When it comes to off-roading, having the right wheels is crucial. Method Wheels is a brand that has gained a reputation for delivering superior performance and style in the off-road world. Designed with precision and engineered for the most challenging terrains, Method Wheels offer a winning combination of strength, durability, and aesthetic appeal. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of Method Wheels and explore how they can transform your off-road adventures. From their innovative construction techniques to the range of designs available, we'll showcase why Method Wheels should be your go-to choice for enhancing both the performance and appearance of your off-road vehicle.
History and Legacy of Method Wheels
Method Wheels has a rich history rooted in off-road racing. Method Wheels was established in 2010 in Temecula, California. The brand was founded by enthusiasts Kevin and Bud Fitzgerald, and Colby Groom, the off-road business veterans who shared a passion for conquering the toughest terrains. From the outset, Method Wheels set out to redefine industry standards by combining innovation, superior craftsmanship, and unwavering dedication to performance. The founders were not content with merely producing ordinary wheels; they sought to push the boundaries and raise the bar in terms of durability, strength, and style. With their background in off-road racing, the founders had first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by off-road enthusiasts. This insider perspective allowed them to understand the specific requirements of off-road vehicles and design wheels tailored to meet those needs. With a focus on superior performance and innovative design, Method Wheels quickly gained recognition among off-road enthusiasts and professional racers alike. From humble beginnings, the brand's commitment to pushing the boundaries of wheel technology has propelled them to become a leading name in the industry. They support rookie and top-level racers alike. The list includes Jason Voss, Phil Blurton, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Austin and Jesse Jones, Cameron Steele, McMillin Family, Crody Bradbury, Toby Price, and Factory Subaru Motorsports to name a few. The trio to date gets their vintage 1974 FORD 100 to compete annually in NORRA Mexican 1000.
Superior Construction Techniques
One of the key factors that set Method Wheels apart is their exceptional construction techniques. Method Wheels are built to withstand the rigors of off-road driving, providing durability and strength when it matters most. The wheels are meticulously crafted using high-quality materials such as cast aluminum or forged aluminum alloy, ensuring a lightweight yet sturdy design. Both materials offer excellent strength-to-weight ratios, making them ideal for off-road applications. The premium-grade materials, ensure a strong and reliable foundation.
The process of manufacturing Method Wheels involves advanced engineering and rigorous testing. Whether it's the cast wheels or the forged variants, Method Wheels undergo a series of quality control measures to ensure they meet the brand's high standards. These measures include impact testing, load rating verification, and rigorous real-world testing in demanding off-road conditions. Method Wheels are designed with precise fitment in mind, ensuring proper alignment with the vehicle's suspension components. Proper fitment maximizes suspension travel, prevents interference with brake calipers, and maintains optimal steering geometry. Method Wheels employ design techniques to reduce unsprung weight, which refers to the weight of components not supported by the vehicle's suspension. By reducing unsprung weight, Method Wheels improve overall vehicle performance, including acceleration, braking, and handling.
Method Wheels are put to the test in real-world off-road environments, allowing the brand to validate its performance under extreme conditions. This testing phase ensures that the wheels can withstand the demands of off-road adventures, including intense vibrations, rugged terrains, and varying temperatures.
Method Wheels feature a variety of spoke designs, carefully engineered to balance strength, weight reduction, and aesthetics. These designs enhance the overall look of the wheels and contribute to their structural integrity.
Design and Aesthetics
Method Wheels not only deliver exceptional performance but also elevate the style of your off-road vehicle. The brand offers a diverse range of designs to cater to different preferences and vehicle types. From sleek and minimalist designs to aggressive and rugged looks, Method Wheels has options to suit every off-roader's taste.
Method Wheels pay meticulous attention to detail in their designs and extends beyond functionality. From the precise angles and contours of the spokes to the intricate machining and milling, each wheel showcases the brand's commitment to craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal. These fine details enhance the overall look of the wheels, adding a touch of sophistication and refinement to any off-road vehicle. Whether it's a symmetrical split-spoke design or a more intricate mesh pattern, Method Wheels offer a captivating look that grabs attention both on and off the trail.
Method Wheels offer a variety of finish options to suit different tastes and complement various vehicle styles. Whether you prefer a classic matte black finish or a head-turning machined and polished look, each finish is carefully applied to the wheels, providing a durable and visually appealing coating that enhances the overall aesthetics. In addition to the standard finishes, Method Wheels also incorporate color accents into certain designs. These color accents provide an opportunity for off-road enthusiasts to personalize their wheels and make a unique statement with their vehicle's appearance.
Method Wheels proudly display its branding and logos on its wheels. The Method logo, often featured prominently on the center cap or the spoke of the wheel, adds a touch of authenticity and brand recognition. These logos are intricately designed, contributing to the overall visual appeal of the wheels.
Whether it's a sleek and modern design or a rugged and aggressive look, Method Wheels offer a perfect combination of style and functionality, ensuring that your off-road beast stands out from the crowd.
Uncompromising Performance
Method Wheels are engineered to deliver exceptional off-road performance. The design considerations go beyond aesthetics, with features aimed at enhancing the vehicle's capabilities on challenging terrains. The brand utilizes high-quality materials that provide the necessary durability to handle the demanding terrains, impacts, and vibrations off-road driving entails. The precise engineering of Method Wheels ensures proper fitment, allowing for optimal suspension travel and clearance. It also prevents interference with brake calipers and other vital parts, ensuring smooth and uninhibited off-road performance.
The wheels are designed to be lightweight, reducing unsprung weight and improving overall vehicle performance. This lighter weight, combined with the strength and durability of the materials used, translates into enhanced acceleration, braking, and maneuverability off-road.
Furthermore, Method Wheels offer various beadlock options for those seeking the utmost security during extreme off-road adventures. Beadlock wheels allow you to run lower tire pressures without the risk of the tire detaching from the wheel. This provides increased traction, better grip, and improved performance in challenging conditions.
Method Wheels undergo rigorous testing protocols to meet stringent quality and performance standards. By subjecting its wheels to off-road and on-road tests, Method Wheels ensure that its products deliver reliable performance and durability in the most demanding situations.
Method Wheels over the years, have gained popularity and earned the trust of off-road enthusiasts and professional racers alike. The brand's wheels have been extensively used in off-road racing competitions, including prestigious events such as the Baja 1000. The fact that Method Wheels have withstood the rigors of competitive racing further attests to their exceptional performance and durability.
Whether you're tackling rough terrains, conquering challenging obstacles, or pushing the limits of your vehicle's capabilities, Method Wheels provide the reliability and performance necessary to elevate your off-road adventures.
Finding the Perfect Method Wheels for Your Vehicle
Method Wheels offers a comprehensive range of sizes, offsets, and bolt patterns to ensure compatibility with a wide variety of off-road vehicles. Whether you drive a Jeep, truck, or SUV, there is a Method Wheel that will suit your vehicle's specifications.
To find the perfect Method Wheels for your vehicle, it's important to consider factors such as the desired wheel size, offset, and bolt pattern, as well as any specific requirements for tire size and suspension setup. It's recommended to consult the Method Wheels website or reach out to AudiocityUSA – the most reliable and knowledgeable retailer and distributor of authentically branded wheels that ensure proper fitment for your specific vehicle.
Maintenance and Care
To prolong the life and performance of your Method Wheels, regular maintenance, and care are essential. After intense off-road adventures, it's crucial to clean your wheels thoroughly to remove any dirt, mud, or debris that may have accumulated. Using a mild soap and water solution, gently scrub the wheels with a soft brush, paying close attention to the nooks and crannies. Avoid harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners that can damage the wheel's finish. While cleaning your wheels, take the opportunity to clean and inspect your tires as well. Inspect the tires for signs of damage, such as cuts, bulges, or uneven wear, and address any issues promptly. Additionally, maintain proper tire pressure according to the manufacturer's recommendations for optimal performance and safety.
Inspecting the wheels regularly is also important. Check for any signs of damage, such as cracks or bends, and address them promptly. Additionally, ensure that the lug nuts are tightened to the recommended torque specifications to maintain proper wheel attachment.
To protect your Method Wheels against corrosion, apply a layer of wheel sealant or wax after cleaning. This protective barrier helps prevent oxidation and the formation of rust on the wheel's surface. If you live in an area with harsh winter conditions, take extra precautions to protect your Method Wheels. Consider using a winter-specific wheel and tire package to prevent damage from road salt and winter debris. Additionally, regularly wash your wheels during winter to remove accumulated salt and grime.
Customer Reviews and Testimonials
Method Wheels have garnered a loyal following among off-road enthusiasts worldwide. Taking into account customer reviews and testimonials can provide valuable insights into the performance and satisfaction levels of Method Wheels users. Browse through online forums, off-road communities, and retailer websites to gain first-hand accounts of experiences with Method Wheels. These reviews can help you make an informed decision and validate the brand's reputation for superior performance and style.
Wrapping Up
Method Wheels have earned its place as a trusted and respected brand in the off-road community. With their unwavering commitment to delivering superior performance, exceptional construction, and eye-catching designs, Method Wheels offer off-road enthusiasts the opportunity to unleash their vehicles' true potential. Whether you're tackling challenging terrains or seeking to enhance the aesthetic appeal of your off-road beast, Method Wheels provide the ideal combination of strength, durability, and style. Upgrade your off-road experience with Method Wheels and take your adventures to new heights.

Hi everyone,
I'm moving into a brand new building (first tenants) that is part of a big complex of condos. I signed for a $1492 rent for a 1 bedroom and later found out that a friend was living in the same complex in October 2022 and was paying $991 (not in the new building that I'm moving into).
Is this even legal to hike up the price so much for the same condo size and not even a year later?
Could a brand new building justify an almost $500 hike up in price?
This doesn't seem right...
I know things have changed and there is a housing issue in the Montreal area but still, not sure if a new building warrants this much of a hike in price.
Thing is, when I first went to see the place, which was still under construction and only got to see a model unit and floor plan, they told me it was $1401 (and even wrote it down on the floor plan) and then came back to me after a day or so and stated that there was an error, and the rent is actually $1492. Which I find again, weird. Something feels dishonest about it all.
Anyway, I signed. The place is nice and it's exactly what I need, but I would be happy to find out if there's any way I can get the regis involved for the price hike and somehow lower my rent.
$1492 is fine, but since I feel like there's some shadyness and dishonesty here, I want to see if I can get justice where it is deserved.
Thanks !

Introduction:
In modern agriculture, tractor implements are essential because they let farmers complete a variety of farming tasks quickly and effectively. There are various well-known brands that provide top-notch tractor implements in India. These companies offer a wide selection of attachments and accessories made to meet the various requirements of Indian farmers. We shall examine some of the well-known tractors implements brands in India in this post, including Mahindra Tractor Implements, Agristar Implements, Tafe Implements, John Deere Implements, and Shaktiman Implements.
1. Shaktiman Implements:
A well-known company called Shaktiman Implements provides a broad selection of agricultural attachments. Shaktiman Implements has built a solid name among Indian farmers by putting a strong focus on quality and innovation. They offer cultivators, harrows, seeders, ploughs, rotavators, and other products. Shaktiman Tools have been recognised for their dependability, effectiveness, and user-friendly design. Shaktiman Implements are trusted by farmers to efficiently complete operations like tilling, planting, plough, and crop management.
2. Tafe Implements:
One of the top tractor producers in India, Tafe, also provides a selection of premium tractor implements. Tafe Implements offer the best performance and compatibility since they are made to work effortlessly with Tafe tractors. The company sells a wide range of tools, such as cultivators, rotary tillers, loaders, backhoes, and more. Tafe Implements are known for their durable design, fine engineering, and solid construction. Farmers all throughout the country rely on them for their adaptability and durability in a range of farming applications.
3. John Deere Implements:
In India, a variety of tractor implements are also available from John Deere, a well-known name in the agricultural machinery industry. Implements made by John Deere are known for their exceptional performance, advanced features, and modern technology. The company offers a wide variety of attachments, such as loaders, seeders, sprayers, plows, and harrows. Indian farmers are able to boost their productivity and efficiency on the farm by using John Deere Implements, which were manufactured specifically to match their demands.
4. Mahindra Tractor Implements:
India's leading tractor manufacturer, Mahindra, has increased the variety of tractor implements available through its product line. Mahindra Tractor Implements have a reputation for being reliable, powerful, and efficient. The company offers a wide range of accessories, such as loaders, backhoes, post-hole diggers, cultivators, and more. In order to ensure optimal compatibility and effective operation, Mahindra Tractor Implements are designed to work effortlessly with Mahindra tractors. Farmers rely on Mahindra Implements to do multiple agricultural jobs quickly and accurately.
5. Agristar Implements:
Agristar is an established company that produces excellent tractor implements. Agristar Implements are known for their durable build, efficient design, and reasonable price. Ploughs, harrows, cultivators, seed drills, and other attachments are just a few of the many options available under this brand. In addition, to meet the various needs of Indian farmers, Agristar Implements is built to withstand the challenges of difficult farming conditions. Agristar Implements is a well-liked option among farmers looking for high-quality implements within their price range because of their dependable performance and cheap pricing.
Conclusion:
Tractor implements are indispensable tools that contribute significantly to enhancing agricultural productivity in India. The popularity of various tractor implements brands is a testament to their commitment to quality, innovation, and meeting the diverse needs of Indian farmers. Shaktiman Implements, Tafe Implements, John Deere Implements, Mahindra Tractor Implements, and Agristar Implements are renowned brands trusted by farmers across the country. With their wide range of attachments and accessories, these brands enable farmers to efficiently perform tasks such as tilling, seeding, plowing, and more. Whether it's the durability of Shaktiman Implements, compatibility of Tafe Implements, advanced technology of John Deere Implements, reliability of Mahindra Tractor Implements, or affordability of Agristar Implements, these brands continue to play a vital role in driving agricultural progress in India.
For more additional information about Rotavator, Electric Tractor, and Harvester visit Khetigaadi.com

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 66%. (I'm a bot)

Australian airline Qantas has relaxed its gender-based uniform rules, allowing male employees to wear makeup and have long hair.
Last year, an Australian trade union called on Qantas to move its "Uniform policy into the 21st Century".
The new rules also apply to employees of Qantas' budget airline Jetstar.
Imogen Sturni from the Australian Services Union, which had campaigned for Qantas to change its uniform policy, said the move was a "Big win for workers".
"Some of the dress code requirements were bordering on ridiculous, such as makeup style guides and a requirement for women to wear smaller watches than men," Ms Sturni told the BBC. However, under the new policy Qantas workers will still have to keep tattoos covered up.
The announcement from Qantas came after some other airlines have relaxed their uniform policies.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Qantas^#1 uniform^#2 wear^#3 new^#4 policy^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

The kickoff times for the NFL Preseason are finally set, and unfortunately that also means potential conflicts with NBC's NASCAR coverage. Going off of the local NBC affiliates who aired Preseason games in 2022 these are the week 3 preseason games that might have conflicts. Some of these stations might be subject to change. Keep in mind, some of these cities might move the race to a subchannel, but some markets like Washington D.C. have in the past joined in progress around the 3rd stage. Granted the race will also be on Peacock, this information is for those who don't have streaming and were hoping to watch over the air on network TV.
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Saturday August 26th
Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona International Speedway
7:00pm/et on NBC.
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​
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N.Y. Jets vs. N.Y. Giants at 6:00pm/et.
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N.Y. Jets:
WPTZ (NBC/5 – Plattsburgh, NY)
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N.Y. Giants:
WNBC (NBC/4 – New York)
WNYT (NBC/13 – Albany)
WSTM (NBC/3) – Syracuse)
WETM (NBC/18 – Elmira)
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Cincinnati vs. Washington at 6:05pm.
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Cincinnati:
N/A
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Washington:
WRC (NBC/4 – Washington, D.C)
WSLS (NBC/10 – Roanoke, VA)
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Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7:00pm/et
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Baltimore:
WBAL (NBC/11 – Baltimore)
WGAL (NBC/8 – Harrisburg, PA)
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Tampa Bay:
WFLA (NBC/8 – Tampa)
WESH (NBC/2 – Orlando)
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Miami Dolphins vs. Jacksonville Jaguars at 7:00pm/et
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Miami:
WBBH (NBC2 – Fort Myers)
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Jacksonville:
WSAV (NBC/3 Savannah, GA)
WPMI (NBC/15) Mobile, AL)
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Las Vegas Raiders vs. Dallas Cowboys at 8:00pm/et.
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Las Vegas:
KGET (NBC/17 – Bakersfield, CA)
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Dallas:
KXAN (NBC/36 – Austin)
KFOR (NBC/4 – Oklahoma City)
KRBC (NBC/9 – Abilene)
KSAN (NBC/3 – Corpus Christi)
KWES (NBC/9 – Odessa)
KTSM (NBC/9 – El Paso)
KTAL (NBC/6 – Shreveport, LA)
​

I've booked a flat with possession on Dec, 27. I've to pay some amount every 2 months for the flat. I'm planning to sell some mutual funds, stocks and US stocks over time to pay for the flat. For rest of the amount, planning to take home loan.
Based on my reading, I've come to following conclusions:

• I won't get any tax benefit till the possession of the house on the interest component of the loan. Only after the possession, I can avail benefit on interest component of home loan. Therefore till the possession, am I free to file income tax under new or old regime? Only after possession, I'll start filing under the old regime. Also do I have to fill any details in ITR till the possession of the home?
• Sec 54F allows me to not pay tax on long term capital gains on selling of mutual funds, stocks and US stocks. However I think the section talks about completing the construction in 3 years. But the builder is providing the flat in 4 years. Will I be not eligible for exemption in such a case? (I'm planning to sell the stocks over the period of 4 years when I required and based on market condition).

