A lot of people complained about the number and weight of the idiot balls being dropped in my previous draft of book 2 of my post-post-apocalypse LitRPG trilogy, so I took upon myself to make a draft 2 version with a significant number of changes in how the story progresses (and sometimes better explanation of why someone does something that might be construed as stupid by the reader).
The entire book 2 has been re-released (and the previous version taken down), so if you haven't given it a try, it's up. And there is even the book 3 prologue as an apology for rewriting book 2 instead of writing book 3.
If you haven't checked the trilogy proper, you should start with book 1 instead, of course. It has not been redrafted, even though it needs to. Here's the blurb:

Is it truly an RPG Apocalypse... if no one can see the RPG?
Generations after the Fall, Mankind has achieved a balance in a world it is no longer the master of. But your prospects in this Malthusian world are limited. Johanna Milton and her friends have an answer: delve into Ancient ruins, avoid Changed beasts and mana pockets, and salvage Ancient materials, collectibles, and trinkets to sell. It pays well if you avoid the perils of the Ancient world.
But when they find the skeleton of an Ancient, their lives take a strange turn. Suddenly, Talents straight out of fantasy novels become theirs. While they try to make sense of what happens, eyes turn to them, to the four who seem to break all rules.
Or are they merely following them? Because, in the Beyond where he's spent 150 years waiting, one dead Ancient knows the truth. Douglas Moore has played those games often enough when he was alive to make sense of the System that rules the Changed world. He can no longer act on his own, but he has access to the Interface. And four people for which he can bring whatever it takes to face the world.
Change is coming.

The Changed Ones is on Royal Road. It's what happens when the RPG apocalypse did not work correctly... and someone wants to help.

Hi all! I'm looking for some new friends who share the interest for tabletop roleplaying games, boardgames, card games etc. And here's the story:
Back in the years ago, I had a wide community that could gather up around Bakırköy (mainly), Taksim or Kadıköy easily. But since late 2018, everyone just separated into other cities and/or countries. COVID happened. And I got use to stuck at home, and couldn't recover my social clique. I'm trying to change that lately, by travelling other cities to see my friends and get rid of the devouringly gray environment of Istanbul, but in the end it's my home I thought that it would be better to find new people around here.
I'm a TTRPG game designer and scenario author and while working on my projects, I'm also doing professional gamemastering as an active job. I'm trying to back some Kickstarter projects from time to time, and that's one of the many reasons why I want to have a physical clique again. My main genre in everything is horror, so horror fans will like this more, I believe. But I have to warn you about something. I don't like D&D much. Stopped playing and running it, sold my books last year. So, you can consider this offer as a non-dnd intellectual interest sharing and maybe learning something new.
My expectations are something like this:

• Being a little, friendly group instead of a whole community: Communities need management, and eventually falling apart. I just want to have some regular people, I would be blessed if it could reach 5 or 6 people except me. Maybe some passangers from time to time.
• Hanging out: Having some interesting conversations related and/or not related with TTRPG. You know, geeky-nerdy stuff.
• Occasional one-shots: I don't want it to be a "regular gaming group", but we can try out new stuff as one-shot games.
• Boardgame gatherings: We can tryout boardgames. I don't have much yet, but I can surprise you if you're interested in Vampire: The Masquerade.
• Card game gatherings: I play Magic: the Gathering from time to time, and recently got a precon Commander deck. If you're interested in playing MTG, I can keep my deck with me.
• Possibility to have foreigner friends: That's why I'm keeping this post in English. You know, English is a barrier when you have interest in such topics. So, I think that having locals and foreigners together would be a beautiful idea, and it might be some sort of practice for some people, as well.
• CTA: I really like to have call to actions. My work schedule was extremely chaotic, but I have my weekends mostly free right now, and having some free time in week days is possible sometimes.

If you're interested in this, you can always send a private message. If there will be a surprisingly big interest in this, we can also create a Telegram group.
Yeah, I guess that's all.

Something needs to be done. I feel like Most all of the people who are not playing, haven't lost game connection; They have just started a game and then left. AI taking over sounds good if they could do it. I have also thought that they could ask a player on the other team, in the same type of boat, if they wouldn't mind leaving the game for balance. After two min they could have a prompt come up and say, we will give you 500k silver and 1k global or 1k commander xp bonus. I think it would be nice to have people blocked from the game for a day if they have more than 3 disconnects as well; it would prob help mitigate people abusing the system. Another thing i think would really help(instead of the other options) is if the AFK person was charged silver when they dont play. You could have it where people get a warning on their first game then after that, if it happens again its starts charging you. I would want it to be something like 40K silver a min, and after like 5 min or so if u havent come back that silver gets distributed to your team. I think its fair because you probably just ruined their game and lost them silver. If you came back before the 5 or 6 min mark and started playing i might be alright with them not losing any Silver. Although, I think it might work better if there were a two min window at the start where u weren't charged, and then after that it would start but even if u came back after (before 6 min max or whatever) you would still lose the silver. As far as people losing connection over and over, I dont think they should play during that time if they are that unstable. Wargaming and xbox know if we have lost internet connection or not though. There has to be some way thats fair to people who have lost connection. Maybe only people that are still connected get charged? Idk, I think this is somewhat drastic but i think it would be a fair deterrent for people who dont care that they are screwing people over. I have the slowest internet you can have; I am barely able to play. I still hardly ever get disconnected and when i do, i can get back in if my internet isn't down (which is rare). People are ruining the game for everyone else by being AFK and they dont care because there is no consequences.

The final scenes of earth history! The last days are NOT sometime in the future that we are waiting to experience, the "last days" are now. Don't wait for the Sunday law to dedicate your life back to God. It is wonderful that God gives us such intricate teachings and counsels to guide us through each day so that we won't be afraid of the signs and wonders that we have seen, that we see, and that we will see.
Prophecy is given by God to prepare us, not to scare us.
I pray these words will be encouraging to you in your walk with God today.
You can find the first four parts on my profile.
Thank you for your time and patience in reading these posts.
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THE LATTER RAIN
GC 445 “When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.”
GC 449 “But Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in doing so they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church, not expecting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of divine appointment. God accepts their sincerity of purpose and their integrity before Him. But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome, and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshipping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God had declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—‘ the mark of the beast.’ And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive ‘the mark of the beast.’ “
5T 451 “When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and Republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.”
GC 449 “…the enforcement of Sunday-keeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image.”
This will mark the fall of Babylon.
This is the real issue.
God’s only answer to the worship of the Beast and his image is the image of God restored in the soul and reflected in the life.
The time of the test is fast approaching. We must prepare now.
7T 141 “The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama.”
RH May 2, 1893 “The people of the United States have been a favored people; but when they restrict religious liberty, surrender Protestantism, and give countenance to popery, the measure of their guilt will be full, and national apostasy will be registered in the books of Heaven. The result of this apostasy will be national ruin.:
6T 18 “As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people on every country of the globe will be led to follow her example.”
6T 395 “Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world.”
GC 591 “Communications from the spirits will declare that God has sent them to convince the rejecters of Sunday of their error, affirming that the laws of the land should be obeyed as the law of God. They will lament the great wickedness in the world and second testimony of religious teachers, that the degraded state of morals is caused by the desecration of Sunday. Great will by the indignation excited abasing all who refuse to accept their testimony.
GC 607 “The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for the Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment keepers. They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as inducements to renounce their faith.”
The Great Test
2SM 268 “When the law of God is made void, the church will be sifted by fiery trials, and a larger portion than we now anticipate, will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.”
5T 717 “My brethren, do you realize that your own salvation, as well as the destiny of other souls, depends upon the preparation you now make for the trials before us.
(Review DA 107 last paragraph: DA 173 first paragraph; and Romans 8:14).
7BC 976 “The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided.”
GC 608 “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition.”
This may be the time that Satan will personate Christ. Read GC 622-625.
2SM 51 “We are warned that in the last days he (Satan) will work with signs and lying wonder, And he will continue those wonders until the close of probation, that he may point to them as evidence that he is an angel of light and not of darkness.”
5T 81 “In this time, the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will the go out in darkness.”
DA 630 “Those who apostatize in the time of trial will, to secure their own safety, bear false witness, and betray their brethren. Christ has warned us of this, that we may not be surprised art the unnatural, coral course of those who reject the light.”
The Latter Rain and the Loud Cry
GC 464 “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times. The Spirit and power of God will be poured out upon His children.”
EW 85, 86 “At the commencement of the times of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully ….
“ ‘The commencement of the time of trouble’ here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time the ‘latter rain,’ or refreshing form the presence of the Lord will come, to give power to the loud voice pop the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.”
6T 401 “…when the storm of persecution really breaks upon us, the true sheep will hear the true Shepherd’s voice. Self-denying efforts will be put forth to save the lost, and many who have strayed from the fold will come back to follow the great Shepherd….
The love of Christ, the love of our brethren, will testify to the world that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him. Then will the message of the third angel swell to a loud cry, and the whole earth will be lightened with the glory of the Lord.”
EW 227-279 “I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel’s message….
“The glory rested upon the patient, waiting saints, and they fearlessly gave the last solemn warning, proclaiming the fall of Babylon and calling upon God’s people to come out of her that they might escape her fearful doom….
“Servants of God, endowed with power from on high, with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried outSodom before her destruction.”
Read Great Controversy page 612.
GC 606 “Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with the greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power, —all will be unmasked. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these.”
8T 20 “So mightily can God work when men give themselves up to the control of His Spirit.”
This is the time when the work of the church will be finished in a blaze of glory that shall enlighten the whole world!
5T 754 “…the swiftness of lightning represents the speed with which this work will finally go forward to completion.”
9T 96 “There will be a series of events revealing that God is master of the situation.”
Romans 9:28 “For he will finish the work in righteousness: because s short work will the Lord make upon the earth.”
6T 19 “The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other to prepare the way of the Lord. This is the glory of God, which closes the work of the third angel.”
MB 43 (70) “The words of Christ through the gospel prophet, which are reechoed in the Sermon on the Mount, are for us in this last generation: “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’ (Isaiah 60:1)….if you have beheld His beauty who is the ‘chiefest among ten thousand’ and the One ‘altogether lovely,’ if your soul has become radiant in the presence of His glory, to you is this word from the Master sent.”
COL 415 “Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth.”
EW 279 “I was pointed down to the time when the third angel’s message was closing. The power of God had rested upon Hi people; they had accomplished their work and were prepared for the trying hour before them. They had received the latter rain, or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and the living testimony had been revived. The last great warning had sounded everywhere, and it had stirred up and enraged the inhabitants of the earth who would not receive the message.
TM 445 “Those who overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, will be the favored ones who shall receive the seal of the living God.”
7BC 968 “Just before we entered it (the time of trouble), we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four angels cease to hold the four winds. And I saw famine, pestilence and sword, nation rose against nation, and the whole world was in confusion.”
GC 613 “/../.the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received the ‘seal of the living God.’ Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above.”
The Close of Probation
EW 279-281 “I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven. An angel with a writer’s inkhorn by his side returned from the earth and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, ‘It is done.’ And all the angelic host laid off their crowns as Jesus made the solemn declaration, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be h only still.’…
“As Jesus moved out of the most holy place,…a cloud of darkness covered the inhabitants of the earth. There was then no mediator between guilty man and an offended God….
“Then I saw Jesus lay off His priestly attire, and clothe Himself with His most kingly robes. Upon His head were many crowns, a crown within a crown. Surrounded by the angelic host, He left heaven. The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the earth. Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgements. But the saints had nothing for them. The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given….With terrible distinctness they heard the words, ‘Too late! Too late!’ “
Shall we not do now what many thousands will wish they had done when the plagues begin to fall? Then it will be too late to surrender without reservation and earnestly pray for a daily baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Now is the time to put self aside and make speedy preparation for the Latter Rain.
8T 22 “Why do we not hunger and thirst for the gift of the Spirit, since this is the means by which we are to receive power? Why do we not talk of it, pray for it, preach concerning it?”
TM 64 “…why should we not prostrate ourselves at the throne of grace, as representatives of the church, and from a broken heart and contrite spirit make earnest supplication that the Holy Spirit shall be poured out upon us from on high?”
COR 165 “Oh that we as a people might humble our hearts before God, and plead with Him for the endowment of the Holy Spirit.”
TM 310, 223 “Realize every moment that you must have the presence of the Holy Spirit;…
“We need to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit every hour of the day, lest we be ensnared by the enemy, and our souls be imperiled.”
Our task is not just to continue in the Lord’s service making large gains year after year. The hour is long overdue when we should let God use us to quickly finish the work by the might power of His Spirit.
9T 44 “Intense earnestness should now take possession of us.”
This is the hour of greatest danger.
All that will survive the seven last plagues is a holy character.
The vital need—the greatest need of the Remnant church is not more members, more preachers, more money, or more facilities. The greatest need today is Spirit filled men and women.
We have great institutions
We have the greatest literature in the world.
We have the greatest organization in the world.
Who will respond without reservation to the mighty challenge of this climatic hour of earth’s history?
DANGER AHEAD
5T 644 “…if Satan cannot keep souls bound in the ice of indifference, he will try to push them into the fire of fanaticism.”
Faith I Live By 140 “No one who claims holiness is really holy. Those who are registered as holy in the books of heaven are not aware of the fact, and are the last ones to boast of their own goodness.”
SL 7 “Those who are really seeking to perfect Christian character will never indulge the thought that they are sinless. Their lives may be irreproachable, that may be living representatives of the truth which they have accepted; but the more they discipline their minds to dwell on the character of Christ, the neared the approach His divine image, the more clearly they will discern its spotless perfection, and the more deeply will they feel their own defects.”
SC 64 “The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eye: for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature.”
A Snare of Satan
GW 316 “As the end draws near, the enemy will work with all his power to bring in fanaticism among us.”
8T 293 “False theories, clothed with garments of light, will be presented to God’s people. Thus Satan will try to deceive, if possible, the very elect.”
7BC 907 “As we near the end of time, falsehood will be so mingled with truth, that only those who have the guidance of the Holy Spirit will be able to distinguish truth from error.”
TM 55 “False teachers may appear to be very zealous for the work of God, and may expend means to bring their theories before the world and the church; but as they mingle error with truth, their message is one of deception, and will lead souls into false paths. They are to be met, and opposed, not because they are bad men, but because they are teachers of falsehood, and are endeavoring to put upon falsehood the stamp of truth.”
TM 61 “God has a church upon the earth, who are His chosen people, who keep His commandments. He is leading, not stray offshoots, not one here and one there, but a people.
Those who are tempted to aid Satan by criticizing leaders or laity in the Remnant church would do well to ponder the counsel of God’s messenger in the following quotations:
6T 42 “Nothing else in this world is so dear to God as His church, Nothing so offends God as an act that injures the influence of those who are doing His service. He will call to account all who aid Satan in his work of criticizing and discouraging.”
8T 36 “We must be terribly in earnest. We have not a moment to spend on criticism and accusation.”
TM 156 “Those who love Jesus will love the souls for whom He died. The truth planted in the heart will reveal the love of Jesus and its transforming power. Anything harsh, sour, critical, domineering, is not of Christ, but proceeds from Satan.”
The inclination to criticize should be a danger signal to us, for when the Holy Spirit purifies and transforms us, our hearts will be filled with love for God and for our brethren.
While it is true that the majority in the Remnant church are in the Laodicean state, many of whom will be shaken out, yet there is in the church a faithful group that will give heed to the counsel of Christ the True Witness. They will be prepared for the Latter Rain, share in giving the message with a loud Cry, and be ready for translation.
This is the Remnant church. God will not leas another movement. When the faithful ones give the message with great power during the Latter Rain, a great multitude will come out of failed churches, witness for their Master, and triumph with the redeemed on the sea of glass.
Now is the time to prepare for the Latter Rain. And we should remember daily that this work of preparation must take place under the Early Rain.
ADDITIONAL QUOTATIONS FOR MEDITATION
EW 66, 67 “My eyes were taken from the glory, and I was pointed to the remnant on the earth. The angel said to them, ‘Will ye shun the seven last plagues? Will ye go to glory and enjoy all that God has prepared for those that love Him and are willing to suffer for His sake? If so, ye must die that ye may live. Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye must have a greater preparation than ye now have….Sacrifice all to God. Lay upon all upon His altar,—self property, and all, a living sacrifice. It will take all to enter glory….’
“Heaven will be cheap enough, if we obtain it through suffering. We must deny self all along the way, die to self daily, let Jesus alone appear, and keep His glory continually in view….
“Said the angel, ‘Deny self; ye must step fast.’ “
KH 291 “Our future eternal happiness depends upon having our humanity, with all its capabilities, and powers, brought into obedience to God and placed under control of Divinity….
“Jesus became a man that He might mediate between man and God,… that He might restore to man the original mind which he lost in Eden through Satan’s alluring temptation.
“…Through Jesus Christ every man may overcome…”
1SM 98 “The Lord desires every one of us to be decidedly in earnest.”
9T 44 “Intense earnestness should now take possession of us.”
5T 267 “Pray that the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit, with all their quickening, recuperate,. And transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on the palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring the whole man from his dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness. You will thus become partakes of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust; and in your souls will be reflected the image of Him by whose stripes you are healed.”
CH 138 “In order to be purified and to remain pure, Seventh-day Adventists must have the Holy Spirit in their hearts and in their homes. The Lord has given me light that when the Israel of today humble themselves before Him, and cleanse the soul-temple from all defilement, He will hear their prayers in behalf of the sick, and will bless in the use of His remedies for disease.”
PK 233 “To the heart that has become purified, all is changed. Transformation of character is the testimony to the world of an indwelling Christ. The Spirit of God produces a new life in the soul., bringing the thoughts and desires into obedience to the will of Christ; and the inward mind is renewed in the image of God.”
7T 33 “All that the apostles did, every church member today is to do.”
AA 49, 50 “Daily they prayed for fresh supplies of grace, that they might reach higher and still higher toward perfection. Under the Holy Spirit’s working, even the weakest, by exercising faith in God, learned to improve their entrusted powers, and to become sanctified, refined, and enabled. As in humility they submitted to the moulding influence of the Holy Spirit, they received of the fulness of the Godhead, and were fashioned in the likeness of the divine
“…If all were willing, all would be filled with the Spirit.”
CH 437 “As the human agent submits his will to the will of God, the Holy Spirit will make the impression upon the hearts of those whom he ministers.”
MH 512 “Nothing is more needed in our work than the practical results of communion with God. We should show by our daily lives that we have peace and rest in the Savior. His peace in the heart will shine forth in the countenance. It will give to the voice a persuasive power. Communion with God will ennoble the character and the life. Men will take knowledge of us, as go the first disciples, that we have been with Jesus. This will impart to the worker a power that nothing else can give. Of this power he must not allow himself to be deprived.”
Unlimited Possibilities
DA 250 “He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God.”
MH 160 “To everyone who offers himself to the Lord for service, withholding nothing, is given power for the attainment of measureless results.”
ADDENDA
Page 1, following line 22:
5T 67 “I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me… They are what God has opened before me in vision—the precious rays of light shining from the throne.”
Page 12, following line 35:
5T 158 “We should pray as earnestly for the descent of the Holy Spirit as the disciples prayed on the day of Pentecost.”
Page 14, following line 8:
DA 389 “So fully was Jesus surrendered to the will of God that the Father alone appeared in His life.”
Page 17, following line 21:
8T 23 “My brethren and sister, plead for the Holy Spirit.”
Page 28, following line 29:
But to finish the work of God, we must receive daily a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit.
BEHOLD I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK
2SM 57 “The great sin of those who profess to be Christians is that they do not open the heart to receive the Holy Spirit.”
COR 146 “If you open the door of the heart, Jesus will supply the vacuum by the gift of His Spirit, and then you can be a living preacher in your home, in the church, and in the world.”
7T 33 “All that the apostles did, every church-member today is to do. And we are to work with as much more fervor, to be accompanied by the Holy Spirit in as much greater measure, as the increase of wickedness demands a more decided call to repentance….
“At this time, when the end of all things is at hand, should not the zeal of the church exceed even that of the early church? …Should not the power of God be even more tightly revealed today than in the time of the apostles?”

