I have gotten curious about what is actually written in the Bible, versus what is written in the Grutrissheit. I am also curious as to why there are so many copies / translations / transcriptions of the bible without there being a complete copy in the archives.
When Myne was an apprentice blue shrine maiden and was allowed access to the Temple book room, she read the Bible. Then she read different copies of the Bible in the Temple book room. She was reading versions so old that Damuel couldn't read them at all, and Ferdinand had to help her with the translation. [P2V3]
Then, she later became the High Bishop and was made the owner of the Temple's primary Bible. A magic tool. At some point later, after new material started appearing to her in that Bible, and she asks Ferdinand for advice:
In [P4V7]

"So this is the bible only the High Bishop can read, hm? What makes it different from other bibles?" Justus asked. He was eagerly flipping through the pages, but his response proved that he couldn't see the magic circle or the text in the air.
"It is a more complete version - or, at the very least, it has more details than any of the transcriptions in the temple's book room," I replied. There were several transcriptions of the bible in the temple's book room, but their page counts varied quite dramatically.

Most of the older stuff in the temple book room would have come from old Eisenreich, since Ehrenfest is only a couple of hundred years old. I imagine all of the original Eisenreich temple's divine instruments and Bible and documents got moved to the new Ehrenfest temple when the foundation was moved. I would have thought that Rozemyne, upon becoming the owner of the Bible when she was made High Bishop and finding she could read all the way to the end of the book, would have started a new and more complete transcription right away. At the time, not knowing that no one else can read as much of it as she can, she would have also wondered why no one had fully transcribed it before.
In [P4V1] Rozemyne hears about the Grutrissheit for the first time from Rosina.

She went on the explain that the Grutrissheit was the original bible, owned by Mestionora herself. The first king of the country had been chosen by the gods and permitted to transcribe a copy.

Then, in [P4V7] while she is talking to Ferdinand about the new magic circle and text that started showing up in her Bible:

As the bible described, the position of Zent was given to those who transcribed the original Grutrissheit. Ferdinand explained that over the long years hence, this had morphed into the current Zent passing his transcribed version down to the next. The passed-down Grutrissheit itself had become the symbol of the Zent.
This transcription had been lost during the civil war following the previous king's death. Now, the current king needed to transcribe a new one from the original Grutrissheit... but its location remained unknown.

Then, Ferdinand tells Rozemyne that even if she meets every other qualification, she will still never see the original Grutrissheit.

"You certainly have all of the qualities necessary to become king. However, there is one crucial condition that you have not fulfilled."
"And what condition is that?" I asked, looking at the bible curiously.
"It is simple," Ferdinand said. "You were born a commoner and thus do not have royal blood. For that reason, you cannot become king."
"Royal blood...? The bible doesn't say anything about needing that."
Ferdinand tapped a finger against his temple in contemplation and then let out a sigh. "In the same way that only certain people can enter this hidden room, the Grutrissheit is within an archive that only royalty can enter - or so an ancient text maintains. In other words, you will not be able to enter that archive, nor will you be able to transcribe the book. No matter how many kingly qualities you may have, you cannot become king."

After Rozemyne cries about having her hopes dashed that Prince Hildebrand wouldn't be able to let her into the Forbidden Archive to at least read the book ..

"Besides, the Grutrissheit in the archive is the first king's transcription, so we can assume it is nearly identical to this bible we have with us.

So, all of this has left me feeling a bit confused. By my count, there are 3 versions of the Grutrissheit. Four, if you count the Bibles.

1. The Book of Mestionora. The one held by the goddess herself. THE Original Grutrissheit. She does not lend it out. The first Zent was allowed to make a copy.
2. The First Zent's Grutrissheit. The only direct transcription from the Book of Mestionora. The first worldly version of the book. Yurgenschmidt's Original Grutrissheit, the one used to create the country. Claimed to be in the Forbidden Archive, only accessible to those with royal blood. Perhaps anyone with access to the Forbidden Archive could make a copy.
3. The Grutrissheit. I guess the "normal" one. The one that all Zents after the first one had to transcribe from his. Like the one that was lost during the recent civil war. Was this the only one around though? It sounds like there can be more than one copy. If anyone qualified to enter the forbidden archive can make a copy, then it's possible.

It appears that the Book of Mestionora has only ever been seen by one person, the First Zent. Most mentions of the "original" Grutrissheit refer to the one owned by the First Zent. Also, it isn't clear if the qualifications to enter the Forbidden Archive to get a copy of the Grutrissheit are needed to simply pass along an existing copy. I would think that not being qualified to get a Grutrissheit would disqualify you from being able to use one either. Would Trauerqual or Sigiswald even be able to use one someone else gave them?
So, if Rozemyne meets all the other qualifications, but still can't enter the Forbidden Archive due to not having royal blood, then everyone's plans are screwed. If that happens the rampage will be, ironically, biblical. I could see Rozemyne at that point demanding to speak to the manager.
Rozemyne: "Get Mestionora down here NOW! I pay my prayer taxes! I demand to make my own copy directly from her! I will boycott! You will never see another drop of mana from me, or my retainers, I swear!"
Question: Would Rozemyne rather read the 1st edition print of the Grutrissheit in the Forbidden Archive, or would she rather make her own custom print from the Book of Mestionora herself?
Answer: Both. Obviously. She would want to compare and even smell the differences.
But, now I wonder about the difference between the "hidden" archive that requires the 3 keys to open, and the "forbidden" archive that only Royals can enter. It was said that only Royals and select archduke family members could enter the Hidden Archive. Those that didn't meet the criteria were told "Not qualified" by the shumils. Perhaps after you fulfill all of the other hidden qualifications that make the shumil say things like "Not enough elements" and "Not enough prayer" they would lead you to the Forbidden Archive? Ferdinand also explained that "Royal blood" was spread around the duchy in a way, while describing his thoughts on the nature of the Temple Bibles.
[P4V7]

"Furthermore, the archdukes in the distant past were married to those of royal blood," Ferdinand continued. "In other words, one could say that more or less all children of archdukes have royal blood to some extent. Perhaps the first king distributed these bibles to each duchy such that the strongest of all those with his blood would be chosen to be king."

Based on how this describes archduke families having royal blood, and that those with enough of it can enter the Hidden Archive, I get a feeling that there is not a higher level of royal blood needed to enter the Forbidden Archive than is needed to enter the Hidden one. If that's the case, then Rozemyne already does have royal blood.
If Rozemyne can enter the Hidden Archive, then she already meets the "select archduke candidate" criteria, even though she was born a commoner. It makes me think that "royal blood" might not mean genetic inheritance.
If it's possible to obtain "royal blood', i.e. become recognized as royal by magic, without actual blood relations, I can only think of two ways.

1. Divine intervention. Whether from Divine Protections or some other way, I bet the gods could declare someone fit to rule and they would be recognized as royal by magic means.
2. Mana interaction. Blood is heavily associated with a person's mana as well. The highest concentration of a person's mana is in their blood. Mana-mixing among family and lovers could theoretically change someone's mana to introduce "royal blood" to their system.

In the second scenario, Rozemyne could have only gotten her royal blood from Ferdinand, who admitted in the past that he has a fair amount of it. They haven't mixed mana as lovers of course, but their long association in the temple, performing rituals where their mana flows together, may have been enough. He also synchronized his mana with hers when he read her memories.
I really don't know what to expect anymore. Will Rozemyne be blocked from entering the Forbidden Archive? Will she summon a goddess? Even if she gets the Grutrissheit, will she be able to simply hand it off to someone not qualified to get it themselves? Someone send Ferdinand some Tylenol.

It's been a week and a half since I finished the game and I finally feel like I've ruminated on it enough to start trying to get these thoughts down. I don't write a lot of game reviews, so sorry if this is strangely structured; I really wanted to formulate something better than a wimpy couple of tweets that no one would read.

Puzzles

In terms of integration into the world Riven-style, I think this game did a lot better than the latter part of Obduction, by simply limiting the puzzles to the controllable mechanisms. The tasks that we needed to be completing to make it through the realms did feel quite natural and none felt so ridiculously arbitrary, like the Maray Gauntlet did for many people (personally I enjoyed that puzzle, but I do get people's critiques of it).
I think the angle of having to "figure out" each mechanism also made the scope of the puzzles a bit clearer. I've seen some people say that the puzzles were too simple, but I personally found most of them to feel well balanced with their difficulty; I often got to points where I felt pretty stumped, but was able to get eureka moments without looking at the backer exploration guide.
The exception to this was the puzzles where you had to get in the Bulwark Kit. Those sucked. I hated those. They were tedious and had so much backtracking, and the ice/mineral deposits to be broken up were very difficult visually to spot. I did look up in the exploration guide for these and found that it didn't even list the locations of those ice deposits, so I really struggled through that puzzle in Curievale. Especially frustrating since the ~Cavitation Hammer~ sounds rad as hell, so it's sad that the relevant game sections suck.
I also struggled with the Curievale crane which got stuck and I had to reset, but it seems that that may have been fixed in the most recent patch. Otherwise, I didn't encounter any breaking bugs in any of the puzzles, which was relieving since I know others have.

Environments

I think we can all agree that this game is very beautiful. I like the variance in the three realms, and I think that each of them felt like they contained a sufficient amount of content (as opposed to Obduction teasing visiting the fourth world Soria, only for it to be a stroll with an ugly view).
The Swan was cool to explore at first, but felt extremely static and kind of boring after the initial period. It would've been cool to have areas unlockable with the various power-ups that you get in the realms' arches, so that there's a consistent aspect of exploring the hub as you progress through the actual worlds (sort of like Myst V and the exploration of the Great Shaft, but also even the simpler aspect of opening of the shortcut bridge gates on Direbo).
Changing the interactions with the environment to be fully mediated by the adjunct had both positives and negatives. I liked the UI aspect of being able to represent the mechanisms, which really aided in conceptualizing how you were progressing through the puzzles, but it also limited the feeling of actual interaction by no longer being able to click on levers, etc. I'm not really sure there's a middle ground to be had here, as I think that the adjunct works well for what Firmament wants to be, but it definitely contains that trade-off.
It seems that Cyan took the complaints of little toddler babies who didn't like that they had to read in Obduction and fully caved in. I know there's a hidden achievement about reading all of the documents in the game, but honestly I feel so uninterested in seeking these out, because each felt so inconsequential. This was extremely disappointing to be honest as I feel like reading people's journals was such an important part of earlier games that I really appreciated, but Firmament just doesn't really care about that at all. The only issue with the Obduction reading IMO was the illegible handwriting which could have easily be fixed by doing a text overlay thing similar to a game like Ether One.

Bugs

First installing the game gave me an issue that blocked booting entirely, as I detail here in this post. This ended up being a relatively simple fix, and I was playing the game a day and a half later.
As mentioned above, I had issues with the Curievale crane mechanism, which may no longer even be a problem.
When I first explored the Swan, I went back in the conveyance pod for Curievale since that was the realm I was already working on. I began experiencing a bug where I would arrive in Curievale, but the conveyance pod door wouldn't open, so I'd just go back to the Swan. I tried this a few times with no changes, and then had to go to the other conveyance pods to see if they were also affected (they were not). The original pod still did not work after the others proved to work properly, and I decided to just give up on trying it until I reached points in both St. Andrew and Juleston where I couldn't progress. At that point, it finally decided that it would work.

Story

A side effect of the conveyance pod bug I mentioned above was that each time I ended up back in the Swan, I'd get a line of dialogue from the Mentor. I had to move back and forth so much that I exhausted all of these lines before I even began exploring any of the realms. Compounded by the lack of additional story that could have been communicated in either further exploration of the Swan, or in any books, I basically got a bunch of story exposition at the beginning, and then a bunch at the end, with nothing in between. The ending felt so hollow by the fact that the only other stuff I heard about these characters in the final monologues were from days ago. I know other people have other problems with the story, but I wish that design decisions were made that could have enabled me to have a more consistent experience, so that at the very least I could have any of the other problems.
I am definitely also interested to hear more about the extent of the AI assistance for the writing and creation of worldbuilding materials. I don't really mind the use of image generation for the portraits, but it's honestly no wonder that the books sucked if they were written by ChatGPT.
I do think the concept of the generation ship is pretty cool though. It was a cool twist at the end IMO and walking around outside was so awesome.

tl;detc.

I liked this game. I think the puzzles are overall good with some glaring exceptions. The environments are beautiful but are lacking in meaningful interactibility that supports the story. Bugs for me weren't severe but severely reduced the impact of the ending of the story. I will definitely play this game again and do not regret, but not anytime soon. I hope Cyan is able to enhance it further after release, because I'd like to be able to savor this game a bit more before starting to look forward to the Riven re-master.
Lastly, I don't have any idea what the plushy version of the final design of the adjunct is going to look like and I'm kind of sad because the proof of concept was so cute lol

23M. Basically I grew up dirt poor. I attended a Cal State near me and achieved both a BS and MBA. I graduated with 0 debt. Right now, I am a biz ops manager managing 4 offices making close to 6 figures. It is a stressful, but well-paying job.
I have high ambitions. My dream is to start a successful business, not sure what industry and I'm still learning and trying to figure it out. The only reason I even went to college was to have a safety net in case my ventures fail, which will happen since entrepreneurship consists of trial & error. If I fail, at least I can land back on a comfy corporate 9-5 job instead of slaving in retail for pennies. I have already made a commitment not to have a wife and kids until I accomplish my dream (not like women are knocking at my door anyway). I'm doing this because having a family will conflict with my ability to take risks and will tie me down to one geographical location.
Lately I have been doing research on millionaires and billionaires. I tend to find a good amount of them, not all, tend to have some fancy ivy league education. There are all kinds of schools represented and a few of them did not go to school at all. There are a few at my school who went on to start large F500 companies (2 to 3) and a few others that have gone on to be major execs. There seems to be a bit of an elitist glass ceiling and these opportunities are typically presented to the already wealthy. Can someone like me with a poor background and no fancy degree break into this "class"? I don't want a billion dollars, but I am not going to lie, I am aiming for 10 million. Or the amount that I can f off to South America and never be seen again. It sounds ambitious but I am willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

I want to preface this with a few statements. I love this game. I love maestromedia. I love the four souls team. I love Edmund Mcmillen. You guys are fantastic, and I don't want this piece of feedback to come off otherwise.
Here are my issues. Every time a convention comes up, I'm filled with dread because there's a solid chance that a location exclusive promo is about to be passed out.
Usually, when these exclusives come up, I have no difficulty getting them officially because I simply buy them. Think about the unboxing of isaac or secret lairs from magic. I am more than happy to purchase them from the source. I can't stress this enough, I WANT TO GIVE YOU MY MONEY.
However, when the location exclusive cards keep happening, I am left with one of these options.

1. Paying out of pocket from a third party that happened to be there, risking that I get a fake.
   
2. Printing an illegitimate card. I am a collector, and I would like the official card if possible.
   
3. Hoping. PRAYING. That I win an official giveaway.
   
4. Simply not getting it.
   

I understand that you want to reward people coming to events, and I encourage you to do so. Here is the real problem behind it. If you guys read anything of this post, let it be the next sentence.
You are printing FUNCTIONALLY unique cards that will be inaccessible to a majority of the player base.
Tcgs used to do this, but stopped as the game got bigger because more and more people wanted the cards. Think about it, 50,000 people backed one of the largest board game kickstarters because they wanted the exclusives. This game is popular! The good thing is, there are absolutely happy mediums that I explain later on in the post.
Now that the criticism has been said, if you've read this far, I appreciate you reading, please leave your feedback in the comments, too. Additionally, I know the maestro team is very active here, I love you guys. You guys are amazing.
Now then, I have some potential solutions. I'd love feedback if you like (or loathe) the ideas.

1. If you want exclusivity and rewards for attending events, give exclusive ART, not exclusive EFFECTS. This is what every other popular tcg does.

You come to the prerelease of a new set? You get an official card that is stamped, saying you were there.
You come to a convention to support the creators, artists, and team? You get an exclusive art card, a signed card, or even an original card that is set to be printed with different art elsewhere later.

1. Make them buyable from the conventions online store. This would be a massive win for everyone involved. The convention gets money, the team gets money, AND THE CONSUMERS GET THE CARDS.

That is all everyone. Please, if you support the idea, let the team know in the comments. If you think I'm just full of hot air, let me know, too!
Tl;DR I welcome, even encourage, exclusive promos for attending special events. Just don't make them functionally unique.