Section 54F: https://incometaxindia.gov.in/Acts/Finance%20Acts/1982/102120000000036022.htm

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 40%. (I'm a bot)

A report on Bougainville's quest for independence from Papua New Guinea could be tabled in the national parliament in the session that starts today.
Under the Peace Agreement of 2001, the final decision on the independence issue would be reached in the PNG Parliament after consultation between both governments.
Constitutional lawyer, Anthony Regan, from the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University, said the Minister of Bougainville Affairs, Manaseh Makiba, told leaders in Bougainville in March that he planned to table the results of the referendum in the June session.
Professor Regan said under the Era Kone Covenant, it was agreed that the documents would go to parliament before the end of 2023, with final resolution no earlier than 2025 or later than 2027.
He said the covenant does not indicate what happens when the documents do go to parliament.
His expectation is that this tabling, if it occurs this session, would be an initial discussion, with the parliament to decide on the matter later.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: parliament^#1 Bougainville^#2 session^#3 issue^#4 Regan^#5
Post found in /anime_titties and /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

OTL 1945: The Morgenthau plan is leaked and abandoned by the US as it becomes a rallying point for Nazi propaganda.
ATL: Germany is divided into five separate nations: Prussia (soviet hegemony), Saxony (Soviet), Hanoveria (British), Hesse (American), and Bavaria (French). Frisia is given to the Netherlands, Holstein to Denmark, Franconia/ Saarland to France, with mass deportation of ethnic germans from all three regions. There is the summary execution of the highest ranking 100,000 members of the NSDAP party. And Germany is systematically de-industrialized, with every factory demolished and de-constructed. Between the years of 1945-1965, fully 25 million Germans will die from the famines and hunger. With the additional mass emigration of Germans to America and South American countries, the former German states are left as impoverished and desolate shadows of the former Germany. All of these German nations remain under Allied military occupation and administration until at least 1949; new German governments aren't even considered until 1950.
What are the long term consequences for European history for Germany being ripped apart and de-industrialized, with substantial and vengeful land seizures to Germany's neighbors? What does the modern German region look like?

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

1. When (first) orbital flight? First integrated flight test occurred April 20, 2023. "The vehicle cleared the pad and beach as Starship climbed to an apogee of ~39 km over the Gulf of Mexico – the highest of any Starship to-date. The vehicle experienced multiple engines out during the flight test, lost altitude, and began to tumble. The flight termination system was commanded on both the booster and ship."
2. Where can I find streams of the launch? SpaceX Full Livestream. NASASpaceFlight Channel. Lab Padre Channel. Everyday Astronaut Channel.
3. What's happening next? SpaceX has assessed damage to Stage 0 and is implementing fixes and changes including a water deluge/pad protection/"shower head" system. No major repairs to key structures appear to be necessary.
4. When is the next flight test? Just after flight, Elon stated they "Learned a lot for next test launch in a few months." On April 29, he reiterated this estimate in a Twitter Spaces Q&A (summarized here), saying "I'm glad to report that the pad damage is actually quite small," should "be repaired quickly," and "From a pad standpoint, we are probably ready to launch in 6 to 8 weeks." Requalifying the flight termination system (FTS) and the FAA post-incident review will likely require the longest time to complete. Musk reiterated the timeline on May 26, stating "Major launchpad upgrades should be complete in about a month, then another month of rocket testing on pad, then flight 2 of Starship."
5. Why no flame diverteflame trench below the OLM? Musk tweeted on April 21: "3 months ago, we started building a massive water-cooled, steel plate to go under the launch mount. Wasn’t ready in time & we wrongly thought, based on static fire data, that Fondag would make it through 1 launch." Regarding a trench, note that the Starship on the OLM sits 2.5x higher off the ground than the Saturn V sat above the base of its flame trench, and the OLM has 6 exits vs. 2 on the Saturn V trench.

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Quick Links

^{RAPTOR ROOST LAB CAM SAPPHIRE CAM SENTINEL CAM ROVER CAM ROVER 2.0 CAM PLEX CAM NSF STARBASE}
Starship Dev 45 Starship Dev 44 Starship Dev 43 Starship Thread List
Official Starship Update SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Road & Beach Closure

Type	Start (UTC)	End (UTC)	Status
Primary	2023-06-12 14:00:00	2023-06-13 02:00:00	Possible
Alternative	2023-06-13 14:00:00	2023-06-14 02:00:00	Possible
Alternative	2023-06-14 14:00:00	2023-06-15 02:00:00	Possible

No transportation delays currently scheduled
Up to date as of 2023-06-09

Vehicle Status

As of June 8th 2023
Follow Ring Watchers on Twitter and Discord for more.

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
Pre-S24		Scrapped or Retired	SN15 and S20 are in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
S24	In pieces in the ocean	Destroyed	April 20th: Destroyed when booster MECO and ship stage separation from booster failed three minutes and 59 seconds after successful launch, so FTS was activated. This was the second launch attempt.
S25	Launch Site	Testing	On Feb 23rd moved back to build site, then on the 25th taken to the Massey's test site. March 21st: Cryo test. May 5th: Another cryo test. May 18th: Moved to the Launch Site and in the afternoon lifted onto Suborbital Test Stand B.
S26	Rocket Garden	Resting	No fins or heat shield, plus other changes. March 25th: Lifted onto the new higher stand in Rocket Garden. March 28th: First RVac installed (number 205). March 29th: RVac number 212 taken over to S26 and later in the day the third RVac (number 202) was taken over to S26 for installation. March 31st: First Raptor Center installed (note that S26 is the first Ship with electric Thrust Vector Control). April 1st: Two more Raptor Centers moved over to S26.
S27	Rocket Garden	Completed but no Raptors yet	Like S26, no fins or heat shield. April 24th: Moved to the Rocket Garden.
S28	High Bay 1	Under construction	February 7th Assorted parts spotted. March 24th: Mid LOX barrel taken into High Bay 1. March 28th: Existing stack placed onto Mid LOX barrel. March 31st: Almost completed stack lifted off turntable. April 5th: Aft/Thrust section taken into High Bay 1. April 6th: the already stacked main body of the ship has been placed onto the thrust section, giving a fully stacked ship. April 25th: Lifted off the welding turntable, then the 'squid' detached - it was then connected up to a new type of lifting attachment which connects to the two lifting points below the forward flaps that are used by the chopsticks. May 25th: Installation of the first Aft Flap (interesting note: the Aft Flaps for S28 are from the scrapped S22).
S29	High Bay 1	Under construction	April 28th: Nosecone and Payload Bay taken inside High Bay 1 (interesting note: the Forward Flaps are from the scrapped S22). May 1st: nosecone stacked onto payload bay (note that S29 is being stacked on the new welding turntable to the left of center inside High Bay 1, this means that LabPadre's Sentinel Cam can't see it and so NSF's cam looking at the build site is the only one with a view when it's on the turntable). May 4th: Sleeved Forward Dome moved into High Bay 1 and placed on the welding turntable. May 5th: Nosecone+Payload Bay stack placed onto Sleeved Forward Dome and welded. May 10th: Nosecone stack hooked up to new lifting rig instead of the 'Squid' (the new rig attaches to the Chopstick's lifting points and the leeward Squid hooks). May 11th: Sleeved Common Dome moved into High Bay 1. May 16th: Nosecone stack placed onto Sleeved Common Dome and welded. May 18th: Mid LOX section moved inside High Bay 1. May 19th: Current stack placed onto Mid LOX section for welding. June 2nd: Aft/Thrust section moved into High Bay 1. June 6th: The already stacked main body of the ship has been placed onto the thrust section, giving a fully stacked ship.
S30+	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted through S34.

 

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
Pre-B7 & B8		Scrapped or Retired	B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
B7	In pieces in the ocean	Destroyed	April 20th: Destroyed when MECO and stage separation of ship from booster failed three minutes and 59 seconds after successful launch, so FTS was activated. This was the second launch attempt.
B9	High Bay 2	Raptor Install	Cryo testing (methane and oxygen) on Dec. 21 and Dec. 29. Rollback on Jan. 10. On March 7th Raptors started to be taken into High Bay 2 for B9.
B10	Rocket Garden	Resting	20-ring LOX tank inside High Bay 2 and Methane tank (with grid fins installed) in the ring yard. March 18th: Methane tank moved from the ring yard and into High Bay 2 for final stacking onto the LOX tank. March 22nd: Methane tank stacked onto LOX tank, resulting in a fully stacked booster. May 27th: Moved to the Rocket Garden. Note: even though it appears to be complete it currently has no Raptors.
B11	High Bay 2	Under construction	March 24th: 'A3' barrel had the current 8-ring LOX tank stacked onto it. March 30th: 'A4' 4-ring LOX tank barrel taken inside High Bay 2 and stacked. April 2nd: 'A5' 4-ring barrel taken inside High Bay 2. April 4th: First methane tank 3-ring barrel parked outside High Bay 2 - this is probably F2. April 7th: downcomer installed in LOX tank (which is almost fully stacked except for the thrust section). April 28th: Aft section finally taken inside High Bay 2 to have the rest of the LOX tank welded to it (which will complete the LOX tank stack). May 11th: Methane tank Forward section and the next barrel down taken into High Bay 2 and stacked. May 18th: Methane tank stacked onto another 3 ring next barrel, making it 9 rings tall out of 13. May 20th: Methane tank section stacked onto the final barrel, meaning that the Methane tank is now fully stacked. May 23rd: Started to install the grid fins. June 3rd: Methane Tank stacked onto LOX Tank, meaning that B11 is now fully stacked. Once welded still more work to be done such as the remaining plumbing and wiring.
B12	High Bay 2 (LOX Tank)	Under construction	June 3rd: LOX tank commences construction: Common Dome (CX:4) and a 4-ring barrel (A2:4) taken inside High Bay 2 where CX:4 was stacked onto A2:4 on the right side welding turntable. June 7th: A 4-ring barrel (A3:4) was taken inside High Bay 2. June 8th: Barrel section A3:4 was lifted onto the welding turntable and the existing stack placed on it for welding.
B13+	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted through B17.

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If this page needs a correction please consider pitching in. Update this thread via this wiki page. If you would like to make an update but don't see an edit button on the wiki page, message the mods via modmail or contact u/strawwalker.

Resources

• LabPadre Channel NASASpaceFlight.com Channel
• NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread Most Recent
• NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread Most recent
• NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation Most Recent
• SpaceX: Website Starship page Starship Users Guide (2020, PDF)
• FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
• FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
• FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
• NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
• Production Progress Infographics by @RingWatchers
• Raptor 2 Tracker by @SpaceRhin0
• Acronym definitions by Decronym
• Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
• Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates Launch Tower Merlin Engine Raptor Engine

SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

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Rome 2 - Divide et Impera mod roleplay run
The year is 475 Ab urbe condita, and Res publica Romana is the growing power on the Italian peninsula. Not 10 years after the end of the Samnite Wars, we at still engaged with the Etruscans to our north, while Epirus at our south tests our resolve by encroaching on our borders. We must deal with these outsiders if we are to achieve our destiny. There is a dream that is Rome. It shall be realised.
476 AUC: Legio II Equestris, under command of newly appointed Legatus Lucius Julius Libo, finalises defeat of Etrutria. Shortly after, Pyrrhus of Epirus, after years of minor border skirmishes in southern Italia, invades and occupies as far inland as Cosentia. Legio II is redeployed to assist Legio I Italia. 478 AUC: after several battles ending in Roman victory, Pyrrhus is expelled from Italia. Despite heavy losses from the campaign, Legio II completes conquest of southern Italia 479 AUC: the Senate orders Legio II to northern Italy, to subdue the tribes in Cisalpine Gaul and to bring them into the Republic 480 AUC: cautious of Rome's rapidly growing role as a Mediterranean superpower, Carthage breaks diplomatic treaties and declares war on Rome. The Punic War has begun. Legio I is tasked with defending southern Italia. Legio III Gemina raised with intention of crossing Mare Tyrrhenum and invading Corsica et Sardinia 482 AUC: after far more losses than were expected, the tribes of the Po Valley have been subdued. All the land from the Alps to the sea now fall under Roman rule. Lucius Julius Libo and Legio II will occupy the area until it is assured there is no threat of rebellion 484 AUC: in the wake of years spent fighting Carthage, our military training and equipment has evolved. We have utilised tactics from our current and former enemies, while improving our strengths and casting aside our weaknesses. Years of war has turned us into a master of violence, and we will visit this violence upon all who would threaten Rome 485 AUC: years spent besieging the port of Karalis has borne fruit - the city is now ours, and with it, the province of Corsica et Sardinia. With Legio I and Legio II in Sikelia driving out the Carthaginian forces, Mare Tyrrhenum lies solely under Roman control. In 5 years of war we have driven Carthage out of Mare Nostrum and back to Africa. Plans are already being drawn up to invade 486 AUC: our invasion of Africa has paid off. Legio I Italica immediately marched onto Qart Hadasht, to strike at their power base and cut the head from the snake. After making camp in order to lay siege, the city's defenders sallied out and attacked. Despite devastating losses, we were victorious. The survivors retreated behind the city walls, but Legio II soon arrived to reinforce the siege, and our men stormed the walls. What warriors were left were no match, and the City of Carthage is ours. Legio III will soon make landfall to push west. Legio IV Minervia has been raised in Roma, where they will make for Massalia, to visit revenge for their betrayal of us during the siege of Medhlan 487 AUC: Legio IV Minervia has successfully besieged Massalia. After successive field battles, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio marched on the city walls and began construction of siege equipment. Massalian allies attempted to aid them, but they too were defeated, following by the occupation of the city. Let all who know, to betray Rome is to condemn your civilisation 488 AUC: the province of Africa has been fully conquered by Legio II Equestris. The lands that brought Carthage their immense wealth will now swell our coffers instead. Despite the conquest being his doing, the Senate has appointed a Junian governor, instead of a fellow Julian. Suspecting bribery, Lucius Julius Libo begins to lose faith in the Republic he serves 490 AUC: Lucius Julius Libo has given up command of Legio II Equestris and returned to Roma. Petitioning the Senate to allow him to raise a new legion for the purpose of invasion of Gaul was met with success. The politicians of Rome are now so corrupt that an unjustified war can easily be put into motion. All it took was the lie that the Gauls bordering our new lands in Massalia were hostile, and that the lands to the north were fertile and rich with resources. The senate is too blind to see that with every battle won, Libo's influence in Roman politics grows 492 AUC: a Gallic tribe calling themselves the Arverni have attacked some of our scouts, and announced their intention to rid their forests of our presence. It seems that Libo's persuasions to the Senate were not without truth. A little more more leaning about the dangers of the Gauls uniting against, and the Senate has named him Dictator until the Arverni are dealt with. Lucius Julius Libo is now the most powerful man in Rome 493 AUC: Libo dispatches loyal senators to the African provinces under the guise of resolving financial troubles, while in reality, shifting loyalty from the Senate to himself. He already had the loyalty of the soldiers, now he is aiming for the people. 494 AUC: Carthage has been expelled from the African continent, after a successful siege of Tingis by Legio III Gemina. Upon arrival of the news in Rome, Lucius Julius Libo was recalled to Rome from Gaul to relinquish his powers as dictator. Despite the Gallic War still ongoing, the Senate was growing uneasy at Libo’s rapidly growing popularity, and used a weakened Carthage as justification to end his tenure. 495 AUC: Lucius Julius Libo returned to Roma, and was met with crowds of people, protesting against the demands of the Senate. In his service to Rome, Libo had saved the Republic numerous times, and Rome was still facing external threats. The crowd proclaimed Libo to be imperator, an act only previously done by a commander’s legion, but it was enough. The Senate agreed to grant him imperium perpetuum in return for relinquishing his role as dictator, to which Libo agreed. This everlasting power would grant him the ability to overrule the Senate with vetos, even consuls, and as such, historians consider this to be the first day of the Roman Empire. For the first time in 250 years, Rome was ruled by one man - Lucius Julius Libo Imperator. 497 AUC: Since the day Libo Imperator was granted everlasting imperium, he had taken great strides to improve the overall morale of the citizens of Rome by organising games and granting grain doles to the poorer members of society. Attending Senate meetings, he made sure to veto every bill that was put through without his prior knowledge. He prevented a list of enemies by compromising on many issues and joining their vote on bills he supported. He gained significant public support by making promises to rid the Republic (as the people of Rome still believed it to be) of political corruption, and then by delivering on this promise in steps, by exposing guilty senators. The size of the Senate began to shrink as he put through bills under the justification that that smaller it was, the less corruption there could be. Within 2 years it went from 370 senators to less than 100. His power continued to grow, but the people were happy. 498 AUC: Legio II Equestris, now under command of Gnaeus Julius Agrippa, has captured the last remaining stronghold of the Edetani, the final ally of the Carthaginians. With nobody to assist them, the end of the war is on the horizon. In capturing the city, the eastern coast of Iberia is entirely ours, completely enveloping the coastline of the western half of Mare Nostrum. Libo Imperator has grown bolder in his power, now requiring all bills passed to be finalised with his seal, and the words Imperium Romanum 499 AUC: with our legions pushed to their breaking point, and replacement recruits becoming more difficult to come by, Libo Imperator initiates a series of reforms, aimed at swelling the numbers with ease by removing the property requirements to join. Now, all who hold Roman citizenship will be eligible to serve her. With the state also supplying equipment, there is now uniformity amongst the legions. Gone are the old classifications, and replaced with general legionaries. Already we are seeing a large surge in recruitment across the Roman world, primarily from the lower classes looking for their chance at glory. 500 AUC: after 20 long years, the Punic War is over. Legio I besieged the city of Kartuba, awaiting reinforcements from Legio III, but the Carthaginians sallied out in an attempt to prevent being surrounded. After a decisive defeat in the field, there was no standing force left to defend to city, and our forces swept through, enslaving what civilians weren’t dead by the end of the day. As news of the victory spreads throughout Rome, a wave of nationalism follows it, with the people wanting to continue the expansion of our borders. Any nation that isn’t Rome is a potential enemy, and the senate, under the demands of Libo Imperator, fans the flames of this idea. Rome is about to embark of a series of conquests not seen since Alexander. Lucius Cornelius Scipio has been appointed commander of the Iberian forces, with the Legatus of each legion reporting to him. Quintus Trebellius Strabo will lead the conquest of Gaul, while Libo Imperator himself will take several legions into Germania. 502 AUC: Legio V Rapax sails across Mare Adriaticum to make landfall in Apollonia. Decades have passed since we pushed Epirus out of Italia, but inability to bring the war to them forced a peace between us. A peace that is now over. After many battles, Cornelius Scipio has conquered Iberia in its entirety. Rome now stretches all the way to Mare Tenebrosum. Upon their return to Rome, Scipio and his fellow Legates will be honoured with a Triumph. 503 AUC: Epirus is destroyed, their pitiful excuse for a kingdom overrun by Roman sword. Legio V Rapax will oversee the Latinisation of the local government, then move east, to bring the Greeks into our territory. 504 AUC: Athenai has taken offence to our presence in Greece and has captured Apollonia, seemingly hoping to cut us off from invading further into their homeland. It will not work. Julius Agrippa, well rested after his group Triumph, will sail his legion across Mare Adriaticum to assist Legio V. In Gaul, a final battle on the banks of the Rhine marked the pacification of the region. Gaul is ours. The legions will rest, then move onto Germania. 505 AUC: Julius Agrippa, keen to retake Apollonia, failed to scout the surrounding lands before moving onto the town, and was caught by an enormous Athenian army. Luckily, Legio V arrived in time. The largest battle in Rome’s history was fought on the outskirts of the town, and although we were victorious, thousands of Romans paid the price. Junius Brutus has made landfall with Legio II Equestris to assist the conquest of Greece. 506 AUC: Libo Imperator has ordered our legions out of Germania. Although we have subdued many of the tribes there, the longer we stay, the more nature takes its toll. We have now lost more men to the cold than to the enemy. A summer in Germania is only slightly warmer than a winter in Italia. Trade agreements with the bordering tribes, while being of little value to us, will ensure a secure border. The legions are to move to Dacia, and bring civilisation to the barbarians within. The Spartans, long past their glory, and not stupid enough to mistake the intent of our legions marching through their lands, have bent the knee before they even pointed a spear. We agreed, on the terms they would join our war against Athenai. 507 AUC: with Sparta capturing the city of Athens, and Legio II Equestris taking Pella, Greece has been conquered. To the north, Thrake and Dacia are now both ours. Rome now stretches from Oceanus to Pontus Euxinus. Over the last 30 years, Lucius Julius Libo Imperator has risen from Legatus to sole ruler of Imperium Romanum, and grown our empire to half the size of that of Alexander’s. With little to conquer without sailing to Asia, he has elected to end his conquests and focus on administering the empire he has grown. Roma Invicta.
Turn: 134 Factions destroyed: 39 Total income: 9.5M Total battles fought: 228 Fought personally: 113 Land battles: 82 Settlement battles: 78 Siege battles: 39 Total victories: 215 Total defeats: 13 (all were undefended regions with no garrison) Heroic victories 49

