Reflecting Back On What We Have Lost - Null Signifier The War in Wabbajack

Vizeroh · April 2017

IxSTALKERxI wrote: »

Cloneink OP.

Pretty sure Clone always abandoned us. FeelsBadMan

Malveria · April 2017

I would like to add the AD perspective that the OP admitted they did not have. Specifically of the 'Ex Emperor group'.

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack. He came into the campaign 2 weeks late, when Wabbajack was basically an EP buff campaign.

They chose another campaign.

Of the 8 AD that came over with Cloneinkk, Cloneinkk was the only one that had not been crowned Emperor. His mandate to zone: ‘I am becoming Emperor. Crown yourself and get out of the way, or I’m going to overtake you’.

Cloneinkk immediately made himself known in AD zone by hand-picking people for a ‘bomb group’, a term largely unheard of by the AD faction. He had level and gear requirements for his groups. He was known to move rapidly from fight to fight. He lead the groups himself, he gained the AP himself, and if you were not deemed suitable to his groups, you did not get in. His groups were purely about coordination, movement, and group cooperation. His reputation was twofold: those who knew he was a good and reliable leader who won the fights he entered, and those who resented him for not being able to get in to his groups. Even for those who could, the queue to get in to Cloneinkk’s 24 man was often 10 people long, and could extend for hours. Clearly they thought the wait was worth it.

Cloneinkk’s group was asked to break tower farms for AD. They promised and delivered the scrolls, regularly capturing and holding all 6 of the scrolls for an extended duration. They wiped out enemies number over 100 with their 24 man, sometimes only with that 24 man.

And they crowned Emperors.

The ‘Emperor flipping’ was an honor pact between Cloneinkk’s group members. Once you were dethroned, you abdicated, allowing the next person, who worked just as hard, to have their chance at Emperor. Cloneinkk’s group crowned over 11 Emperors before he crowned himself. Cloneinkk reigned for 5 days and 21 hours, and AD refused to allow to him to be dethroned. No matter what EP or DC threw at Clone, even when he was asleep, AD would not be removed from an Emperor keep.

Cloneinkk was never dethroned. He abdicated to honor his pact with his team. He crowned 1 more Emperor, Ashirok, before fading from PVP. His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength. Though Cloneinkk returned to PVP, by that time it had vastly changed.

However, after he returned, Cloneinkk forged a new reputation with his own guild, Venatus.

P.S. Cloneinkk was always reduced to 1 keep. Roe. Thus, Roe is love, Roe is life.

Vizeroh · April 2017

Malveria wrote: »

His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength.

*waves at Anon*

No_True_Scotsman · April 2017

Malveria wrote: »

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack.

Nonsense! There were plenty of fights after the Great Yellow Horde dispersed. Those were the Dark Ages of ESO. We subsequently ushered in its Golden Age, with No Mercy for the plebs running from our legion impulse spam monkey DK's. RIP Columba

Ghostbane · April 2017

Roe is love, Roe is life.

Publius_Scipio · April 2017

Malveria wrote: »

I would like to add the AD perspective that the OP admitted they did not have. Specifically of the 'Ex Emperor group'.

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack. He came into the campaign 2 weeks late, when Wabbajack was basically an EP buff campaign.

They chose another campaign.

Of the 8 AD that came over with Cloneinkk, Cloneinkk was the only one that had not been crowned Emperor. His mandate to zone: ‘I am becoming Emperor. Crown yourself and get out of the way, or I’m going to overtake you’.

Cloneinkk immediately made himself known in AD zone by hand-picking people for a ‘bomb group’, a term largely unheard of by the AD faction. He had level and gear requirements for his groups. He was known to move rapidly from fight to fight. He lead the groups himself, he gained the AP himself, and if you were not deemed suitable to his groups, you did not get in. His groups were purely about coordination, movement, and group cooperation. His reputation was twofold: those who knew he was a good and reliable leader who won the fights he entered, and those who resented him for not being able to get in to his groups. Even for those who could, the queue to get in to Cloneinkk’s 24 man was often 10 people long, and could extend for hours. Clearly they thought the wait was worth it.

