Guys I can’t believe I watched most of Gypsy and Nick’s interrogation for the first time. I don’t know how I got through her’s, but both were quite interesting and telling. They were NIGHT AND DAY differences in Gypsy’s understanding and intelligence and Nick’s.
I’m just going off of memory so correct me or jump in and add details to discuss:
Gypsy: 1) They gave her a comfy sofa, pillow/stuffed animal, blanket. She was super polite to the officers and kept saying “thank you sir.” She made random small talk with them about movies and shows she was interested in. Idk how girlie kept it together knowing her mom was DEAD. I truly believe she felt her superficial charm and southern politeness would get her out of there and she’d “get it over with/behind them.” (something Nick said in his interrogation about her.) 2) At one point she says how people look at her in handcuffs and says, “I didn’t kill nobody, I don’t smoke, do drugs, drink. I didn’t do nothing! I’m a good girl.” Which seems like a normal sentence, but the way she said it you could tell she was trying to convey that SHE didn’t belong. She’s worried about how she appears to others. 3) She lies a LOT starting with her age. 4) She keeps saying she doesn’t know why she’s there 5) Once the detective says the mom is dead, she puts on a performance of shock and feigns concern. She is like omg did she have a heart attack? She has health issues. Omg don’t tell me it was suicide!!! She had bipolar disorder. Girl, WHAT?! 6) She doesn’t give up any information until the officer mentions Nick and he knows Nick did it. He still pushes her to answer “why.” She finally is like “he didn’t get along with my mom.” She didn’t let them be together, and “that’s why Nick hated her.” (Noting: no mention of abuse. She basically says it was to be with Nick, which Nick also says in his reason why.) 7) I skipped a lot and saw how she listens under the door. 8) the detective gives her MANY chances to come clean and basically in the end he says she might face murder charges and girly pop is SHOOK. He tells her he knows she pulled the strings and she is soooo offended and keeps denying. She cries some more and yells out “I want a lawyer, sir!” 9) At some point she claims Nick raped her and “how she hopes he can get the help he needs.” 9) They give her time to put her boots on and take her away in handcuffs.
Nick: 1) He hasn’t slept in however many hours they were detained. He said he was worried about Gypsy the whole time meanwhile his princess is taking naps on a comfy couch. I don’t know how long they had them there, but he’s handcuffed and has a desk and a chair. That’s about it. 2) They do both get the same food, but Nick didn’t eat it since he ate something before and he was worried sick about Gypsy. The way Nick starts describing it was my first hint that he may be a bit more “different” (intellectually) than Gypsy. He says something like “They’re called ham sandwiches. Sometimes they make those with Mayo.” 3) He doesn’t know what coercion means. He says it’s punishment and the female detective says “yes, like trickery“ while reading him his Miranda rights. He clearly should’ve had a lawyer present during this. 4) He gives the clean version of events that she was kicked out of her home and they ran away together. 5) The detective clearly knows this guy loves her more than she loves him. She says “Gypsy told us everything and you’re not saying it. I know you love Gypsy but don’t put her in that difficult position.” So this is when Nick goes into detail about everything, at least his version of events. He talks about the events leading up to, during, and after. He says many times he loves her so much he did this for her and there’s no one else he’d do this for. 6) Basically Nick tells this detective everything, or in MUCH more detail, likely closer to the truth than Gypsy’s version. They take pictures like they did with Gypsy. What stuck with me is how this man can accurately remember numbers over everything else. He remembered his hotel room number, which I don’t think most people remember after checking out. His story consistently stays with 4 stabs and neck slash. 7) Towards the end, the detective leaves and he’s muttering to himself a lot. I skipped over much of it since it was repetitive, but it’s very sad and he’s clearly worried about Gypsy. At one point he questions to himself besides being honorable, where will the truth get him. 8) At the end of the video, he’s taken away in handcuffs barefoot. He asks to see Gypsy one more time.
My opinion: At first I was happy she was being released and getting a second chance at life. I didn’t know much about the case so I looked at her interviews. I soon felt like things were off with Gypsy, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. My bullshit radar went off when I finally heard her say she didn’t identify as a murderer and she pinned everything on Nick. Looking at the interrogation tapes, it’s my opinion that he struggles with something developmentally. His parents said he was diagnosed with autism in grade school. It disturbs me how he didn’t want to murder, but Gypsy talked him into it multiple times. I fully believe he was done dirty in the interrogation and outcome of the case. He did seem to tell much of the truth during his interrogation. Gypsy’s interrogation was lie after lie until she realized it wasn’t going to work with the detective who interviewed her. He knew and you could tell he was getting increasingly frustrated at her trying to manipulate and detail the conversation. If you haven’t, please go watch the videos. Let me know your thoughts.