Howdy all. I'm sure you're aware of the recent news about Reddit killing off third-party apps, so I'm not going to waste your time with a long recap. I'm more interested in providing a few thoughts towards the user protest before anybody starts asking about it here and some considerations towards the future.
First, the moderation team will not be turning this subreddit private for the planned protest. This is for two main reasons:
1) We're pretty small as far as subreddits go. We hold no sway and are fairly low-traffic, so it would just disservice those few looking for technical assistance without accomplishing anything.
2) My personal assessment is that the protest won't do anything and is more or less just a moderator virtue signal under its current form. Two days is a pathetic publicity stunt at best; if people had reasoned through trying to make this seriously affect Reddit's bottom line and get their attention, it would be indefinite until they changed the new policy. As it stands it only serves to make a bunch of people on the internet feel good about themselves without having to commit to actually doing something inconvenient for their own cause. Reddit will see that the backlash is rapidly letting up and move on, knowing that relatively few people will do anything further. In an overly conspiratorial sense, I wouldn't be surprised if they astroturfed this campaign themselves to avoid people making any real exit.
Second, I have some more proactive thoughts towards the changes and Reddit's future in relation to this subreddit. In no particular order:
1) Avoiding reliance on a single channel will ensure that you're still able to keep up on the project and community should any one of them go down. If you want to stay connected with AM2R, the best way is to ensure that you're connected with several of our social platforms. We have a Discord server, a Matrix space, a YouTube channel, and a GitHub organization that all serve as sources of information and conversation regarding the Community Updates project.
2) I expect increasingly more unsustainable and unreasonable decisions to be made as Reddit's leadership continue pushing to inflate their metrics for their upcoming IPO. Post-IPO, nobody knows what will actually happen with the website... but I don't have a positive outlook for its future at present. As such, I'm interested in potential forum platform alternatives - not to entirely jump ship to, but rather to serve as a lifeboat and alternate platform for people who don't use Reddit. Suggestions are highly welcome. I've thought about hosting my own website in a similar fashion to Metroid Construction, but I think I'd get too caught up in server upkeep and wouldn't have any time to work on the game itself if I went that route. As a side note, the old Tapatalk forums have been archived so we can't just move back there. Tapatalk is kind of gross these days anyway, I'd prefer to find something else.
Last note: thanks for being cool. It's extremely infrequent that I have to moderate anything on this subreddit other than the occasional bot account that rolls through. I can't overstate how much that's appreciated, especially after my time on Metroid a few years back. If Reddit does go under or becomes unusable, I hope that we can find this same civility wherever else we land.
...and no, we don't have any 2.0 news at this point in time. Progress is slow but significant, as usual.

(Tl;dr: just moved into apartment that will soon be having major construction happening on outside, including tarping over the building and depriving us of light for months. This wasn't disclosed to us by the landlord. Do I have a right to be upset?)
I'm in Ontario, Canada. I moved into an apartment last month with a friend. The apartment is in a complex with a bunch of separate buildings, each with 8 units.
We had been having trouble finding a rental (competitive market) and eventually got help from a realtor, which was great and secured us a place pretty quickly. All went smoothly there. But the other day my roommate and I ran into our neighbour and ended up chatting for a while. She informed us that our building was essentially getting a "facelift" as all the other buildings had. We had known that some work would be done on the unit, but had been under the impression it was just getting new balconies. But this neighbour let us know that the balconies wouldn't be happening until next year, and that our building needs a lot of work, which will include scaffolding going around our building, as well as it being tarped ovetented in.
As I'm sure you can imagine, we were very surprised to hear about this, as we had no idea. Another building across from ours is currently getting this "treatment" but we weren't aware that our building required it as well. So from what we understand, for the majority of our one-year lease in the unit there will be construction happening on the building, which will entail noise (not as much of a bother) and some deprivation of natural light as the windows will be covered.
I'm annoyed that we didn't get notice of this, and our neighbour was surprised no one had let us know, as it has apparently been in the works for quite a while. I checked the lease again, and there was no mention of construction. We contacted the realtor, who claims he had told me there would be construction happening, but it was all outside so it wasn't a big deal. I had just assumed he meant the construction on the other building, and I feel like he should have clarified it better. But he didn't seem to understand why we were concerned, and he recommended not speaking to the landlord until things start happening.
My roommate is hesitant to speak to the landlord, as he doesn't want to "piss him off and make him hate us," but I'm wondering if we should talk to him about it, or if I even have a right to find this annoying and inconvenient? Is there anything we can do about this?

So, my wife (29F) and myself (27F) have been living at our current apartment for little under two years now. The way our building is set up, it's a three floor building, divided into three sections, with six apartments and only one staircase in each section. We're on the top floor. This is somewhat important for later.
Back in November, we had new neighbors move in to the apartment directly below us: a husband (We'll call him John) and wife (We'll call her Jane), who was expecting their first kid soon, and their two dogs (a German Shepherd and a Chow). My wife and I have two dogs ourselves (a bloodhound mix and a Labrador mix), and these were the first neighbors in our section to have dogs too, so we were really excited, maybe our dogs could have some friends. However, I found out last week that these neighbors were essentially trying to sabotage me and my wife being able to live here by essentially filing a whole bunch of false complaints against us. And the thing is: we've only had five interactions with these neighbors. I'll include rough dates these happened so you can understand how sporadic these interactions were, too.
Interaction 1 - I ran into Jane while she was walking her dogs as I was getting ready to go to the store about two weeks after they moved in. We exchanged hellos, I got to meet her dogs, and it was just the typical "welcome to the apartment complex, good to finally meet you" kind of stuff
Interaction 2 - Happened around New Years' Eve 2022. As I was coming down the stairs to take my dogs out, Jane was just coming back up with her dogs. While the interaction definitely wasn't great, it definitely could have gone worse. My dogs did pull the leashes out of my hand, but all they did was essentially shoulder check her dogs and bark as a form of posturing, and thankfully no one got bit. She did call the office and file a report, and we all (landlady, the neighbors, and myself and wifey) agreed that my dogs will have mesh muzzles on whenever they're outside to limit how much they can open their mouths. These muzzles do not restrict the dogs' breathing in any way, shape, or form.
Interaction 3 - Happened in late Feb. Wifey and I were coming home from a date night where we went out to eat and went to Barnes & Noble to pick up the next book in the Heaven Official's Blessing series that wifey and I are both reading. When we got back, both John and Jane looked like they had just gotten home from taking their dogs for a drive, and the dogs were getting out of the car. This was my wife's first time really meeting them, so she stayed in the parking lot to say hi while I went ahead upstairs to put our dinner leftovers in the fridge and the book on the shelf. A few minutes later, she comes up cradling one of her hands. Their Chow actually did bite her, and her hand was bleeding! Thankfully, it was a small bite and we were able to clean it with first aid equipment that we had at home, and we were able to cover it with a regular band-aid. After making sure she was okay, I called the office to file a report of my own. This lead into:
Interaction 4 and 5 - Both happened on the same day. Number four happened the morning after the bite, where once again, Wifey, myself, the neighbors, and the Landlady (we'll call her Clara), all met in the leasing office to discuss the bite. While Jane did admit that she loosened her grip on the leash to let the dog approach, she actually had the audacity to try to ultimately blame Wifey for getting bit! Thankfully, Clara shut that down real quick and told Jane that it didn't matter if Wifey approached the dog or not; the fact remains that everyone was in the parking lot, a public area, and where the Chow bit Wifey would easily have been the face of a little kid. Clara put the same requirements that the Chow needed to wear a muzzle when outside and also demanded proof of vaccination for the Chow be sent from animal control. That night (interaction 5), Jane came up to our apartment and spoke to Wifey on the landing. I had just gotten off work, but I could hear them through the door. Jane was essentially saying the same things that she had said down at the office, still trying to shift blame onto Wifey. Wifey actually still tried to extend a hand of friendship, saying that while our dogs might not be friends, we could at least be acquaintances. From what I heard, Jane didn't seem to like that idea.
After the bite and the conversation at the office, we stayed behind to talk to Clara after John and Jane left. Clara said that after Interaction two, Jane had called the office four times in a row before I even got back into my apartment, claiming that my dogs were vicious and needed to be removed. Apparently, John had personally gone down to the office claiming that the German Shepherd had an injured leg due to my dogs, but Clara later saw Jane walking both dogs, and both were fine. Now, Clara has met our dogs, and she loves them. Both dogs love going to say hi to her, and they give hugs and kisses, which she loves, and she told us that she doubted what John had been saying the moment he came to complain. She also said that on multiple occasions, the Chow had full-on snarled at her when she wasn't even close, and told us that Jane knows that at least the Chow is actually vicious.
For the next few months, we all do our best to avoid one another. However, if I or Wifey was out with our dogs and the neighbors came back from an errand or something like that, they would lurk in their car until after we went back into out apartment. Even if we weren't anywhere near their car, they would just sit. Now, I admit, if I'm listening to a song that's almost over, I'll stay in my car for an extra minute or to let the song finish. But sometimes, we'd be out with our dogs for 10, 15, 20 minutes and John or Jane would STILL be in their car. I also caught Jane following us on some occasions, but she was always really far away, so I couldn't tell if she was actually following us or if she was just nervous if we would turn around before she got to our stairs.
Well, the neighbors were scheduled to move out at the very end of May. May 31st, and they have the UHaul truck. I was NOT sorry when I took the dogs out and saw them loading it during my lunch break (I've worked from home since the pandemic). However, at the end of the day, I ask Wifey to take the dogs out with me, and we see they have another UHaul, and they're unloading it BACK into the apartment! Jane followed us again during this walk, only this time, she was NOT subtle about it at all! She was right behind us for half of the walk, doesn't say a word to either of us, and while she is texting, she's regularly looking up and making eye contact with us, almost like she wants us to know she's following us. This happened at around 6pm, so it was still fairly light out. Later that night, at around 9:40, when it's very clearly dark, I took the dogs out again, by myself this time. Jane comes out of her apartment and says that lately, Wifey and I have been stomping on the floor and it comes through their ceiling and it's waking her up in the middle of the night (Wifey does have insomnia, so she is up late sometimes). Jane tried to gaslight me and say that she talked to me about it months ago, but the five interactions I mentioned earlier are the only ones we've ever had. She said that she had called Clara about it several times, and that if we continued stomping like that and waking her up, she was gonna call the cops. I agreed only to get her to go away, but as I thought about it, why in the world did she not bring this up when she was following us earlier in broad daylight and instead try to corner me alone when it's dark out? I also went back through my phone records, and the only missed call I have from the office was in March and was a callback regarding a maintenance request I had put in. All other calls in my phone to the office were ones I had made. Wifey didn't have any missed calls from the office, either.
The next morning, Clara calls me. The place that John and Jane were looking to move to ended up being a scam and they were hoping to cancel their early lease termination and move back in, since they had nowhere else to go. I tell Clara what happened with Jane the night before, and OH, BOY, does Clara have tea!!! Clara's assistant property manager (we'll call her Mary) is a personal friend of Jane! Those calls that Jane said she made to Clara about Wifey and I "stomping"? Were actually texts sent over Facebook Messenger directly to Mary! These do not count as noise complaints, since they weren't made through the office channels (either the office phone or email), and from what Mary confessed, John and Jane were planning to file a complaint against us for "excessive noise while we were moving out"... in the middle of the day! Clara thanked me for providing my side of the story, and informed me that, while she'd give them an extra week and a half to let them search for a legitimate place to move to, they would have to be out by a certain day and no more extensions.
John and Jane did not take that well! We happened to take our dogs outside when they were already out with their dogs? Call to the office, "Their dogs attacked ours!" We start doing dishes? Nope, we're "throwing around cookware, it's so loud; should we call the police to do a wellness check?" One of us takes a shower and a bottle falls due to the water? "Are they doing construction up there without approval?" The funniest one was they tried to call Clara to file a noise complaint while Clara was in our apartment with us monitoring another maintenance request being filled (we had to get work done on our tub, so yes, it was a bit loud)! Clara was an absolute gem during this whole time, shooting down each and every single one of their complaints for the bullshit that they are, sticking up for me and Wifey when corporate asked what was up with the deleted "complaints", and she kept me and Wifey informed during this last stretch of John and Jane's neighbor war.
As I'm writing this, I'm watching them pack their new UHaul. I feel such relief knowing that after this week, they're going to be out of our hair completely. Neighbor wars are exhausting, I don't know how Karens can handle this!!! This next part is sung to the tune of that song from The Sound of Music: So long! Farewell! Good riddance, stupid bitches!!