Cloneinkk’s group was asked to break tower farms for AD. They promised and delivered the scrolls, regularly capturing and holding all 6 of the scrolls for an extended duration. They wiped out enemies number over 100 with their 24 man, sometimes only with that 24 man.

And they crowned Emperors.

The ‘Emperor flipping’ was an honor pact between Cloneinkk’s group members. Once you were dethroned, you abdicated, allowing the next person, who worked just as hard, to have their chance at Emperor. Cloneinkk’s group crowned over 11 Emperors before he crowned himself. Cloneinkk reigned for 5 days and 21 hours, and AD refused to allow to him to be dethroned. No matter what EP or DC threw at Clone, even when he was asleep, AD would not be removed from an Emperor keep.

Cloneinkk was never dethroned. He abdicated to honor his pact with his team. He crowned 1 more Emperor, Ashirok, before fading from PVP. His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength. Though Cloneinkk returned to PVP, by that time it had vastly changed.

However, after he returned, Cloneinkk forged a new reputation with his own guild, Venatus.

P.S. Cloneinkk was always reduced to 1 keep. Roe. Thus, Roe is love, Roe is life.

So this stupid elf clone is the one that ushered in emp trading within guilds? Is Crown (the player) Cloneinkk's son? So Moon PiE's strength came from the clone troops that dispersed? You mention that he "returned to PvP". I assume he returned, got his pointy eared a** whooped, and faded back into ESO history?

Minno · April 2017

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

The excitement of early access/launch when you got out of Coldharbour, did the two "starter" zones and got to Daggerfall and the city was packed. People running around. chatting, crafting, etc.

"Selling vamp bite, 50k gold!"

Prince_of_all_Pugs · April 2017

gosh i miss wabbajack so much, that server was an ap farm without end. if you had a good enough group you could scroll farm for hours and it was just amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm0Ho5mQY2g

Takllin · April 2017

Prince_of_all_Pugs wrote: »

gosh i miss wabbajack so much, that server was an ap farm without end. if you had a good enough group you could scroll farm for hours and it was just amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm0Ho5mQY2g

A dead Brandon in the early seconds of the video I like it.

Made him pop a blood vessel one time farming the north DC scroll in the tower inside that gate.

Malveria · April 2017

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

So this stupid elf clone is the one that ushered in emp trading within guilds? Is Crown (the player) Cloneinkk's son? So Moon PiE's strength came from the clone troops that dispersed? You mention that he "returned to PvP". I assume he returned, got his pointy eared a** whooped, and faded back into ESO history?

This isn't a thread for hostility. This is something to reminisce on Wabbajack and what ESO PVP used to be. Please take your toxicity elsewhere.

Publius_Scipio · April 2017

Take the heat elf.

Rickter · April 2017

why has a single person not mentioned Jiggly Puff the naked vampire orc? or was it revealed that Jiggly Puff and @Publius_Scipio are the same person?

Publius_Scipio · April 2017

Rickter wrote: »

why has a single person not mentioned Jiggly Puff the naked vampire orc? or was it revealed that Jiggly Puff and @Publius_Scipio are the same person?

I remember him. He was so large that the megaserver lagged trying to render all his pixels and textures on screen as he moved. He was not me.

Takllin · April 2017

Rickter wrote: »

why has a single person not mentioned Jiggly Puff the naked vampire orc? or was it revealed that Jiggly Puff and @Publius_Scipio are the same person?

Don't forget Big Gut Billy who ran around without chest armor so he could show off his huge beer belly.

Also, ARM.

Glory · April 2017

Takllin wrote: »

It was Hexspawn, but Mano takes credit for all of the revised versions + being present in the Wabba Victory video.

Man, too bad Mano isn't around anymore on the forums to claim that credit himself.

Heard he got banned.

Joy_Division · April 2017

Glory wrote: »

Takllin wrote: »

It was Hexspawn, but Mano takes credit for all of the revised versions + being present in the Wabba Victory video.

