Ok, so, I was recently rereading The Crying of Lot 49 last night, specifically Chapter 3, and I do feel I have a strange hypothesis about sections of that chapter that may be a complete projection, but the more that I look into the content of the sections I will parse out in particular, and the more research that I do, the more evidence seems to fall in place that sort of freaks me out and confirms my theory. Being freaks yourselves, I thought this would be the place for me to project my world, so to speak, and see if what I’m seeing is in any way based in reality or if I’m instead way off base.
My hypothesis is that Chapter 3 of The Crying of Lot 49, and specifically the Lake Inverity/Bone charcoal/Tony JaguaFangoso Lagoon section might be subtextually about Disneyland. I have struggled to find much about these particular sections of this chapter related to Disney. I own J. Kerry Grant’s A Companion to Lot 49, have scoured the Pynchon Wiki, read the reddit post discussion for Chapter 3 of this book, and tried Googling as much about it as I could, and I haven’t found anything to suggest Disneyland, so this is either a relatively new idea or one that is inaccurate as hell. Oh, boy!
To begin, I will say, I am fascinated and obsessed with Disneyland and Disney World which is maybe why I found some of the information I found within Lot 49 to begin with. One could say I have a perverse fascination with the 2 theme parks which has led me to all manner of revelations. In the same way that Pynchon, being from what I can tell, a heretical Catholic, has a perverse fascination with the sacred through the filter of the profane, I am somehow deeply attracted to and obsessed with all things Disney even though I think they are essentially a fascist, culturally banal, destructive force. Similar to how I believe Oedipa may have with Disneyland in the novel, I “fell in love with it (41).” What can I say?
The first half of Chapter 3 which I will focus on, involves Oedipa’s continued revelations. She gets her first peek at WASTE, the Tristero, the posthorn, and the Boeing-esque Yoyodyne is introduced. The plot of the novel really starts to thicken, or to put it a different way, the tapestry, the maaswork, really starts to come together, narrative threads criss-crossing every which way in all directions at once. A resource that was helpful for much of my understanding of this chapter and even just in how I read much of Lot 49 in general is Charles Hollander’s article on the novel: “Pynchon, JFK, and the CIA.” I’ll post it below.
https://www.vheissu.net/articles/hollander_49.php
Chapter 3, according to Hollander, is where some of the first hints of JFK’s assasination are placed. According to Hollander, this chapter uses allusion, parody, analogy, and enthymeme to encode its secret message about the JFK assassination. Mike Faloppian’s Peter Pinguid Society’s Dallas chapter certainly suggests this. I mention this, partially, to say that, in a way, I could maybe call what I’m trying to figure out here “Pynchon, Disney, and the CIA,” since in many ways what I’m wrestling with is what I perceive to be many hidden references to Disney's shaddy dealings throughout 40s and 50s Californian history. Disney World, in particular, does have a direct history of involvement with the CIA with regard to how it acquired its real estate holdings, for example, which interestingly enough is what a chunk of this chapter is about when it comes to its references to Inverarity (not Disney World, but real estate holdings in general, Inverarity's more specifically).
The first section of the chapter that gave me some strange vibes regarding Disneyland was the section where Metzger, Oedipa, and the Paranoids go to Fangoso Lagoon, “one of Inverarity’s last big projects (40).” I will quote some of these sections below where these vibes first made themselves known.
“Somewhere beyond the battering, urged sweep of three-bedroom houses rushing by their thousands across the dark beige hills, somehow implicit in an arrogance or bite to the smog the more inland somnolence of San Narciso did lack, lurked the sea, the unimaginable Pacific, the one to which all surfers, beach pads, sewage disposal schemes, tourist incursions, sunned homosexuality, chartered fishing are irrelevant, the hole left by the moon’s tearing-free and monument to her exile; you could not hear or smell this but it was there, something tidel began to reach feelers in past eyes and eardrums, perhaps to arouse fractions of brain current your most gossamer microelectrode is yet too gross for finding (40-41).”
This first quote stood out to me because it reminded me of the printed circuit Oedipa sees in Chapter 2. At the beginning of Chapter 2, Oedpia looks out at the landscape and sees it as deeply controlled, planned, almost machine-like or circuit-like. I don’t think this is a wildly different passage from that one. It, like the previous seciton forces the reader to ask the question: how did America come to be how it is now? This is an important question Lot 49 is always forcing its reader to ask. How did the deep conservatism or fascism creep in? Would the answer not be the subject of this book? Communication systems. What company is in charge of some of the most monopolized forms of our communication systems to this day? Disney, of course! Is this an accident? Was it planned? The malignant, magic forces referenced in Chapter 1 may have made it so, may have “urged [the] sweep of three-bedroom houses rushing by their thousands across the dark beige hills (40).” Surely the Walt Disney Company has done as much as any to reinforce suburban 3-bedroom forms of existence that have had a stranglehold on our cultural existence for so many years, than just about any, right? But this was just where I started to get the first inkling of vibes about Disneyland. To continue with another quote:
“They came in among earth-moving machines, a total absence of trees, the usual hieratic geometry, and eventually, shimmying for the sand roads, down in a helix to a sculpted body of water named Lake Inverarity. Out in it, on a round island of fill among blue wavelets, squatted the social hall, a chunky ogived and verdigrised, Art Nouveau reconstruction of some European pleasure-casino. Oedpia fell in love with it (41).”
This is where my paranoia really got going. Much of the description of the passage above does not sound like a man-made lake or lagoon. Far from it. Lake Inverarity is described as “a round island of fill,” that contains a “social hall,” and as a “Art Nouveau reconstruction of some European pleasure-casino.” That sounds much more like Disneyland than just a man-made lake created by a real-estate developer? Also with Oedpia being a consistent parody of housewives in suburban America, it would make sense that she would fall in love with Lake Inverarity if it is, in fact, Disneyland. Plus, there might be another hint in the name Lake Inverarity itself, since it is the only holding named after Inverarity specifically, just as Disneyland is named after Disney himself. I don’t believe that Inverarity is a direct analogy for Disney specifically, but I do believe he is instead an analogy for any of the unseen hyper-capitalist forces that have come to dominate our culture, Disney clearly being one example.
And just a side note before I continue with some of my evidence. It would make complete sense, this being a novel about Southern California, its real-estate development, and history, that Pynchon would eventually have to get to Disneyland. It is a property in Southern California, that especially between 1955 and 1965 had to have HUGE influence. How could he not incorporate it even if it was only referred to passively or encoded into the references of the text (much in the same way Hollander argues that Pynchon does the same for JFK’s assassination). There is another passage that REALLY got me convinced about my above theory, the section where Manny DiPresso is discussing the bone charcoal “used in the R&D phase of the filter program. Back around the early 50’s.” Here it is:
“Presently the bodies sank and stayed where they were till the early ‘50s, when Tony Jaguar, who’d been a corporal in an Italian outfit attached to the German force at Lago diPieta and knew about what was at the bottom, decided among some colleagues to see what he could salvage. All they managed to come up with was bones. Out of some murky train of reasoning, which may have included the observed fact that American tourists beginning then to be plentiful, would pay good dollars for almost anything; and stories about Forest Lawn and the American cult of the dead; possibly some dim hope that Senator McCarthy, and others of his persuasion, in those days having achieved a certain ascendancy over the rich cretini from across the sea, would somehow refocus attention on the fallen of WWII, especially ones whose corpses had never been found; out of such labyrinth of assumed motives, Tony Jaguar decided he could surely unload his harvest of bones on some American someplace through his contacts in the “family,” known these days as Costa Nostra. He was right. An import-export firm bought the bones, sold them to a fertilizer enterprise, which may have used one or two femurs for laboratory tests but eventually decided to phase entirely into menhaden instead and transferred the remaining several tons to a holding company, which stored them in a warehouse outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana, for maybe a year before Beaconsfield got interest (47).”
When I read “which may have included the observed fact that American tourists beginning then to be plentiful, would pay good dollars for almost anything,” I could not think of anything but Disneyland. In his historiographic metafictions, Pynchon often superimposes historical realities onto present ones in order to make political, social, and religious commentary that would otherwise be inexpressible. An easy example is the fact that Gravity’s Rainbow is a novel about 1960’s America set in Britain during World War II. In the above passage, if Pynchon is superimposing the strange, seemingly random history of “an Italian outfit attached to the German force at Lago diPieta.” and is using this as an analogy, to project a world that speaks to his present day, I don’t know how Pynchon couldn’t be referring to Disneyland. The novel is set in Southern California, the place where Pynchon lived in 1965. Wouldn’t Disneyland, the rise of tourism, how that was changing the landscape of America and hijacking the “family,” its communication systems, propaganda, and culture, wouldn't all that have been on his mind? I have a few more quotes and then a possibly even more major revelation before I feel I can finally feel I’ve made my point.
Later on in the Lagoon, the Paranoids start smoking pot, and the following happens:
“[B]y holding up the glowing roaches of their cigarettes like a flipcard section at a football game, to spell out alternative S’s and O’s, attracted the attention of the Fangoso Lagoons Security Force, a garrison against the night made up of one-time cowboy actors and L.A. motorcycle cops (49).”
I believe this “one-time cowboy actor” reference to be a reference to Ronald Regan, a fixture of southern California and one-time cowboy actor, and yet another thread in the patchwork connections to Disney. On October 24, 1947, Walt Disney and Ronald Regan both testified against communism, naming particular individuals they found nefarious communists within the film industry (another communication industry, one could say) before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. Which got me thinking, with all the mob references in the above section about Lago diPeta and the bones, was Disney ever involved with the mafia or mob, with “Costa Nostra?” I didn’t find much, but I did find something extremely interesting, which also led to one final even more strange realization. Read the link below, it lays out the story of Willie Bioff, a mobster who attempted to but failed to help break up Disney’s Union Strike in the 1940’s.
https://babbittblog.com/2016/10/09/disney-and-the-mob-willie-bioff/
This may seem unrelated to Pynchon’s “parable of power,” but earlier in the chapter when Mike Fillopian is discussing Russia and America, clearly also, yet again using a historical detail as a historiographic metafiction, superimposing a historical reality onto a present one, in this case, that of the cold war, when Fillopian mentions “After the confrontation, appalled at what had to be some military alliance between Russia...and a Union that paid lip service to abolition while it kept its own industrial laborers in a kind of wage-slavery (36),” its fairly clear which side of the picket-isle Pynchon would have been during an animator strike of Disney in the 1940s, or any strike for better treatment, for that matter. In Lot 49, Pynchon has written a "parable of power" about the various ways the circuit board of American life has reinforced the indentured servitude of supposed abolitionists, which in our modern world, could easily be a stand in for the structures of neo-liberalism. And nothing on this earth is more an example of banal neoliberal capitalism than Disneyland, nothing (except for maybe Epcot, of course). This is a lot of information, and I may not have done a very good job of connecting it all or being as explicit as I could have at explaining how specific references hint at Disney throughout the chapter, and this has already become too long, HOWEVER, I have one final piece of information that blows my DAMN MIND that is likely coincidental, but which I still could not believe I found.
Inspired by the book and wanting to find more connections in the tapestry, I started doing research into Disney’s involvement with the FBI and found some public records about his direct involvement with them on the FBI's website. Walt Disney was a SAC (Special Agent in Charge) for the FBI, according to these documents, for a period of time, interestingly enough, in the late 50s. There are literal letters to Disney from J. Edgar Hoover himself to Disney in these documents. I’ll post them below along with a number of other links that discuss Disney’s connection to the FBI, the last one being particularly fascinating in its connections to the novel.
https://vault.fbi.gov/walter-elias-disney/walter-elias-disney-part-01-of-03/view
http://www.schaakstukkenmuseum.nl/?p=2195&lang=en
http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/F%20Disk/FBI/FBI%20Press%20Use%20Of/Item%2009.pdf
https://www.mouseplanet.com/8987/The_Mickey_Mouse_Club_FBIs_Most_Wanted
I very much suggest looking at the Mouse Planet link above. If you have read The Crying of Lot 49 and know who Baby Igor and Metzger is, I VERY MUCH SUGGEST IT. Upon reading this and looking at all the other material, I discovered that there was a child-star, mentioned specifically in these documents, that was to be the child used in a set of documentaries Disney was to make as propaganda films for the FBI specifically, promoting them to the public in 1958. This child’s name was Dirk Metzger. I shit you not. His name was METZGER and he was a child star whose father was in the military. READ THE ARTICLE. His daddy, his doggy, and HIM! And guess what, look at what his profession became after being a child actor in these films? Guess it was: he became a lawyer!!! Baby Igor himself! In the flesh!? Look at the article. It’s all there. I can’t fucking believe it!? Now, I admit, this is all probably just a coincidence. Being 14 in 1958 would put Metzger at being only 21 or so in 1965 when the Crying of Lot 49 came out, so it is unlikely that this is exactly what I think it is, a direct, real, historical correlation, but who knows? Pynchon lived in California at the time. Who knows whom or what he may have come across...
Maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t there. Maybe Disneyland is nowhere to be found in the California of The Crying of Lot 49. Maybe this is all, as Hilarius would say, a Rorsoch blot. Maybe I’m simply hallucinating. I will say though, either way, I do think the political exigence of The Crying of Lot 49 has done its work on me. Even if this is only an ink blot, a world I’m projecting rather than one that is actually there, I have certainly done more thinking about Disney, its union-busting, suburban-infused. McCarthy-ian underbelly than I have, maybe ever, and that power, and Pynchon's parable of power he wrote in reaction to it, is something that is very much alive and with us today, it is a power that is still creating indentured servitude and whose malignant, “formless magic” is igniting all around us. Hopefully I, like Oedpia, have gotten a little closer to understanding how it works and counting its line of force. Maybe,
“If the tower is everywhere and the knight of deliverance no proof against its magic, what else?”

