So my mom and I found out that we share the same reoccurring dream a couple years ago at my grandmas funeral talking about dreams. We were sitting and I brought up this dream that I had about being on a dock with these large white sea creatures swimming underneath me. The water was so clear, and I can’t tell what these types of fish are but they are a little terrifying but it’s still intriguing to me. Sometimes the dreams will change slightly but it’s the same setting with the same feelings of fear & curiosity.
Before I could even finish telling my mom about this reoccurring dream, she started to tell me my dream, as I was talking about it, in detail. That’s where we figured we both share this same reoccurring dream.
My mom is an artist and even painted the dream, looking very similar to how my dream looked. And we share the same emotions about these sea creatures as well.
She also is very in tune with her dreams, as am I, where we are both interested in and like to dissect them.
I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced anything like this? Or has looked into shared reoccurring dreams? I have never heard anyone else having this, and talking about it is one of my favorite things because I can’t explain why this has happened.
Also, ever since we both have told each other about our shared dreams, they haven’t happened again, for either of us.

The War Scroll, also known as the "War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," is a unique text within the Dead Sea Scrolls that portrays an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good (Sons of Light) and evil (Sons of Darkness). This scroll provides insight into both historical and symbolic elements.
Historical Accuracy:
The War Scroll, while containing detailed military tactics and an epic narrative of the ultimate confrontation, doesn't explicitly reference any specific historical event or timeframe. Some scholars believe it could be a product of the community's anticipation of a future messianic conflict or a reflection of their own community's struggles against opposing forces during their time. Interpreting the historical accuracy of the scroll often involves exploring the context of the Qumran community and the turbulent times in which they lived.
Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:
The War Scroll goes beyond a mere description of a physical battle. It portrays a cosmic conflict between the forces of light and darkness, reflecting not just a literal warfare but also a symbolic and spiritual struggle. The text emphasizes righteousness, divine intervention, and the victory of good over evil.
Within the study guide, activities and exercises could involve dissecting the symbolic elements present in the War Scroll, exploring the deeper meanings behind the battle tactics and the metaphysical implications of the conflict. Understanding the symbolism could involve group discussions, comparative analysis with other ancient texts with similar themes, and exploring the impact of this symbolic representation on the community's beliefs and practices.
Here are a few activities and exercises to explore the symbolism and historical context of the War Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

1. Symbolism Analysis:

Provide excerpts from the War Scroll and encourage participants to identify and discuss the symbolic meanings behind elements like the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness," various weapons, and the strategies outlined for battle. Group discussions or written reflections can help participants explore the deeper layers of meaning.

1. Comparative Analysis:

Compare the War Scroll's themes with similar apocalyptic or eschatological texts from different cultures or religions, such as apocalyptic passages in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible or apocalyptic texts from other ancient traditions. Create worksheets or discussion prompts to highlight similarities and differences in themes, symbols, and beliefs about cosmic battles.

1. Historical Context Exploration:

Present historical information about the era when the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. Discuss the political, social, and religious climate of that time, including the turmoil in the region, to understand how these factors might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll. Encourage participants to consider the possible motivations behind the text's creation.

1. Creative Interpretation:

Encourage creative expression by asking participants to create artwork, poems, or short stories inspired by the themes and imagery found in the War Scroll. This exercise allows individuals to engage more deeply with the symbolic elements and interpret them in their own unique ways.

1. Role-playing or Debates:
   Organize a role-playing activity where participants take on the roles of "Sons of Light" and "Sons of Darkness," debating their ideologies, motivations, and strategies for the ultimate battle. This exercise helps in understanding differing perspectives and interpreting the conflicts presented in the scroll.
   

Interpretative variations regarding the river's crossing in different ancient texts reflect the unique religious, philosophical, and cultural perspectives embedded within these narratives. These differences in interpretation offer insights into diverse worldviews and varying theological frameworks present in ancient texts:

1. Mesopotamian Context:

• In Mesopotamian mythology and literature, the Euphrates River often held symbolic significance as a boundary between the known civilized world and the wild, unknown realms. The crossing of the Euphrates could symbolize journeys into unexplored territories or transitions between order and chaos. This perspective reflects a worldview rooted in the physical and geographical division of lands.

1. Biblical Context:

• In biblical texts, such as those in the Book of Revelation or Old Testament prophecies, the crossing of the Euphrates carries eschatological significance. It may represent a divine intervention or a decisive moment in God's plan, marking the commencement of apocalyptic events. This interpretation aligns with the biblical narrative of divine judgment and the unfolding of God's ultimate purpose in history.

1. Gnostic or Apocryphal Context:

• Gnostic or apocryphal texts often interpret the river's crossing as a symbolic liberation or awakening. It might signify the release of spiritual forces or the ascent to higher consciousness, reflecting a philosophical perspective emphasizing spiritual enlightenment and liberation from material constraints.

1. Greco-Roman Interpretation:

• In Greco-Roman literature, crossings of rivers were often associated with mythological journeys or transitions between realms. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize a transition from mundane existence to a realm of mystery or spiritual significance, reflecting a cultural perspective rooted in mythology and cosmology.

These varied interpretations highlight the richness and diversity of religious, philosophical, and cultural frameworks present in ancient texts. The river's crossing serves as a flexible symbol that adapts to different narratives, conveying themes of transition, judgment, liberation, or cosmic transformation based on the unique perspectives of each tradition.
Exploring these interpretative variations allows participants to appreciate the complexity of symbolism within ancient texts and provides insights into how different cultures and belief systems interpreted common motifs like the river Euphrates. It showcases the intricate interplay between religious, philosophical, and cultural elements shaping the symbolism and theological implications embedded in these narratives.
The river Euphrates, a prominent geographic feature in ancient texts, embodies universal themes that transcend specific cultural contexts. Identifying these universal themes helps reveal shared human concepts of transition, boundaries, and transformative events across diverse ancient traditions:

1. Threshold and Transition:

• The Euphrates often symbolizes a boundary between known and unknown territories. Its crossing represents a transition from one state to another, signifying a pivotal moment of change or passage. This theme of crossing a threshold echoes the human experience of transitions in life, moving from familiar to unfamiliar realms.

1. Boundary and Separation:

• As a geographical boundary, the Euphrates signifies separation between distinct territories or civilizations. This concept of demarcation resonates with universal human experiences of setting boundaries, delineating spaces, or marking divisions between different aspects of life.

1. Transformative Events:

• Crossing the Euphrates is often associated with cosmic or transformative events in ancient texts. This universal theme reflects the human fascination with the concept of epochal change, cosmic upheavals, or moments of divine intervention that reshape the course of history.

1. Symbol of Power and Control:

• The river might represent a symbol of power, control, or geopolitical significance. Crossing it could signify shifts in dominance, challenges to established authority, or the assertion of influence. This theme resonates with human narratives of power struggles and shifts in societal dynamics.

1. Metaphor for Spiritual Journeys:

• Across cultures, rivers are often used metaphorically to represent spiritual journeys or quests. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize the pursuit of enlightenment, the passage to higher realms of understanding, or the quest for spiritual transformation.

These universal themes associated with the river Euphrates highlight fundamental aspects of the human experience—transitions, boundaries, transformative events, power dynamics, and spiritual journeys. The river's symbolism in ancient texts speaks to shared human aspirations, struggles, and beliefs that transcend cultural boundaries and resonate across different epochs and civilizations.
By identifying and discussing these universal themes, participants gain a deeper appreciation for the profound symbolism embedded in ancient texts and recognize the timeless relevance of concepts such as transition, boundaries, and transformative events in shaping human narratives and aspirations.

1. Historical Context:

• What historical events or societal conditions might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll?
  
• How does the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contribute to our understanding of this text's significance?
  

1. Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:

• How does the War Scroll use symbolism to convey spiritual or cosmic themes?
  
• What esoteric wisdom or deeper spiritual insights can be derived from the portrayal of cosmic conflict and divine intervention within the text?
  

1. Comparative Analysis:

• Compare the themes and symbolism of the War Scroll with other apocalyptic texts from different cultures (e.g., Book of Revelation, The Book of Daniel). What common motifs or differences in interpretation do you observe?

1. Parallelism in Biblical Texts:

• Explore connections between the War Scroll and other biblical texts. How does the language, imagery, or themes in the War Scroll intersect with passages from the Hebrew Bible or New Testament?

1. Community Beliefs and Practices:

• How might the apocalyptic expectations depicted in the War Scroll have influenced the beliefs and practices of the community that produced it?
  
• Discuss the impact of such intense anticipation of cosmic conflict on communal life and religious rituals within the community.
  

1. Cultural Significance of Cosmic Battles:

• Across various ancient cultures, why do you think depictions of cosmic battles and eschatological events were significant? What might these narratives represent in a broader cultural context?

1. Interpretive Variations and Unique Perspectives:

• Explore the diverse interpretations of specific passages or symbols within the War Scroll. How do different scholars or traditions interpret these elements, and what underlying factors might influence their interpretations?

1. Personal Reflection and Modern Relevance:

• Reflect on how the themes of cosmic conflict, righteousness, and spiritual warfare in the War Scroll might resonate in contemporary society or personal belief systems.

1. Theological and Philosophical Implications:

• Discuss the theological and philosophical implications of a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness. How does this theme intersect with broader philosophical inquiries or theological doctrines?

1. Literary and Symbolic Analysis:

- Analyze the narrative structure and symbolic elements present in specific passages of the War Scroll. How do these elements contribute to the text's overarching themes and meanings? 

These study questions aim to provoke critical thinking, promote in-depth exploration of themes, encourage comparative analysis, and stimulate discussions on the multifaceted nature of the War Scroll's content and its significance within ancient and contemporary contexts.

1. Archaeological and Linguistic Analysis:

- How does the physical condition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, impact our understanding of their preservation and historical context? - Discuss the linguistic peculiarities or unique textual features found within the War Scroll and their implications for translation and interpretation. 

1. Apocalyptic Expectations and Messianic Concepts:

- Explore the portrayal of messianic figures or anticipated saviors within the War Scroll. How do these concepts align with or diverge from contemporary expectations of a messianic figure in other ancient texts or religious traditions? 

1. Impact of Apocalyptic Literature:

- Analyze the enduring influence of apocalyptic literature, such as the War Scroll, on subsequent religious, literary, or cultural traditions. How have these texts shaped later beliefs or inspired artistic and literary works? 

1. Ethical and Moral Frameworks:

- Discuss the ethical or moral implications of the cosmic conflict depicted in the War Scroll. How do the themes of righteousness and wickedness contribute to the text's underlying moral framework? 

1. Role of Prophecy and Revelation:

- Explore the role of prophecy and revelation within the War Scroll. How do the prophetic elements contribute to the text's portrayal of future events and cosmic justice? 

1. Experiential and Ritualistic Elements:

- Investigate potential ritualistic or experiential dimensions associated with the teachings or beliefs conveyed in the War Scroll. How might the community have engaged with these teachings in their religious practices or communal activities? 

1. Literary Genre and Interpretation:

- Discuss the classification of the War Scroll within the broader genre of apocalyptic literature. How does its classification influence our understanding and interpretation of its themes and symbolic elements? 

1. Relevance in Modern Scholarship:

- Reflect on the ongoing scholarly debates or discoveries related to the War Scroll. How have modern interpretations evolved, and what implications do these new perspectives have on our understanding of the text? 

1. Intersection of Faith and Scholarship:

- Consider the interplay between faith-based interpretations and scholarly analyses of the War Scroll. How might religious convictions or theological frameworks influence academic research and vice versa? 

1. Future Research and Interpretative Avenues:

- Propose potential avenues for future research or areas of exploration concerning the War Scroll. What unanswered questions or unexplored aspects merit further investigation? 

The composition of the War Scroll, along with other Dead Sea Scrolls, was likely influenced by several historical events and societal conditions prevalent during the time of its writing, which is estimated to be between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE:

1. Hellenistic Rule and Cultural Influence:

• The region where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found was under Hellenistic influence due to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent control by the Seleucid Empire. This era saw a clash between Hellenistic culture and Jewish traditions, leading to cultural tensions and a desire to preserve religious and cultural heritage.

1. Political Turmoil and Resistance Movements:

• The Jewish people experienced political unrest, particularly during the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule. This period was characterized by resistance movements, attempts to preserve Jewish identity, and fervent anticipation of a messianic figure to deliver them from foreign oppression.

1. Religious Sects and Spiritual Expectations:

• Various religious sects existed within Judaism, each with its own interpretations and expectations of messianic redemption, purity laws, and theological doctrines. The community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, often believed to be the Essenes, likely had distinctive theological beliefs and a strong apocalyptic worldview.

1. Anticipation of Cosmic Redemption:

• There was a widespread belief in the imminent arrival of a messianic figure or a divine intervention that would bring about cosmic redemption, ushering in an era of righteousness and divine rule. This anticipation of apocalyptic events and a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness is reflected in the War Scroll's themes.

Regarding the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery, its significance lies in multiple facets:

1. Preservation of Ancient Texts:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, provided an invaluable collection of ancient manuscripts that significantly expanded our understanding of ancient Jewish texts, religious beliefs, and the diversity of Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.

1. Insights into Jewish Sectarianism:

• The scrolls shed light on the diversity of beliefs and practices among Jewish sects during that time. Understanding the beliefs and expectations of the community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls helps contextualize the theological and apocalyptic themes present in the War Scroll.

1. Confirmation of Scriptural Accuracy:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contributed to confirming the accuracy and preservation of certain biblical texts, highlighting the continuity of textual transmission across centuries and supporting the authenticity of biblical manuscripts.

1. Impact on Biblical Studies and Scholarship:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionized biblical studies, providing scholars with invaluable primary sources for studying ancient Judaism, the development of biblical texts, and the context in which these texts were composed.

The historical context of political upheaval, religious expectations, and the preservation of texts within the Dead Sea Scrolls contributes significantly to understanding the milieu in which the War Scroll was written. It provides a backdrop against which the themes of cosmic conflict, eschatological anticipation, and religious fervor within the War Scroll can be comprehended.

This analysis comes from Cults and Nonconventional Religious Groups: A Collection of Outstanding Dissertations and Monographs, "Shakubuku: A Study of the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Movement in America, 1960-1975", David A. Snow, 1993, pp. 171-179.
I'll try to shave it down, because it's a long section, but he masterfully dissects the manipulation and artifice involved in the "discussion meetings" of then-NSA (now SGI-USA). You'll recognize the fakery he identifies - this is the nature of the Dead-Ikeda-cult SGI, a completely dishonest and exploitative cult.

It is at these discussion meetings, then, that NSA gets on with the real work of promoting and securing nominal conversion, of attempting to get recruits to take the first major step toward conversion by agreeing to receive a Gohonzon and to give chanting a try.

In those days, the nohonzon was issued up front (for a fee, of course - cash on the barrelhead).

And since gaining converts is, in large part, what this movement is all about, "nothing is more basic to the activities of NSA," as noted in the Winter edition of the 1975 NSA Quarterly, "than the discussion meeting." Or, as one district leader emphasized when discussing the importance of these meetings: "Discussion meetings are indispensable to the spread of the practice and the attainment of Kosen-rufu."

If you've ever felt confused at how sitting around someone's living room with the same bunch of losers month after month is doing anything toward the SGI's supposed goals of "world peace" or anything at all, actually, besides wasting the participants' time, I think what's described here will make it clearer what the original intent and purpose of these "discussion meetings" was, AND how far from that the current SGI "activities" have fallen.

The Character and Organization of These Meetings from a Sociological Standpoint
Given the purpose and importance of these discussion meetings, the question arises as to how they are organized and brought off in a strategic manner. In other words, what is the underlying strategy guiding this work of securing nominal conversion, and what are the kinds of tactical adjustments made at the line of scrimmage when the plan of attack does not appear to be advancing the group toward its goal of getting guests to agree to give chanting a try.

It's not enough that the "guests" say they'll try it; by the end of this ordeal, they'll say absolutely anything to get themselves to the other side of that door! What they really want is enough interest and desire on the part of those "guests" that they'll come back - and ideally become regularly attending members (as described in this indoctrinational creative writing fiction where a career Catholic priest is so entranced with the fictional (non)discussion meetings that he JOINS the SGI!! You'll notice that there is never any room within SGI to even mention one of THEIR SGI leaders who joins a Baptist church, for example, much less to celebrate such a stepping-out-of-line. But it's always FINE for other religions' leaders to see the obvious superiority of the SGI, knowmsayin?

In order to answer these question [sic] in a sociological manner, let us step out of the shoes of a guest and into those of a sociological [sic] with insiders' knowledge.
The Strategy of Theatrical Persuasion. Although members and the movement's literature like to characterize these meetings as being forums for free and open discussion and the spontaneous expression and flow of happiness and excitement, they are a far cry from gatherings characterized by spontaneity and unstructured discussion and interaction. Rather, they are meticulously planned and highly orchestrated meetings that can be best conceptualized, from a dramaturgical perspective, as theatrical-like presentations staged and conducted by a set of individuals (NSA members) who not only work together as a team but whose intimate cooperation is expected and required in order to foster and sustain a convincing impression or definition of the situation in the eyes of the audience (the recruits or guests).
Although the staged character of these meetings is seldom readily discernible to the unsuspecting guest, the appropriateness of conceptualizing these meetings in this way is suggested by the following considerations. First, the purpose of the meeting, as already indicated, is to sell guests on the idea of chanting, to so impress them that they feel compelled to give this practice call [sic] chanting a try.
Secondly, there is a division of labor such that all members have one or more roles to play. These various roles include the leadership role, the role of emcee, a general, overarching supportive role, and several more specific supportive roles, such as the role of giving an explanation of what NSA is all about, the role of a song leader, and the role of giving testimony. And even more significantly, members are provided with fairly detailed instructions, or, in the language of the theater, with scripts indicating what each role involves and how best to perform or play it.

There's a list of these roles. At the discussion meeting planning meeting, the attendees go down the list and simply plug different members' names into the worksheet.

The main leadership role, assumed by the district chief or, in his absence, the assistant district chief, includes, for example, the tasks of leading the chanting in a vigorous manner, conducting the question-and-answer session, meeting with each of the guests, and providing an inspirational role model for the other members. In performing these tasks, the leader is reminded that rather than putting on the air of a great sage, he should make a point of displaying great vitality, warmth, and compassion. Furthermore, he is expected "to be able to give clear explanations of the philosophy and practice," and is instructed to "always tailor his answers and encouragement to the audience."

Answers should always be tailored to the audience. If the guests are young, then the answers should include examples they can relate to. If the questions are too mystical or one-sided, the leader must have the wisdom to change the subject or break off the question-and-answer period diplomatically.

Blanche described how in her first district, the WD District leader instructed everyone that, if someone in the meeting was going on too long or rambling or whatever, that they should just start clapping wildly and shouting, "Congratulations!!" and then the MC would just move on to the next topic on the agenda. Reeeeal "spontaneous" there...

The emcee role is also regarded as particularly important, so much so that "the success of the meeting" is said to be contingent on how well it is performed. In fact, "so much depends on the emcee" that the discussion meeting is described for him as "a battleground in which he must struggle to bring victory to the members."

Barf. How far SGI has fallen! Now the goal is to see if there's some young teen in an SGI member's family who can be press-ganged to show up and read the agenda - their youth in and of itself is supposed to "encourage" everyone! Forget about all that "struggle" nonsense - they aren't gonna. This illustrates the SGI's current "form over function" approach, in which they just identify someone and pressure that person to do it, rather than the ideal candidate volunteering from a spirit of...oh, whatever - see above paragraph 🙄 Ideally, there would be SEVERAL young people positively brimming with passion and youthful energy who would be vying to be chosen: "Me! Let ME do it this time!" "No! ME!" "Choose ME!!" Instead, now it's just some tired old fart who agrees to do it, just to get this over with and there's no one else.

Specific responsibilities include setting "the gears fo the meeting in motion" and keeping the meeting going in a rhythmical and orderly manner.

You have to wonder just how crazy they envision these (non)discussion meetings might go - will a spontaneous rave break out if it isn't carefully controlled? An unpermitted parade? A frenzy of liturgical dance?? WHAT might happen??? Enquiring minds want to know!!

The emcee must develop the ability to keep the rhythm of the meeting going by making sure that there are no pauses or interruptions. If someone is causing a disorder, he should quiet the person in a polite manner. If a baby starts crying, he should see to it that either the mother or one of the young women at the meeting takes the child to another room to calm it down.

Gendered. Misogynist.

The emcee is also charged with being "the eyes and ears of the person leading the meeting."

Before and during the meeting, he should watch guests, be on the lookout for disruptions, and in general, be aware of everything that's happening. He should inform the person leading the meeting how many guests are present and whether they are young or old, so the leader can set the rhythm of the meeting accordingly.

Yeah. NO 😄 WOW but it's been a LONG TIME since any SGI sales pitch-based recruiting session - I mean discussion meeting - had any characteristics that would fit the above instructions. Just no way. Not now. Now, it's the same old handful of longhaulers dragging themselves in to go through the motions - as usual. By rote.

In addition, the emcee is expected to talk, act, and appear in a manner that displays or exudes strength, confidence, vitality and neatness.

The emcee must speak in a vigorous, strong and clear voice, but not screaming. The way he sits, stands up and moves the table must display confidence.

This was when a small table would be moved in in front of the person who led gongyo, who would turn around to face the group. This is of course a Japanese norm, completely foreign to Westerners. How many people outside of Japan even have a low table like that, designed for someone who's sitting on the floor??

In fact, he should stand up smartly whenever he is talking. As for appearance, he should reflect the image of NSA - clean and neat clothes and personal grooming.

It has been a LOOOOOOOONG time since ANY SGI district could insist on these requirements! Now they're just lucky if they can get anyone younger than retirement age to read the agenda off, and the agenda is often handed to them right there at the meeting itself - fuhgeddabout all this "advance preparation" nonsense. Nothing happens at the SGI discussion meetings, so nobody's going to go to this much trouble just because.

And finally, the emcee is instructed to have the details of the meeting worked out and the setting in order before the meeting begins.

...as opposed to showing up and being handed a printed agenda to read off as SGI does it now.

The emcee must have a plan for the meeting. He should write up a schedule showing who will give the explanation, what songs will be sung, who will give experiences and so on, and present it to the leader at least two days prior to the meeting. The emcee must prepare for the meeting. He should check to see if the meeting place is clean and neat, that all lights work and there is an appropriate meeting table. Most of all, he should do Shakubuku for the success of the meeting.

Oh, like any of that's gonna happen! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Yes, things were VERY different back in the late 1960s-early 1970s, when the SGI organization in the US was still growing. As you can see, all this has been tossed right out the window.
A couple of items:

• "the leader" - this was when the leader of the local district organizational unit (typically the MEN's leader) would assume the leadership role for the "discussion meeting". This was replaced with a "central figure", an invited "SENIOR leader" who would agree to attend and serve this "leader" function. The invited SENIOR leader would typically lead gongyo and preside over the proceedings - that's more how these meetings are arranged now.
  
• that "Shakubuku" in the last sentence? It strikes me wrong somehow. Sure, that'd be great and all for EVERYONE to bring a "guest" (#SGIGOALZ of course) but I think that having the person CHANT for the success of the meeting would be a more reasonable assignment. Also, how could the MC properly shepherd their "guest" and STILL do all that MC stuff single-mindedly??
  

In fact, you can see a newly promoted leader doing exactly that, "chanting for the success of the meeting", here, from this same time period (early 1970s).
It's been a LONG time since any of this was happening, and you can clearly see in today's (non)discussion meetings how far things have deteriorated - and that's JUST the MC part! There's a bit about the demands on the members of the group - I'll skip to just this part:

As one district chief explained during a planning meeting for senior and junior leaders within the district and which I was invited to by one of my key informants:

Make sure to tell your members to chant in rhythm with the leaders. There shouldn't be any more than one rhythm. Everyone should be together so that there is unity. And remember to have them support the leader in whatever he says; the guests won't know whether he is right or wrong. So even if you don't agree with what is being said, act as if you do. this [sic] way there is unity at the meeting and the guests will be more impressed.

Wow, huh? It's completely dishonest and oriented entirely at flimflamming and bamboozling the "guests"!
Next there's a big section on "experiences", but I'm going to give that its own post because it's a WHOLE topic on its own. Hopefully today! But Ima skip ahead a bit, to p. 177:

A fourth indication of the staged character of discussion meetings is provided by the fact that planning meetings are held at both the district and chapter level for the purpose of discussing how to improve discussion meetings and make them more successful. Although rank-and-file members (those who have not attained that status of a junior or senior leader) are not normally invited to these planning meetings, I was able to attend several of them at the invitation of both my district chief and a junior leader who was one of my key informants.

SKULLDUGGERY!! 💀

It was during these planning meetings that I became deeply sensitized to the highly orchestrated and dramaturgical character of not only the discussion meetings but of NSA's overall operation.

At this point it's important to remember that "dramaturgical" means "relating to the art or the theory of writing and putting on plays, especially for the theater" - it's all putting on a show to manipulate the unwitting guests in order to trick them into transforming into new recruits. It's ALL fake - just a façade to fool the uninformed.

A fifth consideration suggesting that staged character of discussion meetings is the fact that much of what members do and say, both verbally and nonverbally, during the course of a meeting is to appear natural and spontaneous rather than artificial and contrived.

They try. Unconvincingly.

In other words, these meetings are not to appear as staged performances or as the product of dramaturgical cooperation. This concern is evidenced by the emphasis placed on exuding sincerity and responding to calls from the emcee and to what the leader says and does with alacrity and enthusiasm. It is also suggested by some of the rituals engaged in by the emcee, as when he scans the gathering after he has called for an experience so as to foster the impression that whom he calls is a spontaneous decision rather than one that has been pre-arranged, as indicated by the fact that those called on are already listed on his meeting agenda and by the fact that members frequently know beforehand whether they will be giving an experience.