Man, too bad Mano isn't around anymore on the forums to claim that credit himself.

Heard he got banned.

One of the more reasonable and thoughtful posters. Shame is that is the case.

Dreyloch · April 2017

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but aren't we forgetting someone? Rather some body part? You know, the one that connects between your shoulder and hand? I mean since we're all waxin' nostalgic and such, and dropping all kinds of names past present and future.

I just can't recall if his presence was on Wabba or wherever we moved to after. Come on people, Publius back me up on this one...ya know you wanna scream it in zone chat too!

ARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: (seems someone did mention him already in thread) /high step walking away....

Takllin · April 2017

Dreyloch wrote: »

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but aren't we forgetting someone? Rather some body part? You know, the one that connects between your shoulder and hand? I mean since we're all waxin' nostalgic and such, and dropping all kinds of names past present and future.

I just can't recall if his presence was on Wabba or wherever we moved to after. Come on people, Publius back me up on this one...ya know you wanna scream it in zone chat too!

ARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: (seems someone did mention him already in thread) /high step walking away....

It's ok. None can deny the need to shout it.

Destyran · April 2017

I miss reflecting back.... meteors!!!!

No_True_Scotsman · April 2017

I take 100% credit for memeifying the Hexspawn victory thread. It's my greatest contribution!

Alomar · April 2017

Wow, a really interesting read even though there are some obvious flaws that some of the more hardcore players at that time, myself included, would be able to correct. The "ex-emperor team" you were referring to, including my first emperor period (thanks for noticing btw =P), wasn't just one guild turning the tide for AD in Wabba. That was a combination of 2-3 guilds in April and another 3-4 in May who had all dominated and made the opposition flee from what was considered the most populated campaign at launch "auriel's bow".

Loud Damage was the guild I helped run at the time, later played there with DiE after a break playing AA's launch. Several of the other major players at the time were Alacrity and Venatus. The cross-guild coordination these guilds and more shared led to months of victories against what amounted to a nightly double team where EP and DC rightfully so feared our primetime strength. That "line of emperors" you mentioned was 4 Loud Damage members trading it between ourselves because the passive buffs were so good and needed at the time.

This was a different game then what ESO is now, and the majority of my favorite mmo pvp moments within 18 years came from ESO's first year after launch. Unfortunately, what we have now is a shell of that game due to the lack of development, content, fixes, balance, and lag removal caused in the following years. The few of us left have clung onto the sliver of hope that ESO might return to being 1/5 of what it was for the past 2 years. Unfortunately, imo that's nothing more than a fool's hope anymore as Morrowind will be my last patch in ESO before I'm done for good.

Takllin wrote: »

Sile wrote: »

Ground oils are no where in this history - how can we leave out such heroes.

I remember every night during the EP dominance being back at our gates. Damn that was a good time.

"and just when you see a sliver of hope... it is quickly tarnished by the size and might of Metal Dimmu who rains hot oil all upon that "strong & good looking" toon you made."

Draxys wrote: »

Also inb4 someone reposts that Mano post about AD winning the last wabba campaign again lel

It was Hexspawn, but Mano takes credit for all of the revised versions + being present in the Wabba Victory video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRu-5K1K0V8

Also, Permared is still Emperor of Wabbajack.

Saw that video years ago, best part about it now though is seeing all the names I recognize and miss from the zone chat and leaderboards. Those were the days.

Satiar · April 2017

Not to nitpick, but people feared AD "prime time strength" on the Bow because they outnumbered the opposition by 2 or 3 to 1 on the regular. Population disparity there was sickening, and a big reason why it was considered an AD emp farm/buff server instead of a competitive server.

Alomar · April 2017

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

Malveria wrote: »

I would like to add the AD perspective that the OP admitted they did not have. Specifically of the 'Ex Emperor group'.

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack. He came into the campaign 2 weeks late, when Wabbajack was basically an EP buff campaign.

They chose another campaign.

Of the 8 AD that came over with Cloneinkk, Cloneinkk was the only one that had not been crowned Emperor. His mandate to zone: ‘I am becoming Emperor. Crown yourself and get out of the way, or I’m going to overtake you’.