Marc gave it another go. He tipped his hand forward. The silver patty rolled off him, dropping toward the cave floor.
It stopped short of hitting the path. The shiny disc halted in the air, dangling at the end of a thin white line.
He watched the small wheel spin. It might have been the most fun he’d had all year. Even more fun than that mud puddle he’d found the other day.
How does it keep going? Marc thought to himself. And without any power??
Marc assumed the disc was some sort of technological marvel from the past. But the Archives had little information on it, only a name. It was called a “yo-yo.”
They all must have had one of these, he posited.
As Marc walked down the stone ramp, he cast the yo-yo again. The toy’s quiet spin was the only sound in the cavern. The soft hiss of string versus metal reverberated gently in the spacious cave.
Marc focused all his attention on the little gadget. He was determined to enjoy every last minute of the universe, no matter what. And that evening, the yo-yo more than accomplished that goal.
The shimmering yo-yo, however, couldn’t prevent the world around him from crumbling. The ground started to rumble. The rest of the cave shook with it. The underground city shook as the plasma storm above battered it—and the rest of the planet.
Marc’s home broke down. Cracks appeared in the ceiling. Waterfalls of dust poured out of them. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing collapsed. That is, if the plasma storm didn’t swallow it whole first.
Whatever.
A few clumps of dirt wouldn’t ruin Marc’s fun. He pulled the hood of his shawl over his head and extended his ragged sleeves toward each hand. His clothes shielded him from the falling dust; the gritty particles made themselves at home on his messy shawl. And Marc was free to perfect his newest trick.
The rumbling died down though as Marc descended the ramp. The yo-yo string didn’t wobble so much, and he didn't have to watch his steps as carefully. He just hoped the quaking wouldn’t come back to ruin his event.
Speaking of which, Marc glanced ahead toward his destination below. What he saw rocked him even harder than the earthquake had.
What in the sinkpits…?
Marc stopped in his tracks. He even started to reach for his knife. All because he’d detected a speck of something suspicious. Something he didn't see much of every day: color.
Showy landmarks weren’t something endemic to his home. The Outpost was more of a dusty gray-and-brown sort of place. The walls were sandstone. The floor was sandstone. And the ceiling? …Granite?
No, sandstone. All under the faint glow of a string of depressed lightbulbs.
The intriguing blip in the gray-and-tan collage was farther up the path. Ahead of the ramp, on Level 8, Marc saw the same three steel doors he was used to seeing. The front doors of underground homes, lined up in a row, each closed into the cave wall.
However, there was something different about the third door. It looked… alive. Like it didn’t belong in a dreary place like the Outpost. But it was too far away to tell what exactly had been done to it.
Marc squinted at it suspiciously. The third door happened to be his destination. And now it was weird.
He considered waiting and observing the mutated door. A child of the Outpost, Marc had developed a healthy fear of the unusual.
These habits, along with his instincts, kept him safe. They’d specifically preserved him while the rest of humanity perished.
But he shrugged off the instinct to wait. Something new and “different” was ahead, and he wanted to see it.
But just as a precaution, it was time for his yo-yo’s last trick. He got in one final throw then placed the toy into his satchel. He dropped it on top of his arsenal of cables, wrenches, and screwdrivers.
And by the time he’d snapped the satchel shut, the long ramp had bottomed out. He’d made it to the next level.
To his left, the wall had been spray-painted. Scrawled-out black letters stood against the sandy background. They stated, “Now Level 8.”
Marc followed the sign. He stayed close to the wall, crossing to the stone pedestrian path. He passed one untouched steel door with a dusted-over mail slot in the wall beside it. Then he passed a second home—abandoned like the first. And finally, he arrived at his friend’s place and the mysterious blip on Level 8.
To his surprise, the steel door elicited a flush of emotion. His heart floated upward. And the portrait before him drew his focus in like an otherworldly beacon.
How did it get so…?
Marc pulled back his hood. The ground popped with the sandy grains he released.
He could hardly believe the difference. The door used to blend in with the others: another ridged steel face that spent most of its time rusting or collecting dirt.
But it was no longer muffled by the dust and dirt that had built up over the years.
Today, it sung. Paint streaks flew across its visage. They swirled and spiraled, forming stars and other shapes. Where previously gray and rust dominated, colors sprang forth—colors that Marc didn't even have the names for. They were many, and they were warm, like the evening sky just after sunset. Marc could hardly wrap his head around the entire image.
He swelled with gratitude.
Only you could have pulled this off. He thought of his friend, the painter. The one person in the colony who’d ever been any fun. The one other person in the colony who was left…
The artist had done the unthinkable. Foraging the garden below for something other than food. Spending work time measuring and concocting the perfect blends of paint. And then slathering their fingers across the giant door, until its old face was but a memory. And all that effort for only a single other person to appreciate.
Newly inspired, Marc searched for an unpainted space on the metal canvas. He found one and knocked on the door.
He took a step back and waited. The outside of the Outpost was lively. Excited wind rushed through the canyon.
By contrast, the Outpost itself was silent. If there was anyone left to say anything, they may have even called it “dead.”
Or nearly dead, anyway. The last morsel of it came to life as the door in front of Marc groaned.
It floated off the ground, inching upward. On the other side, Marc could hear a hand crank clicking away.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
The corrugated door lifted, and the door rolled up. The tip of the artist’s painting started to slip from view.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
Behind the door, chains reeled at a slow clip. The heavy curtain was halfway up. Marc could now see his best friend's lower half. Buff Lenorkian legs pumped back and forth with each crank.
The door unveiled even more of the owner. A torso in a metal suit appeared. Four ripped arms stretched out of it. They rotated, moving to the clicking beats of the door.
Ktch… ktch… ktch… ktch…
The door raised a few inches further, uncovering the bottom half of a cobalt blue face. Two rows of razor-sharp teeth smiled from ear to ear. A few inches more, and Marc could see the whole of the Lenorkian’s face.
Sid greeted Marc as the last of the door raised.
“Finally!” he said.
Marc didn’t get a chance to respond. His body lurched forward involuntarily. He slammed into Sid’s metal suit.
Crrrrrick!
The armor squealed as Sid’s upper two arms squeezed him tighter. The lower set of arms had reeled Marc in.
Marc hated hugs. Stupid mushy emotional wraparounds. But just this one final time, Marc returned the gesture. He squeezed Sid back.
“Happy Worlds’ End!” Sid said from the other side of the embrace.
“Yeah,” Marc replied, “Happy Worlds’ End.”
The two separated.
“Cool painting, by the way,” Marc said. He pointed at the rolled-up door. “I didn’t think you’d top the one in the garden.”
“You think so?” Sid sheepishly smiled. “Well I’ve had more time to practice since… you know.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Marc said. “Me too. That’s how I actually got you something.”
Marc swung his heavy satchel around. He rifled through it, squeezing through cables, knocking handles and parts out of the way. And then—ah.
He fished out a crumpled rag. Holding it in one hand, he began to gently unfold it.
“I found this a few days ago in the garden,” he said. The edges of the cloth fell. They revealed a small, glass object. It sparkled.
Marc continued, “I think it fits your style—I mean, I know it’s a little smudged and chipped but...”
He swirled the crystal trinket around. The cavern’s incandescent light flittered across its clear edges.
He touched it too, tracing the slender portion of it with his thumb. It was the neck of the crystal swan.
“It’s yours,” Marc said, offering up the bird.
Sid cupped two shovel-sized hands and accepted the gift.
“It’s beautiful…” he said, examining it. “I can’t believe anything like this could have survived this long.” He looked up at Marc and smiled, “Thank you so much. I just wish I had a little longer to could enjoy it.”
They chuckled lightly about their impending obliteration.
“Well, come on in,” Sid said. He extended both of his left arms. They gestured toward the cave interior. “We’ll finish off this universe how it started,” he said. He mashed his upper two fists together. “With a bang!”
“I hear that!” Marc nodded. He crossed over into Sid’s house.
As Marc passed Sid, a wave of discomfort hit him. Sid had switched out his usual t-shirt and jeans. He wore old armor instead. And the metal plating taunted Marc.
Marc’s next question came out more accusatory than curious.
“So… a Lenorkian throwback, huh?” he asked Sid.
Sid had just finished finding the perfect home for his swan. He left it on a shelf next to the front door.
He turned to face Marc. He hid his embarrassment behind a jagged smile.
“Oh!” he said. “Uhhh…” Three of Sid’s arms disappeared behind his back. The cone-shaped cuffs at the end of each wrist clanked against the back of his chest armor. The fourth arm nervously scratched his blue head. “I don’t know,” he said. “It's stupid, I guess. I can take it off… if you want.”
Marc didn’t want to address the topic head-on. He stopped in the cave’s entry. He pretended to admire the walls—as if he’d never seen sandstone before.
“No, leave it on,” he said. “You look… like a true Lenorkian.” He turn around and forced a smile.
It wasn’t enough.
“Okay, let’s get this out of the way,” Sid said. He marched up to Marc.
Sid took a deep breath before he spoke.
“Tonight's really important to me,” he continued. “This is the last impression anyone’s going to make on the universe. So I need you on board.” He continued staring down at Marc. “Can you do that? For me?”
Marc didn’t see what the big deal was. It was just a couple of best friends hanging out.
“Yeah, why not?” he shrugged. “End it the way it started.”
The exchange turned into awkward silence. Neither knew what to do next. They had never been in a situation like this before—never attended such an event. What the Archives called: a par-ty.
Sid shook off the figurative mask he’d been wearing—one that was uncharacteristically dour. His eyes lightened, and he bobbed his head knowingly.
“I went through the Archives to see how this works,” he said. He walked toward the long horizontal counter against the wall—the kitchen.
On the counter, chaos ran wild. Bowls and kitchenware spread across the surface. And the insides of his pots and pans resembled the dirty mouth of a garbage chute.
Marc wasn’t sure what to think. Was cleaning the host’s kitchen a staple of ancient parties?
Sid too seemed a bit confused. His next words came out robotically, as if he was practicing a new word he’d learned.
“’Can-I-offer-you-a-drink?’” Sid asked. He stood nervously in front of the counter.
Looking closer at it, three unusual objects stood apart from the kitchenware mess. It took Marc a while to remember what their outdated, bendy material was called.
Plastic. Three pink and plastic cups sat equidistant from one another.
“I got these from here,” Sid reached under the counter and pulled up some sort of transparent bag. Pink cups just liked the others were stacked on top of each other inside.
Sid packed the bag back under the counter.
“So?” he asked after he finished. He held all four hands together in anticipation. His smile may have looked like an industrial-grade rock shredder, but it was hard to resist his innocent blue face and big wide eyes.
Marc eyed the pink cups one last time.
“This better not kill me,” he said.
Sid wasted no time. He excitedly grabbed a cup and walked over to a large pot sitting on the counter.
Using a nearby ladle, he plunged into the vat. An unappetizing sloshing sound resulted. And Sid, as strong as he was, seemed to struggle with scooping out some of the mystery liquid. But in the end, he pulled back the ladle and unloaded an opaque, muddy liquid into the cup.
“It's a homeworld classic called fludge,” Sid said as he finished pouring.
He treaded over to his reluctant friend and handed off the plastic cup.
“Did you say ‘fludge’?” Marc asked. He swished the cup around cautiously. The earthy liquid hardly budged.
“Yeah, fludge! Us Lenorkians invented it. It’s kind of the only tasty thing we ever bothered to make.”
Marc sniffed it. It smelled… burnt? Maybe a little dusty, too? But he could have just been smelling the cave.
Sid left Marc alone with Marc’s questionable new assignment. He returned to the pot to pour himself a drink.
“Just try it!” he said.
Marc looked down again at the dark soup. It could kill him. Or maybe it wouldn't.
Either way, it was his last drink.
He took a timid sip and waited to be repulsed. The fludge trickled to the back of his tongue. As it hit, Marc’s eyes widened. But not with regret.
He swallowed.
“Now wait a minute…” he said. He smacked his lips together. Then he took another, larger sip.
This curious dark liquid had a unique taste to it. The taste was earthen—but unoffending. It also had a subtle undercurrent of sweetness to it, combined with a spicy kick. It was delicious.
“This might be the best drink in the entire Outpost!” Marc exclaimed.
Pure joy bloomed on Sid’s face. “See! I told you: the greatest thing we ever made.”
He held his own cup above his open jaws. The falling fludge was no match for the alien. He guzzled it down, licked his lips, and then went back for more.
As Sid fashioned himself another drink, Marc noticed something a tad unsettling. A third pink cup stared back at him. It prompted an uncomfortable thought, but he shoved the thought back down.
The Lenorkian carried back his second drink. Though this time, he took it in small, human-sized sips.
But he quickly reanimated. In the middle of a sip, Sid got a wild look in his eyes. His irises turned from their natural violet to scarlet. He yanked the cup from his face and swallowed.
“Argh, how did I forget?” he said. “I got music!”
Marc cut his sip short too. “No way. You got music?”
“I think so!”
Sid did an about face. He slammed the half-empty cup on the counter. Then he shuffled toward a giant metal column protruding from the far wall. Four ink-blue hands wrapped around the cover of the vent. And he went for it.
Sid struggled to pull off the cover of the vent at first. His armor ballooned around his biceps as his muscles bulged outward. Yet the cover wouldn't budge.
But it seemed like an important part of his evening plans. He scolded the stubborn vent, banging on its top.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” he said. He latched onto the vent again.
This time, he put even more effort in. To the point where Marc sensed that Sid was losing a grip on his own body. Out of his forehead, two thumb-sized cones began to rise. His breathing turned low and raspy. And his whole body seemed to expand as he repositioned himself for leverage. Then with one final pull, like a wild beast, he let out of a deep, guttural roar.
“HAWRRRRRRRRRRRGGH!” The roar echoed off the cave walls.
And with that, the stubborn vent cover finally popped off. A breath of wind pulsed through the room as the air pressure equalized itself.
But the wind wasn’t finished. After the initial pulse exited, a mighty gust picked up where the original pulse left off. The vent shot more wind into the room, but rapidly, like a storm. Tiny coarse particles rattled inside the duct. And in the room, a rush of wind whipped past Marc’s face. He felt little nips across his exposed skin as it passed him.
Both partiers shielded their faces from the most direct blasts of air. Sid smiled nervously as he looked to Marc. He raised his voice over the whining airstream.
“It’s from the sandplains above!” he said in an elevated voice. “I thought we’d use the sandstorm for music! Do you like it?”
Music… Marc wasn’t exactly an expert. Even though humans were said to be naturals at it, not much on the subject had made it into the Archives. The Outpost didn’t have much of it either. The closest he got was the occasional chant, stray birds twittering about, or maybe someone banging on rocks.
But Marc did know one thing on the subject. Where there was music, there was dancing.
That said, he had never danced before either. But a long time ago, his parents told him it was something all humans could do. It was something they carried in their blood. Once humans found a pattern in music, they could match it to their body language. And once they’d synced melody and movement, they could ride that wave to a whole new experience.
Might as well give it a shot, he thought. Marc too put his cup on the counter.
With his hands free, Marc backed up toward the middle of the room. He closed his eyes, felt the wind. It filled his ears with its gusty energy. It hit him in pumps as the storm raged above.
Though not totally predictable, the wind did hit him consistently. There was some sort of kinetic pattern to it.
Yes, a pattern.
Well actually, he’d heard it called by another name. What was that word his mother had used? He opened his eyes when he remembered: rhythm.
Marc stretched out his arms. He relaxed his hips. He felt the wind’s whips and waves across his arms. He let his arms follow them, swaying with the current. Not long after, his hips joined in. They too gyrated, trying to match the energetic gusts. He kept at it. And the first time Marc felt both himself and the wind moving together, he grinned.
“This is amazing!” he said. Around them, the wind crooned.
Sid was entranced. He nodded back while staring at Marc’s strange movements. He’d never really seen dancing either. But he figured he would give it a shot too. He loosened up his arms and walked onto the dance floor with Marc.
Before dancing himself, he studied Marc first. He watched how the scavenger moved his arms—and when the scavenger moved his arms.
Sid’s limbs followed. Four muscular arms rose in the air, like fighter jets on their way to a dogfight. And on a one or two second delay, they swayed after Marc’s.
For a while, they followed Marc completely. Then Sid went down his own path. The Lenorkian’s movements grew aggressive and battle-like. He punched at the wind swiping across him. He shuffled his feet as if swapping battle stances.
He caught Marc’s curiosity. Even as a novice, Marc could tell Sid’s movements weren’t traditional by any means. But to Marc, it was dancing all the same.
The two danced to the chorus of the air above. They laughed occasionally as changes in the rhythm of the wind tripped them up. In his head, Marc compared it to the painting on Sid’s door. The colony had never seen anything like this either.
Then something interrupted their dancing. The ground beneath them shook, throwing them off their feet. Heavy gray dirt trickled from the ceiling as the entire cave rumbled. And outside, the distant sky flashed and crackled. Its light illuminated the cave in violent spurts as the boys struggled to stand back up.
Eventually, the violent quaking and frightening flashes died down. The plasma storm held its breath once again.
The boys got back on their feet, but all the joy had seeped out of Sid’s face. He just stared at the floor in deep contemplation. Even as the windy music started back up.
Marc figured he would rescue his friend from whatever dark thoughts had turned up. Naturally, the end of the universe was a real bummer.
“End of the world got you down, huh?” He tried to laugh it off. The whole situation was pretty sad. Especially when they were having so much fun. But it was best to end the universe on a high note, right?
Nevertheless, Sid seemed dejected. He mumbled something inaudible.
“Dude, I can’t hear over the song!” Marc said in an elevated voice.
Sid spoke up over the wind. “That’s not what I’m upset about,” he said, his voice still fairly low.
“Then what are you upset about?”
Sid blurted out his response. “Because I invited Tōn-E, okay?”
He couldn’t bring himself to look Marc in the eye. Because he knew what was coming.
“YOU DID WHAT?!” Marc shouted over the music. Marc himself stomped over to the vent. He picked the cover off the floor—though he struggled quite a bit with it. It was heavier than Sid made it look. But he hoisted it back into the mouth of the vent. The music shut off. The steady drop of sand on the cave floor ceased.
“Say that again,” he leveled in Sid’s direction.
“What was I supposed to do?” Sid remade eye contact. “Not invite the only other intelligent being to the last party the universe will ever have?”
Marc needed no time to answer. He nodded insistently. “Yes. That was exactly what you were supposed to do. What the hell, Sid?” Marc would have continued, but there was another disturbance outside. He caught a glimpse of movement in the doorway.
--
Thanks for reading some of my words :) I’m trying stuff out, so let me know what you think.
The rest of the story is here
Based on a prompt by eithrotaur

