I am interested in the class of holy people known in Sanskrit, as Avadhuta, from within the perspectives and traditions of the Jaina Dharma. I was first introduced to the Sanskrit term "avadhuta", whilst doing japa-mala sadhana in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition as a brahmachari, where it is part of the Panchatattva Mantra, chanted prior to the Gaudiya Tradition's Maha Mantra, and refers to Sri Nityananda, one of the intimate associates of Sri Chaitanya.
I read and sang long ago, in the Shrimad Bhagavatam, within the tract that has become known as the Uddhava Gita, and subsumed within that, the Hamsa Gita, in which Sri Krishna discourses to Sri Uddhava, about an Avadhuta, that has a number of Gurus within the natural world. Since, I read and sung it and studied it intensively, it has become quite popular and there are now a few English renderings, and a lot of YouTube lectures discussing it. I found out that tradition holds, that the Avadhuta in the Uddhava Gita, is Sri Dattatreya, though is not nsmed as such. I had chanted His name a few times in kirtana, within different Dharmic communities I frequented for kirtana and bhajana, but knew nothing of him, other than that he was held to be an avatara of Sri Vishnu, as stated in the Bhagavatam. So, I researched and read all I could find on Him.
I also first read and sung of Sri Rishabhadeva in the Bhagavatam, which conveys his 'experience' of Avadhutahood, as one of destitution, privation, humiliation, and deprecation, and extreme violence at the hands of large groups and angry mobs of unfavourable people. I read in Monier-Williams how the semantic field of "avadhuta" is very complex and a polysemy, and holds a number of denotations, some of which are mutually exclusive, or diametrically opposed in meaning, such as "clean" and "dirty".
Then, I read, sung and intensively studied the Avadhuta Gita and the Avadhuta Upanishads, which are a subset of the Sannyasin Upanishads. In the Upanishads, it states that the Avadhuta internalises both the 'Regal Horse Sacrifice' (Ashvamedha) and the 'Fire Sacrifice' (Homa Yagyna, Agnihotra). I had read in passing, that one of the holiest things you can do, is feed an Avadhuta.
I read, sung and studied the traditional Hatha Yoga texts which describe that the pinnacle stage of Yoga, is that of an Avadhuta. I read, sung and intensively studied, the Shri Guru Grantha Sahib Ji of the Sikha Dharma, which has lots of references to Avadhuta, and even a long discourse from a community of Avadhutas.
I chanted that Sri Shiva was an Avadhuta, as stated in the Bhagavatam. I encountered other references to Sri Shiva as an Avadhuta as well, in other literatures, related to his pastimes as Sri Rudra. Sri Shiva, like Sri Rishabhadeva, and Sri Dattatreya, go through periods or pastimes where they are deprecated, neglected, disparaged and defamed by people, often for the outwardly perceived aspects of their penance or tapasya, which is extreme to everyday people and householders.
Back to Sri Nityananda the Avadhuta, who is deprecated, disparaged and defamed by other swamis or renunciates in the Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, and other medieval texts, for being too beautiful, too opulent, and too finely dressed for a renunciate.
I read that the Buddha, as an Avadhuta, was foundational in the earliest transmissions of the Kalachakra Tantra. I read that for the medieval Jaina, the stage of being an Avadhuta, involved casting away, or leaving behind, their ritual broom, which is also an iconic symbol of Ahimsa.
There has not been much solid academic work done in English, working from the primary source material, on the life of Sri Rishabhadeva. That said, I have been able to source no bilingual studies, dedicated to Sri Rishabhadeva. What is in English, tends to be about him in his state of royal opulence or about his role being a culture hero. Sri Rishabhadeva's symbol is a Bull and also, the Bull-headed-Yaksha. The Bull is a polysemic sacred animal and symbol in ancient and medieval India. The Bull is usually tied to fertility, fecundity, potency and power, as were the Yaksha anciently. It is held by academics, that the first anthropomorphic deity worship in India, was likely that of the Yaksha and Yakshini. Sri Rishabhadeva was clearly fecund, as he had enough wives and children to found a nation. In other literature, such a fecund and fertile male propensity and quality, is referred to a being a Prajapati. I have read of it in innumerable texts. Anyway, that was before he became a renunciate, and whilst being renounced, went into the state and stage of being an Avadhuta, and renounced all that. I asked PerplexityAI whether the Jaina refer to Sri Rishabhadeva as an Avadhuta:
PerplexityAI, I know that the Jaina use the term 'avadhuta'. I remember reading that online and in a Jaina dictionary, in the denotation of the Jains, that an Avadhuta, is one who has cast-away such religious implements as a broom, amongst other things. But, I don't know the significance of this to the Jaina. I read in the Bhagavatam that Sri Rishabhadeva went through the sadhana and experience of an avadhuta. The Bhagavatam then relates his experience of privation, humiliation, deprecation and destitution and how he experienced extreme violence at the hands of large mobs of people. Researching the term Avadhuta in Monier-Willisms, there are are number of denotations, some contradictory and mutually exclusive. Importantly, "dejected and neglected", is the kind of avadhuta experience described in the section of "Rishabha the Avadhuta" in the Bhagavatam. Do the Jains refer to Rishabhadeva as an Avadhuta?
Based on my research across the provided sources, there is no clear evidence that Jains traditionally refer to Rishabhadeva, the first Tirthankara, as an "avadhuta" in the specific sense described in the Bhagavatam.
The key points are:

1. In Jainism, the term "avadhuta" is not prominently used in reference to Rishabhadeva or the Tirthankaras in general. The sources and do not mention this term in relation to Rishabhadeva.
   
2. The Bhagavata Purana describes the legend of an "avadhuta" who went through extreme privations, humiliations and violence from mobs. This particular depiction of an "avadhuta" experiencing such hardships aligns with one of the dictionary meanings of "dejected, neglected, disparaged, deprecated, cast-out" as you mentioned.
   
3. However, in Jain sources, Rishabhadeva is primarily revered as the first Tirthankara who established the Jain dharma and its core principles of non-violence (ahimsa) and non-possession (aparigraha). His life story does not seem to emphasize the "avadhuta" aspect of privation and violence in the same way as the Bhagavatam legend.
   
4. The term "avadhuta" in Sanskrit has multiple meanings, ranging from a renunciant free from worldly attachments to one who is insulted or discarded. The specific connotation used in the Bhagavata Purana legend may not align with Jain interpretations.
   

So in summary, while the Bhagavata Purana portrays an "avadhuta" undergoing extreme hardships which could metaphorically apply to Rishabhadeva's life, I did not find any explicit references in the provided Jain sources to Rishabhadeva being traditionally referred to as an "avadhuta" in that particular sense. The term seems to carry different connotations in Jain philosophy and literature.
Citations: [1] What is Avadhuta? - Definition from Yogapedia https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5246/avadhuta [2] Rishabhadeva, Ṛṣabhadeva, Rishabha-deva: 5 definitions https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/rishabhadeva [3] Chapter 7 - The Legend of the Avadhūta and his Preceptors https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/the-bhagavata-purana/d/doc1128979.html [4] Avadhuta, Avadhūta, Avadhūtā: 23 definitions - Wisdom Library https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/avadhuta [5] Rishabhanatha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabhanatha [6] Way of the Avadhuta, The Phase of Ultimate Detachment https://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/avadhuta/ [7] Avadhutarupa, Avadhūtarūpa, Avadhuta-rupa: 1 definition https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/avadhutarupa [8] Was Rishabha, the first tirthankar of Jainism, an incarnation of Lord ... https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/9049/was-rishabha-the-first-tirthankar-of-jainism-an-incarnation-of-lord-vishnu-or [9] This is Kali yuga. - Srila Prabhupada Lila https://srilaprabhupadalila.org/read/1410 [10] Avadhuta means - Vaniquotes https://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Avadhuta_means [11] (PDF) Historicity of Jain Tirthankar Rishabhnatha - ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373489698_Historicity_of_Jain_Tirthankar_Rishabhnatha [12] 29. Importance of Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana https://ebooks.inflibnet.ac.in/icp05/chapteimportance-of-bhagavata-purana-and-vishnu-purana/ [13] Avadhuta - Vaniquotes https://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Avadhuta [14] Do any Hindu Scriptures talk about Mahavira or any other Jain ... https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/59245/do-any-hindu-scriptures-talk-about-mahavira-or-any-other-jain-tirthankaras [15] What Srimad Bhagavatam says about the Avadhuta Who had 24 ... https://hinduismwayoflife.com/2018/02/07/how-to-learn-wisdom-from-nature-what-srimad-bhagavatam-says-about-the-avadhuta-who-had-24-gurus/ [16] Dattatreya - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dattatreya [17] Rishabha (Hinduism) - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabha_%28Hinduism%29 [18] Meaning of "Bhagavata Purana - VedaPurana Hindu Encyclopedia https://vedapurana.org/single.php?s=664&word=Bhagavata+Purana%3E [19] Dattatreya – The Avadhuta - Hindu Scriptures https://www.hinduscriptures.com/gods/devta/dattatreya-the-avadhuta/819/
I note that few of the traditional sources on the life of Sri Rishabhadeva have been translated well into English and none of them recently, and none in bilingual editions. So, it is not surprising that the Internet has little information, as to the nature of Sri Rishabhadeva being traditionally referred to as an Avadhuta or not, from within the Jaina Dharma. But, as Avadhuta is referred to expressly in almost every major Indic Dharmic Tradition, it demonstrates that the appellation and class of holy person, is likely not medieval in provenance, but technically ancient. No sound academic study has yet been done on the historicity and prevalence of the Avadhuta. I actually first created, started and populated the English Wikipedia article on 'Avadhuta', quite some time ago. It has changed significantly since I last edited it. Lots of citations have been lost. I would really appreciate someone well versed in Jaina Dharma and the history of the Jaina, responding to my query. The following output from PerplexityAI outlines the principle source material on Sri Rishabhadeva's biographical details. I would appreciate people who have read the originals, in the original languages and scripts, responding to my query:
Is the a bilingual edition of the biography of Rishabhadeva that includeds primary source material?
Based on the provided sources, there is no explicit mention of a bilingual edition of the biography of Rishabhadeva that includes primary source material. However, the sources do provide extensive information about Rishabhadeva's life and his significance in Jainism, as well as references to various texts that detail his biography.

Key Points from the Sources

1. Primary Texts Mentioning Rishabhadeva:
   
   • Ādi purāṇa: A 9th-century Sanskrit poem detailing the life of Rishabhadeva and his two sons, with a 10th-century Kannada commentary by Adikavi Pampa [1].
   • Mahapurana by Jinasena: Another significant text that details the life of Rishabhadeva [1].
   • Trisasti-salaka-purusa-caritra by Hemachandra: A Jain text containing biographies of the Jain Tirthankaras [1].
   • Kalpa Sutra: A Jain text with biographies of the Tirthankaras [1].
   • Jambudvipa-prajnapti: Another Jain text mentioning Rishabhadeva [1].
   • Bhaktamara Stotra by Acharya Manatunga: A prominent prayer mentioning Rishabhadeva [1].
2. Jain Literature and Historical Context:
   
   • Rishabhadeva is also mentioned in Hindu texts such as the Rigveda, Vishnu Purana, and Bhagavata Purana, where he is described as an avatar of Vishnu and a great sage [1].
   • Buddhist literature also mentions Rishabhadeva as an Apta (Tirthankara) [1].
3. Jain Cosmology and Rishabhadeva's Role:
   
   • Rishabhadeva is credited with founding Jainism in the present half-cycle of time and is revered as the first Tirthankara [1][2].
   • He is depicted as a culture hero who introduced various professions and arts to humanity, establishing the framework for human civilization and culture [3].
4. Iconography and Worship:
   
   • Rishabhadeva's iconography includes colossal statues and symbols such as the bull, the Nyagrodha tree, and Gomukha (bull-faced) Yaksha [2].

Conclusion

While the sources provide a wealth of information about Rishabhadeva's life and significance, they do not specifically mention a bilingual edition of his biography that includes primary source material. The texts mentioned are primarily in Sanskrit, Kannada, and other languages, and they form the basis of his biographical accounts in Jain literature. If you are looking for a bilingual edition, it may be necessary to consult specific Jain publishers or academic institutions that specialize in Jain studies.
Citations: [1] Rishabhanatha Facts for Kids https://kids.kiddle.co/Rishabhanatha [2] Rishabhanatha - Wikiwand https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Rishabhanatha [3] Print Preview - Ahimsa Foundation https://www.jainsamaj.org/literature_preview.php?id=NTk2&tab=IG1hc19saXRlcmF0dXJl [4] [PDF] Jaina Bibliography Part 2 https://ia600107.us.archive.org/32/items/JainaBibliographyPart2/Jaina-Bibliography%20Part2_text.pdf [5] Rishabhanatha - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabhanatha [6] Risabha Deva - The Founder of Jainism : Champat Rai Jain https://archive.org/details/RisabhaDeva-TheFounderOfJainism [7] The Caste System - Part I - The Spiritual Hindu https://thespiritualhindu.com/hindu-caste-system/ [8] Full text of "Nine Sacred Recitations Of The Jain Religion ( A Study ... https://archive.org/stream/NineSacredRecitationsOfTheJainReligionAStudyOfTheNineSmaranasAllAspectsAssociate/Nine%20Sacred%20Recitations%20of%20the%20Jain%20Religion%20%28A%20Study%20of%20the%20Nine%20Smaranas%20%26%20All%20Aspects%20Associated%20with%20Them%29%20Vinod%20Kapashi_djvu.txt [9] Rishabhadeva, Ṛṣabhadeva, Rishabha-deva: 5 definitions https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/rishabhadeva [10] Rishabhanatha Biography - Pantheon.World https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Rishabhanatha [11] Rashtrakuta literature - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrakuta_literature [12] [PDF] Maharishi Santsevi Ji Maharaj - The Jain Foundation https://archive.org/download/radhasoami/RADHA%20SOAMI.raRADHA%20SOAMI%2FOKE%2FEBOOK%2FHarmony-Of-All-Religions.pdf [13] Birth and Abhiseka of Rsabhadeva [Chapter 13] https://www.wisdomlib.org/shop/books/jainism/adipurana-sanskrit-text-with-english-translation/doc234124.html [14] [PDF] History of Ancient and Early Medieval India - Apnaorg.com https://apnaorg.com/books/english/history-of-ancient-and-early-medieval-india/history-of-ancient-and-early-medieval-india.pdf [15] Rishabha (Hinduism) - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabha_%28Hinduism%29 [16] Rsabhadeva took a wife named Jayanti and begot one ... - Vaniquotes https://vaniquotes.org/wiki/Rsabhadeva_took_a_wife_named_Jayanti_and_begot_one_hundred_sons_who_were_as_powerful_and_qualified_as_He_Himself._His_wife_Jayanti_had_been_offered_to_Him_by_Indra,_the_King_of_heaven [17] Rishabhanatha Tirthankara, Jainism, 24th Tirthankara Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rishabhanatha [18] Puranic chronology of India https://bharatbhumika.blogspot.com/2014/08/puranic-chronology-of-india.html [19] (PDF) Historicity of Jain Tirthankar Rishabhnatha - ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373489698_Historicity_of_Jain_Tirthankar_Rishabhnatha [20] Ancient History HDT (Compiled) PDF - Scribd https://www.scribd.com/document/702119020/Ancient-History-HDT-Compiled-1
What did the broom as a ritual implement mean to the Jains
Based on the information provided in the sources, the broom holds significant ritual and symbolic meaning for Jains as an implement of non-violence (ahimsa), which is a core principle of Jainism.
Here are the key points about the ritual significance of the broom for Jain monks and nuns:

1. Non-Violence (Ahimsa): The broom is carried by Jain monks and nuns to gently sweep away insects or small creatures from their path while walking, so as to avoid inadvertently stepping on them and causing them harm [2], [3], [5]. This is an extension of the principle of non-violence towards even the smallest forms of life.
   