Cloneinkk immediately made himself known in AD zone by hand-picking people for a ‘bomb group’, a term largely unheard of by the AD faction. He had level and gear requirements for his groups. He was known to move rapidly from fight to fight. He lead the groups himself, he gained the AP himself, and if you were not deemed suitable to his groups, you did not get in. His groups were purely about coordination, movement, and group cooperation. His reputation was twofold: those who knew he was a good and reliable leader who won the fights he entered, and those who resented him for not being able to get in to his groups. Even for those who could, the queue to get in to Cloneinkk’s 24 man was often 10 people long, and could extend for hours. Clearly they thought the wait was worth it.

Cloneinkk’s group was asked to break tower farms for AD. They promised and delivered the scrolls, regularly capturing and holding all 6 of the scrolls for an extended duration. They wiped out enemies number over 100 with their 24 man, sometimes only with that 24 man.

And they crowned Emperors.

The ‘Emperor flipping’ was an honor pact between Cloneinkk’s group members. Once you were dethroned, you abdicated, allowing the next person, who worked just as hard, to have their chance at Emperor. Cloneinkk’s group crowned over 11 Emperors before he crowned himself. Cloneinkk reigned for 5 days and 21 hours, and AD refused to allow to him to be dethroned. No matter what EP or DC threw at Clone, even when he was asleep, AD would not be removed from an Emperor keep.

Cloneinkk was never dethroned. He abdicated to honor his pact with his team. He crowned 1 more Emperor, Ashirok, before fading from PVP. His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength. Though Cloneinkk returned to PVP, by that time it had vastly changed.

However, after he returned, Cloneinkk forged a new reputation with his own guild, Venatus.

P.S. Cloneinkk was always reduced to 1 keep. Roe. Thus, Roe is love, Roe is life.

So this stupid elf clone is the one that ushered in emp trading within guilds? Is Crown (the player) Cloneinkk's son? So Moon PiE's strength came from the clone troops that dispersed? You mention that he "returned to PvP". I assume he returned, got his pointy eared a** whooped, and faded back into ESO history?

Venatus and DiE existed at the same time and would fight alongside each other, though there was a heated competition and dislike of each other by the leadership of both. As a member of both at the time I would play with DiE at nights and Venatus in the mornings, made for some excellent pvp. Clone's returned 2-3 times over the years and brought Venatus back from the brink, he's doing it again right now in TF. Your forum pvp, which is the only pvp I've seen you do, has nothing on Clone, his guild, or their achievements mate.

IcyDeadPeople · April 2017

Alomar wrote: »

The "ex-emperor team" you were referring to, including my first emperor period (thanks for noticing btw =P), wasn't just one guild turning the tide for AD in Wabba. That was a combination of 2-3 guilds in April and another 3-4 in May

Yes, I was playing on DC and EP during this time and only seem to recall seeing Casuale's group from Hopesfire as the one where everybody had emperor and former emperor title.
.

Alomar · April 2017

Satiar wrote: »

Not to nitpick, but people feared AD "prime time strength" on the Bow because they outnumbered the opposition by 2 or 3 to 1 on the regular. Population disparity there was sickening, and a big reason why it was considered an AD emp farm/buff server instead of a competitive server.

That feared 'primetime strength" was stated as being in Wabba, not Auriel's Bow. Meanwhile, AB only had a population imbalance when the Titan Alliance (DiE, PRX, Synapse, etc.) coordination vastly dominated the opposing factions present to the point people left to other campaigns and it became a ghost town with a full yellow map withering out over a period of 2-3 weeks.

Publius_Scipio · April 2017

Alomar wrote: »

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

Malveria wrote: »

I would like to add the AD perspective that the OP admitted they did not have. Specifically of the 'Ex Emperor group'.

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack. He came into the campaign 2 weeks late, when Wabbajack was basically an EP buff campaign.

They chose another campaign.