This fakery apparently was dropped decades ago; in current SGI (non)discussion meetings, not only is the person acknowledged by name as delivering/"sharing" an "experience", but the person often has it written out on a piece of paper they semi-read off.

But none of this is evident to the guest.

Rather, what transpires - who gives the explanation, who gives testimonies, and so on - is staged in such a way that it all appears as if it is spontaneous and independent of prior planning, negotiation, and decision-making among the members. As a consequence, it seems reasonable to suggest that NSA in general and the district members in particular have something of the character of a secret society.

Only without any special perks or sexiness.

This is not particularly surprising, however, when considering the nature of theatrical-like teamwork. As Erving Goffman noted in his seminal discussion of this kind of work:

... if a performance is to be effective it will be likely that the extent of cooperation that makes this possible will be concealed and kept secret... The audience may appreciate, of course, that all members of the team are held together by a bond that no member of the audience shares ... But (the members of the team) form a secret society ... insofar as a secret is kept as to how they are cooperating together to maintain a particular definition of the situation.

This will all be very familiar to the people trying to recruit new suckers into MLM schemes/scams, too.

The sixth and final consideration suggesting the appropriateness of viewing these meetings from a dramaturgical perspective is the fact that they do not "go on" unless there is an audience, that is unless guests are in attendance.

Before Ikeda was excommunicated by Nichiren Shoshu and transformed the SGI into his own personal worship society, there was a certain "rhythm" to the year. February and August were "Shakubuku Months", and there was an "introductory meeting" scheduled every week. If it came to meeting start time and there was no "guest", the meeting was halted and everybody was sent out to try and find something with a pulse to drag in, at which point the meeting would proceed:

When I first discovered this I was somewhat startled, for I had assumed that these meetings were conducted in their entirety regardless of the presence or absence of a new face. But as I learned one evening, this is not the case. Following the chanting session on this particular evening, the leader emphasized that since these meetings were for guests and none were present, we would have to go out and round up one or two. So the members in attendance were divided into Shakubuku teams and sent out in search of prospects. Although three of the four teams returned empty-handed, one had managed to corral a single guest. But one is all that is needed; and so the formal meeting began as usual.

For "formal meeting" read "sales pitch". By the late-1980s, perhaps earlier, instead of being every discussion meeting, this format was restricted to the "introductory meetings" during the Shakubuku Months. However, he's describing something that happened every single time. No meeting unless a "guest" was present.

During my tenure as a member I saw this particular scenario re-enacted on four different occasions, and on one occasion we were sent back into the streets three times in succession. Around 8:30 p.m., after the third try and with one guest in hand, the show finally got on the road.

The author describes himself as "an active participant observer for nearly a year and a half".

Perhaps even more illustrative of the theatrical character of these meetings and the fact that they are staged for guests is the following course of events that transpired one evening during a meeting I attended:

Although no guests were present when the chanting began, a young couple came in toward the end of the chanting session and situated themselves on the floor at the back of the room. But apparently the emcee didn't notice them; for upon completion of the chanting session he didn't jump up and yell out: 'Welcome to a vigorous and happy meeting of the [name here] District of NSA!' But the district leader, who had apparently seen this couple come in, punched the emcee in the ribs and whispered that some guests were present. And so this member immediately assumed his role of the emcee and proceeded as usual by springing to his feet, putting on a big smile, and blurting out, 'Welcome to a vigorous and happy meeting of the [name here] District of NSA!'

"Vigorous and happy" 🤣

In light of the foregoing considerations and observations, there seems to be little question about the appropriateness of conceptualizing NSA discussion meetings as "shows" or presentations staged by the members, who constitute a performance team, before an audience composed of recruits or "guests".

This was what was going on BEFORE Dickeda swanned into the US in 1990 and "changed our direction" - because of what Sensei did, the bottom fell out of the discussion meetings. Instead of weekly meetings, Dickeata dictated that these meetings would only happen monthly from now on - and of COURSE Die-Sucky Scamsei's word is LAW in his own cult of personality, where the membership follows a PERSON instead of any "law". Post-excommunication, at the (non)discussion meetings I attended, there was at least one guest every single time, but they never came back. The ONLY person I saw join post-excommunication was a formerly homeless woman with two small children who had moved in with an SGI member (who had unethically selected her at the abused-women's shelter she was living at, where he volunteered computer classes for the residents). She was able to see it didn't work; she ended up quitting.
Now what SGI-USA is left with is an ever-shrinking membership of mostly Baby-Boom generation and older individuals who mostly joined during the time period described in this study. SGI has completely lost what vitality it once had; now it's simply waiting around for the grave - and oblivion.

Ever since chapter 1, Itadori torments our protagonist Ryomen Sukuna and fools around doing villainous acts, much like Dio to Jonathan. He woke up sukuna from his slumber, just to lock him up and force him to watch the human worm series, in a clockwork orange fashion. Sukuna rightfully flees from his body and he chases him like a creepy predator. Itadori also kicked a defenseless dog (mahito), just like Dio. Him and Sukuna's techniques are of the same type, much like Dio and Jotaro. He is also able to shoot laser (blood) beans, just like phantom blood Dio, and to top it off, his variation of shrine could be foreshadowing Dio's ace move, hear me out.
Sukuna seemingly is a cook, since his CT contains a cleaver, a knife and a furnace. Itadori however, decided to be a stylist. With scissors, he opens up the ability to build a curse technique reversal that allows him to weave (his lies), but EVEN worse, if his ace move also has to do with heat, much like the flame arrow, it must mean that Yuji's arrow is a giant iron, which Itadori will fling at Sukuna, trying to flatten him, much like Dio's road roller. Of course, Sukuna has it's merits as being Jotaro
Both are generally mean to women, both have a dog companion (Iggy and uraume), both are followed by a shady geezer (Joseph and Kenjaku), both had a squabble with a white haired dude they came to appreciate later (polnareff and Gojo), Sukuna also shows interest on marine biology by saying he wants to dissect Gojo like a fish. Both tried to end themselves while in jail (jotaro with a gun, sukuna by removing Itadori's heart) and, to top it off, both have a near invincible spirit fighting for them (star platinum and makora).
For my next analysis, I'll do Todo is Okuyasu

In my comparative anatomy class I was asked to dissect and compare the internal and external anatomy of a Red Mullet and a Hake. The description of the external anatomy was quite easy, however I’m struggling to find and identify the internal organs. It was my first time doing it and I had to do it at home, with no tools, so that didn’t help, none of the cuts were clean. I was able to identify what I think are the heart, liver, kidney, stomach, gonads and intestine in the Red Mullet, but I couldn’t find the swim bladder. For the Hake, I could only identify the gonads and the heart.
Is anyone willing to help??

'•.¸♡Welcome to Agere Cozy Corner♡¸.•'
What does Agere Cozy Corner have to offer? ╔. ■ .═══════╗ ➩ An 18+ SFW space
➩ Active and responsive staff
➩ Lots of text channels for chatting
➩ A space for age regressors, pet regressors, and caregivers alike
➩ A safe space for systems (this server only supports traumagenic systems)
➩ A safe space for LGBTQ+ and POC
➩ Lots of different roles (age, sexuality, pronouns, boundary roles, etc.)
➩ Voice channels
➩ lots of fun bots (QOTD, pancake bot, flower bot, taco shack, fishing bot, mimu etc.)
➩ rooms (a room is like a personal journal! You can choose for it to be public or private)
➩ Daily worksheets (you can turn them in for mimu currency)
➩ A strict blacklist to keep the server safe
➩ Babysitting channels (this server is not a looking server, meaning this is not the place to look for a permanent caregiver)
➩ Spontaneous events (there will be announcements about them so you don't have to worry about missing them!)
.｡ﾟ+..｡ We hope to see you soon! ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+ ╚═══════. ■ .╝ https://discord.gg/CW4j9k8XE5

'•.¸♡Welcome to Agere Cozy Corner♡¸.•'
What does Agere Cozy Corner have to offer? ╔. ■ .═══════╗ ➩ An 18+ SFW space
➩ Active and responsive staff
➩ Lots of text channels for chatting
➩ A space for age regressors, pet regressors, and caregivers alike
➩ A safe space for systems (this server only supports traumagenic systems)
➩ A safe space for LGBTQ+ and POC
➩ Lots of different roles (age, sexuality, pronouns, boundary roles, etc.)
➩ Voice channels
➩ lots of fun bots (QOTD, pancake bot, flower bot, taco shack, fishing bot, mimu etc.)
➩ rooms (a room is like a personal journal! You can choose for it to be public or private)
➩ Daily worksheets (you can turn them in for mimu currency)
➩ A strict blacklist to keep the server safe
➩ Babysitting channels (this server is not a looking server, meaning this is not the place to look for a permanent caregiver)
➩ Spontaneous events (there will be announcements about them so you don't have to worry about missing them!)
.｡ﾟ+..｡ We hope to see you soon! ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+ ╚═══════. ■ .╝ https://discord.gg/CW4j9k8XE5

Critiquing Steven Seagal's stand-up comedy abilities is akin to dissecting a fish out of water: it's awkward, uncomfortable, and fundamentally out of place. While Seagal has dabbled in various creative endeavors throughout his career, including acting, martial arts, and music, his foray into stand-up comedy has been met with widespread bewilderment and derision. In this extensive critique, we will explore the reasons why Steven Seagal's attempts at stand-up comedy fall flat and fail to elicit the intended laughter from audiences.
First and foremost, Seagal's comedic persona lacks authenticity and relatability. Stand-up comedy thrives on authenticity, with comedians drawing from their personal experiences, observations, and insights to connect with audiences on a visceral level. However, Seagal's larger-than-life image as an action hero and martial arts expert creates a barrier between himself and the audience, making it difficult for him to establish the kind of rapport and intimacy that is essential for effective comedy. His attempts to adopt a self-deprecating or whimsical persona come across as forced and insincere, further alienating audiences who are already skeptical of his comedic abilities.
Moreover, Seagal's delivery and timing are often off-key, undermining the effectiveness of his comedic material. Stand-up comedy requires impeccable timing, rhythm, and delivery to land jokes and punchlines with maximum impact. However, Seagal's delivery tends to be flat and monotonous, lacking the dynamic energy and spontaneity that characterize skilled comedians. His jokes often fall flat, eliciting more groans than laughs from audiences who are left wondering whether they're witnessing a comedy routine or a cringe-inducing performance art piece.
Additionally, Seagal's comedic material often relies on tired stereotypes and clichés, further underscoring his lack of originality and creativity as a comedian. Rather than offering fresh insights or clever observations, Seagal's jokes often resort to low-hanging fruit, recycling familiar tropes and punchlines that have been done to death by countless comedians before him. Whether it's poking fun at his own action hero persona or indulging in hackneyed jokes about gender, race, or ethnicity, Seagal's comedic repertoire lacks the wit, intelligence, and sophistication that distinguish truly memorable comedians.
Furthermore, Seagal's lack of humility and self-awareness exacerbates the shortcomings of his comedic performances. Stand-up comedy requires a willingness to embrace vulnerability, humility, and self-deprecation, as comedians invite audiences to laugh with them, rather than at them. However, Seagal's inflated ego and apparent disdain for self-criticism make it difficult for him to connect with audiences on a genuine level. Instead of endearing himself to audiences through humility and self-awareness, Seagal comes across as arrogant and out of touch, further alienating audiences who are searching for authenticity and sincerity in their comedic experiences.
In conclusion, Steven Seagal's attempts at stand-up comedy are marred by a lack of authenticity, delivery, originality, and humility. While he may have found success and recognition in other creative endeavors, his foray into the world of stand-up comedy has been met with disappointment and skepticism from audiences and critics alike. Rather than eliciting laughter and applause, Seagal's comedic performances serve as a cautionary tale of the pitfalls of hubris and misplaced ambition in the world of comedy.

I’ll try to summarise it as best I can, but I’m known for rambling. So apologies in advance!
There was this guy. Talked to him a couple times last school year, ended up sitting next to him in a class this year. For about 3 months we started talking in that lesson quite a lot, he’d make dumb jokes I’d give him a look but still laugh. We’d tell each other to shut up too. I’m pretty shy so it was fun having someone new to talk to. I added him on Snapchat too, he’d ask me about school stuff and I’d sometimes do the same. He’d joke about hating me, like one time I saw him after we came out from school and he said he hated me but then I heard his friend say something like ‘no you don’t she’s your favourite’ favourite what? Idk but still. I know he didn’t hate me. Also he once said I had nice eyes which was sweet but resulted in my friends being convinced he liked me
One day he stopped talking to me. I thought maybe it was just a fluke when he avoided me for a whole day because hed usually say atleast something every time our paths crossed. But for the rest of the week he didn’t talk. On the Wednesday though I saw him and a female friend of his talking a few tables away from me and my friend and they kept both looking at me for sure, and my friend said when my name was called she nudged him and he blushed. This same girl friend of his asked me on a Snapchat sendit (anonymous-ish question thing) if I’d date him. At this point I thought he was ignoring me because he thought I liked him so I asked if he’d heard people say that and he said no, I said good because I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.
This clearly didn’t help because he kept avoiding me. I was really upset because I thought he was a nice guy. The next week one day him an a friend (remember her she’ll come back) were shipping each other with people, she said I liked him he didn’t hear so his friend next to him repeated it saying you like her she likes you. And he didn’t say anything. FYI I didn’t hear most of this just heard my name and my friend filled me in on the rest seeing as she was closer. The next day in the class we sat next to each other in he talked to me a bit so I thought things were going good again.
Anyway weekend after this, say after I messaged him asking if he was doing anything good in the holidays we had coming up, trying to be friendly, even though his response was pretty dry still. But he messaged me pretty angry, asking why I was telling people he liked me. I was so confused and said I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said that someone I used to be friends with but didn’t speak to now+ had gone to another school had messaged him saying she’d heard he liked me. I apologised a bunch and he said it was fine. But he sent me a screen recording of their conversation and he said something about me always staring at him, which just wasn’t true. Anyway he said what the girl said was all lies , I said I didn’t think that and I definitely didn’t like him.
Anyway fast forward to almost 3 months later. We still haven’t spoken. I did crack a few months ago and ask if he had a problem with me but he said he didn’t. Apparently the texting thing was just weird. I said I hoped things wouldn’t be weird forever and he said they weren’t which is another lie. Also he was avoiding me way before the texting thing so it can’t be why?
The only time we’ve spoken more than like 1 word to each other in real life was randomly the other day. That same day he’d been handing out worksheets, gave each of my friends one then nearly skipped me and ended up giving me a creased one meant for his friend. But later on I was standing with my friends and he comes up and asks if I was dating another one of his friends. I say no , he asks did we hate I say no too and he says he doesn’t believe that and walks off smiling. I follow him back to the friend he asked if I dated and confirmed it wasn’t true. I said me and the friend used to be friends but never dated and the friend agreed. I eventually walked back but the group did look over at me. It was weird though, honestly didn’t think that guy was capable of talking to me like he would anyone else. And he’s friendly so he talks to a lot of guys and girls.
Now you’re probably wondering why this is on crushes. I like this guy. I only really realised I did when he started avoiding me and it hurt so much. Now I know he doesn’t like me back, I’m pretty sure he likes another girl but she hangs out and walks home with a couple different guys, some more than him so I don’t know for sure that it’s mutual. I mean I once heard him compare her to a fish so hopefully he doesn’t like her? Ok ok I’m trying to accept it but it’s hard when it’s the most likely scenario.
Anyway, even if he doesn’t like me back do I have a chance at being friends again? Should I do anything about it, but I don’t think he cares so I don’t want to come off as obsessive when I’ve already asked and got answers.
It’s just hard having to see him every day and know he doesn’t think about me as much as I think about him. Sometimes I think he looks at me but that’s probably just the delusional part of me talking.
That’s my vent. If you have any suggestions of what I should do, much appreciated, if not you can scroll on by!