2. Ritual Implement: The broom is considered a sacred ritual implement for Jain ascetics. Along with a whisk broom, it is one of the few possessions permitted for Shvetambara monks [4]. Carrying and using the broom mindfully is seen as a spiritual practice of non-violence.
   
3. Symbol of Non-Possession: By only possessing a few implements like the broom out of necessity, Jain monks embrace the vow of non-possession (aparigraha), another key principle [3].
   
4. Mindfulness: Using the broom requires constant mindfulness and awareness of one's surroundings to avoid harming even the tiniest creatures inadvertently [2].
   
5. Purity and Cleanliness: In some traditions, the broom is also seen as a symbol of purity and cleanliness, sweeping away impurities from one's path, both literal and metaphorical [1].
   

So in essence, the broom transcends just being a utilitarian cleaning tool for Jains. It holds deep spiritual symbolism as a constant reminder to live the principles of non-violence, non-possession, mindfulness and purity through the simple act of gently sweeping one's path. Its ritual usage is an embodiment of the ascetic Jain way of life.
Citations: [1] Brooms & Superstitions Story of Indian crafts and craftsmen - Gaatha https://gaatha.com/brooms-of-india/ [2] TIL Jainist monks are such pacifist that they carry around a ritualistic ... https://www.reddit.com/todayilearned/comments/2vhceo/til_jainist_monks_are_such_pacifist_that_they/ [3] Ahimsā in Jain Rituals - Jainavenue https://jainavenue.org/ahimsa-in-jain-rituals/ [4] Ritual practices and religious institutions - Jainism - Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism/Ritual-practices-and-religious-institutions [5] Jain monks wear mesh over their faces to avoid inhaling insects and... https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Jain-monks-wear-mesh-over-their-faces-to-avoid-inhaling-insects-and-carry-soft-brooms-to_fig1_262855310
So, an Avadhuta in Jainism, historically, was one who left behind, or cast-away, the ritual broom.
Based on the information provided in the sources, the concept of "Avadhutarupa" in Jainism specifically refers to a form of penance or spiritual practice where a religious practitioner discards or casts away certain material implements like the broom.
The key points are:

1. Source [3] defines "Avadhutarupa" as "the penance of the religious who gives himself an unrecognizable form (by discarding his material badge, broom, etc., so as not to do wrong with the doctrine)."
   
2. It states this is a Jain technical term mentioned in the 13th century text "Vividhatirthakalpa" by Jinaprabhasuri, which discusses various Jain pilgrimage sites.
   
3. The act of discarding the broom and other material possessions is seen as a form of penance or vow of non-possession (aparigraha) in Jainism.
   
4. Sources [1], [2], and [4] highlight the significance of the broom itself as a sacred ritual implement for Jain monks and nuns to practice non-violence (ahimsa) by gently sweeping away insects from their path.
   

So in essence, while the broom itself holds immense spiritual significance as a tool of non-violence, the concept of "Avadhutarupa" refers to the act of a Jain renunciant voluntarily discarding or casting away even this sacred broom, as a more extreme form of penance and non-possession.
Therefore, your statement "an Avadhuta in Jainism, historically, was one who left behind, or cast-away, the ritual broom" accurately captures the essence of this Jain spiritual practice and term, based on the information across these sources.
Citations: [1] Brooms & Superstitions Story of Indian crafts and craftsmen - Gaatha https://gaatha.com/brooms-of-india/ [2] TIL Jainist monks are such pacifist that they carry around a ritualistic ... https://www.reddit.com/todayilearned/comments/2vhceo/til_jainist_monks_are_such_pacifist_that_they/ [3] Avadhutarupa, Avadhūtarūpa, Avadhuta-rupa: 1 definition https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/avadhutarupa [4] Ahimsā in Jain Rituals - Jainavenue https://jainavenue.org/ahimsa-in-jain-rituals/ [5] Ritual practices and religious institutions - Jainism - Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jainism/Ritual-practices-and-religious-institutions

Well Well Resulta Y Resalta Q La famosa De Sain Has Not Clocked In From Her Maternity Leave. Cobijita Canela Will Be Officially Be A Month Soon. But, Truly WE are not Surprised She Has Not Clocked In Let’s Be Honest©️.
For Those Comadres Living Under A Rock, She Had A C-section And Baby Daddy Was Not Even In The Delivery . And The Emergency 🚨 C-section, Was Done Because, She Developed “Hypertension” During Her Pregnancy. If You Ask Me It Was Cause Of HER Amazing Nutritional Choices. But, What Do We Know. Somos Chismosas Not Drs.©️
On The Vlogs That Have Been Posted . Omg In my opinion it looks like she going thru it . I honestly don’t think the community housing came thru for her like said. I dicen la MALAS lenguas por hay q bebe es bien chillón por cólicos. And that’s probably the reason she won’t go live. And if y’all read those blog comments she truly states. She does not have a set schedule for him. And every time she blogs the little one is crying. Coincidence I don’t know©️. 🤷‍♂️
And to make a blog throwing shade to “someone”‘who is DM your baby daddy . Gurl gurl stop 🛑 that’s So embarrassing 🙈. Do y’all don’t have mirrors 🪞 in Sain, that you would think for one second, someone wants your man. Gurl gurl. Hay Bibi . Mejor Clock in you will feel better. When all your moscas tell you how amazing you are and encourage you to do raffles again. ©️
Rulia rulia . Why would you say you sit on that tiny little chair 🪑 everyday. To do what honey 🍯 bunch. Cause the few lives I have seeing you ain’t doing much to your face honey. So, the math 🧮 ain’t mathing . Honey where is the chisme content . Again no chisme no nothing . Like what the heck . Make one up something for crying Out loud . Like for reals. Even the ppvs are a snooze fest .😴 . Oh but, I did hear right, q alguien gave you an apology. Gurl gurl I don’t know . Sounds like EL BESO 💋 DE JUDAS. If you ask me©️ .
I think theirs torms approaching, certain parts of Mexico . I can hear them 👂. I mean the cups ain’t cupping. The content and ain’t viraling . The access to the coto has been deactivated. Access Denied 🙅🏽. If you ask me, all that work for what. Subs are dropping. It’s crazy to think all that money gone to waste. The good thing “she knew she had, outgrown” the poor people coto. Who is the problem here. The one who still has her rental and access to the coto 🩴’s. Or the one who was made to leave and left everything behind. Let’s put on our thinking hats. 🧢. What you all think. 🤔 PERO CADA QUIEN Y SU RESITOL©️ .
It’s my humble opinion who know one asked for. Aquí Andamos. ©️👂🩴🙅🏽🧢🤔🪑🧮🍯🚨🪵

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A homeless teenager reaches out to the Shil’vati on first day of the invasion of Earth.
Credit to: who has beta read just about every chapter, and the only reason it's readable half the time
u/bluefishcake for writing the original SSB story.
Pizzaulostin who has been beta reading since the beginning.
Credit to u/HollowShel for getting me started with this!
This story is based in the SSB universe.
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First
Chapter 33:

Reqellia:

It was the darkest part of the night, and yet I could hear the energetic commotion of Ruhal blearily heating up food for a famished human along with the clinks of dishes and silverware.
“One more day.” I felt glued to the bench as I stared back into the silver mask I hadn’t worn for almost [twenty-five years] prior, and had hoped never to put on again. I cursed my old girlish wishes when I first joined up, wanting to be a war hero, and then a mother afterwards. To grow old and see my own child in uniform. I had even wanted a son since I was already demanding the impossible.
I never believed in the gods, but now I’m sure that I’ve tempted Niosa to grant my wishes, but only after I made my peace with them that they would never come true.
Klein bounced around the suite’s kitchen, eating enough for two Shil women and already wearing his armor’s underlayment. The chair creaked a bit as he sat, his own horror-show mask on the dining table next to him staring back at him unblinking.
And It was a horror show.
He’d wake up cheerful and happy, and I’d watch over the day as every bit of his energy was drained out of him. The daily exercise routine of a morning run and gym day in a month being performed in a few short hours. Every time Klein finished a trail faster, or performed a more grueling task, the trainers would make him do even more as his contract offers rose another level.
I didn’t blame the instructors, it was their job to challenge each applicant, but Klein blew through all their expectations, so they just kept piling more onto him. Many of those same instructors had asked me if they were pushing him too far, but all I could do was shrug. Even I didn't even know where his potential ended.
I blinked and looked up. He was in his full armor now, with only the mask off.
“Ready to go?”
I nodded and stood up, quickly heading over to Ruhal, who in turn looked at me with sleep deprived eyes. Worn out as I was, he was worse, playing subject matter expert on all things human around a bunch of high ranking officers desperate for information not tainted by censorship.
“Stay safe out there,” he politely ordered as he kissed me.
I kissed him back and held his hand. “You too.”
Sighing,I left to let him rest, popped my back, and donned my own mask.
As Klein paced the door, I begged for safety. “One more day, please let everything be okay after today.”
I shouldn’t have tempted Niosa again.

Itaro:

I quietly padded out of the children’s den to a chorus of snoring from my siblings. The well carpeted securely fastened to wooden floors muffled my footsteps. I opened the large storm shutters and then pulled open the sliding glass door to the patio. I couldn’t sleep anymore, excitedly bouncing from one foot to another.
Klein and Reqellia were coming home tonight! Reqellia had sent me her contract offers that came from a dozen different Imperial departments and bureaus. Dad already agreed years ago she could move in with us, a pack sister was always welcome. Now she wouldn’t feel like a burden if she had to.
And Klein… Well, I wouldn’t be bothered by a few love-marks.
“I see that smile. Excited?” I heard my father’s deep voice like distant thunder. I turned around to his massive form only a few steps away. We both had learned to walk silently when my siblings were just pups and the discovery that they were light sleepers had been made.
I felt my ears droop just a little to see his melancholic face. He had gone out of his way the last few weeks to spend more time with just me now that I had a pack of my own. There was always a soft smile on his face, but the way his tail hung low to the floor was a dead giveaway on his mood.
I tried to cheer him up. “I am. It’s been weeks since I got to speak to Au’tes, and Klein…” I trailed off, the insinuation clear. He smirked. He had met Klein in passing, but I wasn’t bringing him home yet. Hario on the other hand had made one or two bawdy jokes at the dinner table after a second glass of her favorite liquor.
First time Klein spends the night, you might want to check up on Itaro, make sure she didn’t keel over from exhaustion.
“At this rate I’m going to have to teach you sword fighting to beat back other male suitors from poaching you for their own packs!” My father joked. Stepping off the patio landing, he hit the ground noiselessly, bending his legs to absorb the shock.

After letting out a quiet grunt indicative of an age he tried to keep hidden, he turned around and looked back up at me. “Want to come with me for a walk?”
I jumped down and followed him into our little patch of forest my mother’s terraforming job paid for. The early morning was already warm without a cooling vest, but not intolerable. The chirping of birds and the soft whistle of wind tinged with just a hint of salt made everything feel fresh.
It was like when I came home from school and my father would stop construction for the day. We’d explore the forest, play on the beach, go into town for groceries.
Except now my father didn’t run and have me chase him. He carefully inspected the trees for pests, and our conversation was far more practical than whimsical. “Your mother’s coming home next month. Can you write her a message before she meets Klein, just so she has a better idea of your pack?”
I nodded. “Of course. How long is she going to be home this time?”.
Her terraforming jobs always lasted months, if not years. I never faulted her for the huntress life, but it made connecting with her difficult. She was more a guest of honor than a mother to the household, always bringing a fatted Sou’ta carcass home as a present, but rarely cleaned dishes, or the house.
Or really any chore…
He shrugged before crouching next to a felled tree, trimming away small branches for kindling with a tiny hatchet he hand pulled from his tool pouch. “Might be a good long while this time. The last message I got said her department only had small projects and a few hazard jobs on the periphery. Besides, we might need an extra set of hands more than the money now.”
I scoffed. “Her, a house mother!? No offense, but mom is a terrible cook, and a worse caretaker. Remember the time she nearly burned down our kitchen boiling water?”
He laughed with me as he pocketed the hatchet. Standing up with two sticks, and then threw me one. I caught it as he swung his own stick in my general area. “Defend yourself! I did say I needed to teach you sword fighting. How else are you going to fight off possessive men when they realize what a catch you are?”
He didn’t teach anything but how to rough house on a lazy Shel morning.
We played and swung the flimsy branches until I accidentally hit him square in the chest. The branch, already crumbly and dry, disintegrated on impact. It didn’t stop him from dramatically acting out a death scene. Falling to his knees in an overly theatrical fashion. “Oh, woe is me! Cut down by my own daughter in cold blood!”
I let him pretend to be on stage for a few moments longer before standing over him to offer a hand. He took it, and then yanked me down to the grassy patch, holding me for a long, quiet minute. “I’m going to miss you.”
For the first time I noticed the stray white hairs around his muzzle, I knew what he meant, but I tried to play it off. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He just held me for a silent heartbeat longer, then let go and stood up.
He proclaimed cheerfully to mask his wet eyes. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up. You can’t look like a pup out of a mud bath for your victorious pack! I even scheduled a visit at Tulo’s for a haircut. Ruhal’s treat.”
My mind played with potential futures as we headed home. Between the three of us, we could write our own life together. Maybe I could even stay close to home.
I looked up to the rising light.
“One more day!”

Klein :

The mountains of gear and equipment around us were illuminated by harsh flood lights. We stood in formation with each person, regardless of species, showing physical signs of exhaustion. Drooping shoulders and bent knees, unfocused and slow eye movement.
Instructor Li’kele was wearing full battle rattle today, complete with a compact lasrifle holstered to her leg.
“Good morning applicants! It’s the last day of selection! Your assignment will be to support your sisters in the combat section in the wargames! You see all this critical equipment? Our first assignment will be to load all of it on auto-turoxes and hover-wagons. Unfortunately we don’t have enough capacity , some of you will need to carry gear on your person as we make the [ten mile] trek into the forest. Applicants 849, 734, 236 and 953 step up after we finish loading! You are our extra carriers.”
I knew I was going to be picked. It was easy to not let it bother me though. Reqellia had explained that the instructors were just trying to push us to our limits, and every extra duty and handicap meant a better contract with a brighter future.
Still, after hefting thousands of [pounds/kilos] of stuff onto the squat legged drone’s cargo cages and the little platforms that would float once powered, dread formed in the pit of my stomach as an entire counter-battery system was cinched onto my person. I trudged as we formed up for our road march.
The combat selection team rolled in as we took positions, already covered in mud from what I could guess was their own morning fun, their las-rifles at the low ready. Their own instructor, a severe looking Hyena-like Kortika woman with fur that trimmed short and smooth. She yelled out orders to the gaggle of applicants under her command. “Form on either side of the supply train and defend them at all costs! If they get shot because you weren’t doing your job, then it’s your ass that will be carrying the extra gear!”
We marched out of the base, clinking and clunking as we traveled uphill. The weight wasn’t too bad now that it was evenly distributed on my body, but it would be hell taking it off and putting it back on anytime we stopped.
“Isn’t that the new shock trooper ? What’s he doing with the non-combat selection?” I heard one of the combat applicants say idly. It was easy to pick up conversation in the nearly silent dawn as we marched on a dirt path extending across an expanse of grassland in the reddening sky. It was really pretty, watching the light play on the green forested hills in the distance.
Their Instructor sidled up to the commenting girl silently, ears swiveled back in anger. She grabbed her shoulder, growling low. “Cut the chatter, girl. ”
Silence followed for the next hour in the pre-dawn light.
We got the first taste of the wargames when red beams bolted over our heads and dropped one of our auto-turoxes. “Everyone get down!” yelled one of our instructors, and I threw myself on the path.
With all the weight on me, the impact on the ground hurt . I looked up and saw red beams blink in and out over me. Their flashes brought back memories.
The red glow through convenience store windows . An alien invasion.
I blinked furiously and turned my head to see what was going on with the combat teams on the sides of the road. They had already taken out two of the ‘raiders’ who stood up, hands in the air as they walked away. Another minute clicked by before a squad decided to double check the tall grass and found a third raider hiding. All had the insignia of the instruction cadre commandos.
“Everyone, up !” Instructor Lik’ele belted out in a two-word shout, and I had to push up off the ground, creaking under the weight. My arms burned as I got to my knees, then raised a hand and called out, “assistance!” One of the unnumbered girls gave me a hand to steady myself, and I rocked a bit trying to stand.
“Thank you,” I said, but between the voice distorter and my mask, the girl backed away as soon as I was up, fear registered in her eyes.
[At the bus stop, a classmate backed away from me. scared of me for some reason mumbling ‘you're bleeding’. Warmth on my upper lip, a coppery taste.]