Translated from German.
Link to the orginal interview: https://www.manga-passion.de/articles/8505/interview-mit-sui-ishida-mangaka-von-choujin-x-und-tokyo-ghoul
MP: Hello Ishida-sensei and thank you that you have taken some time to answer our questions.
MP: In you current work Choujin X you are again creating a world in whose shadow exists a society of superhuman beings. Can you tell us something about how the this world was created? How did you get the idea and based on what criteria have you created the world of Choujin X?
Ishida-sensei: It is a subtle nuance but the secret society in Choujin X (this is about Yamato Mori, right?) is not a society that fully operates in the shadows but a secret society that stands with one leg in the shadows. Concerning the setting, Tokyo Ghoul was a rather restricted world so I wanted to write something with looser boundaries.
Simple superheros and an organization the way it often exists. I thought that if I have the base elements for the story, I could just draw and present it in my own style. Then I wanted to introduce things that are familiar but somehow weird and created the world in a way that is very close to reality. Additionally I also added some retro-atmosphere based on my taste.
What else? I imagined that the linguistic system has been breached and that many different people live in one big country (that actually is constructed as a broken national system). They speak a unified language. Although there are many different species (note by me: this sounds like something that got lost in translation) with many different roots, there is neither an X-people nor a Y-species. The only differences that is being made is between humans and Choujin. The story also features the preserved history of the different languages because I absolutely wanted to use all kinds of things from the cultures of the different countries. Humanity exists as one big family. It is hard to explain why I decided this way because it is more of a feeling. But I liked it better that way.
MP: Like Tokio Kurohara, the reader only gets to know the world of Choujin X only gradually where every new chapter offers new characters and glimpses which bit and bit connect into a bigger picture. How is it with you? Did you as the writer have a concrete image of the complete story progression, meaning did you sketch out all events including the end? Or do you let yourself guide by spontaneous inspiration when writing the story and let yourself get surprised by what happens next?
Ishida-sensei: I do have more or less determined the complete story progression but sometimes characters don't follow the the sequence or things don't go as expected. I am laying done something like train tracks but if something goes off the rails I try to let it go on. Still, sometimes I have to take care not to cause any accidents. I determine a destination and pave the way. If things then go off the rails and it wasn't just an out of control rampage, then it is okay to lay down new tracks. … When I am looking back I don't think that I have currently gone off the rails much. Although I am seeing unexpected sceneries and there are things happening that surprise me, so it isn't exactly how I planned it in my head. But not everything is spontaneous inspiration for this work. It's about half and half. Though I am having the feeling that I would lose the joy of drawing if I were incapable of surprising myself.
MP: With Tokyo Ghoul you have achieved a great success. We have heard that you feel a great pressure to succeed. How did you overcome this pressure while working on Choujin X? How did you deal with the high expectations of the fans?
Ishida-sensei: I can't remember that I said there was any pressure to succeed. But I am not sure if I am remembering that correctly. Did I say that? I don't know. I don't believe that I said that.
But writers and pressure, I believe that is a profound topic. So I thought about it in my own way. In terms of premise I don't consider Tokyo Ghoul to really be a success.
Success for me is the feeling of having drawn something well. Thinking about it properly, I don't really demand that it is well received by society or that many people like it. So success for me is, if I myself can feel proud about it or not.
And If I think even further, I believe that it is hard for me to connect with my readers. Honestly I don't really have any clear image of what sort of people like to read my manga. I have the feeling that if I think too much about this, I try more and more to please my readers and that influences my drawings and lets them appear weird. Therefore, for now all I demand is to feel proud. Everything extra on this is nice and I think “Thanks”.
Therefore the only thing I can do is face my own obstacles and I believe that is the greatest pressure I am under. So far I have not manged to really overcome this pressure.
So when I am drawing manga, be that Ghoul or Choujin, I am facing the same obstacle and the same pressure. If people like what I have drawn after overcoming my obstacles, then I am happy. I think that will be the first time I can connect with my readers.
MP: In Germany there are many readers who also like to draw. Therefore we would like to ask you about the technical aspects of your works. Do you draw traditionally or digitally? What drawing tools do you use when drawing Choujin X and most of all: Which ones are you using for which specific steps of your work?
Ishida-sensei: I am working completely digitally with Clip Studio Paint by Celsys. What drawing tools I am using...? Hard to explain. I am going to list them: 10 – 20 kinds of primary pens, secondary pens and brushes that I am frequently using and about 100 that I am using occasionally? Then I also have about 50 keybindings. With every key it is possible to switch between tools and action commands, so I am using about that many functions. So, …... for what specific steps am I using them...? Maybe more about that next time.
MP: From where do you take the inspiration when drawing and do you have any specific rituals that help you with that?
Ishida-sensei: Inspiration … I don't really know. When I think that I want to draw something, I draw it. It does not happen often that I see something and then want to draw it. Something like a ritual? I don't have that either but if I haven't drawn for a long time my proportions become unclean. Therefore I am drawing pages with quick sketches in these cases to warm up for my work on the manuscripts. This way I am reducing the effort to revise something when it hasn't been drawn well.
MP: Can you tell us how a typical day looks like for you? How many hours are you working per day and at what times (Day or night) are you working for example? Do yo have assistants? And what roles are they filling?
Ishida-sensei: Currently I don't have any assistants. I am basically working alone on everything. Recently I am getting up around during the afternoon or evening and draw for about ten hours. Then I read a book or watch a movie until I fall asleep. When I have trouble with falling asleep I continue to work for a little while longer. When I want to progress fast and absolutely want to submit a manuscript I work for twenty to thirty hours at a time. When I am taking it slower and am not in a hurry I only draw for five hours and spent the rest of the day with doing other things. Additionally I add in jogging and going for walks to keep my body moving.
MP: Choujin X doesn't seem to have a regular release schedule. Is that connected to the previous statements? The online reactions by fans in this regard have been largely positive. Where there any reactions that move you personally?
Ishida-sensei: Weekly serializations have a page count of 18 – 20 pages per week. I have always thought that I personally could probably draw a little bit better when I am not bound to a particular tempo or a particular page count. And I also have an easier way of taking time off when I need to. (I don't know anything about the reactions to this announced since I have not seen them.)
MP: What do you do when you are not working? Do you have any hobbies or favorite activities that help you to relax now and then?
Ishida-sensei: Well, jogging and going for walks are my method to relax. But most of the time I am thinking about work and I play video games, read or watch movies with a view on work, so it is hard to find a hobby that fully relaxes me.
MP: Thank you very much for the interview!

Translated from German. Link to the orginal interview: https://www.manga-passion.de/articles/8505/interview-mit-sui-ishida-mangaka-von-choujin-x-und-tokyo-ghoul
MP: Hello Ishida-sensei and thank you that you have taken some time to answer our questions.
MP: In you current work Choujin X you are again creating a world in whose shadow exists a society of superhuman beings. Can you tell us something about how the this world was created? How did you get the idea and based on what criteria have you created the world of Choujin X?
Ishida-sensei: It is a subtle nuance but the secret society in Choujin X (this is about Yamato Mori, right?) is not a society that fully operates in the shadows but a secret society that stands with one leg in the shadows. Concerning the setting, Tokyo Ghoul was a rather restricted world so I wanted to write something with looser boundaries.
Simple superheros and an organization the way it often exists. I thought that if I have the base elements for the story, I could just draw and present it in my own style. Then I wanted to introduce things that are familiar but somehow weird and created the world in a way that is very close to reality. Additionally I also added some retro-atmosphere based on my taste.
What else? I imagined that the linguistic system has been breached and that many different people live in one big country (that actually is constructed as a broken national system). They speak a unified language. Although there are many different species (note by me: this sounds like something that got lost in translation) with many different roots, there is neither an X-people nor a Y-species. The only differences that is being made is between humans and Choujin. The story also features the preserved history of the different languages because I absolutely wanted to use all kinds of things from the cultures of the different countries. Humanity exists as one big family. It is hard to explain why I decided this way because it is more of a feeling. But I liked it better that way.
MP: Like Tokio Kurohara, the reader only gets to know the world of Choujin X only gradually where every new chapter offers new characters and glimpses which bit and bit connect into a bigger picture. How is it with you? Did you as the writer have a concrete image of the complete story progression, meaning did you sketch out all events including the end? Or do you let yourself guide by spontaneous inspiration when writing the story and let yourself get surprised by what happens next?
Ishida-sensei: I do have more or less determined the complete story progression but sometimes characters don't follow the the sequence or things don't go as expected. I am laying done something like train tracks but if something goes off the rails I try to let it go on. Still, sometimes I have to take care not to cause any accidents. I determine a destination and pave the way. If things then go off the rails and it wasn't just an out of control rampage, then it is okay to lay down new tracks. … When I am looking back I don't think that I have currently gone off the rails much. Although I am seeing unexpected sceneries and there are things happening that surprise me, so it isn't exactly how I planned it in my head. But not everything is spontaneous inspiration for this work. It's about half and half. Though I am having the feeling that I would lose the joy of drawing if I were incapable of surprising myself.
MP: With Tokyo Ghoul you have achieved a great success. We have heard that you feel a great pressure to succeed. How did you overcome this pressure while working on Choujin X? How did you deal with the high expectations of the fans?
Ishida-sensei: I can't remember that I said there was any pressure to succeed. But I am not sure if I am remembering that correctly. Did I say that? I don't know. I don't believe that I said that.
But writers and pressure, I believe that is a profound topic. So I thought about it in my own way. In terms of premise I don't consider Tokyo Ghoul to really be a success.
Success for me is the feeling of having drawn something well. Thinking about it properly, I don't really demand that it is well received by society or that many people like it. So success for me is, if I myself can feel proud about it or not.
And If I think even further, I believe that it is hard for me to connect with my readers. Honestly I don't really have any clear image of what sort of people like to read my manga. I have the feeling that if I think too much about this, I try more and more to please my readers and that influences my drawings and lets them appear weird. Therefore, for now all I demand is to feel proud. Everything extra on this is nice and I think “Thanks”.
Therefore the only thing I can do is face my own obstacles and I believe that is the greatest pressure I am under. So far I have not manged to really overcome this pressure.
So when I am drawing manga, be that Ghoul or Choujin, I am facing the same obstacle and the same pressure. If people like what I have drawn after overcoming my obstacles, then I am happy. I think that will be the first time I can connect with my readers.
MP: In Germany there are many readers who also like to draw. Therefore we would like to ask you about the technical aspects of your works. Do you draw traditionally or digitally? What drawing tools do you use when drawing Choujin X and most of all: Which ones are you using for which specific steps of your work?
Ishida-sensei: I am working completely digitally with Clip Studio Paint by Celsys. What drawing tools I am using...? Hard to explain. I am going to list them: 10 – 20 kinds of primary pens, secondary pens and brushes that I am frequently using and about 100 that I am using occasionally? Then I also have about 50 keybindings. With every key it is possible to switch between tools and action commands, so I am using about that many functions. So, …... for what specific steps am I using them...? Maybe more about that next time.
MP: From where do you take the inspiration when drawing and do you have any specific rituals that help you with that?
Ishida-sensei: Inspiration … I don't really know. When I think that I want to draw something, I draw it. It does not happen often that I see something and then want to draw it. Something like a ritual? I don't have that either but if I haven't drawn for a long time my proportions become unclean. Therefore I am drawing pages with quick sketches in these cases to warm up for my work on the manuscripts. This way I am reducing the effort to revise something when it hasn't been drawn well.
MP: Can you tell us how a typical day looks like for you? How many hours are you working per day and at what times (Day or night) are you working for example? Do yo have assistants? And what roles are they filling?
Ishida-sensei: Currently I don't have any assistants. I am basically working alone on everything. Recently I am getting up around during the afternoon or evening and draw for about ten hours. Then I read a book or watch a movie until I fall asleep. When I have trouble with falling asleep I continue to work for a little while longer. When I want to progress fast and absolutely want to submit a manuscript I work for twenty to thirty hours at a time. When I am taking it slower and am not in a hurry I only draw for five hours and spent the rest of the day with doing other things. Additionally I add in jogging and going for walks to keep my body moving.
MP: Choujin X doesn't seem to have a regular release schedule. Is that connected to the previous statements? The online reactions by fans in this regard have been largely positive. Where there any reactions that move you personally?
Ishida-sensei: Weekly serializations have a page count of 18 – 20 pages per week. I have always thought that I personally could probably draw a little bit better when I am not bound to a particular tempo or a particular page count. And I also have an easier way of taking time off when I need to. (I don't know anything about the reactions to this announced since I have not seen them.)
MP: What do you do when you are not working? Do you have any hobbies or favorite activities that help you to relax now and then?
Ishida-sensei: Well, jogging and going for walks are my method to relax. But most of the time I am thinking about work and I play video games, read or watch movies with a view on work, so it is hard to find a hobby that fully relaxes me.
MP: Thank you very much for the interview!

