(09-30-2026, 06:53 PM)Shepherd Wrote: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91872641/chapters/249829751
Echoes of the End (Dreaming of Sunshine/FFXIV).

"Oh fuck, it really is a time loop," Artiti bemoaned forlornly.

The Genius Has No Clothes: An Alternate View Of Innovation, 1818, Wrote:Some economic analyses give Haddock excessive or even sole credit in curbing the rampant inflation that the adoption of dragon-scale currency caused in the European economy. These claims ignore that Haddock was not only not the one in charge of economic policy, he was nearly ignorant of it, so giving him credit for inadvertently solving a problem that he incidentally caused is an incredible reach of credulity.

The reality on the ground was much more prosaic; while there was massive inflation within the European economy (especially that of the NSE’s constituent parts) in the first few years, this inflation gave common people access to currency and the ability to invest in the means of production. By late 1043, small-scale industries that had never before existed were being founded all across Scandinavia, the Alban Isles, and, to a lesser extent, the continental realms. Consumer goods, ranging from clothing to tools to writing implements to books to construction materials and more, were all entering the market in unprecedented numbers, and the populace had the funds with which to buy them. And, as basic economic theory clearly explains, balancing the currency in circulation with the goods available for purchase is what keeps an economy from either succumbing to excessive inflation (from an oversupply of currency) or a deflationary cycle (from an oversupply of goods). So while Haddock deserves some credit for inventing a portion of the production tools which helped create the goods that balanced the economy, the bulk of the credit, as always, goes to the people who actually did the work, made the goods, and participated in society.

See the end of the chapter for more notes.

And I return! In less than two years! (by two days, but it still counts!)

So... the last two years have been more than a bit rough, emotionally, fiscally, socially, health, and politically speaking. I ended up losing the teaching job, because they overhired for the position, and I was the one who got cut. -_- Depression... well, that was a rough few months afterwards. And as for the rest... well, you all know what a shitshow the world is right now, so I won't belabor the point.

What does that mean for this fic? Well, I still plan on continuing it and working on my original writing (which is getting on three years on hiatus...), but for the moment, I'm switching to a fortnightly (every two weeks) schedule for the foreseeable future. We'll see how it goes from there. I currently have a pretty decent buffer, all things considered. So the next update will be Oct 18, 2026. And at the start of November, it'll be ten years since I started writing... and in April, it'll be ten years from when I started publishing (ack!). I'm looking forward to sharing it all with you.

With that said, I look forward to hearing the comments and reactions; I know that this was a more low-key chapter to return to, but there's some fun tidbits in there to discuss, and I'm eager to hear what your thoughts are on all of them.

Until next time!