Since I'm probably going to abandon my save file due to an unfortunate event, I thought I just post the story of it here. Obviously this will end up in a very extreme wall of text - but if you are interested in such stories feel free to continue reading.
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1.0. The Preparation

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Last year in august I was planning on playing Elona(+) again, since it was around 9 years ago when I played vanilla Elona on its latest stable version. In 2010 I never made it far into the game, I wasn't even close to anywhere to 3 digit stats - but I was able to at least survive basic stuff and advanced very slowly until I stopped playing at some point. What I do not like if you can things permanently mess up which was one of the reasons I decided to play Elona+ instead of Elona this time as it appears Elona+ tries to avoid/reduce such things. I always went out without any pets 9 years ago as I think they pretty immediately died for me - and so I went on another petless journey again. My choice fell on an Eulderna Warmage since at the time I created the character it seemed to be the best choice for me with the extra magic resistance while not having any specific disadvantages. As feats I choosed some resistances and Exorcist to nullify being cursed on dreams as I remember 9 years ago on vanilla Elona this was a significant threat to me (however, now I would not choose this feat anymore since cursing items later in the game can be quite important - I wished this feat would just add a toggle special action like Dupli-Cane and Advanced Casting so you could enabled/disable this at any time).
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1.1. The Beginnings

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I started the game pretty casually on Essential Mode (I would have preferred a harder mode but I dislike loosing life/mana when the game/system crashes by accident) with the intention not to savescum. I was entering the wilderness around my house to improve my stats until I could survive basic enemies like a kobold. My playstyle mostly reflects of going melee-only and I'm not sure why I choosed a Warmage at this time - possibly I have read before that magic is pretty strong and decided to give it a try later - but I don't fully remember. I was exited about simple stuff like identifying things to permanently unlock their basic selling values to make more money. After around 1-2 hours it was time for looting the Puppy Cave to make more money and progress even further. I tried to improve my gear by getting some resistances and preferring glass gear for more speed. At some point I entered a pretty low danger level dungeon which was at this time pretty high for me. At the end was a level 8 or 9 Grudge which I don't remember anymore if I defeated him or not - but slowly I begun to get stronger. Progressing on this low level went a while while I was also using the Wiki on Fandom all the time to check all the details for the game mechanics out. At some point later I also gave magic a try. Seeing how the damage of a magic dart increased quite fast with its dices and damage value I thought at this time that magic is pretty overpowered and will easily outclass any melee.
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1.2. The first accident

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After some casual playing I achieved significant progress when I got enough medals to buy some artifacts in Miral and Garok's Workshop. With the I was able to do moderate amounts of damage (around ~200 at this time) and with the I had no issues with upcomming invisible creatures. Ironically I still had both items around the 800+ hours mark, since artifact items are usually pretty strong (especially in this game) even compared to random godly items and over the course of time you usually rarely progress with new random equipment in this game. At the end I was able to blast even level 50000+ monsters away with moderate ease which are all capped with all stats at 2000 - but more to my endgame build and what I all did later in this post. The next step was to progress with the story so I went for the 3 magic stones. When I approached Wynan on his chessboard he crushed 1 or 2 walls which stressed me out (which also happened later on some other locations) since on trying to fix this later it turned out this is not possible - as placing wall tiles with the Wall Creation spell or removing them to fix floor tiles will always result in a default wall/floor tile - making it impossible to create specific ones as I really wanted to preserve all the static areas in the game. I was a bit sad about it and hoped that in the future there would be a way to fix this - like a way to choose which wall/floor tiles to place; a janitor set that allows you to actually also design some static areas at some point; or some other solution. My savefile was now slighly messed up and I just continued - always hoping that I can just fix all messed up floors in the future but also knowing that this is extremely unlikely to happen.
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1.3. Careful grinding

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Meanwhile I also grinded for more Little Sisters and got more Hero Cheese to improve survivability - which was a slight mistake at this point since I was still in act 1 (as I planned later to add additional body parts). Farming for Little Sisters was quite a serious task too since I wanted to avoid killing a single one to avoid reducing the spawn rate of Big Daddies. As far as I know this is another thing where you can permanently mess your save file up if you make a mistake so initially I did always fully clear a floor before approaching a Big Daddy and then even walling him in with enough distance to avoid him smashing the walls as enemies can still spawn randomly if enough turns pass - eventually an enemy would have appeared otherwise exactly in the turn when the Little Sister spawns just to kill her and mess my save file up (when I was much stronger I did not wall them in anymore and from the ~350 Little Sisters that spawned not a single one died during my whole playtime). When I also progressed more in the story and met Alsapia in Lesimas floor 30 I think I had around 300 hit points but still died on my first try against her. The neverending progression just continued until I was strong enough to finish act 1. But before defeating Zeome I also wanted to finish some side quests which lead to an interetsing experience. Ungaga in the Minotaur's Nest did land a critical hit on me with his first strike, probably with a very high roll and I lost around 700 hit points and died. He never did any damage this close to me again on my future attempt so I guess I was just extremely unlucky here.
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1.4. The museum and its difficulties

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One thing until this point that bothered me a bit was the museum. I wanted to collect all cards and statues to show them in my museum but anyone who tried to seriously fill a museum probably knows the troubles. There is not enough space to place them all even if you extend the default floor and additional floors can't be created. Also there is no sane way to track which statues/cards you already have in your museum so I decided to just collect the statues/cards from unique NPC's and very later on I even begun to remove some cards as space still became very limited (if you want to make your museum look halfway good and not to fill every single possible tile). At the end this is good enough to reach rank 1 and get all the points to get more platinum coins but I think this is something that could get enhanced. Especially since adding support for multiple floors and linking them to the ranking is not difficult.
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2.0. Getting strong

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One of my goals was to get new body parts as fast as possible from doctor Gavela as I wanted to avoid loosing more life as neccessary from early farmed Hero Cheese (I think I only lost 1 extra life due to this but it was still a bit annoying). I got 2 additional hands and my setup (either it was a sword and shield or already dual-wielding) changed to quad-wielding with a living weapon (lightsabre), , and . I think at this time I did roughly around 1000 damage per hit - which didn't progress too significantly for me anymore over the course of the next few hundred hours. Also I did experiment with my living weapon a bit and did reset it a few times at Maile - but was a bit annoyed that instead of being a reset for its level/gained attributes instead all attributes that were even before leveling it up got deleted too (e.g. if you get a living weapon with a good invoke and want to reset its level the invoke will be gone forever). At least the attributes from the material kit could have been kept as for example in my case the lightning resistance from being a diamond lightsabre got deleted too - while it was still made of diamond after resetting. Reapplying another material kit (even if the same) fixes this issue but it still feels a bit annoying. One thing that I got curious later on was why all enemies got in some cases just 1 damage no matter what. It turned out that the chain intervalls the weapons do are actually a nerf for cases when enemies can't do something on too many turns of the player (like perma-stunning them and stopping the time too often). Once it reaches 200 all enemies are getting just 1 damage from any source - limiting the combination of dual-wielding and time-stopping (this is also one reason why you want to avoid spreading too much different damage types on weapons as every damage type counts as its own attack and adds 1 to the chain interval - making the enemies just faster resistant to your damage). At the end I went full darkness damage on my living weapon since it seems the most useful - it mostly prevents any physical and magical threats, is very easy to apply to any regular enemy that is not immune to blindness or has innate superb resistance to darkness (even capped out enemies), according to the wiki sticks usually a bit longer than confusion from mind or sound damage (and confusion has the disadvantage that enemies could spawn other enemies if they fail to cast a spell) and does not stunlock the enemy to avoid high chain intervalls.
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2.1. Common work

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Nothing too spectacular happened from here except casual grinding and when blewing up Palmia for the side-quest I forgot to check for other adventures - and of course pissed some of. I was now curious if they would ever come to my home and trying to burn it but this did never happen. Meanwhile I had a ranch with a fairy to get more Secret Experiences of Kumiromi - which did net me the one and other a few times during my gameplay. If I would have found them as often as Happy Beds dropped for me I would have possibly already nearly capped out all my feats - those beds really dropped like biscuits for me. I also had a shop and did put all the cooked food I got from killed enemies there. I also did sell miracle and godly equipment there that I found but had no use for it. Since I played this game casually and in a more or less RPG-like manner Isca was the shopkeeper. I also intentionally wasted a rod of wishing to give her the negotiation skill as I had not much interest to dig into gene engineering yet. As shop feats I choosed Asthetic Sense to get more money and Proprietary Sales to get even more money. I still assume the latter is responsible for a display bug: Every time the day ends and the summary is shown the first message is partially duplicated with some nonsense. It sorts of depends of the last tiles you have somehow encountered - but I do not know the exact details. It is kind of funny when the message claims Isca has put Palmia into my shop storage^^
Also I had a farm with nothing spectacular in it. Mainly I did put fruit trees in there that I sto... borrowed. I also had a bigger tree farm in my house which I used to produce juice so I had not to go to Noyel anymore every once in a while to farm some snow.
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2.2. Making money

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My Win-LVL increased while I played more - without knowing what this actually meant. Later on I figured out the number there (in the current version of Elona+ shown as "Proper" in your character sheet) is just the highest level of a dungeon boss you killed. It seems to affect the danger level of newly generated dungeons and quests. Additionaly the highest danger level you entered/cleared or such seems to also affect this (and can be reset at Maile while the first can't). I got into the ranges of level 150-200 dungeons and things begun to get harder. And some point (possibly a bit earlier or maybe even shortly after act 2 - I don't remember exactly when) I noticed all enemies have now a gauge bar. I had around 3000 hit points and a Flash Wyvern could remove half of them when its gauge bar got full. Also the god enemies like Atlas begun to show up. I remember that I killed an early one with several magic darts from the distance but it was still pretty dangerous. However, at this point I got quite some extra money as the gold piles are in the 5 digit ranges here. Later I noticed that it seems to cap at 50000 and even much higher dungeons seem on average to yield even less money. It sort of felt like the money values are sort of overflowing and thus lowering the average a bit until some even more higher danger levels again. If I was wrong or what exactly was going on here is still unknown to me. But with the extra money and the sold cooked food I was able to increase my Investment skill more and more - as it levels pretty fast. It was also my first skill that reached level 2000 and thus requiring me only a bit over 50000 gold to invest 50 more ranks on a shopkeeper. At the end of my gameplay my blackmarket shopkeeper is now rank 66000 - but it feels not better than like rank 5000. Either the improvement is here extremely slow, maybe with diminishing returns or I did already hit the softcap and there is no point in investing here anymore.
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2.3. The AP-system

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One thing I was already concerned when I was still in act 1 and that influenced my gameplay heavily was the AP mechanic as I think it can sort of mess up your save file too. Currently after 966 hours my AP are 2500 (8500) which is the highest minimum value for my build when you buy only the skills and prepare to swap to any skill without wanting to increase your AP further. If I would have gone for additional speed/life my AP value would now be even higher - while I can achieve those values even without investing the AP. This has the theoretical advantage that I'm as best as possible prepared if updates of Elona+ add stuff to the AP mechanic. Players who instead capped out their AP wouldn't be able to get any more of them and potentially locking out from new stuff and thus messing up their save file. Also the AP system favors to save your Speed Upper potions/Hermes Blood, etc. ideally after you have capped out the related stats with AP which I also disliked. I think a better approach to this part of the AP system would be to not bind the stat increases to the base stats - but instead applying them as an invisible buff. This way it would solve the problems above (but also result in a bit higher stats on endgame builds). It probably sounds stupid to many who read this - but whatever, I just progress without the stat increases and the journey continued.
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2.4. Rejected from some gods

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Additionally I also went every year to the Truce Ground and temporarily worshipped another god to make them spawn in november and getting the specific training-related artifact. Unfortunately there is a bug that prevented me to do this a few times. Even having more than just enough favor and praying at the Truce Ground resulted in around half of all cases the related god to not appear. I don't know what exactly causes this issue but my guess is that switching to a god too late might have an impact on this issue. Also I remember that I have seen another user here in the past that has claimed about this issue. I guess it is just rare and since the exact conditions are unknown I expect it not to be fixed soon - if at any point at all. My current approach was to not switch to a god later than september and so far my last summoning in november was successfull but I would have to test this further.
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2.5. Improving my gear

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Via the course of this grinding I also improved my gear. While randomly generated equipment very rarely improved my current equipment and too often even very early artifacts were very superior, all my equipment was hardened to +10 via a blacksmith and to +15 via stardusts. The new improvement was reforging their type and applying a more effective material kit on them. Since I wanted to balance stuff out most of my armor got a Dragon Scale material kit as it has a good improvement to DV and PV while also providing fire and cold resistance which is quite important to avoid item destruction in tricky cases ( I always carry a fireproof and coldproof blanket with me just in case. Too bad filling charges seems to be limited (even accross other items I think) to lower values than you can potentially buy (13 charges in case of blankets). Maybe it would be better if the cap of filling charges would be dependent on your Magic Device level - this would also make this skill a bit more useful. Also: Needs coldproof liquids!).
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3.0. Becomming healthy

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I finished act 2 at some point and got to a point where I noticed a significant EXP increase from enemies (panic/challenge quests; dungeon bosses; enemies in the Void floor 200+). For example a random spider in the Void floor 200+ gave me around 4 million EXP per kill. Since the EXP cap for levels is 100 million and every level gave me some hit points (in newer versions of Elona+ I now get hit points only every 4 levels - but around 4 times higher than before). My stats slowly crawled up - I think to around 300 - 400 on all main stats, ~100+ on most skills mostly due to travelling except the 2000 in Investment and some hundred levels in Lockpicking since I noticed troubles opening all those chests, safes and treasure balls on higher danger levels. However, the contents never seemed to get any better anymore despite requiring a more and more higher Lockpicking skill. I remember having seen the Skeleton Key once in the log after casting Oracle but unfortunately it was generated in the Void and the floor was already gone for a while. In all those 966 hours sadly I have never seen another generated Skeleton Key anymore (but tons of s - which unfortunately have no effect on Dimension Fishing - while it does even increase the Fishing skill, argh!). Much earlier I planned to keep all my spells up with my chacacter level - but stopped this approach on level 115. My main skills I used at this time (Magic Dart, Cure of Eris or Jua, Speed, Attribution Shield, Feather, Holy Shield, Holy Veil, Vanquish Hex), were around level 200+ - 300+. Too bad some spells do not increase with higher levels (except the spell stock cost reduction up to level 300) while still increasing in mana points. For example my Magic Map spell (on hour 966 with level 623) has never improved in revealing the map more with a single cast. I continued to farm some more levels to get more hit points and to get some more stat increases from some Ether Diseases I currently intentionally had (like hooves and feathers for more speed). My hit points reached values around 15000 - 30000 and my speed got around to a buffed value of 1100+ and my Win-LVL was around 1000.
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3.1. A laboratory for all your plushies

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From this point nothing too spectacular happened anymore. I slowly advanced in the Void, farmed Little Sisters and also fame in dungeons to make panic/challenge quests more worth, I did party time quests to get Music Tickets as well as hopefully finding a godly Casino Table and Pachisuro Machine. Also I advanced Leold's side quest in killing higher level monsters for even more music tickets and invested them into Hero Cheese for even more hit points. I also slowly killed more and more unique NPC's to get their statues for my museum. At some point I got tired power leveling my spells after I slept enough times so I decided to make my life a bit easier. I designed my dungeon to be a laboratory with cells for different types of enemies. One of the cells contains 2 Meshera Deltas, which do cast Silence on me all the time from their cell while I'm outside and out of their pyhsical reach. That process speeds up spell leveling very much as there are now no spell animations anymore. A bit earlier when I tried to get some Asuras in a cell I noticed later they were all gone. To solve the issue with depsawning monsters I just sandbaged them and only release them when I need them for training (and sandbag them again once I'm done).
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3.2. Facing Death's aspirant