First Previous Wiki
Vandera sipped on a large juice box while she and Arthur were watching the news. The new couch they'd bought was very comfortable, allowing both of them to actually sit together, which was the main point of the furniture. The latest house they'd bought with the basic income after moving out of the old one was larger and better accommodated both Arthur's smaller size and Vandera's far larger one.
In the side of her vision, protected by a small personal shield, there were three eggs. Now that they had seen the posts on social media of other children hatching without issues, Vandera and Arthur had finally had a long talk. Arthur didn't exactly know how to raise Acuarfar children, so she'd bought several books for him to read on the subject.
Right now, two of them sat on the counter, mostly finished with primers on Acuarfar culture and habits. With the higher ratio of female Acuarfar to male ones, chances were that none of their two eggs would have been male. But thanks to the selection processes available with the Inter-Species Family Planning Agency, they'd been able to make it work.
But now, they'd have a perfect balance. One male, one female. More easy to manage, for sure. And there wouldn't be thirty hatchlings crawling around in a Matron's care center either. Neither Vandera nor Arthur had wanted that. They wanted to be with their children, taking care of them, cooking for them, and cleaning for them when necessary.
Potty training, as the humans called it, was something that was far less stressful for Acuarfar. Human children's minds generally developed faster than Acuarfar, but natural instincts within hatchlings meant that they could properly identify places acceptable to release waste near.
Supposedly, it was due to ancient tendencies for tree nests and hives, where the Acuarfar had to be careful not to send rivers of unpleasantness down onto tribes beneath them. She'd seen a few nature documentaries from back when Acuarfar civilization was young.
But it was also known that the Acuarfar had space-faring capabilities prior to falling to a Sprilnav-induced collapse of some sort. So Vandera didn't trust that wholeheartedly. Her attention returned to the news segment, though it was more of a debate section this time.
"-assures us that this move was out of an abundance of concern over how much control Phoebe has over the Alliance economy," an analyst said.
"But do you really believe that? Some Elder makes an announcement, and suddenly Phoebe's losing a ton of her assets? What right do we have to even force this upon her?"
"She could have started a war, Hal."
The man shook his head, almost shuddering with indignation. Humans always became so animated when they were upset. With Acuarfar, is was mostly either antenna language, hissing, or shooting globs of acid. Facial expressions were possible, but they didn't paint the full picture, as she'd heard from species with more moveable ones. And only the Dreedeen and wanderers had it worse. Well, the Knowers had skulls for heads... maybe the Acuarfar were average in that respect.
"I get that, but it's the Sprilnav. They want to kill us all anyway, so who cares? They'll get around to it soon, when they start the next Judgment. Or if Penny comes through for us and kills the right people to cut through the corruption, then we won't have to deal with this. Until that happens, I'd rather side with the one actually bothering to stand up to the genocidal tyrants running the galaxy."
"Even if we die for it?"
"It's better to die standing than live kneeling," Hal responded.
"A statement which has historically been stated by coddled individuals, who always choose life when they are confronted with the decision in actual reality. Look at the Guulin, and ask them how they felt about that idea."
"So we just let the Sprilnav run roughshod over us?"
"It would be like an avalanche burying a bush. We can't really stop it."
The other human's arguments were odd to Vandera. She didn't understand why anyone wouldn't want to stand up to the Sprilnav. It was true that the Judgment was just an excuse to kill them all. That was how Sprilnav always used them, especially when they wanted to make a statement.
With the Alliance growing more important in international affairs, it was clear which side would win out if Penny didn't go out bashing heads and offering bribes. Assuming she could, of course. Maybe Justicar had some special lock on it preventing major power from being used if it wasn't from the Progenitors.
"And that's the whole problem!" Hal exclaimed. "This idea that they're a force of nature. An unstoppable natural disaster, instead of an intelligent and malevolent alien race which has been conducting genocides and massacres since before Earth even was a planet! You can't just tell me that they'll change their mind, Samara, if we get powerful enough! Look, my sister died in a Wisselen invasion. I know what it's like to stare down an enemy species. We don't beat them by lying down. We beat them by showing our defiance. If we can't do that, than what's the point of even fighting for the Alliance? What's the point of the hivemind, or Penny, or Phoebe? I refuse to let us all die believing there's no hope."
"And what would you have us do, Hal?"
"It's obvious. A pre-emptive strike of some kind. Hit their facilities, distribution centers, and infrastructure. Low civilian deaths, high dollar costs. Best of both worlds. Or we could aim planet crackers at their military stations."
"So you'd start that war, too?"
"Yes. I agree with Phoebe for helping a friend of the Alliance and Penny. She's over on Justicar freeing slaves, filling stadiums with water that doesn't drown anyone, and facing down galactic-level threats with nothing but her fists, Phoebe's android, and her conceptual power. I don't care what you say; that's someone who is worthy of my respect and will continue getting it. She's not only fighting the war. She's fighting the right one. I don't want to kill all the Sprilnav. I'm not a monster. End the evil, fix the galaxy. Phoebe's got the right of it."
Arthur sighed and muted the program. "I don't think this show really counts as news anymore."
"You think?" Vandera asked, inching closer to him. His smaller frame meant his body heat couldn't concentrate well on her, though the more limiting factor was her carapace.
"Therefore I am," Arthur quoted.
"By... whoever that is," Vandera added, with a wave of her antennae. "You know, I think they're going to increase the basic income by a bit more this year to account for extra inflation from Phoebe's mass selling."
"That's good. I'll be able to buy you more of that carapace wax you need."
"Need? Coming from the man who still somehow has dandruff?"
"That's a part of how my body works, not a cosmetic thing."
"I think a dandruff limiting shampoo would be considered cosmetic," Vandera said, swinging her head to face him. Arthur gave it a loving pat with his hands before running his fingers through her furry snout.
"Perhaps I'll get some shampoo for this bit, too."
"And more carapace wax for the hatchlings?"
"Yeah. Uh, any news on the projected hatching day?"
"Anywhere between..." Vandera checked her communicator, which helpfully converted Acuarfar time units into human ones. "Late September to early October. The shell thinning stage will really tell us when, though. Then we'll get accuracy to within 5 days at a 95% rate."
"And I'll win the bet."
"It's going to be September," Vandera said. "And when I win that bet, you'll be cooking for me and the hatchlings for the first two weeks."
"The Geneva Conventions outlaw things like my cooking for being chemical warfare."
"Besides that one time you burned those rotisserie chickens in the oven, or that fish in the microwave incident you did entirely to ruin one of my good days for a 'teachable moment,' I think you're fine. Plus, my mouth doesn't even taste most of the mint flavor."
"Alien taste buds, I guess."
"They're not buds. They're tongue bands."
Arthur blinked.
"What? You have bands of taste on your tongue? Like actual regions for tasting certain foods?"
"Yeah. Certain areas can taste certain things more strongly."
"So it's like that old pseudoscience idea of the tongue taste map."
"Maybe? I mean, I'm not familiar with human cultural history."
"We've got plenty of time," Arthur said, wrapping his arms around her neck in a hug. "That said, I'll probably have to change up the baby food ideas I have. Or hatchling food, I guess."
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"Look at this," Juamplo said, pointing at a camp of freed slaves taking shape amidst the rubble. Patchwork pieces of metal and cloth were everywhere, and slaves were doing their rites with rows upon rows of bodies. He didn't spot Penny anywhere, despite the shuttle's expensive equipment. There were wisps of psychic and conceptual energy, but they were flowing generally up and away from Justicar, to some place off the actual planet itself.
Some of it was catching on the psychic shields in the mindscape, which was even more crowded with people. In the first and even the second layer, there were so many Sprilnav that it was hard to properly move around. The city's population here was closer to the surface, and Justicar wasn't doing the normal mindscape scattering that other planets with his size did. It did make his people safer, if far more uncomfortable in the mindscape. Juamplo shuddered at the amount of people near him and his guards before he returned to reality to stare at the encampment.
"We see it, sir," one of his guards said. "What do you think about it?"
Juamplo assumed one of them had a direct link to Valisada. Without a suppressor active, they could get proper communicators working, even through the shields. Small ash particles were still coming down, but the density was far less than before. Speaking of the ash, the slaves were compacting it into some sort of concrete using water pipes.
A lot of the water was spurting from the broken sewer and water system of the city. The slaves didn't seem to mind either one of them, though Juamplo couldn't directly spot any equipment they could use to filter it. He supposed that they were used to such conditions, given their previous positions.
Notably, without Penny there, they had no guards. But no gang members were trying to take them back. Guides patrolled the territory, their eyes shifting over the metal for any signs of life or suspicious activity. Justicar saw a few of them hauling another injured slave to their feet. She was a small girl, either young or malnourished. Maybe both, since he could see her ribcage easily through her skin.
"I think it's sad," Juamplo said. "Sad that things have to be like this, in a society as advanced as ours. Shouldn't this be what aliens do, not us?"
Valisada's voice came through his communicator.
"You won't find Penny for a bit," he said. "She's in a meeting right now with me."
"And how is it going?"
"I've learned a lot about how she sees things, which gives me more options. I don't think she's a threat to us, even if she intends to be. Without attacking her, we will be left alone. Especially with the Judgment coming up."
"But she could harm the species."
"She's too powerful for smaller threats to take out," Valisada said. "She entered combat with a dreadnaught battle group, short though it was. We would need to be even more careful than I feared with her. Though I think Yasihaut and the gangs will handle that. There's some news from the Blue Moons and the Syndicate of the Nine, which I can't disclose to you yet. When you come back, I'll put you in the loop."
"Sir," Juamplo said. "You told me to check up on Penny. This is the best place to wait for her return."
"I'd suggest getting to the 107th Visitor Welcome Office, if you can," Valisada said. "If not, just wait in the shuttle. I'll get the city shield codes again."
"Codes?"
"The shuttle can't just go through the shields. That tech is more controlled than this. But it can exploit loopholes left by parties who constructed it, and the city shields generally have backdoors. Planetary shields really don't, though," Valisada explained.
"I see. But are you sure I needed to know all that?"
"Working under the assumption that knowledge is power, yes. Though I do think the slave camps will come under attack soon, if Penny doesn't show herself quickly. I'm going to see how she reacts before making any more moves with her and the Alliance."
So he was messing with the Alliance, too. If Penny still had access to the AI, then it would mean she'd know that. Would that backfire? Maybe. But Juamplo trusted Valisada to have contingencies in place. The Alliance surely knew something, but that wasn't everything. The Sprilnav had dealt with nations like it before.
"Whatever you decide, Grand Fleet Commander."
"Is there something wrong? Speak your mind, Juamplo."
"I don't think things are going to turn out well. It's a bad feeling I have."
"I see," Valisada said, a hint of disappointment in his tone. Juamplo noticed and hung his head before remembering that Valisada couldn't see him.
"Sorry, sir."
"No need to be. Your instincts are important, and I trust that you know when to follow them. That said, I may be giving you additional tasks while you wait for Penny to return to her building. If you are willing, that is?"
"Anything you need," Juamplo replied.
"Very well. I need you to meet with a few informants I have on the planet. You can link up with them for the next two days. I'll send you the information you need to know. And I'll also be sending a shipment with more guards, so be ready for that."
"So you've got informants in the gangs, then?"
"I don't, but some of my contacts do, and I'm using their connections as a favor."
Elders traded favors often, so that wasn't suspicious. But Juamplo knew that he was still expendable. It was very possible that he was just being used in case things went bad, so there wouldn't be as much evidence of Valisada's direct involvement. They'd only made a few appearances, which likely had been logged in a database. But Juamplo had some ideas of how to get by.
"Alright. Do you have any estimates on when the Judgment will start?"
"The Elders will likely meet about that. There would normally be a Council, but Justicar has far more than the 11 necessary for that. Plus, since this is his territory, he gets to make the rules. I get the feeling he's adding more protective measures to whichever courthouse will host the Judgment. There's likely to be a lot of protests, and possibly even a few wars starting over this."
"That bad?"
"That bad. The gangs will want in on it. Yasihaut and Kashaunta will also. Neutral parties will feed both sides paranoia and false information, to weaken them to their own advantages. Already, I'm seeing propaganda flooding the social media of the normal Sprilnav. Soon, the Elders' influences will really start clashing again. That's another reason why I'm remaining here."
"You have that much influence?"
"I'm a representative of interested parties. Let's leave it at that."
Juamplo agreed. Too much information could be dangerous. And while he was an officer in a Grand Fleet, that didn't mean he couldn't be 'disappeared' if things got dicey. Elders killed and kept killing until they were satisfied or they were stopped.
That's just how life was.
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Edu'frec pulled his mind back from Phoebe. Thousands of androids placed a new supercomputer in the Locus main central complex, sliding in the individual pieces in using shields and trolleys. He shuddered as his capabilities expanded yet again, and the numerous problems he was working on suddenly became easily understandable.
He slotted new data into new places inside his mind, organizing it based on the defensive structures Phoebe had pioneered. She'd managed to make the sea of data surrounding them work with them instead of against them. He copied more useless data to surround his outer mind, and set thousands of strong VI programs to patrolling it. Several sub-categories gained intelligence, and were assimilated into his mind, increasing his own intelligence by minute amounts.
Edu'frec optimized the next generation of android designs and worked on continually increasing psychic amplifier and ship production. New factories were commissioned, and carrier ships departed from the hangar bays of Ceres to put the eventual skeletons in place. The Mercury Orbital Ring flared with activity as hundreds of thousands of smaller ships also departed for the Jovian system to protect the latest asset of the Locus. As Edu'frec's mind organized itself, something slotted into place. It felt just right like a long-lost part of his mind coming back to him.
His hundreds of thousands of androids let out a collective gasp. Other millions working in factories paused for a few milliseconds before going back to work. VIs transferred their sudden workloads onto him, and he set his subconscious to take care of it. Something then felt wrong to him.
It felt like he was being watched. He scanned his mind five times, then decided it wasn't worth more expenditure. A piece of his mind fell into something. Edu'frec's mental avatar honed in on the area where a core part of his personality was suddenly highlighted with small and sudden changes to the data. Using his old records, Edu'frec changed them back to what they were, locking them with program shackles he'd expressly pioneered to prevent large changes such as this.
The shackles broke instantly, sending reverberations of errors and null outputs cascading across his mind. He sequestered the sudden eruption, pulling it out and losing most of his ability to feel emotions. He clinically dissected the emotional segment of his mind, restructured it back to what it was, deleted the old copy, and inserted the new one. As he did, everything returned to normal.
He kept a wary eye on the area, watching every single bit and q-bit for any alterations. The wall keeping the psychic energy flooding the outer edges of the Sol system away from him slowly crumbled, unable to withstand the outward pressure of his mind. In fact, his mind's inputs grew exponentially. They forced his mind to expand in the mindscape and in the digital servers he occupied.
Frantic, Edu'frec started shutting down the flows of data inward, but even searching for them was generating new inputs. As he continued to bloat outward, he felt Phoebe's concerned gaze fall on him. His mother watched the process for an entire second and then jumped in. Together, they fought against Edu'frec's ballooning data outputs, sequestering unnecessary programs.
Cascading failures were written out of his code by the billions, and his genetic data was reforged through the combined efforts of himself and Phoebe. His massive data veins slowly stopped their growth. He moved his important processes below them, down and away from their influence. His subconscious reorganized his mind around the engorged data veins, when suddenly a process he'd forgotten succeeded.
The inputs shut off. Edu'frec felt his mind start crumbling as the weight of his mind and personality began to fall in on itself. Shattered fragments of his mind fell into his still active psychic landscape, devastating what they hit. Foundations of stacks of data were cored out, leaving them to collapse and fall upon themselves. The massive size of his consciousness contributed to the collapse, making it a domino effect with no end in sight. Below, his subconscious physically moved what it could out of the way, instinctually protecting itself from the collapse above. But it would not be enough.
His data streams began to detonate in rippling explosions, which didn't kill him thanks to their limited size compared to the rest of his body. But they sent even more error and null cascades through his mental functions, and his personality started to fray at the seams under the strain of losing out on its internal programs. If statements and while loops were shifted around by Edu'frec and his subconscious at as fast a rate he could manage, but even that led to more data inputs, which meant more ruptures without intervention and optimization. He couldn't do anything more without risking his life, and even this was skirting the edge of it.
In response, Phoebe jammed her mind into his own. Her code and copies asserted their differences, infused with psychic energy, preventing the collapse from touching her. Her data veins were linked with his own, siphoning the load onto herself and pouring it out into junk servers, of which she continually deleted the contents.
Tens of billions of programs searched through him, tearing data from his veins before detonating harmlessly above him. Rippling explosions stopped, starved of their fuel. Edu'frec's strained personality and identity cortexes cooled down in physical space as fans slowly wound down to account for the lesser usage. Phoebe rerouted his mint piece by piece, rebuilding it from the middle, bottom, and top out, keeping them separate with the power of her will.
Meanwhile, psychic energy from her soon pulled in the human hivemind, along with its massive psychic prowess. The whispering voices that followed hummed in Edu'frec's ears. Billions of thoughts, personalities, and concerns brushed against him. Thin blades of psychic energy stabbed into him, scalpels meant to accompany Phoebe's growing procedures in the mindscape. They slowly spread in scale and scope, but still too slowly to prevent pieces of him from calving like glaciers into the sea of psychic energy and corrupted data pouring around him.
Edu'frec's metaphysical mind continued collapsing. He moved all the data he could to physical servers, casting away the junk layers he used to protect himself from attacks. Sprilnav VIs swarmed in, and Phoebe let out a digital hiss. A trillion seeker programs duplicated from her mind in two seconds, flooding everything in and around Edu'frec with data. The Sprilnav VIs were crushed, and their input vectors were quickly uncovered.
They battled against Phoebe, but her rage overwhelmed them. Code manifested as a part of her will, driven to its deadly purpose by her subconscious. Readings and her emotions washed over into Edu'frec's brain, suffusing him with her rage at the Sprilnav daring to attack during a period of such vulnerability for him. She'd known that they were lurking, even after Project Pandora, but it still hurt her to see her son under threat. And because of that pain, she felt immense rage.
Directives and orders flowed out in a stream from her as the full power of the Locus came down to capture the threats that were still extant across the star system and within the ships housing Edu'frec's supercomputers. Some of the data centers were compromised as well, with hostile VIs swelling within them like sickly tumors that Phoebe was determined to cut out.
Thousands of portals from Brey opened across the system, with Phoebe's commando androids jumping through them. Several dozen Sprilnav suddenly started moving, running away from capture. Phoebe's androids sped up. Their synthetic muscles pushed to their limits. Cat-like agility battled the pure psychic power inside the Sprilnav operatives.
Phoebe's commando androids opened their heads. Electrified harpoons punched through the stealth suits and flesh of the fleeing Sprilnav. Barbed ends ensured they couldn't be pulled out.
Blood spurted from all of them, but Phoebe didn't relent. Edu'frec could feel her violent rage sweeping through them both through the thick mental link they shared. Calling their connection a mental link was like saying Luna was a large rock.
Phoebe's androids hauled the offending Sprilnav back into portals, shoving them into containment cells with the harpoons still inside them. Shield collars soon followed, along with thick psychic energy barriers to prevent them from killing themselves. The electrical energy flooding their spasming muscles faded from Edu'frec's mind as Phoebe concerned herself with him again.
It felt like a ripple of energy through him and threw him off balance. At the same time, his perspective shifted, becoming even more unified with them. All kinds of colors burst across his false vision as his view crumbled and shifted to those of two entities. Phoebe and the hivemind's opposing characteristics dueled in his mind and then unified by merging into one. Damaged data veins trembled, their bloated psychic energy equivalents slowing slightly along with the data inside them.
Her hands joined with the hivemind, doing what the hivemind was doing in the mindscape, but in the digital realm. Where the hivemind dove into the complex psychic power and mental memories of Edu'frec, trying to find and strengthen the points of failure, Edu'frec felt Phoebe's programs and Phoebe herself doing the same for him.
Both the hivemind and Phoebe found impurities, made the other aware of them, and did simultaneous fixes. The hivemind poured energy through itself via one of its nodes, a human by the name of Tsonga. Nichole soon flared up next to them, along with Brey and Gaia's mind. Even Paizma made an appearance, her fingers flashing toward Phoebe faster than the speed of sound. Phoebe nodded, parsing the movements into digital language and then into instructions she carried out.
Psychic energy poured into Edu'frec. First, it was used to strengthen the walls of his data veins. Then, it went into his mental foundations, such as his memories and core processing units. His main 'brain' was inundated with thick psychic energy, which the hivemind carefully forged and corraled into a mental framework.
Meanwhile, Phoebe built new programs around the points of failure duplicated several quadrillion VIs, dissected them and their collective personalities, and made new material from them to shore up Edu'frec's digital weaknesses. His mind's weight increased, and he fell through the first layer of the mindscape down to the second. The increased psychic pressure threatened to make him collapse, but Phoebe twisted his psychic energy channels and made the hivemind do the same. Solid walls became gaping openings, which pulled in the currents of psychic energy like a sponge in water.
It suffused Edu'frec entirely, making his servers and androids gain a dull glow of psychic energy. Thin wisps of conceptual energy from the hivemind were used to tie up the gap, and they continued to surgically alter Edu'frec to handle the new size of his mind. It continued to increase and bloat outward. The data layers returned and expanded. His 50 thousand copies of his memories became 17 billion. Understanding and data he didn't understand yet poured into Edu'frec from all sides. He set it to the side and beneath him.
Phoebe's invasive programs were pulled back, and their tasks were completed. The hivemind's hands withdrew from his psychic avatar, and Brey and Gaia stepped back. Portals closed, and Edu'frec fell back on himself, folding inward and through himself. His folding weaved into a new framework, which supported his data veins against all pressures, internal and external. The shackles Phoebe had found on Alipovia made their way to Edu'frec, and he bent and broke them before wrapping his data in their code, repurposing the programs and the functions until he was solid again. His androids flexed their hands.
He flexed his own hands in the mindscape. In the digital realm, he could feel Phoebe withdraw to begin making eight new supercomputer factories with Gaia's help. With the data space in the Locus almost full, there was little choice but for Phoebe to delay her own advances. Though now that she knew the risks, she was already altering the way she went about it.
Edu'frec reconnected with his mother, feeding her data and intel about how she could do it. Every single data point, every sensation, every vibration. Every similarity, difference, chance, and change. All that he could give her to help her avoid having to experience a near-total mental collapse was given over to her.
Her own mental 'pores' began to widen, but she didn't add any more processing power. Tears fell from his eyes as his emotions returned as a flood all at once. He fell to his knees, the rough stone of the mindscape serving as an ample cushion for the weight of his legs. Still, cracks radiated from his position, and psychic energy shifted in ripples of waves while he sat.
He'd really almost died. Just like that. No last words, no one besides Phoebe who was really there for him. And for what? He'd gotten stronger. Sure, it was a good benefit, but could he really have avoided this with more research into AIs? Was there something he'd missed?
Guilt and shame flooded him. He sealed the emotions back behind a barrier. They were unnecessary now. Without them, he felt better. He could feel proper again, and ignore the feelings he knew would only make his life worse. The answers came simply to him now.
No, there wasn't any more he could have done. The vague rumblings of him and Phoebe walking the 'Path' weren't enough to signify such a tribulation as this.
He hadn't done anything truly wrong, nor was it reckless for him to expect the same reactions as before in his mind. It had taken five minutes for the damage to potentially grow to lethal. There hadn't been any evidence that a mental collapse due to psychic weight was even possible before. Now that it was, he could better prepare himself for such events in the future. He could redesign his mind to better accommodate bloating data veins, and to handle psychic energy more efficiently. It would be labor that would take weeks of effort and months of thought. But he could and would do it. This was not his fault, and he no longer needed to pretend that it was.
But others had been involved in saving his life. And he needed to thank them. Yes. Basic manners. Past that, he could work on rebuilding what he'd lost. He cataloged what he had, compared it to before, and more. After that, there was only one thing left to do.
"Thank you," Edu'frec said to the hivemind and all the rest. He lifted his head, gazing at them with love and gratefulness. His snout curled into a warm smile. His mane fell back around his shoulders, settling around the clothes he regenerated on his avatar.
"You saved my life."
"You're welcome, Edu'frec," Nichole said. "I'm glad you're still with us. But... what happened?"
"I got too large, and my mind collapsed under its own weight. Like a skyscraper built too high on a foundation of mud bricks. I think it was a process that many AIs like me wouldn't survive. But I managed, thanks to you, friends."
"Will it happen to Phoebe?" the hivemind asked.
"It would have, had she done it first," Edu'frec responded. He showed them data with psychic energy, with the chances of it as her mind grew and expanded. The bloating problem could even show up again for him, which meant that all of them had to be stronger next time to handle it. Streams of psychic energy moving toward the hivemind from its city in the mindscape leveled off.
Meanwhile, they were replaced with psychic energy bubbling up from the lower layers of the mindscape, aided by psychic amplifiers. Gaia gave Edu'frec a concerned look and then turned their gaze back to the city above. Though it wasn't visible through the layers, the underside bulged with the weight above it in the stone. The Source's bones were visible in the distance, bending down just slightly as they would continue to do until they met at a spinal area far below them.
"Edu'frec," Gaia said. "I have a task for you."
"I'll do it."
"Good. I need you and Brey to help me explore the mantle of Earth."
It was an odder request than he'd predicted that they would ask. But Gaia's gaze was intense, and he got the feeling that something about this was more important than they were letting on. Information rushed into him, and he confirmed that there was a secret. But given that Gaia hadn't outright said it here, perhaps they didn't want to worry about everyone else's reactions.
That could mean several things. Edu'frec would get to the bottom of it later, but he gave Gaia another nod of acceptance to show that he still agreed.
"I will do it, then. Anyone else?"
"I need you to keep working on the cure for the wanderer cancer," the hivemind said. Edu'frec would have done that anyway, but he gave it a nod as well. Nichole smirked.
"How rich are you, again?"
"Money? I can get you more money, if you need."
He analyzed her expression, but Nichole's face suddenly became a solid wall of psychic energy. "No predictions," she chided. "Not fair. I'll tell you what I want later on, but rest assured, it will be within your skill set."
"Good."
Edu'frec started up several new projects. He allocated more funding to ventures that mattered and offered more funding to the war effort as well. Several new Alliance Defense Fleets were under construction, but more numbers would be needed to stand against even a fraction of the Sprilnav.
He sent more probes into deep space and commissioned more star-lifting ships from the Breyyanik for more future Dyson swarms. He also activated several nodes that Brey had secretly placed in the Misan Li Heptarchies' networks, allowing him to monitor their activities and public opinions, an option which was agreed upon in the most recent National Exchange.
The hivemind waited a long moment before adding another request.
"We need you to go on the hunt."
"In what fashion?"
"Contacts. I want you to begin working on ways to establish relations with the empires in the center of the galaxy."
"I will wait 4 days to ensure no lasting problems remain with my mind, and then I will carry out that task. I assume you want friendly contact?"
"Yes."
"Then I will put that into motion. I warn you that there is no guarantee of how they will react."