WPA – A Completely Average Roadtrip
Disclaimer: Not canon, and I don’t use patreon so please don’t spoil me. Also, any opinion held by a character is that of the characters and not my own. Enjoy.
Town of Ljosalfington, local time 14:00, week 7
Emma Booker
“Again Illunor, I warned you before that this is a utility vehicle, not a party rated smart-limo. I am already compromising more than I should by allowing you to use the sample cooler as a minifridge, one which I can’t even use!” I said as I loaded the materials I had just purchased into the back of the high-G All terrain fusion-ethanol-electric hybrid 24th-century legacy pickup truck that I had printed out earlier this week, carefully avoiding the heavy ordinance hard point.
“That is hardly an excuse for that abysmally cramped leg space barely fit for cattle, never mind the bare minimum for standard decorum suitable for nobility. If this is what a car is like, then I don’t see why you care for your technology,” complained Illunor, who was sitting around idly with a malformed garish bowl of icecream that he had stashed away from lunch.
“If it bothers you so much, perhaps you could help next time with your ‘bigger-on-the-inside’ magic,” I retorted as I slid the last core sample into the back before covering it up with a tarp and strapping it down.
I had originally planned to visit Ljosalfington by myself to acquire much needed exo-materials to test various mana manipulator configurations as I worked to develop my first wand as not all of the materials I needed were procurable locally from Elaseer. I eventually yielded, much to my regret, to allowing Illunor to come with me as he insisted on wanting to deliver a letter personally in town after Thacea had pointed out the wisdom of not travelling alone.
We continued our back and forth for a bit yet as I finished securing my payload a voice called out to me from the direction of the town.
“Excuse me a moment, I couldn’t help but notice but are you from the academy?”
I turned to see an elf dressed in a plain brown buttoned up tunic matched by a slightly shabby pair of trousers with what appeared to be a lute upon his back and a plain and unenchanted longsword on his belt gesturing at our robes. Mine especially were new and unusual, tailored by the academy to go over my armour and allow access to the anchor points and allow me to exit my armour with minimal hassle. Illunor scoffed at what was evidently a commoner’s arrogance at approaching nobility and turned his head away in disgust. I glanced at Illunor and shook my head before turning to face the new man. I had time to spare, and any opportunity to engage in a hearts-and-minds dialogue with the locals outside the bounds of the managed environment of the academy was more than worth the time to chat. Especially as most of the other locals seemed to be content in ignoring me.
“Yes, we are currently studying at the Transgracian Academy. I am Cadet Emma Booker representing the United Nations of Earth and Luna from Earthream, and my aloof compatriot is Lord Illunor Rularia of the Vunerian courts. We were just about to head back but are in no rush. May I ask your name and what brings you by?” I asked with my hand outstretched in greeting.
“Ah yes, yes. My name is Edhel Redoehdelnif, a wandering bard by trade like my father and his father before him. My apologies, Cadet Emma Booker, I am unfamiliar with Earthrealm,” said Edhel as he grasped my hand with both of his and shook it tepidly yet vigorously. Or rather, tried to, as the motors on my suit resisted his efforts.
“News doesn’t seem to spread all that fast around here, so it makes sense you haven’t heard of us. We’re a new realm, and only just got here. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Edhel Redoehdelnif,” I replied.
“Absolutely fascinating! And a knight no less, or perhaps a squire? I’m sure you have many stories to tell of Earthrealm. Say, by chance are you about to head back to the academy? I have business in Elaseer and the usual coach has been absent as of late so I would rather not go it alone,” said Edhel.
I was hesitant to bring a stranger back in the car with me, even if Illunor was present. However, the opportunity that meeting a bard presented was too good to pass up from an intel perspective and to win the favour of the populace at large.
“That is a great idea. I think I have room for one more…” I paused before gesturing towards Illunor, “provided everyone is ok with it that is.”
Illunor gave a huff and turned his head away in silence.
“Very well, I will allow this. But he will not be joining me in your sorry excuse for a coach,” said Illunor dismissively.
Illunor approached the backseat expectantly and the door opened for him automatically, allowing the dlc kobold to gracefully enter and lounge across the length of the seats, once again ignoring the seatbelts. I sighed as I made my way to the driver’s seat, and Edhel entered from the passenger side as he marveled at the automatic doors and the interior.
“What a strange carriage this is! Although I must say, shouldn’t you be retrieving your horses? I didn’t see any harnesses or sense any artifices,” inquired Edhel as he attempted to make himself comfortable on the car seat, lute in front of him.
“Oh no, this thing doesn’t need horses or magic,” I said with a chuckle as EVI started the car. The elf raised his eyebrows at the sudden hum of the engine and made an expression of alarm when the car started driving itself without my input. “See, purrs like a kitten.”
“Earthrealm must have some large kittens if they purr like that,” noted Edhel, “but you must be concealing the enchantments somewhere. Such a thing as this with such strange yet precise craftsmanship is only possible in the crownlands.”
“Nope, no magic,” I said cheerfully.
“Then how?” Asked Edhel.
“It’s rather simple really. Are you familiar with the workings of a mill?” I asked, deciding to keep things surface level and elementary to avoid provoking the IDOV threshold.
“Somewhat, though I confess to not being familiar with their workings. Are you suggesting this is akin to a mill?” Asked Edhel perplexed.
“It’s the same principal. A mill works by taking a source of rotation such as a waterwheel or windmill, transferring that rotation along a series of rotating shafts and interlocking gears, and finally putting that energy to work by rotating a millstone,” I began as the car pulled out onto the smooth cobbled road in the direction of Elaseer. A notification popped up in the corner of my vision indicating my recon drone swarm had shifted from a holding formation to a convoy screening formation, and while the roads were clear I kept the speed at 60km/h to account for my passenger’s apparent distaste for seatbelts.
“Rotation…” muttered Edhel. He turned to face one of the wheels and EVI pinged an alert for a probable match for a detection spell, “fascinating.”
“Edhel, what are you doing?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, perhaps I should have asked first. Yes, I can see how it all fits together. But the source of this rotation? I see no mighty river or great wind to power this, so where does it come from?” Asked Edhel, not really apologizing. Elven arrogance, it seemed, was not limited by class.
The act reminded me of Sorecar when he inspected my gun, but where the armourer had been respectful with it, Edhel was more flippant. I considered the possibility that he was a spy sent by one of her peers or the crownlands, though this did not mesh with the methods I had seen so far. Edhel may have been just overly enthusiastic. In either case, I quickly decided to only reveal the antique design for the ethanol engine, and not that of the batteries or the emergency coupler to my suit’s fusion reactor.
“Right, well please ask first next time. As to your question, I won’t bore you with the details, but the rotation is generated by creating a periodic sequence of explosions inside of a machine – a manaless artifice – called a combustion engine, said Emma.
“So that’s what that sound is…” pondered Edhel, “are these artifices typical in Earthream?”
“You are awfully inquisitive for a commoner,” noted Illunor as he inspected his nails for dirt, “and rather accepting of something which should be impossible.”
“I wouldn’t be much of a bard if I wasn’t, my lord,” said Edhel shifting uncomfortably in his seat, “perhaps some music might set the mood better?”
“That would be preferable, bard. I have heard enough of the Earthrealmer’s Road Trip Playlist and would like to listen to some music of real culture,” said Illunor.
The bard agreed and proceeded to awkwardly play a ballad about an adventurer who slew a hydra in some frozen wasteland. Partway through, I politely interrupted the Edhel to point out the seat controls much to his fascination and Illunor’s grumbling at their common nature, and after some adjustment the bard went on playing and I half-heartedly listened while I paid attention to the road and my drone feed.
Particularly after EVI detected something unusual and alerted me to its presence.
”Attention Caded Booker. There is a disabled vehicle blocking the primary route to destination. Heat signatures in the woods are consistent with that of an ambush.”
“Damn it,” I muttered.
I glanced at the drone feed to see a broken cart strewn horizontally across a wooden bridge over a brook. On the surface it looked like a pair of civilians who required aid and assistance, but off in the woods were several heat signatures, several of which held weapons of varying levels of enchantments. Occasionally one of the pair on the bridge would talk with them, suggesting they were in cahoots rather than hostages. I recalled crossing that very bridge not a few hours earlier, so the blockade was very recent.
“EVI, did we pass that cart on the way here?” I asked.
”Negative,” replied EVI.
I grimaced. I had been trained to handle road-side ambushes, but it was only something that was a theoretical possibility. Something that should only occur in a warzone or a corrupt and unstable polity. I knew I had the capacity to handle such an encounter, even non-lethally, but that didn’t change the fact that these were civilians and as such were the responsibility of local law enforcement. Combined with the fact that I had passengers I was responsible for and engaging the ambush was a risky option.
“EVI, give me a list of alternative routes,” I commanded.
”Affirmative. Here is a list of routes in order of recommendation,” replied EVI.
I looked over the routes superimposed on a map of the region and quickly dismissed taking a shortcut through the forest and cutting through farmland. A detour caught my eye that extended the journey by roughly ten kilometers and I immediately sent a pair of drones to scout it out before committing to the detour.
“Are you alright, Cadet Emma Booker? You seem distracted,” asked Edhel, snapping me back to reality.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just focused on driving,” replied Emma.
“I suppose it must be quite taxing to command an artificed carriage of this complexity. Perhaps it might ease your mind if you were to regale me a tale of a hero of your realm?” Said Edhel, strumming a complex tune from his lute as he spoke as each and every pluck triggered a low-level spell.
“Well, that may be a problem. We don’t have any monsters to fight, and wars are a thing of the past,” I said while desperately tip-toeing the subject of aunt Ran, the subject of war, and our voyages through the cosmos, “though we are not without the adventurous spirit. We certainly have many stories of grand voyages. Some mythical and fictional such as The Odyssey as told by the Greek poet Homer and some historical such as the race to the south pole.”
“The south pole,” muttered the bard, “so you have explored all of Earthrealm then? I suppose that makes some sense, if you have artifices such as this then traversal of a globe would be quite manageable.”
“You are quite perceptive,” I said, not wishing to elaborate.
“A great performer knows his audience,” said Edhel with a charming, honest, almost human smile.
I felt a pang of homesickness as an intrusive thought reminded me that I could have gone to a real college surrounded by friendly faces my age, engaging in nightly holostreams and dreaming of adventures in the stars from the safety of a college dorm room. The sight of Illunor in the rear camera was the only thing that kept me grounded, as I almost felt like I was back at home on a road trip rather than returning to a fantasy feudal court, constantly evading death at every turn with the fate of humanity on the line. As such, and prompted by EVI, I barely had the wherewithal to take the planned detour.
A fact which did not pass by Edhel.
“I believe you may have taken a wrong turn, Emma,” he commented.
“Nah, I’m just taking the scenic route. I came from that direction on the way here, and you have inspired me to see the other road and I figure it should only add a few extra minutes to our travel time,” I said, gesturing at a paper map which I had referenced exactly once, “though on that subject, you seem to know these lands quite well. Do you have any recommendations on places to visit in the Nexus to scratch that itch?”
Illunor raised his eyebrow at the detour excuse, knowing full well this was not part of the plan. I worried that he might complain about the issue and but thankfully remained silent as he snacked on the contents of the misused sample storage unit. Edhel himself took on a more pensive posture.
“I’m happy to have been such an inspiration, Emma, though I am sure an explorer such as yourself has little need of such. I would normally suggest the skyward fountains of Verdellan or the cloud tides of Asturia, but that may be too casual for someone of your calibre. Perhaps the severed chasm or the fire marsh of Bhandahova may be more to your liking. Or perhaps…” Edhel leaned in, “I have heard rumours of a dragon in the glassy obsidian wastes of Vurcanar.”
I chuckled at that, knowing how I was fortunate enough to fish a dragon scale out of the nearby lake for the ECS. “The thought of going dragon hunting had certainly crossed my mind…” I mused aloud.
“Yet you sound hesitant. Perhaps it is too much for a newrealmer. Perhaps a slime or a dire rat might be more appropriate,” he said with a tease.
“No, it’s not like that! It’s” I stammered, before attempting to change course after realizing I had been goaded, “what I mean is, I was under the impression that dragons were an endangered species. Where I come from, hunting endangered animals is usually illegal, and big game hunting in general is frowned upon. We do make exceptions in the case of problem animals such as if a large predator starts hunting humans, but as a rule we prefer conservation and try to find ways of coexisting with wildlife such as the use of barrier fences and scaring away dangerous animals rather than being forced to cull their numbers. Having a species go extinct would prevent future generations from appreciating them and risks destabilizing the ecosystem they are a part of. Now if this dragon was actively razing villages and eating civilians and livestock, that would be one thing, but this does not look to be the case. I don’t imagine the Nexus has any settlements in this wasteland, and the dragon clearly wants to be left alone. Killing an innocent dragon would be murder.”
I grinned to myself after delivering a diatribe that would have made my tenth grade social and environmental studies teacher beam with pride, though by the expressions of my passengers my view did not appear to be shared. Edhel’s mouth was agape in shock and fascination, while the Venurian in the back seat merely huffed in disapproval.
“I assure you Newrealmer, there are no innocent dragons,” stated Illunor with a hint of terseness breaking through his otherwise regal demeanor.
“Illunor, I understand that Venurians have personal reasons for not liking dragons, but you can’t just extend that disdain to their descendants or those uninvolved just because they are the same species,” I said.
“If I may interject on your behalf, my lord, I believe I can address Cadet Emma Booker’s concerns,” said Edhel with a bow. Illunor nodded in approval.
“Very well, you may proceed,” he said.
“Thank you, my lord. My dear Emma, you must understand that dragons are not simple animals driven entirely off of instinct as it appears to be the case in Earthrealm. They are monsters. Intelligent, long-lived, violent, greedy, cruel, territorial, selfish flesh-eating monsters. They are evil by the very nature of their being, unable to change by their own accord, and unwilling to change when His Eternal Majesty offered them freedom from their nature. It isn’t that they want to be evil. As intelligent animals – intelligent monsters – dragons are capable of understanding morality, and many have tried to overcome their evil nature at great expense to themselves. A well intended and noble sentiment, yet a doomed one as like all animals, they all succumb to their nature in the end. Overcoming one’s nature is impossible,” said Edhel. His eyes took on a stoic, almost remorseful gaze as he spoke, and Illunor nodded with approval.
I was appalled by this claim, not by the contents so much as how blatantly false it was. As a representative of the human race, I was a living counterexample to his whole argument. We had remained physiologically unchanged as a species since the last Ice Age, and yet in spite of that, in spite of our many flaws, we had found peace and balance. If we could do it, anyone could do it.
“Will all due respect Edhel, that is nonsense. Monsters aren’t born, they are made. It is the mark of any intelligent species can adapt their behaviour to their environment for better or worse, and under the right care any so-called monster can grow to be a force for good,” I began, but while I searched for the right words Edhel shook his head.
“I appreciate your race is an empathetic one, Emma, your idealism is unfounded. As flesh eaters, a dragon must take the life of another animal or person to survive, or they will perish. As such, every dragon has taken a life. As long-lived creatures, they will have amassed a significant number of kills. As the land can only support so much animals, a dragon must be fiercely territorial and aggressive to remove competition, lest they starve. As such, even the most kind-hearted dragon alive must be violent and greedy, and their intelligence fuels this even more so if they know a bountiful land of morsels exists just outside their range.
Now perhaps a multitude of dragons may find a way to co-exist together in some settlement, but to support such a venture would require a large territory of prey, or a livestock animal. Perhaps they could support a large colony by farming grain for their livestock, but that would require effort on their behalf. As large animals, such efforts require a great deal of energy. Yet that size makes it easy for them to intimidate smaller races to do their labour for them, and to keep their client race in line dragons must be cruel. And even so, as their numbers grow so do their needs. As such, they must expand into the lands of their neighbours to survive until there is nothing left to devour, at which point they must turn against their own lest they starve. As such, it is the nature of dragons to conquer and devour. That is why there is no such thing as an innocent dragon,” finished Edhel.
I was speechless, not because I believed Edhel had a point, but because I was horrified at how easy he found it to rationalize the extermination of an entire sapient species. If this was how the elves thought, then it wasn’t the dragons who were the monsters. I suppressed that dark thought. Edhel’s thought process was a product of his culture, not a feature of his elven heritage. If there was any hope of peace between our people, I needed to show him there was another way of being. I needed to prove that co-existence was possible, no matter one’s nature.
I took a deep breath to steady myself before replying.
“That- that is a callous way of seeing things,” I began, though the shock was still there in my voice, “you speak as though there is no natural equilibrium with a dragon, that their only state of being must be to be cruel, to devour, to conquer. But I see things differently. In fact, I might wonder if a fledgling civilization might see the presence of a dragon as a boon rather than a curse. Being intelligent, the locals may be able to come to some agreement with the dragon. Perhaps they might leave some land as a hunting ground or offer up a share of their cattle or guard the dragon as it sleeps. In exchange, the dragon might allow them to build a town outside its mountain and protect them in times of danger. An equitable exchange. A civilization might even create artificial lairs to attract dragons for this very reason. True, some dragons may behave tyrannical towards their town, but a well armed populace of a large city would be more than capable of fighting such a threat, and a rational dragon might reason that threatening their own populace would put their reliable source of food and shelter at risk. You see, it’s all a matter of perspective.”
“You certainly are an imaginative one, Emma, to wonder up a quixotic world where the hare and the fox live together in harmony as equals. Even so, you seem to have ignored one key detail to such a society. What would happen should the dragon not be fed for months on end?” Asked Edhel with his eyebrow raised.
“The same thing as stranded a dozen starving, stranded Elves!” I spat back.
[Alert: Vehicle speed above recommended limit for conditions. Recommendation: slow down. ]
“I am driving slow!” I seethed, not realizing I had sped up with manual control enabled.
“I grow tired of this common prattle,” interjected Illunor just in time to prevent an awkward silence, “bard, play us another song.” “As my lord wishes,” said Edhel with a bow before turning to me with another smile, “perhaps a more soothing melody would be in order? A love song perhaps, to honour Cadet Booker’s compassionate nature?”
I said nothing as Edhel began to strum his lute again to the tune of a love story of a pair of doomed lovers named Ramian and Junette, hating his cheeky knowing grin that only served to get under my skin further as I focused on calming down and slowing the car back to a more reasonable pace before investigating a priority alert which I had been blinded to moments prior.
[Alert: hostile roadblock is absent, location unknown.]
Shit.
“Illunor, we may have a problem,” I said.
“Shush, Newrealmer, have you no class? We are almost at the best part! I’m sure it can wait,” replied the contextually clueless lizard.
I had never wanted to throttle Illunor as much as I did now.
“Illunor, shield, now,” I said with a raised voice.
“I don’t see-“ he started, pausing mid-sentence as his ears perked up.
[Alert: Multiple manafield and spell signatures detected!]
I took evasive maneuvers as Illunor tried to piece together a shield spell, fumbling it twice as panic appeared to set in and providing me with a reminder that Illunor was a civilian, not a soldier. A hail of arrows pelted the exterior of the truck, piercing but not penetrating the composite armour. I was tempted to do nothing but just drive away from the arrow fire, but a foreboding premonition of danger filled me as I recalled Sorecar’s hunter-seeker arrows.
Seeking to avoid that fate, I triggered the active defenses.
The smoke screens deployed around the vehicle, obscuring the sight of any who depended on visible light to see me. A barrage of decoy flares equipped with wooden cores shot upward at angles and diffusing to the side like a pair of giant wings which when combined with the MFD, short for mana-field dampener, inside the vehicle meant that the pelting hail of arrowfire softened to a whirr as the arrows whiffed over the top of the truck, retargeted away from the soft flesh of my passengers and even invoking friendly fire amongst the ambushers.
In the chaos, EVI and my drone swarm fed me complete tactical information on the ambush. Of the 26 individuals at the first blockade, 20 were accounted for, and 3 had died from friendly fire. Ahead at the bridge, 5 more of them were at the bridge where a barrier had been hastily erected to cage me in as the river valley was too deep to cross.
“Illunor, we need a bridge,” I said, taking stock of the wellbeing of my passengers.
The bard was huddled down low and suppressing his manafield, but otherwise rather composed. Illunor, on the other hand, was cowering in the gap between the seats with his hands covering his eyes and his tail tucked in.
“A bridge is no small request, Ne- Cadet Emma Booker,” replied Illunor, “and your ‘Emeffdee’ has blinded me to the outside of this moving death trap.”
“If I drop it, can you at least make a ramp?” I asked as I circled the battlefield. Or tried to, at least, as earthen ramparts emerged from the ground from a yet unseen source to cut off other avenues of escape.
“A ramp? Surely you don’t mean-“ he stammered.
“Yes or no,” I said.
Illunor paused, before taking an unsteady breath.
“Yes. But not with that Emeffdee,” he replied.
“Good. Steady your nerves and prepare to make a ramp ahead of us on my signal,” I said, “in the meantime, get your seatbelt on. This is going to be hairy.”
As I circled around to make my approach on the bridge, the final combatant made his appearance on a nearby tree, revealing himself as an elven mage. An alert focused on the air around him indicating he was preparing an unknown high-tier spell, and I locked the predator drone on him indicating the elf as a high-priority target if our escape plan failed, and I was forced to use lethal force.
If I was forced to kill.
It was one thing to know you may have to kill in the line of duty, but it was much harder to reconcile that with reality. No number of simulations could match the real thing, and a part of me wanted to simply offload the responsibility to EVI to keep my hands clean, but to do that would be betraying my duty as a human being. I breathed in deep and tried not to think about it, instead hoping to rely on the ace I held in my sleeve instead.
“EVI, ready the spell jammer,” I said unevenly.
“Acknowledged, the prototype Exo-Radiation Wave-Field Distruptor is primed. High risk target identified and locked, permission to engage?” EVI asked, forcing me to address the dreaded question.
“Negative,” I replied, “hold your fire. If the ramp fails, then you have permission to engage,” I said.
“Affirmative, on your mark,” replied EVI.
I lined up the truck with the bridge and bolted through the smoke, keeping a careful eye on the mage as I went. His spellform took on a more concerning shape as I accelerated, and I realized I could not afford to let him finish his spell. I triggered the spelljammer.
A terrible roar erupted from an array of speakers printed from mana-resistant materials that would have made Godzilla herself beam with pride. The sound was decidedly unnatural, gnarly, dubstep drop composed of an electric eel, a whale, a mountain lion, and a tyrannosaurus rex all being simultaneously assaulted by a swarm of angry cybernetic murder hornets as an equally chaotic wave of mana blasted outwards from the exterior of the truck, with the interior thankfully sheltered by audio and mana dampening.
The ambushing assailants cowered and panicked, and it was enough to cause the Elven mage’s spell to backfire in his face as his form exploded into ashes, meeting a horrific fate which I had tried so desperately to help him avoid. With all the combatants momentarily incapacitated or dead, I lowered the dampener and turned off the smoke.
“Ramp!” I shouted, snapping the lizard back to reality.
The Venerian nodded and hastily formed an earthwork ahead of us right before the blockade, and the truck leapt off the ramp with a not insignificant amount of air beneath our wheels. I braced for impact, regretting skimping on the shocks in the name of preserving materials, but the impact never came.
[Alert: Friendly spell designated ‘Feather Fall’]
Illunor thankfully had enough wherewithal to gently land the steel brick, and I sped off into the distance away from the trap that had unfolded behind us, leaving the interior of the truck in an awkward silence as we each processed our brush with death in our own way. “How many are dead?” I asked EVI.
“6 hostiles confirmed dead,” replied EVI.
I drove on in silence. Those were six deaths I had tried to avoid, and I became lost in thought as I wondered what I should have done differently to avoid the confrontation entirely.
Edhel broke the silence with a bout of laughter.
“Terrific! Absolutely terrific! Why, I can conjure up many a tale from this encounter alone! I live for this kind of inspiration!” Exclaimed Edhel a little too chipperly considering the circumstance.
“I would rather not hear stories about how I bravely ran away,” I moaned in deadpan sarcasm.
“You think too little of yourself, Cadet Emma Booker. It is plain to me that you are no ordinary rabbit. Make no mistake, I see it as a privilege to bear witness to the roar of a vorpal hare!” Said Edhel as he supressed his laughter, “though I am afraid with all the excitement that I must finish my song some other time.”
“How about I play some of our music?” I offered after the elf revealed his thrill-seeking side.
“Splendid, I would like that. Perhaps something of your ‘Roadtrip playlist’ you speak of? It sounds like a collection of your voyages,” said Edhel.
“That would be an improvement on the truth,” said Illunor dismissively as he eased from his state of shock, “it is little more than noise under the pretense of music.”
“Illunor…” I muttered to myself before turning the mic on, “no, no it’s not like that. I have terabytes of pre-recorded songs from various artists back home which can be played by… an artifice called a speaker. A playlist is a set of songs which are grouped together, usually to listen to in specific situations such as studying, partying, or travelling. The latter collection is what Illunor is referring to.”
I very deliberately chose not to reveal my ‘Unfortunate Daughters’ playlist.
“An artifice which plays music, and a magicless one at that. I must say, Emma, I fear for the bards in your realm,” said Edhel with a laugh.
“Your fear is misplaced, Edhel. Entertainers live like kings where I come from,” I retorted with a smirk of my own, “well, the ones with talent at least.”
“Well, well, I suppose I have to hear my competition!” Said Edhel with a laugh.
“Do as you must, though let it be known that I warned you,” said Illunor as he watched a play on his sightseer.
I had EVI compile a list of songs that left out content offensive to Nexian sensibilities or violating OpSec and as it compiled I mused over what type of sample spread I wanted to show off. Then it struck me. What better way to show off our culture than with some good old blue jumpers and nova rock! Sadly, jumpers were unavailable to show but I still had a whole list of modern artists to choose from.
Moments later, the car speakers sprung to life to the tune of ‘Innocent Youth of Mine. Edhel’s eyes lit up like a child visiting a zero-g gravity park for the first time, seemingly star-struck by the antique electric guitar and the synthesizer-drums in particular.
“What… what is this? I have never heard anything like this!” Proclaimed Edhel.
“Dreadful, isn’t it?” said Illunor, doing what he did best and pretending to hate it.
“Oh there is a lot more where that came from,” I said with a cheeky grin of my own, “this one is called ‘Innocent Youth of Mine’ by ‘Cannons and Poppies’. It’s part of the Nova Rock genre.
“And those strange instruments?” Asked Edhel.
“Oh, you mean the electric guitar and the synthesizer. They are electronic instruments, taking advantage of channeled and modulated electricity to create near any sound we can imagine,” I replied.
“Channeled electricity… are you suggesting these sounds were made by some form of lightning?” Asked Edhel.
[Suggestion: Avoid topic of electricity due to OpSec risk]
I nodded at EVI’s warning, thankful that it caught me before I discussed the very thing that all of my equipment ran on.
“It’s not exactly lightning, but close enough,” I said.
“If I had not witnessed to your display of power earlier, I might have perhaps been more skeptical of such a claim, but I suppose a lady must keep her secrets.” said Edhel with a raised eyebrow and chuckle, “but I digress, this music is most interesting.”
“There is a lot more where that came from,” I said with a cheeky grin of my own.
“If I ever have a prisoner in need of torture, I will turn to you first,” replied Illunor, “if you are willing to subject your peers to this madness then I cannot imagine what you would force upon your enemies before dunking them in ice.”
“In your dreams,” I retorted.
I played a few other songs including Astrodesee’s ‘Meteor Struck’, the Martian classic ‘Hotel Cydonia’ and even ‘Switching to Warp’ before Elaseer emerged from the distance, and I pulled up outside the gate to drop Edhel off.
“Here already?” Asked Edhel.
“Well, yeah. I was just running a quick errand, I didn’t want to go too far,” I replied casually.
“That was a distance worth at least five days of walking by foot, and you call that a ‘quick errand’?” Asked Edhel. I shrugged, and he laughed.
“Well in any case, thank you for allowing me passage in your car. I must apologize for my lack of gift or payment…” said Edhel. “Don’t worry about it, it was on the way,” I replied.
“I see, how generous. Perhaps we might one day meet again?” Asked Edhel.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure how likely that is. The academy takes up most of my time,” I replied, “though you never know. I still have a lot of quest hours to complete.”
“Is that so? In that case, I hope we meet again! Goodbye Cadet Emma Booker and farewell Lord Illunor Rularia,” he said. “And good travels to you, bard,” said Illunor.
I waved off Edhel and drove back to the academy, Illunor still sulking in the back seat.
“Perhaps next time, you should steer us away from danger?” Suggested Illunor.
“I tried, but we were tracked,” I replied.
I groaned inwardly at the additional work needed to fix the truck. EVI compiled a list of upgrades for future engagements, batting away my idea for a ‘turbo mode’ and a ‘jump boost’. Though at the end of the day, meeting the bard wasn’t a complete loss. It felt good to talk to someone almost normal for once, and I hoped I met him again.
Edhel Redoehdelnif
I watched as Cadet Emma Booker’s vehicle went off into the distance, getting one last look at the Earthrealmer’s strange artifice before turning towards the gate. The voyage was an exotic experience, not unlike that of a fever dream or a peak into a world completely alien to my own. Indeed, it was a struggle to contain my excitement and enthusiasm and process the experience rationally as I made my way through the southern gates of Elaseer and turned the corner of an alley before entering an impossible structure that did not exist.
“You are earlier than expected,” said the shadowy figure of my handler as I made my way to the meeting hall.
“The Earthrealmer’s means of transportation proved far more expedient than anticipated, my lord” I spoke as I knelt before him, “even with her unexpected departure from the anticipated road and the ambush we traveled for scantly more than an hour.”
“Yes, I will require a full report from you. Perhaps you can shed some light on the ‘smoke dragon’ my men claim intervened on the Earthrealmer’s behalf,” said my handler.
“Smoke Dragon, my lord?” I asked.
My handler responded by activating his sight-seer, revealing how the ambush had appeared from the outside. The Earthrealmer’s uncanny artifice traversed down the road, a pair of manafields displaying proudly from within until the archers began their assault. The artifice then transformed as smoke billowed out from its pores and wings sprung forth above until it was the form of a mighty wrym with a pair of glowing eyes springing forth from its ever extending head where it then gave forth a terrible unholy roar which sent waves of mana outward. The mage working to seal the area and trap their mark vapourized in an instant as his spell backfired. It was apparent to Edhel that his exceptional experience in the carriage was merely a muted rendition of the events unfolding around them.
It would seem the hare had the shadow of a dragon.
“I do have some insight, though I must confess the Earthrealmer did very little in the way of direct action. I suspect she has some unseen means of commanding and scrying through her artifices,” I said, “one which does not utilize magic as we know it.”
“Such a statement is heresy,” said my handler, “but such special circumstances are your reason for being. I will require you submit your memories for verification. What is your appraisal of the new realmer?”
“The girl is far more dangerous than a surface appraisal would suggest, though she prefers to conceal that power rather than utilize it out of a misplaced sense of compassion. Her people appear to have a boundless creative drive through which such artifices are birthed, though again it is misdirected towards more common applications. I believe that if properly tamed, this human animal may provide us with great works of art,” I said with a bow.
“I see. Does the girl know you work for us?” Asked my handler.
“She may harbour some suspicions, though did not voice them outright beyond concealing her knowledge,” I said, “though nothing significant. Provided our next meet is under believable circumstances such as a festival she should view me as cordial.”
“She has indeed proven clever,” conceded my handler, “very well, I will make arrangements for your paths to cross again. Perhaps I will arrange for her to be a contestant at the next inter-academy tournament. In the mean time, prepare your report and don’t wander far. This is a priority assignment.”
“As you wish, my lord,” I said with a bow and a smile.
Emma Booker had proved to be an interesting animal indeed, and I hoped our paths crossed again.

Howdy! My english bad sorry for that but are you know what mod are crashing game? When I create new world game crashes.
---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
// You're mean.
Time: 2024-05-19 04:57:47
Description: Exception in server tick loop
java.lang.BootstrapMethodError: java.lang.RuntimeException: Mixin transformation of com.simibubi.create.content.trains.entity.Train failed

`at com.simibubi.create.content.trains.GlobalRailwayManager.loadTrackData(GlobalRailwayManager.java:94)` `at com.simibubi.create.content.trains.GlobalRailwayManager.levelLoaded(GlobalRailwayManager.java:83)` `at com.simibubi.create.foundation.events.CommonEvents.onLoadWorld(CommonEvents.java:171)` `at net.fabricmc.fabric.api.event.lifecycle.v1.ServerWorldEvents.lambda$static$0(ServerWorldEvents.java:34)` `at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.redirect$coo000$fabric-lifecycle-events-v1$onLoadWorld(MinecraftServer.java:4870)` `at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.method_3786(MinecraftServer.java:360)` `at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.method_3735(MinecraftServer.java:324)` `at net.minecraft.class_1132.method_3823(class_1132.java:69)` `at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.method_29741(MinecraftServer.java:646)` `at net.minecraft.server.MinecraftServer.method_29739(MinecraftServer.java:265)` `at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:833)` 

Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Mixin transformation of com.simibubi.create.content.trains.entity.Train failed

`at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.getPostMixinClassByteArray(KnotClassDelegate.java:427)` `at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.tryLoadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:323)` `at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.loadClass(KnotClassDelegate.java:218)` `at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassLoader.loadClass(KnotClassLoader.java:119)` `at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:525)` `... 11 more` 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.throwables.MixinTransformerError: An unexpected critical error was encountered

`at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:392)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClass(MixinTransformer.java:234)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinTransformer.transformClassBytes(MixinTransformer.java:202)` `at net.fabricmc.loader.impl.launch.knot.KnotClassDelegate.getPostMixinClassByteArray(KnotClassDelegate.java:422)` `... 15 more` 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.throwables.MixinApplyError: Mixin [create_interactive.mixins.json:MixinTrain from mod create_interactive] from phase [DEFAULT] in config [create_interactive.mixins.json] FAILED during APPLY

`at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.handleMixinError(MixinProcessor.java:638)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.handleMixinApplyError(MixinProcessor.java:589)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:379)` `... 18 more` 

Caused by: org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.throwables.InvalidMixinException: u/Overwrite method findCollidingTrain in create_interactive.mixins.json:MixinTrain from mod create_interactive was not located in the target class com.simibubi.create.content.trains.entity.Train. Using refmap create_interactive-fabric-refmap.json

`at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinPreProcessorStandard.attachSpecialMethod(MixinPreProcessorStandard.java:436)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinPreProcessorStandard.attachOverwriteMethod(MixinPreProcessorStandard.java:416)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinPreProcessorStandard.attachMethods(MixinPreProcessorStandard.java:346)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinPreProcessorStandard.attach(MixinPreProcessorStandard.java:299)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinPreProcessorStandard.createContextFor(MixinPreProcessorStandard.java:277)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinInfo.createContextFor(MixinInfo.java:1289)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinApplicatorStandard.apply(MixinApplicatorStandard.java:294)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.apply(TargetClassContext.java:422)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.TargetClassContext.applyMixins(TargetClassContext.java:403)` `at org.spongepowered.asm.mixin.transformer.MixinProcessor.applyMixins(MixinProcessor.java:363)` `... 18 more` 

A detailed walkthrough of the error, its code path and all known details is as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- System Details --
Details:

`Minecraft Version: 1.20.1` `Minecraft Version ID: 1.20.1` `Operating System: Windows 11 (amd64) version 10.0` `Java Version: 17.0.8, Microsoft` `Java VM Version: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (mixed mode), Microsoft` `Memory: 2679414400 bytes (2555 MiB) / 4932501504 bytes (4704 MiB) up to 34359738368 bytes (32768 MiB)` `CPUs: 16` `Processor Vendor: GenuineIntel` `Processor Name: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz` `Identifier: Intel64 Family 6 Model 167 Stepping 1` `Microarchitecture: Rocket Lake` `Frequency (GHz): 3.60` `Number of physical packages: 1` `Number of physical CPUs: 8` `Number of logical CPUs: 16` `Graphics card #0 name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080` `Graphics card #0 vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)` `Graphics card #0 VRAM (MB): 4095.00` `Graphics card #0 deviceId: 0x2216` `Graphics card #0 versionInfo: DriverVersion=31.0.15.5212` `Memory slot #0 capacity (MB): 16384.00` `Memory slot #0 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.20` `Memory slot #0 type: DDR4` `Memory slot #1 capacity (MB): 16384.00` `Memory slot #1 clockSpeed (GHz): 3.20` `Memory slot #1 type: DDR4` `Virtual memory max (MB): 38777.41` `Virtual memory used (MB): 14516.93` `Swap memory total (MB): 6144.00` `Swap memory used (MB): 0.00` `JVM Flags: 9 total; -XX:HeapDumpPath=MojangTricksIntelDriversForPerformance_javaw.exe_minecraft.exe.heapdump -Xss1M -Xmx32G -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:G1NewSizePercent=20 -XX:G1ReservePercent=20 -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=50 -XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M` `Fabric Mods:` `ad_astra: Ad Astra 1.15.18` `javazoom_jlayer: jlayer 1.0.1` `alloy_forgery: Alloy Forgery 2.1.2+1.20` `antique-atlas: Antique Atlas 2.7.2+1.20` `folk_sisby_kaleido-config: kaleido-config 0.1.1+1.1.0-beta.3` `surveyor: Surveyor Map Framework 0.4.3+1.20` `appleskin: AppleSkin 2.5.1+mc1.20` `archers: Archers (RPG Series) 1.2.1+1.20.1` `com_github_zsoltmolnarrr_tinyconfig: TinyConfig 2.3.2` `ranged_weapon_api: RangedWeaponAPI 1.1.0+1.20.1` `structure_pool_api: Structure Pool API 1.0+1.20.1` `architectury: Architectury 9.2.14` `artifacts: Artifacts 9.5.5` `cardinal-components-base: Cardinal Components API (base) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-entity: Cardinal Components API (entities) 5.2.2` `expandability: ExpandAbility 9.0.4` `step-height-entity-attribute: Step Height Entity Attribute 1.2.0` `azurelibarmor: AzureLib Armor 2.0.3` `balm-fabric: Balm 7.2.2` `bclib: BCLib 3.0.14` `wunderlib: WunderLib 1.1.5` `bettercombat: Better Combat 1.8.5+1.20.1` `betterdeserttemples: YUNG's Better Desert Temples 1.20-Fabric-3.0.3` `org_reflections_reflections: reflections 0.10.2` `betterdungeons: YUNG's Better Dungeons 1.20-Fabric-4.0.4` `betterend: Better End 4.0.11` `betterendisland: YUNG's Better End Island 1.20-Fabric-2.0.6` `betterfortresses: YUNG's Better Nether Fortresses 1.20-Fabric-2.0.6` `betterjungletemples: YUNG's Better Jungle Temples 1.20-Fabric-2.0.5` `bettermineshafts: YUNG's Better Mineshafts 1.20-Fabric-4.0.4` `betternether: Better Nether 9.0.10` `betteroceanmonuments: YUNG's Better Ocean Monuments 1.20-Fabric-3.0.4` `betterwitchhuts: YUNG's Better Witch Huts 1.20-Fabric-3.0.3` `bookshelf: Bookshelf 20.1.10` `bosses_of_mass_destruction: Bosses of Mass Destruction (Beta) 1.7.5-1.20.1` `maelstrom_library: Maelstrom Library 1.6.1-1.20` `multipart_entities: MultipartEntities 1.5-1.20` `botarium: Botarium 2.3.3` `team_reborn_energy: Energy 3.0.0` `cardinal-components: Cardinal Components API 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-block: Cardinal Components API (blocks) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-chunk: Cardinal Components API (chunks) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-item: Cardinal Components API (items) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-level: Cardinal Components API (world saves) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-scoreboard: Cardinal Components API (scoreboard) 5.2.2` `cardinal-components-world: Cardinal Components API (worlds) 5.2.2` `carryon: Carry On` [`2.1.2.7`](http://2.1.2.7) `charmofundying: Charm of Undying 6.5.0+1.20.1` `spectrelib: SpectreLib 0.13.15+1.20.1` `cicada: CICADA 0.7.1+1.20.1` `cloth-config: Cloth Config v11 11.1.118` `cloth-basic-math: cloth-basic-math 0.6.1` `crawl: Crawl 0.12.0` `mm: Manningham Mills 2.3` `create: Create 0.5.1-f-build.1417+mc1.20.1` `com_electronwill_night-config_core: core 3.6.6` `com_electronwill_night-config_toml: toml 3.6.6` `com_google_code_findbugs_jsr305: jsr305 3.0.2` `flywheel: Flywheel 0.6.10-2` `forgeconfigapiport: Forge Config API Port 8.0.0` `milk: Milk Lib 1.2.60` 

dripstone_fluid_lib: Dripstone Fluid Lib 3.0.2

 `porting_lib_brewing: Porting Lib Brewing 2.3.2+1.20.1` `porting_lib_models: Porting Lib Models 2.3.2+1.20.1` 

porting_lib_model_loader: Porting Lib Model Loader 2.3.2+1.20.1

 `porting_lib_obj_loader: Porting Lib Obj Loader 2.3.2+1.20.1` `porting_lib_tags: Porting Lib Tags 3.0` `reach-entity-attributes: Reach Entity Attributes 2.4.0` `registrate-fabric: Registrate for Fabric 1.3.62-MC1.20.1` 

porting_lib_data: Porting Lib Data 2.1.1090+1.20
porting_lib_model_generators: Porting Lib Model Generators 2.1.1090+1.20
porting_lib_model_materials: Porting Lib Model Materials 2.1.1090+1.20

 `create_interactive: Create: Interactive 1.0.2-beta.2` `create_jetpack: Create Jetpack 4.2.0` `flightlib: Flight Lib 2.1.0` `createbigcannons: Create Big Cannons 0.5.4-nightly-8b9cea6` `ritchiesprojectilelib: Ritchie's Projectile Library 1.0.0-369e88d+1.20.1-fabric` 

porting_lib_utility: Porting Lib Utility 2.1.1127+1.20
porting_lib_gametest: Porting Lib GameTest 2.1.1127+1.20

 `creativecore: CreativeCore 2.11.28` `net_minecraftforge_eventbus: eventbus 6.0.3` `creeperoverhaul: Creeper Overhaul 3.0.2` `distanthorizons: Distant Horizons 2.0.4-a-dev` `do_a_barrel_roll: Do a Barrel Roll 3.5.6+1.20.1` `fabric-permissions-api-v0: fabric-permissions-api 0.2-SNAPSHOT` `mixinsquared: MixinSquared 0.1.1` `dsurround: Dynamic Surroundings 0.3.3` `org_openjdk_nashorn_nashorn-core: nashorn-core 15.4` `eatinganimationid: Eating Animation 1.20+1.9.61` `elytraslot: Elytra Slot 6.3.0+1.20.1` `endermanoverhaul: Enderman Overhaul 1.0.4` `endrem: End Remastered 5.2.4` `fabric-api: Fabric API 0.92.0+1.20.1` `fabric-api-base: Fabric API Base 0.4.31+1802ada577` `fabric-api-lookup-api-v1: Fabric API Lookup API (v1) 1.6.36+1802ada577` `fabric-biome-api-v1: Fabric Biome API (v1) 13.0.13+1802ada577` `fabric-block-api-v1: Fabric Block API (v1) 1.0.11+1802ada577` `fabric-block-view-api-v2: Fabric BlockView API (v2) 1.0.1+1802ada577` `fabric-blockrenderlayer-v1: Fabric BlockRenderLayer Registration (v1) 1.1.41+1802ada577` `fabric-client-tags-api-v1: Fabric Client Tags 1.1.2+1802ada577` `fabric-command-api-v1: Fabric Command API (v1) 1.2.34+f71b366f77` `fabric-command-api-v2: Fabric Command API (v2) 2.2.13+1802ada577` `fabric-commands-v0: Fabric Commands (v0) 0.2.51+df3654b377` `fabric-containers-v0: Fabric Containers (v0) 0.1.64+df3654b377` `fabric-content-registries-v0: Fabric Content Registries (v0) 4.0.11+1802ada577` `fabric-convention-tags-v1: Fabric Convention Tags 1.5.5+1802ada577` `fabric-crash-report-info-v1: Fabric Crash Report Info (v1) 0.2.19+1802ada577` `fabric-data-attachment-api-v1: Fabric Data Attachment API (v1) 1.0.0+de0fd6d177` `fabric-data-generation-api-v1: Fabric Data Generation API (v1) 12.3.4+1802ada577` `fabric-dimensions-v1: Fabric Dimensions API (v1) 2.1.54+1802ada577` `fabric-entity-events-v1: Fabric Entity Events (v1) 1.6.0+1c78457f77` `fabric-events-interaction-v0: Fabric Events Interaction (v0) 0.6.2+1802ada577` `fabric-events-lifecycle-v0: Fabric Events Lifecycle (v0) 0.2.63+df3654b377` `fabric-game-rule-api-v1: Fabric Game Rule API (v1) 1.0.40+1802ada577` `fabric-item-api-v1: Fabric Item API (v1) 2.1.28+1802ada577` `fabric-item-group-api-v1: Fabric Item Group API (v1) 4.0.12+1802ada577` `fabric-key-binding-api-v1: Fabric Key Binding API (v1) 1.0.37+1802ada577` `fabric-keybindings-v0: Fabric Key Bindings (v0) 0.2.35+df3654b377` `fabric-lifecycle-events-v1: Fabric Lifecycle Events (v1) 2.2.22+1802ada577` `fabric-loot-api-v2: Fabric Loot API (v2) 1.2.1+1802ada577` `fabric-loot-tables-v1: Fabric Loot Tables (v1) 1.1.45+9e7660c677` `fabric-message-api-v1: Fabric Message API (v1) 5.1.9+1802ada577` `fabric-mining-level-api-v1: Fabric Mining Level API (v1) 2.1.50+1802ada577` `fabric-model-loading-api-v1: Fabric Model Loading API (v1) 1.0.3+1802ada577` `fabric-models-v0: Fabric Models (v0) 0.4.2+9386d8a777` `fabric-networking-api-v1: Fabric Networking API (v1) 1.3.11+1802ada577` `fabric-networking-v0: Fabric Networking (v0) 0.3.51+df3654b377` `fabric-object-builder-api-v1: Fabric Object Builder API (v1) 11.1.3+1802ada577` `fabric-particles-v1: Fabric Particles (v1) 1.1.2+1802ada577` `fabric-recipe-api-v1: Fabric Recipe API (v1) 1.0.21+1802ada577` `fabric-registry-sync-v0: Fabric Registry Sync (v0) 2.3.3+1802ada577` `fabric-renderer-api-v1: Fabric Renderer API (v1) 3.2.1+1802ada577` `fabric-renderer-indigo: Fabric Renderer - Indigo 1.5.1+1802ada577` `fabric-renderer-registries-v1: Fabric Renderer Registries (v1) 3.2.46+df3654b377` `fabric-rendering-data-attachment-v1: Fabric Rendering Data Attachment (v1) 0.3.37+92a0d36777` `fabric-rendering-fluids-v1: Fabric Rendering Fluids (v1) 3.0.28+1802ada577` `fabric-rendering-v0: Fabric Rendering (v0) 1.1.49+df3654b377` `fabric-rendering-v1: Fabric Rendering (v1) 3.0.8+1802ada577` `fabric-resource-conditions-api-v1: Fabric Resource Conditions API (v1) 2.3.8+1802ada577` `fabric-resource-loader-v0: Fabric Resource Loader (v0) 0.11.10+1802ada577` `fabric-screen-api-v1: Fabric Screen API (v1) 2.0.8+1802ada577` `fabric-screen-handler-api-v1: Fabric Screen Handler API (v1) 1.3.30+1802ada577` `fabric-sound-api-v1: Fabric Sound API (v1) 1.0.13+1802ada577` `fabric-transfer-api-v1: Fabric Transfer API (v1) 3.3.4+1802ada577` `fabric-transitive-access-wideners-v1: Fabric Transitive Access Wideners (v1) 4.3.1+1802ada577` `fabric-language-kotlin: Fabric Language Kotlin 1.10.20+kotlin.1.9.24` `org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-reflect: kotlin-reflect 1.9.24` `org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib: kotlin-stdlib 1.9.24` `org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib-jdk7: kotlin-stdlib-jdk7 1.9.24` `org_jetbrains_kotlin_kotlin-stdlib-jdk8: kotlin-stdlib-jdk8 1.9.24` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_atomicfu-jvm: atomicfu-jvm 0.24.0` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm: kotlinx-coroutines-core-jvm 1.8.0` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8: kotlinx-coroutines-jdk8 1.8.0` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-datetime-jvm: kotlinx-datetime-jvm 0.5.0` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-cbor-jvm 1.6.3` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-core-jvm 1.6.3` `org_jetbrains_kotlinx_kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm: kotlinx-serialization-json-jvm 1.6.3` `fabricloader: Fabric Loader 0.15.11` `mixinextras: MixinExtras 0.3.5` `fallingtrees: Falling Trees 0.12` `farmersdelight: Farmer's Delight 1.20.1-2.1.1+refabricated` `porting_lib_accessors: Porting Lib Accessors 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_base: Porting Lib Base 2.3.4+1.20.1` 

porting_lib_entity: Porting Lib Entity 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_fluids: Porting Lib Fluids 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_mixin_extensions: Porting Lib Mixin Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_transfer: Porting Lib Transfer 2.3.4+1.20.1

 `porting_lib_client_events: Porting Lib Client Events 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_config: Porting Lib Config 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_extensions: Porting Lib Extensions 2.3.4+1.20.1` 

porting_lib_attributes: Porting Lib Attributes 2.3.4+1.20.1
porting_lib_common: Porting Lib Common 2.3.4+1.20.1

 `porting_lib_lazy_registration: Porting Lib Lazy Register 2.3.4+1.20.1` 

porting_lib_core: Porting Lib Core 2.3.4+1.20.1

 `porting_lib_loot: Porting Lib Loot 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_networking: Porting Lib Networking 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_recipe_book_categories: Porting Lib Recipe Book Categories 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_registries: Porting Lib Registries 2.3.4+1.20.1` `porting_lib_tool_actions: Porting Lib Tool Actions 2.3.4+1.20.1` `figura: Figura 0.1.4+1.20.1` `com_github_figuramc_luaj_luaj-core: luaj-core 3.0.8-figura` `com_github_figuramc_luaj_luaj-jse: luaj-jse 3.0.8-figura` `com_neovisionaries_nv-websocket-client: nv-websocket-client 2.14` `firstperson: FirstPerson 2.3.4` `framework: Framework 0.6.27` `org_javassist_javassist: javassist 3.29.2-GA` `friendlyfire: FriendlyFire 18.0.6` `geckolib: GeckoLib 4 4.4.4` `com_eliotlash_mclib_mclib: mclib 20` `goblintraders: Goblin Traders 1.9.3` `graveyard: The Graveyard 3.0` `guardvillagers: GuardVillagers 2.0.9-1.20.1` `midnightlib: MidnightLib 1.4.1` `healthindicatortxf: Health Indicator TXF 1.20.1-1.2.3-fabric` `configlibtxf: ConfigLib TXF 4.2.1-fabric` `horizontal_glass_panes: Horizontal Glass Panes 2.0.0` `indium: Indium 1.0.30+mc1.20.4` `inventoryprofilesnext: Inventory Profiles Next 1.10.10` `iris: Iris 1.7.0+mc1.20.1` `io_github_douira_glsl-transformer: glsl-transformer 2.0.0-pre13` `org_anarres_jcpp: jcpp 1.4.14` `org_antlr_antlr4-runtime: antlr4-runtime 4.11.1` `irisflw: Iris Flywheel Compat 0.2.5` `ironchest: Iron Chests 2.0.2` `libgui: LibGui 8.1.1+1.20.1` 

jankson: Jankson 6.0.0+j1.2.3
blue_endless_jankson: jankson 1.2.3
libninepatch: LibNinePatch 1.2.0

 `itemphysic: ItemPhysic 1.7.1` `jade: Jade 11.9.2+fabric` `java: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 17` `jei: Just Enough Items` [`15.3.0.4`](http://15.3.0.4) `jeresources: Just Enough Resources` [`1.4.0.247`](http://1.4.0.247) `jewelry: Jewelry (RPG Series) 1.3.0+1.20.1` `kiwi: Kiwi Library 11.6.2` `lambdynlights: LambDynamicLights 2.3.2+1.20.1` `pride: Pride Lib 1.2.0+1.19.4` `spruceui: SpruceUI 5.0.0+1.20` `libipn: libIPN 4.0.2` `lithium: Lithium 0.11.2` `minecraft: Minecraft 1.20.1` `mobsunscreen: Mob Sunscreen 3.1.0` `modmenu: Mod Menu 7.2.2` `mythicmounts: Mythic Mounts 1.20.1-7.4` `naturalist: Naturalist 4.0.3` `nethersdelight: Nether's Delight 1.0.0` `disable_custom_worlds_advice: Disable Custom Worlds Advice 4.1` `notenoughanimations: NotEnoughAnimations 1.7.3` `notreepunching: No Tree Punching 7.1.0` `nyfsspiders: Nyf's Spiders 2.1.1` `opf: Modern Online Picture Frames 1` `owo: oωo 0.11.1+1.20` `paladins: Paladins & Priests (RPG Series) 1.2.0+1.20.1` `pandalib: PandaLib 0.2.1` `passablefoliage: Passable Foliage 1.20.1-fabric-8.2.1` `patchouli: Patchouli 1.20.1-84-FABRIC` `fiber: fiber 0.23.0-2` `player-animator: Player Animator 1.0.2-rc1+1.20` `polymorph: Polymorph 0.49.3+1.20.1` `presencefootsteps: Presence Footsteps 1.9.4+1.20.1` `kirin: Kirin UI 1.15.6+1.20.1` `puffish_skills: Pufferfish's Skills 0.12.1` `reeses-sodium-options: Reese's Sodium Options 1.7.2+mc1.20.1-build.101` `repurposed_structures: Repurposed Structures 7.1.15+1.20.1-fabric` `resourcefulconfig: Resourcefulconfig 2.1.2` `resourcefullib: Resourceful Lib 2.1.24` `com_teamresourceful_bytecodecs: bytecodecs 1.0.2` `com_teamresourceful_yabn: yabn 1.0.3` `runes: Runes 0.9.11+1.20.1` `simplyswords: Simply Swords 1.55.0-1.20.1` `sit: Sit 1.20-24` `sliceanddice: Create Slice & Dice 3.2.1` `snowrealmagic: Snow! Real Magic! 10.4.3` `sodium: Sodium 0.5.8+mc1.20.1` `sodium-extra: Sodium Extra 0.5.4+mc1.20.1-build.115` `caffeineconfig: CaffeineConfig 1.3.0+1.17` `crowdin-translate: CrowdinTranslate 1.4+1.19.3` `spell_engine: Spell Engine 0.14.3+1.20.1` `spell_power: Spell Power Attribute 0.10.2+1.20.1` `travelersbackpack: Traveler's Backpack fabric-1.20.1-9.1.12` `travelerstitles: Traveler's Titles 1.20-Fabric-4.0.2` `trinkets: Trinkets 3.7.2` `valkyrienskies: Valkyrien Skies 2 2.3.0-beta.5` `visuality: Visuality 0.7.1+1.20` `vs_eureka: VS Eureka Mod 1.5.1-beta.3` `watching: From The Fog 1.9.2` `water-erosion: Water Erosion 1.1.6` `waterdripsound: Drip Sounds 1.19-0.3.2` `waystones: Waystones 14.1.3` `wizards: Wizards (RPG Series) 1.2.0+1.20.1` `yet_another_config_lib_v3: YetAnotherConfigLib 3.4.2+1.20.1-fabric` `com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-image: common-image 3.10.0` `com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-io: common-io 3.10.0` `com_twelvemonkeys_common_common-lang: common-lang 3.10.0` `com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-core: imageio-core 3.10.0` `com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-metadata: imageio-metadata 3.10.0` `com_twelvemonkeys_imageio_imageio-webp: imageio-webp 3.10.0` `org_quiltmc_parsers_gson: gson 0.2.1` `org_quiltmc_parsers_json: json 0.2.1` `yungsapi: YUNG's API 1.20-Fabric-4.0.5` `yungsbridges: YUNG's Bridges 1.20-Fabric-4.0.3` `yungsextras: YUNG's Extras 1.20-Fabric-4.0.3` `Loaded Shaderpack: (off)` `Flywheel Backend: GL33 Instanced Arrays` `Server Running: true` `Player Count: 0 / 8; []` `Data Packs: vanilla, fabric` `Enabled Feature Flags: minecraft:vanilla` `World Generation: Experimental` `Type: Integrated Server (map_client.txt)` `Is Modded: Definitely; Client brand changed to 'fabric'; Server brand changed to 'fabric'` `Launched Version: fabric-loader-0.15.11-1.20.1` 

Howdy! 👋 I'm Bella, a down-home sophisticated Southern girl. 🍑 My heart's as warm as a summer day and my smile that could light up the night. 🌟 Growing up surrounded by the charm of fireflies, grits, sweet tea, and front porch swings, I've a love for life's simple pleasures and heartfelt connections. That's where you come in! I'm looking for someone special to share all this with. I want to be your sunshine, always ready to brighten up your life. 🌞
You know, life's always a treasure trove of adventures, isn't it? My never-ending curiosity seems to fuel my passion for most everything. I'd so enjoy a good Sunday brunch with you, or a slow dance in the kitchen. Hopefully you're not afraid of spontaneous road trips, when the mood strikes. It'd be so fun to blast some tunes and sing along together! 🎶 In a partner, I value passion, intelligence, kindness, humor, honesty/openness, maturity, and authenticity. I'm craving conversations and moments of laughter as well as…other things. If you're a kind-hearted fella, grab your cowboy boots and let's hit the road together. 😊 We'll be off to the races in no time flat.
A Little More About Me:

• I love game nights with friends, every Wednesday. 🎲 We're playing Baldur's Gate 3 at the moment. (What an epic game!)
  