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After this the progression went pretty fast. Mainly because I actually invested now platinum coins to train offensive skills (mainly Tactics, Dual Wield, Eye of Mind and Long Sword) to get much higher than the ~150+ skill levels they had. I also got additional levels from killing monsters - usually now 12 million - 13 million EXP per kill resulting in more hit points and some Hero Cheese from music tickets for even more hit points again. Around that time I also leveled 5 living weapons to level 10 with applying strength to them so I could temporary buff my strength to 1000+ as I wanted to get 1 of every altar in my home. Slowly my offensive skills evolved and I had around 60000 - 70000 hit points. Around this time I tried to kill Amurdad to get the as I planned to advance some stats later with a farm full of herbs. My first try on killing Amurdad resulted in that I could not get past his Super Regene healing and he drained my stamina up to a point where he could easily kill me. The grinding continued and my stats got higher, up to around 300+ - 400+ in said offensive skills and 150000+ hit points. That was sufficient enough to finally beat Amurdad to get the scissors. Now I have a farm with a Statue of Kumiromi, 72 planted herbs and 8 Kumiromi's Gem Stone of Rejuvenation. At this point Quad-Wielding with time-stopping felt very lacking as I had usually very high chain intervalls, too often now over 200 forcing me to wait a few turns. Since at this point I pretty much studied most of the Wiki on Fandom I wanted to try something else. The idea was 3 living weapons (all lightsabres (I think 1 was reforged) since living weapons at this stage of gameplay are pretty common) while leveling the first 2 lightsabres with nether damage up to level 10 and the last one to darkness damage up to level 10 and a shield for more defense. I also made the 2 lightsabres with nether damage super heavy (250s each) to cap out the critical damage even if the enemies wear heavy equipment. This turned out to be super useful as I did around 10000 - 15000 nether damage on most enemies per hit per sword which also healed me for this amount - around half the amount my Cure of Jua spell heals. A bit later I had also buffed around 1300 PV but the enemies still hit for 15000 - 30000 damage. I advanced my equipment to have a bit higher magic resistance and spellcasters barely were a threat now with the few thousand damage they did. The exception are water spells as they ignore any resistances causing also to do around 15000 - 30000 damage per hit. However, protecting against spellcasters was much more easy than protecting against physical attacks (mainly due to bosses you barely can blind). But I also had not actively trained Evasion yet - I planned this once I have more sandbags for Asuras.
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3.3. The Escalation

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Then the update happened that brought a cap of 100 to platinum coins and skill/spell points. Since I had accumulated over 3000 skill and spell points I waited for a specific training day and used Advanced Casting and then burned all my points into Swimming and... Wishing! Now with an equipped magaqua (as I never used one before as I wanted to train Swimming over time) and a Swimming skill quite over 1000 I achieved a buffed speed of around 2000 (while still having ~600 base speed). With my Gamma Shift Core I wished earlier for it is even around 2500 speed. My Traveling skill is only around 200 but this together makes me fast enough that it is not too hard capping out skill and spell points in a single ingame day - which is quite tricky since I want to use them only if I'm on a specific day to optimally boost my skills which requires me often to skip some days. At this point I wish I could just use the over 1000 Small Medals I have to just upgrade my "Magic Bag" to fit in more skill and spell points and platinum coins as at this stage of gameplay it is sort of required to play effectively. I got stronger and stronger and the enemies began to cap out their stats slowly at 2000. Every few enemies I have killed achieved the next goal of Leold's side quest and switching continents all the time, going to Leold, teleporting to the Craddle of Chaos, reading a Scroll of Escape and switching continents again was quite annoying. If doctor Gavela could borrow Leold and me just a Mobile Communication Equipment with integrated fax - then Leold could just fax me those Music Tickets every time I advance in the quest!^^
Since capped out enemies were less and less a threat I begun to beat higher dungeon bosses and getting a higher Win-LVL until I noticed bosses won't go here over level 8332. But there seem to be some exceptions. Once a Shade generated as dungeon boss and it was only level 6666 (I think it was not even generated as boss type) and at some point I got unnoticed a Win-LVL of 11110. I guess there is an exception that generates something at level 11110 - maybe it was the Putit Tank I encountered but I don't know. After this point the danger levels incremented about several thousands once I did beat a new higher one. Currently the highest danger levels I see are a bit over 100000. The mechanics in them are also quite interesting: It seems hidden passages (blocked by wall tiles) still scale in this high levels. When I just use 1 skill point to bring my Detection skill from 0% potential to 20% potential I get 20 levels at once (and 0% potential again) with one revealed hidden path. No matter how many more potential I put into (even 400%) I never get more than 20 levels at once - I guess this is the cap how many skill levels in general you can get at once. Luckily revealing a hidden path is still easy with 1000+ Detection on those high danger levels so it is not much of an issue. But my 100+ Disarm Trap skill has basically no effect anymore and so I trigger every trap I step on. Also opening up chests/safes/treasure balls with 1200+ Lock Picking results most in the time that the lock is beyond my skill. Too bad the loot in those containers seems to have already capped out around danger levels of 100+ and they are not more worth later on (but still much more difficult to open). I fear if danger levels have no cap and continue to grow exponentially I will see at some point a crash every time a dungeon with a too high danger level is being generated. Nice side-effects are that the gained fame is based on the danger level and your current fame causing me to get easily over 20000 fame per cleared dungeon (I'm currently around 700000 fame) and the panic/challenge quests cause now to generate monster levels around the danger levels I see resulting in getting over 60 million EXP per kill (I think I'm on the cap of 640000080 EXP).
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3.4. An unfortunate event

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However, today something bad happened. When I was creating some Cure Crystals on the Pot for Fusion to easily remove single Ether Diseases (since I want to keep some other) I did create 3 * 10 of them. This resulted in 30 Cure Crystals but only 19 Empty Bottles instead of the expected 30. Later I noticed that sadly some items in my house were gone. So I did hit the cap of 400 items and the creation of new items has caused a deletion. I actually thought the cap of 400 items is a soft cap and specific game mechanics can go temporary over them without causing troubles - I guess I was wrong. Too bad that actual item deletion this way is possible - and that the Cure Crystals and Empty Bottles have not been stacked. Initially I planned to stop continuing playing my save file due to this accident and just writing the story of my playthrough somewhere in hope it improves stuff (ideally this would reach out to Ano somehow but I doubt it). But on making a second look it looks like there is a specific pattern to the item deletion. All items that I confirm being gone had a very low base value and the important stuff seems to be still there. I just hope the stack of my current 114 artifact equipments has not been affected as checking and recovering them could be quite some work.
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Future plans

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Thats pretty much the story. I have a few plans what to do next once I should find the motivation to continue. One thing I noticed is that Yacatect's Banks are not a global storage - they are local on their own. And since it seems you get 10% interest after every 2400 hours the amount of gold would escalate at some point (up to the cap). It seems they are an easy way to get nearly an endless source of money if you setup your own terra-cotta armee with them. I'm also trying to figure out a way to mitigate Brainwashing as this is still a very significant threat. My hope is that enough mind resistance would make you immune against it. Another thing I experiemented with is trying out cursed equipment as an alternative but one piece causes already a huge health loss every few turns. Also I'm curious if enough magic resistance can make you immune to any hex from enemies with 2000+ casting. To test some of this stuff I probably would have to dig more into the artifact fusion system. I think if a randomly found item (like a godly one) has too many and too strong stats it counts more towards the artifact power - making it ironically more difficult to apply the wanted attributes later on it. This might be a reason why Ehekatls passive feat you can obtain might be counter-productive here and possibly needs another toggle. Also if my Casting/Literacy/Memorization skill is high enough I would consider reading some/all of my wishing spell books that I found and kept during the entire playthrough (I found 5 but read (and failed) 1 by accident when I spammed reading on all common books I found) to summon all gods and killing them. I also wanted to figure out if all the ...borrowed Holy Wells could be useful in the future too since it seems they still regenerate their charges. At least they are useful ranking up at the Thieves Guild really fast (with a sell value of over 60000). Werewolves are quite a problem too and I'm not sure if some towns just bugged out. Even killing all werewolves I found and duelling all werewolve detectives caused them to respawn (I have some towns with 2 detectives). I'm unsure how to fix this but my current plan was getting more s from going deeper into the Void (as duelling in Amur-Cage never dropped any more s for me) and then checking every person if they are still a werewolf.
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Progress on hour 966

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At the end I'm now on level 1121 with ~350000 HP and ~150000 MP. My main stats are around 600+ - 700+ with speed buffed to 2000+. The offensive skills like Tactics, Long Sword, etc. are around 500 - 800 and my current damage multiplier for every of my lightsabres is 71.5. Some stats posted earlier and the order of the story might be slightly inaccurate since this happened all over the course of a year and my memory is not perfect but mostly it should be pretty fine.
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Some suggestions

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The only thing I could list now would be a few things I would like to get enhanced in this game:
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- Obviously the item deletion issue that eventually caused me to delete my save file.
- A way to better fix static areas as mentioned earlier above.
- Other fixes to prevent messing up a save file, partially mentioned above too. Additionally for example if you kill all Old humankinds there seems to be no way to get them later. I'm also unsure where to recruit a if both in Rehmido have been destroyed.
- I/O performance improvements. The overhead seems to be very high and is noticeable especially on a HDD. Examples of issues are frequent opening of menus (like opening gambling chests) and the Appearance selection menu.
- Fixing the broken viewport (that on some resolutions some columns/rows can't be (partially) seen). For me if an enemy is on the top row I can't see him including his important gauge bar - which is quite an issue.
- Better view on enemy bars. If they are behind a wall the gauge bar is not visible anymore which is also a big issue.
- Support for user paths. It would be nice if the configuration file and save files would be saved into the user directory so upgrading the game would be possible in a more uncomplicated way.
- Translations.
- Fixing items not being liftable if your inventory is full even if the exact same item is in your inventory (e.g. you have an unidentified Scroll of Curse in all 3 variants in your inventory (blessed, normal, cursed) but you can't now pickup any other unidentified Scroll of Curse you find on the ground).
- Better stacking support of items. For example catching Stray Cats with Monster Balls of different levels will prevent them being stackable (while the Monster Ball levels apparently play no role anymore). Items from vendors with different selling prices can't be stacked too since the price is determined due to the different base value. In this case it would be better if those items would have the same base value and instead get a (higher) buying multiplier directly from the vendor (even while this would have the disadvatage of lower (the normal ones) selling values of those items). The same material kits you get from Garok can't be stacked too for some reason (even if the color is reverted to the default with a bottle of dye #0). Debris of the same level can't be always stacked too as they generate with different colors (but applying a bottle of dye #0 can workaround this in that case). Also when Monster Balls capped out at level 200 in the past it was easy to stack them for example for catching all the Stray Cats and enemies Arasiel wants. Now it is harder to get Monster Balls of the same level for easy stacking.
- A way to easily reduce stats even more (the might not be good enough anymore if you reach 2000 Traveling). Eventually it might make sense if you could somehow get negative stats too via the artifact fusion system (for example if the Scroll of Gain Attribute is cursed).
- Immediate sprite update once you get brainwashed.
- Stopping spammed idle actions (numpad 5) when you receive damage (like starving). In some other cases the game already stops some spammed actions so it would be more consistent.
- If all windows would behave like Stained Glass Windows requiring you to put them into the wall tile instead. This would allow you to put 3 instead of only 2 items before the window before they turn into a bag and also it would avoid hovering the items up.
- Fixing the bug that item sprites sometimes change temporary if you talk to somebody (e.g. a pile of items from a past quest reward sometimes turns into a bag when you talk to somebody and reverts back when you stop talking to somebody).
- Named fruit trees so they are more easily distinguishable.
- All the other things already mentioned in the story.
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There is probably so much more that I don't remember now but those should be the most important things I would like to get fixed/changed. But as sayed somewhere before: I doubt this will happen but at least I gave it a try and posted all my experiences with the game even if this post required quite many hours to create and check (I think around 6+ and now I'm tired, hopefully I did not miss too many gramatical spelling errors and typos).
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Edit: Fixed some typos and added headings for easier reading.