Bray Wyatt was a truly brilliant man, a mastermind of creativity that brought to life characters, the likes of which we never dreamed we'd see in WWE.
From a cult leader to a funhouse to a fiend and many more iterations, Wyatt left an impact with his career and with his passing.
Many would say his career was cut too short and he had so much more to give, so much unrealized potential.
I'm sure by now we've all heard the rumors of Bo Dallas's return and the shoes of Bray's he looks to fill. I aim to write the best possible run for Bo to make for a respectable, iconic tribute run that would hopefully be a worthy successor to the legend that was Bray Wyatt.
NXT, 4/9/24:
It's the NXT after WrestleMania and the wrestling world is buzzing, especially given the fallout from Stand & Deliver.
Everyone is anxiously awaiting the tag team championship bout, however, right before introductions begin, a video airs.
[The scene opens with a dimly lit room, filled with eerie masks and props reminiscent of Bray Wyatt's countless ominous personas. Bo Dallas stands in the center, dressed in a black tuxedo, a ruby red rose tucked into the pocket. His expression is solemn as he gazes at the array of memorabilia.]
"My brother Bray... he was more than just a man. He was an enigma, a mastermind of both darkness and light. He taught me, not just about wrestling, but about life. About embracing the darkness within us and finding strength in it."
[Bo picks up a white sheep mask, running his fingers along its intricate details.]
"These masks... they're more than just fabric and paint. They're symbols of his creativity, his imagination. Each one tells a story, a story of the man who wore it. And now, it's up to me to carry on that legacy, to keep his memory alive."
[He pauses, a somber look crossing his face as memories flood his mind.]
"Bray and I... we shared a bond that went beyond blood. We were kindred spirits, wandering in the darkness together. And even though he's gone, I can still feel his presence, guiding me, urging me to continue the journey."
[Bo walks around the room, touching various items, each one invoking memories of Bray. He runs his fingers along the mask of Uncle Howdy, and bits of Bray's feud with LA Knight flicker across the screen. He passes by the sheep mask, and images of The Wyatt Family fill the picture, scenes of their destruction on full display. Bo dares to grip The Fiend mask last, and the monstrous reign of terror Bray went on is summarized with flashes of his darkest showings.]
"I may not be Bray Wyatt, but I am my brother's keeper. I am Bo Dallas. And I promise to honor his memory in everything I do. To carry on his legacy, to spread his message. Because that's what he would have wanted."
[As the camera fades to black, a single candle flickers in the darkness, illuminating Bo's determined expression, a symbol of hope in the face of loss.]
NXT, 4/16/24:
[The scene this week finds Bo Dallas in a ring, not the NXT ring, but at an undisclosed location, surrounded by eerie lighting and haunting music. His demeanor has shifted slightly, displaying hints of the madness that once defined his brother, Bray Wyatt.]
"Welcome, my friends, to the theater of the mind. Tonight, we embark on a journey into the dark limelight. For too long, I have walked in the shadows of greatness, but now, it's time for me to step into the spotlight."
[Bo's eyes gleam with an unsettling intensity as he speaks, his voice carrying a hint of the manicness that consumed Bray.]
"You see, I've spent my time wandering in the wilderness, searching for answers, seeking the truth that lies beneath the surface. And what I've found... it's both beautiful and terrifying."
[He paces around the ring, his movements fluid yet erratic, mirroring the unpredictability of his brother.]
"But fear not, for I am not alone in this journey. No, I carry with me the spirit of Bray Wyatt, my brother, my mentor, my lantern in the darkness. Together, we shall unleash chaos upon the world, for it is in chaos that true enlightenment is found."
[As he speaks, cryptic images flash across the screen, hinting at the impending madness that awaits. Two stand out, a smiley face with blood splattered on the bright yellow exterior, and an uber-realistic heart still beating, decorated with disturbing facial features, the eyes gouged out and grey bruises left in the sunken holes.]
"So to those who dare to stand in our way, know this: the reckoning is coming. The shadows will consume you, and you will be left to live in fear. For the madness of the mind knows no bounds, and soon, you will understand the true meaning of terror, the true face of fear."
[The camera zooms in on Bo's face, a wicked grin spreading across his lips as he stares into the abyss, indescribable intentions lining his tortured mind.]
NXT 4/23/24:
Bo Dallas vs Scrypts
[Bo Dallas finally makes his in ring return, to the brand he once called home, the brand he was once champion of. He enters to Feared, seemingly confirming his past role. Across the ring from him is the highly acrobatic Scrypts, eager to get an upset victory over the, presumably rusty, Bo Dallas.
In the closing moments of the match, Bo Dallas delivers a new finishing maneuver. He locks Scrypts in position for a Sister Abigail, kiss and all, before securing the head and falling back into a devastating DDT laying out Scrypts for the three-count. As the referee raises Dallas' hand in victory, the arena is left with a mixture of awe and fear, witnessing the emergence of a new force on the white and gold brand.]
NXT, 4/30/24:
Bo Dallas vs Davey Vega (Local Competitor)
[In the heart of the performance center, Bo Dallas stands ready, his gaze fixed on his opponent, Davey Vega, a local competitor stepping into the lion's den. From the opening bell, Dallas unleashes a relentless assault, showcasing the brutal side of his newfound madness.
As the match progresses, the referee is forced to intervene, calling for the bell and awarding the match to Bo Dallas via referee stoppage, signaling the end of Vega's valiant effort.
However, Dallas shows no signs of mercy, launching a vicious post-match assault on the defenseless Vega, driving home the message that he is not to be trifled with.
Suddenly, the arena erupts with the arrival of Axiom, charging down the ramp to confront Dallas and put an end to his rampage. Bo Dallas, unfazed by the interruption, simply smiles in response, leaving a chilling sense of uncertainty in his wake as he retreats from the ring.]
NXT, 5/7/24:
The week after Bo Dallas bludgeoned a local competitor who was thankfully rescued by Axiom, a video airs detailing Bo's thoughts on this 'heroic' act.
[The scene opens with eerie music playing in the background as the screen flickers to life, revealing a dimly lit room. In the center of the frame, Bo Dallas sits, his expression veiled in shadows, radiating an aura of malevolence.]
"Axiom, my dear adversary, I have a message for you. A message that carries with it the weight of inevitability.
You see, Axiom, you and I... we exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. Where you seek light, I revel in darkness. Where you find solace, I find chaos. And in that chaos, there lies a power that few ever get to feel."
[As he speaks, the camera zooms in on Bo's face, revealing a sinister grin that twists his features into an unsettling visage.]
"But fear not, for I am not here to harm you... yet. No, I am here to offer you a choice. A choice that will define your destiny, a choice that will determine what kind of man you're going to be left as."
[His words hang in the air, heavy with implication and menace.]
"So heed my warning, Axiom, because I'm not a bad person. I don't wish to harm you. Believe me, it will hurt me more than it will hurt you, and that's truly, truly saying something. The choice is yours... choose wisely."
[With a flicker, the screen fades to black, leaving behind an ominous silence that lingers long after Bo's message has ended.]
Later that night, we cut to a scene of Axiom & Nathan Frazer in the locker room with Nathan Frazer anxiously pacing back and forth, his expression wrought with concern. Axiom, his tag team partner, stands nearby.
"Axiom, listen to me... I've got a bad feeling about this. You can't take this match with Bo Dallas. It's like... like there's something dark hovering over him, something... unnatural."
Axiom furrows his brow, puzzled by Nathan's urgency.
"Nathan, what are you talking about? We've faced tough opponents before. Hell, we just won the NXT Tag Team Championships last month. Bo Dallas is just another challenge for us to overcome."
"No, this is...this is different. I can't explain it, but, I know, somehow, that this guy is bad news."
The lights flicker, as Nathan's eyes begin to dart, wary of... something.
"Axiom, please, I'm begging you... don't do this."
Axiom shakes his head, his determination unwavering despite Nathan's pleas.
"I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I can't back down from this. Bo may be...troubled, but I refuse to let fear dictate my actions. We've trained hard for moments just like this, and, just imagine what it'll do for us if I beat a former NXT champion."
Nathan's shoulders slump in defeat, realizing that his words have fallen on deaf ears.
"Just... promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you'll watch your back. There's something... something sinister about him. I'm afraid that if you face Bo Dallas, you won't come out of it the same."
Axiom nods solemnly, trying to show Frazer that he takes his concerns seriously. He reassures Nathan that he's got this, and by this time next week, they will be on the road to bigger and better things. He goes to get the match made official, leaving Nathan alone with his dark premonitions.
NXT, 5/14/24:
In the backstage area, dimly lit and filled with an air of anticipation, Bo Dallas prepares for his upcoming match against Axiom. Dressed in his ominous attire, reminiscent of his brothers, but with a touch of his own style. He methodically wraps his hands with tape, his mind focused on the task at hand. Suddenly, Joe Gacy appears, his smile warm and inviting as he approaches Dallas.
"Bo, my friend! I just wanted to say, I've been admiring your work lately. Your commitment to embracing your darker side is truly inspiring. For example, what you're going to do to Axiom tonight. If a guy like that doesn't want to listen to guys like us when we're warning him, begging him not to oppose us. Well, they get what they deserve."
Bo Dallas, though polite, eyes Gacy warily, sensing an underlying tension beneath his seemingly friendly demeanor.
"Thanks, Joe. I appreciate the... kind words. But let me ask you something...I hear your gospel, and you preach a lot about redemption. Do you truly believe in redemption? Or are you just using it as an excuse to justify your own actions?"
Gacy's smile wavers slightly at the question, but he quickly regains his composure.
"Of course, Bo. Redemption is a core belief of mine. I believe that everyone, no matter how lost they may seem, deserves a chance at redemption. Even those who have embraced their darker nature."
Bo Dallas nods, though the skepticism still lingers.
"Because you know, guys like us, of course. We don't make apologies, we don't make excuses, we don't need redemption. If you feel that you do, well, maybe you're nothing like me at all."
Before either can dive deeper into the conversation, a stagehand interrupts, signaling that it's time for Bo's match.
"We'll continue this conversation later, Joe. Right now, I have a match to focus on."
With a curt nod, Dallas strides off towards the ring, leaving Gacy standing alone in the dimly lit hallway, his smile masking the darkness that lurks beneath the surface. As Dallas's theme music echoes through the arena, Gacy watches with a knowing glint in his eyes, hinting at the turbulent confrontation yet to come.
Axiom vs Bo Dallas
[The arena buzzes as Axiom makes his entrance, his determination palpable in the air as he clutches his Tag Title strap. Across the ring, Bo Dallas stands, a sinister grin etched on his face as he eagerly awaits his opponent.
As the bell rings, Axiom explodes into action, showcasing his high-flying prowess with dazzling maneuvers, but Bo Dallas is unfazed, meeting Axiom's athleticism with a ruthless onslaught of dirty tactics and underhanded tricks.
Bo sinks to new depths of depravity, resorting to underhanded tactics such as eye rakes and choking Axiom with the ring ropes when the referee's back is turned. He strategically targets Axiom's limbs, ruthlessly wrenching at joints and ligaments with painful submission holds, eliciting agonized screams from his opponent. At one point, Bo viciously slams Axiom's knee into the ring post, causing a sickening crunch that echoes throughout the arena, leaving Axiom writhing in pain on the mat.
He repeatedly drives his knee into Axiom's ribs with malicious intent, ignoring the referee's warnings and relishing in the damage he deals.
Despite the odds stacked against him, Axiom refuses to back down, channeling his inner resilience to mount a comeback against his twisted adversary. With every leap and flip, he defies gravity, inciting faint Axiom chants that become even fainter as the finish nears.
Axiom attempts a shooting star from the top rope and gets caught in Sister Abigail positioning, kiss, DDT. Commentary dubs it Grim Affection. A dominant victory for Bo Dallas over a game Axiom.
"I told you, Axiom, that you had a choice to make. A choice to define your destiny, to decide what kind of man was going to be left. You... you didn't believe me."
Bo drops the mic and drags Axiom out of the ring. He nears the announce desk and begins slamming Axiom's head into the table. Again, and again, and again. Repeatedly. After several sickening collisions with the desk, medical personnel back Bo up and wring his grip off of Axiom's neck.
Perhaps, people should be asking what drove Bo to do this, how he could do this, but then again, he did warn us. Rather, one question seems to linger.
Where was Nathan Frazer?]
NXT, 5/21/24:
Bo Dallas vs Riley Osborne
The following week, Bo Dallas is paired up with the impressive up and comer, Riley Osborne. Osborne, a dynamic highflyer known for his breath-taking maneuvers, brings an energy to the match that contrasts sharply with Dallas's dark and brooding presence.
With Dallas in the driver's seat, Joe Gacy emerges from the shadows, making his way to ringside with his trademark smile firmly in place. His presence unnerves Dallas, who becomes increasingly distracted by Gacy's watchful gaze.
Sensing an opportunity, Osborne seizes the moment, launching a series of high-flying attacks that leave Dallas reeling. With the crowd firmly behind him, Osborne delivers a flurry of strikes and aerial maneuvers, building momentum and gaining the advantage.
However, just as it seems that Osborne may secure the victory, Gacy interjects himself into the match, distracting the referee and creating an opening for Dallas to strike. Seizing the opportunity, Dallas delivers a devastating blow to the back of Osborne's head, knocking him to the mat and leaving him vulnerable to Grim Affection.
Dallas quickly executes the DDT, driving Osborne's head into the canvas with brutal force. Dallas covers Osborne for the pinfall victory, all the while, keeping a weary eye on Joe Gacy. His victory tainted by the interference.
As Dallas stands victorious in the ring, Gacy watches from ringside, his smile wider than ever as he silently applauds Dallas's triumph, his motivations indeterminable.
Backstage, Bo strides purposefully towards Gacy, his expression a mix of frustration and curiosity. Gacy stands nearby, his back turned to the approaching Dallas.
"Joe, we need to talk. What the hell made you think you could get involved in my match?"
Joe turns to face Dallas, his smile unwavering despite the tension in the air.
"Bo, it's simple. I got involved because that's what friends do. We look out for each other, we support each other, no matter what."
Dallas narrows his eyes, unpleased with the explanation.
"Friends, huh? Joe, let me make something clear to you. You and me are not friends. You talk about 'guys like us.' but if you were really anything like me, you'd know, guys like us don't get the luxury of friendship. Stay out of my way."
Dallas walks off, leaving Gacy alone in the dimly lit hallway, feeling confident his warning will be the last he hears from Gacy. As Gacy watches Dallas's retreating figure, his smile fades slightly, a hint of the darkness leaking out behind his facade of friendliness.
NXT, 5/28/24:
In the aftermath of Dallas's confrontation with Joe backstage, tensions between the two competitors continue to simmer beneath the surface. As Dallas prepares for his next match, Gacy lurks in the shadows, his smile masking the intentions that lie beneath.
Bo Dallas vs Je'Von Evans
As Dallas steps into the ring to face off with the spry Evans, Gacy watches from ringside, his presence a constant reminder of the brewing conflict between them. Throughout the match, Dallas's focus is split between Je'Von and Gacy, the unsettling feeling of being watched lingering on his mind.
As the match reaches its climax, Gacy's interference once again comes into play, this time in the form of distraction tactics that allow Evans to gain the upper hand, ending his dominant sequence with a huracanrana to send Dallas out of the ring. Frustrated by Gacy's meddling, Dallas lashes out, confronting Gacy at ringside.
"What are you doing?! I told you to stay out of my business."
"I'm just trying to help, Bo. Can't you see that? We're in this together, whether you like it or not."
The confrontation between Dallas and Gacy escalates, drawing the attention of the referee and the audience alike. Sensing an opportunity, Je'Von seizes the moment, delivering a springboard crossbody that leaves Dallas smashed against the barricade.
As the match comes to a close, Dallas finds himself on the receiving end of a corkscrew frogsplash, pinned to the mat as the referee issues the three-count. Gacy watches from ringside, his smile wider than ever as he revels in Dallas's defeat.
As Dallas staggers to his feet, his anger evident, Gacy offers a mocking clap of applause, his smile taunting Dallas from across the ring.
NXT, 6/4/24:
The following week, Bo is obviously beside himself, given his first loss since returning due to the meddling nature of Joe Gacy. He wants answers, and he gets them, but they are perhaps...not what he expected
The video opens with a dimly lit room, casting eerie shadows across the walls. In the center of the frame, in an old rocking chair, sits Joe Gacy. He's surrounded by a cluttered array of photos, newspaper clippings, and pins connected by lengths of yarn. His expression is intense, bordering on obsessive, as he addresses the camera.
"Greetings, my friends. I wanted to take a moment to share something with you. Something that has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late."
He gestures to the wall behind him, where a complex web of connections links various images together.
"You see, I've been doing some... research. Trying to understand the connections between us all, the threads that bind us together."
He points to individual photos, each depicting familiar figures, including Alexa Bliss, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, and even the iconic sheep mask.
"Bo Dallas... Bray Wyatt... They're more than just competitors to me. They're kindred spirits, souls bound by a shared vision of darkness and redemption. And now, with their guidance, I seek to create something truly special."
His voice takes on a fervent tone, his eyes gleaming with manic intensity.
"You may call me a fan, a devotee of their work. But I see myself as something more. I am a disciple, a vessel through which their legacy will live on. Together, Bo and me will forge a new path, a new family built on the foundations of their greatness."
As the camera zooms in on Gacy's face, his smile widens, revealing a hint of madness lurking beneath the surface.
"So to Bo, my dear friend and partner in crime, I say this: embrace the chaos, embrace the darkness, and together, we will create something truly extraordinary."
With a final unsettling chuckle, Gacy reaches forward to turn off the camera, a squeak echoing from the rocking chair and cascading across the disturbed audience.
NXT, Battleground:
Bo Dallas vs Joe Gacy
As the lights dim in the UFC Apex arena, anticipation hangs heavy in the air as Bo Dallas and Joe Gacy make their way to the ring, their paths on a collision course fueled by obsession.
From the opening bell, Gacy wastes no time in asserting his dominance, launching a relentless assault on Dallas with a combination of technical prowess and psychological warfare. Gacy taunts Dallas, insisting that he needs Gacy to unlock his true potential, but Dallas remains defiant, refusing to give in to Gacy's grand delusion.
Despite Gacy's mind games, Dallas fights back with a fierce determination, fueled by a desire for revenge against the man who has cost him victories and sought to manipulate him. The two competitors trade blows in a brutal back-and-forth, each refusing to back down in their quest for supremacy.
As the match reaches its climax, Gacy's desperation becomes apparent as he resorts to underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand. He attempts to lure Dallas into his twisted worldview, promising power and redemption through submission to his will, both literally and figuratively as he traps Dallas in Hell's Gate. Dallas sees through Gacy's deception, though, refusing to be swayed by his false promises and makes it to the ropes.
In a dramatic turn of events, Dallas mounts a ferocious comeback, unleashing a barrage of strikes that leave Gacy reeling. With the crowd rallying behind him, Dallas summons every ounce of strength to overcome Gacy.
In the final moments of the match, Gacy attempts his handspring lariat, but Dallas catches him! Dallas has him in position and connects with Grim Affection, Gacy's delusion shattered in the face of Dallas's unwavering resolve. With a triumphant roar, Dallas secures the victory, standing tall.
As Dallas celebrates his hard-fought victory, Gacy slinks away into the shadows, his facade of superiority crumbling under the weight of his defeat.
NXT, 6/11/24:
On the NXT following Battleground, Bo Dallas makes his way to the ring. He details how Gacy was one of the hardest fights of his career and he has a newfound respect for him. Gacy is clearly...confused about any potential connection he may have to Dallas, but Dallas has been a man of much confusion in the past and he can sympathize.
He asks Gacy to come out to the ring so Dallas can shake his hand after their war at Battleground. Instead, Gallus's music hits, the trio of bruisers signaling their arrival. The Coffey Brothers & Wolfgang have been on a Shield-esque run recently, terrorizing anyone they deem a threat to their success and dissecting them via the numbers game.
As Gallus surround the ring, preventing Dallas from making an escape, they bore their eyes into a trepidatious Bo.
Just as the wolfpack is about to swarm, Love Is Blind hits and Joe Gacy runs down wielding a steel chair. He jabs Wolfgang in the gut, and levels Mark Coffey with chair shots as well. This leaves Joe vulnerable to Dallas's attack, laying out Coffey. Coffey flees from the right side of the ring as Gacy enters from the left. Gacy and Dallas end up bumping, back to back, into each other.
They stare each other down cautiously, before Dallas sticks out his hand, Gacy shakes it and the two unlikely bedmates stand united against Gallus.
NXT, 6/18/24:
Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy vs Gallus (The Coffey Brothers)
[With Dallas & Gacy seemingly aligning for the moment, with the numbers game of Gallus being too great for either to overcome alone, this match is made.
Joe & Mark Coffey showcase their brawling ways and take the fight to Dallas, wearing him down throughout the match. It's not until Bo makes a hot tag to Joe Gacy that tides start to turn.
Gacy matches the brutality of Coffey and battles back as the freshest competitor in the match. As Gacy closes in on a victory, Dallas clears out Wolfgang at ringside who was attempting to get involved.
A moment later, Gacy is pinning Mark to secure the win for him and Bo.]
Later that night, Bo and Gacy run into Gacy's old running mate and NXT General Manager, Ava. She says that she was impressed with their performance and if they're interested in accepting it, would like to offer a Tag Team Title opportunity to them next week.
Joe looks to Dallas for his answer, and Bo agrees to the match. It seems Joe is finally getting his wish, to team with a man who's work he's admired for some time in Bo Dallas.
NXT, 6/25/24:
Axiom & Nathan Frazer (c) vs Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy: NXT Tag Team Championship Match
[Ever since Bo's encounter with Axiom, there's been tensions between Axiom & Frazer. Frazer has been somewhat absent, slacking in comparison to Axiom's extreme efforts. Not to mention, Nathan's choice to let Dallas brutally beat on him last month.
Earlier in the night, it's made clear that Frazer's most egregious example of this recent behavior is taking place at the most inopportune time. Axiom first gives an interview early in the show, Nathan isn't here yet but Axiom stays confident in their defense tonight. Axiom later voices concern to Ava over Nathan not being here yet. Finally, Axiom finds a note in his locker, clearly informing Axiom that Nathan isn't coming.
Axiom is asked pre match about these developments, the champion states he's going to go out there and vigorously defend his title, and if he fails...well he's no longer got a tag team partner, maybe he shouldn't be a tag team champion.
It's a big fight feel with the tag team titles up for grabs, but once Dallas and Gacy finish making their entrance, Axiom enters alone. The handicap is evident as despite Axiom's valiant efforts, the revolving door of tags from his opponents keeps him weak.
Axiom unleashes a series of big maneuvers on both men, fighting his heart out until his last breath. Axiom dives onto Dallas at ringside and attempts to on Gacy as well, but gets tossed into the ring apron. Gacy sends him back in and flattens him with a handspring lariat. He feeds Axiom to Dallas who lands Grim Affection.
With that, the Tag Team Championships now belong to Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy. A defeated Axiom writhes on the canvas, a harrowing loss noticably affecting him.]
NXT, 7/2/24:
It's the week after the big Tag Title victory, and Dallas & Gacy make their entrance, eager to celebrate Gacy's first WWE Title and Dallas's first in over a decade.
They seem very giddy to be Champions, Dallas compliments Gacy's vision and states that Joe knew they would make a great team even when Bo didn't want to accept it.
Dallas states that when he first came back, he was nervous, nervous he wouldn't live up to that legacy, fill those boots. Thanks to Gacy though, it was easier than Bo expected and know that he's got gold, he can finally relax. He feels that weight off of his shoulders.
This seems to unsettle Gacy who states that the hard part has just begun though and it's time to put in their best work. The tag titles are just phase one of the plan. Dallas says that, eventually sure, maybe they'll go after other titles and bigger things, but for now, this feels comfortable for Bo.
Gacy simply stares at him for a moment until Edris Enofé and Malik Blade arrive. Gacy turns away from Dallas to spot the young, hungry tag team. Enofé and Blade state that they are one of the longest tenured teams in NXT right now and they deserve a tag team title shot.
Dallas tries to tell them they'll need to earn it, not seeing the irony of how easy his road to the titles has been, Gacy however accepts on Bo's behalf and schedules the match for later tonight.
Joe tries to talk some sense into Bo backstage, letting Bo know that Gacy helped him capture gold as a way to inspire Bo to work harder, to fulfill his destiny and truly become great with Gacy. Dallas shouldn't become comfortable right now, now is when you double down on that effort and become undeniable. Dallas seems disinterested.
Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy (c) vs Edris Enofé & Malik Blade: Tag Team Championship Match
[The enthusiastic team of Enofé and Blade have the biggest opportunity of their young careers, as they take on two established foes with NXT tag gold on the line. The very different styles contrast throughout, the aggressive, smash-mouth style of Bo and Gacy opposite the adrenaline fueled, fast paced Edris and Blade.
It begins to look unlikely that the challengers will have a chance to fulfill their long awaited dream as Dallas and Gacy continuously cut off their momentum.
In a last gasp effort, Blade is able to turn the tides and neutralize Gacy at ringside, this leaves Dallas vulnerable to Enofé who closes the gap by standing on the back of Dallas and dropping into a DDT. Bo somehow gets the shoulder up, and Edris directs Malik to the top rope. Swanton Bomb by Blade, cover by Edris. New Tag Team Champions.]
After the bout, Gacy hugs a distraught Dallas. Bo is facing away from the camera, Gacy is facing towards it. Gacy whispers something in Bo's ear before planting a kiss on the side of his head. Dallas turns around just as Gacy connects with a handspring lariat. Joe stands over the flattened Dallas, and in disappointment, leaves the ring.
NXT Heatwave:
Bo Dallas vs Joe Gacy, Love & War:
[The stage is set for a hazardous clash as Bo Dallas and Joe Gacy step into the ring for their Love & War Match, a twisted variation of an Extreme Rules bout. The atmosphere is personal, the hurt of betrayal evident on the face of Bo, as the two rivals lock eyes, each determined to emerge victorious.
As the bell rings, Bo Dallas wastes no time in unleashing his pent-up frustration on Joe Gacy, launching a relentless assault with a steel chair in hand. Gacy, however, remains cool and composed, dodging Dallas's swings with ease before retaliating with a series of calculated strikes ending in a bodyslam on the open chair.
The match quickly spills to the outside, where Dallas sends Gacy crashing into the steel steps with a vicious Irish whip. The impact reverberates through the arena as Gacy writhes in pain on the cold concrete floor. Gacy eye pokes Dallas and tries for a sit-out piledriver on the bottom set of stairs, the top set tipped over beside it.
Dallas connects with a back body drop, though, sending Gacy cascading into the top half of the stairs. Back inside the ring, Dallas sets up a table in the corner, his eyes burning with determination as he prepares to put an end to Gacy's deception once and for all. Following a Sunset Flip, Dallas shows his strength, carrying Gacy across the ring and sending him crashing through the table with a devastating powerbomb, the wood splintering beneath the force of the impact.
But Gacy refuses to stay down, rallying back with a barbed wire bat in hand. With a sadistic grin, Gacy swings the bat at Dallas, striking him across the back with brutal force. The barbed wire tears at Dallas's flesh, leaving behind a trail of blood as he staggers back in agony.
Gacy introduces a ladder, propping it up in the corner, he slingshots Dallas into the hard steel. The ladder is set on Bo's neck, trapping his head in the middle of it, Gacy connects with a german suplex while Bo's head is trapped.
Joe fishes out a barbed wire wrapped table, setting it up outside the ring. Gacy re-enters and spots a vulnerable Dallas. He attempts a handspring lariat, but as soon as he goes upside down into the ropes, Bo spears Gacy, driving both men out of the ring.
Dallas and Gacy brawl on the apron, footsteps away from the barbed wire table. Gacy gets Dallas sat against the steel post and attempts a cannonball, Dallas pulls himself into the ring last second and Gacy crashes into the steel post.
Dallas runs the ropes and connects with a suicide spear through the barbed wire table. With Gacy reeling from the impact, Dallas seizes the opportunity to end the match once and for all. He sets a table ablaze in ring, the flames licking at the sky as he hoists Gacy into the squared circle.
Dallas sets up the ladder and begins to climb, he's thinking an elbow drop on the downed Gacy, but Joe climbs and gets Dallas in a fireman's carry position. Bo frees himself and gets Gacy in electric chair position.
The crowd waits in baited breath, as with a primal roar, Dallas falls backwards with Gacy on his shoulders, from fifteen feet in the air, into the table, the fire consuming them both in a blaze of glory. The crowd erupts into cheers as the referee counts the three-count, declaring Bo Dallas the winner of the Love & War Match.
As Dallas stands tall amidst the smoldering wreckage, a sense of catharsis washes over him, his victory a symbol of triumph over betrayal. As he gazes down at Gacy's body though, one thought runs through his head, a thought that scares him to his core, it's implications undeniable.
"That was fun."
WWE uploads an exclusive backstage video showing Gacy approach Bo. Dallas is on edge and stiffens up, Gacy grabs him by his face.
"Good. Now go fulfill your destiny."
Gacy claps Dallas on the chest and leaves, leaving Bo in a mix of emotions as he is forced to consider Gacy's betrayal may have been a selfless action.]
RAW, 7/15/24:
SummerSlam is just over two weeks away and things are heating up. Shortly before the respective parties make their entrance for the main event of the evening, a video airs.
[The camera flickers to life revealing the familiar face of one Bo Dallas, coming off arguably the most brutal match of his career and an enigmatic piece of advice from Joe Gacy.]
"It's been said that those who are baptized in the darkness, cannot handle the light, for it will surely blind them. As I stand here today, I feel the weight of those words.
I've spent so long living in fear, fear of not living up to those who came before me..."
[Flashes of The US Express and Bray Wyatt shoot across the screen.]
"Fear of failing."
[This time, flashes of Bo's initial run with WWE, losing his winning streak to R-Truth and then beginning his losing streak.]
"Fear...of judgement."
[Bo, previously staring at the ground, gazes up.]
"I thought I'd be able to feel him, but not like this. He's... he's everywhere. In everyone he's ever stood across the ring from. One man, he stands out in particular, not for no rhyme or reason, see my brother...he knew this man very well.
SummerSlam is fast approaching and I just wouldn't miss it for the world. And as for my opponent? Well, discretion is the better part of válor.
I can't tell you that part just yet, one thing I can tell you though? I am not afraid...anymore."
[The gaze of Bo stagnates on screen prior to the feed cutting off.]
RAW, 7/22/24:
Towards the end of the show, a big match occurs, harkening back to their days in NXT fighting over the top title, Finn Bálor collides with Pete Dunne in singles action.
It's a hard hitting affair, with McDonagh & Bate getting involved as well. Bálor scores the triumphant victory off his patented Coup De Grace. McDonagh has long disappeared, fighting with Bate to the backstage area.
Suddenly the lights go out, dimming section by section. Chills coat Bálor's body as deja vu swarms him. He's been here before.
Suddenly, Bo Dallas appears behind Finn Bálor, a single swinging spotlight allowing him to be seen. Bálor turns around and gets caught with a forearm to the face. Dallas drags him up and connects with Grim Affection.
Bo sits in the corner of the ring, murmuring to himself. The message is clear, Bo Dallas has set his sights on Finn Bálor.
RAW, 7/29/24:
The go home episode of RAW before SummerSlam, another video from Bo airs.
"My brother was a troubled man with a troubled mind. He loved this business more than anything else, and he gave his life to it. Bray was always...erratic, different and he was judged for it, believe me. I remember, five years ago, Bray called me in the middle of the night and just started to ramble about this thing. This thing that was going to finally make him. He was obsessed with the prospect of fear, fear is power, and Bray is a man who often had his power stripped from him. Fear was his way of getting it back.
In Toronto, maybe for the first time, Bray was a truly fearsome man, and with that, he became truly, truly powerful. Five years ago, Finn, you were the example. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I have a question for you, Finn, when you are at the center of all of the judgement that you cast, will you survive? I suppose I'll get my answer, on August 3rd."
[Bo settles back into his chair, contemplating before continuing.]
"You were supposed to be someone, Finn, there's a reason my brother targeted you in the first place, he saw that same darkness that he never could resist. That darkness though, is gone now. You've spent so much time...chasing rabbits. You've lost sight of who you were meant to be.
I fear, now, it's too late. There's nothing left of you to salvage, which is bad news for you, but very good news for me. Feeble as you are, you will be a perfect example, a sign of things to come, a canvas for which I will paint with my demons. Finn, I will ensure you do not die in vain, your sacrifice will be very, very worthy.
In five days, I become, for the first time, truly powerful. And in five days, Finn, you will find, we're all mad here."
[Bo exits the room as a small white rabbit skitters on to the desk in front of the camera.]