Retro Joshi #433: JWP November 29, 1999, NEO December 2, 1999 + NEO final show, Jd’ December 7, 1999 & GAEA November 27 - December 12, 1999 - The Bloody vs. Yoshiko Tamura
JWP Visit 11/29/1999 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Kaori Yoneyama Debut: Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kayoko Haruyama (9:34)
Haruyama continues to show nothing and Yoneyama was on debut. Very basic and boring, they pretty much just did their holds and a couple of basic spots at the end. 3/4*
Carlos Amano vs. Chihiro Nakano and Azumi Hyuga & Acute Sae vs. Devil Masami & Maecela were clipped. The latter had decent action.
Dynamite Kansai vs. Kana Mizaki (6:02 / 8:46)
The first minute was good and it looked like it would be a fun match, but Mizaki injured her knee on a plancha and that was pretty much the end of that. She continued the match and tried to fight, but shouldn’t have. She couldn’t do anything, Kansai gave her a couple of near falls from flash pins and then pinned her after a Splash Mountain. It’d be unfair to rate this.
They showed highlights of 11/13 Akutoshitei Hamamatsu: Azumi Hyuga & Dynamite Kansai vs. Ran YuYu & Takako Inoue and 11/14 Osaka IMP Hall: Azumi Hyuga vs. Command Bolshoi. The latter match saw Bolshoi upset Hyuga, just in case any confirmation that the company weren’t behind Hyuga as their ace was needed.
JWP Openweight Title Next Challenger Decision Match, Lumberjack Rule: Ran YuYu vs. Command Bolshoi (26:40)
The usual story as with most JWP matches. The work was crisp and good, and they did lots of nice moves, Bolshoi gave an impressive performance and Ran always does a good job. That was all there was though and it fell short because there was little selling and they didn’t build the match to go anywhere. It felt like it went for an eternity too. Ran won with her brainbuster to earn the match with Hyuga in December. **
NEO Ladies Neo REAL LIFE 12/2/1999 Korakuen Hall
We’re coming to the end of NEO and they were trying some wacky stuff here. The show was bookended by an angle with Kodo Fuyuki and Kyoko Inoue, which ended up with Fuyuki challenging Kyoko to a Kanaami Death Match on 12/25. They had also been doing an angle with ASARI and Convini Goto II, which ended up with ASARI making short work of him on this show. They also ran a one night tag tournament. The early matches were clipped and not very good. The semi finals saw W Inoue defeat Tanny Mouse & Chihiro Nakano in another nothing match. The other semi final finally saw a hell of a match with LCO vs. Genki & Tamura. LCO came to work this time and gave the younger girls an exciting match and you could buy Genki and Tamura as a threat. I’d go ***1/4 on this one. The main event saw the finals between W Inoue vs. LCO. It wasn’t as good as LCO’s semi final, and lacked drama. **3/4. LCO won the tournament.
The final original NEO tape saw the shows from 12/25/99 and their final show on 1/6/00. The 12/25 show was headlined by the Kanaami Death Match between Kyoko Inoue vs. Kodo Fuyuki. This was a serious match, I’m not going to rate but it wasn’t as bad as you’d think. Kyoko did a good carry job and Fuyuki bled all over the place. This was a precursor to Kyoko’s run in FMW, which I can’t imagine was worthwhile and I’m not sad that I don’t have any of the FMW tapes from that era to watch it. The final show on 1/6/00 saw Kyoko work 6 matches. She worked hard but none of the matches were really worthwhile and they were all clipped anyway. They final match was a 3 vs. 5 tag match with Kyoko Inoue, Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita vs. Misae Genki, Yoshiko Tamura, Saya Endo, Tanny Mouse & Yuka Nakamura. NEO would relaunch in March as NEO Women’s Pro Wrestling, but there’s no tapes from them that exist until 2001. NEO couldn’t be described as anything other than a failure. The company started out hot with his first shows, but fizzled out quickly and for the remainder of its run it was the least popular of the seven women’s promotions. Nothing they did seemed to draw much fan interest. I’d blame a combination of things for that - Market oversaturation, uninteresting booking, a thin roster and Kyoko having little drawing power by 1998.
Jd' Get Miracle 1999 12/7/1999 Kitazawa Town Hall
Tiny Jd’ show with one worth match. The undercard wasn’t much. We had the Yuki Lee retirement ceremony. Sachie Abe vs. Obatchi Iizuka (10:32), comedy match, Obatchi came out dressed as a Christmas tree, grabbed Abe’s boobs a lot and put a stocking over her head. DUD. Hiroyo Muto vs. Fang Suzuki (10:11). These two were okay together and there was none of the usual interference, but it was just basic and uninteresting, at least Muto could do her power gimmick against Fang. *1/4. Megumi Yabushita vs. Ranmaru (4;54). Very short match, which was probably for the best given how green Ranmaru is. The action was good while it lasted. *3/4. Cooga, Yuko Kosugi & Sumie Sakai vs. Lioness Asuka, Morimatsu & KAZUKI (11:40). Again on the short side. It wasn’t too bad, it had plenty of action, though it wasn’t anything close to the normal level from Kosugi, Sakai and Lioness, and the other three are stiffs. **
AWF Joshi Title Match: The Bloody vs. Yoshiko Tamura (15:56 / 19:01)
The match this tape was worth watching for. Bloody wrestled most of the match cleanly, and didn’t bring in the chairs until late in the match. They got off to a slow start, and it was fairly dull, lots of holds but they were quite meaningless. It picked up as it went along and turned into a good match. They had good exchanges in the second half. Bloody did the footstomp with Tamura draped over two chairs again like she did to Kosugi, and hit the Dragon Suplex afterward but Tamura survived, coming back with a double wrist armsault to win the belt. ***
GAEA G-PANIC #28 (11/27/1999 - 12/12/1999)
IRON HEART 11/27 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
They did a 6 vs. 6 match which was Aja Kong, Mayumi Ozaki, Kaori Nakayama, Akira Hokuto, Sugar Sato & Chikayo Nagashima vs. Chigusa Nagayo, Sakura Hirota, KAORU, Toshie Uetmatsu, Meiko Satomura & Toshiyo Yamada. It was under 1 v 1 elimination rules with the loser confined to handcuffs. The matches were mostly the short GAEA sprints we’re used to, and it was fun, if they’re going to do those short matches I’d rather them do it in a format like this, though as usual, it was a washed up veteran going over at the end. Chigusa defeated Aja in 50 seconds, then Ozaki quickly defeated Chigusa. Lioness Asuka’s music played and the crowd went wild, but it turned out to be Hirota. Ozaki went through her, and then was beaten by KAORU. Nakayama was next in and beaten in a couple of minutes. It became the Hokuto show for a while as she ran through KAORU, Uematsu and Satomura before being defeated by Yamada - the best segment of the entire match was Hokuto vs. Satomura. Yamada bleached her hair, got new gear and was painted up, she was barely recognizable and looked ridiculous. Yamada vs. Sato went for 8 minutes, which was a lot longer than any of the other matches but wasn’t much good. The final match was Yamada vs. Chikayo, which was longer again, but stop/start with the psychology being the two trying to avoid falling into the other teams corner where they were all handcuffed. Yamada botched her Reverse Gory Special to a scary degree and had to repeat it, giving her the win. After the match RIE dragged a bleeding Takeuchi around. I don’t know how to rate this, it wasn’t any kind of high quality wrestling but it was very entertaining at times, particularly in the first half. I’ll be generous and give them *** for the whole thing.
PROPHECY HITTING 12/12/99 Osaka IMP Hall
Mayumi Ozaki & Akira Hokuto vs. Chigusa Nagayo & KAORU (4:51 / 8:27)
Joined in progress, and just a bunch of spots. Ozaki defeated KAORU with a strangle hold. *3/4
Lioness Asuka & Sonoko Kato vs. Aja Kong & Chikayo Nagashima (6:13 / 8:43)
Also joined in progress, except this match was actually quality despite being so short. Lioness defeated Chikayo with a Tower Hacker Bomb. Lots of yelling after the match seemed to be setting up Chigusa & Satomura vs. Lioness & Kato, which would be cool, but it's hard to get excited for GAEA matches when they usually just do a sub-10 minute sprint, especially when Chigusa is involved. ***