Hey everybody, now that we're into July and people are beginning to speculate when we may see Hero drop, I figured why not share some cool facts to help build the anticipation for him popping up? Originally, I was going to share this post I made a few weeks ago on how big the Dragon Quest series is in Japan, and how to easily get into the series. However, I'm still getting the hang of Reddit not sure if re-sharing a post I already made is looked down on (or conversely if it's the norm). Regardless I thought this would be a cool topic, and I hope it keeps your interest. Enjoy.
The Hero's YT trailer was huge in Japan
At this point, even non-fans of Dragon Quest know the series is huge in Japan, though for many westerners who have barely even heard of this series, that may be hard to believe. To prove it, let's take a look at some recent Smash trailers, here is the Japanese YT trailer for Banjo's reveal Over a million views, not bad at all.
In fact, pretty big for Japan since they're not as into YouTube, NicoNico Video being Japan's video sharing service of choice (though some Japanese Smash players do get up to 7 million views), but I get a feeling that they were interested in checking out the character that westerners were overreacting too (that kind of thing is a meme in Japan). However, let's take a look at the trailer for the Hero in comparison a whopping 3.6 million views in only a month. Even more impressive is that it got over 2 million views in just one day.
Not only does that trailer have more than double the views that Banjo got, in just a few days it's got more views than the Cloud Reveal, and passed the Japanese World of Light Trailer as well as Bayonetta. If it keeps climbing, it may end up being the most viewed Japanese Smash trailer. As a huge DQ fan, I can tell you that when the camera panned up to Loto, it was surreal to say the least. I can only imagine what the Japanese gaming scene must have been like to see this reveal. Just insanity, pure, simple, and beautiful, (much like that trailer itself).
Not the first time DQ crossed over with Mario
Due to its overwhelming popularity and long legacy with Nintendo, Dragon Quest has actually made crossover games with the Mario characters before. Due to Mario's history with the Mario Party a series, and Dragon Quest putting board games and casinos within their own games, and both franchises being MASSIVE, Nintendo and Square Enix have actually published a few fun crossover games featuring both franchises. These games being the Japan-only Itadaki Street for the Nintendo DS, Mario Sports Mix for the Wii (which also featured Final Fantasy), and Fortune Street for the Wii. These games were all either developed or published by Square Enix, so there wasn't much hassle in mixing their DQ characters.
Sakurai has already Homaged Dragon Quest in Kirby Super Star
Those who have played Super Star on the SNES and it's DS remake Super Star Ultra, one of the most important Kirby games made by Daddy Sakurai himself, will remember Computer Virus, an enemy who's boss battle functions similar to an RPG turn-based encounter. While the blue and white text boxes are a Final Fantasy reference, the enemies that the virus generates are based on Dragon Quest monsters, with the very first enemy literally being named after the iconic Slime. So that menu-based battle system Sakurai gave the Hero in Shash isn't his first time trying that sort of thing out.
Most Isekai anime are based on Dragon Quest
Isekai have absolutely been dominating anime these days. Feels like we can't go a single season without at least one popping up and becoming a hit. What flies over the heads of most Western fans is that most of those Isekai exist simply because Dragon Quest (or "Dorakue") is such a household name in Japan. In Konosuba, the main character Kazuma is clearly depicted as being a huge fan of a Dragon Quest based game in his world, and the fantasy world he gets transported to runs on Dragon Quest style mechanics. It's also evident due to the fact that he underestimates an opponent for being a slime, which is depicted as the weakest form of monster in Dragon Quest games (not so much in his world or D&D). Another series called Maoyuu Maou Yuusha features a kind of pervy take on Dragon Quest, with its hero clearly being based on Loto/Erdrick and the villain being based on the Dragon Lord... with quite a few liberties (one Puff-Puff from her and your entire party is wiped out). There's also the recent series "That TIme I was Reincarnated as a Slime" which I'm sure needs no explaining how that's connected to Dragon Quest. I could go on for quite a while listing series, and how they connect to different Dragon Quest games, but you get the idea.
Heck, just this very morning before posting this, I found this on YouTube.
A very good chunk of Smash characters exist because of or in part because of Dragon Quest
Even those of you who have never played or have little experience with Dragon Quest probably know it's the reason we have JRPGs as a genre. Yuji Hori and his team worked very hard to translate computer-based Dungeons & Dragons simulators/clones into a streamlined interface that would work well with the NES button and control inputs. His ability to do so and the fact that Enix surrounded him with so much talent lead them to create a nationwide sensation. That UI and the ideas within the DQ games lead to just about every RPGs inception in Japan in some way or another. So the Fire Emblem characters, Cloud, Joker, the Pokemon, Xenoblade, and Earthbound would not be a thing without DQ (just to name a few). Heck, I thought it would be cool if Hero's classic mode involved him fighting Marth, Ness, Pokemon Trainer, Cloud, Shulk, and Joker, but remembered that since Joker is DLC, he's probably not a candidate for classic mode (so maybe something like this?).
In fact, the Mother series (my favorite games of all time) exist as a direct parody of the Dragon Quest games.
Not to mention that all the cute monsters Akira Toriyama drew for DQ to make monsters based off is part of why we have so many cutesy mascot characters in video games. They were a huge phenomenon in their own right in Japan, with Slime merchandise alone making an entire fortune. While that kind of thing already existed in Japan, DQ's unprecedented success was a huge push in that direction for Japanese, and eventually western game development (heck one of Kirby's friends Goey is a very blatant Slime rip off). Who knows, maybe in some ways Dragon Quest's normalization of cartoony cute characters is a small part of why even Banjo Kazooie exists today.
This is a great year for Dragon Quest
That's not a rare phenomenon, Dragon Quest has ridden many waves of success in its lifetime. This year is already looking good with the Hero's inclusion in Smash, and the release of DQXIS on the horizon (apparently you can't take 5 steps in Japan without seeing an ad for it). However, that's only the tip of the iceberg, as this year also marks the theatrical release of Dragon Quest Your Story a CGI movie based on Dragon Quest V (considered by many to be the best of the series) that honestly looks quite good. Plus we have the impending release of Pokemon Go! clone #4806 with Dragon Quest Walk which actually looks pretty cool since unlike other mobile walk games, this one has it's actual RPG mechanics built in (doubt it'll come to the west though).
Not to mention the coming western release of Dragon Quest Builders 2 (which has the most hype announcer for anything I've ever seen).
Now Smash has 2 more NES reps
While there are some characters who pre-date the NES in Smash, for many of us, considering the NES was Nintendo's first home console, many consider it to be the purest form of representation in Smash, especially if not only the series, but a character(s) from that series was actually on the NES. With the Hero's inclusion, not only does Smash have another series that debuted on the NES added to its mythos, but with Erdrick/Loto and Solo being included as part of the Hero's slot, we now have the main characters of 2 more NES games as part of the roster. Not just any games either, since Dragon Quest III and Dragon Quest IV came out right at the height of Dragon Quest fever in Japan during the 80's and were wildly popular. To this day people in Japan who don't know much about video games just call all video games "Dorakue".
Including Donkey Kong, Daisy, Dr. Mario, ROB, the 7 Koopaling, and Pac-Man (though feel free to remove them if you think those are kind of a stretch), that brings Smash up to having a total of 36 NES characters. Smash Ultimate really is the ultimate.
Also, Dragon Quest was in Captain-N so... that was a thing... moving on.
Satoru Iwata was a key figure for Dragon Quest
Anyone who knows anything about Nintendo worships Satoru Iwata for his countless contributions to Nintendo, and anyone who knows anything about Iwata himself knows he was involved in some capacity of many of Nintendo's major games, as well as good friends with many key figures in the game industry. It's probably no big surprise to anyone to reveal that he also had a hand in helping to make Dragon Quest popular and even attempted to try and make it popular in the west, even when Enix wasn't putting much effort into the series outside Japan.
Iwata and Yuji Hori also happen to be friends, and Hori even agreed to be part of a special Dragon Quest based Iwata Asks. Hori like many developers and fans was also quite saddened by Iwata's passing.
Hopefully, Smash can help fulfill Iwata's desire to see Dragon Quest popular in the west.
Well I could try more to make this the standard 10 cool facts, maybe talk about Slimes or the iconic menus in Dragon Quest (no seriously, in Japan the menus are a big thing), or more facts about Hori, Sugiyama, and Toriyama, but most of my other facts are either too long or too short... and I honestly kind of shot myself in the foot with that post I made to nintendo up at the top by using half the cool stuff like the museum, the weeb cr@p, and other facts to get people hype. So if you want more, check that out.
In any case, I can't wait for them to release the Hero (I may redo all of World of Light just because of this) and I really hope this got some of you who may not have been as hyped or aren't as familiar with Dragon Quest to feel even a little bit as excited as I am, and very much hope that anyone who may have been a detractor of DQ being represented in Smash see why not only does Dragon Quest deserve to be in Smash, but to also ask why on earth it took so long for such an iconic series to be represented? (...ok, the answer is Square Enix).
Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and have a great day.

Please, feel free to add any events below! Check out the Events Calendar and Visitor's Guide for more info!

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New Year's Eve Events

• Ballpark Village
  • Ballpark Village is ringing in this New Year with added entertainment featuring the region's best DJ's along with the Pop 2000 tour hosted by Chris Kirkpatrick of *NYSNC with performances by O-Town, Ryan Cabrera & LFO's Brad Fischetti.
• Brennan's Work & Leisure
  • Brennan’s Work & Leisure and Anti-Agency invite you on a space odyssey to celebrate the New Year, 2020.
  • Once aboard the ship, enjoy a premium bar selection, heavy appetizers of the future by Chef Josh Galliano (Companion Bakery, The Libertine) and interstellar desserts by Pastry Chef Tai Davis. Groove to the night's soundscape provided by DJ Black Guy, then step into the Zero Gravity Live Feed Photo Booth to send evidence of your journey back home.
  • All passengers must report to the orbiter near midnight for a live music performance, projection show and champagne toast to the New Year. Dress: modern cocktail attire / space shuttle launch
• Casino Queen
  • Casino Queen invites area residents to partake in one of St. Louis’ biggest parties of the decade during its New Year’s Eve celebration on Tuesday, December 31. Guests will enjoy a specialty buffet, live DJ cranking out the tunes on the casino floor, a countdown to midnight with party favors for all and exclusive prize giveaways throughout the evening.
• Chase Park Plaza
  • Dress to impress for 7th Annual New Year's Eve Ball at The Chase Park Plaza. The celebration takes place in the legendary Khorassan Ballroom and will feature musical performances of DJ Greasy, Lamar Harris & The L, and a Frank Sinatra tribute.
  • Also, the event will have a premium open bar, passed hors d'oeuvres, a balloon drop, and a champagne toast at midnight.
• Downtown NYE Bar Crawl
  • Take your tribe into the New Year at the 2020 NYE (New Year’s Eve) Bar Crawl taking place Tuesday, December 31, 2019 at many locations in St. Louis
  • Washington Ave Venues (List Can Change)
    • Lucas Park Grille (1234 Washington Ave)
    • Flannery's (1324 Washington Ave)
    • Rosalita's (1235 Washington Ave)
    • Hair Of The Dog (1212 Washington Ave)
    • 314 The City Bar (1137 Washington Ave)
    • Missouri Bar & Grill (701 N Tucker)
    • OveUnder (911 Washington Ave)
  • The Landing Venues (List Can Change)
    • Big Daddy's Landing (108 Morgan St)
    • Morgan Street Brewery (721 N 2nd St)
    • The Lou Eats & Drinks (710 N 2nd St)
• Evangeline’s Bistro and Music House
  • On New Year's Eve, Evangeline’s Bistro and Music House will host live music of all genres beginning at 6 p.m. until 12:45 a.m. The restaurant's full menu is served until 10 p.m. with a complimentary appetizer buffet from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and a champagne toast at midnight. No cover; cash bar. Tuesday, December 31, 6 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.
• From Skybar & Union 30
  • Your evening begins with a three-course, prix fixe dinner at the swanky Union 30 restaurant in Hotel Saint Louis, where options include a 30-ounce tomahawk ribeye, a 24-ounce dry-aged sous vide pork chop, or king crab legs. The $125 price includes admission to the NYE Blast at FORM Skybar on the 14th floor, which will host the Kim Massie Band, an open premium bar, and an appetizer buffet. There’s no charge for the prime view of the fireworks show at Kiener Plaza
• Four Seasons
  • In one of the most picturesque locations in all of Downtown St. Louis, meet us in the exclusive Sky Lobby to ring in the New Year. Recreating the eclectic energy of New York City, join us to watch the ball drop under the stars at midnight and move your feet to Spanky's Dueling Piano!
• Gateway Arch Riverboats
  • Ring in the new year with a view of the magnificent St. Louis skyline at this party cruise hosted by the Gateway Arch Riverboats. Featuring an elegant three-course dinner, open bar, DJ entertainment and a midnight champagne toast, the fun kicks off at 9 p.m. Reservations required.
• Helium Comedy Club
  • Ring in the New Year with an evening filled with laughter courtesy of Ryan Niemiller! Skip the chaos of the bars and enjoy a special night with food and drinks from the comfort of our restaurant, bar, lounge, and showroom.
• Hollywood Casino
  • Put a little Great Gatsby in your New Year’s Eve celebration with the Roaring '20s New Year’s Eve party at Hollywood Casino.
• Hyatt Regency
  • Ring in the new decade with two ballrooms with live music and fun at Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch’s Ultimate New Year’s Eve Party. The celebration will include a delicious dinner buffet, an open bar, photo booth, party favors and live music throughout the evening from Groovethang and Broseph.
• The Last Hotel
  • Celebrate the last day of 2019 at The Last! Join others in the Lobby Bar + on their fabulous Rooftop and toast to the New Year in style.
• Molly's in Soulard
  • Get ready to party! Molly's In Soulard has one of the THE BEST New Years Eve parties in STL. They've got: 5 open bars, Two balloon drops, Champagne toasts, VIP buffets, VIP tables, and cabanas
• POP & Baileys' Chocolate Bar
  • One of the more appropriate places to ring in the new year and decade is POP, Dave and Kara Bailey’s bubbles bar and restaurant in Lafayette Square. This year, POP and Baileys’ Chocolate Bar (located upstairs) have teamed up to provide an all-inclusive celebration on December 31. The all-inclusive celebration begins at 9 p.m. Food stations include appetizers from POP and specialty desserts from Baileys’ Chocolate Bar. Tickets include beer, wine, bubbles, and cocktails, including chocolate martinis and dessert cocktails.
• Powell Symphony Hall
  • Music Director Stéphane Denève and the SLSO bring 2019 to a close at the BMO Wealth Management New Year’s Eve Celebration. Enjoy an evening of music and surprises at St. Louis’ best-kept secret. Bring family and friends together for this musical celebration you’ll remember throughout 2020.
• Tin Roof
  • Out with the old and in with a new decade. Celebrate with Tin Roof at their NYE "End of a Decade" Black and White Ball. Dress up in your best or come as you are and catch the best live music and DJ's around.
• Westport Social
  • Celebrating NYE at Westport Social means you can play like a kid while partying like an adult. For just a $25 cover, guests can play the full range of games at the Westport Plaza watering hole while also indulging in a balloon drop and champagne toast at midnight and dance to live music.
• Wheelhouse
  • Another year in the books and there’s no other holiday party like Wheelhouse NYE. And nothing is better than closing out 2019 and starting 2020 with you, your closest friends and WH doin’ what they all do best, wild out.