Post here and/or PM me with any questions. Shipping is $5. International is available, please discuss. Free samples with every purchase! Payment is by Venmo, CashApp or Zelle; PayPal must inquire.
All of my contact info as well as all of my bottles for sale, are available in my spreadsheet which you should bookmark and look at for a more updated inventory
Spreadsheet

	HOUSE	FRAGRANCE	SIZE	REMAINING	Notes/Condition	Price	Type
1	Amouage	Incense Rori Attar	12mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$439	Niche
2	Amouage	Material (Woman)	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; Tester Cap	$145	Niche
3	Amouage	Orris Wakan Attar	12mL	99% Full	Full Presentation	$419	Niche
4	Amouage	Rose Aqor Attar	12mL	99% Full	Full Presentation	$419	Niche
5	Amouage	Vanilla Barka Attar	12mL	99% Full	Full Presentation	$419	Niche
6	Andy Tauer	Cologne du Maghreb	50mL	99% Full	First Release, Rectangular Clear Bottle; With box	$95	Niche
7	Bond No. 9	Madison Square Park	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$135	Niche
8	By Kilian	Apple Brandy on the Rocks	50mL	99% Full	Full Presentation, Box has some wear.	$160	Niche
9	By Kilian	Bamboo Harmony	100mL	100% Full	Tester Refill (No Spray)	$209	Niche
10	By Kilian	Black Phantom	100mL	100% Full	Tester Refill (No Spray)	$215	Niche
11	By Kilian	Gold Knight	100mL	100% Full	Tester Refill (No Spray)	$209	Niche
12	By Kilian	Good Girl Gone Bad	250mL	99% Full	Decanter; No Box	$800	Niche
13	By Kilian	Intoxicated	100mL	100% Full	Tester Refill (No Spray)	$209	Niche
14	By Kilian	Love Don't Be Shy	50mL	99% Full	Full Presentation, Box has some wear.	$160	Niche
15	Byredo	Infloresence	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Niche
16	Byredo	Lil Fleur	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Niche
17	Byredo	Mixed Emotions	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Niche
18	Byredo	Mumbai Noise	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Niche
19	Byredo	Sunday Cologne	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Niche
20	Chanel Exclusif	Cuir de Russie EdT	200mL	95% Full	No Box; Tester	$725	Niche
21	Chanel Exclusif	Misia EdT	200mL	98% Full	Vintage Discontinued Formula; No Box	$380	Niche
22	Chanel Exclusif	No. 22 EdT	200mL	97% Full		$550	Niche
23	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Bois D'Argent	7.5mL	100% Full	Official Mini	$30	Niche
24	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Bois D'Argent	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 0V01 (2010 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$35	Niche
25	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Cologne Royale	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 1X01 (2011 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$30	Niche
26	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Diorissima	7.5mL	100% Full	Official Mini; No Cannister - Price includes shipping	$30	Niche
27	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Eau Noire	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 1R01 (2011 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$35	Niche
28	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Eden Roc	7.5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Price includes shipping	$30	Niche
29	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Granville	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 0V01 (2010 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$35	Niche
30	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Milly-La-Foret	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 0W01 (2010 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$30	Niche
31	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	Mitzah	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 1W01 (2011 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$35	Niche
32	Christian Dior / Dior Privee	New Look 1947	5mL	100% Full	Official Mini - Batch Code 1R01 (2011 Production Date) - Price includes shipping	$30	Niche
33	Clive Christian	I Pour Femme (Woody Floral with Vintage Rose)	50mL	99% Full	No Box	$180	Niche
34	Clive Christian	Rock Rose	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$289	Niche
35	Creed	Acqua Florentina - F Batch	75mL	95% Full	Box, Can add a Creed Cap as well	$175	Niche
36	Creed	Aventus - 22A11A	100mL	100% Full	Full Presentation	$250	Niche
37	Creed	Aventus Cologne - 2022 Batch	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$234	Niche
38	Creed	Aventus Cologne - F Batch (Plastic Cap)	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed in Box	$239	Niche
39	Creed	Aventus for Her - F567	75mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$190	Niche
40	Creed	Erolfa - 15X01	120mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$369	Niche
41	Creed	Erolfa - F Batch	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$160	Niche
42	Creed	Green Irish Tweed - 19U11	50mL	99% Full	Full presentation with Box	$160	Niche
43	Creed	Green Irish Tweed - 2022 Batch	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$195	Niche
44	Creed	Himalaya - 22B01A	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Square Style Cap	$175	Niche
45	Creed	Jardin D'Amalfi	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$199	Niche
46	Creed	Millesime Imperial - F Batch	100mL	100% Full	Comes with Box and SQUARE Older Style Cap.	$180	Niche
47	Creed	Neroli Sauvage - F241	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$160	Niche
48	Creed	Original Santal - F511	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$160	Niche
49	Creed	Royal Mayfair - 15R01	120mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$229	Niche
50	Creed	Royal Oud - F BATCH	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$275	Niche
51	Creed	Royal Water - 20C01N	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Square Style Cap	$175	Niche
52	Creed	Silver Mountain Water - 21V01A	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Square Style Cap	$180	Niche
53	Creed	Spring Flowers 2023	75mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$225	Niche
54	Creed	Tabarome - 21Y01A	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$160	Niche
55	Creed	Viking - F512	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$205	Niche
56	Creed	Virgin Island Water - F473	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$195	Niche
57	Creed	White Amber - 17W01	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$149	Niche
58	Creed	Wind Flowers - 22C01B	75mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap	$199	Niche
59	Diptyque	Do Son Eau de Toilette	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$99	Niche
60	DS & DURGA	Amber Kiso	100mL	100% Full	New, No Box	$125	Niche
61	Frederic Malle	Eau de Magnolia	10mL	100% Full	Official Travel Spray	$55	Niche
62	Gallagher	Bergamot Silk	100mL	99% Full		$84	Niche
63	Giorgio Armani / Armani Prive	Gardenia Antigua	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$155	Niche
64	Giorgio Armani / Armani Prive	Pierre de Lune	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$155	Niche
65	Giorgio Armani / Armani Prive	Rose Alexandrie	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$155	Niche
66	Guerlain	Angelique Noire	30mL	100% Full	Mini Bee Bottle Decant	$215	Niche
67	Guerlain	Angelique Noire	10mL	100% Full	Tall Glass Decant	$55	Niche
68	Guerlain	Cherry Oud	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$279	Niche
69	Guerlain	Cruel Gardenia	200mL	100% Full	Brand new tester without box	$329	Niche
70	Guerlain	Embruns D'Ylang	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$339	Niche
71	Guerlain	Epices Volee	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$339	Niche
72	Guerlain	Gourmand Coquin	10mL	100% Full	Tall Glass Decant	$60	Niche
73	Guerlain	Herbes Troublantes	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$339	Niche
74	Guerlain	Joyeuse Tuberuese	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$349	Niche
75	Guerlain	Musc Outreblanc	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$349	Niche
76	Guerlain	Oeillet Pourpre	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$339	Niche
77	Guerlain	Oud Nude	200mL	95% Full	Tester; No Box	$369	Niche
78	Guerlain	Rose Barbare	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$339	Niche
79	Guerlain	Rose Barbare	200mL	90% Full	DECANTED - NO ORIGINAL BOTTLE	$250	Niche
80	Guerlain	Santal Pao Rosa	200mL	100% Full	Tester (No Box)	$349	Niche
81	Guerlain	Tonka Imperiale	30mL	100% Full	Mini Bee Bottle Decant	$199	Niche
82	Guerlain	Tonka Imperiale	10mL	100% Full	Tall Glass Decant	$55	Niche
83	Hermes / Hermessence	Agar Ebene	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$150	Niche
84	Hermes / Hermessence	Brin de Reglisse	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
85	Hermes / Hermessence	Cedre Sambac	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
86	Hermes / Hermessence	Epice Marine	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$170	Niche
87	Hermes / Hermessence	Iris Ukiyoe	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$150	Niche
88	Hermes / Hermessence	Muguet Porcelaine	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
89	Hermes / Hermessence	Myrrhe Eglantine	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$185	Niche
90	Hermes / Hermessence	Osmanthe Yunnan	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$150	Niche
91	Hermes / Hermessence	Paprika Brasil	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$170	Niche
92	Hermes / Hermessence	Santal Massoia	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$170	Niche
93	Hermes / Hermessence	Vanille Galante	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$150	Niche
94	Hermes / Hermessence	Vetiver Tonka	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box, No Cap	$150	Niche
95	Hermes / Hermessence	Vetiver Tonka	200mL	100% Full	Full Presentation, Brand New.	$399	Niche
96	Hermes / Hermessence	Violette Volynka	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$185	Niche
97	Hiram Green	Vetiver	50mL	95% Full	Full Presentation	$130	Niche
98	House of Sillage	Hufflepuff	75mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$325	Niche
99	House of Sillage	Nouez Moi	75mL	99% Full	Tester	$120	Niche
100	I Profumi di Firenze	Caterina De Medici	50mL	99% Full	No Box	$35	Niche
101	Initio	Musk Therapy	90mL	99% Full	Full presentation with Box	$200	Niche
102	Initio	Side Effect	10mL	100% Full	Official Travel Atomizer	$75	Niche
103	Knize	Knize Ten	125mL	99% Full	No Box	$110	Niche
104	Le Labo	Another 13	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$189	Niche
105	Le Labo	Baie 19	100mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$225	Niche
106	Le Labo	Cedrat 37 – Berlin City Exclusive	100mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$275	Niche
107	Le Labo	Cedrat 37 – Berlin City Exclusive	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$225	Niche
108	Le Labo	Gaiac 10 – Tokyo City Exclusive	100mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$400	Niche
109	Le Labo	Mousse de Chene 30 - Amsterdam City Exclusive	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$300	Niche
110	Le Labo	Musc 25 – Los Angeles City Exclusive	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$250	Niche
111	Le Labo	Rose 31	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$175	Niche
112	Le Labo	Tabac 28 – Miami City Exclusive	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$250	Niche
113	Le Labo	The Noir 29	50mL	99% Full	Sprayed Once to Test / Brand New; No Box	$175	Niche
114	Maison Crivelli	Bois Datchai	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$169	Niche
115	Maison Crivelli	Rose Saltifolia	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$159	Niche
116	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	724	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$365	Niche
117	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	724	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
118	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Amyris Femme	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$139	Niche
119	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Amyris Femme Extrait	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
120	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Amyris Femme Extrait Special Edition Bottle	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$245	Niche
121	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Celestia	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$115	Niche
122	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte	200mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$279	Niche
123	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Celestia Cologne Forte	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$149	Niche
124	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Celestia Forte	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$159	Niche
125	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Universalis Cologne Forte	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$119	Niche
126	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Universalis EdT	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$219	Niche
127	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Vitae	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$219	Niche
128	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Vitae Cologne Forte	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$119	Niche
129	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Aqua Vitae Forte EdP	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$159	Niche
130	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Baccarat Rouge 540 EdP	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$205	Niche
131	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Baccarat Rouge 540 EdP	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$409	Niche
132	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$295	Niche
133	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Gentle Fluidity Gold	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
134	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Grand Soir	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$170	Niche
135	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	L'eau a La Rose	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$129	Niche
136	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	L'eau a la Rose	35mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$90	Niche
137	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	L'homme A la Rose	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$159	Niche
138	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Oud EdP	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$170	Niche
139	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Oud Extrait	10mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$35	Niche
140	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Oud Satin Mood EdP	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$190	Niche
141	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Petit Matin	70mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$145	Niche
142	Maison Francis Kurkdjian	Petit Matin	200mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$350	Niche
143	Maison Lancome	Orange Bigarades	100mL	100% Full	Full presentation with Box	$229	Niche
144	Mark Birley	Charles Street	75mL	97% Full	Travel Version	$90	Niche
145	Masque Milano	Tango	35mL	99% Full		$90	Niche
146	Memo Paris	French Leather	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Cap	$135	Niche
147	Memo Paris	Inle	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Cap	$135	Niche
148	Memo Paris	Italian Leather	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box or Cap	$135	Niche
149	Memo Paris	Lailabella	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$135	Niche
150	Memo Paris	Marfa	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$135	Niche
151	Memo Paris	Moon Fever	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$135	Niche
152	Memo Paris	Oriental Leather	75mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box; No Cap	$135	Niche
153	Mind Games	Caissa	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$250	Niche
154	Mind Games	Gardez (Black Queen)	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$225	Niche
155	Mind Games	J'Adoube	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$299	Niche
156	Mind Games	Scholar's Mate	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$225	Niche
157	Mizensir	Cologne de Figuer	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$175	Niche
158	Mizensir	Cologne de Matte	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$175	Niche
159	Mizensir	Ideal Oud	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
160	Mizensir	Mythique Vetiver	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$175	Niche
161	Mizensir	Sweet Prailine	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
162	Mizensir	Bois de Mysore	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
163	Mona di Orio	Cuir	75mL	99% Full	No Box	$120	Niche
164	Oliver and Co.	M.O.U.S.S.E.	50mL	99% Full	Limited Edition 87/133	$110	Niche
165	Parfums de Nicolai	Patchouli Intense	100mL	98% Full	Full Presentation	$119	Niche
166	Perris Monte Carlo	Tuberuese Absolue	100mL	99% Full	No Box	$99	Niche
167	Pomare's Stolen Perfume	Angel's Share	9mL	70% Full	No Box	$40	Niche
168	Roja Dove	Apex Discovery Atomizer	7.5mL	99% Full		$50	Niche
169	Roja Dove	Creation-E Essence de Parfum	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
170	Roja Dove	Scandal Essence de Parfum	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$165	Niche
171	Roman Monegal	L'eau de Rose	50mL	97% Full		$70	Niche
172	Santa Maria Novella	Sandalo	100mL	95% Full	No Box	$80	Niche
173	The Harmonist	Desired Earth Eau de Parfum	50mL	100% Full	Brand new, Sealed	$219	Niche
174	The Harmonist	Magnetic Wood Parfum	50mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$229	Niche
175	Tom Ford	Beau de Jour	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$1,000	Niche
176	Tom Ford	Ebene Fume	250mL	99% Full	Decanter; No Box	$750	Niche
177	Tom Ford	Ebene Fume	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$170	Niche
178	Tom Ford	Fougere Platine	250mL	90% Full	Decanter; No Box	$625	Niche
179	Tom Ford	Fougere Platine	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$1,000	Niche
180	Tom Ford	Fucking Fabulous	250mL	99% Full	Decanter; No Box	$750	Niche
181	Tom Ford	Fucking Fabulous	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$180	Niche
182	Tom Ford	Grey Vetiver Parfum	100mL	100% Full	Sealed, New in Box	$170	Niche
183	Tom Ford	Oud Fleur	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$1,000	Niche
184	Tom Ford	Oud Wood	250mL	99% Full	Decanter; No Box	$750	Niche
185	Tom Ford	Rose de Chine	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$175	Niche
186	Tom Ford	Rose Prick	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$269	Niche
187	Tom Ford	Soleil Blanc EdP	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$140	Niche
188	Tom Ford	Soleil Brulant	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$145	Niche
189	Tom Ford	Soleil Neige	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$850	Niche
190	Tom Ford	Tobacco Oud	50mL	95% Full	No Box	$180	Niche
191	Tom Ford	Tobacco Vanille	50mL	90% Full	Full Presentation with Box	$155	Niche
192	Tom Ford	Tuscan Leather	50mL	100% Full	Magnetic Cap Decant	$115	Niche
193	Tom Ford	Vert des Bois	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$900	Niche
194	Tom Ford	White Suede	1000mL	100% Full	Sealed Dramming Bottle	$850	Niche
195	TVGA	Milestones Extrait	9mL	90% Full	No Box	$40	Niche
196	Washington Tremlett	Black Tie	100mL	95% Full		$125	Niche
197	Yves Saint Laurent	Tuxedo	250mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$375	Niche
198	Acqua di Parma	Arancia Di Capri	150mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$65	Designer
199	Acqua di Parma	Colonia EdC	100mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$75	Designer
200	Acqua di Parma	Colonia Intensa	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$65	Designer
201	Aqua di Parma	Magnolia Nobile	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$115	Designer
202	Caron	Pour un Homme de Caron Le Matin	125mL	100% Full	Opened to test, sprayed once	$69	Designer
203	Caron	Pour un Homme de Caron Le Soir	125mL	100% Full	Opened to test, sprayed once	$69	Designer
204	Caron	Pour Un Homme Impact Parfum	75mL	97% Full	No Box	$175	Designer
205	Chanel	Allure Homme Sport - Aftershave Balm	100mL	99% Full	No Box	$65	Designer
206	Chanel	Allure Pour Femme EdT	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$65	Designer
207	Chanel	Antaeus	100mL	85% Full	Silver Sprayer	$125	Designer
208	Chanel	Bleu de Chanel - Aftershave Balm	100mL	99% Full	No Box, Minor Cosmetic Damage	$55	Designer
209	Chanel	Bleu de Chanel - Aftershave Lotion	100mL	99% Full	No Box, Minor Cosmetic Damage	$55	Designer
210	Chanel	Bleu de Chanel Parfum	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$130	Designer
211	Chanel	Chance Eau Tendre EdP	50mL	90% Full	Tester; No Box	$90	Designer
212	Chanel	Chance Eau Tendre EdT	150mL	99% Full	Tester; No Box	$120	Designer
213	Chanel	Coco EdP	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$85	Designer
214	Chanel	Coco Mademoiselle - Moisturizing Body Lotion	200mL	99% Full	No Box	$55	Designer
215	Chanel	Coco Mademoiselle EdP	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$90	Designer
216	Chanel	Coco Mademoiselle EdT	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$65	Designer
217	Chanel	Coco Mademoiselle L'eau Privee	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$90	Designer
218	Chanel	Cristalle Eau Vert EdT Concentree	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Designer
219	Chanel	Cristalle EdP	50mL	95% Full	Tester; No Box	$135	Designer
220	Chanel	No. 19	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$115	Designer
221	Chanel	No. 5 Eau Premiere	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$85	Designer
222	Chanel	No. 5 EdP	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$85	Designer
223	Chanel	Platinum Egoiste	75mL	99% Full	SPLASH, NOT SPRAY Older Formulation	$125	Designer
224	Christian Dior	Dior Homme Sport - 2017 Version	125mL	99% Full	Tester; No Box Batch Code is 6Y02	$89	Designer
225	Christian Dior	J'adore in Joy EdT	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap, No Box	$60	Designer
226	Floris	007	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap, No Box	$100	Designer
227	Floris	A Rose For...	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$65	Designer
228	Floris	Cefiro	100mL	100% Full	Tester with Cap, No Box	$59	Designer
229	Floris	Lily of the Valley	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box.	$65	Designer
230	Gucci	Gucci Guilty Absolute	90mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$70	Designer
231	Guerlain	Habit Rouge L'instinct	100mL	99% Full	Sprayed once	$84	Designer
232	Guerlain	L'instant de Guerlain Pour Homme EXTREME	10mL	100% Full	VINTAGE BLACK RIM - DECANT	$50	Designer
233	Hermes	Twilly	80mL	100% Full	Tester; No Box	$65	Designer
234	Jo Malone	Amber & Lavender	30mL	90% Full	No Box	$52	Designer
235	Jo Malone	English Oak & Redcurrant	30mL	80% Full	No Box	$49	Designer
236	Jo Malone	English Pear & Freesia	100mL	100% Full	Brand New with Gift Box and Gift Set (Body Wash, Body Lotion)	$180	Designer
237	Jo Malone	Rose & White Musk Absolu	100mL	100% Full	No Box	$180	Designer
238	Jo Malone	Velvet Rose and Oud Cologne Intense	50mL	99% Full	Tester; No Box	$90	Designer
239	Thierry Mugler	A*MEN	100mL	99% Full	Rubber Flask; No Box	$75	Designer
240	Thierry Mugler	A*MEN Ultra Zest	100mL	85-90% Full	Rubber Flask; No Box	$250	Designer
241	Tom Ford	Costa Azzura Parfum	50mL	100% Full	Brand New, Sealed	$130	Designer
242	Amouage	Cristal and Gold Ladies	50mL	95% Full	Vintage, Incredibly hard to find. Full presentation in nice condition	$399	Vintage
243	Cartier	Santos EdT	100mL	60% Full	Splash; Refillable; Original Formulation; No Box; Some Wear on Case	$149	Vintage
244	Chanel	Egoiste Cologne Concentree	100mL	97% Full	Bottle Only	$399	Vintage
245	Chanel	Gardenia EdT	100mL	100% Full	Vintage; Sealed	$390	Vintage
246	Crabtree & Evelyn	Crabtree & Evelyn Extract of West Indian and Sicilian Limes	125mL	100% Full	Full presentation with Box	$209	Vintage
247	Dunhill	Cologne	125mL	99% Full	Vintage; Splash	$100	Vintage
248	Escada	Pour Homme Aftershave	75mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$165	Vintage
249	Escada	Pour Homme Aftershave	125mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$240	Vintage
250	Floris	Bay Rum	3.5 Oz	97% Full	Vintage; Splash. "Use as a cologne, after shave lotion, or hair lotion."	$84	Vintage
251	Floris	Special 127	100mL	98% Full	Vintage; Dark Blue Box., 2 Royal Warrants, Vintage Version	$70	Vintage
252	Fragonard	Zizanie	240mL	80% Full	Shaker bottle (Splash, not spray) no box. At least 80% Full.	$240	Vintage
253	Geo F Trumper	Ajaccio Violets	100mL	99% Full		$40	Vintage
254	Gucci	Envy Aftershave	50mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$140	Vintage
255	Gucci	Envy Aftershave	100mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$215	Vintage
256	Gucci	Rush for Men	50mL	100% Full	Full Presentation; These do not come fully filled	$190	Vintage
257	Gucci	Rush for Men Aftershave	100mL	100% Full	BNIB Sealed	$140	Vintage
258	Guerlain	Heritage EdT	200mL	100% Full	New; Vintage; Splash. 1991 Bottle.	$225	Vintage
259	Guerlain	Samrasa EdP	50mL	100% Full	No Box	$109	Vintage
260	Guerlain	Samsara EdT 1992-1993 Formulation	100mL	100% Full	Tester; No Cap; No Box	$109	Vintage
261	Jean Desprez	Bal a Versailles	9 Oz	70% Full	Vintage; Splash; No Box Open to offers on this enormous bottle.	$135	Vintage
262	Lacoste	Eau de Sport Vivifiante	100mL	99% Full	No Box	$110	Vintage
263	Lacoste	Land	100mL	99% Full		$130	Vintage
264	Nino Cerruti	Fair Play Pour Homme	100mL	99% Full	Full presentation with Box	$275	Vintage
265	Paco Rabanne	Eau de Metal	20mL	100% Full	Vintage; Mini	$15	Vintage
266	Ralph Lauren	Silver Romance for Men	100mL	80% Full	No Box, No Cap	$145	Vintage
267	Revillon	Pour Homme Eau de Toilette Super Concentrate	60mL	99% Full	Atomizer	$190	Vintage
268	Revillon	Pour Homme Eau de Toilette Super Concentrate	90mL	99% Full	Atomizer	$290	Vintage​