I shook my head, trying to banish the weird memory surfacing, I hadn’t had a nosebleed since I left Earth. I looked back up, but the girl had already gotten back in formation and we started moving again.
It wasn’t quite noon when we stopped for lunch. I got help removing my kit, and stretched to work out the kinks. Reqellia stood next to me as I sat down on the hard packed surface. I took off my gloves, and jammed them under my chest holster.
I was technically ‘armed’ right now. We had gotten the thirty-minute las-pistol training yesterday on how to safely handle them, and then ran through a quick range. They were nothing more than glorified laser pointers though. They could lock up a suit set to respond to the laser signal, but they wouldn’t so much as redden skin otherwise.
Reqellia had let me in on their real purpose, to see if we could be trusted with a dangerous object and not play with it.
Eating was a pain, I had to lift my mask halfway up and eat blind. The meal pack was cold, but eh, it was food. Goddess, I was hungry.
“How are you holding up?” Reqellia asked, the silver mask obscuring any expression, and the voice distorter deadening any intonation, but by the angle of the head tilt, I could guess the question was more concern than curiosity.
“It’s not too heavy, but it’s awkward trying to move around,” I admitted as I put my mask back in place and pulled out my omni-pad. I tried not to boggle at the contract offers I was getting. It was a straight up bidding war, including furnished houses, years of leave after an initial stint, even minor titles.
Ruhal had helped me, even filled out the forms himself with less than a day for submission. He had also messaged me about the fine print of many of these absurd offers. The watch word was ‘Relocation’.
“They will send you back to Earth. Right now, you are the only human any department can recruit who might know an obscure piece of human signage or culture that got skipped during their culture crash courses, has the physical ability to keep up during an operation, and they can implicitly trust it is loyal to the Imperium.”
I scrolled past the too-good-to-be true proposals and to the ones without relocation, not ridiculously overpaying, but still plenty. Maybe I would follow Ka’tel into ICAD, or…
“We need to get moving!” Li’kele barked and I signaled for help again. This time Au’tes was ordered to help me with my gear. Now seeing her up close, she was definitely worse for wear. She smiled, but it was the kind of tired smile that had almost no energy in it. Her usual well controlled movements were slurred by exhaustion, and she leaned on me after buckling the packs on my shoulders, her own extra gear was a large backpack of energy cells.
“Damn, girl runs away in fear from combat selection after spending years in the militia and now plays valet. Bet whatever is underneath that suit is more would eat her alive if unmuzzled,” I overheard one of the combat applicants snicker. Au’tes winced, just a bit, at the barb from her former youth militia group.
“Lift your visor.” I said. It was dumb, it was really dumb, but I wanted to give her at least a reminder of what she had that they didn’t. Au’tes had a flicker of confusion, but flipped up the visor on her suit’s helmet.
I lifted my mask just enough to kiss her. It was honestly a gross kiss and wished I could have brushed my teeth beforehand. But when I dropped my mask down there was the manic Au’tes again, full of energy and gusto. I looked past her to the shocked combat applicants. I put my finger to roughly where my mouth was and whispered in my distorted voice, “No one will believe you.”
Au’tes brought her visor down and squeezed my hand for a second longer before leaning in close “Thank you for letting me know you still exist under there.

Reqellia:

The dirt trail up the hill was easy enough for my legs. I stayed in the same general area as Klein, but with my augments I already had his pinpoint location and medical data, I could even access his helmet camera. I didn’t want to get in his way while the instructors gave him snap secondary tasks to complete on our journey up to the outpost location.
I kept myself entertained by listening in on the comms chatter that I could pick up on the wargames going on about us at large. I had enjoyed playing the no-holds-barred opposing force when I was a commando on rotation here.
Right now there was a particularly fun little drama going on up north of our location. A mechanized assault unit tasked with taking out an anti-orbital battery got one of their exos stuck in mud because of a poor assessment of the ground composition. The armored crane they had first ordered to pull it out was now also stuck.
The Lieutenant was trying to get an exception to the wargame rules to bring a drop ship in to pull them both out, but the higher-ups told her to figure it out. The whole point of these wargames was to discover how things could go wrong. The Lieutenant tried to pull title to overrule them, only to get a nasty conversation from her commander.
A small beep from my monitoring systems told me Klein’s heart rate had slowed and I looked up to see the front of the supply train had been ordered to halt. Up ahead was the “fort,” a clearing on top of the hill with nothing but some half buried holes.
The Kortika woman got to the front of the formation and gave her orders. “Listen up! Combat selection is going to set up a perimeter while the Auxiliary builds us a structure safe enough to hold during an assault. All weapons are going ‘live’, but for those in the non-combat teams I will again warn you to only use them in self-defense. If you wanted to shoot people for a living you should have signed up for it.”
I tried not to flinch as I watched Klein and his compatriots start to offload all the gear they had packed this morning and attempt their best effort at setting it up with basic instructions from Li’kele and the manuals that came with the equipment. Just another test to see how the applicants would handle the technical situation.
At this point they were at their limit, physically and mentally exhausted as they tried to bolt frames together, wrestle antennas, install expandable barriers, and put together the foundations of a forward operating base.
Klein had all but given up on the counter battery system he schlepped here and handed that responsibility off to a Senthe Boy while speaking a rough northern dialect of Satenthia. The boy was more than happy to talk to someone who knew even a few words of his native tongue.
I opened a small window on my HUD and watched with amusement as the early contract offers rose and fell. Klein’s offer from naval engineering, already paltry compared to other, more suitable jobs, dropped to barely above standard. Intelligence and Law branches, however, rocketed upwards again.
I could almost hear the recruiter’s comments as the numbers and terms changed. Does not have familiarity with Shil military equipment. Comfortable with speaking multiple languages. Works well with multiple species.
I watched them work. Klein, in usual Klein fashion, pushed himself. After getting the counter battery laser hooked up, he volunteered for other physically demanding tasks. Pile driving in the foundations that hold the columns of the structure. The rhythmic thump gave me ghost aches when I had done the same thing out in the periphery while getting pot shotted by roaches.
I shook my head. It was going to be another rough night for him by the way he was bunching up his shoulders as he braced the handheld pile driver. Thankfully, tomorrow he’d be home and with an appointment with Cee who might force him on bed rest for the next month.
I started to chuckle at the thought of how protective Itaro was going to get after taking one look at Klein. I came back from deployment once missing three fingers from a plasma grenade and Bahtet waited on me and foot, wouldn’t so much as let me handle a kitchen knife until they were replaced later that month.
A few stray red beams were thrown our way, even a flash bang or two from the commandos tasked with harassing us came and went. As the ramparts of the temporary base were finished, I took up station on the second level to oversee the whole complex. Klien was working with a combat team, helping them put a second defense line in. They had driven stakes into the ground to support parallel knee-high thermocast plates with an arms-length gap between them, which Klein was filling in with dirt to act as a wall and platform for the heavy, crew served lasgun.
I was thankful there would be a shuttle to pick us up soon. I played the opposing force for Selection a few times, and I still remembered the script. Right now we were in a lull that would last until dusk, then at least three full commando teams would assault the base. The battle would be made as realistic and demanding as possible with creeping dark to add to the complexity.
The Selection team would always be wiped out, but it was how they performed against overwhelming odds that would shift the contract offers that last bit before everything was locked in place.
I heard the whirr of a counter battery system swiveling around, and then the crackle of it firing. I turned to see what it was aiming for but all I saw was a cloud of smoke . Then a fast moving object came through the cloud before I heard the crackle again and another exploded .
Blanketing everything in a tar-black fog .
My stomach dropped. This wasn’t the cadre commando team, and they were attacking too soon. I got on the comms with Li’kele “HALT, HALT, HALT! We need to stop the exercise!”
I got a crackle on the comms. Then Li’kele’s voice came in that terrifyingly calm voice used to keep control of a combat operation. “I can’t get a signal out, I need a report on the situation.”
Instead of trying to explain I sent her my video feed as I jumped down from the ramparts and started to sprint for Klein. I needed to get him out of here , but I hadn’t had time to prime my augments. I started the cold power cycle as I cursed myself for letting my guard down.
I was already too late . I watched as our own counter-battery laser weapons were used against us, acting as the triggers for each smoke grenade engulfing Klein’s team right in front of me, their signal dropping right out. I got a response from Li’kele that alleviated at least some of my terror. “Dammit! It’s the 171 st Raiders from the wargames, they mus-”
And then I was enveloped in darkness and static. The smoke was so thick I could only see a few paces away in all spectrums. I tried my internal radio and….
Nothing. I was alone and with nothing to guide me, and then I saw to the right of me a few weak beams of red, and then a ball of light of a simulated explosion. I let my gnawing panic subside and walked their way with a observers flag in my hand. I was practically on top of them before I saw the combat selection team that had been ‘killed’, their frowning faces and hands up as they sat there grumbling.
The Raiders appeared soon after. A four woman squad. Two Helkam, a Rakiri, and a Shil’vati hefting a large antiquated grenade launcher. I called out “Do you have a way to call a emergency stop to the battle?”
The squad leader responded. “Did someone get seriously injured? I can fire off a flare and our medic teams will be here to extract them.”
“No! This is Selection, we aren’t supposed to be part of the Wargames.” I argued, but she waved me off.
“We got orders to assault the base up here. Trust me, our commander is mighty pissed at getting tasked with a frontal assault on the youngest and toughest the Imperium has to offer, with adding insult to injury if we lose to kids. That’s why we broke out the smoke screen.”
“One of the Selection members is the first of their species. Higher ups want them monitored at all times,” I partly lied.
The gears whirred and the team lead brought her weapon up again, eyes a little wider. “ Blue Eyes is here? Shit, girls ready up and head on a swivel!”
The team reformed in a circle facing outwards, a tactic specifically meant for ambushes and roach suicide drones. I stood there, confused. “Blue eyes?”
The team lead started to move into the smoke again, but explained, her eyes darting around. “Yeah, the freaky creature in the mask, toyed with an unmanned Exo before annihilating it with a shipcutter! A close quarters combat specialist with heavy armor and a real mean streak . You’re telling me they’re loose in a forest with enough concealment to sneak up on us and tear us to shreds? Ma’am the only ones in immediate danger are us. ”

The question of how to get consistent sounding singers has been plaguing the sub for millenia, and I have now created a workflow for how to achieve this :)
In essence, we want to talent scout singers in the model itself using nothing more than a single tag with manual mode, and a specific seed. Good prompts I've worked with are female vocalist, male vocalist, acapella, spoken vocals, general spoken. There's tons more out there but you'll want to isolate to vocals only.
For my examples, the settings I'm using are
Prompt: female vocalist
Seed: 42069
Prompt/Lyrics/Clip: 100/70/1
It's important that you use the lyrics that you'll intend use in the song to start. Also, your generations might include some instruments, but you don't need to worry about that, just about if you like the voice or not.
Join or Perish (Original)
Next, you'll want to KEEP those lyrics and settings, but then layer into the prompt your other tags. You might get a few off generations, but in general you'll get very similar sounding vocals to the original, but in the style of your additional tags.
Join or Perish (Kpop)
Join or Perish (Pop EDM)
Join or Perish (Rock)
Join or Perish (Symphonic)
Now for the future, you can work with the original settings with new lyrics to get a very similar singer again (may take a little trial/error) and then into whatever genre you're looking for.
A few other notes:
While the tags 'female vocalist' and 'male vocalist' work best for traditional songs, stuff like 'books and spoken' and 'acapella' are great for getting different kinds of voices, and might be more useful to your genre.
Another way to get a similar singer is to take an existing track you like and extend it into new vocals and cutoff the seed song. This might be a little tougher and I'm still working on a repeatable workflow to make it easier, but something to consider as well.

A little back story that no one asked for. I came out as bi a couple years ago and pan recently. Before that, I grew up very religious and had to hide myself away. I did what I was told to do, got an office job, married a woman, all that shit. Still married to the woman. Last year when I officially came out (she knew I had been with men before but I was out out), she finally after years of trying decided that yes we can be open so I can live that part of my life that I wasn't allowed to before. We were open for about 3 months and then I got her pregnant (my fault I know lol). People keep asking me if I will be going to all the pride things this month, and it kinda hurts that I have to say no. We have a 4 month old. Going to things like that is a lot of time, that I just simply don't have right now. So from my rocking chair as I feed my baby his bottle, happy pride every one! I hope next year I can join everyone, and I hope this year everyone is seen and heard in the ways they need to be. If anyone isn't out yet, just so you know, we don't come out of the closet here, we come out of the pantry. Happy pride!!! 🩷💛🩵
P.S. also, happy men's mental health awareness month as well!!!