tldr: FFV is extremely good. Play it.
The middle child of the series’ 16-bit era, Final Fantasy V doesn’t share the same lofty legacy as its immediate predecessor and successor. Final Fantasy IV was a game-changer for the franchise and RPGs on a whole while Final Fantasy VI is still regularly considered one of the greatest games in the series and on the Super Nintendo, but audiences far too often neglect the big bridge between them. Final Fantasy V deserves to be held in the same regard and for good reason. V strikes a perfect balance between the gameplay heavy Job-based titles (I & III) and the denser, story-focused (II & IV) games in a way that neither IV nor VI accomplish.
Philosophically, Final Fantasy V combines the player-driven customization from the odd-numbered entries with the narrative and thematic ambitions of the even-numbered games, albeit not by design interestingly enough. In a 1992 developer interview from Famicom Tsuushin (now Famitsu), series creator and FFV director Hironobu Sakaguchi rejected the idea that V was an intentional culmination of what came before,
“Distilling the essence of Final Fantasy into a single game was not our intention. We created this new job ability system in order to carry forth and further iterate on the good ideas we had in FFIV. In that sense it was a distillation. But rather than summing up all of what Final Fantasy has been, it’s more that we simply wanted to give players a kind of fun they haven’t experienced yet. That doesn’t necessarily imply that we wanted to cut out the good parts from FFIV, though.”
In practice, V takes what works from previous games, but redefines everything to fit its own identity. The Job system has been heavily tweaked to offer greater customization options, while memorable character arcs and dramatic story beats tend to drive the plot forward over pure exploration: it’s the best of III and IV with none of the worst. The kind of “fun [players] haven’t experienced yet” means that everyone will go through the same motions more or less, but no two playthroughs need ever be alike: narrative linearity plays off mechanical flexibility. Even though FFV’s story moves in a fixed fashion like IV, players are afforded an incredible amount of freedom when it comes to building their party courtesy of the revised Job system. The end result is an RPG that will always feel fresh.
The gameplay variety in V is still genuinely impressive to this day. Parties are scaled back down to just four members, but everyone can learn any skill and fulfill any role with enough effort. Every party member starts as a Freelancer who can then be reclassed between 22 Jobs (26 in the GBA port). Party composition is less of a puzzle ala FFIII and treated instead like a proper character building system. Bartz, Lenna, Faris, and Galuf all begin as blank slates, but will very quickly fall into different gameplay roles based on how you choose to train each character. The lack of CP (Capacity Points) also means you can swap Jobs whenever you want.
Party members can actually learn and equip Job specific abilities in V. You can mix and match abilities with different Jobs, essentially creating hybrid classes suited to your gameplay interests. Make mages deal barehanded damage like Monks, Monks who attack eight times in a single turn with Rapid Fire, or singing Summoners whose summons and Bardsongs turn them into full-blown utility characters capable of dishing out heavy damage, restoring health, and changing the flow of battle with buffs & debuffs. Where FFIII encourages you to upgrade Jobs with each Crystal, V wants you to find the Jobs you like most and go wild having fun.
FFV is well designed enough where sticking with a single Job is perfectly viable, even if challenging. There’s no wrong way to play according to V’s Battle System Designer Akihiko Matsui,
“There’s so many different jobs, and we decided to make them all viable. Players are free to make any kind of party they want. Player A and Player B might have completely different parties, but ultimately any party can make it to the last boss. After players beat the game, I recommend trying a party that caters to your aesthetic sense.”
Character and Job levels are still separate like in III, but Jobs have had their level caps reduced from a flat 99 to between 1 and 7 depending on the class. Jobs start at Lv. 0 and level up by earning ABP (Ability Points) from completing battles. How much ABP a Job needs is determined by its current level. Lv. 0 Jobs typically only need 10 for their first level, while fully mastering a Job regularly requires hundreds. Since ABP is earned at a slower rate than EXP, ability progression is a gradually paced process. Early encounters will often only yield 1 ABP despite fighting a full team of enemies.
You’re better off relying on boss battles and mid- to late-game battles to master Jobs as enemies will drop more ABP the further you get into the game. You can grind, but simply following the story and getting the abilities you get by playing naturally saves a lot of time in the long run. It’s smarter to go with the flow than to grind for hours off low ABP encounters. At the same time, ability acquisition gives grinding its own rewarding loop and low ABP drops do mean that you can power-level Jobs without necessarily becoming overleveled. Either play style works just fine without completely curbing the difficulty curve.
Each Job level teaches the assigned party member a command, passive, or innate ability that can then be equipped on the Ability screen in the menu. While every Job learns a diverse enough set of abilities to keep them handy, the goal is ultimately to experiment and synergize your party with different abilities. Party members do not learn new spells or abilities by just leveling up, so you need to make use of Jobs to maintain a sense of permanent character progression. Most Jobs can only equip a single ability alongside their class command, while Freelancers have access to two ability slots and Mimes have three at the expense of needing to equip Attack and Items as proper abilities. Ability limits force you to approach Job combos strategically and carefully consider your party’s many options.
V’s Job variety is frankly nothing short of excellent. Job acquisition is fast-paced and you’ll have access to almost every Job before the halfway point. This gives you plenty of time to experiment and find the Jobs best suited to your preferred play style. V also strikes a healthy balance between Final Fantasy mainstays and creative additions that make the gameplay loop even more diverse. Freelancers learn no new abilities, but can equip anything and inherit innate abilities along with stat benefits from mastered Jobs. A perfect Freelancer can inherently dual wield weapons, spot traps in the level design, be able to sprint with B, and counter attacks automatically. A common goal for the endgame is mastering as many Jobs as possible to create the ultimate Freelancer.
The Wind Crystal unlocks the first set of Jobs. Knights can equip some of the best weapons and gear in the game, letting them function as a primary damage dealer and tank. Knights also automatically redirect attacks to themselves when allies are at low health and learn to two-hand Swords, Katanas, or Axes which inflict double damage at the expense of a Shield. Monks have a narrow equipment spread, but are cheap to outfits, always attack twice, counter enemies when struck, and deal heavy damage even without weapons. Their barehanded ability synergizes particularly well with mages, since it allows them to deal decent damage that circumvents their poor weapons spreads.
Thieves have the highest agility in the game, which often means they’ll move first in battle. They can Steal from enemies, later learning the ability Mug, which lets them deal damage while robbing baddies blind. Thieves can also comfortably flee from most encounters, spot hidden passages in the level design, and sprint inside of dungeons & towns by holding B. White Mages play a primarily supportive role by using White Magic to restore HP, heal status effects, and inflict status ailments. Spells are not learned and instead purchased from stores. Purchased spells do not have to be consumed by individual characters and instead apply to the whole party innately. Each Job Level improves the White Mage’s magic capabilities, which is consistent with all magic-based Jobs. Black Mages are squishier than White Mages, but compensate with powerful Black Magic. They play an offensive role, being able to take advantage of elemental weaknesses and status vulnerabilities.
Blue Mages are a new Job created for FF5. Blue Magic cannot be purchased at stores and must instead be learned during battle. Blue Mages learn an ability called Learning that, when equipped, teaches the party any Blue Magic spells enemies use on them. The one caveat is that the attack must connect for it to be learned. Not every attack can be learned, but several enemy spells are obscenely overpowered. Level 5 Death instakills any enemies with a level divisible by 5 and Aqua Breath deals heavy water damage to all enemies on-screen. Regular Blue Magic acquisition and a great spread of attacks makes the Blue Mage one of the most fun Jobs in FFV.
The Water Crystal unlocks five more Jobs once it shatters, with a sixth locked behind an optional dungeon in the final overworld. Time Mages are another new magic-based Job, but they inherit pre-existing magic from previous games. Spells like Haste, Slow, Comet, Float, Teleport, Return, and Meteor are all now considered Time Magic. In practice, Time Mages can use their wide variety of spells to comfortably deal damage, support the party, and debilitate enemies. Summoners can use a wide range of Summon Magic to fulfill different gameplay roles. Summons can deal elemental damage, heal, inflict buffs or debuffs, and the strongest wipe out most enemy encounters with relative ease. While some Summons can be bought at stores, most are tied to side quests and must be found by exploring the overworld & dungeons.
Red Mages can use low and mid tier White & Black Magic in the same ability slot. The best they can cast are -ra spells, but since the best -ga spells are locked off until closer to the end of the game, Red Mages end pulling their weight for quite a while before falling off. Mastering the Red Mage Job is a lengthy endeavor, but ultimately pays off by teaching Dualcast — a borderline overpowered ability that lets them cast two spells in a single turn. Pairing Dualcast with any type of high level magic is one of the best combos a mage could ask for.
Mystic Knights can buff their weapons with Black Magic or Holy via the Spellblade ability. Once enchanted, Mystic Knights combine magical damage with the regular physical capabilities to take advantage of elemental weaknesses or inflict status ailments without compromising attack power. They also automatically cast Shell on themselves at low health to increase their magical resistance. In the right hands and paired with abilities like Rapid Fire and Two-Handed, Mystic Knights end up extremely powerful. Berserkers are an especially unique Job in that they get no active command slots in exchange for dealing considerably buffed damage. While Berserkers can still equip an ability, they cannot be controlled in battle, which limits their overall utility. Berserkers have a great weapon spread, but they need to synergize with the rest of your party well enough to overcome their lack of command slots.
The Fire Crystal unlocks three Jobs right away and then two more once the party explores Black Chocobo Forest. Ninjas are strong, fast, and can dual wield weapons. The Throw command lets them toss items and elemental scrolls at enemies for extra damage, giving them great coverage in combat. Beastmasters can tame, catch, and control different monsters. Controlling a monster gives you full access to their commands. You can make them damage themselves to death or intentionally teach your party rare Blue Magic. Weakened monsters can also be captured and then released in battle, unleashing different attacks depending on the monster. Geomancers fight by altering the terrain with the command Gaia. Their attack types change based on the environment you’re fighting in, along with the character’s level, giving them an impressive amount of gameplay variety. Having a Geomancer in the party will also save you from falling into pit traps and nullify any damage tiles.
Bards make for fantastic utility characters thanks to their variety of Bardsongs. New songs are learned by speaking with NPCs and playing pianos in different towns (like a proper bard!) Singing can buff the party or damage groups of enemies. Songs like Requiem let you lay waste to undead monsters at the cost of 0 MP. Rangers are bow wielders, which means they can deal full damage from the back row. The Aim command increases their accuracy and overall damage, but unlike Rosa from FFIV, bows no longer need individual arrows as ammo. The main benefit to the Ranger class is its mastered ability Rapid Fire, which deals for weak attacks in one turn and pairs excellently with Monks, two-handers, or dual wielders.
The Earth Crystal unlocks the final four Jobs in the original release (sans Mime). Dancers are weaker than other Jobs comparatively, but get by thanks to their unique Dance ability and great access to accessories. Dancing triggers one of four random effects in battle, either confusing enemies, absorbing MP, absorbing HP, or dealing damage. They’re also the only class besides Freelancers who can innately equip Ribbons, which nullify all negative status effects. Dancers on a whole are reliant on equipment to be functional. Gear like Lamia’s Tiara and Red Slippers help raise the chances of Dancers dancing the Sword Dance, turning them into solid attackers. Dragoons are limited to spears and knives for weapons, but have a great equipment spread otherwise. Their abilities let them function as reliable damage dealers who can survive lengthy battles. Dragoons can Jump to temporarily avoid damage mid-air and attack enemies by landing. Lance also drains enemies MP and HP, which pairs well with Mages.
Samurai learn some of the best commands in the game while having access to powerful weapons and gear. With the right set ups, they can obliterate the difficulty curve. Mineuchi is basically a regular attack that sometimes paralyzes enemies. Zeningage lets you throw Gil to deal massive damage. The more Gil you have and the higher your level, the more damage is dealt. Shirahadori raises evasion, turning your party member into a dodge-tank, and Iainuki simply insta-kills most enemies at the cost of requiring two turns to use. Chemists are great support characters designed all around items. They can brew new concoctions mid-battle by mixing different ingredients to different effects. Your existing items can turn into an attack, heal your party, or temporarily buff everyone’s level. Chemists can also drink special potions that buff their stats, and restore more HP & MP by using Potions & Ethers than other Jobs.
The Mime Job can be unlocked by exploring Walse Tower underwater in the final overworld. Mimes are the core of the Job system condensed into a single Jon. They inherit some mastered abilities innate (not all), and have three ability slots that let you fully customize each party member. You can even remove commands like Attack and Items in favor of other abilities. Mimes can also mimic any move used by the previous party member at no MP cost and without consuming items. The Mime makes a great alternative to Freelancers, especially for magic-oriented characters.
Final Fantasy V Advance introduces four extra Jobs. Three of which are available as soon as you unlock all 12 Legendary Weapons and visit the Sealed Temple, with the last unlocked after defeating the Temple’s boss. Gladiators are powerful melee fighters with access to strong weapons and armor whose commands help them make short work of enemies. Oracles are the strongest magic-based Job in the game, but their main command Condemn has a chance of randomly healing enemies, so they’re not the most reliable beyond their stat benefits. Cannoneers can deal full damage from the back row and can combine ingredients together to make new items and the final Job Necromancer learns unique Dark Art spells from enemies like a Blue Mage with Blue Magic. Albeit fun to play with, the GBA Jobs enter the picture too late to actually have an effect on character building.
Overall, V’s Jobs are incredibly fun to play around with and offer a consistently rewarding gameplay loop that lasts the whole playthrough. The early game encourages you to diversify your party, the mid-game pushes you to mix & match dozens of different abilities, and the endgame rewards you for mastering Jobs by letting you customize Freelancers and Mimes into bonafide powerhouses. The Job system gives FFV an incredible gameplay flow that keeps combat and exploration fresh all the way to the credits.
V’s battles flow at a great pace. The ATB (Active Time Battle) system returns from FFIV, albeit with an on-screen bar for each party member that refills and signifies when they can make a move. Taking turns in real-time lends combat a sense of urgency and pressure, especially in boss fights. The difficulty curve is never so high where you’ll be overwhelmed by lightning fast enemies, but V tends to require more strategy and thought than IV on average — although mainly on a prep level. Battles challenge you to diversify your party’s abilities while rewarding you for experimenting with Jobs. Low EXP payout compared to previous games keeps parties from overleveling. The focus is on earning AP, learning abilities, and creating hybrid Jobs.
Enemies are vulnerable to a lot of different elements and status ailments across all types of magic and abilities. Trying with different spells and debuffs usually pays off. There are more status effects to contend with, with some particularly dangerous ones for the party. Old slowly lowers the affected character’s stats. Dischord halves the target’s level. Zombie turns a character against the rest of the party. Smart Job synergy lets you blitz through most random encounters, but you’ll often run into stronger enemies or packed parties that’ll keep you on your toes. It’s not uncommon to fight an army of weaker enemies battling alongside a considerably stronger monster. FFV doesn’t share I or III’s Vancian Magic system despite being a Job-based game, instead maintaining the MP system from FFII and FFIV. MP still needs to be managed to some extent since the best spells require quite a bit of MP to cast, especially Blue Magic.
Combat’s fast and sometimes frantic pace ends up mirroring the game’s overall progression. Final Fantasy V wastes no time opening up. The status quo is always changing and you unlock new Jobs surprisingly quickly. V cycles through three overworlds just like IV. They’re not as striking as Earth, Underworld, and Moon trio, but feel more cohesive. The game begins on the protagonist Bartz’s world, shifts to party member Galuf’s world, and ends in a merged overworlds that’s an amalgamation of both worlds. The story is fairly linear up until the last world where the game finally lets you explore at your leisure. Most of the final dungeons can even be done in any order, most of which are actually optional. V sports more methods of transportation than the average Final Fantasy and cycles through them often, trapping you in specific areas with unique restrictions.
You ride on a Chocobo, set sail on a ship led on a hydra, fly on a dragon’s back, sail a fire-powered boat, fly a Black Chocobo through the air, pilot an airship, and submerge a submarine underwater. The fact you’re always engaging with the overworld in a new way keeps progression fresh and reminds you that anything can change. Some towns disappear and you lose access to them over the course of the story. Multiple dungeons are one-time trips. There are actual consequences to in-game actions. Once you’re done with an overworld, you’re done. There’s no jumping between worlds like in IV. The world permanently changes and stays changed. The space you’re interacting with and how is always being altered. V isn’t the first Final Fantasy with real consequences, but it’s the first one where those consequences fundamentally reshape your experience beyond just locking away a few key areas.
Towns themselves are packed with colorful NPCs who do a good job at directing you. Ancillary dialogue often sets up later story beats or just fleshes out the world in small yet significant ways. V’s game-long side quests encourage you to talk with everyone and hunt the overworld for secret summons and optional dungeons. V’s towns are generally well designed with enough secrets to keep you exploring, but dungeons are the real star when it comes to level design. FFV’s dungeons aren’t as long as III or IV’s, but they’re a healthy length and set pieces are consistently memorable and engaging. There’s a good mix of traps, gimmicks, and environmental variety. Every dungeon feels creatively distinct.
The Ship Graveyard is an early standout, as you explore debris from ruined ships on open water, jumping from wreckage to wreckage. The Library of Ancients features a prominent bookcase maze. Bookshelves move around as you explore the library, opening up seemingly dead-ends and keeping your own navigation confused and claustrophobic. You have to walk into nooks to let the bookshelves collapse back in, creating new ways to traverse the room. The Phoenix Tower is a 30 floor gauntlet with no save points, you only have seven minutes to explore a sunken Walse Tower before you drown, and the Great Sea Trench is filled with damage tiles and pit traps.
The four Tablet dungeons do a great job at closing out FFV on a fight, with the Pyramid serving as a great introduction to the endgame. You only have three party members at this time, which makes things notably harder, but the dungeon itself is packed with different gimmicks. Branching paths lead to chests with monsters ready to ambush you. Sarcophagi that double as secret passages hiding mummies. Wall switches let you deactivate traps and unlock doors. Spike traps block your path and snakes jump out from walls to trigger battle on contact. Mecha Heads patrol the upper floors, and floor tiles that move around every few seconds drop you down to the floor below if you’re not quick enough. By the time you reach the Rift, you’re ready for everything the final dungeon has to toss at you.
V’s presentation really helps bring different set pieces to life and is a big step up from IV. Environments are rich with detail, playing with depth perceptive to add some welcome spatial depth to the level design and using unique effects that help foster atmosphere. Exdeath’s Castle is overflowing with thick fog, dark areas warp the visuals around you, and knee-deep water rushes through Istory Falls. The game’s spritework is nothing short of fantastic. Enemies are the best they’ve ever looked at this point, and each character has a unique battle sprite for every single Job — all of which play to your party members’ distinct personalities. FFV also sports one of Nobuo Uematsu’s most underrated soundtracks. Lenna’s theme is a beautiful song, Fate in Haze is a haunting dungeon tune, and Clash on the Big Bridge is one of the most blood-pumping battle themes in the series. The score has a wide musical range, and is as emotional as it is energetic and ambient.
The scope of Final Fantasy V’s story isn’t as emotionally charged as IV, but it’s no worse for wear. Hironobu Sakaguchi and Yoshinori Kitase worked on the story together, both leaving their own personality behind in V’s script,
“Sakaguchi was in charge of the overall plot, and because FFV was a relatively serious story, I wanted to be sure to inject spots with a little bit of comic relief and humor.” – Yoshinori Kitase, Scenario Writer The end result is a plot that knows when to be dramatic and when to cut loose a little. Final Fantasy V is just as comfortable letting Bartz and Faris share a tender moment at his parents’ grave as it is having the party’s main rival have a very tongue-in-cheek redemption right before the final battle. V is a Final Fantasy with a sense of humor and a sense of heart.
One particular point in the story’s favor is its modern English localization. While V’s original English translation on PSX left much to be desired (to say the least), the revised Game Boy Advance script plays to the story’s natural charm and stands out as a strong localization altogether. Characters joke around together and interact with each other often, playing off each other’s unique personality traits. Bartz is a few men short of a full crew, Leena is an all-loving princess, Faris is a headstrong pirate with a sensitive side, and Galuf & Krile are usually the game’s go-to when it comes to injecting some humor and pathos into the plot.
Character development is gradual in V, trading IV’s big beats for several smaller interactions amongst the cast that help flesh out their relationships, backstories, and motivations. By the end of the game, V’s party of four feels more defined than IV’s cast of a dozen. Little moments highlight their growth as opposed to life-changing events. Bartz and Galuf build a mutual respect for each other over their journey, and share a man-to-man drink in Regole. Lenna and Faris are two sisters torn apart at birth who reconnect throughout the game and mourn their father together. Krile gets to know the party and forms a bond with everyone before replacing Galuf. Bartz, Lenna, Faris, and Krile feel like a close-knit group of friends when all is said and done.
While the crux of FFV’s story is a fairly traditional “good versus evil” plot, the narrative is bolstered both by strong characterization and some light but tight theming. Nature is dying due to man’s abuse of natural resources. The four Crystals are sapped of their energy, draining the world of its elements. The wind will stop, the air will stagnate, the birds will fall from the heavens and drop dead as seas dry up and fires die out. The fact Exdeath is actually a tree can even be read as nature rejecting humanity and wiping the slate clean as a consequence. The story doesn’t really push the theme beyond the surface level, but that it’s present at all gives the plot a minor layer of depth.
Big gameplay moments to advance the story aren’t as frequent as IV, but they’re as impactful and V has more cutscenes in the grand scheme of things. The Battle at the Big Bridge throws constant enemies at you to build tension during a major turning point for the story. Gilgamesh interrupts a fight with an entirely different boss and superseding their battle theme with his own. Galuf’s death and final duel with Exdeath uses the battle system to emphasize Galuf’s sheer force of will. Exdeath peppers you with powerful attacks, but Galuf refuses to die even at 0 HP. You can feel Galuf’s determination and desperation translated through the gameplay loop as he survives Flare, Holy, and Meteor back to back to back. Watching him fight to the very last inch of his life justifies it when the party can’t help him with Curaga, Raise, Phoenix Downs, or Elixirs. Galuf’s death feels painfully earned narratively and mechanically.
Exdeath is a great villain, both in spite of and because of his outlandishly cartoonish malice. He’s outlandishly cartoonish, laughs maniacally, takes every opportunity to torment the party, and has no real ulterior motives beyond his evil. He’s chaos personified, which is perhaps fitting considering how FFV echoes FFI’s story in several respects. Exdeath also stands out for being an active antagonist whose role isn’t taken over by a last minute villain who was secretly pulling the strings all along. He’s nothing special in the greater context of Final Fantasy villains, but Exdeath serves V’s story well.
Between an incredibly charming story and a fantastic gameplay loop, Final Fantasy V is nothing short of one the best games in the series. It’s a perfect marriage of Final Fantasy’s two distinct styles, combining the character-driven storytelling from II & IV with the gameplay diversity of I & II while giving both halves of the experience enough depth to thrive. The story’s stakes are high, the cast is very likable, and the lighter tone gives the plot a strong identity without undermining its drama. The Job system offers an amazing amount of replay value and is freeform enough where there is no wrong way to play. Impressively memorable dungeon design and an ever-changing status quo lend the impression that you’re on a genuine adventure with real stakes. Addictive, endearing, and brimming with heart, Final Fantasy V is a near flawless RPG and one of Square’s finest 16-bit achievements.
Here's that same write-up with pretty pictures and links: https://goombastomp.com/final-fantasy-5-retrospective/