Writing dating ads for myself feels a lot like a task straight out of a Tartarus punishment. Maybe I'm Tantalus, and instead of food and water being just out of reach, it's instead my soul mate or plausible matches. Maybe this is just a Sysiphusian exercise in futility. Could technically be Prometheus with Reddit plucking out my heart every day, but this is more numbing than painful at this point. Is it so much to ask for a Eurydice, a Luthien or a Hi'iaka of my own? Given that I write as a hobby, I like to think that anyone I'm compatible with is fit for a mythology all their own.
As for myself, I think I have a bit more to offer than just platitudes and some fancy words on a page. 27, so midway between "I don't consider myself a real adult" and "I'm going to have my midlife crisis soon". Last time I checked, I was 5'9. I look white to most people, although I'm actually mixed. Starting out my life as a resident physician this year, so I am 100% serious about only dating people around NYC. Plenty of other hobbies and qualities as well. Experienced traveler? Check. Foodie? Publishing a food blog in the near future. If you like playing and losing in board games and video games, I'm usually the best player at the table, although I do enjoy plenty of cooperative games too. Mostly watch anime these days, so I'm very used to subtitles and watching things on speeds that usually hinder my enjoyment of them. Supposed to be putting my writing skills towards a video game of my own, but medical school was a little bit more work than anticipated. More than well equipped to handle a trivia competition or midnight conversation about some debate topic you might fancy. DDF and vaccinated, and expecting the same. Plenty more besides that, but I already feel gross from advertising myself this much already. Suffice to say that I have plenty to offer, so I like to think I'm asking for something reasonable.
I need a partner that's well educated; college is the minimum. Higher education is certainly a plus! Some overlap with interests would be nice, although not a requirement as long as you have an open mind. Certainly makes it easier to not have to accustom someone to Disney, Ghibli or games of whatever sort. Physical attraction is a must, and I already know I want kids in the future, so a healthy libido wouldn't hurt. As I mentioned, I absolutely refuse to do any long distance relationships, so its NYC and adjacent or bust. Not too particular when it comes to religion, as long as you have an open mind too. Really hoping you're passionate about something too! Beyond that, pretty open to a lot of things.
If the above sounds like you, and the further above sounds like what you're looking for, hit me with a DM or a chat. If you actually read everything and are interested, please respond with your age and location in your message, as well as your favorite food. Obviously would love to know some of the rest of what I mentioned as well. Happy to swap photos as well if we hit it off, since mutual attraction is hard to ascertain otherwise. Here's to hoping for a romance worth writing about, rather than more of these posts.

Writing dating ads for myself feels a lot like a task straight out of a Tartarus punishment. Maybe I'm Tantalus, and instead of food and water being just out of reach, it's instead my soul mate or plausible matches. Maybe this is just a Sysiphusian exercise in futility. Could technically be Prometheus with Reddit plucking out my heart every day, but this is more numbing than painful at this point. Is it so much to ask for a Eurydice, a Luthien or a Hi'iaka of my own? Given that I write as a hobby, I like to think that anyone I'm compatible with is fit for a mythology all their own.
As for myself, I think I have a bit more to offer than just platitudes and some fancy words on a page. 27, so midway between "I don't consider myself a real adult" and "I'm going to have my midlife crisis soon". Last time I checked, I was 5'9. I look white to most people, although I'm actually mixed. Starting out my life as a resident physician this year, so I am 100% serious about only dating people around NYC. Plenty of other hobbies and qualities as well. Experienced traveler? Check. Foodie? Publishing a food blog in the near future. If you like playing and losing in board games and video games, I'm usually the best player at the table, although I do enjoy plenty of cooperative games too. Mostly watch anime these days, so I'm very used to subtitles and watching things on speeds that usually hinder my enjoyment of them. Supposed to be putting my writing skills towards a video game of my own, but medical school was a little bit more work than anticipated. More than well equipped to handle a trivia competition or midnight conversation about some debate topic you might fancy. DDF and vaccinated, and expecting the same. Plenty more besides that, but I already feel gross from advertising myself this much already. Suffice to say that I have plenty to offer, so I like to think I'm asking for something reasonable.
I need a partner that's well educated; college is the minimum. Higher education is certainly a plus! Some overlap with interests would be nice, although not a requirement as long as you have an open mind. Certainly makes it easier to not have to accustom someone to Disney, Ghibli or games of whatever sort. Physical attraction is a must, and I already know I want kids in the future, so a healthy libido wouldn't hurt. As I mentioned, I absolutely refuse to do any long distance relationships, so its NYC and adjacent or bust. Not too particular when it comes to religion, as long as you have an open mind too. Really hoping you're passionate about something too! Beyond that, pretty open to a lot of things.
If the above sounds like you, and the further above sounds like what you're looking for, hit me with a DM or a chat. If you actually read everything and are interested, please respond with your age and location in your message, as well as your favorite food. Obviously would love to know some of the rest of what I mentioned as well. Happy to swap photos as well if we hit it off, since mutual attraction is hard to ascertain otherwise. Here's to hoping for a romance worth writing about, rather than more of these posts.

I am try make particles appear on previously saved locations. I have the locations saved in a Hashmap where Location stores the location of where the particles are supposed to appear and Integer to determine what type of particles. I use this for loop in a Task that runs every tick.

 for (Location l : LightList.keySet()) { Bukkit.getLogger().info(l + LightList.get(l).toString()); l.getWorld().spawnParticle(Particle.END_ROD, l, 3, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1); } 

The task runs properly on its own (I tested) but this for loop only runs when the Hashmap is updated. What am i doing wrong?
​
TLDR: for loop only runs when Hashmap is updated instead of all the time.

The closure they got, the farther away they had become something else. There are too many cooks in the kitchen, not enough seats at the table I sit alone, but yet I'm knot a frayed, just a string was attached but now cut, bleeding out of my mind and into the fire....bad I am the monster and Mary Shelly are you even listening to me, to be or not to be......well, what was that you said....ummm.....you be you and I be me???....know know know that's from an alternative time lines on my face now, like an actor I can't remember my line, you've given me soo many lines, I tried to spit em out but enough got in and I'm floating away from myself. A way, a want, a need, dull in the hay stack the odds are against me, myself, alone yet never alone never never never never say never and I might like you better uf we slept together but I guess I will sleep when I'm dead, man walking gets me there but I'm so fucking tired and broken hearted tried to shit but only started to give up give in give more give thin, thinner is the man who eats his own pie, you gave in gave out gave up, maybe its just time to die is cast, hey can't live in the past, the present now lies its just been so fun, phun, phunny is when you laugh and cry, oh not you but me,bso i lay me down to fade away like a Mac, I'm picking up flak, but you don't like that cartoon bear shooting out a rainbow, in the dark, Ness in the loch, but lips sealed no talk no words no speak, is it now a year or months, how many fucking weeks go by, go....bye...
Go.. .bye...go.....bye me a place , go bye me a bed, go bye me a box, to lay rest my head, not east but west sets the sun, years months weeks days almost done...fun, ya, it's all fun and games till someone puts an eye out of mybmind again, again with the end, is this the ??? Do you know the way to??? Pardon me but I seem to be lost, mistaken, misunderstood, but you're Miss Deeds you've done all you could, good not bad, if only I had, a hammer, well I'd hammer in the daytime hammer in the night time, MC fucking hammer time for bed rest awhile sleep when I'm dead. Good night good bye good luck said the male chicken to the ....if it acts like a and looks like a and mother fucking swims like a... .ahhhh......ahhhhh ...Hmmmmm. omg....FUCK (insert idiot here). Shave and a hair cut.....2 bits .. .3 bites to the center of a dream where all ain't what it seem...can't you hear me scream we all scream for you, 4 u, fore we all float down here. M.O.O.N. spells of darkness made my doom. Na na na ...Na na na noooooo body's fault but mine. That's the way it was,when both we were , for I was me then and you played the part of her. Better not go to sleep, better not go to sleep said she, or face will be eaten from the who is thee? <>=3.