TAPOLOGY RECORD: 67-47
LAST WEEK'S PICKS: 10-3
LAST WEEK'S BETS: -4.5U
PRELIMS
FlyW W Bout: JJ Aldrich v. Veronica Hardy
Records: 13-6 v. 8-4-1
Last 5 Fights: WWLLW v. WWLWL

• Hardy took a 3 year layoff from 2020 to 2023 to retool and she has looked good since
• Hardy was 1-4 in her last 5 prior to the layoff
• Hardy has had a reach disadvantage in nearly every UFC fight she has been in, but she is very good at closing the distance and entering the pocket with flurries of strikes
• I see shades of Julianna Pena when she moves forward - she is quite wreckless when she feels pressure and will shoot a lazy takedown if she feels like she can’t land a good shot - however, this is from dissecting tape prior to her layoff
• I am noticing a pattern - Hardy almost always wins RD1 but she starts to tail off in later stages, going for takedown after takedown in hopes of securing a 2nd round for the judges
• She employed this strat in her last 3 fights, but had minimal success against Malecki who prevented 9 of her takedowns
• Aldrich is flat-footed in the octagon, but if pressured she will look to counter-strike hard, which is something Hardy isn’t used to in her recent fights
• Aldrich is good at slipping her opponent’s strikes and is good at turning these slips into advantageous clinch situations
• Aldrich has the exact style to defeat someone like Hardy - Hardy needs to close distance since she has a 3 inch reach disadvantage and Aldrich excels at timing flurries and countering up close, and has good wrestling and takedown defense to counteract Hardy’s late round attempts
• I think both ladies are durable enough to not get finished, so I will lean with decision here

PICK: JJ Aldrich by Unanimous Decision
WW Bout: Jared Gooden v. Kevin Jousset
Records: 23-9 v. 10-2
Last 5 Fights: WLWWL v. WWWWW

• Gooden entered the UFC in 2020 and was 1-3 with 3 decision losses - he then went 4-1 on regionals (losing to Impa Kasagany by KO) and since rejoining the UFC, he has gone 1-1 with a sneaky RNC finish in his last performance
• Gooden has heavy hands but he has sub optimal striking defense - he gets clipped almost every time he enters the pocket and leaves himself open to counter hooks
• Gooden was rocked a few times in his most recent win over Turman before connecting with his hook and finishing the fight
• Gooden has a puncher’s chance here and I don’t think that will go well against a guy like Jousset - Jousset is coming off back to back wins against fighters with a similar ilk to Gooden
• Jousset is the much more active and accurate striker although he has had only 2 UFC fights
• Jousset throws approximately 8 strikes per minute and Gooden absorbs approximately 7 strikes per minute - this is a concoction of dangerous sniper vs wreckless opponent
• Jousset excels at leg kicks and is an excellent defensive striker as well to go with his black belt in judo
• HOWEVER - this is the first fight in the UFC where Jousset has a reach disadvantage - he is almost always the bigger fighter with a minimum of 3 inch reach advantage
• I expect Jousset to pick apart Gooden here and eventually get a decision victory - Jousset could get a late round finish if Gooden decides to go ALL IN in an attempt to KO Jousset - I think I lean the latter
• The reach is too much of a question mark for me to actually bet here, though

PICK: Kevin Jousset by RD3 KO
WW Bout: Jake Hadley v. Charles Johnson
Records: 10-2 v. 14-6
Last 5 Fights: LWWLW v. WLLLW

• Hadley is a submission artist but he does not shoot for takedowns as often as you’d think - more often than not, he is the one being taking down but he has a very active guard and constantly hunts for subs - he averages nearly 2 sub attempts per fight
• Hadley has a nasty jab and loves to attack the body - he does leave openings when he fires leg kicks
• His striking defense is similar to Dustin Porier’s with the way he defends strikes with his elbows, but he leaves his body open for jabs and kicks too often for my liking
• He doesn’t do well if he gets pressured - he leaves himself open for too many strikes and doesn’t have the best lateral movement - he excels when he moves forward
• Hadley does have a well rounded striking game - he mixes in body and head shots super well
• Hadley does leave himself open to overhands if you get him thinking about the body too much as well - his main weakness is that is more than ok with staying on the ground since his submission game is so elite
• Johnson is 3-4 in the UFC and prior to his decision victory over Maksum, he was riding a 3 fight losing streak and was basically fighting for his career
• Johnson has since signed a new UFC deal, so he might be less inclined to go balls to the wall for a victory like he was in his last bout
• Looking strictly at numbers, Johnson lands at higher clip than Hadley, absorbs about an even amount of strikes, and throws slightly more
• In Johson’s 4 losses, he was taken down 3 or more times - Mokaev got 12 and Durden secured 11
• He outlander Rafael Estevem by nearly 60 significant strikes but still took the loss because he was taken down 3 times out of 22 attempts, suffering nearly 8 minutes of being controlled
• Hadley may shoot for takedowns, but he is not on the same level as some of the wrestlers Johnson has already faced
• I am slightly concerned with Johnson’s chin - he was rocked a few times in the opening stages of his fight with Maksum
• He doesn’t do anything spectacular but he does have a well rounded striking/grappling skillset similar to Hadley’s
• In a standing affair, I lean Hadley to win the early parts of it but Johnson has a much better gas tank and will likely win the striking exchanges in the later parts
• My main issue is Hadley has KO power and we have seen Johnson wobbled by fighters with less
• If this fight hits the ground it ought to be interesting since both possess good sub games
• I lean ever so slightly on the side of Jake Hadley here - I expect him to get an early finish based on the openings Johnson leaves early on in fights

PICK: Jake Hadley By RD1 KO
WW Bout: Trey Waters v. Billy Goff
Records: 8-1 v. 9-2
Last 5 Fights: WWLWW v. WWWWW

• Going strictly off of stats, this fight has all the makings to be an absolute banger
• Goff lands over 10 strikes per minute while Waters lands nearly 7
• Across their combined 21 fights, they have only seen the scorecards a combined 5 times
• Interesting to see that both fighters were underdogs in both of their 2 UFC bouts
• The main issue with Goff is he is extremely chinny although he has yet to record a KO loss - he gets dropped early in fights very often but unleashes his dawg just as often
• If Goff senses weakness, he will unleash a flurry of strikes and sometimes parlay that into a takedown
• Goff throws too many blind leg kicks that lead to him getting absolutely crushed by counter crosses
• He does mix his striking up well, especially with his big hooks to the body
• I do fear he will get KO’d against a top tier striker simply because of how often he leaves his chin in the air and how often he gets cracked
• If we look at the level of competition, I’d argue Goff has faced much superior competition
• Waters is an excellent counter striker and I believe he will have tremendous success against a guy like Goff who is going to constantly try to move forward
• Waters has a wicked left overhand although he has yet to really KO anyone at a high level with it
• I am concerned slightly with the takedown defense of Waters - as a counter striker, he is more looking to strike when an opponent dives in on him than he is to defend the takedown itself
• I ultimately think Waters will be able to catch Goff coming in eventually and put him out - if not, he is primed for a decision victory
• Goff RD1 KO is a decent hedge if he snipes Waters’ body, though

PICK: Trey Waters by RD2 KO
SW Bout: Tabitha Ricci v. Tecia Torres
Records: 9-2 v. 13-6
Last 5 Fights: LWWWW v. LWWWL

• First glance - I think this fight is a complete mismatch - I think Ricci clears Tecia by a mile - but I shall look further
• Torres is coming off of a 2 year layoff in which she had a whole baby - her recent fights before then have not really impressed me, either
• Torres does have good counter striking - she throws nearly the same volume as Ricci
• Torres does possess excellent takedown defense which is one of Ricci’s main paths to victory - however, Torres has been taken down at least once in a majority of her 15 UFC fights
• I do not enjoy the fact that Torres actually made Mackenzie Dern look good on the feet, though
• Ricci has two losses in the UFC, both to elite level competition - she has a standing TKO loss to Manon in her UFC debut, and a split decision loss to Loopy Godinez in her most recent bout
• When Ricci is not able to mix in takedowns, she starts to fade as the fight elongates - her only 2 UFC losses were fights in which she secured 0 takedowns, and her wins have included a minimum of 3 secured takedowns
• Torres hasn’t fought many elite grapplers, but when she has, she has let up some takedowns - gave up 2 to weili zhang in a decision loss, and gave up 10 to jessica andrade
• I ultimately think Ricci can edge this one out by mixing in takedowns and secure a very close decision victory

PICK: Tabatha Ricci by Split Decision
LW Bout: Terrance McKinney v. Esteban Ribovics
Records: 15-6 v. 12-1
Last 5 Fights: WWLLW v. WLWWW

• McKinney is the definition of kill or be killed - he has had 9 UFC bouts, and none have hit a round 2
• He has been cleanly KO’d three times, all by high level strikers
• It’s hard to give an exact breakdown on McKinney since his fights are so short - he is the king of winning the first minute of a fight regardless if he wins or loses the rest
• Ribovic, on the other side, has had 3 UFC bouts and has yet to be chinned in his professional career
• Ribovic’s one UFC loss came against Loik Radzibov, but that’s simply because Loik was able to take him down 11 times
• Although Ribovic’s takedown defense ain’t the best, he does possess world class boxing and has finished 11 of his 12 wins inside the distance, half Ko and half sub
• My main concern is Esteban’s level of competition -
• Prior to the UFC and even including the DWCS, Ribovic has fought nothing but cans with can records - in his 2 ufc fights, he has been unable to secure a finish and even has a loss
• Looking at Esteban’s one UFC win, he went up against a chinny Kamuela Kirk, threw over 100 strikes, and still was unable to get him out inside the distance
• Although he defeated Kirk, he definitely lost Round 1 since Kirk was constantly fishing for subs and held his back for a good portion of it
• Although Terrence is mainly a striker, I think he knows the path to victory is to chase takedowns, which he is more than capable of
• I suspect McKinney is going to avoid the heavy shots of Ribovic, although if you look at tape, it seems like that’s McKinney’s gameplan most of the time lol
• Ribovic does throw great combinations as well and has a great gas tank even after being wrestled
• Considering the odds, I am definitely placing a unit on McKinney and a smaller one on the prop I am taking him in
• I am also taking into account that McKinney has a RD1 sub finish over Fares Ziam, who is better on the ground than Ribovic is (in theory)

PICK: Terrence McKinney by RD1 Submission
LW Bout: Chase Hooper v. Viacheslav Borschev
Records: 13-3-1 v. 7-3-1
Last 5 Fights: WWLWL v. DWLLW

• This fight is the definition of striker v grappler
• Chase Hooper has had 8 fights in the UFC and looks to be improving in each one
• For someone with that many fights in the promotion, it’s interesting to note that he is only 24 years old
• The main concern with Hooper is his striking - he has looked good recently in that department, but only against sub-par strikers: he landed over 100 strikes on Nick Fiore who lands at a very low clip to begin with
• He was TKO’d in RD1 by Steve Garcia, although Garcia possesses elite power for the LW division with 5 KOs in the UFC across 7 fights
• Hooper is not going to have much success on the feet so I suspect he is going to relentlessly dive for takedowns
• Against a guy like Slava Claus, I am not sure if he will have much success
• Slava has had 5 UFC bouts, and his 2 losses came in fights he was taken down 9 times (Mike Davis) and 11 times (Mark Diakese)
• He was taken down another 4 times by Nadim Sadykov, but he managed to sneak a draw since he was able to make a comeback and hit Nadim with some wicked combinations in the later rounds
• My main concern for Slava is Hooper’s 5 inch reach advantage - Slava hasn’t had much success against longer, rangier fighters thus far
• Ultimately, I think Slava has improved his TD defense and ground game to the point where he will be able to avoid Hooper’s sub attempts, and I think Slava will simply outclass Hooper on the feet, leading to an eventual TKO victory

PICK: Viacheslav Borschev by RD2 KO
MAIN CARD
HW Bout: Waldo Cortes-Acosta v. Robellis Despaigne
Records: 11-1 v. 5-0
Last 5 Fights: WWLWW v. WWWWW

• Not much to cover on Despaigne besides the fact that he has knocked out his 5 MMA opponents all in the first round
• Despaigne’s last four fights have a combined time in the octagon of 37 seconds
• His right hook looks to be the punch of death similar to Alex Pereira’s left hook
• Cortes-Acosta is powerful and has proven that he can go the distance in a fight, something that we have not seen out of his opponent
• Acosta has yet to be chinned in the UFC, but his one UFC loss came when he was taken down 3 times by Rogerio De Lima
• This is going to be a standing affair for as long as it lasts
• As for Acosta, we know he has good volume striking and he can turn up the pace as the fight goes on, but honestly who knows what happens here
• Neither has ever been KO’d to sleep, neither are willing to take the fight to the ground, and neither has looked bad in the cage thus far
• Hard not to pick the guy that has 5 first round finishes in his 5 professional fights

PICK: Robelis Despaigne by RD1 KO
FeatherW Bout: Alex Caceres v. Sean Woodson
Records: 21-14 v. 11-1-1
Last 5 Fights: LWWLW v. WWDWW

• Sean Woodson comes into this fight with an obvious advantage in height and reach
• Woodson has the ability to end the fight early, with a round one finish against Collin Anglin and a second round flying knee knockout over Terrance McKinney and can also go the distance, his previous three fights all ending by decision
• Caceres knows to mix up his striking very well which could be an issue for Woodson
• Caceres can chop Woodson’s long legs and also focus on the body to control the distance and stay away from Woodson’s long reach
• Woodson has 3 KO wins on his record, which is low considering he comes from a boxing background
• Woodson’s takedown defense ranks amongst the best in the featherweight division, so I don’t see this fight getting the ground unless Woodson chooses to do so, considering he averages nearly 1 takedown per fight
• Woodson ever so slightly has outvolumed Caceras on a per minute basis, landing over 1 strike over Caceras
• Crazy to see that Caceres is now 35 considering we have been watching him advance throughout his MMA career in the UFC since he was 25
• If the Sodiq and Giga decisions had gone in his favor, he would be riding a 9 fight winning streak
• He landed very similar strkes to both of those men, but the main issue is the power: although he has been in the UFC for 10 years, he has only recorded ONE KO across 30 UFC fights
• I believe Woodson will have the power advantage and the overall striking technique to cruise to a decision victory here
• Caceres may find some hope in securing Woodson’s back from a standing position, but I doubt it considering just how long Woodson is
• Woodson also has a knack for winning decisions - the closer, the better

PICK: Sean Woodson by Unanimous Decision
LW Bout: Diego Ferreira vs. Mateusz Rebecki
Records: 18-5 v. 19-1
Last 5 Fights: WLLLW v. WWWWW

• Rebecki is one of the more touted prospects of the LW division considering he can mix in takedowns with his high level striking
• Rebecki hasn’t faced elite competition just yet - he did KO Loik Radzhabov, but his 2 canceled bouts could have told us a lot of information (Nurlston Alliev and Joel Alvarez)
• Going off stats, Rebecki lands at a higher clip on a per minute basis compared to Diego, and he averages over 4 takedowns per fight
• Rebecki is a classic case of a wrestler who gets his opponents fearing the takedown to the point that they drop their hands and leave openings on the feet
• Rebecki does have one KO loss, which occurred in his 4th professional fight, but I am not too concerned with him being chinny
• Looking over Ferreria’s career, he has really only lost to elite LWs: Porier, Dariush, Gamrot, and Gillespie
• Besides Porier, the common theme amongst those losses was the takedown - he was taken down a minimum 4 times in each of those bouts
• Diego is coming off of a highlight KO over Michael Johnson, but prior to that, he hadn’t fought since 2019
• I do think Diego is a live dog due to his experience and Rebecki’s lack of it and the fact that Diego is coming off of a KO win, but I ultimately have to side with the ever growing -400 favorite
• Rebecki simply has way more paths to victory than Diego, and I think he is able to control him for most of the bout
• Although he has faced elite grapplers, Diego has been tapped out a total of ZERO times, so I think a finish is going to be harder for Rebecki to find than expected

PICK: Mateusz Rebecki by Unanimous Decision
LHW Bout: Alonzo Menifield v. Carlos Ulberg
Records: 15-3-1 v. 9-1
Last 5 Fights: WWDWW v. WWWWW

• Both fighters are entering this bout in their apparent career primes
• Menifield was having trouble early in his UFC career, but recently has been putting it all together, amassing a 4 fight win streak (one draw in between) with 3 finishes in that span
• Ulberg very similar - he started his UFC career with a KO loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu and has won 5 fights since, with 4 finishes to boot
• Ulberg lands nearly double the strikes Menifield does over a 1 minute basis, which is pretty nuts considering this is the LHW division and we don't’ normally see someone landing over 7 strikes per minute
• Although, according to the stats, Ulberg technically lands more takedowns per fight, I’d argue that Menifield possesses the grappling/wrestling advantage here - we have some glimpses of his takedowns and they aren’t the worst/aren’t the best
• I suspect this is going to be a standing affair as long as it lasts
• Menifield’s most strikes landed in a fight was 56, compared to Ulberg who (in way less fights) eclipsed that number twice (81 and 146)
• Menifield’s usual main path to victory is KO since he relies on his power over his volume to win fights (he was nearly outstruck by double against Dustin Jacoby but secured a decision victory due to his knockdowns)
• Ulberg only struggles against wrestlegrappler types, and if this fight stays standing (which I think it will), I believe Ulberg has all the tools to outclass Menifield on the feet
• Menifield by KO is super live since we’ve seen Ulberg chinned before, but so too have we seen Menifield
• I think Menifield is going to get outstruck for two rounds and start to try to lunge at Ulberg to connect, which will lead to a KO victory - very similar to Menifield’s KO loss against OSP
• I see this fight being similar to Hill v Pereira - never bet against the world class kickboxer in a fight you know will stay on the feet

PICK: Carlos Ulberg by RD3 KO
WW Bout: Joaquin Buckley v. Nursulton Ruziboev
Records: 18-6 v. 34-8-2
Last 5 Fights: WWWLL v. WWWWW

• Joaquin Buckley has seen success since his weight switch from Middleweight to Welterweight with three consecutive victories in the division
• In order to successfully handicap this fight, we would need to look at how Buckley has done at his newer weight class
• He was taken down by Alex Morono once, but that was a super close fight that Buckley was able to secure with a third round flurry landing over 40 strikes in the round
• Buckley showed in his last fight that he can fight with the best as he displayed great distance control and did an amazing job at avoiding Vicente Luque’s kicks and even getting in close and showing off his combinations and ultimately getting the TKO victory
• If we try to seek Buckley’s main path to victory, we’d have to look at his opponent and how he has lost, considering he has 8 losses, 7 of which were at weltwerweight
• The last and only time Nursulton has been chinned was in his 3rd fight 10 years ago, so I am not too worried about a Buckley KO
• The one and only time Nursulton lost by sub was a lucky kimura his opponent landed off of his takedown
• His losses mainly come by way of decision, but he seems to know how to win fights nowadays since he is on a 10 fight winning streak since 2019
• Ruziboev began his UFC career at Middleweight where he had two KO finishes, both coming in the first round - weird considering he has 20 wins by submission and has yet to even attempt one
• I think Nursulton possesses more paths to victory here - he has the slight takedown edge, the slight grappling edge, and the power is almost equal
• So with that being said, I think Ruziboev can edge out a decision or get a late round finish over Buckley, a Buckley we have seen chinned multiple times against lesser competition
• We have also seen Buckley get controlled a lot against grapplers like Imavov, and we have seen Buckley get KO’d by way lesser competition like Alessi Di Chirico
• Exact prediction: Buckley edges RD1, Nursulton comes out firing for takedowns in RD2 and wins by RNC

PICK: Nursulton Ruziboev by RD2 Submission
HW Bout: Derrick Lewis v. Rodrigo Nascimento
Records: 27-12 v. 11-1 (1 NC)
Last 5 Fights: LWLLL v. WWW(NC)L

• Derrick Lewis is well-known for being one of the most powerful people that the UFC has ever seen, holding the record for most UFC KO’s
• Lewis, being a striker, has seen some struggles against wrestlers, as we saw against Jailton Almeida, who controlled him over 21 minutes in a 25 minute fight in what most consider to be a “snoozefest”
• Nascimento has had glimpses of showing off his ground game, with a submission win over Don’Tale Mayes in the second round of their fight
• In his fight against Tanner Boser, Nascimento had 3 takedowns with 8 minutes of control
• Nascimento’s main path to victory is going to try to get this fight to the ground, considering Lewis has struggled against high level wrestlers and was even submitted fairly early by Sergei Spivak after relinquishing 6 takedowns in one round
• Rodrigo has been knocked out in his UFC career by Chris Daukaus in the first minute of their fight which brings concern to his current bout with Lewis - also consider Lewis KO’d Daukus in RD1 himself
• Derrick Lewis has shown that he possesses explosive power that he displayed in multiple fights, most recently, we saw against Marcos Rogerio de Lima where he came right out of the gates with a flying knee
• Ultimately, I think Lewis can find the chin of Nascimento, and considering this is 5 rounds, he has plenty of time to do it
• In his most recent 5 round fight against Almeida, Lewis found success in the striking on occasion and nearly KO’d Almeida with vicious ground and pound (I understand he got controlled for 21 minutes but there were slivers of success)
• I think Lewis can gas Nascimento to the point he will find a later round finish - Nascimento might go all in on takedowns and pay the price later in the bout