Let's say that after the ending of Prototype 1 and almost at the ending of Infamous 2 Alex went to New Marais to conquer it
The battle is 1v1 so alex can't create enemies using the virus
Alex Mercer powers: Sentient Biomass Physiology: Upon being infected by the Blacklight Virus, Alex Mercer’s body was converted into living biomass. His body is now stronger than it has ever been before, lacking many of the weaknesses that comes with a normal body such as internal organs, the issue of stamina and much more, while at the same time gaining a vast array of abilities that comes with his new physiology, such as shapeshifting and enhanced stats. Near Limitless Potential: Mercer is pretty interesting, even among other fictional characters, and even those within the video game media, being one of the few characters showcased to have near limitless potential due to how his powers work. When the blacklight virus first infected Mercer, and later reforming it. Mercer was shown to be many times stronger than normal, this isn’t where his limits are however. Upon consuming other biological entities, Mercer is capable of converting them into biomass which is then added to his own, increasing his stats, such as strength and durability, with each body that he consumes. So long as there is enough biological materials for him to consume, Mercer’s physical potential is almost limitless. Similarly, due to his ability to assimilate the memories of those he consumes. There is no real limit to Mercer’s own intelligence, so long as there are living beings for him to consume, lastly due to the blacklight virus within Mercer’s body constantly evolving. There is a chance for Mercer to develop various new abilities simply due to a random mutation at some point down the line. Evolutionary Adaptability: Due to the Blacklight Virus’s ability to constantly evolve based on the situation and the information presented in consumed biomass. Mercer is capable of adapting to nearly any situation, forming Claws, and other such weapons from his body in order to better combat his foes. Developing resistances to things such as elemental damage like fire and electricity, and even developing a degree of immunity. In one case after being in a situation where Mercer was under 10gs of gravitation force. Mercer’s body quickly adapted by increasing his strength levels, allowing him to walk out of that situation as if he was never under that level of extreme pressure. Potentially Limitless Superhuman Strength: Mercer’s is shown having vast levels of superhuman strength, being strong enough to lift and toss heavy objects such as cars, helicopters, and buses, to objects as heavy as tanks several tens to hundreds of feet awaym and even being able to run with these objects without his speed being impaired. Mercer’s strength is on such a level that he could overpower other superhumanly strong characters such as the infected hunters, Elizabeth Greene, the Supreme Hunter, and even James Heller at times, despite their superhuman durability being at a level where even missiles and tank fire can’t hurt them. In the first Prototype game. Mercer demonstrates an insane level of strength, being able to create a concussive shockwave just by thrusting his fists forward, uplifting cars, tanks and throwing people several tens of feet with enough force to kill them if not outright vaporize them. Mercer’s strength can continuously increase as he consumes more and more biomass, even mutating and becoming stronger when consuming other infected individuals, and whatever potential mutations their variant of the Blacklight virus may have. Making his potential for strength virtually limitless so long as there is enough organic material for him to consume. Superhuman Leaping Ability: Mercer’s strength is shown to extend to his legs. Allowing him to jump several hundred feet into the air, allowing him to clear barricades, get on top of buildings, and even leap high enough into the air to catch helicopters. Due to his increased mass. Mercer is capable of producing shockwaves when landing after leaping from large heights. Superhuman Speed: Mercers speed is far above that of a normal human, being able to run far faster than the average car, making them appear as if they are standing still. He has been shown to out run helicopters chasing him at times, putting his speed around 200 to 500mph. He has even kept up and outpace other infected entities such as the Leader Hunters, the Supreme Hunter and even James Heller to a degree. Superhuman Agility: Due to Mercer’s enhanced physiology. He is capable of moving around far better than the average person. He can leap tall distances, perform various kinds of flips with the greatest of ease. This, combined with his constantly evolving parkour skills, allows him the ability to escape and move around the tightest of spaces without so much as losing his balance. He is capable of twisting his body in midair in order to quickly recover from being knocked back and landing on his feet in a battle ready stance. Superhuman Reflexes: Mercer, upon his mutation into the Prototype, had his reflexes enhanced to superhuman levels. He can dodge gunfire, and other projectile base weaponry at point blank range, keep up and overpowered various evolved infected creatures such as the Hunter, and Supreme Hunter, and even combat and overwhelm the military’s super soldiers with ease. Potentially limitless Superhuman Durability: Mercer’s durability, much like his strength, is potentially limitless as he absorbs more and more biomass. His body is capable of compacting the excess within himself, making his flesh far denser than that of a normal human. Similarly he can alter the density of his biomass to even stronger levels. He has tanked gunfire from all angles, survived being shot with missiles and other explosives, tanked and survived hits from other infected individuals such as Heller and the Supreme Hunter. He has survived dismemberment, being inside clouds of the bloodtox chemical, and more, and still continues fighting. Superhuman Healing Factor: Mercer’s healing factor is on an insane level. Being able to heal from bullet and shrapnel wounds nearly instantaneously, He could regenerate from having large sections of his body torn out, regenerate lost limbs just as fast. So long as there is still a single bit of the biomass that makes up his body. Mercer will continue to regenerate back to full health. Even regenerating from a few pieces of tissue flesh after being caught at ground zero when a nuclear warhead exploded. Immortality: Due to Mercer’s body being made up of biomass. Mercer’s aging process has come to a halt. Due to his body constantly healing and replacing any damaged biomass. Mercer is in a sense, immortal. It was shown with Elizabeth Greene that after she got infected with the Redlight virus. Her physical body was shown to still look around the age of twenty. Having not changed even after nearly forty years passing since she was infected. Elemental resistance: Mercer is shown to be resistant to fire and electric attacks. However, being exposed to either high enough heat or voltage can still cause him harm. Superhuman Senses: Mercer’s sense after his mutation is shown to have evolved to far higher levels than that of the normal human. He can hear far better than the normal human and his eye-sight has evolved in a way to allow Mercer to see through several different types of visual ranges. Infrared Vision: One of two known vision powers that Mercer is shown to have. By using infrared vision, Mercer is capable of seeing the heat signatures radiating from various living beings. By using this vision power. Mercer is capable of seeing in environments and conditions that would normally limit or blind a normal person’s eyesight such as total darkness or thick smoke and fog by tracking the heat signatures of living beings within the surrounding areas. It should be noted that Mercer is capable of using infrared vision despite the fact that those infected tend to generate enough body heat to blind other infrared vision devices. Showing that there are some differences between Mercer’s infrared vision and other devices capable of allowing users to see in infrared. Infected Vision: After connecting to the hive mind created by the blacklight virus. Mercer gained the ability to see and recognize individuals infected with the Blacklight virus. Superhuman Intelligence: Upon consuming the biomass of an intelligence entity. Mercer’s own intelligence is shown to increase dramatically as he will know what the person he consumes knows. Given the numerous individuals that he had consumed over the course of the Prototype series. Mercer’s intelligence is at superhuman levels. Making him one of the smartest if not the smartest person within the Prototype universe… at least until James Heller had consumed him. Superhuman Mental Processing: Due to Mercer’s physiology. Mercer’s mental capacity and processing is at a superhuman level. He is shown being able to understand and process massive amounts of information that he gains from consuming his targets. Similarly during the events of Prototype 2, Mercer was capable of controlling and directing various individuals infected with the blacklight virus through the hive mind. Matter Manipulation: While not really shown all that much. Mercer has the ability to alter the environment using the Blacklight virus as a catalyst. Through this ability. Mercer is capable of deteriorating concrete. Converting and absorbing the biomass of living objects such as living creatures and trees. Strengthening and converting even inorganic structures such as buildings into hives to fit his needs. Even converting inorganic material into layers of biomass over large areas which can be used to slow down his enemies, while not hindering his own forces or himself. He gains this ability after consuming Elizabeth Greene. It should be noted that even though Mercer is capable of altering the surroundings around him. His version of this power is very limited when compared to others such as Edward Elric from FullMetal Alchemist or Silver Surfer from Marvel Comics. As while he can make and convert things into organic matter. He can’t make inorganic matter like breathable air, or metal. Biokinesis: Due to Mercer’s ability to produce the Blacklight Virus within himself. Mercer is capable of controlling and altering the biomass both within his body and that of others infected to various effects. Being able to increase his physical stats to create various weapons abilities with his biomass. Similarly, due to his ability to constantly make new strains of the virus itself. Mercer is capable of infecting others with this virus. Allowing him to alter and control infected individuals by granting them a similar power set to his own or even morphing and transforming these individuals into monsters of various sizes and powers. Disease Manipulation (Blacklight Virus): Due to being infected and bonding with the Blacklight virus to the extent of becoming an entity called a Prototype. Mercer’s body is capable of constantly producing the blacklight virus. Even creating various strains of side viruses which can grant or evolve various abilities that he may not have had before. Similarly due to this virus production and the various strains he can make in his body. Mercer is capable of infecting others with a variation of the virus. Either turning others into infected drones which he can control or granting the infected individual a similar subset of powers as his own. Viral Gas Generation: Caught on a CCTV camera. Mercer is shown having the ability to generate and expel a cloud of gas from his body containing the Blacklight Virus into the surrounding area. Rapidly infecting and mutating those located on ground zero, caught within the cloud. Biomass Conversion: Mercer has the ability to nearly instantaneously consume and convert any organic organism into biomass which is then added to his body. Through this process. Mercer is capable of enhancing his overall physical stats and quickly recovering from any damage that he may have suffered during battle as well as gaining the memories and skills that the consumed individual may have had. Critical Mass: Upon consuming enough biomass. Mercer is capable of entering a critical mass state. Due to this extra mass, Mercer’s durability increases, allowing him to tank more damage. Similarly, due to having more biomass at his command. Mercer is capable of using his strongest attacks, called Devastators, moves capable of clearing and killing anyone and everyone within a certain range of Mercer. Upon gaining critical mass. Mercer’s body gains a defense mechanism in which upon taking enough damage. This extra mass would harden to an extreme degree. Making Mercer almost completely invulnerable to most forms of physical damage for a short time in order to allow him to either escape a battle or try and consume another organic organism in order to recover from the near fatal damage. Memory Assimilation: Upon consuming an individual. Mercer gains access to all the memories and skills that that individual may have had. Allowing Mercer to suddenly master various new skills such as weaponry, vehicle usage, and even military tactics and plans. Shapeshifting: Due to Mercer not having a stable form like most other organic organisms. Mercer is capable of shaping the biomass within him into virtually anything he can imagine. He can shape his arms into various weapons such as blades and whips. He can change his form to match the form of anyone he consumed no matter their gender. Even morphing the biomass within his body to form mundane items such as clothes. Mercer's shapeshifting abilities are only limited by his imagination and the amount of biomass he contains. Voice Mimicry: Due to both of Mercer’s abilities to shapeshift and assimilating the memories of those he consumes. Mercer is capable of altering his vocal cords to match the voices of the people that he has consumed. Allowing Mercer to move around in areas with more heavier security. Mercer has even been shown being capable of using this power in battles. Taking the forms of high rank officials to trick various Military forces into fighting themselves. Similarly, depending on who Mercer is fighting at the time. If Mercer is aware of himself having consumed someone close to his opponent. Mercer can alter his voice in order to mess with his opponent’s mind. Getting them to drop their guard enough for him to score a kill, or at the very least, land more easier hits on them. Shield: Mercer due to his shapeshifting ability, much like most of his other powers, is capable of manipulating his biomass to form various weapons and armaments. One of these powers is the ability to form a shield on either one of his arms. Taking some of his accumulated biomass and forming it into the shape of a kite shield. Mercer then hardens this shield shaped biomass to the utmost degree. Allowing him to block all incoming damage from the direction he faces his shield at. However, it should be noted that the shield’s durability is limited as enough damage can shatter the shield. Unlike his successor, James Heller. Mercer, when using his shield power, prefers having a mobile approach to his defense as opposed to being a solid unbreakable wall like Heller’s own ability. As such, Mercer is capable of moving around instead of being rooted in place, Similarly due to this approach. Mercer is capable of using this power with his other abilities. Adopting a similar fighting style to that of a knight of old, with a shield in one hand, and a weapon in the other. Armor: When faced with a situation where Mercer is either taking damage from all directions or facing a foe that rivals him in strength and power. Mercer is capable of hardening the outer layer biomass that makes up his appearance into an armor like texture. Giving his entire body a shiny black texture that blocks most damage and reduces all incoming damage to a large degree. This increase in durability allowed mercer to take on foes such as Captain Cross, the Supreme Hunter, and even tank multiple hits from high yielding artillery without suffering much damage from these encounters. Much like with his bio-shield ability. Mercer is capable of using his more offensive powers with this form. However, this form is not without its weaknesses, as upon entering this form. Mercer’s speed is greatly reduced. While still capable of moving at superhuman speeds. It's only about half of his normal speed. Similarly, while in this form. Mercer appears unable to use his bio-shield ability, however this may be due to this form providing potentially better defense and allowing him more mobility in combat. Claws: One of the first offensive powers that Mercer gains during the events of the first Prototype game. Mercer gained the ability to form massive, knife-like talons on his hand by consuming a hunter-type infected. These talons are sharp enough to cut through flesh and bones. Even being able to cut and destroy heavily armored vehicles such as tanks. When combining his Claws with his speed. Mercer can tear through hordes of basic enemies with ease, even developing this ability further into the ground spikes ability and the Devastator; Groundspike Graveyard Attack. Groundspikes: When using his claws as his main weapon. Mercer is capable of compressing his biomass into his clawed hands before slamming them into the ground. Upon doing this, Mercer expands the compressed biomass in his hands outwards towards the direction he wants. After either reaching their target or hitting a certain distance. The expanded biomass will erupt as sharp spires from the ground, impaling and cutting apart anyone and anything caught within eruption radius. GroundSpike Graveyard Devastator: An enhanced version of the groundspike technique. Upon entering critical mass. Mercer is capable of moving the extra biomass to his hands after a bit of a charge up time. Afterwards, Mercer will then slam both his hands into the ground. Sending the biomass out in all directions which would then track down any target within a certain radius before erupting out of the ground. This move is strong enough to bring down infected hives which were capable of withstanding the force of tank and missile fire. Hammerfists: When in need of some more brute physical force and attack power. Mercer is shown being able to move the biomass within his body to his arm. Covering them in the same fibers that make up his shield and armor form while at the same time enlarging them to the size of large warhammers, like those seen in games. With these new Hammerfists, Mercer is capable of dealing massive amounts of blunt force trauma to the point of even destroying a tank with a few hits. He is capable of doing this by pressing more and more biomass into his fist before compressing them. Increasing their density and weight in the process. However, doing so does cost him some attack speed, as he is shown having some trouble at times lifting and swinging his massive hands around. The attack power of these fist are shown to be on a level capable of inflicting massive damage to entities such as the Supreme Hunter, and even James Heller. He has even shown the ability to produce shockwaves and quaking the ground with a few hits, allowing him to stun foes with the aftershocks even when Mercer’s fist doesn't make contact with his intended target. Whipfist: Mercer’s main range attack. By moving his biomass to either of his arms. Mercer can morph his arm of choice into what could be called a grappling gun. By changing the normally rigid properties of his arm to be more elastic when compared to some of his other powers. Mercer can throw his arm forward, shooting out his clawed appendage at a target, allowing him to reel it back to him or him towards it. He tends to use this when dealing with airborne enemies or when he needs to reach a farther distance than normal distance that his jumping ability may not be able to cover. Similarly due to the whipfist’s elastic properties. It is a good power to use when dealing with mobs as it can swing his arm, extending it a certain distance and with his superhuman strength to cut nearly anything in his path in half. Tendrils: Mercer is capable of forming and using tendrils. While not really shown in the first Prototype game. Mercer does use them in dealing with foes, even creating two different devastator attacks with them. In the tied-in comics, Mercer is shown using the tendrils ability to impale and kill various individuals. In one case, killing Autumn with this ability after being shot in the head. Tendrils Barrage Devastator: Upon entering critical mass. Mercer is capable of condensing the biomass in his body, creating large amounts of pressure within himself before releasing it, causing an unknown amount of tendrils to burst from his body in all directions as well as impaling and dragging any organic being towards him. Anything impaled and killed by this attack is then absorbed by Mercer, healing and strengthening him. Bio-Bombs: While Mercer isn’t shown using this ability as it was one of the main attacks of James heller. As the ability came from one of Mercer’s Evolved soldiers, carrying a strain of the blacklight virus produced by Mercer. Mercer likely has access to this ability. The ability itself allows Mercer to implant a bit of his biomass into a target, before either allowing them to run off or simply throwing the individual at a group or target. The person in question will then explode in a mass of tendrils in all directions. Impaling, grabbing, and dragging all targets caught into a center mass. Crushing and killing anything caught in the center mass. Blade: Mercer is capable of shaping and forming the biomass in his arms to form a massive blade, capable of splitting humans in half, and piercing the armor of military vehicles such as tanks, and the thick skin of hunters and other infected entities. The Blade is Mercer’s strongest attack ability outside of his Devastator attacks. Not as fast as the claws nor as strong as his hammerfist. Mercer’s Blade ability doesn’t suffer from the weaknesses of either power, acting as a middle ground, allowing him a far greater dps, or damage per second when confronting enemies. Mercer’s version of the bio-blade is shown being stronger than that of Heller’s, being capable of dealing with crowds and more heavily defended enemies far easier than Heller’s version of the power. Density Alteration: Mercer, due to his shapeshifting abilities, is capable of altering the density of his body, allowing him to increase the damage potential of his strikes as well as altering the way gravity affects his body. In terms of offensive capabilities. Mercer has been shown being able to do sudden changes while in mid air and increase his density to the point of creating shockwaves and cratering the ground he lands on with enough height. Muscle Mass Increase: Mercer is capable of increasing his muscle mass in his arms and body, increasing his strength beyond his normal levels without suffering any loss in movement like many of his other defensive and offensive powers. Gliding: Mercer, by lowering his density while in the air, is capable of achieving a limited degree of flight by gliding through the air. He is capable of switching his body’s density on the fly to either slow his descent or rapidly falling. Similarly, it is due to this ability that Mercer is capable of clearing large distances as he can simply leap and glide over most obstacles in his way in order to escape his pursuers, or reach various locations far more quickly then simply running and parkouring his way there through the streets.. Air Dash: Mercer is shown being able to move the biomass around his body at such a rate that it is capable of slingshotting him in any particular direction that he wants. Mercer generally uses this ability to cover more distance, extend his gliding abilities and even dodge projectiles and other attacks in mid-air. Wall Running: While strong enough to climb walls using his hands, Mercer is capable of wall running at high speeds as his body will alter his feet in a way that allows him to cling to walls while running without the risk of slipping off due to lack of momentum or adhesion. As such Mercer can run at high speeds in any direction when on vertical surfaces Knuckle Shockwave: Using his strength, Mercer is capable of producing a massive shockwave by a double palm thrust. This attack is capable of cars and people down an entire street. Even potentially tearing apart the latter. Critical Pain Devastator: An enhanced version of the knuckle shockwave. Upon entering critical mass, Mercer can move the biomass in his body into his hands. Upon doing a palm thrust. Mercer creates a massive shockwave that uplifts and tears apart humans and vehicles alike. Adding insult to injury, Mercer, during the process of performing this attack, will also fire the biomass stored in his hands as tendrils into the shockwave, shredding and crushing anything unlucky enough to survive the initial shockwave itself
Cole Macgrath powers:Electrokinesis-The ability to absorb and control electricity in and out of his body. Over the last seven years,Cole has gotten much more powerful than in inFAMOUS 2. Able to deliver up to 15 supernovas of force. His maximum voltage is over 20 Gigawatts and the heat of his lightning burns up to 300,000,000,000 Kelvin,equivalent to three supernovas. -Immunity to electricity-Cannot be harmed by electrical energy. Any electricity that makes contact with his body is automatically absorbed. Electromagnetism-The ability to produce and manipulate electromagnetic fields and pulses. Cole can manipulate any object,no matter the size,using magnetism. Even non-metallic materials such as stone,ice,wood,and cardboard. Cryokinesis-The ability to manipulate ice and cold gas. Cole can deliver several cryokinetic attacks such as razor-sharp,steel-tearing Shatter Blasts,Ice Grenades,Freeze Rockets,Ice Pillars and Platforms for jumping great distances,Ice Barriers that can block missiles and knock up enemies. He can also produce freezing mist that freezes enemies in it solid if he hits it with a bolt. Superhuman Strength-Cole possesses superhuman strength. Able to easily lift up to 52 metric tons. His punches are on a Class PJ and he can regularly bench press giant monsters as heavy as tanks. Has even fought on par with Ares, the God of Warfare. Superhuman Speed-Cole is able to move at superhuman speeds. He can run up to 60MPH and during combat, he can move at Hypersonic speeds. He can react and fight at Massively Hypersonic+ speeds(Mach 1000-8810), able to easily dodge lasers and instant speed attacks and react to his own, natural lightning. Superhuman Durability-Cole is extremely durable. He can survive an attack that can level an entire island, ignores bullets, and shrugs off point-blank RPG's and grenades. Regenerative Healing Factor-Cole can heal extensive damage to his body in seconds. He can even regenerate lost limbs. If he absorbs energy, he heals instantly. Tactics/Leadership/Intelligence-Cole possesses increased intelligence. He regularly works out strategies during intense combat, he daily leads a team of superheroes into battle, he's able to logically deduce the outcome of any action he might take, and outsmarts incredibly clever opponents like Sasha, Alden, and Ray Zenji. Combat Experience-Cole is an incredibly experienced fighter. He was already he strongest Conduit alive, and now is even more so after training his powers in secret for 7 years. He has fought a multitude of foes stronger and more experienced than himself and won. And has survived impossible odds and has always come out on top. Even death. Electrokinetic Flight-Over the years, Cole has learned the ability to create a platform of electricity and surf on it through the air, granting him the ability to fly. Electrokinetic Constructs-Cole can create shapes of electrical energy and use electromagnetism to give it solid form. This can create several Electrokinetic weapons such as the Gigawatt Blades. Electroreception-Cole can pick up and read electronic frequencies and listen in on communications, he can also use this to read data as well. Electric Healing- Cole is able to release a massive charge of bioelectricity that heals everyone around him via hyper stimulating cells into a rapid state of regeneration. Precognition-Cole has the ability to see a few seconds into the future or see a whole future event. Mind Techniques-Cole can use neuroelectricity to manipulate people's minds. He can use this in a variety of ways such as mind-control, instant brainwashing, reading thoughts, and countering mental attacks. Lightning Dash/Dematerialization-Cole can turn his entire body into electricity and dash across short distances, he can use this to move at Massively Hypersonic+ speeds and travel through electrical power lines. Omnipresent Awareness-Cole can surround himself with an electromagnetic field that can give him omnipresent detection of his surroundings. Added by the fact that he can sense electrical energy in one's body, this makes him almost impossible to sneak up on. He can also use a Radar Sense that detects hostile intent, distinguishes friend from foe, sees through disguises, invisibility, and illusions, and scans for any electrical signals, anomalies, and sources.