First post

Previous post

Entry 8

From the moment I entered the custody of the Sentinel Suns, my life transformed into a living hell. Each morning, the reverberating clank of chains echoed through the corridors as a procession of fifty individuals, including myself and my cellmate, shuffled forward. For the first time in my life, I feel small, I am dwarfed by the hulking physiques of the others in my procession. It is a striking realization, further emphasized by a fellow prisoner who, despite being over a whole foot shorter than me, is ripped as all hell, with biceps almost thicker than my legs combined!
The chow hall beckons, a temporary sanctuary from the brutality that defines our existence. We shuffle forward, drawn by the scent of a meager yet substantial meal, its flavor subdued but enough to quell the gnawing hunger within. The portions we receive are meticulously measured, a calculated reminder of our individual worth in this dehumanizing realm. As we hastily consume our rations, a palpable tension fills the room, for time is a luxury we cannot afford. Taking too long to eat invites violence, as our time to eat is limited, and wasting food or defying orders leads you to be beaten unconscious by the guards and become a fixture hanging from the battlements. So, I take this fleeting interlude to gather my thoughts and muster resolve for the harrowing yet to come.
Breaking the uneasy peace, a guard emits a clarion call of a whistle that cuts through the air and jolts us into attention, our bodies stiffening as if in sync. With measured steps, we march out of the door, leaving behind the confines of the inner keep. As the outside air brushes against our faces, our senses are immediately assaulted by an unholy stench that permeates the surroundings. The source of this vile odor awaits us—a monstrous cart, resembling the size of a colossal train wagon on wheels. A dozen of these abominations accompany us, as we rhythmically march on, urged onward by the anguished cries of the rulebreakers, their bodies hanging from the battlements and flogged in a haunting rhythm to keep our pace, I cast my gaze down and seek to shield myself from the sun as much as possible as we embark on our arduous journey, pushing the wagon steadfastly eastward, fanning out until the other vanish from view.
Tentatively, we make our way through the desolated industrial hub, a landscape of ruins and despair. Amidst the wreckage, chimneys stood as stoic sentinels, spewing smoke that briefly dances with a myriad of vivid hues above, an eerie spectacle against the desolate backdrop. Within certain structures, a hive of activity unfolds, causing the very ground to quiver beneath our weary feet. As we converge at designated collection points, we encounter a somber assembly of chained and exhausted souls, their toil centered around the arduous tasks of shattering rocks and bearing heavy loads. Envy gnaws at my insides every time I see them, for though their labor is far from easy, it lacks the soul-crushing horror that stains my own. We, a disparate group assigned the grisly duty of scavenging, a macabre amalgamation of garbage collectors and corpse retrievers, pauses intermittently to load our carts with the repulsive remnants of life and the accumulated refuse that marked these sorrowful junctions.
Beneath the unforgiving sun, we toil with a mixture of revulsion and numbness. At every of these collection points, we stop the wagon, attach a ramp that hangs to the side of the vehicle and form a line, passing buckets of limbs, waste, and whole corpses to each other until finally, the one at the end would throw it in the cart. Even after a week I can’t help but shiver every time my hands come into contact with cold, clammy skin. The texture of rotting flesh clings to my fingers, an indescribable sensation that makes bile rise in my throat just thinking about it.
Each body loaded onto the wagon leads to a louder chorus of anguished moans and pained groans to get that thing moving again. The weight of death settles upon me like a leaden shroud, both physically and emotionally, as we strain against the sheer physicality of lifting these lifeless figures. By the time the sun reaches its zenith, my muscles cry out in protest, yet I persist, driven by a grim determination to accomplish this gruesome duty or suffer the consequences. Rivulets of sweat cascade down my forehead, a desperate response to quell the scorching onslaught of light that saps my vitality, only to mingle with the layers of grime and filth that clings to my exhausted frame.
The relentless march continues as we push forward, our bodies are strained and weary, dragging the laden cart back to the dire fortress that every day seems closer to its original grim design. We are joined by other wagon crews, forming a parade of the damned, our carrion load in tow.
Amidst the chilling cries that reverberate through the air, we are herded toward one of the looming interior warehouses. Its door yawns open, resembling a merciless guillotine awaiting our arrival. With aching muscles, we attach the cart to the towering lifting mechanism, its massive wheel lever demanding our strained efforts. The sound of our labored panting is swallowed by the clanging symphony of metal emanating from the cart, accompanied by the sickening sloshes that erupt as the putrid contents spill forth. Once the mechanism is securely locked, we venture inside, our hearts heavy with the impending task. With grim determination, we scrape the remaining refuse into the cell and run back out before the gate descends with a resounding thud. A middle gate swiftly rises and falls back into place, sealing off the wretched scene.
Duty pulls us towards the next stage of this unyielding mistreatment. The rear gate yawns open, beckoning us towards the repulsive chore of cleansing the manure-infested cell. With every ounce of strength, we have the foul mixture into the hexagonal pools, and stagnant lagoons nestled amidst the desolate warehouses. The mere sight evokes a visceral recoil, a loathsome amalgamation of waste and debasement. The scorching heat weighs upon us, intensifying the noxious miasma that pervades the air. It doesn't take long for retching to resonate, mingling with the futile attempts to flee, only to be met with a forceful encounter with the grimy floor.
Once the grueling task of cleaning is complete, we are commanded to strip off our clothes and press ourselves against the cold, unforgiving outer wall, joining the other groups. Then comes the onslaught—the scalding torrent of teal liquid used to cleanse us. Initially, the dead bodies were the pinnacle of horror for me, but now I realize that this daily ritual is the true torment. The moment the shower hits me, I gasp for air, collapsing onto the floor, my throat burning under the assault of the overpowering minty scent. It takes the collective strength of my fellow prisoners to lift me back to my feet. One by one we shuffle towards our shepherds, as one waves his hands magically drying us while the other hands us fresh attire before hurriedly ushering us back to the chow hall. Dinner feels like a brief respite compared to breakfast, but eventually, the blaring whistles pierce the air, signaling our return to the confines of our cells. The question lingers in my mind—how much longer can I endure this?

Hi there ✌🏻
About me: I’m a big tall boy 😤😤 at 6’3, I have blue eyes and dark blonde hair and wear glasses cause my eyes don’t work so good🤓, I have lots of different hobbies like rowing, playing video games, watching one piece and rizzing you up. I’m big into documentaries and kind of a big film buff, I don’t really listen to music expect when I’m having a lil Friday evening drink so podcasts are my main thing. I’m full time employed as a Manager in a NGO. I have my own car and looking to buy a house at the moment. I have been told I have a baby face don’t hold it against me.
About you: looks wise I don’t really have a preference, someone cute and trendy, I for some reason like it when girls paint their nails idk why. and someone who’s driven, ambitious and got their own life going on. Also if you had a couple similar hobbies that would be neat so we can talk about stuff and get excited about the same lame shit 😫😫😫😫😫.
Not to be too serious but I am looking for something real and long term, if that’s not what you’re into that’s totally cool we just won’t match I don’t think! Anyway yeah dm me and we can have a nice lil convo and find out all sorts about each other, idk what else to write here
K love you bye

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)
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Let's go!
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• Break Your Habits: Most people have a routine that they repeat over and over again until they get burned out and bored with the game! Your number one goal for having fun must be to break your old habits!
• Grind Less: If you've played for a long time, there's absolutely zero reason to grind big piles of useless money. People often develop bad habits where they finally grind so much that they forget to have fun. The "wonder" of the world completely vanishes when everything becomes about optimal times and optimal routes and optimal mission rotations. Relax! Start exploring everything that the game has to offer instead! Dare to do the "less optimal" routes, and have the courage to stop stressing about the "time efficiency" when you do the game's content. Sure, perhaps you can do a mission in 2 minutes with an Oppressor Mk2, but why not relax, put on a podcast, and do a relaxing 5 minute drive instead? Relax and have fun!
• Switch Off the Business Mindset: Why grind at all? Why do businesses at all? What do you really need the money for, whatsoever? If it feels like grinding, do something else that's more fun for you! Stop thinking about the money and start thinking about the real-world fun you're having! Start actually enjoying all the things you've previously grinded for! Perhaps you might enjoy treating GTA as a racing simulator where you mostly do challenges/race maps instead? There's so much more to do that isn't purely related to earning money!
• Accept All Invites: When you see invites to races, challenges, missions, etc, accept them! You will broaden your horizons about what you can do in the game, and you will often make the newbies very happy! Of course, if it turns out they're a hopelessly stupid newbie who keeps dying and never improves, then sure, I'd suggest leaving the heist to save your time and sanity. But most of the time, the other players will be smart enough to learn quickly. You can easily make great, new friends this way!
• Protect the Newbies: If you see someone doing a sales mission in a public lobby, why not fly over there in a powerful airborne vehicle (or heck, a missile-equipped Toreador car), and then follow them as their bodyguard against any griefers that may appear!
• Join People's CEO/MC: You can list yourself as "looking for work" via the interaction menu, which will alert other people that there's someone looking for work in the session. You can then join them and help people out with their missions, which is often a fun and relaxing activity for a while!
• Get a Crew: Look around for a crew of like-minded people. They exist. There are crews that specialize in heisting with competent players. There are crews that focus on racing. There are crews for Arena War. There are crews that only do LS Car Meet challenges/races. There's even crews specialized in doing sales missions together, by helping each other with business sales, if that's your thing! Finding a group of people with a compatible mindset and interests really pays off in the end!
• Switch Sessions: You can jump between multiple public sessions until you find one that matches your mood. Perhaps a nice, quiet sessions without griefers, perfect for doing sales missions? Or maybe one where there's a group of people that are actively doing something fun, which you can join in on? Don't just settle for your session. Explore what's out there!
• Do the Stupid Things: Grab your friends or some randoms, and challenge each other to do the most stupid and random things you can think of. The game is a sandbox. So start acting like it! For example, why not challenge each other with things like "everyone starts at the beach without any vehicles, your goal is to get to the Senora Desert convenience store, and you're only allowed to use stolen vehicles, the first person to reach the desert wins", or how about "everyone jumps from the Maze Bank Tower and your goal is to ride your parachute all the way to the ferris wheel". Is that even possible? Who knows! Let's find out!
• Become a Map Creator: If you've had fun making random challenges in freeroam, why not make them into more formal challenges, by creating actual maps? The map creator is very advanced. You can modify the world, add checkpoints anywhere you want, you could make a bicycle race, add pedestrians, enable weapon wheel usage, add parachute jumps, stunt jumps, survival modes, etc. Go wild!
• River Racing: The game has two epic rivers that start at the "Alamo Sea" (desert lake) and head west out to the ocean. Why not do a race with some friends? Get the Blazer Aqua amphibious quad bike and start at the desert, then race through one of the rivers, which is full of fun jumps. Next, decide on a destination (such as the Del Perro Pier) and do the rest of the drive on roads to see who gets there first.
• Stop Flying: Whenever a game lets you fly, you end up skipping huge amounts of content and world design and just flying directly above it all. That's nice if you want to get somewhere efficiently, but it really breaks the game's immersion. Try driving everywhere instead!
• Learn to Fly: Many players are awful at flying (especially the helicopters). Why not practice your flying skills? Perhaps try landing your helicopter at very tight spots, on rooftops, and other fun locations!
• Use Motorcycles: They're more thrilling than cars, because crashing actually has consequences. They're also very fast and agile, which feels awesome while driving through the city!
• Oppressor MK1: Fly around the map, trying to create your own challenges such as flying over the water or climbing Mount Chiliad.
• Climb the Mountain: Find various fun vehicles and attempt to climb Mount Chiliad in them. There's lots of fun to be had with motorcycles at the mountain!
• BMX Tricks: There are so many skate parks and BMX bicycle stunt locations in the city. Why not look at some BMX stunt videos for inspiration?
• Throw Away the GPS: Stop staring at the minimap while driving! This is super fun. Let's say that you need to get to Simeon's shop. Instead of opening up the world map and setting a map marker and following the GPS line like a lemming, try to train yourself to navigate the city! Drive the streets, look at the surroundings and actually navigate! It's so much fun and you'll feel way more relaxed. The city will also feel way more immersive. You can even modify the minimap via "Settings: Display: Radar = Blips", which hides the map so that you can't see the shape of the streets by glancing at the minimap anymore. You can even disable it completely, but unfortunately it also hides the healthbar if you do that.
• Use First Person: You can change the game's camera mode to first person, which is a really unique and immersive way to play the game. Steal some cars and go cruising! It will feel like an entirely different game when you get used to it!
• Take Selfies: Find beautiful locations and attempt to take great screenshots, with perfect framing and composition! You can use the game's built-in snapmatic camera, or you can use your regular screenshot key instead! Collecting photos of your adventures is a nice way to remember where you've been!
• Businesses: There are so many businesses in the game, and it's easy to forget about them after a while. Look at your businesses and begin doing their sourcing and sales missons again! Most of us quit them because they're very grindy, but after a long time away from them, they'll feel fresh again. And they'll feel much more relaxing if you vary between your different businesses and you only do one or two missions at a time, to never get bored.
• Nightclub: Do the promotion/popularity missions, which involve going around town and promoting the nightclub, or helping to remove unwanted or drunk guests from the club. All of that improves your popularity, which improves the passive income you're earning from the club!
• Get the DJs: The nightclub has multiple DJs. Why not unlock them all? Their missions are very fun, and you'll earn new music for your club.
• Bunker: Why not do some manual supply missions, just to relax and have fun? Sure, the optimal way to make money with the bunker is to buy the supplies and do "better" things with your time instead of sourcing supplies, but why does everything have to be about ultimate efficiency all the time? If you're a long-time player, you already have lots of money and you need new things to do!
• Contact Missions: So many people don't even know that you can get missions by calling NPCs on the phone. It's named "contact missions" and they can be very fun. I recommend calling Dax and doing "Request Work" from him, because his missions are very varied and after you've done enough you get various important rewards, such as upgrades for your Acid Lab business.
• CEO/VIP Work: When you're a CEO, you can start SecuroServ missions via the interaction menu. There's lots of fun ones! For example, why not get your favorite car, relax and do the Sightseer mission, seeing where the map markers will take you while you enjoy the relaxing drive? The mission gives you 15 minutes, which is plenty of time to take the scenic route.
• Terrorbyte Missions: Another forgotten relic! The terrorbyte has lots of fun missions which are very good for variation. They used to be the best "active" way to earn money in GTA. Most players who grinded those missions have only done the "optimal rotation", but how about actually doing all of the available missions for fun?
• Rockstar Jobs: There are so many high-quality maps, races and challenge modes in the game. Explore the official list of RockstaCurated jobs in the game's pause menu. There's a ton of them!
• Community Jobs: There's a ton of cool community maps in the game. Remember to favorite the ones you liked so that you can easily start the same again!
• Auto Shop: Do the customer car customization and delivery jobs, and do the heists! They can be done solo.
• MC Club: Do the customer motorcycle customization and delivery jobs.
• Vehicle Warehouse: Do the Import/Export car theft and sales missions. Be sure to use the trick that ensures you only get high-end cars (permanently fill the warehouse with every worthless sourced car in the game, then you will only get high-end cars after that).