• I have an insane number of hobbies that I enjoy. To name a few, fitness, 💪🏻learning anything new, 🧠 girlie things like hair, makeup and fashion, crochet, 🧶 and anything outdoors gardening included. The list goes on and on!
  
• A no brainer here, photography. 📷 I love running around capturing the world's beauty everywhere I go. It'd be so much more fun if I could share them all with you!
  
• One of my favorite things is recharging in the forest near me. 🌲🥾 I love the long scenic drive out there. Bonus points for staying late to grill out at a picnic station. I'll bring the charcoal, santa gave me plenty last year! 😏
  
• Everything is better with music -- currently playing Rhye. 🎶🎙
  

I'm eager to meet you and explore the world and ourselves together. If you resonate with this and seek a journey filled with love, laughter, and growth, I can't wait to hear from you! :)
Bella <3🌹
[I am an 18+ Adult offering/requesting SFW companionship to other 18+ adults only.]

I feel like one of the reasons the valley is great is because the cast aren’t influencers. Yeah I’m sure they sell some stuff here and there on Instagram but it’s not their main job. I’m not sure why but it makes reality shows much less enjoyable when the people are hocking their brands and are all over social media. Southern charm is falling into this. VPR can’t have a famous line without it ending up on a tshirt a week later. Why are we watching scenes of lala in her office? What does she need an office for? What does Tom need an assistant for? It’s just not entertaining for some reason and I’m not sure why. We want to see their “real” lives. Not a day in the life of influencing.

Hello everyone! I know it's been a long time but with the DLC on the way and work slowing down for a bit, I've decided to start writing guides again. With the DLC a month away, I've decided to focus my efforts on guides that will help prepare for the DLC and have a few others that are just about ready as well.
With all of the patches over the years, the questlines have been changes fairly significantly. It is now nearly impossible to "break" any questlines by accident but many of my previous guides were made to avoid that happening. Given that, they have lost some of their purpose and aren't as optimal as they previously were. I have went through the game again and learned all of the new tricks to optimize the questlines so that you can take the least amount of steps possible to receive all of the questlines best rewards.
So what this guide is meant for is to help with getting characters through the game with all of the unique quest rewards as optimally as possible. So there should be nothing unnecessary within this guide and it will take you from location to location without consideration for level or build. Given that, you may need to do side objectives and leveling for your personal run, but you can just continue following from where you left off. Due to Reddit's character limit, I have to separate this guide into two parts but both halves are already available.
I hope everyone enjoys the guide and please let me know if you have any suggestions, fixes or feedback!

Second Half

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Limgrave

• Grab the First Step Grace once you enter Limgrave
• Head South-East to grab the Seaside Ruins Grace
• Head East to grab the Agheel Lake South Grace
• Rest at the Grace to receive Torrent
• Cross the bridge South-East to grab the Bridge of Sacrifice Grace
• Talk to Irina nearby and get the letter from her.
• From the Agheel Lake South Grace: Head South-East and use the Spirit Jump to grab the Starlight Shard from the stone astrolabe nearby.
• Head North and use the Spirit Jump to get down into the forest below.
• Head North-East until you hear howling from the nearby ruin
• Head South-East to grab the Fort Haight West Grace
• Go inside Fort Haight to kill the Knight at the top and grab the Dectus Medallion (Left)
• From the First Step Grace: Head North to grab the Church of Elleh Grace
• Fast Travel to the Church of Elleh Grace and talk to Witch Renna to get the Spirit Calling Bell and Spirit Wolf Ashes
• Talk to Merchant Kale to get the Fingersnap Emote
• Head North-East to grab the Agheel Lake North Grace
• Head South-East and dodge roll into the talking tree to talk with Boc
• Head North then North-East to grab the Murkwater Coast Grace
• Hop down the hole nearby and head South to kill the Invader for Reduvia
• Follow the river back North to talk with Yura
• Head back South and go inside the nearby cave to grab the Murkwater Cave Grace
• Knock the boss to half HP and accept the surrender for the Grovel for Mercy Emote
• Reload and exhaust his dialogue then hit him 3 times without killing him to make him hostile.
• Let him hit you to below half HP to get the Extreme Repentance Emote
• Either Die or use the Extreme Repentance Gesture near him to stop hostilities.
• Reload and talk to him again to get permission to open the chest nearby. Open it to enter the Mistwood Ruins.
• Head North-East to grab the Third Church of Marika Grace and rest at it to allow fast travel again.
• Head North and use the Spirit Jumps to get to the very top of the cliffs
• Head West into Summonwater Village and kill the Tibia Mariner for a Deathroot
• Head South and use the tombstones poking out of the cliff going South-West to get down to the graveyard.
• Continue South-West onto the ruin to talk with Kenneth Haight and get the Erdsteel Dagger. You can kill him for a Golden Seed as he has nothing more to offer.
• Travel back to Murkwater Cave Grace and talk with the boss again to get the Calm Down Emote
• From the Murkwater Coast Grace: Head North and then up the river and use the Spirit Jump to grab the Saintsbridge Grace
• Head West and then up the cliffs going South to help Iron Fist Alexander and get the Triumphant Delight Emote
• Head North and up the opposite cliff into the tomb to grab the Deathtouched Catacombs Grace.
• Proceed through the Deathtouched Catacombs as desired but make sure to pick up at least 1 Grave Glovewort [1] as you progress.
• Kill the boss of the Deathtouched Catacombs and open the chest to grab the Deathroot
• Leave the cave and follow the road South-West to grab the Warmaster's Shack Grace
• Head North to the arena and kill the Invader to get the Hammer Talisman
• From the Warmaster's Shack Grace: Follow the road going West to grab the Stormhill Shack Grace.
• Talk with Roderika to get the Sitting Sideways Emote and Spirit Jellyfish Ashes

Stormveil Castle/Limgrave 2

• Follow the road North that turns to go South-West into the castle to grab the Castleward Tunnel.
• Defeat Margit, the Fell Omen and grab the Margit, the Fell Omen Grace
• Head West to grab the Stormveil Main Gate Grace.
• Rest at it to enter Roundtable Hold.
• Inside Roundtable Hold, talk with Gideon, Brother Corhyn and Ensha to receive the Prayer Emote and What Do You Want Emote
• Jump over the railing and let the Invader bow to get the Reverential Bow Emote then kill him for the Taunter's Tongue.
• From the Stormveil Main Gate Grace: Talk with Gostoc in the building nearby.
• Accept or Decline him. If you Decline you can open the main gate now.
• DO NOT KILL Gostoc. If you do you will miss out on an optional reward later.
• Choose any way you like to make your way through the castle until you grab the Secluded Cell Grace before the boss room.
• From the Secluded Cell Grace: Head South past the troll and into the room straight ahead to talk with Nepheli Loux.
• Head back to the boss room and defeat Godrick the Grafted.
• Grab the Godrick the Grafted Grace and rest at it.
• Head North-West, go through the door, and follow the path to the left to hop down.
• Turn around and grab the Shabriri Grape
• Continue to the outside and grab the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace
• Return to the Roundtable Hold
• Talk with Roderika and Hewg back and forth until dialogue is exhausted.
• Talk to Rogier and tell him about Godrick to receive Rogier's Rapier +8
• Talk to the Finger Reader and the Fingers for the Rapture Emote
• Talk to Nepheli then Gideon and Nepheli again for the Arsenal Charm and to progress Nepheli's questline.
• From the First Step Grace in Limgrave: Interact with the message nearby for the Bravo! Emote
• Head South-West onto the beach and follow the cliff to find a cave to grab the Coastal Cave Grace
• Kill the boss of the cave for Tailoring Tools and Sewing Needle
• From the Coastal Cave Grace: Talk with Boc to give him the Sewing Needle

Note: Roderika's Crimson Hood is in the Grafted Scion room in Stormveil now and a Golden Seed is where she was at Stormhill Shack.

Liurnia Lake

• From the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace: Rest at the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace.
• Talk with Boc and Hyetta to give Hyetta the Shabriri Grape and get the As You Wish Emote.
• Head North-West and grab the Liurnia Lake Shore Grace
• Head North-West to grab the Laskyar Ruins Grace
• Follow the road North-West to talk with Rya in the pavilion and accept her request.
• Head West to grab the Scenic Isle Grace
• Head North-West to grab the Boilprawn Shack Grace
• Talk to Blackguard Big-Boggart and buy Rya's Necklace from him.
• Talk to him again and buy at least one Boiled Prawn from him for the Spread Out Emote
• Head North-East to grab the Academy Gate Town Grace
• Head North and kill Diallos on the ruins of a building for Diallos's Mask and Hoslow's Petal Whip. This does not affect any unique future rewards
• Continue North-West and use the portal in the pavilion to grab the Northern Liurnia Lake Shore Grace to the South-West
• Go North-East and through the illusory wall to grab the Road to the Manor Grace
• Follow the road to the manor for the Main Caria Manor Gate Grace.
• Make your way through Caria Manor as desired.
• Defeat the boss for the Royal Moongazing Grounds Grace
• Leave through the back of the boss room and head West to the ruin furthest West to find an illusory floor.
• Enter the basement that the illusory floor leads to and interact with the message.
• Leave the room and continue South-West to grab the Ranni's Rise Grace.
• Go up the elevator and accept Ranni's proposal
• Go down to talk with Iji, Blaidd and Seluvis then back up to talk with Ranni.
• Leave the tower and head to the tower to the South-East to talk with Seluvis and accept his proposal
• From the Boilprawn Shack Grace: Head North-West and grab the Fallen Ruins of the Lake Grace at the furthest West ruin.
• Head West and talk to White Mask Varre and choose the topmost option both times.
• Head North-West and grab the Temple Quarter Grace
• Go South-West into the forest to kill the Invader for a Shabriri Grape and Banished Knight Halberd +8
• Grab the Revenger's Shack Grace
• From the Temple Quarter Grace: Go North and grab the Academy Glintstone Key from behind the Dragon
• Head North-West from the Dragon to grab the Foot of the Four Belfries Grace for later use.
• From the Fallen Ruins of the Lake Grace: Head South-West to the pavilion to grab the Folly on the Lake Grace.
• Go South until you hit the wall then head West up the road to talk with Nepheli Loux
• Continue West to grab the Village of the Albinauric's Grace
• Follow the path South-East and roll into the conspicuous pot to reveal Albus
• Talk to Albus to receive the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right)
• Continue through the village to defeat the boss.
• From the Scenic Isle Grace: Head East to talk with Rya and give her Rya's Necklace for the Volcano Manor Invitation.
• From the Scenic Isle Grace: Head directly South and into the cave to grab the Lakeside Crystal Cave Grace
• Continue through the cave as desired and kill the boss
• Leave through the back of the boss room to talk with Latenna to receive her Ashes.
• From the Laskyar Ruins Grace: Head East and talk with Hyetta to give her a Shabriri Grape
• Continue East into the ruin and go inside the basement hidden beneath the wooden planks to grab a Shabriri Grape
• Leave the basement and head North-East to grab the Liurnia Highway North Grace
• Follow the road North going down to grab the Gate Town Bridge Grace
• Rest at the grace and talk to Hyetta nearby to the North to give her another Shabriri Grape and tell her what they are.
• Rest at the grace and talk with her again.
• Head East to use the Spirit Jump then grab the Starlight Shard from the stone astrolabe slightly West.
• Follow the road North to kill the Tibia Mariner for a Deathroot
• Head East from the Tibia Mariner and use the tombstone sticking out of the cliff to make your way down to grab the Jarburg Grace for later.
• From the Laskyar Ruins Grace: Head North-West and go through the portal to grab the South Raya Lucaria Gate Grace
• Use the nearby gate to grab the Main Academy Gate Grace
• Head North-East past the seal and interact with the Invasion Sign to assist Yura and receive the Ash of War: Raptor of the Mists
• Talk with Yura nearby
• Go South-West and interact with the seal to grab the East Raya Lucaria Gate Grace
• Head North-East and grab the Bellum Church Grace for later
• Follow the cliff North-East to grab the Grand Lift of Dectus Grace
• Head South and follow the cliffs on the East side to use the Spirit Jump and kill the enemies at the top of the tower. Note: If you jump just right, you can land Torrent on the very top of the tower and avoid any climbing.
• Head South-East from the tower to grab the Frenzied Flame Village Outskirts Grace
• Go East and use the tombstones poking out from the cliffside to get to the bottom, open the door to the North and grab the Black Knife Catacombs Grace.
• Proceed through the Black Knife Catacombs as desired but make sure to pick up at least 1 of each of the Grave Glovewort [2], Grave Glovewort [3] and Grave Glovewort [4] as you progress.
• Kill the Black Knife boss behind the illusory wall for the Black Knifeprint
• Kill the other boss inside to grab a Deathroot from the chest.
• From the Frenzied Flame Village Outskirts Grace: Head South-West into the village then North-West to kill the Invader for the Fingerprint Grape and Vyke's War Spear
• Grab the Church of Inhibition Grace just to the North
• From the Bellum Church Grace: Talk with Hyetta nearby to give her the Fingerprint Grape
• Use the hole in the back of the church to follow the slope down going North-East to grab the Ravine-Veiled Village Grace for later.

Raya Lucaria/Liurnia Lake 2

• From the Main Academy Gate Grace: Go up the lift to enter Raya Lucaria and proceed through it as desired to grab the Schoolhouse Classroom Grace.
• Kill the Red Wolf of Radagon
• Grab the Debate Parlor Grace
• Proceed through the area that goes North-West up the stairs and over the balcony as desired to grab the second Academy Glintstone Key at the end.
• From the Debate Parlor Grace: Head North-East up the stairs to kill Moongrum, Carian Knight
• Defeat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
• Grab the Raya Lucaria Grand Library Grace
• From the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace: Go South-West into the Church of Irith and talk with Thops to give him the second Academy Glintstone Key and recieve the Erudition Emote.
• Reload the area and kill the scarab for Ash of War: Thop's Barrier
• From the Schoolhouse Classroom Grace: Go outside and around the corner to grab Thop's Barrier
• From the Ravine-Veiled Village Grace: Climb the ladder nearby and proceed through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice as desired to grab the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook Grace.
• Summon Great Horned Tragoth to receive the Casual Greeting Emote.
• Kill Magma Wyrm Makar
• Grab the Magma Wyrm Makar Grace
• Go up the lift at the back of the boss room to grab the Abandoned Coffin Grace
• Return to the Roundtable Hold
• Kill the Invader for Clinging Bone
• Talk to the Finger Reader Enia for a Talisman Pouch
• Talk to Corhyn to get him to progress his questline.
• Talk with Roderika and upgrade the Spirit Ash of your choosing to +4 using the Grave Gloveworts picked up in Deathtouched Catacombs and Black Knife Catacombs.
• After upgrading, talk with Roderika again to get the Curtsy Emote.
• Talk with Rogier again and he should mention going to sleep.
• Reload and talk with the sleeping Rogier. Repeat this 3 times for the Spellblade Armor Set.
• Talk with Fia and cuddle her, then cuddle her again and exhaust her dialogue to receive the Weathered Dagger.
• Talk with D to show him the Deathroot and accept his proposal then show him the Weathered Dagger.
• Reload and go into the locked room behind Blacksmith Hewg to talk with Fia and get the Twinned Armor Set.