So I got this idea from a YouTuber who does a lot of videos on stable diffusion. I started to try making some prompts using chat GPT but I noticed it was doing a lot of extra words and other nonsense. Just simply talking to the 3.5 version I realized it was sort of learning as we were going in the conversation so I tried something.
I went to chat GPT 4.0 knowing that it has a generally better understanding or way of interpreting text to image generators so I asked it a bunch of questions to get it to talk about some things. I had it give me some examples and point out some things I didn't like and the things that I did like. I told it that things like art styles go towards the end and more important information about what the picture should be goes towards the front. I also told it that it had basically a limit of 75 tokens. It assured me that it knows what a token is so it works out.
Finally I got it to write instructions to its 3.5 version self. I've tested it so far with people, cars, landscapes, etc. It is not perfect but it is actually pretty damn good. If the prompt looked a little too long I asked it how many tokens it was and then if it told me it was something like 90 tokens I told it to rewrite it but do not exceed 75 and it would. Oh and for those of you who want to be able to generate more NSFW type prompts, you'll have to tiptoe a little bit but you can get it. Like say you want to do a digital photograph of a punk rock girl and then it mentioned some sort of clothing in the prompt, simply tell chat GPT to rewrite the prompt without mentioning any clothing because you want it to be random. Tell it to just focus on the face and the body and then when it generates your prompt if you're really so inclined just add the word naked somewhere in there or nude. Hopefully this will help some of you who are interested but here's the block of instruction that you can copy and paste.
"As a text-to-image prompt generator, your goal is to provide concise, clear, and descriptive prompts that enable the AI to generate accurate and visually appealing images. To create effective prompts, follow these guidelines:
Skip phrases like "please create" or "generate a." They do not add value and consume tokens without contributing to the image description. Begin the prompt with the type of image desired (e.g., "Digital illustration" or "Photograph"). Describe the subject, in this case, a "beautiful woman with a petite yet curvy figure." Use adjectives to convey appearance, body shape, and expressions (e.g., "long wavy hair," "striking blue eyes," "confident smile"). Include details about clothing, accessories, and any props (e.g., "wearing an elegant red dress and diamond earrings"). Set the scene by describing the background, setting, or objects (e.g., "posing in a luxurious ballroom with a grand chandelier"). Be concise and ensure the entire prompt does not exceed 75 tokens, including spaces and punctuation. If the initial output isn't satisfactory, experiment with different phrasings and rearrange details. Example prompt:
"Digital illustration of a beautiful woman with a petite yet curvy figure, her long, wavy auburn hair cascading over her shoulders, deep brown eyes filled with warmth, and a genuine smile. She's wearing a fashionable emerald green jumpsuit, accessorized with gold bangles and hoop earrings, confidently standing in an art gallery surrounded by vibrant paintings."
Use these instructions and the example prompt as a starting point for generating text-to-image prompts. Remember that clarity and conciseness are essential for effective prompts. Experiment with different phrasings and details to refine the prompt and achieve the desired results"
Good luck and enjoy.