​
​

• Anheuser Busch Brewery Lights
  • November 22, 2019 - December 30, 2019
  • Brewery Lights is a family-friendly event, open to all ages at no cost. Guests can attend every Friday through Sunday, from 5 to 10 p.m.
  • Join others when they Flip The Switch on November 22nd with St. Louis Blues Captain, Alex Pietrangelo.
  • Witness and experience the magic of more than a million twinkling lights during the 34th annual Brewery Lights at the Anheuser-Busch St. Louis Brewery! Guests are invited to stroll down Pestalozzi Street to marvel as the brewery is turned into a remarkable holiday experience with something for everyone, including a Kids Zone.
• Candy Cane Lane
  • December 2019
  • Every holiday season, the neighbors of this Saint Louis Hills street transform this ordinary lane into a winter wonderland that most of St. Louis knows as “Candy Cane Lane.” Hundreds of strands of Christmas Lights are strung, inflatable snowmen and Christmas trees are blown up, wreaths are hung, and even sand displays are made. Every year, hundreds of family-packed cars drive down Candy Cane Lane to see the wonderful Holiday sights.
• Disney on Ice Presents: Celebrate Memories
  • January 2-5, 2020
  • Your favorite Disney stories come to life at Disney On Ice presents Celebrate Memories, coming to Enterprise Center January 2-5! Sail along with Moana on her high-seas adventure and dance with Woody, Buzz and all the Toy Story friends. Feel inspired when love wins in Frozen and dreams come true for the Disney Princesses. Share the excitement and make new memories the whole family will treasure forever!
• First Fridays at the St. Louis Science Center
  • January 3, 2020
  • Learn the real science behind science fiction and mingle with others interested in the geekier side of life. Each month, First Friday features a different theme, hands-on activities, pub-style trivia, engaging presentations, photo opps for showing off your costume, and food and drink specials.
• Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden
  • November 23, 2019 - January 4, 2020
  • Garden Glow features a million lights surrounding visitors with a spectacle of unique installations amid some of the Garden’s most iconic locations. Enjoy interactive photo opportunities, traditional holiday music and festivities, delicious food and drinks and more as the Garden is transformed around you into a winter wonderland.
  • Santa will visit Garden Glow from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday nights from November 25 through December 17. (Note: Garden Glow is not open on Dec. 9.)
• History Made: St. Louis Blues Exhibit
  • Running until January 26, 2020
  • History was made on June 12, 2019. It’s a date that will forever live in St. Louis sports history. On that day, the St. Louis Blues hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019, the Missouri History Museum, in collaboration with the St. Louis Blues, will open History Made.
  • Featuring more than 20 artifacts on loan from the St. Louis Blues from the historic playoff run and the Stanley Cup Finals, History Made tells the story of the underdog team that took home the NHL’s highest honor and united its community in the process.
• Holiday in the Park at Six Flags
  • November 23 - January 1, 2020
  • A dazzling winter spectacular featuring more than a million glittering lights, holiday entertainment, delicious seasonal treats, visits with Santa and many of our popular theme park rides. Combine holiday traditions with a thrilling family experience that is uniquely Six Flags.
  • Six Flags St. Louis extends its season and will be open weekends and select weekdays from November 23 through January 1, 2020 for this one-of-a-kind magical event.
  • A unique mix of holiday cheer with some of your favorite coasters & thrill rides makes Holiday in the Park a family tradition like no other. Meet Santa Claus in the North Pole or jump on Mind Eraser or Roar for a mid-winter rush. Then you can roast marshmallows near a cracking wood fire before you catch one of our many holiday shows.
• Holiday Spirits Holiday Pop Up Bar
  • November 29, 2019 - January 9, 2020
  • Looking for somewhere new to get your party on this Holiday Season? For just a few weeks only, Oaked will be providing the very best in holiday-themed libations, good food, and an immersive atmosphere.
  • Housed in a historic brick building with almost 6,000 sq. feet of space (excluding the outdoor heated patio & bar), featuring 3 bars, and 2 levels of fun. Once inside, you’ll be transported to a Winter Wonderland and treated like family. Santa Claus will be on hand to spread holiday cheer and greet our guests as they arrive.
  • Oaked is located at 1031 Lynch St. St. Louis, MO 63118
• Kwanzaa: Festival of the First Fruits at the Botanical Garden
  • Kwanzaa is a Swahili term that means “first fruits,” and this contemporary African-American holiday centers around the feast table of the harvest. A Kwanzaa ceremony highlights a day of storytelling, craft and jewelry displays, and authentic African drumming and musical performances.
• The Loading Dock Ice Rink in Grafton, IL
  • November 23, 2019 - March 8, 2020
  • It’s that time of year! The Loading Dock Bar & Grill in Grafton is gearing up for the Grand Re-Opening of their Ice Skating Rink on Saturday, November 23rd. Each November The Boatworks is transformed into a Winter Wonderland offering ice skating, s’mores tables, and a full menu and bar, that is sure to entertain adults and kids alike.
  • The rink will be open Friday, Saturday, & Sunday through March 8. 2020 with extended hours during Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Special events this year include a visit from Santa and a New Years Eve party.
• Miracle Christmas Pop Up Bar
  • November 25, 2019 - December 31, 2019
  • Venue: Small Change 2800 Indiana Avenue St. Louis, MO 63118
  • Miracle is a Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar that serves holiday cocktails in a festive setting. With kitschy holiday décor, professionally-developed cocktails and the nostalgic energy of the best office party you’ve ever been to, Miracle is sure to get even the grouchiest grinch in the holiday spirit.
• Polar Express Train Ride
  • November 29, 2019 - December 30, 2019
  • Guests will take a real train ride from St. Louis Union Station to the 'North Pole' and discover the magical journey of one boy's search for the real meaning of Christmas. The Train Ride departs from St. Louis Union Station for a 45-minute adventure to the North Pole. The train ride is promised to be filled with magic, songs, and cheer.
• Soulard Farmer's Market
  • Wednesday - Saturday
  • 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  • Soulard Farmers Market is located at 730 Carroll Street in St. Louis, Missouri, a half mile north of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. The market is open Wednesday through Saturday, year round. They feature locally grown and shipped in goods, including: produce, meats, cheeses, spices, gourmet kettle corn, flowers, baked goods, and general merchandise. There are also several different eateries that have many food options, which allows customers the convenience to grab a quick bite to eat and a drink while shopping.
• Steinberg Ice Skating Rink in Forest Park
  • November 15, 2019 - March 1, 2020
  • Steinberg Skating Rink is the largest outdoor ice skating rink in the Midwest, offering public skating all day, everyday—including all holidays. Your skate admission is valid for all day. You may arrive at anytime during business hours & skate as long as you like.
• Up on the Rooftop Holiday Pop-up Cocktail Experience
  • November 29, 2019 - December 31, 2019
  • Go "Up on the Rooftop" for a whimsical holiday cocktail pop-up experience with extreme decor and delicious seasonal drinks, small plates and more. Three Sixty at the top of the Hilton at the Ballpark overlooks the downtown lights and the glowing Gateway Arch. Cozy indoor spaces and outdoor patio fire pits.
• Wild Lights at the Saint Louis Zoo
  • November 29, 2019 - December 30, 2019
  • Wild Lights at the Saint Louis Zoo offers a chance for you to stroll through an enchanting holiday experience.
• WinterMarkt at Urban Chestnut
  • November 30, 2019 - December 21, 2019 (Saturdays Only)
  • Usher in the holiday season with a “traditional” European WinterMarkt at Urban Chestnut’s Midtown Brewery & Biergarten. Eat, drink, and be merry with local vendors on hand for holiday shopping
• Winter Wonderland at Tilles Park
  • November 22, 2019 - January 2, 2020
  • 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
  • Enjoy a stroll through more than one million twinkling lights at Winter Wonderland. Tickets are $6, not including MetroTix fees. Pre-registration is required. Dogs on a leash, cameras, strollers and wagons are all welcome. Desserts, hot chocolate, and other beverages will be available for purchase. Also, be on the lookout for a special visitor from the North Pole until 8:45 pm!
• Winterfest at the Arch
  • November 23 - January 26, 2019 (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays)
  • A favorite St. Louis winter tradition for all ages, the fourth annual Winterfest, presented by Bank of America and World Wide Technologies returns to Kiener Plaza and features a community ice rink, a Winter Market shopping district, reserved Igloo seating with Sugarfire table service and more exciting events than ever before.

​
Sporting Events This Week

• St. Louis Cardinals schedule
• St. Louis Blues schedule
• St. Louis FC schedule
• Gateway Grizzlies schedule
• Gateway Motorsports Park

Attractions Around the Area

• Anheuser-Busch Brewery
• City Museum
• Gateway Arch
• Missouri History Museum
• National Blues Museum
• St. Louis Aquarium
• St. Louis Art Museum
• St. Louis Science Center
• St. Louis Zoo

Recurring Outdoor Activities

• Big Muddy Adventures – STL Riverfront Adventure
  • Big Muddy Adventures was established in 2002. They are the first professional outfitteguiding company providing access to the wild wonders of the Middle Mississippi and Lower Missouri Rivers.
• Hidden Valley Zip Tour
  • ZipTour zip lines take about 2.5 hours to complete. Tours run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Riders are assigned to tour groups which are escorted through the course by two safety guides.
• Hidden Valley Ski Resort
  • Running until March 1, 2020
  • Always check the Snow Report before coming out to Hidden Valley for updates on snow and tubing conditions. Skiing, snowboarding, and tubing are weather-dependent activities and conditions and hours are subject to change without notice.​

Recurring Events on the Mississippi River

• Gateway Arch Events

Comedy This Week

• Funny Bone Comedy Club
• Helium Comedy Club
• The Improv Shop

Live Music This Week

• SoFar St. Louis
  • Experience the Gateway to the West with Sofar! From The Grove to Cherokee Street to The Loop, they're reimagining live events through curated, secret performances in intimate settings. Come mingle with touring acts, local and international artists, fellow music lovers and our imaginative hosts.
• St. Louis Symphony Concert Calendar
  • Celebrated as one of today's most exciting and enduring orchestras, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 140th year with the 2019/2020 season and its first with Music Director Stéphane Denève. Widely considered one of the world's finest orchestras, the SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community connections – all in service to its mission of enriching lives through the power of music.
• This calendar includes the following venues.
  • Blueberry Hill Duck Room
  • Delmar Hall
  • Halo Bar
  • The Pageant
• Other Live Music Venue Calendars
  • Atomic Cowboy
  • BB's Jazz, Blues & Soups
  • Chesterfield Amphitheater
  • Broadway Oyster Bar
  • Enterprise Center
  • The Fabulous Fox Theatre
  • Fubar
  • Game 6 Honky Tonk
  • Firebird
  • Off Broadway
  • Old Rock House
  • Sheldon Concert Hall
  • Stifel Theatre
  • St. Louis Blues Museum
  • The Ready Room
  • Venice Cafe

Week of: December 18 - December 24
This is a weekly thread of things going on in and around the Phoenix metro area. All types of events are welcome, including focused events for different interest groups, kid friendly, etc.
Please visit the UPDATED FAQ for Weekly Events
Comment with your event below and I'll add it to the list. Thanks!
Before you attend, please inquire to make sure the event is taking place.
Monday

• Movie Night: A Christmas Story @ La Bocca Urban Kitchen & Wine Bar, Tempe 7pm-10pm
• One Mic Stand 4th Anniversay w/Masterpeice & The Color 8 Open mic poets and musicians @ Valley Bar, Phoenix 7pm $15

Tuesday

• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation @ Alamo Drafthouse, Chandler 805pm $7.55
• 98 Degrees at Christmas @ Mesa Arts Center Ikeda Theater 730pm $40-$60
• Thrifty Gifts: Handmade for the Holidays @ Dobson Ranch Library, Mesa 4pm-7pm
• The Switch Comedy @ The Crescent Ballroom 9pm FREE

Wednesday

• Girls Night Out: Chicken, Waffles, and Comedy Toy drive w/7 female comics @ LoLo's Chicken and Waffles Phoenix 730pm-9pm FREE, donations appreciated
• Train Ride Family Night @ Chic-Fil-A Chandler, 530pm-730pm FREE
• Lost Dutchman Geology Hike @ Lost Dutchman State Park 9pm-noon
• Fear and Love Album Release w/Mama Butane, Strelitzia, Lil Trip @ The Rebel Lounge, 730pm $10-$12

Thursday

• Science Café: Winter Solstice @ Riparian Preserve Gilbert, AZ 7pm-830pm FREE
• Yoga, Meditation, Slacklining @ Papgo Park 6pm FREE
• Arizona Hip-Hop Christmas @ The Monarch Theater Phoenix 8pm-2am $25
• Phoestivus! Open Air Market @ Phoenix Public Market 5pm-10pm
• Tommy Davidson @ StandUp Live, Phoenix 8pm $22
• An Arizona Country Christmas @ The Rebel Lounge 7pm $8-$10

Friday

• The Blunt Club Holiday Party @ Yucca Tap Room 8pm-2am $5
• Zen Nights Holiday Block Party Live music, kids area, Christmas tree @ Downtown Mesa 6pm-10pm FREE
• Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s Wild Swingin’ Holiday Party @ Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts 8pm
• Sunrise in the Skyspace Experience the winter solstice in James Turrell’s Knight Rise Skyspace @ Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Arts 615am $10 ($8 for members)
• A Christmas Story - The Musical @ Higley Center, Gilbert 7pm $17+
• Yule Ball Harry Potter Trivia, Dance @ The Van Buren 7pm $14
• John the Ghost w/Daisy, Palm Springs Eternal @ Valley Bar 630pm-10pm $15-$18

Saturday

• 420 Holiday Lights Tours Bus pickup of MMJ Card Holders @ The Duce, Phoenix at 6pm
• The Rat Pack Christmas Show: A Tribute to Frank, Dean and Sammy @ Casino Arizona 730pm
• Onesie Party! Pajama Party @ Charlies, Phoenix 10pm-2am
• Cipher w/ //SHE//, Rev DJ RaZorslave, DJ Nemo @ Pub Rock Live, Scottsdale 9pm $5-$8
• Holiday Market and Reindeer Rides @ Downtown Mesa, 9am-1pm
• Free Street Tacos @ The Mint Dispensary, Tempe Noon-8pm
• Linsey Stirling: Warmer in the Winder Christmas Tour @ Comerica Theater, Phoenix 8pm $90+
• A Christmas Story - The Musical @ Higley Center, Gilbert 2pm, 7pm $17+
• Authority Zero w/Nomada, Gabo from Fayuca, Ceekay Jones @ Crescent Ballroom 7pm $15-$20

Sunday
Looking for the other things to do? Check out the FAQ for more suggestions
Feel free to add your own events below. Just list where in the Valley it happens, a cost if there is one, and who might find it interesting. Please also indicate if the event happens each week. People may be interested in trying something new but not know what is expected to get involved.
Please upvote people who share good/interesting events, even if it may not be something you will attend.