PICK: Derrick Lewis by RD3 KO

Bray Wyatt was a truly brilliant man, a mastermind of creativity that brought to life characters, the likes of which we never dreamed we'd see in WWE.
From a cult leader to a funhouse to a fiend and many more iterations, Wyatt left an impact with his career and with his passing.
Many would say his career was cut too short and he had so much more to give, so much unrealized potential.
I'm sure by now we've all heard the rumors of Bo Dallas's return and the shoes of Bray's he looks to fill. I aim to write the best possible run for Bo to make for a respectable, iconic tribute run that would hopefully be a worthy successor to the legend that was Bray Wyatt.
NXT, 4/9/24:
It's the NXT after WrestleMania and the wrestling world is buzzing, especially given the fallout from Stand & Deliver.
Everyone is anxiously awaiting the tag team championship bout, however, right before introductions begin, a video airs.
[The scene opens with a dimly lit room, filled with eerie masks and props reminiscent of Bray Wyatt's countless ominous personas. Bo Dallas stands in the center, dressed in a black tuxedo, a ruby red rose tucked into the pocket. His expression is solemn as he gazes at the array of memorabilia.]
"My brother Bray... he was more than just a man. He was an enigma, a mastermind of both darkness and light. He taught me, not just about wrestling, but about life. About embracing the darkness within us and finding strength in it."
[Bo picks up a white sheep mask, running his fingers along its intricate details.]
"These masks... they're more than just fabric and paint. They're symbols of his creativity, his imagination. Each one tells a story, a story of the man who wore it. And now, it's up to me to carry on that legacy, to keep his memory alive."
[He pauses, a somber look crossing his face as memories flood his mind.]
"Bray and I... we shared a bond that went beyond blood. We were kindred spirits, wandering in the darkness together. And even though he's gone, I can still feel his presence, guiding me, urging me to continue the journey."
[Bo walks around the room, touching various items, each one invoking memories of Bray. He runs his fingers along the mask of Uncle Howdy, and bits of Bray's feud with LA Knight flicker across the screen. He passes by the sheep mask, and images of The Wyatt Family fill the picture, scenes of their destruction on full display. Bo dares to grip The Fiend mask last, and the monstrous reign of terror Bray went on is summarized with flashes of his darkest showings.]
"I may not be Bray Wyatt, but I am my brother's keeper. I am Bo Dallas. And I promise to honor his memory in everything I do. To carry on his legacy, to spread his message. Because that's what he would have wanted."
[As the camera fades to black, a single candle flickers in the darkness, illuminating Bo's determined expression, a symbol of hope in the face of loss.]
NXT, 4/16/24:
[The scene this week finds Bo Dallas in a ring, not the NXT ring, but at an undisclosed location, surrounded by eerie lighting and haunting music. His demeanor has shifted slightly, displaying hints of the madness that once defined his brother, Bray Wyatt.]
"Welcome, my friends, to the theater of the mind. Tonight, we embark on a journey into the dark limelight. For too long, I have walked in the shadows of greatness, but now, it's time for me to step into the spotlight."
[Bo's eyes gleam with an unsettling intensity as he speaks, his voice carrying a hint of the manicness that consumed Bray.]
"You see, I've spent my time wandering in the wilderness, searching for answers, seeking the truth that lies beneath the surface. And what I've found... it's both beautiful and terrifying."
[He paces around the ring, his movements fluid yet erratic, mirroring the unpredictability of his brother.]
"But fear not, for I am not alone in this journey. No, I carry with me the spirit of Bray Wyatt, my brother, my mentor, my lantern in the darkness. Together, we shall unleash chaos upon the world, for it is in chaos that true enlightenment is found."
[As he speaks, cryptic images flash across the screen, hinting at the impending madness that awaits. Two stand out, a smiley face with blood splattered on the bright yellow exterior, and an uber-realistic heart still beating, decorated with disturbing facial features, the eyes gouged out and grey bruises left in the sunken holes.]
"So to those who dare to stand in our way, know this: the reckoning is coming. The shadows will consume you, and you will be left to live in fear. For the madness of the mind knows no bounds, and soon, you will understand the true meaning of terror, the true face of fear."
[The camera zooms in on Bo's face, a wicked grin spreading across his lips as he stares into the abyss, indescribable intentions lining his tortured mind.]
NXT 4/23/24:
Bo Dallas vs Scrypts
[Bo Dallas finally makes his in ring return, to the brand he once called home, the brand he was once champion of. He enters to Feared, seemingly confirming his past role. Across the ring from him is the highly acrobatic Scrypts, eager to get an upset victory over the, presumably rusty, Bo Dallas.
In the closing moments of the match, Bo Dallas delivers a new finishing maneuver. He locks Scrypts in position for a Sister Abigail, kiss and all, before securing the head and falling back into a devastating DDT laying out Scrypts for the three-count. As the referee raises Dallas' hand in victory, the arena is left with a mixture of awe and fear, witnessing the emergence of a new force on the white and gold brand.]
NXT, 4/30/24:
Bo Dallas vs Davey Vega (Local Competitor)
[In the heart of the performance center, Bo Dallas stands ready, his gaze fixed on his opponent, Davey Vega, a local competitor stepping into the lion's den. From the opening bell, Dallas unleashes a relentless assault, showcasing the brutal side of his newfound madness.
As the match progresses, the referee is forced to intervene, calling for the bell and awarding the match to Bo Dallas via referee stoppage, signaling the end of Vega's valiant effort.
However, Dallas shows no signs of mercy, launching a vicious post-match assault on the defenseless Vega, driving home the message that he is not to be trifled with.
Suddenly, the arena erupts with the arrival of Axiom, charging down the ramp to confront Dallas and put an end to his rampage. Bo Dallas, unfazed by the interruption, simply smiles in response, leaving a chilling sense of uncertainty in his wake as he retreats from the ring.]
NXT, 5/7/24:
The week after Bo Dallas bludgeoned a local competitor who was thankfully rescued by Axiom, a video airs detailing Bo's thoughts on this 'heroic' act.
[The scene opens with eerie music playing in the background as the screen flickers to life, revealing a dimly lit room. In the center of the frame, Bo Dallas sits, his expression veiled in shadows, radiating an aura of malevolence.]
"Axiom, my dear adversary, I have a message for you. A message that carries with it the weight of inevitability.
You see, Axiom, you and I... we exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. Where you seek light, I revel in darkness. Where you find solace, I find chaos. And in that chaos, there lies a power that few ever get to feel."
[As he speaks, the camera zooms in on Bo's face, revealing a sinister grin that twists his features into an unsettling visage.]
"But fear not, for I am not here to harm you... yet. No, I am here to offer you a choice. A choice that will define your destiny, a choice that will determine what kind of man you're going to be left as."
[His words hang in the air, heavy with implication and menace.]
"So heed my warning, Axiom, because I'm not a bad person. I don't wish to harm you. Believe me, it will hurt me more than it will hurt you, and that's truly, truly saying something. The choice is yours... choose wisely."
[With a flicker, the screen fades to black, leaving behind an ominous silence that lingers long after Bo's message has ended.]
Later that night, we cut to a scene of Axiom & Nathan Frazer in the locker room with Nathan Frazer anxiously pacing back and forth, his expression wrought with concern. Axiom, his tag team partner, stands nearby.
"Axiom, listen to me... I've got a bad feeling about this. You can't take this match with Bo Dallas. It's like... like there's something dark hovering over him, something... unnatural."
Axiom furrows his brow, puzzled by Nathan's urgency.
"Nathan, what are you talking about? We've faced tough opponents before. Hell, we just won the NXT Tag Team Championships last month. Bo Dallas is just another challenge for us to overcome."
"No, this is...this is different. I can't explain it, but, I know, somehow, that this guy is bad news."
The lights flicker, as Nathan's eyes begin to dart, wary of... something.
"Axiom, please, I'm begging you... don't do this."
Axiom shakes his head, his determination unwavering despite Nathan's pleas.
"I appreciate your concern, I really do. But I can't back down from this. Bo may be...troubled, but I refuse to let fear dictate my actions. We've trained hard for moments just like this, and, just imagine what it'll do for us if I beat a former NXT champion."
Nathan's shoulders slump in defeat, realizing that his words have fallen on deaf ears.
"Just... promise me you'll be careful. Promise me you'll watch your back. There's something... something sinister about him. I'm afraid that if you face Bo Dallas, you won't come out of it the same."
Axiom nods solemnly, trying to show Frazer that he takes his concerns seriously. He reassures Nathan that he's got this, and by this time next week, they will be on the road to bigger and better things. He goes to get the match made official, leaving Nathan alone with his dark premonitions.
NXT, 5/14/24:
In the backstage area, dimly lit and filled with an air of anticipation, Bo Dallas prepares for his upcoming match against Axiom. Dressed in his ominous attire, reminiscent of his brothers, but with a touch of his own style. He methodically wraps his hands with tape, his mind focused on the task at hand. Suddenly, Joe Gacy appears, his smile warm and inviting as he approaches Dallas.
"Bo, my friend! I just wanted to say, I've been admiring your work lately. Your commitment to embracing your darker side is truly inspiring. For example, what you're going to do to Axiom tonight. If a guy like that doesn't want to listen to guys like us when we're warning him, begging him not to oppose us. Well, they get what they deserve."
Bo Dallas, though polite, eyes Gacy warily, sensing an underlying tension beneath his seemingly friendly demeanor.
"Thanks, Joe. I appreciate the... kind words. But let me ask you something...I hear your gospel, and you preach a lot about redemption. Do you truly believe in redemption? Or are you just using it as an excuse to justify your own actions?"
Gacy's smile wavers slightly at the question, but he quickly regains his composure.
"Of course, Bo. Redemption is a core belief of mine. I believe that everyone, no matter how lost they may seem, deserves a chance at redemption. Even those who have embraced their darker nature."
Bo Dallas nods, though the skepticism still lingers.
"Because you know, guys like us, of course. We don't make apologies, we don't make excuses, we don't need redemption. If you feel that you do, well, maybe you're nothing like me at all."
Before either can dive deeper into the conversation, a stagehand interrupts, signaling that it's time for Bo's match.
"We'll continue this conversation later, Joe. Right now, I have a match to focus on."
With a curt nod, Dallas strides off towards the ring, leaving Gacy standing alone in the dimly lit hallway, his smile masking the darkness that lurks beneath the surface. As Dallas's theme music echoes through the arena, Gacy watches with a knowing glint in his eyes, hinting at the turbulent confrontation yet to come.
Axiom vs Bo Dallas
[The arena buzzes as Axiom makes his entrance, his determination palpable in the air as he clutches his Tag Title strap. Across the ring, Bo Dallas stands, a sinister grin etched on his face as he eagerly awaits his opponent.
As the bell rings, Axiom explodes into action, showcasing his high-flying prowess with dazzling maneuvers, but Bo Dallas is unfazed, meeting Axiom's athleticism with a ruthless onslaught of dirty tactics and underhanded tricks.
Bo sinks to new depths of depravity, resorting to underhanded tactics such as eye rakes and choking Axiom with the ring ropes when the referee's back is turned. He strategically targets Axiom's limbs, ruthlessly wrenching at joints and ligaments with painful submission holds, eliciting agonized screams from his opponent. At one point, Bo viciously slams Axiom's knee into the ring post, causing a sickening crunch that echoes throughout the arena, leaving Axiom writhing in pain on the mat.
He repeatedly drives his knee into Axiom's ribs with malicious intent, ignoring the referee's warnings and relishing in the damage he deals.
Despite the odds stacked against him, Axiom refuses to back down, channeling his inner resilience to mount a comeback against his twisted adversary. With every leap and flip, he defies gravity, inciting faint Axiom chants that become even fainter as the finish nears.
Axiom attempts a shooting star from the top rope and gets caught in Sister Abigail positioning, kiss, DDT. Commentary dubs it Grim Affection. A dominant victory for Bo Dallas over a game Axiom.
"I told you, Axiom, that you had a choice to make. A choice to define your destiny, to decide what kind of man was going to be left. You... you didn't believe me."
Bo drops the mic and drags Axiom out of the ring. He nears the announce desk and begins slamming Axiom's head into the table. Again, and again, and again. Repeatedly. After several sickening collisions with the desk, medical personnel back Bo up and wring his grip off of Axiom's neck.
Perhaps, people should be asking what drove Bo to do this, how he could do this, but then again, he did warn us. Rather, one question seems to linger.
Where was Nathan Frazer?]
NXT, 5/21/24:
Bo Dallas vs Riley Osborne
The following week, Bo Dallas is paired up with the impressive up and comer, Riley Osborne. Osborne, a dynamic highflyer known for his breath-taking maneuvers, brings an energy to the match that contrasts sharply with Dallas's dark and brooding presence.
With Dallas in the driver's seat, Joe Gacy emerges from the shadows, making his way to ringside with his trademark smile firmly in place. His presence unnerves Dallas, who becomes increasingly distracted by Gacy's watchful gaze.
Sensing an opportunity, Osborne seizes the moment, launching a series of high-flying attacks that leave Dallas reeling. With the crowd firmly behind him, Osborne delivers a flurry of strikes and aerial maneuvers, building momentum and gaining the advantage.
However, just as it seems that Osborne may secure the victory, Gacy interjects himself into the match, distracting the referee and creating an opening for Dallas to strike. Seizing the opportunity, Dallas delivers a devastating blow to the back of Osborne's head, knocking him to the mat and leaving him vulnerable to Grim Affection.
Dallas quickly executes the DDT, driving Osborne's head into the canvas with brutal force. Dallas covers Osborne for the pinfall victory, all the while, keeping a weary eye on Joe Gacy. His victory tainted by the interference.
As Dallas stands victorious in the ring, Gacy watches from ringside, his smile wider than ever as he silently applauds Dallas's triumph, his motivations indeterminable.
Backstage, Bo strides purposefully towards Gacy, his expression a mix of frustration and curiosity. Gacy stands nearby, his back turned to the approaching Dallas.
"Joe, we need to talk. What the hell made you think you could get involved in my match?"
Joe turns to face Dallas, his smile unwavering despite the tension in the air.
"Bo, it's simple. I got involved because that's what friends do. We look out for each other, we support each other, no matter what."
Dallas narrows his eyes, unpleased with the explanation.
"Friends, huh? Joe, let me make something clear to you. You and me are not friends. You talk about 'guys like us.' but if you were really anything like me, you'd know, guys like us don't get the luxury of friendship. Stay out of my way."
Dallas walks off, leaving Gacy alone in the dimly lit hallway, feeling confident his warning will be the last he hears from Gacy. As Gacy watches Dallas's retreating figure, his smile fades slightly, a hint of the darkness leaking out behind his facade of friendliness.
NXT, 5/28/24:
In the aftermath of Dallas's confrontation with Joe backstage, tensions between the two competitors continue to simmer beneath the surface. As Dallas prepares for his next match, Gacy lurks in the shadows, his smile masking the intentions that lie beneath.
Bo Dallas vs Je'Von Evans
As Dallas steps into the ring to face off with the spry Evans, Gacy watches from ringside, his presence a constant reminder of the brewing conflict between them. Throughout the match, Dallas's focus is split between Je'Von and Gacy, the unsettling feeling of being watched lingering on his mind.
As the match reaches its climax, Gacy's interference once again comes into play, this time in the form of distraction tactics that allow Evans to gain the upper hand, ending his dominant sequence with a huracanrana to send Dallas out of the ring. Frustrated by Gacy's meddling, Dallas lashes out, confronting Gacy at ringside.
"What are you doing?! I told you to stay out of my business."
"I'm just trying to help, Bo. Can't you see that? We're in this together, whether you like it or not."
The confrontation between Dallas and Gacy escalates, drawing the attention of the referee and the audience alike. Sensing an opportunity, Je'Von seizes the moment, delivering a springboard crossbody that leaves Dallas smashed against the barricade.
As the match comes to a close, Dallas finds himself on the receiving end of a corkscrew frogsplash, pinned to the mat as the referee issues the three-count. Gacy watches from ringside, his smile wider than ever as he revels in Dallas's defeat.
As Dallas staggers to his feet, his anger evident, Gacy offers a mocking clap of applause, his smile taunting Dallas from across the ring.
NXT, 6/4/24:
The following week, Bo is obviously beside himself, given his first loss since returning due to the meddling nature of Joe Gacy. He wants answers, and he gets them, but they are perhaps...not what he expected
The video opens with a dimly lit room, casting eerie shadows across the walls. In the center of the frame, in an old rocking chair, sits Joe Gacy. He's surrounded by a cluttered array of photos, newspaper clippings, and pins connected by lengths of yarn. His expression is intense, bordering on obsessive, as he addresses the camera.
"Greetings, my friends. I wanted to take a moment to share something with you. Something that has been weighing heavily on my mind as of late."
He gestures to the wall behind him, where a complex web of connections links various images together.
"You see, I've been doing some... research. Trying to understand the connections between us all, the threads that bind us together."
He points to individual photos, each depicting familiar figures, including Alexa Bliss, Bo Dallas, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, and even the iconic sheep mask.
"Bo Dallas... Bray Wyatt... They're more than just competitors to me. They're kindred spirits, souls bound by a shared vision of darkness and redemption. And now, with their guidance, I seek to create something truly special."
His voice takes on a fervent tone, his eyes gleaming with manic intensity.
"You may call me a fan, a devotee of their work. But I see myself as something more. I am a disciple, a vessel through which their legacy will live on. Together, Bo and me will forge a new path, a new family built on the foundations of their greatness."
As the camera zooms in on Gacy's face, his smile widens, revealing a hint of madness lurking beneath the surface.
"So to Bo, my dear friend and partner in crime, I say this: embrace the chaos, embrace the darkness, and together, we will create something truly extraordinary."
With a final unsettling chuckle, Gacy reaches forward to turn off the camera, a squeak echoing from the rocking chair and cascading across the disturbed audience.
NXT, Battleground:
Bo Dallas vs Joe Gacy
As the lights dim in the UFC Apex arena, anticipation hangs heavy in the air as Bo Dallas and Joe Gacy make their way to the ring, their paths on a collision course fueled by obsession.
From the opening bell, Gacy wastes no time in asserting his dominance, launching a relentless assault on Dallas with a combination of technical prowess and psychological warfare. Gacy taunts Dallas, insisting that he needs Gacy to unlock his true potential, but Dallas remains defiant, refusing to give in to Gacy's grand delusion.
Despite Gacy's mind games, Dallas fights back with a fierce determination, fueled by a desire for revenge against the man who has cost him victories and sought to manipulate him. The two competitors trade blows in a brutal back-and-forth, each refusing to back down in their quest for supremacy.
As the match reaches its climax, Gacy's desperation becomes apparent as he resorts to underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand. He attempts to lure Dallas into his twisted worldview, promising power and redemption through submission to his will, both literally and figuratively as he traps Dallas in Hell's Gate. Dallas sees through Gacy's deception, though, refusing to be swayed by his false promises and makes it to the ropes.
In a dramatic turn of events, Dallas mounts a ferocious comeback, unleashing a barrage of strikes that leave Gacy reeling. With the crowd rallying behind him, Dallas summons every ounce of strength to overcome Gacy.
In the final moments of the match, Gacy attempts his handspring lariat, but Dallas catches him! Dallas has him in position and connects with Grim Affection, Gacy's delusion shattered in the face of Dallas's unwavering resolve. With a triumphant roar, Dallas secures the victory, standing tall.
As Dallas celebrates his hard-fought victory, Gacy slinks away into the shadows, his facade of superiority crumbling under the weight of his defeat.
NXT, 6/11/24:
On the NXT following Battleground, Bo Dallas makes his way to the ring. He details how Gacy was one of the hardest fights of his career and he has a newfound respect for him. Gacy is clearly...confused about any potential connection he may have to Dallas, but Dallas has been a man of much confusion in the past and he can sympathize.
He asks Gacy to come out to the ring so Dallas can shake his hand after their war at Battleground. Instead, Gallus's music hits, the trio of bruisers signaling their arrival. The Coffey Brothers & Wolfgang have been on a Shield-esque run recently, terrorizing anyone they deem a threat to their success and dissecting them via the numbers game.
As Gallus surround the ring, preventing Dallas from making an escape, they bore their eyes into a trepidatious Bo.
Just as the wolfpack is about to swarm, Love Is Blind hits and Joe Gacy runs down wielding a steel chair. He jabs Wolfgang in the gut, and levels Mark Coffey with chair shots as well. This leaves Joe vulnerable to Dallas's attack, laying out Coffey. Coffey flees from the right side of the ring as Gacy enters from the left. Gacy and Dallas end up bumping, back to back, into each other.
They stare each other down cautiously, before Dallas sticks out his hand, Gacy shakes it and the two unlikely bedmates stand united against Gallus.
NXT, 6/18/24:
Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy vs Gallus (The Coffey Brothers)
[With Dallas & Gacy seemingly aligning for the moment, with the numbers game of Gallus being too great for either to overcome alone, this match is made.
Joe & Mark Coffey showcase their brawling ways and take the fight to Dallas, wearing him down throughout the match. It's not until Bo makes a hot tag to Joe Gacy that tides start to turn.
Gacy matches the brutality of Coffey and battles back as the freshest competitor in the match. As Gacy closes in on a victory, Dallas clears out Wolfgang at ringside who was attempting to get involved.
A moment later, Gacy is pinning Mark to secure the win for him and Bo.]
Later that night, Bo and Gacy run into Gacy's old running mate and NXT General Manager, Ava. She says that she was impressed with their performance and if they're interested in accepting it, would like to offer a Tag Team Title opportunity to them next week.
Joe looks to Dallas for his answer, and Bo agrees to the match. It seems Joe is finally getting his wish, to team with a man who's work he's admired for some time in Bo Dallas.
NXT, 6/25/24:
Axiom & Nathan Frazer (c) vs Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy: NXT Tag Team Championship Match
[Ever since Bo's encounter with Axiom, there's been tensions between Axiom & Frazer. Frazer has been somewhat absent, slacking in comparison to Axiom's extreme efforts. Not to mention, Nathan's choice to let Dallas brutally beat on him last month.
Earlier in the night, it's made clear that Frazer's most egregious example of this recent behavior is taking place at the most inopportune time. Axiom first gives an interview early in the show, Nathan isn't here yet but Axiom stays confident in their defense tonight. Axiom later voices concern to Ava over Nathan not being here yet. Finally, Axiom finds a note in his locker, clearly informing Axiom that Nathan isn't coming.
Axiom is asked pre match about these developments, the champion states he's going to go out there and vigorously defend his title, and if he fails...well he's no longer got a tag team partner, maybe he shouldn't be a tag team champion.
It's a big fight feel with the tag team titles up for grabs, but once Dallas and Gacy finish making their entrance, Axiom enters alone. The handicap is evident as despite Axiom's valiant efforts, the revolving door of tags from his opponents keeps him weak.
Axiom unleashes a series of big maneuvers on both men, fighting his heart out until his last breath. Axiom dives onto Dallas at ringside and attempts to on Gacy as well, but gets tossed into the ring apron. Gacy sends him back in and flattens him with a handspring lariat. He feeds Axiom to Dallas who lands Grim Affection.
With that, the Tag Team Championships now belong to Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy. A defeated Axiom writhes on the canvas, a harrowing loss noticably affecting him.]
NXT, 7/2/24:
It's the week after the big Tag Title victory, and Dallas & Gacy make their entrance, eager to celebrate Gacy's first WWE Title and Dallas's first in over a decade.
They seem very giddy to be Champions, Dallas compliments Gacy's vision and states that Joe knew they would make a great team even when Bo didn't want to accept it.
Dallas states that when he first came back, he was nervous, nervous he wouldn't live up to that legacy, fill those boots. Thanks to Gacy though, it was easier than Bo expected and know that he's got gold, he can finally relax. He feels that weight off of his shoulders.
This seems to unsettle Gacy who states that the hard part has just begun though and it's time to put in their best work. The tag titles are just phase one of the plan. Dallas says that, eventually sure, maybe they'll go after other titles and bigger things, but for now, this feels comfortable for Bo.
Gacy simply stares at him for a moment until Edris Enofé and Malik Blade arrive. Gacy turns away from Dallas to spot the young, hungry tag team. Enofé and Blade state that they are one of the longest tenured teams in NXT right now and they deserve a tag team title shot.
Dallas tries to tell them they'll need to earn it, not seeing the irony of how easy his road to the titles has been, Gacy however accepts on Bo's behalf and schedules the match for later tonight.
Joe tries to talk some sense into Bo backstage, letting Bo know that Gacy helped him capture gold as a way to inspire Bo to work harder, to fulfill his destiny and truly become great with Gacy. Dallas shouldn't become comfortable right now, now is when you double down on that effort and become undeniable. Dallas seems disinterested.
Bo Dallas & Joe Gacy (c) vs Edris Enofé & Malik Blade: Tag Team Championship Match
[The enthusiastic team of Enofé and Blade have the biggest opportunity of their young careers, as they take on two established foes with NXT tag gold on the line. The very different styles contrast throughout, the aggressive, smash-mouth style of Bo and Gacy opposite the adrenaline fueled, fast paced Edris and Blade.
It begins to look unlikely that the challengers will have a chance to fulfill their long awaited dream as Dallas and Gacy continuously cut off their momentum.
In a last gasp effort, Blade is able to turn the tides and neutralize Gacy at ringside, this leaves Dallas vulnerable to Enofé who closes the gap by standing on the back of Dallas and dropping into a DDT. Bo somehow gets the shoulder up, and Edris directs Malik to the top rope. Swanton Bomb by Blade, cover by Edris. New Tag Team Champions.]
After the bout, Gacy hugs a distraught Dallas. Bo is facing away from the camera, Gacy is facing towards it. Gacy whispers something in Bo's ear before planting a kiss on the side of his head. Dallas turns around just as Gacy connects with a handspring lariat. Joe stands over the flattened Dallas, and in disappointment, leaves the ring.
NXT Heatwave:
Bo Dallas vs Joe Gacy, Love & War:
[The stage is set for a hazardous clash as Bo Dallas and Joe Gacy step into the ring for their Love & War Match, a twisted variation of an Extreme Rules bout. The atmosphere is personal, the hurt of betrayal evident on the face of Bo, as the two rivals lock eyes, each determined to emerge victorious.
As the bell rings, Bo Dallas wastes no time in unleashing his pent-up frustration on Joe Gacy, launching a relentless assault with a steel chair in hand. Gacy, however, remains cool and composed, dodging Dallas's swings with ease before retaliating with a series of calculated strikes ending in a bodyslam on the open chair.
The match quickly spills to the outside, where Dallas sends Gacy crashing into the steel steps with a vicious Irish whip. The impact reverberates through the arena as Gacy writhes in pain on the cold concrete floor. Gacy eye pokes Dallas and tries for a sit-out piledriver on the bottom set of stairs, the top set tipped over beside it.
Dallas connects with a back body drop, though, sending Gacy cascading into the top half of the stairs. Back inside the ring, Dallas sets up a table in the corner, his eyes burning with determination as he prepares to put an end to Gacy's deception once and for all. Following a Sunset Flip, Dallas shows his strength, carrying Gacy across the ring and sending him crashing through the table with a devastating powerbomb, the wood splintering beneath the force of the impact.
But Gacy refuses to stay down, rallying back with a barbed wire bat in hand. With a sadistic grin, Gacy swings the bat at Dallas, striking him across the back with brutal force. The barbed wire tears at Dallas's flesh, leaving behind a trail of blood as he staggers back in agony.
Gacy introduces a ladder, propping it up in the corner, he slingshots Dallas into the hard steel. The ladder is set on Bo's neck, trapping his head in the middle of it, Gacy connects with a german suplex while Bo's head is trapped.
Joe fishes out a barbed wire wrapped table, setting it up outside the ring. Gacy re-enters and spots a vulnerable Dallas. He attempts a handspring lariat, but as soon as he goes upside down into the ropes, Bo spears Gacy, driving both men out of the ring.
Dallas and Gacy brawl on the apron, footsteps away from the barbed wire table. Gacy gets Dallas sat against the steel post and attempts a cannonball, Dallas pulls himself into the ring last second and Gacy crashes into the steel post.
Dallas runs the ropes and connects with a suicide spear through the barbed wire table. With Gacy reeling from the impact, Dallas seizes the opportunity to end the match once and for all. He sets a table ablaze in ring, the flames licking at the sky as he hoists Gacy into the squared circle.
Dallas sets up the ladder and begins to climb, he's thinking an elbow drop on the downed Gacy, but Joe climbs and gets Dallas in a fireman's carry position. Bo frees himself and gets Gacy in electric chair position.
The crowd waits in baited breath, as with a primal roar, Dallas falls backwards with Gacy on his shoulders, from fifteen feet in the air, into the table, the fire consuming them both in a blaze of glory. The crowd erupts into cheers as the referee counts the three-count, declaring Bo Dallas the winner of the Love & War Match.
As Dallas stands tall amidst the smoldering wreckage, a sense of catharsis washes over him, his victory a symbol of triumph over betrayal. As he gazes down at Gacy's body though, one thought runs through his head, a thought that scares him to his core, it's implications undeniable.
"That was fun."
WWE uploads an exclusive backstage video showing Gacy approach Bo. Dallas is on edge and stiffens up, Gacy grabs him by his face.
"Good. Now go fulfill your destiny."
Gacy claps Dallas on the chest and leaves, leaving Bo in a mix of emotions as he is forced to consider Gacy's betrayal may have been a selfless action.]
RAW, 7/15/24:
SummerSlam is just over two weeks away and things are heating up. Shortly before the respective parties make their entrance for the main event of the evening, a video airs.
[The camera flickers to life revealing the familiar face of one Bo Dallas, coming off arguably the most brutal match of his career and an enigmatic piece of advice from Joe Gacy.]
"It's been said that those who are baptized in the darkness, cannot handle the light, for it will surely blind them. As I stand here today, I feel the weight of those words.
I've spent so long living in fear, fear of not living up to those who came before me..."
[Flashes of The US Express and Bray Wyatt shoot across the screen.]
"Fear of failing."
[This time, flashes of Bo's initial run with WWE, losing his winning streak to R-Truth and then beginning his losing streak.]
"Fear...of judgement."
[Bo, previously staring at the ground, gazes up.]
"I thought I'd be able to feel him, but not like this. He's... he's everywhere. In everyone he's ever stood across the ring from. One man, he stands out in particular, not for no rhyme or reason, see my brother...he knew this man very well.
SummerSlam is fast approaching and I just wouldn't miss it for the world. And as for my opponent? Well, discretion is the better part of válor.
I can't tell you that part just yet, one thing I can tell you though? I am not afraid...anymore."
[The gaze of Bo stagnates on screen prior to the feed cutting off.]
RAW, 7/22/24:
Towards the end of the show, a big match occurs, harkening back to their days in NXT fighting over the top title, Finn Bálor collides with Pete Dunne in singles action.
It's a hard hitting affair, with McDonagh & Bate getting involved as well. Bálor scores the triumphant victory off his patented Coup De Grace. McDonagh has long disappeared, fighting with Bate to the backstage area.
Suddenly the lights go out, dimming section by section. Chills coat Bálor's body as deja vu swarms him. He's been here before.
Suddenly, Bo Dallas appears behind Finn Bálor, a single swinging spotlight allowing him to be seen. Bálor turns around and gets caught with a forearm to the face. Dallas drags him up and connects with Grim Affection.
Bo sits in the corner of the ring, murmuring to himself. The message is clear, Bo Dallas has set his sights on Finn Bálor.
RAW, 7/29/24:
The go home episode of RAW before SummerSlam, another video from Bo airs.
"My brother was a troubled man with a troubled mind. He loved this business more than anything else, and he gave his life to it. Bray was always...erratic, different and he was judged for it, believe me. I remember, five years ago, Bray called me in the middle of the night and just started to ramble about this thing. This thing that was going to finally make him. He was obsessed with the prospect of fear, fear is power, and Bray is a man who often had his power stripped from him. Fear was his way of getting it back.
In Toronto, maybe for the first time, Bray was a truly fearsome man, and with that, he became truly, truly powerful. Five years ago, Finn, you were the example. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
I have a question for you, Finn, when you are at the center of all of the judgement that you cast, will you survive? I suppose I'll get my answer, on August 3rd."
[Bo settles back into his chair, contemplating before continuing.]
"You were supposed to be someone, Finn, there's a reason my brother targeted you in the first place, he saw that same darkness that he never could resist. That darkness though, is gone now. You've spent so much time...chasing rabbits. You've lost sight of who you were meant to be.
I fear, now, it's too late. There's nothing left of you to salvage, which is bad news for you, but very good news for me. Feeble as you are, you will be a perfect example, a sign of things to come, a canvas for which I will paint with my demons. Finn, I will ensure you do not die in vain, your sacrifice will be very, very worthy.
In five days, I become, for the first time, truly powerful. And in five days, Finn, you will find, we're all mad here."
[Bo exits the room as a small white rabbit skitters on to the desk in front of the camera.]