Every single difference I recognized between the original mixtapes and trilogy. I’m a music producer so I recognize these random mixing differences pretty easily, I also know basically all of these songs very well. Let me know in the comments if I miss something. The most noticeable and/or well-known differences are listed at the top of each song description.
House of Balloons (Mixtape 1)
High For This (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: punchier and louder drums
VOCALS: slightly louder and clearer
What You Need (original)-
Has the sample intro before the song from Aaliyah’s song “Rock The Boat”
INSTRUMENTAL: Kick drum is slightly louder
VOCALS: Have slightly more reverb
House of Balloons (original)-
VOCALS:
Have more effects making them less clear
Louder with less reverb
Also they’re heard just slightly earlier in the song, like barely off beat but not necessarily enough to be considered off beat, it’s hard to even tell(I forgot the musical term for it, something to do with measures or intervals).
Also some parts of the vocals are not pitch corrected as well as they are on trilogy
INSTRUMENTAL:
The “woah” sample part is slightly louder than the actual beat
The sample has more reverb and is quieter
Sub bass is louder
Glass Table Girls (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
Has a little more reverb
Also has a weird clicky sound that is slightly offbeat that is mixed out of the trilogy version. It’s in the end part of the loop that plays the whole song, if you know what I’m talking about then you understand.
VOCALS:
Slightly quieter until the “la la la” part where they are louder but then they duck down quieter when he starts harmonizing after it
The Morning (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
Slightly louder guitar with less effects
Perc/hit that you hear in the first verse is louder
During the first verse you can hear the guitar build up, it has more reverb until the beat drops
The kick drum after the chorus is much louder
The synth in the back during the chorus is quieter
VOCALS:
Louder
Slightly less pitch corrected
Some of his adlibs/harmonizations are louder
Wicked Games (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
the guitar is louder and has less effects
VOCALS:
have distortion
are much louder
vocals on chorus are less pitch corrected
The Party (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: the 808 is much louder for some reason lol
VOCALS: louder with slightly more distortion and reverb
The After Party (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: once again the 808/bass is very loud, I rarely ever see it played this loud in songs lmao
VOCALS: have more distortion and are louder
OTHER: The transition to “coming down” at the end of the song isn’t as clean, the volume of the wind sample isn’t the same as the start of “coming down”
Coming Down (original)-
Anime sample from “Fate/Stay Night” at 3:13 that isn’t in the trilogy version because it couldn’t be cleared. It plays a looped part of it throughout the rest of the song after 3:13.
VOCALS: barely louder
Little to no differences with this song.
Loft Music (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: quieter and honestly better mixed drums
Virtually no other differences other than his harmonizing on the back half being slightly louder
The Knowing (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
slightly quieter lead guitar that’s in the intro
beat is definitely not as loud
the bass sounds slightly off-key at some times
Louder distorted guitar that plays when he sings “I know everything”
VOCALS: louder with less effects and aren’t fully pitch corrected
Thursday (Mixtape 2)
Lonely Star (original)- Louder sample at the start of the song (“yes all I can say is yes”)
INSTRUMENTAL:
Louder arpeggiator bass throughout the whole song
VOCALS:
quieter and have more delay effects
pitch corrected slightly less like most of these songs
Life of the Party (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
Louder and more distorted guitar sample
louder drums
The chorus has a random guitar lead that plays one note the whole time that you can’t really hear on trilogy
VOCALS:
quieter and have more chorus effects but sound clearer because they probably aren’t as eq’ed as the trilogy mix.
His harmonizations aren’t as deep.
Thursday (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
the lead pluck sound you hear is more harsh and louder.
the bass is also louder
VOCALS: louder and have more reverb and distortion
The Zone (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
vocals that loop the whole song are quieter and mixed in more
Sub bass and drums are louder.
VOCALS:
Delay effects on vocals are louder and the vocals in general are quieter.
Drake’s vocals have more distortion, are eq’ed to be higher and have less pitch correction. I fucking love this song lol.
The Birds Pt 1 (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: snare drums and bass are louder
VOCALS: louder
The Birds Pt 2 (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: louder guitar
VOCALS: louder
Not many differences in the birds pt 1 and 2
Gone (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: deeper and less punchy bass
VOCALS: much quieter
Rolling Stone (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: intro distorted guitar has more bass
Basically no other differences, Thursday doesn’t have many
Heaven or Las Vegas (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: very slightly louder bass.
VOCALS: slightly louder as well
This version compared to the trilogy one is basically the exact same thing like most thursday songs
Echoes of Silence (Mixtape 3)
D.D (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: more explosive drums
VOCALS: quieter
Montreal (original)- Literally no differences besides the drums being louder (this song is so fucking catchy holy shit it’s so good)
Outside (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: quieter drums
VOCALS: louder
XO (original)-
I always found this funny, in this version it doesn’t sound like he’s saying “xo” on the hook. It’s sounds like “ech- o” i swear to god you cant hear him pronounce the “x” im convinced he’s saying “echo” on this version lmao.
INSTRUMENTAL:
strings in the intro are louder but then get quiet in the actual song
drums are louder
VOCALS: louder Transition to The Host is slightly less clean
The Host (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: sub bass is louder
VOCALS: slightly more distorted
Virtually nothing else
Initiation (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: the kick is way louder in this version for some reason
VOCALS: when his vocals are transitioning between octaves (when they go up and down and all that with the pitch), it’s less clean
They are also louder with less basic mixing effects, they sound kind of flat here
Same Old Song (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: the sample vocal in the back that’s pitched up is mixed differently, has less reverb and is quieter
Literally no other differences besides louder drums. Juicy J’s outro is still as dope as it is on trilogy
The Fall (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL:
the bass is much, much quieter
the drum break part at the start is higher pitched
VOCALS: much louder and more distorted, they sound a little more like they did on house of balloons
Next (original)-
INSTRUMENTAL: drums are quieter
VOCALS: louder
Not too many differences
Echoes of Silence (original)-
VOCALS: louder and have louder delay. Good thing the volume was lowered in trilogy bc it sounds way better on there for a song that has this type of melancholy and acoustic but dark energy to it. I fucking love this song it’s so sad man wtf
So most of the differences among these songs have to do with volume/mixing effects but most of them have louder and more distorted vocals. It’s mostly really volume automation but it makes a huge difference. Thank you if you read this far, let me know if I missed anything.
(This is a repost of an older post that I had saved before the person had took it down in which they talked abt some differences they found between trilogy and the og mixtapes)

Long time acoustic player only recently entered the world of electric guitar. I have another post here that links the software models to their real world simulations.
My question is this. I want to develop a better fsence of real-world amps and tones because eventually I’ll probably want to buy a real amp and start building a pedalboard. For that reason I’m less interested in finding super specific presets (can be fun for a specific song or sound) and more into learning the characteristics of different kinds of effects- for that reason im less interested in finding super specific presets and more into learning to characteristics of different kinds of effect chains.
It’s a little overwhelming how different the characteristics of each amp are since I assume most people settle for one or two and sculpt the sound they want with their pedals. What strategy can I adopt to build a basic set of presets I use to learn? My musical interests these days are mostly in country/blues stretching into surfy garage rock and psychedelia. Maybe having two amps to focus on, with the same one used for all the hardware presets but variations on the pedal chain- those would be what I use for a more realistic “what I’ll buy and play out some day” experience.
As a general strategy for the kind of sounds I want I am thinking that I want a clean or crunch amp with heavier distortion coming from the effects chain. But am I thinking about this the right way? Am I focusing on the right things, does this question even make sense?

Hello everyone. Sorry if this is the wrong sub for this, but I need to let off a little steam.
So, me and my sister played some 1v1 Commander recently. She played with her [[Isshin, Two Heavens As One]] deck against my [[Wulfgar of Icewind Dale]] deck. Both decks are built on doubling attack triggers.
The first few turns played pretty chill. Dishing out lands, playing some artifacts and enchantments like [[Hedron archive]] and [[Sword of the Animist]] on her side and [[Sword of Hours]] and [[Gratouitious Violence]] on mine.
At Turn 5, I destroyed both her archive and the sword. She has already 9 lands, her commander as well as [[Akiri]] and another creature that I cannot recall right now.
Two turns later, I have my commander and [[Rampaging Brontodon]] out and attacked. Since I had 8 lands by then, Bronto got +16/+16, making it a 23/23. And since my sister has only 3 blockers that were not nearly strong enough, she was dealt lethal damage.
After the duel was done, she was accusing me of ruining the fun of the game by using a "more planned out deck" than her, to which I said "I have that deck since 13 months now, and I just recently added Bronto and three other cards to it. Plus, I was lucky to have drawn enough lands to summon it and destroying your artifacts." To which she replied with "Well, you should not have destroyed the Hedron Archive. You really are trying to destroy everybodys fun by that." To which I replied "Well, sounds like a you-problem. Removal and interaction is part of the game, you should know this by now."
That was probably insult to injury, and she said "Well, then you should get used to me not playing with you anymore. I just want to play to have fun, and not winning all the time." I replied with "Oh, so you accusing me of getting salty when I am about to lose, but when youa re about to lose, it is my fault too?" No reply from her, so I went up to my room to play some other game.
To be honest, in the past, I used to get salty when I was loosing, for the sole reason that back then, when I was not doing good at any game, my opponents used to rub it under my nose, including her. But I got rid ofthat for the most part over the last decade or so.
So, who would you say is the a-hole in this scenario? Me playing and trying to win, or her with being insulted that I try to play to win, removing her mana rocks and utility artifacts?
Edit: here is a decklist of said deck I used: Wulfgars Aggression

Shout out to SpacePaladin15 for the original universe and credit to Soggy_Helicopter8589 for the AU lore, check out his story The New Age of Wolves.
First
Previous
There might be a hiatus on the horizon for this story. I was hoping my writer's block would have dissipated by now, but it seems it's not going anywhere. Anyway, enough about that, storytime.
Memory Transcription Subject: Woef, Diplomat, Warrior in Training, Project Manager
Date [Post Cataclysm]: March 7, 1291
I bounced my leg in frustration, staring across the table to the newest addition to my list of problems. When I saw that the Arxur had brought back some more Federation species, I was initially delighted. More people like them were just more power under my belt, more people I could influence to think like me. However, once I found out about a certain opinion they held, my dreams had taken a back seat.
During their time in the Viking pens, they were held with the Arxur, not separate like Kort and the rest of the original rescues. This led to a very… peculiar relation between them and their Arxur. They viewed them as protectors, guardians. The Arxur would jump in the way of thrown rocks and accept the most labor-intensive work, letting them handle only the menial work. They weren’t just accustomed to Arxur, they wanted to be around them.
That is where my problems came in. The Zurulian in front of me, as far as I knew the only one on the planet, wanted to treat an Arxur. But that wasn’t enough. This Arxur wasn’t just any old Arxur, it was Salisk. Even if Salisk wasn’t an Arxur, he and I had some negative history with each other. It would be pretty hard to forget when it burst into my room and threatened to kill me. And now I was supposed to let Hulop here waltz up to him and provide aid.
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t let that happen. And not just because you are trying to heal an Arxur. You are the only real medic we have, I can’t just let you go for who knows how long to handle this. You are needed here, you never know when something can go wrong.”
Hulop tried his best to look intimidating, but with how small Zurulians are he didn’t accomplish much. “You know that’s bullshit. This place isn’t going to fall down if a single newcomer leaves for a couple of days.”
“Maybe, but Toji will take notice. He’s the leader, and he’s on edge. I-”
I caught myself. Hulop didn’t need to know that I was in the process of taking over. I was confident that I could swoop in and take power once I had the opportunity, I just needed it. One moment where I could point out his incompetence and prove my capabilities, and it was all over for the old Gojid.
“I can’t let you go on good faith. He might start a figurative hunt for you.”
“Why not? Aren’t you in charge of me, not him?”
“Look, Toji doesn’t like me. He’s looking for any reason to knock me down a peg, if you know what I mean. Even if he doesn’t know where you are going, he would use your disappearance as ample enough ammunition.”
“I don’t care! Your politics don’t mean anything to me. Do you know what we’ve discovered? The Arxur feel emotions beyond hunger. We’ve seen irrefutable proof. All of us. They. Are. Sapient.”
I focused both eyes on him. “No. They. Aren’t. They were simply acting in a way that they thought would give them the best chance of survival.”
“How does taking a beating guarantee survival? Hmm?”
I shook my head and sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t think like an Arxur.”
“We all think like Arxur. They are sapient like us.”
I was getting tired of this. I had better things I could be doing. “List, I’m putting my foot down. You are not leaving this village, end of story. You are lucky you are here already, if Stephanium wasn’t at that meeting, you would be at the fortress. When you were given to me by the Knights, I didn’t know what to do. I had just gotten through dealing with one group, now I have another to handle. Make it easier for everyone, and just stay put. It’s not like you have any equipment anyway. Even if you did somehow convince me, you can’t work without your equipment.”
Hulop leaned back. “I already have a plan for that. There are life pods and crashed ships all over this planet, and I know where some are. Just let me travel with a few of the Arxur, and we can snag more than just some medical equipment.”
I waved a paw. “You and I both know that those have been picked clean. There is no way that they have gone unlooted for this long.”
“No, they haven’t. There is no way that the humans are getting in without knowing how to break the lock. And there is zero chance that they brute-forced their way in, not without a plasma cutter. And I really doubt that these humans have that lying around.”
I flicked my ear and leaned back. “Hmm, interesting. Still, I’m not letting you go. Forgetting the fact that you are still doing this for an Arxur, there is the process of bringing all of that equipment back with you. I know you said to send Arxur, but I still don’t trust them, no matter what you say. And before you say send the Knights, too many are already away with Stephanium taking care of the Viking problem.”
Hulop snarled. “You know what it sounds like? It sounds like you are more of a predator than the Arxur.”
I slammed my paws down and leaned close, causing Hulop to back away. “The fuck did you say to me? I’m more of a predator than the Arxur? Just because I won’t let you heal one?”
Hulop shrunk away. “Y-yeah! That’s what I said.”
I got even closer, almost touching him with my snout. “So, let me get this straight, you think that I am more evil than an Arxur just because I won’t let you wander into a camp full of Arxur who aren’t accustomed to you, one of which is the one you are trying to heal. I’m more evil than the fear-mongering, child-killing, people-eating, planet-destroying predators?”
Hulop couldn’t respond, forced into a corner by my onslaught of words. I shook my head and slumped back into my seat. “Think before you speak.”
“W-what if I don’t care about that?”
I snarled. “What?”
Hulop tried to regain his courage by standing up straight. “What if I know that Salisk did all of that, but I don’t care and want to heal him anyway?”
I tried to hold in my laugh, but couldn’t. I leaned back in my chair and slapped the table as I giggled at the absurdity Hulop had just spewed. “You- You really know how to make me laugh.”
Hulop wasn’t as amused as I was. “I’m serious.”
“And that makes it soohohohooo much funnier. You think you’re some big, bad, brave Zurulian who can just waltz into a town of Arxur like he owns the place, completely disregarding the mountains upon mountains of facts that these creatures are irrefutable cruel, and heal one.”
“They were only cruel because they weren’t given a chance.”
I couldn't stop my tail wagging, but tried to put on a somewhat serious face. “It really doesn’t matter the circumstances. When what you do is that horrible, there is no forgiving it. Context and coercion can only go so far to absolve a sin that bad.”
“That might be so, but we have the opportunity for them to do more than just use context and coercion. They can apologize. They can work with us, go through the same hardships, understand what it’s like to be on our side.”
I tilted my head and tried to keep my amusement contained. “Can they really? Do they have the intelligence to do that? Can they really know what we have gone through? Truly? After just a little stint in a slave cell? That’s equal to what they have done to the Federations for how long now?”
Hulop looked like he wanted to punch me. “We have to at least give them a chance!”
“Like the chance they gave us? Oh, wait, there was no chance. As soon as they got to the stars, they started hunting us down.”
Hulop stared at me, frustration about to boil over into something more physical, when he suddenly calmed. I could see his eyes connect some pieces, forming a plan that most likely wouldn’t work.
“Hulop, whatever you are thinking of, it won't work.”
“Oh, I do. You place me under Toji, give him authority over me, and then I sneak out. I’ll find my way over to the Arxur village and do my work. If I do get mauled, the blame falls on Toji for letting me escape.”
“But what do I get if you succeed?”
“You get a powerful ally. I’ll tell the Arxur that you let me come to their aid and you will get the support of the Arxur. Imagine what you could do with a group of thirty Arxur under your control.”
I was about to rebuff Hulop’s statement, when I caught my own words. I really like the sound of having a group of Arxur fall to my whims. I could forgive a little bad history if it meant more power for me. Either way this turned out, it sounded like I was going to get some power. I do like power.
“You know what? You were right. I do like that plan, but I’m going to make one tiny alteration. I’m coming with you, and I’m bringing some guards. When the Arxur betray you and go for the kill, me and my soldiers are going to swoop in and protect you. We bravely tracked down the lost Zurulian medic and found him in a camp full of Arxur. Stricken with bravery, we charged in and fended off the Arxur, rescuing the medic before the Arxur could kill him. That’s the story I’m going to tell, and you better back it up.”
Hulop relaxed a little. “Fine by me, when do you want to do this?”
I began standing as I spoke. “Tomorrow night, or the next one. First, we have to inform Toji that you are now under his command, then I want to inform some Knights, and a few of my own, about the plan and that might take a bit. You are the only real medic we have, losing you would be a big problem, so I am taking some serious precautions.”
Hulop stood and followed me to the door. “You won’t lose me, I promise.”
“Eh, whatever. We’ll see.”
I stepped outside and sighed amusedly. Once again, I was living a joke. That had become more and more common lately, but I didn’t care. Even if it was a joke sometimes, it was my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I navigated my way through the village and found Toji at the top of the wall. He only ever looked out of the village, never inside. Yet, he still was beginning to become aware that people were losing faith in him. We had been stagnant for far too long, people were becoming bored beyond measure, and my ideals were beginning to spread to the final few pockets that resisted it.
I wagged my tail as I walked up to him. “Hey Toji, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
He barely glanced away from Cocus to talk to me. “And that is?”
“Hulop. I need you to take him off my paws. He has proven to be too problematic for me to handle along with all the others. If you could just look after him for me, that would be great.”
Toji blinked and turned to face me. “What are you planning? You… What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on. Nothing more than what I just told you.”
“Woef, don’t think that just because I’m looking at you I haven’t picked up on the change behind me.”
“Pfft, you think I’m behind that? I don’t care what happens to this village, only the rescues.”
“Is that why you are giving me one?”
“Like I said, just for a little bit. Think of it as babysitting, you can handle that, right?”
Toji sighed. “Sure. Whatever it is you are planning, I have a feeling that I am powerless to stop it anymore.”
I blinked and put on a serious face. Did Toji really know what I was up to and just didn’t care? That makes no sense, he wants to hold power. Everyone wants power.
“Hey Toji, this is a weird question, but why do you want to be a leader?”
“To keep people safe, isn’t it obvious? When we crashed here, I knew that I had to keep everyone under me safe. I used what I was given to the best of my abilities, but sometimes I think it’s never enough. I feel like the Humans are always one step ahead. I hate it.”
I stared for a moment, before looking down to Cocus. He noticed me finally and waved. I returned it and sighed. “You know Toji, I used to hate you. It seems that every interaction we have had is negative. Even when we were in space you thought I had PD. We never got a chance to talk. It’s very difficult to hate someone you know.”
Toji chuffed. “Where did you learn that one? You never struck me as the philosophical type.”
“Believe it or not, the Humans.”
“Ah, I don’t.”
“I don’t get your hate for them. They aren’t the Arxur, they haven’t even made it into space. Yeah, they might eat meat, but they also eat plants. They have clear empathy and emotional drives beyond hunger and cruelty. And it has been far too long for this to be some kind of long con. I mean, I’ve been with them for how long now and I’m still safe?”
“That might be true, and my reason for hating them hasn’t stayed the same. At first, it was just because they were predators. Forward-facing eyes, meat-eating, culture based around war, I thought that was cut and dry. But after discovering that they were… what did they call themselves?”
“Omnivores, I think.”
“Yeah, that’s it. After we found that out, I ended up more confused than anything. I started gaining a little trust, then bam, I found out they were working with the Arxur. Honestly, I tried to understand where they were coming from. They never experienced an Arxur raid, they just saw strong workers. If I didn’t know better, I would agree. But the point that sealed it for me was that Stephanium lied through his teeth the entire time. Maybe it’s just because they are a different species, but someone who can lie that effectively should be feared.”
I sat silently for a moment, finally understanding why Toji hated the Humans so much, when I came to a realization. “Wait, do you care about power?”
“No, only what it can do. It’s just a tool, not a goal. No one in power should have the goal of power, it should be a tool for something else, something good.”
“Huh?”
I paused for a moment, taken aback by what Toji said. This was the fearmongering exterminator who always seemed to be on my tail for any minor infractions, shoving his snout in everyone’s business, and directing everyone with an iron claw. He always had power, there was never a moment where he didn’t have power, and now he is telling me he doesn’t want it.
Oh, wait, it must be a joke. I guess I’ll play into it.
“Would you be willing to give up that power?”
“No. Unless I held absolute certainty that whoever would take it could keep them as safe or safer, I wouldn’t dare release it.”
I shrugged and stepped back. “Ah, just wondering. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I thought you would have shooed me away by now.”
“I was just about to, Woef.”
I laughed loudly. “Heh, I’ll leave you to your staring contest then. Have a good night, Toji.”
“Yeah.”