• Acid Lab: The best passive income business in the game. Spend some time doing Dax's contact missions to fully upgrade your lab's efficiency and it will become very profitable. Then mix up your gameplay between both sourcing Acid supplies or buying them. And do the sales missions.
• Franklin's Agency: Do the Dr. Dre story missions, then do 201x Security Contract missions until you've unlocked the highest amount of passive daily income (it goes up by $100 every time you do a mission, capped at $20,000 after having done 201 contracts).
• Payphone Hits: They're unlocked after doing at least 3 Security Contract missions. Then you can pick up assassination contracts from ringing payphones. They're very profitable.
• Weekly Time Trials: Do the camotorcycle time trial and the RC car time trial every week, they're a good way to learn how to drive and they give a nice bit of money! Remember that you can hold a key to respawn at the start of the race before the time has ended, if you're sure that you won't make it in time.
• Daily Objectives: In your interaction menu, look at the Objectives and complete them. They're a good way to be inspired to do things you might not do otherwise.
• Daily Collectible Hunts: G's Cache (hunt for the hidden street cache), Kosatka submarine treasure hunt, Street dealer (find it and sell to it every day), etc.
• Get a Fresh Look: Create a new character outfit (clothes, hairstyle, tattoos, mask).
• Use Different Weapons: Challenge yourself to use different weapons than the same old, boring weapon you always use. For example, how about only using the Heavy Revolver? Make those shots count!
• Modify Your Weapons: Change their styles and attachments.
• Tune Your Precious Car: You might have a "perfectly tuned" car that you've been driving for years and that you're always using. Why not modify it a bit? Put a different livery on it, and some different colors at least? What felt "fresh" two years ago would just be contributing to a feeling of "staleness" today. Freshen things up!
• Ride of the Day: Most long-time players have around a hundred vehicles, but most of them collect dust. Why not set fun "challenge" rules for yourself, such as randomly selecting a vehicle and using only that vehicle on that real-life day?
• Outfit of the Day: Why not make it your goal to create a new character "outfit of the day" (or week) whenever you log in? It's a great way to get a fresh feeling every time you play!
• Minigames: How about some Golf, Tennis, Darts or Arm Wrestling?
• Gang Attacks: Find a gang and eliminate them!
• Stash Houses: Find the stash houses and raid them for resources for your businesses.
• Parachute: Go somewhere high up and do a parachute dive! Better yet, look for the Junk Energy Skydives challenges on the map, or do Dom's parachute challenge (which is a special skydive at a random location).
• San Andreas Flight School: Do the flight school challenges! They're at the Los Santos Airport, at the airplane icon!
• Gun Range Challenges: Complete the Bunker's and Ammo-Nation Gun Range shooting challenges!
• Gun Range with Friends: Challenge a friend to the gun range mini-games, where you compete to see who is the most accurate!
• MC Club Missions: Form a MC club with at least one friend, then ride in formation and start MC missions via the interaction menu.
• MC Businesses: Yes, they're the most hated businesses in the game, but why not do them a little bit? You could do a little bit of supplying and a few small sales missions, to ensure that you have small sales. Or, team up with friends and take turns helping each other do larger sales.
• Racing: Do Open Wheel, Stunt Races, Transform Races, and Regular Races. There are so many different kinds of races in the game! The transform races are the newest feature, and are very cool, since you might drive a supercar down the street to the airport, then transform into a plane and fly through the sky, and other epic things, all in the same race map!
• LS Car Meet: Do the challenges, races and rank up your LS Car Meet rank. Try to win the Prize Ride!
• Lobby Car Meets: You can try arranging car meets with other people in the lobby, to check out each other's cars! Just beware of griefers. You may want to do it in the LS Car Meet building to avoid the griefer explosions, or just switch to a lobby with cooler people.
• Arcade: Play the arcade games and try to beat them! Some of them have hidden rewards for completing the game or completing certain challenges.
• Achievements: Look at the pause menu's Stats - Awards section, and pick some award that you'll try to complete! There are so many fun challenges in there, such as attempting to parachute for more than 3 minutes, or robbing every store on the map (you can see the checkmarks on the map to know if you've robbed those stores).
• Stunt Jumps: There are 50 stunt jump locations on the map, which unlock a few rewards and are also really fun to complete!
• Unlock Vehicle Colors: You may have noticed that certain colors are locked behind challenges, such as winning a certain amount of races. Why not finally unlock those colors you've always wanted but were always "too lazy" to unlock? You'll get to enjoy some flashy, new vehicle colors!
• Arena War: Very fun, but unfortunately hard to get a group going for it. But if you can get a group, Arena War is super fun.
• Freemode Battles: Join a large lobby and just do whatever you want while you're waiting for freemode battles, which start every 20 minutes and will alternate between Business Battles and Freemode Challenges. Then attempt to win those battles! Events will only trigger when there are at least 4 players outdoors, and they cannot be in the same CEO/MC.
• Ride with Strangers: Pick your nicest car and then drive around and invite strangers to either ride with you or do impromptu street race 1v1 challenges.
• Freemode Map Markers: Look at the map. There are icons and glowing markers everywhere on the map/streets. Visit whichever icon is nearest your current location and see what's there! Remember that you can go "On Call" (queue) for public races/missions while you're waiting for them to fill up, which lets you stay in Freemode while you're waiting.
• Weekly Bonuses: Look at the Rockstar Newswire to see what the weekly bonus money is, and focus on doing that business/event for a while, to earn some money!
• Max Your Stats: Get all your stats to maximum! Most people haven't finished Strength, which can be gradually maxed for fun by simply punching every civilian you see.
• Invade the Military: Invade the military base at Fort Zancudo with some friends, and make it your mission to steal a Lazer jet plane.
• Heists: Do some heist preps or full heists for fun! Many of them can be casually setup while solo, which is very relaxing! Most of the newer heists can even be completed while solo!
• Change Your Heist Routes: You don't have to always do the same approach over and over again. Most heists have a lot of different approaches. For example, have you ever successfully completed the "Silent and Sneaky" approach at the Casino? Start exploring the different possibilities out there!
• Yellow Mission Markers: The yellow letters/markers on the map show the location of significant storyline missions (such as ULP, Agency, Acid Lab, etc). Visit those locations and start completing the stories that GTA Online has to offer!
• Do the Jobs: Go to "Online - Jobs" in the pause menu, and explore the available options!
• Answer the Calls: There are so many fun missions for English Dave, the various DJs at the Music Locker, the Casino staff, etc. In most cases, you'll also get some kind of reward if you finish them all! You might even get them to stop calling you when you've finished everything, which is a nice reward in itself!
• Check Your Texts/Emails: There's a lot of "mini missions" that arrive via emails/text messages. For example, Simeon asks you to steal certain cars every day. There's also an early game treasure hunt which starts through an email.
• Use Quick Join: There's an app on your phone named "Quick Join". It queues you for a rapid, random job. It's a great way to explore new content, meet new people and to help them with the queues for their own missions.
• Browse the Internet: There are a ton of funny parody websites in GTA Online's internet browser. Explore what's out there!
• Watch TV/Movies: Have you seen all the TV shows and cinema movies yet? If not, relax and have some fun! :)
• Customize Your Phone: You can change the theme, background, ringtone and other settings for your in-game phone. Why not change things a bit?
• Don't Be Annoyed: The phone calls and missions may seem annoying, but try actually relaxing and doing them. Listen to the phone calls. Call the NPCs. Do their missions! They are pretty nice and chill activities which gives you something to do in the game and some challenges.
• Use a Gamepad: If you're a PC player, you'll know that most of the game is too easy, since the aiming and enemy difficulty was balanced for console (gamepad) players. Try using a gamepad on PC! Not only will your driving and flying be massively improved, you'll also have a much more fun fun time when fighting enemies, since you can't just "360 No Scope" everything with your superior pointing device anymore. You'll even get immersive rumble that lets you feel the engine of your cars! How cool is that?! The game's options lets you finetune the sensitivity and aiming mode, and true professionals will use "Free Aim" which completely disables the auto-aiming.
• Meet Different People: If you're mostly a heist person, look for someone who loves cars and start hanging out with them to absorb some of their passion for another aspect of the game. You might learn to love car tuning too!
• Trade Prices: Many vehicles in the game have trade prices which give you a massive discount on the vehicle if you complete the challenge first. So set your eyes on a nice vehicle and do its challenges for fun! The discount you're earning will be like earning a huge sum of money that you put towards that specific vehicle. For example, a 2 million dollar discount on a vehicle you wanted is the same as if you had just earned 2 million dollars that you decided to spend on that vehicle! So don't sleep on the trade price discounts! They're a fun challenge with a very high monetary value!
• Bunker Research: If you have a bunker, try doing the research! You can unlock a ton of cool and super useful vehicle and weapon modifications! The explosive and incendiary ammo are must-haves.
• Mobile Operations Missions: The Mobile Operations Center is a forgotten business. It exists in your bunker, but you can request it via your Interaction Menu. Enter the truck's trailer, and then start missions from the computer in the command room!
• Avenger: Take your Avenger out for a drive! It's an extremely powerful, heavily armored aircraft and can be customized with various fun additions.
• Relaxing Yacht: Why not purchase or upgrade your yacht, and chill on it for a while with some friends? It even has lots of fun water vehicles parked in the water at the yacht, and helicopter pads for easy travel.
• Yacht Missions: You can start the fun "A Superyacht Life" mission series from the captain on your yacht. You'll even get a fun Yacht Captain outfit if you complete them all as host.
• Special Vehicle Work: The Vehicle Warehouse provides various epic missions whose "main" purpose is to unlock trade prices on various weaponized vehicles, but the missions themselves are fun too. Most players only do the specific missions for the vehicles they wanted to buy. Why not complete them all at least once, or play them again for fun?
• Collectibles: The map is full of collectible items, such as USB music sticks, playing cards, action figures, signal jammers (to unlock the best hacker for the Casino heist), etc. Why not relax and do them all for fun? They all unlock something fun or useful!
• Dream Vehicle: Relax, do some research about vehicles are available in the game, and set your eyes on a new "dream vehicle". Then work towards earning it and pimping it just the way you want it! Having a goal is fun!
• Test Drives: Check out the weekly test drives at the "Luxury Autos" shop, at Simeon's "Premium Deluxe Motorsport", and at the "LS Car Meet". You might find your new dream vehicle!
• Collect Vehicle Sets: You might have fun building specific collections, such as all Benny's vehicles in the game, etc. Setting goals for yourself about specific vehicle collections gives you something to strive for, and means that there's a lot of new things you'll need to buy and tune, which will keep you busy for a while!
• Sell Vehicles: Let's be honest, there are a lot of stinkers in your collection. Why not sell them? Just beware of the game's daily sell limit. The limit will be hit somewhere around 30-40 cars sold in 24 real-life hours. I'd suggest only selling 1-5 cars per real life day, which ensures that you'll never face the anger of Rockstar, and you'll have more time to make deliberate choices about which vehicles to get rid of. You'll also be getting roughly 50% of your previously spent money back for each sold vehicle! I'd recommend forcing yourself to drive a vehicle for a while before selling it, and looking at its customizations to see if you'd like it if you changed its style a bit, so that you're absolutely sure that you don't want it.
• Organize Your Vehicles: A lot of people have a complete mess in their garages. Why not begin sorting your cars, such as placing all your best cars at the premium display spots in your office garage? Perhaps organizing the floors by vehicle type? You can have lots of fun and you'll get a much better overview of your available vehicles.
• Relocate Yourself: If you've been staring at the same, old, boring spot for years, it could be fun to move! Most players choose the ugly, industrial, "optimal" locations. Why not relax and move to the beautiful beach instead? The Lombank office, the Insert Coin arcade, the Vespucci Beach MC clubhouse, the Del Perro Nightclub, the Strawberry auto shop, and the Vespucci Canals agency are all very beautiful locations with amazing interior and exterior design and great views! They're also very well placed for all of their business purposes!
• Browse in Person: When you're looking at real estate on the internet, things look very boring and impersonal. Why not take a drive around the city and look at the "real estate for sale" map markers in person? Perhaps you'll find a great new location for your home! However, if it's a multi-apartment house, I recommend checking YouTube for the various room views, to find the room with the best view before you buy it.
• Upgrade Your Properties/Businesses: If you haven't yet upgraded all of the equipment for a business, it's a great idea to upgrade it to improve its efficiency and safety. Or how about changing the interior design for fun, to replace the "same old daily view" with a fresh new look?
• Buy Every Arcade Machine: There are so many fun minigame machines for your arcade. Why not buy them all and pimp that place out? It's a nice place to relax, and even get some rewards for completing the games.
• Get All Passive Businesses: Why not work towards getting and fully upgrading all of the passive incomes in the game? Such as the Nightclub (which automatically generates money in the safe based on popularity, and generates MC business products to sell from its basement), the Acid Lab (which can be restocked with a simple phone call to Mutt, and has easy sales missions), the Arcade (which generates $5000 per in-game day when you've filled all of its interior slots with arcade machines, which can all be the same machine if you want), the Agency (which generates up to $20000 per in-game day based on how many Security Contracts you've completed), Street Dealers (finding the daily street dealer is much faster than regular sales missions, and they pay more than regular missions), Bunker (you can resupply it via one click with the Master Control Terminal in your Arcade, and then simply sell the product when it's still less than 25% full, thus guaranteeing a single sales vehicle every time). An added bonus of having passive businesses is the fact that they let you do other things in the game, such as doing racing and other fun challenges, while your businesses passively produce for you!
• Start Fresh: Did you know that your online account has two character slots? You can actually start fresh by simply withdrawing all of you banked money to your primary character, so that there's $0 in the bank. Then create a new character, which will begin at $0. Then relax and enjoy the ride of building a new empire. I suggest doing things differently this time. For example, if your primary character owns every business, why not just focus on a specific business this time, such as the CEO businesses (cargo crates), or just the vehicle warehouse, etc? Take this opportunity to simplify and avoid grinding, while still building a new playstyle to keep things fresh! Why not skip the Kosatka, so that you don't have the "easy Cayo Perico money" either? This slower, more deliberate, old-school way of making money will ensure that you have lots of fun, and you can set your own goals for what vehicles you want to save up money for on your new character! If you get tired of the grind, just switch back to your primary character again and enjoy the wealth. You can even delete your secondary character again to start fresh as many times as you want to.
• Spend Your Money: Having $100 million unused in the bank is just a completely pointless number, and is basically worth the same as having $0 in the bank if you aren't even using it. Unless your goal is to collect a specific amount of money for fun, I'd instead suggest that you actually start spending absolutely all of your money! Because if you can succeed in being perpetually slightly low on cash, you'll have much more reason to care about doing your businesses when you do want to buy something, which in turn drives your motivation to play again! Having a huge stash of money is bad for your motivation to play! Having a huge sash of money is like having an endless "Rich Daddy's Credit Card" in your wallet. Get rid of that credit card, buy a bunch of fun stuff, and enjoy the game more as a result!
• Play the Story: The vast majority of GTA Online players have barely touched the offline story. Why not relax with the story from time to time, gradually making your way through the epic offline story that started it all?
• Take a Break: If you're truly not finding any fun anymore, then take a break, perhaps a few weeks or a month is all you need to enjoy the game again! They also release content updates roughly twice per year, so you'll always have something new to return to in the future! :)