Caelid

• From the Third Church of Marika Grace: Go North-East and use the portal to grab the Bestial Sanctum Grace behind the doors.
• Go South-East to grab the Farum Greatbridge Grace
• Run across the bridge and hug the southern cliff going South-West to use the Spirit Jump behind the Minor Erdtree and grab the Fort Faroth Grace
• Go West and use the Spirit Jump over the edge of the southern cliff to get down then head South to grab the Church of the Plague Grace
• Head West and fall down the cliff safely. There is a large spot where it's easily doable.
• Go North-West to grab the Sellia Under-Stair Grace
• Head South-West to grab the Inner Aeonia Grace
• Kill Commander O'Neil to the South for the Golden Needle
• From the Church of the Plague Grace: Head West and fall down the cliff safely again.
• Talk to Gowry in the shack to give him the Golden Needle.
• Reload and talk to him again to receive the Golden Needle.
• From the Church of the Plague Grace: Talk to Millicent to give her the Golden Needle
• Reload and talk to her again to receive Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom
• Reload then head West to fall down the cliff safely again.
• Talk with Millicent in the shack.
• Reload and talk with Gowry in the shack.
• Follow the road South to grab the Southern Aeonia Swamp Grace.
• Go South-West and then South-East to grab the Impassable Greatbridge Grace
• Use the portal to grab the Chamber Outside the Plaza Grace
• Go North to talk with Finger Maiden Thorelina for the Polite Bow Emote
• Go up the stairs to talk with Jerren for the Heartening Cry Emote
• Continue North and use the elevator at the back to reach the portal to Radahn.
• Kill Starscourge Radahn
• Grab the Starscourge Radahn Grace
• Talk with Blaidd to exhaust his dialogue
• Talk with Alexander to exhaust his dialogue

Altus Plateau/Mt Gelmir

• From the Abandoned Coffin Grace: Head North-East to grab the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace
• Talk with Rya just to the South to teleport to Volcano Manor
• Grab the Volcano Manor Grace
• Talk with Tanith nearby to receive Drawing-Room Key
• Open the doors and grab the Letter from Volcano Manor from the table
• Talk with Rya and exhaust her dialogue.
• Talk with Recusant Bernahl and exhaust his dialogue.
• From the Warmaster's Shack Grace: Go North and invade Old Knight Istvan for the Scaled Armour Set
• From the Volcano Manor Grace: Talk to Tanith to receive Magma Shot
• Grab the second Letter from Volcano Manor from the table
• Talk with Rya and exhaust her dialogue.
• Talk with Bernahl and he will begin selling new Ashes of War.
• Talk with Patches in the hallway near the grace then talk to him again to receive the Letter to Patches
• From the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace: Head East across the battlefield to grab the Altus Highway Junction Grace.
• Go East and then North into the hole in the cliff to grab the Amber Starlight Shard
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Follow the road North to grab the Forest-Spanning Greatbridge Grace.
• Use the portal and head South to talk with Goldmask
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Go North again and talk with Brother Corhyn to tell him about Goldmask
• Go North-West down the cliff to Second Church of Marika
• Talk with Yura to get Nagakiba
• Kill the Invader for Eleonora's Poleblade and the Purifying Crystal Tear
• Continue North and use the Spirit Jump to get to the top of the cliff.
• Head West across the bridge to grab the Bridge of Iniquity Grace
• Go East across the bridge again and follow the road to the Writheblood Ruins.
• Invade Magnus the Beast Claw in the easternmost ruin for the Great Stars.
• From the Bridge of Iniquity Grace: Cross the bridge East and use the Spirit Jumps to get back down to the bottom.
• Head North-West to invade Rileigh the Idle for Crepus's Vial
• Continue North and jump onto the West wall of the Shaded Castle.
• Continue through the Shaded Castle as desired to grab the Shaded Castle Inner Gate Grace
• Jump onto the wall South of the grace and use it to jump onto the pathway to the West
• Head North up the path and open the chest to grab Valkyrie's Prosthesis.
• From the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace: Go North to talk with Millicent and give her the Valkyrie's Prosthesis
• Continue North up the slope then West to kill the Tibia Mariner for another Deathroot.
• Head North-West into the ravine to grab the Seethewater River Grace
• Follow the path looping around to grab the Seethewater Terminus Grace.
• Head South-West to kill the Magma Wyrm
• Talk with Alexander who is in the lava near the Magma Wyrm to receive the Jar helmet. You can use the solid magma rock on the edge of the cliff to avoid damage while talking with him.
• Continue South and East to grab the Craftsman's Shack Grace
• Head North-East to grab the Primeval Sorcerer Azur Grace.
• Talk with Primeval Sorcerer Azur for Comet Azur
• Head North-East across the rock bridge and into the building to grab Gelmir Hero's Grave Grace
• Kill the boss Red Wolf of the Champion to grab another Deathroot from the chest.
• From the Forest-Spanning Greatbridge Grace: Use the portal and go South again to talk with Goldmask and Brother Corhyn again.
• Follow the road North then South-East to grab the Windmill Village Grace
• Head North-East through the village to kill the Godskin Apostle
• Grab the Windmill Heights Grace and rest at it
• Talk with Millicent nearby and exhaust her dialogue.
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Head up the stairs to the East and through the doors to grab the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Grace.
• Head South-East into the church to grab the Minor Erdtree Church Grace.
• Talk with Melina at the Minor Erdtree Church Grace for the Outer Order Emote.
• From the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Grace: Head up the stairs North-East and follow the road North for the Outer Wall Battleground Grace
• Find the Servant standing on the road just South of the grace and defeat the enemy that spawns from it for the Viridian Amber Medallion +1.
• From the Magma Wyrm Makar Grace: Invade Great Horned Tragoth for the Bull Goat Armour Set
• From the Volcano Manor Grace: Talk with Tanith to receive the Serpentbone Blade
• Talk with Patches to report your success
• Grab the Red Letter from the table
• Talk with Recusant Bernahl for the Letter to Bernahl
• Talk to Rya in the other room.
• Use the secret passage in the third room to grab the Prison Town Church Grace.
• Proceed through the area as desired to grab pull the lever and raise the shortcut bridge next to the Prison Town Church Grace.
• From the Prison Town Church Grace: Cross the bridge and kill the Godskin Noble
• Grab the Temple of Eiglay Grace
• Grab the Serpent's Amnion from nearby

Underground

• From the Fort Haight West Grace: Head North-West to the crater and descend inside of it.
• Proceed as desired until you reach the Nokron, Eternal City Grace.
• Continue proceeding as desired to the boss room.
• Kill the boss to learn more about yourself and grab the Grace.
• Head North-East along the bridge until you hit the forest.
• Follow the cliff leading North-West to grab the Ancestral Woods Grace.
• Jump down onto the roofs to the South-West and proceed as desired through the area until you grab the Night's Sacred Ground Grace
• Head North-East past the Mimic's and up the stairs to open the chest and grab the Fingerslayer Blade and Great Ghost Glovewort.
• Use the portal nearby then head far North-East until you reach the cliff's edge near the jellyfish.
• Head North along the cliff to jump down and grab the Aqueduct-Facing Cliffs Grace.
• Go East and make your way down to progress through the area as desired until you reach the boss room.
• Talk with the NPC curled up outside the boss room to give him the Twinned Armor Set and receive the Inner Order Emote.
• Kill the Boss Duo to grab the Great Waterfall Basin Grace.
• Use the coffin just North-West of the grace and grab the Great Waterfall Crest Grace.
• Head West across the branches then further West to grab the Deeproot Depths Grace.
• Follow the cliff North and then West to grab the Nameless Eternal City Grace.
• Go East and onto the rooftop to make your way up the branches and grab the Across the Roots Grace on cliff near the top.
• Enter the area North and kill Fia's Champions to get Fia's Mist.
• Grab the Prince of Death's Throne Grace

Leyndell

• From the Prince of Death's Throne Grace: Use the nearby portal to enter Leyndell Capital.
• Head South to grab the East Capital Rampart Grace.
• Proceed through the area as desired to grab the Avenue Balcony Grace(the fastest way is by going West across the rooftops)
• Continue proceeding through the area as desired until you reach the West Capital Rampart Grace.(the fastest way is by going straight North-West and climbing up the wing.)
• Follow the path South and then go down the branch to the West.
• Jump onto the roof and enter the building to find a familiar area.
• Proceed through this area as desired, but just make sure you grab the Seedbed Curse from the North most room on the top floor.
• Once you get to the bottom floor, Invade Vargram the Raging Wolf and Errant Sorcerer Wilhelm to receive the Raging Wolf Armor Set.
• From the West Capital Rampart Grace: Follow the path South and then go up the branch to the East to the boss room.
• Kill the Golden Shade boss and grab the Erdtree Sanctuary Grace.
• Head East and up the branch, into the building and then out of the building.
• Once you get out of the building, go West to jump down onto the rooftop and enter the window.
• Climb onto the branch and grab the Golden Order Principia from the floating chair.
• Head North out of the building again and grab the Queen's Bedchamber Grace.
• Kill Morgott, the Grace-Given
• Interact with the thorns, grab the Elden Throne Grace and rest at it.

This is the end of the First Half of the guide but I will be posting the Second Half immediately. I hope everyone enjoyed the guide and hope you'll stick around for more or check out my other Guides.

Second Half

Hello everyone! I know it's been a long time but with the DLC on the way and work slowing down for a bit, I've decided to start writing guides again. With the DLC a month away, I've decided to focus my efforts on guides that will help prepare for the DLC and have a few others that are just about ready as well.
With all of the patches over the years, the questlines have been changes fairly significantly. It is now nearly impossible to "break" any questlines by accident but many of my previous guides were made to avoid that happening. Given that, they have lost some of their purpose and aren't as optimal as they previously were. I have went through the game again and learned all of the new tricks to optimize the questlines so that you can take the least amount of steps possible to receive all of the questlines best rewards.
So what this guide is meant for is to help with getting characters through the game with all of the unique quest rewards as optimally as possible. So there should be nothing unnecessary within this guide and it will take you from location to location without consideration for level or build. Given that, you may need to do side objectives and leveling for your personal run, but you can just continue following from where you left off. Due to Reddit's character limit, I have to separate this guide into two parts but both halves are already available.
I hope everyone enjoys the guide and please let me know if you have any suggestions, fixes or feedback!

Second Half

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Limgrave

• Grab the First Step Grace once you enter Limgrave
• Head South-East to grab the Seaside Ruins Grace
• Head East to grab the Agheel Lake South Grace
• Rest at the Grace to receive Torrent
• Cross the bridge South-East to grab the Bridge of Sacrifice Grace
• Talk to Irina nearby and get the letter from her.
• From the Agheel Lake South Grace: Head South-East and use the Spirit Jump to grab the Starlight Shard from the stone astrolabe nearby.
• Head North and use the Spirit Jump to get down into the forest below.
• Head North-East until you hear howling from the nearby ruin
• Head South-East to grab the Fort Haight West Grace
• Go inside Fort Haight to kill the Knight at the top and grab the Dectus Medallion (Left)
• From the First Step Grace: Head North to grab the Church of Elleh Grace
• Fast Travel to the Church of Elleh Grace and talk to Witch Renna to get the Spirit Calling Bell and Spirit Wolf Ashes
• Talk to Merchant Kale to get the Fingersnap Emote
• Head North-East to grab the Agheel Lake North Grace
• Head South-East and dodge roll into the talking tree to talk with Boc
• Head North then North-East to grab the Murkwater Coast Grace
• Hop down the hole nearby and head South to kill the Invader for Reduvia
• Follow the river back North to talk with Yura
• Head back South and go inside the nearby cave to grab the Murkwater Cave Grace
• Knock the boss to half HP and accept the surrender for the Grovel for Mercy Emote
• Reload and exhaust his dialogue then hit him 3 times without killing him to make him hostile.
• Let him hit you to below half HP to get the Extreme Repentance Emote
• Either Die or use the Extreme Repentance Gesture near him to stop hostilities.
• Reload and talk to him again to get permission to open the chest nearby. Open it to enter the Mistwood Ruins.
• Head North-East to grab the Third Church of Marika Grace and rest at it to allow fast travel again.
• Head North and use the Spirit Jumps to get to the very top of the cliffs
• Head West into Summonwater Village and kill the Tibia Mariner for a Deathroot
• Head South and use the tombstones poking out of the cliff going South-West to get down to the graveyard.
• Continue South-West onto the ruin to talk with Kenneth Haight and get the Erdsteel Dagger. You can kill him for a Golden Seed as he has nothing more to offer.
• Travel back to Murkwater Cave Grace and talk with the boss again to get the Calm Down Emote
• From the Murkwater Coast Grace: Head North and then up the river and use the Spirit Jump to grab the Saintsbridge Grace
• Head West and then up the cliffs going South to help Iron Fist Alexander and get the Triumphant Delight Emote
• Head North and up the opposite cliff into the tomb to grab the Deathtouched Catacombs Grace.
• Proceed through the Deathtouched Catacombs as desired but make sure to pick up at least 1 Grave Glovewort [1] as you progress.
• Kill the boss of the Deathtouched Catacombs and open the chest to grab the Deathroot
• Leave the cave and follow the road South-West to grab the Warmaster's Shack Grace
• Head North to the arena and kill the Invader to get the Hammer Talisman
• From the Warmaster's Shack Grace: Follow the road going West to grab the Stormhill Shack Grace.
• Talk with Roderika to get the Sitting Sideways Emote and Spirit Jellyfish Ashes

Stormveil Castle/Limgrave 2

• Follow the road North that turns to go South-West into the castle to grab the Castleward Tunnel.
• Defeat Margit, the Fell Omen and grab the Margit, the Fell Omen Grace
• Head West to grab the Stormveil Main Gate Grace.
• Rest at it to enter Roundtable Hold.
• Inside Roundtable Hold, talk with Gideon, Brother Corhyn and Ensha to receive the Prayer Emote and What Do You Want Emote
• Jump over the railing and let the Invader bow to get the Reverential Bow Emote then kill him for the Taunter's Tongue.
• From the Stormveil Main Gate Grace: Talk with Gostoc in the building nearby.
• Accept or Decline him. If you Decline you can open the main gate now.
• DO NOT KILL Gostoc. If you do you will miss out on an optional reward later.
• Choose any way you like to make your way through the castle until you grab the Secluded Cell Grace before the boss room.
• From the Secluded Cell Grace: Head South past the troll and into the room straight ahead to talk with Nepheli Loux.
• Head back to the boss room and defeat Godrick the Grafted.
• Grab the Godrick the Grafted Grace and rest at it.
• Head North-West, go through the door, and follow the path to the left to hop down.
• Turn around and grab the Shabriri Grape
• Continue to the outside and grab the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace
• Return to the Roundtable Hold
• Talk with Roderika and Hewg back and forth until dialogue is exhausted.
• Talk to Rogier and tell him about Godrick to receive Rogier's Rapier +8
• Talk to the Finger Reader and the Fingers for the Rapture Emote
• Talk to Nepheli then Gideon and Nepheli again for the Arsenal Charm and to progress Nepheli's questline.
• From the First Step Grace in Limgrave: Interact with the message nearby for the Bravo! Emote
• Head South-West onto the beach and follow the cliff to find a cave to grab the Coastal Cave Grace
• Kill the boss of the cave for Tailoring Tools and Sewing Needle
• From the Coastal Cave Grace: Talk with Boc to give him the Sewing Needle

Note: Roderika's Crimson Hood is in the Grafted Scion room in Stormveil now and a Golden Seed is where she was at Stormhill Shack.

Liurnia Lake

• From the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace: Rest at the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace.
• Talk with Boc and Hyetta to give Hyetta the Shabriri Grape and get the As You Wish Emote.
• Head North-West and grab the Liurnia Lake Shore Grace
• Head North-West to grab the Laskyar Ruins Grace
• Follow the road North-West to talk with Rya in the pavilion and accept her request.
• Head West to grab the Scenic Isle Grace
• Head North-West to grab the Boilprawn Shack Grace
• Talk to Blackguard Big-Boggart and buy Rya's Necklace from him.
• Talk to him again and buy at least one Boiled Prawn from him for the Spread Out Emote
• Head North-East to grab the Academy Gate Town Grace
• Head North and kill Diallos on the ruins of a building for Diallos's Mask and Hoslow's Petal Whip. This does not affect any unique future rewards
• Continue North-West and use the portal in the pavilion to grab the Northern Liurnia Lake Shore Grace to the South-West
• Go North-East and through the illusory wall to grab the Road to the Manor Grace
• Follow the road to the manor for the Main Caria Manor Gate Grace.
• Make your way through Caria Manor as desired.
• Defeat the boss for the Royal Moongazing Grounds Grace
• Leave through the back of the boss room and head West to the ruin furthest West to find an illusory floor.
• Enter the basement that the illusory floor leads to and interact with the message.
• Leave the room and continue South-West to grab the Ranni's Rise Grace.
• Go up the elevator and accept Ranni's proposal
• Go down to talk with Iji, Blaidd and Seluvis then back up to talk with Ranni.
• Leave the tower and head to the tower to the South-East to talk with Seluvis and accept his proposal
• From the Boilprawn Shack Grace: Head North-West and grab the Fallen Ruins of the Lake Grace at the furthest West ruin.
• Head West and talk to White Mask Varre and choose the topmost option both times.
• Head North-West and grab the Temple Quarter Grace
• Go South-West into the forest to kill the Invader for a Shabriri Grape and Banished Knight Halberd +8
• Grab the Revenger's Shack Grace
• From the Temple Quarter Grace: Go North and grab the Academy Glintstone Key from behind the Dragon
• Head North-West from the Dragon to grab the Foot of the Four Belfries Grace for later use.
• From the Fallen Ruins of the Lake Grace: Head South-West to the pavilion to grab the Folly on the Lake Grace.
• Go South until you hit the wall then head West up the road to talk with Nepheli Loux
• Continue West to grab the Village of the Albinauric's Grace
• Follow the path South-East and roll into the conspicuous pot to reveal Albus
• Talk to Albus to receive the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right)
• Continue through the village to defeat the boss.
• From the Scenic Isle Grace: Head East to talk with Rya and give her Rya's Necklace for the Volcano Manor Invitation.
• From the Scenic Isle Grace: Head directly South and into the cave to grab the Lakeside Crystal Cave Grace
• Continue through the cave as desired and kill the boss
• Leave through the back of the boss room to talk with Latenna to receive her Ashes.
• From the Laskyar Ruins Grace: Head East and talk with Hyetta to give her a Shabriri Grape
• Continue East into the ruin and go inside the basement hidden beneath the wooden planks to grab a Shabriri Grape
• Leave the basement and head North-East to grab the Liurnia Highway North Grace
• Follow the road North going down to grab the Gate Town Bridge Grace
• Rest at the grace and talk to Hyetta nearby to the North to give her another Shabriri Grape and tell her what they are.
• Rest at the grace and talk with her again.
• Head East to use the Spirit Jump then grab the Starlight Shard from the stone astrolabe slightly West.
• Follow the road North to kill the Tibia Mariner for a Deathroot
• Head East from the Tibia Mariner and use the tombstone sticking out of the cliff to make your way down to grab the Jarburg Grace for later.
• From the Laskyar Ruins Grace: Head North-West and go through the portal to grab the South Raya Lucaria Gate Grace
• Use the nearby gate to grab the Main Academy Gate Grace
• Head North-East past the seal and interact with the Invasion Sign to assist Yura and receive the Ash of War: Raptor of the Mists
• Talk with Yura nearby
• Go South-West and interact with the seal to grab the East Raya Lucaria Gate Grace
• Head North-East and grab the Bellum Church Grace for later
• Follow the cliff North-East to grab the Grand Lift of Dectus Grace
• Head South and follow the cliffs on the East side to use the Spirit Jump and kill the enemies at the top of the tower. Note: If you jump just right, you can land Torrent on the very top of the tower and avoid any climbing.
• Head South-East from the tower to grab the Frenzied Flame Village Outskirts Grace
• Go East and use the tombstones poking out from the cliffside to get to the bottom, open the door to the North and grab the Black Knife Catacombs Grace.
• Proceed through the Black Knife Catacombs as desired but make sure to pick up at least 1 of each of the Grave Glovewort [2], Grave Glovewort [3] and Grave Glovewort [4] as you progress.
• Kill the Black Knife boss behind the illusory wall for the Black Knifeprint
• Kill the other boss inside to grab a Deathroot from the chest.
• From the Frenzied Flame Village Outskirts Grace: Head South-West into the village then North-West to kill the Invader for the Fingerprint Grape and Vyke's War Spear
• Grab the Church of Inhibition Grace just to the North
• From the Bellum Church Grace: Talk with Hyetta nearby to give her the Fingerprint Grape
• Use the hole in the back of the church to follow the slope down going North-East to grab the Ravine-Veiled Village Grace for later.

Raya Lucaria/Liurnia Lake 2

• From the Main Academy Gate Grace: Go up the lift to enter Raya Lucaria and proceed through it as desired to grab the Schoolhouse Classroom Grace.
• Kill the Red Wolf of Radagon
• Grab the Debate Parlor Grace
• Proceed through the area that goes North-West up the stairs and over the balcony as desired to grab the second Academy Glintstone Key at the end.
• From the Debate Parlor Grace: Head North-East up the stairs to kill Moongrum, Carian Knight
• Defeat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon
• Grab the Raya Lucaria Grand Library Grace
• From the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace: Go South-West into the Church of Irith and talk with Thops to give him the second Academy Glintstone Key and recieve the Erudition Emote.
• Reload the area and kill the scarab for Ash of War: Thop's Barrier
• From the Schoolhouse Classroom Grace: Go outside and around the corner to grab Thop's Barrier
• From the Ravine-Veiled Village Grace: Climb the ladder nearby and proceed through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice as desired to grab the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Overlook Grace.
• Summon Great Horned Tragoth to receive the Casual Greeting Emote.
• Kill Magma Wyrm Makar
• Grab the Magma Wyrm Makar Grace
• Go up the lift at the back of the boss room to grab the Abandoned Coffin Grace
• Return to the Roundtable Hold
• Kill the Invader for Clinging Bone
• Talk to the Finger Reader Enia for a Talisman Pouch
• Talk to Corhyn to get him to progress his questline.
• Talk with Roderika and upgrade the Spirit Ash of your choosing to +4 using the Grave Gloveworts picked up in Deathtouched Catacombs and Black Knife Catacombs.
• After upgrading, talk with Roderika again to get the Curtsy Emote.
• Talk with Rogier again and he should mention going to sleep.
• Reload and talk with the sleeping Rogier. Repeat this 3 times for the Spellblade Armor Set.
• Talk with Fia and cuddle her, then cuddle her again and exhaust her dialogue to receive the Weathered Dagger.
• Talk with D to show him the Deathroot and accept his proposal then show him the Weathered Dagger.
• Reload and go into the locked room behind Blacksmith Hewg to talk with Fia and get the Twinned Armor Set.