The room was quiet.
No one said a word.
I looked around at their grim faces, and decided to break the silence. "Ares?" I asked. "As in... the god of war?"
"The very one," Apollo acknowledged. "We are doomed."
"Well, actually," Artemis said from the doorway. "He is... just sort of walking around."
Athena lifted her eyebrows, "What? Explain, Sister."
"I do not know how to further explain," said Artemis, adopting a pained expression. "He is not tearing this lodge to shreds as he would if..."
"... If he knew we were here," Athena finished her sentence. "Do you think he hasn't detected us?"
"Impossible," Hephaestus huffed.
"I agree with Hephaestus," Apollo said, leering at the windows on the north side of the room. "Ares can detect us almost anywhere on Olympus. Certainly he can feel us from the other side of this wall, no?"
"Out there?" I asked, gesturing toward the north wall.
Artemis nodded gravely. "Yes. He must be preparing something."
I started toward the window when Apollo jumped in front of me. "Excuse me, are you mad?"
"He wouldn't recognize me," I said, scooting past him. He lifted a hand as if to stop me, but simply looked to Athena for help.
She tilted her head and shrugged, "He has a point. We're all finished anyway. What could it hurt?"
I stood at the window and peered out at the people gathered around the fountain. There was a taller than average man in gleaming golden armor standing among them. His donned a crimson cape that blew in the breeze— he was a magnificent sight to behold. It was as though his very being was shimmering-shiny.
"He's... asking people questions," I narrated. "He's the guy in the golden armor right?"
"Yes," came Artemis's voice next to me. "If he is speaking, I may be able to hear him if I sharpen my focus. I am good at this. Everyone, please remain quiet." She knelt down, closed her eyes, and pressed her ear against the wall.
I watched him speak to people and occasionally point to the sky. Everyone around him seemed taken by his fancy appearance, but they were all shoulders; they had no idea what he was on about.
"None of you?" asked Artemis. "None of you saw a group of people come from the sky?" She spoke slowly as she listened. "I sensed them here in this town when I arrived. Now they have disappeared. Have you done something?"
"I don't believe it," Hephaestus spoke, a spark of hope in his heart. "He cannot sense us. But how?"
"Perhaps this lodge is magical," Apollo said, a small smile appearing on his face. "What luck! What unbelievable luck!"
I couldn't help but smile at our good fortune as I watched them breathe sighs of relief. My gaze stopped on Athena however, as she was staring at me with narrowed eyes as though deep in thought.
"It is... possible that I was mistaken," Artemis spoke. "But I could have sword upon my steel that I sensed all of them this way." She looked up at me and smiled. "Buck, he is leaving!"
I watched through the window as the god turned and heaved a frustrated sigh. He looked up at the sky before leaping up and out of view. The people by the fountain gasped so hard I could hear it through the walls of the lodge.
"He's gone!" I exclaimed. "He took off!" I turned to find Athena right next to me and my back hit the wall. Her eyes were inches from mine. "Oh- uhh- hey, Athena," I said nervously, sidling away from her. "You, uhh... You good?"
"What is it?" asked Artemis as she stood up. "What do you sense in Buck?"
The others gathered near the window caging me in as Athena stared into my soul. I swallowed and glanced around. "What?"
"Nothing," Athena smiled.
"Nothing?"
"I sense... nothing." she clarified.
"Now that you mention it," Apollo leaned in. "I too sense no aura from the new god."
"Hm," Hephaestus scratched his temple. "You know... I cannot sense him either. Not even a little of him."
"Can't sense me?" I asked. "I don't know, you're all looking awfully hard at me."
"You have no aura," Athena clarified. "Every god and goddess has an aura without exception," she explained.
"To put it to you in terms you will better understand," said Apollo. "Think of when you go to visit someone you know at their house. Their house has a distinct smell, no?"
"Yeah," I nodded cautiously. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Not always like a bad smell, but a scent."
"Now imagine," Artemis chimed in. "That you can smell that person's home-smell when they are close."
"Within a mile," Athena added. "We can sense others of our kind in such a way. Some can sense it stronger than others."
"... And you're saying I don't have one?" I asked. "Like at all?"
"Perhaps because he was first human," Hephaestus offered.
"No," Apollo smiled, looking at Athena.
"We're on the same page, Apollo," Athena smiled back.
"Hm?" Artemis placed her hands on her hips. "If you have figured something out, please share it."
"I believe," said Athena, pointing playfully at me. "That our friend here is camoflauge, so to speak."
"A god of isolation," Apollo said in wonderment. "If he does not wish to be found..."
"My word," Hephaestus smiled. "If that is truly a power of yours... I am jealous."
"You think I'm hiding your auras?" I asked, a half-smile on my face. "Seriously?"
"Seriously," Athena answered with a relieved sigh. "I believe merely being close to you erases our presence from those that seek us."
I looked down at my own hands and tightened them into fists. It was amazing. I was emitting godlike powers without even trying. It was just a part of who I was now. What luck that I was lonely enough in life to assert a domain that could hide me in plain sight from those that would wish me harm. I was so happy to be useful I couldn't even form it into words.
"We should run further still," Artemis cut in. "I am a piece of Father, and if I know him, he will still not give up the search. Unable to sense our auras, he will still search high and low with his eyes and ears. He will follow our trail."
"Agreed," Athena answered quickly. "We must not stay here."
"Well, where do we go?" I asked.
"To Asgard," Hephaestus answered firmly.
"I believe it was you who said Odin would not take us in, yes?" asked Apollo.
"We are not going for shelter," Hephaestus smiled a devilish grin. "We are going... for materials."
Asgard wasn't what I expected. Truth was, I didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't this. The sky was a splauched watercolor painting of blues and violets, and even black in some places as the winds blew across the roiling water beneath. The plane seemed to be on the brink of a major storm that never quite arrived. The air was salty and cold as we were rowed across the noisy waters toward the great hall on the hill. I could see it through the fog with a mighty hearth fire burning at the port.
"It's kind of dreary," I noted as the Norseman rowed us to shore.
"I adore this type of weather," Artemis grinned widely. "It is so exciting, would you not agree?"
"I must admit, I too enjoy the calm before a storm," Hephaestus agreed. "Great power swells within the clouds. The potential is hair-raising."
"I would oft come to earth just for this feeling," Apollo spoke next. "There's nothing like it."
"Perhaps it is a sense of godlike nostalgia among Zeus's children," Athena said before taking a big wiff of the air. "We all love storms, it seems."
I preferred sunny weather, but it wasn't like I didn't understand. There was something exilerating about a storm so intense that it knocked the power out. We'd gather together in the living room and light all our candles, and play board games while we listened to the rolling thunder over our heads.
I missed that.
I missed my family.
And it was striking me just then as we pulled up to the shore that I might never see anyone I loved ever again. I had been so caught up in getting away from an angry deity that I hadn't really had the time to sit and think about the state of my life.
The longboat rumbled beneath us as it bore into the rocky shoreline. The other gods climbed out and onto the shore, and I followed quietly behind them. We marched up the torchlit path to the great hall under heavy fog. The rocks crunched under my boots as I moved up the incline. I never did tire or run out of breath— divinity had robbed me of such mortal difficulties. I should have been thrilled, but my heart was heavy. Would I never know the challenge of exercise again?
I shook the thoughts away. I kept thinking like a poet inside my head. It was so weird having my inner monologue change. Would I be speaking like Artemis eventually? Or could I keep a more natural sentence structure like Athena? At least she used contractions. Artemis sounded like a language model; like Microsoft Sam, or Starfire from Teen Titans or something— like she was still getting a grasp on the language after thousands of years.
When we reached the top of the path, we stood before the great hall's massive wooden doors. We beheld them for only a moment before they parted in the middle and creaked open. A tall man— taller than any of us strode out of the hall. He wore what looked like an animal pelt across his silver shoulder pauldrons, and the rest of his outfit was made up of dark leather that thinly veiled his abdominal muscles. He surveyed us through a single eye, brushing his long grey hair out of his face and behind his ears. I couldn't tell if he was smiling beneath his thick beard.
"You have ten seconds to explain," he spoke harshly.
It was a safe bet that he wasn't smiling.
"It's the new deity," Athena spoke quickly. "Brian," she clarified, turning and looking over her shoulder at me.
"Me?" I cried out in surprise. "I haven't done anything yet!"
"His domains are indulgence, isolation, and humor... so far as we know. It the second of his domains that concerns you."
"But we promise," Artemis interjected. "He cannot control it yet! And you will understand, soon enough, that it is best that we cannot be detected."
The man looked me over, his frown softening into a look of curiosity. "How about that?" he asked, moving through the crowd of gods nearer to me. "I didn't know about it," he said in a deep tone. "Do you have any idea," he asked, looking me dead in the eyes. "... How long it has been since I didn't know something?"
The valleys of age that ran across his face didn't for a single second betray the enormity of his might. I could feel the weight of his power on my shoulders as he studied me. I didn't have to ask who he was. I could feel it in my bones— this was Odin.
This was the All-Father.
Athena appeared at his side and smiled sweetly at him. "How does it feel?" she asked.
"Unnerving," he answered. "And yet... exhilerating, I could not sense any of you approaching. I didn't know you would be here before I heard the horns of the boatmen." he turned to her. "How is this possible?"
"Well, now," Athena said in her most charming voice. "How would you like to hear a story you haven't heard before? One you didn't immediately know as the pen met the page?"
"Ha," he placed a thick hand on her shoulder. "I knew I would like you, Athena." He turned to the others and smiled genuinely. "Come! Join me at my table! We have about an hour before Poseidon shows up asking for you."
I was in awe.
He was completely omniscient it seemed.
He knew all— except for me.
I couldn't help the feeling of unease as we followed him into the hall and the gargantuan wooden doors closed behind us. If Odin felt I was a threat to him...
I was certain none of us would be able to stand up to him.
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/blablador-2001