So over the past two years or so, I was helping tustin2121 update Burrito's library (a prominent part of the original TPP Park) for the upcoming version of TPP Park. If you go to this demo and load iBurritoEmporium, you'll see there were some additional plans for it. So since the project has been dead for a while, I thought I would release what probably isn't going to be seen otherwise; the update list for the library. Now, the library originally consisted of stuff up until mid-Platinum, so I used that for reference of the amount to send and sending multiple from the same series and such. These were the messages I sent him; I hope you enjoy.
---August 2014---
Compiled a list of some notable lore pieces from end of Platinum-onwards. It ended up being 30 pieces, so you might want to cut some out, maybe not, maybe only take bits from some of the longer ones, it's your call. Some of these are directly game-related, a few aren't, and I also submitted two of my "confessions of love" fanfic pieces that maybe you could keep in. ;) Besides those two pieces, top 3 I definitely recommend keeping in there are:

1. At least one of the "Secrets of the Black Fur" pieces, if not both.
2. At least one of the "GODS OF TPP" pieces, if not both.
3. Pokémon Black2 Part 5.5: OPERATION LOVE BOMB SPECIAL

Anyways, here's the list, in no particular order:
Link - BB2 - Secrets of the Black Fur 10: Checkmate - Gioz2
Link - Plat - What I'm Fighting For - Lavaros
Link - HG - The Final Word Of A God - Lavaros
Link - HG - [TPP HG Part 5] Goldenrod City; The "Dreaded" Bill - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - Black - [TPP Black Part 1] The Nuvema Town Twitch Fan Club! - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - BB2 - [TPPBB 16] Champiurns - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - Plat - Flarebarel - abiyoru
Link - Black - Pokémon Black Part 6: Battle Subway - JuanRiveara
Link - Black - Pokémon Black Part 3: Link Between Worlds - JuanRiveara
Link - BB2 - Pokémon Black2 Part 5.5: OPERATION LOVE BOMB SPECIAL - JuanRiveara
Link - BB2 - Pokémon Black2 Part 2: Win Some, You Lose Some - JuanRiveara
Link - Other - Eyes for a Moon (steve+moonbat story, part 3) - kilozombie
Link - Other - Gods of TPP: There Is No Lileep - ColeWalski
Link - Other - Gods of TPP: ROOTing For Answers - ColeWalski
Link - X - [TPPX 8] Reveals - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - BB2 - [Black 2] Moving on - Spoon300
Link - X - [X] BibleThump - Spoon300
Link - X - TPP X Lore mini-fic for Xerneas: Good is not Kind. - FaisLittleWhiteRaven
Link - Other - Abba's Confessions of Love: From Abby - Deadinsky66 - Audio - TheYear20XX and JustOneMoreIsFine
Link - Other - Abba's Confessions of Love: To Mary - Deadinsky66 - Audio - TheYear20XX and AgainTheSaga
Link - Plat - [Platinum] Contagious - Spoon300
Link - Black - A Game of Chess Part 1 – Opening Moves - clcman
Link - Black - A Game of Chess Part 3 - Castled - clcman
Link - HG - Heart of Stone - The Meeting Part 2 - Castled - clcman
Link - Conquest - The Dome meets the Streamer - DemonWTF
Link - Black - A Place of Mysterious Power - Crealis
Link - Black - The Collector - hiryu64
Link - Black - Twitch Plays Pokemon Black Volume 2: Those Responsible - Legokun
Link - Plat - A Body of Fire, a Mind of Righteousness - jacobjr1
Link - BB2 - Secrets of the Black Fur 4: Shaped by Clay - Gioz2
Link - Conquest - This intermission with conquest was like a back story for the voices - Jelmddddddddddddd
Link - Conquest - A single Voice (Conquest Story) - Kelcyus
Post and Link - Black - Truth and Destiny - Pioxys
Post and Link - Conquest - ABn3pa: From Helix to Dome and back again
---January 2015---
I'll just link some NSFW fanfics right now. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Editor's note: For above, there was going to be a hidden NSFW section of the library at some point. For below, AOM as in AOMRocks20 (he was super big into kilo's stuff back in the day, and I kind of fell behind in his stuff so I didn't know which ones to recommend specifically)
Kilozombie's posts (ASK AOM)
Link - The night before Helixmas - wheatgrain
Link - Mary Did You Know? - againthesaga
Link - Adventures in the TPP Sub (Part 2) - abiyoru
Link - Adventures in the TPP Sub (Part 9) - abiyoru
Link - Primal Reversion - faislittlewhiteraven
Link - The Story of Super-A part 2: More Origins - loreman12345
Link - The Epic Adventure of Umbrellagator - waluigithyme
Link - The Epic Adventures of Umbrellagator Part 5: Tea, crumpets, and Ninjas - waluigithyme
Link - God Raisers - jukebox108
Link - Pull up a chair - spoon300
Link - Haze in Littleroot - kelcyus
Link - [TPP Delta Episode 2] Infinity Energy - slowpokeisagamer
Link - [TPP Delta Episode 6] Courtney is pretty crazy - slowpokeisagamer
Link - The End of All. Part 12 - kelcyus
Link - It's a Wonderful Run - wheatgrain
Link - GOTPP Chronicles: Twas The Night Before Helixmas - colewalski
Link - Gods of TPP: A Sudden Epiphany - colewalski
Link - The Last Story of Bird Judas - kelcyus
Link - The Prince and the Pacifist: Part 2 - abiyoru
Link - A Wish Fulfilled - abiyoru
Link - Zigzagoon's logs - redwings1340
Link - Emerald to ORAS (TPP Generations) : The Torch is Passed - colewalski
Link - Motion Blur - asiruki
Link - Operation Obscure Mon: Lord Helix - the_real_lord_helix
Also probably should put in some Operation Red Rewind stuff in there as it comes out. And maybe something from this.
---Also January 2015---
So the Rough Waters link
But also I forgot to send you the kilozombie fics I wanted. I asked AOM for his recommendations, he said to use:
Link - Long Awakening Part 1 - kilozombie
Link - A Solareon Complex - kilozombie
And that's it. Woot!
---August 2015---
Yay this thing! I did some summer reading and have caught up on stories and such.
Link - Red Rewind: The Dark Tunnel - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - Red Rewind: Operation Yellow Thunder - Iwamiger
Link 2 - Red Rewind: To Break Silence - kilozombie
Link - Red Rewind: The Road To Greatness - abiyoru
Link - Red Rewind: Journey's End - ColeWalski
Link - A Game of Chess Part 2 - En Passant - cicman
Link - A Mission of Their Own: The Complete Story - crimsonburn27 (warning super long, maybe take an excerpt idk)
Link - Under Cover's Nose Part 3 - Sereg5
Link - Under Cover's Nose Part 4 - Sereg5
Link - I have no idea what you're talking about... (10) - RBio77
Link - I will live... (15 Part 2) - RBio77
Link - Panic (I... Sequel Emotion Prologue 3)
Link - Anticipation (Emotion, Musical Arc 5 Final) - RBio77
Link - Disappointment (Emotion, Picnic Arc 4) - RBio77
Link - [Mom] A Dream...? - Lycaa
Link - [Mom] Rumours (Pt.6) - Lycaa
Link - [Baba - 10] Trashy Woman - Lycaa
Link - [Baba - 19] Deku the Courier - Lycaa
Link - [Baba - 31] Happenings - Lycaa
Link - [Slice of Life] Effie - Lycaa
Link - Gods of TPP: Sancta Simplicitas (A Tale of Lady Root and Ziggy) - ColeWalski
Link - Gods of TPP: Ding Dong, The Modbot's Dead - ColeWalski
Link - Code OMG: Bill and Cirno's Excellent Adventure - ColeWalski
Link - Code OMG/Gods of TPP: Conflict Resolutions - ColeWalski
Link - Project Wavestorm: An All-New Archie - ColeWalski
Link - The Leech King's Greatest Battle - Iwamiger
Link - There Must Always Be A Leech King - Iwamiger
Link - R-Ceus's Hope - Iwamiger
Link - Dusk Key (Full) - N8-disciple-of-foot (Note there are like 20 or so parts I just put together in one package)
Link - RAS: The Coming Storm - Asiruki
Link - To Finish What We Started - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Our hearts have wings: Flygon story - abiyoru
Link - Crack Romance(?) Story: ICU X ??? - abiyoru
Link - [TPPR2 Pt. 9] 'M - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - [TPPR2 Parts 17 & 18] Two-Part Finale! Their Greatest Foe and Abe, Pokemon Master. - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - [TPPAS Pt.5] Magma, Aqua, and Meteors. - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - Some of the Pantheon comics? (I'm going to ask amber which ones I should transcribe but this is here as a reminder. - amber-apostle
Link - Same with some mesamus stuff, maybe HedgeMaze idk - mesamus, hedgemazeexpo
Also I need to do another part maybe where I go back to some of the older stuff and pick up a few things that I missed. Also my battery is at 7% wheeeeeee
---September 2015---
Just a few that were bugging me.
Link - The Book of Helix - phantasRS
Link - New Fate: Difficulties - metalthraser11
---March 2016---
Guess what time it is? Reading time! Kind of dropped the ball on reading Colosseum and XD stuff (besides your story on a 4-hour train ride), so I did some quick skims, but I read most of the other stuff and a fair amount of Anni Crystal.
Link - My name is Green, and I worry for my friend. - Zero_Breaker
Link - A Meeting in the Void - Iwamiger
Link - I Will Live... (Final) - RBio77
Link - Code OMG: What's Up, Birches? - ColeWalski
Link - The Diary of Maribel “Amber” Hearn, Part 4: Esoteric Programming of the Modern Day - AmewTheFox
Link - The Daycare Incident - Iwamiger
Link - The day the universe almost ended - WiseCactus
Link - Our hearts have wings - abiyoru
Link - Adventures of P. R. Chase Episode 2: Dreams - SinR2014
Link - Gods of TPP: Empty Skull - ColeWalski
Link - Original Myth Part III: The First War - Iwamiger
Link - The B&M Series! (EP9: In and out with Greyson (Part 1)) - Nyberim
Link - Cipher Talks - Journal Entries - Griever13_37
Link - Something Special (8) - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Nonplussed (Emotion, 4th Intermission) - RBio77
Link - Hosting with the Host - Today's Guest: Lil 'd - Kelcyus
Link - [TPPAS Pt.5] Magma, Aqua, and Meteors. - SlowpokeIsAGamer
Link - These Voices Are Different - dungeonnumberzero
Link - The Journey Orrewards: Epic Mail Time - ColeWalski
Link - Naco 2 - RBio77
Link - Blindsided - tribblepuncher
Link - The Journey Orrewards: Entangled - ColeWalski
Link - A Short Exchange Between the Wind and the Forest - KipTheMudkip
Link - [Pre-XD] Michael - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Forrebidden Opportunities (A Wes x Rui story) - Lycaa
Link - Gods of TPP/ Project Wavestorm Crossover: All Hallow's Eve - ColeWalski
Link - Original Myth Part VIII: The Great Cataclysm - Iwamiger
Link - Project Wavestorm: Recovery - ColeWalski
Link - Dome, J'accuse...! (Part 3) - Level44EnderShaman
Link - [Slice of Life] Investigations with Cynthia - Part 1 - Lycaa
Link - Gods of TPP: Typhon - Iwamiger
Link - HG anniversary: Flesh Wound - trollkitten
Link - Your Novel - Pick like 4 or 5 or so parts to put in?
Link - The Wanderers in the Second Dimension 02 - Kelcyus
Link - [Baba - 49] To Kill a Redhead (FINAL) - Lycaa
Link - "This Day Aria" (Nacho and Taco) - AgainTheSaga
Link - After the KAPOW... - tustin2121
Link - The Dreamer - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Pokemon Channel: Paint 4 Blood - trollkitten
Link - The Birth of Shadow Lugia - antiquatedCreator
Link - Card Games in Laboratories - Lycaa
Link - Gods of TPP: The Glitch that Stole Christmas Part 1 - ColeWalski
Link - An Old Friend (1/2) - Kelcyus
Link - Meetings - Hajimeilosukna
Link - [Stranded in Kanto - 3] Doctor's Appointment - Lycaa
Link - A Day in the Life (Full) - N8-disciple-of-foot
Link - Catious Judgment (XD Story 4) - RBio77
Link - Life of a Psychic Part 3 and 4 - Lycaa
Link - A Late Night Chat - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Burrito and Martyr Series: RoD (EP 13: Desert Woes and Exploding Foes) - Nyberim
Link - [Trapped in Chengdu - 3] A Bittersweet Voice (Final) - Lycaa
Link - John Scott: The Legend - life
Link - Endgame: Resolution in Amber - Chapter 3 - Kelcyus
Link - My name WAS Yugi F. Moto, and I... S̹̖̓ͫ͒́̿̂O͇̲̩̩̱̹ͧ̀M̜̆̊ͯͥ̉͋̀Eͨ̒ͪ̇̓B͓̰̪̤̬̜̆ͣ̃͊O͎̣̬͔̘͔ͬDY̳̗̪͉̼̲ͨͦ͛͆ͥ̿ͧ͡ ̤̪͙H̯̯̖E̟̥̙̔L̥͎̩̯̪ͧ͋ͨP̞ͯ̂͒̉̍͠ ̣͓͙̐ͤ ̹͍̺̥̩̮̜̒ͧ͆̽͋M̤̕E̦͌̒ͦͣ͞ - Trollkitten
Link - A Game of Pokemon - Chapter 1 - ObeySaturnGod
Link - Ò̡͢L̸̡͡D́͠͏͟E̶͠Ǹ̴͟ - Iwamiger
Link - Wait, Is There Anyone in the Team That Really Follows A Glitch? - RBio77
Link - Evan's Self Forgivance - Pearlshine1494
Link - At Indigo Plateau - Spirit_Tsunami
Link - TPP Anniversary Crystal - Reaping the Whirlwind, Chapter 3 - tribblepuncher
Link - Far From The End - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Standing on Dynamite: The Story of Tux - TempestVermilion
Link - All Stand: The Tale of the Leech King - TempestVermilion
Link - Who Are You? (Anniversary Crystal No Longer Oneshot 8) - RBio77
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: The Prayer - ColeWalski
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: Anything But The False Prophet - this_is_teh_urn
Link - A Tale of Love: Chaos and Order - SinR2014
NSFW:
Link - A Tale of Love: Chaos and Order, Part 1.5 - SinR2014
Link - A Tale of Passion: A First Time For Everything - SinR2014
Link - Jimmy x Cly - Chat
Link - Size doesn't matter - tioko
---December 2016---
Haven't done one of these since March, have I? I didn't read Brown much due to timing of irl shit but everything else is Dead-approved. I should get one of those stickers like the Nintendo Seal of Quality Kappa.
Link - The Lad from Ferrum - Kelcyus
Link - Shattered Crystal: Birth of the Godslayer - Iwamiger
Link - A Long Distance Tale: The Announcer and The Advisor - SinR2014
Link - Rocket Ascending: Relic Disposal - ColeWalski
Link - Shattered Crystal: Ice Cave - jukebox108
Link - [WLGA] Avici - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: How to Kill a God, Starring Lazorgator and Friends - Griever13_37
Link - Evan and Team, Meet Everybody (Downtime) - RBio77
Link - EVAN SENT: Boomburst (23.5) - Trollkitten
Link - TPP Anniversary Crystal - Reaping the Whirlwind, Chapter 5 - Crash - tribblepuncher
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: Xatu Senpai - RBio77
Link - Rocket Ascending: Delayed Detonation - ColeWalski
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: The Palace of Amber - Kelcyus
Link - TPP x Pokken - Story Mode Ch 0-1 - TempestVermilion
Link - [WLGA] Healing - Hajimeilosukna
Link - TPP Anniversary Crystal - Reaping the Whirlwind, Chapter 7 - Glitch - tribblepuncher
Link - È̵̶̴V̡͢͡A͡҉Ń̶̴̶͢ ̧̕͝͞I̶̧̛N̴͝ ͏͏O̧͢͏͟L̷̢̨̨̕ - Iwamiger
Link - EVAN SENT: Dive pt 2 (25) - Trollkitten
Link - Gods of TPP/Rocket Ascending Crossover: Jihad - ColeWalski
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: Meanwhile on Route 30 - You
Link - Reestablish - Sanajisu
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: How to Get Away with Deicide - ColeWalski
Link - Nightmares, The End of the World - RBio77
Link - Endgame: Alpha Aftermath - Chapter 5 - Kelcyus
Link - EVAN SENT: Hex(idecimal) (29) - Trollkitten
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: The Final Battle - Iwamiger
Link - Operation Shattered Crystal: Fallen Voice - KipTheMudkip
Link - TPP Stories (Pick a few maybe?) - mitzirocker
Link - TPP Writing Prompts (Pick a few maybe?) - TempestVermilion
Link - Wait A Minute - RBio77
Link - Azure and the Host Next Door - jukebox108
Link - Endgame: Last Day - Chapter 2 - Kelcyus
Link - Burrito & Martyr: LLoDR Episode 1 (Love Rests under the Setting Sun) - Nyberim
Link - EVAN SENT: Miracle Eye (33) - Trollkitten
Link - TPP Shadowlands: A Red Alternate Universe Story (Recap of Chapters 5-10) - Bane_of_BILLEXE
Link - TPP Shadowlands: A Red Alternate Universe Story(Recap of Chapters 15-16) - Bane_of_BILLEXE
Link - The After Days - Epilogue - Kelcyus
Link - [Tales of TPP] Decisions - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Strange Beginnings - Hajimeilosukna
Link - [Tales of TPP] Pokemon Brown: Mother's Note - You
Link - [Tales of TPP] Pokemon Brown: Sylveon and Not Crobat - FlaaggTPP
Link - [Tales of TPP] Only Dreams - Kelcyus
Link - [Maybe Operation Pride?] - To Find and Be Found - abiyoru
Link - AJ and Paul, a battle of the Eeveelutions - SinR2014
Link - EVAN SENT: Foresight (34) - Trollkitten
Link - [Baba] Re-Imagined: Chapter 1 - 3 Years Later - Lycaa
Link - The S.D.P.P's Devil (Part 3) - NitoriAria
Link - [Tales of TPP] Lights - The Evolution of Effie - TempestVermilion
Link - [WLGA] Queries - Hajimeilosukna
Link - DEAR NEMESIS - Part 3: Confessions - CanisAries
Link - Agent of Change--Prologue part 2 - Cyberchao_X
Link - Return of the... - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Something's Not Right - RBio77
Link - On Wings of Fire - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - Break The World I Know: A Different Kind Of Breakdance - Trollkitten
Link - DEAR NEMESIS - Part 5: Playing Along - CanisAries
Link - Released Regrets (A Oneshot) - RBio77
Link - The Lucid Walker - Epicnights
Link - The Calling 1 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Calling 2 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Knight Before Spear Pillar - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - Summit of the Gods: A Meeting of Dome and Helix - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - Break The World I Know: Post-Traumatic Stress This Order - Trollkitten
Link - Celebi and the Hall of Origin - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - Bet-Boy and the Old Woods - jukebox108
Link - Better Call Paul: A Book By Its Cover - Trollkitten
Link - Crisis on infinite Pokéarths: Perspective - calambrepatitas
Link - The Calling 5 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Kakuna Wars Chapter Three: Troll Down - Trollkitten
Link - Kakuna Wars Chapter Four: In Need Of Help - Trollkitten
Link - EVAN SENT: Happy Hour (36.5) - Trollkitten
Link - Jasmine's Tale: Orders From A Turtle - Trollkitten
Link - [WLGA] Invading the Mind - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Calling 8 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - [Battle Royale] Prelude 2 - Athena - Lycaa
Link - [Baba Re-Write - 3] Wow Deku - Lycaa
Link - [Battle Royale] Prelude 4 - Pansy Cyrus - FlaaggTPP
Link - [Battle Royale] Prelude 5 - Donald 'Bet-Boy' - Lycaa
Link - OLDEN's Drive: The Shadow In The Night (origins) - Trollkitten
Link - Something Strange: Tyrant? FALLED - Trollkitten
Link - The Calling 12 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - Better Call Paul: Daddy Issues - Trollkitten
Link - The Ruins of Alph: Journal of Dr. Holden - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - Democracy House and Anarchy Field - FlaaggTPP
Link - [Battle Royale] First Round - The One Who Knew Too Much - Kelcyus
Link - [Battle Royale] Second Round - Murder on the Forrest Floor - FlaaggTPP
Link - Distorted Wing - The Premonition of a Prismatic Future - TempestVermilion
Link - [Battle Royale] - Group 3 - ZetsuTheFirst
Link - [Battle Royale] Group 5: Bad Partners - calambrepatitas
Link - [Battle Royale] Group 7: Dragonslayer - Trollkitten
Link - [Battle Royale] Group 8 - Where Morals come to Die - Lycaa
Link - Democracy House and The Vulpix that Lived - FlaaggTPP
Link - E4-ia: Bunny Hunter - Trollkitten
Link - E4-ia: Somebunny Orders Some Chaos - Trollkitten
Link - The Life of a Champion Part 1 - abiyoru
Link - [Battle Royale] Cat Fight (Round 2, Group 1) - calambrepatitas
Link - No More: A Story of OLDEN - Exarch-of-Sechrima
Link - [Battle Royale] Battle of the Blondes (Round 2, Group 4) - Kelcyus
Link - Miller Time: A two part short story - Epicnights
Link - New Game Plus - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Phancero - RBio77
Link - Red, Gold and Green ~ Stinging (X - 7) - ZetsuTheFirst
Link - Red, Gold and Green ~ Rask's Outsider (X - 8) - ZetsuTheFirst
Link - [WLGA] Affirmations - Hajimeilosukna
Link - The Calling 16 - Hajimeilosukna
Link - [1000 Days of TPP] Cly's Reflections - Lycaa
Link - [1000 Days of TPP: AU Crossover Thing] The World Was Wide Enough - Hajimeilosukna
Link - [1000th Day of TPP] Epic Rap Battles: Lord Helix vs Lord Dome - ColeWalski
Link - 1000 Days - Back To The Dreary Old Drive - robustCatnip
Link - Break The World I Know: Technological Warfare - Trollkitten
Link - [1000 Days of TPP] Countdown - The Story of a Millennium - TempestVermilion
Link - The Life of a Champion Part 2 - abiyoru
Link - Better Call Paul: Conversations With A Slowbro - Trollkitten
Link - Miller Time: A not-so short story (Part 3) - Epicnights
Link - Battle Royale: Abe vs. Deku - Lycaa
Link - [Battle Royale] - The Monster Within - Kelcyus
Link - [Battle Royale] Pressure Cooker - Trollkitten
Link - My name is Nigel Niles, but you can call me Niles the Great - Trollkitten
Link - Nigel the Great: This is not my cat - Trollkitten
Link - Alola, Cousin! - RBio77
Link - "You have to make a choice." - Kelcyus
Link - The Talk - CanisAries
Link - Nigel's Choice - FlaaggTPP
Link - Classified Files: UB-00 BIRD - Kelcyus
Link - Something Strange: Mmm, We're Back! - Trollkitten
Link - Bright Eyes - Trollkitten
Link - [Baba Rewrite - XX] Disdain (meeting in Olivine) - Lycaa
Link - AGAPE - Part 4: I’m Not a Freak - CanisAries
Link - The Host's Helixmas Party (Never Split The Party) - Trollkitten
Link - Better Call Paul: Surfing Upstream - Trollkitten
---Present Day--
That's a lot of lore. So if you want to read through all of that, be my guest. I'll probably still keep making compilations because apparently I believe in beating a dead horse. Also tustin's on vacation right now so when he gets back give him a thanks for making the park in the first place. :D