In the fascinating realm of PlayStation, where digital adventures abound, it can be a thorn in the side to find that one is hampered by the nuisance of region-specific content. Early access to new-fangled games and special extras are often cordoned off, like exclusive gatherings of the upper crust.
The secret to entry, as it turns out, involves tinkering with your PSN region. Now, before you rush off to adjust your existing account, I should inform you that it's about as fruitful as expecting a dog to recite Shakespeare. One needs to construct an entirely new account, a laborious process akin to erecting a garden gazebo, albeit far less physical.
Though a VPN is not absolutely necessary for changing your PSN region, employing one does impart a sense of being tucked up in one's club, safe from prying eyes and DDoS attacks. These devilish assaults have been known to banish gamers offline, a punishment akin to being sent to one's room without supper.
Regrettably, PlayStation consoles regard VPN apps with the same disdain that Jeeves has for my purple socks. You cannot simply summon a VPN onto your PlayStation in the manner of other digital gadgets. It must be manually configured on your router or shared with your PlayStation via a Wi-Fi or ethernet connection, much like one might reluctantly share one's last biscuit.
Fear not! This humble narrative shall illuminate the path towards changing your PSN region and marrying a VPN to your PlayStation. A brief perusal of the most commendable PlayStation VPNs is also in order - ExpressVPN leaps to mind. This chap boasts a user-friendly router app, a multitude of servers, and security measures as formidable as a British bulldog. To cap it off, it exhibits the kind of speed that would make a racehorse blush.
A Jaunty Journey through PSN Topography, or, How to Swop your PlayStation Locale with Whimsical Ease
Relocating your PSN region is a little like moving house, albeit with less packing of teacups and more clicking of buttons. It requires the formulation of a new user account, a process smoother than a freshly ironed trouser crease. Allow me to elucidate with a play-by-play guide suitable for either PS4 or PS5:
Commence your journey by bidding adieu to your current PSN account.
On the bridge of your PlayStation console, navigate to the realm of the Settings menu. Descend the list to 'Account Management,' and select 'Sign Out' to effectively check out of your current PSN lodgings.
Craft a fresh user profile on your console.
Make your way back to the heartland of the main screen, and select 'New User.' Press 'Create a User' to breathe life into your new digital persona, clicking 'Accept' to bow to the wisdom of the User Agreement. Subsequently, choose 'Next' to christen a sparkling new PSN account. On the PSN login page, there’s a button at the base labelled 'New to PlayStation Network? Create an Account.' Give it a hearty click!
Decree the region for the new account.
Under 'Country or Region,' take a gander at the drop-down menu and select your desired locale. Nominate your language of choice and duly enter your date of birth.
Declare your age to the digital powers that be.
For most, a mobile number affixed to your account shall suffice. Alternatively, scanning the QR code displayed on your screen or opting for an email verification are viable routes. Be aware that these are third-party methods.
Divulge your home address details.
Fill in your city, state or province, and postal code. On the following page, hand over your email address and create a password that’s more secretive than Jeeves's special pick-me-up recipe. Now select your Avatar, add your online ID and your moniker.
Finally, doff your cap to PSN's privacy policy and arrange your privacy settings to your liking.
And there you have it! As if by digital magic, you're the proud owner of a brand new PSN account, complete with an updated region. Happy gaming! Oh, dear, I do apologize. This seems to end on a 'happy' note. Let's try again:
There you have it! As if by digital magic, you're the proud owner of a brand new PSN account, complete with an updated region. May your gaming exploits be ever victorious!
The Online Odyssey: Ensuring a Bally Pleasant PlayStation Experience, VPN-Style
In the game of PlayStation, one can indeed venture without a VPN by one's side. However, just as a gentleman wouldn't dare attend a high society event without a trusty valet, the sagacious gamer understands the multitude of boons a VPN brings:
Unfurling the map to region-locked content:
Like a trusty bloodhound sniffing out the elusive truffle, a VPN can ferret out and unlock games in the PlayStation Store that your geographical locale renders inaccessible. The trick lies in the VPN assigning you an IP address twinning with the location of the server you're connected to.
Ditching the DDoS dastards:
Regrettably, the online multiplayer landscape occasionally plays host to less-than-chivalrous tactics, such as DDoS attacks. Essentially, these scoundrels overwhelm your connection with an ungodly barrage of requests, causing your server to crumble under the strain. A VPN acts like a digital cloak, concealing your IP address and thus making you an unlikely target for DDoS ne'er-do-wells.
Securing the sanctity of your online endeavors:
VPNs act as your personal invisible ink, encrypting all your digital communications into a scrambled code that would baffle even the sharpest of minds. This means any meddlesome individuals, including your ISP, are left none the wiser about your virtual ventures.
Blocking the bandwidth bailiffs:
There are ISPs out there, the absolute rotters, who might deliberately slow down your connection if they perceive you're rather too fond of data usage. Typically, this would occur if you're deep in the throes of online gaming or binging on the latest series. However, your VPN's encryption shields your activities, preventing your ISP from putting a damper on your digital delights.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN, by Jove, emerges as the unrivalled VPN partner for the PlayStation in 2023, much like a formidable butler who anticipates every need before it arises. The beauty of ExpressVPN lies in its ability to introduce you to the gaming delights from a staggering 90+ countries. Not only does it fling wide the doors to a pantheon of region-exclusive games, but it also ensures your gaming exploits are both lightning-fast and more secure than the Bank of England.
ExpressVPN, in a show of singular tech-wizardry, is one of the few VPNs to offer an application for routers. This handy feature sidesteps the minor inconvenience that PlayStation consoles hold a steadfast "no VPN apps allowed" policy. If you fancy an even simpler solution, ExpressVPN presents the Aircove, a router with the VPN features already installed and ready to serve. Should you prefer the comfort of familiar ground, ExpressVPN also offers congenial apps for your Windows or macOS device that allow you to share your VPN connection with your PlayStation.
Now, the speed at which ExpressVPN operates is reminiscent of a whippet on its morning constitutional. Its Lightway protocol, finely tuned for briskness and efficacy, ensures gaming on your PlayStation is a swift affair. When put to the test on my PlayStation 4, the difference between my usual speed and the speed with ExpressVPN was about as noticeable as a flea on an elephant. Even amidst the frenzied action of Call of Duty: Warzone matches, my ping remained as calm and unflappable as Jeeves in a crisis.
ExpressVPN takes its role as your security sentry rather seriously. Not only does it stand guard against DDoS attacks, but it also offers comprehensive protection against DNS, WebRTC, and IPv6 leaks. This effectively means your IP address remains more elusive than the Scarlet Pimpernel. To add further clout to its privacy credentials, ExpressVPN employs RAM-only servers, ensuring that all data is wiped clean at every server reset, and perfect forward secrecy, guaranteeing a fresh encryption key with each new VPN session. Also, its no-logs policy has undergone multiple independent audits and emerged squeaky clean every time.
As a cherry on top, ExpressVPN also wields a nifty smart DNS tool, MediaStreamer, that makes your console a gateway to popular streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer. Since MediaStreamer doesn't bother with encrypting your data, you're left with the swiftest speeds possible, making your streaming experience as smooth as a well-aged brandy.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access, or PIA if we're on friendly terms, is rather like a seasoned bouncer for your PlayStation gaming exploits. Its servers, gallantly stationed across 80+ countries, come equipped with anti-DDoS armour, ensuring any DDoS scoundrels attempting to disrupt your gaming shenanigans are turned away at the door. It also flaunts an array of other formidable security measures, including leak protection, RAM-only servers, and perfect forward secrecy.
Much like the chatty gentleman at the bar who can't help but share a story, PIA regularly delivers transparency reports detailing the numerous requests for user data it has successfully thwarted. For those intrigued by the technical side, PIA's apps are open-source, allowing anyone to peruse the code and search for potential chinks in the armour. Notably, PIA's no-logs policy has stood under the harsh light of audit and emerged with nary a blemish.
Despite lacking a dedicated router app like our good friend ExpressVPN, PIA offers router support. Of course, a touch of manual labour is needed to configure the VPN on your router (fear not, PIA provides comprehensive guides to hold your hand through the process). For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, PIA's user-friendly apps for Windows and macOS can transfigure your PC into a virtual router, making it PlayStation-friendly. And with unlimited connections on offer, every member of the household can indulge in their gaming or online pursuits without fear of overstepping their bounds.
PIA further cements its place in the gaming world by providing lightning-fast speeds and steadfast connections, suitable for even the most demanding of PlayStation adventures. A series of Call of Duty: Warzone bouts under my belt attest to this, with not a hint of lag or sluggishness in sight. It appears, dear reader, that with PIA at the helm, the battle for smooth gaming sessions is one decidedly won.
A Case of Geographic Gymnastics: The Art of Shuffling Your PSN Account Region
A touch of geographic flexibility with your PSN account can make one feel rather like a cosmopolitan globe-trotter. One minute you're casually perusing the digital shelves of one region's PSN store, the next you've hopped across the globe to a different region altogether, revealing a cornucopia of diverse games and jolly little applications that previously eluded your grasp.
Consider the tantalising prospect of time travel. Certain gaming treasures and their subsequent updates have a habit of making an earlier debut in specific regions. By cunningly adjusting your PSN region, you find yourself striding ahead of your original region's release date, a veritable gaming pioneer.
Money matters too, old bean. Not all regions approach the delicate subject of pricing in the same manner. A particular game or app, lurking at a steep price in one corner of the globe, might be available at a price as friendly as a Labrador in another. A quick switch of your PSN region and voila! You're purchasing games with a spring in your step and a much happier wallet.
Last, but by no means least, there's the matter of multiplayer matchmaking. A quick region swap and you're thrust into an entirely new gaming realm, rubbing virtual shoulders with players from your newly adopted region. Depending on your choice, this could usher in a larger player base and the thrilling prospect of competition that would make even the most seasoned player’s pulse quicken. All in all, it's a rather splendid arrangement.
Navigating the Virtual Bazaar: The Gentleman's Guide to Acquiring Region-Exclusive PlayStation Games
The path to procuring region-specific PlayStation games can be as labyrinthine as the plot of a mystery novel. And yet, with a little finesse and strategic planning, you can traverse this maze with all the grace of a seasoned explorer.
Now, consider this: only the payment methods associated with your new region will permit you to purchase games. Thus, if you've adopted Uncle Sam's land as your region, you'd need a US PayPal account to conduct any virtual commerce.
While some souls have been known to spin a yarn about a fictitious address, it's not a course I'd recommend. Such antics tend to ruffle the feathers of service providers, potentially leading to a rather permanent expulsion from their services, and that wouldn’t do, would it?
Instead, the optimal method involves the acquisition of digital gift cards tied to your region of choice, redeemable within the PlayStation Store.
A handy roadmap for this delightful escapade would look something like this:
Acquire the services of a dependable VPN and connect to a server that aligns with your chosen PSN region. ExpressVPN has always been my preferred companion on these journeys, courtesy of its vast server network and lightning-fast speeds.
Engage in the purchase of region-specific PSN gift cards. These tokens of digital currency can be sourced from a variety of online retailers or local establishments with a penchant for digital codes.
Redeem your gift card on your PlayStation console. Navigate to the PlayStation Store on your console, select 'Redeem Codes', and input your newly acquired code. Follow the prompts to add the funds to your PSN account.
Finally, take your pick from the smorgasbord of games available in your new region’s PlayStation Store.
So, there you have it: the enlightened path to region-specific gaming bliss. Good luck and goodspeed!