With the recent Gwimbly episode out, I decided to review one of the classic platformers to see the light of Sun in the mid 90's. Everyone remembers the legacy of this game, but boy oh boy, nostalgia glasses sure compensate for some of the glaring issues that plague this title.
Precedents and Development:
"The magic Adventures of Gwimbly in Corn Land" is one of those Megadrive publicity games, such as M&Ms or The Noid video-game, this time from the Monsanto company. And the least said about this, the better. Left-to-right side scrolling, awful controls, repetitive and boring, it was deemed to be a forgotten artifact. But, by good fortune, it was one of the (allegedly) two games that series albanian creator Petulla Pulle had as a kid.
Petulla deserves an aside. Learning to code intuitively and implementing Risk on his Casio FX-81 at the age of 6, he is not the poor boy that media wanted us to belive. Coming from a well off family, when he arrived in the US he co-created Sweet Games (now Insane Groundbreaking Games) with his friend Zachary Taylor, and they started development on Gwimbly after acquiring the Licence from a gambling bet in a pub in New York. Although his reputation being ripped apart now by the abuse accusations and toxic working enviroment, Pulle was a popular figure among gamers in the late 90's and 00's, and his advancements in the field should be recognised.
So, basically a one man job, Gwimbly finished its development in just under 2 years and came out for the PSX in August 1996, just one month before Mario 64, which eclipsed the relevance of the first game in sales. Even so, it was the alternative for the Sony owners at the time looking for a collectathon platformer in the, then, new 3rd dimension. But growing pains show all over the game, as we'll see.
Graphics:
While not being bad, a lot of the 5th generation of consoles problems are present. Textures warp and wabble, popping is noticible even in small areas, and glitches are all over the place, specially after acquiring the triple jump.
What, then, has made that Gwimbly sticks to our memories? The character designs and animations, of course. All of them, from the little Cheddar Gobblin enemies of the first level until Count Groxya, without forgetting Mr. Millipede. Even little details, like Gwimbly's iddle animations, reflect care and dedication (unlike its sequels, but we'll talk about that later).
Sound and FX:
This must be the aspect of the game that stincks the most. The constant crackling and stuttering stuck into my ears as a kid, and it certainly has not gotten better as an adult. The howling made for some funny misunderstandings (the classic line "If I had my Gwimbly gun" was supposed to say "If I had some Sweet Corn", but it made for a good meme in the episode), but it was not good even for that time. And, worst of all, while not being at Gex levels, the constant repetition of lines and screams from Gwimbly got annoying real quick.
Music is nothing to write home about. The Corn Hills theme was catchy, but after the 100th time you got tired of it. The use of Theremin and Erhu instruments was more innovative than effective in the latter levels. Only the Menu Music has had some lasting effects, even musically referenced in the Celeste Soundtrack.
Gameplay:
Gwimbly is a short game, and I think that's a positive. With only 50 Corn Cans to collect, with four main levels, a central Hub and the last Can Count Castle, it didn't worn out its welcome with its 8-10 hour average run.
Nowadays, Gwimbly feels cluncky to control. The comitment you had to endure with some of the jumps is incredible, and the run and jump distance seems inconsistent. But, worst offender of all, the camera was not good. And who ever thought that recentering the camera with the X button was a good idea.
Levels:
- Silly-corn Valley: Everybody remembers the central Hub and tutorial level. Mr Millipede serves as our side kick, and the one who teach us how to jump, roll and make the Gwimbly Stimbly, all while staring us with his glassy eyes. You could skip its advices, and if you did not talk to him once it was recognised in the access to the final level, where he would ask you who you were.
- Icy Corn Flakes: a little fun snow level, the developers made the wise decission to not have icey controls (EDIT: it seems that it was programmed into the level, but it was badly implemented so you walked normally). The 10 Corn Cans here are not very difficult, and the Uni-Corn boss was cute.
- Corncob swamp: The swim level. Enough said.
- The Corn Maze: I still have nightmares from this level. Not by the theming or "spooky" music, but from the level design. The constant back-tracking, the Ghosts of Cornstmass Past and specially the, not one, but 2 Corn Cans that made you speedrun the maze almost made me quit the game more than once. In the second run of the maze, Pulle admitted that he put the least amount of time possible WITHOUT CONSIDERING the animation of the door opening, so it was literally no possible to get it unless you glitched through the invisible wall at the beginning.
- Corn Field of Lava: the amazing thing about this level is that, after activating the volcanoe, the entire level was transformed and filled with pop-corn. Be sure to grab the Can at the beginning of the level, after the jumping rocks, because it will not be possible to grab it after the level remodelling (probably by mistake).
- Can Count Castle: I wish I could say the best was reserved for last, but the tight platforming of this level was a frustration factory from start to finish. The only positive is the Final Boss, and the secret animation if you collected all Corn Cans (and the reason why it was made a PG 13+).
Conclusion and Legacy:
Gwimbly in its original state is a game that lives best in our memories, rather than our current consoles. Luckily, its amazing fandom has corrected many of the graphical glitches and performance issues via patches and ROMs that enhance the expirience. But the level design, even with its good moments, is not something you can easily fix.
The inmediate sequel (Gwimbly 2 on Corny Land // Gwimbly 2: The Adventure of Gwimble and Millipede in PAL regions), that came out just a year after the 1rst game release, pullished some aspects of the original while inexplicably substracting from others. The most glaring example is the introduction of fall damage.
Gwimbly 3 Revengance, which came out in late 2003, was a terrible disappointment. It mutted the sparckly colors of the first two entries, and the introduction of Gwimbly Guns and the absence of Mr.Millipede (who was going through some stuff at the time) left a sour taste for the fans of the franchise for what was its final entry. The development hell that Gwimbly 4 went through, and the aforementioned Pulle accusations, put Gwimbly in a weird spot for the next 15 years.
Let's just hope Insane Groundbreaking Games make something with the face of the company. I do not want a fighting game from Gwimbly. I want a new platformer, and, if one can dream, the first truly good game of the saga.

Ladies, welcome! I hope you’re in the market for a tall, nerdy animal lover who loves to cuddle, shower his woman with affection while not taking life or himself too seriously. Physically I’m a tall, slightly overweight man covered in body hair, perfect for snuggling up to! I rock the dad-bod, cookie-lover aesthetic, giant beard very much included.
I am child, drug, disease & religion free, and not looking to change any of those. Very, very light social drinker and not judgemental on that or weed at all. Very left-leaning politically with no patience for bigotry or bullshit. I am a one-woman kind of guy, looking to form something fun and long lasting with the right woman.
I find strong, capable & intelligent women to be very attractive; I got on the Sigourney Weaver & Linda Hamilton love train young! Open to a partner of any race, thicc or thin, short or tall. Bonus points if I can pick you up! A cute accent or giggle will take you far with me. I live in the EST time zone, so as long as we can chat regularly I’m open to an LDR. Voice calls are important to me, but texting throughout the day is totally fine.
I value the simple and nerdy things in life, and would rather find my person to spend my life with rather than living a life of comfort and privilege. Board game nights, movie marathons, seeing the new museum exhibit and painting miniatures makes me a happy man. My dream is to open an animal sanctuary or hobby farm that could double as a human therapy center.
For work right now I’m in a volunteer position at a local food bank where I socialize with seniors and the food-insecure and basically serve as a ‘Johnny on the spot’ helping with odd jobs, tech support, stuff like that. I also help with a cat rescue organization where I have fostered cats and do some admin work. I do freelance editing on the side, and would love to have some of my own work published in the future!
Hit me up with your ASL and a little blurb about yourself! ‘Hey’ is for horses!

Ladies, welcome! I hope you’re in the market for a tall, nerdy animal lover who loves to cuddle, shower his woman with affection while not taking life or himself too seriously. Physically I’m a tall, slightly overweight man covered in body hair, perfect for snuggling up to! I rock the dad-bod, cookie-lover aesthetic, giant beard very much included.
I am child, drug, disease & religion free, and not looking to change any of those. Very, very light social drinker and not judgemental on that or weed at all. Very left-leaning politically with no patience for bigotry or bullshit. I am a one-woman kind of guy, looking to form something fun and long lasting with the right woman.
I find strong, capable & intelligent women to be very attractive; I got on the Sigourney Weaver & Linda Hamilton love train young! Open to a partner of any race, thicc or thin, short or tall. Bonus points if I can pick you up! A cute accent or giggle will take you far with me. I live in the EST time zone, so as long as we can chat regularly I’m open to an LDR. Voice calls are important to me, but texting throughout the day is totally fine.
I value the simple and nerdy things in life, and would rather find my person to spend my life with rather than living a life of comfort and privilege. Board game nights, movie marathons, seeing the new museum exhibit and painting miniatures makes me a happy man. My dream is to open an animal sanctuary or hobby farm that could double as a human therapy center.
For work right now I’m in a volunteer position at a local food bank where I socialize with seniors and the food-insecure and basically serve as a ‘Johnny on the spot’ helping with odd jobs, tech support, stuff like that. I also help with a cat rescue organization where I have fostered cats and do some admin work. I do freelance editing on the side, and would love to have some of my own work published in the future!
Hit me up with your ASL and a little blurb about yourself! ‘Hey’ is for horses!

Ladies, welcome! I hope you’re in the market for a tall, nerdy animal lover who loves to cuddle, shower his woman with affection while not taking life or himself too seriously. Physically I’m a tall, slightly overweight man covered in body hair, perfect for snuggling up to! I rock the dad-bod, cookie-lover aesthetic, giant beard very much included.
I am child, drug, disease & religion free, and not looking to change any of those. Very, very light social drinker and not judgemental on that or weed at all. Very left-leaning politically with no patience for bigotry or bullshit. I am a one-woman kind of guy, looking to form something fun and long lasting with the right woman.
I find strong, capable & intelligent women to be very attractive; I got on the Sigourney Weaver & Linda Hamilton love train young! Open to a partner of any race, thicc or thin, short or tall. Bonus points if I can pick you up! A cute accent or giggle will take you far with me. I live in the EST time zone, so as long as we can chat regularly I’m open to an LDR. Voice calls are important to me, but texting throughout the day is totally fine.
I value the simple and nerdy things in life, and would rather find my person to spend my life with rather than living a life of comfort and privilege. Board game nights, movie marathons, seeing the new museum exhibit and painting miniatures makes me a happy man. My dream is to open an animal sanctuary or hobby farm that could double as a human therapy center.
For work right now I’m in a volunteer position at a local food bank where I socialize with seniors and the food-insecure and basically serve as a ‘Johnny on the spot’ helping with odd jobs, tech support, stuff like that. I also help with a cat rescue organization where I have fostered cats and do some admin work. I do freelance editing on the side, and would love to have some of my own work published in the future!
Hit me up with your ASL and a little blurb about yourself! ‘Hey’ is for horses!

Tldr the love of my life was sexually assaulted in a pub restroom and i didn't murder the bastard who did it because I didn't know how severe it was and also i was scared of someone much stronger
this rape incident traumatized me, traumatized the girl and shaped my whole existence. I know I am supposed to care much more about her but what about my own future?
From childhood, I was a selfish and cowardly person who, because of these two qualities, coupled with inexperience, let down family and friends. I was beaten by my parents and offended at school, both by teachers and classmates, and I never knew how to answer. On the contrary, it began to seem to me that my bitter experience allows me to offend others, to take everything from life. I was very wrong, but definitely karma will bite me for this. My bad character and my grotesquely disgusting appearance (my left eye is lazy) led to the fact that I was fatally deprived of female attention and jealous of the men in my environment who drowned in it. Therefore, when on August 14, 2021, the most beautiful girl in my life, whom I had known for three years, invited me on a date herself, confessed her feelings to me and kissed me, I was the happiest person in the world. She was special. The most beautiful woman, dyed red hair and played rts videogames and watched anime, even let me touch her and seemed to want sex with me. However, in 48 hours everything turned upside down.
I witnessed the horrendous harassment of her on August 16th and did nothing. The rapist, our former friend, stood up and towered over her began to somehow strangely demand a kiss from her when we gathered for, as it seemed to me then, the most ordinary drinking party. I felt that she was not comfortable, but then I had no idea how bad everything was. I was too frightened by a physically stronger man to stand up for my beloved, especially since we had not officially dated yet. My God, I should have intervened already then!
The next morning, on August 17, I received a message that if I stood for her, she would have thought whether we should date or not, and since I did not see this, she does not see the point. I sobbed nine times after this message. I'm ready to cry over her right now too. What I didn't know at the time was that shortly after the kiss-demanding incident, he followed her to the restroom and started molesting her. Very bad. I even continued to communicate with this bastard for some time, not knowing the whole story. I learned about the whole picture only a week later, when we met with her in the same company on other friends birthday party (but without the rapist). It was a very difficult conversation and I made a mistake in it, my stupid head. I said complete nonsense and selfishly tried to cling to any little thing, somehow trying to rehabilitate myself, but this only hurt my beloved more. When I tried to promise that I would behave differently if I had known the full story or next time, she started making fun of me. Fucking hell. I cut off all contacts with the assaulter that same evening I had learned the full story, and he was still surprised, he said, “Why does it bother you? Fell in love with her? ”, To which I answered in the affirmative and sent the bastard to the Blocklist, after which, in the spring, I began to talk about his atrocities to the girls in our common institute. Although it hardly mattered, it was our last year at the university.
Somewhere in February, I blocked my beloved everywhere I could, because I realized that my feelings for her were not mutual and having her in my contact list, I only hurt myself. I hoped that I would forget it. Not at all. With a red-hot iron, her image is burned into my brain, heart, in my eyes. My mind is clouded, I feel disgust, shame, regret, depressive sadness, I want to cry forever. I thought that the gym and the study of foreign languages would somehow distract me from the manic desire to end a meaningless life in which I would never again touch the most beautiful and nicest woman on the planet. I began to hate my own sexuality and gladly would have self-castrated myself.
Even right now I pendulum from asexuality to wanting to fuck everyone, anyone at the first given chance. I wish this had never happened.
I want her back. More than anything in the world. I failed her. Now I have no one and nothing. My reputation is also ruined because she told everyone what happened. So now even if I wanted to find another girlfriend, I will never be able to because none would trust a coward such as myself.
It was my first time dealing with such situation and I just froze.
I wrote to my beloved and asked her forgiveness. She doesn't blame me, but when I said that I was ready to do everything for her safety for free, she said "no, but thanks for the offer." I wrote that I understand that she does not trust me, but suddenly yes, and that this is the first time in my life this has happened, to which she said that in any case I am glad that everything is fine with me and I wrote to her. I wrote her a paragraph that she gave me a lot of good emotions and this topic is difficult for me, and I want the best and make sure that everything is fine, she replied with one line "have a nice day" I wrote "you too" and deleted the chat.
I am very sad that she does not trust me and does not see me as a reliable person. She doesn't have to date me or anything, but her not trusting me hurts so much. Like a knife in the heart. I didn't do it on purpose, I panicked because it was the first time. It makes me cry and want to die so much.
Even if at some point I wanted to settle for someone else (I will never be nearly as happy as with her), I won't be able to because she told everyone what happened and news in Baku spread like forest fire.

Reread Fear and there is a whole load of interesting stuff that happens. (I actually went out in the middle of the night to read it in the dark, as if I was in the FAYZ with the barrier gone black, it was fun).
After Gaia has been born she starts glowing and Brittney is very happy about this (much to Penny's annoyance) "She glows! Our Lord give us her light!" - Brittney "That's it, I've tried to put up with your -" - Penny "Hush" I think this power might actually belonged to an unnamed kid in Lies (who Zil targets) who had the power to glow harmlessly.
Also, does anyone else love some of the other stuff that happens in Fear?
Maybe I'm looking too far into this, but at the start of the book I almost wonder if Diana was flirting with Sam a little (until Astrid came back and they reconciled)
Edilio turns out to be in a relationship with Roger
Orc saves Dekka and they have a really honest talk, they both admit they're both loners - Dekka because she's gay, Orc because he's rock, but when they part Dekka tells Orc he's a hero, I thought that was really sweet
When Albert bails, he offers to let Quinn come with them.
By the end of the story, Caine saves one girl who runs into the fire with his powers, seems impressed Quinn is willing to tell Caine exactly what he thinks of him, and (after insisting he go on a very dangerous mission with him and Sam) actually tells him to save himself "Just get out of here Quinn, and try to stay alive." Seems like Caine wasn't a total monster after all. Oh, and he even uses his powers to levitate Sam down a cliff, they make quite a good team.
And when the barrier goes down - and parents start asking about their kids (many of whom are dead), Sam mentions that one of the kids was "Killed because it was the only way we could deal with him" Who do you think that was? Zil? Antoine? They're the only people that Team Sam killed so far as I remember.
Oh, and by the end of the book, Gaia has used some ability to make light, used Lana's healing ability, did something to make Penny suffer (presumably with her own ability) and used Caine's ability to throw Sam in the air and crush Caine against the barrier
Man I love this book, MG is a great writer. Somehow despite having numerous characters each one is unique and fun to read.