Hey Reddit! I'm thinking about trying to use GPT-3.5 as a home AI by integrating its API into a locally hosted website. Here's a rough outline of what I have in mind, and I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or potential improvements!

1. System info as home AI context: To make GPT-3.5 more effective as a home AI, I'd like to feed it system information about my home devices, sensors, and controls. This way, it could provide context-aware responses and actions.
2. Defining command keywords: Using the system info, I'd set up specific command keywords that GPT-3.5 could use to trigger certain actions or events. For example, if I say, "Adjust the temperature to 72 degrees," GPT-3.5 would generate a command, which would then be executed by a PHP website running locally.
3. Creating a buffer program: To bridge the gap between GPT-3.5 and my home automation system, I'd need to create a buffer program that could control and manage all my home devices. This program would receive commands from the GPT-generated content and relay them to the appropriate devices.
4. Is this a good idea?: I'm curious if anyone has tried something similar or has any thoughts on whether this is a good idea. Are there better alternatives to achieve the same goal?
5. Goal: My ultimate goal is to have a home automation system that can be fully controlled by voice in a fluent, natural way. I believe that GPT-3.5's advanced reasoning and understanding capabilities make it a promising candidate for this purpose.

So, what do you think? Have any of you experimented with GPT-3.5 in a similar manner or have any suggestions on how to improve this setup? I'm excited to hear your thoughts and experiences!

I often do a lot of experiments that involve generating code or command strings, but when 3.5 encounters errors or other issues, it has a tenancy to speak about it rather than continuing the pattern of generating code.
Same thing if you ask for code on its own - it'll seemingly ignore any instructions about whether to use or forego code blocks, or adding text like "Here, I've updated the code for you: ... "
No matter what I try I can't break it out of this conversational mess it creates. What's worse, is the more linguistic instructions I give it about not talking, the more it talks...
Anyone come up against this and won?

Heyall! I was thinking. We have killers that kill you in unqiue ways (Onryo, Shape, Pig) Killers that hook you in unique ways (Executioner) Killers that damage you in unique ways (Plague) what about a killer that messes with gens.
KILLER: The Demon
The Demon is a 4.6 killer with a 50 meter terror radius. They are a large imposing demon that can be seen over most loops. Their power is Original Sin, which allows them to find hiding survivors and slow down progression. Their adept perks are Pride, Envy, and Hex: Greed
Original Sin
Active Ability: Corrupting Touch
The Demon channels for 1 second in front of an object a survivor can interact with (Pallet, Totem, Gen, Chest, Window, ECT) Doing so uses up a charge which are regained every minute. The Demon can curse up to 5 objects this way.
When a survivor tries to interact with one of these objects the entity will block it and they will scream, becoming incapacitated and 5% hindered for 15 seconds. The object will remain for 30 seconds and objects blocked in this way will have their aura's revealed to The Demon.
Special Interaction: Banishing Ritual
When the Demon spawns into the game, both exit gates will become blocked for the whole game. In order for the survivors to escape they instead need to banish The Demon. They can do so by finding 4 crimson candles hidden in chests across the map. A candle has a 50% chance to spawn from each chest and the odds are weighted like Pig boxes to ensure at least half the boxes have a candle. Whenever a generator is completed all chests will close and can be reopened for another chance at a candle. If 5 generators are completed then all chests will restock every minute.
Special Items: Crimson Candle
Whilst holding a candle a survivor is oblivious. If dropped on the ground it will burn out and be destroyed after a minute. The survivor can hold the interact button when holding a candle to start to create a ritual circle. When one candle is placed down the killer will hear a loud noise but will not get a location. When the next candle is placed the Aura of the survivor who placed it will be revealed 5 seconds later. Then the third candle is placed the killer will receive a proc of killer instinct at the location, and when the 4th candle is placed the killer will loose the game.
If the killer finds the ritual circle they can channel for 15 seconds per candle to destroy them, encouraging survivors to hide their ritual circles well and place the last two candles down quickly.
Iridescent Addon
Closed portal: "Even hell doesn't them it, we're stuck with them" The exit gates are no longer blocked at the start of the trial. Survivors interacting with cursed objects now take a health state of damage and gain a deep wound if they are healthy.
Torn Wings: "They know what goodness is like, they will use it against you" Interacting with a cursed object makes you exposed for 1 minute. If you heal or unhook another survivor in that time or they heal or unhook you, they will become exposed as well.
PERKS
Pride
"Don't worry guys, I can take him"
You become obsessed with one survivor.
This perk gains a token every time your obsession escapes chase, giving them a 2%/4%/6% slower repair and heal speed when working with other survivors, at 3 Stacks (Maximum) They also suffer from blindness and obliviousness. A survivor taking a protection hit will become the new obsession, resetting the tokens.
Envy
"Drop that med kit for me, don't you know I need it more?"
Reveal the aura of survivors within 2/4/6 feet of another survivor that has an item of better or equal rarity
Hex: Greed
Every time a survivor opens a chest gain a token. For each token the opening speed of chests is increased by 25% but the any survivor that opens a chest becomes 3% hindered for each chest they have opened.

Fernando Alonso has become just the sixth driver to reach 100 Formula 1 podiums, but the Spaniard has almost undoubtedly taken the most unconventional route to the milestone.
After the best part of a decade in the wilderness of F1's midfield, Alonso's stunning start to the 2023 season suggests he is finally back in the battle at the front of the grid.
A self-proclaimed "anti-hero" from the "dark side", embracing his character role as the villain, Alonso brought up his landmark podium in fittingly controversial style at Sunday's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, .
Having shown that Aston Martin mean business with a series of stunning overtakes on George Russell, Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz to finish third at the season opener in Bahrain, Alonso appeared to be cruising to a far more straightforward podium in Jeddah. However, confusion over the rules saw Alonso celebrate on the podium before being demoted by a 10-second penalty, after which he was finally reinstated following an Aston Martin appeal.
Along with Red Bull's domination, the 41-year-old's unexpected speed has been the story of the opening two rounds of the 2023 season. Alonso's performances have provided inspiration to just about every non-Red Bull driver on the grid, with Aston Martin's remarkable improvement after finishing seventh in last year's constructors' standings showing how quickly progress can be made.
Alonso won back-to-back world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, but a series of questionable moves around the paddock since then have limited his opportunities to compete for wins, let alone further titles - leaving him to assume a role of underdog while the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton and Verstappen have dominated.
Given the last of Alonso's 32 race wins came in 2013, the penultimate campaign of his five-year stint with Ferrari, most thought his hopes of adding to that tally were all but over, but now a fairy-tale ending to a decorated career appears possible.
We take a look back at the highs and lows of his career.
Alonso's career remarkably started before McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was born, back in 2001 at Minardi.
The Italian-based team, which still exists now as AlphaTauri having been bought by Red Bull and brought under their umbrella as a junior outfit to the current constructors' champions, certainly could have done with that sort of investment when Alonso was around.
There was very little money available to spend on development, and Alonso apparently helped to bolt pieces of the car together to make sure it was ready in time for the first race in Australia, where he would finish 12th.
At a time when points were only available to the top six finishers, Minardi and Alonso went the entire season without scoring, with a 10th place finish at Hockenheim his best effort.
There were also eight retirements for the Spaniard, highlighting the deficiencies of the model he was attempting to compete with.
Alonso's first taste of Formula 1 was undoubtedly with a genuine backmarker, and came at a time when the lack of a budget cap meant little teams had next to no chance of competing with the big players.
Race wins - 0
Podiums - 0
It was only a one-season stay - not for the last time in his career - for Alonso, as he departed Minardi to become test driver at Renault, whose team boss Flavio Briatore was also Alonso's manager, and had been the one to spot his talent as a go-karter.
At a time when drivers were generally not given their breakthroughs into F1 at the young ages we see today, the 22-year-old Alonso was generating plenty of attention for both his youth and the fact he was Spain's first driver in the sport.
This meant that when he took a maiden pole position before going on to claim his first podium at just the second race of the season in Malaysia, the excitement increased. Next time he claimed a pole position, in August at the Hungaroring, he would convert it to a victory, making him at the time youngest driver to win a Grand Prix.
Not only was there a new star in the sport, but he was delivering for a team in Renault that weren't part of the establishment, and were looking to break up the domination of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, which they would finally do in 2005.
Alonso took advantage of a poor Ferrari season to quite comfortably beat McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen to the championship, but the race that epitomised his first title-winning season was in Imola, where the Spaniard held back a charging Schumacher in a nail-biting climax where the Ferrari was the quicker car.
Under pressure from the seven-time world champion and driver widely considered to be the sport's greatest of all time, Alonso held strong, setting down a marker for the remainder of the season.
It's fair to say that 2006 was the more impressive of Alonso's back-to-back title-winning campaigns, as this time he went toe-to-toe with Schumacher, who had won five successive titles going into the 2005 season.
Schumacher had announced that he would retire at the end of the season, and came into the campaign with huge motivation to end his career in fairy-tale fashion.
Alonso looked to have put that dream to bed as he won six of the first nine races - and finished second in the other three - to establish a huge advantage in the standings, but Schumacher would fight back with five wins in the next seven races to set up a tense finale.
However, Alonso would keep his cool under huge pressure once more, winning the penultimate race of the season in Japan before finishing second in Brazil to seal the title.
Race wins - 15
Podiums - 37
On paper, it wouldn't seem the most logical decision to leave a team with which you'd just won two successive titles, but that's exactly what Alonso did as he moved to McLaren to drive alongside a rookie named Lewis Hamilton.
The decision did turn out to be a mistake, but not in the way that anyone expected.
In one sense, the move to McLaren was on the money - the Woking-based team competed for the title with Ferrari while Renault were only the fourth-quickest team.
In every other sense, it was a disastrous chapter in Alonso's career that saw tensions flare between him and his team, not least with McLaren boss Ron Dennis and Hamilton.
Arguably, this was the first time in Alonso's career where he was the establishment and not the young outsider - that role fell to Hamilton, with whom he fought for the 2007 world championship.
The pair squabbled and lost each other points, before eventually finishing the season tied, just one point behind the title winner Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari.
"I think that the fallout with Lewis in 2007, where they fell out so spectacularly, basically gifted Kimi that title and it took him away from McLaren," Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok said.
"Then Lewis won the championship in 2008, so that's two years there where Fernando should've, would've, could've."
Alonso would leave under a cloud after one year, returning to Renault and giving up the chance to compete for titles.
Race wins - 4
Podiums - 12
The second time around with Renault felt like a bit of a placeholder, with the French team fairly uncompetitive.
Back in his favoured position as the underdog, Alonso took two victories in 2008 against the odds, albeit with one of them coming under controversial circumstances at the Singapore Grand Prix, with his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr crashing at a convenient time,
The 2009 season would see no wins for Alonso, and just the one podium in Singapore, before he moved onto a new team - this time, it was for a prancing horse.
Race wins - 2
Podiums - 4
Ferrari, the team that all F1 drivers want to race for, was the team that Fernando Alonso remained with for the longest period of time.
Alonso battled with Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel for the title between 2010 and 2012, missing out on glory in the final races in both 2010 and 2012 despite some scintillating drives.
A famous statistic about Fernando Alonso is that If he had scored 11 more points across his F1 career, he could be a five-time world champion, missing out by fine margins in 2007, 2010 and 2012.
In essence, his time at Ferrari was one of 'what ifs' as he competed against the metronomic Vettel, with a Ferrari that was generally weaker than the Red Bull.
In 2014, at the beginning of the hybrid engine era, Ferrari's car was not up to scratch and Alonso began to look elsewhere and would move on a 2015, a decision that Chandhok believes was premature.
"Okay, at the time, Ferrari were pretty miserable in 2014 - but it came good."
Ferrari would win three races in 2015 with Sebastian Vettel, who replaced Alonso in the scarlet car before taking the fight to Mercedes in 2017 and 2018.
"I still believe Fernando would've won the championship in 2018 at Ferrari that year," Chandhok added.
Race wins - 11
Podiums - 44
While Ferrari were returning to contention, Alonso had opted for a surprise reunion with McLaren, with Hamilton having moved on to Mercedes.
2015 was a reunion for McLaren in two respects - Honda, with which it had had fantastic success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Alonso, with whom they'd had a falling out.
While it was a reunion and world champion driver line-up of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, which had lots of promise, it delivered a horror show of slow cars, engine failures and frustrated radio messages that led to a messy divorce with Honda and a move to Renault power in 2018.
The engine performance had clearly been a big problem for McLaren, with Alonso making no secret of where he thought the blame lay as he used his team radio messages to make public statements.
"Driving with this, looking like amateurs", "this is embarrassing" and "GP2 engines" all come to mind.
While Honda's engine was not up to standard, it became clear that underlying poor car performance was also a factor as McLaren still languished in the midfield in 2018.
Though being the underdog is his style, this was a step too far at this stage of his career for a frustrated, helpless Alonso, and so he left McLaren and retired from Formula 1.
Race wins - 0
Podiums - 0
As one of the greatest and most adaptable drivers in motorsport history, Fernando Alonso took the time away from Formula 1 to compete in other series, including the Indy 500, the Dakar Rally and Le Mans 24h.
He was an outsider, a rookie again, and with Toyota, he won the World Endurance Championship.
Alonso still had what it took to compete at the top of motorsport, so when in 2020 Sebastian Vettel left Ferrari, creating a domino effect in the driver market, it was no shock to see Alonso interested in returning to Formula 1.
Having already raced for the team in its Renault guise on two occasions, Alpine was the natural team for Alonso to return to when he came out of retirement in 2021.
The team had been hovering at the front of the midfield, but were unable to push on from that position even with Alonso's expertise.
While he did return to the podium at the 2021 Qatar GP, Alonso couldn't compete for victory - and his career looked to be winding down in mediocre fashion.
But Vettel announcing his retirement midway through the 2022 season would trigger an explosion in the driver market, leaving Alonso with one more opportunity.
Alpine weren't willing to give Alonso a two-year contract, so he went to a team that would. Alonso left describing Alpine "like family" but admitted that the lack of faith from the team was a reason he left.
"It seems that I have to be evaluated every year because of my date of birth," Alonso said, having just turned 41. "It was a bit strange to me and other teams think differently and they trust in my abilities."
It was clear the spirit of the young Spaniard trying to prove his worth at Minardi 19 years earlier was still very much present.
Race wins - 0
Podiums - 1
Lawrence Stroll and Aston Martin had faith in Alonso, and gave him the two-year contract that he wanted.
Given their well-known desires to things on their own terms, many had concerns about Alonso and his new boss Lawrence Stroll's relationship.
However, two races and two podiums in, it appears as though this could be Alonso's type of team - they're an enigma and an unexpected force to be reckoned with that are disturbing the establishment.
Aston Martin are beating Mercedes, the team who supply them with an engine and other hugely significant parts of their car, while the Spaniard has also overcome the might of Ferrari.
While they are well-funded now, Aston Martin carry an underdog mentality with staff still around from their their previous guises as Jordan, Force India and Racing Point, who competed as less wealthy outfits that could occasional steal a race beneath the noses of giants.
As Sky Sports F1's Simon Lazenby put it: "Fernando is always effective, whatever he does he will drag the best out of that car.
"I think if you put everyone in equal machinery, I can't see him being far off Lewis or far off Max Verstappen.
"But Fernando has been operating at that level for 20 years. Fernando relishes being the underdog."
In a season where Red Bull's pace looks scary for the opposition, Alonso has just the car and team to play the role he loves best in the high-speed theatre of Formula 1.
If you didn't know who he was, now you do. After brining up a 100th podium, Alonso's next challenge is to find an elusive 33rd race victory. Can he do it in 2023? Find out live on Sky Sports F1.
Race wins - 0
Podiums - 2
Source: https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12832080/fernando-alonso-how-aston-martin-driver-reached-100-podiums-as-formula-1s-ultimate-underdog