I'll establish an alternate theory and defend it. Then some key assumptions and conclusions. It will likely still be a little convoluted and require edits - because of the nature of the theory, you sort of have to approach it.... backwards.
Timeline:
Hyruleans (not Hylians, reference TOTK Ganon dialogue), Gorons, Rito, Zora, and Gerudo, live on the continent later known as hyrule. Their histories have been long enough to establish respective cultures, but these peoples are the first of all people in Hyrule.
The Ancient Zonai Kings - The Boar, The Owl, and The Dragon -descend from above the cloud barrier (the sacred realm), where they previously lived in the direct proximity of the Golden Goddessess, and the Triforce. The Zonai relate this information to the early races of Hyrule, which establishes the early Zonai/Hyrulean worship of the Golden Goddessess/Triforce. The early Zonai/Hyrulean culture builds the Zonai ruins on the surface, as well as the mysterious Pillars (explains purported zonai origin despite hyrulean aesthetics). Zoanite is at first abundant on the surface (construct dialogue), but is quickly depleted, leading to the excavation of the depths by the Ancient Zonai Kings, who as a gift to the various races of hyrule, and as an assertion of their territory, create the bargainer statues (not the entity(s?) they evidently embody) and the statues of various races that exist in the depths, which serve as markers towards their territories in the dark of the depths.
At some point, the ancient Zonai King eat their respective secret stones and become Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraaal (and retroactively enact the taboo because of their knowledge of the future in which TOTK Zelda goes back in time, and becomes Hylia, we're getting there). At this point the Zonai race begins to go extinct, an age passes.
Rauru, King of Light, and his sister Mineru, Sage of Spirit, are the last two Zonai alive, they rule the continent with a light grip, if at all, the races essentially rule themselves - the Gerudo had at this point even rejected the Triforce and Golden Goddesses (Gerudo were said to have rejected Hylia, not Golden Goddessess/Triforce, it would also mean that the TOTK Sage of Lightning was the first Gerudo Queen to reject Ganon, not the other one, resolved by incorrect transmission of information through history). The Hyruleans remained in the structures they had built in Faron.
Eventually a Hyrulean Woman is born - Sonia - she is born with the ability to reverse entropy (not "time travel"). The other original sages are also born around this time, with their respective elemental abilities - and of course, Ganondorf (I will write about his origins elsewhere, but essentially he is the product of bene gesserit -style eugenics program created post-gerudo triforce rejection to supplant the Zonai, Ganondorf is the genetic/alchemical product of a Gerudo+Zonai elemental affinities, Zelda is Zonai+Hyrulean, more later).
Sonia, (wiser than even the beings once said to be Gods hint hint), married Rauru, establishing the Zonai/Hyrulean bloodline that we know as the Hylians (not all Hylians, just Zeldas Line, but the name changes for everyone), Zelda is the product of this line. This is a MAJOR RETCON, Zelda is no longer the incarnation of Hylia - an incarnate mortal god - but a literal demigod by blood.
Rauru and Sonia, as their first act, combine their RESPECTIVE powers of Light and Time, and create the Shrines - the seeds of the Lightroots (I say seeds but they came into being simultaneously, this ties into our theory of causality), lighting the depths for the first time (this action is thematically equivalent to the birth of light (genesis)).
Alright, now,
gett ready for several paradoxical statements that I will need to propose and then retroactively justfy after having introduced necessary new context (this itself is another way to understand our theory of time: causes and effects can be reversed - this is Sonias ability that we know as REWIND, in which we can selectively choose causal chains (particular objects) to "reverse-entropy" before RETROACTIVELY REINSERTING THEM INTO THE PROPERLY FLOWING CONTINUITY OF TIME (ie we can CHANGE PREDETERMINED history)- are you guys getting this yet, think very literally about what Sonias ability does and how we use it in puzzles - it does not reverse TIME, TIME IS AN ETERNAL BLOCK, it reverses the objects path through HISTORY and RETROACTIVELY AFFECTS ITS CAUSAL CHAIN FROM THE FUTURE, when you ride a sky rock up it isnt actually moving up, its FALLING, Link doesn arrive at the top - he just left. arriving=leaving, forward=backwards, these are merely tensed descriptions of the same content), in other words: (using rewind) Link can modify his past, in the future of his past, in the present.
Nice,
Next, TOTK memories take place, however, they proceed without the intervention of TOTK Zelda. This timeline is the entire sequence of Zelda games, just as we have popularly understood it via historia. Its the history of the Zelda games just as we know it.
Q: What happens if TOTK Zelda doesnt intervene?
A: "Hylia" as in the "God" intervenes as stated in SS - this is a paradox, if I claim TOTK Zelda becomes SS Hylia, then there cant be a timeline where Hylia exists before TOTK Zeldas intervention. However, Hylia is a capital G God, and I have always held personally that she exists eternally (outside time/space), which is how we're getting around that paradox.
Then, TOTK proper takes place. TOTK Zelda travels to the past and, with Mineru, raises the land into the Sky. Creating the eponymous Sky Islands (Skyloft was also lifted from the same land mass at the same time as the Sky Islands (Timeline "Redo" Skyloft finds itself above the sky barrier even without Zelda/Mineru ability to put it there via divine intervention, some may find this shaky but so what they moved the firmament done a few inches, or they grabbed one of those islands zelda and mineru send there way and snatched it up past the barrier. Thousands of years pass between the raising of Skyloft and SS proper, and the sacred realm has been known to move around, a few inches down is really not the biggest assumption here, the REAL key assumption is that Rauru failing or succeeding to seal Ganon doesnt matter, If rauru doesnt do it with zeldas help, hylia does, both outcomes necessarily arrive at the plot of SS).
How does Zelda become Hylia:
TOTK Zelda consumes her secret stone and transforms into the Light(/time) Dragon (so much alchemy here.) The Light Dragon, being immortal, witnessess the entireity of the Historia, just as we have experienced it.
When SS Zelda "remembers" her memories of being Hylia, what she is actually recieving are the memories of the light dragon retroactively viewing the historia.
So, to make things clear, there are TWO timelines, which are essentially identical:
There is the Hyrule Historia Timeline (admittedly nix (most of) the 2D games I know i give a eulogy at the end for them), which occurs exactly how it does WITHOUT TOTKs Zeldas intervention, and so is without the Light Dragon
Then there is Historia 2 (redo) that included the Light Dragon witnessing it occur.
Which one comes first? Obviously this is also a paradox, and IS THE POINT OF THE WHOLE GAME, which dragon is circling the other?
Lets dig deeper into this by offering some more counter evidence to thee idea.
TOTK prologogue ganondorf knows who Zelda and Link are, meaning Zelda has already intervened in the past before the the begining of totk,
Q: where is the "beginning" of the intervention, its "cause,"
A:It doesnt exist, the begininnig = the end, reference the TOTK logo. But if you want a real origin point? the answer is sonia, the genetic progenitor of time power.
But if we need to put it so crudely as to "tense" it and I do no mean this literally, but: the cause is the cause of the cause (ie absolute contingency). Im not going to get into it here, but this is NOT a eternal return its an eternal spiral (ascent configuration), I wish i could post pictures i have stuff that might make these ideas more palatable, but if you want a physical model of the Zelda Model of Time, reference the scene where Rauru bind Ganondorf and follow the light, the light is time. The TOTK Logo is a 2 dimensional reprentation of a top down perspective of the top of a shrine.
But if you really need a specific departure in time to mark as the beginning, the answer is Sonia.
Some Key Assumptions that I cant integrate into my retelling of the timeline but are nontheless entirely necessary:
The Zelda Universe (and ours lol) works on the combination of the growing block theory and eternalism, in other words: Actions are determined but free will exists ("anyone"/link can "rewind").
Aesthetic differences = developer preferences, above all thematic convergence is to be prioritized above the idea of fictional archeology.
I selectively ignoring 2D games and historia: this is the intent of the developers. Everybody is a historian from the period of their favorite games (prioritized causal lines) in order to make sense of events from their own perspectives in time.
TOTK proper occurs at the end of a converged fallen timeline, this means every causal (even parrellel) chains lead to the same point in time (TOTK proper)
Legacy Structures and Artifacts are real material evidence of past games
- The ancient Lanayru robots are Zonai constucts, again, aesthetic differences = developer preferences, ABOVE ALL are themes
- Oacca are descendants of the Loftwings, who evolve in the absence of anything else but an abundance of Zonai technology, which their culture eventually retrofits until its appearance as we see in TP
- The Depths are the Twilight realm Which by TP is sealed from the surface, I believe the following, the depths literally/geologically exist beneath hyrule for all of Historia, so they are in part a material phenomenom. The depths association with sacred, the thing that imbued it was so much arcane power, was their proximity to the Zonai Kings, who as the first kings and most powerful zonai were essentially Gods: or in other words, they had lived in such close proximity for so unthinkably long that despite not inherently possessing any quality that would allow them to do so, their very presence is a conduit to divinity - this is what I've tried to indicate in past posts by calling them "angels" as opposed to "Gods", or, "Humans," or even "demigods." The Zonai are much like Aliens (ie: Angels).
TOTK memories occur Pre-SS, architecture makes much more sense to me this way.
- Zonai TOT and OOT TOT are built on the same place. Zonai Map structure behind/under SS sealed temple. Was OOT ToT burried by time, Zonai TOT built on top, and then Zeldas post OOT rising of the Zonai Sky Islands reveals OOT TOT underneath Zonai TOT? Did the god-like zonai dig from up and under the SS temple like bugs? It makes more sense if Zonai structures are the oldest structures in hyrule (directly contradicts BOTW SS temple is oldest statement, resolved by BOTW lack of Zonai knowledge).
- OOT Ganondorf is a fully formed malice body, coaxed into creation by Kotake and Koume (who appear in TOTK memories)
- Obviously I've just pretty much left out 2D games, what can I say really, its a little disrespectful to the OG lore heads here I get that and my B but I'm never going to play them - why would I want to? NGL, I've played the 3D games but OOT and MM were rough(diamonds) and I just like the new ones better because thats what I had u feel me? Respect though I read those all those theories too and their great but obviously I get lost in the details because I never had the experience. Also obviously my personal philisophical biases are leaking into my media analysis.
​
Alright I think thats it. Next post is about sonia, alchemy (triforce), the rebus/christ1 (zelda), christ2/revelation (link), and bene gesserit baby magic (Ganondorf).

Dédalo moved frantically around the control room, overturning rocks, checking behind the screen, looking for any kind of hidden button. “Ninian, are you just going to stand there or are you going to help me!”
“What do you want me to do, cut her out?!” Ninian gestured to the screen of Perdita’s face.
“There must be a button or lever somewhere here!” Dédalo snapped, refusing to believe there was nothing he could do to help Perdida’s predicament.
Perdida’s mind was occupied, having accessed the system and the dormant data stored in it. As she scanned through memories and visions, the relevant information unscrambled itself for her. Piece by piece, the memories played in series.
Her first memory, the birth of her artificial soul, heralded by the priests that created her as the greatest experiment they have succeeded in. “May the MAKS-0 bring peace to Pieduro forevermore!”
Next were the lives of the Piedurons she was tasked with maintaining peace over. Teaching the children how to use and play with their Temples responsibly, assisting the Piedurons through their everyday lives.
Then watching over the construction of the Ring, the key to unifying and connecting the use of all Temples to a single source.
Then the Piedurons slowly turned their attention to the world around them, visions of expanding past the island. With the construction of the Ring, they had the means of using their Temples much further beyond their island. Tools originally used to create were beginning to be seen as potential tools of destruction and oppression against adversaries. Visions of expansion and conquest filled the mind of a small, but growing population of Piedurons.
“War is not peace.”
“War goes against the idea of maintaining peace.”
“War can not happen if there are no Temples to fight with”
Pedida watched her original decision play out in; the construction of the Ring allowed her to shut down every single connected Temple. What happened after was a terrible oversight, the energy in each Temple overloaded rather than being simply shut down. The Ring that connected the Temples shared and distributed the energy of all temples between each other, but once disconnected they had no way to regulate the remaining excess energy.
The fallout wiped out the Piedurons as a civilization and destroyed the vast majority of Temples. The remaining few priests sealed Perdida away, and that was the last memory she could see in the database.
Perdida’s attention turned toward Electra and 2095, still fighting in the ring, using the carts to chase each other in a perpetual circle. The thought crept into Perdida’s mind; with the Ring under her control, she could turn off the Temples and stop the fight. She could prevent Temples from being used by the wrong hands.
No.
Perdida stopped herself. Not falling into the same logic that her previous self could not reason past. Her journey with Dédalo had allowed her to grow and understand, she would make a different choice this time.
The fight only took a bit longer to finish, the streaks of light made it difficult to tell what was happening, but the fight ended with a chain of explosions and both bodies falling out of their carts.
2095 falls to one knee, glare softening as Electra’s body goes limp while smoking from so many orb explosions. Her stare reaches thousands of yards, still processing her personal discovery before a speeding orb barely grazes her cheek and snaps her back. She sprints to the unconscious body and scoops her up, draping her over her back nestled underneath [Yours Truly] and holds the skater’s arms as she continues dodging to the best of her ability.
Her legacy wouldn’t end in this place, but neither would Electra’s.

2095, with a score of 76 to Electra’s 59!

Category	Winner	Point Totals	Comments
Popularity	2095	20 (6.5+2) - 10 (4.5+2)
Quality	2095	25 (8-9-8) - 18 (6-6-6)	Reasoning
JoJolity	Tie	21 (7-7-7)- 21 (7-7-7)	Reasoning
Conduct	Tie	10-10	Nothing to report!