Phil Aston: Hello and welcome to the Now Spinning Magazine podcast with me, Phil Aston. And in this episode, I’m absolutely delighted to have with me Tony Martin, one of the UK’s most underrated rock vocalists. You’ve had a really varied career, but what we’re going to talk about today specifically is Black Sabbath and the new “Anno Domini” box set. So, welcome, Tony. Thank you so much for joining me.
Tony Martin: Thank you. And thank you for having me on the show. Very cool.
Phil Aston: A bit of context, because I think this is kind of helpful for you. My son is 30 now, but when he was 15, he set up a Facebook group, kind of saying, “One day, please can we have the Tony Martin Black Sabbath albums released?” That was 15 years ago. He was still at school, half his lifetime ago. And I think in the early time when he set this up, he may have reached out to you and you might have said something like, “I don’t think it’s gonna happen, Dan.” And here we are, all these years later, and it’s not only happened, but it comes out this Friday. How does that feel to know that these albums are now going to be available again?
Tony Martin: Well, first of all, well done to your son. It took 15 years, but he got it done. To be honest, there’s been a few periods when I didn’t think it was happening. In fact, about a year ago, Tony Iommi’s manager called me and said, “You know what, this is just so complicated. I don’t think we can do this.” So I was resigned to it not happening myself. It’s all to do with band politics, really. There are so many people involved or have their fingers in the pie that they all have to be on board. And there were allegiances changing all over the place, left, right, and center. So in the end, it was getting a bit tiring, but well done to Tony Iommi and BMG. My God, the patience they showed to get this thing together and actually get it out there. Wow. But how does it feel? It feels brilliant, to be honest. I’m very excited. I haven’t actually had these albums in my own hands physically for the past 25 years. I gave all mine away thinking I’d be able to get some more, and I didn’t. They just stopped making them. So to actually physically hold them again is really cool. What a great job they’ve done of it. So I’m thrilled and excited. And I’m helping out now because I’m not in the band, obviously, anymore. So I just offered my help to promote it and they said, “Great, let’s do it.”
Phil Aston: Isn’t it amazing? Because I’ve done quite a few reviews about Black Sabbath box sets and stuff, but this one, within about 12 hours, there’s literally 12,000 views of the review. The love for this period of Black Sabbath is actually huge. It’s grown. It almost feels as if the profile is higher now than it was at the time.
Tony Martin: Yeah, there is a kind of reason for that. Partly people have got over the “it’s the new guy” thing, and also it’s been 25 years since. So now we’re reaching out to a whole other group of people, in addition to those that were already there. But to the outside world, it looks like there was a huge gap, and to me it felt like a huge gap. But actually, the fans were always there. I’ve been waiting myself as well to get this back out there. And it’s just band politics, really. That’s all it is.
Phil Aston: Because you had that period when it was almost as if this part of Sabbath’s history was hidden because of band politics. None of this really happened, which I think probably stirred up more interest and kind of people wanting to find out more.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it could be. It’s an old famous thing, you know, if something ain’t around for a while, people start talking about it. But yeah, it’s a strange thing, the music business. You’re either in fashion or you’re not. But I am just thrilled that they’ve got around it. Just the patience they’ve shown to actually put this together. At one point they were just saying, “We can’t do it.” But I’m really chuffed anyway.
Phil Aston: I imagine there’s been compromises along the way. Lots of fans probably don’t understand how complicated the politics and all the different licenses and everything that goes on over the years, they become more and more entangled. People say, “Where’s Eternal Idol?” But of course, that was a different record label. Different people own it.
Tony Martin: Yeah, absolutely. It’s owned by somebody else. And also Eternal Idol, or “Eternal Idiot,” as we call it, was kind of reissued not that long ago. Really.
Phil Aston: That’s right. With the two CD version, wasn’t it?
Tony Martin: Yeah. So they were kind of thinking, “Well, there’s no real panic because that’s already been done and let’s just move on.” Because that would have wrapped them up in contracts for centuries, I think. I can’t even think that they’ll ever get them to let that go. But they were struggling to get the people involved with these four albums to make up their minds and do stuff. I’ve been all for it all the way along, I have to say. Obviously, because it’s my career, my history. It’s not just the band’s history. It’s ten years of my life that went AWOL. So, yeah, I’ve been up for it all the way along, but some people don’t and it’s taken them a while to get on board.
Phil Aston: I think it’s fantastic. The first one was Headless Cross. You joined one of the biggest rock bands with all that history behind it. You were an established singer with the Alliance. But this was a chance, as you say, with Eternal Idol, you went in and it was already prepared. You sang it, but this one was where you could really put your mark on it, your personality lyrically as well as musically. Can you remember what it was like actually being at the beginning of that? Did you feel comfortable around Iommi and Powell and thinking, “Right, what kind of lyrics am I going to do by Headless Cross?”
Tony Martin: Yeah, I was comfortable by then. Well, kind of. The thing is, with Eternal Idol, if I can just backstep a little bit. The Eternal Idol wasn’t the first call up. The first call up was in 1986 when they were doing the Seventh Star with Glenn Hughes. And that scared me to death because I can’t sing like Glenn Hughes. Nobody can sing like Glenn Hughes. They put me on standby back then, so I’d sort of tentatively had an introduction to Tony Iommi. Then in ’87, they got me in for the audition, and that was the next introduction to Tony Iommi. But because Eternal Idol was already written, that gave me a whole year plus a bit more to find out what this thing was. What the hell was I supposed to do? So just doing Eternal Idol like that was fine by me because I didn’t have to discover anything myself back then. It gave me a chance to get my feet in. So by the time it got to Headless Cross, now I know all the guys, and I kind of know what’s expected of me. I still had to find the “me” that I needed to find. I went around it the only way I could, by focusing on things I was interested in. I couldn’t do the lyrics and melodies that Geezer was writing for Ozzy because that was a generation before me. The stuff that Ronnie was doing was fantastic, but I couldn’t get inside his head. So I had to think about what I was going to do. I had an interest in the old gothic death stuff, like Dracula and Frankenstein, Mary Shelley type writing, and of course, in England, we have Shakespeare. Nobody speaks English like that anymore, that old English text. I thought, “Old English text, gothic death, and Black Sabbath. That might work.” So I put them all together and came up with Headless Cross, which is where I lived. I lived in a village called Headless Cross.
Phil Aston: Yeah, you put that on the map. They weren’t pleased about it. The most recognition I’ve got is my name on a bus stop. And Cozy Powell thought the album needed more death, didn’t he?
Tony Martin: Oh, that’s true. That’s actually true. We were recording “When Death Calls,” and he was in the studio playing, and he suddenly stopped. We went, “You alright?” He went, “Yeah, just remind me, what’s this song called again?” I said, “It’s called When Death Calls.” He said, “I don’t think there’s enough death in it.” And he carried on playing. So, okay, maybe he’s taking the piss, but isn’t it such a great sounding album? As Tony Iommi says, he never left Black Sabbath. So when people criticize him, saying, “You should change the name or whatever,” he never left. So it was still Black Sabbath. The riffs, the guitar sound was reaching new peaks of excellence around this time.
Because when it was just him and Ozzy, for example, it was guitar, that was it. When Geoff Nichols joined during the Dio period, it introduced a few more keyboard things. That allowed Iommi to play solos against those keyboard pads and chords. And then you come along and start sticking 50 tracks of vocal harmonies on it, like in Anno Mundi and stuff like that. It just kept developing. Sabbath isn’t really known for vocal harmonies and keyboards, but underneath that was still Tony Iommi. And it still sounded like Sabbath. We were happy to do that. We just wanted to make Tony happy and do the best for him. It was his band. So we were happy to seek out that Sabbath sound and make sure it did what it said on the tin. A couple of times, like with the Seventh Star thing, he ventured a little bit away from it. Songs like Heart Like a Wheel don’t really make the Black Sabbath sound, but it’s still good stuff. I have great respect for all of the eras that went before. I had to sing all of the songs. So I do have great respect for it. And it’s been an honor, you know, like being part of the whole story. But he was the only one that stuck it out. And we respected him for that. You’re right, they did ask him to change a couple of times. He said, “No, I can’t change now.”
Phil Aston: The next one, if I pronounce this right, it’s Tyr.
Tony Martin: Yeah.
Phil Aston: Because when it came out, me and my friends, actually, because there was no Internet back then and nowhere to go and check it, we did call it Tyr. To be.
Tony Martin: Yeah, Tyr.
Phil Aston: Watch you find in Birmingham. You know what I mean? So it actually rhymes with beer, doesn’t it?
Tony Martin: It is, yeah. Actually, it’s Tiw, which is Scandinavian for the son of Odin or something.
Phil Aston: Well, this is almost as close, probably, to Sabbath getting into almost a concept album. Isn’t it? This is a collection of songs that in another time and space you probably as a band would have gone out and performed the whole thing.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it wasn’t meant that way, but they were struggling to find a name for the album. We were recording and getting towards the end and the management called us up and said, “We really need a name for this album.” And Cozy said, “I’ve got one. Let’s call it Satanic Verses.” We went, “What, like Salman Rushdie thing?” He said, “Yeah, it would be great publicity.” We said, “Yeah, but we’ll all be dead.” So we did struggle, but they happened across the artwork. We’d done Anno Mundi, we’d done Gates of Valhalla and all that sort of stuff. They went, “What if… Tyr?” It was fine by me. So it took on the Viking sort of theme. By that time, I was thinking, once I’d done Headless Cross and started to have an interest in the Vikings and stuff. As you know, the Vikings haven’t been particularly good for us. They came over and stole all our women and sheep and whatever. But I had an interest in them as well. So I was thinking, every culture, every religion has its dark side. There’s always a devil type in a god type. I thought we could go around the world and I could do this. You could pick up on all sorts of cultures and pick out the dark side of various things. But it was the last kind of… I still did that with various other songs and various other artists. But Tyr was leaning towards that theme.
Phil Aston: It’s an excellent album. Then of course, the strangeness of the politics in Sabbath. Dehumanizer comes along and Dio re-enters the scene. You obviously had an opportunity because every cloud has a silver lining. You can go off and do your solo album at this time. But you did kind of like… It sounds like it was almost a forced relationship, the way that he was and he wasn’t. I mean, how was that period for you? Because you did demo some of the tracks, didn’t you?
Tony Martin: Firstly, it was a shock. I didn’t see that coming at all. Literally just walking out the door to the next writing rehearsals. My managers called up and said, “They don’t want you to go.” From what I recently found out, although I had my suspicions, Tony Iommi said the record label just wasn’t supporting it. They weren’t getting behind us at all. Then they started banding about all different names and stuff, and Ronnie’s name came up. They thought they’d give it a go. He said it was all on and off all the time. After they let me go, it wasn’t too long before Tony called me back and said, “Can you come back?” I said, “No, I can’t. I’m doing my solo album.” More time went by, and he called me back again and said, “Are you sure you can’t come back?” I said, “I’m doing my solo album. I really can’t.” He said, “Do you want to come down and try?” So I did. I went down and tried putting my voice on some of the songs, but it would have meant rewriting everything, and they weren’t going to do that. So I said, “The best thing is if you finish this with Ronnie, get this done and out of the way, then maybe we can talk again later.” So that’s kind of what happened. By that time, I’d done my solo album, which I wanted to get as far away from the Sabbath thing as I could at the time. I went back to doing what the Alliance and some of the bands I’d been with, that middle-of-the-road AOR type stuff. But when they called me back to Sabbath, Polydor dropped my solo album like a brick. They said, “We can’t do this if you’re going to go back with them.” So that got stopped. It’s so confusing. By the time I got back with the guys to Cross Purposes, it didn’t feel that much of a gap for me, because I’ve been talking to them and working with them through the Dehumanizer thing.
Phil Aston: Stylistically, that album, because it was on the IRS label, I know some people have said, “Well, it should be in there.” Stylistically, musically, it’s very different. I mean, you take it out. These four albums in this set, excluding Eternal Idol, they sound like a progression. Dehumanizer sounds like a kind of sidestep. Even the way the riffs are done in the songs, it’s changed. You take the vocalist out, but the music continued. You took you out and it was very different.
Tony Martin: I suppose it does a bit. If I go back and think over it, I guess that’s what it was. It was kind of an interruption into the flow of things. When we were doing Tyr, I thought we were doing really well. I thought we were onto something. Dehumanizer, in that sort of respect, does feel a little bit like an interruption. But there was some good stuff on there. Ronnie’s always been a good singer. I don’t quite know how they feel about it, but it was kind of nothing to do with me. I just let them get on with it.
Phil Aston: After that, Cross Purposes is probably, out of the four albums in this set, my personal favorite. Geezer’s back in the band now, so you’ve got his bubbling bass in there. And again, lyrically, it’s all you. Did you feel any kind of, “Oh, Geezer’s back. Will he want to help out?”
Tony Martin: I did ask. He just said, “No, you can do it.” So I just carried on.
Phil Aston
The reason why I love this album is that it’s varied. A lot of people think of Black Sabbath as the Godfathers of heavy metal, and heavy metal is always heavy metal. But if you think back to albums like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath in the seventies, they weren’t all heavy metal. There were all sorts of things on there. There were keyboards and light and shade. This, I felt, connected to that album, because you had light and shade on it. So there were more dynamics in the lyrical delivery and the song delivery, in the way that Iommi is weaving his riffs around the melodies. What are your thoughts looking back on this album now?
Tony Martin: I think you’ve just summed it up. It did sort of shift up a notch. Not only that, but the sound they were getting with Leif Mases producing it, it sort of grew up. It lifted somehow out of what they’d done before. It felt like, “Oh, this sounds good.” The songwriting and the exploring we were doing with the songs and stuff. At the time, Geezer Butler said that’s the best album he’s ever been on. He never said that again, but he said it at the time.
Phil Aston: I can imagine him saying just that.
Tony Martin: But it was good. Having Bobby Rondinelli in the band as well. Technically amazing. Brilliant player. His drums close in, and he plays with his wrists. Very technical. Whereas Cozy’s drums are stretched out far and wide. He’d lean over and hit them. But great to have them both in. What an honor. I mean, it’s Geezer Butler as well.
Phil Aston: When you got to South America, Bill Ward was in for a few gigs, wasn’t he? That must have been quite surreal. Bill Ward and Geezer playing songs like Headless Cross, which they had nothing to do with.
Tony Martin: They had nothing to do with. We were kind of weird because once we’d started to get Geezer and Bill back in, they wanted to start doing more of the older songs. That just makes you look, read between the lines going, “What’s going on? Where’s this going?” Once it’s happened to you, you know it. Then you’re reading between the lines. You start to feel it. Then you go, “Ah, right.” You can feel it. They’re clearing up. I did ask if they were going to do a reunion with Ozzy. Iommi was always denying it. Said, “No, no, we’re not doing that.” But I didn’t mind. The reason for that is because I knew what I could do in the future then. I thought, “Well, if they just tell me, that’s fine. Cause then I can plan.” The first time it was a shock and I didn’t know what to do. But I was kind of keyed up for it the next time. But he kept going. They got Bill in. I love Bill. I think he’s brilliant. We did some shows with him. But for some reason, and I don’t know what it is, I mean, I can tell you Iommi loves Bill. He regaled so many stories about when they were out there and how funny it was. I never understood why they never gave him time to get back in it. When you think of Def Leppard, they made a drum kit for a one-armed drummer.
Phil Aston: Yes, very true.
Tony Martin: Surely they can find time to get Bill settled back in. Whatever problems they’ve got. I mean, come on.
Phil Aston: You would think, yeah, very true.
Tony Martin: Get on with it. I thought, “Right, this is going to go south again.” But it didn’t. We carried on with Forbidden, and then Cozy came back after his accident. It was really up and down. Confusing. People in and out. During the time I was in the band, there were eight different lineups.
Phil Aston: It was very much a revolving door, wasn’t it? Before we move on, I just want to ask, because I know a lot of fans ask this. In the booklets in these box sets, there’s an image of Cross Purposes Live. That was a VHS tape and a CD. Is there a reason why that wasn’t included in some way? Is that game politics?
Tony Martin: I did ask about that, and they were just keen to get on with it. They said, “Come on, let’s go, let’s do it.” What they told me was that they’re going to take their time now to see what else they can gather and do an additional thing to this along the way with more of that in it. With the Cross Purposes Live and some other stuff. There’s a track that I recorded with them when Eddie Van Halen came and did Evil Eye.
Phil Aston: Yes, yeah, Evil Eye, wasn’t it?
Tony Martin: Yeah. I used to take the track out. I had it everywhere. Writing sessions, recording sessions, rehearsals. I just happened to be there. I didn’t even know who was coming. Iommi just turned up with Eddie Van Halen. I went, “Holy hell, it’s Eddie Van Halen. What’s he doing here?” He did some rehearsals with us and then disappeared. Never saw him again. But I got the recordings of the rehearsals that we did.
Phil Aston: Oh, wow.
Tony Martin: So I sent them to Tony Iommi. I said, “Use these. Get these on.” He said, “No, no, we can’t.” The reason they said was anything that has the slightest newness about it looks like a new Black Sabbath track or album track. They’re not allowed to release anything new under the Black Sabbath name. So even if it’s historical, they couldn’t allow it. It’s really weird.
Phil Aston: That means there must be lots of live stuff recorded. More bands were recording live stuff from the nineties onwards that you just couldn’t work on because it would go out under the Black Sabbath name.
Tony Martin: Not just live stuff. I’ve got about eight tracks that we never released. Just from the writing sessions and rehearsals and stuff that we used to do. They just can’t get out. They just won’t allow it.
I don’t understand. Well, I kind of understand. When you’re trying to protect your name, your mark, your image, your everything, which is where the band politics comes in, they won’t allow you to do anything that they think. And there’s all kinds of… Everybody from Ozzy to Dio to everybody. They don’t want their thing to be diluted or taken away. I do understand that. There are people involved all along the way that have an objection of some kind or another.
Phil Aston: But I guess, hopefully, this box set’s going to sell out really quickly and will show there’s a demand for this material and for this part of Black Sabbath history. There’s a lot of love for it. A lot of people worked really hard within it, like yourself. They’re great albums, wonderful songs. If there’s other music waiting in the wings, whereas we all get older, thinking through the eyes of the fan, it would go down so well, wouldn’t it? But I am, as you are, very grateful that these four albums have arrived in a box.
Tony Martin: Yes, it’s an important thing for me. It’s an important thing for the band, and it’s a great thing for the fans. I’m thrilled. It’s been an honor to be part of the story. I love the fact that it’s out there now. They did say there is no limit to the box sets. They have sold out on day one.
Phil Aston: I’m not surprised.
Tony Martin: They said the way they do it is they tend to poll the outlets and stuff and say, “How many do you think you can sell?” And they put their numbers in, and they’ve gone way past that. So now they’ve got to go back and produce more. There’s no limit to it. I love what they’ve done. There’s more in the box set than just the albums. Posters, programs, and everything.
Phil Aston: And then Forbidden. I’ll be honest, Tony, when I heard this for the first time back in the day, I didn’t like it. I tried, but I didn’t like it. My son liked it because I think probably because his dad didn’t. But now the remix, it’s as if someone’s released the drums and the guitars. It sounds like a Black Sabbath album. It sounds fantastic, doesn’t it?
Tony Martin: It does. It’s brilliant. I love the fact that they’ve dismantled it and put it back in a way that they couldn’t or didn’t with the other three. Forbidden needed it for all kinds of reasons. It was done under a sort of cloud where a lot of us weren’t really into it very much. But it was also an attempt at trying to give Sabbath a kind of acceptable twist to the youth. It didn’t work.
Phil Aston: The nineties were weird, weren’t they? The nineties were strange for heavy rock.
Tony Martin: The problem was we were fast heading towards great new bands like Nirvana and eventually Green Day and Metallica doing stuff. We were going and they were trying to change the sound to fit in. It didn’t work. We didn’t think it would. But there are people out there that love Forbidden as it is. I said that to Iommi. Last time I saw him, there are people out there that love it. He said, “They’ll probably love this version now.” But shaking the chains, guilty as hell, rusty angels, forbidden. And of course, “Loser Gets It All” is a great track. That wasn’t even on the album originally.
Phil Aston: It’s brilliant.
Tony Martin: Yeah. Strange. I absolutely love it now. It does sound like a Black Sabbath album. It sounds like it should be there in amongst the others. They’ve done a great job. Tony and his engineers have really pulled it together. It’s slightly more guitar and slightly less keyboard. They’ve done Cozy’s drums. Fantastic job on those.
Phil Aston: They’re just unleashed, aren’t they?
Tony Martin: Yes. They haven’t changed anything. They’ve mixed it and given it a new attitude, which is brilliant. They’ve given it more space. It sounds bigger. I just love what they’ve done to it. I’m really proud of it now. I didn’t like it then. There’s still a couple of tracks where I would love to have gone back in and…
Phil Aston: Yeah, you know.
Tony Martin: I thought at the time, because I was that off it at the time, my head just wasn’t quite there. A couple of tracks I thought I could have done better. I did sort of say when they were doing it, “Can I go back in?” They said, “No.”
Phil Aston: I suppose because that might edge towards it being a new recording then.
Tony Martin: Yeah, tricky. I’m not going to tell you which tracks it is, but there were a couple in there that I wasn’t quite happy with. But on the whole, it’s a great job they’ve done.
Phil Aston: Because when you were playing live, there were more songs from your period in Sabbath coming into the set, weren’t there? You were a unique vocalist in many ways for the band. You could cover Ozzy, Dio. You probably could have done Ian Gillan. Anything. You could have the ultimate set list, really, going through every era.
Tony Martin: That was a bit of a mistake. I told them I could sing anything, really. They thought, “What can we give him to sing?” They threw all sorts of stuff at me. I had a shot. Fortunately, I’ve got the kind of voice that can get around most things, and that’s a result of being in so many different kinds of music. I’ve been involved in everything from reggae to rock.
Phil Aston: Who were your key vocal influences growing up? As you say, outside of this Black Sabbath badge, your voice can go in any direction. So who were your influences? Was it blues, soul, rock?
Tony Martin: It kept changing. Everything I listened to, I thought, “That’s good. That’s good.” Each couple of years, something else took my attention. I’d really pour my soul into it. When I started off with reggae, believe it or not, I worked with Musical Youth and Dexys Midnight Runners in the studio. I was a guitarist back then. Then I loved blues. I got into prog rock bands like Yes, King Crimson, Jethro Tull. Then it shifted to Emerson, Lake & Palmer. That led to Rush and bands like that. Then I had to come down out of that prog rock technical stuff because Sabbath is much more honest and basic and straightforward. To a point. When you’re in the band and you find out how he does it, it’s stunning. I never even gave it a thought. I thought, “It’s got to be easy.” It wasn’t easy at all. Iommi can put seven, eight different riffs into one song, and each one of the riffs could be a song on their own.
Phil Aston: Very true.
Tony Martin: So, wow. You get your head around it. It’s weird. Plus, the time signatures he was throwing at us. There was a 14/4 and a 15/8 or something he was throwing at us. How he gets his head around it, I just don’t know. When I saw him a few weeks ago, he said, “You did a really good job on this.” I said, “Thanks, man.” He said, “I actually don’t know how you sang over some of this stuff.” I said, “Neither do I.”
Phil Aston: Just mad, isn’t it? You could try anything. I might have thought, “That means you might be able to put some of the songs in that Ozzy couldn’t do into the set. Or I can try something that I’ve never been able to do before because Tony says he can do anything.”
Tony Martin: It’s because I showed willing. I told them I’d have a go. And I did have a go. I did put into it. The songs, the writing, the live shows, whatever. I kind of made a rod for my own back in some ways because it was hard flicking between all of the different vocal techniques. But I did my best. It sort of came across okay. The problem is when you try to do stuff like that, it can sound a bit like a tribute act. But we got it nailed, I think. Especially having people like Cozy Powell, Geezer Butler, and all those guys in the band. We were willing to seek out that Sabbath sound, and we were conscious of it. So we were all aiming for the same thing. From outside, it might have looked like a chaotic mess. But on the inside, it all had a focus. We were all willing to give it a go. That’s what I think they saw in me. I knew they liked my voice, but I think that’s what they saw, a willingness to have a go and see if you can make it work. All those different time signatures and riffs that I had to go, looking back, to me, it’s Black Sabbath. Like,
Phil Aston I’m a Deep Purple fan, and every lineup of Deep Purple is still Deep Purple. I know Black Sabbath, there’s lots of politics in the way some of the fans look at it. But I think, which is why they had Heaven and Hell later on instead of Black Sabbath, because of the politics. But listening to these four albums, one after the other, you brought to life Viking mythology and song. More death. Just your passion and the way you projected the lyrics and your phrasing makes these albums unique. An important part of the Sabbath story. Finally, do you feel like this outpouring of love for this lineup is validating everything? Any doubt that might have been back then?
Tony Martin: Yeah, doesn’t it just? The biggest validation is from Tony Iommi himself. It wasn’t regarded that highly until he sat and listened to it without the bickering going around. When I went down a few weeks ago, he said, “You did a great job on this. There’s fantastic songs on here.” I said, “I know.” It’s just that validation that he gives it. The fact that the fans are returning to it. The fact that we’ve got new fans coming to it. Whole new record labels. I think it’s Rhino in America. It’s BMG in the UK, Europe. The record labels are coming back to it and getting behind it. They see something in it. The management sees something in it. So it’s all coming together. Which is a shame because I’m not in the band anymore.
Phil Aston Who knows? Maybe you and Tony will think, “It’d be great if some of this other stuff can come out at some point and we don’t have to wait another 25 years.”
Tony Martin: If he was going to do that, he’d say, “Let’s just write some new stuff.” But from what I’ve been told, Tony’s touring dates are done now. He won’t be going out on the road again. That’s probably out of the question for writing. I did tell him I was interested if he wants to do something. But he’s got so much going on. He’s still busy. Doing stuff. He had that ballet, the Black Sabbath ballet.
Phil Aston: Yeah, that’s true.
Tony Martin: Never saw that coming. No, he’s working on all kinds of stuff. He’s writing new material for something else now.
Phil Aston: So what about you, Tony? Have you got any plans for another solo album?
Tony Martin: I never actually stopped. For the past 25 years, my career took me into the studio and writing for people. My voice appears on 89 albums and projects now. It’s been good for me. I owe everything to Black Sabbath because that’s how the world got to hear my voice. People know what they’re talking about when they talk to me. “Can you write, can you sing on this?” They already know what they’re hearing or expecting. I always try to make it better than what they give me in the first place. A lot of that is me in the studio, and I’m happy, and I still am, happy doing that. But I do tend to choose what I do these days.
Phil Aston: Yeah, that makes sense.
Tony Martin: So I’m still doing the odd thing for people now. I did have a solo album a couple of years ago called Thorns.
Phil Aston: Great album.
Tony Martin: Yeah, totally unknown guitarist from America, Scott McClellan. I only met him because he kept badgering me on Facebook. He kept sending me stuff. I was like, “Go away.” He said, “Listen to this. What about this one?” In the end, I listened to it and it was brilliant. So I gave it a go and it turned out really well. But then Covid interrupted that and we couldn’t get out there with it. Some countries were saying, “Yeah, you can come,” and other countries were saying, “No, you can’t.” It all got distracted. I haven’t finished with Thorns because they wanted to do a vinyl for it. They said we had to take some tracks off to get it to fit on the vinyl. I don’t want to take any tracks off.
Phil Aston: Make it a double.
Tony Martin: Yeah, make it a double. Write some more. I wasn’t prepared for that. I’m pacing up, trying to write some new songs. Scott has sent me loads. We’ve got enough tracks for Thorns 2, but I haven’t finished Thorns 1 yet. I’ve got to come back to that. I do want to finish that off and get that done. Then if we can do the next Thorns thing, who knows? We’d like to try and get it out on the road. Getting out on the road for me is so different to the Sabbath thing. The Sabbath machine is huge. They only have to mention it and all the cogs start turning all at the same time all the way around the world. It all starts fitting into place within days, within weeks. On your own, it’s different. I can’t do that. I have to hire other musicians to go out on the road and rehearse the whole thing and start again with a brand new show. It’s a lot harder for me, but I would love to get back out there. My career took me into the studio, so I’ve got more to do. But I just tend to choose now.
Phil Aston: If people want to get Thorns, is it DarkstarRecords.net? Is that the best place?
Tony Martin: No, Battle God. They are the main label. Darkstar were involved and they’re still there, but they’ve had some troubles in the past couple of years. They were on board and I did two versions of it from between the two territories. I liked that. But mostly now, Battle God is the label to grab hold of it. It’s still available and I’m still signing them. People send me the stuff to sign.
Phil Aston: But I haven’t finished yet, so there’s more to come.
Phil Aston: Brilliant. Well, thanks very much, Tony, for all of your time today. Everybody, make sure you go and get a copy on CD or vinyl of this Black Sabbath Tony Martin years box set, “Anno Domini.” It’s absolutely superb.
Tony Martin: Yeah, it is good. I’m just smiling. I think it’s brilliant.
Phil Aston: No, that’s it, isn’t it? Whatever anyone thinks, these albums are available again. People can hear just how awesome this time for Sabbath really was.
Tony Martin: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Phil Aston: All right, take care, and hopefully I’ll talk to you again in the future.
Tony Martin: Thank you. All right, Phil, thanks, mate. Cheers.
Phil Aston: Well, a huge thank you to my guest, Tony Martin. That was fantastic. I’m almost lost for words in knowing what to say to sum up that interview because I know a lot of you are really interested in this box set, “Anno Domini” by Black Sabbath, which is out on CD and vinyl. Just as I thought, it’s sold out already, but there’s going to be another pressing. I was able to ask some of the questions I know some of you have been wanting to know, like why weren’t there extra tracks? Why wasn’t the live Cross Purposes included, etc. So now you know. Some of it is really exciting because it means there might be a companion set with some outtakes or live stuff as well. That’s really exciting.
Tony Martin is a fantastic vocalist, really passionate, really imaginative with his lyrics and his vision of how he writes his music. These four albums are essential. They’re Black Sabbath albums, okay? That’s what they are. They sound like Black Sabbath albums. Wasn’t it interesting that Geezer Butler said Cross Purposes is the best album he’d ever played on? It is a truly remarkable album. But they all are: from Headless Cross, to Tyr (which I can now pronounce correctly), Cross Purposes, and Forbidden, which has been given a new lease of life. Seriously, it is incredible. Just stunning.
Thank you again to Tony Martin for joining me here on the Now Spinning Magazine podcast. Please keep spinning those discs, whether they are vinyl or CD. Check us out on the podcast. We’re on every platform you can think of, from Apple to Spotify to Amazon. Of course, we’re on YouTube. Please subscribe and check out the website at nowspinning.co.uk. Remember, music is the healer and the doctor. So take care and I’ll see you all very, very soon.
Watch the full interview here
Phil Aston Now Spinning Magazine