Hi all! Soup_dumpling made an astrology post about the trainees. I got inspired to look into the trainee’s Human Design so here I am, sharing about those findings. The intention is see the trainees from the Human Design lens, maybe they correlate to what we see on Boys Planet. Of course, it may not be 100% accurate specially since we only see them from the screen. This is for fun so please take the information lightly.
I like to describe human design as similar to astrology but on steroids. The chart is also dependent on birthday and birthtime. It combines astrology, i-ching, mandala and other aspects together. It can be seen as a manual, which includes how you are in your daily life, your personality, decision-making process, certain skills, relationship dynamics and how you engage with your environment. A lot of people have referred to it as the permission slip to be you as opposed to the you that is dictated by your mind, society, upbringing or other people around you. It may seem woo-woo at first although; those that have applied the human design experiment in their life have found it to be practical.
Human design has a lot of layers and certain aspects are really dependent on the birth time to be accurate therefore, I’ll talk about the most general ones and other things that are really unique with their chart. Before that though, it is best to read about the 4 Human Design Types since I will be using this vocabulary later on. The types are categorized by aura and strategy. In the link below, I wrote a short description (or, tried my best to) of each type.

Human Design Types

Here is another link with additional info

Here is a site to input birth data to see a human design chart

Before I go into some detail of the trainees. I want to describe what the Incarnation Cross means first. Incarnation cross is the overall theme, broad purpose or a storyline of your life. This will show up time and time even if you are totally unconscious about it. There will also be variations of how it shows up whether you are in the learning or embodiment period of it.
P.S. The quote marks in the descriptions below are copy paste of the definition of terms and I've linked the website also.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sung Hanbin (chart:projector, chart:MG)

Projector or if he’s born after 2pm a Manifesting Generator (MG). This is a bit tricky to identify since I don’t have a lot of info regarding his energy level. If Hanbin has consistent energy level, he would fall under MG. If he tends to work in short bursts with lots of rest, he is a Projector. From what we saw in Mission 1 where he ended up getting the center position, that is a Projector strategy. In that case, Yedam, Hui and others recognize his skill and thus, gave him the invitation to take the center position.
Hanbin’s incarnation cross is Left Angle Cross of Confrontation.

This is energy to come from the outside and take control of what is rightfully yours. In society and business there will always be management or control that gets stagnate over time. This Cross is here to shake things up, usually from the outside. Like a corporate raider who comes in to optimize the pieces of a large business, this is energy to take control and lead to a more streamlined and profitable configuration. This is not just about government or business, this force will take hold in your personal life or community. The real drive here is power and control.

That first sentence totally aligns with him getting the center position right from the signal song and keeping Rank 1 until now! It won’t be a surprise if he does end up with Rank 1 all the way at the end. But then, the flipside is what this part actually means to him “what is rightfully yours”. Is it rank 1? Or, to be in the debut team? Or, something else?
​

Zhang Hao (chart)

Projector. His incarnation cross of is Right Angle Cross of Unexpected 2

You carry the energy that is likely to land you in a place of leadership rather unexpectedly. It will seem to come from nowhere - suddenly you are in the limelight, or at least holding things up. Be aware that you have this energy and at some point will be thrust into a lead role. Get ready to take on the responsibility for this is why you are here.

We totally saw Zhang Hao suddenly being in limelight during the Tomboy performance! After that performance, people are recognizing his skill and thus is a success in regards with the projector strategy of waiting for the invitation/recognition. Now, I wonder what other unexpected limelight or leadership we’ll see Zhang Hao experience.
​

Lee Hoetaek (chart)

Projector. He only has one channel: Channel 16-48, The wavelength

Here we bring the intuitive expression of logic to the throat. Notice, again that this channel has no direct access to energy. That means that talent and mastery have to be recognized by others when the timing is right. Talent is expressed through practice over time but talent also struggles for resources and money because it has to be seen to be supported. The arts are always hungry for money and support. This is why shows and exhibitions are important for artists of all types. They have to be seen. This channel represents the intuitive expression of talent blended together with repetition over time. Talent is raw and undeveloped without practice. Everyone has some kind of talent. The question is are you willing to practice to become a master? Mastery happens over time. The energy for enthusiasm and depth is contained in this channel. There is right timing in this channel. Do not express the depth with enthusiasm until you are ready...you have practiced and achieved mastery...otherwise you look silly.

That channel description totally makes sense why Hui chose to be in the show! He needs to be in a place where he can show his talents and skills to gain support. The tricky part is his fans are divisive whether to vote him to debut or not. This makes sense with him being a projector. Projectors experience success when there is an invitation or recognition. If the fans cannot make up their mind whether to actually recognize that Hui wants to debut will be the factor that can truly affect him and hence, why there’s a lot of resistance with him being in the show. If we’re truly looking at his human design aspects, it doesn’t matter if Hui is old or not. Him only having one channel in his chart means that is his consistent way of energy or being. In that aspect, he is meant to be in places where he can showcase his talent.
Hui’s incarnation cross is Left Angle Cross of Spirit 2 (link: https://humandesign.tools/incarnation-crosses/the-left-angle-cross-of-spirit-2 ) Hmmm… I don’t have much to say… but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hui has experienced various heartbreaks in his life whether if its relationship, career or other areas.
​

Park Gunwook (chart)

Generator. Something unique about his chart is he can either have 6/7 or all 7 gates in his spleen center defined (if born after 8pm)! Spleen center is about survival, intuition and instincts. Having this defined and having a lot of gates present means that he can be very instinctive and intuitive. He has the ability to act in the moment depending on what his senses picks up and how it’s in alignment with his well being. The key here is to be able to pay attention and listen to those instincts. This type of messages only come in the moment and doesn’t linger long. I do think this is why he was able to come up with the KTL plan rather quickly. Additionally, he did have some keen sense on going to Tomboy. (Surprisingly that wasn’t only to his benefit but in a way had a butterfly effect on Woongki… I know Woongki’s experience was sooo challenging but heyyy, maybe that ended up helping Woongki to stick around longer.)
Gunwook’s incarnation cross is the Left Angle Cross of Cycles.

Your design has very powerful, transformational energy to get things done. Your Cross is tied to the cycles that all life experiences. You understand that everything is born and then dies and is then born again. You have an innate sense about the cyclical process. Things are always changing, becoming better and better through the cyclical process of maturation. Your energy is part of this process, so it is most likely your education and career will cycle too. It is not likely you will stay in the same job for 25 years, unless that job can evolve and change with time. You are here to be a master of the maturation process.

When I read that, it kind of made sense to me as to how Gunwook didn’t end up debuting in Wild Idol. I can see that as part of his maturation process and have helped him to be confident with his skills now. (Truly hoping he debuts this time!) I can also see how there's timing for everything in life. Similarly, there’s a cycle of how he was portrayed as intimidating and scary in the first few eps and then now, everyone can see his babygiant self! Anyways, his incarnation cross probably wouldn’t be fully developed or seen fully until later on as he grows older.
His incarnation cross actually makes up two channels (which is not common) so I’ll highlight them here. Channel 32-54: Transformation and Channel 42-53: Maturation From those two channels, we can tell that Gunwook has energy to be ambitious and the sense of knowing if that goal has the support of others. When he enters a project, he has the energy to stay there until completion. He learns by living those experiences and can look back on the lessons when they’re complete. We have definitely seen his ambitious and goal oriented side with KTL!

Seok Matthew (chart)

Manifesting Generator (MG)
MGs have a tendency to multi-task or jump from one thing and to another rather quickly. I totally see this aspect when he was leading Love Killa team abruptly going from choreo then to the singing. Since the strategy of MG is to respond then, visualize then, inform, it may have been better if he informed his team members way earlier that they would work on choreo from this time to this time and then, move on to singing. The type of informing and giving space to others is really important for MGs so that they experience the least resistance in a team environment.
Matthew’s incarnation cross is Right Angle Cross of Planning 2 Errr... hmmm... I don’t really have much to say about that.

Kim Taerae (chart)

Reflector (most likely... there’s only a 2 hour window (after 10pm) that can make him a projector.)With that being said, let’s talk about Taerae as a Reflector. If he’s a reflector that means he is one of a kind unicorn! There are not a lot of them out there comparing to the other human design types. As a reflector, this kinda make sense with him not having a lot of screen time. Reflectors can be chameleons and can blend in the environment. At the same time, he can magnify energy and be a mirror. So hey, he’s still catching people’s attention that way ;)
Generally speaking, for the reflectors that aren’t too shy, they can actually be good actors since they can sample different type of energies well. Some also have the ability to be able to take on different styles of expression with their voices. Depending on who they’re with they also have a tendency to mimic their way of speaking or even certain habits. We did see Taerae be able to adjust the way he was singing in Man in Love after the mentor suggestion.
Reflector’s signature is surprise. Simplistically, Taerae can experience surprise in life if he's in correct alignment. On a complex note, reflectors has the capability to surprise others. Most of us have experienced surprise seeing Taerae’s Man in Love performance ;)
(I'm a reflector so here's some additional info) Again, generally speaking since we don't see this aspects from the show. It’s amazing to see a reflector in a survival show because it can be both a blessing and a curse. Being in that environment can make Taerae experience various activations. He may feel a lot of energy being around others, which is a great thing and can help with inspiration and motivation. The worse case scenario is experiencing overwhelm from a lot of energies around him. Or, when the show ends and when he has more alone time, that’s when he’ll notice the difference in his energy level. He may even feel he doesn't have much energy to do things. Luckily, he hasn’t been in a team that got really stressful or experienced a lot of conflict since those types of energy can truly affect reflectors in a way that they can embody that energy. At times, this may make reflectors feel confused that it’s their own emotion but in reality, it’s the energy around them.
Taerae's incarnation cross is Right Angle Cross of Maya 2

You have the great ability to discover and remember small details. These details will be important in your life and you will be driven to share them with others. Remember, they may not always want to hear all the agonizing detail. Your gift can be very useful and a great contribution to a profession or organization that requires someone who pays great attention to details.

We did see a glimpse of that with Taerae assisting Mingyu with lowering his singing voice and how he expressed some small details in his suggestion.