Of the 8 AD that came over with Cloneinkk, Cloneinkk was the only one that had not been crowned Emperor. His mandate to zone: ‘I am becoming Emperor. Crown yourself and get out of the way, or I’m going to overtake you’.

Cloneinkk immediately made himself known in AD zone by hand-picking people for a ‘bomb group’, a term largely unheard of by the AD faction. He had level and gear requirements for his groups. He was known to move rapidly from fight to fight. He lead the groups himself, he gained the AP himself, and if you were not deemed suitable to his groups, you did not get in. His groups were purely about coordination, movement, and group cooperation. His reputation was twofold: those who knew he was a good and reliable leader who won the fights he entered, and those who resented him for not being able to get in to his groups. Even for those who could, the queue to get in to Cloneinkk’s 24 man was often 10 people long, and could extend for hours. Clearly they thought the wait was worth it.

Cloneinkk’s group was asked to break tower farms for AD. They promised and delivered the scrolls, regularly capturing and holding all 6 of the scrolls for an extended duration. They wiped out enemies number over 100 with their 24 man, sometimes only with that 24 man.

And they crowned Emperors.

The ‘Emperor flipping’ was an honor pact between Cloneinkk’s group members. Once you were dethroned, you abdicated, allowing the next person, who worked just as hard, to have their chance at Emperor. Cloneinkk’s group crowned over 11 Emperors before he crowned himself. Cloneinkk reigned for 5 days and 21 hours, and AD refused to allow to him to be dethroned. No matter what EP or DC threw at Clone, even when he was asleep, AD would not be removed from an Emperor keep.

Cloneinkk was never dethroned. He abdicated to honor his pact with his team. He crowned 1 more Emperor, Ashirok, before fading from PVP. His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength. Though Cloneinkk returned to PVP, by that time it had vastly changed.

However, after he returned, Cloneinkk forged a new reputation with his own guild, Venatus.

P.S. Cloneinkk was always reduced to 1 keep. Roe. Thus, Roe is love, Roe is life.

So this stupid elf clone is the one that ushered in emp trading within guilds? Is Crown (the player) Cloneinkk's son? So Moon PiE's strength came from the clone troops that dispersed? You mention that he "returned to PvP". I assume he returned, got his pointy eared a** whooped, and faded back into ESO history?

Venatus and DiE existed at the same time and would fight alongside each other, though there was a heated competition and dislike of each other by the leadership of both. As a member of both at the time I would play with DiE at nights and Venatus in the mornings, made for some excellent pvp. Clone's returned 2-3 times over the years and brought Venatus back from the brink, he's doing it again right now in TF. Your forum pvp, which is the only pvp I've seen you do, has nothing on Clone, his guild, or their achievements mate.

Tell your clone boss that I have had to wipe my [snip] with paper tougher and more rough than the one that his "achievements" are scribbled on.

Satiar · April 2017

Alomar wrote: »

Satiar wrote: »

Not to nitpick, but people feared AD "prime time strength" on the Bow because they outnumbered the opposition by 2 or 3 to 1 on the regular. Population disparity there was sickening, and a big reason why it was considered an AD emp farm/buff server instead of a competitive server.

That feared 'primetime strength" was stated as being in Wabba, not Auriel's Bow. Meanwhile, AB only had a population imbalance when the Titan Alliance (DiE, PRX, Synapse, etc.) coordination vastly dominated the opposing factions present to the point people left to other campaigns and it became a ghost town with a full yellow map withering out over a period of 2-3 weeks.

Ahhhh that makes me miss guild alliances. At this point working with another guild is a black mark

MaximillianDiE · April 2017

Alomar wrote: »

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

Malveria wrote: »

I would like to add the AD perspective that the OP admitted they did not have. Specifically of the 'Ex Emperor group'.

The ‘Ex-Emperor group’ was led by Cloneinkk. They shifted from Auriel’s Bow due to the campaign being dead, and chased the fight to Wabbajack. He came into the campaign 2 weeks late, when Wabbajack was basically an EP buff campaign.

They chose another campaign.