Caelid

• From the Third Church of Marika Grace: Go North-East and use the portal to grab the Bestial Sanctum Grace behind the doors.
• Go South-East to grab the Farum Greatbridge Grace
• Run across the bridge and hug the southern cliff going South-West to use the Spirit Jump behind the Minor Erdtree and grab the Fort Faroth Grace
• Go West and use the Spirit Jump over the edge of the southern cliff to get down then head South to grab the Church of the Plague Grace
• Head West and fall down the cliff safely. There is a large spot where it's easily doable.
• Go North-West to grab the Sellia Under-Stair Grace
• Head South-West to grab the Inner Aeonia Grace
• Kill Commander O'Neil to the South for the Golden Needle
• From the Church of the Plague Grace: Head West and fall down the cliff safely again.
• Talk to Gowry in the shack to give him the Golden Needle.
• Reload and talk to him again to receive the Golden Needle.
• From the Church of the Plague Grace: Talk to Millicent to give her the Golden Needle
• Reload and talk to her again to receive Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom
• Reload then head West to fall down the cliff safely again.
• Talk with Millicent in the shack.
• Reload and talk with Gowry in the shack.
• Follow the road South to grab the Southern Aeonia Swamp Grace.
• Go South-West and then South-East to grab the Impassable Greatbridge Grace
• Use the portal to grab the Chamber Outside the Plaza Grace
• Go North to talk with Finger Maiden Thorelina for the Polite Bow Emote
• Go up the stairs to talk with Jerren for the Heartening Cry Emote
• Continue North and use the elevator at the back to reach the portal to Radahn.
• Kill Starscourge Radahn
• Grab the Starscourge Radahn Grace
• Talk with Blaidd to exhaust his dialogue
• Talk with Alexander to exhaust his dialogue

Altus Plateau/Mt Gelmir

• From the Abandoned Coffin Grace: Head North-East to grab the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace
• Talk with Rya just to the South to teleport to Volcano Manor
• Grab the Volcano Manor Grace
• Talk with Tanith nearby to receive Drawing-Room Key
• Open the doors and grab the Letter from Volcano Manor from the table
• Talk with Rya and exhaust her dialogue.
• Talk with Recusant Bernahl and exhaust his dialogue.
• From the Warmaster's Shack Grace: Go North and invade Old Knight Istvan for the Scaled Armour Set
• From the Volcano Manor Grace: Talk to Tanith to receive Magma Shot
• Grab the second Letter from Volcano Manor from the table
• Talk with Rya and exhaust her dialogue.
• Talk with Bernahl and he will begin selling new Ashes of War.
• Talk with Patches in the hallway near the grace then talk to him again to receive the Letter to Patches
• From the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace: Head East across the battlefield to grab the Altus Highway Junction Grace.
• Go East and then North into the hole in the cliff to grab the Amber Starlight Shard
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Follow the road North to grab the Forest-Spanning Greatbridge Grace.
• Use the portal and head South to talk with Goldmask
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Go North again and talk with Brother Corhyn to tell him about Goldmask
• Go North-West down the cliff to Second Church of Marika
• Talk with Yura to get Nagakiba
• Kill the Invader for Eleonora's Poleblade and the Purifying Crystal Tear
• Continue North and use the Spirit Jump to get to the top of the cliff.
• Head West across the bridge to grab the Bridge of Iniquity Grace
• Go East across the bridge again and follow the road to the Writheblood Ruins.
• Invade Magnus the Beast Claw in the easternmost ruin for the Great Stars.
• From the Bridge of Iniquity Grace: Cross the bridge East and use the Spirit Jumps to get back down to the bottom.
• Head North-West to invade Rileigh the Idle for Crepus's Vial
• Continue North and jump onto the West wall of the Shaded Castle.
• Continue through the Shaded Castle as desired to grab the Shaded Castle Inner Gate Grace
• Jump onto the wall South of the grace and use it to jump onto the pathway to the West
• Head North up the path and open the chest to grab Valkyrie's Prosthesis.
• From the Erdtree-Gazing Hill Grace: Go North to talk with Millicent and give her the Valkyrie's Prosthesis
• Continue North up the slope then West to kill the Tibia Mariner for another Deathroot.
• Head North-West into the ravine to grab the Seethewater River Grace
• Follow the path looping around to grab the Seethewater Terminus Grace.
• Head South-West to kill the Magma Wyrm
• Talk with Alexander who is in the lava near the Magma Wyrm to receive the Jar helmet. You can use the solid magma rock on the edge of the cliff to avoid damage while talking with him.
• Continue South and East to grab the Craftsman's Shack Grace
• Head North-East to grab the Primeval Sorcerer Azur Grace.
• Talk with Primeval Sorcerer Azur for Comet Azur
• Head North-East across the rock bridge and into the building to grab Gelmir Hero's Grave Grace
• Kill the boss Red Wolf of the Champion to grab another Deathroot from the chest.
• From the Forest-Spanning Greatbridge Grace: Use the portal and go South again to talk with Goldmask and Brother Corhyn again.
• Follow the road North then South-East to grab the Windmill Village Grace
• Head North-East through the village to kill the Godskin Apostle
• Grab the Windmill Heights Grace and rest at it
• Talk with Millicent nearby and exhaust her dialogue.
• From the Altus Highway Junction Grace: Head up the stairs to the East and through the doors to grab the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Grace.
• Head South-East into the church to grab the Minor Erdtree Church Grace.
• Talk with Melina at the Minor Erdtree Church Grace for the Outer Order Emote.
• From the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Grace: Head up the stairs North-East and follow the road North for the Outer Wall Battleground Grace
• Find the Servant standing on the road just South of the grace and defeat the enemy that spawns from it for the Viridian Amber Medallion +1.
• From the Magma Wyrm Makar Grace: Invade Great Horned Tragoth for the Bull Goat Armour Set
• From the Volcano Manor Grace: Talk with Tanith to receive the Serpentbone Blade
• Talk with Patches to report your success
• Grab the Red Letter from the table
• Talk with Recusant Bernahl for the Letter to Bernahl
• Talk to Rya in the other room.
• Use the secret passage in the third room to grab the Prison Town Church Grace.
• Proceed through the area as desired to grab pull the lever and raise the shortcut bridge next to the Prison Town Church Grace.
• From the Prison Town Church Grace: Cross the bridge and kill the Godskin Noble
• Grab the Temple of Eiglay Grace
• Grab the Serpent's Amnion from nearby

Underground

• From the Fort Haight West Grace: Head North-West to the crater and descend inside of it.
• Proceed as desired until you reach the Nokron, Eternal City Grace.
• Continue proceeding as desired to the boss room.
• Kill the boss to learn more about yourself and grab the Grace.
• Head North-East along the bridge until you hit the forest.
• Follow the cliff leading North-West to grab the Ancestral Woods Grace.
• Jump down onto the roofs to the South-West and proceed as desired through the area until you grab the Night's Sacred Ground Grace
• Head North-East past the Mimic's and up the stairs to open the chest and grab the Fingerslayer Blade and Great Ghost Glovewort.
• Use the portal nearby then head far North-East until you reach the cliff's edge near the jellyfish.
• Head North along the cliff to jump down and grab the Aqueduct-Facing Cliffs Grace.
• Go East and make your way down to progress through the area as desired until you reach the boss room.
• Talk with the NPC curled up outside the boss room to give him the Twinned Armor Set and receive the Inner Order Emote.
• Kill the Boss Duo to grab the Great Waterfall Basin Grace.
• Use the coffin just North-West of the grace and grab the Great Waterfall Crest Grace.
• Head West across the branches then further West to grab the Deeproot Depths Grace.
• Follow the cliff North and then West to grab the Nameless Eternal City Grace.
• Go East and onto the rooftop to make your way up the branches and grab the Across the Roots Grace on cliff near the top.
• Enter the area North and kill Fia's Champions to get Fia's Mist.
• Grab the Prince of Death's Throne Grace

Leyndell

• From the Prince of Death's Throne Grace: Use the nearby portal to enter Leyndell Capital.
• Head South to grab the East Capital Rampart Grace.
• Proceed through the area as desired to grab the Avenue Balcony Grace(the fastest way is by going West across the rooftops)
• Continue proceeding through the area as desired until you reach the West Capital Rampart Grace.(the fastest way is by going straight North-West and climbing up the wing.)
• Follow the path South and then go down the branch to the West.
• Jump onto the roof and enter the building to find a familiar area.
• Proceed through this area as desired, but just make sure you grab the Seedbed Curse from the North most room on the top floor.
• Once you get to the bottom floor, Invade Vargram the Raging Wolf and Errant Sorcerer Wilhelm to receive the Raging Wolf Armor Set.
• From the West Capital Rampart Grace: Follow the path South and then go up the branch to the East to the boss room.
• Kill the Golden Shade boss and grab the Erdtree Sanctuary Grace.
• Head East and up the branch, into the building and then out of the building.
• Once you get out of the building, go West to jump down onto the rooftop and enter the window.
• Climb onto the branch and grab the Golden Order Principia from the floating chair.
• Head North out of the building again and grab the Queen's Bedchamber Grace.
• Kill Morgott, the Grace-Given
• Interact with the thorns, grab the Elden Throne Grace and rest at it.

This is the end of the First Half of the guide but I will be posting the Second Half immediately. I hope everyone enjoyed the guide and hope you'll stick around for more or check out my other Guides. We also have a Website, Youtube and Discord so be sure to check them out!

Second Half

My partner and I are about to close on our very first home! As elder millennials we were doubtful we'd ever be able to afford to own, but we found a charming place within shouting distance of our budget. One of the reasons it's in our budget is that it's tiny (<900 s.f.); another is that it has ... no floors. Or rather, every room but one has only painted concrete slab. (There's no basement and it's single-story, so I assume this is the home's foundation.) We really love the look and feel of traditional hardwood floors, so we're hoping to install something to that effect in the bedrooms, hallway, and living room. (Kitchen and bath are still under debate.)
After several weeks of research, I'm pretty overwhelmed from the wide variety of options and often conflicting advice I've encountered. I'm starting to think floating engineered hardwood over a (floating) cork underlayment might be our best option. We're reasonably experienced DIYers (though as lifelong renters we've never done flooring before), but I'm pretty sure we could install it ourselves (with some patience and practice), and it would result in a reasonable balance between the look and feel we want and the price we can afford.
But again with all the conflicting information I'm concerned that this is actually a terrible idea and we'll regret it as soon as we've finished. So, am I way off base? More details if they're helpful:
1) We're both academics working from home most of the time, so whatever we install has to be comfortable to walk on a lot. 2) The largest room (the living room) will function as a library for our ~2.5k books, with bookshelves lining almost every inch of wall. 3) It'll just be the two of us; no kids, no pets (except maybe eventually a cat). 4) The house is in southern New Mexico (USA) which has a very arid climate, so moisture/humidity is unlikely to be a major concern.
So what do y'all think? Is this doable or am I dreaming?

My partner and I are about to close on our very first home! As elder millennials we were doubtful we'd ever be able to afford to own, but we found a charming place within shouting distance of our budget. One of the reasons it's in our budget is that it's tiny (<900 s.f.); another is that it has ... no floors. Or rather, every room but one has only painted concrete slab. (There's no basement and it's single-story, so I assume this is the home's foundation.) We really love the look and feel of traditional hardwood floors, so we're hoping to install something to that effect in the bedrooms, hallway, and living room. (Kitchen and bath are still under debate.)
After several weeks of research, I'm pretty overwhelmed from the wide variety of options and often conflicting advice I've encountered. I'm starting to think floating engineered hardwood over a (floating) cork underlayment might be our best option. We're reasonably experienced DIYers (though as lifelong renters we've never done flooring before), but I'm pretty sure we could install it ourselves (with some patience and practice), and it would result in a reasonable balance between the look and feel we want and the price we can afford.
But again with all the conflicting information I'm concerned that this is actually a terrible idea and we'll regret it as soon as we've finished. So, am I way off base? More details if they're helpful:
1) We're both academics working from home most of the time, so whatever we install has to be comfortable to walk on a lot. 2) The largest room (the living room) will function as a library for our ~2.5k books, with bookshelves lining almost every inch of wall. 3) It'll just be the two of us; no kids, no pets (except maybe eventually a cat). 4) The house is in southern New Mexico (USA) which has a very arid climate, so moisture/humidity is unlikely to be a major concern.
So what do y'all think? Is this doable or am I dreaming?

Anderson, South Carolina, a city known for its rich history and vibrant culinary scene, boasts some of the finest steakhouses in the region. For those seeking a sublime dining experience, we present a comprehensive guide to the 18 top-rated steakhouses in Anderson for 2024. From classic American cuts to innovative culinary creations, these establishments offer something for every steak aficionado.

1. Sullivan's Metropolitan Grill

Sullivan's Metropolitan Grill is an institution in Anderson, renowned for its prime cuts of beef and impeccable service. The restaurant, housed in a beautifully restored building, provides an elegant yet comfortable dining atmosphere. Signature dishes include the Filet Mignon and the New York Strip, both cooked to perfection and served with a selection of delectable sides.

2. SummaJoe’s Searing Pans

SummaJoe’s Searing Pans is celebrated for its commitment to locally sourced ingredients and its innovative take on traditional steak dishes. The Ribeye Steak, grilled to your preference, stands out as a customer favorite. Pair your meal with a glass of wine from their extensive list for an unforgettable dining experience.

3. J. Peter’s Grill & Bar

J. Peter’s Grill & Bar offers a casual yet sophisticated setting, perfect for enjoying a sumptuous steak dinner. Their Cowboy Ribeye is a must-try, offering a rich, buttery flavor that melts in your mouth. The restaurant also features a range of sauces and toppings to enhance your steak experience.

4. Tucker’s Restaurant

Tucker’s Restaurant combines a rustic charm with modern culinary techniques to deliver some of the best steaks in Anderson. Their Bone-In Ribeye is particularly noteworthy, known for its juicy, tender texture and robust flavor. The cozy ambiance makes it an ideal spot for a romantic dinner or a special celebration.

5. Carson’s Steak Warehouse

Carson’s Steak Warehouse is a popular destination for steak lovers, offering a wide selection of premium beef cuts. The Porterhouse Steak is a highlight, providing the perfect balance of tenderness and flavor. The relaxed, welcoming atmosphere ensures a pleasant dining experience for all patrons.

6. Creekside Bar-Be-Que

While primarily known for its BBQ, Creekside Bar-Be-Que serves up some of the finest steaks in Anderson. The Sirloin Steak is grilled to perfection, offering a smoky, savory taste that is sure to delight your palate. The family-friendly environment and friendly service add to the appeal of this local favorite.

7. The Galley Restaurant

Located by the lake, The Galley Restaurant offers stunning views and an impressive steak menu. Their T-Bone Steak is a standout, combining the best of both the strip and tenderloin cuts. Enjoy your meal on the outdoor patio for a truly memorable dining experience.

8. Mr. Rivers Breakfast Joint

Though primarily a breakfast spot, Mr. Rivers Breakfast Joint surprises diners with its exceptional steak offerings. The Steak and Eggs is a hearty dish, featuring a perfectly cooked steak alongside fluffy eggs and crispy hash browns. It's an excellent choice for a robust start to your day.

9. Earle Street Kitchen and Bar

Earle Street Kitchen and Bar prides itself on offering a farm-to-table dining experience. The Grilled Hanger Steak is a popular choice, known for its rich, beefy flavor and tender texture. The casual yet chic atmosphere makes it a great place for a relaxed meal with friends.

10. The Pompous Pig

The Pompous Pig is another BBQ joint that excels in steak offerings. The Smoked Ribeye is a customer favorite, featuring a deep, smoky flavor that is both unique and delicious. The laid-back vibe and friendly staff make it a beloved spot among locals.

11. Doolittle’s

Doolittle’s offers a diverse menu with a focus on high-quality steaks. The Bacon-Wrapped Filet is particularly noteworthy, combining the savory flavor of bacon with the tender juiciness of the filet. The restaurant's cozy interior and attentive service add to its charm.

12. Arnold’s Famous Hamburgers

Arnold’s Famous Hamburgers might be known for its burgers, but its steak offerings are equally impressive. The Steak Sandwich is a hidden gem, featuring tender slices of steak served on a toasted bun with all the fixings. It's a must-try for steak and sandwich lovers alike.

13. The Hook and Anchor

The Hook and Anchor is a seafood and steakhouse that offers a delightful surf and turf experience. The Grilled Ribeye pairs wonderfully with their fresh seafood offerings. Enjoying a steak here means indulging in high-quality meat with a perfect sear and excellent flavor.

14. Magnolia 23

Magnolia 23 combines Southern hospitality with top-notch steaks. The Prime Rib is a highlight, slow-roasted to ensure maximum tenderness and flavor. The elegant setting and warm service make it a perfect spot for special occasions.

15. Red Tomato and Wine

Red Tomato and Wine offers a sophisticated dining experience with a focus on quality steaks. The Tomahawk Steak is a standout, known for its impressive presentation and exquisite taste. The restaurant's extensive wine list complements the meal perfectly.

16. The Boathouse Grill

The Boathouse Grill provides a relaxed atmosphere with a focus on grilled specialties. The Peppercorn Steak is a must-try, featuring a robust flavor profile that pairs well with their signature sides. The waterfront views add to the overall dining experience.

17. Cattleman’s Roadhouse

Cattleman’s Roadhouse is a go-to destination for steak enthusiasts. The Kansas City Strip is a popular choice, offering a perfect blend of marbling and tenderness. The rustic decor and hearty portions make it a favorite among locals and visitors alike.

18. Harbor Inn Seafood

Harbor Inn Seafood, while primarily a seafood restaurant, delivers exceptional steak options. The Steak Neptune, topped with crab meat and hollandaise sauce, is a unique and delectable choice. The restaurant’s nautical theme and fresh ingredients ensure a delightful meal.

Conclusion

Anderson, South Carolina, offers a diverse array of steakhouses that cater to all tastes and preferences. Whether you are seeking a classic steakhouse experience or something with a modern twist, these 18 top-rated establishments promise to deliver unforgettable meals in 2024. Each venue, with its unique ambiance and menu, contributes to Anderson’s reputation as a prime destination for steak lovers.

Surf II: The End of the Trilogy is a gonzo comedy from 1984 that parodies old beach-party films. The film, written and directed by Randall M. Badat, stars Eric Stoltz, Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Jeffrey Rodgers, and Peter Isacksen. The movie features a combination of camp, sci-fi, horror, and adult situations. It also incorporates Southern California surf culture. It was released to theaters in the US on January 11th, 1984, and then again later in the year with the title Surf II: The Nerds Strike Back. Clearly looking to capitalize on the Revenge of the Nerds popularity considering that film had been released in the summer.
Poster
I may be a bit biased when it comes to surfing movies. I love surfing. When I was younger I had a 9 foot board and loved catching waves off the coast of Santa Monica or on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It’s a serene experience. So a comedy about surfing, set in Los Angeles, featuring freak zombie surf punks is going to be all the way up my alley. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about finding this gem.
Menlo Schwartzer, an evil scientist who despises surfers, creates a special Buzz Soda that transforms anyone who drinks it into a zomboid sleazo surfer who preys on other surfers. Two stoners must locate the source of the bad soda and stop its production permanently.
There is virtually no emphasis on acting here. Eddie Deezen has the most demanding character traits and even that’s not reaching very far. The screenplay isn’t much. A simple and easy to follow story that has a few Troma-esq scenes of absurdity. A weirdness that translated into the characters. Strange off-the-wall stereotypes that have extremely unique looks and personalities. I think that's why I have such an affinity for '80s Punk style in films. It's so exaggerated. Surf II is no exception. Punks, Jocks, Dorks, Dweebs, Sluts, and Surfers are all on display in bright neon colors dressed in the weirdest threads the costume designer could find. I can’t say it doesn’t fit the era.
Also speaking to the times is the outstanding soundtrack. Much like Valley Girl from 1983, this soundtrack is a mix of new wave, punk, and surf rock including songs from The Beach Boys, Dick Dale, The Circle Jerks, Wall of Voodoo, and Oingo Boingo! Love me some Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo. I can’t think of any music that would fit the surfing scenes any better. Big KROQ vibes that only exacerbate the Los Angeles feeling more and more. I think I am in love with this movie.
There is definitely a charm to this movie. The jokes are written pretty well and I found myself chuckling more than a few times. However, overall the writing doesn’t do enough. I like the banter and characters, but I really wanted them to push the absurdity harder and lean more into the comedy duo of Eric Stoltz and Jeffrey Rogers. They are truly an unappreciated stoner duo. They hilariously spit bullshit while cruising the coast in their orange VW bug. The scene where they are scamming with two chicks in the lifeguard tower is gold. Really based on this role alone I would have put Eric Stoltz into more films. It's a shame he’s apparently hard to work with. Eddie Deezen’s Menlo Schwartzer character isn’t a far reach but he’s got some great scenes. I loved the Cleavon Little cameo. He’s pretty funny as Principal Daddy-O! and they utilize him well.
This one grew on me. I started out rolling my eyes and by the end I was laughing and smiling. It’s so much fun and a perfect movie to watch as we edge closer and closer to summer. It’s not trying to be something that it isn’t. This is a campy time-waster that is better than most of the schlock we are used to. I’ve seen a lot of people that just didn’t get it or didn’t understand the humor. And truth be told, it’s an acquired taste. But RottenPop is safely putting this one at Three and a half stars.
Surf II: The End of the Trilogy
Release Date: January 11th, 1984
RottenPop Rating: ★★★½
Director: Randall M. Badat Writer: Randall M. Badat Starring: Eric Stoltz, Eddie Deezen, Linda Kerridge, Jeffrey Rodgers, and Peter Isacksen
Studios: Arista Films
Country: USA
Genres: Comedy

• He got referred to producers by Nick, but they didn’t actually know each other. They had a mutual running influencer friend who put them in touch on IG.
  