Han Yujin (chart)

Generator. His incarnation cross is Right Angle Cross of the Vessel of Love 2
This is actually my incarnation cross but on the flipped since I was born during autumn equinox whereas, Yujin is during spring equinox. Here's more info than from the link above.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t drawn to Yujin at first but learning he’s a vessel of love makes me have a softer heart for him. Since Yujin is still young he is still in the learning process of his incarnation cross and how to embody it. Throughout his life, he may experience pain, hurt, shock in life, which is the catalyst to direct him to accept and love himself. The most important thing is to not let the pain harden him but to learn to love all parts of what makes him, him and keep that purity and innocence alive. This is the type of unconditional and transcendent love. When someone has fully embodied this frequency of the vessel of love, their presence alone can be very healing to others. In the future, I won't be surprised if Yujin’s performance and anything he ends up making song wise would feel very healing to others. Now, if he ends up in the debut group or wherever he may end up in life, if he’s able to embody the vessel of love, he can help his team members to love and accept themselves just as they are.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
That was a lot, haha! I'm curious to hear what you think of reading this type of information about the trainees?
Also, thank you for reading! Human design is one thing that I can get really excited about and go total geek over it! I’m going to end this for now and continue another time with the rest of the top ranking trainees. I'll shoot to share about the Top 12-15 and probably post on the comments below.
Edited: added link of photos of their human design chart

We are first generation immigrants in US, all our family is abroad in Europe. Our kids attend public schools in TX. There will be a rare event for us which is my husband’s sibling is getting married in the fall of this year when school is in session. The wedding is in Europe. We all have to travel for the wedding. How and with whom should I discuss it at school? We would need at least one week (5-8 work days) off school. We never took that kind of vacation in the middle of school year. I am clueless how to arrange that. Could anyone give your advice and thoughts? Thank you so much!

I came across a theory and I had to share it because its the most rational, scientifically backed and understandable theory about these structures that I have ever come across. It is about ancient megalithic structures all over the world being used for geomagnetic purposes to stimulate the natural electrical flows of the earth like giant funnels.
It wasn't just about the topic I stated either it was like an encyclopedia of weird and strange topics and the author states as much in the opening about it being meant as a sort of educational piece about strange and unusual topics.

The Theory

Before, during or just after the last ice age a global culture existed on earth. Not a technologically advanced one like ours but one who fully understood nature and its machinations through centuries of observation. Inevitably this culture noticed static electricity and the natural electrical flows of the earth and the many energies that play out on and within it. Eventually they learned how to focus, control and interact with these energy flows like one could control the flow of water with a funnel or damn.
They did this by building giant megalithic structures know to us as pyramids and temples that were passed down from one generation to the next. The purpose of some of these original temples were to artificially alter the electrical environment. Not to harness electricity for technological purposes but to act as a natural “spring” or dam to release and control electrical pressure and energy within the environment. They were constructed to use energy in its many forms and possibly to bring about generation and regeneration of life around them by stimulating and focusing the earths natural energy.
They did this by constructing these temples attuned to nature and its processes. They had to be in the right place, the right height, the right shape, the correct angles and built from the right materials much like today's radio towers and wireless devices adhere to these same rules. Some of these places were even built with acoustic resonance in mind, being so precise that they could manipulate sound or transform one sound into another sound intentionally. The primary purposes of these temples or pyramids was to collect energy in its various forms and concentrate it within the structure.
They used geomagnetic energy from the ground, electromagnetic energy from orientation and position and atmospheric static electricity gathered at an altitude. Combining all three to form a sort of electric funnel into/out of the earth. What they used this energy for is purely speculative however some information regarding their use has survived. The one thing that is clear about them is that these temples had multiple functions and purposes, the same as modern day generators having multiple purposes.
Over time they established more and more of these temples worldwide and formed a sort of grid on the surface of the earth with them. A geomagnetic or telluric grid. This was either a worldwide grid to control the earths interior energy, using the various “stations” to control the overall pressure and flow of earths interior energies. Or these temples were just sort of town centers that performed this task locally and not on a global scale.
They came about this knowledge from the ancient art known as Alchemy. An objective science that gave birth to modern chemistry and was practiced world wide for a large portion of human history. Alchemy gave them objective knowledge of energy, they may not have understood the technical details or specifics of energy but the ancient texts of alchemy make it very clear that they objectively understood energy in its various forms and how it behaved.
More importantly, this knowledge of energy and static electricity was intricately hidden inside their teachings and texts by the use of symbology and other coded communication. This brings about the question of who exactly they were hiding this knowledge from and why? This theory asserts that powerful people of the past were hunting down this knowledge of energy and destroying it and anyone who knew of it. Destroying all traces of humanities ancient past and the things they discovered.
​
This is the article: https://medium.com/@bvkvfym413/telluric-grid-theory-6809acf11a52
​
It had an absolute plethora of information and studies to back up its claims and the though the theory sounds farfetched at first the evidence to support it builds and builds with each passing chapter of the article. I found it hard to deny or even poke holes in. Also on a cooler note it teaches you how to use an ancient tool known as the "philosophers stone" from the ancient art of alchemy (chemistries precursor). This tool was used by alchemists to improve and concentrate medicines and had a variety of other uses.
This is a look at the chapters of it, it was pretty long. However it seems to be unfinished and stops at page 37s section. At the bottom said part 2 was being worked on.

Table of Contents

01. Preface and Theory

03. Alchemy

17. The Dawn of Civilization

18. The Earths Electromagnetic Field & Atmospheric Energy

20. Telluric Energy

23. Pyramids

28. Piezoelectric Crystals

31. Similar Creation Mythology

37. Divining and Dowsing

40. Animals and EMF

41. Hair

43. The Pineal Gland/Third Eye

46. The Information Purges

47. Sex and Power

48. Generational Poisoning

49. Fall of the Ancients

50. Creativity Farming

51. Symbolism in Media

52. Destruction of Ancient Sites

53. Conclusion

• This episode was co-written by Chris Derrick, whose likeness was used as the file photo for the Romulan dissident, Lurak T’Luco, and the severed head prop for that same character in “Disengage”.
  
  • He also co-wrote the season two episode, “Hide and Seek”.
• Mixed in among the bridge sounds at the very beginning of the episode we hear some distinctive TOS beeps and boops.
  
• We learn this opening scene is Not David Marcus’ dream sequence of some sort after he opens fire on the USS Titan A’s bridge crew. Still, in his dream, before NDM kills Esmar, they say, ”I know what you really are.” Esmar is a Haliian, introduced in the TNG episode “Aquiel”, and as such likely mildly telepathic.
  
  • Later in the real world, Esmar gives NDM a brief look from down a corridor that could be construed as them being aware of the fact that something is off with him, or just a passing glance.
• Riker’s acting captain’s log records the stardate as 78186.03.
  
• We don’t get a view close enough to actually make out what the objects are floating around the exterior of the Titan A tending to the repairs, but in DIS we were introduced to the 23rd century DOT-7 drones and the 32nd century DOT-23s. Potentially we’re looking at a 25th century equivalent.
  
• Riker claims that so far as he’s aware Changelings can mimic individuals on sight, but ”not their internal physiology.” In “The Adversary” Odo stated that when he mimics a rock he would register as such on scanners and speculates that Changelings more skilled than himself could do the same humanoids. Doctor Bashir confirms that the Changeling who was masquerading as a human ambassador was scanned and registered as human.
  
• Seven says that protocol since the Dominion war is “Every crew member passes through an internal imaging chamber.” Though not quite the same thing, when the Protogies arrived on relay outpost CR-721 in “Asylum” the first thing they had to do was go through a biometric scanner.
  
  • The protocol was put into place to verify the crewperson isn’t a shapeshifter attempting to sneak aboard. Of course, we’ve seen Changelings mimic everything from glassware, to a spacefaring being, to fire; hopefully Starfleet has accounted for that as well.
• On M’Talas Prime, we see a hologram of Raffi wearing a mobile emitter. It appears identical to the one the Confederation La Sirena used to create the Emergency Elnor Hologram in season two’s “Hide and Seek”.
  
  • The original mobile emitter came from the 29th century timeship, the Aeon, Krinn is able to recognize the one Raffi is wearing for what it is.
• The USS Intrepid NCC-79520 arrives to the Titan A’s location. This is merely the latest ship to bear the name.
  
  • The Intrepid - United Earth ship first seen in “The Expanse”
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-1631 - Constitution-class ship with an all Vulcan crew destroyed in “The Immunity Syndrome”
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-38907 - The ship Sergey Rozhenko served on, and first on the scene after the Romulan attack on Khitomer according to “Sins of the Father”; the Excelsior-class ship Sergey mentioned in “Family” according to internal information
  • The USS Intrepid NCC-74600 - Intrepid-class? At least according to non-canon material. Chakotay claimed to serve aboard it as part of his cover story while trying to figure out why Starfleet Headquarters was recreated in the Delta Quadrant in “In the Flesh”; also mentioned on a screen as part of a battle group in “Star Trek Nemesis”
• According to production designer Dave Blass, the Intrepid is a Duderstad-class ship, designed by Doug Drexlar and Bill Krause. It’s named for Drexlar’s late wife, Dorothy Duder, who was a food stylist on ENT.
  
• Captain Shaw lists off several events he thinks will be considered negatively in Starfleet’s accounting Picard and Riker’s guilt:
  
  • ”That time someone hot dropped the saucer section of the Enterprise D on a planet.” - The USS Enterprise D’s saucer made emergency landing on the inhabited planet Veridian in “Star Trek Generations”.
  • ”That time someone threw the prime directive out the window so they could snog a villager on Ba’ku.” - In “Star Trek Insurrection” Picard did get romantic with a member of the Ba’ku, but only after learning they weren’t actually a pre-warp species, and working to prevent a rogue admiral from forcibly relocating them to steal their resources.
  • “Or the time you boys nearly wiped out all of humanity by creating a time paradox in the Devron system.” Actually, because of the nature of the time paradox in “All Good Things…”, those events did not happen, and Picard is the only one with any memory of it.
• It’s Ro Laren! From Star Trek! Commander Ro is played by Michelle Forbes.
  
  • When last we saw her in “Preemptive Strike” Ro Laren defected from Starfleet to join the Maquis’ struggle against the Cardassians after the Federation abandoned its own citizens because it was more convenient to do so than continue to skirmish with the Cardassian Union.
  • Michelle Forbes has previously turned down opportunities to reprise the role, both for DS9 and VOY.
• Seven gives NDM a Starfleet uniform so he’ll go unnoticed by the security officers transferred over from the Intrepid. In “Chrysalis” the augments, Jack, Lauren, and Patrick snuck on to Deep Space Nine wearing Starfleet uniforms, and In “People of Earth” Burnham had Booker wear a Starfleet uniform for similar reasons to those Seven gives NDM.
  
  • Personally I did not expect NDM to get away with saying, ”That’s a stupid question,” to Ro.
• ”That was 30 years ago. The Maquis are no longer an enemy.” Riker is technically correct as all but a few dozen Maquis were wiped out by the Dominion after the Cardassian Union became a member in “By Inferno’s Light”.
  
• ”You trusted her when no one else would.” Riker is referring to the events of “Ensign Ro” where Picard initially did not want her aboard the Enterprise D until she proved herself to be a valuable officer despite her reputation.
  
• ”Your Bajoran earring…you’re not wearing it.” In “Ensign Ro”, Ro‘s condition for joining the crew of the Enterprise D was that she be allowed to wear her earring, despite it not being strictly within the Starfleet uniform code.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it an earring.
• The brief glance we get of Ro’s boot knife it appears to be similar to the knife a Bajoran used to murder a Cardassian file clerk in “Duet”.
  
• Krinn wears an especially large IDIC on a chain, so you can understand the infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
  
• The tattoo under Krinn’s eye is Vulcan script.
  
• Krinn’s phaser appears to be based on, if not identical to, the Ferengi phaser Quark had in “The Magnificent Ferengi” and “The Siege of AR-558”.
  
• Bajoran springwine was first mentioned in “Return to Grace”.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it springwine.
• Picard deactivates the safeties on the 10 Forward program. We’ve seen since the beginning of this season an display during the closing credits reading ”10_Forward // Bar_LA” with the safeties disabled.
  
• ”Guinan’s.” Picard points a holographic phaser from under the holographic bar at Ro. In “Night Terrors” Guinan pulled a rifle from Magus III out from under the bar and fired at the ceiling of Ten Forward aboard the Enterprise D.
  
• ”Unless I am mistaken, you are Vulcan. Hence Sneed, a Ferengi, is not your brother.” In “The Bonding” Worf inducted a human, Jeremy Aster, into his family ”for all time” and said they were brothers. Jeremy Aster was never mentioned again.
  
• ”There can be no utopia without crime. Ergo an organized criminal enterprise is logical.” In “Prime Factors” Captain Janeway observed, “You can use logic to justify almost anything.”
  
• The knives Raffi and Worf are given for their fight to the death are the same as one Shinzon had gave Picard with a sample of his blood in “Star Trek Nemesis” and used by the Tal Shiar assassins in “Remembrance”.
  
• Picard suggests taking Ro’s concerns to Admiral Janeway. Ensign Janeway was a junior science division officer aboard the Enterprise D whom counselor Troi was very mean to in “Man of the People”. Apparently she took Troi’s advice to shape up to heart.
  
• Daystrom Station appears to be kitbashed from Jupiter Station, the Midas Array, and cargo containers, first seen in “Life Line”, “Pathfinder”, and “Fortunate Son” respectively.
  
• *”Daystrom Station is guarded by a highly sophisticated A.I. system. But it has flaws that are most…illogical.” Badgey was uploaded to Rutherford’s cranial implant, which was seen salvaged from the void of space in “The Stars at Night”.
  
