or traveling to different places within Prythian) But here’s the thing, I knew so many of my theories were cracktheories, but I had fun making them and sharing them with other open-minded fans. That’s what mattered most. As a multi-series author, you can’t expect all your fans to have read each of your series. That’s why I knew it’d be completely unrealistic to make the ACOTAR characters too entwined with Bryce and Midgard. Like imagine how difficult it’d be for her to write the next ACOTAR book - she’d need to somehow summarize a major plot of HOFAS so her fans who’ve never read Crescent City can understand what’s happening. I knew whatever happened in HOFAS couldn’t more than minimally affect Prythian; it just wouldn’t make sense
• Again, of course I’m biased, we’re all biased. But many of the areas where HOFAS received hatred was so unjustified and really seemed to come from a place of entitlement. People wanted Bryce to spend more time in Prythian, more ACOTAR characters embedded in the plot, Aelin returning, Rhys coming to fight the Asteri, etc. Here’s the thing: I also would’ve loved all of that. Just seeing names like Bryce, Nesta, and Azriel on the same page was so earth shattering. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of valid criticisms about HOFAS that which I agree. But there are an overwhelming number of criticisms I’ve seen that come from an unrealistic, and really entitled pov. For instance, I saw a bunch of upset ACOTAR-only fans, because people online said they had to read CC1&2… just for ACOTAR fans not needing to have read them. I GET IT. That IS frustrating. But that’s not SJM’s fault; she never said you have to do that. No one knew how HOFAS would play out. And yeah, did Bryce annoy me at times? Of course. But have Aelin and Feyre also annoyed me at times? Absolutely. And guess what? I still love their stories and characters. Again, these are not real people. We do not write them. They are not our characters. Just because WE wouldn’t say certain things or act certain ways, doesn’t give us the right to bully and harass other fans online because they think differently or interpreted a book differently than us. Let people enjoy what they enjoy. What do we gain by tearing down others based on what makes them happy? The real world sucks, and so many of us read to find the joy in books that is difficult to find in our real lives. • If we were all just a little more realistic, our expectations wouldn’t be at such an unattainable level. Like, HOFAS is a Crescent City book. It’s an urban fantasy with sci-fi elements. It’s not ACOTAR. It’s not TOG. We can appreciate each of them as their own piece of art. The constant comparisons between the three aren’t equitable or even fair comparisons. They’re their own stories for a reason. We all don’t need to love them equally, and that’s why most of us have a favorite series, or one we lean toward, but please, can we be kind to one another?
Again, I’m an obsessive SJMU conspiracy theorist. Theorizing all the possible storylines brings me so much joy. I can find validity in theories that aren’t necessarily what I want to happen, but I know SJM will make them enjoyable no matter what I want. All the theories are so fun to think about, and I am so thankful for the community this fandom has brought me, especially when I’ve needed it most. I just wish we could all maintain an open mind, treat each other with kindness, and turn our passion for these stories into something beautiful.❤️
I’ll leave you all with one of the best quotes from my baby Dorian, “You cannot pick and choose what parts of her to love. Just as you cannot pick which parts of me you accept” ~ Heir of Fire