The War Scroll, also known as the "War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," is a unique text within the Dead Sea Scrolls that portrays an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good (Sons of Light) and evil (Sons of Darkness). This scroll provides insight into both historical and symbolic elements.
Historical Accuracy:
The War Scroll, while containing detailed military tactics and an epic narrative of the ultimate confrontation, doesn't explicitly reference any specific historical event or timeframe. Some scholars believe it could be a product of the community's anticipation of a future messianic conflict or a reflection of their own community's struggles against opposing forces during their time. Interpreting the historical accuracy of the scroll often involves exploring the context of the Qumran community and the turbulent times in which they lived.
Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:
The War Scroll goes beyond a mere description of a physical battle. It portrays a cosmic conflict between the forces of light and darkness, reflecting not just a literal warfare but also a symbolic and spiritual struggle. The text emphasizes righteousness, divine intervention, and the victory of good over evil.
Within the study guide, activities and exercises could involve dissecting the symbolic elements present in the War Scroll, exploring the deeper meanings behind the battle tactics and the metaphysical implications of the conflict. Understanding the symbolism could involve group discussions, comparative analysis with other ancient texts with similar themes, and exploring the impact of this symbolic representation on the community's beliefs and practices.
Here are a few activities and exercises to explore the symbolism and historical context of the War Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

1. Symbolism Analysis:

Provide excerpts from the War Scroll and encourage participants to identify and discuss the symbolic meanings behind elements like the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness," various weapons, and the strategies outlined for battle. Group discussions or written reflections can help participants explore the deeper layers of meaning.

1. Comparative Analysis:

Compare the War Scroll's themes with similar apocalyptic or eschatological texts from different cultures or religions, such as apocalyptic passages in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible or apocalyptic texts from other ancient traditions. Create worksheets or discussion prompts to highlight similarities and differences in themes, symbols, and beliefs about cosmic battles.

1. Historical Context Exploration:

Present historical information about the era when the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. Discuss the political, social, and religious climate of that time, including the turmoil in the region, to understand how these factors might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll. Encourage participants to consider the possible motivations behind the text's creation.

1. Creative Interpretation:

Encourage creative expression by asking participants to create artwork, poems, or short stories inspired by the themes and imagery found in the War Scroll. This exercise allows individuals to engage more deeply with the symbolic elements and interpret them in their own unique ways.

1. Role-playing or Debates:
   Organize a role-playing activity where participants take on the roles of "Sons of Light" and "Sons of Darkness," debating their ideologies, motivations, and strategies for the ultimate battle. This exercise helps in understanding differing perspectives and interpreting the conflicts presented in the scroll.
   

Interpretative variations regarding the river's crossing in different ancient texts reflect the unique religious, philosophical, and cultural perspectives embedded within these narratives. These differences in interpretation offer insights into diverse worldviews and varying theological frameworks present in ancient texts:

1. Mesopotamian Context:

• In Mesopotamian mythology and literature, the Euphrates River often held symbolic significance as a boundary between the known civilized world and the wild, unknown realms. The crossing of the Euphrates could symbolize journeys into unexplored territories or transitions between order and chaos. This perspective reflects a worldview rooted in the physical and geographical division of lands.

1. Biblical Context:

• In biblical texts, such as those in the Book of Revelation or Old Testament prophecies, the crossing of the Euphrates carries eschatological significance. It may represent a divine intervention or a decisive moment in God's plan, marking the commencement of apocalyptic events. This interpretation aligns with the biblical narrative of divine judgment and the unfolding of God's ultimate purpose in history.

1. Gnostic or Apocryphal Context:

• Gnostic or apocryphal texts often interpret the river's crossing as a symbolic liberation or awakening. It might signify the release of spiritual forces or the ascent to higher consciousness, reflecting a philosophical perspective emphasizing spiritual enlightenment and liberation from material constraints.

1. Greco-Roman Interpretation:

• In Greco-Roman literature, crossings of rivers were often associated with mythological journeys or transitions between realms. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize a transition from mundane existence to a realm of mystery or spiritual significance, reflecting a cultural perspective rooted in mythology and cosmology.

These varied interpretations highlight the richness and diversity of religious, philosophical, and cultural frameworks present in ancient texts. The river's crossing serves as a flexible symbol that adapts to different narratives, conveying themes of transition, judgment, liberation, or cosmic transformation based on the unique perspectives of each tradition.
Exploring these interpretative variations allows participants to appreciate the complexity of symbolism within ancient texts and provides insights into how different cultures and belief systems interpreted common motifs like the river Euphrates. It showcases the intricate interplay between religious, philosophical, and cultural elements shaping the symbolism and theological implications embedded in these narratives.
The river Euphrates, a prominent geographic feature in ancient texts, embodies universal themes that transcend specific cultural contexts. Identifying these universal themes helps reveal shared human concepts of transition, boundaries, and transformative events across diverse ancient traditions:

1. Threshold and Transition:

• The Euphrates often symbolizes a boundary between known and unknown territories. Its crossing represents a transition from one state to another, signifying a pivotal moment of change or passage. This theme of crossing a threshold echoes the human experience of transitions in life, moving from familiar to unfamiliar realms.

1. Boundary and Separation:

• As a geographical boundary, the Euphrates signifies separation between distinct territories or civilizations. This concept of demarcation resonates with universal human experiences of setting boundaries, delineating spaces, or marking divisions between different aspects of life.

1. Transformative Events:

• Crossing the Euphrates is often associated with cosmic or transformative events in ancient texts. This universal theme reflects the human fascination with the concept of epochal change, cosmic upheavals, or moments of divine intervention that reshape the course of history.

1. Symbol of Power and Control:

• The river might represent a symbol of power, control, or geopolitical significance. Crossing it could signify shifts in dominance, challenges to established authority, or the assertion of influence. This theme resonates with human narratives of power struggles and shifts in societal dynamics.

1. Metaphor for Spiritual Journeys:

• Across cultures, rivers are often used metaphorically to represent spiritual journeys or quests. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize the pursuit of enlightenment, the passage to higher realms of understanding, or the quest for spiritual transformation.

These universal themes associated with the river Euphrates highlight fundamental aspects of the human experience—transitions, boundaries, transformative events, power dynamics, and spiritual journeys. The river's symbolism in ancient texts speaks to shared human aspirations, struggles, and beliefs that transcend cultural boundaries and resonate across different epochs and civilizations.
By identifying and discussing these universal themes, participants gain a deeper appreciation for the profound symbolism embedded in ancient texts and recognize the timeless relevance of concepts such as transition, boundaries, and transformative events in shaping human narratives and aspirations.

1. Historical Context:

• What historical events or societal conditions might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll?
  
• How does the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contribute to our understanding of this text's significance?
  

1. Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:

• How does the War Scroll use symbolism to convey spiritual or cosmic themes?
  
• What esoteric wisdom or deeper spiritual insights can be derived from the portrayal of cosmic conflict and divine intervention within the text?
  

1. Comparative Analysis:

• Compare the themes and symbolism of the War Scroll with other apocalyptic texts from different cultures (e.g., Book of Revelation, The Book of Daniel). What common motifs or differences in interpretation do you observe?

1. Parallelism in Biblical Texts:

• Explore connections between the War Scroll and other biblical texts. How does the language, imagery, or themes in the War Scroll intersect with passages from the Hebrew Bible or New Testament?

1. Community Beliefs and Practices:

• How might the apocalyptic expectations depicted in the War Scroll have influenced the beliefs and practices of the community that produced it?
  
• Discuss the impact of such intense anticipation of cosmic conflict on communal life and religious rituals within the community.
  

1. Cultural Significance of Cosmic Battles:

• Across various ancient cultures, why do you think depictions of cosmic battles and eschatological events were significant? What might these narratives represent in a broader cultural context?

1. Interpretive Variations and Unique Perspectives:

• Explore the diverse interpretations of specific passages or symbols within the War Scroll. How do different scholars or traditions interpret these elements, and what underlying factors might influence their interpretations?

1. Personal Reflection and Modern Relevance:

• Reflect on how the themes of cosmic conflict, righteousness, and spiritual warfare in the War Scroll might resonate in contemporary society or personal belief systems.

1. Theological and Philosophical Implications:

• Discuss the theological and philosophical implications of a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness. How does this theme intersect with broader philosophical inquiries or theological doctrines?

1. Literary and Symbolic Analysis:

- Analyze the narrative structure and symbolic elements present in specific passages of the War Scroll. How do these elements contribute to the text's overarching themes and meanings? 

These study questions aim to provoke critical thinking, promote in-depth exploration of themes, encourage comparative analysis, and stimulate discussions on the multifaceted nature of the War Scroll's content and its significance within ancient and contemporary contexts.

1. Archaeological and Linguistic Analysis:

- How does the physical condition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, impact our understanding of their preservation and historical context? - Discuss the linguistic peculiarities or unique textual features found within the War Scroll and their implications for translation and interpretation. 

1. Apocalyptic Expectations and Messianic Concepts:

- Explore the portrayal of messianic figures or anticipated saviors within the War Scroll. How do these concepts align with or diverge from contemporary expectations of a messianic figure in other ancient texts or religious traditions? 

1. Impact of Apocalyptic Literature:

- Analyze the enduring influence of apocalyptic literature, such as the War Scroll, on subsequent religious, literary, or cultural traditions. How have these texts shaped later beliefs or inspired artistic and literary works? 

1. Ethical and Moral Frameworks:

- Discuss the ethical or moral implications of the cosmic conflict depicted in the War Scroll. How do the themes of righteousness and wickedness contribute to the text's underlying moral framework? 

1. Role of Prophecy and Revelation:

- Explore the role of prophecy and revelation within the War Scroll. How do the prophetic elements contribute to the text's portrayal of future events and cosmic justice? 

1. Experiential and Ritualistic Elements:

- Investigate potential ritualistic or experiential dimensions associated with the teachings or beliefs conveyed in the War Scroll. How might the community have engaged with these teachings in their religious practices or communal activities? 

1. Literary Genre and Interpretation:

- Discuss the classification of the War Scroll within the broader genre of apocalyptic literature. How does its classification influence our understanding and interpretation of its themes and symbolic elements? 

1. Relevance in Modern Scholarship:

- Reflect on the ongoing scholarly debates or discoveries related to the War Scroll. How have modern interpretations evolved, and what implications do these new perspectives have on our understanding of the text? 

1. Intersection of Faith and Scholarship:

- Consider the interplay between faith-based interpretations and scholarly analyses of the War Scroll. How might religious convictions or theological frameworks influence academic research and vice versa? 

1. Future Research and Interpretative Avenues:

- Propose potential avenues for future research or areas of exploration concerning the War Scroll. What unanswered questions or unexplored aspects merit further investigation? 

The composition of the War Scroll, along with other Dead Sea Scrolls, was likely influenced by several historical events and societal conditions prevalent during the time of its writing, which is estimated to be between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE:

1. Hellenistic Rule and Cultural Influence:

• The region where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found was under Hellenistic influence due to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent control by the Seleucid Empire. This era saw a clash between Hellenistic culture and Jewish traditions, leading to cultural tensions and a desire to preserve religious and cultural heritage.

1. Political Turmoil and Resistance Movements:

• The Jewish people experienced political unrest, particularly during the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule. This period was characterized by resistance movements, attempts to preserve Jewish identity, and fervent anticipation of a messianic figure to deliver them from foreign oppression.

1. Religious Sects and Spiritual Expectations:

• Various religious sects existed within Judaism, each with its own interpretations and expectations of messianic redemption, purity laws, and theological doctrines. The community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, often believed to be the Essenes, likely had distinctive theological beliefs and a strong apocalyptic worldview.

1. Anticipation of Cosmic Redemption:

• There was a widespread belief in the imminent arrival of a messianic figure or a divine intervention that would bring about cosmic redemption, ushering in an era of righteousness and divine rule. This anticipation of apocalyptic events and a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness is reflected in the War Scroll's themes.

Regarding the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery, its significance lies in multiple facets:

1. Preservation of Ancient Texts:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, provided an invaluable collection of ancient manuscripts that significantly expanded our understanding of ancient Jewish texts, religious beliefs, and the diversity of Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.

1. Insights into Jewish Sectarianism:

• The scrolls shed light on the diversity of beliefs and practices among Jewish sects during that time. Understanding the beliefs and expectations of the community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls helps contextualize the theological and apocalyptic themes present in the War Scroll.

1. Confirmation of Scriptural Accuracy:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contributed to confirming the accuracy and preservation of certain biblical texts, highlighting the continuity of textual transmission across centuries and supporting the authenticity of biblical manuscripts.

1. Impact on Biblical Studies and Scholarship:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionized biblical studies, providing scholars with invaluable primary sources for studying ancient Judaism, the development of biblical texts, and the context in which these texts were composed.

The historical context of political upheaval, religious expectations, and the preservation of texts within the Dead Sea Scrolls contributes significantly to understanding the milieu in which the War Scroll was written. It provides a backdrop against which the themes of cosmic conflict, eschatological anticipation, and religious fervor within the War Scroll can be comprehended.

When Badr sleeps, he dreams. And when he dreams, he goes, soul and Self, into alternate realities. The most common of which was the library.
It had no name. It had no history. It contained infinite books. That was all. He read through a thousand of them. At first, he thought them as nothing more than fiction; mere tales of worlds never to be.
Then he realized he could come into the books. Live in their worlds. No matter how illogical they were. He did this sparingly. He had no interest in fiction, after all.
That all changed when one day, he read a most curious book.
In this universe, the Cosmic Nexus contains multiple universes or timelines, often referred to as "realms." Each Cosmic Nexus is like a vessel for a realm, housing various elements such as space, land, and sea, where intelligent life resides. Cosmic Nexus Eaters are cosmic beings that consume these nexuses, inhabiting the Sea where the nexuses float. These beings, resembling fish, swim through the Sea and devour Cosmic Nexuses for nourishment and knowledge.
The Cosmic Nexus is capable of containing multiple space-time continuums simultaneously, creating parallel worlds or timelines. When a character dies, their soul can travel back in time, creating a new timeline. These timelines exist simultaneously, suggesting that there are countless parallel worlds inside a single Cosmic Nexus.
The Abyss, also known as the Astral Plane or Spirit World, is a different dimension with three spatial dimensions and an additional dimension. It can be accessed by beings with specific abilities or higher dimensional nature. The Abyss allows for unique abilities, such as moving freely between dimensions and avoiding attacks.
There are also higher realms beyond the Sea, which contains the Cosmic Nexuses. These higher realms are implied to be more higher-dimensional than the Sea, with each higher realm contained within a larger one. This hierarchy of higher realms is suggested to be endless.
The Ultimate Ensemble is the totality of existence, encompassing all realms, including the Sea and the space beyond it. It contains realms with different fundamental laws, nested within each other. The End, also known as Yogurt's true self, is described as the end of all things, an embodiment of nonexistence that overcomes all others. It is omnipresent across all space and time, ensuring balance and safety in the multiverse.
“Curious.” said Badr. The end of the world is named Yogurt? He just had to explore it.
First, more reading about Yogurt.,
First Gate:
Martial Arts, Weapon Mastery, Acrobatics (Demonstrates acrobatic skill), Immortality (Types 4, 7, and 9. If Yogurt dies, he will reincarnate into a new vessel. Yogurt isn't human nor even a living thing. The Yogurt that we know is only an avatar, so killing him is useless if it doesn't affect the true form), Extrasensory Perception (Can see the black lines of death), Enhanced Senses & Precognition (Can sense killing intent and predict any potential harm toward himself or his allies. Any action Yogurt deems an attack on his well-being activates his power. Yogurt now considers BFR to be an attack and will kill the user before the BFR's effect), Clairvoyance (He can know the location of anyone who has seen him before and look through others' vision), Limited Cosmic Awareness (Yogurt can see those who intend to harm him while they are located in 4-Dimensional space. Additionally, once Yogurt becomes aware of their existence, he can observe whatever they are doing wherever they are, even if they are located in another dimension), Instinctive Reaction (Can target people even when asleep), Death Manipulation (His ability allows him to kill people with only a thought, which can also be automatic), Durability Negation (Objects that Yogurt kills turn brittle and fragile), Curse Manipulation & Technology Manipulation (His power can be used to curse the enemy to die after a specific time period if he wishes and his power can manifest through video, audio, cameras, and any other recording device, even if it is not in real time, effectively creating cursed objects), Power Nullification (Can "kill" the powers of a target), Perception Manipulation (Can make a person become blind and deaf by killing its eyes, ears, and nose), Healing, Telepathy, & Mind Manipulation Negation (It is not possible to restore the function of a body part that Yogurt has killed with healing magic. The eyes remain blind, the ears remain deaf, and the nose remains permanently unable to smell. As the beastman's "ears" are dead, mind manipulation and telepathy are ineffective), Immortality Negation (All Types), Regeneration Negation (High-Godly. Permanently killed UEG), BFR (Send UEG to the void, an endless darkness where nothing exists and nothing can exist), Existence Erasure, Subjective Reality, Law Manipulation (What dies and what phenomenon occurs, all of it relies on Yogurt’s perception/cognition of death. If there is something that contradicts his perception, then it simply doesn't happen. Killed Another Kingdom and all of its rules), Reality Warping, Non-Physical Interaction (Can kill ghosts, souls, concepts, abstract, nonexistent beings, and information of worlds), Soul Destruction (Killed the souls resigned within Chelsea's dolls. Killed Teresa and her soul), Plot Manipulation, Fate Manipulation, & Limited Text Manipulation (People with high "fate value" are protected by a Meta-Story that makes them essentially become the protagonists of the world. Aoi saw that every future and possibility leads to Yogurt's victory. Those with a lot of fate can't be killed even if their opponent is overwhelmingly stronger. Yogurt resisted Yukimasa's power, and not only that but overwhelmed it to the point that the text written in the novel turned against Yukimasa himself and detailed his demise to Yogurt instead), Summoning (Yogurt can manifest his true form in the form of countless eyes filling the space around his attacker), Limited Fear Manipulation & Limited Madness Manipulation (Type 3. Those who try to dissect Yogurt's true nature, or see his fate/future start to feel fear and nauseous, and eventually will succumb to lasting insanity), Deconstruction (Can kill poison gas on a chemical level), Data Manipulation (Can kill and destroy programs, such as the Judge), Portal Creation and Dimensional Travel (Can tear holes between different realities and travel through them), Instant Translation (Everything he hears or speaks automatically gets translated by his equipment), Resistance Negation (Can pierce through 10 layers of resistance to death abilities, with each layer being superior than the other), Causality Manipulation (His instant death had been stated many times to have no cause and effect relationship), Space-Time Destruction (Killed Another Kingdom, an infinite size pocket dimension and killed a conceptual entity that embodied countless space-times), Conceptual Destruction (Type 1. His ability can kill on a conceptual level; Capable of affecting the entire higher-order conceptual hierarchy of heavenly records that exists beyond the concepts that make each canopy and all space-times), Sealing (Yogurt has sealed and can seal his powers), Dimensional Manipulation & Paralysis Inducement (Capable of controlling the abyss, a world where length, width, and height were supplemented with an additional fourth dimension. Making someone who is capable of entering, exiting, and traversing through the Abyss by warping space frozen and unable to leave, effectively locking him inside this dimension for the rest of his life)
Second Gate:
All previous abilities, plus Physics Manipulation (the killing of physical phenomena such as Kinetic Energy, Gravity, Sound, Elements, Temperature, Radiation and Matter (Macro-Quantum): capable of killing momentum, falling energy, gravity, radiation particles, photons, noise, wind, heat, and the law of physics itself), Damage Transferal & Mind Reading (Yogurt can use his power through the use of other people as a medium, and can also kill anyone/anything that his targets have ever seen from their memories), Pain Manipulation (His ability can cause pain).
Third Gate:
All previous abilities, plus Greater Power Nullification & Causality Manipulation (With his Third Gate, he is able to kill the relationship/association between two things. Killed the relationship between dream and dreamer, completely disconnecting Mitsuki from his own dream, and as such leaving him as only a disembodied consciousness solely to sustain the world)
Resistances (all gates):
Resistance to Information Analysis, Mind Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation, Sleep Manipulation, Summoning, Reactive Evolution, Power Bestowal, Power Nullification, Text Manipulation & Fate Manipulation, Causality Manipulation, Conceptual Manipulation, Plot Manipulation, Probability Manipulation, Existence Erasure, Sealing
SSR Grade Outfit:
Passive Probability Manipulation, Passive Power Nullification, & Limited Invulnerability (While wearing this outfit, projectiles moved unnaturally to avoid Yogurt, fireball magic dissipated on itself and an attack from a greatsword bounced off Yogurt's coat, leaving him completely unharmed. Though attacks that exceed its durability seemingly could still harm Yogurt)
True Form: The End
All previous abilities with the exception of Immortality Type 4 & 9, plus Immortality (Type 1 and 5), Self-Sustenance (1, 2 and 3), Incorporeality, Abstract Existence (Type 1), Nonexistent Physiology (Nature Type 1, Aspect Type 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Embodies and represents the nonexistence from which all of existence and nonexistence comes back to at their ends/deaths, with all of creation being entirely conceptual in the literal sense. Superior to God's state of nonexistence like Ultimate Extermination God (UEG) who can still regenerate from states like conceptual erasure, causality erasure and complete erasure. Erasure such as complete erasure include history, plot, spiritual, conceptual, mental, and information erasure), Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1), Omnipresence (Exists across all space and time), Cosmic Awareness (Described by God as a mysterious entity that watches over all creation, including God. All existence is watched by its countless eyes. It occupies every space and exists across time from the beginning), Large Size (Type 11), Beyond-Dimensional Existence, Avatar Creation (Yogurt Taki is only an avatar. The true form creates Yogurt and his predecessor as physical avatars of itself), Fear Manipulation & Madness Manipulation (Type 3) (Darian began to tremble in terror the moment he saw a glimpse of his true form and was gradually turning insane), Void Manipulation, Acausality (Type 4. Exists outside the system of the heavenly records and space-time. It is imperceptible / incomprehensible even from the point of view of acausal beings such as the HRE, and is stated to be beyond fate, plot and causality itself. Additionally, its attacks are also not attached to causality due to its nature), Absorption (UEG is melted into his darkness), Attack Reflection, Time Stop, Time Manipulation, Spatial Manipulation (All relies on Yogurt's perception. Should be able to replicate these powers accessible to anyone in the sea like all the erasure).
Huh?
What?
What was this jargon? What was this nonsense? None of it made any sense.
He just had to enter.
Badr found himself amidst a sea of grass with no end in sight. Above him was an infinitely expansive blue sky, a great white sun beaming brightly.
He looked around. He found no one- at first.
Then, he found someone. An entirely ordinary looking high school boy. Badr wasted no time; he walked over to the boy.
“What’s your name?” he asks.
“Yogurt.” The boy answers. Badr expected more, but oh well.
Badr threw a punch at the boy. What would happen then:
He would be killed by a Death that could bring an end to…whatever it was listed it could bring the end to. Concepts. Fate. ‘Plot’.
Of course, this never happened. Badr stood there, unharmed. Confused, Yogurt was launched back- only a few feet.
“No one’s ever done that.” says Yogurt, blood dripping from his nose.
“Of course.” says Badr. “In your world, you are the strongest. But in my world…” Badr holds out his hand. Yogurt watches- as infinite spheres appear into existence in his hand. Multicolored spheres, glimmering in the light. Infinity- within finity?
False. It is only an illusion. “What you see in my palm is a summarization of all of the laws that govern my world.” Badr picks up a single sphere. “Each of these gods- even the smallest, most puny amount of them- is infinitely greater than the greatest of the laws that govern your world.”
Yogurt didn’t want it to be true. But, as Badr expanded to encompass the entire environment, galaxies swirling around his head like bees around a hive- he began to think of Badr as less of man, and more of a god.
“You, Yogurt, stand within your world. If you were to deal with our superior gods, then you would be much like me. A master of the Road of the World.
But, Yogurt, you would be merely one amongst equals. There may be but a dozen beings like myself. We have the experience to outwit, overpower, and negate your abilities. Yogurt, there are beings even stronger than you.”
“Even stronger?”
“Yes. Than beings like us. They are, in every sense, omnipotent. Immutable. Transcendent. They change the world like they change a painting.”
“True omnipotence?”
“True, logical omnipotence.”
“No. It isn’t possible.”
“Oh, but it is. For the Canvas allows it.“
“The Canvas?”
“For that,” Badr outstretched his vast hand, “you must join me.”
Yogurt accepted.