Week of: January 15 - January 21
This is a weekly thread of things going on in and around the Phoenix metro area. All types of events are welcome, including focused events for different interest groups, kid friendly, etc.
Please visit the UPDATED FAQ for Weekly Events
Comment with your event below and I'll add it to the list. Thanks!
Before you attend, please inquire to make sure the event is taking place.
Monday

• Phoenix Suns and Suns Dancers Appearance @ The Baked Bear, Scottsdale 7pm-8pm
• MLK Day Picnic @ Dreamy Draw Recreation Area, Phoenix Noon-3pm

Tuesday

• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Wrong Tour 2018 @ The Van Buren, Phoenix 7pm $25-$40
• Speaking Into Existance Drinks, Music, Poetry @ Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix 6pm FREE

Wednesday

• Citrus Clouds, Mute Swan, Breakup Shoes @ Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix 730pm $5-$7
• AZ Aerospace Day 2018 @ Aerospace States Association- Arizona Chapter 10am-8pm

Thursday

• Mustard Plug/Buck-O-Nine w/2Tone Lizard Kings, DJs Beat Betty & FullStop @ Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix 7pm $15-$18
• The Spelling Bee-R @Valley Bar, Phoenix 8pm FREE
• David Allen Grier @ Tempe Improv 8pm $22
• G3 2018: Hoe Satriani, John Petrucci, Phil Collen @ Mesa Art Center, 7pm $42-$153
• An Evening with AZ Republic's Karina Bland @ Workuity, Phoenix 6pm-8pm

Friday

• Blunt Club 5 @ Yucca Tap Room 9pm FREE
• Frankie Valley and the Four Season @ Celebrity Theater 7pm $71+
• David Allen Grier @ Tempe Improv 730pm & 10pm, $22
• Katy Perry: Witness The Tour w/Carly Rae Jaspen @ Gila River Arena 730pm $72+
• Science With A Twist: Speakeasy @ AZ Science Center 6pm-10pm $12
• Creativation @ Phoenix Convention Center 10am-6pm
• JAZZmeetsPOETRY: Civil Rights Continuum @ The Nash, Phoenix 7pn-10pm $15
• BMX AZ State Championship Qualifier @ Black Mountain BMX, Phoenix $25
• 24th Annual Bellydance Swap Meet @ 200 N Macdonald, Mesa 8am-9pm $5

Saturday

• Mission Creeps, 16 Eyes, God Speedball @ Pho Cau, Scottsdale 8pm
• Pizza Party featuring Tristan Bowling Two man improv troupe @ The Rebel Lounge, Phoenix $5-$10
• Frankie Valley and the Four Season @ Celebrity Theater 7pm $71+
• David Allen Grier @ Tempe Improv 7pm & 930pm $22
• Big Boi: Daddy Fat Saxxx Tour w/The Cool Kids @ Maya Day and Night Club, Scottsdale 10pm $15
• Seven Things I've Learned: An Evening With Ira Glass @ Orpheum Theater, Phoenix 8pm $29+
• Rob Schneider: Please Join Me For An Evening Of Lies @ Wild Horse Pass, Chandler 7pm $37+
• AZ Vegetarian Food Fest @ Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater 10am-5pm $20+
• AZ Roller Derby: Brawlaz vs. Gaudies @ Ability360, Phoenix 530pm-9pm $12
• Doggie Street Festival @ Steele Indian School Park 10am-3pm
• Strike for the Paws Fundraiser @ Let It Roll Bowl, Phoenix 730pm-1030pm
• Drone Festival @ Pendergast Elementary School, Phoenix 8am-noon
• AZ For Life March and Rally @ Wesley Bolin Memorial Park 1030am-2pm
• Creativation @ Phoenix Convention Center 10am-6pm
• Dogs Day in the Garden @ Desert Botanical Garden 8am-2pm $4 per dog
• Crossroads Gun Show @ AZ State Fairgrounds 9am-5pm $16

Sunday

• School of Rock: Grunge Tribute, Pink Floyd Tribute @ The Rebel Lounge, Phoenix 1130am $10
• History Underground Obscure anecdotes of Phoenix events @ Valley Bar, Phoenix 630pm $5
• AZ Vegetarian Food Fest @ Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater 10am-5pm $20+
• Burn Hike Moderately intense hike @ Papago Park 8am-10am
• Women's March to the Polls @ AZ Capital Museum, Phoenix 10am
• Crossroads Gun Show @ AZ State Fairgrounds 9am-4pm $16

Looking for the other things to do? Check out the FAQ for more suggestions
Feel free to add your own events below. Just list where in the Valley it happens, a cost if there is one, and who might find it interesting. Please also indicate if the event happens each week. People may be interested in trying something new but not know what is expected to get involved.
Please upvote people who share good/interesting events, even if it may not be something you will attend.

With no explanation from Narita yet as to why 1935-E is called 1935-E The Buzz Messengers instead of 1935 END & EPILOGUE (as he referred to it in 1935-D), a couple fans have speculated that 1935-E won't be the finale after all.
Rather than getting into that debate, I'm going to just assume that 1935-E is still the final novel in the arc (or rather, just not think about it, but I see no reason to think it won't be) and focus on what keeps me up at night: the sheer amount of plot points that will need to be addressed in the finale of the arc, and how all the characters are poised for a ruckus. One character's actions can cause a ripple effect, and so many characters are involved at Ra's Lance that the chances of certain characters becoming aware of each other - and acting upon that awareness - are high.
A lot of the following are things I have been thinking about for months - as you can see, I compiled a list just like this seven months ago in an older thread here. With 1935-E on the way, I think it's worth having a whole separate speculation and "compilation of plot points" thread. So yeah - let's make this a speculation thread as well.
Might help as a bit of a refresher for some, at the very least? Ooh, speaking of, the wiki page for Ra's Lance includes a list of people involved with the party if you need a cheat sheet.