• He would be open to doing any Bravo show. He mentioned OG Summer House & Southern Charm.
  
• He’s from Dallas. After college he lived in Chicago and Houston, but didn’t like either place. He decided to try Austin, loved it and never wants to leave.
  
• Before the show, he quit his job to pursue modeling and content creation full-time.
  
• He hopes to have his own spin-off show about real estate.
  
• When the show first started he had to get off of social media because he was getting dragged through the mud.
  
• He gets messages from biracial people and parents of biracial kids that appreciate him sharing his story.
  
• He, once again, called himself a martyr. (He loves this term. On Positively Unfiltered he called himself a “martyr for halfricans”)
  
• The lives that he changed by sharing his story and letting people know that someone in a “celebrity” space goes through the same things makes him feel good.
  
• He feels a lot more connected to his roots now
  
• He said, “This entire time I was thinking that I’m not Black, but in reality Black comes in different shades, sizes and genders.”
  
• When asked about the Jordan/Alex situation… He said that Alex never has ill intent, but that doesn’t matter to Jordan. If Alex closed the door wrong it might set Jordan off.
  
• When asked about the Shanice/Alex situation… He said Alex brought that situation to the people close to Shanice (Bria) because Shanice wasn’t there since she was a weekend guest. Alex wanted her to be able to control the narrative and not be blindsighted. They thought that since they talked about it off camera they could keep it off the show.
  
• Before filming, Bria told the entire cast that she was cool with Mariah coming back for S2
  
• He and Natalie both went to Texas State, but they didn’t know each other.
  
• They met at a gym when she stopped him to say hi and asked him if he wanted to play pickle ball with her the next day. He gave her his number.
  
• He was doing a speaking engagement the next day and she was in the front row to support a friend. They’ve been attached at the hip ever since.
  
• There is so much division in the group and it's super cliquey. They support each other, but it doesn’t feel like family.
  
• His relationships are solid with the guys and Shanice and Bria.
  
• He hopes they can work through things at the reunion, because going into filming the way things are now won’t be fun for them or the viewers. (This was in April, before the reunion)
  
• He asked for support for the watch parties he hosts in Austin (interesting, but ok)
  
• He’s about to launch a podcast with his brother about what it takes to be successful, etc.
  

Chile, a land of stunning diversity, stretches from the Atacama Desert to the Patagonian ice fields. Its wildlife is equally varied, with Andean condors soaring above and penguins dotting the southern coasts. The majestic Andes mountains and pristine lakes offer breathtaking landscapes. In vibrant Santiago and charming Valparaíso, Spanish, the official language, resonates through bustling markets and lively streets. Chilean culture thrives in its folk dances like the cueca, rich culinary traditions featuring seafood and empanadas, and passionate celebrations of music and poetry, inspired by legends like Pablo Neruda. This South American gem enchants with its natural beauty, linguistic richness, and cultural depth.

The results are in for Match 21. The winner is…
Mahimit was dragged across the battlefield by ｢Young Lives｣, the Stand filling him with a vigor to fight, to please his father who was watching from above—and that vigor filled him with each slash of its claws, keeping the son awake as he was marched down towards the trailer.
The two Stand Users had made their way down there last—secluded within a small container, cornered. The Stand’s puppet had been worn down for certain, but this was the time to finally finish things. As they approached, they saw through the window the older woman pull out her phone, and immediately Mahimit’s arm was raised to aim his gun right for it. As they made him pull the trigger, he couldn’t fire before she had spoken to her allies on the other end:
“Yeah, we figured out who the perp is, it’s Thomas Kent. Singh didn’t even show up, sent a lackey instead. He should be…”
The rest of her sentence faded out as Mahimit stalled…stopped.
The Stand roared in panicked fury as its user lowered his gun, unable to control them with the ease it once had. Mahi barely noticed—neither did they react to Windy’s warm, draining embrace of as ｢Young Lives｣ attempted to claw her off of him. As his eyes began to close, the longcoat of his Stand’s prior form disappeared and revealed the real one beneath, he managed one thought before falling into a deep sleep.
Of course he didn’t. Why did I think otherwise…

Sonika Singha and Windy, with a score of 72 to Mahimit “Hira” Rākin’s 56!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Sonika Singha and Windy	27 (14+2) - 3 (0+2)	A shutout victory for the players!
Quality	Mahimit “Hira” Rākin	17 (6 5 6) - 20 (7 7 6)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Mahimit “Hira” Rākin	18 (6 6 6) - 23 (8 7 8)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

The results are in for Match 22. The winner is…
Club Naraka, the site of a hellish pile of bodies and accidents, was practically on fire that night. Thankfully, Sulka, along with a group of armed guards, had brought a fire extinguisher with them. They stormed the ground floor, taking a moment to spread themselves out. “Alright, we’ve-” A hail of gunfire cut the man off. “—THEY’RE HERE!”
A few of the nameless guards rushed in towards Sulka, to catch any strays that might come his way. Sulka himself pulled the nozzle end up, and heard another single shot fire from another nearby pillar. “There’s an accomplice, circle—” Something crawled up his thumb, and bit into the extinguisher, just as a stray bullet drove a dent into the metal casing. “—AUGH!”
The fire extinguisher burst in his hands, filling the room with a heavy white smog. The hip-firing moved, and it came long, low, and in mobile spurts. “Fire back—” As if on cue, fire jettisoned into the cloud of smoke, “—SPREAD OUT, QUICK!” Through blurred vision, Sulka watched one of their own leave through the front door. “Not that far, damnit!”
With the guards spread out along the floor around him, some wearing gouts of fire, some drenched in the liquid refuse of their extinguisher, and others still riddled with bullets, Sulka turned to one of their dead men, and ripped a pistol from their side. They watched the last moving object head for the door, and pulled the trigger, twice. An employee badge caught the edge of his blurred vision.
The cool night air filled the ground floor, and fed the flames atop the burning men. Sulka’s arm fell to his side, letting the gun clatter against the floor.
A spiral of thoughts took him. First, he’d need to make a casualty report, followed by a loss statement. The sheer number of clients who may not come back after an incident like this would likely drive the place out of business. Between that, the viscera, the dead workers, the dead clients, and all the ammunition costs—let alone the licenses he’d have to put in for—his head shrieked at him. For once, he shrieked back.
It was a low, horrid thing, much like a growl or snarl, but loud enough to make itself known against the billowing call of night. A cool hand slicked his hair back, and the night air stopped pouring in through the shutting door. He turned to one of the guards, who’d taken to putting out another with a blanket. “Take everyone alive and go look for everyone else alive.” Sulka sauntered away. “I’ll be in my office.”

Reese McGuffin, with a score of 72 to Markov's 69!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	Reese McGuffin	13 (3+2+2) - 17 (5+2+2)	An even voting period right up until the very end!
Quality	Markov	23 (7 8 8) - 22 (7 8 7)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	23 (8 8 7) - 23 (7 8 8)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

Somewhere in the night, a Club Naraka coat and hat, usually only worn by guards, lay in a trash can. A woman, caked in blood and all manner of horrors, pressed herself against the wall beside it, and fished through her pocket for a coin. She’d found it there, in the elevator, on her way to her shift. Moonlight danced across its surface, letting the coin shimmer madly in the low light. ”Hah… you… y-you saved me…” Emile was shuddering, clutching the golden coin tight, for fear of dropping it. “I-I don’t know why, but… w-whatever you want of me, I’ll gladly give it in return… p-please, tell me…who…who are you?”
“…aha!” the voice chuckled. “How…terrible of me! In all the commotion, our…introductions com-pletely slipped my…mind.”
The air in front of Emile began to shift and shimmer. As she pulled her gaze away from the coin, she saw something phase into existence—a feminine form, long purple wires for hair, and a peering red eye gazing back at her beneath them.
It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
“My name is Markov. And your ad-mir-a-tion is payment…enough.”
Emile stared, gazing in wonderment at the hovering figure. Whether from exhaustion or reverence, she dropped to her knees, tears beginning to streak down her face. She thought of the ordeals she’d just faced. The people she’d passed. The people she’d fled. The people she’d killed. There was something else, though—the figure’s eyes seemed to- “That…hole in your shoulder.” Emile’s own head turned to match the figure’s gaze. “Do not fret. I can…teach you how to…take care of that.”
From the roof above the pair’s heads, one couldn’t hear the quiet murmurs and shivers of a woman ripping apart her own viscera-caked clothes to seal her wounds. Other things were certainly on the mind of its occupant, one Reese McGuffin.
Before him were two rats. Before them was a whole litany of ghostly creatures. His hand pointed towards the rat to his right, “Alright everyone, this is Splinter—” before it moved to point at the rat on his left, “—and this is Remy!”
Remy waddled up to a Utahraptor first, and started sniffing at it. “Oh, lemme introduce you to pieces, Remy!” Reese put a hand between the ghost animals, and casually shuffled it back and forth as he spoke. “Remy, Pieces! Pieces, Remy!” He turned on his heel to see Splinter eyeing up Finn, the shark. “Hey! He’s a friend, not food!”
A comforting quiet filled the night air as the ghostly animals circled one another, introducing themselves in their own little ways. The only thing left on Reese’s mind was a single odd question, one that had been eating at him since he left. “Where did I put that coral?”
Slowly, Mahimit awoke to the morning sun’s light. They could have sworn that they had a nightmare that night, but they felt refreshed as if waking from a peaceful slumber…
That wasn’t a nightmare, was it? He thought he could manage it all but in the end he just…broke as soon as he saw Ajay lying there with a bullet through his shoulder—wait, is he okay? Was he brought to safety? Did the Suite now think he was involved?
“Hey, don’t worry—you're safe here.”
Mahimit blinked, finally taking note of their surroundings. They were lying in a plain white bed, first aid boxes and equipment scattered about—the architect remembered the claws raking at their back throughout the night. Their torso had been bandaged up thoroughly: their long coat was laid out across a table, while their shirt was currently in Windy’s hands, who must have paused in stitching back up one of the tears when she noticed them awake.
“W-where am I?” Mahi asked. “Is Ajay safe? Where is he?”
“Jon got him to a hospital as soon as he could,” a voice called out from the door. Mahi looked over to see who looked like a detective walking in, followed by the two he recognised having gone after Zafar back then—no, not Zafar. “Had to be more careful with you given how well known you are, Mahimit—or do you prefer Hira?”
The architect sighed with some relief at that, not finding any deceit in the answer. “Either’s fine…not sure which one’s more ‘me’ anyways.” He looked around at the group settling into the room. “…Where’s the other person who was with you? Is she okay?”
A silence filled the room as the four recalled what Windy recounted once they regrouped—Sonika had lost hope, and ended up attempting to kill an unconscious Mahimit before she was stopped by Windy which caused the PI to run off.
Steric didn’t look it, but he was probably one of the most affected within PINDROP. While diving into his work wasn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, he had been increasingly concerned for Sonika’s health and disposition—so to hear that she not only ran off, but wanted to dispand PINDROP was crushing. “She…she ended up leaving.” He refocused onto Mahimit. “You said you’re unsure about yourself—would you be willing to answer why?”
Hira chuckled. “I guess I do owe you some answers. Well, I first went out as ‘Hira’ right around when I manifested my Stand—but then I ended up going out as them more often. Started to look into stuff about myself without the pressure of being the perfect son on my back…haven’t felt I’ve had the chance to really do so since I came back to Rakin.”
“Because of Zafar?” Inago asked, taking a nearby seat. “You don’t have to answer more than you’re comfortable with, but…you only went berserk after you thought he had just shot your friend.”
“Yup,” Windy nodded, setting aside the shirt and needle. “And I couldn’t help but notice ya stopped letting that Stand control ya once Sonika said out loud that it wasn’t your pa.”
Mahi winced. “…Yeah, I thought it was Zafar. He was a great parent and I never wanted to let him down, but things got so out of hand that when that last piece dropped I just…shattered, I guess. Though even if he was told it probably wouldn’t matter…”
“And why’s that?” Steric asked, jotting down some notes.
“He’s stubborn, sticks to how he thinks things are. If anything challenges his view on a friend or ally of his, he’ll just ignore it and carry on. He’s going to learn that I was Tamas and he’ll shrug it off and forget about it, as usual. Probably the sole reason he’s still in the Metro is because he truly believes that they’re doing what’s best for the city—something I found quickly wasn’t the case.”
Drippy stepped forward. “About that: why were you in there in the first place, and for how long? And what do you know about the Middleman?”
“…I can’t tell you anything about them.” Hira spoke, eyes glancing away from her.
“W-why!?” Drippy almost yelled out. “What reason do you all possibly have to not want them stopped?!”
“Well, you plan on killing them once you know, aren’t you?”
“Yes! Perhaps if you actually told us then maybe we could see why we shouldn’t put down this person taking utmost glee in murder. I don’t get why you and Rasna are willing to protect this guy.”
“…Trust me, if I could have stopped them I would have years ago. But if Rasna’s refused to tell you, you should be able to figure out why, right?”
“…they’ve suffered a lot, haven’t they?” Inago asked somberly. “That must be why they’re how they are today.”
“Oh, so they can get off free after everything they did?” Drippy retorted.
Steric put his hands between the two lest things escalated. “We can discuss this later—at the very least that is a lead.” He turned to the guest. “As for the other questions?”
Mahi nodded. “It was a month or two after I began working towards getting into the City Planning Board. Things weren’t looking as good as I hoped, when my father decided to bring me down to see these friends of his. I was offered a deal: they would pull some strings to help get me onto the board as long as I was willing to put forward some things they wanted…even then I figured something was off, but if it meant I could help this city I thought it was worth it. Oh how wrong I was…”
Steric sighed, finishing up with his notepad before putting away his pen. “I think that will be all then…thank you for your time. We’ll leave you to rest now.”
Inago followed the PINDROP members out, looking over his shoulder one last time: “Before I forget, anything you want for breakfast?”
Mahi thought for a moment. “Pancakes?”
Windy hopped off her chair and walked closer to Hira. “You’re a kind soul deep down, aren’t ya? Even as violent as you were, ya never tried to kill anyone…”
“But I just tried to kill you! It wasn’t me but it was born from me…messed with my thoughts as well as my body. So glad my therapist is a Stand user, thank fu—dge.”
She chuckled at the self-censorship. “But you fought back in the end, didn’t ya? I think I understand the feeling of getting puppeted though, and I know Luna and Alex should be able to help with the memory stuff. If you ever want to talk about it, feel free—we’d be happy to.”
“Sure,” Mahi nodded, lying back down into the bed as they allowed themself to smile. “…Thank you.”
Scenario: Verve Residence, Sapatibhatt — 10:23AM
Clink.
The teacup rattled against the table, empty. Idly, Gioia Arancini glanced over the lid, curious to see the shape of her future reflected in the tea leaves. She didn’t believe in that stuff, but Fate had taken stranger forms. Besides, Evergreen had done a lot these past few weeks. She couldn’t help but wonder…
“You were right, Gioia!” Soichi piped up from beside her, sipping on his own cup, “this is really good!”
In front of them, Vasant Verve sheepishly wrung his hands, giving them both a little smile. “I’m glad I haven’t lost my touch, haha…! It really is the least I can do, while you’re here.”
They could not meet at Urban Hymns, as the estate had been closed since Gioia and Charvet fought the man a few weeks prior. Though she had expected the two of them would get arrested, Verve himself had told the authorities that he would not press charges. In return, Gioia had been checking in with him, making sure he was back on his feet, and that ｢Cage The Elephant｣ was well and truly gone.
“Mm,” Gioia nodded, “give Vasudha my thanks as well,”
“No problem, dear!” a woman shouted from another room. Verve had little desire to return to his cabin, so in the meantime he was staying in his younger sister’s house.
For a moment, there was silence. Verve was perfectly still, as if one wrong move would shatter this tenuous peace. Soichi was content to drink in the cozy atmosphere. Gioia was staring at the tea leaves. What shape did they form?

The peace on Mount Parapollah was just as tenuous. Muuru had returned to the mountain now that the sand worms slumbered and the shifting had stopped. There was once a being who was to the Mountain as Muuru was to the City. The being was gone, now, and the Suite was filling in the gaps with trucks and bulldozers. As Muuru watched, a woman with a flute sat down beside him and smiled. Whatever happened next, the Mountain and the City moved together.

Gioia was drawn back to reality as Soichi spoke. “So, what have you been doing during your time off?”
“Oh?” Verve blinked. “Not much, I suppose! Just some odd jobs, here and there, mostly in the South. Just trying to help the rebuilding efforts, you know? Fix what I broke.” He grimaced a moment, before deflecting back to Soichi.
“What about you? It’s usually just Gioia checking in, I haven’t seen you since, you know…”
“The whole New York thing?” Soichi chuckled. “I’ve been alright, yeah. As rough as it was, we ended up making friends with those Riders! Sometimes you need an unlikely situation to help you come together, you know?”
Evergreen had certainly faced unlikely situations before. Gioia mused on this as she looked at the leaves.

The flute was not the only instrument that echoed through Rakin. As Deacon Blues wandered through the Sapatibhatt, the song of his trumpet followed behind. The land, once torn apart, was being rebuilt. The scars from his battle with the weaponsmith were fading, but the man still taught him a valuable lesson. The hand that wields a weapon can also wield a tool. Maybe this was the nature of potential. Whatever it was, Deacon figured it was worth a song.

Gioia glanced up from the cup, giving Verve a smirk. “Tough times help you realize who your real friends are. You’ve realized that too, I’m sure. Thanks to our efforts, the Metropolis Suite is having a tough time of their own. I wonder how quickly they’ll turn on each other?”
“Xen was already convinced they were out to get him. He kept going on about this Stand, ｢Diamond Life｣. No matter what he did for the Suite, it never told him who its user was. It drove him crazy–I think he was trying to solve that one himself.”
“Did he succeed?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not like he could strike a deal with The Gossip, he didn’t have anything ｢She｣ wanted. I’m sure that drove him crazy too.” There was still a sorrow in his voice.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Soichi smiled quietly, patting the man on the arm. Gioia nodded in turn, before she continued.
“Have you had any contact with him?”
“Not really. His assistant texted me, apparently the folks at Hymnal are on indefinite paid leave, until I figure out what to do. I guess that’s on me.” Verve paused a moment, grimacing. “Apparently he might still be at the cottage? I don’t know—I’m not going to—I’m not ready to talk to him, yet.”
“You don’t ever have to talk to him again,” Gioia responded. “I’m sure he’s cowering in the dark now that we’ve exposed his true nature. The other members of Metropolis should realize they’re soon to follow.”
Indeed, the members of Evergreen might not have the same methods…but they were united in this cause. Would this define their future? Gioia glanced over at the tea leaves.

The immortal had lived through countless riots, but the Bedtown Takeover was one of his favorites. He had returned to the area, replaying his grand speech, looking at the bloodstains that marked this territory. Sure, now that Aco’s child had appeared, VULTURE was considering new leadership. But that didn’t matter to Ouroboros, content to remain the (Self-Appointed) Secret Lord of Bedtown. Behind him, Honeydew was simply content to dismantle car batteries.