Hi all, long time lurker here but I wanted to get some unbiased opinions on this. This story is long. Sorry in advance.
Six months ago, I (27M) ended a friendship with a my long-time best friend (28M) and of 7 years after a fairly explosive fight about the woman he is dating (33/34F). The whole thing took me by surprise. We currently have a large tight knit friend group of people across a variety of major cities and we all try to hang out when we can. However, some of my friends in this group have been unhappy with me for cutting of ties with this person.
For context, This friend was my college roommate, fraternity brother, and the most consistent source of emotional support and guidance throughout my early-twenties. Throughout college, I felt that we had a unique and supportive friendship. He taught me how to be believe in myself, stand-up for myself, take care of myself better, and brought a lot of light into my life as a friend. We were both full-scholarship students at a fancy-pants highly ranked college that is know for being elitist and stuck-up. Looking back, I think one of the things that made us such tight friends is that we didn't fit in all too well at that school. Both of us had pretty difficult lives before college and neither of us had any money. He was essentially an orphan and I was/am from a low-income single parent household. However, despite these circumstances, I felt like we both inspired each other to become more well-rounded and well-adjusted people. A central theme of our friendship was trying to figure out how to live a good life, solve interesting problems, make the world a better place, and to go on adventures with good friends.
During our early twenties/in college I feel like I did everything I could to be the best friend possible. Since he didn't have a stable father figure, I tried my best to be a loving brother. I was there to support him for every major test or every time a girl broke his heart in college. I knew that finding a group of friends and a community was important for him, so I advocated for him to join my fraternity. While my fraternity was voting on final round of rush, I was working on a major project with some classmates and someone texted me that my friend didn't get enough votes to be offered a bid to join. Immediately, I told my partners that I had to go for an emergency and ran to where the voting was taking place. I basically made a 2-3 minute long speech about how my friend was one of the best people I've ever known and convinced everyone to revote him into the group. Additionally, when he had to take a year off from college because a close member of his family passed a way, I spent almost every weekend with him for emotional support, helped him navigate the dark and uncomfortable family drama around the situation, and was the only friend who went to this family member's funeral with him for support. I even helped him with the little things, like teaching him how to tie a tie and find his own sense of style.
However, towards the end of college and after graduating, my life got difficult and dark. At the end of my senior year, two close relatives of mine passed away within two weeks of each other and I became extremely depressed. After graduation, I left my home state for a job that offered me a significant amount of money. Though my plan was to go to grad school, I wanted to take some time to make money and help my younger sister afford college - she didn't get any significant scholarships. However, the job I worked at was terrible. I was being abused almost every since day by my boss and the company I worked for was extremely unethical. After starting this job, I learned that the average hire only lasts about 6-8 months and that having a breakdown from working there was extremely common. Working here took a huge toll on my mental health and after 9 months, I quit to return home before I broke down like many of my co-workers. I thought things would be better when I went back home but some of my family members were going through it at the time and became abusive as well. Though my family was never abusive towards me growing up, for some reason they chose to be abusive when I came back. Chairs were thrown at me and I never had a moment of rest. I also had a grandmother who was living off food stamps and nobody was taking good care of her. So I had to continuously try and get her groceries while working 60-70 hrs/wk on a construction job. It was a bad time.
During all of this, I felt that my friend was being extremely immature and selfish. He kept yelling at me and criticizing me for not hanging out enough with him and not partying with him enough. Even after explaining my situation, he didn't offer too much support and expressed frustration that I wouldn't help him meet girls at clubs or get laid. He's always had a deep desire to find love but has traditionally had issues with female rejection. One night, I agreed to go out clubbing with him, but I remember explicitly stating that I was not in the mental space to hit on girls, wingman, or to hook-up. I was just down to drink, dance, and have a good time. Despite this, at the club he got extremely frustrated with me when I wouldn't start any conversations with groups of girls. When we got home he literally starting screaming in his bed about how he wished someone "would show him the steps" on how to meet women. Though this was clearly not a high point in our relationship together, I felt that he was probably just going through something and let it go. After a few months, even more negative things happened in my life and eventually had a mental breakdown. I definitely was not acting normally or myself for 3-4 months afterwards either. Despite this, my friend insisted that I party with him and a group of other people one night. However, when we were ready to go out, I overheard him loudly making laughing at me and making fun of my behind my back about how "I had serious mental problems, totally lost it. etc." I was shocked because he definitely knew about all that I was going through. After this, I stopped reaching out to him and to distance myself. Part of me didn't trust him anymore but also I wanted to see if he'd put in effort to keep our relationship strong.
Fast forward a few years, and we were still friends but not as close as before. I partially attributed this to me moving around different states for work and also for finally getting into a grad school far away from everyone. During this time we both ended up dating women which we both considered to be long-term partners. Initially he starting dating this girl for a couple of months, and then something terrible happened in his life - his last surviving family member died. After telling her he needed to put their relationship on pause and leave town to wrap up family affairs. She blew up at him while he was out of town, about how he "led her on" and wasted her time. For context, she made it clear that she wanted to get married and have kids after 2-3 years of dating.For some reason, he got back together with her and stayed with her for a few years, but he expressed some concerns about her to me. He told me that she didn't really seem interested in engaging with him on an intellectual level (e.g., reading books with each other, talking about work) and also expected him to pay for all of their dates and meals (which were pretty expensive) because he has a well-paying job. He also expressed worry that she'd wouldn't be interested in respecting or having a relationship with any of our other friends because of her age. Because she was 31 at the start of their relationship she felt that a lot people in our friend group of mid-twenty somethings "wouldn't be mature enough" for her.
Despite telling him that these were all big red flags, he continued dating her. Because I was busy working and trying to make money for my family I never got a chance to hang out with her. But as predicted, as all of our close friends eventually met her over the years - she was pretty disrespectful. Though she never fought or argued with anyone, she'd either ignore people or be passive aggressive. She also started to negatively influence him. After a member of our friend group (who previously has always been kind and caring) had a public freakout and yelled at his girlfriend because he was in a bad mental state, I called him to talk about how we could support our friend and expressed concerns that a marijuana addiction might be contributing to his issues. Instead of talking about the issue he said that our friend was "spoiled", "immature", and said that his girlfriend "weak woman".
Eventually, my partner and I met this girl during my college reunion and we felt that she was pretty awful. My friend allowed my girlfriend and I to stay at his appartment to save money for the trip. Before the actual reunion we all agreed to hang out. My girlfriend arrived in town a day before me and spent time with both of them before I did. Though I wasn't there, my girlfriend told me that this woman threw a napkin at a waiter during dinner. Apparently, she also got sleepy at around 9pm while my friend was showing my partner around the apt. Instead of waiting respectfully or finding a place to rest, she passive aggressively pretended to fall asleep in the common room of the apt and pretended to snore. Then after a few minutes she started yelling that she called an Uber for herself to go back to her place, slammed a door in my friend's face, and left the building - leaving him to chase after her.
I met her the next day during a double date, and I didn't get the best impression. I tried to be nonjudgemental but it was pretty hard to hold a conversation with her. When I asked about her interests, she could only really talk about how she like to drink/party a lot, spend a lot of money, and travel. Though this really wasn't that bad (who doesn't love these things), I initially thought she was just shallow because thats really all she could talk about. However, as we spent more time together bragged to me about her older brother threw a glass ashtray at an elderly neighbor. Additionally, at a one point in the double date, she made fun of a man going for a run outside. He was actually in pretty decent shape and even had visible abs, but she kept saying how he was "too overweight" to be running without a shirt, and bragged about how she was in great shape and runs marathons. Despite this, she has a pretty significant muffin top and if my understanding is correct she hasn't run a marathon in many years. When we actually went to our reunion, she kept complaining to me that all of my college classmates kept staring at her and that they were all clearly "obsessed with her" because of how attractive she is - even at times when there would be almost nobody around. At the end of our time together, he told me he want to elevate their relationship and was thinking about moving in with her. He also suggested to other people he was interested in getting married and having kids soon.
I called my friend few weeks after all of this and expressed concerns about his relationship. Trying to be as respectful as possible while being truthful, I told him that I was concerned about him furthering his relationship with this woman. First expressed that she was hard to talk to and that she displayed some concerning behaviors. Then I highlighted that he should consider that she might not be the best long term partner. I felt that since she made the death of his family member "all about her", she probably wont be good teammate or a supportive partner when they both go through difficult times together. In all, I probably spoke for about a minute and a half before he started getting defensive and hung up on me to "take a brake from the conversation".Afterwards he stopped talking to consistently me for about six months. He mentioned to other friends that he and I would have a formal discussion about how I crossed a line soon, but he kept putting it off and never reached out. Even after I sent an apology text, he kept ignoring me.
Finally, six months ago visited the city that I'm currently living in to visit some people in our friend group and didn't tell me. I was invited by people in our group to spend time with them, but I immediately noticed that something was off. When I would speak about my interests or things that were going on in my life, my former friend would roll his eyes or look at me with disgust. Later in the night, I asked him if he wanted to finally have the discussion her wanted to have and he explosively blew up at me. Immediately, he started intensely screaming at me asking me about why I didn't like his partner. This took me by surprise, so I started getting heated and I pointed out that she seemed pretty superficial, hard to talk to, and that she was really disrespectful to all of our friends. Quickly, he got even more angry and said that all of our friends were "career obsessed people" and that I was the worst one of them all because I'm obsessed with grad school. He said that I was "an egotistical person", with "poor social skills", and that I only care about making friends with people "who kiss my ass and and feed my enormous ego". Additionally, he stated that I was an extremely "selfish person" and he purposely grew apart from me because I was such a broken person with so many problems. He also said that if I couldn't see or agree with him I "needed to look deep within myself". After this, I went home, slept off the fight, and texted him to cut off the friendship the next day.
Not only did I found all of this hurtful, but I found this to be extremely hypocritical. Despite all that I did for him, he wasn't really there for me during the worst years of my life. Also, I recognize that I do work abnormally hard and dont spend time as much time with my friends as I used to. However, I feel that I mainly do this to so I can be successful in support my family and because grad school is a deep passion of mine.
I get the sense that now, some of my other friends are a bit upset with me because I ended this friendship. Is this my fault? I did press him. He initially said that he wanted to wait on our discussion, but I pointed out that we live in different states and don't see each other that much anymore. Did I pressure him too much? Maybe I'm being too sentimental, but I used to think that this was the person in my life who knew me the best. I used to always think of myself as the kind of person who will stand up for what is right. So hearing this from him, made me question my own self-perception a bit.
Sorry for the long, great-american-novel, of a post.