First time poster here, had an idea for a short excerpt with Kassandra Curze based on the audio drama, A Lesson in Darkness, after I finished listening to it. Hope its all y’allz liking~ ////////////
The world screamed beneath her feet. It screamed with the chorus of over nine million souls as butchery rained down upon their roofs. The slurry of dismembered, flayed, and eviscerated corpses sending a maddening cacophony of panic through each pair of eyes who dared to look up above with hope. The debris weren’t just pieces of meat after all, it was the result of their defiance. The very men, women, and warriors who flew into the stars to meet the armies of the Imperium with foolish ideals of resistance in their hearts- now they lay in pieces and are eagerly falling back home.
“Terror as a scalpel.” The Primarch uttered to her son. “Mankind is a vindictive, grudge-filled, and hate-fueled creature. While many shall judge us for our method of war, we shall wield the fear of our ways like a scalpel. It shall pluck at their very foundation as anarchic animals right at its root.”
The captain nods, his inky black eyes filled with awe at staring at his gene-matron. His twin hearts beating in cold joy at the brutal lecture- he sees the nobility and monstrosity simultaneously. Kassandra Curze was a blood-stained angel.
Yet his own awe-strained thoughts were rocked by a singular question.
“Then, my lady, why do you command us to keep that mortal remembrancer around? Surely his account of our battles shall serve to stifle the fear we so-tenderly stoke?”
The Primarch paused, she didn’t expect her son to ask such a thing. While usually quick to anger, today she was treated to a gift from Starlight. She dare not sour the moment of her victory as well.
“It is not for his propaganda papers. He wishes to see…all of it.”
“All of it?” The captain chided.
“Yes.” Kassandra removes her helmet, “Of all the souls that have ever met my gaze no mortal has ever wished to see anymore as soon as eyes level. They see a monster, and that is by design, they see the Night Haunter. But Starli- I mean, the remembrancer. He sees me, the legion, and the blood of a thousand flayed men and he still does not turn away. He sees…me.”
The captain had been a veteran at this point and he had heard his Primarch talk about all manner of topics. From the complexities of human psychology and the myriad ways of battle, but this conversation, those words, he had no idea what she was saying. What stayed with him though, was her expression: She flashed a smile that almost seemed…tender.
Kassandra picks up on her son’s confusion and just sighs before putting her helmet back on. “Needless to say this world has been rendered compliant and I shall deliver this victory to the remembrancer personally.”