Gioia glanced back at Verve to see his brow furrowed.
“I can’t believe I ever got involved with those bastards,” he scowled. “Deep down, I knew they were trouble—I talked to Xen about Sing Now!, he just said…sometimes the only way to reach a common goal is to work with people you don’t agree with. He almost made it make sense.”
“He was a smooth-talking control freak. I’m sure you’ve realized how empty those words were.”
Verve rested his chin in his hand, staring into his own empty cup. In the end, all he saw were scattered leaves. No one was guiding him now. No one but himself. “…That’s not all he was. I think he really believed it, you know? That he was doing good. I wanted to believe it too, more than anything. But I think he was just trying to justify it to himself. Even when he had his doubts.”
Gioia curled her fingers around the teacup. “What about you, Verve? What do you think ‘good’ is?”
At this, the man laughed bittersweetly. “You think I can answer that? I thought Xen had the answer, and look where that got us. If you think you’re the only guy who can change the world, you’ll just make it worse.”
He looked up at Soichi. “We saw what his world looks like,” then to Gioia, “he would have trapped us both inside, if not for you.”
It seemed the Suite had a lot of cities within cities, living symbols of their control. Gioia took one last look at the symbol in her cup.

Disco D Lune had been keeping up with her contacts at the military base, catching up with the most recent happenings. Apparently, there had been a falling-out between the general and his child: an opportunity to sew doubt and dissent amongst the ranks. Disco had already designed new buildings to replace this one, and they were beautiful.

“You’re a free man, Verve,” Gioia concluded, staring him down. “So what will you do with that freedom?”
Verve looked between the two, but found no answers. Now, his choices were his own. In the end, the answer was simple.
“…I want to make things right. The Suite they… they ruined my home, they ruined him, they ruined me. I’m tired of seeing kids get pulled into this. Rasna, Ichi, and now poor Mahamit…” Behind him, warm air sang with the soft trumpet of ｢Bitter Sweet Symphony｣. “It needs to end. Those kids, my nieces, all of them, all of us. We all need a city that we can call home.”
Gioia smiled, closing her eyes contentedly as she felt the heat roll over her. Beside her, she could feel Soichi resting a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t even need to see his smile to feel its warmth. She didn’t need to see the leaves to know the shape of her future. She had known many homes, many stories, many tragedies and triumphs. But right now, home was a tree, Evergreen. Seasons changed, and yet its leaves would always flourish.
Soichi glanced at the cup in her stead. To him, the leaves just seemed like a weird square. But soon that shape was washed away, as he poured them all another cup of warm and fragrant tea.
“Well said! This calls for a toast. To new friends!”
Clink!

Scenario: Hymnal Bazaar, Reshmerasta — 8:58 PM
The market was closed for the evening. This curfew was in place ever since the Middleman attacked. The Bazaar was already struggling—if people were too scared to walk around at night, then why bother staying open? Even when the Bazaar was open, the stall for Urban Hymns stood empty. But for a broom, only a lone figure stood there. Verve used to sweep while his employees handled everything else.
His boyfriend once asked him why he did that.
’It makes me feel like I’m doing something–” he had laughed, “I’m leaving this place better than I found it!’
Verve had a lovely laugh, the figure recalled, staring at the broom.
Slowly, he knelt down to pick it up.
Then, Xenagoras took a deep breath,
and swept the streets that he used to own.

Scenario: ???, ??? — 9:07 PM
“It’s simple, gentlemen…”
The sound of chatter and slow music. The smell of pristine tobacco and the clinking of glasses. This outlined the leadership of the Metropolis Suite, holed up in a skyscraper that overlooked the whole of Rakin. To their right, a window—one that replaced the whole wall, showing the nighttime lights. It almost looked like an alien world, the way the dark purples and reds of the late sunset stretched across the blinking gleams of windows and signs. A single man spoke, an esteemed guest trying his best to rise in their ranks: Luiviton.
“With a little bit of push, we could completely criminalize a number of traffic violations. Of course, they’re already illegal—but I’m talking perfect driving. Instead of community service, we give fines that cut chunks out of bank accounts. Instead of towing cars, we give jail time. I have contacts in the private prison industry who would be willing to pay us good money to multiply the conviction rates~! All it takes is a little bit of sacrifice from Rakin’s people.”
The table was silent. A voice piped up- that of Sing Now!, media conglomerate CEO and one of the Suite’s primary figures of authority. “That’s an awful idea, Luiviton.”
He blanched. “E-Excuse me?” He asked, flabbergasted. “We could stand to gain-”
Sing Now! interrupted him swiftly and curtly. “It doesn’t matter how much we ‘stand to gain’ from selling our city’s soul to prison moguls. You’re a good friend, but everytime you come up here with a suggestion it’s always some kind of short-sighted scheme to make money. That’s not what this thing of ours is about.”
That earned a couple of nods and a “Damn straight.” from Zafar at his left.
He continued. “If we overcriminalize poor driving, what we’re doing is sacrificing Rakin’s workforce in exchange for…nothing. We would completely freeze important institution who are suddenly bleeding key figures and employees who’ve made simple mistakes. We’re not parasites or petty tyrants. We’re leaders. We do these backdoor deals not to increase our wealth, but our resources which we must use for everyone’s benefit. We must direct the people, not root through their pockets.”
Conversation erupted, primarily economic in nature. Some offered to take care of the market in Xenagoras’s stead. Others offered grants to the arts. Others pointed to the need for construction and repairs. Some tried to give statistics on rising rates of crime and discontent within Rakin’s citizens.
One key figure of the Suite, however, was absent. She stood a few meters away, staring out the window at the city below. Her stance was relaxed, yet firm. As if she was on guard against some invisible threat. She held a small glass of scotch in one hand, occasionally sipping from it. She seemed tired. Very, very tired. This was Zhengqi Dianyou, the CEO of the Rakin Rail Corporation. Occasionally, she’d let out a yawn.
Sitting on a loveseat nearby was Ichi Ni San Go—the charge of Sing Now! who was currently too distracted to really remember she existed. Without a babysitter, she was content to simply exist next to Zhengqi, looking out the window with her at the beauty of the city and occasionally asking simple, childish questions.
They were approached by a figure, glowing in the light. Someone followed close behind.
｢Diamond Life｣, the Stand of the every-mysterious head of the Metropolis Suite. Said user hung close behind. Zhengqi always found her boss’s habit of speaking through their Stand peculiar; she understood it as a security tactic, but it often came up even in casual scenarios. “Enjoying the event, you two?” It asked. Its tone was genuine—the Stand could be a tool of intimidation whenever its user willed it so, and this wasn’t that.
Zhengqi just grunted, turning around and finishing off the scotch. She set the glass down on a nearby table, looking at ｢Diamond Life｣. “I’ve never understood how it’s so easy for you to talk through that thing—”
｢Diamond Life｣ shot forward with incredible speed, shushing the name with a single finger gently placed on her lips. “Careful, Ms. Dianyou. The end of the table. Do you see him?”
Her eyes crept towards the table, landing on a man nodding idly to the talk. Iron Butterfly was a member of the Suite who often remained in the background; to her understanding, he helped keep the Suite in control over a good deal of the crop farming in the more rural parts of Rakin. She looked back at the Stand, and it elaborated: “He’s wearing a wire. Loose lips aren’t ideal tonight.”
Zhengqi just sighed, running her hand through her hair as her other put ｢Diamond Life｣’s hand back down. “I’ll take care of him after the meeting.” She offered. ｢Diamond Life｣ chuckled, willingly pulling their hand back.
“I’d appreciate it- I had originally planned on handling the issue myself. You’re always putting your best foot forward with us—it’s something I value.”
She gave a weak smile. “It’s nothing, really. Just me giving back for everything the Suite’s done for me.”
Ichi piped up, eagerly watching the conversation. “I think Ms. Dianyou works too much…she’s always so tired and never has any time to play games or watch cartoons or do anything!”
Zhengqi did her best to put on a friendly smile. “Ichi…when you get older, sometimes you just don’t have the time for-”
｢Diamond Life｣ interrupted her. “She’s right, you know. You overwork yourself. I was being polite about it before, talking about your best foot forward- but I do worry.”
She looked at ｢Diamond Life｣ sternly. “We don’t exactly have the time to rest. I’m certain you’ve seen the news. People are starting to figure out we exist. People are hiring private detectives and holding protests. Things are starting to unravel. We need to act before things break so hard they can’t be put back together.”
｢Diamond Life｣ stood up straight, looking her in the eyes. “Trust me. I have plans, and they involve you. Both of you.”
Ichi immediately raised a little in her seat, glowing a little. “Me~? Really~?”
A friendly chuckle escaped from ｢Diamond Life｣’s nonexistent lips. “Yes, you.” A dour look plastered across its face as it looked back at Zhengqi. “I’m going to need you to handle…key targets. I want certain people out of the way and key infrastructure mapped and maintained for your “ability”—it’ll be valuable to us should the ire of the populace come to a head. Past that, rest. Allow your subordinates at Zuantou Rail to handle things. Take a long holiday. We don’t need an exhausted zombie, we need you.”
Zhengqi could only reply with silence. She knew better than to argue with ｢Diamond Life｣, but to stop working? It felt alien to her. She was tempted to clutch at her sternum from the thought.
“As for you, Ichi…” The Stand continued. “I want you to gather info for me on some of the Stand users around the city.”
Ichi innocently kicked her feet. “How am I ‘sposed to do that? I dunno any cool spy stuff, and Daddy said-”
“I’ll handle your father, don’t worry.” ｢Diamond Life｣ said, walking forward and cupping Ichi’s cheek in their clawed hand. “I just want you to make friends, okay? Go out. Explore. Meet people, as many as you can. Participate in their lives and conflicts. Tell me everything you see and hear, okay?”
Ichi just nodded, smiling widely.
“Perfect,” replied the Stand. They drew their arm back, clasping their hands together. “But enough about work. Have you two tried the finger food that’s been provided? It’s truly divine.”
Scenario: Mili's Diner, Mist City — 7:37PM
The bell above the entrance rang late into the dusk, announcing the arrival of a certain happy customer. He hummed cheerily to himself, taking a seat behind the counter and giving her regards to the woman behind the counter. His order was the same as it was every time he came here, and yet he always flipped through the menu anyway. He was a cheerful, easygoing man, despite everything.
His name was Steric Lou Farin, recently self-appointed head of PINDROP. He hadn’t been planning on it, but with the sudden departure of Sonika, the team needed someone to step up fast. He was the most experienced in the field of investigation and had the sort of charisma the role required. He didn’t mind taking the lead, either. If anything, it made his work a little easier.
Speaking of work, that was the reason for this visit—good as the food was. He glanced over to the other two customers, talking quietly amongst themselves, and smiled. Both were of particular interest.
The first was one Brighid Rhodes. He’d sparred with her a few months back, and an exchange of business cards had proved extremely wise when he needed assistance in dealing with one Texas Aco. She was the one to finally calm her down in the end—albeit forcefully, but all’s well that ends well.
Speaking of which, Texas Aco sat at the counter now, talking in hushed mumbles to Brighid. The notable thing there being that she was talking now. She had been silent in the immediate aftermath of her rampage, but after spending some time at Brighid’s, Steric had gotten the call today that she’d been ready to speak.
“I hope you all had a safe drive here,” he chuckled to himself. “It’s awfully rainy out, isn’t it?”
“Nothing too bad.” Brighid exhaled, and Texas nodded with her, sipping on a chocolate milkshake. Her misshapen insect arm was hidden under a worn old coat draped over her shoulder. Brighid gave the detective a particular glance, and Steric took that as a sign to get to questioning.
“So, Texas…” He cleared his throat, making sure he had the girl’s attention. “I’m sorry for calling you out so soon. You ever want to stop talking about all this, let me know. I don’t want to do you any harm.”
“Mmm.” Texas nodded again.
“Now, I understand you’ve had, er, a difficult last few months.” That was no understatement: she’d been directly responsible for an attempted VULTURE mutiny. It failed, and drove her off into hiding god-knows-where. “In particular, I’d like to ask you about your relationship to VULTURE. It’s a piece of the puzzle here I haven’t entirely been able to ascertai-”
“I’m taking over VULTURE.” Texas deadpanned. Brighid sighed.
“I told you that isn’t the best idea.” The lawyer attempted to flick her on the forehead. “That’s too dangerous. No way you can get it done on your own.”
“No, I mean, like-” Texas grumbled. “She literally told me I could have it. The old boss.”
Brighid blinked a few times. She hadn’t heard about that. Steric nodded.
“Ms. Kaliya told me she’d been in contact with you. She said you’d been pretty against taking the leadership role, though.” Steric raised an eyebrow. “What changed?”
“…It sucks here, man.” Texas smirked. “Even with all the bullshit charities, shit’s gone bad after Rasna left. I’m sure you caught wind of that. Guys turning up dead left and right—there was a fight at a funeral, right? Whole place got blown to smithereens. What the fuck, man.”
“Ahah, yes.” Steric winced. “Quite the festivity, wasn’t it.”
“The place needs someone to step up. And with that little rampage I went on…” She looks embarrassed, for a moment. “I think I’ve got the rep to fill her shoes. Er. Maybe. I’m not really that scary, but, uh…”
“Ms. Kaliya told me you weren’t of that sort of opinion before.” Steric raised his eyebrow again, tapping his pen against his notepad. “What changed?”
“…Nothing, really. I just.” Texas chuckled, reclining on her stool. “I don’t really think anything I’ll do will have any difference. But I can’t stop myself from trying, either. I don’t think she’d want me to, either.”
Brighid placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, glancing down at her. “Long as you come back to my place when you’re done. I trust you, but you should have a bed to sleep on.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Steric grinned. This was a good development! A bit risky, sure, but it gave him in an in. “Say!” He stopped absentmindedly chewing on his pen’s tip. “Y’think you’d be willing to help us out? VULTURE’s assistance would be a great help…and something tells me we’ve got a common goal.”
“I’ll think on it.” Was Texas’s only response. Brighid flicked her on the forehead again. “Ow! Okay, fine, yeah, I’ll help. You guys don’t seem that bad.”
Steric clasped his hands together. One step closer. “Ah, and you too, Miss Rhodes.”
“Hah?” Brighid scoffed. “I don’t think anyone with me is gonna be much help-”
“I think that’s, er, preposterous.” He tapped his notepad a few times. “I did some looking into the work your people’ve done recently. For museum staff, you folks sure are prolific. A boat raid is quite the accomplishment. Hmm, hmm~.”
“Well, er…” Brighid sighed. Her group had had a history of engaging in combat. Entities like Paranoia and Markov were practically built for it, but her group had had similar exploits recently: Ruby’s left her fight with the swordsman at the art college relatively unharmed, and Roxanne had managed to charm an ex-member of Metropolis. Despite how weird all of them were, they were useful in a variety of ways; it made sense Steric wanted their assistance.
“Alright. I’ll get them to help out.” Much as she didn’t trust some of them with heroism, Brighid found herself more involved than she’d anticipated—and getting into the action herself meant she could help keep Texas as safe as possible, despite everything. “But you gotta help out with the museum. We’re, uh, still working on reconstruction.”
“No worries. I think I’ve got a few artifacts here and there. They’d be fit for your collection.” Steric’s phone buzzed—he rose and nodded at the two. “It’s been a pleasure, folks, but the life of a detective is ever so busy. Be seeing you.” With that, he grabbed his coat and strode away, leaving a good third of his burger.
Several oversized flies crawled out from beneath Texas’s coat, nibbling on the leftovers. “You really okay with me, uh, y’know…” Texas made a few vague gestures with her hands. “It’s a big thing to, uh, undertake. I figured you’d try to stop me.”
“I doubt I’d be able to.” Brighid chuckled. “‘Sides, you’re a pretty tough kid. I was pretty rough and tumble when I was your age, and look how I turned out. I’m a lawyer and everything.”
Texas nodded, returning to her milkshake. She was an ant under an elephant’s foot—she’d become well aware of that. But even so; even an ant had its resolve, and a swarm could pick apart a carcass. Even if it was only delusion, she’d do what she could. Mom would’ve liked that.
“Mmm.” She grinned. “Here goes.”

<=TO BE CONTINUED==

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Howdy, how are you? I figured it was time for me to update my post on here. I'm a 30 year old guy who calls Kentucky home. I'm a country boy in search for friends that could possibly become more. Maybe become my queen bee? Maybe my passenger princess? Absolutely no pressure with the relationship stuff if you'd like to strictly be platonic. I'm just here to offer a little southern charm if you ever just need someone to talk to, or want someone to listen to music with or what have you.
As far as I go, I'm a pretty open minded person. Music wise, I listen to mostly country and it's sub genres, but also enjoy most other genres. Feel free to share your spotify playlist if you'd like to. As far as interests go I enjoy anything to do with any that's mechanical. Loves dogs (live with two if you'd like pics), anything to do with the outdoors, playing guitar and drums, playing video games (Xbox mainly), watching Youtube, etc. I'm a welder that is fresh out of school. I'll leave some other details for when you message.
Feel free to send a message, for some reason, my chat feature doesn't work for some reason, so refrain from going through that trouble. I have discord if you'd like to chat there, but again, absolutely no pressure to do so. Have a great day!

Howdy, how are you? I figured it was time for me to update my post on here. I'm a 30 year old guy who calls Kentucky home. I'm a country boy in search for friends that could possibly become more. I'm just here to offer a little southern charm if you ever just need someone to talk to, or want someone to listen to music with or what have you.
As far as I go, I'm a pretty open minded person. Music wise, I listen to mostly country and it's sub genres, but also enjoy most other genres. Feel free to share your spotify playlist if you'd like to. As far as interests go I enjoy anything to do with any that's mechanical. Loves dogs (live with two if you'd like pics), anything to do with the outdoors, playing guitar and drums, playing video games (Xbox mainly), watching Youtube, etc. I'm a welder that is fresh out of school. I'll leave some other details for when you message.
Feel free to send a message, for some reason, my chat feature doesn't work for some reason, so refrain from going through that trouble. I have discord if you'd like to chat there, but again, absolutely no pressure to do so. Have a great day!

Howdy, how are you? I figured it was time for me to update my post on here. I'm a 30 year old guy who calls Kentucky home. I'm a country boy in search for friends that could possibly become more. Maybe become my queen bee? Maybe my passenger princess? Absolutely no pressure with the relationship stuff if you'd like to strictly be platonic. I'm just here to offer a little southern charm if you ever just need someone to talk to, or want someone to listen to music with or what have you.
As far as I go, I'm a pretty open minded person. Music wise, I listen to mostly country and it's sub genres, but also enjoy most other genres. Feel free to share your spotify playlist if you'd like to. As far as interests go I enjoy anything to do with any that's mechanical. Loves dogs (live with two if you'd like pics), anything to do with the outdoors, playing guitar and drums, playing video games (Xbox mainly), watching Youtube, etc. I'm a welder that is fresh out of school. I'll leave some other details for when you message.
Feel free to send a message, for some reason, my chat feature doesn't work for some reason, so refrain from going through that trouble. I have discord if you'd like to chat there, but again, absolutely no pressure to do so. Have a great day!

Howdy, how are you? I figured it was time for me to update my post on here. I'm a 30 year old guy who calls Kentucky home. I'm a country boy in search for friends that could possibly become more. Maybe become my queen bee? Maybe my passenger princess? Absolutely no pressure with the relationship stuff if you'd like to strictly be platonic. I'm just here to offer a little southern charm if you ever just need someone to talk to, or want someone to listen to music with or what have you.
As far as I go, I'm a pretty open minded person. Music wise, I listen to mostly country and it's sub genres, but also enjoy most other genres. Feel free to share your spotify playlist if you'd like to. As far as interests go I enjoy anything to do with any that's mechanical. Loves dogs (live with two if you'd like pics), anything to do with the outdoors, playing guitar and drums, playing video games (Xbox mainly), watching Youtube, etc. I'm a welder that is fresh out of school. I'll leave some other details for when you message.
Feel free to send a message, for some reason, my chat feature doesn't work for some reason, so refrain from going through that trouble. I have discord if you'd like to chat there, but again, absolutely no pressure to do so. Have a great day!