Of the 8 AD that came over with Cloneinkk, Cloneinkk was the only one that had not been crowned Emperor. His mandate to zone: ‘I am becoming Emperor. Crown yourself and get out of the way, or I’m going to overtake you’.

Cloneinkk immediately made himself known in AD zone by hand-picking people for a ‘bomb group’, a term largely unheard of by the AD faction. He had level and gear requirements for his groups. He was known to move rapidly from fight to fight. He lead the groups himself, he gained the AP himself, and if you were not deemed suitable to his groups, you did not get in. His groups were purely about coordination, movement, and group cooperation. His reputation was twofold: those who knew he was a good and reliable leader who won the fights he entered, and those who resented him for not being able to get in to his groups. Even for those who could, the queue to get in to Cloneinkk’s 24 man was often 10 people long, and could extend for hours. Clearly they thought the wait was worth it.

Cloneinkk’s group was asked to break tower farms for AD. They promised and delivered the scrolls, regularly capturing and holding all 6 of the scrolls for an extended duration. They wiped out enemies number over 100 with their 24 man, sometimes only with that 24 man.

And they crowned Emperors.

The ‘Emperor flipping’ was an honor pact between Cloneinkk’s group members. Once you were dethroned, you abdicated, allowing the next person, who worked just as hard, to have their chance at Emperor. Cloneinkk’s group crowned over 11 Emperors before he crowned himself. Cloneinkk reigned for 5 days and 21 hours, and AD refused to allow to him to be dethroned. No matter what EP or DC threw at Clone, even when he was asleep, AD would not be removed from an Emperor keep.

Cloneinkk was never dethroned. He abdicated to honor his pact with his team. He crowned 1 more Emperor, Ashirok, before fading from PVP. His bomb group members dispersed, most of them entering DiE when DiE shifted into Wabbajack, and bolstering their strength. Though Cloneinkk returned to PVP, by that time it had vastly changed.

However, after he returned, Cloneinkk forged a new reputation with his own guild, Venatus.

P.S. Cloneinkk was always reduced to 1 keep. Roe. Thus, Roe is love, Roe is life.

So this stupid elf clone is the one that ushered in emp trading within guilds? Is Crown (the player) Cloneinkk's son? So Moon PiE's strength came from the clone troops that dispersed? You mention that he "returned to PvP". I assume he returned, got his pointy eared a** whooped, and faded back into ESO history?

Venatus and DiE existed at the same time and would fight alongside each other, though there was a heated competition and dislike of each other by the leadership of both. As a member of both at the time I would play with DiE at nights and Venatus in the mornings, made for some excellent pvp. Clone's returned 2-3 times over the years and brought Venatus back from the brink, he's doing it again right now in TF. Your forum pvp, which is the only pvp I've seen you do, has nothing on Clone, his guild, or their achievements mate.

You're quite correct although before there was Venatus there was Igni Ferroque - Tinker Tailor was one of the leaders and Clone came up through that as I recall eventually setting up Venatus. I was (and still am) in DiE then in Igni and later Ventus as was Moon and Xiphy. Our two guilds cooperated closely until there was a falling out for a reason I no longer remember but which was clearly of earth shattering importance at the time. Something to do with an AD Council I think and strong personalities who abound in mmos. We in DIE (the Skellies) eventually went red as well as to try to help with the population imbalance in Oceanic time which was pretty bad at the time and we just dominated that timezone. We ended up splitting after the shift to EP and out of that came Havoc who stayed on EP some of whom are still in Haxus and eventually K-Hole on DC when a number of us DiE members who left EP when EP became the dominant force went back to AD and eventually moved to DC after Moon quit finally merging with Mega Best Friends (former No Mercy) and forming K-Hole with other friends from all 3 factions.

Publius_Scipio · April 2017

Let us raise our glasses in honor of the fake Tom Hanks. May he always be blessed with fresh pancakes on his plate and the freshest of Canadian maple syrup.

Ghostbane · April 2017

I like to think Columba is somewhere on Monkey Island with Boombox, sipping expensive drinks with Billy Ocean playing in the background.