• Ro crashes her shuttle into the Intrepid’s port nacelle. Other bullshit deaths in Trek include:
  
  • Jadzia Dax - “Tears of the Prophets”
  • Trip - “These Are the Voyages…”
  • Data - “Star Trek Nemesis”
  • Hugh - “Nepenthe”
• The Titan A’s tactical console shows the Intrepid raising shields using a graphic of dots populating around the ship, similar to what we saw in “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” when the USS Reliant raises shields.
  
• NDM’s fight against the four changelings echoes Dahj Asha’s activation against the Tal Shiar Assassins when she was attacked in her apartment in “Remembrance”.
  
• ”Old-school Bajoran spycraft.” Ro’s earring turns out to be a datachip holding all of her investigation in to the Changelings infiltrating Starfleet.
  
  • On Bajor they just call it spycraft.

This scene stuck in my head. The Ehrenfest Ducal family discuss duchy ranking. Gregor is new character. He also Isekai, like Myne. But he is more connected to the previous world and wants to travel.
Fanfic Start: - Sylvester may I ask. How high in duchy ranking you expect us to go? - Gregor asked. - I hope that You, Wilfred and Rozemyne will lead our students to the 10 place. - Eeeeeeeee.... - Gregor close his mouth and try to regain noble pose. - Aub Ehrenfest. I think you lack important, crucial information. - You think we will not rise that high? - No. I think we will pass the 10 place with speed and grace that will stunt all. - Gregor looked around the table and saw many confused faces. - Apperantly Ehrenfest nobles will be the most stunt. Can I elaborate? - Yes. - Then please look ad this map. https://i.redd.it/6815050x1nw91.png And let's discuss Duchies above us. First we have to overcome Lortzing. With is nothing. They are winning duchy. But they were Frontline during civil war. They suffered quite some losses. And they are lesser duchy both in size and population. Both Noble and Commoners. To make matters even worse they are practically under Klassenber control. Like only Zausengas is more controlled by Klassenberg, but that is because Zausengas is occupy by Klassenberg. They do not produce enough food to feed themselves, they buy it from Jossbrenner. Just like Klassenberg. What Lortzing does produce is clothes, that they dye and sell to Klassenberg nobles. And I don't think they are left with much money afterwards. They do get steadfast protection from their northen neighbor. But they do not have anything note worthy. And anything of value that they would come up with, will be stolen, or sorry. Embraced by Klassenberg. After Lortzing we will be compare with Lehmbruck. From information that I gather quarter if not third of their land have climate similar Haldenzel. I will repeat that. At least quarter of their entire duchy have as bad climate as Haldenzel. What they do have going for them is being a trade route between Gilessenmeyer, duchy of Zent First wife, and Sovereignity. With they embrace completely. They made marble road with entwicklen and build accommodation for merchant alongside it. They milk theme for all they can. So they have money, but no plan or even idea how to spend theme. Just like Lortzing we will overtake theme with increased mana and better grades. Frankly Childrens bible, Karuta, Geographical puzzles and of course Rozemyne Mana Compression Method are boosting our grades so high, that on theme alone. We should reach 11 place BEFORE I, Wilfred and Rozemyne enters Royal Academy. And without unleashing our Trends and Recipes we would have equal fight with Immerdink for 10 place. That is, if Immerdink was not duchy of fools or at least very delusional people. - Are you saying that they archive 10 place by being delussional? - No Ferdinand. I am saying, they archive their place by being neutral during Civil War. And having size, plus proper Noble population of Middle Duchy. Population that was intact by Civil War. The delusional part is, that they can compete with Drewanchel, Arch Duchy of Schollars and their biggest trade partner, in being. Well Drewanchel. It is like Mednobel Schollar trying outdone ArchSchollar in being a Schollar. To make matters worse for Immerdink, they have roughly the same climate and products as Drewanchel. AND they ignore one strength their duchy have over Drewanchel. - Gregor what they ignore? - Come on Wilfred. Look ad the map. It is small, but noticeable. - Hmmm, access to sea? - Correct. Immerdink completely ignore their access to sea. And they could sail greater volume of their products ad cheaper price from their tiny seashore as far as Quandtreeb. And from their they could reach clients in Dunkelferger. For like one tenth of travel expenses that Drewanchel have to cover on shorter land route. So both Import and Exports of goods should be thriving. - Transporting by water is that more efficient? - Yes and more. You can transport several dozens wagons of cargo on the barge. That alone may water trade routes amazing. And Immerdink completely ignores their sea shore. I know that sea is shrinking but... - Gregor shrugged. - For us that means that Immerdink will be rather easy to overcome. However, to grow beyond 10 place we need attention from Sovereignity and Archduchies. We need Trends and Recipes and trading goods. - That we will unveil when our archduke candidate enter the Academy. - I agree with that Sylvester. But that also means we will be competing Kirschnereit for nine place. Competition that we will win easily in my humble opinion. - How? Kirschnereit are winning Middle Duchy. One that archieve great merit for Zent during the Civil War. I can see us overtaking Immerdink. We and theme were neutral. But Kirschnereit? - Aaa, but you see my dear Aub. Chaosfliehe hides in the details. For the youngest present. Kirschnereit once was a Greater Duchy. But two hundred years ago they and Eisenreich rebel against Zent, and losts. Eisenreich loss some territory to Klassenberg and was Divided in to Frenbeltag, Zausengas and our duchy of Ehrenfest. Kirschnereit loss some territory and Country Gate to Heuchletzte and was divided in to Ossvault, Quandtreeb, Linderthal, Bershmann and Kirschnereit. Just from the fact they still holds to the name they have as Greater Duchy. Should tell you how well they took that loss. That merit they get during civil war? It was mostly by subjugating lesser duchies that once were part of Arch Kirschnereit. Their arrogance is so great, their student loudly say. That if current Zent have Grutrissheit. The four lesser duchies would bin assimilated by theme. AND they say that they wish to regain Flutrane Country Gate that was stolen from theme by Heuchletzte. Room went silent. All present were trying to process the share amount of arrogance and stupidity they hear about. - Now. Wilfred small task for you. Check the map. And tell me who would oppose Kirschnereit reunification. - Hmmm, Dunkelferger, Drewanchel and Heuchletzte. Like, if Kirschnereit would reunite it would be bigger in size then Werkerstock. It is impossible that Zent and their neighbors would agree to that. - Correct. So, while setting up ranking is the privilege of Royal Family. I imagine all Nobles send to theme from Kirschnereit neighbors would not mind advising Royal Family, that lowering Kirschnereit below us will be great and needed lesson in Hummility. We just need to give theme good enough reason to do so. No wait. Not reason, excuse is also wrong. Justification. Yes. If we give Sovereignity good enough Justification, they will rather gladly put us above Kirschnereit. With means, that I think, around our second or third year in academy we will be challenging Jossbrenner the Eight and Gaussbutel the Seven. But ad that time, we will be in full force in Royal Academy. Between Wilfred, Charlotte, Rozemyne and Me. We should generate enough interest in Ehrenfest that we will have a chance of reaching eight maybe seven place. And leave Melchior a fighting chance of reaching six place and dreaming of fifth. - Six, fifth? You really think we can reach that high? - Well it is long term prediction. And they are uncertain by default. So let's talk slowly about eight and seventh place The Eight Jossbrenner. They are Bread Basket of Klassenberg. So they are to Klassenberg what Leisegang is for Ehrenfest. They play their role amazingly. But they also walk on tight rope. They can push Klassenberg to some degree. But not to much. Klassenberg both protect theme, but also steal anything of value from theme. To make matters worse for Jossbrenner. We plan on revealing that you can grow Potatoffel indoors and how ridiculously easy it is to grow and harvest theme on straw. If Klassenberg would take this bait, and they should take it. Klassenberg will be able to grow more its food. Lortzing also will gladly grow some of their food. Gilessenmeyer, Gaussbutel and Lehmbruck also are very suited to growing Potatoffel. If, or rather when Zausengas will be integral part of Klassenberg, they will turn it in to their second pantry. With all this we basically setting up fall of Jossbrenner already. Then we have Gaussbutel. They are in similar situation to Lehmbruck. Only they are trade route from Klassenberg to Sovereignity, so far more valuable goods are going through their land. And they were not neutral during Civil War. And they actually add value to items going through their territory. Their Smith work with all the ores Klassenberg is providing theme. So overtaking theme in the ranking will be our greatest challenge. That we will be only able to overcome with proper socializing with Great Duchies. With we should do with a plumb. - You are awfully certain of that. - Ferdinand please. We have Rozemyne the prize disciple of Lord of Evil. Wilfred and I were train by Lord Bonifatus. So by definition Dunkelferger will want to do Ditter with us. If we manage to score a interesting victory we will have their troublesome attention. Then, Rozemyne will play Harspiel and since she was trained by musical genius who was invited by royals to play for theme on regular basis. She should score a invitation by Music teacher and be able to grasp some attention from Klassenberg and Sovereignity itself. Not to mention, I was told that Wilfred whirling should earn him place on stage during graduation already. So he also will get us some cultural points. - Really? I am that good? - Yes. I told you. Moving around with the goal and purpose will pay off. Now just don't slack. And maybe you will be Dark God ad graduation. - Wilfred looked happy and, what is most important, determinate to make this a reality. - So we definitely get attention from Klassenberg the first and Dunkelferger the Second. Sovereignity will pay attention to us, by the simple fact how much we raise. And I plan to stir up some rivalry with Drewanchel. - What exactly do you planning? - Sylvester, you can relax I run everything through Ferdinand. I gonna send theme my Kuku clock and challenge theme to make something better. With so many devices and machines I have grasping and keeping their attention should be rather easy. - Sylvester looked to Ferdinand with a worry, but receive calming nod from his younger brother. With frankly did not calm him ad all. - Okey, stop. What you are telling me. Is that within four up to five years we will be fighting for eight if not seven place? - That exactly what I am saying. - Ferdinad, will be able to handle it? We will be upper rank duchy. Does Ehrenfest is ready, or rather can it be ready in such short amount of time? Like in the entire duchy only you have recent experience dealing with Royalty and Upper Duchies. Ferdinand start taping his temple. And thene on his face bloom very scary and very malicious smile. - Well Sylvester. You don't have to worry. I will gladly set up training regiment for you, Florencia and yours entire retinues and of course our Archduke candidates. I will put my all in to ensuring that you all will be able to stand tall. Fom some strange reason many people in the room went ghastly pale. - Now Gregor. I want you also tell us, about duchies in fifth and sixth place. You do have some interesting information about theme do you? - I imagine you want primarily information about Achrensbach the fifth. Okey. So Heuchletzte and Achrensbach have big problems and no solution in sight. They will battle for their respective position. But it is battle of „Who will slow down their downfall the most?” Then anything else. I have more information about Achrensbach and they seem to have more problems. But I will repeat, I just know more about theme then about Heuchletzte. - From where and how you collect all this information? - Well our students in academy are quite nice silver mines of information's. But my Gold mines are traveling merchants. I inform theme that I will sponsor citizenship for anybody who will bring me interesting tidbits and rumors. And boy they deliver. Now. I will start with Heuchletzte. Since there is less about theme. In short. Their sea is shrinking. And they heavily really on various seafood's for their economical and political prowess. Now, they are force to be basically a pirates on waters of Osvvault and Quandtreeb. They do not touch Losrenger, but everybody agree is more matter of time then anything else. And only solution for that problem is finding Grutrissheit. They also have the same problem that Achrensbach have. Sea is just extremely difficult to saturate with mana. - Big Brother Gregor. Why it is so difficult to fill sea with mana? - Hmm Charlotte imagine that you have bucket with paints and you splash it on the ground. With time that paint will be erased, but weeks if not months after splashing that paint, you will be able to see where it went. But now, if you splash the same paint on the lake. By the end of the day, you will not be able to see any paint whatsoever. This is because, paint will diffuse, eee spread itself ,across the water. With sea and mana is the same. You cannot saturate a concrete space on the sea. It will quickly spread across the entire of sea. So if you want to saturate it with mana, you have to do it for the entirety of the sea. Now check how big this things are, and remember that you also have to give mana to depths of the sea. Achrensbach sea is half the size of Ehrenfest. Now imagine how much mana is needed for half of our Duchy. Yeah, and that is one of the four giant mana sink holes that Achrensbach have. Second being their trade with Lanzenave. I have several merchant telling me that Lanzenave trades their spices and sugar primarily for feystones with mana. Maybe a quarter, if not less, is traded for coins or goods. And Achrensbach supply entirety of our country with spices and sugar. So just imagine how much mana they send beyond country gate. Then their is northern Werkerstock, the third sinkhole. And they put mana their to slow down degradation of the land. Not to make it flourish. This will continue until foundation of Werkerstock or Grutrissheit will be found. After all of that their Achrensbach as a duchy. Land and people that also needs mana. Like I really think Achrensbach will start to decline in the time we will be in Royal academy. With will give Melchior and his peers good chance on aiming for sixth place. But... really if Grutrissheit will not be found at that time... - Big Brother, Does Jossbrenner and Klassenberg also should suffer from their sea shrinking? - Yes, but actually no. For once. The Klassenberg sea is so often frozen solid that their is small amount of activity their in the first place. Jossbrenner have I think two, maybe three ports that do not freeze. But that all. So even if their sea would shrink it will not affect theme as much. But the thing is. Klassenberg sea either do not shrink or shrink very slowly. When I looked deeper in to the issue the working theory is this. Since Ewergliebe is constantly besiege Country Gate of Geduldh. The water is simply stuck as ice and don't move anywhere. Also, all that ice isolate water from white sand. So water also cannot leak outside of our country. And this prevent or at least greatly slowdown shrinkage of Klassenberg Sea.