PLOT POINTS

• Main: Huey's and Salomé's huge experiment. We know that it involves tainting the municipal water supply with a special drug that Begg has concocted for Huey (he curses Huey for 'making' him do it, but then implies that his involvement is not so unwilling after all). Such an experiment could affect 7mil New Yorkers. We know that the drug is not the elixir.
• It sounds like the drug is related to Sham and Hilton's nature - remember, a hive-mind's consciousness is in their 'Water', and if you unwittingly drink their water you engage in a battle of wills with them in a fight for survival. Both Sham and Hilton have tons of vessels they've taken over. Could it be that Huey is planning on spreading something similar to their Water?
• Note that an ultimate goal of Huey's is to become something like a God - well, more like something like Ronny - in his quest to see Monica again. His research on homunculi, and hive-mind homunculi - all of it is geared toward his ultimate goal of seeing Monica again. The concept of hive-mind homunculi, i.e. Water-Consciousness Homunculi, is one that Narita has taken care to develop. One of the main points of LN#5 was to introduce the concept of a hive-mind homunculus, and the idea of yielding introduced there is later expanded on with Sham and Ricardo in 1934.
• We also know that the experiment won't be successful, thanks to Huey's phone call to the "Copycat" in 2002. The phone call implies that his plan during the 1935 incident failed, and that it failed because he didn't factor Isaac and Miria into his plan (he didn't make them his allies).
• So... What do Isaac and Miria do (or not do) that ultimately sabotages the experiment?
• Speaking of the experiment, Fermet plans on meddling with Huey's plan, though how or when remains to be seen.
• Also, Molsa approached Huey with a gambling proposition, aka Molsa entered into negotiations with Huey. What was that all about?
• On meetings, remember how - on Huey's invitation - Firo met with Huey in private in 1935-C? We never learned the contents of their conversation.
• Main: Firo and Melvi's whole showdown, egad. Which Nader has gotten himself involved in, more on that below.
• Basically Huey considers the entire party at Ra's Lance as a gigantic distraction meant to occupy Victor & the FBI/the police and distract them from the Experiment.
• Main: Senator Beriam intends for Sonja Bake (under Spike's supervision) to shoot 'something' or 'someone' at the party. Who or what does he want her to shoot? Pamela and Nader Schasschule, meanwhile, don't want Sonja to shoot anything. Will either or both of them manage to thwart Beriam's plan? How big of a role with Pamela play in this?
• Honestly the whole Huey-Nebula-Runorata-Beriam web is...whoo. Complex. You have Huey and Bartolo+Runoratas dining with Nebula's chairman Karl Muybridge (and Gustav and Carol) in December 1934, Huey and Bartolo clearly collaborating - Runoratas are hosting him and the Runoratas are in contact with Beriam obviously partly because of the whole construction of Ra's Lance in the first place, but also we see Cazze with Mary going off to deliver a letter from granddaddy Bartolo to Beriam.
• Begg was last seen with the 'substance' he made heading for the building where Huey is in 1935-C. I wonder if he's supposed to be the one directly dumping the substance into the water supply. Will someone physically involve themselves in order to prevent the contamination from happening?
• Main: Will Ennis free herself from guarded captivity? She's resolved to escape by using all of Szilard's harvested knowledge that up until now she's been avoiding. I know Firo plans on rescuing her but I really, really want her to escape on her own without help. And all of that knowledge - well, what does that constitute? Escape has the potential to be very badass.
• Main: Felix invited everybody and anybody with a beef against him to come attack him while he's standing guard outside of Firo's and Melvi's showdown room. Ladd really, really wants to kill him...but he's also supposed to be acting as extra muscle for Luck. Given that there are a lot of people who want to fight Felix - the Lamia, Ladd, the Gandor assassins - well...sounds like Felix's challenge won't go unanswered.
• I assume that Felix's challenge has complicated matters, but also tied up in that is how Ladd plans to wreck the top three people on his kill list/most hated list, aka Huey, Felix, and Melvi. Ladd's own motivations will surely come into play. Not to mention, Huey's being protected by the Lamia. Can't forget about the battle lines that were drawn in Central Park.
• Main: Huey has one of Renee's eyes, and Renee has one of Huey's eyes - which she's using as a 'compass' of sorts to find Huey. Will she find him? She also wants one of her daughters back, either one will do, for SCIENCE! Huey hasn't decided whether or not which one he'll give (or if he might even give both or none of them). Oh, and Archangelo is stalking following her in order to make sure she doesn't die from sheer obliviousness.
• Ah, Archangelo. I'm very curious to see if he'll be doing anything of note in 1935-E. He hates Huey for what he did re: Renee's eye, and if Renee does meet with Huey I have a hard time believing Archangelo won't...do anything.
• Jacuzzi's Gang and I&M have been hired by Molsa to control the flow/atmosphere as support for Firo, and so far they've been...managing. One wonders how involved they'll end up being in the Big stuff.
• !!Edit!!: Speaking of Jacuzzi's gang, Jack has expressed a desire for physical revenge against Ladd as payback for Ladd assaulting him on the Flying Pussyfoot. Jacuzzi and Nice have promised him their support, even if it means hurting their relationship with Graham in the process.
• Identity: Who is Melvi's Master? (It's...gotta be . I mean, who else would it be? Not to mention Melvi's Master wants him to devour Elmer after he devours Firo).
• Identity: Who is the last assassin that Luck has hired as extra muscle?
• At the end of 1935-B, Renee meets with Felix/Claire and asks him to do a job for her: If Felix does the job for Renee, she'll 'hand over' Chané to him. We still don't know what this job entails. (Thanks to ChancellorxofxTrash for bringing this one up; I forgot about it).

CHARACTER NOTES

• Chané's been struggling a lot in 1935 with the idea that she's grown soft (Huey's return shook her badly), and her idea of 'fixing' that is to kill Nader and become the killing machine she once was. How will her internal struggle be resolved? One hopes that she won't successfully regress, since she's made so much progress/developed so much.
• Of course, Leeza/Hilton wants to kill Nader too because how dare he betray Daddy. No forgiveness for traitors. But she's decided to just help Chané kill him instead of killing him herself. Also, she has a crush on Firo.
• Nader, meanwhile, has had one of the more fleshed out character arcs of the series, and one hell of an internal struggle going on. Quick refresher: he's attending the party as Eve's guest, on the pretense that he wants to try his skill as a gambler there and that he'll give her the money he earns. Ladd also gives him a lot of money and requests that he use it to catch the Runoratas' eyes at the party. Once that happens, he wants Nader to spread the rumor that Ladd found himself a treasure aboard the FPF. And goodness did Nader deliver - he won $50,000 despite Melvi dealing.
• Speaking of, Nader is the "additional guest" Salomé refers to when he alludes to the "additional guest" inserting themself into the showdown between Firo and Melvi. So now Nader's definitely involved in the showdown. He's also probably the person who greets Firo at the beginning of the second night in the room. (Identity)
• Nader's true motives for being at the party are to take down Huey and the Runoratas and save Sonja to become a hero; one of the main features of his character arc is that he has believed that as a conman and coward there is no way he can become a hero and protect Sonja. How will his character arc/dilemma be resolved?
• Also, Nader is confirmed to be responsible for resurrecting the Genoards' fortune at the party in 1935-D.
• Dallas has realized that the Gandors are at the party, and he's pretty damn afraid of them. One wonders if they'll come into contact. He hasn't yet noticed Tick ...or if he has, the text doesn't say... and what I'm interested in is whether or not Narita will have them become aware of each other. To not do that would be such a waste, considering that Tick purposefully and successfully got Dallas to loathe him/put him on his shit list after he threatened Eve's life in 1933.
• That's another thing, Dallas and Eve. Dallas pawned off quite a bit of the Genoards' stuff because he plans to use the money to gamble at the party and make money. Eve is at the party in order to look for him. Dallas has also spotted Jacuzzi's Gang, and plans as their 'landlord' to wring whatever money they earn out of them.
• Firo, Isaac, and Miria were also on Dallas' shit list...
• So...reunions, basically. There are a couple reunions that have happened already (big one Ladd with Claire + Chané, Chané & Spike, Christopher and Lamia) but the party has the potential for...a lot more. Narita's definitely building up to a Nader & Sonja reunion, but if that happens then I think a Nader & Spike reunion is almost guaranteed. After all, Spike now knows that Nader is alive thanks to Beriam. I think a Nader & Spike reunion would be really fun.
• Without a doubt, Melvi has a ton of death flags going for him and is the only character whose death in the finale fans have speculated about for obvious reasons. Me, I'm wondering if Spike will die.
• As I said Dallas and Tick is the reunion I want to see the most (but may not happen), but another I'd be interested in is Sham and Hilton - see below. And I know Dallas and Eve isn't a reunion per se - but..their 'reunion' will, I feel, be important. Eve in 1933 was more reminiscent of anime-Eve than LN#1-Eve, sadly, but I hope to see LN#1 Eve's feelings resurface for this.
• Sham has really been on the back burner this arc, and I can't help but wonder why considering how active he was in working to stop Huey's experiment from succeeding in Chicago in 1934. He did use Shaft to help Nader and Pamela out in 1935-C... Sometimes I wonder if Graham will learn that Shaft is a Sham vessel. He definitely knew something was up with Shaft in 1934.
• On the topic of Sham, it was through Gustav and Carol (LN#10) that Hilton was forced to confront the reality that Sham has betrayed Huey. She has yet to act on that information, and I wonder if she will. Definitely wasn't happy on hearing the news. Since they're still both working for Huey and have tons of vessels it's not like they don't have the opportunity to interact.
• Oh yeah, Sham's another character who's experienced a fair bit of growth and internal struggle.

MISC

• PLEASE NARITA tell me what Fermet meant by "Now, let's go give Upham a little push, shall we?" in 1935-C. I'm dying. I love Upham. Please tell me that line wasn't a throwaway/won't be retconned or forgotten and that it is relevant.
• House Dormentaire sent Melvi to be the subordinate of Huey for 1935, and their ships are docked in the harbor right now - they're the ones Melvi's been concealing Time's seaplanes in. (I think probably they also own the ships that Ronny is continuously being summoned onto, or at least they gave Melvi a hand in setting them up).
• On the topic of House Dormentaire...Lord Avaro. Maiza's dad. I have a LOT of feelings on him, but for now definitely read this analysis/theory with emphasis on the final paragraph. That final thought...goddamn.
• Re Maiza - Maiza's decided to put his complicated feelings about Melvi aside and just regard him as an enemy for now. He's one of my favorites, so I'm selfishly hoping for him to be individually active to some degree in the casino. It's not like I'm expecting anything grand - doubt anything in 1935-E can top his crowning moment in 1935-B - but...well. Again, I highly suggest reading the above link.
• Vague thoughts about Carlotta and whether or not she's more than she seems... Reminder, she's the longstanding hotshot dealer of the Runoratas whom Melvi replaced as the spotlight dealer for Ra's Lance, which has earned him the animosity of a lot of Runorata men. Oh, Carlotta...
• Edit: Speaking of the Runoratas, in 1935-B we see some Runoratas tailing Melvi with the intention of 'disappearing' him once he screws up. Their plan is to afterwards accuse Melvi of being a spy (citing how they've witnessed him enteexit Coraggioso) and let Claire take the fall.
• Okay, so what's the deal with Croquis? Now, all we really know about Croquis is that they were originally the leaders of Time, and that Melvi basically usurped their position to become the new leader of Time. The reason I'm so interested in them is because in the afterword for LN#10 Narita says this:
• "In terms of the 1930s story, all that is left to cover are 'the Runorata grandson,' Nader's childhood friend, and the Croquis Family—so for those thinking 'I can’t remember the names of all these characters, this news should come as a relief."
• That's an awful lot of import to put on the Croquis, don't you think? I know, probably what's happened is that Narita originally thought that the Croquis would be more important/more involved than what they are but has since had to scrap that/forgot about that, but a part of me...wonders. What plans did he have for them, and will we see remnants of them in 1935-E?
• Crack theory: Carlotta's actually a member of the Croquis and she wants revenge on Melvi for stealing Croquis' power.
• Narita does say in the afterword for 1935-D that "the original flow of the story" has changed somewhat over the past three years [since the last novel]. Plot changes included. Apparently he had also intended for Cookie to "go wild every night and hunt mobsters," but changed his mind after hearing recent reports of bear attacks. It's very possible that whatever he'd planned re the Croquis was one such change.
• Lana's the only Vanishing Bunny member who's stayed behind at the Beriam manor. It would be very Narita if she shows up out of the blue in 1935-E at the party (probably having come out of worry and Friendship for Pamela and Sonja), but I wonder...maybe not. Someone needs to hold down the fort, what.
• What was in the letter that Cazze was delivering to Senator Beriam on behalf of his grandpa Bartolo?
• On Cazze, it sort of sounds like the twins Gabriel and Juliano will decide whether or not it's safe for him to be at the final night of the casino? When they're leaving Central Park, they remark that if Claire's challenge succeeds, they might be better off "not calling Cazze to the casino tomorrow night." Hm. Hm hm. Also, I like the twins. I want to see more of them.
• Do you think Victor will realize that Ra's Lance is essentially one giant big diversion meant to keep him busy while Huey does his thing? Or will he only realize after the fact, and be humiliated.
• Tim's desire for having access to strength...eh, basically his newfound resolve at the end of 1933, and his desire for a world which has no room for Huey hasn't really been given closure. Even if it's only slightly addressed, I'd like to see something done regarding that in 1935-E.

Also, Narita, give the contortionist Lamia a name. Please. Please. Sure, it's fun referring to her as "the Contortionist" but heck, that's not even a title you gave her. It's how fans often refer to her. Her character design (and what we've seen of her personality) is too good for her not to have a name.
Oh my lord, this turned out so long. Did anybody actually read this? If you made it this far, I love you and let's talk. No seriously, let's talk! Anyone have any theories/speculations you want to share, thoughts, or additions/corrections to the above compilation?
I've gotten way too much amusement out of coming up with crack suggestions for the identity of the final Gandor-hired assassin, for instance. It started with the semi-serious, semi-joking suggestion that Fermet is the assassin (along the lines of "hey maybe this is how he plans on meddling), then it evolved into pure crack suggestions (anything goes), e.g. Archangelo himself, the Former Felix Walken (I mean...), Rubik (pft)...
...And then I threw out "Carla" as a crack suggestion and whoops now I desperately want it to be Carla. It won't be, I'm sure, but holy shit. Holy shit. Can you imagine the reveal, of a full-blown Enami illustration of 1930s Carla? Not only would we get immortal!Carla, we'd get Carla interacting with 1930s characters...it would absolutely bowl me over.
(Hey Narita, please give us closure on Carla. Did she end up immortal, yay or nay?)
...Anyway. I can't believe how long this is, and even as I type that I know I'll probably edit it with more stuff. All I can hope is that at least someone will read/enjoy this and/or find it useful. Apologies if I got some stuff wrong/misremembered things. Apologies for the length.
Once again, I'd love to hear discussion on 1935-E and 1935 from you guys here!