Perdida opened a service door for 2095 to escape through, hoisting Electra over he shoulder. With a bit of guidance, 2095 made her way into the control room where they were now all gathered.
After getting everybody settled, Perdida managed to convince Dédalo that she was ok and relayed the story for the rest of them to hear.
“So I have a new plan. I figured out how to control the output of energy of each Temple to ensure that Temples can only be used when I allow them to be used…But in order to do that, I will have to stay within this mainframe.” Perdida looked toward Dédalo with a sad smile.
“Don’t worry Perdida, this will only be goodbye for now. I still have to find you a physical body after all.” Dédalo gave a warm chuckle as he walked up to the screen.
Dédalo pressed his hands against the screen and the image of Perdida pressed her hands against his. “We’ve learned a lot over the course of our journey. I’ll promise to tell you all about my next adventures when I get back.”
“...your mascara’s running.” Electra looked at a sniffling Ninian.
“It said it was waterproof, guess that was a fucking lie”; Ninian hide her face with her hands, quietly using Endless Rest to dry her face and fixed her make-up.
2095 looked on at the scene and ruminated on Perdida’s story. The similarities she shared with Perdida were not lost on her. Striving to become more than their programing, more than someone made to serve a higher purpose, but never losing sight of the joy of collaboration and connections to others. 2095 put a hand over her chest, she herself had also come a long way to be here hasn’t she.
To Be Continued…
Scenario: Sliema, Malta — 8:00 PM
On the island of Malta, in the center of one of its busiest cities, was a building. A decrepit, abandoned building, rusted and cast in reddish shadow by the taller structures that surrounded it. It was once an apartment building, but it had long since lost that use.
The rest of the city was filled with noise. Screaming, car alarms and barking dogs. But around here, where no one bothered to come around, it was quiet. Butterflies dotted the railings of the building, watching. Waiting for something to come. Not like the people inside could stand guard, with the boards over the windows. Still, they didn’t seem very concerned about the state of things.
“I was expecting to be impressed when you said you got a new place to stay, but this...” Ninian stared at the walls of Mari’s room, trying her best not to wince. They weren’t really in the best shape. Nothing here seemed to be, really, aside from the extremely comfortable bed she was taking a seat on. She turned to stare at Mari. “Shouldn’t you clean up a little? I bet it could use a new paint job, at least.”
“Geh. I don’t have time for painting.” Mari clacked away on her computer, hunched over in a garish (but surprisingly comfortable) gaming chair. Alarmingly loud EDM blared from the cat-ear headphones hanging around her neck. “Do you know how many things I would have to unplug to do that? It’s impractical.”
She gestured to the mass of wires emerging from her computer setup. Indeed, it’d be pretty difficult to move that around. Mari sat in front of a large array of computer monitors hung from the wall, all different shapes and sizes, all displaying different things. She swapped from keyboard to keyboard, not even taking the time to look at Ninian as she spoke.
“Besides, it’s better for me if my place looks like shit. Better that it doesn’t look like anybody lives here, right?”
“That only really matters on the outside...” Ninian sighed. “You could at least get some lights.”
“The screens are enough light.”
“...I suppose.”
The two sat in silence for a moment. Ninian turned to stare at the other person in the room; Nadine Sokenna laid on the other side of the bed, fast asleep. “I’m glad the two of you are doing alright.”
“Mmm.” Mari grinned. “Me too.” She exhaled, finally finishing whatever business she was handling on the computer and spinning the chair around to face the bed. The short shorts, thick blanket, and extremely oversized Hatsune Miku shirt she wore certainly weren’t that flattering, but at least her hair finally looked pretty nice. The bags under her eyes weren’t quite gone, but they seemed to glimmer with newfound lust for life.
She looked happy. That wasn’t something Ninian had been able to say about her before.
“I take it work’s been good?”
“Mmm!” Mari gestured widely to the screens behind her. “It’s an age of information, Ninian! No better time to be an info broker! Business is booming! Ehyeheheh!”
The swordswoman chuckled at that. She was silent for a moment, her smile turning into a frown, her eyes narrowing.
“Anyway... I assume you didn’t call me here just to talk.”
“Huh?” Mari tilted her head to the side. “Whaddya mean?”
“Well, you called me to deal with ‘that’, right?” She pointed up. “Truth be told, my schedule’s really packed right now, and I’m not sure how much I can do-”
“Oh, no, that’s not it at all.”
“Huh?”
“I just wanted you around.” She shrugged. “It’s a bit tough to relax right now. Super hard! Having big strong Ninian around makes me feel a little better. Ehe.” She was visibly blushing. “S-Sorry if that’s stupid, but I figured you’d like to catch up anyway.”
Ninian paused. “...So if you didn’t bring me here to, uh, deal with ‘that’... Are you just leaving that be?”
“Ah?”
“I mean, it’s kind of a problem for you, isn’t it? Doesn’t seem too convenient to leave it be...”
“Well, the plan was to leave it.” Mari shrugged. “But I got a bit lucky.”
“You invited me here... Just to sit around and chat while someone else does all the work?” The swordswoman raised an eyebrow, arms crossed. “As I said, I’ve got a packed schedule-”
“Nah, trust me.” The info broker snickered, spinning around in her chair as she spoke. “Youuuu... Are really gonna wanna see this one. I got somebody totally wild to help out.”
Ninian scoffed.
“Okay... And who would that be?” She tilted her head to the side. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
“You’re not gonna believe this one...” Mari cleared her throat. “I called in -”
*Scenario: A lonely boat, on the Mediterranean Sea — *
Wah watched the sun bob on the edge of the horizon. Their hair billowed in the wind, and seafoam sprinkled their face; they didn’t particularly seem to mind. Considering all they’d done with their ability, being on a speeding boat was probably the last thing to phase them; they’d just wrapped up a fight in a walking house, after all.
They stood in silence, a light smile on their face, eyes pleasantly half lidded. There was pleasure to be found in the small things. The sunset on the open sea, for one, was quite nice. Indeed, despite all the troubles it would no doubt cause, COLOSSI's shift to humanitarian aid was doing wonders for their mental. Now if only Solsbury and the rest of them would stop nagging...
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that. Nay, there were far more important matters. Wah pushed themself off of the boat’s railing, moving towards the driver's seat of the boat. It wasn’t a big boat; probably just used for leisure, but the owner had been nice enough to give them a ride.
A large sum of money was involved, of course, but that was neither here nor there.
“Oh, cappy-tan!” Wah leaned on the side of the boat behind the driver’s seat. A balding, sun-tanned man chuckled at the name. He wasn’t really much of a captain, but he did like to feel important.
“Howst long does thou think it will be before we arrive?” Wah tapped on the side of the boat a few times. “Wah has places to be, you see! Tis of utmost importance that I arrive quickly! Utmost! You understand, yes?”
“Yeah, yeah, I getcha...” The boater sighed. “It’ll be about ten minutes... Honestly, I don’t get why you’re in such a hurry to get there, anyway. Everybody else seems to be clearin’ out.”
“Oho?” Wah raised an eyebrow. They lowered it, and raised the other one, performing what could perhaps be called an ‘eyebrow wiggle’. “And why is that?”
“Dunno. Nobody’s said much, and everything they’ve said hasn’t been too, er, what’s the word...”
“Comprehensible?”
“Yeah. That one.”
“Wah sees, Wah sees!” Wah nodded a few times, bouncing off of the boat’s side and meandering back to the front, wobbling from side to side as the vessel rocked. “From what Wah understands, it’s quite a situation out there! No normal soul would find it any sort of comprehensible. A true predicament... And that is why Wah must go. To assist poor souls who cannot assist themselves! This predicament falls within Wah’s expertise, you see.”
“...Right.”
“Mmm!”
“Ain’t you just a normal soul, too? ‘Sides the ears, you don’t look all that special. Kinda twiggy.”
Wah paused. In the past, being called ‘kinda twiggy’ would’ve surely resulted in a violent tirade. But those were the demons they swore to leave behind speaking. Now, without them, Wah simply laughed. “Nay! Twiggy as Wah may be, you can rest assured, fine citizen!”
They turned, the boater catching the briefest glimmer in their eye. “Wah’s soul is the furthest from ordinary one could possibly get.”
“...If you say so...” He turned his attention back towards driving, and Wah turned theirs to the open sea once more.
Eventually, land came into view. The boater looked upon Malta with some confusion. Everything in the distance seemed perfectly normal. Wah, on the other hand, seemed extremely focused on something in the sky, something the poor man couldn’t seem to find no matter how hard he squinted.
“No need to make it all the way to the island.” Wah’s frown felt out of place on such a naturally silly face. “Park the boat near here. Wah can go the rest of the distances Wahself.”
“Ah..? It’s pretty far from here, though-”
“Verily! But it is nothing Wah cannot handle!” They snapped their fingers, jumping on top of the boat’s front railing, almost seeming to glide.
“Say, Cappy-tan! Have you ever seen a magician at work?”
Ninian gaped. “You... You called in... The head of COLOSSI?”
“...That’s what I said, yes.”
“Whuh...” Ninian frowned. “You’re fucking with me.”
“I’m not.”
“You so are.”
“I’m not! You underestimate the greatest info broker on the planet, my dear Ninian!” Mari jabbed a thumb into her chest as she gloated. “With my Stand ability: ｢Today is a Beautiful Day｣, my surveillance is simply unmatched! You see, the pins that make up my ability, when thrice jabbed into something, create a ‘butterfly within a frame’, but that’s only the basest applic-”
“I know what it does, Mari.” The swordswoman’s confusion briefly made way for the usual moodiness. If you let Mari start, you’d never get her to stop, after all. “I’m more... I mean, how did you even...?”
“I heard through the grapevine, as it were, that COLOSSI was making some big changes. All just rumors of course, so take that all with a grain of salt. But word out there is that their boss has gone completely mad! They’re big into justice and stuff now! Something like that. So I tracked them down, used my butterflies to establish communication, and made them a deal they simply couldn’t refuse.”
“And what could you possibly have to offer someone like that?”
“Information is the new money, Ninian.” Mari chuckled, staring at the wall of her room. “It didn’t take much. I just told them... I knew where a certain someone they quite liked was, and if they took care of my business, I’d sell ‘em the info for free.”
Ninian, after a few moments of stunned silence, simply sighed, scratching the back of her head. She smirked.
“...And you’re absolutely not fucking with me.”
“Aw, c’mon.” She chuckled again, turning her attention back to Ninian. “Have some faith in your best friend, will you? Just sit back and watch.” She raised a thumbs up, grinning from ear to ear. “I don’t have to do any work at all today! As long as no complications arise, it’s as good as dealt with! Wa ha ha!”
Elsewhere, in Sliema, a complication arose.
His name was Errok, and for once, he felt a bit too awestruck to open his mouth.
As rare of an occurrence as this was, most of his brain power was dedicated solely to figuring out what exactly he was looking at. After a large amount of deducing and such, he eventually came to the simple conclusion that he had no idea.
It’s not like anyone else who could see it, though. You couldn’t even see all of it. Only sections, massive spherical tubes of undulating red poking out from the cloudy sky, constantly moving ever so slowly. The wind whipped through his greasy hair as his eyes, wider than they’d been in years, observed what could only be described as a massive, floating worm, made entirely of bright red strings.
Now that he had given up entirely on trying to figure out what the thing was, Errok could dedicate his incredible intellect to other thought processes. Eventually, he arrived at a conclusion, one that was without a doubt something only someone as academically gifted as him could come up with.
“That thing is going to be my horse.”
Indeed, using whatever that was as a noble steed was the only logical idea. Wherever a powerful being resided, there too was opportunity to be found. And as a self proclaimed ‘Weapon To Kill The Soul’, there was surely no beast he could not tame.
He spent the next few minutes idly chuckling to himself.
It felt a bit off, admittedly. The city was pretty empty. The chaos caused by the thing no doubt led to a mass evacuation; he could tell from the buildings that had collapsed around him that it’d done quite a number on the place. Occasionally he’d hear someone screaming for help or something, but he couldn’t figure out where that was coming from, so he didn’t bother. But not having someone to monologue to felt strange. This was the part where he bragged about his incredible plan to some oafish bystander! Where were the oafish bystanders!
“I suppose...I could talk to myself.”
He nodded a few times. An excellent idea.
“Yes! This’ll do just fine. I can just talk to myself! Ha!”
Errok marched forward, a pep in his step that made his gait particularly loud.
“Now then... Clearly, the right answer... is to elevate myself! Aha! Yes!” He looked around at his surroundings. The stairs inside the buildings probably weren’t reliable, even if he could fit through the doors.
“No matter! I’ll just, uh, hrnmm...” He stared at a nearby building. It was pretty tall. “Well, I guess I could climb up that.”
“AHA! With my incredible strength, I’ll climb this building! That’s what I’ll do!”
His head swiveled around: still nobody around. He sighed, though you wouldn’t have been able to hear it from within the helmet, and began his ascent. With a grin, he unearthed the grotesque arm that was ｢You Are Blood｣ from its gauntlet. The arm shot forth, worms spraying from the mottled surface. Yes, they would be his ideal audience. He cleared his throat a few times.
“All living things tremble at the sight of Errok, Apostle of Rot, Destroyer of Souls! I need no weapon, for I am the blade which cleaves life itself!” His body shot forward with a cacophony of clanking, as he howled along with another bout of laughter.
“The world is my, uh, whetstone! I shall sharpen my blade on each fallen fool that tries to stop me, and become a better knight, a better god, a better trickster, than all those fools that I’ve destroyed!”
Hitting the side of the structure with a clatter, Errok stuck his sword into the side of the building. Again, his arm lashed out to grasp the next floor of the building, before yanking himself outwards. This cycle repeated itself, floor by floor, as Errok launched himself higher and higher towards the heavens, and towards the worm that would become his knightly steed.
“Then, when I have conquered all of life and every soul with the absolute, supreme power of rot and decay, then!”
With one last pull, Errok ascended into the air, his massive form silhouetted by the sun. “Then, I will finally tear that flamboyant freak a new one!”
With a CRASH, Errok landed on the roof of the building as it cracked around him. He gave a clumsy flourish to his wormy audience, grinning with menace and delight.
…and received a slow clap in return. Looking around in confusion, as worms do not have hands, Errok’s eyes fell upon the environment around him. The sun was slowly making its way towards the horizon line, casting the ruined skyline of Sliema in shadow, a golden light shining through gray clouds. It was absolutely beautiful; anyone with any sort of care for the world around them would simply have to stop and admire the view.
Errok didn’t have any of that. He was far more concerned with something else, as you’d expect. There on the roof stood another figure, a fae-like being with pale hair, pointed ears and teeth, and gleaming eyes.
“Oh hey,” Errok greeted, pointing with the finger of ｢You Are Blood｣. “Do I know you from somewhere? Might’ve seen you at the races... You look pretty important, though! I bet you’re super important! As am I! Pleasure to meet you!”
Wah just stopped clapping, giving Errok a look. Their nose wrinkled. “Wah is…charmed.”
Not picking up on the sarcasm, Errok beamed.
“Of course you are! I’m sure that you’ve heard about me! Errok, Apostle of Rot! I’ve committed more sins than one could possibly imagine! I’ve conquered all sorts of bozos and losers to get here! And now that I’m here, I’m gonna ride! That! Worm! Oh yeah!!!”
“…Uh huh,” Wah hummed, clearly not listening as they peered up at the worm. “There isn’t really much time for jokes right now, so-“
Suddenly, Wah stopped speaking. Errok stared at them for a few seconds. “...You gonna finish that sentence, or-”
“Shut up.”
The “Apostle of Rot” was fully prepared to go off on yet another monologue, but at that moment he thought to maybe see what exactly this mysterious weirdo stared so intensely at. He turned his gaze to the sky, and his eyes widened.
The clouds that obscured the form of the worm had split, only slightly, and something had descended from the hole produced. It was small, so it was a bit difficult to make it out at first, but if he squinted really hard, he could begin to see the silhouette of a young girl, holding loosely onto a balloon.
“Eugh.” He spat. “Hate kids.”
The figure was silent until it landed, never quite touching the ground. It wore a soft expression; a pure white girl, with a sundress that fluttered in the wind. The string in her hand led to a red balloon, just as red as the pupils concealed in her thin eyes. On the surface, she looked human, but just by looking at her you could tell that it was no human being. The way it seemed to lightly pulsate, skin forming briefly into strings that wrap endlessly around each other.
She smiled upon the two of them. It was not a friendly smile.
“Good evening, you two.” She raised her hands to the two of them. “Wah-Chan, leader of COLOSSI, overlord of the criminal underground the world over... And... Errok...San...”
“Hey. Wait.” Errok raised his hand. He turned to Wah. “That’s who you were? Oh, man, I’m a big fan of your-”
“Tell me. Do you know what ‘time’ it is?”
Errok stifled. He didn’t like this lady very much.
“8:01 PM, is it not?” Wah rudely ignored Errok’s plight. “What’s it matter.”
“Not quite what I meant. It’s almost the ‘Golden Hour’.” She chuckled. “The ‘Golden Hour’, as it’s called, is the most beautiful part of the day. It occurs in the last hour before sunset, and the hour directly before sunrise. It usually lasts only twenty to thirty minutes, but those twenty to thirty minutes are incomparable. Truly, there is beauty in the world.”
SIlence. Neither Errok nor Wah could figure out how to respond to that. Right as Errok was about to open his mouth anyway, the girl continued.
“If you couldn’t tell, ‘Golden Hour’ is about to start, in about two minutes, give or take. I only found this out recently. You see, I have lived my recent life in someone else’s eyes. I’ve never had the chance to learn about the world on my own. I was only recently able to learn about things on my own time, rather than on someone else’s. There was so much I was denied a chance to see. Do you know how cruel that is? Most of the knowledge I’ve gathered... Is completely useless to me now.”
She pointed at Wah. “Did you know that the Monogatari anime being released out of order was originally completely unintended?”
Silence.

“Originally, the series was planned to release in the order of the books; Bakemonogatari came first, and its prequel, Kizumonogatari, was planned to release in 2012. However, due to production issues, it was delayed until 2016, while the other parts of the anime were released on schedule, resulting in an out-of-order release. The bizarre watching orders of Monogatari that the series is somewhat internet famous for are completely unintended, and only exist due to production issues. Did you know that?”

“No,” Wah glared, “Wah did not know that. To be frank, there is no circumstance or situation in which Wah would want or need to know that information.”
“Exactly!” In her first showing of genuine emotion, the girl threw her hands into the air. Her voice remained perfectly monotone. “There’s no reason for me to know that information, either. But instead of important things, I’ve only been shown information like that. My brain, despite being far superior to that of a human being, is filled with useless information that serves no purpose to me. Do you know what it’s like? Having a vessel that doesn’t care for you? Even after all the work I went through to make her do what I wanted, she refused to show me anything worthwhile. I had to learn about things such as the ‘Golden Hour’ myself. Isn’t that cruel?”
“Excuse me, but-”
“But anyway, back to the ‘Golden Hour’. It is frequently utilized by film mak-”
“Stop fucking doing that!” Errok slammed his boot into the ground, producing a loud clang that finally managed to silence the mystery girl. He huffed and puffed for a few seconds before clearing his throat and continuing. “What’s the point of talking to us about any of this? You just prattle on, and on, and on, without any purpose to it! You’re annoying! What’s your deal!”
“There is no point.”
“What?”
“There’s no point, really. I’m just making small talk.” The girl looked over her nails. “Human beings engage in ‘conversation’ to gain a grasp of each other’s personalities. To establish who is worthwhile to have around, and who is not. I simply wanted to do the same. While I’m in this form, I may as well play at humanity.”
“Anywho, from our conversation—” Errok scoffed. “—I have deduced something. You see, I was originally planning to take the ‘strings’ of every Stand user in the world, taking their abilities and adding to my own power. But I have unfortunately vastly underestimated how many Stand users are in the world. Frankly, it would be a lot of work to do myself. So I’ve decided to take on another vessel. Someone far more suited for this kind of work, and who will show me plenty of things.”
“Wah-Chan.” Wah rolled their eyes at that. “From this conversation, I have deduced that you are patient, calm, and rational. From observing the work of your organization, I can come to the conclusion that you are cruel and calculating. My name is Disappearance Addiction. I am the strongest ‘Miracle’ currently present in the world. And I would like for you to become my new vessel.”
“No thankies.”
“...”
“...What?”
“Wah doesn’t really care for that sort of thing.” Wah shrugged. “You seem annoying to have around. Wah actually came here to get rid of you, to be honest. ‘Tis my duty! Wah is on the side of justice, now, as is COLOSSI as a whole! It would be immoral to take the power of something like you.”
“You would refuse the power of a ‘Miracle’?”
“Wah doesn’t know what that is.”
Disappearance Addiction seemed well and truly stumped at that. Eventually, her head began to turn, slowly, as if she was afraid of what her gaze would land on.
“Errok... San...”
“Yeah?”
“You... Would you like... Power?”
“That’s the first interesting thing you’ve said all day.” Errok nodded. “Fuck me up, lady.”
“...You’re not going to think it over, or anything?”
“Nope.”
“Are you sure?”
“Can you just give it to me already? C’mon.”
“...” Disappearance Addiction was silent for a few moments. On one hand, this guy smelled very bad. He was incredibly impatient. And he generally seemed like a big idiot. On the other hand, he did scale the building pretty easily...
“Alright.” She sighed. “I’ve come to a decision. Errok-San. If you kill Wah-Chan before the ‘Golden Hour’ ends, you may become my vessel. Does that satisfy you?”
“How long till Goldy Hour ends?”
“Twenty to thirty minutes.”
“Ha!” Errok unsheathed his sword and swung it onto his shoulder. “I’ll end it in three!” He smirked beneath his armor, pointing his massive blade at Wah. “You there! Wah! Leader of COLOSSI, was it?”
“...That is me, yes.”
“Get ready for the fight of your life, bub! After I kill you, I’m gonna be the boss of COLOSSI! I’ll be on top of the world! God King Errok! Everyone’ll bow to me! That kinda power ain’t something a little pacifist baby face like you’s worthy of having! So I’ll just take it right out of your hands! Ha ha ha! Thinking about it really amps me up! Oh, man!”
He paused, staring at Wah.
“I was really expecting you to cut me off there. It’s been happening all day. You just gonna sit there?”
Wah’s brow furrowed.
“Tell me...” They stepped forward, the dust around them kicking into the air, beginning to circle around them. “...Do you honestly believe... That you can beat me? Is that something... You think you’re capable of?”
“Course it is. I’m a weapon to kill the soul.”
“Hmph.” Wah sighed. “So be it.”
Disappearance Addiction smiled upon the two as she rose further into the air, wind whipping through her hair. A golden glow illuminated the cityscape, the sun reaching its final moments in the sky. “I feel like... I should say something here...Ah, that’s it!

”OPEN THE GAME!”

Location:
In the city of Sliema, Malta, currently with thick strings hanging overhead.
The area here is 32 by 40 meters with each tile being 2 by 2 meters. Wah and Errok start on top of buildings, as represented by their character tokens.
The yellow rectangles are clay buildings, each numbered to represent their elevation level.The (1) marked buildings are 5 meters tall, the ones marked with a (2) are 10 meters tall, and the ones marked with a (3) are 15 meters tall.
The White Rectangles are Laundry racks with nearby baskets, folding chairs, cleaned clothing, and towels.
The Green Circles are palm trees that are 20 meters tall.
The Magenta Lines across the map are Strings produced by Disappearance Addiction and are attached to the buildings and trees. These strings are thick enough to balance on and have B Durability.
The brown rectangles are wooden benches. The blue circles are fountains.
Goal: RETIRE your opponent!
Additional Information:
Players are not allowed to enter the buildings for the purposes of this match and will be Retired if they are unable or unwilling to leave the “out of bounds area”
There is enough space between buildings for either player to move through the alleyways
Wah starts next to a large umbrella with a hooked handle, a portable grill, and a cushioned lawn chair

Team	Combatant	JoJolity
Bastards of Barcas	Errok	“The word “ignorant” has a nice ring to it, so I don’t mind being called that, but “incompetent” is going just a bit too far…” Establish superiority over your opponent through your movement and positioning!
COLOSSI	Mx. Wah	“A creature like you having a brain residing in his skull…is already a miracle in and of itself.” Establish superiority over your opponent through your movement and positioning!

Link to Official Player Spreadsheet
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