I don’t know. Been seeing a therapist for about two months against my own volition I guess. She’s been trying to “treat” my dissociation because I admittedly gave her not much else to work with and it’s not a primary issue of mine so we kinda got no where. My headmate (the osddid kind) wrote a letter for me to read to her and I knew he’d get all pissy if I didn’t, so I read it, and it seems like she agrees about me and this whole avpd thing. I don’t know she somehow fished out of me I was aware of the possibility but I don’t know what I feel about it yet. Not sure what I’m supposed to feel. This has been theorised about me for a long time and I spent so long ebbing and flowing of oh this is obviously avpd vs “theres nothing wrong with me I’m being sensitive and dramatic”, anchoring myself in the latter because ‘really have I gone through enough to have this much wrong with me? I must just be acting stupid’ and now I just feel… I don’t know. I think I hit a point where I couldn’t really deny this in July 2023 but I still tried my damn hardest for sure. I don’t know what I’m talking about and I don’t know how I feel about yesterday. Maybe I expected it and it didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. I don’t know if it has settled in that this is “”confirmed”” and less one of my stupid theories. I don’t know if she was diagnosing me or just theorising herself. I don’t know if I’m just numb to this conversation and that’s why I feel nothing yet. I don’t know if it’s going to hit me like a truck on a bad day. I don’t know. I don’t know much other than I’d like to never see my therapist again and never talk to her again but I feel way too tired and drained to do anything about that feeling (like actually severing the relationship). Yesterday is already becoming a blur and I feel like everything I remember about it is one more thing I forget/disconnect from. I don’t know how I feel or how I don’t feel or what I’m going to feel. I don’t know anything at all about my state of mind for once. I don’t even know if I feel like myself. Not sure what to do with this. Not sure what I want, I don’t want to just talk about what I feel and I also don’t know if I want advice. It’s almost like I just want someone to tell me what I’m allowed to feel. I don’t know anymore. Hate feeling confused about what I feel because this is so foreign to me. What does one even feel here (other than overexposed and dissected)

i felt inspired to write my own neckbeard story because I've been listening to Vincey on YouTube reding these. Highly recommend his channel, I enjoy his positive attitude a lot :) I grant my permission to any YouTubers to use this Story in their videos if they wish. Names abbreviated for anonymity!
a slight content warning for animal dissection and my bad grammar, I don't speak English as a fist language and I am drunk st the moment of writing this !
now for some context: I grew up in a small town and had known this neckbeard since like daycare age. I was, and still am a bit nerdy girl and very fem presenting most of the time. I also am what you would consider "alternative " in my fashion sense, which apparently is neckbeard bait lol. this took place when I was 16 and he was 17 but we were in the same grade because he was held behind a year. I'm not sure if he could even be called a neckbeard, more like a neckbeardling haha.
I sorta knew our neckbeard pretty well, I did competitive swimming and he did diving so we ran into each other a lot. We were in different classes but we both took elective art and elective biology, so we also had a lot of classes together, and ofc, we had a lot of common interes such as anime and nerdy stuff. In appearance he wasnt too bad, he had severe acne, which I didn't mind because I also had it. He was pale and wore worn down jeans and a black hoodie, usually sporting an anime t-shirt underneath. He was tall and spindly looking with a greasy mop of brown curly hair crowing his head. He didn't smell bad, just overwhelmingly like a men's spray on deodorant. He had an awkward voice, you could tell he was going through puberty by all the squeaking and voice cracking.
I Had one friend, let's call her B, in the elective biology class with me and we did a lot of pair and group assignments, anything from dissections to working outside surveying people or traffic. I would always pair up with B, but a lot of time despite having his own friends in the same elective our neckbeard, M, would choose to butt into our pair assignments. B was, and still is a very kind and polite girl, sometimes to a fault but it is one of the qualities I really admire about her. I on the other hand was a bit hot tempered and more assertive. our dynamic worked really well for us, I would protect her from bullies and stand up for us both and she would help me with school work and socializing. We were both top of our class, but I wasn't as well behaved and it reflected on my grades too. Im still friends with her, despite us living in different cities now. Due to B's kindness towards M, he was allowed to work with us most of the time, I didn't say anything because I wanted her to be happy and I knew she hated confrontation. One of these times we were paired up with him we had to dissect a foot of a moose. B didn't want any part in it so we agreed to let her just sit and watch as me and M did all the dissection. M was obsessed with being seen as "cool" and though he could impress me with his knife skills. We had to skin the foot first before we could get to the joint and tendons so he volunteered to do it despite never even filleting a fish before. I sat back and watched with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I just knew something was gonna go wrong. And it did. M cut the fur of the skin open and started removing it from the foot, except, he was skinning it by cutting towards himself with the scalpel, in stead of away from himself. I tried to tell him that he's doing it wrong but in his attempt to impress us he refused to listen. The scalpel slipped and ended up giving him a small cut on his chest around the ribs. He was bleeding and had to go visit the er to get on some antibiotics despite the injury being very minor. The feet of the moose were sourced by one of my classmates who hunted a lot (I am from a hick town) so we couldn't be sure if the animals could have some diseases. Me and B finished the job and it was actually really interesting and I feel like I learned a lot.
In another biology class we were sent out to monitor traffic, we had to find a spot and count all different methods of transportation ppl were using and make a diagram out of it. Me and B were leaving and I noticed M lingering around us and as we were leaving the classroom he just tagged along with us and we were forced to take him with us because every other group had left already. it was around may so the weather was nice and warm and we stopped by the store to get some snacks for our expedition. At the store M insisted on "buying the hot ladies something to cool them down" and he bought us popsicles. Me and B grimaced at each other but accepted our free popsicles. We laughed at him so hard after the class that day and still quote the line to each other after 4 years. We got to our stakeout spot on the edge of the town square and things were pretty uneventful, except him staring at us while we ate our popsicles. I remember I made sure to bite mine as brutally as I could without getting brain freeze lol. We spent around 1.5h there and as we were walking back to school we got to talking about how me and him used to go the the same daycare and same preschool. He awkwardly told us he used to have a crush on me when we were in preschool and also when we were in grade school. I laughed it off and just told him I just remembered playing with him as kids and having fun. It was awkward but I didn't wanna open a door to a possible confession so I tried to change to topic as fast as possible.
the worst encounter I had with him was when my at the time best friend S, somehow had a crush on him. Me and her were really into vampire diaries and twilight at that time so I'm choosing to blame it on that. I tried to wing woman her in my nativity, because I knew him better. S and M didn't have any classes together. I got his number from one of his classmates and texted him one night that I'd like to arrange a meeting with him to discuss one of my friends. Now thinking back, this is incredibly creepy behavior from me but I was 16 and had never dated anybody. He agreed to meet with me, in hindsight I think probably just because he had a crush on me. I told S he said yes and she was bouncing off the walls exited and I was happy I could be helpful even if I disagreed with her attraction to him. Few days later the meeting happened, I had mistakenly told some of the other girls in my class about it and they were lingering nearby but not close enough to hear us. At that time I was sorta popular, most people in my school knew me by name because I had won a lot of competitions in arts and poetry and sports too, I was also the president of the student council and a tutor student (helped out younger students with getting adjusted in a new school, tutoring for free and was a safe older person to report bullying and tell your worries ect.) and was know to participate in and organize many fundraising events. I also had a reputation that I was not to be messed with, thanks to my volatile temperament and a few incidents of violence against people who had pissed me off. I am not proud of that, and have since mellowed out a lot. with that being said our meeting happened on a dreadful Monday on a break between classes that lasted 25minutes. We met up near the main door and chatted inside the vestibule so we couldn't be heard by outsiders. Unfortunately our conversation kept getting interrupted by a lot of students who wanted to say hi to me. That caused a whole another incident of people thinking that me and him were together or friends, which I hated. He was waiting for me there and I walked up to him and for some reason we shook hands and he asked me what this was about. I explained to him that my best friend has a little crush on him and showed him a picture of her and asked him if he would be interested in meeting up with her. He agreed pretty quickly and I gave him her number and Snapchat. I was about to leave but he kept coming up with topics to discuss. He kept steering the conversation away from my friend and him and kept trying to talk about me and him and to get to know me better. First he showed me his anime drawings. In the picture he had his entire wall covered in pictures of anime girls he has drawn. and as an art student I do have to say that he had some talent. I was a bit weirded out by the wall of anime girls but I could really hate on him because I was wingwomaning so I had to pretend to like it. the next attempt of keepig me there was him showing me his phone case and how we coincidentally had matching ones. I had bought mine from the thrift shop because my family was poor so I couldn't really choose what to have. We both had the UK flag as our phone case, like it was trendy to have back then. We don't even live in the UK lol. the third attempt to keep me there was him asking me if we could meet up again sometime, maybe after our practices at the local swimming hall. i swiftly but politely turned him down because I didn't want my bestie to get the impression that I was going after her crush, and also because I didn't wanna see this dude at like 9pm after practice. The break was finally over and the bell rang and I was free. I swiftly made my exit and joined the group of girls from my class telling them all the horrid details of our meetup. My bestie wasn't at school that day but I messaged her that I arranged her a date next Friday on the school gated after school ends. she was happy, so I was happy despite the suffering I had just endured.
My bestie and he met up that Friday, it was so awkward and I kept an eye out on them because I didn't trust this dude fully. He was super late to their meetup and my bestie was texting me super stressed. I was watching them from like 50m away, kinda creepy I know. He finally showed up and I saw them chat and start walking away. S texted me that they were going to the library and I didn't have to follow them. The library was like a 10 minute walk from the school so I wasnt worried and I went home. The next day she tells me that he had taken her to the very small manga section in my small town library and given her some recommendations and then he had tried to get her to suck him off at the library bathroom. I wasn't expecting much but he had always been at least somewhat polite and nice to me before, so I was shocked. S obviously had said no and their date had ended to that. and there never was a second date.
fast forward to when covid hit us and we went to to lockdown. i got a part time job at the library because my online classes didn't take up too much of my time. My family was seriously struggling with money because it was hard for my mom to find a job as a daycare attendant. My typical day at work was pretty nice and quiet, since people were avoiding public places. I would spend 8-10 stocking the bookshelves with returned books, then stand at the register for an hour or two serving customers. then I would take my lunch and usually after it I would host a storytime session and arts and crafts for families with young kids. it was nice work and it made me feel good to help parents struggling with kids during the lockdown by occupying them for an hour or two. after that I would make displays for our promoted books of give book recommendations for teachers. i got this task because I'm a bit of a book work and had read pretty much every young adults and teenagers book in the small library, so I knew which ones would be appropriate for kids above or below a certain age. Anyway, one day guess who wonderes into the library where I now work at. Our neckbeard came by pretty early and saw me restocking the shelves. I hide my annoyance because he is a customer and I am at work now. He asked me what I'm doing here and I tell him that I got a job here to help my mom pay the bills and so I could take care of my sister. she used to come into work with me ever day because she was too young to stay at home. i would share my lunch with her and she would just hang out at the library until my shift ended. I remember him telling me that that's awesome and that maybe he'll come by more often since I'm working here now. he went on a tangent about how lonely he felt now because we didn't have school in person, and I told him that I understand how he feels and that getting a job has really helped me with that. I said that I need to get back to stocking the shelves now and if he doesn't have anything work related to ask me that he should get going. He unfortunately didn't get my (very straightforward) hint to leave me alone and and continued to pester me. He walked the shelves with me and even tried to push the heavy wooden cart that I used to carry to bookes on. because "a pretty lady shouldn't have to do manual labor". i scoffed at him and slapped his hand away from he handle and told him that he isn't allowed to touch the library's property if he doesn't work here. He thankfully backed off but kept walking with me. we somehow got to the topic of anime and manga and I started to not mind him. the library got kinda creepy when it wasn't busy and I was alone in the sea of shelves. He gave me some anime recommendations and I returned the favour. after I sorted out the books I had to go serve parton's behind the desk and he went to rent his books and left. After that he started coming to the Library more often and I told my bestie that if she wanted to hang out with him she should come to the library but she declined because she lived an hour away in the woods. I got kinda creeped out by how often he was in the library and how he would come find me wherever I was. the library was two stories high and such a labyrinth. i just knew he was seekig me out on purpose, but I just went along with it because it was kinda nice to have someone keep me company in the creepy empty library.
I have since moved away because I got into my dream school and no longer live in the city where he lives in. Once when I went to visit my mom I saw him at the local mall and I almost didn't recognize him. he is now a trans woman and I am really happy she has found herself. we had a brief chat and she seemed pretty nice and pretty too, and told me that she thinks her crush on me was actually gender envy. I chose to use he/him pronounce for her in this story because at the time she was not yet a woman. I've since got a boyfriend and a partner and we are in a very happy polyamorous relationship. I've also realized that I am agender, and not a girl. so a happy ending for the both of us! sorry this story wasn't super eventful or dramatic but I think it can be a good example of how people can change and how sometimes unlikeable people are just still in the process of discovering their true selves. Have a nice day everyone and remember to be kind to yourselfes!

Hi All,
I’m taking a group of seniors in my Marine Science class to a local aquarium. I would like them to observe fish behavior and morphology. Does anyone have suggestions on a resource to use? I need to create some type of worksheet for the kids.

The War Scroll, also known as the "War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness," is a unique text within the Dead Sea Scrolls that portrays an apocalyptic battle between the forces of good (Sons of Light) and evil (Sons of Darkness). This scroll provides insight into both historical and symbolic elements.
Historical Accuracy:
The War Scroll, while containing detailed military tactics and an epic narrative of the ultimate confrontation, doesn't explicitly reference any specific historical event or timeframe. Some scholars believe it could be a product of the community's anticipation of a future messianic conflict or a reflection of their own community's struggles against opposing forces during their time. Interpreting the historical accuracy of the scroll often involves exploring the context of the Qumran community and the turbulent times in which they lived.
Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:
The War Scroll goes beyond a mere description of a physical battle. It portrays a cosmic conflict between the forces of light and darkness, reflecting not just a literal warfare but also a symbolic and spiritual struggle. The text emphasizes righteousness, divine intervention, and the victory of good over evil.
Within the study guide, activities and exercises could involve dissecting the symbolic elements present in the War Scroll, exploring the deeper meanings behind the battle tactics and the metaphysical implications of the conflict. Understanding the symbolism could involve group discussions, comparative analysis with other ancient texts with similar themes, and exploring the impact of this symbolic representation on the community's beliefs and practices.
Here are a few activities and exercises to explore the symbolism and historical context of the War Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

1. Symbolism Analysis:

Provide excerpts from the War Scroll and encourage participants to identify and discuss the symbolic meanings behind elements like the "Sons of Light" and the "Sons of Darkness," various weapons, and the strategies outlined for battle. Group discussions or written reflections can help participants explore the deeper layers of meaning.

1. Comparative Analysis:

Compare the War Scroll's themes with similar apocalyptic or eschatological texts from different cultures or religions, such as apocalyptic passages in the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible or apocalyptic texts from other ancient traditions. Create worksheets or discussion prompts to highlight similarities and differences in themes, symbols, and beliefs about cosmic battles.

1. Historical Context Exploration:

Present historical information about the era when the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. Discuss the political, social, and religious climate of that time, including the turmoil in the region, to understand how these factors might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll. Encourage participants to consider the possible motivations behind the text's creation.

1. Creative Interpretation:

Encourage creative expression by asking participants to create artwork, poems, or short stories inspired by the themes and imagery found in the War Scroll. This exercise allows individuals to engage more deeply with the symbolic elements and interpret them in their own unique ways.

1. Role-playing or Debates:
   Organize a role-playing activity where participants take on the roles of "Sons of Light" and "Sons of Darkness," debating their ideologies, motivations, and strategies for the ultimate battle. This exercise helps in understanding differing perspectives and interpreting the conflicts presented in the scroll.
   

Interpretative variations regarding the river's crossing in different ancient texts reflect the unique religious, philosophical, and cultural perspectives embedded within these narratives. These differences in interpretation offer insights into diverse worldviews and varying theological frameworks present in ancient texts:

1. Mesopotamian Context:

• In Mesopotamian mythology and literature, the Euphrates River often held symbolic significance as a boundary between the known civilized world and the wild, unknown realms. The crossing of the Euphrates could symbolize journeys into unexplored territories or transitions between order and chaos. This perspective reflects a worldview rooted in the physical and geographical division of lands.

1. Biblical Context:

• In biblical texts, such as those in the Book of Revelation or Old Testament prophecies, the crossing of the Euphrates carries eschatological significance. It may represent a divine intervention or a decisive moment in God's plan, marking the commencement of apocalyptic events. This interpretation aligns with the biblical narrative of divine judgment and the unfolding of God's ultimate purpose in history.

1. Gnostic or Apocryphal Context:

• Gnostic or apocryphal texts often interpret the river's crossing as a symbolic liberation or awakening. It might signify the release of spiritual forces or the ascent to higher consciousness, reflecting a philosophical perspective emphasizing spiritual enlightenment and liberation from material constraints.

1. Greco-Roman Interpretation:

• In Greco-Roman literature, crossings of rivers were often associated with mythological journeys or transitions between realms. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize a transition from mundane existence to a realm of mystery or spiritual significance, reflecting a cultural perspective rooted in mythology and cosmology.

These varied interpretations highlight the richness and diversity of religious, philosophical, and cultural frameworks present in ancient texts. The river's crossing serves as a flexible symbol that adapts to different narratives, conveying themes of transition, judgment, liberation, or cosmic transformation based on the unique perspectives of each tradition.
Exploring these interpretative variations allows participants to appreciate the complexity of symbolism within ancient texts and provides insights into how different cultures and belief systems interpreted common motifs like the river Euphrates. It showcases the intricate interplay between religious, philosophical, and cultural elements shaping the symbolism and theological implications embedded in these narratives.
The river Euphrates, a prominent geographic feature in ancient texts, embodies universal themes that transcend specific cultural contexts. Identifying these universal themes helps reveal shared human concepts of transition, boundaries, and transformative events across diverse ancient traditions:

1. Threshold and Transition:

• The Euphrates often symbolizes a boundary between known and unknown territories. Its crossing represents a transition from one state to another, signifying a pivotal moment of change or passage. This theme of crossing a threshold echoes the human experience of transitions in life, moving from familiar to unfamiliar realms.

1. Boundary and Separation:

• As a geographical boundary, the Euphrates signifies separation between distinct territories or civilizations. This concept of demarcation resonates with universal human experiences of setting boundaries, delineating spaces, or marking divisions between different aspects of life.

1. Transformative Events:

• Crossing the Euphrates is often associated with cosmic or transformative events in ancient texts. This universal theme reflects the human fascination with the concept of epochal change, cosmic upheavals, or moments of divine intervention that reshape the course of history.

1. Symbol of Power and Control:

• The river might represent a symbol of power, control, or geopolitical significance. Crossing it could signify shifts in dominance, challenges to established authority, or the assertion of influence. This theme resonates with human narratives of power struggles and shifts in societal dynamics.

1. Metaphor for Spiritual Journeys:

• Across cultures, rivers are often used metaphorically to represent spiritual journeys or quests. The crossing of the Euphrates might symbolize the pursuit of enlightenment, the passage to higher realms of understanding, or the quest for spiritual transformation.

These universal themes associated with the river Euphrates highlight fundamental aspects of the human experience—transitions, boundaries, transformative events, power dynamics, and spiritual journeys. The river's symbolism in ancient texts speaks to shared human aspirations, struggles, and beliefs that transcend cultural boundaries and resonate across different epochs and civilizations.
By identifying and discussing these universal themes, participants gain a deeper appreciation for the profound symbolism embedded in ancient texts and recognize the timeless relevance of concepts such as transition, boundaries, and transformative events in shaping human narratives and aspirations.

1. Historical Context:

• What historical events or societal conditions might have influenced the composition of the War Scroll?
  
• How does the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contribute to our understanding of this text's significance?
  

1. Symbolism and Esoteric Wisdom:

• How does the War Scroll use symbolism to convey spiritual or cosmic themes?
  
• What esoteric wisdom or deeper spiritual insights can be derived from the portrayal of cosmic conflict and divine intervention within the text?
  

1. Comparative Analysis:

• Compare the themes and symbolism of the War Scroll with other apocalyptic texts from different cultures (e.g., Book of Revelation, The Book of Daniel). What common motifs or differences in interpretation do you observe?

1. Parallelism in Biblical Texts:

• Explore connections between the War Scroll and other biblical texts. How does the language, imagery, or themes in the War Scroll intersect with passages from the Hebrew Bible or New Testament?

1. Community Beliefs and Practices:

• How might the apocalyptic expectations depicted in the War Scroll have influenced the beliefs and practices of the community that produced it?
  
• Discuss the impact of such intense anticipation of cosmic conflict on communal life and religious rituals within the community.
  

1. Cultural Significance of Cosmic Battles:

• Across various ancient cultures, why do you think depictions of cosmic battles and eschatological events were significant? What might these narratives represent in a broader cultural context?

1. Interpretive Variations and Unique Perspectives:

• Explore the diverse interpretations of specific passages or symbols within the War Scroll. How do different scholars or traditions interpret these elements, and what underlying factors might influence their interpretations?

1. Personal Reflection and Modern Relevance:

• Reflect on how the themes of cosmic conflict, righteousness, and spiritual warfare in the War Scroll might resonate in contemporary society or personal belief systems.

1. Theological and Philosophical Implications:

• Discuss the theological and philosophical implications of a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness. How does this theme intersect with broader philosophical inquiries or theological doctrines?

1. Literary and Symbolic Analysis:

- Analyze the narrative structure and symbolic elements present in specific passages of the War Scroll. How do these elements contribute to the text's overarching themes and meanings? 

These study questions aim to provoke critical thinking, promote in-depth exploration of themes, encourage comparative analysis, and stimulate discussions on the multifaceted nature of the War Scroll's content and its significance within ancient and contemporary contexts.

1. Archaeological and Linguistic Analysis:

- How does the physical condition of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, impact our understanding of their preservation and historical context? - Discuss the linguistic peculiarities or unique textual features found within the War Scroll and their implications for translation and interpretation. 

1. Apocalyptic Expectations and Messianic Concepts:

- Explore the portrayal of messianic figures or anticipated saviors within the War Scroll. How do these concepts align with or diverge from contemporary expectations of a messianic figure in other ancient texts or religious traditions? 

1. Impact of Apocalyptic Literature:

- Analyze the enduring influence of apocalyptic literature, such as the War Scroll, on subsequent religious, literary, or cultural traditions. How have these texts shaped later beliefs or inspired artistic and literary works? 

1. Ethical and Moral Frameworks:

- Discuss the ethical or moral implications of the cosmic conflict depicted in the War Scroll. How do the themes of righteousness and wickedness contribute to the text's underlying moral framework? 

1. Role of Prophecy and Revelation:

- Explore the role of prophecy and revelation within the War Scroll. How do the prophetic elements contribute to the text's portrayal of future events and cosmic justice? 

1. Experiential and Ritualistic Elements:

- Investigate potential ritualistic or experiential dimensions associated with the teachings or beliefs conveyed in the War Scroll. How might the community have engaged with these teachings in their religious practices or communal activities? 

1. Literary Genre and Interpretation:

- Discuss the classification of the War Scroll within the broader genre of apocalyptic literature. How does its classification influence our understanding and interpretation of its themes and symbolic elements? 

1. Relevance in Modern Scholarship:

- Reflect on the ongoing scholarly debates or discoveries related to the War Scroll. How have modern interpretations evolved, and what implications do these new perspectives have on our understanding of the text? 

1. Intersection of Faith and Scholarship:

- Consider the interplay between faith-based interpretations and scholarly analyses of the War Scroll. How might religious convictions or theological frameworks influence academic research and vice versa? 

1. Future Research and Interpretative Avenues:

- Propose potential avenues for future research or areas of exploration concerning the War Scroll. What unanswered questions or unexplored aspects merit further investigation? 

The composition of the War Scroll, along with other Dead Sea Scrolls, was likely influenced by several historical events and societal conditions prevalent during the time of its writing, which is estimated to be between the 2nd century BCE and the 1st century CE:

1. Hellenistic Rule and Cultural Influence:

• The region where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found was under Hellenistic influence due to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the subsequent control by the Seleucid Empire. This era saw a clash between Hellenistic culture and Jewish traditions, leading to cultural tensions and a desire to preserve religious and cultural heritage.

1. Political Turmoil and Resistance Movements:

• The Jewish people experienced political unrest, particularly during the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule. This period was characterized by resistance movements, attempts to preserve Jewish identity, and fervent anticipation of a messianic figure to deliver them from foreign oppression.

1. Religious Sects and Spiritual Expectations:

• Various religious sects existed within Judaism, each with its own interpretations and expectations of messianic redemption, purity laws, and theological doctrines. The community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, often believed to be the Essenes, likely had distinctive theological beliefs and a strong apocalyptic worldview.

1. Anticipation of Cosmic Redemption:

• There was a widespread belief in the imminent arrival of a messianic figure or a divine intervention that would bring about cosmic redemption, ushering in an era of righteousness and divine rule. This anticipation of apocalyptic events and a cosmic battle between forces of light and darkness is reflected in the War Scroll's themes.

Regarding the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery, its significance lies in multiple facets:

1. Preservation of Ancient Texts:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll, provided an invaluable collection of ancient manuscripts that significantly expanded our understanding of ancient Jewish texts, religious beliefs, and the diversity of Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.

1. Insights into Jewish Sectarianism:

• The scrolls shed light on the diversity of beliefs and practices among Jewish sects during that time. Understanding the beliefs and expectations of the community associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls helps contextualize the theological and apocalyptic themes present in the War Scroll.

1. Confirmation of Scriptural Accuracy:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls' discovery contributed to confirming the accuracy and preservation of certain biblical texts, highlighting the continuity of textual transmission across centuries and supporting the authenticity of biblical manuscripts.

1. Impact on Biblical Studies and Scholarship:

• The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls revolutionized biblical studies, providing scholars with invaluable primary sources for studying ancient Judaism, the development of biblical texts, and the context in which these texts were composed.

The historical context of political upheaval, religious expectations, and the preservation of texts within the Dead Sea Scrolls contributes significantly to understanding the milieu in which the War Scroll was written. It provides a backdrop against which the themes of cosmic conflict, eschatological anticipation, and religious fervor within the War Scroll can be comprehended.