I have been experiencing blood in my stool on and off for a little over a year now. I have had a few tests (none recently) and thankfully they all came back normal. However, this time is the longest I have ever experienced blood in my stool (over a week). Plus, two days ago, I experienced extremely painful abdominal cramps, bloating, and pain when touching my stomach. The pain would temporarily be alleviated by a bowel movement, but repeatedly came back. It also felt better to lay down or bend over, but would immediately come back if I stood up. Over the past two days, the pain his dwindled down and is more so located near the left side instead of the upper middle of my stomach. It seemingly gets more aggravated when I eat. The amount of blood in my stool has lessened, but is still present. It has been light - slightly dark red and does not occur when there’s no bowel movement. When the bleeding first began a week ago, I dismissed it as a possible fissure since the blood was accompanied by a sharp, tearing feeling. However, that feeling has passed and the blood has persisted.
What could this be? Should I see my PCD? A specialist? Or does this warrant going to the ER?
Female , 23 , has PCOS , family has history of IBS

If you're reading this, perhaps you're like me. You have most things you want in GTA Online. You've "done it all". And now you're bored.
But... have you *really* done it all? Turns out, most of us haven't. There's so much to do in this game, and it's easy to get stuck in old habits that prevent us from discovering everything there is to do in Los Santos!
So I began writing down all my ideas for having fun in the game, and basically use these suggestions as guidelines to always find something new to do. It has completely reinvigorated my joy for the game, and I hope it can help you do the same!
If you're having trouble with motivation or inspiration, then I suggest picking something at random from the list and just doing it! You might disccover that you love it, just like I did!
And if you have anything more to add, please share your comments so that we can all help build this list together. :)
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Let's go!
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• Break Your Habits: Most people have a routine that they repeat over and over again until they get burned out and bored with the game! Your number one goal for having fun must be to break your old habits!
• Grind Less: If you've played for a long time, there's absolutely zero reason to grind big piles of useless money. People often develop bad habits where they finally grind so much that they forget to have fun. The "wonder" of the world completely vanishes when everything becomes about optimal times and optimal routes and optimal mission rotations. Relax! Start exploring everything that the game has to offer instead! Dare to do the "less optimal" routes, and have the courage to stop stressing about the "time efficiency" when you do the game's content. Sure, perhaps you can do a mission in 2 minutes with an Oppressor Mk2, but why not relax, put on a podcast, and do a relaxing 5 minute drive instead? Relax and have fun!
• Switch Off the Business Mindset: Why grind at all? Why do businesses at all? What do you really need the money for, whatsoever? If it feels like grinding, do something else that's more fun for you! Stop thinking about the money and start thinking about the real-world fun you're having! Start actually enjoying all the things you've previously grinded for! Perhaps you might enjoy treating GTA as a racing simulator where you mostly do challenges/race maps instead? There's so much more to do that isn't purely related to earning money!
• Accept All Invites: When you see invites to races, challenges, missions, etc, accept them! You will broaden your horizons about what you can do in the game, and you will often make the newbies very happy! Of course, if it turns out they're a hopelessly stupid newbie who keeps dying and never improves, then sure, I'd suggest leaving the heist to save your time and sanity. But most of the time, the other players will be smart enough to learn quickly. You can easily make great, new friends this way!
• Protect the Newbies: If you see someone doing a sales mission in a public lobby, why not fly over there in a powerful airborne vehicle (or heck, a missile-equipped Toreador car), and then follow them as their bodyguard against any griefers that may appear!
• Join People's CEO/MC: You can list yourself as "looking for work" via the interaction menu, which will alert other people that there's someone looking for work in the session. You can then join them and help people out with their missions, which is often a fun and relaxing activity for a while!
• Get a Crew: Look around for a crew of like-minded people. They exist. There are crews that specialize in heisting with competent players. There are crews that focus on racing. There are crews for Arena War. There are crews that only do LS Car Meet challenges/races. There's even crews specialized in doing sales missions together, by helping each other with business sales, if that's your thing! Finding a group of people with a compatible mindset and interests really pays off in the end!
• Switch Sessions: You can jump between multiple public sessions until you find one that matches your mood. Perhaps a nice, quiet sessions without griefers, perfect for doing sales missions? Or maybe one where there's a group of people that are actively doing something fun, which you can join in on? Don't just settle for your session. Explore what's out there!
• Do the Stupid Things: Grab your friends or some randoms, and challenge each other to do the most stupid and random things you can think of. The game is a sandbox. So start acting like it! For example, why not challenge each other with things like "everyone starts at the beach without any vehicles, your goal is to get to the Senora Desert convenience store, and you're only allowed to use stolen vehicles, the first person to reach the desert wins", or how about "everyone jumps from the Maze Bank Tower and your goal is to ride your parachute all the way to the ferris wheel". Is that even possible? Who knows! Let's find out!
• Become a Map Creator: If you've had fun making random challenges in freeroam, why not make them into more formal challenges, by creating actual maps? The map creator is very advanced. You can modify the world, add checkpoints anywhere you want, you could make a bicycle race, add pedestrians, enable weapon wheel usage, add parachute jumps, stunt jumps, survival modes, etc. Go wild!
• River Racing: The game has two epic rivers that start at the "Alamo Sea" (desert lake) and head west out to the ocean. Why not do a race with some friends? Get the Blazer Aqua amphibious quad bike and start at the desert, then race through one of the rivers, which is full of fun jumps. Next, decide on a destination (such as the Del Perro Pier) and do the rest of the drive on roads to see who gets there first.
• Stop Flying: Whenever a game lets you fly, you end up skipping huge amounts of content and world design and just flying directly above it all. That's nice if you want to get somewhere efficiently, but it really breaks the game's immersion. Try driving everywhere instead!
• Learn to Fly: Many players are awful at flying (especially the helicopters). Why not practice your flying skills? Perhaps try landing your helicopter at very tight spots, on rooftops, and other fun locations!
• Use Motorcycles: They're more thrilling than cars, because crashing actually has consequences. They're also very fast and agile, which feels awesome while driving through the city!
• Oppressor MK1: Fly around the map, trying to create your own challenges such as flying over the water or climbing Mount Chiliad.
• Climb the Mountain: Find various fun vehicles and attempt to climb Mount Chiliad in them. There's lots of fun to be had with motorcycles at the mountain!
• BMX Tricks: There are so many skate parks and BMX bicycle stunt locations in the city. Why not look at some BMX stunt videos for inspiration?
• Throw Away the GPS: Stop staring at the minimap while driving! This is super fun. Let's say that you need to get to Simeon's shop. Instead of opening up the world map and setting a map marker and following the GPS line like a lemming, try to train yourself to navigate the city! Drive the streets, look at the surroundings and actually navigate! It's so much fun and you'll feel way more relaxed. The city will also feel way more immersive. You can even modify the minimap via "Settings: Display: Radar = Blips", which hides the map so that you can't see the shape of the streets by glancing at the minimap anymore. You can even disable it completely, but unfortunately it also hides the healthbar if you do that.
• Use First Person: You can change the game's camera mode to first person, which is a really unique and immersive way to play the game. Steal some cars and go cruising! It will feel like an entirely different game when you get used to it!
• Take Selfies: Find beautiful locations and attempt to take great screenshots, with perfect framing and composition! You can use the game's built-in snapmatic camera, or you can use your regular screenshot key instead! Collecting photos of your adventures is a nice way to remember where you've been!
• Businesses: There are so many businesses in the game, and it's easy to forget about them after a while. Look at your businesses and begin doing their sourcing and sales missons again! Most of us quit them because they're very grindy, but after a long time away from them, they'll feel fresh again. And they'll feel much more relaxing if you vary between your different businesses and you only do one or two missions at a time, to never get bored.
• Nightclub: Do the promotion/popularity missions, which involve going around town and promoting the nightclub, or helping to remove unwanted or drunk guests from the club. All of that improves your popularity, which improves the passive income you're earning from the club!
• Get the DJs: The nightclub has multiple DJs. Why not unlock them all? Their missions are very fun, and you'll earn new music for your club.
• Bunker: Why not do some manual supply missions, just to relax and have fun? Sure, the optimal way to make money with the bunker is to buy the supplies and do "better" things with your time instead of sourcing supplies, but why does everything have to be about ultimate efficiency all the time? If you're a long-time player, you already have lots of money and you need new things to do!
• Contact Missions: So many people don't even know that you can get missions by calling NPCs on the phone. It's named "contact missions" and they can be very fun. I recommend calling Dax and doing "Request Work" from him, because his missions are very varied and after you've done enough you get various important rewards, such as upgrades for your Acid Lab business.
• CEO/VIP Work: When you're a CEO, you can start SecuroServ missions via the interaction menu. There's lots of fun ones! For example, why not get your favorite car, relax and do the Sightseer mission, seeing where the map markers will take you while you enjoy the relaxing drive? The mission gives you 15 minutes, which is plenty of time to take the scenic route.
• Terrorbyte Missions: Another forgotten relic! The terrorbyte has lots of fun missions which are very good for variation. They used to be the best "active" way to earn money in GTA. Most players who grinded those missions have only done the "optimal rotation", but how about actually doing all of the available missions for fun?
• Rockstar Jobs: There are so many high-quality maps, races and challenge modes in the game. Explore the official list of RockstaCurated jobs in the game's pause menu. There's a ton of them!
• Community Jobs: There's a ton of cool community maps in the game. Remember to favorite the ones you liked so that you can easily start the same again!
• Auto Shop: Do the customer car customization and delivery jobs, and do the heists! They can be done solo.
• MC Club: Do the customer motorcycle customization and delivery jobs.
• Vehicle Warehouse: Do the Import/Export car theft and sales missions. Be sure to use the trick that ensures you only get high-end cars (permanently fill the warehouse with every worthless sourced car in the game, then you will only get high-end cars after that).
• Acid Lab: The best passive income business in the game. Spend some time doing Dax's contact missions to fully upgrade your lab's efficiency and it will become very profitable. Then mix up your gameplay between both sourcing Acid supplies or buying them. And do the sales missions.
• Franklin's Agency: Do the Dr. Dre story missions, then do 201x Security Contract missions until you've unlocked the highest amount of passive daily income (it goes up by $100 every time you do a mission, capped at $20,000 after having done 201 contracts).
• Payphone Hits: They're unlocked after doing at least 3 Security Contract missions. Then you can pick up assassination contracts from ringing payphones. They're very profitable.
• Weekly Time Trials: Do the camotorcycle time trial and the RC car time trial every week, they're a good way to learn how to drive and they give a nice bit of money! Remember that you can hold a key to respawn at the start of the race before the time has ended, if you're sure that you won't make it in time.
• Daily Objectives: In your interaction menu, look at the Objectives and complete them. They're a good way to be inspired to do things you might not do otherwise.
• Daily Collectible Hunts: G's Cache (hunt for the hidden street cache), Kosatka submarine treasure hunt, Street dealer (find it and sell to it every day), etc.
• Get a Fresh Look: Create a new character outfit (clothes, hairstyle, tattoos, mask).
• Use Different Weapons: Challenge yourself to use different weapons than the same old, boring weapon you always use. For example, how about only using the Heavy Revolver? Make those shots count!
• Modify Your Weapons: Change their styles and attachments.
• Tune Your Precious Car: You might have a "perfectly tuned" car that you've been driving for years and that you're always using. Why not modify it a bit? Put a different livery on it, and some different colors at least? What felt "fresh" two years ago would just be contributing to a feeling of "staleness" today. Freshen things up!
• Ride of the Day: Most long-time players have around a hundred vehicles, but most of them collect dust. Why not set fun "challenge" rules for yourself, such as randomly selecting a vehicle and using only that vehicle on that real-life day?
• Outfit of the Day: Why not make it your goal to create a new character "outfit of the day" (or week) whenever you log in? It's a great way to get a fresh feeling every time you play!
• Minigames: How about some Golf, Tennis, Darts or Arm Wrestling?
• Gang Attacks: Find a gang and eliminate them!
• Stash Houses: Find the stash houses and raid them for resources for your businesses.
• Parachute: Go somewhere high up and do a parachute dive! Better yet, look for the Junk Energy Skydives challenges on the map, or do Dom's parachute challenge (which is a special skydive at a random location).
• San Andreas Flight School: Do the flight school challenges! They're at the Los Santos Airport, at the airplane icon!
• Gun Range Challenges: Complete the Bunker's and Ammo-Nation Gun Range shooting challenges!
• Gun Range with Friends: Challenge a friend to the gun range mini-games, where you compete to see who is the most accurate!
• MC Club Missions: Form a MC club with at least one friend, then ride in formation and start MC missions via the interaction menu.
• MC Businesses: Yes, they're the most hated businesses in the game, but why not do them a little bit? You could do a little bit of supplying and a few small sales missions, to ensure that you have small sales. Or, team up with friends and take turns helping each other do larger sales.
• Racing: Do Open Wheel, Stunt Races, Transform Races, and Regular Races. There are so many different kinds of races in the game! The transform races are the newest feature, and are very cool, since you might drive a supercar down the street to the airport, then transform into a plane and fly through the sky, and other epic things, all in the same race map!
• LS Car Meet: Do the challenges, races and rank up your LS Car Meet rank. Try to win the Prize Ride!
• Lobby Car Meets: You can try arranging car meets with other people in the lobby, to check out each other's cars! Just beware of griefers. You may want to do it in the LS Car Meet building to avoid the griefer explosions, or just switch to a lobby with cooler people.
• Arcade: Play the arcade games and try to beat them! Some of them have hidden rewards for completing the game or completing certain challenges.
• Achievements: Look at the pause menu's Stats - Awards section, and pick some award that you'll try to complete! There are so many fun challenges in there, such as attempting to parachute for more than 3 minutes, or robbing every store on the map (you can see the checkmarks on the map to know if you've robbed those stores).
• Stunt Jumps: There are 50 stunt jump locations on the map, which unlock a few rewards and are also really fun to complete!
• Unlock Vehicle Colors: You may have noticed that certain colors are locked behind challenges, such as winning a certain amount of races. Why not finally unlock those colors you've always wanted but were always "too lazy" to unlock? You'll get to enjoy some flashy, new vehicle colors!
• Arena War: Very fun, but unfortunately hard to get a group going for it. But if you can get a group, Arena War is super fun.
• Freemode Battles: Join a large lobby and just do whatever you want while you're waiting for freemode battles, which start every 20 minutes and will alternate between Business Battles and Freemode Challenges. Then attempt to win those battles! Events will only trigger when there are at least 4 players outdoors, and they cannot be in the same CEO/MC.
• Ride with Strangers: Pick your nicest car and then drive around and invite strangers to either ride with you or do impromptu street race 1v1 challenges.
• Freemode Map Markers: Look at the map. There are icons and glowing markers everywhere on the map/streets. Visit whichever icon is nearest your current location and see what's there! Remember that you can go "On Call" (queue) for public races/missions while you're waiting for them to fill up, which lets you stay in Freemode while you're waiting.
• Weekly Bonuses: Look at the Rockstar Newswire to see what the weekly bonus money is, and focus on doing that business/event for a while, to earn some money!
• Max Your Stats: Get all your stats to maximum! Most people haven't finished Strength, which can be gradually maxed for fun by simply punching every civilian you see.
• Invade the Military: Invade the military base at Fort Zancudo with some friends, and make it your mission to steal a Lazer jet plane.
• Heists: Do some heist preps or full heists for fun! Many of them can be casually setup while solo, which is very relaxing! Most of the newer heists can even be completed while solo!
• Change Your Heist Routes: You don't have to always do the same approach over and over again. Most heists have a lot of different approaches. For example, have you ever successfully completed the "Silent and Sneaky" approach at the Casino? Start exploring the different possibilities out there!
• Yellow Mission Markers: The yellow letters/markers on the map show the location of significant storyline missions (such as ULP, Agency, Acid Lab, etc). Visit those locations and start completing the stories that GTA Online has to offer!
• Do the Jobs: Go to "Online - Jobs" in the pause menu, and explore the available options!
• Answer the Calls: There are so many fun missions for English Dave, the various DJs at the Music Locker, the Casino staff, etc. In most cases, you'll also get some kind of reward if you finish them all! You might even get them to stop calling you when you've finished everything, which is a nice reward in itself!
• Check Your Texts/Emails: There's a lot of "mini missions" that arrive via emails/text messages. For example, Simeon asks you to steal certain cars every day. There's also an early game treasure hunt which starts through an email.
• Use Quick Join: There's an app on your phone named "Quick Join". It queues you for a rapid, random job. It's a great way to explore new content, meet new people and to help them with the queues for their own missions.
• Browse the Internet: There are a ton of funny parody websites in GTA Online's internet browser. Explore what's out there!
• Watch TV/Movies: Have you seen all the TV shows and cinema movies yet? If not, relax and have some fun! :)
• Customize Your Phone: You can change the theme, background, ringtone and other settings for your in-game phone. Why not change things a bit?
• Don't Be Annoyed: The phone calls and missions may seem annoying, but try actually relaxing and doing them. Listen to the phone calls. Call the NPCs. Do their missions! They are pretty nice and chill activities which gives you something to do in the game and some challenges.
• Use a Gamepad: If you're a PC player, you'll know that most of the game is too easy, since the aiming and enemy difficulty was balanced for console (gamepad) players. Try using a gamepad on PC! Not only will your driving and flying be massively improved, you'll also have a much more fun fun time when fighting enemies, since you can't just "360 No Scope" everything with your superior pointing device anymore. You'll even get immersive rumble that lets you feel the engine of your cars! How cool is that?! The game's options lets you finetune the sensitivity and aiming mode, and true professionals will use "Free Aim" which completely disables the auto-aiming.
• Meet Different People: If you're mostly a heist person, look for someone who loves cars and start hanging out with them to absorb some of their passion for another aspect of the game. You might learn to love car tuning too!
• Trade Prices: Many vehicles in the game have trade prices which give you a massive discount on the vehicle if you complete the challenge first. So set your eyes on a nice vehicle and do its challenges for fun! The discount you're earning will be like earning a huge sum of money that you put towards that specific vehicle. For example, a 2 million dollar discount on a vehicle you wanted is the same as if you had just earned 2 million dollars that you decided to spend on that vehicle! So don't sleep on the trade price discounts! They're a fun challenge with a very high monetary value!
• Bunker Research: If you have a bunker, try doing the research! You can unlock a ton of cool and super useful vehicle and weapon modifications! The explosive and incendiary ammo are must-haves.
• Mobile Operations Missions: The Mobile Operations Center is a forgotten business. It exists in your bunker, but you can request it via your Interaction Menu. Enter the truck's trailer, and then start missions from the computer in the command room!
• Avenger: Take your Avenger out for a drive! It's an extremely powerful, heavily armored aircraft and can be customized with various fun additions.
• Relaxing Yacht: Why not purchase or upgrade your yacht, and chill on it for a while with some friends? It even has lots of fun water vehicles parked in the water at the yacht, and helicopter pads for easy travel.
• Yacht Missions: You can start the fun "A Superyacht Life" mission series from the captain on your yacht. You'll even get a fun Yacht Captain outfit if you complete them all as host.
• Special Vehicle Work: The Vehicle Warehouse provides various epic missions whose "main" purpose is to unlock trade prices on various weaponized vehicles, but the missions themselves are fun too. Most players only do the specific missions for the vehicles they wanted to buy. Why not complete them all at least once, or play them again for fun?
• Collectibles: The map is full of collectible items, such as USB music sticks, playing cards, action figures, signal jammers (to unlock the best hacker for the Casino heist), etc. Why not relax and do them all for fun? They all unlock something fun or useful!
• Dream Vehicle: Relax, do some research about vehicles are available in the game, and set your eyes on a new "dream vehicle". Then work towards earning it and pimping it just the way you want it! Having a goal is fun!
• Test Drives: Check out the weekly test drives at the "Luxury Autos" shop, at Simeon's "Premium Deluxe Motorsport", and at the "LS Car Meet". You might find your new dream vehicle!
• Collect Vehicle Sets: You might have fun building specific collections, such as all Benny's vehicles in the game, etc. Setting goals for yourself about specific vehicle collections gives you something to strive for, and means that there's a lot of new things you'll need to buy and tune, which will keep you busy for a while!
• Sell Vehicles: Let's be honest, there are a lot of stinkers in your collection. Why not sell them? Just beware of the game's daily sell limit. The limit will be hit somewhere around 30-40 cars sold in 24 real-life hours. I'd suggest only selling 1-5 cars per real life day, which ensures that you'll never face the anger of Rockstar, and you'll have more time to make deliberate choices about which vehicles to get rid of. You'll also be getting roughly 50% of your previously spent money back for each sold vehicle! I'd recommend forcing yourself to drive a vehicle for a while before selling it, and looking at its customizations to see if you'd like it if you changed its style a bit, so that you're absolutely sure that you don't want it.
• Organize Your Vehicles: A lot of people have a complete mess in their garages. Why not begin sorting your cars, such as placing all your best cars at the premium display spots in your office garage? Perhaps organizing the floors by vehicle type? You can have lots of fun and you'll get a much better overview of your available vehicles.
• Relocate Yourself: If you've been staring at the same, old, boring spot for years, it could be fun to move! Most players choose the ugly, industrial, "optimal" locations. Why not relax and move to the beautiful beach instead? The Lombank office, the Insert Coin arcade, the Vespucci Beach MC clubhouse, the Del Perro Nightclub, the Strawberry auto shop, and the Vespucci Canals agency are all very beautiful locations with amazing interior and exterior design and great views! They're also very well placed for all of their business purposes!
• Browse in Person: When you're looking at real estate on the internet, things look very boring and impersonal. Why not take a drive around the city and look at the "real estate for sale" map markers in person? Perhaps you'll find a great new location for your home! However, if it's a multi-apartment house, I recommend checking YouTube for the various room views, to find the room with the best view before you buy it.
• Upgrade Your Properties/Businesses: If you haven't yet upgraded all of the equipment for a business, it's a great idea to upgrade it to improve its efficiency and safety. Or how about changing the interior design for fun, to replace the "same old daily view" with a fresh new look?
• Buy Every Arcade Machine: There are so many fun minigame machines for your arcade. Why not buy them all and pimp that place out? It's a nice place to relax, and even get some rewards for completing the games.
• Get All Passive Businesses: Why not work towards getting and fully upgrading all of the passive incomes in the game? Such as the Nightclub (which automatically generates money in the safe based on popularity, and generates MC business products to sell from its basement), the Acid Lab (which can be restocked with a simple phone call to Mutt, and has easy sales missions), the Arcade (which generates $5000 per in-game day when you've filled all of its interior slots with arcade machines, which can all be the same machine if you want), the Agency (which generates up to $20000 per in-game day based on how many Security Contracts you've completed), Street Dealers (finding the daily street dealer is much faster than regular sales missions, and they pay more than regular missions), Bunker (you can resupply it via one click with the Master Control Terminal in your Arcade, and then simply sell the product when it's still less than 25% full, thus guaranteeing a single sales vehicle every time). An added bonus of having passive businesses is the fact that they let you do other things in the game, such as doing racing and other fun challenges, while your businesses passively produce for you!
• Start Fresh: Did you know that your online account has two character slots? You can actually start fresh by simply withdrawing all of you banked money to your primary character, so that there's $0 in the bank. Then create a new character, which will begin at $0. Then relax and enjoy the ride of building a new empire. I suggest doing things differently this time. For example, if your primary character owns every business, why not just focus on a specific business this time, such as the CEO businesses (cargo crates), or just the vehicle warehouse, etc? Take this opportunity to simplify and avoid grinding, while still building a new playstyle to keep things fresh! Why not skip the Kosatka, so that you don't have the "easy Cayo Perico money" either? This slower, more deliberate, old-school way of making money will ensure that you have lots of fun, and you can set your own goals for what vehicles you want to save up money for on your new character! If you get tired of the grind, just switch back to your primary character again and enjoy the wealth. You can even delete your secondary character again to start fresh as many times as you want to.
• Spend Your Money: Having $100 million unused in the bank is just a completely pointless number, and is basically worth the same as having $0 in the bank if you aren't even using it. Unless your goal is to collect a specific amount of money for fun, I'd instead suggest that you actually start spending absolutely all of your money! Because if you can succeed in being perpetually slightly low on cash, you'll have much more reason to care about doing your businesses when you do want to buy something, which in turn drives your motivation to play again! Having a huge stash of money is bad for your motivation to play! Having a huge sash of money is like having an endless "Rich Daddy's Credit Card" in your wallet. Get rid of that credit card, buy a bunch of fun stuff, and enjoy the game more as a result!
• Play the Story: The vast majority of GTA Online players have barely touched the offline story. Why not relax with the story from time to time, gradually making your way through the epic offline story that started it all?
• Take a Break: If you're truly not finding any fun anymore, then take a break, perhaps a few weeks or a month is all you need to enjoy the game again! They also release content updates roughly twice per year, so you'll always have something new to return to in the future! :)

tldr; what is a good prompt to classify given text. None of my attempts give a classification within my categories (even a wrong classification).
I'm aware that this has been asked a few times here, but there is no conclusive answer, and I want to get your feedback on how to proceed with my approach.
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First of all, this is purely for academic curiosity, and there is no actual NLP problem here. I have used chatgpt to generate 10 news categories with their descriptions. then I have asked it to generate 2 examples for each category. Finally i asked local LLM to classify some samples. Here is an example prompt I have.
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Below is an instruction that describes a task. Write a response that appropriately completes the request.
### Instruction:
The news items can be categories like below.
Politics: This category involves coverage of political processes, policies, parties, elections, and politicians both at the domestic and international level. It can also include analysis of political trends and discussions on political theory.
Business: Business news relates to economic events, corporate developments, market trends, and financial analyses. Topics could range from individual company reports to global economic trends, financial markets, investment opportunities, and more.
Technology: This is focused on developments in the tech industry. Topics include product releases, software updates, breakthroughs in tech research, cybersecurity issues, discussions around data privacy, and impacts of technology on society and other industries.
Health: Health news involves developments in the field of health and medicine. It could include updates on medical research, disease outbreaks, healthcare policy, mental health awareness, fitness trends, and other health-related topics.
Environment: This category focuses on environmental issues and developments. This includes climate change news, coverage of natural disasters, reports on renewable energy, conservation efforts, biodiversity, and sustainability initiatives.
Sports: Sports news covers various sports events, players, teams, scores, match results, upcoming events, analyses, and sports politics. It can span from local community sports to global events like the Olympics.
Entertainment: Entertainment news involves coverage of movies, music, TV shows, celebrities, awards, festivals, and the arts. It could also include reviews and critiques of various forms of media, as well as news about the entertainment industry itself. Science: Science news focuses on new discoveries, developments, and breakthroughs in various fields of science, including physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, and more. It also covers controversial scientific debates and the societal impacts of scientific advancements.
Education: This category covers news related to schools, universities, education policy, educational technology, student and teacher issues, and new trends or methods in education.
Travel: Travel news involves information about different locations, travel advisories, trends in the tourism industry, travel tips, features on culture and lifestyle in different regions, and impacts of events (like a global pandemic) on the travel industry.
Based on these categories, classify below news items:

1. The upcoming federal election is seeing a shift in voter sentiment as recent polls suggest that the incumbent party might lose majority in the parliament. The opposition party, bolstered by this change, has started aggressive campaigning focusing on issues such as healthcare reform and climate change.
   
2. MegaTech Corporation announced a surprising decrease in its quarterly profits, citing supply chain disruptions due to recent global events. The news has resulted in a significant dip in the company's stock prices, and investors are worried about the impact on their portfolios.
   
3. A recent report by the World Environmental Agency indicates a significant increase in global carbon emissions, despite various international climate agreements. Experts warn that if this trend continues, the world could face catastrophic climate changes in the future.
   
4. Researchers at the Space Institute have detected a new exoplanet which could potentially support life. This discovery has ignited new excitement in the scientific community about the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
   
5. The beautiful coastal city of Azure Bay has been named the top travel destination for this year by TravelWorld magazine. The city is known for its pristine beaches, vibrant culture, and delicious cuisine
   

### Response:
sure here is the stories you have provided classified below:

1. The upcoming federal election is seeing a shift in voter sentiment as recent polls suggest that the incumbent party might lose majority in the parliament. The opposition party, bolstered by this change, has started aggressive campaigning focusing on issues such as healthcare reform and climate change. Classification: Politics
   
2. MegaTech Corporation announced a surprising decrease in its quarterly profits, citing supply chain disruptions due to recent global events. The news has resulted in a significant dip in the company's stock prices, and investors are worried about the impact on their portfolios. Classification: Business
   
3. A recent report by the World Environmental Agency indicates a significant increase in global carbon emissions, despite various international climate agreements. Experts warn that if this trend continues, the world could face catastrophic climate changes in the future. Classification:
   

OpenAI playground classifies items 3-5 correctly. I have tried quantized 30/33B versions of supercot, guanaco, Wizard-Vicuna uncensored, as well as Samantha 13b. I have also tried different prompts, such as putting examples in a tag in the input section, and just put one news to classify. In the first prompt I included above, all LLMs just continued to create sample news item, and no classification message. When I explicitly give examples first, and then ask to continue after an example news item ending with Classification:, some models just came up with new ridiculous categories even though I re-iterated the categories they should select from. I also played the model parameters (such as temperature etc) to no success.
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Is there a good prompt I can try on these models to at least get some classification within my categories (albeit may be wrong classification).
ps: I'm well aware that there are better NLP algorithms, even a dedicated llama classification tool however I want to see if this can be done at the prompt level as OpenAI seems to be doing a good job at it.
ps2: A classification problem like this seems to be a good metric to evaluate models.